Vereor Nox

Cinder 3: Gloaming~

I stood in front of an ornate gateway that led into a large, brightly lit chamber. The gateway stood as large golden arch set into gleaming copper walls, all sloping gently inward as they went up. It seemed likely that this place was built to house whatever was in that chamber, and almost as if by instinct, I walked inwards, towards the light.

I couldn't really say what I expected, but it hadn't been what I found. There was a fire pit in the center of the chamber, larger and more ornate than any I'd seen. I could just barely make out something that looked not unlike a bonfire within the depths of the flames. But it wasn't this overly large yet somehow contained flame that truly drew my attention; no, that honor went to the being standing next to it.

She was taller than any pony I'd seen, though she almost certainly was a pony. She held a regal air about her, and it came from more than just the fact she had both wings and a horn, which was remarkable enough by itself. This pony had a crown and an immense blade, and both seemed to serve as a symbol of her station more than anything else. I doubted she would need either if she wanted to do me harm.

It was quite clear that this was an Alicorn, and a Princess at that. It was difficult to tell which Princess, seeing as the bright orange of the flame threw everything into steep contrast, making it impossible to tell what color her coat or mane were, but it was certainly a princess.

But as unexpected as she was to me, her expression told me that she had been even less prepared for me. It seemed we had just stood there staring at each other for several minutes before either of us spoke, and when the silence was finally broken, it was by the Princess before me.

"A phantom? How? How are you doing that? Never mind that, who are you?" Her questions seemed odd to me; what was this phantom nonsense she was going on about? I didn't feel like a spook. I felt just like I normally did. Raising a hoof to my face to make certain it didn't pass right through me, I noticed I had a ghastly white glow surrounding my body, somehow drowning out my own colors without radiating light. It didn't end at my body; my armor as well seemed to be enveloped in the strange light. It was almost as if...

Oh, right. I'm still dreaming. Silly me.

Further confused by my self examination, the Alicorn who I was now certain to be a figment of my imagination reiterated her question in a somewhat more authoritative tone. "I ask again, who are you? I would know the name of you who so boldly appears before her Princess as an apparition. Fail to answer, and I shall see to it my knights make you do so, using however much force they please."

A bit shaken by the idea of royal guards interrogating me  with 'however much force they please', I momentarily forgot that she was likely a figment of my mind and gave her an answer straight away, standing up as straight as I could while doing so. "Fleeting Ember, Your Highness."

"And tell me, Miss Ember," she continued, "What is your purpose here? Why is it that you appear before me in such a strange state?"

Still vaguely scared of what her guards might do, I responded as honestly as I could. "I'm not sure, Your Highness. I don't even know where I am, or who you are."

The Princess looked taken aback by my response, but regained her composure quite quickly. "You don't know either the name of your Princess or of the place in which you stand, hmm? Interesting... well then, allow me to give you time to ponder it. Perhaps you'll have an answer if you somehow manage to come back."

Before I could say anything, her horn was surrounded by the glow of her magic, and everything went dark.

~

The first thing I heard thing I heard upon awakening was the sound of combat coming from the larger courtyard. After a small yawn and a bit of stretching, I took a quick look around to find that Rosette was already awake, and was peering around the great doors that separated the courtyards. I was about to ask why, when I heard it; the sound of combat, echoing through the empty courtyards.

My own curiosity piqued, I moved to the other door as quickly and quietly as I could manage, and took a peek around the edge.

I wasn't as prepared for what I saw as I thought I'd be. I'd thought that the demon would be fighting against a few hollows, and though it was unlikely, I had held onto some hope that maybe, just maybe, Rosette had been wrong about the number of sane prisoners left. And regardless of which it was, I knew that that the demon would have to be winning against them.

So when I saw a pair of knights in twisted black armor not only holding their own against the demon, but actually winning, I was at once relieved and terrified. I'd figured Rosette and I could probably take down the demon with some difficulty, but the knights seemed almost unfazed by the beast. Each blow from its club bounced uselessly off their shields, and each swing of their swords left a visible scar on its hide. With an almost inequine level of skill and grace, the knights had managed to do to the demon what it had done to me. As they struck the final blow, the thing let out an otherworldly screech, and for a moment, I could have sworn the floor shook beneath us.

As the massive corpse hit the ground, I once again saw light at the edges of my vision, though this was somewhat brighter than the light I had seen upon defeating the archer, and the invigoration it gave was more pronounced. There was also a strange tinge of darkness to it, though that somehow only made it shine brighter.

Apparently I wasn't the only one to see it, as both Rosette and the knights almost immediately turned towards me.

"Ember," Rosette began, "What did you do?"

"I... I don't know." I was just as confused as she was, though likely for different reasons. Was that light show not normal? As I started pondering some of the mysteries that had accumulated around me, one of the knights in black started trotting towards us.

As they did so, an ever so slightly panicked expression crossed Rosette's face. "We should really move, Ember."

"That's silly. I'm sure they're perfectly nice ponies. Here, watch." I turned away from Rosette and walked towards the approaching knight. We both stopped as we came near. After a brief silence, I realized that I'd probably have to speak first if I was going to get anywhere with this pony.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you," I paused to let the knight speak. After what seemed like a few minutes of no response, I continued. "My name is Fleeting Ember. What's yours?"

Another pause. "Um... okay. Well-" At that moment, I was quite literally cut short as the knight lopped my head off. After a brief glimpse of my own headless body, I died. Again.