The trio sat around a fire and warmed their bodies. Henry was deep in thought as he polished his ornate sword, and Auusha sat with her back against the wall. With her armor removed Celestia started to notice fine details about the warrior woman. Her auburn short hair glowed in the light of the fire. She had deep blue eyes and freckles that covered her bare skinned face.

“Thank you.. For saving me back there, you two.” Celestia spoke awkwardly, in an attempt to break the silence. Henry just mumbled something as he continued to work on his sword, and Auusha scowled at him.

“Try not to mind him. He’s a bit of a brute.” She said.

“A brute with style, mind you.” He said, never taking his gaze off the weapon.

“Don’t mention it, uh, Celestia. Yes. That’s what you said your name was. What exactly.. Are you, if you don’t mind me asking. I don’t think I’ve ever met a talking horse before..” Auusha spoke while twiddling her thumbs.

Celestia was slightly amused at their entire predicament.

“I could ask you the same, dear. I am Equine, and yourself?” She asked.

“Right. Human, or well, supposed to be.” Auusha said lightly, almost betraying a sigh towards the end of her statement.

“Human. How.. strange. I don’t think there’s any of you where I come from, unfortunately.” Celestia spoke carefully, she felt safe with the two, after all they did save her life, but many centuries of diplomacy had taught her to always tread lightly when meeting new friends.

“I should hope not.” Auusha said. She stared into the fire, a silence returning back to the group.

“What.. what were those things, earlier? They looked like you do, except.. Wrong. They looked-” She was cut off by Auusha.

“Dead. They were dead, and so are we, actually.I don’t know where you’re from, Celestia, but it sounds a hell of a lot better than this place. They’re called Hollows, humans who have died so many times they forgot who they were, their purpose. We’re cursed, you see. Henry and I, all of us really. We don’t die, not for good. We just.. Lose a little bit of ourselves everytime it happens, until finally you turn into, well, that.” She said bluntly.

Celestia was taken back, she had no idea how to respond to such a statement. Being an alicorn a natural death was something she had been blessed to avoid, but by all means, her life was still very much mortal. To actually not die, to be immortal, one would imagine that a gift, rather than a curse.

“I see that look on your face. Trust me, it isn’t a gift. Henry and I, we.. we can’t even remember when it happened. It feels like an normality. we’ve just been.. Dying.” She said, still gazing into the fire, drawn to it.

Celestia found the courage to finally utter only a single statement.

“But.. why?” She said.

“There’s an old, very old saying, by a knight I know not the name of.” She stated, before reciting the words.

“Thou who art undead art chosen, in thine exodus maketh pilgrimage to the land of Lords and thou shalt discover the fate of the accursed undead.” She stated, somberly.

“As you can probably tell, we’re still trying to discover that very fate.”

Everyone sat in silence again, Celestia at another loss for words. This world, these creatures. Evil magic and curses weren’t unheard of in Equestria, but a curse that could actually prevent death? She shuddered to even imagine what the inhabitants of this world must experience daily. She had been here for just a few measly hours and was already at a complete loss.

“Celes’, can I call you that?” Auusha asked, smiling at the white alicorn. Celestia nodded her head and Auusha continued. “Right. Let me look at that leg, dear. I might be able to help.”

Celestia permitted Auusha to come closer and inspect her hind leg. She felt oddly safe and comfortable in their presence. When you’ve lived for as long as she has, you become quite good at judging character. Celestia felt from these two, radiant warmth. They had saved her life, despite the odd predicament of their being of two entirely different species, something she assumed they had grown used to stumbling upon in such a world. For all the warmth and kindness she felt coming off of the two though, she also felt a terrible sadness.

She had seen the same look before. Henry was well at hiding it, a tall and slender man, she had yet to see his face as he had not removed his helmet, but it was clear the man took great satisfaction in his distractions. He continued to quietly work on his weapon and shield in the corner. Auusha, on the other hand, was not so adept at it. Her eyes betrayed her true feelings, a deep rooted sadness in them. Celestia had seen those eyes before, she let her mind wander back to the day she banished Luna, those same sad eyes staring her down. She looked up to watch Auusha inspect her leg. She couldn’t help but feel a deep sadness for the poor creature. She indeed felt lucky to have met the pair when she did.

“Alright then, it doesn’t look too bad, Celes’. I’d wager you must have sprained it when you ended up here, some good rest and easy going and it’ll be ok.” She said, once again smiling her toothy smile at Celestia.

“Thank you, Auusha.” Celestia said while smiling back. “Though, I guess there is a problem with that. This world.. Is clearly much more dangerous than the one I’m from, I fear, on my own. I might not be able to-” Celestia was failing to find the words she wanted to speak, and it was clear to her company.

“Nonsense! Henry and I will stick with you! Isn’t that right Henry?” Auusha said while gesturing to her brother. He simply mumbled something incoherent while obsessively polishing the hilt of his sword.

“See! Then it’s settled, Celes’, you’ll stay with us!” Auusha said beaming a triumphant victory. “A good bit of jolly cooperation never hurt anybody now did it?” She was stoking the fire while speaking to the room.

“I see.” Celestia said while scooting herself closer to the fire. “I am in your debt, Henry, Auusha. To new friends.” The white alicorn presented a half-hearted celebration.

“To new friends!” Auusha gleefully joined in.

“Mmmmhm.” Henry mumbled.

Auusha and Celestia turned to look towards Henry who turned his attention towards them.

“What? Did I miss something?” He said blanky.

The two managed an half hearted giggle. Celestia felt odd, of all the things to feel. She had been plucked from her world and thrust into this new, cold and dangerous one. Her life had already been threatened once and she now sat around a fire, nursing a sprained leg while conversing with two strange creatures she didn’t even know existed up until a few hours ago. With all said and done though, she felt, alive. For the first time in a long time she actually managed to laugh, both at the absurdity of the situation and the company she was in. She liked these two, yes, indeed she felt their warmth. In all the sadness she could feel, one thing was certain, she knew these two would never hurt her.

Sleep did not come easy at first, but Celestia gave in to her exhaustion and soon drifted off. The accident clouded her mind, what had happened or even why it had happened. Her mind drifted to other places, too, to this new world and her new companions, why she had been teleported here and what this place even was. Sleep did come, but it was not an easy or enjoyable sleep.

************************

Celestia was jostled awake quickly by Auusha, who had her finger placed over her mouth, signaling to be quiet. She motioned towards the door of their shelter, the same room Celestia found herself in previously, where the two had saved her. They had cleared the bodies and pushed some of the larger, rotten furniture up against the doorway to act as a barrier and conceal their presence while they rested for the night. Celestia could see light creeping in through the rafters and got a good look at the room they had spent the night in.

There were chains and torture devices strewn about the room, tables with rusty and bloodied instruments on display and what she was certain were blood stains splattered across the floor, no telling for how long they had been there. Celestia turned her attention towards the door where Auusha was motioning and noticed the furniture had been moved. While Auusha crept towards the open doorway she also noticed, Henry was nowhere to be seen.

Her head hurt, and she was dehydrated. Using all her strength she pushed herself up and onto all fours, taking special care to not strain her bad hind leg. She watched as Auusha pushed herself up against the wall and peaked out the doorway, she then whistled and quickly ducked back into the room, moving quickly to back away from the entrance. Celestia watched as another bipedal figure entered the doorway, although this one was far different from the others last night. It brandished what looked like a crude farming tool, except it was covered in blood, the thing wore a long cloth garb caked in mud and filth. It snarled at the two as it began to approach, and Celestia felt her heart starting to pound.

The creature stepped forwards only a few paces before Henry, who was entirely unseen before, dropped from the rafters just above it. He brought his sword down with him and plunged it straight through the creature's head, piercing through one end and out the other. It squealed before toppling to the ground as blood flowed forth from the gaping wound, and Henry finished it off with one more blow.

“Good morning, Celes’, Auusha. Sleep well?” He asked politely. Celestia stared down at the now dead creature, its blood had slowed from a healthy flowing to a slow trickle. She had seen her share of violence before, Equestria was, a long time ago, a much different place. But it had been a very long time since those days, and it was evident too.

“Celes’, I know this must be so hard. But we really should start going, there will be more of them. You can ask questions while we leave but for now, let’s depart. Come on, I’ll help you walk.” Auusha came over to Celestia and placed her hand on the alicorns mane. It was an odd sensation for sure, but she accepted the gesture akin to how one would accept a hug from a friend. They left the building and Auusha walked along slowly with Celestia, offering any help she could as Henry kept watch in front of them.

They exited the building and Celestia took in her surroundings. They appeared to be in the middle of a village, a very run down one at that. She immediately noticed the piles and piles of burned bipedal bodies that dotted the ground, and the ransacked buildings, the smell of decay and smoke fresh in the air. She had to fight the urge to vomit.

“Is.. is this what your world has always been like?” Celestia asked Auusha, while trying to process what she was looking at.

“Unfortunately.. Yes.” She responded. The group slowly made their way down a grass path and Celestia looked back briefly to inspect the building they had found her in. A body hung from a wooden rafter that stuck out the side of the run down building, a sign hung around its neck.

“Undead not welcome.”

The three set out on their journey and slowly traversed the bodies and rubble. Celestia no longer felt self, at all.

************************

Luna awoke, her head still throbbing and her throat extremely dry. She gathered her surroundings and surmised that she was resting in her bed. She noticed a glass of water sitting next to her on the stand and used her magic to bring it over and take a long drink. Through the pain she pushed herself up and out of the bed and made her way towards the door, opening it slowly the two guards stationed outside her chambers were alarmed slightly, but quickly regained composure.

“Princess, you’re awake. Please, allow us.” The two opened the door the rest of the way and went to help their princess, but were cut off before they could.

“I thank thee, but I am fine. Where is.. Twilight.” She said while flashes of the events came back to her. Her mind was still reeling and the memory was blurry, but she remembered being in the courtyard and channeling her magic with Celestia, opening a portal in which to test the spell invented by Twilight.

“Of course, Princess. Twilight has been.. Detained.” The guard, clearly in charge, said.

“Detained? What nonsense? I ordered her to be brought to me, not detained.” Luna said, a slight hint of anger rising in her voice.” The guards were quick to explain the situation.

“Princess, she is here in the castle. She’s in the study under watch. I must apologize, when I said detained I merely meant, we’re keeping a close eye on her. She’s very upset.” The guard said while walking next to Luna.

They came to the study and Luna excused the guards who were stationed outside. The doors swung open and Luna saw Twilight, a mound of books and papers scattered around her. Twilight turned to presumably speak to the guards and was met with Luna, her face instantly contorted into a pained expression and she tried to speak, but instead only shallow breaths escaped her throat before she broke down into tears.

Luna tried to smile at her, to reassure her sisters pupil that she was not there with malicious intent. She turned to speak to the guards.

“Leave us, at once.” She said while motioning for the troop to exit the room. The guard who had followed her protested.

“B-But, Princess.” He said, slightly alarmed.

“Do you wish to test me, Captain? Or shall I refer to you as Corporal instead?” Luna said quickly, staring the guard down.

He protested before leaving, and taking the others with him. Luna used her magic to shut and lock the door before moving over to Twilight and taking a seat on the cushion, avoiding the mess.

“Twilight..” She spoke, but was interrupted.

“L-Luna you have to- you have to believe me! I have no idea what happened! That spell was sound, it was only a s-simple teleportation spell, I never intended” Twilight said in between sobs. Luna looked down at the purple alicorn, and her expression changed from that of regal authority to compassion.

“Come here, Twilight.” She motioned for Twilight to come closer. “I would never even for a moment entertain such a thought that you intended for this to happen. You need not explain your loyalty to me. This was a terrible accident, no doubt, but not for a moment do I expect foul play on your part, Twilight.” Luna said softly. Twilight took a moment to breath and calm herself.

“Princess.. I know that spell was perfect. I would have never, ever suggested testing it if I had any doubts about if it was safe or not.” Twilight said, her sobbing reduced to a small trickle of tears.

“Quite, Twilight. I trust in your abilities. I cannot help but feel.. Something is off.” Luna said.

“You don’t mean..” Twilight had calmed herself and began to speak normally again, her crying now replaced with confusion.

“I do. I suspect something else may have happened here.” Luna said. The two of them sat in silence for a moment before she spoke again.

“I want you to stay here, Twilight. I have business I must attend to, and something I wish to investigate.” Luna said as she made her way to leave. Before leaving though, Luna spoke once more, discreetly this time.

“Twilight, stay alert about your surroundings. If you feel.. Strange, or something is wrong. You come to me, immediately. Do you understand?” Luna spoke sternly. “Celestia have mercy on whatever caused this, because I shan’t.” She said coldly. Twilight felt power radiate from Luna, and a chill ran down her spine. She knew Celestia and Luna were, without a doubt, the most powerful alicorns in history, on a level akin to gods, even, but never before had she fully realized the scope of that power until now, feeling the pure, raw energy radiate from Luna’s body. She stuttered for a moment before getting the words out.

“Y-Yes, Princess. Of course.”

************************

The group made their way down the steps carefully, Auusha taking extra care to help Celestia down.

“That leg is bad, I’m afraid, dear.” She said. “We’re gonna have to find somewhere to rest soon.”

“I’ve endured worse, Auusha, don’t worry about me.” Celestia winced through the pain. Her hind leg was burning again and her strength was fleeing her quickly. The group continued to make their way down the steps slowly, Henry leading their courageous effort, if you could call it that.

“Oh boy, dear me. That isn’t good.” Henry said, pointing ahead. “Dearest sister, do you see what I’m seeing?” The group now stopped, Celestia and Auusha looking to where Henry pointed.

A group of hollow humans sat around the body of a knight, a long dead one. They tore chunks of flesh off the dead man and gorged their faces with the meat. Auusha made sure Celestia was situated on the steps before going to join her brother.

“Well, what do you suppose we do?” Auusha said, joining her brother.

“Hold on, I have a plan.” Henry said while stepping forward slightly. He cleared his throat loudly, and the feast turned slowly to face them, now alerted to their presence.

“Uh, hey! Yeah, you lot! Could you quietly piss off the other direction aye!?” The group of hollows stared blankly for a moment before pulling themselves off the ground and shambling towards the trio.

“Well can’t say I didn’t try.” Henry said, shrugging his shoulders before unsheathing his sword.

“You stay with Celes’, I’ll take care of these jokers.” Henry said as he descended the steps. Auusha shook her head before returning to Celestia, she sat down next to her on the cool cobble and began to speak.

“It’s frightening, the first time it happens.” She spoke. “That first time you die, but not really. I remember it quite vividly actually, my first time taking the plunge was only but a few weeks ago.” Celestia was listening, but her gaze didn’t leave Henry. The man was, if she had to describe him, an artist. He moved gracefully with his blade, dancing around the group of hungry hollows, taking an arm off here and there every time they lunged for him.

“Henry, well, he’s not as afraid of it as I am. He’s died a lot more than me, and sadly, he doesn’t remember much other than the fact I’m his sister. It’s an odd sensation really, dying. You feel cold, so cold, but then suddenly your senses leave your body and you’re somewhere else, you can feel yourself start to warm up, and the world just melts away as you drift. It must sound strange to hear, but, I long for the day that I can finally just let go, and not have to return to this.. Hell.” Auusha said. The pair watched Henry as he finished the last hollow off, he took its arm off and then kicked it to the ground, it tried to lunge for him again but he brought his sword down on its neck, severing the head from the body.

Celestia watched the entire scene unfold, unflinching. The violence of this world she had been thrust into was unmatched, no doubt, but she had seen many a terrible act in her time as ruler.

“Auusha, what happens to them?” She asked, while eyeing the dead hollows that now litter the ground.

“We’re not really sure, too be honest. They seem to just.. Show up, no matter how many you kill.” She stated. Auusha helped Celestia up and they continued down the stairs to meet Henry. Inspecting the knight, it was evident he had been dead for several days, his armor was stained by his own blood and his body had started to decay. Celestia noticed this fact and was confused.

“If I’m not mistaken, you stated upon death you’re.. Reinstated, no? Undying? For what reason has this one’s body appeared to have been left here to decay?” She spoke, and now that she thought about it, she had noticed several other human bodies left to decay as well.

“We should go. Now. We’re not safe here.” Auusha said, her cheerful tone changing to a more serious, rushed concern. Henry sheathed his sword and joined them.

“So you’ve noticed, I see. Well then, I should tell you. Upon what someone could consider a, normal, death.” He spoke while gesturing to the dead that now littered the area. “You come back. This poor sod, however, well. I’m not sure how to say this other than bluntly. He was killed by a Darkwraith.” Henry spoke, now gesturing to the dead knight.

Darkwraith. That word sent a cold shiver throughout Celestia. It sounded wrong, evil. She looked over the body once more before finally turning away.

“What.. what is a Darkwraith?” She asked.

“They’re like us. Human, most of the times, other times not so much. It’s really hard to explain but I’ll give you a quick rundown until we’re somewhere safer. They aren’t friendly, and they are certainly not out to help you. They prey on weaker victims, looking to steal and absorb their soul, but more importantly, to steal away their Humanity.” Henry spoke as he strapped his shield onto his back and joined his sister.

“I see.. That sounds.. Terrifying.” Celestia spoke. The word Humanity lingered in her mind for a moment longer. The group continued down the path and came to a fork. A magnificent church stood on the edge of a narrow and deep crevice in the ground, and to their left a winding pathway took them deeper into the valley beneath the village they had just came from. The church reminded Celestia of Canterlot almost, and she felt a small fault in her emotions as she thought of her loved ones, who must be worried sick about her.

“The church. I hate that place.” Henry stated boldly. Auusha joined him in looking upon it.

“Yes, that was quite the adventure. That cursed great wood gave us so much trouble.” She spoke.

“Gave us trouble? It killed me twice if you remember!” He said, while picking up a rock and flinging it towards the direction of the lumbering church. Celestia couldn’t help but smile at this. These two had seemed to defy every notion of this world. It made her feel better about her newfound situation, certainly it was better with company that she could trust.

“What happened at the church, if I may ask?” Celestia spoke.

“Oh nothing, really. We stumbled upon it the other day, and inside a nasty old cursed great wood was residing. That wonky dressed bastard, the one Henry took care of earlier, they were in there worshipping the thing, like some kind of god. Before we knew it, the entire tree was alive and boy was it angry! Flattened my poor brother here twice too, thankfully I was far too nimble for the thing to get me.” She said, almost proudly and at the expense of Henry.

“Regardless. We should continue that way.” Henry pointed towards the path that lead deeper into the small valley below the village, and away from the church. “I reckon Celes’ needs to rest soon, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s a bonfire nearby, I can feel it.” He spoke. Celestia hung on one word in particular in that statement.

“A.. bonfire? What do you mean, like the fire we made before?” Celestia asked, inquisitively. Auusha helped her up as the group made their way deeper into the valley below.

“Right, err. How do I explain this. They’re kind of like.. Shrines, where we undead can rest. It rejuvenates us, and even heals us if we’re seriously injured. We’re not sure who put them there, only that, they exist and are randomly scattered throughout the land as far as we can tell.” Auusha produced a small flask from her satchel and showed it to Celestia.

“We call it an Estus flask, we can harness some of the energy from these bonfires in them and, if we’re injured, we can use it to heal. I would.. Have offered to try and give you some earlier, for your leg, but.. I’m all out.” she said.

“That’s ok.. I understand. Thank you, though.” Celestia winced as the pain in her leg was becoming worse, the burning sensation now shooting up into her back. “I do hope we find this place soon, I think I may need to rest.” She said.

“We’ll get there, Celes’. Don’t you worry! Henry and Auusha are here to protect you!” She exclaimed gleefully. Celestia smiled again through the pain and thought to herself once more.

“Yes, indeed. These two will never hurt me.” She watched as Auusha picked up a rock and threw it at the back of Henry’s head, laughing as he turned around to yell at her. “These poor souls, I cannot imagine their struggle.” Celestia finished her thought as she followed along slowly and surely.

Author's Note

Alright so. Chapter 1 turned out a tiny bit shorter than I was planning, but I didn't want it to drag on forever and ever. If you like it, please give me a thumbs up and tell your friends. If not I'll personally email you the video of me drinking bleach to appease you. Peace.

***If you notice any errors please point them out so I can fix them, firstly so I can cry about how bad I am writing, though.***