//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24 Relighting the Fire 
// Story: Hollow 
// by Demonfire463 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 24
Arthur POV

Solaire and I arrive at the shrine simultaneously. 
"Wait, do we truly want to take this route down through Blighttown?" I ask.
"I didn't think of that, we easily could warp to the Fair Lady's bonfire."
"Good idea, you look in the Demon Ruins, I'll check Blighttown."
"I'm surprised you wouldn't rather check Lost Izalith." I joke. He glares at me under the helm, but gives a short and false laugh. We place our hands on the hilt of the sword again, and warp to the Fair Lady's bonfire. 

Now at the right bonfire with all six ponies, we stand near the Izalith elevator.
"Perhaps we shouldn't split up after all." I say.
"G-g-good idea, c-can we stick together?" Fluttershy stutters.
"Well, there is strength in numbers, and I suppose if we were to find Agroth before Joshua we could use all the strength we could get."
"And maybe match his." Rainbow says. She seems so sad, so unlike herself.
"Solaire, take them up to Quelaag's Domain, wait for Rainbow Dash and I at the end of the webs."
"Alright. Come on everypony." Five of them follow him up the stairs. I wait for them to get out of earshot.
"Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah?"
"What is the matter?" I sit down at the foot of the stairs and she joins me.
"Do you think Agroth will try to hurt us? Like you did?"
"I don't know to be honest. I certainly hope not." Though very likely.
"Being under Discord's magic, it was like a dream to me. Everything is all fuzzy now, I can barely remember it."
"Really? I remember it perfectly, I could control myself somewhat. His magic messed with my sanity so it's a little unclear, I imagine Agroth and Joshua will be able to remember it better."
"Agroth saved my life you know..."
"Did he now? How so?"
"These things... they attacked Cloudsdale. They were these skinny, tan, bat things with barbed spears and lightning powers."
"Bat-winged Demons."
"Sure. A few of them surrounded Derpy, and would have killed her. Agroth jumped in and started fighting them. For a pony he didn't even know and probably had never seen before. When one of the demons was about to stab her... he dove in front of her and took the whole hit for her. Just so she could be safe."
"My... He really has changed."
"He kept fighting the demons. One of them grabbed him by the throat, he killed it after. Then I jumped in and started fighting them. I just wanted to help him. I only wanted to help." Tears begin swelling up in her eyes. "So, I attacked some of the demons. And one of them grabbed me, and stabbed me with its fingertips. Its claws dug into my skin, and they kept getting deeper. He told me not to," hot tears begin rolling down her cheeks, "but I didn't listen. I want to see him again, to tell him I'm sorry. He said that loyalty was a rare quality, and one that every knight should have." I put my arm on her shoulder. She wipes her tears away. "You probably think I'm all sappy now huh?"
"Sappy?"
"Weak, too emotional."
"Not at all. He protected you, and he still cares about you, even if he is under the influence of Discord's magic. You will see him again. I promise you that." She sniffles and wipes her eyes again. 
"Thanks Arthur."
"Now then." I stand. "We should be getting up there by about now shouldn't we?"
"Mhm." 

Joshua POV
I sit on the root entrance to the Great Hollow. I look up slightly, to get a better view of the swamp. I close my eyes, really does feel like home. Lonliness, quiet noises of the natural world, and a stench that is damnable and horrid no matter who you are.
"Joshua!" Someone calls. My head bolts up at the sound of my name. That sounded like Arthur! Fluttershy flies at me and nearly knocks me off the branch. 
"Oh Joshua! I'm so glad to see you again! I missed you so-" I cut her off by pushing her off me.
"Step off! What is it that you want?"
"I, I just wanted to see you again."
"Oh really? And why would that be? I've just about had it with you you know. With ponies, Equestria, even the other undead!" She embraces me and begins to cry into my green robes. The robes I came to Lordran with. She cries more into the badly tattered cloth. "Tears won't work on me. Nothing will. So why don't you-" A spell shoots into my forehead and I pass out. I wake up on a small "island" of dirt in the swamp, next to a large rock pillar. Arthur, Solaire, and five of the ponies are standing above me. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Where's Fluttershy? I feel much different now, like everything is better. Wherever Fluttershy is, I need to speak with her.
"Where is she?" I ask.
"Back at the bonfire, she probably wants to speak with you." Arthur says. 
"I'd like to speak with her as well." I say.
"Then go on, here are your robes." He holds a pile of crimson cloth in his hands. I take off my Tattered Cloth robes and put on the Crimson Robes, again excluding the mask. I run through the swamp.
"Thank you Arthur, go and find Agroth if you can. I'll catch up with you." I shout behind me. After trudging through the poisonous muck for a few minutes I step up onto the web land that marks the beginning of Quelaag's Domain. Fluttershy is sitting on the ground at the mouth of the cave, where the webs meet the dirt.
"May I speak with you?" I ask.
"Are you sure you want... to talk to me?" She says between heavy sobs. That hits me, hits me like an arrow right through the heart. 
"Please?" She slumps her head even further and says nothing. I step towards her. "Fluttershy... I'm very sorry."
"So am I..."
"Why are you sorry?"
"If I had known *sniff* that you didn't want to see me..." She turns to face me and I can see tears pouring from her eyes. "I wouldn't have come looking for you." And that hits me like a dagger in the back. I fall to my knees and sit beside her. A tear forms in my eye. I wipe it away quickly.
"Remember what I said when I came back? After the gala?" She sniffs.
"Mhm." A hold my cupped hands out in front of us both. A small flame forms in the basin of my palms. I focus, to create a pyromancy that isn't used for combat. To create a pyromancy I made only once before, for my friend. The flame flickers, then brightens. It twists and begins to shape itself. Both of us are staring anxiously at the flame in my palms now, the flame shapes itself further. Then it molds into the shape of a hummingbird. I focus more and the bird made of fire flaps it wings rapidly and ascends to Fluttershy's face. 
"I said, that no matter what happens..."
"You would always be my friend. And then I said that I would always be yours..."
"I'm very sorry Fluttershy." I let the bird disappear. "Under Discord's influence I had forgotten just how much you meant to me. Can you find it in your kind, kind heart to forgive a foolish swamp dweller like myself?" Tears steadily roll down both our faces now, I can't remember the last time I cried. She quickly hugs me tight, I return it without hesitation. Her tears go into my robes, and mine fall openly. 
"I forgive you Joshua."
"Thank you. Thank you dearly." We remain in the embrace for a few more moments. I pull myself together. "Well then. Let's go find Agroth then, shall we?" She takes her head off my robes and wipes her tears away with a forehoof. 
"Yeah." She says with a sniffle. 
"Well good, if that touching moment is finished, then we shall be moving on?" Solaire asks. The five other ponies laugh a bit.
"How long have you all been standing there?" I ask.
"Since the bird disappeared." Rarity says.
"Long enough to know just how close of friends you two are." Twilight says. Fluttershy and I smile and stand. We proceed through Quelaag's Domain back down to the Daughter of Chaos's bonfire. The nine of us sit down by the flames. 
"So, anypony have any clues on where Agroth might be?" Rainbow asks. We all shake our heads. She sighs. "Me neither."
"Well then, we get to go adventuring!" Solaire says.
"I think we should stay as a group, more eyes in one place. We can search more thoroughly, even if it does take a bit longer." I suggest. 
"He's right, we need to check everywhere. He could be anywhere in Lordran by now." Arthur says.
"Or just walking through the fog door." Solaire points out.
"By the gods, he could even be back in Equestria." I say. 
"But why would he go back there when he has been cast under Discord's spell? Discord wanted us as far away from each other, the ponies, Equestria, and himself as possible. Think, what is Agroth's major flaw? Mine was my insanity, yours was your spite I think, Joshua."
"My faith kept me normal." Solaire stops suddenly. "Oh no." He puts an ironclad hand to his helmet in worry.
"What? What's Agroth's flaw?" I ask.
"Have you ever seen him angry?"
"Oh Lords." Arthur says. "Indeed I have, during our battle with Seath the Scaleless dragon. We need to find Agroth now." 
"And I think I know just where to look." Solaire says. "I helped him during the battle with the Centipede Demon, he thoroughly enjoyed killing it, he loves killing demons."
"So he's probably where demons are! The Demon Ruins!" Arthur says. The Demon Ruins is like a location that is made of rage.
"And we're close." I chime in. "We should walk down there right now. At least we can find out if he's there or not for certain." We stand and rush to the tunnel that leads to the Demon Ruins. We run past the bonfire and infected inhabitants of Blighttown and the ruins. When we reach the bottom of the hill, sure enough, a knight is sitting on top of a pile of Taurus Demon corpses. He is wielding the Demon's Great Hammer, which has fire eminating from it, a slab of granite as a shield, which looks like Havel's, and Havel's armor set. He didn't notice us yet. 
"Agroth! Is that you?!" Rainbow calls out. The knight looks up. He leaps from the mound of corpses and lands in front of us. He plants his fist in the ground as he lands, the ground shakes and a large cloud of dust and rocks is swept up from his landing spot. The knight stands and removes his helmet. The face beneath isn't badly scarred, and his messy black hair is swept back.
"And what in the gods' names do you want?!" He shouts. That's definitely Agroth. If he were any angrier, his eyes would probably be glowing red.
"To bring you back." Rarity says, obviously desperate to have her friend back in Equestria.
"I bloody am back! Just like my old bloody self! Even in the same damned place! I can see you're all here, I'm honored." He says sarcastically. Capra Demons approach from our right.
"Agroth, listen to me! Please come back!" Rarity yells.
"Why?! So I can be abandoned by my greedy, dishonest, cynical, cruel, and above all disloyal so-called friends?" Tears roll down Rarity's face, obviously she's deeply hurt by his words. Even Rainbow Dash is crying now. She quickly wipes away her tears.
"Look out!" I shout. A Capra Demon jumps to Rainbow Dash with his blades raised in the air. Agroth puts his helm back on and charges at it, blocks the attack, then swings powerfully with his hammer. The demon is knocked back about fifty feet as it burns with the chaos fire from the hammer. It lands in the lava and perishes. Four others charge at the angry warrior. He charges back at all four of them, is he going to fight them all at once? Solaire charges in with him. Agroth swings the hammer and knocks Solaire back to us. He spins once with the hammer and hits the Capra Demons' heads. One of their skulls cracks. Agroth abandons his hammer and shield. He grabs the cracked skull by the horns and pulls on both sides. The skull splits in half and the demon falls to the ground. He sidesteps a vertical attack, then punches the demon's skull. He rips the machete from its grip. In a flash of attacks, he uses the machete to crush one demon's skull, decapitate another, and chop another demon's head. He rips it from the last and stabs it directly through the heart. The three demons fall. I'm impressed, even if this is Agroth. He storms over to us and picks up his weapons. 
"Leave me be." He says, out of breath. He turns and begins to walk toward the deeper part of the ruins. A rope is hurled around his right arm and he drops his weapons again, instictively. I turn to see that Applejack is holding the rope in her mouth. 
"C'mon, help!" She says. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all grab ropes and hurl lassos onto Agroth's arms. Two ropes on each of his arms, Solaire hurls one rope to his neck. 
"Are you joking?" He says. The ponies and Solaire begin to tug on the ropes, I rush to Applejack's and Rainbow's ropes and tug on them in an attempt to bring Agroth down. Arthur runs to Pinkie's and Twilight's and does the same. Fluttershy cowers behind us, on the lookout for more demons. Agroth firmly plants his feet and the solidified magma cracks beneath the weight of him and his armor combined with the force of our pulling. He relaxes his arms and lets them go back a bit. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" He hollers. He uses his strength to fling the ropes, us still on them and the ropes still tied to him, back far behind him. Rainbow Dash carries Applejack away, only me on the rope. I see Twilight use her magic to levitate herself and Pinkie away from the rope. The undead all still grip the ropes tightly. He whips them again and Arthur is thrown off. He misses the edge of the cliff and disappears over the edge. He will land in the magma lake at the bottom soon. Solaire and I release our grips and we land by the ponies.
"Arthur!!!" Twilight screams. She is clearly fighting back tears at the death of her friend. 
"I'm warning you! Leave me be! Go back to Equestria!" Agroth shouts. 
"I cannot let Discord reign supreme! But we need you to help us defeat him." Solaire shouts.
"Come with us! You don't know what you're doing!" I say. He gets the ropes off his arms and neck, then stops. 
"I don't care." He picks up his weapons and walks towards us. Solaire and I prepare for a battle. The sun knight raises his shield and I raise mine. Agroth yells and charges at us. He slams the hammer on Solaire's shield and fire spews in all directions. I shoot a burst of flames at him, he is hardly affected. He kicks Solaire down and turns to me. Oh gods. He is about to crush me with the hammer when I see a flash of blood and a sword come out his stomach. I see Solaire on one knee behind Agroth, his sword in his back up to the hilt. He yanks the sword out and Agroth falls to the ground. I throw a Great Fireball at him when he stands. A Great Soul Arrow flies over my shoulder and hits Agroth. I turn and look, only to see that Twilight Sparkle is the caster. Dammit Arthur! Hurry!
"You killed Arthur. He was my friend!" Twilight yells to him. Many soul sorceries are fired from her horn, each one hitting Agroth in the chest. Solaire shoots lightning at him, I use my Great Combustions as well. Some of our attacks bounce right off his granite armor, most hit him though. He stands and takes every hit. We stop, exhausted from our magic uses. He takes a swig of estus.
"My turn." The three of us are hit by Wrath of the Gods. He grabs Solaire by the throat and tosses him to the edge of the cliff like a ragdoll. He conjures a ball of glowing white energy and pushes it to Solaire as he is getting up. He raises his shield, but it's too late. The energy explodes into a force push that knocks him far off the edge. 
"Twilight! Take the ponies and run!" I shout. She nods and runs away, the other five following her. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity stop. Seeing this, the other three stop at a safer distance. "What are you doing?! Get out of here!" I shout.
"We aren't leaving you!" Rainbow shouts. I am knocked far away from where I was standing and a painful burning sensation goes throughout my body. I land by the two pegasi. Fluttershy tries to help me up, but I am in far too great of pain to stand. 
"Go on! Just leave! Like you did at the labarynth!" Agroth shouts.
"Agroth, why are you doing this?" Rainbow asks. 
"Maybe if you stuck around longer you would know!" The angry warrior shouts at her. Rainbow sighs.
"You know, a brave knight once told me-"
"Filthy deserter! Why are you still here?!"
"Once told me," Rainbow says with a strained voice,"that loyalty was a rare and valuable quality. One that I should be proud to have. I respected that knight, he saved my life once. He was my friend. But now he's a monster! I look at him now and I don't see my friend anymore! All I see is anger. Please, Agroth. Please just come back to Equestria. You've already killed two of your friends today." Arthur lands on my right, a blue energy emanates from his feet as he lands. The ponies look at him, shocked to see the sorcerer resurrected.
"What?"
"You-you're not!"
"Dead? Yes I am. Which is why I don't stay dead. It's complicated, is Agroth back to normal yet?" Agroth still stands where he has been, his head sinks down and he looks like he's thinking. Slowly but surely, the color comes back to his body. Even wearing the grey armor, he visibly turns back to normal. He takes his helmet back off, he's back alright. He walks to us slowly, dragging the hammer and shield on the igneous ground. 
"Yes Arthur, I'm back to normal."