Uriel awoke with a start, scrambling to his feet and finding himself in a completely alien land. He looked around with awe at his surroundings. A natural reaction, considering he was on a chain of floating islands. He was on one of the medium sized islands, which hosted a ruined temple. The temple appeared to be made of ivory, almost exclusively, and he was in the center of it. A Bonfire lay next to him, and around it was an ankle deep pool of water, which, he noted, had channels that flowed out past the walls of the temple. The pool covered the entire floor, and beautiful shimmering blue and gold and white tiles covered the bottom of the pool, creating murals of a sort. He noted that there were a few traces of gold inlaid in the pillars, along with platinum, and there were statues of what he could only call winged horse people in armor with sword-spears in their hands, stabbed into the ground.

“Wow…” Uriel marvelled. He hefted the golden, twisted and hole-ridden blade on his shoulder, adjusting the large engraved greatsword on his back and the two maces on his hips. “Welp, time to explore this place like a kid in candyland!” he said cheerfully, immediately going towards the massive golden doors leading outside. Sure, he could easily just tiptoe out of the many holes in the walls, but where was the fun in that?

But, Uriel could hear something just on the fringes of his hearing as he reached the doors.

“Huh?” he said in confusion, looking around.

As he listened, what the sound was became clearer.

Someone was crying. Growing worried, he started to search the temple for the source. “Hello? Anyone here? Are you okay?”

The crying grew louder the deeper into the temple he went...and just who was crying became clear.

It was a child. His worry grew, and he picked up the pace.

Then, he entered a church-like room filled with the dead bodies of the winged horses he saw statues of earlier. Sitting in the midst of it all was a small boy of the same species with a sky-blue mane and tail, his body covered in white fur, draped in tattered rags and sobbing over a male and female corpse.

If the boy heard Uriel, he didn’t show it.

Uriel’s heart broke at this sight, and he slowly approached the boy. “Hey buddy…” he said softly.

The boy’s head snapped up to look at Uriel with fear...which almost instantly dissipated, replaced with a childish awe and some small spark of hope in his brilliant jade eyes.

“H-hey, M-m-mister. Are...a-a-are you a knight? Momma and P-papa said that the knights would come to help us, save us from the m-monsters…” the boy stammered, sniffling quite frequently as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Uriel pulled the cloth covering his mouth down and smiled warmly at the young boy, kneeling down and gently placing a hand on his head, one hand still keeping the sword perched on his shoulder. The boy flinched at the initial contact, but quickly relaxed.

“You could say that, yeah,” he said. “They call me Sir Uriel the Jolly.”

“U...Uri..el? Th-that’s a weird name, Mr. Uriel. M-My name’s Trade Wind,” Trade Wind attempted a smile, but an unconscious glance down at the corpses made his eyes well up with tears again. Uriel kept his smile and patted his head.

“Hey now, dry those tears. If you don’t, I can’t very well keep my title!” Uriel joked.

“...H-hehe...I g-guess so,” Trade Wind giggled softly as he looked at Uriel. Uriel glanced to the bodies, but kept his smile up.

“So, Trade Wind, might I ask what happened?” Uriel asked carefully.

Trade Wind nodded, “Y-yeah...just a day ago...I th-think, everyone was told to h-hide in here, from the Ho...Hool...the monsters. W-we’ve been l-living in the deepest p-parts of the temple s-since I was born, ever since the s-sky turned red and everypony s-started looking all...sad, and lost.” Uriel was struggling to keep his smile now, but he didn’t let it show.

“Well, there’s nothing to fear now, Trade Wind! For I am here!” Uriel said, standing up and doing a silly pose.

“...Okay, S-sir Uriel. W...where will you be taking me?”

“Well, first, I’mma do this! Hup!” Uriel picked the boy up, placing him on his head among the frilly white wig of his crown.

“Wooow...i-is this what it’s like to s-see the world as a g-grown-up?” Trade Wind asked, looking at the now shorter-looking walls. Uriel chuckled.

“Sure is, kiddo!” he said, hopping slightly, making the boy bounce a bit on his head. “Get a good grip?”

“Y-yeah,” the boy nodded.

“Alright bud, time for adventure!” Uriel said as he marched out of the room and back towards the front gates.

“O-okay. J-just...d-don’t go to that island over th-there,” Trade Wind said, leaning down a bit as he pointed at a floating island with a tall spire in the center to their northwest.

“Hm? Why’s that, kiddo?” Uriel queried, approaching the doors.

“M-mama and Papa never said, b-but...there was always...screaming c-coming from there. B-but it wasn’t a P-pegasus, whatever it was I s-saw flying around th-there. It was...something…big,” Trade Wind whimpered, averting his gaze from the spire as if the thing he was talking about was listening or watching them.

“Hmmm… Well, if that place has anything I need, I’m afraid I might have to go there,” Uriel raised a finger to the boy’s lips before he could speak. “But don’t worry, bucko, I’m tough, and I can take whatever that place dishes out to me.” He patted his head.

“...C-can you kill a demon?” Trade Wind asked softly. Uriel paused, stopping just in front of the doors.

“Well, never tried, but I bet you three apple pies I can,” Uriel said with forced cheer, pushing the doors open with one hand.

“F-five,” Trade Wind replied.

Uriel chuckled as the two were greeted by the sight of a small, crumbling bridge leading from their current island to the biggest one, which hosted a snow capped mountain with a collection of buildings on it.

“Well, tell you what, bud, you lead me around to the next Bonfire, I’ll see if I can find seven,” Uriel said as he started walking towards the bridge.

“B-Bonfire...you m-mean the big, warm fire w-with the sword sticking out of it?” Trade Wind asked.

“If what my old brother in arms told me is true, then yepperoonie,” Uriel confirmed.

“Th-there’s one in the A-armory over there,” Trade Wind pointed at an island connected to theirs by a sturdier, metal bridge lined with spiked poles that led into a heavily-fortified stone keep. “Th-they made one there after the m-monsters started to appear. If P-papa was telling the truth, th-they have some cool w-weapons in there. I h-heard there’s even a suit of armor th-they made to help the Earthbound fly b-between here and d-down below. But...a lot of s-soldiers went there b-before they told us to hide where you found me...t-they never came back.”

“Hmmm…” Uriel hummed in thought, looking around. He hummed in thought for a long while. “Hrrmmm…” He started to sound like a certain knight, until he spoke up. “Hey bud, how old are you?”

“...Seven, a-almost going to be eight, in a week,” Trade Wind answered shyly.

“I see… Hrrmmm…” Uriel hummed again. Slowly, he walked towards the keep, the sound of grass and dirt crunching under his feet paltry to the sounds of the wind whistling in the heights. “Alright, bud, I need you to try your best to hide in my wig, okay? And hold on as tight as you can. Don’t let anything see you or dislodge you, got it?”

“Okay,” Trade Wind nodded, burying himself in Uriel’s wig like a cat burying itself in a blanket. Uriel smiled until his look hardened, pulling the cloth back up over his face as he marched towards the doors of the keep, tightly gripping his greatsword.

As if it had been waiting for him, a single Hollow burst through the doors, its half-rotted muzzle frozen in a feral snarl as its empty, sunken eye sockets glared mindlessly at Uriel for a few brief moments. It then charged at him with a screech, jabbing a winged spear at his chest. He instinctively moved his blade and deflected the blow, then followed up with a pommel strike to the forehead.

The sound of bone crunching echoed in the air as the Hollow slumped lifelessly to the ground like a stringless puppet. Considering how its skin and muscle had rotted away, it’s no surprise that its skull was all that stood between Uriel’s sword and the Hollow’s brain.

As the last echoes faded, the sounds of distant, muffled talking reached Uriel’s ears.

“Wait, did you hear that?!”

“What d’you mean?”

“That screech! The Hollows only make that sound when they find something to kill!”

“Huh. That was easier than I thought it’d be…” Uriel mumbled to himself, then shrugged and kicked the body off the bridge with an innocent whistle before continuing on. He eventually reached the doors and opened them. Once inside, he looked around.

“Quit being delusional, Switt! There isn’t anyone else alive around here but us! The Hollows could have just been arguing or something!”

“No, I am TELLING you, that Hollows only make that sound when they find something with souls to take! Someone is out there, Rain!”

“Hellooo!” Uriel called, cupping one hand near his mouth.

“...Oh Great Ones, you’re right, Swift!”

“See, told you! HEY! WE’RE OVER HERE! FOLLOW THE SOUND OF OUR VOICES!”

The shouting came from somewhere to Uriel’s left. Curious, he looked over to his left and found an iron door in the side of the keep, with a small sword-and-shield symbol painted in white above it. He walked over to it and opened it.

Two adult Pegasi - a stallion with a blue mane, hazel eyes and cream fur, and a mare with a gray mane, blue eyes, and brown fur - stood behind a barricade made of overturned tables, armor stands, and shields. Both were wearing steel armor molded in the shape of an aquila or eagle.

The stallion spoke first, sighing in visible relief, “Oh, thank the Great Ones, you’re not a Hollow! I don’t think we’d be able to handle another one!”

“Shut it, Swift! You don’t need to tell him that!” the mare hissed at him with a glare.

The stallion, apparently named Swift, rounded on the mare and growled at her, “And why shouldn’t I? He’s the first person we’ve seen in days, and to be frank, I don’t think I could stand another minute of being alone with you!”

“Ummm… I’m sorry if I’m interrupting an intimate moment or something, but I have a child here who needs a safe place to stay until I can figure things out,” Uriel said.

“H-huh?” Trade Wind mumbled as he rose up from within Uriel’s wig, sleepily rubbing his eyes. “‘m sorry, Sir Uriel, I...I fell asleep, and-”

“Trade?” Swift suddenly asked, his eyes wide and hands trembling.

Trade looked over at Swift with equally wide eyes, “U-uncle Swift?” Uriel smiled at this and lifted the colt off of his head.

“Found the little guy crying in the temple over… Well, he can tell you. Not my place. Anyways, think you can look after him?” Uriel asked.

Swift kneeled down and hugged Trade tightly against him, “Yes! Yes, I can! Oh, thank you SO much, Sir...Uriel, was it? I’ve been unable to sleep since Rain Dance, here, and I got trapped in here without thinking of Trade.”

“Are you out of your mind, Swift?! We can’t take care of a kid! We barely have enough supplies for ourselves in here! Tartarus, we just ran out of food two hours ago!” Rain Dance asked incredulously, gesturing to the assortment of empty jars of jam, scattered fruit skins, and piled vegetable peelings at the back of their little impromptu bunker. “Unless this Uriel guy volunteers to go to the market near the Spire, there isn’t any way we could even begin to think of keeping your nephew here! And even then, it still isn’t safe for him here, or for us! The Magpie will find its way in here, eventually!”

“What if I went and stopped this Magpie?” Uriel offered.

Swift and Rain both looked at him as if he’d grown seven heads.

“You’re saying you want to go out to the Spire and kill the thing that took down the 18 other trained Pegasi that were once holed up with us, here? The thing that took an iron ballista bolt to the chest mid-flight and didn’t so much as even falter?!” Rain asked Uriel with almost hysterical disbelief.

Uriel shrugged. “It’s a knight’s duty to help the people. I’m sure I’ll find a way to kill it,” Uriel said. He gave them a thumbs up. “So don’t worry, yeah?”

“...Your funeral, pal. At the very least, you’ll need to be able to fly to avoid the Hollows that congregate around the base of the Spire, though. And I don’t see any wings on you,” Rain Dance replied, looking Uriel up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Th-there’s the armor for the Ea-Earthbound that Uncle Swift told me about in the armory, right?” Trade Wind suggested, prompting Rain to blink dumbfoundedly at Trade, then give the now-sheepish Swift a flat gaze.

Swift cleared his throat to ward off the awkward silence, “Y-yeah, well, my nephew’s right. The Ascension armor is still in the vault right behind, actually. No training needed, considering it was designed to help the Earthbound fly up here faster than it would take by balloon. Just...put it on around your armor, and the enchantments will do the flying for you...but only for about ten minutes. The one we have was a proof of concept, and it worked well...up until the Earthbound testing it ran out of time and...well, the clean-up wasn’t pretty. So, uh, be careful about that, Sir Uriel.”

With that, Swift turned around and pulled the metal door open with some effort, ignoring Rain’s cries of protest and claims that she didn’t agree to give the random stranger they just met enchanted flight equipment.

Swift slipped inside, then came back about ten seconds later with a faded brown leather harness with large, fixed metal wings on the back, likely made from steel. Uriel took it, looking it over. He then looked back up to Swift.

“Welp, thanks!” he said as he slipped it on. “I’ll be back in no time, with some food to boot!”

“No problem, just...just kill the thing, so that we can actually go outside without the fear of being taken back to that thing’s nest,” Swift replied as Trade Wind looked up at Uriel.

“You’ll...y-you’ll come back...right, Sir Uriel?” Trade Wind asked in a soft, vulnerable tone. Uriel smiled, kneeling down to ruffle the colt’s mane.

“You betcha, kiddo. I’ll show that Magpie a thing or two, and then come back with some delicious pies like I promised,” Uriel said warmly with a goofy grin.

“...Okay. Come b-back soon,” Trade nodded, waving goodbye to Uriel

“You got it, bud,” Uriel said, before standing up. “Well, I’ll be on my way then. Take care, you three!” With that, he walked out of the room.

Uriel closed the doors behind him, for further security for the three, then marched around the keep, hoping to find a Bonfire in it before leaving, in case he needed to get back quick. He eventually found one, just down the hallway from the room the others were in. He lit it, let it’s warmth wash over him for a few moments, then walked out of the room and the keep, walking across the bridge.

A veritable horde of Hollows in commoner’s clothes and some in knight’s armor lingered around the base of the Spire once he got to its island, noticing him almost immediately and rushing towards him with one combined earth-shaking shriek.

“Well… crud, they weren’t kidding,” he noted, before activating the armour of the Earthborn, soaring above the horde. “Good thing I got this.”

Then, a black-and-white blur in his peripheral vision slammed into him with the force of a runaway truck, knocking the wind out of his lungs at the same time as a pair of thick, vice-like grips clamped around his torso.

The next thing he knew, he’d been tossed aside and rolled/bounced along...solid ground?

Luckily for his stomach, he came to a stop with an odd series of clacking sounds...as well as a crunch or two.

He groaned, looking around to find what must have once been a very pristine bell chamber, with beautiful pillars of black wrought iron, but the floor was absolutely covered in corpses and skeletons - as well as a few strange, spherical piles of bones - arranged like a nest of sorts. The windows were broken, and he saw the large, nearly useless window he’d likely been thrown through. He then saw the humongous platinum and gold bell hanging above him on what was once a strong chain, but now, weakened by what looked like repeated collisions, it hung precariously above him.

“Well… Guess I’m in its nest already…” he mused as he stood up, brushing himself off.

Then the sound of bones crunching and snapping at the other end of the nest filled the chamber, followed by a confused squawk...if said squawk came from a zombified Xenomorph infected with the T-virus.

Uriel’s eyes swiveled in their sockets to look at something straight out of a nightmare staring back at him.

A massive, three-meter-tall Gargoyle - or maybe a mutated gryphon of some sort, based on its morphology - with thick, coarse black feathers that were covered by countless bones, attached by clusters of pink, pulsating flesh and nerve tissue. A large and tooth-filled beak hung open as its owner breathed in and out, thick ropes of saliva escaping its carrion-stained maw, its beady red eyes fixed squarely on Uriel in a feral glare.

The Magpie took a lumbering step forward, two hands with claws the size of Uriel’s forearms dangling in front of it and dragging along the floor as its beak opened unnaturally wide and squawked/roared at him.

“Well… Nice to meet you, Mr. Magpie,” Uriel greeted, gripping his greatsword with both hands.

His attention was briefly caught by what was, for all intents and purposes, a health bar that appeared at the bottom of his vision, with text saying “The Bone-Thieving Magpie.” It quickly faded, however.

The Magpie lunged at him, claws outstretched to skewer him through his gut. He yelped and rolled out of the way just in time, quickly getting back to his feet.

“Well that was uncalled for!” he cried.

A backhand caught him in the face, sending him sliding five meters away, though he managed to stay on his feet due to his body still being braced from getting up.

“That was even more uncalled for!” he shouted, before rolling under another swipe. “Fine, was gonna kill ya anyways!” He said, and rolled forwards under yet one more swipe, but came out of it with his sword, heaving it upwards and slicing into the Magpie’s hide.

Due to the bones covering its body, the damage was reduced, but it was still enough to make it bleed, prompting the horror to screech loud enough to leave Uriel’s ears ringing as it jumped backwards with the aid of its wings, landing on the other side of the nest. It fell to all fours and glared balefully at Uriel, then let out another screech...and leaped forward, almost immediately closing ¾ of the distance that had been between them with its jaws wide open and its claws outstretched.

“WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP!” Uriel cried, jumping to the side and promptly running a bit to gain some distance.

He felt his armor being squeezed tightly before he actually heard it, the Magpie having already maneuvered itself to catch up to him and grabbing him by the torso. A pair of tooth-filled jaws clamped down on his arm as he was pinned on his front against the ground, trying and failing to pierce through the thick dragonscale armor. A moment later, Uriel felt the jaws clamp down on his much more vulnerable hands, a singular fang punching straight through his hand...though the resulting agonized flailing of Uriel’s arm broke off said fang, forcing the Magpie to retreat again with a pained screech.

Uriel tried to suppress his cry of pain as he quickly pulled the tooth out, trying not to let the pain of it worry him right now, as he still needed to kill the beast. He managed to grasp his sword in one hand, lifting it over his shoulder.

“Alright… No more Jolly Uriel…” he muttered, before charging the Magpie, sword raised.

As he charged, he felt his injured hand start to burn, followed by his forearm...and the burning sensation only kept travelling further up his arm, as if something were spreading through it...

...Oh. Crud, he was poisoned. That was bad, he realized. He then saw a tail coming for him, and jumped over it, and, seeing an opening, plunged his blade towards its head.

The Magpie twisted its head almost 180 degrees, like an owl, and tried to catch his sword in its mouth.

Keyword being ‘tried,’ as the sword shattered well over half its teeth as it bit down on the sharp shiny thing headed for its face. At the very least, Uriel wouldn’t have to worry about being poisoned as much. He did have to worry about the quintet of forearm-sized claws headed for his head, though.

Uriel yelped and pulled his blade out of its mouth, jumping off and backing away for some distance.

The Magpie snarled hatefully at Uriel, dragging its claws against each other with a sound not too unlike a knife or sword being sharpened. Then, it took in a deep breath, rearing its head back in the process…

And then thrust its head forward, a jet-like spray of rancid green poison flying towards him like a liquid flamethrower.

Uriel twisted his body away from the spray, and retaliated by rushing forward, and once within range of the beast, twirling around once with his blade, cutting deep into its armor of bones as well as it’s flesh.

The Magpie screeched and leapt backwards, clutching its wounds and glaring with undiluted hatred at Uriel.

Uriel just charged it again, blade held high. “BRING IT ON, NERD!”

Then the Magpie threw its head back and screeched in pain. A few seconds later, the spherical piles of bones started to shake...then flew apart as a half-dozen smaller Magpie-like creatures - all the color of pink flesh and devoid of feathers - emerged from what Uriel now realized had been eggs.

All of the Fledglings looked at Uriel as if he was their next meal, and screeched in unison as they ran awkwardly towards their parent, forming an impromptu wall or shield around it.

Uriel frowned, not wanting to kill a parent, but at the same time, he knew he had others counting on him to stop this monster.

The Magpie paused in its growling, cocking its head to the side as it seemed to have noticed Uriel’s reluctant frown, the minute change in posture that showed hesitance...a hint of remorse. Something in its head from an age past stirred, a memory of a figure that shone like the sun...before it shook its head, the unbearable hunger that had dominated its mind for decades taking over once more.

Uriel seemed to notice this as well, and slowly, hesitantly, stabbed his blade into the ground. He then looked up to the Magpie.

“Are you hungry?” he asked slowly.

“...SqUAwK?” the Magpie seemed confused that the strange two-legged creature it had been fighting to the death with was now talking...calmly, with a voice that stirred a feeling of contentment, of comfort and safety, deep in the warped beast’s mind.

Its hatchlings looked between their parent and Uriel, their postures relaxing, but still remaining tensed and ready to act if needed.

“I can find you food, but you need to promise not to hurt ponies first,” Uriel said firmly.

Gentle scolding from a parental figure long ago forgotten resurfaced, and everything finally clicked for the Magpie, its head flinching back slightly and its eyes widening as it recognized the being before it.

“...P...a...PA?” the Magpie spoke for the first time in ages.

Uriel paused for a good solid minute. “...Sure,” he said, pulling the cloth around his face down to reveal his warm smile.

The next thing he knew, he was tackled to the floor by the Magpie. As his mind and body prepared to fight back, he realized as a tongue ran along his cheek, devoid of poison, that it wasn’t attacking him.

“PapA! PaPa back!” the Magpie chirruped hoarsely, nuzzling and licking Uriel’s face like a dog that hadn’t seen its master in forever.

Uriel blinked a bit, before smiling wider and rubbing it’s back to the best of his ability. “Yeah, bud, Papa’s back.”

The Magpie pulled its head away and cocked it to the side, “PapA reMeMBer PUmpA-Rum?”

Uriel’s mind flashed back briefly to the one time he tried a Dark Souls game, not long after Nox returned from a mission a number of months before this whole debacle started. He remembered Nox telling one of the secret ways to get to the top of Firelink Shrine in Dark Souls 3, and how he had met the crow that traded items for greater items. Pump-a-Rum.

He remembered how he exhausted all of her dialogue, how he traded everything with her, and how much he just loved her adorable voice. As these thoughts went through his head, his smile only grew. He never finished that game, not even the first playthrough, but he still enjoyed it a bit, despite its difficulty.

Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah, Papa remembers ya, you cute little crow,” he said, patting the Magpie’s head.

As Uriel pet the Magpie’s head, the bones on its body began to fall off and its red eyes changed color to a dusky sky blue. Its body was still the same as before, but looked several shades of black lighter and no longer covered in bone armor. “Pump-A-Rum miSSeD PapA. PaPA leFt lOnG agO...told PuMP-a-RUm PaPA woulD ComE BaCK...but PAPa neVEr dID…”

“ThEn, the ScARy DarK PerSon cAme...hURt Pump-a-Rum...mAde PumP-a-RuM bIg, and ScArY and...HunGRY. AlWAYS HuNGRy. HungER HurT...hAd to EAt...bUt HungEr nEver StoPPed. PaPa...PapA maDe the Hunger Go awaY...please...dOn’t Leave Pump-a-Rum again, PaPA,” Pump-A-Rum asked Uriel with a wavering voice and tear-filled eyes.

Uriel smiled warmly, still petting Pump-A-Rum. “I won’t, promise. Heck, maybe you can come with me and help me find some food for a few friends! You can bring your kiddies, too!”

“Food? FooD EveRywHErE! TrieD to eaT tHe P...po...Pon-y foOd...diDn’T stOp Hunger...bUt kePt for Pump-A-Rum’s ChiCkiEs, iF theY coUlD eaT iT,” Pump-A-Rum drew back from Uriel and flew to one end of the room that wasn’t covered in bones, seeming to pick something up, then came back with several display cases full of food - ranging from bread, cakes, pies, candies, and various other things. Judging by the jagged and broken bases of the cases, it appeared that Pump-A-Rum had ripped them right out of the floor of whatever shops she took them from.

“Hmmm… Well this is wonderful for the ponies, but we still need to do something about you…” Uriel hummed in thought.

“...PumPa-Rum knOw Pump-A-Rum dID baD. PumP-a-RuM...bad chickie...PuMp-A-RuM diDn’T wAnT to hurT anyOnE...iF poNieS want PumP-a-rUm dEaD...puMp-a-rUm is...is...aFraiD, buT...wiLL accEpT,” Pump-A-Rum’s head dipped down, sniffling lightly as a tear ran down her cheek, prompting her chicks - their eyes now the same as their mother’s, too - to waddle over and press themselves up against their mother comfortingly.

Uriel’s gaze hardened. “No, I’m not killing you, my little crow.” Uriel said firmly. He stood up, walking over to the edge where a broken window was. He watched the world below for a time before continuing. “How about this? We go back down, but instead of looking for ponies to eat, we look for things like sheep or cows.”

“...OkaY. PUmp-A-Rum trUst PaPA. Papa alwaYs Knew…knOWs beST,” Pump-A-Rum chirped in acceptance, then laid down on her belly to let her chicks climb onto her back and lock themselves in place with their talons and their beaks. “Pump-A-Rum pUt chickiEs soMewheRe safe...can’T leaVe chicKies aLone. EmpTy oNes woULd huRt thEm.”

Uriel raised a brow. “Empty ones?”

“Yes, emptY onEs. The poNies at the BoTTom of Pump-A-RUm’s nEst. They’re emPty, no LigHts inside, not LiKE Papa’s LiGht,” Pump-A-Rum explained, as if it were common knowledge. Uriel nodded slowly as he understood what she meant.

“Right, well, I’ll meet you at that forest over there, alright?” he said, pointing to a forest in the distance, just below the mountain on a separate island.

“Okay, PApa!” Pump-A-Rum chirped happily as she flew off with her chicks fastened on her back.

Uriel smiled as he watched her go, before checking the Armor of the Earthbound to make sure it wasn’t damaged too much in the fight. Thankfully, it wasn’t. He then took a few cases of food in his arms after placing his main sword on his back, and then jumped out of the window, the wings of the Armor letting him take flight. He quickly managed to reach the island where the ponies were.

In time, he landed on the ground, just outside the gates of the fortress He dusted himself off. “Well! That was bracing! Gotta make a note to ask Trade and the others if I can keep this baby, it’s pretty darned cool!” he mused.

He then pushed the gates open and walked back to the room he’d left the ponies in, knocking on the door.

Swift Wind opened the door, giving Uriel a surprised look, “Uriel? You...you actually survived?! Then that means...the Magpie is dead? You killed it!?”

Uriel winced, rubbing the back of his neck. “Weeell… No, not really,” Uriel said honestly. Before the ponies could retort, though, he beat them to it. “Now hang on, before you say anything, let me explain. You see, it turns out the Magpie was my old pet from… Well, let’s just say a long time ago, and she was just driven mad by the Dark. Made her hungry, and all. I cured her of the hunger, and now she’s back to being my lovable little crow.”

“...Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t ram my spear through your throat for DARING to say that you cured the thing that KILLED OUR ENTIRE REGIMENT!” Rain Dance suddenly growled with barely-restrained rage, gripping her spear tightly with both hands as she resisted the urge to kill the man in the doorway.

“Private Rain Dance, do I need to pull my rank on you for the first time in seven years? If so, then I ORDER YOU to stand down, as your Sergeant!” Swift spoke firmly to the irate mare, who flinched as if physically struck. It seemed that whatever the story between the two was, the idea of Swift pulling rank on her must have meant a lot to her, since she visibly wilted before her fellow soldier’s gaze.

“...No, sir. You don’t need to do that, sir. I...I was just...I lost my brother to that...that thing, and you lost Commander Blitz Wing. To hear that this guy just…befriended the thing that’s killed so many of our people, I just...I let my anger get control of me, sir. It...it won’t happen again, sir,” Rain Dance replied quietly, her gaze glued to the floor.

Swift looked at Rain and sighed, then walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze and prompting her to look up at him as he spoke, “I know how you feel, Rain, but Uriel saved Trade Wind, and if he actually ended up making the Magpie a non-threat, then we might as well listen to him. He’s earned that much, at least.”

When Rain nodded after a few long moments, Swift looked over to the sleeping Trade Wind in the corner, where he was wrapped up in blankets and looking quite warm, and then looked back at Uriel, “Okay...so this...pet of yours...it won’t be a threat anymore, right? We’ll finally be able to leave this armory and be able to fly around, and be free again?”

Uriel nodded, giving them both a thumbs up with his free hand. “You bet! And, on top of that, Pump-A-Rum had plenty of goodies up in the Spire. I brought some loaves of bread with sweet rolls here.” Uriel patted the display cases under his arm. “See? And they still appear to be fresh, too!”

“...The Mag- er, ‘Pump-A-Rum’ has food up in the Spire? Entire display cases? If that’s the case, then we can load those cases up in the remaining carriage here at the fort, and be able to get out of here,” Swift said with growing excitement and hope, and Uriel could feel the room growing…’warmer,’ for lack of a better way to describe it, and the room looked a bit brighter than before.

“...Yeah. Yeah! Then if we take the carriage to the surrounding settlements, we could see if anyone else is alive, and stock up on supplies! We...we actually have a chance to survive,” Rain Dance spoke with widening eyes, allowing a small smile to form on her lips. The room grew warmer and brighter as she, too, seemed to gain optimism about their situation.

Uriel smiled. “Well, why don’t you all take these off my hands? I don’t think I’ll be needing any of it anytime soon.” He said with a wink as he presented the food to them.

The two soldiers didn’t need any further incentive as they took the food offered to the, and dug in, setting aside a loaf of bread and a sweet roll for Trade, then woke the little colt up and informed him of the situation.

The colt looked up at Uriel with awe, his eyes lighting up as he proceeded to look at his food and eat ravenously.

Once the three Pegasi had eaten, the two soldiers took Uriel and Trade to the top ‘deck’ of the fort, where several ruined horse-drawn carriages were strewn about and a single carriage - painted an ivory white with bronze trimming along the edges - still stood intact.

Then, to Uriel’s utter confusion, Swift and Rain hooked themselves up to the harnesses at the front of the carriage, followed by Swift looking at Uriel and gesturing for him and Trade to get on the carriage, “Come on, you two! We have food to get, and the world to travel!”

“Ummm… Oookay?” Uriel said hesitantly, slowly climbing aboard. Trade Wind followed close behind him, reaching up and grabbing Uriel’s hand as the man pulled him up.

With Uriel and Trade on-board, the carriage took off with surprising speed as Swift and Rain flew forward.

“Whoa!” Uriel exclaimed as they took off, gripping his seat tightly. After calming down from initial motion, he looked over the edge of the carriage in awe at what passed below them. “Okay, this is really cool!”

“Oh, this is nothing compared to actually flying, yourself, with your own two wings. Just ‘cause you were able to simulate flight with the Suit of the Earthbound, doesn’t mean it’s the same as actually flying,” Swift quipped from up front, his words distorted slightly due to the wind whipping past them.

“I’ll take your word for it, but I still say this is amazing!” Uriel yelled over the din of the wind.

Rain Dance scoffed, “Flight virgin.”

“Private,” Swift reprimanded her, causing the mare to wince and close her mouth. “Anyways, Uriel, we’ll be heading to the Spire and picking up that food, then getting out of here. Sound good? Oh, and if you see the Ma- I mean, Pump-A-Rum down there anywhere, tell us and we’ll...uh, land so that you can tell her what to do. I guess.”

Uriel frowned a bit at Rain’s behavior, but replied nonetheless. “Well, I told her to meet at the forest over that way,” Uriel said, pointing to said forest.

“...The Forest of Stone. Wow. You couldn’t have picked a worse place to tell her to go,” Swift deadpanned as he looked back at Uriel. Uriel blinked.

“What? You mean that forest is dangerous?” Uriel asked.

“Cockatrices. Chicken-headed snake things that turn whatever they stare into the eyes of to stone. The place is named the ‘Forest of Stone’ because of all the statues of the unlucky souls who fell victim to the cockatrices. Granted, they’re extremely rare nowadays due to...well, you saw what was at the bottom of the Spire. Whole world is like that, basically...only a lot worse, in some places,” Swift explained, already changing course to head to the Forest of Stone. “If we’re lucky, Pump-A-Rum will be okay. If not...well, there’s no way we can carry her petrified statue with us.”

“Th-that’s...that won’t h-happen, right, Sir Uriel?” Trade Wind asked, looking up at the man in question with worried eyes. “P-Pump-A-Rum may h-have hurt a lot of ponies, but...i-if you say that sh-she’s not a m-monster, then...I-I don’t want her to be hurt.” Uriel pulled the cloth around his neck up, eyes full of steel.

“She won’t get hurt. Not on my watch,” he said. He then glanced to his wound. He could still use the arm, but it was quite painful. So, he started to rummage around in his pouch for something. He soon pulled a dull green flask out, a strange, orange liquid filling it. He popped off the cork, then took a quick swig. In little to no time at all, his wound healed up. He patted his arm. “Good as new.”

Swift looked back at the flask in Uriel’s hand with curiosity, “The hell is that? How did it heal you so quickly?”

“Hm? Oh, this is Estus, and Undead/Unkindled favorite. Heals our wounds quicker than anything, and refills each time we go to a Bonfire,” Uriel explained.

“...Those are rarer than rare, Uriel. Those things...they were around back before the Fall, and only then. Only shards of those things have been found since,” Swift remarked over the roaring wind.

“Really?” Uriel queried, then looked to his flask. He stared at it a bit, before placing the cork back and stashing it away. “Guess I’ll have to remember that.”

“Keep a hold of it. Don’t lose it, whatever you do. It’s worth more than all of the gold in the three Capitals combined,” Swift added as they approached the Spire, and landed just inside, the bones of Pump-A-Rum’s nest crunching and clacking beneath the carriage.

Uriel jumped off the carriage, heading towards the display cases to pick them up.

“Just load them on, we...we can’t really bear to look down at the moment,” Swift Wind instructed, staring firmly at the ceiling above like Rain Dance was.

“I can understand that. Have a friend who used to be the same with his old team,” Uriel said, placing a stack of three cases in the back of the carriage, then walking back to grab more.

“Just load them all up. And...please, make it quick,” Swift urged, not wanting to be there any longer than necessary. Uriel nodded, quickly placing all the display cases inside, then hopping in.

“Alright, let’s shove off to save my little crow!” he said.

With that, the four flew out of the Spire and towards the forest...which had apparently caught on fire since they’d last seen it.

“...Somehow, I’m not surprised,” Swift muttered to himself as the carriage descended and touched down in a clearing some distance away from any fire. Uriel immediately jumped out, sprinting toward the edge.

“Pump-A-Rum! Pump-A-Rum where are-?!” he cried.

The giant crow flew out of the forest and tackled Uriel to the ground, nuzzling her beak against his cheek, “Papa back! Papa back! Papa didn’t leave this time! Pump-A-Rum happy!”

“...S-she’s...big,” Trade Wind stated, awkwardly holding his own hands as he looked at Pump-A-Rum.

Uriel wrapped her in a hug. “Thank God… I was worried you’d died in those fires…” Uriel said softly.

“Fires? Pump-A-Rum was just making fried chicken for her chickies! They made Pump-A-Rum feel tired and slow, but they break easy,” Pump-A-Rum replied, licking Uriel’s face and pressing her body against him...letting him feel two modestly-sized masses press against his chest plate. Uriel blushed, since even though he was wearing dragonscale armor, he could still feel her mounds.

“I-I see, well, I’m just glad you’re safe!” Uriel said happily, trying to get up and avoid looking at her.

Pump-A-Rum chirped/giggled and pulled away from Uriel, then immediately moved her gaze to the three other people with him, “Are they your pony friends, Papa? Pump-A-Rum is happy to meet you!”

“...Uh, nice to meet you, too, Pump-A-Rum...though I wish it were under better circumstances,” Swift replied after a few moments, gesturing to himself, then to Rain Dance. “I’m Swift Wind, and this mare here is Rain Dance.”

Swift Wind then put a hand on Trade’s shoulder and gently pushed him forward, “And this is my nephew, Trade Wind.”

Trade simply gulped and waved timidly, “H-Hi...P-Pump-A-Rum. Nice to m-meet you.”

“...What’s a ‘nephew?’ Is it you ponies’ way of saying he’s your chicky?” Pump-A-Rum asked with a tilt of her head.

Swift shook his head with a chuckle, “No, not exactly. Basically: He’s the son of my sister. When a boy is the son of one of your direct siblings, you call him your nephew, and a niece is the same thing but with a sibling’s daughter, instead.”

“...So he’s your sister’s chicky? Where’s his momma?” Pump-A-Rum asked, looking around.

Swift winced and looked down at Trade, who merely nodded blankly after a few moments, then looked back up at Pump-A-Rum, “Umm...she’s no longer with us, and...neither is his father.”

Pump-A-Rum visibly deflated, her head and wings drooping sadly, “Oh...did...Pump-A-Rum…?”

“I don’t think so… I remember seeing their bodies, and they were pretty far from the Spire...” Uriel said. “Either way, we can’t do anything about it now.” He patted her on the back. He then looked to Trade and kneeled down, patting his head. “If it makes you feel better, bud, I don’t have parents either.”

“Y-you don’t?” Trade asked with surprise. Judging by the looks on everyone else’s faces, they were surprised, too. Uriel nodded, standing up.

“Yup. But that’s a story for later. Right now, we need to get off this archipelago of floating islands, and down to the surface. I have to see my brothers again, after all,” Uriel said, a beaming smile on his face.

“Pump-A-Rum will go get her chickies, then she’ll fly with Papa and Papa’s friends! Pump-A-Rum will catch up!” Pump-A-Rum said as she turned around and headed back into the forest.

“...I suggest that we listen to her. Even if she’s killed the cockatrices, judging by what she said, the forest is still on fire,” Swift suggested, already hooking himself back up to the carriage.

“Yup! My little crow is quite the fighter!” Uriel said proudly, hands on his hips.

Trade boarded the carriage once more as Rain Dance hooked herself up to the carriage. Trade looked back at Uriel, “C-come on, Uriel. It’s t-time to go.”

Uriel nodded, climbing on. He pointed forward in a dramatic pose. “Onwards to adventure and glory!”

Author's Note

This chapter and it's following one will have sexual themes, but don't worry, it won't be focused on much at all. After all, this is a Dark Souls fic!