“THUS WE RID TH’ LAND OF THY KIND, BELDAMS!” A young man slightly older than Megan, shrunken and hunched but with unruly red hair and sunken green eyes like burning emeralds smiled with malicious glee as she and her mother’s corpse were thrown into the bog. Bound by steel chains and unable to move, she thrashed and kicked with her legs, trying desperately to stay afloat, even though she couldn’t swim.

Mud from her efforts spattered on his finery and that of the Church officials present, but they paid no mind, too busy glaring at her with righteous hypocrisy. The true criminal stood next to them and yet because of his station, he was getting away with literal murder – her own.

“Turn hence, child. Thee needeth not witness this,” Liam cooed and at his side, Megan’s sister Molly looked away. She was just a little girl of six, and that bastard already had designs on her. His depravity knew no bounds and for him to accuse her of witchcraft for his own ends, after she’d been raped by him? Given her maidenhood or else her family would have been put to the sword – and now it was happening anyway?

She grew weaker. The looks of the Church officials became misshapen, eerie figures as the water passed over her face. But she could see Liam’s monstrous eyes burning. The eyes that stated he would take Molly the moment she had her first blood – and maybe he wouldn’t wait even then.

He’s a very devil! Wherefore don’t thee stand ho him? she wanted to scream, but water filled her mouth and lungs as the bog claimed her. She could feel her life slip away.

She could feel it.

She could feel the end.

Megan sat up once more, gasping for breath. Sweat glistened on her brow, and her breath crystalized in the frozen air, despite the magic she’d used to make this campsite useful. She felt herself shiver and she wasn’t sure whether it was from the cold or her nightmare.

She heard a soft whimper and saw golden eyes look at her in worry.

“I am well, Dinah,” she lied. “Thou needst not worry about me.” She knew her loyal vanargand wouldn’t believe a word she said – the children of Fenrir were far smarter than that – but better to say something and placate her than to say nothing and have Dinah truly worry.

She looked at the blank empty space around them, and in the immediate distance a soft blue bubble that she’d set up as a shield to protect them. Outside of that an ominous solid wall of fog blanketed everything and almost obscuring everything, save for the dead trees that stood as silent as soldiers in this land. The trees were emblematic of more than just the bleakness that surrounded them. They’d been passing through this blasted wasteland for over a day now and to their horror, had found it the site of a massive battle between Abbyssinians and Tirek’s forces. Countless bodies lay dead and unburied, rotting in the air, with carrion creatures feeding on them, tearing small morsels of flesh from the lost in order to sate their appetites.

At first, the trio tried to bury the dead with full rites; after all, there were no enemies when there was no soul there to attack you. But the sheer number of bodies proved too much for that and they switched to a mass grave. Even that had been too large of a burden and in the end it had taken massive firespells from both Megan and Twilight, incinerating both slain hero and villain alike until the ground was covered in so much ash it was hard to tell what were the flakes of snow falling from the sky and the dust of the dead lofting in the air. The area stank with the stench of burnt flesh, bone and wood and it was completely understandable that after a while, Twilight turned and threw up, completely overwhelmed by everything.

In the light of the setting sun, they had moved on towards a distant mountain that was shaped like a rearing horse. The Cavalier, it had been called by others, and it was nearly as old as Megan was herself. But no pony lived there, as this was far beyond Equestria’s borders and well into the wild unclaimed lands. There had been word that this was changeling country, but in the wake of Queen Chrysalis’ loss to Equestria, she likely didn’t have a way to control the lands here, presuming they were under her aegis.

And now, with the night settled and far from the bloodlands they had come across earlier, they were sleeping uneasily. The fog hid them, but also hid what could potentially harm them. And while Megan was sure that her comrades were more than capable of holding their own against timberwolves or bugbears or what may come, a bad enough injury would leave them one fighter short against unknown and potentially fatal odds.

“Blessed Blade?” Megan turned to see Sundance looking at her.

“I has’t a name, thou ken. I abh’r yond title, so prithee, calleth me by what I wast born as, if thou wouldst.”

“Understood, Lady Megan,” Sundance said. “Why aren’t you asleep? Won’t your shield protect us?”

“Forsooth ‘t likely shall, but naught be perfect. Thus I ponder ‘t additional protection, but not the only provenance we have at our means.” She held up her sword. “Carnwennan stands eft coequal at which hour all else fails.”

Sundance looked at the sword, with its simple design and the pale, silvery blade that glowed in the moonlight. Who or whatever had forged that weapon had placed upon it complex magics that could be felt even from where the earth mare sat.

“Wow, better than mine,” she said, pulling hers out for comparison.

“T’s not a tourney,” Megan assured her. “Carnwennan pales compar’d to Rosegarden, mine own liegelady’s blade, and I suspect t’would come short ‘gainst other alicorn bodkins as well. Thy heft is perfect f’r thee as mine is f’r me. We all grasp our weapons to our most wondrous of talents, and yond is how‘t shouldst occur hence.”

“Maybe. But still, if I had a sword like that, I could take out Tirek in one shot!”

“‘Tis not the sword yond fights, but the knight hefting such. How didst thee fare in thy test ‘gainst Ahuizotl?”

“It wasn’t easy. It was me and a group of my fellow knights, and that freakstick had a sword in each paw and one in his tail! We fought him hard, and I was the one that dealt the finishing blow, but in that win we lost a lot of good stallions and mares.” Sundance sighed. “Applecrisp, Hurlyburly, Steelheft and Dazzlepulse. All of them were good knights – better than me, even! But I was the one that survived. It shouldn’t have been me.”

“Uncount’ble be the number of times I’ve spake such myself. Surviving be a trial ‘pon its own, and one we needs be vict’rious daily, else such sullies the names of the fallen.” Megan smiled. “Thy cater-cousins wouldst not begrudge thee thy life and they would thank thee f’r honoring theirs.”

Sundance gestured with her head towards her fellow pony. “I wish I could be like Twila. She’s able to sleep through anything.”

“Such hast its values, but ‘t’s not at each moment a valorous thing.” Her eyes stared straight off into the distance, and her muscles tensed.

“You sense something, don’t you.” It was not a question.

“Wake our dream loft’d companion and join me as lief as thee can,” Megan said, hopping to her feet. “The barrier shall remain lodged f’r a few hours, and yond shouldst hopefully be enow time to out what it is.” As she got up, Dinah looked at her. “Stayeth hither, mine own loyal. Guard our sanctuary well.” With that, Megan picked up her sword and dashed out of the barrier and was soon swallowed up by the fog.

Nestled in the fog, not far away from them was a small, isolated village. A truly rustic community, so tiny that it didn’t have a name. It was simply referred to as “Home” by the hundred or so ivory hedgehogs that lived happy, contented lives here, peacefully and without fear. Calling themselves the Arkan Sonney, which in their language meant lucky ones, generations living here had a sense of tranquility in this simple collection of huts and fields that dotted the surroundings. Hoglets played their games, young lovers swooned with affection and parents and elders worked in the fields. That was all there was here and the Arkan Sonney were unconcerned about the larger world around them. They knew of its existence, given that they traded with some of the remote, far-off villages of other species, but otherwise, this place was an Eden to them, Nirvana on Equus.

That had changed, however.

Now, Home was aflame, the huts burning, the dirt roads coated in blood and bodies as far as the eye could see. Screams could be heard, intermingling with the roar of the flames and smoke intermingled with the thick fog. Groans and grunts uttered from buildings, followed by cruel laughter. A head was thrown casually out a window, and right in after it was a torch.

Cruel monsters cheered and japed, standing around watching as their fellow beings raped and pillaged the innocents of the dying village.

“You sick motherbuckers.” From out of the fog, a deep blue batpony with a short-white mane and tail moved forth. Wearing a tan shirt and a bandolier with several knives, as well as a whip by her side, she glared at them all with piercing turquoise eyes. Prowling with a grace of a panther, she sized each one of them up.

“I spent years working with these villagers, and you plotholes ruined everything!” Immediately spinning, she loosed a storm of knives at the nearest creatures. The knives embedded themselves in various body parts and a second later, courtesy of the enchantment on them, they exploded, taking them with the blades. As the bloodied chunks hit the ground, the batpony pawed the earth, glaring at her foes. “They didn’t deserve this, you bastards!”

Looking at them, an abomination of a minotaur, with twisted, unnatural horns and eyes the color of blood, raised an gore-soaked blade and snarled, “YOU SHALL DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS!”

“Thee first.” Without warning, there was a glint of light, a blur and in less than a blink of an eye, the minotaur found himself pinned to the ground, screaming, by his own sword. The blade had been driven through his shoulder, crushing bone, snapping tendons and muscle, bursting veins and blood. The beast would never have the use of that arm again if it lived…which it likely wouldn’t.

Standing there, glowing like a miniature sun and with Carnwennan in her hands, Megan roared, “THOU SHALST PAYETH F’R WHAT THEE HATH WROTH, FILTHY BEASTS!” Dashing forward, she unleashed her strike at another of the beasts, swinging her sword with fatal grace. A fraction of a second later, the creature was cut cleanly in two, the parts separating, innards spilling free and blood spraying in a wide arc on his counterparts. With a sickening, slurping sound, the remainder of the body dropped to the ground like a sack.

Taking to the air, the batpony looked on with shock. “Oh, buck me, that is some hardcore crap,” she said to herself. “And just what is that thing?”

“This is the fate of the unjust,” Megan threatened, looking at her foes. “And thou art about to join those ill-starred folk!” Without taking her eyes off her opponents, she called out to the batpony, “Nightflyer, art thee hither to avenge these innocent souls?”

“I have no idea what you just said, but if you’re asking me if I’m here to avenge the hedgehogs, yes!” the batpony called out. “They were my friends.”

“Then f’llow us upon this grisly task,” the swordmaiden stated as she rushed forward, kneeing a heavily-scarred gargoyle in the chest. As he fell back, she plunged her blade forward, punching through his chest as if it were nothing. Withdrawing her sword, she spun back, then taunted her foes with a wave of her sword. “Test thyselves against me, if‘t be true thou art brave enow!”

From above, the batpony threw her fiery knives, taking care not to send any towards her strange new ally. Fortunately, there were more than enough of the murderous bastards that would allow her to do so. Chances were, she was going to run out of knives before she ran out of targets. “I’m going to tear you monsters apart for what you did!” she roared from above.

Fortunately, she knew a few other tricks. Divebombing towards her foes, she began to spin in a tight circle, and as she did, flames began to build around her. Finally, as she reached the center of the group she faced, she roared out, “Wheel of Fire!”, casting her combat magic. The inferno surrounding her blasted away, becoming a pyroclastic tornado, a whirling dervish, funeral pyre and buzzsaw in one. The enemies not lucky enough to be swatted away or cleaved cleanly from the blows were turned into balls of flame, screaming from the pain as the fire burned down to their core. Finally, the batpony came to a stop and with cruel precision, turned and bucked the nearest foe, a diamond dog, cracking her burning chest and killing her instantly.

Meanwhile, Megan continued her intricate dance of sword movements, the blade flickering and moving so fast that it left a silvery after-image in the air, a song of blue-silver that her foes most definitely did not appreciate. With brutal abandon she sliced through arms, heads and torsos, giving no quarter to those who gave the innocent villagers no mercy. Blood of various colors soaked the ground, turning the floor beneath into a sickening mud as she doled out the justice she was fated to do.

“You dare?”

Megan turned her head to see a massive centaur approaching her. Easily double her size, he looked as though he was the one in charge here. Carrying two axes, his eyes glowed with a sickly green light, as if he was casting a spell of some kind already; no doubt he was.

She gave him a taunting smile. “I dare at which hour thither is justice to be giv’n and mine own queen’s hest to obey,” she told him.

“I don’t know what you are, creature, but none survives a fight against me, Kardak the Cruel!”

“Then I shalt be sobriquet’d as the first. Far more wick’d varlets than thee hath tried to defeat me and they all did fail. What maketh thou bethink thee couldst rank better?”

With a cruel smile on his lips, Kardak raised a hand and snapped a finger. An explosion of acidic green energy blew up in Megan’s face, knocking her back. Recovering, she stepped back momentarily. “That was a demonstration of my power,” he told her. “Surrender now and I will grant you a quick death.”

The woman felt the beading of blood and the sting of a cut on her cheek. “Thou art marginally better than what I’ve combated ere,” she admitted, sheathing her blade. “However, thou shalt still payeth f’r what thee’ve done hither. Justice demands its due!” Blazing like a light, she rushed in, grabbed his arm and with a thrust of her palm, delivered a pinpoint strike to paralyze his arm. As he reared up in pain, she immediately drew Carnwennan once more, and cast a quick spell, the blade becoming a blazing blue star of energy. With that, she swung, dragging the blade down his barrel, bursting him in two. Pints of blood sprayed, bones shattered from the blow and organs spilled out from him. Kardak looked down at her in shock, the last thing he did as she nimbly leapt up and slashed his head off, landing on his back.

“Surrender anon ‘r flee back to thy masters and bid those folk the Megan is coming f’r them!” she warned. “Bid them that I shalt not stand ho until the foal thee didst steal is safekept with her sire and dam once moo!”

With that, the remainder of the town invaders turned and ran, vanishing into the mist, leaving behind the mercilessly slaughtered village, its peace irrevocably wiped away and now a fading memory.

The batpony immediately rushed to Megan’s side. “What the buck? I thought you were going to avenge the town!”

“So I didst,” Megan explained, “but I wilt doth moo. They art holding a young filly hostage, and so I didst warn those knaves I am coming f’r their host and they shall not mark safe. I might not but bethink of the foal as well as the hath lost hither.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” the batpony stated. “Will she be okay?”

“F’r their sakes, the child hadst best moot, ‘r I shalt showeth less mercy than anon,” she said.

“We’re here!” Both Sundance and Twilight approached, running as fast as they could, arriving just as everything was over.

“Looks like we missed some fun,” Sundance said sarcastically. “I take it this is your hoofiwork, Blessed Blade?”

“Not all. I hadst some assistance,” Megan said, gesturing to the batpony.

Noting the newcomers, the batpony sized them up and looked on with a sort of studious approval. “Oh, wow. Are you two knights from the Church of the Alicorns? I didn’t even know the Church still had them!”

“It’s not like we’re a secret or anything,” Twilight told her. “It’s just that the Equestrian military does most of the protection of the land nowadays. But we still exist and we still have our missions when called upon. And you are?”

“Oh, me?” The batpony gave a smile. “I’m Daisyblaze! Equestria’s finest scholar, explorer and adventurer! Think of me as like Daring Do, except that I’m real!”

“Thou hast said thee wast gentle with this tribe of unfortunate souls?” Megan asked her.

“What’s with her Equish?”

Sundance couldn’t help but be impish. “Miss Daisyblaze, you just happen to have insulted one of the world’s greatest legends. This here is none other than the Megan herself – the ancient heroine and paladin of Queen Faust, the savior of Equus a thousand times over and the greatest saint the world has ever known!”

A mildly annoyed look came mover Megan’s face. “Those art naught b’t stories and campfire bandywords, fit f’r telling to children. And thou knowest I misprise frippery and formality!” She then grinned and added, “Eke, I hardly ponder myself ‘ancient’!”

“But you’re thousands of years old, Lady Megan! You’re older than Celestia herself by a longshot!” Twilight added.

“Mayhaps, but yond doth not maketh me a fusty crone! I’ll hast thee knoweth I’m in mine own prime!”

“Sure thing, Granny,” Sundance snickered.

It was at this point that Daisyblaze suddenly realized that, yes, she was in the presence of one of the most ancient and sacred beings in Equestria. “Y-you’re…you’re the Megan!”

Megan took a courtly bow. “Megan of Yorkshire, Duchess of Cascade’s Waterfall, Grandmaster of the Knights o’ the Ord’r of the Quill, Swordbearer to Mine Lady Majesty, Queen Faust, and moo titles and sobriquets than I’d very much care to recall ‘r break with, at thy service.”

Daisyblaze did the only thing she could, given the circumstances and the adrenaline: she passed out.

“Well,” Sundance commented, scratching the back of her head, “I think she took that very well, don’t you?”

Hours later the pale sun rose, beginning to bring what little light it could to Home. By a small miracle, a small number of survivors had been found, huddling in terror in the lumber storehouses, and Daisyblaze convinced them they were safe. That panic soon returned as Megan retrieved both their campsite gear as well as Dinah; the massive size of the wolf was enough to make the Arkan Sonney shrink in horror once more until Megan repeatedly assured them they were safe.

So as Sundance set to the grisly task of gathering the remains for burial and Twilight began to set up a series of defensive spells, Daisyblaze spoke to the now-village elder, a young hedgehog sow of no more than thirty years. “I told them it wasn’t safe to be here anymore,” the batpony said with sadness, looking at Megan. “There’s another village of their own kind down the river, and that one I know is safe because I left there yesterday to come back here. The two groups don’t really get along well with one another, but given what happened, I’m sure they’ll take the survivors of this place in.”

“Doth thee plan to wend with those folk to the other village to ejaculate what hath happened?”

“Ejaculate?” Daisyblaze stared at the woman for a second before she remembered. “Oh yeah – you mean the old meaning of that word.”

“Is thither any other?”

“I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just say that. Anyway, no, I think they’ll be fine without me – the other village can send guards to confirm their story. In any case, I’m going with you all. I overheard Sundance explain why you’re out here and you need air support, and I’m just the kind of mare that can provide. Plus, these were my friends and I want to get justice for them. And lastly, I’m an adventurous mare, and this sounds like one Tartarus of an adventure, so count me in!”

“Thee doth realize yond this is a truly perilous quest, doest thee not?” Megan warned her. “We shall test the remainder of Tirek’s host, and poss’bly worse deviltries! Thither is a chance yond coequal I mayest not be stout enow to winneth this task.”

“I’ll take my chances. I don’t think I can look at myself in a mirror if I didn’t do this.”

The human was silent for the longest time, so much so that Daisyblaze began to seriously worry that she was going to be shot down. But then Megan put out a fist to bump and said, “We shalt travel the roads together, save the babe and gain justice f’r thy fallen cater-cousins. This I holidam and gage in mine own queen’s name.”

“I guess that’s a yes,” the batpony replied, giving her a hoofbump in return. “So, do I call you Blessed Blade, or—”

“Mine own name is sufficient. Forsooth, I’d prefer such.”

“Then you can just call me Daisy!” Daisyblaze said with a grin, “just don’t call me an amateur!”

“Actually, what I’d like to call you is interesting,” Twilight said as she approached. “Where did you get the bandoliers of throwing knives? I can sense the flame blast spell on them, but there’s also one on the bandoliers themselves….”

“Oh, that? It’s a spell that regenerates a copy of whatever is in the slot so long as it’s empty. Don’t really know how it works, but it does without fail. Occasionally I’ll put snacks in one of the slots and a few hours later – voila! – perfect copy of my food. As for the knives, they’re just regular old throwing knives that I’ve learned how to put my combat magic on.”

“You have combat magic? Were you in the military?”

“No, it’s just tied to my cutie mark. I’ve always wanted to explore, so I was never really a good fit for the military,” Daisyblaze explained.

“Well, we’re wrapping up here, and the rest of the locals are going to be setting the pyres soon and burn the remainders of the village, or so I gathered, since I don’t speak their language,” Sundance said, “so we’d best get going.”

“Alloweth me setteth the tack and saddle on Dinah and we’ll depart,” Megan agreed. “We’ve a long ways and like Childe Rolande himself, we hast a road a headeth of us.”

“Sounds like a plan then!” Daisyblaze agreed. “Let me go say my goodbyes to the remaining villagers and then we’ll get going.” A second later, a thought came to mind. “Um…Lady Megan?”

“Aye?”

“Um…who’s ‘Childe Rolande’?”

“By Lord Tirek’s beard!” Spartoi pulled away from his scrying cauldron, the green fumes of the noxious liquid within no longer showing the image before him. “Whatever Equestria has summoned to do its bidding, it’s a monster.” He rushed over to where the Witch was. This couldn’t wait.

He found her with the pony brat. As per their agreement, when she was in her pony disguise, he was to treat her like a captive. “Mare,” he growled, “I have need of your services.”

“Not right now,” she told him, not really looking at him. Thankfully, the filly was asleep.

“I said now,” he told her. “Don’t make me say it once more.”

Narrowing her eyes, the Witch followed him out of the structure they’d built to hold the filly. “Don’t you dare presume to tell me what to do, Spartoi.”

“It is what you told me when you were in that form,” he commented, gesturing to her pony disguise. “Furthermore, don’t get attached to that brat. You know what you have to do in a few days and females like you always get weak in the knees when there’s a little baby to take care of.”

Plundervines appeared and a second later the Witch was in her normal form. “Watch your tongue, cyclops,” she hissed at him. “I know what my role is. Do you?”

“I serve my lord and master, Tirek,” he retorted. “I never forget that. But I wonder if it’s the same for you.” One eye bored at two for several disquieting seconds.

Finally, the Witch spoke. “You had something to tell me, so out with it.”

“They have sent something unnatural against us,” he told her. “Something I’ve never seen before and fights with a savage intent. It wiped out some of our forces within a heartbeat.” He then explained everything he’d seen during his scrying, and when he was done, she scowled at him.

“You fool. Can you not control your own armies?” she scoffed at him.

“If I am a fool, you’re a bigger one,” he told her. “Armies need entertainment as well as food to survive. That village was there along the way and provided all of that as well as practice afterwards. And if those villagers hadn’t survived to tell of our position, it would have been all the better. But Kardak made the mistake of thinking that just because he was the same species as Tirek, that he had even a fraction of our master’s talents and spellcraft. Whatever that thing was showed him otherwise.”

The Witch pondered on it. “It sounds as though he fell on the wrong side of the Megan.”

“The Megan?” Spartoi laughed. “That’s nothing but a pony legend, a story mothers tell their offspring at night. Better to believe that Nightmare Moon was fighting against us than to tell my troops that excuse!”

“Oh, she’s real all right,” the Witch told her. “She’s as real as Faust herself. Furthermore, she is likely as powerful, and it’s clear that the ponies only bring her out when they feel the fate of the world is at stake. You should be honored: they clearly consider you a true threat. Otherwise, they might send Discord or the Bearers.”

He laughed. “So instead they send a figment of imagination.”

“Figment or not,” the Witch said as she walked away from him, “one of your armies was destroyed in total. Imaginary creatures can’t do that.”

The Witch walked towards a second stone edifice that she’d created in the past day. Unlike the other, this was where the ritual would be performed. She looked around the mostly barren room, which contained two massive curved spikes at one end, and a pair of carvings that she’d told Spartoi were necessary for her ritual. Elsewise, there was a stone altar that she was currently using for a table, though it would in the end serve as the place of death for little Erroria. For now, though, it contained her grimoires and research equipment, items she critically needed for this plan.

She opened up a grimoire whose cover had been made from the skin of a zebra. She remembered making it well: The zebra had begged for its life when she claimed it and the screams filled her mind still. Its death throes had helped to empower the book and had helped her find exactly what she was looking for.

Anima errorum. Every thousand years, or so the legend went, a creature was born on Equus that wasn’t supposed to be. It was outside the realm of creation for unknown reasons, and the magic of the world seemed to react to it in strange ways. She’d first heard the truth of it a millennium past, when an Abyssian was born with the ability to constantly change its coat color. Given that Abyssinians were one of the species on Equus that were magicless, the Witch looked into it more and had thrown herself into the studies of it over the years. She’d found that if she could gain the unstable power that came from an anima errorum, she could do whatever she willed, and become even more powerful than Faust herself!

So she bided her time until the next had been born, and so it had come up again in the form of young Erroria. Born to Canterlot nobleponies who summered occasionally in a small home in Ponyville, there had been conflicting reports of the pegasus filly having been seen as an earth pony, a unicorn and (even once, though by a clearly drunken witness) as an alicorn! Her cutie mark was said to change often, though when most saw her, she had not even yet earned her mark. Records from the hospitals in both Ponyville and Canterlot cleared her of being affected by the cutie pox, and they likely would have discovered her status as an anima errorum, had they known of its existence. Thankfully that was not the case, and that both the Guild and the Church were unaware of her or unconcerned about what she could portent.

Soon, the power within the filly would be hers, and her true plans could begin. She would see them through, even though it meant hurting an innocent child.

It was a cruel world, after all.

It was late in the day when they’d reached their destination. The foggy forest had given away to near-barren plainlands, and the tang of salt filled the air. To their right, the ocean could be seen, though at this time of year, there should not have been icebergs floating in the waters. The slope they followed led down a winding road that would eventually lead to the shore and with it, maybe a boat that could be hired to take them to their next destination.

“We shouldst stand ho hither f’r the eve,” Megan advised. “Elsewise we would enter any town at night and given all hath occur’d, the villeins might mark overly wary. Far better f’r those good folk to see us in the day, at which hour we can display a friendlier countenance.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight said, yawning. “I don’t have an earth pony’s stamina anyway.”

“That’s not what Ribbontwist says. She says you—”

“Shut up, Dance.”

Daisyblaze laughed. “Well, since I naturally have fire magic at my disposal, how about I make dinner? I make a mean chili con carrot.” Both of the other ponies agreed, and Megan, who had not had it before, decided it would be interesting fare. She untied Dinah and told her to hunt, but to bring back a rabbit so she could get her own needs from meat.

“You eat meat?” Sundance asked her.

“Mine own kind is omnivorous, though because of all those ‘round me I partake not oft. I knoweth ponies can catch wary of those who partake of sweetbreads.” A thought then came over Megan as she used her magic to thaw a nearby boulder so she could rest her back against it. “Ah, this reminds me of something! Peradventure I shouldst bid a tale?”

“Oh?” Both Twilight and Daisyblaze looked at her with interest. “What is it?”

“A tale of from mine own earlier days, at which hour Queen Faust still trod the earth. ‘Tis a tale of mine own knightly apprentice, Starswirl and the events after a quest we undertook in Araby.”

Sundance looked confused. “Araby?”

“An old name for Saddle Arabia,” Daisyblaze explained.

“Wait,” Twilight interjected. “Starswirl the Bearded was your apprentice? The Starswirl the Bearded?”

“At which hour thou remark him as such, thee sound as though he wast a figure of legend. But to me, he wast at each moment the fartous, gentle stallion I led,” Megan stated.

“But how? He was the best magic user that ever existed, or at least until Princess Twilight came along. And I don’t recall hearing anything about him being a knight!”

“Ah, but back in those days, thither wast nay formality of roles and rules, and knights couldst eke toil as mages and mages knights. Nonesuch Guild f’r formal tut’lage, and no true military f’r strict martial instruct. In those days ere gone, Starswirl wast a promising swordsstallion, with an eager interest in the charming arts. He’d actually cometh to us from his village by way of the bodkin and pike and at which hour I did see his desire in knowledge of blade and spellcraft, and so I tooketh him as mine own personal apprentice.

“We hadst just complet’d our task in Araby hunting down a myrmecoleon – a half-ant, half-lion, nasty creature. The queen of the lamia hadst request’d aid of Queen Faust at the time, and with thither being troubles in the Griff’n Kingdom at the time, I claim’t ‘pon myself to wend with Starswirl to Araby.”

“Myrmecoleons? Lamia? Are you pulling our legs?” Sundance asked.

“Myrmecoleons used to exist – there’s a skeleton of one in the Royal Museum of History in Canterlot,” Daisyblaze stated. “And I met the current queen of the lamia last year. There’s not many of them left, sadly. The war between the Sisters nearly wiped out all of their species since they were on Luna’s side, and mistrust of them still persists. They’re actually very peaceful and kind.”

“No, what’s a lamia? Twila, want to explain for stupid ponies like me?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Half-pony half-snake hybrids, all mares. They don’t consider themselves ponies, though when it comes time to take a mate, they change into a fully earth mare form until after their eggs hatch. While I haven’t met any personally, reputedly they’re really kind and they only joined Nightmare Moon’s army because she promised their queen at the time a bevvy of stallions of her choice. From what the history books say, she was kind of a perv.”

Megan chuckled. “Well, that lady wasn’t the only. At which hour ‘t cameth time to claim our reward from Queen Helianthus, to me, the lady gaveth a bejewel'd bodkin as a token of our friendship. But f’r Starswirl, well, he wast promise far moo: f’r at which hour we arrived, ‘twas just in the midst of mating season and so Helianthus, all three of her daughters, and about three score of the lamia mares within town all did look at him with the same way Dance japes yond other mares behold Twila.”

“Hah, see! Even Lady Megan noticed that, Twila!” Sundance teased.

“Kill me now,” Twilight facehoofed. “Lady Megan, please continue before I set Dance on fire.”

Megan gave her friends a whimsical smile and continued. “Since we hadst to tarry a fortnight f’r a boat to pick us up from the Isle of Lamia, during such time, Starswirl wast bombard’d with requests by dozens of amorous mares. Some hadst figur’d into their pony forms as eft f’r him at a moment’s beckon. But yond wasn’t entirely whither the hum’r cometh from. Because they did want to claim his charms, the lamia mares didst what they hath felt wast natural f’r those folk: they did cook a grand feast f’r their intended, as wast their custom.”

“Why do I get a feeling that this didn’t turn out well for Lord Starswirl?” Twilight asked.

“Because at which hour lamia art in pony form, they hast pony bodes and natures,” Megan explained, “but most of those folk wast still in their lamia forms and as such besettled with lamia natures: cold sanguities, and a needeth to consume meat to keepeth themselves warm. Thus, every meal they did prepare f’r us wast heavy on sweetbreads: crabs, gudgeon, but eke some of the game of the land: musimions, questing beasts, bennu, yond sort of thing. F’r a human like me, such repasts ‘twere delicious. But f’r a pony, who doth not partake of meats…. ”

The three ponies at once suddenly looked very queasy. “And he had to put up with that for two whole weeks?” Daisyblaze asked.

The human nodded. “But the final straw cameth at which hour Princess Harplium, the youngest of Heliantus’ brood, quested and took the biggest questing beast on that lady’s own – enow to fe’d the whole town. But sorely set ‘pon winning Starswirl’s heart, the lady did cook’t in secret and surpris’d him with a private feast, just f’r him in a massive chamb’r of both food and bedclothing so they would consummate afterwards! Needless to sayeth, Starswirl wast sicken’d by the meat and so lock’d himself in his cubiculo f’r the remainder of the time we wast on the island!” Megan laughed uproariously at the recollection. “Imagine, ladies! Starswirl the Bold, ‘r so he hath called himself back then, laid base by a comely lamia maiden, outside his do’r with food and begging him to sample her fineries!”

Four ladies broke out into fits of unrestrained laughter, and the good mood continued on when Daisyblaze served her chili. Twilight made a joke asking the batpony if she’d put meat into it and in turn, Daisyblaze teased Twilight if she was secretly a lamia looking for a snuggle or more. Afterwards, the group continued to share stories and talk until the last of the firewood turned to embers and Megan suggested they call it a night.

Pulling out her blanket and looking at the night sky, which was clear, with Luna’s moon hanging above, Megan felt a pang in her heart. Yet another symbol of what she’d lost and wanted so dearly to regain. Her earthly relatives were nothing more than bare memories, and with Faust gone and Starswirl long dead, the solar and lunar alicorns were pretty much the only family she had left. One she could never see, because of the vow she’d made to their mother.

“Faust, why did you put this weight on me?” the swordmaiden asked the empty sky. “E’en immortals are not meant to be alone, and mine travails hath always been bereft of comp’ny. These new companions of mine hither shall vade in time as well. Wherefore didst thee bid me such, mine own queen?”

As always, the sky gave no answer, and she settled into a sleep. It didn’t matter if the dream became a nightmare once again, for they were dreams that not even Luna could tread upon.

In truth, Megan would forever suffer such damnable night visions if it meant she could be reunited with the only family she had left.

Next Chapter: Between the Salt Water and the Sea Sand Estimated time remaining: 24 Minutes