CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
OLD FRIENDS
Shadow and I trotted along dusty passageway after dusty passageway, with Horizon sitting on my back and happily chewing my mane as her mother lead the way. The fortress was a veritable rabbit warren of innumerable corridors, stairs, rooms, and only the gods knew what else. Everything I’d seen of this extraordinary structure up until now had been a blasted, wrecked echo of the glorious home it had once been. And here I was, a wendigo walking through the empty silent halls of my forefathers, feeling like a stranger walking through a tomb. Shadow on the other hoof, walked with a self assured confidence which was as surprising as it was reassuring. I don’t how she’d felt the first time she’d come through here, but any sense of trepidation I felt was in no way echoed by this incredible mare. She strode with her head held high as though we were out for a stroll on a pleasant Sunday morning. Our daughter too seemed quite at home here. For them, especially Horizon who had known nothing else, I suppose it was.
The blue-white walls eventually began to fade away the deeper we went, replaced instead with the more traditional cut stone of the mountain that brought with it the darkness of the lower depths. Magical lanterns lit the way now, but for us it didn’t make that much difference anyway. It had become quickly apparent to me that Horizon’s unusual eyes were well suited for low light, as indeed were Shadow’s and my own. If not more so.
“How in Equestria did you find your way in here?” I said half to myself as I followed Shadow down another corridor. “This place is a maze!”
The black mare bobbed her head and gestured further up the long corridor, “The doors let me in.”
“The doors?”
I hadn’t got a clue what she was talking about. But then, Shadow had always had an unusual way of talking that I found oddly intriguing. What I also found intriguing, for the wrong reasons unfortunately, was trying to sleep in the same bed as her in what was obviously meant as a single bed. The room absolutely honked too. Musty carpets, equally musty wall hangings, and mould stained pictures abounded. Star Swirl had said that there was an enchantment on the fortress to prevent decay put there a millennia ago by Arathea to keep flowers fresh and musty rooms from becoming… well, ‘musty’ I suppose. Over the long years of neglect however, the spell had decayed along with the furnishings. The fortress was, for all intents and purposes, a right bloody mess. I’d spent the morning playing with Horizon and enjoying a surprisingly delicious breakfast of mushrooms and bark tea, all locally sourced from the forest. The Everfree Forest no less. It had a reputation that was well deserved too, and was a hotbed of monsters, bogs, fast running rivers, and sites of high magical energy that could, allegedly, turn you inside out faster than you could blink. The biggest problem I’d had with the Everfree had been the timber wolves. The magical creatures were a lethal menace, and one that I had dealt with when I was alive. Well, the last ‘time’ I was alive to be specific. Damn it, you know what mean. Anyway, the point is is that things change, and the timber wolf hierarchy may well have changed in the time I’d been away. The four years I’d been away. Dear sweet Celestia, why hadn’t anypony said anything? I know the passage of time was weird between the herd and here, but seriously? It didn’t feel like more than a few months at best. Gods, it was no wonder Tingles and Shadow hadn’t tried to communicate with me. But… If Shadow had been near a grove, then why hadn’t she tried to contact me? I had to know or else it would eat away at the back of my mind. “Shadow?” I asked. “Why didn’t you try to find me in the grove?”
Shadow shook her head, “Did not work.”
“So you tried?” I asked.
She nodded, “Lots.”
“And yet you waited here for me for four years?” I shook my head, “I don’t know what to say.”
“You love me?” Shadow suggested.
I stopped and turned to face her, “You know I do. I’ve never stopped loving you. I thought...” I took a breath and closed my eyes, fighting back the memories of all the times I’d tried using the globe in the lounge, waiting for hours in the grove in the dead of night, and the crushing disappointment when nothing I did worked. Month after month of nothing but worry and despair can grind even the most optimistic pony down. “I thought you’d given up on me,” I said honestly. “You and Tingles.”
Shadow shook her head. “Love,” she said simply. And that, I suppose, really was all we needed. It was the best answer to all the questions I had in my dull witted head.
Unfortunately my ‘favourite’ wizard had elected to stay behind. Apparently he had work to do in the library which would help us ‘deal with Vela and his plans’. What a shame! I left him to it. I had more than enough going on without having to deal with overbearing wizards. Whatever scheming he was up to this time could wait until I was good and ready. Personally I’d prefer it if he’d just piss off altogether and leave us alone, but I doubted anything to do with Star Swirl was going to be that simple. Right now my focus was on my family, or more specifically following my family out of the fortress. What was starting to bother me a touch though was not so much that there were corridors, rooms and staircases disappearing off here there and everywhere, but that there were lit magical lanterns and open doors following a very specific path. When Shadow had said the doors had let her in, she hadn’t been exaggerating. Magic or no, finding your way through this labyrinth would be no easy task. Damn it, you could hide an entire army down here! Which made me wonder: why hadn’t the wendigo done just that? Or had they? Who knew. And after so long, did it really matter? Unless there was something else down here that was even worse than the attacking Celestian army of course, but then… I felt a shiver run down my neck and huffed. I was being silly. If there had been something that dangerous in the bowels of the fortress then that meant they’d been sat there for over a thousand years, and spell matrices broke down over time, didn’t they? Then again the ones in the empire were even older, and some of them had proved to be just as lethal as the day they’d been set. The magical lanterns lighting our way still worked too. Maroc’s memories were keeping quiet on the subject as usual, except for one little piece of advice that even unspoken was coming through loud and clear: stay on the path. Well that settled it; no playing down here for Horizon without parental supervision!
The corridor gradually came to an end in what had quite clearly once been a storage area in the dim and distant past. Judging by the metal tracks, rail carts, overhead cranes and other equipment, it had also been the main one for the entire fortress. Room after room lead off the wide central corridor which, upon closer inspection, were absolutely cavernous. In fact the word ‘warehouse’ would have been far more appropriate a description for what I was looking at right then. Only the gods knew when they were last used in that capacity, and yet numerous crates, boxes, barrels, and other equipment still sat where they had been left a millennia ago. With a millennias worth of dust on them too. Somehow I doubted their contents would be salvageable, but it would be worth investing later when I didn’t have the little one to worry about. That said though she was being as good as gold, quietly sitting atop my back and watching everything with those huge blue eyes of hers. Speaking of which, something caught my eye too. It was a cart, or more specifically a chariot, dumped in the corner near where we were standing. I trotted over for a closer look. For its age it was in remarkably good condition and not unlike modern chariots in overall design. The wood was dry, but not mouldy in the slightest. Most of the paint had flaked off long ago but the iron work holding it all together was still sound and, as I discovered to my surprise, not a spot of rust. That was one of the things I’d noticed when we’d entered this area too – the lack of damp. Being down in the bowels of the mountain as we were I would have expected at least some damp or encroachment of water, but there was none. None at all. Just dust, dry air, and a feeling of time standing still as if this dark place was… waiting for something. I suppose it would have made many a pony baulk, but for me the further I’d walked the more it began to feel a home I hadn’t been back to in a while, such as when you’d been away on holiday for a long time and had just got back. Putting the heating on, opening the curtains and airing the place out would soon put things right again. I chuckled to myself. It needed a little more than that I suspected! Still, it was quite an intriguing prospect to be sure, and one full of exciting possibilities.
I continued to check the cart for any damage, and other than for a couple of broken spokes on one of the wheels, it seemed pretty intact by and large. So far so good… I gave the iron rim a tap on the damaged section, listening for any changes in the tone of the metal and clucked my tongue in disappointment at the resultant dull thud. The felloes were separating from the rest of the wheel. Sadly this wasn’t to be unexpected I suppose, especially as the chariot looked to have been involved in one hell of a hard landing at some time, and on one wheel in particular. In all likelihood that was the reason it had been left here in the first place, awaiting a repair that never came. Fortunately the interior was a different story. It was a single seater, and had been sturdily fashioned with a thick leather seat, straps, buckles, and was certainly not your normal civilian transport. Storage bins for throwing spears and ironmongery for shield and lance put paid to any suggestion of it being the kind of conveyance for popping to the shops after work one afternoon.
Bored, Horizon jumped down off my back and trotted over to her mum, leaving me to continue poking about. The chariot’s shafts were sound, and there was no sign of splitting or cracking. And even better, hanging up on a metal pole sticking out of the wall was all the leather work and harness too. The breeching straps, traces… Everything seemed to be accounted for. The collar was a bit manky though, and would need a damned good clean before I braved sticking my head through that thing. All in all though I think a day or two of work with a decent set of tools and this old girl would fly again. Hmm… definitely!
A crack of light made me flinch in surprise and I turned to see Shadow opening the wicket gate in the enormous double doors at the end of the corridor. I’d hardly noticed them in the darkness, but she’d found her way there with doubtless practised ease. Horizon was already disappearing through into the bright sunshine beyond too, and I decided to leave my new toy and follow them before I was left behind, chariot or no chariot. What was on the other side though, was like another world. The first thing that hit me was not the sunshine, nor even the freshness of the air, but the deliciously sweet smell of… apples? Good goddesses, it was! And not just from a few random apple trees either, but a whole orchard full! I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. The grass around us was as green as green could be, neatly mown and trimmed while the apple trees sat there amongst it all laden with deep red, luscious looking fruit. Several ladders leaned against some of the trunks with baskets waiting to be filled at the bottom, whilst next to the doors was another basket brim full of apples which Horizon was already tucking into. I hadn’t seen anything like this outside of Ponyville, and I sure as hell didn’t expect to see such a thing here!
“My goddesses,” I breathed. “Have you done all this yourself?”
“No,” Shadow replied shaking her head. “Wendigo.”
“Wendigo?” I looked at her in surprise. I didn’t like the sound of this at all! Perhaps I was simply misunderstanding her. “Do you mean the tribe, love?” I asked. “We’re not that far from the village, so-”
Shadow nickered and shook her head, “No. The wendigo help. They live in the forest.”
Oh gods, here we go. Every bloody time I thought I had a handle on things something came along to bugger it all up again, didn’t it. I knew there were wendigo living up north somewhere in the frozen wastes, but here in the Everfree? What in Equestria was going on here? Far from being pushed to the brink of extinction the buggers seemed to keep popping up all over the place like some bizarre game of whack-a-mole! No… No, something wasn’t right here. Not right at all.
“These wendigo,” I began. “They tend the orchard do they?”
Shadow nodded, “They bring us food: apples, pears, sometimes pigs.”
“Pigs?!” Now that was a surprise! “And they just leave these here for you, do they? They don’t ask for anything in return?”
“Books,” Shadow said simply.
“What, you give them books?!” I asked in surprise. “They actually go into the fortress library?” Now my blood really did run cold. Those ‘wendigo’ were probably ransacking the place and selling everything they could find from right under Shadow’s nose, and no doubt making a killing on the antiques market in the process. Hang on… Wasn’t that bloody wizard in there too? I could feel my hooves itching at the very thought of it. I was quite looking forward to meeting them now, and when I did I’d -
“No.”
“Huh?” My mental train of thought derailed as I tried to catch up with what Shadow was trying to tell me. “No what?” I asked. “They don’t go in the library?”
Shadow huffed, obviously become irritated with my questioning of her, “They do not come in the fortress,” she explained. “They leave notes outside the door asking for books. I leave the books, they leave the food.”
“Oh, I bloody knew it!” I barked, throwing my hooves up in irritation. “Nopony does anything without a price attached. Gods above, you can’t damned well trust anypony, can you?”
The black mare tossed her mane and walked over to pull Horizon away from the apples. The little beggar was muzzle deep in them and well into her third one already. “They give the books back,” Shadow said levelly.
I paused and looked back at her in amazement, “They bring them back? What, do you give them a membership card too?” I started to laugh at absurdity of it all. “I hope you make sure you issue fines for late returns!”
“This is… funny?” Shadow turned to face me with a confused frown on her face, “Why is this funny?”
“Oh, Love,” I said shaking my head and wiping the mirth from my eyes, “with everything else that’s happened in the last four years, the last thing I expected to find was you running a public library!”
Shadow watched me in baffled silence with those searching red eyes of hers as I sank to my haunches and stared up at the sky, a stupid grin across my face. The world just kept getting weirder and weirder by the minute, didn’t it? Mind you, the sexy librarian look would probably suit Shadow to a tee. Perhaps a pair glasses, her mane in a bun, and a nice blouse and skirt to finish the ensemble. I could set up a desk for her too, with library cards and a sign with the word ‘QUIET’ written on it in big friendly letters. Seriously though, on the face of it it all seemed fairly innocuous. These ‘wendigo’, if that was in fact what they were, looked after the orchard and fed my mate and daughter in exchange for simply borrowing the occasional book. Perhaps it was no more than my suspicious mind, but I still found it a bit odd.
“So you’re sure they don’t go into the fortress?” I asked again.
Shadow shook her head, “No. They go no further than the door.”
“Well I hope you can lock up after us, Love,” I said stretching out my legs. “I’m not sure I trust the neighbours quite as much as you do.” I looked up at her, “Come to think of it, how did you manage to get in there in the first place? Somehow I doubt the last owners of the fortress left the key under the mat.”
Shadow smiled knowingly, and from inside her cloak produced a rather large heavy iron key on a silver chain, “The wendigo gave it to me.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised, should I? In fact the way things tended to go I was more surprised that one of them hadn’t suddenly appeared behind me already with some ‘ancient sage advice’ as they always seemed compelled to do. I froze, slowly turning to- Oh, thank the gods! There was nopony there. Relief flooded over me like a cool rain, washing away my doubts and concerns. Well, there was nothing else for it then I suppose. It was a beautiful day with a fresh morning breeze and equally fresh grass...
“Daddy?” Horizon wandered over for a nose, “What are you doing?”
Shoving my back into the deep manicured grass, I huffed and grunted in sheer happiness as I rolled for all I was worth. Good grief, when was the last time I’d done this? It was bliss… sheer bliss! I snorted out a few bits of stray grass from my nostrils and gave Horizon a wink, “Rolling, Love,” I said with a grin. “And it feels great! Want to give it a try?”
She watched me for a moment, casting a wary eye towards her mother, but then like a chip off the old block she dropped onto her back and began to do what came as naturally to ponies as breathing and running. Watching her thrashing around like that, waving her tiny hooves in the air and the cute noises she made was utterly heart warming. Thankfully Shadow’s predictions about her bursting into flame, dissolving in the sunlight, or whatever silliness she’d been going on about earlier had proven to be well off the mark. He, he! I couldn’t believe it! My daughter… Another one! That meant I had three children now. Oh, goddesses, I was going to have to do something to tidy the fortress up wasn’t I? Still, I had a few ideas that could prove useful. It never hurt to have more than one iron in the fire as mum used to say. But as always all good things come to an end, and now, thoroughly covered in grass, I got to my hooves and had a damned good shake from nose to tail. Laughing and giggling beside me, Horizon was still going at it, and like the thoughtful parent I was I left her to it. Mum used to hate me rolling with a passion, and would give me a right good roasting if she even so much as saw a single grass stain on my coat. Apparently it ‘wasn’t the proper thing in polite society’ or some such bollocks. Bah! There was way too much stuffiness in Equestria for my liking, and if my daughter wanted a roll then she could bloody well have one any time she liked. Of course, Shadow might not necessarily approve, but then she… Hang on, what was Shadow doing over there? She’d been quiet for a while now. I could hear voices, faint but still distinct. Was she talking to somepony? I gave myself another shake and peered past her to… Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no!
Too late, the grey stallion had seen me, “Greetings my lord Fairlight,” he began with a bow. “My family and I have-”
“I’m sorry, the library is closed for the day,” I interrupted abruptly. “However should you care to call back tomorrow we shall of course be absolutely delighted to attend to your every bibliographical need.” I bobbed my head politely, “I bid you good day, sir.”
“But-”
“I said good day, sir!” I stomped a hoof on the ground making him back up suddenly, and wisely he kept his mouth shut. Quite a satisfying result really.
I gave myself a shake as the magic shivered through me and my wings broke through the hide on my back. Quickly, mist began to swirl around my hooves, turning the grass white with frost. Then, in one fluid motion, I reached down and scooped up Horizon in my forelegs, leaned back, and shot straight up into the air with a single heavy beat of my wings. And, oh my gods, was that ever impressive! I’d never done anything like that before, and yet I’d done it absolutely effortlessly! No more lumbering, running and jumping into the air for this stallion. Nope! A few more strokes and I was soaring up above the treetops with the fresh breeze in my mane and a song in my heart. Marvellous! Unfortunately, my dear mare friend didn’t quite share my sentiments...
“You sent him away?” Shadow’s red eyes glowered at me as she pulled alongside.
“I did,” I replied levelly.
“That was not right.”
“Nah, you’re right,” I mused. “We’re going to be shut for at least a few days.”
Shadow huffed angrily, “You were rude!”
“Was I?” I replied in mock surprise. “Well, sod them. Sod the bloody lot of ‘em. I’m sick to damned death of ponies popping up out of the flaming woodwork every five minutes expecting me to be their bitch for some randomly insane task or such like. Well not today! Nope, not going to happen.”
She shook her head at me, a look of genuine disappointment in her eyes, “They have been good to us.”
Ah, and here comes the guilt trip, eh? Well it wasn’t going to work on me this time. “I know, and I’m sorry, Love,” I said levelly, “but I’ve just come back from the dead to find my mate has been living here alone in the fortress for the last four years with the daughter I never knew I had. So as far as I’m concerned we’re way overdue some quality family together time.” I cast her a look that showed her I meant every word, “I have a lot of catching up to do. Wendigo, wizards, or whatever the hell else is out there queuing up to get me to do things I’ll probably hate, can go hang for all I care. What matters most to me is my family.”
I saw then the one thing I had wanted to see since floundering on that ice covered floor upon my arrival – her smile. It was only fleeting, she was still annoyed with me, but it was there. And it was enough.
“Daddy?”
I looked down at the cute little thing riding along beneath me, “Yes, Love?”
Blue eyes peered back, “Can I fly now?”
“Not yet, Love,” I smiled. “We’re a bit high up at the minute. Wait until we’re-”
“I can fly!”
“Yes, I know you can, and- Will you stop that wriggling!” Bloody hell it was like trying to catch highly animated soap. If I didn’t keep tight hold of her then she was likely to- “Horizon!”
With a shriek of delight, the squirming mass of legs and wings slipped from my grasp and whirred away into the blue. “Gods, damn it!” My heart leaped into my throat and I swept my wings around, altering course to grab the… the filly that was sitting on her mother’s back grinning at me with her sharp little teeth catching the sunlight. “Oh… Oh, thank Luna...”
“I said I could fly, Daddy,” Horizon beamed cheekily.
“Well thank you for telling me, Dear,” I replied snarkily. “Gods, Shadow, why didn’t you say she could fly that well? I nearly had a bloody heart attack!”
“She bumps into things,” Shadow shrugged by way of a reply. And what was with that look? Did I see a cheeky smirk on her face just then? I did! Gods almighty, save me from these bloody mares!
The three of us flew on, sailing over the deep greenery of the forest far below, following the winding river as it flowed away from the mountains. Ah, the Everfree… now here was a place. It stretched for mile after countless mile, encompassing mountain ranges, swamps, rivers, lakes, towns, and places that had been lost to the dark greenery of nature from long before ponies walked the land. To say it was one continuous forest was something of a misnomer however; it was bisected by innumerable rivers, roads, and many other natural features throughout its length. But to the ponies of Equestria it would forever be the magical and foreboding forest of myth and legend – The Everfree Forest. Few willingly lived within its foreboding depths, and those that did were the kind who wanted little to do with the outside world. The rest of the inhabitants were creatures who most would want to avoid. It would be true to say that the Everfree’s reputation was one of the reasons the small village of Smiling Borders had been left alone for most of its existence too. And most likely why Celestia had willingly returned the lands of the wendigo which encompassed the forest between the mountains and Smiling Borders. It was, what some would say, a poisoned chalice. But strangely enough it felt welcoming to me, as though I were a part of the strangeness of this land. Perhaps I was. Maybe the Everfree was the place for misfits, the strange, and the unwelcome in mainstream society. Either way it was our homeland, and I was determined it would stay that way.
Unfortunately I’d forgotten how far the village was from the fortress, even without flying over the mountains. Thank the goddesses we’d had the foresight to set off early, but with a couple of stops along the way for a rest and a bite to eat, we were beginning to lose the light. The last thing I wanted was to be caught out here in the forest with a young filly, wendigo powers or no. By my reckoning though we were no more than an hour or so off if that, and… I sniffed. Was that woodsmoke? Shadow looking back at me confirmed my thoughts – it was. There was a thin layer of it here, high above the forest. I could see it spreading out like a fine layer of fog. It was quite enchanting really, and smelled of home, log fires, brandy, and good food. Images of roasting boar on the spit, hot and dripping with juice, hovered in my mind like the smoke. Pheasant, goose, chicken… Heather’s pies were legendary, and I could almost smell them now. In fact, I was sure I could. I stared ahead of us, peering down past the forest, to the hills, to the steam rising from the hot springs, to the lights just starting to become noticeable in the encroaching darkness. My heart leaped into my throat as tears of joy stung my eyes. It was Smiling Borders. It was the home of my tribe, and of my mortal family. Shivering with anticipation I pushed magic into my wings, feeling the howl of the wind as it whooshed by in a plume of white fog. Down I went, faster and faster, a comet of blue and white, streaking down towards the one place in this world where I had known the most peace, and the warmest of hearths. Smiling Borders. Dear gods, I was back.
The Wyvern’s Tail, the largest building and focal point of the village, stood out like the summer sun in the darkness, each window radiating a warm yellow light from the lanterns and burning log fires inside. Laughter and song rolled out into the gathering night, muffled by the walls, yet to me it was like the purest song of all the angels in heaven combined. Nothing seemed to have changed, except the newness of the building. The last one on this site had been blasted into fragments, and me along with it. Tingles had told me the villagers had rebuilt it, and it was a near perfect replica of the old one, save for the new sign and freshness of the overall appearance of course. There were no hulking minotaur guards outside now, no armed warriors wandering around or the scars of battle. It felt quiet, peaceful, and most of all… welcoming. The air was perfectly still and fresh with a hint of the wild perfume of nature wafting in from the Everfree. Things had certainly changed though. Magic lanterns lined the road through the centre of the village, providing a fairly decent level of illumination not unlike many of the more everyday villages I’d visited around the country. There were fences too, and small gardens of vegetables, fragrant flowers, and even what appeared to be a bandstand of some description on the green opposite the tavern. Interesting. I wasn’t aware of there being many musicians here in the village, but a lot can happen in four years I suppose. Curious, I trotted over for a closer look. There was a plaque in front of the bandstand made of bronze and featuring a carving of a pony. It was hard to make out, but a trickle of magic brightened things up nicely.
“It is you,” Shadow said walking over to me with Horizon nodding off on her back. “It is how they remember.”
It was a wendigo alright. I’m not sure they had my legs just right, but it was a pretty good effort. I’d give them a ‘B’ plus. The words underneath were a nice touch too, and I read them aloud:
“Fortune favours the bold.”
Hah! I even had my own catchphrase. Strewth, did I really say it so much that ponies actually remembered me for it? Maybe I should have come up with something a bit more profound, or perhaps catchy. What was that one about seagulls following boats because they like pilchards? No, now that was bit silly really. Oh! How about, ‘By steel will thy flesh divide’? I’d seen that in a movie once, and I’d always thought it was seriously cool. I wonder if I spoke to the artist they could redo the plaque to put that on instead?
Chuckling, I let go of the magic before taking a surprised Shadow in my forelegs and kissing her. “We’re here, Love,” I smiled. “Should we go and say hi?”
And then, to my surprise, she hesitated, “They may not be pleased to see me again.”
“Eh?” I glanced at Shadow and waved it off, “Don’t be silly, we’re all part of the same team here. Good grief it’s only been four years, it’s not like it’s been a lifetime, right? So come girl, gird those loins right up tight and let’s go. Beer and frivolity await!”
Even the door was new, and swung open with barely a whisper. Which was more than can be said for the wall of sound that swamped us as we entered. Lively music was playing across a packed lounge area with all eyes fixed on the small stage. Now that was new! I don’t remember ever having a stage, but by the gods what a good idea! The mare singing there flounced her skirts as she worked the audience, and know her trade she did too. Every eye, every lolling tongue and lascivious stare followed her every movement, every bat of her long lashes, each swish of that bottle-green tail. One of her wings barely brushed past one of minotaurs and nearly floored the hulking beast. Now that, was a performance! I sat down on one of the chairs and adjusted my cloak, letting the magic of the wendigo settle back for the evening. Well, so much for my ‘dramatic entrance scene’ then, but I’d settle for a beer and a good song. Some good food too would hit the spot too. As I waited for the waitress I listened to the mare on stage. It was hard to make out the words with all the ruckus and stomping hooves, but it was a lively tune, and I quickly found myself tapping along on the table until an old familiar started up that really got the crowd going...
The night being dark and very cold, a mare took pity on a poor old soul,
she took pity on a poor old soul and asked him to come in.
With a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi,
too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, and a hi for the stalli-an!
She hung his cloak upon a hook, and sat him by a chimney nook,
she sat him by a chimney nook and merrily he did sing.
With a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi,
too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, and a hi for the stalli-an!
In the middle of the night the old mare rose, she missed the stallion and all his clothes,
she clapped and clapped and clapped again, says, "He’s with me daughter gone."
With a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi,
too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, and a hi for the stalli-an!
Seven long years were passed and gone, when this old nag came back again,
asking for a charity: "Would you give to a stalli-an?"
With a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi,
too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, and a hi for the stalli-an!
"I never lodged any but the one, and with that one me daughter's gone,
with that one me daughter's gone, so merrily you may gan!"
With a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi,
Too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, and a hi for the stalli-an!
"Would you like to see your daughter now, with two young foals upon her back,
with two young foals upon her back and another one coming on?"
With a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi,
too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, and a hi for the stalli-an!
"For yonder she sits and yonder she stands, the finest mare in all the land,
servants there at her command since she went with the stalli-an"
With a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, a too-roo roo-roo rantin hi,
too-roo roo-roo rantin hi, and a hi for the stalli-an!
“Hello.”
“Huh?” I looked at Shadow, but she was busy wiping something from Horizon’s muzzle. She was putting up quite a spirited defence too. I shrugged; I must be hearing thing.
“You’re new. I haven’t seen you before.”
The voice was coming from… a foal? Well, a young colt really. I looked down at him and found myself staring into the eyes of a creature I hadn’t seen since… since I…
“I’m so sorry!” The mare from the stage reached down to whisk the boy away, “He’s very inquisitive. Gets it from his father I’m afraid. Come along now, don’t pester the-”
I put my hoof out, stopping her, “It’s alright, Miss, the boy can stay if he likes. He probably hasn’t seen a thestral before.”
“A thest- Oh my gods, Shadow!” The mare reared, clamping her hooves over her mouth as she suddenly noticed the black coated mare sitting in the chair opposite me. And then, as expected, the tears burst forth, “SHADOW! Oh, Shadow, I don’t believe it, it’s really you! Dear sweet Celestia, where’ve you been? We searched high and low for you but we couldn’t get near the fortress. I… I thought we’d lost you to that awful place! What in Equestria have you…” She clapped eyes on the burping furry thing who had fluttered onto Shadow’s lap. “Who’s this foal? Did you…? How…?” She suddenly looked like she was about to faint and I put a foreleg up to catch her. And then, as I half expected, her eyes slid down to me. What I didn’t expect was the scream that followed.
“Well, that opens the ball.” I smiled as silence fell in the tavern, broken only by the hiss of weapons being drawn. Carefully I lowered the mare into the chair and the care of Shadow. Moments later a familiar scarred face appeared from amidst the sea of fury massing to sweep my old bones away.
“Who are you?” the griffin growled. “Speak quickly stranger, or the crows will be picking your bones clean before the sun rises on the morrow.”
“You still have a way with words, old friend,” I chuckled.
“Who-?” The griffin took a step back, his eyes going wide with shock. “You can’t be!”
“Ah, but I can. And I am...” I threw back my cloak and grinned, “’Ello poppet.”
The storm broke around me with howls, shouts, and cries of ‘who?’ and ‘where?’ coming from the back while the warriors at the front hauled me from my seat and I was met with far more tears, hugs, and pats on the shoulder than was healthy for any fellow. Bloody hell, under this assault I’d be black and blue in the morning! If I made it that far. The family had already vanished off somewhere, lost in the mass of hulking minotaurs, ponies, griffins, and all the other assorted tribal members. Funnily enough I’d never really thought about being the only wendigo there. Despite the fact that the buggers kept materialising around me lately. Maybe I just bring out the worst in ponies, I thought wickedly. Now however my overly dramatic re-appearance had backfired horribly, as I suddenly found myself being carried across the shoulders and heads of my delighted brothers and sisters to be deposited, hooves first thank Luna, onto the stage. This had not featured in my plans for the evening at all! And so, there I was, like some bloody hopeless stand up comedian with a hopeful audience and no damned clue how to make them laugh. Purple, yellow, blue and red lights lit my ugly mug for all to see, and even worse there was a bloody microphone there too. I suppose I should have been grateful they’d not installed a glitter ball.
I tapped the microphone, “Um… Can everyone here me okay?” There was a lot of muttering, nodding, and movement from the back as those who couldn’t quite see jostled for a better spot. I cleared my throat, “Warriors of the Four Winds...” I closed my eyes and smiled, “I didn’t expect to be speaking to you all today, and I’m damned sure you didn’t expect to be listening to me either.” A rumble of chuckling filled the room at that one. “Now I know all of you must have a thirst just as powerful as mine, am I right?” The roar of agreement said it all. I held up a hoof, calming them down, “So, bearing in mind that I have one hell of a lot of catching up to do with all of you, I’m going to keep this short so we can all get back to sinking our pints.” I took a breath… “The drinks are on me.”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard cheering so loud it made your ears pop, but by the gods this did. And speaking of gods, I gave thanks to them that the band kicked off again and I was helped from the stage by the resident bouncer: Heather. She grunted something to me and ushered me back to my seat before vanishing back into the crowd. Ah, she always did have a way with words that one! As I plonked my backside back in the chair, the resident singer, currently hugging Shadow, turned her tear stained gaze to the cause of her emotional turmoil: me.
“You… You bastard!”
“Well, that nice!” I huffed. “No ‘hello, Love, welcome back’?”
Tingles closed her eyes and grimaced, “Have you any idea how many nights I cried myself to sleep over you? Have you any idea how many times I sat in that damned grove and heard nothing? Nothing, Fairlight! And then four years later you magically reappear, alive and well, swanning in for a pint and a pie like you’ve just nipped into your local bloody boozer as if nothing’s happened!”
“Being dead’ll do that to you,” I said with a smile.
Tingles leaned across the table and stared me down, “Don’t you dare be flippant with me, you rat! You left me with a foal while you…. you were...”
“Dead?” I suggested. “I know we keep coming back to that, love, but I think it’s a pretty pertinent point.”
“And there you go again!” she roared. “How do you keep doing this? Why do I let you?! Gods, you’re infuriating!”
I leaned back in my chair and tried a kindly smile. Unfortunately I couldn’t help it turning it into a rather cheeky grin, “I don’t mean to be, but-”
“Yes you bloody well do!” Tingles snapped. “I thought you were… That is, I know you were, but Shadow took your body off and we heard nothing for years. I thought we’d lost you forever!” She sniffed loudly and took the flagon of beer from Heather, downed it, and then took another. The one that was probably mine, but never mind… “Why the hell didn’t you come to the grove?” Tingles snorted. “Not once, Fairlight, not bloody once after that first night! What, Meadow was all the mare you needed was she? You didn’t want me any more? Thrown aside and discarded, like… like some old worn out-”
“Will you belt up!” I smiled and grabbed her, pulling her into a beery kiss. “I don’t know why the groves didn’t work, Tingles. I went there virtually every night, sitting there for hours like a spare part. I was beginning to think that you’d given up on me, and the gods know I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had. Even so, I never stopped trying. And I never forgot.” I gave her a wink, “I don’t fully understand the magic behind it but I wasn’t fully ‘dead’ for want of a better word, and what was months to me turned out to be four years for you. Four years I know I can never replace. I just hope I can make it up to you. To you, Shadow, Horizon, Lumin, and all our friends.”
“Horizon?” Tingles frowned. “Who’s that?”
“She’s over there playing with Lumin,” I replied with a smile. “He doesn’t recognise me, does he?”
“He hasn’t seen you since he was a foal, Fairlight.” Tingles rubbed her eyes again and huffed out a very soggy laugh, “I can’t believe this is happening. I’m going to wake up and it’ll all be another dream, won’t it?”
Shadow put a hoof on her shoulder and shook her head, “No. We will be here in the morning. And every morning.” Tingles leaned her muzzle into Shadow’s chest and closed her eyes in a way that put a smile on my face like no other. Goddesses, it was good to be back.
Just one thing was missing. “Where’s Tarragon?” I asked, looking around the packed room. I didn’t expect her to be about during such a press of happy patrons, but I’d thought she would have been about somewhere.
“She’ll be out hunting,” Tingles said happily. “She comes and goes. Sometimes she’s away for days, or even a week, but she’ll be back, don’t worry.”
“Oh...” I felt a little deflated by that. I was very fond of the little thing and to not be able to greet her there was a little sad really, like a missing piece from a chess set. Fortunately my good mood wasn’t going to be soured that easily, especially as more well wishers pressed in from all sides. “Looks like we’d better get a bigger table,” I laughed, turning to the faces gathering around us, “I suppose I’ll need to bring you all up to speed on what’s been happening in my world won’t I? And then you can tell me what I’ve missed here these last four years. But before we get into that, I have to know one thing: who nicked my bloody beer?!”
********************
Story telling wasn’t exactly my strong spot, but I knew when to be, shall we say, ‘economical’ with the truth? Mum used to say ‘what you don’t know can’t hurt you’, and she was right. Up to a certain point of course. Unfortunately lies did have an uncanny way of coming back to bite you on the arse at unexpected times, so I gave them the full story, just minus a few of the more ‘personal’ details. Whether they picked up on it or not didn’t matter, the tribe was still the tribe. And me? I was still the Lord of the Four Winds for all that it mattered in the great scheme of things. In Equestrian terms I was little more than a local leader with a private army of a few hundred mean looking soldiers. Nothing that out of the ordinary really; many of the lords and ladies of the larger houses had private ‘retainers’ as they preferred to call them, although these days they were little more than uniformed security guards. The main difference was that those guys were swimming in money, mansions, and tricked out golden chariots that cost more than I would have earned in a lifetime of working for the watch. What I had here was a village with a smattering of cottages, a local pub-come town hall, a rowdy bunch of scarred war veterans, and the best company a pony could want. Mansions? Bollocks to ‘em! I was happy here with my mares, my little ones, friends, good food, good drink, and best of all? A hot relaxing soak in the hot springs. Which funnily enough is where I’d ended up after extricating myself from Grimble’s hugs and applications of far too much brandy. Although I think Heather kissing me may have had something to do with it…
“What can I say?” I smiled, slipping into the hot water. “I just can’t help being delicious.”
Tingles rolled her eyes and carried on scrubbing the children while Shadow readied yet more soap. “You just can’t help being the centre of attention, you mean,” the tangerine pegasus chuckled, shaking her head. “Four years, and you swan in with Shadow and a bat-pony filly expecting everything to be just like the day you left.”
I shrugged, “Honestly? I didn’t know what to expect.” Warmth seeped through me, relaxing my body far more than was probably legal. “I half thought you may have… you know… moved on.”
“Moved on?” She paused and looked over at me in surprise, “What…? Oh! You mean found another stallion?” Tingles huffed, “Even if I’d wanted to, having another stallion’s foal doesn’t do much for a single mare’s chances for finding a mate. And there’s a lot of females out there to choose from who don’t come with…” She paused and looked down at the soggy mass of grey unicorn she was sponging, “Cute fuzzy colts!” Lumin yelped as his mother grabbed him in a soapy embrace. “Ooh! He’s so cute!”
My son didn’t seem to quite agree on that point as he struggled to escape, “Mum! Agh! Gerroff me!”
“Ah, a ladies stallion even at that age.” I rolled over and leaned on the rocks, letting my hind quarters soak in the heat, “I’ve missed you. Both of you.”
“I know,” Tingles smiled gently, “But I always knew you’d be back one day. You and Shadow.”
“Oh?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tingles shrugged, “I may not have magic, but when I saw that frost building up around you and the ice forming, I kinda knew inside that this wasn’t the end. Even when we spoke in the grove, it was still there, niggling at the back of my mind somehow. But then when you stopped coming to the grove and the days passed, I thought that maybe you had come back, but that you’d decided to stay with Shadow. I tried not to think about it too much, but even when I let my heart sink into darkness, there was always that tiny spark of hope that remained.” Her green eyes sparkled in the fresh evening air, “And here you are.”
“Here we all are.” I leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek, “Home.”
Tingles and Shadow sluiced off the sputtering youngsters and set about the laborious task of drying them. Out here a lot of work had been done to build proper changing rooms for bathers, including a much needed washing area, storage for all the essentials a four, or even a two legged bather needed. Unfortunately there were no magically operated hair driers up here, but that could be remedied later. The palace had indeed done everything they promised too. Grimble had shown us the deeds of entitlement to the old tribal lands between here and the mountains, including several hundred miles of forest, river, and even some farmland which had really bowled me over. Maroc’s memories were unclear on that point as the wendigo were predominantly a race whose existence was based around conflict. They were, I suppose, more like mercenaries, fighting wherever they were contracted to go. The war against the Celestian forces was probably the first one you could think of as driven by idealism. And look where that had got them. Maybe in some odd way, giving us the farmland was the princess’s way of inviting us to join a more peaceful Equestria. Who knows? But what excited me in particular was the prospect of starting up our own economy here. There were real opportunities here to start up business enterprises, such as a logging company, farms, and more. We could even try revitalising the village as a popular holiday destination, inviting tourists to the hot springs, utilising the land for more specialist crops, and really begin to trade properly with the neighbouring villages. And then there was my own pet project too: brewing. The soil here was amazing, and absolutely fantastic for growing hops. Add to that mix the pure mountain water, willing workers, a knowledgeable brewer in the form of Grimble, and the Smiling Borders Brewery Company would be taking Equestria by storm!
“I love her ears.”
“Hmm?” I looked up at Tingles who’d managed to accost Horizon for a cuddle, “Yeah, they’re gorgeous aren’t they?”
“She’s so cute I can’t stand it!” Tingles nuzzled Horizon who began giggling under the onslaught. “Look at your little wings!” she exclaimed, “Can you fly yet?”
“Uh-huh!” Horizon somehow managed to free herself from the happy pegasus’ grip and shook out her wings, “Look!”
Now if there is one thing you shouldn’t do when you have wings, it’s try to fly when they’re wet. It’s unlikely you’ll do yourself any harm of course, but water gets into all sort of nooks and crannies, and standing too close results in-
“Pfff! Horizon, stop it! Stop!”
Nothing quite like an unexpected rain shower when you’re trying to have a relaxing bath is there?
I settled back and felt the world slowly melting away in the soothing waters of the natural hot spring. It was just like the one in the Darklands, only this time I wasn’t half drugged or covered in blood. Gods, did that really happen? Was everything just a dream? No… No of course not. Star Swirl had burst that bubble well and truly, the old swine. And now he was wandering about in my bloody home like the cock of the walk. Maroc got on with the guy, and I’ll take my hat off to him for that after what the traitorous rat had done to our people, but would he approve of him plodding his dirty great hooves through his library? Hmm… I’m not so sure. And there were some other things that stank here too, like the groves. Why had they stopped working? Was it Vela’s doing? I didn’t know, but I’d like to know. Oh, yes, I’d like to know that very much indeed.
“Thank goodness for that,” Tingles huffed, slipping into the water beside me. “What a hoofful.”
“Young ones gone to bed?” I asked.
“It doesn’t do them any good to get overexcited like that,” Tingles sighed, “but a good bath, some food and a warm bed will do them both wonders. Heather’s taking them back now.”
“I never even saw her!” I said in surprise. “How can something so big move so quietly?”
“She caught you alright, didn’t she,” Tingles said sarcastically, “and you didn’t seem to put up much of a fight either.”
“She ambushed me!” I retaliated. “Anyway, I was covered in more kisses, hugs, drool and arse grabbing than anypony should ever have to put up with. Luna’s grace, I’m going to be black and blue for a month.”
Tingles stifled a laugh, “Ah, yes, the lord of the four winds always was a hit with the mares.”
“Huh! I think there were more than mares grabbing me in there tonight,” I muttered. “That griffin with the eyeshadow looked a bit… you know.”
“Oh!” Tingles sniggered in her hoof, “You must mean Ellicourt. She’s a… um… well, ‘she’s’ a guy. But it’s, um… complicated.”
“Say no more!” I huffed. “He or she can be whatever they want to be. I just don’t want any more arse grabbing, thank you very much. Feathers and fetlocks, Tingles, those claws are damned sharp! I’m sure my buttocks are like a bloody colander after that.”
Tingles gave me a nudge, “Well we’d better check just in case, hadn’t we? Come on, roll over.”
Beside us Shadow got in and let out a long sigh, smoke rising from her muzzle as she watched us. “Hurt?” she asked.
“Griffins have been grabbing his lordship’s noble bottom, apparently.” Tingles moved over to let Shadow add her own investigative powers to the mix, “I can’t see any… oh, hang on. There’s a few nicks here and there. Best get them looked at.”
Oh, no… Why now of all times? Good grief, couldn’t a guy have five minutes peace? “Can it wait until morning?” I groaned, “I’ve been flying for hours, and… Oh!” I shivered involuntarily as something warm, soft, and deliciously gentle began to nibble in places that didn’t normally get nibbled. I closed my eyes and said nothing. It also transpired that I had ‘injuries’ on the other side too, judging by the ministrations my posterior was undergoing. Oh, gods…! The nibbling continued, intensifying just enough to have the right effect on parts of me that were still submerged. Quickly I shoved my foreleg in my mouth to keep from moaning out loud just in case the little ones were still within earshot.
“Shadow?” Tingles whispered, “Are you tired?”
“Not now,” Shadow replied calmly. “He has a lot of catching up to do.”
I cast a quick glance over my shoulder and caught her wicked smile. Well, that’ll teach me! Me and my big mouth... And so with little other choice in the matter I closed my eyes and gave in. These two had me completely and utterly at their mercy, and by the looks of it, that would be in very short supply tonight.
*******************
It had been a mild night, and thankfully we hadn’t woken anypony up when we’d got back. Our rooms were now an entire suite apparently, with several guest rooms along the corridor. One had been commandeered for Horizon, while Lumin had his own. Naturally, Shadow, Tingles and I had our own bedroom with a super sized bed just right for three tired equines; and a four poster no less. Mind you, I could never see the point of having curtains around a bed when you had curtains on the windows. Waste of time if you ask me, but the girls liked it. Speaking of which, Shadow was still fast asleep, worn out from the previous days activities, but the orange pegasus was actively cuddling up to me with her muzzle pressed into my mane and her foreleg draped over my neck. It looked like we were in for nice day too. Sunlight spilled into the room through the gap in the curtains, illuminating dust motes floating lazily through the bright fresh morning air that was sneaking its way in under the open sash. I’d always loved our rooms at the tavern. The dark wood, the smell of age, and even the general feel of the place never failed to make me feel welcome and safe. Perhaps the last part wasn’t quite as factually accurate as I would have liked, but I think the point was still valid all the same. And speaking of which, safety was an issue that needed to be addressed. And addressed, it would be.
Right on cue there was a knock at the door. “Excuse me, my lord. The courier is awaiting your message.”
“I’ll be right down,” I called.
Tingles mumbled something and hung onto me tightly.
“Love, I need to go,” I assured her gently. “I’ll only be a few minutes, okay?”
“Mmm. I don’t want you to...”
“I know, but I’ll be back soon. I’ll bring tea and crumpets.”
“Muffins...” Tingles muttered, “Mmm… Muffins and jam. Strawberry jam.”
“On the way, ma’am,” I smiled.
Carefully, gently, I slid out past Shadow, sneaking a kiss to the two of them before taking down my cloak and belt from the door hook. I met the warrior outside the door. “Grimble?” I asked.
“Downstairs, my lord,” the warrior replied.
“Good.” I trotted down the stairs and picked up a flagon of water from Heather who was waiting at the bottom with her father. “Grimble, you know this messenger?” I asked, taking a sip.
The old fellow looked exactly the same as I remembered him, scars and all. An old leather baldric and sword sat strapped to his side, the wear of the grip telling the observant that this was no mere ornament. “I do, my lord,” the griffin answered with a bob of his head. “He is my nephew, Able. There are none faster nor stronger over distance.”
“Not a pegasus then?” I asked, turning to the door.
Grimble shook his head, his strange gruff accent oddly comforting to hear. “Endurance, my lord. Pegasi are faster over shorter distances, but few can outdistance a griffin when it comes to long flights.” He smiled wryly, knowing damned well I remembered how he had flown all the way to the hospital in Manehattan from the village that time.
Outside, the young messenger griffin stood tall and straight, a look of steely determination in his eyes. I hoofed him the message. It was probably best not to have any magical trace left on it, just in case. “This must get to the mare on the address,” I instructed. “No deviation, no dallying, and no fighting unless you are threatened, understand?”
The griffin bowed, “Aye, my lord.”
“Good lad.” I patted him on the shoulder, “Nopony knows about this other than you, me, and your uncle, correct?”
“I spoke to no-one, my lord.”
“Excellent.” I took a step back to give him room, “Then may the goddess speed you to your destination, Able. And bring you back safely with the reply.”
No more words were needed. Able leaped into the air and in seconds was a speck vanishing up and away into the blue sky. That was one job done, but there was one more task that needed to be addressed before I could settle down for breakfast. “Grimble, you have done as I asked?”
“Yes, my lord,” the old fellow replied. He pulled out a scroll and laid it across the table, “As you requested last night, we have conducted a full sweep of the village with the devices the army left us.” He tapped a sketch of one of the cottages in the village, “We found minute traces here, at this one.”
“And the occupant?”
“Zander Pinfeather,” Grimble confirmed. “He’s a descendant of a long line of warriors, but fell into poor favour with the tribe some years ago following his visits to the outlying villages.”
“Do we have any more information on what he was up to in these villages?” I asked.
Grimble nodded, “I believe he has a fondness for drink, females, and cards, my lord. One report concerned dallying with the mayor’s daughter in Thimbleton, while a more concerning one was brought to our attention regarding his involvement with a gambling circle in Chase Falls.”
“You have the area secured?” I asked.
The old griffin smiled, showing his scars white against his feathers, “Ready when you are, Lord Fairlight.”
He passed me a sword and baldric which I took with a nod, “Let’s go then.”
Our escort met us on the way: two minotaurs and two earth ponies. Every one of them bore a patchwork of scars, and all of them looked like the types you’d think twice about inviting back to your mother’s for dinner. I have to admit, I did feel a little out of place heading them up the neatly cobbled road. There I was, all neat and clean, and not much in the way of scars other than… Ah, yes. They were back, weren’t they? No herd magic to make me all sparkly smooth and appear as I had in my early twenties now. Nope, I back to being the same old gruff miserable looking sod with the weird blue eyes and a cutie mark that made about as much sense as a chocolate bloody teapot. The only saving grace was that I had my magic to hoof once more, and if things went wrong this morning I would be only too happy to wheel it out for another test drive. And here was the worrying part: I really, really wanted to.
I think our boy was a bit surprised by our arrival. Instead of allowing the two legged bulldozers to open the door, I opted for the time honoured method of kicking it in myself. In response, Mister Pinfeather Esquire shot out of his chair like a cork from a bottle, his eyes all but popping out of his slippers as the door crashed off its hinges.
“Wakey, wakey.”
“Wh- What the hell is going on?!” The griffin blurted, “Get out of my house!”
“Grimble, keep him quiet will you,” I said lifting up the detector. “If he says another word you have me permission to gag him.”
That shut him up. The detector hummed into life in my magic, the dial fluctuating this way and that. It was a handy device the army had left behind for us following their brief stay after the incident with the changelings. New armour, new weapons, and some nice toys from the agency had also been thoughtfully deposited. According to Grimble, the PDW’s and ballistic weapons had been locked away due to the superstitious nature of the tribe’s warriors. Personally I suspected it was more to do with a preference for being able to get up close and personal during a scrap. Old habits died hard in Smiling Borders. The detector itself was a nice toy though. In fact it was exactly the same as the type the CBI had used, and, it goes without saying, a damned sight better than the rubbish we’d had in the watch. Goddesses above, it was a wonder we ever managed to get anything done at all! The constant refrain of ‘Budgetary constraints’ meant we were one step above using sticks and testing papers, and even the uniforms looked like something they’d dug up over a hundred years earlier. Ha! Maybe I was running with the wrong crew if I was concerned about being ‘out of date’. The tribe hadn’t changed their way of living since the final days of the wendigo and the fall of the fortress. Axes, swords, crossbows and armour, were still very much the order of the day for these boys. Lots of armour in fact.
“Hello...” The detector had suddenly started bleeping like crazy, the dial flying up into the red. I panned it around the room to make sure. Plenty of background traces, sure, but there was one spot, right here under the rug, that was driving the detector nuts. I kicked it away, “What’s under the floor boards I wonder.”
“Nothing!” Zander shrieked desperately. “You have no right to- Mmmphh!”
“Thanks, Grimble.” I waved over to the minotaurs, “Give me a hoof here boys.”
The two hulking warriors walked over and helped me clear some of the furniture aside. It didn’t look out of place particularly, but the detector was now a loud constant tone. There was no doubt there was something here alright. Time for a little light on the subject I think… My magic glowed and the familiar small flame appeared. Suddenly our boy Zander became frantic, kicking and clawing at Grimble who had to subdue him with the help of one of the minotaurs. I closed my eyes and let the flame disappear. Yeah… It was all pretty obvious now, wasn’t it? I took a deep breath, calmed my heart, and let the magic flow through me. White mist spilled out across the floor, and there, barely noticeable, was the outline of a hatchway where it seeped through into the space below. I could feel it now, the sleeping magic below, the dormant stockpile of murder just waiting for its master to awaken it. And there, the concealed handle cleverly hidden beneath the one unfixed board. I let the magic wink out and nodded to one of the minotaurs; claws were best for this work. I stood back while they pulled at the hatch. If the creaking was anything to go by it hadn’t been used in quite a while. Roughly four years I’d say at a guess. Four years… I stared into the dark space under the floor, and at the harbinger of my death. It was a box. A small box, but the kind I had seen many, many times before. I reached down and took it out before carefully opening the lid. There were usually three in one of these smaller boxes, and sure enough, one was missing.
Grimble looked at me with an unreadable expression. “M.A.D’s?” he asked.
“Magical Annihilation Devices,” I intoned, turning the open box to Zander. “Care to explain?” I nodded to Grimble who pulled out the gag.
Zander sputtered and coughed, spitting out the taste of the makeshift gag. “I’m saying nothing!”
“You don’t have to,” I said calmly. I pulled over one of the chairs and sat back on it, looking at the MAD’s, and then to our less than happy captive. “Let me tell you, a little story, Zander. It’s a good one I think, and one that you may already know, so feel free to pipe up if I get any part of it wrong won’t you?” I stared down into the box as a I spoke, remembering the last time I’d had to use one of these damned things. I’d prayed I’d never to have to see one again, and the army had promised to have the last of them destroyed. It was inevitable one would sneak away somehow. It always was. “There was this griffin,” I began. “He wasn’t a wealthy fellow, nothing about him made him stand out amongst his brothers and sisters particularly, but he was as much a part of the tribe as every other. But the life he had in the village wasn’t for him. He liked to gamble, he liked girls, and he liked a drink. So he visited other villages to see how they lived, and he liked what he saw. He could gamble there, he could drink too, and there were girls aplenty. But everything comes with a price, and our griffin had started to run up debts with the other gamblers. He didn’t want to lose his new lifestyle, but what was he going to do for money? There wasn’t much in the village he could take that would be valuable, nor did he want to risk being caught stealing from his brothers and sisters, but then… then comes along this new fellow. He calls himself the ‘Lord of the Four Winds’. Our griffin friend hasn’t seen him before, but before he knows it the tribe are following the new guy and there’s fighting, and death, and all the things our griffin hates. But then something happens. Somepony approaches him and offers him money, money to get rid of the new guy. One quick bop on the head, and a big bag of bits comes along and your problem rides away in the back of a cart under a pile of straw.” I stretched my back and sighed, “Everything’s fine for a while isn’t it? The village returns to normal, the gambling continues - the whoring, the boozing, but then one day it all comes to an end, doesn’t it? The new guy returns, and with him all the changes our griffin friend hates. And then lightning strikes for second time, and he just can’t believe his luck. Somepony gives him a box of MAD’s that just happened to have been overlooked by the tribe and the army quartermasters. It comes with a promise too: bits for the life of the new guy, this so called ‘Lord’.” I smiled bitterly, “And it was so easy, wasn’t it? Oh, a little tricky to work out the timing on the device of course, and there had to be time to get away so he couldn’t be associated with the explosion, but he’d manage. He nearly panicked when the MAD detonated and the lord wasn’t back in the tavern, but luck was on his side once again. A piece of wood from the explosion had fatally struck the lord and ended our griffin’s problems once and for all. It was a shame the new guys mares and child hadn’t been removed too, but that was something that could always be addressed in the future. When the next bag of bits arrived.” I took a deep breath, “Well? Anything to say?”
Zander stared at the floor, his face a grey mask of defeat. “Why?” Grimble breathed, “Why would you do such a thing, Zander? You come from an illustrious line of warriors that have fought for our tribe for a thousand years, and now that our lord has returned you become an assassin?”
“I should have left,” Zander said quietly. He hung his head, utterly defeated. “I should have taken the money and got away, but I knew you’d find me sooner or later.” His large eyes glowered up at me, “The bond we all share. It would have allowed you to come back and track me down. And I knew, as we all knew, that you were still alive.”
“And where better to hide a tree than in a forest,” I reasoned. “What you didn’t know was that I recognised your voice, Zander.” The griffin stared at me as I continued, “I heard you when I was in the wagon. I saw the look on the face of one of the merrymakers in the tavern last night. And I suspect that you didn’t realise that MAD’s give off a strong magical field that only a unicorn would detect standing near to them, or...” I tapped the device on the table, “be picked up with a detector.”
“We should have dealt with this before,” Grimble rumbled bitterly. “It is… shameful. Shameful because we failed you, my lord, and also because we allowed a traitor to live amongst us all these years as a brother.”
I waved it off, “The army or the CBI didn’t look into it?”
Grimble shook his head, “Some did, but… I don’t know why, my lord, but...”
“I understand,” I said with grin. “A loose end had been tidied up, so why waste good resources? The country was reeling from an invasion, and the last of the wendigo was gone. All very neat and tidy.” I turned back to Zander, “So, all that remains now is to ask who paid you to do it?”
Zander said nothing.
I sighed, “Take him outside and hang him.”
“WHAT?!” Zander’s eyes shot open, “You can’t!”
“Wait.” I held up a hoof, “He’s right. Do it away from the tavern, I don’t want my family upset seeing him dancing the jig.”
“We’ll take him into the forest, my lord,” Grimble said grabbing the stricken griffin. “The beasts in there will finish off the carcase.”
“This is murder!” Zander shrieked, “You bastards! You bucking bas-” A heavy blow in his stomach dropped him to the ground. Grimble grabbed his chin and lifted his head.
“Tell me who paid you,” I asked quietly. “Tell me and I may let you live. Don’t tell me, and I’ll let the tribe deal with you.” My eyes narrowed dangerously, “And I can assure you they deal with murderers a lot less leniently than I.”
“I...” Zander closed his eyes and began to weep, “It was… I don’t really know. A… A stallion from the city I think. He had a Canterlot accent. Real posh like. He… He met at the gambling den in Chase Falls, offered me a load of cash if I could deliver you to them.” He swallowed, “But you came back, and… and they found me again. Said I… I belonged to them now, and if I didn’t do what they wanted they’d kill me! I didn’t have a choice!”
“And they gave you the MAD’s?” I asked.
He nodded, “And a bag of bits too. They said that they’d ‘be in touch’ and that it didn’t matter if I ran... they’d find me anyway.”
“Was there anything else about this stallion you can remember?” I pressed. “Anything at all other than a Canterlot accent?”
“No...” Zander screwed up his face in thought, “He was wearing a cloak all the time I met him. But he was about middle aged I’d say. Orange coat with one white leg.”
“Which leg?” I asked, “Tell me!”
“The… The front left one!” Zander sputtered, “And he had these weird eyes, like bronze with tiny flecks of gold in them. I only saw them once when the wind caught his cowel, but I remember them.”
“Sound like anyone you know?” Grimble asked.
I held up a hoof in answer. “Zander, I believe you.”
“You do?” he said in surprise.
“I do.” I closed me eyes and let out a long sigh, “You’re going to be locked up for a while until I can decided what to do with you. Do you understand?” The griffin hung his head and nodded, no doubt relieved he wasn’t dangling on the end of a rope. “Get him out of here,” I growled, nodding to the minotaurs. “Grimble, you stay with me.”
The two warriors dragged the pathetic creature away, leaving me to my own ruminations whilst Grimble stood in silence. I knew what he was thinking, and it had occurred to me yesterday on my way here. Somepony, or more likely a group of them, wanted me gone. And it was only a matter of time before they found out I was back and returned to finish the job. The old griffin was embarrassed, humiliated even, to think that one of our tribe could do such a thing. But then, money had always been a remarkably effective tool for changing loyalties, and even a thousand years meant nothing when the gold gleamed like a dragon’s horde. Gold… Bronze with flecks of gold… It couldn’t be him, could it? Why would he be so stupid as to involve himself with such villainy? He hated me, sure, but to risk his career through murder? I don’t think so. But perhaps he, like Zander, had been gotten to by the god of greed. He was ideally situated to find information out too…
“Grimble?”
“My lord?”
“Can you go and order breakfast for me?” I got up and floated the box of explosives into my satchel. “Breakfast muffins with jam and a pot of tea please.”
Grimble suddenly began to chuckle, “I’ve missed you, my lord,” he said smiling up at me. “It’s good to have you back.”
I clopped him on the shoulder, “It’s good to be back, my friend. And after breakfast you and I will go for a walk. Bring some brandy and tobacco with you too, we have a lot to discuss and may as well enjoy some of the smaller pleasures of life while we do so.”
The old griffin smiled, “Aye, my lord.”
Grimble set off back to the tavern whilst I remained to have a final look around Zander Pinfeather’s home. It was, like all the other cottages in the village, a fairly simple yet comfortable affair comprising of a modest lounge with a log fire in a stone hearth, a separate bathroom area, a kitchen, and two bedrooms. Despite it being the residence of a murderer, it looked like any regular home you could find anywhere in Equestria. Normal everyday clothes hung up in the cupboards and on the back of the front door, while boots, work wear, and general tools of his trade leaning up in the hallway marked him out to be a small holder as well as a soldier. His old sword beside the mantelpiece looked to be decades, if not centuries old. A set of armour, repaired here and there but still clean and serviceable, sat on a stand next to the settee. Gods help me, I hated doing this; poking around in somepony’s home, looking through their cupboards, drawers, under beds and even up in the rafters looking for something that may help clarify what the hell had been going on inside his head. But I already knew, didn’t I. Money. It was always bloody money, or one of the three pitfalls a pony, or a griffin in this case, could fall into. Money, sex, and power, were the three greatest driving forces behind crime that I had encountered over the years. Every crime had a hint of at least one of them. Sexual crimes often came with the stink of power and control, money motivated some to commit terrible crimes all of its own, and power? Power was its own curse, but often went hoof in glove with money. Wherever I went, whatever I did, there was always some guy or gal who wanted to boss you around for their own ends. Nopony, it seemed, could leave you alone without feeling compelled to stick their damned muzzles into business that didn’t concern them. And if you complained? Well, you were anti-social then weren’t you? Ah, bollocks! Herding animals or not, everypony was entitled to some peace and quiet on their own now and again, even if it was just for a sly pipe of tobacco, an afternoon’s stroll, or a snooze under a tree in the sunshine. And how often had I been able to do that? Not often enough as far as I was concerned.
Paintings of griffins hung here and there, no doubt examples of the numerous generations of Zander’s forebears, each one gazing into the living room from their canvas framed world. What they’d think of him now if they knew what he’d been up to was debatable. I suspect they’d have a thing or two to say to him in the afterlife. If he ever got there. Tartarus was full of murderers, and even if he had been ‘compelled’ to do what he did, that was scant consolation for the families of those who had been in the tavern when he’d turned it into a bonfire. It was only by the grace of the gods that my own family were spared, but I would never forget the looks on the faces of Tingles and Shadow when they’d found me in street. And for that, if nothing else, Zander would pay for his crimes. One way or another. Thank Luna he didn’t have any family here, or this could have been a lot harder on the tribe than it already was. Tonight, or perhaps later this week, would determine if my suspicions were confirmed. However for now it was time to get out of this place; the stares of the griffins in the pictures was starting to make my skin crawl.
Walking across the grass I still found it hard to comprehend that four years had passed here since I’d been blow to pieces on my way home. Oh sure, I knew all about the time variances between here and the herd, but actually being here, seeing all these changes... It didn’t seem real. The worst of it for me was that they were four years in which I’d missed so much too: the birth of my daughter, Lumin’s first steps... They were some of the most unique and special moments in a parents life that come around only once. I should have been here to witness them, to experience these magical events that I would carry with me for the rest of my days. And now… now they were gone, lost in time. Whoever was behind all of this had a lot to answer for.
A branch brushed my cheek bringing me back to my senses. Even now, after everything that had happened, I had automatically turned, unthinkingly, to head out of the village in the direction of the grove. I tossed my mane, stopping in my tracks. I didn’t want to go there now. What purpose would it serve anyway? Gone were the days when Meadow would meet us there with the girls and we would talk, have a laugh together, and spend the evening with each other beneath the stars. There was nothing there for me now. I let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. They’d been happy memories: times of love, joy, and togetherness. Even if they were bitter-sweet, they had been special times I would remember no matter what the future held for me. Now I had other priorities, and that meant taking care of not only my family, but also my tribe who were part of that very same family.
Children’s voices carried in the still air making my ears twitch. The joyful sounds of giggling and laughter, full of the exuberance of youth, was a remarkable balm for the troubled soul. For a moment my heart skipped a beat as I recalled the incident in the silent city, but far from the ghostly apparitions in the capital of the crystal empire, the four youngsters charging towards me were very much alive and well.
“Hi, Daddy!” A streak of dark purple shot past me a few feet off the ground, closely followed by another four legged menace.
“Hi, Daddy!” Lumin charged after his half sister, the two followed by another two scamps from the tribe who I didn’t recognise.
“Hi!”
“Hi!”
I lifted a hoof in greeting but they were already rushing off, whooping and laughing as they went. One, I was surprised to note, was a young hippogriff whilst the other was an earth pony. All of them were valuable additions to our tribe and it was heart warming to see the next generation so full of energy and vibrancy. It even made me feel pleasantly optimistic. Unfortunately it didn’t seem that everypony in village, or rather every one, was as pleased to see them as I was.
“Get back here you little sh- Oh! Good morrow, my lord.”
“Morning, Barrick,” I called to the hulking baker. “Problems?”
“Um, well...” The minotaur lumbered over, wiping his forehead with his apron. The poor fellow looked puffed from running and hung his head as he sighed, “Not really. The youngsters pinched some of my crumpets, is all.”
“Oh!” I started to laugh. Gods bless the crumpets! “I’m sorry, it’s just...” I held up a hoof apologetically, “Forgive me, Barrick, it just tickled me, that’s all. Look, tell you what, call in to the Wyvern’s Tail when you get a minute and speak to Grimble. He’ll sort you out for your loss.”
“It’s not the money, my lord,” Barrick sniffed. “It’s just that they didn’t ask. I would have gladly given them one each, but the cheeky little beggars charged into the bakery and threw flour in the air while another swooped in an’ nicked the crumpets.”
I had to bite my tongue to stop myself laughing. “Who was the ringleader?” I asked.
Barrick looked a little unsure about answering, but soon relented, “I believe it was young Master Lumin, my lord. He was shouting orders as the others swept in.”
“In which case,” I smiled, “I shall be sure to speak to our miniature tactician and take him to task. Agreed?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Good,” I smiled, “then that’s settled. Don’t let me take up any more of your time, Barrick, my ladies love your wares and they’d never forgive me if anything happened to those breakfast muffins of yours.”
I clopped him on the shoulder. Well, more the elbow really due to the sheer height of the chap, but it had the desired effect. He smiled slightly and bobbed his bullish head to me before walking back to his bakery. Ha! ‘Swept in’ eh? Good grief. Somepony was in for more than a few words when I caught up with him, and those others too for good measure. First off however, I had to get back to the tavern. It was time for a spot of brekkers, although considering what I had in my satchel, I think I’d be avoiding eggs for a while.