Darkness.
All I could see was darkness. I could still feel the cold ground pressed against my underbelly, so I knew that I wasn’t floating in some sort of black void. However, the feeling of my sense of touch still felt different.
It felt… wrong.
Right now, I was very confused, and that wasn’t helped by the fact that I could barely remember anything. I remember being knocked out… walking single file with a whole bunch of other creatures, like griffons, zebras, minotaurs, and even ponies… a cold feeling against my back… a sharp pain all over… and now I was here.
What was going on?
Opening my eyes, the feeling of dread only got worse. From where I was lying, I only thing I could see was the red scales on my claws lying in front of my face, and the chains and barred door on the hard rock wall that told me that I was in a prison cell of some kind.
This realisation, combined with an array of questions and lack of answers, only served to increase my worry and panic even further. That worry and panic creating adrenaline restored enough of my strength to allow me to slowly pick myself up, pressing my claws against the ground to steady myself as I did so.
Up on two legs, and with a slightly clearer head, I took in a better look at my current surroundings, but it didn’t tell me much more than I already knew. I was in a small cell made of hard rock, with several chains embedded in the wall, one with a skeleton still attached, who, from the looks of it, had been there for so long it was impossible to tell what species they had been. There was also a barred door directly across from me, but it was locked. I could also hear a banging sound that sounded like it was coming from a few rooms over, so I at least knew that I wasn’t all alone here.
Before I could think and try to remember how exactly I got here any further, there was a brief flash of light in my periphery vision, as a projection appeared over by the door. Projections were when others sent an image of themselves in order to relay messages across long distances. The projection was see-through, and this, combined with the cloak that the figure was wearing, made it impossible to tell who this person was from this distance. Judging by their quadruped build, they were likely a zebra or a pony, or maybe even a small buffalo.
“You there,” the projection said, in a feminine sounding voice. “Come here. We must speak.”
I still had no idea who this mysterious entity was, but since there was nothing else I could do, and I desperately needed answers to my predicament, I walked over to her.
Up close, the projection and cloak still made it difficult to make out who they were underneath, but her muzzle, which was the only feature that I was able to make out, just visible under her hood, told me that she was a pony. This made me a bit apprehensive about trusting her, what with the war going on, but since I had no other choice, I decided to hear her out.
“I don’t have much time, so I’ll be quick.” She continued. “I am known as the Prophet. I am a prisoner here, same as you. You must rescue me, and I in turn must rescue you. Find a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash. She can tell you more.”
Before I could ask her any more, however, the projection disappeared. Okay, so this ‘Prophet’ wants me to find a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash? That’s going to be hard with me still stuck in this cell. Could she not have done anything to get me out? What am I supposed to do?
Suddenly, there was a loud crash from outside my cell, which sounded like a door being kicked in. Looking over at what it was, through the bars in the cell door, I saw a strange creature suddenly hit the ground, hard. Just before it hit the ground, I noticed that it was bipedal, like myself. It had a tough, green carapace shell over a blue body, acting as make-shift armor plates, along with sharp claws on its hands and feet, and large tusks in its mouth. It also clutched a spear in its hand, though it now hung limply in its grasp after being knocked out.
Standing on top of it was a pegasus pony, who, by the looks of it, had defeated it with her bare hooves. She had cyan fur, mostly covered by a thrown-together brown leather barding. Her mane was rainbow coloured, and the gears in my head were already turning, having guessed what her name was.
“Hey, dragon,” she called out, looking in my direction. “You don’t look like the rest of the soul shriven. Come on, we’re busting out of here.” She then hopped off the unconscious creature and made her way over to my cell.
“You must be Rainbow Dash,” I finally spoke up, when she was standing just outside the cell.
This made her stop just as she was about to place her hoof on the lock. “How did you know that?” She asked, looking hesitant all of a sudden.
Looks like I was right. “The Prophet told me about you. She said that you could help us both escape.”
This instantly made her eyes go wide. “The Prophet? She’s alive? And she spoke to you?” She asked in wonder. A moment later, she changed to look introspective, lowering the volume of her voice. “It was dangerous for her to have spoken with you, even for a moment. That must mean she thinks that you can help me, and right now I could use all the help I can get.”
She then took a step back, turned around, and bucked the cell door, hard, breaking the lock instantly, making the door swing open. “Thanks.” I said, quickly stepping out of the small, cold cell, enjoying my small bit of freedom, even though I still had many questions, starting with, “What the heck is going on?”
“I’d explain, but now’s not a good time. We’re in the middle of a jail break.” Rainbow explained. She then turned to the side and pointed ahead with her hoof. “There should be an armory up ahead where we can arm ourselves. We’ll talk more then.”
“Alright, sounds like a plan,” I responded. We then both broke into a sprint and made our way forward. Wherever I was, the rest of this place looked much the same as the cell that I was just in. The whole prison was made of a rough, cold rock, like it was carved out of a mountain, lit only by several small candles that lined the walls.
As we turned a corner up ahead, I noticed a zebra, a changeling, and a minotaur pressed up against a door, trying to keep someone or something on the other side from getting through. They all wore tattered rags, which now that I noticed, I was wearing as well. Rainbow Dash mentioned a prison break earlier. Was I captured and thrown into some sort of prison?
I have so many questions.
“Hurry,” the zebra said, noticing us approach. “The guards are almost through.”
When I passed by them, up close, I noticed that they all looked incredibly pale, and even more noticeable was their eyes – they looked blank and devoid of life, while from their behaviour, they acted like they were genuinely scared and trying to survive.
Did I mention that I have so many questions?
The door that they were blocking was off to the side, so Rainbow and I continued running straight ahead. We eventually reached a room, which was filled with tables and racks covered in a variety of weapons, from swords, axes, spears, and lances, to bows, and even staves.
“This is the armory,” Rainbow spoke up. “We’d better arm ourselves before we continue.” She said, flying into the air, inspecting every weapon from above.
I already knew which weapon I would choose; I was a swordsman all the way. I wasn’t a trained soldier by any stretch of the word, but I had enough experience with it to know how to use it effectively. I picked up the nearest sword and gave it a few practice swings to test it out. A little rusty, but it was sharp enough, so it would do for now. Beggars can’t be choosers. There weren’t any shields, though, so I’d have to adjust my one-handed fighting style a bit.
“A sword, huh?” I heard Rainbow say to me, gripping a short lance in her hooves. “I usually prefer wing blades myself, but I guess I’ll have to make do for now.”
“Okay, now that we’re armed, could you answer my questions now? I have so many of them right now,” I said, sounding a bit more agitated than I probably had any right to be, considering that she had freed me from my cell. I just needed to know what was going on and I needed to know now.
Rainbow Dash let out a breath before continuing. “Alright, I guess you do need to know what’s going if you’re going to help me, it’s just…” She hesitated, scratching at the back of her head for a moment. “…it’s really complicated and I’m not sure how you’re gonna take it.” Okay, this wasn’t sounding good.
“First off,” she continued. “Starting with where you are, you’re in Tartarus – the realm of Oblivion of the Daedric Prince Tirek, and… well, there’s no easy way to say this: you’re dead.”
Wait, what? What? What? What? What? What? I’m dead? How can I be dead? I’m not dead, I’m standing here talking to her. What did she mean by that?
Noticing my miniature freak out, Rainbow Dash spoke up again. Letting out a longer breath than before, she then asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?”
The last thing I remember? I couldn’t really remember anything from before I got here; just strange feelings and sensations. Wanting to know more about what exactly was happening, I concentrated hard and tried to put memories to those feelings, and after a moment, I started to get flashes.
“I remember… being chained up… alongside a bunch of others in a single file line.” I said, as more of it came back to me. “There was… a mysterious person… a unicorn, I think. An altar… a knife…” I winced as the next part came to me. “A blinding pain.”
Rainbow Dash reacted in a softer manner than I did to that description. “Yeah, that’s about what I thought,” she started again. “You see, you were sacrificed by the Worm Cult – a cult that worships the Daedric Prince Tirek – and your soul was taken. You now don’t have a soul. You’re what’s called a soul shriven.”
A soul shriven? I heard her call me that earlier. And wait… the zebra, changeling, and minotaur from earlier… I mentioned how pale and sickly they looked. Is that how I looked now? I glanced back at Rainbow Dash again. She didn’t look like those other soul shriven at all. Her coat was a bright cyan colour, and her eyes were still full of life.
“I’m still so confused.” I said, slumping a little.
Rainbow Dash scratched at her mane again. “Yeah, I know how it must sound. I don’t really know a lot about how these ritual things work. Basically, your soul was taken, your physical body was destroyed, and whatever was left ended up here, to be enslaved to Tirek for all eternity. That is, of course, unless you come with me.”
Okay, things were a little clearer now. I mean, I didn’t like it one bit, but at least it was clearer. “And what about you?” I asked. “Were you sacrificed too?”
“Actually, no,” she said with a shake of her head. “I was brought here… conventionally,” she said, as if she were searching for the right word. “I’m probably the only one here who’s still alive. Heh,” she uttered, cracking a sarcastic smile. “Don’t I feel special.”
“Alright then, so where do we go from here?” I asked.
“Right now, we need to find the Prophet. If she’s here, then she’s our only hope of returning to Equus.”
So there was a way out of here? If that’s right, then I’m definitely game. It beats an eternity of forced servitude. But wait… “Aren’t I already dead?” I finally spoke up. “Will I even be able to return home?”
At that, Rainbow Dash cracked a more relaxed smile. “Trust me, you haven’t seen the kind of things that the Prophet can do. Getting back to Equus will be simple with her help.”
Well, things were definitely starting to look up now. “Alright then, let’s go.” With our new weapons in tow, we both rushed out of the armory.
Entering into the next corridor, I spotted another one of those weird green carapace things. As soon as it spotted us, it raised its spear and came right at us.
I immediately raised my sword to defend myself, but Rainbow Dash was even faster. She threw her lance right at it, the same way one would use a wing blade. The strike knocked the creature off guard, and I used that opportunity to strike at it with my sword. The sword wasn’t very sharp, but I managed to find a weak point in its carapace, hitting it in its soft flesh underneath. This was enough to kill the thing and it fell over dead.
“What are these things?” I asked, pulling my sword out of its body.
“Dagons.” Rainbow Dash answered while she retrieved her lance. “Lesser Daedra that serve Tirek.” She then faced forward again. “But never mind them, let’s continue onward.”
With that, we continued on our way through the halls of the prison. We encountered a few more Dagons, but it was always one at a time, and together we were able to take them out no problem. As we made our way forward, we were also joined by more prisoners. I had never seen this many different types of creatures in one place before, as the prisoners included dragons, changelings, griffons, minotaurs, zebras, yaks, diamond dogs, crystal ponies, buffalo, and the three different types of Equestrian ponies, earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi. I’ve also never seen them all fight on the same side before. With this many, fighting our way out was much easier.
We eventually reached the exit of the prison, into an outside area; however, it honestly wasn’t that much different than the prison we were just in. Everything here was still made of a rough, coarse rock. There was a sky, but it was just a black, featureless void, or perhaps a really really dark blue, with no sun or stars or even clouds to give it even the slightest bit of colour. The rock formations were built up in plateaus and deep ravines. Just ahead, leaving the prison, was a naturally formed bridge, over a deep ravine, leading to a large, mostly flat surface that branched off into the high mountain plateaus. The flat area housed several Dagons and other smaller Daedra, who were currently fighting with the escaped prisoners. The only thing here that looked even remotely calming was a little river flowing along the edge of the flat area, into the deep ravines below. The water actually looked pretty clear.
“Come on, this way to the Prophet’s cell.” Rainbow said, flying out in front of me. “It’s being guarded by Sentinels, so we’ll have to destroy them first.”
I followed after her, slashing at any Dagon or other Daedra that got in my way. There were more of them here than inside the prison, but there were also a lot of other prisoners fighting back against them, which made traversing the area much easier.
“This way,” Rainbow called out, pointing ahead as we climbed up a steep slope. When we neared the top, I spotted what looked like a giant stone eyeball looking all around the battlefield below. “Get down,” Rainbow said, grabbing me and pulling me down into a kneeling position.
“That’s a Sentinel,” she explained. “They serve as Tirek’s eyes and ears, keeping a close watch on everything in Tartarus. If we destroy it, it will blind him long enough for us to reach the Prophet.” She then turned to me. “You go. My lance won’t be strong enough to do it. Just try not to let it see you beforehand.”
I silently nodded back to her, understanding. I then turned back to face the Sentinel. Fortunately, the Sentinel was facing away from me right now. As it turned, I made sure to move with it in order to stay out of its view. When I was right behind it, I raised my sword high and brought it down as hard as I could, hoping that it would be enough force to break it.
It was. The giant eyeball crumbled under the weight of my sword strike. More of my energy had returned since I first woke up here, though I still feel like I’m not back to a hundred per cent yet.
“You did it!” Rainbow Dash called out in triumph. I turned around just in time to see her hoof pumped in the air. She then quickly turned back around again. “Hurry, we don’t have much time.”
I quickly followed after her, running back down the way we came up. I followed her until we then came to a big gate, which looked like it led to a new area; however, as soon as we approached it, it became enveloped in blue flames.
“FOOLISH MORTALS!” A rumbling voice echoed from all around us. “DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU COULD ESCAPE ME?! YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE HERE ALIVE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Damn it!” I heard Rainbow Dash scream next to me. “It’s Tirek.”
Wait, Tirek? As in, Daedric Prince? Lord of this realm? Practically a God while we were in his realm of Oblivion? If he could see us directly, did we even have a chance?
I looked back over to Rainbow Dash, to see what she had to say about this. “Damn it, he’s blocked the gate. Destroying the Sentinel did nothing.”
Okay, reassuring. “Is there any other way through to the Prophet?” I asked.
Rainbow Dash let out a short sigh. “I don’t know.” A moment later, she put her hoof to her mouth in thought. “Hmmm, let me think. Maybe Screwball would know a way.”
“Who’s Screwball?” I asked.
“She’s the oldest of the soul shriven. Normally, after years of torment, soul shriven lose their minds and go feral, but not Screwball. She was already mad before she died, so maybe that has something to do with it.” She then cracked a tiny smile. “She’s crazy, but completely harmless.”
That thing about soul shriven losing their minds and going feral was not a reassuring thought at the moment, given my similar situation. Now that I think about it, I think that I saw a few of them while I was running around the open area, but let’s not think about that now. I need to stay focused. Worrying will probably just drive me mad faster.
“So, you think this ‘Screwball’ will know of a way that we can reach the Prophet?” I asked Rainbow Dash, finally speaking up.
“It’s our best bet at the moment. Like I said, she’s been here longer than anyone else and has learned several secrets about this place. If anyone knows a way, it’s her.” She then turned to the side and pointed towards the river. “She has a camp down by the river, so if we follow it, we should find her there.”
“Alight,” I replied. “What does Screwball look like, anyway?”
At that, Rainbow Dash simply cracked a smile. “Trust me, you’ll know here when you see her.” It was a bit strange seeing her respond like that after how hopeless she had looked just a moment ago, but if she could joke at a time like this then that must mean that there was a good chance that this could work out.
This was our best bet slash only choice at the moment, so I turned back around towards the river and started following it. Along the way, we fought against more Dagons, but with all of the other prisoners fighting them alongside us, they went down easily enough.
When we reached the river, my mind suddenly went back to something that I was thinking about before, when I spotted one of those feral soul shriven up ahead. It was a zebra, and in many ways, it looked just like all the other soul shriven that I’ve seen. It was still pale looking, and wore the same rags as all the other prisoners. However, there was one thing that gave away that it was feral: its eyes. While the other prisoner’s eyes looked empty – like they were missing the life they once held – they still showed a determination to keep on fighting. This one, however, had no life left in it at all. It was essentially a walking corpse.
It simply stood there in one spot, with a blank expression on its face, like it didn’t even know where it was right now, occasionally sniffing at the air like a wild animal.
Staring back at it now, despite how much I didn’t want to think about it, I couldn’t help but think about it. Would this eventually happen to me? Was this my eventual fate? Even if I could somehow get out of here, without my soul, would I eventually lose what was left of my mind and turn into one of these things? Was this whole escape attempt pointless?
“Raaaaawwwwwwrrrrrr!”
I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts by a loud roar, which, when I turned in the direction that I heard it, had come from the feral zebra. It seemed to have spotted me when I got close; probably when he was sniffing the air earlier. It immediately broke into a mad dash towards me.
I was still so caught up in my thoughts that I barely had time to react, and simply raised my sword to block, which the feral zebra jumped on to, biting at it like a wild animal. It didn’t even seem bothered by the fact that the edge of the blade was cutting into the sides of its mouth. Could it even feel pain anymore?
This close up, I could see just how feral and mindless this thing was. Its eyes were cold and unfocused, and drool constantly spewed from its mouth. This thing had been a zebra once; no different than the way I was now. Was the zebra that had once been this thing even in their anymore? Was there anything left of him at all? Soul shriven didn’t have souls, but I still had my mind. Would I eventually lose that as well? Would I inevitably end up like this as well?
All of a sudden, the pressure pushing against my sword disappeared, forcing me to do a double take. I was so caught up in my thoughts that it took me a moment to realise that Rainbow Dash had thrown her lance at the feral zebra and knocked it back. The zebra was knocked on to its side and it instinctively scrambled to stand back up again. I was still a little stricken from my last train of thought that I almost missed Rainbow Dash quickly zipping over to it, picking up her lance again, and stabbing it into the zebra’s brain. After a second or two of twitching, it went limp, as this thing was finally put down for good.
Staring down at the poor thing's dead body, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for it. This guy had been captured, sacrificed, had his soul taken, and even that didn’t end his suffering. He then had to endure who knows how much torment before his mind couldn’t take it anymore and just lost itself, but even then, he was still technically alive before being put down just now… and I could just as easily have been talking about my eventual fate. Living with madness like that is one of the scariest fates I could imagine; being trapped in your own body, unaware of anything going around you, but still technically being alive. If I did eventually end up like this guy, then just kill me then and there so I wouldn’t have to suffer, but still…
We continued to hug the river as we made our way along. Rainbow didn’t bring up anything about how I acted back there. She probably thought that I was just holding the zebra in place long enough for her to attack it. I didn’t want to talk about it right now, so if she wasn’t going to question it, then lucky me.
As we continued following the river, suddenly, my ears perked up as I heard something nearby.
“One bright day in the middle of the night.”
“Two dead kings got up to fight.”
“Back to back, they faced each other.”
“Drew their swords, and shot each other.”
Okay, that was kind of random, given the situation, which of course probably meant that that was our madmare that we were looking for. Turning in the direction of the song, I immediately understood what Rainbow Dash said about knowing Screwball when I saw her. She was a female earth pony, with a dark purple coat, and a purple and white swirled mane. She sat around a small camp, sitting on a single log, in front of a small fire, with a tent behind her. She held a lute in her hooves to play as she sung. The most eye-catching thing about her appearance, though, were her eyes, which were purple swirls instead of pupils, that actually moved. Given what Rainbow Dash had said to me before, I was going to go out on a limb and say that this was Screwball.
She had just finished her last song, so I approached her to speak with her. “Uhhmm, hello. I…”
“Well, what have we here?” The earth pony mare cut me off, turning in my direction to face me. “Another soul shriven to join our, admittedly recently large growing family? Well, why didn’t you say so? Grab an instrument and come join us. We’re just about to start our next song. Oh, I know,” she suddenly raised her voice, now smiling brighter. “You can play second fiddle to Cadwell ‘The Talking Grapefruit from Trottingham’. He needs someone to play off well with.” She then suddenly lowered the tone of her voice. “Just make sure to keep a close eye on him, though. He likes to steal solos.”
Okay, I can see what Rainbow had meant when she said that she was crazy. “Uhhmm, I don’t really have time for that right now.”
“Of course you don’t,” she said, sounding sombre. “You sound just like the rest of the new arrivals. Moaning about how this couldn’t possibly be happening to them, or moaning because they’ve lost the higher brain function to do anything else.” She said, tilting her head to one side with each punctuation. Then she scoffed. “I’ve played better venues I can tell you that.”
This pony was strange, even for a madmare. “Uhhmm, are you… feeling alright?” I asked.
“What?” She suddenly exclaimed. “Why that’s a silly question, of course I feel alright, my boy. I mean, why wouldn’t I be? Just because I dedicated my whole life to a Daedric Prince, only to have my soul stolen and enslaved to a different Daedric Prince for all eternity? Why would I allow something like that to change how I live the rest of my unlife? Why to not would be… madness.” She deadpanned that last word.
“So!” She suddenly perked up again. “How can old Screwball be of service to you today? Oh, but I just mean that facetiously. I’m not that old.”
Okay, this pony was definitely mad, but if she could help us right now, I’d just grit my teeth and bare it. “We’re trying to find a way to reach the Prophet so that we can get out of here, but our path got cut off.” I said. “Rainbow Dash here told me that you might know of another way to reach her.” I sure hoped this worked.
“Ah yes, the Prophet: cloaked mare, arch nemesis of the Daedric Prince himself, always rambling on about destiny.” She rambled off. She then leaned a bit closer and whispered. “Just between the two of us, I think she’s mad.” I raised an eyebrow at that. “I’m fairly certain that if there was a way out of here, I would have found it by now, but I’m certainly not going to stop you from hoping.” She then leaned back and looked down at her front hooves, while she continued to quietly strum her lute. “Hope is a dangerous thing to lose around here,” she said, raising her head again and giving a solemn look over to a feral soul shriven, standing by itself over in the distance.
“So then, the Prophet?” She said, looking back to me again, suddenly switching back to her eccentric personality. “She’s easy enough to find. Just follow the river here until you come to a tunnel, and that will take you right up underneath the Prophet’s cell. Errr, the way is full of guards and hazardous traps, but I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle,” she added as she continued to softly strum her lute.
With a quick glance to the river behind me and mentally tracing a path, following it to a rock tunnel not too far ahead, I then turned back towards Screwball. “Okay, thanks for the help.”
“Oh, not at all, my dear Dragon. Happy to be of service. Now if you’ll excuse me, I should be getting back to my song.” She then faced down to concentrate fully on her lute. “Hmmm, now let’s see, what rhymes with ‘door hinge’?”
Leaving her to her own devices, I stepped back and continued on my way along the river, towards the tunnel, with Rainbow Dash following behind me. “Well, that conversation was about as awkward as I expected,” the rainbow maned pegasus said. “But at least we got what we needed. The tunnel should be just up ahead. Let’s go.” She then flew out ahead of me again.
We had to fight through a few more Dagons, and it was just me and Rainbow Dash in this section, but it was still easy enough between the two of us. I still tried to avoid fighting any feral soul shriven if I could help it. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about fighting them, considering they represented what could end up happening to me.
We eventually made it to a cave opening, which lead into a tunnel. Guess it’s time to get out of the open area and go back into another cold, dark, cramped cave. Although around here, there really wasn’t much difference between the two.
It was now just me and Rainbow Dash in this area. Wherever the other prisoners were, I hoped that they managed to escape as well. We’re all in the same boat now, and this ship is sinking fast.
Stepping into the tunnel, the first thing to greet us was a skeleton. Okay, not the most assuring first sight. Although, the armor that it was wearing could prove useful. Stripping the armor off the skeleton, I put it on myself. Like the sword, the armor was a bit rusty, but it would do for now. Considering that I made it this far without a scratch, it would make the rest of the prison break easier. The armor fit neatly enough, so the skeleton I took it from was probably a dragon as well, or perhaps a minotaur or a diamond dog. It was clearly made for a biped. The armor was a cuirass, which covered my torso and shoulders.
“You ready?” Rainbow asked, when I was finished putting on the armor.
“Ready.” I said, turning to face her. We then continued our way into the tunnel.
A few steps in, we encountered our first trap in the form of tiles with spikes that would stick up out of the ground and then go back down for a few seconds before shooting back up again. However, this was literally no problem for either of us, since we were both able to fly over them. This cut down on the difficulty traversing the tunnel, as the tile traps went on for a while.
When those traps ended, we landed back on the ground to continue the trek on foot. Just a few steps ahead, however, and we spotted two Dagons up ahead, who spotted us immediately. The fighting might be a bit harder since it was just the two of us now, and we were in a more confined space, but I was sure we could handle it. We drew our weapons and charged straight ahead.
Rainbow Dash immediately zoomed ahead at high speeds and slammed into the one on the right. The force of the collision caused the large Daedra to stumble back, but it didn’t fall over. However, Rainbow then took that moment while it was knocked off guard to again hurl her lance at it like a wing blade, knocking him over fully.
With Rainbow now weaponless, the other Dagon took that moment to strike at her; however, I quickly stepped between them to intercept the attack by blocking it with my sword. Since I didn’t have a shield, the block wasn’t as effective as it could have been, since this Daedra was about a foot taller than I was. It pushed back against me, and the pointed end of its spear grazed against my shoulder, though thanks to my new armor, I barely felt it. I knew equipping that armor was a good idea.
While I was holding the Dagon back, Rainbow, whose enemy was still down, rammed right into mine, knocking him back, and I immediately took the opportunity and rammed my sword into a weak spot in its carapace, around its neck, killing it instantly.
As I pulled the sword out of its body, the second Daedra got back up, though since it was now both Rainbow and I against one opponent, we could take care of it easily. She quickly flew to slice at its legs as it was getting back up, halting its progress, which made it an easy target for me. It falling back down again because of Rainbow’s attack caused my attack to veer off a little and hit an armored portion of its shoulder, and the rusty sword needed a few strikes in order to do the job, but its position on the ground ensured that I got them all. With both Daedra down, we continued on our way.
From the looks of it, the traps at the beginning of the tunnel were a primary means of dealing with any intruders, while these Dagons were positioned here to deal with any stragglers, because around the next corner was a stairs that lead straight up, out of the tunnel.
Emerging out into the next chamber, it was a lot different than the tunnel and the prison, which were made of rough rocks. This room looked like an antechamber, which was made of smooth, expertly carved stone, with four large pillars around the room, and a small dais in the centre, with a few small steps on all sides, leading up to it. Shooting up out of the dais was a blue light, which eventually coalesced into a three dimensional sphere of energy, which, on close inspection, housed a cloaked figure in the centre of it.
The energy made it difficult to make out the figure within, but if I focused and squinted my eyes…
Was that…
“The Prophet.” Rainbow blurted out, quickly scurrying in front of me. Her face remained focused on the trapped pony for several seconds, before she suddenly switched expression. “…Oh no.” She said in what was barely above a whisper.
Okay, that didn’t sound good. “What is it?” I asked, stepping up beside her.
Turning her head to face me, with that worried expression on her face, she simply stared back at me like that for a second, and let out a long sigh before she spoke. “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news.” She then turned her whole body around to face me fully before continuing. “The good news is that we’ll be able to get the Prophet out of here. The bad news… is that it’s going to be up to you to keep her safe.”
Huh. “What do you mean?”
Rainbow simply sighed again and gave a quick glance back at the Prophet before continuing. “You see, this containment that she’s being held in is designed so that the only way to release her is for another living soul to take her place.” She then looked back to me again. “And the only one around here with one is… me.”
Okay, that made sense. For a prison it was actually ingenious. In a place where nothing has a soul, the only one who can free the one that you’re keeping locked up is someone who has a soul. But still…
“Is there any other way?” I asked.
Rainbow sighed again, which probably showed just how bad the situation was. “Believe me, I wish that there was, but right now, we don’t have any other option. The Prophet is more important than me, and if we have any hope of stopping Tirek, we need to get her to safety.” She then struck me with a powerful look that told me she was willing to endure this fate for the greater good.
I grit my claws in agitation. This wasn’t easy, and I could tell that this wasn’t Rainbow’s ideal situation either, but she was right; there was no other way. I let my claws hang limply again and sighed. “All right,” I said, not liking this one bit, but accepting it nonetheless. “So what do you do now?” I asked.
Rainbow gave a quick nod and then turned to the side, to face the Prophet. “See those four pillars around the Prophet’s holding cell?” She asked, pointing her hoof at the pillars. “Touch each of those four pillars while I stand here. It will allow me to switch places with the Prophet.” She then lowered her hoof again and turned back to face me. “But before you do that, I want you to take this.” She then reached back into her saddlebags and pulled out a red gemstone. “Listen, if I’m going to be staying here, then it’s really important that Tirek doesn’t get a hold of this,” she said, holding it out towards me. “Take it and hold on to it no matter what happens.”
I was still confused about what this was about, but I wasn’t going to object, so I simply reached out and took it. With that, she gave me a simple nod and smiled. “Listen… thanks. I’m glad that I freed you back there. I wouldn’t have been able to do this on my own.” Her smile then slowly started to fade away and she simply faced her whole body forward, facing the Prophet.
Wow, she was really brave to sacrifice herself like this for someone else and stay here. Were I in her position, I don’t know if I could do the same. She really was amazing and amazingly loyal. I smiled. I guess ponies aren’t all bad.
I then walked over towards the pillars, touching each of them in succession. They all turned a dark blue colour when I did. After I had touched all four of them, I looked back over to Rainbow Dash, on her little dais. She was suddenly lifted up into the air, enveloped in a similar blue coloured aura. The next moment, she suddenly shot forward, colliding with, who I quickly realised, was the Prophet, though instead of coming into contact, they both passed through each other. Rainbow Dash was then placed into the energy prison, while the Prophet was deposited on the dais.
“Freedom!” The Prophet called out upon hitting the ground. With a quick glance to Rainbow Dash, to make sure that she was alright, I ran over to check on the Prophet.
When she stood back up, I got my first good look at the pony that we came here to rescue. Both the projection and the cloak from our brief meeting earlier made it difficult to discern any of her physical characteristic, but up close now, I could tell more about her. Her coat colour was grey, though, rather than being naturally grey, it looked more like it was a different colour originally that had been greyed. I was also able to make out a unicorn horn just underneath the hood of her cloak. What really got my attention, however, were her eyes. They were colourless and hollow-looking, like a soul shriven, but they weren’t devoid of life like them. It was more like…
“You’re blind.” I uttered.
“Yes,” she responded, picking herself up and turning fully to face me. “It was the price that I paid for reading the Elder Scrolls, but I do not regret my choice in the slightest. It was the only way that I could gain the knowledge needed to put a stop to Tirek’s plans. I feel that it was my destiny, but enough of that for now. Rainbow Dash sacrificed everything so that we might go free. We cannot allow her sacrifice to have been in vain.”
Her mention of Rainbow Dash made me look back over at the rainbow maned pegasus. She was simply floating there in the energy prison, the same way that the Prophet was when we first arrived here. Was she even still aware that we were here anymore?
“Is there anything we can do help her?” I asked.
“Don’t worry, we will,” she assured me, “but for now we must escape. There is a dark anchor up ahead that I can use to take us back to Equus, but you will need to guide me there. Lead on, Vestige.”
“Vestige?” I wondered. “My name is…” Wait, I… I can’t remember my name. I didn’t realise it until now. Whenever I try to remember, I only come up with a blank, as if the answer is just out of reach, like grasping at smoke. Is this because I lost my soul? Without a soul or a name, I barely felt like myself anymore. I slumped at that.
“That’s the name that I have given you.” The Prophet continued. “Without your soul, you are but a trace of your former self; an empty vessel longing to be filled. It is as the scrolls have foretold, but not exactly in the way that I expected. However, you must not dwell on this. Despair will only hasten the madness. You must be strong.”
All this talk about soullessness and looming madness was really starting to put me on edge, and it’s hard not to think about it, what with all the constant reminders around me, both visual and metaphorical, of my possible future. But, I also knew that worrying about it would have only bad consequences, so I did my best to shelve those thoughts for now and focus on the matter at claw. After all, I may be out of the cell, but I wasn’t fully free yet; and like Screwball said, ‘I can’t lose hope’.
“Okay,” I said, speaking up. “What do we do now?”
“As I said, there is an anchor mooring up ahead that we can use to escape. The Dark Anchors are the very devices that Tirek uses for his plans. They latch on to our world and pull it into Tartarus. However, a way in is also a way out, and we will use that to our advantage. I can use that anchor to get us back to Equus, but you will have to guide me to it.”
Pull Equus into Tartarus? Was that Tirek’s plan? Was that why he was stealing people’s souls? Did that have something to do with it? I’d have to ask the Prophet more about that later, but for now, we should concentrate on escaping.
“Alright, let’s go.” I said. We then made our way to the other side of the room, with the Prophet following close behind me. When we passed by Rainbow Dash’s prison, I stopped where I was and looked back to her. “Rainbow, we’ll be back for you. I promise.” With that done, I turned back around again and made my way out of the antechamber.
Just after that room was a long, empty corridor. We quickly made our way through and came into another huge chamber. It was a lot like the last one we were in, however, in the centre of the room, instead of the energy prison, there was a short flight of stairs leading up, with a giant portal device floating high in the air above it. The portal device was anchored to the ground by three long chains. I was going to go out on a limb and say that this was the Dark Anchor mooring.
“We’re here,” the Prophet spoke up, somehow knowing despite being blind. I didn’t know a lot about the Elder Scrolls, so I’ll just assume that it has something to do with that. From what I did know about them, there wasn’t anything that they couldn’t do.
“Now there’s one last thing we must do before we can proceed.” The Prophet continued, stopping where she was and turning to face me. “You won’t be able to return to the world of the living the way that you are now. You must first reattune yourself to Equus in order to regain a corporeal form, and for that you will need an Element.”
“An Element?” I asked, confused.
“That’s correct. An Element is a rare gemstone that carries with it the natural life energies of Equus. They are exceedingly rare; I myself only knowing of five of them. Fortunately, we are in luck, as Rainbow Dash possessed one of them. It is the gemstone that she handed you earlier.”
Wow, that was convenient. Also, if it’s so rare and powerful, I understand now why she didn’t want Tirek getting his hands on it.
Wait, if the Prophet knew that Rainbow Dash gave me the Element, then that meant that she was fully conscious while she was imprisoned, which meant that Rainbow Dash also was right now. That thought made me think back to the rainbow maned pegasus again. I hope she’ll be alright.
Besides, it also meant that she heard what I said before we left her, so she knows that we’ll be back for her.
With my mind focused again, I then held the Element out towards the Prophet.
“Hold still. I’ll activate the Element and attune it with your life force.”
Her horn then lit up beneath her hood, and a silver aura surrounded the Element in my outstretched claw. A moment later, the aura then extended to me as well, and as soon as it encompassed my whole body, I rose up a few inches off the ground. As the aura enveloped my body, I felt something flow through me, filling me up, and a moment later, the emptiness inside of me that I felt since waking up here receded a bit. I still felt an emptiness deep down, but now I felt a little better.
Another moment later, I was slowly dropped back down to the ground again.
“Alright, we’re ready,” the Prophet spoke up. “Go up the stairs and I’ll prepare a spell to lift us up to the portal. Once we’re back in Equus, we can begin formulating a plan to rescue Rainbow Dash and put a stop to Tirek’s wicked schemes. He may be a God, but he still suffers from the biggest weakness that someone in his position always falls into – he underestimates us mortals, and that is always a mistake.”
Yeah, preach it, Prophet. That was such an inspirational quote, that I couldn’t help but smirk pridefully at it.
We then both ran up the stairs, towards the anchor, as fast as we could. When we reached the top, the Prophet turned to face me. “Stand right there and I’ll prepare the spell to lift us up.”
She then faced forward again, tilted her head up, and her horn lit up as well, while I looked up at the portal high above us. The portal in between the metal of the Dark Anchor looked like a swirling vortex of entropy, like a sea in storm.
“Divines, here my plea! I plead with thee, take pity on these two lost souls, lost in the boundary between worlds. I beseech thee, guide these wandering souls and let us return home. Let the will of Lord Tirek be denied.” The Prophet chanted.
Suddenly, there was a loud crack, and a white light appeared in the centre of the portal above us, parting out from the centre, turning the dark and ominous storm clouds into an inviting doorway to safety.
“Quickly, jump in.” The Prophet called out. “The way is clear.” The cloaked pony then jumped off the edge of the stairs, yet instead of falling down, she was caught by some unseen force and started rising up towards the portal above.
Once I saw her do it, I took a step forward as well, a feeling of weightlessness overcoming me, and I began floating upwards, with the portal in front of me getting closer and closer. Once I touched the portal, there was a bright flash of light, brighter than anything in this dead world.
Then everything was darkness again.
To be continued…
Darkness.
All I could see was darkness. However, this time felt different then my last memory of waking up to darkness. First off, I was lying on my back instead of my underbelly this time. Second, was that I was lying on a soft, comfy bed instead of hard, uncomfortable rock. The atmosphere around me felt warm and cosy, instead of the putrid smell of rock and ash.
I wonder... was that all just a dream.
When I opened my eyes, that thought started to drift away when I immediately noticed that this wasn’t my room. I still didn’t actually remember my old room; I just knew that this wasn’t it. My lack of memories about most of my life also told me that all of that stuff about being sacrificed and escaping Tartarus with the Prophet actually happened.
I could also still feel an emptiness inside of me. That Element was only able to do so much.
Sitting up in the bed, I took a closer look around the room that I was in. It seemed to be a small, one bedroom wooden hut. All that was in here was the bed that I was lying in, with two layers of covers. There was a small credenza next to the bed, with Rainbow Dash’s Element, and a glass of water on it. I was feeling a bit parched, so I took a drink, thinking that whoever put me here left it for me. Once I was finished with that, I put the glass back and immediately took a hold of the Element again. I wanted to keep this on me at all times, half because I promised Rainbow Dash I would, and half because of the way it filled the emptiness inside of me. To my right, up a single step was a small desk with some papers on it, and on the other side of the small hut, to my left, was the door, with my sword and armor placed on the ground, beside it. I only just now realised that I was only wearing my rags. From the layout of this place, it was probably a small rest area, or maybe a foreman’s office, with a bed to rest in.
Okay, so I was sound asleep in bed, after escaping hell itself, and the one pony that was with me isn’t here as well.
I still had so many questions.
“Vestige.” I suddenly heard the Prophet say. Turning my head in the direction that I heard her voice, I spotted another projection of her in the corner of the room, near the door. If she was sending a projection instead of speaking with me directly, then this probably wasn’t good, but she likely had the answers to my questions. Getting out of bed, I made my way over to her.
“It is as I feared, we have both arrived in separate locations,” she continued when I was standing right in front of her. “I find myself in a city of loud screams, where it’s so cold that it snows all the time.”
Loud screams and snows all the time? That sounds familiar, but for the unlife of me, I can’t seem to place it. Damn soullessness-driven-amnesia… and damn soullessness-driven-puns.
“You will need to find your way to me so that we can reunite. Then we can begin coming up with a plan to rescue Rainbow Dash, as well as put a stop to Tirek’s wicked schemes.”
Alright, that was probably easier said than done, but it was also the only course of action available to me right now, since the Prophet was the only one in the world who knew about my unique condition… That reminds me, I wonder if any of the other prisoners managed to make it out as well. Plus, I still wanted to rescue Rainbow Dash, for sacrificing herself to help us escape. That pegasus had my respect.
“Alright,” I spoke up at last. “I’ll try to find where you are. Hopefully you’re somewhere close by. Do you have any idea where I am, at least?”
“Unfortunately, that I do not know. All I do know is that you were deposited into the sea, and some kind soul fished you out. I am able to sense you and send this projection to speak with you, but your exact location is beyond my sight.” Okay, made sense, I guess; probably some more Elder Scroll powers that I’m not aware of. “I will try to stay out of sight and keep my being here a secret, and contact you again when I feel you are near. Something tells me that the local inhabitants won’t be too accepting to a pony like myself.” Unfortunately, she was probably right about that. With the war going on, most other species were a bit apprehensive about trusting ponies, myself included, at least before I met Rainbow Dash and the Prophet. After meeting the two of them, maybe ponies weren’t all bad, as long as those two weren’t the exception to the rule.
“Okay, so where should I start looking to find you?” I asked.
“That, I cannot say.” She replied, with a dip of her head. “You will have to make your own way from here, Vestige. Your destiny is in your own claws, to shape as you will. Perhaps you can seek out the kind soul that pulled you from the ocean. Remember, we do not face these trying times alone, and we will need all the friends that we can get if we are to defeat Tirek.” With that, the projection disappeared and I was alone again.
I still had some questions for her, but I suppose that those could wait until we meet up again. Like she said, she’ll probably be able to sense when I get closer to her anyway. For now, I had to focus. So, putting on a look of resolve, I grabbed my sword and put on my armor. I really should replace these with better models now that I’m free.
When I was all set, I opened the door and stepped outside. As soon as I did, my vision became filled with so much light that I had to shield my eyes. This was more light than I ever remember dealing with before.
Once my eyes finally readjusted to the light, I lowered my arm again and took a look around at where I was. Looking up, my vision was completely filled by a clear, cloudless, blue sky, which was added to by snow as my gaze drifted downwards. I also felt a pleasant coldness against my scales, completely different from the coldness of rock in Tartarus. I had to admit, it looked beautiful. Certainly a welcome change from the bleakness of Tartarus.
As I continued looking around, I noticed that I seemed to be in a small village of some kind. All around me were small, cosy-looking wooden cabins, designed to keep the inhabitants warm against the cold snow all around them. Speaking of the inhabitants, the only other species around me were yaks; lots of yaks, both young and old, big and small. I had a pretty good idea of where I was now, and I suddenly remembered why the mention of loud screaming and coldness sounded familiar. I must have lived near the Yakyakistan border before, since it borders the dragon lands to the east. It felt good knowing that more of my memories were returning.
“Well, looks like you’re up,” I heard a voice just to the side. Turning to face it, I saw a male yak, leaning against the side of the house, and he was big, standing at least a foot taller than a Dagon. Not surprising, though, since yaks were primarily the tanks of the Pact army. “Welcome back to the world of the living.” Heh, you don’t know how right you are.
“So, were you the one who pulled me out of the ocean?” I asked.
“Sure am,” he replied. “I was on a return delivery to the mainland when you suddenly dropped out of the sky, into the ocean, so we fished you out of the drink. You’re lucky that we were passing by when we were.”
I cracked a smile at that. “Well, thanks for that.”
“Ah, don’t mention it. I just did what anyone would have done. Besides, we’re allies now since the Pact was formed. Wouldn’t want to jeopardise that peace now by leaving you to drown, now would I?” He said with a chuckle.
I smiled at how nice this guy was, and walked down the two steps in front of the house before speaking again, keeping my gaze on the yak. “So, can you tell me exactly where I am?”
“Yakschmir,” he replied. “A small island, just off the Yakyakistan mainland.” He then cracked a smile. “The northern most point in all of Equus. Around here, the war going on is almost non-existent. The worst thing we have to worry about here is running out mead before the next shipment.”
I smiled even wider at that. After everything that I went through in Tartarus, being separated from the one person who knows what’s going on, and my feralness clock still ticking, it was good to have a light-hearted moment like this. It was also good to know that I was in Pact territory. It was good to be surrounded by allies. “Well, still, if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, just ask.”
“Well,” he started, “since you put it that way, there is one thing that you can do for me.” I didn’t actually expect him to take me up on it, or at least not this soon, but I’d still gladly do it to repay him. “I need to make another delivery to the mainland soon, but my worthless crew has gone and disappeared on me. I can’t make the delivery without them, so do you think that you could go and find them for me? The island’s small enough, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”
Sounds reasonable enough. “Yeah, sure thing,” I agreed. “Do you have any idea where I can start looking?”
“Well, Bore is at the local inn, pissing away his pay.” He said, angling his head towards a large wooden hut, which I was guessing was the inn. “Just look for the yak sitting at the bar, too drunk to see straight. The other two are somewhere on the island. They shouldn’t be too hard to find, since they’re the only yaks on the island that aren’t in the village.”
Well that made things easier, and I also had somewhere to start. “Alright, I’ll do it. Do you think you could give me a ride back to the mainland as well when you’re ready to go?”
“Sure, no problem at all.” He replied, stepping away from the wall of the cabin. “In the meantime, I’m gonna start preparing the ship. Just send my crew there when you find them.” He then started walking away, towards the docks.
“Alright.” I called out to him as he left. I then turned around as well, and started walking in the opposite direction, however, a moment later, I turned back around to face him again when I realised something. “Oh, by the way…” I waited until he turned around to face me before continuing. “You haven’t seen a cloaked unicorn pony around here, have you?”
He stared back at me for a moment before responding, his expression changing slightly. “Sorry, but we haven’t got any ponies on this island.”
“Oh, alright then.” I guess that means that the Prophet is somewhere on the mainland. That just means that I should hurry up and find this guy’s crew as fast as possible. I then turned back around again and made my way towards the village inn.
On my way there, I passed through the local market. There were yak merchants there, selling their wares, as well as some admittedly cute yak children playing. It was just like… err… that guy said: here the war was practically non-existent. Wow, I really should ask that guy his name the next time I see him.
I made it to the village inn and stepped inside. As soon as I did, the first thing that I spotted was a yak sitting at the bar, with his head lying on the counter, drooling. Aside from him and the bartender, the inn was deserted. Realising that the drunk one must be Bore, I walked up to him, and tapped him on the shoulder to wake him up.
“Hey, Bore. Your boss wants you back to work.”
The drunk yak rustled about a bit at my touch, and then groaned in response. “Go away,” he grumbled, his words being muffled slightly from his mouth being pressed right up against the counter. “Yaks want perfect. Everything must be perfect. I’m not leaving until I get the perfect amount of drunk.”
Leaning back a bit after having woken him up, I just rolled my eyes at what he responded with. “Judging by how you look now, I’d say you’ve long since passed that mark.”
He gave another groan at that, but he picked his head up off the counter slightly before responding, not muffling his words anymore because of it, though they still sounded a bit slurred. “Ugghh, alright, I’ll go. Just…” He lowered his head to the counter again. “Just give me a few minutes to sleep off this hangover. I’m no good to the boss still drunk.”
Since I still had two more crew members to find and that would probably take me a while, that was an acceptable response. Besides, if he wasn’t back by the time I found the others, I could just come back here to get him again. “Alright, I’ll see you back at the ship then.” He responded by slightly lifting his hoof in a gesture, as if to say ‘got it’. With that, I left the inn again.
When I stepped back outside, my stomach suddenly started rumbling. I must be pretty hungry, considering it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten anything. I guess not having a soul didn’t mean I didn’t still have to eat. It felt good to know that I was still at least a bit normal. I could probably get something to eat at the market… or I could if I had any money.
Hmmm, maybe I could find some small critters out in the wild, like a bunny rabbit to eat. I was going out into the wild anyway, and I doubt the inhabitants would mind. Herbivores were generally tolerant of the carnivorous creatures. With that, and my mission goal in mind, I made my way out of the village and into the wilds of Yakschmir.
I have to admit, the small island was actually beautiful to look at. Huge hills of pure white snow, dozens of trees, with only a handful of them with any green left on them, all below a cloudless, crystal blue sky, with the sun shining down on the landscape, causing the snow to glisten. It was pretty cold, but my scales protected me from that, so it actually felt refreshing. There was also a tall tower up on the hill just behind the village, which stretched high into the sky.
Something tells me that I haven’t seen anything like this back in Dragon’s Maw… which is where I’m from.
So, with my sword at my side, and a big smile on my face from remembering more about my life, I continued on with my current mission.
To be continued…
