Sunset Shimmer stepped back from the stone boulder as Doland’s Flame of Death grew to the size of the boulder’s indent, now burning faintly beside Drawgren’s. Only two more boulders remained unlit and once that was done, she would be able to open the way to the Throne of the Fallen Hearth, the source of all this madness and she would be able to end this all and return home at last.
“Defeating Doland, Light of the Sky, must have been no easy task, Young Flame.” Firekeeper Twilight watched the dancing flame before turning back to her.
“No, it was not.” Rainbow’s death was still fresh on her mind. Whoever put her here in this world was going to pay dearly. “This flame came at a very heavy price.”
“I am sorry for the death of the rainbow one, Young Flame.” Twilight bowed her head. “She has been among us a long time. We will surely miss her presence. She has led many to Fyrlon’s safety.”
“Me included…”Sunset said sourly.
Rainbow had been the first living person she’d met here. She even helped get her past the King of Thieves. She sighed. That felt almost like it had happened years ago.
“I’ll return home and end this, Twilight.” Sunset put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a determined nod. “I owe it to Dash. If not for her, I would never have gotten this far, even if I come back when I die.”
“That you will, Young Flame. I believe in you. That Flame of Life you have will keep you safe and give you the strength for the journey ahead. You can do this. You are the only one who can.”
“And you can be sure I’ll do my best.” Sunset pushed a hand through her hair and sighed deeply. “So where do I go now? To get to the next Flame of Death? I need to teach them just who they’re dealing with. They don’t just kill my friends like that and get away with it.”
Twilight put a hand to her chin and looked at the remaining two unlit boulders. “Sisha, the Immolating Force. She will be the closest flame. But I must warn you, Young Flame. Sisha resides deep underground, down in the Cataclysm Hollows, birthplace of all hollows.”
“Hollows, huh?” Sunset remembered the zombie-like residents back at Theiros, City of the Lost. “So how do I get there? Don’t tell me I have to go back to the city.”
“Not that far back, Young Flame, but not a place you would like to go.” Twilight lifted a hand and pointed towards the edge of Fyrlon where a set of familiar steps led down the cliff. “You must again traverse down through the Underscale Ruins and the Derelict Catacombs.”
Sunset groaned as she remembered the split in the path, where she took the lift that led up to the Lake of Silence. There were more stony steps leading deeper underground as if the catacombs weren’t far enough underground already.
“Yes, I am afraid the Cataclysm Hollows are far beneath the surface, closer to the core of our world. You must venture there to find the third Flame of Death.”
“And of course, there I shall go…” Sunset said half-heartedly. She really didn’t want to have to, but she made Rainbow a promise. She had to do this.
“If there is anything I can assist you with, Young Flame, do not hesitate to ask.” Twilight smiled and placed a hand on her arm. “Perhaps a little power up?”
Sunset looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Power up? What do you mean power up? You can do that?”
“When you defeat enemies in this world, their souls do not simply float away into oblivion.” The firekeeper prodded a finger into Sunset’s chest. “They go to you. Souls are a form of currency in our world. With enough, I could potentially heighten your abilities, Young Flame.”
“Souls, huh?” Sunset looked at the floating blue flames. “So what happens if say, I die?”
“Why, whoever killed you gets to keep your souls, that is, unless you can get them back. You will only ever get one chance. If you die again, they will vanish forever.”
“That’s… weird.”
Twilight shrugged. “It is the way our world works. So, Young Flame, would you like to use your obtained souls?”
“I mean, I guess, yeah, sure. Why not? Not like I’ve used them for anything else. Hay, I didn’t even know I had them.”
“Very well.” Twilight beckoned her forward. “Take nourishment from these sovereignless souls.”
Sunset did as she was told and knelt down before the firekeeper. As Twilight raised a hand, light seemed to shine from her fingertips. Sunset felt something leave her, almost as though a great load had been lifted off her shoulders. Almost as soon as it had happened, it was done. Twilight withdrew her hand and nodded, letting Sunset know it was okay to stand.
“That’s it?” The fiery haired girl looked at her hands. She didn’t feel any different.
“Yes, Young Flame. You have been imbued with the souls of your enemies.”
“Doesn’t feel very different. What happens now?”
Pointing again to the edge of Fyrlon, Twilight answered, “Your journey is ahead of you, Young Flame. Go to Sisha, the Immolating Force, and return with yet another Flame of Death.”
“Right. Okay. On I go then. Oh, Twilight?” Sunset turned back and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, you know, for helping me out and guiding me. It feels like old times.”
Firekeeper Twilight blinked a few times. “I am not sure I understand what you mean.”
“There’s… a lot to explain. I guess I’ll try to do so when I get back from the uh, Cataclysm Hollows. See you soon, Twilight. I’ll succeed. For Rainbow, for all of you.”
Leaving the safety of Fyrlon, Sunset Shimmer proceeded back to the trail that would lead her to the Underscale Ruins. It was time once again to face the world.
As she traveled through the Underscale Ruins and Derelict Catacombs, Sunset Shimmer found she had indeed been imbued with the souls of her fallen enemies.
With every cut of her blade, she felt her strength had been increased, able to block and parry more effectively, while each slice sent her enemies falling back a step. Her stamina had also gotten better, with Sunset finding herself less tired as she made her way from bonfire to bonfire.
“What do you know, it actually works wonders.”
She had remembered most of the way through and in a very short span of time, the girl found herself back at the steps carved into the stone walls, leading deeper down into the depths.
“Great…” she groaned. Going deeper down into the dark was near the bottom of her list, but now, she had no choice. “Here we go, then.”
The world around her disappeared into black as she began to descend the steps, each step making it harder and harder to see. Her flame continued to provide a small source of light around her so she could see the next step, but her view had become very limited, though this wasn’t nearly as dark as the Unlit Abbey.
Eventually, one side of the wall disappeared, the narrow stairway getting wider, revealing a drop on Sunset’s right. She could see a pulsating red glow down below, moving like water.
“Lava…” she mumbled. “How deep am I?”
Stepping off the last step, Sunset found herself in between the cavern wall and the steep cliff, with only a small path leading ahead. A little carved out sign on her left read, ‘Darkstone Crags’.
The rocks indeed were of a darker colour, and they all seemed to point outward towards the cliff, making obstacles for Sunset to duck under as she went along the pathway.
The air was still around her, making it rather hot, especially with the heat rising from the lava below. It was really far down, but with no air floor in this place besides the stairway she had come from, there was really nothing she could do about that, though, Subset simply shrugged the heat off. She’d been sweaty and grimey for a long time now and her smell and discomfort was really starting to fade.
Pressing on further, the fiery haired girl was relieved to find the pathway eventually widened out, with the jutting rocks becoming less of a problem, though, a new problem presented itself.
Ahead of her stood two hollows, clad in steel armor, though, there was something odd about them. Around their exposed arms and legs were… eyes. Round beady eyes darted all around, some settling on Sunset when she got closer.
Gross…
With low groans, the two hollows shambled towards her, their swords already raised backwards to strike her.
Rushing head on, Sunset swung her star sword up at the first one, parrying its attempt to strike her, then following up with a spin and a stab to its abdomen. She pierced through its armor and cut up, her sword easily going through its entire body, coming out through the middle of the hollow’s head.
The eyes all over its body began to convulse, like they were all having a massive seizure. And then, to her horror, tentacles began to burst from the hollow’s ripped body, which then proceeded to walk the mass of flesh over towards her.
“Gross!” Sunset took a few steps back as it swung tentacle after tentacle at her, all the eyes now focused on her.
Sunset’s star sword flashed in the darkness, each stroke shearing off a tentacle, but the enemy was so unnerving that Sunset was focused more on staying out of reach rather than slaying the enemy.
The other hollow, the one still without tentacles, approached from her right, cutting down at her with its sword, but the girl was already out of its reach, teleporting away with her star sword as the tentacled horror continued to pursue her.
Eventually Sunset slashed off a particularly long tendril, ducked under a swing from the hollow, then spun around and sliced its head off, which went rolling off into the dark, however, it did little to slow the creature down.
“Really?”
Sunset rolled and slashed as she jumped up, feeling her sword tear through its slimy flesh as it tried to reach for her. Finally, it fell into a heap and stopped moving, each tentacle falling down around its body and its eyes going still.
Still up in the air, Sunset threw her sword down at the other hollow, spearing it in the gut. Materializing beside it, Sunset wasn’t going to take her chances. With a mighty forward kick, she sent the hollow sailing off the cliff as she retrieved her sword, watching as the body grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared beneath the lava with a very tiny splash. At least if it were still alive, it would be down there somewhere, far away from her.
“Yeah, don’t mess with me!” Sunset shouted after it. Then she sheathed her blade and kept walking.
The cliffside path grew narrow in places, and Sunset was forced to shuffle along small outcroppings to proceed. Eventually her endeavors led her to a hole in the side of the cliff. The path led down into the dark, and Sunset could hear scuffling sounds coming from inside.
The fiery haired girl peered inside the tunnel. There did not seem to be any other way forward. She took out her sword and crept inside, hoping she would not run right into some enemy.
For a while, Sunset’s luck held out. Nothing came out of the darkness, and she soon saw light on the other side. A harsh, orange light. Expecting a pool of magma or something equally dangerous, the girl was surprised to see a person sitting against the wall, with an orange ball of light in their left hand.
As Sunset approached, the person looked up at her. Their face was partially concealed with a hood and they wore ragged brown robes that concealed their form.
“Oh, hello. You are not a hollow.” the stranger said. He spoke with a deep, masculine voice. “Fancy meeting someone like you here. My name is Sandalwood. I’m from the swamps.”
“Sandalwood?” Sunset repeated, kneeling down next to him. It was only then that she saw that Sandalwood’s entire left side was bloody and mangled. “What are you doing down here?”
“Came looking for one of the Flames.” Sandalwood replied. “I thought I’d try down here first. But them hollows are strong. I fought off a bunch of them, but they got me pretty good. I’d like to return to the Best Swamp, but I don’t think I can make it, you know? Ran out of estus.” He pulled out an empty flask and sighed. “Maybe going hollow won’t be so bad…”
Sunset felt an outpouring of sympathy for Sandalwood. He was on the same quest she was on, only he had been somewhat less successful. Given circumstances, their roles might easily be reversed.
“Anyway,” Sandalwood continued. “Hollows down here, they’re tough to take on with just a weapon.” He showed Sunset a broken piece of wood that must have been the handle of an axe or something. “You really need a little something extra. Kill ‘em ‘fore they sprout tentacles and stuff.”
Sunset remembered the crossbow she had, but then recalled that she was out of bolts. “I, uh, don’t have anything except my sword,” Sunset admitted.
Sandalwood grimaced and held his injured side.
“How about a deal?” he proposed. “If you give me a drink of estus so I can make it back to the Best Swamp, I’ll teach you a secret art from my homeland. Pyromancy.”
It did not take Sunset long to decide. She took an orange flask from her pack and gave it to Sandalwood. He drank it down gratefully, and the wound in his side closed up. The swamp-dweller sighed in satisfaction and stood up.
“Ah, yeah. That feels good. Now for my part of the deal. Hold out your hand.”
Sunset held out her left hand and Sandalwood dropped something in it. It looked like a small fireball, about the size of a tennis ball, only it didn’t burn. It was simply pleasantly warm, like a stone left out in the sun.
“All pyromancy requires a pyromancy flame, like this one, to work,” Sandalwood instructed. “I’ll teach you two spells. Combustion and fireball. Useful for killing those hollows before they turn nasty.”
“I take it they don’t like fire much?” Sunset chuckled and watched the dancing flame in her hand.
“Nope. But with pyromancy, you can’t just shoot wild. Like any other weapon, the flame is only as good as the person holding it. You’ll have a limited number of spells, so don’t waste ‘em.”
The next hour or so was spent learning proper casting stances and how to focus her energy into the pyromancy flame. After the session was over, Sunset was delighted to find that she could cause a burst of fire directly in front of her, or lob an exploding fireball some far distance.
Sandalwood looked pleased. “Well, that’s it for now. I’m headed home. Good luck with finding the Flame, Young Flame.”
And with that, Sandalwood went back up the tunnel and was soon gone from sight.
Sunset stood there a while longer, smiling at how nice it was to see another friendly face, then forged on ahead. The path split into two a little further on, however the right path seemed to lead to a drop off into the magma below. Sunset peeked over the precipice, only to discover that there was a smaller outcropping down below with a large wooden chest resting on it. The left path continued along the cliffs.
“Hmm,” Sunset said. The chest looked tempting, but it would be more prudent to continue down the left path. However, the chest would not leave her mind.
“Well, if someone placed a chest down there, they must have gotten back up somehow…” Sunset mused. She looked down at the chest once more, then knelt down, sheathing her sword. The girl lowered herself down, but even while hanging on to the top of the cliff, it was still a two meter drop down. It was a narrow platform down below, and Sunset did not fancy a swim in the magma.
Now hanging on with her fingertips, Sunset closed her eyes and let go. For a second she fell, then there was an impact as her feet collided with the chest. She pitched over, doing a half-roll, right into someone’s legs.
She looked up.
“Oh crap.”
There was a hollow standing there, a rusty mace in its grip. The creature had been concealed by the cliff face when Sunset had looked down, but here it was. It raised the mace and went for a crushing blow to Sunset, but she rolled aside and the mace hit nothing. There was no room to draw her sword, so Sunset did the next best thing.
She held out her left hand with the pyromancy flame still in it, and willed the magic into motion. A flash of heat burst from her fist, and bright orange-red flames engulfed the hollow. It screeched, flailing its limbs about, then ran at Sunset. She stepped smartly aside and the hollow tripped over the chest and fell tumbling into the molten rock below.
Sometimes, the obstacles in this world were just far too easy. Sunset wished silently that the rest of her journey would be like that. Easy.
With the enemy vanquished, Sunset turned her attention to the chest. It had a lock on it, but the contraption was rusty and aged. Sunset struck the lock with the pommel of her sword and it broke and fell off. She heaved the lid open and looked inside.
Sunset was not quite sure what she had been expecting, but it was not this. Lying inside the large chest was a very small circular item. It took her a second to realize that it was a ring. It was made of dark metal and had a brownish gemstone embedded in it, resembling an eye.
“Hmm…” Sunset turned it between her fingers. “Why would a ring be here in this chest? Who would even put it here?” She put it on anyway. If nothing else, it looked nice and even fitted snugly over her armored finger.
Now that she had plundered the chest, all that was left to do was to get back up. That was simple enough. She drew her star sword and threw it up to the ridge, then teleported up to the path.
“Ha. That wasn’t so hard.”
She was beginning to feel less and less afraid now, and Sunset was trying very hard not to look proud as she continued her journey down the left path. A part of her actually wanted to encounter more of the tentacle monsters, if only to burn them with her new magic spells.
After about eight minutes of walking, Sunset encountered her next enemy. It was a strange, insectoid gargoyle like creature with a mass of eyes for its head. The eyeballs swiveled this way and that, and Sunset knew that there was no taking this thing by surprise. The thing didn’t seem to have a very far attention span though, for even before Sunset took cover behind a rock, the creature did not seem to notice her.
Two of those eyeball hollows shambled close to the gargoyle, their mouths hanging open and their swords dragging on the floor behind them.
With all the eyes out there, there was definitely not going to be any sneaking done in this area. If she wanted to get past them, it was going to have to be a fight.
But...
That did not mean she was going to try and take on all three at once. That, Sunset thought, would be immensely foolish.
She bent down and picked up a pebble, weighing it in the palm of her hand. She pondered what she was about to do. It was, actually, quite thrilling.
Popping out from behind her cover, Sunset flung the pebble at the nearest enemy, one of the hollows. The pebble struck it in the head and it turned around to look where it had come from. The hollow lurched away from its fellows and toward Sunset’s hiding place.
Readying her sword, Sunset slashed low as it arrived, effectively cutting off its legs below the knee, sending it crashing to the floor. Tentacles sprouted from its severed stumps, but with a cast of her combustion spell, the hollow was set on fire, its many eyes spinning and darting around as it wailed in pain. The tentacles pushed up, but Sunset drove her blade through its chest, then kicked the hollow off her weapon, knocking it off the edge and down into the burning depths below.
Her attack had gotten the attention of the large gargoyle creature and it began lumbering over to see what the commotion was. As it approached, Sunset could hear what sounded like some kind of high pitched keening. If it was a song, it was one of the most chilling and ear-grating songs she had ever heard.
Sunset’s legs were overcome with the shivers, and she leaned against the cliff face to stay standing. Whatever that thing was, it was trouble. More than ever, she wished she had kept some bolts for her crossbow. Sunset peeked out again and jumped back, falling over on her jelly-legs. The gargoyle was right in front of her, its eyes rolling madly and its song blaring into Sunset’s ears. A warm liquid began to seep out of her right ear, and she was shocked to see that it was blood.
“Oh, no no no no,” Sunset muttered frantically. This thing was going to kill her just by being near her. Sunset scrambled to her feet and scampered back up where she had come from. Fortunately, the enemy was not at all fast, moving at a walking speed after her. The song grew fainter as Sunset put more distance between herself and the monster, and soon she was out of earshot altogether. At least she hoped she was, and wasn’t just going deaf because her eardrums had ruptured.
Suddenly from the darkness, one of the eyeball hollows leapt out and wrapped its arms around her legs, tripping her and sending her crashing to the rocky ground below, hitting her cheek against it, ripping the flesh on it.
“Gerroff me!” Sunset exclaimed, trying to push it off. When that failed, Sunset jabbed her finger into one of the hollow’s many eyes, causing it to groan and let go. With one leg, she planted a kick in its face, forcing its bony body off hers, at the same time, throwing a fireball at it, teleporting back in a shower of sparks as the hollow caught on fire, its body flailing madly around like it was trying to put it out.
Tentacles sprouted from the hollow’s burning body, but they didn’t do much before they ceased moving, the grotesque body falling to the ground in a burning pile.
Sunset pushed herself up to her feet and placed one hand over her left ear. Blood still dripped from it and while she wasn’t deaf, her hearing had been damaged; there was a quiet ringing sound now. She was about to reach for an estus flask, but at that moment the singing monster rounded the corner, its arms outstretched like it was trying to grab her. As soon as she made eye contact with it, the singing began to fill her ears again and they began to hurt.
Sunset gritted her teeth and backed away, keeping her sword out in front of her. But she was running out of room to backpedal. She could see now why Sandalwood had been stopped here. This enemy was formidable indeed.
All Sunset could hear now was that incessant ringing sound, everything else, including her breath, was muted. As such, she completely missed the sound of a clay urn sailing through the air and breaking on the singing monster’s back, covering it with a grey, slimy liquid.
However, she did see it, as well as a figure stepping out behind the creature with a molotov cocktail of sorts in hand. They hurled the fire bottle, and it shattered on impact with the monster. The grey liquid, which now Sunset realized must be oil or some other flammable substance, ignited in full flame and wreathed the monster in fire.
The singing grew into a shriek, and it flailed about, only to be finally killed by an axe to the head.
Sunset looked up in amazement as her rescuer kicked the corpse aside and walked up to her.
“Applejack?” she said, not able to hear her own voice. By now, everything around her was a muffled silence.
The cowgirl ran over to her side, now clad in steel armor that actually looked really cool, with a white cape flowing behind her and chainmail running across most of her body. There was a gleaming axe in one of her hands, which Sunset swore emitted electricity.
Applejack’s mouth moved up and down, but no sound came from it. Eventually, she sighed and pointed to her ears, then mimicked a drinking motion.
“Oh, oh…” Sunset quickly dug around her pack and retrieved an estus flask, downing its orange flavoured contents in a single gulp.
Immediately, the warmth of the potion bled into her body and her hearing returned, which wasn’t actually much in terms of sound, now that Sunset thought about it. The cavern around her was almost deathly silent, with the only sounds being her ragged breathing and Applejack letting out a shrill whistle.
“My, ugly monster that one is, ain’t it so?” She smirked and pointed to the cliff. “Ya alright? Glad Ah came by in time.”
“Applejack…” Sunset sighed. “I have never been happier to see you.”
“Yeah, well, good ta see you too, Sunset. Ah was just exploring around here after Ah got my Dragonslayer back from that sackboy. Ah musta taken a different way in though, cause Ah didn’t see you at all.”
“There was a guy called Sandalwood back there,” Sunset jerked her thumb back toward the entrance. “I knew him too, back where I’m from.”
Applejack shrugged, her armor clanking a little with the motion. “Can’t say Ah saw him neither.”
“Well, if there’s another way into this place, then that means there’s another way out!” Sunset said excitedly, though she knew her goal here wasn’t to run from this place, but to actually get through it so she could get to the Cataclysm Hollows somewhere down below. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know how to get down to the Cataclysm Hollows, would you? The next Flame of Death is down there.”
“Can’t say Ah do, Sunset.” Applejack scratched at her head and looked around. “Though Ah suppose Ah can accompany you. Ah’ve still yet to find that lyin’ thief of a Rarity. Maybe Ah’ll find her along the way. Ya haven’t seen her, have ya? Ooh, if Ah get my hands on her, Ah’d wring that cheatin’ head right off her neck! My hat ain’t suppose to ever leave my side!”
“Er, no, I haven’t seen her, not since the last time,” Sunset admitted. She hoped Rarity hadn’t died or anything like that.
Applejack huffed in annoyance, then looked down at Sunset’s left hand. “Ah see you got yourself some magic. Pahromancy, is it?”
“Yeah. Sandalwood gave it to me. Quite the neat tool, especially down here with all these eyeball monsters.”
Applejack nodded sagely. “Fire’ll kill ‘em, but if ya want to take down the singin’ ones, you might need a little extra.” Appleajack reached into her own pack and pulled out a satchel, holding it out for Sunset. “Oil urns. Throw one on an enemy, and any fire’ll burn twice as hard on ‘em.”
Sunset took the satchel and pulled out one of the urns. It was surprisingly heavy. There were about a dozen urns in the satchel, and Sunset thanked Applejack for the gift.
“Aw, shucks. It’s nothin’, I figured if we’re both gonna keep going, we need to be prepared.” She gestured to the dead singing monster. “Sure to be more of those fellers.”
“Yeah…” Sunset shuddered. All her skill with a sword was of no use when the enemy merely had to sing to hurt her. A voice had better range than a blade. She wanted to say yes. Having a friend around made everything different, but then she thought of Rainbow Dash and what she had to do. She didn’t want that happening again. “AJ… maybe it’s better if you… didn’t put yourself in harm’s way. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“What? Really?” Applejack spun Dragonslayer in her hand. “Ah can take care of myself jus’ fine, Sunset Shimmer. Ain’t nothin’ gonna be stoppin’ me.”
“Yeah, I know you’re good at what you do and all, but… you can die. No offense, AJ. I can come back,” Sunset tried to reason. “I don’t want to see you die too.”
“You’ve lost friends already, huh?” Applejack tilted her head back a bit. “But listen. Ah ain’t no simple girl. Ah can handle this. Trust me. Ah won’t end up in the ground. Ah’ve been doin’ this long enough. But… if it makes ya feel better, if things don’t look too good, Ah’ll hang back, okay? Sound good?”
“That’s all I can ask, Applejack,” Sunset said. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. “Alright then. Let’s go.”
The trek downwards was no mean feat, but Sunset and Applejack managed to get by with surprisingly little trouble. Most of the enemies weren’t very bright, being hollows, and the narrow paths over the rivers of magma meant that kicking them off was all too easy. In fact, by the time the first bonfire came into view, neither of the girls had been even the slightest bit hurt. Thankfully, there hadn’t been anymore of those singing gargoyles too, which Sunset didn’t mind not ever seeing again.
“Ahh, there’s nothing like a good bonfire to make the day better,” Applejack sighed, sitting down before the flickering flames. “Tell me, Sunset, just how many hollows have we kicked off today? More than Ah’ve ever done in my life, that’s for sure.”
Sunset stretched herself out, refilling what little estus she had used up. With these bonfires, she hadn’t felt the need to sleep since waking up here. These things somehow kept them all going, giving them the strength they needed to push on.
Looking at her friend, Sunset decided to try to get to know her a little more, seeing as this was a different Applejack. It was better than nothing.
“So, AJ, what brings you to this place? Something you’re looking for?”
“O’ course. That’s why we all come here, ain’t it?” She reached up to adjust her hat, but it wasn’t there. “Dagnabbit! Ah’m gonna kill her! Anyway, Ah’m a sorts of treasure hunter over from a land called Mareah, one of the five kingdoms of Equus. ‘Course, before the whole undead thing happened, treasure was usually guarded by dragons. That’s how come Ah got this here axe, to deal with them dragons and get the treasure.”
“Oh. What happened to the dragons?”
Applejack shrugged. “No one really knows. Most of ‘em vanished soon as our kingdoms began to fall to ruin. Perhaps they sensed there wasn’t much treasure left to be found and went elsewhere. That’s why Ah’m here anyway. To find some treasure to help rebuild Mareah to its former glory. Many of us left for this land, but Ah’m afraid there aren’t many of us left.
“See here, Ah met that thievin’ Rarity of Marestora in my journeys here. We agreed to team up and split the profits, but what did she do? She stole my hat and all our accumulated treasure’s what she did! Ah just woke one day, and it was all gone! Along with that thief!”
Sunset rubbed her ear, dislodging the crusted blood there. “M-Maybe she had a good reason for leaving? Not that I’m defending her actions, but she seemed pretty upset with you too.”
“For what, may Ah ask?” Applejack glowered.
“She, uh, said you locked her in a metal tomb for months. I mentioned that the last time we met?”
“Ah don’t remember every little detail of what we spoke about, but trust me, Ah did no such thing!” She scrunched up her nose. “Okay, maybe Ah did, just a little bit…”
“When was this?”
“After she disappeared, Ah went lookin’ for her. Eventually found her over near the Lake of Silence. Locked her in one of the old tombs there as payback while Ah find out where she put my hat. Should’a killed her right there.”
“Oh, come on, you two are great friends back where I’m from. You don’t need violence for this.”
“Why, she’s just about the most treacherous person out there! Ah can’t trust her. Hay, she stole my hat!”
Sunset sighed to herself. This world was all wrong. Monsters roamed the land, Rainbow Dash was dead, and Applejack and Rarity were bitter enemies. Sunset only wished that the magic of friendship could touch here too, but that seemed a futile prospect. This world seemed to have its own rules.
“Well, Ah think we’ve rested long enough,” Applejack rose to her feet and flourished Dragonslayer. “Time to see if we can’t find the end of this place.”