Fairlight - Blood of the Foal

by Bluespectre

Chapter Seven - To the victor, the spoils

CHAPTER SEVEN

TO THE VICTOR, THE SPOILS

The warriors of the tribe filed back through the portal, tired, yet relieved to be home. Tonight would be an evening of joyful celebration at our victory, and rightly so. Each and every one of these brave souls fully deserved my admiration and respect. They had, after all, risked their lives to rescue my son. Some had even paid for that with their lives. For that, I was grateful beyond words.

The princess watched the last few of them passing through, bowing respectfully as the bodies of our dead were carried through. “May they find peace in the herd,” Luna whispered under her breath. Slowly, she lifted her head once more. “It is time for us to leave, I fear. Tia only lowered the barrier to the Wither World temporarily so that we could send help to recover the little one. After all, she still has her own inner demons to face.”

I looked up at the green sky. “As do we all, my lady.”

Luna nudged me with her nose. “Some day I’d like to bring all the tribes home, Fairlight, but not yet. Equestria is not yet ready for such change, and in some ways, the tribes are not ready for Equestria either.” She held a hoof out to me to kiss. “You, Lord Fairlight, are the start of a fresh page, a new story in the history of our land. Perhaps one day your foal, like his given name, will bring light where once there was only darkness.” She looked up at the sky, smiling softly. “Even if that darkness cannot be always be seen.” Shadow hugged Luna farewell and we watched the princess return to the assembled thestral warriors as our friends took flight once more.

Etrida called back over her shoulder as she lumbered into the air after them, “I shall be calling upon you soon, child of the wendigo. Remember your promise.”

“I shall!” I called after the huge creature. And, with a flash of blue and green magic, they disappeared back to their homelands leaving only their hoofprints in the ground to remember they were ever here. Now, it was time for us to return to our home as well.

“Um, boss?” It was Loofa, I thought he’d already gone through. “Er, you aren’t going to, you know...” He cleared his throat, blushing slightly. “What I mean is, the guys on the other side might be a bit surprised to see a wendigo walk through, yeah?”

“What are you- Oh!” I lifted my hoof and stared at it, as if seeing the snow white appendage for the first time. How long had I been in my wendigo form? I looked at Shadow in surprise, and yet… and yet I didn’t feel as if my magic were depleted at all. Not even one drop! Ah, of course, it must have been all the life energy I’d been able to absorb during the battle. Mind you, I couldn’t remember changing back since I’d arrived here. Sure enough, the flasks were just as full as they had been after I’d healed our wounded. Shrugging, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, a released my grip on my magic. But, dear gods, it was so hard! I felt like a child clinging onto something warm and familiar, unwillingly to give it up and face the cold, harsh reality beyond.

“Are you alright?” Shadow asked, watching me closely. “Hurt?”

I felt a shiver run through me as my body changed back, rubbing my eyes with a foreleg. I felt suddenly very, very tired. “I’m fine, love,” I assured her before breaking out into a ridiculously wide yawn. “Mind you, I could do with a nice cup of tea and a warm bed right about now. Hell, I can’t even remember the last time I had any sleep.”

“Sleep at home. Soon.”

And that was that. She certainly had a way with words did our Shadow. Wearily I tromped through the muddy ground, vanishing into the silver mirror-like surface of the portal. I was the last one, and true to my word, nopony had been left behind, not even our dead. Stares from the soldiers and the agency teams spoke volumes, particularly a certain officer by the name of Colonel Graceful Quartz. That imperious creature watched me with all the rapt attention of a cat stalking its prey, her piercing gaze giving away what lay beneath that implacable exterior. She hadn’t expected me back, nor any of us I suspected. Brandy on the other hoof, was overjoyed to see us. He was helping one of our soldiers onto the back of a sky carriage when he saw Shadow and I. In a heartbeat he was before us, his smile brighter than the sun, and even more warming to my weary heart.

“Well, we’re back,” I said with a cheeky smirk. “I hope you’ve done the dishes, I hate coming back to a mess.”

Brandy shook his head in dismay, but his smile said it all. “Mission accomplished?”

“As if you had any doubt,” I replied, indicating Lumin’s pannier. “You have any trouble?”

The agency stallion’s eyes flicked to the colonel and back. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He walked up to the pannier on Shadow’s back and peered in at Lumin, letting out a sigh of relief. “Thank the goddess. Is he alright? They didn’t harm him, did they?”

“No,” I said plainly. “But Brandy, listen, I think Celestia is making a serious mistake thinking she can negotiate a deal, or pact, or whatever the hell it is with those things back there. They see us as nothing but food, and anything that thinks like that is a danger to every living being in Equestria. If it were up to me I’d block that place up good and proper and throw away the key. You can’t trust them.”

The stallion frowned in thought, then asked, “That wouldn’t have something to do with anything you’ve done by any chance, would it?”

“I did what needed to be done,” I replied sharply, lifting my muzzle. “It was ‘off the books’, remember?” Brandy looked like he was going to say something, then thought better of it. Looking around, I noticed a familiar cart behind a group of soldiers. It was near the medical tent, and definitely not Equestrian. “Did anypony come through here before us?” I asked.

Brandy nodded. “As a matter of fact, they did. Quite a few in fact.” He bobbed his head in the direction I was looking. “They came through here in a panic with a group of your warriors, shouting that the changelings were right behind them. Some of your lads...” He closed his eyes. “We lost two of them. The others we sent back to the village after they were treated.” Brandy shook his head. “Would you believe they wanted to go back through and find you? The colonel wasn’t having any of it of course, and even threatened to shoot them. It was all I could do to stop her blowing the portal right there and then.”

The colonel in question was currently on the other side of the clearing, bossing around some other poor sods who she apparently didn’t think were working fast enough for her exacting standards. Every now and again I noticed her glancing in my direction, but she never acknowledged me. Not even once.

“Well, all’s well that ends well, Brandy,” I said, turning back to my friend. “So long as all my people are home and the ponies we rescued are safe, I’d call that a job well done.”

The agency officer lifted a hoof and ran it through his mane. “I can’t argue with you there. You going to stay and watch the fireworks?”

It was tempting, but I’d seen enough destruction and explosions to last me a lifetime already. “Thanks for the offer, but all I want now is a wash, a hot bath, and a warm bed. Besides, this little fella needs his mum.” I gave him a cheeky wink. “Stay cool, Brandy. Oh, and next time you and your boys are in the village, the bar’s on me.”

Brandy chuckled. “I’ll hold you to that.” He nodded to Shadow. “Goddess be with you my friends.”

Shadow and I followed the last of our warriors, clambering into one of the rough army wagons and sat back, letting some other poor bugger do the work for once. At least Brandy had been overjoyed to see us, even if the colonel hadn’t even acknowledged our presence. How bloody magnanimous of her! It must be something that comes with rank. Either that or she was just butthurt that Equestria’s most wanted was now ‘one of the gang’ so to speak. I sighed and sank back into the seat. As hard as the army issue thing was, to me right then it felt decadently luxurious. With a long sigh, Shadow leaned across me and snuggled her head onto my chest as she closed her eyes. Like me, she was utterly exhausted. I stroked her mane.

“Thanks love,” I smiled. “I don’t know what else to say. Words just can’t explain how much my heart soared when I saw you appear like magic in the sky.” I ran my hoof over her ear, gently stroking it from base to tip. “I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t arrived when you did. Our whole tribe owes you a debt we could never repay.”

She looked up at me with one half open eye. “Mmhmm.” And with that simple expression of her thoughts on the subject, she closed her eyes and fell asleep for the remainder of the journey back to Smiling Borders.

Evening was approaching quickly as we skimmed low over the forest, the lights of the village twinkling in the distance a truly welcome sight to my tired eyes. The sky carriage banked into a low sweeping arc, and we landed with barely a jolt just outside the Wyvern’s Tail. Despite her tiredness,Shadow was visibly excited at being back. Stumbling slightly in her attempt to rush out of the carriage, I managed to catch her and help her regain her footing. Before I could say anything else she reached back inside the carriage, scooped up Lumin in his pannier, and charged through the front door of the inn. I’d barely made the door when a familiar shout of joy and a chorus of cheers rang out, making me shake my head with a smile. Sure enough, a tangerine Pegasus stood before us, alternately hugging Shadow and Lumin until her gaze fell upon me. Tingles passed Lumin to Shadow and walked deliberately over to me, standing tall and fixing me with a large green eye.

“You’re late…”

What was it with ponies saying that to me lately? “I-” I never got a chance to finish as the mare grabbed my barding and pulled me into a kiss that took my breath away. Around us the common room erupted in cheers and shouts from the warriors and villagers who had filled this most wondrous of places with a degree of life and energy I didn’t think possible. Tingles broke the kiss and leaned her forehead on mine.

“I thought we’d lost you,” she breathed. “When you disappeared... the changelings... and then I had this dream…” Her large green eyes squeezed shut, I felt her shudder slightly. “You came to me… in the forest…”

“You don’t remember?” I asked.

“Not really, everything’s fuzzy,” she grinned. “Like your ears.” She lunged up and nipped one of my long suffering ears right on the tip. Hard.

I yelped in pain. “Ow! Bloody hell fire, Tingles!”

Laughing, the tangerine mare pranced away swishing her tail provocatively. “What are you going to do about it then, Mister Salt?”

“Ooh, you!”

Howls of laughter and encouragement from the tribe followed me up the stairs as I raced after the fleeing mare. Tingles slammed the door shut behind me as I charged in, locking it behind her. Those green eyes blazed with a passion I’d last seen in the shower cubicle at the agency. The tangerine pegasus was panting heavily and advancing on me like some starving predator. Why did I have a sudden image of a manticore popping into my mind? Dear gods, she looked hungry… A hoof on the end of a long slender leg slammed into the wall beside me, her eyes locked on mine, her pupils wide.

“Tingles,” I gasped. “I’ve just got back! I haven’t washed or-”

“You stink,” she growled. “You reek, you’re dirty, and you’re covered in the blood of those you’ve slain.” She pushed me up onto my hind legs and ran her chest up against mine. “What are you, Fairlight…Who and what are you?”

“Me? I…” I licked my lips nervously. “I’m a wendigo, the lord of the tribe of the four winds.”

“A warrior,” she rumbled.

“Yes… A warrior,” I managed.

She bit my shoulder, hooking a foreleg around my neck, her tail swishing around and tickling my flank. “You have your victory, My Lord. Now, it’s time to take your spoils…” Tingles kicked my hind legs out from under me and somehow twisted me round, flinging me onto the bed and simultaneously landing atop me with a flurry of wings. I gasped as she licked my muzzle and took my head in her hooves. “What do you want, Lord Fairlight?”

I swallowed, staring into her beautiful eyes. “I want…”

“I mean, right now,” Tingles whispered. “Here. Now. What do you want?”

“I want you,” I managed.

“Say it again…”

My heart was hammering in my chest, my energy returning like a river breaking its banks. “I want you, Tingles.”

She sighed, smiling down at me before lowering herself with a throaty gasp. “Oh, Celestia!” The pegasus mare squeezed her eyes tight shut before collapsing on my chest. Brushing her sticky mane from her eyes, Tingles raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to get it now. This is for sneaking out for a smoke!” She raised herself up and then rammed herself down again, making me gasp at the rush of heat. “This… this is for getting kidnapped!” Again the tangerine mare pulled herself up and slammed down, whimpering slightly under her breath. “And this… this is for making me love you so much!” Tingles ground herself into me viciously, biting my neck, my ears, and scrabbled at my chest with her hooves as she made use of me to her hearts content. I closed my eyes as the beautiful mare cried out and screamed her passion into the room with complete abandon, her wings flaring out stiff as boards, quivering with her mounting excitement. “Oh, goddesses!” she shrieked, leaning over and steadying herself on one of the bed’s supports. With a panting finality, Tingles’ whole body shook and she gasped for breath, collapsing onto my chest before rolling off onto the bed beside me in a sweat soaked heap. As for myself, I wasn’t finished yet, and I leaned over to catch her. She stopped me with an outstretched hoof. “No,” she breathed. “Tonight, you have other duties, My Lord.” My libido temporarily derailed, I looked at her quizzically. I didn’t understand, what did she mean? Tingles of course knew precisely what she meant, and slipped off the bed with a chuckle. She walked, if a little wobbly, to the bedroom door, pulling it open. “Meet me in the bath when you’re finished,” she grinned. “Oh, and leave Lumin with Heather would you?”

I lifted my head. “Tingles…?”

She trotted out, clopping hooves with a heavily armoured mare who entered the room, deftly kicking the door shut behind her. Burning red eyes locked with my own. I swallowed - It really did look like I was in for it tonight! Shadow began unbuckling her armour in silence, as if I wasn’t even there. She worked with a swiftness born of experience, each heavy piece falling noisily to the floor, her sword and axe propped in the corner. She walked up to the window and slid it open, sitting back on her haunches and closed her eyes, breathing in the evening air.

“Fairlight?”

The wash of cool forest air wafted over my fur, cooling my sweat soaked body. “Yes, love?”

She stared out the window. “I want a foal.”

I knew she did. That was why she’d been so keen to go to the chamber in the fortress wasn’t it? Gods above, of all the places she could have wanted to go, why there? But still, if it was what she wanted… “I know,” I said quietly. “We’ll go to the fortress as soon as we’ve rested up a little, if that’s what you want to do.”

“It is,” she whispered turning to me. “But tonight… I want you… Here.”

Did she sound more, I don’t know, eloquent somehow? Normally she clipped her sentences, not unlike the way many of the minotaurs did. I don’t know why she did when most of her people spoke perfectly normally, if you could call their words appearing in you head with all the subtlety of a runaway freight train of course, but then the enigmatic creature had always been a mystery to me. She was like the Wither World itself, like the Everfree too: wild, untamed, and deliciously exotic. I rolled off the bed and sat beside her.

“We’ll have a foal, my love,” I murmured, looking deep into her glowing red eyes. “But tonight is for you.” I allowed the magic to thrum through my body and re-energise me. “For us.” White fog began to swirl around my haunches and dripped from between my teeth. Shadow gasped as I reached up and nibbled her horn-like ears sending a shiver running down her spine, that gorgeous tail of purest black, flicking up to tease my spine with its electric touch. I returned the favour, making her whinny slightly as she turned to face me and looked me in the eyes.

“Fairlight, don’t I frighten you?”

I chuckled under my breath, continuing my work. “You terrify me.”

She cocked her head on one side. “I do?”

I nodded, running my diamond hoof down her chest. “Yes… It terrifies me just how much I love you, my Shadow.”

She sniffed, a tiny red tinged burning tear rolling down her cheek. “Oh, Fairlight… you frighten me too.” Shadow kissed me gently on the nose. “For the same reason.”

We kissed. Shadow and I rolled on the floor, bathing in the sparkling fog, the white clouds making the room look like some otherworldly place where time and the concerns of the outside world vanished into nothingness. Here, the light from our eyes reflected back at us blue and red in the white glow of magic. She growled, biting my neck, almost but not quite piercing the skin and making me gasp in ectasy. I ran my tongue up her neck, tasting her ear, taking it in my mouth and running my teeth along it to the tip. Shadow bit deeper, pulling me to her, the fires in her eyes at an intensity that was both frightening and insanely desirable at the same time. She stood, turning away and rested her fore hooves on the window sill, her gaze inviting, her tail gliding slowly up her rump, waiting for me to take her as she wanted. I knelt down, reaching up with my muzzle and tasted her. Shadow gasped and pushed back at me, giving a wordless moan of pleasure, urging me to carry on. I did so willingly. Gently, yet firmly, I tasted and caressed my mate, taking note of what she enjoyed most and letting her guide me as much I took her there. Never letting up my delicious work, Shadow surged up to the peak in short pants and gasps before she finally cried out, her legs shaking and collapsed to the floor. I caught her in my fore legs and held her close. Shadow’s breathing began to return to normal and she stood up, guiding me to the bed where she lay on her back, legs outstretched, pulling me onto her with a sigh of contentment. I mounted the midnight coated thestral, her smell filling me with its hot and spicy fragrance. I loved her, as much then as I ever had. She had saved my life and my foal without a second though. This mysterious mare, this warrior from another world, I would protect, care, and serve her as long as I drew breath. I murmured into her ear, as we lay within the caress of magic...

“I love you…”

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

Cleaning off alongside the bathing area was both relaxing and re-energising. By the gods I needed it too. I’d had no idea just how dirty I’d become until I watched the grey tinged water as it sluiced away after a good soaping down. When I had been thoroughly cleaned off by my enthusiastic mares, Tingles and I started on Shadow. Her coat, for all its leathery appearance, was much the same as any regular pony’s - soft and shiny, even if it did accentuate her rather ‘bony’ appearance which was a noticeable characteristic of the thestral race. Shadow’s fur was shorter of course, and surprisingly fine too, with a feel not unlike that of silk. To be honest, Tingles and I were so used to this enigmatic mare now that it was hard to imagine anypony being alarmed by her at all. The reaction of the soldiers by the portal when we’d emerged however, had unfortunately been all the reminder I’d needed of the way some Equestrians were likely to treat her. They hadn’t said anything out loud as such, but the worried stares and the way some of them had backed away had said far more than mere words could ever convey. Thankfully the tribe hadn’t said anything about Shadow being ‘unusual’ in any way shape or form, or at least if they had, I certainly hadn’t heard about it. Personally I was so used to be referred to as a ‘demon’ by all unsundry, not to mention the terrified stares I received when somepony caught sight of my eyes or my wendigo form, it didn’t really bother me all that much nowadays. I sighed inwardly. Sadly, this kind of inbuilt ability to startle easily was rather typical of Equestrians as a whole. In fact I seem to remember there had been a story doing the rounds in Ponyville some time ago, telling the tale of a zebra mare who’d arrived one morning at market after moving into a hut in the Everfree. Instead of our foreign visitor being welcomed with warm curiosity, she’d been met with outright terror and with locked doors, stalls, and, sadly, hearts. The story goes that the elements of harmony worked their own particular brand of magic and brought the citizens of the town around to seeing her as just another living creature like themselves. Whether it worked or not, who can say? I doubt it would be so simple with a thestral. Zebras looked like us pretty much, whereas thestrals were… well, ‘different’ I suppose. I ran the long toothed brush through Shadow’s tail and worked out the knots, pondering the question - would anypony accept a thestral? To me she was beautiful, intelligent, fiercely protective of her loved ones and extraordinarily brave, but I wasn’t so stupid as to believe others would see her the same way. After all, Equestrians were generally a flighty bunch and more prone to flight than fight in a confrontation, particularly these days. And sadly it was that very nature that had been exploited by scum like Velvet Cream, allowing him and his vermin to prosper almost unimpeded. I don’t know how many times I’d interviewed witnesses to a crime that had happened no more than a few yards away from them, only to me met with ‘Didn’t see nuffin’ or words to that effect. No, it was always best to plead ignorance and keep out of it, wasn’t it? Yeah… until it was your neck on the block. It was amazing how talkative ponies suddenly became then!

Tingles swapped with Shadow and we began to work on her coat and mane. The tangerine pegasi’s wings stood out from Shadows’, or was that the other way around? They were feathered rather than the skin like membrane which all thestrals had of course. I fact my own were more like a thestrals than a pony’s, powerful certainly, but nowhere near as agile or manoeuvrable as a pegasi’s feathered wings. Tingles washed her own wings as a matter of course, careful to adjust each feather in turn and apply the right kind of conditioner. I’d made the mistake of using in the shower one day thinking it was shampoo, and boy, had I copped a full broadside from her over that! Naturally, that level of care spoke for itself. They virtually shone when she was finished, and she was careful to keep them out of the hot water when she slid, hind legs first, into the hot spring. Not so Shadow, who dived in muzzle first, rearing up and splashing us both before falling back and creating a wave that had Tingles spluttering in outrage. Shadow just laughed at Tingles’ protests and swam off into the steamy waters, emerging behind me like a water serpent to envelop me in her forelegs. Tingles just shook her head at the sight and waved us over to sit by her after Shadow had expended all her energy splashing me.

The orange pegasus kissed me on the cheek. “You haven’t seen Meadow for a while, love. We’ll have to pop over and see her later.”

I leaned back, stretching my forelegs. “How’s she been?” I asked, hoping for news.

“Scared for you.” Tingles closed her eyes, leaning back against one of the large rocks. “I wouldn’t keep your disappearance from her, and I couldn’t have anyway even if I’d wanted to. You know what the herd’s like for finding out information. Besides, it’s not good to hide things, love, you only store up trouble for later when you do.” She sighed, letting out an ironic huff. “I already know all about that! Anyway, she and Sparrow are well, so we can go and see them whenever you’re ready. You can tell them all about your latest exciting adventure when you do.” Tingles yawned, rubbing her eyes. “What happened anyway? I never found out properly.”

“Didn’t anypony tell you?” I asked.

“Only what Brandy and Mitre told me,” Tingles shrugged. “That you’d been kidnapped and had your memories altered and couldn’t account for the period between sitting on the porch and appearing somewhere in, where was it now… Canterlot?”

I groaned, staring up at the sky. “Pretty much.”

“What in the name of Celestia were you doing there?”

“Ah…” I closed my eyes, unsure of where to begin.

Tingles raised an eyebrow, fixing me with a curious stare. “What’s ‘Ah’?”

I explained the whole story, or at least what I could actually recall which wasn’t all that much to be honest. A lot my memories had indeed returned, however many were still little more than fragmented images of places and faces, with one in particular. Thankfully she’d been hoofed over to the agency, who were in all likelihood asking her some very uncomfortable questions right about now. Speaking of whom, if there was one thing that all these pieces of the last few weeks had in common, it was an overriding undercurrent of fear - fear, I noted, of disobedience. As expected, Tingles took most of it in her stride, which in itself was a little troubling. Was she actually becoming used to such bizarre happenings surrounding our family? Considering she’d been in the agency for a good part of her life then her experiences of some of the darker side of Equestrian society would certainly have helped prepare her to a degree, but in all honesty, I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or concerned. I guess it’s true what they say – You’d be surprised what you can get used to. Yes, ‘normal’ didn’t seem to apply to the Fairlight household these days, if indeed it ever really had in the first place. As the story drew to close, Tingles’ eyes went wider and wider.

“You mean Annabelle was somehow involved in your abduction?” she asked in surprise. “This ‘reprogramming’ or whatever it was?” Tingles look perplexed, as if I’d just tried to describe the sky as being a bowl of carrot soup.

“I don’t know about ‘somehow’,” I huffed bitterly. “Try ‘definitely’. I know she did things to me that keep giving me nightmares, that’s for damned sure. One thing I do know for a fact it that she’s the human who’s been working with our old pal the commissioner and that twat Velvet Cream. She was even involved with the changelings. I’d go so far as to say she could be one of the most dangerous ponies I’ve ever met.”

Tingles shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t believe it! Annabelle… a human? She can’t be! She’s… Well, she’s…”

“She’s what?” I prompted. “A blank flank?”

Shadow tapped me on the nose. “That’s rude!”

I looked up at her in surprise. Apparently somepony had been teaching her about Equestrian society. Considering thestrals didn’t have cutie marks, it was quite likely she’d encountered the derogatory term already, and if not, she would sooner or later. “Sorry,” I offered, “but she quite literally doesn’t have a cutie mark of any sort, which for an adult is unheard of. Surely you both noticed?”

Tingles shook her head again, as if trying to shake all the information into a shape she could make sense of. “I just thought it was some sort of birth defect,” she said absently, “like being albino or something. I didn’t want to offend her by enquiring about it.”

“I’ve seen some crappy cutie marks, but I’ve never heard a birth defect leaving you without one at all,” I replied. “It’d be like being born without a head!” I stretched my legs, trying to make myself a little more comfortable. “So what’s the big issue then? I know she was wanting to tell me something before we went to face down the changelings.”

“You didn’t let her tell you?” Tingles asked incredulously.

“No!” I said suddenly. “Every time I look at her, or even just think about her for that matter, my bloody mind does backflips for some reason. Whatever she did to me, she screwed about with my head like it was her own personal playground. That blasted mare is up to her neck in this mess, Tingles, and I don’t want anything to do with her - not now, not ever!” I raised an eyebrow, lowering my voice. “And I don’t want her anywhere near my family either. Let the agency deal with that maniacal lunatic, I’ve done my bit for queen and country fifty times over already, thank you very much.”

Tingles turned back to plaiting Shadow’s mane. “You can ask her when we get back.”

“Eh?” I frowned, trying to get my head around what she was talking about. “What do you mean, ‘Ask her when we get back’?”

“Weren’t you listening?” Tingles clucked her tongue. “The thing she was going to tell you that-”

“WHAT?!” My eyes went as wide as saucers. “She’s still in the tavern?!”

Tingles never batted an eyelid. “Of course, why wouldn’t she be?”

“Haven’t you been listening to what I’ve been saying?” I blurted out, incensed at her casual dismissal of what I’d been saying. “She’s a bloody criminal! That mare’s not only non-equestrian, she’s been involved in guns, drugs and slavery that’s ruined the lives of who knows how many ponies! Good goddesses, Tingles, has she been messing with your head too?”

The tangerine pegasus fixed me with ‘that’ look. “I speak as I find, Fairlight, and that mare tried to save Lumin from the changelings when she found out what they were going to do to him.” Tingles finished Shadow’s plait and stood back, nodding, satisfied with the result. “She came here to warn us, just before the changelings attack the village,” she continued. “She fought with us to try and stop them taking Lumin and… Well, you know the rest don’t you, you found us.”

My jaw hung open. “I don’t believe this! I… Ah! Sod it…” I flopped down, holding my forelegs over my eyes. No matter what Tingles thought about our turncoat alien, there was no way in hell she’d swap sides just like that because of some ‘unexpected discovery of morality’, or whatever the hell it was. As far as I was concerned that one was as devious as they come, and the sooner I got her out of my home and out of my life, the better for all of us.

As I lay there, Tingles reached across me to Shadow. “Shadow, are you alright?”

The thestral mare had her head down, her eyes duller than usual. She murmured something under her breath. It sounded like… “Non-equestrian.” Oh goddesses...

I sat up quickly. “Shadow, I didn’t mean you, love,” I said gently. “I meant that mare’s a human. She’s not even equine.”

The dark mare looked up at me, sadness and confusion in her face. “I’m a non-equestrian!”

Tingles pushed past me and reach down to take her hoof. “You’re right, you’re not an equestrian, but what does that mean? Your life has as much value as anypony. We’re all different in this tribe, Shadow. I mean, look at us.” She stepped back and spread her wings. “I’m a pegasus, and this…” she tapped me on the forehead, “is a wendigo. Don’t you think ponies would be more frightened of him? He scared Meadow and I shitless when when we first saw him transform the way he does!”

“Tingles!” I shouted, “And you tell me off for swearing!”

“Oh belt up, you’re the worst offender here!” she snapped.

Shadow wiped her eyes and smiled faintly. “I’m sorry, it is all… so new for me.”

I’d worried about this, about her decision to leave her home and family behind for a world she knew nothing about except from dreams. She’d given up everything to be with a pony she barely knew - a foolish and impetuous stallion who didn’t know how lucky he was to have met such a magnificent creature. All I could say was,

“Shadow…”

She picked up her panniers, Tingles and I following suit. Despite Tingles’ assurance, Shadow had a far away look on her face, and one that left me lost for words. Slowly, she turned and walked towards me, her hooves clopping quietly on the hard ground. Her eyes looked deep into mine and I could feel myself falling into them, my heart calling out to her.

“When I first met you,” I said softly, “I was unsure of who and what you were. I was frightened of you in a way, yet you showed me to look beyond my pony instincts and to see the world around me for what it really is. You helped me to open my eyes to the wonders of life, friendship, and love, to see you for who you really are.” I lifted her hoof in mine, holding it against my cheek. “You accepted me for who I am without question, and without fear. You gave me your love and showed me the way when I was lost and afraid. Shadow, I love you more than I could ever express in words. You, Meadow, Tingles, Lumin and Sparrow are the anchors for me in this turbulent world, and together, all of us, we will show this world the tribe of the four winds is one of strength, not only of the body, but of the heart.”

Shadow kissed me on the lips, gently, then walked over to Tingles for a hug. The tangerine mare smiled at her, “He’s not usually that eloquent you know. Better in the muscle department than grey matter.”

“Hey!” I protested.

The mares giggled together, watching me gather my old coat and hat I’d brought with me.

“Going somewhere?” Tingles said looking up at me.

I nodded. “There’s somepony I haven’t seen for a while. You have to share me sometimes you know. Coming?”

Shadow stuck her tongue out at me playfully then started to tickle Tingles. The two quickly ended up rolling on the ground, laughing like foals. So much for having a bath then! Tingles finally broke free and wiped the tears of laughter from her face.

“You go, love,” she chuckled. “Shadow and I will be okay. Besides, we’ll need to give Heather a break soon. It’s nearly time for Lumin to go to bed anyway.”

My thestral mate nodded then resumed her tickling assault on the ribs of the grinning tangerine mare. Shaking my head I disappeared into the night, my hooves clopping along in the quiet landscape of Smiling Borders. The breeze was cool tonight, tugging playfully at my mane and tail as my coat flapped against my sides like a loose sail. Closing my eyes for a time as I walked, I could imagine myself back on duty in the watch. It felt like a lifetime ago now. Gods, had that really been me? The young grey stallion with the magnifying glass cutie mark and brown eyes… Ha! I’d never quite cut a fine figure in society, that was for damned sure. My black and white mane and tail certainly made me look, as foals liked to joke at school, like a ‘cart horse’. Meadow had seen beyond that unfortunate epithet, to the ‘me’ that lay beneath. What she’d found when she looked certainly escaped me! I chuckled to myself. She was an amazing mare and I missed her guidance, the way she’d effortlessly soothe my mixed up mind after a hard day at work, and that look in those big lantern yellow eyes of hers which melted my heart every time I gazed into them. Even with the love of Tingles and Shadow I still loved my Meadow. She was the first mare who had captured my heart, and that was something nopony could ever take away from me. She had borne my daughter, Sparrow Song, that tiny life taken away from the world of the living before she’d even entered it. She was such a delicate and beautiful little thing, I… I stopped, brushing the tears from my eyes. Goddesses, I was always going to be a bucked up mess wasn’t I? The great Fairlight, Lord of the Four Winds, former Captain of the Equestrian Watch - a messed up emotional wreck of a pony. I shook my mane and tried to think of other things. I had to remember to avoid being on my own like this in future; my bloody brain obviously hated me! The feel of branches and leaves catching on my coat made me snap my eyes open to the bright silvery light of the glade, the berry bushes around me heavy with their lush, red and fragrant fruits. I leant down and sampled a couple of the sharply sweet treats. The familiar taste of Grimble’s brandy was a fond memory in my mind, and one which was quickly reinvigorated by the flavour of the berries. I wished I’d brought a bottle of it with me, and my pipe too. Sighing, I sat just inside the edge of the clearing and felt the magic of the place flowing around me, the way it tingled my horn and sent a gentle feeling of warmth along my spine. I didn’t remember it being quite this physical. That was new… it felt wonderful too…

“Meadow!” I squeaked, looking round to find myself staring into big pair of yellow eyes. “I wish you wouldn’t keep sneaking up on me like that, you could give me a heart attack!”

“Well now,” she said in a sultry voice, “that means I’d have you all to myself at last. Poor Tingles and Shadow would just have to wait, would they? The way I have to.” She tutted and shook her mane. I heard some humour in her words, but also a note of sorrow, a longing and emptiness that made my heart cry out to her.

“Oh Meadow,” I whispered, “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

Moving into me, the green mare held me. “It’s alright my fine stallion, I shouldn’t have said anything. It was wrong of me to say that. It’s just, sometimes… you know.” She trailed off and I nuzzled her neck, taking in her scent. It was floral, and wonderfully feminine.

“I miss you, love,” I murmured into her fur. “You must be sick of me saying it by now, but my heart yearns to be with you so much I...” I closed my eyes. “I just want to be with you again, for all of us to be together.”

Meadow sighed, rubbing her head along my neck. “I know. Life stinks, death too sometimes. All that sunshine and blue sky… It’s simply terrible.” She sniggered and lifted my chin with her hoof so we were face to face. “Oh, Fairlight, come on now… no tears, you big filly.” Meadow wiped the tears from my eyes, her own voice quavering with emotion. “I don’t want to see… to see Sparrow’s dad… her dad… oh!” Tears flowed down her face and she collapsed into me, shaking as sobs wracked her body. “It’s not fair!” she sniffed. “Damn it, why did it have to be like this! I want to be with you, you’re my bloody husband for Celestia’s sake, and I want to be with you!”

I held her tightly, shaking with the emotion raging through my heart and soul. I never wanted to let her go, but I knew that all too soon, with the coming of the first light of dawn, she would have to go - back to the herd once more.

She moved away from me, her eyes wet with tears. “I share you with two mares, Fairlight, because you need looking after when I’m not there. But damn it all, you’re still mine!” She beat on my chest with her hooves. “You’re still mine!”

I kissed her on her soft nose, taking her forehoof in mine and planting a kiss on it too. “I always shall be yours, my love. Forever in my heart for as long as I breathe and the stars burn in the heavens, I shall be your stallion.”

Meadow suddenly shoved me and I lost balance, toppling over onto the grass with the beautiful green mare standing over me, her cheeks wet from crying, “Damn you, Fairlight! Damn you!” She collapsed on top of me, hugging me tightly. “Blast it, Fairlight, why do I love you so much? Why do you love me? I want to go home with you, to be a family, the way we were meant to be. Why did have to end up like this? WHY?!”

Why was she torturing herself like this? Meadow was usually so calm, so level headed and sensible. This emotional outpouring wasn’t like her at all, and my heart was in torment with my inability to ease her pain. Damn this world, I wanted to be with her too, but what could I do? All the magic in the world couldn’t bring back the dead.

I kissed her cheek, tasting the saltiness of her tears on my lips. “Is something wrong, love? I haven’t seen you upset like this before.”

Meadow shook her head and flicked her mane out of her eyes. “Is something wrong? Of course something’s wrong you berk! You disappear, nopony knows where you are, Lumin and Tingles get kidnapped, and you nearly die in a fight! Goddess almighty, how the hell would you feel if that was me?!”

I sighed at my own foolishness. Had I become so accepting of this world of madness that it barely even registered with me any more now? “I didn’t want all that to happen, love, it just… It just did.” I smiled sadly, staring off into the darkness of the wood beyond the glade. “I just wanted to be left alone, to live my life with you and Sparrow like any normal family. Fate’s been a bitch to us ever since.”

“Fate...” She bopped me on the nose. “That mare has a lot to answer for.” Raising an eyebrow I opened my mouth to speak but she stopped me with a hoof on the lips. “Star Swirl explained it me some time ago. He said you’re a, I don’t know, a ‘lightening rod for destiny’ or something. It curves around you, sometimes being drawn to you, changing what was meant to be and what is to come. Honestly it all sounds very odd, and a bit frightening to me.”

“It does to me too!” I said in alarm. “I didn’t know about all this. What does it mean?”

“It means events like the things that have happened to you so far, will keep occurring.” meadow motioned with her hooves. “Destiny, Fate, call it what you will, will seek you out. I’m sorry, love, I’m not the best at explaining these things. And unlike some ponies, I actually bothered to listen in school too.”

I couldn’t make head nor tail of any of this. A lightning rod? What, I was some sort of natural attraction for crappy events or something? What sort of a bloody life was that?! Despair threatened to engulf me.

“I don’t want this!” I exclaimed. “He can’t be right, that uptight old goat’s got to be wrong! For Luna’s sake, Meadow, what you’re saying is that I’m going to keep on attracting all the crap that’s out there for the rest of my life? That means it’ll risk harm to anypony around me, and all of my family too.” I sank to my haunches, that pit of darkness calling me into it once more. “I… I’ll have to disappear, to go away. I can’t risk any more lives… Not again…”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

My head shot up at the mention of her name. “Wha-? Twilight Sparkle? What about her?”

Meadow’s eyes gazed into mine. “She’s one too.”

“A lightning rod for destiny?” I snorted. “She’s one of the ‘elements of harmony’, isn’t she? I don’t think I’m one of them, love, not unless I’m the ‘element of bollocks’ or something.”

“No, you’re not one of the elements,” Meadow replied quietly, “but she attracts destiny just the same way you do. All of the element holders do in their own way.”

“So why does destiny want to bother me?” I asked. “What the bloody hell has it got to do with some poor sod from the back end of nowhere?”

Meadow held my head in her hooves. “I don’t know, but you’re a special stallion, and one that’s loved by so many it makes me a little… jealous.” Meadow kissed me gently. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ve upset you.”

“No,” I said quietly. “You were right to tell me. I guess deep down I knew, or at least suspected, that something like this was going on. All the horrible things, even the good things, everything seemed so… I don’t know, ‘big’, somehow. You know, ‘larger than life’.”

She smiled. “Star Swirl said that you have the power inside you to ‘bend’ destiny. You can be the master of your own fate, Fairlight, not its slave. I know you have it within you to do that, and you’ve not done too badly so far.”

I scrubbed my mane, considering what she’d said. “With the help of my friends, maybe.”

“And there you go.” Meadow lifted her head, peering down her muzzle at me. “How many friends did you have when I first met you?”

“Not many,” I confessed. “Virtually none really.”

“See?”

“Not really, no.”

Meadow sighed, face hoofing. “And this is another reason why I want to be with you - you’re absolutely bloody hopeless!” Shrugging, my breath was suddenly squeezed out of me by a strong hug from the green mare. “Now shush this worrying and hold me. My mind’s in a state and my emotions are running wild right now. I need to feel my husband beside me. I want to feel safe… with the stallion I love.”

Together we lay there on the grass, Meadow’s head laid across my neck, wrapped in each other embrace amidst the silver glow of the glade. We stayed like that, warm and happy until the sun’s early rays began to leak into the dawn sky. Meadow stirred, rose and leaned down to kiss me on the lips.

“I love you, my brave stallion,” she whispered. “I’ll be here for you… always.”

I returned the kiss, knowing that any moment she would have to return to the herd. “I love you too, my beautiful mare. Don’t worry, we’ll be together before you know it. Wendigo aren’t immortal after all.” A sudden thought hit me. “Are they?!”

She laughed. “No, silly! And you know how I know that?”

“No?”

Meadow grinned wickedly. “You’ll find out one day, love. Good grief, you really are hopeless!” She suddenly grabbed me and gave me a deep kiss before backing away into the bright magical light that began to envelop her. “Take care, and do try to stop getting captured by strange ponies, eh?”

And then, in the blink of an eye, my beautiful wife, the mare who had stolen my heart all those years ago, was gone as if she’d never existed at all. I stared at the ground, and there, sure enough, were her hoof prints and the imprint of where her body had lain next to mine only a few minutes earlier. I bent down and sniffed at where she’d been. If I concentrated I could still detect her scent on the lush, verdant grass. Meadow… Despite everything, rather than feeling melancholy I felt suddenly alive and reenergised, all of my worries, sadness and dismay popping like a bubble in the bath. Ah, to hell with it! We’d be together again sooner or later, all of us in fact, but right now I had some living to do. And as for Fate? Bollocks to that too, I say! I tossed my mane, munched down another of the berries, and headed off back through the glade to whatever the world could throw at me next. And what could it? I was alive, my family were safe, my tribe on the up and, now that I thought about it, our lands would eventually be given back to us too. Not a bad result all in all. Not bad at all!

Trotting back to the village the sun was just starting to peak its golden head over the forest, washing the land in rich, warm orange glow. I loved this time of morning. It spoke of hope, life, and the promise of a day that lay ahead full of promise and expectation. The village was still very much in shadow, though like the world itself, would soon be brought into the full light of day. Birds, strange long tailed black things rose from the tree tops squawking, whilst around me songbirds sang a merry refrain of the breaking dawn. I felt exceptionally alive today - happy and pleasantly positive. First off I’d grab breakfast and then go and have a little chat with our mysterious visitor before she was whisked away by the agency mob. Maybe they’d send her back to the human realm. Who knew? And, truth be told, who cared either? Personally I wanted answers to what she’d done to my poor abused brain. Even now there was a big gap there in my memories, and I wanted to know what was missing. I suppose if I… What the hell was that? Something kept niggling on the edge of my hearing, and it was coming from my pocket too… Fishing about inside, I took out my old watch communications device. Heavier and more bulky than the agency ones, I hadn’t used the thing since that business in the alleyway with those young thugs and Bingo. It was so long ago now that… Bloody hell, it was buzzing! It wasn’t my imagination after all!

I tapped the receive gem on the side. “Hello?”

The signal was terrible. “….F …F … light… ou…. eive…”

Turning on the spot, I tried to get a better signal. “Your signal’s breaking up. Say again?”

“Fairli… et… ly… out… ow!”

Damn it! What the hell, it sounded like Mitre. “Chief, is that you? I can’t hear you!”

There was a momentary pause as the static cleared slightly. “Fairlight! Get… amily… out… om… Repea… bomb…”

Dear goddess… Shoving the communicator back in my pocket I broke into a gallop, pushing my legs as hard as I could. The wind whipped past me, magic flowing through my veins. Every fibre, every ounce of strength I could muster I threw into my single minded determination to reach the tavern. I couldn’t think now. I had to-

The ground shook.

A flash like a second sun blinded me moments before the shock-wave hit, throwing me violently to the ground. A deafening roar and a boom like thunder in the green magical after-glare accompanied the shower of wood and tile fragments that rained down around me. I stood in shock, ignoring the debris clipping my coat as it fell, clattering on the cobblestones. it wasn’t really happening of course, all of this was in my imagination. Of course it was. I’d run too fast. If I were to back up a little I’d be back on the worn road surface happily looking forward to a nice breakfast with my loved ones, not staring at the ruins of… of… Villagers and warriors started to pour out of their cottages, standing and staring in horror at what I still couldn’t fathom. Blood from multiple cuts and splintered wood covered my face, chest and neck, but right then I felt nothing. I was numb. How could I be anything else? Feeling and emotions would mean I had to accept what I was looking at, and then… Oh gods, the tavern… the Wyverns Tail… It was gone. Simply… gone. Burning pieces here and there evidenced that a building had indeed been there, but where was it? I’d taken a wrong turning on the way back from the glade! What a bucking idiot I am! I started laughing. What a stupid, stupid idiot!

“My Lord! Thank the goddess you’re alive! You’re- Oh, no…”

I half turned towards the large minotaur, his face blackened with burns and superficial cuts. He’d probably been arsing about with his bloody forge again. “Hello Vent!” I chirped. “I seem to have taken a wrong turning here, my friend. I…”

“MEDIC! Get a medic here!”

The world began to spin, and I fell, collapsing onto the ground in a pile of legs. Some of me felt a bit odd too. There was definitely something wrong here and there… I wonder what it was? I smiled. I’d be home soon and be able to see Lumin again. I hadn’t played with him since we’d got back, but he’d been too sleepy, just like his old dad… I yawned widely. I was so, so tired…