//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: For Your Brothers in Need 
// Story: To Keep the Fire Burning 
// by DannyJ 
//------------------------------//

The day had been eventful, but the ritual was the last moment of significant note. Night was looming, so Sweet Apple Acres began winding down for the day. Crestfallen had already left, and Apple Bloom soon retired as well. Sunset and I had both missed supper, so with permission, we put a cooking pot over the ancient and venerable bonfire, and the two of us spent the evening enjoying a savoury stew by the fireside.

We talked into the night. I started by telling her about Sir Loving Heart and Grim of Dimondia, and our apparent mistake in letting them both go free. The news made Sunset choke on her stew, but other than that, I think she took it well. In turn, she told me a little about what she had learned from Trixie's journal, after having spent most of her day reading it.

Sunset painted me a picture of Equestria at war. She described a great, thriving civilization, which at its peak extended a hoof in friendship to the changelings, who had been their enemy for the longest time. Then she spoke of a terrible betrayal by a changeling queen, who broke the peace and devastated the kingdom. Many of her own people fought her, and the descendants of those who were loyal to Equestria still remain today. But the traitor queen and her rebels were buried, and their names were struck from history. 

At the same time, Equestria also contended with the demons. In the middle of their conflict with the changelings, Sunset told me of how the Crystal Empire in the north was suddenly consumed by chaos, inexplicably becoming a bed of monstrous, demonic life that ravaged Equestria. Beasts just like the Asylum demon swarmed south in the thousands, and cost Equestria dearly at a time when they were already vulnerable. Fighting such terrible wars on two fronts, it was little wonder that the kingdom hadn't survived.

It was in these wars that Trixie fought, as a captain of the Earth, Unicorn, Pegasus Guard, the Equestrian military. Sunset spoke of a mare who had lived in peacetime, made mistakes, sought redemption, and earned it as she wished. Yet for all that she had done to put her darkness behind her, in the end, it found her anyway. The usurper queen's rebellion and the coming of the demons consumed Equestria with war, and so too did it consume Trixie's life. She was never an undead, but in the end, she was left feeling hollow all the same.

All throughout, I remained unreactive and numb, or at least I tried to. Halfway through the story, Sunset stopped, and gave me a concerned look.

"Firelink? Are you okay?" she asked. "Do you want me to stop?"

"Hmm?" I said, sitting up. "No, of course not. Why do you ask?"

"You seem like you're afraid. You think you'll hollow if you let the story get to you. I can stop if you want. You don't have to listen if you're that worried about it."

I considered that, running my tongue along my teeth and staring into the bonfire's flames.

"I appreciate it..." I said carefully. "But... I feel I'm obligated to hear it until the end. I owe too much to Trixie. I'm wearing her armour, spending her money, bearing a soul that was bought with her journal... I have to, Sunset. This is the least I can do. It's not a fraction of what she suffered."

Sunset simply nodded at that, and continued on with the story.

Once she had finished telling me all about who Trixie was and all that she had done, I found I had only one question left.

"So... how did she die, in the end?"

Sunset's smile was grim, as it had been throughout her telling.

"She was wounded by a Darkwraith," she said. "She escaped, and fled to the nearest bonfire at the Shrine of Sunlight for safety, but... there was nopony around to help her. The last few pages were just her musings as she waited to die."

Just as I thought. It was a shame, certainly, but I hadn't been expecting a happy ending for Trixie after how I had found her.

Still, out of everything, it was the mention of the Darkwraith that most seized my attention. Sir Black Iron had spoken of them before in the Fire-Keeper's Dream, and although my memory of the event was hazy, I faintly recalled him mentioning that they were already here when he and his fellow knights first arrived. Now I also knew that the Darkwraiths had been around at least since the time of Equestria's fall. There was something in that, I knew. Something significant. Just where had the Darkwraiths come from, exactly?

This was the question I pondered as I fell asleep that night, lying down in a straw bed in what was once an Apple Family cellar. As darkness took me, I thought of the Darkwraiths, and quietly hoped that I would not dream of them, too.





Chapter 5:
For Your Brothers in Need





The Fire-Keeper's Dream resembled Sweet Apple Acres, just as it had during my short nap earlier that day. The realm was still dark, but now there were lights on in the barn, and voices within. I looked around outside and tried to find Sunset. If this was indeed a shared dreamspace, then I was sure that we could meet again here. Yet she was nowhere to be found, and I still couldn't enter the barn.

But I wasn't alone. While I knocked on the doors and yelled for the ponies inside to answer, the sound of metal hoofsteps on grass came up from behind me. When I turned around, I found Sir Black Iron standing behind me in all his towering glory, a massive steel greatsword swung over his shoulder and held by a forehoof. His impassive helmet still obscured his face, but I broke into smile upon seeing him.

"Sir Iron! I didn't see you around the Acres in the waking world."

"No. You wouldn't have." His voice was deep and rumbly, but still carried that same gentle inflection that I remembered. "Much as before, my dreaming mind is not where my sleeping body lies. The art of dream-walking is known to me, and I have become well-practised with it."

"So where are you, physically?"

The knight shrugged.

"Here, there, everywhere. Does it matter?"

I supposed it did not, but I was disappointed by his answer all the same.

Sir Iron gestured over to the bonfire, and I followed him over. Without anypony else around, the Fire-Keeper's Dream felt as desolate as it had in the Shrine of Sunlight. The two of us sat down together. Sir Iron let his hind legs dangle off the log, and rested his greatsword across his lap.

"Why is there nopony else here?" I asked. "I thought that the Fire-Keeper's Dream was shared?"

"All dreams are shared. They all take place in the Dreamscape, our collective unconscious, but each dreamer has a dreamspace of their own. With skill, one can leave their own dreamspace and enter others, as the Darkwraiths do to invade, or as I do to visit you here. In our own homelands, unlike Equestria, bonfires are widespread enough that we need not fear Darkwraiths at all, and our dreams normally remain separate, as it was in the old world.

"The Fire-Keeper's Dream here in Equestria is different. You have the right of it in one respect; it does bring dreamers together more often, but the Dreamscape is a land of thought. Geographical proximity is... less relevant. As is time itself, which often becomes convoluted in dreams. Your dreamspace and mine currently overlap, because I will it so, but in doing this, you and I are out of sync with the other dreamers of the Acres, and there's no telling how much longer your dream and mine will remain in contact."

I looked around at the dark, empty version of Sweet Apple Acres. Indeed, there wasn't another soul in sight.

"So, did you just come here to check up on me?" I asked.

"Hmm..." Sir Iron tilted his head. "I have monitored your progress, yes. I feared for your safety after you left the company of Sir Penance and the Chaos Paladins."

"Wait, how did you know about that?"

"In this realm of thought, much is open to one who can read the language of the mind. If you do not guard your memories, they are as plain to see as if they were written on your face. Though, do not fear. My talent is rare, even among dream-walkers, and I take care to avert my gaze when faced with something private."

Well, that was... unnerving, despite Sir Iron's reassurances.

"Um..."

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I can teach you how to conceal such things. It should be simple to learn for a dreamer already in a lucid state. But another night, I think. For now, we have other matters to attend to."

That gave me pause.

"...'We?'" I repeated.

Sir Iron nodded.

"I have located your phoenix. Lordseeker Frampt is known to me; we have had dealings in the past. You will want to speak with him."

Immediately, the sound of flapping wings filled the air, followed by a screech. I looked up, and in the dark of the dream, Frampt's fiery glow washed over the Acres. He appeared as if out of thin air, fading into being as he came gliding towards us. With a crash, the great phoenix landed atop the barn, much as he had done in the waking world. I turned to face him, but didn't get up from my seat. He cocked his head at me, and I scowled.

"What a cold world it is, ashen one."

His voice made me raise an eyebrow. It had an echoey, distorted effect, but otherwise it was relatively normal, like the voice of any other pony or changeling. I didn't know what I had been expecting a normally voiceless creature speaking in a dream to sound like, but it wasn't like this.

"Lordseeker Frampt?" I asked.

"Indeed."

"What are you?" I demanded. "Why were you at the Asylum, why did you take me from there, and why do you keep following me?"

"I saw you in dreams, in visions that flicker and fade like the sputtering flames. Yours was a soul touched by fire, a manifestation of magic's disparity, before destiny was stolen from you. The gift of prophecy is known to me, and I saw that fire burning in the void, a bulwark against the night. I took you in hopes that you would rekindle it. You must become yourself again. You have known the world and all its tragedies. You are most likely to make the right choice, whatever it may be."

"I... what? Huh? What choice?"

"Darkness gathers, and so from cinder is born inheritance. Seek embers. Seek souls. Seek misery, until this frail hope shatters. For that is lordship's calling. The call that heroes before you heeded, and which they gave themselves to."

"Uh..."

"Fate watches us all. Be one with the light, or let all return to dust. From these two paths, all else follows. When you choose yours, walk it well."

Frampt flapped his wings and took off. I spun around and watched as he vanished into the night sky, fading out of reality in the same way that he had entered.

"Hey! Don't just fly away! You didn't answer my questions! You just gave me a bunch of stupid cryptic metaphors!"

There was silence. I hung my head and sighed, before turning back to the bonfire. Sir Iron still sat beside me.

"What the hell was that?" I asked.

"Lordseeker Frampt can be... frustrating, I know. He isn't prone to explaining himself clearly, but some facts about him are known. I can tell you that he is not the first of the lordseekers. His is a duty passed down a long line of phoenixes and great phoenixes, supposedly descended from one who served the gods themselves. Frampt makes his nests in several places, the Shrine and the Acres among them, but he ventures out often in search of heroes. Evidently, he took you for one."

"Why, though? Why did he think I looked like a hero? What are all these heroes he chooses even supposed to do? Do I have a choice in whether I do this or not? Or is he just going to hound me for the rest of my life until I go off on his quest?"

"I cannot possibly speak for why Frampt chose you specifically, save that he must have seen something in you. Nor do I truly know what purpose he expects his chosen to fulfil. Perhaps, in the act of specifically telling you the future he saw, your actions might prevent it? Yet if he did see you complete his quest, then it stands to reason that the potential for success still lies within you. Nevertheless, do not feel constrained by his talk of destiny. You may always reject the path he sets for you. That much he has always been clear about. Your friend Crestfallen did exactly that."

"But what is his quest?" I pressed. "He hasn't even given me an instruction! How do I accept or reject him if I don't know how to do either?"

Sir Iron rose from the bench and picked up his greatsword.

"Lordseeker Frampt may be coy at first, but in time, he makes it clear to all his chosen. Over the years, I have come to learn the secret. If you wish, I can show it to you."

I stood as well, but the moment I did, the world around me started to blur. Everything around me was melting away. I recognised the effect from the last time it happened, and was surprised that my time was already over. Time really was convoluted in dreams.

"Sir Iron!" I said, my voice sounding slower and deeper than usual.

"Calm. I will be here tomorrow night."

That was the last I heard from him before I woke.





My eyes shot open, and I sat up in my straw bed and shivered. My bed, one of several in the room, was nestled in the corner of the Apple Family's cellar. The cellar had been converted into a barracks for the White crusaders, but none of them were here right now. However, neither was Sunset. She had taken the bed beside mine last night, but it was empty now, and her armour was gone, although not her saddlebags.

I looked around. The cellar was lit by a few oil lamps hanging from the ceiling and walls, but it was still very dim inside. Moonlight poured in from the stairs, along with the cold. I climbed out of bed and made for the stairs, leaving my own bags and my equipment behind, and emerged into the dark day morning.

The sky was expectedly starry, and a half moon hung overhead. All around me, artificial lights kept Sweet Apple Acres bright. Light poured out from the windows of both the barn and the distant barrel house. Lit oil lamps hung from posts or lay on the ground near the important landmarks like the vegetable patches or the well. Braziers had been set up all over the place, particularly on the edge of the treeline, and they burned brightly through the darkness. And of course, the gentle pink flames of the bonfire contributed what they could. 

Dark days were always the most inconvenient parts of any week, but they had a beauty to them, I always thought. It was the contrast of them. Light shining through the black. Fire in the dark.

It didn't take me long to spot Sunset. She was over by the barn, where the door to Anvil's forge hung open, and a small crowd had gathered near her. From a quick glance, I noticed Apple Bloom, Anvil, and Crestfallen among the various figures, and whatever they were talking about, it looked serious. I frowned, and trotted over to see what the fuss was about.

The conversation became more distinct as I approached.

"...Than anyone! Please, Crestfallen!" said Apple Bloom.

"I will not." Crestfallen's voice was as soft as ever, but it sounded shaky. "Not again. Not ever. Would you ask an arachnophobe to clear out a den of star spiders?"

"Apple Bloom, I keep telling you, it's fine," said Sunset, as she fitted her scabbard onto her belt. "I can handle it. You know what I'm capable of. Crestfallen doesn't need to help me if he doesn't want to."

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked as I arrived.

The rest of them looked at me. Now that I was closer, I noticed several other ponies, just inside the forge. Granny Smith was sitting on Anvil's tiny little chair with a downcast look, and an elderly mare with a yellow coat and orange mane stood beside her with a hoof on her shoulder. Beside them, a middle-aged brown earth stallion leaned against the barn door, and Honest Heart stood inside with his back turned to the rest of us. As far as I knew, the entire population of Sweet Apple Acres had gathered here.

"Firelink," said Sunset, turning to me. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you. There's... a problem."

"Problem? What kind of problem?"

"Darkwraiths!" Honest Heart roared, whirling around and stomping towards the rest of us. "Vile, depraved heretics, who even now as we waste time speaking here, are defiling our family's graves!"

"What?" I said, recoiling.

Apple Bloom sighed.

"There are Darkwraiths out in the orchard," she said, looking at the ground. "They can't come any closer to us because of the bonfire, but the family graveyard is outside the range of its protection. Until now, they ain't never tried anything like this, probably because they didn't know it was there. But now that they've found it, they're digging 'em all up to goad us out. "

Darkwraiths? Here?

"It will not stand!" Honest Heart shouted. "Those fiends have angered the gods! Luna's moon hangs in the sky, and they will feel her vengeance today!"

I turned to Sunset as she put on her great helm.

"So you're going out to fight them?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Alone?"

There was a silence. I looked to Crestfallen, and remembered the argument I had overheard the tail end of as I entered. He was afraid. Then I looked at the rest of them. Old ponies, most of them, and I didn't expect the angry priest or the Fire-Keeper to take up arms, but...

"Anvil?" I said. "You aren't helping?"

"Ah'm afraid Ah ain't much good at fighting," he drawled. "Ah only make the weapons. Ah'm not much good at using 'em."

Anvil was enormous. He could have ripped a Darkwraith in two with his bare hooves. But just like Crestfallen, he was too afraid. I frowned at him; if I had his size and strength, I could've conquered the world by now.

The brown stallion cleared his throat.

"We could always wait another two or three hours," he said in an unexpected Trottingham accent. "Sir Onion will revive then, and then the two of you can—"

"With respect," said Sunset, "I can't sit around doing nothing while waiting for Sir Onion. Those are my friends' graves that they're defiling out there. I won't let this continue."

"Sir Lady Shimmer, you can't possibly face two Darkwraiths alone," the stallion protested.

"She won't," I said, not even thinking.

They all looked to me again.

"I'll go with her."

"Firelink?" said Sunset. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

She took me aside, away from the main group, and we around the side of the barn. There, she took off her great helm and glared at me. 

"What are you doing?" she asked in a slightly angry whisper.

"I'm volunteering," I replied. "He's right; you can't go alone. I've only seen a Darkwraith once, but they're monsters."

"I can handle myself, Firelink. But you, I'm not so sure about. You're already past death number seven, and you only just got a soul back, which we sacrificed something very important for."

"I know that, but I'm still not letting you go alone. Two Darkwraiths against one of you? Please, if you can't wait around for this Sir Onion, then at least make use of me while I'm available. If nothing else, let me distract them for you."

"Look, I don't mean any disrespect, but how do I know you won't just be a distraction for me? If you're in danger, I can't fight two Darkwraiths at once and also worry about you."

I glared back at her.

"I can handle myself too, Sunset. I might've died many times against my last two opponents, but I won that fight, alone, even while unarmed, naked, and outnumbered for most of it. Trust me, I can do this."

Even as I spoke the words, I wasn't really so sure of myself. It was an honest account; I had won against the stone hollow and the black knight. But my confidence was a facade. I made it sound like a great victory, when in truth I had just barely survived with my sanity. Still, that didn't matter to me in the moment. Sunset needed me, I was sure of it, and I refused to let her go alone.

And really... I just didn't want her thinking of me as weak.

Sunset closed her eyes and grimaced. "Alright, fine. Suit up and come back quickly. We've already waited long enough."





Sunset waited for me by one of the braziers near the treeline. All told, it took me about ten minutes with magic run back to the cellar, put on all my armour, and return to her. I was still fiddling with a strap as I galloped over, but I had my sword and shield at the ready, and my visor lowered in anticipation.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready."

The two of us marched silently through the orchard, the trees obscuring the light of Sweet Apple Acres behind us, until the glow of the moon and Sunset's horn were our only guides. Wind blew through the trees, causing their shadows to stir as they swayed. My hooves crushed rotten apples littering the ground as we walked, and leaves rustled as they swept across our path. I tried my best to not outwardly show discomfort, but the occasional swarms of bats flying overhead still startled me once or twice.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked once we were a ways in.

"I'll take one, you take the other. Not much more to it than that."

"Yeah, but... what should I expect?"

"Well... I don't know, not every Darkwraith is the same. Just watch out for what they have, I guess. Keep on the defensive for a little while, study their technique, and look for opening. How much training do you have with that sword?"

Behind my helmet, I closed my eyes in embarrassment.

"Mmm... none," I admitted. "I kind of just... improvise."

Sunset was quiet, no doubt resisting the urge to smack herself in the forehead for letting me come along.

"...Okay," she eventually said. "New plan. You keep the second Darkwraith distracted, like you said before. Don't try to hit him, don't be a hero, just focus on staying alive until I've dealt with my guy. Then I'll come over to help you, and we'll gang up on him."

"Alright."

"And another thing. Trying to stab through plate armour with a blade is a waste. Sure, you can do it if your telekinesis is strong enough, but it's not worth it. Learn to half-sword instead. Grab your sword by the blade and use the pommel or crossguard as a hammer; blunt force trauma is much more effective against heavy armour. Then wrench your blade into weak points in the armour, like at the joints or neck. Just be careful when you do it, and remember that this can also be used against you by a trained opponent."

I blinked.

"Ohhhkay..."

We walked through the orchard a while longer. Sunset knew the path to the graveyard, having gone there with Apple Bloom yesterday, but not well enough to just run there in the dark. We stopped frequently so that she could take in her surroundings and reorient our path. I didn't know how she knew where exactly to go in total darkness and with the orchard being so similar everywhere we went, but she did, and I dutifully followed.

Eventually, we saw fire through the trees. Torches in the darkness. As we came closer, the tall, dark figures who held them became clearer. They were Darkwraiths alright, both wearing the same skeletal-looking armour and dark, hooded skull-masks. One of them was looking our way, holding his torch by hoof, while the other was crouched down in the graveyard, and floated his torch beside him.

The graveyard was little more than a clearing in the orchard, just below a hill. A fenced-off plot of land contained a cluster of tombstones and monuments, most still marked with the cutie marks of the long dead, but others faded and worn. Many were smashed and vandalised. The rest of the clearing was just grass, but loose bones were strewn about everywhere. In the graveyard itself, it was even worse. Skeletons and the occasional rotting corpse lay out in the open between the broken tombstones, coffins stuck out of their graves, and there were mounds of earth all around.

This is barbaric, I thought.

The Darkwraith looking at us grunted to his friend. The one in the graveyard, busy hauling a coffin out of the ground, twisted his head back to look at us, and then abandoned his effort. Leaping to his hooves, he strolled out to stand beside the other Darkwraith on the far side of the clearing as we all faced each other.

The two casually extinguished their torches and tossed them aside, throwing the clearing into darkness. I almost started panicking, and was about to cast one of my bright fireballs, but Sunset beat me to it, shooting a ball of magic into the sky which lit up the clearing as bright as rising day. The Darkwraiths, having not even had time to reach for their weapons yet, seemed surprised by that.

"Surrender now, and I promise you'll both live," said Sunset.

"I'm shaking in my boots, really," said the unicorn vandal, the one on our left.

The sentry on the right gave his companion a sideward glance, saying nothing.

"What?" said the vandal. "Lighten up a little! Huh? Geddit? Because of the lightshow?"

The sentry only growled.

"Eh... whatever." The vandal drew a pair of twin swords, twirling them in the air with his magic and turning back to us. "Shall we begin?"

The other Darkwraith followed suit, drawing an unreasonably large greatsword and holding it by hoof, much like Sir Iron had done. A faint tingle of familiarity made me pause, even as Sunset and I drew our own weapons.

"Hey, wait a minute," I said. "You, the silent one... Are you him?"

He tilted his head.

"Are you the one that attacked me in my dream two days ago?"

The Darkwraith said nothing, but he growled again and stomped a hoof on the ground. I took that as a yes.

His companion started laughing.

"No way! This is the kid who burned you up?" The vandal laughed some more. "Hoho! Small world, huh? Feeling up for a little vengeance?"

The mute growled again.

The vandal chuckled. "I think that this is going to be a short fight."

"Perhaps," said the most evil-sounding voice in the world, coming from right behind me. "Or perhaps not."

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Sir Loving Heart walked up beside us, stopping between me and Sunset. My spine tingled, and my heart jumped into my throat.

Sir Loving Heart wore the same golden armour that he had when we found him, his wing-blades glinting in Sunset's magical light, but another strange pair of weapons now hung from a belt around his midsection. I didn't know what they were, but they were long and thin, with straight handles, but blades shaped like crescent moons. They unnerved me.

Where did he even get those?

"Sir Loving Heart, what are you doing here?" asked Sunset, sounding no less surprised than I was by his appearance.

"Repaying a debt. Would you like my assistance here, or not?"

Sunset turned away from him, and focused on the Darkwraiths. "Fine by me. Firelink?"

I gulped, but nodded; enemy of my enemy, and all that.

"Very well then," said Sir Loving Heart. "Let us show these curs not to cross us."

With a motion so rapid that I couldn't even truly see it, Sir Loving Heart folded his wings back and then whipped them out again. In less than an eyeblink he was wielding the crescent moon blades, grasping them in his wingtips. Pegasus dexterity was truly extraordinary.

We charged as the Darkwraiths did, and met them in the middle of the clearing. Sunset swung at the talkative vandal, using her single sword to parry both of her opponent's weapons at once. Sir Loving Heart and I, meanwhile, ganged up on the other Darkwraith with the greatsword.

He swung at me first, and I narrowly dodged to the side, but Sir Loving Heart breezed right past him while ducking beneath his swing. The Darkwraith quickly reoriented, recognising the knight as the greater threat of us two, and drew his sword up just in time to block a wing-blade. Sir Loving Heart whipped around and struck the Darkwraith's helmet with the curved blade.

I stayed back, watching the fight for a moment. Sir Loving Heart struck a few more times, and scratches appeared on the mute's metal ribcage and skull-mask, but it didn't look like the blades had the power to penetrate steel. The Darkwraith's greatsword, on the other hoof, looked like it could have cut a knight in half with a strong swing, and the mute was trying his best to do exactly that. He reared up and slammed his greatsword down to intimidate Sir Loving Heart, striking the earth and getting him to back off, and then went for a sweeping sideways cut, only to narrowly miss.

I raised my sword and charged in while he was distracted. Floating it by the blade just as Sunset had told me, I attempted to bludgeon the Darkwraith with the pommel, but he twisted about to parry my blow. Even with the weight of his greatsword, and grasping it in his hooves rather than by magic, he was still inequinely fast. He swung at me again. Once more I dodged rather than blocked; my sword was floating too far away from me to bring back in time.

What am I doing? I'm only using half of my equipment!

My kite shield floated out from behind me, and I held it in front of me and tried to attack with Sunset's half-swording technique again. The Darkwraith was already back to focusing on Sir Loving Heart, but he casually twisted around to block another few strikes from me before he carried on.

I looked over to Sunset to see how she was faring, and was stunned by the ferocity of the fight I saw. Her duel with the Darkwraith was less of a swordfight and more of a tornado. With two blades at his disposal, the Darkwraith was raining a flurry of blows down on Sunset with the same kind of unnatural speed that the mute displayed. Yet, impossibly, Sunset was even faster. Their swords rang as she parried each strike and even attempted a few half-sword ripostes, despite only having one weapon to his two.

But as impressive as it was, Sunset was still outarmed, and the Darkwraiths seemed to be almost supernaturally fast. She was winning, but only by slowly wearing him down. They were more evenly matched than I was comfortable with.

This isn't working, I realised. We're fighting the wrong opponents.

"Sunset! Loving Heart! Switch!" I called.

They both looked my way for the briefest of seconds, and then to each other. Without pause, Sunset leapt away from her opponent, rolling sideways across the grass and striking suddenly at the mute. Sir Loving Heart, meanwhile, streaked across the clearing to meet the vandal as he tried to go after Sunset. I followed him.

Sir Loving Heart came down upon the vandal with force. Every time the vandal swung his twin swords, Sir Loving Heart would match him blow-for-blow with either crescent blades or wing-blades. He wasn't as fast as Sunset, but he didn't need to be; he only needed to keep pace with the vandal. And at the same time, he attacked with his hooves, punching and kicking forwards at his opponent, who was startled and forced back.

I joined the fray soon after. My broadsword added to the chaos, floating in and swinging at the Darkwraith, and putting him on the defensive. This made three major points of attack to his two, and he was quickly becoming overwhelmed. Then I brought in my shield as well, and floated my sword around out of reach to attack him from behind.

That was it. He brought one of his swords around to block a potential backstab, but I blocked that in turn with the shield. With only one sword at the vandal's front to guard him, Sir Loving Heart's wing-blades struck his mask, stunning him. I pressed the advantage and hammered my broadsword against the back of his head with as much telekinetic force as I could muster.

There was a loud clang and a scream, and the Darkwraith dropped both his swords and fell to his knees. His helmet came loose and fell onto the grass in front of him, exposing the vandal's inky black face and silver mane. I struck him in the ribs next. He slumped over and fell on his side. Sir Loving Heart had stepped back now, catching his breath, but the Darkwraith was already trying to get back up. In the rush of battle, I didn't even think. I just turned my sword around, aimed the blade for his throat, and swung down.

There was a sickening squelch and squish as it embedded in his neck. I didn't even make a proper cut. Rather than decapitating the Darkwraith as I should've, I left him struggling for breath as blood gushed from his neck wound and spouted out of his mouth. He reached up towards me and spasmed on the ground, as if in shock. All the while, he kept trying to say something, but he could only gurgle. I stood over him, staring down with wide eyes, the sound of clanging steel behind me barely registering.

Sir Loving Heart snapped me out my daze when he smacked me on the shoulder.

"Fine work!" he said, for once with something resembling passion. "Come on, now! We're not finished yet!"

I turned about and did as he said, running after him to rejoin the fight against the remaining Darkwraith. Sunset already had him on the ropes. She blocked him easily, hit him back with a half-sword strike, and then blocked another blow. He wasn't able to defend very well against her either. I was actually impressed that he was even still standing after the amount of punishment Sunset had already inflicted on him. He was staggering every other second, his armour was wrecked, and his hood had fallen back, exposing a shiny, round skull helm.

Having seen from the vandal that Darkwraith helmets were loose, I could think of nothing more useful I could do than to remove it. Just as I had with the stone hollow and the black knight before, I gripped the Darkwraith's skull helm with my magic and tore it loose, although it was a lot harder than I had been expecting. He realised what I was doing and tried to reach up and grab it, but that left him holding his greatsword with only one hoof. Sunset punished him for it, knocking the greatsword out of his grasp.

Despite his best efforts, the mute's helmet came off. The stallion on the other side was bald and aging, significantly less impressive without his mask, although curiously, his coat was just as black as the other Darkwraith's had been. Sir Loving Heart wasted no time flying up and cutting his throat with a curved blade. Sunset and I recoiled as the blood sprayed over us. The Darkwraith blinked once, and then collapsed to the ground, falling still.

Sir Loving Heart fluttered down gently onto the grass, before nonchalantly drawing a cloth from somewhere and wiping off his blades. Sunset and I pulled off our helmets. The metallic stench of all the blood in the clearing hit me right after. Sunset reacted much as I did, wrinkling her nose and looking down at the fresh corpses in clear disgust.

"I'm not sure that was necessary," she said. "We probably could've taken that one alive."

"Perhaps so," said Sir Loving Heart, finishing his cleaning. "But I've always preferred a more... decisive end."

He placed the crescent blades back on his belt and folded his wings, before going over to examine the mute's corpse. Sunset looked around at all the bones strewn across the clearing, and walked off into the graveyard. I instead went over to the vandal's body. The stallion stared up at the sky, Sunset's magical orb reflecting in his lifeless eyes, and his mouth and neck were entirely red.

I guess it's official. I've killed somebody. Not a hollow or a feral, but a real person.

I was going to have to make my peace with that somehow. For the moment, I mentally reassured myself that he'd wanted to kill me as well. That wasn't murder; it was self-defence. And it wasn't like I'd cut his throat while he slept or anything. I'd killed him in honourable combat. Hadn't I?

Two-on-one, said a little voice in my head. And finished while he was down. Very honourable.

I hung my head and sighed. And exactly when I least needed it, Sir Loving Heart sidled up next to me.

"Not bad," he said in that breathy serial killer voice of his. "But I sense you're not proud of it."

"Why should I be?" I muttered, still looking down at the body.

"Because it was a good kill. It ended the fight quickly, as we needed. I can't make use of mordschlag myself; wing-blades and shotels are hardly suited for it. But you have an admirable grasp of the technique. I doubt we would have prevailed without you."

"It wasn't quick for him. He bled out. I should have made a cleaner cut."

Sir Loving Heart removed his own helmet and brushed his long, stringy mane out of his eyes. He looked at me with the same bored, contemptuous expression that I'd seen on him back in the schoolhouse. I was fairly sure now that this was his resting face.

"If you want to do right by your foes, then yes, you grant them a quick death," he said. "But don't think a Darkwraith would ever do the same for you. They like to ambush in groups, like ferals, and prey on the helpless. When they slay you, they won't just take your gold like common bandits, but will steal your very soul. Honour is as foreign a concept to them as it is to hollows, so don't waste time bowing before duels or fighting fair with them. There is a time and a place for mercy, and it is not with these creatures. With them, you show no quarter, and do whatever it takes to survive."

I swallowed, and turned to face him.

"Is that what you do, sir?" I asked. "Whatever it takes?"

His brow furrowed slightly. "Of course."

This pony is literally a murderer, Firelink. Don't tempt fate.

I nodded, and went over to Sunset. I was hoping Sir Loving Heart would get the hint that I didn't want to talk anymore, but he followed me into the graveyard not long after. Walking through, I looked at all the smashed tombstones and defiled graves. Most of them had been dug up, with broken coffins pulled out of the ground, and bones scattered around. A few fresher body parts were also lying about, rotting and foul, and too decomposed to identify who they belonged to.

Sunset was in the back of the graveyard, near five much larger tombstones, all engraved with Equestrian writing, and all dug up and vandalised. One of the tombstones, off on its own, depicted a top hat and spotlight, but the other four were in pairs. The first pair had a singular green apple on one tombstone, and a trio of smiling flowers on the other. The second pair had a trio of red apples on one, and what looked like a cloud and lightning bolt on the other. Sunset was standing over the latter pair, staring down at them.

"Sunset, are you alright?" I said.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice breaking. "Darkwraiths are animals; I expected nothing less than this."

"...Should we inter the dead back where they belong?"

"I wouldn't know who goes where."

"Does it matter?" asked Sir Loving Heart. "As long as they're back in the ground, I don't think anybody will complain."

Sunset turned around and gave him a cold look.

"...I've heard troubling things about you, sir," she said.

Please, Sunset, not now.

"Oh?"

"Father Honest Heart, a Pardoner of Luna, says that you murdered several fellow knights, and that you were actually his prisoner, not a victim of bandits as you told us."

Sir Loving Heart's expression did not change.

"I'll confess, I was complicit in the dog's lie. He was cleverer than I gave him credit for, and weaved a tale to make you more likely to release us. I saw an opportunity, and I played along. For that, I apologise. But as to the murders, I'm afraid I'm innocent of those."

"Really?" said Sunset. "You deny it?"

"Completely and utterly."

Sunset's boldness was making me feel a little braver too.

"Then why did Honest Heart believe that it was you who killed the knights?" I asked.

Sir Loving Heart snorted.

"Honest has always held me in contempt. Long ago, I wed his sister in secrecy and stole away with her, even took her last name for my own. He always thought me too old for her. Distrusted me. Resented that she chose me despite his wishes. And when she died a most a tragic and untimely death, he blamed me for it, never seeing that ours was a shared grief. I am not surprised at all that he sought any excuse he could find to imprison me. It's not the first time he's done it."

Sunset returned to staring down into the graves. "If that's true, then I'm sorry for the accusation, and for your loss. But you know we can't take you at your word. What if you're lying to us right now, Sir Knight?"

"I see your dilemma, but Honest Heart cannot be the one to judge me, and he controls all the Darkmoons along on this crusade. If I go back to the Acres with you, I will be executed without trial as soon as the second wave arrives."

"Then what do we do?" asked Sunset.

"You released me once, and I repaid the favour. If nothing else, I think I've proven that I honour my debts. Let me go now, and allow me time to clear my name, and I will be in your debt once more. If I have no sufficient proof of my innocence when next we meet, then you can take me into custody as you please. All I ask is that I'm given a chance appeal before somepony more impartial."

"You're still asking us to take you at your word," I pointed out.

He looked to me.

"Very well. A gesture of friendship, then."

He reached into a small pouch tied around a forehoof, and pulled out two round red orbs, each about the size of an apple, and bearing an image of a mad yellow eye with a red pupil. Sir Loving Heart dropped them both at my hooves.

"From our two dead friends. I was planning to take them as plunder and sell them to some Chaos Paladins, but you may have them instead. As a gift."

I recalled the Pardoner's theory that Sir Loving Heart had turned Darkwraith, but that they couldn't find a red eye orb on his person to prove it. His intent to take these ones was suspicious. But then again, if helping us to kill two Darkwraiths wasn't proof enough already that he wasn't one himself, then what was? It didn't rule out him being a murderer for other reasons, but he had at least convinced me that Honest Heart had it wrong.

Sunset paused as she picked up the red eye orbs.

"I don't entirely trust you," she said, looking back at him. "But... it's your word against his. You're both members of the Church, and you helped us when you didn't need to. We'll let you go this once, Sir Heart, but if we find that you are guilty, don't expect any mercy next time."

Sir Loving Heart placed a hoof over his chest and bowed.

"As you will it, Sir Lady Shimmer. My thanks to you both. I will see you again."

He trotted off into the orchard, leaving Sunset and I alone once more. I joined her by the graves.

"Was that wise?" I asked. "That's twice now we've let that stallion walk free, and I'm still pretty sure he strangles kittens for fun."

She casually passed a red eye orb to me. I looked down at it for a second, then back at her, before tentatively accepting it.

"Firelink... I understand. He creeps me out too, but we can't presume guilt. He deserves the benefit of the doubt just as much as anybody else. I don't like it either, but sometimes, you just have to trust."

"He lied to us once," I said, putting the orb in a saddlebag.

"And he helped us once. Maybe sometimes the world isn't black and white."

I had no answer for that.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Sunset."

"Yeah..." She turned to me. "And, by the way... thank you. I was worried about you coming in, but you were right. You're stronger than I gave you credit for, and I'm glad to have had a friend like you along to help."

That made me smile.

"Well... heh... Y'know, it was no problem..."

Sunset smiled as well for the briefest of moments, before looking around the graveyard again and sighing.

"...We should get back to Apple Bloom and the others..."





We received a hero's welcome on our return. A cheer went up from the small crowd when they saw us emerging from the orchard, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of elation from it in spite of everything. Sunset seemed to brighten up as well, for the first time since I had met her on that rooftop. Trixie's journal, her encounter with Apple Bloom, and now the Darkwraiths had all stifled her mood for the past two days, but now she was smiling again for real, and I welcomed its return.

Granny Smith baked apple fritters for the occasion, using the last of the rationed sugar on the Acres as thanks for what we did. Sunset and I sat with everyone else for lunch, at a picnic table set up by the bonfire. Nobody wanted to address the grim work of clearing the graveyard, so for the moment, it was forgotten, and we all celebrated our victory over the Darkwraiths instead (leaving out Sir Loving Heart's contributions, of course).

It was the merriest scene I had witnessed in a while. Granny Smith and the other old mare held a genial conversation at one end of the table, while a drunken, boisterous Anvil laughed and japed at the other end, annoying his dour cousin, Honest Heart. Crestfallen was quiet, and kept to himself, but smiled throughout the event, and Sunset and Apple Bloom were also enjoying each other's company.

For my part, I spent most of the meal talking with the brown earth stallion sitting opposite me. I'd recognised his Trottingham accent earlier, and was surprised to hear it all the way out here. Evidently, he'd felt the same after hearing me.

"Wonderful!" he said, grinning. "After all this time, a fellow countrypony! I haven't been back to the Griffish Isles since before Gilbert the Conqueror took the north! Please, tell me, how are things going back home?"

"Ah, well... it's a mixed bag. King Ironside rules in New Griffonstone now, and he's turned very anti-changeling as of late. They have an inquisition there now, running them off to the Asylum out of Port Cruelsea."

"My word... I had no idea..." the stallion muttered, looking down at the table.

"The Sunless Realms are doing a lot better, though," I said between bites of apple fritter. "King Vendrick now sits the throne, Celestia save him, and I think he's been a just ruler. He came down hard on piracy, so the coastal towns are much safer now."

"Weren't the Sunless Realms invaded a few years back? I remember hearing about that."

"Yes they were. The Spider Legion wanted to take the Sunless Realms their after Arachnia was overrun. The mad duke of Brightstone Cove even betrayed the kingdom to marry Queen Freja and let them land in his port. Fortunately, Vendrick and his Blue Sentinels put them down before they could do too much damage, and they sent the great spiders fleeing north."

We spent most of the meal after that trading stories of home. I spoke at length about Brittlesworth and Golden Orchards, and he told me about ancient Trottingham, as it was centuries ago before Griffonstone invaded the north. He didn't look particularly old, so I wondered how he could have possibly lived through so much, but he was hardly the only one around who looked far too young for his age. I asked him, and he implied that it was the result of scientific endeavour. Then we got to talking about his science projects.

"Normally, Anvil and I share the barn, you see. I have my workshop in there alongside his forge, and we help each other. Right now, I've moved operations to Ponyville Station while we work on restoring the train. I contribute my skills, and in exchange, I'll get to use it to test one of my secret projects when we're done; I need a way to build up a lot of speed for it to work."

As is Islander custom, we only made introductions at the end of the conversation, after lunch was finished and everyone was leaving the table.

"Well, this has been brilliant," he said as we leaned across the table to shake hooves. "We should meet again for a cup of tea soon. I might still have some stashed away somewhere here."

"Thank you, that would be lovely. I didn't catch your name, sorry?"

"The Doctor."

"Doctor...?"

"Oh, um..." He furrowed his brow and looked at the ground for a moment. "...Turner, I think? I'm sorry, it's been a while since I was called anything other than just the Doctor."

I smiled and shrugged. "Very well, Doctor."

"Forgive me, I didn't catch yours either?"

"Firelink Soul."

Neither of us had ever spoken our names or missed the other's; the mutual apologies were more of a ritual than a necessity.

With our final parting, the Doctor left to go back into town and continue work on the train. The others were already leaving by then. Apple Bloom and Crestfallen rested by the bonfire, Granny Smith and Honest Heart disappeared into the farmhouse wing of the barn, and Anvil returned to his forge. The old yellow mare was the last to leave. She thanked both Sunset and I in a warm, grandmotherly tone, left us a basket of fresh carrots, and then said goodbye and hobbled off towards the barrel house on the hill.

"I'll go put these with our bags," said Sunset, taking the basket.

"Yeah, okay."

Once Sunset was gone, I joined Apple Bloom and Crestfallen by the bonfire, and held out my hooves to warm them. I had taken off my armour after returning from the orchard, and was now beginning to wish that I hadn't; dark days were often cold, and my armour was the closest thing I had to clothing right now. Then again, was covering myself in metal the wisest way to attempt to ward off cold?

Staring into the flames, I heard Anvil's hoofsteps before I saw him. I looked up as he approached the bonfire, still swaying slightly in his drunken state.

"Firelink?" he drawled. "Might Ah have a word with ya?"

I was a little surprised, but still I stood back up and followed Anvil back towards the barn. We stopped midway, the old smith sighing and running a hoof through his bristly grey beard.

"Look... Ah could see how disappointed ya were with me earlier. Ah know, it's a shameful thing, not standing up for my family when those monsters were disgracing 'em. Tomorrow, Ah'm gonna have to go over there and clean up the place myself. Ah can't let Granny and Auntie Bloom do it. Ah won't shirk my duty again. But you and Sunset, ya stepped up when Ah didn't. And Ah wanted to thank you for that myself. It means more than y'can ever know."

"Um... you're welcome?"

We continued towards the barn. He pushed open the doors and stumbled inside, and I followed after. Imp, the crystal lizard mimic thing, was asleep on a workbench when we entered. The little thing woke up, hissed at me, and transformed into a watering can. Anvil ignored it and sat down on his tiny chair beside the forge.

"Ah'll be straight with ya. Smithing is my trade, so Ah don't often offer my services for free. The train restoration is for business. Selling steel to the Way of White is business. But the way Ah see it, you've done a service for me, by standing in for me when Ah should've, and now Ah have to pay."

He leaned over and tapped a hoof on the anvil with the red gem embedded in it.

"This here is a fire smithstone. It was given to my great, great, great, great grandmother by a friend of the Apple Family, and it's been with us ever since. Smiths back in the old days of Equestria, and even before in the time of the Three Tribes, used to enchant weapons with these. Hammer yer steel over them, and it works the spell into the metal, y'see? This one here's real basic, but it's dependable, and Ah charge highly for its use... If Ah didn't, every Chaos Paladin and White crusader in Equestria would have me make them their own flaming swords!"

I blinked, and looked down at the gem.

"It... sets a weapon on fire?"

Anvil grinned.

"Magical fire. Won't blacken the metal none, and only lights in open air. The spell triggers by removing the blade from its scabbard, and cancels by sheathing it again. Which, as it goes, is why Ah refuse to make anything but swords with it. Just ain't common sense to make a weapon that way if the effect can't be turned off."

"That seems like it'd consume a lot of magic."

He shrugged. "Only if ya use it a lot. Keep it in the scabbard, and it's fine. And it can always be charged if need be. You have a horn. Y'can do it y'self."

"Well... that certainly sounds formidable. But I couldn't possibly accept such a gift."

Anvil held up a hoof and shook his head.

"It's no trouble. No different than forging any other sword. Let me give you this. Let me feel like Ah've paid my debts."

I bit my lip and looked at the ground. I still felt like the polite thing to do was decline again and not take advantage of Anvil's generosity, but I couldn't deny the appeal of wielding a magical burning sword. That was like something straight out of a song.

"Well... if you insist..."

"Heheh..." Anvil leaned back in his chair. "Ah'll get started on it tomorrow morn. Would ya rather Ah forge a fresh sword for ya, or spruce up an old one? Former's nicer, latter's quicker."

I considered.

"How long would that take? Forging a fresh new sword?"

"For most swords and most smiths, a week. Smithing's my talent, so Ah'll give you half that for a basic job, but if ya want anything fancy, yeah, it'll take about a week."

"Fancy?"

"Y'know. Decorative hilts, pommels, scabbards, and suchlike. If ya want me to colour the metal or scratch some artwork on or something, that'll take more time."

My first thought was that this sounded pointlessly extravagant. My second thought was that a fiery sword with a dragon or phoenix motif would be the most amazing thing ever. But my third thought was that I already didn't deserve any of this, and that I shouldn't push my luck.

"...Yeah, I don't think I need anything fancy," I said, with some small degree of resignation. "As long as it does the job, right?"

"Eeyup," said Anvil, nodding sagely.

"Just hammer the enchantment into an old sword. It's fine."

"Yours? Or would you like to see my selection?"

That gave me pause as well.

"Let's see what you have."

Anvil lumbered over to one of the piles of crates and barrels in the corner of the room and started sifting through them. I came over and stood beside him while he pulled out a series of weapons, which we went through together. Longswords, shortswords, broadswords, greatswords, he had them all, and those were just the ones that I was conceptually familiar with. Some were curved, like the scimitar and sabre. Some were rapiers and other piercing weapons, designed to punch through mail. A few were just odd.

"What on earth is this?"

"A katana. Eastern design. Ah wouldn't recommend it for one such as y'self. It's for an agile user and a lightly armoured enemy. Not so good for knights."

I threw it back in the barrel.

"Not really my style anyway."

I even found a set of shotels, the curved blades that Sir Loving Heart had used. Apparently they were the trademark weapons of the Embraced Knights of Cadance, who as it turned out were an order specialising in hunting changelings. According to Anvil, their favourite battle tactic was to stab a shotel into a changeling's side, hook them like a fish, and then tear off their chitin in chunks. Now it made sense to me why somepony like Sir Loving Heart was a Cadencian knight.

But it was the larger swords which interested me the most from a combat perspective. With the advantage of magic, the sword's weight and my physical strength were less of a consideration. There was still going to be a little strain if I tried to float anything too big for too long, so I didn't want to get something enormous like Sir Black Iron's greatsword, but bigger was still better.

"This here is a zweihander," said Anvil, producing just such an enormous sword.

"Zweihander... That's a Griffonian tongue for... two-hander?"

"Eeyup. And see these little curved bits sticking out from the sides, a ways down from the hilt? These are parrying hooks. They catch other blades coming down, just like the hilt would do."

"Seems a little redundant, but that's cool, I guess... Why's it called a 'two-hander?'"

Anvil tilted his head at me slightly.

"'Cause... it's meant to be held with two hands?"

"Yeah, about that..."

I wiggled a hoof in front of me.

He rolled his eyes. "Swords ain't meant for ponies. A sword is designed for a species with hands. Minotaurs, gargoyles, centaurs, diamond dogs, those sorts. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a non-unicorn to use these? That's why pegasi prefer wing-blades, and why earth ponies are better off with spears and halberds, or better yet, boots and spurs."

"Why do non-unicorns use swords at all, then?"

"Pirates. A cutlass is relatively light and easier to fight with on a ship than a spear or halberd, even for a pony. Pony pirates used cutlasses, the old Equestrian Navy started teachin' its crews to swordfight in response, and before ya know it, suddenly we're all stuck with 'em. But Ah still say we never had any business using swords in the first place. Except unicorns, of course, 'cause y'all are cheating at life with that fancy magic of yours."

I smirked. "Huh. Learn something new every day..."

We went through several more choices, some of which sorely tempted me, until I found one to my liking.

"This is a bastard sword," said Anvil. "About halfway in length between a longsword and a shortsword. Some call it a hand-and-a-half sword. You don't have hands, so Ah guess that ain't important, but... how'd you feel about the weight?"

"It feels about the same as the claymore... a little lighter, perhaps? It looks lighter. I mean, it's smaller."

"This one good enough?"

"...Yeah. I'd be satisfied by this."

Anvil held out a hoof, and I floated the sword into his grip.

"Ah'll take care of it by morning, as Ah said." He yawned. "For now, Ah've gotta sleep off the drink."

He put the bastard sword aside on a workbench and started extinguishing the oil lanterns. When he was done, he collapsed into a loose pile of hay. I raised an eyebrow.

"You don't want to go inside?"

"Ah'm fine here," he muttered, closing his eyes. "Just do me a favour and close up the door for me, would ya?"

"Yeah, sure..."

"Thank ya kindly..."

Just before I left, I had a thought and turned back.

"Will you be offering an enchanted sword to Sunset as well?" I asked.

He yawned again.

"Ehhh... the Phoenix Knight don't need my lowly work..." he mumbled. "She's already got fire in her..."

I did a double take.

"What?" I whispered. "What was that you called her?"

But it was too late. Anvil was already snoring, long and loudly. Given no choice, I simply stepped outside and closed the door behind me, as he asked.

I must have misheard him. It was the only explanation.

The Phoenix Knight was said to be an ancient immortal, one of the original co-founders of the legendary Warriors of Sunlight, along with the Lady of Dusk and the Sisters of the Sea. There was no way that was Sunset. Randomly meeting a legendary hero of that calibre in some dead backwater village like this was surely impossible. That would be like running into the Pontiff of the Way of White in Brittlesworth.

A memory came to me, unbidden.

Ponies needed our help, so we founded the Warriors to do what we could.

It all fit. Sunset was the Phoenix Knight. I slumped on the ground outside the barn, leaning back against the doors as I remembered those words. My head was swimming with the implications.

I'm starting to think that she may be out of my league...





I didn't ask Sunset about what I had learned before going to bed that night. If she didn't want to share that information, I didn't want to press her about it. She had called me a friend a few times now; I could only hope that one day, our friendship would be strong enough for her to feel like she could trust me. Until then, I would keep my silence, and so that's what I did for the rest of the day. I was like Crestfallen now, idly sitting by as Sunset and Apple Bloom conversed, talking about old times that I now realised were probably much longer ago than I first thought.

When I felt tired enough, I slunk away to my straw bed, and sleep took me. Before long, I was in the Fire-Keeper's Dream again, wandering the dreamworld version of Sweet Apple Acres. Once more, it was empty, so I simply sat down at the bonfire and waited for Sir Iron.

I looked around for my red eye orb, but to my dismay, I couldn't find it on my person. I'd gone to sleep with it under my pillow, expecting it to come with me, but apparently it didn't work like that. That made another thing to ask Sir Iron about whenever I saw him.

And just as that thought crossed my mind, there he was sitting beside me.

"I've noticed that our interactions tend to be brief," I said. "Are we going to get cut off after a single conversation again tonight?"

"I told you, time is convoluted in dreams. Often, the night will seem to pass quickly from in here. You aren't fully conscious right now, Firelink. Your mind is in a state of rest. Is it any wonder that you and I are moving slower than the rest of the world?"

"Isn't there anything you can do about it? You're good at this dream stuff."

"I am trying, but I may not succeed. Much depends on you, in a way that you are not yet aware of. This, too, I will teach you if we ever get the chance."

I sighed and drew myself up.

"So, what's tonight's lesson?"

"The Lordseeker's quest, if you wish. Though, I sense your mind may be on other things right now. You've had quite a day. If you wish to talk of those matters instead, then we may do so."

"I appreciate it, Sir Iron, but... I don't need a dream therapist. Answers would help me much more than talking about my feelings would."

Sir Iron nodded, and stood up. "Then let us go."

I stood as well, thinking we were going to walk somewhere, but Sir Iron instead reached out a hoof to the bonfire and bowed his head.

"Hold onto me, and close your eyes."

I tentatively did as I was told, putting a foreleg around the old knight and squeezing my eyes shut. A flash of pink light was visible even through my eyelids, and there was an indescribable, alien sound as I felt a sensation of falling. Still I kept my eyes closed, until eventually my hooves gently settled on solid ground again, and the light went away. I opened my eyes without needing to be told, and let go of Sir Iron to take in my surroundings.

We were in the Shrine of Sunlight.

"This place again?"

Sir Iron cantered off into the ruins without a word. I followed him through the flooded hall with the murals of the alicorns, and glanced at one I had seen before in the waking world, of Celestia and Luna striking down a chimeric beast. Not for the first time, I wondered about this shrine.

We stopped in the middle of the hall. Sir Iron tapped a hoof, and the floor began rumbling and opened in front of us. I stared as all the water drained down into a darkened pit. Was this just dream weirdness? Or was the Fire-Keeper's Dream here reflecting an actual secret in the real world? Sir Iron didn't explain, and instead stepped forward to let himself fall down into the darkness.

I stood on the precipice of the pit for a moment, and gulped. Heights unnerved me. But this was a dream, I reminded myself, and so I took the plunge.

For a while my vision was nothing but black. Then after falling and falling for far too long, my hooves struck the ground. It shocked me, but there was no pain. I looked around in the pitch blackness, and found a fire in the distance, which I galloped towards. It was Sir Iron carrying a torch, waiting for me. I ran up to him. 

"What was that? Where are we?" I asked.

He simply turned away and kept walking. Again I followed. I wanted to question more, but his lack of response made his answer clear:

"Wait and see."

Eventually we did stop, when the light brought us to a great stone door. Sir Iron's torch illuminated it, and just in front of the door was a massive basin with symbols on the rim. Sir Iron lowered his torch to the basin, and it spontaneously burst into pink flame, even with nothing inside to burn. Was it dream logic? Or was it connected to the bonfires?

In the light, I recognised the icons on the basin as being of many different animal species. There was a rearing equine, a winged dragon, a stag, a spider, a griffon, a changeling, a tree with limbs, some kind of horned fish with a trident, and a few others. However, a cluster of three particular icons broke this pattern. Instead of animals, they depicted a golden apple, a perfect black circle, and a complex symbol comprised of a circle, an eight-pointed star, and six hexagonal gemstones, one of which occupied the centre.

I wasn't sure what the significance of any of these symbols were. I looked away from the basin and back to Sir Iron, but he was much more interested in the door.

"They call this the Devil's Door," he said, finally breaking his silence. "Do you know who the Devil is?"

"Uh... like... a hypothetical embodiment of ultimate evil, right?"

"Hmph. Not quite. That's the modern understanding of the concept, but the original term was for a real historical monster. According to the religion which existed in these ancient times, the Devil was a beast who destroyed Paradise, the afterlife of the virtuous dead, and cast out all its angels. Then, the legend goes that he brought about Hell on Earth, until the gods stopped him."

"Umm... okay..."

"You are a skeptic, Firelink, so I do not think I'll shock you by saying that the Way of White has it wrong. The Four were real, but they were not goddesses. They were ponies like you or I. Alicorn princesses, granted, exceptional beings in many ways, but mortal. Yet they made an impression, one long-lasting enough for them to be immortalised and worshipped, and the Way of White were not the first to do this. This ancient religion, with its talk of angels and devils, was the same. It was they that first built the shrine above us, in fact, not the Church that you know."

"Well... that's... good to know?" I said, scratching the back of my neck. "I mean, I kinda suspected, but... this is going somewhere, right?"

He nodded.

"Just like the Way of White, the old church had a mythology based on partial truth. No, the Devil did not destroy Paradise and cast out the angels, nor was he struck down by the might of the gods. But there was a primeval spirit, or a demon, or a monster, known as Discord, who did bring ruin to the kingdom of the alicorns, and drive them from their realm into ours. And it was the alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna, who ultimately defeated him after he brought his chaos to our world as well. And on this spot, atop the door to Paradise, through which the angels fled to escape the Devil, the first worshippers of the Royal Sisters did build their church."

I stared at him. The revelations about Discord and the alicorn princesses swam in my mind, but another thing took precedent for now.

"...On the other side of this door is... the biblical Heaven? Or... its inspiration? You're telling me that the homeland of the Four is behind here?"

"Mmm, well... two of the Four, anyway. And supposedly, after Discord's first defeat, Celestia and Luna returned to their home, not to repopulate it, but to build something new. I know not what, but it is said that the ancient lords convened there, and over years of gleaning what I could from Frampt and his champions, I believe that... this may be where the source of bonfires was hidden. The Fire of Friendship itself."

"...Of course," I whispered. "All that about darkness gathering, and seeking embers, and souls touched by fire... He wants us to find a way to open that door and reignite the Fire."

"Yes. That is what I believe."

"Well... huh..." I held my forehead. "That's a big duty I'm charged with... and not one that I believe I'm remotely capable of fulfilling. Especially since everyone else who tried in the past several centuries or so seemingly all either gave up or died."

"As I understand it, to open the Devil's Door, one must hold the soul of an ancient lord. This basin here, a conduit between the Fire of Friendship and the bonfires, is also a test. Reach your hoof into the fire in the physical world, and it will burn you, but it is said that an ancient lord will be unharmed, and the way will open for them. Frampt calls it the Lordvessel."

I stared into the flames.

"And what, pray tell, is an 'ancient lord?'"

I'd heard the term before. The Fire-Keeper in Woods' End had said that Equestria was the land of the ancient lords, and that wasn't the first time I'd heard somepony refer to this land as such, but I still didn't know what it actually meant.

"In truth, I do not know, but... have you and I not both heard White followers in these lands call Celestia a Lord of Sunlight?"

My eyes widened.

"...An... alicorn deity?" I whispered. "You're saying... I'd need to bring the soul of a princess to this door? One of the Four?"

Sir Iron shrugged. "Perhaps. I cannot say. Much is shrouded in mystery. But it would make sense, wouldn't it? That's what all the old heroes died on the mountain for. All of us trying to reach Canterlot, all trying to find Celestia, and answers..."

"...'Us?'" I repeated.

"Them."

There was a brief silence.

"...I have told you all I know of Frampt and this door now," said Sir Iron. "There is nothing more to gain here. Let us return."

Again he held out a hoof towards the fire, and I grabbed onto him and closed my eyes as we were swallowed by blinding light and fell through the dream. When we reappeared, we were back above the Shrine of Sunlight, beside the bonfire where we first met. Sir Iron took a seat on the steps, and I did as well.

"I suppose... at least I know what the quest is now. Enough that I know it's impossible."

Sir Iron sighed and bowed his head.

"It is true, none before you have ever succeeded. The Fire of Friendship still dwindles even now. One day, it will fail. The changelings will starve, and go feral or die. Hollows will rise by the millions, and overwhelm the last civilizations in the east, as they did to Griffonstone, Saddle Arabia, and the Dragon Lands. The Fire-Keeper's Dream will disperse, and the Darkwraiths will prey on us all with impunity. The weight of the world rests on these fading flames. One day... it will all come tumbling down..."

"...It's not too late," I said. "Maybe one of Frampt's champions will succeed. I mean, it won't be me, but... somepony like Sunset Shimmer could, I bet."

"Hmm." Sir Iron sat up. "I hold out hope, but the quest breaks so many. You need only look at dear Crestfallen to see that. He lost his nerve for battle and went craven. I think he only still carries that sword with him to remind himself of better times. I myself also failed the quest, though I was not one of Frampt's chosen, and now I confine myself to this land of dreams. At least here, fighting the Darkwraiths, I can still feel as if I'm accomplishing something..."

"...I have to go home, Sir Iron. One way or another. Frampt might have chosen me, but... I certainly never chose this life for myself, and it was never fair of him to ask. I tried to be a hero once myself. I ventured out in search of a lost friend, hoping to rescue him... It didn't end well. I learned my lesson back in the Changeling Asylum. Altruism is the surest path to an early grave."

Sir Iron leaned in, and I felt like he was staring at me through his helmet.

"Then why did you help Sunset?"

I blinked.

"I... she..." I blushed slightly. "She's... special."

That made Sir Iron chuckle.

"Friendship, love, whatever you want to call it, your feelings made you act heroically, risking your own life for the sake of another. I don't think your hero days are behind you, Firelink. I think they're just beginning."

I sat staring at the bonfire a while, contemplating that.

"Well... maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong. We'll see, won't we?"

Just as I said that, I noticed the familiar blurring as the dream started disappearing around me. It was slower than it had been before, and this dream felt like it had lasted the longest of all of my visits, but I was still annoyed by how short it had been. I didn't even have time to ask Sir Iron about my red eye orb. I groaned.

"Take heart," said Sir Iron. "Our time together is lengthening every night. Next time, I may even have the opportunity to teach you my ways."

I gave the old knight a wry smile and stood from my seat.

"I'll hold you to it, Sir Iron."

He nodded to me. I nodded back. And as the last the dream bled away, I walked off into the waking world, ready to face the morning sun.





"What's wrong? Get a bit of scare out there? No problem. Have a seat and get comfortable. We'll both be hollow before you know it."