Fairlight - The Fortress of the Four Winds

by Bluespectre

Chapter Four - Heartache

CHAPTER FOUR
HEARTACHE

I was halfway down the stairs when my legs started to shake, sending me crashing into the wall like a drunkard too far gone to stand on his own four hooves. I felt sick to my stomach. I mean, what the hell had all that been about anyway? Tingles felt I’d betrayed her trust did she? That I’d hurt her? But what the bloody hell could I have done differently? Should I have shouted to her to open fire and randomly strafe the damned things? She couldn’t even see them! Maybe I should have encouraged her to crash through the canopy and help me to fight them off? Luna’s mercy, she would have ended up like those poor minotaurs - torn apart like paper dolls in mere seconds. Shit, shit, SHIT! Bloody awkward, stupid mare. Stupid bloody females! I banged my head against the wall in frustration. I was so confused! Gods, I hated feeling like this; my heart felt like it would burst in my chest at any moment. Part of me wanted nothing more than to rush back into the room and hold her, to beg her to forgive me, whilst the other part, the proud part, wanted to shout at her about how damned foolish she was and point out the suicidal nature of what she’d wanted to do. Damn it all, I wanted to curl up and hide away…

Down by the fire, Heather and Grimble sat watching the flames flickering in the hearth. They didn’t seem surprised to see me slink back down despite the late hour. Probably heard every bloody word too.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Of course, my friend. Please…” Grimble held out a claw and I pulled up a pony sized chair, sinking into it gratefully.

The griffin looked over his shoulder at the minotaur. “Heather, bring the smoking box and some more brandy, please, my flower.” I didn’t think it was possible to smile with a beak, but the old fellow managed it all the same. Heather, bobbed her head and lumbered off into the kitchen, leaving us alone. “That pony loves you, my lord,” Grimble offered quietly. “I can see it in her eyes, and her body language. You’re a very lucky fellow indeed.”

“Grimble… I don’t know what to think.” I shook my head in frustration. “She’s furious with me because I told her to leave me back there in the forest, but I couldn’t have had her charge in there the way it was. You don’t know what it was like - they would have killed her in a heartbeat. By the goddess, nopony would have wanted that! Is that so wrong of me? To want my mare safe?”

He chuckled. “Well, I’m a little older than you, my lord, but I’m no wiser around females than anygriffin else, or pony, or… well, anything really. Who know the minds of females?” He shrugged, passing me a brandy. “The drive to protect our loved ones is strong, perhaps more so in them than us, eh?”

I threw my forelegs up in exasperation. “I’m so bloody confused! I’m angry, upset… furious even! Damn it, Grimble, why don’t they come with an instruction manual?”

The griffin laughed; a cawing sort of noise which echoed about the empty room. With a slap of his hind leg, he looked me in the eye. “If they came with instructions, I’d still be married now!”

“Oh… Oh, gods, I’m sorry Grimble,” I said mentally slapping myself. “I shouldn’t be bringing my troubles to-”

“Bah! Nonsense. Fast Feather and I never got along anyway. She was a very aggressive female and we fought constantly - emotionally and physically. It was a doomed relationship right from the beginning. Of course, everygriffin told me it would all in end in tears, but I didn’t listen…” He sighed, “I thought I knew best. Ha! The arrogance of youth, right? No. They were right. They were right all along.” The brandy and smoking equipment arrived, Heather leaving it between us and stomping off back to the kitchen leaving the males to their doubtless boring conversation. “Here, my lord, try this. I think you’ll like it.” Grimble passed me a long stemmed pipe not unlike my old one, along with a humidor full of a dark sticky brown tobacco the likes of which I had never seen before. “Take a sniff… you’ll be surprised.”

I was! It smelled like… the forest, the night air, the brandy… Oh, my goddesses, it smelt wonderful! I raised an eyebrow questioningly. “May I?”

“Please do,” Grimble smiled holding out his claw invitingly.

Taking a pinch I began to pack the bowl. Looser at the bottom, tighter as I worked my way up, the way dad had shown me when he’d been in one of his rarer ‘fatherly’ moods. Naturally, mum had been out of the way when we’d done that, or else I’d most like have had the thing rapped over my skull to teach me the error of my ways. Mares, eh? With a flicker of magic from my horn, I had the bowl lit and the smoke started to roll around my mouth, filling me with a sense of wonder and relaxation. Bloody hell, I needed this…

Grimble exhaled a plume of smoke from his beak, luxuriously sinking back into his chair. “Quite the experience, isn’t it? I’ve never found its like before, here or in the griffin kingdom.”

“What is it?” I asked in wonderment. “Does it grow in the forest?”

“No,” he smiled. “There’s an area not far from here where the bushes grow, out past a dry water well and some old stone ruins. ‘Tis an odd place, with a strange feel to the air. Nothing moves, and there’s no sound to be heard. Not even the birds sing there. The villagers won’t go near it of course, they think it’s cursed. I don’t think the tobacco is though, wouldn’t you agree?”

Again with the curses! I nodded, taking another pull on my pipe. “It’s excellent, Grimble. I take it the brandy taste is a little extra addition of your own?”

“It certainly is.” Grimble grinned, clearly pleased I’d noticed. “I make the brandy myself using these peculiar silvery-red berries that grow in the clearing there. They have a particularly delightful elegance of flavour if the distilling is done just so.”

Ah, that’s why the taste was so familiar and fulfilling; it wasn’t just the warmth of the alcohol running through me. I must say though, I did feel a little better in myself. It was just my relationship with Tingles I needed to do something about now, but hopefully a night apart would help cool our hot heads, and the dawn of a new day would wash away any residual bitterness from the night before. Luna’s grace, I hoped so. Still, at least I could take comfort in the fact I had helped to save a life tonight, even if the ultimate cost of it was a night downstairs away from my tangerine marefriend.

“Grimble? Where are these berries, can you tell me?” I asked swirling the brandy in my glass.

He nodded sagely. “Yes of course, just follow the old road to the west of the village. It’s not used much nowadays, but it’s still passable so long as you watch where you put your hooves. You’ll see the well near the side of the road and the track leading to it on your left.” The old griffin chuckled. “The grove they’re in glows in the moonlight, would you believe. Personally I think it’s really quite beautiful, if a little unnerving!”

My mind was made up. “I’d like to go there,” I said suddenly, and paused, realising that the old fellow might not be too keen on my traipsing around his source of tobacco and brandy. Ponies, or griffins for that matter, could be very protective about such things. “Would you have any objection if I went and had a look?” I held up a hoof. “Promise I won’t eat too many of the berries!”

The tavern keeper nodded, taking a mouthful of his brandy. “Of course you can, my lord, I have plenty of brandy to keep me going for several seasons as it is, and the berries grow all year round believe it or not. Going to have a look in the morning?”

“No,” I said pulling on my overcoat. “No time like the present.”

He stared at me, his beak hanging open in amazement, “What?! You can’t be serious, there’s timberwolves abroad!”

Shaking my head I checked my pistol and sword were in order. They were. “I am serious. And as for the timber wolves, I wouldn’t concern yourself with them any more, Grimble. We came to a, er… ‘understanding’, you could say.”

Grimble shook his head and started to laugh. “I was right about you, my lord! My goddess, I was!”

He slapped his hind leg and snuggled his back into his chair with a beaming smile on his face. What an odd creature! I didn’t bother to ask what he found so funny, but all this ‘my lord’ stuff was really beginning to irritate me. I suppose it was appealing to tourists and the like, but I wish he would just use my name, even if he did know me as ‘Rock’. Come to think of it, every time he said it there was this bloody awkward pause, as though he didn’t believe for one second that it was my real name. Grimble was far from stupid of course, he knew damned well it was made up, but he didn’t have to be so infuriatingly obvious about it! I tightened my belt as the kitchen door swung open. From behind us, Heather appeared like a looming demon from the pit, complete with shining onyx eyes and horns. I nearly backed into the fire before I noticed she was holding out a napkin with some biscuits and an apple wrapped inside. That was a nice gesture. At least she wasn’t holding a pitchfork.

“Thanks, Heathe,” I smiled. “And to both of you,” I bowed, “a good evening. I shall be back by morning, if ‘her ladyship’ wonders where I’ve gone.”

Both of them saw me out and barred the door with a dull ‘thunk’ when I was barely a few steps away. I suppose old habit will die hard here in Smiling Borders. I leaned back and took a deep breath of the cool night air. There was no mist now, just a clear sky, the moon, and a blanket of brightly shining stars to light my way. It was strange, but I felt a liveliness in my step despite the exertions of the evening. Adventure awaited me; the moon was bright and the cool evening breeze was deliciously refreshing. Tonight, I could leave my worries behind. If for only a few hours.

I began to trot along the road, finding the going a lot better than I’d expected for a nigh on deserted area. Grimble hadn’t been kidding either, the road was overgrown with grass, weeds and roots galore. Why nopony here travelled west was a bit of a mystery, though considering how remote they were, maybe they just didn’t have many neighbours to trade with. To be honest I couldn’t recall seeing any other villagers on the way to Smiling Borders, but then it was hardly surprising considering how high up we were. Still, despite the disrepair I was making surprisingly good progress, and in no time at all had passed the outskirts of the village. I had to hoof it to the engineers, they certainly knew how to build roads to last round here, even it was goodness knows how many years ago. It seemed a bit out of place too now that I thought about it. The cobbles were all perfectly uniform and well laid, whereas the village was more a higgledy-piggledy mess of cottages that appeared to have appeared beside this once grand avenue like weeds in a horticultural paradise. Ah, if only stones could talk! The breeze abruptly picked up, tousling my mane playfully. I don’t know what it was about this place, but I felt as light as a feather for some reason and soon found myself smiling happily. My hooves clopping on the stony surface added a lively beat to my mood too, lifting me from that dark place I’d been languishing in earlier. Perhaps all I’d really wanted, or needed, was a change of scene, to get a break away from all the confusion, conflict and… well, everything I suppose. They say a change is as good as a rest, and although I hadn’t quite had the latter, I’d certainly had a healthy dose of change. Smiling Borders did ‘change’ in spades. Speaking of which I began to notice a few stones along the side of the road, the cold, lonely memories of former homes. Judging by the type of stone they’d been constructed with, they looked to have been built around the time of the road. Of course, I’m no archaeologist and was only speculating, but I think I was in the ball park. More than that, some of the walls, now only a few courses high, showed evidence of being a great deal larger than the modest abodes of the current resident so Smiling Borders. Here and there evidence of pillars poked up out of the grass, suggesting wealth too. Very interesting indeed! There was a lot more to out holiday location than met the eye it seemed. Speaking of which, I kept my eyes open for the next landmark.

A little further on, a small circular structure appeared out of the darkness. Was this it? Approaching the object the outline became clearer. Solidly made from the same stone as the surrounding walls and cobbled road, this was the stone well Grimble had spoken of alright, and sure enough, there was the earthen track leading off into a small copse of trees. The sharp cry of a fox caught my ear, but I had no concerns out here. I felt as though I belonged here somehow, as if I was one with the night, the darkness my ally and protector. Funny feeling really considering everything that had been going on lately. Perhaps it was no more than the conjuration of a sleep deprived and brandy soaked mind, but I think there was more to it than that. Still, as much as it intrigued me I put it out of my mind for now. I’d been doing far too much thinking recently, and it hadn’t been doing me a great deal of good either. Tingles no doubt would agree with those sentiments too.

Earth and leaf-mould, trees and grass - the smells, sights and sounds of the night were all around me, tantalising my senses with hidden alure. I drew them in eagerly. My eyes gave me a real edge out here, and with the moonlight as clear as it was I had no trouble at all in navigating my way through the trees to the clearing. Judging by the silvery white glow that grew steadily with each step, my goal was close. There was a certain purity to the light here, its silvery white glow was supernatural in a way which absolutely reeked of magic. Raw magic. My horn began to itch and I couldn’t help but give it a quick scratch, not that it really made any difference, the magical field here was surprisingly intense. More so even than the one I had last felt at Pewter’s home, and that was saying something. No doubt Grimble hadn’t been affected in the slightest, but he was lucky. Non-magically attuned creatures ran the risk of blundering into dangerous magical fields without any warning, sometimes leading to ‘interesting’ or downright tragic results. I’d been to a few of those in my time in the watch, and it had rarely ended well for the poor sod on the receiving end. Gods, I can still see the look on the face of the guys wife when she went to identify which teapot her husband had been turned into. We’d been too late. The poor sod had been taken to the canteen to replace the broken one there, and… well, let’s just say it put me off drinking tea for a while. Anyway, as a unicorn it was hammered into from foalhood how essential is was to be able to ‘filter out’ magical interference, at least to some degree. It was everywhere in Equestria, from magically operated equipment, to strong naturally occurring background thaumaturgical radiation. The Everfree had been one of those very areas. I’d noticed it the second I’d walked into it, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if it had some connection to the creation of the timberwolf species. Stranger things had happened. Naturally though, some unicorns were better at filtering magical interference than others, and you can probably guess which side of the spectrum yours truly fell into. It was one of the subjects I’d kind of ‘skipped out’ on at school and, as always, it had come back to bite me on the rump in later life. Thankfully the watch made sure you were up to par on your basics, and I practised my exercises until I felt like my head was going to drop off. I’d passed, but only just.

Moving forward into the clearing, bushes lush with the crystalline red berries began to appear all around me, becoming denser and more numerous the further I went. Deep red fruit glistened, hanging enticingly beneath lush silver leaves in the ethereal light of a world between the worlds: sweet, fragrant… and impossibly delicious. It was as though they were calling to me, welcoming me to their home. My home. I kept walking, brushing my hoof gently over them one by one. It was a shame to eat them in a way, they really were quite beautiful to look at. Such delicate and fleeting things, the bushes grew only where the gap between the worlds was at its thinnest. Perhaps I’d tell Miss Sparkle about this place when I saw her next. Or not. I doubt Grimble would appreciate an inquisitive young mare, and a prodigy of the princess no less, poking around in his brandy and tobacco grove. Reaching out I took a berry and popped it in my mouth, crushing the yielding fruit between my teeth and savouring the sharp, sweet taste. The first time I’d had one of these was when I was with Shadow in the prison cell of the thestral village. At the time I’d really thought that my end would be coming soon after, but here I was, still hanging onto life. Somehow.

There was a large rock to one side of the clearing, its smooth white surface gleaming in the curious luminescence which emanated from the bushes. Unless Grimble had some strange hobby that involved polishing stones in his spare time, the near mirror finish was probably down to nothing more than natural erosion, or a combination of that and the magic here. Even so it was extraordinary, and quite attractive in an eerie kind of way. There was no way of knowing how long this had been here though. With no inscription or external features to readily identify I couldn’t make out whether it had been part of a structure once or not, but there was definitely a ‘pony made’ feel to it that really set my imagination racing. The thought of ancient ponies walking the halls of their old castles, the chants of the monks singing the praises of the princesses - it must have been a wondrous time. And probably bloody dangerous too, if Maroc’s memories had any bearing on the reality of life back then. From the books I’d read on ancient Equestria it was a miracle we’d survived as a species at all. When we weren’t being eaten, poisoned, or otherwise mangled by the local flora and fauna, we’d been going hell-for-leather to exterminate each other in wars that never seemed to have a beginning or end, let alone any particular reason for happening in the first place. Then there was the issue of having a life expectancy not much long than a gnat, which when compare with the year long gestation period for ponies, meant that by rights we should be extinct right now. And there’s another thing – modern medicine. I know a lot of ponies idealise our ancestors as living in a world of chivalry, nobility and quests to find mysterious ‘pick the religious object of your choice here’, but they always conveniently overlook just how extraordinarily lethal even every day life could be. Live fast and die young, eh? Ha! Combat was probably safer than going to the bloody shops back then. Got a splinter? Long slow death from septicaemia. Laminitis? Hang around a while, and then death. Ringworm? Death. Colic? Death. Rainscald? Horrible skin itching, flakiness, and then death. Then of course there were the all-time favourites like tetanus, lockjaw and flu. You can probably guess how these usually ended too. All of these ailments are treatable nowadays, but so much as a scratch back then was a bloody death sentence, let alone a broken leg. Good grief, I remember my mother telling me about one of her relatives who been working as a soldier on the northern frontier. Spent his whole life there freezing his knackers off keeping an eye out for Yak incursions. He’d fought dragons, manticores, and only the gods knew what else without so much as a scratch. One week into retirement he’d cut his fetlock on a tin of baked beans he was opening for dinner. The result? Blood poisoning. He was dead within a fortnight. Nowadays it was two tablets twice a day for a week and you were right as rain. Nope, Equestria had become a much safer place since those more ‘interesting’ days of yore. For most of us at any rate.

I sat down and leaned against the stone, yawning expansively. What a day! Flying halfway across Equestria, nearly being eaten by monsters, rescuing goats, and all this when I was supposed to be on bloody holiday! Honestly, I think this was the most peace I’d had since… I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. Sitting there amidst so much beauty and peace, my head began to nod. My worn out body was demanding rest, and it was such a lovely night that if I so much as closed my eyes I knew I’d be asleep in no time despite being outside beneath the stars. The changes in me since the spirit had decided to ‘adopt’ me, for want of a better word, had made my body a lot more resilient to cold than I ever used to be. I still felt it of course, but it simply didn’t bother me the way it did. In any case, the cool air tonight was just nice, and Heather’s biscuits went down a treat too. I washed another down with a swig of tea from my flask, licking the crumbs from my lips. She was a good minotaur really, if a bit scary. I can only imagine what would happen to a customer who complained their hayburger was underdone! A part of me, the desperately nosey part, wanted to know how a griffin could spawn such a creature, but I guessed she was adopted. Cross species mating was not unknown, just… yeah… I was going to stop thinking about this now. Otherwise I’d start asking myself questions about such disturbing topics as Heavy Hoof and Buttercup’s ‘relationship’. I yawned, pulling my overcoat up around my head. I was so… tired.

I’d nearly nodded off when my ears detected something walking toward me through the trees. Buck it! Were the timberwolves coming back after all? No. I was well away from the edge of the Everfree here, and it didn’t seem like their kind of habitat anyway. A badger maybe? I doubted it, but it was too big for a fox, and… Oh, no, were there ursans here?! I shook my mane and drew my sword, straining my senses to listen out for anything that may indicate a threat. My heart was in my throat now, and the sound was getting closer by the second. I could see the leaves moving, the bushes parting… Goddesses, what I saw wasn’t what I expected at all…

“So this is where you wandered off to is it?”

A tangerine pegasus mare, the odd light of the grove lending a shadowy outline to her lithe body, stood before me brushing twigs and leaves from her coat. I closed my eyes and sighed, sheathing my sword. All I’d wanted was a little breathing room, some space to myself to think, to escape, and she’d come here to berate me. Whoops! There goes my good mood, disappearing down the plughole of selfish wishful thinking.

“Can I join you?” She asked so quietly I nearly missed it. I nodded silently and nearly jumped in surprise when she snuggled into me. She was still a little distant but… “Fairlight? I’ve been thinking…”

And here it comes...

“I… I’m sorry,” Tingles said gently. “I was unfair with you before. I was angry and upset, so I lashed out at you.” She shook her mane and hung her head sadly. “You scared me back there. And I mean really scared me. I thought you were going to die down there in that horrible place, and there wasn’t anything I could do! I felt so helpless, and I...” she tailed off, taking a deep breath. “I don’t want to be alone again, Fairlight. Not again…”

I didn’t know what to say. What could I say? ‘Sorry’? Goddesses, why was my head full of such damned stubborn pride at a time like this? I was useless with mares. I always had been too. Meadow had known that, but still accepted it as a part of who I am. She knew I loved her, even if I couldn’t articulate it into words as well as I wanted. But Tingles didn’t know me as well as she did, and now that I needed to say something to ease her heart, I was utterly lost for words. And so, hopeless creature that I am, I sat in silence and let her speak.

“I wouldn’t blame you if… if you decided you…” A single tear slid down her cheek. “…if you wanted a new partner. I’m difficult to get on with sometimes I know, but I wanted you to know that… even if you hate me now, I do love you no matter what happens. Please, just... remember that. Please?”

My heart ached for her. She was pouring out her emotions to me – me, the terrible pony who had hurt her. She’d done so much for me, risked so much, and here I was unable to find something as simple as the right words to say when I needed them the most.

She began to rise. “I’ll see you in the morning…”

I reached out and stopped her with a hoof. Tingles stood as still as a rock but I could see her tears falling like rain. Tears I had caused. Each one a tiny dagger through my soul. “Stay. Please,” I whispered. She moved back towards me, allowing me to guide her gently with my forelegs until we were snuggled up together once more. The pegasus mare leaned her head on my neck and licked my muzzle, just a little, managing to convey more meaning in that simple act than a thousand words. “When I close my eyes,” I said quietly into the night, “sometimes… sometimes I see Wist, the flashes of light, and you… falling… dying right there before my eyes. And I’m unable to stop it. If it hadn’t been for the wendigo part of me, you’d be with the herd now and I would have lost you.” I stared up at the stars high above, their peaceful light shining down upon us. “I so want you to be safe, Tingles. I’ve lost so much in my life, I couldn’t bear to lose you too. Not now. Not ever.” I stroked her mane tenderly, smelling the warm scent of her coat. “It’s selfish of me, I know it is, and I know I hurt you today. Luna knows, for that I’m more sorry than I could every express in any words I could say.” I looked her in the eyes. “I do trust you, with my both life and my heart. I would happily fight by your side, love, if you would fight by mine.”

She nuzzled me and buried her face into my coat. “Oh, Fairlight, we’re both hopeless…” looking up smiling she added, “Anyway, I don’t like fighting. But if I must, I want to be with you when I have to. Just don’t closet me away, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay, love.”

We lay there under the moonlight, watching a small bat flutter across the glade out on its evening patrol. Or morning even, as it no doubt was now. I could Tingles’ heartbeat beside mine. She was so warm, so soft… I felt happier than I had in as long a time as I could remember, only this time it was more than simply the primal urge of wanting her… it was like I was letting her in somehow, becoming part of her. I hadn’t felt like this since…

“You two look cosy.”

Tingles’ head shot up, looking around until alighting upon the grass green mare that stood a few yards away, giving us an appraising stare. Oh… Oh, bugger…

“No words for your dearly beloved?” Meadow asked, smiling ominously.

“Hello, love,” I managed, nearly choking.

“‘Hello love’,” she mimicked. “The herding instinct is strong in this one.”

The last comment was aimed in Tingles’ direction. The tangerine mare was pushing into me so hard I thought she’d break a rib. All the colour had drained from her face and her eyes were wide with fright. Gods above, she looked like she’s seen a ghost! Ah, right… On reflect that probably wasn’t the best analogy considering the current situation.

I cleared my throat. “Meadow, this is-”

“I know who she is, ‘darling’, and I know what you two have been doing, too.” The green mare’s eye’s flashed dangerously.

Instinctively I put a protective foreleg across Tingles. “Meadow, if you have somepony to be angry with it’s me. Leave Tingles out of this.”

The green mare advanced on us, those lantern yellow orbs of hers locked onto me. “Well, aren’t you the ‘great protector’? The ‘big stallion’ with the libido of a rampant teenage elephant! How many mares you planning to bed then, Fairlight? Two not enough for you, is that it? What is it now, three? Four maybe?”

I stood up, keeping between the two of them. “You’re the one who told me I shouldn’t be alone!” I snapped. “And I have been, Meadow. Dear gods, I have been! In case you’d forgotten, I was trapped in the Wither World with nothing for company other than an endless sea of black sand and silence for what felt like an eternity after being told I was some sort of bloody demon and denied entry into the herd to be with my wife and daughter. If that’s not hell, then I don’t know what is! Dear goddesses, have you any idea what I’ve been through?” I huffed, tossing my mane as I stood my ground. “I’m sorry, love, but you’re being unfair.”

Meadow’s expression darkened as her eyes flashed furiously, the eerie light of the clearing only adding to the intensity of the situation. “Unfair? UNFAIR?!” She lowered her head. I’d never seen her so angry! “I was raped, Fairlight, remember? Or perhaps it’s slipped your mind? I dare say it might have, what with you being so busy shagging everything in sight and all, but personally I found it a little hard to put out of my mind to honest with you. Being raped, tortured, then murdered with a foal still inside you tends to linger in the mind, just a touch.” Her chest heaved. “Do you have any idea how that felt? Any idea at all? It wasn’t just me that died, Fairlight, it was Sparrow. Our daughter. I could feel her dying. I feel ever single second of her life fading away beside my own after what those beasts did to us. And then, there I was, left alone in a world I knew nothing about with no husband, pregnant, and beyond terrified. If you think you have problems, Fairlight, then you know nothing! Nothing at all! Now here I am, finding you, my husband, banging some feathered tart who threw herself at you the first chance she got! And of course, you were only too eager to please, weren’t you, darling? Cock first, brains later, right?”

Overcoming her fears, Tingles rose to her hooves and pushed me roughly aside. “Leave him alone you, BITCH!”

Meadow grinned menacingly, a sight that put me in mind of a certain encounter I’d had in the Everfree recently. Only this time I really did feel my blood run cold. “Oh? Got some teeth after all have you, you trollop,” she sneered.

“Trollop?!” Tingle’s mane bristled. “Why don’t you just buck off back to the underworld before I send you back there myself!”

Goddess have mercy on us, this was getting out of hoof and somepony was going to get hurt if I didn’t do something. “Girls!” I waved my forehooves. “For Luna’s sake, please! If anypony’s to blame here, it’s me. Let’s just-”

They turned to face me simultaneously. “Oh, shut up, Fairlight!”

The two looked at each other and then I saw Meadow’s chest begin to shake, her eyes closing, and a hoof rise to her mouth. An overwhelming desire to rush forward and hold her flooded me. She was with the eternal herd now, true, but damn it she was still my wife and the mother of my foal. I couldn’t just- She started to laugh. Tingles and I looked on perplexed.

The beautiful green mare threw back her head and took a deep breath, wiping her eyes. “Oh, my Fairlight! You do make me laugh! You’re right, I did tell you to find somepony to keep you company, didn’t I? And judging by your marefriend’s reaction, I suspect you’ve chosen well, too.” Meadow turned to a perplexed Tingles. “As for you, madam, I would speak with you now. Alone.”

Giving me a worried glance, Tingles walked off with Meadow to the centre of the glade and the two began to talk. Poor kid, she had no idea what Meadow’s ‘chats’ were like. She would be dissecting every detail until she was satisfied with… well, whatever she was satisfied with! I flopped down beside the stone and leaned back, staring up at the stars. Well, Luna, today has been one hell of a ride, eh? And not only have I been told I was right by a mare, another actually apologized to me as well! Now that truly was something worth recording. I’d have to mark it on the calender – ‘Fairlight was right!’, day. It could be a public holiday, a celebration of what it mean to be a stallion in a world dominated by mares who thought that we were, by and large, as dumb as a sack of hammers. Unfortunately, all too many were. In any case, I thought to myself stretching, today at least I was right. And I could live with that.

Eventually, after I’d finished the last of Heather’s goodies, the two mares returned. Meadow put a foreleg around Tingles’ shoulder, making her jump. “You sure go from one extreme to another, love: unicorn, thestral, pegasus - what are you, a collector?”

“Meadow, I-” I tried, but she cut me off. As usual.

“Shush. I’m teasing and you know it, silly. Now, Tingles dear, would you wait here while I have a chat with your stallion friend?”

Tingles nodded coyly.

Pulling myself to my hooves, Meadow and I walked to the centre of the clearing. “I see you’ve become stronger of late, and your horns looking better too.” Meadow lifted a hoof, moving my muzzle aside so she could see better. “The scar looks quite dashing. Scary, but still dashing. Have you heard anything about Shadow?”

I shook my head. “Not much, love. Luna said she’s found where she is in the Withers and is trying her best to get her back to our world, but other than that I haven’t heard a thing.”

Meadow nodded sadly. “I feared as much. I don’t know, love, I don’t like to speak ill of the princess, Luna’s done so much to help you after all. But there’s something at play here, something far bigger than you, me, and a lost thestral. I don’t know what it is, but I can feel the world around us changing, bit by bit. Star Swirl felt it too; he fears for the future of Equestria.”

Oh, what a drama queen! It sounded about right for that puffed up wizard too. He should have been on the stage, not fiddling around with ponies lives. I didn’t like the way he was upsetting Meadow with his mystical woo-woo bollocks either. I flicked a leaf off my foreleg. “I don’t think Star Swirl needs to worry so much to be honest, love. We successfully destroyed a huge manufacturing plant full of weapons and drugs on another world recently. The agency rescued all the ponies taken there as slaves, not to mention recovering a sack load of breezies that the swines had planned to process into nose candy. You’d think all that would’ve gone at least some way to restoring harmony for everypony.” But then I’m not some ‘all knowing’ mage type, am I? Bloody wizards...

Meadow shrugged. “True, but if it were only that simple.” She looked up suddenly. “Oh! I’m sorry, love, I don’t mean to play down what you did there - you were absolutely amazing! Everypony was talking about it for ages, and the papers were full of the stories of heroism that you all showed rescuing those foals. You even had your picture on the front page!” I think I must have gone white as a sheet, because she placed hoof on shoulder with a consoling expression on her face. “Nothing stays a secret from the herd I’m afraid, love, but everypony in town was literally abuzz with your antics! I was so proud of you!”

“There’s a bit ‘but’ coming, isn’t there?” I muttered, trying to hide my embarrasment.

She nodded resignedly. “Yes… There is something more, something that may or may not come to pass, although what it is exactly I can’t say. Tch! I wish I could tell you more, but I just don’t know.”

“Star Swirl keeping his muzzle shut on that, is he?” I asked gruffly.

Meadow rolled her eyes. “He may be a lot of things, Fairlight, but he’s not devious. If he knew more he’d tell me, or tell you himself.”

Oh, yes, Star Swirl sure knew who his useful puppet in the mortal world was, didn’t he. And I had an awful sinking feeling that the conniving old shit would be putting in an appearance at some point in the not to distant future too - whether I liked it or not. Knowing my luck he’d have some bloody awful task for me to do for him, and if persuasion didn’t work, he’d get Meadow to put the pressure on instead. I rubbed my forehead with a hoof. It was all a bit over my head anyway, and in any case, other things were troubling me.

“Meadow love, do you know anything about this ‘lord of the four winds’ thing I keep hearing about?” I asked. “It’s somehow tied to the fortress in the mountains near here so far as I can tell. Luna seems to think I’m the descendant of the old lord or something, and the people in the village keep calling me ‘my lord’ too, which is doing my bloody head in to be honest. It’s just so bizarre, I don’t know what to make of it all.”

“Neither do I love,” Meadow shrugged. “It sounds a little overly dramatic to be honest with you, but I’ll do what I can to find out. I wouldn’t read too much in to it though, you know what these village bumpkin types can be like. Half of them are addled by years of cider abuse and the other half are chasing goats around all night. When I can, I’ll speak to you again.” She tapped her chin with a hoof. “Hmm, you know, I approve of Tingles, but…”

I raised an eyebrow. “But…?”

“I can’t quite put my hoof on it, but I just can’t help but feel she’s hiding something.” Meadow nodded to herself as if affirming some thought or other. “She loves you though, there’s no doubting that, and I think she really was ready to clobber me earlier too!” She sighed, pressing her muzzle into my chest. “Look, just take care and don’t do anything silly, okay? I know you all too well.”

“You do love…” I moved to kiss her. “Can I?”

Apparently not! Sidestepping, Meadow pushed me gently but firmly out of the way and beckoned Tingles over who was looking on nervously. A moment later, the three of us stood together in the centre of the glade.

Meadow took leadership roles like a duck to water. Tonight, was no different. “Tingles, this stallion is my husband. I may be dead, well… I am dead, but I entrust you to take good care of him and he of you. Will you do this for me?” Tingles nodded and stood tall, showing her willingness. Meadow’s eyes sparkled in the silvery light of the glade. “Excellent! Now, I want to show you something. And then, I want you to copy what I do… yes?” Again, Tingles nodded, watching on in anticipation. “Good!” Meadow chirped pleasantly. “So… like this…”

Meadow faced me like a cat studying a mouse. I could feel my heart rate increasing by the second as she moved closer, half lidding her deep yellow eyes as she glided up to me. Slowly she began to brush her muzzle up the side of mine, breathing her spicy breath into my mouth and nose. It was just the slightest hint, the barest whisper on the wind. Her eyes locked onto mine, and she moved her mouth up to my ear, a soft tongue snaking out to trace its edge up to the tip, sending a bolt of electricity down my spine. She chuckled quietly, gliding her hoof up my neck and under my chin, lifting it slightly as she moved her lips to mine. Gently, Meadow began sucking on them until I opened my mouth to accept her. Suddenly she moved away, only an inch or so, but still a frustratingly alluring distance that made me move after her.

She stopped me with a gentle push. “No. Not yet…wait my love,” she whispered, those lantern eyes catching the glades magical light. Meadow moved forward slowly and ran her tongue across my lips, the moist warm softness making me burn and ache for her. Smiling seductively, she turned to Tingles who was watching her wide eyed. “You see, dearest Tingles,” Meadow purred, “you have to lure him in… make him want you.“ She looked me in the eyes, her voice maddeningly captivating. “…make him need you…”

I could barely contain myself, but Meadow wasn’t going to allow me any release just yet. She leaned up and breathed gently in my ear, the feeling making my knees quiver. She was bringing me to the very edge of losing my reason and she knew it. The grass green mare was in complete control. My mind was a blank as Meadow put her head down to my chest and opened her mouth, running her tongue and teeth up the underside of my neck until she was mere millimetres away from mine. Reaching up, she took my head in both of her forehooves. “Now, this is how you kiss a stallion…” She moved into me, pushing her tongue into my mouth and locking her lips around my own. Meadow groaned wordlessly and pushed on: tasting, exploring, remembering every detail of my mouth. It had been so long. So, so long... I reached around her and pulled the mare into me deeper, wanting to be with her and burning with the fires of passion to become one with my beautiful green mare. Meadow skilfully pulled me to the ground and lay on her back. “Now, Tingles,” she breathed, “the lesson continues. Pay close attention now…”

She took my head and moved me down to her chest, allowing me to run my hooves and muzzle across her fur, nibbling and licking, urged on by her enticing pants and moans. I could see her chest rise and fall, hear her heart beating hard in her chest while my own thundered deafeningly in my ears. This time, this wonderful moment in the place where dreams came true, Meadow and I defied the boundaries and laws defining life and death, giving ourselves to one another and sharing the love that we had held within our hearts from the very first day we had met beneath that tree in the sleepy town of Ponyville. Dear gods, everything I had been through, everything we had been through and endured, meant nothing here. Nothing at all. And neither should it. The world beyond the walls of the berry laden bushes was million miles away now. All that mattered was the here and now, and the joy we found in each others embrace.

Meadow’s cries grew in intensity until she let out one final grunting moan as a violent shudder ran through her body. I could feel her muscles tense and then suddenly relax, her legs dropping limply by her sides whilst our hot breath curled up into the cool night air. Grinning, the beautiful green mare blew a stray mane hair from her muzzle and winked at me cheekily. “You’ve still got it,” she said breathily, reaching up for a kiss.

Across the glade, Tingles was sat on her haunches, a look of burning desire in her eyes. She’d seen everything. And I mean, everything. For a horrible moment I felt shocked by what I’d done, or more specifically what Meadow and I had done. I mean, what must she have-

Meadow placed a hoof on my mouth, no doubt sensing my concern. She looked up at the tangerine coated pegasus with a wicked expression I found both alluring and, frankly, quite frightening. “Tingles? I want you to come here. Show me what you’ve learned…”

Tingles was a little unsure at first, but still approached, watching Meadow then me in turn. I reached up to kiss her, but she stepped away, moving into me at her own speed. Meadow smiled, nodding her approval. “Yes… like that… he likes that…”

Gradually, Tingles moved into the kiss. Any inhibitions I may have had, vanished in that moment a breath on the wind. Anywhere else, if anypony had said something like this could happen, I would have thought them mad. Or that it was the product of an overactive imagination. But here we were, all three of us, and it was beyond such inconsequential concerns. Far, far beyond them. We began to pull at each other in mounting passion whilst Meadow chuckled and nibbled my ears, my neck, and then moved down to between my haunches. The feeling of warmth and eroticism rolled through me like a tidal wave. As Tingles’ tongue quested ever more into my mouth, we lost ourselves to the magic of the glade. Meadow, Tingles, and a spirit possessed stallion called Fairlight, frolicked and played beneath Luna’s moon until the sky began to lighten, and the magic of the night gradually waned, giving way to the faint warmth of the morning sun.

“I’ve always wondered what it was like from your angle, my love,” Meadow giggled.

I just shrugged. Right then it was all I could manage. One mare was work enough for any stallion, but with two of the demanding turns with me I’d been left in a near stupor. Tingles had collapsed on top of me, utterly spent, her shaking legs echoing my own weakened limbs. And so the three of us lay silently for a while; tired, yet content in each others embrace. Despite the rapidly approaching dawn, the breeze was cooling our sweat soaked bodies quickly, and we would need to move soon or risk catching a chill.

Meadow was the first to rise to her hooves.

“It’s time for me to go now you two.” The young mare got up and stretched, groaning happily. “I’ll have to go and rescue my parents from the tender mercies of Sparrow. The little pest’s a real hoofful at times, and you know what foals are like at that age.” She gave me a nuzzle and a peck on the nose. “Keep safe love, remember what I said and do what you can for Shadow. If I find anything out that can help, you know how to find me. Just look for where the berries grow.” Meadow stuck her tongue out playfully before resting a hoof on Tingles. “He’s a good stallion, Tingles Bit low on brain cells, but I can forgive that. Don’t forget what we talked about… hmm?”

The tangerine mare shook her head, then gingerly reached out and gave Meadow a little nuzzle. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Meadow’s eyes widened in surprise before her face mellowed and she gave Tingles a kiss on the nose. “Look after him, Tingles. I’m counting on you.” She shook herself and gave an expansive yawn. “If you two are going to get any sleep, you’d better get a move on.” Meadow gestured towards the horizon. “Sun’s coming up soon.”

She was right, a faint reddish light was starting to appear along the skyline, heralding the arrival of Celestia’s sun. It was, as painful as it was to admit, time to go. Tingles and I waved to Meadow, the green coated mare walking off a few steps before vanishing as if she’d never been any more substantial than a soap bubble.

“Are you alright, love?”

I stared at the place Meadow had been, unsure of what to say. It hadn’t been a dream. I knew that. So why did it feel as if I’d dreamt the whole thing? Maybe… Maybe life was the dream, and that death was the very antithesis of that. Meadow, Sparrow… They were the ones who were alive. They were ones who were living in the ever loving light of the gods, in the land where there was only peace, where pain and suffering simply did not exist. It was here, here in this world, where we waited. Waiting for the day we were called home…

“Fairlight?”

“Come on, love,” I said, giving Tingles a quick squeeze. “Let’s see what the rest of the day has for us, eh? I don’t know about you, but I could murder a fry up.”

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

We walked slowly back to the tavern with the sun broaching the horizon. I remember the sunrises in Manehattan, the way it would send shafts of rich golden light between the buildings, casting long dark shadows. I always loved that time of day, it was as if the night was warring with the day, casting the darkness out until it gradually returned to reclaim the city street by street. It was a cycle of nature, yet one that reminded me of the stories of the princesses and how Celestia had banished her own sister for a thousand years. Thank goodness that was all a thing of the past now, I don’t think I’d fancy going to war over the fancies of a couple of hormonal alicorns. It’s a shame nopony just gave them a spanking, or shoved them into a room full of rubber bats so they could work out all that aggression without sentencing thousands to death and incalculable suffering. But that’s what you get for having ‘monarchs’, or whatever they like to call themselves. History was full of power crazed nutters, and not just ponies either. Dragons, llamas, griffins – hell, they were all at it! Once they were in power, war was pretty much inevitable. It was as if it was part of the bloody job description, and one that was seen by the elite as a way of gaining more land, more control, and thinning out the unwashed masses beneath them. It was a win-win for them. Couldn’t you be a ruler and not use your people like pawns in a game of chess? Well, yes you could be, there were a good sprinkling of rulers who had been loved by their people and hadn’t stuffed them into the mincing machine of war whenever the opportunity arose. But guess what happened to them? Assassination, ‘accident’s’, mysterious illnesses, and other life shortening ‘incidents’ that would bring their rule to a rapid and usually spectacular end. Celestia had pretty much broken the mold in that respect. She was feared, but also loved. She was not shy of war, but promoted peace. I dare say she had an iron hoof on the pulse of the country, and the CBI was one of those quiet little instruments she kept out of the public eye to ‘delete’ problems that couldn’t be dealt with through more diplomatic means. She was, in many respects, the very definition of the ‘smiling assassin’. Just ask Maroc. He was the ruler of the wendigo, but had thrown his lot in with the wrong team. So what did Celestia do? Did she negotiate with the wendigo? Did she thrash out treaties and peace accords with them? Of course not. She massacred them, wiping even their memory away from the history of Equestria until they faded so much from the public consciousness that they’d become no more than figures of fantasy and characters in romantic novels read by frisky mares. Mind you, that didn’t mean we couldn’t go and have a peek at the remnants of that turbulent time. I’d always loved anything to do with history, even if it was just a pile of busted up rocks and stones.

Tingles leaned her head against me a good part of the way. She was completely worn out, her mane and tail as ragged looking as mine. Goddesses, I hoped nopony saw us trundling into the village like that, they’d think we’d been out on the drink all night! Mind you, we were supposed to be holiday, so the way I looked at it was that as long as we kept quiet we’d probably be ignored as simply a couple of weary merrymakers. Hope springs eternal, eh? Thankfully though, Grimble had unbarred the door in anticipation of our return and the coals still burned merrily in the hearth. I was quite impressed considering the issue with the timberwolves had only been at its height just a scant few hours earlier. Had he taken me quite literally when I said that I’d come to an ‘understanding’ with the curious creatures? Bloody hell, maybe he had! Ha! First time for everything I suppose. Tingles and I shared a smile, and without a word between us, snuggled together by the fire on the deep pile rug. Only the gods knew how clean the thing was, but it was simply too much effort to climb the stairs right now. Besides, it was so warm here, the flickering yellow flames so inviting... Yawning, Tingles closed her eyes and curled into me. Before long, tired but happy, we were both sound asleep.

My dreams ebbed and flowed with the joyful sounds of my mares and daughter. They were my own herd, the ones I loved more than anything else in the world, and the ones I would protect with my life if necessary. In the distance, two wendigo flew, the beautiful creatures twisting and rolling effortlessly through the air in absolute silence before coming together in an embrace. Snow began to fall all around them as the world turned a brilliant white, their whispers carried on the cold north wind echoing across a frozen land…

Brother.

Come home.

Come home to us.

“Who are you?” I cried to them. “What do you mean?”

Come home.

Remember who you are.

“Who I am?” I felt my heart surge, but I wasn’t afraid, more… excited? Why?

You know who you are.

Listen.

Listen to the winds.

Come home.

Heather woke us. Oh gods, what a dream! My head was absolutely thumping besides itself. Had I really had that much to drink? My mane was plastered to my face and I felt as though I’d been rolling in glue all night. Thank goodness somepony had put the fireguard over the hearth whilst we’d been asleep, otherwise I could have woken up to the smell of singed Fairlight. And I can only imagine how Tingles would have reacted to a burnt feather! But… What about that weird dream? ‘Listen to the winds’? I rubbed my head and groaned; that’s what you got for tiring yourself out to the point of complete exhaustion and listening to stupid bloody stories about times that nopony alive would know anything about outside of local legends and one bit novels. Verbal traditions were all well and good, but I knew all too well from interviewing witnesses how easily fantasy could be construed as facts, even when they’d seen it all first hoof. Give it one thousand years and the truth would more than likely morph into something totally different altogether. The ones best placed know what really went on in the forests and mountains around Smiling Borders weren’t exactly ponies either. Celestia and Luna were alicorns, the living deities of Equestria, and somehow I doubt even they’d have perfect recall of events from that far back. Or would they? I smacked my lips; my mouth felt like I’d been chewing on carpet all night. And what was that stuck in my teeth? A hair? Urgh! Oh no, I think I was going to be sick...

As if in answer to my stomach’s threatened rebellion, two steaming mugs of tea were promptly plonked down in front of us, accompanied thereafter by a bowl of porridge each. I closed my eyes and felt a shiver run through me.

“Eat.”

“I can’t...” I groaned. “Oh gods, I think I’m dying here...”

“Eat.” Beady eyes appeared next to mine, and I sat up in surprise. Before I knew it a spoonful of the porridge was all but rammed into my mouth. “Make better.”

“Mmmf!” I snatched the spoon away from the insistent minotaur and nodded my thanks. Bloody hell, what was she trying to do, choke me to death? I chewed the thick goopy… Hey, it wasn’t that bad! I swallowed and took another spoonful. Dear goddesses, it was delicious! “Thanks, Heather!” I chirped. “That’s really…” But she’d already gone. I shrugged and took a sip of my tea – hot, touch of milk, sweet, and just the way I like it. By Luna, Heather was a force to be reckoned with in the morning! The breakfast porridge was as good as it smelled. There was even a little pot of honey and a jar of almond flakes to add to taste. Now this was a breakfast!

Whilst I polished off my tiny slice of heaven, I marvelled at the fact that my dry mouth and thumping head were now fading away, replaced instead with a feeling of peaceful warmth and contentment that seemed bizarre for such a simple repast. That said, these country folk had some ways about them that us city dwellers would do well to learn. It certainly beat popping pain killers, that was for sure. I put down my empty bowl, stretching out my legs towards the hearth. It was still warm too, the fire having been banked during the night. I must have so sound asleep I hadn’t noticed a thing. Either that or Heather could move a lot more quietly than I’d given her credit for. One day I’d have to speak to Grimble about these curious creatures. Speaking of whom, I really fancied a pipe right now. Unfortunately any chances of a sneaky smoke vanished with another sleepy equine stirring beside me.

Stretching all four legs out and yawning expansively, Tingles reached up to rub her eyes, a tiny moan escaping her lips. I chuckled softly to myself, she was so cute! Just watching her warmed my heart far more than the heat from the hearth, and I gave her a light kiss on the forehead. “Morning, love. Sleep well?”

“Mmhmm.”

Not a great starter first thing in the morning then, eh? Good grief, she even had me yawning now! Tingles ate in silence, looking both mentally and physically drained, her mane a tangled mess, She ruffled her feathers, a habit I’d noticed she had whenever she felt under the weather. I left her in peace, simply enjoying the relaxing quiet of the morning. Well, other than the clatter of dishes coming from the kitchen. What the hell was Heather doing in there? She was suppose to wash the pot and pans, not demolish the walls with them!

“Fairlight?”

I looked over at Tingles, rolling my shoulders. “Yes, love?”

Tingles let out a long sigh, her eyes staring into her bowl of porridge. “Did… did last night, you know…” A single green eye glanced up at me. “I wasn’t dreaming it, was I? Meadow I mean, and… that.”

I shook my head. “No, you weren’t dreaming love. We were all there, the three of us. Although it does seem like a dream, doesn’t it? Even now, being here with you here in this tavern.” I leaned back again and felt a wave of relaxation run through me from muzzle to tail. “I don’t want to leave…”

She looked up at me and smiled, brushing a stray hair from her eyes. “I know. For some reason, I feel happy here, like... I don’t know, like I belong here somehow. Does that sound strange?”

I closed my eyes, savouring the moment. “No. No, it doesn’t sound strange at all.” I chuckled. “I think you’ll be picking all our holiday spots in future, love. Go easy on the timberwolves next time though, yeah?”

Tingles stretched and looked to the stairs, rubbing her bedraggled mane. “Fairlight… do we have to go to the mountains?”

I scratched my chin, feeling the need to wash and clean up creeping up on me. “I think so, love,” I said honestly. “There’s answers there. Whether I like it or not I need to get control of this thing inside me. I can’t just ignore it and hope everything will work out okay. Brandy and Luna may be happy to have a ‘wendigo’ on the team, but I know damned well they’re only keeping me around because I’m useful to them. You heard Pewter, I need to get to grips with this, one way or another. If I don’t I’m worried I’ll end up as some sort of guinea pig for them. Or worse.”

“I know that, it’s just…” Tingles shook her head, a expression of heartbreaking sadness ghosting across her face. “Last night, our time together… I don’t want it to end.”

I felt a sudden wave of apprehension ripple through me. “Tingles, is something bothering you about this trip? I want you to come with me, love, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to you know. You can always stay here and chill out while I go and have a look around. I’ll be back before-”

“No!” she barked suddenly, taking me aback. “No, Fairlight, I won’t let you go on your own! We’ve already talked about that, haven’t we?” I nodded as she continued. “Look, it’s… that is, I… Oh goddesses, I don’t know! Just forget I said anything.” She scratched at her mane, “Goddesses I’m itching like mad! I’m tired, filthy, and I really need a bath.”

Laughing, I finished off the last of my tea. “Okay, love, I’m right with you on that one!”

“Pardon me, my lord, my lady...” Grimble ghosted up with his horned assistant. “Will you be using the hot springs this morning?”

Tingles sat bolt upright, suddenly bright and alert. “Can we?”

Grimble bobbed his head to her. “Of course, my lady. Please...” He held out a claw to Heather who presented us with two wicker baskets. Inside was a selection of fragrant soaps, combs, brushes, flannels, towels and all other manner of bathing goodies. “The path to the bathing area is immediately behind the tavern. When you reach the top the pool on your left is for washing and the ones on the right for bathing. I have taken the liberty of reserving them for your use this morning.”

I floated out one of the blocks of soap and sniffed it, noticing the earthy scent that I have say was unlike any soap I’d come across before. It was full of-

“It’s a blend of soap and pumice stone,” Grimble chipped in, noticing my puzzled expression. “We make it here in the village at the alchemist’s shop. It used to be quite popular with visitors to the hot springs back in the day. Personally I find it’s particularly useful for my claws, but it’s also good for scrubbing fur. My paws get terrible callouses on them – a by-product of age, I’m afraid.”

“Good for mites,” Heather added in her bass-drum tones.

Well that was good to know, wasn’t it! Next time I got mites I’d have to remember that. Good grief!

“There’s a jar of feather conditioner in there too, my lady,” Grimble noted, nodding to Tingles’ basket. “I don’t use it much myself, although I’m assured the pegasi here find it most efficacious for lustrous wings.”

Tingles closed her eyes. “Oh, Grimble, Heather… Thank you so much!”

I thought she was going to cry! I floated both of the baskets onto my back and stretched my legs. “Thanks, both of you. Will you be joining us?”

“Goodness me, no!” Grimble looked like I’d said something scandalous. “It wouldn’t be seemly, my lord. You are our honoured guests, and...” He swallowed, glancing at Heather and then back to us. “I am sure you good self and your lady would prefer some time to yourselves. Yes?”

“Well, um… sure.” I caught Tingles’ eye. “No time like the present though, eh? All set, love?”

Tingles nodded. “Do you even need to ask?” She smiled at Grimble and Heather. “Celestia bless you.” And with that she was out the door in a flash. “Come on, slow poke! Last one there’s a rotten egg!”

I shrugged helplessly and dashed out after her, pausing only to cast a final smile at Grimble. Closing the door behind me, I raced after my speeding mare. But my mind was elsewhere. The expression on his face… Had I imagined that? Grimble had been all smiles and falling over himself to help us one minute, and then just as we were leaving his eyes had looked… No, it must have been my imagination. We’d done nothing to upset him, quite the opposite in fact. But the glare he gave Tingles… My neck quivered. It had to be my imagination, right? I put some speed into my pace, racing up the hill to where the steam was rising high into the cool morning air. All of sudden, Smiling Borders didn’t seem quite as welcoming as I’d thought.

As Grimble had explained though, the hot springs were just outside the rear of the tavern, up a steep rise that provided a breathtaking view across the valley and rolling hills in one direction, and the impossibly high snow capped peaks of the distant mountains and dark forests of the Everfree. You could see why this place had once been such a tourist hot-spot, even if it had fallen into decline of late. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I’d never been to a hot spring before, but I’d always fancied going to one. Some of the movies I’d watched featured them, especially ones set in or near the dragon realms. Not that anypony in their right mind would go near those things! Yak Yakistan was notable for them, but once again, our nations weren’t exactly what you’d call on friendly terms. A stinkier, hairier bunch of barbarians you could never wish to meet. I’d met one once, it had been at a dinner party laid on by some posh lord or whatever. I hadn’t been that bothered who we were there to look after, we just did as we were told. Sometimes the watch ended up as a private security force when some big-wig was in town, but hey, if I was getting overtime who cared, right? Anyway, our yak ambassador friend rolls up and within half an hour there was absolute pandemonium. The hulking great rug went berserk because of some cultural sight or whatever, taking it upon himself to reduce the soiree to a free-for-all. Six landed in hospital before we could take the thing down. Gods, I had to wash my uniform three times to get rid of the stink! Imagine damp dog, amplified ten-fold. Oddly enough, instead of diplomatic incident, the yakistani elders brushed the whole thing off as a mere ‘misunderstanding’! Why that was the case and not a green light for a full on invasion of Equestria, is anyponies guess. All I can say is that if they had hot springs there, they needed to use them more often. On the subject of which, there were several pools here, with a cooler one to the left of the path just as our generous host had said. Steam rose lazily from the hot water, a sulphurous tinge to it that made my nose itch. Tingles took a deep breath before letting rip a split second later with a high pitched sneeze, making me chuckle to myself.

“I don’t know what you’re laughing about,” she muttered. “You must be nose-numb.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know I have a very sensitive nose, thank you very much,” I huffed. “Anyway, the water here’s supposed to be good for you skin and fur, isn’t it?”

“If it didn’t honk like a goose!” Tingles moaned.

“Well come on then goosey, let’s see how ‘efficacious’ Grimbles’ magic soap is.” I floated up the pumice infused block, waggling it at the grumpy mare. “Fancy a scrub?”

“You keep that to yourself!” Tingles said, pushing my basket away and fishing out her own perfumed bar. “I don’t know what Grimble was thinking. Pumice gets in everywhere, and it’s a right swine to get all the bits out of your feathers. Just make sure you rinse off properly or you’ll be sleeping on the floor tonight; I don’t want the bed full of gritty bit.”

“Suit yourself.” I huffed cheekily and entered the small wooden structure which passed for changing rooms and cleaning area.

The whole thing seemed a bit rickety for my liking, but it had everything you needed, like hooks for your clothes, benches to sit on and so forth. By the worn appearance of the wood, this place was very well used indeed, or at least had been. Upkeep was lacking a touch, which wasn’t surprising considering the state of the Wyvern’s Tail and the rest of the village. It had certainly all been built to last, but when? Had Nightmare Moon been one of the early patrons? Ha! It wouldn’t surprise me. But seriously, I know the village had been in decline since the drop off in visitors, but surely a touch of maintenance and, goddess forbid, paint, wouldn’t hurt. What did hurt was when Tingles dumped a bucket of warm water over me and started trying to drag knots out of my tail.

“Ouch! Bugger me, Tingles, be careful will you? The last thing I need is a bald arse!”

“Don’t be such a big baby,” Tingles retorted, clucking her tongue. “I told you to use conditioner, didn’t I?”

“Conditioner’s for mares,” I muttered.

“Conditioner’s for mares,” she mocked in a squeaky parody of my voice. “Conditioner is for dry hair problems like yours for goodness sake.” She gave it another tug, having a good go at dislocating my neck too by feel of it. “Look at the state of it!” Tingles snorted. “Honestly, Fairlight, it’s like straw. Didn’t Meadow teach you about mane and tail care?”

“I don’t need to be taught how to care for my hair!” I sniffed. “I’m a grown stallion who – Ow!”

“A grown stallion who has dry hair and doesn’t look after it.” The tangerine pegasus took out another comb, spreading some sort of oil on it and started running it through my mangle tail. “Right, this will help clear the knots out, and then it’s on to your mane.”

“Oh, no! No way!”

She stopped to look up at me. “Are you always this difficult, or you doing it just for my benefit?”

“It’s part of my endearing charm, darling,” I smirked. I raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, if I didn’t say something you’d think I was a pushover and then where would we be?”

“Having a soak instead of spending all day with your bloody tail!” Tingles gave me a shove, knocking back against the wooden wall of the changing room. “Now you listen to me, Lord of the Four Winds, you’re going to sit there, in silence, while I fix you tail and your mane, understand? Because if you don’t, all the minotaurs in Smiling Borders won’t save you when I get started.”

I swallowed, looking into her fierce green eyes. “Are you sure you’re not part dragon?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You never know...”

I lay there obediently for far longer than anypony in their right mind would have found comfortable. The benches here were solid wood, and hardly what you’d call ideal for relaxation. Tingles, however, carried on regardless of my discomfort, combing, brushing, and, to my horror… started to snip away at my tail. Warily I peered over my shoulder at what she was doing, but sensibly said nothing. Scissors in the the hooves of non-uncorns had always filled me with a sense of dread, and I had made a point of avoiding barbers who were staffed by earth ponies or pegasi. It wasn’t out of any sense of prejudice of course, just… How did they do it? One slip, one misstep and it was goodbye ear, or worse – involuntary gelding.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

Every second dragged by as fast as a one legged tortoise, every snip of those blades a harbinger of more to come. I tried flattening my ears only to receive a tap to lift the back up. The feel of the metal sliding past them nearly had me whimpering, but I kept my cool. Somehow!

“Fairlight? What was Meadow talking to you about?”

“Huh?” I felt a shiver run through me. I didn’t like the fact I was being asked questions whilst sharp implements where mere millimetres away from my neck. “She said that she approved of you.”

“I know,” Tingles said quietly. “I mean when she wanted to speak to you privately. I don’t want to be nosy, it’s just…” She sighed. “I feel a little insecure, that’s all. I don’t really know her and everything happened so fast! I did things with her, and you, that… well, you know.” She huffed slightly under her breath. “Forget it, I shouldn’t have asked.”

Snip. Snip. Snip.

I closed my eyes as hair fell past my muzzle. “She said you love me,” I said softly. “Meadow likes you, but I think she’s worried how you’ll react when we find Shadow.”

“Because she’s a thestral?” Tingles nodded. “I had thought of that, but I’ve seen her in my dreams, Fairlight. Yeah, sure, they’re just dream, but they had to be more than that. When I met Meadow in the glade, she was exactly the same as she had appeared in my dream, and I felt… comfortable around her.”

“I thought you just said you felt insecure?” I pointed out.

“I do! Or… at least I did.” She paused. “I don’t think she trusts me entirely, does she?”

I didn’t want to say anything, but she’d hit the nail right on the head. “I wouldn’t read anything into it, love. You have to remember that Meadow died whilst carrying our foal, and then there was that whole Wither World business with the herd’s goons trying to turn me into Fairlight kebabs too. I think she has a right to be wary. After all she doesn’t know you as well as I do – yet - but she wouldn’t have accepted you the way she did if she thought you were an actual danger to me.”

“A… danger to you?” Tingles sounded on the verge of tears.

“Only with those scissors!” I quipped.

She gave herself a shake before letting out a long pent up sigh. “I don’t know how she put up with you, you know.”

“No… No, neither do I.” I smiled sadly. “Ponies around me have a habit of getting hurt. In Meadow’s case, it was worse… a lot worse. I think that’s why I was so wary about opening up to you and accepting how I felt about you.”

“Because you don’t want me get hurt,” Tingles mused.

“Because I hate seeing anypony hurt, love.” I took a chance and looked up at her. She was staring straight ahead at the wall. I nodded slowly to myself. “The wendigo can heal me, and it has the power to heal others from wounds that would otherwise be fatal, but there are some things it can’t do. It can’t bring somepony I love back from the dead.” I shifted round and leaned my muzzle against her. “I don’t want to lose anypony else, Tingles. It would… break me.”

The tangerine mare said nothing, letting me stay there feeling her warmth against my hide. Then, so gently I barely noticed her doing it, a wing as soft as down brushed some of the cut hair from my neck. “Come on,” she said suddenly, clopping me on the rump. “Lets get scrubbed up and hit that hot spring.”

I was always warned not to spend too long in hot water, or cold even for that matter. Mum used to say “you’ll get soft hooves!” And you know, she was probably right. Still, you have to be careful what you say to impressionable foals – they can take you quite literally. Especially in my case apparently. The first few times I’d bathed on my own as a youngster I’d tried to keep them all four hooves out of the bathwater at the same time, nearly managing to drown myself for my efforts. Mum had been there in an instant of course, dragging me out in a bright glow of magic, but the memory of soapy water burning in my nose and mouth still haunts me all these years later. That it in mind it isn’t all that surprising how much I hate water being dumped over me, particularly when I wasn’t expecting it, but with the lack of showers it wasn’t like we had much choice anyway. And so it was, that suitably cleaned and trimmed, the two of us left the cleaning area for what I had really come here for - the hot springs themselves.

They were everything I’d dreamed of, and more. Dear goddesses, ‘bliss’ would be an understatement! It certainly wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the water here gave new meaning to word ‘ecstasy’ either. Best of all, there was nopony else here except us. I sank into the heavenly warmth, feeling it seeping through my fur, skin and muscles, warming my aching joints. Last night had been so full on, in so many ways, I wasn’t so sure flying to the mountains today was such a good idea after all. If only we could stay here, the two of us like Tingles had said... It just felt so right somehow. Maybe we really did belong here, in this little village on the edge of civilisation. No more being sent off on suicidal missions, no more trudging the dark, wet streets of Manehattan waiting for the day some drunken thug got the better of you. No. No, I could see myself here, with my mare and foals, swimming in the river or exploring the ancient ruins. Oh, Luna… If Shadow were here with us, what more could a pony ask for? Tingles moaned gratefully beside me as she sank into the water up to her neck, closing her eyes in sheer bliss. Ha! There was that word again! Ah, but how true it was… Slowly, she pushing her way towards me.

“This is sheer heaven…” She closed her eyes and let out a long, low groan. “Are you sure we haven’t died and moved on?”

I didn’t like the reference, but I knew her meaning. “I don’t think the herd’s got anything on this, love. It is wonderful, though, isn’t it? You know,” I said pulling her close to me, “I’ve been thinking; I’ve got some money tied up in my old house still. Despite the damage, it’s in a sought after location and has to be worth a good few bits. Pewter has control of my estate, so if I asked her she’d be able to sell it for me in no time.” I rolled my shoulders, letting the water do its thing. “This place, this village…” I sighed, not even being bothered to finish my sentence. What did it matter here? I could just close my eyes and nod off.

Tingles smiled luxuriously. “It feels right doesn’t it? Like… home. A real home. No noise, no shouting, no fighting, no dealing with the worst villains Equestria can throw at us.” She moaned softly, closing her eyes. “I’ve had enough of all that. Enough to last me two lifetimes, never mind one. We belong here, love. You and I, together in our own little country hideaway.” She chuckled, “Hey, do you think Grimble would sell the Wyvern’s Tail to a couple of townies?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” I mused. “But if not we could always build a house here. I doubt real estate’s exactly expensive in these parts, and there’s more than enough land for a small holding, if not a full size farm if wanted. The locals are pretty friendly too.”

“Except the timberwolves,” Tingles added.

I nodded in agreement. “Except the timber wolves, true, but this place: the smell of the forest, the fresh mountain air, the hot springs – We’ve only been here five minutes and yet I just can’t imagine leaving it to go back to the chaos of the city.” I lifted one of my forelegs. It was like a road map of Equestria, all laid out in a cobweb of fine scars. They were barely visible, but I knew they were there. Every arrest that had descended into a fight, every time I’d cut myself jumping walls and fences to apprehend some thug down the back streets and alleys of Manehattan – it was all there. The unspoken story of my life. “You know, when I was younger I couldn’t wait to leave Ponyville. I wanted to see the bright lights, to feel the excitement and challenge of working in the big smoke. To me it was this ‘big adventure’ that I was missing out on. For a naive young stallion it was like a siren call to my testosterone, and I leaped at the chance of a transfer when the opportunity came up. I suppose the small town life seemed so boring back then – a backwater where ponies went to vegetate before being put out to pasture. But when we took the girls back there, it… called to me.” I shrugged. “Not so much Ponyville itself I mean, more the country life, the open air and quiet of it all. Ha! Maybe I’m getting old!”

“Only if I am too,” Tingles chuckled quietly. “But what about the agency? We couldn’t just up sticks and leave, could we?”

I huffed loudly. “I’d like to say to hell with them, but we have to find Shadow first, love. She’s still trapped in the Wither World, and I need Luna’s help, to help her. Once she’s here then I’d be more than happy to wave ta-ta to those suited miseries in the agency.” I groaned and worked at a stiff joint in my hind leg. “I know you’ve never met her, but-”

“I think I have though,” Tingles cut in. “In the dream I told you about, remember?” She brushed at her fur in thought. “I know how important she is to you and Meadow. Now, she’s important to me too.” A gentle smile ghosted across her lips. “The Fairlight herd. Our family.”

I gave her a nuzzle, “Our family.”

A herd, eh? I could live with that. I won’t say the thought hadn’t crossed my mind of course, but to hear it from Tingles was the final piece that made the puzzle complete - the finished masterpiece that was the Failight herd. Meadow, Shadow, Tingles, Sparrow, and good old Fairlight the ‘Lord of the four winds’ - a veritable legend in his own lunchtime. Ha! Ah, if only mum could see me now. She’d have gone absolutely bloody spare! And you know what? I just didn’t give a toss either. Not at all… Lying there, floating in the deliciously warm water, life seemed far too short to be worrying about such trivial things. This was my time. This was our time. The trip to the mountains could wait until the next day. Or maybe the day after that. Who the hell cared?

We spent the rest of the day exploring the village. Smiling Borders had a surprisingly broad array of home made goods for sale. There wasn’t particularly what you would call a market here as such, but more of a collection of artisans who traded with one another from the front of their homes. Money meant little here too I noticed. After all, where would you spend bits other than in the tavern? Hmm, now that I thought about it, I don’t remember Grimble asking for any money. Oh, gods, was that why he was so pleasant all the time? I was going to get stung, wasn’t I? I could picture it now, ‘Here’s the bill my lord!’ and me falling over in dead faint as my savings vanish like last nights brandy down the sodding privy. I didn’t say anything to Tingles, though, it would doubtless upset her if I were to air my concerns over Grimble and the mystery bill for our break. She was the happiest I’d ever seen her, and that was saying something. Sure, she could have her moods, but didn’t we all? No, I’d have a word with the old griffin when I got back before things got too out of hoof. Room for two, dinner, breakfast, exclusive brandy, cigars, tobacco, use of the spring, towel and wash kits – I felt sick. And what about the service charge? I bet that was going to seriously hurt! Maybe I should insist on some discount for the saving the goat, but if this lot were anything like they were in Pewter’s hamlet, I doubted that would hold any water. It would go against my own personal morality too.

“Ooh! Look at this! I’ve always wanted a set of designer panniers.” Tingles lifted the set of pack up, inspecting them. “They’ve even got a small pack on the sides! Oh, Fairlight, what do you think?”

What did I think? Well, I have to say they looked like they were properly made and pretty good quality overall. Brown leather by the looks of it, with brass buckles, straps, and… hmm… “Are these made here?” I asked the pony behind the counter.

The mare shook her head. “No.” She leaned back in her rocking chair and pulled the shawl round her shoulders. “We makes what we need is all. Don’t be makin’ what we don’t.”

Gods, that accent! It was like country drawl meets boulder country. I checked the pockets, the stitching and I they were indeed a well made set. What worried me was the indentations on the leather and the stains that looked strangely familiar. “There’s some damage to the corner here,” I pointed out. “A few stains… How much have you got on it?”

“Hunnerd bits,” came the immediate reply.

“A HUNDRED BITS?!” Oh Luna, I knew it! These rats were going to fleece the living daylights out of us! I was about to put the panniers down when Tingles jumped in.

“Would you take a little less?”

“No. That thar set be worth a good soight more’n that, missy.” The burgundy coated earth pony mare tamped her tobacco in her pipe and took a good pull on it. “You buyin’ or no?”

“Hang on,” I said noticing something peculiar. It was hard to see, no doubt faded with wear, but there was a set of initials stamped into the inside of the pannier flap. ‘E.I.’, and another stamped underneath - ‘C.S.A.R.’ I knew what that was.

“Fairlight?” Tingles moved up to me, her voice low. “What is it?”

I took a breath and smiled at the artisan who was too busy fussing her mangy old dog to be bother with us.

“These packs...” I swallowed. “They’re from a missing expedition.”

“Missing expedition?” Tingle’s glanced from me, to the packs, and back again. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember the archaeological expedition that went out into the Everfree around five years ago? It was all over the papers?” I tapped the flap of the pannier. “Ernest Intent?” She stared at me blankly. “The professor of the Celestian Society for Archaeological Research?” Tingles shrugged helplessly. She sure as hell wasn’t making this easy on me! I tried again. “The C.S.A.R sent an expedition from Canterlot to the Everfree to look for the lost city of the two sisters. The princess was away on a diplomatic mission at the time and a lot us believed that the professor had timed his departure deliberately to avoid having the princess say ‘no’. So, off they went, all twelve of them including some hired yakistani mercenaries.” I watched Tingles’ eyes. “They were never heard from again.”

The pegasi’s face went pale. “I remember. The princess refused to send a rescue party.”

“Exactly!” I tapped the pannier, pointing to the marks on the corner. “The official line was that they’d been involved in a tragic accident with a rogue dragon and had all been killed. Gods know, it could be true, but nopony ever went to investigate so far as I knew. The station was abuzz with it for months.”

“They… could have just found these, right?” Tingles whispered. “I mean, this is a big forest, Fairlight and these people probably forage there all the time. It doesn’t mean they-” She froze. A griffin had appeared from out of the cottage and was whispering to the shopkeeper. The two kept glancing over in our direction.

I put the panniers back. “Thank you for letting us have a look round, miss,” I said pleasantly. I leaned towards Tingles, trying not to sound worried. “Come on, let’s get back.”

I don’t know whether I’d been overthinking things, or whether it was just my watch training kicking in, but suddenly Smiling Borders’ lustre had dulled ever so slightly for me. Grimbles odd glance at Tingles, panniers from a dead stallion… It could all so easily be explained away. Tingles could be right – the villagers could very well have stumbled across the remains of the expedition and simply recycled what they’d been able to salvage. They weren’t the first group of intrepid explorers who’d toddled off into the great unknown only to vanish without trace. In fact, Grimble had said himself that a large part of the village’s income had been based off the amount of ponies coming here seeking adventure and fame. It was all perfectly plausible. After all, they’d never been found by any official search party so far as I knew, but neither had they ‘officially’ bothered looking for them in the first place. Now you may have thought there would have been uproar about such a hard-line decision being so candidly announced to the populace, and I for one would be inclined to agree, but if there is one thing Celestia knows, it is how ponies think. It was no secret that the families had been helped financially by the palace, the papers were full of how grateful they were and how their children would be sent, free of charge, to the best schools in the land. Funerals, sans corpse, were held to a big spectacle of public mourning, and the very next day the world carried on turning just the way it always had. So all things considered, coming across some old set of panniers wasn’t that big a deal, right? So why was I feeling so on edge? Something stank here, and I can safely say that for once, it wasn’t me. That soap truly had worked wonders on the old Fairlight hide, and my hair trim was quite smart too. Tingles had quite the talent for mane dressing as it turned out. I could only hope that we could enjoy the rest of our break without any more peculiar incidents. That said though, I was going to keep that damned door locked at night and a PDW on me at all times.

That afternoon, our fairly scant purchases secured in our room, we set off on a pleasant stroll through the village and up to the hills where we had a view of the cloud shrouded mountains. It was, like so much of Smiling Borders, astoundingly beautiful. To think that a thousand years ago this majestic place was a scene of such carnage and destruction that the world would be forever changed, didn’t seem real. If I hadn’t seen it through Maroc’s eyes I wouldn’t have believed it possible. History books, those few that made even a passing mention of it, could never do justice to the sheer scope of the utter brutality of that now ‘romanticised’ time in our history. Shadow’s race, the thestrals, had been all but made extinct, their numbers never recovering after such losses. Even a thousand years later, they were now only a mere echo of a once mighty and proud race of warriors that faced down the ‘White Witch’ herself. As for the Celestian army, those loyal to Celestia, they hadn’t escaped the grinding wheels of war unscathed either, taking horrendous losses that would be unimaginable by today’s standards. But ultimately, light had won over the encroaching darkness. How ironic it was that the very mare who had brought our world to the brink of destruction now sat at her sister’s right hoof. Even if she was cowed by her older sibling, Luna was alive, which was a damned sight more than could be said for her army when Celestia’s rage had been unleashed. Anyway, I didn’t want to think of that now. The light was failing and it was time to get back to the tavern and get our things ready for our trip into the mountains tomorrow. After that, we’d have to see.

Grimble and Heather were chatting with one of the villagers when we returned.

“Love, you go up to the room. I’ll get something for tea and be up shortly, okay?”

Tingles nodded. “Don’t be long.”

“I won’t,” I assured her with a smile.

The villager, a pony by the look of them , trotted out, stopping to bob their head to me as they passed. “My lord.”

Good gods, they were all at it! I couldn’t see their face too well under the cloak they were wearing, but there was no sarcasm in their tone of voice. Spotting me, Grimble walked over and smiled. “My lord, how did you find our village?”

“Very nice, Grimble,” I replied honestly. “There’s some extraordinarily talented individuals here. Do you trade with other villages in the area?”

The old griffin shrugged. “Not after the stories spread about the fog and timberwolves, I’m afraid.” He indicated a chair by the fire which I took gratefully. “With the loss of our tourism trade and the attacks, nopony from the outlying villages wanted to come here to trade. I can’t say that I blame them. Some of us still visit the other villages from time to time, but you know how superstitious country folk can be.”

“I’d imagine minotaurs aren’t that common around here either,” I observed, accepting the glass of brandy from Heather.

Grimble laughed. “No! They’re an insular lot as it is. Travelling outside the village is unusual for them, although we have had the odd one leave here to find their fortune in the world ‘outside’. Silver Moss’s own nephew left to try his claw at making money hosting motivational seminars of all things. He comes back here from time to time for a visit, but I think Smiling Borders is a little old fashioned for him now.”

“You making me feel old!” I chuckled.

“Ah, peace and quiet are seldom appreciated by the young, my lord.” Grimble took a sip of his brandy. “‘A fire in the loins and a heart yearning for adventure’, my father used to say.”

“A wise griffin,” I noted.

“Aye, he was.” Grimble glanced up the stairs before passing me a cigar. “Care for one?”

Sadly, I held up a hoof shaking my head. “I’d better not. I can’t stop long, we’re flying out tomorrow.”

“You’re leaving?”

“To visit the mountain,” I said quickly, noting Grimbles’ eyebrows shoot upward. “We don’t plan on stopping there long. That’s assuming we find anything at all.” Grimble leaned back and nodded sagely. “Can I ask something personal?” I asked. The old griffin nodded as I continued. “Did we say something we shouldn’t have earlier today? Being from the city we may have come across as a little… crass? The last thing I want is to offend you, Grimble. You’ve been the perfect host for Tingles and I.”

Large avian eyes stared at the wall above the fireplace. I’d hit a nerve alright, although I hoped it was one we could deal with quickly and painlessly. Leaving wounds open, no matter how small, can fester in much large ones over time. Considering how this guy had control of our bill too, I wanted to keep him as sweet as possible.

He looked up at me askance before looking away again. “It’s nothing, really. Please, forget about it.”

I tapped my hoof on my chin, making sure I had his attention. “I’d rather not,” I said plainly. “If something is bothering you, my friend, then I would ask you to share it with me. I would not risk offending so gracious a host as yourself if it were within my power to resolve.”

Grimble froze. Had I gone too far? Maybe I should have-

“The princess,” he said carefully. “Some of us… have long memories. Memories passed down from father to son, mother to daughter - the stories of a time long since passed. Foolish, I know, but to hear her name spoken here...” Grimble sighed, chuckling ironically. “She wasn’t to know. It is I who should apologise, not you, nor the lady.”

“You won’t hear any complaint from me, old friend,” I said with a bob of my head. “The old bag’s no friend of mine. I promised to protect the ponies of Equestria as well as the royal behinds of Luna and big-and-tall, but it doesn’t mean I have to be best friends with them. Let’s just say I doubt I’d be on her Hearthswarming list.”

Grimble nodded slowly. He didn’t need to know why I felt the way I did about Celestia, but I think what I said resonated with him. To my surprise he reached out and clasped my hoof, giving it a firm, but respectful squeeze before saying, “Thank you.”

I didn’t know what to say. I just got up, wished both he and Heather a good night, and gave them our orders for the evening’s meal. In my line of work, speaking ill of Celestia was not a sensible career move at the best of times. Many a watchstallion or watchmare had been ‘reassigned’ or encouraged into early retirement following some off-colour joke or outburst. Naturally we all said stuff we probably shouldn’t have, but you had to remember that when you wore the uniform, the walls really did have ears. I’d found out early in my career that there was always some little shit in the wings after your job, and if they could drop you in it so they could ascend that career ladder one more rung, you could bet your last bit they’d do it without breaking a sweat. Teamwork only ever went so far, even in the watch. Personally I had nothing against Celestia other than the fact she massacred my ancestors, and would more than likely make me ‘disappear’ if she had so much as a passing thought that a wendigo was pottering around in her realm. Whether I was working for Equestria or not wouldn’t make the blindest bit of difference to her. She’d done it before, and I had to believe that she was more than capable of doing so again. I’d mentioned to Grimble that Tingles had no little knowledge of the country and was more than likely to say something about Celestia again. Thankfully he’d assured me he understood, and apologised profusely for any ‘misunderstanding’. As for the matter of the bill, I decided to leave that for another time.

Tingles and I spent the rest of the evening checking through our equipment and clothing for the trip into the mountains. Honestly, I was far less enthused about going than I had been at first. The prospect of flying over the Everfree, right up into those clouds to only the goddess knew where, was diluting my enthusiasm for adventure. The hot springs, the quaint village and beautiful surroundings, were crying out for me to stay there instead. Some of the locals were a bit odd, and that did trouble me a little, but I was determined not to let it ruin my holiday. I suppose it’s true what they say though, ‘Once a watchpony, always a watchpony’. Switching off from the mind set of doubting everyponies honesty, living in a world of suspicion and mistrust, was hard. Very hard. Tingles on the other hoof, was like the counterbalance to my mindset. She had a remarkable talent for looking on the bright side of things, cheering me up with little more than a gentle smile. Right now was I sat on the edge of the bed brushing her long green mane. She seemed to like me doing this too, and I found it exceptionally therapeutic. The steady regular rhythm of the brush gliding effortlessly through that lustrous fall of dark green hair had her humming some hypnotic melody I’d never heard before.

“That’s a lovely tune, does it have a name?” I asked, letting her hair slip around my hooves.

“Maybe… I don’t remember,” Tingles mumbled. “Mum sang it to me when I was a foal. Guess I just never forgot it.”

“Do you keep in touch with your folks?” I asked.

She shook her head slightly. “Not so much these days. We were never really that close as a family, and we only drifted further apart as I grew up. Mum and Dad always saw me as a bit of hanger on I suppose. Once I’d left college, that was it. They couldn’t wait to get rid of me.”

“Tingles…”

She shrugged. “No, it’s okay, I’m over it now… it was a long time ago.” Tingles smiled sadly. “They loved me though, in their own way.”

“You’re a very special mare,” I said gently. “They would be very proud of your work in the agency, if they knew what you did there.”

“Maybe, I don’t know, especially after… when… Ahhh! Damn it, this place is making my head go funny!” Tingles huffed, grabbing a pillow and hugging it for all it was worth.

“Is there something bothering you love?” I asked concernedly. “You know so much about me, but I know very little about you. I won’t pry, but if there’s anything you want to talk to me about, anything at all, I’m here for you. You know that.”

She smiled and leaned her head on my shoulder, “Yeah… I know.” Tingles gave a deep sigh. “Fairlight, I… I was in love once before, with somepony back in our home town. I was a lot younger then and didn’t really understand my own emotions, but… I still knew how I felt about her. At least, I thought I did.”

“Her?” I asked in surprise.

She nodded. “Yeah, I know it sounds like I’m a… you know… but it’s a part of my life, a chapter that’s over, and yet it still haunts me. Her face…”

I worked at a knot in her tail, carefully prising the hairs apart. “Who was she?”

“Her name was Candle,” Tingles replied. “She was a local shopkeeper’s daughter. We’d gone to school together, grown up together really, and over time, we became close. One day, I knew… just knew, that she was my special somepony. And I thought I was hers.” She huffed ironically. “I really did.” Tingles rubbed a foreleg over her face, the pain of what had happened to her still clearly evident. Some scars, as I know all too well, never quite heal. “When I was still a filly she introduced me to her brother, Velvet,” she continued. “He was a lot older than us and had a strange way of looking at me whenever I visited. He frightened me, but at the time, I didn’t know why.”

I put down the brush and held her hoof, sitting quietly as she talked. She’d never opened up to me like this before and I felt honoured she would share her past with me. Unfortunately I didn’t like the direction the story was taking. Call it a hunch, but this Velvet sounded like bad news.

“Mum and Dad had gone to work,” Tingles explained, “and as I was old enough to be left at home, home I stayed. Candle had arranged to come round to see me that morning and when the door bell rang, I… I thought it was her and opened it without checking.” I found myself frozen, holding my breath. I was hanging off her every word. “Velvet had been drinking,” Tingles continued. “He pushed his way into the house and locked the door behind him. He said we ‘wouldn’t want to be disturbed’, or something like that…” She began to tremble, tears welling in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

I reached up and swiped them away gently. “It’s alright love,” I whispered, “you don’t have to go on if you don’t want to.”

Tingles shook her head. “No, Fairlight, I want to tell you. If you hate me for it later then… I’ll understand, but I don’t want secrets between us. You do understand that, right?”

“Of course. Please…” Gesturing to her to continue, Tingles picked up where she’d left off.

“Velvet pushed me onto the couch and dumped himself down next to me,” she said quietly. “He literally stank of booze. It was so strong it actually made my eyes sting. He started blabbing about all the mares he’d bedded, how they were all whores and that he’d ‘get his own back’ on them one day. I didn’t know what to say. All I could do was keep praying Candle would appear to save the day. She didn’t. There was only me… and Velvet. He tried to get me to drink, but it was this vile clear stuff that made me choke when he suddenly tipped it into my mouth. It took me years to try spirits after that. Every time I had one the memory would come racing back, like he was there, sitting beside me… grinning.” Tingles took a deep breath, “He… he tried to touch me, but I pulled away. It only made him angry and… and he hit me. I was so shocked I didn’t know what to do, and before I knew what was happening he grabbed me and dragged me off the couch and onto the floor. He…” She sniffed in a tear. “He said I was his sister’s ‘gift’ to him, that he would ‘make me a mare’ and then he… Oh, Fairlight! He…” Tingles shook with the pain of the memory, her tears soaking into my coat while I held her, stroking her mane. I knew what the bastard had done. Scum like that had no place in this world. The pain and suffering they caused made my blood boil, stirring the spirit from its slumber.

Tingles took a shuddering breath. “It hurt. It really, really hurt! But he didn’t care, Fairlight, he just didn’t care! Again and again and again, it felt like an eternity of pain and… Dear goddesses, I can still see his face…” The tangerine mare took a moment to wipe her eyes. “My father came home early and found me curled up crying on the floor. He knew what had happened straight away without my saying a word. He’d seen Velvet leaving our house - still drunk, the slimy bastard.” I noticed her stroking one of her wings, a unconscious act that was probably a habit she developed to comfort herself whenever she was in pain. It made my heart cry out for her. “My parents took me to hospital and while I was there I was interviewed by the local watch. Velvet was later arrested and jailed for a while. I don’t remember how long for, but it wasn’t nearly long enough for what that monster did to me.”

“What about Candle?” I asked.

Tingles turned to face me, her eyes shimmering with tears still welling up in them. “She… She blamed me.”

“Oh, no, Tingles…” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

She held up a hoof. “She said it was my fault her brother had been taken away, that her precious brother, her perfect brother, wouldn’t have done what he did to me unless I’d ‘encouraged him’. Candle called me…” Tingles swallowed. “She called me liar and a whore, Fairlight. She wouldn’t listen to anything I said. I tried explaining to her what had happened. I tried everything to make her see that it wasn’t my fault, even trying to excuse his behaviour by blaming it on his drinking. Do you know what she did? She slapped me. She slapped me and then spat in my face before walking away. And I just stood there, watching my life fall down around my ears. All my dreams, the love that I had in my heart, crumbling to dust like it had all meant nothing – nothing at all. Their family moved away after that. I never saw them again.” Tingles pushed away from me and sat down on her haunches. “Am I a whore Fairlight? A fillyfooler? A dirty, filthy, nothing? Sometimes… sometimes I think I am. I’m not a good pony. You don’t know some of the things I’ve had to do over the years. Terrible, terrible things…” I slid off the bed and took her hoof, but she snatched it away momentarily before relaxing enough to let me hold it. Her voice was shaking so much I could barely make out the words, “You hate me now… don’t you.”

I gazed into her eyes with a gentle smile. “No. No, of course not. I love you as much now as I ever did. You brought the sunshine back into my life when I was lost in nothing but darkness. For that alone, for being who you are Tingles, I have no words to express how happy I am to be with you. I could never hate you, and I don’t ever want you to think I do, okay?”

Tingles nodded and gave me a peck on the lips. “Time for bed now, Captain. We have an early start in the morning.” She trotted round the bed and slid under the covers giving a contented sigh. I snuggled in next to and gave her light kiss on the cheek.

“Goodnight my tangerine marefriend,” I murmured.

“Goodnight, Mister Salt.”

Then I heard the best sound I’d heard all evening - the sound of a mare’s laughter.

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

Well I don’t know how early country folk get up around here, but by the gods it looked like the whole village had come to see us off. Still a little bleary eyed, but with our carriage packed, our flight gear all snugly in place, the last thing I’d expected was to have several hundreds villagers filling the green outside the tavern to wish us well. Grimble must be the hub of gossip alright, but I really wish he wasn’t! I’d had a hell of a fright when we’d pulled the carriage round to find them all standing there cheering. For a moment I thought that was us done for, that we were going to end up like the poor sod who owned that old set of panniers. Tingles hadn’t seemed that bothered by the unexpected attention, but it had taken all I had to keep my hoof away from my PDW. Apparently we’d become some sort of local celebrities, probably because of the whole timberwolf and goat incident. Who’d have guessed, eh? Mind you, Heather crying into a polka dot hanky was one of the most bizarre things I’d seen for quite some time, so that gave me a guilty smile. She was…hmm… a ‘very nice minotaur’. Yes! That was it. I was still a bit intimidated by them truth be told, and I mentally kicked myself for my own prejudices. Strange they may be, but they were nothing at all like the Earl and his son from the purple sands tribe. That bastard had deserved his gruesome end, and I had been all too happy to provide it.

I had to stop thinking of things like this too; my dreams last night had been horribly, and very disturbingly, vivid. Meadow, Tingles, Gates, Melon Patch, and this other bastard, what was his name? Velvet? In the dream I shared the horror, the pain, and the utter helplessness of the mares. I’d wanted to help them, to somehow stop what was happening, to strike down the animals that were hurting them. My anger, my hate and lust for vengeance, was only now fading away. The name Velvet though… It couldn’t be the same as that gangster from Manehattan could it? Coincidence is one thing, but his attitude towards mares, let alone what the swine had done to Tingles, seemed all too much like the behaviour I’d expect from that vermin. I’d only ever dealt with incidents at his nightclub, usually underage drinking, fights, that sort of thing. But of the boss, the one who had been implicated in more nefarious activities than you could shake a hoof at, there’d never been any sign. Sure, there were hints, suggestions, the odd name dropping, but never enough to be able to put him away. He was also the boss of those two bastards who’d… Oh, gods, I was doing it again, wasn’t I? I’d awoken that morning to find whisps of mist in the room and a fine layer of ice on the bed covers and window. It was like that night in the facility all over again. Thankfully the early morning sunlight had quickly disposed of the embarrassing evidence and I’d nearly collapsed with the overwhelming sense of relief. As odd as it sounds I felt like a foal who’d wet the bed and was trying to hide the wet patch. On a magical level, maybe that’s what this was – my subconscious mind releasing magic in response to distress brought on by unpleasant dreams. Whatever the cause, I was damned lucky I hadn’t hurt Tingles who, incredibly, had slept through it all. That said, in the Wither World my magic hadn’t hurt Shadow, so maybe it only affected my enemies? Maybe… but it still worried me just how little control I had over it when I was asleep. Hopefully the ruins of the fortress would hold at least some clue to this little mystery, although I had my doubt we’d find much more than a strong desire to return to the hot springs as soon possible. As for Maroc’s memories and the unusually silent spirit, they’d left me to figure it out for myself.

And so, with a lot of waving and shouting, we soared up into the morning sky over the Everfree. Wind whipped at my mane, the fresh breeze full of the tantalisingly fresh scent of pine trees mingled with the clean bite of mountain air. It was slightly overcast, but warm enough so as not to be unpleasant. With luck the sun would burn off the worst of the clouds before long anyway. Here, unlike much of Equestria, the weather had a wild and untamed quality that no weatherponies would ever dare to tackle. Come to think of it, the weather bureau never even bothered with a city as heavily populated as Manehattan, so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. That place had so much rain that virtually every shop you came across sold umbrellas. Last year the ‘in thing’, fashion-wise, had been hats with an umbrella attachment. Honestly I thought they were really useful, but as with all trends they vanished almost as soon as they’d appeared. It turns out that looking like an escaped mental patient didn’t do much for sales after all. Tingles took the chariot up and over the outskirts of Smiling Borders, spiralling as she gained height. In no time our idyllic holiday retreat was no more than a faint speck on the edge of the forest, along with the promise of a hot soak that evening too. Putting that aside, our next task was to find a place where we could land the sky carriage to allow me to ‘change’ without being seen. As much as I like the villagers of Smiling Borders, the sudden appearance of a wendigo may have a detrimental effect on my current appeal. Might knock a bit off the bill though...

My pilot’s pegasus eyesight was a godsend. Before long she’d spotted a convenient clearing with a rock overhang, absolutely perfect for leaving the carriage. Gradually we descended, coming to a neat rolling halt in the lush grass. Unharnessing herself from the carriage, I helped push the carriage under the overhang and began collecting some branches to hide it from any prying eyes. Not that I expected any of course, unless you expected a band of thieving raccoons to roll up and start pinching things, but stranger things had happened. Who knew what lived here in the forest? We were well into timberwolf territory here now, but it would be fatally naive to believe they were the only danger lurking in its shadowy depths. Divesting myself of my flight suits, I set it aside and began dividing our packs, panniers and bags ready for the next leg of the journey. We worked quickly and quietly, keen to avoid staying here any longer than absolutely necessary. Less time here meant less likelihood of becoming a prospective dinner for the Everfree’s bigger, and likely hungry inhabitants. I strapped my sword in to prevent the blade slipping out of the scabbard during flight, checked my flasks, my PDW, and fitted my TED. In some respects it was like being back at work, if you ignored the fact that at least there they gave you a briefing on what to expect. Here, we had almost nothing to go on. Winds, thick cloud, and probably no more than a load of old rocks was the least of our worries. What really troubled me was the possibility of some sort of magic lurking in the mountains intended to ward off intruders. At least, that was the impression I got from Grimble. I shrugged to myself; we’d find out one way or another soon enough. For now there was one more thing left to do…

I reached inside. There it was, the spirit from the netherworld. It had been waiting for me, watching through my eyes like some patient predator. I’d never felt frightened of it before, but the way it was just… ‘sat’ there, unmoving, and unusually compliant too, made my hackles go up like they never had before. It said nothing, its blue eyes observing my every move. I gave myself a shake, pushing away my doubts. I don’t know what had been wrong with me lately. I’d been seeing conspiracies, duplicity and plots around every corner. Was I starting to crack up or something? It wouldn’t surprise me with all the crap that had been going on these last few months, but why now of all times? I could see Tingles from the corner of my eye and I smiled at her to try and put her mind at ease before letting the power and strength flood into me, making my muscles twitch and pulse. The wings burst from my back making me wince, although the shock of pain vanished mercifully quickly. Meanwhile Tingles watched my transformation warily, her eyes wide. The sight seemed to frighten her for some reason. She’d seen me change before hadn’t she? At Pewter’s home up on the hill, she’d been there, she’d seen everything. So what was wrong?

“Tingles? Are you alright?” I asked in concern.

“Huh?” She started slightly, then shook her head. “Sorry, Fairlight, I just can’t seem to get used to the way you look when you turn into… that.”

I liked the emphasis on the word ‘that’! I pushed my wings through the slits in my customised pegasus flight suit, ignoring my injured pride. “I wish I didn’t have that affect on ponies, love, least of all you. For better or worse it’s a part of me now, but I’m still me, even if I do look different.”

Tingles looked away, blushing slightly. “I know… I’m sorry.”

“Oh, stop apologising Mrs Salt and let’s shift flank,” I said trying to sound as jovial as I could. “I want to get there and back while we have light. The sooner we do that the sooner we can enjoy the rest of our break.”

That seemed to change the direction the conversation was going in, and with a few beats of my wings I was airborne, with Tingles effortlessly gliding up beside me. Goddesses I wish it was as easy as she made it look. The sly smirk she gave me said it all too, the cheeky beggar. Far from the neatly feathered wings of a pegasus, mine were more like dragons wings: large, leathery affairs that battered the air rather than becoming one with it as Tingles seemed to do so naturally. I’d get used to it eventually of course. And if I really concentrated, I might even convince myself that was true too. I hung my head for a moment, then did my best to relax. We still had a long way to go yet.

We used the river for navigation as we headed north, the sparkling watercourse snaking elegantly through the lush greenery far below a beautiful contrast to the darker surroundings. As Twilight had predicted, it followed a slightly different course from the one the map suggested, but it was close enough. My dream-memories of the last day of the war when Maroc had raced back to his home weren’t going to be of much use here though. The chaos of the poor sods last moments, the fear, smoke and confusion, gave me little to go on other than the sight of the mountains themselves, and for that I’d have to be virtually on top of them. Meanwhile the forest canopy whipped past in a green blur, and we were making good progress by the looks of things. Occasionally flocks of brightly coloured birds would rise up and speed across the treetops, either alarmed at our presence or simply doing what birds normally do. Perhaps Tingles knew? She was half bird, wasn’t she? I chuckled to myself, letting the magic and wind flow with each long beat of my wings. I was starting to get the hang of this, and despite my earlier misgivings I was feeling quite positive that we would find what it was we were looking for - even if it was just a load of old rocks. I shook my mane, feeling the air tickling my ears. From what I’d seen of the fortress through Maroc’s eyes, the structure had been immense, perched impossibly on the side of one of the mountains. Could recognisable parts of the ruins really have survived in the frozen conditions for a thousand years? Stonework, probably, but what if there was more? Ice did preserve things to a degree. I recall some of the finds from one of the more notable archaeological expeditions that had been in the national press when I was a youngster. Creatures, mummified in ice flows far to the north, preserved and photographed, their remains now in the natural history museum were put on display for all to see. As a foal I’d been fascinated to see such macabre sights, and here I was with that same feeling of foalish excitement of going on a trip to somewhere new. A journey of discovery in its purest sense. Even at my age, that sense of wonder had never quite left me. Mum had told me once that stallions were just colts in bigger bodies, and who knows, maybe she was onto something. What did it matter anyway? Not a damned thing! Damn, I felt good! I banked to the left, then to right, feeling how the wind buffeted me as I rose and fell in this peculiar element. Tingles watched me from the corner of her eye, trying to hide her smile. She was protective of me, like a mother in her own way. To her, perhaps she really did see me as being something of a foal at heart. She still loved me, and that was all that mattered when it came down to it. I looked up at the sky, wondering what the time was. It was tempting to check my old pocket watch and see how long we’d been flying for, although I didn’t think it had been that long in actuality. I was also conscious of the risk of being fatigued when we hit the doubtless cold winds and cloud near the mountains themselves which Grimble had warned us about. Deciding to leave my watch safely in my zipped pocket, I hit my TED.

“Tingles, you okay over there?”

“All in order here, Cap’,” Tingles called back. “You doing alright yourself?”

“Not as well as the seasoned flight veteran apparently!” I laughed. “These things take some getting used to.”

“You want to take five?” she asked.

“Affirmative on that, there’s a clearing up ahead.” I pointed to a spot just coming into view. “Want to follow me in and take a gander?”

“Roger that.”

We spiralled down to the side of the fast moving river to take a look at the wide clearing along its east bank. The river had swollen here at some time and undermined the trees in places, creating an area of rough ground suitable for a quick stop - if you didn’t mind the fuggy smell of damp soil and mouldy wood of course. There wasn’t any sign of life other than for a squirrel and a group of surprised looking birds that immediately vanished into the sky as soon as we swooped in. Bloody things, what a racket! Squawking like banshees, the birds had left us in no doubt as to how welcome we were here. Part of me half expected a bear or some other predator to come charging in to see what all the noise was about, but so far all I could hear was the sound of the wind in the trees and rush of the river. For once I made a fairly good landing too, which I felt quite proud about if I’m honest. At any rate it didn’t warrant a laugh from Tingles, so I took that as a good sign. Shaking my wings out, I folded them down by my side and reached into my pack to take out a flask of the silver fluid kindly gifted by the agency. A little nip was all I needed, making me wonder when I’d last had any of the tangy stuff. Now that I think of it, wasn’t it after I’d fought the timberwolf? Huh, it must have been. Still, this could pose a problem in the future if we ever left the facility to start a life of our own. Or would it? I didn’t have to use my wendigo magic, and the berries growing nearby should provide all I needed in a pinch. I certainly didn’t plan to be using the wendigo’s power when we were intending to settle down. At least not unless I fancied a sneaky flight one night when the villagers were in bed. Ha! Now that would really give them something to think about!

Tingles passed me a sandwich and took a mouthful of tea from her own flask. “Do you think we have far to go now?” she asked. “There’s still time to change your mind you know.”

I shook my head, “No. We’ve come this far, it would be a shame not have a look around at the very least. I don’t think it’s much further anyway; can you smell the air here? It’s icy. That’s from the mountains up ahead, and the water in the river looks different too.”

Tingles looked about her and nodded, “It’s certainly getting colder, that’s for sure.”

“Are you going to be okay? These flight suits are supposed to be thermally lined.” I put the last of my brief repast back in my pannier. “The cold doesn’t bother me much, but if you-”

“I’m fine,” Tingles cut in. “Honestly!” She shook out her wings, bobbing her head towards the mountains. “Well, whenever you’re ready, Captain?”

She’d taken to calling me ‘Captain’ again I noticed, slipping back into work mode without even noticing it. Ever the professional. As much as I would have been happy for her to stay warm and safe back in the Wyvern’s Tail, I was glad Tingles was with me. Good company, somepony you can trust having your back, what more could you ask for? I felt increasingly positive and even excited. “Come on then, slowpoke,” I shouted leaping into the air, “I’ll bet I get there before you. A box of chocolates says I do!”

She laughed, speeding upwards after me. “So long as they’re not those bloody awful salt things. You can keep them for yourself, I’d rather eat a bar of soap!”

We rose above the river and quickly began to close the distance with the mountains, drawing nearer with every sweep of our wings. Flying sure beat walking that was for sure. Not only was it an infinitely faster mode of travel, it was damned sight safer too. I shuddered to think what sort of nightmares had awaited the poor buggers who’d attempted to slog it on hoof through the Everfree, and that was before they even reached the base of the mountains. No wonder so many had gone missing; navigation in that dark mass of trees was near impossible without a compass, let alone having to combat the humidity, poisonous plants, and hungry locals. All I can say is that they had my respect, goddess rest their souls. Suddenly a thought popped into my head. Hadn’t that expedition been killed by a rogue dragon? It was years ago of course, but…

“Tingles?”

“Right here, Cap’.”

I felt stupid asking, but her eyesight was a lot better than mine, even with the wendigo magic. “There’s nothing up here but us up here, right?”

“Nope, just us.” She swooped near, her eyes covered by the large tinted flight goggles. “Worried about dragons, are you?”

I swallowed, feeling my cheeks burning. “The, um… the thought had crossed my mind. Yes.”

Tingles chuckled. “Don’t worry, we’re nowhere near the dragon nesting grounds out here. May be a few ice dragons around, but they don’t bother ponies as a rule. I’ll give you a shout if I see any.”

“Ice dragons?” I took a deep breath, steadying my nerves. “I thought dragons were, you know, just ‘dragons’?”

“Nah, there’s all sorts,” Tingles explained casually. “Fire dragons, water dragons, forest dragons – you name it. A dragon for all seasons.”

“Forest dragons?!” I felt a shiver run through me. “You’re kidding me, right? Gods, I thought timberwolves were bad enough.”

“We had to learn about them all at flight school,” Tingles continued. “When you’re snack sized like us, you have to know what’s out there that could gobble you up with one single snap of those big choppers of theirs.”

“Big choppers...” I muttered.

“Oh, don’t be such a worry-wart,” Tingles sniffed. “Celestia came to an accord with the dragon lord to make sure his kind didn’t prey on us, and in return we agreed we wouldn’t hunt them down to turn them into body armour. It all worked out pretty well in the end. They don’t bother us, and we don’t bother them.”

“Except when they go rogue?” I reasoned. “How do we know all dragons do as they’re told? Maybe they didn’t all get the memo?”

Tingles rolled her eyes. “There’s always going to be the odd one, like the ponies we have to deal with working for the agency, right? Think about it.”

“The bad apple, eh?”

“The bad apple,” Tingles nodded. “Anyway, with your super powers it would be a cinch to turn one into an ice lolly, wouldn’t it? Zap! And down he goes!” She swept past me as if to emphasise her words. “Oh, come on Mr Wendigo, this is supposed to be where you lot came from, isn’t it? You should be right at home here, not bothered by a few piddling little dragons.”

“My lot?!” My mane bristled. “I’m as much a pony as-”

She shot up in front of me and kissed me on the muzzle. “I’m joking, silly!” The tangerine pest rolled through air, looping around me effortlessly. “Are you honestly telling me you don’t know by now when I’m pulling your leg or not?”

I rubbed my muzzle with a hoof and sighed. “Of course, if do! I’m just… I dunno, a bit on edge is all. The memories of this place keep popping up in my head every so often, but they’re so fractious they don’t tell me much at all. And I can tell you one thing, there were dragons in Maroc’s time. Lots of them. And they didn’t have any qualms about turning ponies into charcoal briquettes either.”

“A thousand years ago, Fairlight,” Tingles pointed out, jabbing a hoof at me. “Don’t start going all woo-woo on me, now, love. Not when we’re so close, ‘kay?”

“Woo-woo?” I lifted my head up in surprise. “You wait ‘til I land, Miss Tingles. You’ll be for it then, you cheeky beggar!”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “Promises, promises!”

Re-energised by our playful banter we picked up speed, soaring high on the air currents and simply enjoying the unparalleled freedom of flight. Tingles gave me a few tips too, demonstrating how to bank more efficiently, how to flare your wings to slow your speed rapidly, and even how to perform a high-angle dive. She tried to get me to do it myself, but a few were way beyond my skill level, not to mention the self confidence necessary to pull off some of these potentially dangerous manoeuvres. Before long though, such enjoyable distractions vanished as Grimble’s warnings about the weather slowly began to manifest themselves. It was only a little at first, a touch of cloud here and there, the odd sensation of electricity in the air, but soon we found ourselves forced to fly ever lower just to keep our orientation. The river was increasingly important now, as the rest of the world gradually fading to a uniform white the further we went. I was beginning to have real trouble seeing too with the cloud thickening all the time. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the memories Maroc had shared with me. There was precious little to go on, but there were some tiny glimpses, a panoply of disjointed images, that gave me heart. The land here was different to how it had been during his time, the cloud far more dense, and there was a sense of… I’m not sure how to describe it – anticipation? Whether it was from the spirit or myself was hard to tell, but I felt a pull toward a point midway between two particular mountain peaks that appeared every now and again in the brief breaks in the cloud.

“Fairlight!” It was Tingles. “There’s something down there!”

“Where?” I shouted back. “Damn it, I can’t see a blasted thing!”

“Follow me in!”

Tingles’ green tail appeared in front of me, a beacon of light in the emptiness of the cloud. I didn’t need to be told twice! I stuck to her like glue, following her down through the white soup. Gods, I hated this. Heading down, with no way to tell which way was up and which down, made my stomach lurch horribly. Until suddenly, the cloud fell away and the ground appeared in all its terrifying glory.

“Pull up!” Tingles yelled. “We’re coming in too fast!”

My legs flailed helpless, my wings flapping like torn sails in a hurricane. “Shit! Damn it, I’m-”

“Flare!” Tingles screamed. “Flare your wings, NOW!”

How, I don’t know. I really, really don’t know. But I did it. Hitting the wind with my wings outstretched was akin to hitting a brick wall, but a damned sight better than slamming into the rocks. As it was, I was lucky not to break my leg. Or my neck. Instead of that I managed more of twelve point landing – muzzle first, ears, back, arse, and several inelegant flips that would have appeared quite impressive if it hadn’t hurt like hell afterwards.

Tingles came rushing over. “Oh Celestia… Fairlight? Fairlight, are you alright? Are you hurt.”

I coughed, spitting out gravel, snow and other assorted debris. “Yes… Give me a minute.” I lay there, letting the spirit do its thing. Healing may be an advantage of hosting the spirit of a wendigo, but it didn’t make me immortal, nor did it take the pain away as fast as I would have liked. I’m sure the damned thing got a kick out of me suffering too. When it wasn’t speaking to me directly, I could sense its thoughts, its… amusement. Damned thing! I gradually pulled myself to my hooves, attended to by a fussing Tingles who was busy brushing the gravel from my flight suit. Thoughtfully she passed me a canteen to wash out my mouth before passing me some of the life essence.

“Fairlight?” She looked distraught. “I’m so sorry! I thought we were higher up than we were, but the cloud-”

I lifted a hoof, forestalling her. “It’s fine, love, don’t worry.” I swallowed, wiping my muzzle. “A little bashed about, but I’m still in one piece. Guess I need to work on those landings, eh?”

“You scared the life out of me!” Tingles breathed, pushing her muzzle into my neck. “Fairlight, I don’t like it here. There’s something weird about this place, something odd that’s playing with my eyesight, my hearing – everything!” She looked about us at the rocks. “We’re not welcome here.”

“I dare say,” I replied grimly. Something had caught my eye. It was a few feet away: ragged, torn, and faded from years of weathering. “Is this what you saw?”

Tingles walked over cautiously, careful of where she put her hooves on the loose ground. “Yeah...” She looked pale. “What is it?”

“My guess would be the remains of an airship.” I pointed to the numerous splintered and shattered planks of wood strewn across the rocks. Nearby, pieces of heavily damaged brass navigation instruments, crates, fuel tanks and the large propellers, lay smashed like the broken bones of some long dead beast. I’d seen airships plenty of times over Manehattan, and even Ponyville on occasion. They were the preferred method of travel for non-pegasi, the large rigid airships a safe, quiet, and environmentally friendly way of getting around Equestria that had an impressive safety record. Normally. In fact I don’t recall a single instance of one ever crashing - not surprising considering how slow they were – but this thing looked like it had hit the mountain with all the subtlety of a giant throwing an egg at a brick wall. Worse, there were… ‘other things’ too. Pieces of what looked like sticks at first glance, were anything but. The sun bleached scraps of what had once been living, breathing creatures, now shattered and thrown around in the same haphazard way the airship had been, spoke of the violence of their last moments.

“Those poor ponies,” Tingles breathed. “Just… left here.”

I stepped through the wreckage, looking for what I hoped would be there. Every airship had one. It wasn’t a legal requirement, so far as I knew, but… Yes… There it was. I reached down and brushed away the grit and dirt covering the long brass plate. Some of the wooden hull still clung to it, but the rest showed more evidence of heavy impact damage. The brass screws were bent almost double, the force necessary to do that making me begin to wonder whether Tingles had a point about us being unwelcome here. For that matter, I don’t think anypony was. These poor sods certainly hadn’t been. I read the name under my breath. “R.A.W Pandora’s Hope.” The Royal Airship Works. Only the very best were made there, usually only for governmental duties, postal deliveries, military use, and so on.

“Fairlight...” Tingles’ voice called over the TED. “I’ve found them.”

I closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer as I walked over. There they were, each and every one of them all laid out in a row, their final resting place covered by mounded gravel, rocks and a thin blanket of snow. At the head of each grave was a cairn - a simple marker made from the only available material for as far as they eye could see. There were no names recorded here, no way to know who lay beneath the death shrouds of grey and white in this bleak and inhospitable place. I was no forensic expert, but I determined they must have been buried long after the crash. Bone fragments were still visible in the wreckage, but the majority of the remains were here, respectfully buried. But by whom? The shopkeeper? Surely not. Who in their right mind would travel all the way out here to scavenge a wreck site just so they could sell the belongings of dead ponies? It didn’t make sense. I floated some of the wood up, inspecting the larger pieces for any hint of what had happened here. The official line had been a rogue dragon, but if it had been that then surely there’d be signs of claw marks, or teeth at least. So far though, I’d seen nothing that jumped out at me. That didn’t eliminate the possibility of the beast attacking the gas bags however. Of the actual airship’s actual superstructure there was precious little left at all - a few pieces ragged cloth, the thin light-weight framework that housed them virtually rotted to nothing. I sighed, nodding to myself sadly. Time and nature had hidden the secrets of the last moments of these poor souls well.

“It’s them, isn’t it.” Tingles moved closer to me, her ear drooping sadly. “The expedition.”

I nodded, motioning towards the airship’s nameplate. “I remember the name. The ‘Pandora’s Hope’ was one of the best airship’s in the royal fleet according to the newspaper report. A royal commission into the survivability of this class of airship concluded that there was nothing at all wrong with the design, which only deepened the mystery as to why she’d vanished. Bad weather, high winds and storms are one thing, but whatever made her crash must have been off the charts to bring one of these down.”

“It could have a been a dragon like the palace said,” the pegasus mare observed. “Those things can grow to immense sizes, and even a top of the line airship wouldn’t stand a hope in hell .”

“But out here?” I shook my head, look about at the cloud shrouded emptiness. “There’s nothing here for them; no food, no gold to horde – nothing.”

Tingles huffed. “Who knows the minds of dragons? Ice dragons live in wastelands, and they find food enough to keep them going. They’re a lot smaller than some of their bigger cousins though. Mostly they eat rabbits, foxes, wolves, that sort of thing.”

“And ponies?” I asked.

“If they didn’t get the memo...” Tingles hung her head and gave me a nuzzle. “Can we go now? I don’t think there’s anything here. Only death.”

“There is one thing,” I said quietly. “I want to say a prayer for them. It’s the right thing to do, love. Do you mind?”

Tingles shook her head, and the two of us stood before graves. Carefully, reverently, I place the name plate from the airship before the centre-most grave, securing it with some rocks. “Everypony needs to be remembered,” I said quietly. I closed my eyes, and began to recite the words I remembered from my youth. “Great goddesses of the heavens, creators of all that we are, and all that we hold dear, we ask your blessing for the souls of those departed...”

Whether the goddesses would listen to a wendigo or not, it didn’t matter. My words drifted away into the chill winds of the wasteland, lost to the void of the world around us and the uncaring vastness of the universe. We were so small, so utterly insignificant in the grand scheme of things, that something so trivial as the snuffing out of a single life, or even several, was about as notable as a leaf falling in the heart of a forest. Nopony had seen the end of these ponies. They had died, frightened and alone, only to be quickly forgotten as soon as the next interesting news article came along to distract the masses. To the individuals clinging to the falling airship, watching as death reached out for them, the rest of the world meant nothing. It was that moment, those few seconds of terror and the desperate will to live that they had focussed on. It was life. Everything wanted so desperately to live, to fight to the last to cling onto that faintest of sparks that made us what we are. And then the end came. If nothing else, it looked like it had been quick at least. They were with the herd now, and Equestria had just plodded along like nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened. ‘It was the way of things’, as dad used to say. It never made it any easier to see.

“You ready, love?”

Tingles looked up at me, a sad smile ghosting across her face. “Yeah. You okay?”

I nodded. “Time to go.”

We were soon aloft, and I was damned glad of it too. The crash site had been a surreal experience, reminding me of the graveyard in Manehattan where my family was buried. It too had that peculiar sense of calm, peace, and silence that felt out of place in such a busy urban environment. Here there were no carriages, carts and chariots clattering by, no birds singing, nor even the sound of the winds through the trees. There was only the hush of the breeze across the barren slope, lifting the last remnants of the airships skin. Soon, even that would be gone. One day somepony may come here and wonder at the cairns, another hardy explorer seeking adventure. Would they know who had died here? I doubted it. History was a subject that few had an interest in as it was, and books on the subject were few and far between. What there were, was usually relegated to the dustier corners of the libraries. I think it was one of the reasons I’d been willing to talk to Miss Sparkle. She was one the few ponies I’d encountered who had not only a knowledge of history, but also a keen interest in discovering more about our past. Without ponies like her there was a chance our people may end up blundering into the future with nothing to remind them of the mistakes of the past. Of course, that said they had the guiding light of Celestia to rely on didn’t they? After all, why did you need to bother yourself by such trifles as ‘thinking’ when somepony could do it all for you, right? Gods above, however had we survived?

We kept low and out of the worst of the cloud. We were well into the mountain range now, the sides of the great stone spires grey and barren, utterly devoid of life. Snow lay heavily upon the peaks, in places vanished up through the cloud layer to impossible heights. There was very little wind here I noticed too. And something else – a sensation in the air that made my fur tingle every now and again. Magic? My horn itched occasionally, but not much, so I wasn’t quite sure. One thing was for certain though, I didn’t much care for it. I kept close to Tingles. Every so often she would glance over her shoulder to check I was there, which I damned grateful for. If she’d wanted she could outfly me in a heartbeat, leaving me stranded there like a beached fish. It wasn’t a comforting thought, but… why was I even thinking that? Luna’s ears, I really didn’t like this place. It was messing not only with my eyesight, but also my nerves. The sooner we got this over with the better.

The river had long gone now, the landscape rapidly changing from lush green trees and sparkling water to an endless uninterrupted expanse of grey stone and white snow. According to Twilight’s map we were looking for a group of four mountains, which was somewhat akin to finding a group a needles in a bag of needles truth be told. Well that was going to be easy, wasn’t it! Damn it all… The spirit was keeping quiet at least, although its rumbling sense of anticipation was growing the further we penetrated into the range. I took that for what it was worth. Perhaps it already knew where we were going? Maybe it even knew the way? Ha! Of course it did. It knew everything: whatI was thinking, all my plans, even what I wanted to have for dinner that evening. It was, in the truest sense, a constant reminder of what I was now. I accepted it more now than I had at first, but having a pair of eyes watching your every move was disconcerting whichever way you looked at it. Still, at least it didn’t complain about me smoking which another inquisitive creature, one flying not too far away from me at this very moment, was prone to do. I guess you couldn’t have everything.

My mane suddenly twitched involuntarily, along with an intense itching from my horn that gave me quite a start. The spirit sat up, alert, making me pay more attention to our surroundings. It was hard to say for sure, but I had the feeling we were getting near. It could have been nothing more than my mind playing tricks on me, but the way the spirit was reacting it was too much of a coincidence to ignore. I narrowed my eyes, staring at the mountains around us, trying to find something that might give us a clue as to- There! Dear gods, what was that? Was this it?! I’d been starting to give serious consideration to turning around and heading back, yet now my heart was in my throat as I lifted up my goggles to try to get a better look. I wiped my eyes; it was difficult to make out, shrouded as it was in dense cloud like so much of the mountains, but there something there alright, fading tantalisingly in and out of view. Whatever it was looked to be a large stone outcropping, hanging off the side of one of the mountains like a giant grey birds nest, and not too far ahead of us either. As we approached I was gradually able to make out more detail, as well as the sheer scale of it all. It was covered in snow and ice, weathered beyond recognition, but it tugged at my memories like a fish on a hook. I knew then, in that heart-stopping moment, that this… this was the place we’d been seeking. The pass that lead to the fortress lay not far ahead.

My heart pounding, I tapped my TED. “Tingles! We’re near! The pass is just ahead of us.”

She didn’t reply, instead merely nodding as she followed me down to skip along the top layer of cloud as we approached our goal. The pass was the path to the fortress, and so far I could see was the most direct route. I couldn’t see it clearly, but I knew it was there alright. Maroc’s memories were finally coming into their own, guiding me in. And just as well too - the approach to the pass was quickly becoming shrouded in dense cloud with every beat of my wings. It swirled and clung to our fur as if alive: thick, damp and cloying. My horn began to itch furiously, warning me of a magic field nearby, although where exactly was impossible to tell in this whiteout. Keeping a sense of direction was becoming near to impossible too. With no way to orient ourselves I relied upon nothing more than Maroc’s memories, the ancient images telling me when to bank, which direction to turn, when to dive and climb. Of course, there was every chance that the terrain had changed in the millennia since he had last entered the pass, and I was well aware that at any moment I may plough muzzle first into the side of the mountain never to be seen again. The image of stone covered cairns flashed through my minds eye, but it was it too late to be thinking about such foolishly things like that now. I was committed to my course. I was on my way home. Dear goddess, I was coming home at last...

A strong wind sprung up and began buffeting us from all sides, stinging my nostrils and eyes. I cursed myself for being so impatient, pulling my goggles back down quickly. Tingles was keeping close to me, but she was clearly struggling herself. We slowed our forward speed and kept tightened formation until we were barely inches apart. Normally flying this close would be rightly considered dangerous, foolish even, however we couldn’t afford to lose one another in this cloud. If we did I had the dreadful feeling it would be the last time we saw one another. Alive. I gritted my teeth and kept my course. Surely we couldn’t be far off our destination now? At the back of my mind, a small nagging voice asked if this were nought but folly, if there was nothing here in this goddess forsaken place but a frozen death, a fools errand that could cost us both our lives. After all, the princess was no fool and would surely have placed wards here to prevent any adventurous souls finding it. But then, who but a fool would even think to look for a ruin halfway up a mountain beyond the Everfree forest? How many frozen corpses and bleached bones lined the path between that formidable sea of green and the freezing teeth of the mountains? Memories of dangerous winds and air currents screamed a warning in my head and I shouted to Tingles over the TED to close in on me as we tried to find a place to land. Easier said than done too, apparently. Damn it all, all I could see was white bloody clouds! It was near impossible to see anything of the terrain around us I remembered listening to watch pegasi telling cautionary tales of flying in ‘zero visibility’. I thought they’d been exaggerating, not being a flier myself, but now, great goddesses I understood it all too well. Tingles can’t have been more than a couple of yards from me but was all but invisible in the cloud. Worse, the blasted TED had decided this was the perfect moment to stop working. I tried to calm my racing heart. This situation was bloody ridiculous and, I realised, insanely dangerous. If we didn’t find a landing spot soon, I’d call the job off and get the hell out of there. It wasn’t worth our lives for something that could be nothing more than-

“SHIT!”

My wing caught something solid causing me to lurch away to one side – Whatever it was I’d clipped sent a rattle of fine pebbles down into the void. Beating my wings to hold my position, I looked at what I’d hit. Tingles pulled up beside me, flying in for a closer look. She lifted her goggles, peering at what I’d thought at first to be nothing more than a rock formation.

“Celestia…” she breathed. “Look at the size of that thing.”

Dragon bones. Lots, and lots of dragon bones. In fact, now that I was able to focus properly and distinguish the bones from the surrounding rocks, the pieces slowly came together like some enormous puzzle. It was a whole skeleton, wings and all, melded into the frozen rock of the mountain. I couldn’t stop staring at it, it was like some macabre painting created by a lunatic on one of his off days. A sudden vivid flash of memory made me gasp aloud. I’d seen this before! Another image burst through my mind. And then another. And I remembered. There was a battle here, fought between a wendigo and a war dragon sent by the white witch to slay his people. Maroc. It had been Maroc. This was the creature he had fought on that last terrible day, here above the pass. Realisation flooded me, adding new strength to my wings. From here I knew the way as if it were my own. The spirit inside me stirred in answer to my excitement; scenting, rumbling in satisfaction. It knew this place, it remembered it all, and I could feel it watching through my eyes. There was no anger emanating from it as I had grown so accustomed to feeling, only curiosity and a overriding sense of… longing.

We began our descent. Down to the floor of the pass, down through the endless cloud, keeping the rocky mountainside in sight to help us keep our orientation. Sure enough, a few minutes later we passed out through the bottom of the thick cloud and my hooves finally, mercifully, touched the solid floor of the mountain pass itself. Dear goddess. Dear, sweet, sweet goddess. We were here. We were actually here! How long had it been now? A few years? A thousand? Preposterous! No… No it couldn’t have been. My people, my wonderful, beautiful people. What? What do you mean they’re all gone? They couldn’t be. What a ridiculous notion! They were all here, singing and laughing as they flew through the mountains, full of life and love and joy. Listen to them! They couldn’t… They weren’t... Wind and snow moaned through the space between the ancient stone giants, carrying with it the plaintive echoes of the cries and screams of the fallen. Warriors roared in anger and pain as they were mercilessly cut down trying to protect those who could not defend themselves from the unstoppable wave of celestian fury. Blood flowed along the ground like a river, pony red and wendigo blue, mingling with the white of the snow, pooling around a fallen child of the tribe before trickling away to join its fellows. And there were so many more to join too: foals, fillies, colts, the elderly, the sick and wounded – all of them falling beneath the steel blades, arrows and magic of their cursed celestian killers. No amount of killing could sate them, no plea for mercy heard nor quarter given. Mother, father, son, daughter - it mattered not to them. There was no honour here, no decency for an already vanquished foe. Only murder. Cold blooded, mindless, murder. One day vengeance would be ours. One day we would regain our strength, rebuild our numbers, and then they would suffer for what they had done. They would howl for mercy before the end, for the release that only death could bring. Every. Single. One. We would cleanse the scourge of celestians from the land as wheat from the chaff, and we would bring the light of the goddess, the true goddess, to all who would serve her. The white witch would be the first to fall. And fall she would, just as she had brutalised and slain our-

“Fairlight! For the goddesses sake, snap out of it! Fairlight!”

The voice seemed far away. I didn’t recognise it at all. Who was she talking to? Arathea? Was she here? What was I doing here? I had to get away! I had to get Vela to safety, to the caverns before the celestians-

BANG!

Tingles’ hoof cracked me across the jaw with such force it took me to my knees. All the images, all the sights and sounds so vivid a moment ago, vanished in a flash of white light that made my world spin like a top. I shook myself back to the present to be confronted with a wide pair of frightened green eyes.

“Fairlight!”

“Tingles?” Dear gods, my head! I pulled myself onto my haunches, spitting blood from my mouth. She’d given me one belter of smack across the chops, splitting my lip. “What the hell just happened?”

“I don’t know!” she shouted anxiously. “One minute I was talking to you, and then you seemed to drift off into some sort of trance, and then… and then there were voices: screams, crying, ponies shouting for help, begging for mercy and… Oh, goddesses, Fairlight, I knew it! This place is cursed. It’s evil! We never should have come! We have to get out of here!”

I reached out a foreleg to comfort her. “Listen, love, it’s just the wind, that’s all.”

“The wind?!” Tingles looked amazed. “How can you say that? You don’t know what I heard! You were talking, shouting as if you were somepony else, like you were possessed!”

“There are memories here,” I said soothingly, “ones that want to be remembered, that should be remembered. All that pain, fear and loss has lingered in the air here, even in the very rock itself for a millennia, waiting for those would listen to their story. But memories are insubstantial, love, they can’t hurt you. They’re only echoes from the past, playing through our minds much the same way as a film projector in a picture house.”

Tingles shook her head. “I’m not so sure, but I hope to the goddesses you’re right. Bloody hell, Fairlight, I’ve never been so frightened in my life! Don’t do that to me again!”

“Okay, I promise,” I replied. “But keep that right hook ready just I case though, eh?” I tried to make light of the situation, although by the expression on her face my attempt had fallen predictably flat. “Look, we’re here now solet’s have a look around and then head back to the tavern. Agreed?”

That seemed to calm her down at least. Tingles gave herself a shake as she collected herself. “I don’t like this place, there’s a really bad feeling here. It’s something... I don’t know, something old, really old. But there’s something else too – it’s had it’s eyes on me since we arrived… watching me… waiting for me.” She shivered visibly. “I can feel it.”

I looked around but saw nothing but the rocks and snow of the pass. I knew what she meant though, there was a distinct sensation of being watched here that had the hair standing up along my back. The voices, memories and cries on the wind had affected me badly, Tingles too, but this was different. This was something that wasn’t connected to the ghostly memories of the pass. It felt more… recent somehow. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, like us it didn’t belong here. I don’t think anything did for that matter, except ghosts. Carefully, I drew my PDW and checked its charge before removing the keeper on my sword for good measure. If something was out here, it would be full of holes before it got anywhere near Tingles. I released more of the wendigo’s power, sending out my senses to try and detect any presence, but here in the empty pass, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. I think that complete absence of life, more than anything else, made we question why the hell we had come here at all.

I took a deep breath, clearing my mind of all extraneous thoughts. “Come on, the fortress is this way.”

The tangerine mare fell in behind me, her muzzle close to my flank more for comfort than to avoid actually getting lost. There was only one way to go now anyway; Maroc’s memories on that point as frighteningly clear as the last day he’d been here. And the less I thought about that fascinating little nightmare, the better. Around us the grey rocks, slick with ice and windblown snow, were interspersed with bleached white sticks, the only sign of growing things I’d seen since we’d entered the mountains. I wonder why I hadn’t detected them before? The spirit was usually to attuned to living things of all kinds, even plant life to a lesser degree. Stopping to look at one I picked it up in my magic to examine it more closely. Odd, it reminded me of- Tingles squeaked and took a step back as I dropped it. This was no stick, it was like the small pieces we’d found at the airship wreck - only longer. And more numerous. I closed my eyes and swallowed. The more I looked, the more I saw, wishing to all the gods I hadn’t. Heaven help us, the pass was literally carpeted with the pure white bones of countless dead ponies. Unicorns, pegasi, and even earth ponies, the slow decay of their earthly remains arrested by the freezing conditions lay where they’d fallen a millennia ago. Maroc’s memories, as nightmarish as they were, didn’t go anywhere near the unimaginable horror of what had transpired here. The killing in the mountain pass had been on a monumental scale that made my mind reel. In places the more complete skeletons were piled several deep, resting silently despite the ravages of time. It wasn’t all bones either. Rusted remains of armour and weapons lay with their owners, some of them still clearly recognisable, others nothing more now than orange and brown rusted lumps of corrosion.

A twinge in my horn made me wince. As I did, I glanced down and saw the outline of a large skeleton different from the rest. Not of a pony, and not, as it first appeared, an alicorn. The short horn, the sharp teeth and long wing bones, were surprisingly well preserved in the thick ice although any remaining flesh had long since rotted away. My memories flared once more but I was ready for them this time. The spirit rumbled quietly, watching, staring through my eyes at what lay at my hooves. There was no doubt about it. Here was my ancestor, last of the lords of the tribe of the four winds, master of the fortress of the four winds, husband to Arathea and father to Vela. Here he lay, side by side with the last of his people, slain by Celestia herself and left to rot on a forgotten mountainside.

Tingles walked over and peered at the skeleton. “He looks like-”

“A wendigo,” I finished for her. “Lord Maroc. This is the one whose memories I share.”

“My goddesses,” she breathed. “So this was the last lord of the four winds?”

I nodded. “I believe so. Hang on…” I moved some of the snow and ice, using my magic to melt it away from the frozen skeleton.

“Look!” Tingles cried, pointing with her hoof to something glittering in the bubbling, melted ice. “There’s something there.”

Carefully, I used my telekinesis to encompass the object and tried to lift it. There was a little resistance as it was freed, but then with a light cracking noise it floated up to hover before us suspended in my magic's aura.

“My gods, Fairlight,” Tingles breathed, “it’s... beautiful.” She reached out to touch it, but pulled her hoof back at the last moment, looking to me. “No. You should be the one to hold this. Maroc was your family, not mine.”

I nodded. She was right of course, but to say Maroc was family was something of a stretch. He’d died a thousand years ago, and goodness knows how many generations of ponies had been and gone before yours truly was even born. Who knew how many relatives I had out there that would have had just as much claim to this as I. If, in fact, I had any claim at all. Spirits, prophesies, books and folk tales aside, I was just a pony thrown into a crazy world that I knew bugger all about. This, here today in this frozen wasteland, was just one more piece of a bucket-load of lunacy in the universe of insanity that constituted what I laughing called my life. Still, it would be a shame to leave such a lovely piece of my past here to vanish from history forever. At least If I took it with us then I could preserve it and keep it for future generations. If there were any. I’d already lost my daughter, and I sure as hell wasn’t getting any younger either. I sighed, pushing that unpleasant thought aside as I carefully examined the pendant. The detail of the piece was exquisite, the fine metal links as strong today as they had been when Maroc had worn it last. I marvelled at how such a delicate thing had survived for so long in such unforgiving conditions. But survive it had. It was hard to comprehend that I was holding a piece of history before me, letting it hang there, gleaming for all the world to see. From the fine silver chain hung a delicate gold heart design, inlaid with a bright red gem that caught the light, twinkling like a small blood-red sun. I stared at the tiny heart and felt an ache inside me for a time long since passed, and a lost love, Maroc’s beloved Arathea. On instinct I floated it up and over my head, settling it around my neck instead of securing it in my pack. Whatever it symbolised, whether it was nothing more than a gift from a loved one or a symbol of office, I had no idea. But it felt right somehow, as though I were meant to find this.

I tucked the pendant into my flight suit and turned my attention to the pathetic remains of my forebear. So, this was how it had all ended for him, was it? They hadn’t even bothered to bury him, nor any of his people for that matter, instead letting them all rot up here wrapped in no more than a blanket of cloud, snow and ice. Maroc had deserved more that this, so much more. They all did. But to see the once great lord of the wendigo reduced to a pile of bleached bones on a forsaken mountain pass was hard to comprehend. To go from a powerful wendigo, beloved of his people and his family, to be reduced to this? This was wrong, on so many levels. The celestians shouldn’t have left him like this, even if he was their enemy. A single tear rolled down my cheek, the emotion of the moment pulling at my heart. One day, I vowed I would return here to bury him properly, along with all the others. Even if it took me years, it was the right thing to do.

Tingles kept silent, looking wary and fidgeting with her hooves. “Come on, love,” I said trying to sound positive, “let’s go. There’s not much more we can do for him here.”

She nodded and turned to follow me, staying never more than a few inches away. I understood how she felt all too well, this place was bitterly cold, the wind freezing our exposed manes and tails. Thank Luna we’d brought the thermal flight suits from the agency. They’d cleverly incorporated a cover for a users wings and, together with the goggles, covered us right down to our hoof covers. My eyes however I’d left exposed as the goggles interfered with my vision more often than not, and here in the pass I wanted all my senses as keen as I could make them. Thankfully wendigo didn’t seem to be affected by freezing temperatures, but not so Tingles, the mare was shivering and I could see her breath wreathing her muzzle.

I called to her over my shoulder. “I don’t plan on stopping here too long. The sooner we reach the ruins, the sooner we can get back to that hot spring.”

Tingles remained uncharacteristically silent. This was not like her at all, and I was beginning to worry about the tangerine mare. Damn it, I wish she’d stayed at the tavern, but she could be so infuriatingly stubborn at times! No, whether I liked it or not there was no way in hell she’d have let me go off on my own on such a perilous quest. I suppose if I’d been in her shoes, I’d probably do the same. We carefully walked along the frozen rocky floor of the pass with me taking the lead. We did our best to ignore the frozen remains, stepping around the scattered bones and keeping focussed on putting one hoof in front of the other. We were making progress, slowly but surely, until I saw something shining in the middle of the rough path making me pull up short. What the hell was that? It wasn’t metallic, but it was definitely glowing, and not with sunlight either. Magic maybe? My horn had been fairly quiet up until now, and took me by surprise as it unexpectedly began itching so much it made me gasp aloud. I reached up and rubbed it, trying to ease the horrible sensation. Gods, it was like being covered in bloody fire ants! I’d always been sensitive to magic fields even as a foal, the teacher at school treating it as more of a handicap than a helpful indicator of potential danger. Naturally, ponies didn’t face any dangers in Equestria, did they? Of course not! It was all fluffy floofy pillows, cotton candy and rainbows, right? For the goddess’s sake! Naivety was one thing, but pig ignorance was quite another altogether. Gradually it eased off a little, but there was no doubt we were stumbling towards a high energy magic field of some kind. The problem was, it was right in our path, and felt unlike anything I’d ever encountered before. Whatever it was, something wrong here. Something dangerously wrong. Before I could stop her, Tingles walked past me to have a closer look at the object.

“What is that?”

“Tingles, keep away from it!” I shouted. “I think it’s...” The itching sensation suddenly peaked. “GET BACK!” A deep rumbling and booming sound surrounded us. I looked down to see the smaller rocks and pebbles dancing with the now rapidly increasing vibration. “TINGLES!” I screamed, throwing myself across her and taking us down to the hard surface, just in time to avoid a boulder the size of a house from crushing us both. Rocks of all sizes followed, bouncing and crashing down the mountainside, filling the air with lethally sharp fragments. This was no ordinary landslide, something had been set in motion and we were assuredly its target. From up the mountain, a thunderous roaring noise like the hooves of a thousand warriors descending upon us, grew to deafening proportions.

Tingles tried to push me off her, shouting over the din “We can fly! Fairlight, for Celestia’s sake!”

“No! Stay down!” I concentrated my magic, throwing up a shield around us as the avalanche I’d expected ploughed down through the broiling mess of rock and flying debris. Tingles’ scream was drowned out in the suffocating sound of countless tonnes of snow, burying us in its deadly embrace. It was all over in a matter of seconds.

And then… silence.

In the total blackness my horn flared, its blue glow creating a tiny magical flame that flickered balefully in the semi-circular dome of ice I’d created to protect us. Tingles had her forelegs over her face and slowly peeked out.

“We’re… alive?” she whispered.

I nodded, breathing a well earned sigh of relief. “Just.”

“Thank Celestia!”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to thank the princess, Tingles,” I said, staring at the dark mass beyond the protective dome. “I think this was one of those little ‘gifts’ left behind by her gracious majesty to deter any would be adventurers.”

“She wouldn’t do that!” Tingles snapped. “That would be…” She shook her head. “No, that would be too cruel. Leaving indiscriminate traps like that?”

“You heard what Aunt Pewter said.”

“Oh come on, Fairlight,” Tingles huffed. “She’s a lovely old mare, but even you’d have to admit she’s a bit dotty.”

“Maybe,”I admitted, “but the evidence is just above our heads. Anyway, we have no idea when this was set, it could well date back to the war and been left to kill any stragglers from the enemy forces.”

“I can’t believe she’d do that,” Tingles insisted. “No. Fairlight, I know what happened to your ancestors, but please, not the princess.”

“Never saw you as much of a royalist, love,” I smiled grimly.

“I… Oh, for goodness sake!” Tingles rolled her eyes. “What in Equestria are we arguing about at a time like this for? What are we going to do?!”

It was a good question, what the hell were we going to do? The snow was right above us and full of rocks, ice, and only gods knew what else. The weight would crush us like a sledgehammer on an eggshell if the shield gave way, but more importantly we didn’t have much air. I didn’t know if I could pull off the oxygen trick I’d done during my ‘swimming’ escapade, or even if it would have any effect on Tingles either. Worse, she was starting to shake with the cold. I extinguished the flame and used my magic to envelop the mare and warm the air around her.

“Tingles, it’s okay,” I assured her gently, “we’ll get out of here.”

The tangerine mare blinked, licking her lips. “I… Fairlight, I’m sorry…”

As I picked her up in my hooves to share our warmth, I felt a dampness beneath her. Looking at my hoof, even in the ethereal blue glow of magic, the thick red blood was all too real.

“Oh hell, no…”

Gently turning her over I could see the ravaged side and flank, slashed open by the falling debris. Feathers from her wing dripped with thick crimson fluid like rain. She was freezing cold, and rapidly going into shock. There was only one hope for her.

“Love, listen, I’m going to give you some of my life essence, okay?”

Before my eyes she was starting to slip into unconsciousness, and to save her I had to move quickly. Taking my tangerine mare gently in my hooves I pulled her up to me and reached for the power inside myself. The spirit was typically reluctant but I was in no mood for games now. I think it knew it too, begrudgingly giving up its life energy as I teased it forth, dripping the silvery essence into Tingles’ open mouth. She gasped and moaned as she swallowed the magical restorative, shaking with the raw magic surging through her body. Watching bones reset, the skin and muscle reconnecting piece by piece, was still awe inspiring to behold. More importantly, it was bringing my mare back from an untimely introduction to the herd. Gradually, Tingles came back to consciousness, looking at me with her large green eyes.

“We… shouldn’t keep doing this...” she whispered. “It’s… habit forming.” She coughed, licking a drop of life energy from her lips. “Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome, my lady,” I smiled.

Despite her brush with death, Tingles looked far from relieved. Her eyes, normally so full of life, seemed unusually distant, as if a weight was pressing down upon her soul - like the weight above the shield. I’d noticed it earlier when we’d been about to leave the tavern and did nothing about it. Gods, what a fool I was! If I’d had any sense instead of being so damned selfish all the time, I should have gotten to the bottom of it then before it was too bloody late. We’d promised not to keep any secrets from each other, and I intended to keep my promise, but this was really concerning me now. Tingles didn’t seem like the mare I’d come to know and love, the change in her becoming more noticeable the further we’d travelled into the mountains. It was all so sudden too. It was probably this terrible place, and who could blame her? This was hardly the time or place of course, but when all of this was over I’d have to find out what was upsetting her. Damn it, we never should have come here!

I gave myself a hard shake. There was time enough to worry about the small stuff later. Now, it was time to get out of here. I reached into my pack and took out the flask of life essence to give myself a recharge before we- that was odd. There wasn’t as much as I’d thought. Hadn’t there been more earlier? To hell with it, there was still enough and I had an idea besides. I roughly knew our bearing in relation to the pass and concentrated, allowing the full power of the wendigo to fill me, the need to escape and reach the fortress powering my magic to new heights. The spirit stirred eagerly. It wanted to go there, it needed to go there. Nothing would stop us now. In my mind I remembered the pillar of ice, the blue fire, the constructed weapon. Combining all of that should be straight forward, right? Maybe not, but buck it, I was going to give it my all anyway. Beside me, Tingles gingerly rose to her hooves and checked herself over, that same sad cast to her face making my heart cry out to her. The way she hung her head, her ears drooping - I had to get her home. And fast.

“Tingles, stand back love. I’m going to get us out of here, so don’t worry. Okay?”

Tingles swallowed. “Fairlight? I, I need to tell you something…”

“Not now love, please,” I replied quickly. “We’re running low on air and we can talk after we get out.”

“Mmhmm.”

I gathered my magic, focussing on the wall. “Take my tail.”

I wanted to hold her, to comfort her and listen to her, but the air was growing stale and I was already finding it harder to breath. We didn’t have long, and if I didn’t get us out now we’d be just another set of bones in these goddess forsaken mountains. I gathered my magic until it shone a brilliant blue, reflecting off the ice wall of our sanctuary. If there was ever a time to pray, then this was it. Concentrating my energy into a beam of intense heat, ice and manipulation combined, I began to burn a hole in the side of the dome, praying to any gods that would bother themselves to listen that it didn’t collapse in on us. If it did, then… Well, I would be too dead to care now, wouldn’t I? I pushed on. As my magic did its work, the heat grew to horrendous proportions, steam pouring into our temporary haven adding to the misery and difficulty in breathing. Behind me, Tingles gripped my tail in her mouth, just as Shadow had what seemed like a lifetime ago. She had trusted me. She had believed in me. And I had failed her. There was no way in this goddess damned world I would fail another. Not now! The searing beam melted the snow, simultaneously creating a tunnel of crystal around us, taking from the rocks and snow, melding and reforming a way through - a way out of this suffocating tomb. I pushed on, every forward. The effort was intense, but we were moving. It was only inches at first, and then feet… yards. I was doing it!

Tingles stumbled but quickly regained her footing, the heat and lack of oxygen dragging at both us. If I didn’t get us out now, we’d had it. Throwing everything I had into my efforts, I felt a sudden give, a shudder, and then a sickening leap of fear thinking the mountainside was coming down us, until a tiny dribble of white light fell into our wendigo made tunnel. A rattling and whooshing noise followed as the steam built up in the tunnel found an escape route and we were suddenly propelled through the opening like a cork from a bottle, out into the frigid, blessed air. Half dragging Tingles who was still weak from her ordeal, I collapsed outside on the snow, breathing in the delicious air of the mountains. I was weak, the effort had been beyond anything I’d ever had to endure and I was almost shaking with the after effects of the strain. I opened the flask and tasted the last few drops of fluid. Hell fire, why hadn’t I checked it earlier? But… I thought I had, hadn’t I? And I was sure I’d brought berries with me too - ones I’d picked from the glade? I took a deep breath, feeling my heart-rate slow to a more normal pace. This was going to be a problem, but now we had more pressing concerns. We needed to get clear of the pass.

Tired and stumbling, we made our way out of the snow and rock fall, finally reaching the relative safety of the path. Behind us, the way back was now all but completely blocked. The final blow from the victorious celestians had nearly claimed two more victims. Buck Celestia… Tingles followed in silence while I navigated the pass until it gradually changed into what must have once been a road, or at least a more well kept path of some kind. It was badly weather worn and covered in loose pebbles that made treacherous travel, but it was a sign of civilisation that gave me a sense of excitement - I was nearly home! Wasn’t I? I tossed my mane and snorted. Whose thoughts were these I was having anyway? Mine, Maroc’s, or the spirits? I was beginning to wonder whether I would ever be fully in control of my own mind again, let alone my body. But still, if there were answers to be gained, I could only pray that there would be something, whatever it may be, beyond this path that would help me to gain a better understanding, and control, over who I was. Lifting my head the last of the wisps of low cloud began to clear and a glorious panorama of blue sky and almost blinding sunshine unfolded below us in a painters palette of unimaginable colour. And there, not far along the winding mountain track, was our prize.

The fortress of the four winds. The last home of the wendigo.