Ponyville

Ponyville. Every Sunseeker is first led to the small town of Ponyville. It's said to be the last resting place of the Elements of Harmony. I personally doubted it. I think somepony would've recovered the Elements already if they were. Ponyville isn't a particularly dangerous place. That's not to say it's very safe either, but Ponyville isn't any more dangerous than anywhere else. It's corrupted by the nightmare abyss, but so is most all of Equestria. Regardless, it's the only lead any Sunseeker has.

I'm not entirely sure what time it was. It’s not as if the sun and moon were too much help. Ever since the abyss swept over the land, the sun and the moon both hung in the sky at the same time. They call it an eclipse. It looks something like a black hole in the sky surrounded by a fiery ring.
Walking beneath that eclipse was me. Me, with my tattered shawl wrapped around my neck. Me, with my patched and stitched cloak hanging over my back. I walked atop metallic horseshoes. They didn't quite clop on the ground; the road to Ponyville is a dirt path rather than a stone street. An emerald flask full of glowing golden fluid hung from my neck by a small link chain. Sheathed at the side of my ribs was my sword. Nothing special really, just your average metal blade fitted with a handle and cross guard. Corresponding to the sword was a clutch fitted on my right hoof.

Scritch scritch scritch...

There wasn't a whole lot of noise to titillate the old eardrums. No, just the sound of metal horseshoes scraping against hard packed dirt and the steady breeze coming from my lungs. I didn't usually travel with others. Not that I preferred being alone, but most ponies had the sense not to travel in such grim times. Most of those that didn't were nightmarish hollows, corrupted by the abyss. Call me picky, but my standards for a companion requires them to possess full sanity.

Scritch scritch scritch...

That's when I heard it, moaning. Not the sultry moaning that comes from acts of pleasure, but much rather the moan a pony makes when they're in anguish and suffering. That moan. I gazed down the dirt path at the source. It was a mare, was being the keyword. At one point, this mare may have had a family. She may have had friends, maybe a lover, but that was in the past. She was now a hollow, consumed by the nightmare abyss. Anything that remained of her mind had been reduced to grey static and an unholy need to murder anypony that wasn't consumed by the abyss. Really, I'd be doing her a favor by ending her life.

Anypony that survived in these times had to believe that.

I fitted the handle of my sword into the clutch attached to my hoof and pulled my blade from its sheath. I hobbled toward the mare on three hooves, the fourth one having a sword attached to it. Let me be the first one to tell you that it's difficult to maintain stealth when you're walking on just three hooves, so the hollow was quick to notice my approach. She charged at me on all four hooves, not carrying a weapon or a lick of self-perseverance. I slashed my blade at her neck. Sharpened steel split through flesh, and blackish fluid spurted from her throat. The hollow staggered for a moment, allowing me to follow up by stabbing through her rib cage. The mare collapsed to the ground, oozing black tainted blood. I sheathed my dripping blade and twisted a hoof, freeing the handle from the clutch.
Some earth ponies (and Pegasai) prefer to forget about the clutch all together and just hold the handle between in their muzzle. It allows a pony more agility by letting them fight on four hooves, but muzzle stance requires a pony to get their head somewhat close to their opponent. I very much enjoy the safety of keeping my opponents a leg length away, even if it limits my mobility.

Not to mention, muzzle fighting tends to get blood (in this case, nightmare tainted blood) splattered all across a pony's face. I'm never too excited for that.

Everypony says the Elements are in Ponyville, but nopony ever says where exactly in Ponyville they are. I doubted there'd be a building or sign labeled Elements of Harmony, so that left me with simply wandering up and down the streets of Ponyville in search of a lead. I'd be find with wandering (I've done a lot of it), but I prefer not to wander about the ruins of towns and citys. See, at one point, towns had guards and, at a slightly later point, those guards were tainted by the abyss.

And, at some point before all of that, somepony gave these guards weapons.

"AGHHH!"

That was the sound of me screaming in pain. A hollow guard managed to slash through my chest with the bladed tip of his spear. I drove my blade through his throat. The stallion collapsed with tainted blood draining from his juggler. I had hardly a moment to rest before another guard cut through my side with his sword. My hide erupted into a sensation of stinging and burning as crimson fluid drained from my side. I slashed at the hollow with my sword. Steel cut through hollow flesh, and I proceeded with onslaught of slashes and cuts until he joined his partner on the ground. I caught my breath through heaving gasps as I spotted another three hollows approaching from down the road, two with swords and one with a spear.

I drank from my emerald flask. The warmly glowing fluid ran down my throat, burning and soothing alike. The wounds in my chest and my side promptly healed over. It's no wonder they call it a Phoenix Flask; these things practically make you immortal!

I'd just finished drinking when a hollow slashed at me with his sword. I narrowly back stepped away from the attack and rolled before the other sword hollow could catch me with his blade. I slashed one guard's leg, crippling him onto three hooves. The other slashed with his sword again. I redirected the hollow's attack in a parry, and followed up with a well-placed riposte. He fell to the ground, dead by the critical attack. That was when the spear hollow impaled my chest with his weapon.

"GAHHH!"

He removed the spearhead from my chest and stabbed at me again. I rolled beneath the attack and slashed his back leg just as I exit the somersault. I distanced myself from the crippled hollows, taking a moment to drink from my Phoenix Flask. I could feel my lung repairing itself from the inside. I coughed up some blood before resuming my clash with the hollows.

I took to the offensive, driving my blade into the chest of the spear hollow. I quickly drew my weapon from his chest and slammed him over the head with the flat side of my sword, sending him to the ground. The sword hollow slashed at me with his blade. I blocked the attack with my own sword in a defensive stance. He slashed at me again, but I managed to parry him just as his partner before. Just as his partner before, I followed up with a deadly riposte.

Three dead hollows. I did all that to kill three hollows. It's times like this where I consider the need for a greatsword rather than a smaller straight sword. It'd be so much more useful in dealing with groups of hollows.

I proceeded down the street, sword sheathed at my side. I wasn't making too much progress in Ponyville, and the hollow guards took a considerable chunk out of my Phoenix Flask, leaving it at halfway empty (or is it halfway full?). I nearly considered giving up on Ponyville when I spotted it:

Golden Oak Library

Of course! If anywhere would hold information regarding the Elements of Harmony, it'd be a library! I galloped towards the unique building. I say unique because this library was built inside a massive tree rather than stone and hay like the rest in Ponyville. A pile of dead leaves surrounded the base of this tree. Barren branches stretched above.

I heard something from inside the Library as I approached. A mare, shouting and yelling from within. She sounded coarse, angry.

"Sister! Sis! Dad and I have been looking for you for ages, come on! Where are you!?"

Speaking... it's not really a thing that hollows do, so that's a good sign. I approached the door to the library. The mare inside kept on shouting. Loud smashing and banging could be heard.

"I'm not playing hide and seek, come on!"

I opened the door to find the library in ruins. Books were scattered everywhere, shelves were broken, and any glassware had been shattered and scattered on the ground (That's why I wear the horseshoes). At the center of it all stood a snorting mare with a bluish grey coat and a pure grey mane. In her teeth, she held a heavy stone smashing hammer. She stopped slamming it against the furniture in the library just so she could stare at me. I stared right back into her eyes. Her dark, shadowy, abyss tainted eyes.

Most Hollows don't speak. Most.

She asked, "Pinkie... is that you?"

I spoke. "Who exactly is asking...?"

"Limestone, I'm looking for my sister, Pinkamena. Have you seen her?"

"What does she look like?"

Stalling is a very effective technique in trying to analyze how to handle a hollow. This mare was going to attack me soon; all abyss tainted creatures do. But, you can sometimes stall off an attack by upholding conversation long as possible.

Limestone explained, "She's pink. Really pink."

"I'm afraid I haven't seen her."

She snorted. Her eyes seemed to grow darker. Her expression changed to a maddened look of bloodlust. The abyss had gotten a better grip on her.

"Blood... I smell the tainted blood of the abyss upon you..." she spoke.

I looked over my clothing. It was certainly covered and stained in abyss tainted blood. I could smell it too.

Limestone continued. "I will slay all spawns of the nightmare abyss, for Father Igneous!"

I reached for my sword with a hoof. Before I could draw, she made a savage leaping attack with her sledgehammer. The heavy tool collided with the side of my ribs, sending me flying a good distance across the room. Several of my ribs shattered under the impact. I uncontrollably tried to gasp for air. I desperately drank from my flask, but constant shaking made me spill a good amount of it down my muzzle and neck. I drank what I could. My ribs healed quickly, but my flask was left completely empty. I climbed to my hooves as Limestone galloped towards me with her hammer. I narrowly rolled beneath another savage slam just as I reached a stand.

I gripped my sword in my muzzle. I needed the agility to avoid Limestone's attacks; another slam like that would grind my bones to dust before my blood turned it to a sickly pony sludge!

Limestone slammed her hammer down upon my head. I sidestepped the attack and slashed at her with my sword. Abyss blood spurted from her side as she punched my chest with a hoof. I staggered, and Limestone again tried to bash me with her hammer. I rolled behind the mare and slashed at her haunches with my blade. She snorted in pain before bucking me with her hind hooves, sending me straight onto my back. Limestone slammed her hammer towards my position on the ground. I rolled out of the way and drove the tip of my blade into her rib cage. She gasped in agony.

"Agh! Damn it!"

Limestone whipped her hammer at my body. My sword, lodged in her rib cage, was torn from my muzzle as I rolled beneath the attack. Limestone made another weak attempt to attack me. The hammer dropped from her muzzle. She was unable to lift it off the ground.

"Abyss... tainted... hollow..." she spoke between gasps. "Damned thing..."

Limestone staggered towards me. Black blood dripped from the wounds in her side, ribs, and haunches. My sword still stuck out from her side. I rolled towards her fallen hammer, gripping it in my muzzle. I lifted the tool off the ground and slammed it into her head. The injured hollow lacked the energy to even try avoiding. A sickly crunch resonated with the sound of her death.

I gasped as I stood above her corpse.

"Rest, Sister Limestone... you've had a long night."

We've all had a long night. Is it night? What is it called when both the moon and the sun hang in the sky?

I pulled the sword out of her side and placed it safely in the sheath. Blood had splattered against a large number of the books in our clash. Hopefully none of the important ones. I took a moment to catch my breath before sorting through the scattered books.

It took time, but I eventually crossed a worn book bearing gold binding with a gold unicorn head fastened to the cover. I read over the title.

The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide

"Praise Celestia..." I muttered beneath my breath.

I'd found it. Risking death with Limestone had been worth it after all. I proceeded upstairs, hoping to find a part of the library that wasn't smashed to ruins so I may read. That was when I saw it, a coiled sword planted into a pile of ash and bone. It sat in the middle of a bedroom with two beds, one for a single pony, the other seemingly for a small pet.

An unlit bonfire sat in the middle of this bedroom.

"PRAISE CELESTIA!" I cried in joy.