Fairlight - Blood of the Foal

by Bluespectre

Chapter One - Enemies amongst us

CHAPTER ONE

ENEMIES AMONGST US

It was a beautiful morning, especially with the sun just starting to peek over the tops of the distant mountains and lending a mysterious haze to the forest beyond the window. The Everfree was truly an enchanting place, full of mystery and hidden promises of adventure in its dark depths. It was also a deadly place for the wary and unwary alike, and being this close to it was both a blessing and a curse. If nothing else, it was certainly quiet. Sometimes you’d hear the call of some strange creature or the sound of the trees creaking, but other than that it was as quiet as a graveyard - a phenomenon I found both eerie, yet also oddly appealing. Ponies would seldom travel out this way anyway. It was no surprise really, there was next to nothing to see out here other than wilderness and the odd village or hamlet. You’d get the occasional intrepid soul venturing out this way to seek new avenues for trade, rustic crafts and such like, though more often than not they seldom came back. Most gave the forest a wide berth, and I can’t say I blamed them. This isolation helped us to remain undisturbed by and large, and the ramshackle appearance of Smiling Borders was probably the main reason the army hadn’t been here turning it upside down looking for their missing wendigo. Either that or they’d simply given up on finding me, thinking I’d been become yet another casualty in the caves or trapped in the Wither World. Who knew? Of course the flip side of living so close to the most notoriously dangerous forest in the land was that the creatures who inhabited it could wander out from time to time, causing problems in the village. That said, I had to admit we hadn’t had any real trouble here since my encounter with the timber wolves. Overturned bins and an occasional missing chicken I could live with, but still, it didn’t hurt to be on your guard just in case. On a more upbeat note our friendly local carpenter, Bright Tail, another of Grimble’s griffin contingent, had been working to help restore the tavern to its former glory. Or stop it from falling in on our heads, which would be just as welcome. With the help of his team of workers, Bright Tail had worked wonders, and the old place had been a veritable hive of activity these last few months. It had been nerve gratingly noisy staying here whilst all the work had been going on, but at least the old place didn’t leak any more - a simple yet welcome fact that had freed up more buckets than I cared to recall. That said, with the forest acting as a natural wind break we seldom got hit with the kind of dreadful storms that were noted for suddenly springing up over the Everfree only to plague the surrounding areas. If not for that I doubt the rickety old village tavern would have lasted half as long as it had.

One of the improvements our erstwhile carpenter had made was to our living arrangements. Tingles, Shadow and I now shared a single room on the upstairs floor of the tavern. We’d had Bright Tail knock through two of them to make one large one, and the extra space had proved to be essential. Of course, living with two mares and a young foal was never going to be easy even at the best of times, and could be a real struggle too, particularly when you were surrounding by banging, sawing and the shouts of a small army of enthusiastic workers. But thankfully, Shadow came to the rescue. That extraordinary mare was so understanding and quiet she acted as a mediator between us all, calming ruffled feathers or flaring tempers with practised ease if things ever got heated. And, as I’m sure you can imagine, they did from time to time. The course of love is full of trials, as dad used to say, and boy, was he right! Tingles and I would argue, shout, and storm about slamming doors, but it was all part of life’s rich pageant I suppose. I loved the girls and they loved me, of that I had no doubt, and as for Meadow… well, she was still my wife even if she was with the eternal herd now, and I loved her no less now than I ever had. On the subject of which, just like the Withers, time passed very differently between the mortal realm and the herd. A day here could be a year there, and vice-versa. In fact my little Sparrow Song had grown so much in the last few months she could actually speak now… well, a little anyway. ‘Dad’, ‘Mum’, and of course ‘Ice Cream’, were the first words she’d learned. A chip off the old block, eh? Anyway, the important thing was that she knew I was her dad, and that was something not even death could take away from us. We met up as often as we could, spending time together as a family. Sure, it was restricted by the boundaries of the glade, but how many stallions can say they’re in contact with their deceased wife and daughter on a regular basis? If it hadn’t been for Star Swirl the Bearded, as much of a pain in the arse as he was, when Meadow and Sparrow had died that would have been the end of things - at least until I passed over myself. This way I got to spend time with my wife and child, watching the little one playing with Tarragon and Lumin whilst the three mares and I shared stories and ate together. Most surprising for me was however, was when Princess Luna had appeared unannounced one evening with Chief Mitre in tow. Not only that, they’d even brought Brandy Wine my old boss from the agency along with them too. Now that really put a smile on all our faces! I suppose I’d have to admit that as much as I enjoyed the rural peace and quiet of Smiling Borders, I did miss the excitement of working with the agency. Not that I’d ever admit that publicly of course. Best of all though they’d brought some more of my belongings they’d recovered from my old agency digs, including the contents of Tingles’ room. One of the items unveiled, rather touchingly, was the photograph of me which had gone missing from my room. No doubt pilfered on the quiet by the tangerine pegasus when I hadn’t been looking, it had been stored with Tingles’ things when we’d left for Smiling Borders. Brandy and Luna had apparently told Warlock she’d been ‘reassigned’, but whether the sour orange coated git believed them or not remained to be seen. In any case, other than the good people of the village, I’d not seen mane nor tail of anypony from what I was increasingly beginning to think of as the ‘outside world’ since my return from the Withers. Well, other than these three of course, and that was just the way I liked it.

And so, that leads us to the here and now. Currently I was sat in a comfortable red velvet chair in front of the fire, warming my hooves as I absently picked off the dried bits from a pot of glue I’d been using to repair the binding on Star Beard’s diary. It was in relatively good condition overall, but the spine had begun to separate somewhat and I’d nearly lost one of the pages when I’d leafed through it the other night. The only real problem I had with it though, was that I couldn’t read a bloody word of it. Maybe if I asked Shadow she could- My ear twitch as the door to the outside opened, then closed again. Ah… The smell of plum blossom… Unmistakable. Luna was as cautious as always, keeping her cloak on until she was inside the tavern and assured that nopony would disturb us. Grimble had posted two minotaur warriors outside during her stay, just in case any of the locals fancied popping in for drink and needed to be ‘redirected’. The story we’d put out was that we were closed during the renovations, but everypony knew the real reason of course, in a small village like Smiling Borders you could change your underwear without somepony knowing what colour they were. Still, they just kept themselves to themselves the way they always had. What had really struck me as a little strange about the whole situation though, was why she hadn’t used her own guards to bring her here instead of the enclosed nondescript carriage. Mind you, the ‘Night Guard’ as they were officially called were hardly what you’d call ‘low key’. I’d rarely ever seen more than a glimpse of them myself, even when I’d been on that temporary placement over in Canterlot, but what I had seen had been enough to send a chill down my spine. ‘Bat ponies’ we’d called them in the watch. Weird looking creatures they were too.

The princess glided over to where I was sitting and slipped into the chair beside me with a demure sigh. I moved to stand, only to waved back into my seat. This was, as she’d already informed me, an ‘informal’ visit and should be treated as such. Ha! How many ponies could say they had informal tea and cakes with one of the princess’s, eh? Mind you, it didn’t do to be too familiar with her. Less influential than her sister she may be, Luna was still one of the two rulers of the land and worthy of my respect.

“How did you find the village, my lady?” I asked politely.

Luna smiled softly, her azure eyes staring into the flames of the log fire. “Charming.”

She reached out her slender hind legs, warming herself as she gratefully accepted a brandy and a splendid selection of snacks from the newly refurbished kitchen. Our head waitress lumbered in a few moments later with some napkins, wearing a dark blue pinny with silver trim she’d quickly donned when she’d discovered Luna had arrived at the tavern. Very perceptive of her, I thought to myself with a wry grin. Heather was the perfect head maid for the Wyvern’s Tail: exceptionally efficient at her job and, I suspected, quite deadly if riled too. Bouncer, Serving girl, Chef… Was there anything she couldn’t do? Tingles was very protective of her too, and would spend many an hour in the kitchen helping the minotaur female learn the new recipes which we’d had brought in from further afield. Best of all though, these recipes were trialled on the rest of the family. Sometimes with results that were, shall we say, delicious? She was also quite happy to teach them to anypony else who was interested, and had developed quite the dedicated following in the village as a result. This not only gave Tingles a break from nursing, it served the dual purpose of blending us in as an integral part of the wider Smiling Borders village life, rather than leaving us as some outsiders who’d simply shown up one day and announced that they were in charge now, thank you very much! Shadow sometimes got involved with Tingles’ classes, but most often was quite happy spending her time playing with Lumin or Tarragon. A fact I was all too aware of. She never missing an opportunity to give me one of ‘those’ looks, or gazing wistfully at pregnant mothers in the village. The thing is, she was absolutely desperate to go to the fortress, but… I wasn’t so sure. Couldn’t we just… you know, do that here? Why the fortress? I was very wary of that place; it had bad memories for me, very bad memories, and on several levels. I’d tried to dissuade her, but she’d simply look at me with those fiery red eyes and say nothing. And by the goddess, she was a master at saying nothing.

“What are you reading?”

I rolled the stiffness from my shoulders then passed her the old book. “It’s Star Beard’s diary,” I explained. “He wanted me to have it, but I can’t read a single word of thestral. The binding’s a bit tatty so I’m trying to tidy it up before I lose any pages. Watch your hooves, the glue’s still tacky.”

“Thestral you say?” Luna’s horn glowed as she floated the book before her. “Intriguing...” Carefully she opened the cover, running her hoof down the first of the yellowed pages. “Not thestral...” she murmured, “Ponish, or more specifically, Old Ponish.”

“Isn’t that the same as Ancient Equestrian?” I asked, leaning forward.

She shook her head. “No. Old Ponish is older still, spoken by your ancestors before language became more… ‘standardised’ into what we call Ancient Equestrian today. Some of the far villages of Equestria still speak a version of it even now, though for the most part it died out a long, long time ago. Our modern language borrows some its words from Old Ponish, Middle Ponish, Ancient Equestrian, and even some foreign words.”

“So it’s a peasant language then?” I enquired.

Luna frowned at me, apparently displeased with my description of the archaic tongue. “I would not call it that,” she replied tartly, “however I am certain the schoolbooks in circulation now most likely do. The same schoolbooks that refer to wendigo as demons, correct?”

I closed my eyes and nodded, feeling somewhat chastised by her remark. “Yes. Yes, I know...” Rallying, I tried to change the subject. “What about the writing though? That nothing like our alphabet at all.”

“Of course not,” Luna replied. “These are a form of rune, although far more than that. If you look at the way they are drawn, they convey the emotion of the writer as well. Far more so than modern written languages.”

“We used graphologists in the watch,” I said, taking a sip of my brandy. “They studied hoofwriting to help us compare evidence we’d gathered from crime scenes and so on. Apparently it can tell us a lot about the writer.”

“As can this,” Luna agreed.

“So… Can you read any of it, your majesty?” I asked hopefully.

Luna shrugged, “Perhaps, although it has been a long time since I read anything of this age.” She closed her eyes and took a breath. “But I shall try...” I watched riveted as the midnight coated princess selected a random passage in the diary before nodding to herself… and began.

“Fourteenth day of the Third Quarter of the Waxing Moon. A young Celestian wandered into Stern’s camp shortly after dawn today, slipping past the perimeter guard completely undetected before he was apprehended near the supply depot. He is described by Senior Lancer Jute as ‘being little more than a foal, yet more than old enough to know his own mind’. Of this assertion I have my doubts. I understand that some of the warriors wished to execute him as a spy, whereas others meant to frighten him away and have the young one return to his family. Neither of these possible courses of action were acted upon. Instead, and in violation of standing orders, Second Captain Stern took the unprecedented decision to allow the child to stay, stating that ‘as the war was soon to be concluded, we would need to develop cordial relations with the Equestrian population to enable us to integrate our two peoples.’ Or so the survivors recall. By all accounts the child was taken to the mess tent and fed, his injuries tended to, and yet he steadfastly refused to take off his backpack. A stuffed toy was observed inside, and that was when the second foolish decision was made – it was left alone as it appeared to be of some comfort to him, having causing some considerable consternation when one of our warriors had attempted to inspect it. It was a mistake that would later prove to be fatal. At around midday, when the staging area troops were gathered together for their lunch, the child was seen playing with his toy. Moments later, although accounts vary on the specifics of the exact timing, the mess tent was obliterated by a detonation of an unknown device of magical origin. Casualties reported are forty seven killed, eighty two injured, and an unknown number missing, although it is estimated at around fifteen at the time of writing. Second Captain Stern, himself injured in the explosion, took his own life in atonement for his grave error in judgement and disregard for military regulations. The junior officer responsible for inspecting the child’s belongings is missing, presumed dead. As for the child, as he was at the epicentre of the blast there was nothing to recover.”

Luna paused to take a sip of her tea, readjusting her tail as she continued.

“This evening I will be addressing the new commander of the staging camp and will impress upon them the importance of maintaining military protocols and adherence to regulations at all times. Infringements will be met by court martial and potential execution, regardless of rank or social standing. Any undocumented equestrian found within the perimeter of camp security boundaries is to be neutralised immediately. Such a stance is, I believe, reasonable, measured, and necessary for continued operational stability and cohesion. We cannot lose our momentum now, regardless of such acts of utter barbarity perpetrated by our foe. Today’s incident is the act of an enemy in the death throws of imminent defeat, and I have no doubt we will encounter more of these unorthodox attacks as they lose themselves to total desperation. As admirable as it may be to strike so effectively at the heart of an adversary, to use a child, that most precious gift of the goddess, is an act that I will not forgive. And one that shall not be forgotten.” Luna closed here and leaned back, her voice dropping to a bare whisper as she concluded, “Glory to the goddess.” She closed the book with a snap, the sharp sound making me jump. “This was written by your friend, this ‘Star Beard’, was it not?”

“I...” I swallowed, trying to shake the images from my mind. “Yes… yes, I think so. I mean, that’s what he told me.” I ran a hoof over my face, doing my best to make sense of what I’d just heard. “Dear gods, they used foals? I had no idea...”

“Victory at any cost,” Luna quoted quietly. “No life was too precious, nor too sacred, to secure victory.”

“The motto of the Legion?” I asked.

“Of both sides.” Luna stared down into her tea, her eyes taking on a distant cast. “The words may not have been spoken, however the intent was there nonetheless, hidden deep within hearts that had been cast into the darkness by the cruelty of war.”

“But Celestia-!”

Luna held up her hoof, stalling me. “Lord Fairlight, contrary to what many of our people may believe, my sister is not omnipotent. Nor, for that matter, am I. Whatever you may think of her, Celestia is not evil. At least… no more than I. Back then Equestria was not the land you see today. It was a land divided, the old tribal lines still abundently clear for all to see no matter how much Celestia and I may have tried to pretend otherwise. No, for better or worse they were very different times. Times, I pray, that we shall never see again.” She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, letting out a demure sigh. “Both of us paid a terrible price for what we did, although to my eternal shame I admit it could never be enough to atone for the horror both of us unleashed upon our people.” I noticed her shudder slightly as she breathed the words, “Never enough...”

Mitre watched us in silence, that inscrutable look of his just as scouring as ever. Despite his size I’d barely noticed him come in and take a seat beside the princess. Now that I did, his presence was unmistakable. My old commander’s scarred blue coat displayed the steadfast fellow’s battle wounds for all to see, even if many of them had faded over time. In some ways they were like Star Beards diary, a record of his days in service, a veritable roadmap of injuries he’d received in service to the ponies of Equestria – the princesses included. My dad’s coat had look like that too later in life, although as a youngster growing up with him it had barely registered with me. It was simply a part of who he was – Dad. What was one more injury? One more scar? In fact it was only really the wendigo inside myself that had prevented my hide from looking like a patchwork quilt too, although oddly enough the scar I had across my face had never disappeared, magic or not. Not that anypony even bothered mentioning it, or if they did they were too polite to point it out. I never went anywhere other than Smiling Borders these days anyway. And why should I? Like Shadow I was accepted here amongst creatures that cared nothing of trite differences such as race, and whether you had a scar or two.

Luna stared into the flames of the hearth. “Lord Fairlight… do you mind if we call you that now?”

“No, my lady,” I answered honestly.

Luna chuckled at my reply, her lilting tone lightening the mood in the room. Unimpressed however, Mitre shot me a disapproving look at my lack of official etiquette. He may not like it, but the princess had made it quite clear that she preferred that I refer to her as ‘My lady’ rather than the far grander title of ‘Your majesty’ when we were in private. In any case, what the hell did it matter? The villagers called me ‘Lord’, but that didn’t make me any more of a noble than any other poor sod raised in the back woods of bum-buck nowhere. ‘A dog born in a stable doesn’t make it a pony’, dad used to say. Gods know, he had a point. After all, you could put a drunken imbecile in an officers uniform and it wouldn’t magically bestow all the knowledge and wisdom of the ancients upon them. And boy, had I seen that first hoof! No, titles were just words, that was all. I was who I was, and that was that. As for Luna, she still held a candle for Maroc I suspected, and as his descendant she viewed me as a link to both her past, and to her old love. I found it a little uncomfortable of course, though if it made her happy, then who was I to complain?

“We… that is, ‘I’ understand that your mission was successful?” Luna looked about the room, not waiting for my reply. “Where is the lady Shadow?”

“Forgive me my lady, Shadow is at the glade with Tingles and Meadow,” I explained. “The children are with them too.”

“Children… You have two foals now, do you not?”

“I do,” I replied proudly. “Sparrow Song, my daughter, and Lumin my son. Sparrow is a beautiful little pegasus, and Lumin’s a unicorn like his dad.”

The princess hung her head slightly. “Foals… Yes, I would like to see them before I leave, Lord Fairlight. If that would be agreeable?”

“Of course!” I smiled. “We can go and meet them there if you like.” I checked the time on the clock over the fireplace. “Meadow and Sparrow should still be in the glade for another hour yet. If we go now we should be able to-”

“No!” Suddenly Luna sat bolt upright, her eyes blazing. “I cannot! I...” The atmosphere in the room froze like ice, every eye staring at the princess, unsure as to how to react. Slowly, she seemed to settle down, her voice lowering back to a more gentle, if somewhat resigned tone. “I cannot enter the glade. It is... forbidden.”

“Forbidden? But you’re the princess!” I said in surprise.

Luna clopped a hoof on the table, fixing me with her large azure eyes. “Princess or not, there are rules that even I have to obey,” she replied firmly. “I shall meet with your wife and daughter another day, Lord Fairlight. Please, for now can we perhaps summon the others here perchance?”

I motioned to Grimble who nodded his understanding. “I’ll send a runner now, my lord.” He bowed before walking to the door and conversed with one of the guards.

I bowed my head respectfully. “Forgive, my lady, I didn’t understand. I was being too forward.”

The princess raised an eyebrow towards me, “Forward? No. Not at all.” She gave her face a rub with a foreleg before taking a sip of her tea. “You were not to know, Lord Fairlight. It was remiss of me to speak so quickly and without thought. I know Meadow and Sparrow song are with the herd, and I…” She groaned, leaning back as she slowly shook her head. “A lack of sleep takes its toll upon even the most wary of travellers.”

She sounded as though she were quoting somepony, but who or what, I had no idea. Completely oblivious about such things however, the snuffling sounds emanating from somewhere beneath the table reminded me that there were more than equines in the tavern that morning. Tarragon, on her eternal quest for edible creatures or unattended treats, appeared suddenly from under the table. With a loud squawk and a flurry of her wash-leather like wings, she leaped through the air and into the princess’s lap before I had a chance to so much as open my mouth in warning. Snuggling into Luna, who I might add squee’d in delight in a most un-ladylike manner, the ‘Terror of the East’ seemed more like a lap-cat than a young dragon. I closed my eyes, silently thanking the gods that the princess hadn’t reacted the way many others would have at a toothed and clawed carnivore leaping into you tender areas.

“Fairlight, I didn’t know you had a dragonling!” Luna announced happily, fussing the little creature. “Look at her! She’s absolutely gorgeous!”

Gorgeous? Tarragon was certainly cute, sure, but ‘gorgeous’? Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say. “She’s Etrida’s daughter,” I explained to the princess. “She saved my hide more than once in the caverns. Tarragon’s like one of the family now, and, I might add, and much to the consternation of the kitchen, is getting bigger all the time.”

Luna nodded. “She has her mother’s look about her. Etrida is a truly exquisite dragon, and this little one will be just like her some day. Look at her scaling…”

Dutifully I peered at Tarragon’s scales, but to me she looked, well, like a little dragon I suppose. She didn’t look ‘that’ much like her mother, at least not yet, but maybe in a thousand years or so she would. I scratched my chin thoughtfully. “You know Etrida?”

The princess laughed. “Of course I do! I have been in Equestria before, Lord Fairlight.” Luna brushed a stray hair from her face. “There were many more dragons back then than are now, with no single ‘dragon lord’ ruling over them as is the case today. As much as they are solitary creatures by nature, clan affiliations were strong enough to bring them together in times of crisis, the migration period, or if one of them was threatened. Etrida certainly wasn’t the eldest of her clan when I first met her, although she was in line to be elder. She was young then too: brave, headstrong, and idealistic like so many her age. Normally a dragon’s quick temper and aggressive nature is tempered by time and the teachings of their peers, but the war… the war changed many things. Some... forever.” Luna sighed, rubbing her eyes. “As the older dragons fell in battle, Etrida inevitably became the elder of her clan - a position that she neither sought, nor asked for. At her age she should have been raising a family, not...” She quickly took a mouthful of the brandy which Grimble trotted over to refill for her. “Forgive me, I do not wish to talk any more about such things. There are other matters I need to discuss with you.”

Ah, so now we were going to the reveal the real reason for their appearance were we? As much as I’d hoped this were no more than a surprise social visit by old friends, nothing was ever that simple. Ha! So much for an ‘Informal visit’ then, eh? Of course not. Like the friend or family member who only ever puts in an appearance when they want something from you, there was always that initial pretence, that thinly disguised sugar coating which hid the bitter pill of truth beneath its surface. It was certainly nothing new to me at least. I’m sure we’ve all encountered such things in our lives: the rejection letter that thanks you for your interest, the polite refusal, the ‘Wishing you all the best for the future’ line, when what they really mean to say is bound up in a smokescreen of meaningless platitudes. ‘Straight talking’, as I’d discovered early on in my life, was often interpreted as simply downright rude in most social circles. I’d certainly met more than my fair share of ponies who’d lacked even the most basic of social graces over the years, particularly on a Friday night in down-town Manehattan after kicking out time. The flip side of that though was that sometimes it took forever to get to the bloody point, leaving both parties in this horrible state of limbo whereby you both knew that you were going to get to the crux of the matter sooner or later, except that neither of you knew exactly when. Unfortunately I had a horrible feeling that the ‘when’ in this case, was ‘now’. I sat up straight, my ears pricked as the princess continued.

“You may have heard that the wedding between Princess Cadence and Shining Armour is to be held at the royal palace in Canterlot soon?”

I nodded. “I read about it in the paper. One of the traders brought us some copies of the ‘Observer’ a few weeks ago.” Scrubbing my chin I added, “I thought it was to be put back because of logistical problems?” Lack of cake, more likely, I thought to myself sarcastically.

Luna nodded her head. “So we believed, yet despite all the delays it is still very much on schedule. Most of the royal guard have been placed in and around the capital for protection of the happy couple in the lead up to the wedding.” She raised an eyebrow. “You may have noticed a distinct lack of soldiers looking for you?”

Well, that was deflating! I leaned back in my chair and let out an involuntary sigh. So, this was only a brief interlude after all, was it? There was me thinking the old crone had given up on her desire to see me publicly executed, when in fact all she’d done was put me on the back burner until herself and her cronies had married off one of their lesser known relatives to some bloody no-mark guardstallion. No doubt stuffing themselves senseless in the process too. I mean, who the hell was this ‘Cadence’ anyway? I’d never even heard of her until her photo had appeared in the paper along with that gushing article on the ‘Romance of the century!’ What a load of absolute bollocks. Still, I suppose it was an improvement over the more customary noble practice of flogging off superfluous members of your family to the highest bidder. Personally I couldn’t give a monkeys about nobles no matter whoever or whatever they were, though I wasn’t going to say as much considering my present company of course. Unlike her megalomaniacal older sister, Luna had her head screwed on properly, and was also the only noble I’d ever held any genuine respect for. If she had a few ‘bats in the belfry’ from being locked away for a thousand years it certainly didn’t show, nor did it diminish the love the ponies of Equestria had for her. If nothing else she had a lot fewer loose screws in the old brain box than big-and-tall, that was for sure!

“I’d hoped the guard had given up looking for me by now, especially after the explosion in the caves,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment at her news. “Either that or they’d simply ignored our village because it’s so remote. For the goddess’s sake, how many more of her soldiers is she going to sacrifice in this insane obsession of hers? Ten? Twenty? A hundred? How many died in those damned tunnels, terrified and alone?” I shook my head, trying to push aside the sudden image of blood spraying across rock walls and the screams of terror that had lodged in there. “I don’t want to see another young life snuffed out on such madness, Luna. And madness is exactly what it is. Nothing good can ever come of such bloody mindedness, neither for Celestia, nor for my people.”

Luna shrugged sadly. “That is true, Lord Fairlight. However, as much as I may agree with you, I can assure you that although it may seem Celestia has abandoned her search for the moment, my sister does not give up on something once her mind is set. We have argued about this very point several times since she passed sentence upon you in Canterlot, however she remains unwavering in her resolve despite all my efforts.”

Her ‘resolve’ to have me eliminated, she meant. Damn it all, I’d hoped the old bag would have let it go by now. I mean, for bucks sake, what the hell was her problem?

“Lord Fairlight?” Luna looked at me with a concerned expression.

I quickly released my grip on the magic and shook my mane. “Forgive me, my lady. It seems that my belief that Princess Celestia had left me to live out my days here with my family in peace has been foolishly naive. Instead she seems determined to punish me for the crime of simply existing. As you know I dedicated my life, as did my father before me, to serving my country and the royal family. I served without question, without complaint, and she still sees me as a threat?” I huffed bitterly. “I am less of a threat to her than calories.”

Luna’s eyes went wide for a moment before she shook her head sorrowfully, ignoring my rude remark. “Tia has a difficult manner about her at times, and I fear the memory of the great war still haunts her to this very day. You are, if you will forgive me for saying so, a living reminder of those days.”

I blinked in surprise as my mind reeled, attempting to digest what she’d just said. I was what now? I was a bloody what?! Buck me ragged with a twelve foot pole! The old sow was troubled by a middle aged wendigo living in some ramshackle village miles from anywhere with a mismatched band of relics from a previous age, was she? Well, boo-bloody-hoo! Gods almighty, didn’t she have anything more important to do, like running the bucking country for example? Wasn’t there some blasted trade agreement or tea and scone party to attend instead? The answer was obvious really, wasn’t it? I was just there, somewhere on the royal ‘To Do’ list: ‘8:00am Breakfast, 9:00am Hold court, 12:00am Lunch and cake, 1:00pm Murder the wendigo, 3:00pm Tea and cakes.’ Oh I was there alright, and sooner or later the white witch would get round to finishing what she’d started all those years ago. Celestia wouldn’t stop with me though, she’d want to wipe the slate completely clean while she was at it too. That meant Shadow, Tingles, Lumin, Tarragon, Grimble, Heather… Everypony. Even if I hoofed myself in, sacrificing myself to save my family and friends, it wouldn’t make a jot of difference to her overall goal. She’d simply wait until my head had been mounted on a spike then send in her armoured boys to finish the job. By the gods, if she thought she could just stroll in here and wipe us out then she was in for one hell of a surprise. I’d show that bitch what a ‘Living reminder’ was capable of doing.

“Lord Fairlight, I-” Luna froze as I rounded on her.

“So what, Celestia wants to kill me to salve her guilty conscience for butchering my ancestors like they were nothing, does she?” I growled angrily. “Tidy up a few loose ends?” The magic began to stir inside me, my teeth itching horribly as it reacted to my souring mood. I had little sympathy for ‘Tia’s difficulties’ as Luna had put it, especially not after what I’d seen, or rather what Maroc had experienced, during those final few blood soaked hours in the mountain pass. “I expect her ‘grand majesty’s’ attempt at genocide must be playing on the royal conscience at long last. Well, it can happen to the best of us, can’t it. But hey, better late than never, right? What a damned shame. Maybe I should send her some flowers and a box of bucking chocolates! Hell, she can stuff her muzzle with them while she’s contemplating how best to kill my family. May as well make a day of it!”

Luna glanced at Mitre who leaned a foreleg on the arm of my chair. “Look lad, I know you’ve had a rough time, and you’ve got a young family now too, but we need you on this one.”

“You need a wendigo you mean,” I replied tartly. “What is it this time, Chief? Assassination? Murder? Or has some damned noble spilt coffee on their favourite pantaloons?”

“Fairlight… look, lad-” Mitre began, but Luna cut him off.

“He’s right, Mitre,” the princess said firmly. “We’re asking too much of him this time. Lord Fairlight has a family and foals to care for now, and he has already sacrificed far more for Equestria than anypony ever had the right to ask of him. I told you I was not happy about this plan of yours.”

“But your majesty!” my old boss protested, “We need him! We can’t do this without-”

Luna fixed him with a look that could have frozen the world to ice in an instant. “We said we were concerned about this, Chief Mitre. Perhaps you did not hear me correctly? Lord Fairlight has done more than his fair share for our homeland, and we will not push him into something that could endanger his life nor that of his family.” She brushed her tail aside as the elegant alicorn moved to stand up. “We will find another way. This conversation is over.”

Mitre looked like he was going to explode, and yet instead of the expected tirade of expletives he was so famously known to unleash whenever his anger reached its zenith, he turned to face me with an expression which I can only describe as... pleading. I’d never seen him like this before. He looked helpless, lost, as if his last bastion of hope was crumbling away around him and there wasn’t a single thing he could do to stop it. Damn it all! This was going to happen anyway wasn’t it? Just like always I was going to end up being dragged into something that I was going to regret, and like a fool I’d go along with it like a lamb to the griffin butchers block. Why couldn’t I learn to say no? Why did I always agree to these bloody things?! And so, in typical gullible Fairlight fashion, I held up a hoof to try and diffuse the mounting tension. “My lady, Mitre, please,” I began, “I don’t know what’s going on here, so…” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Before we all jump to conclusions can somepony please explain what this is all about?” Luna nodded to Mitre for him to continue, retaking her seat.

The grizzled veteran cleared his throat and came straight out with it. “We’ve picked up intel to suggest a plot to assassinate the princesses. I think I mentioned this to you some time ago?” I nodded, allowing him to continue. “There’s always some crazy out there making wild threats they never back up. Mostly it’s all bluff and bluster, but this time we have something solid.” Mitre took out a file from his saddle bag and placed some photographs on the table before us. “Recognise anypony?”

I did. The photograph was a little grainy, but still showed enough detail to allow me to quickly identify the first three without any trouble. There was the unmistakable image of the Manehattan crime boss Velvet Cream, standing alongside a tall unicorn mare I remembered all too well - his stunning ‘Celestia-esque’ friend who had been leading the group that had gunned down my comrades in that damnable warehouse on the wharf. The two of them were stood beside the watch commissioner herself, smiling and chatting like old school pals. The fourth one, standing slightly apart from the others, looked like a very everyday sort of stallion, and one that certainly wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. His screwdriver cutie mark was one I’d seen on many a pony, usually in the repair or construction business. And in Manehattan there was always something being built or demolished to make way for newer buildings. In fact I can’t remember a single night when I wasn’t lulled to sleep by the incessant sound of drilling and hammering carried through my bedroom window on the muggy city breeze. What with the clattering of carriages and carts, the shouts of night time revellers, hawkers and drivers, it was just one more sound that simply faded into the background over time – the vibrant music of a living, breathing city.

“The one in the hat’s the commissioner of course,” I said, studying the photograph. “That one’s our old friend Velvet Cream. The Celestia lookalike is the ‘human’, and the other one…” I scratched my chin in thought. “No, I don’t recall seeing this one before.”

Luna tapped the image of the white unicorn. “She’s human?” she asked curiously. “You are certain of this?” The princess glanced at Mitre who nodded to her. Presumably he’d already told her about our mysterious alien visitor and she merely wanted to hear me confirm it too.

“As much as I can be,” I replied. “She came through the portal along with her pals at Shire Wharf, turning half the Manehattan watch into mincemeat with those ballistic weapons of theirs. You can’t see from the picture, but she hasn’t got a cutie mark.” I caught Mitre’s eye. “I’ve seen her since then too, at the Strawberry Cream nightclub.”

Mitre’s chair creaked as he moved. “Guess where the photo was taken.”

It wasn’t much of a surprise. We knew Velvet was up to his fetlocks in it already of course. It was his goons, Gates and Melon Patch, who’d been the ones that’d helped turn me into… into ‘this’. What those bastards did to Meadow and Sparrow though… well, let’s just say I hoped they were enjoying hell right now. I examined the photograph once more. Considering the angle it was clearly taken without the knowledge of the four ponies in it. An agent on the inside perhaps? Probably. Mitre and the agency would doubtless have Velvet’s place well and truly staked out, especially after the business on the island. That rat had his hoofprints all over it.

“We had a pony on the inside who got these pictures to us,” Mitre explained, confirming my suspicions. He leafed through a few more similar photo’s, spreading them out on the table.

“Had?” I asked.

He nodded. “We found her head floating in the river two days ago.”

I shook my head and took sip of my brandy. Those bastards had some payback coming for what they’d done. “I take it Velvet’s got some sort of alibi clearing him of any involvement?”

“Naturally,” Mitre replied. “Apparently he knew nothing about trafficking, drugs or gunrunning. He blamed everything on his two lieutenants whom he claimed had ‘Gone rogue’ or some such shite. Unfortunately, although rather convenient for him, they’re not being very co-operative right now.”

“Who are they?” I asked, “Or dare I ask.”

“Oh, you know them,” Mitre said, looking up at me from under his heavy brow. “Gates and Melon Patch.”

“Ah...” I cleared my throat. “Who’s the fourth one in the picture, the one with the screwdriver on his arse. Any leads?”

“We have more than leads.” Mitre’s wry smile belied the seriousness of what he said next. “Know what one of these things are?”

I magicked up the photo from the table and examined it closely. Once again the image was a little out of focus, and at first glance I thought it to be some sort of pony. A bat pony maybe? It certainly had wings, and yet… No… No, it wasn’t one of the princess’s guards. This was more ‘insectoid’ in appearance somehow. It’s body caught the light, bright and shiny like a beetle’s carapace. Insect-like wings and a horn like a unicorn completed the image, but those teeth and eyes were unlike any Equestrian creature I’d ever encountered. I’d heard of them of course, we all had, but I’d never actually seen one in person.

“Changeling?” I asked uncertainly.

Mitre nodded. “Got it in one, boy. Nasty little buckers they are too.” He quickly bowed to Luna, “Sorry, your majesty.” She just smiled, waving her hoof for him to continue. “We caught it completely by chance when it passed by one of the detectors we’ve set up around the country to look for any rogue humans. The last thing we expected was one of these things though. When it was approached it made a run for it, blasting its way through the crowd before we finally managed to take it down.”

“Alive?” I asked.

Mitre shook his head. “Not for long. Little bastard killed two and maimed three others included a young colt. After that the agents had no choice. Turns out they’re not that resistant to energy weapon fire.”

“So what’s that got to do with the wedding though?” I asked curiously. “How do we know this thing didn’t just wander into town looking for some tasty emotions to snack on. It’s rare, but not unheard of.”

By way of answer, Mitre pulled out another file. “This one was taken by a pony moments before the changeling put a hole through him. Thank the goddesses the medics on scene had the wherewithal to give us the camera.”

There were a number of snaps of the local town, statues, gardens, pretty much the kind snaps you’d expect your typical tourist to take to be honest, until I finally reached the one Mitre was drawing my attention to. Walking in front of a large neon prancing pony sign was a very everyday looking pony with a familiar screwdriver cutie mark on his flank. It didn’t seem like the photographer had intended to include this fellow in his photo, nor, apparently, had the subject themselves. It was a classic case of wrong place, wrong time. Poor sod. “Think that’s the same guy?” I asked, looking up. Mitre nodded in reply. “So what’s the angle here, Chief. You think the commissioner’s planning on infiltrating the wedding with a changeling and taking out the royal wedding party?”

The older stallion gave me a grim faced nod. “We believe so, or at the very least it’s a distinct possibility. The commissioner hangs around with some well known anti governmental higher-ups, the ones who’ve made no bones about the fact they’d like nothing more than to see the princesses transformed into a more… ‘ceremonial’ role. With the royal wedding on the horizon the princesses would be a prime target for them. All three in one place at one time? Hell, all it would take would be one well placed explosive device and all their Hearthswarming Eve’s would come at once. Of course, should anything ‘untoward’ happen to princesses then there would be a pressing need for somepony to take over the reins of governence under emergency powers, and guess who they’d have in mind for that lucrative position?”

I knew the answer already. “The commissioner, naturally,” I replied. “With the full weight of the watch behind her, she’d be the most obvious choice.”

Mitre bobbed his head in agreement. “She’d be a puppet of the elite of course, but a very well paid puppet nonetheless.”

“It’s a hell of a leap of logic though, Chief,” I pointed out. “Having reservations about a monarchy is one thing, but regicide is quite another altogether. Pardon the pun, but the whole thing could blow up in their face if they made even the slightest slip up. I mean, look at the incident with the changeling. If they weren’t concerned they’d overplayed their hand before the thing had gone on the rampage, they sure as hell would be now. Besides, treason is still a capital offence, isn’t it? Do you seriously think the ones behind this would risk their cosy lifestyles and stoop to an act of mass murder?”

“Have you ever heard of ‘The Circle’, Captain?” Mitre asked.

I gave a snort, topping up my glass. “I presume you’re not talking about that run down dive on the corner of twenty seventh and Parks, are you?”

Mitre raised an eyebrow. “No. I’m talking about-”

“Veritas,” I cut in. “Of course I’ve heard about them. I mean, who hasn’t? A club of eccentric nobs chasing each other around the dorms with greased cucumbers and towel snapping in the shower room after a good old match of ruggers? What’s not to like about that, eh?” I gave a derisive snort. “It’s an ‘old boys’ club for overly privileged toffs, Chief. Supposedly it’s a ‘secret society’ like the ‘Sons of Llamalia’ or whatever they’re called, but everypony and his dog knows about their funny hoofshakes and ‘initiation ceremonies’. Remember that guy on Lamb Street Bridge?”

“They’d glued his tail to the main support strut.”

“Damned right they did!” I rolled my eyes. “Held up traffic for ages until somepony had the sense to find a pair of scissors and cut the poor sod loose. By that time his picture was in every paper in the land, along with a close up of his bare bum. What was his name again?”

Mitre groaned quietly. “Lord Chief Justice Dill Pickle.”

“That’s the one.” I clopped my hooves together, recalling the ludicrousness of that bizarre incident from what felt like a lifetime ago now. “He was one of them, the ‘Great poo poo’, or something daft. Anyway, didn’t they have links with the watch?”

“They do,” Mitre admitted sullenly. “And that’s half the problem. Most of the senior officers are part of their order. On the face of it their society is exactly how you described, a club for the upper echelons of society and comprising of little more than expensive dinner parties, charity drives and so on and so on.” He stared into his drink, swirling it round as he spoke. “They asked me to join you know, and like an idiot I refused. As a result my application to become regional operations director was refused in favour of Elegance, a young and inexperienced mare from Fillydelphia.”

“Let me guess, another member of Veritas by any chance?” I asked.

Mitre laughed mirthlessly. “Of course she was. After that I gave up on any thoughts of advancement and stayed as section chief. Until now.” He let out a sigh. “So much for my retirement plans...”

“I’m guessing there’s more to this than back scratching and nepotism though, right?” I said quickly, noticing Luna’s sidelong frown at Mitre’s muttered comment.

“Right.” Mitre glanced at Luna before continuing. “A little while ago I discovered Equus had a mole in their ranks who’d been feeding information back to the palace. But not to Celestia as you may have expected. No, the information was being channelled to… the head chef.”

“The head chef?!” I exclaimed. “You’ve got to be joking!”

“I wish I were.” Mitre reached up and scratched his neck as he explained. “We did some digging on the chef. Turns out they’re the illegitimate son of a noble from over on the west coast. Seems there was some murky family history behind it all that they didn’t want to get out, so they leaned on our culinary colleague to act as a go between. Information was collected, then sent out hidden inside an empty milk churn. The dairy company would come by each day and collect the empties, later distributing the ‘milk’ far and wide. A company, incidentally, owned by..-”

“Another Veritas member perchance?” I chipped in.

Mitre nodded. “Their owner just so happens to be the nephew of one of the top boys in the circle.”

“The Circle and Veritas are one and the same aren’t they?” I asked.

“We believe so.” The chief stretched his foreleg, rubbing his fetlock. “The names seem to be used interchangeably, although I suspect that ‘Veritas’ is the official name inside the organisation.”

“But what about the assassination plot, Chief?” I asked. “This business, as reprehensible as it is, seems to be more a case of spying than somepony arranging for an actual assassination. As far as we know the stolen information could have been going to anypony, maybe even a foreign government. We’re hardly on good terms with the yaks, and that’s putting it mildly. Then there’s the Llamalian empire; that lot would use anything to get one over on us to bolster their international trade standings. Are the agency looking into this? This sort of thing’s more in their area of jurisdiction isn’t it?”

“It would be, if it didn’t involve Equus,” Mitre replied gruffly. “Regardless, it still doesn’t address the core of the problem. And that is who is pulling the strings.” He took out a list from his case, laying it before me. “This is a list of the names of everypony we’ve found to be involved in the information theft case. Some of the traces are tentative, but they’re there alright.”

I stared at the list. Many of the names I recognised, but many more I didn’t. Some, however, jumped out at me immediately. “Earl Joist, Lady Bobbin, Baroness Spindles...” I shook my head in amazement. “Building companies, events organisers, catering suppliers...” I looked up at my old friend, catching Luna’s eye as my blood ran cold. “They’re all involved in the wedding, aren’t they.”

“Do you understand now?” Mitre said quietly. “There’s more besides that though, lad. There’s any amount of letters, telegrams, rumours and tittle-tattle that we’ve been sifting through these last four years in the hope we can piece it all together and form an accurate picture of what’s actually being planned. Most of it’s rubbish of course, but there’s a common theme running throughout it all that’s got us on our guard. The biggest problem we’re facing right now is finding out exactly what form that theme will take. We know something is going to happen, we even know the when and the where, we just need to find out who the mastermind is behind it all and exactly what they’re planning. Once we have that we can go on the offensive. At the moment the plotters have the initiative, and we’re stumbling around in the dark snatching at shadows.”

“Any help from our informants?” I asked hopefully.

Mitre smiled. “I was getting to that. The word on the street, courtesy of your old friend Jumping Jack, is that the commissioner is using Velvet and his contacts to arm a group of heavies that will attack the wedding when it’s nearing its conclusion. The ensuing panic will then ‘convince’ Princess Celestia to pass more power to the commissioner and the army, thus bolstering Veritas’ position whilst weakening her own. The other ‘rumour’ is that they will be taking a more ‘direct approach’ and simply try to remove the three princesses in one fell swoop. We don’t know for sure, but all indications so far suggest an attempt will be made to smuggle in an explosive device of some kind. We’ve got the area covered in detectors, sniffer dogs, and over half the agency personnel working to secure the palace in case there’s some credibility to it.” Mitre sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I’d like to say we’ve covered all the bases, Captain, but you know as well as I do that so far as security is concerned, the royal palace is about as watertight as a bloody colander.”

Luna spoke next. “These ponies know we would never move against them openly, Lord Fairlight, and my sister would never relinquish her rule of Equestria, nor I for that matter. Not unless the people wished it of course.”

I smiled at her. “My lady, the ponies of Equestria love you, and Celestia.” I nearly choked on that last bit, but hopefully managed to sound at least a little genuine. “I’ve never heard anything said against you, especially something as unthinkable as threatening your life.”

She reached over and placed a hoof on my knee. “Thank you, Lord Fairlight, you’re very kind.”

I could feel my cheeks burning as Mitre cleared his throat loudly, making me jump. “This creature,” he began, indicating the original photograph, “this ‘changeling’, has been traced back to the capital. We’ve checked hours of surveillance information from the detectors and it appears on one more, right outside the palace gates.”

Hell fire, this wasn’t good! The damned things were capable of mimicking a pony’s appearance perfectly. Well… almost. They could still be picked up by magical detectors like Mitre had said, but sooner or later one of the damned things could very likely get through if it was determined enough. “You think this thing was an assassin?” I asked.

Mitre shook his head. “No. We think it was there for observation, probing for any weakness in the defences. The royal guard are already on alert because of the threat from the humans, and the CBI are also aware of the changeling situation. Captain Shining Armour has put up a shield around the whole city to protect against these things getting in, and we’ve been busy installing automated detectors around the country as fast as we can manufacture them.”

“Captain Shining Armour?” I asked. I’d skipped over the main article in paper, being far more interested in the news that might actually be relevant to myself and Smiling Borders. Still, I liked to keep on top of who was who in the military, but I wasn’t familiar with this one.

Luna nodded. “Princess Cadence’s fiancé, and captain of the royal guard. He is Twilight Sparkle’s brother. I believe you know her?”

My eyebrows shot up. Miss Sparkle’s brother? Hell fire! Her big bro was none other than the captain of the very guard who were trying to hunt me down. Oh what delicious irony! “So where do I come into this?” I asked, changing the subject. May as well get it over with...

Mitre smiled, taking a mouthful of his brandy. “We want you to investigate Velvet Cream, the commissioner, and our human friend. See what you can find. Do a little digging. Simple.”

“Simple?” I put down my glass. Suddenly the brandy had lost its appeal. “I guess the watch are out of the picture with the commissioner’s influence for a job like this, but why can’t the agency do it?”

“They are, but their hooves are tied by Celestia’s regulations on privacy,” Luna explained. “But thankfully, and partly thanks to your previous help in the matter, she has allowed Equus to remain under my control. This means we have carte-blanche to take care of the situation in any way we deem necessary. The safety of the soon to be newlyweds has taken care of my sister’s other ‘concerns’, shall we say.”

“Yeah,” I added, “I get it. She wants Equus to get their hooves dirty so the royal wedding doesn’t get gate crashed by our bug friends or the Veritas hired thugs.”

Mitre grinned. “That’s about the size of it, lad. Celestia doesn’t know about you though. You’re our…well, we want you to be our trump card, so to speak.”

“And do what?” I didn’t like the sound of this. “Take out the whole gang?” Mitre said nothing, and Luna returned to staring into the fire in silence. “That’s it, isn’t it? You want me to ‘investigate’ them, by killing the whole bloody lot. Nice and quiet, keep the royal guard’s noses clean, and avoid any comeback on the agency. It’s just poor old Fairlight the evil wendigo doing what he does best. How long before one of Celestia’s goons comes after me then, eh? Tracks me down, kills me when I’ve got my back turned? Maybe my whole family too!”

The big blue stallion shook his head. “We’re not asking you to kill them, Captain, just… neutralise the threat. If you can bring them in, then you have the authority to do it. You’re still on the books with Equus after all, so we’ll be able to provide you with whatever assistance we can.”

‘Neutralise’. It was a polite way of saying ‘Kill them if you have to’, but whatever fancy words you tried to disguise it with the end result was still the same. If what Mitre and Luna believed was on the money, then it was very likely the plotters would prefer to go down fighting rather than be taken in on a charge of treason. Celestia was not exactly noted for her mercy when it came to attacks on the crown, as I knew first hoof. That said, we weren’t just dealing with your common or garden variety hired street thugs here. These guys were connected, well connected, and Veritas sounded like the kind of ponies who would be able to pull more strings than a bloody orchestra if push came to shove. “Alright,” I said, interested to see where this plan of theirs was heading. “Let’s say I do manage to bring them in, what then? With the commissioner’s connections there’s a good chance she’ll be in the clear before the key’s turned, and it’s reasonable to assume her buddies will also make sure Velvet and the human will be straight back out in the blink of an eye too. If that happens then they’ll most likely go even further underground with their operations, and only the goddesses will know what we’ll do then.”

Suddenly the door crashed open, followed immediately by the clatter of hooves. It was Brandy Wine. “There’s something coming up the road!” he gasped. “Mitre, get the princess upstairs. Fairlight…” Panting to catch his breath he threw me a PDW. I was up in a flash, the two of us rushing towards the door as a protesting Luna was pushed up the stairs.

“What is it?” I said quickly, checking the weapon. “We’ve got more armed warriors in this village than you can shake a stick at, Brandy. Are we under attack?” Suddenly my worst fears materialised in my mind. “Ursan?”

“Worse! I’ve never seen anything like it!” he said, his eyes wide in alarm. “It’s… it’s like something from a bloody nightmare. A walking skeleton, black and shining, with dragon wings and-”

“And eyes like red fires, right?”

“…and… yes!” Brandy paused, fixing me with an expression of utter amazement. “Dear gods, you’ve seen it before?”

“I would say so, yes.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, settling my racing heart. “Come in and put that blasted gun away will you.” Passing him the PDW I opened the doors as Shadow and Tingles trotted in. It was all a little much for the poor agency officer, whose eyes were as wide as saucers at this point.

“Agh!” Brandy gasped, backing away into a corner with lightning speed and upsetting a table on the way. “What… What is that thing?!”

“My mate, the lady Shadow,” I replied politely. “Shadow, may I present to you Brandy Wine of the Celestian Bureau of Investigation, otherwise known as ‘the agency’.”

Shadow bobbed her head and grinned, treating Brandy to a full view of her glinting battery of lethally sharp teeth. Smoke curled up from her nostrils, her eyes burning a deep blood red in the darkened light of the tavern’s interior as she focussed on the terrified stallion. Unsurprisingly, Brandy squeaked in fright, his natural instinct for self preservation warring with his normally calm demeanour. Like most equestrians he’d never seen a thestral before, and it was easy to forget just how frighteningly alien they could appear when encountering one for the first time. Especially when one of them was towering over you licking its lips. I stepped in between them, giving Shadow a gentle nudge.

“Oh stop it, you’ll give him a bloody heart attack.”

Shadow nickered, smirking wickedly as she raised an eyebrow and trotted off to help herself to a drink.

“Sorry about that.” I reached down and helped extract Brandy from the mass of chairs he’d jammed himself into. “Shadow does like to tease.”

“Tease?!” He closed his eyes, brushing the dust off his overcoat. “Gods almighty, Fairlight, I think I just shat myself. What is she anyway? You said she’s your what, your mate?”

“It’s a long story,” I chuckled. “Come, sit with us by the fire and get yourself a drink.” I paused, looking him up and down. “I think you need one.”

Oblivious to the commotion, Tingles had homed straight in on the chief, treating him a enthusiastic hug. “It’s so good to see you!” she laughed happily. “But, who’s this you’ve brought wi-” She gasped as the dark coated mare appeared at the foot of the stairs, shooing Mitre out of the way. “Your majesty!”

Luna swept back into the room, picking up Tingles who was now bowing so low she was virtually lying down. “Tingles please, we’re friends are we not?”

“Of course your…” Luna raised an eyebrow as Tingles caught herself. “...Of course, Luna. But I’m just so happy to see you again!”

“And I you, my dear, dear friend,” the princess smiled gently. Her attention turned to the other mare in the room. “I expect this must be the lady Shadow whom we spent so long trying to find, only to have her mate succeed in that task in his own inimitable fashion.”

Shadow blushed and bobbed a curtsy to the princess, “Princess Luna?”

Luna shook her head. “No, just Luna, my daughter. Friends don’t use titles. Except Fairlight, of course...”

Tingles gave me a look from under her brows which made my hackles go straight up. I was going to get interrogated for this later, I just knew it. Fortunately, and in my defence, my ‘fling’ with Luna had been a good while before I’d become serious with Tingles, so at least I didn’t have that to worry about. I hoped! Right now though I had a more pressing matter that needed attention. Unfolding before me was the kind of conversation that was reaching the inevitable point where I realised we’d have to relay our stories yet again. And sure enough… we did. Well, may as well get comfortable then! Encouraging Brandy to take a seat with us all, we started our tale from where I had left the village on my journey to the Withers all those months ago. As the story progressed I found myself with a riveted audience, reminding me of my time with the Purple Sands tribe. No balta to lubricate the larynx this time of course, but a good glass of spirits, some nibbles from the kitchen, and I could overlook that omission. Soon enough though, and with a small amount of editing, we finally got to the part where Luna, Mitre and Brandy began to explain why they were there. Luna was more interested in Lumin than talking I noticed, but I could tell by the way her ears swivelled that she was still taking in every detail. Oddly enough Tingles didn’t explode as I thought she would either.

Placing a hoof on her leg, I looked into her thoughtful eyes. “Love? You okay?”

She looked at Shadow who nodded as if the two shared some sort of psychic connection. I wasn’t joking either, for all I knew they probably did! And then to my surprise the tangerine pegasus bowed formally to Luna, speaking clearly as though addressing a hall full of ponies. “Princess Celestia would have to officially acknowledge Fairlight if he managed to ‘assist’ in protecting the wedding, wouldn’t she?”

Luna looked up from Lumin to reply, “I believe she would find it difficult not to, especially should the details of such selfless assistance by a former enemy of the crown be made, shall we say, public? I also have one more trump card to play should that not prove to be the case. In any event however, Tia would not be able to ignore Lord Fairlight’s contribution in such circumstances. Nor, I would add, could Shining Armour and his fiancé. As paradoxical as it may appear, the more who know about his involvement, the better.”

Shadow murmured something to Tingles and the two looked to me expectantly. They didn’t need to say anything. I already knew. I shrugged, accepting my inevitable fate. “Fine, I’ll do what I can, but when this is over I want something out of this. Not for me, but for my family and the people of this village.”

Luna straightened up, her ears taking in every word. “Very well, what do you desire?”

I stood up from my chair and spoke rather more formally than I intended. “The lands of the tribe of the four winds are to be reinstated according to the old boundaries in the time of Maroc. Shining Borders, and the forests between here and the mountains surrounding the fortress are to be officially recorded as our land and home, complete with all legal deeds and land titles. None of my people, my family, nor myself, are to be molested nor harmed in any way and are to be formally recognised for who we are. We, for our part, will pledge ourselves to the protection of Equestria from enemies foreign and domestic, and to the service of the royal family.”

Grimble dropped the tray behind me, the deafening crash making everypony turn to face the infuriated griffin. “The royal family?!” he shrieked, “After what that evil witch did to our ancestors?!” His eyes were almost bulging out of their avian sockets, his feathers bristling in the throws of unbridled outrage. “NO!”

“Yes.” I turned to him and fixed him with my blue eyed stare. “Times have changed, my old friend. Whether we like it or not, Luna and Celestia rule this land of our forefathers, but we have a chance now to recover our lost heritage, both for us and for our descendants. It is a chance, no matter how remote, that I cannot let pass us by. I am sorry Grimble, but I will not sentence my people, my family or my children, to a lifetime of cowering and hiding from shadows, waiting for the day the army shows up to finish what they started a thousand years ago. To move forward, we must be willing to let go of the baggage of the past. Do not let your pride blind your mind, my brother.” I turned back to Luna. “But that doesn’t mean I will forget nor fail to learn from what has been. You are still the one I serve, my lady. Celestia will have to come as part of that deal” I was going to add ‘unfortunately’, but thought better of it.

Luna’s mouth hung open, apparently a little lost for words. “You… you want a part of Equestria?” she gasped. “My sister would never agree to that!”

“The land was stolen from us in the first place,” I stated firmly, “and it is ours both by right and by inheritance. If you want my help, and that of my tribe, then this is the price I ask.”

Every pair of eyes in the room was on me. For a moment I wondered If I had overplayed my hoof, but then Luna stood up, her long flowing mane and tail flowing out behind her, flowing in the astral wind. “Very well,” she announced. “You must understand though, my Lord Fairlight, that I can only agree for my part. Celestia may not be so… agreeable.”

I stood my ground, never taking my eyes from her. “I’ll take that chance.”

Mitre watched me quietly while the princess got up to pass Lumin back to his mother. “Captain,” he asked quietly, “what will you do if the princess refuses?”

I looked at my old friend, at his tired face and scarred body. We’d both been through so much together, but now… now I had so much more to fight for. “How’s Shelly, Chief?” I asked him suddenly.

He stared at me, those old dark eyes trying to read the inside of my head. “She’s doing fine. Why?”

“You love her don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Mitre replied. “What’s this got to do with-”

“What would you do to protect her, Chief? To make sure she was safe?” I interrupted.

“I…” The rest of his words faded into the silence of the room.

I nodded, taking up my glass. “That’s what I’d do.”

My old watch chief sat with his mouth agape, before finally nodding to himself, “I understand, Captain. But still…” He leaned forward and jabbed a hoof at me, “don’t forget who your friends are.”

I clopped him on the shoulder. “I never have, my friend.” I turned to face Princess Luna and bowed before her. “You have my loyalty and my word of honour I will do all I can to protect Equestria, my lady.”

Luna smiled shyly and gave Lumin a kiss before holding her hoof out for me to kiss respectfully. “You’re an interesting one, Lord Fairlight, and so is your family. There is a magic here, not only in you, but in all of you: Tingles, Shadow, and even little Lumin.” She gazed down at the sleeping unicorn foal and murmured something just on the barest edge of my hearing. “He has the greatest magic of all.”

Well, he certain had enchanted our beloved princess, that was for sure. Lumin gurgled happily, just before letting out a rip-roaring fart that would have put his old dad to shame. I think what made me laugh the most though was the look of surprise on Lumin’s face rather than the shock on Luna’s. Ah, what chip off the old block, eh? Even at this tender age he was able to give the ladies something to boggle at. Unfortunately though, as much as my miniature unicorn had stolen the hearts of everypony in the tavern, all good things must come to an end. Our audience with the princess, Brandy and Mitre, was soon to draw to a close. They had their answer, as indeed had I. As our guests prepared to depart, with Luna being helped into the carriage by the steadfast Mitre, Brandy stopped me by the door.

“We’ll be in touch soon, Fairlight. Also, I have a bit of a confession to make.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Brandy nodded. “When I was checking your old room at the agency, I found a stash of boxes.”

“Boxes?” I wondered aloud. “My chocolates! Gods above, I’d forgotten all about them!”

The agency officer swallowed nervously. “Yes, well… I… I couldn’t help myself. I tried one. I didn’t think you’d mind if had a quick sample of course, but…”

“But?”

Brandy looked up at me, his eyes sparkling with energy. “Great Celestia, Fairlight, they were absolutely amazing! I had to have another, and before I knew it…”

I facehoofed. “Don’t tell me you ate the lot?!”

“Well, erm, actually… I did.” He held up a conciliatory hoof. “But don’t worry, I replaced them. They’re in with all Tingles’ things. We put them in your room earlier after I had them delivered from Ponyville.”

By the gods, he looked so serious! Laughing aloud I clopped him on the shoulder. “You didn’t need to confess that! Bloody hell, I thought it was something serious. They’re delicious, sure, but I wasn’t that obsessed with them!”

Brandy shrugged and handed me a crumpled yellow envelope. “It’s from the Cake’s. The guys at the agency have a regular shipment now and… well, it’s a money off voucher as a thank you.”

I pocketed the letter, shaking my head. “Thanks Brandy, you were always there when I needed you the most.”

“I still am, Fairlight,” he grinned. “It’s good to know we’ll be working together on protecting our home from the latest bunch of rats trying to infest it. Whether it’s in Canterlot or out here in the sticks, the faces and names change, but the problems they cause never quite go away, do they?” I nodded. He was right there. What was the old watch saying? ‘Same shit, different day’? By the gods where they ever right about that. “I know you’ve done more than your fair share for our country, but still, I’ve always liked a pony who gets results,” Brandy continued. He paused, fishing in his pocket for something. “Oh! Nearly forgot. Here’s yours and Tingles’ back pay.”

“Mitre’s already given us money, Brandy,” I pointed out. “Anyway, I know he said we’re still on the books but I think that’s more of a technicality than anything concrete. We’re not on the payroll any more as far as I know.”

“Actually, that’s not entirely true.” Brandy replied a little sheepishly. “I always hoped you’d come back, and so I kept you on, listed as on ‘foreign service’. That comes with a bonus, overtime, and holiday pay.” He hoofed over a wad of notes and coins which were stuffed into a cotton bag. “That’s both of you up to date. It’ll keep you in chocolates if nothing else, right?”

Yeah, for about the next fifty years! Bloody hell, with the amount of cash here and what Mitre had given us we were virtually swimming in bits. If nothing else it would be a nice little pot of cash to help cover the cost of the renovations on the Wyvern’s Tail. We shook hooves, and after a round of hugs and hoof waving, the princess’s carriage took off into the wide blue sky, banking away on its journey back towards Manehattan. Grimble and I sat back by the fire a while longer and chatted about the visit whilst the girls disappeared off to the hot spring. The old griffin was a traditionalist at heart, but thankfully open enough to understood that if we were to truly stand any hope of restoring the tribe to its former glory, we would have to adapt to this world, and learn to live once more instead of simply surviving. Up until now the villagers had been scratching out a living as farmers, lurching from day to day, barely managing to store up enough food between them to last the vicious winters that hit these parts. Well, that was going to end if I had any say in the matter. I sat gazing into the flames and tapped my forehooves together as I mulled things over in my mind. Had I pushed things too far with Luna? Despite my words to Mitre, what would I do if Celestia refused my request? She may react on instinct and try to turn me into charcoal, regardless of how much ‘help’ I may have been with the security for the wedding. And on that subject, there was no guarantee that there even was a plot in the first place! It was all speculation, supposition, and good old fashioned guesswork. Damn it, there were too many unknowns here, and now I was second guessing my own decisions. Still, I trusted Mitre to know what was going on. There was a lot he hadn’t told me of course, he’d said as much himself, so I would just have to keep my faith in his abilities and wait until I received my orders. I shook my mane and leaned back in my chair. It was too bloody late now anyway, the die was cast. I would play my part just as I’d said I would, and the lord of the four winds, together with his tribe, would return to their rightful place in Equestria. If I kept telling myself that, I may even start to believe it too.

Grimble echoed my thoughts. “I never thought it would happen in my lifetime, my lord,” he said honestly. “I hope you’ll forgive my outburst earlier?”

“About Celestia?” I asked. “Of course, my friend. Trust me, I’m no fan of the princess of the sun. However, if we have to make a deal with the devil to achieve our goal, then so be it.”

“Fortune favours the bold, my lord.”

I clinked my brandy mug against Grimble’s. “Hah! It does that, my friend, it does that.”

There was a shriek from upstairs and the clatter of hooves. A heartbeat later a flustered Tingles bursting into the room. “HEATHER!” she screamed. The minotaur charged in, carrying a meat cleaver of all things, her eyes scanning the room for trouble. “Get some water, quick!”

“What’s going on?” I called to her, jumping to my hooves. “It’s not Tarragon again is it?”

Tingles shook her head so hard I thought it would fly off. “No! It’s Shadow! I think she’s been poisoned!”

“Oh goddesses.” My heart thundering, I raced for the stairs as Grimble rushed into the kitchen to help Heather.

Tingles turned to me in a panic. “She… she ate something. I found her next to a box of something in the bedroom. I’ve never seen it before! It was right next to our things, and-”

“Oh hell!” I gasped, taking the stairs two at a time. “MY BLOODY CHOCOLATES!”