Chapters As Twilight flew away from Canterlot, a broad smile sprawling across her face. She looked down at the sprawling landscape, now seeing what it was like to fly like her pegasus friends. Twilight looked up, across the plains at a small town, barely visible behind the hills from the castle. A town that she called home, Ponyville. She took her time getting there, spending as much time flying as possible, enjoying every second of it. Celestias sun was starting to set when Twilight landing and stumbled to the door of the library, getting used to walking again. She twisted the handle and creaked the door open, the inside was pitch black.
"Huh, I figured Spike would have at least lit some candles." The moment Twilight set a hoof inside, everything lit up in a blinding flash. Twilight blinked a few times to see again, and once she could, she was greeted with all her ponyville friends had gathered there. Twilight smiled as she immediately knew who did this.
"Surprise!" The pink party pony jumped in front of her with an always beaming smile. Pinkie bounced around the new princess as the rest of the main six approached Twilight. One by one, each congratulated her.
"Oh darling, you are simply glowing. Congratulations." Rarity smiled and hugged her.
"Way to go Twilight, we knew you could do it! And hey, now I can have a training 'partner'." Rainbow Dash laughed and went next to Rarity.
"Ah'm proud of you Twi, and I know ya'll be the best princess ya can be." AppleJack hugged her and walked over to the others. The only pony left was Fluttershy as she sheepishly walked up to twilight and tightly hugged her.
"Congratulations Twilight, Im so happy for you." She smiled, and got pulled into a huge clump with the rest of the group by Pinkie Pie. Twilight was on the verge of tears, the party seem to stand still as she smiled, tears of pure happiness now falling down her face. She hugged all of them and didnt want to let go, but did and held up a hoof for the party's attentions, which quickly gave it.
"Thank you, all of you, so much. I dont think Ive ever felt like this ever before, and I owe it all to you." She looked to her friends, all with smiles.
"Now let’s get this party started!" As Twilight yelled this, Pinkie rolled out the party cannon and blasted the whole crowd with confetti.
Twilight woke up the next morning, her face stuffed into a pillow and her crown almost sideways on her head. She smiled as she stretched and stood up from the bed, lifting her crown off and placing it on her nightstand. She levitated a brush and fixed her bed mane before leaving her room. She looked through the library, expecting a partied out mess for her to clean, but was pleasantly surprised to see a clean and sparkling library. A smell from further downstairs grabbed her attention and lured her to the kitchen.
“Good morning, princess.” A small dragon smiled at Twilight as he cooked, almost singing his ‘kiss the dragon’ apron doing so.
“Good morning spike, did you clean up?” Twilight sat at the table and watched Spike cook.
“I had some help from the girls after everyone else left and you went to bed.” Spike finished cooking and put the meal on the table. As they ate, Twilight went on about what they were going to do today, from studying, to rearranging, and finishing up with going out on the town. Spike nodded as he cleaned up and put everything away.
“Anything specific you want to do, spike?” Spike looked back at Twilight and thought for second, but right as he was about to answer, a knocking interrupted the two. Twilight sighed and stood up and walked to the door, followed by spike. She opened the door to see the grey mail mare.
“Package for Twilight Sparkle.” Derpy smiled and dropped the package on the doorstep. She flew off without saying anything or asking for anything, even a muffin.
“Huh, she must be pretty busy to fly off like that.” Spike commented as Twilight levitated the box inside. She opened the top and found nothing but a scroll. Simply white with frayed edges and sides, wrapped up neatly with a golden string. Twilight tilted her head in confusion.
“What is it? Twilight?” Spike walked over and peered into the box. He reached down and pulled out the scroll, looking through the sides to see what was in it.
“Think its from one of the other princess’s?” Spike asked as he reached for the string, only to be swatted away by Twilight. She levitated the scroll away from the curious little dragon.
“They would’ve sent a letter through you, not through the mail. It could be a trap of some sort” She walked into the kitchen, and placed the scroll on the table and stared at it intently. Spike followed closely and looked at it.
“What’s the worst that could happen from a little piece of paper?” Twilight turned and stared down Spike.
“Have you already forgotten the Starswirl spell incident?” Spike shrunk down and looked down.
“Oh right, sorry.” Twilight calmed down and looked at the little dragon.
“I’m sorry Spike, I just don’t want anything like that, or even worse to happen from us simply opening a scroll. Go
get me all the books we have about magical trap removal and prevention.” Spike saluted the princess, then ran off to collect the books.
Twilight kept moving through the books, trying to find a spell that would work, all of her other attempts failed somehow, even with her magic ability.
"Ugh! Why are none of these spells working?" She flipped to a page at random out of frustration, coming upon a spell she had never seen before.
"What's this? 'Magic Barrier Breaker? I don't remember this spell." She read the spells description and decided for one last effort. She aimed her horn at the scroll and charged up the spell, her horn now glowing a vivid blue before launching at the scroll. After the flash of impact, Twilight looked in amazement as once invisible barrier around the scroll materialized into a golden color and dissolved away, leading Twilight to let out a triumphant yell. She grabbed the scroll and ran out of the kitchen.
"Spike! I did it!" She looked around and saw Spike with Pinkie, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity, all of whom were smiling.
"Spike came an' grabbed us, saying we could help ya' with something. I guess you got it now though." Apple Jack laughed, causing Twilight to smile and hold out the scroll to the group.
"I haven't opened it yet, now may be a good a time as ever." Each of the girls and Spike nodded. Twilight slowly undid the golden string, letting it fall to the floor. She rolled the scroll open tilted her head.
"What's it say?" Rainbow Dash asked, the other ponies leaning closer in anticipation.
"Its a poem. But Its really weird." Twilight answered back, causing Pinkie to smile.
"OoOoOoh, Twilights got a secret admirer." Pinkie laughed, causing Twilight to blush at the thought.
"No Pinkie, its not a love poem." Twilight cleared her throat.
Come home, child. Come home to me. Over obstacles and obstructions, through gate and tunnel, castle and tomb. Over mountains high and valleys low, come home to me.
Before anypony could speak, the scroll began to glow a bright gold, laying strange runes on the floor. First encircling Twilight, then expanding around the others. The ponies scrambled for each other, but somehow couldn't move.
"Hey, I can't fly!" Rainbow struggled to move her wings but to no avail. Fluttershy screamed as the group looked at what she was seeing, Twilight was disappearing, fading into thin air. The screams multiplied when the same started happening to the whole group. First Rainbow, then Spike, Rarity and Apple Jack and finally Pinkie and Fluttershy. Eventually leaving an empty room vacant of all life, and a scroll on the floor.
Chapter 1: New land, New Problems
Twilight's eyes shot open and she inhaled deeply, feeling as if something had knocked the wind out of her, only to inhale a lung full of dust. She hacked and coughed, rolling onto her side as her coughing slowed and ceased. She kept breathing steadily, avoiding another breath of dust.
She took this time to look at her surroundings, taking note of everything around her. A rusted iron gate, solid looking grey stone walls, a large hole in the ceiling, showering her surroundings in light. Moss in the corners and little shadows crawling through a duct high up the wall. She looked at the ceiling and sighed.
"If this was supposed to trap me, maybe there shouldn't be a hole in the ceiling." Twilight sat up, closed her eyes and focused on flying. Twilight frowned as she opened her eyes to see she was still on the ground.
"What the? Why am I not flying?" She turned her head as far as she could to look behind her.
She nearly screamed as she found she had no wings, but not only that but something looked different. Twilight looked at herself, her eyes widened and this time she did scream. Instead of hooves, she had some strange looking appendages that looked like Spikes claws, only longer and more sensitive. She put her hands together and interlinked her fingers and let go. She slowly got used to bending and moving her fingers and hands.
"Hey, these things are pretty useful." She smiled and continued to inspect her new body.
Instead of her usual equine body, it replaced with what she assumed was a bi-pedal form. Upon this thought, Twilight planted her hands on the rough floor and placed one of her new feet planted down, then the other. After finding a balance, she slowly raised her hands from the ground, only to lose balance and fall flat on her butt.
"Ugh, This might take a bit of practice." She tried the same strategy again, making it a bit a further but once again failing.
Eventually, Twilight managed to stand straight up, but her smile turned to a face of 'now what?' She ran through her memories of the books she read about creatures that moved like this, eventually finding the picture she needed. She placed a hand on the closest wall and slowly edged one of her feet forward, her face contorted to a look of pure concentration.
Twilight kept practicing until she acquired the basic movement of her new form. She pushed off of the wall and walked around the whole area of her cell.
"Alright, time to get out of here." She walked toward the iron gate and pushed it, but it barely budged. Twilight frowned as she tried pulling it instead, only to get the same outcome. She grunted as she shook the door.
"That just isn't fair!"Twilight kicked the door, but launched herself away and lost balance, falling against the wall. She curled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. Tears started to well up in Twilight's eyes.
"Why did I have to open that stupid scroll, I ruined everything." Twilight cried till she passed out from exhaustion.
Twilight woke in her cell again, curled up against a wall, her eyes were red from crying and her joints ached from staying still for so long. She straightened her arms and legs and stretched. She looked around the cell, not seeing any change and sighed.
“I’m never going to get out of here.” As she said this, a shadow emerged on the sunlit floor, catching Twilight’s eye and made her look up, another being, almost like her, except in full armor and a closed helmet. She shot up and reached for them.
“Hey! Please help me! I can’t get out!” She pleaded for help but lost hope when the other person stood up and walked off.
“No, come back!” Her arms dropped as she gave up, and turned around. Twilight sat in her corner again, staring at the hole in the ceiling. Then a sound caught her ear, heavy metal hitting something, and it sounded close. Twilight stood again to see the person return.
“If you really are the one I’m looking for,” The person bent down and dumped a shriveled body down the hole, “Take this chance and escape, I’ll meet you when you get out.” The person walked off, leaving Twilight with the body.
Once she focused on the body, the smell hit her like a train, making her gag and cough. She stopped and held her breath to get closer, noticing an iron key connected its belt. She slowly reached forward, still holding her breath. She grabbed a hold of the key and tugged, but the belt resisted. She pulled again and managed to tug the key off the belt. She recoiled as she couldn't hold her breath anymore and gasped for air.
She stood against the wall and worked her way to the door, staying as far away from the body as she could. Twilight reached the door and grabbed onto the handle, looking for the lock. She found it and plunged the key in and twisted it, giving a satisfying click.
She smiled and threw open the door. She stumbled into the hall, only to recoil again, as the smell from the body intensified. Twilight covered her mouth and nose and looked down the hallway. There were three more bodies like the one in her cell, only they were moving. They looked like they should be dead, but then again, Twilight knew nothing of this new land.
Keeping her hand over her mouth, she moved forward, keeping away from the cell doors and the other ‘things’. One was holding the door of its cell and shook it loudly when Twilight got near, either wanting help or to get to her. Either way, she avoided it while the two in the hall simply stared at her with empty black sockets with bright orange dots for eyes. She shivered when she made eye contact with one and it stared right back. She walked up the stairs at the end and slowly let her hand fall when she entered a dim square room with one other door. The smell of decay was slightly hidden behind the smell of wet stone
She walked around a large pool of water in the center, following a stone path to the door. Twilight reached the door and smiled to see a ladder leading up. She rushed to it and gripped onto it with all her strength, placing one hand on the rung in front of her and the other above and slowly began to climb. After a minute of climbing, she reached the top and layed down on the cold rock floor, glad to be rid of the stench of the prison.
Twilight stood and looked out the doorway in front of her, she peeked around the corners to make sure she was the only one around there. She breathed a sigh of relief as she walked out into a courtyard, the only thing in it was a charred sword looking item impaled into a pit a ash. She approached the sword with curiosity, reaching out for it. With a flash, the ashes lit into a small but brilliant flame that Twilight could feel from her position little more than a foot away, and Twilight smiled and sat next to the fire.
Chapter 3: The princess and The Knight
Twilight heaved the key up to the lock, it weighed far heavier than how light the knight made it look. She rested it in the lock and looked to her right at the knight, who leaned against the door.
"This thing is a lot heavier than it looked." The knight laughed as he planted his hands against the door, ready to push. Twilight twisted the key and the door clicked. The knight pushed on the door, opening it with ease. He walked out and looked around, Twilight followed close behind.
"Never thought I would get out of there." Twilight nodded in agreement as they walked forward, the path bordered on both sides by a steep drop that neither would return from if they took a tumble. Twilight looked at the knight before grabbing onto his arm.
"Before we get anywhere, I need to know some things." The knight turned and looked her in the eyes, and nodded.
"Where am I, what am I and who are you?" The knight sighed, and stood against a piece of broken wall.
"Obviously you are not 'from around here' if you ask what you are. You are a human, ten fingers, two hands, stands upright, all that stuff." Twilight had a confused look as she turned and looked across the landscape.
"So that crazy pony was right? Humans are real?" She whispered to her herself, the knight leaned forward.
"As for who I am," He balled his fist and placed on his chest, "I am Knight Oscar of Astora, I came to free any undead who hadn't hollowed from this dreaded place." He looked at the asylum and shuddered.
"Hollowed?" Twilight turned and faced him. "What do you mean 'Hollowed'?" Oscar looked down at her with worry.
"The curse of the undead that slowly takes us all? You don't know of this?" Oscar finished then remembered that Twilight was 'new.'
"Right, an unknown plague that swept across this whole land, taking all who died with it, bringing them back as empty shells with no will or mind of their own, hence being 'hollowed.' All who are cursed with this," Oscar pulled down a piece of cloth covering the back of his neck, showing a dim circle that glowed slightly with the same color of the fires.
"The dark sign," He added, "All who have it are branded outcasts and pariahs and brought here to rot." He pulled the cloth back up and looked at her. She moved her hand to her neck, making Oscar chuckle.
"Don't worry, I didn't see one on you, so how you ended up here is beyond me. Maybe fate destined that we meet." Twilight laughed, making the knight tilt his head.
"Maybe, Oscar, maybe." Twilight smiled, taking in the calm of the moment, only her and Oscar. He turned to continue down the path, waving for her to follow him. She followed him closely, looking around at the architecture, memorizing every detail about it, and the difference from the buildings back home. She stared at them as Oscar kept walking, approaching the broken off ledge of the pathway.
Twilight caught up with him and stood by his side. She looked from the valley to Oscar.
“Now what? There’s nowhere left to go.” She looked at him closely, hearing a faint whisper from his helmet.
“What are you….” She was cut off by an ear splitting shriek, both Twilight and Oscar recoiled from the ledge. They looked over the ledge as a massive shadow flew up from the depths below and into the sky. Twilight watched as the shadow slowly expanded, pitch black wings extending as it turned to head straight at them. As it flew closer, Twilight saw a beak open and let out another shriek.
When it came within feet of the cliff, Twilight came upon the realization that this thing was a bird, a raven almost as large as a dragon back home. The shriek from earlier hit her as she cowered and covered her ear, her eyes tightly shut. She felt the ground below her quickly disappear as her ears stopped ringing, she lowered her hands to hear Oscar grunt in surprise and she opened her eyes to finally realize, the raven had somehow gently lifted her in her scared state without moving her an inch. Twilight looked down and screamed, gripping onto the ravens talon, seeing she was above the clouds, not being able to see the ground below her.
In any other situation, she wouldn’t have freaked out, but now she didn’t have wings or a method to break her fall. Twilight looked over at Oscar, to see him passed out and hanging limply in the ravens talon, causing Twilight to crack a smile.
“How am I handling this better than him?” She kept her grip on the talon, as a child holding onto its mother. Holding the raven somehow calmed her enough to look around, seeing several places pass below. Massive castles, some barely standing but most were crumbling ruins. But one with thin remnants of what looked like fog covered it, which intrigued Twilight but she decided against wanting to explore it.
After several hours of flying, the raven shrieked again as it descended, below the clouds and closing in fast on a grouping of trees on a pillar of stone, surrounded by almost all sides by a smog far down below. Twilight tensed up as the raven showed no signs of slowing as it neared the ground, she screamed when she though they would hit, only to drop softly on the damp grass below them. She looked up to see the raven drop Oscar limply next to her. It flew over and landed on a ridge of what looked like a ruined building.
Twilight looked in front of her to see sword in the ashes, she smiled and started dragging Oscar over to it. She held out the palm of her hand, the ashes lit up, only much larger this time, covering almost the entire sword. Twilight looked at Oscars still unconscious body and laughed, deciding to take a look around. She looked around, finding a man sitting on a pile of rock and rubble, wearing a strange looking piece of armor, compared to Oscar and the guards back home.
Twilight cautiously approached the man, who looked up at her with a droll look, his half lidded eyes looking her from head to toe.
“You are not undead are you? Why are you here?” She shuddered, he seemed half as likely to kill her as he would hold up a conversation. She stammered as she thought of how to respond.
“My name is Tw…Twilight Sparkle. I don’t know why Im here or what im doing here.” The man smiled looked her dead in the eyes.
“If you don’t know why you are here, than we have nothing to discuss, Miss Sparkle.” He scoffed at her name and waved her away. Twilight stared at him angrily and was about to start unloading on him when she noticed his sword on his belt. She backed away and turned around to keep looking, she opted for the stairs leading up. She passed by Oscar, who still lay on the ground, slowly coming to. She hopped up the stairs and kept looking around. She entered the building next to the one the raven landed on. She found a rather ‘bulky’ man leaning against a wall with a solid looking mace on his waist. He looked at her and smiled.
“Ah, another one come to this cursed and forgotten land? A lost and lonely soul seeking a meaning?” He pushed off the wall and started towards her, a warm smile calming Twilight into walking forward. The man bowed to her and looked up meeting her eyes.
“Im am Petrus, of house Throrlund,” He stood above her, “A pleasure to meet you m’lady.” Twilight blushed slightly at the formality from a complete stranger.
“I am princess Twilight Sparkle, a pleasure to meet you as well.” She bowed back, but on the word ‘princess’ reaching Petrus, he stumbled back and looked at her.
“Princess? But you are but a child, how is this so?” Twilight looked at herself then to Petrus. She was about to answer when Oscar called from behind her.
“Twilight! There’s someone here I want you to meet!” She turned to Oscar and smiled.
“Im sorry, sir, but I have to go. We shall talk another time.” She sprinted back down the stairs to Oscar, who sighed and started towards the man on the rubble. He turned left down a staircase Twilight hadn’t even noticed. The stair case wrapped around to an open area overlooking the pit. Oscar stopped in front of a small cage, a small yet familiar whimper came from a shadow inside. Twilight walked towards Oscar and looked in the cage, causing the shadow to move. Twilight tilted her as a hooded woman crawled towards the bars. She stopped suddenly, a few strands of pink hair falling out from the hood.
“Twlight? Is that really you?” A mall squeaky voice called to her.
Chapter 4: Welcome to Lordran
"Twi....Twilight? Is it really you?" The voice asked as the woman moved closer, looking up at her slightly. Twilight let out a gasp when she made eye contact with the woman.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight fell to her knees and gripped the bars of the cage. Oscar stood there looking between the two, feeling a sense of happiness between the two but at the same time, the overbearing sadness of the current situation. He sighed and left the two alone, walking back up to the fire above.
"What happened? Why are you in there?" She kept a hold of the bars and looked at her friend, on the verge of tears.
"I....I dont know, after you read the scroll, I blacked out. After who knows how long, I woke up in here, looking like this." Fluttershy pulled back her hood, revealing her pale face with pink hair falling down her face.Twilight frowned and yanked on the bars, trying with all her might to free Fluttershy. Twilights grip slipped and she fell back, causing her to groan.
"I already tried that Twilight." Fluttershy crawled to the back of the cage, her legs folding out in front of her. Twilight gasped when she saw the blood stained skirt that Fluttershy sat in. Twilight sat motionless, tears starting to fall.
"Fluttershy, what......what happened?" She stared at the blood covered skirt in shock.
"I woke up like this Twilight.......I cant move that well though." Twilight kept staring at the skirt, then stood up.
"I promise I'll find a way to get you out of there." Fluttershy looked up at Twilight with a frown. Twilight started back to the stairs slowly, but stopped when Fluttershy called out for her. She turned and rushed back to the cage.
"What is it?" Twilight had a worried look on her face as she reached Fluttershy.
"I heard that there was someone new here nearby. I can hear what goes on up there really well for some reason." Twilights eyes widened and she moved closer.
"Do you think its one of the girls? How long ago was this?" Her excitement and worry caused her to edge even closer and raise her voice, making Fluttershy shrink back as far as she could go. Twilight noticed this and backed off, letting go of the bars. They both relaxed and Fluttershy moved closer to Twilight.
"I dont know if it was one of the girls, but it wasnt that long ago." Fluttershy kept thinking on it as Twilight stood up again.
"Even if it isnt one of them, we still need all the help we can. Lets just hope it is though." Fluttershy looked up at Twilight with worry plain to see across her face, she looked back at her with a soft smile.
"I'll be back, dont worry. I dont plan on dying here." She walked towards the stairs and up to the fire. Oscar was waiting patiently next to the fire. He looked over at Twilight and waved at her to come over. Twilight slowly approached him with tears still in her eyes from seeing Fluttershy. She sat next to Oscar and smiled slightly, realizing that Fluttershy was probably safe inside that cage atleast. Oscar looked over at Twilight and sighed.
"Im sorry about your friend being in the shape she is." Oscar crossed his legs next to the fire, his armor plates scraping against each other as he moved. Twilight looked over at Oscar with a smile and edged closer to him.
"Thank you." Oscar noticed her moving closer and shifted uncomfortably as Twilight closed her eyes and leaned over on his shoulder, ignoring the stiff surface of his armor. She sighed and slowly started to nod off from the warmth of the fire and a stable body to lean on. Oscar shifted again, causing her to open her eyes and look over at him, a light blush spread across Twilights cheeks when she saw Oscars helmet barely an inch from her face. She scooted away in an instant to the other side of the fire and stared down.
"Im sorry, I....I...I..." The blush held to her face as Oscar let out a chuckle, surprising Twilight. She looked at him and saw he was standing over her and the fire, gripping his shield. He looked up a massive mountain behind Twilight, looking at the top pf a building he could barely see from where he was.
"Fluttershy told me that someone was nearby, it could be one of my friends." Oscar looked down at her and tilted his head.
"Friends? You're not alone?" Twilight shook her and held up her hand with all digits held up.
"Five friends, You've already met Fluttershy down there. The ones that are left are Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity." Oscar scratched his helmet with a confused gesture.
"Odd names, but if I were to make an educated guess, one of them will be there." Oscar pointed up at the building at the top of the mountain behind Twilight. She looked up and could barely see the building, then back down to Oscar.
"You're going to help?" The knight nodded and looked over to the man sitting on the rubble pile. He walked over and started talking to him, none of which Twilight had heard, she focused on the building at the top and closed her eyes.
"Please let one of you be there, and please Celestia keep them safe." Oscar approached Twilight and nodded to her, she smiled and stepped back, waiting for him to lead on. He moved forward towards the cliffside and followed it to a hidden staircase on the side of the mountain, with Twilight close behind.
Oscar was the first to top the stairs, followed by Twilight. He looked ahead, taking note of the several hollows that guarded the path ahead. He heard Twilight take a deep breath, he turned to her to see her visibly trembling. She looked at him and took several more breaths, calming her enough to think.
"Whats wrong with them? Why are they like this? Is this what happens to anypony who has that ..... dark sign was it?" Oscar nodded, ignoring the fact that she had just said 'anypony'.
"Yes, this is the fate of the undead, those who lose purpose of hope prey upon the living, stealing their souls to satiate their hunger. This is our eventual fate." The knight looked down in disgrace, leaving Twilight dumbfounded.
No, No way! It cant be true! Twilight fought back her emotions, placing her hand on Oscars shoulder, causing him to look over curiously.
"I wont let whatever happened to them happen to you, I promise." She didnt know how the curse came about or if there was even a to fight it off long enough to get rid of it. Twilight pushed those thoughts aside and smiled, she made a promise to save her friend, and she planned to keep it.
"I will not let myself turn so long as you and your companions are here. I swear on my knight hood." He moved in front of Twilight, drawing his sword and starting towards the hollowed. Twilight readied herself, gripping her staff tightly and taking a few more breaths. Two of the hollows moaned as they sensed another presence, living and with a soul. They turned to the two and started forward, going into a light jogging speed at them.
"Take the one on the right!" Oscar rushed the hollow on the left blocking its attempted attack and making it stumble back. Twilight looked over to see the second hollow coming straight for her. She ducked in time to dodge to broken blade, only losing a few hairs in the process. She landed on her butt, letting out an 'oomph'. Looking up, she saw the hollow coming down at her with the half broken sword, instinctively Twilight raised her staff to block the incoming attack. What happened, however, was a flash a dark blue, launching the hollow back several feet with a red hot hole burnt through its chest. An amount that wasn't blown out the back of the hollow now blood dabbled Twilights staff and face, leaving her stunned in place for a few seconds.
"Gah!" The sound of Oscar in trouble drew her attention over to her left in time to see his shield catch fire as a small circular object hit it, as well as his sword deflect the sword of another hollow, this one wearing actual armor and brandishing a shield and full sword this time. Twilight shot up and aimed her staff at the hollow and focused, light blue energy started collecting around the top, followed by darker blue, sending a stronger feeling to Twilight in the process. She released the energy aimed straight at the hollow, a dark and light blue arrow of energy traveling and hitting its mark. Dead center of mass.
The hollow keeled over as Oscar stood and looked over at the now shaken Twilight. He sighed and walked over to her, sheathing his sword. He reached out for her when she yelled and shoved him to the left, causing him to land on his back. An explosion of fire erupted from the spot where he was, thrown from above them by another hollow. He stood and charged up a staircase embedded in the mountain wall next to when the hollow reared back to throw another bomb. He drew his sword and quickly impaled the hollow, its arm going limp and harmlessly dropping the bomb.
His victory was cut short when two more hollows charged him from two different side. He raised his shield to one and his sword to the other. They were almost upon him when two more dark blue bolts hit them, blasting ones head open, spraying blood out the opening, and the other landing shortly after, hitting the hollow in the side of the chest. It fell face first as momentum kept it moving forward. Oscar turned to see the blood covered Twilight holding the staff towards his direction as the traces of magic wore off. She lowered the staff and stumbled over to Oscar, slightly panting.
"Do you do this often?" The knight nodded, causing Twilight to groan, not used to the sheer amount of adrenaline now pumping through her. Oscar saw this and smiled under his helmet.
"Well then, lets be off shall we?" Twilight reluctantly nodded and followed Oscar up yet another flight of stairs leading to the inside of what seemed to be an aqueduct. He made his way through the short tunnel and up even more stairs, the princess in tow. Several more hollows noticed them but weren't given a chance to fight as magic and steel toppled them easily.
After clearing the area, Twilight took the chance to stay still for a few moments, the fatigue of her adrenaline rush now creeping up on her.
"Take a break princess, gods know you deserve one. I'll scout ahead, for any more hollows." Twilight nodded and smiled, reveling the silence and peace that she was now a part of. She slid down the closest wall and sighed, the fatigue almost in full force. Her mind now wandered to other subjects to distract her from the gory mess not 5 feet from her position. After thinking for several minutes, she started to, in detail, wonder about her companion. A knight named Oscar, that was all she knew. Not even his face, even though having to lift his helmet to help him back in the asylum. She thought about what he looked like under the armor, her curiosity getting the better of her, he was obviously incredibly strong from how he could take the damage he had and still fight with the same spirit he always seemed to have.
As Twilight lingered on this subject, she began imaging what he looked like without the armor, large arms under a thick layer of steel, each one working perfectly with another to keep him at his best and any he cared for safe. Fully built upper body, able to take any punishment. Twilight felt her face start to heat up as she continued undressing him and going into detail about each part. She shook her head to try rid herself of the thoughts. It didn't matter what she pictured, he would look the same every time.
Stay professional Twilight, for the girls. As she thought this, she heard a clinking sound come from a doorway in front of her, Oscar soon emerged, scratching his head.
"May need your help with something." He nervously chuckled and stopped scratching his head.
"Theres some crazy woman up ahead with a club that will not budge, Diplomacy isnt my strong suit. Maybe you could try?"
Twilight laughed and slowly stood up, taking a few steps but stumbled. She was caught short of falling by the strong arm that she was just imagining about. She tried to hide her blush as Oscar lifted her back to her feet and kept ready in case Twilight actually falls from fatigue. The princess made her way through the small room to come out a doorway to an old looking fortification. A loud voice filled the air around them that instantly broke Twilight out of her fatigued stupor.
"AH' AINT MOVIN' TILL TWI GETS HERE AND FIXES THIS CONFOUNDED MESS!" The voice was followed by several groans and splatter sounds.
"You think we can talk her into letting us by?" Oscar meekly asked from Twilights right.
"I hope so...."
Chapter 6: Worse and worse
Twilight sprinted up the stairs as fast as she could, Oscar now following closely behind. He barely had time to react when Twilight suddenly stopped, Oscar stumbled and dove past Twilight to avoid barreling through her. He landed on his back with a long groan.
"Why'd you stop! I could have hurt you." He looked up at the princess who now had a face of pure shock, her eyes were as wide as they could go and her mouth hung wide open.
"Whats wrong?" Oscar stated moving to stand up when Twilight raised her hand, her finger pointing towards the area in front of her. Ahead of the two was a gruesome sight, several bodies, all hollows, littered the ground. Their heads were smashed in and blood was everywhere. Twilight gagged and turned away trying to stop herself from throwing up, but failing.
As she heaved on the steps, Oscar moved forward to the bodies, as he drew closer the sound from earlier hit him again as he saw another hollow drop down the the steps ahead of him, its face completely dented in. Oscar raised his shield in case whatever caused this and looked up the stairs.
"Who are you? Ya'll arent like the others 'round here." Oscar looked to where the voice came from, up the stairs and was taken aback. At the top of the steps stood a woman, wielding a very bloody club and wearing only a pair of leather leggings and a cloth wrap over her torso. Dark tanned skin that, like the club, had a crimson covering. A feminine yet strong face topped off with a vibrant blonde ponytail, freckles covered her face but wheres eyes should have been were dark sockets with an orange glow, but it seemed to gaze through Oscar, sending a shiver down his back.
"Answer me, or so help me I'll cave your head in with the rest!" She pointed the club at Oscar and prepared to charge. Before Oscar could speak though, Twilight shot in front of him with her hands raised towards the aggressive woman.
"AppleJack, stop! He's with me! There's no need to attack anyone!" The woman gasped, taking a few steps back and lowering her club.
"Tw...Twilight? Is it really you?" Twilight nodded in response. Oscar started to lower his shield as AppleJack kept stepping away from the two.
"No, it isn't you. It can't be." Applejack turned and started to run, leaving the princess in even more shock then before. Oscar stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm afraid your friend has already started to hollow Twilight, did you not see her eyes?" Twilight's eyes started watering as she trembled at the thought of one of her best friends becoming one of these mindless things. Oscar was about to say more to try and help the princess but he barely had time to react when Twilight suddenly burst forward in a full sprint.
"You're wrong! She can be saved!" Oscar cursed and started to run after her, following her voice as she called out her friends name. Twilight sprinted past many more dead hollows, knowing Applejack had to have killed them to get through. She kept calling her friends name as she moved past doors and ladders and staircases. Eventually leading to a staircase going up to what looked like a several story tower. She took a step forward but was pulled back by a powerful force and was lifted off of her feet to be eye level with Oscar.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" His voice echoed through the entire area and Twilight cringed from his voice, not hearing this level of anger from him. His anger seemed to radiate, causing the princess to try and pry herself loose, overcome with fear from the knight.
"I thought I could help her, keep her from changing into a hollow." Tears flowed from her eyes as she kept struggling with Oscars grasp. The knight faltered and let go of Twilight, looking down at the ground.
"There is no way to help her, she has already started hollowing." The knight stood above Twilight, who now stared up at the knight, tears still flowing freely. A moment of silence passed between the two before Twilight stood up and sprinted off after Applejack again.
"Your'e wrong! She can be saved!" Twilight reached the top of the stairs and ran into a tower after Applejack. Oscar ran after her, still a bit winded from the last sprint. Twilight ran up the spiral staircase, passing by barrels and rubble. She got halfway up the second flight of stairs, she saw Applejack enter a fog covered door, the last thing passing through the gate was the blonde pony tail.
Twilight charged up and almost ran through the gate when Oscars armored hand pulled Twilight back. Twilight tried to fight back but Oscars arms wrapped around her and kept her still.
"Stop, think about where you were going for a second." Oscars voice calmed Twilight enough for her to see the fog gate itself.
"There's a demon past there, I can feel it." Twilight shuddered and tried to worm her way out of Oscars grasp. He let go of her and the two locked gazes.
"I will help you try to save her, but we must be cautious. We dont know what is past there." Twilight nodded slowly and turned to face the fog gate, trying to steel herself for what might come after she enters.
Chapter 7: New Enemies with New Tricks
Twilight slowly brought her hand up to the fog, looking over her shoulder back at Oscar, who secured his grip on his sword. He nodded slowly and Twilight pressed her palm against the fog, it seemed solid and cold, but soon she felt her hand being sucked in. She put her other hand against the fog to stop herself from being dragged in only to have her other hand automatically pulled in. Her arms now fully pulled in, she now had no choice but to let the fog engulf her. But it never did, Twilight soon felt a cold wind on her hands. She held her breath and pushed herself through the fog and now stood facing the ramparts that surrounded the area she was just in to her right. Twilight released her breath and looked around, starting by looking down at the undead burg that she had just made her way through. She turned and looked over the outside wall, and the view made her jaw drop. The rolling green hills and forests, large river winding its way through the landscape, the suns rays touching everything and bringing life to all it saw. Twilight was so in awe at the sight that she didn't sense Oscar behind her, and all he could do was smile at the sight in front of him. This peaceful moment was broken when Oscar looked down the rampart and saw the solid white fog blocking the exit. He cursed and turned to look at Twilight, who was now looking at him with a concerned face.
"Whats wrong?" Twilight asked, taking a small step closer to Oscar. He turned around hoping the fog they had walked through had dissipated like the others he had encountered on his journeys, but no luck.
"There's a demon here" He said coldly, "But I doubt it's going to be like the one back at the asylum, or as easy." Twilight felt a chill run down her spine when he said this, thinking back to the hideous thing she had helped kill not that long ago, and now there was one that would no doubt be worse. As she thought this an deafening roar echoed through the whole burg, causing the two to recoil and cover their ears. Oscar less successful at doing so, the sound becoming even worse as it hit his helmet. The roar stopped and was immediately replaced with what seemed like an earthquake. The two regained their balance and looked around. Twilight was the first to spot it, her mouth hung open in fear as Oscar looked to where she was looking and froze.
There at the opposite end of the rampart was a massive monster, almost the size of the tower it stood in front of, its skull like head seemed like it was made from rock, its bright orange eyes were staring straight at them. Its hands tightened around its bone white ax, the two could plainly hear its deep breaths, each one sending a chill down their spines.
"Twilight...." Oscar whispered, trying not to make any sudden moves. Twilight responded with a small whimper, her head slowly turning to face the knight.
"There is a ladder to my right, climb it as fast as you can after I move, Okay?"
"Wait, what? I don't think that's a good idea, I think as long as we stay still, we can have the time to....." Twilight was cut off mid sentence as Oscar charged full speed at the demon.
"FOR ASTORA!"
"Come up with a better plan...." Twilight finished as she watched the demon and the knight charge each other. She looked over and quickly spotted the ladder Oscar talked about, she ran and started climbing as fast as she could. As she reached the top, the sound of battle reached her, she turned around to see Oscar just barely get out of the way of the demons ax.
"HAAAH" Twilight swung her head around to see a club swing into her face, knocking her to the side, almost making her fall. She covered her face and yelled in pain as the corners of her vision started blurring. She uncovered her face in time to see the next strike coming down, she rolled to the side and saw the club crack the stone it had just landed on.
Twilight stumbled to her feet to face her assailant, grabbing for her staff. Her face now streaked with blood, both hers and other hollows. She stopped just short when the attacker spoke, and instantly she looked up at them.
"Do ya not know when to leave a girl alone?!" The strong southern accent was now lightly backed up by a deeper, almost demonic voice. Twilight saw what was supposed to be one of her best friends, now clearly on the path to hollowing. Twilight felt herself start to break down at the sight, taking the hollow former apple bucker aback, but not for long. She soon charged the now crying Twilight, raising her club to deal the killing blow.
"I'm sorry Apple Jack." Twilight uttered as she raised her staff and focused, the top of the catalyst started glowing a deep blue. The hollow kept charging, ignoring the possible danger in front of them.
"I'm sorry." A blast of blue light surged out from the catalyst, launching Apple Jack back, landing on a pile of rubble and hitting her head against one of the stones.
Twilight breathed heavily as the weight of what had just happened settled. Her sadness was soon replaced with an intense hatred. In her mind, she did this to Apple Jack, to Fluttershy, and possibly to the rest of her friends. She stood up and walked over to the ledge, looking at the demon and the knight, who were now much closer than before. Twilight raised the catalyst, aiming at the demon. The catalyst lit up and launched out a torrent if purple bolts, each one finding their mark on the demon. The demon stumbled back, giving Oscar the chance to finish it. He stabbed his sword forward in the demons heel, making it fall on to on knee. Oscar yelled as he stabbed with all his might into the demons skull, finishing it off for good. He yanked the sword out and took a few steps back as the demon crumbled to the ground.
Twilight lowered the catalyst and took several deep breathes, feeling light headed from the amount of magic that she had just thrown at the monster in a rage induced haze. She looked at the scene below, eventually meeting eyes with Oscar.
As Oscar moved toward Twilight, the demons body twitched and started to disintegrate, forming into a cloud of white. After fully forming, the cloud shot past Oscar towards Twilight. Oscar stumbled back as it picked up speed, Twilight watched as the cloud closed the gap between them, going straight through her. She grunted and fell to her knees in pain, the cloud going on and circling around the body of Apple Jack. Twilight look back, panting, as the cloud, now with a small black object with what looked like eyes, shot into Apple Jack. And the last thing Twilight saw before passing out was Apple Jacks skin returning to what it should have been, her hand tightening around her club, and her eyes slowly opening, revealing their natural emerald color.
"........Twi?"
Twilight painfully woke to a familiar warmth, one she felt before. She tried to move her arm to crawl closer to the fire, but the moment she tried, an explosive pain shot through her arm to her chest and soon the rest of her body, making her gasp in pain. This drew the attention of the two other bodies sitting at the fire. The first to turn was Oscar, immediately rushing to her side, followed shortly by Applejack.
"Twilight? Twilight, whats wrong?" Oscar asked, softly placing an armored hand on her shoulder, Applejack held Twilights hand as she closely watched for any more signs of pain. Twilight slowly opened her eyes, looking at the two by her side. She smiled as she looked over the two, tearing up at the sight of her now restored friend. She to move her body again, but was met with more pain, causing her to yell out in pain. Applejack leaned in and placed a hand on Twilights other shoulder.
"Stop trying to move around so much, I thought we almost lost ya there sugarcube." Oscar nodded in agreement and looked over at Applejack.
"C'mon, lets get her closer to the bonfire." Applejack nodded and the two of them slowly lifted Twilight by her clothes, softly laying her near the base of the bonfire. The two sat down by her as the warmth of the bonfire now seemed to flood over Twilight, she soon felt she could move her fingers and toes again. A clambering sound soon drew Twilights attention to a nearby ladder, hidden in a corner of the room. Another person was climbing down, clad in what looked like grey chain mail, and a bright white tunic. He bore a bizarre shield on his back, different from the one Oscar uses. It was round and grey like the chain mail, and had what seemed like a depiction of sun with an almost impartial face in the center. Applejack looked over at him with a curious face.
"Hows it looking up there?" The man turned around, giving Twilight a view of his helmet. It was almost bucket shaped, with two eye holes, letting Twilight actually have eye contact with him. To top all of this off is a large feather attached to his helmet, but unfortunately is was currently on fire, which also coincided with the top of his helmet being charred black.
"I'm afraid the dragon has no intent of leaving......" He turned his gaze to the now conscious Twilight. "Oh Ho Ho! She lives!" He approached the bonfire and bowed semi-gracefully, his armor clinging loosely.
"I am Knight Solaire, of Astora. At your service m'lady." Twilight had the most confused look as she glanced over at Oscar and Applejack. The two looked at each other.
"Ah'll explain it to her." Applejack said, before looking over at Twilight.
"Twi?" Applejack slowly sat up to see her friend, now passed out on the floor of the building. She immediately stood up and rushed over to her. She dropped to her knees, ignoring the fact that her lack of pants just made several sharp rocks meet her bare skin. She took her friend in her arms and tried to wake her up.
"Twi? Twi! C'mon wake up." Applejack shook Twilight to get her to wake up. Her eyes left Twilight to find a heavily armored person climbing up the ladder, a slight chuckle escaping his helmet.
"We did it Twilight! We......" He stopped mid sentence as his gaze met Applejack holding the now unconscious princess. Applejacks grip tightened as looked around for something to defend herself with. She soon snapped her attention back to the person as he sprinted over to Twilight, only to have her body jerked away from him. He looked to Applejack and knelt down to her eye level.
"Is she okay? What happened?" A sound of true concern in his voice, Applejack looked down at Twilight and shrugged.
"Ah can't get her to wake up..." The man laid his hand on Applejacks to get her to ease her grip on Twilight.
"My name is Oscar, I'm a friend of Twilights. Your one of Twilights friends, Applejack was it?" Applejack nodded as Oscars hand slowly pulled Twilights body away from her. He inspected her before resting his hand against Twilights cheek.
"She's only unconscious, you don't need to worry. We just need to find her a safe place where she can wake up." Oscar stood up and walked over to the ledge and looked down. The demon was now gone, and the fog covering the door at the end of the rampart was gone.
"Maybe those are somehow connected to the demon." Oscar thought to himself. He turned to the still worried Applejack, who was still clinging to Twilight. He slowly approached the two, kneeling down to be eye level with Applejack.
"We need to get her to a bonfire. I think I saw one while we were chasing after you, but who knows if more hollows showed up while we were fighting the demon." Applejack wore a confused look then shifted to a more serious one.
"What are ya suggestin'? We head through that door over there?" She motioned with her head to the now unblocked door. Oscar nodded and went to pick up Twilight, but the cowgirl quickly pulled her back. The knight sighed before looking Applejack in the eyes.
"I need you to trust me, Twilights life may depend on it. I know if you give me a chance I won't let you down." Applejack thought about this for a few minutes before once again loosening her grip on the princess, letting Oscar slowly lifting Twilight. He gently placed her over his right shoulder, and offered his left hand to help Applejack up. She took his hand and proceeded to climb down the ladder, followed shortly by Oscar. Once down, he moved Twilight from over his shoulder to holding her bridal style. They both made their way to the now open door, and down the hallway.
"So.... How did ya'll meet?" Applejack asked, trying to break up the awkward silence between the two of them. Oscar looked down at her and then to the princess in his arms.
"I found Twilight locked in a cell at this place call the Undead Asylum. They're everywhere and were meant to contain the spread of the curse that causes us to become undead." Applejack stopped walking suddenly and stared at him.
"Us?" He turned and nodded.
"Yes, you, me, Twilight. We're all cursed undead now." He shifted Twilight and motioned for Applejack to come closer. "Pull down her collar, back of the neck. Applejack slowly did as he asked and found and perfect circle seemingly burnt into her skin, embers that carry no heat drift away from the circle.
"The darksign is what brands us as undead, marking us as cursed and undying. The location differs from each undead but it all means the same fate in the end...... Hollowing, losing all sense of who you were, all hope and dreams." Oscars last words hit Applejack like a train.
"You....you mean.....all those things ah was..... was...." Her body was now shuddering as Oscar confirmed her fears with a nod. The cowgirl collapsed against a wall, her head in her hands as her mind raced, trying to put together what she had done. Oscar gently set Twilight down and went over to Applejack.
"Hey, listen to me. Are you listening?" He moved her face to face his helmet. "You were not in control of your actions, you were not responsible, nor did you do anything wrong. You're no hollow, not anymore." Applejack slowly started to calm down, her eyes never leaving Oscars helmet.
"But I....I k...killed 'em."
"Death is a better fate than hollowing, Applejack. You saved them from doing others any more harm and ended their torture." The knight slowly stood, offering his hand to her again. "Don't forget that."
Applejack slowly took his hand, standing up but using him and the wall as supports until she fully calmed down. She looked up at Oscar, who nodded to her. She nodded back and he left her to pick up Twilight again. Once she was all herself again, she rejoined Oscar at a staircase leading down. They both walked down, soon coming through another door. They both peeked out, to the left was a bridge, what looked like the path forward, but was teeming with hollows. Only they were different than the others, these were clearly more heavily armored, brandishing crossbows, spears, long swords and shields. Oscar and Applejack looked at each other before shaking their heads at the same time, then looked to the right. They couldn't see more than what looked like a stone balcony and two flights of stairs on either side of it. And in front of them was a simple wooden door.
"Ah'll go check this way out." Applejack slowly exited the doorway, heading towards the door, leaving Oscar with checking out the balcony. Applejack tugged and pulled on the door, but to no avail, it was locked. She crossed her arms and turned to Oscar, ready to call out his name when she saw he had placed Twilight down against the short wall of the balcony. He was turned to her, his index finger placed pointing up against his helmet, and his other hand waving her over to him. She slowly made her way to him, and crouched down next to him. Before she could ask what was going on, he motioned for her to look over the ledge. She looked and saw a single person, fully armored and staring at the sky, more specifically the sun. She returned to Oscar who was beginning to pull his sword out when Applejack shook her head and shoved the sword back into its sheath.
"You stay here with Twi, she'll be safer with you. If anything happens to me, tell her 'am sorry." Applejack whispered to the knight, before standing up and walking down to the person, all before Oscar could react. Applejack slowly got closer to the person until a voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Oh hello there! You are an undead as well? Good to see that you made it past that beast up on the wall." The voice came from the person in front of her, and come out muffled. The person completely turned to face the cowgirl, looking down at her.
"I am Solaire, knight of Astora and adherent to our lord Gwyn, lord of sunlight." The knights introduction, made Oscar slowly stand up, drawing the attention of Solaire.
"Oh ho! Another knight? And a noble one from Astora as well, if your armor tells me true. No need to be wary, I mean you no harm if you mean me none in return." Oscar makes his way down and stood next to Applejack, staring at the other knight. Solaire offered a bow to the both of them.
"It is always an honor to meet another from Astora, tell me, what is your name?"
"Oscar, of Astora as you already said." Oscar dipped his head slightly to Solaire. The knight turned to the cowgirl.
"And you?"
"Ah'm Applejack." Her drawl caught Solaire off guard, making him tilt his helmeted head.
"You're not from anywhere I know of, pray tell, where do you come from? You're accent is most curious." She looked to Oscar, who shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Sweet Apple Acres." Now both Oscar and Solaire tilted their heads in confusion.
"I have never heard of this place, but it sounds simply divine." Solaire commented with a chuckle, causing the cowgirl to relax a bit.
"What are you doing here Sir Solaire? Trying to fulfill the prophecy as well?"
"That is what drew me here, yes, but my true goal is to find my sun!" He turned to face the sun once more. "Isn't it glorious? Like a magnificent father. Oh if only I could be so grossly incandescent!" The two behind him looked at each other then to the knight.
"Maybe we could help each other?" This caused the knight to spin on his heels to face Applejack.
"I do not wish to ask for assistance, but I will gladly help you!" He stretched every limb in his loose armor and formed a Y shape, with the sun falling perfectly between his outstretched hands. Applejack and Oscar looked at each other again, with even more confusion.
"Great?" Oscar commented.
Chapter 2: Escape from the Asylum
Twilight opened her eyes to see the sword, now realizing that she had fallen asleep within the warmth of the flame. She lay there, staring at the formless fire wax and wane around the sword. Twilight smiled and felt genuinely happy for the first time in this world.
But her small moment of peace was broken when a voice echoed from somewhere behind her.
“I’m glad to see you made it out safely!” Twilight turned to see the armor clad person that had freed her was standing high above her on the roof.
She stood up and looked at him, now seeing his full body. She could tell the person was much larger than her and his voice was somewhat masculine, from what she could hear through his helmet.
“Thank you! You saved my life!” Twilight shouted back, eliciting a laugh from the man.
“Don’t thank me just yet,” The man kicked a back down to her, “We still have to get out of here.”
Twilight looked at the bag and walked over. She opened it and saw a pile of clothes inside. She pulled out a tunic, two shades of brown, with a row of buttons hidden under a cover around the neck line.
“Why did you give me these?” Twilight looked up at the man.
“I hope you realized you’re kind of, well, naked.” The knight rubbed the back of his neck as Twilight looked at herself in confusion.
“Is that a bad thing?” Twilight slipped into the tunic, which fit perfectly.
“Better safe than sorry, anyway keep going and I’ll try to get to you.” And with that, the knight ran off out of sight across the roof. Twilight slipped into the pants and boots, putting the gloves on but leaving the hat off. Twilight stood up fully clothed and ready for anything.
Twilight looked around the courtyard, taking note of a red gate off to the right of the massive gate she was looking at right now.
“Might as well try this way first.” Twilight moved towards the red gate, not trying to get her hopes up. She reached the gate and pushed on it, the gate rattled but didn't open.
“I knew it, well,” She walked back over to the large gate, “Let’s get to it.” Twilight walked up the steps and shoved on the door, barely cracking it open. She pushed more and opened the gate enough to poke her head in. She looked around and saw nothing but a large empty room filled with pillars and vases. A large opening spanning almost the entire room dominated the ceiling, but other than that nothing seemed hostile and she squeezed in.
As she did, the room rumbled, knocking some of the vases topple over and shatter on the cobblestone floor. The rumbling was quickly followed by a loud crash, Twilight assumed it came from the courtyard behind her. She tried to stay calm as she surveyed the room more, taking note of an open hall to her right as she approached the large door, just as big as the last, on the far end of the room.
Twilight tried shoving against the door, but it didn't budge. She kept trying but kept getting the same result.
“Either it’s locked or its way heavier than the last door, either way, I need his help.” She sighed and went to the open hall, hurrying as she heard something moving on the roof, something big.
When Twilight made it into the hallway, an iron gate fell behind her, blocking her off from going back and forcing her forward. She slowly stepped down the stairs into a water filled room that looked like the one she climbed out from earlier. Twilight looked around the room and noticed a dim, yet familiar outline. She reached out for it and as she hoped, a small flame lit up the room, and casting out the warm feeling she knew.
But Twilight remembered that she had to keep moving, and against her instincts, kept moving. She followed the path around the pool, her boots getting soaked and letting in a bit of water. Twilight groaned as she turned the corner into what looked like more prison when an arrow impaled into the wall a few inches from her head. She screamed and hid behind the wall as another flew through the spot she was just in.
“That was too close.” Twilight peeked around the corner, looking down the hall and seeing another one of the corpses from earlier, the living ones, and it was shooting at her. She ducked behind the wall when the thing loosed another arrow at her. After flying through the door, Twilight looked again and saw an open cell, hopefully empty. She looked at the thing and decided to make a run for it. She dove into the cell and into more water but safely avoided the arrows.
Twilight noticed another body in the doorway, thankfully this one was fully dead, but something was shining on its belt and this body didn't reek like the others, so she approached the body to closer see what the object was. She grabbed a hold of it and yanked it off the body’s belt, it was a small dagger in a sheath.
“I would say ‘only for worst case scenarios’ but now seems like one.” Twilight hooked the sheath onto her belt, unsheathing the dagger and gripping it firmly. She took a few deep and hugged the wall, slowly looking around the corner, looking at the thing draw its bow, counting down the seconds. It fired and Twilight ducked behind the wall, hearing the arrow impale into the wall with a solid thunk.
Twilight counted down the seconds to hear another thunk in the wall, she ran for her life towards the thing, it drew another arrow and almost loosed it into her head, only Twilight beat it to the punch and plunged her blade up into its chin, screaming as she did. It dropped the bow and arrow as a spray of blood showered her arm and some of her face as it fell back, Twilight kept a hold on the dagger as it drew itself out of the things chin, covered in dark red blood. She stood over the body in udder shock at what she had just done. Twilight gagged and almost threw up again, she had just killed something, something alive.She stood there, motionless. She was still holding the dagger tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. She stared at the body in front of her, before stumbling around it.
“What have I done?” Twilight walked past it and found a hallway leading upstairs to a wall of white fog. She walked closer to the wall, uneasy about it, as if it was warning her about something. She pressed her hand to the fog and it seemed to pull her in. Twilight stumbled through, she looked back and saw the fog gate had disappeared.
“Strange,” Twilight turned to see another iron gate with rubble blocking the other side. A faint movement on the other side drew her closer, she leaned in to look through a crack in the rubble.
“Oh no!” A man in a suit of armor was writhing in pain on a pile of bricks, light from a hole in the ceiling making him clearly visible. Twilight tried to pry the gate away but the rubble held it firm against her attempts. She looked around the corner to see if there was a way to get in, she sprinted to the wall opposite of the knight and noticed several missing bricks in the wall. Twilight threw all of her strength into knocking it down, but she groaned as it didn’t even budge. Twilight looked around for something to help, she looked up the stairs behind her and smiled.
The knight sat on the pile of bricks, his body broken and useless in his armor. He stared at the hole in the ceiling, cursing his horrid luck and feigned pride. His breathing became heavy as his vision started to fade. He was on the brink of death when a metallic sound caught his ear, he looked down at the wall in front of him. The sound grew louder and louder, the knight tensed up, expecting something to come and finish him. A loud crash drew his attention a few feet to his left, an iron ball, wider than him and much heavier than him broke through the wall and indented into the wall next to him. He watched the hole as a familiar girl in a brown tunic ran through the hole, covered in blood and panting as she looked at him.
“I guess we’re even now, huh?” The knight smiled through his helmet at Twilight who smiled back.
“Not yet,” She walked over to him and crouched down to look him in the eyes, “We need to get out of here first.”The knight laughed, his voice becoming sickly, causing Twilight to frown in worry.
“I’m afraid I am of no help anymore. I can even move.” Twilight kept looking at him, tears starting to well up. The knight motioned with a nod at a satchel on his belt.
“Take what’s in there, the estus and the key. You’ll need them.” Twilight reached in and pulled out an emerald colored vial with golden liquid inside.
“That can heal you from almost any wound, should you need it.” The knight laughed as she looked from the estus flask to him. Gaining a sudden burst of hope, she reached up to his helmet latch and opened it.
“Open up!” Before the knight could protest, Twilight was pouring the estus into his mouth. He groaned as his wounds starting healing and his bones were being fixed. Twilight smiled as the knight reached up and moved her hand away to stop her from pouring. He stood and roughly popped his misplaced bones back into place and looked at Twilight.
“I owe you my life, I have died enough already.” Twilight stood next to him, he flipped his visor down and sheathed his sword.
“I promise to explain everything once we’re out of here.” Twilight nodded and got up. They both walked out if the room, the knight having a limp from his injuries still not being fully healed.
“Now, Im guessing since you’re here, you already ran into that locked door down there, right?” The knight pointed at the gate by the fire. Twilight nodded and leaned against a wall as he spoke.
“I know where the key is but I need your help, and you may not like my plan.” The knight reached behind him for something.
“What is it?” Twilight mentally prepared herself for what he might ask.
“I need you to distract it, draw it out and keep it occupied until I can get the drop on it.” He pulled a staff looking object, and held it out for Twilight, who carefully took it.
“That is a catalyst, a form of weapon that allows people of certain magical attunement to cast soul sorceries, all you need to do now is hold it forward and focus.”
Twilight nodded and faced away from the knight, held out the catalyst and focused down the hallway. As she focused harder, the far end of the catalyst began to glow a bright blue and launched a bolt a magic.
Twilight shouted in success as she turned back to the knight, who nodded at her.
“Well done, you’re a natural. Now, go downstairs and through that gate again, you’ll know when im ready.” The knight started up the stairs when Twilight called up to him.
“What is it we’re fighting?” Twilight had a worried look in her eyes as she asked.
“You’ll see soon enough, but a quick tip, look up.” And with that, the knight ran up the stairs and past the bloody corpse of the one that tried to stop Twilight from helping him.
Twilight walked down the steps to a familiar red iron gate, she lifted the latch and walked through to the courtyard. She checked her estus flask, and made sure her dagger and catalyst were on hand when she gets through. Twilight took a deep breath and slipped in through the opening she made earlier. She remembered the tip and looked up and gasped at the new addition to the roof. She had no way to describe it, fat, almost all of its weight seemed to be in its stomach, blue-green looking skin with sharp teeth and what looked like a tree trunk.
She slowly stepped forward, keeping her eyes on the monster above her. As she got closer to the other large gate, the rumbling from earlier hit the room again as the monster jumped from the roof and landed in front of Twilight, causing her to scream and scramble away. The monster roared and jumped at Twilight, swinging the weapon in an arc at her. She jumped to the side, narrowly escaping the deadly blow. She ran around behind it to the other end of the room.
Twilight was freaking out now as she looked for a way to keep it busy, when she heard a whistle from above her. Twilight looked up to see the knight on a balcony waving his sword to get the monsters attention, and it worked. The monster ran towards them as the knight took a few steps back and Twilight ran to one side. The knight sprinted full speed and leaped off the balcony, and plunged his sword down, and landed in the head of the monster.
“Aim for the head, now!” Twilight aimed her catalyst and focused intensely on the space between the monsters eyes and fired, yelling as the magic bolt launched. The bolt made contact, causing the monster the roar and topple over, leaving a scorched hole in its head. The knight pulled his sword from the monsters head and turned to Twilight.
“Nice shot, are you ready to get out of here?” Twilight happily nodded and the knight cut a piece of rope around the monsters neck that held a massive key for the locked gate.
As the duo reached the base of the stairs, barely visible in the side of the cliff, Twilight stopped momentarily, catching the attention of Oscar. He turned to face her and moved closer to her.
"Whats the matter? I thought you wanted to save your friends." He placed his hand on her shoulder, somehow the armored hand calmed her enough to talk.
"I do, truly. Its just .... the idea of killing again. The last few times were driven by pure fear, I had no other choice. I was alone and afraid, and I don't want to have to kill again." Her voice was trembling when Oscar placed his other on Twilights remaining shoulder and bent down to her eye level.
"Listen, I know what you feel, I do. But you have to know, those ..... things .... aren't alive anymore. They don't feel, they don't think, they only want to kill." Oscars grip tightened when Twilight looked away, a frown on her face. The silence stayed between them for several more moments until Oscar spoke up again.
"In any other situation or with anyone else, I would offer to go alone, but I doubt that your friends would be friendly to me, or I would have no choice than to take them out. I need you to come with me." Oscar let go and sighed, moving his hand up to his helmet.
"Sorry, I just need you to focus." Twilight stared at him, still not moving. Oscar sighed once more and turned his back to her and faced the direction of the bonfire.
Twilight snapped out of her stupor to see Oscar now facing away from her, looking over the cliff they stood on. She looked between him and the staircase before finally answering.
"I'll do whatever it takes to make sure my friends are safe. No matter how dangerous it is for me, I will make sure they are safe." Oscar smiled under his helmet, he turned to Twilight and nodded.
"Then shall we be off?" He motioned his hand towards the stairs before starting up them himself, Twilight once again close behind with renewed confidence.
