All my thoughts, the doubts, fears, even optimism, I suppressed now, focussing on one single goal…Find Shadow. The pendant’s light was leading me north, skirting past the mountains and up over the Everfree forest. I’d released a lot of my strength now, focussing on flight only. To anypony watching, I probably looked like one of those batponies, the ones Luna employed as her personal guards. My eyes were different, but fortunately so few equestrians had seen the reclusive creatures that I could probably get away with the impersonation if need be.

I had the transformation collar with me just in case, however it was only intended to change you to a unicorn or earth pony, pegasi were beyond its design. Must be the wings I suppose.

The seemingly endless panorama of dark green trees spread out in all directions, dense black clouds scudding across the cloud layer below. Up here though, the air was clean and crisp, with the warm sun high above me in the perfect blue sky. It was if Equestria itself was blessing me and I felt incredibly alive.

I banked and rolled, stretching out my wings in the sunlight. This was first chance I’d had to really try them out properly and get a ‘feel’ for flying. Most of the time, Tingles and I had been struggling to get from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’ and I was certainly no experienced flier, but now…now I could cut loose. Surprisingly, it was a lot easier than i’d thought. My earth bound mind was the biggest barrier I’d had to overcome, trying to readjust it to understanding that barrel rolling and looping was perfectly normal.

Occasionally I still felt that little lurch of nausea. At first, it happened mostly when I lost sight of the ground. Now, it really only tended to affect me when I really pushed myself to make hard manoeuvres and ended up not being able to tell up from down. Still, I felt I was getting the hang of this and even beginning to enjoying. Hell yeah! I could have been a pegasi. I bet before long I could even match that multi coloured filly in Ponyville, the one with the designer hair. The girls told me it was natural, but theres no way…she must have had one hell of a stylist. Either that or her mother must have been on some major narcotics when she was pregnant with her. I laughed, swooping down to skim over the cloud tops. Goddesses, this was great!

Time passed quickly above the clouds, especially with my newly developed passion for trying out different flying manouevres. The sun however, was intent on spoiling my fun for the day and beginning to dip towards the horizon. Soon, Luna would be sending up her moon and the first day of my journey would be nothing more than a memory. I had no idea what time it was, dad’s old watch was secured in a pocket I coudn’t easily reach, but regardless, I was starting to feel more than a little fatigued and began to look for a resting place for the night. Yawning, I smacked my lips; definitely time to find a spot to land.

Below me, the forest had thinned out to rolling lush grassland with a winding narrow river that twinkled merrily in the sunlight. From up here, I could see the land was actually in a very wide, shallow valley; home to a number of houses and outlying farms. An expansive cherry orchard looked like a nice spot to come in and I dipped below the tree line with a practical, if not exactly elegant, landing. As much as I enjoyed flying, it was definitely a pleasure to feel firm ground beneath my hooves once again and already my stomach was beginning to rumble in expectation of food.

Rather than dip into my supplies and sleep out under the stars, I slipped on the transformation collar and trotted up to the nearest farm building. It was a neat, if practical affair, of heavy white wooden beams and burgundy panelling. A few tubs of flowers had been arranged outside that made it look more homely. The property was warmy lit too, I could see several ponies moving about inside and the sound of laughter rang out from behind the cream coated, red haired mare who answered the door.

“Hello, can I help you?” She had a lovely, warm country accent that reminded me of home, a roaring fire and good old fashioned home cooking.

“Good evening ma’am,” I nodded politely, “I’m looking for a place to stop for the night, and food if possible. I’m willing to pay if you have a spare place for me.”

She eyed me up and down, “A pony in need, huh? Let me ask my boys.”

The door closed and the murmur of discussion could be heard from the room beyond. It was a damned shame I couldn’t hear it, but it didn’t last long. The door opened again and a bulky strawberry red stallion appeared, chewing on a length of tobacco,

“You looking for work?”

“No sir,” I replied, “just a place to sleep for the night, food too if there is any. I can pay.”

“Yeah”, he spat a black gobbet of the tobacco juice onto the ground, “Reckon you can use the barn. Two bits okay?”

“Sure thing”

I fished two bits out of my bag and tossed them to him, which he caught in his jacket pocket. Neat trick!

He shouted over his shoulder, “Hattie, bring the boy some food will ya?”

I waited patiently while the stallion just stood there…chewing. It was a bloody awful habit and one I’d never seen the appeal in. One of my pals at school had offered me some once and being the adventurous sort that I was, I’d given it a go. Unfortunately, my adventure ended rather prematurely when I violently threw up my stomach contents into the waste paper basket, much to the amusement of my ‘friends’. The stallion in front of me now must have had a stomach lined in lead.

Thankfully, the awkward silence was broken by ‘Hattie’, reappearing with a plate of stew balanced on her back.

“Thank you ma’am, sir. I’ll be away at first light, so I’ll leave the dishes by the door” I nodded gratefully and levitated the plate steaming goodness away, heading for the barn and a well deserved rest.

The barn itself was dark, but a lantern hanging up from a hook fizzed into life with a little tinkering and a flame from my horn. I had to give my complements to the chef, the food was fantastic; a mix of soft grains and crunchy vedgetables which were probably locally grown. I found a spot in the hay loft and even an old blanket which would serve nicely until morning. These country types seemed to be a little rough around the edges, but were good ponies at heart. The apple family back in Ponyville had been a friendly bunch too if I remembered correctly.

Fiddling about in my pack I found some nice little extras, including a few standbys. Mitre had included a pulse gun which was broken down into handy sections for stowage; practical and deadly. I genuinely hoped I wouldn’t need to use the thing, but at least it was there if the situation demanded, and together with a good number of spare crystals too; nothing like being prepared to help settle nerves.

Considering where I was going, I suppose I ought to have resigned myself to the fact I probably would need the thing. It was better that than relying on my magic reserves too heavily, after all I still had no idea how long this expedition was going to take.

My attention was caught be a light tap on the barn door, “Hello? Anypony in here?”

I poked my head over the ledge from the hayloft, “Up here, is everything alright?”

The lime coated filly smiled up at me in the glow from her lantern, “Mum’s sent me over with some pie, sir. If you like, theres cream too.”

She walked closer until I was able to levitate the pie and jug of cream from her back. Thanking the girl, she bobbed her head and trotted off back to the main house. I’d smelt home cooking before, but this was something else altogether. The sweet, tartness of the cherry pie and mellow cream was simply heavenly, and before long I was drifting off into a deep sleep, full of good food and relaxed by the simple rustic setting of the hay barn.

My dreams were a lot better than they had been of late. Images of Meadow, Tingles, and the foals, playing together in the sunshine of a golden cornfield made my heart soar. Lumin and Sparrow frolicked and laughed, chasing one another while I lay there watching them, smiling happily. Meadow and Tingles were singing a song from one of Equestria’s many festivals, this one was winter wrap up. I had no idea why, with sunshine and blue skies overhead, why think of cold and snow? It didn’t matter anyway, everypony was here and I was happy, truly happy. In essence, the best way to describe it was…contentment.

Something made me stir, spoiling the wonderful dream and dragging me back to this less idyllic setting. Whatever had woken me, was also waking up the main farm buildings occupants and I could hear irritated voices from inside even here. My senses were beginning to bristle. I didn’t like the sound of this, there was an edge to the words being spoken and I quietly descended the ladder to listen.

Secreted in the darkness of the barn, I could just about make out the shapes of three ponies in the light spilling from the farm house’s open door. The strawberry stallion’s deep voice was raised in annoyance,

“…and I keep telling yer, theres no such pony here.”

The second voice sounded like it belonged to a pony used to being obeyed and certainly not being argued with,

“Sir, intelligence leads us to believe that the fugitive headed this way. Yours is the most remote farm in the village and an ideal place for him to hide.”

“Yer daft, that what yer are.”

“Sir, we have an official order to allow us to search your property, please see sense.”

“No! Piss off!”

“Dad, for Celestia’s sake, let me handle this. Sirs, what’s going on?” It was the young filly who’d brought me the pie and cream.

Sirs? More than one then…

“Madam, have you seen this pony?” The official pony asked her, ignoring the farm stallion.

“No…a unicorns staying here at the minute, but he doesn’t look anything like that fellow. He’s in the barn, but he’ll be asleep I reckon. Can you come back in the morning?”

There was a brief muttering from the visitors, “No. We’ll go and speak to this pony now, he may have seen the one we’re after.”

Oh shit! They were coming this way, time for me to grab my gear and bail. I rushed back up the ladder and quickly secured my equipment just as the palace guardponies walked in, high powered lanterns sweeping the place. I clicked the crystal on the collar just in time…

“You there! Stop where you are!”

“Great Celestia!” I squeaked, “I’m just a pony down on his luck looking for work, sirs. I haven’t done anything wrong!”

The guard pony officer was a fit young stallion and he watched me warily with his blue eyes as I stepped out in front of them. Another guard approached me, holding up a picture in the lamplight,

“It’s not him sir,” she said shaking her head, “doesn’t look anything like him. The one we’re looking for is grey with blue eyes, a scar and…”

The officer slammed his hoof down, “I know what he looks like! Damn it…come on, lets…” he turned to leave then looked back at me narrowing his eyes, “Where did you come from? There’s nowhere for miles around.”

I tried to look as innocent as possible, “I was born in Fetlock sir, but I heard there may be work out here, so i’m hoping they’ll hire me on”

“Hmmm, sounds reasonable. Wain, try the goggles on him.”

“Sir!”

Hang on, I didn’t like the sound of that. I tried to look nonchalant but looked for a way out, just in case. One of the guards slipped on a weird set of goggles that glowed with a magical blue light, then proceeded to look me up and down. My muscles tensed, I hadn’t seen anything like this before but I had that feeling…

“Dear Celestia…” he gasped, “It’s him!”

And then the shit really hit the fan. The royal guards all rushed me at once, trying to grapple me. I span, bucking one in the face with a metallic clang and throwing him back into his colleague leaving both of them in a tangled heap. Taking my chance, I leaped over the prone guard ponies and spread my wings with a snap, bursting up and out into the night sky. Shouts and yells followed me, including several crossbow bolts that mercifully fell short of their intended target.

I didn’t bother to look back, the cloud layer ahead would help me avoid detection and I poured out my full energy into flying there as fast as I could. The palace guard were soon dwindling to dots, despite their best efforts to catch up. Unfortunately for me though, there was no way I could keep up this pace for too long, and, still keeping to the clouds, I eventually had to slow my pace to allow my wings a chance to recover. Goddesses they ached. Maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a pegasus after all, this was hard work! At least I didn’t have to worry about wearing armour like the guard ponies did. If they hadn’t been wearing it, they may well have been all over me by now.

In the moonlight, I popped my head above the clouds and looked about, there was no sign of pursuit, thank Luna. Checking my heading with the crystal, I flew on unto dawn. How the hell had they tracked me? Or was I just that unlucky? Ponies used to say I was, but that was just mindless superstition, wasn’t it? Maybe Warlock been up to his tricks or had Celestia’s net been thrown that wide just to try and catch one single pony? Actually, I think I knew the answer to that already.

The sun was beginning to light the sky as the hills gave way to a marshy looking expanse, and what I believed to the Foal Mountains in the distance if Mitre’s map was anything to go by. Goddesses knew where the crystal’s light was going to take me, it could be the other side of the world for all I knew.

In my musings I completely missed the shower of crossbow bolts until one clipped my hind leg, taking with it a sizeable chunk of Fairlight. The shock of pain at least gave me a chance to dodge the next barrage that whistled past moments after the first. The pegasi dove into view, hurtling after me like a swarm of furious bees; more of bloody Celestia’s goons by the looks of them, this lot weren’t wearing heavy armour either.

I banked steeply, allowing myself to try out some of my new moves. I rolled left then right, narrowly avoiding another of the deadly bolts intent on striking its intended target. Flying steeply into the sun, I hoped the light would blind them long enough to shake them off my tail in the clouds. No such luck though, the fuckers were all over my arse like a frigging rash.

Regardless of all the diving and climbing, the pegasi remained stuck to me and wouldn’t let up for a second. Sooner or later, one of their shots was going to hit me and I would likely never see my girls again, at least not in this world. Yet despite my will to survive, I didn’t want to kill these ponies; that bloody oath I’d sworn was beginning to hound me and would probably follow me to my grave if I wasn’t careful. I had to come up with something else and fast.

A flash of inspiration struck me, with ‘flash’ being the operative word. Levitating out a flashbug in my magic, I shook the little cylinder as hard as I could and prayed to Luna this would work. The squeak of outrage from inside was all the warning I needed and I tossed the thing up and behind me, barely clearing it as it detonated. The ensuing bang and yells from my pursuers allowed me a chance to drop to near ground level and rapidly weave in amongst the rocks and trees until I found, thank the goddesses, what looked like a cave to take cover in.

I shot in through the rocky opening like a comet, and immediately paid the price for my panicked recklessness. My large wings had clipped the entrance as I ploughed into the dark interior causing me to lose control. My flailing hooves smacked into something hard and I tripped, the impact sending me cartwheeling and skidding until I crashed helplessly into a heap of rocks, muck and goddess knows what else. It was only by the grace of Luna I wasn’t killed outright or knocked out, but that didn’t stop my head from ringing like the old school bell in Ponyville. My vision too, was horribly blurred and gut wrenching pain wracked my body. I was in a mess…

“He went in here, Captain”

Shit, they’d seen me. I’d nearly crippled myself for nothing and the bastards were already advancing on me.

“By the numbers ponies, take him alive, but if he resists, kill him. Don’t take any chances with this monster, you know what he did to the relocation team.”

I couldn’t help but snort in derision; ‘Relocation team’, eh? Yeah, right, the ‘prison guards’ more like, and this lot thought that was me somehow? Hornlocked, chained in the back of a sky carriage with armed guards, and somehow I magically took them all out? I’d be laughing if I didn’t feel like throwing up my insides right now. My eyes were full of grit and blood was pouring from a nasty gash on my head. Trying to move, I muffled a cry as white hot pain lanced through me from, I suspected, a broken leg. I looked down but couldn’t see anything for the crap in my eyes and the congealing blood.

“First file, left side, covering by two’s…”

“Understood, moving in…”

Well, at least they sounded like they knew what they were doing. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a summary execution then, but either way, I didn’t think I’d be getting away them that easily. The water from my canteen washed away the worst of the grit from my eyes and I released a trickle of spirit magic into my body. To hell with my oath, I had to get to Shadow and to Tartarus with anypony who tried to stop me; if it damned me too…then so be it. My family came first.

I could feel the wounds and bones knitting back together, repairing the damage caused by my reckless headlong flight into the cave. Although the healing still hurt like hell, I offered a silent thanks for the wendigo’s healing power. Now at least I’d have some chance to fight back. I tried to grab a weapon, but my webbing and gear was hopelessly tangled and caught from the crash. I’d have to remove the whole damned lot and realign everything but there was no time to do that now. Reaching out with a hoof, I could just about get to the pulse but on closer examination, the fall had jammed the lock solid. I spat on the floor in frustration, I didn’t have time to mess about with the fuckers; steel and muscle it would have to be. Weighing up my options, I decided I had to make a stand. Weapons or no, I’d stop them here or they’d just hunt me down sooner or later.

In the darkness at the back of the cave, I waited and watched. The stench of rot and urine in this place was sickening and assailed my nostrils with its acrid stink, it had to be the lair of some sort of forest beast. I avoided looking down at what I was lying on, it felt distinctly…boney. Crouching down I felt something metallic hit my knee, it was the pommel of my sword. If I was careful, I could just about manage to draw it out…success!

I breathed a sigh of relief as the heavy thing came free. It wasn’t much against this many ponies, but it was something I could trust, something I knew. Using my magic in here would be deadly for these guys and I still had hopes of getting out of here with minimal injury, either to myself or them. Steeling myself, I readied my father’s old blade, ready to cut down Celestia’s royal guard. Dear goddesses, I’m sorry dad, I wish it hadn’t come to this.

Letting the magic course through my body, I slowly released the white mist into the cave. Closing my eyes and concentrating, I wove my will into the swirling fog, carefully tempering it so it wouldn’t harm the guards but was still thick enough to provide me with cover for when I made a break for it.

The ponies called to one another quietly, moving in on their quarry,

“You in there,” one of them shouted, “I’m giving you one chance to come out or we’ll have to take you by force.”

“Sorry boys,” I called back, “I have an important date and you’re in my way.” I laughed ironically, “Tell you what, I’ll give you guys one chance to fuck off or I’ll use force.”

“Why you…!”

Whoops! That riled them. Several bolts hissed over the boulder I was hiding behind and hit the rock wall at the back in a shower of sparks.

“What was that?” one of them said suddenly, looking over his shoulder, “Thought I saw something…”

“Are there snakes in here? I can hear hissing…”

The officer spat on the floor, “Secure that shit, Hocks. Keep your eyes peeled everypony, this fuckers in here and he’s got some weird magic going on. Beans, bring the pulse guns up front trooper.”

“Yes, sir”

“Celestia! We’ve got movement…fifteen metres, can’t focus on it in this damned mist.”

“Jazz, ready a flashbug, we’ll winkle the bastard out.”

“It’s not coming from that direction! It’s behind us!”

“Then you’re not reading that thing properly, give it here…”

The officer took the goggles from the hapless pony and put them on, “Right, lets have a l…” his scream was cut short by something large and black taking him off down a side passage. The rest all started shouting at once,

“Oh fuck! They’re in the walls! They’re in the fucking walls!”

“Fall back, covering fire…now!”

A torrent of bright green pulse gun fire lashed out, the screams of ponies and…something else…echoed around me making my already frigid blood run cold. I hadn’t got a clue what was going on, but it scared the crap out of me. My bones and wounds had healed thank the goddesses, and I’d managed to re-arrange my tangled kit so I could reach my PDW. My sword was back in its sheath to avoid using my magic and the glow giving away my position. That said, I don’t think it exactly mattered too much at this point though, as the ponies in the cave were starting to take heavy casualties from some unseen foe.

Around me, rocks were being pulverised and blasted into fragments by the wild firing of the pegasi, but their terrified screams were beginning to lessen. Frighteningly, I could hear some cries for help from further away being cut off by hissing and growling before yet more screams of agony assailed me. Pulling myself up from the rocks, I headed back the way I’d come in. It was a lot further than I’d thought, but my eyes gave me a distinct advantage in here. Forming more of the mist around my hooves, I kept feeding magic into it until the ethereal fog shimmered and swirled around me. Being white coated in my wendigo form, I would have been all but invisible if not for my various packs and other gear, but there was no helping that.

To hell with it, I changed my mind about using my telekinesis. The ponies would probably never notice the glow in the state they were in now and I reached for my sword. With a flourish, it flicked out of it scabbard and I held it low as I’d been taught in the watch. Stabbing was always preferable to slashing, it left you less open but in any case, while ‘they’ were distracted by killing each other, I might be able to get out of this charnel house…If I moved quickly enough.

Keeping low and to the walls, I moved as quickly and as quietly as I could until one of my hooves hit something soft, making my freeze. I looked down into the torn face of one of the pegasi that was staring up at me, his glassy eyes having seen the last of this harsh world. There was nothing anypony could do for him now. I stepped over the hapless pony and moved on towards the distant daylight. More bolts of magical energy flashed past me followed by loud rattling growls. What the hell were these things? Whatever the were, they were cutting through the pegasi like butter, and pony body parts lay scattered around me in a grotesque trail leading back to the entrance.

A bony, clicking noise from above my right side made me stop dead in my tracks. Looking up slowly, a pair of slit-pupiled green eyes stared right back at me. I could feel the things breath on my face as it let out a long low hiss, the blue from my eyes glinting off its shiny, angular body. Two could play at that game. I opened my mouth, showing my wickedly sharp long teeth and hissed back at the thing, thick translucent mist dripping from between my teeth. Whatever effect this had on the beast, it worked; the thing backed away from me, keeping a careful distance but still continued to watch me warily. I was all too aware there would be more of them nearby, and I focussed my attention into getting the hell out of here before that ‘thing’ or its pals changed their minds about trying me out for a snack.

Breathing hard, I could see the entrance up ahead. There were three ponies that I could see, outlined at the mouth of the cave. They were talking hurriedly, their voices carried to me by the echoing confined space,

“…Are you fucking kidding me? Maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events Lieutenant, but we just got our arses kicked in there!”

“I say we MAD the bastard and his friends into the next world. ‘Boom!’, problem solved.”

“That’s right! Yes…blow the fucker and those…things…to the underworld!”

“We’ve got our orders, trooper”

“To hell with those fucking orders! If you want to go back in there, do it yourself. I’m staying here.”

One of the pegasi started to argue but was cut off by a pulse gun shoved in his mouth, “Arrow, you got an M.A.D there?”

“Right here”

“Set it up, throw it and let’s blow the place”

By the time the pegasi threw the device into the cave, I was already running…

When ponies tell you things happen in slow motion, it’s not always the case; In this one, definitely not. The concussive force of the blast caught me despite the ice shield I threw up, and flung me heavily into a side passage as the world around me filled with a heart stopping intensity of light, sound and fire. If I hadn’t been using my spirits full energy when the explosion hit, they’d have been sending me back to Tingles in a shoe box. Not that they’d bother of course, besides, I wasn’t even sure Tingles even wore shoes. Hmmm, a thought for a later date. Why the hell was I even thinking this?! Was I…oh goddesses, my body was…broken, badly. My wings had been burnt to stinking crisps and half my fur was gone, the half that survived had been protected by my packs and other gear which smoked from where the flames had singed it. I could still feel things though and I think I must have either been in shock, or the spirit’s magic was keeping me from blacking out.

Without pause, I concentrated my efforts on healing before doing anything else, directing magic into the areas which…hell fire…I could really feel it now, this hurt…

I coughed blue blood onto the cave floor, feeling my heart hammering in my chest, the stink of burnt hair making my stomach churn. Laying in a pool of my own gore, I fought to stay conscious and keep the magic flowing, if I passed out now I’d never leave this place and end up food for the things that lived in here.

Time passed, and slowly, painfully, I felt my body becoming whole once more. I took a deep breath and stretched out my legs…they looked to be in order thank the goddess. Brushing bits of rock and debris from my coat, I muttered bitterly to myself, “Bloody hell fire”. Being mangled was rapidly becoming a habit these days, and it was a habit I really need to get out of before it killed me.

With just a few re-adjustments, I checked over my gear which apart from a few scorch marks and snapped straps, was still remarkably intact. Thank Luna the flasks of life energy weren’t smashed though. Mercifully they’d been in the pannier opposite the wall I’d been flung into; it was luck, sure, and I was damned grateful for it. I took a deep draught of one before feeling brave enough to try putting any weight on my legs. Gritting my teeth I let out a long breath of relief, they worked.

Shaking my mane, I looked at my surroundings. The side passage had been filled with suffocating smoke and heat, but a steady flow of air was mercifully coming from somewhere, or else I’d probably have died of something other than that bloody bomb.

I brushed the last of the debris from my coat and readjusted the saddle packs and bags; there was nothing worse than grit under a pack for irritating your hide and things were bad enough as it was without adding to it through carelessness. I couldn’t see much in this complete darkness, but my wendigo vision was able to make out just enough to see the tunnel I was in stretching off ahead of me; the one behind me was now a solid wall of collapsed rock. There was the unmistakable scent of fresh air coming from somewhere up ahead, and instinctively I knew that was my way out. Ice cold water dripping from the roof tickled my ear, and I stuck my tongue out to take it in. There was no sense wasting an opportunity like this and unnecessarily using my supplies. Fortunately, most of my provisions had survived and as I had no idea how long I was going to be down here yet, I was going to be careful how I used them.

A scratching noise by my hind leg caught my attention, making me look around at it’s source. What I saw made me jump back, nearly falling over in surprise. Behind me was a small, black, leathery creature with bright green eyes. It was almost like a bizarre cross between a bat and a dog, with rows of lethally sharp teeth and wings. My heart rate was just starting to come back down. This thing was all of your worst nightmares in one terrifying package, albeit a very small one. If I made it out of here alive, I’d probably be having nightmares for bloody months.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t moving. I backed up away from it and was turning to leave when the thing coughed and let out a long plaintive squeal, a big pair of luminous green eyes looking up at me almost pleadingly. The creature was obviously hurt, its mouth opening and closing in short panting breaths. Goddess forgive me, was I going to leave a living being to die in here, alone in the dark?

Against my better judgement, my heart won the day over my head and I knelt down on the rocky floor, trying to gently slip my fore hooves under the small body. As soon as I made contact, it cried out pitifully, the leathery things wings flapping uselessly like torn paper. I looked down at it and the narrowed green eyes that peered back up at me, it reminded me of something…or somepony.

Shaking my mane to help me focus on the task at hoof, I took a breath and allowed the silver blue fluid to begin welling in my maw, drizzling it slowly, drop by drop into the creature’s mouth. It responded. A small red tongue darted out, tasting the life giving elixir, making it shudder and whimper. Although reluctant at first, on some level it must have known in its animalistic mind, that this white pony with the burning blue eyes was trying to help save its life.

Drip by slowly falling drip, the creature took in the liquid life, its eyes glowing brighter, muscles filling out and stubby wings flapping enthusiastically. Truly a strange being, I’d never seen its like, but sadly I had no time to marvel at it and had to keep moving. There was the very real concern that the soldiers would find another way in to the cave system and block that too, or else call for reinforcements. I wasn’t going to hang around to find out though, I had to shift flank.

Without warning, the small creature let out a squawk and abruptly landed on my back, digging its small claws into my hide and nearly making me buck him off instinctively. But instead, I stood still, waiting for hungry teeth or claws to rend me which never came. It just sat there and began nuzzling my mane, emitting a purring sound like a domestic house cat. Well, whatever this thing was it’d decided my back was its new home and so, resignedly, I trotted off with my peculiar companion in tow.

It was a junction in the passage that brought me to a halt. One way had the stronger feeling of moving air and the smell of water, the other smelt faintly musty. The one with the fresh air and water it was then, and away I…we…went, trotting for what felt like miles in the darkness.

Soon, the tunnel took a downward angle and I felt myself automatically picking up speed, the scent of water and air, fresh air, was stronger than ever now. I felt a rush of excitement, I might be able to get out of here yet! Still, I had to watch my footing, hooves and rocks don’t mix that well.

The passage eventually opened out into a cavern that had me pulling up short, my mouth hanging open in astonishment. It was akin to a cathedral in scale if not larger. Simply put, it was…monumental.

I was standing on the rocky shore of a vast underground lake. The inky black water as motionless as the surface of a mirror, disappeared out into the distance. Massive rocks the size of houses as well as stalagmites and stalactites taller than I was, were liberally sprinkled throughout the otherworldly vista making me feel like I was in another world altogether. Strangely coloured crystals in the rock walls, similar to the ones in the chamber at the fortress, leant the cavern an ethereal ambient light. It was, in truth, one of the most engaging sights I’d ever seen and was truly breathtaking. My little companion chirruped behind me and snuggled further into my back. By the feel of it the enigmatic creature was wrapping my mane around itself like a blanket, I wonder what Meadow would make of this ?

“Don’t. Fucking. Move…”

I stood stock still, the soldier pushing the cold metallic muzzle of a pistol into the side of my head. She watched me intently, backing away slightly but keeping the weapon trained on me until we were just stood there, watching each other warily. She looked like your typical guard pony, but her eyes were wide and her breath was laboured,

“All my ponies…” she snarled, “Dead. Dead, because of you…you cursed demon!”

“Don’t be a fool, soldier”, I snapped back at her, “We’re both in some seriously deep shit here, and you’ve got a gun on me?”

The soldier looked unsure for a moment, but wasn’t so easily swayed, “You are my prisoner and will follow my orders”, she clicked off the safety, “or I will shoot you where you stand.”

I raised an eyebrow, “And ruin your best chance of getting out of here alive?”

She smirked at me, “I can find my own way out, with or without your help.”

“Bullshit, you’re as stuck as I am!”

“Shut your fucking mouth!”, her foreleg swung round like lightening, smashing me across the muzzle with the pistol. The impact made the little creature on my back shriek and flap up into her face before disappearing out across the water. Shouting in anger and fright, the soldier fired her pistol at the creature, the green bolts of energy reflecting brightly off the walls and water leaving a vivid afterimage.

Angrily, I threw myself at her, knocking the soldier off her hooves. The two of us scuffled on the uneven ground, trying desperately to best one another, the mare attempting to shoot me and myself trying to get the pistol away from her and not get hit in the process.

Despite my usual assertions about the quality of the royal guard, she was damned well trained. One of her hind leg lashed out with unerring accuracy and kicked me right in the nuts making me gasp in pain and shock. The follow up blow made me see stars and I staggered back, allowing the mare a chance to level her pistol at me once again.

“You’re in league with them, those…‘things’! They’re the ones that killed my team, ripped them to pieces before my very eyes. This is all your fault, it’s you…you’re evil, utterly evil!” the pistol shook in her grip as her eyes narrowed in hatred, “I was going to take you in, but I can’t let something like you into Equestria. You have to be put down, for the sake of everypony.”

“You’re a fool if you believe that soldier”, I wheezed, “I could have killed you at any time, but I don’t want to become a killer…just, put the gun down, please. Let’s work together and get out of here.”

She sneered at me, “Your silver tongue doesn’t fool me demon! I’m going to send you back to hell where you should have stayed…”

I waited for the shot, but instead of a green flash, I saw her looking up quizzically, as if something had just dripped on her head. A blood chilling look of abject horror spread across her her face and her mouth hung open in a silent scream. Quickly, I turned my head to look towards what she was seeing…

Towering over the guard pony, the enormous translucent worm like thing, dripped water and slime from its slick body. Sharp, thin teeth as long as my foreleg ringed a mouth that could doubtless swallow a pony whole. The hideous thing was terrifyingly similar to what I’d encountered in the Wither world and I had no misconceptions about how deadly they were. This one was roughly the same size as the lake monster that had eaten Shadow’s sister too. Goddesses in their heaven, I didn’t want to see that again.

“Soldier,” I whispered, “get behind me and keep quiet.”

Her eyes wild, she glanced at me before raising her PDW,

“NO!”

The mare fired a quick succession of blasts at the white creature, many of them scoring hits and making it scream in pain and anger. Those hideous cries echoed across the cavern, sending chills up my spine while the guard pony ran in a panic, loosing off more shots before tripping in the darkness. With no more light than from the natural crystals around us, running was potentially suicidal on this type of ground. Unluckily for her, she didn’t have the benefit of my ‘freaky eyes’ as somepony had called them. On reflection, maybe it was just as well, or she may have seen those hideous teeth descending on her. I ran towards her, trying to distract the damned creature with a blast of blue fire from my horn, but it was far too late.

The soldier was fiddling with an MAD when the massive white worm thing swallowed her. The moment the creature’s slime dripping teeth engulfed the pony, I caught a glimpse of the green light of the device and turned to run as hard and as fast as I could. From the dark ceiling, the tiny creature I’d saved earlier, flapped down and squawked insistently beside my head, before racing off along the rocky shore line. I didn’t stop to think, but followed my new friend just as the MAD detonated.

I threw up a magical shield of spirit energy just as thick black ichor and rubbery shrapnel began raining down in chunks big enough to crush a pony’s skull. We continued to race along the shore, through an archway and into a tunnel, as fast and as far away from the carnage behind us as I could get. I careered dangerously along corridor after corridor until finally coming to a gasping, panting halt, my heart hammering in my chest. By Celestia’s hairy arse, I thought I was going to throw up…

Squeaking madly, the flapping creature leapt up onto my back once more, nuzzling me with its head for all it was worth. Breathlessly, I sank to my knees in complete exhaustion, for fucks sake, what the bloody hell was that thing? If I hadn’t known better, I’d have sworn I was back in the Wither world already. The worm thing in the cave, the strange bat like creatures, this was Equestria wasn’t it?

Squeezing my eyes shut, I took deep calming breaths and gave myself a shake, careful not to dislodge my new friend. A thought intruded into my mind…‘corridor’. Lifting my head up, I magicked up a flame and looked closer at my surroundings. My vision was reasonable in darkness without the aid of artificial light, but here there was something I wanted to see up close. My eyes must have been as wife as saucers, we were in a pony made corridor, or at least I presume one made by ponies. It was cut stone certainly, old too. There was a strong musty smell and by the distinct lack of tracks, I imagine it hadn’t been used in a very, very long time. What in Equestria was this place?

My unusual companion had fallen asleep on my back, the mad flight from the cavern had exhausted both it and me, but my curiosity was piqued and I was determined to keep going. A quick drink of water and one of Heathers oat cakes and I was good to go once more. Extinguising the flame, I allowed my vision to reaccustom itself to the darkness and followed the corridor, avoiding the odd stones that had fallen from the wall along the way. Following a curve in the corridor, my nose began to twitch, I could smell something…

From up ahead, there was definitely the smell of smoke, it was getting stronger too, acrid and cloying. It had a familiar tinge to it, one that reminded me of some of the street vendors in the griffin areas of manehattan. It was like…meat, burning.

I check my gear before continuing warily along the corridor. Before long, the passage opened out into a large empty hall with a wide central flight of steps cut into the rock itself. It was hard to make out much more, other than the sheer scale of it all. Whoever had designed and built this place had a definite leaning towards big architecture.

Climbing the staircase, my hooves echoed loudly, making me flinch at each and every step. I could only hope the sound didn’t attract any unwanted attention, I’d had quite enough of that already. Upon reaching the landing, the way ahead lead to yet another corridor, but still no sign of tracks in the dust. Maybe whatever, or whoever was causing the smell hadn’t come this way. No doubt I’d be finding out the answer to that question soon enough.

The burning smell was now quite intense and I was able to see the flickering of flames in the distant darkness…and shapes, moving. It wouldn’t do to go charging ahead, besides which my hackles were already up. I had a bad feeling about this situation, and considering my amazing ability to be ‘surprised’, I kept my sword ready and my magic simmering in the background. My diminutive companion seemed to be thinking along the same lines too as it leapt from my back to land of the dusty floor next to me, clacking its teeth menacingly.

My magic flowed through me, urging me onward. If something in here was going to attack me, I wanted to be ready, and I bloody well would be. Far too many had got the drop on me and this time, I was alert and prepared for whatever lay ahead…I hoped.

The corridor opened up once again into another large chamber. This time, lit by small fires dotted around the wide open central space. There, in the centre, was another soldier in burnished golden armour. Around him, lay the burning corpses of dozens of the things that had attacked them in the caves.

I had no idea how he’d gotten this far, but in the chaos of the attack and ensuing explosion, how many had been trapped in here? Unless…unless there was another way in…and out. I could only hope the stallion was willing to team up until we could get out of here.

“Hey soldier!” I called, “Don’t shoot, I’m on your side!”

He looked up suddenly loosing off a shot that sizzled past my flank, “Stay back! You’re that thing from the cave!”

Oh goddesses…”My names Captain Fairlight of the Equestrian Watch, soldier, and whether you like it or not we’re trapped in here together. I’m willing to work with you to get us both out of here alive and in one piece. What do you say?”

The stallion was panting and clearly at the end of his rope, “I can’t trust you!”

“Okay, no problem…I’ll leave you with your friends then…”

“NO!” he lowered his pistol looking around frantically in the dark, “For the love of Celestia…alright, just…come down here and no tricks!”

I nodded and trotted down the steps. As I approached, the little creature beside me let out a frightened sounding shriek and flew off into the gloom. Well, that wasn’t ominous was it! Shrugging it off, I approached the armoured royal guard pony, trying to look as harmless as possible. I didn’t want him having a sudden change of heart and putting a few energy bolts into me.

The soldier was wounded, but not badly. Scratches and burns covered his hide and his pupils were wide, probably from running on nothing but adrenalin. He reached into a pannier and took out a hoofful of crystals, reloading his pistol.

I smiled at him, trying to sound reassuring, “Whats your name trooper?”

“Corporal Nimble”, his eye twitched, “You know how to get out of this hell?”

“I wish I knew,” I replied honestly, “or I’d be out of here already. I was hoping you’d know, or at least have some idea. How did you manage to get this far and past that thing in the lake?”

His brow furrowed in thought, “Lake? No, we came in through another entrance through some ruins but these things came out of nowhere, they…they killed everypony. I think I’m the last one left, I ran as hard as I could, but now…”

I noticed his lantern, “Not much fuel left eh?”

He spat, “No…not many crystals either. I’m saving the last for me, I’m not being torn apart like my buddies.”

The soldier looked me up and down, “You try anything…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know the drill corporal. Look, my eyes are better in this light, lets see if we can backtrack your hoofprints.”

It was worth a shot. In fact, as there was only one other way into this room, I headed towards it and, hopefully, daylight. The soldier followed close behind, his lantern suspended on a pole strapped to his back. I was surprised to see they were still using oil lamps…weren’t there magic powered ones now? Bit pinching bloody bureaucracy most likely.

Fortunately, Corporal Nimble’s tracks were surprisingly visible to my eyes and the thick dust and muck lining the floor in this place made them stand out nicely. In the poor light from the oil lantern, I suspect the soldier hadn’t been able to see very well, especially since he’d been fighting for his life. He cleared his throat,

“Hey…what are those things that attacked us? I’ve never seen or heard of anything like them before in my life.”

“Don’t ask me”, I replied, “I’ve lived in Ponyville and Manehattan for years. The only weird creatures you see round there are drunks and the odd minotaur.”

“You’re from Manehattan?”

“Well, I wasn’t born there, but I worked in the Manehattan watch for years before I rose to captain.”

There was a pause, “I…I don’t understand…the colonel said you were a ‘dangerous monster that butchered ponies’, and that you’d murdered our boys who tried to send you into exile on the princess’s orders. Why would you do that if you worked in the watch?”

I sighed, “I didn’t kill them. It was a rogue element in the agency who, how can I put it…don’t like me very much. The others were just…in the way.”

“The agency did that? Those corrupt fuckers…”

“They’re not all bad corporal,” I gave my neck a quick scratch, “there’ll always be a few bad apples wherever you go. I worked with them for a while before…well, lets say Celestia wasn’t exactly happy when she found out a wendigo was working there.”

His mouth hung open for a moment while he stared at me, “Is that what you are?”

“Yeah, white coat and mist not a give away?”

“But…how did you work in the watch looking like that?”

The inquisitive corporals incessant questions were beginning to irritate me, but I suppose it was at least distracting me from dwelling on our current situation, “I don’t always look like this, it’s only when I use my magic…kinda. Most often I look like who I am, a regular unicorn. Like you corporal, I couldn’t help what I was born as.”

“So…you’ve always been a, what, a wendigo?”

“No, the tribe I came from used to enter into pacts with spirits but that was a long time ago. It was being sent to the Wither world that did this to me. Some bastards murdered my wife and foal before sending me there half dead. Now I’m back, and no fucker will leave me alone.”

“Your wife and foal? Goddesses…I’m…did you ever find out who did it?”

“Oh, yes. They’re dead…very”.

“Good,” he nodded assuredly, “if somepony did that to my Ruffles, I’d sent them to Tartarus by any means necessary.”

I sniffed the air, I thought I could detect something…something familiar, ”Hey, can you smell that?”

The corporal sat on his haunches momentarily while I tried to find where it was coming from, “Smell what?”

I turned to face him, “It smells like…wha?!”

He sat there looking at me, drawing lazily on a cigarette. The pungent smell of tobacco wafted over me in the dank corridor, “Sorry, would you like one?”

I face hoofed, but had to admit, “Yes, please…I would”. I magicked one out of his packet and lit it with a small flame from my horn. Meadow and Tingles would flog my hide if they found out, but down here, I didn’t give a damn right now.

I took a deep draw, sighing, “Thanks corporal.”

“You’re welcome Cap’”

That brought back memories. I’d almost forgotten that not that long ago this guy would have filled me full of burning holes, following his orders as a good soldier should. Now, it was like being back in the watch with an old comrade, covering each others back.

A few minutes later we were off once again, the tracks before us still nice and clear.

“Cap’…?”

“Hmmm?”

“Where are you going to go? When you get out of here that is, I mean, half the armies out after you, the palace guard too.”

“Wherever I can go corporal” I said solemnly, “I wish there was some way to clear my name, but noponies listening.”

“But what about Celestia, surely the princess…”

“…Wouldn’t listen, not even to her own sister.” I interrupted, a tinge of bitterness entering my voice, “So much for co-ruling eh? Anyway, the tribes of wendigo’s and our ‘beloved ruler’ have a history that goes back a long, long way.”

He didn’t reply, just followed me in silence.

The corridor made several turns before I spotted something up ahead, lying motionless in the dust. Stopping in my tracks, I held up a hoof to warn Nimble. His training kicking in, he kept silent, drawing his PDW and watching the darkness for any danger. Meanwhile, I took a few steps forward, magicking up a flame to light the way ahead and better see what the obstruction was. My companion gasped,

“Oh, hell…Bramble…those bastards…”

The mare’s armour hadn’t done much to help her, the long rents in the metal showed just how powerful her attackers had been. The hapless Bramble had been cut to ribbons and now lay in a goddess forsaken hole in the bowels of Equestria, her body half eaten. The corporal carefully recovered something from her armour and pocketed it, a deep look of determination warring with sadness on his face,

“Come on captain, theres nothing more we can do for her. Lets get the fuck out of here.”

I nodded solemnly, stepping around the stricken form of a former guard pony and once more following the tracks into the unknown. I was starting to warm to the corporal, he grew on you, but the terrible scene of his disembowelled comrade had silenced him. Although I was somewhat relieved I didn’t have to keep answering his incessant questions, I felt for him. Losing a comrade was a painful experience, but finding them like that, a bloody shredded mess…I sighed quietly, i’d been there too many times.

The tracks were all heading from one direction and I followed them closely, eventually coming to yet another large chamber, one that immediately made my hackles rise. The air in here was different from the corridors; heavy with the scent of burning flesh, and iron…blood. Corporal Nimble nickered quietly, “This is where the bastards hit us,” he whispered, “we weren’t far in from the entrance when it happened.”

It was no wonder they got disorientated, this place was huge. It was another massive cavern, natural this time, but no lake thank Luna. I magicked up a small flame and sent it ahead of us for a better look. The flickering light better illuminated what I could just about make out with my eyesight…bodies. Sweet goddesses…they were everywhere. Most had been cut down by tooth and claw, while others had been hit by their own side by the looks of it. Crossbow bolts and energy weapon wounds marred several of the corpses.

Casting around the flame, I found a couple of boxes of crystals lying on the ground by a pony who wouldn’t be needing them anymore. A broken pistol lay by the stricken soldier’s outstretched hoof. He’d been killed while trying to reload, the poor bastard.

It may not be much consolation for him, but at least his ammo could still help us. Pocketing one, I passed the other to the corporal who accepted it with a nod. Somehow, I doubted there was going to be any easy way out of this mess. I took out my PDW and allowed the magic to flow through me, casting out my senses and readying a shield. My magic tingled and I sensed…high above us…Dear goddesses…

“Nimble…” I whispered, “stay by my side, I’m going to raise a shield to cover us. Whatever you do, don’t stray from my side, you understand?”

“Aye, Captain.”

“Nice and quiet now…”

There must have been hundreds, maybe thousands of them, up in the black depths of the ceiling, hanging down like monstrous bats. Wings rustled quietly and the occasional chatter or squeak would remind us of their presence. My heart racing, I tried not to look up but kept myself facing forward, following the pattern of bodies to reach, what I hoped, would be our way out.

A furtive movement to my right made me pull up short. One of the bodies had just moved…

“Is…is somepony there?” the desperate whisper was barely audible. The corporal froze, “Hasp? Captain…one our boys is still alive!”

I looked closer. Hasp was buried under a number of other ponies and dead creatures alike; getting him out was going to be a bloody nightmare. I steeled myself, taking a quick draught from my flask and reached out with my magic to try and encase the stricken soldier. It wasn’t easy, but inch by torturous inch, my magic began pulling him gasping towards us, until with a kick from his hind legs, he was free and hobbling under his own power. I’d been concentrating so much on freeing Hasp, I almost missed the movement behind him. A loud hiss and rattling sound reverberated around the cavern making us all freeze. In near silence, a massive bat like thing, light from my magic glinting off its black leathery hide, rose up behind Hasp like some hideous rippling mountain.

I tried to snatch him in my magic and pull him in, but the bloody fool turned to face it and wasted time pulling out a PDW.

“No! Hasp,” I called out desperately, “get the fuck over here you idiot!”

The stallion just stood there and opened fire at the monstrous creature, laughing dementedly. I shouted to Nimble, “Forget him! Lets get the fuck out of here!”

The corporal shook his head, “For Celestia’s sake Captain, please, he’s my friend!”

“Hell fire Nimble!” I shouted at him, gathering my magic, “What the fucks up with you ponies?”

I aimed a bolt of blue fire past the creatures head, the blast missing the beast but making it recoil long enough for me to yank the traumatised Hasp under my shield.

I grabbed him with my magic, hoisting him off the ground and the three of us made for the passage the soldiers had originally entered from. At least I prayed to Luna that it was.

Hasp finally remembered how to use his legs and began to run with us. We were no more than a few yards away from what looked like another tunnel when a huge arm, tipped with claws like ships anchors, swept round and smashed into my shield taking all off us off our hooves. The ferocious impact was bone jarring, flinging us like rag dolls to slam into the unyielding rock wall.

Trying to pick ourselves up, an intense hissing and grating sound from above made us look up to see large gobbets of saliva dripping from between teeth that were as long as my whole body. Great red reptilian eyes glared down, viewing us as probably no more than the creatures next prospective dinner. I tried to stand, sliding on a pool of my own blue blood but I was determined to show the damned thing I would not back down, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to lie there and be eaten alive. I bared my teeth and released all my magic into my battered body, the muscle and sinew rebuilding, mist forming around me and my blue eyes shining out in the darkness. If it wanted a fight, it was going to get one it would never forget…

The giant reptile reared up then screamed out its anger at me, blasting hot fetid breath and sound like a battering ram. How the hell could I top that? I let a loud rumble from my throat, hissing as the silver blue fog built, white mist dripping from between my fangs. I snapped my wings open and my horn glowed blue, lighting the chamber and the nightmarish creature before us.

Hasp let out a strangled cry behind me, with Nimble trying to placate him quietly. I thought I heard a word whispered, one I hadnt heard in a long time…”Dragon”.

Memories of the battle in the mountains flooded back to me. Yes…this was like the one Maroc had fought, the same species, the same colouring, but different. The enormous lizard eyed me curiously, swinging its huge spiked tail this way and that before snorting a blast of steam at my hooves.

Its great scaled head loomed close to mine,

“Who do you serve wendigo?”

If ever I needed old Maroc, it was now. I delved down, allowing my ancestral memories to flow to the surface and mingle with my own consciousness. I hoped to the great goddesses that I could get us out of this mess somehow, preferably without having to fight this behemoth.

Sparks of memories, tiny glimpses of conversations, of etiquette, flashed through my mind and suddenly I knew. I took a deep breath, bowing respectfully, “Great lord of the high realms, I serve the one true ruler, the lady of the moon.”

The creature rumbled deep in its throat, eyeing me curiously, “And what is your name wendigo?”

I took another deep breath, keeping my voice calm and my eyes never leaving the creature, “I am Fairlight, Lord of the tribe of the four winds, master of the fortress of the four winds.”

The dragon reached out and placed a claw under my chin lifting my head for closer inspection, “Hmmm, you have a similarity to one I knew…his tribe was the four winds. Tell me, wendigo, what was the name of your ancestor?”

“Maroc”

He scratched his great belly, leaned back and with a sound like thunder, clapped his great front claws together. In a burst of colour, magic rushed out in all directions to light dozens of lamps hanging from sconces on the walls and from huge chains up in the ceiling. I blinked at the dramatic change of scene; here was a creature that was old enough to remember Maroc and I still didn’t know whether he saw me as a comrade…or dinner.

The dragon snorted, then turned and walked away to curl up atop an unfathomable fortune of gold and jewels. Making itself comfortable, it reached down and plucked a dead soldier from the ground, letting the bloodied corpse dangle from a claw while it addressed me,

“Your kind had more self respect once, wendigo. Why do you ally yourselves with murderers and thieves?”

“My lord dragon,” I said formally,”forgive my rude intrusion into your home. I was being hunted by those who would see me dead, and I took refuge in a cave not knowing it would lead to your lair. All I desire is to leave in peace and continue my journey.”

It watched me carefully, “And where will your journey take you, my little wendigo?”

“I intend to reach the Wither world and rescue a friend”

The dragon flicked the corpse into the air and with a bone crushing snap of his jaws, swallowed the dead pony whole. Hasp cried out in alarm and I could hear Nimble trying to wrest his pistol from him.

“It would appear your companions are not wholly friendly, lord Farilight.” The dragon chuckled, the sound making the ground beneath my hooves vibrate with its timbre.

“Forgive them my lord, they are misguided and stumbled in here unknowingly, looking for me. By your leave, I will take them from here and never return.”

The great best wiped remnants of its meal from its mouth, “You may leave, lord Fairlight, I honour the covenant with the moon. These however…” he gestured to the two soldiers, “...will be dinner for my children.”

I shook my mane, “Lord dragon, is there no other way? They are here because they have been lied to by their leaders…”

The dragon suddenly leaned its massive head towards me bellowing in outrage, “Of course they have been lied to! They are Celestians! They came in here, intruded in my home and murdered my children! Yet you defend them…? You are not like any wendigo I have ever met.”

I stomped a hoof, snorting out a jet of icy wind, “I am not Maroc, great dragon, the war ended a thousand years ago. The Celestians dominate now this land and I must recover my people to rebuild what was taken. Do not speak to me of loss, my family was murdered by Celestian’s, my tribe slaughtered by them. Some day, our people will return, but it is not now. Now, I must do what I can to protect what I have and making allies to the moon will help us to regain our strength.”

The dragon watched me quietly, then stepped down of his hoard, his head held low,

“How can I trust you? How do I know you won’t betray me and come here and steal my gold? Your companions stink of Celestia and her sickening kind…”

A voice from behind me made us both turn,

“Then take me, lord dragon. I will be your dinner if you would let my friends go.”

Corporal Nimble walked up beside me and bowed to the giant creature and went to remove his armour. As the helmet came off, a truly remarkable change occurred. Before my very eyes, the soldiers coat began to alter, to darken. Even his eyes changed from blue to yellow, there must be some sort of magic woven into the metal to make them all look alike. ‘Bloody military showmanship’, I thought to myself, they would have better off with more up to date equipment. Oil lanterns, for fucks sake!

The dragon leaned down and sniffed the soldier, “How very ‘noble’…No, I don’t think so…perhaps your…friend?” he looked past Nimble to Hasp who was shaking like a leaf. Whether in fear or in shock I couldn’t say.

Hasp shrieked and fumbled for his PDW, trying to aim it at his antagonist.

“Lord dragon!” I pleaded, “Please!”

The giant thing leaned back and laughed, “You need not fear pony, one of my daughters has spoken for you already.” It waved a huge claw and the small flapping creature I’d rescued, flew down to squeak at me near my hooves, giving my forelegs a nuzzle.

“She likes you, wendigo.” The dragon boomed, “You should be honoured, a dragon does not give friendship easily.” It clapped it claws together, “Now, all of you…leave whilst my good mood remains. The way to the outside is before you…go.”

I bowed to the dragon, “Lord dragon, may I ask your name?”

The creature yawned and rolled on the golden hoard peering at me with one eye half closed, “My name? My name is Barathel. Remember it well lord of the four winds, I may decide to call upon you some day and will expect to find a welcome befitting one as nobly born as I.”

“I will lord Barathel, my people will sing of your deeds.”

He opened his eyes wide, staring at me with those huge red orbs before letting out a thunderous laugh which echoed around the room. With a happy squawk, his daughter leaped up onto my back and snuggled herself into my mane as we hurriedly left the dragon’s home, rumbling peels of laughter following us out.

Without another word spoken between us, we picked up the pace, trotting at first and then breaking into a gallop. The passage before us sloped inexorably up towards…light! My goddesses, I could actually smell fresh air and daylight ahead, it was so near I could even taste it. I wasn’t the only one; our thundering hooves caused a cacophony of noise which spurred us on to run even faster to finally escape this terrible place. The entrance was growing closer all the time, just a little further now…

Nimble let out a loud neigh of triumph as we left the darkness of the tunnel; Luna be praised, we’d done it! All three of us…or rather four, burst out into the daylight and collapsed on the cool ground, panting, revelling in the simplicity of taking in the fresh late afternoon air. I had no idea what time it was, nor where I was. I didn’t care either, all I wanted to do now was relax, close my eyes and just breathe.

We’d been lying there for some time, trying to take in the fact we’d actually survived, when Nimble hoofed me a cigarette which I accepted gratefully. Seeing him sat there in the light without his golden armour on, he looked like any regular pony. He was grey, like me, a unicorn with yellow eyes and a golden shield for a cutie mark. A slight twinge of foalish jealousy took me, I would have loved to have had one like that when I was younger! Now, I had that rather non-descript lightning bolt thing. Funnily enough, the girls had never been that interested in my cutie mark, it only seemed to bother me…great! I was becoming neurotic now too. I sighed and took a draw on the cigarette.

“Corporal…” I began, releasing my magic, “thanks. For what you did back there, you’re a brave fellow and I won’t forget it.”

Nimble watched my transformation in fascination, “Nah, It was nothing Cap’.You’d have done it for me.”

I smiled…I probably would have too.

“Hey, is that how you look normally?” he said in wonder, looking me over, “Heh! Apart from the glowing eyes, you kinda look like me. At a distance of course…!”

I chuckled, “Plenty of grey unicorns out there, Nimble. Still, we’re all unique in our own way, every single one of us.”

He was right though, the similarity was quite uncanny. Could he be related to the tribe somehow?

“You two are getting on very well I see…”

I heard the click of the safety coming off and knew Hasp pointing his pistol at my head.

“Hasp! What the fuck are you doing soldier? He saved your life!” Nimble shouted in surprise.

The other guards pony spat on the ground angrily, “He’s in league with them! That…that thing on his back, its one of them! Look at it for fucks sake!”

I shook my mane, “Hasp, you’re being a fucking idiot. Put the gun down and lets settle in for the night.”

Spittle flew from his mouth as he yelled at me, “Fuck you! I’ve seen what you really look like, you can’t be on our side looking like that, you’re a…a demon!”.

“Again with the ‘demon’ thing!” I groaned lying back on the grass smoking the cigarette calmly, “If you’re going to shoot, Hasp, just do it. You wont get another chance…”

The little dragon on my back chattered and hissed at Hasp, who, ignoring her turned to Nimble, “Come on corp’ we’ll kill him and take the head back as evidence. We’ll be frigging heroes!”

Hasp’s voice had a strained note to it and I began to wonder if the soldier still had a grasp on his sanity. After what he’d been through, I doubted anypony would be able to simply shrug it all off and lead a normal life again like nothing had happened.

I watched quietly as Nimble lift his own pistol, “Put the gun down soldier, I won’t ask again.”

For a moment, I actually thought Hasp would actually comply. He stared at Nimble, his lips moving soundlessly, then quickly span round, sighting his pistol on me, “Fuck it…”

His head exploded into a thousand pieces, spattering the rock wall behind us in gore and armour fragments. The rest of Hasp’s body thudded wetly onto the ground. I shook my head, what a bloody waste of life. Nimble just stood there in silence, closed his eyes and let out a long breath before holstering the pistol. He gave his mane a good shake, “Stupid cunt, I couldn’t fucking stand him”.

“I thought you said he was your friend?” I asked.

He shrugged, “Would you leave a team mate behind?”

He was right of course, you didn’t have to like somepony for them to still be a colleague, “I see your point. Thanks, Nimble. Looks like I owe you again.”

I rose to hooves and began gathering some dry wood for our makeshift camp. Together with the corporal’s assistance, we soon had a good fire roaring away. My tiny dragon companion hopped down and waddled away to start sniffing curiously at Hasp’s body. Every living being had to eat of course, but I was just glad I’d moved the corpse away from our camp fire so I didn’t have to watch. I certainly didn’t want Nimble to see his deceased comrade filling the belly of a hungry dragon, even if they hadn’t exactly been on good terms.

Our escape from the caves had been exhausting and before I knew it, we were both soon fast asleep.

The morning came early here and I rose to the singing of birds in the trees and the rustling of leaves. A slight breeze and a clear sky, It was ideal flying weather. Checking over my gear, I prepared to move out without delay. Corporal Nimble was already having a morning roll on the grass and by the sounds he was making, he was enjoying it too. Damn it, I wish I’d thought of that now! Bugger…

“Captain Fairlight?”

I turned to my new friend who deftly tossed me a bag of equipment he’d fetched from the carriages and chariots parked nearby. Catching it in my magic, I looked inside. Two boxes of crystals, some rations, water and…Oh! Very nice, two MAD’s in a travel case complete with detonator.

I nodded to Nimble, “Thanks my friend. I’ll need to get going before your buddies get here. What are you going to do now though? Theres bound to be questions.”

He shrugged, “I’m no pegasus, but theres a comms device in the sky carriage over there, so I’ll be okay. Failing that, theres a village not far from here to the south.”

Nimble laughed, “Look, I’ll be fine, just wish I could come with you but…you know, my girl…”

I clopped him on the shoulder, “You’re a good pony, Nimble, a lot better than many I’ve met. Take good care of yourself my friend and try not to believe everything you hear about my exploits, eh?”

He chuckled, “I won’t Captain. Goddesses speed you on your journey.”

I smiled and waved to him as my wings caught the morning air. It felt wonderful to stretch them again after the suffocating closeness of the tunnels and corridors beneath the hill. Even better, I was back on track to finding Shadow. With renewed vigour, a short run and a few strong beats of my wings, I launched up into the sky, the small leathery passenger attached to my back squawking happily.