The Last of the Undeadby HarpiessnowChaptersA Horrid DiscoveryThe Dead Rises AgainWhere Am I?What Is Life?A Horrid DiscoveryThe Forgotten Castle The world seemed to be in complete turmoil with itself. The sky was alight with various bouts of lightning, while the sound of thunder seemed to violently tear at the landscape. The wind was violent, whipping the downpour in various directions, anything that hadn't been tethered down was swiftly blown away. It had been a little over a month since this excavation job had begun at this mysterious location and the weather hadn't been better since. Where it had started off as a light drizzle, had quickly turned into a violent maelstrom that threatened to consume all the progress that had been made. Only the very tip of this strange landmark had been uncovered, the tip being that of the highest tower of what appeared to be a castle. Not once had any castle been noted to have been located in this remote location in any book of Equestrian History. The head of this excavation crew had made sure that this was true. The soft sound of a zipper running against itself rang out underneath the violent bellowing of the natures. The faint outline of a pony slowly strode into their tent, their form soaked from the violent storm that raged outside their front door. A soft, feminine sigh rang out, which was quickly followed by another blast of violent thunder. A soft creak followed by the sound of a match being struck and the center of the tent was soon bathed in light. Even with this new light, they remained within the darkness, the light only bright enough to light up their plans for the dig. "This weather is almost the same as the weather in the Everfree Forest. It's strange, cause the Everfree is on the opposite side of Equestria so it is impossible for it to have traveled this far." Their voice rang out, eyes looking over the plans for the dig in front of them, gears in their mind working together to find some plausible reason for these turn of events. "Not even the Pegasi that accompanied me to this dig are capable of controlling this monster of a storm! It only seems to get worse with each passing day!" They exclaimed, frustration in their voice as they realized just how dangerous this storm was for the future of the dig. If it got worse, all that digging would be for naught as the mud would more than likely take the site for it's own once more. Slowly they moved closer to the wooden table within their tent, the light illuminating their mulberry coat, their violet eyes looking over the plans once more. Changes would surely have to be made. "Twilight!" A child like voice called out, the mare in question quickly turned her head from the plans and to the entrance of the tent. The small form of an infant dragon came running, purple scales with green spines, through the entrance of the tent before quickly zipping it shut. The dragon took in deep breaths, shaking his body slightly as to rid his form of the water which soaked every inch of his form. "The rest of the crew are concerned. They are afraid that the rain will cause a flood and will ruin all the progress that we have made." Spike said, his emerald eyes staring at his alicorn sister, his form quickly rushing over to the side of the table. His claws took hold a quill and he turned towards Twilight as if expecting her to have some sort of response to the trouble that they had been facing. Twilight could only sigh in response to the look of expectation that she had gotten from Spike. Her wings slowly rose, flapping very softly to get rid of as much moisture as they could before she took a seat on the floor of the tent. Two towels made their ways to the pair, one dropping over Spike's top spine, the other dropping over and covering Twilight's face. "I'm not sure what we can do Spike. My magic isn't able to rid the area of this storm and the Pegasi that we have got are incapable of getting rid this storm either." Twilight said, her violet magical aura taking hold of the towel as she began to quickly wipe herself down. "We might have to cancel this dig." Twilight said, every hint of disappointment hung heavily in her tone as she was coming to terms that they might not be able to complete this excavation. "What if we send word back to Celestia and Luna? Maybe they would be able to send some help!" Spike said, a bit of excitement in his voice as he believed that his idea would surely work if it was followed through with. When ever the trouble was a little bit outside of their capabilities, the princesses always had a way to fix it. Maybe they would be able to send a large group of Pegasi from Cloudsdale. Maybe they would see the Wonderbolts in action! The very prospect of that sounded awesome to Spike. Sadly, his idea was shot down by Twilight who could only shake her head in response to his supposed answer to their problems. Her hooves scrapped at the ground as she pondered it for a moment, they already had been given some help by some Royal Guards, who were there just in case anything went bad. The prospect of Celestia or Luna doing anything more, outside of showing up themselves, was purely illogical. It was up to them, from this point forward, to make sure that the dig wouldn't be hindered any further. "The best we can do for now, Spike, would be to sleep and hope that everything is alright tomorrow. If the site has been returned to how it previously was, then we will head back to Canterlot and piece together a larger crew for the dig." Twilight said, slowly her hooves clicked against the floor of the tent as she made her way over to her sleeping bag. Her form slowly wiggled into it, her magical aura zipping it up as Spike did the same with his own. "Good night Twilight, I hope everything turns out for the better tomorrow morning." Spike said, turning over in his sleeping bag as he tried to get some sleep. "Good night to you too Spike." Twilight simply said, her magic extinguishing the light of the flame as another rip of lighting and thunder tore apart the sky. If anything happened, she was sure that the guard would alert the crew if the storm grew to violent and attempted to swallow the camp site through her protective shield. She could only pray, that everything would be alright in the morning. The Next Morning Like always, for the past month, the storm had dissipated once the light of the sun began to touch the earth once more. It was a countless cycle, the storm would leave in the morning only to return, much worse than the previous night, with the night. Almost as if the night itself was trying to keep any secrets within this location hidden. Luckily, for the past month, there had been little to no damage from the storm but last night had been particularly bad. As everyone got up from their slumber, they feared that all their work would have been ruined from the storm. They would be surprised at what they would discover. Twilight stood on the ridge of the site, her eyes wide at the sight which was before her. Even though the storm last night had threaten to rip the very earth apart, not a single hair had been disturbed from the location. It took a couple quick rubs to the eyes with her hooves to finally come to terms with what she was seeing. "Just... How?!" Twilight asked, looking at the other crew members who stood, just as dumbfounded, as herself. Each glance to each member was met with the same answer, a quick shrug of the hooves. No one could come to any sensible conclusion as to why the storm hadn't completely desecrated their work. It just didn't seem possible. "Well, Princess, I did see that the ground was absorbing the water rather rapidly. Possibly an empty reservoir of water beneath the earth or some sort of enchantment." A voice rang out, the faint sound of flapping wings ringing in tandem with the words as one of the Solar Guard Pegasi landed in front of Twilight. His eyes turned out towards the excavation sight, one eyebrow raised, before looking back towards Twilight. "I lean more towards the latter, Lieutenant Swift Blade." Twilight said, believing that there might be some sort of enchantment on the lands that was keeping the area safe. With a rain like that, flooding would have easily occurred and swept away what ever was in the area. Had it not been for her own enchantments, the camp site would have easily been swept away. If it wasn't for how far the camp site was from the dig site, she would have tried to protect it the night prior. It meant that there was some sort of ancient magic still at work with this area. What that could have been, she couldn't tell. "Well, I think it is best that we get back to work." Twilight said, turning to her crew members, each member bowing before racing off to continue their work on finding something on this castle. Twilight herself took to the site and began to help in anyway she could with removing the dirt as carefully as she could from the site. It had only been a few hours before an opening had been discovered. A large window, one that had once been likely filled with colorful glass atop the highest most spire. It was a good thing what ever enchantment was here still was. A whole month of work had looked forward to this day and Twilight was the most excited with exploring something new. It was especially lucky that the dirt had some how managed to stay out of the spire, though, the wooden steps that had once been there had long since rotted away. "Alright, I will need a little group to help me excavate the inside of this supposed castle. I can't guarantee that there isn't any traps or your safety from this point forward. Those who wish to help, please step forward." Twilight said, the group in front of her looking to one another before a mere six had stepped forward. Two unicorns, two pegasi, two earth ponies, Twilight was actually happy that it ended up like this. "Alright, so first, we are going to secure a sturdy rope into the side out here and will take the rope down into the depths of the castle. The pegasi will help the other groups safely reach the bottom while I scout ahead to make sure that there is nothing dangerous below." Twilight said, earning a nod from the six ponies before she quickly leaped into the air and soared down into the abyss below. It had almost been as if the darkness was swallowing up the light itself. It took a whole two minutes before she had reached the stone bottom of the structure, her hooves clicking softly against said stone as her horn shone with a bright light. Her violet eyes looked around the room, which appeared to be a hallway, before locking onto the piece of rope which dangled down from above. She slowly stood away from the rope, watching it wiggle in the air as pony after pony slowly began their decent while being watched closely by the pegasi. It took a total of about twelve minutes for the ponies that were incapable of flight to descend the rope to her level. Before she knew it, the whole group stood around her, light from herself and the other unicorns keeping the area lit. "Alright, let's move forward and see just how much of this castle was spared from the elements." Twilight said, glancing over her shoulder at the group, all of which giving another firm nod, before she slowly began to trot forward. The hallway, barren in appearance, most of the wood had rotted away due to years of disuse and no one caring for it. The castle itself seemed to tell a faint story, carvings among the walls in a strange language that took more to the form of pictures. Twilight was just about ready to attempt to pick apart this strange language, but found it better to continue forward. There was an entire castle to be searched. Deep Within the Depths of the Forgotten Castle It had felt like hours had passed by, the darkness being the only friends of the seven ponies that dared explore the abyss of darkness, which was locked within this long forgotten place. They found had found very little, bits of thread, some old armor, the only piece that hadn't rotten away from age was a red flag that had the picture of a quill dipped within an inkwell. What that could have meant, Twilight wasn't sure. They had found themselves deep into the castle, the stairs that they had taken laid behind what had once been massive doors in the foyer. Even now, the stench of decay grew heavier in the air. Each pony's stomach felt the need to evacuate themselves at the stench of death and rot. The rusted bars which surrounded them told Twilight that this was likely the dungeons. The only thing that seemed to be within each cell was dust of the past. Anything that might have once found this place home had long since fell prey to the harsh mistress known as time. Their trek had one last room before they could return to the surface and bring the rest of the crew down into the pit. In front of them stood iron doors, a large bar of iron slammed down to keep what ever had once been locked away, locked away. Twilight's magic quickly took hold of the iron, slowly lifting it to the upright position which allowed the doors to slowly swing open. The sight that befell the groups eyes, was terrible. What met their eyes was a massive room, most of which was shrouded in darkness but what could be seen were the various shackles which hung from the ceiling. A way to keep the more riotous of ponies subdued meant hanging their forelegs and hind legs from the ceiling and floor. It was a truly gruesome sight, especially the sharp smell of death that permeated the room. The group slowly went to take a step into the room, at least until one of Twilight's wings shot up. Her eyes were wide, violet spheres pierced through the slightly lifted darkness at the form on the other side of the room. Upon the ground, sat a pony, at least what appeared to be a pony. It wore upon it's form tattered clothing, a shirt which had been ripped multiple times, a skirt which was torn to shreds and had what appeared to be a smaller version of the stocks locked onto it's front legs. Yet, the most unnerving part for Twilight, was the pale white mask which lacked any features besides holes for the eyes that rested upon it's face. "Guys... I want the six of you to turn around and run as fast as you can." Twilight said, her eyes never leaving the form in front of her as it seemed to twitch at the sound of her voice from within the darkness. "Get help from the surface." Twilight muttered, the form once again twitching as the soft sound of liquid began to meet the floor from in front of them. "And what ever you do, don't look back." Twilight said, the light from her horn cutting out just as the being ahead of them lifted it's head, an unholy screeching filling the room as the crew of six ponies turn and ran with every bit of energy that their muscles could produce. Author's Note So, here is the beginning to a new story that came to mind while I sat around and did absolutely nothing productive with the time that I have on hand. I certainly hope that any readers of this tale will stick around to see just what exactly this thing is and where it will end up heading in the future. As always I hope all of you have a wonderful day! Also, yes this is slightly inspired by Dark Souls 2 but outside of the mask of the Undead Pony, the location where it was found and the magic it will know there will be no other mention of Dark Souls 2 cannon or otherwise. The Dead Rises AgainDeep Within the Bowels of the Forgotten Castle Twilight's breath hitched within her chest, her ears listening to that terrible screeching, her heart pounding rapidly as the screeching slowly began to die down. Her ears swiveled upon her head, the faint sound of disappearing footsteps behind her signaled that the crew had at least gotten away from the area. Her horn was a lit with light once more, the light much brighter than last time as she illuminated the entire room. Her eyes were once again met with the dank prison, mindless words scrawled among the place, chains slowly swaying in the non-existent breeze. Yet, that figure that had once been resting against the wall had disappeared from it's resting place. Twilight's eyes quickly darted around the room, violet scanning every inch of the circular room before she turned her gaze towards the rest of the dungeons behind her. One of her eyebrows raised, she was sure that she would have been able to hear the creature run past her so it should have still been contained within the cell. Her head turned back towards the prison, her horn had lit every inch of the prison which made it impossible for the creature to hide. The soft sound of a bell echoed out within the cell. It was at that point that realization had hit Twilight over the head and her eyes went as wide as dinner plates as she allowed the muscles in her neck to constrict. Slowly her head tilted, eventually taking in the ceiling above her, alongside the strange creature which lived in this pitiful cell. It appeared to be planted rather firmly into the ceiling, two large wing like appendages keeping it secured to the ceiling as that horrid mask only stared back at the Alicorn below. The very sight of that mask would forever leave an imprint within Twilight's mind. Her mouth slowly opened into a silent scream, every nerve in her body trying to get her to move away from the beast which eyed her as it's next prey. The 'wings' upon it's back twitched as they pulled from the ceiling and it fell to the ground with a rather loud and wet smack. It's tail rose into the air behind it, curling into a crescent moon as a small golden bell tied to the end of it's tail came into view. Twilight began to back away from the beast as it lowered it's front down to the ground slightly, it's head bowing to the ground as it's tail twitched and the bell jingled softly. A sphere seemed to encompass the beast in an instant, the sphere completely see-through as it seemed to slowly revolve before it violently erupted from it's resting position. The sphere smacked Twilight head on, the force seemingly matching the very strength of the wrath of a god. Twilight found herself spinning away from the creature in the air, various cuts and bruises covering her body as she hit the ground with a loud smack and slid three feet further. She found herself almost half way to the stairs, the strength behind that simple attack rather astonishing for the small pony. Her hooves shifted beneath her, planting themselves firmly into the stone floor as she attempted to rise up once more. Eventually she found herself standing once more, her legs shaking with quite a bit of strain beneath her as they attempted to hold her weight in their weakened condition. Her eyes slowly looked up from the ground as she took in ragged breath after ragged breath and they met a sight that she wished was nothing more than a dream. It was standing directly in front of her, it's mask only inches from it's face as it seemed to scan the purple Alicorn from head to hooves. Twilight remained completely still as it slowly began to pace around her, those empty eye holes seemingly glaring her down as it sniffed at the air around her. Those 'wings' seemed to flex slightly, the corner of her eyes picking up on the faint glimmer of metal as it slowly passed around her once before stopping behind her. She twitched in fear as she felt one of the wings slowly run against her side, a soft yelp of pain escaping her lips as her observation was correct. Each individual 'feather' and 'bone' upon it's 'wings' were blades fashioned into the shape of wings. She could feel each individual 'feather' slicing only skin deep into her haunch as it seemed to examine her. It was then that her ears picked up on something, a soft mutter as it seemed to regard her as something else. "Q-Queen..." "Princess Sparkle!" She heard a voice, her head quickly swiveling upon her neck as she looked behind her and witnessed a sight that she believed was brought upon by the very god of fortune itself. A loud cracking noise rang out within the halls of that desolate prison. The white form of a pony crashed directly into the creature, both forms tumbling a few feet away from Twilight as the pony rose above the creature. A wide grin was adorn on his face as he began to lash out at the creature below him, his hooves striking at any point they could lash out at. The creature below the pony released a loud screeching noise from behind it's mask, blood visibly leaking from beneath the mask as the pony above it continued to violently lash out at it. The creature began to squirm, it's form writhing in what appeared to be agony, as it attempted to push the pony away. Yet, the pony above wouldn't budge and it fell on relying on a different tactic as that bell rang once more. "Look out!" Twilight called out, her voice echoing out within the prison as the pony looked back at her from the darkness before glancing to the creature. In an instant he was sent flying from the creature, an unseen force tossing him high into the air before he landed with a loud thud against the stone below. Twilight called out in fear as the creature slowly stood up, it's legs shaking violently as it tried to find footing on the ground before it began to visibly heave. It began to violently vomit on the ground in front of it, a mouth visible beneath the white mask as a pitch black fluid gushed from it. The pony on the ground slowly stood, backing away from the creature as he took a spot next to Twilight and tried to catch his breath from being flung towards the ceiling. "W-What is this thing?" The pony said, his teal eyes looking towards Twilight as she finally took the time to process just who this pony was. It was strange to see a guards pony without their armor as it seemed he had discarded them above ground in favor of being able to move quickly to Twilight's side. "I'm not quite sure Lieutenant Swift Blade, but I certainly intend to find out." Twilight said, her violet eyes darting to the guard next to her before they returned to the creature in front of them that only seemed to continue in emptying it's bowels of that foul looking liquid. "I don't think it will let us go without a fight, so I believe it best that we attempt to knock it out and chain it up." Twilight muttered under her breath, her eyes catching the brief movement of the guard's head next to her. "By your command, Princess. Though, try to stay out of this Princess, I don't know if it will attempt to attack you if you get involved." Lieutenant Swift Blade said, his wings flaring outwards as he took to the air, his fore-hooves taking hold of his trusty spear just as the creature righted itself once more. It appeared to have finished expelling it's body of the taint, it's mask once more resting comfortably over it's entire face as it's own wings flared out at it's sides. Each individual feather seemed to glint softly in the faint light that Twilight's horn gave off as it seemed to only stare at the current threat which remained within the air above it. The only movement it made, though, was the faint rising and falling of it's chest and the occasional twitch of it's wings. Lieutenant Swift Blade decided to begin the assault, his wings flapping violently as he took himself into a dive with his spear at the ready to lash out at the being. The creature itself only seemed to hiss in response to the movement as it quickly dashed forward, each hoof creating a soft clopping sound against the stone as it dashed in Swift Blades' direction. As Swift Blade moved in for his attack, it quickly bent it's legs and sent itself into the air with a quick thrust of it's legs. It's wings lashed out at the guard who could only gawk as it seemed to float gracefully through the air. It's form took the spear to it's side, the tip easily slicing through it's skin which only caused blood to splatter to the ground below. Lieutenant Swift Blade wasn't as well off as the creature seemed to be. He found himself within a flurry of blades, each individual feather seemed to flex outwards from it's wings and slice through his skin like butter. He cried out in pain as he quickly took to the air before too much damage was sustained and he found himself panting softly as blood slowly oozed from a multitude of cuts all around his body. "Sweet Celestia, this thing hurts." Swift Blade said, grunting softly as each cut burned against the damp air within the cell block hallway. Twilight could only look on in interest as the creature landed on the ground, it's left side seemed to crumble for a moment as the deep gash opened and spilled out more blood onto the ground below. Yet, even with so much damaged dealt to it, it righted itself once more as it looked towards the Pegasi who only remained close to the ceiling. It's tail rose to the air once more as the soft chime of a bell rang out within the cell block. "Why would it try to hit him with that attack? He is well outside of the range of such-" Twilight's muttering was quickly cut off as a crackling light began to fill the hallway. In almost an instant, the form of a lightning bolt seemed to form atop the bell, the creature continued to watch Swift Blade who could only look on in fear as it's tail slowly lowered. "Watch out!" Twilight yelled, her horn quickly sending a quick burst of magic towards the creature, said being crying out in pain once more as it stumbled and it's tail flicked towards Swift Blade. The lightning bolt was sent soaring, though was slightly off due to the sudden attack from behind. The lightning bolt struck the ceiling next to Swift Blade, the pegasus looking at the deep hole that had been formed within the stone. "This is so unreal!" Swift Blade said, hardening his stare at the creature below as it slowly rose to it's hooves and turned towards Twilight with a soft hissing. "Don't you dare turn your back to me!" Swift Blade called out, diving down towards the creature who only seemed to stare intently at Twilight as it began to slowly trot towards her. "Q-Queen..." It's voice rang out, soft and raspy much like the night breeze as it attempted to once again move to Twilight in such a nonchalant fashion. It's ignorance was met with a very sharp pain which only seemed to radiate outwards from two points on it's body. It slowly turned it's head to look at the pegasus who was growling at it, it's eyes drifting to the spear which impaled it from one side of it's body to the other. The spear itself had lodged itself straight through where it's heart was and in shock it only seemed to slowly turn it's head turned towards Twilight before attempting to take another step towards her. Then just like that, it's body gave out as it dropped to the ground before going completely still. Twilight could only look on in terror, the once substantial threat having been put down by the Guards Pony who had took it upon himself to violently rid the world of the creature. She slowly trotted over to the body, it's form remained still as she looked over it with her eyes before turning her gaze to Lieutenant Swift Blade. "I am sorry, Princess. I thought it was going to attempt to hurt you so I put it down." Swift Blade said, landing on the ground next to Twilight who could only look at him for a brief moment before looking back to the corpse in front of her. "I understand Lieutenant Swift Blade, it was a swift decision and one that might have saved my life." Twilight said, her voice was soft as she found herself tearing up slightly at the form in front of them. For the length of time she had been alive, she had never witnessed something's life so quickly extinguished. Despite having saved Equis many times in the past with her friends, never once had they ever killed or witnessed the death of something. She closed her eyes and allowed her head to bow down to the creature in a way of showing respect for the creature, despite it having been violent with both herself and Swift Blade earlier. For all they knew, it could have only been protecting it's home. Her ears twitched atop her head suddenly, a soft sound ringing out as her eyes quickly darted open. What she noticed was jaw dropping. Slowly the creature seemed to stir, it's hooves twitching softly as it's chest began to once again rise and fall as the soft sound of breathing began to radiate from it's form. Yet, it only laid there as it seemed to twitch occasionally. "What?! How?!" Twilight yelled, her eyes wide as dinner plates as Swift Blade could only stutter next to the princess in a mixture of fear and shock. "You stabbed it through the heart! How is it still alive!" Twilight exclaimed, her horn flaring up as a bubble of magic quickly surrounded the creature and lifted it from the ground. "Lieutenant Swift Blade, we must leave this place, now, before it awakens. I think it is best we take it back to the camp and chain it up before transporting it back to Canterlot." Twilight said, her eyes now as sharp as a blade as she began her trot towards the staircase, the guards pony only watching on in shock before he shook his head and began to follow Twilight. "Hopefully, Princess Celestia will be able to shed some light on this thing..." Author's Note Well... That certainly escalated quickly... Where Am I?Darkness embraced your form, your mind drifting within a landscape by your own creation and your eyes could only pick up the shadows which danced around you. You found it hard to believe that anything, at this point, was real and came to the conclusion that you had finally embraced death. It had been a long grueling journey, one where you had committed atrocities against pony-kind that would rival that of the very Creator of Destruction. You had always been his favorite out of the legion of Undead that he had created as he had always been there to comfort you after you had done irreversible damage to the lives of the living. Even when his right hand and left hand men called him a weakling for it, he was still there for you. Even now you could hear his voice radiating out from the darkness. "I come to check on my favorite Undead and here you are sitting in the dark. What is wrong my dear?" Your ears perked at the voice, your heart sent a flutter by that sound which pierced through the darkness much like an arrow. Your lips began to move but all that could be uttered was a soft gurgling sound, which was quickly accompanied by a black fluid which left your damaged throat. "I see you are incapable of speech... Quite a troublesome thing. Too think she would hurt my favorite Undead to the point where she would destroy your ability of speech. I should have taken her children when their time had came... No matter, it's good to see that you have finally woken from your slumber." Your eyes had adjusted to the lack of light at this point, they never blinked as they peered deep into the darkness, a hope in your chest that you would be able to gaze upon the image of your master. Seemingly in the distant, two white spheres watched you intensely. A dark figure, one far across the chasm of darkness, the one with long flowing hair and the one that stood upon it's own two feet. It seemed to slowly reach to you, a shadow encrusted arm reaching to touch your head once more. You attempted to move from the spot, your legs flailing desperately to move your form across the inky blackness which coated the landscape of your mind. Yet, you felt as if a heavy weight was upon your body. You could only sit there, your hooves uselessly moving about from your seated position. When it came to your mind that you were stuck, a faint whimpering sound could be heard radiating from your throat. "You need not try to move darling, you and I will be united in time. Though, from what I can tell from your mental projection, you have been captured and secured to a spot. You are in a world much different from what you once knew, it is up to you on how you spend your time. You can either become one with the herd, or you can fight back and likely be placed in a cell once more. I will not order you about any more, her time had come and she is now gone." You didn't know how to react to his words, your attempts to cry out to him seemed to go upon deaf ears as he turned his back to you. You attempted to move once more, your wings trying to pry themselves from your body as you at least attempted to fruitlessly scoot across the ground. "We will see one another soon..." His head turned, those two white spheres looking at you from across the throbbing darkness, the darkness slowly disappearing into light. His hands draped his hood upon his head once more as he slowly walked away from you. "For now... Wake up." [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] You awoke with a startle, your crimson eyes quickly shutting as a blinding light seemed to radiate down on you. It was as if the very gods themselves mocked you for waking up in such a well lit place. Even through your decrepit eyelids, the light seemed to violently assault your eyes in any way possible. You grumbled softly as you slowly opened one of them, your eyes taking in the details of the surrounding area. The room itself was stark white, a bright light shinning through the open window to your right, the light itself radiating from the massive sphere of light in the sky. You couldn't help but grumble once more as your eye slowly took in the rest of the room. There was a single door and a book case to your left, pressed up against the wall and a bed side drawer directly to your left. This was certainly strange, as the last time you have been conscious, you had been within a dark cell and not in a bright white room. Feeling slowly returned to your body, something was compressed down against your chest and your hind legs and above that compressing material was a navy blue sheet. Underneath your form was something you never expected to see. A bed, such a luxury was something that only the richest of ponies could afford and you had only gotten yours through the generosity of your master. It was certainly comfortable, the sheet keeping your cold body warm and the light from the sphere in the sky only seemed to help warm you further. Where in Tartarus had you ended up? A soft breeze rolled through the open window, the breeze nestled softly against the fur upon your muzzle and seemed to slowly send you back to simpler and darker times... Wait, how could you feel the breeze against your face when you had your mask? Your eyes quickly darted down towards your muzzle and they quickly took in the lime green tone of your fur. Your muzzle was visible to the world and the white mask which once was adorn upon your face was missing. Your mask?! Something had taken your mask! The mask that your master gave you! 'No no no nonononononoNoNoNONONONONONONO MY MASK!' You couldn't help but scream out in your mind, your body began to tremble violently as you tried to thrash against the restraints underneath the sheets. A shrill sound between a cry and a scream escaped your lips as blood began to trickle from the corners of your eyes. 'MY MASK MY MASK MYMASKMYMASKMYMASKMYMASK!' You continued to thrash violently, your strength causing the metal frame of the bed to creak and even lift from the floor for brief moments as you tried to break free from your new prison. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE WITH YOUR MASK! [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] "Well, Princesses, I had discovered something that I was hoping that either of you could possibly explain." Twilight said, her hoof falls against the tile floor seemed to ring in tandem with the hoof steps of the two princesses who followed her in her wake. "It is something unlike anything that I have ever seen before. No books of Equestria History even explains what this thing could possibly be!" Twilight said, a wide smile on her face as she thought about the possibility of having discovered the first, unaccounted for creature of this nature in Equestrian History! "We will try to assist you with what knowledge we have, Twilight, but if you haven't found it in any books on Equestrian History, I feel it is unlikely that we will be able to help you." Celestia said, her eyes full of worry as Luna followed quietly at her side, the alabaster princess had a sinking feeling in her stomach which was also shared by her sister. "Well, we will certainly see when we reach Room Sixty-Three!" Twilight said, the smile growing wider as they came to an intersection in the hallways. It was then that a loud screeching sound could be heard radiating from their right and all three princesses stopped to watch a cart, being pushed by a nurse, rush pass with a second nurse running as quickly behind the cart as she could. A fourth nurse blazed past while a fifth was quickly stopped by Twilight. "Nurse Wormwood, what is going on?" Twilight asked, her face full of worry as the nurse gazed down at the hall at her galloping co-workers and she quickly turned her eyes towards Twilight with a grim look on her face. "The patient in Room Sixty-Three has awoken. It doesn't appear very happy." Nurse Wormwood said, her words grim as Twilight released her and the nurse took the moment to gallop after the two nurses down the hallway. Twilight had an utterly shocked look upon her face, her mouth wide open, her eyes seemingly just as widely opened and her mane seemed to stand on end as she took a breath to mutter a single phrase before taking off in a gallop. "Oh no..." Author's Note So, after a very long break away from posting chapters, I am finally back. I know this is rather short when compared to other chapters but I still have a major case of writer's block. Hope you at least enjoy this little tidbit of a chapter. Also, as you can see from the beginning, I will be using the word 'you' in this story to explain the feelings as this will be primarily done through the eyes of the undead. It will shift from internal thoughts and feelings by using 'you' and the absence of 'you' to describe external actions. Probably going to look terrible but I've been want to try something like this. If I screw up the story doing this, I am sorry. What Is Life?Room Sixty-Three was in utter chaos at this point. Multiple medical staff were moving about the room, each one moving with a sense of purpose as they attempted to sedate the creature trashing against its binds. Nurse Wormwood worked in tandem with three other nurses, each one pushing their body weight down into the creature as they attempted to keep it still. Even with the combined strength of four earth ponies, it was capable of shifting and thrashing to the point of providing lift for the bed to clear three inches from the floor. The frame of the bed creaked, the metal under stress as the restraints pulled violently against the bars every time the body, that they were attached to, violently shifted. Doctor Anesthesia was working quickly to put together a needle and a concoction to pacify the creature. His magic encompassed a vial and needle, the plunger pulling back as the clear liquid filled the entire needle. He wasn't entirely sure what sort of dosage would be require for the creature. All he was concerned about was keeping it from breaking free and ruining the hospital. [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] Twilight was in a mad dash, her hooves carrying her quickly down the tiled hallways of the hospital as she made her way to room sixty-three post-haste. She had a feeling, deep within the pits of her stomach, that the worst could happen. Her manic mind thought of all the possibly bad things that could occur if their 'patient' escaped from the bindings that had been fastened just for it. What would she do if it broke free? She had, at first hand, experienced the damage that it was capable of causing. They had taken extra precaution to remove that bell from it's tail but it had proven to be fully capable of fighting without it. Those wings... Those terrifying wings that were so easily able to slice through flesh. Those were enough, in Twilight's mind, to cause enough damage and death. It was possible the most dangerous 'patient' that they had in these halls and the prospect of it escaping and causing death only made Twilight's heart rate sky rocket and her eyes to go wide in fear. What would Celestia think? [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] "WWWWHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Your mind screamed, your body continued to thrash violently against the bindings and the ponies that had arrived and attempted to hold you down. You wanted your mask, no, needed your mask. It, along with your bell, was the only thing that you had to remember of your master. They were yours and these ponies dared to take it away from you? They would feel the might of the First Undead! Your tail began to swiftly shift, moving left to right in a desperate attempt to ring that familiar piece of metal that allowed you to cast magic as strong as, if not stronger, than magic that Unicorns were capable of using. Your ears perked for that familiar sound, your physical fight stopping as you waited for that familiar rush of magic to move through your body. Your eyes stared at the ceiling as you kept wagging your tail for a minute, the ponies above you staring at you with strange looks upon their face as they tried to comprehend what you were doing. When no sound came your tail your right eyebrow rose in curiosity. Your head strained to lift off of the bed, your tail shifting down between your hind legs as you looked at the end, expecting to see that golden metal. There was nothing and you felt your mind break for a moment. A high pitched scream that mixed with a gurgling rang out, your body going into overdrive as you really attempted to break free from the 'prison' that these ponies had you in. The bed cleared nearly a foot off of the ground as the metal began to warp at how much strength you were putting into fighting against the binds. The Earth Ponies went into over time, practically standing atop you at this point as you screamed out in anguish and pain. Blood slowly began to pour from the sides of your lips as your dead eyes stared in anger at the nearest pony. They took both of your precious items, the items that meant the world to you. You would not stand for this, you would break free from these binds and kill everything until you found the two items and then kill some more. They wouldn't be able to handle the amount of killing you were going to do when you broke free. You would make the pony race extinct by the time you were done. At least, you were. Until you felt a sharp prick on your left hind leg and everything seemed to violently come crashing down. Maybe that was the bed that violently impacted the ground as your struggles became non-existent. Your eyes became heavy, your eyelids slowly closing and it wasn't until then that the ponies crawled away from your slumbering body. [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] Twilight finally arrived at the room, her hooves skidding to a stop beneath her as she rounded the doorway and ran into the room. She had expected the room to be in disarray, she had expected a blood bath to await her. She found herself in a room with a mangled bed, the being still bound to it and apparently in a deep sleep at this point. Her eyes looked to the four nurses, each one sweating profusely from trying to hold it down. One of the nurses seemed shaken, her eyes wide as she stared at the creature and tried to catch her breath. Doctor Anesthesia was in a sweat as well, his hoof dabbing a cloth against his forehead as his magic returned the tools that had sedated the creature back to their resting place. "W-What happened? Is everything alright?!" Twilight asked, her voice slightly loud and hectic as she looked between each pony in a sense of panic. Their responses were a brief nod of four heads, a fifth still staring in a sense of dread and terror at the thing. "Y-Yes Princess. We were able to sedate the creature. We should be safe now, hopefully." Doctor Anesthesia said, his voice trembling slightly as he slowly made his way past Twilight, bowing to her very briefly as he left the room to cool his nerves. The four nurses left the room as well, two of them seemingly fine while a third carried the four over a shoulder. What ever that nurse had seen, had scared her to the point of making her completely incapable of moving. Twilight merely watched them leave, her eyes turning back to the mangled bed, her form being slowly carried across the floor until she stood by it. It had done a number to the bed, her hoof running across the twisted metal that had once been a completely functional bed. At this point, it would need to be replaced once she had discussed with the other Princesses on what they would do with this creature. Her hair seemed to slowly return to normal as a sense of calm slowly overtook her. Everything was going to be alright. She could salvage this situation. "Is everything alright, Twilight?" A motherly voice rang out, the voice coming mere hoofsteps away from the doorway. There was a sense of concern in the voice and Twilight snapped out of her thoughts at this. "Y-Yes Prince-Celestia." Twilight said, her eyes leaving the from in front of her, both staring patiently at the doorway as an alabaster and then a black figure cleared the corner and entered the room. "This is what I wanted to show you, Celestia." Twilight said, moving out of the way of the bed a hoof providing a bit of flourish to the reveal as it passed above the form tied to the bed. The being's chest slowly rose and fell, it's eyes sealed shut as it slept through the dosage of drugs that had been applied to it's body. Both of the Princesses moved to the bed side, both looking over the form in front of them. Both sets of eyes seemed to scrutinize the form in front of them until a soft gasp came from the darker colored princess. "Sister, could this be?" Luna asked, her gaze turning to the older of the two, said older sibling still stared at the mangled bed and the resting form that slept silently underneath the bindings. "Yes, dear sister, this is certainly what it appears to be." Celestia stated, her voice harsh with a serious overtone that seemed to squeeze the life out of every syllable that left her muzzle. "W-What is it, Princ-Celestia?" A meek voice squeaked, the smaller of the three Princesses coming to terms with the idea that what she had brought to civilization wasn't entirely safe. "Well, Twilight, you are staring at the first and last of the Undead." Author's Note Short, sweet and to the point. I really should get back into this, cause I feel that my groove has left me in my absence.
A Horrid DiscoveryThe Forgotten Castle The world seemed to be in complete turmoil with itself. The sky was alight with various bouts of lightning, while the sound of thunder seemed to violently tear at the landscape. The wind was violent, whipping the downpour in various directions, anything that hadn't been tethered down was swiftly blown away. It had been a little over a month since this excavation job had begun at this mysterious location and the weather hadn't been better since. Where it had started off as a light drizzle, had quickly turned into a violent maelstrom that threatened to consume all the progress that had been made. Only the very tip of this strange landmark had been uncovered, the tip being that of the highest tower of what appeared to be a castle. Not once had any castle been noted to have been located in this remote location in any book of Equestrian History. The head of this excavation crew had made sure that this was true. The soft sound of a zipper running against itself rang out underneath the violent bellowing of the natures. The faint outline of a pony slowly strode into their tent, their form soaked from the violent storm that raged outside their front door. A soft, feminine sigh rang out, which was quickly followed by another blast of violent thunder. A soft creak followed by the sound of a match being struck and the center of the tent was soon bathed in light. Even with this new light, they remained within the darkness, the light only bright enough to light up their plans for the dig. "This weather is almost the same as the weather in the Everfree Forest. It's strange, cause the Everfree is on the opposite side of Equestria so it is impossible for it to have traveled this far." Their voice rang out, eyes looking over the plans for the dig in front of them, gears in their mind working together to find some plausible reason for these turn of events. "Not even the Pegasi that accompanied me to this dig are capable of controlling this monster of a storm! It only seems to get worse with each passing day!" They exclaimed, frustration in their voice as they realized just how dangerous this storm was for the future of the dig. If it got worse, all that digging would be for naught as the mud would more than likely take the site for it's own once more. Slowly they moved closer to the wooden table within their tent, the light illuminating their mulberry coat, their violet eyes looking over the plans once more. Changes would surely have to be made. "Twilight!" A child like voice called out, the mare in question quickly turned her head from the plans and to the entrance of the tent. The small form of an infant dragon came running, purple scales with green spines, through the entrance of the tent before quickly zipping it shut. The dragon took in deep breaths, shaking his body slightly as to rid his form of the water which soaked every inch of his form. "The rest of the crew are concerned. They are afraid that the rain will cause a flood and will ruin all the progress that we have made." Spike said, his emerald eyes staring at his alicorn sister, his form quickly rushing over to the side of the table. His claws took hold a quill and he turned towards Twilight as if expecting her to have some sort of response to the trouble that they had been facing. Twilight could only sigh in response to the look of expectation that she had gotten from Spike. Her wings slowly rose, flapping very softly to get rid of as much moisture as they could before she took a seat on the floor of the tent. Two towels made their ways to the pair, one dropping over Spike's top spine, the other dropping over and covering Twilight's face. "I'm not sure what we can do Spike. My magic isn't able to rid the area of this storm and the Pegasi that we have got are incapable of getting rid this storm either." Twilight said, her violet magical aura taking hold of the towel as she began to quickly wipe herself down. "We might have to cancel this dig." Twilight said, every hint of disappointment hung heavily in her tone as she was coming to terms that they might not be able to complete this excavation. "What if we send word back to Celestia and Luna? Maybe they would be able to send some help!" Spike said, a bit of excitement in his voice as he believed that his idea would surely work if it was followed through with. When ever the trouble was a little bit outside of their capabilities, the princesses always had a way to fix it. Maybe they would be able to send a large group of Pegasi from Cloudsdale. Maybe they would see the Wonderbolts in action! The very prospect of that sounded awesome to Spike. Sadly, his idea was shot down by Twilight who could only shake her head in response to his supposed answer to their problems. Her hooves scrapped at the ground as she pondered it for a moment, they already had been given some help by some Royal Guards, who were there just in case anything went bad. The prospect of Celestia or Luna doing anything more, outside of showing up themselves, was purely illogical. It was up to them, from this point forward, to make sure that the dig wouldn't be hindered any further. "The best we can do for now, Spike, would be to sleep and hope that everything is alright tomorrow. If the site has been returned to how it previously was, then we will head back to Canterlot and piece together a larger crew for the dig." Twilight said, slowly her hooves clicked against the floor of the tent as she made her way over to her sleeping bag. Her form slowly wiggled into it, her magical aura zipping it up as Spike did the same with his own. "Good night Twilight, I hope everything turns out for the better tomorrow morning." Spike said, turning over in his sleeping bag as he tried to get some sleep. "Good night to you too Spike." Twilight simply said, her magic extinguishing the light of the flame as another rip of lighting and thunder tore apart the sky. If anything happened, she was sure that the guard would alert the crew if the storm grew to violent and attempted to swallow the camp site through her protective shield. She could only pray, that everything would be alright in the morning. The Next Morning Like always, for the past month, the storm had dissipated once the light of the sun began to touch the earth once more. It was a countless cycle, the storm would leave in the morning only to return, much worse than the previous night, with the night. Almost as if the night itself was trying to keep any secrets within this location hidden. Luckily, for the past month, there had been little to no damage from the storm but last night had been particularly bad. As everyone got up from their slumber, they feared that all their work would have been ruined from the storm. They would be surprised at what they would discover. Twilight stood on the ridge of the site, her eyes wide at the sight which was before her. Even though the storm last night had threaten to rip the very earth apart, not a single hair had been disturbed from the location. It took a couple quick rubs to the eyes with her hooves to finally come to terms with what she was seeing. "Just... How?!" Twilight asked, looking at the other crew members who stood, just as dumbfounded, as herself. Each glance to each member was met with the same answer, a quick shrug of the hooves. No one could come to any sensible conclusion as to why the storm hadn't completely desecrated their work. It just didn't seem possible. "Well, Princess, I did see that the ground was absorbing the water rather rapidly. Possibly an empty reservoir of water beneath the earth or some sort of enchantment." A voice rang out, the faint sound of flapping wings ringing in tandem with the words as one of the Solar Guard Pegasi landed in front of Twilight. His eyes turned out towards the excavation sight, one eyebrow raised, before looking back towards Twilight. "I lean more towards the latter, Lieutenant Swift Blade." Twilight said, believing that there might be some sort of enchantment on the lands that was keeping the area safe. With a rain like that, flooding would have easily occurred and swept away what ever was in the area. Had it not been for her own enchantments, the camp site would have easily been swept away. If it wasn't for how far the camp site was from the dig site, she would have tried to protect it the night prior. It meant that there was some sort of ancient magic still at work with this area. What that could have been, she couldn't tell. "Well, I think it is best that we get back to work." Twilight said, turning to her crew members, each member bowing before racing off to continue their work on finding something on this castle. Twilight herself took to the site and began to help in anyway she could with removing the dirt as carefully as she could from the site. It had only been a few hours before an opening had been discovered. A large window, one that had once been likely filled with colorful glass atop the highest most spire. It was a good thing what ever enchantment was here still was. A whole month of work had looked forward to this day and Twilight was the most excited with exploring something new. It was especially lucky that the dirt had some how managed to stay out of the spire, though, the wooden steps that had once been there had long since rotted away. "Alright, I will need a little group to help me excavate the inside of this supposed castle. I can't guarantee that there isn't any traps or your safety from this point forward. Those who wish to help, please step forward." Twilight said, the group in front of her looking to one another before a mere six had stepped forward. Two unicorns, two pegasi, two earth ponies, Twilight was actually happy that it ended up like this. "Alright, so first, we are going to secure a sturdy rope into the side out here and will take the rope down into the depths of the castle. The pegasi will help the other groups safely reach the bottom while I scout ahead to make sure that there is nothing dangerous below." Twilight said, earning a nod from the six ponies before she quickly leaped into the air and soared down into the abyss below. It had almost been as if the darkness was swallowing up the light itself. It took a whole two minutes before she had reached the stone bottom of the structure, her hooves clicking softly against said stone as her horn shone with a bright light. Her violet eyes looked around the room, which appeared to be a hallway, before locking onto the piece of rope which dangled down from above. She slowly stood away from the rope, watching it wiggle in the air as pony after pony slowly began their decent while being watched closely by the pegasi. It took a total of about twelve minutes for the ponies that were incapable of flight to descend the rope to her level. Before she knew it, the whole group stood around her, light from herself and the other unicorns keeping the area lit. "Alright, let's move forward and see just how much of this castle was spared from the elements." Twilight said, glancing over her shoulder at the group, all of which giving another firm nod, before she slowly began to trot forward. The hallway, barren in appearance, most of the wood had rotted away due to years of disuse and no one caring for it. The castle itself seemed to tell a faint story, carvings among the walls in a strange language that took more to the form of pictures. Twilight was just about ready to attempt to pick apart this strange language, but found it better to continue forward. There was an entire castle to be searched. Deep Within the Depths of the Forgotten Castle It had felt like hours had passed by, the darkness being the only friends of the seven ponies that dared explore the abyss of darkness, which was locked within this long forgotten place. They found had found very little, bits of thread, some old armor, the only piece that hadn't rotten away from age was a red flag that had the picture of a quill dipped within an inkwell. What that could have meant, Twilight wasn't sure. They had found themselves deep into the castle, the stairs that they had taken laid behind what had once been massive doors in the foyer. Even now, the stench of decay grew heavier in the air. Each pony's stomach felt the need to evacuate themselves at the stench of death and rot. The rusted bars which surrounded them told Twilight that this was likely the dungeons. The only thing that seemed to be within each cell was dust of the past. Anything that might have once found this place home had long since fell prey to the harsh mistress known as time. Their trek had one last room before they could return to the surface and bring the rest of the crew down into the pit. In front of them stood iron doors, a large bar of iron slammed down to keep what ever had once been locked away, locked away. Twilight's magic quickly took hold of the iron, slowly lifting it to the upright position which allowed the doors to slowly swing open. The sight that befell the groups eyes, was terrible. What met their eyes was a massive room, most of which was shrouded in darkness but what could be seen were the various shackles which hung from the ceiling. A way to keep the more riotous of ponies subdued meant hanging their forelegs and hind legs from the ceiling and floor. It was a truly gruesome sight, especially the sharp smell of death that permeated the room. The group slowly went to take a step into the room, at least until one of Twilight's wings shot up. Her eyes were wide, violet spheres pierced through the slightly lifted darkness at the form on the other side of the room. Upon the ground, sat a pony, at least what appeared to be a pony. It wore upon it's form tattered clothing, a shirt which had been ripped multiple times, a skirt which was torn to shreds and had what appeared to be a smaller version of the stocks locked onto it's front legs. Yet, the most unnerving part for Twilight, was the pale white mask which lacked any features besides holes for the eyes that rested upon it's face. "Guys... I want the six of you to turn around and run as fast as you can." Twilight said, her eyes never leaving the form in front of her as it seemed to twitch at the sound of her voice from within the darkness. "Get help from the surface." Twilight muttered, the form once again twitching as the soft sound of liquid began to meet the floor from in front of them. "And what ever you do, don't look back." Twilight said, the light from her horn cutting out just as the being ahead of them lifted it's head, an unholy screeching filling the room as the crew of six ponies turn and ran with every bit of energy that their muscles could produce. Author's Note So, here is the beginning to a new story that came to mind while I sat around and did absolutely nothing productive with the time that I have on hand. I certainly hope that any readers of this tale will stick around to see just what exactly this thing is and where it will end up heading in the future. As always I hope all of you have a wonderful day! Also, yes this is slightly inspired by Dark Souls 2 but outside of the mask of the Undead Pony, the location where it was found and the magic it will know there will be no other mention of Dark Souls 2 cannon or otherwise.
The Dead Rises AgainDeep Within the Bowels of the Forgotten Castle Twilight's breath hitched within her chest, her ears listening to that terrible screeching, her heart pounding rapidly as the screeching slowly began to die down. Her ears swiveled upon her head, the faint sound of disappearing footsteps behind her signaled that the crew had at least gotten away from the area. Her horn was a lit with light once more, the light much brighter than last time as she illuminated the entire room. Her eyes were once again met with the dank prison, mindless words scrawled among the place, chains slowly swaying in the non-existent breeze. Yet, that figure that had once been resting against the wall had disappeared from it's resting place. Twilight's eyes quickly darted around the room, violet scanning every inch of the circular room before she turned her gaze towards the rest of the dungeons behind her. One of her eyebrows raised, she was sure that she would have been able to hear the creature run past her so it should have still been contained within the cell. Her head turned back towards the prison, her horn had lit every inch of the prison which made it impossible for the creature to hide. The soft sound of a bell echoed out within the cell. It was at that point that realization had hit Twilight over the head and her eyes went as wide as dinner plates as she allowed the muscles in her neck to constrict. Slowly her head tilted, eventually taking in the ceiling above her, alongside the strange creature which lived in this pitiful cell. It appeared to be planted rather firmly into the ceiling, two large wing like appendages keeping it secured to the ceiling as that horrid mask only stared back at the Alicorn below. The very sight of that mask would forever leave an imprint within Twilight's mind. Her mouth slowly opened into a silent scream, every nerve in her body trying to get her to move away from the beast which eyed her as it's next prey. The 'wings' upon it's back twitched as they pulled from the ceiling and it fell to the ground with a rather loud and wet smack. It's tail rose into the air behind it, curling into a crescent moon as a small golden bell tied to the end of it's tail came into view. Twilight began to back away from the beast as it lowered it's front down to the ground slightly, it's head bowing to the ground as it's tail twitched and the bell jingled softly. A sphere seemed to encompass the beast in an instant, the sphere completely see-through as it seemed to slowly revolve before it violently erupted from it's resting position. The sphere smacked Twilight head on, the force seemingly matching the very strength of the wrath of a god. Twilight found herself spinning away from the creature in the air, various cuts and bruises covering her body as she hit the ground with a loud smack and slid three feet further. She found herself almost half way to the stairs, the strength behind that simple attack rather astonishing for the small pony. Her hooves shifted beneath her, planting themselves firmly into the stone floor as she attempted to rise up once more. Eventually she found herself standing once more, her legs shaking with quite a bit of strain beneath her as they attempted to hold her weight in their weakened condition. Her eyes slowly looked up from the ground as she took in ragged breath after ragged breath and they met a sight that she wished was nothing more than a dream. It was standing directly in front of her, it's mask only inches from it's face as it seemed to scan the purple Alicorn from head to hooves. Twilight remained completely still as it slowly began to pace around her, those empty eye holes seemingly glaring her down as it sniffed at the air around her. Those 'wings' seemed to flex slightly, the corner of her eyes picking up on the faint glimmer of metal as it slowly passed around her once before stopping behind her. She twitched in fear as she felt one of the wings slowly run against her side, a soft yelp of pain escaping her lips as her observation was correct. Each individual 'feather' and 'bone' upon it's 'wings' were blades fashioned into the shape of wings. She could feel each individual 'feather' slicing only skin deep into her haunch as it seemed to examine her. It was then that her ears picked up on something, a soft mutter as it seemed to regard her as something else. "Q-Queen..." "Princess Sparkle!" She heard a voice, her head quickly swiveling upon her neck as she looked behind her and witnessed a sight that she believed was brought upon by the very god of fortune itself. A loud cracking noise rang out within the halls of that desolate prison. The white form of a pony crashed directly into the creature, both forms tumbling a few feet away from Twilight as the pony rose above the creature. A wide grin was adorn on his face as he began to lash out at the creature below him, his hooves striking at any point they could lash out at. The creature below the pony released a loud screeching noise from behind it's mask, blood visibly leaking from beneath the mask as the pony above it continued to violently lash out at it. The creature began to squirm, it's form writhing in what appeared to be agony, as it attempted to push the pony away. Yet, the pony above wouldn't budge and it fell on relying on a different tactic as that bell rang once more. "Look out!" Twilight called out, her voice echoing out within the prison as the pony looked back at her from the darkness before glancing to the creature. In an instant he was sent flying from the creature, an unseen force tossing him high into the air before he landed with a loud thud against the stone below. Twilight called out in fear as the creature slowly stood up, it's legs shaking violently as it tried to find footing on the ground before it began to visibly heave. It began to violently vomit on the ground in front of it, a mouth visible beneath the white mask as a pitch black fluid gushed from it. The pony on the ground slowly stood, backing away from the creature as he took a spot next to Twilight and tried to catch his breath from being flung towards the ceiling. "W-What is this thing?" The pony said, his teal eyes looking towards Twilight as she finally took the time to process just who this pony was. It was strange to see a guards pony without their armor as it seemed he had discarded them above ground in favor of being able to move quickly to Twilight's side. "I'm not quite sure Lieutenant Swift Blade, but I certainly intend to find out." Twilight said, her violet eyes darting to the guard next to her before they returned to the creature in front of them that only seemed to continue in emptying it's bowels of that foul looking liquid. "I don't think it will let us go without a fight, so I believe it best that we attempt to knock it out and chain it up." Twilight muttered under her breath, her eyes catching the brief movement of the guard's head next to her. "By your command, Princess. Though, try to stay out of this Princess, I don't know if it will attempt to attack you if you get involved." Lieutenant Swift Blade said, his wings flaring outwards as he took to the air, his fore-hooves taking hold of his trusty spear just as the creature righted itself once more. It appeared to have finished expelling it's body of the taint, it's mask once more resting comfortably over it's entire face as it's own wings flared out at it's sides. Each individual feather seemed to glint softly in the faint light that Twilight's horn gave off as it seemed to only stare at the current threat which remained within the air above it. The only movement it made, though, was the faint rising and falling of it's chest and the occasional twitch of it's wings. Lieutenant Swift Blade decided to begin the assault, his wings flapping violently as he took himself into a dive with his spear at the ready to lash out at the being. The creature itself only seemed to hiss in response to the movement as it quickly dashed forward, each hoof creating a soft clopping sound against the stone as it dashed in Swift Blades' direction. As Swift Blade moved in for his attack, it quickly bent it's legs and sent itself into the air with a quick thrust of it's legs. It's wings lashed out at the guard who could only gawk as it seemed to float gracefully through the air. It's form took the spear to it's side, the tip easily slicing through it's skin which only caused blood to splatter to the ground below. Lieutenant Swift Blade wasn't as well off as the creature seemed to be. He found himself within a flurry of blades, each individual feather seemed to flex outwards from it's wings and slice through his skin like butter. He cried out in pain as he quickly took to the air before too much damage was sustained and he found himself panting softly as blood slowly oozed from a multitude of cuts all around his body. "Sweet Celestia, this thing hurts." Swift Blade said, grunting softly as each cut burned against the damp air within the cell block hallway. Twilight could only look on in interest as the creature landed on the ground, it's left side seemed to crumble for a moment as the deep gash opened and spilled out more blood onto the ground below. Yet, even with so much damaged dealt to it, it righted itself once more as it looked towards the Pegasi who only remained close to the ceiling. It's tail rose to the air once more as the soft chime of a bell rang out within the cell block. "Why would it try to hit him with that attack? He is well outside of the range of such-" Twilight's muttering was quickly cut off as a crackling light began to fill the hallway. In almost an instant, the form of a lightning bolt seemed to form atop the bell, the creature continued to watch Swift Blade who could only look on in fear as it's tail slowly lowered. "Watch out!" Twilight yelled, her horn quickly sending a quick burst of magic towards the creature, said being crying out in pain once more as it stumbled and it's tail flicked towards Swift Blade. The lightning bolt was sent soaring, though was slightly off due to the sudden attack from behind. The lightning bolt struck the ceiling next to Swift Blade, the pegasus looking at the deep hole that had been formed within the stone. "This is so unreal!" Swift Blade said, hardening his stare at the creature below as it slowly rose to it's hooves and turned towards Twilight with a soft hissing. "Don't you dare turn your back to me!" Swift Blade called out, diving down towards the creature who only seemed to stare intently at Twilight as it began to slowly trot towards her. "Q-Queen..." It's voice rang out, soft and raspy much like the night breeze as it attempted to once again move to Twilight in such a nonchalant fashion. It's ignorance was met with a very sharp pain which only seemed to radiate outwards from two points on it's body. It slowly turned it's head to look at the pegasus who was growling at it, it's eyes drifting to the spear which impaled it from one side of it's body to the other. The spear itself had lodged itself straight through where it's heart was and in shock it only seemed to slowly turn it's head turned towards Twilight before attempting to take another step towards her. Then just like that, it's body gave out as it dropped to the ground before going completely still. Twilight could only look on in terror, the once substantial threat having been put down by the Guards Pony who had took it upon himself to violently rid the world of the creature. She slowly trotted over to the body, it's form remained still as she looked over it with her eyes before turning her gaze to Lieutenant Swift Blade. "I am sorry, Princess. I thought it was going to attempt to hurt you so I put it down." Swift Blade said, landing on the ground next to Twilight who could only look at him for a brief moment before looking back to the corpse in front of her. "I understand Lieutenant Swift Blade, it was a swift decision and one that might have saved my life." Twilight said, her voice was soft as she found herself tearing up slightly at the form in front of them. For the length of time she had been alive, she had never witnessed something's life so quickly extinguished. Despite having saved Equis many times in the past with her friends, never once had they ever killed or witnessed the death of something. She closed her eyes and allowed her head to bow down to the creature in a way of showing respect for the creature, despite it having been violent with both herself and Swift Blade earlier. For all they knew, it could have only been protecting it's home. Her ears twitched atop her head suddenly, a soft sound ringing out as her eyes quickly darted open. What she noticed was jaw dropping. Slowly the creature seemed to stir, it's hooves twitching softly as it's chest began to once again rise and fall as the soft sound of breathing began to radiate from it's form. Yet, it only laid there as it seemed to twitch occasionally. "What?! How?!" Twilight yelled, her eyes wide as dinner plates as Swift Blade could only stutter next to the princess in a mixture of fear and shock. "You stabbed it through the heart! How is it still alive!" Twilight exclaimed, her horn flaring up as a bubble of magic quickly surrounded the creature and lifted it from the ground. "Lieutenant Swift Blade, we must leave this place, now, before it awakens. I think it is best we take it back to the camp and chain it up before transporting it back to Canterlot." Twilight said, her eyes now as sharp as a blade as she began her trot towards the staircase, the guards pony only watching on in shock before he shook his head and began to follow Twilight. "Hopefully, Princess Celestia will be able to shed some light on this thing..." Author's Note Well... That certainly escalated quickly...
Where Am I?Darkness embraced your form, your mind drifting within a landscape by your own creation and your eyes could only pick up the shadows which danced around you. You found it hard to believe that anything, at this point, was real and came to the conclusion that you had finally embraced death. It had been a long grueling journey, one where you had committed atrocities against pony-kind that would rival that of the very Creator of Destruction. You had always been his favorite out of the legion of Undead that he had created as he had always been there to comfort you after you had done irreversible damage to the lives of the living. Even when his right hand and left hand men called him a weakling for it, he was still there for you. Even now you could hear his voice radiating out from the darkness. "I come to check on my favorite Undead and here you are sitting in the dark. What is wrong my dear?" Your ears perked at the voice, your heart sent a flutter by that sound which pierced through the darkness much like an arrow. Your lips began to move but all that could be uttered was a soft gurgling sound, which was quickly accompanied by a black fluid which left your damaged throat. "I see you are incapable of speech... Quite a troublesome thing. Too think she would hurt my favorite Undead to the point where she would destroy your ability of speech. I should have taken her children when their time had came... No matter, it's good to see that you have finally woken from your slumber." Your eyes had adjusted to the lack of light at this point, they never blinked as they peered deep into the darkness, a hope in your chest that you would be able to gaze upon the image of your master. Seemingly in the distant, two white spheres watched you intensely. A dark figure, one far across the chasm of darkness, the one with long flowing hair and the one that stood upon it's own two feet. It seemed to slowly reach to you, a shadow encrusted arm reaching to touch your head once more. You attempted to move from the spot, your legs flailing desperately to move your form across the inky blackness which coated the landscape of your mind. Yet, you felt as if a heavy weight was upon your body. You could only sit there, your hooves uselessly moving about from your seated position. When it came to your mind that you were stuck, a faint whimpering sound could be heard radiating from your throat. "You need not try to move darling, you and I will be united in time. Though, from what I can tell from your mental projection, you have been captured and secured to a spot. You are in a world much different from what you once knew, it is up to you on how you spend your time. You can either become one with the herd, or you can fight back and likely be placed in a cell once more. I will not order you about any more, her time had come and she is now gone." You didn't know how to react to his words, your attempts to cry out to him seemed to go upon deaf ears as he turned his back to you. You attempted to move once more, your wings trying to pry themselves from your body as you at least attempted to fruitlessly scoot across the ground. "We will see one another soon..." His head turned, those two white spheres looking at you from across the throbbing darkness, the darkness slowly disappearing into light. His hands draped his hood upon his head once more as he slowly walked away from you. "For now... Wake up." [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] You awoke with a startle, your crimson eyes quickly shutting as a blinding light seemed to radiate down on you. It was as if the very gods themselves mocked you for waking up in such a well lit place. Even through your decrepit eyelids, the light seemed to violently assault your eyes in any way possible. You grumbled softly as you slowly opened one of them, your eyes taking in the details of the surrounding area. The room itself was stark white, a bright light shinning through the open window to your right, the light itself radiating from the massive sphere of light in the sky. You couldn't help but grumble once more as your eye slowly took in the rest of the room. There was a single door and a book case to your left, pressed up against the wall and a bed side drawer directly to your left. This was certainly strange, as the last time you have been conscious, you had been within a dark cell and not in a bright white room. Feeling slowly returned to your body, something was compressed down against your chest and your hind legs and above that compressing material was a navy blue sheet. Underneath your form was something you never expected to see. A bed, such a luxury was something that only the richest of ponies could afford and you had only gotten yours through the generosity of your master. It was certainly comfortable, the sheet keeping your cold body warm and the light from the sphere in the sky only seemed to help warm you further. Where in Tartarus had you ended up? A soft breeze rolled through the open window, the breeze nestled softly against the fur upon your muzzle and seemed to slowly send you back to simpler and darker times... Wait, how could you feel the breeze against your face when you had your mask? Your eyes quickly darted down towards your muzzle and they quickly took in the lime green tone of your fur. Your muzzle was visible to the world and the white mask which once was adorn upon your face was missing. Your mask?! Something had taken your mask! The mask that your master gave you! 'No no no nonononononoNoNoNONONONONONONO MY MASK!' You couldn't help but scream out in your mind, your body began to tremble violently as you tried to thrash against the restraints underneath the sheets. A shrill sound between a cry and a scream escaped your lips as blood began to trickle from the corners of your eyes. 'MY MASK MY MASK MYMASKMYMASKMYMASKMYMASK!' You continued to thrash violently, your strength causing the metal frame of the bed to creak and even lift from the floor for brief moments as you tried to break free from your new prison. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE WITH YOUR MASK! [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] "Well, Princesses, I had discovered something that I was hoping that either of you could possibly explain." Twilight said, her hoof falls against the tile floor seemed to ring in tandem with the hoof steps of the two princesses who followed her in her wake. "It is something unlike anything that I have ever seen before. No books of Equestria History even explains what this thing could possibly be!" Twilight said, a wide smile on her face as she thought about the possibility of having discovered the first, unaccounted for creature of this nature in Equestrian History! "We will try to assist you with what knowledge we have, Twilight, but if you haven't found it in any books on Equestrian History, I feel it is unlikely that we will be able to help you." Celestia said, her eyes full of worry as Luna followed quietly at her side, the alabaster princess had a sinking feeling in her stomach which was also shared by her sister. "Well, we will certainly see when we reach Room Sixty-Three!" Twilight said, the smile growing wider as they came to an intersection in the hallways. It was then that a loud screeching sound could be heard radiating from their right and all three princesses stopped to watch a cart, being pushed by a nurse, rush pass with a second nurse running as quickly behind the cart as she could. A fourth nurse blazed past while a fifth was quickly stopped by Twilight. "Nurse Wormwood, what is going on?" Twilight asked, her face full of worry as the nurse gazed down at the hall at her galloping co-workers and she quickly turned her eyes towards Twilight with a grim look on her face. "The patient in Room Sixty-Three has awoken. It doesn't appear very happy." Nurse Wormwood said, her words grim as Twilight released her and the nurse took the moment to gallop after the two nurses down the hallway. Twilight had an utterly shocked look upon her face, her mouth wide open, her eyes seemingly just as widely opened and her mane seemed to stand on end as she took a breath to mutter a single phrase before taking off in a gallop. "Oh no..." Author's Note So, after a very long break away from posting chapters, I am finally back. I know this is rather short when compared to other chapters but I still have a major case of writer's block. Hope you at least enjoy this little tidbit of a chapter. Also, as you can see from the beginning, I will be using the word 'you' in this story to explain the feelings as this will be primarily done through the eyes of the undead. It will shift from internal thoughts and feelings by using 'you' and the absence of 'you' to describe external actions. Probably going to look terrible but I've been want to try something like this. If I screw up the story doing this, I am sorry.
What Is Life?Room Sixty-Three was in utter chaos at this point. Multiple medical staff were moving about the room, each one moving with a sense of purpose as they attempted to sedate the creature trashing against its binds. Nurse Wormwood worked in tandem with three other nurses, each one pushing their body weight down into the creature as they attempted to keep it still. Even with the combined strength of four earth ponies, it was capable of shifting and thrashing to the point of providing lift for the bed to clear three inches from the floor. The frame of the bed creaked, the metal under stress as the restraints pulled violently against the bars every time the body, that they were attached to, violently shifted. Doctor Anesthesia was working quickly to put together a needle and a concoction to pacify the creature. His magic encompassed a vial and needle, the plunger pulling back as the clear liquid filled the entire needle. He wasn't entirely sure what sort of dosage would be require for the creature. All he was concerned about was keeping it from breaking free and ruining the hospital. [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] Twilight was in a mad dash, her hooves carrying her quickly down the tiled hallways of the hospital as she made her way to room sixty-three post-haste. She had a feeling, deep within the pits of her stomach, that the worst could happen. Her manic mind thought of all the possibly bad things that could occur if their 'patient' escaped from the bindings that had been fastened just for it. What would she do if it broke free? She had, at first hand, experienced the damage that it was capable of causing. They had taken extra precaution to remove that bell from it's tail but it had proven to be fully capable of fighting without it. Those wings... Those terrifying wings that were so easily able to slice through flesh. Those were enough, in Twilight's mind, to cause enough damage and death. It was possible the most dangerous 'patient' that they had in these halls and the prospect of it escaping and causing death only made Twilight's heart rate sky rocket and her eyes to go wide in fear. What would Celestia think? [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] "WWWWHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Your mind screamed, your body continued to thrash violently against the bindings and the ponies that had arrived and attempted to hold you down. You wanted your mask, no, needed your mask. It, along with your bell, was the only thing that you had to remember of your master. They were yours and these ponies dared to take it away from you? They would feel the might of the First Undead! Your tail began to swiftly shift, moving left to right in a desperate attempt to ring that familiar piece of metal that allowed you to cast magic as strong as, if not stronger, than magic that Unicorns were capable of using. Your ears perked for that familiar sound, your physical fight stopping as you waited for that familiar rush of magic to move through your body. Your eyes stared at the ceiling as you kept wagging your tail for a minute, the ponies above you staring at you with strange looks upon their face as they tried to comprehend what you were doing. When no sound came your tail your right eyebrow rose in curiosity. Your head strained to lift off of the bed, your tail shifting down between your hind legs as you looked at the end, expecting to see that golden metal. There was nothing and you felt your mind break for a moment. A high pitched scream that mixed with a gurgling rang out, your body going into overdrive as you really attempted to break free from the 'prison' that these ponies had you in. The bed cleared nearly a foot off of the ground as the metal began to warp at how much strength you were putting into fighting against the binds. The Earth Ponies went into over time, practically standing atop you at this point as you screamed out in anguish and pain. Blood slowly began to pour from the sides of your lips as your dead eyes stared in anger at the nearest pony. They took both of your precious items, the items that meant the world to you. You would not stand for this, you would break free from these binds and kill everything until you found the two items and then kill some more. They wouldn't be able to handle the amount of killing you were going to do when you broke free. You would make the pony race extinct by the time you were done. At least, you were. Until you felt a sharp prick on your left hind leg and everything seemed to violently come crashing down. Maybe that was the bed that violently impacted the ground as your struggles became non-existent. Your eyes became heavy, your eyelids slowly closing and it wasn't until then that the ponies crawled away from your slumbering body. [X]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[X] Twilight finally arrived at the room, her hooves skidding to a stop beneath her as she rounded the doorway and ran into the room. She had expected the room to be in disarray, she had expected a blood bath to await her. She found herself in a room with a mangled bed, the being still bound to it and apparently in a deep sleep at this point. Her eyes looked to the four nurses, each one sweating profusely from trying to hold it down. One of the nurses seemed shaken, her eyes wide as she stared at the creature and tried to catch her breath. Doctor Anesthesia was in a sweat as well, his hoof dabbing a cloth against his forehead as his magic returned the tools that had sedated the creature back to their resting place. "W-What happened? Is everything alright?!" Twilight asked, her voice slightly loud and hectic as she looked between each pony in a sense of panic. Their responses were a brief nod of four heads, a fifth still staring in a sense of dread and terror at the thing. "Y-Yes Princess. We were able to sedate the creature. We should be safe now, hopefully." Doctor Anesthesia said, his voice trembling slightly as he slowly made his way past Twilight, bowing to her very briefly as he left the room to cool his nerves. The four nurses left the room as well, two of them seemingly fine while a third carried the four over a shoulder. What ever that nurse had seen, had scared her to the point of making her completely incapable of moving. Twilight merely watched them leave, her eyes turning back to the mangled bed, her form being slowly carried across the floor until she stood by it. It had done a number to the bed, her hoof running across the twisted metal that had once been a completely functional bed. At this point, it would need to be replaced once she had discussed with the other Princesses on what they would do with this creature. Her hair seemed to slowly return to normal as a sense of calm slowly overtook her. Everything was going to be alright. She could salvage this situation. "Is everything alright, Twilight?" A motherly voice rang out, the voice coming mere hoofsteps away from the doorway. There was a sense of concern in the voice and Twilight snapped out of her thoughts at this. "Y-Yes Prince-Celestia." Twilight said, her eyes leaving the from in front of her, both staring patiently at the doorway as an alabaster and then a black figure cleared the corner and entered the room. "This is what I wanted to show you, Celestia." Twilight said, moving out of the way of the bed a hoof providing a bit of flourish to the reveal as it passed above the form tied to the bed. The being's chest slowly rose and fell, it's eyes sealed shut as it slept through the dosage of drugs that had been applied to it's body. Both of the Princesses moved to the bed side, both looking over the form in front of them. Both sets of eyes seemed to scrutinize the form in front of them until a soft gasp came from the darker colored princess. "Sister, could this be?" Luna asked, her gaze turning to the older of the two, said older sibling still stared at the mangled bed and the resting form that slept silently underneath the bindings. "Yes, dear sister, this is certainly what it appears to be." Celestia stated, her voice harsh with a serious overtone that seemed to squeeze the life out of every syllable that left her muzzle. "W-What is it, Princ-Celestia?" A meek voice squeaked, the smaller of the three Princesses coming to terms with the idea that what she had brought to civilization wasn't entirely safe. "Well, Twilight, you are staring at the first and last of the Undead." Author's Note Short, sweet and to the point. I really should get back into this, cause I feel that my groove has left me in my absence.
