Warmth.

With his memories now recovered, Richter sat in front of the bonfire like the Undead he so loved to play as. He always wondered how the bonfires in the game felt to be near, and now he knew; they weren't hot so much as they were warm, filling his his body with an ever-soothing feeling as shadows danced all around the room from the flickering flames.

The Undead brought his hand up to his eyes to gaze at the Darksign once again, taking in the sight of the ring that was branded into the back of his hand. He understood what it meant for him to have this damned mark, and it utterly terrified him. Richter didn't know if he would come back at the bonfire after death, nor did he know whether or not he would eventually go Hollow from dying too much. He also didn't know where the hell he was, or if he was even still on Earth. Without any knowledge of the area or its possible inhabitants, the poor man had no clue where to go from here.

Should he try to find the "First Flame" or its equivalent in this world, if it even existed? Or should he just try to make the most of his new existence as an Undead? He didn't know the answers to either question, and he doubted that he'd know any time soon. He let his hand drop to his side and brought his focus back to the bonfire, simply watching its flames rise and fall haphazardly. A few minutes later, a thought occurred to him and raised his right hand, which he often used for pyromancies when he played the games. With a bit of effort, a small ember lit up in his palm and quickly grew in size and temperature until a small flame stood comfortably in his hand.

Good, he had a pyromancy flame that he could use for protection in addition to his sword, though that was assuming that he had any pyromancies that he could actually use. If not, then at least he had a very convenient fire-starter. Richter clenched his hand to dissipate the flame, then got to his feet and arched his back in a stretch. He couldn't sit around and do nothing for very long; if he was going to survive, then he had to scout the area and see if there were any potential threats that he would have to deal with.

The Undead grabbed his sword and shield from beside the doorway and quickly put them on, fumbling slightly at both the weight and unfamiliarity with the motions. After making sure everything was in order, he left the bonfire room and started retracing his steps in search of the entrance. Richter could only hope that he'd remember how to get back, since he did not want to have to die just to get back without getting lost.

---{}---

"Come on, girls, the Princess is waiting for us!"

Twilight's attempt at encouraging her friends to move quickly was met with a chorus of groans as the other mares lagged behind, still half-asleep from being woken up only thirty minutes ago. The purple alicorn had woken her friends up at six in the morning when they -- save for Applejack, who was used to waking up early in the morning for farm work -- were still dead asleep. Their friend hadn't even waited for them to get breakfast before she had practically dragged them all towards the outskirts of the Everfree Forest.

"Come on, egghead! Slow down, will ya?! Not all of us can wake up instantly like you can, let alone be so dang eager to go into the Everfree," Rainbow Dash grumbled from above her friends, her wings keeping her at a steady hover as she tiredly rubbed her eyes with a hoof.

Rarity piped up from behind Applejack, her mane wild and unkempt, "Rainbow's right, Twilight. I haven't even groomed my mane yet this morning, and my fur is going to get absolutely filthy when we get into the Everfree!"

Pinkie Pie didn't really care whether or not she was woken up early in the morning. Her Pinkie Sense was tingling and telling her a doozy was coming, so how could she possibly miss this?

The shy butter-yellow pegasus that was Fluttershy simply let out a tired yawn from her spot next to Pinkie Pie, her normal sleep schedule thrown completely out of wack by Twilight's sudden visit.

"Did th' Princess even say what exactly we were gonna be doin' here, Twi? If it was somethin' important, then why didn't she just come 'n get us herself?" Applejack questioned while she readjusted her Stetson for the fifth time that morning, the slightly uneven ground of the Everfree Forest causing her hat to shift around on her head.

Twilight looked back at her tired friends and gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry, girls. When I got Princess Luna's letter, all she said that was she needed to meet us near the old castle. I didn't want to keep her waiting or risk something bad happening if we got there too late, so I just rushed to wake you all up."

The other Elements of Harmony just gave Twilight tired sighs and grumbles in response as they neared the bridge leading to the Princesses' old castle. Waiting on their side of the bridge was Princess Luna, her eyes focused in a light glare on the ruins while her hair waved in the gentle morning breeze. The sound of multiple hoofsteps approaching drew Luna's attention towards her friends, a smile gracing the Lunar Diarch's face for a brief moment before she changed back into a serious expression, "Thank you for coming so quickly, my little ponies. I hope that you all are not too tired from waking up this late?"

The purple alicorn shrank beneath the annoyed glares of her friends, then recovered and cleared her throat, "Umm, just a little, Princess Luna. Now that we're here, could you tell us why you wanted us to come here?"

Luna looked at each of the Elements, then turned to look at the castle, "Just before sunrise, I sensed a large surge of an unknown power coming from the my sister and I's old castle. Normally, I would investigate this either by myself or with my sister, but because I could not identify what the source of this power was, I felt it would be prudent to bring the Elements of Harmony if the worst came to happen. I shall not skirt around the issue: We do not know what awaits us in the castle, and because of the high probability of danger, I will understand if any or all of you do not wish to continue."

For a few moments after Luna finished speaking, the six mares looked at each other as if deciding their course of action. To the Lunar Princess's hidden relief, the Elements looked back at their ruler with determination in their eyes. "You can count on us, Princess Luna," Twilight spoke up from her spot directly in front of the midnight-blue alicorn.

Luna gave them a grateful smile, then changed back to her serious expression and nodded, "Then let us move on. Make sure to stay together and be alert. We can not afford to lose any of you."

---{}---

For what felt like the third time in the past hour, Richter passed the same damned tapestry that he had seen earlier when he had left the bonfire room. Every room and every hallway looked exactly the same, and it didn't seem like he would manage to find his way out anytime soon. It was like trying to navigate the dreaded Blighttown from the first game, only there weren't any deadly drops or constant barrages of poison.

The occasional sound of rocks falling from the upper floors didn't help to soothe his nerves. He was starting to worry that the ceiling was going to collapse at some point; or maybe the entire castle would finally give in and collapse on top of him. Being crushed by countless tons of stone would not be a good way to die, let alone a good time to test if he was indeed incapable of dying like an Undead.

Richter drew his gaze up to the one of the many torn and moth-eaten tapestries that hung from the walls and ceiling of the castle. Almost all of them depicted two horse-like figures with both horns and wings alongside the sun and moon, though some of them simply depicted the two figures in majestic or regal poses. These two beings obviously had some sort of significance to those who built the castle, since he saw them almost everywhere he went in the castle. While the mythology nerd in him wanted to try and figure out what they were, he still had to find his way out of the ruins and see where he could go next.

As he rounded a corner, he saw a wide open space where a room used to be with a massive stone pedestal in the center. The pedestal itself was shaped like the model of a solar system, with a large orb in the center and six arms where smaller orbs were likely held. Vines and other plants grew from various spots all over the room, including the pedestal. This was most likely what was left of the main entrance after years of time and weather wore down the stone structure.

The Undead placed his hand on the base, half-expecting something to happen like in most of the fantasy games that he played. When nothing happened, he took a step back and looked to the sides. Trees stretched as far as he could see to the horizon, though in the far distance he could he see a snow-peaked mountain range and what seemed like an odd cluster of clouds in the sky that were frozen in place.

He sighed and sat down against one of the walls, his legs and feet screaming in pain from the hour or so of non-stop walking on stone. He had always had problems with walking long distances on foot, something about his arches being too high or whatever it was that the doctors had told him. He had hoped that as an Undead he'd be rid of that little problem, since he was likely to be walking everywhere he needed to go. But alas, luck was not on his side, it would seem.

He rested against the wall for several minutes, then dragged himself to his feet and walked back inside. He needed to find that bonfire again and just sit next to it. It was soothing, and just like in the games, it healed most of his pain and injuries. He could only hope that he wouldn't have to deal with anything that would cause injury.

As Richter walked off in search of the bonfire, he did not notice the seven figures that had just made it up the stairs and entered the ruined entrance.

---{}---

Twilight paused a few hoofsteps away from the doors leading to the pedestal room. She could have sworn that she had seen something shiny disappear down a corridor...

The sound of Rainbow Dash hovering right beside her shook her from her thoughts, "Why are you just standing there, egghead? Come on, let's get inside already!" The blue pegasus was getting a bit restless; she couldn't handle being in one place for too long nor did she have the patience to just idly when there was the potential for showing off or saving her friends. She was the Element of Loyalty, after all.

"R-right, sorry, Rainbow. Just...thought I saw something, is all," Twilight gave her friend a halfhearted apology as the group entered what was left of the room and quickly advanced down the corridor. The castle was just as old and decrepit as it was when she and her friend were there the first time. Now, however, there was something...different in the air. Something completely alien to the young alicorn.

With Princess Luna leading the group at the front, they made their way through the maze-like castle, the occasional sounds of stone shifting or falling causing the less-courageous members of the group to jump slightly. Although they had steeled themselves for their task, they still felt uneasy walking through the halls of the abandoned castle.

Princess Luna stopped for a brief moment as they passed a half-collapsed hallway that the six mares vaguely remembered was the path to the room where they had fought and defeated Luna's alter-ego, Nightmare Moon. The passage must have collapsed sometime after the end of the Summer Sun Celebration. The Lunar diarch narrowed her eyes in a glare as she gazed down the hall, "...What we seek is down this hall, there is no doubt about it. Be on your hooves, but do not act rashly."

A quick spell from Luna's horn shoved the massive slabs of stone aside as the mares continued onward. As they approached, they quickly noticed that there was an orange glow coming from the room ahead, which was growing brighter with every few steps.

When they finally reached the half-open double doors, the mares saw that there was a strange fire in the middle of the room with a sword stabbed into the ash pile. They pushed the other door open with a loud creaking sound, then froze in fear at what they saw beside the odd fire.

A two-legged creature, similar to a minotaur, that was covered from head to toe in thick armor with a sword and shield set on the floor beside it. Its gaze was firmly set on the fire in front of it, almost paying no heed whatsoever to the seven intruding equines.

A moment later, the creature seemed to snap out of its daze and slowly turned its head to face the Princes and the Elements, its face hidden behind a fluted helmet and armor. The two parties stared at each other, frozen in place as if they were afraid of what would happen if they were to move. Princess Luna's horn glowed softly as she prepared a spell if the thing turned violent.

Nearly a minute passed before the creature turned its gaze back to the fire, but not before giving an absent-minded wave of its hand in greeting and a raspy grunt of acknowledgement.

Trying to take a diplomatic approach, Princess Luna stepped forward as if to speak to the creature, but was cut off when the Element of Laughter zoomed right next to the armored entity and stared right at its helmet, her mouth contorted into a wide grin and her voice running a mile a minute, "Hey, how are you? Who are you? What are you? Do you like cupcakes, because I like cupcakes! They're just so sweet and tasty, maybe you should try some when you get into Ponyville? WAIT! I forgot that we've just met! That means that you need a 'Welcome to Ponyville party!' Oh, it'll be so FUN! There'll be games and snacks and lots of new ponies to hang out with! What do you say?!"

Princess Luna tensed as the creature flinched, its hands moving in the direction of its gear when the pink pony suddenly filled its field of vision and barraged it with a constant stream of near-gibberish.

This could end very badly, and if there wasn't enough time to get Pinkie Pie away from it if it turned hostile...

"...Hey?"

...Never mind. The situation had resolved itself almost instantly. Now, the only problem was where to go from here...

Author's Note

There's the second chapter. I hope you all enjoyed, and please note that I'm not a good writer. I'm not even a DECENT writer. I'm still starting out and trying to find the right style for myself, so forgive me if characters seem...well, out of character, or the story seems to be advancing too fast, or...however many of the other flaws present annoy you.

Until then, I'll see you all in the next chapter!