The Scholar Mare and the Stories of Souls

Chapters

The Lost Wanderer
The Lord and The Guard
The Old Watchdogs
The Sunlight Warrior
The Lance, The Long Bow and The Tower
The Brother and the Sister

The Lost Wanderer

Twilight grinned in excitement when she heard the news from her mentor, that her first teleportation test will happen that night. So Twilight did what all other young mares do, squeal in joy and study almost in a trance for the rest of the day. Finally the clock in the library rung and Twilight perked up, then she quickly remembered what was so important.

"Gah! My test!" The purple unicorn quickly bolted from the room, the book that rested in front of her flying into the air, but as it fell purple magic grabbed it and slipped it back onto a shelf. Twilight skidded into Princess Celestia's private room with a worried and wild look in her eyes, but the Princess just giggled at her student.

"Nice of you to join me, Twilight." Celestia said with a warm smile, but Twilight didn't notice.

"I'msosorryI'mlateprincessIwasreadingandlosttrackofthetime-" Twilight's endless apology was quickly cut short when Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder, the Princess looked into her students wide eyes and smiled again.

"It's alright, Twilight. You're right on time, now come. Let's see what you've learned." Celestia said as she trotted to the centre of the room, Twilight hurrying after. The Princess stopped and pointed to across the room, Twilight looked with calculations running wild in her head. "Twilight, Teleport there. It's just a small jump, but I'd rather start off small." Celestia stated and watched the eager mare disappear in a flash of purple, then she waited for Twilight's appearance. She waited a minute and then she got worried, another two and finally the mare asked.

"T-Twilight?"

Twilight shivered when she appeared, wait... shivered? Twilight glanced around and realised in horror that she wasn't in the castle anymore, but in fact in a large meadow of white flowers and spikes of ice and the cold was due to the snow that drifted down. She turned and gasped, in the back of the meadow was a massive stone tower and under the arches the held it up, was a figure. The purple mare considered her options, then quickly moved towards the tower. She walked though one of the arches and found a flaming sword stabbed in a pile of ash and bones, she shivered again. But what really caught her eye was the large gravestone and seated in front of it, it was like a Minotaur but without horns.

"H-hello?" Twilight greeted through clattering teeth, the figure turned their head and looked at Twilight. Quickly Twilight saw the figure as a male, due to the strong features and small amounts of facial hair. The male's hair and beard were blond and his face was sharp and his cheeks were thin, indicating that this creature doesn't eat much. The male was also wearing a thick cloak that covered the rest of his body. The figure gazed at Twilight for a minute before waving over his shoulder, Twilight sat by the flaming sword and looked deep into its flames.

The figure stood up and turned around, revealing underneath the cloak was a large chestplate; bloody and dented. He wore thick, woolly trousers and fur boots. On his clawless-claws he wore a pair of heavy metal gauntlets. The male walked to the bonfire and sat down, opposite Twilight.

"W-wh-ha-" The male coughed violently when he spoke, his voice was extremely croaky as if he hadn't talked for a long time. "W-wha-t b-ri-ngs yo-u her-e?" The male coughed again, but he managed to say an audible sentance.

"I was doing a teleportation... test... oh no." Twilight slowly said before putting her face into her hooves. "I-I'm in the middle of nowhere and now Celestia's gonna fail me." Twilight whimpered, the male grunted.

"Y-you ca-re abo-ut a test more th-an your own life?" The male said, still a bit croaky. "That's a b-ad mindset in this place, in the Painting of Ariandel." The male said and leaned back, his face curling into a smirk. "Ma-ny a traveler have fallen to its beauty, including myself." The male pulled a small keg from behind his back and raised it to his lips, but then he looked at Twilight. "Here, a special brew from an o-ld friend." Twilight hesitated but took the keg, immediately her hooves warmed up and she took a sip from the top.

"Mmm, tastes wonderful." Twilight murmured and took a swig, then coughed as the brew hit her stomach and the creature laughed.

"You... yo-u can taste?" The cloaked male asked, Twilight nodded and the creature hummed. "You aren't undead, are you? Figures, oh well. I may as well introduce myself as best I can." The creature slowly got to his feat and bowed to Twilight, whose eyebrow rose at the action. "I am a humble wanderer, lost to my own goal to keep from hollowing. I have no name, I have no home and no hope." The Wander stated and sat back down, his face grim. "I... I set out, just to explore... then that bloody Darksign appeared and then I was forced to attempt that bloody linking, then I was burnt to a crisp and awoken in gods knows where!" The wanderer let out a sigh and looked up at Twilight, who was quite confused. "I found my way here, after going through hell, and killed the guardian of this little place. Now I stay here, with the threat of hollowing near. I don't want to link that fire, but... It's all I was brought back to do." The male looked down again, into the flames of the sword.

"What... what happens if you do, link the fire that is?" Twilight asks, the man growls and the unicorn readied a spell to blind him.

"It starts again..." The wanderer snarled and glared at Twilight, his eyes a fury. "Everything starts again, then ends then starts and ends again! It's a cycle! A never ending cycle of pain and misery!" The male screamed in rage, waving his arms in the air. "I can't die! I live, die then live again! Tell me, if you had a choice, would you stay in that tranquil place of death?" The wanderer asked quietly, Twilight frowned.

"If I was an old mare, then yes." The wanderer snorted at the answer.

"Well I don't have that choice, I only had the cycle. So I decided to go against it, I've had enough of killing those lords. They deserve rest too." The male finished quietly, after a minute of silence he looked up to see Twilight still there. "Why?" The wanderer asks.

"Pardon?" Twilight questions and the male's eyes sparkle slightly, then a lone tear slides down his cheek.

"Why do we suffer, for something we didn't make? Why is it us mortals that have to deal with what the gods did? We..." The wanderer sniffs and wipes his face. "I watched my friend become a lord, he told me that it was for the good of the people. I killed him three times, my own friend died by my blade three times."

The creature stands up and walks towards the massive tombstone, Twilight watches him walk. The male slowly turns his head and looks at Twilight, a smile on his face.

"It has been too long since I've talked to anybody, thank you." The male said and Twilight blinked. "I know of a few others that would appreciate your support, even if you don't realise it you helped me." Then Twilight sees the flames erupt and cover her body, the wanderer sighs when the mare disappears. But he just shakes his head and sits back down, but this time a half naked figure sat next to him, in the newcomer's hands were a staff and a sword.

3 Days later...

A man in a torn and tattered suit of armor dropped into the meadow, his eyes locked on the massive tower. But as he approached it, he realised the Gravetender wasn't alone, there was another man in thicker armor with a large cloak that hung from his back. The Gravetender stands and turns, pulling his sword from the snowy flowers and glares at the new Ashen One. Soon the Lost Wanderer stands and raises a large sword to the sky, then he and the Gravetender charge the Ashen One, who stumbles back in surprise at the aggressive pair. They quickly slaughter the Ashen One and wander back to the tower, the Lost Wanderer's thoughts on that little purple mare.

Author's Note

This new story is gonna be a bunch of mini stories about characters I've used in Dark Souls 3, some I've made specific builds for and others just using my main character with different armor.

So how is this new little story? For the next one is about a pair of knights, old and young.

The Lord and The Guard

Twilight yelped when she awoke next to another bonfire, but this time she was on a large tower. She glanced over and gasped when she saw a large white dragon on another tower. But Twilight's attention was drawn to what sounded like yelling and barking, so she trotted sown the nearby stairs and saw a pair of creatures, the exact same kind as the wanderer. But both were in suits of metal armor, with torn red capes. But one was smacking the other over the head, his face covered by a metal mask. The other had a visor over his face, intricate designs ran down its sides.

"What the hell were you thinking, running at a fucking knight?" The masked male demanded, Twilight cringed at the vulgar word.

"How was I supposed to know it was that strong?" The other knight argued, his voice sounding younger than the first.

"Well it's got a massive bloody shield and walks like a fucking bada- what the hell is that?" The masked creature states when he spots Twilight, the second knight turned and tilted his helmeted head.

"Looks like one of those dogs, except it's purple and not ugly." The young male says, the first just snorts and pulls a massive greatsword from his back.

"Well I've never seen something like that, let's kill it and see what it drops." The metal mask knight states and raises his sword to smash Twilight, but she quickly grabs it with her magic and tears it from the male's hands. The knight looks at his sword hovering above Twilight and nods to himself. "That there's a fucking magical dog thing that can take weapons, we're screwed." The masked knight says as looks at his friend.

"What if we talk to it? It could be frie-"

"I swear to god, I will kick your ass if you finish that sentence."

"But you attacked me?" Twilight says slowly and the pair spin around to look at her, then they hundle and turn away from her.

"It talked, holy shit." The masked knight said, trying to whisper but failing quite badly. "I-I've never encountered something like this, it's game over man! Game over!" The masked male yelled and the second knight sighs and looks over to Twilight.

"Hey! You gonna kill us?" He asks as the first knight slowly rocks back and forwards on the ground.

"Uh.. no?" Twilight says, extremely confused. The first knight suddenly stood up and smacked the younger knight with the back of his hand.

"What the hell, Surge?!" The masked male yells at the younger one.

"I'm so fucking tired of killing everything we come across, we were human once! I'm still a man and I want to talk to someone other than you, becuase all you do is kick my arse towards a direction!" The young man hurled back, meanwhile the little unicorn stood at the side with a frown.

"Why do you follow him then?" She asked the man known as Surge, the masked man looks over at her.

"Because I'm his personal guard, I know everything to surviving." The masked man stated and the unicorn looks at Surge.

"Why would you need a personal guard? I mean you look like you've.. killed before." Twilight said, but the young knight shook his head.

"Because I'm a lord, well a lord to be." The young man said, Twilight noticed his shoulders slump slightly. "It's for the greater good."

"No it ain't, the cycle will just start again." The bodyguard sneered and the Lord Surge shoved him out of his way as he made his way to Twilight. "You know it as well as I that woman you talked to, about turning into a Lord of Hollows or something is bullshit."

"Shut up."

"No, we've killed a hell ton of hollows. If you want to be a lord then I'll do what I've done, kill hollows.

"Shut up, Thorn!" Lord Surge demanded and put a hand around his sword, the bodyguard Thorn just laughed.

"Do it, unsheath you sword. I'm up for another duel!" Thorn snarled and pulled a shield and spear from his back, Lord Surge quickly got into a stance; turned slightly with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"WAIT!" Twilight screamed and the pair stopped to stare at her. "Why don't you two go your separate ways? If you are so against one another." Twilight offered and the pair think over it. Suddenly Thorn jumps forward and impales Surge on his spear, then as Twilight screams the bodyguard grunts and launches the young Surge through the air. He slams into a wall and dissolves into ash before he hits the floor.

"There... no more of that." Thorn mutters and looks at the purple unicorn. "Now to deal with you..." The bodyguard stated as he takes a step towards her, but a large man in similar armor to the bodyguard runs through the doorway behind Thron and slashes at the bodyguard. The Lothric Knight quickly takes a stance and swungs his sword in a large arc and slices Thorn's head off, the knight looks at the unicorn and charges. But flames erupt around Twilight and she is dragged to another place, the knight stops and looks around before returning to his patrol.

A man in a suit of armor, burnt from the large Wyvern outside, ran into the tower and sighed. Then groaned as he looked up to see a pair of knights slightly swaying, they lumbered towards the knight as he quickly tried to run. But he wasn't fast enough for the hollowed knights. One still had the thought of becoming a lord, while the other had the thought of a little, purple dog. But these can't be thoughts, for a hollow has no purpose and no room for thinking. So why do they both keep snarling and shoving each other?

Author's Note

Slightly shorter chapter, this time about my friend (Lord Surge) and I (Thorn) traveling through the High Wall of Lothric. I swear it was a nightmare to get that far, he could die from a fucking crab if I left him for a second. :facehoof:

Anyway, just a reminder that these are just short stories and depict the lives of those in Dark Souls.

The Old Watchdogs

Twilight yelped when she found herself hovering above a swamp, then she groaned when she landed with a splash. Twilight's ears perked when she heard the sound of loud splashes, the unicorn turned to spot a giant crab drawing closer. Twilight screamed and dashed onto the nearby shore, a loud crash behind the mare a mere second after her jump signaling how close she was to a quick smash.

“Giant... crabs? What next, a pair of heavily armed giants?” Twilight huffed, then looked to her side to spot a pair of cloaked men, their masked faces emitted an air of sadness. Suddenly a shuffling sound made Twilight turn, crouched nearby was another man. He was in rags, his bare feet were heavily scarred and his hands were bruised. But his most noticeable feature was the large bandage around his head, covering his eyes, nose, ears and hair but leaving the mouth.

“Who... goes there?” The old man asked, slithering closer with a hand feeling the air. Twilight slightly paled as she saw blood covering his fingers. “I know you aren't those Exiles, so who are you?” The man asked again.

“I-I'm Twilight Sparkle, I'm not from here.” Twilight said and the old man’s head snapped to her direction, his hand moving closer to her face. "P-p-please don't hurt me." Twilight begged quietly and the old man chuckled and removed his hand from her face.

"Why would I hurt a lost soul?" The man asked and sat down, Twilight flinched when he suddenly patted the ground. "Sit, please. I haven't talked to anybody for a long time, I'm sure you-" The old man suddenly snarled and shoved Twilight back, the unicorn yelped when the man suddenly slammed a large axe in front of her face.

"I mean no harm!" Twilight screamed but the man yelled and swung his axe again, Twilight noticed the two other men start walking towards her. The old man raised his axe and Twilight shot a bolt of purple magic at his exposed chest, the old man groaned and fell onto his back. The two Exiles charged at Twilight but she quickly shot a freeze spell and froze the pair mid swing.

"You... dare tread this forest?" The old man asked as he rolled over and grabbed wildly for his axe, when he found it he swung it around and slammed it into the ground. "I, the Old Watchdog, will defend this place." The old man suddenly coughed and crouched lower. "For it is all I know!" The Old Watchdog leapt forward and tackled Twilight, the unicorn smacked his face with her hooves and sent him stumbling back.

"I never wanted to hurt you! I wanna go home!" Twilight stated and the Watchdog burst into laughter.

"Then you should never of come to this place!" The old man sneered and swung his axe, but it bounced off a metal surface. A shield was in Twilight's face, along with a man in a suit of simple metal armor. The knight thrust his spear into the Old Watchdog and tore a bit of flesh when he pulled back. The knight then kicked the Old Watchdog back and smashed his shield against his face, the Old Watchdog fell onto his back and started to get up. But the knight quickly plunged his spear deep into the old man's face, blood spurted from the wound and the man slowly faded from existence.

"Run!" The knight suddenly said in a muffled but clearly female voice as a shadow suddenly appeared over Twilight. The unicorn jumped forwards and the giant club missed, the pair of Exiles locked onto the knight and charged. "RUN!" The woman yelled as she parried the large curved sword of one of the Exiles, Twilight quickly turned and sprinted into the large building that the Exiles were guarding. She passed a hole and skidded around the corner, peering over the edge she saw a large swamp. The unicorn slipped and fell down a flight of stairs, she grunted and got up. Suddenly a loud scream pierced the air, then a pair of heavy footsteps grew louder.

Twilight saw some rubble and old iron bars, she could fit! Twilight quickly leapt at the gap and started to squeeze through, she popped out the other side and looked back. Both Exiles were glaring at her from the other side of the bars, but footsteps made the unicorn turn away from the pair. Another knight was walking towards her, a pair of daggers in his hands. The man was dressed in clothes that looked suited for a dessert, but his face was extremely pale as if he had never been outside.

"You slippery little shit, you got away from the Exiles and the old man, but you won't escape me!" The man said in a maniac tone and jumped at Twilight, but she just grabbed him with magic and threw the strange man at the wall and galloped past. "Well fuck, she got away." The man said and watched the unicorn run, but she didn't get far when another Watchdog found her. The new one was shoved to the side when Twilight rushed past him, the man was in a sorcerer's robe.

"Hey! Go get 'em, Davy!" The sorcerer yelled as the mare past through a iron gate, suddenly a large blue crystal lizard appeared and snapped at Twilight. But the mare leapt over the massive beast and ran further down the long hall, the creature snarled but curled up. The sorcerer walked up to the lizard and kicked its head, then he found himself staring down its throat. Twilight burst into a large room and found a trio of men in heavy armor, they started to walk towards her when flames erupted under their feet. The men screamed as they flew into the air, but when they landed they saw more flames take the little unicorn away.

A tired knight stepped out of the swamp and looked up at the stone structure at he was looking for, then a pair of knights appeared and started to run at him. But as they neared, the knight saw more people run from the structure. A single thought went through his head, just before the large club smashed him into the ground: Fuck

Author's Note

Slightly rushed, but completed. The Watchdogs were a covenant that I thought needed more NPCs, more diversity. So these guys were what I came up with!

The Sunlight Warrior

Twilight appeared in a burst of flames and smacked into a stone wall, making her yelp in surprise and then pain. But the sounds of footsteps made the unicorn twist around and stare in fear at the nearby hallway, in which a shadow was growing larger. Suddenly a large yellow face appeared, its hair erupting outwars all around. Then Twilight looked up, staring at her was a bucket with a feather.

"Oh my, hello there." A calm but jolly voice said from the bucket, the man turned slightly and revealed his body. The yellow face was actually painted on his shield and on his green tunic was another sun-like face, this man likes the sun. The rest of his body was covered in chainmail and a pair of iron greaves and bracelets. The calm man knelt down in front of Twilight, taking in her frightened eyes.

"Do not be afraid, little one." The gentle man said and stood back up, then he bowed. "I am Solaire of Astora, a Warrior of Sunlight and seeker of the Sun!" The man known as Solaire says in a jolly tone.

"I am Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, student of Princess Celestia!" Twilight replied in a slightly cheerful tone, the man chuckled and nodded.

"So, Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, what brings you here? To this... To be honest I have no clue where here is, I was trying to find the Sun when I suddenly collapsed. When I awoke I was blessed with the sight of the Sun!" Solaire said excitedly and made a pose in the shape of a Y, Twilight giggled at the strange pose.

"Well, I was doing my first teleportation spell, but..." Twilight looked crestfallen. "I ended up here, without any knowledge of where here is."

"Ah, sounds unfortunately like my story. I can't say that this place is the best, I was attacked by a few hollows, poor fellows, then I encountered a massive knight with a halberd." The gentle man sighed. "It was hard but I emerged victorious, but now... I have no quest, I have found the Sun and..." Solaire rubbed the back of his bucket helm. "I am lost, not in the literal sense, I just do not have a purpose now. I don't suppose... you'd have something in mind?" Twilight blinked, then smiled to the man.

"Find a friend, Solaire, a good friend." Twilight suddenly found herself in a tight embrace from the Sunlight Warrior.

"Oh, but dear Twilight, I already have." Solaire let go of Twilight and stood up, then he pulled something from his pocket. "You should have this, a Soapstone. It will allow you to summon phantoms to assist you if you are in a bit of a pickle, oh!" The man laughed loudly and Twilight took the stone as it fell from the laughing man's hands, suddenly her vision erupted with fire. Solaire looked down to his new friend, only to find a pile of embers.

"Oh, I guess I'll find another friend, for Twilight!" Solaire cheered and knelt down and scribbled something on the floor with an orange stone, it glowed and Solaire disappeared.

Tales of the Sunlight Warrior spread as a man who appeared in the most dangerous places, assisted those in need. After the man has helped those who needed it, he would leave a medal on the ground and say a few words.

"A medal, for a friend of the Sun!"

Author's Note

Some of these little stories will be shorter so I can work on another important story, but they'll still come to keep your hunger for my stories at bay. Also due to Dark Souls time being a total drunk, Solaire was dragged to Lothric Castle. Also the stories of many of these characters will be short unless written otherwise, just be aware of that. :twilightsmile:

The Lance, The Long Bow and The Tower

Twilight appeared in a large courtyard, in what appeared to be a massive palace. The unicorn saw a open doorway and trotted through it, immediately spotting a trio of men. One was sitting against a large tilted, wooden plank, he was wearing what looked like a suit of normal knight's armor to Twilight. The second was leaning against a stone wall, he was wearing what looked like normal clothes, though two weird lumps were visibly pushing the top forward a bit. Lastly, the third was standing tall in front of the pair in a suit of large armor with a massive shield in his hand, covering most of his body. He was the first to spot the purple unicorn.

"Halt! State your business!" The man's voice was harsh and blunt, which caused the two others to look up. The leaning man quickly pushed off the wall and pulled out a bow, while the sitting one got up and unsheathed a large sword.

"I- uh- I-I don't h-have any?" Twilight stammered as she realised how bad of a situation she was in, if these men were hostile, she couldn't do much to hurt them. Her answer confused the shield knight as he peered over the top of his greatshield.

"Then how did you get in?" The knight asked, but the archer put a hand in front of the knight.

"Alfred, that shield must be blinding you, that isn't a human." The voice of the man shocked Twilight, it was quiet and more pitched than the knight's, then Twilight she realised that this 'man' was female. "It's a horse."

"No it isn't, too small, must be a pony." The other knight said, his voice was light but held a sharp edge to it. "And it can talk, which is very strange."

"That means it's a damn demon!" The first knight, Alfred, stated as he poked a long, barbed spear at Twilight from around his shield.

"Gods damnit, Alfred, even Oolan has the thought to not attack the first thing that's come around that corner today." The second knight said with a sigh.

"I'd hold my tongue if I were you, Metas, I'm ready to stop yet another passing through here, but first I want to know how that little pony managed to get here." The archer, now known as Oolan, said to the other knight, Metas. Oolan looked at Twilight, her bow lowered but still ready to be aimed and fired. "So, how did you get here, pony?"

Twilight blinked and frowned slightly. "I... don't know. I've been traveling in this place for hours, maybe days, after getting covered by fire." The unicorn explained, immediately Alfred poked his spear out again.

"That's impos-" The knight began to shout, but the swordsman quickly moved forward and smacked Alfred over the head.

"God's almighty, shut it already!" Metas yelled as Alfred grumbled and shook his head. "Continue, pony!"

"Um... alright. I've travelled many places now, a forest and a castle, well now that's three times. But... I can't get back home, back to my family." Twilight trailed off and gazed at the ground, causing Oolan and Metas to exchange a quick glance. But they were quickly surprised to hear a loud thud, they looked forwards to see that Alfred had moved his shield to the side.

"A lost soul, one that lost her family." Alfred stated with a more quiet voice, Twilight looked up in surprise. "You've convinced me, you aren't a demon. For all I care, you are an orphan, and if I could I'd gladly take you as my own." Alfred shook his head and said with a happier and louder voice. "But I just realised that none of use have introduced ourselves! I am Alfred, Knight of the Tower, at your service!" The knight bowed slightly.

"I'm Oolan, the Longbow, and if Alfred trusts you then I guess I can too." The archer said with a nod as she finally slung her bow over her shoulder.

"I am Metas, the Knight of the Lance, I'm surprised that both my friends trust you, but honestly I find your story most disheartening. You have my apologies." Metas bowed low, but Twilight surprised him.

"It's fine, I might be alone in this world, but I've made a lot more friends along the way!" The purple unicorn said cheerfully. "But I wouldn't mind knowing where I am."

"We are currently in the Boletarian Palace, home of King Allant and his son, Prince Ariona Allant. Though the Prince has travelled south, so only the old King remains." Oolan answered, then paused. "Though I saw a knight come through here, he was talking with another, his voice was very similar to the Prince's."

Twilight noticed something strange about these men and the woman, they had a slightly red aura around them, it was almost invisible but there.

"Excuse me, why do you have a red aura around you?" Twilight asked, the trio looked at her with a deathly silence. Then slowly the aura grew in intensity and completely turned the three knights red. Suddenly Alfred thundered towards the small unicorn, while Oolan notched her bow with another arrow and Metas charged after Alfred. Twilight quickly grabbed a hunk of stone of the ground and smashed it against the Tower Knight's head, the once kind Alfred collapsed and tripped Metas up. But Oolan quickly shot a pair of arrows at Twilight, but before they hit, the unicorn was covered in flames and disappeared. The three old friends soon returned to their posts, now less human than before.

A young priest turned a corner, finally finished fighting those three demons. Her eyes landed on a trio of red-phantoms, one in heavy armor, one in light clothes and the last in a mix of medium armor. Suddenly she found an arrow in her arm, then loud footsteps sounded her doom as both a barbed spear and a long sword were slammed into her chest and stomach, the young woman yell back and dissolved into mist, yet another victim to the Knights of the Boletarian Round Table.

Author's Note

Been awhile, eh? I know I did say Dark Souls 3, but I'm probably gonna add more characters from different games, maybe even Bloodborne (Which was meant to be this chapter, but I couldn't find the inspiration for it).

Hope you enjoyed this little slice of Demon's Souls.

The Brother and the Sister

Twilight appeared, yet again, in a flash of fire. This time she appeared in a dark forest, one that was very similar to the one she was in when she was attacked by those men, except she was on a ledge that overlooked the stone keep. Twilight heard voices and turned around, spotting a faint light coming from the ruin nearby. So she climbed up another ledge and walked till she quickly found a hole in a stone wall, Twilight peered in and spotted a small fire at the bottom of the building. Twilight trotted closer to the edge and saw a pair of people sitting next to the fire. One in golden armor with a yellow cloak and one in leathers and wearing bits of metal.

"So I walked straight up to that fog gate, and found three skeletons, in massive bone thrones!" The woman in leathers exclaimed, waving her arms in the air. "After I killed the three, even more skeletons popped up! I then promptly screamed and ran about, dodging those bonewheels and slashes from the bone heads." The woman laughed with the man in golden armor.

"Gods above, Qil, you now know that if those wheels spot you, the best thing to do is fucking run!" The man roared with laughter, while the woman known as Qil frowned and smacked her companion over the head. Then she noticed Twilight, who was walking down the stairs nearby, Qil slightly patted the man's shoulder.

"We got company, Wilhelm." Qil said quietly, the man looked up and immediately gripped the hilt of a sword on his hip, not quite aggressively but more cautiously.

"Um, you aren't gonna attack me are you?" Twilight asked hopefully, her eyes begging.

"Depends, are you gonna come over here and tell us why you look like you've gone through Izalith and back?" Wilhelm asked as he patted the stoney ground next to him, his hand now off his sword. Twilight looked surprised, then realised she probably looked filthy, but she still come over and collapsed in a heap next to the fire. "Well then, Qil, tell me if you've seen anything like her on your travels."

"Hmm, perhaps that Chariot, but the horses were just bones and had two heads. This one is smaller, and cuter." Qil said causally, causing Twilight to 'eep' and blush.

"So I guess not, well I haven't either." Wilhelm stated. "So, what are you? If you don't mind me asking."

"I'm a pony, more specifically a unicorn!" Twilight said happily, now feeling safer with these two people.

"A unicorn?" Wilhelm asked before shrugging. "Never heard of one, you still haven't told us your story." But just before Twilight could say anything, she was embraced by flames and whisked away. Leaving the two siblings alone, now slightly sad that they couldn't make a friend.

A knight in the armour of the Lothric Knights wandered through the swamp, listening to the cries of anguish. Soon he saw a person stagger from behind a tree, garbed in leather armour, though the person who wore it was clearly hollow. The hollow screamed and swung its arm at the knight, throwing a large bolt of lightning. The knight rolled under the bolt and rushed through the swamp with his spear ready to pierce the hollow's chest, but the hollow pulled a rapier from a sheath and stabbed at the knight. The knight simply smacked the blade aside and slammed his spear through the hollow, not expecting the hollow to whisper a few last words in his ear.

"Wilhelm... where did you... go?" The knight kicked the hollow off his spear and searched the corpse, finding a scribbled note. The knight took a glance at the hollow, then started to sprint to the keep, towards the Catacombs of Carthus. Soon the knight came across another hollow, sitting against a pillar near the entrance of the Catacombs. The knight approached the hollow in the yellow cloak, who suddenly threw himself at the knight. The hollow swung a large, rectangular greatsword about wildly. The knight repeated his parry and slaughtered the hollow, who gave a last sigh.

"Qil... this way... Qil." The hollow muttered then fell back from the spear, dropping a small and bland pendant. The knight picked it up and looked it over, it was useless. Yet the knight still took it, taking pride in the small object. He didn't notice, as he left to the Catacombs, the hollowed form of Wilhelm start to quiver. The once proud explorer, now reduced to nothing. The last few thoughts, all must've been the last bit of his sanity, was of his lost sister, who he left behind.

Author's Note

A bit of a longer story from the human side, but a sad one. :fluttercry: Sorry for the wait, then again, it's not as bad as the Abyss of the Watch. :trollestia: