It was all I ever could have asked for. A roof, four walls, a window and a door. Of course I couldn’t see out of the window as it was so high up and small, I couldn’t reach it without flying up there. Some enterprising fellow had thought of that too as vicious looking spikes were arrayed in the ceiling. The door was, naturally, solid crystal and locked on the outside. One way in and one way out. I was beginning to sympathise with the villains and drunks we threw into the Watch house cells. Most of them tended to be short term lock ups, our busiest period being the nightmare night celebrations. Apple Family brand cider and dandelion wine being the worst culprits for that carry on. The outcome of this situation for me though, was unlikely to be a simple fine of a few bits.

I curled up on the dust covered hard floor, and awaited ‘judgement’ from Far Sights wife. I’d made a, hopefully not, fatal error in judgement by allowing myself to be brought here with Shadow. News of our antics and my rebuttal of Shadows fathers request to send her home, was bound to have had some impact back here regardless of how he now saw me. I foolishly believed that any problems with the Thestrals in this village would have been the responsibility of Far Sight, not his other half. It was all too clear now, too late, just who wore the shoes in this place.

A scratching at the door caught my attention. I sidled over, “Hello ? Is some pony there ?” I whispered. The door creaked open and a guard stood before me, weapon ready and eyes glowing menacingly. He cawed and clicked a message which I took, along with his gesturing, as an order to move to the back of the cell. I complied and he nodded to someone standing just out of sight from where I stood. The guard sidestepped to allow a cloaked figure to enter the cell with me, the heavy door slammed shut behind him with a deafening finality.

My visitor pulled back his hood to reveal a green-red mottled Thestral with a greying mane and beard who lowered himself gingerly, down on his haunches. Without speaking, he produced a long thin crystal pipe from a white satchel around his neck and deftly began packing it with a dark stringy material I presumed was tobacco. After he’d finished he began rummaging for, what I also presumed, was a light of some description.

“Here, let me get that for you.” I said politely, magicking a flame to hover over the bowl. He inhaled several times, his flickering yellow eyes never leaving my face. I felt quite awkward in the silence but politely waited until he was able to take a few good puffs, a satisfied sigh escaping his lips.

“Thank you Equestrian”, he said, rubbing his back with a hoof. “That’s a handy trick you have there.”

“You’re welcome….”, I blinked in surprise, “Hang on ! You ARE a Thestral aren’t you ?”.

He chuckled, blowing a pungent smoke ring up to the ceiling. “You noticed then ? What gave it away ? The teeth ? glowing eyes ? It’s the smell of sulphur isn’t ? Blast, I knew I should have changed my cologne.”

I stared at him, the weirdo-meter had just gone off the charts. I took a deep breath to settle myself down before I started screaming hysterically. With the mere semblance of calm, I sat back on my haunches across from the old buck before I began, “You can speak my language without sending words directly into my head and you’ve obviously not come to lead me off for execution. Yet. I would suggest you’ve come here for a reason and, as I’ve not got any other plans for today, I would welcome any questions you may have for me. So, over to you.” I held out a foreleg for him to continue.

He clopped his fore hooves together in delight, an expansive smile revealing a row of long yellow teeth holding his pipe in place. “Oh you are fun !” he cried, “I can see why the Lady Shadow has claimed you. I think we are going to have a good long chat you and I.”

The old Thestral reached into his bag and produced another pipe. “I don’t mind smoking alone as a rule, my young friend, but I do find company is far more conducive to comfortable discourse, don’t you ?”

He passed me the pipe and after a short amount of work with the tobacco, I had it lit and took in a good mouthful of the curling blue smoke. It was….delightful.

He watched me like a hawk watches a mouse while I relaxed, taking in the thick fragrance from the unusual tobacco.

“Now, friend Equestrian. May I call you Fairlight ?”
“You may”, I said nodding”.
“Good….good. My name, is Star Beard. I am a…priest…of sorts, to our people. I would invite you to my chambers for a more comfortable chat, however the Duchess is a little…..’upset’…with you at present. This will have to do, I’m afraid. When I leave I shall arrange some more comfortable items to be transferred to your….’room’”

He did seem to pause a lot, carefully choosing his words no doubt. It wasn’t hard to work out what he was really wanting to say either. I read in ‘Furious’ and ‘Cell’ into his last few sentences alone.

“Star Beard, please, don’t mince your words with me. I’m not the smartest pony in the watch but I’m no fool either. I would appreciate you being frank and candid with me. As you can see, my situation is not an advantageous one.”

Star Beard smiled and took a deep draw on his pipe, blowing the smoke out the side of his mouth with a hiss.

“Very well, Fairlight. Firstly, I will hear your story, so I ask that you speak candidly with me and I will do what I can to settle matters between you, the Lady Shadow and the Duchess.”

And so, for the second time in what seemed as many days, I told my story. From beginning to end, from when I had first entered the Withers, to my arrival in the Beyond.

By the time we finished, Star Beard was tapping out the ash from his pipe on his hoof. There was a knock on the door and it opened, the guard glancing at us before allowing in another black cloaked Thestral. Star Beard clopped his hooves together, “Ah ! My assistant, excellent ! Time for refreshments !”. His ‘assistant’ brought a hamper out from under their cloak, removing a bottle of some sort of drink and parcels of food. I watched quietly as they were arranged on a woven mat that had been unrolled in front of us.

“Thank you for your story Captain.” Star Beard smiled at me, “I am, frankly, delighted to meet a fellow officer.”

“A fellow officer ?” I asked in surprise. Star Beard chuckled, “So surprising my dear boy ? I may be getting on in years, but the flow of time here in the Withers is very different from your world. I think you already said you’d experienced that, yes ?”

I nodded.

“I, like you, was an officer of ponies once, and….others. A long time ago….”, he trailed off staring past my shoulder. I cleared my throat, “Oh ! Sorry Fairlight, I quite forgot myself for a moment there. Forgive an old goat his memories would you ?”

“Theres nothing to forgive sir, please, continue..” I asked. Star Beard smiled and scratched his nose before continuing.

“Did you notice the banners hanging from the Grand Hall before you were so rudely brought to this cell ?”. I nodded. I had actually, the black banner, purple edged, with a white helmet design hung from poles either side of the entry Far Sight and the ‘Duchess’ walked through before I was unceremoniously deposited in here.

“We, that is the older members of our tribe, were once soldiers in the Legions in Equestria. Poor Far Sights father was killed in the final battle and we, well…lets just say we didn’t pick the winning side, yes ?”

I was beginning to wonder just how long ago this war was which he spoke of. I’d leave that for another day. I wasn’t in the mood for war stories right now, but I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the enigmatic Thestral.

“Sir, may I ask your rank ?”. I asked politely. Star Beard began rummaging for more tobacco before his assistant, clicking to him gently, produced the pouch he’d somehow managed to sit on during our conversation.

“Hmmm ? What rank was I ? Yes….I was…a ‘Storm Colonel’. I was head of over a thousand Thestral assault troops with pony ground support. You should have seen them Captain, they were…magnificent. Truly magnificent.”

“What you see here is but a remnant, a reminder of days long gone. Our numbers are much fewer now than they once were and our people do not…‘reproduce,’ as quickly as other races. Not as fast as ponies at any rate I’ll wager !”. I smiled, nodding.

“Not all Thestrals are born here. Some are though, its hard to describe, ‘created’ ?... when ponies from your world, that is, the mortal world, die and have some sort of regret or trauma that anchors them between the worlds of the living and the next world. You have heard of the Eternal Herd of course ? I think you met one of their more arrogant officials ?”

I nodded.

“The Wither World has a strange ability to, extract, the regrets, the negative emotions, from the deceased and sometimes, they take on a life of their own.”

“As Thestrals” I said quietly.

“As Thestrals”, he nodded sagely, eyes half closed. “Good !” he said suddenly, slapping his leg with a laugh. He leaned across to his assistant speaking conspiratorially but still looking at me with that smile of his, “I like him ! He’s sharp. Not as sharp as me I’ll bet, but you have a brain on you, Watch Captain.”

“Colonel, what can you tell me about the situation with the Lady Shadow and her mother ? I believe this to be at the heart of my current troubles here.”

Star Beard re-adjusted his hind legs, his bones cracking loudly as he did so, “Bugger !” He exclaimed and I couldn’t help but laugh at his exclamation. “Nothing to laugh about Captain, you’ll be old one day too you know.”

“I’m not so sure Colonel, my chances don’t look so good right now.”

“Now stop that right now !”, he commanded in a more authoritative tone. “I wont have defeatism, I wont accept it from a Thestral, nor will I from an Equestrian. That sort of thinking can destroy your chances of victory in battle Captain. You would do well to remember that.”. Star Beard relaxed slightly, “Very well, you want to know about the ‘not quite’ royal family of the tribe of the Beyond ? Then, my dear fellow, I will tell you.”

I stretched my back and the Colonel continued, “The Duchess had four daughters, you have met them already. They were all destined to be married to nobility across the Withers. We, the tribe of the Beyond, are but one of many. Once we were united, but our humbling at the hooves of…..ponies, created a rift which has endured to this day.”

I listened intently, fascinated by the old bucks tale. This wasn’t in any Equestrian history book I had ever read. Well, okay maybe it was but history just wasn’t that interesting at school back then.

“The Lady Shadow was to be married to the Earl of Purple Sands, a small warring fiefdom east of the Beyond. One daughter has, I hear, passed from our world to the next. A shame…so much potential…lost…”, Star Beard was wandering off again. His assistant refilled his bowl of crystalline fruit, making him jump.

“What ! Oh, mmmm. Right, yes, the daughters.”

I smiled at the Colonel while he gathered his thoughts. “Ember and…the other one…what’s-her-name, are betrothed to other tribes who I wont bore you with the details of. Suffice to say that this has been the way of things since the return.”

I presumed ‘The return’ was when the Thestral army ‘returned’ to the Wither World with its tail between its legs after defeat in Equestria.

“Shadows fiancé”, he explained, “is a ‘leader’ of good standing although not of good character I hear. Previous wives have met with, lets say, ‘unfortunate accidents’. As a result of which, Lady Shadow decided to leave the Beyond and seek her fortune elsewhere.”

We both knew where that ended up. I cut in, “But if the Earl is the sort of leader you say he is, why would the Duke and Duchess allow such a betrothal ? From what I have seen of Lord Far Sight, he is very protective of his daughters and would die defending them if he had to.”

“True”, Star Beard went on, “But you have seen yourself who is the true power here. The Duchess is not as, attached, to her daughters as her husband. The power, prestige and land the union would bring, is of primary concern to her. The tribe must survive you see…”

I did see. I hated it, but I could see why the Duchess had made the betrothal. It was a system used in ancient Equestria, these guys just hadnt moved on and were stuck in some tribal warring fief age.

“Colonel Star Beard, may I ask a….difficult question of you ?”.

He popped a berry in his mouth and scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Well of course my dear Fairlight, but that depends on the question. I cant remember as much as I once could you know !”

“I understand sir. Please, I have been told that I am now bonded to Lady Shadow, that we are now mated. Lord Far Sight also said that she was, ‘incomplete’. Can you help me understand what this all means ?”

Star Beard paused, watching me intently. He opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut a moment later apparently thinking better of it. A minute or two passed as he
thought about my question, then, suddenly shook his head vigorously, “No. I know I said I would answer your questions Captain, but this…. No, I cannot, it is not for me to speak of such things. I’m…”

A slender leg emerged from under the assistants cloak and tenderly picked up the old bucks hoof. A few words in Thestral later, he nodded to the cloaked figure and sighed. “Very well, if that’s what you want”. The assistant nodded, the leg disappearing back under the black fabric.

“Recall what I told you of the origins of Thestrals. Lady Shadow is a true Thestral, born of this world at a time of great magical imbalance here in the Beyond. The imbalance was brought here by a pony of your world, an Equestrian of great power, who befriended our tribe and saved us from extinction.”

“He could travel across time and planes of existence, a truly amazing feat of magic. Far Sights father, before the poor soul died in battle, befriended this pony and requested his aid in saving his tribe.”

“The tribe was in trouble before the war ?” I asked.

“Yes”, the old Thestral replied, “Far Sights father could see how things would end, even before they were manifest. His son, was named after his fathers remarkable ability.”

I nodded. Some of this was over my head but I was managing to grasp some of it.

“When Lady Shadow was born, part of her...’soul’... if you like, was left blank, waiting to be filled. Why and how this occurred is unknown and the pony traveller crossed over to the Eternal Herd long ago. I have tried to speak with him since, however that bloody Clerk Aethel, the horses cock, wont speak with ‘sub-species’.” He spat on the floor, his yellow eyes blazing.

“I…see”, I said quietly. “Colonel, some Thestrals can speak my language. Not like you, but as a sort of telepathy, straight into my mind. Shadow rarely speaks and then, only usually one or two words, is this as a result of the ‘imbalance’ ?”

Star Beard rolled one of the fruit in his hoof, “Have you asked her ?”. “No” I answered. “Well, perhaps you should next time you see her. Have you ever considered she may simply be shy and not a chatterbox, Captain ?”

I looked down at my hooves in embarrassment and felt a blush coming to my cheeks.

“Captain, I must ask you a personal question now, as one officer to another, stallion to stallion…”, Star Beard sounded agitated. The assistant chattered at him urgently but he waved their concern off irritably, determined to continue. “Captain, now you know of Shadows nature, I would ask you to be truthful with me also.”

“Of course Colonel, please…”, I held out a foreleg for him to continue.

“Would you still take her with you, back to your world, or leave her here with her people ?”

I was taken aback. I still hadn’t resolved my emotional conflict between Meadow and my growing feelings for Shadow. I loved Meadow with all my heart but she was with the Herd now. I would see her again some day but Shadow was here, she was in some ways so like her too, I couldn’t understand how I felt. The wounds felt so fresh, I had a daughter in the Eternal Herd I couldn’t see or hold until my life was spent and I had somehow purged myself of this power within me. It wasn’t fair to bring the innocent Shadow into my tumultuous life, but there…there was the selfish Fairlight, the lonely Fairlight, the one who cried out for companionship and warmth. ‘Goddesses, help me’, I begged silently, ‘I need your guidance’.

“Captain ?” Star Beard asked looking concerned.

“Yes. Yes I would Colonel. As I told Lord Far Sight, she is bonded to me as my mate and I would take her to my world should I find a way and should she wish it.”

The old Storm Colonel closed his eyes and smiled, nodding. “Thank you my dear fellow, that means more than you could know.” He reached forward and shook my hoof in both of his, letting out a deep throated laugh.