//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: The Centaur of Tartarus 
// Story: Only Embers Remain 
// by Gapeagle 
//------------------------------//

The warrior reached a bridge that went over a rushing river. The loudness of the river echoed through the trees. It was a stone bridge, still standing firm and strong despite being there for an innumerable amount of years. The warrior walked to the middle of the arched bridge and looked down at the white water below. The river went down a fall not a hundred feet down river. 

The river was soothing to her. The noise, the rush, the peacefulness of it all felt out of place in the wilderness. She wanted to touch the stream, but the hunger for souls pulled her back. She had to keep going; she had to reach some sort of civilization. With a sigh, she took her hooves off the stone railing and continued.

The trail she walked on started to go steeply downhill. After sliding down on the rocks, she finally reached the bottom of the hill. The amount of souls she felt at that moment took her breath away. She was approaching something that was filled with souls. Like a faded scent, she pressed forward, thinking that that was the way toward whatever possessed such power. The trees around her were much older and taller than the ones before. It all looked vaguely familiar, yet still a foreign land in her mind.

The trail grew wider and with it, were mindless ponies much like the one she killed earlier. They grunted, they gurgled, they simply sat there and moaned pathetically. All of them had faded souls, but the warrior spared them as she passed. They were not the souls she was sensing. She looked at them curiously. Some wore armor, some had swords resting on their rotten bodies. They were wearing uniforms of some sort. The color of the rags that draped over their armor was a yellowish color. 

"What drove you to madness?" she asked them, but as she expected, they gave no answer.

At the end of the trail was an archway that was as tall as the trees around it. Moss grew on the old stone and carvings that lined the archway were covered by the green. Right before this archway was another sword in the ground. It called it her to touch and she did, making the dying flames ignite with new passion. 

Not even this fire was what possessed the souls. The feeling of the souls were stronger than ever. Whatever had them, it was beyond the archway. Fear suddenly gripped her. If the undead ponies had such weak souls, what could have such a powerful soul? She drew her sword and stepped forward through the archway.

A tall waterfall was on her right when she passed the archway. It was not a big river that flowed, but more like an average creek. The water went off another waterfall and out of sight. At this second waterfall stood a creature over twice her size. It was on four hooves like her, but had a second torso that was ape-like in place of an equine's neck. It stood there, looking at the darkened side of the world. 

"Who is it that seeks me?" it asked with a very weak voice. "I sense you are not like the other ponies."

It turned around to have the sun shine down on its face. It was obviously male by his face and voice. He had a white beard on his black and red body Two yellow eyes stared at her with effort, as if he had trouble staying awake. His arms were incredibly thin, much like his whole body. He wore no clothes and only had a thick fur coat.

"Ponies like you are becoming more frequent," he said. "Ponies and creatures that sprout from their ash-ridden tombs to foolishly challenge every being they come across. It is good though, as your souls are more satisfying than the hollows that wander these woods."

He took his first steps towards her. She kept her sword pointed at him, but took some steps back from the creature. He was undoubtedly the one who had the souls. Perhaps the souls of warriors much like her? 

"Do you even know who I am?" he asked.

"I do not care for your name, beast," the warrior said with the sword in her mouth.

"You all used to say my name as if a reckoning was taking place," he spoke flatly. "You said it with fear! Now you all look at me as if you have never encountered my like before. Should not surprise me, the memories of this land have been lost."

He opened his mouth and a ball of orange energy formed between his two small horns. Suddenly, a beam of magic shot at the warrior, making her jump out of the way. When she recovered, she looked up to see him running at her, slamming her with his lower half and sending her across the grassy ground.

She grunted in pain, but valiantly stood back up. He shot his magic again and she was quick to dodge it like the first time. He already appeared frustrated by her swiftness. She took her sword and charged at him, swinging at one of his legs. He was slow to move and she gashed his right front leg, making him scream in agony. In anger, he grabbed her with his arm and proceeded to slam her straight into the ground.

"How dare you! I am a lord!" he shouted.

She swung at him again, but this time he slapped her across the face with one of his thin hands, sending the sword out of her mouth. In a desperate attempt to hurt him, she bucked him in his chest, staggering him. With him stunned, she ran for her sword and took it back up in her mouth.

"You are more determined than most warriors I meet," he chuckled.

He fired his beam again, this time hitting her. She had blocked the main force with her sword, but it still threw her back into a wall of rock. For the first time, she felt cold blood escaping her lips. She licked it up, tasting the sweet liquid that oozed slowly from her wounds. He charged his attack up once more, but she was not going to allow him to hit her twice. She tumbled out of the way, right before the beam met with the stone, causing a loud booming noise.

He fired again and again, but she dodged them until she was right next to him. His feeble movements could not save him from her stabbing him in the side with her blade. He limped away from her in anger as he too let his blood run out of his deep wounds. She pressed the advantage, but was countered when he swiped his tail at her, sticking her and knocking her to the wet ground.

She coughed up more blood, watching the almost black liquid mingle with the stagnant water she laid in. It was an odd sensation as her pain and wounds felt distant, as if not totally present on her undead body. She coughed up more blood before returning to her hooves.

The creature stood defiantly next to the creek. He was just as wounded as she was. The warrior smiled as she felt his souls becoming hers. With a yell, she charged at him. He opened his mouth wider than he ever did. Before she could reach him, she was picked up in his magic. She squirmed in the magical grasp, but it was no use. She felt some of her life be drained from her. He seemed to literally suck it from her with his open mouth. 

"Gahhh..." she groaned.

She was dropped from his magic, feeling disoriented from the draining. He seemed to grow a little bit taller after gaining some of her power. His nostrils flared as he looked down at her.

"Earth ponies..." he muttered. "Their magic is practically useless to me."

She was stunned. Her swollen eyes glared at his legs, of which one was still injured. His wounds were still there, thus making him just as exposed as before. With effort, she picked up a stone and threw it at him, hitting him in the face. As he covered his face with his weak hand, she picked up her sword once more to strike. 

Her sword cut his other front leg, making him fall to his knees. His chest was there to be stabbed, but he grabbed her right before she was going to strike and threw her down with the little strength he had. She bounced off the ground and rolled herself upright. He still sat on his wounded knees. His mouth opened and a ball of energy was between his horns. The warrior, in one desperate attempt, spun around and threw the sword towards him before he could fire his magical attack. The sword flew true and straight into his chest, making his eyes roll up in his black sockets. His hands clutched the blade that was inside him, but he possessed no strength to remove it. Blood oozed down his chest and with one loud gasp, he fell on his side and into the small stream, turning the clear water into a horrid blackish color.

The warrior wanted to laugh at her victory. She was satisfied. However, her wounds ached terribly and her eyesight blurred with pain. Bits of bone and skin fell threw the holes in her armor like dust from an opened sandbag. She could no longer breath. Her body fell to the wet ground. She tried to get herself up, but she could not and simply crawled along the grass. The beast's dead body was slowly fading out of existence as his great soul left the corpse. He was defeated and his soul was her prize. Where was the soul? She did not know as her own life seem to extinguish within her rotten and dejected body.

"Souls..." she whispered before falling on her back to stare at the split sky.

As her eyes closed slowly, she felt a presence rush towards her. It was a kind presence, much like the small fires she met with glee. The presence, in its wondrous sensation, stopped before her. The blur of the warrior's vision could only make a beige outline of a pony. The outline burned with the gracious warmness of the flames. It soothed her to no end and her eyes shut entirely.

"Do not worry, wanderer," the being spoke. "Death shall not take you this day."


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