//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: Beast's Blood 
// Story: Only Embers Remain 
// by Gapeagle 
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The warrior sat down and looked around. At the edges of the torch's light were walls of rock that had no ceiling. She had been walking so long and in her mind it was impossible to retrace her steps. The feeling of the small flames were gone and forgotten. It was a bitter loneliness that she now fought. The darkness was a foreboding obstacle she now faced. Being so deep in the cave, she predicted that if she did not have the torch, she would not even be able to see her own muzzle.

The cave increased in noises as she went on. Outside of the torch's light, water dripping from the ceiling and the flow of a small cave creek could be heard. It was an almost peaceful sound to break the eerie silence. The warrior could only catch glimpses of the dripping waters as they reflected the light from the torch.

The cave continued on in a rather boring straightness. It seemed like an endless hallway. Was she going in circles? Was the cavern just this long? The thoughts and lonely thinking were just as taxing on your strength as the endless walking she did. 

With her head hanging low, she walked right into a stalagmite. Her ears rung with the collision and she was wide awake as ever. Without her helmet, the solid pile of minerals gave her a mighty headache.

"Must've dozed off," she uttered. Can't do that again. I'll fall off a cliff or be eaten by something.

She looked at the stalagmite. It wasn't pointed or sharp, but on top of it was a corpse of a unicorn pony. It had no flesh on it and was a pure skeleton. It wore armor, but the armor was much cleaner and decorated than anything she had seen. This pony was of a high rank and of a prestigious military group. Its armor was bright gold with blue trimmings along the sides. The helmet had no visor, but instead a large guard for the muzzle and cheeks. A tall blue crest rose from the crown of the helmet. 

The chest piece was centered with a faded blue star. Something was familiar about the star. The warrior peered closer at it. Shockingly enough, it retained enough shine for her to see her own reflection in it. A memory was close to her, agonizingly close. She knew full well what this soldier was for the land of Equestria. She just simply had to remember it.

"You're a Royal Guard," she said. "I remember this much. The Royal Guards...who were they? Someone I knew dearly was a Royal Guard. I know this to be true." She continued to stare at it. "I know this to be true," she repeated. "Love, I think of love when I see this. Why? It makes no sense."

She sat down and rubbed her chin. "Can't even remember my own name, how can I remember what a Royal Guard did? It's preposterous."

The warrior cocked her head. "However, I do need a helmet. This one looks my size, thank the Sun for that."

She stood back up and put her hoofs on the helmet. It was so smooth and well-made. She could almost taste the flawless Equestrian steel with her rotten hooves alone. She knew she feeling well. It was dear to her. The familiar sensation almost brought her to tears. Her breathing became quick and uneven. 

"You're back from your watch early, my love. I was going to surprise you with supper. Just the two of us tonight..."

"Who said that?" the warrior gasped. 

She looked around to see nothing. The voice was masculine and full of charm. Her heart raced as her eyes dashed about. There was no sound, no utterance of noise to compete with her loud breathing. She then looked at the skull of the deceased unicorn.

"Did you say that?" she asked it.

The skull made no reply.

"I'm going mad," she gulped. "Is this how it feels to go hollow? I must get on my way."

She plucked the helmet off the skull and put it on her head. It did not exactly match the rest of her armor, but she did not care. She felt the need to salute the dead Royal Guard before going on past it.

The skeleton was the first of many to appear. Piles of armor and bone were shoved to the sides of the cavern. The armors of Royal Guards and other pony factions were stuffed together in mass graves. The warrior also spotted the remains of large creatures among the ponies. Rib cages large enough to fit six or seven ponies were acting as archways for the warrior to traverse under. 

Then the bodies ceased to be. It was as sudden as a cliff's edge. The bones and corpses were stopped by an invisible line in the ground. The warrior took note of this with suspicion. After this line was clean dirt and rock where the walls of the cave went away from each other to greatly widen the cavern's passage. And for the first time in seemingly ages, the warrior saw natural light.

The cavern had turned into a circular room with a gaping hole in the ceiling. The moonlight streamed in with heavenly grace. It was still dark, greatly so, as one could not see the other side of the circular room. The moonlight gazed upon a large beast that presently stared it back. It was a lion with wings and a massive tail. A manticore. The large beast simply looked up through the ceiling's hole. 

"Octavia was right about beasts," the warrior whispered to herself.

The manticore instantly turned its head to look at her. Fierce eyes glowed in the small amount of light, making the monster appear even more demonic than its concoction of body parts. It snarled, showing massive fangs. 

The warrior placed her teeth on the handle of her sword and drew it. The beast held souls that called out to her. It was a vile presence that lacked sympathy or mercy. Feeling the souls of the beast was much like smelling a repulsive smell. It made the warrior grimace.

The manticore roared loudly and charged at the warrior. With swiftness, the warrior evaded the wild charge and jumped to safety. She readied herself, but before she even turned around to face the beast, the manticore was almost above her and a massive paw smacked her squarely on the side, sending her flying across the cavern floor.

Her torch flew out and fell harmlessly between the beast and her. She tried to stand up, but her legs wobbled. She planted her sword in the ground for support and lifted herself up as quick as she could. The manticore was running for her.

With little time to spare, dove towards the beast. The manticore leaped as well. The beast flew over the warrior and crashed into the cavern wall, making rock fall from the ceiling. The warrior stood up and pointed her sword at the creature. The beast wildly slammed the wall again in clear anger. 

It turned around to have its long scorpion tail swing for the warrior. The warrior jumped out of its destructive path. The manticore roared again, sending vile spit over the warrior. She shook it off and stayed determined against the monster.

The warrior took several steps back. The manticore lowered its body into an almost pouncing position. Its rows of sharp teeth gleamed in the moonlight. The bat wings on its back flapped up and down but were unable to give the beast flight. The scorpion tail waved back on forth in anticipation of killing another pony. 

"What a hideous piece of creation," the warrior spat.

The beast, three times her size, leaped at her once more. The warrior expected this and rolled forward. Her sword went up and stabbed the beast severely in the side. Blood poured out and over the warrior's face. 

The beast growled in pain and grabbed her with its paw. It proceeded to chuck her across the room and into the cavern's wall. The collision was powerful enough to separate the sword from her mouth. She bounced off the stone and fell to the floor with her head ringing and her jaw shaking.

She looked up to see the beast still fighting. She had only angered it with the wound. Unlike Tirek, it appeared unaffected by the gushing blood that now covered the floor under it. With passion only an animal can generate, the beast went after her again.

She reached for her sword, but the beast reached her first. It slammed her into the wall and then followed up with a swipe of the tail. She skidded across the ground and ended up in the rays of the moonlight.

"Must keep fighting..."

She turned to see her torch was almost in reach. With desperation, she crawled towards it. The monster charged at her. She picked the torch up in her mouth and bit on it tightly. The beast scooped her up in its jaws and lifted her up to rip her apart.

The monster began to shake its head back and forth. Its teeth started to bite through her armor, but she did not dare scream and lose the torch in her mouth. With her strength, she dug the torch into the monster's eyes. It instantly let go of her and ran off in fright. As she tried to recover from her new wounds, the monster cried in a corner of the room opposite her.

The warrior took this opportunity to retrieve her blade. Instead of putting the torch down, she picked up the sword with her hooves, even though it was not designed her this. She had to use both of her tools against the manticore. So she clumsily tried to stand up on her back legs. If she was at full strength, she perhaps could have achieved this, but the aches and pains prevented her from standing up in such a manner.

"Damn unicorns! Designing everything for themselves," she yelled with the torch still in her mouth.

The beast finally turned around to face the warrior. The wounded eye was black and shut; clearly blinded by the fire. The warrior knew her time was short and dropped her sword. She was going to fight with fire alone. So she readied herself and even stamped her hoof into the ground. 

The manticore, in a fit of rage, came after her, swiping its paws and its tail about madly. The warrior dodged these endless attacks and with every opportunity, singed the monster's fur and igniting its proud lion's mane. The fight continued in this manner for some time. The beast could not hit the warrior properly and the warrior fought back with her torch.

The beast rolled over to snuff the flames on its back and belly. The rancid smell of burning fur and skin filled the cavern's air. One ear on the monster was completely burned up. One leg was bare of fur and swollen. However, the warrior was tiring and the beast showed no signs of stopping.

With a late reaction, the warrior was knocked over by a tail swipe. She held onto the torch, but the pain in her ribs made her pause before getting up. The beast was fighting through all its pain, why couldn't she? This thought made her curse. She dug her hooves into the ground and tried to stand up. 

It was a futile attempt as the beast only knocked her farther away. She forced herself up. The voices in her head told her repeatedly to not go hollow. She couldn't give up here. She can't give up. 

Standing up once again, she backed away from the manticore. She then fell over as she tripped on her own sword that had been laying there for most of the battle. The fight could not go one like this. She had to stop it. Her mind started to race with ideas about killing the monster that still approached her.

"You are not going to have me, beast. Not like those piles of bones. Your reign here ends!"

She valiantly threw the torch at the beast, striking it on the nose. It jumped back in fright from the flames. She then swung her sword at one of its legs, creating an awful gash that allowed more beast blood to come out. It reacted by smacking her into the wall. She clutched her chest as there was not one spot on her body that did not feel immense pain. The monster then pinned her up against the wall with its only good paw and brought its roaring head towards her.

When its mouth was almost on her, she gave a mighty jab that made the sword's tip rip through the ceiling of the beast's wide open mouth. It gave a high-pitched squeal that echoed off the cavern walls. Blood rushed all over the warrior as she dug it deeper and deeper into the beast's head. It still tried to snap its jaws on her, but by doing so it only damaged itself the more.  

With little strength left, the monster let her go and took some uneven steps away. It was still alive, but the blood in its mouth made it cough and gag terribly. The warrior did not pity the dying creature. It was a monster that she had to slay. Only using three legs to walk as she still held her chest with the fourth hoof, she walked over to the manticore. It made no sounds other than its gagging and spitting up of crimson blood that shined so beautifully in the moonlight. She lifted her sword and stabbed it into the side of the manticore's head. It twitched crazily and almost took another swipe at her, but it could not live long and perished with the sword's blade halfway through its brain.

"You shall not pray upon anypony else, beast," the warrior said in its ear.

Her teeth took hold of the sword's handle and she forcefully pulled the sword back out. As she did so, the souls consumed by the beast traveled into her own body. As each one entered her, the body of the beast began to disappear much like Tirek's corpse. It was a satisfying sensation that brought back life and energy to the warrior. Her wounds no longer ached as much and she felt like she could fight the monster again, but only psychically.

With the beast gone, she put the torch back in its holder and sheathed her still bloody sword. With a long sigh, she went over to one side of the room, opposite where she had entered. With the torchlight and the moonlight, she saw that there was a shut door before her. She placed her hooves on each side and opened it. Loud creaking noises echoed through the air as the iron doors were opened. 

On the other side was grass, trees, and life. This was the end of the passage. This relieved her greatly. She had missed the green world. To her, it was a just reward for what she had just accomplished. She stepped out and admired the scenery. 

With a look back at the iron door from her new perspective, she saw that there was a wooden sign posted on it. It was rotten and had signs of once being painted with bright white. However, there were words written on it painted in startling red. She took a step closer to read it in the moonlight. Its words were simple, but intriguing.


"Beware the Manticore, the Bearer's Pet."



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