The flight didn’t take anywhere near as long as I’d thought it would, the thestrals flew at a steady, rhymic pace which I found easy to keep up with. They probably paced themselves to ensure they didn’t tire too quickly in case they needed to fight, a constant theme it seemed with these enigmatic creatures. Shadow’s bed chamber certainly stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the thestral mindset, with perhaps the exception of Ember. Casting my mind back to when I‘d last been in the Beyond, I remembered that at some point, somepony had told me Shadow was ‘incomplete’. I still didn’t know what that actually meant and when I broached the subject with Star Beard, he’d advised I ask her myself. With everything that had happened during that hectic experience, I’d never had the chance to bring it up in conversation. Besides, I was just happy to enjoy her company. Maybe one day she’d tell me, but in all honesty I wasn’t really bothered by it that much; she is who she is and that’s good enough for me.

For the several hours we’d flown, the landscape had changed little from the common vista of white crystal trees, white grass and rolling hills. There was the occasional river or stream and on one occasion, some small bat like creatures that I’m sure I’d seen once before, but other than that it was fairly unremarkable. At least until the border came into view.

Once again, the Wither world threw everything I knew about geography out of the window, and goddesses know how little I knew about that! Actually, was it even geography? Geology? I was running out of ‘g’ words. Whatever it was, the Purple Sands just simply…started.

The white grass disappeared abruptly, together with the crystal trees. What replaced them was an immense expanse of sand…purple sand, stretching for as far as the eye could see. Very imaginative naming by this tribe then, and it was no wonder the last Earl wanted to merge the tribes. This was a desert of sandy nothingness, like the Withers on the other side of the great lake. At least the Beyond had something to look at other than bloody sand.

Early evening was coming on when we encountered the first ‘feature’ I recognised from Star Beard’s map. Rising up from the purple sand was a forest of thorny tree’s that apparently passed for vegetation here. The long tapered spikes on the trees could have skewered a pony from stem to stern several times over. I don’t know what sort of evolutionary tick caused that, but I hoped never to meet the creature those lethal barbs were meant to deter.

In any case, beyond the trees, nestled between several hills and on the shores of a large lake, sat the village of the Purple Sands tribe. It was all but invisible from the air; black huts on a purple background provided a natural camouflage that helped hide them from view. The thrumming sound of the beating of drums reached up to us and we began our descent, Thorn leading the way.

Below us, the thestrals left their huts to peer up at us as we approached. The black and red armour of this tribe was still very much in evidence and I confess, after my dealings with them in the dead city, it made me a little twitchy. The last time I’d encountered this tribe, they were going all out to kill me and kidnap Shadow. The bastards had killed Glimmer and I couldn’t forgive them for that…another mare who’d died in front of me. I mentally shoved the image away before it coalesced in my mind more than it already had. That was something I never wanted to see again.

Flaring my wings, I landed with the rest of our group, releasing the spirits energy and settling back into my more ‘regular’ self. It was getting harder to think of myself as just a pony now; the wendigo side of me was so…comfortable, I suppose. Like socks, it didn’t really matter which leg you put them on, they were both as comfortable. Not that I wore socks, but Tingles did…nice ones too. Damn it!

Shaking my mane, I brought myself back to the present. There before me, was an avenue of armoured thestrals, and walking between them to meet us was…

“Short Stride!” I shouted without thinking.

All eyes were on me now, but I didn’t care. Shadows sister trotted up to me and gave me a hug, “Fairlight!”

She took my hoof, turning to address the tall male who drew up next to her, “Forge, this is Fairlight, the warrior I was telling you about. He’s Shadow’s mate.”

The slim but muscular young stallion looked at me at me with an expression that betrayed his uncertainty, “You are…a wendigo, are you not?”

“I am, lord Forge.”

“Please,” he said smiling slightly, “‘Forge’ will do. Ember has told me of your exploits here in the Withers. Alas, I was not in the city at the time our forces clashed. To have met you in battle would have been…Spectacular.”

It was an odd way of looking at things, but so typically thestral. I returned his smile, “I’m pleased we can meet as friends though Forge, your tribe needs more thestral’s in its ranks, not less.”

“Well said!” he laughed, clopping me on the shoulder, “I like you Fairlight, I think my wife’s sister chose well”.

Well, I couldn’t argue with that. After all, I hadn’t really had much say in the matter anyway. Shadow had decided I was her mate and that, as they say, was that. What, I didn’t agree? Not in thestral society! I wonder how they’d have reacted if I told them I had a wife, partner and two foals already? Probably bloody well congratulate me on that too; the more the merrier!

Come to think of it, how would I introduce myself at parties or functions ? “Oh hello! My names Fairlight, Lord of the four winds. Have you met my late wife and daughters, this one’s my partner and the terrifying ones my mate that I’m knocking off as well by the way”. What a line that would be!

That evening, the bowls were passed around filled with long rubbery tubes filled with something I’d rather not think too hard about. Fortunately being a herbivore, I was brought a selection of ‘something else’; let’s just leave it at that. I think it must have taken at least the next fortnight to get all the bloody bits out of my teeth.

Short Stride, Forge and several of the tribal elders sat at the far end of the hall. Lamps were set up at intervals along the interior of the black walled room, adding little to the light but possessing the horrific side effect of stinking to high heaven. Thorn had reliably informed me that the lamps used fish oil for fuel. Judging by the contents of the bowls on the table, I think they were eating the bloody stuff too. Thestrals of course, were carnivores. Funny, now I thought of it, I couldn’t remember seeing Shadow eat anything other than fruit, oh, and that egg thing but I don’t think that counts really. Maybe she was the one who broke the mould in the family, she certainly seemed different from the rest. I sighed, I wished she were here with us tonight.

The music was quite lively in the hall, with several horns and flutes playing a queer ‘old world’ sound that I hadn’t heard outside of the renaissance fairs that were held in Ponyville each year. I would have loved to have been involved in that, but I just couldn’t get away with tights.

“So, Fairlight, how do you intend to find your mate in the mountains?”

I felt a little uncomfortable explaining much of our plans to the Earl. After all, it hadn’t been that long ago he would have happily killed me if he’d had half a chance.

“I’ll simply be following the light of my heart, Forge, that and the blessing of the goddess.” I took a swig from my cup, downing the strange drink in one hit.

He gave me an odd look then laughed, slamming his own cup down on the counter, “Indeed! The blessings of the goddess of the moon be with you and your adventure my friend. Please, take what provisions you may need from our stores and rest in our guest rooms. Tomorrow, we will pray for your safety and the lady Shadows safe return.”

A powerful voice called out from the throng, clearly audible even above the music,

“You’re all insane!”

Forge leapt to his hooves, his chair flying out behind him, “WHAT!?”

The music abruptly stopped and silence fell upon the gathering like a lead curtain. The voice rang out again. This time, everypony could hear it,

“This! All of this, it is madness! This fool will bring the wrath of the demon lizards down on us and we will burn in their fires of their wrath!”

Forge’s voice was menacingly low, “Who speaks?”

“I do,” came the voice, “Astral of the Purple Sands.”

A deep green thestral walked forward wearing a long black and red striped robe, “You risk war with the beasts of the mountains, my lord. They will kill us all, down to the last child. You know this and yet give sanction to such a foolish adventure. I say again, this is madness!”

I could see Forge eyeing his axe, before another of the thestrals at the top table stood, “Aye, we cannot risk war with the demons your Earlship, our numbers are too few. I cannot understand why we would risk this for one mare who, in all probability, is in the belly of one of the monsters already.”

There was a general chorus of agreement before silence descended once again. The Earls eyes flared and without warning, he suddenly leapt over the table and stood before Astral, smoke pouring from his nostrils, “Your concerns are noted ‘brother’,” he snarled, “but you insult my guest within my house and in so doing you insult me also. Astral, you know our laws...”

“I do my Earl.” The green thestral said calmly, “I am prepared to accept the punishment for what I have said. I can only pray to the goddess that she lends weight to my words and helps you see the truth of them.”

Forge drew his sword as Astral knealt before him, I couldn’t believe what was happening here. “In the name of the moon!” I called out, “Earl Forge, please, stay your hoof.”

Short Stride’s husband paused and turned to face me, a look of confusion on his face, “He has insulted you. Would you not see him punished?”

“No.” I said, shaking my head, “His concerns are justified. Indeed, if I were a member of this tribe I would be thinking the same thing. I’m an outsider here, not of your tribe nor even your race.”

I walked up to Astral, “You have not offended me Astral, and I understand what you are saying. However, I do not look even remotely like a thestral and I swear upon my honour that I will not divulge anything about my mission or where I have come from to your enemies. Of that you have my solemn vow”.

“Ha!” he jibed, “Fine words, but look at you! A mere slab toothed pony…a cursed ‘Celestian’ if ever I smelled one. You would betray us and see us all dead, your kind never changes.” His lip curled in derision, “Damned cowards, one and all”

Forge’s eyes flared and he raised his axe before I lifted a foreleg to stop him. Staring at the kneeling Astral, I leaned forward and lifted his chin with my hoof, letting the anger and power surge through me. My vision began to tinge blue, my teeth lengthening and I felt my wings burst from my back and spread out with a leathery snap. I hissed my disgust and contempt out along with the mist from my haunches, “DON’T YOU EVER CALL ME A DAMNED ‘CELESTIAN’ AGAIN OR I’LL TEAR YOUR FUCKING THROAT OUT!”

His eyes went as wide as saucers, the room falling silent around us. Goddesses, you could have heard a pin drop. I looked from left to right, all eyes in the hall were on me now as I spoke, my eyes flaring in the flickering light,

“You all see me now for who I truly am, now hear my words warriors of the Purple Sands. I am the Lord of the tribe of the four winds wendigo, the Lord of the fortress of the four winds, descended from Maroc himself.”

I bared my teeth glaring down at Astral, “NOPONY will stop me from finding my mate. Nopony, no dragon will prevent me from finding her and I will send anypony, any ‘thing’ that tries to, straight into the jaws of hell.”

Astral stared straight up into my eyes, before lowering them to the ground. Behind me, one of the thestrals began to bang his goblet on the table in a loud, steady rhythm that was picked up by one, then another, then another, until the whole room was filled with sound. I leaned down and reached out a hoof to the kneeling stallion, bringing Astral back up to his hooves. I looked into his eyes,

“I may not be of your tribe,” I said levelly before clopping him on the shoulder, “but you are still my brother.”

He simply stood there staring at me, his face a mixture of surprise and awe. Astral must have been expecting me to cut him down where he stood and now that I hadn’t, he didn’t seem to know what to do. I marvelled at him, he was truly a brave creature, one who would willingly sacrifice himself to protect his tribe. The thestrals all broke out in cheers and right on cue, servants appeared carrying barrels and ladles to dole out whatever alcoholic beverages these frightening warriors consumed.

Back at the table, Thorn leaned over to me, “How the in name of the goddess’ backside did you pull that one off Captain?”

“Buggered if I know”, I admitted honestly.

And I was being honest too, these thestrals had seemed to change before my very eyes. Where I saw uncertainty when I’d first arrived, both in them and myself, now I saw them for who they truly were; a family, brave, strong and true. Each of them bound with a sense of honour and duty all of their own, they must have been a terrifying force on the battlefield.

The morning saw me nursing a hangover of epic proportions. It felt like somepony had beaten me repeatedly over the head with a mallet…hard. What the hell had been in that stuff?

“Oh, fuck me…” I groaned picking myself up off the rug by the fire pit. The thestrals were mostly still snoring away where they’d fallen over or just collapsed, drunk. Chairs, tables, it didn’t matter; anything and everything had become a makeshift bed.

The door to the hall opened and Short Stride walked in looking sickeningly fresh and alert, “Good morning Fairlight, did you sleep well?”

“No!”, I groaned, trying to catch onto the table as I stood. My legs were hopelessly uncoordinated and I nearly screamed when, out of habit, I went to give my mane a shake. My poor brain was aching horribly, “I think I’m dying here…what the hell was I drinking last night?”

Short Stride giggled, “’Balta’, it’s a local speciality made from the squeezed glands of…”

I held up a hoof to stop her, the room was still spinning and now I thought I was going to empty my stomach out too. Thankfully, my pack had the ideal headache cure. A quick draught of the life-energy and I could feel my brain cells re-energising, goddess knows how many I’d killed off last night though.

Hmmm, last night…hang on…where was Tarragon? Oh hell! She hadn’t ended up as a kebab for these warriors had she? Fortunately, a snuffling noise from behind Short Stride quickly revealed the elusive dragonling.

She smiled sympathetically, “Most of your friends are outside waiting, Fairlight. I’d suggest you take your cute friend and go before this lot wake up. They’re not too fond of dragons, whatever their size”.

I gave her a hug and the small leathery thing settled onto my back, snuggling into my mane. It was now her regular spot when not being petted, rummaging through my saddle bags for treats or narrowly avoiding being eaten.

“Thanks Short Stride, say goodbye to everypony for me won’t you”, I said with a smile.

She nodded, “Of course, take care”.

The rest of the thestrals from our team were assembled and with no more ceremony than a wave from Short Stride, we took to the air once more.

Allowing another of the warriors to take the lead, Thorn flew up beside me and began quizzing me about what I knew of the tribe of the four winds. He had known them, at least to some degree and had met Maroc during the war where he served as a Major in the army of Nightmare Moon. I still wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that. After all, we’d all been brought up with the stories and legends of the nightmare that threatened to plunge the whole of Equestria into eternal darkness. Yet now, after everything I’d been through though, I’ll confess I’d begun to wonder just how much of those stories was truth and how much was, quite literally, simply legend.

Thorn seemed fascinated by wendigo’s, with an almost childlike curiosity that was heart warming to see. From what he said, it appeared that they had been revered by the troops for their prowess in battle. I could believe it too, thestral’s were a warrior race who excelled in fighting. Personally, I’d rather not fight for my life at every given opportunity, although the wendigo within me would doubtless disagree. When a fight was at its peak, the song of death would begin and I would dance to its tune, both puppet and master. Goddess forgive me, I loved it. It frightened me just how much I actually enjoyed the sounds and smells of combat. The screams, the blood spraying through the air, the feeling of being truly alive…

I shook my mane. Sometimes I wondered if I were in control of my own life, or just along for the ride; Sometimes.

A dank and musty smell began to tickle my nose. Laced with an earthy, woody dampness, the cloying odour grew in intensity until, sure enough, ahead of us the marshes hove into view. Without pausing, we flew over them, more of the small bat like flying things rushing out of our way and disappearing into the cover of the scattered trees. The dark canopy and long leafed plants below, had that same dark colouring as the rest of this land. And they steamed too, warm clouds reaching up and catching my throat, making me cough.

“Don’t breathe it in,” Thorn called over to me gaining height, “marsh gas can sicken the unwary. Keep above the clouds”.

I did as he suggested, flying up above the foul smell and flew on in formation with the others.

Around an hour later, the first signs of solid ground began to appear, and beyond that, the unmistakable outline of the mountains, sitting black and ominous against the skyline. Thorn brought us down and the thestrals immediately began to set up camp.

“Are you going to stay here, Thorn?” I inquired, “Why not go back to the Purple Sands village, they’d look after you there.”

He stared back the way we’d come, “Yes, they’d be very hospitable I’m sure. But still,” his eyes took on a far away look, “I can’t forget what they did to my son…”

How could he? They’d booby trapped his son after crucifying him, turning him into a living bomb. Thorn had been forced to kill him to end his suffering and protect the rest of the warriors. Goddesses, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how he must have felt. I knew thestrals saw such tactics as legitimate to achieve victory, but Thorn was still a father and Nimbus was his only son.

He cleared his throat, “We’ll stay here until we exhaust our supplies, then we will return to the village and await your return.”

I checked my gear and lifted the crystal up before me. Sure enough, the light was directing me toward the mountains in the distance. Only the goddesses knew for certain what awaited me there and frankly, I didn’t think they’d be letting on any time soon. We weren’t exactly on speaking terms these days.

Taking a deep breath I cleared my lungs and prepared to leave. Tarragon was still firmly attached to my back and squeaked at me when I leaned round to check on her. I would have liked to have left her with Short Stride, but she had a mind of her own and truthfully, I was secretly grateful of the company.

Thorn and the rest of the thestrals wished me good fortune on my journey and with no further ceremony than that, I bounded into the air and flew on in the direction the crystals light shone brightest. These warriors weren’t big on goodbyes and I was all the happier for it. I would see them again soon.

The air here was not like any mountain air I’d ever come across before. It was warm and had a strange sulphurous smell to it, not unlike bad eggs. Tarragon chirruped and took off from her perch to fly around me, swooping and diving, clearly enjoying the strange environment. For my liking, the black rocky slopes, crags and gullies were bleak and foreboding, how anypony could live in such a place was unfathomable to me. Maybe to dragons, this was the perfect place to be, a veritable reptilian paradise. Interestingly, I’d noticed how my diminutive dragonlings colouration blended in here. Other than her green eyes, she was all but invisible if seen from above, and it most certainly aided her in gathering food as, with a squawk, a small winged beast became an on-the-wing snack for the young dragon.

Mist, steam and smoke all hung in the air here, swirling and blending together. The cloying and oppressive way it clung to my coat was making flying a less than enjoyable experience to say the least. The fumes around me just added to the misery, stinging my eyes which began to water incessantly. Once again, I wasn’t wearing my flying goggles, but the bloody things were so uncomfortable on, I’d left the in one of my panniers. I’d have to reappraise my use of them when I landed next, that was, if I could find somewhere that wasn’t totally exposed like it appeared to be for what looked like miles around. Flying higher up helped with the discomfort to some degree, but I quickly discovered the smoke was even thicker here in places and my eyes felt like they were on fire when I hit a patch of it.

Tarragon began to squawk insistently, flapping around me while I was busy checking my heading, “Not now, Tarragon, please”. I was still on course, but this thing never gave any indication of how far you had left to go until…”Tarragon!” the little dragon flew right into my face shrieking like I’d never heard before and I turned to face where she was looking.

Far below, a winged creature flew…a dragon? No, much smaller than that…a thestral, and it was moving at speed as well. A monstrously large black shadow passed overhead briefly making me look up in time to see the largest dragon I’d ever seen, lift up, pull in its wings and dive down on its intended prey with terrifying speed. I dodged out of the way, but the beasts focus was not on me, but on the thestral below us. I heard a cry of fear carried on the wind, it sounded distinctly…female. Oh goddesses no...

Flowing the spirits power through me, I dove after the dragon which had now snatched the thestral up in its claws and was powering away into the dark sky. The harrowing cries of the thestral echoed across the bleak landscape.

I could barely keep up. Despite its size, the dragon was incredibly fast. The things dimension were simply staggering, I couldn’t remember anything from Maroc’s memories of one this size. Something told me it wasn’t exactly friendly either and that flying after one was probably not going to end well. As if sensing my concerns, Tarragon chirruped and squawked, flying up and encouraging me on. She was surprisingly insistent for some peculiar reason and, once again, my inability to communicate with her frustrated me.

Soon however, our chase with the great dragon would end and then what? I didn’t have a plan. I’d just have to improvise something on the hoof and pray to whatever gods in this place would listen, that I could pull it off.

To make matters that little bit more interesting, thick sulphurous clouds began to surround me, all but blocking my vision of the surrounding landscape and I found myself flying virtually blind. I was navigating only by occasional glimpses of the ground through breaks in the cloud but I just couldn’t slow down, not now. I had to reach that thestral. What if that were…?

At the back of my mind was a strange tickling sensation, the proverbial itch I couldn’t scratch. Whatever it was made me look behind me to see a group of heavily armed thestrals heading my way; I pulled up and attempted to call to them but they charged past me with set expressions, locked inexorably onto their target. Banking steeply, I flew after them until I was able to pull alongside the nearest of them, a muscular deep maroon stallion with a short black mane and yellow striped grey armour,

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” I called over the wind noise.

The warrior eyed me with disdain, “The demon has stolen one of our daughters, we will have that foul beasts head for our tribe’s trophy wall.”

“Which tribe are you from?” I asked as we dived low over the rocks below.

“The Broken Cliff tribe.” he called back, “Now, stranger, who are you, what are you, and why are you here?”

“I’m Fairlight, of the tribe of the four winds wendigo. As for why I’m here, you could say its the same reason you are.”

“Well, Fairlight of the four winds,” he shouted, eyeing me, “if you truly are a wendigo, then I will welcome your help in defeating the demon lizard.”

“You already have it” I called back, fixing him with me blue eyes.

He gave me a smirk, showing his long teeth, “I am Stone Hammer, brother of Needle.”

I nodded, keeping station alongside him until, in the thick cloud up ahead, I could just make out a tiny red light growing rapidly larger by the second. Tarragon screamed and flapped her wings, digging her claws into my neck. The sharp pain made me bank to one side and almost simultaneously, a concussive blast of flame rushed past me singing my coat. In my lurching flight, I inadvertently slammed into Stone Hammer, knocking him from the fires path. The warrior looked at me in irritation but then shook his mane smiling and nodded his understanding.

The two of us dropped down below the clouds, then flared our wings before touching down on the treacherously loose rock of the mountainside.

Before us was the mouth of a gigantic cave, and judging by the scorch marks, the source of the fire. The gigantic beast that lurked within could doubtless incinerate us in a heartbeat and didn’t appear to have any qualms about doing it either. Celestia’s sagging arse, if this wasn’t Shadow, what the bloody hell was I doing here?!

Stone Hammer and several of his warriors were on one side of the cave entrance, the rest on the other, all of them carrying a selection of heavy axes and spears. I readied my pulse gun which Stone Hammer looked at it curiously before shaking his mane, dismissing it as unimportant. A weapon was a weapon, after all.

Tarragon had disappeared again, but a rummaging in my saddle pack soon gave the little dragons location away. I was glad of it too, I didn’t want these thestrals seeing her just in case they decided to eliminate any ‘future threats’. They had already risked war with the dragons by coming here, but what choice did they have when one of their tribe had been taken?

I could feel my heart racing, the magic inside pulsing through me, freezing mist curling around my haunches and mingling with my breath. Stone Hammer took a step back warily but then smiled with a brief nod of his head, “Its true then…the wendigo have returned”.

I didn’t want him to read too much into the situation, “Not really, I’m afraid there’s only me and i’m on a rescue mission of my own. Right now though, let’s see what we can do to rescue your friend”.

He gritted his teeth, nodding once and then signalled to the thestrals on the other side of the cave. This looked like it was going to be a frontal assault then…Shit! Hadn’t I witnessed one of these already recently? That foolishness had ended in disaster for the soldiers and they were a damned sight better armed than these guys, at least in ranged weaponry. I checked my gear and snorted before heading in after Stone Hammer. I was here now and that’s all there was to it, I could only pray these warriors knew what they were getting themselves into.

The interior of the cave was black, the walls thick with a greasy soot. The overwhelming smell of sulphur was everywhere, permeating the very rock around us. Bones and general detritus littered the entry to the dark interior which our team, moving as quietly as possible, approached cautiously. From deep inside, a low rumbling growl rolled out followed by a heavy laughing voice, “So, more of you have come calling have you? Welcome…welcome…I would hate to keep guests waiting…”

My mane stood on end and my back shivered under the audible onslaught. I had a feeling we were completely in over our heads here, and despite my new friends enthusiasm, it was looking like our rescue mission could quickly become a suicide mission.

“Come!” the voice laughed from the invisible depths, “. …a little closer now…”

The light from outside barely penetrated this far into the cave, the visibility falling the further in we ventured. From further back in the darkness, I caught sight of a small red flickering light which rapidly built in intensity. My heart leapt at the realisation, it was the precursor for another attack…

“GET DOWN!” I screamed as a boiling blast of flames filled the cavern. It was too late; thestrals around us howled in agony as their hides were torched. Their wings burned away in the searing inferno, the once proud warriors were left writhing on the unforgiving floor of the cave. My shield had protected Stone Hammer and myself from most of the blast, but the others hadn’t been so lucky.

“NOW!”, Stone Hammer bellowed, the remaining thestrals screeching war cries as they ran and flew into the caverns interior. Inside, a scene of utter chaos unfolded before me. Thestrals dived from above and charged from below in a brutal melee of thrown spears and swinging axes. Some of the warriors held back, shooting bolts from their heavy crossbows to cover their bretheren. The dragon bellowed in pain and rage at the onslaught, swinging its huge tail like some monstrous spiked flail.

I was too slow.

Catching myself and another thestral, the impact threw us bodily into the side of the cavern like a foal’s toys. My head hit the rock wall with a sickening crack, the blow leaving me dazed and with blue sparks of light dancing in my swirling vision. I watched helplessly as the creature’s great head darted out, those massive teeth, each the size of a sky carriage, biting down on one of its attackers. Blood and entrails sprayed out in a nightmarish fountain of dark gore, yet despite losing one of their number, the rest of the warriors didn’t let up their attack for an instant.

Slowly, my vision and hearing came back to me. Regaining my senses, I readied my beam gun, emptying a whole crystals worth of the deadly energy straight at the dragons belly. The green bolts hit the things scales in a blinding shower of magical light and heat.

The world took a breath and paused.

Breathing hard, I stood watching in horror as incredibly, the blasts did nothing more than make the dragons scales glow…and get its attention. The monstrous beast lifted its head and inhaled; I knew what was coming next and fired a beam of concentrated magical energy from my horn straight into its cavernous mouth.

The dragon cried out horribly, swinging it great arms and tail, smashing thestrals about as if they were nothing. Clawing at its mouth the creature shrieked and gasped before stopping suddenly. The great scaled head turned and one eye opened, fixing me with a massive golden reptilian eye…it was seriously pissed off. Great Luna, how the hell were we going to stop this thing?

The thestrals had done some damage to the dragon, but it hadn’t slowed the beast down not even for a second and nearly half our number had already been added to the dead scattered about us in this nightmarish place. I drew my scythe and flicked the blade out; old school looked like the only thing that could damage this hideous creature. Howling in defiance, I launched my attack, the full power of the wendigo surging through me as I span, slashing and hacking at my opponent.

Around me the thestrals attacks were slowing. Despite their bravery and strength, they where tiring quickly and neither their blows nor mine combined had made any appreciable difference to the black scaled dragon. A huge whooshing noise above me signalled another blast was imminent and I lunged to my left, pulling one of the thestrals out of the way of a fiery death.

Fortunately for us, the flames were directed at two other warriors who’s dying screams echoed even as the roaring fire died away. In a corner of the cavern I spotted possible salvation; a low tunnel leading off the main chamber. I didn’t know how long it was or whether we stood a chance of getting out of here alive, but my earlier assessment had been right; this was a bloody suicide mission. There’d been no sign of the female the dragon had taken and I suspected the hapless mare was already in the monsters belly before we’d even entered its lair.

I glanced down at the maroon thestral beside me. It was Stone Hammer, his armour was smashed and he was bleeding from multiple wounds. I reached down and grabbed him in my forelegs, pulling him to his hooves,

“For the goddesses sake come on!” I shouted over the cacophony of battle.

“No!” he gasped, “My sister needs me!”

He tried to pull away but I hung on, “She’s gone! For fucks sake we’re done here, Stone Hammer. This is suicide!”

“You’re a damned coward! Crawl back into your hole”, he snarled.

“Don’t be a bloody fool!” I shouted back at him, “There must be another way, but a frontal assault is killing us. We have to fall back and re-think this.” I looked him in the eye, “I have an idea. Do you trust me?”

“I don’t even know you!” He shouted over the din, “But…damn it, lets move!”

We made it to the tunnel entrance just in time. A massive claw arced past where we’d been only a heartbeat earlier, gouging rock from the cavern walls like they were made of paper. Hammer and I rushed through the tunnel and I prayed I hadn’t lead us into a dead end or we’d be just that…dead.

The tunnel turned sharply, leading us up a short slope. Taking a moment to catch my breath I offered a silent prayer of thanks that my gamble had paid off, so far at least.

Scrambling up over the rocks and debris, we found ourselves overlooking the main chamber, and the carnage of what had been a rescue attempt turned blood bath.

“By the goddess…” Hammer gasped, “my brother and sisters…they’re all…”

I leaned close to his ear, “Shhh, keep out of sight, I’m going to try something.”

The gigantic creature let out a bellow of victory and began casually dispatching the odd twitching thestral with a snap of its jaws. The dragon had won…and it savoured its victory, letting out a low rumbling laugh which reverberated around the cavern.

It wasn’t quite over for Hammer and I just yet, however. I still had to try and get us out of this mess alive. But, maybe where brute force had failed, guile and deception may prevail, if I could pull it off. Closing my eyes and concentrating my magic, I allowed a small trickle of mist to spill out over the edge of the ledge into the cavern below; just the tiniest dribble of scent, barely even perceptible. If I’d still had fingers, I’d have crossed them.

Below us the dragon paused, snuffing the air curiously. Narrowing its eyes, it swung its huge head from side to side, trying to determine where the scent was coming from. Then, abruptly, it stopped. Closing its eyes, a sinister chuckle escaped from deep inside the great beast’s throat,

“It has been many years since I smelled the winds of winter…wendigo”

The dragon’s serpentine tongue flicked out, tasting the air, “I had thought your kind had gone from this world, and yet here you are…in my home…how ironic.”

Taking a deep breath, I called out, “Why ironic great lord of the mountains and skies? Did we not fight side by side in the armies of the moon?”

The dragon let out a blast of fire straight to the roof, the heat passing over me in a wave as the creature screamed out its hatred, “Cowards! All of them! They ran like whipped dogs, shrieking and crying as we dragons fought and died to cover their escape. All to save their own miserable lives!”

Snarling the dragon bared its teeth, “All they are fit for now is food to sate my hunger.”

“That is not how it happened great one,” I called back, “my ancestor was there and I saw, through his memories, what happened that terrible day. Both thestral and wendigo fought side by side with the dragons and all fought as one beneath the moon.”

“LIES!”, he bellowed, “All of you fled! I saw your ‘ancestor’ flee the field with the rest of the rats when you should have stayed and fought to the end!”

My anger was rising, “My people were all but annihilated dragon, we fought and paid the price for our resistance. You are killing those who fought with you as brothers. Where were you, when the fighting was at its height?”

The dragon rose up and slammed its forelegs into the ground making the very walls shake, “Where was I? I was watching my brothers and sisters die as I fought the traitorous scum who’d sided with the Celestians. Fighting while YOU ran!”

“We are not your enemy lord dragon,” I shouted back, hoping that somewhere inside that great beast, remained some semblance of reason, “I beg you, cease your attacks upon the thestrals and live alongside them in peace. The war is long since over.”

“Yes…yes…’in peace’, wendigo. I will think on this…yes. Come out now…you may bring your friend”, and in a sickly sweet voice added, “I promise I won’t ‘harm’ you…a dragon never breaks a promise you know.”

I nudged Hammer to follow me back into the main chamber, “Are you insane?” he whispered angrily, “That thing will kill us both! You can’t trust them!”

I nodded, “Just follow my lead and get ready to fly.”

In the main chamber, the dragon lay curled atop a pile of bones and shining objects of various descriptions. Not quite the ‘golden hoard’ akin to the one Berathel had, and yet this beast was by far the largest of its kind I’d seen, even in Maroc’s memories. Perhaps in the Wither world, there were fewer opportunities for collecting shiny objects. Judging by what I’d seen of this dragon, all it hoarded in this place was death.

Entering its lair, the stench of burnt flesh assailed me along with the smoke rising from the numerous burnt corpses.

Hammer stood beside me as the dragon leaned towards us slightly, “Yes…yes, I see you now, you are what you say you are…interesting. Tell me wendigo…why are you here?” The dragon stretched his wings and yawned.

“I seek a thestral,” I replied respectfully, “a friend of mine by the name of Shadow.”

“Shadow?…why, yes…I believe I did meet her, wendigo”, he reached up to pick his teeth with a claw before fixing me with a golden eyed stare, “She was…delicious”.

I cringed, lowering my head and ears. My heart felt like lead in my chest, “Why…why would you do such an evil thing?!” I shouted in despair.

“Why?” it laughed, “Because she was food of course…all creatures must eat, wendigo…even you.”

I cringed inwardly, “So you…you will eat all these…these warriors who only came to save their friend?”

“Their friend!” It laughed out loud, “How touching! Your sentimentality is a weakness, wendigo. It is no wonder the Celestian’s annihilated your cowardly kind.”

The dragon reached down and picked up one of the fallen thestrals in its claws, pulling off the armour and then flicking the bloodied remains into its gigantic maw. Crunching and tearing the body of the fallen warrior between its deadly teeth, it made a display of swallowing, before leaning towards us,

“Dear me…you seem…rather upset”

If a dragon could smile, it was now. The dim light glinted in its eyes ”…do you miss her?”

I hung my head, hopelessness heavy in my voice, “I do”

“What did she look like?”

I motioned to the corpse at my hooves, “Like her…”

“I see, I see”, the dragon said nodding with clearly fake sincerity. He picked up the body and eyed it closely, “Yes…there is a resemblance. She cried and called for help a lot, if I remember correctly. Called out for someone, somepony…I don’t recall the name…”

“Fairlight”, I said quietly.

“Yes! That was it…called out for ‘Fairlight’, to help her”, he slowly opened his mouth, “Help which…never…came”. He bit down on the thestrals body before swallowing it virtually whole.

“Oh, Fairlight…?” he hissed.

“What…” I whispered hanging my head.

“You know I said I wouldn’t hurt you?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll keep my promise”, he hissed, “…no…I’m not going to hurt you…” The huge dragon lifted his head to the ceiling, breathing in a deep huff of air.

“Now!” I shouted at Stone Hammer.

The great voice of the dragon boomed out along with a broiling gout of flame,”…I’M GOING TO KILL YOU INSTEAD!”

We ran.

Fire washed over us, but not the type we’d seen before; this was a vivid blend of yellow and green combined. A thunderous boom shook the cavern and echoed behind us as we took flight, hurtled towards the cave mouth as fast as we could go. Screams of pain and rage resounded around us in the glaring light of the magical inferno, my shield the only thing protecting us from becoming a charred mess on the caves floor.

Hammer and I flew as fast as we could, bursting out into what passed for daylight here in the Withers. Salvation it may appear to be, but I wasn’t so foolish as to think we were safe, at least not yet. The two of us flew dangerously low and at a speed I thought I couldn’t manage until now. Concentrating on putting as much distance between us and that damned thing, I didn’t even dare look behind me.

Long after we’d reached the point of exhaustion in our headlong rush to safety, we half landed, half fell to the ground gasping for air. Taking cover under a rock ledge, my heart was still hammering and I took a shaking mouthful of the life energy from a flask; I could barely feel its effects over the rush of adrenalin.

The maroon thestral lying next to me looked across, his breath ragged, “What…what in the moons embrace was that?”

“Magical Annihilation Device. I’d hidden it in the dragon’s dinner. Remote activated”, I held up the detonator in my telekinesis for him to see. Stone Hammer shook his head in wonderment,

“I’ve seen such things in the halls of our elders, but never in battle. You’re a clever one my friend”, he shook his mane and gave his legs a stretch, “Do you think we killed it?”

“Goddesses I hope so. What could survive an internal explosion like that?” The damned thing was probably dripping from the cavern walls in bloody chunks by now, and rightly so.

Hammer rose to his hooves, shaking the dust off his gear, “Do you think he meant what he said? That he’d eaten your friend?”

“No…I know she’s alive. That dragon couldn’t lie straight in bed.”

He laughed, “Well my friend, as much as it grieves me, I must return to my tribe. I’ve risked open war with these things and it wouldn’t do to hang around any longer than I have to. Besides, I need to mourn my brothers and sisters. Will you come back with me or…?”

I held up a hoof, “Thanks for the offer, but no. I have to continue on, my friend.”

He smiled, “In which case, I will wish you the best of luck in your quest…Fairlight.”

Hammer made a final adjustment to his armour before clopping me on the shoulder, “Farewell. May we meet again in better times!”

The warrior’s leathery wings snapped open and he lurched up into the sky, back to his home and tribe. Shaking myself, I nudged my pack eliciting a chirrup, “It’s alright Tarragon, you can come out now little one.”

A small face poked out looked around at our surroundings. With a lot scrabbling, the dragonling clambered out and onto my back making a rather uncomfortable fuss of my neck and mane. I couldn’t help but laugh though, she was so relieved it was almost painful to watch her antics. It was also painful where the little beggars claws gripped pony hide rather than barding. But, such things mattered little in the great scheme of things; what did matter was to move to my next destination and, I prayed, finding Shadow alive and well.