The Elden Ring

Chapters

Prologue - Arise, Ye Tarnished
Chapter 1 - New Friends, New Enemies
Chapter 2 - An Accord
Chapter 3 - Gatehouse Ruins
Chapter 4 - The Night Knight

Prologue - Arise, Ye Tarnished

As the sun slowly set over Canterlot, the sound of two sets of hoofsteps rung trough the halls of Canterlot Castle. One set rang out louder than the other, the clanging of metal hoofshoes on the marble a much harsher sound than the soft clopping of hooves. With the vast majority of the staff off for the night the halls were much, much quieter than normal. The two golden-armored unicorn stallions guarding the entrance to the hall nodded quietly and opened the door with their magic for the two mares passing through. Inside was a simple hallway leading to the Royal Bedchambers, abodes of the Princess and her close companions

“Sunset Shimmer, I heard you are not getting along with the other students at school. We’ve talked about the fact that personal relationships are as important as simple power.” The first mare, Princess Celestia herself, spoke down to the smaller mare. Her voice was full of concern and the soft care of almost motherhood for her student.

The smaller mare, Sunset Shimmer, huffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Yes, yes, personal relationships. Who cares? All that matters is being the best, not about how many ‘friends’ you have.”

While the Princess didn’t so much as frown, her disappointment was still palpable in the air through her emotional mask. “Sunset, we’ve talked about the importance of friendship before, and we’ve discussed that you need to start opening yourself up to new friends.” Celestia sighed and shook her head, letting her mask slip while in the sole presence of what some would call her daughter. “Friendship isn’t just about having ponies around you, it is one of life’s great joys. Sharing your triumphs with others, your joys, hopes, and fears. Not only lifting yourself up but those you care about, and trusting others to lift you up when you stumble yourself.”

Sunset rolled her eyes and frowned up at her teacher. “I don’t think I need another lecture on the ‘magic of friendship’. I get it, it’s important to you! I just don’t see why it should be so important to me!”

Celestia blinked at the outburst in surprise before offering a small sigh, her ears drooping a bit. The Princess stopped in her path and turned back to her student, a gesture from the monarch stopping Sunset in her own tracks. “Come, Sunset Shimmer, I have something to show you.”

Sunset couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at her teacher but followed obediently. The draw of new information was almost tantalizing to the magical prodigy. Princess Celestia led her through several hallways to a room that Sunset had never seen before under Celestia’s tutelage. Eventually, they reached a large steel door embossed with Princess Celestia’s own seal. It was flanked by two Solar Guards, one unicorn, the other one pegasus.

At the Princess of the Sun’s nod, the unicorn’s horn glowed with faint blue magic light, allowing the door to creak open. Inside was a hooffull of tapestries and other trinkets, such as a glass case with replicas of the Elements of Harmony. In the center of the room stood a large mirror in the shape of a horseshoe, on a pedestal with multiple horseshoes all around the base.

Celestia stepped into the room first, motioning for Sunset to follow with a wave of her wing. “Sunny, look into this mirror and let me know what you see.”

Sunset’s ear twitched slightly at the sound of her childhood pet names, but simply rolled her eyes and stepped forward. In the mirror, she saw nothing surprising - saw herself. Sunset smiled and tilted her head into a flattering pose. “I see a beautiful pony that has nothing but power and potential.”

Celestia let out a small sigh, her ears dropping a bit to the side in concern. “Sunny, do you want to try that again with a little more of that humility we talked about?”

Sunset ground her teeth together, her own ears dropping low in irritation. “I see a pony who isn’t yet powerful enough, somepony who could be great, powerful.” She looked at the mirror again, seeing herself as a powerful alicorn this time. “Somepony who could rule Equestria.”

For a moment, the image shifted to show some kind of bipedal creature armored in steel sitting on a wooden throne. On its head sat a crown of gold, while behind it was a massive golden tree that reached into the heavens. But most disturbing was the fact that it shared Sunset’s long red and gold hair along with her piercing blue eyes, burning with power and authority.

Sunset flinched, one of her hooves pulling up to her chest, while her ears flicked back and her pupils shrunk in fear. “What was that?!”

With a shimmer of golden magic, the image was dispelled, leaving a blank mirror in its place. Celestia nudged Sunset with her wing to lead her out of the room. “It must have been a trick of the light, Sunset. Now come along our lesson is done for the day. For tomorrow, I want you to reflect on the discussion we’ve just had.”

Sunset narrowed her eyes a touch and looked back as she was led out of the room. “Mhmm. I understand, Princess Celestia.”

Later that night Sunset was stuck laying in bed wide awake, her large room as silent as a grave. With a groan, she tried to roll over and go to sleep but once again found it impossible. A faint whispering in the back of her mind was keeping her up, almost like an itch you couldn’t scratch. A sigh escaped Sunset’s mouth as she pulled her fluffy pillow over her head, finally giving in and listening to the damned whisper.

“Come, Sunset Shimmer. Come to the Lands Between and claim your place as Elden Lord.” The voice was still faint but radiated the same strength and power that Princess Celestia did. It was almost like hearing a mother’s call to her lost children, calling them to a home they left ages ago.

Sunset grit her teeth and huffs. The call was strong for sure, but also offered the power she wanted. The power that Princess Celestia was dragging her hooves in giving her, despite the fact that Sunset so clearly had earned it. Once again Sunset couldn’t help but grit her teeth...and finally, haul herself out of bed.

The apprentice gathered a few supplies, some foodstuff, money, and medicine before heading toward the mirror. The single guard that stood in her way was easily taken out by a simple sleep spell, removing any conflict without any blood. A telekinesis spell helped Sunset lower him to the ground safely, preventing him from crashing to the ground in a heap. Once inside, Sunset stepped towards the mirror cautiously, her hoof hovering right before the reflective service.

“Will this actually give me what I want?” the unicorn whispered to herself, concern and pride warring in her tone. So much could be lost here...but so much could be gained as well. It would mean casting aside her title as Princess Celestia’s Student and all the knowledge that it could bring.

But what is that knowledge worth if she refuses to treat you like the prodigy you know you are?

The mirror shifted once again, showing Sunset as a goddess among mortal ponies, the alicorn beaming with sheer power. Those that thought themselves her peers bowed before her majesty, groveling for even a mere taste of her time. Chief among them was ‘Princess Cadance’, the stupid pegasus that managed to cheat her way into achieving what Sunset had to work so hard and fail to get.

Sunset sucked in her breath and without thinking took the plunge. To wherever these ‘Lands Between’ were. To her destiny.

Sunset fell out of the other side of the mirror with a grunt, her legs giving out and sending her facefirst into a dirty floor. The room she fell into was dark, lit only by slowly guttering torches. While the faint light may have hampered one of her senses, the dank smell of rot easily made its way to her nose. That and a second smell, one of blood and death.

The mare rose to her hooves with trepidation thanks to that second smell, only to find herself confused as she tried to settle on all four hooves. For some reason, her flank was high in the air and her hooves felt spread out. Looking down she couldn’t help but gasp at the changes her body went through.

Instead of four hooves and fur, she had hands like a monkey, along with a set of breasts on her chest. Her skin seemed to be the same color as her fur, thankfully. Sunset was wearing a pair of pants, a purple shirt, and a pair of boots, giving her some modesty. One hand went up to her face, revealing a different face than a pony, and a missing horn.

Sunset’s heart skipped a beat at the missing appendage, but one quick mental reach for her magic calmed that fear. She still had her magic, but instead of channeling it through her horn, she seemed to channel it through her hands instead. The ground and air did still hum with magic, just slightly different. Like the difference between two types of apples in taste.

“I wonder if this body is the standard for creatures here...” Sunset muttered to herself, rising to her hindlegs - no, her feet. Thankfully the transformation also fixed her muscle memory, letting her walk on two legs without too many issues.

The room around her was a musty, abandoned stone building. Bits of scrap wood and rusted metal lay against the wall and floor, while cobwebs and dust sat on everything. The ceiling above her rose high into the sky, high enough that a second floor could have easily fit into the building. At the other end of the room sat a large wooden door, which from the faint light coming from underneath most likely led outside.

As Sunset slowly made her way to the door, she noticed something white to the right of the door. The woman let out a small gasp of horror at what sat in the corner of the room: the bloody and dead body of some woman in a white gown and headpiece. She lay slumped over against the wall, leaning to the side. On her lap lay a large knife, its edge serrated like some of the blades used by griffons for maximum bleeding from wounds created by the weapon.

Sunset’s nose crinkled in distaste, but she reached out and grabbed the knife from the dead woman’s lap. After all, she looked like she had barely decomposed so had to have died recently. Whatever killed her could still be nearby. While grabbing the knife with her right hand, her left crackled with a bit of magical energy as she brought some of the fighting spells she learned from Princess Celestia to the fore of her mind.

Now armed and ready, Sunset stepped over to the large twin wooden doors barring her exit. Parting the doors took way more effort than it should have, most likely due to the hinges being almost rusted shut. With a grunt and a groan, Sunset forced them open just enough for her to slip through, finally stepping outside.

The first look at the great outdoors took Sunset’s breath away. The ground in front of her may have been a simply broken pathway leading to a set of stairs descending into a lower patch of the island she found herself on. But rising from the darkness of the cliffs across the water was a massive imposing castle. From what she could see, the stone edifice was about the size of Canterlot itself.

But what caught Sunset’s true attention was a massive golden tree in the distance. It looked much farther away than the castle, but that did not stop it from looming over the landscape like an angry god. Its light shone like the Sun itself, giving the night air the glow of early morning despite it obviously being night. Also radiating from the tree was an intense magic aura, something Sunset could feel even from the incredible distance between the two.

“Well, I guess that is where I need to go,” Sunset grumbled to herself, narrowing her eyes.

The wooden stairs looked old and rickety, but Sunset did not let that stop her from advancing down them. It led to a broken-down courtyard, the stone floor cracked with grass growing from underneath it. The pathway forward led to a simple wooden bridge across a chasm, towards some open-roofed stone building. Sunset sighed and continued forward despite the growing unease shivering down her spine.

Inside the open-roofed building was a small graveyard with a large statue at the end. The statue depicted a woman similar in build to herself in a Y-pose, wearing some kind of simple dress. To the right of the statue was a large archway, while on the left was nothing but a cliff and air.

As Sunset approached the statue, a harsh whistle of something cutting hard through the air came from above her. With a loud crash, a large creature landed right in front of her, forcing Sunset to step back, magic cracking in her hands.

Rising from the dust stood a large mass of flesh and limbs wrapped in a dark blue cloak. Peering out from the front of the cloak was a child’s face, the youthfulness giving the rest of its form a special kind of horror. In its left hand was a large golden shield with a lion embossed on it. On its right side were two arms, one holding a longsword and the other a rapier.

“Shit shit shit shit,” Sunset yelled as the creature tensed up and SCREAMED, her ears ringing from the pitch.

In response, the mage held up her right hand and fired forth a bolt of fire which the creature blocked with its shield. It continued its spin and swung its blades in an arc to behead and bisect Sunset, forcing her to conjure her own magical shield to block the attack. It let out a smaller screech as the blades slid over the shield, almost making it trip over its own legs.

Sunset jumped back as the creature slammed its shield down, kicking up a cloud of dust into Sunset’s eyes. As she was temporarily blinded, the creature lunged forward, stabbing its golden rapier into Sunset’s chest. She screamed in pain, but instead of pulling back, she grabbed the blade by the hilt, holding it inside of her.

With gritted teeth, Sunset slammed her hand into the creature’s face and forced a wave of all her magic outwards. The pulse of magic blasted the creature back, sending the creature flying backward. It crashed into the statue before landing on the ground, stunned. The statue cracked from the force of the blast and slowly topped onto the creature, crushing it under its stony weight.

“Got...you...” Sunset wheezed out before collapsing, the light fading from her eyes...

Author's Note

And so it begins, Sunset Shimmer takes the first steps into the Lands Between....

Chapter 1 - New Friends, New Enemies

Sunset’s body lay, unconscious, in a dingy and dark cave. She lay facedown against the wet floor, the water not high enough to endanger her in any way but enough to make her clothes uncomfortably wet. Next to her sat a rapier-like blade with the hilt and first third of the blade encrusted with gold ornamentation, along with its corresponding gold and steel-plated scabbard.

The cave was as silent as a grave, the only sound being the woman’s soft breathing. That is until the silence was broken by the clip-clop sounds of hooves on stone. A hooved steed resembling a fusion of a horse and goat made its way through the wet cave until it reached Sunset, stopping before her face with a small splash of his front hooves in the puddle before her. He bent down to sniff her head, letting out a small grunt of concern as he did so.

The woman riding on the goarse’s back reached out with one of her pale hands to pet his mane, offering a soothing coo in an effort to calm her steed. A small smile danced on her lips, the rest of her face covered by the dark grey cloak she wore. Her hand gently traced a path up his mane to his right horn, then over to the base of his left horn and down the mane on that side.

“Don’t worry Torrent, fortune is on her side. We found her here, after all.” She slid off Torrent’s back, her grey cloak parting slightly to reveal a light grey traveling dress with a white layer underneath. Her riding boots saved her from the splash she made landing in a puddle, although that quickly became moot as she kneeled by Sunset’s side. At all the motion Sunset stirred and looked up, her eyes half-lidded and clouded in confusion.

“...how strange.” The unknown woman’s voice was clouded with an aura of confusion as she peered down at Sunset. “She is not a Tarnished, but she has come to the Lands Between anyway. Warrior, come to the Gatekeep Ruins and you will find me. If you prove yourself in this fashion I will help you become Elden Lord.”

Sunset strained her eyes at the woman before letting out a groan of pain. Despite her wishes, the grip of unconsciousness held tight and dragged her back under.

A short while later Sunset finally regained her consciousness, letting out a small groan of pain and confusion as she did. She pushed herself up with her strange arms, allowing her to open her eyes without getting a faceful of water and dirt. Her yellow and red hair hung over her face, but she could see through it enough to take in the area around her.

Several meters in front of Sunset sat a small golden tree radiating magic and holy light. Next to the tree sat a short set of stone stairs heading up to an archway, hopefully, a way out. As Sunset got to her feet to investigate the archway, her foot bumped into the sword laying next to her. The woman raised an eyebrow before picking it up, studying it with a glance.

“Huh, this is the sword that that thing stabbed me with...” Sunset frowned and patted her stomach with her other hand. Her unblemished, not wounded stomach. “I thought that thing killed me...how am I alive?” Sunset’s frown deepened but she simply decided to shake her head and sigh. “No point in looking a Gift Deer in the mouth, as Celestia always said...”

Sunset noticed the scabbard hanging from her left side and rolled her eyes, sheathing the sword in one smooth move. On her right side was that knife she found, giving her the option of two weapons if her magic somehow failed her again.

With long but calm strides the woman made her way to the tree, noticing something small and glowing at the base. She carefully reached out with one of her hands, the other one glowing with a flicker of magic in case it was a trap. Sunset carefully picked up the small object, about the size of an avocado pit, and held it up to inspect it.

The strange item looked to be some kind of golden, glowing seed. It was wrapped in miniature branches and bark and radiated healing magic from deep within. While Sunset didn’t have a true name to put to the object, its function was clear enough by looking at it. She shrugged and stuck the seed in one of her pockets to study later.

Sunset’s curiosity now satiated, she turned towards the stone stairs, heading up them once she had drawn her golden sword. Within the archway was a large set of wooden doors lined with dark iron support. With gritted teeth Sunset forced the doors open just enough for her to slip in, albeit slightly panting from the effort.

“I really need to get into shape if every door is like this...” Sunset grumbled to herself.

Passing through the door brought her to a small dusty room, broken cobblestones, and other shattered objects lining the floor. On the right was another set of stairs leading up, so Sunset quickly made her way toward them, eager to get out of this dusty space. However, at the top of the stairs, the mage found herself stopping in place.

To the naked eye, the room she found herself in seemed like an abandoned mausoleum, with two stone sarcophagi sitting on opposite sides of the room. A strange imp statue sat next to an archway on her right, while another archway sat across the room. However, to a powerful mage like her sat not one but three magical auras.

One was bound to the archway on her right, a barrier spell that manifested in a fog-like wall. Tendrils of magic connected it to the imp statue, obviously the key to the door. But in the middle of the room sat a much more powerful source of magic, one that felt almost familiar to her despite having never seen it before.

It was a small golden glow, almost like a weakened coal in a fire. However, despite that, it radiated healing magic, like the seed but to a much higher margin. Despite her usual borderline paranoid nature, Sunset felt like she had to touch it, to draw the power to help her on her quest.

“Well, let’s hope this doesn’t kill me...” Sunset shook her head, ignoring the rippling of her hair caused by this.

Sunset stepped over to the magical embers and reached out with her free hand as well as her magic, seeking something to connect to. With a pulse of light, the embers sparked into a full bonfire of magic, giving Sunset a sense of warmth and peace while she stood next to it. Like her past wounds were no longer an issue and nothing could harm her while she was there.

“It reminds me of the campfires Celestia would light when we would go camping.” Despite herself, Sunset found herself smiling slightly at the memory. “Hopefully there are more of these...campfires out in the world. I doubt I can truly bring this one with me.”

After taking a moment to enjoy the comforting feeling the Campfire brought, Sunset stood up straight and made her way to the archway out. A small passage through the archway led her to a short set of stairs lit by a scattered hooffull of candles with white flames.

Aside from the five steps, the room opened up into a massive circular room ringed by sealed-off archways and torches sharing that same white flame. In the center of the room was a large dais made of marble, ringed by a half-dozen columns each with its own torch. In the center of a dais was a slightly raised part that radiated magic. Looking up showed a lack of a ceiling, just the columns raising up into the darkness.

“Hooves crossed that this is the way out...”

Sunset stepped onto the dais and put one foot on the raised part, which effortlessly was pushed down by the force of her step. A lurch went through the dais before it lifted up, carrying her up toward the darkness. Sunset crouched instinctively but despite her paranoia, the journey upwards was as calm as it could be.

Within seconds the dais passed through a perfectly-sized circular area with just enough room to let it continue its journey upwards. Its resting place was almost a copy of where she was before: a square room with marble columns now surrounding the dais. However, instead of the room being ringed by bricked-off archways and marble columns, this one just had the marble columns.

On top of that, there was a much longer set of stairs leading up to one side of the room, which Sunset quickly made her way to. Up top sat a large iron door flanked by two of those white-flame torches. Sunset reached out to push the door, only to find that it didn’t budge in the slightest. With a frown she examined the door, tracing its sides with one finger to find the hinge.

After a few minutes of prodding and poking Sunset slowly lost her patience. Her eyes and hand glowed with magical light before she punched the door. With all the magic flowing into her fist it was like a small train hit the door, crumpling the metal around her fist and knocking it from the hinges bound to the ceiling.

Once the cloud of dust settled Sunset stepped into the bright light of the outdoors, having to shield her eyes with one hand after so long in the half-light of the torches. Even though she had to squint to see it, the sight she saw was a welcome one to the darkness of the caves.

Before her lay a lightly forested grassland, populated by a ruined castle several hundred meters to the right. Bits of ruins far more ancient did poke up here and there from the ground but almost blended in with the normal rocks and boulders at first glance. In the distance a large castle loomed over a set of cliffs surrounded by fog, a broken stone bridge sprouting from it like a damaged branch. While the supporting columns of the bridge still stood strong, many pieces of it in between were missing, making it unusable.

A short distance from Sunset sat another one of those Campfires, glowing with radiant light. Next to it stood the first bipedal creature that Sunset could recognize as a similar creature to herself, whatever she was. It was cloaked in white, somewhat concealing the leather armor it wore underneath. As Sunset slowly approached she couldn’t help but notice the same carrion smell of blood on him, albeit old and long dried.

Sunset first touched the Campfire, enjoying the feeling of comfort that it brought her. Then she approached the stranger, who looked up at her with its blank white mask. Its gloved claws (hands?) rubbed together, making the stench of blood all the more strong.

“Ah...Tarnished, are we? Come to the Lands Between for the Elden Ring, hmm?” Its voice was raspy but undeniably masculine, like a colt who smoked way too many packs of cigarettes. Sunset felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle up at the sound of his voice.

“What are you talking about?” Sunset angrily retorted, her fist balling in frustration. “What is a ‘Tarnished’?” She almost spat the last word in distaste.

The figure let out a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head slightly. “Why, that would be you my little lambkin. A warrior outside of Grace returning to claim the title of Elden Lord. However, just like many of your kind, you are maidenless. Without guidance, without the strength of runes, and without an invitation to the Roundtable Hold...you are fated, it seems, to die in obscurity. What a pity...”

Sunset felt her cheeks grow hot. “What does me having a marefriend have anything to do with my strength? I doubt I need this ‘Roundtable Hold’. I am Sunset Shimmer, after all, the protege of Princess Celestia Solaris, and I have the strength to claim this power despite your lack of faith.”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. Regardless, take care to listen to kind Varre’s words, my little lambkin.” Varre pointed to the Campfire behind Sunset, making the woman raised her eyebrow a little. “That golden light, Grace as its often called, is what gives life to warriors like you. Sometimes it points in a specific direction, which is known as the Guidance of Grace. It will lead you on the path that a Tarnished like you must travel.”

Sunset narrowed her eyes at the mysterious figure. “And where should it point, Varre?”

Varre shrugged, pointing again at the Campfire. “That is for you to see, Sunset Shimmer. Take a look and tell me where you see it point.”

Sunset frowned but turned back to the Campfire, seeing a faint golden light radiate from it up in a crescent, pointing forwards towards the castle. “I see it pointing towards those cliffs up there.”

“Ah, Stormveil Castle, home of Godrick the Grafted.” Varre let out a scathing chuckle. “Then that is the path you should take, Sunset Shimmer. Madienless you may be, but perhaps the Guidance of Grace may save you. I wish you luck, my little lambkin.”

Sunset shuddered at the nickname but stepped forwards off the little cliff, preparing to head toward the shell of a church. As she walked she heard the heavy hoofsteps of a large hooved creature, making her whip her head in that direction. It sounded like a creature easily the size of an Ursa Minor, putting a large bit of concern through her heart.

Ahead of her pacing around was a large horse the size of Princess Celestia wearing golden armor, with a bipedal creature easily twice her size on its back. The creature was also wearing heavy golden armor and held a large golden halberd the size of him in its right hand as easily as her holding her sword. On the other hand was a large golden shield covered in roots, almost as big as Sunset herself. As Sunset paused it turned its head towards her and pulled on the reins, stopping the horse in its tracks.

“Uh...hi?” Sunset gave an awkward wave to the figure. The aura the creature gave off was a menacing one, not helped by the ring of crucified humanoids around it. The base of their crucifixions had been stuck to the ground and stone, but the timing of the figure meeting Sunset was impeccable.

With a speed almost impossible for a creature of its size, the bipedal figure used the reins to have the horse swing around to face Sunset and charge. Sunset quickly summoned a shield in front of herself for protection, only to have a low sweep of the halberd shatter it and send her flying backward. Sliding backward on the grass on her back, Sunset wasn’t able to defend herself from the return swing of the halberd. Her eyes widened for a moment before the halberd came down on her head...

Sunset sat up with a gasp, one hand holding her head. She had died, she was sure of it, but somehow she was sitting next to the Campfire she had found only minutes previously. Varre was still staring down at her quietly, rubbing his hands together. It took a minute but Sunset was slowly able to calm her breathing.

Somehow I came back from death...if what Varre said is true and this ‘Grace’ is what’s keeping me alive, where did this power come from?

Sunset slowly stood up, checking herself over for any wounds or scrapes. Surprisingly she found none, almost like time had rewound itself to bring her back to where she once was. She could still hear the knight and steed patrolling the area, its size and armament making it a very audible presence.

Once more Sunset went forward to the church, but this time used a simple cantrip to make her footsteps silent. With the aid of the spell, she snuck over to the church, holding her breath the entire time. The grass tall enough to reach her hand while crouched was soft, a familiar but strange feeling considering she always had a coat of fur as a buffer before.

As Sunset entered the church proper she let out the breath she was holding, relaxing slightly. The inside of the building was non-existent, with the ceiling and much of the walls long since broken away. Inside was no floor - instead, grass and other small plants grew up from the dirt. The columns that once supported the ceiling still stood, however, despite no longer being needed.

In the middle of the broken building sat another Campfire, one Sunset eagerly raced towards. As soon as she grabbed it she nearly fell over in relief, the tension of dying still racking her body. Once she looked up she noticed she wasn’t alone: a solitary person sat by a campfire tucked away in a corner. Sitting with him was what almost looked like a Saddle Arabian, albeit covered in bags rather than silk.

The figure was dressed in a red cloak and hat studded with gems and was playing a mournful song on a stringed instrument. As Sunset approached he stopped playing and raised his head, looking at her with golden eyes. The rest of his face was hidden by a cloth from his nose down, making his expression unreadable.

“Hello there.” The figure greeted her, his voice old and tired. “You are a Tarnished, I can see it. And I can also see...that you're not after my throat. Then why not purchase a little something? I am Kale, purveyor of fine goods.”

Sunset nodded and took a seat by the fire, enjoying its true warmth as the night and cold slowly began to settle in. “I am Sunset Shimmer. I will admit, I still do not understand this title of ‘Tarnished’, sounds almost like an insult.”

Kale chuckled, a good-natured one instead of Varre’s mocking laugh. “I suppose it is an insult, truth be told. It refers to a warrior who lost the sight of grace and was banished from the Lands Between, either losing it themselves or having an ancestor who lost it.”

Sunset frowned and rubbed her chin in thought. “Huh. I don’t think I have an ancestor from these lands...” She raised an eyebrow as she thought and turned back to the merchant. “Where do you fit in? Are you a Tarnished as well?”

“No, no.” Kale shook his head, waving a hand over his instrument. “I am of a nomadic people, selling wares as I travel. Tell me, are you new to the Lands Between?” Sunset simply nodded her head. “This land has been tainted by madness since the shattering of the Elden Ring. It's only warriors like yourself who keep things from drying up entirely. Let's say you're a very welcome customer.” He let out another almost hacking cough-laugh.

“I see.” Sunset frowned and shook her head. “I do not have any money at the moment, but may I lie by the fire and sleep a while? Once I do have some coin I’ll make sure to come back and purchase something.”

Kale shrugged and waved a dismissive hand. “Go ahead, take your rest. Just make sure once you head out in the morning you come back in one piece. After all, every customer counts.”

Sunset joined Kale in his dry laughter as she curled up, using an offered sack as a pillow. It wasn’t her room back in Canterlot, but she felt she could trust Kale to not kill her in her sleep. Once she gained the power she could feel this world held she could sleep in the bedding she felt she deserved, for now, she could slum it. With a yawn, she curled up and drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

Today Sunset 'meets' Malenia, talks to the creep known as Varre, and learns that she can come back from the dead! Well, with the memories of dying but eh, hogwash when compared to the benefits!

Also pro tip: You don't have to try to fight everything! Just like Sunset learned with the Tree Sentinel! Be smart lol

Chapter 2 - An Accord

Sunset woke with a groan, rising to her elbows to see the same church she fell asleep in. The air was misty but even with that hindering, her Sunset could tell that it was early morning. After all, every morning she had been roused by Princess Celestia’s raising of her sun, and not even ending up in another land could change that.

The merchant Kale still sat at the campfire, except instead of playing his instrument he simply read a paper. His yellow-golden eyes slowly moved across the parchment with not a lack of understanding, but an obvious intent to commit the knowledge within to memory. At his guest’s groan he glanced up for a moment, his eyes shimmering with mirth.

“Good morning Kale.” Sunset let out a small yawn before getting to her feet, trying to stretch her unfamiliar body’s muscles. “Thank you for letting me sleep by your fire. Out of curiosity, what is the name of this building?”

“This is the Church of Elleh.” Kale shrugged, his cloth masking his expression but his body language loud and clear. “Once it was a temple to Marika, but those times have long since passed. Now it is simply an old shell, one that can do no more but offer a bit of refuge to merchants.”

Sunset nodded once before frowning. “And who is this ‘Marika’. Is she some kind of goddess?”

Kale laughed long and hard, just light enough to not come off as truly mocking. “Who is Marika? Ha! Yes, she is the goddess of these lands, the holder of the Elden Ring. She once ruled these lands alongside Radagon the Elden Lord, but no one has seen hide nor hair of both since the War of the Shattering tore these lands asunder.”

“Hmm.” Sunset frowned at the implications. After all, she knew what a god or goddess was from conversations with griffons and deer, but a physical one was something new to her. The closest she could think of was her teacher, but Celestia would deny being any kind of divinity no matter what. “And where could I find her?”

Kale jerked a thumb behind him. “See that giant glowing tree? That’s the Erdtree, how the ‘Greater Will’ influences these lands. Its roots burrow into Lyndell, the capital city. If she’s still alive, that’s where she’d be.” He spoke the words ‘Greater Will’ like a curse, almost spitting them out.

Sunset couldn’t help but smirk slightly. “Not a fan of the Greater Will, huh?”

Kale huffed and shook his head. “Why should I? It and the Golden Order shunned my kind and forced us into our nomadic lifestyle. They’ve never given me a reason to like them, and so I won’t.”

Sunset nodded once and sighed, glancing back at the Campfire, still glittering with its golden magical light. A faint arc came off it, pointing out of a hole in the side of the ruined church. Sunset dusted off her clothes and retrieved her knife and blade, securing them both to her side. Once armed she stepped over to the side of the church...which had less of a hole than a whole missing swathe of brick and mortar.

“I’ll see you when I have more money, Kale.” Sunset nodded her goodbye before heading out of the ruined building.

In front of her lay a dirt road with broken bits of fencing around it, having long forgone maintenance. A few sheep walked around the sides of the road, baa-ing their hearts out as they grazed. Farther ahead of the road the grass became shaded by a small forest, with the dirt road continuing onwards.

Sunset paused though, frowning at the sight of one of those bipedal creatures coming out of the forest. Humans, something within her mind clarified. That human was wearing iron armor that covered them head to toe, although the chest seemed to be ringmail instead of plate. On his chest he had a surcoat with an insignia split down the middle: his right was green with a golden tree while the left was red with a golden lion on it. On his hip sat a longsword while he held a torch in his left hand.

“Sentry...” Sunset grumbled as she crouched behind a bush, careful to not be seen. Thankfully her clothes were simple denim and leather, allowing her to move without too much noise. “Considering almost everypony else I’ve met has been hostile, its best to move with caution...could be friendly though, like Kale.”

Sunset kept one hand on the hilt of her blade as she stepped out of the bush, boldly walking towards the sentry as he came down the path. As he saw her he drew his longsword, calling out loudly through the iron mask he wore on his face. “Intruder!”

“Welp, so much for that!” Sunset yelped and thrust her left hand forward, her hands glinting with magic. A beam of force pulsed out of her hand towards the sentry, but he was just fast enough to dodge it.

With a battle cry, he ran towards Sunset and took a swing, forcing her to dodge under his blade. Using her momentum she drew her own blade and thrust forward, impaling him through the back. The sentry cried out in pain and fell to one knee, pulling the sword out of Sunset’s hands as he did so. She yelped in surprise but pulled out her knife, plunging it into the back of the sentry’s neck. He gave one last sigh and sagged, seemingly dead.

However, Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise as instead of simply lying there, the sentry’s body collapsed into ash, armor and all. Her sword clattered to the ground as his body vanished, the ash drifting away in the wind. Sunset shook her head and grabbed her sword, shoving it back into its scabbard.

Once again she stepped into the brush, sneaking her way down the left side of the road. After a dozen or so meters she saw another armored guard on one knee by a campfire, one hand out towards the flame. Sunset couldn’t help but grit her teeth as she snuck closer to the guard, pulled out her knife, and stabbed him in the back as well.

This one fell with a simple groan, his body also turning to ash as he died. However, instead of leaving nothing behind, he left behind his rusted iron greaves. Sunset raised an eyebrow at the oddity but shrugged and reached for them, after all, armor was armor. Strangely enough, as Sunset tested their fit they seemed to almost mold to her body, even though the sentry was far bigger than her.

“This place keeps getting weirder and weirder...” Sunset grumbled under her breath.

One more guard stood in her path towards the end of the road and this patch of the forest: a sentry off to the right looking into the distance with his torch. Just like the one before Sunset snuck over and stabbed him in the back, earning a quick kill for her stealth. He also left nothing behind, making her roll her eyes.

At the edge of the forest, the path dipped down, the ruins before her sitting in some kind of basin. It looked like a hollowed-out shell of a fortification now long broken and destroyed, save for the large gate and battlements carved into the hills to her right. Squinting her eyes she could see several sentries wandering the ruins, lit by the glow of campfires and torches. Several banners raised over the broken stone walls adorned with the split sigil of a golden tree and lion.

Further to the right next to the furthermost edge of the gate from where she stood was another one of those magical Campfire things. Gritting her teeth in concentration Sunset crouched down and stealthily made her way around the edge of the woods to not attract any attention. Once she ran out of the woods she moved from bush to bush, hugging the side of the rocky hill the gate itself was hewn from.

Once Sunset reached the gate itself she sprinted over and touched the Campfire, activating its protection with a pulse of magic. She sighed and lay next to it, somehow knowing in her soul that while she sat or lay next to the magical light she was safe from attack. She did open her eye as a woman in a dark grey cloak materialized a few feet from her, stepping forward before kneeling by the light across from her. As she parted her cloak to allow herself to kneel, she revealed the light brown and white tunic underneath, making Sunset feel like she recognized her.

“Greetings, traveler from beyond the fog. I am Melina.” The woman reached up to her hood, pulling it back to reveal a pale face framed by shoulder-length dark pink hair. Her right eye was a light brown, while her right was closed with some kind of tattoo of a claw across it and down part of her cheek. “I offer you an accord.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and moved to her own sitting position, her face guarded like her mentor always taught her. “An accord?”

“Yes. Have you heard of the Finger Maidens? They serve the Two Fingers, offering guidance, and aid, to warriors like you. But you, I am afraid, are maidenless. I can play the role of maiden, turning runes to strength. To aid you in your search for the Elden Ring. You need only take me with you, to the foot of the Erdtree.” She held out her hand towards Sunset. “After all, I can only imagine a warrior like you is in search of the godly power the Elden Ring holds.”

Sunset rubbed her chin, scrunching her nose in thought. That godly power sounded like what she was after in this realm, the destiny that Princess Celestia took from her. But gaining so much while the other gained so little sounded...odd. “No offense, but how come you can’t get there yourself?”

Melina offered a small, sad smile. “I am limited by my own power. I am a mere shadow of what I once was, and must be brought to the Erdtree by one I have struck an accord with. Once we have done so, I can be summoned at any Site of Grace like this one to converse with as you make your journey.”

Sunset frowned at the almost lack of an answer but shook her head. “Very well then. I shall accept your accord.”

Melina smiled again, this time a small smile of happiness. “Then it is settled. Summon me by grace to turn runes into strength. And one more matter...” She reached into her cloak and pulled out a small golden ring. “I bequeath to you this ring.” Sunset took the ring from her outstretched hand, having to fight back a small blush at such a provocative gift. “Use it to traverse great distances. It will summon a spectral steed named Torrent. Torrent has chosen you. Treat him with respect.”

Sunset blinked in surprise but nodded, putting it on her ring finger. “I will do so, don’t worry.”

“Good.” Melina nodded and rose to her feet. “We shall see each other again soon, then.” With a shimmer of magic, she vanished, turning into faint blue specks that disappeared in the wind.

“...what the hell did I make a pact with?” Sunset muttered under her breath. “And damn, I forgot to ask what runes were....”

Author's Note

And so Melina the Finger Maiden has entered the picture! Out of curiosity, would it help if I added images of the various bosses and NPCs alongside their descriptions? I am trying my best but a picture is worth a thousand words after all.

As for the Godrick Soldier Greaves Sunset gained - funnily enough played the path Sunset would have to take and got them as a drop so decided she would as well. Rng helped her this time!

Chapter 3 - Gatehouse Ruins

Sunset scowled as she sat in front of the Campfire, the glowing piece of magic that shielded her from danger and healed her exhaustion. She had entered a pact with Melina, for better or worse, but was now faced with a choice. Either go through the Gatefront and head directly to the castle now or stay back and do a bit more exploring.

I could barely defeat that monstrosity back when I first stepped over, and couldn’t defeat that armored knight. If I head off now there are probably going to be foes just as strong, if not stronger...I’m going to need to make myself stronger before I can attempt something like that.

With a small groan, Sunset got to her feet, brushing off the dirt from her pants. Right down the dirt road from the massive stone gate and the ‘Site of Grace’, as Melina described it, were the stone ruins of a barracks. Sunset had previously snuck by it instead of just charging in, but if she played her cards right...

“I wonder what other weapons and armor rest in that camp,” Sunset muttered to herself. “Well, only one way to find out.”

Sunset crouched and slowly snuck her way toward the ruins of the barracks. On her left was a large black hearse with a soldier guarding the back of it. Further inside a few soldiers sat around one of two bonfires alongside dark grey wolves. Most likely trained attack wolves, if their lack of hostility towards the soldiers were any indication.

Using her skills in stealth, Sunset was able to creep over to the side of the hearse without the guard noticing her. The side facing away from the guard held nothing, so the mage slowly slipped toward him. Sunset pulled out her dagger with almost exaggerated slowness, preparing to stab down with full force. Once close enough she leaped forward, plunging her dagger into his neck with one hand and preparing to cushion his fall with the other.

Thankfully she didn’t need to do that, as he crumpled into her arms and turned into dust. Sunset waved off the dust from her face and turned to the black and iron chest - her prize. She cracked it open, wincing at the loud squeak that issued forth from the rusted hinges - and smiled at the blade inside. It was a greatsword with a golden hilt, looking like the longswords the soldiers wore except grown to greatsword size.

“Hmm...I don’t think I’m physically strong enough to use a sword like this.” Sunset grumbled and rubbed her chin with a hand. “I could try to do that ‘hammerspace’ thing that Celestia taught me.”

Sunset picked up the greatsword, one hand on the hilt and one hand holding the sheathed blade. Closing her eyes Sunset imagined that she was in a house built in her mind with her magic - a Mind Room if you would. Inside were a few knick-knacks and books she kept in there, alongside a large pile of parchment and inkwells for easy summoning. On a table sat a bag of bits and a small pile of strange golden coins.

Sunset frowned and stepped over to the mysterious addition to her Mind Room. There looked to be a little over a thousand of those coins, all glowing with familiar magic. They reminded her of the Campfires, or ‘Sites of Grace’. Maybe these were the Runes that Kale and Melina were talking about.

The mage put the thought aside to ask for the future and instead moved over to one wall. With a flick of her wrist she made several different weapon racks to store any blades or armor she found on her journey. Wouldn’t do to try to carry all of them after all, that would throw her back out.

Opening her eyes, the sword was gone, safe in her Mind Room. Sunset smiled at both the success and the fact that she could still access the Mind Room in this new land. She rose from her kneeling position and moved back into the brush, moving to the second hearse on the other side of the camp.

Halfway there the bushes had been cleared out for a small dirt path where a soldier stood, staring out into the distance under his bronze mask. Sunset moved to sneak past them but apparently ran out of luck. A rock slid under her boot mid-step, forcing her to fall to one knee with an obvious clank of metal on the stone.

The soldier turned around to face Sunset, who gave an awkward smile in return. “Uhhhhh...I’m friendly?”

He growled and grabbed a horn from his belt, putting it to his lips and blowing the alarm. Sunset jumped to her feet and tried to stab the guard before he could but was slightly too late. The soldier died with his horn to his lips as Sunset’s sword and dagger plunged into his lungs, crumpling into dust like his brother-in-arms beforehand. But the alarm had already been raised, and all around Sunset were the sounds of guards jumping to their feet and grabbing their weapons.

“Shit.” Sunset groaned, holding her straight sword and dagger in a ready position.

Seven soldiers gathered around her, five holding a sword and shield and two standing back with a heavy crossbow in their hands. Slowly walking towards the group was a much more fancily armored soldier, his full steel helmet affixed with a red plume that caught the eye. In his hands was a spear with a wide tip as well as a red great shield gilded in gold. The three tamed wolves ran around his boots, barking in excitement as they followed their master.

“As a Knight of Godrick, I give you one chance Tarnished.” The fancily armored soldier’s voice boomed, his higher authority clear in his tone. “Surrender or be slain.”

Sunset grinned, her grip on her weapons tightening. “How about you surrender before I kill you?”

The knight shook his head, and nodded his head, his command clear to his men. Three of the swordsmen jumped forwards, blades at the ready and careening towards Sunset. The other two swordsmen started to pace around, moving toward Sunset’s flanks. Alongside the charge two crossbow bolts came flying toward her, forcing her to move quickly to avoid them.

With a battle cry, Sunset rolled forwards, ducking under the bolts as they sailed over her head. Using the momentum of the roll she slammed her shoulder into the first soldier’s shield, sending him falling back. Sunset quickly took the opportunity to ram her dagger into the soldier’s neck, turning away as he choked on his own blood and died. The other two swung at her, with one attack able to be blocked with her own sword and the other slashing a chunk from her side.

Sunset hissed in pain and spun around, kicking the soldier on her right away as she did so. For the one that injured her, the one on her left, she feinted with her sword and stabbed him in the neck with her dagger. As he died she was hit in the left arm by two crossbow bolts, making her let go of the dagger in pain. Blood seeped down her injured arm from the major wound, but Sunset refused to let that stop her.

Instead, she channeled her pain into her magic and pointed at the left crossbowman, firing off a bolt of concussive magic. The soldier was too busy reloading his crossbow to notice the attack and took it head-on. The concussive blast sent him flying into one of the ruined stone walls, both him and the wall shattering on impact. The second crossbowman took a step back in surprise, turning back to the mage just in time to watch the bolt of fire that lit him aflame smack into his chest.

The swordsman still on her right once again stepped forwards, shoving his shield into her shoulder in an attempt to force her off balance. Sunset instead rolled with the impact, using it to put a little bit of distance between her and her opponent. For him, she grabbed the dagger from the ashes of his friend and launched it, the extra force from her magic allowing it to pierce through his shield and straight into his heart. He collapsed and turned into dust, only his sword remaining.

The final two soldiers charged forwards, blades held high and war cries on their lips. Sunset grit her teeth and channelled her magic, firing off a fireball at the two. Both soldiers died screaming as their flesh burnt and armor grew molten in the head, a terrible death. Sunset couldn’t help but fall to one knee, her magical exhaustion from firing off so many attack spells hitting her hard.

“Hmph. You are a powerful mage.” the Knight grunted, leveling his shield and spear at Sunset. “Perhaps I won’t kill you. After all, you would be a powerful gift to Lord Godrick.”

Sunset scowled, grabbing the fallen soldier’s longsword and rising to her feet. The two straight swords were a strange pair in her hands, but felt almost natural to wield together “I am nopony's ‘gift’.”

Sunset tightened her grip on the two blades, breathing out slowly in an effort to calm herself. Almost instinctively she crossed her blades, conjuring up the magical potential held within her golden blade. A golden tree symbol appeared before her for a second before fading away, her swords now glowing with a golden light.

The knight readied his shield and thrust his spear forwards, forcing Sunset to roll to the side to avoid it. As soon as she began to roll the three wolves jumped her, maws wide to rip and tear. Sunset growled and shoved her blades upwards, skewering one of the wolves through the stomach. The other two were able to land glancing bites, one tearing a chunk out of her jacket and the other nearly landing a kidney shot.

Sunset roared and ripped the blades from the dying wolf, nearly tearing it in half in the process. The dust didn’t have a chance to settle before Sunset leaped through it, blades at the ready to stab the knight. With a speed borne from the grace of her golden blades, she launched several rapid strikes at the heavily armored opponent. The knight readied his shield deflecting almost all the blows with his well-crafted tool. The second to last strike finally broke through his guard, forcing his shield just enough to the side to allow the final strike to land.

With a harsh cry of metal-on-metal, both blades punched through the knight’s chest, the holy fire horrifically burning through him. Angled upwards like they were the swords carved through the knight’s lungs, forcing the air out of him. Sunset grit her teeth and crossed her blades, carving through his heart and making the wound in his back all the bigger. The knight dropped his spear to the ground as he sagged in his death throes, his hand instead reaching out to Sunset.

“Your journey is in vain...Godric-” The knight choked out before Sunset shoved him back, her swords ripping out of him with a squelch.

Sunset spat on the defeated knight as he faded into naught but dust and ash, leaving his spear behind. The shaft was made of a simple golden-lacquered wood while the steel tip was solid and wide. Panting Sunset whirled around to face the two wolves that were circling behind her. She let out a loud shout and stepped forward, blades above her head to make her look bigger.

Thankfully the wolves ran off, scared by the death of their master and Sunset’s intimidation. Once they were far away enough Sunset fell to her knees, panting as the adrenaline slowly faded from her body. Her left arm was starting to completely fail, the two bolts in her arm causing her to bleed everywhere. The other various wounds all over her body sang their own chorus of pain to her weary brain.

“Must...not...pass out...yet...” Sunset groaned in pain as she forced herself back to her feet, her wounds sapping her strength and magical exhaustion nearly crippling her.

Sunset stepped over to a now abandoned wooden table, setting the two blades down upon it. With a huff she ripped off the bottom half of her shirt, giving her some material to work with. The former unicorn had to grit her teeth as she pulled the two bolts out, the heads of the bolts ripping her flesh out as it went. The makeshift bandage was wrapped tight around the large wound, tight enough to prevent too much blood loss but not too tight to cut off blood flow completely.

She let the other wounds sit as they lay, as they weren’t too deep to bother her yet. The blades were wiped off before they went into their scabbards, including the dagger she threw earlier. Now that the ruins were completely depopulated, she walked over to the final hearse, flinging the chest open to find a flail.

“Great. Something I don’t really need.” Sunset grumbled under her breath. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the weapon into her Mind Home, to be used sometime later.

Sunset squinted her eyes as she saw another one of those Sites of Grace further down the road. With a shrug she made her way over there, ready for its protection to properly bandage her wounds. She closed her eyes and waved a hand over the golden magical light, letting the wave of holy magic wash over her. Suddenly no longer feeling her wounds Sunset opened one of her eyes, seeing that all that blood was now gone.

“Well, that’s convenient,” Sunset grumbled under her breath.

Author's Note

Welp, there is 90% of Sunset's combat spell repertoire shown. Minus teleporting and shields, hard to do that when you're being swarmed after all.

Also, Sunset has now gained: Lordsworn's Greatsword, Lordsworn's Straight Sword, Flail, Partisan, and 500 Runes!

Up next for those interested: The Boc, The Samurai, and the Pot

Chapter 4 - The Night Knight

Now properly healed, Sunset went to get up from her kneeling position by the Site of Grace. A moment before she could do so Melina knelt down across from her, appearing from nowhere in a shower of glitter. Sunset raised her eyebrow at the woman, once again settling into her own seat.

“Hello, Melina.” Sunset nodded her head at her Finger Maiden. “What can I do you for?”

“I believe you forgot something, Sunset Shimmer.” Melina reached into her cloak and pulled out a simple piece of parchment, passing it over to Sunset. “This is a map of the west side of Limgrave, the part of the Lands Between ruled over by Godrick the Golden.”

That is totally not an ominous name for this area.

Sunset opened the map, scanning over its contents for a moment. “I see. Thank you.”

“Additionally, that seed you carry with you. Pass it to me.” Melina held out her hand as Sunset dug in her jacket pocket, pulling out a golden seed. She passed it to Melina with no small reluctance, as Sunset could still feel the potent healing magic within the seed.

Melina held the seed in one palm before closing her hand, golden magic suffusing her arm for almost a full minute. Once the glow faded, instead of a seed in her hand, she had a golden chalice filled with a red liquid. It radiated the same healing magic as the golden seed, but more...refined.

“This is what is known as a Flask of Crimson Tears.” Melina passed it back to Sunset. “Drink it when you are injured, and it will heal you. If you find more of those golden seeds or any Sacred Tears on your journey I can make you more or make them more potent, respectively.”

Sunset nodded and put the stoppered golden chalice on a part of her belt, allowing her to easily reach it if need be. “I shall. Thank you.” This ‘thanks’ was a more genuine one, instead of the professional one she learned from her mentor.

Melina nodded once before fading away into a mist of glittering sparks, back to wherever she went. Sunset finally got back to her feet, brushing the dirt and grass off of her pants as best she could.

“Alright, so. Those ruins had two roads going to it, one from that church and the other heading off into the distance.” Sunset muttered to herself, rubbing her chin in thought. “I guess I should head down this new road. After all, it looks like this whole place just loops back around that giant lake over there.”

Her next step now figured out, Sunset nodded to herself in agreement. Turning towards the new path, Sunset lifted the whistle ring that Melina gave her and let out a sharp whistle through it. With a yelp she found herself lifted up, her steed Torrent apparating below her from a cloud of sparkles. The steed looked almost like a large earth pony, albeit with a set of goat horns rising from his flat grey mane. She gave the gorse a gentle pat on the side of his neck and pointed out in the distance.

“Hey, we’re going to be going over there, gotcha?”

The gorse let out a small snort before cantering down the road, moving fast enough that they quickly gained ground but not too fast for Sunset’s ability to hang on. As they went down the dirt road the grassland became speckled with large evergreen trees, a few deer and goats running around in the foliage. On one side of the road, a hooffull of withered-looking older humans were walking, two of them holding long Torchpoles, the middle one holding a staff with a diamond in the top.

While Sunset and her steed were passing the three other travelers, both Torrent and Sunset heard a faint cry over on their left. Torrent’s left ear flicked and rotated over in that direction, while Sunset simply turned her head. It sounded like it came from one of the batches of trees to the side of the road.

“Oi, you there! Could you help me out?” Came a faint voice from the treeline, like a normally rather small voice was yelling from a great distance.

“...huh. Let’s go check that out, Torrent.” Sunset nudged the gorse a tad with the reins, having the steed head over to the treeline.

There didn’t seem to be anything visually strange in the trees, just a hooffull of evergreens, and a few forest animals. There was one small sapling that radiated magic that caught Sunset’s attention, not powerful enough to make anything but enough that it was obviously of magical origin. As Sunset turned away to look at the other side of the batch of trees she heard that same quiet voice behind her.

“Hey, you there! Stop pretending you can’t see me!” The voice let out a small whimper. “Why won’t anyone look at me? I’m not that ugly...”

Sunset hopped off of Torrent, who disappeared back into the same ethereal glitter he came from. With nothing but confidence in her stride, she went over to the small magical sapling...and kicked it. With a poof of smoke and a yelp, a strange simian creature fell over from where the sapling was. His skin was pale pink, and he wore a black and dark brown cloak with a black hat.

“Ow, what did you do that for?” The simian creature whined, holding his side.

“I was seeing if it was the tree that was talking,” Sunset answered, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. “How did you even end up as a sapling anyway?”

The simian got back to his feet with a wince and shook his head, a frown forming on his face. “Some clod turned me into one, not sure how, I don’t do magic. Thank you for breaking the spell. Name’s Boc! Boc the Seamster!”

“Alright Boc, that explains the ‘how’ but not the ‘why’.” Sunset got to one knee to better look Boc in the eye. “Why did that ‘clod’ turn you into a tree?”

Boc fidgeted with his hands and looked away in shame. “B-because I am a Demi-Human, Mistress. Most people don’t like us, on account of us being ‘born outside of Grace’ and all.”

Sunset frowned, unconsciously closing and opening her right hand in irritation. “I see.”

“Oh! Uh, I should give you something to express my thanks!” Boc desperately began reaching into his coat pockets, his face slowly getting more and more stressed. “Oh, what a shame.

When they threw me out of the cave, they took everything I owned...this is all I have to express my thanks.” Boc pulled out two handfuls of white mushrooms and held them up to Sunset. “I hope you can forgive me".

Sunset pushed the mushrooms back to Boc, her browed furrowed in confusion. “If it’s all you own, keep it then.”

Boc bowed his head low as he put the mushrooms back into his jacket. “Thank you, Mistress. Uh, I could sneak back into the cave, and bring back something of actual value.”

Sunset’s frown deepened in exasperation. “You don’t have to do that. I am not that weak that I need the last pennies of a serf.”

“I-I beg of you, Mistress, let me be useful to you.” Boc started shivering in fear despite the brave face he tried to put on. “J-just, ah, give me a moment. I-I'm frightened of them... So I have to gather myself. My knees start knockin'...just thinking bout that god-awful cave on the shore.”

Sunset had half a mind to just start walking away from the terrified demi-human, but one of Celestia’s lessons rose unbidden to her mind. ‘True loyalty is hard to come by, try to foster it in potential allies whenever you can’. So instead Sunset sighed and pinched her brow in irritation before once again facing the demi-human.

“If you insist then I won’t stop you. But if you get injured go to the church over there and you’ll eventually see me again. In that case, I’ll help you get your stuff back from that cave.” Boc opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by Sunset raising her hand. “That isn’t a request, that is an order. If you want to serve me then I need you in one piece, Boc. Now go.”

Boc nodded and scurried off into the distance, still shivering in fear but having regained some kind of backbone. Sunset shook her head and got back to her feet, chuckling at the speed of the diminutive figure. Looking up towards the sky, despite the lack of a true sun Sunset could see that it was slowly approaching nightfall. The approaching darkness made Sunset frown slightly, but she turned on her heel and continued forwards instead of dawdling about any longer.

In front of her the countryside split, a ravine cutting through the land towards the north. On her left the grassland fell away into a sheer set of cliffs, hanging over the massive lake that the ravine connected to. Across the ravine sat a solid stone bridge, guarded by three soldiers sitting by a small bonfire to keep warm. Far in the distance across the bridge were what looked like the tops of large trees, with an even larger one reaching high above the hills.

“Huh, would you look at that? Looks almost like a smaller version of that massive tree.” Sunset muttered to herself as she approached the bridge.

The three guards got to their feet as Sunset approached, pulling out their daggers in preparation for a fight. Unlike the soldiers Sunset fought in the ruins, the only armor they wore was a bit of chainmail draped over the shoulders of their dirty white tabards, leather gauntlets, and an iron wide-brim hat and mask. Additionally, instead of wearing the colors of their liege-lord, they wore dirty white tabards and pants that ended in badly maintained boots.

Sunset drew her blades, crossing them to activate the ornamental blade’s enchantment to cover them in what felt like holy magic. The first foot soldier died with a yelp, his head struck off his body with a swing of the gilded sword, the chainmail around his neck barely giving any resistance. The other two attacked at once, one slashing at Sunset’s neck while the other went to stab her stomach.

With a twirl of her blades, Sunset was able to parry the attacks, although the fact she was outnumbered did require her to take a few steps back. The footsoldiers kept the pressure up, swapping off attacking high and low to keep Sunset on the back foot. The former unicorn grit her teeth and decided to change tactics, stabbing forward instead of blocking one of the dagger swings.

Sunset’s left sword stabbed forwards, smashing through the left foot soldier’s eyepiece into his head and back out through his neck. The footsoldier collapsed forwards before he dusted, dragging Sunset’s sword out of her hand. The other foe used this opening to stab forward, his dagger planting itself in Sunset’s side. The former unicorn hissed in pain and slapped the side of the footsoldier’s helmet with her now free palm. She gathered some magical energy into her palm and released it into his head, blasting it apart in a burst of magical fire.

Sunset let out a small breath, pulling out the dagger from her side as the body of her last opponent turned to ash before her. Unfortunately, the dagger dissipated with the rest of his body, leaving Sunset without a true prize. She let out a small sigh of frustration and reached down to grab her discarded blade, scooping it up with little effort. Before she got the chance to sheathe her blades, she heard the sound of metal and leather and once again took a glance at the bridge.

In the middle of the bridge sat what at first glance looked like the silhouette of the armored knight Sunset met near the church. But as it stepped closer, Sunset saw that it was more like a dark twin to the golden knight. His steed looked like a normal black horse but was wrapped in a black cloak that obscured all of it but its hooves and a bit of its leg. The knight on the back of the horse was wearing an all-encompassing black armor with black feathers sprouting out of the back of his helmet. In his hand, the knight held a black glaive as large as Sunset was tall.

“Well, hopefully, he’s weaker than his friend was,” Sunset grumbled under her breath, once again expending a touch of magic to wreath her blades in holy light.

With a flurry of footfalls Sunset charged the knight, slashing to the side with both her swords. The knight pulled his steed to the other side, dodging much of the strike but not fast enough to completely avoid the blow. His horse whinnied in pain as the swords slashed into her flesh, making Sunset wince in sympathetic pain at the too-pony-like sound.

The knight used the opportunity to swing his glaive down, forcing Sunset to roll to the side to dodge the blow. The sheer force of the attack caused the bridge to crack slightly, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

I really don’t want that hitting me.

Sunset was forced to dodge back a little more as the knight’s steed tried to shoulder-check her. With a hiss of frustration, Sunset swung each sword in a wide arc, forcing the knight back lest his steed got hit by one of the blades. The extra space gave Sunset the time to adopt a more aggressive pose with her swords, her eyes narrowed at the knight.

“You have one chance to surrender, Tarnished.” The knight’s deep voice had a scratchy undertone to it like he hadn’t drunk water in years. “I recommend you take it.”

“Oh fuck off,” Sunset growled, baring her teeth.

With a battle cry on her lips, Sunset once again charged the knight, the light on her blades giving her an ominous aura in the nighttime air. As she charged, the raised his glaive into the air, his steed rearing up as well to give the blow even more power. Seizing the opportunity given to her, Sunset stepped underneath the steed and thrust her blades upwards into the steed’s belly. Despite the light shining off of the swords, the darkness under the steed’s cloak didn’t budge an inch, even as the swords plunged into its body.

With a shriek of pain, the steed dissipated into shadow and bits of magic, knocking the knight onto his back. The armored warrior let out a grunt of pain as he slammed into the ground, the wind getting knocked out of him from the impact. Once again seizing the moment, Sunset stabbed both swords down into the knight’s gut.

The knight let out an actual cry of pain, his blood a dark red stain on the bridge. Badly injured but not out, the knight stabbed upwards with his glaive, tagging Sunset’s shoulder as she ducked out of the way. Rolling to his feet, the knight slowly spun his glaive, using the extra reach to force Sunset to take a few steps back to avoid being hit.

“Maybe it's your turn to surrender, knight.” Sunset let out a biting chuckle, a shit-eating grin on her face.

“No.” the knight retorted, his voice laced with pain from his near-mortal wound.

The knight continued to spin his glaive, building momentum before charging forward at Sunset. Sunset once again adopted a defensive posture to dodge the strike, but this time the desperation of the knight prevailed. With the crunch of steel on bone, the knight’s upwards strike smashed into Sunset, the sheer force sending Sunset flying back in a cloud of dust and blood.

Sunset’s foot hit the edge of the bridge, making her hiss in panic and flail her arms for a moment. Unfortunately, her attempt to gain some balance failed horribly as the momentum of the strike won, toppling her over the edge of the bridge. Sunset couldn’t help but let out a scream of horror as she fell down several dozen feet to the river below.

As a last-minute defense, Sunset let go of one of her swords and summoned a golden shield around herself to protect herself from the impact. The shield - and her - slammed into the ground with a horrible crack, shattering the shield near-instantly. Thankfully it absorbed just enough of the impact to not shatter all of Sunset’s bones, but Sunset still couldn’t help but scream in pain as she all but bounced off the ground.

The last thing Sunset saw before she slipped into unconsciousness was a man approaching her broken body. The light of the rising sun reflected off of his iron headpiece, a piece that reminded her of a straw hat that Celestia got from a Neighponese ambassador. The rest of his garb was a simple brown tunic, with light iron armor on the shoulders, gauntlets, and greaves.

“Help...” Sunset choked out before she passed out.

Author's Note

Honestly, Boc the Seamster is one of my favorite NPCs in the whole game. Love him.

I did push off Sunset properly meeting the Dragon and the Pot since it felt like too many things going on in one chapter while I was reading it over.

Also fuck the Night's Calvary, fighting it on the bridge was a massive pain in the ass as I kept getting knocked off of the bridge.