Fairlight - Memories of a Perfect Sky

by Bluespectre

Chapter Three - Stumbling in the dark

CHAPTER THREE

Stumbling in the dark

Gas lamps gave the outside of the old building a serene, if rather macabre look at times. The warm light bathed its architecture in a rich golden hue, adding shadows and playing on your imagination. On any other night, it was my home from home, the light beckoning me with the promise of safety and familiar companionship within. Tonight however, was not one of those nights.

As I walked up the worn stone steps, Blaze and her pegasi took off back to the wharf to help find stragglers and assist the army in whatever way they could. I let them go. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but right then all I cared about was finding out who had made it back and to see about restoring some semblance of order. The ancient oak door gave its familiar squeak as I pushed it open; open to a scene I had never expected to see in all my days as a watchstallion. Inside the lobby stricken ponies lay everywhere: on benches, makeshift beds, the floor, even desks. Everywhere I looked not a single piece of furniture or floor space had failed to be turned into a sanctuary for a wounded pony. Narrow gangways had been left for the myriad of medical staff who must have been pulled in from all across Manehattan to help. As I had arrived an ambulance had taken off, ferrying some of the more seriously wounded to the medical facilities elsewhere in the city. They’d be back. There simply weren’t enough ambulances available for this many casualties in so short a time. Even in a city the size of Manehattan, medical emergencies were few and far between. Nopony had expected something catastrophic like this could ever happen. I mean, how could they? What should have been a simple bust had transformed the wharf into a bloody war zone. And maybe we, no… maybe I should have planned for such an event. But how the hell was I to know something like this was even possible, let alone what actually had-

“Fairlight!”

For the umpteenth time that night, I was snapped out of my wandering thoughts and turned my head to see a green mare in a nurses uniform, her yellow eyes wide in surprise and fear, looking at me from across a hastily constructed bed. The pony lying on the makeshift litter before her was moaning softly, a blood soaked bandage across her middle. Meadow put down the pitcher of water she was carrying and hurried around the bed to eye me from nose to tail.

“Thank Celestia you’re alive! I thought… when you didn’t come back with the rest… Oh, I don’t know what I thought! I….” Tears began welling in my wife’s eyes, pulling earnestly at my heart.

“It’s all right love, I’m here, I’m okay,” I smiled wearily. “Look, I need to find out what’s happened tonight and get the officers together for a debrief so we can make sure everypony’s accounted for and taken care of. Something happened tonight, love, something…. Whoa, damn it!” I stretched out my foreleg to steady myself as the room spun away from me.

“Dr. Spindle! Quill! Help me, for Celestia’s sake, quickly!” Meadow’s voice drifted off to nothing more than a distant murmur as I sank to my knees, the last vestiges of consciousness quickly fading into darkness.

The funny thing about being unconscious, as I had found on the odd occasion that I had been, was that I didn’t dream. Lights on, lights off. Quite literally, it was that fast. This time however the lights took quite a time to come back on, and when they did the world around me had been transformed into little more than murky shades of grey. Nothing was distinct any more, it was all a blur of washed out shapes bathed in a muggy light that mingled with a distant, indistinct sound. Nausea pulled insistently at my insides and I emptied my stomach into a bucket that somepony had strategically placed at the side of the bed. Gods, I hated being sick. It made my head spin, my temperature soar, and it hurt like crazy. But still, at least I was alive and… well, probably best just to leave it at that for now.

“Doctor? He’s coming to.” It was an unfamiliar young mare’s voice.

“Call Nurse Meadow over if you please, she’ll want to see her husband.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

I could hear hoof steps approaching the bed. Weakly, I tried to lift my head up to see who it was, and quickly regretted my impulsive reaction. It felt like my head was submerged underwater, and a second later another wave of nausea passed over me. Luna have mercy, I didn’t want to see Meadow like this!

“I’m here love. Don’t worry now, it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay. Shhh...” A comforting hoof gently stroked my mane and forehead which were in all likelihood soaked with sweat. In the state I was in though I barely registered Meadow’s ministrations as my attention was drawn to a peculiar feeling of ‘pulling’ coming from my side. Lifting my head once more to look down at what was causing it, the nausea hit me again and I coughed bile into the hastily produced bucket.

“Keep him still for Celestia’s sake!” snapped an irritated male voice.

Meadow pushed me down firmly, wiping the sweat from my face with a damp cloth. The cool water was wonderfully soothing in my fevered state, but I wanted to get up, to get out of there. I had to see to things in the watch house. I couldn’t stay here, lying around! What the hell was going on here?!

“Stay still love, please,” Meadow said gently. “For me, okay?” Losing myself in those beautiful eyes was a wonderful distraction from the yanking and pulling sensation that continued in earnest further down my body. Meadow turned to look at whatever it was that was going on, then

turned back to face me. “They’re nearly finished now,” she said softly, “it won’t be long. You’re being really brave my big strong watch pony.”

She had such a lovely smile, I couldn’t help but smile back weakly in response. By Luna, I was so tired I could just go to sleep.

“Got it!” The triumphant cry accompanied a metallic clink. “Just need to sew him up and get some antibiotics into him. I think he’s going to be okay, Meadow.”

Meadow nodded to the doctor before turning back to me, relief flooding her features as tears welled up anew. She pushed her muzzle into my neck and breathed in deeply. “Fairlight, I never want to smell blood on you again, love. Never, never, never…”

I put my foreleg round her and closed my eyes. “I’m sorry love,” I whispered into her ear. “Forgive me.” She didn’t answer, only staying where she was while I drifted off into sleeps dark embrace.

********************

Even with the best that Equestrian magical healing could provide, weeks passed before my doctor cleared me as fit enough to return to the watch house. Listening to the radio, reading, and a little light gardening had been all I’d been able to do to try and prevent myself from going round the bend from the sheer boredom of being trapped at home whilst my body recovered. Meadow had done her best to look after me of course, but eventually she’d had to go back to work, and this last week I’d been stuck at home on my own for most of the day. Normally an active sort of fellow I’d hated it, and I don’t know how many times I’d rushed to the door when the post came, desperate to receive that simple yet wonderful letter that would say I’d been finally cleared for duty. Typically, just when I’d almost given up hope, it had arrived. And so, here I was. I had my old rain coat, fedora, and sported a snappy goatee beard - a new addition that Meadow had approved of. Eventually! Still, the familiar stone building felt oddly unwelcoming to me that morning when I trotted up the steps of the watch house. It was probably no more than my imagination of course. After all, it had been nearly a month since I’d last been here, and it would be a shock to the system to get back into the swing of things again. Putting that line of thought aside I pushed open the double doors to the foyer. The floor had been scrubbed clean, thank Celestia. Unfortunately for me though, the side effect of the strong smelling bleach and pine floor cleaner was an assault on my unsuspecting olfactory system causing me to sneeze violently. The uniformed ponies at their desks ceased their various tasks and turned as one to look at the strange sneezing pony in the doorway. In between blasts I noticed some new faces amongst them, and some familiar ones too, thank the gods. The most telling feature in the lobby though was just how few of the desks were occupied now. Carpaccio had sat at that one by the door, his stupidly inane jokes about the weather a morning staple of station life. That one over by the coffee maker had been Novella’s, the orange and white patched young mare who had recently passed her exams to become a full officer. Both of those desks were vacant now, as indeed were more, whilst others still were occupied by new faces. Goddesses forgive me; so many of us had been lost. Several ponies rushed to up to greet me, their shouts of joy helping to lift my heart from the grief of our lost comrades that threatened to overwhelm me mere seconds after walking in the door.

“Hey, everypony the Capn’s back!” Shouted a huge uniformed mare as she grabbed me in her expansive embrace. “Whoops! Sorry, better watch the wounded warrior’s ouchies, eh?” Yule pushed me back with her forelegs and looked me up and down. “Yup, still ugly!”

“You cheeky sod, the next time you’re shot I’ll remember that!” I laughed as more ponies arrived to pat me on the back or shake hooves, all of them happily expressing their relief that I was alive and well. My spirits lifted, the revelry was soon interrupted by a uniformed mare pushing through the throng and pushing a cup of hot tea into my hooves. “Good to see you back hon’,” Shelly smiled briefly, “Better go see the Chief. He’s waiting in his-”

She never got to finish her sentence as another familiar voice boomed down from the balcony, “Captain Fairlight? My office if you please.”

Shelly gave me an apologetic look as I knocked back the tea in a single gulp before turning for the stairs. I hadn’t been looking forward to this, but it was a necessary part of the job regardless of my personal likes or dislikes. Trotting up the worn steps, I reached the landing and looked through the chief’s door to see him slowly working at his ancient typewriter. The old bugger had never bothered to employ a secretary to write his reports and instead had insisted on trying to type them himself. It was a painful experience to witness his ham-hoofed attempts, but even worse to try to decipher the nearly unintelligible end product. Personally I suspected Shelly was the one behind the ‘no secretary’ policy rather than her other half. She was a very protective and jealous mare, Shelly.

I knocked and entered without waiting as the Chief continued to type. Slowly. Knowing Mitre, If I stayed outside in the corridor he’d end up forgetting I was there and I’d be left stood there like a plank of wood until he came out wondering where I was. Eventually he gave a loud sigh, swivelling his chair to face me. “Good to see you back boy,” he said in his typical gruff manner.

“Good to be back, Chief,” I replied.

“Yes. Yes, it is,” the older stallion said absently. “I’ve just finished writing the last of the reports. Here...” He passed a sheaf of paper to me and turned in his chair to face the window, parting the blinds with an outstretched hoof. Moments dragged past as he stared out onto the drab cityscape of Manehattan. “What happened out there...” he muttered.

“Chief?” I asked, not quite able to make out his words. It had sounded more like a statement than a question.

Suddenly he spun to face me, reared up and slammed his forehooves on the desk. With a hard eyed glare, Mitre shouted the next words at me with a barely restrained fury I had never heard from him before. “I said, ‘What happened out there!?’ Where the hell are my ponies, Captain? Half the watch are either dead or maimed and only goddesses know how many of the wounded will ever return to duty, even if they recover. By all the gods, Fairlight, why did you hesitate? Why in Celestia’s name didn’t you get out when you had the chance?!”

“Sir, I-” I began but was cut off.

“You bucked up Captain,” Mitre roared. “You bucked up the job and ponies were killed as a result. My ponies, your brothers and sisters in the watch, because YOU didn’t keep your damned shit together!”

I backed up a step under the onslaught. I’d never heard the chief so angry. No, check that, he was furious. I straightened myself up and replied as calmly as I could, “I did what I could Chief. You don’t know what it was like in there. Nopony could have predicted what we would be up against. But yes, I was the pony responsible, and I made the call.”

Mitre’s forehooves flexed as he leaned towards me. “You’re damn right you’re responsible, Captain. Ponies died, DIED! On your watch! Do you know how many didn’t come home that night? Do you have any idea how many of these damned letters I’ve had to write to their families?” He waved a hoof towards the sheaf of papers on the desk between us. “How many times do I have to write ‘how sorry I am’ that their loved ones will never come home again, eh? Goddesses, Fairlight, I’m too old for this sort of crap. Too bucking old by far.” He looked down at the desk and closed his eyes.

Taking a breath, I walked up to him and did my best to calm my racing heart. “Chief. Chief, I’m-”

He cut me off with a raised hoof. “Your badge.”

“I’m sorry, I-” I blinked in surprise. “Chief?” I stammered, not quite grasping what the big blue buck had said.

The reply came like a lead weight dropping in my heart. “Your badge, Fairlight. Please.”

The world of Fairlight the Watch Captain began to unravel at that very moment. My heart sank and I couldn’t help but hang my head. Why was this happening? I’d done everything I could have done hadn’t I? I kept replaying the nights events in my mind over and over again, but hindsight as my mother had always told me, was a wonderful thing indeed. I levitated out my battered leather wallet with the Manehattan Watch badge inside and opened it up. How many times had I shown this to ponies? It had ridden around in my pocket for more years than I cared to recall, and now it was like seeing it for the first time. There was photograph. A photograph of a much younger and enthusiastic stallion, beside the sunburst shield of the watch. The name underneath was engraved on a little silver strip of metal: ‘Captain Fairlight’. I was so proud of that. My mother and father had been ecstatic when they’d first seen it too. Of course, that was years ago when I was simply ‘Watchstallion Fairlight’. I felt like a my guts were knotting up as I placed it reverently on the Chief’s desk.

He sighed and nodded his head solemnly. “Look Fairlight, I take no pride in this. The commissioner wants somepony to take responsibility for this. I’ve tendered my resignation but she won’t accept it. Tells me I’m ‘Too important to the safety of the citizenry of Manehattan’, apparently. She’s read your report and dismissed it as a flight of fancy, an ‘attempt to excuse your incompetence’, she said.” He cleared his throat. “By the Commissioner’s orders, I will have to officially suspend you pending a full investigation by the Equestrian military police.”

“What?!” I shouted, indignation raging in my voice. “The Equestrian military police? Are you bloody well kidding me? They couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery Chief, and you know it.”

Chief Mitre gave me an inscrutable gaze and I took a breath to calm my flaring nerves. “Never the less Fairlight,” he began, “as of today, you are off the watch”. I watched in disbelief as he took my badge and slid it into a desk drawer. “I’m sorry, Fairlight. Please give my regards to Meadow.” And there it was - the thump of the desk drawer closing, sounding the end of my proud career in the watch. It was all over: my world, my career, my life… all of it... gone. It didn’t seem real. It was as though I were looking at somepony else’s life as it drew to a close rather than my own. Dear gods, I didn’t even notice I’d walked down the stairs until Shelly put a foreleg round me.

“I’m sorry honey,” she said gently. “Mitre told me about the commissioner. He tried his best for you, he really did.”

“Shelly, can you come up to my office please?” The chief’s voice called down, interrupting her.

Shelly gave me a small apologetic smile and trotted off to her husband’s office leaving me standing there dumbfounded, the office carrying on around me as if nothing had happened. For that matter, what actually had just happened ? My career, just like that, was over. All because some motherbucking ‘commissioner’ had wanted to publicly execute somepony for the debacle at the wharf. That was it, wasn’t it. I was the stooge, the scapegoat for it all. What in Equestria was I going to do now? I took a step towards the exit, wondering just how I was going to break the news to Meadow, when a voice stopped me in my tracks.

“Watch Captain Fairlight?” The voice emanated from a large orange pony in a knee length black trenchcoat and black sunglasses. A smart black trilby hat completed the monotone ensemble.

My eyes must have been like saucers as I took in the sight. “Er, yes?” was all I could manage.

“Come with me, please,” he said. And without waiting to see if I would follow, the mysterious fellow turned and headed for the rear entrance to the watch building.

Numb from my meeting with the chief, I blindly followed the odd stallion outside in as near a dazed state as one could be without the administration of large quantities of alcohol. He could have been anypony for all I knew. And who cared, anyway? He stopped abruptly in front of a dark blue, fully enclosed chariot pulled by two more ponies. Pegasi to be precise, and also dressed identically to first one. Must be the in fashion, I wondered, ‘mysterious chic’. At least I still had my sense of humour, and much bloody good that was going to do me. The black clad pony opened the door and waved me inside. Like a good little colt I did as I was told and made myself comfortable on the plain, dark blue bench seat. Apparently colour palettes didn’t exist for some ponies - for clothes or for carriages. Closing it smartly behind himself, the sunglasses wearing stallion sat down on the seat opposite mine and almost immediately I felt the carriage lift off the ground. There were windows in the thing of course, but there was no way in Equestria I was looking out of them. I’m sure the black coated stallion wouldn’t want to be spending the rest of the morning cleaning puke out of his nicely pressed clothes. So I just sat there, waiting patiently for him to speak. I had a long wait too - the implacable creature was as silent and still as a bloody statue until, eventually, I felt the carriage begin to descend. I have to admit, it wasn’t a half bad landing either. Jolts and bumps were the norm with these things, but the pilots of our carriage really knew their stuff. I was of a mind to offer my thanks for the uneventful flight, but just then another of the black coated clones opened the door and I was motioned outside onto a wide expanse of flat, carved white stone. High above the sky was a bright blue, contrasting starkly with eye watering whiteness and the black suits of my newly acquired goon squad. We were somewhere in the mountains. The rock outcropping we were on was clearly a landing area for sky carriages and chariots, with several more of them parked up near to us. Unsurprisingly, everpony I saw sported the now familiar black. The nearest one held out a hoof, pointing towards a tunnel entrance leading into the side of the very mountain itself. Silently we all walked off together, with two of them flanking me on either side. Now that I think about it though, I’m not sure exactly what they expected me to do otherwise. After all, I didn’t exactly have wings and I wasn’t planning on taking up sky diving any time soon either. But then I suppose inquisitiveness was overriding any sense of danger I may have normally had under such circumstances. Today though, ‘normal’ didn’t really seem to mean all that much to be honest.

A huge corridor stretched off into the distance before us with the occasional small magically powered buggy humming by carrying, you guessed it, more of the generic black suited ponies. I was beginning to long for somepony to wear something at least a little different, even it was something as simple as a colourful hanky in their coat pocket. Surely it couldn’t hurt, right? Good goddesses, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like working here. The deadpan look on everyponies faces was a generic as their dull outfits.

“In here”, the lead pony said, halting our party and motioning to a white door in the tunnel wall.

I reached out to push it open and was flinched back in surprise as it slid to one side with a snake like hiss. Hesitantly I walked inside, looking around at the now unsurprisingly total lack of decoration. Somepony really had a sense of the dramatic here. And one that was wearing off very quickly too. As if in answer to my thoughts a door opened in the far wall and a cerulean blue mare trotted in wearing a lab coat and sporting a wide smile on her face. The slightly comical appearance was accentuated by a huge pair of glasses as thick as bottle bottoms, perched on her nose. Finally, somepony not in black! And, joy of joys, smiling too! Come to think of it, I wasn’t so sure whether that was reassuring or terrifying.

“Ah, Captain Fairlight, yes?” The pony reached out, grabbed my foreleg and began shaking my hoof vigorously. “So good to meet you. So good indeed!” The overly enthusiastic mare released my hoof and then, just as quickly as she’d appeared, hurried over to a cloth covered table at the far end of the room, motioning to me to follow her. In a dramatic flurry she whipped the cloth away, nearly smacking me in the face with the blasted thing as she did so. “Amazing, isn’t it?” she announced breathlessly. “Truly remarkable! Deadly, granted, but remarkable none the less.” The lab-pony adjusted her glasses, all the while peering at a large black arrangement of metal on the table in front of her. Moving closer I recognised that damned thing immediately. How could I forget? This was the device I’d recovered from the pony on the balcony at warehouse. The pony I had… had… Oh, Celestia, not now! Fighting back my welling emotions I shook my head and looked at the mare, opening my mouth to speak just as another of the black coated ponies entered the room.

“Ah, I see you’ve met the Doctor already.” The mare’s lilting voice was almost musical in its tone.

“Oh, how silly of me!” the Doctor said in surprise, turning a wide grin on me and bowing dramatically. “Doctor Bunsen at the your service, Watch Captain”.

“Fairlight,” I replied. “And I’m no longer in the watch, Doctor. Look, I think you two may have the wrong pony here. I don’t have any authority to speak on the watch’s behalf any more.”

Ignoring my words, the new arrival to the room removed her glasses and shook her mane out. She was a strikingly pink mare with a white and red striped mane, cut fairly short, but stylish. Her blue eyes contrasted attractively with the rest of her, and she gave me a look that seemed to penetrate my very soul.

“You are here,” the mare announced confidently, “‘ex’-Captain Fairlight, as the mistress has commanded it be so.”

Oooh! Mistress, eh? I was starting to see some domination traits here, what with all the sinister black outfits, the white décor and now a ‘mistress’. I was half expecting a pony to appear in a rubber mask. I waited for her to continue. Either that or produce a whip and hoof cuffs.

“What do you know of this thing, ex-Captain?” she asked, not even attempting to hide her sarcasm.

I looked at the device, recalling how the cursed device had cut down my friends like so much wheat beneath the farmer’s scythe. My mood instantly soured. “It kills ponies,” I told her and turned to meet her gaze.

“Yes?” she replied, sounding slightly irritated and clearly expecting me to be able to divulge some nugget of revelatory insight which, frankly, I simply didn’t have.

“Its all in my report ma’am,” I replied smartly.

She looked at me for a moment longer then walked over to the doctor who was continuing to prod and measure the device. I was quite impressed at how thoroughly the blue mare steadfastly ignored the other ponies around her, even the moody pink one, all the while muttering to herself incoherently, lost in her thoughts and notes.

“I know what’s in your report ex-Captain,” the pink mare smiled dangerously. “I want to hear what you saw in your own words. Here. And now.”

Ponies like this one, regardless of who or what they thought they were, always brought out the worst in me. Under pressure I had a terrible tendency to become sarcastic and even more openly cynical than I was normally. To do so with this mare however, did not bode well If I didn’t keep my big mouth under control. Therefore, with personal safety a forethought, I consciously made the effort to be as neutral and to the point as the majority of the ponies here seemed to be, and keep my bloody opinions to myself. And so, I drew a breath and told her the full story, not leaving out any details, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Hours passed as I talked in that sterile white room. Throughout my recollection though, she simply stood there, those blue eyes boring into me with that expressionless gaze of hers, taking in every nuance, every tiny sliver of information. When I had finally finished she nodded, holding a hoof up to her ear and nodded again. She was listening to something - a TED I presumed. I’d heard there was inner-ear type in development, and it appeared I was looking at one now. It was certainly a lot more discreet than the cumbersome things the Watch had on offer.

“Thank you, ‘ex’-Captain,” she said with a smile. I was becoming mightily fed up of her calling me that now, but at least it looked like things were wrapping up. “You’ve been of great help to us,” she continued. “More than you could know. The mistress thanks you.”

She held up a small black cube with silver sparkles on it and replaced her dark glasses. “Here,” she said smiling. “Open it. It’s a gift for you for all you’ve done.” A feeling of cold dread came over me, but I did as I was instructed. The small box popped open and there was a blinding white flash. Once again, the world vanished.

********************

A long piercing shriek pierced my ear drums and brought me back to my senses in a terrifying shock of bitterly cold water and complete darkness. Helplessly I flailed around, desperately trying to gain a purchase in the sand and keep my head above the water as translucent silver fronds, like long thin snakes, twisted over and around me, pulling me ever deeper in. I struggled and bit at the things binding me, noticing to my horror that they weren’t just ‘around’ me, the vile things were actually running through me, the tips of one wriggling this way and that, horribly alive. Goddesses, this was beyond anything I had ever experienced in my life! Or death even for that matter. No matter what it took, I had to get away. I pushed hard with all four of my legs for all I was worth, the shrieking noise louder and more insistent this time - a mournful cry of a creature the likes of which I had never heard before. And probably never would again if I didn’t get myself out of this, and quickly. I bit and kicked again and again, feeling the fronds loosen their grip ever so slightly. Encouraged, I gulped in a deep breath of air and heaved for all I was worth. By Luna’s good grace, I was doing it! But my suddenly wash of euphoria was short lived, violently torn away seconds later by a fresh batch of silver tendrils shooting out from the black river and renewing their grip on my hind legs. “Get the hell off me you…!” I snarled as I bit at them. They, it, whatever the hell spawned beast was, was not going to take me without a fight. I still had a job to do, a need to complete my duty, and nothing was going to keep me from it. I would take revenge for what those scum had done to my beloved Meadow and no beast, no pony, no anything would keep me from my destiny. “NOPONY!” I screamed out loud, channelling my fury into a renewed push for survival.

My cry resounded with a desperate animal call from within, of anger, of fear, and of hate, all rolled into one. The howl of bitter sorrow became me and I became it, strength boiling throughout my body as a chill wind began to swirl around me, quickly freezing the beast’s tendrils to ice. I struggled to escape, to get free, the silver lengths shattering around me like fragile glass under my onslaught. Abruptly I burst free, my hooves obeying me as I backed away from the horrible broken mass which was now quickly retreating back into the inky black river water. I took several deep breaths, coughing out the last of the water and sand just as the high pitched cry I had heard earlier assailed me once more. I turned towards its source and saw, further along the shore, a sight I will never forget. It was another pony, caught and writhing in a mass of the same damnable things that had held me. I wasn’t going to let this happen. Not again. There would be no more deaths. Not on my watch! Everypony goes home. Even here.

I raced forward, sending a plume of water as black as pitch spraying up into the air from my thundering hooves, solidifying it into ice as I ploughed on. The rapidly spreading ice rushed outwards across the surface of the river, catching up to the writhing mass and its struggling victim suspended above. I barely noticed how the white of the ice stood out in stark relief against the blackness around it, freezing the tendrils holding the pony in its crushing embrace. Yet for one hideous moment I thought the stricken pony had frozen too, but a rapid struggle followed by a crash of broken tendrils, sent the poor equine tumbling downward to land on the ice. They wasted no time either, and ran towards me at a gallop just as more of the silver snake like things broached the unfrozen water in pursuit. “No, you DON’T!” I snarled, rearing up on my hind legs and slamming my forelegs down again, sending a fresh wave of sparkling white death into the oncoming mass. The other pony, now a blur of legs and steaming coat, rushed past me in a blur whilst I continued to back away, wary of any further pursuit from the churning water. And sure enough… It came.

The surface of the river bulged upwards, black water sloughing off the rising dome as some ‘thing’ rose up from its depths. From the burning pits of Tartarus itself, an opaque white snarling mass of teeth and tendrils crashed down onto the ice. Horribly, its putrid surface split open, revealing two watery, pale pink eyes which glared at me with what I could only describe as unadulterated hate. In a sickening, slithered motion, the creature oozed forward, using the writhing appendages sprouting from its body to drag the gelatinous mass along the ice. The creature was clearly having trouble though, the ice was freezing and breaking off tendrils just as fast as new ones could appear. Even so, it came onward, howling and hissing its murderous intent. And yet for some strange reason, instead of fear, instead of running for dear life - I laughed. I laughed at the pathetic nature of the creature, at how it could only hunt by stealth, fearful of the strength of its prey. It was a coward. A coward that attacked those weaker than itself, taking away their precious lives in a watery flurry of fear and pain. It didn’t deserve to live. Without thinking I drew in a deep breath, feeling the air chilling within my lungs. Drawing on the ethereal power within me, I exhaled. From my muzzle was released a terrible, drawn out blast of silvery blue and white swirling mist, roiling out towards the oncoming creature. A bone chilling howl mingled with the cloud, becoming one with it, eager, feeding it. And it was hungry. So very hungry.

Too late, the creature appeared to realise the threat and halted its forward momentum to try to keep out of the fog. Helplessly the beast’s tendrils caught in the ice, impeding its attempts at escape whilst glittering in the darkness the silvery blue-white fog billowed and swirled around its body. Wherever it touched, the fog froze flesh into solid lumps, snatching and snagging at tendrils, burning and tearing. The thing screamed out, gnashing its long teeth in fury and pain, flailing its silver tentacles at the ever thickening cloud in a vain attempt at fighting back. I watched as each frond the creature sent out cracked and shattered the moment it hit the ice, causing the vile thing to scream all the more. In answer to its struggles, from deep within me came another, deeper, rumbling laugh, rolling out across the river. And then, unexpectedly, the creature stopped its struggling and looked at me with its hideous gelatinous eyes. It knew now. It was certain. Death itself had come to make its claim. Moments later the river creature was an unmoving, solid frozen mass. The sound of water cracking as it froze, slowly faded away and silence fell once more over the featureless

landscape. Featureless, except for the glittering ice feature now resting upon the surface of the black river. I felt jubilant but drained, and hung my head for a moment to try and take stock of what had just happened. But… what had just happened? How the hell could I explain this?! My mind reeled as I attempted to take stock of these details just in time to be jolted by a flash of purple lightning searing across my vision. In sudden flash of magic, the icy corpse of the river monster exploded into a billion shining fragments that splashed back into the water and showered down around me. I whirled to face down the new threat, only to find a black pony shaped figure, head lowered in a fighting stance, glowering at the shattered remains in the river. Its nostrils blowing out jets of white vapour, whether in reaction to the bitter cold of the frozen scene before it, or part of its own physiology, I couldn’t tell.

The pony like creature raised it head to the sky and let out a long piercing shriek, a noise I recalled from when I’d first came to at the edge of the water. The pony I had rescued from the river monster stood before me, only… only it wasn’t really a pony at all. At any rate, not what you could actually ‘call’ a pony. The thing was equine shaped certainly, but black coated and desperately thin. And I mean really thin. Goddesses above, I could see every bone of its skeleton, and for a moment, I thought this to actually be an animated skeleton - a frightening reminder of the nature of this land.

The creature even had horns too - short pointed ones that extended behind its head like sharpened ears. It regarded me with glowing red eyes, flicking its midnight black tail side to side before shaking its wet, bedraggled mane. The thing let out a whuff of steam from its nostrils and turned to face me. Slowly, tentatively, the pony-like being walked towards me, letting out the occasional blast of white steam. I stood transfixed while the distance between us closed. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the thing was in front of me, head lowered. It moved its muzzle carefully towards my neck, eyes closed and… sniffed. Suddenly it stepping back, prancing sideways on its hooves seemingly unsure as to what to do next. Unsure myself, I stood there and let the creature continue. It didn’t seem to be any threat to me as such, however I kept the icy feeling of barely controlled rage within me, ready to release at any sign of aggression from the odd thing.

The skeletal pony moved forward and sniffed me again, a little more confident in its approach this time. On instinct I leaned forward, emulating its behaviour and sniffed its neck. Surprised, the creature jumped back in alarm, snapping out huge bat like wings in a display intended, I presumed, to make itself appear bigger than it actually was. I lowered my head and whuffed at the air as I’d seen it do when the thing had first trotted up to me. Whatever my emulated display meant, if anything at all, it seemed to work as the creature folded its wings and walked towards me, eyes blazing like red coals. Letting out a small whinny, the black coated being moved towards me once more and, to my surprise, began to nuzzle my neck, pushing into me like some enormous house cat. I wondered at the bony thing and smiled, feeling the coldness inside me beginning to lessen, slowly draining out of me until it faded away into nothingness. Backing away for a moment and watching me with its quizzical burning eyes, the pony-like ‘being’ - I’d have to think of a name for it later I guessed - spread its wings open and lunged into the sky. Up it flew, out over the river, banked low, and then swooped down over my head, gliding on those great leathery wings and crying out a loud low howl.

“What the bloody hell was that all about?” I wondered aloud.

“That’s a Thestral, love,” a voice said from directly behind me. “Looks like you made a new friend.”

“GAH!” I nearly choked in alarm. “Gods in their bloody heaven!” What was with all the sneaking up on ponies around here? If I wasn’t dead already, I’d probably have died of a heart attack by now anyway! On instinct, born of repetition most likely, I span to face-

“Meadow…?”

“Hello, love,” the green mare said pleasantly. “I’ve missed you, you know. Really, I-”

I lost all sense of control and flung my forelegs around my beloved wife, squeezing her tightly to my chest. If this was a dream or some crazed hallucination, I didn’t want it to end. It couldn’t end! “Oh Goddesses Meadow,” I gasped helplessly, “you’re alive! Thank Celestia! Thank Luna! You’re alive!”

Meadow hugged me back, but then pushed away suddenly. I stood stock still, unsure as to what this meant. Had I done something wrong? What was going on? “Meadow,” I began, and took a step towards her.

She held up a hoof stopping me. “No. Fairlight, look love, I’m sorry if I seem cold but I don’t have much time here. The keepers have already pushing things to allow me this much.”

“I don’t understand love, please. I-” I stammered. Meadow suddenly grabbed me and kissed me deeply on the mouth, her warm breath filling me with a heat I had not felt in an age. Breaking away she looked at me with sorrowful eyes and shook her mane before stomping a hoof down. The trademark Meadow determination I knew so well, was back.

“Fairlight,” she began, “you’re not meant to be here. We are, but you, you’ve not passed over fully. The herd can’t take you as they say you’re carrying… carrying ‘something’.” She shook her head in exasperation, “Celestia give me strength, I don’t know what it is. But look, never mind that now, you need to get out of here.” She reached back and started rummaging in her pannier. “Here, take this.” Meadow’s horn glowed and a small crystal on a tiny golden chain levitated up into the air before lowering gently over my head and settling around my neck. I looked down in surprise and saw a faint white glow emanating from it. Meadow reached out and lifted my head so she could look me straight into my eyes, “Follow the crystal’s light when it is at its strongest. It will show you the way.”

“The way to what?” I asked in confusion. “Meadow, I want to be with you. I don’t want to go back!”

Meadow stomped her hoof again.“You can’t! It’s not your time, yet. Please, Fairlight, they’re calling me back. Just remember what I said!”

I must have seemed pathetic to her right then, my resolve fragmenting in the flood of emotions I had thought all but dead and gone. “Oh goddesses, Meadow, I can’t lose you again...”

“We’ll be together again love, all of us, one day. Just not right now.” Meadow kissed me again briefly and I nuzzled her neck. “Wait… you said ‘we’? ‘All’ of us?” I looked quizzically at her and she gave me a shy smile in reply.

Looking down by her side, she spoke softly, “Come on little one. Come and meet your daddy.”

I didn’t know what to say. Words left me hanging like a flag without wind, and I just stood staring dumbly as a tiny head appeared from behind Meadow, peering up at me with huge round yellow eyes. The tiny grey coated pegasus foal cautiously stepped around her and looked up at me, pressing into Meadow’s side for safety.

“Say hello to your daddy, Sparrow.” Meadow nudged the little foal with her head towards me.

The little thing stumbled on unsure legs, looking up at me with her big shining eyes. Her voice was so tiny, so innocent, as she asked, “Daddy?” Tears flowed down my cheeks, unchecked. “Daddy, are you sad?” came the sweet voice of my… my daughter...

“No, little one”, I told her. “Daddy’s not sad. Daddy’s happy. Really, really happy.” I turned to Meadow who gave me a heart melting smile. “How is this possible, Meadow?” I whispered. “Were you…?”

A dark shadow of sadness ghosted over her features for a moment as tears began welling in her eyes too. She nodding slowly, “I was a few months gone, but I hadn’t really known for certain. There weren’t many mares I felt I could trust enough to talk to about it. After Mum died and we’d been trying for so long, I just thought it couldn’t happen and then…” She cleared her throat, “I’ve called her Sparrow Song. They were singing in the tree where we first met. Do you remember?”

“Of course I do love,” I said softly. “I couldn’t ever forget that.”

Meadow smiled when Sparrow bumped into my leg and plopped back onto her miniscule haunches. “Are you coming home with mummy and me?” she asked.

I was barely holding myself together right now, but damn it all I had to, somehow, for them. Gods help me, it was so much to take in! So, so much...

Meadow looked behind her and quickly faced me once again, a frightened look in her eyes. “Fairlight, we’ve got to go, they’re calling us. Listen, they will be coming for you soon. They don’t like loose ends. I said I’d try to persuade you to surrender, but it’s not right. If they take you, they’ll strip your memories - your mind. Don’t let them.” Meadow nudged Sparrow back behind her. “Follow the crystal my love, we’ll be together again some day. We’ll wait for you!” My wife’s voice became increasingly distant as her image began to shimmer and fade.

“I love you, Meadow!” I called to her. “I love you too, Sparrow! Daddy will see you again soon!” Before my very eyes the image of Meadow wavered like a heat haze. The last I saw of her were those beautiful yellow eyes looking at me with a longing that gripped my heart. She held up Sparrow who waved at me with her little forelegs, “Bye Daddy! Come home soon!”

They winked out of existence without even a sound.

I sat down on my rump and gasped in the air, my eyes tight shut against the tears. This wasn’t happening, was it? It was all a feverish nightmare that I would wake up from and it would all be okay once again. I’d get up, have a shower, and go to work just like I did every day. Just like… every day... A shudder ran through me, the tears turning to icy droplets that rolled down my face to plop onto the black sand like frozen gemstones. Why Goddesses, why couldn’t I be with my family now? WHY?!

“Damn this place!” I shouted out as loud as I could. “Haven’t I been through enough!”

I wished with all my heart that whoever, or whatever was keeping me anchored to this place would simply pull the metaphorical plug and let me go. I had a daughter, the daughter Meadow and I had wanted so much and those scum had killed her, taking her tiny life before she’d even had a chance to draw a single breath. Unbidden, the cold ball of anger welled up inside my chest. And I welcomed it. I revelled in it. I would find those buckers and rip their living guts out with my bare teeth. I’d watch them squirm and bleed to death before my very eyes, begging me to end it for them. And then, when they thought I would send them to the beyond, I would give them my answer...

“No.”

A blue-white mist curled up from my muzzle and snow began to fall around me: silent, cold, and as gentle as the touch of reaper. This new found power, whatever in Equestria it was, would serve me well. I lifted the tiny crystal, turning around in a circle until it shone the brightest. “I guess this is the way then,” I said to myself, shaking the snow from my mane. I looked back slightly over my shoulder. “You coming then?” A rolling growl and shrill hoot answered me as the thestral trotted up along side me, nudging me with its head. I nodded to it in response, letting the pendant dangle from my neck once more. I spoke aloud to the world in general this time. Other than the thestral there was nopony to hear me, but in my heart I was announcing more of an intent than anything else. “Time,” I smiled grimly, “for some payback.” And if the gods weren’t listening, then to hell with them.

To hell with them all.

********************

I yawned expansively, my jaw muscles stretching just until the point of discomfort. “Forelegs next I think,” I murmured to myself as these too were summarily stretched out to each side. Pushing back with my hind legs, each now suitably limbered, I pulled myself away from the makeshift pillow and sat up, rubbing my eyes. I hadn’t slept too badly at all and felt pleasantly refreshed. The thestral had proven not to be as uncomfortable as he, or she… ‘it’ maybe? Would appear. Probably a ‘he’ I reckoned, and short of sticking my muzzle between his legs that was going to have to be my best determination based on the next to nothing I knew about these animals. I have to say his appearance was quite terrifying really, but like most situations I’d found myself in over the years, it was surprising what you could get used to. Maybe even those razor sharp teeth of his! Well… perhaps not. Still, weirdness had always had a peculiar habit of haunting me over the years, and things that would normally send ponies running for the hills would instead have me standing there wondering what it was all the fuss was about. On reflection it probably wasn’t the best strategy plan a fellow could have. Not that it would have done much to help me here, anyway. After all, here I was sitting next to a ‘thestral’ as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and I still didn’t have a clue what it really was. Sorry, what ‘he’ was. Damn it, I should have asked Meadow when I had the chance! I sighed, flicking a grain of sand from my muzzle. I know I hadn’t pay that much attention in class, but I’m sure I would have remembered mention of things that walked around like leather bags of bones, breathing lightning and scaring the crap out of kids. Maybe they lived in a far off country or something? Gods above, as far away as possible I hoped! Mind you, now that I think about it there was that one mare I’d met in Ponyville years ago who would have known what a thestral was, and where they were from. That eccentric pegasus was obsessed with all things animal, and had an encyclopaedic knowledge of equestrian wildlife. Maybe she would have known about thestrals too? Bit late to ask her now of course. Unfortunately it was a bit late to ask anypony anything for that matter. Even so, my visit to that eccentric abode was one that I would never forget.

Some time into the earlier part of my career in the watch, I had visited the young mare’s house as part of a national initiative to secure homes against burglary over the coming dark winter months. Considering my beat at that time had been in Ponyville, it had proven to be a fairly pointless exercise - nothing criminal ever happened there. Not unless you counted overdue library tickets or the occasional speeding carriage as ‘real’ crime. But on the plus side, the meet and greet sessions did wonders for building relations with the locals and also got me out into the fresh air. A cup of tea and a biscuit didn’t go down badly either of course. Unfortunately in this particular case, the chocolate box cottage on the fringe of the village was far from what you’d call ‘fresh’ in any sense of the word. The very moment the door opened my nostrils were assailed by the overpowering stench of animal. Lots of animals! The bloody things had infested the whole house top to bottom. There were mice in the walls, rabbits under the bed, birds nesting in the light fittings - you name it, the damn things were everywhere. That said the place was surprisingly clean considering the sheer volume of turds the poor girl had to clean up. I’d noticed the midden round the back of the property as soon I had begun to walk up the path to her front door, and in all honesty I’d half expected some mad old widow with an obsession with collecting cats to come shrieking out of the door at me. However, I couldn’t have been further from the truth. The mare who’d opened the door to me was stunningly beautiful, for a tree-hugging pegasus. I could have happily spent the whole day with her, losing myself in those huge shining eyes. And her voice? So calm, so peaceful and feminine, I felt as if I could simply float away into blissful happiness. I may have let myself too if that bloody stinking animal hadn’t ruined everything. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s the smell of a wet dog warming up by the fire. There were literally clouds of steam pouring from the reeking thing’s carcase, choking my lungs and sending me flying for the door in a desperate quest for fresh air.

“Oh my, was it something I said?” the yellow mare asked, a worried look on her face.

“No miss, I was just a little… ‘claustrophobic’ that’s all. You have a wonderful home here and I don’t think you need to worry too much about the risk of burglary.” I heaved the sweet, sweet air deep into my lungs whilst the worried young pegasus flapped air over me.

“You don’t think any nasty, scary burglars will try to steal my babies do you?” she asked, sincerity showing in her large eyes.

I shook my head, “No miss, I think you’re quite safe. You’ve got natural burglar deterrents anyway.” I motioned towards the dog, almost invisible in the clouds of noxious vapour beginning to fill the room.

The mare giggled, “Poor old Henrietta. She’s not as active as she used to be. Her coat’s been losing some of its lustre recently.”

“Has it?!” I squeaked, then caught my breath. “Has it?” I coughed, clearing my throat. “Oh dear.”

“Yes, she’s seen a few years I think,” the mare continued. “I try to make her as comfortable as possible, but age catches up with all of us eventually.”

By gassing out any visitors with the mangy old thing’s stinking hide I suspected. The horrible creature probably knew damned well what effect it was having on people. An effect, I noted, that the home owner simply didn’t notice. Years of living with hoards of excreting assorted animals, pest and vermin, had doubtless numbed her sense of smell. Or murdered it, I thought to myself as I caught another whiff. And so I had made my excuses and left, dashing back to the road side to rinse my face in the stream. She had stood in the doorway watching me, curious but blissfully unaware of the olfactory sledge hammering she had dealt a member of the watch. I wondered if I could draw a gas-mask from stores in case of future visits? The thestral by comparison had a peculiarly pleasant floral smell. Sweet, but with a fleetingly gentle quality that had me wondering at first if I had really smelt it at all. It ran at complete odds to his physical appearance too. His hide showed every bone, each taught muscle connecting them, and the details of each joint were horrifyingly vivid. The strange fellow’s light frame made flying or walking a fairly simple matter for him. For myself however, I found that standing up on sand was an art form in itself, and one I was rather pleased to say I had slowly gotten the hang of. With a shake, the loose sand fell off me to join its fellows and I poked Shades with a hind hoof, “Oy, come on you lazy bugger. We need to haul flank.”

‘Shades’, as I’d taken to calling the thestral, opened one eye and huffed grumpily. Fortunately those flickering red fires that passed for eyes had ceased to disturb me long ago. ‘Long ago’, eh? Luna’s ears, how long had we been walking together now, anyway? I had no way of knowing and I’d ‘long’ since given up bothering to keep track. Gods, I missed my old pocket watch with a vengeance, its reassuring ticking was almost like a heartbeat of its own. More importantly it would have been a reminder that mine still was, apparently, merrily tick-tocking along somewhere other than here. At least, that’s what I’d determined from what Meadow had said. So I suppose the question I really had to ask was, was I alive or dead? Was my body lying somewhere, breathing away whilst my spirit was trapped in this sandy wasteland? How would I get back to it? More to the point – did I really want to get back to it? Wistfully, I turned back to my bony companion. “Hey! Come on now, I’ve got places to be, ponies to meet.”

He blinked, fixing me with a particularly hard stare then sniffed the air. I should have remembered to keep well out of the way when Shades got to his hooves and dodged back just in time to avoid being whacked. The thestral’s movements were almost mechanical in nature, and absolutely fascinating to watch. I could see how his muscles pulled, the joints turning, his wings adjusting, and then with a huge lurching movement, hauling his bony frame upwards. He staggered sideways for a moment before shaking the sand from his body and letting out a nicker. Seeing it coming this time, I ducked as a dragon like wing snapped out to shake the last of the sand away. One quick groom later, the sleepy thestral nuzzled my neck with a good morning whinny for good measure.

I laughed, “And a good morning to you too, you old smoothie.” I put my hoof on Shades’ head and gave him a little rub. He gave a rumble and whuffed a blast of steam in happiness. What a strange creature he was. I couldn’t quite work out whether he was intelligent, or akin to a kind of clever dog. A clever dog that had teeth like rapiers and could blow things up with its magical lightning type stuff. Mind you, I didn’t want to think of him in that way, but he was so utterly perplexing – a pony, yet not a pony. “You’re quite the enigma, eh?” I said with a smile. Shades whinnied and bobbed his head in reply. And so with our morning routine out of the way I lifted the pendant once again. The glow from the crystal showed the way forward as it had done every day since Meadow had left it in my care, and the two of us set off once again into the expansive unknown emptiness of the Withers.

Days, weeks, maybe even months passed in this manner. Every so often, Shades would fly off without any warning and a while later, return. I had no idea where he was disappearing off to and half wondered if one day there would just be me, walking on and on into eternity all alone. I mentally slapped myself - I didn’t like that train of thought. There would be an end to this journey sooner or later and, for as long as it lasted, I would take comfort in the presence of my friend the thestral. ‘Thestral’… Hmmm, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t remember anything about them from school, the radio, or any of the movies I’d watched. I’ll bet there was a whole section on them in the Ponyville library though. The very same one I’d never bothered to visit when I was stationed there too. I sighed. It was a bit bloody late now, right? Lifting up the glowing crystal I checked my bearing. To keep some sense of direction I thought of the little white light as pointing ‘North’, helping me in some small way to retain a level of focus. Not to mention it was also a reminder that somewhere there actually was a North. And a South. Good gravy, maybe other directions too! Fancy that! I closed my eyes and gave myself a hard shake. Goddesses help me, I needed to get out of here whilst there was still some part of me left that was worth escaping with. And preferably with all my faculties intact too.

A crunching thump behind me announced the midday arrival of Shades. He whinnied and stomped his hooves as I carried on walking. He’d catch up. He always did. I let out a sigh, watching the crystal’s glow. Did it seem to be a little brighter than usual today? Probably not; I’d thought that before and soon given up on pursuing the idea. Bloody imagination. Suddenly a loud whinny from Shades gave me pause. What in Equestria was he doing now?! I looked over my shoulder just as a large gelatinous blob of something hideously foul was deposited on my back. “Argh! Shades! What the hell, get if off me!” I bucked furiously, sending the translucent thing flying into the air. With the grace of a ballet dancer the bony thestral jumped straight up, catching the thing in his sharp, dragon-like teeth. Landing lightly, he trotted over, clearly pleased with himself and dropped the disgusting trophy at my hooves before letting out a joyful shriek.

“What? Yes, well done buddy,” I sighed, trying to get my breathing back to normal. “ You’ve brought me a lovely gift. Um... whatever it is.”

I went to walk away but Shades ran in front of me, blocking my path with the thing dangling from his mouth once more. He pushed the white blob at my muzzle before dropping it in front of my forehooves again. He bobbed his head several times, letting out a blast of steam.

Realisation slammed into me like a brick wall. “You… you want me to what, eat that?” I asked incredulously. The thestral nodded again, giving what I could only presume was an encouraging display judging by the excited wing flapping. Oh great! Just what I always wanted…

I looked down and sniffed at the thing. “Ewwww!” Shades opened and shut his mouth several times, clacking his teeth together for emphasis. “Okay, okay!” I closed my eyes, opening them again, slowly refocusing on the blob. Oh bollocks, it was still there - I wasn’t dreaming after all. Well, I hadn’t eaten since coming to this place, and I’d survived having tentacles driven through me, drowning, and, ah yes, did I mention being dead? Fan-bloody-tastic. I suppose that compared to that, eating a sand covered jelly ‘thing’ was probably a breeze, right? Against all my better judgement and protesting stomach, I picked it up in my teeth and flicked it up, snapping the thing into my mouth for a quick swallow. Suddenly I paused. This… this thing was dead, wasn’t it? Oh, goddesses! I stared at Shades who looked on intently. He let out a blast of steam and I shut my eyes tightly. It didn’t look like I was going to get out of this one that easily. Hell fire, let’s get this over with then...

I swallowed.

Eating off the floor was never a good idea, and I nearly choked on the sand which covered the horrible creature. Worse still I could feeling it grating the inside of my throat despite the overriding sensation of disgusting sliminess as it worked its way down. Goddesses alone knew what was going to happen when it got to my stomach. I could barely remember the taste of food as it was, nor even water for that matter. Hell, I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten at all! But one thing was for certain though, nothing I had ever eaten in my life tasted anything like this.

I bobbed my head to my thestral companion. “Thanks for that my friend,” I croaked. “Delicious.” I fought the urge to throw the contents of my stomach straight back up. No easy task, I can assure you. But if thestrals could smile, this one was doing just that. He let out a joyous scream and flew straight up into the air, spiralling higher and higher until I could barely see him. Then, with a boom of air, he rocketed downward towards me making me leap back to avoid a collision. I gasped in surprise as he arrested his descent mere feet from the ground with a great flap of his massive wings. Shades, radiating happiness like a child on Hearthswarming Eve, trotted up to me and pushed his forehead into mine, releasing a slight blast of steam.

“Friend.”

“Wha-!” I looked around, expecting something to have materialised out of my sight. I had to be honest, this seemed to have been happening a lot to me recently too. Well, relatively recently. At least I think so.

“Fairlight pony. Friend?”

Okay, this was now officially off the weird chart. The Withers was getting to me more than I had thought and now, now some bizarre echoing, hissing voice was in my head! Bollocking bloody Celestia’s damned-

“Home?”

Shades nudged me with his muzzle and everything suddenly clicked into place. “It’s you!” I squeaked. “You can speak? Sort of?”

The thestral bobbed his head. “Light, home?” the hissing voice said.

Good gods, how did he do that?! “Yes,” I said cautiously. “I’m trying to get home, Shades. The crystal will show me the way.”

He walked away a few steps away from me and turned back with his head on one side, a quizzical look on his bony face. “Shades?” he asked. I grimaced at his questioning tone. Well, fair’s fair, I had to call him something didn’t I? I’d thought about calling him ‘Shriek’ for a while because, pretty much, that was all he said. That or ‘Argh’ or that weird clicking noise.

“Yes,” I said pleasantly. “Shades is the name I gave you. I don’t know your real name. Um, you can tell me if you like?”

“Name?” He looked confused for a minute then threw back his head and screamed. Planting his hooves forward in the sand for emphasis, the thestral looked intently at me.

“Look, can’t I just call you Shades?” I asked. “It’s a lot easier for me you know. I can’t speak thestral.” Or scream it either.

Shades shook his mane and let out a snort of air. Pawing the ground for a moment, he lifted his muzzle and winnied, “Shades.”