Hollow

by Demonfire463

Chapter 27 Our Last Goodbye

Chapter 27
Agroth POV

I am alone, in The Abyss. The pure blackness seems infinite, yet far too close all around me. I hold Zweihander and the Greatshield of Artorias. It's just like the first time, except now I'm alone here. Where are Joshua and Arthur? Where's Solaire? Why am I back in Lordran? Are the ponies alright? Something in the distance catches my eye. A small blue figure, moving very fast. Streaks of colors follow in its path.
"Rainbow Dash!!!" I shout. She stops, then bolts to me. I hold out my arms and she flies into my embrace.
"Agroth! Thank Celestia you're here! Something is trying to get me!" She is crying and frantic to escape whatever's after her.
"It's alright, you're okay now." I stroke her mane to comfort her. Realization hits me. "Wait! Why are you here? You could be killed!"
"I'm sorry, you just...left. No warning or anything, I was scared. I didn't want to lose you." Something else catches my eye, farther away, but also much larger. It's hovering over here almost as fast as Rainbow Dash flew. The first!
"Rainbow Dash, get behind me." I release her and she obeys. My fear is confirmed, it's the first king. He approaches fast, and I prepare to take the hit with my shield. He slashes his sword and a blast of magic is shot at me. The blow is absorbed by my shield, and I charge at him. I jump up high and land sword first on his head. Most of the blade is buried in his skull. I rip it out and he bleeds a black and silver substance from his head. I jump off of him and stab his heart. He bleeds more, shrieks, and fades away as he dies. "There, one down. Three to go."
"Three to go?"
"They are called the Four Kings for a reason." The second appears much closer to us. He leaps at me, blade first. I narrowly dodge, as does Rainbow Dash. I quickly cast Darkmoon Blade on the Zweihander. The king raises his arms, clutching his sword with both hands, and swings downward. I swing the heavy greatsword and slice his forearms, severing them at midpoint from the rest of his body. His arms a third gone, I slash at his head and decapitate him. This is much easier than the first time. The third king appears behind us, dangerously close to Rainbow Dash. I run to protect her. The king must see that I'm not running to him however. He raises his sword in one hand. Almost in slow motion, Rainbow Dash takes her last breath as the sword chops her skull almost in two pieces. Deep red blood spills into the eternal pit of The Abyss. Her wings stop keeping her up and her muscles all relax. I catch her and hold her lifeless body in my arms. I feel like crying, I feel like giving up, but now I can't. I drop her into the emptiness and the fourth king appears. I put my shield on my back and grip Zweihander with both hands. I look up at the kings. I'll end their pitiful existence. For Rainbow Dash! The kings prepare magic and their weapons. Before they can attack, they freeze. It's as if time itself has stopped. A blue mist forms next to me, it is riddled with sparkling white dots. Almost like the night sky. Princess Luna materializes next to me from the mist. She stares at the kings, then looks down to Rainbow Dash's corpse, still falling but frozen in time.
"Agroth? What's happening?"
"Why are you here? How did you get here?"
"I can enter the dreams or nightmares of whomever I wish. I noticed you were having a nightmare and decided to come visit you."
"I don't think there's much you can do to help. But, I'm dreaming right now?"
"Yes, where are we?"
"Oh thank the Lords! Such relief. We are in The Abyss, home of the Darkwraiths and the Four Kings of New Londo Ruins. I was here before I came to Equestria the first time." I trail off at the end.
"What happened?"
"I was killed." I chuckle. "Bastard got me good, I was with Arthur and Joshua. Arthur died first, then Joshua, and finally me."
"What are you afraid of, why are we here in this nightmare? Do you fear the kings?"
"Not really. I fear this place. Remember the man that attacked us at the gala? He was a Darkwraith, my brother as well. This is the home of his covenant, which rivals my own."
"How do the Darkwraiths rival the Warriors of Sunlight?" I take my helm off and smile at her.
"Do you see my weapon?" I hold it up so she can see the brilliant dark blue shining from the blade. "I used a miracle to do this. And I rejoined the covenant that I got it from." I see hope form in her eyes.
"What is it called?" She asks anxiously.
"The Darkmoon Blade." She gasps and smiles. "I am a Darkmoon Blade again." I kneel down to her, bow my head, and put a fist over my heart. "And I shall remain as such for the rest of my days. I am sorry I ever left your covenant."
"My covenant?" She blushes and smiles.
"I am the only Darkmoon in Equestria, and since Gwyndolin isn't here then I am loyal to you." I stand.
"Thank you. I never knew what it was like to have a knight, I have guards but it's not quite the same. But anyway, would you like to awaken? It is about dawn after all."
"Agroth? Agroth!" I faintly hear someone calling me.
"You are still in the nightmare, and will wake up as such. She thinks you are still in this horrible dream."
"It is better now thanks to you. I would very much like to awaken."
"Farewell my knight." I bow again as she disappears.

I wake up. My eyes still closed, I feel hooves on my bare chest. I open my eyes to see Rainbow Dash standing over me. It's quite bright now, dawn has passed a while ago. I sit up, my hair is matted to my forehead and the back of my neck. I sweep it all back with my hand. Rainbow gets off of me.
"Thank Celestia you're awake." I'm still breathing heavily from the shock of the nightmare. "You okay?"
"You're alive!"
"Yeah, you were having a bad dream. You said my name and something about some kings."
"It was only a dream." I struggle to say. "It's over now, I'm fine." She sighs, relieved.
"Good, you want breakfast then?"
"I'm alright, I must speak with Solaire anyway." I put the rest of my chainmail on, then the plate armor.
"I think he's with Rarity, he's staying in Ponyville for a few more days, then going back to Canterlot to stay woth the princess."
"Thank you. I should leave immediately."
"Bye." I walk out the door then run to the bonfire. I kneel down and put my hand on the hilt. I will myself to warp to the Ponyville bonfire. I disappear.

I knock on Rarity's door with an open hand. Sure enough, Solaire opens the door.
"Ah, Agroth. How are you this morning?"
"Recovering."
"Oh?"
"Bad dream, but anyway I still need to kill the Four Kings to get to Gwyn." He laughs.
"No you don't."
"Yes, I do." He irks me sometimes.
"No, you don't."
"Yes I do, they killed me before I came to Equestria." He reaches into his box for something. "I never killed them, so I still need to kill them to get-"
"A Bequeathed Lord Soul?" He pulls out a large orange orb with energy glowing around it. It's the soul I need!
"Yes!" I'm awestruck! By the Lords, they killed Arthur, Joshua, and myself! How did Solaire get it alone? He must be trained better than I thought.
"You have the other three souls though?"
"I do! This is excellent!"
"We still don't know which of us is chosen." He points out. I know which.
"Yes, but now we can find out. You know what this means, don't you?" He sighs.
"Yes. I'll send a letter to Celestia saying farewell."
"And I need to see Rarity, when shall we leave?"
"I think we should leave as soon as possible, the flame could die at any moment." Rainbow Dash...I haven't said goodbye.
"Alright, excuse me." He stands aside to let me pass him. Rarity and Sweetie Belle are sitting down at the table, laughing about something. "Rarity, excuse me if I'm interrupting."
"Oh no, you're not interrupting anything."
"Hi Agroth!"
"Hello Sweetie Belle. Rarity, I must tell you something."
"Sweetie Belle, may we have a moment?" The small pony nods and walks over to Solaire. "Something on your mind dear?"
"Somewhat. You know, I came to Equestria unexpectedly. I shouldn't have stayed here for as long as I have."
"Whatever do you mean?" She looks up at me. I take my helmet off and set it on the table.
"One of the four of us undead has a destiny to fulfill. We don't know which of us is the chosen one, but whoever is chosen definitely will not come back. So if I'm chosen, I'll never see you again."
"When are you leaving?" She is clearly straining to get the words out, she seems pretty close to tears. And rather shocked.
"As soon as I can, the fate of Lordran depends on it. The fate of mankind depends on it. Solaire possesses the last soul we need to get to the Kiln of the First Flame. That is where we will defeat Lord Gwyn, and Link the Flame. I'm no good with goodbyes Rarity, but by the gods I'm going to miss you." I kneel down and we embrace each other.
"I'll miss you too." We pause for a while. "So, this is our last goodbye?"
"I'm afraid so. There is a chance that I'll come back, but I think saying there's a slim chance is being optimistic."
"I see." We release each other, she wipes tears from her eyes and sniffs. "Well at least you told me this time." She laughs weakly. "For Celestia's sake, do be careful."
"I'll be fine. He's only the god of fire and destroyed most of the everlasting dragons that ruled over the land in tyranny, what could happen? Worst case scenario: I get killed. In which case I simply try again, right?"
"Oh you know what I mean you fool." She smiles and another tear comes from her eye. I take off my gauntlet and my chainmail glove to wipe away the tear with my bare hand. She looks down and sobs some more. I hold her close.
"Don't forget me Rarity."
"Never." I release her. I put the armor back on my hand and stand up. I put my helmet back on. Sweetie Belle sees me walking to Solaire and trots back over to Rarity.
"Goodbye Sweetie Belle." She sits by her sister and they both wave goodbye.
"See ya later Agroth!" Sweetie Belle says. I turn away. No, no you won't. I walk outside with Solaire. I shut the door behind me.
"Going to miss them hm?" The knight says.
"Of course. But we should go tell the others."
"I'll tell Arthur, you go tell Joshua at Fluttershy's cottage."
"Alright."

The four of us stand at the fog door, deep in the Everfree Forest.
"Well then, I trust you have all said your goodbyes?" Solaire asks. We all nod. "Good, then let's-"
"One moment Solaire." I interrupt. "Have you any parchment?"
"Yes, but why?"
"Might I have a few pieces?" He unfolds some papers of parchment and hands them to me. I take my Bottomless Box off my back and set it on the forest floor. I open the box, pull out my Orange Soapstone, and write two letters. One of them I sign, fold up, and stick to the box with a dagger. I write "RD" on it in big, bright orange letters. The other note I hand to Joshua. "If you would, please sign that." He reads it. I hand him the soapstone. He smiles and signs. He then passes it to Arthur, who does the same. Arthur passes it to Solaire, who reads it and signs. He passes it back to me, I stick it to the box with a dagger. I look at both notes. "We should leave things for them. I doubt we'll be able to come back here anytime soon."
"I agree." Joshua says.
"I left a few belonging in my box, the rest I've disposed of." I say. "I've marked who they are to go to." Joshua takes off his pendant and puts it over the dagger on the note.
"Fluttershy will know." He says. Arthur pulls out a scroll. He pulls the dagger out and pins the scroll and letter against the box with it.
"Twilight will know as well." Arthur says. Solaire lays his Sunlight Talisman on the dagger so it won't fall off.
"Celestia will certainly know, though I doubt she will be the one to find it."
"I don't think we need these items where we're going. Or many items at all in fact." I say. They unstrap their Bottomless Boxes and set them on the ground. Joshua combusts the three boxes.
"The items they will remember us by are on that box. They don't need to remember us by the junk we picked up on our adventures." The three boxes burning, we traverse the white light.

We look around at the dark green trees and moss-covered cliffs of Darkroot Basin. The forest is very damp and humid, and the stench of rotting wood and corpses is thick in the air. We walk across the bridge, and drag our feet to the bonfire. We all grab the hilt of the badly rusted and ancient iron sword. The small tunnel fades into darkness, and we find ourselves at Firelink Shrine. We're all depressed and low on energy, but once we hit a battle I'm sure we'll be back to normal. At least, for what used to be normal. We trudge along to where Kingseeker Frampt is and jump down into the blackness around him. A spell catches us before we hit the floor and we land painlessly. This place smells heavily of smoke, it is dark everywhere except where the Lordvessel sits on the altar. We take out the Lords' Souls. I hold the Soul of the Gravelord Nito, Joshua holds the Soul of the Witch of Izalith, Arthur has the Bequeathed Soul of Seath the Scaleless, and lastly, Solaire has the Bequeathed Soul of the Four Kings. We drop them into the Lordvessel. With each soul, the fire grows much larger. Arthur drops Seath's Soul, Joshua drops the witch's, Solaire drops the kings', and I drop Nito's last. Upon recieving the Gravelord's Soul, the stone wall behind the Lordvessel splits in two upon the crack. It opens to us. We tentatively step through it, and I see ghosts. Not ghosts like in New Londo, more like, lost souls of some sort. All of them are Black Knights. There is a long, black staircase, and an endless white light on either side, as well as above and below us. We walk down the staircase and stop on a platform made from giant slabs of stone.
"Do you think they found the notes yet?" I ask.
"I don't know. I certainly hope so. What was that other note you wrote?" Joshua says.
"It was to Rainbow Dash. Just a final goodbye. That's why only I signed it."
"I see. I miss Twilight Sparkle already." Arthur sighs.
"I'm sure. We all miss our friends that we made there. But we cannot give up hope, have faith!" Solaire says. Three black phantoms pop up, as does a name on the ground. In white, with a black aura all around it is "Zander" written on the ground. I swing and knock all of the phantom Black Knights away, then touch the signature. I warp to the world of the servant, and I will not fail.

At the Kiln yet again, but this time it's just me and the Gravelord Servant, and I am a Spirit of Vengeance.
"You should not have come here." Someone shouts behind me. I spin around to see a man, very slim, Mask of the Child, Black Leather Armor, gloves, and boots. He wields the Gravelord Sword in one hand, a Target Shield in the other.
"I wouldn't have reason if you didn't create those phantoms."
"Oh what's it to have a little fun around here? It's so bleak and grey, a challenge ought to be fun! Mind you I said 'a challenge'. Unfortunately I got you instead."
"You want a bloody challenge? Well now you've gone and pissed me off, here's your damn challenge." I rush him swing the hammer horizontally, he parries and stabs me in the gut.
"That all you damn got?" He laughs. So he isn't a fool, and he's actually good at fighting. Very well. I put my Demon's Great Hammer on my back and take a talisman off my belt. "Oh? Faithful are we?" He taunts. I heal myself, then conjure a large bolt of lightning. He attempts to block but it goes right through his puny metal shield. He collapses with pain. I summon another, even greater bolt of lightning and throw it at him ferociously as he attempts to stand. It knocks him on his back.
"You should probably just lie there if you value your life. Then again, it is your own fault that I'm here." I stand above him and put both hands to my chest.
"No. You wouldn't, you couldn't!" I quickly bring my arms dow and a forceful push blows away anything and everything near me. Zander is flung into a stone pillar and he dies. I love the Wrath of the Gods miracle. An Eye of Death materializes in my palm. I drop it, and I am teleported back to my own world.

"Well, that was fun." I say.
"That was fast!" Arthur says. "Those phantoms just disappeared, how did you kill him so quickly?"
"A little faith was all I needed." I smile at Solaire under my helm.
"That's the Agroth I remember!" Solaire exclaims. "Now, let's finish this!" We charge through the ashes and to Lord Gwyn, and inevitably, to our fate. After a few Black Knights, we are faced with a fog door at the bottom of a melted stone staircase. I touch the fog with my armored hand. Even through the charred iron, I feel the fog touch my hand. It is cold, and very soft, like silk. It may be the last time I will feel this sensation. I let out one heavy, shaky breath, and turn to the undead I have come to know as friends.
"Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure. One of us won't return from this battle. And so, you must promise me something." I say.
"Of course." Solaire says. The others nod in agreement.
"If I am chosen, and if you're able, go and tell the ponies of my fate. It is written in the letter I left them, but it would be better if they were to hear it in person. I promise to do the same for any of you. Can you promise me this?" They nod firmly.
"We swear." Joshua says.
"Thank you. You once were simply my comrades, my companions in battle. But now you are all much more. Now you stand with me, before the Great Lord Gwyn, as my friends. The only friends I have in Lordran, and I know that we will see this fight to the end. I thank you for all your help, may your journeys take you great places. I know that I would not be standing here today if it were not for you three."
"Bah! Enough of this! I'm a scholar, I don't do well with goodbyes. And this is getting a little sentimental for my taste." Arthur chuckles.
"Alright." I laugh. The others laugh as well. "Let's go then." We traverse.

The moment we pass through, I see Gwyn standing on the other side of the grounds. He leaps high into the air and lands in front of us. We sidestep his sword attack and get a good look at him. His beard is scraggly and as grey as the ashes outside and in the area we now stand. His eyes have a crazed look in them, like that of a mad dog, but not quite that of a hollow. His face is weathered, beaten, and badly burnt. Sweat drips from his brow, and he raises his sword. The swing hits my shield just as I block. Flames shoot out from the sword, leaving a black streak on my shield around where the blade hits it. Arthur fires magic at him, doing massive damage. The Great Lord turns and grabs Solaire before he gets a chance to stab the king. Gwyn holds him high above his head. Fire bursts from his fist and Solaire is launched to the other side of the room. Great Fireballs hit Gwyn, and I go in for the kill. I raise the hammer high, and bring it down on his head. Time seems to stop. I stare at the once great lord of all things. The Lord of Cinder, the King of Sunlight, the master of the flame. I stare at his skull, bits of which are flung into the air by the force of the hammer. Blood drips from his head and drops trail the bone shrapnel of his head. He falls to his knees, then falls on his face, and finally he dissipates into nothingness. I killed him. Now they all know, I am the one.
"You're...!"
"You know what this means don't you?!"
"Yes, I do. Leave, I don't want the flame to consume you as well. Don't forget your promise to me. And thank you again...friends."
They nod and leave, knowing what I must do. I step to the bonfire in the center of the battlefield. I raise my hand over the sword, and flames light my body. The fire doesn't hurt, it merely tingles my senses a bit. It is warm.

Agroth linked the First Flame and sacrificed his soul to preserve humanity for a while longer. Though his body burned in the fire, his soul remains a part of the flame. The three undead returned to every portal to Equestria they knew of, but could find nothing. The walls in Anor Londo collapsed over the light, and the bridge in Darkroot Basin crumbled. Solaire was left to the realization of the permanent absense of his sun, and he went hollow. Joshua could not bear to be without his closest friend anymore, and snapped after some time. Joshua went hollow. Arthur however, could mentally withstand the loss of Twilight Sparkle. He remained sane for almost one year (Equestrian time) before discovering the Everlasting Dragons' secret to immortality. His dicovery led to him hollowing soon after however, today he mindlessly wanders the swamps of Blighttown. No human being was ever to withstand immortality. Arthur could one day be saved with powerful magic. As for the notes, the ponies went searching for the undead when none had returned from Lordran. They found three piles of ashes and one wooden box in the Everfree Forest, near a gateway that once was covered by a powerful white light. Arthur left Twilight the White Dragon Breath spell, the only soul magic that she hadn't mastered. Joshua left Fluttershy his Pendant, with a picture of them both inside. On the back of the pendant was the charred image of a hummingbird. Twilight Sparkle found Solaire's Sunlight Talisman and delivered it to Princess Celestia. Agroth left some belongings for Rarity, Rainbow Dash, even Applejack and Pinkie Pie who he did not know very well. He left Rarity a Crystal Shield and some Twinkling Titanites. Rainbow Dash was given the note, which she has kept to this day.

"Dear Rainbow Dash, I cannot express my apology in words that I could not say goodbye in person. Time is always of the essence, and Lordran needed us. Though we hate it, the curse needs somewhere to go and not harm innocent people. You are very lucky. Follow your dream, join the Wonderbolts. I know that I am chosen, I am the one who killed the Lords. I dealt the final blow every time, and it was my world that we were adventuring in. Even though we are connected now I suspect I am still chosen here. There is a three in four chance I don't come back. I merely wish to keep it a secret so that the others are not concerned for me. Tell nopony, please. Keep this note if you so wish, though it will not be all you have to remember me by. I give you my most important item: my Estus Flask. I will not need it against Gwyn, I have my talisman still. Just in case anything else were to happen, now I know that you will be safe with the flask. To refill it, simply rest at a bonfire. Always follow your dreams Dashie, since I am bound to a cruel fate and cannot. Stay true and loyal, always. There is another item in my box for you as well, you'll know it when you see it. I made it myself. Goodbye Dashie. -Agroth"
Rainbow Dash read the letter to herself and could not help but sob openly at the certain, and final, death of her friend. She folded the letter up and fell to lie down. Twilight came over to comfort her. Applejack looked into the Bottomless Box and found an apple from a tree in Darkroot Garden and an ornate dagger. Pinkie Pie recieved a jester's cap and some bells, for Astoran celebrations. Rainbow Dash got a hold of herself and walked over to the box to see the item Agroth had left for her. Sure enough, when she saw it she knew. She picked up a metal kite shield, it was made of a light but strong material. The shield was painted a cyan blue, the exact same color as her coat. In the center, painted on, was a white cloud striking multicolored lightning. Tears welling up again, she turned it over. Carved with a dagger above the handle was the message "Let this protect you, since I no longer can. Goodbye Dashie."

Author's Note:

Well, finally finished. I know the story's a little rough but I didn't really do too much editing of late. I really just wanted to get the rest of this story out there for you guys. I might come back and edit it then republish it but I don't know. I also have a sequel in mind but with college looking, that seems unlikely. This story was fun to write, and while it may not be a fantastic story it's the first full story I've ever written and I hope you guys like it. Also comment if you want me to upload the letter to the ponies, since I actually have that done now. Thanks guys!

Comments

[Lady Maria]

awww they died!

[Demonfire463]

5754420

Still have a sequel in mind though (hopefully to be better written, better formatted, and updated more regularly)

[Lady Maria]

5880483 will it be dark souls 2 related?

[Demonfire463]

5881704 I think so but not sure yet, not 100% sure what I wanna do but I think it will be at least a little bit

[Thebaconpiggybank]

This story was amazing but I only have one thing to ask of you. Would you possibly make an alternate ending where they walk away from the fire and return to equestria? I'm willing to help if you wish as I am going to be writing my own stories soon.