//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: Waypoint 
// Story: Only Embers Remain 
// by Gapeagle 
//------------------------------//

"I can't believe it."

"How many bloody times are you going to repeat that?"

Scratch rolled her eyes at Octavia. It had been perhaps a day since they defeated the Bearer of Kindness, but time could not be tracked so easily with the sky in a perpetual state of half-night and half-day. The only thing for sure was that they had gotten far from the Church of Kindness and were now resting at a lonely fire on a hilltop, high above the swamps. 

"I just never thought I would look like this," Scratch gestured at herself. "I'm an actual pony again!"

Octavia leaned on her shield with a grin. "Yup, you are. Can't say you're the best mare I've ever seen though."

Scratch frowned. "Oh come now! Don't spoil this for me."

"You act different now too. Ya much more carefree now. You sure Fluttershy didn't knock the warrior clean out of you?"

Scratch sat on a stump. She had been acting differently. All her heroic and mysterious attitude seemed distant, like a past her that she hardly knew now. Perhaps that was one effect of hollowing? She also did not crave souls like before, but it was not gone completely. The embers of the First Flame retained their soothing nature, however, so at least one thing did not change. She was not sure if she liked all the changes as they were all completely new to her.

"So why did you call me Scratch?" Scratch ventured.

"You remind me of a friend I had, that's all," Octavia shrugged. "Her name was Vinyl Scratch."

The warrior leaned on her sword. "What happened to her?"

"She had a fate worse than death," Octavia answered, looking at the ground. "Her thirst for souls overcame her sanity, turning her into a Darkwraith."

Something triggered in Scratch's mind as the word "Darkwraith" was said so quietly. She had heard this word long before, but she could not remember when or where. She leaned forward carefully.

"What's a Darkwraith?"

"Oh, they're lots of things," Octavia looked up at her. "One thing, is that they are part of a cult of non-hollows. They feast upon the souls and Harmony of non-hollow ponies. They dress in armor that resembles a skeleton and have cloaks of shadow on their backs. They just pop in unannounced and simply kill you. No mercy, not even a 'hello' from them. They were founded by Rarity when she discovered the severed horn of King Sombra. His horn alone is quite powerful and just the smallest fragment of it can be used as a magical relic. Each Darkwraith possessed a fragment and they can use them to traverse space and maybe even time. A Darkwraith could teleport across Equestria to find a pony to prey upon. When they use the horn, their bodies morph into dark red phantoms, hence their names, and they will chase you down until they are defeated or until you are dead. The worst part is, once you become a Darkwraith, you can't leave. It's selling yourself into slavery to the Mistress of Shadows."

"Then we must be on guard," Scratch gulped.

"Indeed. There are some places in Equestria that have magical barriers to prevent their invasions, like Hollow Shades and the village you found me in. Beyond that, I'm not sure where a safe place is."

Scratch said nothing after this. Her eyes gazed outward towards the west. With the height advantage, she could see a dark forest in that direction, beyond a rocky quarry and a vast crevice. That distant forest bore dark trees that seemed to be much taller than the ones in the swamp. As she peered at it, her hooves tingled. She knew the name of this foreboding forest.

"It's the Everfree," she whispered.

Octavia cocked her head. "You remember that? Hmph, odd. But yes, it is the Everfree. We have no need to go through there," she added curtly.

Scratch looked back at her. "Are you certain? My body says we do."

"We should seek Canterlot before we go on some wild chase for the sake of curiosity. Our chance of survival rests on us doing the least amount as possible. It is already a long journey to Canterlot, let's not make it any longer."

Scratch considered her friend's words. Her eyes lingered on the distant forest. She gulped as the feeling stayed with her. The forest was old and full of history she only had to remember. As the moon loomed over the dark forest, she could not help but think Octavia was wrong.

"I say that it may help us to go through there," she said with a pointed hoof. "I'm not sure why, but it seems important. It seems almost necessary."

Octavia sighed and with a hoof, threw the mane out of her eyes. "Listen, Scratch, you only say that because you are curious. There is nothing in there at all, but the moving corpses of wild beasts. The forest is a sickened waste of space, always has been I say. It was a place of evil long before this curse."

"But it would be a fantastic hideout from the undead," Scratch argued. "Perhaps some haven to avoid the curse. Perhaps there are some not hollow that are refugees within the forest."

"Apparently the Bearer's Harmony was not enough for you," the grey pony rolled her eyes. "Don't you hear yourself? That's crazy. Merely being surrounded by trees does not protect you from the undead curse. Nothing does. There are hollows wandering that forest, along with the hollowed animals. We must cut across the land directly to Canterlot."

Scratch nodded in silence merely to appease Octavia rather than agree with her. She walked to the edge of the fire's light, still staring off in the distance. The Everfree beckoned her, and it was as if she could even here it saying "come hither, wanderer." Her eyes then went towards the mountain where the capital of Equestria was located. From this location, the detour to the Everfree did not seem like an impossible feat. Scratch ground her teeth as she thought of her options.

"Octavia, what lies ahead of us?"

"Danger," was the short answer.

"I mean the land," Scratch huffed.

"By going straight to Canterlot, we would cross mainly plains and rolling hills. There are no real points of civilization until you get near the Ponyville Valley. It would require some river crossing as well."

"Then so be it."

Scratch walked over to her equipment and began to put it on, piece by piece. Octavia did not seemed please by the other's hurry, but she said nothing and reached for her shield to place on her back. The both remained quiet as they prepared to journey once more. 

Being a pony with Harmony once again, Scratch did not feel as relentless or as tireless as before. Her body had needs and she had to restore her energy. Her hooves twitched with anticipation, as the hunger for souls would rise within her for fleeting moments. When her teeth took hold of the sword's handle, the thought of it piercing a foe gave her a little more strength to continue on the adventure.

When she sheathed the weapon, she sighed. "Octavia, I'll let you lead since you seem to know the way better than I."

Octavia nodded. "Understood."

Scratch watched the pony move by her and down a lonely, foreboding path that was directed toward the large mountain that was their ultimate destination. She took one last look at the Everfree, before grunting in some careless manner and following her new companion. 

The steep hill they descended was full of jagged rocks and dangerous roots from the trees that made tripping a significant hazard. The stench of the swamps returned, but this time, twice as strong. The mud and ponds of black water were once again all round them. The faces of dead ponies stared off into the sky as their heads floated on the thick water's surface. Flies and other insects flew about, and with a careful eye, could tell that they were infected and rotten. 

"I've not been this way in well, a long time," Octavia spoke up. "I assure you, the swamp did not used to extend this far west."

Scratch did not answer as they moved forward. The buzzing and ugly noises of the bog was around them, but they were not heard easily above the clanking armor of the mares. The disturbing noise brought them glares from undead creatures. A few hollowed ponies, some of them wearing the robes that belonged to the Church of Kindness, looked at them with eyeless faces, but made no move to attack them. 

This reminded the warrior of how Discord pointed out her cruelty for slaying the hollows on the other side of the swamp. Was she so ruthless? Certainly she did not feel ruthless, especially now with her Harmony restored. She looked down at her hooves, white and with fur. The memory of them being so rotten that her remaining flesh was literally being left in her hoofprints almost made her shutter, she she did not as she was used to that body, more so than this restored one. 

Her thoughtfulness was disturbed by a creature that walked across the path before them. They both stopped to witness a hollow griffon simply making its way from one side of the path to the other. Its beak dragged a large blade that was almost as long as the beast itself. The wings were but bones with a few feathers attached here and there, hanging pitifully to the ground. It was hard to tell if it noticed them, as one of its eyes was skewered with a wooden rod, perhaps the middle portion of a spear. 

It then stopped, turning its head just a bit towards them. Octavia stood defensively, ready to fight. The griffon let out a high pitch groan that perhaps was meant to be a squawk. One mangled limb moved towards them and the beast approached. Scratch stood firmly, ready to combat the monster. 

"Come at me!" the warrior yelled.

The monster replied to the challenge. Dragging its weapon through the mud, it pounced with its lion-like back legs. Octavia hid behind her shield while Scratch charged the foe back. The blades of the warrior met in a loud clang. Mud and blackish water splashed about as the fighter's legs sunk into the soft earth. Without the traction, their swings were not forceful and the fighting was clumsy on the terrible terrain.

Scratch swung her weapon again, but the griffon was beyond the sword's reach. The hollow beast did a downward swing of its mighty blade, coming nowhere close to Scratch's position. More mud and water went high into the air. It gave a sluggish growl that was full of the sound of misery. 

The warrior lowered herself, getting ready to charge. Octavia reached her side, holding her shield up for protection. The griffon squawked loudly and began its approach. Each of its rotten feet sunk into the soft ground and its filthy weapon was dragged along. The two ponies waited for it to reach them.

"Let's just get away from it," Octavia suggested. "It's obviously too far gone to keep up with us."

"And let it roam on? I think not."

Scratch then let out a war cry and charged at the beast. Octavia yelled at her to stop, but the warrior did not listen. Holding her sword firmly in her mouth, she jabbed angrily at the griffon. The beast was in the process of lifting its hefty blade to attack, but it was too slow. The warrior's sword went straight into the rotten chest, breaking through the decaying internals. The griffon let out a deathly grunt and dropped its sword.

The warrior then ripped her sword back out, leaving a gaping hole in the hollowed beast who then fell over into the swampy ground. The souls it contained, though few, filled Scratch, sending chills up her legs. They felt wonderful and the warrior was reminded about how the taste of souls were so satisfying.

"That was not necessary," Octavia huffed. "We could have just left it."

"Sure, but then its souls would have been wasted," Scratch noted. "Somepony that actually needs them deserves them, right?"

"I don't follow your logic, but let us carry on."

Octavia shoved her way past the warrior and continued down the dark and foreboding path. Scratch was a bit confused by her friend's slight hostility. She then looked down at the dead griffon, a beast that would come back to animation in due time. Her thoughts made her feel guilty once more, but she could only sigh.

"What is done is done. I must not forget my Harmony, but I also must not starve myself of souls. If I'm going to fight my way to Canterlot, I need to be stronger, right? Perhaps I can be both pony and hollow?"

She was still uncertain of the situation. With Octavia still walking up the path, Scratch had to move now to keep up. As she did so, she looked up through one breakage in the treetops. The mountain that Canterlot rested on loomed above them. It's size made it seem so close, but she knew all too well that mountain was anything but nearby. It was going to be a long journey. Hopefully it's worth all the trouble. 


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