Lost Souls

What little sunlight shone through the clouds and fog still hurt Cloud’s eyes, causing her to squint. Raising a hoof to shield her eyes, she looked around.

Next to her was a crystalline sword in a stone that pulsated with inner light. Something told her it had to do with the Crystal Sanctuary. Testing this theory, Cloud held out her crystal amulet. It leapt from her hooves, cord digging into her neck as it tried to latch onto the sword. Pulling it back, she saw that it pulsated with the same light as the sword. The farther it got from the sword, the less light it emitted. She returned the amulet to her neck, watching as it lost all lustre.

Taking another look around, she noticed a gate that led to a covered passageway. The town was in surprisingly good shape, given that a plague of demons was stalking the land. Cloud trotted over to the gate and gave it an experimental shove. It refused to budge, and she grimaced. Locked.

Her gaze passed over the courtyard again. All the other exits were blocked by fallen rubble or were otherwise boarded up. The gate was her only way out. Unless…

Unless there were no anti-air measures in place. Cloudkicker had heard that ever since the changeling invasion a few years ago, there were magickal sigils that would violently protect the castle and city from unauthorized fliers.

A far-off roar made her ears prick up, and she looked into the cloudy sky. From above the clouds flew a great red firedrake. With a roar, the dragon slowed until it wrapped itself around the pinnacle of the Tower Noblesse. There were no flashes of magic, no runed sigils appearing in the sky to strike the intruder down.

She realised, in that instant, that Canterlot had truly fallen.

***

“The crystal ponies are a more ancient race than thou wouldst think,” the Caretaker began. “Long ago, before our age, demons roamed the world freely. When the alicorns came from across the ocean into Equestria, they fought the demons deep into the centre of this world.

“There they sealed the demons, imprisoning the Queen of Vile and lulling the Allfather into the forever sleep. They were aided by the crystal ponies, who fled to this sanctuary and returned when they saw the battle against the demons turn in the alicorns’ favour.

“It was then that the alicorns discovered that Equestria was tethered to this realm through five magickal anchors. They reasoned that the demons could return via these anchors, so they sealed the anchors with a greatly powerful spell.

“But now the anchors have been corrupted by the demons. We know not how long it will be until Equestria is destroyed by the corruption. Thine task, whether thou accept it or not, is to slay the demons who corrupt the anchors of this land.

“The Queen of Vile stands high atop Canterlot, corrupting the very chains of existence. Far away in the Crystal Kingdom, the Everlasting Demon slumbers. In the Tower of Silence is the corruption. Deep in the Stinkend Bog lies another demon. And finally, high up in the realm of Cloudsdale is the final demon.”

Cloudsdale. Cloudkicker stiffened at that, heart skipping a beat. Maybe she could find out what happened to Alula!

“How do I get there?” she asked.

The Caretaker gestured towards the mural on the wall. The painting was of several different places, the only recognizable one being Canterlot. It seemed like smoke was rising from the city, even though Cloudkicker knew the painting could not move.

“There are more of these, each as close to the anchor as the crystal ponies’ magic would allow. Thou must fight thine way through many demons to reach the anchor. But such a thing will not be hard for a slayer of demons such as thee.”

Cloud swallowed hard. “Yeah. Not hard at all…”

***

Blinking her eyes, Cloudkicker looked down from her perch on the broken wall. She swayed from side-to-side, footing uneven. The distance down to the ground wasn’t that bad. She’d definitely leapt from greater heights when she was a filly.

With one final glance at the firedrake far in the distance, she leapt, extending her wings. Cloud must have caught a good crosswind, for she floated gently down to the ground, hooves clacking on the pavement.

She winced, and looked around. Nothing seemed to be lurking in the ruins, waiting for her to land so it could devour her. Cloudkicker started towards what she remembered to be the town square. If she could reach it, she could find most anything in the town.

***

The damage wrought on Canterlot by the hordes of Tartarus was great. The city she had once known and loved was nothing but a charred skeleton.

She took a step forward, carefully navigating the broken cobblestone. Upon finding the ground solid, Cloud took another step forward and another. The wind blew, ruffling her mane and bringing the stench of fire and rot to her nose.

The devils of Tartarus were not present in this area of the town, she had noticed. They were all higher up, by the castle for whatever reason. She had occasionally encountered the almost-mindless thralls of the demons, stumbling around blindly. These Cloud took care to avoid – she had learned long ago the shrieks of a thrall would bring terror down upon her.

At times she would check her side to make sure the crystal was still hanging there. Seeing that it was, she would breathe a heavy sigh of relief and continue towards the town square.

Soon, she came to a pit. It was an unnatural pit, and was as if a huge chunk of ground had been ripped up by a giant. The pegasus slowed in her walk and gingerly stepped over to investigate.

“Hello?” a voice drifted over from the bottom of the pit. “Are you sane?”

“I like to think I am,” Cloud said, voice rough from disuse. “Who’s down there?”

“Oh thank Celestia!” The voice brightened distinctly from its original, terrified state. The tremble of fear was still there though. “It is I, the Great and Powerful Trixie! Those beasts locked me in a cage and threw me down here. I hate to think what will happen if they return.”

“Me too,” the pegasus muttered. Louder, so that Trixie could hear, she added, “Trixie, hold on a moment. I’m gonna fly down there and see about breaking the lock.”

Glancing around, Cloud saw a good size rock. Perfect for breaking things. She opened her mouth as wide as she could and bit down into it. Her teeth ground against the rough surface of the rock, but she managed to keep a grip on it.

Cloud moved to the edge of the pit, leaning back on her haunches to propel herself into the air. The ground gave way under her, and she tumbled forward into the pit. The sword clattered out of her reach as she struck bottom. She hadn’t seen the crystal fly away though – maybe it was still there.

Her head hurt fiercely, a fiery stab of pain with each breath she took. The rock she had taken was a few inches away. She grabbed it again, and slowly dragged herself to the cage.

The cage was half-buried in the rubble, crusted over with rust. With a good amount of effort, Cloud managed to prop herself up on the cage. She slammed down on the lock with the stone, ignoring each fresh burst of pain in her skull. After what seemed an eternity, the lock snapped, and Trixie kicked open the door. The unicorn leapt out, tumbling into the pit just like Cloud had a few moments ago. Except unlike Cloud she had less of a fall ahead of her.

Cloud hopped down from the cage, stumbling as she did so.

“Is this yours?” Trixie asked, holding the sword in an aura of magic. “Trixie almost hurt herself on it.”

“Yeah,” Cloud managed. She took the sword away from Trixie and sheathed it.

Trixie looked around. “I will save us, never fear.” She sounded contemptuous and fearless, but Cloud knew better. She could hear the almost-paralyzing fear in Trixie’s voice, as hidden as it was.

Trixie put a foreleg around Cloud’s neck, and lowered her head. Blue magic swirled around her horn, and Cloud found her head spinning again as a flash of light blinded her. Blinking, Cloud saw they were out of the pit, which was a few meters behind them now.

“Trixie knows her magic well,” the unicorn said with a haughty flip of her mane.

“Magic’s good and all, but what good is it right now?” Cloud looked around. The shadows were lengthening, which meant night was falling. At night the demons would likely return here to seek their dinner. It wouldn’t be a good idea to stay here. “We need to get out of here.”

“I had heard…” Trixie shook her head. “No, that’s an old mare’s tale.”

Cloud, checking herself for her crystal, looked up. “What is?”

“Well, I had heard the crystal ponies in the north created some kind of… sanctuary, I suppose. Somewhere to escape this horrible place. Accessible only by a certain kind of crystal.” She looked away with a sad frown. “If only she were here… Twilight Sparkle would know better than me.”

Finding the crystal, Cloud produced it. “A crystal like this?”

Trixie’s gaze went over the crystal a few times. “Possibly… Trixie doesn’t know much about crystals but maybe.” Magic crackled around her horn and around the crystal. After a few moments, she spoke again. “Yes, Trixie feels an enchantment. Shall we?”

Cloud put a foreleg around Trixie’s neck. “I don’t see another way,” she said.

The magic around the crystal brightened–

There was a great flash–

And the two opened their eyes. Around them was a fancifully decorated hall, as clean as one could hope for. Their reflections stared back at them from the floor.

They had made it to the Sanctuary.

Trixie leapt for joy, shouting, “Trixie made it, Trixie made it!”

Cloud shook her head, glancing over at the Caretaker, who was approaching the pair.

“Thou art new,” she said, lifting her head to gaze upon Trixie. “We felt thine presence enter our realm. ’Tis a joy to see thou, a living being in this place of demise.”

Trixie frowned and looked over at Cloud, who was now examining her reflection in the floor. “What does she mean?”

“We’re dead.” Cloudkicker’s voice was cracking. “Everyone here but you is dead. We all died but for some damnable reason we’re still… alive. But not quite alive. I don’t understand it either. This nag,” she said pointing to the Caretaker, “wants me to fix everything! Me! I barely understand what’s going on and I’m supposed to save the world? I’m a regular pony.”

The Caretaker shook her head. “Nay, the webs of fate are intertwined with thou. Such a thing I have not seen since the Elements of Harmony took up bearers. Thou art the one that shalt bring harmony once again to this land, whether thou desire such a thing or not. ’Tis destiny, pure and simple. Tell us, despite thine desperation, doth thou still desire on some level to aid us? To kill as many demons as possible?”

There was a long silence. Then, very quietly, Cloudkicker spoke again. “Yes…”

“’Tis destiny weaving her loom, driving thou to thine fate. Thou kickest against the goads, but thou art unable to break free from fate.”

“So then what the heck do I do?” Cloudkicker spat. “Fight and die, and come back again, eternally?”

“Yes,” was all the Caretaker said in response. She turned and walked away.

***

The ruins of Canterlot beckoned Cloudkicker once again. Sighing, the pegasus took to the skies, scanning the ground below. Her guess was there was some sort of demon nearby that was powerful enough to interfere with the teleportation enchantment on the moving painting. Otherwise, she’d be straight to the Queen of Vile, whoever that was.

She glanced up nervously at the Tower Noblesse, where the firedrake had perched to sleep. The dragon was gone now, and Cloud couldn’t help but have a sinking feeling in her chest at that fact. Still, a dragon wasn’t the quietest of creatures and she felt she could elude it easily if it came to that. There was certainly enough rubble to hide under.

Something whistled past her ear, and she felt a sharp pain in her right wing. The ground came spiraling up at her, and she let out a strangled yell. She struck the ground headfirst, tumbling onto her back.

Groaning, Cloudkicker tried to pick herself up. Her head was spinning, and she felt like vomiting. Sharp pain was stabbing her brain, making it hard for her to see or even think. Warmth flooded her mouth and she opened the floodgates, allowing vomit to spew onto the ground and her hooves.

There was a clattering from in front of her. Looking up unsteadily, Cloud saw a gaunt figure wielding a bow approaching her, notching an arrow with its wing. With a quick glance, she saw that a similar arrow had pierced her wing, making it useless.

With her good wing, she flipped her sword out of its sheath and into her mouth. She managed to catch it hilt-first. I’m getting good at this.

She rushed forward as quickly as her wobbly legs could carry her. Somehow Cloudkicker reached the other pegasus before he could draw his bowstring. She slashed at him, a spurt of blood splattering on her face.

He toppled over with a gargle, and she felt that strange warmth, like something was being added to her on the inside. The warmth chased away the dizziness and pain, but it gave her a feeling of miserableness. Cloud felt like vomiting again. She tried in vain, dry heaving as she’d already purged herself moments before.

A mad giggle reached her ears. Cloud whipped her head up, grabbing her sword and taking it into her mouth.

To her surprise, a wizened crone of an earth pony stood on a pile of rubble, shroud covering her body.

“So, you bear the curse of undeath,” she croaked. “Such a curious thing. Such a vile thing. You reap the souls of those more unfortunate than you, and for what? A moment’s respite? The power to continue? You must ask yourself if death is truly what you desire.”

“Great, another riddle master,” Cloud muttered. Louder, she added, “Who are you to tell me what do to?”

The old mare chuckled drily. “I am well aware of the curse of undeath, and what it does to those that are cursed. Perhaps I am cursed, or perhaps I knew one who was cursed. Whatever the matter is, you must know I am an… expert in many things. Hee hee hee!”

Cloud scowled and started to turn away. “Unless you’re gonna tell me something useful, go away.”

“I know that a demon is clouding the path to the anchor of Canterlot, deep within the castle. Not just one demon, no… Four demons. And then the path to every other anchor is infested with demons strong enough to obscure such a way. And even kill you.” She cackled again. “But what do I know? I am just a worthless mare, am I not?”

Cloud looked back at the crone. “Okay, where is this first demon? Where do I go?”

With another unnerving giggle, the old mare spoke again. “Travel to the foreign bazaar that lies on the path to the castle gates. Perhaps there you may encounter a butcher of ponies. Perhaps you may even defeat him.  Such things are hard to foresee, and harder still to accomplish.”

“What about these other demons?”

The crone sighed. “One guards the castle of his Beloved, letting none pass. One mourns in the dungeon. The final defiles the throne deep within the castle. Of those past these city walls, I cannot say. They are hidden, past my sight. I suppose you will find out, one way or another.”

Cloud looked away for one moment, thinking she had heard a sound in the ruined town. When her gaze returned to where the old mare had been, there was nothing. She frowned, and shook her head.

The foreign bazaar, eh? Easy trek. Only a few minutes walk from here, if she wasn’t mistaken. She started on her journey to the bazaar, dread heavy on her mind. A butcher of ponies didn’t sound very pleasant. Hopefully I won’t be butchered by it…

***

The bazaar should have been in sight. Instead of a clear sightline into the bazaar, the gate was covered in a swirling fog, which rose from the ground where it normally would lay thickly. Above the gate, everything was clear. Cloud would’ve flown over, but her wing… She winced as the wing twitched at the thought.

She took a tentative step forward. Her hoof reached out and touched the swirling fog that covered the entry. Something pushed her hoof back. Frowning, she pushed harder. Her hoof soon found traction, slowly slipping into the fog. Cloud put her back into it, pushing with her entire body.

She stepped through the fog, and as soon as her eyes met the sight before her, regretted it.