I landed heavily on the gravelly flat roof of the huge Manehattan General hospital, my emotions and mind in complete turmoil. Mitre, Bingo and several other ponies were waiting for me by their sky carriages.

“Fairlight, thank Luna you’re here lad.” Mitre clopped me on the shoulder, his neutral expression strangely calming, “Come on, we’ll talk while we walk, but first we need to do something about how you look.”

He hoofed me a thin silver collar which, when I it clicked into place around my neck, completely changed my outward appearance. I’d used one similar before in the watch, but right now all I could think of was reaching Tingles and every moment wasted felt like a dagger through my heart. Hoofing my gear to Bingo, I put on the doctors coat, ID tag and slipped in the eye shields. These things reacted to light and had been a human development, but right now they covered up the magical glow from my eyes which was still noticeable despite the magical collar.

“Let me see…good. Right, come on.” Mitre headed off through an access door and down the stairs with me in close pursuit.

“Your marefriend, Tingles is having complications with the foal.” He explained, “She was shot whilst pregnant with it, but we thought she’d made a full recovery.”

I gritted my teeth, that sick bastard Warlock had done this to her. Goddesses I’d see him pay for that one day. If we lost our child too…

Mitre continued, “I know you two have had issues boy, and I’m not the best at understanding relationships as you well know. But, when she was feverish, she called out for you. One of the nurses recognised the name and I found out about it.” Mitre cast me a glance, “You’re going to have to put any differences you have behind you for now, I don’t think we’ve got much time. If anypony can save her, its you.”

I was all but running down the corridors now, with Mitre leading the way. Despite his perpetually calm exterior, he appeared to be just as desperate to reach Tingles as I was. ‘Ward Fourteen. High Dependancy Unit’ the sign read over the double doors. Without pause, Mitre and I pushed our way though. The two armed agency ponies standing outside a side room, turned when they saw us rushing toward them. Mitre flashed his card, “Agent Miles” he said abruptly, one of them opening the door to let us in.

“Agent Miles?” I said, catching my breath as we stopped.

“Anything wrong with that? Agent ‘Nox’?” he said levelly. Point taken.

Inside the room, a frightening array of medical equipment hummed, hissed and beeped. Numerous tubes and wires criss crossed the prone figure of Tingles who I could barely see under the oxygen mask and white sheet.

One of the nurses, carrying a tray of instruments, rushed past nearly bumping into us, “Sorry doctor”, she called over her shoulder heading out the door. There were two doctors in the clean room already, one of them noticed us and waved us in, “Are you with the agency?”, Mitre nodded, “And who are you? Are you an intern?”

I shook my head, “Doctor Yew Tree, neurological and cardiac sciences. What’s the status of the patient?”

My bluff seemed to work pretty well and as my ID badge had no name on it anyway, I would just have to wing it and hope I could pull this off.

“Frankly, we don’t know. We’ve tried everything but the patient simply isn’t responding to any of the treatments.”

The other doctor hoofed over a flip chart of unintelligible figures and graph lines, “She came in with a severe water-electrolyte imbalance. The patient also has anemia.” I looked down at the chart and nodded. He continued, “Normally, these are treated fairly easily but she’s just not responding to anything we’ve tried.”

The first doctor leaned over her with his stethoscope, “The foal’s heart beat is slightly raised, as is the mothers. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the mother’s very life force is being drawn into the foal. We’re seen this with unicorns before, where the mothers magic can be drawn into the developing foetus and leave her fatigued, but this is something new.”

“Have you completed x-rays of the foal?” I asked, hoofing them back the clipboard.

“We don’t x-ray foals doctor, we scan them with the aether-scope, don’t you use one?”

I raised an eyebrow, “We’re a little behind the times at our hospital, gentlemen. Now, if you’ll excuse me?”

I opened the folder of scans the second doctor hoofed me and saw, in the fuzzy grey blur, the outline of a tiny unicorn, my son…or daughter. My heart skipped a beat.

Suddenly a loud alarm sounded and the doctors rushed to the bank of monitors, “She’s going into cardiac arrest!”

“Blood pressures dropping”

I leaned over Tingles’ prone form, her eyes flickering open slightly, “Fa…Fairlight…Fair…”

I gently lifted her hoof in mine, “I’m here love, it’s me…I’m here for you.”

Her eyes were unfocused, her voice weak and distant, “My foal…I…I don’t want…to lose…our…”

“You won’t love.” I stroked her sodden green mane, “Listen to me, I want you to drink what I give you now. You’ve done it once before when you were hurt, remember? I know it frightens you, but do this okay?”

Her voice was becoming fainter, “Fairlight…”

I turned to Mitre and nodded. The large blue stallion walked forward and grabbed the first doctor firmly, “Come on doctor, doctor Yew Tree works better alone.” He began pushing the second doctor, “You too, now. Come on…out!”

“What! Hey!” the doctors protested but under the guidance of Mitre were propelled from the room and the agency guards prevented any further intrusion.

I took a deep breath and reached down, deep inside myself, feeling for the power. It flowed like quicksilver through my senses and I willed it on…filling it with my need, my desire to save my mare, to save our foal. Fire and ice, mist and fog, it all mingled and coursed within me. My teeth itched and grew, my wings rustling down my flanks as I changed into my wendigo self.

I head an intake of breath from Mitre, of course, he’d never seen this before had he? Probably heard about it or read it in reports, but in reality, it must be quite the sight. I was more worried about Tingles’ reaction. She eyed me with the same fear as she had in the chamber of the fortress and moved back ever so slightly into the pillow.

“I’m so sorry love,” I said quietly, “I never meant to hurt you…I would never do that, but I have to do this to save you and our foal, do you understand?”

She nodded weakly and tried to hold out a trembling hoof. I took it carefully and leaned over her stroking her mane with my other. The tangerine mare closed her eyes as I lowered my muzzle over hers, dripping the silver-blue life giving fluid into her open mouth. She took it all in, unsure at first and then hungrily, tasting, drinking, lapping at my teeth and tongue. I could sense the strength returning to her, bringing her back from the very brink of death.

But now I was in trouble, Tingles was taking all I had, and was desperate for more. She pulled at me, feeding from me both for herself and the foal. I gave all I could until there was no more to give, yet still she tried until eventually, exhausted, she released me and I fell to the floor barely conscious. Mitre rushed to my side, “Here lad, drink this…”

He held a flask of silver life energy up to my lips and poured it in slowly. My mouth felt like all the moisture had been sucked from it and I snatched the flask from the big blue stallion, gulping the stuff down as fast as I could. I nearly threw up from drinking too fast, but just about managed to keep myself together somehow. I gasped in a breath, Goddesses, that was an ordeal.

I heard a brief movement beside me, ”Tingles!”

I stood up on quavering legs to look down upon the smiling face of an almost glowing tangerine mare.

“I knew you’d come back to me one day…” Her voice was still a little strained, but I could sense her returning strength, both in her words and those beautiful green eyes.

I leaned over and kissed her gently, “I’m sorry love…I’m so, so sorry…”

Tingles reached her forelegs up and hugged me, “Theres nothing to forgive, it was you, but it wasn’t you…it frightened me and when you shouted at me to go…I didn’t know what to do, I panicked and ran.”

“I’d never hurt you love, Luna knows I’d never do that”

“Fairlight, listen, theres…something I need to tell you…it’s about the agency…”

“I know what happened love, you did what you did out of loyalty to Celestia, I understand that.”

“Theres more to it than that…please, Fairlight, Warlock is….is…Oh!”

“What is it?” I near shouted.

“The foal! Its…its moving, oh goddesses, its…”

“Mitre! Get a nurse in here, for Luna’s sake!”

Right on queue a bubbly yellow mare bounced in, took one look at the scene and started grabbing equipment. She was like a blur, everywhere at once and despite an outwardly chaotic manner, completely in control. The nurse gave orders to Mitre and myself, gently but firmly moving Tingles into a position so she could birth.

Tingles shouted for me and I rushed to her side, “Oh Fairlight! I’m scared!”

“Its alright love, you’ve got the best nurse in Manehattan here and you’re doing great. I’m right here with you every step of the way.”

She started to cry, but still listened to the instructions the little nurse gave her. Tingles shouted, screamed, swore and cracked me right across the muzzle at one point, but managed to give one last push and flopped exhausted onto the pillow, her mane soaked with sweat. I reached over with a damp flannel and wiped her face, neck and chest while she lay there panting.

“You did it love…” I smiled, “you are the best pony”

Tingles gave a quiet nod and looked up as the nurse brought over a tiny creature wrapped in a soft white blanket. The little unicorn foal, grey like it’s dad with big yellow eyes and black and white striped tail, stared up at me in wonderment.

I had a quick peek, “He’s a he!” I stammered, “I…I’m a dad! You…you’re a mum! Oh bloody hell fire! Mitre! I…”

“Calm down boy!” the Chief laughed, “Good grief, let Tingles see the little one too!”

Tingles smiled as she gave the tiny scrunched up life a nuzzle, “He’s just like you…a tiny Fairlight. What should we call him?”

“How about Rock?”

“Fairlight! For goodness sake, no!”

We both laughed, Mitre looking confused and the nurse busy around us wiping down and tidying up with a buoyant grin on her face. When our new family member was safely placed in the heated basket next to mum, I walked over to Mitre and hugged him.

“Thanks old friend, without you…”

“I know lad, that was quite the ride.”

The nurse received a hug too, whether she wanted one or not, “Thanks Quill, you’re a wonderful mare. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart.”

“Do I know you?” she asked in her chirpy voice.

“No, but I’ve heard all about you. You’re the best.”

“Yeah! I am aren’t I!” she bounced happily from the room.

Mitre was speaking quietly on his comms device, before turning to address me, “Fairlight, we need to go, there more agency ponies coming and it won’t be good if they find you here”

Tingles gasped, “No! I need him here!”

“Tingles, if he’s caught you may never see him again, see sense girl.” He placed a hoof on her shoulder and smiled, “We’ll bring you to him the first chance we get, but for now, he was never here and you never saw him, understand?”

She nodded, then turned to me, “I want to be with you Fairlight, I should never have run off like that…”

“It’s alright love,” I smiled, kissing her on the nose,”It’s all good now. We’ll see each other soon,”, I kissed her again and then the tiny foal who gave a little squeak before curling up into a ball, “…and you too little one.”

Mitre and I rushed to the door, but I paused, turning back briefly, “I still like ‘Rock’”.