Chapters Undeath is a very static thing. There's no real reason to sleep, or eat. Hell, I don't think I could if I tried. I used to try to recall the taste of food or remember what it was like to dream, but those memories have long since faded. I feel nothing as I sit. Much of who I used to be has been lost to the sands of time. And indeed, even time itself is meaningless as I sit in my cell.
My cell. I've become very well acquainted with this room. I can tell you the most mundane things about this room. It has roughly seven-hundred bricks lining it's walls that I can count. There's a small pile of hay which has become so rotted that chunks of it no longer exist. There's a hole in the ceiling that I've never been able to get through (I stopped trying long ago). There's even a large crack that mice sometimes scurry through.
This has been my life for longer than I can recall. Time has no real meaning to an undead. Nothing changes around you, so you have no reason to mark the passage of time. I could have been here for a year or a century. It makes no difference to me. Time move on, and I sit and wait to go hollow.
Hollow. The word sends a shiver down my spine. I've seen hollow ponies before. They mill about in the halls sometimes as they roam the prison. They terrify me. Not because they're particularly dangerous to me in my cell, but because I know that one day that will be me. A husk of a pony doing nothing but attacking anypony who isn't hollow yet in the vain attempt to gather souls.
Souls... there's a word that makes me lick my dry, cracked lips. I don't know what they are exactly, but I want them. I guess they're like food for the undead. The only thing I can say about them for certain is that they keep ponies from going hollow for a bit longer.
I let out a rattling sigh. There's no point in thinking about souls. There's no way for me to get out of this cell, save for the nigh impossibility of a guardpony having gone hollow and wandering by with a key.
I stare down at my hooves. I look terrible. My fur is mostly gone, revealing the putrid flesh beneath. I look like an apple after it's left to rot in the sun for a few weeks. Hell, I probably smell like it too. I let out another sigh. I don't even remember what color my fur was. At least I have my name still.
Ember Heart.
Whenever I feel myself slipping away, I recall my name. It anchors me. No matter how close to becoming hollow I become, remembering my name always drags me back from the edge. I allow myself the faintest of smiles. Another sign that i'm not hollow yet.
A loud thwump pulls me from my reverie and I look up. There's a body in my cell. A hollow that fell through the hole in the ceiling? I look up in time to see a unicorn in worn armor slip away from the hole.
For the first time in a long time, I stand. My joints pop in protest as I stretch. I move over to the new occupant of my cell and begin picking through it's belongings. I take the tattered cloak it wore and throw it over myself. At the very least it offers a bit more protection than the nothing I was wearing. The body also has a broken sword, which I suppose could be used in a pinch, should a hollow attack me. More important than either of those, though, is a key.
If I still had a heartbeat, I'm sure it would be pounding. I carefully levitate the key up with my magic and slip it into the lock of my cell door. I hesitate for a fraction of a moment before I twist the key. The door opens with a groan of protest.
I can scarcely believe it. I would have never dreamed that someday I'd be free of that cell. I take a tentative step out from the cell. Then another. I'm trotting down a hallway now. Its just as worn and decrepit as my cell. There are a few other cells lining the halls as well, but these are all empty.
A few hollows lurk in the hallway, but they make no move to attack. Either they don't sense enough souls in me to warrant the attack, or they've been hollow for so long that they've lost even the ability to care about souls. Neither is a very comforting notion.
I make my way through the hall, heading up a spiral staircase at the end of it. I make my way carefully, silently hoping that this isn't some complicated trap to murder one of the last sane ponies in this prison. Was it murder if I was undead? I shook the thought from my mind. That was way to philosophical to think about right now.
The staircase lead out to the bottom of a tower. Looking up, I could see remnants of a staircase that had crumbled to the ages long ago. As far as I could tell, the only way up would be if I was a pegasus. I continue onward, stepping into a walled courtyard. The stone of the buildings is much different above ground. Rather than the dull gray bricks below, the above-ground portion of the prison is a muted purple stone. I can see no crevices in the stone. As far as I can tell, its all one solid piece. Certain parts of the structure look a bit less faded. Newer walls perhaps?
I shrug and turn my attention to a coiled sword thrust into the ground. Above it, a crystaline spike protrudes from the ceiling, ending a foot or so before the hilt of the sword.
Now that I focus on it, the sword seems... comforting? Familiar? I can't think of the word. I instinctively hold a hoof towards the sword, and fire springs up around it. The word bonfire comes to mind, though from where, I do not know.
I sit and relax for a moment. There's a tinge of comfort from this bonfire, though I cannot say why. Vague feelings of familiarity seem to fill the air. Have I been here before? Maybe it's just the fact that I'm free of that cell for the first time in forever. I exhale one last sigh of comfort before getting to my hooves. I cannot stay forever, even if it is a tempting prospect.
There's an ornate double door ahead of me, the only way forward. It takes a combination of my pitiful telekinesis and pushing with my hooves for the damn thing to open enough for me to pass through. A grand entry hall stands before me. Or what was once a grand hall, I suppose. Many of the pillars that support the hall show signs of aging, a few having collapsed under their own weight. A faded blue carpet stretches from the door I entered through to a matching one on the other side. There's a door leading off to the left, but I could care less about that. I know, deep down, that the double door is the only thing separating me from true freedom.
Heedless of anything around me, I cross the hall at a quick trot, my hoofsteps echoing off the walls back to me. Before I'm halfway across the hall, somepony steps out from behind a pillar up ahead and stands in front of the door out.
"None may leave this place." The pony says. From the sound of the voice, it's clear that this is a stallion. He's decked out in an ornate golden barding. An orange wing holds an equally ornate halberd to his side, ready to be used at a moment's notice.
"But... Why?" I ask, keeping my distance.
"None may leave this place." He says again. I silently note that this is the first conversation I've had since being forced to come to this place and my partner doesn't seem to be the brightest candle. My guess is he's not too far off from going hollow.
"Okay... let's try a different topic. What's your name?" I ask. Maybe if I can get him to open up, I can get past him.
"None may leave this place." Maybe not.
I sigh. Clearly this is headed to one outcome, and its one I am not to keen on, considering my only weapon is a broken sword. I levitate the 'weapon' from underneath my cloak and keep it at the ready as I take a tentative step forward.
"Look, I've been here a long time and so have you. You could come with me. You may not think it, but you're just as much a prisoner as I-" I'm flying through the air before I can finish the sentence. The pegasus had closed the gap and struck me with his weapon before I even knew what he was doing.
One of the pillars stops my flight with a sharp cracking of bone. 'That can't be good.' I rise to my hooves, ready to stand my ground this time. My ribs feel like they're on fire. I'm silently grateful that I don't need to breathe.
I look around frantically, but my foe is nowhere to be seen. I glance up just in time to spot him diving from above. I roll to the side just in time to avoid being skewered. Before I can ready myself for a counter-attack, the pegasus gives a snap of his wings and pivots in the air around his halberd, delivering a powerful kick that forces me through the pillar I had just hit. The entire thing crumbles as I soar through the air before hitting the ground and roll to a stop.
My body refuses to listen to me when I tell it to stand up. I can see the pegasus approaching, a confident swagger to his steps. He stops short of me and prepares to strike the killing blow.
"Please," I plead through the pain. "I don't want to die."
Fear . It's an emotion that I didn't know I could feel anymore.
"None may leave this place." Comes the emotionless response. The last thing I see is his halberd swinging down towards my head.
I'm sitting at the bonfire again. I blink in shock before jumping to my hooves with a cry of shock.
'A dream?' I pat myself with a hoof, checking for my injuries from my fight. I toss off my cloak, checking for any signs of my previous fight. There are no signs of injury, but I let out a scream of horror at what I do find. Beneath my cutie mark of a flame shaped like a heart is a dark swirl of blackness. It wasn't there before, this I know for certain. I look to the other side of my flank and find the same black swirl. I know this marking. I've seen it on a few of the hollow ponies roaming the cells below me.
The Darksign.
'Okay... Freak out later. I can find a way to cure this. There's got to be somepony outside this place who can fix this curse. I rationalize my situation until I feel my initial terror subside.
I silently list everything I know about the Darksign: nothing. I know absolutely nothing about the Darksign. I swear under my breath as I realize this.
"All right. We'll shelf that for now. If that wasn't a dream, then there's a very stubborn pegasus who will kill me on the other side of those doors. I have one way to go and have no real weapon or armor." I'm pacing in front of the bonfire now, talking to myself as I break down my situation. "I could try charging him. Maybe catch him off guard? No, that's stupid." I sit down and huff in frustration. I could be free, but there's that damn pegasus in the way.
"Wait! There's that other door! I could go that way!" I stand and begin prancing in place in excitement.
I quickly gather my cloak and broken sword and head back into the grand hall. The pegasus is waiting for me this time.
"Did I not just kill you a few hours ago?" He questions. The first time he's said something different, I note. I also note that my return to unlife may be a result of my Darksign.
"No..." I say after a long silence. "That was somepony who... looked like me." I say lamely.
"Be that as it may, none may-"
"Yeah, yeah. 'None may leave this place.' Look, I'm not trying to leave, I just want to go that way." I point a hoof at the door to the left of me.
The pegasus doesn't answer. I take it as acceptance and take a step towards the door. When he doesn't try to kill me, I move at a quicker pace, making sure to keep an eye on the pegasus. He doesn't move from his spot in front of the door.
I pass through the door and close it behind me. If he follows, I want to know there's at least some form of barricade slowing down the dedicated guardpony. The doorway leads to another staircase, this one going up. I hug the wall as I proceed. Falling off a staircase seems like a bad way to die. Not that the fall would kill me. It would be the sudden stop at the bottom.
The staircase leads to another cell block. The walls here have that same slightly-less-faded-with-age look as some of the walls from before. As I wonder what kind of building would require so many add-ons to be converted into an undead prison, I am pulled from my line of thinking by an arrow embedding itself into my shoulder.
I cry out in pain and duck into an open cell just in time for another arrow to whiz by me. Somepony is not my friend it would seem. I yank the arrow from my shoulder with my teeth before poking my head out to peer down the hallway. There's another hollow pony down at the other end. A unicorn, levitating a bow and firing arrows at me every time I come into view. I'm forced to take cover again as another arrow buries itself into the wall next to my head.
There's really only one choice in this situation. I let out a battle cry and gallop full speed down the hall towards my foe. Another arrow whistles past, nicking my cheek as I blindly charge. I'm slowed by the hollow as I slam my horn into it's chest. The only thing that fully stops my momentum is a wall behind it. I take no time to finish the hollow pony off with my broken sword, plunging the blade into it's soft head. The hollow pony crumples to the ground, leaving a black ichor on my weapon and horn.
For the first time since I arrived, I feel a sudden warmth flow into me. Not much, mind, but enough to draw out a small smile. Souls. I feel a strange fullness settle in my chest. I feel slightly more whole than I did before.
I check the bow that the hollow pony had been using. The string has snapped. I toss it aside and continue forward.
For a prison, I find a startlingly low amount of ponies in the cells or even wandering about. Yes there is the occasional hollow pony, but most of them seem too empty to even bother moving from wherever they lay. The only reason I know there's anypony home at all is because I see their lifeless eyes follow me as I walk past. I can't help but pity these ponies.
I trot along for some time, following the twists and turns of the halls I walk. A few times a random hollow tries to attack me, but none of them are armed. Each time I'm rewarded with that same strange fullness as I absorb what few souls these ponies have.
The monotonous progress I've been making is interrupted by a wet coughing from somewhere up ahead. I quicken my pace to find the source of the sound.
It doesn't take long to find who the sound is coming from. I find the pony from before; the one who gave me my freedom. He's shut himself into a cell and leaning against a wall. I can see a crimson trail leading from the spot he sits towards the direction I'm headed.
I push open the cell door with a creak, causing the pony to look up at me. I stare back in silence, uncertain of what to do.
"You're no hollow, are you?" The unicorn, a stallion, states more than asks.
"No." I reply, not sure what else to say. The stallion lets out a weak chuckle.
"I don't suppose you've got a minute? I'm can feel myself slipping towards going hollow here, and don't want to die alone."
I nod and step forward, sitting just out of hoofs reach.
"You're the one from earlier, aren't you? The one who gave me the key to my cell." I ask, fairly certain of the answer already.
"Yeah, that was me. I didn't mean to do it though. I was just trying to make my way through the castle." The stallion pauses for another wet cough. When he brings his hoof from his muzzle, there's crimson staining the white fur. "The name's Shining Armor."
"Ember Heart. What happened?"
"Flash Sentry happened. I underestimated how dedicated he was to making sure nopony left. He let me in just fine, but when I tried leaving..." Shining Armor gestured to a deep gash in his chest.
"Yeah, he killed me the last time I tried to leave." I say. Shining Armor looks at me with curiosity before it dawns on him.
"You've got the Darksign. I don't envy you." Shining's speech has slowed slightly. I can hear his breath rattling a bit more than it was. "Hey, since I'm not gonna make it, can you do me a favor? Call it a last request." I nod lightly. "Find my wife and daughter. Tell them I didn't make it." I can see tears forming in the stallion's eyes. "Tell them," Another hacking cough, this one worse than the last. "Tell them I loved them."
"I will." I don't know why I'm making this promise. I don't know who this stallion is from one of the hollows. Maybe it's the fact that he's the first pony I've spoken to that hasn't tried or succeeded in killing me. Maybe I feel like I owe him for freeing me. Whatever the reason, I know I'll try my damnedest to carry out his final wishes.
"Thanks. You should leave before I go hollow. I'd hate to hurt you after death." His breathing is a lot more pronounced now. "Here, take these." He slides a cloth bundle to me, along with his sword. "You look like you need a real weapon. In the cloth there is the key to get out of here and an estus flask. The flask is empty though, so you may want-" More coughing. At this point he's not even trying to cover his muzzle as he coughs up more blood. "want to stop by a bonfire."
"Thank you, Shining Armor. I may not have known you long, but you're a good stallion." I scoot forward and place a hoof on his shoulder. I feel nothing as I say these words, but something tells me it is what he should hear.
"Heh. Thanks." Shining Armor's eyes glaze over for a moment before he refocuses on me. "You should go. I'd hate to hurt you after I go hollow."
I nod. Without another word, I stand and walk away. The last sounds I hear from Shining Armor is another coughing fit as I trot away.
~~~
I find myself back at the bonfire. The estus flask responds to the bonfire on it's own, changing color from the dark green it was before to a brilliant orange. It is filled with a liquid of the same hue now. Tentatively, I take a sip.
The effects are instantaneous. My injuries from earlier mend almost instantly. Even the arrow still embedded in my shoulder pushes itself out to make way for my healing body.
I take a deep breath. I know there is no reason to, but the act of doing so releases some of the tension in my muscles. I stride forward, ready to leave this accursed prison far behind. I only have one more obstacle to contend with.
"None may leave this place." Flash Sentry stands in my path, resolute in his duty.
"I'm leaving." I say evenly. Flash Sentry does not approve.
Without another word, he surges forward at that blinding speed. I have prepared for this, though. As he swings his weapon I duck low and bring Shining Armor's sword to bear, slashing from it's hidden spot underneath my cloak. My strike is remarkably effective, cutting a deep gash through my enemy's armor.
Flash Sentry snaps his wings, pulling him away from the attack before I am able to do any real damage. He stumbles slightly as he lands a short distance away.
"I'm surprised. You're the first one to ever land a blow on me." He says with no small measure of impression in his voice. I'm certain I am supposed to feel something here. Pride, perhaps. Instead, I feel nothing.
"Allow me to pass and no further harm will come to you." I warn. He responds by readying his weapon.
He crouches low in a defensive posture. Now that he knows I'm properly armed, Flash Sentry seems to think better of his original strategy. I take the initiative anyway.
I charge forward, holding my sword tightly in my telekinetic grasp. As Flash Sentry swings his polearm I intercept with my own weapon, lessening the impact. It still cuts deeply.
The weaker strike leaves all the opening I need, however. I turn the blade and swing horizontally. Flash Sentry ducks instinctively, but it isn't fast enough. My strike cleaves through bone and sinew, leaving Flash Sentry with only one wing still attached.
He howls in pain, dropping his weapon. My sword comes back for a second strike, plunging deep into the barrel of Flash Sentry. The stallion locks eyes with me and I see a fire in his eyes. A righteous look that can only be seen from somepony who knows they've done their duty well.
Envy. I wish I knew how it felt for that passion to burn within me. Instead, I only know a longing to know how it feels.
Flash Sentry keeps his eyes locked on me, even as his body turns to ash to be blown away by some faint breeze. Even his weapon dissipates into nothingness.
I approach the door that Flash Sentry has been guarding for who knows how long. The key Shining Armor works, and the double doors swing open with a discontented groan.
I step into the frozen lands beyond, uncertain of where to go beyond forward. Somewhere out there is somepony who can cure me of this curse.
In the Age of Harmony the world was at peace,
a veritable utopia.
A land of happy ponies, lush landscapes, and everlasting friendships.
But then there was darkness.
And with Darkness came a torrent of problems.
Fear washed over the land of Equestria and beyond.
The dragons, ever jealous of the ponies' lands, invaded Equestria,
bringing strife and despair to it's citizens.
The Elements of Harmony, the greatest wards known to ponykind,
were lost to the Darkness.
But in their place a new ward was created.
The bonfires.
And with the bonfires came hope and despair.
Light and shadow.
And of course, life and undeath.
But within the bonfires,
legendary souls were forged.
Sombra, the Sower of Fear,
Apple Bloom and her Crusaders of Cutie Marks,
Celestia, Lady of Sunlight,
and the Surreptitious Filly, so easily forgotten.
With their souls strengthened by flame,
they challenged the minions of darkness and the dragon invaders.
Sombra unleashed a flood of crystals and fear,
sowing chaos among the dragon ranks.
Celestia's magic peeled away the scales of dragons.
The Crusaders of Cutie Marks wove great firestorms,
decimating anything caught in the impossible heat of the flames.
And Spike the Wingless betrayed his own,
and the dragons were no more.
Thus began the Age of Fire.
But soon the embers will die,
and only darkness will remain.
Even now, they flicker and die,
tended by a resolute few.
And amongst the living are seen,
carriers of the accursed Darksign.
Yes, indeed...
The Darksign brands the undead.
And in this land, the Undead are corralled and led to the north,
where they are locked away,
to await the end of the world...
But in ancient legends it is stated,
that one day an undead will be chosen.
One who will leave their prison,
and embark on pilgrimage.
To the land of Princesses.
To Canterlot.
