//------------------------------// // Chapter 39 // Story: Friendship is Scaleless // by Limescale //------------------------------// “So uh, Twi, can I ask you a personal question?” Rainbow hesitantly queried as the two ponies crossed a desolate snow swept bridge. “What’s that?” Twilight queried. Rainbow looked over her friend’s hollowed state, the way her coat was mostly gone, her skin dry and tight like parchment, her eyes sunken into her skull, and her mane and tail reduced to a few limp wisps of hair. With a hard swallow, she told herself to try to keep looking past that, to find the mare that was still trapped beneath it. “Well, what does it feel like? Being undead?” Rainbow felt dirty for daring to bring up the alicorn’s cursed condition, yet Twilight halted her steps and seemed to give the query some serious thought. “It’s… well… bearable, for the moment. I feel cold, empty, but not like I’m sick or in pain. It’s by no means pleasant, but knowing I can’t die now, permanently I mean, kind of brings a strange comfort.” Twilight placed a hoof to her forehead. “I think the most disturbing thing is how my thoughts seem to scatter at odd moments. Like, when I suddenly woke up next to the bonfire back there, it took me a moment to remember what I was doing and why. Nothing bad, but not something that usually happens to me either.” Rainbow felt her coat stand on end. “And how are you now?” Twilight flexed her leg and shrugged as well as she could with her withered body. “Now… I’m good as can be without restoring myself to normal. Going to have to use some of my humanity when we finally get out of here.” Twilight said. “Why do you ask?” Rainbow awkwardly rubbed her leg. “Well first off, because I’m as worried as a friend should be for another friend. I know it doesn’t seem like much to you, but it wasn’t easy watching you sacrifice yourself for us.” Twilight’s mouth dropped open. “And second… because I now realize that if our positions had been reversed, I’d have acted no differently. When my weapon broke, I was honestly contemplating just kicking you out of harm’s way and letting them take me instead. Figured if you can handle being undead, then so can I!” Twilight gasped dryly. “Dash, don’t talk like that!” Rainbow held up a hoof. “Look, I came here with you because I want to do right by my status as an Element of Harmony and keep Equestria safe… that, and make the monster who did this to you pay! Thing is, that’s probably going to entail venturing into more Tartarus spawned pits like this place… and while I’ve been proving I am still 20% cooler than what we’ve been running into… the opposition here ain’t getting any easier.” The pegasus said, betraying a strain of fear. As if to test her sincerity, the two ponies heard a clanking sound and turned to see a knight dressed in heavy steel armor approaching them with sword and shield in hand. “Ugh, case in point.” Rainbow groaned as the knight picked up its pace and prepared to strike. “Well, we’ll worry about crossing that bridge when we come to it. Right now, let’s focus on getting across this one first!” Twilight replied as she dodged the falling sword. Rainbow nodded silently as she hugged the side of the bridge, bringing out her new rapier for its first kill. The knight turned to try and pin Twilight with its shield. Dash held her weapon tightly in her teeth and ran to attack her opponent’s exposed back. Naturally this was the moment when another presence moved in to literally hold her in place. Dash eeped as she felt hands grab her shoulders, and turned to see hollows climbing over the side of the bridge, as if they’d been hanging from the outside just waiting for someone to cross. “Wha? Oh come on! That’s cheating!” Dash yelled as the hollows pulled her off her hooves, making her drop her rapier in the process. They proceed to begin beating her with their fists and weapons, throwing whatever strength remained in their atrophied bodies into each blow. “Ow! Ngh… get off me!” The pegasus growled as she struggled in the corpses’ grip. Twilight tried to move, to help, but the knight literally cut her off, driving its sword down right in front of her close enough to slice the very tip of her nose off. Twilight reeled back, stumbling against the side of the bridge as her opponent swung and thrust its blade. She tried to grab her catalyst and blast it with a sorcery. The knight simply hit her in the face with its shield again, forcing her to cancel the levitation spell and instead throw up a barrier before it could riposte. “Grrr… Twi… go! Leave these freaks to me!” Rainbow growled as she grabbed one hollow’s arm with her teeth and dragged it off her. Another ripped out its blade and looked for another nice spot between the pegasus’ ribs to re-sheath it in her blood. Rainbow was all too happy to show the corpse her wings could be used for something other than flight. The hollow gave a low grunt as if it was actually surprised to find itself being knocked back by the blow of a feathered wing joint to its stomach. “Go? Rainbow, I can’t leave you!” Twilight protested as she scrambled to grab her catalyst with her hoof. The knight continued to hammer at her barrier, confused as to why neither its blade nor shield seem able to break it. The alicorn let it stew in its puzzlement for a few more seconds, enough for it to back off and see if it could approach the problem from another angle. She wasted no time in dropping her barrier and letting the steel clad warrior catch a soul arrow to the face. “Ngh… I’ll… agh! I’ll catch up!’ Rainbow grit her teeth as another blade sliced through her robes and into her barrel. “AGH! Hey watch it! This outfit is brand new, you bastard!” The hollow made to apologize by going for Rainbow’s neck, the only part of her not covered by her robes. Forcing the remaining hollows off her, the pegasus turned around and slammed her back hooves into the approaching one’s chest. The crack of ribs shattering under the blow was almost symphonic. “Trust me, I got this! You can throw your life on the line again for me afterwards. ‘Quid pro quo’… or however that fancy old phrase you love to use goes.” Rainbow sighed as the knight got up from its prone position and shook off the force of Twilight’s sorcery. “Just move it!” Nodding tersely, Twilight turned and ran for the far end of the bridge, eventually finding herself at an archway filled with fog. Bowing her head, the alicorn took a deep breath and traversed through it. The swirling grey mirth proved to be about as permeable as a blowing gale, but the alicorn forced herself to keep putting one hoof in front of the other, till she felt all resistance suddenly cease, and found herself standing before a most breathtaking sight. Standing in the middle of the small arena was a stunningly tall female humanoid, dressed in a flowing gown of what appeared to be white silken fur. Twilight noted the attire suited her well, complimenting her snow white mane, and the flawless pale visage of her skin. Indeed, she stood as a monument to all that was beautiful… and potentially dangerous about the frigid environment around her. “Dear… Faust…” Twilight gasped in awe at the towering being. She in turn looked down from her great height, her hands tightening around a suitably oversized and very deadly looking scythe. “Who… Who art thou? One of us, thou art not.” She said, clearly very confused by the sight of the lavender winged equine, dressed in what appeared to be a disheveled mess of sorcerer clothing. “From whence hast thou come, strange being?” Twilight exhaled slowly, checking behind her to make sure she wasn’t about to be ambushed by any more unpleasant surprises from across the bridge. “Um… ahem… Miss Priscilla, I presume?” She asked. The towering crossbreed took a step back in shock. “Thou… thou knowest of me? How?” She asked, narrowing her eyes. Twilight noted the aforementioned were framed in jagged scales. On a hunch, she tilted her head and felt her heart leap as she saw the length of a fluffy white tail swaying cautiously behind the crossbreed. There was no doubt about it now, this had to be her! “My name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria. I’m… well, very relieved to meet you.” The alicorn smiled while taking a step forward, only for Priscilla to raise her scythe as if expecting an attack. “Maintain thine distance, I ask thee! If thou seekest I, thine desires shall be requited not!” She said with great insistence. Twilight dropped the smile and duly retracted her hoof. “Oh, I… I promise, I mean you no harm! I’ve… I mean, we have come seeking you…” The alicorn hastily stopped herself and took a step back at the sudden anger in Priscilla’s eyes. “No, not in that manner, though!” The temperature within the area dropped further, as if heralding an oncoming blizzard. Priscilla’s scythe blade glistened in the pale light of the moon, as if debating whether to cut to the chase by cutting down the pitiful pony where she stood. “Thou must returneth from whence thou came. This land is peaceful, its inhabitants kind, but not to thee who does not belong!” Priscilla thrust her weapon at an archway on the opposite side of the arena. “Plunge from the plank, and hurry home. There is no sanctuary for thee here!” Twilight swallowed hard and shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Priscilla. Not yet, not without you.” She said, biting back on her shivers as the air turned colder still and the towering crossbreed resigned herself to the inevitable. “I expected as much from thee. Why dost thee hurry towards thine death, like all who came before?” She said. Twilight thought she heard a note of sadness in Priscilla’s voice and grabbed onto it for all it was worth. “I and my friends are here on behalf of your father, Seath the Scaleless.” Twilight replied, her voice catching in her throat when Priscilla let a brief glimmer of shock cross her features. “This place is no longer safe for you, he’s asked us to get you out of here, so you two can finally be reunited!” The scythe shook and wilted slightly from its raised position as Priscilla’s grip faltered. “M-Mine father?” She asked. Twilight hesitantly nodded. “Th-That cannot be! Not after so long!” Twilight nodded again, steeling her nerves as she took a step forward. “I know it’s been a long time, but… well… he’s had his reasons, one of them being fooled into thinking you were dead…” Priscilla’s gaze flickered, her eyes wavering to the right as if recalling a memory. “All these years… the Dark Sun hath told me of Seath… of his atrocities… his madness… his sins against the gods… yet… yet…” The scythe dipped closer to the ground as its weight grew too great for Priscilla to support. “But… why? What drives him to seek me now? For that matter, why dost thou come on his behalf?” Twilight’s ears swiveled as she picked up a commotion outside the fog gate. “Let’s just say there’s been a lot of deception and withholding of vital information. As to why, well, that’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Several ragged curse words were heard through the fog, followed by pained screaming. Twilight’s heart leaped into her throat as she recognized the voice. “Rainbow!” Twilight charged to the gate, only for her pegasus friend to come crashing through it and into her. “Ow… Ow… Ow… okay… that… could’ve gone worse… and also better…” The pegasus growled as she rolled onto her hooves again and frantically patted her smoking robes down. “Rainbow!” Twilight exclaimed as she likewise got up. “Are you okay?” Checking no parts of her were about to burst into flame again, Rainbow exhaled her frustration. “I’m fine… heh… heh… told you I could handle it. Well, until Mr. Turban Headed Torch Boy showed up again.” The blue pegasus looked up at Priscilla, apparently only now noticing the crossbreed’s presence. “I take it you’re Seath’s love child? Certainly look it with that snowy complexion… and that fluffy tail… huh…” Priscilla looked from one pony to the other, not sure what to make of the scenario. “Thou didst not come here alone?” She finally asked, just as there came the scream of hollows being struck down by the sizzling crack of a whip. “I’m being serious here, Priscilla! You’re in terrible danger and we’re here to get you to safety!” Twilight insisted as the fog gate glowed orange and flames began to lick through its swirling mirth. “Course, if you don’t believe us, I’m afraid the proof is just about to present itself.” Rainbow meeped as a great lash of fire cut through the stone archway, bringing it crumbling down to permit the entry of the Xanthous King Jeremiah. Priscilla’s guard slowly lowered as the phantom likewise curled up his whip and extinguished his hand. “So, at last thou rises from thine slumber, legendary one. Hast thou come to pay respects to thine earthly remains?” She said while gesturing to the far side of the arena. Twilight looked and saw a corpse, dressed in the same outfit as Jeremiah, slumped against the railing. The phantom looked at this too, tilting his giant turban wrapped head as if confused by the sight. After a moment he returned to staring silently at Priscilla. “Or is it something else that bringeth thee back from death’s embrace?” The crossbreed queried, tightening her grip further as Jeremiah looked to the ponies in front of her, then let his head slump back to bring his gaze skyward. “Priscilla… seriously… we need to leave! This… thing wants us dead like everything else in this world!” Twilight said through the side of her mouth. Jeremiah kept staring at the sky, seemingly at a loss for how to continue in his task. Priscilla eyed him warily. “Thou did face me once before, whence first thou came in search of knowledge and power. Think not that thine new status affords thee any advantage, if thou seeks to face me again.” Priscilla said softly, again lowering her scythe, as if to calm the phantom by showing she meant it no harm. Jeremiah turned to her, then resumed staring silently at the sky. “Okay… so… do we try to fight this thing? Force Miss Fluffy Tail there to come with us? What?” Rainbow asked while gnawing on the grip of her rapier. “Pitiful crossbreed. How cruel and unjust is thine existence. Hope did I that this time shalt never come, but t’was not meant to be.” Now all eyes turned to the heavens. “Thine atonement is at hand, Legendary Exile. Perform this one task, and thine sins are thus forgiven. Destroy this affront to the will of our Great Lord! Give her back to the cleansing flames from which she was wrongly birthed!” Rainbow’s ears wilted like flower petals in the heat of an inferno. Twilight’s entire head sank as Jeremiah ignited his palm again and viciously cracked his whip as a challenge to battle. “Why do I even bother asking?” The blue pegasus groaned as flames rushed towards her again. *** “Master Logan… do you smell something burning?” Griggs broke from his relentless firing of soul spears at the Darkmoon phantoms and turned to sniff at the air. Beside him, the older sorcerer tipped back the brim of his giant hat in perplexity. “Considering how many of these misguided souls we’ve struck down in the name of our Grand Duke, I’d be more surprised if we didn’t.” Logan sighed as more blue figures materialized to replace those who had fallen under the combined force of both his spells and that of Seath’s channelers. “These fools know not the treachery they commit on behalf of His Dark Sun… however, I do confess, their perseverance is admirable.” Griggs scrunched up his nose as he kept sniffing at the air. “No… this is not the essence of a sorcery spell I detect. It smells like… burning oil… and wood… like canvas….” Logan raised an eyebrow at his colleague’s sudden and rather crazed fascination with the air around them. Deciding it was of no concern to him, the big hatted sorcerer turned back to aiding the channelers, only to see they too had temporarily stopped pressing their advantage. Their attention indeed seemed no longer focused on the phantoms, but rather the resurrected painting guardians that had entered the room, stopped and were now pointing at something in horror. “What is this… so sudden and so changed art the acts of our enemy?” Seath pondered. He stared at the now panicked painting guardians as they attempted to rush past his channelers, pointing at something beyond their ranks. “Grand Duke… sir… look!” Seath turned at the feel of someone tugging on his tentacles. “The Painted World of Ariamis! It’s catching fire!” Griggs exclaimed. Seath’s maw dropped open as he beheld the massive tapestry was indeed leaking smoke from its canvas, the oils and colors slowly melting away as flames licked out from the cavities left behind. “No… no… no, what treacherous nature is this?? Who hath slipped beyond our lines to strike?” The great dragon demanded. He rushed to the painting, slapping his hands against the flames to try and extinguish them. A deep growl shook the crumbling hall as Seath’s flesh promptly began to burn, yet still he continued in his effort to keep the painting from becoming an inferno. “Channelers, water! Master Logan, our defenses! Griggs, thine assistance here!” Seath frantically barked orders, intercutting his dialogue with more roars of agony as he beat his scorched fists upon the flaming canvas. He opened his mouth and spewed crystal all across the fire. The resulting formations merely cracked then exploded as the intensity of the heat proved too great for them to contain. “No! NO! PRISCILLA!” The dragon bellowed in anguish. *** “That voice…” The crossbreed turned from where she’d been trying to put out Jeremiah’s flames with a blizzard spell, looking to the sky in shock. “Such notes from so long ago…” Twilight picked herself up from where she’d been thrown by another lash of the red phantom’s whip, nursing a smoking cut all along her flank. “Seath…” She whispered while getting to her hooves. Priscilla looked at the alicorn in shock. “T’is a voice I hath heard not in centuries… yet still I know it from the moment of my birth…” The crossbreed clasped a hand to her bosom. “Thou… thou speaketh truth… Seath did send thee to seek me out!” Twilight nodded frantically. “He’s outside the painting right now, trying to hold off an army so we can rescue you. We have to get back to him, or we’re all going to die here!” She said. “Some of us may have already.” Came a cold and dark reply. Twilight turned to view Rainbow Dash swiping frantically at Jeremiah from the air with her rapier. “Rarity, Spike and Aurelia still haven’t caught up with us yet… and I’m starting to ponder if this jerk might know why!” The red phantom again cocked his head as if puzzled by the accusation. Rainbow took the opportunity to strike while his guard was down, and cut a line across his exposed mid-section. “Talk, you monster! What happened to our friends? Did you do something to them before you resumed chasing after us?” The pegasus shouted. Jeremiah calmly placed a hand over the blood and maggots dripping from his wound; then he proceeded to answer the pegasus by striking at her with his whip. “Grrrrr, fine! We can do this the hard way too! If I find out you even singed a hair or scale on their bodies, you’re going to wish you’d never been brought back from… wherever the hay you were before!” Rainbow swore as she dodged the cracking length, madly swinging her rapier back at the phantom whenever she got a chance. Around her the arena continued to burn, the black of night being choked out by the fierce orange of fire. “Priscilla, please! We can’t stay here! How do we leave?” Twilight asked. The crossbreed’s face contorted, either from the encroaching heat, or her own indecision. She looked to the arena’s far exit. “The abyss beyond the plank serves as the exit to this world. For every soul that hath come here, I have imparted this information… only…” Priscilla’s mouth grew taught. “Only I do not know of its truthfulness…” Twilight gaped in disbelief. She looked to the exit, seeing it just lead to a sheer drop into nothingness. “Well, that’s still better than staying here to be roasted alive. Come on!” She motioned for the crossbreed to follow her. Priscilla remained where she was. “I… I… but my sanctuary this hath always been. Its residents are kind to me… more than those of the land beyond…” She said with great unease. “Nrghhh… you honestly call this kind??” Rainbow asked as she hit the ground. In her rising anger, she’d failed to follow the strikes of Jeremiah’s whip, allowing him to finally nail her on her wing and cut a searing gash across the joint. Priscilla looked at the seething pony, watching her fight on in spite of her injury. Her grip on her scythe tightened with resolve. “N-No… No! The Xanthous King is as much an intruder as thou. Punish him I did for his trespasses… and punish him again for this offence I shall!” Priscilla declared. Jeremiah turned from the fallen pegasus, regarding the towering crossbreed with shock as if only just now remembering who his primary target was meant to be. He struck at her with his whip. Priscilla responded by turning herself invisible and dodging the attack. “E’en in death, thou still seeks to further sin. Dost thou know what shame thou bringeth upon thine name? Upon thine subjects?” She asked. Jeremiah looked around the burning arena, cracking his whip in random directions. “Blind thou art, blinded by thine ambition. Great is the power thou hast obtained, but behold what ease I dispel it with!” Flurries of snow blew upon the fires, snuffing them out around the phantom. He tilted his head forward, as if ashamed by how his efforts were ruined. “This land is peaceful, its inhabitants kind. Never shall we permit those who seek to destroy our hallowed haven!” A blizzard hit Jeremiah with full force, knocking him onto his back. He writhed as if pained by the snow slowly covering him. “Why couldst thou not let us be? Didst thou not see why Ariamis created this world?” Priscilla demanded from everywhere at once. The blizzard died down, and Jeremiah trembled as he tried to sit up. He spotted Twilight rushing to aid Rainbow, and ignited his hand to at least take them out of the equation. He then stopped himself upon noticing something far more important a short distance away. “Naught waits for thee but death. If a monk thou once was, then prithee, remember thine vows! Look upon what fate befell thee before, and pray for salvation, not further damnation!” The air rippled as an unseen scythe was raised to finish the Xanthous King off for good. He, however, paid it no mind. His attention was focused on something more vital: specifically, the trail of footprints in the snow, slowly making their way towards him. He promptly launched a fireball at the space a few inches above the ground, causing Priscilla to fade back into existence as her robes were set aflame. “Aghhhh! But… why?” Twilight looked up from where she’d been trying to heal Rainbow’s wounds. Seeing Priscilla now stumbling back, trying to put out her burning gown, the alicorn bared her teeth and charged Jeremiah, hitting him in the back and sending him crashing to the ground again. With her opponent now temporarily disabled, she turned to Priscilla and cast a small rain storm spell over her, soaking the crossbreed with water and extinguishing her blazing clothes. “Why… what seeketh thee?” The crossbreed gasped as she grabbed for her scythe. “He that would choose to follow the words of deceivers and murderers over that of his own faith?” Twilight sighed as Jeremiah stirred, rising up to a sitting position again to stare at them blankly. “Whatever his reasons may be, I doubt he’s going to tell you.” She said as the phantom got back up. “It doesn’t change the fact that he’s not going to stop until you’re dead.” “Yeah, or he is.” Rainbow hobbled her way over, staring at Jeremiah with utter loathing. “He may be a tough one, like everything else in this place, but it’s still just him against us three…” The pegasus narrowed her eyes. “And I still want to know what he’s done with our friends!” “Uh… nothing?” Rainbow turned and dropped her rapier as Spike forced his way through the fog gate, followed by Rarity. “Well okay, the fires he set forced us to take a long detour to reach here, but other than that we’re fine… amazingly.” The dragon huffed and puffed as if he’d been running a great deal. “Spike, Rarity, oh praise Faust you’re okay!” Twilight said in elation. “Yes… barely.” Rarity gasped as she stopped and drew in a deep breath. “I fear that may change soon if we don’t leave with all haste. There’s something far worse chasing after us!” The Chosen Undead stumbled her way in after the unicorn. Priscilla eyes went wide. “Thou… thou art a soul I hath met before. Thine attire is different… but thine essence remains the same.” She declared. The Chosen Undead nodded wearily as she sheathed her blade. “It would seem my first journey here wasn’t by chance after all. These ponies have revealed some disturbing secrets since I returned to the world outside. Secrets that apparently involve you.” The female undead replied. Priscilla looked to the far end of the arena. “Then… the means I was told for departing this land… of that he spoke truth?” The crossbreed now sounded confused rather than relieved. Twilight did her the service of providing renewed vigor. “Right now, let’s just be glad there’s a way to leave after all, and make use of it before our enemies try to…” The alicorn cut herself off as the crack of a whip and a wall of flames cut her off from the arena’s exit. “Stop… us… oh no.” Jeremiah strode to stand before the flames, igniting his hand with fresh pyromancies as a challenge to the party. “Feh, fine. If he isn’t going to step aside we’ll just have to knock him aside.” Rainbow grunted as she rose to her hooves. “Uh… yes, while I’d normally be all for showing our bravado, I fear we really don’t have time for another scuffle, Rainy darling.” Rarity looked to the fog gate, swallowing heavily as she thought she spied a black silhouette slowly materializing in the swirling mist. “In about five seconds, the other monstrosity we managed to give the slip is going to catch up to us.” “Yeah? Well, bring it on! We’ve faced down plenty of great threats before, and since coming here, we’ve proven we can do it again. I’m ready for anything!” Dash proclaimed while brandishing her rapier. Jeremiah sought to test her resolve by rearing back to douse the entire area in fire again. And then, a massive, curved greatsword cut through the fog to request that it be allowed to test the pegasus first. Rainbow turned to observe the descending plane of razor edged steel and diseased flesh, letting her rapier drop from her mouth in shock as a great skeletal hand pushed through the fog to grab the edge of the archway. Like the great harbinger of death that he was, Gravelord Nito emerged into the arena, pulling his sword from the deep fissure it had cut into the floor, and raising it high in announcement of his presence. “Okay… I stand corrected.” Rainbow meeped as she backed away from the robed mountain of bones. “What… is… this?” The top most skull creakily turned to regard the tiny equine. Dust rained onto the ground as the other skulls piled below it then copied the motion. “We are the First of the Dead. Founders and now reclaimers of the souls of lords. Demons to some, saviors to others.” Nito replied in a plethora of voices, one of every creed and gender, which seemed to echo from within and from all around his form, apparently via some manner of telepathy. He extended his free hand and the golden Lord Soul materialized in the palm. “From the First Flame, were we granted the powers of death, disease, and dominion over all whose mortal lives were ended… until such time that our eternal slumber was disturbed…” Nito closed his hand around the soul, absorbing it back into his bones as he pointed an accusing finger at the Chosen Undead. The ponies looked to the warrior with suitably disturbed expressions. “And… wh-what’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked. The Chosen Undead clasped her gauntlet over the scorched part of her cuirass, still feeling a cold ache from where the lord soul had ripped itself from her bosom. “He’s Gravelord Nito, a god of Lordran.” She explained. Twilight looked back at the towering abomination. “I… I remember this guy! He was in Seath’s dreams! Though, how does he come to be here?” She asked. Nito pointed his sword at the Chosen Undead. “Disturbed our slumber did she. With brandished steel and scorching flame she did strike us down, and stole that which is our very being.” The gravelord said. Again all eyes fell to the warrior. “His lord soul is one of the four I needed to fill the Lordvessel and save Lordran. I fought and killed him in the Catacombs… just before he could be snatched away… like Seath was.” The Chosen Undead unsheathed her chaos blade. “No one told me you could return from your ultimate demise, though…” Nito surprisingly nodded several of his skulls. “Unheard it is for death to die, more so to rise from death again. We stand as anomaly and affront to our own laws. We yearn to know why… and how…” The gravelord’s bones creaked as the Priscilla suddenly cried in pain and lurched forward, flames spreading across her back. Jeremiah had managed to shake off the shock of seeing Nito faster than everyone else and taken the opportunity to resume his assault. “But who comes here?” Priscilla rolled onto her back, thrashing on the ground to try and put out the fire. Jeremiah pressed his advantage, priming his hand with further reinforcements for his flames. Fighting against the burning pain, Priscilla grabbed her scythe and swung it at the red phantom. Jeremiah quickly retracted his hand and swung his whip out to catch the weapon, wrapping around its blade and pulling it aside. “A nomad soul, both living and dead, and yet who is neither in this time.” Nito observed. Priscilla struggled with Jeremiah, the latter inching closer to clasp his flaming gauntlet to her face and finish her off as he’d been ordered. “In him, we sense both purest flame, and darkest oblivion.” Nito curled his arms around himself, and began to emit a deathly red glow. Seconds later he unleashed a shockwave that made everyone either stagger, or fall flat on their backs. Jeremiah met with the floor for a third time, and Nito quickly made sure there would not be a fourth. “Such is power too great for mere mortals to wield.” The gravelord sighed while driving his blade through Jeremiah’s gut. The red phantom dropped his whip and thrashed as blood and maggots flowed in droves from his gored stomach, till at last he flopped over dead and dissolved into a flurry of white light. Nito retrieved his weapon and backed away as the fires left in the Xanthous King’s wake began to grow out of control again. “And no sooner are they returned to our bosom, than proof of their ineptitude threatens to destroy all. What fools art these, the forgotten waste of times since past.” Having finally gotten the fires on her own body out, Priscilla grabbed her scythe and rose to face the gravelord. He remained staring at the spot where Jeremiah had fallen, the phantom’s demise marked by his whip and a burning black humanity sprite. “Thou is kind to aid in punishing he that sought to foul this land’s sanctity… though still I ask the purpose in thine acts?” She said wearily. Nito looked up to view the encroaching wall of fire with mild disdain. “We stand amidst those who would see us perish once more. To defend ourselves is only natural.” Nito backed away as the flames grew higher. “Yet e’en greater danger closes upon us from all sides, threatening to send us once more into death. A curious situation.” The gravelord turned and leveled his sword at the party. “If all are to perish here, shall it be via flame, or blade? Do we take thine souls for ourselves, or leave them to feed the fire?” Despite the burning agony in her wing, Rainbow galloped between the party and the gravelord as the latter took another step forward. “Hey, hey! Just a moment here, we’ve got no argument with you! Well, aside from the fact that you’re now the one blocking the exit from this place!” The pegasus said. Twilight trotted to stand by her. “Please, we have as little desire to be here as you do. Step aside, and we can all leave!” She pleaded. Nito’s skulls turned in different directions, sizing up the ponies, their dragon friend, the Chosen Undead and Priscilla simultaneously. “One of thine number sought our end before. Can we trust that thou shalt not do likewise?” The skulls all turned on the Chosen Undead now. “T’would be for our own safety to snuff out all fire that burns for death’s demise.” Nito’s greatsword was raised, then swung with full force at the undead. Amazingly it was halted not due to the latter’s shield or the ponies’ interference, but rather by Priscilla’s own scythe. “And if thou seeks to further tarnish this world as Jeremiah did, then thou art as much an enemy of mine!” She swore before driving the gravelord back. Nito dug his feet into the snow as he sensed the heat of the flames closing in on his back. He parried Priscilla’s swing and made to grab the crossbreed, only for Twilight to force his hand away with a well-aimed soul spear. “Seriously, stop this! We don’t want to argue or fight anyone else! Just let us leave, or we’re all going to die!” The alicorn protested as Nito shook his stinging hand and then shook his multiple skulls. “Inevitable is death, to mortals and gods alike. If occur it shall, now or in a hundred years hence, is of no importance. Our will shall always be done.” The gravelord replied as Priscilla raised her scythe and charged at him. He drove his sword into the ground and screamed as a ghostly red blade promptly burst out of the floor, nearly bisecting the crossbreed. She stumbled in her effort to dodge, tripping and falling again as Nito pulled his blade back out and hugged himself again. Twilight tried to charge another sorcery, but the gravelord proved quicker on the draw with his second shockwave. The entire arena crumbled further as its weakened structure collapsed under the forces of fire and miasma combined. “Prithee, cease this foolish assault!” Priscilla groaned as Nito advanced and swung at her with his sword. She deflected it with her scythe and returned the attack while struggling back to her feet. “I seek violence upon only one soul, thou gains nothing by declaring thyself to be of the same wicked intent as he!” The two’s weapons clinked and sparked as they drove each around the arena, weaving and bobbing to avoid the flames. “We are not wicked. Indeed we know not of such concepts. We do only that which preserves our existence, until such time as we know who hath subverted the natural order and restored us to this land.” Nito replied as he locked blades with Priscilla again. “But hark, we sense something familiar about thee… an essence we knew from long ago…” Nito leaned his top most skull towards Priscilla’s face. “There is fear in thee, fear of death… like one who was as thee. Pale, cold, an outcast…” Nito’s grip slackened, letting the two’s crossed blades inch closer to him. His eye sockets seem to pierce deep beneath Priscilla’s skin, seeing all that she kept hidden in her soul. “Thou art an anomaly as we… made possible not by nature, but by the wills of one with no regard for our law… one such as…” “PRISCILLA!” Nito turned to the sky as the voice echoed across it again. His sword fell from the crossbreed’s scythe as he nodded his skulls in satisfaction. “Yea, he.” The gravelord intoned quietly while stepping aside. Priscilla kept her weapon raised as she tried to ponder this sudden change of mood. “Priscilla!” Twilight now parroted. “Come on, I’ve got the flames put out. We’re getting out of here!” The crossbreed turned to see Twilight casting the last of another rainstorm spell, steam rising from where the fire had previously been blocking the exit. Her resolve faltered as she turned back to view the great pillars of smoke rising from the rest of the Painted World. “But… this land… its inhabitants…” She said, no longer sounding angry, but rather very sad. “We can’t do anything more here, dear. If you truly still feel that there’s more to this world than we’ve seen, then the best course of action would be to ensure it’s destruction is avenged.” Rarity coaxed. Priscilla looked down at the unicorn, seeing she wore the same expression of desperate pleading as Twilight. With a heavy sigh of resignation, the crossbreed faced Nito again. “Then let us descend into the abyss. I will follow thee now.” She said. Nito crossed his arms and stayed where he was. Even as the Chosen Undead snuck in to grab the whip and humanity left by Jeremiah, the gravelord simply watched as the party ran for the exit. “Okay, this is it. Here’s to hoping for a safe landing on the other side.” Twilight replied as she looked over the edge of the plank into the infinite blackness beyond. “Everypony ready?” “Uh just one second, darling.” The alicorn turned to see Rarity levitating the xanthous set off of Jeremiah’s physical body. “Not that I would usually ever dream of disrespecting the dead like this, but I think that dreadful pyromaniac owes us for his horrible treatment.” The unicorn said as she tucked the brightly colored attire into her saddlebags. “That, and I’ve never seen fabric in such a vibrant golden hue before. A few hours with my sewing machine, and this could become a dashing new fashion!” Priscilla eyed Rarity with bewilderment as she finished looting the corpse and turned to stand with her friends. “Alright, together as always, we descend into the breach.” Twilight took a deep breath, and let gravity pull her over the edge of the plank. Rarity, Rainbow, and Spike fell next, all of them going with neither a scream nor hesitation. The Chosen Undead sheathed her blade and prepared to jump. “Thou swears this works as I was told?” Priscilla asked with fresh apprehension. The Chosen Undead looked at the plummeting ponies and held out her hand. “It does. You’ll just have to trust us on this.” The warrior gave a tired laugh. “That is, if you still can bring yourself to trust in anything at all. Seems we’ve both been lied to by a great many folk as of late.” That seemed to spark something in Priscilla, for she promptly took the undead’s hand and gripped it tightly. “Be forewarned, there are still more lies that remain to be burned away, for thou as well as I.” She said before letting the Chosen Undead pull her into a free fall. Behind them, Gravelord Nito watched the party be consumed by the darkness below, then turned to view the fog gate as it slowly dissipated to reveal the fires outside were slowly closing in. “And thus is another dream destroyed by those who desire to live in deception. From nothingness it was made, and to nothingness it is banished once more. For us, who are but a thought, wallowing companionless in the spaces where the shroud of ignorance doth hide the dark and the hideous, are we to again be reduced to nothingness? Do we stand by our laws and accept our demise?” Nito turned back to the exit. “Or are we to take the plunge? Wrest control of our fate, and strike at the truth which seeks to put end to all?” The gravelord stood staring ponderously at this strange situation, the crackle of fire providing a background tone to his thoughts as the Painted World burned down. *** For Seath, this moment proved a fascinating demonstration of how pain was only relative. For one instant, he was languishing under the searing agony of his skin burning away as he fruitlessly struggled to smother the fire on Ariamis’ painting, combined with the mental despair that his daughter was about to be taken from him a second time while he, again, could do nothing to stop it. And then, in the next instant, the dragon found himself being struck by a great weight forcing itself into his arms, sending him crashing to the floor. The sight that greeted him afterwards, however, as he looked up from his prone position, promptly made all the suffering immediately vanish into nothingness. “Priscilla…?” He whispered breathlessly as the crossbreed extracted her face from his chest. Her own eyes went wide as they met that of the dragon’s. Shakily she pulled back her mane from where it had fallen into her field of view. Seath likewise pushed his glasses back into position to give him a clearer image of the face he’d never expected to see. “F-Father?” The crossbreed replied with equal breathlessness. “It… It is thee?” The two stared at each other in shock silence, until they heard a strangled gasp coming from between them. Priscilla blushed and pushed herself off of Seath so Twilight could extract herself from where she’d been sandwiched between the dragon and crossbreed’s chest. “Pleh! Ooof, well, all things considered, that at least was a softer landing than I was expecting.” The alicorn coughed, spitting bits of fur out of her mouth as she looked up. “Oh, Seath! Oh thank Faust we made it!” “Huh… hey… hey, it worked! We’re back!” Spike declared as he dared to look up from where he’d rolled to a stop, and found himself staring at the carnage of the on-going battle. “And… it seems the party is still in full swing here… great.” He said, his elation instantly evaporating. Rarity whimpered as she rose to her hooves, her body telling her just how sore it was from all the tumbles and hard landings she’d endured. “At the very least, we’ve got greater numbers on our sides again. I daresay, I’m in dire need of a break.” She sighed as two of the channelers ran over to tend to her. “By any chance could one of you magic me up something cold and refreshing? I’m absolutely parched!” “Oof, same here.” Rainbow groaned as she adjusted her helmet and shook some dust off her robes. “A few band-aids and some ointment would really improve my mood too.” Seath pulled himself from the ground, his gaze remaining fixed on Priscilla as she inadvertently looked over herself, as if suddenly afraid she wasn’t appropriately groomed for such an unexpected reunion. “Seath, we did it! We found Priscilla!” Twilight said. The Chosen Undead picked herself up and walked to stand by the crossbreed. “Indeed, as promised. She’s here, alive and well.” The warrior replied. Seath nodded dumbly. “So… So thou art. Thine shape is so far grown from that I recall… mature, enthralled, yet… there can be no doubt.” Seath said, his voice still hoarse with shock. “Truly, art thou the child snatched from mine hands at birth? Sentenced to execution for the purity of the Great Lord’s kingdom?” Priscilla clenched her hand into a shaking fist, pressing it tightly to her bosom. “This… this is what thou was told? Another deception of the many spun?” She said, narrowing her eyes. “For so many years… so much time did I have only the cold bosom of loneliness to cling to… only the ever present rejection of all to call friend… and with only tales of thine madness and cruelty to know of my true parentage…” Seath’s features fell. “T’is more than was told to me. Of thee I knew but one instant when thou was delivered unto us, and then… only horrid silence. Thine death seemed certain, and maddening it was to believe…” Priscilla stepped back. “Mine… death… Oh horror… oh what awful spider hath snared all in its web!” The crossbreed turned, and her face tightened in rage as she beheld the blue phantoms attacking Seath’s channelers. “And now… now, when at last the veil of secrecy falls, the one responsible seeketh to bury his sins under it!” Seath looked the Painted World, watching as it listed to one side from the fire burning away the mounts holding it to the wall. “Pray child, Twilight, mine student, what hath happened within Ariamis' land?” He asked. “I think I can answer.” Rainbow grimaced as she trotted over. “A few bird-like creatures found me in there. Said they worked for that goddess you talked about, Velka. They gave me these neat new duds, and also mentioned apparently Gwyndolin was responsible for unleashing that Jeremiah creep on us.” The pegasus snorted. “For a former student of yours, he really seems to have a serious vendetta against you.” Seath looked down at Rainbow, then at the painting. His expression slowly descended from shock, to disbelief, to the faintest flicker of insane amusement, then to outright blazing rage as the tapestry fell off the wall and collapsed to the ground, the last vestiges of its winter glory being devoured by the flames. “The Great Lord’s own kin seeketh to deceive all with illusions, kidnap mine child, attack me and mine channelers, and murder all who may cast light on the shadows of his lies? For what purpose doth a god dare to commit such treachery?” He demanded icily. Priscilla closed her eyes and bowed her head, giving the world that had been her home and sanctuary all her life a final farewell. “Sin so deep, e’en thou cannot imagine. Fate and tragedy hath turned the Dark Sun to wickedness as they hath so many. As long as Anor Londo and Lordran remain under his rule, there is no end to what Gwyndolin will do to protect himself from those he sees as enemy and threat.” Priscilla shed several tears that were quickly turned to steam by the heat of the fire. “Seath, Father, there is more that hath been kept from thee, a truth more terrible than any of thine trespasses.” The white dragon warily turned to his daughter as she took her scythe in both hands. “One final task remains here. Gwyndolin must be found, and he must face retribution for his sins. His hands are steeped in blood of both thou and mine!” The crossbreed said. Rainbow nodded softly. “The crow demons said the same. Lot of folk who want this Gwyndolin guy punished for being such a monster.” The pegasus said. Seath again locked eyes with Priscilla, clenching his hands around his catalyst as he nodded shakily. “Then to where the Dark Sun hides we shall venture, and no more shalt his shadow darken this land!” The dragon declared. From where he was helping the channelers with Rarity, Spike had to raise his hand. “Yeah, uh, while that’s great and all, can I just ask one thing first? Namely, how are we going to get past the never ending blockade of blue guys that are between us and the door?” The little dragon queried. Seath’s rage smoldered a little as he came back down to earth again. While his channelers were fighting with everything they had, the numbers game was slowly turning the tide against them. For every phantom or guardian they struck down, another was summoned, or the original quickly returned, having been resurrected. Bit by bit, Seath’s faithful followers were tiring, and when they did, the phantoms wasted no time in cutting short their lives. Already a fair portion of purple robed sorcerers now lay dead and trampled as the Blades of the Darkmoon continued to press towards their ultimate targets. Even Griggs and Logan had finally had to fall back due to having depleted their energy reserves. “He’s right, actually. Oh dear, and I was so hoping things were going to get better now that we’re away from that dreadful painted landscape and all it horrid creatures.” Rarity moaned. “Well… I don’t know about that...” Everyone turned to see the Chosen Undead staring at the burning painting with her blade drawn. Amidst the crackle and pops of canvas being reduced to ash, there was also a sharp creaking sound… like bones scraping across the side of a stone wall. To everyone’s horror, a giant skeletal hand reached out of the flames, grabbing hold of a nearby pillar to help pull the body it was attached to up into the room. Behind the party, the sounds of battle quieted as both invaders and allies became aware of the new arrival, turning to see a cloaked mountain of skulls and bones drag itself from the flames, finally standing upright as the Painted World crumbled to cinders around it. “We weren’t the only ones who managed to reach the exit in time, after all.” The Chosen Undead replied as Gravelord Nito raised his greatsword for battle.