Standing amid the expansive, grass field, atop a rounded hill, Latch watched and waited, scanning for movement above and below the tall blades of grass. She'd been forced to do this in several other instances, now erring on the side of caution of waist-high cover. She'd learned her lesson in not keeping an eye or ear out after a hollowed royal guard had shuffled its way to her long. It'd got a single strike in. Nicked her pretty good too, leaving a scar beneath the underside of her right arm.

With those who'd still retained their sanity such as herself, they'd become mere beacons for the hollowed to chase and seek out. They were led by their insatiable hunger for what lingered in the bodies of those who lived. It was a blind desire; souls were what was they sought by instinct, hoping it'd bring them back from the darkest depths of the curse they'd all been plighted with.

Releasing her hand from the grip of her blade, Latch sighed, deflating and softening from her perch above the field. Although it was but a simple obstacle to traverse, the thick mesh of bark and flora lying in wait on the other side of a hill slightly smaller than her own, patience was a virtue in this desperate and trying times. Taking one careful step after another, she'd descended down the soft incline of the hill, finding the waist-high grass to greet her with its modest cover.

The evening sun as well was starting to descend beyond the rise of the second hill. Casting a dull ray of colors from red to violet, much of its radiance remained the same as it did hundreds of years ago. Its warmth, something everypony was familiar with, was fading. Nobody humored the thought out of fear and ignorance, but soon enough the world was to be bathed in an endless night, marking the end of this horrendous era. Some welcomed it, some did not. She was among the few who were undecided.

Blowing out a soft huff, finding her body to be protesting against her after another long day of walking, she'd climbed to the top of this second hill, finding the grass to reach well onto the other side up to the forest. A brief gust of wind rustled the grass of which she began observing, scanning it as she'd done moments ago. The superstitious of ages past would've thought that wisps or some manner of spirits lurked within the field she was fixed upon, but beneath the evening sky, it was easier to distinguish what the pale white glows were within the grass. Beyond such, near the very entrance of the wood, she spied a large set of ruins.

Holding her blade's handle even tighter, wrapping her hand within its guard, she descended down the hillside. Slow and cautious, she craned her head slowly from her left, then to her right, scanning and listening for something anything in the grass the lay in wait for her. The long blades crunched, rustled, and snapped beneath her steps as she waded towards one of the many glows that were along her path.

Pausing, Latch stood before one of the many glows that made up the field. Her expression bemused, the tall blades of grass were flattened, falling to grow around and through the faded violet armor of a long-since hollowed Lunar Guard. Its occupant remained trapped within the armor; a helmet far too big to hold what pitiful skin and bone were left. Sunken pits of darkness remained in place of its eyes, as did rotted teeth and facial features. Nothing was distinguishable about this pony any longer.

Poor bastard...

Kneeling down against the soil, she reached out, cradling the small ball of light within the palms of her hands. The small, fading soul responded in kind of brightening between her hands, reacting to the strong and bountiful soul it was in the presence of. Pulling it in close, she hugged it against her chest, pressing it between her bosom. She felt a distant sadness and longing within it, one that was of a life wasted and a love lost. As the memories flashed within her mind's eye with a blur, the soul had shattered, snaking out between her fingers and sinking into her very being - becoming one with her very own soul.

Standing back up, she scanned the field once more, finding the air to be growing colder and her breath becoming more visible as the sun continued to crawl beyond the horizon. Spying the many other faded souls all across the field once more, their soft, ambient light gave an ironic sense of life to the field. Walking and wading between the cluster of broken weapons, faded souls, shields, and bodies, she'd begun her approach to the ruins ahead.

A warmth emanated from beyond the ruined stone walls, a familiar and quaint one. With it, an equally familiar glow bled onto one of the few, tall pillars of stone that remained of the former structure that was once here. Slowing her pace, Latch felt the warmth provide a sense of comfort and renewal as she neared it. Like a moth drawn to a flame, she eagerly approached.

Dragging her fingers across the rough, mossy, and cracked stone, she felt herself becoming at ease as the orange glow crept around the corner ahead. Emerging into a barely grown over clearing, she sighed, spying the object of her comfort in the very center. Her pace slowing, she felt relieved as she approached the familiar fire beneath the coiled sword. Pulling her rapier and dagger free from her waist and sheath, she gently set her armaments onto the ground beside her as she sat herself down near a thin slab of cracked marble.

Perhaps here, she could rest for a spell, if maybe for just a single night...

Author's Note

Fading Soul

Once upon a time, brave knights and warriors made up the Equestria we now know. These knights and warriors had souls as strong as their hearts. This... fragment, is all of what's left of one such pony.