4: Clarity
Twilight panted as the soul of the third pony left its body. The soul coalesced and wrapped around her, then sank in. She shuddered pleasantly, and sighed as the ache of wielding the sword wore off.
"That's better. Still, though... this seems wrong." She sat down, looking around at the three bodies as she hooked the sword onto one of her belt loops.
These used to be ponies. Living, breathing beings with lives and desires and hopes and dreams. And now, nothing. Nothing but mindless hunger. Is that all that's left? Death and madness? That's just... She sighed, depressed by the idea, and got up.
"No point staying here and thinking about it. I have to keep moving, otherwise I might end up like them." She went back outside, and resumed her journey to the lake.
When she got there, it was drastically different from before. What had once been a large body of crystal-clear water was now reduced to a big crater, with numerous puddles and dead sea life at the bottom. She could see what had caused it, though; a massive hole, almost dead center in the bottom of the lake. She carefully made her way down the side of the crater, and moved towards the hole. In the pools of water that remained, she could see things moving around beneath the surface. She decided it would be prudent to give them a wide berth.
When she finally neared the hole, a slight sense of dread, and a large sense of fear, crept through Twilight's body as her hooves rang out deafeningly in the eerie silence of the area. She lifted a hoof, but it refused to move forward. She put it back down, and suddenly noticed that her breathing had quickened. She stared at the hole, and froze as a loud splashing sound echoed from the cavern beneath. It was short, and Twilight's ears flattened instinctively just before the hole exploded outward in a shower of rocks and water.
"RRRRRRAAAAAAAARRRRRRRUUUUGGGHH!!!"
A huge crocodilian head burst forth from under the rocks, violently whipping back and forth and snapping at the empty air. Twilight screamed as the creature scrabbled for purchase against the side of the now much larger hole, backing away desperately as the massive alligator slipped from the rocks, and plunged back to the depths below. A huge splash sounded from below, and a small plume of mist escaped the mouth of the cavern. Twilight stared at the hole for a moment, fearing that the creature within would attempt another escape. After several agonizing seconds, nothing happened, and Twilight stood back up on shaking legs.
"W-W-W-Was that... Gummy?! That... thing is what Pinkie's pet turned into? Oh, Celestia. I'm going to need a lot of preparation before I can even attempt this." She swallowed the lump of fear that had formed in her throat, and turned around to head back home.
----------
When Twilight finally arrived back at her library, she noticed that the lights were on upstairs.
I guess that means Pinkie is here.
She went inside, and found the Cakes tumbling on the ground together in a tangle of limbs and laughter. She smiled, though somewhat sadly.
Well, at least they're having fun. That's something, anyway.
She sighed, and went to lay next to the bonfire. Immediately, she felt much better. It was as if her trip to the lake hadn't even happened, although her memories confirmed otherwise. She stared at the bonfire for a moment, then sat up suddenly.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" She pulled out the flask that Rarity had given her, and undid the cap. She looked between the fire and the flask for a few seconds, then tentatively held the flask out, into the fire. The fire was warm, but it didn't burn. Instead, the flames licked at the flask for a moment, before wrapping around it and slithering up the sides. The fire reached the top, and started pouring into the flask, giving it an internal glow. When it was full, Twilight put the cap back on, and returned the flask to her bag. She stood back up, and went upstairs to look for Pinkie, the twins still laughing as they wrestled. Upstairs, she found Pinkie going down the rows of books.
"What are you looking for?"
The pink mare glanced back at her before answering.
"Cookbooks."
"Cookbooks?"
"Uh-huh. I found a whole bunch of food in the kitchen and pantry, so I want to try making something a bit nicer than usual. I was surprised that there was so much. I figured a library wouldn't be so well-stocked."
Twilight nodded as she went over to the cooking section and got a couple books down. She decided to use her hooves, after what happened with the sword.
"Here you go. And yeah, this used to be my home, so I kept the pantry full."
Pinkie cocked her head curiously as she set the books on her back.
"It was? I don't remember anyone living here."
"No," Twilight sighed as they made their way back downstairs, "I didn't think you would. Rarity didn't remember me, either, so it's not surprising."
"Ooh! You met Rarity?"
"Yeah. She cleared up a lot after I woke up. That reminds me, though; I have a couple more questions for her."
"Okie-dokie-lokie! I'll be here if you need me."
"Thanks, Pinkie." And with that, Twilight left the library and headed towards the boutique.
When she got there, she could hear the sound of a hammer striking an anvil from outside. She went in, and followed the sounds down into the basement. She let out a small breath of awe at the sight. The whole area had been turned into a forge and storehouse, with the furnace and workspace dominating the left corner, while completed weapons and armor were stacked or bundled neatly throughtout the rest of the basement. Rarity, herself, was currently hard at work, manually swinging a hammer to shape what appeared to be a sword, while Sweetie Belle held the glowing-hot metal with a pair of tongs. Another pony was there, as well, though. One that Twilight recognized. Even with the plate armor covering her body and a large claymore sitting on her back, no other pony had a hat like that.
"Applejack!"
The orange mare turned at hearing her name, and Twilight trotted forward, smiling widely.
"Well, ya seem tah have me a disadvantage, stranger. Ah'm fairly certain Ah've never met you, but yah already know mah name. Can Ah guess mah reputation precedes me?"
Twilight's smile faltered, but didn't fall entirely.
"Not exactly. You know about the curse, right?"
Applejack scowled.
"Yeah, though Ah wish Ah could say otherwise. Darn thing has me forgettin' all kinds a stuff. Most of it is aggravatin' enough, but last time, Ah nearly forgot where Ah lived! Sooner someone finds a way to get rid of it, the better, Ah say." She sat back and crossing her forelegs, fuming at the prolems the Darksign had caused for her.
"Well," Twilight said, "I don't have a cure, but I've been trying to find all of our friends, so we can work together to find one."
"Whaddya mean, 'our' friends? You tellin' me you're one of the ponies Ah forgot?"
Twilight nodded, prompting Applejack to growl in frustration and shake her hoof at the roof, as if blaming the wood itself.
"Ah am so sick of that! Ah know Ah had friends in this town, and Ah know that there's at least a couple left, but Ah can't for the life a me remember their names! Ah just... Nngggrrr!" She ground her hooves on the floor.
"Relax, Applejack, it's alright. I still remember everything, and I wrote it all down. You still know Apple Bloom and Big Mac, though, right?"
Appllejack nodded.
"Yeah, barely. They're mah...uh...siblings, that's right. Ah can barely even remember that, though. Apple Bloom's managed to keep her memories, thankfully, so she reminds us when we need it. Ah suppose ya'll have some kind a plan, once ya find everyone else?"
"Sort of. We need to find as many ponies as possible first, though. If anyone else is still thinking straight, then they could be able to help. I'll be gathering everyone at the library, so we're all together. You know where it is, right?"
"Yeah, just down the road, ain't it?"
"Yep. Go ahead and bring Apple Bloom and Big Mac, too. There's a bonfire on the first floor, so it should be safe. I'll keep looking for the others, once I'm done here."
"Alright. Ah just need tah wait fer Rarity, here, tah finish mah other sword. Special order, so it took a while fer her tah finish it."
They both turned back to watch, and a minute later, Rarity dunked the still-hot blade into a bucket of water. She then went over to a chest, and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out the pieces for the hilt. She fished the blade back out of the water, and placed it back on the anvil. Using a smaller hammer, she flattened some of the larger bumps, then used a whetstone to sharpen the edges and remove the rest of the blemishes on the blade's surface. Finally, she grabbed a rag and dried off the blade fully, before assembling the hilt. She grabbed an empty scabbard that was leaning against the wall, sheathed the newly-made sword, and brought it over.
"Here you are, Applejack. One bastard sword for use in tight areas."
"Thanks, Rarity. Ah'll see ya around!" And with that, Applejack trotted up the stairs and left.
"So, darling," Rarity turned to Twilight, "what can I do for you?"
"Actually, I was hoping you could tell me a couple more things. First, I tried to use my magic earlier, but it didn't work properly. Do you know what's going on?"
Rarity nodded.
"I wondered what you meant. You tried to use old magic, didn't you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Normal magic doesn't work anymore. At least, not at the same level. Something about the way it works is being interfered with by our Undead traits. The only way to use magic now is with scrolls and souls. The stronger you become through consuming souls, the stronger your magic. That's about all I know, though."
"Okay. Do you have any scrolls?"
Rarity shook her head.
"No, dear, I'm afraid not. I don't know how to make any, either, unfortunately. I'm just an armourer, now."
"Oh, well. Also, what can you tell me about this?" Twilight searched through her bag for the strange fire she had found, and pulled it out. "Do you have any idea what this is? I've never even heard of something like this."
Rarity stared at the flame for several seconds, before slowly shaking her head.
"I'm afraid not, darling." She blinked and shook her head to dispel the trance the swirling fire started to cause. "I do know, however, that as Undead, we can see things we couldn't before, like souls. This might be something similar. Try using it on yourself, see what it does."
Twilight looked at her like she had grown a second head.
"That's a horrible idea! What if it's some kind of... Soul of Hatred, or something?"
Rarity waved her idea off dismissively.
"Oh, don't be silly, darling. You'd be able to feel it if that was true."
"Are you sure? Because this really seems like a bad idea."
"Oh, go on. I promise, if it was a bad idea, you would know. See what it does!"
Twilight looked at the flame skeptically, still unsure. Rarity's expectant face was too much to bear, though, coupled with her own curiosity. She held the flame with both hooves, and squeezed. The flame burst into a black-and-white mist, and she felt it permeate her body. A sudden bout of vertigo came over her, and she closed her eyes as her mind played through all of her memories.
My memories.... I can remember almost everything now! Is that what that flame was? Some kind of memory-enhancer?
When she opened them, again, she barely restrained a gasp. Rarity was still standing there, watching her, but now she seemed.... worn down. There were bags under her eyes, and her face seemed older. Throughout what was visible of her coat, there were small patches of missing fur, covered slightly by Rarity's self-grooming. Her mane and tail, though, were in obvious disrepair. They were both incredibly frayed, and there were gaps in various places.
How did I miss all of this? Twilight wondered as she stared at her friend.
"Oh, my." Twilight was brought out of her musings by Rarity's voice. "You look much better, now. Healthier, stronger.... Whatever that was, it seems to have given you a full makeover!"
"Um, yeah," Twilight said, still shaken by her friend's current appearance, "I feel better, too. Anyway, I should get going. I need to find some scrolls if I want to make any progress."
"Of course, darling. Just remember, if you need anything, let me know."
"I will Rarity." Twilight then left her friend to continue working, and headed back outside. She stood outside the door for a moment, wondering about what the flame did.
What was that? It's like it made everything obvious to me, even my memories. How is that possible? And how could something like that even come into being? I need to find out more about what's going on around here.
As she thought about her next move, something happened to the ground in front of her. The stones making up the road began glowing in random places for a moment, before fading into recognizable letters.
Try forest, house
She stared at the message for a few seconds, confused.
Forest, house.... Wait, there's only one house next to the forest! Fluttershy's!
She immediately took off, galloping down the road toward Fluttershy's cottage.
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I have been waiting for you to update...
No really. I've been waiting for this. Whether I've played the game or not, this is interesting! Can't wait for more updates!
I assume that was a humanity? Equinity? Whatever you wanna call it
How long will it be before Twilight stumbles onto a sign saying 'jumping required' or the like?
Just want to say that I really like your and this fics version of hollowing.
Just the right mix of utter horror and with just enough hope of it being if not cured, than at least reversed and held at bay.
We going to finally get to Celestia and Luna's throne room only for there to be hundreds of messages saying "Be wary of amazing flank"?
Yay I'm getting the game soon so I will understand all of this soon enough
Man I missed your update on these three chapters. Let's see how Fluttershy reacts to Twilight. Three of her friends forgot about her, let's see if a fourth one won't!
Good chapter, really enjoying your story so far feels like a perfect mix of the Souls games and ponies.
4193298
I accidentally published three while I was editing, and it messed up the notifications.
Also, I'll be getting to the item she used soon enough, don't worry.
4193432
It's a possibility.
4193571
No you won't!
4193419
4193986
Thank you.
Well this was a good chapter, i wonder what was hiding under the pools of water... well i guess we will get to see that latter when Twilight goes after Gummy, the only other thing i wonder now is how long until Twilight gets invaded...
by the way would you be interested in some links to some youtube channels with Dark Souls lore?
4194573
I already know a couple. VaatiVidya is my personal favorite, but I've seen ones from a couple other people, too.
I might as well be the one to say this, as I haven't seen anyone else say it to Twily here, but...
WELCOME TO DARK SOULS
PREPARE TO DIE
4194731 Well VaatiVidya was one of the ones i was going to name the others are Silver Mont and EpicNameBro.
4195369 I thought we were waiting for her to get killed by her first invader before we did that.
4194319
Any Dark Souls fan will know that she used a "ponity" or a "pony effigy", I mean that's obvious!
4195579
equinity.
4196723
4195579
4193348
You all got the name wrong.
4193348 More like when is she going to be seeing glowing yellow letters that summon yellow glowy ghost people that are always:
i62.tinypic.com/25r1i13.png
4196914
I don't know why, but I see Lyra as Solaire.
4196975 Obsession. Solaire is obsessed with finding and having the Sun. Lyra is obsessed with finding and having Hands.
Unless you believe Solaire is the first born, then Twilight is much more likely to be Solaire, running around and trying to find Celestia, her 'Sun' 
4197012
Unfortunately, I do believe in the Firstborn theory.
4196912
let me guess... harmony?
4197423
Nope. It'll be explained soon, anyway. Don't worry about it too much.
4195531 Well yeah, but getting almost eaten by a giant mutated Gummy seemed appropriate to me.
4195531 4198785 Just found this, for both of you. Ahem.
lh3.ggpht.com/-x9uX7xve9tg/TVm_IQjiT1I/AAAAAAAAAIg/GrgxtdARomE/s1600/ds-comic01.jpg
4198785 True, but i still think that her fist invasion would be a more appropriate time to say welcome.
4199086 It is about a minute in, i couldn't find a shorter version.
I wonder how long it'll be before we come to a bottomless pit with a message saying "Jumping required ahead"?
Excellent as always, I love how you brought in the orange soapstone writing, it's just a nice little touch