//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 Out of the Frying Pan // Story: Hollow // by Demonfire463 //------------------------------// Chapter 18 I awaken. Rarity is sleeping still. I get up out of the bed and leave the room. I walk down the hall leading to outside. As I reach the outside, I realize that the sun has not yet risen. It is clearly morning though, the air is light and the sun's light shines in the distance. I sit down on the cool grass and think. Perhaps she can go to Lordran. The voice of reason speaks up. Of course not! That would be suicide for her! Rainbow Dash walks up next to me and yawns. "You're up early." She says. "As are you, don't you usually sleep late?" "Yeah, but I heard chainmail clinking through the hall and thought I might see what you're up to." "Sorry for waking you. Just thinking. How did you know it was me?" "Nopony wears armor, and you're the only undead that wears armor made of metal. Whatcha thinkin' about?" I sigh. "Rarity asked me if she could go to Lordran with me yesterday." "Well I can see why." "What?" "Well, you guys talk about it a lot. You tell us about adventures and great battles, sounds exciting." "But Rarity asked me. She's more fragile, not built for great battles, no ponies are that I've met, except possibly for you." "Me? Really?" She asks excitedly. "Sure, you're the fastest pegasus I've seen. Your speed could be a great advantage, one that I couldn't dream of having. In Lordran you're either fast or durable. I may not be very fast but damn can I take a hit." "I noticed, both times you fought your brother you took every slash and stab he dished out. What's that flask for anyway?" "My estus? It's for healing in the midst of battle. It's my most important item." "I guess that is pretty important." Some beams of sunlight begin to reach over the horizon. "Why does Raymond keep invading you anyway?" "Not sure. Could be to finish off the family. He was very insane but he won't be coming back. I promise. You are all safe from him now." "I hope so. I though he was going to kill you." "That wouldn't be so bad." "What do you mean? I never would have gotten a chance to really talk with you." She scoots a bit closer. "I mean, you're such good friends with Rarity, Joshua is with Fluttershy, and Arthur is with Twilight. If you were killed I never would have had a chance to be your friend, I'd never really know you well."I laugh at this a little. "I didn't even think of this. You haven't seen me lose a battle yet have you?" "No." "Well, I am an undead. When I am killed, I come back at the last bonfire I rested at. I won't be permanently dead until I hollow, and even then there's a chance I'll still come back. So you would have still gotten a chance, you would just realize that I'm not invincible." "You are pretty powerful though, right?" "My power comes from experience, I know how to fight because I have died countless times." "What's the worst part about dying?" I am shocked at the suddenness of this question. "Um. Well, uhh..." "Like, does it hurt?" "Well, that depends. But, I suppose the worst part of death, is the calmness and serenity you feel." She stares at me, obviously puzzled. "An overwhelming sense of nothingness...then you open your eyes and your sitting at a bonfire, thrust right back into battle. Simply to await another death. And another, and another. That is the curse of the undead. You die over and over again until you snap and go insane. Then you have but a slim chance of staying dead." I say, gravely serious. "Sorry... I shouldn't have asked." She says apologetically. "No, it's alright. I don't mind, really." I lighten up a little. "By the way, where do you live in Ponyville?" "In a cloud in Cloudsdale." She says, very glad I changed the subject. "Of course you do." "You could stay with me when we get back! Twilight could cast a spell on you that lets you walk on clouds and you could stay at my house!" "That sounds nice, but there's still the problem of getting there in the first place." "Twi could take you up, do you want to then?" She put on a face with a huge smile that screamed 'Pleeeeeaase?' "Faces don't work on me." She frowned and her ears drooped down. "But sure, I'd love to." She lights up and flies a few feet into the air and flips. "Great! Uh, I might have to clean up a bit before you come though." She says as she regrounds herself. "Well just tell me when we get back to Ponyville then." I look at the sun, now almost completely over the horizon. "I should head back to our room, farewell Rainbow Dash." "Bye Agroth." With that I walk inside the palace, and now I know my decision about Rarity going to Lordran: Still no. I open the door to the room and Rarity is standing near the bed, packing one of her suitcases. "There you are darling! Can you help me pack please?" "Certainly." "And about Lordran, I'm sorry. I understand your decision." "Oh. Well then, thank you for your understanding. I just don't want you to get hurt." "I know, thank you." I put my plate armor on, except the helmet. "There, now I'm about ready for a fight." I put Smough's Hammer away and replace it with my Black Knight Greataxe and strap it to my back. I strap the shield to my back and put the Bottomless Box on over that. I put my helmet on as well. Rarity finishes her packing and we walk to the train station. I set her bags down and we wait for the others. Pinkie Pie and Applejack walk up, well Applejack walks anyway, Pinkie bounces up as usual. Rainbow Dash flies up and lands next to me. "Oh, Rarity, by the way. You don't mind if I stay with Rainbow Dash when we return do you?" "Of course I don't mind, you'll drop by every so often though, won't you?" "Indeed I will, and thank you very much for allowing me to stay in your home as well as for your brilliant hospitality." I say as I bow. Arthur, Twilight, and Spike all walk up. She returns the bow and says "You are quite welcome." She stands and smiles at me. I smile back under my helm. "Hi everyone." Twilight says. Spike and Arthur just smile as a greeting. I can see Joshua and Fluttershy walking this way. They arrive, both smiling as well. "Hello everypony, and undead." Joshua says. "When will the train be here?" "It should be here about now." I respond. Sure enough, there is a whistle in the distance. I pick Rarity's bags as I see the train from afar. The train hisses to a stop and the doors open. We all load on and I set the bags in the area above us. I put my bottomless box up there as well and sit down in one of the small seats. I remove my helmet and lie sideways in my seat. I should get some extra sleep, I did wake up very early this morning. I look out the window of the train as it begins its departure from the station. I look up at the palace and see Solaire and Celestia at the highest window. Solaire praises the sun then waves to us. I smile and drift off to sleep. Praise the Sun! I wake up on my own this time. "Have we arrived yet?" I ask to nopony in particular. "Almost there." Twilight responds. I begin to stand up to retrieve my box. My head hits the shelf with the luggage on it and I sit back down. Rainbow flies over and sits next to me as I rub my head in mild pain. "Hey" she says. "Hello." I say back. "So, um, you need to get anything at Rarity's then?" "I should drop off her luggage. But everything I own is in that box above us." I say, pointing to the Bottomless Box. The train stops and I replace my helm on my head. Rainbow flies to the platform and I grab Rarity's bags and my box from the shelf. The rest of us exit the train, Rarity and I last. We all walk to our homes. Rarity holds the door for me and I set the bags down on the floor by a mannequin. "Sorry about your shawl at the Gala." "Oh, don't worry. It was well worth the mess to keep you alive." She says holding the heavily bloodied cloth with her hoof. She sets the shawl down. "Thank you for staying." "Thank you for allowing me." I kneel down and give her a hug and Sweetie Belle walks down the stairs. "Rarity! You're back!" She shouts happily as she squeezes herself into our hug. "Hello Sweetie Belle, I certainly am glad to be back home." "It was nice to meet you Sweetie Belle, and it's nice to see you. I will be leaving shortly and staying with Rainbow Dash." I inform the young filly. "You're leaving?" She asks sadly. "But, you just got back." "You will see me again, I'm not leaving forever. And I promise I'll drop by every so often. Maybe I'll see you around Ponyville as well." "Bye Agroth." She says as she hugs me tightly. Rarity hugs tighter too. "Goodbye Agroth." Rarity says. "Goodbye Rarity, bye Sweetie Belle." I hug them closer, not tighter since I don't quite know my own strength. "I should go, I need to learn a spell from Twilight." I release them, but they still hold tight for a moment. "Alright." Rarity says as she lets go. "It was nice having you." "Nice to meet you Agroth." Sweetie Belle says. I open the door and wave goodbye. I walk to Twilight's tree library house to learn the spell. "Hello Agroth." She says with joy. "Hello, how is your sorcery with Arthur going?" "Quite well actually." Arthur says. "We both have learned much from each other's magic abilities." "Actually that's why I'm here. I know basic sorceries, would you care to teach me the cloudwalking spell? Please?" "Of course, it's a pretty simple spell." She says as she levitates a large book over to a table. She uses her magic to flip through the pages to the lage with the spell on it. I take out my Oolacile Catalyst, which is a small bundle of ash-white sticks. The spell doesn't look difficult. I read the page over a few times and attempt to cast it. I immediately feel much lighter and there is a dim aura of magic underneath my feet. I think it worked! Only one way to find out though. "Got it." I tell her. "Now how do we get to Cloudsdale?" "We might be able to go in my balloon, not wearing that heavy armor though." Twilight says. I sigh. "We can try." "Alright. If you insist." I put on Havel's Ring. After replacing Smough's Hammer with the Great Club that had been smithed with a Titanite Slab, Twilight Sparkle calls for me. "Great! Then off we go." I charge out the door feeling much lighter and I see a great big balloon outside. Twilight invites me into the basket underneath. I climb in, and we begin to rise off the ground. Suddenly I feel horribly ill as I recall the Bat Winged Demons lifting me from Sen's Fortress to Anor Londo. My illness is so great I am forced to sit down in the basket. "I feel like I may vomit." She just giggles a bit. "Don't worry, we're almost there." She says. "Just don't look down." Within a few short moments the balloon stops moving and we touch down somewhere. I leap over the side of the basket and land on a large cloud. "Thank you Twilight Sparkle." I say nobly as I bow. "Your welcome, have fun with Rainbow Dash." She begins the descent back down to Ponyville. I look around to see Rainbow Dash sitting near...a bonfire! Thank the Lords! I rush over and sit at the fire. I take a deep breath as Rainbow Dash notices me. "Hi Agroth! My house is ready if you want to go there now." "I'd like to sit by the fire for a while, if you don't mind." "Okay, cool. So, how do you like Cloudsdale?" "It makes me uneasy, but I feel with time I'll get used to it. I'm not used to being in the sky, most things that fly often try to kill me." Bat Winged Demons, dragons and drakes, Harpy Demons, other evil creatures invade my thoughts as well. "I'm not gonna push you too much about Lordran." She says. "I don't mind, however I do have a question for you." "Go for it." "You are the Element of Loyalty, yes?" "Yep, that's me." She says proudly. "You are very loyal to your friends then?" "Totally." "Good, loyalty is a rare quality, and true loyalty is one if the best qualities a knight can have." "You're pretty loyal then too?" I nod. "Has your loyalty ever been...tested?" "What do you mean?" "Like, after I met my friends, I was tempted to leave them behind to follow my dream of being the greatest flyer in Equestria." "You chose your friends over your dream? How honorable of you. That was a truly loyal act. I think I understand now. I don't believe I have had such a test of my knightly qualities." I stare into the flames and become much more relaxed. "Do you have any like, dreams?" "What do you mean?" "Like, I wanna be a Wonderbolt someday. I've wanted to since I was just a filly. I work so hard every day, and I train really hard so I can be one someday. Do you have anything like that?" "I hope to defeat the corrupted Lord Gwyn and link the First Flame. For it is my destiny. And what are the Wonderbolts?" "Only the best group of elite flyers in Equestria! I used to watch their shows all the time as a kid! But anyway, link the flame?" "The Age of Fire is coming to an end. Lord Gwyn tried to hold off the Age of Dark by sacrificing his soul to the flame he created. In the Age of Dark, there is nothing but chaos since the Darkwraiths will rule. They will prey on the innocent, and death will reign everywhere. But Lord Gwyn has hollowed, therefore another must take his place. I hope to do so. I must sacrifice my life, my soul, to keep order in Lordran for a time. I cannot let the Darkwraiths win." "Sacrifice your soul? But, you can't!" "I must. They cannot win. Before I came to Equestria, the three of us were fighting the last lord we needed to open the door behind the Firelink Alter and hopefully, reach Gwyn." "Lord?" "The Four Kings, the Bed of Chaos, Gravelord Nito, and Seath the Scaleless each possess a great soul that the Lordvessel will accept. When full, the door behind the Lordvessel will open to Lord Gwyn's domain. We had defeated the Bed of Chaos, Gravelord Nito, and Seath the Scaleless before coming here. We were fighting the Four Kings of New Londo and were killed. We came back at a bonfire in the forest and traversed through a portal into this world. It's the best mistake I've ever made." I say, smiling under my helm. "Mistake?" "I could have gone right back to the Abyss and fought the kings again, but my curiosity got the better of me." "Oh, well I'm glad it did. Wanna go back to my place now?" She asks, not quite enjoying the bonfire as much as I am. I feel great comfort at the fire, the amount of times I had simply dozed off while staring into the flames is far too great to count. "Alright, let's go then." I say in spite of my comfort. She flies off the clouds as I clumsily make my way across them, following her to her home. We reach her home, which is made of clouds, and she sits down on a couch. I tentatively set my box down, testing the cloud to see if it will fall through. It does not, so I begin to take the plates off my chainmail. When the plates are off, I am tackled by Rainbow Dash. "Agh! What are you doing?" She gets off and lays down near me. "Comfy? Check out the clouds." I actually feel very relaxed, the clouds are soft and plushy. "Actually yes, I am. Wow, clouds are quite nice." I feel very tired just lying here. "And you only got me down because I wasn't on my guard." "Oh really?" "Really. I am like Havel the Rock or Artorias, immovable in battle." There is a multitude of loud screeches outside and we both become serious. "Perhaps now you will have a chance to see." I strap my plate armor back on and rush outside with my hammer and shield. Just as I thought. There are four scrawny, pale, winged creatures. They wield spined spears and are huddled around a grey pegasus. I sprint over and slam two of the demons aside with the hammer. One goes to stab the pegasus and she shields herself with a hoof. I dive in front of her and take the stab with my shoulder. A painful electric shock courses through my body and the other three go to stab me as well. I raise my shield and block the attacks. I swing the hammer with great force and pain, being very careful not to hit the grey pegasus. The three demons are knocked away. I yank the spear from my shoulder and gulp down a dose of estus. The unarmed demon grabs me by the throat and begins to strangle me. I drop the hammer and grab his wrists with my free hand. I crush the bones in his forearms with ease. The creature cries out in pain and I punch it in the face, crushing its skull. I gasp in a big breath of air as the other demons charge. I pick up my hammer as I see a flash of rainbow in front of me. "Rainbow, no!" I shout as she kicks one of the demons in mid flight. It isn't affected and tries to claw her in the air. She dashes away with great speed as I charge after the demon that clawed at her. I leap towards the demon feet first and kick it full force in the throat with both legs, crushing its windpipe and causing blood to come from the creature's mouth. As it slowly suffocates I grab my hammer again. I see another flash of color and Rainbow is kicking a demon in the face, hovering in midair. The winged demon grabs her with its free hand and digs in with its claws. I see blood drip from Rainbow Dash and run for her, still held by the demon. It brings her to its mouth, looking as though it is going to tear her to ribbons with its jagged teeth. I shout with rage as I bash the top of the head of the hammer into the demon's chest. I hear ribs crack and it drops the bleeding Rainbow Dash onto the clouds. I slam my shield down by Rainbow to create a barrier between her and them. I grasp Smough's Hammer with both hands and charge, shouting wildly and holding the hammer high above my head. I jump and bring the hammer down on one of the demons, killing it instantly. I swing upward and hit the other, sending it high into the air. When it lands I hit it again, killing the last of the vile creatures. Gasping for breath, I take another swig of estus and strap the hammer to my back. I walk over to Rainbow and my shield. "Are you alright?" I ask, looking at her wounds. She has ten deep puncture wounds, none fatal however, five on either side of her body. I kneel down and put the estus flask to her lips. "Drink up, you'll feel better." Her body is still quivering and shaking badly with pain, and she drinks some of the estus. She grunts with further pain as the estus liquid closes her wounds and stops the bleeding. "Now, are you okay?" I ask softly. "Yeah, fine now." She stands hesitantly. "Good." I say, still kneeling beside her. "Promise me something?" "Sure." "Never do that again. If I tell you to run, you run. I don't want to lose you. So please, promise me that you will never fight demons again." "Okay, I promise." She says, smiling innocently. I hug her for a moment. She hugs back. "Thank you." We release. "However, not letting your new friend go into a battle four to one is a great act of loyalty. An act that I have not seen in Lordran by any, save for Solaire and a few others. I am impressed." "Thanks. Can we go home?" She asks. "I don't see why not." I stand and we begin to walk back to her house, but a grey pegasus stops us. She looks traumatized, but not hurt, thankfully. Her yellow eyes look in different direction, which I find odd, as I have seen no ponies such as that before. "T-Thank you. You saved my life." "Think nothing of it, I am merely glad you were not harmed. What is your name?" "Derpy Hooves. Who are you?" I bow. "I am Agroth of Ast- I mean, of Lordran." Lordran has shaped me into who I am today more than Astora has, especially in my combat. "Agroth? Well, thanks Agroth." Derpy says. "You are quite welcome." We continue back to Rainbow's house. That fight must have taken longer than I thought, the clouds glow as orange as the flames of a bonfire in the setting sun. We arrive at Rainbow's home and I remove my plate armor. "Why do you take your armor off?" "I don't need to have it on all the time anymore, and just the mail is much more comfortable." I take my rings off and put them in my box so as not to lose them. I take my catalyst and cast the cloudwalking spell again, just to be safe. "Room's this way." She says, leading me to our room. She flies above the bed, inviting me to enter first. I lie down and almost instantly fall asleep with such comfort. "Comfy huh? The bed's fluffed up more than any other clouds in the house, so it's more comfortable." She lands beside me. "Excellent." She yawns, as do I. "Goodnight Rainbow Dash." "Goodnight Agroth." I fall quickly into a deep, delightful sleep.