The sky in the east was darkened by thick clouds, but the heart of Soliare remained strong. He stared off into the distance, looking for where the Kiln of the First Flame might be. He knew he would never find it, but it fueled his imagination. He knew he had to keep a level head. He wouldn't let getting killed again get him down as easily as before. Turning on his heel, he strode confidently off in the opposite direction, away from Anor Londo. The highland road was chilly now. Could be due to evening settling upon the land. Or maybe it was morning now. It was hard to tell, since the sun had disappeared. Soliare kept his right hand firmly gripped on the hilt of his sword. Monsters had a nasty habit of popping up out of thin air at the worst possible moment.
"No matter," he told himself. "I've plenty of Estus flasks left, and the steel of my sword has not betrayed me yet." He laughed his usual naive laugh, though it was much lower in volume. He ventured up higher in the semi-rocky highlands, passing a couple forests. Now he could just barely see Anor Londo in the distance, and it was growing smaller with each passing step. "I do wish I could have some companionship, though. Even talking to a mimic would help break up this lonliness," he said to himself again.
Somewhere Else...
The halls of Canterlot remained quiet, as was the usual every evening. Celestia was wandering its many corridors after relinquishing her post to Luna for the Night Court, in which Luna would deal with some of the more diplomatic matters between nations. Poor Celestia always had to talk of urgent situations, such as impending evils, civil unrest, and shortage of cake in the pantry, but now, she could relax, somewhat. The breeze from the mountains always wafted through the balconies at the right pace to provide refreshing coolness without being bitterly cold. Celestia liked to walk around the palace if she found it hard to sleep after another day of slow political talk. She was coming close to the hallway with her room, just down a couple more yards and she could rest easy.
She sighed. "Ah...I think now would be a good time to turn in," she said. She spoke too soon.
Celestia was currently walking through the hall that led up to the magic mirror, and suddenly there was a droning noise coming from that room. Celestia heard it and looked up the stairwell to see a glowing yellow light. She grimaced.
"Oh, no. is that stupid thing acting up again?"
Celestia trotted up the stairs to see what the mirror was freaking out about. It was odd, too, because it had not yet been thirty moons. How the mirror was working was even beyond her, and she asked herself just that silently. When she came to the mirror room, she immediately knew that something was wrong. The portal, instead of being a clear liquid substance, now held a white-grey smog between its frame. What was wrong, she couldn't tell, but then, the mirror changed drastically.
Celestia recoiled in surprise and horror. The viewing portal went completely black and there was now a tall, sinister-looking knight standing in the place of the previous scene. He wore ornate armor that seemed to flow with smoky corruption. He wielded a greatsword that was at least twice his height, and his left arm dangled limply at his side. Apparently, something had dealt enough damage to it that it was now useless to the knight, evidenced by the battered state of his shoulder guards.
The knight looked at Celestia for what felt like an eternity, until he flipped his sword around with nigh-impossible dexterity and slammed it into the ground. He then reached out with his right hand, sending the smoky corruption out of the mirror. It shot toward Celestia and engulfed her, pulling her back into the mirror. The construct of mist never even allowed her scream to penetrate the adjacent wall.
On the Road...
"Oh, goodness, my back!"
Soliare had been walking for awhile. It was hard to be accurate with time when you couldn't see the sun above you. "Perhaps this was a poor decision on my part," he said. "I hadn't expected the walk to Drangleic to be without at least one bonfire. Ah, well, it's not too late to turn back...bah! I've come too far to turn back! Simply rest here for a minute, and I shall be on my merry way once again!"
Soliare sat in silence, keepng his ears and eyes attuned to the area around him. Wearing such heavy armor cost him the ability of natural dexterity; he had taught himself early on what sounds to listen for and how to react as quickly as possible to them, depending on their nature. Then, he heard rustling. It was coming from behind him, in the forest. Soliare immediately stood up and whipped around with the hilt of his sword drawn in the blink of an eye, but he stopped. He could faintly make out a figure moving around in the forest. It looked human, but with the possibility of Hollows around, one couldn't be too careful, at least, so the Knight of the Sun thought. He held the blade up and advaced slowly.
Celestia had absolutely no clue what just happened. First there was smoky blackness, and then it all dissolved into a forest. And she almost fell over onto her face since she didn't realize her body now sported a bipedal build. That was almost embarrassing. She couldn't see anything for beans. The sky was dark and cloudy, so much unlike Equestria.
Soliare was slowy approaching the strange figure. By now, he could tell it was female, and her hair came down to her thighs. She didn't look like a Butcher, so he lowered his weapon to a much less-threatening position, but not sheathed. He still walked behind her cautiously. "By the Lords, if she keeps walking ahead at this pace, I might as well walk backwards."
Celestia froze. There was deep whispering coming from behind her. Close behind her. She slowly, ever so slowly, turned her upper body around to see...a shadow of another bipedal creature, encroaching on her backside. He was extremely bulky, although it turned out to be because of his armor, glinting in the patches of dim light breaking through the trees. But his head...it was armor, but for a second, Celestia thought it was a monster with empty black slits for eyes. It was enough time for her to scream, fall over in fright, and involuntarily launch a blast of light magic from her hands as she raised them up to cover her face.
Soliare's eyes widened under his helmet and he instinctively rolled to the right to dodge. Unfortunately, there was a very mischievously placed aspen tree right to his side. He slammed into the trunk with his ribs and slumped over with a loud grunt of pain. I daresay, if she thought I was a threat to her before, I doubt she does now, he thought. He groaned as he got into a kneeling position beside the tree and readjusted his gauntlets. Celestia, on the other hand, did not expect her magic to be expelled out of her strange new appendages. But her mind still raced with questions.
Soliare stood up and sheathed his Sunlight Sword. "My apologies, madam. I suspected you to be Hollow for a moment. But as I look into your eyes, I see life in them yet. Oh, where are my manners!? I am Soliare of Astora. Who might you be? Where art thou from?"
Celestia, resentful at first about this stranger, recognized his accent from centuries past. He sounded just as old-fashioned as Luna did. "My...my name Princess Celestia-"
"Ah, so you are a princess!? I had my suspicions from your dress, but I am relieved you confirmed my doubts!" Soliare cut her off. He then bent down on his right knee. Celestia hadn't noticed that she had satin white robes encircling her. She stood up, still taken back with Soliare's brashness, but he did seem to be dedicated. She couldn't help but smile as she said, "Oh, please, don't do that, Soliare. I moved past that phase at least a century ago."
Soliare's head shot up. "A century? How can this be, Celestia? You appear as if you have only just reached womanhood!"
"It's...a long story," she admitted.
Soliare laughed. "Then perhaps we shall walk. I have all the time in the world to listen," he said, gesturing back to the forest trail. Celestia, surprised by this answer, replied, "Oh, no. I can't. I have to go home."
"Where is it, then? I shall gladly escort you there. I have naught better to do."
Celestia shook her head. "It isn't like that," she said. "My home is Equestria. Judging by you and the world around me, that's a completely seperate dimension."
Soliare thought for a minute. He then asked her, "How...did you come by here, then?"
Celestia recounted the tale of the magic mirror and how it had changed. When she finished, Soliare smiled with enlightenment, though Celestia couldn't see it under his helmet. "Ahh..." he droned.
"Ahhh..." he said again and louder. Celestia stared at him with bewilderment. "I see," Soliare said. "What happened to you could easily be seen as a stroke of bad luck. But I just so happened to be leaving Anor Londo along the same path you have stumbled upon. And now, here we are," he gestured with his arms around the forest. "Two lost wanderers. Fate? Doubtful. Pure chance? I think not!"
"I think our destinies are intertwined in some way, princess," he continued. "I know it seems unlikely, but know this: I once exited a place known as the Undead Asylum, in the far north. In my exodus, I met another Undead like me. They never said much, but their heart was pure. A radiant sun for mankind to follow. We fought together many times, and in the end, they saved not only me, but the rest of Earth as well." He paused and his tone suddenly sunk. "At least, they have for a time. The Age of the Second Flame will end soon." Celestia could almost feel a curtain of sorrow descend upon the field, cutting her off from Soliare.
She was about to speak when Soliare picked his head up and said joyfully, "But they have shown me a way and rekindled my purpose like the bonfires! I shall find the extinguished sun yet!" He meant well, but his voice had a lingering tone of doubt. His joy seemed almost a façade. But when he mentioned the sun, Celestia was greatly intrigued.
"The sun...extinguished?"
"Indeed. A mere illusion, created by Gwyndolin, son of Lord Gwyn, meant to keep the humans in ignorance of the plight of this world. The Chosen Undead killed both father and son off. Now, the sun will never shine again. At least, so we think. Ah, this makes me want the sun even more!" he spat. He turned to Celestia after another silence. "Of course, if you wish to know everything, then come with me. I promise, if you tell me to shut up, I will do so! I am not one to disobey orders, especially from a princess."
Celestia was rather interested now, but as Soliare strode off, she called, "Wait! What does this have to do with returning me home!?"
Soliare stopped and looked at Celestia. "You merely traversed a White Wall. They act as dimensional portals, linking related places together. But sometimes, they can find other portals far away, at least, to my understanding. All we have to do to return you home is find the right portal." Celestia stared at Soliare suspiciously, but eventually joined his side.
"And until then," he said, "perhaps we can aid each other in jolly co-operation!"
