Arrows and bolts flew past me as I turned corners at break leg speed, thanking Luna that I was able to get a grip on the gritty street surface. A broken leg here would mean death, rather than a few weeks in a Manehatten hospital being waited on by nurses and, on occasion, Meadow. When was the last time I’d thought of her, her and Sparrow Song ? Now was not the time, damn it, I had to….Shit !

Stepping out of what looked like an old shop frontage, an armoured Thestral appeared in heavy red striped armour. Definitely not one of ours, he saw me and drew a long hafted weapon from his back. With a loud ‘click’, a long scythe blade flicked out and locked into place, white light glinting along its edge. He swung, the blade whooshing by as it sliced the air inches from the top of my head. Thank be to Luna, that I’d flattened my ears when I did, or they’d have parted company from the rest of me. I didn’t fancy losing any body parts in this world like I did in the last. I was rather attached to them and I intended to keep them that way !

My own blade, designed for close in work thrust up and under his swing, straight between the armour plates and into his heart. He barely let out a sound as his still warm corpse slammed into the dusty ground. I took a chance and stole a glance at his armour before moving on. It was red and black painted crystalline armour with a purple bulls head motif where a cutie mark would normally be on a pony. Something niggled at my memory regarding that but I didn’t have time to be thinking about it right now, I had to get moving. Hopefully the others would have better luck and had already reached the centre of the city with Shadow, waiting for me to catch up.

I could see the platform now, long, impossibly wide steps stretching up to its pristine sides. Following the road down, the dread sounds of battle carried to me on the breeze, echoing off the buildings sounding like the ghosts of battles from long ago, doomed to repeat them for all eternity. And there, at the bottom of the steps, a seething mass of black bodies, ducking, jumping, hacking, biting, slashing. Blasts of flame lanced out here and there in the melee as diamond bladed weapons mercilessly sliced through flesh, muscle and bone.

Ear splitting screams, shouts, neighs and snorts grew louder in my ears as I charged in, sword ready and eager. My anger surged forth. My friends needed me, Shadow needed me, their cries and the memory of Glimmers last moments spurred me on to a need for battle, a desperate want for blood, which normally would have terrified me. Now, it excited me and filled me with euphoria. It was all I could do to restrain the cold rage of the Wendigo within me as it howled for release.

I gutted the first Thestral, sliding under him and slashing with my short-sword, his entrails, hot and steaming, spilled onto the ground like rope. He screamed, trying to hold onto his innards with his hooves as I rammed my sword up and into his brain. Another armoured Thestral swung one of those scythe blades at me. I ducked and

took both his legs out in one swing, slashing his throat open as my blade twisted and was brought up into the yielding flesh.

I couldn’t see who was fighting for the tide of red and black armoured Thestrals at the foot of the stairs. Whoever they were fighting was being pushed up towards the summit, my destination. Grimly, I swung, hacked and slashed with the short sword, carving my way towards them, the dead and dying marking my passage.

The steps were becoming treacherous for hooves, the blood soaked slabs slippery with gore. I had to use what purchase I could, to lose my balance would me death. I narrowly avoided being decapitated by the simple fortune of slipping on a Thestral’s entrails allowing a bolt to whistle past where my head had been a split second earlier. I returned the favour, loosing a bolt straight into his open mouth, the shaft not stopping as it exited the back of his head carrying skull fragments and brain matter out over the back of his armour.

My eyes were wide, taking in every scintillating moment of the gruesome spectacle. It was…delicious.

My sword and I became as one being, merging into a whirling, snarling, killing machine. Blood misted in the air and I could taste its rich iron on my tongue, I laughed as I slew my enemy upon the steps, always on the verge of releasing the
power, always but a mere breath away. It was bliss and torture combined. I sated my thirst in the blood of my enemies.

The Thestrals had backed away from me. Unable to reach me for the bodies of their dead and dying comrades, their eyes showed uncertainty and some, tinged with fear. Behind them came a bellow of something huge, huge….and angry. The Thestrals that couldn’t get out of the way in time were knocked flying by a hulking great beast from the pit. Half bull, half something else, the dark blue creature shook its huge horned head, flexing its claws, staring down at its intended victim. Its beady eyes watched me with a hatred born of insanity as the creature lowered its head and bellowed a great blast of noise at me.

I lowered my sword and hung my head, laughing to myself. With a deep breath I looked up from under by brow, “You’re one ugly mother fucker, bully boy. Time for you to meet the butchers block.”

The creature took a half step back, cocking its head in confusion at my words, before grabbing the severed head from a fallen Thestral and throwing it at me. The throw was wild and missed me by a yard, the intention probably being to distract me from the huge axe it now produced from its back, the blade swiftly swinging downwards.

I dodged the blow, jumping up and slicing my blade along the haft and removing several of the minotaurs fingers. The thing howled in rage and pain, charging me with its horns.

There was no way I could dodge in time. Levitating a Thestrals corpse, I slammed it into the things legs, taking them out from under it. The monstrous creature fell and
slid at full tilt towards me. I leapt vertically, landing on its back and span round while grabbing one of the packages from my saddle bag. The minotaur, dazed and winded, started to push itself to its feet. Seizing the moment, I enveloped its head in my magic and slammed its skull against the stone steps again and again. It wasn’t dead, just stunned, but it had been slowed enough for what I did next.

Grabbing the creatures muzzle in my hooves, I wrenched its head back and plunged the pack of flashbug tubes into its steaming mouth and down to its throat. Releasing the minotaurs head, I sent a small spark of flame down to the packaging material setting it alight.

The monstrous creature choked, clawing at its mouth and throat, trying to pull out the burning parcel. I turned my back and walked off up the stairs as the flash bugs went to work. The resultant explosion rained pieces of skull, brain and flesh like a thunderstorm from hell. Reaching down and picking up a fragment of the minotaur’s bloodied skull which still had the horns attached, I turned and tossed it back down the stairs at the hooves of the stunned Thestrals. Slowly, I licked the blade of my sword and smiled at them, “Come my friends, death is waiting for you, will you keep him waiting ?”

One of the Thestrals whinnied and retreated a few paces, the creatures fear was tangible. “Demon !” one of them cried and barged his way down the steps past the
others who, one by one, began to back away. I stood on my hind legs sheathing my sword and picking up a particularly ornate scythe, giving it a test swing. I smiled at the sound it made whistling through the air and swung it up and back, resting it on my shoulders as I turned to the Thestrals below. “COME !” I screamed and moved toward them menacingly…. it was all they needed. They turned and bolted, discarding their weapons as they went. I clicked my tongue, “Looks like I’d better find some new playmates”, I chuckled. I shook my mane and snorted, looking up to the armoured warriors staring at me from the top of the stairs.

Thorn was sat on his haunches trying to stem the flow of blood from a shoulder wound while several other officers surrounded him, bloodied, burnt and utterly spent. Before them, a group of black and red armoured Thestrals had turned to face me. All had stopped fighting to stare wide eyed at the newcomer. I didn’t care, it was time to play and these would make fine playmates for my blade this day. Shouts and screams of fear tantalised me as I cut them down with my scythe, just as a farmer cuts the fields of straw. I sang a wordless, meaningless song of joy and death while my blade did its thirsty work. Most fell, some tried to run, some lay dying, all knew that to oppose me was death. It was as it should be.

“CAPTAIN FAIRLIGHT !”, a voice shouted pausing me as kicked a Thestral from my sword, the creatures blood shining seductively on the blade….

“Captain Fairlight, As your commanding officer, I order you to stand down. NOW !”.

I stood, shaking and gasping for breath in the cold air, my muzzle foaming, eyes staring at the wounded officer. In a daze, I looked down at my hooves. They were
black, black with blood. The scythe blade, dripping with my victims gore, flesh and fur mixed with blood on the haft. My armour, gouged and dented was covered in grey brain matter and blood. How much was mine I had no idea, and yet, I felt….nothing.

“My Goddess Equestrian, I would thank you for our rescue, but, I…I have never seen the like.” Stammered the soldier I recognised as the reconnaissance squad sergeant.

“I have”. Thorn stood, his attendant fussing over him, applying bandages and attempting to put a poultice to his wounds. “Battle fever, blood rage, we had many names for it. Warriors lusted for it but few achieved it. Thestral warriors could enter a blood rage but it was mostly common in Equestrians. Ponies.”

“What ! Ponies ?” The Sergeant spluttered in surprise.
“Yes”, Thorn sounded thrilled yet also a little…envious, “Have you not seen it this day with your very own eyes sergeant? You may not believe my words but see ! The proof lies before you, at our pony comrades hooves.”

The Sergeant observed the carnage and looked at me with a look of wariness and even a tinge of fear. With a shake of his mane he sheathed his sword, “I don’t mind saying Equestrian, you scare the shit out of me, let alone the enemy. I’m bloody glad you’re on our side.”

Thorn gave a mirthless laugh, wincing as his shoulder shook. The Thestral medic tutted at him and reset the bandages. “Glimmer ?” The commander asked. I shook my head, “She was still alive when I left her, but not….”, I drew a ragged breath, “She died saving me. She was a true warrior Storm Major, I promised her we would honour her when this is all over.”

“We will Captain….we will. She was…a good friend. Tell me Captain Fairlight of the Manehatten Watch….”, Thorn gave me an intent look, leaning his foreleg on his thigh, “A Thestral warrior likes to leave a memory, a piece of advice for future generations, that will be passed down from mother to daughter, father to son. Did Glimmer tell you anything that you will be able to pass on to your foals ?”

I nodded.
“Yes ?”, he asked me.
“Ears”, I mumbled.

“Sorry Captain, I cant hear you very well. Can you say that again ?”
“Ears.”

“Ears ? What about them ?”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Nibbling the ears ‘apparently’ drives mares crazy”.

I blushed and shuffled my hooves in the heat of embarrassment. There was a long, silent pause as the warriors before me absorbed the words, looking at each other in wonder. Like a bubble bursting, the moment was over, the Storm Major, injury forgotten, threw back his head and roared with laughter, his comrades joining him. The joyful sound echoing across the cityscape spread out around us and I couldn’t help buy raise a smile, Glimmers ancestors didn’t know what was going to hit them.