Fairlight - Blood of the Foal

by Bluespectre

Chapter Eight - A cottage for three

CHAPTER EIGHT

A COTTAGE FOR THREE

Somepony was rubbing my face with a damp cloth whilst a chatter of many voices surrounded me. I have to say, it was oddly reminiscent of the time I’d awoken in the agency upon my return from the thestral realm. No trip to the Wither World for me this time though, just black nothingness and a muggy feeling like I’d been hitting Grimble’s brandy too hard. Speaking of whom, somepony was shouting at me, or rather, some griffin. Unfortunately I couldn’t hear too well for some reason, there was this horrible high pitched whine in my ears of the kind you get after being exposed to overly loud music or fireworks. Enormous fireworks at that! Luna’s ears, what the devil was going on? I’d end up with blasted tinnitus at this rate... I opened my eyes, looking up at the feathered face, the beak, those avian eyes gazing worriedly into mine. I wish people wouldn’t keep doing that. I was fine wasn’t I? I’d just stand up and- Panting, I fell back into the arms of Vent. My screaming had been loud enough to wake the dead, the pain on a level I hadn’t felt since… since when? Hell fire, my head was such a mess! Oh, hello… who was that?

“Oh Celestia, no! no, no, NO!”

Meadow? No… No, it was Tingles… Tingles and Shadow. Who was that with them though? Some big white mare, that- Aha! Of course, the mistress… I wonder if she was still angry with me. I hadn’t been a good pony after all lately. In fact, I’d been very, very bad indeed. I’d tried my best of course, but that didn’t matter. I hadn’t done as she’d commanded, and that meant punishment. Celestia still lived, the bomb hadn’t gone off, or… Or had it? Wait, maybe it had! That’s must have been what the loud bang was! Oh thank the gods for that! I was starting to get worried there for a minute. But where was I? Was I still in Canterlot? And what were my family doing here? Tingles leaned forward, tears pouring down her face as she shouted something at the medic. Shadow’s eyes, normally so vibrant and full of life, dripped liquid fire onto the ground beside her. I tried to reach out and touch her, but nothing seemed to be working the way it should for some bloody weird reason. Whatever it was, my body just seemed to be wrong somehow. Mind you, I didn’t half feel light - really light! The pain from before simply drained away from me, like water vanishing down a plughole. It was cold too for some reason, but as a wendigo I didn’t mind that one little bit. The sun was rising in the sky, but strangely I couldn’t feel its rays this morning. Was winter coming already? Probably. Lumin and the girls would love to play in the snow, to… to… I yawned. Gosh, I was so tired! The griffin’s voice was far away now, drifting to me from a different place, a different land that may have been a thousand miles away right then. But who cared? I didn’t! This was like that warm feeling you get when you’re tired from a hard day’s work, yet simultaneously full of Grimble’s brandy, a nice pipe of Starbeard’s finest tobacco, and a beautiful mare snuggled up beside you. It was a little slice of heaven. Ah, yes, what I wouldn’t give for- Ouch! I blinked, trying to cover my face. Was somepony shining a torch in my eyes? Whatever the source of that light, it was bright enough to guide bloody ships in! Not only that, it was as white as snow. Really, really white snow. What in the name of all the gods was going on now? And why was everything so blasted white? Gradually my eyes began to adjust to the glare and I checked around myself. All my friends and family had vanished, leaving nothing but an endless sea of pure, featureless, whiteness. It was like I was enveloped in cloud, and most certainly not the kind I used to enjoy flying through either. I have to admit that it was all a bit weird to say the least, but I certainly didn’t feel afraid. I was more… curious. There was a loud ‘pop’ and a huge wooden desk appeared out of thin air a few feet in front of me, behind it a heavy chair on castors, a standard lamp, and a hat stand for some reason followed. A moment later, upon the desk appeared an impressively large ledger complete with a long quill and inkwell. I stared at the displaced office furniture, my mind doing cartwheels. It all looked rather familiar. In fact, it looked very familiar. I face hoofed as its golden coated owner walked in through a doorway that hadn’t been there only a second ago, his half moon glasses perched on his muzzle. The alicorn walked over to the chair, re-arranging his wings before taking his seat up behind the desk. I watched in silence as the strange fellow floated up the quill in a golden aura of magic and, after lifting the dainty silver lid on the ink well, dipped it in ready to begin writing.

“Name,” he intoned wearily without looking up.

“Hello, Aethel.”

He began writing, the quill scratching noisily over the ancient page. “Hmm, nice to see one of the old classics again. Ponies these days don’t often show an appreciation for heritage as a rule.” He adjust his spectacles. “Right then, ‘Aethel’...” The quill paused. “Sorry, is Aethel your first or last name?”

“Neither,” I replied.

The alicorn furrowed his brow, staring at the old tome in irritation. “What? I thought you said your name was Aethel? Listen, I’m a very busy fellow and I don’t have time for-”

I banged my hoof of the desk, snatching the quill from his magic’s grip and threw it aside. That got his attention alright. The alicorn’s golden eyes went wide in indignation as he looked up into my blue eyed gaze. I thought he was going to choke.

“YOU!”

I treated him a particularly thin smile. “Like I said, Hello Aethel, it’s good to see you again.”

He sputtered and stood up suddenly, his wings flaring and sending the stricken chair shooting out from behind him. “You… You’re that insolent wendigo!” he roared. “What was your name again? It was-”

“Fairlight,” I cut in firmly. “That’s, F. A. I. R. L-”

“I know how to spell it!” Aethel bellowed angrily.

I picked up his quill and placed it neatly back on his desk. “Look here, Aethel, I’m not sure what’s happening right now, so either this is some bloody flashback sequence or I’m badly injured and probably going to end up stuck in that frigging black sandy place again while I heal up. So,” I tapped his book, “let’s just cut out the middle-stallion and get me sent back now so we can all forget this silliness ever happened, okay? I have to get back to my family.”

Aethel stood there staring at me, his pure white mane flowing in an invisible wind that stood out in relief against his rich golden coat. Honestly he looked for all the world like some kind of pop singer, the type fillies go nuts over when they see them flouncing around the stage in their frilly shirts and tight pants. I’d been so jealous of his type when I was younger too. Truthfully, I needn’t have bothered. It was all an act, and one engineered by clever marketing execs to bring in a huge amount of money for the short time these guys were actually popular. Give it a year or two and everypony had forgotten they’d ever existed, moving on instead to the latest ‘in thing’. I didn’t find out until later in life that the ‘pop idols’ the girls swooned over on a regular basis weren’t really alicorns after all. Instead they had stick-on horns or wings to make them more ‘attractive’ to their target audience. As much as I had to admit it had been effective, it was still all smoke and mirrors, essentially conning the gullible out of their hard earned bits. Bloody ponces…

“Are you suffering from some sort of delusionary state?” Aethel asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I’m sorry?”

He sighed. “Fairlight, wasn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yes, like I said. Now look here, I-”

The alicorn held up a hoof. “Look about you, Fairlight. Tell me, what do you see?”

“What do I-?” I paused, looking about us at the place we were in. Not that you could really call it a place of course, it was utterly devoid of everything except the two of us and some magical office furniture. “Lots of white nothingness,” I replied. “Why?”

“The last time I saw you,” Aeithel explained, “was in the Withers, was it not?”

“Hard to forget really,” I said shrugging. “The black sand, the black sky, the alicorns trying to impale me. It was hardly my holiday destination of choice you know. The simple answer though, is ‘yes’. Why, what are you getting at?”

He sighed. “Do I have to explain it all again? For the goddess’ sake, Fairlight...” Aethel rummaged in the desk drawer. “I’m not going through this again. Right then…” The large alicorn produced a rather highly polished brass bell which was attached to a wooden gem studded device, placed it on the desk, and tapped it with a hoof. “Miss Bunny, would you please contact the relatives of, let’s see now… Ah, yes, applicant four six two five.”

A voice emanated from the device. “Yes, Mister Aethel. Anypony in particular?”

“It doesn’t matter, just pick one!” he replied curtly. “And do it quickly please, Miss Bunny. It’s nearly time for me to knock off.”

I sat on my haunches and looked about at the emptiness. “Hey, Aethel, how long’s this going to take? I’ve melded with the spirit now, so you’ve got no reason to keep me here, right? You can send me back any time you like. Like now, would be good. No need to stand on ceremony.”

He snorted, apparently unimpressed by my request. “Don’t get snippy with me again, young stallion! I was in quite the state after dealing with you the last time. There’s no need for rudeness you know.”

Never mind last time, what the hell was going on this time?! I fidgeted with my wings in irritation and watched him as he paced back and forth, clearly waiting for-

The device on the desk began making a ringing noise. Quickly, Aethel tapped the large gem on the top, listening carefully. “Yes? Good! Send her in please, Miss Bunny.”

I sniggered under my breath. ‘Miss Bunny’!

There was a loud metallic ‘click’ and the sound of a door opening. To my left a doorway into a more everyday sort of office interior appeared out of nowhere - quite literally too. Through this unexpected opening in the sea of white, a coal coloured mare could be seen ushering somepony through. Whoever it was, was shrouded in shadows cast by the bright glare, both from the realm of white and the sun streaming in through the windows behind them.

Miss Bunny’s voice drifted through the open door. “Right this way please, Miss- I’m sorry? Oh, yes… He’s through there with Mister Aethel. Don’t forget to sign out when you all leave, and there’s some paperwork to complete first too. I’ll have it ready for you when you come back.”

Looking around the door tentatively was a grass green face with a pair of large yellow eyes looking around in bewilderment. At first their gaze fell upon Aethel, then the desk… and then finally me. The rest of the mare followed in a blur of green. Ignoring the alicorn’s protests, she rushed past Aethel and threw herself at me, near crushing a couple of my ribs in her fierce grip. I could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her breath against my neck as she shook with emotion. My mind went as blank as the white landscape. I didn’t know what to say.

“Daddy?”

A young voice drifted out from the open doorway as a small grey foal peeked round the frame at me. Her large yellow eyes looked up in wonderment. “Daddy, is that you?”

Like a light switch being flicked, something inside me burst into life. My mind, so recently befogged and confused, cleared as if the sun in the heavens had suddenly burned away the clouds of ignorance revealing the world below in all its glory. At least for now anyway. “It’s me, love,” I said laughing as the tears started to pour down my face. “It’s me…”

Sparrow half ran, half flew up to me and I caught her in an outstretched foreleg, holding the two girls in my embrace. Goddesses above, was this it? I wasn’t dreaming this, was I? I was here… I was actually-

Aethel pushed the book over to me, snapping me out of my daydream. “Sign here please, Mister Fairlight.” I didn’t bother looking at it. In a daze I simply took the quill and signed quickly where he indicated and he shut the ledger with a thump. “You get the idea now?” he asked.

“I don’t understand it,” I frowned, staring at the girls as if expecting them to evaporate into mist at any moment. “I was running for the tavern, and then... then there was this loud bang and a flash of green light.”

“And then you’re here,” Aethel announced as if explaining things to a foal. “Explosions tend to do that to you, Mister Fairlight.” He adjusted his spectacles, staring over them at me like my old school headmaster. “I don’t think I need to go into any further details, do I? Especially with a foal here listening to everything we’re saying. It’s not the sort of subject suitable for young ears.”

I was just about to reply when Meadow reached up and bit my ear. “OW! Bloody hell!” I squeaked, wincing. “Will you mares leave my ears alone!”

“It’s not a dream is it?” she asked, half to herself. “You’re really here. With me?”

I shook my mane and rubbed my sore ear. “I’m here, love,” I said a little awkwardly, “sore ear and all.” I gazed down into her beautiful eyes, trying to make sense of it all. “I just can’t believe it. I was only talking to you a few minutes ago and then…” I stared at the desk with its large, leather bound ledger. I was completely lost for words.

Disregarding my current state of confusion, Aethel ushered the three of us into the office beyond the white void “This way, this way… Come along now, there’s a lot of paperwork still to do you know, and I knock off at five.”

Knock off at…? “Hey! Just a minute!” I moved to protest, but it was like trying to hold back a glacier with nothing more than good will and best intentions. Aethel was a hell of lot stronger than I’d given him credit for, and before I knew it I was stood there like a plank of wood in front of a young mare who was busy pouring water from a kettle into a pair of mugs. Ha! I think there must be something in that you know...

Miss Bunny passed me a large mug of cocoa, another one to Meadow, and a carton of apple juice to Sparrow. Aethel kicked the door shut behind us with a bang, earning an admonishing look from his secretary. He raised his eyebrows in apology and went over to a filing cabinet.

“Right then…you’ll be needing this, this… Oh, and this,” he announced. “There you go!”

A pink folder floated onto the desk in front of me with large gold lettering on the front with several brochures and booklets neatly placed inside. The letters glowed faintly, which I read aloud almost instinctively. “Eternal Herd Orientation Guide. Third Edition.” Well, that certainly didn’t leave anything to the imagination!

Aethel meanwhile was busy rummaging about in a draw, from which he pulled out a sheaf of paperwork, stapler, paperclips, and a fresh quill. Armed with this impressive assortment of office supplies, he proceeded to place one thing after another in front of me on the desk, pointing to the areas he wanted me to sign and muttering something under his breath which I couldn’t quite catch. In my defence I was in so much shock right then I could have been signing absolutely anything – even my own death warrant. Mind you, I think that was a bit of a mute point now wasn’t it. Or was it? Wait… was I… was I dead? I mean, really, actually, permanently… dead? No, that couldn’t be right. I’d been in this situation before, hadn’t I? Or something like it anyway. At least… at least I think so. In actual fact I had no idea what was going on here at all, other than the very obvious fact that Meadow was here along with my lovely daughter. A daughter, I might add, who was apparently completely oblivious to her dad’s befuddlement and instead munching happily on a lolly whilst attempting to feed another to a small toy alicorn.

Desperate to find something solid I could cling to in this sea of insanity, I flicked open the front page of the guide and read, “Some disorientation and discomfort may be experienced within the first few hours due to the realignment of the soul with the conscious mind. This is perfectly normal, and there is no need for concern. You should begin to feel a sense of connection with your new home shortly after arriving, and your friendly staff at the welcome centre are on hoof to answer all your questions…”

The golden alicorn closed the guidebook with a ‘snap’. “There’s time aplenty for you to read that in the comfort of your own home, Mister Fairlight. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for me to get off home. The wife will kill me if I’m late – it’s pasta night.”

“Just a minute!” I shouted at his retreating form, “What the hell’s going on here? Aethel!”

He turned to look at me as if I was some stupid hick from the backwoods of Bumbletown. “Don’t tell me you haven’t worked it out yet?” The alicorn clucked his tongue. “You’re dead, Mister Fairlight. D. E. A. D. Dead. Honestly, Meadow, I don’t know what you see in him.” And with that he picked up his saddle packs and hat, and opened the outer door. Calling back over his shoulder he let out a bark of laughter. “Welcome, Mister Fairlight Loam… to the afterlife!” The door shut behind him with a click that seemed abnormally loud, echoing the feeling in my heart.

“I… I’m… Dead?” I muttered, half to myself. “I’m actually dead?”

I felt a warm pressure on my neck as Meadow nuzzled me. “Come on love, it’s time to go home.”

In a near daze I followed her outside onto a well kept path bordered by fragrant flowers and neatly pruned shrubs. Aethel had already gone, no doubt dashing off for an enjoyable evening meal with his dear wife. Wife… Meadow, Sparrow, the two of them were both here as plain as day, walking beside me as if it were something we did together every day of the week. It all felt so… so… normal. But it couldn’t be! Could it? Only a few minutes ago I was in the village, hurrying back to warn the girls about… whatever the hell it was now. It was something important though, wasn’t it? I remembered the flash of light and a deafening bang, but other than that my memories were evaporating like morning dew whenever I tried to focus on them. Bloody hell, I don’t know about an explosion, but my brain was a right scrambled mess. I couldn’t seem to remember anything properly at all. Which begged the question - was any of this real? I stared down at the ground, listening to the sound of our hooves clopping quietly along as we walked quietly up the country lane, the sun warm in the pure blue sky overhead. A gentle breeze was blowing, keeping the whole at a perfectly comfortable temperature, rustling the leaves in the lush trees and the verdant grass. Here and there cherry trees grew, their branches heavy with fruit. Occasionally a pony would be visible collecting the cherries in wicker baskets and trotting off with them to who knew where. Nothing was rushed, there was no sense or urgency, only peace… peace, and absolute calm. If there was one word I could use to describe this place, it was ‘idyllic’. A carriage was waiting for us at the side of the road. Its darkened wood showed signs of use, but it seemed to be strong and sturdy enough. The driver was sat next to his conveyance on a long green bench reading a paper. Meadow called over to him and he looked up, smiling.

“Hello, Miss Meadow. Ready for off?”

Meadow bobbed her head politely. “We are, Grain.” She nudged me happily. “All of us are.”

The tan coloured stallion with the brown mane rolled up his paper and stuffed it back in his pannier before pausing, only to take it out again and pass it to me. “Here, if you’re new to the herd you may find this interesting. Take a gander at page four.”

I nodded my thanks, and after we’d settled ourselves onto the well sprung seats, the carriage lurched into motion almost immediately. Meadow sat opposite, quietly watching me whilst Sparrow seemed more interested in her plushie than anything else, keeping up a steady stream of chatter to the little figure. I couldn’t help but smile. By the gods, she was such a sweet little thing. Meadow raised her eyebrows and motioned to the paper which I dutifully opened out. It was ‘The Inquirer’. Very original, I’m sure… Let’s see now, page four… page… four… Here we go! Right then… I ran a hoof down the page and there, at the bottom, was a heading - ‘Our Newest Friends’.

Meadow smiled, “Come on then, read it out.”

I raised an eyebrow then dutifully read aloud, “Today we welcome a pony whom many of our readers will already know of from his exciting exploits in the news over the last few years - Mister Fairlight Loam of Smiling Borders, Equestria (43).”

“Wha-! Bloody hell! Why’d they put my age?” I sputtered.

“It’s a press standard, love,” Meadow said. “Go on…”

I cleared my throat. “Mister Loam, or simply ‘Fairlight’, as he prefers to be known, was tragically killed in an explosion of unknown origin this morning and, after extensive deliberation by the Herd Ethics Committee (HEC), the controversial decision was made to allow him entry into the Eternal Herd. Opponents of his acceptance into the herd list concerns regarding his ‘violent and unpredictable nature’ with ‘a predilection towards cruel and unnatural acts’. Principal Star Swirl explained the HEC decision:

‘Fairlight Loam is a rare and special individual who has proven himself to be of good heart and, whilst not the most intellectually stimulating of Equestrians, has a talent for quick thinking and decisive action. Who can forget the tragic events of the Summer of Tears? The brutal murder of a young mare and her unborn foal by two evil ponies would have adversely affected the mental state of any mortal. Mister Loam rose above that and, as many of you know, was instrumental is saving Equestrians from slavery and death in the human world, not to mention his heroic defence of two our princesses.”

“Dear goddess...” I shook my head. “It goes on…” Closing my eyes, I leaded back in my seat. “I don’t want to read any more.”

Meadow put her hoof on the paper. “I still can’t believe you’re here, love. It’s like a dream, and I’m worried that if I say anything, or if I close my eyes even for just a second, I’ll wake up and that’s all it would have ever been.” She swallowed, clearing her throat as she changed tack. “Sparrow talks about you all the time you know, and it’s not just us who’ve missed you. There’s your mum, my folks, and even Glimmer’s been asking after you. Ooh! I can’t wait to show you off to them all!”

I stared up at the sky, lost in my own little world. “I’m frightened to blink,” I whispered.

“Why?” Meadow asked.

“Because if I do,” I replied, “all this: you, Sparrow… it’ll all disappear and I’ll wake up somewhere…alone.”

A green face suddenly loomed over me, the sunlight glinting like tiny sparks through her flowing mane. “But you’re not alone, love. We’re here… We always have been.” She leaned forward and kissed me, gliding her forelegs around my neck and taking my heart to a height of happiness I wouldn’t have believed was even possible. I was home. I was actually, finally, home.

Sparrow Song giggled, “You’re kissing!” She laughed, clopping her tiny hooves together in girlish glee. “Oooh! I’m going to tell Nanna on you!”

The cheeky little beggar! Meadow turned round and held a hoof up to her mouth. “Shhh! Don’t tell Nanna, or…”

“Or?” Sparrow asked in her squeaky voice.

Meadow grinned slyly. “Well, it depends who wants butterscotch ice-cream tonight, doesn’t it?”

Sparrow took a huge intake of breath, just before unleashing... “I WANT BUTTERSCOTCH ICE-CREAM!”

Oh Luna, what a racket! The deafening noise, with its youthful squeakiness that only a filly could muster, made my ears flatten in surprise. “Nothing wrong with your lungs, young filly!” I beamed, rubbing my ears.

“I’m still a foal, daddy.” Sparrows brows drew down as she admonished me. “You’re silly!”

I burst out laughed and caught Meadow as she leaned back into me sighing, “You know, I found something interesting out today…”

“Oh?” I asked. “And what’s that?”

“You read the paper, didn’t you? Mister ‘Loam’?”

“Ah, yes…”

The cheeky mare chuckled, nudging my ribs. “Come on then, what’s the story?”

“What’s to tell?” I replied a little testily. “It’s my family name. I didn’t like it and so I don’t use it. It was bad enough being grey with brown eyes, but add to that the whole black and white mane and tail thing and what do you have? The kids used to call me ‘Cart Horse’ or ‘Gypsy’ in school. When they found out my family name was ‘Loam’, it made things even worse. A lot worse! I’ve never used it since.”

“But you never told me either!” Meadow exclaimed. “All your letters and paperwork only ever called you ‘Fairlight’. Loam’s not that bad! Good grief...”

I gave her a light nuzzle. “I’m sorry, love, it never entered my head to tell you. To be honest, it’s never really come up since I left school anyway. Even after I joined the watch I’ve simply been ‘Fairlight’.”

“So that make me Mrs Loam?” Meadow asked.

“Oh gods, please don’t!” I protested, holding up a hoof. “‘Meadow’ is just fine as far as I’m concerned.”

“Or should it be ‘Lady Loam’?” the green mare pondered. “Lady Loam, wife of Lord Loam of the Four Winds. It does have a certain ring to it, doesn’t it, Lord Loam?”

I reached forward and subjected her to a merciless tickling. “Stop it!” I joked.

“Argh! Stop!” Meadow shrieked, twisting away from me.

“No more Loam?”

Meadow shook with helpless laughter, trying helplessly to escape my assault. “Yes! I mean, no!” she squeaked. “ No more Loam, I promise! I yield! I yield!”

Finally I relented, letting her fall into my embrace where we stayed, panting and grinning like a pair of overexcited foals. I gave Meadow a tight hug, revelling in the simple sensation of having the one I loved against me. By the gods, it didn’t get any better than this...

The carriage rumbled on until Sparrow shouted excitedly, “That’s our house! Look! Daddy, daddy, daddy, look! See!”

“Oh, good grief!” What a noise! I leaned forward and tickled her until she too started squeaking in laughter. “And as for you, you little pest!” I leaned down and gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Come on then, let’s have a look at your house.”

We jumped down from the taxi, thanking the driver who tipped his cap and clattered away into the distance leaving me to stare open mouthed at what Meadow and Sparrow called home. It was… My goddess, it was absolutely, indescribably beautiful. This, this was the very embodiment of all the dreams and wishes I could ever have shared with my wonderful wife. Straight out of the kind of countryside magazine Meadow and I used to drool over, the freshly whitewashed cottage sat there in a sea of lush green grass, quietly awaiting its returning family. With an almost golden thatched roof, very neatly done too I might add, it was everything I could have ever dreamed of. And more. The trim hedge and white picket fence around the outside showed splashes of colour from the many varieties of flowers that bloomed here, whilst brightly marked butterflies flitted over the buddleia and song birds sang in the pear trees. Meadow pushed open the gate and let me enter first, with a little nudge to help me on my way of course. I was nearly overwhelmed with the sheer beauty and vibrancy of it all. The wonderfully heady scent of the garden caressing my nose, the warmth of the sun, the unimaginable peace of it all. It was, to put it simply, sensory and emotional overload. I could feel tears welling in my eyes and found my knees were trembling as I tried to comprehend what I was seeing.

All but stumbling up the path, I faintly noticed the green painted wooden door had a brass bell next to it for visitors to ring, and a letter box from which peeked out the corner of a piece of post somepony hadn’t pushed all the way through. Meadow came up beside me, chuckling, and deftly opened the door which creaked slightly on its hinges. I’d have to oil that later. Just like old times in Manehattan, I collected the letter and followed her inside as Meadow bounced past me in a flurry of feathers and legs. I barely noticed. I didn’t know where to look next! Unlike some of the old homes I’d been to in the past, the atmosphere inside the cottage was surprisingly light and airy, the smallish windows restricting sunlight to a degree but still providing just enough to keep the place bright enough to be comfortable. Numerous bookshelves lined the walls with collections of decorative plates, paintings of landscapes, and of course, ponies. It was all very… Meadow. I looked at the pictures hanging over the fireplace in the quiet of the living room, with one portrait in particular catching my attention. It was Apple Pop, Meadow’s father, standing there in his uniform looking proud and professional. He’d been an inspiration during his time in the watch, and was virtually a legend there. I wonder what he’d think of his son in law now…

Sparrow’s laughter rang through the cottage from another room and I caught a glimpse of her with another colourful plush, ‘flying’ it through the air as she galloped and leapt about the room. Her tiny wings were developing so fast! One day soon I’d see her fly and, even better, I’d be able to fly with her too. What a day that would be! Returning to my perusal of my surroundings, the next picture was of…wait… me? It was! There I stood, resplendent in my dress uniform at the formal passing out ceremony holding my badge. Where had she got this from? And there - more pictures of me, Meadow, and then…landscapes… extraordinarily beautiful landscapes of Equestria. They were all unsigned and looked so familiar. Had I seen them in an art gallery before? Meh! Probably. A clink from behind me drew my attention away from the paintings to see Meadow placing a cake stand down on the dark oak coffee table. A pot of tea under a cosy and two china cups next to it, sat ready for pouring. The grass green mare sat back in the large wicker chair and leaned back with a sigh.

“Well?” Meadow asked with a wry smile. “What do you think?”

My face must have been a picture. “It’s… it’s all so… beautiful,” I breathed.

Meadow raised an eyebrow. “It is, isn’t it. Everything you and I dreamed of. And now, here it is. And here we are.”

“That’s right!” I said suddenly. “All of it is! I know I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but I don’t understand it, Meadow, what’s going on? I’m so confused and I can’t think straight. I feel I’m forgetting something important, and I just can’t put my hoof on it.”

Meadow ran a hoof through her mane and motioned for me to pour the tea whilst she placed the cakes on china plates – one for each of us. My magic enveloping the tea pot with practised ease, and I have to admit that it was a welcome diversion from my current worries. Meadow smiled with a far away look which I couldn’t quite make out.

“It’s the adjustment process, love,” she said softly. “It’ll take a little while for you to get used to things here, and then this,” she waved a hoof indicating the interior of the cottage, “will all become an everyday part of your life. Just the way it did with mine.”

There was a note in her voice that pulled at my heart. Was she alright? I reached out a hoof and gently touched her foreleg. “Is something wrong, love?”

“Wrong?” Meadow closed her eyes and took a long breath. “No, not really. I just can’t believe you’re here. I mean, I was only speaking to you this morning and then all of a sudden I have Aethel’s secretary calling me, and then there you are, stood there like…” She sniffed.

I took a sip of my tea. “Like what?”

“Like you’d never been away!” Meadow exclaimed suddenly. “Haven’t you noticed anything about yourself? About me? Anything?”

Although it was always considered rude to stare, I did so then at Meadow who had an intense look of expectation on her face. Scratching my head I gave here a cheeky grin. “You look as beautiful as you did that first day I met you. But then, you always did. Always have really.”

She nodded. “And?”

“And what?” I asked, a little baffled by what she was driving at.

Meadow rolled her eyes. “What about yourself?”

Shrugging, I looked at my foreleg. “Me? I look the same as always - grey.” A shame really, I’d always thought when I died I’d end up white or gold, maybe even silver! Shining and glowing like the sun or starlight, now that would have been so cool!

Meadow clucked her tongue. “You can’t tell by looking at your leg you daft bugger, here…” She picked up a mirror and passed it to me in her magic. Good grief, she could have done that in the first place! I gave her a long suffering look and gazed at my reflection in the mirror. “I-” My words died in my throat. The image reflected back at me was… me… but not me. The scar over my eye had gone - vanished! Vanished without trace! The fur on my face was lustrous and smooth, my horn neat and trim, and there was a distinct absence of all the smaller scars I’d accrued over the years. My eyes were the most shocking thing though - they were brown, just as they had been before my misadventure in… in where was it again? Placing the mirror down, I looked up at the gorgeous mare. “Meadow, I look...” I took a deep breath. “I look like I did when I was in my early twenties! Why are my eyes brown again, and why can’t I remember why they were blue? I mean, they were blue, weren’t they?”

She let out a loud groan of exasperation. “I’ve already told you why! Honestly, Fairlight, do you ever listen?”

My ears drooped as I held the hot cup of tea in my hooves. “Of course I listen, it’s just this is all so confusing, it’s like I’m trapped in some weird dream world and I’m going to wake up and all this will disappear. I’ve already had somepony mucking with my head, and now here we go again! My memories feel like somepony smashed them to pieces and they’re all jumbled up in there.” I took a sip of tea, trying to settle my racing heart, “So,” I said looking at her over a fairy cake, “How come I remember you and Sparrow if can’t remember bugger all else?”

“Page sixteen.”

I paused. “What about ‘page sixteen’?”

Meadow magicked over my guide book, flipping to the correct page and pushed it under my muzzle. “Here. Page sixteen… Read it out.”

I read the title next to the friendly picture of a pony with a big question mark over its head. “CONFUSED?” It read. Bloody right I was confused! I read on…

“Right now, you may be experiencing anxiety and some confusion due to your recent soul realignment. This is perfectly natural and should be expected.” A pony’s smiling face was drawn in the margin. “Memory dislocation often occurs during relocation. In the case of trauma prior to arrival, symptoms may often be exacerbated. Fortunately in the majority of cases these are only temporary, and the individual’s pre-mort recollections and memories should return in their entirety over time.” Well, that was encouraging! “You will also find your appearance has altered during your transition. This is your mind and body’s optimal state based upon…” I took a bite of my cake, skipping over the techno-babble. “You will be assigned a case worker to help you during this adjustment period. However, in most cases, a member of your family is usually assigned to help you upon arrival.” I looked up at Meadow who smiled knowingly. “A member of my family,” I said raising an eyebrow. “Family.”

“Don’t worry about it too much for now,” she said sipping her tea, “your memories will come back on their own soon enough, love. I could tell you about them of course, but it’s not recommended as it can often cause more confusion. Just try to keep calm, relax, and they’ll come back naturally. When that’s done, we’ll go and meet your old friends.”

“My old friends?”

“Oh yes!” Meadow smiled. “They’re driving me nuts going on about you all the time.”

Sighing, I stared out of the window at the azure blue sky. “I’m sorry, Meadow,” I said quietly. “I’m not myself right now.” I held up my foreleg. “Not myself at all it seems.”

Meadow shrugged. “How do you think I felt when I came here? I was pregnant, terrified, and completely alone. Dad was away with work and I had to be assigned a case worker straight away until they could get mum here. You’re lucky I don’t live that far from Aethel’s office.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t realise...” I squeezed my eyes shut in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I’m being so selfish…”

“No,” she said, laying a hoof on mine, “I am. I shouldn’t be throwing all of this at you. You only arrived here an hour ago for goodness sake. Look, come on, let’s just enjoy the tea and cakes, then we can go sit in the garden and enjoy the sunset together.”

“What about Sparrow?” I asked, noting the decidedly un-devoured cakes.

“She’s busy playing,” Meadow replied dismissively. “She’s may be a foal, but she’s not helpless you know.” She clopped her hooves together. “Now then, try these blue frosted ones, I think you’ll really enjoy the minty taste…”

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

Warm sunlight filtered into the bedroom through the narrow gap in the curtains. It was bright and wonderfully inviting, washing over me with its gentle promise of a day full of infinite possibilities. Every day was like this here – perfect. Perfect in every way. It rarely rained, and when it did it was usually at night, providing just enough water for the grass, plants and trees to be healthy. Carefully, I slipped out of the bed. Meadow was still dozing beside me and snuggled into the pillow murmuring softly in her sleep. Resisting the urge to give her a nuzzle, I quietly left the room and sneaked past Sparrow’s bedroom into the kitchen and then finally the garden. The sun was brilliant in the morning, and the birds sang a happy refrain as it rose into the sky. I don’t suppose I’d been here that long, but it was hard to say to be sure. Meadow had told me the eternal herd’s realm had a different time line to that of the mortal one and it wasn’t ‘linear’ either, meaning that it was virtually impossible to predict. True to her predictions, gradually over the days my memories had started to come back piece by tiny piece. First were my memories of family, then friends and loved one, eventually places, events, until like a well bubbling up with water from its depths, I was finally ‘me’ again. In some ways I wished I wasn’t. This place, this world, it didn’t feel ‘right’ for me somehow. Now I don’t mean that I wasn’t happy here of course, it was without doubt the most wonderful place I had ever been, not to mention I was finally with my wife and foal who filled my life here with joy. No, there was something… I don’t know, ‘off’ about my being here, like I hadn’t accepted by the afterlife, or conversely, been accepted by it. Whatever it was it was driving me crazy, and I’d been uncharateristically irritable the last couple of days until my ‘case worker’, Verity Sparks, had written to us to say she was going to be arriving for an ‘Introductory Visit’. Bloody marvellous. I really wished I had my pipe and a brandy right now, but there was little in the house except tea, coffee, juice and water.

I shook my mane and a shudder ran down my spine. “What the hell’s wrong with me?”

“Daddy?”

Sparrow stood behind me, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with a foreleg. She yawned expansively before I scooped her up in my hooves and gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Good morning my sleepy girl, how are you this morning?”

“Mmmm-okay,” Sparrow smiled up at me. She was bigger now, her yellow eyes keen and bright, those wings looking stronger and more flight worthy every day.

“Have you been practising your flying when I was away?” I asked. “You need to get them nice and strong so you can soar…” I whisked her up into the air, “…like a bird!”

She squeaked and shrieked with laughter, her sleepiness gone in an instant. Sparrow flapped her wings and I could feel the power in them, the way they pushed at the air with each sweep, and I knew then that it wouldn’t be long before we had a very mobile daughter. Goodness knows how Meadow would catch her then! Ah, that would probably be my job I suspected, but… come to think of it, I hadn’t used my spirit’s power since coming here, had I? I hadn’t seen the need really, nor did I especially feel like I wanted to either. The anger, rage and hatred that tended to accompany it just wasn’t there the way it had been. Furthermore, my eyes no longer had that magical blue glow to them. Now, I was just a pony… at least, in appearance.

“Daddy?”

Sparrow tapped my leg and I looked down. “Yes, love?”

“Are you going away again soon?”

My eyebrows shot up and my mouth hung open in shock at the directness of her question. “I… No. No love, I don’t think so. Why are you asking, is everything okay?”

Sparrow shook her head. “You don’t look happy, Daddy. Every day you look across the fields and your eyes are really sad.”

My heart skipped a beat and I looked up to gaze out at the beautiful scenery. The grass, the trees, the woodland and the lane which disappeared into the distance. I mussed her mane. “I’m not going anywhere, love, don’t you worry.”

“Do you miss the scary pony?”

“Scary-? Oh! You mean Shadow?” I sighed, nodding my head. “I do love, yes. And Tingles and Lumin too.”

“I like Tingles,” Sparrow announced, “She’s got wings like me! I’m going to fly like her soon, and zooooom!” She rushed off, flapping her wings and jumping, the wild flapping propelling her further and higher than a normal jump. She was growing so fast. Like Lumin… without his dad. Without me…

Sparrow’s laughter abruptly stopped and she stood on her hind legs, leaning up to me. “Daddy you’re crying. Are you sad?”

“I… Am I?” I reached up to see what she was looking at and, sure enough, tears were running down my cheeks, soaking into my fur. “Oh! Sorry love, daddy’s just being silly. We’ll all be together one day. You waited a long time for me to come home after all, didn’t you?”

“Yeah!” Sparrow hugged me, her tiny forelegs barely even covering my chest. It was agonisingly adorable. “I love you daddy.”

A heartfelt surge of fatherly emotion pounded through me and I held the little foal close, kissing her on the forehead again. “And I love you too, my beautiful daughter. Never forget that, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Now, come on, let’s get your-”

“-Breakfast?” Meadow stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame smiling at us. Her mane and tail were a mess and she had that early morning sleepy look which I found infuriatingly attractive. Goddesses I loved her so much. “Mmmmm.” I reached a foreleg around her neck and kissed her on the lips. “I know what I’d really like for breakfast…”

“Fairlight!” she laughed pushing me away. “Not in front of Sparrow!”

The small grey pegasus jumped about around our hooves. “I want sugar sparkles! Sugar sparkles! Sugar sparkles!”

“Good grief! All right then you little pest,” I laughed scooping her up. “Come on, let’s get you hyped up on sugar. Bloody hell, I hope they have good dentistry round here.”

Meadow tapped me on the nose. “Language, mister.”

I rolled my eyes and trotted into the kitchen to feed the lovable, pestering child. The three us finished our breakfast in relative peace before Sparrow was free to run off and play, suitably filled to the eyeballs with a sugary mixture of milk and whatever mysterious concoction was in that colourful cereal packet. Meadow passed me the crockery and I began washing up the dishes. It was a simple, yet curiously pleasurable part of our morning routine now, and it worked pretty well to be honest. I’d always been a big believer in fairness and sharing. In my mind it was an effective way of keeping harmony and balance in a relationship I suppose. Well, it was more of an ideal than anything else really, but a guy can dream. After seeing how my mum and dad drifted apart I was determined never to let that happen to me. History had a habit of repeating itself, but if it did, it wasn’t going to take me without a fight.

Meadow dried one of the breakfast bowls, leaning down to put away in the cupboard. “She adores you, you know.”

“I know,” I replied wiping one of the bowls. “She’s the best daughter we could have ever wished for. She’s growing so fast too. You’ll be needing a net to catch the little pest when she starts taking wing.”

Meadow chuckled. “I know, her wings are so strong now! I picked her up the other day and one of her wings caught me a right clip around the ear. She didn’t mean to and was really upset about it afterwards, but I just couldn’t believe the strength in them. They look so fragile.”

I nodded. “Probably gets that from your side, love. There weren’t that many pegasi on mine. The tribe had a bit of a thing for unicorns.”

“You still do, don’t you?”

I chuckled. “Oh, yes!” I eyed that gorgeous green flank while she placed more of the morning’s crockery in the cupboard.

She turned to face me, taking her pinny off. “Fairlight?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course love,” I replied. “What’s up?”

Meadow sighed, suddenly looking a little concerned. “It’s… Look, I don’t want to…”

I smiled at her. “Meadow, come on now. No secrets between us, okay?”

“Other than the ‘Loam’ thing?”

I sniffed, raising an eyebrow. “Except the ‘Loam’ thing!”

Meadow shook her mane, her face suddenly serious. “Fairlight, are you happy here? With me, I mean, and with Sparrow?”

My heart lurched in my chest. How could she ask me something like that?! And right out of the blue too! “Of course I am!” I said, turning to face her. “Good goddesses, Meadow, why in Equestria would you think I wasn’t?”

She lowered her head, her ears drooping a little. “Because… because you keep staring out up the lane back towards Aethel’s office. I’ve seen you, its everyday, Fairlight, and it’s frightening me. I spent so long here without you, missing you, and then all of a sudden, here you are! And yet… And yet you’re not ‘quite here’ somehow.”

I sat on my haunches and fetched the teapot. I didn’t know what to say. I certainly did feel detached from this place, true, but not from Meadow and Sparrow. Not from them. Never from them.

“It’s Shadow, Tingles and Lumin isn’t it?” she said quietly.

Pouring the tea out, I closed me eyes for a moment. Was she right? “I don’t know, love, I suppose so. I do miss them, they’re our family after all, and it was all so sudden. I never got to see Lumin’s first birthday. I never got to say goodbye to any of them in fact, and I just can’t get the feeling that I left something behind out of my head. I don’t feel this place is…” I shook myself and took a gulp of the tea. “Oh I don’t know! It’s probably this ‘adjustment process’ or whatever it says in that stupid guide book. What was that thing it said again? Something about ‘Culture shock’?” Meadow stood where she was, silently staring straight ahead of her. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of something glint as it fell to floor. “Oh goddesses, no…” I rushed to her, taking her in my forelegs. “Meadow, don’t love, please. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry, oh no…”

She sniffed and looked up whilst I brushed her tears away. Looking into my eyes, Meadow grabbed me and kissed me. “I love you, you stupid stallion,” she said sadly. “I want us to be with everypony, all of us, Tingles, Lumin, and Shadow too. But they’re not here, and I am. I want to be with you the way we were meant to be! I need you, Fairlight. I guess… I guess I just don’t want to be alone again. If that happened, if you went away… I don’t know what I’d do! Is that selfish of me? Am I being a selfish mare?” Meadow hugged me tight. “I don’t want to be without you ever again.”

“I’m not going anywhere, silly,” I teased. I nuzzled her and playfully kissed her nose. “You taste salty, Miss Meadow. And I do so like salt.”

She reached up and nibbled my ear. “I know you do, my bad stallion.” She pressed her muzzle into my neck, her heart beating against mine. “Maybe we should… you know?”

Her scent, so heady and yet so delicate, tingled my nose, filling my senses to the brim with her femininity. It was early in the morning, the sun was just coming up, but right then she was all I could think of. My wife was with me. My wife whom I had missed so badly all this time, was here, here in our beautiful home - with me. Our eyes met. If we locked the kitchen door, we could-

Sparrow rushed into the kitchen in a clatter of tiny hooves. “Mummy, Daddy, there’s a funny looking pony at the gate. She’s all stripy!”

A high pitched grating voice called into the house, “Hello? Heeelllooooo?”

I rolled my eyes, releasing Meadow. Any thoughts of a morning fooling about with her disappeared with the arrival of, I guessed, the bloody ‘case worker’. “Shit,” I muttered to myself. “The old bag’s bloody well early too!”

Meadow chuckled. “Sorry love, maybe later, eh? And will you please watch that swearing!” She gave me a whack on the behind. I shrugged, giving her a cheeky smirk before trotting to the gate to meet our ‘stripy’ visitor.

Sure enough a bizarrely coated mare stood on the other side of our white gate, peering over at me from beneath a huge yellow sun hat and half moon spectacles. Sparrow hadn’t been exaggerating either, our visitor’s coat was a tiger striped affair of red and yellow, with a pair of vivid purple eyes set in a slightly pudgy face. She was a middle aged mare by the looks of her, and bore an air of authority that suggested to me she expected to be the one doing all the talking. As for me…well, I don’t think I needed to finish that line of thought.

I bobbed my head politely. “Hello, Miss…?”

“Its ‘Ms’ actually, Ms Sparks, Verity Sparks.” The school mistress type didn’t really appeal to me, but I didn’t mind playing the naughty school boy at the right place and time. “Am I addressing Mister Fairlight Loam, formerly of Equestria?”

I cleared my throat. “It’s Lord actually,” I corrected her. I peered at her clipboard pretending to be looking for my name on the list. “Lord Fairlight, of the tribe of the four winds.”

She glowered at me over her glasses and tossed her bangs out of her eyes. “Really? It doesn’t say anything about ‘titles’ in your dossier, ‘Mister’ Loam.”

I chuckled, biting back the bile in my throat. “Just call me Fairlight, Ms Sparks, or may I call you Verity?”

The case worker looked unfazed. “‘Ms Sparks’, if you please… ‘Lord’ Fairlight.” I rolled my eyes, turning to let her follow me into the house where Meadow was waiting with a freshly made pot of tea and some scones. Our enigmatic visitor’s eyes lit up when she saw her. “Meadow! Good gracious, what are you doing here?!”

Meadow nearly dropped the teapot in surprise. “I don’t believe it! Sparky?!”

I sat on my haunches and chuckled to myself. “Sparky!” I think she heard me, as the colourfully marked Ms Sparks shot me a look that could have frozen molten lava solid.

“Meadow,” she sniffed, turning back to the green mare. “I didn’t realise you’d moved on, the last time I saw you was… well, you know.”

“I know,” Meadow smiled sadly. “Things didn’t quite work out as I’d planned. I got married, ended up here, and had Sparrow Song who you’ve already met.”

“That cute little foal’s yours?” Sparky exclaimed delightedly. “She’s gorgeous! Oooh! I’m SO jealous!”

Meadow stuck out a hind leg, nearly tripping me up. “And where do you think you’re going mister?”

Damn it! “Um, well, you ladies are clearly old friends and I’d hate to interrupt your re-union,” I reasoned. “So I tell you what, I’ll just pop out for a while and let you catch up. Sound fair to you?”

“You will do no such thing!” Meadow stomped her hoof, stopping me in mid-escape.

Ms Sparks’, apparently devoid of any sense of humour whatsoever, locked onto me like a hungry predator. Those intense eyes of hers bored into me while she pushed her glasses back up her muzzle. “I am here to speak to you, ‘Lord’ Fairlight,” she announced, “on the subject of your recent acceptance into the eternal herd.”

Oh bollocks, this looked like it was going to take a while… “Tea?” I suggested.

Thank the goddess for Meadow. Ms Sparks appeared to be an old acquaintance of hers, although personally I knew next to nothing about her other than the fact she worked for what passed as the ‘authorities’ here. Celestia buck me ragged, even being dead didn’t get you away from bloody bureaucracy! Ms Sparks began by explaining, in somewhat generalised terms, about the layout of the realm. Most of which went completely over my head. Regardless of the feeling of being calm and relaxed which seemed to leach into your very bones here, I still had that disjointed feeling that the ministry mare was not exactly doing much to relieve. Honestly, I couldn’t wait for the snotty creature to piss off back to whatever office she’d oozed out from.

“So, Fairlight, how are you finding your new home?” Sparky asked tapping her folder with her quill. “You must be over the moon to be in such a beautiful place with your family, am I right?”

I nodded enthusiastically. Hopefully if I played along it may satisfy her enough with her visit that she’d leave a little quicker than she might have otherwise. “Of course, how could I not be?” I smiled. “I get blown to smithereens, and then all of sudden I’m in a fairytale land in a fairytale cottage with my beautiful wife and daughter. Add to that picture, the fact that I now look half my age for some reason, my memories go through a blender, and everyday looks like summer.” Damn it all, that didn’t quite come out how I’d planned, but it’d do. Hopefully she didn’t understand sarcasm. I looked out of the window and took a breath. “I’ll be honest with you, Ms. Sparks, it’s all so wonderfully good here that it doesn’t seem right somehow, like I’m not meant to be here. I don’t think I would be exaggerating to say that this is all like some magnificent dream I’m going to wake up from and wish to all the gods that I hadn’t.”

Meadow shook her head and looked concernedly at her friend. Ms Sparks gave her a consoling pat on the shoulder then turned her attention back to me, smiling at me like I was some irrationally frightened foal. “I understand, I really do,” she began. “It can sometimes be a frightening experience for ponies entering the herd. Not everypony expects to come here you see, and when they finally do it can be quite a shock to the system to find themselves in the afterlife.” She took a sip of her tea. “This realm was created by the gods and goddesses for all of us for when we ‘pass over’, and we make of it what we will. Quite literally in fact. Indeed your home, this wonderful cottage and everything in it, was what Meadow had in her heart and soul when she died. The magic of the realm ‘recognises’ that and brings it into being ready for the new arrival.”

“All very convenient,” I said trying my best not to sound sarcastic, “but how come we never see anypony? Why’s it just us three here? Other than birds and insects, you’re the only other pony we’ve seen in ages!”

She lifted the quill and made some notes. “Well, that’s simple. It’s because, Fairlight, you are currently in a state of quarantine.”

“WHAT?! QUARANTINE!” I banged the table making the mares jump in fright. “D’you think I’ve got bucking rabies of something? Am I a prisoner now, is that it? Is this why I can’t see my parents or friends? Goddess almighty, mare, you’d better start explaining yourself pretty bloody sharpish, because I’m going to get seriously pissed off in a minute!”

“Mister Fairlight, Please!” Ms Sparks said in alarm. “You are a special case you know. Wendigo are, um… ‘very rare’ in the herd.”

I didn’t like the way she said that at all! My heart was thundering in my chest now, and I could my temper rising too. “I don’t understand this bollocks at all,” I said, tossing my mane. “If I’m dead then what does being a wendigo matter anyway? I was a perfectly normal pony before that blasted spirit inhabited me. And in any case, what difference does it make? What, do you think I’m going to go on some sort of psychotic rampage or something? Buck me ragged, I’ve never heard such absolute bloody tripe in all my damned life. Or ‘afterlife’ if you want to be that buggering pedantic about it!”

Ms Sparks looked at Meadow and she nodded as if affirming something I wasn’t aware of. “Very well.” She closed her eyes, took a breath, and continued, “Fairlight, you probably didn’t know this, but the herd has not had a new wendigo in a long time. A very, very long time.”

“They are here though, aren’t they?” I asked, leaning forward. “I mean, they must be. The tribe of the four winds did exist, after all.”

“Yes, of course, unless they opt for reincarnation of course,” Ms Sparks said with a dismissive wave of her hoof.

I frowned in confusion. “Reincarnation?”

“Haven’t you read the guide book?”

I hadn’t.

Ms Sparks shook her head. “Page one hundred.” She took a sip of her tea, the cup clinking on the plate as she put it down. “Wendigo, like you, have their powers ‘sealed’ when they arrive for the safety not only of other resident, but also themselves. You may have experienced a ‘tingling’ feeling when you passed through the doorway?” I nodded. I didn’t like the way this was going. “I’m afraid that the unpredictable and dangerous nature of wendigo would upset the balance here in the herd and, like you said yourself, they were ponies to begin with were they not?”

I shook my head, looking to Meadow for support. “I’m ‘dangerous and unpredictable’ then, am I? Dear goddess, you make me sound like I’m not safe to be around. I’d never hurt my family or anypony, Ms Sparks. Surely you can see that, right?”

She raised an eyebrow and took out a list which she passed to me. “Do you recognise any of these names?”

I looked down the list. Most I didn’t know, but there… ‘Melon Patch’, ‘Gates’, and some other names I recognised too… I cleared my throat. “These are all ponies I…”

She took back the list from my unresisting hoof. “Indeed. I think you can see now why some of the herd were, shall we say, a little ‘reluctant’ to allow you entry at all. Don’t worry though, your quarantine will be over soon - once the ethics committee have considered your case.”

“What do you mean, ‘considered’?” I asked pointedly. “What happens if they don’t think I should be released from quarantine?”

She stared at me, her face devoid of expression, before that half smile I’d begun to associate with the odd mare re-appeared as if by magic. “Lets not think about that right now, eh?” she chirped. “Happy smiles is what the herd is all about!” It wasn’t reassuring. Ms Spark clopped her hoof on her file and went to stand. “Right then, I’ll take my leave and leave you two lovebirds in peace.”

Meadow reached out and caught Ms Sparks’ hoof, a look of worry in her eyes. “Verity, please, I’m really worried about him.” She looked me in the face as she addressed her friend. “He’s not settling in the way I was told he should. Is this really just the adjustment period? Maybe you can get him some help?”

The committee mare held Meadow’s hoof and smiled warmly. “Meadow darling, of course you’re worried, it’s only natural. Everypony adjusts at their own speed, and Fairlight is just a little ‘slower’ than normal that’s all.” She laughed the matter off, concluding, “Must be a stallion thing!”

I laughed sarcastically, “Ha, ha, very funny…” Bloody pain in the arse! Quarantine, decisions by committee – was this really the afterlife we’d all been promised? What was next, ID cards and border checks? I climbed out of the chair and walked to the door. “Don’t you think a few visitors to my idyllic prison cell would help me ‘adjust’, Ms Sparks? Or are you worried I’ll infect them with my wendigo sickness?”

Her half smile quavered for a moment. “There’s no need for that attitude, Mister Fairlight,” she intoned officiously. “I’m not your enemy you know.” Meadow gave me a look which suggested I’d be getting a lecture later on. “Look,” Ms Sparks sighed, “I’ll see what I can do. Meadow’s already suggested somepony who could come visit, so all I can say is to leave it with me. Principal Star Swirl has a particular interest in your case, so I will be speaking to him this afternoon.”

“Star Swirl the Bearded?” I asked.

Sparky looked at me as if I were an imbecile. “Are there any others by that name?”

I shrugged. “Well, now that you come to mention it…”

The striped mare tutted and walked to the door, giving Meadow a hug before we accompanied her to the gate. “I’ll do what I can for you, Fairlight, just…” she sighed. “Do try to be on your best behaviour, alright?”

“Yes, Ms Sparky,” I replied sarcastically.

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Good luck, Meadow.” And in a quiet voice added, “You’re going to need it with this one.”

I opened my mouth to reply but a hoof from my wife stopped me and I bit my tongue – metaphorically speaking of course. But gods above, that bloody stripy menace! Mind you, I suppose if she could get me out of this quarantine it would be worth putting up with her sarcastic tone of voice in short doses, but what then? Where could I go? What about Shadow, Tingles, and Lumin? I closed my eyes and tried to calm my racing imagination. Letting it run riot like this didn’t help matters one little bit. Eventually though the strangely coloured mare trotted off up the lane and then simply vanished. It was something of an anti-climax really, I’d hoped for a loud magical ‘Pop!’ or perhaps a lightning bolt… Still, you can but dream, eh?

Meadow was looking at me sadly. “I’m sorry love, I had a feeling they’d do something like this but you arrived so suddenly nopony told me about it until just now.”

I sat myself down on the garden bench, leaning back against the cool stone wall. “It’s alright. Considering everything that’s happened to me the last year or so I’m not that surprised really. What does surprise me is that they actually allowed me in here at all. Good goddesses, that list, Meadow… All those lives…”

“But you’re here now, aren’t you?” Meadow said, quickly distracting me. “That’s what’s important, love. Please, I just want us to be happy. It’s not much to ask is it?”

She nuzzled me gently as she snuggled in on the bench next to me. “You know,” I said quietly, “when we met in the glade I was so happy to see you and yet at the same time terribly sad too. I wanted you to stay more than anything in the world, or to leave with you – preferably the latter! Now that I’m actually here...” I groaned, rubbing my temples. “It’s so hard to get my head around it all. Maybe if I hadn’t died so suddenly it would have been a lot easier to fit into this place.” I kissed her ear. “But I will, don’t you worry! With my wonderful and beautiful mare by my side, how could I not?”

Meadow giggled. “I missed you terribly you know, Fairlight. You were always rushing about doing all these dangerous things. Mind you, there was... ‘something’ about that.”

“Like what?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

She snuggled into me. ”Mmmm, dangerous… unpredictable…” Meadow reached down and grabbed something that made me gasp. “My, my, you are a bad boy. And I haven’t forgotten your swearing, or being rude to my friend.”

Bollocks to the friend! “So what are you going to do about it, Miss Meadow?” I teased.

Large yellow eyes peered into mine, that familiar spark of life kindling a fire in my heart. “I’m going to have to be strict I’m afraid, and take you firmly in hoof. But not… too firmly.” With that she took my hoof and pulled it down to her haunches. “Sparrow’s dozing in the playroom, so we’ll have to be quiet. Can you be quiet?”

“Oh, yes,” I grinned. “Let’s see if you can be too…”

Meadow’s coat was as wonderfully smooth and silky soft as that fateful day I’d met her on the hillside in Ponyville, her feminine fragrance tantalising my nose with its indescribable allure. She was my first love, and had filled my heart with joy and warmth every single day since we’d first met. So many things had changed in our lives since then, and yet here we were, kissing and loving one another in the warm sun of a perfect day in the realm of the eternal herd. I had known sadness, loss, pain and torment, all the negative emotions no pony should ever have to face in life, and now, at long last, it was gone. Gone as if it had never existed. I was adrift in a sea of calm and happiness such as I’d never known since my beloved Meadow had been so cruelly taken from me. But now, she was here, and in my embrace. It didn’t get any better than this...

She giggled and looked up into my eyes. “What are you thinking, my ‘lord’ Fairlight?”

Smiling, I kissed her nose. “About how much I love you.”

Meadow’s eyes glistened and she threw her forelegs around me tightly. “Oh goddesses, Fairlight, I’ve never felt happier than I do right now. I love you so much!” In a flourish she jumped from the bench and gave her mane a shake. “Come on now, we’d better get the dinner on and then we can go for a walk if you fancy.”

And so we did, the excellent meal of heritage vegetables and mushroom soup as warming and satisfying as our stroll through the lush fields around the cottage. Countless days passed like this, each one as blissful as the last. What I’d said to Ms Spark hadn’t been an exaggeration; watching my daughter growing and developing, helping Meadow with little tasks around the house, it was like being in some dream which I never wanted to wake from. I still thought about Tingles, Shadow, Lumin and even little Tarragon too of course, but I knew in my heart they were unharmed and safe with our friends in the village. I was still anxious to see them, naturally, but surely there would be some way to visit the mortal realm to see them just as Meadow had with me. I’d have to ask her about that. Just… not right now. In any case, I couldn’t visit anywhere for the moment even if I’d wanted to. The so-called ‘quarantine’ had put paid to any excursions beyond the brow of the hill, and that included communications from the mortal realm which weren’t ‘technically’ supposed to be allowed anyway. Star Swirl’s position in the herd obviously had its advantages, and one which he’d used himself on more than one occasion. Still, being here wasn’t so bad. The fields, the cottage... it truly was a wonderful fairytale home, even if it was a prison of sorts. As far as I was concerned they could throw key for all I cared. Considering all the horrors I’d experienced, this was a welcome break from it all. I leaned back and closed my eyes as I sat on the wooden bench in the front garden. Meadow had gone shopping with Sparrow, leaving me to enjoy this gorgeous morning and simply sit here, listening to the birds singing in the pear trees. It a little routine we had now. A couple of days a week I’d watch Meadow trot off to the market in the nearby town and tidy the cottage until she returned some time later with wonderful things for the table. At first, more out of curiosity than any actual concerted effort, I’d tried to go there myself a few times only to find I’d somehow returned back to the lane outside the cottage. Not that I was really bothered by it to be honest. Let’s face it, who would be? My only real concern, as strange as it might sound to the casual observer, was that one day I’d become bored with this timeless paradise. After all, eternity was a long time…