Far away and long ago, two dark and monstrous beings stood before a portal in the township of Oolacile. One perched itself precariously on the rooftops, flexing its body in glee at finally being outdoors again. Beneath it, Manus narrowed his gaze as he studied something in his giant simian hand, an item his fellow monster had guided him to pull from another land and another time.
“Thou… ngh… thou swears this… this… ngrrRRRRAAARGHhh… this shalt not reveal our presence? Grghhhghhh… never… grargh… never sought to tamper with… flame… grgh… flames of… Guh-rargh-Guhwin before…” Manus shook and growled as he struggled to keep his hand steady.The other presence sighed and curled its talons around the roof.
“Long have I looked into the seeds of time… seen which grain shalt grow and which shalt not. T’is this that giveth me cause to further subvert the natural progression of this cycle.” It replied. “Gwyn hath failed to realize the ascetic potential of his bonfires, but in later ages and further cycles, those that tread his path hath found the means to harvest it for their own survival.”
Manus blinked several of his eyes as the other beast pointed the object he clutched.
“With that, even those who hath but one life to give may yet cheat their final end. This I hath seen, and through it, our work shalt be hastened.” The dark beast's gaze began to glow with a menacing red aura. “Unless, that is, thine spirit doth falter at this critical point?”
Manus turned the majority of his eyes on the object again, looking at the flame licking up from the center of the glowing bowl like construction. With a sigh, he raised his catalyst and opened a portal to a vast chamber in the Lordran Catacombs. The horned monstrosity then pushed his arm through and dropped the object into the bonfire that burned at the foot of a great coffin, watching as his contribution was quickly destroyed. The flames grew higher as if fueled by the merging of fresh heat and light. Manus promptly pulled his arm back and closed the portal.
“This I do… ngh… only for the grrgh… for the sake of… gragh… hoo… arrrgh… hoo-manity.” The abyssal father groaned. His compatriot sighed and shook its head.
“Faith, oh fellow tortured soul. This I hath seen, and know thine plan shalt yet bear fruit. T’is mine own goals we must strive to accomplish, with all speed. To bring forth that which may restore mine son to the living, and escape these fetid ruins to the lands he hath prepared for us in the equine realm. Only there, with the souls of Lords, may we finally be free of the shackles the gods and fate hath bound us with!”
The beast clutched its fist in rage and took off for the skies, leaving Manus to watch its departure in silent suspicion before he made for the entrance to the Abyss far below.
From where she’d been watching this disturbing meet, the Lord’s Blade Ciaran nervously hunkered down in the shadows. She’d learned many a terrifying secret since arriving here to search for Artorias, and even if her business in this cursed land was now done, she couldn’t leave just yet. Not when a threat this great was developing with no one to oppose it.
Checking the coast was clear, Ciaran emerged from her hiding spot and ran back to the coliseum. She needed to speak with her ally, the other one who had been kind enough to accompany her on her journey to Oolacile. Together they may have presented a paltry force, but right now, they were all that stood in the way of what was soon to be unleashed.
“Aurelia… wherever you are… please, may the gods keep you safe!” The masked knight whispered to herself.
***
This was not going well. Granted, things hadn’t been all that pleasant from the start, but for Rainbow, this was definitely another decline in her fortune. First, the hollows had tried to blindside her and the Chosen Undead from behind, then she’d heard Twilight’s cry of alarm from up ahead, then from the side where Rarity and Spike had run hoping to find safety, she’d heard some rather ominous words signifying more trouble may be on the way. Indeed, the pegasus had to admit as she hovered overhead, trying to smack down the seemingly never-ending horde of bodies eager to rip their own choice section out of her flank, there had been better days.
“For all… that is holy under Faust… how… many… of these guys… are there!?” She panted as her catch pole knocked hard against the rotting noggin of a hollow, snapping it clean off the neck section and leaving the corpse to stumble around in disorientation, before it finally fell over and ceased to move. A soul promptly leapt from the body and infused into Rainbow.“I’m used to going for a considerable number of rounds, but every mare has her limits you know!”
The Chosen Undead grunted in agreement as more opponents beat upon her with their torches, pushing her back as she likewise tried to force them off her with her shield.
“Something’s wrong here… they shouldn’t all be focusing their efforts on us… or perhaps, on this spot…”
The warrior smashed one hollow’s skull in with the pommel of her sword, then kicked another in its nether regions. The latter didn’t quite have the desired effect, as the corpse was too far gone in both the decay of its body and its mind to register pain, but the blow at least made it break off from attacking long enough for the Chosen Undead to acquaint her shield with its face.
“In fact, I’m not sure if they’re attacking us… or trying to get past us to escape from something else…” She commented, while noting how the now fallen hollow tried to crawl away from her, pulling itself towards the far entrance of the courtyard, where the path to leaving the Painted World lay…
“Well, whichever, if this continues, I’m gonna need some refreshment.” Rainbow sighed as she cleared a landing spot for herself and dropped out of the air. Her wing joints hurt, her legs hurt, her jaw hurt, there didn’t seem to be a single part of her that wasn’t currently exhausted… and still more hollows were climbing over the walls of the courtyard to replenish the numbers. “Don’t suppose you got some juice or maybe an energy bar on you by any chance? I’m officially beat.”
The Chosen Undead drove her sword through the crawling hollow and left it to be consumed by the weapon’s fire enchantment as she pulled out a clump of blooming green plants.
“Here, eat this. It’s not exactly flavorful, but it does wonders for giving you the means to keep pushing yourself.” She replied. Rainbow took the mossy plant, giving it a look over, then shrugged and took a bite. Almost immediately, she felt the urge to spit it out as a sharp sensation of bitterness assaulted her tongue. Tilting her head back, she forced herself to swallow the revolting confection and gagged.
“Phew… ’not exactly flavorful’ is putting it lightly. Ick, is that what you eat here?” She asked. The Chosen Undead took a moment to chug some estus then went back to cutting down as many hollow as she could.
“When I have to. Not all of us can indulge in the luxury of sweets and feasts like you equines.” The warrior tersely replied, feeling her stomach nag at her in memory of the baked treats she’d consumed while in Equestria. How strange a sensation that was considering her status should’ve rendered the need for sustenance irrelevant, save of course for the healing powers of estus.
Looking down at the blossoms, Rainbow took a deep breath and forced herself to eat the rest.
“Yeah, well, if that’s the case, then maybe we can see about Pinkie whipping up some more of her specialties for you once we get back.” She muttered then exhaled in relief as the soreness in her body abated. “At any rate, it certainly feels like that muck helped me get a second wind.”
Both combatants turned at the sound of scurrying claws across stone. Behind the amassing hollows, several giant sized rats covered in mange ridden white fur dropped onto the ground and proceeded to charge at Rainbow with bared teeth and rabid ferocity.
“Couldn’t have timed it any better, either.” The pegasus growled. “This really is like a mass exodus!”
The Chosen Undead stared in perplexity at the new arrivals, recognizing them as the pests that had infested the buildings on the very outskirts of the ruins. Quite why they’d have cause to leave their abode when it was so far from the courtyard and the action just beggared belief.
Unfortunately, another grunt of agony from behind reminded the warrior that, as always, they had little time to figure things out.
“And worse, it’s not just us that’s getting overrun by it.” She replied. Rainbow followed her gaze and gasped in horror as she saw Twilight collapsing under the repeated beatings and stabbings of the phalanx hollows.
“Oh no! No, no, NO! Get off her, you freaks!” The pegasus shot like a bullet across the courtyard, swinging her catchpole like mad while kicking her back hooves into anything that tried to get behind her.
“No, no, ngh… grrrr, you want to hurt her… ghg… you gotta go… through… ME!”
From where she’d literally been beaten into the ground, Twilight looked up to see her friend returning the same treatment to the phalanx monsters in triplicate. Shields buckled, spears were broken and it seemed Twilight could at last catch her breath…
…until she heard the metallic CRAAAACK! of Rainbow’s catchpole breaking against the phalanx defenses.
“Ngh… what the…” Rainbow backed off, and let her weapon drop from her mouth upon seeing the claw end lying shattered on the ground. “No…”
The phalanx hollows assessed the state of their own armaments, and then advanced after deciding they could still finish off the bothersome ponies.
“Oh, this is not happening.” Rainbow bleated before feeling herself being levitated by Twilight’s magic and pulled into her barrier.
“I guess that’s why Seath thought up the Repair spell… and also what that powder Aurelia keeps dusting her weapons with is for.” Twilight said morosely as the spears and shields resumed beating down her defenses. Rainbow cringed and bared her teeth as the ponies’ fortunes tumbled a bit further into the abyss.
“Why now? Why when I’m trying to do good by my friends does this have to happen?” She seethed.
“Did you honestly think you could keep whacking enemies indefinitely with that thing? Gear requires maintenance, just like anything else! More so if it’s going to be constantly used!” Twilight said while trying to back away from the relentless attacks. Unfortunately, the phalanx hollow were pressing their new advantage, circling the two to attack them from all sides.
“First off, Twi, I’m an athlete, not a warrior! All my knowledge about fighting and tactics comes from my Wonderbolts training. Second off, I have no clue how anything in this damn realm works! Smacking freaks seemed to produce pretty decent results, so that was what I went with. If there was more involved, then you, or Aurelia, or somebody should’ve said something!” The pegasus growled as the hollows beat and raged upon them from behind and in front. “Whatever, you think you could try that repair spell now so I can clear some room between us and our 'adoring fans'?”
Twilight looked up at the blank faces of the hollows, staring down at her with mindlessly violent intent.
“Doing so would require dropping my barrier. There wouldn’t be enough time for me to cast the spell before we both got slaughtered!” Twilight yelled as she tried to think of an alternate solution. “Wait… my catalyst! Dash, think you could make use of that?”
Rainbow looked at the dropped staff on the ground, noting that it at least was tipped with a very nice sharp blade.
“I could try. Just gotta hope I can stick them more times than they can stick me so…” The pegasus broke off as her ears turned to pick up something. “Wait… what’s that?”
She turned to see two familiar figures rushing back into the courtyard.
“Rarity? Spike? What the?”
The unicorn and dragon ran towards them waving their hands and shouting something through labored breaths.
“Rarity! What are you… ngh… st-stay back! Don’t come any closer!” Twilight cried as the phalanx slowed their beating to view the returning party members.
“King!... *pant*… Fire!... *pant*… Coming!” Spike yelled as an ominous flickering glow spread across the terrain he’d just run from.
“What?” Rainbow replied, trying to hear her friends over the crash of spears and shields.
“A… rather unwelcome entity is right behind us!” Rarity said as she pulled herself to a halt. “Someone… who calls himself the Xanthous King Jeremiah… even though he’s really more of a pallid crimson from what I saw…”
The flickering light gave way to heat… followed by the rush of a full wall of fire consuming all of the area to the side of the courtyard.
“Regardless… he seems very insistent on renovating the landscape here! In a most hasty and brutish manner!” Rarity meeped as she backed away from the flames. Out of them stepped the turban headed red phantom, unfurling his whip and slicing through two hollows who happened to be standing in his way. They promptly fell in four separate, flaming portions to the ground.
From where she was cutting down another pair of rats that were trying to bite her legs off, the Chosen Undead turned and reeled at the sight of this new horror.
“An invader, here?” She exclaimed, as Jeremiah ignited his fist and drove it into the ground. Pillars of searing flame burst forth, making everyone scatter. “A powerful one, too…”
As the phalanx cut off their attack, Rainbow dared to look around her. Her coat curled as the heat in the courtyard grew exponentially, fire hungrily devouring all possible means of fuel as Jeremiah cast it in all directions.
“Okay… this REALLY is not happening!” The pegasus moaned. “What do we do now?”
Twilight dropped her barrier, feeling her horn and her head throb with pain from the extensive use of magic. She looked to the advancing phantom, watching the Chosen Undead run in to attack it. Jeremiah buckled as her sword cut into his robes, only to then drive the annoying human back with a flame whip spell. She stumbled away, patting the fire on her out. Jeremiah took the opportunity to slice the Chosen Undead up with his whip, lashing her through the gaps in her armor.
“There’s only one thing to do.” Twilight sighed. “Rainbow, Rarity, Spike, all of you get out of here. Make for Priscilla! Aurelia and I will hold this monster off!”
Several aghast looks naturally followed this.
“What? Twi, are you crazy? You’re barely managing to stand up!” Spike protested. Twilight grit her teeth and forced herself to steady her shaking, exhausted legs.
“As I said before. It’s time I took advantage of my status.” She said while picking up her catalyst.
“Twilight, you can’t! He’ll…”
A painful crack cut Rainbow off. She turned and felt the urge to vomit as Jeremiah cast a jet of flame at the downed body of the Chosen Undead. She grunted and silently cried a final breath as the fire stole away her life.
“Rainbow, go! Now!” Twilight ordered before charging at the red phantom. Jeremiah turned with an almost curious air at this strange new entity running with a catalyst clutched between her teeth. He swung his whip at Twilight. She managed to evade. He tossed a fireball at her and she likewise found the strength to again dodge.
Finally Jeremiah had the idea to aim low, wrap his whip around the alicorn’s legs and trip her up. Twilight did her best to jump over the notched length but she was too tired to avoid having her rear hoof get caught up. Jeremiah yanked her back to the ground, reaching to grab the pony by her neck. Twilight closed her eyes and swung for the fences with her catalyst, slicing the bladed tip deep into Jeremiah’s cloth wrapped face. Maggots and blood dripped from the wound, yet the phantom remained unmoved. He simply grabbed Twilight’s face with his other hand and set her alight like he had the Chosen Undead.
“Faust… if you’re listening… Twilight damn well better be right about this.” Rainbow prayed as she bolted for the far side of the courtyard. “Rares, Spike! Follow me!”
Neither of the aforementioned could find the will to move as Jeremiah dropped Twilight’s charred corpse and ripped her catalyst out of his skull. More flames immediately bloomed across the courtyard and the previously slain hollow emerged, freshly regenerated thanks to the deaths of the two undead, and ready for more violence.
“Come on! Else we’re going to get swarmed before we get incinerated!” Rainbow yelled as the phalanx hollows advanced on her. Jeremiah grabbed his whip again and moved to join in the attack, cracking the notched length to summon more fire and make the courtyard burn even brighter.
“Twilight…” Spike gasped, backing away as the flames climbed higher into the starless night sky.
“No… no please.” Rarity likewise whimpered as she struggled to break from viewing the horror and run for her life. Hollows and fire closed in on the party from all fronts, ready to punish them for not taking advantage of their friends’ sacrifices.
Thus, said friends were quick to show their generosity by giving them another chance.
Jeremiah paused and then leaned back as a sword burst through his abdomen. From behind, the Chosen Undead appeared, pushing him off her weapon and kicking the red phantom to the ground.
“TWILIGHT!” Spike said with a noticeable upswing in his voice. He pointed to the skies, where a winged figure was descending upon the courtyard. The phalanx hollow followed his gaze, and were quickly given cause to regret doing so as dark beads rained down upon them, ripping them apart where they stood.
“Praise be, thank you Faust.” Rainbow gasped as her friend touched down before her. She looked as gaunt, shriveled and decayed as the first time she’d been resurrected, yet still, Twilight moved with a fresh spring in her stride.
“Girls, we told you to move! Why are you still here?” The hollowed alicorn demanded as she charged another sorcery and launched it at the phalanx.
“We… uh… we… well, even if it’s already happened before, seeing one whom you care deeply for be murdered in cold blood is not an easy thing to digest.” Rarity said. It sounded more like an excuse than an argument, yet still Twilight had to break and give her the best smile she could in her cankered state.
“Well, it seems dying does in fact get easier the more often it happens, so don’t worry about me. Just… ngh… get to Priscilla!” Twilight combined her own magic with another sorcery, forming a bomb like mass of energy that she tossed into the phalanx. Flesh, splinters and scorched shields were flung everywhere as the hollowed monstrosities were blown to smithereens, rewarding the alicorn for her ingenuity with a generous amount of souls.
“She’s just through here, follow me!” Aurelia left the twitching red phantom and ran for the courtyard exit. Rarity and Spike followed in short order, entering into a circular tower-like structure beyond.
“Just promise me we’re not stopping for anything. No other treasures, no enemies, just whatever it takes to get out of here and…”
Spike never got to finish his sentence, too busy was he with having to stop running, and start falling. The floor of the tower suddenly just gave way beneath his feet, leading to him, Rarity and the Chosen Undead taking a dive several stories to a wet and dark landing.
“What the? Oh no!” Rainbow rushed to the tower, looking down into the abyss. “Rarity! Spike! Aurelia!”
A brief silence held… just long enough for the pegasus to assume the worst before she heard coughing and spluttering.
“Ow… ow… oooooh… and eeeeew!” Rarity slowly picked herself up off the basement floor, and out of the few inches of standing water it was immersed in. “Oh I do hope that giant blacksmith won’t think me too demanding if I ask to make use of his shop to do some laundry when we get out of here. This outfit can’t really take much more.”
Spike hacked and coughed as he pulled himself to his feet.
“Least this water made for a softer landing than the previous tumbles we’ve taken.” The dragon said as he looked up at the gaping hole above them. “Strange, until it collapsed that flooring felt pretty solid.”
“The last time I came through here, it was.” The Chosen Undead replied as she viewed the scene with equal confusion. “Then again, the same could be said of the floor to the asylum’s entrance when I first left it… and then when I returned… erghhhh.” The female warrior shivered as she recalled her unfortunate tumble into the lair of the stray demon that had apparently also been locked up with all of the undead, waiting until such time when the walls of its prison had been weakened by its brethren, allowing unknowing souls to fall into its clutches.
“Hey, is everyone okay down there?” Rainbow’s head popped into view from above.
“Yeah… nothing’s broken, praise Faust!” Rarity sighed as she checked herself over and confirmed she’d only have to deal with being sore, and wet, and with her exquisitely tailored antiquated gown ruined. “What manner of decrepit abode is this?”
“A basement area below the tower. Somewhere where the exceptionally old relics were meant to be kept…” The Chosen Undead sighed as there came the creak of what sounding like wheels turning on rusty axles. “At least, based on the souls that have claimed this part of the painted world as theirs.”
Rarity and Spike looked to the darkness around them, and the water soaking their bodies gave them an additional chill as a new manner of nightmare rolled into the light. Human skeletons, cruelly strapped to some manner of giant spiked wheel, approached the party from every angle, their bony fingers gripping the spokes of their burden in what seemed like glee as their empty eye sockets fixated on the sight of fresh meat.
“Great, cause being out in an open area with the monsters wasn’t hard enough, now we have to be trapped in an enclosed space with them, too?” Spike asked wearily.
“Well, not exactly.” The Chosen Undead gestured to the far corner of the basement with her sword. “There’s an elevator leading up to the outside through there. Provided I can hold them off, getting out of here will be relatively simple.”
The female’s voice was pitched to sound optimistic for once. Rarity and Spike found it difficult to share the feeling.
“You sure about that? From what I’ve seen, your world doesn’t do ‘simple’, least not in my understanding of the word. There’s gotta be some catch.” Spike said.
The bonewheel skeletons paused as they saw their prey was trying to make their escape. They promptly grabbed their wheels with both hands and curled their bodies forward to roll towards the party at breakneck speed.
“Yep, and there it is! LOOK OUT!” Spike cried as he threw himself back onto the floor. The bonewheel smashed into the wall behind him and overturned into the water. After a momentary pause the skeleton poked its head out of the spokes and eyed the tiny dragon with an air of apathy. Spike gaped in horror as his foe promptly righted itself and rolled towards him again.
“Faust be damned! Just hold on there, I’m going to get you three out!” Rainbow flapped her wings and tried to pick the best angle for her to swoop down, grab her friends then majestically fly back out in one efficient motion.
From above, a few silent observers decided now was the time to express their desire that the pegasus not succeed.
“Hey, what the!” Rainbow demanded as she found several pairs of gnarled talons suddenly digging themselves into her body. Looking up, she found they belonged to some bizarre hybrid of bird and human, a flesh toned body with black feathered wings for arms, painfully sharp talons for feet, and the unmistakable visage of a crow for a head.
“Where the Tartarus did you come from? OW! HEY, LET ME GO!” Rainbow struggled as the crow monsters lifted her up into the sky, several of them rifling through her saddlebags and the pockets of her outfit. “LET… ME… GO! My friends are down there! I have to save them!”
The hybrids paused as they came across the Indictment and the Book of the Guilty that had been gifted to Rainbow by Oswald the Pardoner. Chirping something unintelligibly they carried their prey away without care. Rainbow continued to struggle but only managed to tear her clothes, and then her skin as the talons remained firmly anchored to her being. Blood dripped to form a gory trail to a nearby building, whereupon Rainbow found herself receiving the same treatment as she had from the gargoyles upon arriving at Anor Londo.
“Aggggh!” The pegasus cried, half in pain, half in frustration as she was unceremoniously deposited on the roof. “Okay, that does it! You freaks want a fight? You’ve got one!”
She pulled herself up from her prone position and held her front hoofs up as a challenge.
“Come on! Who wants their beak broken first? Or their wings ripped out of their sockets? Just cause I don’t have my weapon anymore doesn’t mean I can’t make you pay for stopping me from saving my friends!” Rainbow growled, seeing as much blood as she was unknowingly shedding through the various scratches and cuts on her body. The crow demons alighted upon several broken pillars, staring with a sense of wonderment at the pegasus currently spitting and cursing at them.
“Well? Come on! You brought me here for a reason! What’s the hold up?” Rainbow demanded.
“Peace, equine. It is not violence we summon you for. It is prophecy, and desperation.”
Rainbow whirled around to see another crow demon rising up from where she’d been sitting at a small forge set before a stone statue. The pegasus noted this avian hybrid was a bit different to those around her; specifically she appeared to be about a foot taller…and apparently could speak normally.
“Desperation? And just who might you be?” The pegasus glowered. The taller hybrid folded her wings across her front and bowed her head.
“Forgive me, my name is Ornifex, weaponsmith to her Ladyship, the goddess Velka, and leader of her covenant. I apologise sincerely for our insistence, but matters have robbed us of the time we would have had to contact you via other means.” The crow replied. Rainbow arched her eyebrow and lowered her head with a snort.
“Contact me? For what? Talk sense you stupid feather duster!”
Ornifex turned to view the pegasus’ saddle bags. She cawed softly in relief upon seeing the expected documentation sticking out of them.
“You bear the proof of having been selected by her Ladyship, handed her holy doctrine by a faithful pardoner. The witch did instruct us to aid you when at last you found our prison.”
Rainbow looked even more lost.
“Aid me? You want to aid me by kidnapping me when Aurelia, Rarity and Spike are in mortal peril? Are you brain dead?” She demanded. Ornifex shook her head.
“No, merely hindered by those who seek to destroy the few remaining faithful to our patron goddess.” She explained. “The indictment, and the book you carry, it was a pardoner who gave them to you was it not?”
Rainbow looked to her saddlebags.
“Well, yeah. Some weirdo was on the roof of a church we stopped by. Went by the name Osmund… I think.” She replied. Again Ornifex cawed in relief.
“Carim yet still retains its faith in the gods, even as they turn against each other. Velka shall see to it neither his service nor yours go unrewarded.”
Rainbow ground her hooves in the snow, baring her teeth in utter rage.
“What… service? I’m not here to do anyone’s bidding, I need to save my friends!” She said through her anger. Ornifex nodded and turned to her forge.
“And so you shall, but not with the gear you currently bear.” Ornifex turned around again, bearing a folded set of robes and a mask that resembled the one Oswald had been wearing, along with a gleaming black rapier blade and a black diamond ring. “In time before we sought to protect the last vestiges and holy accoutrements of our goddess, stored here where none could touch them. But, desperate times call for desperate measures. By her command, we bequeath these gifts to you, so that her will shall still be done, even as the last haven for her covenant is destroyed.”
Rainbow looked at the equipment, feeling slightly less angry at the sight of a new weapon being handed to her.
“Covenant? What are you talking about?” She asked. Ornifex gestured to the statue with a wing. It depicted a kneeling female with long flowing hair and draped in a likewise huge and flowing robe. Her head was bowed and her hands folded, as if she was deep in prayer.
“In the first years of the Age of Fire, a tenth covenant existed alongside the nine which are still active. Through it, the faithful followers of Velka would strike out at our mortal enemies, the Dark Sun Gwyndolin, and his Blades of the Dark Moon. Though his deception and subterfuge, Gwyndolin saw to it that his opposition would be reduced to merely the force of the pardoners, with all other tools of Velka’s will forever imprisoned here in the painted world. Velka now senses that the Dark Sun has unleashed a new foe to at last finish his task of eliminating all who may yet send him to his just punishment!”
Rainbow turned to view the smoke rising from Jeremiah’s fires as they slowly scorched the terrain.
“The weirdo who created the illusion of Gwynevere and tried to kill us with his blue ghosty guys? He’s responsible for this, too?” She asked in disbelief.
“Few others could so easily command the soul of a legendary exile, thus is the service Velka now demands of you.” Ornifex said. “There is little that can be done to save this haven. With the witch’s blessing, some of us may yet survive to find a new home in distant lands. As your destiny lies here, we charge you with enacting the final will of her covenant. Take these offerings, save your friends, and see to it that Gwyndolin knows the fury his transgressions have warranted!”
Rainbow looked at the offered gear again, taking a deep breath of resignation.
“I see… fine. If you’re offering me another means to help us out of this nightmare then I guess I can’t say no.” Rainbow dispensed with her tattered thief robes and reached for the black pardoner attire. “Just stay away from me okay? I can get back down to the ground on my own!”
Ornifex obediently took several steps back and gestured for her fellow crow demons to stay where they were.
“Keep the Indictment and the Book of the Guilty close at hand, brave one. There is much sin still tainting the lands of Lordran. Velka may require you to enact your will on others once you have escaped the painted world.”
Dash rolled her eyes and huffed as she slid the mask and helmet over her head. Quite how Ornifex had managed to tailor the outfit to fit her so perfectly was a mystery the pegasus decided could be left to the ages to solve.
“Yeah, yeah, well I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. See ya!” She put on the ring, grabbed the rapier and dove off the roof, following her blood trail back to the tower. Another boon presented itself as she found Twilight alighting next to the hole, looking suitable well and good.
“Rainbow, there you are! What happened?” The alicorn asked as her eyes trailed down her friend’s new attire. “And… nice outfit. Where did that come from?”
Rainbow looked overhead, seeing Ornifex taking to the skies with two of the other crow demons. In their talons they clutched the statue of the praying woman.
“A few, ermm… souls, who likewise aren’t at all pleased with what’s happening here, if you can believe. I’ll explain more once we’re safe.” Rainbow turned to the hole in the floor. “Rarity! Spike! Aurelia! Hey, sorry about that, dunno what the deal was with those bird freaks but I’m back now.” She called while peering down into the darkness. To her immense relief she saw the unicorn and dragon were still up and conscious, while several of the bonewheels were now lying broken on the ground.
The Chosen Undead was looking a little worse for wear though.
“Splendid, although I think we’re okay down here actually. Aurelia’s been simply a darling in cutting these ruffians down in their tracks.” Rarity said with a relieved tone to her voice. “Why don’t you and Twilight go on ahead and see if there’s anything else waiting between us and Priscilla? We’ll catch up with you shortly!”
Rainbow looked at the rapier on her back. A nagging itch to give it a try began to reverberate through her hooves.
“You sure about that, Rares? I mean we can jump down there and cover you right now if…”
Rainbow was promptly cut off by the crack of a whip and the whoosh of flames bursting forth. She looked up and felt her relief be burned to dust as the archway on the other end of the tower was demolished in a ball of searing red fire. Jeremiah strode through the flames like the immortal demon he apparently was, coiling his whip up and raising his other hand in preparation to unleash some other manner of horror.
“What? I thought Aurelia killed him!” Twilight said. Rainbow smacked a hoof to her face and harumphed wearily.
“Apparently, he ascribes to the standard horror movie trope of going down but not staying down.” Rainbow said as Jeremiah charged a fireball and hurled it at the ponies. “In light of this, what say we follow Rarity’s suggestion?”
Twilight meeped as she dodged the flaming projectile, along with the three others that Jeremiah hurled after it.
“Yeah, sounds ideal. Just hurry down there okay!” The alicorn meeped before taking to the air and following Rainbow out of the tower. Jeremiah tilted his turban wrapped head towards her, and made to try and strike the pony out of the air with his whip. With a screech of defiance, however, several of the crow demons descended from above, clawing viciously at the red phantom with their talons. Jeremiah weathered the blows till he could prime a suitable sized chaos storm, and proceeded to bring all of the hybrids down in a fiery blaze.
“Eeeesh, whatever’s happening up there it does not sound good!” Spike cringed as he backed away from the remaining bonewheels. “Aurelia, is it safe to leave here now?”
The undead warrior gave a pained grunt as she pulled her blade out of a bonewheel’s rib cage and left the monstrosity to crumble onto the ground.
“Aurelia? Dear, are you okay?” Rarity asked as the female clutched at her chest.
“I… I don’t know… just, suddenly feels like something… trying to break out of my body…”
Rarity’s elation stepped aside for her worry to return as the undead fell to her knees.
“Oh no! Are you hurt?” She asked. The Chosen Undead dropped her sword and shield as an unearthly aura slowly formed around her.
“No… it’s like… energy… building in me… needing release… cold… like… ARRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!”
Suddenly, the undead jerked her whole body back as a great mass of golden flames exploded out of her. Above, Jeremiah turned from the ashen carcasses of the crow demons to view the sudden geyser of light surging up from the hole. He approached and looked down into the depths, seeing a mass of bones and shattered wheels surrounding the body of the Chosen Undead. Above her there now hovered a brilliant burning golden soul.
“Oooooh… oh my eyes… of all the times for me to forget to pack my sunglasses.” Rarity whimpered as she rubbed and tried to focus.
“You think you have it bad? I can see in the dark! Do you have any idea what it’s like when I’m suddenly beset by high intensity beams?” Spike grumbled as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “What the hay just happened?”
Slowly the basement area swam back into sharp focus for both souls, bringing Rarity to gasp upon seeing the slumped body of the Chosen Undead.
“Aurelia! Oh no, no, no!” She ran over and tried to nudge the warrior with her muzzle. “Oh please, wake up! We still need your help!”
The Chosen Undead let out a dry cough, then reached up to grip Rarity’s nose. The unicorn froze as the gauntlet closed gently around her, filling her nostrils with the coppery stench of metal and scorched fabric. She politely held her gag reflex as her friend stirred.
“Wha… What?” The undead grunted and slowly sat up. “What happened?”
“I just asked the same thing.” Spike replied while looking at the soul as it slowly drifted to the ground. “What is this? It’s like it just burst out of your chest… like one of those alien things in that movie Rainbow dared us all to watch on Nightmare Night.”
The undead pulled off her blackened helmet and looked down at her cuirass. The arms that had been mounted on the front now lay on either of her body, apparently having been blasted off by whatever had just made its exit from her flesh. She looked to the soul, and cocked her head.
“That… that’s the Lord Soul I obtained from the Catacombs… the one previously held by…”
The Chosen Undead’s voice died as she sensed movement all around her. Rarity and Spike noticed it, too… specifically that the scattered skulls and bones from the bonewheels were now pulling themselves free of their burdens, rolling along the floor as if attracted to the soul. The soul itself gradually began to increase in size, while also morphing in shape from a flame to a more humanoid figure. The bones proceeded to cluster around it in a haphazard pile, the skulls layering themselves on top, followed by the rib cages, then the remaining extremities. This chaotic mess of human remains slowly picked itself up off the floor as two massive legs came together at the bottom of the pile. Standing up, it turned the skull that now rested at the summit to view the basement’s other occupants. The empty eye sockets seemed to hold on the Chosen Undead for a very long time before the bone pile extended a freshly reassembled arm and gripped the edge of the hole in the floor above. From his vantage point, Jeremiah sensibly backed away then ran for the exit as the giant embodiment of death rose to its new height of over 20 feet. Around it a flowing black cloak materialized while it drew out another arm, this one clutching some manner of curved greatsword, covered in rotting, miasma ridden flesh.
“…Gravelord Nito.” The Chosen Undead finished in a deathly fearful tone.