Artorias opened his eyes as the rays of the sun shone through his eyelids, but something seemed off. The first thing he noticed was instead of lying on top of his bed, he was lying on comfortable layers of green grass and he was in the middle of a forest. An extremely familiar feeling started brewing inside him, Artorias quickly got on his feet, dusted some sticky grass off him, and observed his surroundings. In a split second, he knew he was standing in the Royal Wood...before it was consumed by Manus' dark Abyss. No signs of darkness or corruption were present at the area, a paradise.

Memories began to flood Artorias' mind. Back in the day, he had spent hours with Sif and Ciaran after long-hectic missions or just to relax in their spare time. The father figure in his group, Hawkeye Gough would also accompany them; crafting his Archtree carvings, a nuanced art according to him. And to craft his signature greatarrow. Artorias knew that this was not a dream, for he still felt the breezy air around him and other boddily sensations. But he knew he was not in Oolacile for real.

"Artorias..." a soft feminine voice caressed Artorias' ears like a soft wind. A voice he was all too familiar with. Artorias swiftly turned around, only to be met with a jaw-dropping scene. There, under the rays of the sun by a sparkling stream; stood Lord's Blade Ciaran and Hawkeye Gough. Artorias' heart skipped a beat, he tried to speak but no words came out from his mouth.

"What's the matter Artorias?" Ciaran chuckled while taking off her porcelain mask, revealing her beautiful face and long-flowing hair. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Or ghosts for that matter." Gough added with a chuckle.

Slowly but surely, Artorias walked towards the two and stopped in front of Ciaran. Her eyes began to water with tears of happiness. Artorias gently traced his right hand on Ciaran's cheek; getting a good feel on her soft skin, a sensation he was too familiar with. Before another word could be said, Ciaran leaped to Artorias' body, locking her slender hands behind his neck and the two kissed passionately in each other's arms.

"How have I missed you, my love." Ciaran said as a tear rolled down her cheeks, still in Artorias' arms.

"Words can't describe how much I've missed you." he replied as he let her go and walking towards Gough "I missed you too-- argh!" before he could finish his sentence, Artorias was given a bear-sized hug by Gough; something he both loved and hated at the same time. He knew Gough meant well, but the tightness of the hug could crush his body.

"Sorry." Gough said sheepishly. "It's been far too long."

"Am I dreaming?" Artorias asked "If I do, then I'd hate to wake up again."

"No, Artorias." Ciaran said "You are inside your mind."

"How could you--" Artorias stopped before he could continue his sentence, the revelation hit him like a rock fall "Both of you, are dead...are you not?"

The two nodded "We have been watching over you and Ornstein since we died." Gough said. "Although we could always talk to you when you are awaken, we think it is better if we do it here. I am not certain that these...ponies, are ready for us."

"So, all of you are here in Equestria?" Artorias asked with a hopeful tone.

"Yes, Artorias...but we can't see each other in the flesh." Ciaran replied with a sigh "We are just spirits now, ghosts."

"In a good way, for certain." Gough added.

"Artorias..." Ciaran said while putting her hand on Artorias' cheek, who gently pressed her hand against his cheek "I am sorry...we are sorry." Ciaran said while staring at the ground, tears started dropping from her eyes. Artorias cupped her chin and lifted her head, causing them to stare eye-to-eye "For what, Ciaran?"

Ciaran leaped and hugged Artorias tightly, which he returned "For letting you go...if I did otherwise--"

"Ciaran, what's done is done." Artorias said while stroking her ivory hair, his way to calm her anytime when she was stressed "Besides, I will never let you come with me. I nearly lost Sif, and I can't live if you perish in there."

"But now--" Ciaran was cut off when the dreamland shook mildly.

"What was that?" Artorias asked.

"We shall talk again later, my friend." Gough said "Someone or somepony is waking you up."

"Artorias...promise me one more thing." Ciaran said with an emotional tone.

Artorias knelt in front of her, his eyes telling her to go on. "Anything."

"Live your life once again Artorias. Do not let any of us obstruct you from doing so."

"I promise." Artorias replied "Neither me or Ornstein shall forget about the both of you, I shall tell him about this."

"Even me, and us." Ciaran said "You have a new heart to care for."

Artorias was dumbfounded, he knew exactly who Ciaran was implying to "Who? Do you mean, Luna?"

Ciaran nodded.

"I only consider her as a close friend. Yes, she kissed my forehead. But you kissed my forehead a lot when we were still friends." Artorias said.

"You are still that same silly Knight when we first met, don't you?" Ciaran chuckled "She loves you, Artorias. She fell in love at the moment she saw you. And you know you care for her the same way she does to you." Ciaran said "She is an Alicorn pony, but would you break her heart for me? a ghost?" She asked with a solemn tone "She needs you, Artorias. You are one of her friends that truly understand her."

Gough raised from his seat and walked towards Artorias with a steady pace "We will always be with you, here and here." He said while pointing his head and heart respectively. "And do not do something you will regret."

"Thank you, Gough. I won't." Artorias said. With that the same tremor was felt again. This time, Artorias felt light-headed and his vision started to go white, he shook his head and his vision cleared out.

Ciaran leaped and hugged him tightly, Artorias returned the hug "Remember your promise, my dear." Ciaran said with a soft tone "And this time, try not to die and breaking a lot of hearts in the process." she smirked.

"By my life and honor, I swear." Artorias said solemnly. Ciaran smiled and the two kissed once again; as they did this, Artorias' vision whitened, sending him from his dreamland and into reality.

"Doctor Ornstein, I think he is regaining his consciousness." An all too familiar tomboyish voice echoed in his ears.

"Now, to electrify!" Ornstein said with a jolly tone. Charging his spear with low-powered lightning, he inched the tip towards Artorias' unprotected belly with his right arm.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Rainbow asked with a hint of concern "To my experience, getting struck by lightning is not cool."

"Don't worry Doctor Dash, we do this all the time!" Ornstein replied. Artorias' eyes shot wide open, he kicked the spear away and locked Ornstein's arm with an arm-bar. Causing Rainbow to stare at him with an astonished sight and Ornstein repeatedly tapping on the bed, screaming.

"Whoa! you can do hoof-bar too?!" Rainbow asked with an astonished tone. A move she is quite good at.

"Exactly." Artorias said as he let Ornstein go, causing the Dragonslaying Knight to massage his right arm to soothe the pain.

"Damn, I could never predict that move." Ornstein said while picking up his spear "But at least you are kind enough to keep this new tunic intact." he said while dusting off his new tunic, a rare sight from Ornstein.

"That's strange, where's your armor?" Artorias said while getting off from his bed, stretching and flexing his muscles and joints.

"In my room, being in that for a day or two is fine. But for three hundred years? I think I won't be wearing my armor anytime soon." he said.

"Oh, and who's that fr-- let me guess, Rarity?" Artorias asked.

"Yes, and some spare clothing too." Ornstein said "A combination of white silk, brown leather, carved with golden strings in each knitting." he said proudly "She said she worked all night, very impressive I should say. I returned the favor during breakfast, which reminds me..."

"We should hurry up to the dining hall." Rainbow added.

"Yes of course, let me get these bandages off me first." Artorias replied. "Wait, what time is it?"

"Hold on a sec." Rainbow said while flying out of the bedroom and returned only seconds later "Twelve in the afternoon."

"You overslept." Ornstein said. "But you deserve it."

Artorias nodded and headed to the bathroom.

Artorias quickly undressed himself and proceeded to take the bandages off his body. When finished, Artorias observed his body thoroughly in the mirror; no scars are left on where the bandages used to cover his body. A miracle indeed. Satisfied, Artorias took a quick shower, and grabbed some spare clothing from his satchel while hanging his tunic and pants to dry off after he washed them clean.

He quickly dressed himself with some clothing from his satchel and stepped outside.

"Shall we then?"

"Of course."

"These are delicious!" Ornstein commented as he finished another plate of pancakes; totaling to 20 plates of pancakes. "What do you call these again?" he said as he took another plate filled with the wonderful treat.

"Pancakes and bacons, Ornstein. This is the twentieth plate for today, don't you think you ate too much?" Artorias sighed while rubbing his face with his palms; causing the Mane Six, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance to laugh at his reaction. "By the way, may I know where Luna is?"

"Oh, she said she is finishing her work on a spell." Celestia said "She told me that she will see you later when her spell is complete."

"I see..." Artorias said.

Celestia nodded "As much as I want to stay, I must return to my daily schedule." then she got up from her seat, only to lose her footing.

Before Artorias and everypony else in the room could blink, a golden blur streaked towards Celestia at a blistering speed; revealing Ornstein holding Celestia in his mighty arms, preventing her from hitting the floor.

Every occupant in the room stared at the spectacle with widened eyes and dropped jaws, especially Pinkie Pie whose jaw created a hole in the floor.

"Are you alright Your Grace?" Ornstein asked, still holding Celestia in his arms.

"I-I am okay, Sir Ornstein." She stuttered with a shade of red on her cheeks.

Gently, Ornstein let her go.

"Thank you." Celestia said with a smile.

"Don't mention it Princess." Ornstein replied. With that, Celestia left the dining room; escorted by her guards.

"Looks like the Princess has taken quite a shine on you." Artorias said as he watched Celestia's tail disappearing around the corner.

"Pony or not, she is still a Princess." Ornstein smirked "So, what shall we do now?"

"A tour on the castle perhaps?" Twilight suggested.

"I can accept that, remembering this is home now." Ornstein said. "After you Twilight."

"Looks like we will have a new set of love birds soon enough." Cadance nudged her husband with a snicker.

"We'll see." Shining chuckled.

With that the group once again strolled through the lavish hallways of the castle. Ornstein frequently stopped and admire the artworks of the castle; from the stained glass windows, the red carpet, the marble statues and so on. The girls also asked plenty of questions to Ornstein, ranging from his past, skills, and just good old trivial questions such as the dragon poo incident.

After finishing the castle's massive interior, they strolled through the famed Canterlot Gardens. The cool afternoon winds rid them of their drowsiness.

"So, tell me Artorias...how's your relationship with Princess Luna going?" Cadance asked with a playful smile as they strolled through the gardens.

"Yes, Princess Luna seem to like you a lot." Shining said.

"We are just friends." Artorias replied, only to earn stares from the whole group "Very well, close friends."

"Admitting your feelings won't cost a thing Artorias." Cadance said as a bird landed on her right hoof, she observed the bird for a moment before the bird flew to a nearby tree.

'I hope you are right Cadance.' Artorias mentally sighed when he remembered what happened to him and his lover, Ciaran in his previous life.

"Don't do that to yourself Artorias." Ciaran's voice echoed in his head.

"Artorias?" Cadance said while waving her hoofs in front of him "Are you okay?"

Artorias snapped from his trance "Y-yes, just...old memories." he said.

"A-are you sure Artorias? You seemed like you were having a f-flashback, if that's true of course." Fluttershy said with a soothing voice.

"Nothing to worry about Fluttershy, I am fine." Artorias said gently.

"So, where ta next Twi?" Applejack asked.

"Oh! The barracks!" Twilight exclaimed. With that, the group walked towards the barracks.

"Hello Artorias!" Shatterstorm greeted Artorias as he and the group entered the barracks.

"Hello Shatterstorm." Artorias greeted him politely. Before he could continue, Sif tackled him to the ground and licked his face; covering Artorias' face with slobber. "Oh, hello to you too my friend." Artorias said while patting his giant wolf companion on her head.

"How's the training going?" Artorias asked as he observed Shatterstorm's squad cleaning a huge mess on the field "You trained with Sif again didn't you?"

"Uh, yeah." Shatterstorm smiled sheepishly "She is getting more unpredictable as each day passes, as if she learned our combat techniques and tactics."

"I see." Artorias said.

Then Shatterstorm hoofed over his training spear and offered it to the Dragonslayer who gave him a questioning look. "What do you say Dragonslayer? I heard your skills with a spear is legendary."

"All set Captain, oh I see the whole crew is here." Light Lasher said. Seeing Shatterstorm handing Ornstein the training spear, his squad lined up behind him.

"Come on Ornstein, don't let the guards down." Artorias said while nudging his friend. "But be careful, no lightning."

"Well then..." Ornstein said while putting his Dragonslayer Spear down and stretched his body "Let's do this." he said while grabbing the spear.

With that, the group moved and sat on the nearby audience's seat.

"Artorias..." A soft feminine voice caressed Artorias' ears. He looked towards the voice's source and there stood the Princess of the Night herself; a bright smile decorating her face.

"It looks like your duty calls Artorias." Shining said with a smile "Go on, we will take it from here."

Cadance immediately used her magic to clean Artorias' slobber covered face, tidied his clothes, and even gave him a fragrant smell.

"Thank you Cadance." Artorias said with a smile.

Artorias turned his head to Ornstein who waved him off from the field with his thumbs up.

"So where are we going now?" Luna asked as Artorias walked towards him.

"I have a place in mind." Artorias said with a smile.

Artorias' First Person POV

"I thought I was going to take you somewhere nicer than this place." I told Luna, who was happily sitting next to a crystal-clear creek on the outskirts of Canterlot. My explorations of the beautiful city's outskirts gave me a lot of options of beautiful locations. The beautiful orange late afternoon sky stretched above us, giving a serene aura to the environment.

"I like it here." Luna said with a smile. The moment was perfect, the only thing that disrupted the moment was Sif splashing in a nearby pool. But Luna didn't seem to mind.

"Luna." I said as I sat closer to her "Your sister said you were working on a spell."

"Yes, you are correct." she smiled.

"If I may know, what spell is it you have been working on?" I asked with great curiosity.

"You'll see soon enough." she said while standing up in front of me "You might want to back off a bit."

I stood up and do as I was told. Suddenly Luna's horn glowed followed with a bright flash of light. I covered my eyes to prevent myself for going blind.

After the light disappeared, I can't believe my own eyes as I saw the figure standing in front of me.

Before my eyes, Luna was no longer in her alicorn form; but a mix of a beautiful alicorn mare and woman standing as tall as my chest, clothed in a sleeveless black dress with her cutie mark symbol on the dress' collar,highlighting her slender figure. Despite being human-like She still has her dark blue wings,horn, and her entrancing starry ethereal mane, but her dark blue fur was reduced into that of a dark-blue human skin.

I stepped closer to her and she greeted me with a warm smile "Do you like it?"

"Luna, you look absolutely beautiful." I said "C-can you walk?"

Luna tried to walk with her new legs, albeit awkward; she was doing fine. But suddenly, she tripped and instinctively I caught her before she she could hit the ground.

"But I definitely need more practice." she said with a sheepish smile.

I let her go and we sat close to each other by the creek. I pulled her closer, and we were wrapped in each others' arms; happy just being near each other.

Luna rested her head on my shoulder, in an almost same manner when Ciaran used to rest her head on my shoulder. I felt both joy and sadness at the same time, remembering the good times I spent with her.

"Don't do this to yourself Artorias, you have to let me go." Ciaran's voice echoed in my head, snapping me out of my reverie.

"Artorias, are you alright?" Luna asked with concern everywhere in her voice and eyes.

"I am alright Luna." I said as I stroke her ethereal mane. Luna clasped my hands with hers. My heart was beating harder than ever, her hands were so soft and tender.

Once again, we leaned in closer to each other, but before closing my eyes I observed my surroundings in case Sif was ready to drench us with cold water once again. Sif was sitting in the distance, drinking a lot of water from the creek.

"Is there something wrong?" Luna asked, slightly worried.

I didn't answer her question as our lips locked with love and passion under the setting sun. The tenderness of her lips matched the tenderness of her body,holding each other as we kissed. I was more determined than ever to never let her go and protect her until my last breath. Eventually, we pulled away and embraced each other as Celestia's Sun went to sleep and Luna's Moon rose from it's slumber.

I looked to my right and I saw the spirits of Ciaran and Gough smiling at me. I smiled in return and Ciaran pointed towards the path to the castle.

"We are going to pay Ornstein a visit." Ciaran's voice echoed insidemy head.

"Carry on." I replied. And once again, their apparitions disappeared.

Bending my neck, I whispered ever so softly to her hears...the words that truly spoke for my feelings.

"I love you."

Meanwhile, in the walls of Tartarus...

"AAAAARRRGGGHHH!" King Sombra screamed with pure anger as he bucked the steel bars of his cell, bending them. Only for him to scream in agony a few seconds later as his wounds from his encounter with Artorias re-opened. Having not fully healed and scarred by the divine power of Artorias' greatsword, the pain was becoming unbearable.

"KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" A demon guard exclaimed while slamming his fist to the cell.

Sombra chuckled with a dark tone "If I ever meet you again, Abysswalker..."

"Oh you will..." a dark toned feminine voice chuckled in his head.

"WH-WHO THE BUCK ARE YOU!" Sombra yelled while clutching his head.

"I SAID KEEP YOUR--" Suddenly the demon was levitated into the air before exploding into a puddle of flesh and blood.

Sombra gazed at the spectacle; unable to speak or do anything. "Worry not, my King. You will not be harmed." the voice chuckled "You and me have something in common."

"G-go on" Sombra said,trying to suppress the pain and fear.

"We rulers, lost our cities and took the fall." the voice replied.

"Oh I noticed that by myself." Sombra said sarcastically, standing up on all fours "Before we...continue this conversation, who are you?"

The voice chuckled once again "Wrath."

Author's Note

And there goes the hammer!

Hello guys, this story has been asleep for a long time as I was working on two other ficts and for that I am sorry to keep you waiting.

And yeah, some of you actually suggested I put some Dark Souls 2 elements in the story. And I'm like "Hey why not? that's a good idea!" so yeah, I am planning to convert this one into a multi-crossover fict.

Moving on to my other ficts now...

So, that's all from me for now. Hit that fave and thumbs up button if you like this story, and please do comment because I am looking forward to hear from you guys! stay awesome guys!