Burning sunlight.
It burned through her eyelids, instinct making her squint and roll to make it go away.
A wave of achiness washed over her, eliciting a groan. Her throat croaked from disuse.
Water. I need water…
The unicorn rolled over, struggling to her hooves. Through half-lidded eyes, she navigated through the ruins to the pool of water. She gazed blearily into the water below her.
A reflection of a mare with a tousled purple mane and brilliant white coat stared back with a pair of vibrant blue eyes, looking equally groggy.
Without hesitation, Rarity lowered her head, taking a few gulps of the liquid. The water was cool and refreshing, quickly sating her thirst and soothing her dry throat. She hummed with satisfaction.
Straightening up, she stood there for a few moments, taking in the fresh air and the gentle breeze kissing her forehead.
Breeze? Am I… There must be a window open or…
The fashionista opened her eyes fully, blinking a few times to clear her blurred vision.
She was standing at the edge of a rectangular pool. Mossy stone remains of what appeared to be a temple of sorts surrounded her, while sunlight streamed through the roof—or where the roof would’ve been. A couple of doorways led out of the ruins, where grass swayed in the breeze that she felt earlier.
Wherever she was, it wasn’t the upstairs parlor bedroom she had lived in for the past several years.
“Wh…What?”
Adrenaline slowly made its way through her system as the shock registered. Her breathing quickened as panic beset her consciousness. Questions began flying through her mind in quick succession, multiplying in number as no answers could be brought to light.
Where am I?
How did I get here?
What is this place?
Was that water really okay to drink?
As she glanced about, Rarity’s mind began breaking down what she remembered from yesterday. Gem-hunting with Spike in the morning, going to the library to see Twilight and drop Spike off, picking up Sweetie Belle from school, making dinner for ourselves and then going to bed.
It seemed like a regular day to her. It didn’t seem like anything abnormal was found, or happened, for that matter.
So why was she here? And where was here?
Instinctively, Rarity booked it for the nearest doorway, on her left. Bursting through the threshold, she happened to glance down before she stopped dead in her tracks, narrowly avoiding a reckless tumble off of a sheer cliff.
Below her stretched out an enormous city, its mass so large, its buildings stretched out to the far horizon, where mountains jutted out angrily towards an empty sky. Heavy fog hid most of the smaller buildings below, but what she did notice were the ramparts. Massive walls separated the city into sections, although the unicorn could see no order obtained from their dissection.
She backed a few paces away from the edge before sitting down, her expression one of disbelief.
Was this even Equestria…?
She shook her head, dismissing the thought.
There’s got to be somepony around here who can help me. One step at a time, Rarity.
The unicorn took a quick breath before calling out, “Hello! Is there anypony here?”
The dull roaring of the wind whipping up the cliff was all that met her ears. Not giving up, she stood up on all fours, calling out again, “Hello! Somepony? Anypony!”
She returned to the doorway, passing through and deciding to go out the other entrance, nearer to where she had awoken. As she trotted over the uneven stone tiles, she wondered how she was even able to fall asleep on such an uncomfortable surface. And then she remembered that she had fallen asleep in her double-queen with the brand new royal blue comforters she had bought for herself the other week, with fresh, lavender-scented pillow cases thanks to a special detergent Rarity began using the other week.
She sniffed the air. It wasn’t the greatest smell in the world, but the rich, earthy scent from the stone and dirt gave the place a familiar, comforting air about it.
Rarity still preferred the lavender-scented pillows to stone tiling that almost smelled nice.
She emerged from the second doorway, looking about. At her hooves, a set of steps descended to a stone circle, surrounded by brick walls missing their top halves. Some fallen pillars and arches suggested that the area once possessed a roof, but it had probably collapsed and rotted, thanks to this place possibly being abandoned for millennia. A peculiar pile of ash sat in the middle of the stone ring, what looked to be a rusted sword poking out vertically from it. Ethereal strands of what she assumed to be flame, judging from the bright orange coloring, rocked back and forth at their own pace, ignoring the winds whipping up from the cliff's edge.
The unicorn approached the odd creation, her eyes looking the sword up and down. The handguard was a four-pronged plus sign, and a strange serpentine tail ran down the length of the blade. Although it was obviously rusted, the sword itself almost looked like a petrified lump of wood, or maybe even stone. Her eyes dropped to the pile of ash at the bottom of the sword. It looked to be that this was once a campfire of sorts, although the pile seemed to be larger than one of a single campfire.
Something in the ash pile caught her eye. Rarity looked closer at what she thought was a clump of ash, although upon further inspection, she was wrong.
It was a bone.
She inhaled sharply, holding a foreleg to her mouth to quiet the gasp.
There were more sitting under the sword, partially hidden by the pile of ash. Someone had used bones to fuel this fire. Wherever Rarity had ended up, she immediately did not feel like sticking around.
Fear settled like a rock in her stomach. The unicorn cursed herself for calling for help earlier. She whirled about, looking for another way out.
Wherever she was, she knew sticking around here was a bad idea.
She retreated to the small building where she had woken up. She stopped at the pool of water, a small smile managing to work its way onto her face.
This is just a dream, right? A nightmare?
Striding over to the water, Rarity splashed herself once, shivering madly as the ice-cold water ran down her snout and neck. The water not having the desired effect on her, she splashed herself again, shivering even more as the wind picked up, cooling the already-freezing water that made its way down the back of her neck.
She splashed herself again.
And again.
And again.
And again. She had to be sure.
This had to be a dream.
It had to be.
Her face was numbed, save for two streaks of hot fluids that burned her cheeks and stung her nose.
Wake up, Rarity.
But I am awake…
No! You must wake up!
I am awake!
No, you’re not—!
RARITY! YOU ARE AWAKE!
This… This is real.
Despair hit her like a tidal wave. She let out a pathetic sob, a hiccup accompanying it.
It wasn’t fair.
How had she ended up here? The answer eluded her, and the longer it avoided her mind’s eye, it made her more upset. What had she done yesterday that could warrant this? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about what she could remember.
Rarity knew the answer would be there, but at the moment, it didn’t seem like it was. This doubled the hopelessness that already wracked her being. She doubled over, face in her forelegs. She shook relentlessly, her hiccups becoming more frequent.
How to get home? Where to start? Is it possible to get home?
She raised her head from her hooves, taking a shaky breath and an even shakier exhale. She sniffed deeply, dabbing her cheeks with the backs of her hooves.
No. She had to explore. The way home could be fifty feet away from her and she would die alone because she didn’t even have the will to take a look around. Slowly rising to her hooves, she rubbed her eyes furiously for a few seconds before starting off again, heading back out towards the cliff’s edge. Following the path, she hooked a right, leading to a large mass of grave markers and gravestones.
There was a particular eerie atmosphere, although she assumed that it accompanied all graveyards. However, this one felt much different. Partly because of how closely the grave markers were packed together. It almost didn’t seem possible for there to be any bodies buried beneath them, unless they were buried vertically, which wouldn’t make too much sense. It also lacked the organization of a proper graveyard, the grave markers haphazardly crowded and facing virtually every direction possible.
What unnerved her even more were the piles of bones that happened to be lying around. She didn’t notice how numerous they were until she had walked further into the graveyard. Bones almost carpeted some of the areas between the grave markers. Some of them even had rusted weapons lying in the mess.
A flicker of movement caught her eye. Whirling to get a good look at the source, Rarity spotted something scuttling across the ground. It moved in and out of the grave markers, making it rather difficult to spot. After a few seconds, it moved out onto the path ahead. The unicorn’s jaw dropped.
It was a skull of something she couldn’t quite put her hoof on; its empty eyes met her awestruck stare. After bouncing a few times over the cobblestone, it stopped at the feet of a pair of bone appendages. Two limbs reached down, firmly clasping the skull in rotting clutches. It raised the skull in front of a crumbling rib cage, eventually setting it on a vacant spine. Something clicked, and it patted its new head into place. Having seen the entire body of the strange creature, Rarity noted that the limbs were arranged in a manner not unlike dragons back in Equestria: Upright, bipedal, and with two arms for performing actions.
Bending over, it picked up a curved sword and a round target shield, its jaw clacking as it slowly advanced on the new arrival. Two more assembled in a similar fashion and joined the first, walking at a similar pace towards the unicorn.
Rarity backed away slowly, not wanting to make any sudden movements. She feared that they would rush her if she rushed trying to get away.
This was a mistake.
They charged, raising their swords high above their heads. Their legs made light clacking noises, like someone was dropping a bunch of sticks onto the cobblestone.
Rarity turned around, making a break for the doorway that she had come from. Nearly tripping up on the stairway back up, she turned left—back into the small building where she had woken up. Leaping over the pool of water, she thrust herself back through the door to the stone circle, but she forced herself to stop.
An enormous creature entirely covered in what appeared to be metal held its hand over the hilt of the sword stuck into the ash-pile. The ethereal flames flared momentarily, bathing the immediate area with a brighter orange glow before fading to its original intensity.
The arms and legs of the behemoth were arranged in a similar fashion to the skeletal abominations behind her, but the size was akin to that of a full-grown grizzly bear instead of an adolescent dragon. It carried a large rectangular shield with an elegant white tree painted onto its dented surface. A large sword handle jutted out from a sheath draped over its back, spinning a little bit as it bounced gently off of its shoulder.
It turned to face her, peering at her through metal slits cut into the cylindrical helmet. Screaming, Rarity turned back, heading back through the temple. She managed to get through the doorway to the cliff path—only to come face-to-face with the skeletons that had risen from the graveyard.
Petrified with fear, all Rarity could do was shake violently as both Skeletons and mystery creature inched their way closer towards her. She shut her eyes, holding her breath.
There was a metallic thud near her forelegs, making her jump back a little bit. The enormous shield she had seen the mystery creature carrying was now between her and the skeletons. However, this placed her directly proximate to the creature wielding it. From his back, he drew the massive sword with his right hand, resting it over his shoulder. As the metal rasped against the sheath, Rarity darted out from underneath him, making a beeline for the ruins. Her left shoulder clipped the edge of the stone doorway, sending a sharp pain shooting through it. Losing her balance, she rolled onto her side and into the pool with a muffled splash as she went under.
Although the cold soothed her burning shoulder, everything else was suddenly assaulted by icy daggers, prompting her to gasp.
Underwater.
Standing upright, she entered a violent fit of coughing, retching in-between and greedily sucking in air. She made her way to the edge of the pool shaking miserably. The sounds of clanging metal and bones hitting the ground could be heard behind her.
Recalling what was there, she sprinted through the second doorway to the stone ring. She glanced about, looking for somewhere to hide, or run further. She spotted a stairway near a well to the left that ran up along a cliff face. Rarity sprinted for the stairs, taking care to climb up carefully as to not hurt herself, as these seemed to be built for something a bit larger than her. She stumbled once or twice as she climbed, but it wasn’t long before she reached an area where the terrain leveled out.
A burst of flames stopped her progress forward, as well as what was behind the flames.
Two creatures similar to the skeletons turned to face her, although there was something dynamically different about them: Leathery, browned skin stretched over their bones, and a pair of glowing red eyes peered out from the empty eye sockets. These wore a scattering of armor that covered about half of their body, leaving their arms, torso and legs exposed. They also carried larger shields, and straighter, longer swords. A third one was situated farther up another staircase, readying a ceramic orb in its hand, a visible flame flickering on a linen wick.
Immediately, Rarity turned around, heading straight back for the stone circle. She descended the steps in a hurry, her left foreleg skidding off of a misstep on the stairs. She tumbled forwards, dropping off of the edge of the narrow stairway. Instinctively, she threw her forelegs out, her hooves frantically searching for a hold, although she knew that she wouldn’t be able to grab it effectively.
Something grasped her right foreleg in a painfully tight grip. She opened her eyes, blinking to remove the tears.
The unknown creature stared back at her with blackened slits.
Rarity’s vision faded to black, her scream echoing in her mind.
Black Iron, White Coat
A Dark Souls Crossover
The first thing Rarity could hear was a fire crackling, as well as a general warmth about her face.
Her eyelids fluttered open, her gaze roving her surroundings.
She was back at the stone circle, the warm glow of the orange flames dancing around its mossy surface.
She stared at the flames for a bit longer. The unicorn closed her eyes again, striving to remember.
The temple.
The cliff.
The creature…!
She sat upright, her eyes finding what she was looking for.
The creature sat a ways off near the cliff, sharpening its weapon with slow, but deliberate movements. Its back was to her, the massive shield hanging there at an angle so its head was still visible. Rarity’s eyes narrowed.
This is it... This is my chance.
She slowly stood up, careful to take slow movements as to not rustle the grass too much. The warrior glanced up from its work, but continued to sharpen its sword. Rarity grinned, taking a step back.
A quiet melodic ring went off as her back leg knocked something aside. Rarity glanced back, anger flaring at whatever had caused the noise. A peculiar round stone emitting a strange aura sat a little ways away from her leg.
She slowly turned to face the warrior who was now looking right at her. “Oh, dear…” she muttered under her breath.
The warrior slowly rose to its feet, using its sword to assist him. It slowly started towards her, taking long strides. Rarity slowly backed up in response, her fear flaring up.
The creature stopped, blackened slits still staring straight at her. To her surprise, it dropped to one knee, letting go of its sword. It stood to its full height again, holding both hands out, open palmed. To her even greater surprise, it spoke.
“Don’t worry; I’m not here to hurt you.”
His muffled voice was deep and masculine, indicating he was male. His words were tinged with an accent that seemed familiar to that of Canterlot, where every word was cleanly annunciated and softened the hard vowels.
Although the voice was certainly comforting, as well as its message, Rarity kept her guard up, backing away a few more steps.
The creature stopped his advance. “Wait. Don’t leave.”
Rarity stopped retreating, but her gaze was still through a scowl.
“It’s dangerous out there; I think we both know that.”
There was a pause. “Can you understand me?”
Rarity slowly nodded, still scowling at him. He lowered his arms, letting out a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha! Well, isn’t that something!”
The unicorn crouched low, her horn glowing. The creature’s arms shot back up, palms open again.
“No, no! Wait! I’m not going to hurt you. Why do you think I saved you earlier? Why I didn’t let you fall off the cliff?”
Rarity knew what had happened. Her trust, however, had to be earned by her terms, not something circumstantial.
“How do I know you won’t try to grab me if I get close?” Rarity asked.
The warrior appeared to have felt the ice in her voice, as he replied cautiously, “How about this… I’ll stay over here, and you can stay near the Bonfire. Just… please, don’t run. It’s too dangerous to be running about Lordran alone.”
Rarity’s brow raised, her curiosity piqued. “Lordran? Is that where we are?”
The creature nodded. “But of course. You didn’t…?” He trailed off. “Well, assuming that I have never seen something quite like you, I would make an assumption of my own to venture that you’re not from here, are you?”
Rarity remained silent.
The warrior knelt, his armor clanking as he did.
“Erm… What is your name, Milady?”
The unicorn’s consciousness stifled a quiet scream of excitement. Milady? What a polite creature.
“Rarity.”
“My, what a beautiful name.”
“And yours?”
The man held out a hand. “Black Iron Tarkus. Knight of Berenike.”
Did he say knight?
Rarity figured that maybe she had gone back in time, although the name “Lordran” did not ring any bells. She could be in a whole different realm altogether, or one of the alternative universes that Twilight had rambled on about.
Her thoughts drifted back to her friends, a frown working its way onto her face.
If only they were here.
“What seems to be the matter, Miss Rarity?” Tarkus ventured.
“It’s of no concern to you,” Rarity snapped.
The knight sat back, holding up his hands. “I apologize, Miss. I meant no offense. I just saw your expression, and I had to ask.”
There was another long pause before Rarity put an inquiry forward. “So… Why are there Skeletons and those… zombie creatures running about? Is that just commonplace in Lordran?”
The knight shrugged. “Well, they are now. Lordran was not always like this.”
“What do you mean?”
Tarkus sighed. “Well, you are certainly in for a long story.”
***
“So, without you feeding your humanity to these… Bonfires, as you call them, Gwyn’s Age of Fire would end?”
“Yes. That is why our curse was seen as something necessary—it forced us to kill each other and feed our humanity to these flames: In the hope that Gwyn’s Age of Fire would be kept going as long as possible. It was the Gods' will.”
“How horrible…”
“That was only the beginning.”
Rarity’s ears fell back. How could it possibly get worse?
“With our curse, there comes a side-effect to our Undeath. Every time we die, we lose a little bit of ourselves to be revived.”
Like an ocean wave washing over a mound of sand… Rarity thought.
“Once we lose ourselves entirely, we turn into what you saw on the stairs. We turn Hollow. And our only instinct after that… is to kill anything that comes near,” Tarkus explained.
“Oh my…” was all Rarity could manage.
The knight gestured to the area surrounding them. “That is why I am here. My kinsmen and I were told of a legend: If we were to ring the bell of Awakening, we would discover our fate as Undead.”
Rarity gulped. “And what was that fate?”
“Our fate is to surpass the Gods that have forsaken us by slaying them.”
The unicorn winced. It sounded so... barbaric. Always about killing. “So how are you going to do that? That sounds impossibly difficult…”
Tarkus pointed to a top of a massive mountain the distance, its top nearly touching the clouds. “Well, I know that to get closer to these Gods, we had to reach the city of Anor Londo, which is just over that peak. And to do that…” He pointed at a castle sitting on the mountainside a little ways down, “We needed to get through Sen’s Fortress, which protects the only access to Anor Londo.”
Rarity thought for a moment. “But… where are your kinsmen? Aren’t you supposed to be with them?”
“I was. But now…”
The unicorn bit her lip, unsure if she wanted to know why he was alone.
“It was that accursed fortress. It was full of traps and foul serpent warriors. Despite the best efforts of my fellow knights, we were ill-equipped to deal with such adversity. It was a slow process of our numbers thinning over the years, until I watched the King of Berenike himself march into the fortress for one final push, along with much of our remaining warriors. After he disappeared, it wasn’t long until the other knights Hollowed from hopelessness, and I was forced to retreat here.”
“Oh…”
Tarkus shook his head. “I’m sorry to have burdened you with my story… but I feel that this is the only way I can gain your trust.”
Rarity shook her head in response. “No, I appreciate your willingness to share so much about yourself… even if it opens up old wounds.”
A muffled chuckle emanated from Tarkus’ helmet. “No wounds will hurt me. I am Undead.”
As the knight continued to laugh at his own joke, the ringing laughter sent a chill down Rarity’s spine. How long had he been alone, fighting to pass through Sen’s Fortress? The man’s fortitude stunned the unicorn.
If it had been her, she would have lost her sanity much sooner.
Pity stabbed her heart repeatedly, making her feel sad for the knight rather than scared for her own life. However, there was one more thing she needed to see.
“May I see your face?”
Tarkus looked up. “My face?”
Rarity nodded. “Yes… I promise not to run if you’ll just… show me.”
There was a short pause before Tarkus replied, “Very well. Although, I must warn you, I am cursed. My features may have… deteriorated a bit.”
There was another pause before Rarity nodded again. “I understand.”
Without hesitation, the warrior plucked his helmet from his head. The unicorn couldn't help a sharp intake of breath as she studied his features. His skin was leathery, but more red than brown like the soldiers she had seen on the staircase. However, his eye sockets were still empty, and what appeared to be the remains of a nose, where only a vacant hole remained.
“Satisfied?” Tarkus asked, his voice level and patient.
Rarity nodded quickly. The warrior set his helmet back on, leaning forward. “Well, I think it’s time you tell me a little about yourself, Miss Rarity.”
The unicorn smiled. “Of course.”