We had been camped together for several days near the foothills of what the Thestrals had called ‘the Beyond’. Far Sight had explained to me that the area Shadow and I were seeking was still some ways to the north. How he knew which way was north was a mystery to me, this place looked the same whichever direction I went in. The big Thestral had tried to explain but most of it was in some sort of inscrutable logic that I suspected only another Thestral could comprehend. I smiled and thanked him for his explanation.

That evening, (it was by Embers explanation although I’d have to take her word for that too), my clicking and shrieking pony-esq hosts gathered in a circle. Ember trotted over to me and nudged my rump with her nose, “Come Fairlight of Equestria, we are ready now.” Without further explanation she trotted back to the others and resumed her place.

Shadow nudged me into a roughly equidistant position to the others and closed her eyes. I waited, for what I had no idea, whatever it was though, I had been accepted by these enigmatic creatures and I would play my part.

“Fairlight. My son.”

I looked into Far Sights eyes and waited for his words respectfully.

“This day, we mourn our lost daughter, our lost sister. You did not know her as we know her. Wind Sheer was a child of my tribe and a friend to you, a sister to your mate.”, I listened carefully as he continued, “This day, you are of our family, a Thestral, proud and true, strong and fearless. This day I ask you to mourn the passing of our daughter and see her soul to the next world by remembering her life in this. Will you join with us, brother Thestral ?”

“I will”, I said, keeping eye contact with him. He nodded and silence fell upon the five of us.

A low humming emanated from Far sight, rising like a deep tide, powerful and strong. It rolled out across the foothills, echoing its call. Ember lifted her head and let out a long call of her own, tinged with sorrow, mournful in its sombre tone.

Short Stride, the smaller of the Thestral sisters, added a thrumming cry to the other two. The sound pulsed, high and low, drawing up a sense of life, death and simple existence.

Finally, Shadow raised her voice to join her families. High and pure, flowing with joy and happiness, her simple elegant note mingled with the others producing a chorus like no other.

I marvelled at the richness of the sound, there was nothing like this in the whole of Equestria, I felt like I was being lifted up, higher than the tallest mountain, up to the heavens beyond the clouds. Tears filled my eyes and I wept with the sadness of our lost sister, I mourned the passing of my fathers daughter. I laughed at the exuberance of her youth, marvelled in her enjoyment of life. Memories, not my own, flashed through my mind; Far Sight playing with Wind Sheer as a tiny Thestral foal, an older Thestral carrying her on her back teaching her to fly, Shadow rolling with her in the white grass of her home land. The scenes brought sights, sounds and smells I never believed possible.

Emotion crashed through me and felt a surge of warmth spreading from my muzzle to my tail. Today I was the son of the Lord of the Beyond, the mate to his daughter. This day, I was a Thestral of the Wither World. I would honour her family and remember her sister. I threw back my head and cried out the lament of my soul into the whirling song of the Thestrals.

Around us, soft white snow began to fall…..

Far Sight yawned expansively, giving a long purring rumble of pleasure while Ember rubbed his shoulders. “You should have Shadow do this for you Fairlight, it loosens the muscles and feels excellent !”

I smiled at Far Sight, glancing over my shoulder at Shadow who was talking with Short Stride.

“I can but ask her, Mr Lord….”, I said. He laughed out loud, making Ember click her tongue in annoyance as she readjusted her fore hooves on his joints.

It was very difficult to tell Thestrals apart, or more accurately I should say, ‘had been’. At first, they all looked the same to me, all bony leathery wings and, well….bones I suppose. The pointy ears and fiery red eyes varied a lot as did the size, teeth and so forth. Little differences added up to being able, at a glance to tell them apart :

Far Sight, huge, massive teeth, long pointy ears like a dragons horns, looks like he could tear a pony apart in seconds. His hide, almost black with battle scars here and there marked out as thin darker lines.

Short Stride, smallest of the Thestrals, sleek blue-black coat and short pointed ears. Her eyes were quite large compared with the others, her teeth short and neatly aligned.

Ember, slightly larger than Short Stride, eldest of the sisters. Same blue-black coat as Short Stride with neat pointed ears. Her eyes had a yellow tinge to them, her teeth longer than Short strides, with a long pair of incisors protruding over her bottom lip.

Finally of course was Shadow. She was roughly somewhere in the middle height wise between her sisters but with an inky black coat like her fathers. There was a slight sheen to her colouration that made her body look almost silken. Her ears were pointed like the others, not curved but straight back in line with her head. Her teeth were short and sharp, like Short Strides though with the addition of several longer ones on either side, visible mostly when she yawned. Her mane and tail where the colour of midnight, a blue so dark it bordered on black. Her eyes shone bright red and lively, vibrant with life, reminding me of the campfires in the mountains when I was a foal.

A truly remarkable race, I’d love to the see the reaction in the watch house if Far Sight walked in one day ! Ah, the watch house, so many memories there. One day, soon, I would return. What reception I received was a concern for another time. Here and now, my concerns felt like a distant memory.

All the Thestrals turned as one, looking to the hills with an expectant air about them. My senses straining I picked out movement coming our way, another Thestral. This one a dark purple colour, slender with short horns, a female. She landed by Far Sight and bowed low, clicking a message to him in Thestral before she turn and flew off the way she came. Far Sight approached me with a concerned look on his face, “Can you fly ?”. I looked back at my bare flank, it was still a difficult concept to grasp, despite having found the ability to ‘change’ a lot easier now. My power, whatever it actually was, responded to emotion predominantly…need, anger, pain, fear. I’d discovered I could sort of, ‘trick’, it into releasing to the point where, like now, I could let the energy flow through me.

It was not an altogether uncomfortable experience, the wings breaking out hurt briefly but a wash of exhilaration dulled it almost immediately. The worst part of all of this was keeping my ‘self’ in charge. Always below the thin veneer of my altered consciousness, was a tempest of uncontrollable rage, pain and Celestia knew what else, waiting for me to release its chains. It was terrifying really, but simultaneously thrilling. What the Thestrals made of it, they were keeping to themselves, my new ‘father’ had expressed some anxiety about it but after having his daughter rescued with its help, his concerns were put to rest.

Shadow rubbed her head along my neck, despite Far Sight’s clicks and whistle of irritation. I gave him an apologetic shrug and he gave a rumbling chuckle in his throat before launching into the sky with Ember and Short Stride. Nice to have in-laws who liked you ! Especially when the alternative was probably being eaten by them. I smiled, not so easy with these choppers. A quick glace at my mate and we took flight together, timing our wing beats with one another, neither one of us ahead of the other as we closed the distance with the rest of the family.

Several hours later I could see, ever so faintly, a line of light on the horizon. It was like a split in the world, a crack in the curtain letting in the morning sunlight. I felt an urge to speed up towards it, to revel in its light giving warmth, Goddesses light at last !

We were high above the hills now, hills that were more like sand dunes in truth. The unending black sand which had slowly, but surely, sapped my will from me as I’d trudged through it, day after meaningless day.

Despite my racing heart and increasing excitement, I kept pace with the Thestrals. They knew this land, they were masters of it and I was still, I supposed, a guest here. As such I would need to follow their customs and laws until I left upon the next step of my journey. A journey I would make with my little Thestral, Shadow. A rush of warmth and calm rippled through my chest and, Meadow forgive me, my nethers. I hoped we could land soon, the cold up here and the wind from the wings down draught was having a decidedly odd effect on me.

We flew on, the white line soon transformed into white hills, white plains and silver, no, crystalline, trees. The light I had seen was not from the sun, but from the very earth itself, shining like the surface of the moon, reflecting on the hooves of the Thestrals as we banked, following the course of a wide black river. It was a mystical and imposing sight, quite beautiful….

We dipped low behind a high series of hills, their sides filled with the light giving crystal forests, every colour in the rainbow sparkling through their branches as we flew by. It was all I could do to concentrate on keeping formation while my sight was constantly being pulled away by the other worldly beauty of the Beyond.

Excitement grew amongst the Thestrals, showing in their increased speed and hooting to one another. Far Sight shrieked out a blasting trumpeting call followed by a gout of flame, the heat of which washed over me despite the distance between us. Mentally I reminded myself to keep in the Thestral Lords good books. Shadow called to her sisters and they hooted back to her in reply. “Home !”, she happily called to me. I suddenly felt a sinking feeling in my heart. Damn it, what the hell was wrong with me ? A quick mane shake dispelled any dark thoughts that my imagination was conjuring up. This was her home, she was born here, raised here, she belonged here. I began to realise a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time….jealousy.

Large domes of crystals were arrayed neatly on the plain below us and we skimmed low enough to notice their inhabitants rushing out to look at us passing overhead. Hoots and shrieks filled the air as Far Sight gave another trumpeting blast of sound and fire, announcing his return home. We looped a circuit around the Thestral ‘town’ and came in for a landing on the white…grass ? I was about to give it a careful taste until Shadow nudged me with her shoulder, clicking in admonishment. Sorry dear !

A hoard of the skeletal creatures surged up to surround us in a dark tide. They stood out in stark constrast amongst the crystal trees and brilliant white grass. I guessed the colouring was more for camouflage in the black sand of the Withers rather than the Beyond, ‘Says the guy from the land of multi-coloured ponies’, I thought to myself sarcastically. Equestrians were more likely to blend into a foals birthday party than here, probably just as well. I think I was beginning to see walking nightmares as normal. Worse, I think I was beginning to lose my heart to one. Oh Fairlight, you silly colt…

The hubbub was deafening. The Thestrals kept a respectful distance but still created a solid wall of pushing, heaving teeth and glowing eyes. I wish I’d had a camera, it would be a talking point in the canteen all right.

A hushing sound spread out from the far side of the crowd, near a rise which lead to a large crystalline dome. The creatures nearest to it pushed each other out of the way as they moved back, forming a corridor towards the structure. No pony, No Thestral, moved. I didn’t have to wait long to find out what we were waiting for as a group of large Thestrals, covered in wicked spikes, trotted out to take station along the newly created passage. Far sight nickered and moved forward, head held high as he walked, the very picture of nobility.

Ember and Short Stride followed a respectful distance behind him, next, Shadow and myself. I glanced at one of the guards as I walked past him. His eyes bored into mine, white hot orbs, glinting off his….armour ? My Goddesses, it was ! These Thestrals had fashioned armour, from what looked like bones fused with crystals. Strapping of a white, leather material cinched the overlapping plates together. Whatever they were made of though, the effect was impressive. I didn’t notice any weapons among them, that said, I expect when you can incinerate your enemies, a sword just does quite cut it any more. Quite literally.

Each time we passed a pair of the guards, they fell in silently behind us, the creaking of the harness and armour more than a little disconcerting. I didn’t like being cornered and I didn’t like this situation one little bit, it was like being lead to the executioners block. None of this seemed to bother Shadow however, she was most likely used to this, being royalty of sorts. ‘Aim high Fairlight’, I thought insincerely.

A repetitive whisper came from the crowd I noticed. Thestral was a hard language to fathom and one I doubt I had the anatomy to be able to replicate, however certain things could be discerned by listening closely to the pitch, tone, screams and shrieks. What I picked up on had a note which, if I had to put my hoof on my heart, sounded like….anger ? The sound was similar to Far Sights when he had first met me, derisive, threatening. I hadn’t put much thought to it until now as at the time I saw him more as a threat than as anything else. But now, this...this worried me. Fortunately, I didn’t have to worry long at all as silence fell suddenly amongst the Thestrals and we came to a halt.

From the large crystal dome atop the rise, a magnificent deep green Thestral female emerged. Easily as large as Far Sight, with long straight horns either side of her head. Her teeth glistened in the light from the crystal trees lining the rise and I noticed long fangs either side of her mouth, just like another Thestral I knew. I swallowed the lump in my throat….I was about to meet the rest of the in-laws.

The assembled Thestrals, including the guards, went to one knee. Bloody awkward when you’re not used to it I can tell you, but still, I did my best. One of the guards behind me huffed a jet of steam at my back, jabbing me for good measure with an armoured hoof before I realised he wanted me to bow lower.

Hoots, screams and clicks echoed around the assembled Thestrals until a emerald green foreleg stood before me. “Stand”, a regal voice commanded me, “I would look upon this…..creature.” I didn’t know what to think. I’d been referring to Thestrals as ‘creature’s’ myself, but here as I was, referred to in the same manner. I hadn’t meant anything derogatory by it but now it was used to describe me ? I didn’t like it at all.

With little choice in the matter, I raised my head and looked straight ahead. The tall green crea’……’Thestral’…put a fore hoof under my chin and tilted my head this way and that, eyeing me with her glowing eyes. Rather than red, hers burned a brilliant white. I felt my heart leap into my throat. She spoke rapidly to the guards who barged forward, grabbing my forelegs roughly. I didn’t struggle, I’d most likely impale myself on their spikes if I did.

Far Sight clicked and squawked at the female I guessed was his mate, making it quite clear from his gesturing that he protested the rough treatment of his guest. I hoped so anyway, Goddesses knew I could have been the next one for the pot for all I knew of their customs. Fancy an Equestrian tonight dear ? Fairlight a la mode, a delicious accompaniment to any Thestrals banquet hall.

Shadow rushed forward, pointing at the guard and shrieking her protests at, I would guess, was her mother. For her trouble, the green female knocked Shadow flying with a vicious kick. I saw a small spray of blood from her mouth as the blow connected, the young Thestral landing in a heap whimpering. I shoved my guards aside and tried to get to Shadows aid but the armoured thugs were on me before I made even a quarter of the distance. “Get the fuck off me you bastards !”, I yelled, fury building in me.

A Thestral in a white flowing gown hurried to Shadows side, lifting her to her hooves and passing her a clear bottle of red liquid. Thank goodness some pony here had half a heart. The green mare glowered down at me with her pitiless white eyes and I began to feel the chain loosen within me. The guards slammed my head to the ground and I could feel a blade of some sort pushing into my flesh. My anger began to boil out of control and unbidden, a trickle of it began to run through me. I let out a low growl, the ground vibrating beneath me as I looked up at the guards shocked face.

“I said, get the fuck off me !”, I snarled. The blade never left my neck however. This would be a test between how fast I could throw the guard off me and how quick his reflexes would be to slit my throat open. I readied a rush of the power to overcome my enemy, grab Shadow and get the hell out there.

“NO ! Fairlight, Please ! NO !”, Shadows voice pounding into my mind was like being doused with cold water. My anger blinked out in an instant, my breathing returning to normal. I glowered into the guards eyes, he was visibly shaken but keeping his composure enough to steady the blade on my throat.

Pandemonium erupted around me and I was hauled to my hooves, surrounded by guards armed with crystal axes and swords. I hadn’t spotted these earlier characters, the other guards were probably more ceremonial. Their armour looked used, business like, but still constructed from the same materials as their flashier bretheren.

“Fairlight, I ask that you go with the guards for now. I must speak with my Wife about this matter.” Far Sight asked, his tone sounding serious.
“I have a choice ?” I replied flippantly.
“No.”, He stated with absolute finality. The Lord of the Beyond turned away to walk up to the crystal hall as I was dragged off to my guest accommodation.