> Flame of Disparity
>  by Cinders of War
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Nightmare Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rusty chimes of the old city rang loudly across the deserted streets, tossing around in the wind, clinking against each other, blowing along in the stale wind that passed through the lifeless city.

Sunset Shimmer awoke to the sound of these chimes, sitting up from the dusty old table she rested upon. The girl groaned once before placing a hand to her head to stave off her dizziness. Slowly, she shifted her legs off the table, dangling them over the wooden floor, unable to reach it from her seated position.

Where am I…? she rubbed at her head.

All around her, crumpled bookshelves and other tables lined the dark room she was in. By the looks of it, no one had been here in a long time. Spider webs spanned from shelf to shelf; there seemed to be papers and books strewn all across the floor in a mess.

The girl finally pushed herself off the table, both feet landing on the wooden floor with a thud and a cloud of dust. Sunset held her breath for a moment, swatting the dust particles away from her face as she moved away from the table.

Now she was certain no one had been here for a long time, but that raised another question in her mind.

How did I get here?

The last thing Sunset remembered was that she was hanging out with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, helping the rainbow haired athlete with her English assignment. Sunset still wasn’t sure how she couldn’t understand simple poetry. After that, she had headed home and then… it was all blank. She had completely no idea how she’d gotten transported to this dark world.

Sunset Shimmer careful treaded across the floor, leaving imprints of her boots in the thin layer of dust. She still had her black jacket, blue dress and jeans, strangely uncovered in dust. There didn’t seem to be any other explanation of how she got here besides being placed here. She just didn’t fit in with the rest of the empty world.

The girl found a door, hidden in a dark corner behind a huge spider web. She pushed her way through it, keeping her head low to avoid getting it in her mouth and eyes. Now she looked like she fit in; her outfit was covered in the web.

The door itself was another challenge. The iron-banded wood was very heavy, forcing Sunset to use every muscle in her body to push the doors out, even if it was only enough room for her to squeeze through.

What is this place?

The hallway she entered was darker than the room she had awoken in, spanning all the way around a curve. Sunset couldn’t see the end, but carried on anyway, looking for something, anything, to make sense of why she was here.

Only about halfway down did she hear it. The soft grunts and squeaks of something ahead. The girl froze on the spot, sweeping her eyes around the hallway, looking for the source. Her eyes couldn’t make out anything in the shadows, but it definitely sounded close.

Sunset took a deep breath to still herself before forcing one foot ahead of the other.

It’s just the floorboards, Sunset. Just keep going. You’re fine.

Without warning, a rat almost as large as her leg rushed out of the darkness, scuttling straight for her. Sunset screamed and jumped away, shooting her arms out in front of her in hopes of keeping it away.

It didn’t work the way she wanted it to. Instead, the rat lunged at her, latching on to the side of her hand with its teeth. Sunset yelled and screamed, running forward, trying to shake the rat off.

The pain was almost unimaginable. She’d been bitten by rats before, but none of them were the size of the one attacking her right now. The girl eventually resorted to smashing the overgrown rodent against the walls, trying to free herself. After the sixth attempt, the rat squealed, open its mouth to do so, letting go of Sunset.

Her hand was running red with blood from two puncture holes in her soft flesh.

The rat fled in one direction, while Sunset Shimmer ran down the other. Tears were already running down her face as she found another heavy door at the end of the hallway.

She didn’t want to be here anymore. She wanted to be back home with her friends, not this dark nightmare. She leaned against the door and cried, confusion and fear taking over her senses.

“This… This must be a dream. But why…? Why?” she muttered into her arm.

There wasn’t an answer, but then again, she didn’t expect to hear one. It would’ve creeped her out a lot more if someone started speaking to her from the sky.

Wiping her tears away with her sleeve, Sunset got to pushing the next door open, using both hands, but keeping the bite wound well away from the wooden door.

The next room was a long spiral staircase down, the bottom unseen in the darkness that swarmed below. Sunset took a long slow gulp and slowly descended, keeping her good hand on the dusty old railing. The rest of her journey down was deathly quiet, but Sunset preferred that over giant rats any day.

“This must be a dream, this must be a dream,” the girl kept telling herself. There was no way she would’ve gone to a place like this willingly. She already missed her friends. She internally cried out, wishing she was with them instead of being in this dark and terrible place.

Sunset Shimmer coughed as she reached the bottom of the stairs. The air down here was stale and musty, and it smelt a little like smelly socks. She looked around, holding a hand to her mouth and nose, but the passage down here led to a single hallway straight ahead; it was so dark that Sunset could see mist, congealing around the walls.

She threatened to panic, but closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “I can do this… I can do this. I just need to find a way out. That’s it. Then I’ll wake up. Yes.”

The fiery haired girl scraped her hands along the floor, looking for something she could use, just in case she met another giant rat. Eventually, her fingers closed around a broken plank, thin enough for her fingers to wrap around fully, but also sturdy enough to swing.

She hoped there was nothing down the hallway. She really couldn’t see anything but herself and the lower wooden frame of the walls on her left and right. Her bright red and yellow hair stood out in the dark, like a flame in the night. If there were things down here, they’d be able to see her, while she had no chance of seeing any of them. Then again, maybe if was for the better that she couldn’t see more rats, as long as they left her alone.

Sunset proceeded carefully, trying to see through the shadowy veil; she needed to at least find the door to get out of this place. Not even ten minutes into her walk, the sounds of something squeaking near her left stopped her dead in her tracks.

Not again… she held her breath, anticipating something to leap out of the dark towards her. The girl raised her weapon, placing both hands around it, cautious to avoid her injury. You can do this, Sunset. Whatever’s out there, rats or not… You’ve got your weapon this time…

The girl shuffled herself forward, every step stopping her heartbeat for a second. The hallway seemed to go on forever, but Sunset held on, trying to remain optimistic. She was going to get out of here and she was going to see her friends again.

Just then, two shapes appeared out of the darkness, both as equally disgusting as the first one she saw, the first one that attacked her. Both rats looked like they had just survived a gruesome attack, sporting missing skin and cuts all their bodies.

Sunset felt bad doing this, but she knew she had to if she wanted to get out. The first rat lunged for her, but she swiped out with her plank, catching it in the side of the head, knocking it down to the side with a shrill squeak.

“Sorry…” Sunset grimaced. She didn’t like it anymore than the rats. If only they would leave her alone.

The first one got up and scurried away into the darkness she had come from, but the second one stood its ground, assessing Sunset. The fiery haired girl took her wooden weapon in both hands and swung forward rapidly, trying to chase the rat away, hoping to avoid a fight. Instead of running, it jumped for her arm, latching on with both front paws as it bit into her forearm, drawing blood.

“Ah!” Sunset screamed and almost dropped her plank. She controlled herself to her best ability and swapped the plank to her other hand.

She beat at the rat’s grey head, trying to dislodge it, only successful after the sixth hit. The rat let go of her flesh and slumped to the ground, unmoving.

Sunset Shimmer let out a sigh of relief and staggered forward, clutching at her new injury. The rat’s giant teeth had torn right through her jacket sleeve, digging down into her skin, cutting her arm. Tears from fear and pain began to leave the girl’s eyes again as she raced ahead. She didn’t care about what lurked in the dark anymore. She just wanted to escape, any means necessary.

Luckily enough, nothing else stood in her way to the next door, which the girl slumped against as she slowed to a stop. Sunset breathed heavily, fighting her shock and fatigue, trying to focus. Her wounds needed attention; who knows what kind of diseases those giant rats might be carrying, but first…

Sunset pushed at one side of the door with her shoulder, forcing it open inch by inch. As soon as the entryway was big enough, she squeezed herself out, glad to finally be out in the open. Sunset wiped at her damp forehead and looked up to the sky. It was of a dark orange colour, and the buildings around her looked ancient and deserted.

“Where am I…?” she breathed, dropping the plank. She brought her hand up to her wounded arm and held it there, trying to take her mind off the pain.

There were streets and carts and even benches, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else in the city but her. Sunset recognized none of the structures. This definitely wasn’t Canterlot or any city she’d been to before. Seeing no other choice, Sunset did the only thing that she could. She advanced forward.

Sunset proceeded up up sloped street, searching around for signs of life, though she didn’t want to see another rat for as long as she lived. She had the injuries to prove it.

After another turn up a small staircase, Sunset found a row of weapons, lined up against a wooden backing, just sitting by the side of the road, untouched. The girl raised an eyebrow.

Why are there weapons here, and why aren’t they being used?

There was a short sword, a regular sword, and even a spear with a blue wrapping around the shaft.

Sunset looked around. Surely the people who placed these weapons here were still around. Right? Then another thought invaded her mind. What were these weapons used against? She didn’t want to stay around to find out, but just in case, Sunset reached down and picked up the normal length sword. At least she had some practice with this thing.

Sunset clasped the handle in her right hand, but both her arms had injuries, making it harder to wield the steel weapon. Just as she brought the sword down to her side, a guttural cry arose from beyond the spiked roofs of the buildings in front of her. It made every hair on Sunset’s body stand besides startling her into stumbling back, almost falling to the gravel below.

Sunset could feel her heartbeat in her head, slowly increasing in speed. By the sound of it, there was something much bigger than rats out in the city, and she had no intention of finding out what it was.

Turning around, the girl walked back the way she came, heading back down the steps. There were a few different roads she had passed earlier; maybe one of them would lead her to a safer place.

“And where are you going, little lass?” a voice suddenly echoed behind her, raising the hair on Sunset’s neck.

The girl turned around and jumped back, coming face to face with a strange man, wielding a wooden shield in one hand, a torch in the other.

“Who are you?” she asked warily, careful not to lower her guard too much. This was the first living person she’s seen, but something about him felt off.

“No one important,” he replied. Only now did Sunset notice that the man had a low, scrappy voice, with a hint of a Trottingham accent. “You on the other hand. I could see your flame from all the way over there.” He pointed a finger up the road.

Sunset took a single step back. “My… Flame?”

“You have a flame within you, dear lass. People will kill for it. So will the beasts.”

“What so significant about this flame?” Sunset decided to ask.

“Fire isn’t just destruction. It’s life. Warmth. Most of us here…” the man pointed to his gnarly face, which was missing patches of skin. “We’re no longer living. Your flame is a prize. One we’re willing to have, no matter the cost.”

Sunset raised her blade in front of herself. “A-Are you going to try to take it from me?”

The man bent back with a small chuckle. “Oh, believe me, I would love to, but I still retain most of my senses. I can resist its call. For now, you are safe from me.”

Sunset dropped her sword a few inches, but held it strong. She had no idea what could happen at any moment.

Another cry sounded over the cityline, one more beastial than the previous one.

The man looked up and sighed. “You must go, lass. Get away from the city. Use the Thieves’ Passage. You need to head to the city outskirts and head down to the sewers. Get out of here while you can.”

“What?” Sunset stayed where she was. “But where do I go after that?”

The man shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is you leave Theiros while you can. While you’re still living.”

“Theiros?” Sunset asked before understanding. This must’ve been the name of the city. But the man wanted her to get out? Then go where? Sunset had so many questions in her mind.

“You must go,” the man shoved her, almost gently. “By now one of the others must’ve seen your flame. Keep the sword. This world is more dangerous than you know.”

Sunset was about to do as the man said, but she still had one more question. “Wait! How did I get here? Why am I here?”

The grizzled man just stared at her with widened eyes. “What are you talking about, lass? I do not know why you are here. I’m afraid you’ll have to figure that out on your own.”

With a saddened nod, Sunset turned and retreated down the stairs, away from the man, but also towards the city. To escape, she first had to enter the horrible place. Even if it was only going to be brief, a cloud of fear balled up in Sunset’s chest. This was going to be the most difficult task she would ever do.
> Chapter 2: Theiros, City of the Lost
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset cut off the transparent cloth of her dress, seeing as there wasn't any point to it for the time being. She carefully tied it around her hand and arm, bandaging up her wounds and securing them tightly. Parts of her jacket and jeans had torn a little from her adventure today, but at least she herself was still mostly intact. All set, the fiery haired girl left the little alcove under a bridge, heading along another street, looking for a way into the sewers that the strange man had told her about.

Every single step, Sunset Shimmer expected something to jump out from a corner, trying to tear her face off, but so far, she was still alone. The occasional roars and screams could still be heard somewhere in the city, but she couldn't pinpoint their exact location, though a few sounded too close for comfort.

“I just want to go home…” Sunset muttered under her breath, wishing her words could take effect and send her home. Whatever this dream was, it seemed to go on forever. She just wanted to wake up now and forget it all. “Just get up, Sunset. It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream…”

The next corner was filled with crates and empty cages, stacked past Sunset’s head all along the pavement. A group of people stood all the way on the other side of the street next to a fire, watching the embers dissipate out into the sky.

The girl quickly ducked back behind some crates, observing the men ahead. They looked like the strange man that told her where to go, but he did tell her that most of the people here would kill for her ‘flame’, or whatever he meant. Sunset didn't want to take her chances, so she edged around the crates, squeezing herself through to a small alleyway, filled with fog and murky puddles. The path led straight ahead, but when she was almost halfway through, something walked out from the fog just in front of her. It looked like a crow, but it was fat and slimy, dragging its bloated self along the ground towards her.

“Stay back!” Sunset yelled at it, pointing her sword tip towards the crow creature.

It didn’t show any signs of understanding her, continuing to edge its way forward very slowly. Sunset really didn’t want to do it, but she swung her sword, trying to perhaps chase it away with her sharp weapon instead. It halted for a second, allowing Sunset a single moment to breath, just before it launched its body toward the surprised girl, its beak aiming straight for her heart.

“Ah!” Sunset screamed and swung the sword instinctively.

There was a sickening sloshing sound, followed shortly by a thud on the cobbled ground. Sunset inched an eye open, noticing the crow’s lifeless body by her feet, its head over to the side, still staring straight at her.

“No no no no…” Sunset placed a hand on her head. A wave of dizziness hit her, forcing her down on one knee. All her life, she had never killed something like that. It felt wrong, but Sunset just kept telling herself it was all a dream. None of this was real.

Dusting her jeans, the fiery haired girl stood back up and wiped her forehead, flicking the droplets of sweat onto the already wet ground. She pressed on, keeping her eyes open for any kind of sewer entrance. If this city was like any other city, there would’ve been nanholes on the streets to allow her to get down into the Thieves’ Passage the man had told her about, but until now, Sunset had yet to find one.

“Over here!” a voice sounded from a foggy street to her left. “I saw something. A flame!”

Oh no. Sunset Shimmer began breathing anxiously. Someone had definitely seen her. She had to find the sewers fast, or at least someplace to hide.

Forgetting any sense of staying out of sight, Sunset took off, her black boots clacking against the stone ground as she raced out to the main street. More footsteps echoed between the buildings behind her, along with the gruff voice of a man.

The girl turned right first, then left, then left again. She passed through street after street, looking for anything she could use to take shelter in.

She couldn’t find any.

Three men showed up behind her, not too far from her position. One had a shaggy mane around his head, covering almost all his facial features. The second one had a top hat over a shaven face, and the third man had a moustache over a mouth with missing teeth. Each man looked like they’d died and come back to life.

The three of them slowly advanced, each one carrying a weapon of sorts. One had a club, while the other two had shovels. Each man also carried a wooden shield, like the strange man Sunset had met earlier.

Sunset Shimmer turned her front to them and flashed her sword ahead, hoping to scare them off. The first two men stopped, wary of her blade, but the third one wasn’t convinced she could use it. He pushed past his comrades and walked towards the girl, shield raised, just in case.

Sunset took a few steps back, looking once behind her shoulder. She could always keep running. Surely she could outrun them. She didn’t have anymore time to ask questions as the three men broke into runs, dashing straight for her, their weapons raised to attack. Sunset immediately turned on her heel and ran, not looking back. Three against one was out of the question, and she didn’t know if she was good enough to face even one of them. It’s been a long time since she had her hands on a sword.

The fiery haired girl kept running, turning corners to try and lose the attackers. Somehow, those three shambling men kept up with her, never straying too far out of sight. Whether it was good luck or bad, Sunset found the main street, along with a river flowing under a bridge, its water dark and murky with trash and destroyed objects.

She turned her head back over her shoulder once; the men were gaining on her, still on her trail. Not thinking anymore, Sunset ran straight for the water edge, climbing over the stone railing. She grabbed ahold of a lower piece of stone, dropping down a few feet, slowly making her way down to a platform below.

The schoolgirl only let herself breathe when her boots touched the slippery floor below. She pressed her back against the wall and crouched down, holding her breath to the best of her ability. She could hear the men above, slowing to a stop on the bridge just over her. Sunset Shimmer shimmied herself into the shadows, out of sight from the edge of the bridge.

“She got away…” one of them wheezed, gagging and coughing.

“Look around! We mustn't lose the flame!”

“But the beasts-”

“Then hurry up! Either we find the flame now, or…”

“Or what?” Sunset heard another voice. “Oh no…”

Then a scream pierced the air around her, echoing across the space under the bridge, forcing Sunset’s hands to her ears. It sounded very beast-like, but more disturbing than any animal the girl knew.

“Get back! Run!” one of the men above called out.

There was the sound of boots on the pavement again, but not even three seconds in, there was a new sound of something slicing its way along the ground and then a scream from one of the men.

Sunset’s heart was in her throat as she listened to the voices of the men, disappearing one by one, along with the bestial scream from before.

Then it was silent.

Sunset almost forgot to start breathing, but remembered to do so when her face began to change colour. The streets above were quiet. Much too quiet. The girl was sure she didn’t hear the creature leave the area after it finished off the men chasing her, but she didn’t want to go back up there to find out.

Inching along the path below the bridge, Sunset Shimmer almost failed to notice the large shape, hanging just directly above her, waiting. It’s gleaming eyes gave it away, allowing Sunset one extra second to dodge to the right, narrowly missing a set of razor sharp claws.

“What…?” Sunset gasped as she rolled to a stand. Before her stood a creature more gruesome and disfigured than she had even seen before.

It had a panther like head with teeth that stuck out from its lower jaw, though it looked like some sort of demonic figure straight from the depths of Tartarus; its black fur was matted in several spots, along with cuts and scrapes along its entire form. What scared Sunset the most were its golden cat eyes, staring right back at her as if it could sense her fear. It stood on all fours, pawing at the ground with its claws, watching the schoolgirl.

Raising her sword, Sunset swiped to the left as she ran past the creature, parrying aside one of its claws. The panther demon dashed for her, clawing straight down for Sunset’s head. The fiery haired girl fell to her bottom and blocked up, knocking its brown claws away before rolling away from another slash.

She cut out with her sword, watching it swish through the air and a few of the demon’s whiskers. It roared at her and bounded after her, taking a bite out of the air where Sunset’s head had just been a few seconds before. The girl rolled from under the demon after cutting it with her sword, standing up next to it, hacking at its side. The panther demon suddenly circled around, avoiding her attacks.

It was much faster than she was, but somehow, Sunset found herself able to block its strikes, moving along the path as she did so. The panther demon roared at her, releasing the high pitched guttural scream that Sunset had heard earlier. It bounced a step and then leapt to the ceiling, latching itself on the concrete above her. Sunset turned and ran, heading away from under the bridge, back out into the open. 

You need to get out, Sunset. You have to run!

The panther leapt down from its perch and swiped out at Sunset’s legs, knocking her against the wall on her left, winding her.

“Oooh…” Sunset groaned, clutching at her right leg. Blood was trailing down from a cut across her thigh and it hurt a lot. There was no way she could beat this beast here.

She traded blows with the beast, all the while defending herself from its deadly claws. Sunset couldn’t remember how many times her blade sparked off against the panther demon’s claws, but she was glad and a little surprised that she was still alive. It jabbed a claw toward her again, but this time, Sunset stepped to the right and cut down with all her might, cutting a huge gash into the demon’s left paw. It howled with pain and rage, but continued to attack Sunset. The girl attacked and blocked when necessary, trying to keep herself on her feet. The cut on her thigh stung, but one wrong move was all she needed for it to be over.

Sunset bent down as another claw cracked into the concrete just where her head was, lodging into the wall as she stared into the eyes of the demon. Screaming, Sunset thrust her blade straight into its mouth as it took the chance to try and bite her, feeling the tip of the blade sink into something soft. The panther demon snarled and choked, pushing towards Sunset, pushing the blade deeper into its mouth. One arm raised to strike the girl down, but it dropped lifelessly to its side as it slumped down, dead at Sunset’s feet.

The fiery haired girl shook with shock and fear, her sword still in the demon’s mouth. This was all too much for her to take in in just a single day. She curled her knees up to her chest and wept again, releasing all her built up stress and emotions.

What is this dream? Why? Is it even a dream? I want to go home… Girls, help me…




> Chapter 3: Thieves' Passage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer had given herself ten minutes to cool down and rest up, cutting off another piece of her dress to bandage her leg up. This time, she had no choice but to shear off a portion of the blue fabric, exposing a little of her abdomen in the process, but it didn’t matter her. For all she cared, she could run around naked. She just wanted to get away from this dreadful place. Sunset had found a little tunnel at the end of the waterway path, leading under the city. Remembering what the man had told her, Sunset made her way in, going back into the darkness.

It was only now did she realize what the people of this world saw in her; it was the reason why she could see the through the darkness right in front of her feet. Sunset had a small yellowish glow emanating from her, allowing her to at least see where she was going. That was how she could see a little down the dark hallway from before. It seems there was more to this flame than she had first thought.

The tunnel was a simple earthen structure, unevenly made, but seeing as it had survived with a city over it, it must be well supported. The tunnel soon led out into a huge open space, taken up with two platforms on the left and right, along with the rush of water directly under her. The walls past the tunnel dripped with slime and water, while stringy plants hung down from the ceiling, looking like they were ready to choke the life out of someone.

“How am I supposed to get there?” Sunset asked out loud as she pondered. There was no way she was going to be able to jump to either platform and there was no chance she would be swimming either, even if her leg wasn’t injured. “Great…”

Looking for anything she could use, Sunset found a few broken planks on the floor, just to the left of her position. Seeing no other alternative, she picked one up to see if she could use it to cross to the other side.

Unexpectedly, the plank was attached to the ground by a thin rope, only moving slightly. Then there was a loud click that echoed through the cavern as a metallic board began extending from the floor under her. The sound of metal scraping against metal was hair raising, but Sunset Shimmer continued to endure it, glad when it finally stopped, allowing her to walk out above the water.

She had remembered the name was of this dank place was Thieves’ Passage, but she’d never expected the entrance to be something like that. Unfortunately, there was still no direct path to either platforms. Sunset would have to jump to either side if she wanted to continue.

“Really?” she groaned. Seeing as one leg was injured, it wasn’t going to be an easy jump.

With no other alternative, Sunset took a deep breath and steadied herself. Throwing her sword to the left platform, the fiery haired girl took one step back before leaping across, landing on her right shoulder as she fell on the wooden platform.

“Agh!” Sunset yelled as she rubbed at her shoulder. Luckily, it didn’t feel broken, only bruised. It just hurt to land on it. “Who would build an entrance like that, seriously?”

Picking up her sword, Sunset Shimmer made her way across the platform, following it around the curve against the wall, leading down the sewers. The smell of the water was getting to her nose, and it wasn’t a pleasant one. The water seemed to reek of rats and pollution.

Oh, why did it have to be sewers?

Around the next corner, Sunset came face to face with another giant rat, feasting on a pile of bones. The girl shuddered at the sight of it, but did what she had to do when the rat turned to her, squeaking hungrily as its eyes met hers.

Sunset slashed out at it as the rodent crawled to her, cutting it across the left eye. The rat squirmed and squeaked as it clawed at its face, unable to stop itself from falling off the platform and into the raging waters below. Soon, it was out of sight, disappearing down a pit, following the current.

“No wonder it smells of rats…” Sunset grabbed at her wounded arm.

The next passage led into a rocky cavern, filled with wooden crates and empty bottles, along with a man, watching her from atop one of the crates.

“Aye… A flame. It’s been a while.” He picked up a rapier and pushed himself up, slowly shambling towards Sunset. “Give it to me…”

Sunset stepped back and held her sword in both hands. “No, please. I don’t want a fight.”

The man bent back in laughter. He had a shaggy beard, along with long disheveled grey hair; he had on some kind of coat with stripes on the front. “Then you’re easy pickings, lass.”

He stabbed forward with his rapier, barely missing Sunset, who hopped out of the way, landing on her weakened leg. She crumpled to the ground, allowing the man to advance on her. The fiery haired girl pushed up, but slashed with her blade to parry the man’s next strike.

Sunset swiped low, catching the man in the left foot. With a sickening crunch, he fell over his leg and smashed his face on the ground.

The girl almost threw up when she saw his stump spewing blood across the rocks.

“You little wretch…” the man grunted as he crawled towards her, sword still in hand. “Your flame will be mine!”

Sunset deflected his stab and jumped up and away a few steps. “Why? What so important about my flame?”

The man feinted his blade to the right and thrust his blade forward. “You foolish girl! A flame is everything here!”

Sunset raised her arm and tilted her body; the blade missed her chest and lodged into the rock wall behind her. Closing her eyes, Sunset cut out, slashing the man across the chest, spraying blood across her body and face.

The man flailed his arms and fell back, shuddering once more before going still. Sunset Shimmer breathed in and out lifted herself up using the wall and crates. She stepped around the now dead man and limped away to the doorway on the other side where an open wooden door stood.

Through the door, Sunset found another rocky cavern, filled with stalagmites and stalactites, along with a small circle of rocks and a sword in the middle.

What’s this now?

Sunset Shimmer shuffled forward to examine the object. On closer inspection, it looked kind of like a campfire. Figuring she should take the sword, Sunset reached a hand forward, but as soon as she held her palm out, the sword ignited and engulfed the entire set-up in flames, the sparks instantly forming into a steady fire.

“Wah!” Sunset cried out involuntarily, but soon stepped closer. The fire before her gave her a strange sense of safety and calmness.

Unable to resist its call, Sunset placed her sword beside her and sat herself down, feeling all her pain and worry fade away. In fact, Sunset decided to check on her wounds, noticing they were gone. She bent forward and peeled the blue cloth tied around her leg. The cloth was stained with blood, but underneath, there was no wound to be found, nor could she feel it anymore.

“Whoa…” she gasped and touched at the skin where the cut had been. Clean, as though she had never been injured at all. “What is this fire…?”

Sunset continued to inspect it, but after another twenty minutes of enjoying the warmth of the bonfire, she moved on, pressing ahead with renewed strength.

The rocky cavern she was in led out into a vast cave network, filled with wooden houses, walkways, and the rushing sewer water underneath her. It was like a whole new world down here. The girl would never have thought such an extensive underground passage had been built just under the city. It was truly fascinating.

Sunset sighed and breathed through her mouth, not glad that the smelly water had returned. Without further delay, the girl went on, keeping her eyes out for anything that could be trouble. This was a thieves’ passage after all. Judging from the name, she wouldn’t find anyone friendly down here.

“Arrr…” a voice sounded from behind a boulder. “A flame…”

Three men in coats walked out from a row of rocks and advanced on Sunset, swords drawn. The fiery haired girl readied her sword for the coming fight. She stood her ground as the three men scraped towards her. The one on the left swung his blade at her head, but Sunset dodged under the sharpened steel and cut out with her own. The second man ran in and blocked her blade, pushing Sunset back towards the cave entrance. 

The girl spun around and came in fast, catching the second man by surprise. Soon, his sword was on the floor by his feet, and so was his arm. Sunset took the opportunity to step to the side, getting away from the tight space, but also around the thieves. She butted the third man in the head with her sword hilt, making him lose his balance and falling into the dark waters below.

The first one zeroed in on her, swinging from side to side, forcing her to the edge. Sweat dripped from Sunset’s head as she struggled to keep herself from falling. Soon, the second thief joined in, using his feet to try and kick the schoolgirl off.

Gritting her teeth, Sunset stepped away at the last second and pushed the second man forward, sending him down into the current, while stabbing forward with her sword, impaling the first thief in the chest. The man cried out in pain, but soon went limp, dropping to the ground in front of Sunset.

The girl caught her breath and carried on, looking for the way out. She had to follow natural rock paths, along with wooden rope bridges that were almost deviously shaky. Another group of thieves ambushed her up ahead on the next level, but Sunset kept up her swordsmanship, taking them down like the first few thieves she had fought.

She was getting used to the swordfighting, but scarily, she was also getting used to the killing. Sunset Shimmer hoped it wasn’t going to be permanent, but it had to be done if she wanted to escape with her life. She’d already lost track of how much time she’d spent in this strange new world, but it couldn’t have been more than a few hours.

Right? Only a few hours… Right?

The path ahead grew darker, with the occasional sconce lighting small portions of the place, but Sunset managed to find a rocky staircase, carved into the side of the rocky cavern walls, leading up to a higher floor. Just as she reached the top of the staircase, a large dark shape barreled into her, sending her tumbling back down to the planks below.

“Oomph!” Sunset gasped as he back hit the boards straight on, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She pushed up on her palms, groggily trying to get her eyes to look straight. Up at the top of the steps and on its way down, was another odd creature, one with long lanky arms and a strangely oversized head with many eyes. It hissed at Sunset once before stalking down the steps at a faster pace, hoping to get her while she had yet to recover.

Sunset still couldn’t quite focus her vision on the creature, but she managed to get up on wobbly feet. She held her trusty sword in one hand, keeping the tip pointed in front of her, while her other hand was held to her side, helping her keep her balance.

Why is this world so deadly? What’s up with that?

Sunset skipped to the left as the creature thrust an arm forward, reaching from the center of the staircase all the way to where the girl was standing just a second ago. It’s fingers were almost as long as Sunset’s entire arm, which was frightening enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.

The girl danced away from another thrust, falling back down on her bottom as she scrambled away from a pounce. One of her hands found a piece of wood on the ground, which kind of resembled a torch. She stood up and swung the wood at the creature as it hopped to her, crashing it into its arm, bouncing it away.

The creature rubbed at its arm, but showed no signs that it was in pain. Sunset took her chance and dashed past it, cutting it along the side with her sword as she passed. Black blood splatted out on her coat, but now wasn’t the time to worry about getting dirty. She found one torch sconce and placed her piece of wood in it. The clothed tip immediately caught fire, sending flames snaking up to the air.

Sunset turned back to face the strange monkey-like creature, which had gained the attention of two more thieves, who walked out from a nearby wooden shack; each man held two daggers, swinging them from side to side to intimidate the schoolgirl. The creature, on the other hand, seemed to shrink back from the fire, covering its face with its huge hands. 

Understanding, Sunset kept herself close to the sconce; the more light the better. The two men approached her quickly, almost running towards her, their daggers glinting menacingly in the light. Sunset thrust her torch into the first man’s chest, setting his clothes on fire, while she slashed at the second, who blocked with both short blades.

The first one pushed past her arm and threw himself over her, the flames searing Sunset’s own clothes and skin.

“Ah!” she yelled in pain, but managed to knock the man off, lifting herself up with a quick slash, cutting a long line across the man’s face. He fell to his knees as half his head slid off, his body following shortly after.

Sunset scrambled back and patted at herself while the second man advanced. Her jacket and dress had been slightly charred, but so was her face and right arm. It stung when the damp air clung to her skin, but she had more important things to worry about. The other man stabbed both daggers forward, trying to catch Sunset in the chest.

The fiery haired girl rolled under his attack, barreling into his legs, sending the thief rolling into the sconce. It fell over and dropped coals on the man’s back.

He screamed with rage and pain and turned to Sunset. “Flame… Mine… Give it…”

Sunset walked back, knowing there was no way he was going to survive. She quickly made her way back up the rocky staircase, keeping her torch ahead of herself, scaring the monkey demon away. The next area was a cliff at the top of the passage, containing several more monkey creatures. Sunset shuddered again. One had already given her so much trouble; she didn’t want to find out what a group of them could do.

The girl quickly sped past them, not wanting to be even five feet within one. One, more inquisitive than the others, approached her with a hand raised to cover its eyes. Sunset swung her torch at it, chasing it away with a whack to the hand. It ignited a small patch of fire on it, sending it scurrying away into the darkness, which soon illuminated in a fiery glow.

Sunset looked ahead, noticing the cliffside spanned almost halfway across the cavern.

How much further must I go?

Her question was answered after another seven minutes. Down the side of the cliff, there was a stone staircase, leading to a wooden building with a steel gate guarding the entry way.

Sunset went down and grabbed at the gate, giving it a small tug.

Oh, good. Unlocked…

Using most of her strength, Sunset hauled the gate open, pulling it out as far as it would go, up against a small grey boulder.

“Who’s there?” a voice came from the side, startling her.

Sunset turned and raised her sword when a familiar figure walked out into her torchlight.

“Rainbow Dash?”

“How’d you know my name?” she narrowed her eyes. Her long rainbow hair had been cut to shoulder length, and she wore a set of brown leather armor. A pair of short swords hung by her sides. “You don’t like any of the others I’ve seen.”

“Rainbow it’s me, Sunset,” the fiery haired girl pointed to herself. “You… You don’t recognize me?”

“Not in the slightest,” she shook her head. “Look, I’m just here looking for something, so don’t mind me. I’ll be on my way.”

“Then why’d you stop me?” Sunset asked. Rainbow was, in every way, Rainbow Dash. Yet, there wasn’t the sense of calmness or friendship that Sunset would feel when she was around her or the others.

“Just checking if you were alive or not,” the rainbow haired girl shrugged.

“Are… Are you like me too?” Sunset decided to ask. It didn’t feel like her friend was like the people she had encountered so far. “Do you have a flame too?”

“Flame? Not a chance,” she shook her head. One hand went down to a sword hilt and toyed with it. “Flames are rare. Like yours. You’re special, uh… what’s your name again?”

“Sunset. Sunset Shimmer.”

The fiery haired girl figured that this world was like Equestria and the one she called home. It was a mirror of sorts with this dark world. If Rainbow Dash was here, not knowing who Sunset was, she could guess that here other friends must be around as well. Princess Twilight was likely in this world as well.

Sunset didn’t know for sure, but what she did know, was that she needed a way out. “Look, Rainbow. I’m looking for safety. I heard from a man that I can find it through this passage?”

“You bet,” she laughed. “Just through this door. Follow the path, and you’re home free.”

Sunset sighed with relief. “Finally… Are you from that place out there?”

“Not originally,” Rainbow shook her head. “That’s where all of us go. All that are still living, to be exact. You know, you’re a nice enough girl. Perhaps you’d like an escort?”

“Oh, really?” Sunset beamed. “You would help me?”

“Why not?” Rainbow picked up a rock and examined it. “It’s not everyday I find a living person out here, looking for a safe haven. Even more rare to find someone with a flame.”

“Thank you, Rainbow,” Sunset raised a hand for the rainbow haired girl to shake. Rainbow smiled and tossed the rock away, reaching forward to shake her hand.

Rainbow ushered Sunset forward towards the opened gate. She had just enough room to walk through sideways. Sunset quickly followed behind, not wanted to be left alone again.

Why do none of these doors open all the way…? she complained in her head. This was just silly. I shouldn’t trouble her with such petty questions. Not yet anyway...

The next area was a simple one. It consisted of a rocky squarish tunnel, leading straight ahead; torches in small alcoves lit the path forward. At the end stood a wall of fog, so dense, that Sunset couldn’t see what was on the other side.

The two girls edged along, Sunset keeping her torch raised, checking all the dark corners for monsters or greedy thieves. In two minutes, the girls were standing before the fog wall, trying to peer through it. Sunset could vaguely make out a squarish room, most likely man made, along with what looked like treasure chests surrounding the room. She examined the white wall, unsure of why there was something like that here. It made no sense that the fog was only contained to this entryway.

Even Rainbow Dash seemed perturbed by this strange fog.

“Now what’s this…?” she asked. Reaching a hand through the fog, they noticed it didn’t block them or anything. It was really just a layer of fog. “Well, here goes nothing…”

Rainbow pushed past with both hands before stepping through with Sunset immediately doing the same, looking up when she entered the other side. It really was just an empty room, with another fog wall on the opposite side where an exit lay.

Perfect. I just walk to it, and I’m out of here!

She waved a hand forward. “Come on, Rainbow. We’re almost there, right?”

As Sunset walked to the center of the room, she felt something odd. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing, almost as though someone was watching her.

“Wait,” was all the blue-skinned girl said, drawing both her short swords.

She turned around just in time as a man, hidden in the rafters above, flung himself down, two short blades held in front of him like a bee stinger. Rainbow Dash rolled backwards and hopped back a step, just dodging the attack by a few inches.

He spun in a circle and stopped, holding one blade above his head and the other below his waist. Now that he had stopped moving, Sunset could catch a glimpse of him in the dim light. He wore a brown dusty coat with a black cape over a darker outfit and black leather boots. His head was masked by a bandana, which covered his scalp, and a scarf, which covered everything under his eyes, which shone with ferocity; even in the dark, Sunset could see them almost clearly. Another thing that surprised her was his height. The man stood at least a head taller than Rainbow Dash and herself.

“It’s the King of Thieves,” her companion warned, slowly walking back to Sunset’s spot. “He’s a dangerous one. I thought I’d already dealt with him, but… I guess not.”

The King of Thieves’ shoulders lifted up and down as he breathed in and out; it looked like he was doing so very heavily. He clashed his blades together, shooting sparks across the floor before lowering his stance, ready for a fight.

“I’ll go around,” Rainbow was quick on her feet, dashing straight for the corner of the room where a few crates were stacked. “Distract him for me.”

“What?” Sunset bent back in shock, then looked to the King of Thieves, who was steadily approaching her, one slow step at a time.

The fiery haired girl gulped and readied her sword and torch in front of her, waiting for the man to get closer.

Sunset Shimmer was the first to strike, stabbing forward as fast as she could, her blade tip aimed for the man’s chest. The King of Thieves simply parried her strike with both daggers, spinning Sunset to the left before he moved in, slashing first with one dagger. She parried it with her sword and swung her torch at his face. The King lifted an arm and knocked the torch away from himself; a little spark of flame had appeared on his sleeve, but he simply patted it out with a finger.

He took two steps forward and slashed again, forcing Sunset on the defensive. She blocked strike after strike, trying to get him to stop, even if it was for a second, so that she could get a clear strike at his chest.

Her chance never came.

C’mon, Dash… Where are you? Sunset didn’t have time to look around for her.

The King pressed on, spinning in circles like a dancer, slashing away with his daggers, nicking Sunset in the upper right arm. The girl dodged right and cut at him with her sword, finally getting a hit in on his arm. The King didn’t seem to notice it. Instead, he turned to her and dashed forward so fast, that Sunset had almost no time to react.

The girl gasped as she kicked back, flinging herself to the ground. The dagger missed her chest, but cut into her leg, in the middle of her shin.

“Ah!” she gasped, looking behind the man for her new friend. Blood began to drip from her wound. It wasn’t too deep, but it still hurt to put strength on her leg.

Thankfully, Rainbow Dash was already moving. She shook off the shadows around her and took a running jump, landing on the King’s back, lodging both her silver blades into it.

The King of Thieves let out a low growl as he swung his daggers behind himself, trying to remove the blue-skinned girl from his back.

“Get him, Sunset!” Rainbow yelled as she fought to stay on, ducking left and right to avoid the man’s attacks. “Quickly!”

The King focused his attention on Sunset as she ran for him. He swung a dagger her way, but Rainbow pulled back on one of hers, twisting the man’s aim astray as Sunset thrust her sword to his center.

The fiery haired girl closed her eyes as the cold steel in her hand slid through the man’s garb, stopping somewhere inside him. He roared at her, but dropped both weapons and sank to his knees. The King of Thieves reached one hand towards Sunset’s face like he was trying to hold it, when he began fading; it was as if the man was turning to ash. His coat and cape began flaking off and soon, the whole man was gone, nothing more than a waft of smoke and billowing ash.

“That was fantastic!” Rainbow clapped Sunset on the back. “Could’ve done it better myself, but I was holding him for ya.”

Yup. Same old Rainbow Dash…

Sunset smiled and grabbed for her wounded leg. “Thanks for the help, Rainbow. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Well, I am pretty awesome,” she looked at her fingers and blew on the nails.

Rainbow Dash walked over and nudged Sunset toward the exit; the fog that had covered both doorways had lifted. Sunset hadn’t realized when, but they weren't there anymore.

“I wonder what that fog was about…” she mumbled.

Rainbow spun a short sword in a hand as they headed to the exit. “Meh, who knows? At least you’re home free.”

I wish I was…

Sunset followed the Rainbow haired girl through the tunnel, hoping it would all end soon.

> Chapter 4: Fyrlon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer shielded her eyes from the orange rays of the warm sun as she emerged from the rocky cave behind Rainbow Dash. After going so long through the night and darkness, the sunlight stung her eyes as she fought to keep up with her blue-skinned friend who had skipped along much too quickly for Sunset’s liking.

Rainbow Dash had helped patch up her leg with some bandages, along with some kind of drink she made Sunset down. It almost tasted like orange, but it had more of a sharper tinge to it. Sunset had asked what it was, but all Rainbow said was, “Estus,” which didn’t tell Sunset anything.

Surprisingly, her leg felt completely fine after she finished the bottle’s contents; it was as though she had never been cut to begin with.

“Come on, Sunset!” she turned around and called. “We’re almost to Fyrlon! You'll love it! There won't be any monsters chasing after you there.”

“Fyrlon?” Sunset repeated. Was that the name of the next place she was headed to? The one that was supposedly safe from the many dangers of this world. Sunset could only shrug and follow on. She hoped that whatever she was going to find in the next area was as the others had said. She really wanted a break; time to just lie back and have a good rest.

For once, just let it be a place I can relax and catch my breath… Sunset repeated in her head. It was indeed a dream, perhaps she could wish for it if she concentrated hard enough.

“Wait up!” the fiery haired girl called after her faster friend.

Rainbow turned around and slowed down enough for Sunset to keep up, picking up speed again when she was beside her.

Sunset couldn’t help but ask again. After a whole night of running for her life, she almost couldn’t believe there was a peaceful place here. “So this place… Fyrlon. No bad guys? No monsters? No fighting?”

Rainbow guffawed and swatted a hand in the air in front of her face. “‘Course not! Fyrlon’s as safe as a bank!”

“That’s not a very good comparison…” Sunset grumbled.

Rainbow smirked and kept moving ahead. “Trust me. I’m still alive aren’t I?”

“I guess so…”

The next area was a wondrous new sight; something Sunset never expected to see in this nightmare. The grass ahead was as green as most fields back in Equestria. Jagged rocks lined the left side of the field, while the right dropped off a cliff to a sea below; Sunset could almost see the sea floor underneath the clear waters. A castle sat across the ocean in the far distance. Sunset thought it looked a little like Canterlot's castle, but it looked old and dilapidated.

“Wow…” she breathed as she took in her new environment. “This place is amazing.”

“Right?” Rainbow stopped beside her to look over to the rising sun on the other side of the sea. “You have nothing to worry about here. It’s safe.”

Sunset almost wanted to just stop here and lie back against the soft grass under her feet and listen to the waves of the water below her, crashing against the rocky cliffs, but she if the safe zone was as safe as her friend said, then perhaps it was a better idea to get there first.

“So how did you end up here, Rainbow Dash?” 

It was a question bugging Sunset since her arrival here. How did she get here? How did anyone get here?

The other girl widened her eyes and simply shrugged. “Nobody quite knows. You wake up, and here you are. For all we know, this place is a figment of our imagination.”

“But we’re all here together,” Sunset reminded.

“What, we can’t all dream the same dream together?”

Sunset decided to leave that point alone. If that was the answer she was getting, she had no choice but to leave it at that. Her final conclusion: nobody knew the real answer.

Another question stuck to Sunset, which was definitely more important. “Do you… Do you know any way out of this place?”

“Not exactly… But…” Rainbow motioned a hand forward. “I know someone who does. I think. Just... No one's dared to try it.”

Better than nothing… Sunset followed along, finally getting a good answer after all this time.

Rainbow Dash skipped a step and pointed ahead. “There. You see it? Welcome to Fyrlon.”

Sunset looked down the grassy slope, framed with a few stone steps, leading to a wooden archway serving as the entrance to the safe zone.

Fyrlon was a small town, populated by small wooden and stone buildings, along with a ring of boulders right in the middle of town. One thing that struck Sunset was that there were barely any people walking about; it was almost like a ghost town.

“So… You like it?” Rainbow asked, leaning against the archway as they entered the new place.

“Is there… No one else here?” Sunset panned her head, not noticing a single soul.

“There are a few,” Rainbow told her as they proceeded to the center where the ring of boulders stood. “Not much, but, yeah. Some like me actually wander around, looking for answers or some rare stuff.”

As soon as they crossed the first boulder, Sunset noticed someone standing against it, looking out to the ocean. Someone familiar.

“Twilight?” Sunset asked, astounded and glad to meet another friend.

The girl turned around, her face unsurprised nor excited. Her long purple hair was hidden under a blue cloak,which covered the rest of her lavender body. Black gloves and boots stuck out from underneath. “Welcome, Young Flame. I am Firekeeper Twilight Sparkle. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Twilight, it’s me. Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset had to stop herself. If Rainbow didn’t know who she was, Twilight probably wouldn’t either.

“I’m afraid I do not know of you, Sunset Shimmer,” the firekeeper confirmed Sunset’s fear. “But I do know what I see. You carry a great flame.”

“Great flame?” Sunset tilted her head and repeated.

Twilight turned and looked to the huge rocks surrounding them. “Your flame is different. Long ago, four rose from beneath, carrying with them the flame. Before fire, there was darkness. Nothing but darkness. With fire, came disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, and of course… Light and dark.”

“So… What makes mine different?” Sunset asked, unsure where this was going.

“Patience, Young Flame. The four great ones, have carried the flames of death for centuries, destroying the ancient dragons and bringing about our Age of Fire. They still continue to expand our lands, destroying anything that stands in their way. You, on the other hand. You have a flame of life. You do not wish conquest by death. You wish to prevent it. To save.”

Sunset didn’t know if she did, but if anything, she had saved the school once. Though, she had tried to take over before that too.

“Your flame brings life,” Twilight continued. “If you are ever defeated in combat, your flame will return you to the closest bonfire. A place for you to rest before journeying on.”

“Oh. I… can’t die?”

“Man! I wish I had that flame right now!” Rainbow slapped Sunset on the back. “You’re lucky, Sunset. So, Twilight. Why don’t you tell Sunset how to make it out of here?”

Sunset’s eyes widened. Finally. Instructions.

“It will be no easy task, Young Flame,” Twilight cautioned.

“It’s better than doing nothing, Twilight,” Sunset nodded her determination. There was no way she was going to stay here for all eternity. If there was a chance, she was going to take it.

The lavender-skinned firekeeper pointed to four of the large boulders positioned around them. “You must acquire the four Flames of Death and return them here.”

Sunset sighed. “Let me guess. They’re not going to give their flames up willingly.”

“You are right.” Twilight led her around the rocks, placing her hand against a small alcove within each one. “Drawgren, Spear of Fire, who resides within the Keep of Glass, Doland, Light of the Sky, who makes his home at the top of the High Cathedral, Sisha, the Immolating Force, living deep down in the Cataclysm Hollows, and Gravewing, Firedrake of the Depths, who makes his home in the Primordial Grotto. You must return their flames here. Only then, will you open the way home.

"Beware. This will be no easy task. Each of them reside far from Fyrlon. The journey is long and there will be many more dangers and creatures out there, each one far worse than the previous one. Also, each holder of the Flames of Death have been alive for nearly two millennia. They have gone mad with power and cannot be reasoned with. Your only hope is to end their suffering and bring their Flames back here."

“Sounds like you have it all cut out for you,” Rainbow placed an arm on Sunset’s shoulder. “You sure you wanna go ahead with this?”

Sunset took a deep breath. Sure, Twilight didn’t help in making it sound less scary, but if she wanted to go home, she had no choice. “I’ve got to. Besides… I can’t die, remember?”



Sunset Shimmer had finally strapped on her new iron gauntlets over her arms, letting out a sigh of relief that she didn’t take all day to figure it out. Her new armor was a lot lighter than she had first anticipated, but at least they were going to increase her chances of survivability. Even if she couldn’t die permanently, Sunset didn’t want to have to experience it. Plus, Twilight had given her some of that estus thing, so that might help prevent death. Hopefully.

Her greaves had been easy enough to get in, seeing as they were almost like the boots she wore back home. All she had to do was make sure the leather straps were tightened, so that she wouldn’t lose a boot halfway in combat. That... would be bad.

“Looks like you’re all set,” Rainbow Dash said, leaning against the door frame of the house Sunset had been allowed to use.

“I hope so...” Sunset sighed, placing a gloved hand on the back of a worn wooden chair. “This is going to be a long journey. You sure you can’t come with me?”

The blue-skinned girl shook her head. “Sorry, Sunset, but I’ve still got a quest of my own. However, if I do end up meeting you in my travels, yeah, I can help out.”

“Thanks, Dash.” Sunset didn’t know how this Rainbow Dash would say a goodbye, but she opened her arms and gave her a smile.

The rainbow haired girl chuckled and walked in to give Sunset a hug. “You take care out there. Don’t get all cocky just because you can’t die.”

“Got it,” Sunset laughed. “Don’t be Rainbow Dash.”

“Ha, yeah, I am pretty awesome, aren’t I?” Rainbow pointed a thumb to her face, wearing a smug smile.

“That you are, Dash.”

Sunset left the building and headed along the cliff’s edge, gazing down to the rocky shore below. According to Twilight, there was a slope around her somewhere that would lead her to her first objective: the first Flame of Death.

Waving goodbye to Rainbow Dash, Sunset headed to the outskirts of Fyrlon, eventually finding a set of collapsed steps leading down around the cliffside near the rear of the small town. Making sure she had firm ground beneath her feet, Sunset made her way down, heading away from the safety of Fyrlon, back out into the dangerous unknown of this strange world.

No turning back, Sunset. No turning back...

> Chapter 5: Underscale Ruins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer ventured down further into the darkness of the cave, seeing as this was the only way forward from the staircase. A small plate partially dangling from a single rusty nail read, ‘Underscale Ruins’. All it did was give her vibes that it hadn't been used in years, if it was even used at all.

Sunset sighed and shook her head. Everything here seemed to be falling apart. “Just what kind of world am I in?!”

Lighting her torch, she held it straight out in front of herself as she descended the steps in the dark. The path continued to lead down, but the sunlight had already disappeared behind her. From here on, she would have to be cautious once again. There was no telling what horrors might be hiding in the dark ahead.

The fiery haired girl placed one foot slowly after the other, carefully watching the floor. She didn’t trust this place to be able to support her and her suspicions proved true when the next step she placed her foot on unlodged itself, falling down into the black depths below.

Sunset struggled to right herself, but she wasn’t quick enough. Tumbling down the rocky staircase, the girl braced herself as she met the ground at the bottom, scraping a cheek against the jagged floor.

“Aagh!” Sunset Shimmer lay still for a couple of seconds, breathing heavily. It felt as though she had just ran into a wall, but at least she didn’t find herself down in the depths where the loose step had gone.

Rubbing at her bleeding cheek with a gloved arm, Sunset sloppily pushed herself up, stopping herself in a seated position. If it weren’t for her torch, she wouldn’t be able to see much around her.

This new cavern had two separate levels apart from the one she was on. Stalagmites and stalactites decorated the space before her, along with the glistening of a pool of water one level below.

Sunset only stood up after she heard some kind of growl, close to her position. She picked up her blade and held it up in front of herself, casting her wary eyes across the cave.

Keep an eye out, Sunset. Don’t get caught off guard… Where is it?

A few more screeches echoed out in the air around her; they were short lasting sounds, but definitely weren’t human.

She had no idea what kind of creatures made those sounds, but then she heard something she knew relatively well: the sound of something slimy dragging across the floor.

Soon, her eyes caught on to something slithering out of the darkness towards her. It was a strange slug-like creature with slimy white skin, glistening in the torchlight. It’s lower body was a slug, while it’s upper body was humanoid.

Sunset’s skin shivered as she took in the ghastly sight. It’s mouth was a gaping hole in the shape of an ‘O’, just wide open as though it was going to swallow something whole. It was one of the most disturbing creatures she'd ever seen, even in Equestria.

“Back!” the girl yelled, thrusting the torch forward, hoping to scare the slug creature off.

As she stepped back towards the staircase, Sunset noticed two more slugs crawling out from the shadows, dragging their way towards her with their hands; one of them was even holding some kind of butcher knife. Sunset could only wonder where it might have gotten ahold of something like that, but they were still approaching her while she stood there, unsure of her next course of action. Unless she wanted to head back up the crumbling staircase, the only way through was forward.

Taking a single deep breath, Sunset ran forward, swinging her sword and torch in arcs in front of her, trying to either scare the creatures away, or wound them. 

The one with the knife drew back, while the other two advanced, reaching their grotesque human-like hands towards Sunset. Still swinging her blade, the fiery haired girl heard a sickening squelch and felt her blade pass through something, followed by the guttural screech.

One of the slug creature’s hands lay close to her feet, still shuddering while the creature that lost it grasped at its stump. The second one didn’t seem to get the hint and continued sliding forward. Sunset swung back and then forward, cutting as hard and fast as she could. Her eyes followed the blade of her sword as it passed clean through the creature’s head, clinging against the floor at the end of her swing.

The slug lifted an arm higher before its upper body fell flat down against the floor.

One down, two to go…

The creature that lost an arm attacked, this time, spraying slime at Sunset. She dodged it, but some fell on her pant leg, instantly melting a hole through it to her skin.

“Aah!” she yelled and swatted at it with a palm, only realizing it was a bad move when her hand began to sting as well

Focusing first on the danger, Sunset slashed a clean cut through the creature’s chest before making a sprint for the water below. Stowing her sword, she grabbed the ledge at the end of the floor and quickly, but carefully swung herself down, landing with a resounding thud. Going full sprint for the shining water, Sunset left the torch by the water’s edge before flinging herself in.

The water was cold, chilling Sunset to the bone, but she didn’t feel it; she was more interested in removing the burning slime from her skin. Rubbing the spots where the slime had made contact, Sunset was relieved to find that the burning sensation was fleeing.

“Oh, yeah…” she sighed, moving a hand up to push damp locks of hair out of her face.

Sunset hadn’t considered if the water was deep or not, but thankfully, both her feet were touching the ground under her. Unfortunately, both slugs had followed her, sliding down the side into the water.

“Really?” Sunset asked aloud. She removed her sword from its scabbard and scanned her surroundings. What little light she had illuminated a little before her, while the torch brightened the edge of the pool. In between, however, was almost pitch black. There was no way to see the creatures unless they were right in front of her.

Sunset Shimmer waded her way through the water, lifting her blade and arm above the surface. She wanted to be able to swing her weapon fast if the creatures met her on the way to the shore. Moving as quickly as she could, the girl pushed through the water, scrambling for safety, Sunset almost missed one of the slug creatures lunge out of the water, reaching its one good hand for her face.

“Gah!” Sunset cried out, thrusting out an arm, her fist connecting with its face. It fell back just enough for Sunset to swing her sword sideways, cutting a gash across the creature’s chest; it didn’t get up again.

Before she could even celebrate, the third one emerged from the water behind Sunset, using its weight to push her down under the water. Taken by surprise, the fiery haired girl almost didn’t have time to block the slug’s cleaver as it aimed for her neck. She held strong, but she couldn’t push her way out from under the water. Without time to hold her breath, Sunset had already run out of air. She had to do something quick.

Sliding her sword down on one side, Sunset bashed the side of her hilt into the creature’s head, knocking it off her for a second. The girl used this time to cut back up with her sword, driving it through the creature’s head, silencing it for good.

Scrambling to stand, Sunset took in a deep breath of air as soon as her head shot out of the water. “Ooooh man… That was too close…”

Wading to the shore, Sunset slowly pulled herself out, sitting at the edge to catch her breath for a few minutes. Her clothes were soaked and there was quite an amount of water in her gauntlets and greaves; Sunset could hear it sloshing around inside her armor.

Taking the time to empty her armor’s contents, Sunset collected her torch and finally continued on, moving at a faster pace, hoping to get back out to the sunlight; her torch wasn’t doing a good job at keeping her warm.

The next cavern held another two slug creatures, both of them wielding spears. Dodging to the left, Sunset slapped the first creature in the face with her torch, at the same time cutting up with her blade, breaking the first creature’s weapon. The second one stabbed forward, puncturing a hole in her already tattered coat, but otherwise, missed her body. Turning. Sunset cut out in an arc, severing both slug’s torsos with their bottom halves.

“Gross…” she muttered as she watched the second one spasm for a second. Sunset was afraid that she was getting used to killing things and people, but perhaps not all was lost just yet. 

Breaking into a jog, Sunset followed the trail, hoping to avoid more of the weird slimy creatures, heading deeper into the cavern. It was still pretty dark, but Sunset began to notice the rocky floor disappearing under her, hidden by a vast amount of what looked like roots.

“Roots?” Sunset asked out loud. If there are roots here… Then there must be trees. There must be sunlight ahead!

Sunset quickened her pace, but careful to not to go too fast. There could be anything out there in these caves. Further in, where the roots had completely swarmed over the cavern floor, Sunset noticed mushrooms growing in certain spots, sprouting purplish-blue caps. Each one was half her height, but the scary part was that they were moving up and down, like they were breathing.

“What… are these?”

Sunset stepped closer, inspecting the closest fungi. Without warning, it lurched back before springing back forward at a high speed, knocking Sunset on her forehead, sending the girl tumbling back to the ground.

“Ooh…” She grabbed for her head, closing her eyes for a few seconds to steady her vision, which began sprouting stars. Even the mushrooms in this world were dangerous.

Sunset got up and walked around it, careful to avoid more of them. She got too close to another one, which tried to hit her with its cap, but this time, Sunset placed her sword in front of herself vertically, cutting a long gash into the mushroom as it swung back to hit her. Spinning around it, Sunset cut it at its stalk, sending the dangerous fungi tumbling down, rolling once before stopping against a wall of roots.

Only noticing it now, Sunset looked up and all around her. There were roots on the walls and ceiling as well, all of them originating from something deeper in the cave. Sunset gulped as she tried to imagine what could be further in. Perhaps more killer mushrooms.

The path ahead led the girl left, following along a slope of roots heading up to a higher platform above. Sunset had noticed something sticking out of the floor under her and only when she got closer did she realize what it was.

It was one of the slug creatures, somehow trapped in the tangle of roots below her; it was as if the roots were embedded into the pale creature.

Ewww. Sunset resisted the urge to throw up. Nothing in this world was right.

As she stepped over it, the creature screeched once and reached for her leg, grabbing on to one of her greaves.

“Let go!” Sunset instantly yelled and cut its arm off, hobbling away a few steps before breaking into a short run.

All around her, she saw more of the slug creatures, trapped in the roots, waving their arms around trying to touch her.

Sunset shivered internally and grabbed for her shoulders. Whoever came up with this world is sick…

Doing what she could to avoid the slugs and more mushrooms, Sunset didn’t see the short drop as her foot left the safety of the roots under her. Widening her eyes, Sunset couldn’t catch on to anything in time, falling straight down and rolling along a small slope the plant organisms had created. She didn’t remember hitting her head against the ground below.



Hmm? What happened… Sunset pushed her upper body up, immediately feeling pain lance across her scalp, throwing stars into her vision. Ah! Ow ow ow…

She placed a hand to her head, only to feel something warm and sticky dripping down from her hairline.

Blood? Great. Then she remembered the fall. Must’ve hit my head pretty hard.

Given herself a few moments to catch her breath, Sunset realized the pain was only getting worse. There had to be something she could do. Then she remembered the flasks of estus Twilight had given her.

“No better time to use it…” Uncapping the flask, Sunset downed the contents in a single gulp, swallowing hard as it proceeded to work its magic.

Instantly, she felt the pain in her head lessening, along with the lightheadedness. The strength in her body returned, allowing Sunset to push to her feet, almost as if she had never hurt herself to begin with.

Checking her inventory, Sunset counted two more estus flasks. I’m gonna have to save these, I guess. Though, she hoped she wouldn’t have to come close to death again.

Picking up her now unlit torch, Sunset continued on in the darkness, using the dim light of her flame to light the way ahead. The roots made a left turn, then a right, leading Sunset down a flat path, almost as if it was unending. Two slug creatures, uncaught in the roots, went for her immediately, but Sunset cut the first one down quickly, using its body as a shield from the second one’s acid. Sprinting around it, the other creature didn’t have enough time to spit again before Sunset’s blade found its neck.

Without her torch lighting the way, the entire cavern seemed to be much spookier. The tunnel continued ahead, the end unseeable without the extra light. Even the shadows around her seemed to dance and move as though they were alive. Sunset tried to tell herself it was all in her imagination, but what if it wasn’t? For all she knew, the shadows could peel apart anytime and try to kill her.

Just to prove her point, another of those slug creatures jumped out, trying to tackle her. Sunset was lucky enough to be one step ahead, allowing her to dash forward and away from the slimy creature. Stopping, she kicked back and aimed her sword tip for its chest, catching it in the left shoulder. It fell, writhing on the roots, grabbing for the blade. The fiery haired girl swiftly yanked out her weapon and drove it through its head, silencing its screeches.

A little more down the cave, Sunset found something she was all too familiar with, racing towards it as fast as she could go. Reaching the bonfire, she placed her arm out towards the sword in the middle, as if reaching for it. As she thought, the weapon sparked as a fire blazed out to the ground, contained within the outcrop of rocks surrounding the blade.

Taking her time to rest, Sunset sighed and sat down by the flame, closing her eyes as the warm feeling enveloped her like a soft hand protecting her. The pain and aches in her body started to fade completely, providing her the strength to push on through the rest of these ruins. Even her clothes and hair had dried out in the fire.

Given the time to pause, Sunset began to think of the dark area she was in. There hadn’t been anything to indicate that the caves she was in was indeed the ruins of an old city.

“So why was it called the Underscale Ruins?” she wondered out loud. It was an answer she was probably going to be finding out soon, whether she wanted to or not.

Deciding that she had spent way too much time sitting before the nice flame, Sunset got up, ready to continue her journey. As she proceeded down the long tunnel, she could still hear the screeches and cries of the slug creatures around her, though she saw none. Either they were all trapped in the thick grey roots, or they didn’t know she was here. Sunset hoped it was the latter.

You can do this Sunset. Not much further. Just picture a bright light and the end of this tunnel and you’re home free. You can do it.

Sunset kept trying to tell herself that she was getting closer to the end. Walking down this dangerous tunnel had her mind on the edge and she just wanted it all to be over. In fact, hoping to see the light at the end, she had indeed begun seeing a light, just at the end of the tunnel.

“Great. Now I’m going crazy. Too much, Sunset. Too much.” The girl rubbed at her eyes, trying to chase away the hallucination. When she looked back, the light was still there. “Quit thinking so hard Sunset. Now you’re seeing things.” Then the thought crossed her mind. “Unless… You aren’t seeing things…”

Picking up her pace, Sunset almost started running, getting closer and closer to the light source. Could it be true? Was she almost out of here?

Reaching the end of the tunnel, Sunset Shimmer closed her eyes for a second, opening them slowly to get them adjusted to the bright light shining into the huge cavern before her.

The space shocked her and amazed her at the same time. Instead of a big grassy field she had imagined, Sunset looked on into a new cavern, much higher and wider than the one she had been in. Roots continued to cover most of ground, but the source of those tendrils were two gigantic trees, one on each side of the cave; they were at least twenty times larger than she was. Holes in the cave roof above allowed sunlight to shine in, the rays glistening into a small waterfall pouring in from above. More mushrooms grew around the shallow waterbody the rush of water had created, slowly moving up and down like they were breathing in.

Chunks of debris and destroyed buildings littered the area, overgrown with roots. Here were the ruins Sunset had been looking for. The architecture looked almost modern, but with a tinge of an Old Canterlot style to them.

“Wow…” Sunset would’ve stayed here to explore, but she wasn’t going to take her chances with all the strange creatures around.

Stepping forward, the fiery haired girl decided to go to the opposite end of the cavern. Perhaps there was an exit, or at least a way up from this terrible place. Approaching the water’s edge, Sunset almost didn’t feel the faint rumbling beneath her feet.

“What the…”

She looked down, thinking it was perhaps her imagination or lightheadedness playing up, but unless her eyes were faulty, pebbles on the ground were rocking up and down as well. Without warning, cracks snaked away from her position, spreading across the cavern floor under the roots.

Then she was falling. Once the ground gave way, the roots, unable to take Sunset’s weight, followed along, sending the fiery haired girl plummeting down with a scream.

Able to at least calm her mind, Sunset reacted swiftly, grabbing on to one of the long tendrils alongside her. Her weight dragged her down, burning her palm as she struggled to hold on, but it wasn’t enough. Letting go, Sunset dropped a few more feet before trying her little stunt again. All the way down, the girl switched from root to root, careful not to burn her hands too much, trying to slow her fall. Even if she couldn’t die permanently, Sunset knew she would still feel the splat if she hit the ground from this height.

Finally close enough to the bottom, the girl let go of her latest root, dropping the rest of the way. She landed with a thud before falling to the side, slightly breaking her fall.

“This better be a way out…” Sunset coughed. She’d fallen enough times for one day.

Walking ahead, the blue eyed girl noticed that this cavern was a lot smaller than the one above. This one had a simple pillar close to the center with roots spiralling along it to the ceiling, which was also covered in roots, as were the walls and ground.

Walking around, Sunset tried to slow her breathing; the air down here was really bad. She couldn’t even describe the smell. It was definitely worse than a pile of horse sh-

Then something moved in the corner of her eye.

Sunset froze and turned her head slowly. The room was empty. There weren’t any slugs or mushrooms rushing out to try to kill her.

Must be my eyes playing tricks on me again…

Then a movement again. This time, Sunset was looking directly at it. A wyvern of sorts looked out at her with one eye, the rest of the creature stuck in the wall as if the roots were absorbing it. Its only visible arm lifted from its side, claws opening as it reached for the girl.

Sunset reacted quickly, spinning away with a slash of her sword. It cut a gash across the wyvern’s palm, making it pull its arm back. It focused its single eye on her and roared, though its mouth wasn’t able to open all the way.

“This is odd…” Sunset muttered as she looked for a way out. She found it, but unfortunately for her, a thick wall of fog prevented her from walking through. “Nononono… Great.”

She remembered what the last one signified. She had to defeat this immobilized wyvern if she wanted to get out of here.

“Sorry,” she said to the creature. “I need to get out of here, so I’ll have to kill you. On the upside, you’ll be free.”

The drake didn’t stop moving as Sunset would’ve hoped. Instead, it reached for her again, though faster than the first. This time, she had to roll out of the way as its claws scraped at the floor where she was standing. Just as Sunset was getting up, the claw slid across the ground, breaking apart roots as it flew towards her.

The fiery haired girl cut out again with her sword, but couldn’t get away in time as the hand grabbed her in its talons.

“Let me go!” she yelled as she slashed away at one of the fingers.

Eventually, the wyvern tossed her to the other side of the cavern with a howl of pain. Sunset braced herself as her back smashed against the thick roots, knocking the wind out of her, along with a spat of blood.

She fell to the ground, almost unable to move.

“Hhkk…” Sunset gasped as she reached for her bag. It felt as though her spine had snapped. She had to work fast if she wanted to live.

Digging around, she grabbed ahold of a bottle of estus and pulled it close to her lips. Opening her mouth, she tilted the contents in, needily lapping up every drop, feeling the warmness spread through her body. Soon, she found herself standing, ready to challenge the immobilized wyvern once more.

Rushing at it, she ducked under its arm swing, continuing for its body this time. Sunset tried holding her sword in both hands, swinging at the creature with all her might. The wyvern roared and attempted to grab her, but its arm couldn’t bend too close to its body, allowing Sunset to wail on the portion of the creature that was sticking out of the root pillar. Its clawed away, trying to grab the girl, but to no avail as Sunset’s blade finally cut through its armor, spilling thick blood across her sleeves and the roots.

The wyvern tried to struggle, but it couldn’t really do anything but swing its left arm around.

“I’m sorry,” Sunset yelled over its roars. She didn’t want to kill a creature that couldn’t even escape, but she had no choice if she wanted to get out of here. “I need to get home.”

It continued to struggle and without warning, a portion of the root pillar broke apart, revealing a second hand as the wyvern thrust it towards Sunset, narrowly missing the girl as she got out of the way. Its claws raked across the root floor before heading back to its trapped body. This time, its right arm was able to tear at the roots holding it to the pillar, freeing a larger portion of its body.

Sunset took a big gulp as the wyvern turned back to look at her. Its upper body was almost free, but thankfully, its legs were still trapped somewhere in the tangle of roots. It swiped at Sunset with its right arm before trying to smash her with its left, forcing Sunset to dodge in and out to survive.

Seriously, like it wasn’t hard enough already???

Sunset cut at its arms whenever she could, but she could never hit it more than twice at a time, seeing as she needed to keep moving if she didn’t want to be a bloody pancake on the cavern floor.

The fiery haired girl kept up her hard work when she finally found an opening. The next time its left arm came down, Sunset ran towards it, jumping aside from its right hand and leaping onto the left. She kept running, getting up the arm and closer to its head while it lifted both arms, trying to shake the girl off.

Sunset’s determination kept her going strong as she crept along the arm, careful not to fall. She was almost close enough when its right arm swatted down towards her, trying to flatten her. Sunset took her chance and leapt clear from the hand, jumping as close as she could to the immobilized wyvern’s face.

Flipping her sword around, Sunset thrust it as hard as she could into the drake’s eye, pushing as hard as she could as it tossed its head around. Blood and other kinds of liquid began dripping out of its wound, but it couldn’t do anything to dislodge Sunset as it fell to the cavern floor, defeated.

Sunset yanked her sword out and pushed off the ground, panting from exhaustion and stress. That was no easy fight.

As it lay dying, the wyvern’s body began to glow white, before dissipating into fragments, floating away in the air, finally free from its botanical prison.

“You’re free now,” Sunset said as the last of the glowing white particles disappeared from sight. “You’ve earned your rest. I’m sorry I had to do this…”

Sunset was just about to walk off when she noticed something shiny where the wyvern once was. Walking closer, the girl noticed it was a sword, but its blade was slightly curved and what looked like scales covered it from tip to pommel.

“What’s this doing here?” she asked aloud as she picked the weapon up. It was surprisingly light in her hands as she gave it a few good swings. “Wow.”

Seeing as it was no competition, Sunset placed her old sword by the now ruined root pillar and placing her new blade in her sheath. She had no idea what else to call this weapon, but drake sword seemed like a good name.

Finally able to proceed forward, Sunset almost missed an unlit bonfire under the hole she had dropped from. Almost running to it, she lifted a palm towards it like the last one, glad to see that a fire erupted from its center, allowing the girl a time of rest. Checking her bag, she noticed all her estus flasks had replenished. She didn’t know how that was possible, but she didn’t complain. Those things were useful.

Feeling better than ever, Sunset left the bonfire and resumed her mission. The only way home was to press on and she was going to do just that.
> Chapter 6: Derelict Catacombs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After leaving the huge archway from the Underscale Ruins, Sunset Shimmer soon found herself descending yet another long flight of steps, crudely carved out from the rock surface, spiraling down into the dark unknown. She had managed to relight her torch back at the bonfire, but even its flame couldn’t penetrate the darkness below.

“Just when I thought I saw the sunlight…” she sighed. Instead, her path kept leading deeper and deeper into the earth. If she saw lava down there... 

One of her feet almost slipped, bringing her full concentration back to descending the winding staircase. It seemed to go down forever, and when Sunset was about to give up and take a break, her torch finally cast light on something down below.

Tiled flooring.

“Woah, is that for real?” Sunset leapt down two steps at a time, hopping down onto the ground below with a loud ping.

It was. The floor below her feet were tiled. Meaning she was about to enter a more civilized place, or at least she hoped it was more civilized. In this nightmare, nothing was certain.

A large archway bore into the rock wall, leading down a dark path with small sconces, slightly lighting the tiled path.

“Hey, not bad…” Fire meant that the place wasn’t quite abandoned. Then she remembered the first city, not giving her much confidence in safety. “Right… The people here could be dangerous too…”

Going down yet another long hall, Sunset had time to examine her new blade more carefully. If she didn’t know better, she’d say that the sword was actually made out of a dragon, or maybe even that wyvern she had fought back in the Underscale Ruins. The entire blade was rough, except for the edge of the blade, which seemed to be some sort of sharpened scale. For a crude blade like this, it was pretty sharp.

Sunset soon emerged into a new underground cavern, her path ending at an old wooden bridge, leading to the other side of a huge chasm. A huge stone entrance was on the other side of the bridge, like it was built for giants to walk through, though Sunset didn’t see how giants could walk across the old rickety bridge. One step would likely cause the entire bridge to fall, taking the giant along with it.

Taking her first step on the bridge, Sunset sheathed her blade to have one hand on the rope keeping the bridge up, while her other held her torch.

The planks below her feet wobbled at each step, but Sunset told herself to focus and press on. On the upside, even if she fell, she would just wake up at the previous bonfire.

Not helping, Sunset. Think positive. Just think positive... Even though she held on to the rope, her body swayed back and forth on each plank. Whoever built this bridge sure didn’t understand basic architecture…

The fiery haired girl started regretting her choice fourteen planks in, but she had no choice unless she wanted to go back and spend the rest of her days with Twilight, staring at fires.

Pressing on with nothing but her strength and determination, Sunset finally reached the other end, breathing heavily and bending over.

I did it… Ridiculous bridge…

Regaining her posture, Sunset ventured in through the archway. The first things she saw were tombstones lining the sides, along with skulls in small alcoves above each one.

Sunset realized where she was. It was no civilized town or anything. She was in a graveyard, or at least some kind of catacombs. And a graveyard only meant-

The first skeleton shambled into view, carrying a curved sword in its right hand, its bony feet clacking on the tiled floor.

“Gross!” Sunset stuck out her tongue. She didn’t particularly like skeletons.

It attacked first, slicing sideways and then spinning around for a second slash. Sunset parried the first strike and then backstepped the second before lunging forward with a powerful vertical strike. The skeleton broke to pieces across the floor, it’s head rolling off the cliffside.

“Well… That was easy,” Sunset smiled and moved on, venturing deeper into the catacombs.

Her next obstacle was a set of open coffins, with two skeletons emerging from them. One had a straight sword, while the other had a curved one. The straight sword one ran straight for her, while the curved sword one poised itself for an attack.

“Please, just leave me alone!” Sunset pleaded as she knocked the first skeleton back with a push of her weapon. “You’re already dead. Couldn’t you just stay dead?”

Without warning, the skeleton with the curved sword jumped forward, spinning itself, blade first, like a drill, aiming right for Sunset’s heart. The girl instinctively threw herself down to the ground, waiting as she felt the skeleton pass over her. Just as she was standing, the first skeleton began fixing itself up from the ground.

Sunset wasn’t going to have any of that. She cut down as hard as she could, scattering the bones all across the room before locating and crushing the skull with a greave, stomping down as hard as she could.

The schoolgirl turned and faced the last skeleton, who seemed to be getting ready to spiral at her again. She dove for its feet as it jumped, spinning up at the last moment with an upward slash, scattering the skeleton’s bones all across the hall. Sunset quickly got up and made sure to crush the skull before it could rebuild itself.

“Why’d it have to be things that can reform themselves?” Sunset asked aloud as she scratched at her hair. She was also starting to smell, seeing as she hadn’t had a shower since her first day here. She didn’t notice Rainbow or Twilight’s smell before, so maybe there was a way to get clean.

The corridor turned down to two different directions, one forward and one to the right. Sunset looked between both, but eventually decided the only way to find out was to try one. She picked the right side and walked on, following a short staircase that led up into a large two-storey room, with four pillars holding the roof up. A simple stone staircase led up to the second floor, which unfortunately, had a skeleton with a bow keeping watch on the area below.

Seriously…?

Sunset kept low, keeping her torch behind her back. Then again, how did skeletons see without eyeballs? Sunset had no idea.

She had only just crossed over to one pillar when she came face to face with a skeleton holding a huge sword.

“Ah!” she yelled instinctively before ducking under the swinging sword.

Three more skeletons ran out from around a corner while the bowman skeleton reached for an arrow behind its back.

This can’t get any worse can it?

Just then, a skeleton at least twice Sunset’s height pushed out from a sarcophagus, its huge gruesome head looking straight at her.

“Shouldn’t have asked…”

Running as quickly as she could, Sunset took to the staircase leading up to the second floor, using the pillars as cover from arrows, while at the same time, dodging all the blades from the other skeletons. She had only just got to the second floor when the giant skeleton attacked, reaching up from below and grabbing one of her feet.

“No! Let go!” Sunset squirmed in its grip, but even for a thing without muscles, the skeleton was pretty strong.

Sunset cut at its fingers with her swords, severing the fingertips and freeing her leg, just as an arrow flew right into her left shoulder.

“Ah!” she cried out and dropped her torch down to the first floor.

By now the other three skeletons had arrived on the second floor, brandishing their blades in front of them. Sunset slashed out with her sword once, knocking one of them to bits before she ran on, heading towards the archer. Another arrow flew towards her, but this time, she leapt out of the way while still racing towards the archer.

Jumping around the next arrow, Sunset barreled into the skeleton archer, knocking it to bits, at the same time, kicking its head off the second floor. Without anymore ranged resistance, Sunset carried on, the rest of the skeletons giving chase behind her.

The girl quickly turned her head around, looking for an entrance or at least something she could get on to get away from her bony pursuers. She soon found an exit, leading out at the back of the room, leading up a small stone tunnel before opening out into another huge chasm with a single wooden bridge leading to the opposite side.

Not thinking twice, Sunset rushed down the unstable bridge, not wanting to have to stop to deal with the skeletons. She could hear their bones clacking away on the planks behind her, but thankfully, they sounded extremely slow. Perhaps even the undead were still cautious.

Reaching the other side, Sunset wasted no time in hacking the ropes holding the bridge up. The skeletons didn’t seem to register her plan, even after the bridge snapped, falling down the chasm, allowing with the group of skeletons.

“Oh man…” Sunset panted, but smiled. She had to admit that that was a pretty exciting moment, watching them all go down when she cut the bridge. “See you guys around.”

The fiery haired girl proceeded on, this time without a source of light. She finally got to yanking the arrow out of her arm, yelling at the top of her voice when its tip scrapped her damaged skin again. Sunset tossed it aside and grabbed her shoulder, at the same time, downing an estus flask to remove the wound. When everything was settled, the girl carried on.

Unfortunately, the next area did not contain a bonfire. Instead, a large skeletal dragon lay slumbering at the bottom of a large flight of steps, along with a bunch of patrolling skeletons wandering about the sides of the platform below.

“What's with all this?” Sunset resisted the urge to sit down and give up. The surprises kept getting better and better.

Moving down, Sunset kept her footsteps as quiet as she could, not wanting to wake that monstrosity below. A human skeleton was good enough, but a dragon one? She really hoped it was just a pile of dead bones.

Her wish wasn’t answered.

Behind her, a ball of what looked like skulls descended upon her, rolling down the steps behind her.

“Aagh!” Sunset yelled and tossed herself to the side. It barely missed her, but there wasn’t enough space to hold on as she dodged forward. Her body weight carried her over the edge of the staircase, sending her tumbling into the darkness.

Sunset braced for a hard impact, but before she knew it, she had landed on a wooden extension sticking out of the stairs.

“Oh, man…” she breathed and pushed locks of sticky hair from her face. “Too close for comfort… Oh, wow…”

She looked at the bottom of the steps where the ball had gone. It had barreled right into the dragon, shattering on impact, but waking the skeletal drake from its sleep.

“Perfect. Things just couldn’t be easy for once.”

The dragon stood on its four legs and somehow managed to breath what looked like a cloud of poison into the air, even without internal organs. The few skeletons around it had been blown to bits when the dragon uncoiled itself, but they were already in the process of putting themselves back together.

“I’m going to regret this…”

Sunset jumped out from her hiding spot and sprinted down the steps, trying not to lose her footing. A fall from here would likely break her neck.

The skeletal dragon turned its head to her and opened its huge maw, letting out a loud roar as the rest of the skeletons stood to face the incoming girl.

Sunset took a deep breath and dodged the first skeleton’s sword, spinning against its arm before severing its skull from its spine. Using its body, she pushed forward really hard and fast, smashing it against the next skeleton, sending them tumbling down in bits.

The dragon had taken two steps forward as Sunset sliced the third skeleton in half, slowly raising a hand to swipe at her. Sunset put all her strength into her legs and ran to the dragon’s legs. She figured the safest place would be under it where its arms and legs wouldn’t be able to reach her.

The dragon’s slammed its claw back down to the paneled floor, taking a chunk of them out and shaking the entire platform. Luckily for her, Sunset had rolled forward, landing to a stop right under the dragon’s frame. Grabbing her sword in both hands, Sunset slashed up continuously, breaking apart the dragon’s ribcage, sending bone fragments falling down over her.

The dragon roared and collapsed down over Sunset, raining heavy bones on her.

“Yeowch…” Sunset groaned as she shifted a large piece off her chest. At least she got it.

The rest of the skeletons still stood beyond the dragon’s bones, wary of stepping forward. Sunset used this time to push away from the pile and sprint away to the nearby entrance. It seemed to her these catacombs led from pit to pit, each one almost the same as the previous. Maybe they were to separate the different social classes of these dead people.

The girl gulped down another estus flask to remove the aches and pains she had received from the heavy dragon bones, allowing her to move on at a good pace once again.

Without her torch, Sunset wasn’t able to see very far now, as her next room led out of the large spacious cavern into a more dark and dilapidated hallway, filled with coffins and cobwebs.

A part of the floor had slightly fallen away, revealing a dark pit down below. Stepping back a few seconds, she started in a run, jumping at the last second, leaping clear over the pit. Unfortunately, the floor under her feet began to collapse, forcing the fiery haired girl to run along, moving from tile to tile as they began falling into the abyss behind her.

“No no no no no no no!” she mumbled as she fought against the collapsing floor.

One skeleton got up as she passed it, but it fell into the dark hole before it could even pull its sword out. Seeing an opening to her left, Sunset tossed her whole body down the tunnel, sliding a few inches, scraping her elbows, but finally escaping the collapsing ground.

“Seriously…” Sunset groaned and turned her back to the floor. “I need a break…”

“Who’s there?” a voice called from her right.

Turning her head, Sunset noticed a pink haired girl in some dark leather armor, sitting atop a pile of rusty armor, checking an arrow. She was another familiar face Sunset knew.

“Wait, Fluttershy?” Sunset asked bewilderedly. “Is that you?”

“You know my name?” she asked in a quiet soothing voice.

Sunset forgot her friends didn’t know her in this world. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. It’s going to sound strange, but you’re my friend, just not in this nightmare of a world.”

“F-friend?” she stuttered and looked at the nearby wall. “I don’t have any friends…”

“Oh, uh… Well…” Sunset rubbed her bruised shoulder. “We can change that. I did meet some old friends earlier, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. They didn’t remember me, but I think we’ve rekindled those friendships. How about you? Would you like to be friends?”

“You really want to be friends with me?” she asked, a light shine in her eyes. “No one’s ever bothered to talk to me. That’s why I’m here. The Derelict Catacombs is a quiet place. I come here to just… enjoy the silence.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “How’d you get past all the skeletons and breaking floors?”

Fluttershy looked back to the entrance. “You mean that? Yeah, it did collapse, but I made it through.”

“Hmm… That’s odd. It only just collapsed when I came here.”

“I don’t think too much about it…” the pink haired girl whispered. “This world doesn’t exactly make sense sometimes.”

Sunset thought about it, then extended a hand to the other girl. “Would you like to come with me? I was told of a way home. You see, I have this flame within me, and if I collect these other ones, I can open a way out of this nightmare.”

“Oh, yes, I saw that flame,” Fluttershy nodded. “Hmm… I would like to leave, but I don’t know… I don’t really like to go about. Hmm…” She suddenly began digging around her pouches before pulling out a white chunk of stone and extending it to Sunset. “Why don’t you take this? It’s a white sign soapstone. I have one too, so if you need my help, search for my sign, and I’ll come help you.”

“Oh, cool. Thanks Fluttershy,” Sunset smiled and pocketed the soapstone.

“Don’t mention it,” she blushed. “Besides… I’ve never had a friend before. It feels good to help a friend…”

“Thanks, Flutters.” Sunset walked closer and gave her a hug. The pink haired girl squeaked and was stiff at first, but soon relaxed a little.

“I should be the one thanking you,” Fluttershy patted at her after Sunset released her. “I have a friend now, and… Well… You’re nice.”

“I’ll see you soon, I guess.” Sunset walked for another entrance and waved. “Stay safe, Fluttershy.”

“I’ll be right here,” she waved back.

Sunset walked to a new room, looking at an exact replica of the previous one, with the exception of Fluttershy and the pile of armor. More coffins lay in niches in the wall, but thankfully, no skeletons climbed out of them.

The next path split into two, with a staircase leading down to a lower floor and a doorway leading straight across a stone bridge. Sunset decided to take the former, making her way down to the lower floor. Tombstones sat on both sides of the path ahead, along with a strange fat skeleton holding a wooden staff.

It turned its bony head towards her slowly, before lifting the staff up to the air. With a sickening shriek, the skeleton began waving it around wildly. Suddenly, to Sunset’s left, she noticed a horde of skeletons emerging from a dark hallway, shambling towards her with their weapons drawn.

“Time to go!” she yelled and raced for the fat skeleton.

She cut at it once with her blade, scattering it across the floor, but the damage had already been done. Behind her, the army of skeletons continued after her, swinging some of their weapons above their heads like barbarians.

Sunset kept moving, searching for anyway out of this straight hall. There were two staircases, one on each side. The fiery haired girl picked the left one, dodging through it and running up two steps at a time. One of the skeletons had closed in on her, but Sunset spun around and slashed it away before sprinting up, arriving in a larger hall with pillars supporting the ceiling up. Two skeletal archers stood on the other side of the hall, arrows already in their bows, ready to fire on Sunset.

Somehow, the girl found herself rolling to the right, just as an arrow passed her, missing her completely. She got up on one foot and jumped left, dodging the second arrow. Now as they were loading a second arrow into their bows, Sunset took the time to close the distance, her sword already at the ready in both hands. If skeletons could look surprised, the first one did as Sunset dashed through it, slicing it in two before cutting the head off the second skeleton. She crushed its skull before moving on, trying to lose the horde of skeleton warriors through a maze of hallways ahead.

Sunset didn’t even know if she’d been down a path before, seeing as they all looked the same, but she had to get away from the skeletons before they caught up. She could always deal with her position at her own time after they were gone.

One managed to cut her across the back, but thankfully, she was far enough that it only cut her jacket.

Ugh. I’m gonna need new clothes when I get home…

Deciding she had enough, Sunset stopped and turned around, just in time to parry a skeleton’s strike. She knocked its blade away and followed up with a horizontal slash, breaking it apart. Sunset made sure to crush the skull before dealing with the next one, who completely missed her when she sidestepped.

Sunset dropped low and cut at its feet, crippling it while she cut the next skeleton’s head in half.

“Just stay dead!” she yelled at them, hoping her words would take effect as she cut down another skeleton.

The remaining enemies approached her fearlessly. Sunset gritted her teeth as she attacked again, slashing through bone after bone. She felt strength surge through her arms as she fought them off. These skeletons were numerous, but they were easy.

I can do this. I can do this.

Soon, her enemies were nothing more but broken bones strewn across the stone floor, unable to even form an arm back together. Sunset panted and huffed, glad the fight was all over. They didn’t manage to hit her, but she felt as if all her stamina was drained. She needed a break.

Sunset Shimmer sheathed her blade and continued onward, navigating through the dark maze with the small glow of her flame; at least it was a decent light source. She eventually found a tunnel that led down into a step staircase, or at least, what was left of the staircase. Most of it had smoothed out, making a sort of rocky slide with the exception of a few steps along its length.

Bracing herself, Sunset slid herself down, trying to control her movement as she avoided the steps; Hitting herself on one of those would definitely leave a bruise. She also hoped the slide wouldn’t burn a hole in her jeans. She’d hate to be walking around this terrible world with a hole in her pants.

The end of the slide ented in a two feet drop, launching Sunset off into a crouch. Standing up and dusting her clothes off, Sunset quickly checked her bottom, sighing with relief when she couldn’t find a tear in her jeans.

A large underground dome was the next room she entered, so large that it could probably fit her house and a few more. In the center was a burnt out spiral sword, one that Sunset only knew too well.

“Yes, finally!” she muttered and ran to it, placing her hand out to start the bonfire.

She sat down and basked in its radiance, glad to get a good time of rest. She also checked her bag, making sure that her three estus flasks were all full and ready to be used when she needed them.

She contemplated her position and the next path as she recovered her strength. Just ahead, there was a rather dark tunnel, exiting from a half-built archway just under the dome; the entire room seemed to be rather suspicious, almost as if she was going to encounter another fog wall soon. Sunset gulped, dreading the appearance of yet another powerful foe. Every place she’d been to so far has had one, meaning these catacombs will definitely have something in store for her; she guessed it would be something bony.

Finally getting up after a few more minutes, Sunset traveled to the dark tunnel under the archway, leaving the warmth of her bonfire once more. Once again, as she had guessed, a wall of fog blocked an entrance further down the tunnel. This time, however, something was different. Just by a small staircase leading up to the fog wall, Sunset spied something white and yellow glowing by the side.

She remembered Fluttershy saying something about signs with her white soapstone sign. After inspecting it a little closer, Sunset realized the words spelt, ‘Fluttershy’.

Understanding, she removed her soapstone from her pack and lifted it to the sign. It glowed brighter once before disappearing.

“Uh…” Sunset scratched the side of her head. “Was that it?”

She was about to go on without thinking twice, but just as she stepped up on the staircase, a golden glowing form began ascending from the ground, crouched at first, then standing up straight as she extended both arms to the sky.

“Hi, Sunset Shimmer,” Fluttershy waved, readying her bow in her hand.

“Fluttershy!” Sunset looked at her from head to toe. “Why are you golden?”

“Oh this,” she giggled and looked at herself. “It’s my duty. I help out. It’s what we Warriors of Sunlight do.”

“Uh, Warriors of Sunlight?” Sunset raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“A group of warriors that lead others safely to Fyrlon, or for your case, to help you get to your goal.”

“Oh,” Sunset continued to stare at her friend’s gold aura. “Is anyone else part of this group? Rainbow Dash, perhaps?”

“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy seemed to cower at the name. “No. That big bully isn’t part of our group…”

“Big bully?” Sunset remembered the time she had turned Twilight’s friends against each other, all those years ago. Maybe it was something like that here too. “What did she do to be considered a bully?”

“She’s always making fun of me...” Fluttershy puffed out her cheeks and folded her arms. Then suddenly, she widened her eyes and shook her head. “Please don’t tell her I said that…”

“Don’t worry,” Sunset placed a hand on her shoulder. “I won’t say a word about this to her, but I will try to get you two to be friends. Back where I came from, you two are good friends.”

“W-well, that’s a strange world you come from then…”

“Okay, okay…” Sunset directed Fluttershy onward, deciding to change the subject. “Shall we go see what lies beyond this wall?”

Fluttershy turned her head and looked at it. “Oh, this? Yeah, s-sure…”

Sunset led the way, pushing past the thick fog with one hand, while gripping tightly to her drake sword with her other, ready to face whatever dwelled beyond the wall.

As soon as Sunset had entered, a large skeletal arm swept at her from above, knocking her to the side with a bounce, injuring her left shoulder.

“Ow…” she mumbled as she struggled to stand.

Looking up, the girl noticed a large skull looking down at her with burning coals in its eye sockets. It looked just like any other skeleton, except this one was much larger, and where its legs supposed to be was what looked like a centipede’s body.

“Careful, Sunset!” Fluttershy ran over and pushed her out of the way as the skeleton centipede dropped from its perch, its sharp feet narrowly missing Sunset’s face.

“Thanks, Flutters,” Sunset rolled back and grabbed an estus flask from her pack, quickly drinking its contents, feeling the pain leave her.

Sunset ran for the skeleton centipede’s legs, swinging her sword through a few of them while Fluttershy stayed back and shot a few arrows at its eye sockets, angering it more.

Sunset felt as if she was getting better at all this. She had been able to see through a lot of the skeleton’s attacks, dodging and blocking whenever it was necessary, making sure to avoid being hit in the process. She cut at its bones with her blade, cracking its body and severing a few centipede limbs.

Unfortunately, Sunset mistimed her next step, moving too far forward as she slashed at its legs. She managed to hack off one of its limbs, but it turned around and grabbed her in one of its hands, lifting her high and squeezing hard.

“Sunset!” Fluttershy called and shot an arrow at its body.

The skeleton centipede was unfazed, staring down at the trapped girl with its burning eyes. Sunset thought she saw a smile on its face, but there was really no way of telling, especially since she was fighting to escape its grasp.

Without warning, it clamped down harder on its grip, forcing the air out of Sunset, including a spat of blood from her mouth as her organs were crushed.

Aagh… No… Not like that…

And then it tossed her down, bouncing the girl against the stone floor before she came to a stop next to a sarcophagus jutting out of the wall.

Sunset tried to get up, but this time, it really felt like she had been run over by a train. She could hardly breathe, and her body seemed to have lost all feeling. All she could do was watch with fading vision as Fluttershy tried to make her way over, at the same time, continuing to fire volleys of arrows at the monster.

Is this what it feels to die…?

She was just about to let go of her last breath when Fluttershy rolled over, picking her up under the neck.

“You can’t die here, Sunset,” she said as she placed an estus flask to the fiery haired girl’s lips. “You’ve got a world to get back to.”

As the orange fluid left the flask and down Sunset’s throat, she immediately felt her injuries begin to mend themselves, followed by her strength returning to her limbs. Sunset first moved her fingers and toes, followed by her upper body.

“Thanks, Fluttershy…” Sunset coughed and began to get up, remembering there was still a battle to be won.

Sunset was almost up when a warm spray of blood suddenly coated her face, startling her. Looking up, she noticed Fluttershy still standing before her, but something was wrong. There was a spiny white bone sticking out of her abdomen, where blood was already starting to spread.

“No… Fluttershy, no!” Sunset reached for her friend with her free hand, but the pink haired archer was pulled away as the skeleton centipede made its way half up the wall, Sunset’s friend still attached to one of its legs.

“Return home… Sunset…” Fluttershy gagged and threw up blood. “Don’t… worry about me… I’ll just return to… where I was… Go. Win this, Sunset Shimmer… Thanks for being my friend…” Fluttershy fished around her pouch and tossed an old sack down to Sunset, who caught it in her hand. “Instructions… Inside.”

And then Fluttershy began to fade into dust, evaporating up to the ceiling as her golden aura dimmed, finally disappearing into nothing.

Red began to cloud Sunset’s vision, along with her fresh tears, stinging her skin. Fluttershy had saved her life, but at the cost of her own. Even if she didn’t truly die, witnessing her death would haunt Sunset’s mind for the rest of her life.

“You’ll pay for that!” she yelled at the skeleton, as she checked the contents of the sack. It looked like black powder, with the instructions on a piece of paper, folded up inside. Sunset listened to the instructions and coated her sword in the powder, which instantly caught on fire along its entire blade.

“For Fluttershy…”

Sunset grabbed her blade in both hands and rushed the skeleton centipede, still perched up on the wall. It swept an arm down at Sunset, but the girl dodged to the left and came back with a stab, lodging her flaming drake sword in its arm, setting the immediate area on fire. The skeleton pulled back, but Sunset held strong, using it as a lift up to its body.

Kicking off its arm, Sunset leapt up higher, raising her sword in reverse grip behind her head. Everything seemed to slow down as she sailed towards its body, the skeleton’s hands moving towards her to try and grab her.

Not this time, skeletor.

Then Sunset’s blade sunk through its sternum, the force of the impact shattering its ribcage. The skeleton lifted its head and let out a high pitched wail as what was left of its body caught fire. Sunset landed on one of its still attached ribs and sliced up, severing its head from its spine. The head began burning as it flew high, which suddenly sparked and exploded in mid air, raining bits of bone down on the floor below. The rest of its body shuddered and dislodged itself from the wall, bringing Sunset down with it.

At the last second, Sunset Shimmer kicked off and rolled to safety, only scraping her shoulder as she hopped back up to her feet, watching the burning remains of the skeleton centipede dissipate into ash and dust, defeated.

“Victory achieved…” Sunset panted and sheathed her sword, the flames extinguishing as she slid it back into its scabbard. “Thank you, Fluttershy. I’ll make it back… I owe it to you.”

Just like the last place, a bonfire had appeared, just in the middle of the room, atop a pile of bones. Limping over, Sunset ignited it with her hand, basking in its warm and radiant glow. Though she felt her aches and pains leave her, the one in her heart never went away. Though Fluttershy mentioned she was still alive back at the spot Sunset had found her, Sunset couldn’t help but shudder at the image of her friend dying.

Sunset couldn’t control her tears as they began to leak again, dripping down her cheeks to the stone ground below. The fiery haired girl covered her face with her hands and wept.

“I’m so sorry, Fluttershy.”
> Chapter 7: Lake of Silence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Sunset Shimmer had finally gathered the will to move on, she came across a fork in the path. To the left, there was an elevator of sorts, while on the right, there was a dark and creepy staircase, leading much deeper underground.

The choice was simple.

“Nope!” Sunset said out loud as she walked into the elevator. “Not going deeper. Nope. Sunlight, here I come.”

She’d had enough with the dark caves and catacombs. Too much of it reminded her of what had just happened back in the skeleton’s chamber. The only thing she had left of her shy friend was a golden medal of sorts she had found after the battle, close to where the skeleton had fallen. Sunset decided to keep it to remember her sacrifice, unsure if they would get to meet again in the future.

Looking around the iron cage she was in, Sunset was unable to locate any levers or switches to send the elevator up.

“That’s odd…”

She walked around, feeling the sides of the metal elevator, thinking maybe there was a secret button or something. As she crossed the middle, Sunset felt something shift under her weight. Thinking the elevator was about to collapse, Sunset held on tight to the side, but thankfully, the lift only started heading up; the sound of chains grinding against metal could be heard from above.

She looked down, only now noticing the button was under her feet.

That’s a strange way to control this…

Heading up, Sunset watched the old catacomb bricks slowly turn into a cave wall, the man made structures now behind her. Much to her excitement, the girl soon noticed light rays coming down from above.

Oh, finally… Above ground, here I come!

The lift finally came to a stop inside a large metal structure resembling a bell, the metal contact resounding a single loud, but soothing ‘ding’ across  what looked like a lake, just in front of the lift.

“Ooh, what do we have here?” Sunset stepped out, glad that she was once again able to see the sky. When she had first arrived, it was dark, but right now, the sun was shining down on her through a thin layer of fog, warming her up.

The lake ahead seemed peaceful enough. The waters didn’t ripple, nor did there seem to be any forms of life, at least, from what she could see. A mountain range stood to her left, rising high into the clouds, while the left side had a gash in the ground, likely leading back down to the catacombs below if she fell in, which she had no interest of doing.

The girl walked to the water’s edge, looking in to check for monsters. Surprisingly, she couldn’t see anything lurking beneath the surface.

“It is really safe?” Sunset couldn’t quite believe it.

She checked a few more times before finally sitting down, sighing with relief, an idea on her mind.

The water looked more or less clear and clean, so Sunset decided to rid herself of the stench she’d been carrying around. She started with her armor, removing her greaves and gauntlets before doing away with her regular clothes, which she held out in front of her, only realizing now that they were really worn out.

“Maybe I should get some new clothes too…”

Leaving all her gear by the shore, Sunset waded further into the water, stopping when it reached up to her waist. It was cold, but not nearly as cold as the water back in the Underscale Ruins. Not wasting anymore time, the fiery haired girl began to wash herself, smiling as she began to feel clean at last.

One eye kept a close watch around the area, just in case there were any monsters or people about. She didn’t want to be caught by surprise, or worse, killed. Her sword was by the shore, so if something were to show up, she would have to run for it.

Sunset hit herself for thinking so negatively. Come on, Sunset. What have you let this world do to you?

Still, she couldn’t stop the nagging feeling at the back of her head. Finally deciding not to take her chances, Sunset began wading back to shore, heading first for her weapon; her blade was definitely more important than her clothes in this world, though she obviously didn’t want to be running around naked.

Just as she picked up her sword, she heard a splash and turned around, coming face to face with some kind of fish monster holding a trident, skipping straight for her.

“Aah!” Sunset stepped back, almost tripping over one of her greaves, but righted her stance just in time to swing her weapon at the creature.

Her first strike cut thin air, but her second one broke its weapon in half. The fish monster lunged for her, its mouth opening, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth, resembling a shark’s.

One hand had grasped her left arm, while the other, much to her annoyance and disgust, grabbed the side of her body, just under her right arm, its huge webbed hand touching something it shouldn’t be touching.

“Gross!” Sunset kicked out at it before lifting her blade tip towards it, lodging her weapon through its head. “How dare you!”

The fish creature went still and collapsed atop the fiery haired girl, almost making her wish she didn’t do that. The slimy feeling on the creature on her bare skin raised all the hairs on her body.

Sunset grumbled and closed her eyes as she pushed away from the dead creature, feeling the slimy sensation travel down her body.

Gross gross gross gross…

Once she was free, Sunset Shimmer quickly splashed some of the water over her body again, getting rid of the slime before getting her clothes back on.

She hadn’t thought about needing a towel until now, but seeing as she didn’t have one, she simply placed her clothes back atop her body; the fabric instantly began sticking to her skin.

After donning her jacket, Sunset got to equipping her armor, fastening the leather straps tightly before venturing on, looking for a way across the lake, and watching out for more fish monsters.

Pushing locks of wet hair out of her face, Sunset was ready to continue. She walked along the side of the lake, spotting what looked like a little shack sitting close to the water’s edge. It was a place to start.

Only closer, did Sunset notice more of the fish creatures, lurking just on the shoreline, their heads and fins barely sticking out, but there was no mistaking those slimy white features Sunset had just seen.

The girl hoped to head around them, sticking as close to the mountains as she could. Unfortunately, she had caught their attention as two more fish creatures lumbered out of the water towards her. One had a trident, like the one before, while the second one had a harpoon of sorts.

Sunset sidestepped the first one, grabbing the trident’s shaft with her offhand before stabbing forward with her own weapon, injuring the creature in the chest, allowing black blood to ooze out. The second one engaged her, thrusting its harpoon forward. Sunset ducked low and rolled forward, before getting to her feet, cutting up at the creature as she rose. The fish man shuddered for a second before falling in two.

It was gross, but Sunset was surprisingly getting very used to it. That frightened her. Hopefully when she woke up or returned to her world, that wouldn’t take effect. She had no intention of turning into a cold-blooded killer.

The first fish monster recovered and swiped at her with a slimy hand, knocking Sunset in the back of her head, sending her sprawling to the floor. Sunset spun around and lifted her blade just in time to block its bite, its mouth latching on to her sword instead.

Twisting it at the right angle, the force the fishman was exerting dropped it down on the blade, easily cutting its soft slimy head in two, splattering more goo on Sunset’s face.

“Ergh… Gross.”

Sunset swept the head off and crawled away, back into the water to wash the slime off her clothes. It was probably only going to get slimed again, but it was a sacrifice she would have to be constantly taking if she wanted to be slime-free.

The small hut wasn’t too far away now. Only one more fishman stood in Sunset’s way, which she easily dispatched with her sword. Alone, these creatures proved almost no threat. Together, however, they were a lot more dangerous.

Now that she was closer, Sunset could see past the thin fog, noticing the rugged old features of the hut. Part of the roof was broken and there was moss growing along the sides, where an anchor was sticking out of one wall, embedded in the floor inside.

Sunset swung the door open and peered in. With part of the roof missing, the place was well-lit, letting the girl know that there were no fish creatures here. The shack, unfortunately, contained nothing except for a large rusty switch and a small bell. Remembering the bell from earlier, Sunset decided to pull the switch.

At first, the lever barely budged, but after three more tries, it moved a little, then more and more as Sunset finally managed to lean all the way back, pulling the switch as far as it would go. Just under the bell, a small metal ball seemed to rise along a panel before disappearing into the metal shell. Only when Sunset heard the single ding did she know that the ball had reached the top. The sound seemed to travel across the area, sounding off with its single pure note before fading off into the distance. Whatever these bells were for, Sunset didn’t know, but she couldn’t deny that they made a lovely sound, even if it was brief.

“So… What now?” she asked herself out loud, not seeing anything else to do in the shack.

Returning outside, Sunset decided to press forward, following the shore for a little more. One more fish creature hopped out of the water, but Sunset was ready, spinning in a circle and cutting out, separating the fish’s head from its body. It was sickening to watch, but Sunset didn’t stay long, instead, continuing out looking for a way to proceed.

The shore seemed to go on and on, but after another six minutes, it seemed to end, dropping off into the deep end of the lake. Sunset looked around, looking for a path, or at least a direction for her to go in. To her left, a row of mountains kept her from proceeding, nor were they low enough for her to climb. There really was no way forward.

“How odd…” she rubbed her chin with an armored hand. “Perhaps I could swim across…”

Then she shook her head. No way was she going to be swimming with these gauntlets and greaves, plus her sword wasn’t light. If she swam out there, she would probably just sink straight to the bottom and drown alone, never to be found again.

“Ookay… maybe I’ll just… go back to the start…”

Sunset remembered the other side of the lake and seeing no other way forward from here, it was worth a look. The walk back was easier, lacking the groups of crazy fishmen trying to kill her, allowing her a peaceful walk by the lake.

It was strange, doing something like this. It felt like it’d been ages since Sunset could do something as normal as walking along a lakeside. Spending too much time in this place had made her forget what normal life was like; this was a good reminder of things to look forward to when she could finally leave this world behind.

You can do this, Sunset. You’ll return to your normal life once you get through all this. You will. Hold on to that.

Arriving back at the point where she had taken a bath, Sunset went around to the other side of the lake, following an even narrower path alongside another row of mountains.

Two more fishmen waited for her on shore, which she easily dispatched before they could touch her. Along the way, something new stood in Sunset’s way. It was a fishman, or at least, it looked like one. The only differences is that this one was of a darker purple colour, and stood at least four times taller than Sunset.

Great…

It lumbered towards her, waddling on its long slender legs like some kind of crazy duck. Sunset cut at its hand as it reached out to her, causing it release a gurgled high pitched screech, echoing around the lake.

Without warning, it threw its body at her, just missing the girl as she lunged for the side, splashing face first into the shallow waters.

The fish giant kept going, slithering and skidding in the water like a snake, before standing up about five meters away.

Sunset didn’t wait for a second attack. Instead, she turned and ran, rushing forward, ignoring the cold as it clung to her like a coat. There were worse things than freezing to death right now, and besides, she couldn’t permanently die, at least according to Twilight.

She heard the fish giant chasing after her, its footsteps getting louder and louder behind her. Sunset didn’t dare turn around to see, instead, picking up her speed, pushing past her limits.

Perhaps if she could get somewhere safe, a building or a cave, maybe the monster would forget about her and leave. It sounded like a terrible plan, but she didn’t know what else to do.

Then she spotted a shack, just like the one on the other side of the lake.

Not thinking twice on it, Sunset hightailed for it, diving through the doors, finally turning around and raising her sword.

The big fishman lumbered outside, partially visible from the hole in the roof. It seemed to be walking into the wall outside, likely trying to get in, but luckily, to no avail.

Sunset took this time to sit down and catch her breath, but kept her sword at the ready. After a few minutes, the giant seemed to give up, turning around and walking back down the shore.

“Finally…” she breathed, resting her head on a knee. She didn’t know how she was going to kill that thing, but at least it was gone, for now.

Standing up, Sunset straightened her tattered clothing and inspected the shack she was in. Just like the first one, there was a bell at the back, sitting behind a lever.

“Here goes nothing.”

Sunset gripped the switch and pushed with all her might, watching the lever budge slightly, moving at an extremely slow pace.

“Come on!” she said as she put her back into it, pushing harder.

Soon, the lever reached the end, the mechanism clicking below her feet before the small ball was sent up the bell.

Sunset closed her eyes, waiting for the peaceful sound of the bell to ring out, which it did in a second, sounding off the ring across the landscape, fading in the distance.

If it meant anything, the bells were probably the most peaceful things in this world. Maybe the only peaceful things.

Still, like the first hut, nothing seemed to happen. These bells put questions into Sunset’s mind.

“Who placed these here and what are they even used for?”

Seeing as she could do nothing else in the shack, the girl headed back out, wandering around the lake’s shoreline, unsure of where to go now. The other side of the lake was a dead end and so was this one.

Sunset was about to go back to the start of the place when she heard the sound of water moving, or more accurately, the sound of something moving through the water.

She peered through the light fog and true enough, she could see the shape of some kind of ship start to get closer to the shore.

“Yes! That’s what the bells are for!” she realized when the large brown ship pulled alongside the shore, stopping a good distance in the water.

Knowing she would probably encounter more enemies on the way, she spun her drake sword into her hands and readied herself for the worst.

Just as she got waist deep in the cold water, two fishmen burst from the shallows, waddling towards her with tridents in their hands.

“Why do you guys keep harassing me?” Sunset complained and swung her sword a few times, cutting off one of the first fishman’s hands.

It gurgled at her before lunging for her, tossing its trident aside. Sunset ducked and just as it flew over her, she cut up with her sword, her blade starting from its head and ending between its legs. The two halves of the fishman fell beside her, drenching the girl in its slime and blood.

“Gross…” she spat, but didn’t have enough time to react as the second fishman jumped into her pushing her to the water.

Sunset’s head splashed under water as the fishman thrust its trident down toward her. Thankfully, the tips missed her face, lodging into the earth next to her face, but unfortunately, trapped her, preventing her from rising back up for air.

Not yet. You’re not done just yet!

Kicking at the creature’s arms, Sunset gained enough space to swing her sword. She couldn’t see very clearly, but she felt her blade cut into something soft. Deciding it was close enough, Sunset pushed on, cutting as far as she could until the blade reached thin air. A few seconds later, half the fishman’s head fell into the water beside her, dyeing the immediate surroundings black with its blood.

Fighting for air, Sunset pushed the trident away and launched to her feet, taking in a deep breath as her head burst to the surface.

“Too close…” she mumbled as she took time to gather her strength.

When she was ready, the fiery haired girl proceeded on, nearing the ship that had appeared. She noticed the side had wood jutting out from the hull, just like some kind of built in ladder. Seeing as it was right there, Sunset placed her hands on the wooden extensions and made her way up.

When she reached the top, Sunset noticed the deck was empty. There were no barrels, crates, not even a living person or creature.

“Hmm… How odd.”

Deciding to check below deck, Sunset plodded along, keeping her sword raised, ready for anything.

Going down the deck steps, the girl noticed that the bottom held racks and racks of spears, almost like it was meant to equip an army.

Ignoring them, Sunset headed along the wooden hull, looking through the gloom, wishing she still had her torch. She had gotten used to its brighter light that her own aura barely lit the room now.

Then as she arrived at the end of her path, she spotted something familiar. Something white and smokey, blocking a doorway in a wooden wall.

“Ugh… Not again…” Sunset groaned aloud as she stood before the fog door.

She knew what was coming, but it didn’t mean she was going to like it. Before pushing through the fog, however, Suset Shimmer noticed a faint glow by the corner, just under a rack of spears.

“Oh? What’s this…”

She lifted her sword and smashed the rack, sending wood and spears clattering to the floor.

There was a white glow of a soap sign, just sitting there with the words, ‘Pinkie Pie’, scribbled down.

“Pinkie Pie?” Sunset read aloud, happy to see a familiar name.

Wasting no time, she took out her white sign soapstone and held it out to the sign, resonating with it.

Not too long after, a shape rose from the floor, spreading her arms to the side before jumping up and down excitedly.

“Hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie!” she waved and shook Sunset’s hand. “I’ve been waiting her for quite some time for someone to challenge this boss!”

“The boss?”

“Yeah, every area has a boss, didn’t you figure that out already, silly?” Pinkie chuckled. “This one’s is particularly tough. I just fought it the day before yesterday, and boy, did I take a while! Though, I have trained a bit since then, so maybe not!”

“You have?” Sunset liked where this was going. “So what do we have in store?”

“Oh, nothing, really,” Pinkie waved a hand. “Just a squid.”

“A squid, huh?” It sounded easy enough, but then again, nothing so far had been easy. “Well, I could use the help. Shall we?”

“Righty-ho, miss… ummm… what’s your name?” Pinkie frowned. “Did I forget your name?”

“Technically, no,” Sunset told her. “You see, I’m from another world of sorts. Back home, you’re one of my closest friends. I’m Sunset Shimmer.”

“Ooh, I’ve always wanted a close friend!” Pinkie bounced around excitedly. “You can be my close friend here too!”

“Sure, I’d like that,” Sunset closed an eye as the pink girl wrapped her in a crushing hug, lifting her feet off the ground. “Woah, easy, easy.”

“Yaaay! I have a best friend now!” Pinkie let her go and bounced around her in a circle. “Come on! Let’s go kill this boss!”

The girl reached behind her back and into her pink hair, returning with a curved silver sword.

Same old Pinkie Pie… Sunset smiled to herself. It was nice to see something familiar in this world.

Then she walked on, pushing through the fog, ready to do combat.

As Pinkie Pie had said, there was indeed a squid ahead, wriggling at the far end of the area. It was of a sickly green colour with at least twelve tentacles, thrashing around the ship, making Sunset wonder how it wasn’t sinking yet.

“Hello again, Mr. Galleon Kraken,” Pinkie said in a low voice as she joined Sunset through the fog door. “We meet again, and I shall be your doooooom!”

She ran at the monster first, spinning like a tornado as the kraken shot a tentacle out at her like a spring. At the same time, the girl cut along the tentacle, wounding the beast as it shot another one out. Pinkie simply stopped and kicked off the first tentacle, sailing high before cutting down hard, cutting the entire piece of flesh off the kraken, earning more of its roars.

“See? Not so hard, is it?” she took a second to flash a big smile to Sunset before running straight for its central mass, where two red eyes shone back at Sunset from the darkness of the hold.

Sunset ran for the creature, watching as her energetic friend zipped around like a speed demon, constantly on the attack, cutting at the creature like it was sushi on a plate.

Sushi on a plate. Nice one, Sunset.

Arriving at one tentacle, Sunset drew back her arms and strike, but before she knew it, the entire mass of the monster shuddered and bubbled, like it was melting. Then it started fading into the wood of the ship in white sparkles, fading from existence.

“No way…” she said to herself as Pinkie landed with a roll, stopping by one of the hold’s pillars.

“All done!” the happy girl beamed as she threw her curved sword up and caught it with her other hand behind her back, stuffing it back into her hair. “See? Was that so bad?”

Sunset couldn’t find the words to describe what was going on in her head right now. Up until this point, she’d had so much trouble getting around, but right here, before her eyes, Pinkie Pie had defeated the area’s boss all by herself. Sunset didn’t even get the chance to attack the kraken once.

“What, hello?” Pinkie waved a hand in front of Sunset’s face, getting her attention back. “Ah, there you are, Sunset Shimmer. I thought you left your body or something. You know, something crazy like that.”

“Oh, sorry, Pinkie, I kinda spaced out,” Sunset rubbed at her eyes as she sheathed her sword at her side. “But… wow, Pinkie. How did you… How did you do all that?”

“Do what? Win?” she shrugged. “I don’t know. You just do it!”

Sunset forgot about trying to understand her. She should’ve known that it was hard to explain most of what Pinkie did.

“So, what now? Is there a way out?” Sunset looked around.

Then she noticed Pinkie was starting to disappear, fading like the Galleon Kraken had.

“Oops, time for me to go back!” Pinkie looked at her feet. “Well, glad to know you, Sunset Shimmer! I hope we get to work together again in the future! See you, new best friend!”

Then she was gone, completely disappearing from sight, leaving Sunset alone.

“You can bet I’m looking forward to working with you again,” she smiled to herself and began to look around.

The hold of the ship was a dead end, leading right into a wall of wood, likely the front of the ship.

What now? Sunset scratched her head. If she couldn’t go forward, then-

Then there was a rumble all around her, making the girl fall to one knee. The whole ship seemed to shudder around her. Sunset was afraid it was going to collapse and sink, but after a few more seconds, she realized she had nothing to worry about.

The ship was moving through the waters of the lake and it was likely taking her to her next location. She didn’t really want to know what else this world had in store for her, but she hoped Pinkie Pie would be around to help her out more. This was one thing she was never going to forget when she left this world.

If she could leave this world.
> Chapter 8: Bronze Workshop
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer returned to the ship’s deck, looking out over the new landscape. The area was clear, with the sun still shining brightly above her head.

The ship had stopped at a wooden dock, with a path leading straight up to a metallic dome structure. From the looks of it, it was made of bronze.

“I wonder what’s in store here…” Sunset exhaled and kicked down a wooden walkway on the boat, using it to get to the dock.

The area was nothing more than a platform for the ship to stop at. There were no other paths away besides the one leading to the dome; just a straight shot ahead.

“Guess I know where I’m going…”

The structure ahead had a mostly smooth surface like a shell, but in certain areas, there were what looked like pipes, jutting out from the dome.

Arriving at the front doors, Sunset put her back into it, pushing both bronze doors with her hands, watching as they slowly budged and began moving out of her way.

“Do normal people even live in these places anymore?” she panted as she wiped sweat away from her forehead.

The path into the dome was dark and Sunset was unable to see more than three meters in.

Swallowing, she began her journey into the new place, pulling her drake sword out, just in case. There were what looked like rows of sconces on the sides, but instead of fire, they were spewing steam every now and then, like some kind of exhaust pipe.

Finally arriving at the end of the dark tunnel, Sunset found herself in a large rectangular room with pipes coming in and out of the walls, some venting steam from vented portholes. From what she’d seen in this world so far, this seemed to be the most sophisticated place. Gears ran on one side, just rotating in the floor; Sunset couldn’t tell what they were used for.

Then, on her right, a set of circular holes slid open, revealing two long tunnels leading deep into the walls. Two round spheres rolled out and landed on the ground with a resounding thunk. Then four spider-like legs extended from them as the top half of each sphere stood up, extending arms from their sides. Arms with four fingers each.

“What?” Sunset held her sword out as they approached her, each leg tinkling on the floor with each step, slowly approaching her. “Oh, how I wish Pinkie Pie were here with me right now…”

Sunset jogged towards the first machine, cutting it with her sword. The blade sheared right through its arm and embedded itself in the machine’s chest. Pulling down to the side, Sunset dropped the automaton to the ground as it tried to claw at her. Kicking against it, she was able to remove her sword from it, just in time to jab it straight through what looked like its head. The machine stopped trying to attack her and fell back to the ground.

Before she could turn around, the second machine reached out and grabbed Sunset by her coat collar, lifting her off the ground.

“Hey!” Sunset yelled at it, her legs swinging below her.

Turning her sword around, Sunset jabbed it back under an arm, feeling the blade pierce the bronze armor of the automaton. The machine shuddered once, then let Sunset go as it ceased to function, it’s head tilting down.

The fiery haired girl stood up and brushed her pants, watching the dust disappear into the air like powder. It seemed that all the places here haven’t been used in years with all the dust she’d seen.

She didn’t want to be here anymore than the next person, but if she wanted to get out, she’d have to keep going.

“Just keep walking, Sunset,” she said to herself. “What’s the worst that could happen? More robots? Psssh. Yeah, of course…”

The large room led into a small hallway with a grated floor, allowing Sunset to see gears and pistons working below, every now and then sending a puff of steam up from one part of the floor.

One four-legged automaton patrolled the area, it’s legs carefully stepping on the grates, avoiding the holes.

“Here we go.”

Sunset ran along, her feet big enough to walk above the grates, advancing on the automaton. It sensed her presence, turning around and raising its hands in fists.

The fiery haired girl swung her weapon, catching the robot in the right hand, slicing its fingers off before ducking under its left, cutting across its midsection with her drake sword. The robot paused for a second before its top half slid off its lower half, steam blowing out from its severed stump.

“Easy,” Sunset smiled and went on. Plus, these things weren’t living like the other enemies she’d fought. Killing robots didn’t raise any questions in her mind.

Sunset followed the straight corridor, watching the gears turn below her feet. She dreaded the thought of falling through and getting crushed, but at least the grates prevented her from doing so. Right?

The hallway led down a flight of stairs after a roundabout, opening up into a huge cavern with pipes reaching the skies through an open roof. Water streamed down from what looked like drainage pipes in the side of the walls, cascading down to a small stream below, going off down another tunnel all the way at the bottom.

Sunset figured that was the direction to go, so she started making her way down, careful to keep away from the edges. She didn’t want to accidentally fall and take the hard way down.

She had only walked halfway down the stairs when a strange short creature lumbered out from a dome like shelter on the side, holding a double-edged axe in both hands.

“What now?” Sunset groaned.

The creature had on a cone shaped helmet with two horns protruding out the top, and it had a long black beard, somewhat resembling a dwarf, though its helmet covered its eyes, stopping only above its round potato-shaped nose.

Releasing a deep bellow, the dwarf ran to Sunset as fast as his short legs could go, his battleaxe already raised horizontally above his helmeted head.

Sunset readied herself and stepped back as his axe came down, cutting a line into the bronze floor below. As he tried to pull out his weapon, Sunset was already on him, kicking the dwarf in the helmet. The bearded man let go of his axe and stumbled back, a foot slipping off the edge, before he plunged down without a sound.

Sunset sighed and kept her weapon. She had looked forward to killing robots, not people or monsters again. She’d been getting dangerously close to stop caring. She had no intention of getting used to killing.

“I just want to get out of here…” Sunset rubbed her head and kept going.

The staircase led around one of the skyward pipes, turning as it led down to a lower level, which was just a straight path to another staircase.

Sunset saw two more dwarves and one of those four-legged robots hanging around by a large sconce, and unfortunately, they saw her.

Great… Sunset spun her weapon into her grip. “Can you guys just leave me alone? Seriously…”

She decided not to give them a chance to get moving, swiftly rushing to the first dwarf as she cut up, slashing him along the body, sending him back against the sconce; he didn’t get up again. The second one had hefted its axe, blocking Sunset’s second attack as it spun in a circle, trying to kill her.

Sunset parried to the left with her sword, swinging it back, knocking off the dwarf’s helmet as the robot advanced on her, punching her in the gut.

“Ooh…” Sunset doubled forward and clutched her abdomen. The metal fist had hurt bad.

The dwarf recovered, lifting his axe high as he approached the bent over Sunset Shimmer. The girl quickly threw herself back, avoiding the axe as the automaton came after her again.

In a moment of risks, Sunset turned her sword around and threw it at the automaton, spearing it through the midsection. It grasped for the blade, but shut down before it could pull it out, its arms falling to its side as the dwarf came at Sunset with its axe.

The girl rolled to the left, avoiding the battleaxe before kicking out at the dwarf’s head, knocking him back. Rolling back, Sunset grabbed the axe’s handle and yanked it out of the floor, delivering a downward cut to her enemy’s head. The blade simply sank through his helmet, spraying blood against Sunset’s face as it lodged into the dwarf’s head. Sunset let go of the weapon as he tipped back, falling off the edge and down to the stream below.

“Ooh, that was close…” Sunset lay there, rubbing her abdomen and staring up at the open cave ceiling.

Slowly inching her hand to her pack, Sunset dug through it until her fingers closed around an estus flask, sighing with relief when she unstoppered the cap. The girl quickly downed its contents, feeling her sores and bruises instantly vanish, refreshing her.

“This always hits the spot,” she smiled and kept moving.

The path ahead led into a new building, one in the side of the cavern, with a ladder going straight down inside. Shrugging, Sunset stowed her sword and grabbed the ladder, making her descent. About halfway down, she realized it was going to take too long before she reached the bottom. Trying her luck, Sunset let go of the rungs and held onto the sides, letting her body slide down.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, but soon found her feet touching the bronze flooring below.

“I’m still alive!” she touched her face and laughed. “That was pretty awesome.”

Just up ahead, she noticed a faint glow against the bronze walls. Rushing forward, Sunset found an extinguished bonfire. Grinning from ear to ear, she lifted a hand and watched as the flame sparked to life, the warmth already filling the area and her body.

“Ah…” Sunset sat down and closed her eyes. If it was one thing in this world that made her feel safe, it was a bonfire. There were never enemies around these things and the warmth just made her feel really comfortable.

Sunset took her time in filling up the estus flask she had used, dipping it in the flame and watching as the orange liquid returned.

“I don’t know how that makes sense, but whatever…” Sunset was glad enough that these things didn’t run out. They’d saved her on countless occasions now.

After deeming it was time to go, Sunset pulled herself away from the safety of the bonfire and forged on, looking for a way down to the tunnel at the bottom.

The next path brought Sunset to two more automatons, but she took care of them easily enough, walking past their broken remains as she found another ladder leading down. She swiftly slid down it, making sure to hold on tight enough as she headed down.

Sunset Shimmer’s feet touched the bottom with a resounding clang, only now one floor above the stream below.

Before she could turn around, she felt something pierce into her back, almost pushing her off the edge.

“Aagh!” she screamed, feeling the pain flare across the body.

She turned her head to see an automaton with needle-like hands behind her, one already in her back. Sunset tried to cut back, but it knocked her sword away, sending it flying to the stream below, before stabbing its other hand into Sunset’s shoulder.

The pain was too much. Sunset felt like she was going to collapse anytime, but she couldn’t. Not yet.

Fighting the pain, she reached into her pack and took out an estus flask, willing her hands to not drop it down as well.

Kicking back, Sunset hit her graves against the robot repeatedly, making dents in its armor as she placed the flask to her lips.

The girl tasted her blood mixed in with the healing drink, but felt her strength return, though the robot still had both needles in her. She knew she had to get out of this fast, before she ran out of flasks.

Sunset stomped down on one of its legs multiple times, finally feeling the bronze give way as it swayed to the side, allowing Sunset to free herself from its arms as she fell to the bronze floor.

Before the robot could react, Sunset planted both her feet in its chest, knocking its two back legs off the ledge. The robot scrambled in the air for a second, but soon fell down to the stream below; Sunset heard the echo of its crash and splash a few seconds after.

“Oh man…” she grunted as she searched her pack for another estus flask, quickly drinking it to heal herself.

She definitely needed new clothes soon. The ones she came here with had tears and holes all over it, which was just a little better than running around in her underwear.

“This is just great, isn’t it?” Sunset looked down again, trying to locate her drake sword, but it must’ve gotten washed away, because she couldn’t see it. “What am I going to do now…?”

Sunset Shimmer got up and dusted her jeans before wandering along the metallic path, looking for a way down. At the end, the pathway led into another structure in the cavern wall, leading in a spiral to the bottom of this cavern.

“Yes!” the girl rushed down, careful not to trip on her own feet.

She was so excited to finally reach the bottom that she almost missed a metallic shell looking object, simply sitting on a long stone table. She doubled back after realizing she missed something, walking back up to have a look at it.

“What’s this…?” she touched the top, watching as steam hissed out. The sides folded back like some sort of flower, revealing a squarish metal sword inside, untouched by time and dirt, shining in the sconce fires.

The sword had a bronze hilt with a strange pipe object sticking out its back, just over its guard. The end of the weapon curved back, ending in a little spike at the tip.

“Wow…” Sunset marveled as she picked it up. It was incredibly light for something made of so much metals.

She gave it a swing, hearing it swish through the air with every strike. It was only after her fourth strike did she realize there was a button on the hilt, where her thumb was.

“What does this do…?” Sunset had her answer as she pressed down on it. The pipe in her sword hilt suddenly emitted a jet of hot steam, almost searing her foot off if she hadn’t moved it back. “Woah.”

She wasn’t upset that she had lost her previous sword anymore. This sword was just brilliant.

“I think I’ll call this one… the steam sword.”

Heading back down the slope she had gone earlier, Sunset soon found the bronze flooring at an end, turning into dark stone as she hit the bottom of the area. A huge double door led her out to the open air cavern, the running stream now just a few meters away.

The fiery haired girl followed it, walking down the small slope, watching the water run into the large cave mouth, too dark for her to see far.

“Great… more caves,” Sunset groaned. She’d had enough of dark places for her entire life.

She went in anyway, knowing that it was the only thing she could do to get home. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed a bunch of holes in the walls where water was dripping down into the stream, which was the only sound Sunset could hear in this quiet cave.

Then she saw a faint glow ahead in the gloom, just on the left side of the stream.

“Could it be…?” Sunset ran for it, recognizing the charred sword sticking out of the ground, surrounded by rocks.

The girl was so excited that she missed the axe until it swung down, cutting deep across her left arm.

“Aagh!” she yelled and stepped back, dodging a slash at her chest.

The dwarf was nearly invisible in the dark, but Sunset could see him now. He came for her, holding his axe high. Deciding to give it a try, Sunset lifted her new sword up and clicked down on the button. A jet of hot steam shot out, hitting the dwarf right in the face.

The short man dropped his axe and clawed his face, yelling as the heat burned his skin. Sunset walked up, bringing her sword down on the dwarf’s head, ending his pain.

She kept her sword, grasping for her wounded arm as she made for the bonfire, her strength rapidly draining from the loss of blood. Got… to get… to… bonfire…

Sunset had fallen to her knees when she reached a hand out, watching as the fire burst to life, its warmth wrapping around her like a soft blanket. The girl fell to her face, but soon felt her strength returning to her as her wound closed up. She gave herself a few minutes to rest up on the floor, not wanting to get up, but finally did so, dusting gravel off her tattered clothes as she looked past the bonfire, spotting a large bronze door in the cave wall, just a few meters ahead.

“I wonder where that leads to…” she mumbled and picked her sword up, ready to continue on.

She reached the entrance, looking up and down for a way to open it. She scrabbled her hands around the smooth surface, but found no handle or latch to open the door. Pushing and pulling also didn’t do anything.

Then the girl found little indents at the bottom of the door. Investigating them, she pushed and pulled, eventually realizing she had to lift the door up to the ceiling. With all her might, Sunset strained her arms and lifted, watching the bronze slowly move, untouched for years. As the door past her knees, it finally went up all the way on its own, the mechanism taking over.

“Phew…” Sunset panted looking up at the entrance. Unfortunately, something else stood in her way. Another fog wall. “Aw man!”

She quickly looked around for any white signs, hoping to find one from Pinkie Pie, but this time, there were none.

“Horseapples…”

With no alternative, Sunset took a deep breath and pushed through the fog wall, peering through to the other side.

The room ahead was of a circular shape, but with four generator-like machines on the sides, along with tubes running all along them and the entire room. The ceiling had a large metallic dish, with a glowing gem in the middle of it.

“I wonder what this is…” Sunset walked further in, waiting for something to jump out and attack her.

She arrived in the middle, still anticipating an enemy, but none showed up. Then above, the gem seemed to glow brighter, its reflective surface reflecting rays across the room, lighting up the center, forcing Sunset out of the middle circle.

Without warning, the ground in the center split open, with both sides shifting into the floor before the entire ground shook, the sound of machinery turning all around the fiery haired girl. Then from the hole, something began to rise. At first, it seemed to just be a golden head with well carved humanoid features, including two spheres for eyes and a large squarish nose. Then the rest of the body came into view, which was humanoid in nature as well.

The golden automaton stood a whole meter taller than Sunset and for arms, it had a sword and a claw, while a red gem sat in the middle, slowly beginning to spin as red light seemed to pulse across the entire robot.

“Great…” Sunset could guess what was coming.

The automaton’s eyes glowed red as its head began to move, looking from side to side before coming to a stop at Sunset, looking down at her.

“Have at you!” Sunset ran forward, instantly stabbing her sword through the automaton’s leg, the metal cutting right through the metal.

And then the automaton opened its mouth and began to scream an almost unearthly scream. It sounded almost human, but much more tormented. Sunset removed her blade as it began to stomp wildly, swinging its weaponized arms from side to side, the sword arm even damaging the ceiling in the process.

Sunset had to dance away from its feet and arms as it swiped randomly everywhere, all the while screaming with that bone-chilling voice it had.

This whole world is sick…

The gem in its chest made a loud whirring sound and suddenly, it stopped moving, turning to look right at Sunset before sprinting over, like the crazed automaton it was.

Sunset yelled and rolled to the side as its sword arm came crashing down into the floor behind her, getting up behind its right leg and cutting it with her steam sword. Once again, it began to scream, going on a rampage across the room, breaking everything in sight. Sunset kept away to the best of her ability, but then it came back in her direction, spinning its arms like windmills.

Sunset tried to roll again, but then one of its claws caught onto her shirt through one of the tattered holes and yanked her off her feet, swinging her in the air wildly.

“Wooooaaaaah!” Sunset tried to dislodge the claw, afraid that if she tried to cut it, she might end up cutting off her own head with all the swinging going on.

Almost unsurprising to her, her weight tore her off her shirt and she fell back to the metal floor, hitting her head.

Everything turned a dark blue and started spinning around her, but Sunset still managed to retrieve a estus flask from her pack and downed it groggily.

Instantly, her strength and vitality returned to her and she pushed back to her feet, rubbing the side of her head. Her tattered shirt still hung from the crazed automaton’s claws, leaving her top uncovered now, save for her black bra, which she thankfully still had.

“Now I really need new clothes…”

Eventually, the automaton stopped its rampage again and came for her in its more civilized state, raising both arms to attack.

Sunset dodged around its blows, trying to think up methods on stopping the robot. Everytime she attacked it, it went crazy, making it harder to approach. If she was going to attack again, she had to make sure it would be a lethal one.

The gem.

Sunset looked at the spinning jewel on its chest. Everytime it calmed down, the gem did something. Sunset figured that must be the thing powering the entire automaton.

“Here goes nothing.”

When the automaton attacked again, Sunset leapt to the side, then grabbed on to its sword arm, throwing herself on top of it where there were pipes running up its arm. Sunset began climbing, flipping herself to the side once to avoid its claw arm as it tried to get her. Her thigh accidentally pressed against its sword, cutting into her flesh, but Sunset did her best to ignore the pain and press on. If she stopped now, she would surely die.

Using its metal engravings and patterns to haul herself higher, Sunset soon found herself on the crazed automaton’s shoulder, now looking down at the gem as it tried to shake her off. Needing a distraction, Sunset turned her sword to the automaton’s face and pressed the button, releasing a blast of hot steam in its face.

The crazed automaton went berserk, screaming like no robot should be able to, thrashing around the room once more. Sunset knew she had to be quick, or risk getting crushed.

Twisting her body over to the front, Sunset let go and dropped, grabbing a rung next to the spinning gem. Hauling her body up against the automaton’s golden frame, Sunset brought her sword back and drove it as hard as she could into the robot’s gem, watching her steam sword pierce right through the gem and the metal within.

The crazed automaton screamed louder than ever, its arms just going crazy and spinning like fans, tearing up the floor as it walked. Sunset hung on for dear life, keeping her legs in, hoping that they wouldn’t be sheared off if she dangled out too far.

Still the automaton wouldn’t go down. Reaching back up, Sunset thumbed down the button on her sword, releasing hot steam from her weapon.

The crazed automaton stopped in its tracks, vibrating on the spot, its mouth hanging open in a silent scream. The metal of its body began to heat up and soon, it got too hot for Sunset to hang on and she leapt off, watching as smoke began to rise from the automaton’s body.

And then it crashed to its knees and began flaking off into ashes, blowing away in some kind of unknown wind; her steam sword clattered onto the ground, bouncing once as the machine faded entirely.

“Finally…” Sunset retrieved her sword and looked ahead. Opposite the entrance she had come in from, part of the wall began to slide up, the gears turning and steam hissing as a new exit appeared to the fiery haired girl.

“About time…” Sunset moved a hand through her hair and headed for the exit.

Just past the opened door was an open air square room, with nonfunctional automatons to either sides, leaning against each other and the walls. There was also a wooden chest to the left, almost hidden among the mass of golden machines. In the center of the room, much to Sunset’s relief, was a bonfire.

“Great to have another break…” Sunset went to light the bonfire, then turned to look at the chest. “And what do we have here…?”

Moving over, Sunset gripped the lid with both hands and pulled up, lifting it off the bottom; there was something shiny inside. It was a pair of armored leggings.

Sunset looked down at her own tattered jeans and the choice was easily made. Throwing her jeans aside, Sunset slipped into the new leggings, finding it surprisingly comfortable as she strapped the armor on. The insides were made of a soft leather, which didn’t irritate her skin too much.

“Now if only I can find a top too…” Sunset Shimmer looked at her exposed body and blushed. “As long as there aren’t any guys around…”

She took some time to rest at the bonfire, basking in the warmth of the safe zone. It was always nice to just sit back and relax after a perilous journey through a new area. If not for these bonfires, Sunset didn’t know how she would be able to keep pressing on. The fire always seemed to rejuvenate her, even removing her hunger and fatigue, meaning she never felt like she had to eat or sleep, which wasn’t too bad. She hadn’t come across any food since stepping into this world, so without these, she would probably starve to death.

A positive thought in a dark, dark world. And it would have to be enough to keep Sunset on her path to the end. There was still so much to do to start being pessimistic about everything.
> Chapter 9: Keep of Glass - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer left the Bronze Workshop, entering a vast grassy field, surrounded by mountain ranges that pierced the clouds above. The sun’s rays shone down, illuminating the center of the valley, where a broken structure stood. It was tilted to the side like one of its foundations had collapsed under its weight and it seemed to stretch all the way back into the mountains, maybe even going through it. It was made of stone, along with plenty of open windows, their glass panes shattered long ago.

Birds hovered in the sky above, flying in circles like they were marking something ominous. Then again, everything in this world seemed ominous.

Sunset Shimmer approached the structure, knowing it was where she had to be, seeing as there were no other places to go to.

In front of the entrance, where a bent gate lay to the side of the entrance, Sunset found a cluster of orange words, carved into the ground. Se bent down to observe them, waiting as they formed into something she could understand as her eyes seemed to translate the symbols for her.

“Keep of Glass,” Sunset read out aloud. “Traps ahead, therefore, good luck.”

Keep of Glass. Sunset remembered Twilight telling her about it. This was where one of the Flames of Death resided! Drawgren, Spear of Fire.

Finally… Sunset thought to herself. Her journey was actually leading somewhere.

She looked up at the keep again, wondering why it was called the Keep of Glass. There were windows, yes, but most of them were shattered. Perhaps it used to have more glass than it did now, that’s why.

Walking through the entry archway, Sunset promptly removed her steam sword from her scabbard, knowing well enough that she would have to fight her way through.

The was a courtyard with a broken fountain in the middle, leading up to the keep’s giant gates, which were covered in roots and grass.

Walking ahead, Sunset began hearing the crunch of glass under her greaves as she walked, spotting shards of broken glass from the shattered stained windows above. A wind blew in from behind her, chilling her spine and it certainly didn’t help that she didn’t have a shirt on.

“Nothing to fear, Sunset,” she said to herself. “Keep going and we’ll see if we can find this Spear of Fire.”

The path to the door proved simple, with nothing jumping out to attack her. Yet.

Putting both hands on the large rusty door, Sunset pushed with all her might, watching as they slowly began to slide apart. Slowly. She didn’t know why the doors in this world were so poorly constructed. Either they didn’t open all the way, or they were really hard to open.

As soon as there was enough of a gap for her to enter, Sunset stopped and slipped inside, noting the drop in temperature; she thought outside had been cold, but in here, it was much worse. It was like a cooler at the back of a restaurant and Sunset had been in those before.

“I r-r-really need a new shirt…” Sunset breathed out a puff of fog. “Or a n-n-new c-coat…”

The inside of the keep was vast. There was a dirty old carpet leading from the door to two staircases on the sides, both curving and leading up to a second floor, where a larger door stood. All around her were mirrors, each one in various states of upkeep. Sunset could still see her reflection in some, while others were too grimey to look through and some were just outright broken, their shattered pieces on the floor under them.

“Who would want to live here?”

Something stirred in the shadows ahead, below the second floor, where the light from outside failed to illuminate. At first, Sunset had no idea what it could be, or even if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but then a dark foot took one step out of the shadows and she knew she was in for a fight.

Her enemy was a knight, shrouded in shadows from head to foot, wielding a single broadsword. He spun his sword once, then broke into a run, forcing Sunset into a combat stance. Behind him was another mirror, but its surface seemed to have darkened, like its reflection had disappeared.

Pointing her steam sword forward, Sunset’s thumb clicked on the special button, launching a gust of steam right into the knight, further shrouding its form.

There was a cry of pain from beyond the steam, and then a shadowy sword came crashing out of it, startling the fiery haired girl, who sidestepped out of the way. The knight emerged from the steam, slashing and thrusting his weapon at her, pushing her back. Sunset held up her weapon in a guard position, jumping back as the knight tried to crush her under a high-to-low strike. The knight missed and its sword crashed into the ground, shaking the surroundings with its mighty blow.

Sunset was about to try and circle around when a small tinkling noise caught her attention. Up above, on a balcony overlooking the fight, was a large glass statue in the shape of an owl. It must have been twice Sunset’s size, and it was rocking precariously on the edge of the railing. A sly grin formed on the girl’s face. The knight swung at her again, its strike shaking the very ground.

It was enough. The glass owl teetered forward, plunging off the balcony and landing atop the knight with an almighty crash. Glass shards flew everywhere, the deadly spinning fragments scattering all around. The knight lay there, unmoving, before dissolving away into the air.

“That was easy enough.” Sunset rested her blade on her right shoulder. A few shards of glass had cut her abdomen when the owl broke, but it was nothing a little estus couldn’t solve. She figured if the owl was alive, it’d be hooting in laughter at the knight right now.

The fiery haired girl examined the other mirrors on the way, only now noticing shapes within them. Approaching one such mirror, she could see something beyond her reflection. Something moving within the glassy surface.

“What is that…?”

Sunset only had enough time to take a step back as a dark hand reached out of the mirror, followed by a greave. Another knight soon pushed out of the mirror, its surface going black and opaque as it raised its spear to Sunset’s chest.

“Not again.”

The dark knight thrust its weapon forward, but Sunset stepped aside, then cut back, severing the spear in half. She lunged forward, piercing the knight right through the chest, her sword going all the way through and coming out the back.

The shadowy knight gurgled where it stood, then tilted its head down and dissolved away.

Sunset breathed in as she placed her sword by her side. Good thing she had reacted fast enough for that one.

For now, she resolved to ignore the other mirrors, instead looking to the most promising destination: the top of the stairs.

Sunset Shimmer quickly made her way up, rubbing at her exposed arms as she tried to shake off the cold.

At the top was a long hallway with a few sparse portraits lining the walls. They all seemed to depict the same landscape: a desolate snowy ruin, with a few gnarled trees growing here and there. A rope bridge spanned from the ruins to a place out of sight. She had no idea why someone would paint something multiple times, but that was truly some feat. Sunset herself painted a little, but she could never replicate the exact same details into more than one piece of art.

As Sunset was examining one of the pictures, suddenly the frame shuddered and fell from its hook on the wall,  revealing an alcove behind it. And standing in that alcove was someone about her size, dressed in white robes with a golden owl mask, brandishing a one-handed axe and a small round shield.

“What?” Sunset fled back as the figure darted at her, swinging his axe from left to right and right to left. One such strike nearly took Sunset’s head off.

Righting her footing, she swung her steam sword at the robed man, but his small shield somehow absorbed the blow, glowing blue and knocking Sunset back, before he slashed at her side with his axe.

“Aaah!” Sunset stepped away, her left hand going to her side and coming back with blood.

The figure spun his axe, then pointed the tip at her. Sunset watched as blue energy began to form before it, congealing into a ball of blue magic, twisting and turning with power.

Grunting, Sunset kicked to the side and rolled away just as the ball of magic slammed into the ground behind her, sending blue sparks arcing across the spot she had just been standing on.

Ignoring the pain for a second, she swung the blade at the owl mage again, but this time, thumbed the button on her hilt.

A jet of hot steam shot out into the mage’s face, making him scream and drop his weapon. Sunset took that chance to slash him across the back, spraying blood on one of the nearby paintings. The mage fell to his knees, then stopped moving, his owl mask a melting mess.

“Gross…” Sunset quickly pulled out an estus flask and downed its contents, watching the wound on her side close up. She had only one left now, meaning she would have to be more careful, at least until the next bonfire. She looked down at the fallen owl mage, noticing something shiny poking out of the corner of his robes. Sunset knelt down and picked it up. It was a kind of rock, or metal ore. Shiny and black, it was quite heavy and dense for such a small chunk. Still, she pocketed it; perhaps it would come in useful later.

Making sure to stay well away from the paintings now, Sunset tiptoed down the hallway. Here, the path split into two. One way led left, while the other led right. Sunset shrugged and peered down the passageways. Neither of them was well lit enough to see more than about a dozen meters.

Choosing at completely random, Sunset set off down the left passage, her footsteps the only sound, echoing around her. It was still rather dark, and she regretted the loss of her torch, but at least her flame lit up a small circular area around her. However, it soon became clear to her that there was something blocking the way ahead.

It looked like a wide, feathery wall. She tentatively moved her hand up to touch it. It was soft and warm. Then she looked up and shrieked.

She was looking at a gargantuan, extremely wide owl that was looking back down at her, its large orange eyes half-lidded as if it had just woken up from a nap.

“H-Hello,” Sunset said slowly.

The owl peered down at her, its expression not changing. Then it reached out with a massive foot and clicked its beak.

“You want something?” Sunset interpreted. The owl’s huge head inclined about an inch.

“Well, I don’t have any food for you…” Sunset rummaged around herself and drew out the rock she had picked up from the owl mage earlier. “How about this?”

The owl squinted at her, then shrugged and flexed its foot. Sunset placed the rock in its grasp. No sooner had the owl taken the rock was there a strange hissing sound, like air being let out of a balloon. To Sunset’s amazement, the owl was deflating, shrinking down into a regular owl size, leaving the corridor open.

Sunset was delighted. “Thank you, mister owl,” she said and walked past the owl, which was sitting on the floor with the rock.

Despite Sunset’s initial elation, the path came to a dead end not two minutes after she passed the owl. A solid stone wall blocked her advance, with nothing more than a wooden chest in the middle for decoration.

Maybe I should have taken the other path… Sunset thought.

Still, she may as well see what was in the chest. Prying the lid open with her sword, Sunset was dismayed to see a chunk of ore, almost identical to the one she had given the huge owl. Feeling more than a little puzzled, she took the chunk from the chest and put it in her pocket. She spent the next ten minutes examining the dead end for any hidden paths. There were none.

“Guess I’ll have to take the other way,” she concluded, and walked back. But when she reached the spot where the owl was, she was shocked to see that it had grown back into a massive creature, blocking the way yet again.

“Hey!” Sunset shouted. The owl looked down at her and did nothing but reach out with one foot.

The owl clicked its beak and yawned, as if to say, ‘get on with it’.

Annoyed, Sunset took out the chunk of ore she had gotten from the chest and put it in the owl’s foot, which closed around it. There was the same hissing noise and the owl shrank down to a regular owl size.

Shaking her head in disgust and resisting the urge to kick the owl on the way past, Sunset passed and found herself back at the place where the paths divided.

“So what was the point of all that?!” Sunset shouted once she was alone.

The next path led into a corridor with five mirrors on each side. Some were shattered. Sunset sighed and planted a hand to her face. “What is up with this place…?”

Readying her weapon, Sunset walked warily down the corridor, keeping her eyes on the mirrors as she passed. There were definitely shadows swirling around inside the ones that weren’t shattered, but so far, they seemed to be content with where they were.

Sunset began to feel optimistic as she passed the fourth row of mirrors. Nothing had bothered to come out yet. Things were looking good.

And then, just to get her hopes up, the last row of mirrors shuddered and out stepped two shadowy knights, each one with a sword and shield.

“Can this get any worse?!” Sunset readied her sword in two hands.

As if to challenge her statement, the other mirrors behind her shimmered and three more knights appeared behind her, two of them with broadswords and one with a mace.

“Come on…” Sunset readied her stance. Five enemies and one estus flask. Things weren’t looking great.

Seeing as she only had two enemies forward instead of the three behind, Sunset decided to approach them first, her sword pointed at them already as she thumbed the button. Steam hit the one on the left, but it had already raised its shield to block her before the one on the right slashed its sword down at her.

Sunset put one foot back and parried the blow, twisting her body around and then cutting low, trying to get behind the knight’s shield. Unfortunately, it raised its shield, blocking the strike, before cutting at the girl again, the first one joining in as well.

The girl lifted her weapon horizontally, blocking both strikes. She kicked out with one leg, but the knight on the left caught it between his body and his shield. And then he pulled back, sending Sunset falling to the dirty marble floor, her leg still in the knight’s grasp.

“Let go!” She aimed her sword and blasted it with steam, but its shield protected it from most of it. This isn’t looking good…

Instead aiming low, Sunset swiped at the knight’s feet with her sword, cutting through its shadow and armor and wounded both legs. The knight bellowed a gurgling screech, then let go of Sunset’s leg just in time for her to roll away from the other knight. Using that moment of recovery, the fiery haired girl thrust her sword through the side of the second knight, pushing her blade deep.

It soon fell and dissolved into nothing as the first one bashed Sunset across the face with its shield.

The girl fell again, rubbing at her face, but she scrambled back as the knights on the other side approached, dodging a mace to the face, which cracked the floor with an echoing smash.

Scrambling up to her feet, Sunset blocked one of their swords, then pierced hers through the chest of the one with the mace. Just then, there was a fiery pain coming from her right thigh and she looked down to see a sword through it, plunged through her skin by the knight with the shield.

Screaming, Sunset ripped her sword from the now dissolving knight and swung it at the shield one, but it simply blocked it and twisted its weapon. The girl cried out again, almost losing her grip on her sword, but managed to pry its shield away with her other hand, then speared her weapon straight through its helmeted face.

The knight with the shield fell back, allowing Sunset to hobble back as the sword began to disappear from her wounded thigh.

“Stay back!” She pointed her sword at the last two knights, one hand digging around her satchel for her final estus flask.

The first one dashed at her, jumping in the air to deliver a thrusting attack. Sunset rolled to the right, her thigh flaring up, but managed to get back to her feet as the second knight attacked, slashing down at her with its sword.

Sunset managed to block the first one, but the second one cut her just below the waist, with the irl feeling the blade lodging into her pelvis. She screeched in pain, but it gave her a free stab at the knight, eliminating it.

Now there was only one left, but Sunset almost couldn’t stand anymore. She needed that estus, but the knight likely sensed that as well. It pressed its offense, trying to give her no room to get to her flask. Sunset could only block left and right, desperately looking for an opening to get her flask out, but there was none.

She had no choice but to kill this knight first. The question was, could she in the state she was in?

The knight attacked again, but this time, Sunset let it hit her, with the knight’s sword lodging deep into her left shoulder.

“Aaah aaaah!” she shrieked, but then took the chance to drive her own blade through the final knight’s chest, all the way to the hilt.

The knight let go of her, then fell back into dissolving particles, her sword falling to the marble floor with a resounding clink.

The girl fell back against the wall, then slid to her knees, one hand already digging through her satchel, looking for the estus flask as her strength began to fade from her limbs. Her fingers eventually closed around it and Sunset swiftly brought it up to her lips as she began paling from her blood loss. Once the contents hit her stomach, however, she instantly began to feel better, with her injuries healing themselves and the strength returning to her body.

“Oh boy, that was close…” Sunset panted, putting the empty flask in her pack. She really needed a bonfire now. If she were to get injured again…

She went down the rest of the corridor, walking around a large square block in the middle of the room, with the path leading down a short flight of stairs, leading into another corridor with mirrors, along with two paintings of the snowy landscape near the ceiling. Sunset groaned to herself, but pressed on, hoping to find the Spear of Fire quickly.

This next corridor had only one uncracked mirror, which of course, sent out a shadow knight against her. As Sunset was about to engage, one of the paintings above popped open and another of those owl mages fired a bolt of magic at the girl, which Sunset had to throw herself back to avoid. The magic blast hit a coil of rope that was attached to a pulley system. Sunset barely had time to look up and say, “Oh…” before a glass chandelier plunged down from the ceiling at her. Fragments of crystal flew everywhere as Sunset dived out from under it.

The knight tried to follow her, but was delayed by the chandelier in the way. Sunset took this opportunity to look for the owl mage. It was standing up there looking down on her, its masked face inscrutable. It took a black stone, like the one Sunset had given the huge owl earlier, out of its robes and held it up. The stone glowed, and in a flash, a huge ghostly owl appeared and rolled down at Sunset and the knight, crushing the latter beneath its weight. The spectral owl continued to roll toward Sunset, but she was quick and stepped out of the way. The owl smashed into the wall and dissolved into light.

“What is it with this place and owls?” Sunset exclaimed.

Doing the only thing she could to reach the mage up top, Sunset fired a jet of steam at him. The owl mage left his perch, leaping for safety, only to give Sunset the chance to cut him before he even reached the ground. The mage just fell flat on his face and stopped moving.

“Right. Continuing on…” Sunset brushed her hair from her sweat-caked face and proceeded past the chandelier and down the corridor.

Sunset found her way down a flight of steps, then through another few halls and rooms, one of which had plenty more paintings of the snowy scene. Another two mages pushed out from behind the paintings, which made Sunset wonder why all these owl mages were hiding behind the paintings, just waiting for someone to pass by. How often did they even get visitors here?

Likely no one else… Sunset thought as she thrust her blade through the first mage, then used her steam jet to blast the second one when the blade went through the first mage.

Killing these guys was getting easy, but that was something Sunset was afraid about. She’d already stopped having second thoughts about taking a life here and that was scary. Scarier than anything else in this world. She really hoped when she got away from all this, she wouldn’t find killing so easy.

After the next room, Sunset found herself in a long glass tunnel. Everything around her, including all the walls, was made of reflective glass. Parts of it were cracked and smudged, but the rest was still intact, leading down over to a metal door at the end.

As she went over to the door, nothing jumped out of the wall to attack her, which pleased the fiery haired girl very greatly. She put both her hands on the door and pushed at it, straining as she began to open them, the doors scraping against the glass floor and creating a deeper groove in the already cracked surface.

Past the door, was a second, but much larger glass room, with panels all around Sunset, where she could see her own reflections staring back at her.

“What is this?” Sunset looked at all her reflections scratch at their heads. She looked all around herself, but she couldn’t figure out where to go. There wasn’t a single clear path from where she was standing. “Things just can’t be easy, huh?”

Sunset breathed out through her nose and decided to walk in a straight line. It went well for about ten paces, then she slammed into a pane of glass.

“Oww…” Sunset said, rubbing her nose. All around her, dozens of other Sunsets did the same. It was almost like a billion shards of glass that decided to come and haunt her. Taking her sword, Sunset reached out and poked one of the mirrors. Her sword scratched the smooth surface, and an idea came to mind.

“A mirror maze, is it? Well, I can play that game.”

Sunset recalled a moment she had spent with Fluttershy, though it felt like it had been ages ago by now. They had been doing a newspaper puzzle in the cafeteria. Fluttershy was explaining that if one wanted to solve a maze, all one had to do was stick to the wall on the right, and if you followed the wall, you would eventually get out.

“Time to put that to the test, Flutters.”

Keeping  one hand on the wall, Sunset advanced, her sword held at the ready in case of any unexpected enemies.

Sunset walked for what felt like the longest time, one hand on the wall. It was still chilly, and her breath came out in billows of fog.

It was slow going, and Sunset often had to take long detours while following the wall. All around her were reflections of her own nervous face. After an indeterminable amount of walking, Sunset came to a long passage with some glowing orange words etched into the floor.

“Finger ahead, therefore try holding with both hands,” Sunset read. “Finger?”

Sunset then saw a largish chest nestled in the darkness. It was not being reflected by the mirrors, which somehow didn’t seem right. Sunset crept up to the chest and prodded it with her sword, jumping back immediately after in case it was a trap. Nothing happened.

Sunset then wedged the tip of her weapon under the lid of the chest and lifted it. At first, it appeared to be empty. Then she looked at the bottom. There was some kind of shriveled thing there; it looked like the talons of a mummified bird. A dried finger, to be precise.

“Ew,” Sunset said, picking it up. It didn’t smell, but she couldn’t see why someone would bother leaving something like this in a chest in the middle of a mirror maze. “What is this, even? Why do I need to hold it with both hands?”

With no answer forthcoming, Sunset tucked the dried finger into her belt and went back to finding her way out of the maze. Keeping her hand on the wall, she walked in silence for another fifteen minutes.

Then she saw something shining at the end of another long corridor. Hefting her weapon, Sunset warily approached. Once she got close enough, she smiled to herself. There, etched onto the polished floor, was a summoning sign. It read: Rarity.

Finally something good in the Celestia-forsaken place.

Raising her soapstone to the sign, Sunset watched as a white figure rose up from the floor, slowly materializing fully into view. She had on a small hat atop her curly violet hair, and she wore some kind of scholarly robes, but there was no mistaking her generous friend.

“Rarity, it’s good to see you.” Sunset threw her arms around her before she could say anything.

“Oh, uh, hello.” Rarity seemed a little awkward. “It’s… nice to see… you too? I must say, I don’t recall you. Have we met? Forgive me if I’m wrong.”

“Oh, right…” Sunset let go and scratched at her cheek. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. I… I know you, Rarity. Elsewhere. I’m… not from around here.”

“Yes, that I can tell.” Rarity’s eyes drifted down to Sunset’s chest. “Aren’t you feeling cold in the slightest? That top simply won’t do around here.”

“Oh, uhhh…” Sunset blushed and instinctively covered part of her body with her arms. “Long story. I’ll need to find a new top somewhere…”

“I’m sure you’ll find one in this dreaded place somewhere.” Rarity flipped her hair back and beckoned for Sunset. “Come. I believe I still know the way out.”

“What are you even doing all the way here, Rarity?” Sunset complied and followed behind her. “Why’d you put a sign in this maze?”

“Oh, truth be told…” she chuckled. “I forgot I had put it here. I was already searching the other rooms for treasure when you summoned me. But not to worry, I wouldn't mind helping you. Perhaps you could help me too. In your travels, from wherever you are from, have you encountered a warrior named Applejack? Lightning axe, chainmail.”

“Applejack? Is she here too?”

Rarity stopped in her tracks and turned around, gripping her staff in both hands. “You know that backstabbing traitor? Are you allied with her?”

“What? No. She’s a traitor?” Sunset figured she needed to explain some things. “Okay, look, Rarity. It’s going to be hard to believe. I’m not from this, uh, world. Back where I’m from, you girls are all my friends. You two are great friends.”

“Another world, you say?”

“Yes. Just a regular world. We go to school, we hang out, we do homework. Nothing like what I’ve had to do here.”

“Huh.” Rarity put her staff back to her side, but kept her frown. “Well, Applejack and I were friends once. Partners. We hunted treasure together, but then she locked me in a metal tomb and I was stuck in there for months.”

“What? That’s terrible.” Sunset couldn’t imagine Applejack doing something like that.

“Yes, well, you see why I have a problem with her. If I ever find her… Let’s just say, she’s going to lose more than just her hat.” Rarity grumbled, but turned and continued walking. “Come, Sunset Shimmer. I said I would help. I suppose you can be trusted, for now at least.”
> Chapter 10: Keep of Glass - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer followed behind her friend, watching as she made turns that she couldn’t even see unless you look close enough. It was also hard to keep track of which Rarity was the real one, but somehow, she managed, all the way out of the maze. And extremely fortunately, there was a bonfire, just beyond a set of double doors.

“Free at last!” Sunset fell to her knees before the bonfire and lit it, feeling rejuvenated as soon as the fire ignited. “Come on, Rarity. Sit here a while.”

“Oh, don’t mind me. I’m a phantom, you see, summoned by you.” Rarity pointed to her white form. “I cannot use your bonfires. I must say though, I have never seen a flame like yours before. Could it be? Do you carry the Flame of Life.”

“So I have been told.” Sunset put a hand to her chest. It didn’t help to keep her warm, but it did have its uses in dark places. To an extent. “I’ve been told the creatures of this world want it.”

“Everyone wants it.” Rarity eyed Sunset. “I too, traveled from my land of Marestora to have it, but fret not. I shall not take it from you. It is yours. I’d like to find my own. Say, where did you get it?”

Sunset shrugged. “I woke up in this world with it.”

“Huh. I didn’t wake up with anything but my robes on me. You must be destined for something great, Sunset Shimmer.”

“I’m… just looking for a way home. Do you know of Fyrlon? Twilight told me if I gather the Flames of Death, I can find a way home.”

Rarity snapped her fingers. “Ah, of course. That is why you are here. The Keep of Glass. Home to Drawgren, Spear of Fire. Drawgren was from my land, did you know? He was once a great hero, sworn to defend us from the Abyss.”

“Abyss? What’s that?” Sunset looked away from the fire to her friend.

“You do not know of the Abyss?” Rarity came and sat beside her. “It is a dark place. No one really knows how it originated, but it is a place no one can simply enter. It would kill you as soon as you set foot in it. The Abyss holds the most frightening of entities, some of which might even drive you crazy just by looking at them. The Abyss is forever growing, seeking to consume everything.”

“Sounds dangerous…” Sunset pulled at a lock of her red hair. “Then again, so is everything in this world.”

“The Abyss is not a place you’d ever want to go to. Especially if you think the world is bad enough as it is.” Rarity picked at the sleeve of her robe. “Drawgren found a Flame of Death near the Abyss. Since then, he has gone mad and abandoned his post. He now resides in this keep, but as to why, that I do not know.”

“And I have to take that flame, huh?” Sunset looked around the room. There were carvings of owl faces on the walls. One of them had fallen to the ground, and there were words inscribed on the back. Reaching over with the tip of her weapon, Sunset pulled the carving closer and picked it up.

“‘Very good’,” Sunset read. Losing interest, she tossed it aside, where it bounced along the ground. More importantly, it shouted out the words “Very good!” as it hit the floor.

“Are you ready to continue, dear?” Rarity stopped looking at her fingernails. “We’ve spent enough time here as it is.”

“Oh, alright.” Sunset dug through her satchel first to check that her estus flasks were all filled. “All filled. Okay. I’m ready.”

Once she left the presence of the bonfire, Sunset Shimmer began to feel cold again, and she rubbed at her shoulders, trying to warm herself up. Past the bonfire’s room was an ‘L’ shaped corridor, where a treasure chest sat in an indent in the wall, between two mirrors.

“Oh, loot.” Sunset went forward, but Rarity stretched out a hand to stop her.

Just then, two knights with spears pushed out of the mirrors and lumbered over, their speartips aimed for Sunset’s neck.

“Great, more of these guys.” Sunset pulled out her steam sword and readied herself for a fight.

The first one charged, jabbing its spear forward, but Sunset was already on the move, deflecting the attack by hitting the spear high. That gave her the room to finish the knight with a stab to the chest, but then there was a bolt of blue and the knight fell back, dissolving. Sunset turned to see Rarity already readying a second bolt of magic. She fired it at the second knight, who tried to dodge, but was too slow. It too, dissolved into nothing.

“How come you can use magic, Rarity?” Sunset missed having her own magic. All she had here was her steam sword.

“Because I am a sorcerer…?” Rarity said hesitantly. “I graduated at the top of my class back in Marestora and was on  my way to becoming a teacher. Then I became undead, and the rest is history.”

“Wait. You’re… dead?” Sunset had to make sure she heard that right.

“Why, yes. I am. Don’t look much like it, right?” Rarity gave her hair a flip again and struck a pose. “Most of us from Marestora are undead. That’s why we come here, seeking life. Of course, those who lose their purpose become Hollow, but I have no intention of letting that happen to me.”

“Umm… well, look out!” Sunset pushed Rarity out of the way just as one of those owl mages fell from above, his axe clashing against Sunset’s sword as he dropped beside her, the force knocking Sunset down to a knee. “Undead or not, I’m not letting you get hurt, Rarity.”

“Hold on!” Rarity readied a spell and blasted it at the mage as he tried to break Sunset’s guard. The magic bolt smashed him across the owl face mask and sent him flying back against one of the mirrors, shattering it.

“Thanks, Rarity.” Sunset stood up and dusted her leggings.

“You should be more careful with yourself, dear. I’m a white phantom. Even if I die, I will simply return to where I was before you summoned me. You, on the other hand, if you die, I get returned as well. I lose nothing if I die. Remember that, Sunset Shimmer, when you’re with phantoms.”

“Um, right.” Sunset proceeded to open the chest and she was delighted to see what was inside. “It’s a top!” She fished it out with a hand. “Finally.”

It was a leather and steel piece, brown leather along the center and the sleeves, and fitted with chainmail around the rest. Sunset wasted no time in putting this new shirt on. At first, the metal clinked against her skin, which was ice to the touch, but once she got it fully on, the leather seemed to warm her up greatly. At least now, she wasn’t being directly affected by the cold.

“Much better. Come. We’re almost there.”

Rarity led Sunset down two more hallways and a large staircase. The staircase had three braziers each on the left and right, all of them lit and blazing strong. At the bottom of the steps was a giant double door, at least ten times taller than Sunset, rusted, but still looking very sturdy.

“That looks significant,” Sunset commented. Around the door were a few glowing summon signs, some of them white, some of them gold.

“Vinyl…” Sunset inspected the first one. “Vinyl Scratch?”

Sunset was quite familiar with CHS’ resident DJ. Holding out her soapstone, Vinyl’s sign disappeared, but soon, her white shape began to emerge from the floor, rising up and giving Sunset a bow.

“Hey, Vinyl. Nice to see you.” Sunset remembered they wouldn’t know her, so she stuck her hand out. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you.”

The blue haired girl smiled and shook Sunset’s hand. Her outfit consisted of ragged robes, along with an old tattered hood. She carried a wooden shield on her left arm and an axe hung at her side. The other surprising thing were her glasses. Instead of her usual giant pink glasses, this world’s Vinyl instead had a small pair of glasses and they were see through, allowing Sunset to glimpse at her red eyes.

“Yes, now you seem more equipped for the coming fight.” Rarity joined them both and gave Vinyl a nod. “Come, let us proceed.”

“But there are more signs.” Sunset looked back to the floor, but they were all gone. “Oh, where did they go?”

“You have summoned two, Sunset.” Rarity raised a finger. “Two is the maximum number of phantoms you may summon at a time.”

Sunset scratched her head and Vinyl nodded in confirmation. “But why?”

The violet haired mage simply shrugged. “Those are the rules. Though, if you had a dried finger, you could summon one more. But beware. It opens you up to invasions from red spirits.”

Rarity saw the confusion on Sunset’s face and continued. “Red spirits are hostile spirits that invade you to impede your progression, unlike us white spirits, who are here to help.”

“Oh.” Sunset dug around her pack, remembering that old finger she found earlier. Was that what Rarity was talking about? “Is this it? The thing I can use to summon more people?”

“Well, yes,” Rarity said, recoiling a little from the mummified digit. “But I don’t know how to use it.”

“Try holding with both hands!” Sunset recalled. “Okay.”

Sunset took out the gnarly old finger and raised it up in both her hands. At first, nothing, but then a soft ray of light exploded out around it and vanished.

“Did that do anything?” Sunset looked at it and then put it back in her satchel.

“Look down and you’ll see.”

Beneath her, the colourful signs had all reappeared again, ranging from yellow to white. Sunset remembered Fluttershy saying something about the golden ones, who swore to help others in their journey. Perhaps a yellow one wouldn’t be bad.

She scanned through the names, finding three she knew: Dense Bush, Lightning Rain, and Bulk Biceps.

“Not Dense Bush…” Sunset decided to go with Lightning Rain. She didn’t talk to him much, but at least he was someone she could count on.

Raising her sign to his, Lightning Rain soon emerged from the floor, sticking both his arms out above his head as he stretched his body back.

This Lightning Rain had on a set of light cloth armor, along with a metal helmet and shoulder plates. Instead of the usual baseball bat Sunset would see him with, this Lightning had a long steel katana strapped to his side.

“Hello,” he greeted, looking to the door. “Let us go. Drawgren is just this way.”

“Let’s hope we’ll be enough to handle him.” Sunset gulped. Of all the monsters so far, Drawgren was the first to make her spine go ice cold, and no, it wasn’t the cold in this keep.

“And we better hurry. Before the red phantoms show up. They would have heard the dried finger’s call by now.” Rarity ushered Sunset to open the doors.

Sunset crept down the stairs and put both her hands on the doors. Putting everything she had into it, Sunset held her breath as she began to slowly push the heavy metal doors aside. It was incredibly difficult, and she soon found herself breaking a sweat, but she kept it up.

After about ten minutes of pushing, she finally had a space wide enough for Sunset and her party to proceed. It wasn’t long before they came to a billowing barrier of grey and white fog.

“There it is…” Sunset took a deep breath as she tried to look past the fog.

Just then, she sensed something. It was almost like a resonating within herself, like a sort of bell that rang out in a small space. Something was coming.

“Speed it up, Sunset. We’ve got incoming.” Rarity tapped her on the shoulder.

“Get through the fog gate.” Lightning Rain unsheathed his katana and held it in two hands. “We’ll keep the invaders off you until then.”

Past the three of her companions, a red shape emerged from the ground, covered from head to toe in spiky armor, wielding equally spiky armaments.

Sunset did as she was told and pushed her way through the dense fog, finding an open room with a balcony above, circling the entire room. The middle had a circular indent in the ground, which looked vaguely like an arena, and to the far end of the room was a throne, which was currently occupied.

Sunset felt the ringing sensation within herself fade, just as her friendly phantoms entered the room behind her, standing on her left and right.

“You guys dealt with the red phantom already?” Sunset said, impressed.

“Red phantoms can’t follow us through fog doors,” Rarity explained. “Although, red phantoms are banished once the host goes to the final battle. This is where we confront Drawgren. Prepare yourselves, everyone.” She raised her staff, staring at the throne on the far side of the room.

On the other side, a giant knight sat on the throne, slumped to one side, one hand holding a long spear. By giant, Sunset meant giant. The knight stood at least a whole body taller than her.

This could be no other but Drawgren, Spear of Fire.

Sensing them, the knight stirred, first raising his head to look over. He then pushed to his feet, dust falling from his joints and he placed one foot down a step to his throne, using his spear’s end as a support. Drawgren hunched down low, but then tilted his body back up as he released a blood curdling roar, loud enough that more dust began to rain down from the ceiling above.

“Here we go.” Lightning placed his katana by his head.

The baseball player was the first to approach Drawgren, katana at the ready. The knight soon thrust his spear forward, almost too fast for Sunset to see. Lightning rolled to the side, then slashed twice at Drawgren before having to move again. Sunset watched as Rarity and Vinyl readied their magic, with Vinyl’s being some kind of fireball.

Only having her steam sword, Sunset rushed in, deciding to help Lightning Rain with the knight’s attention.

The room’s temperature seemed to have dropped when Drawgren stood up, but Sunset paid it no attention as she thrust her sword through Drawgren’s knee. The knight bellowed and turned, punching her in the shoulder and knocking her to the ground.

Sunset rolled as Drawgren stabbed his weapon at her, trying to skewer her. Then a fireball exploded against the knight’s back. Sunset looked up to see Vinyl hurl a second fireball, this one slamming against Drawgren’s flank.

The knight growled and swooped at Vinyl, slashing at her with his spear. However, just before the weapon struck, Vinyl cast some kind of spell on herself and the spear bounced off with a clang, Drawgren recoiling in apparent surprise. Rarity took the chance to shoot a ray of bright blue light at him, leaving a dent in the knight’s armor but otherwise not damaging him much.

“Armor’s too thick,” Lightning Rain said as he and Sunset circled around Drawgren, trying to draw his attention from the casters. “We need to attack at the places where the plates meet. Armor’s weaker there.”

Drawgren suddenly bellowed and rushed Lightning Rain, charging through the katana-user and sending him sprawling. Sunset Shimmer ran at Drawgren and stabbed her steam sword into the knight’s midsection, but the armor deflected it. Lightning Rain was right. She would have to aim carefully.

The knight staggered as Rarity sent a barrage of magic darts at him, but it only seemed to make him angrier. Rarity backstepped to avoid Drawgren’s spear, but she wasn’t quite fast enough. The spear raked across her belly and a spray of blood splashed out into the air.

“Rarity!” Sunset shouted, running over and kicking Drawgren in the back. Surprisingly, it worked and the knight stumbled. Vinyl lobbed another fireball, this one larger. It impacted Drawgren head on, exploding into a pool of lava around the knight that made his armor glow cherry red in the heat.

“Absolute disaster!” Rarity cried out, turning in a circle and looking at her injuries.

“Rarity! Doesn’t that hurt?”

“It most certainly does hurt,” Rarity said to Sunset. “But just look at my robes! They’re ruined!”

“That’s what you’re worried about? You’re more like my Rarity than I thought.”

Lightning Rain slashed at Drawgren but his blade rebounded off the knight’s armored body like the rest of his attacks. Drawgren bellowed and lashed out with a spinning kick that knocked Lightning onto the floor, his katana skittering from his grasp.

Sunset sprinted at her foe, but there was a blur of brown at her side. Vinyl.

Sunset watched as the white-skinned girl dashed past her, a flame blossoming in her right hand. But instead of throwing another fireball, Vinyl held her hand out and a noxious red mist blasted out, engulfing Drawgren.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then the mist dissipated, revealing their enemy. The red mist had done some serious damage, and the knight’s armor was melting and cracked. Vinyl must have used some kind of corrosive magic to weaken his defence.

Drawgren roared, his voice shaking the room. From up on high, a glass statue of an owl fell down and smashed. Drawgren raised his spear and thrust it at Vinyl, who held up her shield, but there was too much force behind the thrust and her shield went flying. Vinyl was undeterred and unleashed a torrent of flames at Drawgren, further slagging the knight’s armor.

“Flame… Mine…” Sunset was sure she heard the knight say that. Wind seemed to be gathering around his feet as he stood there.

Suddenly, there was an explosion around him, where a wave of blue flame erupted, knocking everyone back. Sunset herself slammed into one of the pillars outlining the wall, hitting it hard enough to crack it.

Sunset could feel it before she could see it. A wave of cold emanated from Drawgren. Blue flames licked through his visor, and there seemed to be flaming wings coming out of his back now. The worst of it was his spear, which was now much longer, having sprouted a flaming tip almost half the length of its shaft.

Then Drawgren turned his attention to Sunset and began stalking towards her, one hand stretched out towards her like he was trying to grab her.

“Mine…”

And then a fireball slammed into his back, staggering him. The knight turned just as Vinyl lobbed another fireball at him, but then swung his spear to the side, releasing an arc of blue fire, burning over her fireball and forcing her to the side.

Lightning Rain ran in and slashed twice, but Drawgren was having none of it. Flapping his flaming wings, he leapt up into the air, swooping back down above Lightning, and to Sunset’s horror, speared his weapon right through the baseball player’s back, sending a wave of fire blasting out around him.

“No!” Sunset yelled and hopped over the encroaching flames, slashing at Drawgren’s legs with her sword.

Pulling his spear back up, Drawgren attacked Sunset with waves of blue fire as Lightning Rain dissolved into golden particles. Sunset couldn’t bear seeing her friends die, even if they were still okay elsewhere.

Sunset managed to get a few hits in before she had to dodge Drawgren’s wide slash. Her left arm caught on fire, but it wasn’t warm. The fire Drawgren was using was cold to the touch. It still burnt, but more of a burning feeling when you touch dry ice.

“Agh!” Sunset rolled on the floor, trying to put out the flames.

Rarity and Vinyl pelted more magic at the knight, trying to get his attention, but right now, Drawgren seemed focus on getting Sunset. He grabbed her around the neck, lifting her off the ground and up to his face, running his flaming speartip down Sunset’s chest.

“Your flame… mine…” he growled, his voice echoing inside his helmet.

Sunset was fast running out of options and breath. The fire pulsing from Drawgren was cold, so very cold. With nothing else at her disposal, she lifted her sword, her arm trembling with the effort, and pushed the button.

A rush of hot steam billowed from Sunset’s weapon and into Drawgren’s face. The knight stumbled back, one hand going for his face and releasing Sunset.

The girl fell to the ground, trying to catch her breath, at the same time, searching her pack for an estus flask. Vinyl came back in from the side, lodging her axe into one of Drawgren’s elbows, then releasing a small cloud of fire in front of her, like a miniature explosion.

Sunset found a flask and gulped down its contents, feeling warmth and strength seep back into her limbs. These estus flasks really worked some magic.

And then Drawgren leapt up again, his wings giving an almighty flap before he readied his speartip downwards. The impact he created when he landed sent both Rarity and Vinyl tumbling back, skidding on the ground before coming to a stop beside the walls. Vinyl began disappearing, while Rarity was unable to get up.

Sunset easily dodged the flaming shockwave again, red clouding her vision. She’d seen enough of her friends die to this monster already.

With a battlecry, Sunset leapt high, piercing her sword right through Drawgren’s chest as he tried to slash at her with his spear. Blue flames spurted out from the gash in his armor, some burning Sunset’s face.

Sunset pulled at her sword but it was stuck in the knight’s armor. Drawgren swatted Sunset aside and advanced on her with his spear.

This was it. She was unarmed, against a being that wanted with every fiber of its body to kill her. Her friends were gone. It was just her now.

Then, from the corner of her eye, Sunset saw something moving behind Drawgren. It looked like… an owl statue? It was sliding across the floor until it was right behind the knight.

What?

Then the air around the owl statue shimmered, melting away to reveal Rarity, who gripped her staff in both hands and shouted, sending a torrent of bright blue energy blasting into Drawgren’s back.

The knight fell forward onto his chest, the impact driving Sunset’s steam sword further in, so far that the tip stuck out his back in a spray of blue flames.

Drawgren struggled to rise, got up to his feet, but then shuddered and fell over, the blue flames extinguished for good. He glared up at Sunset one more time, reaching a hand out to her, but then his entire body went dark and began to flake, burning up into little blue cinders, while leaving behind a blue flaming orb, just floating in the air before Sunset.

“We did it…” Sunset ran a hand through her hair and exhaled deeply.

“One of the Flames, defeated.” Rarity leaned against her staff. “You are skilled, Sunset Shimmer. I hope we will be able to meet again one day.”

“Count on it, Rarity. Especially once I leave this world. You’re a good friend of mine. I can’t wait to hang out with you again.” Sunset gave her a wobbly thumbs up.

“Then I will take your word for it.” She began to shimmer and fade. “Farewell, Sunset.”

And then she was gone, leaving Sunset alone with the floating blue fireball.

A Flame of Death.

Finally, her journey had made some progress. From here, she only needed three more and then the way home would be opened.

Just then, there was a spark below the flame. Then suddenly, a bonfire materialized before Sunset’s very eyes, casting a warmth around her as it refreshed her strength.

“Oh, that’s nice…” she smiled.

When she was ready, the fiery haired girl got up and reached out to the Flame of Death. It soon floated over to her and vanished into her satchel. Sunset didn’t know how that worked, but she didn’t care.

“One down. Three to go.”

As she reached her hand out to the bonfire, there was a sudden pull in her fingers. And then the world began rotating around her, almost like her head was spinning, but she was feeling fine. It was the room that was changing. Everything around her turned dark, except for the bonfire, and when everything appeared again, Sunset found she was back in a familiar place. The place where she had first officially set out on her journey.

She was back in Fyrlon.
> Chapter 11: Road of Penance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer found Twilight still standing by the stones as she got her bearings. She had appeared at the bonfire in Fyrlon after interacting with the Keep of Glass’ final bonfire. It had been a strange disorienting warp, but now at least she was back in a safe place. A place where she actually had friends.

“Welcome back, Young Flame,” Twilight greeted as Sunset approached her. “You have journeyed far and return with one Flame of Death. Not many are capable of such a task. Well done.”

“I had plenty of help, Twilight.” Sunset wiped off the grime that had accumulated on her forehead. “Wouldn’t have been able to make it if not for some of them.”

“Like me for one, huh?” Pinkie Pie suddenly popped up from behind one of the boulders, in the flesh.

“Pinkie! You’re here!” Sunset was surprised to see her for a moment, but then ran over to give her a hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, best friend!” Pinkie hugged back with more force, lifting Sunset off the ground. “I sense you have the flame of Drawgren, Spear of Fire.”

“That’s right. I do.” Sunset searched her satchel for it. At first, she couldn’t find it inside, but once she lifted her hand, the blue flame materialized on her open palm, flickering with an icy glow. “What do I do with it?”

Twilight pointed to the closest of the four boulders. “You may place it here, Young Flame.”

Sunset did as she was told, setting the Flame of Death down in an indent in the first boulder. The flame grew to fit the space, now burning freely in the boulder.

“Good. Three more and the way back will be opened to you, Young Flame.” Twilight nodded at the flame. “No one has ever gotten even one before.”

“Not even Pinkie?” Sunset pointed a thumb at the pink girl, who was in the process of biting a stick. “She’s really strong.”

The poofy haired girl did a somersault, then shrugged. “I’ve never tried. I just go around to other places. Easy!”

“I sure could use your help. Would you like to come with me to the next place? Like, in person?”

“Hmm… I could, but it won’t be so fun, would it? When I can just blast through everything?” Pinkie grinned.

“No, what? I don’t care if it’s fun or not. I just want to go home.”

“Oh, sure. Then I’ll come!” She turned to the lavender-skinned firekeeper. “Where to, Twilight?”

Twilight smiled and looked out back towards the mountains Sunset had come from when she exited the Thieves’ Passage. “In that direction you’ll find an old door. Past it is the Road of Penance, which will eventually lead you to the High Cathedral, where Doland, Light of the Sky, resides. Take heed, Sunset Shimmer. This will be no easy task.”

“Then again, what is?” Sunset sighed. “I guess we better get going then. Come, Pinkie.”

With Pinkie Pie trotting along after her, Sunset steeled herself and set off for the second Flame of Death. Twilight waved to them as they headed off, looking for the door she told them about.



“So, uh, Pinkie. You ever been down this way before?”

“Mm, nope!” Pinkie answered happily as they stopped before the metal door near the Thieves’ Passage exit. “I’ve really only explored the other side. I didn’t think this door could actually open. I have been down to the Underisle of Fire though. Scary place, that.”

“Where is that? Sounds dangerous. Uh, more dangerous.” Sunset put one hand on the door and ran her fingers along it.

“Deep underground. You know where the path splits in the Catacombs? You go down instead of up.”

“Oh. Great.” Sunset frowned and pushed at the door, slowly opening it. “More underground, huh?”

“Well, that’ll be for later!” Pinkie helped her push. “For now, towards the High Cathedral we go!”

With their combined effort, the door was opened easily enough, revealing a dirt road leading away into a foggy environment. There were a few trees with strange yellow leaves, spread about sparsely. On the sides, Sunset could make out human shapes, but they weren’t moving.

Walking closer, Sunset almost threw up. They were humans, but their skin was charred and melted, each body tied to a wooden pole coming out of the ground.

“Gross!” Sunset stuck out her tongue and took a step back.

“I suppose that’s the penance here.” Pinkie skipped along, digging through her hair for her curved sword. “Penance for what? I dunno!”

Eventually, the foggy road led them both to a fork, with one path still going straight, and another curving to the right. Both led deeper into the fog, and Sunset couldn’t tell where she had to go.

“A road diverged in the yellow wood…” Pinkie rubbed her chin and squinted her eyes. “Which way do you think we should go, best friend?”

“Straight means we continue following the path,” Sunset replied after a while. “So how about we go straight?”

“Okie dokey!” Pinkie went ahead. “It’s a shame we can’t travel both.”

“I mean, we could, but one of us is bound to hit and dead end.” Sunset scratched the back of her head. “But I think it’ll be safer if we stick together.”

“Mhm!”

Sunset followed behind the pink girl as she skipped along down the fog. She had to run to catch up with Pinkie a few times, but then after the next few skips in her step, the girl suddenly disappeared, completely invisible in the fog.

“Uh, Pinkie?” Sunset called out, but there was no answer. “Pinkie!”

Still nothing. Sunset stopped in her tracks. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. There were no animals in the trees, no sound but her own voice and breath. Plus, the burnt bodies hanging on the poles didn’t help in calming her nerves.

Walking on ahead, Sunset eventually saw someone moving in the fog ahead, though it was a little hard to tell who it was.

“Pinkie, is that you?”

To answer her question, the shape turned and began what looked like shambling towards her.

“Definitely not a Pinkie Pie.” Sunset retrieved her steam sword from her side.

Out of the fog, a spindly, charred being shambled toward her, a splintered shield on its left arm and a rusty sword in its right.

“Oh, no, no you don’t,” Sunset said, aiming her sword and pressing the button. A jet of steam engulfed the monstrosity, but as it cleared, it didn’t seem to have done much damage. In fact, the creature shambled a bit faster, letting out a chilling moan.

It swung the rusty sword and Sunset sidestepped, and the sword scraped along the ground, sending up a plume of sparks. She was about to counterattack when out of the corner of her eye, she saw something falling from the sky.

Sunset Shimmer dived out of the way just as the object impacted the ground, crushing the monster and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Sunset coughed, waving her arm to clear the air. As the dust settled, Sunset could see that the object that had come falling down was a massive greatsword, dark grey in colour. 

“What?” Sunset looked up, trying to see where the sword could have fallen from. There was nothing but fog and a muddled, grey cloudy sky.

She approached the greatsword slowly, trying to see if it held any clues about where to go. But suddenly, the greatsword drew itself from the ground with a sinister scraping sound, as if there were an invisible giant holding it. Then it slowly, ponderously, turned to face Sunset.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me-” Sunset blurted out as the greatsword swung down at her. It missed, but kicked up a flurry of debris and dirt. Wham!

Sunset was at a loss for what to do. At least the charred monster from before had a body to cut; where was she ever supposed to start with this flying greatsword?

She dodged a swing at her head, then shot a blast of steam at the greatsword. It didn’t hurt it, but in the steam she could see the outline of something huge, with an elongated head and two pairs of horns.

The air behind the sword bellowed, and the blade swung down with a vertical slice that Sunset barely managed to avoid. The sword embedded itself into the ground and Sunset took the chance to gather her wits and take a couple of steps away. This turned into a jog, then a flat out run as she sprinted away from the invisible creature and its weapon. She soon lost it in the fog, but as Sunset looked around, she realized something.

“I’m lost.”



“Pinkie! Pinkie, where are you!” Sunset called out, but no sound came back to her besides the echoes of her voice and the dirt crunching underneath her feet.

She felt as though she had already been wandering around for more than five hours, but without a watch, she couldn’t exactly tell. Things were just going great.

On the way, she had encountered two more of the living charred-skin humans, but they were slow and wobbly, making them very easy to dispatch, though Sunset found her steam attack from her sword didn’t affect them much, like the first burnt figure she encountered. Slashing them, however, worked pretty well.

Up ahead, Sunset made another left turn at a divide in the road, already giving up on which direction to proceed down. She was lost anyway.

This is just great, isn’t it? What else could possibly go wrong?

Just then, there was a shrill laughter, followed by the neigh of a horse and the thundering of hooves. Sunset jumped, but when she looked around, she saw nothing approaching her, though she could still hear it. Somewhere on the road, someone was likely riding a horse.

“And laughing maniacally,” Sunset added.

When she determined nothing was, at the moment, coming after her, she proceeded on, hoping to at least find something that would point her in the right direction.

Walking to one of the trees with yellow leaves, Sunset flipped her sword around and carved an ‘S’ into its trunk. That way, if she was indeed going around the same place, now she would know.

The sound of hooves and laughter thundered behind her again, but this time, three of the burnt humans shambled into view, each one holding a rusted sword, their arms swinging from side to side as they approached her.

“Why don’t you all just leave me alone? I’m just looking for my friend.” Sunset readied herself.

She cut down the first hollow, as she had taken to call them, since they were just like humans without anything inside. The second one raised its sword to strike at her, but Sunset rolled away and cut out at the third hollow’s feet, knocking him down onto a knee before kicking it in the face and impaling the second one in the chest. If anything counted, at least these enemies were easy enough to deal with. The enemies over at the Keep of Glass had been such a pain.

After finishing off the downed hollow, Sunset walked on, thinking to herself just what a bother this Road of Penance was. As of now, she still had no idea why it was called that, besides the bodies that had been hung up on poles. Then she thought of it. Perhaps if these burnt humans had been given their penance, then there was a penance giver out there, perhaps even looking for her right now.

Sunset shivered and forced herself to continue. She needed to find Pinkie and get out of her right now.

Walking alone along the foggy road, Sunset got some time to think to herself. All this killing of monsters and hollows and anything had really gotten just so easy now. These hollows were just burnt humans that were somehow still alive. She wasn’t just killing skeletons or even mirror people now. These were once people. She didn’t want murdering people to become a norm. If it really would carry over when she returned to her world, what was she going to do then? Would she become a killer if something didn’t go her way? What would her friends think?

“No. You can’t think like that, Sunset. You can’t.” She shook her head. She would let go. That’s right. All the death here, she would simply leave it in this world and move on after that. She could do it. She had to. “You won’t become a killer, Sunset. Believe in yourself. I’m sure your friends will trust in you too.”

“Ah, Pain… Or some say, Painr, do you see their punishment?”

Sunset stopped, looking around. That voice had come out of nowhere, and it sounded close.

“No. They shall no longer roam about in their evil. They shall never. No one can stop you. No one will ever stop your nightmare.”

Then there was the laughter again and Sunset heard a horse gallop off, their sounds slowly fading away.

Sunset ran ahead, looking around the path as it began to widen out into a more circular area, with dirt mounds on the side. Right in the middle was a familiar looking greatsword, wedged into the ground.

“Oh no,” was all Sunset could say before it suddenly rose from the ground, spinning once before pointing directly at her. “Not you again.”

Sunset couldn’t see her enemy, but she guessed she could likely still hurt it. It was worth a try.

Waiting, she put one foot behind herself and watched the greatsword as it spun its way towards her, swishing from left to right, before suddenly rising and stabbing down. Sunset rolled to the side and slashed at thin air, unfortunately, hitting nothing. She was forced to her feet again as the sword cut in a wide arc, missing her head just by an inch, which then twisted to the other side and cut again. Sunset tried to block it, but the force of the blow rattled her bones and sent her floating in the air for a second before landing a good distance away from the floating blade.

The greatsword lifted high above and came slamming down, and Sunset rolled the left to avoid being crushed beneath. The one advantage that she had was that she was more agile than this invisible creature and its weapon, but there didn’t seem to be much consolation at the moment.

Sunset retreated backward, and the floating greatsword followed. Sunset continued to back away, onto one of the side roads when she heard something on the fog from the right. It was a deep, rhythmic tapping, as though someone were clapping two coconuts together in the distance. She didn’t have much time to ponder this as the greatsword and its invisible wielder closed in on her. Sunset ducked a swipe for her head, jumped over a low horizontal sweep, but she was tiring. If that thing managed to get in even one hit, she would probably die, or be crippled too badly to continue the fight.

Sunset’s face grew grim as she backed up against a mound. She dared not turn her back on the floating greatsword to see if she could climb to higher ground. The invisible monster swung at her and she dodged, but not quickly enough to avoid a strike at her leg. Something cracked in Sunset’s ankle and she went down, hissing in pain.

The monster seemed to sense that victory was near, as the greatsword raised itself up high for the killing blow. Sunset knew that if she didn’t do something, that greatsword would be the last thing she ever saw. 

And then she was hit by a whirlwind, and the sound of thundering hooves filled her ears. There was a nasty crunch as the invisible monster and its greatsword were trampled beneath the hooves of two of the biggest horses she had ever seen. They galloped past, trailing orange flames and ashes in their wake. They pulled an equally impressive chariot, but Sunset was unable to get a close look at the driver. All she could see were tongues of flame and a set of gauntleted hands holding the reins.

And then just as suddenly as it had appeared, the chariot and the horses were gone, swallowed up by the fog.

“Well, that worked out again…” Sunset tried to stand, but she couldn’t. Digging out an estus flask, Sunset downed the slightly orange-flavoured drink and felt her foot begin to feel good again.

“Thank Celestia for estus flasks,” Sunset said, stowing the empty green bottle in her satchel. 

She stood up, looking around. In the fight with the invisible monster, she had lost her bearings and was now unsure of just where she was. There were two paths here, one on either end, but the problem was, Sunset forgot which path she had come from.

In the distance, a faint voice could be heard. Sunset’s ears pricked up as she strained to hear it.

“Very good!”

Sunset shrugged. She may as well follow the voice and see where it led. On the way, she encountered two more hollows wielding spears, but once again, they were too weak to worry about, so Sunset got past them easily enough.

Ahead, the path split into three this time, but the ‘Very good!’s were still leading her, so she chose the middle path, one that looked overgrown with foliage and littered with debris. This was clearly the road not taken, at least, until today.

Sunset continued to follow the muffled voice, but along the way, she encountered an armored hollow. This one had a sword and shield, and walked much better than the weak ones she had fought along the way.

Waiting for it to get close, Sunset rolled under its first swing, cutting out at its legs as she passed it. The hollow didn’t fall from the wounds, but turned and slashed at her instead. Sunset felt its blade connect with her back, but thankfully, her chainmail held strong against it. Sunset spun around and cut outwards, but the hollow had raised its shield and blocked her strike. Sunset didn’t give up. She pressed the attack, slashing left and right, trying to get around the shield or to at least tire it out so she could deliver the finishing blow.

This hollow was in better condition than the others. But Sunset had an idea. Though the hollow kept its shield up, Sunset kicked out with her right leg, the force of her kick knocking the shield wide and staggering the hollow. Sunset finished it with an expertly timed thrust to the heart and watched as it slid onto the ground, dead.

“That took long enough.” Sunset wiped a hand across her forehead. Just then, another ‘Very good!’ could be heard, coming from somewhere behind her.

The girl proceeded on, keeping her eyes opened for more hollows. The enemies here were fewer in number, but Sunset wasn’t complaining. Easier and fewer enemies made her feel better. 

“Very good!”

It was much closer now. Now that she was feeling a little more confident, she began to wonder: why was someone repeatedly saying ‘Very good’, and why was she walking blindly into it?

The path to the voice led her down another two split roads, then down a small slope, before evening back out a few meters ahead, flanked again by dirt mounds on the side, high enough to block the tree trunks on the sides, allowing Sunset to only see the top of the yellow trees.

And then just a few more steps, Sunset heard another echo of the voice, but this time, it was really close. And then she saw her. Pinkie Pie stood in the distance, tossing a round shape up. It dropped on the floor and broke, releasing a ‘Very Good’ into the air.

“Pinkie, there you are!” Sunset ran to her friend, who was equally as happy to see her, grinning from ear to ear. “I was so worried!”

“Me too! I thought perhaps those dead guys would’ve gotten you! But then I thought, nah, they’re too easy. I’m sure Sunset could deal with them. And yep! Sunset could deal with them!”

“That I did, Pinkie. I did encounter something weird though. Well, two weird things. An invisible monster with a sword and a flaming chariot.”

“Oh, I saw the chariot!” Pinkie pointed down the road. “It went this way. See the tracks? Maybe it’s the boss or something?”

“You don’t know anything about it?”

Pinkie shook her head happily. “Nope! Come on. Let’s find out!”

She grabbed Sunset’s hand and skipped along, pushing quickly through the fog. It was times like this, Sunset was very glad to have a friend with her. It made her feel safer and less afraid of what waited for her behind the fog. It also gave Sunset a fierce determination. She was going to make it out of here, and she was going to return to her friends.

At the end of the road, the path split into two directions, left and right. Pinkie looked like she was about to choose right, but then the laughing came again, followed by the sound of hoofsteps and neighing.

“Ah, Pain… or some say Painr…” the voice echoed around them. “Do you see their punishment? Vengeance is upon them. Nicolash, Head of the Charge, performs his duty for you.”

And then through the fog, Sunset could see the flames of the horses ride closer. Those massive horses that had trampled the invisible monster earlier. And then the chariot pushed through the fog, coming into view. Atop it, stood a man. The man was dressed in a black coat, wearing a pair of silver gauntlets and greaves, but what made Sunset’s skin crawl was his head. Instead of a regular head, the man’s was but a skull, set on fire, with two orange glows where his eyes should be.

From his chariot, fog seemed to spew out. It looked like it was emitting it all around the place, the source of the fog.

He cackled again, then pointed at Sunset and Pinkie. “No. You shall no longer roam about in your evil. No one can catch us. No one can stop us now!”

With a flick of his reins, the horses neighed and thundered down the left road, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.

“Come on, let’s get him!” Pinkie tried to drag Sunset, but the girl stopped in her tracks.

“Why?” she asked. “Can’t we just find the exit?”

“Did you see his chariot? If we destroy it, then the fog will disappear! Simple! Come on!”

Making the fog disappear? That sounded like a good idea. Like that, perhaps she would be able to see where they could go.

“Let’s go, then.” Sunset nodded.

They followed the dirt road, listening out for Nicolash’s eerie laughter and the thundering of his horses’ hooves, turning on split roads where his voice was louder.

They caught sight of him a few times, sometimes just waiting there, unmoving, but as they got close, he would laugh and start up again, disappearing into the fog like a ghost.

The next time they found him again, Sunset tried blasting a jet of steam towards him, but he moved off too quickly and the steam hit thin air.

“More like fat air,” Pinkie snickered. “Maybe we should split up. I’ll go around.”

“Split up? I took so long to find you just now.”

Pinkie held up her round carving. “It’s okay! I have this. I’ll just use it so you can find me later! So I’ll go down the other path. Try and cut him off. See ya soon, Sunset!”

And the pink haired girl disappeared in a puff of smoke, already on the move.

Sunset continued on after Nicolash, listening for him again as she made a left turn on the road. It was useless. She couldn’t catch up to him with that chariot of his. She needed another method to stop him.

“Maybe if I heap some of this dirt into a speed bump or something…” Sunset mused. Then she shook her head. That would take too long. “Or how about I cut down a tree for a barricade?” But she doubted she would be strong enough to haul an entire tree onto the road on her own. 

“Think, Sunset. Think. What would Twilight do?” Well, that was easy. Stand around and talk about Flames.

As Sunset paced around, her foot connected with something with a clank. She looked down; it was a metal rod that at some point had been a halberd, but the top of the weapon was broken. She picked it up, weighing the heavy rod in her hand. Suddenly, a picture came to mind. It was one of those internet memes that Heavy Wind of the baseball team was so fond of. It had been of a man riding a bicycle. One by one, all the pieces fell into place. All she needed now, was Nicolash. Though, she was going to have to catch up to him to use it.

“Alright. Just gotta lead you right to Pinkie then.”

Sunset ran on again, following the sounds of the chariot and Nicolash’s laughter.

Eventually, she heard a screech of the chariot wheels and the sudden stop of hooves, before she could see a fiery glow approaching her through the fog.

Pinkie must have startled him. And now he was coming back her way.

Sunset readied herself, gripping the broken rod hard. And then the two horses came into view, their shapes taking up nearly the entire pathway, fire trailing from their bodies.

Sunset spotted the cackling Nicolash atop his chariot, pointing an armored finger at her.

The chariot thundered and thundered closer, but Sunset stood her ground, waiting for the right moment. Then before the horses could trample over her, the girl ducked to the side, just narrowly avoiding their front hooves. The fire coming from them was hot, forcing Sunset a few steps away.

And then as the chariot passed, Sunset jammed the rod through one of the wheel’s holes, lodging it against the chariot’s body.

Everything happened so fast. The wheel spun just for another split second, then stopped, the entire frame shaking as the horses kept moving, now dragging one wheel into the dirt road. The axle under the body splintered and broke off with a loud crack, sending the chariot flying up as the shaft split off, allowing the horses to continue on without their master, who was now rolling on the floor with his chariot’s debris, spinning a few times as the momentum threw him far.

“Gotcha.” Sunset took out her steam sword and approached the fallen figure.

“Ohoo…” Nicolash spat dirt from his mouth. “A hunter is a hunter, even in a dream…”

“So this is a dream, huh?” Sunset asked. “Tell me, how do I get out?”

The skeleton laughed and turned to her. “You already know the answer to that. That is why you are coming in this direction, yes? But alas, not too fast. You still have a way to go.”

Pinkie emerged from the fog behind them, humming to herself and skipping over, a twig in her poofy pink hair. “Sunset, you got him! Nice work! And that’s the power of friendship! How do you like that, Mr. Nicolash?”

“You can try all you like… but you cannot stop the nightmare.” The skeleton stood up and adjusted his jaw. “The nightmare swirls and churns… unending.”

“Oh yeah?” Pinkie pulled her curved sword from her hair. “We’ll see! Chaaaaaarge!”

Both girls ran at Nicolash, who created fireballs in his hands, chucking at them one at a time. Sunset slid under the first one, then rolled to avoid the second, while Pinkie easily hopped her way towards him, dodging each one without any effort. Nicolash laughed and drew out a spiked chain that burst into flames as he swung it over his burning skull. The chain flew at Sunset, but missed by a fraction of an inch. 

Pinkie brought out a water balloon and threw it at Nicolash. It splashed all over his skull and put out the flames for a second, then the orange tongues were back in full force. 

“You’ll pay for that…” Nicolash growled. “I am the spirit of vengeance!”

“I thought you were Head of the Charge?” Pinkie slashed at him with her sword, which he managed to block with a swipe of his chain. “You said so yourself.”

“I am many things. The greatest apprentice of the sorcerer, Higrun, I am Master of the Flames, Host of the Nightmare, Driver of Anger. I have done many things. I have even stolen the Decla-”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sunset grunted and jumped over the chain. She was now close enough to strike, and Nicolash’s back was against one of the mounds on the side. There was nowhere he could retreat to. Her finger found the button on her sword and pressed it, sending a jet of steam into Nicolash’s face.

“Ahhh, not the bees!” Nicolash howled, dropping the chain and clawing at his skull with both hands. “They’re in my eyes! Arrrggghh!”

This guy’s a looney.

“Just kidding!” The skeleton laughed and stood back up, grabbing Sunset’s face with his hand and pushing her against the wall. “You cannot stop me. I am the Master of Flames! I cannot get burnt. Do you want to see how you get burnt?”

Fire began to spread from his gauntlet, the fingertips burning into Sunset’s skin with a hiss. She screamed out in pain and tried to dislodge him.

“Man, you’re really a lot of things.” A swordtip speared through Nicolash’s chest and he let go of Sunset, allowing her to retreat back, clutching at her face, before drinking down an estus flask. Pinkie pulled her sword from him and slashed him across the front. “You don’t hurt my best friend! She pulled another water balloon and threw it at him as he fell to the ground, dousing his fire.

“Arrhgh!” Nicolash rolled away and stood back up. “You cannot defeat me! I am a vampire!”

Both Pinkie and Sunset blinked. 

“R-Really?” Sunset asked skeptically. “Because you look more like a flaming skeleton man than a vampire.”

“Gee, you call yourself a lot of things, but you’re no vampire.” Pinkie roared and cut down, separating his torso horizontally. “See? You’re all made of bones.”

“The nightmare shall never end! You shall never prevail!” he yelled as Sunset approached him, her sword ready for the final blow. “I am Nicolash! Head of the Charge! Kidnapper of Presid- AAAAHHHHH!” he screeched as Sunset drove her sword through his skull.

Nicolash’s body began to flake and soon dissolved in a flash of white. All around them, the pieces of the chariot began to fade as well, and with that, the fog.

“Glad that’s over with.” Sunset exhaled and stowed her blade.

Sunset could see down the dirt path now. Just ahead was a massive building, rectangular in shape and housing many windows, all of them with bars on the outside. The entrance was a large archway with torches on the sides; the place was almost beckoning to Sunset. She knew that was their next destination.

“I wonder just how many people actually find this building if Nicolash was still fogging up the whole place.” Pinkie Pie stuffed her weapon back into her hair. “Well, that’s all fun and games, Sunset, but I need to get going! I promised Maud I’d watch her rock farm tonight.”

“Maud’s here too?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t she be? But thanks for the fun, Sunset! If you need me, you know where to find me! Byeeee!” And Pinkie skipped off back down the way they had come from.

“But… I don’t know where to find you…”

Sunset looked in the distance and she could even see the entrance to the Road of Penance from here. It was actually a rather small place, but the fog made it seem otherwise.

Sighing that she’ll have to go it alone again, she turned back to the building and began walking down the road not taken. And that, had made all the difference.
> Chapter 12: Folstad Prison
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset stood before the massive archway, looking up at the building’s entrance. It had an old rusted gate, hanging just above the entrance, and by the looks of it, it hadn’t been in use for a long time.

A verdigris-coated sign by the wall told Sunset that this place was called Folstad Prison. The bars on the windows made sense, but everything else looked more like a castle than a prison.

“Well, here we go,” Sunset said to herself and headed in, first, grabbing one of the torches by the archway. It had a skull-shaped sconce, which reminded her too much of Nicolash.

Thinking about it, Sunset actually preferred a more straightforward enemy, even if that meant an actual fight. Chasing Nicolash around had been too much trouble for what he was worth.

The prison entry led up a dark staircase, which made Sunset thankful she had taken a torch. If not, she would’ve had to walk around with only her flame barely lighting the way.

Once again, the place seems to have been abandoned, with dirty cells on the left and right housing no inmates or anything living. Chains hung from the ceiling, unmoving from the lack of any kind of wind. There were stains on the walls and Sunset guessed they were blood, but she didn’t want to think too much of what had happened here.

At the top of the staircase, Sunset entered a brighter corridor that went left or right, but both paths met again on the other side, which she could see from where she stood. In between the sides was a vast open courtyard, four levels down, where wooden pikes had been placed in the grass below, along with some impaled rotted bodies on them.

“Gross…” Sunset covered her mouth. This part looked like a prison, alright.

There were also benches, most of them broken, and even what looked like a sports court. On the right of the courtyard was another big entrance, built for people that stood at least three times her height, which looked to lead to another part of the complex. Sunset figured that was where she had to go. Now, all she had to do was find her way down to the courtyard. The corridors were flanked by bars all along the courtyard side, so climbing down wasn’t an option. Though, there was likely a staircase somewhere that led down to the courtyard, so all she had to do was find it.

And then Sunset saw it. The first sign of an enemy.

On the left side of a corridor, a hollow slowly approached her, holding a lantern in one hand and a cleaver in its other. A hood hung over its head, shrouding its features in shadow.

“Oh, you don’t scare me.” Sunset figured she would deal with that hollow first.

She would prefer to simply blast a faceful of hot steam at it, but seeing as it was a hollow like the ones in the previous area, that would just prove ineffective. She was going to have to do things the old fashioned way.

Approaching, Sunset kept her sword in front of herself, remembering her training and keeping an eye on the hollow’s cleaver.

However, instead of its cleaver, the hollow raised its lantern instead, swinging it from side to side and screeching at a disturbing pitch.

There were more cells to the walls of the corridor that Sunset had failed to notice. Unfortunately, these ones contained more hollows, and when the lantern hollow screeched, the cell doors went up into the wall, releasing a group of four hollows right onto Sunset’s position.

“No!” Sunset shrieked as they threw themselves on her, clawing at her exposed skin with their dirty fingernails.

Fortunately, she didn’t have much exposed skin now, thanks to her new gear, but unfortunately, her face, neck and upper arms were exposed. She felt the nails dig into her skin and tear at her flesh as she tried to push them off and get some distance.

One hollow tried to bite her nose, but Sunset managed to get one foot under it and launch it back into the lantern hollow before it could do away with her nose.

Unable to swing her sword at such close range, Sunset resorted to her fists, delivering a quick one two to the second hollow. She saw a tooth fly before delivering a hard third punch, knocking it to the side. With only two hollows left on her, Sunset managed to roll away from them after a punch to the third creature.

She quickly pushed back up to her feet and finished one of them with her sword before slashing horizontally at the next two, taking down three in less than a minute. The last one and the lantern hollow had recovered and now approached her again, but with no more surprises, both went down relatively quickly.

Sunset made sure to grind the lantern into oblivion with one greave, and reminded herself that wasn’t going to fall for something like that again. She had to keep an eye on her surroundings.

Assessing the damage on her neck, she decided it wasn’t worth an estus just yet. It hurt, yes, but she could live with it; she didn’t know just how far another bonfire would be. There hadn’t even been one on the Road of Penance.

The next corner held another four cells, but only three of them were occupied. Inside the third one, however, sat some kind of slug creature, holding a staff. It looked up at Sunset as she stopped by the cell door and wagged its stalks.

“Sick…” Sunset stuck out her tongue and kept going, glad to see a stairwell right after the last cell.

Shining her torch down, Sunset made sure it was safe before proceeding, taking a careful step at a time. The stairwell led all the way down to the first floor, which was fortunate. She wasn’t about to go down each floor and look for a staircase with all these crazy inmates and jailers here.

At the bottom, just around the corner, Sunset spotted another of the lantern hollows approaching, its mouth opened wide. Not wasting time, Sunset approached it as it began to swing its lantern, stabbing it through the neck before it could do anything else. The hollow shuddered, then went limp, sliding off her sword and onto the floor.

Grinding the lantern under her foot, Sunset looked in the nearby cells, watching the prisoner hollows just sit in there, minding their own business. She figured as long as she could get the lantern before the hollow were to scream, the others wouldn’t bother her.

Heading out into the open courtyard, Sunset looked up at the grey sky, noticing it was soon to be nighttime, with the sky already darker than it was when she was on the Road of Penance.

The close proximity of the prison to the road made Sunset think. Perhaps the people hung up on the poles were escaped prisoners? That would explain the penance part.

Among the dead bodies around the courtyard, Sunset found a bonfire in the middle and her eyes lit up.

“Yes! Finally.” She trudged over to it and lit it. It was good to finally have a break.

Warming herself up and regaining her strength, Sunset looked past the courtyard and into the other part of the prison complex. The second floor corridor marked the top of the entrance, and past it seemed to be smaller buildings, likely the barracks of prison guards. Maybe more of those lantern hollows.

And then past them, Sunset could see another larger building. Perhaps another wing of the prison. This one, however, was much taller, maybe seven or eight floors instead of the four here. There were no windows on that one and it had ramparts along its side, like a castle.

“I wonder where that leads. I bet it’s where I have to go.”

When she was ready to move on, Sunset pushed up and headed for the entrance, trying to keep her eyes away from the pikes and the bodies on them. There were about six barracks in the new area, but Sunset figured her goal was the other large complex past them. If she didn’t have to, she wasn’t going to go into these smaller structures. There were likely more monsters in them, just waiting to ambush her.

Sunset walked a little bit further when something tall and dark moved at the corner of her eye. A hulking figure in ragged black robes lurched out of the shadows between two of the barracks, holding an empty burlap sack over its shoulder. Its eyes were glowing red and what she could see of its skin was grey and sinewy.

Sunset backed away, keeping her sword between the creature and herself.

“Um… hello?”

Without warning, it’s arm suddenly stretched out, seemingly growing past its normal length, grabbing Sunset around the neck and squeezing hard.

“Ah!” Sunset croaked for a second before all air was stopped from entering her lungs.

In only three seconds, she had passed out, unable to watch as the creature stuffed her head first into the sack it was carrying, heading for the large prison wing.



Sunset Shimmer shot up with a loud gasp, one hand going for her throat as she fought for oxygen. There was a faint ringing in her head and she felt strangely light. As the world swam back into view, she became aware of someone nearby singing.

“Ah left my estus flask back at the bonfire,” A Southern, twangy voice lamented. “Ah’ll never heal myself again…”

“Wh-what?” Sunset said, cocking her head to listen. The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

“It made me think of all the many things Ah’ve sacrificed,” the singer continued. “Oh, Granny where do Ah begin?”

Sunset’s eyes began to adjust and she spotted a bonfire right in the middle of her cell. The floor was quite cold to the touch, so Sunset was glad to see it. Scooting over, she reached a hand out to the bonfire, but then she noticed she didn’t have her gauntlet on anymore.

Looking down, Sunset’s eyes shrank as she realized all her gear was gone. She was standing by the bonfire in just her black underwear, which fortunately, survived all of her journey. Even her sword and satchel were absent. Someone had taken her estus flasks too.

“When Ah broke my pots,” the singer continued, taking Sunset’s attention away from her lack of clothes. “Ah never knew, just how much Ah’d need them now…”

The voice seemed to be coming from the cell next to hers and it sounded extremely familiar. Leaving the comfort of her bonfire, Sunset crept over to the bars, getting as close as she could to the neighbouring cell.

“Hello?” Sunset called. It was getting cold from her lack of clothing. The singing stopped. “Is someone there?”

“Well, Ah’ll be,” the singer said in apparent surprise. “Someone new. Ah didn’t see them bring ya in. Then again, Ah don’t see a lot of stuff in here.”

She sounded so familiar, but Sunset just couldn’t- Wait. She only had two friends that spoke with that accent, and only one of them was female.

“A-Applejack? Is that you, Applejack?”

There was a short silence on the other end vefore she spoke again. “Huh? Who’re you? How’d you know mah name? Have we met, stranger?”

“Well uh, I know you, Applejack. From my world, you’re one of my best friends.” Sunset tried explaining quickly. She went on about how she woke up here and her journey so far, trying to get the Flames of Death.

“So you’re Sunset Shimmer. Well, nice to meet ya.” A tan arm stretched out from the other cell’s bars and waved at Sunset. “Unfortunately, there ain’t no way out. Ah’ve been in here for a week now.”

“No.” Sunset grabbed the bars to her cell. “There must be a way out. I didn’t come all this way just to get stuck here.”

Sunset tried to open them, but they were locked shut.

There must be a way out. There has to be…

She investigated her cell further, walking back to the bonfire to bask in its glow as she scanned her surroundings. There wasn’t even a bed or toilet bowl in here. It was just a square cell with some hay on the floor and some chains on the walls, likely to hang prisoners from if they misbehaved.

“Applejack, is there anything in your cell?” Sunset returned to the bars and looked outside. The pathway was sloped, leading downwards and there was a massive drop off beyond the path, leading down to Celestia knows where.

The other girl, who had begun humming, stopped to answer. “Nope. Just a plain ol’ cell.”

“Hmm…” Sunset leaned back against the wall, which was cold against her skin. She looked up. There was a skylight, but it was far too high up to reach. The heavens were a dark, murky colour now, which matched Sunset’s current mood.

“Hoo,” came a voice. Something loomed over the skylight, blocking out the light.

“Who?” repeated Sunset. She  squinted up. Unbelievably, it was the owl from the Keep of Glass, not quite in its gigantic size, but not as small as a regular owl either.

“Hoo,” the owl hooted before dropping something from its foot into the cell. It hit the floor with a metallic clang and bounced to Sunset’s feet.

It was a key.

“Well, that certainly changes my impression on you, owl.” Sunset picked it up and examined it. “Thank you.”

Rushing back to the cell door, Sunset jammed the key into the lock and turned it. It was a little hard to disengage the lock at first, but it got easier near the end. With one final clunk, Sunset grabbed the bars and hauled the cell door open, free at last.

“Applejack, I’ve got a way out!” She headed to the next cell. Her friend was seated against the wall, equally as undressed, and her blonde hair was a mess. Shorter than the real Applejack’s hair and untied, and her signature hat was missing.

“Well… burn my biscuit. Where’d ya find that?” She got up and watched Sunset deal with her door.

“Would you believe an owl gave it to me?” Sunset swung the cell door open and grinned.

“Ah see no reason for ya to lie.” Applejack ran a hand through her hair. “And we’re free! Finally free! Hoooweee, Ah never thought I’d be out. Thank ya kindly, Sunset.”

“Anything for a friend.” Sunset gave her a quick hug. It was nice not being alone. “Come. Let’s find the way out. Are there guards?”

“Ah’ve only ever seen like, three of them. Ugly fellas. They’re kinda like jellyfish, but they walk.”

“Jellyfish?”

“Yeah. Their heads are even see through an’ all. But then there’s the one big baddie. Calls himself Folstad, Keeper of the Keys. He’s our ticket outta here, Sunset. Ugly son of a gun, that one.”

“So he named the prison after himself, huh?” Sunset looked over the edge at the drop.

Down below, water shimmered back up at her, but it was still shallow enough for her to see the bottom, even though it was quite dark. The sloping stairway led down, attached against the wall with no railing until a point closer to the bottom, where it left the wall and stretched across to the opposite end.

“Careful now. One misstep and…” Applejack dipped a finger down and made a whistling sound.

Sunset nodded. “And we can’t go walking around like this. We need to find some clothes and armor. Weapons too.”

The two girls decided to proceed down, heading for that one bridge that would get them to the other side of the drop. As they walked, Sunset began to feel colder, wrapping her arms around her shoulders to try and fight it off.

“Gee, we r-really n-need some c-clothes…” Applejack’s teeth chattered. “It ain’t th-this c-c-cold back in my c-cell.”

“Yeah…” Sunset exhaled a cloud of breath. Her flame lit a little bit of the steps down, but now, she wished it would keep her warm too.

Just past the next cell, a hollow jumped at the bars, startling Sunset and making her take a step back. Unfortunately, that step sent her back off the edge and would’ve sent her plunging down if she hadn’t grabbed on to the ledge.

“H-Help!” she cried out, her feet swinging back and forth over nothing.

“Ah gotcha!” Applejack was quick to her side, grabbing her hand with both of hers.

She took a deep breath and pulled, hoisting Sunset high enough for her to grab on with her second hand. It had been a heart-stopping moment, but once Sunset got to the top, she felt her heart beating again, her face caked in sweat.

“That was too close… thanks for the help,” she panted. If anything, at least that sudden scare had helped to raise her body temperature, at least for now.

“Ah wasn’t just gonna let ya die, so don’t worry ‘bout it, Sunset.” Applejack clapped her on the shoulder, careful not to hit her too hard. “Come on. We better scoot before one of them jellies show up.”

“How often do they show up?” Sunset kept an eye on the cells, ready for another random hollow to jump at the bars. “The jellyfish, I mean.”

Applejack shrugged. “Been a while since Ah kept track of time, though, they come every meal time to feed us, then now and then to patrol the block.”

“Reckon we can take them?”

“Sure, but with weapons.”

“Oh,” Sunset said. “Then we better find some, fast.”

She pointed down to a lower part of the stairway. A blue creature, gelatinous in nature, seemed to be walking up to them on two beast-like legs. A shroud of tentacles covered its body and its round head, just like a jellyfish, was see through as Applejack had said. Sunset could see its brain and other organs in there.

“Scrap! Here’s one now! We’ve gotta skedaddle!” Applejack pulled at a nearby empty cell’s door. It swung open easily. “Get in! Quickly!”

“It would’ve seen us, what’s the point? We should fight.” Sunset followed the blonde girl into the empty cell.

Applejack shut the door almost all the way and gazed out. “They ain’t got eyes. As long as they’re far enough, they won’t be able to sense us.”

“They won’t sense us here and lock the door, will it?”

Applejack shook her head. “They ain’t got the keys. Folstad keeps them all.”

“Then that gives me an idea…”

As the jellyfish got closer, Sunset opened the door and waited by it. As it reached them, two of its tentacles raised up, likely sensing them. Then it turned towards them and made a gurgling sound before one tentacle reached out to grab her.

Sunset rolled to the side, while Applejack stood on the other. The jellyfish looked at her and began walking to her, four tentacles reaching out.

Perfect. It’s taken the bait.

As it got closer to the back, Applejack let out a shrill whistle as she made for the cell door. The jellyfish paused to look at her, giving Sunset the chance to squeeze past its tentacles and get out the door, slamming it shut and locking it.

“Ha! That’ll hold it! How’d you like that, jelly?” Applejack smirked at the creature inside. “How’s it feel switchin’ places?”

“Come on. We need to move. It’s made of jelly. The bars won’t hold it long.” Sunset grabbed her friend’s arm and dragged her along.

They finally arrived at the bridge as the jellyfish squeezed itself out of the cell, running across it now, careful not to fall.

On the other side was a metal door, with grills near the middle, likely for the guards to squeeze through. Sunset threw it open and shut it when Applejack was through.

“What do we have here?”

Inside the room were stack of barrels and a few old wooden chests. Another door at the other end, just like the first, stood against the wall, leading out to a hallway.

“There’s our way out!” Sunset pointed.

“Hold your horses.” Applejack threw open one of the chests. “Sweet. We got some gear here. This’ll even out our odds.”

Sunset didn’t say no to clothes and weapons. Throwing open another chest, she found a set of steel armor with cloth segments. The chest piece was like a tank top with a steel plate on her chest and back. The gauntlets were like her old ones, but with cloth that went up to her upper arm. As for her pants, they were like her old chain leggings, but with steel plates on the sides. The greaves were basically just like any other greave she’d seen before.

There was also a single-edged sword with a black and white pattern and a blue gem in its hilt in the chest, but when she gave it a few swings, she found it was surprisingly light, but unfortunately, it didn’t have any hidden features like her steam sword had, but it would have to do.

“I guess I’ll call this one…” Sunset looked at the gem in its hilt. It seemed to twinkle at her and it gave her an idea. “The star sword.”

“You name your weapons?” Applejack put on a set of armor that made her look like a knight.

“It helps.” Sunset fished out the top first.

“Well, Ah suppose I ain’t too different. Ah’ve an axe. Well, had an axe. It was taken from me when I got locked in here. Ah named her Dragonslayer.”

“That’s… a… nice name. Heh…” Sunset winced.

She had only just fastened her greaves in when the sight of blue tentacles came through the grill in the door.

“Here they come.” Sunset picked up her new star sword and waited. Applejack had found a mace and a shield in the chest, which she now had at the ready.

The jellyfish first squeezed its tentacles through, then its body and then its head. Sunset didn’t wait for it to finish. Running to it, she cut out at one of the tentacles, shearing it right off, while slashing at its body repeatedly.

The creature gurgled, then spread its tentacles out to attack. Sunset kept an eye on each one, cutting them off as they reached her, only for them to regrow almost instantly.

“This isn’t working!” Sunset’s left arm and leg were grabbed and she was hauled off her feet.

“The brain. You gotta get the brain!” Applejack blocked a tentacle and beat another down with her mace.

Swiping the tentacles off her arm and leg, Sunset rolled away from another few and charged the creature’s body. The tentacles tried to get her again, but Applejack cut them off with her shield, before smashing another two into mush.

With her way clear, Sunset jabbed her sword through its visible brain, watching as the blade pierced right through it, releasing yellow blood into its body.

The jellyfish convulsed on the spot before melting down into a blue puddle, its brains and organs lying uselessly on the floor now.

“Not bad. One down. Eat that!” Applejack kicked the brain into a corner. “Serves ‘em right for holdin’ me here for so long.”

“Yeah. Come on, let’s see where this door goes. The faster we’re out of this prison the better.”

Sunset pushed open the metal door and scanned her new surroundings. It was a simple hallway with a strange ominous orange glow coming from the walls. She could hear the sound of metal clashing against metal, almost rhythmically.

“Ah wonder where this leads.” Applejack kept her shield forward, just in case.

Walking on, they eventually left the hallway to see a squarish room with all kinds of pots and pans hanging from everywhere. Tables were full of meat and cleavers and one even had a hollow, sawn open from the neck down, its intestines spilling out to one side.

“I think…” Sunset covered her mouth and ducked. “I’m gonna…!”

She quickly ran to the corner and let it all out.

Applejack took the chance to investigate the room further, finding a short staircase that led closer to the clashing sounds.

“Ah think this is a kitchen…” she breathed, tapping one of the pans hanging from the ceiling. “A really demented kitchen.”

“Y-Yeah, sure is…” Sunset wiped the corner of her mouth.

Just then two tentacles emerged from a drain on the floor, wrapping around her legs and pulling her down. Sunset slipped on her puke and fell on her face, dragged back as the jellyfish emerged from the drain.

“Sunset!” Applejack ran over, bashing the jellyfish on the head with her mace.

The creature lashed out and grabbed her around the neck, but she easily smashed it off with a mace strike and attacked again.

Gaining her bearings, Sunset cut off the tentacles that held her and pointed for the brain and thumbed- then she remembered this new sword didn’t have a steam attachment and grumbled. Running for it, Sunset slashed through a tentacle, then speared the jellyfish through the brain.

Like the first one, it melted down and disappeared down the drain, leaving only its organs.

“These guys aren’t so tough. Right?” Sunset wiped a hand down her face, then wiped it on her shirt in disgust.

“Let me tell ya, if Ah had Dragonslayer, these jellies would be a joke.”

“How did you get captured, Applejack?”

“Wasn’t one of them jellies. It was a big fella. He had a sack.”

“Oh.” Sunset remembered her captor. “Yeah, he got me too.”

“Whoever he is, if Ah find him again…” Applejack slammed her mace against her shield.

Sunset nodded, remembering the fingers around her throat. She was about to complain about him when she realized something. The metal sound had stopped. The kitchen had become deathly quiet.

“Trouble.” Applejack spun the mace in her hand.

From a doorway, where the orange light was coming from, two shadows grew larger, wide and grotesque in nature.

“Get ready,” Applejack said, hefting her mace. “Here they come.” Sunset thought the shadows had been creepy, but when they actually came through the doorway, she almost wanted to barf again.

Standing there were two very fat and lumpy chefs, sporting chef hats and aprons, stained with blood. They both held cleavers in their hands and when they saw Sunset and Applejack, they pointed their chubby fingers at them and screeched, before charging at them, their flabby legs taking them forward very unsteadily.

“This prison is ridiculous!” Sunset rolled aside as the first one tried to grab her. Applejack blocked the strike of the second chef, then clubbed him across the face with her mace. The chef crashed against one of the tables, sending meat sailing all across the room and breaking some pots of murky liquid, which spread across the floor and made it slippery.

Gross. Sunset tried not to think too hard about where the meat came from before vaulting over a chair and kicking one of the butchers in the face. It let out a guttural roar and swiped at her with its cleaver. However, it missed and embedded itself in the wall in a shower of golden sparks.

Sunset was about to attempt a cut at the butcher’s face when the sparks fell onto the floor, where little plumes of flame popped up.

One chef screeched and tried to stop out the fire, but Sunset used this chance to slash at him with her star sword, her weapon cutting right through his apron and flesh, spilling more blood down his front. The chef grabbed for his stomach and fell back, landing in the growing fire, which quickly engulfed his body.

Sunset left him as he began to thrash around, going over to help Applejack. Her friend had clubbed the second chef on the face, and Sunset ended it by throwing her sword into the chef’s back before teleporting in a flash of blue sparks to her weapon.

“Woah.” She looked at her hands as the chef fell to his knees, dead. “How did I just do that.”

“Yeah, that was some fancy magic, alright.” Applejack reached up, like she was trying to adjust a hat, but she didn’t have one. “Dagnabbit, that Rarity and her thievin’ ways! Come on, we better get outta here before the fire spreads too far.”

Sunset pointed over to the entryway where the chefs had come from and they ran for it. “Rarity? She said something about you locking her in a metal tomb.”

“What, you know that varmint?” Applejack frowned as they entered the next room, not stopping until they arrived at a wooden door with a bar across it. “Ah didn’t lock her in any tomb. She stole my hat! My most treasured of possessions besides Dragonslayer!”

“She said you did.” Sunset kept her sword and pulled the wooden bar up. “She didn’t say anything about taking your stuff.”

“Well, gee, Ah wonder why she didn’t.” Applejack kicked the door open and they both ran out. “Ya believed her?”

“Look, just like how you’re my friend in my world, so is she. I don’t know why you two are fighting in this world.”

“Cause she’s a thief! She may be a fancy wizard and all, but she’ll stab ya in the back for somethin’ shiny.”

After leaving the inferno behind, the girls found themselves in a darker room, with grates on the floor and more chains from the ceiling. There was a hole in the far right of the ceiling, along with a ladder propped up, leading right out.

“Look, a way out. We’ll discuss more on this topic later, AJ.”

Sunset was about to take another step forward when something moved from the floor ahead. Through the grills, another of the jellyfish creatures squeezed out, wiggling its tentacles menacingly in front of it. A brown familiar satchel hung from its head.

“My bag!” Sunset wanted it back. It had her items and estus flasks in it.

“We got this. Revenge time, jellies!” Applejack yelled and charged for it, using her mace and shield to smash apart the incoming tentacles.

Sunset figured her sword’s magic must have something to do with that blue gem in it, so throwing it up high, she looked at it and willed herself to fly to her sword. To her astonishment, she was suddenly by her sword in a flash of sparks, grabbing ahold of it, all within a second.

“Amazing…” she took the chance to drive her sword right down into the jellyfish’s brain from above.

The creature stopped flailing and melted down through the grates, vanishing from sight and leaving its organs and Sunset’s satchel.

“I’d never thought I’d see this again.” She picked it up and held out an estus flask, glad to have them back. Her dried finger and soapstone also sat inside, untouched.

“Good for ya. Wish Ah’d find my hat on one of these…” Applejack blew up at her fringe. “Well, that’s all them jellies taken care of. Glad to be done with ‘em.”

“Yeah.” Sunset looked at the ladder and smiled. “Come on, let’s move.”

Tossing her sword up through the hole, Sunset soon teleported to it in a shower of blue sparks, already at the top.

“Show off.” Applejack climbed up the ladder after her.

Their new surroundings was the top of the building, just an empty flat area, but with a bonfire in the middle, which Sunset was glad to see. A stone bridge led from the building to another building further away, out of the prison walls. This one looked more like a cathedral than anything else. Perhaps that was where she would find her second flame.

Unfortunately, about halfway through the bridge, there was a building. A simple small square, and the entrance to it was covered by fog. That only meant one thing.

“Looks like we’ve got a fight ahead.” Applejack grumbled and ran a hand through her hair. “But… we’ll need to get the keys to get out of here, so Folstad will have to go anyway.”

“Do you know who or what this Folstad is?” Sunset asked, looking uncomfortably at the fog door. 

“Ah’m not entirely sure, besides him bein’ the Keeper of Keys and all...” Applejack replied. “He must be tough if he runs this entire prison though. Where’re you headed anyway, Sunset? Ah’m gonna track down that Rarity and make her give me my hat back.”

Sunset pointed to the cathedral ahead. “There. The cathedral. I’m looking for the second Flame of Death. And come on, AJ, I’m sure you and Rarity can work something out.”

“Yeah, once Ah get my hat back from her.”

“Non-violently.”

“Oh. Well, that one’s gonna be up to her. We’ll see how she reacts.” Applejack folded her arms.

“Oh, you girls…” Sunset shook her head. “Come on. Let’s just forget about it. We’ve still got that Folstad to worry about.”

“True that, Sunset. Come on. Ah’m ready to get outta here. I’ve been here too long as it is…”

Leaving the safe confines of the bonfire’s warmth, Sunset led the way across the narrow bridge and stopped before the fog door. 

“Well, here goes nothing,” she muttered, pushing her way through the fog as before.

Inside, the building was just an empty room, with a skylight above to let the moonlight shine in. Near the other end, before a set of double doors, was a desk. A large wooden desk cluttered with papers and metal objects. Behind it, however, sat a very large shape, dressed in a dirty brown coat, already taller than Sunset while seated. It was a bald humanoid creature, with a glowing red metal eyepiece instead of a left eye. His big meaty hands unfolded from in front of his mouth and he snarled a most grotesque snarl.

There were what looked like daggers and knives sticking out from his arms, one even going all the way through and out the other side, and on one of these daggers, hung a ring of keys.

“Eeyup, that’s him.” Applejack nodded, raising her weapon.

With a growl, Folstad stood, picking up a gigantic cleaver by the side of his desk, swinging it up onto one shoulder and began walking around the desk. 

“Yaaaahh!” Applejack roared and charged at Folstad. Folstad lifted his cleaver to crush Applejack against the floor, but the blow slid off Applejack’s shield and her mace connected with Folstad’s face with a crunch.

Folstad backed away, holding his face with one hand. He swung blindly, grunting as his cleaver swished left and right, but not hitting anything. Sunset circled around, looking for an opening to attack. Applejack bashed Folstad on the arm, making him drop his cleaver, but the Keeper of Keys simply drew a long knife from his body and snarled menacingly.

Applejack swiped at Folstad and he backed away, a little too quickly. The creature stumbled against his desk and fell over backward in a shower of wood chips and paper.

Folstad dropped the knife and instead grabbed Applejack’s arm as she tried to bash him with her mace again. Sunset threw her star sword up above the jailer and teleported there, bringing the blade down with a mighty chop that severed the arm of Folstad, sending dark blood spraying out of the wound. Folstad clutched at the stump of his arm and rolled onto the floor. Then Sunset and Applejack ended it by smashing both their weapons onto his face.

Folstad’s body twitched a few times, but then went still.

“Huh,” Sunset said, pulling her sword out of Folstad’s neck. “That wasn’t so hard.”

“Eeyup,” Applejack agreed, swiping the keys from Folstad’s corpse. “Ah reckon we can both make good use of these.”

“It’s first use is easy enough.” Sunset took the keys from her friend and went to unlock the giant doors.

The locking mechanism sounded like an entire building was about to shatter as Sunset turned the key, but she was glad to know it only sounded like it.

Handing the keys over to her friend, the fiery haired girl placed both hands on the doors and pushed. She eventually got it open, now staring at the other end of the stone bridge that led to the cathedral.

“Come on, AJ. We’re finally off.” Sunset walked out, but turned around when she noticed Applejack wasn’t following. “Applejack?”

The blonde girl was standing by the doors, looking back inside. “Ah think Ah’ll be stayin’ here a little while longer. Dragonslayer’s here somewhere, and Ah intend on findin’ it before I proceed on to find Rarity.”

“Are you sure it’s even still here?”

“That snatcher fella. He kidnapped us. Put us here,” Applejack reminded. “Either he’s put our weapons here somewhere, or he has them himself. Either way, Ah’ll find out where my Dragonslayer has gone and Ah’ll be gettin’ it back.”

“Then I’ll come with you.” Sunset took a step forward, but Applejack raised a hand to stop her.

“You’ve got a more important quest ahead, Sunset Shimmer. You’ve got to find a way out of this, uh, nightmare as you call it. Go on. Don’t worry ‘bout me. Ah’ll manage. We’ll meet again one day, Ah know it.”

Sunset sighed, but then acknowledged her. This was a dream world and whatever it looked like, her friends were all part of the dream as well. Her real friends were back home, maybe even waiting for her to come back. She had to get out and get back to them.

“You stay alive, Applejack.” Sunset smiled as best as she could. “And if you find Rarity, please, I’m sure we can figure something out peacefully.”

Applejack scoffed. “Maybe. If not, it’ll be my axe to her face. When Ah find my axe, that is.”

“Then I’ll be seeing you, AJ.” Sunset reluctantly began walking away from her friend. She didn’t want to have to do this alone, but for now, alone would have to do.
> Chapter 13: Unlit Abbey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer immediately realized just how dark the inside of the cathedral was as soon as she entered. It wasn’t even just regular dark. It was as though the light was being sucked through the doorway before her very eyes. The moonlight’s rays were shining from outside, lighting up the slit between the doors, but none of it penetrated the darkness within.

“How odd… And troublesome…” Sunset grumbled.

Thankfully, her flame still worked in lighting a small radius around herself, so at least she could see where she was going if she proceeded slowly.

The floor under her was stone, but there were carpets laid out, leading off further into the darkness. With nothing else to go on with, Sunset decided to see where they led, keeping her star sword in front of herself just in case something were to jump out from the darkness to kill her.

“Sure wish I had my torch with me right now…” Sunset had been glad to get another torch when she entered Folstad Prison earlier, but it, like the rest of her gear, had been taken when she had been captured by that snatcher.

Up ahead, Sunset found rows and rows of candles on the sides, all of them unlit.

“Curse my inability to know how to start a fire…” Sunset muttered to herself. Perhaps she should’ve paid more attention to survival guides when she could.

Going on, Sunset found a wall of stone with carvings on it, depicting things like people holding objects and even one with some kind of flying creature with a long neck and horns.

The girl decided to follow the wall, using it as a guide as she traversed the large room. She eventually came across two tables with more unlit candles. That was where Sunset found her first orange sign left by someone else in this place.

Dark therefore, try good luck.

“Huh. How… helpful.” Sunset blew up at her fringe and proceeded on.

Eventually, the wall on her left disappeared and Sunset came upon a staircase, leading up into more darkness. Looking back, she didn’t even know where she had come from anymore, so with a shrug, she decided to head up, taking things slowly.

Just in the stairwell, Sunset met her first enemy. It was some kind of hollow, though it was dressed in robes, holding a knife that looked like it also doubled as a candlestick. It stabbed Sunset through the side, making the girl double over and yell in pain.

Sunset quickly threw her star sword and teleported out of the hollow’s dagger, then spun around to cut it across the chest, killing it. Falling to a knee, Sunset dug around her satchel as she cursed herself for being so careless. It had leapt out of the darkness beside the staircase, which led to a small alcove. She didn’t know what this hollow was doing, just waiting here for someone, but she learnt not to question things in this world. Sunset found one of her estus flasks and downed the contents, sighing as the citrusy taste filled her mouth.

When she was ready, she continued on, walking even slower now, just in case there was another alcove with another hollow waiting for her. Instead, there was an odd echoing noise in the distance and an uncomfortable feeling within, similar to the resonating feeling back in the Keep of Glass when… that spiked knight of a red phantom had invaded. Then there was a faint shuffling noise, almost inaudible but somewhere close by.

A red phantom.

Sunset put her hand on the hilt of her star sword and backed away slowly, making her way to a cluster of tall clay pots and stands with unlit candles. She crouched down behind them and peeked out through a gap. She waited. 

Just when Sunset was beginning to think that it would be safe to emerge, a tall, thin figure outlined in red light breezed past her hiding place. In its right hand it held a short, crooked dagger and in the other, a complicated-looking crossbow like contraption.

Sunset held her breath as the invader passed. It looked like an adult; tall and slim, and clothed in dark robes with soft, slipper-like shoes that masked their footsteps. In their wake, the red phantom left an ever so faint trail of glowing letters that spelled out: Queen’s Executioner-

“Psithyra?” Sunset mouthed. The Psithyra? She knew this name well. In fact, it was a name she had been hearing for quite some time as of late. She'd been working from behind the scenes for as long as Sunset knew her, with the woman still being quite a mystery to them all, but Sunset knew her enough to know what she truly was.

A ponytail stuck out at the back end of the woman’s hood, swishing around as she searched for Sunset. She ghosted right past Sunset’s hiding place and disappeared into the darkness. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief. As she made to stand up, her foot bumped against something. Sunset looked down and jumped. 

In her haste to get to a hiding place, she had forgotten to check it out first. There was a dead hollow lying on the ground at her feet, and clutched in its hands was a small glass orb the size of an apple, with metal ribs. There was a stub of candle inside. Sunset pried it from the hollow’s fingers and examined it. It looked like a tiny lantern. As she looked at it, the candle suddenly lit itself, providing a small circle of warm orange light around Sunset.

“Mmm,” Sunset said appreciatively, holding the lantern up to her face.

It was nice to have this light in the unnatural darkness. It made Sunset feel just a little bit more confident. Then again, she thought, looking down at the dead hollow. That had probably been how the lantern’s previous owner had been feeling too.

The girl clipped the lantern onto her belt and left her hiding spot. There didn’t seem to be anyone or anything else around, so she crept along the same passage, lifting her feet off the ground as little as possible to minimize the amount of noise she would make.

She didn’t know where the red phantom was now, but hopefully, she was far enough to not return this way just yet. 

It was slower going, being quiet, but Sunset had a feeling that walking loudly would only attract unwanted attention. In her tiny circle of light, Sunset could see cobwebs and dust all over the furniture and walls. Occasionally there would be a dead hollow, clutching an extinguished torch or an unlit lantern. Something was here, in the dark, killing all these hollows. 

A faint clatter from above caught the girl’s attention. Then she saw something plummeting down toward her, and she dived out of the way just as a huge iron chandelier came crashing down on the spot where she had just been standing. From above, a larger human in thick grey armor dropped, his mace already aimed for Sunset’s position. Rolling again, Sunset managed to get out of the way as the mace cracked down into the stone floor, putting a sizeable dent into it. Along with the armor and the mace, the armored knight also had a huge shield, almost as big as himself, and much larger than Sunset.

“Come on…” Sunset grumbled as she rolled to the side again, dodging the mace.

She tried to attack him, but the knight brought its shield forward and her blade deflected off its surface, rattling Sunset’s whole arm. Dodging again, she threw her sword behind him and teleported to it, using the chance to spin around and slash him across the back. The knight stumbled, but turned and charged at her, smacking Sunset across the room with his shield.

The girl fell against a couple of raised candlesticks, knocking them over as she rolled to a stop. Blood dribbled down a cut on her brow, but she wiped off what she could and stood again.

She had faced bigger and scarier things than just a man in armor, and she was determined not to let this new foe win.

The knight’s defense was formidable indeed. Even attacking from the rear seemed to have little effect; she was going to have to do something risky. 

The knight swung his mace at Sunset, but she backstepped out of the way. She dodged again, waiting for a backhand swing, as that would have less force behind it.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

And then finally, a backhand swing. Sunset swooped forward and caught the mace with the side of her sword, knocking the weapon wide. The knight seemed to stumble, stunned that someone of such small stature could have parried him. Wasting no time, Sunset stabbed the blade of her star sword into the knight’s chest, piercing through his armor. There was a sickening squelch as her sword pierced something inside him and the knight fell to his knees, then to his face after Sunset pulled out her sword.

“Not too bad…” She searched her pack for another estus flask, but then decided against it. She couldn’t keep using them for every little injury. She’d run out before finding a bonfire. “Guess I’ll keep going for now.”

Finding another staircase in the dark, Sunset crept up slowly, keeping an eye on the sides for any hidden alcoves. Near the top, she found one, where she could see a hollow’s feet protruding from the corner, waiting for her to walk closer.

Throwing her sword, Sunset appeared before it in a shower of blue sparks, surprising it. Smiling, Sunset cut it down before it could even react, saving herself the trouble of having to fight it.

Moving on, Sunset walked through what looked like two dining rooms, with big tables in the middle that were almost as long as the rooms, at least, from what she could see with her limited view.

Sunset was halfway across the second long room when suddenly she felt the urge to turn around. Perhaps it was nothing, but she could have sworn that there had been a noise behind her. Like… shuffling.

Sunset wheeled around, then threw herself aside as three quarrels flew at her chest. Two of them struck the table next to her, but the third struck her in the upper arm, embedding itself in her flesh and causing a stain to grow on the cloth. 

And standing at the far end of the darkness was the red phantom, reloading her crossbow for another volley. 

Sunset did not wait for her to fire again. She scrambled to her feet and vaulted over the table on the right, sprinting for a small door there. She sprinted inside just as another three bolts stuck themselves in the wooden door frame.

Sunset pressed herself against the wall and readied her star sword. The red phantom would no doubt follow her inside, and if she did, Sunset would strike. The girl held her weapon high, ready to bring it down on the neck of the red phantom.

But no one followed her. Sunset was not sure how long she stood there waiting, but nothing came through the door. No shuffling sound, no click of a crossbow being readied.

Sunset waited until she could stand it no longer. She poked her head out from her hiding place for a peek.

Nobody was there any more.

Sunset blinked and surveyed what little of the room she could see in the gloom. All appeared to be quiet and still. No hollows, no phantoms, red or otherwise.

Sunset exhaled and slid down the wall into a sitting position. The crossbow bolt in her arm was starting to hurt. What kind of a crossbow could fire three bolts at once?

Shutting her eyes, Sunset gripped the end of the crossbow bolt and snapped it off, muffling her cry as best as she could. This time, she really needed a flask. Digging in her pack, she pulled one out and downed its contents, already feeling the bolt in her arm disappearing. She didn’t know how that worked, but it was certainly better than cutting it out herself.

When she was good, she got up and pressed on, finding herself now in a large squarish room where the ceiling was high enough to disappear into the darkness. On her left, her dim lantern lit up a row of statues, each one of a strange winged creature with a serpentine body. It had the face of a man and its stone smile sent chills down Sunset’s spine. Something about it just looked very disturbing, so she decided to move on.

And then she saw them. Three hollows in robes approached, two having those candle daggers and one of them having a long golden staff. The third one stood behind a bonfire, which filled Sunset with hope. She could rest after she dealt with them.

The first hollow swung its candle dagger at her, but Sunset parried it, finding it much easier than with the heavy knight earlier, then slashed it across the chest, at the same time, letting go of her sword and then teleporting away to avoid the hollow with the staff. The other candle dagger one approached her slowly, shambling on its two wobbly feet, which Sunset easily took care of with a slash to the chest. Her blade ripped through fabric and skin and the hollow went down.

Looking up, Sunset threw her sword over the final hollow, teleporting to it when it was high in the air. From above, Sunset couldn’t see the hollow through the darkness, but as she began to descend, she caught sight of its red robes and slashed vertically, landing behind it. The girl stood up as half the hollow’s staff and its body slid to the floor.

Sheathing her sword, Sunset wasted no time in rushing to the bonfire, but when she tried to light it, nothing happened. 

“Huh?” Sunset held out her hand like she usually did, but the bonfire refused to ignite.

She knelt down next to the unlit bonfire and examined it. It looked the same as all the others, with a small pile of kindling on the ground and a sword sticking up like a flagpole. 

“Why won’t you light?” Sunset muttered. She needed an estus refill, especially after her encounter with the red phantom.

She looked around, at a loss for what to do. Then she saw another statue sitting out in the open. It looked oddly out of place, as all the other statues were pushed up against the wall. 

“Huh,” Sunset said, walking over to the statue. It depicted that same winged creature from before, and it still gave her the creeps in this dark place. She circled around the statue, but found nothing helpful.

“Maybe if I walk away and come back…”

Sunset retraced her path backwards, heading back to the room with the long tables. Then she walked back to the bonfire, keeping an eye out for any sign of the red phantom as she did so.

The bonfire still would not light, but as Sunset scowled at the ground, she noticed two things. First of all, the oddly placed statue was gone. Second, there was something small and shiny glimmering in the dark just beyond the bonfire’s reach. Sunset looked closer. It was a coin.

Sunset hadn’t seen any money since she had arrived here, and was curious to see what kind of currency they used in this strange land. Bending down, she picked one up. It was silver, with an image of a flame engraved on one side, and a man’s face on the other. The face gave Sunset a weird feeling, like she knew him from somewhere but couldn’t place quite why. Putting it in her pocket, her eye was caught by another shiny coin a few meters ahead. She went over to it and picked it up as well, noting the similarities to the first coin, though this one was gold and a little bit heavier and larger. 

Another coin sparkled a short distance away, making a trail. Figuring that the money might be useful for later, Sunset followed, picking up the coins and putting them into her satchel, where they clinked merrily against one another. 

Sunset did this for about five minutes, the coin trail leading her to an empty room that had a small pot in the center, surrounded by other, taller clay pots. Picking up the last coin, Sunset went over to the small pot and looked inside. She smiled.

Inside was a veritable pile of coins, shining back at her. They were reflective enough for Sunset to see her face in them. Sunset picked the largest coin off the top of the pile and held it up, feeling rather pleased with herself. 

Then she paused. In the coin’s reflection, one of the tall clay pots seemed to have moved just a tiny bit. Staring at the mirror image, Sunset stood up and was about to turn around when there was a breath of wind and something short and sharp stabbed her in the back.

The pain was indescribable. It felt like an icicle had been driven into her ribs, and she screamed as the object was withdrawn, blood beginning to flow from the stab wound. Sunset turned around, falling onto the pot and spilling coins everywhere, the air filling with their tinkling as they rolled all around.

It was the red phantom, holding its crooked dagger that now had Sunset’s blood dripping from it. Then the phantom tossed a small object onto the ground. It broke and an inappropriately jolly ‘Very good!’ was released into the air.

Estus. She had to drink some estus or she was done for.

Finding her last bottle, Sunset brought it to her lips just as her fingers lost their feeling. The bottle and its contents fell over her face, coating her in its orange liquid. Swallowing what she could, Sunset immediately felt her strength return and she rolled away just as the invader tried to stab her again with her dagger.

She had to get away from this Queen’s Executioner. She was just too strong. Sunset scooted backward until she hit the wall, with the invader advancing on her with the dagger. Then at the last minute, Sunset threw her sword past the red phantom and out the door. 

The phantom cocked her head, looking puzzled. Then Sunset teleported to her weapon outside and made a run for it.

Three crossbow bolts whizzed at Sunset as she fled. Two of the struck the ground between her feet, and the third one glanced off the crossguard of her star sword. Sunset didn’t stop. With limited light, she could only see so far, but unless she wanted a bolt between her shoulders, she needed to keep going.

She ran into the wall twice, then eventually finding herself in a study room of sorts, complete with two hollows in robes. Sunset ran at the nearest one, running it through before grabbing its candle dagger and knifing the second one in the face, causing it to groan and fall to the ground.

All was quiet, apart from Sunset’s ragged breathing. The girl took some time to gather her breath, at the same time, listening out for any signs of the red phantom. After running for so long, she didn’t even know where she was anymore, so making her way back to that unresponsive bonfire was out of the question, though she didn’t even know if she could get it to work.

She needed to keep moving.

The coins in her pouch jingled as she went. Then Sunset had an idea. These coins, she could use to mark places she had already been to.

She pulled out a silver coin and placed it on the floor of the study. 

“Been here, done that.”

She went through a few rooms that held shelves and shelves of books, placing a coin on one shelf in each room to make sure she knew she’d been this way. Only after the third shelf, did Sunset find a coin on one of the shelves. She’d been this way before.

That’s odd. I don’t remember turning around. How’d I end up back here?

Sunset figured she must have made a wrong turn somewhere in the darkness, and that truth soon proved to be true as a trio of bolts thudded into a bookshelf beside her. The Queen’s Executioner ran out from the dark, her hand already loading another few bolts into her weapon.

Gritting her teeth, Sunset threw her sword at her invader, but as she began teleporting to it, the red phantom knocked it away with her own dagger, sending Sunset teleporting into a bookshelf, knocking everything over in a cloud of dust.

As the fiery haired girl looked up from her position, she noticed something. Beyond the bookshelf, was more darkness.

A secret passage!

Looking back at the phantom, who was steadily approaching her, Sunset didn’t need to think twice. Getting up, she sprinted down the new tunnel, running face first into the wall at the end, but then making a right turn as she grabbed for her bleeding nose. She heard the trudging of footsteps echo in the space behind her, so she didn’t stop. The tunnel eventually led to a flight of steps leading up and Sunset bounded up them two at a time, almost slipping once in her mad rush.

At the top stood another of the robed hollows with a staff, but Sunset used her star sword to teleport behind it and kick it down, hopefully slowing down the phantom in the process.

And then she was in another large room, this one with elegant red carpets decorating the floor and at least a dozen wooden tables and chairs equally spaced out from each other. It kind of resembled an office or at least a working area, but then again, she didn’t know why anyone would come to work here.

Just ahead, as Sunset ran, there was a set of gigantic double doors, flanked by two unlit braziers on the sides, plus more unlit candles marking the corners of the floor.

This room, however, was a dead end, and the only way back down was the long staircase she had come from.

Sunset was about to consider either going back down or to search the shelves for another secret entrance, but then something red appeared at the doorway and she no longer had the luxury to decide.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Sunset asked, keeping her sword in front of herself. The red phantom would’ve already loaded in new bolts into her weapon.

The phantom dropped another small object on the ground, and as it broke it released a deep-voiced, “Hello!”. Besides that, she didn’t say anything else.

Instead, she lifted her crossbow and fired, but Sunset had already anticipated it. Throwing her sword high, she teleported up to it, avoiding all the bolts, which bounced off the metal doors and clattered to the floor. Aiming her sword, Sunset tossed it down at the phantom, watching it spin like a disc before teleporting to it, delivering a swift slash towards her head in one quick motion. The phantom’s dagger was quickly replaced with a long, thin staff, and a blast of white energy radiated out, knocking Sunset Shimmer’s head against a pile of books. When she looked back up, the phantom was gone again, with a tall statue in place where it used to be.

“Not falling for this trick again.” Sunset got up and charged at it, sword raised over her head.

The statue went sliding across the floor and out of reach, then slid off into the darkness most unnaturally. Then from the gloom came a volley of crossbow bolts. 

Sunset dodged them, then readied her sword as the red phantom came walking back into view. However, it made no move to attack. Instead it dropped a glowing golden bag on the ground, then threw another carving on the the floor, this one breaking and saying, “Thank you!”

Sunset was about to charge at the phantom, but the invader took out a large black crystal wrapped in white cloth and knelt. A circle of light formed around the Queen’s Executioner, and then she vanished completely.

“What in the world… Why do these weird things keep showing up and then just… Okay. Whatever.” Sunset was left scratching her head, wondering what the point of that phantom attacking her was even about.

She went over to inspect the bag that the phantom had dropped. She reached inside it, feeling around and her hand touched wood and metal. She pulled the object out, which was much bigger than the bag would have allowed. It was a crossbow, the same one the red phantom had been using. Also in the bag were two bundles of twelve bolts and a note.

Present ahead, therefore praise the queen.

“Well, I’m not complaining…” Sunset strapped three bolts into her new weapon and put the rest in her satchel. It wasn’t too heavy, but it certainly wasn’t light either, but at least she had an alternative to dealing with threats from afar now, besides her amazing star sword.

With the red phantom finally gone from her world, Sunset turned to face the giant double doors. They were big enough to look important. Perhaps it was where she needed to go.

She walked up to the doors and examined them. There was no lock, and through the crack in between them she saw only darkness. But darkness had become rather unremarkable to Sunset in this area, so she shrugged, put down her weapons, and pushed the doors with all her might. Slowly, they began to inch open, grinding against the floor with their weight.

Sunset’s arms and legs were exhausted by the time the door was open wide enough to go through. Not too far ahead, she could see something glimmering in the dark, at the end of the long hallway that these doors had hidden. She walked closer.

It was fog. And that only meant one thing.

“Great… Of course…” Sunset rolled her eyes. At least the passage ahead was devoid of enemies. There was just one problem. “I’m out of estus flasks…”

If she were to get severely injured again, there was no recovering, though, if she were to die, she would simply reappear at the last bonfire, at least, that was what she had been told. It was yet to be proven.

She could try to go back to the bonfire, but after the chase with the red phantom, she had lost her bearings and wasn’t sure which way was the right way back. And she did not want to risk being invaded again while searching.

“Well, nothing else for it. Let’s go, Sunset.”

And she pushed her way through the fog and into the darkness beyond.

From what she could see, she was no in some kind of chapel, with wooden pews on her sides. There was a red carpet leading up into the darkness, where Sunset could barely make out an altar of some sort. Unlit candles lined the walls like with the other rooms, their wax unmelted. She didn’t even know what those candles would be used for.

At first, Sunset was just going to walk on to look for the way out, but then something flashed purple in front, near the altar. At first, she thought maybe her eyes had played some kind of light trick on her, but then she remembered there weren’t any lights. It was so dark in this place. So very dark. Then what had that been?

A line of purple flashed toward the girl and she slipped and fell over backwards. It was good that she did, for once she was on the floor, she saw a shining sword blade whistle overhead where her neck had been.

“Ha!” Sunset said. But she had chosen to crow too soon. A line of violet streaked down like a thunderbolt, and Sunset had to roll as the glowing sword scythed down at her.

Sunset shrieked embarrassingly loudly and scrambled to her feet. She had no idea where the sword would come from next. She hadn’t been able to see who was wielding it either; she hoped it wasn’t another invisible creature like the one on the Road of Penance. This room was far darker than any of the other rooms she had been in yet, so it was hard to see, but Sunset swore she saw a set of reddish robes as the purple blade swung at her again.

Almost as soon as it appears, the purple sword would disappear again and Sunset could not see where her attacker had gone. 

“Come on, come on, where are you?” Sunset muttered. She stood in her pathetic little circle of light and waited for her enemy to show itself again.

And then there it was. A brief flash of purple light on her left. This time, Sunset caught a humanoid shape darting left as the light faded, once again hiding the figure’s presence. If only she had some form of light. That would certainly make this fight easier if she could see her enemy.

And then there was a flash just to the right of her head and Sunset leaned back, watching a purple blade spear past her face, just over her nose. This time, however, she managed to react in time, throwing her star sword into her attacker, hearing a scream of pain before she teleported to her weapon, getting a better footing. Her sword was lodged deep into the robes of a tall figure. Its face was featureless, sporting only two large reflective eyes, which stared back at her, unblinking. And then one of its arms, too long for its body, grabbed Sunset around the neck and threw her back against one of the many pews, shattering it.

She had shifted herself around when she heard a clinking at her belt. Looking down, Sunset remembered she had a lantern there, which had gone out.

“No wonder it’s so dark.” She wanted to slap a hand in her face.

Quickly turning it on, a small radius of light immediately lit up a small area around her. It still wasn’t very good with knowing where she was, but it was certainly better than complete blackness.

Sunset settled into a defensive stance and shuffled herself backward. She figured that if her back was up to a wall, nothing could leap out from behind and attack her.

And then it came again. The sword with purple magic, appearing very close to her right, and this time, with her lantern lit, she could see a foot sticking out of the darkness. Remembering how tall the figure was, Sunset was ready to strike.

As the sword hovered there, the girl pointed her new crossbow and fired, a volley of three bolts ejecting from the weapon. The sword and Sunset moved at the same time. While the figure was able to cut two of the bolts down with its purple sword, one bolt struck home, now sticking out of its side, with dark blood staining its robes.

With the figure still reeling from her attack, Sunset used this chance to thrust her sword into it, then pulling it back out and spinning around for a wide slash. The tall figure bellowed an unearthly cry, then began blocking Sunset’s attacks, its sword flashing purple each time their blades connected. Sunset tried to press the offensive, cutting it one more time across the left leg, but her attacks didn’t go on just like that. She had felt the figure’s sword tear through her upper right arm, her cheek, and even her left side, but she reminded herself she didn’t have anymore estus flasks to drink from. If she was going to win, she would have to end it before bleeding out.

Throwing her sword up, Sunset teleported high and already retrieved a crossbow bolt from her pack. Loading it into her weapon, she teleported back down, her sword aimed for the figure’s head, but when she re-materialized, a rough hand grabbed her around the throat and she was stopped. Sunset slashed at the figure with her star sword, cutting it across the shoulder, but before it let go, it slashed her across the chest, the magic blade going right through her armor and muscle with ease.

“Aah!” Sunset grasped for her chest and fell back a step. Blood seeped through her fingers and her armor, colouring the steel a dark red. Her time was running out.

Lifting her crossbow, Sunset watched as the figure approached, its blade raised high, ready to end it. And then she fired, watching the bolt go, thudding right between the figure’s eyes. Its sword remained up high, unmoving as its form began to shudder. And then it fell back, dissolving into white sparks. Its body never touched the ground.

Sunset Shimmer smiled and coughed, her life seeping away. She had done it. And then much to her relief, the darkness in the room seemed to clear slightly and a bonfire had appeared near the altar.

Using the last of her strength, Sunset threw her star sword over as far as she could, teleporting closer to the bonfire. She needed to use it fast. She didn’t know how much longer she had. Even now, she could feel her eyes beginning to close. She was losing too much blood.

Hopefully this one works…

She stretched her arm out to the sword in the bonfire, but before she could see any spark of flame, her consciousness drifted away, and everything went black.
> Chapter 14: High Cathedral - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything spun around her as Sunset opened her eyes, forcing her to shut them again, one hand going for her forehead.

“Ugh… what?” she mumbled, but then strength suddenly filled her and she felt so much better.

Opening her eyes again, Sunset noticed she was still in the chapel room, with the bonfire still going strong beside the altar. With such a strong light source now, Sunset could see carvings on the altar’s surface. They depicted more of that same winged creature with the human head again. There were two, both facing each other and in between them was a carving of what looked like a flame.

“What a strange place this is…” Sunset shuddered as she looked at the winged creature’s face. It still gave her the creeps.

When she was done making sure her estus flasks were refilled, Sunset got up and looked up above the altar. A part of the wall had opened up, revealing a very large staircase leading up into more darkness.

“Hmm… Okay.”

With no alternatives, Sunset hoisted herself up onto the altar, then up each step. These were likely built for people like that magical blade figure she had killed, with the steps being high enough that she had to climb each one.

Huh. Killed…

She had thought that so easily and it scared her. She really didn’t want to get used to killing, but there was no denying it now. She was used to it and if she had to choose between herself or her attacker, she would not even hesitate to kill anymore. That wasn’t who she wanted to be, but if was definitely who she had become.

And that was more terrifying that anything this world had thrown at her thus far.

She contemplated toning her violence down as she continued to climb the steps, but that wasn’t an option. All she would get would be more injuries and death. The inhabitants of this world were unforgiving. To win, she had to be unforgiving too. There was no other way.

No… That can’t be true. It can’t… What is this world…? I need to leave. I need to get back.

Finally arriving at the top of the steps, Sunset looked down a long dark tunnel, unsure of where it led. As she walked on, light soon began to pierce the darkness on the other side of the tunnel. Running now, Sunset soon emerged out the back of the abbey she was in, now looking at a long borderless bridge, leading through a forest, with tall trees standing on both sides. On the other side, stood a much taller structure, almost like a spire, with statues of the winged creature guarding the front entrance and parts of the structure, all the way up.

As she walked, a sign on the floor read out, High Cathedral. Try jumping.

High Cathedral. This was it. She was finally at the second home of one of the Flames of Death. Doland, Light of the Sky. Sunset wondered just what this Doland was.

Beginning her walk across the long bridge, Sunset took some time to gaze up towards the sun, glad to feel the warm light against her skin. The last two places had been dark and dreary and she didn’t particularly like those. Warmth made her feel more alive, and it was a welcoming sight to know that the world wasn’t completely dark.

An archway loomed ahead, hanging above the doorless entryway, with one statue of the winged creature perched on it. This one’s face was larger and with more details, making it much more eerie to look at.

Sunset hurriedly scurried into the cathedral, now looking at a red carpet leading in, with statues of knights at the sides, each of them resting their sword tip on the base. The cathedral was quite wide here, with more pews dotting the left and right sides and a staircase at the back leading up, almost similar to the one Sunset was just in, though this one was more to the right and the steps were smaller.

Near a similar altar at the end was a bonfire, which Sunset was quick to use. These rest points always made her feel safe. When she was done, the only visible pathway was the staircase leading up, so that was where she went.

It curved to the left and eventually led up to a room similar in size, but this one had plenty of barrels in it and her first enemies of the area. Strange skinny and hunched figures stood before her, carrying swords and sickles, their teeth sharper than the regular human being and their eyes almost devoid of life. Grey hair trailed from their bodies, almost like fur, but more… human.

They always have to look so grotesque.

With a blood curdling shriek, the first one lumbered its way towards her, using its long arms to help itself move forward. 

Sunset put a foot back, then at the right moment, she ducked under its swing and slashed out at its side as it past her. The creature grabbed for its side as blood began to pour, but as Sunset got ready to face the second, she felt a change in the air. Suddenly, from the back of the first creature, wings began to sprout, bloody and of a dark grey.

It let out cries of pain as the new appendages broke out of its skin, but then whipped around and flew to Sunset at a high speed. The girl only had a fraction of a second to roll away, but unfortunately, the second creature clawed at her with one hand, cutting through her shoulder and throwing her down underneath itself.

Sunset hit her head on the stone floor, but managed to lift her star sword to block its sickle, the tip curving around her weapon and just barely touched her forehead, dangerously close to piercing through her head.

Readying her crossbow, Sunset pushed it up into the creature’s face and fired. The force of the three bolts knocked it off her, sending it falling back, dead.

“So close…” Sunset touched her forehead, where blood was dripping from a tiny wound.

And then the winged one grabbed her, smashing her against the ceiling with both hands. Sunset vision blurred on impact, but she managed to escape by throwing her sword down and teleporting to it.

Not wasting time, she threw it as soon as she got back to her feet, watching her sword embed into the creature’s left wing. Teleporting back up to it, Sunset pulled down on her weapon, hearing the rending of flesh and muscle as she landed back on the ground below. The creature struggled to maintain lift and soon came crashing down beside her, which let her finish it off by stabbing it through the head.

“That… wasn’t so bad… right?” she said aloud to herself to feel better, like someone else was here.

“Yeah, cool new sword, Sunset. Wish I had one,” someone actually answered.

“What?” Looking around, Sunset soon noticed it had come from Rainbow Dash, who was seated atop one of the many barrels in the room. “Rainbow Dash!”

“Glad you haven’t forgotten me.” The rainbow haired girl hopped off her barrel and dusted her leather pants.

Sunset kept her weapons and ran over to give her friend a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Heh, I told you, I was looking for something. Didn’t I?” Rainbow squeezed her back. “At long last, after all my journeying, I know where it is. It’s here. It was here all this time in the High Cathedral. Wish I knew sooner. I wouldn’t have wasted all my time in the thief dens.”

“What’s this thing you’re looking for?” Sunset asked as she checked her pack. She still had fourteen arrows left after reloading her weapon. “I could help you find it.”

“Ah, glad you asked, Sunset.” Rainbow panned a hand in the air. “It is a light unlike any other. A brilliant glow in a dark place. It is a light I have set out to find since I left my home. It would only make sense now that it is in the possession of the Light of the Sky himself.”

“Why do you even want it? Does it do something fancy?”

“You haven’t been here long, so I guess I’ll tell you.” Rainbow patted Sunset on the shoulder. “Everyone in this world craves a source of light, be it your Flame of Life, or something awesome like the Sunlight Maggot I search for.”

“Ew, you’re looking for a maggot?” Sunset stuck her tongue out. “Really?”

She knew Rainbow wasn’t one to shy away from bugs, but to spend one’s life searching for a bug was gross.

“What? What’s wrong?” Rainbow shrugged. “It’s bright. That’s what matters. A light of my own, see. You obviously don’t need one, having this flame and all. Must be nice, huh? Being unable to get killed permanently.”

“Well, I haven’t got the chance to try, nor do I want to.” Sunset pictured herself dying, only to supposedly be sent back to a bonfire. “Yeah, no thanks. So this bug, this maggot, it’s in this place?”

“Somewhere.” Rainbow looked over at the walls, where grime and some portraits have been put up. They were pictures of a sunny town or a bald man in some kind of old suit. “I’ll just have to find it.”

“We could look together,” Sunset suggested. She liked having her friends around. “And then there’s the case of defeating Doland. Perhaps you could help me with that?”

“Sounds like a fair trade, Sunset. You get me what I need I see to it you get what you need. Deal.” Rainbow shook her hand. “Then let’s go! We have a mission ahead.”

“Always good to have a friend around.”

The two girls next found a staircase by the back, having to roll through a couple of barrels to see the way. Sunset didn’t know what the point of the barrels were, seeing as they were empty when they broke. Perhaps they were just there for aesthetic reasons.

Only just arriving at the next level, which was a similar room but with windows, three more of those winged creatures attacked, each of them holding a sickle.

“Watch out!” Rainbow dodged to the side, her daggers already in hand. She had new ones, from the last time Sunset had seen her. “I’ll lure them around, try and flank them.”

“Got it.” Sunset clashed with one, blocking and parrying its strikes.

Rainbow had dashed to the other end of the room, drawing the attention of the other two creatures. Using her sword, Sunset teleported right behind her attacker and spun a wide slash out. The creature’s head rolled from its body and it fell shuddering to the floor. Sweeping around and with the other two creatures’ backs to her, Sunset threw her sword into the first one, lodging it between its shoulders. Teleporting to it, Sunset ripped upwards, tearing her blade through flesh and bones, cutting completely through the creature’s head.

The final one turned to face her, sprouting its wings, but Rainbow was already on it, stabbing it in the back with both her daggers, hard enough to slam it against the ground. It thrashed around for a few seconds, trying to fly away, but eventually, stopped moving.

“Phew, you’re right. This isn’t too hard.” Rainbow wiped sweat from her forehead and grinned.

“It’s kinda a lot easier with two people around.” Sunset looked around this room. There wasn’t much here, but there were benches by the far wall. “Is this it, though? Just a straight shot up? Sounds easy enough to navigate.”

“I don’t know.” Rainbow shrugged. “I’ve never been here. Let’s just go on and see. We can handle anything we come across, cause I’m pretty awesome.”

Sunset laughed and followed her friend over to the next staircase. “That you are, Dash.”

The next floor didn’t have any winged creatures, but it did have a big fat brute, holding a large tree trunk-like club in its hands. Its stomach was so large, it seemed to be dragging the creature down, but at the same time, it bounced disgustingly everytime the creature performed some kind of movement.

“Gross.”

The next floor only had a few barrels, so there was much more room to maneuver around its club swings, though Sunset did find herself rolling through one of the barrels to avoid a downward strike.

Throwing her sword to the other end, the fiery haired girl teleported away from its next horizontal swing, getting behind it. Rainbow Dash slid under its legs, cutting at its knees with her blades, though it didn’t seem to do much.

“It’s like its fat is made out of jelly.” Rainbow flicked her blades to rid it of the creature’s blood.

“We’ll have to aim high.” Sunset looked at its head. It had a circular mouth with teeth on its left and right instead of top and bottom, and its eyes were of a faint milky pink, unblinking and disturbing, but the head definitely seemed to be the least protected of its whole form, at least in terms of its bloatedness. “Distract it for me.”

Sunset ran at it again, dodging under one of its club swings as she approached it. Rainbow Dash cut away at one knee, then using her daggers, pulled herself up to the creature’s back, stabbing into it with all she had. The large creature turned to try and rip Rainbow from its back, but it couldn’t reach her.

That moment gave Sunset the opportunity to strike. Aiming up, Sunset spun her star sword into its head, watching as it lodged in there, cutting right through the top of its head. With a teleportation of sparks, Sunset was at her sword, pulling it out and spearing it right through the creature’s left eye, watching her blade tip pierce out through the back of its head.

It took a bit of effort to push her sword through, but soon, the creature fell to its knees and would’ve crushed Sunset when it fell to the floor if she hadn’t teleported away.

“Man, this place is such a joke!” Rainbow kicked the body as it began to dissolve. “I could take them all with my eyes closed.”

“Really?” Sunset did her best to rearrange her red and yellow hair. “I’m happy if it’s easy. Makes getting home easier and faster.”

“Meh. Still better if they put up a good fight.”

The next floor didn’t have walls on the left and right. Instead, they simply led out to a ledge without any railings, meaning if you weren’t careful, you could easy step off the end and just fall all the way down to your doom.

There were more of those creepy winged creature statues in here, most facing outside, while one was placed at the other end of the room, just looking at Sunset and Rainbow eerily.

The sky was a bright blue yellow now. An odd colour for sure, but perhaps it was getting close to sunset now.

“Hmm…” Rainbow Dash stared at a wall and rubbed her chin. “It seems there aren’t anymore steps up.”

“Is this the top?” Sunset bent her head out one of the balconies and looked up. They still had a long way to go to the top of the cathedral. But then she noticed a ladder on the side, bolted into the wall, leading up to another floor of the tall structure. “Hey, Dash, over here. I think I found the way up.”

Sheathing her weapons, Sunset swung herself over to the ladder’s rungs, making sure her feet were stable before attempting the climb. There was no floor beneath her and any wrong move would mean her almost certain end. She had to make sure she took this nice and easy.

Of course, about half way up, an arrow suddenly flew down past her, a little off target, behind her.

“Archer on top, Sunset. Watch out!” Rainbow called from below her, a few rungs behind.

Sunset looked up, spotting one of those winged creatures standing at the top, already readying another arrow. She didn’t want to risk throwing her sword, in case she were to miss or send it flying down instead. She didn’t want to have to start her climb up the cathedral all over again.

Instead, the girl took out her crossbow, holding on to the ladder with one hand, keeping an eye on the archer above at the same time. Another arrow came sailing down and Sunset had to inch herself over to the left to avoid the arrow. Below, there was a cry of pain and she looked down only to see Rainbow hanging on with dear life, the arrow in her right arm.

“Hang on, Dash!” Sunset yelled and quickly aimed her crossbow up, firing at the creature. The bolt pierced right through its neck and after a brief choking, the creature fell past her and Rainbow, falling all the way down into the forest surrounding the High Cathedral. “I got you, Dash.”

Sunset had kept her crossbow and climbed back down to where her friend was dangling in the air. Stopping next to her rainbow haired friend, Sunset took out one of her flasks and tipped it to Rainbow’s mouth, allowing her to down its contents.

“Man, that’s the stuff…” Rainbow smiled as she pulled the arrow from her upper arm. “Thanks, Sunset.”

“Anytime for a friend.”

Climbing the rest of the way up, the top of the ladder led them into a much more decorated floor, complete with red banners hanging from rafters above and a red carpet leading down to some kind of altar, where more statues of the disturbing winged creature were positioned. Pews lined the sides, almost like the ones at the end of the Unlit Abbey she had been in.

There were no monsters on this floor, but instead, there was a bonfire smack in the middle of the room, between a row of pews. A bonfire was always a welcoming sight.

“Finally, a break.” Sunset lit the fire and sat down before it, stretching her hands out to warm herself up.

The warmth of a fire wasn’t exactly something she really needed right now, but the bonfire’s warmth was different. It was the comfortable feeling the fire gave her that made her want to just sit and stay for a while. Something about it reminded her of home, of her friends, and of a world without these nightmarish monsters at every corner. It made her feel safe.

“So…” She decided to strike up a conversation with her friend. “This Doland, do you know anything about him?”

Rainbow looked out the edge where they had climbed up from, where dark clouds were beginning to roll in, blocking out parts of the yellow sky. “Everyone knows the story of Doland, Light of the Sky.”

Sunset chuckled and shook her head. “Not everyone.”

“Ha, well…” Rainbow looked back down at one of her hands. “Doland used to be a sorcerer from a far away land, coming here to search for a flame.”

“Everyone comes here for flames, huh?”

“Lucky you, Sunset, that you started your journey here with one. You don’t know what most people here would do for a flame, especially one like yours.” Rainbow mimicked slicing her throat with a finger. “Hay, even I came here looking for one, and well, thanks to you, Sunset, I’m about to finally find it! Hopefully…

“Anyway, continuing on. So not much is known about how Doland found his flame, but rumors say he got it from the Abyss, as with all the other Flames of Death. The tales speak of the Abyss creating its own dark flame to counter the ones of the life. I don’t know how the Abyss even came to be, Sunset, but there’s no denying, the Abyss is a dark place.”

“You don’t say…”

“Yeah… So to continue, the flame changed Doland. Everyday, he became one step further and further away from being human, and well, just look at him now.” Rainbow panned a hand over to the winged creature statues. “You can’t even tell he’s human anymore.”

“That’s Doland, huh?” Sunset looked at the statue for as long as she could. It still sent chills down her spine. “He’s definitely not really a human anymore, that’s for sure.”

“Yup. And those that come here, they come here to worship Doland like some kind of deity.” Rainbow shook her head at the statue. “I don’t even know what for.”

“But he has that light you’re seeking, huh? That Sunlight maggot.”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard in my recent travels. Doland has these bugs feeding on the flame he emits. Apparently, some of them mature into sunlight maggots after consuming enough of it, turning his dark flame into a really awesome bright one, which I intend to acquire.”

“Well, I guess you’ve got life sorted out, huh?” Sunset dusted her hands near the bonfire and then stood up. “Come on. We should move. The sooner we find Doland, the sooner I can go home and the sooner you can get that bug of yours.”

“Right-o, Sunset!” Rainbow hopped to her feet.

There weren’t any staircases on this floor, but behind the altar, there was another balcony, with a ladder leading up to another entrance above.

With nothing else to go on, Sunset began the climb up, though she kept her crossbow ready, just in case. She didn’t have very many bolts left, so she had to make her shots count.

This time, the way up the ladder didn’t include any random monsters and Sunset soon found herself on the next floor. However, there was an enemy on this floor, one of the winged creatures with a sickle. It saw her and immediately broke into a frenzy, rushing towards her with its weapon already swinging at the air.

Dodging away from the ladder, Sunset kicked it in the back as she rolled, turning around just in time to see the creature fall off the ledge. There was a shriek and it plummeted out of her view, with only a feather remaining, slowly floating down to the floor.

“What the hay! That was a shocker.” Rainbow Dash was soon up the ladder, patting at her head. “Didn’t expect to see that.”

“Yeah… uh, sorry about that.” Sunset smiled sheepishly. She had just reacted instinctively. She forgot Rainbow had been behind her. “You okay?”

“Yeah yeah, don’t worry about it. No harm done.” She arranged her rainbow hair. “Look at that!”

She ran past Sunset, looking over at a tall statue in the middle of the room. This time, it wasn’t a statue of Doland, but of a tall man with a crown of sorts  on his head. He stood straight and held a sword, its tip resting against the base of the statue.

“Huh. Never seen one of these before. I wonder who this is…” Rainbow rubbed at her chin as she went around the statue. There were stone bugs scattered at his feet in various states of metamorphosis. “Hey, it’s the sunlight maggot! I knew it was here somewhere! We’re on the right track, Sunset!”

“Uh huh.” The maggots were a lot bigger than she had imagined. Judging the size of the statue maggots, they were almost as big as Sunset’s own head.

The rear of the room led to another staircase past a few barrels, which was easily dealt with with a combat roll, with Sunset shattering them all in a single roll. The steps up here were dirtier and filled with more smudges of oil, at least, Sunset thought it was oil. She guessed perhaps the monsters didn’t come this far up, but that was a silly thought. Of course there was going to be more resistance up here. There always was.

“Man, how much further up?” Sunset looked up the stairwell and spotted an open ceiling in the next floor. There was an old wooden ladder that lead up a few more floors, all of them with a hole to allow the ladder to go all the way up, unhindered. “That’s… a pretty long ladder.”

“Oh, what a thrill.” Rainbow clapped her hands and skipped up three more steps. “As long as nothing else falls down the ladder while we’re climbing, we should be fine.”

“Yeah, wasn’t the best of my plans…” Sunset admitted. She should’ve kicked it further.

The climb up was relatively peaceful. There were no monsters on the floors they passed by and the air around them was really quiet. A bird actually flew by at one point, then dive bombing down towards the woods surrounding the cathedral. If Sunset didn’t know any better, it kind of looked like the owl she’d been having to deal with recently.

After another three floors and a few complaints from Rainbow Dash, Sunset could finally see the end of the ladder, with only rusty latches holding it in place. Seeing how it could actually break at any minute, Sunset quickened her pace, wanting to be off the rungs before anything like that could happen.

“That wasn’t so hard.” Rainbow dusted her hands as soon as she was up on the next floor with Sunset. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, it’s a nice change not having to face a monster around every corner.” She still took her star sword out in case. She wasn’t going to drop her guard anytime soon.

The new floor was about as small as the last few floors they had climbed past, with an opening in the floor to allow them to climb down or simply drop back down. A small perimeter allowed the girls to walk around to the other side, where a staircase once again led up. This floor had no paintings or even decorations, except for a few pieces of cloth dangling from the ceiling. Sunset hoped that meant most of the action was below them, where more of the furniture and decor was. Things looked more desolate up here. Maybe devoid of life even.

“We may be nearing the top. Ooh, this is exciting, isn’t it?” The blue-skinned girl clapped her hands.

“Sure is…” Sunset still remembered her fight with Drawgren, the previous Flame of Death. It hadn’t been an easy one and she had to witness another friend die, even if she wasn’t really there. Dash was here with her in the flesh, meaning if she were to die…

Sunset just didn’t want to think about it. Watching Fluttershy and Vinyl die as phantoms was bad enough. She didn’t want to have to see one of her friends die in the flesh too.

Rainbow Dash led the way up, her daggers brandished, her arms at her sides. She looked ready for a fight, but at the same time, not fully prepared, like she really wasn’t expecting any combat at all. Sunset didn’t trust the brief peace she had at the moment. Knowing this world, there was always a creature behind the next corner, she just knew it.

As she had expected, another one of the big brutes smashed a tree trunk-like club through a trio of barrels next to the staircase, almost crushing Rainbow. The sudden attack still caught her by surprise, but at least she still remained ready.

“Woah!” Rainbow threw herself forward the rest of the way up the stairs, just narrowly avoiding another sweep of the creature’s club.

Sunset had thrown her sword up into the air and teleported to it when it began its descent, but before she could strike the creature, two of the winged monsters attacked her from behind, spearing their sickles through both of Sunset’s upper arms, pinning her to the floor, her star sword spinning away.

“Sunset! I’m coming!” Rainbow tried to run over, but another of the winged creature’s jumped on her back and bit her in the neck. “Agh!” The rainbow haired girl took a step back and tumbled back down the steps.

Pain flared in Sunset’s arms as she tried to get back up, but all strength had left her arms and her sword was far away from her reach.

Far away…

That was when Sunset disappeared in a flash of blue sparks, appearing beside her weapon.

Both her arms hurt to the point where she almost couldn’t feel anything else, but she still fought back the urge to simply sit back and die and downed an estus flask from her pack. Almost as soon as she had done so, Sunset rolled back and out of the way as the large monster attacked, sweeping its club at her. It caught one of the winged creatures and sent it hurtling against a painting on the wall, breaking it in half. There was a snap and the creature’s limp body rolled down the steps where Rainbow was still busy trying to pry her creature off her back. Dark blood spilled from her neck as the creature’s teeth sank deeper, but she too refused to give up.

“Heads up, Rainbow!” Sunset aimed and threw her sword at them.

Nodding, the rainbow haired girl turned herself around and Sunset teleported to her weapon just as it embedded itself in the creature’s back between its wings. It screeched into the air as Sunset pulled her weapon upwards, cutting through its neck and head before facing the remaining winged creature, which was on its way down the steps too.

She threw her sword at it, but before she could land a hit, Rainbow was already on it, spinning like a top and slashing through its arms and chest repeatedly, each slash drawing dark blood. When Sunset’s star sword found its way into the creature’s neck, it was already dead, sliding down the steps with a sickening squelch.

“Not too bad.” She pulled out an estus flask from her pack and gave it to her friend. “Quick, drink this.”

“Definitely, Sunset.” Her friend took it and drank it all down in one breath. The wound on her neck was quick to close up, but the estus did nothing to remove the bloodstains on her skin and garb. “Phew, not bad.”

And then the large grotesque creature began wobbling down the steps, its club at the ready. Sunset nocked in three arrows and fired them, each one finding its mark on the creature’s face. Like its body, its face’s flesh wobbled and shook, but the arrows didn’t seem to slow it down at all.

“Two against one. We’ll finish this quickly.” Rainbow’s daggers reappeared in her hands and she held them up near her shoulders. “Go high.”

“Right.”

As Rainbow Dash charged at the flabby monster, Sunset aimed her blade up high, disappearing in a flash and materializing above the creature.

The creature sensed her descent and looked up, raising its club to smash her aside. With another toss of her star sword, Sunset was hurtling away from the large weapon, then rolling to a stop behind the creature as Rainbow began to spin slashes at its legs.

The monster bellowed and lifted a foot to kick her with, but Sunset was already moving, throwing her sword to the back of its head. She reappeared at her weapon as it thudded into its thick fleshy skull, placing her feet on its squishy shoulders as she tried to steady herself.

With all her might, the fiery haired girl pushed against her sword, feeling it slowly move through the back of the creature’s head. Before it could swing its club again, Sunset felt her weapon’s blade slip through something with a crunch and the creature fell to its knees, then its belly, still wobbling long after it had died.

“Close one.” Rainbow wiped sweat from her forehead, narrowly avoiding the body as it fell. “Nice going, Sunset. Man, if I had a sword like yours…”

“That would definitely help.” She stowed her sword by her side and helped her friend up. “Think we’re almost to the top?”

“Probably. We’ve been climbing for, what, five hours?”

“That long?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. Now that Rainbow had mentioned it, she hadn’t been keeping track of time since waking up here, and she didn’t wear a watch too.

“See?” Rainbow pointed outside at the yellow sky. “Sky’s getting darker already.”

“Looks the same to me.”

“Meh, it’s a little darker.”

“Uh, okay. If you say so.”

After taking a few seconds to breathe, the two girls approached the staircase at the other end of the room. This one was larger and wider, and stood next to an open wall, allowing Sunset to look down to see just how high they were; the trees below were almost the size of mugs now.

“Man, imagine falling from here!” Rainbow guffawed and slapped Sunset on the back, almost sending her over. “Hey, hey, I didn’t mean to actually try falling.”

Sunset flashed her a look of disbelief, which she answered with a shrug before moving up the steps. These steps seemed to go on and on, spiralling up the cathedral, unlike the previous floors. Looking up, Sunset Shimmer couldn’t even see where they led, going so high that she couldn’t even make out what the next landing would look like.

“Come on. Time’s a’ wasting!” Rainbow kept her weapons and started into a light jog.

“Well, I do want to get home, after all…” Sunset sighed and began running up behind her.

Using her desperation to return home as her energy source, Sunset found herself moving up flight after flight of steps, winding round and round as she pressed for the top of the cathedral. It had been about the thirteenth flight when she began to feel her legs grow heavy and it it was around the nineteenth flight where she began to pant and slow down.

“Come on! Keep up, Sunset!” Rainbow called from above, two flights ahead of her.

“Oh man…” Sunset murmured, but looked up and wiped her hair from her face. “Coming… Rainbow… Just… Wait up…”
> Chapter 15: High Cathedral - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset lost count after thirty seven, but eventually, she found the steps ending off at a new level, this one carpeted, along with four statues of the horrible Doland at the four corners of the room, all of them smirking at her as she arrived. Fortunately, she was too tired to think too much about them and collapsed on her back, breathing heavily.

Rainbow Dash’s face popped up above her, a amused smirk on it. “Gee, Sunset. You sure are tired.”

“You don’t… say…” She covered her eyes and groaned. “You’re… not tired?”

“Nope!” Rainbow puffed her chest out and pointed a thumb to herself. “Let me tell you, if there was a competition of who could run the fastest and longest, I’d win.”

“Uh huh…”

If it meant anything, at least she hadn’t met anymore monsters on the way up. It would’ve been a pain to have to fight them when she was this tired.

“Come on, hurry up. The light awaits us! And look, there’s a bonfire there. That’ll help.” Rainbow pulled at Sunset’s arm.

The word bonfire got Sunset to crack open her eyes. Slowly, she pushed to her feet and wobbled over to the pile of stones with a sword in the middle. Stretching an arm out, a spark ignited around the sword and soon, the familiar warm glow of a flame emerged, rejuvenating Sunset, who fell back to her bottom and smiled contently.

“Yeah, that’s the stuff…” she said, glad for yet another break, especially after that long climb up. Strength returned to her arms and legs and she felt she could climb another hundred flights of stairs. Not that she would want to though.

“Hey, check this out,” Rainbow called from one corner of the room.

Sunset turned and looked over. While two sides of the room had no walls, the other two did, and one of them had a literal wall of text on it, carved out by something sharp, flanked by two of the Doland statues.

“What’s it say?” Sunset asked as she walked over to join Rainbow by the wall.

It was really a whole lot to read, but Sunset did it anyway, though it didn’t help in making her feel better about this world.

Long before the Age of Fire, there was no known land. The world of Equus was but grey and desolate, populated only by the ancient drakes of old. And then the Flame of Life sprang forth, and with them, the five kingdoms of Equus, who created their lands from the bones of the drakes.

For a time, the kingdoms knew peace, but everything changed when the Abyss came to be, springing up from the grounds within the Throne of Flames itself. From its ever growing darkness, it cast out the Flames of Death, a counter against the life giving flame, and only those strong or insane enough would have the power to wield them.

Four journeyed to the Abyss, taking the flames for their own. Amongst them was Doland, Light of the Sky. A mighty sorcerer from the kingdom of Vinhorse, Doland soon became our great light and has since taken up residence here in the High Cathedral, leading others to the light. The Abyss is the true way forward. We must all accept it to gain its power. The Age of Fire has ended. The Age of Dark is here.

“Well, that’s a rather depressing piece of work, isn’t it?” Rainbow gave Sunset’s shoulder a pat.

“Yeah. This Abyss, whatever it is. It seems to be the source of all these troubles.” Sunset looked at the carved words again. These people were deluded, worshipping this Doland like he was some kind of deity. “What happens when we kill Doland?”

“You know, I don’t even think people come here anymore.” Rainbow shrugged. “We didn’t see a single human on the way up. Just those strange things. Though… I’ve seen stranger.”

“You don’t think that just like Doland, they’ve transformed into ugly monsters as well, do you? They did say it was the way forward.”

“Perhaps?” her friend replied and pulled at a piece of meat in her multi coloured hair. “Unless you wanna ask one the next time you see one, we can only guess.”

“No thanks.”

Sunset stared into the bonfire for a few while, thinking about what the wall had said. The Abyss. Whatever it was, it was definitely the source of everything wrong with this world. Perhaps that was where she needed to go to end it all.

“Man, I wish I could traverse the Abyss, Sunset,” Rainbow said, almost like she had read her thoughts. “Imagine the treasures we might find there. Unfortunately, you need a special item to be able to enter. I don’t know what it is, but stepping into the Abyss without it will just kill you right out.”

“Oh. Uh… huh.” Sunset looked back at the fire. “Even with my Flame?”

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t have one.”

“That’s true,” Sunset sighed. There was just so much she couldn’t know here. “Well, okay, I think we need to move on. Where to?”

Rainbow pointed to the opening beside the wall with the carved words. “I saw a ladder there. We could use it to go up.”

“Great, more climbing…” Sunset wasn’t too pleased to hear that, but they had to be near the top now.

Stepping out onto a ledge that was almost too narrow to walk on, the girls made their way to a wooden ladder leading straight up to what looked like a square roof. By the looks of it, there didn’t seem to be anymore after that; they had finally reached the top of the cathedral.

“Is that it?” she called back behind her, where Rainbow was just starting her climb.

“Don’t look at me. I’ve never been up here!” Rainbow's answer came back.

Sunset grabbed ahold of each rung, steadily hauling herself up as she kept her eyes on the open sky. Those creatures she’d encountered on the way up had wings; she would never know if one decided to fly around and attack her right now. This world was very tricky and deceptive like that, playing on one’s paranoia at almost all times.

By the time she arrived at the top of the cathedral, the sky was a vibrant yellow; the sun’s descension felt as though it was closer to the cathedral. The winds blew around her, whipping up the cloth bits of her armor and her fiery hair.

Before her was a flat expanse of tiles, one type bordering the roof, while the other one filled up the rest of the space. Spikes also stuck out from the sides of the roof, like they were meant to keep people from climbing up here without using the ladder.

As if anyone would be crazy enough to free climb all the way up here.

And then there was an oddly shaped bell on the opposite end of the roof, its shape almost like a snake, though the tail swelled up into what the bottom of a bell would normally look like. A lever stood beside it, and for some reason, Sunset felt the need to pull it.

Rainbow Dash soon popped up beside her, swiping at her rainbow coloured fringe and spitting out a gob of saliva over the edge of the building. “Phew. So this is it, huh? The summit of it all. Not what I expected. I expected something more awesome.”

“Yeah, well, what do we do now?” Sunset looked around, but her eyes focused on the strange bell on the other side of the roof again. “Do you think we have to ring that or something?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Worth a try.”

Sunset walked over to the bell, taking a closer look at it first. Its surface was partially rusted and there was a crack going down from the serpent’s mouth, but other than that, it looked to still be in quite a good condition. Reaching a finger out, the girl ran it down the crack, for almost no apparent reason. The bell seemed to have some kind of mystery about it, at least, Sunset thought so. There was just something within her, something that made her want to touch it.

As her finger lingered on the bell, Sunset felt the wind pick up around her. There seemed to be a strong gust of sorts coming in from the north, where she could faintly make out some kind of spire in a mountain range ahead. Something was wrong about it, though. Sunset rubbed at her eyes. There seemed to be a thick blackness creeping up the spire, along with much of the mountains around it, almost like the sun wasn’t casting any light down there.

“Hey, you can see my house from here,” Rainbow said from behind her, looking down over the east side. “Well, my town at least. And hey, look at that!” She ran over next to Sunset and pointed over to the spire. “You know what that is?”

“Should I?”

“Of course! It’s the Throne of Flames itself!” Rainbow slapped her on the back. “Well, it used to be. Now we’ve all taken to calling it the Throne of the Fallen Hearth, seeing as the Flame’s no longer there.”

“That’s the throne? So does that mean all that darkness there, that’s-”

“The Abyss.” Her companion nodded. “See how it continues to spread? One foot, Sunset. One foot into that growing darkness, you’ll just keel over and die. Normal people can’t go there. But… maybe you can.”

“So that’s it…” Even though she could barely see it, the creeping darkness sent a shiver down her spine. It felt so… evil.

“Yep…” Rainbow gazed over to the spire beside her. “Well… enough of that. Go on. Ring that bell. I’ve been wanting to do it for some time now.”

“Yeah, me too.” Sunset took the lever in both hands. “I don’t know why, but I have a compulsion to do so.”

“Meh, that’s how it is with everything in this world. Well, important things at least. They make you just want to touch them.”

“Right, let’s see…”

Sunset took the lever in her hands and with a quick intake of air, she pulled it back, listening as the gears turned and clicked somewhere below her feet. In no time, the bell was drawn back and with an almighty boom, its sound rang out across the open air, traveling for what seemed like miles. Looking back over to the Throne of the Fallen Hearth, Sunset guessed if anyone was currently there, they’d be able to hear the bell as well.

The air around them seemed to shift, almost like… something was coming. Sunset hit herself on the head, then drew her star sword. Of course something was coming.

“Here we go.” Rainbow drew her daggers and grinned madly. “Are you ready, Sunset? It’s time. Time to get a light of my own!”

“Are you even sure it’s here?” Sunset looked around the tower.

“Of course, Sunset. This is Doland’s tower. Those bugs are all over him. He’ll have one for sure!” Rainbow licked her lips. “A light of my own! At long last. I can’t wait. Let’s do this, Sunset.”

“Right…”

And then there was a mighty blast of wind from above them, blowing Sunset’s hair all over her face. She pushed what she could aside and looked up, now noticing a black shadow had fallen upon them. Above, a serpentine body swirled and slithered, a humanoid head attached to the tip of it, tentacles sprouting from its hideous chin. A grim smile spanned from one ear to the other, and four large feathery wings continued to flap, making it hard to keep her feet on the ground.

This was Doland, Light of the Sky. One of the Flames of Death.

“Flame… A Flame of Life… Give it to me…” Doland reached a clawed hand out towards the girls.

“You go low. I’ll go high.” Rainbow bent back into a crouch and raised both daggers before her face.

“How are you supposed to go high? I’ll go high. You go low.” Sunset aimed her sword at Doland’s reaching arm and flung it, watching it spin for a second before she was magically transported to it, cutting out at one of his fingers.

Her blade easily made its way through the monster’s feathers and flesh, drawing blood, which splattered across Sunset’s armor. Doland let out a bellowing screech, similar to that of a hawk combined with a bear, and then swished his tail up, which sported three long tentacles, wrapping one around Sunset’s waist.

“Hey!” Sunset squirmed, her sword arm trapped beneath the thick tentacle.

“Come on! Come down here and fight me!” Rainbow jumped up and down, at times slashing up with her daggers, unable to reach the winged beast. “Just wait, Sunset! I’ll get you out!”

Sunset squirmed in Doland’s grip, still unable to free herself from the beast. And then one of his hands lifted to her face, one talon drawing threateningly close. And then Sunset hatched a plan. Letting go of her star sword, she let it fall a couple of feet before transporting herself to it, vanishing from Doland’s tail in a flash of blue sparks, before materializing below it, delivering a swift upward cut, drawing more blood from his tail.

Doland swiped at her again with his tail, but Sunset was prepared this time. Throwing her sword high, she teleported over near his face, swiping at his chin and severing one of his tentacles. Doland roared in anguish and opened his mouth wide to take a bite out of her, but Sunset was already gone, now on one of his wings. Lifting her sword high, she brought it down, spearing right through to the other side. With a yell, she yanked her blade out from the side, cutting a sizeable tear in the beast’s wing.

Doland let out another screech and began to fall. Rainbow dashed backwards and rolled away just as he landed in a heap where she had been standing, his face scrunched up in pain. Sunset ran over to his face and speared her star sword through one of Doland’s eyes. He writhed on the cathedral’s roof as Rainbow went around back, cutting through his body with her daggers, repeatedly slashing away through feathers and flesh.

With one more screech, Doland whipped his tail around and caught Rainbow in the side, knocking her over to the edge of the roof, where she broke one of the roof’s pillars on impact. Sunset teleported skyward to avoid it, but Doland shook his body, sending a swarm of glowing beetles out of his feathers, which now flew up after her.

“Really?”

One landed on Sunset’s exposed shoulder and bit into it, its sharp mandibles easily cutting through her flesh.

Sunset yelled in pain and smashed at its head with the butt of her sword. These were the bugs Rainbow was talking about, but they weren’t as harmless as Sunset had anticipated them to be.

Teleporting back down and away from the swarm, Sunset parried one of Doland’s chin tentacles and cut up, wounding him across the nose.

“Aaarrrrghhh… The Flame fights me. It will not give itself up.” he growled and slithered his body up, rising on both arms. “If you will not give it to me, then may death consume you and your Flame.”

As Sunset began to cut away at his left arm and the swarm of beetles, something began to radiate out of Doland. Her senses taking over, Sunset threw her sword over to where Rainbow was and got out of the way just in time as Doland’s entire body burst into bright blue flame, a shockwave radiating out and crackling the very fabric of the sky.

Dark clouds moved in from nowhere, immediately darkening the yellow sky, with Doland’s Flame of Death now the strongest source of light up here.

“Your Flame will be mine, girl. I am Doland, Light of the Sky. This is my cathedral. Here, I am worshipped. I am revered. You will bow to me or die.”

“No chance.” Sunset picked out an estus flask from her pack and poured it down Rainbow’s mouth.

Her friend sputtered and coughed, but was quick to return on her feet, her daggers already in hand. “Did we win? Oh.”

“Yeah. I don’t know how we’re going to reach him. He’s burning all over.” Sunset eyed the beast’s face, fingers, and the end of his tail. Those were the only places where the fire seemed to stay away. “There, we need to hit those spots.”

“Not going to be easy. We’re still going to get burnt when we get close. How many estus flasks do you have left?”

Sunset dug in her pack and raised two fingers. “Two more. I really need to find more vials.”

“Then we’ll have to make it quick. Those sunlight maggots will be mine!”

Sunset nodded, but watched as the swarm of beetles returned. “We’ll have to deal with those too. Watch their bites. They hurt.”

“I’ll take them on. I’m awesome, remember? I got this.” Rainbow gave Sunset’s shoulder a pat. “I’ve got your back, Sunset. You’re my friend. I protect my friends.”

“Glad that you do, Dash. Let’s finish this.” Sunset smirked.

With a flap of his wings, Doland sent a wave of blue fire at them, with Sunset teleporting through it and Rainbow sliding under it. The freezing flame frosted over part of Rainbow’s leather armor, but she kept going, her daggers already getting to work on the beetle swarm, each one slicing one of them in half.

Sunset aimed for Doland’s tail first, where he seemed to have less attacks. The tentacles lashed out at her, but with a spin, Sunset dodged through them and cut in a circle, tearing flesh off the imey appendages. The fire around Doland’s body began to burn at her exposed skin and frost her armor, but Sunset kept attacking, slashing at his tail and cutting off another tentacle.

Doland swung his head around and tried to bite her, but the fiery haired girl threw her sword into Doland’s other eye and warped to it, pushing it deeper in.

The Flame of Death’s voice bellowed across the air, shaking even the roof they were standing on.

Rainbow dodged one of the bugs and speared one with her daggers, before sliding under one of Doland’s arms, which smashed against the bell, knocking it right off with a loud ding. Two of the sunlight beetles dug into Rainbow’s back, but she fought against the pain and sliced Doland across one finger, before leaping over the swarm and cutting at them again, more of them biting on to her.

“Flame…” Doland growled again as one hand reached for Sunset, with both eyes now rendered blind.

The flames continued to hurt Sunset, forcing her to down an estus flask to keep her skin from burning off from the intense cold of the flames.

With a spin, she kicked off his face and slashed her star sword through a finger, then threw her sword straight up, appearing high above Doland. With a mighty shriek, Sunset cut down as gravity brought her back towards her adversary, cutting right through the front of his face, stopping only when her blade cut into the flooring of the High Cathedral’s roof, sending chips of marble and stone into the air.

“No. I cannot die…” Doland’s flames began to dissipate, returning his feathers to their grey-white. “I am Doland… I am worshipped, I…”

And he began to flake away, his body fading out into the dark sky as blue cinders. The bugs that were all over Rainbow all suddenly fell over and died as well, those latched on to her letting go and falling off.

“We did it…” Sunset fell to her knees and looked up at the cloudy sky. “We actually did it…”

A blue orb was left behind, where Doland had vanished, along with a strange purple grub that writhed on its back, its body casting off a bright yellow glow. Beyond them, near the spot the bell used to be at, a bonfire burst into existence, its flame going strong in the darkened sky.

“Hey, the maggot!” Rainbow limped over, blood dripping down one side of her face. Her hair was stained red as well, along with most of both arms. “This is it, Sunset! A light of my own. At long last…” She picked it up and stared at it.

“Yeah, that’s great, Dash.” Sunset cupped the second Flame of Death in her hands. “And that’s two down for me. I’m halfway home, Rainbow.”

She placed it inside her pack and sighed with relief. She felt closer now. Closer to getting out of this deadly world. It felt so long since she first set foot here, waking up in that decrepit house and it was even longer since she had last killed things. Just when she had thought she left it behind, she had to resort to killing again. It had become almost too easy to do so and she didn’t want that.

“Hey, what if I put it on my head?” Rainbow lifted the maggot over her rainbow hair, its legs squirming grotesquely over her.

“Really? You actually want to put that on?” Sunset eyed it with disgust. “I wouldn’t even want to touch it.”

“But it’s so bright.” Rainbow placed the grub atop her head, its legs grabbing her scalp and latching on tight. The light it was radiating got brighter, and it stopped wiggling. “Look at me! I’m so cool right now!”

“Yeah. Come on. The bonfire can take us back to Fyrlon. When we’re there, we can get some rest.” Sunset began to walk over to the bonfire. It felt like ages since she last sat back and relaxed.

Rainbow was about to follow, when suddenly, she bent forward in pain and screamed.

Sunset quickly turned to her, her star sword already in hand, but there were no enemies around. Rainbow was just doubled over like she got punched and stumbled a few steps forward.

“Dash, what’s wrong?” Sunset was quickly by her friend’s side, her head turning from left and right just in case there was some sort of invisible enemy. “Dash! Aaah!”

Sunset looked down to where she had suddenly felt a flash of pain. There was a dagger sticking out of her abdomen and Rainbow Dash’s hand was still holding on to its handle.

“D-Dash?” Sunset was shocked. Surely it was an accident.

Rainbow slowly lifted her head and looked at her, only, it wasn’t exactly Rainbow Dash anymore. Her eyes were now a burning red, and her sclera had turned black, almost like some kind of monster.

“Light… the light is mine now…” she grinned wickedly and stood up, pulling on the dagger, forcing Sunset to move along with her. “I have it… I have it! But no. I want yours now!”

“Aaagh! Dash, stop!” Sunset tried to pry the dagger from her abdomen, but Rainbow just pushed against it harder. “Stop! I’m your… friend!”

“My only friend is the light that I want!” she twisted her blade sideways.

Sunset felt weak. She fell to one knee, blood seeping down from her armor and staining her cloth segments a dark red. She didn’t want to harm Rainbow. She didn’t even know what had happened to her.

Struggling to find a way to free herself, Sunset felt a blade slide under her chin. Rainbow’s second dagger tipped her head up and made her look into her friend’s dark eyes, which were now filled with evil and malice; a sharp contrast to the brightly glowing bug on her head.

Suddenly, she stalled, her eyes screwing shut and her teeth gritting against one another. “S-S-Sunset… The maggot… Quick… kill… me… Before I…”

A growl escaped her throat as her head swung from side to side. Rainbow was fighting against it.

With her grip on the lower dagger loosened, Sunset pushed away from Rainbow, the blade leaving her abdomen with a wet schlick, and scrambled back, her hnd already finding her last estus flask in her pack.

“Rainbow, no. Fight it. Don’t let it win,” she said after a gulp of the flask’s contents.

Sunset lifted her star sword and held its tip out in front of her, pointing it towards Rainbow. She really didn’t want to have to use it.

Rainbow screamed again and with one stomp, she charged Sunset, both daggers at her sides, ready to strike. Sunset threw her sword under Rainbow’s legs and materialized behind her in a flash, her other hand retrieving the crossbow from her pack. Perhaps she could immobilize her with it.

Aiming at her friend’s leg, Sunset fired a trio of bolts, watching as one lodged into Rainbow’s left thigh, while the other one bounced off the roof tiles and the third one completely missing her.

The rainbow haired girl didn’t seem to even register the bolt in her thigh and advanced again, her daggers swinging for Sunset even before she got close enough to use them.

She bobbed and weaved, dodging all of Rainbow’s slashes, trying to gain some distance between them so she could reload her crossbow. After running two more lengths of the roof, Sunset had managed to reload her crossbow and fired a few more times, getting another two in Rainbow’s right leg, but still she kept going.

“Rainbow, just stop! Please!” Sunset begged, hoping to get through to her. “This isn’t you!”

The sunlight maggot shone brighter on her head and Rainbow leapt at her, spinning like a deadly top, her blades clashing against Sunset’s and echoing across the expanse around them.

“I must have it!” she screeched and pressed the attack, forcing Sunset back close to a portion of the roof that had been smashed apart.

Missing one step, Sunset’s foot slipped off the side and she fell back, dancing in the air for a second before plunging down, her left hand grabbing the ledge at the last second.

Her crossbow plunged down and out of sight, while she hung on for dear life, reaching her other hand up to grasp the ledge. Rainbow was soon over her, bending over one knee with a leering smile on her face.

“What a situation you’re in. But I can’t have you fall. I would lose your light. So why don’t you come back up.” She plunged a dagger into one of Sunset’s hands and pulled on it.

“Aaaah!” Sunset gasped, trying not to lose her grip on the ledge.

“Your light will be mine. One way or another. It will be mine!”

Using her other hand to grab Sunset’s arm, Rainbow hauled her up, but before she could deliver a finishing blow to her head, Sunet slid her sword across the floor, disappearing just as the dagger speared down into the concrete, cracking it.

Appearing on the opposite end, Sunset picked up her weapon and got to her feet, her left hand weak and bloody. She was losing blood fast and she was out of estus flasks. She needed to find a way to end this, fast.

“Rainbow, stop. No more. I don’t want to have to fight you!” she begged one more time. “Fight it! You can win this! Don’t let it control you!”

“I want your…” Suddenly she grabbed for her head and slammed her eyes shut. “I want… I want… Stop. Stop this… Sunset…”

“Come on, Dash. Fight it! You’re stronger than this bug! You’re the best athlete in school! If anyone can beat this, it’s you.”

Rainbow struggled, trying to pry the bug off her head, but it didn’t budge. And then she snapped back to Sunset, her eyes burning again, a snarl on her face.

“Light! My light!” She charged, brandishing her daggers. “Give it to-”

Sunset had raised her sword to defend herself, but Rainbow had stopped again, her daggers still raised to attack, but her eyes screwed shut, internally trying to fight off the maggot’s control.

“I-I’m sorry, Sunset.” Rainbow regained control, doubled over as she fought to maintain it. “I can’t… End this, Sunset. You’re the only one… who can end it all…”

Sunset didn’t get what she was trying to say, until Rainbow raised a dagger and brought it back down into her abdomen, plunging it as deep as she could.

“No!” She was quick to be by her side, but the damage had already been done. As the athlete fell to her knees, she tossed the dagger from her gut and grinned, the sunlight maggot on her head already beginning to lose power, its light fading away. “Rainbow, no. Why? I could’ve found a way.”

The rainbow haired girl shook her head. “No… No other way… This is it. You wouldn’t… kill me. So I had to do… it…” She coughed out blood. “Sunset… Find the one responsible… And free us all. I know… you’ll do it.”

Rainbow began to flake away in the wind, starting from her shoulders.

“No, no, no!” Sunset tried to grab what she could, but they just slipped away through her fingers.

“Do it for all of us…” Rainbow smiled as her face disappeared into the wind.

“Rainbow, no! No!” Sunset scrambled after the ashes of her friend all the way to the edge. “No…”

There was nothing more she could do. Her friend was gone. She had sacrificed herself to save her. To the end, Rainbow Dash was as loyal as ever and somehow, that hurt Sunset more, knowing that.

As Sunset sat there and let her tears flow, a wind blew around her, coming from the north where the Throne of the Fallen Hearth was. The girl flashed her tear-stained eyes on the spire and growled. She was halfway there now. She vowed to find the last two Flames of Death and stop the Abyss from spreading any further. She owed it to Rainbow Dash to rid this world of its darkness once and for all.

“I won’t let you down, Dash. I’ll do what I set out to do. And I’ll return home and see you all again. I promise.”
> Chapter 16: Darkstone Crags - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer stepped back from the stone boulder as Doland’s Flame of Death grew to the size of the boulder’s indent, now burning faintly beside Drawgren’s. Only two more boulders remained unlit and once that was done, she would be able to open the way to the Throne of the Fallen Hearth, the source of all this madness and she would be able to end this all and return home at last.

“Defeating Doland, Light of the Sky, must have been no easy task, Young Flame.” Firekeeper Twilight watched the dancing flame before turning back to her.

“No, it was not.” Rainbow’s death was still fresh on her mind. Whoever put her here in this world was going to pay dearly. “This flame came at a very heavy price.”

“I am sorry for the death of the rainbow one, Young Flame.” Twilight bowed her head. “She has been among us a long time. We will surely miss her presence. She has led many to Fyrlon’s safety.”

“Me included…”Sunset said sourly.

Rainbow had been the first living person she’d met here. She even helped get her past the King of Thieves. She sighed. That felt almost like it had happened years ago.

“I’ll return home and end this, Twilight.” Sunset put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a determined nod. “I owe it to Dash. If not for her, I would never have gotten this far, even if I come back when I die.”

“That you will, Young Flame. I believe in you. That Flame of Life you have will keep you safe and give you the strength for the journey ahead. You can do this. You are the only one who can.”

“And you can be sure I’ll do my best.” Sunset pushed a hand through her hair and sighed deeply. “So where do I go now? To get to the next Flame of Death? I need to teach them just who they’re dealing with. They don’t just kill my friends like that and get away with it.”

Twilight put a hand to her chin and looked at the remaining two unlit boulders. “Sisha, the Immolating Force. She will be the closest flame. But I must warn you, Young Flame. Sisha resides deep underground, down in the Cataclysm Hollows, birthplace of all hollows.”

“Hollows, huh?” Sunset remembered the zombie-like residents back at Theiros, City of the Lost. “So how do I get there? Don’t tell me I have to go back to the city.”

“Not that far back, Young Flame, but not a place you would like to go.” Twilight lifted a hand and pointed towards the edge of Fyrlon where a set of familiar steps led down the cliff. “You must again traverse down through the Underscale Ruins and the Derelict Catacombs.”

Sunset groaned as she remembered the split in the path, where she took the lift that led up to the Lake of Silence. There were more stony steps leading deeper underground as if the catacombs weren’t far enough underground already.

“Yes, I am afraid the Cataclysm Hollows are far beneath the surface, closer to the core of our world. You must venture there to find the third Flame of Death.”

“And of course, there I shall go…” Sunset said half-heartedly. She really didn’t want to have to, but she made Rainbow a promise. She had to do this.

“If there is anything I can assist you with, Young Flame, do not hesitate to ask.” Twilight smiled and placed a hand on her arm. “Perhaps a little power up?”

Sunset looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Power up? What do you mean power up? You can do that?”

“When you defeat enemies in this world, their souls do not simply float away into oblivion.” The firekeeper prodded a finger into Sunset’s chest. “They go to you. Souls are a form of currency in our world. With enough, I could potentially heighten your abilities, Young Flame.”

“Souls, huh?” Sunset looked at the floating blue flames. “So what happens if say, I die?”

“Why, whoever killed you gets to keep your souls, that is, unless you can get them back. You will only ever get one chance. If you die again, they will vanish forever.”

“That’s… weird.”

Twilight shrugged. “It is the way our world works. So, Young Flame, would you like to use your obtained souls?”

“I mean, I guess, yeah, sure. Why not? Not like I’ve used them for anything else. Hay, I didn’t even know I had them.”

“Very well.” Twilight beckoned her forward. “Take nourishment from these sovereignless souls.”

Sunset did as she was told and knelt down before the firekeeper. As Twilight raised a hand, light seemed to shine from her fingertips. Sunset felt something leave her, almost as though a great load had been lifted off her shoulders. Almost as soon as it had happened, it was done. Twilight withdrew her hand and nodded, letting Sunset know it was okay to stand.

“That’s it?” The fiery haired girl looked at her hands. She didn’t feel any different.

“Yes, Young Flame. You have been imbued with the souls of your enemies.”

“Doesn’t feel very different. What happens now?”

Pointing again to the edge of Fyrlon, Twilight answered, “Your journey is ahead of you, Young Flame. Go to Sisha, the Immolating Force, and return with yet another Flame of Death.”

“Right. Okay. On I go then. Oh, Twilight?” Sunset turned back and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, you know, for helping me out and guiding me. It feels like old times.”

Firekeeper Twilight blinked a few times. “I am not sure I understand what you mean.”

“There’s… a lot to explain. I guess I’ll try to do so when I get back from the uh, Cataclysm Hollows. See you soon, Twilight. I’ll succeed. For Rainbow, for all of you.”

Leaving the safety of Fyrlon, Sunset Shimmer proceeded back to the trail that would lead her to the Underscale Ruins. It was time once again to face the world.



As she traveled through the Underscale Ruins and Derelict Catacombs, Sunset Shimmer found she had indeed been imbued with the souls of her fallen enemies.

With every cut of her blade, she felt her strength had been increased, able to block and parry more effectively, while each slice sent her enemies falling back a step. Her stamina had also gotten better, with Sunset finding herself less tired as she made her way from bonfire to bonfire.

“What do you know, it actually works wonders.”

She had remembered most of the way through and in a very short span of time, the girl found herself back at the steps carved into the stone walls, leading deeper down into the depths.

“Great…” she groaned. Going deeper down into the dark was near the bottom of her list, but now, she had no choice. “Here we go, then.”

The world around her disappeared into black as she began to descend the steps, each step making it harder and harder to see. Her flame continued to provide a small source of light around her so she could see the next step, but her view had become very limited, though this wasn’t nearly as dark as the Unlit Abbey.

Eventually, one side of the wall disappeared, the narrow stairway getting wider, revealing a drop on Sunset’s right. She could see a pulsating red glow down below, moving like water.

“Lava…” she mumbled. “How deep am I?”

Stepping off the last step, Sunset found herself in between the cavern wall and the steep cliff, with only a small path leading ahead. A little carved out sign on her left read, ‘Darkstone Crags’.

The rocks indeed were of a darker colour, and they all seemed to point outward towards the cliff, making obstacles for Sunset to duck under as she went along the pathway.

The air was still around her, making it rather hot, especially with the heat rising from the lava below. It was really far down, but with no air floor in this place besides the stairway she had come from, there was really nothing she could do about that, though, Subset simply shrugged the heat off. She’d been sweaty and grimey for a long time now and her smell and discomfort was really starting to fade.

Pressing on further, the fiery haired girl was relieved to find the pathway eventually widened out, with the jutting rocks becoming less of a problem, though, a new problem presented itself.

Ahead of her stood two hollows, clad in steel armor, though, there was something odd about them. Around their exposed arms and legs were… eyes. Round beady eyes darted all around, some settling on Sunset when she got closer.

Gross…

With low groans, the two hollows shambled towards her, their swords already raised backwards to strike her.

Rushing head on, Sunset swung her star sword up at the first one, parrying its attempt to strike her, then following up with a spin and a stab to its abdomen. She pierced through its armor and cut up, her sword easily going through its entire body, coming out through the middle of the hollow’s head.

The eyes all over its body began to convulse, like they were all having a massive seizure. And then, to her horror, tentacles began to burst from the hollow’s ripped body, which then proceeded to walk the mass of flesh over towards her.

“Gross!” Sunset took a few steps back as it swung tentacle after tentacle at her, all the eyes now focused on her.

Sunset’s star sword flashed in the darkness, each stroke shearing off a tentacle, but the enemy was so unnerving that Sunset was focused more on staying out of reach rather than slaying the enemy.

The other hollow, the one still without tentacles, approached from her right, cutting down at her with its sword, but the girl was already out of its reach, teleporting away with her star sword as the tentacled horror continued to pursue her.

Eventually Sunset slashed off a particularly long tendril, ducked under a swing from the hollow, then spun around and sliced its head off, which went rolling off into the dark, however, it did little to slow the creature down.

“Really?”

Sunset rolled and slashed as she jumped up, feeling her sword tear through its slimy flesh as it tried to reach for her. Finally, it fell into a heap and stopped moving, each tentacle falling down around its body and its eyes going still.

Still up in the air, Sunset threw her sword down at the other hollow, spearing it in the gut. Materializing beside it, Sunset wasn’t going to take her chances. With a mighty forward kick, she sent the hollow sailing off the cliff as she retrieved her sword, watching as the body grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared beneath the lava with a very tiny splash. At least if it were still alive, it would be down there somewhere, far away from her.

“Yeah, don’t mess with me!” Sunset shouted after it. Then she sheathed her blade and kept walking. 

The cliffside path grew narrow in places, and Sunset was forced to shuffle along small outcroppings to proceed. Eventually her endeavors led her to a hole in the side of the cliff. The path led down into the dark, and Sunset could hear scuffling sounds coming from inside. 

The fiery haired girl peered inside the tunnel. There did not seem to be any other way forward. She took out her sword and crept inside, hoping she would not run right into some enemy. 

For a while, Sunset’s luck held out. Nothing came out of the darkness, and she soon saw light on the other side. A harsh, orange light. Expecting a pool of magma or something equally dangerous, the girl was surprised to see a person sitting against the wall, with an orange ball of light in their left hand.

As Sunset approached, the person looked up at her. Their face was partially concealed with a hood and they wore ragged brown robes that concealed their form.

“Oh, hello. You are not a hollow.” the stranger said. He spoke with a deep, masculine voice. “Fancy meeting someone like you here. My name is Sandalwood. I’m from the swamps.”

“Sandalwood?” Sunset repeated, kneeling down next to him. It was only then that she saw that Sandalwood’s entire left side was bloody and mangled. “What are you doing down here?”

“Came looking for one of the Flames.” Sandalwood replied. “I thought I’d try down here first. But them hollows are strong. I fought off a bunch of them, but they got me pretty good. I’d like to return to the Best Swamp, but I don’t think I can make it, you know? Ran out of estus.” He pulled out an empty flask and sighed. “Maybe going hollow won’t be so bad…”

Sunset felt an outpouring of sympathy for Sandalwood. He was on the same quest she was on, only he had been somewhat less successful. Given circumstances, their roles might easily be reversed.

“Anyway,” Sandalwood continued. “Hollows down here, they’re tough to take on with just a weapon.” He showed Sunset a broken piece of wood that must have been the handle of an axe or something. “You really need a little something extra. Kill ‘em ‘fore they sprout tentacles and stuff.”

Sunset remembered the crossbow she had, but then recalled that she was out of bolts. “I, uh, don’t have anything except my sword,” Sunset admitted.

Sandalwood grimaced and held his injured side. 

“How about a deal?” he proposed. “If you give me a drink of estus so I can make it back to the Best Swamp, I’ll teach you a secret art from my homeland. Pyromancy.”

It did not take Sunset long to decide. She took an orange flask from her pack and gave it to Sandalwood. He drank it down gratefully, and the wound in his side closed up. The swamp-dweller sighed in satisfaction and stood up. 

“Ah, yeah. That feels good. Now for my part of the deal. Hold out your hand.”

Sunset held out her left hand and Sandalwood dropped something in it. It looked like a small fireball, about the size of a tennis ball, only it didn’t burn. It was simply pleasantly warm, like a stone left out in the sun.

“All pyromancy requires a pyromancy flame, like this one, to work,” Sandalwood instructed. “I’ll teach you two spells. Combustion and fireball. Useful for killing those hollows before they turn nasty.”

“I take it they don’t like fire much?” Sunset chuckled and watched the dancing flame in her hand.

“Nope. But with pyromancy, you can’t just shoot wild. Like any other weapon, the flame is only as good as the person holding it. You’ll have a limited number of spells, so don’t waste ‘em.” 

The next hour or so was spent learning proper casting stances and how to focus her energy into the pyromancy flame. After the session was over, Sunset was delighted to find that she could cause a burst of fire directly in front of her, or lob an exploding fireball some far distance.

Sandalwood looked pleased. “Well, that’s it for now. I’m headed home. Good luck with finding the Flame, Young Flame.” 

And with that, Sandalwood went back up the tunnel and was soon gone from sight.

Sunset stood there a while longer, smiling at how nice it was to see another friendly face, then forged on ahead. The path split into two a little further on, however the right path seemed to lead to a drop off into the magma below. Sunset peeked over the precipice, only to discover that there was a smaller outcropping down below with a large wooden chest resting on it. The left path continued along the cliffs. 

“Hmm,” Sunset said. The chest looked tempting, but it would be more prudent to continue down the left path. However, the chest would not leave her mind.

“Well, if someone placed a chest down there, they must have gotten back up somehow…” Sunset mused. She looked down at the chest once more, then knelt down, sheathing her sword. The girl lowered herself down, but even while hanging on to the top of the cliff, it was still a two meter drop down. It was a narrow platform down below, and Sunset did not fancy a swim in the magma. 

Now hanging on with her fingertips, Sunset closed her eyes and let go. For a second she fell, then there was an impact as her feet collided with the chest. She pitched over, doing a half-roll, right into someone’s legs. 

She looked up.

“Oh crap.”

There was a hollow standing there, a rusty mace in its grip. The creature had been concealed by the cliff face when Sunset had looked down, but here it was. It raised the mace and went for a crushing blow to Sunset, but she rolled aside and the mace hit nothing. There was no room to draw her sword, so Sunset did the next best thing. 

She held out her left hand with the pyromancy flame still in it, and willed the magic into motion. A flash of heat burst from her fist, and bright orange-red flames engulfed the hollow. It screeched, flailing its limbs about, then ran at Sunset. She stepped smartly aside and the hollow tripped over the chest and fell tumbling into the molten rock below.

Sometimes, the obstacles in this world were just far too easy. Sunset wished silently that the rest of her journey would be like that. Easy.

With the enemy vanquished, Sunset turned her attention to the chest. It had a lock on it, but the contraption was rusty and aged. Sunset struck the lock with the pommel of her sword and it broke and fell off. She heaved the lid open and looked inside.

Sunset was not quite sure what she had been expecting, but it was not this. Lying inside the large chest was a very small circular item. It took her a second to realize that it was a ring. It was made of dark metal and had a brownish gemstone embedded in it, resembling an eye.

“Hmm…” Sunset turned it between her fingers. “Why would a ring be here in this chest? Who would even put it here?” She put it on anyway. If nothing else, it looked nice and even fitted snugly over her armored finger.

Now that she had plundered the chest, all that was left to do was to get back up. That was simple enough. She drew her star sword and threw it up to the ridge, then teleported up to the path.

“Ha. That wasn’t so hard.”

She was beginning to feel less and less afraid now, and Sunset was trying very hard not to look proud as she continued her journey down the left path. A part of her actually wanted to encounter more of the tentacle monsters, if only to burn them with her new magic spells.

After about eight minutes of walking, Sunset encountered her next enemy. It was a strange, insectoid gargoyle like creature with a mass of eyes for its head. The eyeballs swiveled this way and that, and Sunset knew that there was no taking this thing by surprise. The thing didn’t seem to have a very far attention span though, for even before Sunset took cover behind a rock, the creature did not seem to notice her.

Two of those eyeball hollows shambled close to the gargoyle, their mouths hanging open and their swords dragging on the floor behind them.

With all the eyes out there, there was definitely not going to be any sneaking done in this area. If she wanted to get past them, it was going to have to be a fight. 

But...

That did not mean she was going to try and take on all three at once. That, Sunset thought, would be immensely foolish. 

She bent down and picked up a pebble, weighing it in the palm of her hand. She pondered what she was about to do. It was, actually, quite thrilling.

Popping out from behind her cover, Sunset flung the pebble at the nearest enemy, one of the hollows. The pebble struck it in the head and it turned around to look where it had come from. The hollow lurched away from its fellows and toward Sunset’s hiding place.

Readying her sword, Sunset slashed low as it arrived, effectively cutting off its legs below the knee, sending it crashing to the floor. Tentacles sprouted from its severed stumps, but with a cast of her combustion spell, the hollow was set on fire, its many eyes spinning and darting around as it wailed in pain. The tentacles pushed up, but Sunset drove her blade through its chest, then kicked the hollow off her weapon, knocking it off the edge and down into the burning depths below.

Her attack had gotten the attention of the large gargoyle creature and it began lumbering over to see what the commotion was. As it approached, Sunset could hear what sounded like some kind of high pitched keening. If it was a song, it was one of the most chilling and ear-grating songs she had ever heard. 

Sunset’s legs were overcome with the shivers, and she leaned against the cliff face to stay standing. Whatever that thing was, it was trouble. More than ever, she wished she had kept some bolts for her crossbow. Sunset peeked out again and jumped back, falling over on her jelly-legs. The gargoyle was right in front of her, its eyes rolling madly and its song blaring into Sunset’s ears. A warm liquid began to seep out of her right ear, and she was shocked to see that it was blood. 

“Oh, no no no no,” Sunset muttered frantically. This thing was going to kill her just by being near her. Sunset scrambled to her feet and scampered back up where she had come from. Fortunately, the enemy was not at all fast, moving at a walking speed after her. The song grew fainter as Sunset put more distance between herself and the monster, and soon she was out of earshot altogether. At least she hoped she was, and wasn’t just going deaf because her eardrums had ruptured.

Suddenly from the darkness, one of the eyeball hollows leapt out and wrapped its arms around her legs, tripping her and sending her crashing to the rocky ground below, hitting her cheek against it, ripping the flesh on it.

“Gerroff me!” Sunset exclaimed, trying to push it off. When that failed, Sunset jabbed her finger into one of the hollow’s many eyes, causing it to groan and let go. With one leg, she planted a kick in its face, forcing its bony body off hers, at the same time, throwing a fireball at it, teleporting back in a shower of sparks as the hollow caught on fire, its body flailing madly around like it was trying to put it out.

Tentacles sprouted from the hollow’s burning body, but they didn’t do much before they ceased moving, the grotesque body falling to the ground in a burning pile.

Sunset pushed herself up to her feet and placed one hand over her left ear. Blood still dripped from it and while she wasn’t deaf, her hearing had been damaged; there was a quiet ringing sound now. She was about to reach for an estus flask, but at that moment the singing monster rounded the corner, its arms outstretched like it was trying to grab her. As soon as she made eye contact with it, the singing began to fill her ears again and they began to hurt.

Sunset gritted her teeth and backed away, keeping her sword out in front of her. But she was running out of room to backpedal. She could see now why Sandalwood had been stopped here. This enemy was formidable indeed.

All Sunset could hear now was that incessant ringing sound, everything else, including her breath, was muted. As such, she completely missed the sound of a clay urn sailing through the air and breaking on the singing monster’s back, covering it with a  grey, slimy liquid.

However, she did see it, as well as a figure stepping out behind the creature with a molotov cocktail of sorts in hand. They hurled the fire bottle, and it shattered on impact with the monster. The grey liquid, which now Sunset realized must be oil or some other flammable substance, ignited in full flame and wreathed the monster in fire. 

The singing grew into a shriek, and it flailed about, only to be finally killed by an axe to the head.

Sunset looked up in amazement as her rescuer kicked the corpse aside and walked up to her.

“Applejack?” she said, not able to hear her own voice. By now, everything around her was a muffled silence.

The cowgirl ran over to her side, now clad in steel armor that actually looked really cool, with a white cape flowing behind her and chainmail running across most of her body. There was a gleaming axe in one of her hands, which Sunset swore emitted electricity.

Applejack’s mouth moved up and down, but no sound came from it. Eventually, she sighed and pointed to her ears, then mimicked a drinking motion.

“Oh, oh…” Sunset quickly dug around her pack and retrieved an estus flask, downing its orange flavoured contents in a single gulp.

Immediately, the warmth of the potion bled into her body and her hearing returned, which wasn’t actually much in terms of sound, now that Sunset thought about it. The cavern around her was almost deathly silent, with the only sounds being her ragged breathing and Applejack letting out a shrill whistle.

“My, ugly monster that one is, ain’t it so?” She smirked and pointed to the cliff. “Ya alright? Glad Ah came by in time.”

“Applejack…” Sunset sighed. “I have never been happier to see you.”

“Yeah, well, good ta see you too, Sunset. Ah was just exploring around here after Ah got my Dragonslayer back from that sackboy. Ah musta taken a different way in though, cause Ah didn’t see you at all.”

“There was a guy called Sandalwood back there,” Sunset jerked her thumb back toward the entrance. “I knew him too, back where I’m from.”

Applejack shrugged, her armor clanking a little with the motion. “Can’t say Ah saw him neither.”

“Well, if there’s another way into this place, then that means there’s another way out!” Sunset said excitedly, though she knew her goal here wasn’t to run from this place, but to actually get through it so she could get to the Cataclysm Hollows somewhere down below. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know how to get down to the Cataclysm Hollows, would you? The next Flame of Death is down there.”

“Can’t say Ah do, Sunset.” Applejack scratched at her head and looked around. “Though Ah suppose Ah can accompany you. Ah’ve still yet to find that lyin’ thief of a Rarity. Maybe Ah’ll find her along the way. Ya haven’t seen her, have ya? Ooh, if Ah get my hands on her, Ah’d wring that cheatin’ head right off her neck! My hat ain’t suppose to ever leave my side!”

“Er, no, I haven’t seen her, not since the last time,” Sunset admitted. She hoped Rarity hadn’t died or anything like that.

Applejack huffed in annoyance, then looked down at Sunset’s left hand. “Ah see you got yourself some magic. Pahromancy, is it?”

“Yeah. Sandalwood gave it to me. Quite the neat tool, especially down here with all these eyeball monsters.”

Applejack nodded sagely. “Fire’ll kill ‘em, but if ya want to take down the singin’ ones, you might need a little extra.” Appleajack reached into her own pack and pulled out a satchel, holding it out for Sunset. “Oil urns. Throw one on an enemy, and any fire’ll burn twice as hard on ‘em.”

Sunset took the satchel and pulled out one of the urns. It was surprisingly heavy. There were about a dozen urns in the satchel, and Sunset thanked Applejack for the gift.

“Aw, shucks. It’s nothin’, I figured if we’re both gonna keep going, we need to be prepared.” She gestured to the dead singing monster. “Sure to be more of those fellers.”

“Yeah…” Sunset shuddered. All her skill with a sword was of no use when the enemy merely had to sing to hurt her. A voice had better range than a blade. She wanted to say yes. Having a friend around made everything different, but then she thought of Rainbow Dash and what she had to do. She didn’t want that happening again. “AJ… maybe it’s better if you… didn’t put yourself in harm’s way. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“What? Really?” Applejack spun Dragonslayer in her hand. “Ah can take care of myself jus’ fine, Sunset Shimmer. Ain’t nothin’ gonna be stoppin’ me.”

“Yeah, I know you’re good at what you do and all, but… you can die. No offense, AJ. I can come back,” Sunset tried to reason. “I don’t want to see you die too.”

“You’ve lost friends already, huh?” Applejack tilted her head back a bit. “But listen. Ah ain’t no simple girl. Ah can handle this. Trust me. Ah won’t end up in the ground. Ah’ve been doin’ this long enough. But… if it makes ya feel better, if things don’t look too good, Ah’ll hang back, okay? Sound good?”

“That’s all I can ask, Applejack,” Sunset said. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. “Alright then. Let’s go.”



The trek downwards was no mean feat, but Sunset and Applejack managed to get by with surprisingly little trouble. Most of the enemies weren’t very bright, being hollows, and the narrow paths over the rivers of magma meant that kicking them off was all too easy. In fact, by the time the first bonfire came into view, neither of the girls had been even the slightest bit hurt. Thankfully, there hadn’t been anymore of those singing gargoyles too, which Sunset didn’t mind not ever seeing again.

“Ahh, there’s nothing like a good bonfire to make the day better,” Applejack sighed, sitting down before the flickering flames. “Tell me, Sunset, just how many hollows have we kicked off today? More than Ah’ve ever done in my life, that’s for sure.”

Sunset stretched herself out, refilling what little estus she had used up. With these bonfires, she hadn’t felt the need to sleep since waking up here. These things somehow kept them all going, giving them the strength they needed to push on.

Looking at her friend, Sunset decided to try to get to know her a little more, seeing as this was a different Applejack. It was better than nothing.

“So, AJ, what brings you to this place? Something you’re looking for?”

“O’ course. That’s why we all come here, ain’t it?” She reached up to adjust her hat, but it wasn’t there. “Dagnabbit! Ah’m gonna kill her! Anyway, Ah’m a sorts of treasure hunter over from a land called Mareah, one of the five kingdoms of Equus. ‘Course, before the whole undead thing happened, treasure was usually guarded by dragons. That’s how come Ah got this here axe, to deal with them dragons and get the treasure.”

“Oh. What happened to the dragons?”

Applejack shrugged. “No one really knows. Most of ‘em vanished soon as our kingdoms began to fall to ruin. Perhaps they sensed there wasn’t much treasure left to be found and went elsewhere. That’s why Ah’m here anyway. To find some treasure to help rebuild Mareah to its former glory. Many of us left for this land, but Ah’m afraid there aren’t many of us left.

“See here, Ah met that thievin’ Rarity of Marestora in my journeys here. We agreed to team up and split the profits, but what did she do? She stole my hat and all our accumulated treasure’s what she did! Ah just woke one day, and it was all gone! Along with that thief!”

Sunset rubbed her ear, dislodging the crusted blood there. “M-Maybe she had a good reason for leaving? Not that I’m defending her actions, but she seemed pretty upset with you too.”

“For what, may Ah ask?” Applejack glowered.

“She, uh, said you locked her in a metal tomb for months. I mentioned that the last time we met?”

“Ah don’t remember every little detail of what we spoke about, but trust me, Ah did no such thing!” She scrunched up her nose. “Okay, maybe Ah did, just a little bit…”

“When was this?”

“After she disappeared, Ah went lookin’ for her. Eventually found her over near the Lake of Silence. Locked her in one of the old tombs there as payback while Ah find out where she put my hat. Should’a killed her right there.”

“Oh, come on, you two are great friends back where I’m from. You don’t need violence for this.”

“Why, she’s just about the most treacherous person out there! Ah can’t trust her. Hay, she stole my hat!”

Sunset sighed to herself. This world was all wrong. Monsters roamed the land, Rainbow Dash was dead, and Applejack and Rarity were bitter enemies. Sunset only wished that the magic of friendship could touch here too, but that seemed a futile prospect. This world seemed to have its own rules.

“Well, Ah think we’ve rested long enough,” Applejack rose to her feet and flourished Dragonslayer. “Time to see if we can’t find the end of this place.”
> Chapter 17: Darkstone Crags - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The crags seemed to be leading down a long and elongated path now and there were far too many times Sunset Shimmer had nearly slipped on a loose stone and would’ve fallen to her death if not for Applejack.

“Ya gotta be more careful,” she had been told multiple times. And Applejack was right.

While she would just come back if she died, she would still die. It wasn’t something she wanted to experience, especially if she died from falling into the lava below.

As they got closer to the bottom, the heat from the lava below began to make itself known, with a constant discomfort going through Sunset’s entire body. She tied her hair up into a ponytail, but it didn’t really help much in staving the heat off.

As they rounded the next cliffside, Sunset’s ears began to pick up a faint song coming from a cave entrance to her left. Normally, songs were very much welcomed, seeing as they could break into song whenever they wanted, but in this world, Sunset learnt that even songs could kill you.

“Great, another one of those things coming up.” Sunset unsheathed her star sword.

Lit by the faint glow of the lava, two more of the singing gargoyles could be seen. Their song, even at this distance, was already pricking Sunset’s eardrums. 

“Think we can take ‘em?” Applejack asked quietly. “Or do we lure one of ‘em over at a time?”

Sunset picked up a stray pebble and smiled. “One at a time, preferably.”

Cocking her arm, Sunset let the pebble fly. Her aim was true, and the rock struck the closest creature in the back. Laboriously, it turned around, its eyes swiveling this way and that to see where the stone had come from.

Almost immediately, the gargoyle charged at them, its singing getting louder and more lethal as it got closer. Sunset immediately plugged a finger in her left ear, but it did little to fight off the deafening song.

“Charge!” she heard Applejack yell, an oil urn in her free hand.

She tossed the jar at it, spilling oil all over the creature, before rolling under its reaching arms, slashing at its right leg as she passed it. Electricity arced across the creature, stopping it in its tracks as it reeled from the sudden shock.

Sunset used that chance to conjure a fireball and lobbed it right at the creature’s massive head. Applejack got clear as the eye gargoyle began to burn, its song rising up into a shriek of pain and fury. It still tried to advance, but both Sunset and Applejack dashed over and cut at it from its front and back. Blood and flesh pooled around the creature’s legs and eventually, its song ceased, though there was still one more to deal with.

“I think the faster we kill them, the less damage we do to our ears.” Sunset ripped her sword free from the monster’s melting flesh.

“Great plan, Sunset Shimmer.” Applejack hefted her axe over one shoulder. “Alright, when Ah say charge, we both run at it like a one-eyed jack with diamonds. Ya ready?”

“Ready!”

The remaining gargoyle turned around just in time to see the two screaming warriors charge at it. The creature’s eyes widened in shock and it raised its arms to defend itself, getting a scratch across Sunset’s arm before her sword and Applejack’s axe struck home with a sickening squelch. The monster flailed about, but like a pair of Roaman senators, Applejack and Sunset stabbed and hacked at its body in a frenzy. Before long, it, too, fell over and died.

“Phew,” Applejack said, wiping her forehead. “That’s that.”

Sunset nodded, pulling her sword up and sheathing it. “Give me a moment. I need to bind this…” The fiery haired girl looked down at her arm where the monster had clawed her. But there was no wound there. “Huh?” Then she noticed that her new ring was glowing slightly.

Applejack noticed too. “Uh, Sunset? Where’d you get that?”

“Found it in a chest a little way back. Why?” She touched a hand to her ear and realized she could still hear.

“That’s a Ring of the Evil Eye.” Applejack bent her knees to get a closer look at it. “Why, Ah’ve only heard stories of one. Lore says when ya kill things, ya get healed by their souls. That explains why ya don’t have a wound on that arm. Hey, how’s ya hearin’? Mine’s quite muffled.”

“Yeah it’s… Actually not bad. Somewhat dampened, but better than before.”

Applejack took a drink of estus, then tapped the side of her head. “Alright. That’s better.”

The two girls continued down the path. There were a few hollows on the way, but Sunset and Applejack made short work of them, making sure to knock them off the cliff so that they wouldn’t have to deal with their tentacle forms.

“Man, I can’t wait to get back to Twilight,” Sunset said, checking ahead for any enemies. “I must have gathered a lot of those souls by now.”

“Fyrlon, huh?” Applejack reached up for her hat again, grumbling when it wasn’t there. “Been a while since Ah’ve been back there. Maybe Ah should pay a visit once we’re done with your flame gatherin’.”

Sunset looked at her, with the two of them now heading down a rocky slope over the chasm to the opposite side. “What do you mean we?”

“Why, Ah’ve decided to help ya. Maybe Ah’ll even find Rarity on the way and teach her a lesson.”

“Can’t you two just be friends?” Sunset groaned and almost slipped on another pebble. “All this is in the past. We can move on if you both are agreeable to it. You are meant to be friends. Not enemies.”

“Ah just want my hat back,” Applejack said shortly. “Now come on, Ah think Ah see something up ahead.

The path slanted downwards, and at the bottom of the slope was a familiar, but foreboding sight.

A fog door, melding into the rocky surface on the other side.

In front of it stood a single hollow, but this one’s tentacles were out, four of them acting as the legs for the poor undead. Its many eyes swiveled round and round, keeping an eye out for intruders, which had yet to see the two girls from this distance.

“Whatever made these hollows like that, Ah’m pretty sure is behind that gate.” Applejack held her axe in both hands. “Let’s get this guy.”

Sunset nodded and aimed high. Throwing her sword, she teleported to it in a flash, appearing high above the tentacle hollow.

Its eyes all turned up to her as she fell, her left hand already readying a fireball. Applejack ran down from the slope, her axe above her head as she let out a fierce battle cry.

The tentacles tried to reach out to both of them, but Sunset’s fire rained from above and consumed the creature, its tentacles now writhing in agony. With another throw, Sunset lodged her sword through the hollow’s head, materializing next to it and cutting out just as Applejack slammed her electrifying axe deep into the hollow’s chest.

It managed to knock Applejack down and throw Sunset off, but it didn’t last much longer, soon dropping dead. Fire really seemed to work wonders against them. They were so much harder before Sunset had been given the pyromancy flame by Sandalwood.

“Well, here we are…” Applejack breathed and looked over the edge. Sunset joined her and looked down. The lava was much closer now and much hotter than before. “Wonder just how deep we are. What’cha reckon, Sunset?”

“Not deep enough,” Sunset said, half to herself. She needed to get to the Cataclysm Hollows as fast as she could. Hopefully it would be the next area.

“Depressin’ attitude you have there.” Applejack clapped her on the back. “But at least you’ve resolve. Come on. Let’s go see what challenge lies before us.”

The cowgirl walked Sunset over to the fog gate, then stepped aside to let her enter first. Sunset gulped and retrieved her sword from its sheath. She didn’t know what awaited her inside, but there was only one way to find out.

“You wanna go first, or should Ah?” Applejack gesticulated at the fog door.

Sunset sighed, looking at her reflection in her sword blade. “Let’s go in together.”

Applejack nodded, and stepped up to the fog. On her nod, both girls entered the next room.

The first thing Sunset noticed was the heat. It was far hotter in this room than it had been previously, and the area before had already been sweltering. Sweating through her armor, Sunset looked around as Applejack found her bearings.

It was a big room, alright. Stone, with a craggy ceiling. The floor around the room center dropped off, revealing a pool of lava below. And at the far end of the room was what appeared to be a huge mass of black roots. The entire room was on a slope, with the roots at the bottom of the incline.

Then the roots moved, and Sunset knew she had been mistaken. The room was filled, almost to the brim, with tentacles at least five times the size of the ones the hollows had.

And then in the center of them all was a huge lumpy mass of eyes, all of them now looking directly at Applejack and Sunset. A low groan filled the cavern and soon the tentacles began snaking their way over, each of them much longer than Sunset had imagined them to be.

“Here we go.” Applejack readied Dragonslayer and charged forward, her weapon arcing with electricity.

Sunset raised her blade and sprinted for the mass of eyes at the center. She threw a fireball, but it was blocked by a tentacle. She had expected it to do some damage, but the tentacle was just too long and thick to suffer anything more than a minor burn.

“Ah, crud.”

And that was all Sunset had time to say before a tentacle bashed her in the chest, sending her flying back. She tumbled on the ground and came uncomfortably close to the edge of the platform.

Meanwhile, Applejack was not faring much better. Her axe bit deeply into a dark tendril, but even Dragonslayer’s weight and magic were insufficient to contend with the flesh and sinew of this monster. With a spasm, Applejack found herself pushing against the monster’s strength. Her boots left skid marks on the floor as she was forced back to the door.

Sunset leapt to her feet and rushed back at the enemy. She vaulted over one lashing tentacle, ducked under another, and was in the process of circumventing a third when a tendril wrapped around her leg and threw her away with surprising strength. For the second time, Sunset found herself rolling toward a fiery doom. 

This isn’t working. She realized. Applejack was still wrestling with her axe. They had both been lucky so far, but it was only a matter of time before this monster scored a lucky toss of its own  and landed them in the lava below.

Sweat ran down Sunset’s face in rivulets as she considered the situation. 

At that moment, the tentacles in front of the eyeball cluster opened, and a beam of orange energy blasted out, forcing Sunset to throw herself flat to avoid being hit.

“Oh, come on! Heat vision on top of everything else?!”

One of the tentacles found its way around one of her legs and lifted her up, while another one pulled at her left arm, both trying to rip her apart.

Sunset screamed in pain as her left shoulder popped, but she managed to throw her sword backwards, and then disappearing from the tentacles’ grasps and appearing down on the ground where her weapon had landed. She quickly scuttled back and downed an estus to relieve herself of the pain so she could keep moving to avoid more of the creature’s tentacles.

There was no safe way to approach the eyes. They could see all around the cavern and with the mass of tentacles to protect it, getting to it seemed quite impossible.

“Woaaahhh!” Applejack landed beside her, part of her shoulder armor missing and having a few bruises on her face.

Another beam of orange energy lanced out, carving out a trench in the floor. To Sunset’s alarm, the floor beneath them began to crack, tiny bits of it falling away down into the lake of magma below.

“This is bad,” Applejack said, getting to her feet. “That durn thing is too well protected for us to get close. Any ideas, Sunset?”

“We need to get it distracted.” Sunset looked at the mound of eyes; there were two arms poking out from beneath the flesh, almost like someone had been crushed underneath. They were long and slender and as red as the rest of the creature. “But with eyes all over the thing…”

Applejack nodded and fought back a tentacle as it tried to wrap around her arm. “It’ll see us coming from any direction.”

More tentacles shot out from the mass of flesh and snaked over to Sunset and Applejack, who had to leap away and cut at what they could. Sunset parried one, then threw her sword up to avoid another one, but two more tentacles caught her in midair, now slithering around her waist, trying to squeeze the life out of her.

“Ah gotcha, Sun- Aaah!” Applejack was swatted aside, sliding to a stop beside the fog gate.

Sunset squirmed and reached for her pack, looking for one of the oil urns Applejack had given her. Perhaps she could get rid of some of the tentacles to get to the core. Retrieving one, she began to tip it over the tentacles around her waist, keeping it as far as she could as she emptied the contents so as to not get any on herself. She was desperate to get out before it could crush her, but she wasn’t about to set herself on fire doing so.

The smell of oil soon filled the air, and Sunset felt the tentacle stop moving, as though trying to figure out just what this substance was. For a moment the tendrils went slack, and Sunset slipped free, then pointed her left hand forward, willing the air to ignite. A combustion blossomed forth and set the oil alight, filling the air with the smell of burning flesh.

A guttural screech came from the blob of eyes in the center and the tentacles recoiled away from Sunset, allowing her to drop to a roll and run to Applejack’s position.

“Seems fire is still our best bet.” She helped her friend up. “That oil of yours is really something.”

“Thought they might come in handy.” Applejack pulled out a few oil urns from her pack. “Only cost me seven thousand souls. Let’s see how it likes some in its big face.”

Applejack readied one and lobbed it as hard as she could towards the creature’s head. Unfortunately, it was a bit too far and it landed short of it.

“Dagnabbit! We need to get closer. Could ya cover me while Ah throw ‘em?”

“You got it.” Sunset eyed the two burning tentacles. She should be able to keep them back with her pyromancy, at least for some time.

One more tentacle propelled over to where they were, but Sunset used a combustion spell and it coiled away from the explosion, giving Applejack time to rush forward, another urn already ready to throw.

Tossing a fireball, Sunset kicked away a tentacle that had been snaking for her leg, then fired a combustion spell at it. Only, when she extended her left hand and the pyromancy flame to cast, nothing came out.

“Huh?” She waggled the flame in her hand. “The pyromancy flame doesn’t make magic anymore?”

“Oh, ya didn’t know? Each spell can only be used a limited number of- Oof!”

In her distraction, she had let Applejack get hit and all the urns in her arms went sailing and crashing into the ground just ahead of them, a pool of the oil already spreading down the slope.

Wait… Down the slope.

Sunset watched as the oil began to seep downhill. There had been a lot of urns, and the oil puddle expanded steadily, soaking the stone floor beneath their feet and settling around the base of the monster, just as she had hoped it would.

“Applejack! That’s it!”

“Huh?” Applejack blinked at Sunset as she tried to get up. “What’s that now?”

“You did a good job getting all that oil there…” Sunset conjured up a fireball and threw it just as a trio of tentacles wrapped around her, two around her legs and one around her sword arm. “Hey!”

She struggled as they all pulled in a different direction, but as her fireball landed on the ground, the oil was quick to be set ablaze and the fire immediately began to spread down the trail, all the way to where the mass of eyes were. The oil had soaked into the creature all around, and Sunset’s fireball was devouring the oil, the flames clawing and biting like a hungry beast. In no time at all, the conflagration reached the mass of eyes.

There came an inhuman scream, a screech that shattered the smaller rocks all around the monster and the tentacles around Sunset let go in an instant as they began shriveling up like dried plants. All the tentacles in the room began to flail about as the flesh on the eye mound began to turn black.

When the entire monster had been charred, the flames died down and the creature began to flake away, just like everything else. The scene reminded Sunset of Rainbow Dash’s death and she shut her eyes to kick the memory out.

“Whew!” Applejack exclaimed. She ran her thumb on her axe’s edge, checking for any nicks or notches. “Good thinkin’ there, Sunset. We did it!”

The girl opened her eyes again to see a bonfire at the other end of the room where a dark tunnel could now be seen. “Yeah… Glad this one’s done. I’ve had enough with tentacles now. They are so gross and slimy.”

The bonfire was swiftly put to use, with both girls basking in the warmth of the fire’s glow.

“When you rest at a bonfire, your spells get filled up again too,” Applejack explained. “Now that you’re a pahromancer, resting at bonfires is all that more important for you.”

“Mhmm. That’s good to know,” Sunset said, looking at the pyromancy flame that Sandalwood had given her. It glowed and pulsed, almost like a heart. She found the sight somewhat comforting.

They sat in silence for a while longer. Then, at an unseen signal, both girls rose to their feet, determination on their faces.

“Ready to see what’s next, sugarcube?”

Sunset nodded. “Let’s do this.”
> Chapter 18: Underisle of Fire - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dark tunnel at the end of the cavern eventually ended out into a much larger cavern, and when Sunset said larger, she really meant it.

This cavern was likely as large as the entirety of the Darkstone Crags from earlier and looking up now, Sunset could see parts of the cliffs she had traversed to get here. This place was the lake of lava she could see from the crags and it was incredibly hot.

“What a place…” Applejack attempted to remove her hat to fan herself, but then realized once again that it wasn’t there. “Dagnabbit, that scoundrel stealin’ my hat!”

Sunset Shimmer wiped an arm across her forehead, only to recoil when her gauntlet scorched at her skin.

“Gah, it’s so hot…” she groaned. It wasn’t helping that she had armor on.

Before the two of them was a sea of lava, along with what looked like an old decrepit path, curving across to some buildings that still stood within the lake on many small islands. Bits of the path had broken off, dropping off to the lava below.

“This one looks like it’s gonna be a great time, ain’t it?” Applejack asked and then blew up at her fringe.

“Yeah… Well, I only see one way forward. How about that?”

“Well, if it’ll lead us to Rarity and my hat, then let’s get to it!” Applejack was first to step on the rocky path.

A short flight of steps led up to the snaking walkway through the lava, which became almost unbearably hot once they walked out over the lava itself. More than once, parts of the path crumbled away into the molten rock, forcing the two questors to pick their path carefully.

It was not long before they encountered their first enemy. 

A towering humanoid monster blocked the way forward. It had some kind of huge animal’s skull on its head, and it held two massive black metal cleavers. Its crimson eyes glared out of the skull, hot and burning with hate.

Sunset gulped, reminding herself of her parched throat as she did so.

“What do you think, Applejack? Can we take him?”

“Ah ain’t never seen such a beast before…” Applejack said slowly. “He’s got more reach than either of us. Won’t be easy, ‘specially with all this lava everywhere.”

“What about fire?” Sunset suggested. She held out her pyromancy flame. “Maybe we can kill it before it gets too close.”

The other girl snorted. “Ya really think a monster down here would be weak to fire?”

Sunset shrugged. “Worth a try, isn’t it?”

“Ah mean, sure, go ahead. Why not.” She took Dragonslayer out. “Burn the monster that lives in a burnin’ lava place.”

The demon seemed to notice Sunset and Applejack, its head swiveling to look at them, but not making a move to attack.

“Maybe it won’t bother us.”

“Maybe it’s just watchin’ to see which of us to eat first.”

“Well, what do you want to do, then?” Sunset waved at her friend.

“Look.” Applejack pointed ahead. The curving path ahead led straight to the beast. “Unless ya can swim in lava, the only way is through that son of a gun.”

“Great…” Sunset eyed the beast’s cleavers. They were large, almost as large as her whole body. On such a narrow walkway, this wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

“Maybe we can...” Applejack began, taking one step in the monster’s direction.

There was an instant change in stance. The demon raised its cleavers, and bellowed a roar to the ceiling. Then it glared straight at Sunset and Applejack, and charged.

“Get back!” Applejack began running for the start, where the pathway started.

Sunset got her legs into position and before the monster could bring its cleaver down at her head, she was already up in the air, appearing where she had thrown her sword. She plummeted down for a plunging attack, but the demon reacted faster than Sunset could have imagined, bringing up its left hand blade to guard from her strike. Sparks flew as the two weapons clashed.

Applejack’s Dragonslayer swept at the monster’s feet, but the demon stepped out of range and smashed at the orange girl with its right hand cleaver. Applejack was barely able to avoid it, and the strike gouged a deep trench in the ground.

Sunset hit the ground in a crouch and swiped at the monster’s leg. However, this did very little damage, barely drawing any blood at all. The demon roared, spinning around once and bludgeoning Sunset with its long tail. Sunset went flying, landing in a heap on the very edge of the path, almost rolling into the lava. Sunset lay there for a few seconds, seeing stars before she could properly re-orient herself. Then she shook the stars from her eyes and got back up, readying her sword.

Applejack darted left and right, surprisingly agile for one wielding such a large weapon. However, Sunset knew that it was only a matter of time before the demon got in a lucky strike. After all, Applejack needed to be lucky every time. The demon only needed to be lucky once.

Applejack did a flip as a cleaver bisected the spot she had just been occupying. “Sunset!” she shouted as the demon advanced on her. “Ah wouldn’t object to a few suggestions!”

The girl looked at the pyromancy flame in her hand and then decided against it. Instead, she threw her sword again, aiming for the monster’s head. It stuck into its skull as it tried to slash at Applejack again, knocking its head up as Sunset teleported to her weapon, pushing it deeper into its head.

The demon bellowed and tried to slice her in two, but missed as Applejack leapt high, cutting down against its right thigh with a thunderous strike. 

The monster staggered, tried to right itself, but the wound on its leg proved too much to recover from. The demon roared, then toppled over sideways off the walkway and into the lava. Sunset barely managed to throw her sword back to the path as the demon splashed down into the molten rock, flailing and roaring all the while. Soon it was engulfed in magma, leaving only a cleaver sticking out to mark its passing.

“Phew,” Applejack said, peering at the spot where the demon had sunken. “That was a little too close for comfort.”

“We got lucky,” Sunset grimaced. She would have given anything right then for a nice cold glass of lemonade. “ I hope there aren’t more of those things down here.”

“Only one way to find out,” Applejack smiled sardonically and pointed her chin to the path. “And alright, Ah guess they don’t mix well with fire, Sunset. That pyromancy flame o’ yours might come in handy, after all.”

Warily, the pair set off down the path. It was not long before they came into a half-sunken cluster of buildings. There did not seem to be any enemies nearby, so Sunset and Applejack had the idea to split up and search the settlement for anything of use.

Sunset entered one of the stone buildings. Parts of the ceiling had caved in, and the walls were cracked and covered in soot. It was a crumbling ruin that had been abandoned many years ago. With the lava lighting her way, Sunset crept through the structure.

It was only when she reached the very back that she found something. Under a chunk of broken roof, there was a dead hollow. It had been crushed to death by the weight of the stone, and Sunset immediately looked up to see if anything else might come down on her. The hollow was clutching a bag, which Sunset took an interest in. 

Pulling the bag out from the hollow’s dead fingers, she peered inside and beheld a collection of small cylindrical jars, each one filled with an odd blue liquid. There were eight jars in total. Sunset had no idea what they were, but she took them with her anyway. Perhaps Applejack would know what these blue jars contained.

Making her way back to the middle of the settlement, Sunset found Applejack sitting on a semi-collapsed bench, looking at something shiny in her hands.

“Hey, AJ,” Sunset greeted. “Did you find anything?”

“Just some old coins,” Applejack said, showing Sunset a handful of gold and silver discs. “How about you?”

“Just these jars,” Sunset showed Applejack the bag. The orange girl’s eyes went wide.

“Sunset… do you know what these are?”

“Uh, no?”

Applejack took out a jar and held it up to examine. “Sunset, these are blue elixirs! Really rare, they are.”

“Oh,” Sunset said, scratching her arm. “What do they do?”

“Well, ya drink one...” Applejack held up an elixir and opened the lid, smelling it. “And ya turn invisible! It’s a mystery how they’re made, but they used to sell for huge prices back home.”

“Wow. These will help.” Sunset pulled one from the pouch and watched the blue liquid swirl inside as she shook it. “Less chance of us falling into that lava fighting demons too.”

“They don’t last forever,”Applejack informed Sunset. “Only about five minutes. They’re really popular with thieves though. Ya can probably imagine why.”

Sunset nodded. The blue elixir might be the key to getting through this section with as few fights as possible.

“Weird how there isn’t a bonfire here,” Applejack mused. “Ah woulda thought that a safe spot like this would be perfect for one.”

“I wish there was a bonfire,” Sunset agreed. “But there isn’t one. Let’s get moving; maybe there’s one up ahead.”

The duo shouldered their respective packs and went off down the other way out of the settlement. It was easy going, as the path sloped ever downwards, though it was hot as ever with the streams of lava that flowed around them. Here and there they would find dead hollows, but no living enemies until there came a fork in the road. 

A towering knight clad in black armor stood at the crossroads, bearing a massive halberd. The knight was at least three heads taller than Sunset, and the halberd was taller than the knight itself. She stopped and motioned for Applejack to stay low.

“What do you think?” Sunset whispered. “Reckon we can take him?”

“Ah don’t like our chances,” Applejack eyed the black knight warily. “He’s got the height and reach advantage on us.”

“Time to pop an elixir, maybe?”

Applejack nodded. “Afore we do though, which way should we go? Left or right?”

Applejack scratched her chin as both girls looked to the two paths. The left one seemed to lead on towards the center of the cavern, snaking and spiraling over to a few more buildings, while the right one led to a series of what looked like roots jutting out of the rock wall.

“Doesn’t look mighty safe to be standin’ on plants in a fiery place.” Applejack pointed a finger out. “Ah say we go left.”

Sunset nodded her agreement. The two girls each took an elixir and drank it. Sunset grimaced at the taste; it was slightly slimy and tasted of iron and copper. However, once she had downed the bottle, she felt much lighter. She looked at her hands. They were quickly becoming transparent.

“Now, remember,” Applejack’s voice came from where she had just been crouching. “We might be invisible, but they can still hear us. So let’s be quiet, okay?”

Sunset nodded again, but then realized that Applejack couldn’t see her. “Got it,” she confirmed. “Maybe we should, uh, hold hands or something. So we don’t lose each other.”

Sunset felt around with her own invisible hand, until she felt Applejack’s arm. The two had a bit of a fumble, trying to find each others’ hands, but after a few moments, they were ready.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Padding along as quietly as humanly possible, the two approached the black knight. It continued to stand there, motionless. 

So far, so good. Sunset thought.

As Applejack steered them toward the left path, Sunset found herself holding her breath. The black knight did not seem to notice them, but it was only once they were a ways down the left path that Sunset was able to breathe again.

“Whew!” Applejack’s voice said. “That worked pretty well.”

“Yeah,” Sunset agreed. “How long did you say these elixirs lasted for?”

“‘Bout five minutes. Should be wearin’ off soon.”

Sunset kept a hold of her friend’s hand and peered ahead. There were more rivers of magma, but also a winding path leading down to a larger island in the molten rock. And a little further on was a sizeable castle, half sunken in the lava.

“I reckon we went the right way,” Sunset said. “Hey, look! A bonfire!”

“About time!” Applejack exclaimed.

Just by the entryway to the castle, the path widened out into an almost square ground, where a bonfire had been left. With such a welcoming sight ahead, Sunset almost couldn’t control her legs as she ran to the safety of the bonfire. It was already lit, so all she had to do was sit by it and enjoy its warmth and rejuvenation.

“Aaaah, I’ll never get tired of this feeling…” She smiled.

Applejack sat down by her and stretched her legs out. “Don’t needa tell me.”

Sunset took this chance to look ahead. The castle’s insides were in ruins, with pillars and debris scattered across the place. Parts of the floor had broken, falling into the lava, while some old banners still hung round, each of them having a little insignia of a crown with tree roots sprouting out from under it.

To her surprise, three of the demons they had encountered earlier lay dead inside the castle, one of their skulls having been cracked in two.

“Looks like someone might’ve been here recently…” Sunset mused. “What do you think all this is, anyway? Looks like people used to live here. Maybe even a kingdom, seeing as there’s a castle.”

“Probably the hollows.” Applejack leaned back. “They came from the Cataclysm Hollows anyway. That’s just somewhere under this place. You’re huntin’ Sisha, ain’t ya? She’s a hollow, at least, she used to be. She went mad after findin’ that flame o’ hers. Went all McBurney on the place. At least, that’s how the story goes and why there’s lava all over here.”

“Don’t they all…” Sunset sighed. Everything in this world was wrong. Drawgren and Doland had been corrupted too. Whatever this Abyss was, if Sunset could get to it and destroy it, perhaps even this world could know peace.

“So AJ, your family, are they… here too?” Sunset decided to strike up a conversation to see what else she could learn about her treasure hunting friend. “Big Mac? Apple Bloom? Even Granny Smith?”

“Why they’re all back in Mareah.” Then she looked to the lava and frowned. “Except Big Mac. He left five years ago to come here. He… didn’t make it home.”

“He… He’s dead?” Sunset said quietly.

Applejack snorted. “Ah wish. Mac’s turned into a Darkwraith. One o’ them red phantoms. Now they say he wanders this land, lookin’ for flames to steal. Woulda been better for all if he had just died.” The orange girl clenched her fist around her axe. “Ah told you Ah came here lookin’ for treasure, but that’s only half the truth. Ah’m also here to find Big Mac and make sure he can’t hurt anyone else. Feels like Ah’ve been lookin’ forever.”

Sunset sighed and leaned back on her hands. It seemed every denizen of this world was looking for something. Herself included. And so many had come before her, all to fall into darkness, like Big Mac, or to turn home disappointed, like Sandalwood.

I have to do better. Sunset thought to herself, clenching her fist. She would find a way out of this nightmarish place, and hopefully spread a little light on the other inhabitants of the world.

Applejack toyed with her cape and looked at Sunset. “So ya say Ah was one o’ your friends back where you’re from? How’s that even work anyway. Like, a completely different world?”

“Beats me, AJ. I still don’t even know why I woke up here.” Sunset looked into the fire, trying to picture Canterlot High School, all bright and cheery. “I was hanging out with you and… and Rainbow Dash, before waking up here…”

“Rainbow Dash, eh?” Applejack nodded and pulled a cloth from her pack to wipe at her axe. “She’s a good fighter. Haven’t seen her in a while.”

Sunset sighed deeply and steeled herself, not wanting to break down here. “She’s… not around anymore, Applejack.”

“Oh…” The cowgirl rubbed at her head. “Sorry to hear. It’s a real shame.”

“Yeah… I need to get back, AJ. I need to get the Flames of Death and bring them back to the Throne of the Fallen Hearth. Only then, I can find my way back. I owe it to her to not fail now.”

“Gee, sounds like a tough road ahead, but ya know what?” Applejack raised Dragonslayer to the air. “Ah’ll make sure Ah get ya as far as Ah can.”

“Thanks, AJ, that means a lot.” Sunset gave her a hug and smiled. It was nice to have friends around, even here. “Alright, I think we’ve sat here long enough. We should get moving. Sisha awaits.”

Standing, Sunset readied her star sword as they began to move on and away from the safety of the bonfire. She didn’t know what to expect in this run down castle over lava, but she had a feeling it wasn’t going to be anything remotely easy.

The two girls carefully walked across the ruins, avoiding holes and keeping an eye out for more enemies. The demons with the big swords lay dead around the foyer, but there was no telling what had killed them. Perhaps it was something worse.

A staircase led up on the left and right sides of the room, where a second floor could be seen. Sunset and Applejack decided to take the left path, finding a large door which, unfortunately, was locked.

“Thinkin’ the way through is through that door.” Applejack smashed her fist against the rusty door. “There must be a key or somethin’ around here.”

“Well…” Sunset looked around. The second floor led out to two open corridors around the room, where a row of doors could be seen on the sides. “There’s lots of places to look.”

“Maybe we should split up. It’ll certainly cover more time.” Applejack used her axe to point to the left path. “Ah’ll go check out that side. How about ya take the right one?”

“Okay,” Sunset agreed. “Just… don’t try to fight anything that’s out of your league, okay?”

“O’ course. Ah’ll do my best to watch out. Ah’ll holler for ya if Ah need your help.” She tried to tip her hat to Sunset, but once again, it wasn’t on her head. “Dagnabbit! Rarity!”

Sunset watched her stomp off towards the left corridor before going her own way.

Part of the walkway had collapsed and Sunset had to throw her sword to the other side to get past it. The first door she tried was stuck shut, unable to be opened. She eventually gave up and went to the next one, which was already open, but leading to a pile of debris which Sunset couldn’t get past.

“Well…” She looked over to the last two doors in her corridor. Hopefully the key to the big doors would be in one of those.

She made her way over to the next one, but as she threw the door open, she heard a shriek, followed by a sound of an explosion from inside.

Past the door, a corridor led down a narrow walkway, turning to the right at the end of it. More banners hung from the ceiling here, covering a majority of the stone walls. Sunset went along, keeping her eyes peeled, but wanting to see where that shriek had come from. It had sounded quite familiar, but it was too hard to tell who it was just from a single shriek.

“Unhand me, foul beast!”

Now for sure she knew that had been Rarity. Quickening her pace, Sunset ran down the hall, excited to meet another friend here, but at the same time, hoping she would make it in time. By the sound of it, Rarity was in trouble.

The hallway at the end led down a flight of steps into an open air courtyard, which dipped off into lava. And there Rarity was, held in the clutches of a giant monster resembling an ox of sorts. In its other hand was a colossal axe, big enough to crush Sunset under it in one swipe. 

Still running at the monster, Sunset gathered the flames in her left hand and hurled an exploding fireball at it. The flames splashed across the monster’s back and it turned around, Rarity seemingly forgotten in its fist.

“Sunset!” Rarity exclaimed. “Fancy meeting you-!”

Rarity was cut off as the monster holding her hurled her at Sunset, who was too surprised to get out of the way. The spellcaster struck Sunset right in the chest, sending them both tumbling across the floor. 

“Oohh…” Rarity groaned as she rolled off Sunset’s breastplate. “That armor of yours is hard.” 

“That’s the idea…” Sunset coughed, a little winded by the collision. “You alright, Rarity?”

“For now, yes, just- Watch out!” Rarity suddenly shrieked, scampering back just as the demon’s axe came smashing down at them hard enough to crack the floor with an awful grinding noise.

Sunset scrambled out of reach, readying her pyromancy flame and her star sword. Rarity held out her staff, blue magic gathering around its tip.

The demon looked at the two with visible contempt in its eyes. 

Then it roared, and the fight was on.
> Chapter 19: Underisle of Fire - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset had not yet faced such a beast. And it wasn’t even behind a fog door! It was a regular enemy, and that made Sunset’s skin crawl to imagine what the boss of this area was. 

She ducked and rolled under the demon’s fierce axe strikes. It didn’t matter how much estus she had; one hit from that and it would all be over.

She had already thrown three fireballs at the demon, but it did little to even singe the fur on its back.

“Well, what did you expect, dear?” Rarity had asked her. “This whole place is quite fiery. I doubt a spell like that would work.”

Sunset threw her sword forward and teleported past the creature’s legs, giving it a swipe through its ankles before rushing back and away from one of its axe swings.

Rarity stood from afar, pelting the taurus demon with bolts of blue magic, each one bursting on its hide and eliciting a roar of rage from it.

With a bellow that shook the ground beneath them, the demon turned around and charged towards Sunset, going at full speed, ready to trample her right under its hooves. Sunset did the most logical thing she could do and ran for her life, trying to keep out of reach of the creature as Rarity fired more magic at it.

We’re just making it mad. Sunset thought grimly as she aimed a slice at the demon’s right leg. However, its hide was too thick to effectively cut at, and her attack only drew a tiny bit of blood.

Rarity shot soul arrow after soul arrow, but the spells seemed to be only having a minimal effect of scorching its hide and leaving burn marks. The magician was quickly burning through her spells. Soon she would only have the utilities, like chameleon. And this beast still showed no signs of slowing down.

“Oh, come on!” Sunset tossed her sword high up and teleported to it as the demon’s axe crashed into the ground where she had just been standing.

Rarity fired another bolt of magic, this one far larger than the last few. It pierced through the demon and came out its front, staggering the beast for a second. That second was what Sunset needed as she began her descend, her target, the demon’s head. Aiming for a round spot on its head, Sunset poised her sword tip downwards and plunged it straight through its skull, feeling her blade sink all the way down and through something soft inside.

The taurus demon roared and took one step forward, then dropped its axe and sank to its knees. The fiery haired girl used this pause to get off before the whole monster fell to its face, the impact echoing across the entire cavern.

“Not bad, Sunset.” Rarity dusted her robes as she approached the demon to give it a kick. “Why, this place has enemies tougher than anywhere I have ever been. Even the capra demons outside took some getting used to.”

“Oh, is that what they’re called.” Sunset remembered the dead demons at the castle entrance. “You did all that? On your own?”

“Let’s just say magic works wonders against monsters here.” Rarity smiled and stretched a hand out to give Sunset a pat. “How have you been, dear? Not too bad, I hope?”

“I’ve been managing,” Sunset said, looking around. This entire courtyard looked to be a dead end. “What are you doing here? Applejack’s been looking for you, you know? She really wants her hat back. Says you have it.”

“Her what?” Rarity asked, looking a little perturbed.

“Hat.” Sunset drew a circle around the top of her head. “Really, why are the two of you even like this? What started all this.”

Rarity sniffed. “As if I would know.”

“Come on, Rarity.” Sunset sheathed her blade and folded her arms. “The two of you keep telling me contradicting stories. Either one of you is lying, or both of you are. Can I just get the truth here? I’m trying to help.”

“I am not lying!” Rarity said hotly. “Applejack still had her hat when I was locked in that tomb. I don’t know what happened to it.”

“She seems to think you stole it,” Sunset shrugged. 

“Ah, ck, tuh, pfft,” Rarity spluttered. “As if I would steal something like that.”

“Well, she says she didn’t lock you in the tomb as well.”

“Lies! All of it! She shut that door behind me! I saw it with my own eyes!” Rarity pointed at her eyes. “I couldn’t believe at first, but there’s no denying it! Applejack isn’t what she says she is!”

“Nah, she isn’t who she says she is.” There was a flicker of lightning and Applejack landed down beside Sunset, her axe radiating electricity. She got to her feet and flashed a look of anger and betrayal at Rarity, at the same time, swinging her axe up and at the ready to kill. “My hat, Rarity! Ah want it back! This instant! Give it back!”

“I never took your hat!” Rarity raised her staff and its tip glowed a bright blue. “Why would I even want to take it?! It’s just a hat, dear. What need would I have of it? You on the other hand, you locked me in that dreadful tomb! Did you know how many spiders I had to fend off?”

“Aw boo hoo hoo,” Applejack said sarcastically. “Maybe ya wouldn’t have trouble with a few measly spiders if you could fight worth a punnet. Ah helped ya, Rarity, but ya went an’ turned the tables on me! Now gimme my hat!”

“I said I don’t have it!” Rarity hopped back as Applejack rushed towards her, her axe ready to strike.

“Wait, stop it, you two!” Sunset got between them and pushed them apart. “Just stop! You two shouldn’t be like this!”

“Ah want my hat back!” Applejack tried to reach for Rarity over Sunset.

“You locked me in a tomb! That’s unforgivable!” Rarity stood on the other end, her magic at the ready.

“Look, Rarity says she didn’t take your hat and you say you didn’t lock her in a tomb!” Sunset struggled to keep them apart. “Surely something’s amiss here! Come on! Just stop!”

“She’s the liar, Sunset. Would Ah ever lie to ya?” Applejack asked.

“No, she’s lying, Sunset. Lying is so below me,” Rarity scoffed.

Applejack pushed past Sunset and swung her Dragonslayer at Rarity, but the mage dodged it and fired a bolt of magic at her. It hit Applejack square in the left shoulder and sent her back a step.

With fire in her eyes, Applejack pulled her axe back as electricity began to radiate out of it. With a warcry, she dashed forward, her axe coming down hard and fast towards Rarity’s head.

“ENOUGH!” Sunset teleported in to intercept the axe and pushed Rarity back, using her own sword to deflect the blow. “Violence isn’t the way here. The two of you! We can settle this just fine without it!”

“Oh yeah?” Applejack raised a fist at the mage. “Tell her to give me my hat back!”

Sunset sighed and looked at her violet haired friend. “Rarity, do you have any idea what might’ve happened to Applejack’s hat?”

The mage shrugged. “She still had it when she locked me in the tomb.”

“Like Ah said, Ah did no such thing!”

“Stop!” Sunset had to hold her back again. “Rarity, when were you locked in the tomb?”

“Why, almost a month ago now.” She dusted her robes and stuck her tongue out. “She locked me in one of the tombs when we were looking for treasure in the Derelict Catacombs.”

“Well, ya made off with my hat when we stopped to rest at the Bronze Workshop!”

“Look, she couldn’t have taken your hat if you locked her up back at the catacombs,” Sunset said. There were quite obvious problems with both their stories.

“Wait, Applejack.” Rarity lowered her staff. “I never went to the Bronze Workshop with you. You had locked me away before that. By the time I got there, I was alone.”

“Some fancy lies ya got there, Rarity.” Applejack clenched her axe tighter. “And to think Ah once trusted ya. Ha.”

“No, AJ, something isn’t right here.” The more Sunset thought about it, the more fishy it began to sound. It sounded almost like someone else was involved in all this. “Rarity, are you sure it was Applejack?”

“Of course. She had that hat she’s missing so much. No one else wears a hat.”

“Well, Ah never locked her in any tomb. Hay, we went on after the Derelict Catacombs. Didn’t even stay long in that place.” Applejack folded her arms. “Ah ain’t no liar.”

“I think someone’s out to get you girls.” Sunset rubbed at her chin and frowned. “You both are my friends, okay? I trust you both. I trust you both are telling the truth. Do you know who might be doing this?”

“Ah’m willin’ to give ya this once chance, Rarity. If it really was you that took my hat though…” Applejack scratched at her hair. “Who would try to frame Rarity? And who would take my hat? Seriously.”

Rarity paused and looked up at the ceiling. “I’ve heard of stories of a shapeshifter. A female, who can change her form at will, but… I never thought they were true. They could very well be.”

“Great, more shapeshifters, huh?” Sunset sighed, remembering some of her adventures back in her world. “This place keeps getting better and better. So, can we move on, you two? Friends? I could use your help too, Rarity.”

“I… I guess for now.” Rarity flashed a look at Applejack. “But if I find out you’re lying-”

“Yes, yes,” Sunset interrupted, rolling her eyes. “You’ll give her what’s coming. Okay, come on. Rarity, we’re looking for a key of sorts that would open the big door in the castle’s foyer. Any ideas?”

“Oh, yeah…” Applejack fished in her pouch and retrieved an old rusted key. “Found it off one o’ them bull skull demons.”

“They’re called capra demons, darling,” Rarity corrected.

“Whatever.”

Sunset didn’t complain. She accepted the key from her friend and the three girls proceeded back up and out to the foyer, heading right for the large metal doors. The keyhole was small compared to the entire door, but once she turned it in its place, a loud click could be heard, followed by an old shuffling of gears, sounding like the door hasn’t been opened in eons, which was likely the case.

“Come on, push!” Sunset huffed as she put her weight into getting the door open.

“So… we’re great friends, huh?” Applejack asked as she helped out. “This Rarity and Ah. Back where you’re from.”

“Yeah. Best of friends along with the others.” Sunset nodded and placed her shoulder against the door. “This world seems to have split you all up. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash weren’t getting along. You two weren’t getting along.”

Thoughts of Rainbow Dash sacrificing herself came back to Sunset’s mind as they fought to get the door open. This world was so broken. She really wanted to get back home and have all her friends back. She owed it to Dash as well. Her sacrifice would not be for naught.

“Phew, keep going…” Rarity stopped and fanned herself with a hand. “You’re doing great without my help.”

“Why you weak son of a-”

Applejack was cut off as the doors were suddenly easier to push once past a certain distance, opening with ease now and revealing a stony staircase that led down to a circular piece of land in the middle of a ring of lava. More banners hung here from rocky beams above and there was a large door on the opposite end, this one covered in fog. Two giant statues stood by the doorway, almost like ancient guardians of an ancient place. One was fairly bulky, while the other was quite slim.

“Perfect...” Sunset groaned. “See that? We’ve got trouble coming.”

“Nothing my magic cannot handle,” Rarity said proudly.

“How do ya still have any spells?” Applejack asked. “We ain’t sat at a bonfire yet.”

Rarity took out what looked like an estus flask, only this one glowed a bright blue. 

“Ashen estus flasks,” Rarity said, drinking from the flask. “They help restore spell charges without having to sit at a bonfire.”

“What?” Sunset looked at her pyromancy flame. “There’s such a thing?”

“Yes,” Rarity said, putting the blue flask away. “You simple attune your regular estus flasks at a bonfire. Of course, that limits your regular estus flasks. It all comes down to whether you think you will need magic more, or healing more.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sunset nodded. 

The small group warily approached the fog door. 

“Anyone know what might be a-waitin’ for us on the other side o’ that?” Applejack muttered.

Sunset shook her head. “I don’t know anything about this land short of what Twilight and the others have told me, and nobody mentioned anything about this place.”

“So we’re goin’ in blind then,” Applejack said grimly. “Not my preferred battle plan, but it’ll have ta do for now.”

The trio stood before the fog door, none of them too enthused about going in.

“So, who wants to go in first?” Rarity asked.

Sunset squinted through the fog. It was slightly transparent, and she could see a large round room ahead, though it was too obscured to make out of there were any enemies inside.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Sunset said under her breath and pushed through the fog.

Nothing happened.

“Huh?” She tried again, but it was almost like a wall of cotton wool instead. Really strong cotton wool. She couldn’t get past it. “That’s strange.”

“Here, let me try, darling.” Rarity attempted to walk through it, but was repelled as well. “Maybe we came the wrong way?”

“What other way is there?” Applejack pushed her axe against the door and looked around. “Uh… the way back’s sealed off…”

Sunset looked back to the entryway they had come from. As Applejack had said, a huge wall of fog had blanketed the large metal doors, now obscuring it from sight.

“Uh oh.”

Just then, there was a roar of fire as one of the statues by the door burst into flame, its entire body disappearing beneath a sea of red hot tongues of fire. With a crack of green energy, the bulkier statue on the right began to come to life as well, its gigantic arms pushing against the ground as it rose to a standing position, a low growl escaping its now gaping maw.

“Great, here we go.” Applejack readied Dragonslayer.

The flaming statue held out its arms, and torrents of fire gushed out of its palms. The three girls dived away as the flames blasted past, scorching the floor and walls with the splash damage.

Sunset did a combat roll, ducking behind a block of fallen masonry. The burning giant was stomping toward Applejack, who was backing away, unsure of how to attack it without getting burnt. 

“I’ve got this one!” Rarity fired two bolts of magic at it. They impacted into the fire statue’s back, disappearing with a splash of orange.

It growled and turned to face her, its arms rising again to release streams of fire at Rarity. She yelped and sprinted away, though not fast enough to stop the hem of her robe being singed. 

Sunset looked away from Rarity just in time to see a sizeable boulder flying at her.

“Ohshi-” Sunset said before the rock crashed into her, impacting all on her right side. Sunset’s sword went flying out of her grasp and she lay there on the ground, dazed and in quite a lot of pain. She didn’t know what had happened, but she couldn’t feel anything along her right side but a blinding stab of intense pain.

Weakly digging in her pack, through what looked like her blood and something more chunky and meaty, Sunset produced an estus flask and quickly gulped it down before closing her eyes. In no time, strength had returned to her body and she could move once again.

“Close one there, Sunset, but look out!” Applejack scrambled to her and threw them both out of the way as a wall of fire streaked across the battlezone, going all the way down one side and into the lava.

The more bulky golem walked through the fire, its green glow ominously lighting up its carved face as it trudged forward, its powerful arms swinging by its side.

“Really?” Sunset retrieved her star sword. “Two of them? Like one isn’t hard enough.”

More fire came from behind the stone golem, forcing Sunset and Applejack to get out of the way.

Rarity leapt in from the side, her staff firing off another bolt of blue at the statue. It cracked the stone as it hit, but that was about it. The golem roared and took a big swing forward. Sunset threw her weapon up in the air to avoid it, then landed down on the golem’s back, holding tightly onto its supposed neck.

“Woahhh!” Sunset shouted as the golem swerved back and forth, trying to shake her off. Its arms reached for her, but being made of rock, it didn’t have the flexibility to reach her. She clung on for dear life, but Sunset could not figure out a way to damage it, even from this close distance. She couldn’t even take one hand off to use her sword.

As Sunset was struggling to stay on the golem like a bucking bronco, Applejack took advantage of the monster’s distracted status and swung a mighty two handed chop at its ankle. The axe met stone and for a moment, it looked as through the stone would hold.

But then the golem’s ankle crumpled inwards, and a torrent of sulfur-smelling gas gushed out. The golem stumbled and went down onto one knee, taking Sunset with it. Sunset used her combustion spell on the monster’s head, scorching the rock but otherwise not doing much.

“These things have got to have a weak point!” Sunset cried out as the golem swatted at Applejack.

The cowgirl defended and then leapt at the golem, her axe charged with electricity. With a vertical slash, Applejack shattered two of the statue’s fingers, safely dodging its attack.

Rarity unleashed a torrent of small blue orbs at it, taking the golem’s attention while Sunset dug her blade into one of the golem’s eyes. Green energy and gas puffed out and she took it as a sign to stab her sword even deeper in.

However, Sunset had to get off fast as a jet of flame came for her from behind. She felt the ends of her hair catch on fire and she had to quickly put it out as she got a safe distance away.

The fire statue came through the flames, twin fireballs in its hands, ready to strike.

“We need to split their attention.” Rarity raised her staff. “I will draw the fire one away. Sunset, you and Applejack must deal with this one!”

“You be careful!” Sunset yelled and blocked one of the rock golem’s swings, her arm unfortunately giving way under the strength of the impact and bending at an impossible angle. “Aaah!”

She quickly slid away from her attacker and got another flask out of her pack as Applejack moved to engage it with her electric axe.

The cowgirl beat a fist against her chest, the dashed forward with a powerful overhead slash, weaving under the statue’s arm and cutting at its torso. The attack shattered a portion of its abdomen, revealing a cluster of green pulsating veins, each of them beating and moving like the statue was actually a living organism.

With her arm healed, Sunset saw her opening and threw her sword right at it. She missed the cluster, but her sword still lodged itself in the golem’s torso and she teleported to it, immediately conjuring a combustion pyromancy in her left hand and letting it loose against the green glowing veins.

The stone golem roared in anguish and took a step back, allowing Sunset to regroup with Applejack. The flaming golem must’ve felt the rock one’s pain, as it came charging towards them, with Rarity still launching magic at its back.

Sunset threw her sword in an arc over the incoming flame golem, and teleported right to it. Applejack rolled, narrowly avoiding a massive fist that came down with the intent of crushing her. She then recovered and brought her axe smashing down on the stone giant’s wrist. The rock there cracked as well, releasing more vapour.

“Ah think their joints aren’t as strong as the rest of ‘em!” Applejack shouted. “Try attackin’ there!”

While Sunset tried to get back to the stone golem, the flame one intercepted her path with a jet of fire, burning a line across the battlezone. While the stone one was easy to hit, Sunset had no idea how to get close to the fire one without being burnt. She could always get in what attacks she could, then step back to heal the burns, but she only had one estus flask left and she wasn’t about to waste it like that. There had to be another way to deal with this golem.

Rarity stopped by Sunset and fired a magical spear at the golem, sending it right through the golem, tearing through the fire and cracking the stone beneath it.

“Ranged attacks work wonders against this one,” she said. She took out an ashen estus flask and drank down the cyan contents. “And I’ve got plenty of spells left for you, you foul demon!”

The fire golem responded by slamming both its arms into the ground, sending out a fiery shockwave. Rarity shrieked and dove behind a pillar. She peeked out; her hair was smoking.

Sunset, however, had bigger problems. The rock golem seemed to have realized that she and Applejack could hurt it, and was hanging back, and throwing pieces of fallen masonry at them. The chunks of stone slammed into the walls near them, and it was only through a combination of good reflexes and lucky instinct that kept them from being smeared across the floor or thrown into the lava.

“You’d think it would run out of stuff to throw,” Applejack shouted as another chunk of stone exploded dangerously close to her. “Any ideas?”

Sunset gritted her teeth. She looked at the stone golem, which was winding up for another throw, then to the flame golem, which Rarity was still dueling with. The spellcaster seemed to be holding her own for now, but Sunset knew that the flame golem would eventually get in a lucky hit, or Rarity would run out of spells.

“Just one,” Sunset said, sprinting out from behind cover, ignoring Applejack’s shout of concern.

The stone golem immediately saw her and angled its rock throw to compensate, but Sunset was not running toward it. Rather, she was rushing the flame golem. By the time the rock was in the air, Sunset was sliding baseball style under the legs of the flame golem.

CRUNCH.

The stone golem’s thrown projectile smashed into the flame golem right in the back. The behemoth of fire stumbled and fell over, shaking the ground as its body hit the floor. 

Rarity looked astonished that her opponent had been felled, but regained her composure quickly. Holding her staff high, she summoned five crystal blue orbs that hung over her head before streaking toward the fallen golem like five icy blue spears. All five soul spears struck home broadside of the flame golem, which was struggling to get up. One spear struck it in the leg, and there was an audible cracking sound from within the flame. The rest of the soul spears slammed into its flank. 

Sunset glanced back to the rock golem. It seemed to have finally run out of stones to throw and was rumbling over to its fallen brother. However, it was at that point when Applejack chose to charge out from behind the pillar she had been hiding behind, raising her Dragonslayer high above her head for a mighty high-to-low chop. She brought the axe down with all her strength onto the stone golem’s cracked ankle, shattering the stone in an explosion of shrapnel and electricity.

As it dropped to one knee, Sunset took this chance to attack its exposed abdomen again, striking at it with her sword, trying to chip away at the rock above, breaking more of it and revealing more of its glowing green veins, while her left hand used multiple combustions on it. The veins began to combust and the fire spread through the statue’s insides, lighting even its eye holes on fire.

Applejack and Rarity added their attacks in as well and soon, the stone golem’s chest was completely shattered, revealing a pulsating green heart, half burnt now by Sunset’s fire.

“Yeah, get some!” Applejack bellowed, leaping over the golem’s weak swings and burying her axe blade into the golem’s heart.

The golem stiffened and turned its carved head to look down at its ruined body. Then with a final groan, it fell apart into a pile of rocks and pebbles.

“We did it! We won!” Applejack cheered.

“Not so fast.” Rarity pointed to the flame golem as it rose to its feet again. “That one’s still up.”

“We’ll just have to do it again.” Sunset readied her star sword. They knew where to hit now. All they had to do was find a way past the flaming aura.

With a roar, the flaming golem charged at them, but as the girls dodged its run, it didn’t stop at them. Instead, it headed right for its fallen brother and stopped there.

“Get some magic goin’ at it, Rarity, while it’s distracted!” Applejack clapped her on the back.

She fired off another two bolts, but to their surprise, the boulders of the fallen stone golem began to rise and meld into the flame golem, heating up to the point of turning into molten pieces of rock. Each one joined to the golem, making it larger and more bulky like the stone one. Its flaming aura was now gone, replaced with a shell of molten armor, its fiery eyes burning through its new helmet.

“Oh dear.” The mage lowered her weapon in surprise.

The molten golem approached them, swinging its new massive burning arms at them, forcing all three girls to get out of the way and far enough. Magma flew from its swing, landing on Applejack’s right arm and searing right through her skin.

“Aaah!” She dropped her axe and fell back, using her other hand to wipe it off.

“Applejack!” Sunset was by her side, digging around her bag for her last estus flask.

“No, keep it!” Applejack pushed her arm away. “It isn’t like the lava. Not so bad. Kinda just like hot coal. Hurts, but at least Ah’m not meltin’. Save it for somethin’ worse.”

Rarity fired a soul spear at the golem, this time, able to crack its armor on impact. The molten rock steamed and hissed, but dark cracks went along its sides. Sunset knew it, it could be defeated. She just needed to catch it off guard and avoid touching its body, at least not for too long.

“Come on, the three of us can take him!” Applejack picked up her weapon and did her best to fight the burning pain.

“If you can distract it, I think I can finish it off.” Sunset took a few steps back, then ran around the perimeter of the battlezone, keeping an eye at where the molten golem was looking. “Rarity, do you have more of those big spear ones?”

“Soul spears?” Rarity glanced at her staff. “Just one.”

Sunset returned her focus to the golem. “Good enough. Get ready.”

Applejack went straight for the golem while Rarity went in the opposite direction, firing more spells at it. The golem went for Rarity, chucking molten rocks at her from its new armor, forcing the mage to run for her life. Sunset continued to approach the golem’s back, waiting for her opening. She would only have one shot at this, so she had to be sure she could do it.

The molten golem turned and swung an arm across the arena, taking out a chunk of the floor and sending debris flying out towards Rarity.

“Aah!” The mage dodged to the side, rocks dropping down behind her as she ran for her life, trying to keep herself from being crushed.

“Ah gotcha!” Applejack came in under the golem and spun in an arc with a devastating slash at the end, lodging Dragonslayer deep into its leg armor. The molten rock cracked and hissed steam, falling apart and revealing parts of its leg inside. The fire aura it had earlier had disappeared, allowing the cowgirl to slash at its actual body inside.

The molten golem bellowed and kicked back, hitting Applejack in the side of the head and sending her to the ground, incapacitated.

“AJ!” Sunset watched as she didn’t get back up. It was now or never. “Rarity, do it!”

“R-Right!” She stopped running long enough to fire off a soul spear, which streaked right for the golem.

As it impacted the statue on its chest, it went right through, cracking more of its shell. Sunset threw her sword high, then teleported to it in a shower or sparks, falling now towards the golem’s back. As the soul spear emerged through it, more of the armor shattered, allowing Sunset a high speed stab right into its back. With the shell weakened from Rarity’s attack, Sunset’s sword went right through the molten armor, spraying burning rocks and steam at her, the heat immediately eating away at her skin. She ignored it as her star sword went right through the golem’s back within its armor, cutting right into the stone and through its skinny frame.

The golem’s orange veins inside pulsed brightly for a few seconds, then went dark and stopped moving. Ripping her sword from its now defunct heart, Sunset leapt off its back and teleported to a safe distance as the golem’s form collapsed into a pile of molten rubble, which quickly began to cool to match the flame golem’s rubble within.

“Oh man, glad that’s done with…” Sunset spun her sword, then slid it back into its sheath. “Everyone alright?”

“Ah’ll live…” Applejack held her burnt arm and gave Sunset a thumbs up.

“My robes…” Rarity looked at her attire, which had a few scorched holes all over. “It’s ruined! And my hair!”

“Oh, quit your jabberin’, Rarity.” Applejack slapped a hand to her forehead. “There are worse things that can happen then gettin’ a few holes in your shirt.”

“I’m free to worry about how I look, don’t I?”

“Ya should be thankful ya didn’t lose an arm or a leg!”

“Oh, you girls…” Sunset sighed. But at least they weren’t trying to kill each other at the moment. Sunset vowed she would help them find whoever was responsible for turning them against each other. She could think of a few names, but until she could find them in this world, they were all still just theories.

The fog gate at the end of the room had dissolved, revealing a flight of steps that led, as Sunset had guessed, further down into the depths of this place. It just kept getting deeper and deeper. Out here, it was already sweltering. She didn’t know how much worse it was going to be down there.

A bonfire had appeared just beside the entrance, which the girls didn’t mind using. It was always nice to heal up wounds and refill estus flasks.

“Phew…” Rarity leaned against her staff and fanned her face with a hand. “So… The Cataclysm Hollows, hmm? I must say, I’ve heard plenty a tale of the place, but to think I would actually get to set foot there. Truly a marvel.”

“Yeah, Ah have to say… This is a long way from home.” Applejack took out Dragonslayer and looked at her reflection in its blade. “Who knows what treasures they might have down there. The Hollows have been untouched for years, no doubt.”

“Ooh, I do hope I find some precious jewels down there. Imagine how much they’d sell for.” Rarity rubbed her hands together anxiously.

Sunset smiled. It was nice to see her friends excited, but at the same time, she was worried. Rainbow Dash had given her life when they went to face Doland at the High Cathedral. She hoped neither of her friends here would end up the same.
> Chapter 20: Cataclysm Hollows - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Uh, is this a joke?” Sunset Shimmer looked over the edge of the staircase they had come from.

The stairs abruptly ended over a far drop, one that was at least five hundred meters down. Below them, Sunset could see a broken off trunk of a huge tree, and in the tree, she could faintly make out puddles of water and even ruined structures. She supposed the steps were supposed to lead them all the way down, but with times, things fell apart.

“How are we supposed to get down now?” Sunset looked around for more of the staircase, but this was it. The rest of it had likely already crumbled away with age.

“Anyone bring a rope?” Applejack mused. “We could tie it ‘round one of these pillars…”

Sunset shrugged. She had not brought a rope, and she doubted Rarity had either.

“Do you think we’ll survive the drop?” Sunset asked nobody in particular. Perhaps they could weather whatever injuries the drop would give them and heal with estus later. It wasn’t a perfect plan, and it wasted a lot of estus, but she could not think of any other way.

Applejack snorted. “Doubt it.”

“Only one way to find out.” At that, Rarity put her foot against Applejack’s back and shoved her over the edge.

“What the hay-”

Applejack danced in the air for a second before plunging down into the hollow trunk, her shout of surprise descending with her, growing softer as she grew smaller and smaller.

“Rarity, what did you do?!” Sunset grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “What have you done?!”

“Relax.” The mage simply waved a hand. “I’ve fallen from heights higher than this. You see down there? By that one collapsed wall and the puddle of water?”

She pointed down and Sunset followed her finger. Nothing looked out of the ordinary.

“See that mark?”

Now that her friend had mentioned it, there was a strange dark red marking on the ground beside the wall. It looked to be some kind of rune.

“That’s a fall safety ward, right there,” Rarity explained. “I guess that’s how people have been getting to this place, with the staircase ruined and all.”

Truth be told, as Applejack landed at the bottom, she fell onto all fours, but she hadn’t gone splat.

“Wow...” Was all Sunset could say. That was one way to travel. “But how is she supposed to get back up?”

Rarity pursed her lips. “Now of that, I am unsure.”

“I guess it’ll be a one way trip here…” Sunset adjusted her armor straps, then swallowed hard. “Well, let’s get on with it.”

She took a step off the end of the stairs and began to fall. The ground instantly rushed up to Sunset as she got to the bottom, landing on the fall sigil below, her impact creating a pulse of dust around her, creating a cloud of it in her immediate area.

Coughing, Sunset rose to her feet and got out of the way just in time as Rarity landed where she had, bringing up another cloud of dust with her landing.

“Dagnabbit! This place hasn’t been used in years!” Applejack coughed and fanned a hand in the air, trying to blow the dust away. “If only Ah had my hat…”

Sunset coughed away some dust and looked around. From high up, it hadn’t looked this desolate, but now that she was down here, it looked even sadder and more derelict than before. There were pools of stagnant water everywhere, and the crumbled remains of what might at one point have been a settlement. 

Sunset shivered. Then she realized, the heat of the Underisle of Fire had been replaced by a cold, clammy chill. 

“That’s weird…” Sunset muttered. She turned and looked at her companions, who seemed to be having an argument.

“Well next time don’t push me off a cliff without no warnin’!” Applejack was shouting.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Rarity sniffed. “It was perfectly safe.”

“Ah didn’t know that! How ‘bout some kinda warning next time?”

“I knew you were going to make it, so I didn’t think you needed one.”

“Hay, I didn’t know I was goin’ to make it!”

“Girls, keep it down, will you?” Sunset hissed at them, finally managing to silence them. “We don’t know what’s down here, so please, stop yelling.”

“Ah’m guessin’ there’ll be hollows about.” Applejack cleared her throat and removed Dragonslayer from her side.

“She’s right.” Rarity gave her robes a pat down. “Even if it looks decrepit, I’m sure we’ll be finding some resistance here. The hollows here were driven mad by the Abyss long ago. If there are any left, well, don’t expect a warm welcome and a cup of tea.”

“When has that ever been the case?” Sunset muttered. She held out her left hand with the pyromancy flame in it, using it as a lantern to light the way. The only other lights in the area were strange floating orbs of greenish light that winked out of existence the moment they got close. “Hey, I think I see an exit this way.”

In the wall, near one of the corners was a doorway, or at least, what was left of one. The wall it was in was barely still a wall, with basically only the door frame still standing. Through it was a long cavernous tunnel, leading, Sunset guessed it, further underground.

The trio set off down the tunnel, with Sunset in the lead, lighting the way with her pyromancy flame and Flame of Life. 

The darkness was oppressive and overbearing, and Sunset found herself longing for the more open areas. Her entire experience in this world was going to leave her with a fear of underground spaces.

“Is it just me, or are things gettin’ colder?” Applejack asked, pointing to the ground. There were little pools of water there, but some of the smaller ones were covered in a thin coat of frost.

“I’m noticing too,” Rarity said, clouds of fog coming out of her mouth. “It’s very strange; it was unbearably hot in the last two areas, but this locale is icy.”

“And don’t forget Sisha set this whole place on fire,” Applejack added with a chatter of her teeth. “At least, the stories claim she did. By the looks of it, the stories may have been wrong.”

"Flames of Death are cold," Rarity reminded. "Makes sense."

“I don’t feel that cold,” Sunset remarked. And it was true. Fog was still coming out of her mouth, but she wasn’t shivering like the other two.

“That’s ‘cause your flame is keeping you warm. The rest of us… ain’t so lucky.”

The trio soldiered on, staying as close to each other for warmth. They had been walking for about ten minutes when something moved on the path ahead.

It appeared to be a hollow, but it was covered in a rimey coating of ice. Its body was frozen in patches, and as they watched, it seemed to notice them. Taking a bow from behind its back, the ice hollow aimed an arrow at Sunset and her companions, who quickly leapt aside as the arrow struck the ground where Rarity’s feet would have been.

However, as the projectile hit the ground, it exploded into a ball of icy wind, sending tiny slivers of frost swirling through the air, in a wide enough radius to catch Sunset’s foot in. 

“Ack!” Sunset exclaimed as the ice gripped her foot. Her entire lower leg was encased in ice, rendering her immobile. Meanwhile the hollow nocked another arrow and prepared to fire again.

“Yah!” Applejack leapt forward, and with tremendous skill, intercepted the arrow mid flight with her axe. The projectile burst into a miniature blizzard, but Applejack threw herself flat into an icy puddle to avoid being frozen. 

Rarity peeked out from behind a broken wall and sent a soul spear at the hollow. The magic struck the hollow and it spasmed, then exploded into shards of frozen flesh and bone.

“Land sakes,” Applejack said, trying to wring water from her front. “That was closer than Ah’d’ve liked. You okay, Sunset?”

Sunset tugged at her leg. “Just trying to get out of this.” She held her pyromancy flame close, melting the ice slowly. She hoped it would all melt before she got frostbite or something equally unpleasant. Gradually the ice turned to water and Sunset was able to wriggle free.

“It’s a good thing you have that pyromancy flame, darling, or we would have had to chip you out,” Rarity said as she took out a pair of binoculars and spied the land ahead. “It looks like there are more of those things further onwards. Should we stop and maybe formulate a plan of attack?”

“What’s there to formulate.” Applejack swung Dragonslayer in the air a few times. “It’s a straight tunnel down. We go forward and we kill whatever’s in the way.”

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to have a plan,” Rarity said reproachfully.

Sunset shook the last few drops of water off her leg and stretched it. It didn’t seem to be damaged from the ice, but it never hurt to be sure.

“Rarity, how many enemies are up ahead?” Sunset asked.

Rarity raised her binoculars to her face once more. “At least five of those archer hollows, and some kind of bigger thing that looks like it’s made of ice. A golem perhaps.”

“Meh, that first one was easy peasy.” Applejack scoffed at the enemy force. “Ah’m sure we can take ‘em no problem.”

“We’ll have to see about getting closer.” Sunset looked at her star sword. “I can do that. Get you two a distraction so that they don’t fire at you while you approach.”

“Okay, but don’t get frozen, ya hear?” Applejack readied her stance.

“I’ll do what I can from a distance. My magic seemed to work well on these icy hollows.” Rarity’s staff pulsed a light blue.

“Gotcha. Let’s see what we can do here…”

With a running start, Sunset’s greaves on the rocky tunnel path quickly got the attention of all the enemies in the cavern. Throwing her weapon, she waited until it spun down behind the first three hollows, then teleported to it in a flash. This caught the enemies in surprise and Sunset was able to sever a hollow’s top half from its bottom before they could ready themselves to fire arrows at her.

The first arrow hit the ground beside her, exploding in a flash of ice as Sunset teleported away. She threw her sword into the next hollow archer, then leapt away as frost spewed from its wound, before it exploded into shards. Her left shoulder had caught some of the frost and it actually burnt quite bad, but Sunset ignored it and fought on, zipping around the room dodging all she could.

Suddenly, a bolt of magic hit one of the archers and it exploded, before a flash of lightning sped past her, with Applejack aiming her axe right for the large ice golem.

The golem raised both arms and slammed them down into the ground where Applejack had been. The cowgirl was already in the air, her electrified axe cutting right across its head. Half the golem’s face fell off as it stumbled back a step, but it returned with a punch, almost catching Applejack off guard. She lifted her axe to block its attack, but still got knocked back into the cavern wall, where she slid down into a heap, not getting back up.

“Applejack!” Sunset teleported past one of the archers as Rarity finished it off with a magic bolt.

The golem raised its arms to finish her friend off, but Sunset was having none of that. Throwing her sword, she reappeared beside Applejack just in time to grab her and teleport back out of the way, watching a spray of debris launch up into the air. She shuddered to think what might’ve happened if she had gotten there a second later.

Sunset ignited a fireball in her left hand and flung it at the golem. The flames splashed all over the thing’s front and there was a spray of steam as the water melted off and evaporated. The golem creaked and groaned as it turned to face Sunset. Slivers of ice popped off at the joints and showered the ground at its feet.  

It can’t possibly take much more of this… Sunset channeled another combustion around her hand and pressed it up to the golem’s surface. Flames roared into life and licked all over the golem. It swung its arm at Sunset, but stumbled and fell apart, burying Sunset under huge chunks of ice and sleet.

“Gah!” Sunset gasped, pushing away a piece of the ice golem’s leg. “We… we did it.”

Rarity tiptoed over and helped pull Sunset out of the wreckage. “Indeed we did. Good thinking, Sunset.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said, tottering over. “Ah’d’ve been smushed if it weren’t for you. So… thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Sunset panted. She found her sword and put it back in its sheath. “Shall we… keep going?”

Rarity drained the last of the blue liquid from her ashen estus flask. “My magic is all ready.”

Applejack likewise drank from an orange flask. “Ah’m all set.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”



Traversing the next half an hour proved to be tricky. The path became more and more riddled with pitfalls and drop offs, and more than once Sunset thought that she saw something moving down below, but it was too dark to see properly all the way down.

They only ran into one hollow in the entire time, and Applejack, perhaps in a bid to make up for her earlier mistake, ended up cleaving the thing in two with one blow.

“Whee-yew! If these are the best this place has to throw at us, Ah think we’re all set.”

They pressed on, going in single file now that the path was narrowing. Eventually they came to another drop, this one leading down into more nothingness.

“Rarity, are there any fall safety runes down there?” Sunset asked, peering over the edge of the precipice.

“There’s one way to find out,” the mage replied.

Applejack was quick to turn towards her and back away from the edge. “No, no no no no! Ya ain’t gonna use me to find out! Nuh uh!”

“Well, we can’t see the bottom.” The mage folded her arms. “Someone’s gotta go find out.”

“It ain’t gonna be me!” Applejack pointed a finger at her. “Why don’t ya go find out. You first.”

The two began pushing each other, trying to get one of them off the edge first. Sunset watched them and sighed. This was wasting time.

“Stop. I’ll go.” And with that, she hopped off the cliff and sailed down. After all, she had the Flame of Life. If she died, she’d just wake up at the last bonfire she visited.

The air rushed against her face as she descended like a comet, the darkness swallowing her for a few seconds. And then there was light below her, and soon, the dark tunnel that she had been falling through disappeared behind her, now looking like a tube from the outside. All around her was a blue atmosphere, complete with clouds and random dancing green orbs. There was still cavern walls around the place, but this place somehow had something like sky, and below her was a city, or at least, what was left of one.

Buildings stood old and abandoned, some even on their sides and some falling off into a deeper chasm below, one where even the blue atmosphere did not reach. Moss and vines had grown, taking over most of the city, showing Sunset just how long any of this had been a proper civilization.

And then she landed in a mound of dust, looking at the city distracting her from her nearing the bottom. Coughing and trying to spit out the bits of dust that got in her mouth, Sunset climbed out of the mound and looked back up, a new problem presenting itself. How was she going to let her friends know it was safe to jump?

“Applejack! Rarity! Can you hear me?” she yelled at the top of her voice, hoping that at least they would be able to make out her voice from up there. “It’s okay! You can jump!”

The tube she had come from was pretty high up and she didn’t know if she could find a way to get closer to it so they could hear her. She just had to hope they could hear her yelling her lungs out.

After the fifth scream, to her relief, she spotted two shapes falling out of the rocky tube, coming towards her position like ballistae fired from a crossbow.

It took her a second to register it, but she quickly got out of the way as her two friends impacted into the dust mound; Sunset made sure to cover her mouth as more dust was sent up into the air, her hair and armor coated with dust.

“Ack! Bah!” Applejack climbed out of the mound, wiping at her tongue with a hand, which didn’t help at all. “Ah hate this place, I do! Dust everywhere. Ah think Ah preferred it when it was lava.”

“Yes, I have to agree with her…” Rarity lifted the skirt of her robes to inspect it. “My attire is all dirty! Oh, how long this would take to clean out! The dread, the despair!”

“Quit your complainin’, it ain’t that bad.” Applejack glared at her as she walked out of the dust mound.

“You were just saying you hate the place and now you’re telling me to stop complaining?” Rarity glared back. “Such hypocrisy, Applejack.”

“Right, uh, can we get on with this?” Sunset rubbed at her shoulders. It was still cold and she didn’t want to stand around doing nothing.

“Right, um…” Rarity looked around. Behind them was a drop, leading deeper down into the unknown. And then there was a pathway just north of the mound, leading down a flight of steps into the city. “Looks like the only way to go.”

“Come on. Let’s go have a look.” Sunset removed her star sword from its sheath. “I do hope we’ll have less trouble down here, though, who the hay am I kidding?”

The pathway led down a street of sorts, overgrown with vines which went in through the windows and even the walls. It was still rather cold down here and it made Sunset wonder if the stories she heard about Sisha were true. Applejack and Rarity had said Sisha had burned the place to the ground and created all the lava above them in the Underisle of Fire. If that were true, then why was it so cold down here? And where was all the fire?

And then Sunset remembered the blue Flames of Death. Sisha was a wielder of one. From facing Drawgren and Doland, Sunset knew the flames were as cold as death’s grip. They weren’t your regular fire, born out of the Abyss instead of the Throne. Perhaps it had been this flame that made this place as cold as it was. Still, Sunset wanted to be done with the underground, cold or not. She’d had enough of being stuck under the earth for five eternities now.

Down the next street led the girls to a staircase, which led down to a giant defunct fountain in the middle of a courtyard, where Sunset spotted a familiar sword sticking out of a pile of stones.

“Hoooo-eee!” Applejack saw it too. “Come on, we could really use a bonfire!”

The girls practically sprinted to the comfort of the bonfire, with Sunset lighting it, before they all sat down beside it, stretching their arms out and feeling rejuvenated from their long trek down.

“So this is it, huh?” Sunset looked on at the ruined city. “Not what I was expecting, but this is the Cataclysm Hollows, huh?”

“That’s a-right.” Applejack stretched her arms forward and cracked her knuckles. “Never been here myself, o’ course, but Ah was expectin’ it to be a little… warmer.”

“This cold should be expected,” Rarity said, keeping her hands close to the bonfire’s flame. “Flames of Death are cold, just like death itself. It would only make sense Sisha’s origin would be just like her.”

“Mhm.” Sunset nodded and let her eyes linger on the flame between them. “Say, how far do you think it’ll be to get to her. It looks like a big city.”

“With any luck, there won’t be much hollows left,” Applejack answered and shrugged. “Ah mean, with the few we’ve encountered so far, Ah’m guessin’ there’ll be more here than out there. We’d best be prepared for a bunch’a fights.”

“Great… Just great.” Sunset grumbled to herself. Of course it wasn’t going to be a straight shot through. She should’ve known that by now. “Well, we’d better get going then. The faster we do this, the better.”

“Ah’d like to stay here longer, but Sunset’s right.” Applejack rubbed her hands together, then grabbed her axe and stood up. “Ain’t no point hangin’ around here too long.”

“What, sitting by a nice, comfortable and safe fire is pointless?” Rarity looked at her.

Applejack wasn’t amused. “Just get your bum off that floor and let’s get on with it.”

Rarity only moved when she turned to Sunset to see that she was ready too. Sunset loved the warmth of the bonfires and how safe they made her feel, but Applejack was right. If she wanted to get home, she needed to press on.

The fiery haired girl led the way down the next street, hoping that at least there could be less enemies in this area. The road ahead was eventually blocked by a large vine, which emerged from the building on the left and snaked up to the building on the right’s second floor. With no alternative, Sunset decided to throw her sword up to the second floor, appearing beside it in an instant. Unfortunately, there was a hollow there, its sword stabbing her in the gut as soon as she stood up.

Sunset staggered back and released a combustion on the hollow. It was knocked backward by the blast and plummeted down, landing with a nasty crunch. Again, the ring on Sunset’s finger glowed, and she felt a little better, though she still had to down an estus flask to close up the wound.

“Woah nelly.” Applejack arrived at the top, just appearing above the ledge. “That thing almost hit me. Ya alright?”

“Better now.” Sunset placed the empty flask back in her satchel. “Caught me by surprise, but I managed.”

Just then, another two hollows entered the room from a doorway, their icicle bodies clacking against the wooden floor. The first one shambled towards them, with Sunset teleporting past it to its friend behind, stabbing it through the heart and rolling away just as it burst into a shower of ice. Applejack dealt with the other one, dodging its slash and then kicking it out of the hole in the wall they had come from. There was a shriek from below, before a harrowed looking Rarity emerged up onto the floor, dusting her sleeves and looking down.

“That one nearly took me with it.” She pointed down.

“Welcome to the club.” Applejack put Dragonslayer back on her belt.

Continuing on, the trio encountered no more hollows, but soon came to a place where the ground was cracked and split in various places, like an earthquake had happened. 

“Better watch our step here…” Sunset muttered as she carefully navigated between two larger fissures. 

Progress was slower than before, but Sunset and her friends managed to get through without too much trouble. Until the path dropped off right in front of them. A three meter wide gap separated the path that the trio was on, and the way ahead. 

Sunset took out her star sword and weighed in in her hand.

“Let’s see if this works…” She flung the weapon, easily reaching the other side. Then she teleported over to it. “Hey! I have an idea!” Sunset called over to her friends on the opposite side of the rupture. “I’ll throw my sword over-”

Then Sunset felt a shiver go through her. Almost like a sixth sense. 

“Wait. Something’s not right…” Sunset said to herself. Then she saw a ring of red light begin to form behind Applejack and Rarity, and a tall, well-built figure rise from it. “Girls! Watch out for that red phantom!”

“Huh?” Applejack turned around, but Rarity had been peering down the crack, not quite paying attention.

With a sudden bellow, the red phantom raised its greatsword and charged at Applejack and Rarity. Both of them dodged out of the way, but the impact of the phantom’s weapon on the already unstable ground made it slide a few inches down, with bits of the edge falling down into the ravine.

“Woah!’ Applejack exclaimed, drawing her axe just as the red phantom swung a heavy downwards stroke at her with its greatsword. The flaxen-haired girl just managed to get her axe in between herself and the sword. The red phantom growled, pressing downward on Dragonslayer.

Rarity came to the rescue, blasting the red phantom with a soul arrow. The invader growled inside his helmet and turned to Rarity, swinging his sword horizontally in an attempt to cleave her in two. 

He would have succeeded had Applejack not kicked the invader in the back, sending him sprawling. His helmet came off, falling down into the crack in the slab. He turned his head to look at Applejack and snarled.

The farm girl gasped, holding her axe before her and backing away. “No… it can't be…Big Mac?”

Sunset watched as the invader got up, knowing his face all too well. It was indeed Applejack's older brother, his face contorted into one of insanity and anger.

Applejack swallowed and lowered her axe slightly. “Mac, it’s me, Applejack. Your sister?”

Rarity watched warily, keeping her staff up in front of her and aimed at the red phantom. 

Big Mac gave a bellow and charged at Applejack, his weapon raised high above his head. Sunset watched on in horror as the Apple siblings clashed blades. Strong as Applejack might be, Big Mac was stronger. The farm girl was slowly being pushed to the edge of the breach. 

“Rarity!” Sunset shouted across the gap. “Do something!”

“I-I’m trying, Sunset, but I can’t get a clear shot!”

Finally, Applejack got in a kick that knocked Big Mac back a step. Rarity shot at him with a bolt of blue, but Big Mac raised his sword and blocked it. Then he raised the massive blade high above his head and slammed it into the ground.

A shockwave blasted out from the ground, knocking Applejack and Rarity prone. Then, with an awful grinding noise, the ground beneath them began to crumble into the rift. 

“Woah!” Rarity, not weighed down by a heavy weapon, scrambled to her feet, but the platform was slipping, and she couldn’t make the jump to Sunset’s platform. And the way back was through the red phantom.

“Sunset!” Applejack shouted as their path sank lower. “Help!” 

Sunset Shimmer wound her arm back, ready to throw her sword and teleport over, but suddenly Big Mac let out a bellow and bull rushed Applejack and Rarity, clearly intending to strike them both with one swipe. But the ground fell away beneath the red phantom’s feet and he stumbled, crashing headlong into the two girls and sending all three of them off the edge and into the dark below.

“No! Girls!” Sunset leaned down over the edge, trying to catch a glimpse of her friends, but it was too dark to see further down.

She waited for anything, for something to happen, but there wasn’t even the slightest sound coming from below, not even a thump of their bodies on solid rock.

Sunset willed her friends to be safe down below, but she didn’t know how well her hope could hold out here. She’d already lost Rainbow Dash. She couldn’t bear to lose two more of her greatest friends in the world. She just couldn’t.

A part of her wanted to jump down there to go find them, but the rest of her managed to reason that it was a terrible plan. She didn’t even know if it was ground below. The Underisle of Fire had lava everywhere. If this place too had lava below, then jumping down there would certainly end on a painful note.

“But that would also mean Applejack and Rarity…”

Sunset didn’t want to think more on it. She fell to her knees, her star sword falling from her grip as her mind tried to comprehend what had just happened. Her friends were gone, dead or alive, she was now alone again.

Having been with them for so long, Sunset had gotten used to having someone around and she was a little reluctant to carry on by herself. She didn’t know if she’d be able to do it alone again.

“I need to press on…” she breathed, her eyes still on the darkness below. “They would want me to. Rainbow too. I need to do this…”
> Chapter 21: Cataclysm Hollows - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset spent another few minutes there before finally rising to her feet and looking down the next row of buildings ahead. There were more ruins and vines, with a row of what looked like shophouses having swarms of tiny vines encasing their walls and counters. A few dead bodies were positioned against the structures, with ice coming out from some of them and creeping up around the place just around them.

Proceeding carefully, Sunset kept an eye on the bodies, knowing full well any one of them could suddenly decide to spring up and attack her. In this world, she couldn’t risk getting comfortable like that. She had to be prepared for everything.

Sunset crept along, but looked ahead and saw a glittering pair of ice golems up ahead, standing still and waiting. She did not like her chances with them, and crouched down behind a partially collapsed wall to plan. She searched her pack,  finding her estus flasks, her crossbow, and some jars of blue elixir. Remembering how she and Applejack had used them to sneak past the black knight earlier, Sunset took out one of the six jars and drank down the viscous liquid. 

Now almost entirely invisible, Sunset briskly made her way to the ice golems, slowing her pace as she got closer.

They didn’t seem to register as she moved along, her breathing stilled; she didn’t want to take any chances. If she could get by, she was going to.

Once she was a few meters away from them, Sunset allowed herself to breathe again, disappearing down an alley and away from the towering enemies.

And then there was a hollow, patrolling the path ahead and just as she had arrived beside it, her elixir's effect faded and the hollow’s attention was immediately on her, a sword already aimed for her face.

“Really?” Sunset deflected it and jumped to the side as it delivered a round slash where she had been.

Readying a fireball, Sunset lobbed it at the hollow, igniting its front as it ran in to attack her again. Dodging to the side to avoid its blow, Sunset released a combustion right in its face, the force of the blast enough to shatter the entire hollow, sending a wave of frost out from where it had stood. Sunset raised an arm to defend herself, but her upper arm had still been affected by the frost, her skin turning a light blue and feeling like it was on fire.

“I forgot they do that…” Sunset downed another estus flask. She had to be more careful here. Without her friends, she could only rely on her wits and reflexes once again.

She already missed Rarity and her long range spells, but there was nothing she could do but hope her friends were still alive somewhere in this terrible place.

Sunset Shimmer turned a few more corners, crossing two more streets and another bridge, all of them as deserted as the rest of the Hollow. There wasn’t much else to see besides another hollow and a golem, but she had dealt with them easily, using her star sword’s teleportation powers to get an upper hand on the battle.

The bridge was long, leading Sunset straight over the gorge below, its end unable to be seen from where she stood, a light fog preventing her from seeing far. It led her far out from where she had started, with the Hollow disappearing behind her and the end of the bridge still invisible to her eye.

It had all grown deathly quiet on her walk across the bridge, with not even the sound of rubble falling from the walls of the cavern around her, and that unnerved her.

Her intuition finally came to pass when she spotted a shape through the fog ahead. As she neared the figure, she realized it was a knight, its hands over the pommel of its greatsword, its blade tip dug into the ground. The knight’s visor was open, revealing the rotting face of a hollow, this one standing at least twice the size of Sunset. Ice caked over its shoulders and arms, producing spike like icicles, looking sharp enough to stab right through her armor.

This knight just stood there, unmoving, its arms still on its sword.

Sunset looked around, but it was a straight bridge. There was no other way past this except through the hollow knight.

“Perfect...”

Sunset hefted her sword and walked forward toward the frozen knight. She kept her blade in front of her face, while preparing to channel a pyromancy spell in her off hand. The frozen hollow tilted its head up, as if acknowledging her challenge, and pulled its mighty greatsword from the ground. 

Sunset stopped. The hollow moved the titanic blade into a guard position and did nothing else. She took a few steps forward, expecting to leap out of the way as it swung its weapon at her, but it still made no attempt to strike.

“Huh.” Sunset wagged her sword in her right hand. “Aren’t you going to do anything?”

The knight still made no attempt to move.

After a minute of waiting for something to happen, Sunset tried to inch past it, hoping that perhaps the knight didn’t mean her any harm at all.

Unfortunately, as she moved right beside it, the hollow turned to face her with a groan and spun its sword in a wide arc. Sunset yelped and leapt back, dodging the hollow knight’s blade as it sheared through the stone floor where she had just been standing, sending debris up into the air.

As she backed away, she found the knight had returned to the spot it had been standing, resuming its guarded position, making no move to advance on her.

“So it’s a guard…” Sunset muttered to herself. At least this one wouldn’t follow her. But she needed to get past it and find Sisha.

Sunset edged out toward the hollow knight again, trying to see just how close she could get before it attacked. One step, then another step, then a step more, then-

With a crackle of ice, the hollow leaped forward, swinging its greatsword in a diagonal arc that would have split Sunset in two had she not rolled away backwards, almost dropping off the bridge in her haste to get away. The blade crashed into the ground, but the warrior withdrew it swiftly and returned to its guarding position.

Sunset rose to her feet, using her sword to prop herself up. Trying something else, Sunset aimed her sword high and threw it, disappearing into a flash of sparks. The knight raised its weapon and deflected her star sword just as she materialized at it, sending her back to the ground like a comet.

Sunset got up and shook the stars from her eyes, staring evilly at the knight. The only way past it was through it.

“Okay, mister knight. If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get. You ready?”

With a battlecry, Sunset pushed off her feet and ran right for the knight, her sword at the ready.

From its guarded position, the knight swung its weapon across the ground, just as Sunset had expected. Jumping, she kicked off its weapon as it scraped up more stone, then propelled herself for its chest, where she slashed at it twice before dropping. Its armor had barely dented, but Sunset didn’t give up yet. She ran along its ankles and slashed at them, though nothing she did seemed to affect the knight.

Raising its greatsword, the hollow knight plunged it down towards her, missing as Sunset teleported away, its weapon going right through the ground and cracking the earth.

Sunset took this chance to attack at its chest again, but it still did little to nothing against it, though she could see she was starting to push it back the more she attacked, so she kept it up.

The hollow swung at Sunset again, taking its greatsword in one hand and delivering a horizontal slice that Sunset somehow managed to flip over. She watched as the blade swept just past her face, cutting off a wayward lock of her hair. 

Sunset hit the ground running and kicked the hollow in the face, causing it to stagger back, which then gave Sunset an opening to fire off a combustion at its front. The heat of the blast made the ice melt, and soon the ground below them was slick with water. The hollow glared at her with its sunken, luminous eyes, then crossed its arms before whipping them to the side, all the ice falling off onto the ground. 

Sunset was used to the hollow’s speed by now, but it seemed that by shedding its coating of ice, the thing had become even faster, its greatsword nothing more than a gray blur in the air. As far as she could see, the blade didn’t appear to be sharp, in fact it was chipped and blunted in some places, but it didn’t matter. Sunset knew that getting hit by that thing would be like being hit with a car. Sharp or not, she’d probably either die, or be close to it.

Out of desperation, Sunset swung back at the hollow, hoping to get in under its guard and land a lucky hit. What she did not expect was for her sword to lock with the knight’s greatsword, pinning both weapons in the middle. The hollow gaped at Sunset and began to push. Sunset’s boots began to slide backward, but then she noticed something. For all its strength and speed, the hollow knight was not all that heavy, perhaps because the body in the armor was shrivelled and emaciated. 

Gritting her teeth, Sunset shoved back, keeping her star sword locked against the greatsword. The hollow knight seemed to sense it was losing the contest and pushed back harder, but then Sunset suddenly let go of her weapon and slipped under between the hollow’s legs. The knight stumbled forward, teetering on the edge of the bridge, its greatsword dragging it down. 

And then with a leap, Sunset planted her boot squarely in the hollow’s back with a solid kick. The melted ice water on the floor proved to be too slippery for the hollow’s feet to gain proper purchase, and the knight hung on the edge of the precipice for a few seconds, its arms windmilling and trying to gain its footing once again before plummeting straight down into the depths and out of sight. 

Sunset carefully walked over to the edge and peered down, hearing a very faint thump below after quite some time. There was a bottom to this place. She hadn’t heard Applejack or Rarity hit the bottom when they had fallen off earlier and that gave her hope that perhaps her friends were indeed still alive somewhere in this place. That gave her the strength she needed to move on, and so she did.

But if they survived, then the red phantom...

She continued down the bridge, free of enemies for the rest of the walk ahead. Finally, to her relief, there was a bonfire right there at the very end, smack in the middle of the walkway.

Sunset trotted toward the bonfire, igniting it with her hand and slumping down in front of the warm, welcoming flames. She felt like she had just run ten miles, and without anyone to talk to now, she felt as if the bonfire was her only friend in this cold, dark place. She looked down at her star sword, which was reflecting the firelight. The blade remained as sharp and flawless as ever, something which Sunset was grateful for; she had no idea what she would do if her weapons chipped or dulled in the midst of combat. 

Sunset stayed stretched out in front of the bonfire for a long time, pausing only to drink some estus and immediately refilling the flask from the fire. She wasn’t wounded, but after all that had transpired she felt that she had earned a drink of something, and estus was all she had. Sunset stared into the flickering orange tongues and thought of Rarity and Applejack. Of Rainbow Dash. It was only because of them that she had made it this far, and she wished she had done more to show her appreciation for their aid.

Eventually Sunset Shimmer had enough of brooding and slowly rose to her feet. She wasn’t finished down here yet. There was still one thing left to do.

Leaving the bonfire behind, Sunset turned and set her feet on the path forward. She entered another part of the city, this one having only a few rows of buildings, all of them just as run down as the rest of the Hollow earlier. Whatever Sisha had caused down here, she surely succeeded in giving this place a name it deserved. It was cataclysmic indeed.

Sunset encountered a few signs on the way there. Orange soapstone signs. It had been quite some time since she had last seen any and it made her wonder who had left these here.

“Woman ahead, therefore, I’m sorry…” she read the first one aloud. “What is that supposed to even mean?”

There were more on the way ahead, each one just about as cryptic as the last.

“Woman ahead, try thrust. Weakness: Rolling.”

“Boss ahead, therefore time for sadness.”

“Amazing chest ahead.”

“Be wary of liar.”

“Try holding with both hands… Huh.” Sunset still didn’t understand most of them, but she could somewhat figure just what was expecting her.

She had not been walking for very long when she discovered a fog gate ahead of her, tall and imposing, spanning from the top of a broken archway to the ground. There was no doubting that Sisha, the Immolating Force, lay beyond this fog gate. Despite being as well equipped as she possibly could be for this fight, Sunset was nervous. This would be her first time facing down a Flame of Death on her own, with no help from anyone else.

You got this, Sunset. You’ve got this. You can do this. Everyone’s counting on you to get back home. You can do this...

Apprehensively, Sunset reached a hand through the fog and stepped forward.Inside, the arena was an expansive rocky ground, complete with a single tree close to the middle, its leaves all fallen away long ago. The edges dropped off into the chasm below and there was another stone-carved archway on the other end, also shrouded in fog.

In the middle was a woman seated by the tree. She had long brown flowing hair, billowing in the wind and slightly covering her face. The most surprising feature about her was her skin. It was pale and quite flawless, which Sunset found odd, seeing as she was supposed to be a hollow. Perhaps it was the Flame of Death she now carried that made her look more… human.

She wore nothing except for a brown rag of a loincloth, which barely covered her lower body, and a greatsword lay by her side, its blade hollow through the middle.

Sunset was not sure if Sisha had noticed her yet. The Flame of Death did not seem to have moved since she had entered the arena.

“You have come, bearer of the Flame of Life,” she suddenly spoke, her eyes opening to reveal glowing blue orbs. “I have been waiting for you.”

“You knew I was coming?” Sunset kept one hand on her sword, knowing trouble was coming, though Sisha was already different. She didn’t seem mad like the other two.

“We all do.” Sisha got up, her long hair dangling down nicely, just enough to cover her chest. The greatsword now in her hand, its blade wasn’t all that long, but it was wide. “The pull of your flame is strong. With it, imagine all the power we could have.

“I have spent centuries just waiting for the bearer such as yourself to arrive here. I have long since come to my senses after mastering my control over this Flame of Death I possess. Four journeyed to the Abyss, taking the flames for their own. We were promised power, power beyond anything we had ever known and it was true. The Flames of Death are dark powers, born right out of the Abyss, capable of wiping out all life if we so choose.”

“That’s what you did, isn’t it?” Sunset looked up at the cavern roof. “The Hollows, the Underisle above us, this was all your doing?”

“Alas, I had given in to the power, yes.” Sisha looked down like she had regretted her actions. “My home and beyond, I had consumed them in an almighty fire. I had broken the plates of the earth, I had caused an unimaginable catastrophe. I now see my error, and that is why I have waited for you, bearer of the Flame of Life.”

“Why, what am I to you?” Sunset asked wearily.

“While mine causes death and destruction wherever it goes.” Sisha stretched out a finger at her. “Yours gives life. Yours heals what is destroyed. I want it. I want to right what I have wronged, but I can only do it with your flame.”

“Even if I did want to give it to you, I can’t. It’s within me. If I am to die, I simply come back.”

“Ah, the power of life… Yes… Its pull is strong. I could feel it from beyond.” Sisha inhaled deeply and smiled. “With it, there is so much I could do. I could heal this land. Make it inhabitable once again, destroy the accursed roots of chaos, right the minds of those still living here. I must have your flame. You will give it to me.”

There we go…

Things were back to the way Sunset knew. Sisha wanted her flame, just like Doland and Drawgren. Sisha was just more polite about it.

“I can't give it to you,” Sunset said, slowly reaching for her sword. “I'm sorry about what happened here, but I need my Flame to get home.”

“But you must.” Sisha stretched her free hand out, palm facing up. “My home can be reborn. My people. Your flame is the only way.”

“I… I cannot. I am sorry, Sisha.” Sunset looked at her own reflection in her sword. She couldn’t part with the flame. Not this close to the end. Though, she couldn’t just leave as well. She needed Sisha’s. “And… I need yours.”

Sisha looked down at herself and started laughing. “Funny, isn’t it? You need mine and I need yours. Ah, if only we were able to trade flames. Alas, Flames of Death bond with the user till death. I suppose that is the Abyss’ sick way of making your choice stick.”

That statement made sense. She had already defeated Drawgren and Doland. While Flames of Death could die, she had been told that if she were to die, her Flame of Life would just bring her back.

Sisha stopped laughing and raised her greatsword, its tip now pointed at Sunset’s chest. “Then there is only one way this ends, bearer of the Flame of Life. With me prying your flame from your cold hard body.”

Sunset swallowed and readied herself. She had known it was going to go down like this anyway. There wasn’t much more she could do to prepare herself for the fight.

“Your flame will be mine.” And Sisha sprinted off from her spot under the tree, her elbow pulled back behind her shoulder, ready to sink her blade into Sunset’s chest.

Sunset deflected the attack, then dodged to the side, but Sisha was fast, already turned towards her and swinging her sword once again, pressing the fiery haired girl quickly into the defensive.

For as skinny as Sisha looked, she must have been remarkably strong to be able to use a greatsword like that. It must have weighed a ton, but she was swinging it around like a toy. Sunset stepped away and away from each of Sisha’s attacks, occasionally blocking them with her sword, but she was slowly getting closer and closer to the edge.

And then she was pushed over as Sisha rammed her greatsword into her, knocking her right off the edge. With a shriek, Sunset thought fast and threw her sword up, spinning it high above the battlefield. In an instant, she stopped falling into the depths and now fell towards Sisha, who had been caught in a moment of surprise. It was all Sunset needed to get in a good strike, cutting Sisha across her quite perfect back.

The hollow screeched and wobbled forward, the gash of red across her pale white skin a stark contrast as rivulets of blood began to spill out of her.

“My, my…” Sisha crashed to one knee and turned her head to look at Sunset. “It has been ages since I have been wounded like that… You are a remarkable young woman, bearer of the Flame of Life.”

“I just want to get home,” Sunset told her plainly. That was really all that was driving her to press on. The want to be away from this world, to be back with her friends.

“And I too will stop at nothing to get my home back.” Sisha stood up, strength still running through her body. “So this is not the end just yet.”

She ran to Sunset again, her greatsword already swinging in both hands, slashing through the air as Sunset leapt away, a piece of her gauntlet’s cloth shredding away as Sisha cut dangerously close. Unlike the hollow knight’s sword, Sisha’s weapon was honed to a deadly keen edge. Sunset wasn’t sure if her armor would hold up to a strike from that blade. She didn’t want to try it.

Sunset rolled under another swipe and slashed at Sisha from behind, hoping to replicate her earlier success. However, Sisha saw the blade coming and knelt down, Sunset’s strike whipping over her head harmlessly.

Sisha jabbed her sword at Sunset, who hopped back and almost fell over. She windmilled her arms and stumbled a few steps. She swung her star sword, but Sisha simply leaned back and the stroke fell short.

“You have no chance against me, bearer of the Flame of Life,” Sisha said as the two of them circled around each other. “I have seen your weapon, and as long as I can see it, I know the reach of your strikes. Your defeat is inevitable.”

Sunset and Sisha sidled around the tree in the center, neither of them making a move to engage the other. Sunset suddenly threw her sword at Sisha, but the Flame of Death moved her blade into the star sword’s path and blocked it just as Sunset teleported to it. Sunset broke the lock and spun around, hoping to catch Sisha off guard. But her foe was no so easily shaken, and Sisha simply took a step back and Sunset’s carving stroke missed.

Sisha’s right… Sunset thought as she backed away, putting the tree between them once more. She knows how much reach I have. I either have to get in close, which I don’t think is a good idea, or catch her by surprise. And Sunset didn’t have much left in the way of surprises. Just her pyromancy flame, a useless crossbow, and five jars of…

“Blue elixir…” A spark went off in Sunset’s head. If Sisha’s main tactic was focused on knowing the length of her sword, then Sunset might just have the means to turn the tables.

Gathering the flame in her left hand, Sunset flung a fireball at Sisha, who, as Sunset expected, dodged back out of the blast. However, this gave Sunset the time to reach into her pack and pull out a jar of the elixir. She dribbled it liberally over the surface of her sword, coating it from hilt to blade in the liquid. As she watched, the star sword began to fade from sight, until the only thing left was the portion of the grip where she had been holding it. 

“Alright, Sisha,” Sunset grinned. “Let’s see how you take to this.”

Sunset threw the empty jar at her opponent, who slashed the glass container out of the air. But in that moment, Sunset had closed the distance and swung her newly invisible sword at Sisha. The hollow looked up, but was astonished to see nothing, even as she raised her weapon to block. But she held the guard too far up, as if defending from a longer sword and Sunset’s strike hit home. A scarlet spray went up and splashed onto both Sunset and Sisha’s faces. 

“Impressive…” Sisha said, her hand touching the new cut on her shoulder.

Drawing back, Sunset spun around and drove her star sword right through Sisha’s abdomen, all the way to the guard, then removed it from her with a spray of blood.

Sisha stumbled back, clutching at her gut, but the smile she had never left her face, which concerned Sunset.

“I will admit, turning your sword invisible was a good trick. However…” Sisha swatted away Sunset’s sword. “You forgot about one thing. An invisible object, when covered in blood, becomes visible once more.”

Sunset looked down at her weapon and truth be told, she could see its outline from the blood that coated it.

“Yes, and I think it is time to cast away the notion that you are on equal par with me.” The blue in Sisha’s eyes seem to glow brighter. “Do you know why they call me the Immolating Force?”

Sunset was suddenly knocked back by an explosion of blue fire, chilling her bones as she rolled to a safer distance.

Where Sisha once stood was now a blue fire, though the hollow could still be seen within it, whatever magic that was making her beautiful now gone. Instead, a shriveled body now stood there, the only rag that she had worn burnt away. Her hair remained, but now swirled around her in a mess.

“And now you will die.” Sisha’s voice had taken on a double-tone. With a wave of her fiery hand over her greatsword, its hollow blade was filled with flame, which then extended way past the tip of her sword, becoming a much longer weapon. “But I wonder, will your invisible weapon even matter now?”

Sisha pulled back her sword and swung it in a horizontal slash, forcing Sunset up in the air as the flaming blade reached out way beyond where she was standing. Almost immediately, Sisha cut down vertically, and reacting as quickly as she could, Sunset lifted her sword to block it, but the fire still partially made it past her star sword and its icy fire burned at her left upper arm, scorching through her gauntlet and skin.

“Aaah!” Sunset fell and grabbed at her burning arm, but she had no time to stop and swiftly rolled away from another vertical slash.

“Yes, flee, run,” Sisha said with a smile as she swung her blade again. “Your flame will soon be mine.”

Sunset ignored the pain and jumped clear over the next attack. She threw her sword towards Sisha, teleporting to it and delivering two quick cuts to her body. Lines appeared across her chest, but that was it. The fire around Sisha flared out and Sunset found herself falling back, the front of her armor burning away from the intense cold.

Not letting it faze her, Sunset charged for Sisha again, dodging to the left to avoid another flaming slash, then cutting her across the left arm before teleporting back as the Flame of Death’s fore aura radiated out again.

Sunset knew she could do this. If she could be quick on her feet, she could do it. She could win.

Sisha seemed to notice this too, and swung her blade at the air. Three bright blue fireballs leapt from the burning sword and flew at Sunset. 

Sunset dived under the first fireball, rolled away from the second, but before she could get her bearings, the third fireball smashed into the ground next to her, sending the girl flying up into the air on fire.

“Aaagh!” Sunset landed hard on her back, half her face burning and in pain. She scrambled away, clawing at the ground as she dug her arm into her satchel, searching for an estus flask.

“Just accept your defeat and relinquish your flame.” Sisha’s foot stepped down on her right leg, breaking something. The flames around her twisted and writhed, burning down against Sunset’s back with its icy fire. “My home will be returned to all its glory, young one. And you will provide me the means to do so.”

“N-No…!” Sunset squirmed, trying her best to pick up an estus flask in her pack.

She had to get home. She had to.

Feeling her fingers wrap around it, Sunset gripped her sword tighter and swung an attack at Sisha’s waist. The Immolating Flame grunted, then deflected the attack, sending Sunset’s sword spinning away in the air.

Sisha only realized her mistake a second too late as Sunset disappeared from under her and reappeared beside her sword, quickly downing the estus flask her other hand had wrapped around.

Instantly rejuvenated, Sunset ran back into the fire and slid under Sisha’s next swing, cutting upwards and wounding her chest again before teleporting to safety before her fire could reach her.

Sisha launched another flurry of fireballs at Sunset, but this time she dodged behind the tree in the middle, allowing the fireballs to burst upon her shelter. She sprinted out from behind the tree, her sword already in motion, though at the last second, Sunset let go of it, allowing the sword the fly past Sisha and embed itself in the ground behind her. 

Sunset warped to her sword, but instead of striking with it, she used it as a pivot and swung her body around like a door on a hinge, her left hand readying a combustion. However, Sisha was not so easily caught off guard. Using her right hand, a blue fireball flickered to life, and the two fireballs, orange and blue, smashed into one another, blossoming in a brilliant conflagration of crimson and cyan as both exploded in an awesome display of flaming destruction. 

Sunset felt the heat of her own spell and the chilling burn of Sisha’s magic splash all across her front, igniting her armor and freezing it at the same time. She was thrown away and hit the archway above the fog gate. Sunset fell to the ground in a heap, opening her eyes in a daze and still feeling as though she had been pounded by a massive flaming hammer on her front. Sunset wasn’t sure, but she had a bad feeling she had broken a rib or something in the collision. Sharp spikes of pain made themselves known on her torso.

Estus… have to drink estus…

Sunset’s hand floundered around in her bag. She didn’t know how badly she had managed to hurt Sisha with her stunt, but in case Sisha had fared better than she, Sunset knew she had to get back in fighting shape before the Flame of Death decided to deal a deathblow.

There was a bark of laughter, then Sisha was suddenly looming over Sunset’s prone form, a grin plastered across her rotting face like one of the gashes Sunset had caused on her body.

“What good can you do against me, bearer of the Flame of Life?” Sisha pressed her sword’s tip into Sunset’s neck. “You do not even know how to wield your flame. How do you hope to win? Just relinquish it to me and make it easy.”

“N-Never…” Sunset whipped out an estus flask. “I need… to get home…”

“Your home does not concern me.” Sisha pressed her sword down as Sunset downed the estus.

Sunset choked as blood and estus spewed from her open neck, but miraculously, some estus had made it down and as soon as the orangey-flavoured drink hit her stomach, Sunset felt herself immediately revive, her neck wound closing up and her chest pains ceasing. Using that split moment of surprise, the girl hopped to her feet and swung her weapon at Sisha, but the Flame of Death had already moved to intercept, her burning sword clashing with Sunset’s star sword in a lock.

“Look at you…” Her grin somehow widened. “I admire your will to return to your home, but you know there is no way you can win. I do not know how you defeated Drawgren and Doland, but you shall never defeat me. Just give up. Make it easy.”

“I can’t… I won’t…!” Sunset pressed harder, doing her best to ignore the seething blue flames eating into her armor and skin from Sisha’s sword. Her journey couldn’t end, not here, not ever until she was back home with her friends.

There was a brief sensation from Sunset’s chest. Something warm, something… comforting. 

“Sunset Shimmer…” a voice rang in her ears.

Her sword began to pulse a light orange, flickering in and out of existence. Sisha saw it too and stepped back to assess the situation.

Sunset knew this sensation. She had experienced it quite some time ago in a much different circumstance, but she knew it. It was the feeling of home. Of her real home. Of Equestria.

“Take it, Sunset Shimmer. Take your power. Use it.”

The warmth within her spread out across her body and Sunset’s eyes suddenly shone a bright orange as her ears moved themselves to the top of her head and her hair grew out at the bottom into a long ponytail.

Her star sword transformed into a weapon of gold and silver and its blade ignited into an orange flame to match her eyes.

“No…” Then her shocked expression resumed her wide smile from before. “Bearer of the Flame of Life. Let us see which flame is stronger then. Yours or mine.”

She didn’t give Sunset any chance to maneuver away, but  with her own flame powering her weapon now, the girl lifted her blade and parried Sisha’s away, the blue flame unable to reach past her own orange flames.

Sisha leapt into the air and swept her weapon across the arena, her fiery weapon extending until it covered most of it. Sunset jumped up and threw her own sword, which became like a flaming disc as it struck Sisha. The Immolating Force deflected it, but Sunset had already teleported to it, spinning back and slashing Sisha’s left arm off. The limb flew in the distance and landed beside the tree, dancing on the ground for a second before coming to a stop.

Sisha growled at Sunset, then advanced, trading blows with her as each of them tried to gain the under hand. She knocked Sunset down with the next swing and jumped up to deliver a devastating plunging attack, but Sunset teleported to the side as her blade stabbed deep into the ground, creating fiery pillars across the arena.

Sunset weaved between them as they erupted beneath her feet, blocking two as she made her way closer to Sisha.

The Flame of Death snarled at her and removed her greatsword from the ground to continue attacking her. Sunset deflected her attacks and then stepped back and spotted her opening. With a push of her left leg, Sunset dashed for her opponent and thrust her blade forward as hard as she could and just as Sisha was about to slash at her again, Sunset’s flaming blade went through the hollow portion of the Flame of Death’s sword and sank through her rotting flesh, emerging through her back in a fiery storm, spreading out from her like the  tentacles of an octopus.

Sisha’s gasp brought the entire cavern into silence as her icy flames were extinguished, leaving her as a regular hollow, her greatsword clattering to the floor.

Sunset too, returned to normal as she withdrew her star sword from Sisha’s chest, its gold, silver and fire fading as well.

“I am sorry, Sisha,” she said to the hollow as she fell to her knees, her hands cradling her injured chest as shadow began to pour from it. “I wish there was another way, but I have to return home.”

Sisha looked up at Sunset, no hint of anger or regret in her eyes, even as her body began to crumble into ashes.

“Then go, bearer of the Flame of Life. Your conviction will surely lead you to victory.”

Sisha laughed, an eerily melodic sound in the silence. And then Sisha, the Immolating Force, was no more. In place of where she was, was a blue flame, the thing which Sunset had come all the way underground to find. 

Sunset clasped the Flame of Death in her hands, wishing there had been another way. All Sisha wanted was to return her home to its former glory. If there was another way, Sunset would’ve liked to help her, but she needed both her flame and Sisha’s. It had to be done.

Sighing deeply, Sunset looked out to the other archway, which the fog had left once Sisha had been vanquished.

Flame of Death extinguished. Now to go on.

The archway led Sunset to a set of steps leading down into a round room with nothing but a bonfire in the middle of it. Reaching her hand out, Sunset was soon transported away from this place. The Cataclysm Hollows was not a place she would ever want to return to, not just from hating underground spaces, but also for the weight she had received here.

She felt she now owed it to Sisha to make it home, for denying her her chance to save her own home. Through Sisha, she had received the third Flame of Death and so to honour her noble cause, Sunset vowed she would return home. She would.
> Chapter 22: Memory Core
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the world around her reappeared, Sunset Shimmer realized she was not back in Fyrlon, like the last two times she had beaten a Flame of Death.

Instead, she now stood in a white world, where ground and sky seemed to have no edge, and everything was bright as though everything she looked at was like looking up at a morning sky.

“What happened? Where am I?” She looked at herself. To her relief, she still had all her gear.

“Welcome back, Sunset Shimmer. I must say, I did not expect we would meet again.”

Behind her walked a figure from her past, and like she had said, a figure she also didn’t think she would ever see again.

It was a woman with pale green skin and glittering green hair of different shades. A set of steel armor adorned her body, along with a flowing tattered red cape over her right shoulder and there was no way Sunset would ever forget who she was.

“Emerald Edge,” she breathed. “What are you… Are you really here?”

Emerald Edge was the founder of the Assassin Brotherhood, which Sunset had come into contact with quite some time ago. At the end of that adventure, Emerald had assisted her in defeating Sombra, an ancient enemy from Equestria. In doing so, she had fulfilled a thousand year-long quest in service of the late Princess Amore of the Crystal Empire and could finally have rest, or at least, Sunset had thought so.

“I am, Sunset.” The First Assassin nodded and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I wish I could say it was good to see you, but that would not be fair for you, would it?”

“B-But how are you here? What’s going on? Do you know where I am?” Sunset fired a barrage of questions at her. “Do you know how I got here?”

“We are inexorably linked, Sunset Shimmer,” Emerald said serenely. “Though my spirit has passed on to the beyond, it’s possible some small part of my consciousness remains with you. Outside of that, I do not know why I can still speak to you. Perhaps someone more skilled in the studies of magic can tell you. As to why you are in this world, I do not know, but I can tell you that someone must have brought you to it.”

Sunset looked around at the expansive white. “Am I still in that world? Where is this?”

“Why, you are in the Memory Core, Sunset.” Emerald lifted a hand and a small white glassy orb floated down from above and stopped just above her palm. “This is where I have chosen to meet you. To explain to you the powers you house.”

Sunset looked down at herself. “You mean the Flame of Life?”

“Yes, this flame.” Emerald spun the orb in her hand. A display of images could be seen among its surface, with images of Sunset battling Drawgren, Doland, and even the grineer queens from another event. “There is much about it you still do not yet know. That is why I am here. To teach you once again.”

“How do you know about all this?” Sunset asked. “Isn’t this far ahead of your time?”

Emerald shrugged. “It is possible that I am not really Emerald Edge at all, but rather another entity which has taken her form because you trust me. But even if that is so, I promise you that I mean you no ill will, whether I truly am who I appear to be or not.”

“Oh.”

“The powers you had awakened during your fight with Sisha the Immolating Flame revealed to you the true strength of the Flame of Life. Just like the Flames of Death, you are able to draw out your flame’s power and use it against your enemies.”

“So you’re going to teach me to do this at will?”

“Yes, Sunset, but be warned…” Emerald wagged a finger. “A Flame of Life’s goal is not to harm, but to save. Its lethal power is not meant to be used continuously and should only be used in times of dire need.”

“Like my fight with Sisha?” Sunset had almost lost that one, but because of her sudden transformation, she had come out of that victorious.

The First Assassin nodded her head. “You are only able to conjure up its power once, but each time you rest, you rejuvenate your flame and yourself, allowing another use again.”

“Oh, that’s… neat, I guess,” Sunset said. “That’s not fair, how the Flames of Death can just blow everything away all the time.”

“While they may have more destructive power, yours, Sunset, as you have heard, gives life to you. Each time you die-”

“Which thankfully, hasn’t happened yet.” Sunset looked at her attire. Her chest armor and gauntlets were gone, and what cloth she had left was tattered and burnt, but at least she was still fine.

“Which thankfully hasn’t happened yet,” Emerald agreed. “But if it were to happen, why, you’d just come back to life. A Flame of Death has no such power.”

“I suppose not.” A few moments of quiet after that  made Sunset a little restless. “So… What happens now? How do I learn this power?”

Emerald responded by drawing a sword at her side. It was gold and silver with a straightedge and a little horse head pommel at the bottom.

The Sword of Equestria.

Sunset had wielded this weapon once before, during her fight with Sombra. She knew its powers and what it could do. It was certainly a weapon to behold.

“Come, Sunset Shimmer.” Emerald lifted her blade to the side of her head and shifted her feet further apart. “We shall do battle.”

“What? I have to fight you?”

“This is but a memory in the Memory Core. You cannot kill me, because I am not really here. And if I kill you, you would just come back.”

“Umm… Okay.” Sunset whipped out her star sword. She didn’t feel comfortable fighting another friend, but Emerald’s words made sense. “So we’re going all the way?”

The First Assassin nodded again. “Do not hold back, because neither will I.”

The clashing of steel resounded across the white expanse as Emerald had suddenly charged in, quick as lightning, both their swords bouncing off each other with a small shower of sparks. Sunset almost hadn’t had time to react, but age old skills that Emerald had passed to her long ago had come in useful once again as she moved, keeping her balance as she scanned for a good time to strike back.

She knew Emerald’s fighting style. Hay, she had Emerald’s fighting style, seeing as the Assassin had passed it down to her. She knew its strengths, she knew its flaws. All she needed to do was use that to her advantage, though this was knowledge Emerald also had.

“Channel your power, Sunset.” Emerald stretched her sword out and it began to pulse with electricity. “Understand what it is inside of you and bring it out.”

The next clash sent jolts of electricity running through Sunset’s veins as her sword struck Emerald’s. She found herself rooted to the spot for a second, unable to do anything as Emerald slid past her, her sword cutting clean through her side and drawing a spray of blood.

“Aah-aaahh!” Sunset collapsed to her knees, gasping as she fought against the pain to get an estus flask. Fortunately, Emerald made no move to finish her and she was allowed to restore her strength.

“Shabby, Sunset Shimmer.” Emerald flicked her sword to the side, expelling the girl’s blood and sparks of lightning. “You cannot deflect a blade that has been imbued with the elements unless
your weapon was designed to do so.”

“Figured as much.” Sunset rubbed at her arm and stood up. It still felt like she had been electrocuted even after the estus. “Again.”

“As you wish. Reach within yourself, Sunset. Find that light… and hold on to it.”

And she was no longer where she was standing, dashing so fast that Sunset almost couldn’t see her. The girl threw herself back as Emerald’s sword pierced through the air where her head had been. . She did a flip backward, keeping her sword in front of herself to guard. Emerald nodded with approval before launching herself a Sunset, intent on performing a flying kick.

To Sunset, everything appeared to happen in slow motion. Emerald sailed through the air at her, one leg outstretched. Sunset ducked beneath the kick, following up with a slash from her star sword, wounding Emerald across the thigh. For a moment, the tiniest fraction of a second, Sunset felt something hot light up in her chest, right under her sternum.

"That's the way, Sunset," Emerald nodded, landing on the ground and spinning to face the girl. "You're getting it."

Sunset tried to hold onto the spark of heat, but it had gone out. She had to find some way to re-ignite the Flame of Life within herself.

A sudden blast of wind from Emerald sent Sunset sprawling, unhurt but stunned and disoriented. She dropped her sword, and as she went to recover it, the blade nicked her finger. Blood dripped from the small cut, but instead of being red like normal, the liquid that came out was a fiery orange, like a tiny wellspring of magma. Magma, or flame. The fiery blood dripped onto the ground, where a tiny wildfire sprang up, its tongues reaching up at Sunset. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt.

“I think I get it…” Sunset said. She drew out an estus flask and let her blood drip into it. The flask bubbled as its contents mixed together, then the flask shone a bright white. 

Emerald smiled. “Very good, Sunset. Just keep in mind, your mastery over your Flame of Life is yet untrained, so you will only be able to use it once per bonfire visit, and you must use one of your estus flasks to harness the Flame. That is the price for wielding such enormous power.”

“So I’m down one flask now?” Sunset shook the flask in her hand.

Emerald swished her sword in the air. “Tell you what, Sunset. If you defeat me, I shall award you with more flasks. Come, use your new power and face me.”

Emerald raised her sword in front of herself, parallel to her body. With a flash of bright light, a golden aura began to encase her and golden wings of light sprouted from her back as her body assumed its half-pony form.

“Here goes nothing…” Sunset downed the white estus. Immediately, the warmth in her body began to spread and she was enveloped in the feeling of home, her form shifting to match Emerald’s ears and ponytail. Her sword flashed alabaster and became gold and her eyes blazed a stark white glow.

Raising her star sword to her side, Sunset was now ready for battle.

“Now come.” Emerald smirked and flew to Sunset almost in a blink of an eye. “Let us see what you can do with this. Remember, it does not last forever. Make sure you make it count!”



Sunset could not, in all her time in this new place, remember fighting a foe as nimble, powerful, nor stalwart as Emerald Edge. Emerald flew at her with diving slashes, which Sunset deflected using her own blade. She grunted with each impact, for Emerald’s strength had been elevated to levels beyond human or hollow. But Sunset would not submit. She hurled her blade up at Emerald, and when she swooped out of the way, Sunset simply threw it again, while hanging in mid-air. Chaining teleports was not something she had tired before, but with the power of the Flame of Life, it felt as natural as breathing. The two struggled in mid air, Emerald’s wings flapping in a desperate bid to keep them airborne.

Using her right hand to keep Emerald’s sword  away, Sunset reached out with her left hand and fired off a combustion spell. But to her surprise, the resultant explosion of fire was over a hundred times as large as she had meant to cast, and the blast tore the two fighters apart. 

Sunset landed in a crouch. She felt good, amazing! Her sword felt as light as a wooden switch, and with the energy running through her body like electricity, she could do this all day. 

Emerald, about fifty meters away, rose to her feet. Scorch marks were smeared across her armor and one of her wings looked as though it had been damaged beyond flight capability. Still, she flourished her sword in her right hand and curled her functional wing around her left side like a shield.

Sunset pressed the attack, sprinting across the space to Emerald. She threw a fireball as she ran, and as she half-expected, the orb that she launched out was a huge mass of heat and flame. It fell short of her target, but as it hit the ground it exploded, spraying molten magma all around. 

Emerald aimed her sword at Sunset and a crackling lightning bolt shot at Sunset. The girl countered by throwing her sword forward so that it caught the lightning bolt, rendering it harmless. Once the flash of electricity subsided, she teleported over to it and slingshotted herself at Emerald.

The spymaster raised her wing to block the attack, but Sunset would not be denied. She pressed the tip of her weapon into the shield wing, punching through and scoring a line in Emerald’s armor. Sunset pulled the wing aside and headbutted Emerald, who reeled back, stunned. 

Without hesitation, Sunset threw another fireball, this one exploding right in Emerald’s face and scattering more magma across the ground. Smoke and vapor rose up, obscuring Sunset’s view.

Then, out of the smog, Sunset’s star sword was thrown out, landing tip down in the nondescript ground. 

“Well done, Sunset Shimmer.” A ghostly voice said. As the smoke began to clear, Sunset realized that whatever she had been fighting was not Emerald Edge at all. It was a tall, willowy figure in a black robe, wearing a smiling mask. 

“Who… who are you?” Sunset asked, plucking her sword from the ground and holding it before herself.

“I am the spirit of the Rite of Kindling,” The masked figure said. “I oppose the Abyss and the Nightmare. Dark forces are at work, and I have long waited for someone like you to come and set things right.”

“Nightmare?” Sunset repeated. She had heard of the Abyss, but Nightmare was something she has only thought she had heard about.

“You must travel to the Abyss and defeat the master of this evil dream. Even now your friends are converging on you, to bring you back to the waking world. But to return, you must finish your quest.”

“So it is a dream.” Sunset scuffed her shoe against the ground. “If this is all a dream,” She reasoned. “Won’t I wake up if I die?”

The masked figure shook its head. “This is no normal dream, Sunset. Should you fall, you will rise and rise again… until you lose all hope and become hollow.”

Sunset shivered. She had seen plenty of hollows and had no desire to join their ranks.

“But my time runs short. The Lord of the Waking Nightmare turns his attention to us. I will give you the Rite of Kindling and send you on your way.”

“Wait, lord? Tell me who it is!”

A writhing black flame outlined in red appeared in the spirit’s outstretched hand and flew over to Sunset. 

“With the Rite of Kindling, you can gain more estus flasks at bonfires,” The spirit explained. “Equestria needs you, Sunset Shimmer. More than ever. You must succeed in your quest and return. Forces are stirring, and this is but the beginning. Remember to use the power of your Flame, Sunset Shimmer. Goodbye.”

And then all the lights went out, and Sunset opened her eyes to find herself back in Fyrlon.
> Chapter 23: Fyrlon II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The third Flame of Death burned brightly in the rocks surrounding Twilight Sparkle, with one one rock still empty.

Sunset Shimmer could feel it now. She was close. So very close to the end of it all. Only Gravewing, Firedrake of the Depths remained, wherever it was holed up at.

What that spirit of the Rite of Kindling had told her still stayed in her mind, about the Lord of the Waking Nightmare. Whoever that was, they now knew that Sunset was stirring.

Fyrlon clearly displayed that change in atmosphere.

The warm sun by the sea was now high in the sky, covered over by an eclipse, now only a black orb, with a small aura of fire behind it, along with a pillar of flame shooting up from beyond the horizon, likely coming from the Throne of the Fallen Hearth.

That was Sunset’s end goal. Once she obtained the final Flame of Death, the way to the throne would be opened to her. Whoever this lord was, he was likely waiting for her there.

“You are close, Young Flame.” Twilight stopped beside her at the cliffside overlooking the sea and the eclipse. The orange sky was now a dark red, almost the colour of blood. “The dark ones sense it too. They know you are coming and they will stop at nothing to make sure you fail.”

There was a giggling sound from nearby, and Sunset looked over to see whence it came. To her joyful surprise, there was a familiar somebody there with a head of poofy pink hair, seated beside Sandalwood, the pyromancer she had rescued from the caverns. 

“Hey, my hero!” Sandalwood said, looking over at Sunset. “How’s the pyromancy working out for you?”

“Sunset Shimmer!” Pinkie leapt to her feet and threw her arms around Sunset’s shoulders. “You’re still alive!”

“Sure am, Pinkie.” Sunset tried to breathe, but it was difficult to do so. “Too… tight, Pinkie…!”

The pink girl hopped off and giggled. “Gee, something about you smells different. It’s almost like you went on into a dream within a dream, somewhere like an old white world, where you battled something within yourself to unlock a hidden power.”

“Don’t tell me you got all that just from smelling me.”

She shrugged. “Meh, just a hunch.”

Same old Pinkie Pie. Sunset smiled to herself. That was nice. “And Sandalwood, thanks for the pyromancy flame. It’s helped me many a time in my trek forward.”

“You’ve a natural talent for fire, I’ll give you that.” He pointed a finger at her. “You’re gifted, Sunset Shimmer. Not just with that flame of yours, but your skills too.”

“I picked them up from an old friend.” Sunset reminisced her many adventures up till now. Looking down, she remembered she needed a new set of armor. The one she was currently wearing was just about blown to rags, which thankfully, still covered important parts of her body. “Do you know where I can grab some armor?”

“You’re asking the right person!” Pinkie leapt back and grabbed her hands. “Come on! I’ll show you to the blacksmith!”

Her legs turning into mini-propellers, Pinkie dashed off, dragging Sunset behind her as she raced to a small building on the northside of Fyrlon. It’s roof was partially gone and its walls were caked with moss and vines.

“Maud, I brought someone who is in need of some armor!” Pinkie pushed open what was left of a wooden door.

There was a grey-skinned girl seated in front of an anvil, holding a hammer. She wore a scorched leather apron and a disinterested look on her face.

"Hello, Pinkie," Maud droned. She turned to look at Sunset. "Hello, Sunset."

“Maud? You’re the blacksmith?” Sunset raised an eyebrow at the hammer and anvil. “I thought Pinkie said you have a rock farm?”

“Metal comes from rocks,” Maud explained in monotone. “Just like how people farm chickens for eggs and… chicken, I farm my rocks for weapons and armor.”

“But… rocks don’t… breed…” Sunset muttered, but chose to forget about it. “Anyway, Pinkie said you can make me some better armor? The one I currently have… isn’t up to standard anymore.”

“I can,” Maud replied. She picked up her hammer and hefted it. “What kind of armor do you want me to make?”

Sunset rubbed her chin. “Well, I suppose I don’t want anything too heavy. Enough for me to still jump and roll without being too encumbered.”

“Then you’ll want something with both light steel and leather.” Maud flipped her hammer in her hand and got to working on her anvil. “Won’t be long.”

Maud picked up a chunk of ore from a pile nearby and began to pound on it with her hammer against the anvil. It made a sharp ringing noise as the smith hammered away, shaping the lump into shape.

“We should probably go do something else now,” Pinkie suggested after a few minutes of watching. “Maud works a lot faster when nobody’s watching.”

Sunset nodded and allowed Pinkie to lead her to the outside of Fyrlon. There was a large tree growing out of the rocky soil there, and seated beneath it, playing with something in her hands, was Fluttershy.

Sunset had never been happier to see another friend, especially since the last time she had seen Fluttershy, she had been impaled by that skeleton centipede.

“Fluttershy, you’re okay!” Sunset threw herself on the stunned archer, who’s flute went sailing into the air and landing back on her head. “It’s great to see you!”

“L-Likewise, Sunset Shimmer.” She grinned awkwardly, rubbing at her head. “Glad to see you’re still carrying on strong in your journey. One flame left.”

“Yeah…” Sunset said, letting go of Fluttershy. “I’ve learned a few things since we last met, but to be honest, I still feel a little out of my depth. Especially when I’m alone.”

Fluttershy looked at Sunset with understanding. She reached into her pack and took out a small brown round object. She held it out for Sunset.

“I want you to have this, Sunset.”

Sunset looked at the object. It looked as though it were made of wood.

“What is it?” She asked.

Fluttershy motioned for Sunset to take the object.

“It’s a seed from this tree,” Fluttershy said expectantly. “You said you didn’t like being alone, so this seed is perfect for you.”

“Oh, well, uh… thanks.” Sunset held it up to examine it. It was a strange seed, shaped like a teardrop, but it was hollow, with a hole going right through it to the other side. “So what do you want me to do with this, eat it?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Hold on to it. Think of it as a lucky charm. It will keep you safe from invaders.”

“Well… I can’t say no to something that’ll be of use.” Sunset placed it in her satchel.

“Yeah. Hey, do I get one too?” Pinkie stretched her arms out expectantly.

Fluttershy dug around in her pack, but came out empty handed. “Sorry, Pinkie. I only had the one.”

“It’s okay. Not like I need it!” The pink girl chuckled. “I’ve traded lots of souls to Twilight, so I’m strong.” She somehow rolled up her armor sleeves to show her biceps. Pinkie cocked her head to the side and jumped. “Sounds like Maud is done with your new armor. Let’s go get it!”

Sunset was about to follow behind her, but stopped when Fluttershy had grabbed her hand, a serious expression on her face.

“Yeah?”

“Sunset, listen. I heard what happened with… Rainbow Dash,” the pink haired girl said. “As much as I didn’t like her, I would never wish she would be dead. I am sorry you had to go through that.”

Sunset sighed and looked away, her face downcast. “Yeah… She did it for me, Fluttershy.”

The other girl nodded. “She may not have been a nice person, at least to me, but she was loyal to her friend to the end.”

“She was.” Sunset eyed the eclipse, finding that she could look directly at it without any adverse effects. She was going to end it all for her friends. “I’ll need to get my armor before I go on.”

“Wait.” Fluttershy pulled her hand again. “That wasn’t what I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you what lies ahead.”

Sunset waited for her to continue.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and started again. “Gravewing lies deep within the Primordial Grotto, the birthplace of all beasts. To get there, you first need to get to the Forgotten Gallows, which is south of Fyrlon. You’ll find an old bridge that will take you there.

“But be warned, Sunset, this is what I wanted to tell you. The Gallows lie within the spreading Abyss. Anything living would die if so much as a foot is stepped into it. Unless you have a special ring, I do not know how to traverse the Abyss. I do not know where to find such a ring, but you, Sunset, perhaps your Flame of Life would allow safe entry.”

“Ho-how will I even be sure of that?” Sunset didn’t want to find out the hard way if she could help it.

“You’ll just have to get there to know for sure.” Fluttershy placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “The Abyss is no place for any traveler. There are dark beasts there that not even the most seasoned hunter would like to face, but that is where you will find the Primordial Grotto, and with that, your final Flame of Death.”

“And yet, I have to go there,” Sunset said. “I’ll ask Twilight if she knows anything about the Abyss, but right now I have to go collect my armor.”

“Won’t you stay for a while?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes large and twinkling. “You could rest here awhile and recover your strength.”

Sunset longed to say yes. Spending some time here in the safety of Fyrlon with her friends sounded, after all she had gone through, like a dream come true. 

But in the end, she shook her head. These weren’t even her real friends, as much as they looked and talked like them.

“I would love to stay, Fluttershy. Really I would, but I know that the longer I stay here, the less I’ll want to leave, and leave I must. I have a date with Gravewing.”

“Gross…” Pinkie laughed. “A date with Gravewing. Good one.”

Fluttershy nodded, though she looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

“All right then,” Fluttershy conceded. “If that’s what you have to do. Keep the seed safe, Sunset. It might just save your life one day. I’ll be here. If there is anywhere you need to go besides the Abyss, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m sure Pinkie and I will be happy to help.”

The pink girl flipped around and placed an arm around Fluttershy. “She’s right! We’re just a call away! Most of the time. Now come on, your armor awaits!”

Bidding Fluttershy farewell, Sunset was led by the exuberant Pinkie Pie back to Maud’s workplace. The grey-skinned blacksmith was cleaning her anvil with a cloth when they arrived.

“Oh, you’re back,” Maud said flatly. “I finished your armor. It’s over there on the table.”

Sunset looked to the right, where a plain wooden table stood, and arrayed on its surface was a gleaming new set of armor, fresh from the forge.

She reached out a hand to it, then stopped and turned back to Maud. 

“May I?”

Maud nodded. “I made it for you. Do with it what you want.”

“Thank you, Maud!” Sunset said gratefully before stripping off her old armor and putting on the new set. It was mostly mail touching her skin, with metal plate fastened on top for greater protection. The armor covered all her vital spots, even protecting the neck with a mail and leather gorget. Sunset fastened her star sword to the armor’s sword-belt, and slung her pack over her back. The armor even had small pouches on her legs to store things in and Maud had supplied a small hunting knife to strap to her thigh, in case of emergencies.

“This is amazing, Maud!” Pinkie swooned, looking as Sunset put her armor on. “You’re a really fast worker.”

Maud nodded, then picked up another hunk of metal from her stash and began hammering it. 

“I’m going to make a frying pan now,” The blacksmith droned. “Boulder is getting hungry and I want to cook something for him.”

“You do, Maud!” Pinkie said encouragingly. Then she turned to Sunset. “You look like a knight in shining armor, Sunset!”

Sunset smiled. “Thanks, Pinkie.”

“That’s not a compliment,” Maud spoke up above her hammering. “Shining armor means it hasn’t been used. The most handsome kind of armor is the kind which has protected its wearer from harm. Which yours will.”

“Uh, yeah, that’s right… I guess.” Sunset rotated herself around to get a better look at her new attire. It was made mostly of chainmail and leather, which wasn’t all that heavy. She figured with some souls, she could get Twilight to make her stronger, so the weight would be more manageable. “It looks really good too. Thank you again, Maud.”

Maud continued hammering out her frying pan. “You’re welcome.”

“Come on, you said you wanted to level up, right? Before you head out?” Pinkie tugged at Sunset’s arm as she made for the door.

“Level up?”

The pink tornado of a girl giggled. “Giving souls to Twilight, silly. It’s basically leveling up.”

“How do I know how many of these souls I have?” Sunset asked as they went back to the main bonfire of Fyrlon. 

Pinkie shrugged. “Eh, you just know. The more souls you have, the lighter you’ll feel once you spend them.”

“Right.”

Twilight was waiting beside the bonfire, gazing out to sea where the beam of light from the eclipse disappeared beyond the horizon.

“I’m ready to continue my journey, Twilight,” Sunset said as she got closer. “Could use a… level up.”

Pinkie giggled behind her.

“Very well, Young Flame.” Twilight stretched a hand out. Sunset knelt down before her like the last time and the firekeeper stretched her hand out. “Take nourishment from these sovereignless souls.”

Once she was done, Sunset stood and hopped a few times. She did indeed feel lighter. Stepping back, she tried rolling a few times on the ground, noticing how much easier it was now to roll and get up. Even with her new armor, which was heavier compared to her last one, she found she was now rolling at the same speed as her previous armor.

“And now your journey to the final Flame of Death begins, Young Flame.” Twilight backed up a step and nodded. “Remember, it shall be the Abyss you traverse. The Abyss is an unnatural darkness, born from the unknown as the flames began to fade. What you find there will be unlike anything you have faced thus far.”

“Yes, I figured.” Sunset balled a fist and looked at it. They didn’t know if her flame would let her walk into it, but she had to get there to know for sure.

“Is there anything else you would like to know before you go?”

“This world,” the fiery haired girl said. “Who created it?”

“I… I do not have the answer to that question, Young Flame.” Twilight looked away disappointedly.

“No names? I heard from the Rite of Kindling spirit that there is a Lord of the Waking Nightmare. Could you tell me anything from that?”

“The what now?” Pinkie looked confused.

“The spirit of the Rite of Kindling…” Sunset said slowly, looking around at the puzzled face of Pinkie and the thoughtful visage of Twilight. “You’re telling me neither of you knows what I’m talking about?”

Pinkie shook her head, still looking as though she had been told that the clouds were green. 

“Did you hit your head or something, Sunshim? Cause I’ve been all over and I’ve never heard of this Righto Kingling spirit…”

“Neither have I,” Twilight voiced.

“See here.” Sunset dug in her pack and produced the red and black flame. “It gave this to me and told me I can gain more estus from using this at a bonfire.”

“My, I have never seen such a flame…” Twilight stretched a hand out as to touch it, but held it back. “Do as it says, Young Flame. Place it in the bonfire.”

Walking to the central Fyrlon bonfire, Sunset crouched down and placed it on the rim of the fire. The Rite of Kindling flickered once, twice, then faded into the orange flame.

“Hmm…” Sunset stood there waiting for something to happen, but nothing came. “Is… that it?”

Suddenly her pack felt heavier at her side. Confused, she flicked it open and looked in, finding three more estus flasks had been added to the rest, excluding her white estus flask and her ashen estus flasks.

“What… how…” Sunset shook her head. If this was all a dream, then she had to expect anything could happen. “This is great! I have more now! I can survive longer!”

“Great!” Pinkie did a random cartwheel and stopped beside the bonfire. “I would say I’d come with you, you know, help you plow your way through all the tough beasties out there, but unfortunately, I can’t go to the Abyss. I’d just die.” She snickered. “You have fun in there, okay?”

“Fun? Ha. Fun isn’t something I’d consider when trying to fight my way out of this nightmare.” Sunset placed a hand on her star sword’s pommel. “But I’ll be sure to have courage and never give up.”

“Good attitude, Young Flame.” Twilight turned her head towards the south. “Then you know what must be done.”

Giving them both hugs, Sunset soon found herself walking away from the safety of Fyrlon once more and towards her next destination. Looking up at the burning eclipse in the sky, Sunset knew she was close to the end, but she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy. Something was coming and that something didn’t want her leaving this world.
> Chapter 24: Forgotten Gallows - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crossing the old rickety bridge leading away from Fyrlon, Sunset Shimmer walked slowly and carefully. For each step she took, she silently wished that the boards wouldn’t break under her feet and send her plunging down into the waters below. She likely wouldn’t die, but it would be a hassle to find a way back up, plus, it would definitely hurt.

Ahead of her, the bridge spanned across the sea below, leading to another part of the landmass, while on her left, Sunset could see the City of the Lost, Theiros. It felt as though years had passed since she had woken up in the city, but she still remembered all of it. It made her wonder what had happened to that helpful hollow that she met early on. Perhaps he was still wandering about, looking for someone else to help out, or maybe he’d already lost it and was searching for a flame.

When she was finally close enough to the other end, Sunset, having enough of crossing the bridge, took out her star sword and with a mighty throw, she was soon on the other side of the bridge, appearing by her sword in a flash of sparks.

“Glad that’s over with…” She looked back to the beginning and sighed. She was once again away from the safety of Fyrlon. She didn’t like it, but if she didn’t do it, who else would? She needed to go through with her journey and end it.

The grass on this side of the bridge, unlike the popular saying, was not greener. It was of a pale yellow colour, and it smelled as though someone had left an egg out in the open for way too long. An owl had been carved into the side of the bridge post, with an odd inscription on it that Sunset could not read.

The path ahead was a winding one, almost completely overgrown with that yellow grass and half hidden from sight. In the near distance, Sunset could see there was some kind of settlement there that the path led to. It was mostly shrouded by fog, but Sunset fancied she could see at least three buildings.

Following the path, Sunset trotted along, keeping an eye out for any enemies that might try to get the jump on her. Buildings always meant a settlement, or at least a former settlement. Whenever there were settlements, there were always…

And then the first creature popped out at her from behind a large boulder, a black hood over its head. It wore a beige and blood splattered apron and nothing else on its chest, revealing a rotted body and gangly arms, meaning this was likely a hollow. It carried with it a large cleaver, which was already swinging at Sunset, ready to cleave her in two.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Sunset hopped backward and lobbed a fireball at the hollow. The hollow went up in flames, screaming, but did not fall.

Sunset dodged the swipe from the cleaver, sliding to the hollow’s side and then slashing up with her sword, ripping through rotting flesh and bone, sending its right arm and weapon sailing away to the side. The hollow screeched, but was immediately silenced when Sunset spun around and decapitated it. The hooded head disappeared somewhere into the grass as the hollow’s body fell, still on fire, but now unmoving.

“Easy enough.” The girl swiped her red and yellow hair from her face and nodded.

She kept going toward the settlement, now keeping her left hand out to disperse some of the fog. The mist stuck to Sunset, all cold and clammy on her face, but the rest of her new armor seemed to protect her from the chill. 

She continued, and had only just rounded the corner when she felt something hit her in the chest with a clang, almost knocking her over. Something clattered onto the path as Sunset rocked on her feet, looking around to see what had happened. She couldn’t see any enemies, but her armor now had a slight scratch on its surface and she looked down to see what had hit her.

It was an arrow, its tip blunted a tiny bit from where it had struck her breastplate. She immediately ducked down low and dashed over to the nearest boulder to take cover. Another arrow sprouted from the ground next to the boulder. Looking at the angle which the arrow was standing, Sunset followed it up to a high cliff where a hollow with a bow was standing.

Another arrow skipped off the surface of the boulder. Sunset bared her teeth in frustration. She didn’t have anything that she could use to take out or otherwise disable the archer. Her only recourse was to run for it and hope she didn’t get hit.

“This’ll even the odds a little…” Sunset reached for one of her four remaining jars of blue elixir as an arrow whizzed over her head.

As her body began to shimmer and fade from sight, Sunset ran out from behind her cover, sprinting as another arrow pinged off the boulder she had been hiding behind.

As she wandered down the path, Sunset spotted a trio of hollow spearmen, each of them just standing there, their jaws agape and their spears ready to strike. Fortunately for her, the blue elixir kept her concealed from their rotting eyes as she ran on. The hill where the archer was eventually came into full view, the hollow still searching for her and firing blindly through the fog.

Taking a second to aim, Sunset tossed her sword up, watching it spin like a buzzsaw until it was high above her, close to the hollow archer. It raised its head to look at the passing weapon, which Sunset materialized to in an instant.

Before it could even raise its bow, Sunset did a spinning slash and landed behind it in a crouch. The archer’s head rolled off its shoulders and fell off the side of the hill, landing below in a low thud.

“Finally took care of that one.” Sunset wasted no time in getting a read on her surroundings, just in case there were more enemies up here.

Jagged rocks lined the sides of the area, and there were more buildings up here, rotted and worn with age and likely abandoned, save for these few crazy hollows. There was a stage of sorts near the center of the settlement, with poles stretching up into the air from either side, meeting in the middle of the stage, where a trio of old rope dangled, forming a teardrop shape at the end.

“I suppose that’s why this place is called the Forgotten Gallows.” Sunset walked towards the settlement, ready for a fight.

There was likely going to be one, judging from what she knew.

True enough, one of those executioner hollows walked out from behind a building, an axe in its hands.

“Come on, let’s see what you got.” Sunset held her blade out and pointed it at the hollow.

Swinging its axe behind its back, the hollow approached. Sunset ran at it, rolling to the left just as it swung its weapon back in front, lodging the blade into the dirt ground. Sunset drove her sword through its side, but the hollow paid the injury no attention and punched her in the face.

The girl fell back, her eyes starry as the executioner hollow yanked its axe out to finish her.

And then Sunset felt it. Something tingling within her. A familiar feeling. It was the presence of someone being summoned.

Suddenly, a white phantom of a woman jumped down from one of the jagged rocks, thrusting her spear down through the hollow’s hooded head. The speartip went right through and into the ground, keeping the hollow’s body up as the woman hopped off its back, walking towards Sunset.

The woman had on a hood over her face, and a high ponytail stuck out its top, dropping down to her waist. She had on a steel breastplate and greaves, but everything else seemed to be of leather. A small round shield was strapped to her right arm, and with her left, she yanked her long spear out from the hollow’s head, allowing its body to fall to the dirt ground.

She bowed to Sunset, then gave her a wave, saying nothing. She looked familiar, but with her hood up, it was hard to tell.

“Umm… thank you.” Sunset got to her feet. The white phantom still continued to say nothing. “Uh, thank you?”

Then a smile formed across her lips and she bowed again, then turned around and pointed towards the rest of the settlement, where the gallows were.

“You want me to go there?” Sunset asked to be sure.

The phantom nodded and grinned.

Sunset shrugged and decided to do as the phantom said. She did just save her after all. Perhaps she knew the way to the end.

Sunset stopped in her tracks. Something didn’t seem right. She recalled what she knew about white phantoms. She needed to summon them with their soapstone signs if she saw them on the floor. How did this phantom get here without being summoned?

Suddenly a sharp pain flared out across her body, her limbs instantly going numb as she fell to the dirt floor, a spear right through her chest. Sunset could only lie there as the phantom pulled her hood back, her grin never leaving her face as she waved goodbye to her.

As Sunset’s vision began to fade, she finally recognized who the phantom was. It was Psithyra, the same Psithyra whom she had encountered on many an occasion in the real world and the same one who had tried to kill her in the Unlit Abbey, only to disappear.

Sunset tried to lift an arm up, but by then, it was already too late.



Sunset jolted up with a sharp gasp as  she ran a hand along her body, looking for the point where she had been pierced. To her relief, there was none. Her armor was still in one piece, unscathed and undamaged as though nothing had happened.

“What that all a dream?” Sunset pushed tendrils of damp hair from her forehead. “A dream in a dream. Right.”

Then she remembered the flame that she had and its ability to continue to give her life. This was actually the first time since waking up here that she had actually died. Hay, this was the first time she’d died anywhere.

“Oh, Sunset, you’re back!” A bouncing Pinkie Pie came over, a wide smile plastered on her big face. “How was it over there?”

“Huh?” Sunset looked past her and around her surroundings. She was back in Fyrlon, the central bonfire burning bright beside her.

“Oh, how unfortunate, Young Flame.” Twilight was by the bonfire, warming her hands. “You had perished in battle? Yes, when you die, your flame returns you to the last bonfire you had touched.”

“A white phantom!” Sunset exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. “That white phantom betrayed me!”

“That can’t be,” Pinkie protested. “White phantoms can’t hurt you. It’s physically impossible!”

“But it did!” Sunset remembered the spear through her gut. Painfully. “That’s the last time I’m letting my guard down near a phantom. The thing is, she just appeared from nowhere! I didn’t summon her.”

“Not summoning a white phantom and it shows up on its own? This sounds like the work of an enemy’s magical enchantment. Possibly a ring...” Pinkie rubbed her chin in thought. “Nope! No clue. You’ll just have to be more careful ahead.”

Sunset nodded grimly. She had only just gotten used to the bizarre set of rules that this world had, and now she was faced seemingly with an exception. This was not going to be easy. Hay, it never was.

“Off I go again, I guess.” Sunset patted down her attire and got up. “I suppose I’m thankful for second tries.”

“Nah, you’re better than that.” Pinkie slapped her on the back a little too hard. “You can die more than twice. That’s slightly better than a shadow!”

“Umm… Right. Well… I’ll see you two later. Hopefully after I come back with the last Flame of Death.”

Leaving Fyrlon once more, Sunset found herself back in the little settlement she had been in before dying. Strangely enough, all the enemies were in their same spots, with Sunset having to kill them all over again. Even the annoying archer hollow was back on its hill, firing arrows at her, but already going through this once, Sunset knew exactly what to do, repeating her earlier steps and teleporting up the hill to kill the archer.

Soon, she was staring at the gallows again, but this time, she kept her eyes peeled for any kind of phantom that might show up. Psithyra was, for some reason, trying to have her killed. Sunset thought that with everything they’d gone through in the real world, she’d at least be on her side, but she guessed this world had its own rules, and Sunset would have to play along with them.

Sunset carefully crept along, turning around every few minutes to make sure she wasn’t being followed. The same hollow came from around the building, just like before, but this time, Sunset knew exactly what to do.

Readying a fireball, she threw it at it and then teleported high. As the flaming ball burst across the executioner hollow’s front, Sunset was already above it, dropping right on top of it with her blade facing down, spearing her star sword right through the back of its neck. With a twist, the hollow stopped moving, its arms still raised as though it was trying to attack.

The girl hopped off its back as it dissolved into dust, smiling at how she had done it much better this round.

“Perfect.”

And then there it was again. That familiar feeling of someone being summoned as a phantom.

Here she comes…

Looking up the hill, Sunset spotted a familiar white figure with her hood over her head. With her spear in hand, she leapt off and dropped beside Sunset, performing a polite bow before waving her greetings.

“I’m not falling for this trick again.” Sunset clenched the grip of her sword tighter.

As the phantom waved, Sunset stomped over to her, sword in hand. Without waiting, the girl sliced across the air with her star sword, slashing the phantom halfway across the midsection before Psithyra was able to flip back and away from the attack, the smile on her face gone.

Sunset readied her stance for the fight, but instead, Psithyra turned and ran, heading towards the gallows, not even looking back once.

“Hey, what…?”

Sunset knew she couldn’t let her hide. That would just create another chance for a sneak attack, which was something she knew the woman was good at.

Breaking into a run, Sunset pursued the phantom up the steps to the gallows, jumping down on the other side as she ran on, turning left around a building. Sunset threw her sword, appearing in a flash against the wall, spotting Psithyra running along a row of little huts. Three hollows with axes emerged from them, disturbed from the commotion, but Sunset couldn’t stop to deal with them, not while that phantom was still around.

With a leap, she kicked off the first one, throwing her sword into the third one’s chest, teleporting to it before yanking her weapon off and slicing at its legs. Now past them, she sprinted off, leaving them to shamble after her as she continued her pursuit of Psithyra. 

She had never really gotten a good reading of Psithyra in the real world, but she figured she was past using violence. Perhaps this world’s Psithyra was still the crude and double crossing Assassin she had once disguised herself as. Sunset couldn’t know for sure, but she knew this world’s Psithyra had to go, or she was going to be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her journey.

Deep in thought, Sunset almost missed a giant flaming hammer as it swung down to her left. Stopping in her tracks, Sunset jumped backwards as far as she could as the hammer crashed into the dirt floor below, spraying chunks of soil everywhere. A larger hollow now blocked her path, a tall and wide creature with a hunched back and bandages around its face. Its hammer was made of metal and at the back of its head was some kind of clicking mechanism, like that of a revolver, where the fire seemed to come from.

Sunset thought she was going to lose Psithyra, but the white phantom was now returning, her spear back in both hands.

Uh oh.

Now she had to deal with her and this giant hammer hollow, plus if she took too long, the three executioner hollows up the path were going to catch up.

As the giant lifted its hammer, Sunset threw a fireball at it, lighting its right side on fire. With a roar of rage, it clicked the mechanism at its hammer’s head, and the entire thing lit up as well.

Her eyes wide, Sunset leapt back just in time as it swung the hammer sideways, taking out a chunk of a wooden building in a fiery explosion. Whatever that hammer was, Sunset didn’t want to be near it when it was lit.

Psithyra was closer now as well, her spear already pointed forward as she sprinted back, a smile on her face.

“Ah, crap…” 

This did not look good at all.

And then Sunset remembered something Fluttershy had passed to her before she left the safety of Fyrlon. That weird seed object from the tree. Her friend had said it would keep her safe from invaders. She didn’t know exactly what it did and she had yet to try it out.

“Better now than never…” she said as she dug around her pack for it.

Finding the wooden seed, Sunset pulled it out and held it high just as the giant hollow clicked its hammer again.

At first, nothing happened, but then the object glowed a light blue and the air around it seemed to shimmer. As Psithyra got close enough to ready her spear, the giant hollow suddenly swung the hammer at her instead.

Sunset could almost see her smile waver as she parried the blow with her weapon. A small explosion happened across her side, her cloak catching on fire as the giant advanced on her, clicking its hammer back again.

Using this distraction, Sunset teleported herself past her foes, coming to a stop against a well in a small clearing. Psithyra turned to look at her, but before she could even raise her spear, the giant’s hammer connected with her and launched her into the air in a fiery explosion.

Sunset didn’t waste time to see if she was dead or not, and sprinted down the dirt path, leading to another part of the town. She ran by a second set of gallows, where one of the ropes actually held a dead body, which looked burnt to a crisp.

Two more hollows emerged from the buildings there, hoods over their heads and axes in their hands. With a combination of her star sword and a couple of casts of her combustion spell, Sunset dealt with them easily enough and moved on.

And then there it was. Just past the next building, the entire area fell away into pitch blackness, a black so dark that light didn’t even seem to pierce it. Beyond the beginning of the darkness, there were more buildings, but each of them had been shattered and wrecked, like a typhoon had gone through it. Sharp rock-like shapes protruded from the ground, rising up like giant stakes to pierce even the strongest of monsters.

This was it, this was the beginning of the Abyss.

The dark seemed to writhe and throb before Sunset’s feet like it was alive, waiting for her to enter, challenging her to enter.

Looking back through the thin fog to the rest of the town, Sunset could still hear the hammer of the giant hollow smashing into structures. It wouldn’t take long if it decided to come over this way.

Sunset still didn’t know if she could set foot into the Abyss without dying, but she had to give it a shot.

She breathed in and gazed into the Abyss, which almost seemed to gaze back. “Here goes nothing…”

With all of her strength, Sunset moved her first foot over the dark line and held her breath and shut her eyes.
> Chapter 25: Forgotten Gallows - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

Cracking open one eye, Sunset was relieved to see she was still alive.

“I can traverse the Abyss!” she exclaimed, more to let herself know that she could do this.

An explosion behind reminded her she needed to move, so stepping all the way in, Sunset first noticed an empty feeling, as though she was standing in a large empty room, but that wasn’t the case. There were buildings, rocks, and everything seemed to be alive.

Next was the sound. Looking back out of the Abyss, Sunset could see flares of fire coming from around a few buildings, but she could no longer hear them.

“How odd…” Sunset breathed. Her voice itself sounded echoey in this dark expanse.

With only the light of her flame to guide her, Sunset ventured on, knowing she needed to find her way out and to the Primordial Grotto where Gravewing resided. He had the last Flame of Death she needed to get back.

With only one way forward, Sunset stepped deeper into the Abyss, keeping her sword out in front of her, ready for anything.

Unfortunately, that alone wasn’t enough.

From the depths of the darkness itself, an arm with long and damp hair clamped around her waist and somehow pulled her down from where she had been standing, going deeper and deeper until she was suddenly face to face with a grotesque beast. The skin on its face was gone, leaving only a snarling skull staring back at her, its empty sockets almost boring holes through her soul.

A surge of electricity traveled across its hair-covered neck and it tightened its grip around her.

“Aah!”

Dropping her sword, Sunset teleported herself to it, escaping the beast’s grasp, rolling away just in time as it smashed its other fist down on the spot she had been standing on.

With a mighty roar, the beast charged her, running to her like an overgrown ape, swinging a fist along the ground and towards her.

Rolling again, Sunset dodged the blow, along with a fistful of dirt that splashed out from its swing.

Running to its legs, Sunset cut twice at them, then slid under it and lobbing a fireball on its back, lighting its hair on fire.

Bending its neck back at such an impossible angle, the beast gazed at her while its body still faced forward. Suddenly, a beam of lightning emerged from its mouth, catching Sunset by surprise and hitting her straight in the chest.

Lightning coursed through her entire body, making all her muscles clench up as hot pain flashed all across her body, burning her skin and lighting her organs aflame. When it was over, Sunset fell to her back, unable to stand, but she managed to grab an estus flask and down it shakily. Thankfully, even the gravest of injuries could be cured by these and she was soon up again, ready to fight.

Another beam emerged from the creature, but Sunset rolled three times to her right, avoiding all of it, before leaping into the air and throwing her sword above the beast.

Throwing another fireball at it, Sunset also threw her sword down, teleporting to it right before it stuck into the creature’s neck. Twisting her blade and yelling, Sunset dug through its flesh and pulled as hard as she could, tearing her sword out the side of its long neck.

The beast screeched an unholy scream, but then stopped as its neck lolled to the side, hanging on by the other end of its neck. Sunset finished it by cutting off the other side of its neck with one quick slice, leaping off the beast’s back as it fell on its side, its skeletal face still grinning at her.

“Oh man…” She took some time to catch her breath. This beast had really come out of nowhere and caught her by surprise, literally, but at least that was over.

Or so she thought.

Sunset was suddenly yanked into the air by her feet, staring back into the same hollow eyes from earlier, only this time, the beast was holding its head in its left hand, while the right held her up. Where the neck had once been was now a stump of red flesh, which seemed to writhe like the darkness itself.

“Gross. Let go!” Sunset cut its fingers, severing three of them, letting her fall back to the ground.

What happened next was even worse than the beast holding its head in its hand. Digging deep into its severed neck, the beast yanked out its neck bone, which was serrated at the edge.

“Of course it was…”

Sunset almost threw up at the sight, but she teleported away as it swung its new weapon at her.

The beast quickly covered the distance, leaping overhead and slamming its neck spine down where she stood. Sunset had rolled away and slashed at its body, then climbing its back, she jammed her sword deep into its neck wound, pulling it out to parry its sword, then jamming it back in twice more, each time splattering more blood across her armor.

With one final stab, the beast stopped moving, flaking away into nothing as Sunset dropped back to the floor, wiping sweat from her brow.

“I hate this place.”

There was a rocky slope leading further down ahead, with more abandoned buildings occupying her left and right. And then, finally, after walking along aimlessly, Sunset spotted an unlit bonfire in the middle, just seemingly hovering over the darkness.

“Yes, yes!” She ran to it as quickly as she could and lit it.

Immediately, all her aches and pains dissipated and she was safe once again. It felt almost like weeks since she had last sat at a bonfire.

“Even though it was only probably about an hour ago…” Sunset said to herself, if only to make a little sound in this silent hellscape.

The fire lit a small ring around the area, while the rest faded away into the void. She could just barely make out what was solid and what was darkness, but it was still hard to tell where the floor ended, though the Abyss seemed to bend even logic, with her walking on invisible darkness before she had been pulled down here by that dark beast.

When she felt ready to press on again, Sunset got up and reluctantly left the bonfire, venturing deeper into the Abyss.

There was another set of gallows further down, but this one had been smashed in half, with a giant sword sticking out of its middle.

Sunset was about to say she recognized the sword when two more of those dark beasts dropped down in front of her from above.

She almost screamed from the sudden surprise, but dodged to the right as the first one swung a fist at her, its teeth chattering as its jaw rocked up and down when it moved.

Sunset fired off a combustion right in its face, but the fire did not catch. Instead, she had to curve around a beam of lightning, more of her hair getting scorched in the process, but at least she didn’t get blasted head on this time.

Swinging wildly, she cut it many times across the skull, with the last one dislodging its jaw and sending it sailing away into the darkness. The beast growled and smashed its fists into the ground, which Sunset rolled to avoid.

Teleporting up, Sunset aimed for the chest of the first one, thrusting her sword deep through its flesh until she felt something burst within.

The beast roared and swung its arms around, one cutting through Sunset’s back, but not fatal enough for her to need an estus. In no time, the first dark beast was down and Sunset had already thrown two fireballs at the second one.

Planting both hands on the ground, it fired a beam of lightning at her, which Sunset dodged by throwing her star sword high and teleporting to it.

Using the gravity to her advantage, she dug the swordtip right through the creature’s neck, then like the first beast she encountered, she cut clean through its neck, sending the long appendage and its head to the ground. And knowing better this time, Sunset attacked the flesh under the stump of its missing neck, cutting deep to avoid the beast from rising again.

This time, both beasts didn’t get back up, much to Sunset’s relief, which allowed her to press on through the dark.

Along the way, there were more derelict buildings, most of them missing their roofs, and there was another broken platform where gallows used to be. Whatever the Abyss has done here, the inhabitants had either all fled long ago, or perhaps they had been turned into one of those dark beasts she had fought on the way.

The floor ahead suddenly dropped off to nothing, making the girl stop, one foot hovering over thin air. Sunset pulled it back and looking over the dark expanse, trying to see what was ahead. Of course, being the darkness that it was, she couldn’t even see five meters ahead.

Earlier, she had been walking on nothing before the creature pulled her lower down. Perhaps this floor would be the same. Sunset didn’t know, but there was only one way to find out. Reaching a foot back out over the dark expanse, Sunset tipped herself forward, screwing her eyes shut and waiting for her foot to hit solid ground.

Unfortunately, it never came and Sunset found herself falling through the dark, her screams echoing across the Abyss as she searched for something, anything to grab on to.

It turned out to be the other way around as a long and dark hand snaked up and wrapped its long and skinny fingers around her, before pulling her deeper. This hand was different. Instead of the large and hairy arms of the beasts earlier, this one was hairless and slim, with fingernails protruding way past the fingertips, sharpened into dark and chipped claws.

“Welcome, Bearer of the Flame of Life…” a voice boomed in the empty darkness. It was a woman’s voice, but low and wispy, like that of a ghost, or at least what Sunset thought a ghost would sound like. “We have been waiting for you…”

“Who are you? What do you want?” Sunset managed to stick one arm out, throwing her sword down and teleporting to it, escaping the hand’s grip.

She landed on a rocky ground, surrounded by broken buildings and gallows. Before her, the hand returned to a figure shrouded in a black cloak, where a mask with a smile too wide for any face could be seen under a turban of sorts with spikes coming out of it. Behind her, Sunset could see a fog door through the dark, somehow not affected by the darkness itself. It wasn’t much, but at least it told her where to go when she was done here.

“Your Flame…” The figure pointed at her. “We all do… But there is a more pressing matter. My master wants you dead. And so it shall be that I shall carry out his will.”

“Your master?” Sunset readied her weapon. “Is it the Lord of the Waking Nightmare?”

“You know of him? Good.” The wispy woman glided around her, the constant smile on her mask an eerie glow in the darkness of the Abyss. “I am Higrun, Abyssal Nightmare. And today, I have but one task. To put out the Flame of Life.”

By now, threats like this were starting to lose their edge on Sunset Shimmer. Just about everyone here wanted something to do with the Flame of Life she held, and she wasn’t going to give it up to any of them. She wasn’t sure she even could. 

“Look, I don’t want any trouble, uh, Higrun,” Sunset said, waving her blade in front of her face. “I just need to get to the Primordial Grotto and claim the last Flame of Death there.”

“We know…” The woman was suddenly beside her ear, whispering into it. As Sunset turned, she had moved again, now across from her. “And you shall not make it. I, Higrun, the Great Sorceress of Marestoria, the Abyssal Nightmare, the Woman of Shadows, the Witch of the Old Lands, the Eye of-”

“I get it, I get it.” Sunset spun her sword. She didn’t know why some of these people had so many titles. “I’m ready for the fight.”

“Oh, are you now?” Higrun’s voice echoed around in the darkness. Then a bolt of dark purple magic shot from above, smashing into the ground and making a shockwave that threw Sunset off her feet. “Then meet your fate!”

Sunset staggered upright, but something was wrong. She tried running, but it felt as though she were being weighed down by huge boulders on her shoulders. She could not manage more than a slow walk. 

Higrun laughed maniacally and swiveled her upper body around like a bobblehead, all the while projecting up small purple orbs into the air, which began to slowly descend towards Sunset one at a time.

“Ah, crap,” Sunset said, mopving as fast as she could away from the falling orbs, which was not very fast at all. With nothing else left to do, she tossed her sword away, then warped to it just as the orbs fell where she had been standing.

And then Higrun was in front of her, swiping her up in her long claws. Pulling back, she threw Sunset down on the ground, knocking the wind from her lungs; Sunset felt her left shoulder pop.

“What can you do against a master of the Abyss?” The sorcerer laughed. “The Abyss is more powerful than you could ever know. I once sought to end its spread, but now I see, the Age of Dark means us no harm. No. It means to evolve us.”

Sunset dug around her pack for an estus flask, but then she remembered something else. Instead of retrieving an orange flask from her pack, her hand emerged with a white flask instead. It wouldn’t last forever, but she would definitely make sure it counted.

Sunset got up shakily, ready to drink from the flask, but out of nowhere, a purple flaming chain whipped out and wrapped around one of her legs. Sunset fell onto her face, the white estus flask bouncing away.

“No!” Sunset shouted. She hacked at the chain using her sword. The chain was pulled and Sunset was dragged backward, struggling to break free. 

A purple flaming skull leered out of the darkness, a face that Sunset thought she had vanquished.

“The Head of the Charge has returned!” he announced, stretching his arms wide.

“I see you have defeated my apprentice, Nicolash.” Higrun rubbed at her chin. “He was the most foolish of my apprentices, but he serves his purpose as he does once again. Yes, Bearer of the Flame of Life, I can bring back those you have defeated, so prepare to die.”

Dodging another whip attack from the Nicolash spectre, Sunset removed an estus flask and drank it to heal herself before trying to grab for her white estus flask.

And then a trio of ghostly tentacles shot out from the darkness, grabbing her around her legs and right arm, pulling her away from her glowing flask.

The giant beak of the galleon kraken rose up before her, opening wide to crush her. Sunset threw her sword at its exposed eye, teleporting to it and thrusting it deeper in. Even though it was just a spectral form of the monster, ghostly purple fluid burst from its eye as Sunset pushed her sword all the way to the hilt.

It stopped moving and dropped her, just in time for Nicolash to smash her over the head with his burning chain. As she lay there dazed, she felt Nicolash’s chains wrapping around her legs.

Higrun laughed as she danced around them, creating more of her tiny orbs and radiating her gravitational aura. “Surrender. You cannot win.”

“I’m a vampire!” Nicolash declared. 

“No… you’re… not!” Sunset groaned with anger. She reached into her pack and took out one of the three remaining jars of blue elixir and threw it at her legs. The elixir splashed all over the chain, making her legs slippery and invisible. Sunset wriggled free like a fish, sprinting for the white estus flask. 

And then a giant sword speared down in front of her, blocking her path as it floated on its own, ready for battle.

“Ah, I have failed to mention…” Higrun cackled. “These swordbeasts are mine. I have plenty all across the world, ready to fight the able adventurer. I am sure you must’ve encountered them in your travels.”

She talks too much.

Throwing her sword in a curve, Sunset teleported behind it, grabbing her white estus flask and teleporting away as the sword did a horizontal slash.

Seeing her chance, Sunset downed the drink and waited. The floating sword raised itself up for a mighty downwards chop. Suddenly there was a blaze of light around Sunset, orange and white flames licking all around the girl, but not harming her. The floating sword came crashing down, but unbelievably, Sunset raised her own sword and blocked it almost effortlessly.

“Now we’re talking.” She smiled as her eyes flashed white and her hair grew out into a ponytail. Then she parried the giant sword aside and followed up with a jumping upwards slash. Her blade met resistance and the unseen monster wielding the sword bellowed as it was cut down.

Higrun pointed at Sunset and Nicolash charged at her with his chain outstretched, intending to clothesline her with it. Sunset caught the chain in her hand and pulled, yanking Nicolash right off his feet. He flew towards her with a gasp and as he got close enough, Sunset released his weapon and dashed through him with her sword cutting upward. His body never touched the ground, disappearing into the air as it fell in two.

“What is this power?” Higrun mused as Sunset turned to face her. “I must have it for myself.”

Sunset’s feet hammered on the blackened ground as she closed in on Higrun, leaping up into the air and casting a combustion under her boots to propel herself further.

“Hyaargghh!” Sunset roared as she rocketed toward Higrun, who raised her hand in an attempt to catch the blade of Sunset’s sword.

It worked- partially.

Higrun’s hand closed around the blade of Sunset’s star sword, stopping it for an instant, but there was too much momentum behind Sunset’s strike that the blade sliced through Higrun’s hand all the way up to her elbow, bifurcating the sorceress’s arm in a spray of black blood. 

“Hhrrraaaah!” she hissed at Sunset, then faded away to the left to reappear on Sunset’s right, a ball of purple magic growing between them.

But Sunset had been expecting it. Holding out her left hand, a mighty, orange-red fireball grew in her palm and smashed into Higrun’s own spell. A blast of force emitted from where both spells clashed, lighting up the Abyss for a moment.

Leaping through it, Sunset swiped at Higrun, but the sorceress moved fast, disappearing into the shadows only to grab her from behind.

“You will die!” Higrun formed a tendril of darkness over her mutilated arm and wrapped it around Sunset’s neck.

Spinning around, Sunset cast a combustion between them, rocking the area in a ball of brilliant orange, sending Higrun wisping away into the darkness and Sunset to the opposite end. She didn’t know how long she could keep this form up, but she knew she was doing considerable damage to the sorceress. She could do this.

“That flame will be mine!” She swooped back out of the dark, both arms outstretched. “My master will be proud!”

“No he won’t!”

Sunset placed her sword behind herself and waited. As Higrun got closer, she blasted a combustion behind herself and jumped, using the explosion of flame to propel herself forward, at the same time, throwing her sword at Higrun as hard as she could.

The star sword lodged deep into Higrun’s chest, hitting her so hard that her advance stopped and she floated backwards. Reappearing at her blade in a flash, Sunset grabbed hold of it and yanked it up and out, then slashing in a clean arc, freeing the sorceress’ head from her body.

For added measure, Sunset conjured a fireball and threw it at the head, watching it vanish in an explosion of fire. The rest of the body thrashed for a few seconds, then began to dissolve into the ground, the shadowy cloak of the sorceress dissipating away into the darkness of the Abyss, returning the world to its deathly silence of the void.

“Phew…” Sunset pushed sweaty locks of her hair from her face as she began to return back to normal, the light in her eyes fading and her hair returning to its normal length. She had made it in time and she was now one step closer to the end.

The fog gate ahead had vanished, making it harder for Sunset to find her way to the exit, but she did find it eventually. Beyond it was a bonfire, just sitting there in the middle of a circular room, where most of its walls had been broken down, revealing more darkness beyond them.

Using this time to recover and rest, Sunset looked out into the cold gaze of the Abyss. In her short time here, she could feel it. This place was unlike anywhere else in the world. This was the source of corruption, the source of all the madness she’d faces up until now, and at the center of all this was the one responsible for putting her here.

She didn’t know just how long she’d already been asleep, but if she could get to him, she could finish it. She could wake up.

Gripping her sword tighter in her hand, Sunset resolved to see this to the end. She wasn’t going to give up, no matter how many times she were to perish. She had this Flame of Life for a reason and she was going to make sure to fulfill her purpose here, one way or another.
> Chapter 26: Darklight Woods - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bonfire room Sunset Shimmer had been in led further underground.

“Of course it does…” Sunset said to herself as she begrudgingly made her way down an ancient flight of steps.

The stairway was long and narrow and it turned at several points as it continued to bring the girl deeper into the depths. With the darkness all around her, Sunset couldn’t tell how deep she was going, but she figured it couldn’t be deeper than the Cataclysm Hollows.

There came a door in Sunset’s path, made of wood and barred with iron. She gave the handle a turn, but it would not open.

Sunset heaved at the door, thinking that maybe it was stuck from old age. She pushed and pulled with all her might, but the door stayed shut.

Not giving up, Sunset took a few steps back and kicked the door. This did nothing but make a bang on the wood and give her a sore toe.

As Sunset hopped back, massaging her foot, a muffled voice came from behind the door.

“Password,” it said.

“Oh! Hello,” Sunset said, surprised to hear another person all the way down here. The Abyss was supposed to kill all who dwelt within. “Could you open the door?”

There was no reply. 

Then, “Password.”

“Password?” Sunset repeated. Nobody had told her about this obstacle. “I don’t know… Swordfish?”

The door did not open.

“Uh…” Sunset racked her brains for anything that might work as a password. “Flame?”

No answer.

“Abyss?”

Nothing.

“Phantom!” Sunset shouted, frustrated. “Death! Gravewing! Higrun! Nicolash! Twilight Sparkle!”

Still nothing.

Sunset stood back, breathing heavily. Clearly trying to guess her way through this door would not work. Perhaps there was a clue around here somewhere?

The girl looked around the space for anything like a scrap of paper or a stone tablet or anything that might help her discover the password. What she did find was an old toolbox, a torn linen strip, some pebbles, a couple of metal scraps, and a lot of dust.

Looking into the toolbox, Sunset rummaged around. A plan began to put itself together in her head. She examined the door, noting how it opened outwards, towards her. She smiled. Perhaps she did have what it took to get past this door.



Almost an hour later, Sunset stood back with a satisfied smirk on her face. Various screws and metal bolts lay on the ground before her. She looked at the door; she had spent the past hour or so ‘fixing’ it, and was just about ready to see if her work paid off. 

She had used her pyromancy flame to weld the metal scraps together into a knocker, which she had then nailed to the door. After a few trips back to the bonfire to refill her spell slots, Sunset had then tied the linen scrap to the knocker, then she had proceeded to unscrew all the hinges on the door. It had not been easy, as the door’s hinges were rusty from disuse, but she had managed it in the end.

Sunset dusted off her hands, then took hold of the knocker, keeping her hands on the parts covered with cloth to prevent cutting herself. Then she pulled with all her might.

At first, nothing happened. But Sunset Shimmer would not be denied, and heaved, her knuckles turning white with the strain.

Then she went flying back and the door was torn right out of its frame, slamming into the ground with a deafening bang. 

Sunset jumped to her feet, grinning. It had been a stroke of luck that this door opened toward her, because it was so, the hinges were facing her too. It had been a simple matter to unscrew them and pull the door out, with only the lock as resistance. 

As she climbed over the fallen door, Sunset decided that she wanted to see the look on the doorkeeper’s face. However, she was to be disappointed. 

There was nobody on the other side of the door. There was a chair that was so old that it looked like it might fall apart if she so much as touched it, and a lamp that had long since gone out. There was a small podium that was caked in dust, and on it was a key.

“Huh.” She looked around. There were no signs that anyone had been here recently. “Just who was I talking to?”

Deciding to forget about it and pocketing the key, Sunset followed a tunnel down, bringing her through another flight of curving steps. Halfway down, something weird happened. After one more step down, ambient sound suddenly returned to Sunset’s ears, almost like she could hear the air around her.

Looking out through the broken walls, it was all still rather dark, but Sunset could just barely make out a couple of red birds sitting in a tree just past the wall.

“I’m out?”

If there was other life here, it could mean she was out of the Abyss, at least for now. She didn’t know how far it had already spread.

Ecstatic, Sunset skipped down the remaining flight of steps, listening as her greaves echoed down the tunnel. The end of it opened out into a massive cavern, somehow filled with trees of many different kinds, some even stretching up at least twenty meters above her head. The cavernous walls curved up near the ceiling, where they disappeared into darkness and fog. Whatever was above this underground forest, Sunset had no idea. She didn’t even know how a forest could exist down here.

She eventually stopped thinking about it as she made her way down a small slope where a bonfire stood. Sunset lit it and sat down, feeling the aches from her work on the door fade away.

When she was ready, she set off into the forest, slipping between the trees as she strained her eyes to find a path through it. It was quite dark, seeing as it was underground, but there was some sort of unnatural lighting to the place, seemingly wafting up from the ground beneath her feet, slightly illuminating the area.

Other than the constant rustling of leaves and bushes, Sunset heard nothing else. There were no bird calls, no insects, no other animals. In a short while, the sound of her footsteps scraping against the dirt floor was beginning to drive her nuts.

Sunset kept expecting something would jump out at her any second, but still nothing came; there wasn’t even the sound of the slightest twig cracking. It was too quiet. 

Sunset was so caught up in her ruminations that she almost tripped over something. She looked down. There was a faint shine on the ground, like a fishing line. 

Then, out of nowhere, a huge log covered in thorny brambles came whooshing out of the trees and swung toward her face.

“Aaah!” Sunset shrieked and threw herself flat, the log barely missing the top of her head. It swung high, as if on a thread, then came swinging back, with noticeably less momentum than before. Sunset stayed prone on the ground until the deadly pendulum had ceased all movement.

“Whew,” Sunset said, getting back on her feet. “That was close.”

Someone had set up a trap to try and kill her. Well, kill whoever might come along, but by the looks of it, nobody but her had been along this path in a very long time.

If there was one, there might be more. Sunset resolved to keep an eye on the floor in case there were any more tripwires or pressure plates that she might accidentally step on.

Sunset continued, slower now, and kept her eyes on the ground. It was hard to see in this unnatural dark, and she almost missed two yellow eyes looking back at her from a hollow tree.

“Who’s there?” Sunset said, jumping back and pointing her sword at the hollow.

There was no reply but a cackle of laughter and a small puff of feathers.

“Okay…” Sunset said, creeping closer. After deciding to light her lantern, Sunset could see that inside the hollow tree was a large owl, and its nest. The bird tapped a foot on the nest.

“You. You,” the owl said, making Sunset jump in surprise. It spoke! “Give me. Warm. Give me. Soft.”

“It can speak! You can speak?”

The owl hooted. It sounded like laughter. “Give me. Warm. Give me. Soft.”

“What? You want something?”

The owl somehow squawked out like a parrot and nodded.

“Huh. Okay. We’ll… umm, let’s see…” Sunset dug around in her pack. She didn’t have much besides her potions. She removed her crossbow from her pack and held it out. She didn’t have anymore bolts anyway, so she couldn’t currently use it. Maybe the owl would make better use of it. “Here you go. Do you want this?”

She placed the crossbow in the hollow tree and waited. The owl scrutinized the weapon, then nodded its feathery head and covered it with its wings. When it pulled away, the crossbow was gone, and in its place was a chunk of metallic rock, about the size of an orange.

“What?” Sunset said, reaching out and taking the chunk. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

The owl shrugged and laughed some more before reaching into its feathers and taking out a scrap of parchment that it spat at Sunset. Then it tapped the nest again with a talon. 

Sunset peeled the parchment off the floor. There was a drawing on it. It showed a crudely drawn sword and an equally sketchy illustration of the chunk of ore. There was a plus sign between them. 

“So sword plus chunk of rock equals…” Sunset said as she took out her star sword. Sunset tapped the rock and her sword together. Nothing happened. “What do I do with this?”

The owl hooted. It sounded like laughter more than ever. “Give me. Warm. Give me. Soft.” Then it squawked like a parrot again.

“You want more stuff? Uh…” Sunset looked around her backpack, but she didn’t have anything else worth giving up.

As she was removing her hand from her pack, she spotted a glint of metal on one of her fingers. She grabbed at the evil eye ring and took it off, bringing it up to one of her eyes. This ring was supposed to get her life back as she killed monsters, but its effect was so minor, she had actually forgotten she had such a ring.

“Here,” Sunset said, taking the ring and putting it in the nest. The owl laughed and hopped down, taking the ring in its beak and tucking it away. Then the owl reached down into the hollow tree and took out something that definitely should not have fit in there. The object was round, about a meter across, and shone like polished azure glass. The owl dropped the shield, for shield it was, onto the ground. 

Sunset picked up the shield. It was surprisingly light, with a grip in the center of the back, and a shimmery blue face. It looked fragile, like it should have been on display in a glassware store.

“Uh, thanks?” Sunset said to the owl. 

The owl blinked at Sunset, then reached up with its beak and pulled down a shutter over the mouth of the hollow. There was a tiny scrap of parchment pinned to the shutter. It said ‘closed’.

“Well…” Sunset stared dumbfoundedly at the tree for a while. “What just happened?”

But she wasn’t complaining. She had gotten what looked like a useful piece of equipment. Looking at the shield in her hands, she waved it around, noticing just how light it was. She couldn’t tell how well it could withstand a blow from her enemies, but the shield was a shield at least; it would certainly be better than getting her arm sliced off by a sword. Of course, this meant she could not use her pyromancy flame with the shield equipped, but that seemed a fair trade for some extra protection.

“Right. Where to?”

The dark but lit forest ahead didn’t have any specific path, so Sunset wandered in, weaving around trees as she tried to find any form of direction she could follow to get to the end. It wasn’t long before Sunset found another living thing here besides the trees.

After rounding the next tree, Sunset came face to face with a skinny creature, its skin white as snow and its ears pointed back and up towards the top of its head. It didn’t have a nose, but two slits sprouted up next to its eyes, which were red in the dim light. It didn’t have any weapons, but its claws were long and sharp, likely able to deal damage even through her armor.

With a screech, the pale creature lunged at her, clawing at her almost immediately. Sunset ducked back behind the tree and spun around to the opposite side, jabbing her sword at the creature.

Sunset’s blade sank deep into the creature’s chest and it screamed and thrashed, slicing up the tree between them. With its midsection loosened, the tree fell with a heave, landing atop the creature, stifling its cries. Whatever these creatures were, they were fast, but they weren’t very sturdy.

“But not fast enough.” Sunset smiled to herself.

Once again, she was thankful to have received such combat skills. Without Emerald’s help, she didn’t know how far she would’ve gotten in this world. Perhaps she’d still be back at Theiros, City of the Lost.

Pressing on, Sunset slowed her approach, using the trees as her cover as she listened out for anymore signs of those pale creatures.

Besides that owl from earlier, the woods seemed devoid of any other form of wildlife. The usual calls of forest animals like birds, cicadas, insects or even bigger animals like bears were absent, with only Sunset’s footsteps being heard, along with the occasional snap of a twig somewhere close by, keeping Sunset’s senses on the edge.

She knew there were more of those creatures out there, but she couldn’t see them, at least not yet. After what felt like hours, Sunset had lost her bearings on where she was. Everything around her looked the same and she suddenly couldn’t tell which way was forward and which way was back.

And then another creature showed up, throwing both arms out and roaring at Sunset, the sudden sound making the girl jump back.

The pale creature swiped a hand at her, slashing across her shield as she raised it to defend herself. She heard a ripping sound and her entire body was jarred as she fell back, her arm hurting.

Sunset rolled away, dodging another slash as she threw her sword up, teleporting to it and falling against the creature, blade first. Her star sword punctured right through its neck and came out the other end, spraying dark blood across the forest floor.

The creature had stopped moving instantly, falling limb below Sunset as she took a pause to catch her breath. Unfortunately for her, another creature darted out from behind two trees and rammed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground, stabbing its claws through her back at the same time.

Sunset winced with pain and dropped her shield. Conjuring a flame in her hand, Sunset faced her palm to the creature’s head and released a combustion spell, blasting it right off her back, also burning her own face in the process.

As the creature flailed its arms about, its entire body on fire, Sunset flipped herself around and downed an estus flask, immediately feeling herself heal. She even ran a hand down her face to see if it was still burnt, which to her relief, had returned back to normal as well.

Getting back to her feet, Sunset warily scanned the rest of the woods, looking out for more of these pale creatures. Before long, there was another sound of a twig snapping close by. Sunset wheeled around, and through the flame of the now dead creature, a familiar figure was illuminated, stopping just across from her.

“A-Applejack?” Sunset couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Sunset!” The cowgirl looked equally as surprised. “You’re here!”

“I should be the one saying that. How?” Sunset skittered up to her and threw her arms around her.

“Rarity and Ah fell here after Big Mac came at us.” Applejack’s outfit was a mess, with both her armored sleeves gone. Blood caked most of her garb and there were a few cuts across her face. “He vanished though, Ah reckon when ya entered the fog gate. He would’a killed us if not for that, so thanks for savin’ our butts, Sunset.”

Sunset chuckled lightly. “Wait, where’s Rarity?”

“I’m here.” The mage hobbled in from behind Applejack, using her staff as a walking stick. She didn’t look any better, sporting cuts all across her bloodstained robes, with even a massive gash across her torso. “It’s been dreadful, Sunset…”

After giving her a hug as well, Sunset removed two estus flasks from her pack and handed it to her friends. They looked like they had just trekked through Tarturus and back. Perhaps they actually did, seeing how deep they were. If they had fallen here from the Hollows…

Sunset looked up. That meant this forest was actually deeper underground than the Cataclysm Hollows.

“Great… Underground spaces…” Sunset sighed as her friends restored their energy through her flasks.

“Ooh, feels good to flex my leg again…” Rarity bent her right knee back and forth.

“Yeah, thanks, Sunset.” Applejack sniffed and removed Dragonslayer from her side. Sunset had actually missed seeing that weapon. “So, which way?”

“I’m… actually not sure.” Sunset scratched her head. “I was just going forward, at least, I think it’s forward. Then I met you two and these skinny ugly monsters.”

“Forward it is.” Applejack attempted to reach for her hat again, but it still wasn’t there. “Dagnabbit… Well, the three of us should be able to get through these ugly sons no problem. Rarity and Ah took some out on the way here.”

“Right. It’s good to have friends again.” Sunset smiled. This was going to be a lot easier with some backup, especially if all this forest had were those pale creatures. “Let’s go.”

Leading the way, Sunset kept her sword pointed ahead, while her other arm kept her shield close to her face. It might not have been good against the creatures’ claws, but it was better than nothing.

Three more of those creatures dropped in from the trees above, one of them carrying a crude dagger in one hand. Reacting quickly, Sunset had jumped out of the way of the first attacker, and while their attention was focused on her, Applejack had gotten behind the first one and her axe was already deep in its back, spraying out dark blood in her face as Rarity blasted the next one with a soul arrow.

With only the dagger one left, Sunset parried its first strike, then spun around with a horizontal slash, bisecting the pale creature in one fatal swipe. With her friends back with her, things were looking much easier indeed.

The three girls continued wandering through the dark forest carefully and vigilantly, neutralizing any of those pale creatures when they appeared. This was, by far, Sunset’s easiest location, but she knew this wasn’t it. This world wasn’t going to just sit back and watch her get to the last Flame of Death. There was likely something ahead that would give her more trouble than any of these creatures.

“So, any treasure you two have found yet?” Sunset asked her friends as they went down a small slope.

“Not even one.” Rarity pulled a twig from her hair and sighed. “Still, we’ve found a worthy cause, haven’t we, Applejack?”

“Ah suppose so.” The cowgirl gave Sunset a slap on the shoulder. “We’re gonna get ya home, Sunset. Even if it kills us.”

“Umm… I’d rather not die.” Rarity raised a hand and smiled meekly.

“Well, neither do Ah, but if it comes down to me or Sunset, Sunset’s the one who deserves to walk away from here.”

“But she has that immortal flame thing. She can’t die. Permanently.”

“Rarity’s right.” Sunset nodded. “I can come back. You girls can’t. If it’s between me or you, I won’t hesitate to sacrifice myself.”

“Well, uh… You know… It’s uh… hmm... ” Applejack scratched her head. “Ya raised a good point, Sunset. Ah can’t refute that even if Ah want to.”

“Good. That settles it then. You girls aren’t going to sacrifice yourself to get me home.”

Just as Sunset turned her head back to the front, something sharp flew by her and if she hadn’t turned her body fast enough, it would’ve gone right through her.

“Woah nelly!” Applejack grabbed her head and ducked down, while Rarity jumped back and squealed. “What was that?”

Sunset turned to see a spear sticking out of a tree behind them. It was a rather familiar looking spear.

“Watch out!” Rarity fired a bolt of magic at an approaching shadow.

The figure dodged it and a dagger appeared in her hands, aimed for Applejack’s chest.

“No you don’t!” Sunset was quickly between them, releasing a combustion in their attacker’s face.

Leaping back, the attacker got to a safe distance as her hood fell from her head, letting her long purple hair flow about. Sunset knew that feature anywhere. She’d already tried to kill her twice now.

“Psithyra…” she hissed and readied her star sword. Though this time, she wasn’t a phantom. She was actually here.

Psithyra smiled and waved, then took one step forward and pointed a finger down to the ground.

“Hey! That’s my hat!” Applejack was beside Sunset, Dragonslayer in her hands and pulsing lightning.

The fiery haired girl followed Applejack’s finger to Psithyra’s belt, where indeed, a hat hung on it. Now it all made sense. Of course Psithyra had it. She must’ve been the one turning Applejack and Rarity against each other, likely putting her disguise skills to good use.

“Ah’m gettin’ it back today!” With a roar, Applejack charged, her axe raised for the kill.

The cowgirl swung her weapon at Psithyra, but the changeling was already on the move, sprinting to cover behind a tree as she threw a trio of throwing knives at her. Applejack parried one away, but the other two lodged into her chest, knocking her back two steps, but at least they didn’t seem to have pierced deep.

Before she could react, another figure had dropped from the trees on top of her, planting his knees into her back.

“What in tarnation?!” Applejack muttered, then tried to get up, but couldn’t.

Sunset recognized the new attacker. He was wearing the same dark armor he had back at the Cataclysm Hollows. It was Big Mac and he seemed ready to kill his sister, holding his sword above her back.

“No!” Sunset teleported in a flash, slashing across Big Mac’s chest as he tried to bring the sword down.

Instead, he diverted his weapon and blocked Sunset’s attack, leaping back to avoid a followup uppercut.

Rarity stood by the side readying her magic, but she only let one bolt loose before she had to move when Psithyra dashed at her, using her little dagger to parry the changeling’s spear.

“There’s two of them now!” Rarity yelled and dodged Psithyra’s next two attacks. “Watch out!”

Psithyra poked at Rarity with her spear, then flung a trio of knives at the spellcaster. Rarity rolled away, keeping at a distance from her foe. She dodged between some trees and shot a blue bolt at Psithyra. But Rarity was to be disappointed if her strategy had been to injure her opponent. Psithyra closed the distance easily and took out her own catalyst. A blast of force sent Rarity tumbling onto the forest floor. 

At the same time, Big Mac roared with rage and slashed at Sunset’s head. She fell backward trying to dodge it, and Big Mac would have impaled her had Applejack not hit him with her axe. It didn’t seem to penetrate his formidable armor, but it certainly got his attention. Big Mac wheeled around with a roundhouse kick that caught Applejack in the gut, winding her and sending the farm girl flying into a tree.

That sword is huge… Sunset thought as she clambered to her feet. And he’s swinging it around like a twig!

Meanwhile, Rarity ducked behind a tree as a trio of crossbow bolts buzzed after her.

“Why meeee!?” Rarity squeaked as a bolt tore through her hair. “Oh, now you’re going to pay-”

Rarity popped out from behind the tree with her staff aglow, but there was nobody there. Just a whole lot of shrubbery.

“Huh?”

The mage poked her staff at the undergrowth, checking that no one was hiding in it.

“Where did she…”

“Rarity! Watch out!” Sunset shouted from where she was dueling Big Mac. Rarity turned around and fell flat, barely missing a dagger aimed at her back. 

“I have got to stop falling over like this,” Rarity said. With Psithyra right on top of her, there was no way she could miss. Rarity held up her staff and blasted Psithyra right in the front with a soul stream. The beam of blue energy launched her off her feet and into the woods.

“And that’s why you don’t mess with Rarity!” The spellcaster got up and spun her staff in her hand. Then she did a double take and gasped.

Psithyra was rising amongst the foggy trees, the clear orange glow of an estus flask in her hands. 

“Oh, now that simply is not fair,” Rarity muttered. She drank down an ashen flask and prepared for battle once again.



Sunset had already downed her third estus flask when something cut her across her back, spraying blood up into the air as she fell to her knees, one hand instinctively reaching behind to grab at her injury. Her fingers came back warm and sticky and red, and she didn’t need to look at it to know it had hit something vital; she couldn’t feel her legs anymore.

“Fl-flask…” her bloodied hand dug around her pack for another estus flask, but Big Mac stepped before her, his skull mask leering down at her as he lifted his big sword to his shoulder.

Seeing no other option, Sunset removed the white flask from her pack and drank it as Big Mac lifted his sword over his head to strike her down. As strength returned to her and then some, Sunset raised her sword and halted Big Mac’s attack, much to his surprise. With light in her eyes, Sunset fired a combustion at him, launching him back into a tree hard enough to topple it. Psithyra witnessed the sudden burst of power and stopped her fight with Rarity, rushing over with her spear in hand. Sunset spun around with unbelievable speed and raised her shield as the enemy shot a bolt of magic at her. Surprisingly, the shield absorbed the blow of magic as though it was nothing.

Huh. So this shield is good for something after all.

Throwing her weapon at Psithyra, Sunset teleported to her and spun around with a followup slash, hitting the woman so hard that it knocked her right off her feet.

“Here we go!” Applejack was beside her, cutting down hard with Dragonslayer.

All the lightning in the weapon had been concentrated on one point: Psithyra’s midsection. With a strike hard enough to crack the dirt beneath Applejack’s feet, even the changeling’s eyes had widened with shock, not expecting such a quick outcome. 

Her body lay in two halves as she began to dissolve, fading away into flakes in the air.

“Oh no ya don’t!” Applejack ran over and ripped her hat from the invader’s belt, dusting it off as Psithyra vanished completely. “Ah gotcha back! At long last!”

When she was satisfied with its cleanliness, Applejack placed it back on top of her head and turned it forward with a smile.

“Good, you got your hat back, but we could use some heeeeeelpppp!” Rarity lunged away as Big Mac chased after her with his greatsword.

“No you don’t!” Sunset blindsided him and knocked him down with her shield.

The invader rolled away and slashed up dirt at her, but Sunset wasn’t to be denied. With a swift dash, she charged right through the dirt and conjured a combustion in his face. Big Mac flailed back, rolling around to put the fire out, but Rarity came out from the side, using a soul spear to launch him into a tree.

Big Mac fell, the tree cracking and falling atop him, trapping him as he tried to reach for his sword.

“Mac, come on, it’s me.” Applejack was beside him, removing his helmet. Underneath it was the snarling face of Big Mac, whom Sunset had never seen so furious in her life. He was generally quite the laid back guy. “Come to your senses, ya hear me? It’s me, your sister.”

He continued to struggle, trying to free his arm to grab his sword. “Flame…! Mine! Must… have it!”

“He’s been here far too long.” Rarity walked over, using her staff to prop herself up. “He’s becoming hollow, just like all the others we’ve met on the way.”

“No, there has to be a way to get back to him!” Applejack placed a hand against his face. “Mac, come on. It’s me. Please, remember. This ain’t you. You’ve been corrupted by this place.”

His eyes swished to Sunset and he growled. “Must have it…!”

Sunset shook her head as her abilities wore off and her form returned to normal. “Big Mac, you know all of us. Back where I’m from, you’re my friend. You don’t have to do this.”

“I don’t know if this is going to work…” Rarity walked on ahead.

“Flame! Flame! Flame! Let me go! Let me go!” Big Mac began to yell as he struggled harder. “I must have it! I must have it! Give it to me!”

And then he suddenly burst up, shattering the tree above him as he dived for his sword. With almost blinding speed, he charged for Sunset, who readied her weapon, but before he could do anything else, a cry of surprise escaped his mouth and he stopped moving.

Electricity arced from his back as all eyes focused on Applejack’s Dragonslayer between his shoulder blades.

“Ah’m sorry, Mac…” Applejack began to sob as she ripped her weapon from his body. “Ah’m so sorry. Ya didn’t… Leave me any choice…”

Big Mac’s snarl never left his face, even as he began to fade away into nothing. Applejack collapsed alongside him, burying her face in her hands.

“AJ, it’s okay. It’s okay…” Sunset was immediate in trying to console her, squatting down beside her and wrapping her arms around her. “He didn’t leave you a choice. You saved me, Applejack.”

“But at what cost…” Applejack put down Dragonslayer beside herself. “Big Mac’s gone.”

“I…” Sunset didn’t know what she could say to do anything helpful. “I’m sorry, Applejack.”

“Just go on, Sunset.” The cowgirl remained unmoving. “You’ve got a job to do. Ya best get to it. Just… let me be here a while. Ah just need some time by myself…”

“What if… What if more of those things show up?” Sunset looked around the woods. Surely more of those pale creatures would’ve heard their battle with the two invaders. They would be coming. “You can’t just stay here alone.”

“She won’t be alone.” From behind her, Rarity returned, a serious look on her face and her brow furrowed in thought. “I went ahead to scout out the place, Sunset, and um… Bad news. We can’t go on with you.”

“Why’s that?”

The mage gulped. “It’s just beyond this tree line. The Abyss…”
> Chapter 27: Darklight Woods - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer gazed into the darkness of the Abyss once more. Even in the dark of these woods, she could see the sharp difference between the actual darkness and that of the Abyss. Everything the Abyss touched looked like it was being swallowed. It was just so unnatural compared to regular darkness.

Rarity stood by her, gripping her staff tightly. “We can’t go any further. I’m sorry, Sunset. We’ll have to go back.”

“But there’s no way back,” Sunset said. “I came from the Abyss. You can’t go back that way.”

“Then the only way out is up…” Rarity looked to the darkness above them leading back to the Cataclysm Hollows. “There’s no way we’re climbing back out. It’s settled, Sunset. Unless you can stop the Abyss, we’ll be trapped here.”

Sunset swallowed hard and looked at the Abyss’ writhing dark. “What if I fail? You two will be stuck here a long time.”

Rarity smiled and placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “We trust you, Sunset. We know you’ll get the job done. Only you can do this. Only you can end this nightmare and rid the Abyss from this world once and for all.”

Sunset looked past her at the grieving Applejack. “What about AJ?”

“I’ll keep an eye on her. I’ll make sure nothing happens to her, you have my word. And hey, she has her hat back. Give her time, she’ll get over it. It’s hard, losing a sibling. I should know. My sister, Sweetie Belle, she had been eaten by hounds. Devastating, yes, but there’s nothing I can do to bring her back. But I’ve done my part in getting you as far as you need to go. Finish this, Sunset. I know you can do it.”

Nodding, Sunset gave Rarity a hug, then faced the darkness before her. With a final wave and a deep breath, Sunset stepped back into the void, all the sound around her instantly being muffled, returning her once again to the deathly silence of the Abyss.

Leaving her friends, Sunset pushed on, keeping her sword drawn and in front of herself at all times. She remembered how much more deadly the Abyss was to the rest of this world. She didn’t want to be caught off guard again.

The woods continued on ahead of her, with trees all around in front of her. If this part of the Abyss had those dark beasts, they surely couldn’t fit in here. Sunset couldn’t be more wrong.

Without warning, one of the trees in front of her was torn right out of the ground and was already hurling towards her like a giant spear. Teleporting high, Sunset spotted the dark beast ahead, already ripping another tree from the forest floor.

With a yell, Sunset threw her sword back down, spinning it right past the next tree projectile. Teleporting to it, Sunset had avoided the tree and plunged her weapon deep into the creature’s neck. 

She had cut through it about halfway when another of the beasts lumbered over through the trees, grabbing her with its hairy hands and squeezing hard. Sunset cried out in pain, but she conjured up a combustion from within the beast’s hand, setting it and herself on fire.

Rolling to her feet, Sunset quickly downed an estus, then swiveled behind a tree as the first beast resurrected, coming for her with its neck lulled to one side.Using the trees to her advantage, Sunset bobbed and weaved among them, taking cover when she needed to and using the beasts’ size against them. Rolling from behind a tree, Sunset sliced up, severing three of the first dark beast’s fingers, then spinning around, she lobbed a fireball at its face, rushing at it at the same time.

With the first beast’s body blocking the second, Sunset slashed at its torso repeatedly, then drove her sword right through it, partially remembering where its heart was supposed to be. Feeling her blade piercing something soft, she pushed harder, lodging it hilt-deep into the creature’s chest, spraying black blood all over her face. The beast screeched, then shuddered, then went limp atop her, forcing Sunset to throw her sword to the side and teleport to it.

Just then, the second beast had removed a tree from the ground and slammed it down. Sunset rolled to safety and rolled again as it fired a beam of lightning at her, clearing a row of trees in an instant. Her eyes wide, Sunset rolled a few more times to dodge swipes from its arms, then cut at it as she got under it. She did the same thing and jabbed it through the heart, knowing it couldn’t get up a second time if she did so. With a final roar, the creature fell and Sunset rolled out from under its arm, getting a safe distance away as she kept her eyes on both bodies. 

They didn’t get back up, which was a great relief to Sunset. She didn’t quite know how these beasts worked, but it seemed that their hearts and neck stumps were their weakness.

Sunset ventured deeper into the Abyss-taken section of the woods, occasionally looking back and wondering just what Applejack and Rarity were up to. She hoped they were okay back there. She didn’t know if Applejack was still distraught over having to kill her brother, because that would mean Rarity would be the only one protecting them from those pale creatures out there. Sunset knew she needed to end this as fast as she could so she could dispel the Abyss and send them home.

Traveling further, Sunset eventually came across a large stone door, just there between a couple of trees, and to its right was a bonfire.

Squealing with glee, Sunset dashed to it and lit it, basking in the warmth and comfort of that orange fire. The girl took this chance to rest and look around as far as her eyes could see, which wasn’t much.

Darkness radiated from all around her, even with the bonfire now lit. The woods had already been dark before and now, with the creeping Abyss swallowing her, it had become much harder to see, not to mention there was a void of ambient sound all around her, making her heart thumping in her chest so much louder.

Using the bonfire to her fill, Sunset checked her estus flasks to make sure they were all full, before venturing away from the flame’s safety and to the large door next to it.

She slid a hand across the door’s surface, then looked for a way to open it. She tried pushing against it, but it would not budge.

“Well, what did you expect, Sunset?” she said to herself and wiped a lock of hair from her forehead. “It’s solid stone. Hmm…”

Feeling around, Sunset eventually found a small indent. It was small enough that she almost couldn’t see it. To the right, not even close to the middle of the door, was a small hole, shaped almost like that of a lock. Could it have been one?

Sunset remembered something from earlier and fished out the key she had found at the beginning of the place. She had no idea how someone could build a locking mechanism into a large block of stone, but she tried slotting the key in anyway.

The little metal object slid in quite perfectly and with a twist, Sunset could hear an almost resounding click of something within the door. It suddenly began to swing out slowly, pushing away soil and grass under its weight. As expected, the door had only opened just barely enough for her to get through, with the girl squeezing through it to the other side. Behind the door was a flight of steps, leading down a path amongst the trees, where growls and high-pitched hisses could be heard somewhere at the bottom.

Whatever was down there couldn’t be any good.

Descending slowly and warily, Sunset tried to peer through the darkness that was the Abyss. She could see trees on her left and right, but other than the ones close to the steps, she couldn’t see much more. Even the faint light that the woods had been emitting had been darkened by the Abyss. She could still make out the yellow light beyond the trees, but only barely; even the bottom of the steps were shrouded in darkness and Sunset couldn’t see where they would eventually lead her to.

The sharp calls from below sounded again, freezing Sunset in her tracks. Sunset could picture of host of nightmarish creatures that could be waiting for her below, but at the same time, this was the Abyss, the worst of this world. Whatever was down there could also be something way past what her mind could come up with.

After nearly fourteen more minutes of walking, Sunset could finally see the bottom, which was a forest floor with a clearing just ahead, looking like it was surrounded by trees. Just past those trees, in the darkness beyond, Sunset could see the shimmer of a fog gate.

A fog gate.

Ah, horseapples… Here we go again.

At least that meant she was at the end of the area.

Stepping off the foot of the steps, the growling and shrieking all around her suddenly stopped, as though she had just stepped on a hidden pressure plate and set off a trap. Whatever was awaiting her ahead now knew she was here, and it was ready.

Around her, Sunset could hear movement. Twigs snapped, trees swayed, and gravel shifted. Something was close, something big. Her instincts taking over for a second, Sunset tried to go back up the steps, only to find a wall of fog had materialized and cut her escape off.

This was it. Do or die.

Suddenly, a shadowy apparition of sorts swooped out of the trees to her right, long black fingers reaching for her. Ducking, Sunset slashed upward, severing the pinkie finger of the shadowy hand. A shriek sounded from somewhere in the woods as the hand retracted itself. Then there was the sound of a flock of birds taking flight. Sunset read that as something moving again, but she didn’t know which direction it had come from.

All of a sudden, a pair of sharp talons dug into her shoulders, piercing right through her armor and flesh and she was taken up into the air, her weight pulling herself against the beast’s talons.

“Ah!” Sunset gasped and looked up.

Above her was a raven, or at least, it was almost a raven. Its body was long and slender, almost like that of a woman’s, but instead of arms, jet black wings spread out at least two meters on both sides, and where its head was, was a beakless face, with glowing red eyes like burning coals in the darkness. It looked down at Sunset and screeched, a lack of a mouth making Sunset question where the sound was coming from.

With as much strength as she could muster, Sunset threw her sword up and over the demon’s head, teleporting to it and removing herself from its talons. Falling fast, Sunset readied a fireball and her star sword, first igniting the demon’s back in flames, before reaching it and piercing its back with her weapon.

The creature screeched in pain, then did a nosedive, heading straight for the ground of the woods. Sunset leapt off the demon as it crashed into the ground, dissipating into a cloud of smoke and fleeing back into the woods surrounding the arena. 

Before she could even really recover from the fall, shadowy hands emerged from the woods again, their fingers grabbing for Sunset as she dodged and rolled to avoid them. Using her shield again, Sunset found the shadows bounced against its sleek surface, unable to penetrate it like weapons did.

“So this is what it’s good for.”

Eventually, the demon once again emerged from the treeline, its shadowy arms sprouting from its black body like tentacles, its red eyes glowing brightly and malevolently.

Sunset rushed the demon, using her shield to deflect its arms, while using her sword to cut through them. Although the arms seemed to be made of shadow, they fell away like regular appendages and dissipated before touching the dirt ground beneath them.

With another shrill screech, the demon leaned down and covered the distance with a single powerful flap of its wings, ramming Sunset in the chest with its head as it flew by, launching back up into the dark expanse above.

Sunset winced as she propped herself up, something in her chest broken and hurting. Downing an estus flask, she was only able to just narrowly roll away as the demon glided back down and past the spot she was just sitting at. The sky was too dark to see, so she didn’t exactly know where the demon was when it was flying, though she could see its glowing red eyes when it got close. That was all the time she had to act necessarily.

She wanted to drink her white estus flask, but she didn’t know if she would be able to take it down before it wore off, so for now, she stopped herself from doing so.

She could hear it out there, screeching across the large area, flying somewhere above her, far enough that the Abyss shrouded its red eyes from Sunset’s sight.

And almost as quick as a blink, it was back, swooping low in an attempt to ram Sunset with its head. The girl let herself fall and passed under it just as it zoomed over her. Stretching her arm out, Sunset cut along its chest, then threw a fireball at it, setting its left wing on fire.

The demon shrieked and took to the air again, more shadowy hands sprouting from the tear in its chest to reach for Sunset.

Using this chance, Sunset slashed off one of the arms, then threw her sword up, teleporting beside the creature. She first fired off a combustion, then flipping her sword around, she stabbed it right through its right eye, putting out its ominous glow. The demon screeched at her from its unseen mouth and grabbed her with two of its arms, but Sunset wasn’t done. Teleporting back to the sword embedded in its eye, Sunset yanked it out and jabbed it in repeatedly, then cut to the side, taking out its second eye, before she leapt on its back and lobbed a fireball right in its face. The explosion threw her off, but the damage had been done.

As Sunset teleported herself safely to the ground, she could see the mass of shadow and fire falling from the sky, crashing a few meters from her in a fiery explosion. Light enveloped the area for a second before the Abyss swallowed it again, the burning mass disappearing into the air like the ashes of a flame.

Sunset Shimmer took this time to catch her breath and steady herself, glad that another ordeal was over. “Creature of darkness banished…”

A bonfire had sprouted from the ground close to the other end of the open area. Sunset, of course, wasted no time and lighting it to bask in its glow and refill her flasks. The trees around her all stopped just past her, leading down into what looked like a dark cave, where wind seemed to be wafting from.

Sunset groaned in annoyance. She had thought the Cataclysm Hollows would be the last deep place she would see. Unfortunately, these woods had been even deeper, and now, here was a cave that led even deeper underground. This was getting a little out of hand.

Eyeing the shield she had with her, at least she now knew its use was more for blocking non-physical attacks, like the demon’s shadowy arms. It was actually quite a useful item, and she was glad that random owl had traded it to her. Whatever that owl was doing, setting up its strange business down here, Sunset didn’t care, but she was glad it had done so.

Moss and vines hung from above the cave entrance, blowing in the wind coming from it. This was it, she could feel it. Down that cave rested Gravewing, Firedrake of the Depths. There, Sunset would find the final Flame of Death, and with it, her ticket home.
> Chapter 28: Primordial Grotto - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a cool breeze down in the cave, but it smelled horrible, as if someone had left a rotten carcass soaking in sewage for a week and then had lit it on fire for good measure. Sunset Shimmer covered her mouth and nose with a scrap of cloth from her armor, mitigating the smell somewhat, but it still made her eyes water. 

She followed the path ever downwards. How deep did the tunnels of this strange world go? Maybe right to the core. 

There was a message on the floor. Sunset found that strange, since for someone to leave a message, they would have had to make it down here too, and so far, she was sure she was the first. Posey had mentioned that people with some ring could survive down here. Still, she shrugged and squinted at the orange words on the ground.

Illusory wall ahead, therefore time for treasure.

“Hmm, illusory wall, huh?”

Sunset looked around. It was just a straight path down, with walls to either side of her. Was one of them fake?

Sunset slowly trod down the path, tapping her sword on the walls as she passed them. If any of them were illusory, her weapon should just pass through. As for what treasure this message spoke of, she had no idea, but she hoped it would help her down here.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap.

Suddenly, a portion of the wall on the left vanished before her eyes, revealing a square tunnel ahead.

“Oh, cool.”

It was a short tunnel that banked right after a few meters. It was dark, so Sunset held up her pyromancy flame to see better. Then she jumped.

There was a skeleton on the ground, wearing a suit of rusted and dented armor. Its spear lay nearby, broken into pieces and missing the metal point. It was covered in dust and cobwebs, indicating that this must have been here for a long, long time, Sunset figured before this place had been swallowed up by the Abyss.

There was a small wooden box clasped in the skeleton’s hands. Sunset knelt down and gently pried the bony digits off, and soon the box came free. Opening it, Sunset expected something grand, like a new weapon, but instead, all that was in this box was an old and rusted iron ring. It even looked like it was going to fall apart in her fingers as she picked it up.

“This is it?” Sunset said incredulously. She examined the rest of the chamber carefully, but there was nothing else noteworthy in here, except for the dusty old skeleton.

She put it on her finger, but she didn’t feel any different. Without an explanation, she didn’t know what it was supposed to do at all. So she took the ring off and slipped it into her pocket. She didn’t feel like giving herself tetanus right now.

Shrugging, Sunset left the tunnel and arrived back at the main one, leading further down into the earth.

The evil smell grew stronger, and Sunset had to breathe through her mouth to keep from being overwhelmed by the stench.

“Oh man,” Sunset mumbled as she staggered along. “I won’t be able to smell anything for a week after this!”

The tunnel began to even out, opening out into a cavern that was dotted with tall pillars of stalagmites and stalactites, and the floor was covered in a veritable lake of gunge. So this was where the smell was coming from. There were things moving in the muck, but Sunset could not see far enough to make out what exactly they were.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me…” Sunset said, every sense in her body fighting against the idea of having to wade through this foul gunk. She searched the surroundings, hoping to find a bridge or a raft or something that would keep her from touching that dreck. 

One short search later, Sunset was frustrated to conclude that there was nothing helpful to be found. Not even a plank of wood.

Sunset swore quietly. It looked  as if there was no choice but to walk into this smelly sludge.

Sunset shuffled to the edge and peered into the murk. She couldn’t see how deep it was. The smell alone was about to make her throw up and she didn’t see any other alternative. She would have to traverse this gunk to get to where she needed to go.

“Let’s do this…” she said very unwillingly.

Holding her breath through the cloth around her face, Sunset took one step in, needing to know how deep it was. If she had to swim in this, she was going to die. Maybe literally. She didn’t know if it was relief or disappointment when her foot touched the bottom, the sludge reaching up to her thighs. With all the willpower she could muster, Sunset dipped her other leg in as well.

The grime she now stood in was uncomfortably warm, but at the same time, cool against the skin like slime. 

It was slow going, pushing through the muck, and Sunset didn’t know which direction to go in. The cavern seemed to stretch out to both the left and the right at the end, but being in the Abyss, she wasn’t able to see very far.

As the fiery haired girl pushed forward, she was unable to hold her breath the whole way and inhaled a bit of the fumes. That was more than enough for her and she removed her cloth to throw up. Only now, with the cloth off her mouth, Sunset realized the smell was so much worse when she was standing in the sludge. She didn’t know how that worked, but she could feel her life force slowly fading away the longer she stood here inhaling the toxins of this lake of muck.

“Land… Need to get to… land…!” Sunset trudged on, looking for anything to climb onto.

She grabbed ahold of a large rock and hauled herself up, legs coming out of the grime with audible pops. 

“Phew,” Sunset gasped. She still couldn’t see where to go, but at least she had made a little bit of progress.

She heard a soft clicking noise, like a ratchet being spun. She looked around the cavern, but could not see anything that might be making the noise. Then she looked up. 

The ceiling was covered in long, white strands of web, stretching from stalactite to stalactite, and crawling along this webbing were huge, ghastly spider-like creatures. They only had four legs, but they had arms like that of humans, and their heads ended in elephant-like trunks, which were extremely grotesque. One of them was quick to spot her and its red beady eyes trained on her as it descended from the webs above, its human-like fingers reaching for her head.

“Gross!” Sunset threw a fireball at it, watching as it struggled to put it out. The spider failed and fell into the gunk below, twisting and turning as the fire was extinguished “Great.”

When it was satisfied, the spider creature approached her again, wading slowly through the lake toward her. Above, another two spiders had caught on to the fight and began descending as well. Throwing her sword into one, Sunset teleported to it and pushed the sword deeper into its chest, watching black blood drip down her arms and her chest. The spider squealed like a pig, then grabbed at her back with its human-like hands, trying to claw through her armor. Pushing her sword deeper into it, Sunset felt it come out its back before ripping it out and throwing a fireball at the other descending spider. As it was set of flames, Sunset dropped down onto the one down there and pierced her sword through its head, its trunk flailing up and about as it screeched with pain.

The spider tipped to the side and Sunset found herself falling into the gunk, the drop so sudden that she didn’t have time to shut her mouth. Sunset swallowed a mouthful of the disgusting sludge, before pushing herself back up to her feet, scurrying back out onto her rock. Standing in it had felt like her life force was being drained, but now after swallowing it, her insides felt like they were melting.

The girl instantly felt woozy and she had to struggle just to pull herself back up on the rock, her head spinning as though she had just sat through one of those gyrating rides at a theme park. The final spider creature approached her slowly from behind, its fingers twitching as it slowly reached out towards her. Sunset scooted up her rock and hauled her legs up, shutting her eyes to help with the motion sickness.

She knew the spider was approaching her, but there was no way to fight disoriented like that. Waiting for it to get closer, Sunset readied her pyromancy flame in her left hand. Using her ears, Sunset threw up a combustion right as the spider was on top of her, launching it up in a small explosion. When she heard the creature’s shrieks, she thrust her sword up as hard and fast as she could. There was a squelch, followed by something warm and wet dripping down on top of her. The spider’s shrieks were stifled and it fell on top of her in a burning mess, which Sunset quickly pushed off, a part of her arms catching fire. Quickly downing an estus flask, Sunset was relieved to find her bearings coming back to her and the sickening feeling in her stomach disappearing, though there was nothing she could do about the smell of this place.

“I hate this place…” Sunset groaned and stretched her arms out to her side for a quick rest.

When she was ready, she got up and scanned her surroundings. Without being able to see far, Sunset couldn’t see any other rocks for her to climb on just yet, and the webs above seemed to spread across the entire cavern. It was likely there were going to be more of those spider creatures ahead.

Swallowing hard and then holding her breath, Sunset pulled her arm back and tossed her star sword forward as far as she could, watching as it disappeared into the dark distance. With a nod, she teleported to it, instantly drenching herself in the foul sludge, meters away from her previous rock, which she couldn’t even see anymore.

She had to be fast.

With the sludge sapping away at her life, Sunset threw her sword again and again, passing through the air each time she teleported to ber weapon. She had to make sure to hold her breath each time to avoid taking in any of the foul liquid as she splashed down into it.

There were many spiders on the way, each of them picking up on her presence and descending, but Sunset didn’t stop for any of them, each time zipping further into the cavern, looking for any safe ground she could rest at. It felt like hours before she finally found a piece of land against the right side of the cavern wall. By then, there was already quite a mass of spiders behind her and they were slowly moving through the toxic sludge towards her, unfazed by it.

Using those few seconds to catch her breath and let the sludge wear off, Sunset waited for the spiders, sword and pyromancy flame in hand, ready to deal with them accordingly. The first of many arrived at her rock in a short span of time, her dizziness not fully cleared yet. Watching as it swirled and churned in front of her face, Sunset swung her sword wildly, feeling its metal connecting with flesh. The spider shrieked as one arm was tossed high, sliced off at the elbow. Readying her left hand, Sunset released a combustion, followed by a fireball, watching as the blurred shapes before her suddenly caught on fire.

As her vision got better, Sunset diced up the first two spiders who still approached through the fire, then turned to look further down the cavern. She could just make out another rock in the distance.

Letting loose another fireball, Sunset used the explosion of fire to stall the spiders, while she flung her sword towards the next rock. She teleported to it before it landed and angled herself to land right on it. She scraped a cheek on the rock’s rough surface, but at least she had avoided going into the foul muck this time. She didn’t know what it consisted of, but it was extremely ghastly; she’d probably die just by standing in it for too long.

The spiders that were on her tail continued to pursue her, while new ones above picked up on her presence and began to descend.

“Gotta keep moving…” Sunset eyed the space ahead. Once again, she couldn’t see land, meaning she would have to wade through the toxic gunk until she could find somewhere to rest on, or to fight spiders on.

Sunset threw her sword just as one of the spider creature’s grabbed her from behind, clawing into her thigh. She gasped in pain, but was soon where her sword had landed, floundering in the muck to keep her face above the foul liquid. The spider creatures continued to come after her, slowly making their way through the muck.

With another throw, Sunset got herself further, holding her breath again as she came splashing into the sludge as she teleported to her sword.

Is there no end to this sickening lake?

Her question was answered when she saw actual land on the other end of the darkness. Not just some random piece of rock in the lake, but actual cavern floor, where the sludge seemed to end.

“Yes. Yes! Just a little… more!”

Two more spider creatures landed in front of her, blocking her path, but Sunset was not to be denied her rest. The girl waited till they were close enough and jumped. The first spider reached out for her, but Sunset thrust herself backwards, spinning a slash up at the same time as she did a sort of somersault, cutting through its midsection and throwing a fireball at the other spider creature before landing in a crouch. It flailed around and fell from its web, landing on top of Sunset’s star sword, which went right through it and out its back. Its arms swung around wildly, trying to claw at her face, but eventually, it stopped moving and fell off to the side.

With one last throw, Sunset was through the toxic lake of sludge, and on solid ground once more, though the smell didn’t go away for at least another kilometer ahead. She took a sniff at her arms and had to hold back her bile. It was absolutely disgusting. After this, she really needed another bath. The last time she had one was all the way back at the Lake of Silence.

Hearing the skittering of the spider creatures behind her, Sunset wasted no time in hanging around and thinking. She wanted to be as far away from them as possible. Perhaps if she distanced herself enough, they’d just give up and go back to waiting for the next poor unfortunate soul. Sunset scoffed at that idea. Not many people could come down here, so those spiders would be waiting a long time.

As she followed her path, Sunset noticed the foul stench had returned, almost in full force. Her suspicions rang true when her tunnel opened out into another cavern with a lake of toxic sludge.

“Oh, come on!”

This one had a higher ceiling, so she couldn’t see if there were spiders waiting for her, but she could see strange hunched beasts patrolling the lake. She couldn’t quite tell what they were, but they looked like large humanoid mosquitoes with tentacles. Instead of two compound eyes like normal mosquitoes, these creatures had more than two, maybe more than ten. In fact, it almost looked like a garden of eyes.

“As if things couldn’t get any weirder…” Sunset remembered the last time she met something with so many eyes. She hoped these ones weren’t like that.

Once again, there was no way ahead besides stepping into the muck and Sunset dreaded doing so as much as the next person, that is, if there was ever going to be a next person here.

Taking a few breaths to steady herself, Sunset nodded and threw her star sword ahead, watching as it sailed off further towards the darkness. When she was good, she reappeared at her weapon in a flash of sparks, holding her breath as she crashed down into the lake. Immediately, the life sapping effect made itself known, working at taking away her will to live. It was a strange feeling, almost as though she was running a five day marathon in a few hours. But Sunset did her best to fight it, knowing she needed to press on and find something to climb on for a rest.

One of the mosquito monsters turned its garden of eyes to her and flapped its spindly wings, lifting off out of the gunk and heading towards her.

Sunset swiped at it with her sword, but it vaulted to the side and spun around, aiming its tentacled mouth at her, each of them housing rows of tiny spines. Not wanting to be touched by any of its tentacles, Sunset ducked low and spun around its body, trying her best to move faster through the gunk. One of its arms managed to latch onto her shoulder, but with a quick cut across its chest, Sunset sent it falling back into the foul liquid, finishing it off in the head before it could get back up.

Rushing ahead, Sunset found a piece of rock, climbing onto it to take a break as she decided to down an estus flask to quickly restore her strength. A shimmer in her pack caught her attention and Sunset’s eyes were drawn to the rusty old ring, which was now glowing a faint white.

“Hmm?” Sunset took it out and examined it. It didn’t feel any different, but it was glowing for some reason.

Not sure of what to do, Sunset put it on and waited for something to happen. Nothing changed.

Lifting an eyebrow, Sunset turned her arm side to side, trying to figure out what this ring was supposed to do, but she still had no idea.

“Huh.”

Before she could examine it further, one of the other mosquito creatures picked up on her presence and began flying over on its tattered wings.

“No you don’t!” Sunset lobbed a fireball at it, but these creatures were surprisingly agile, dodging out of the way and reaching its long fingers out for her neck.

Sunset leapt to the side, but there wasn’t enough room and one of her legs dipped into the foul sludge. It was then that Sunset realized something. Instead of sinking all the way in and getting slowed by it, she found she was actually standing in it without actually touching the ground beneath the sludge.

“Huh?” was all she had time to say as the mosquito lunged at her.

Sunset dodged back, then spun around under the mosquito arms before facing it with her weapon up. She was now standing in the sludge, the substance slowly poisoning her with its lifestealing effect, but she was no longer slowed by it. Somehow, she was moving through it like she was walking atop the rocks.

Something had changed.

Looking at the rusted iron ring on her finger, Sunset could still see the faint white glow emanating from it.

So this is what it’s for…

The mosquito creature spun back around and jumped at her, its tiny wings carrying it in the air for a few seconds. Sunset ran to it and sliced its facial tentacles off, then took a step forward and jammed her sword right through its abdomen, pushing her sword deep in, feeling it come out its back.

The creature screeched and thrashed, trying to grab her, but throwing her sword high, Sunset teleported up to it, then slashed down before she landed, splitting its large head in half. The mosquito fell into the sludge with a thud, then sank into it, with only its bulbous head of eyes still sticking out.

Moving on, Sunset ran through the sludge, looking for somewhere to rest. No longer hindered by the foul muck, Sunset could move faster, but she could still feel it seeping into her bones, weakening her the longer she stood in it. And then there was, of course, the smell. There wasn’t much she could do about that, but she resolved to appreciate air more once she was out of here.

A third mosquito creature had flown over from the darkness, but Sunset dealt with it with a combustion and a slash, though she finally got to find out how those tentacles sucked her blood. She didn’t like it.

Downing both an estus flask and an ashen estus flask, Sunset ran through the disgusting lake of sludge, stopping at points to rest. She silently wished for a ring that could help her be immune to the lifestealing effects of the lake.

At the very end of the lake, there was a sudden drop, leading down further into the Abyss, where the bottom could not be seen.

Wooden platforms consisting of poles and planks had been built along the edge of the drop, leading down, the only signs of civilization Sunset had seen since the skeleton with the ring. Whoever had built this must’ve done so long ago, before this place had been consumed by the Abyss.

Sunset Shimmer recalled the Primordial Grotto being the birthplace of the beasts. True, she had encountered some weird creatures here, but with a name like that, she had actually expected more.

Not that I’m complaining…


Sunset stepped onto the wooden platform as soon as she was ready, but as soon as a foot rested firmly against it, it gave way and Sunset found herself falling through a new hole in the platform.

“Aaah!” she shouted in surprise, before her brain resumed its thought processes and she threw her sword over to another part of the platform.

She teleported to her weapon in a flash, but seeing as one part of the platform had shattered, she hadn’t expected the rest to be. She was soon teleporting from platform to platform as the wooden supports began to break under her weight. It wasn’t like she was fat or anything, but after so many years of just staying here, surely the wood had worn down till the slightest touch could break it. It was a wonder none of the creatures here had broken them already.

Sunset steadily began to make her way down, flinging her sword from platform to platform, throwing it again as soon as it shattered. Unfortunately, the next one groaned under her weight and the entire support began to collapse, sending the whole stairway down into the darkness below.

The girl began to freefall, unable to see another platform to send herself to. With no more ideas, but one super crazy one, Sunset spread her arms outwards, slowing her descent slightly as she tried to peer through the gloom beneath her.

She only had a single chance at this. If she failed, well… at least she would be back at a bonfire again.

The ground was up to her in an instant. Letting go of her sword, Sunset teleported to it in a burst of sparks, slowing her descent just enough to land against the ground with a crunch, knocking all the wind from her chest. She hadn’t died on impact, but it still really hurt.

Drinking up an estus flask to heal herself up, Sunset was quick to her feet, not knowing what to expect down here. At least for now, there were no lakes of disgusting muck in sight. Actually, there was a very welcoming sight just ahead.

“Bonfire!”

Sunset rushed over to it and lit it, basking in the light of the flame as she sat herself down to take a short break.

The area ahead seemed to just be rocky cavernous floor, spanning across a pretty large area; Sunset couldn’t even see the edges or walls on any sides. There were boulders and even broken pillars around, signs of more civilizations of old.

There came the sounds of hoofsteps out there somewhere. Sunset listened carefully, not knowing what else to expect down here. Whatever it was walking around, it sounded big, with each step a few seconds after the previous one, echoing across the cavern and shaking the ground under her.

Sunset knew that whatever was out there, it wasn’t going to let her walk on over to Gravewing so easily.

Once she checked her pack to ensure all her flasks had been filled, Sunset got up and traversed the darkness, looking for the source of the hoofsteps. The cavern was much larger than she had anticipated, spanning much more ahead of her than she perceived. Shattered walls of derelict buildings stood on her left and right, forming a path between them, leading deeper through the Abyss.

The hoofsteps were getting closer now, and Sunset could even hear the groans of something big. Bodies of people lay around the ruined buildings. They had regular bodies, but their heads were alien-like, bulbous and full of eyes, likely warped by the darkness of the Abyss.

As things would have it, one of them stirred and rose to its feet as Sunset was passing them.

Of course.

It spread its arms wide and charged Sunset, its humongous head swinging left to right as it charged at her. Sidestepping, Sunset tumbled into a roll as the humanoid thing swung one arm at her, its clawed fingertips just missing her nose as she covered the distance again, spearing it through the throat with her star sword. The creature hissed at her with an unseen mouth, then went slack, all its eyes still open and looking right at her.

Before Sunset could take a breather, more of the humanoids with large heads began to rise, their freaky eyes all turning to face her before they swarmed for her like frenzied bees.

She cut down the first one almost immediately, then rolled under one’s arms and released a combustion into the face of a third humanoid. It screeched and tried to put out the fire, but Sunset kicked it back into another monster and impaled both of them with her sword.

More of the humanoids began to rise up around her, forcing the girl into a sprint. With the partial walls around her, it made it a little too narrow to fight so many monsters, so she resolved to keep going to find a good place to stand her ground.

Past two more buildings, more of the humanoid creatures had risen, wobbling their huge heads as they tried to grab her. Sunset kept going, cutting down those she could on the way. She had been pushed down at one point, but she had escaped with a crafty throw of her star sword, lodging it into the head of another humanoid and teleporting to it.

The smell of blood began to fill her nose as she cut more and more of them down, desperately trying to stay away from them to avoid being overwhelmed. It was then that Sunset felt the thud of a hoofstep.

A really large and heavy hoofstep.

The ground shook as the creatures chasing her stopped in their tracks, as did she.

Just ahead, a large beast had turned its head to her, or more accurately, its many heads. What stood in the cavern ahead was a bull of sorts, standing at least four storeys high, sporting four heads, each one having two horns too large for its head. Orange eyes glowed back at Sunset through the darkness, radiating madness and violence.

“Uh oh.”

The bull beast scrapped a hoof across the rocky ground and blew fire from its nostrils.

Before Sunset could even complain about the situation, the beast charged, its thundering hooves echoing across the entire cavern like a continuous crackle of a thunderstorm. Its four heads were lowered, with eight large horns ready to gore her. If she got hit by any one of them, she would probably just burst into a bloody mess. She needed to get out of here.

Aiming her sword to the left, Sunset tossed it, then tossed it again, this time past the bull’s legs. Once her sword was clear, she disappeared in a flash, just narrowly avoiding its charge as it plowed into the ruins and the mass of humanoid creatures.

There was the sound of exploding bodies as Sunset looked in the opposite direction, searching for a way out. The cavern continued on into the dark with no exit in sight, but Sunset decided to take her chances.

Running on, she had already heard the bull begin to turn around, its snorts of rage sounding out behind her. She kept her sword at the ready, knowing it was the only thing that would keep her away from the bull’s charge.

And then came the thunder of hooves again and Sunset braced herself. The bull soon appeared out of the gloom, its four heads bellowing as it tried to kill her.

Sunset went high this time, watching her sword spin in the air before bouncing against one of the bull’s heads. Teleporting to her weapon, Sunset immediately threw it again, lodging it in the bull’s back and reappearing to it to continue doing damage. She pulled her weapon out and slashed at the beast’s back repeatedly, hoping to at least slow it down so she could go on in peace.

It roars were deafening in the cavern, with one head snorting out fire, trying to burn her off its back. Sunset also had to fight to stay on, grabbing on to its skin folds to stop herself from being flung off as the beast shook itself.

When she was in the clear again, she kicked off against the bull’s back and ran for its nearest head, holding on one more time as it tried to shake her off. Ending in a slide, Sunset grabbed the fold right above one head’s left eye and drove her sword into it as deep as it could go. At first, it didn’t seem to do much, but after three more stabs, the bull shut its glowing eye and screamed, this time managing to throw Sunset off. The girl landed on the rocky ground too quickly, feeling something in her back break on impact.

She crawled on her side and very quickly drank from an estus flask, feeling her strength return just in time to avoid a stomp from one of its hooves.

Sunset cut at one hoof as she ran by, drawing blood, but not much. She aimed her sword for the other end of the beast and teleported to it, at the same time, clinging onto its back leg. The girl began to make her way up the creature, holding still when it tried to shake her off again. She finally made it to the top after a while, and this time, starting from its rear, Sunset fired a combustion, setting a small portion of its skin on fire, before slashing along its back as she ran.

The bull continued to bellow and snort in pain and anger, but it didn’t seem like it was going down any time soon. Sunset really just needed a way to disable it and then make it a run for it before it could give chase again.

Remembering hurting its eye was more effective than anything she had already tried so far, Sunset pushed to the front of the bull, sliding down the snout of another head, stopping once again at one of its eyes.

The bull glared her down with its orange glowing discus, but Sunset didn’t give it time to look at her much. She jammed her sword into its eye repeatedly and threw a fireball. This time, Sunset knew what to expect and threw her sword up. She teleported into the air just as the bull creature tried to shake her off.

It was up here that Sunset saw something rather peculiar. On the third head from the left, Sunset could see some kind of mark between its horns. It was round and dark, but its center seemed to glow a dim red, so faint that she almost couldn’t see it. She didn’t know exactly what it was, but it looked important.

Throwing her sword back at it and just dodging a blast of flame from one of the bull’s heads, Sunset grabbed ahold of the third head’s eyebrow fold, then clambered her way up to the dark spot. Closer now, she could see the faint light was some kind of pulsating growth and it almost looked like it was alive, breathing like any living thing.

It looked like it was meant for stabbing. And so Sunset did just that. Standing over it, she held her sword high with both hands and plunged it down with all her might, right through the growth. It popped like a balloon and the bull roared, rearing up on its hind legs as it swung its head from left to right. Sunset took this time to throw herself clear, getting to safety with the use of her star sword.

Black ooze began to erupt from its head, spilling all across its form and with one final roar which shook the entire cavern, the bull creature collapsed on its side with an equally deafening thump. It had begun to melt, the black liquid being some kind of acid, slowly dissolving the bull and leaving a disgusting odour.

Sunset immediately recognized it as the same smell as the toxic lake and held her nose shut. “Agh, gross…”

But now that her path was clear, the girl wasted no time in getting away as the bull’s body began to fade from sight. She didn’t want to wait around for the humanoid creatures to come back after realizing the bull was dead.

That hadn’t been an easy fight and that made Sunset think of just what to expect ahead. Gravewing was in here somewhere and judging from his name, he was a dragon. Sunset had never really seen a dragon up close back in Equestria, but she had heard the tales from Princess Celestia. It was safe to say she had never wanted to get a dragon angry, but here she was now. If she wanted to get home, she had to face Gravewing. He had the final Flame of Death, and that was all she needed to get home. She was so close she could almost smell it, though at this moment, she didn’t want to smell anything.

The cavern eventually narrowed as Sunset explored on, meeting only two more of those humanoid creatures. She supposed the rest of them had been congregated before the bull, either unable or too afraid to go any further. Only a few stragglers stayed on on this side, but it made Sunset wonder just why all these human-looking monsters were all just lying around here, pretending to be dead.

Do they have nothing better to do?

She thought about it and decided it was probably true. What else were they going to do down here in the Abyss? Rarely anything living would ever come this way, much less someone for them to kill.

At the end of the narrowing cavern was an archway, somehow still mostly in one piece, though the rest of the structure seemed to have been destroyed long ago. There were a series of unlit torches leading down a dark tunnel, going even further into the earth.

Sunset guessed she must’ve been well below the Cataclysm Hollows by now. It had made sense that the Underisle had been hot, seeing as the deeper she got, the closer to the world’s core she was supposed to get. It made sense when it was cold in the Hollows, seeing as Sisha had destroyed the place with her Flame of Death, but here? If this place was so deep underground, surely it would be hot, or at least cold because of Gravewing, but right now, it was mainly just stuffy and smelly.

The Abyssal darkness didn’t help in nullifying any of that. Everywhere around her was dead silent, with the exception of her footfalls and occasional cough.

The end of the tunnel led out into a circular man-made area, with bricks forming quite the perfect circle around her, with a bonfire smack in the middle. Sunset wasted no time in lighting it to get a good rest, making sure all her estus flasks were refilled; she needed all she could get up ahead.

Sunset was quite enjoying the bonfire’s warmth, when something groaned from within the tunnel on the opposite side of her circle. The ground shook as a foul stench wafted out from it, followed by the sound of something slithering about.

Sunset gulped, not knowing what else was lying in wait ahead, but after that fight with the giant bull creature, she knew it wasn’t going to be simple.

Feeling ready, Sunset got to her feet and walked along the tunnel, peering inside before venturing in. It was a straight man-made structure, leading further into the darkness. Now in an even more enclosed space, Sunset could hear the rumbles and bellows ahead. Something big was just on the other end of the tunnel and it probably wasn’t friendly.

Suddenly her foot stepped against nothing and Sunset found herself waving her arms wildly in the air for a second before plunging straight down, a gap in the floor she had failed to see.

“Waaaaaagh!” Her sword was quickly in her hand and she threw it back up, but it bounced off the side of the hole and fell, with Sunset only managing to teleport a foot up.

The hole sloped at the bottom and Sunset bounced off the top of it, jarring every bone in her body as she slid down the rest of it, coming to a stop against a well-sized rock, hitting the side of her face against it. Her neck would’ve broke if not for her armor, which she was very thankful for at the moment.

Drinking an estus, Sunset scooted up to one foot and readied her weapon, keeping her eyes peeled. She was in a new cave, and she hadn’t noticed it with all the blood in her ears, but the slithering sound here was louder than ever.

And then a giant eye opened on the rock’s surface, glowing bright orange like the bull creature from earlier. The ground beneath Sunset began to rumble as a giant serpentine head burst from the ground beneath her feet, its voice low and guttural, booming across the cavern. The sound of the slithering had been coming from its body, which had been moving across the cavern. It was about as thick as five trees tied together.

“Great. Just great…”

The snake opened its mouth, which had a second jaw inside, and Sunset only had enough time to raise her sword as it shot out of its maw, grabbing ahold of her. Sunset somehow kept its jaws from crushing her, using all her might to press her sword against the roof of its inner mouth. Two fangs had pierced through her arm, dripping blood down on her face, but there was no time to inspect it at the moment.

Raising up, the snake growled at her, a foul stench wafting up from its belly, making Sunset gag in her mouth. It’s maw crushed down harder, and in an act of instinct, Sunset threw her sword to the side, out of its mouth, at the same time, falling to her back and sliding down its throat to avoid its rows of fangs.

It was all sticky and gross inside, but she only had to deal with it for a second. With a flash, Sunset was out of the snake and at her sword on the cavern floor, wiping slime from her hands. The snake had seen her flash of light and turned to her, its orange glowing eyes burning holes through her soul. With a guttural growl, it pulled its body back, then lunged at her almost faster than the eye could blink. Sunset threw her sword up and teleported to it, barely avoiding the snake’s enormous head. Falling, she positioned herself on top of it, grabbing ahold of some kind of fur growing out from the top of its skin. 

The snake, like the bull, tried to shake her off, but Sunset held on strong, even as it thrashed its body against the walls. Sunset was very thankful she had gotten some enhancements from Twilight. They were definitely being put to use right now.

Making her way forward, Sunset assumed the snake would have a growth, just like the bull did. She didn’t know for sure, but it was worth a check.

The snake monster would tire at times and that gave Sunset a few seconds to advance, getting closer to the center of its head. Otherwise, she had to hold on for dear life as it swung about. One time, it even spun around, trying to crush her against the ground, but Sunset had teleported herself to its underside to avoid it. It had been a very close call, but she managed to make it out with only bruises on her right side.

A fin of sorts stuck out from the center of its head and in front of it, Sunset spotted the pulsating growth.

“There you are!”

She let go of its fur, but at that moment, the snake coiled its body and sprung up, launching Sunset from its back. In that instant, its head swiveled around and opened its mouth, ready to end it, but Sunset was not ready for it to end here.

Using one combustion to slow her descent, Sunset aimed her sword to the right of the creature’s head. Throwing as hard as she could, she let herself fall towards its mouth, readying a fireball as she kept one eye on her spinning sword. She only had one shot at this and she needed it to work.

When she was close enough, Sunset released a fireball downwards, sending it sailing into the snake’s maw, and with a blaze of red, fire exploded within its throat, startling it and making it flail around, trying to put it out. Now teleporting to her blade, Sunset wisped beside the snake’s eye, just in time to dig her sword into the center of its black iris.

Black blood splashed over her face and armor, and the snake roared, shaking the whole cavern as Sunset used the distraction to climb up its eyelid and back on its head. Arriving at the snake’s growth, Sunset spun her sword in her hand and then raised it high. With all the strength she could muster, she drove her blade down and right through the growth, feeling the soft flesh tear beneath her attack.

It glowed bright orange for a second, then went dark, with the snake rearing high and roaring with enough force to break parts of the cave ceiling, sending debris tumbling down.

Sunset ran and threw her sword, teleporting to it a few times to get away from the falling snake and falling rocks. Once safely back on the ground, Sunset ducked and weaved through the raining debris, teleporting occasionally to get a little more distance.

Spotting another tunnel just ahead, Sunset aimed for it, rolling forward as a rather large piece of debris landed just where she had been standing. With one last kick, Sunset threw herself clear of the collapsing cavern, stopping in the tunnel, finally having time to catch her breath and assess the situation.

Whether the snake had died or not, she didn’t check, but judging from the collapsing ceiling, she wouldn’t have to worry about it.

The next area was a rather swampy place. Moss hung on the walls of the tunnel and there were little puddles of foul-smelling water here, but at least it didn’t smell as bad as the sludge from earlier. Mud started to gather up around the sides of the path as Sunset went deeper in, not knowing what to expect next.

She really wanted to be done with the Primordial Grotto, but at the same time, a part of her dreaded facing Gravewing. With the last two foes being gigantic creatures, she didn’t know what to expect when she were to finally come across the final Flame of Death.

The swampy look of the tunnel continued to grow, with the floor now slightly mossy as well, making it slippery. There was the faint sound of trickling water somewhere ahead, but since she was still in the Abyss, it was quite muffled, like her ears were blocked.

The tunnel soon widened out towards the end and brought Sunset into a vast cylindrical cavern, man made with stone blocks, but nature had grown to reclaim the area, with moss and weeds growing out across the ancient stones. A waterfall fell from somewhere above, splashing into a lake on her left, the sound somehow not as loud as it was supposed to be.

“Oh wow.” Sunset walked to the water and gave her face a splash. It was cool to her skin, so she dipped both hands inside and gave her face a good old rub. It was an understatement to say it was refreshing.

There wasn’t much else to do here but admire the scenery, something she hadn’t been able to do since entering the Abyss. And then she saw it, on the other end of the cavern, just beside the waterfall, almost hidden by it.

A fog door.

“Ah, crap. Here we go again.”
> Chapter 29: Primordial Grotto - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer knew what to expect behind the door. The final Flame of Death. Finally, she was here, but at the same time, dread filled her chest as she tried to anticipate what she’ll find in there.

Gravewing, Firedrake of the Depths. His name alone was enough to tell her he was some kind of dragon. And he was from the depths, which was probably speaking about the Primordial Grotto, which was pretty deep down, but other than that, the rest of it was going to be a surprise. She just hoped it wasn’t going to be too unpleasant.

“Ah, who am I kidding?” She shook her head. It was definitely going to be quite unpleasant.

When she was finally feeling up to it, the girl pushed herself up to her feet and walked along the rocks to the waterfall, careful to keep her footing on the slippery moss covered rocks. She didn’t mind going for a dip right now, but removing all her armor was too troublesome and she didn’t want to bother with doing that right now.

She was close and she wanted to see this through as quickly as she could.

Arriving beside the torrent of water, Sunset made her way past it and to the rock wall behind it, where the fog door swirled and churned, unending; She didn’t know where all this fog came from each time.

Reaching a hand out, Sunset parted it and pushed through, arriving on the other side with an echoing sound, almost like that of a person breathing.

The area on the other side was cylindrical in shape as well, even with a waterfall to mirror the previous room. Moss covered the rocky floor under Sunset’s feet, much like the previous room as well, but the ones here were more yellow than green. The ground was more uneven here, with two spots in the room raised to about Sunset’s waist. In the center of the room lay a massive shape, and when Sunset thought massive, she really meant massive.

What looked like a dragon lay in the center, its head resting on its forelegs, eyes closed. The dragon looked like it was about double the size of the snake monster from earlier, its nostrils about three heads taller than Sunset.

It was of a shimmering grey colour, its scales reflecting off some kind of light from some unknown location. A massive orange horn stuck out the front of its head, a stark contrast from the rest of its body.

Gravewing, Firedrake of the Depths.

He looked a lot more imposing than Sunset had imagined, but she wasn’t surprised. Of course it would dwarf her expectations. This world seemed to keep throwing enemies that got harder and harder as she got closer to her goal.

“Welcome, Bearer of the Flame of Life…”

A voice echoed in Sunset’s head, low and slurred, old and powerful.

Before her, the giant dragon opened its eyes, an orange glow casting shadows across the cavern. Two massive black slitted pupils zeroed in on Sunset and stayed unmoving.

It’s head reared up from its forelegs, rising higher and higher above her, revealing a long neck of plated scales, each one glinting off that unknown light source.

“You have finally come. For so long I have waited for you. I have dreamt of you, I have sensed you… I have tasted your flame… It calls out to me from afar, and now, it will be mine..”

Gravewing’s voice didn’t come from his unmoving mouth. Instead, Sunset really could feel it in her head, almost like something was creeping in through her ears.

Sunset sighed and readied her weapon. “You know I can’t let you have it.”

“But I will have it. One way or another. Come, Bearer of the Flame of Life. Face your end at the breath of Gravewing, Firedrake of the Depths. Bearer of a Flame of Death, Burner of Countrysides, Burner of all Peoples.”

Rising to his feet, Gravewing spread his wings out to his sides, covering almost the entire room’s radius as he gave them an almighty flap. Wind rushed all around Sunset, blowing her back into the fog wall that had materialized behind her, and then with one deafening roar, Gravewing charged.

It took all of Sunset’s willpower to keep her nerves from freezing as the giant dragon stomped closer and closer. With a throw, her sword was at the dragon’s left shoulder. She cut along it, but her sword barely put a dent in Gravewing’s scales.

She fell back to the ground, barely missing being crushed by Gravewing’s foreleg. The dragon looked down at her and swiped at her. The claw did not penetrate Sunset’s armor, but it threw her a fair distance away. She bounced twice on the floor and rolled to a stop.

“Ow…” Sunset groaned. 

Sunset opened her eyes properly just in time to see Gravewing’s tail come down on top of her. There was no time to dodge.

“Oh shi-!”

WHAM.



“-t!” Sunset gasped as she sat bolt upright. She looked all around herself. It was dark, and no sign of Gravewing. Next to her, a familiar bonfire blazed away merrily.

It took a few moments for Sunset to realize what had happened. It seemed Gravewing was going to be a lot tougher than she had anticipated.

The trek back wasn’t all too difficult. The humanoid creatures with the big heads were back, but thankfully, the giant bull and snake were gone. All Sunset had to do was run on back to Gravewing’s chamber, taking out whatever creatures she could on the way; even the fallen ceiling in the snake creature’s cave had somehow patched itself up, making it a straight shot back to the waterfall area.

In no time, Sunset found herself back at the fog gate, more mentally prepared for the fight this time. 

“Okay, Gravewing. Round two.”

Sunset pushed through the fog. There was no dialogue from the dragon this time, only a deafening roar as it charged the girl. Sunset dived aside, rolling to her feet just as Gravewing’s tail came smashing down right next to her. She cut at the tail, which whipped around, swatting Sunset into a pile of rocks. 

Sunset pushed a rock off her leg and stood up shakily. Then a talon-tipped hand the size of a bus came down onto her face, crushing her flat.



“Nooo!” Sunset screamed, jerking upright again. She looked at herself. Then at the bonfire next to her. “Ah, horseapples.”

She was going to have to approach Gravewing differently. Jumping at him head on was getting her nowhere, or more accurately, back to the bonfire.

The bull and snake creatures were big and seemingly unbeatable as well, but Sunset had found their weak points: those orange growths atop their heads. What if Gravewing had one too?

Sunset didn’t know what else to do, so that was a plan she was willing to try. First, she would need to get to his head.

Heading back, Sunset arrived at Gravewing’s chamber once again, this time, refraining from just charging in. Gravewing rose, his orange eyes eyeing her hungrily. He wanted that flame, but unfortunately for him, he would never have it, whether he killed her or not.

“You still live, Bearer of the Flame of Life. You will not give me that which I have sought for so long.”

Sunset shook her head. “I told you, I can’t. I need to get home. I need yours.”

“And so we shall battle. Give me a fight that will be remembered, Bearer of the Flame of Life.”

Gravewing charged, his orange horn gleaming and ready for the kill. Sunset dived aside and threw her sword, getting the extra distance when she teleported to it. The dragon’s scales seemed much too tough for her to slice through them, but perhaps there was another way she could wound him.

As she teleported again, higher this time, Sunset spotted a line of orange growths along the dragon’s spine, starting from his neck and going all the way down to the end of his massive tail, where four orange spikes shot out near the end like a stegosaurus tail.

Bingo.

She now knew where to start, but unfortunately, getting there wasn’t going to be easy.

As Gravewing turned around, his orange eyes glaring at her, his mouth widened, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth. Sunset counted at least three rows, before a jet of flame launched out from the darkness of his maw, flooding the chamber with a sea of fire.

Sunset only had a second to teleport herself high, the flames going right under her and splashing against the waterfall on the side, releasing steam into the air.

With another throw, Sunset got herself closer to Gravewing, but it wasn’t enough. Her leg dropped a little too low, falling into the wave of searing fire. The girl winced and shrieked in pain as she got herself higher again, this time grabbing on to the side of Gravewing’s scales on his torso.

Sunset downed an estus flask, but she also had to quickly move again, as the dragon slammed his claws on his side where she had just been.

Getting up on her feet on top the dragon’s back, Sunset faced the first of the orange growths and frowned at it. Without a second thought, she charged at the thing and plunged her sword deep into it.

The dragon’s roar shook the cavern as the growth burst, leaving behind only a small hole along the dragon’s back; the scales around it began to turn black, losing their shine.

“You dare?” Gravewing’s voice entered her head. “Do not be foolish, girl.”

“I dare. To be foolish.” Sunset gripped her blade harder and ran down his back, spearing her star sword through the next growth, hard enough to burst it, covering her in orange slime. “Gross…”

“Enough!” Gravewing’s four-pronged tail lifted like a scorpion’s and slashed down at his back.

Sunset dodged the first swing, then threw her sword to the side and teleported to it to avoid another. Gravewing was gigantic, but she knew she could do this. She now knew where his weak points were and she was going to win this.

Throwing her weapon again, Sunset grabbed the end of Gravewing’s tail, catching on to one of his glimmering scales as his tail swung about in the air, now trying to dislodge her.

“No you don’t!” Sunset speared her star sword into the growth all the way at the end, bursting it and sticking her sword into the wound, using it to stay on as Gravewing’s swinging got more intense.

In the end, it wasn’t enough and Sunset got tossed off hard enough to break boulders. Fortunately, with a toss of her star sword, she landed in a roll safely on the cavern floor.

Gravewing reared up on his hind legs and breathed down a torrent of fire, sending it towards her like a tidal wave. Sunset only had enough time to get her shield up when the fire hit, but to her surprise, it helped her withstand the brunt of Gravewing’s fire breath, with the fire washing right over her and to her sides.

Sunset had to keep her arm held up, which was beginning to get harder as time went on, but fortunately for her, Gravewing stopped breathing fire and she was able to get away before he started again.

The roar of fire came as Sunset sailed through the air towards the waterfall. She kept her shield up as the fire reached her, launching her into the waterfall, where it was put out by the falling water. A blast of steam was pushed out into the air and Sunset used it to mask her approach back towards Gravewing’s tail.

Approaching the four-pronged tail, Sunset drew her arm back, then cut forward as hard as she could as she ran a few steps. Her blade went right through one of the dragon’s tailspikes and went right through it like it was made of butter.

Gravewing roared and slammed his tail down dangerously close to her, forcing Sunset to throw her sword to the side to avoid it. 

“You are becoming quite the inconvenience for me, Bearer of the Flame of Life.”

“So are you,” Sunset retorted.

Seeing the tail as a problem, the girl threw her sword right back to it, watching the blade stick into one of the burst growths, appearing beside it in a flash. Climbing up to the next growth, Sunset slashed through it twice, watching it shudder once before exploding, covering part of her face in orange goo.

“Gross…”

Gravewing’s bellow shook the cavern and rained more rubble down, but Sunset ran on, making quick work of two more growths. The next one was somewhat bigger than the rest and it didn’t explode with just a few attacks. Throwing her sword high, Sunset aimed her blade down at it and did a plunging attack, pushing it down with all her might as it pierced the tip of the orange thing.

With an ear-popping burst, the growth exploded, sending Sunset flying back and crashing to the ground near the waterfall. The girl got up and rubbed the stars from her eyes, but also spotting Gravewing tumbling forward, his tail severed at the spot the larger growth had been at.

He opened his mouth and growled at her, forcing Sunset’s hands to her ears. More debris fell from the ceiling, forcing Sunset to perform a few necessary combat rolls to get away from them.

“You will regret the day you faced my fire, Bearer of the Flame of Life.”

One more roar preceded a tidal wave of searing fire, with Sunset bringing up her shield again. The flames hit her hard, almost forcing her off her feet, but thanks to the souls she had accumulated from her defeated foes, she had strength beyond a normal human and she held on strong, though that strength could only keep her shield up for so long.

Something glinted in the corner of her vision and Sunset’s eyes were drawn to Gravewing’s severed tail. There was something green sticking out of the tail’s stump, giving off some kind of magical glow. It looked like a blade.

What could that be?

Deciding on her next course of action, the girl took off running as soon as the dragon’s fire had died down. Gravewing charged, but with a teleport and a roll, Sunset avoided getting trampled and slid on the rocky ground to the tail.

She fished her hands inside, put off at first by the sticky meat and blood inside, but once her hand found a handle of sorts, she drew the weapon out and held the blade up to her face. It was a large sword, with everything below the guard made of gold. The blade was of a green mineral unlike anything Sunset had ever seen. It somehow felt… magical. It wasn’t that heavy in her hands, but it wasn’t all that light either, but she felt power within it and somehow, it reminded her of home, of Equestria.

“My guiding moonlight…” Gravewing’s voice growled in her head. “You think to take from me?”

Gravewing seemed to dislike that.

The air around the cavern suddenly felt heavy. Sunset took a wary step back and readied herself. Something was coming from Gravewing. Something big.

And then for a second, everything seemed to stop. The heavy air around her seemed to hold her in place, and then with a rush of wind, Gravewing’s scales burst into blue fire, more evident on his wings where he didn’t have scales. As for his body, fire roared out from under his scales, and his eyes had turned into a frosty blue, as did his bulbous growths along his spine.

The cold of the Abyss began to increase until Sunset began feeling her bones shaking under her skin. It had been a while since she had felt the cold of a Flame of Death.

She gripped on to the glowing sword harder. Instead of being intimidated by Gravewing’s flame, determination filled her eyes. She was close now. Gravewing was all that remained in her path home. She was going to end it. She was going to end the nightmare.

Fishing around in her pack, Sunset removed her white estus flask and looked at it. She would only have a limited amount of time once she drank it, but she knew she could do it.

Downing the white liquid, Sunset’s eyes flared white and she assumed her half-pony form. The sword in her arm became lighter and its glow intensified, its power ringing in her ears.

“Use it, Sunset Shimmer… The moonlight greatsword is a gift. Use it at your disposal and end all nightmares…”

“Moonlight greatsword, huh?” Putting her star sword back in its sheath, Sunset readied her new weapon with two hands and eyed the firedrake. “Let’s dance, Gravewing.”

A voice continued to speak to her from the sword, almost like it was alive, but it wasn’t quite words that came from it. Sunset didn’t know how to explain it, but it was like information about it was transmitting straight to her mind as she charged at the dragon.

As Gravewing swiped a clawed hand at her, Sunset leapt clean over it and slashed down with her new weapon, with the blade going right through his scales and drawing blood.

The dragon bellowed and breathed blue fire down at her, but Sunset lifted her shield and parted the fire, readying her greatsword behind her, its blade glowing in intensity.

When the fires had died, Sunset pulled her shield back and slashed her sword forward, releasing an arc of luminous magic that cut through a part of Gravewing’s chest. The impact of her combined magics was strong enough to knock even a giant like him down.

Not wasting time, Sunset propelled herself up with a combustion, then drove the moonlight greatsword deep into the dragon’s chest. The blade could only sink in so far into his huge frame, but it seemed to be doing decent damage to him.

A wave of icy fire erupted from Gravewing, sending Sunset flying back, but with the white estus flowing within her, she peeled her star sword from its sheath and threw it back at Gravewing’s head. In a flash of sparks, she was on his snout, swinging both swords at his long orange horn. 

In a flash, the horn was falling away, sliced cleanly through by Sunset’s weapons, with a spout of black liquid bursting out from where it had been.

Gravewing swiped a clawed hand up at his wound and tried to crush Sunset, but the girl was running along, cutting along his head with her new weapon.

Digging the moonlight greatsword into his scalp, Sunset channeled its magic and cut up with it, sending a wave of green energy down his head and neck, causing a line of the dragon’s growths to pop.

“Stop. You will stop this and die.”

More fire erupted from Gravewing’s scales, but Sunset wasn’t going to stop now. Breaking into a run, she dodged and leapt over the firedrake’s blue flames coming from under his scales, then raising her shield as he turned around to breathe fire down his back.

Sunset teleported lower down his back, slashing through another growth as she kept her shield up, deflecting the icy fire of the Flame of Death. Gravewing turned his head to release a torrent of fire, but Sunset kept her shield up and ran down his back, dragging her sword down the dragon’s spine, destroying all his orange growths along the way.

“Raaaah! You attack me with my own moonlight?”

Gravewing spread his wings out and took to the air, rising as he belched out waves and waves of blue fire. As he spun, Sunset slipped off his back and would’ve fallen if she didn’t have the white estus empowering her senses.

The girl held on to one of the dragon’s scales and with a flick, she pierced her sword into his underside and dragged it along, using it to keep herself from dropping back to the ground. At the last second, Sunset yanked her weapon free and threw her star sword ahead and up, teleporting back up and around Gravewing’s body, charging the moonlight greatsword at the same time. Just as she landed on his back, she replaced her star sword with her shield and blocked incoming fire, then slashed hard, sending a wave of moonlight magic into Gravewing’s face.

It hit him hard and sent him sprawling into waterfall, dousing his flames for a second, enough time for Sunset to continue down his spine, tearing through scale and flesh as she destroyed the remaining orange growths.

The firedrake bellowed and flew out of the waterfall, breathing fire all around him, until the air was covered in an icy grip of death. Sunset didn’t know how much longer her powerup was going to last. She had to end this fast, or she risked having to start all over again.

With all Gravewing’s growths destroyed, the only weak point she could think of was the remains of his horn. She had to try.

Readying her greatsword and shield, Sunset kicked off the dragon’s back and ran up along his scales, using her shield to defend herself from the fire coming from within him, along with the fire that was coming down from the sky with Gravewing’s continuous streams of flame breath. However, the firedrake must’ve caught on, spinning around and diving back towards the ground, now breathing fire up at her.

Sunset leapt over a gout of flame, coming down with her shield beneath her feet. Riding the circular shield like a snowboard, she hurtled along the drake’s massive length before kicking it out from under herself. Gravewing had just turned his head to look at her and the shield crashed into his eye, shattering the glass surface into a sparkle of thousands of pieces, some of which embedded themselves in the dragon’s eye.

With that moment of distraction, Sunset raised the moonlight greatsword high in both hands and descended on his horn’s stump. With a yell and a mighty push, Sunset stabbed it down right through the orange remains, feeling the sword sink deep. With a burst of moonlight magic, Gravewing roared and crashed into the ground, sending Sunset flying off and rolling to a stop a few meters away, her right side going numb from the impact.

The firedrake got on his feet and gave his wings one final flap before his entire snout exploded in a spray of orange goo, blue fire, scales, meat and bone. He fell on his side and then gave Sunset one last look before his head dipped into the pool of water, ceasing all movement.

“The end will not come as you think, Bearer of the Flame of Life. With my flame, the way to the Throne of the Fallen Hearth will be open to you…” Gravewing’s voice echoed in her head. “But beware… the nightmare knows what has transpired. The Flame of Disparity waits… It is not over…”

Sunset pushed herself up, panting and exhausted. Her estus flask had worn off some time ago, but thankfully, she had survived the ordeal. As Gravewing’s body began to flake away, a well of relief came upon Sunset harder than anything she’d faced so far. She had done it. She had defeated the fourth and final Flame of Death. She almost couldn’t believe those words in her mind as she watched a tiny blue flame emerged from the dissipating corpse, but Gravewing’s words echoed in her mind.

There was still more to come. She didn’t know how much more, but she knew it wasn’t going to be a straight shot home.

Downing an estus flask to regain her strength, Sunset stepped towards the Flame of Death and held her hand out. The flame danced into her palm and floated there, cold to the touch. She had seen their corruption all the way to where she was right now. These flames promised power, but that power came at the cost of sanity, family, friends, and even oneself. Perhaps it was her Flame of Life protecting her, or maybe she was just adamant to ever getting power like that again, but Sunset didn’t feel the call of the Flame of Death.

Stowing it in her pack, she pressed on, finding a small alcove at the back of the cavern that definitely wasn’t there before. A bonfire had lit itself in the back of the small cave, burning warmly and soothingly. The sway of it was enough to make Sunset crash beside it, glad to be in the comfort of a bonfire after the fight she had just gone through.

“The nightmare knows what has transpired…” Sunset thought about Gravewing’s words again.

The Lord of the Waking Nightmare. Fake Emerald Edge had mentioned that name. Whoever this was, he knew Sunset was close. She knew it herself too. She was approaching his endgame, but as to what it was, she didn’t yet know.

“Flame of Disparity,” Sunset breathed. Gravewing had mentioned that too. She remembered the tales of the Throne of Flames’ corruption by the Abyss. It had turned the life-giving flames there, warping them into something more sinister.

Whatever was in store for her, she knew the Lord of the Waking Nightmare was going to make it far harder than anything she’d face yet. But Sunset wasn’t going to sit down and go hollow now. She needed to get home. And the friends she’d made her relied on her to rescue them too.

Applejack and Rarity were down here in the Abyss. By stopping it, she could free them, allow them to return to Fyrlon. They needed her to see this to the end.

Reaching a hand for the bonfire, the world around Sunset began to bend and warp as the location around her changed. She needed to end this. Not just for herself, but for all her friends too.

Looking down at her new weapon, Sunset couldn’t help but feel this was another gift from the Spirit of the Rite of Kindling.

The moonlight greatsword.

It made Sunset think of Equestria, just like the artifacts of Star Swirl the Bearded. This sword was from Equestria, she was certain of it. How that magic had entered her nightmare, she wasn’t sure, but she was glad it did. There was still more to do, but she was glad to have a weapon of home with her on the last leg of her journey.

Whatever this Flame of Disparity was, no matter how much power it had, nothing would ever be strong enough to take out the Magic of Friendship she had. After all, there was nothing stronger.
> Chapter 30: Fyrlon III
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the fourth and final Flame of Death was placed in its alcove within the stone, beams of blue fire shot out from them, meeting in the middle, where a pillar of black rock began to forth from the ground up.

Sunset Shimmer reached for her shield, but then remembered she no longer had it on her. Twilight Sparkle stood beside her, looking skyward as the black spire fired an even larger beam of fire into the sky, parting the dark clouds that had come over all of Fyrlon, lighting the sky with a vibrant blue.

It was beautiful, but only if one didn’t know the light came from the Flames of Death. They had caused so much destruction and despair in this world. But at the same time, they were now also opening the way to the Throne of the Fallen Hearth, Sunset’s final destination before returning home.

Suddenly, along the edge of the cliffside, a blue portal burst to life, spreading out until it was about the same size as Twilight’s mirror to the human world. Once it had stabilized, the pillar of fire died down, but the rock spire stayed put, now standing there between the four Flame of Death stones.

“The way to the throne has been opened.” Twilight nodded and smiled, stepping beside Sunset. “Your way home, Young Flame. Why, no one has set foot in the throne for years. I am privileged to be the firekeeper to see it opened.”

“This is really it, huh?” Sunset placed a hand on her moonlight greatsword, now hanging on her back. “It’s finally time to face the nightmare.”

The firekeeper nodded again. “It is time to fulfill your destiny, Young Flame. To reignite the Flame of Life and return this world to all its splendour. And then you will finally awaken.”

“Not a bad deal, huh?” Pinkie Pie threw a mudpie into a boulder and snickered. “You get to go home and you help make our world a better place too. We both win! Though it does make me wonder… If we’re all just in your head, would we disappear once you wake up?”

“I-I’m sure it’s not j-just any typical dream like that…” Fluttershy pulled at her pink hair. “Right? I mean, we’re all h-here. And Sunset’s trapped here and can’t wake up.”

“Whatever the case is, I’m going to help rid the Abyss from your world. I’ve already lost friends here.” Sunset looked at the burning portal. “I won’t lose anymore.”

“Can we go along with her?” Fluttershy pulled her bowstring to test it. “Sunset will need all the help she can get.”

“Naw, man.” Sandalwood walked over, playing with a ball of fire in his palm. “The throne has since fallen to the Abyss.”

“The pyromancer speaks the truth.” Twilight looked at them grimly. “Only the Young Flame may enter the Throne of the Fallen Hearth and clear the Abyss’ corruption from this world.”

Sunset sighed. Of course she would have to continue alone.

“Twilight,” she said, turning back to the firekeeper. “Gravewing mentioned something called the Flame of Disparity. Do you know anything about this?”

At this, even Pinkie seemed to quiet down.

“It is from our old tales.” Twilight looked to the central bonfire, it’s flames crackling and whipping in the wind. “Before the Age of Ancients had concluded, the Flame of Life came into being. And with that, came disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, light and dark. The Flame of Disparity holds both the powers of each of those, helping our ancestors defeat the dragons of old.

“But since the spread of the Abyss from the throne, fragments of the Flame of Disparity had broken out, spreading across its influence, waiting for those brave enough to find them. For years, the Flames of Death changed our land, but then you were brought to us, Young Flame. You’ve done what no one else has. And now I believe you will bring order to the chaos here. The Flame of Disparity waits now for you. I believe it is to test your worth, to see which may prevail, good or evil, light or dark, life… or death.”

There was silence for a few seconds, which was broken by Pinkie Pie. “Ooh, ominous…”

“So… Once I beat this thing… I get to go home?” Sunset asked.

“I assume once the Flame of Disparity falls, the Abyss will have no more flame to provide its spread. With the Abyss gone, you should be able to wake.”

“Should be?”

“We have never dealt with this before, Young Flame. You are the first.”

“You can do it, Sunset…” Fluttershy flashed her a meek smile. “We believe in you. You can do this. You can pave your way home.”

“Yeah! You’ve made it this far.” Sandalwood extinguished the fireball in his hand. “And I have more pyromancy, should you have the souls to buy them.”

“I don’t know if I have much on me. I think I lost some when I lost to Gravewing a few times…” Sunset looked in her pack. She couldn’t see them, but she could usually feel them. They had a certain weight to them and she had felt lighter after waking at the bonfire when Gravewing killed her a few times. But after beating him, she felt their weight again. It was probably his soul, now residing with her.

“And that weapon…” Twilight pointed to the moonlight greatsword on Sunset’s back. “It has tremendous power within. It is as though it is not from this world.”

“Yeah, uh…” Sunset took it out and held it out for her friends to see. “I don’t know how to explain this… but it feels like home when I have it. Like, from the world I was born in.”

Then Sunset remembered something else she had received earlier. She dug around her pack and produced a black rock. It was the rock she had received from the owl in the Darklight Woods.

“Do you know what I can do with this?” she asked the others. “I got this from an owl.”

“Titanite chunk!” Pinkie exclaimed, snatching it from Sunset. “Wowee, I haven’t seen such a huge chunk in a long time. “Come on! Come on! We’ve gotta take this to Maud!”

Practically dragging her, Pinkie scrambled Sunset over to Maud’s Smithy.

Her blacksmith of a sister simply looked up as she threw the metal gate open. “Hello, Pinkie. Hello, Sunset.”

“Maud, look what Sunset found!” Pinkie brandished the titanite chunk over her head. “It’s so big! Do you think you can work with it?”

Maud accepted the ore from her sister and turned it over in her hands. “I can work with it,” she nodded. Then the blacksmith turned her head to look at Sunset. “What do you want me to upgrade?”

Sunset thought about it, then held out her moonlight greatsword. “Would this work?”

Maud’s normally deadpan expression suddenly morphed into a shocked one. “Where’d you get this? This is amazing work.”

“I got it off Gravewing, though I’m sure some other outside force had put it there.” Sunset handed her the weapon and she ran a hand along its bluish blade.

“You have brought me a fine weapon, Sunset Shimmer.” Maud placed it on her anvil. “I shall make it even finer.”

Maud went to work, melting the titanite into a liquid metal, before layering it over Sunset’s magical blade. Once that was done, she lifted her hammer and brought it down repeatedly. Sunset didn’t know how all of this worked, but hey, if her weapon was to improve, she had no qualms about what Maud were to do with it.

With one final strike, Maud placed her tools down and handed the weapon back to Sunset. “New and improved. You’ll find it hurts enemies more now.”

“Cool. Thanks, Maud. Really. It means a lot that you’re helping me.”

“You’re going to save our world and go home, are you not?” The purple haired girl picked up a nearby rock and gave it a rub. “And so I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re well equipped.”

“See? Maud’s real nice!” Pinkie gave her sister a hug. “Thanks, Maud! Come on, Sunset, let’s get you more prepared than you ever will!”

Sunset barely had any time to have as Pinkie dragged her out of the smithy. As she held her greatsword in her hands, she couldn’t feel any difference, but perhaps just like her souls, she would be able to inflict greater wounds with her weapon now. As she neared Twilight and the others, she suddenly picked up the sound of footsteps crunching on the grass behind herself and Pinkie. Someone else was coming.

“Wow, look at that! That’s a beast!” a new voice sounded behind her, though it was really familiar.

Turning, Sunset spotted a blue haired boy in leather armor standing behind her, a spear at his side. She knew him. After all, they had even dated for a while.

“F-Flash? You’re here too?” she asked in bewilderment. Just who else was here? Was all of the human world here too?

“Oh, you know me?” He grinned. “I suppose tales of my strength might have gotten to more ears than I thought. Might I ask the name of someone as beautiful as yourself?”

“O-Oh, uh, well…” Sunset blushed and rubbed the back of her head. “Sunset. S-Sunset Shimmer.”

“A delight to meet you, Sunset Shimmer.” Flash waved to Sandalwood. “I got your knife back from the blacksmith. Good as new.” He removed a short blade and tossed it to the green haired pyromancer.

“Right on.” Sandalwood caught it and inspected the blade. “Did you hear? Sunset got the four Flames of Death. She’s ready to enter the Throne.”

“So that was what all that flashy magic was.” Flash looked to the sky. “Beautiful and talented. We must find time to get to know each other.”

“Sunset’s going to beat the snot out of the Flame of Disparity. Then she’s gonna go home!”

Flash Sentry looked confused.

“She’s from another world.”

“Oh.”

Sunset couldn’t help but feel sorry for Flash. He always seemed to get attracted to girls who were from different worlds, even including the human world’s Twilight, in a metaphoric sense.

But Flash was a good friend, even if she hadn’t seen it at first. He was always protective and kind. Sunset mused about that. Perhaps if she hadn’t been so bent on obtaining power, she would’ve seen him as more than just a pawn back then.

“So, to the Abyss, is it?” Flash planted his spear’s end on the ground and leaned against it. “Can’t say I enjoy the thought of you going in there alone.”

“She’s already been in plenty, Flash,” Sandalwood explained. “She’s beaten even Gravewing, Firedrake of the Depths.”

“Oh. Right.” His eyes returned to Sunset’s new weapon. “So, this sword, where did you get something like that?”

Sunset flipped the weapon in her hand. “I pulled it out of Gravewing’s tail. I’m not sure how it got there, but I’m thinking it was placed there magically. I think… I think someone wanted me to have this.”

Pinkie tilted her head to the side. “What makes you say that?”

“It was that voice again.” Sunset thought back. “It was the same voice as the Spirit of the Rite of Kindling. I don’t know what she is, but… I think she’s from outside this dream if she’s helping us against that Lord of the Waking Nightmare.”

“Receiving help from outside…” Twilight rubbed her lavender chin. “Interesting. You must truly be special indeed, Young Flame.”

“Oh, I’m nothing special…” Sunset blushed again and looked at her feet. “I’m just a girl trying to live life better with my friends, overcoming magical entities and evils together.”

“Sounds quite special to me!” Pinkie was beside her, a wide grin on her face. “We’re your friends too, right? Right?”

Sunset looked at her, Fluttershy, Sandalwood, Flash and Twilight. “Yes, you’re all my friends. I couldn’t have made it this far without any of you.”

Sandalwood chuckled. “Flash has yet to help.”

The blue haired boy rubbed the back of his head. “That is… true. What can I do to help, Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset shrugged. “I don’t suppose you can traverse the Abyss?”

“I don’t suppose I can…” Flash sighed. “Hey, I could always give you what souls I have. That way, you can get stronger for your final battle.”

“Hey, that’s a great idea!” Sandalwood got up and dusted his pants. “We can all give you what we have.”

“What? That’s like giving me all your money. I can’t possibly accept that.”

“You can if it means saving our world, Sunset Shimmer. Come on, take it.” Flash opened his pack and held out a wispy ball of light. “Souls of a proud warrior.”

“You can have mine too!” Pinkie said happily, holding out her own ball of souls to her.

“M-Mine too…” Fluttershy grinned.

Sunset looked to her friends and couldn’t help but tear a bit. Even here, they were willing to give up what they have to help her. She really couldn’t have asked for better friends of a better power. Her friends were her power and no power in any world could ever top that.

“Then I gladly accept your gifts.” She held out her palm.

Their souls floated over to her like little dancing fireflies, which merged into a much bigger one as they met atop her hand.

“Now, that’s a soul of a great warrior, if I’ve ever seen one.” Flash whistled. 

Sunset nodded. It was a huge mass of souls now. Lifting it to her face, she closed her hands over the soul and watched as it broke apart and entered her pack; immediately, she felt its weight in her satchel.

“Come, Young Flame.” Twilight held out her hand. “Come take nourishment from these sovereignless souls.”

Sunset did as she was told and kneeled down before the firekeeper, feeling strength fill her bones and muscle, making her more powerful.

Once she was done, Twilight stepped back and put her hands together. “You are ready, Young Flame. The time is now. Cleanse this world of the spreading Abyss and wake.”

“You got this, Sunset…” Fluttershy nodded. “Only you can do this. And I believe you can.”

“She’s right, you know?” Pinkie grabbed her in a bear hug. “Go get ‘em, Sunset!”

“Yeah, dude, you’ll do just fine.” Sandalwood held out his pyromancy flame. “You have what I’ve taught you. I’m sure they’ll come in handy.”

Flash scratched the back of his head and grinned. “I haven’t been of much help till now, but… I do hope we can meet each other again.”

Sunset’s cheeks coloured. She wondered what this Flash Sentry really thought of her. She wondered what he would think if he really knew her. A part of her also thought perhaps she could try again, starting from a clean slate. Would Flash still be with her if she hadn’t been such a terrible person?

But these were thoughts for another time. Sunset had a mission to finish, and by Faust she was going to finish it. She looked at her moonlight greatsword and nodded. Something had put this here, just for her. Whatever the Spirit of the Rite of Kindling was, it seemed to be of Equestrian magic. Somehow, that had worked its way into this dream world to aid her. She was going to do this. She was going to succeed. For her friends here and her friends back home.

“The portal awaits, Young Flame.” Twilight motioned to the burning blue vortex by the cliff’s edge. “The Throne of the Fallen Hearth is open to you.”

Sunset walked to it, then turned to face her friends one more time. “Don’t worry. I’ll finish this. I’ll end this scourge and I’ll return this world to what it once was. I’ll find my way home.”

And she stepped through it.
> Chapter 31: Throne of the Fallen Hearth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drawgren, Spear of Fire. Doland, Light of the Sky. Sisha, the Immolating Force. Gravewing, Firedrake of the Depths.

She had obtained these Flames of Death over her journey in this land, and it wasn’t an easy task to even get one.

Sunset Shimmer felt she had come far, standing at the bottom of a mountain of ash. Above her, a towering black spire overlooked her spot and the sea surrounding her, with a blazing lance of bright fire shooting up from it into the eclipse hanging in the sky.

The Throne of the Fallen Hearth.

This was it. This was her final mission. Everything she’d struggled to accomplish led her to this very moment. She was so close to getting home now, she could feel it.

All around her, there was no sound, except for the throbbing and pulsing of the fire ahead. There were no bird calls, no insects, nor did the sea’s waves make any sound. Around the sea hovered a black mass of darkness, writhing and slithering as though it was alive. She was back in the Abyss again.

According to the others, this was where the Abyss had originated, somehow emerging from the Throne of Flames as its fire had began to die out, with the Flame of Disparity now giving fuel to this dark creation.

And that was what she had come to do. To stop the Flame of Disparity and rid the world of the Abyss.

Holding her moonlight greatsword tightly in one hand, Sunset began to make her way up the ashen mountain, her greaves crunching in the pale dust beneath her feet.

Of the whole mountain range Sunset could see from Fyrlon, only the one she was standing on was devoid of trees. The other mountains on the various islands on the sea had forests, whether they were caked in ash or not.

As she got further up the slope, the flaming pillar’s brilliance increased in intensity, and it was almost too blinding for her to look at. Sunset had to look away as she trekked up, careful not to slip on the ash and tumble back down to the beginning. It was quite the steep climb, with Sunset having to hold on to some swords and rocks jutting out of the mountain surface to keep herself from falling. She didn’t know why there were swords here, but perhaps they belonged to others who journeyed her in ages past.

Eventually, it got too steep for Sunset to go any further, but with a few throws of her star sword, she soon found herself at the top of a cliff, wondering why she hadn’t thought to do that sooner.

Now that she was at the top, Sunset could see that the next area was a plateau, with nothing but the spire on it, which was smack in the middle. The ash around the spire was black, so dark that even the flaming pillar’s brilliance was not reflected off them. The black ash got more dense towards the spire, making it look like a sea of tar around it.

There was a bonfire just in front of her and Sunset took this chance to rest up from her climb up. Nothing stood between her and the spire, which meant she was going to be in for a fight of her life pretty soon.

She took this time to reflect on her adventure thus far, and also on the friends who had helped her get to where she was now. Rainbow Dash had been the first one she met, even directing her to Fyrlon the first time. She had given her life so that Sunset might be here today, and she was never going to forget how loyal she was. Then there was Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. The two of them had helped her on many occasions, be it in an actual fight or just a talk. They were rooting for her back in Fyrlon with Sandalwood, Flash and Twilight.

Then there was Applejack and Rarity. They were still stuck somewhere down in the Abyss, hopefully staying safe. They too, had helped Sunset out on more occasions than one, even having to make sacrifices to ensure she could keep going, but at least now, their friendship had been mended. She just hoped they would make it out fine once she stopped the Flame of Disparity.

There were more, like Vinyl, Maud, and even that random owl with the goods. If not for them, her journey would certainly be harder indeed.

Sunset knew all this to be true. She would never have made it this far on her own, but it was because of her friends, she was close, so very close to saving them all and returning home. A single tear slid down her eye as she contemplated how privileged and honoured she was to have friends like that. It gave her the resolve to win this and end the Abyss’ corruption once and for all.

“This ends today…”

When she was rested well beyond her need for it, Sunset got up and made her way towards the spire, expecting a tough fight to come. The ash crunched under her footsteps as she walked along the flat plane, getting closer and closer to the towering spire. As she got closer, Sunset could make out rows of windows along the length of the structure, all the way to the top. Through them, she could see the burning pillar within, coming from the ground level of the spire, emanating from something in the center.

With the intensity of the fire getting hotter and hotter as she went on, Sunset had to fight the urge to run away. This was much hotter than the Underisle of Fire, but she had to end this, or else no one was going home. Only she had the power to end this, and she had to do this, now or never.

With one more step, Sunset arrived by the giant doors to the spire, which she had to push open with all her might. She only got a fraction of it open, but it was enough to allow her to squeeze through to get into the structure.

Once she was inside, Sunset saw that it was a throne the flaming pillar was coming from. There was nothing else in the room, but a single throne, positioned near the rear of the tower, with two steps leading up to it. Even through the blinding flames of the pillar, Sunset could make out a figure sitting atop the throne.

It was human in shape, wearing some kind of dark and ancient knight armor, with its visor down to cover its face. By its left hand, a flaming sword rested against the throne, its blade as black as the ash around her feet.

Suddenly, behind Sunset, a wave of fire erupted from the black ashy floor, blocking her way out as the figure stood.

This was it. This was the Flame of Disparity. Her final challenge.

The Flame picked up its fiery sword and stepped down from the throne, its right arm outstretched. The flaming pillar behind it began to shrink, no longer touching the sky as wisps of it filled the Flame’s hand, slowly turning from orange to blue. A shape began to form in its hand and in no time, a brilliant blue spear now rested in its palm, the speartip almost as long as the sword blade in its left.

The Flame of Disparity gave her one earthshaking roar, its flames around itself a mix of orange and blue now. Then it approached her, taking slow but huge steps.

“Here we go…”

Sunset removed her moonlight greatsword from her back and held it in both hands, its green blade gleaming in the light. She too, approached the knight slowly, ready to do battle.

The Flame struck first, suddenly dashing forward and stabbing forward with its spear. Sunset twisted herself to the side and parried the attack, though the end of the spear released a blast of blue flame out its speartip, which would’ve vaporized her if she had still been in front of the weapon. She swung her blade at the knight, but it deflected her attack with its sword, then thrust its weapon down at her. Sunset did a combat roll and gained distance between them, building up magic within her greatsword.

Sunset broke into a run, her weapon raised. The Flame of Disparity slammed its spear into the ground, unleashing a ring of azure flames that expanded toward Sunset. With a flick of her weapon, she released a wave of magic, dispelling the ring of fire and knocking the Flame of Disparity back a step as it got hit in the shoulder. 

But it quickly recovered and waved its blade at Sunset, who was suddenly seized by a desire to dodge. So she threw herself to the right, narrowly missing being flattened by a huge chunk of half-molten rock that had come crashing down on the spot where she had been standing.

Using her momentum to keep moving, Sunset spun around and slashed with her greatsword, sending another wave of magic barreling into the Flame, who took another step back as it hit it. Holding both spear and sword up, it advanced and began slashing them at Sunset in quick successions, forcing her to move to avoid them, looking almost like some sort of demented dance routine.

The blue spear nicked her in the thigh and her skin was instantly ablaze with the icy grip of the blue fire, sending Sunset falling to one knee. The Flame leapt high and aimed its spear down at her, but Sunset was quick to roll backwards, at the same time, throwing a fireball up at it. A fiery explosion ensued and singed the ends of Sunset’s hair, but otherwise she had gotten far enough to down an estus flask to restore her strength.

The Flame of Disparity left the ball of fire and swung its two weapons at her, with Sunset deflecting what she could and dodging the rest. She blocked one strike from the Flame’s sword, then spinning around, Sunset bent lower and avoided the thrust of its spear, at the same time, spearing her greatsword back into its right shoulder, piercing right through its old armor and shattering its right pauldron.

The knight fell back a step and its spear dissipated. Sunset thought she had dealt a finishing blow, until the blue flames whipped around behind the Flame and formed brilliant flaming wings. Flaming feathers flicked off of them and in a flash, the Flame of Disparity was upon her, grabbing Sunset around the throat and launching them both up into the air so fast that she felt her eyes were going to burst.

Sunset kicked at the Flame, then swung her greatsword, but it let go of her and slashed her with its fiery sword. Sunset spun out of the way, but the blade still sheared off her left pauldron, also burning away a portion of her chainmail as it passed. She threw a fireball at it, but the Flame moved quickly, flying around her with its blue wings.

With no other alternative as she fell, Sunset sheathed her moonlight greatsword and retrieved her star sword, tossing it at the Flame of Disparity as hard as she could. The Flame of Disparity rolled in mid air away from the thrown weapon, leaving Sunset to teleport up just out of reach. She tried it again, but this time, the Flame swatted her weapon downward, sending Sunset teleporting closer to the ground.

“Oh no,” Sunset muttered as she plummeted down to earth. She landed on the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of her, but the floor was so coated in ash and soot that it didn’t hurt nearly as much as she thought it would. It also helped that her armor had also blunted the impact.

“Okay,” Sunset said, climbing back onto her feet. “Now, I’m mad.”

The Flame of Disparity gave no indication that it had heard. It raised both arms to the sky and several circular runes appeared behind it on the ground. From within the circles, ghostly blue figures emerged, standing in rows of four. Then each of them raised a greatbow and fired at Sunset in unison.

Sunset dodged under the first arrow in the volley, deflected another great arrow with her sword, but doing so knocked her off balance long enough for another lance to pierce her through the shoulder. The projectile carried enough momentum to blast her backwards, trailing blood in the air as she fell. The only mercy here was that the rest of the arrows went right over her head. For the second time in a few moments, Sunset lay face-up in the ashes, this time surrounded by a pool of blood. 

The girl groaned and pushed up, drinking another estus flask to restore her energy. This wasn’t going to be a walk in the park at all. She needed to use her head if she was going to survive this.

The Flame of Disparity surged at her, propelling itself on blazing blue wings, with more spectral archers firing their arrows at her. Sunset dived to the left, kicking up more ashen clouds. Her opponent had left a burning aftertrail in its wake, and as she recovered, the knight leapt into the air and brought its weapon crashing down at Sunset, intending to crush her. With a throw of her weapon, Sunset was behind the Flame, and with a spin, she slashed it across the back, ripping through more of its ancient armor and sending fragments of it falling to the floor. 

But her satisfaction was short-lived. One of the flaming wings reached out and wrapped itself around her sword arm as she swung it. The blazing wing burned icy cold against Sunset’s vambrace, and she saw frost begin to creep across the metal. So she did the only thing she could. Sunset cut through the leather straps holding the vambrace in place and slipped her arm out.

Taking advantage of the split second that she had while the Flame of Disparity was still gripping her empty armor, Sunset slashed with her moonlight greatsword, releasing a crescent shaped wave of power that slammed into the knight, knocking it down. The blue wings exploded in a ring of fire, sending her tumbling back as it rose back on its feet, again stretching out its right hand as the blue fire converged into a ball around its palm. From it, the Flame of Disparity removed a long greatsword of its own, sporting a familiar hollow blade, though this one was made out entirely of blue fire.

The knight raised its weapon over its head and charged at Sunset with tremendous speed, its feet making puffs of ash rise up. Sunset reacted instinctively by throwing her star sword back to gain more breathing room. The Flame of Disparity’s blue sword cleaved the space where Sunset had been standing, but just as she thought it was safe, a swarm of small blue fireballs jumped from the weapon and flew at her. She blocked what she could with her moonlight greatsword, but one got through her guard, burning her on the right forearm.

Sunset scrambled back and patted the fire out, already missing her vambrace. 

It’s an amalgamation of all the Flames of Death. Sunset realized. That means, once I defeat this form, the next will be… oh no.

The Flame advanced, slashing both swords at her, with the greatsword having too long of a reach now, forcing her to switch back to her star sword to take to the air. Sunset hurled an orange fireball of her own at the Flame, but it raised its weapons and blocked it.

With a spin, the Flame of Disparity cut at the ground with its blue greatsword, spurting up ash into the air, obscuring Sunset’s view. The knight itself took a step back and disappeared behind a veil of ash, leaving Sunset standing alone, looking around and keeping an eye out through the ash. She didn’t know where the Flame was now, but she could guess it would try to attack from a different angle now that it had the element of surprise.

All was quiet around Sunset. There was not a hint of footsteps or armor clanking together. All she could hear was her own heartbeat in her ears as she watched for the Flame’s attack.

And then there was a faint buzz. Sunset only had half a second to register it as a wisp of fire, ducking just as a blue flaming blade passed by over her head, barely missing her. Anticipating the next strike, Sunset rolled to the side as the fiery blade came crashing down from above, setting the immediate area ablaze, forcing Sunset back as she threw a fireball out of the ash cloud towards the sword’s origin. There was a glow of orange from beyond the cloud, but in only a second, the flaming blue blade slashed across the expanse again, forcing Sunset into a roll. 

Just how do I beat this thing?!

Deciding if was enough, Sunset requipped her star sword and threw it out of the ash cloud, teleporting to it, safely away just as another sword slash sliced through the cloud. With a wave of both weapons, the ash dissipated into waves of blue and orange as the Flame charged towards her new position, weapons at its sides.

Sunset held her moonlight greatsword back, and when it was ready, slashed it forward, sending out a beam of turquoise magic, cutting towards the Flame like a shark’s fin through water.

The Flame of Disparity plowed through the wave and thrust its left hand weapon at Sunset, who barely backed out of reach. The tip of the sword just nicked a groove in her breastplate, scorching a line across the leather piece.

Dancing back, Sunset exchanged blows with the Flame, trying to find a way through its long greatsword and quick longsword. It was tiring work, and Sunset didn’t know how much longer she could actually keep this up. She was tempted to drink her white estus flask, but she didn’t know if she had it in her to end the fight before its power waned. Saving it for the next phase seemed to be the better idea.

Stepping to the left, Sunset ducked under a horizontal slice from the greatsword, and then leaning back up, she parried the orange sword away, before spinning back and thrusting her moonlight greatsword straight for the Flame of Disparity’s chest.

The tip punctured right through the knight’s armor, but it leapt back before it could deal any serious damage, cutting out with its own greatsword at the same time.

Sunset had to teleport out of the way with her star sword, or she’d probably be in two pieces by now.

She was quickly running out of options. She had to try something more drastic.

Readying a fireball, Sunset sprinted to the Flame, pulling her arm back as she opened her palm to hold the pyromancy. She threw it when she was closer, and just as the Flame was about to attack with its blue greatsword again. Its weapon connected with her fireball and triggered the explosion, covering the area in a ball of fire and smoke. But Sunset didn’t stop there. Still running, she readied the moonlight greatsword in two hands and leapt through the smoke.

The Flame of Disparity was caught by surprise as she flew in over it, plunging her weapon down right through its helmet. Ripping her blade out, Sunset kicked off its shoulders, and then slashed a beam of magic at it, shattering the visor of its helmet completely, revealing only fire within it.

Her enemy dropped its weapons and sank to its knees, the blue greatsword exploding into a scatter of icy cold fireballs.

This was it. Sunset knew she was close now, but this next bit, if she guessed correctly, was going to be much harder than the last three phases.

The flames of death swirled behind the knight now, and when they were close enough, they sprang to life, igniting in long flaming spikes behind it, forming into large tendrils which swirled together, resembling dragon wings.

From its broken helmet, the fire within flashed from orange to blue, then extended and formed into a huge gaping maw, complete with a roar which shook the ground beneath their feet.

“Now or never…” Sunset whipped out her white estus flask and drank all of it.

Feeling the might of the white estus flask fill her and transform her body, Sunset gritted her teeth and sprinted towards the Flame of Disparity, holding her weapon out in front of her face. The Flame emitted a monstrous roar and exhaled a churning torrent of blue flame at Sunset. At the last second, Sunset leapt, using the strength granted to her by the white flask to clear the cone of fire. 

However, the Flame of Disparity was not out of tricks. While Sunset was airborne and unable to change direction, it clenched its fist and a flaming blue javelin appeared in its grip. Sunset’s eyes widened, but could do nothing as the Flame hurled the spear at her, effectively sniping her out of the air with an explosion of plasma.

Sunset hit the ground in a puff of ash that got into her mouth and nostrils. Spluttering, she staggered to her feet and looked around for her opponent. 

“Oh, Celestia,” she said quietly, for there was a veritable tidal wave of blue flame bearing down on her.

With her added strength, Sunset held the star sword in her other hand and threw it, getting out of the way of the fire, then slashing with her moonlight greatsword in her main hand before landing in a roll. She didn’t stop, sprinting around the Flame and launching beams of moonlight at it, knocking more pieces of its breaking armor off.

The Flame of Disparity seemed to be unable to keep up with Sunset’s speed, but after its left pauldron shattered, it beat its wings and took to the sky, holding its sword pointed upwards. Rays of light gathered at the sword’s tip, coalescing into an ever growing orb.

Sunset was contemplating whether she should throw her star sword up to engage when the Flame swung its sword downwards, the orb exploding into dozens of miniature shooting stars that flew in arcs and loops, but were all homing in on Sunset’s position. Sunset teleported herself around, running when she could to avoid the projectiles as they began blowing up parts of the spire, raining debris down on her as well. At the same time, the Flame flew after her, breathing fire down from above.

With so many attacks coming from so many directions, Sunset did the one plausible thing and got away from the ground, throwing her star sword high. She kicked off from debris to debris, using them to shield herself from the stars as well. Out from behind an explosion of fire, the Flame of Disparity swooped into her and grabbed her around the neck with its free hand, its flames of death burning coldly on her exposed skin. It smashed her into the side of the spire and dragged her along it, breaking it apart even more.

Kicking a foot against the wall, Sunset spun herself around and stabbed both swords through the Flame’s chest armor, only to be rewarded with a burst of icy flame from the holes. Sunset recoiled back, but with its orange flaming sword, the Flame slashed her across the chest, cutting right through her leather, plate, chainmail and even skin, then threw her back towards the ground as it breathed down a torrent of blue fire.

Mustering her strength, Sunset threw her star sword to the opposite end of the arena, rolling to a stop on the ashen ground as she downed an estus flask to heal her wound. She only had two left, and she didn’t know how much longer her white estus waa going to last. She needed to press her attack and force the Flame on the defensive.

The Flame of Disparity banked left towards her, still breathing down its fire at her. Sunset stood up and ran, then dropped her star sword behind herself. As the Flame passed over it and was about to burn her to a cinder, Sunset materialized back to where her sword was, and now behind the Flame, where it was safe. 

With her white estus flask power running out, Sunset looked up at the Flame, which was still circling the arena. She wouldn’t be able to land a solid hit head on. She would have to use her wits and be tricky. If the Flame was emulating Gravewing, then victory must be near. Determination filled Sunset's heart. She did not come this far only to fail now.

As the Flame wheeled around for another pass, Sunset watched its flight pattern. For such an unbalanced weight, the thing was making good air time. It came back for another round, breathing fire down towards her.

With only one way to get up to the Flame, Sunset ran again, waiting for the right moment. Her time was running out, so it was now or never.

Dropping her weapon behind again, Sunset teleported to it as the fires passed over it and before it could catch up to her, Sunset was by her star sword once again, this time, wasting no time in throwing it up towards the Flame as it flew on. But the flying knight must have seen it coming, as it suddenly ascended out of reach, showering the area with fiery spears that it shot from its wings.

Sunset landed in a crouch. This just kept on getting tougher and tougher. How had she defeated Gravewing the first time around? Of course, she had used that glass shield to block some of his attacks and attacked the weak points on the dragon’s back. But there were no weak points this time, at least no obvious ones. And she did not have her shield any longer.

But she did have the power granted to her by her white estus flask, and maybe one or two pyromancies left.

The Flame of Disparity swooped down low at Sunset, a cluster of shooting stars gathering on its wings. Sunset swallowed. This would require perfect timing and a lot of pain on her part, but she saw no other way to win. 

Diving so as almost level to the ground, the Flame sped at Sunset, sword outstretched as if to skewer her on its point. Waiting until the very last second, Sunset then lightly tossed her star sword up, just a meter.

The Flame screamed past, nicking Sunset on the shoulder with its blade, but she teleported up and landed on the Flame’s back. Sunset grabbed hold of the bases of the Flame of Disparity’s wings with her hands, ignoring the burning cold that permeated through her skin and bones as she did so.

Using her enhanced strength granted to her by her white estus flask, Sunset pulled with all her might. She could feel the transformation beginning to fade, but she soldiered on, pulling with every last ounce of strength that she knew she didn’t have left, Sunset pulled.

There was a burst of icy heat as Sunset pulled the wings free. An awful screaming noise came from within the Flame’s armor, and both of them tumbled out of the air and smashed into the central throne, reducing it to rubble.

Sunset lay there among the debris. Her pony ears and tail dissolved into sparkles, and she felt like she had been run over by a train. If the Flame was still alive, then she had no more power to fight back any more.

Somewhere close by to Sunset, there was a rumbling sound. Sunset felt despair seep into her spirit. How could it still be alive, after all she had done to it? It didn’t seem fair that she had survived everything this world had thrown at her only to fail at the last hurdle. 

Her fingers groped around for her star sword, which was thankfully just right next to her. With some trouble, Sunset sat up.

The Flame of Disparity was standing in the rubble of the throne, but it wasn’t attacking. Blue flames poured form its joints, spiralling upwards into a pillar of fire.

Just above it, the top of the pillar formed into a ball of darkness, so black that the flames around them did not reflect on its surface. The blue flames seeped out of the Flame of Disparity and entered the ball, which hovered ominously above the scene.

With her strength gone, Sunset stowed her star sword and held out her moonlight greatsword in both hands, just in case.

When the last of the blue fire entered the black ball, it spun in the air a few times, shrinking at the same time. With a burst of energy, it dissipated into a shower of sparkles, disappearing amongst the ashes as the Flame of Disparity returned to its orange glow. The knight’s armor began to break apart now, floating up above its form and disappearing from sight.

Its head turned to Sunset and words suddenly entered her mind. “O’ Chosen Flame, a great feat has been accomplished today. With your victory, the control of the Abyss is no more, and I am free. There shall be disparity no longer. The Flames of Life must flow now and with them, so must I. Thank you.”

All around her, the black ash began to float up as well, and the darkness that blanketed the surrounding area also began to recede, allowing Sunset the view of the clear skies once again, which were still orange from the eclipse in the air.

When at last, the greaves of the Flame broke away into the air, the rest of the orange flames followed suit, and Sunset was left by herself, standing there in the center of the ruined spire.

She did it. She won.

I won! I actually won!

Sunset fell on her knees and laughed with relief. She had never been so happy to finish a task. She had beaten the Flame of Disparity and cleansed this world of the Abyss once and for all. Her friends here were free. She was going to be free! She was going to wake up!

Drinking an estus flask to remove the aches and pains in her body, Sunset fell back and sat herself down, so relieved it was all about to end and she would be home with her real friends once more.

With the Abyss gone, the Applejack and Rarity in this world would also be free and she owed them that much for getting her so far through her journey. She owed it to all of them.

Sunset closed her eyes, hoping to see the real world again when she opened them, but after a few minutes of doing so, opening them still produced the orange and ashen landscape she was still in.

“Hello?” Sunset called. “I’m ready to wake up now! Anyone?”

There was no reply, but the sky suddenly grew darker, and thunderheads formed over the Throne of the Fallen Hearth, spearing out from beyond the eclipse and spanning across the entire sky.

“Oh, you’re not ready to wake up just yet,” a sinister voice boomed from the heavens. “The Nightmare churns unending, and all the world a dream, is mine to command!”
> Chapter 32: Awakening Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer gazed up to the darkening sky as the ring of light around the eclipse began to grow in intensity. With the sky growing to match the blackness of the moon in front of the sun, the ring of fire almost looked independent from the eclipse.

A sharp laughter echoed around the mountainous expanse, making the girl look back and forth as she tried to find out where it was coming from.

It was when she looked up through the ruined spire and squinted that she saw where the voice had come from.

From the darkness of the eclipse, a form descended slowly, almost like it was floating down like a fallen leaf.

It was a man, or at least, it was in the shape of a man. He had on plated armor, over long grey cloth, and on his head was a crown, looping around his sides and back of his head, adorned with spikes that looked sharp enough to kill.

This was him. Sunset knew it must be. This was the one she had heard of along her journey here.

The Lord of the Waking Nightmare.

It had to be him. This was the one who put her here in the first place. And he was the one who was going to let her out.

“Who are you? What do you want from me?” Sunset pointed her moonlight greatsword at him as he halted his descent, his feet hovering just over the ashen ground. “Release me at once!”

“So commanding…” he chuckled and stretched his arms out. “But you have no power here. This world is mine to command.”

“Why am I even here?” Sunset narrowed her eyes at him.

The man rubbed his chin and grinned. “Think of this as… a prison. This was where I intended to trap you for all eternity, should you be unable to succeed in your quest. You were not supposed to get this far, however. You have had help from something I have yet to determine. Alas, you will still not be returning home, whether you have that Equestrian magic with you or not.”

“Equestrian magic...” Sunset looked to her greatsword. So the sword and the white estus was really from forces outside this dream world. Someone or something was helping her from beyond. “What am I to you? Why me?”

“That is for me to know, little girl,” the man said smugly. “I’ll commend you for pushing the dream far enough to get me to show myself, but this is where your path ends.”

“I didn’t come all this way just to stop now.” The glow of Sunset’s weapon intensified. “I’m going back to where I belong, and you’re going to let me.”

“Ha! I applaud your resolve, Sunset Shimmer, but I think that you don’t realize how outmatched you are here. In this realm, I control all. Observe, Young Flame.”

The man lifted his hand and suddenly, the world around Sunset warped, the ash growing dark and the mountains splitting into afterimages of themselves, spanning across the entire landscape, making it look like she was staring into mirrors. Everything was silent around her and the man had vanished.

“You think you can defeat me just because you’ve bested the creations I made to stop you? Observe.”

Hands erupted from under Sunset and grabbed on to her legs, slowly pulling themselves up to her waist. They seemed to float in midair, ending at the stump, but they were strong, trying to pull her down to her knees.

Sunset cut at them with her greatsword, but then switched to her star sword and teleported out of their grasps, only for the world to shift around her again, spinning horizontally and making the girl’s eyes spin.

A harsh laughter echoed around her as the mountains around her began smashing into each other, launching debris up into the air.

Sunset saw the man, levitating above the flying debris as if standing on an invisible platform. He sneered down at her from his lofty perch. 

Sunset set her teeth, and ignoring the aches and scrapes she had gotten from her previous fight, threw her star sword up at the man. It didn’t quite reach, but Sunset warped to the sword and threw it again in mid air, narrowly missing some flying chunks of rock. If she could just get close to him, she might be able to do some damage.

Falling short again, Sunset flung her star sword one last time, putting all the strength that she had into her third and final throw.

The star sword flew up towards the man, who looked at Sunset dispassionately. Then he reached out his left hand and caught the star sword. Sunset gasped, but couldn’t stop herself from teleporting to the sword, right into her enemy’s grip.

“Nice knife.” The man smirked, before tightening his grip on the blade. There was a grinding noise as his gauntlet rubbed against the weapon, then a blast of light and heat as the star sword splintered in his grip, metal shards falling down to earth. “You’re next.” He took Sunset by the throat and hurled her toward the ground below.

Sunset smashed into the ground, bouncing twice as she did so. She groaned and pushed herself back up on one arm. She looked around. It was all black, with no sign of anything. She spat blood and staggered to her feet.

Suddenly, a flaming chain lashed out and wrapped around her left leg, dragging her down into the darkness below, almost as though there hadn’t been a floor in the first place. Sunset reached into her pack, badly needing an estus flask, but before she could grab one, more chains shot out of the darkness, wrapping her arms and right leg in their grasps, burning through her armor and skin as they wrapped tighter around her limbs.

“Ha ha ha!” Came a familiar laugh. Sunset looked around, and saw Nicolash standing before her, holding the chains in his bony hands. “The Head of the Charge rides again!”

“Oh, not you again,” Sunset said through gritted teeth. “I have had it with you!”

Nicolash’s flaming skull head leered closer to Sunset and he pulled on the chains. Sunset was pulled toward the skeletal Nicolash, her body being dragged along the floor so roughly that the remains of her armor threw up sparks.

Sunset flinched as Nicolash’s open jaws filled her vision. Then there was the sound of glass breaking and she opened her eyes. She was back in the Keep of Glass, but this time it was just one narrow hallway. The glass breaking sound came again, and Sunset looked behind her to see that from a high balcony, huge glass owls were falling down nearer and nearer to her. She had no illusions about what would happen if one of those glass statues landed on her. 

Having no time for her estus flask yet, she picked herself up, and scrambled down the hallway as the cascade of glass owls smashed behind her. Glass shards flew and some of them nicked her exposed skin.

There, in front of her! An open door. If she could just reach it…

Putting the last of her strength to her legs, Sunset sprinted for the door, with glass owls almost smashing at her heels now.

Sunset dived through the doorway, feeling the wind from the glass statues touch her legs. Then she was falling, falling through the air, downward like a leaf in the breeze. She crashed into something hard and cold, knocking her left shoulder out of place. Sunset groaned in pain and weakly reached for the estus flask in her pack. This was her last one, but she had to use it or whatever the Lord of the Waking Nightmare tossed at her next would surely be her last. Pouring the flask’s contents down her throat, she was instantly rejuvenated, shooting to her feet as she took in her surroundings. She was back in the Cataclysm Hollows and there was no sign of any glass owls or Nicolash. All around her, hollows of all shapes and sizes with their crazy enlarged heads limped towards her, their fingers bared and ready to rip her to pieces. 

Sunset hefted her moonlight sword. The odds were not in her favor, and there was a good chance she would get swarmed before she could take out all of them. However, she had to try; there was no other course of action.

The first of the hollows reached her, swinging a left claw at her. Sunset swung her sword and shaved its arm off at the elbow, then delivered a swift slice across its chest, sending it spiralling away, dead. The next few advanced, with Sunset swinging her sword in an arc and releasing waves of magical energy, destroying a few of the hollows instantly.

One grabbed her leg, but the girl cut off its fingers, then plunged her weapon through its huge head, before cutting out of it and shearing another hollow in two from the waist down. Sunset took a few steps back, cutting another two hollows at the neck as she dove away from their grasping arms. They were too numerous. She needed to find another way to get out of this. With her pyromancy depleted, there was no way to toss a fireball to incinerate them all and with her star sword gone, there was also no quick escape.

And then she was falling. Before she could even assess what was happening, Sunset found herself a few meters deep in a lake, still sinking towards the bottom as her mind tried to process what had happened. When she finally shook herself out of her shock, she began swimming, trying to get herself back to the surface as quickly as possible. Her armor was heavy and it weighed her down, so doing the only sensible thing, Sunset pried off her remaining chest pieces and gauntlet, leaving her in only her chainmail and greaves as she finally managed to breach the surface. 

Sunset gasped for air and floundered in the water for a moment before getting her bearings. She felt herself being pulled in some kind of current, and she was horrified to see that she was caught in the outer reaches of a massive whirlpool, that was slowly but surely drawing her into its center.

Sunset’s eyes widened and she tried to swim away, but the current had her in its iron grip, not letting her go. To make matters worse, a trio of fishmen emerged from under the current and grabbed her body, pulling her head back under.

Sunset swung her weapon, cutting one in the shoulder, spewing black blood into the swirling water. She wriggled her whole arm free and stabbed her sword through the same fishman. Channeling her magic, Sunset shot out a straight burst through the pierced creature, vaporizing the other two on contact.

And then she was suddenly back on solid ground, hitting her back hard enough to force a torrent of water from her mouth. Sunset coughed and gagged as she sat up, one eye opened to take in her new surroundings. She recognized the kitchenware and equipment from the kitchens in Folstad Prison.

“There is no light here…” the man’s voice boomed in the small space she was in. “Give in, Sunset Shimmer. Let the darkness take you. There is no escape for you.”

“What am I to you? Why do you need to keep me here?” Sunset asked. She still didn’t know the motive behind his plans. She needed to at least know.

“You have been playing a big part in your world, girl. I have watched on for years now, your plans and works. In the future, you might be an inconvenience for someone greater. Won’t it be great if I can remove you beforehand?”

“What?” But Sunset didn’t have time to dwell more on it. From the two entrances on either side of the kitchen, the same bulbous chefs from the prison emerged, this time holding butcher knives the size of their bodies in both arms, ready to turn her into a feast.

Sunset Shimmer stepped back, trying to keep both chefs within her field of view. She had not liked the idea of fighting them all by herself, but there was no Applejack here this time to help her.

With a gurgled roar, the first one knocked over a bowl of coal and advanced on its stubby legs, holding its cleaver high. Sunset ran it through with her moonlight greatsword, feeling her blade tear through its grotesque and flabby flesh as she passed it. The chef doubled over and groaned, but then turned and slashed its cleaver at her. Sunset stepped out of the way as it sliced a table in two, but then cut up, severing its right arm. The first one arrived and cut towards her, just missing her toes as she stepped away.

As she tried to get to a better position, the room around her suddenly stretched, getting longer and longer, while the chefs seemed to get closer and closer.

Sunset took one more step away, but all of a sudden, there was no ground beneath her foot and she flailed around for a second before falling backwards, down into a deep hole. 

“Oof!”

Sunset landed hard, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Again. She was lying in some kind of dirt pit. There was no sign of the chefs, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think that her backstep had killed them. 

A shower of earth hit Sunset in the face. She spat it out and shakily sat up. More dirt began to drizzle into the hole, covering her legs. Sunset got up and tried to climb out, but the more she tried, the more the edge of the pit stretched away from her, until it was way beyond her grasp. She tried climbing up the side, but the dirt was too loose for her to get a proper foothold and she didn’t have the privilege of teleportation now that her star sword was destroyed.

“Here you will remain until the end of time, buried away. It’s for your own good; this way you needn’t see the end of the world you cherish so much. I am doing you a mercy.”

“No! No, I won’t stay put!” Sunset jumped at the sides, but slid back down each time. There was no way out and the dirt was already beginning to pool around her knees.

There was a grinding sound as a slab of stone was pushed over the mouth of the hole, trapping Sunset in darkness. She listened to the frenzied sound of her own breathing as she pulled her legs out of the dirt. It was all dark now, and she couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face.

Sunset pawed around blindly, until she realized that it was not that dark after all. Her moonlight greatsword was glowing with a cool aquamarine light, gently illuminating the inside of the hole. Dirt somehow continued to fall from above, now up to her thighs. She needed to find a way out fast.

Keeping her sword behind her, Sunset closed her eyes and concentrated, pooling magic within her blade, its glow growing in intensity. She ignored the dirt that was now piling up around her waist, instead keeping her focus on the charge building up in her weapon. Sunset held it back longer than ever before. If it was anything that could get her out of this, it would be the weapon that was not of this world.

Holding it high, Sunset released a shockwave of turquoise energy around her, blasting the dirt back up and the walls all around her away, leaving her in a now empty and vast area.

“Interesting… I have no power over that weapon…” the man’s voice came from above. “No matter. The world is still mine to control and nothing is going to stop me from keeping you here till the end of time.”

Falling to her knees, Sunset found herself back at the Throne of the Fallen Hearth, or at least, what was left of it. Ash was pooled around her knees and the familiar mountain ranges and sea surrounded her. It was a welcome sight to her, much to her surprise. She didn’t think she’d be happy to see this place again.

Atop a newly formed throne of black, sat the Lord of the Waking Nightmare, one leg crossed over the other and an apple in his hand, already half eaten.

“It seems I underestimated that weapon’s potential.” He eyed Sunset’s moonlight greatsword. “Something outside the dream has broken through. But you know even with it, you cannot win.”

“You mentioned someone greater.” Sunset stepped closer. “Who are you, really?”

The man rested his head on an arm, then threw the apple behind him. “I suppose you at least deserve to know my name, making it this far.”

There was a long and dramatic pause, which made Sunset tense up and her stance to shift. This man was no normal enemy. He was something far worse.

“I am Phantom Pain, Lord of the Waking Nightmare.” He stretched his arms high and to his sides. “I serve the one true ruler of Equestria, no, of all worlds. Only he knows the truth.”

“You’re from Equestria?”

“I escaped here eons ago, biding my time and paving the way for my lord’s return, watching for the signs and the changes. And so here we are, Sunset Shimmer. This is my domain. And you are never leaving here alive.”

Sunset was about to say something, but a stab of excruciating pain suddenly made itself known in her head, just above her eyebrows. 

Phantom Pain leaned back on his throne, flicking his finger almost lazily. The action sent a wave of force slamming into Sunset, launching the girl across the arena and into a wall. Without her armor, Sunset felt as though she had been run over by a truck. She coughed blood; that one attack had done some serious damage.

“Now, I could kill you. Very easily, in fact,” Phantom Pain said with a sneer in his voice. “But what would be the fun in that?”

Sunset pushed herself up, forced herself to stand. The moonlight greatsword felt like a ton of bricks in her hands. Another blast of force threw Sunset off her feet. One hand lost its grip on her weapon, and blood dripped down from a cut on her forehead, partially blinding one eye.

“See? Even with help from outside, you cannot possibly hope to best me.” Phantom Pain laughed. “Just give in.”

Raising his hand, the sharp pain from earlier penetrated Sunset’s mind again, forcing her on her back, her hands already shooting up to her head.

“Aaaaah!”

“Yes, fall, fear, give up. It will all come naturally enough once I am done playing with you. At that end, you will beg for the end of your life.”

Sunset squinted her eyes shut and gritted her teeth as she tried to focus on something else to drown out the pain in her head, but it was just too great of an attack. It felt as though her brain was about to explode into a billion fragments, but something was keeping it from doing so, building up the pressure.

In only six more seconds, all her senses were lost to her and the only thing that remained was the pain, the pain that she wished would end, no matter what.

I can’t do it… I can't do it! I’m not strong enough. I can’t go home…

It was a lost cause. She’d fought on so much to get here, only to be unable to return home, stuck right before the exit. In the past, in all her hopelessness, she’d always find her way back because of her friends. But in this world, those friends weren’t here to help her. In her hopelessness, she really was… all alone.

Sunset wished for more time with them. Even if it was only for a few more seconds, she would trade anything to see her friends one last time. She had treated them so badly before a time where power was everything to her and she still wished she could go back in time to change all that. Even Flash, an ex-boyfriend she had used to gain popularity and power, had been there for her after everything she had done. She would love to start again with him if she had the chance, but these were all things she should’ve done before now. Now, it was too late.

She was going to be stuck here for all time, destined to be reborn again and again until she would become hollow like many of the poor souls in this world.

“You are strong indeed, Sunset Shimmer,” Phantom Pain snickered as he continued his torture. “I am glad I decided to assess your power instead of destroying you on the spot. But in the end, you are just a misplaced girl who thinks she can accomplish anything through friendship. Today you learn that friendship isn’t the most powerful thing. Power is. And you will be here for all eternity. Alone. No one is coming to save you now.”

Sunset screamed out in pain as the intensity in her head got worse, but then almost all at once, it ended. Her eyes shot open as she panted from exhaustion, wanting to know why the pain stopped.

“It seems you have visitors, girl.” Phantom Pain looked past her.

Following his gaze, Sunset spotted a familiar head of blue hair rushing to her, a spear in his hands.

“F-Flash?” she said in bewilderment.

The boy stopped beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “That’s me. We’re here to help, Sunset.”

“What? But, how?”

He smiled and retrieved her moonlight greatsword for her. “With the disappearance of the Abyss, we were able to travel here.”

Sunset accepted her weapon back, feeling better with it in her hands. “Who else is here?”

From behind, an arrow imbued with lightning whistled through the air and towards Phantom Pain. The man lifted a hand and the arrow was halted in the air by a barrier of light.

Sunset was amazed to see a whole troop of her friends emerged from the edge of the plateau, joining her and Flash before the Lord of the Waking Nightmare, with Fluttershy leading the group, another arrow already in her bow.

Pinkie Pie and Sandalwood ran in alongside her, followed by others like Vinyl Scratch and Lightning Rain, while two more familiar girls appeared behind them.

“Rarity! Applejack!” Sunset pushed to her feet using her greatsword. “You got out!”

“Mighty easy job once that Abyss went away.” Applejack adjusted her hat and readied Dragonslayer. “It’s all thanks to ya, Sunset.”

“Very much so.” Rarity nodded. “And now it’s our turn to help you get home.”

Applejack nodded and set off at a run, with Lightning Rain hot on her heels brandishing his sword. 

Phantom Pain’s brow furrowed. “You cannot lift a finger to me; I created you in this dream. And you will be loyal to me.”

The Lord of the Waking Nightmare raised his palm and stone spikes blasted up from the ground, making a thorny wall in front of him. The spikes continued to grow, spearing towards Sunset. 

But then there was a flash of orange and a large section of the spikes were blasted away, thanks to Vinyl Scratch and Sandalwood’s combined chaos storm spells.

“Just like back in the swamps!” Sandalwood cheered as the stone spires crumbled.

With the spikes out of the way, Applejack and Lightning Rain had a clear attack on Phantom Pain, but before their weapons could connect, he was no longer there, their weapons breaking apart chunks of the man’s throne.

With a blast of dark energy, the two of them were thrown back towards Sunset and the rest of her friends, with Lightning wiping a faceful of ash away.

Vinyl waved a little pouch of sorts in her hand and a ring of yellow suddenly appeared around her.

“Here, stand in it, Sunset.” Flash helped her to the circle, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll help.”

With a blast of golden magic, Sunset felt strength return to her and she stood up straighter, clutching her greatsword in both hands.

Phantom Pain was wrong. She herself had been wrong. She wasn’t alone in this world. Even if these copies of her friends were all just a part of the dream, they were still here and friendships had been forged on the way. 

The world around them suddenly went all dark again, with mirror images of the mountains flashing across the expanse. This time, however, all of Sunset’s friends were with her, and she didn’t feel the despair from earlier.

“I control this world. You are all my creations. How do you still exist here?” Phantom Pain’s voice boomed around them. “No matter. You will all still fall at my will.”

Sunset and her friends huddled closer as the world began to shift. Vegetation and trees grew all around them and soon, hollows emerged from the ground underneath them, swords, spears or clubs in their decaying hands.

“There must be a way to stop him!” Sunset cut down one of the hollows and released a burst of magic behind it, vaporizing three more in a flash.

“Is that what it’s like to fight a god?” Lightning Rain asked as his blade claimed another hollow. The area around them swirled and churned like mixing paints, and suddenly there was water surging around them, extinguishing the pyromancers’ flames.

“This whole world is the product of some villain, then?” Rarity asked as she cast a spell to blast away a swimming hollow holding a cleaver.

“All of this is a nightmare…” Sunset said, closing her eyes and thought, a task not made any easier by all the commotion around her person. She thought back to her lessons on magic with Princess Celestia, which now seemed an eternity ago. “I have an idea!”

“What have you got?” Pinkie Pie asked as she fending off an attack.

“This guy is from Equestria,” Sunset explained quickly. “When I studied magic, I learned that it’s harder to keep a spell working if you have multiple targets that you have to concentrate on.”

“So we should split up?” Applejack chopped a hollow into two with Dragonslayer. “You sure about that?”

“Isn’t splitting up the worst idea in, you know, anything?” Flash asked, keeping his spear at the ready.

“If we stay grouped together, it’ll only make it easier to concentrate whatever magic he has on us,” Sunset explained. She held up her moonlight greatsword, its blade kindling like the hope in her heart. “We have to try!”

Flash looked conflicted for a second, then his face settled into steely resolve. “Alright. I trust you. Everyone! Split up and get as far away from each other as possible!”

“Split up?” Rarity asked, her hair soaked from the torrents. “Are you sure, darling?”

“Sunset says it’s our best shot at winning!” Flash shouted. “Everybody scatter!”

All of Sunset’s allies exchanged glances, then sprinted off in all directions, like a firework.

“Just one question,” Applejack said as she chose a direction to run off to. “What’s stopping this Nightmare guy from only concentrating on you?”

“I’ll run from person to person,” Sunset said, her mouth a thin line. “It’s going to work, AJ.”

“Ya sure?” Applejack asked. Sunset nodded and the axe-wielding girl sprinted away, leaving Sunset on her own.

Sunset hefted her weapon and chose the closest person, Vinyl Scratch. “Because I don’t know what I’ll do if it doesn’t.”



As Sunset ran to Vinyl, she was assaulted by a feeling of vertigo. She shook the dizziness away and surveyed her surroundings. As planned, all her friends were running in different directions, all of them attacking the hollows, the water, and even the floor. She understood what they were doing: if this was some kind of illusion spell, damaging it would force Phantom Pain to adjust the nightmare to reflect the damage, which would tax his resources even more if he cared about keeping things realistic.

Reaching Vinyl, she and Sunset were beset on all sides by a horde of skeletons. They were armed with curved swords and rusty shields, which offered little defense against the pyromancer’s flame orbs. Sunset launched another crescent shaped beam of moonlight at the skeletons, shattering their bones and sending them flying.

“Keep fighting, Vinyl!” Sunset encouraged as she ran off to join Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie sounded as though she was having the time of her life, letting out a bubbly laugh as she leapt over a skeleton and cleaved its head in two. As Sunset got nearer, she waved and nonchalantly backhanded a goblin-like creature that had been winding up for a sneak attack.

“Hey, Sunny!” Pinkie chirped. She didn’t seem fazed by the nightmare at all. Grabbing one goblin around the wrists, she spun him around in circles, knocking out a bunch more enemies before tossing him like a bowling ball, sending a crew of them flying in all directions. “Stee-rike!”

“You think you can win?” Phantom Pain suddenly emerged from the ground under Sunset, dragging her along it until grass suddenly appeared beneath her. “This world is mine to command. Your friends here might have gained immunity against it, but you can all still die, all the same.”

He threw her into a nearby tree, then rose into the air as fire erupted from the ground under them.

Sunset quickly got up and leapt out of the way as a pillar of fire destroyed the tree she was just at.

The Lord of the Waking Nightmare laughed as he floated around her, but from behind, Flash and Lightning Rain suddenly appeared, thrusting their weapons into his back. Phantom Pain gasped in surprise, but whipped around and threw them both off, his face warping into a snarl.

“This is one tough son.” Flash got up and wiped blades of grass from his face, one of which flickered out of existence. “Tougher than any enemy I’ve fought on my journeys. But I think we can take him.”

“Fools! You will all regret challenging your maker!” Phantom Pain stretched his hands out and a thunderstorm began swirling around him.

Applejack arrived to the scene and sheared off a section of grass with her weapon, which disappeared into thin air.

Sunset looked back at her enemy. It seemed their plan was indeed working. It was getting harder for him to keep the reality going. They just needed to push him further.

Some way away, Rarity focused her magic into a beam of blue light and began blasting away at the scenery. Walls trembled and crumbled before her magical onslaught, some of the pieces vanishing into nothingness as the illusion continued to lose its integrity. 

Phantom Pain’s face grew more strained as he turned to Rarity and began to reconstruct the walls around her and throwing up more pillars of fire. At the same time, on the far end of the battlefield, Sandalwood ran amok with his axe and flames, chopping and burning anything he could see. 

Giant skeletons crawled out of the trees around him, but Pinkie and Fluttershy intercepted their attacks, keeping them off Sandalwood.

Sunset looked around herself, noticing that the whole terrain around her was flickering, like a television with a bad connection. A hollow soldier nearby shuddered and disintegrated into colored dust.

“You think you are to win here?” Phantom Pain balled his fists. “I will show you true power.” Dark energy began to build around his hands.

“Everyone, to me!” Sunset raised her moonlight greatsword to the air, its blade’s glow rising in intensity.

As her friends joined her at her sides, a faint glow of different colours began emanating from each of them, rising into the air to join with Sunset’s sword.

“Woah, cool!” Pinkie looked at her arms and grinned.

As the world began to crumble, Phantom Pain conjured a gigantic orb of darkness and fired it at Sunset and her friends, tearing up more of the ground along the way.

Spinning her sword around, Sunset thrust it as hard as she could into the ground, forming up a bubble of turquoise magic around her and her friends.

“Stand together!” she told the others as the dark blast hit her magical dome.

The opposing energy was instantly deflected, ripping up more of the scenery and rebounding back at the Lord of the Waking Nightmare, much to his surprise.

The explosion that followed swallowed the man whole and seemed to rupture time and space itself, bending everything around them into a swirl of blackness.

And then suddenly, Sunset and her friends were back at the Throne of the Fallen Hearth, ash whipping around her legs as she ripped her sword from the ground.

“What was that just now?” Flash looked at his hand as the glow coming from him faded.

Sunset smiled. “The power of friendship, of course. The most powerful magic there is.”

A defeated looking Phantom Pain was down on one knee where the throne used to be. Judging from his face, he couldn’t believe they had managed to deal a serious blow to him. Part of his body had been blown away, leaving smoky trails snaking away into the air.

“This isn’t over, Sunset Shimmer,” Phantom Pain growled. “Next time we meet, I’ll be sure to finish you for good. And know that we will meet again. At the end of time, where all you love shall be lost before you and where the undead shall roam, there we shall do battle again, and I will tear your mind from your body myself. Mark my words, Sunset Shimmer. My lord, the Lord of the Undying Legions will rise again and then, I will come for you.”

Phantom Pain bowed his head and the rest of his body faded away into the brightening sky, where rays of light from the sun began to shine down upon the plateau.

Lord of the Undying Legions… Just who was Phantom Pain and the master he served, Sunset did not know. There were still too many questions left in her mind.

Sunset realized that she felt very light all of a sudden. She looked down at herself and saw to her dismay that she was slowly turning transparent, as if fading away into nothing. But then she realized that she didn’t feel pain at all; in fact, she felt at peace.

“Sunset?” Rarity asked nervously. “What’s happening to you?”

“I think… I think I’m waking up. At last, I’m going to get my life back.”

“You’re leaving us?” Pinkie Pie tried to take hold of Sunset’s arm but her hand simply passed through her friend like vapor. “Do you really have to go?” Pinkie asked, her eyes growing moist. 

Sunset looked around at all her friends, some of them teary-eyed but all of them smiling at her. She felt supremely lucky to have met them; without their help, she would never have been able to make it this far.

“Goodbye, everyone,” Sunset smiled as she finally faded away and her vision turned to white. “Maybe I’ll see you again. In my dreams.”

“Take care, Sunset.” Applejack took off her hat and smiled. “Ya deserve this. Go on and get back to ya real life!”

Flash stepped up to her. “Sunset, if I never see you again, I want you to know that-”

She didn’t hear her friends’ reply, but a warm, comforting voice spoke in her head, like the soothing glow and gentle crackle of a bonfire.

“Well done, Sunset Shimmer. Well done.”
> Epilogue: The Sun Rises
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer once again stood in a large white expanse, this time, dressed in her normal clothes, her armor gone. All that remained with her was her moonlight greatsword.

From her left, a wisp of black robes made a figure known and she turned. It was the Spirit of the Rite of Kindling again.

“You have done it, Sunset Shimmer,” the spirit said, floating closer. “You have beaten back the nightmare and secured your freedom.”

“Why am I still here?” Sunset looked at her hands and weapon, then back at the spirit. “I thought I was going to wake up.”

“And you will, Sunset Shimmer.” The Spirit of the Rite of Kindling stretched one hand out. “But first, I must speak with you. The world is stirring, Sunset Shimmer. Times are coming that will test your resolve. That is why I have a gift for you.”

With a flash of light, Sunset’s greatsword lit up and began to shrink. It shrank to the size of a little teardrop shaped gem, which now rested on her palm.

“What’s this?”

“The moonlight gem,” the spirit explained. “With it, you will be able to conjure the moonlight greatsword when you require its use.”

“I will have it when I wake up?” Sunset looked between the Spirit of the Rite of Kindling and the turquoise gem in her hand. “But I won’t need a sword. I don’t want to have to kill anyone.”

“The power of the magic within the weapon will be up to you, Sunset Shimmer. But you will need it. A darkness is coming, Sunset Shimmer. One that will threaten the existence of both Equestria and the world you love. Guard well that gem, Sunset, for when the time comes, it will guard your life.”

With that said, the spirit began to fade, and the world around Sunset began to get brighter, till it got too bright for her to see.

“Wait, wait! I need to know more!”

“Awaken, Sunset Shimmer. The sun rises for you now…”



Beep… beep… beep…. Beep…

Sunset Shimmer felt the softness of a bed beneath her, as well as the smell of disinfectant and the sound of some kind of device. A microwave?

She opened her eyes, but everything was blurry and spinning. Sunset blinked a few times, then tried to say something, but her throat was so dry that all she could manage was a weak croak.

“...set?” Something made a sound to her left. Or was it right? She couldn’t tell. “... you hear… me?”

A cluster of colours appeared within her vision, each of them bobbing about like apples on water. As her eyes finally began to adjust, she could see that those shapes… were her friends!

“Sunset’s awaaaake!” Pinkie Pie was the first to throw herself on her, knocking the air out of Sunset’s lungs in a bear hug.

“Not so rough, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash pulled her back. “She can’t deal with your full power just yet.”

“R-Rainbow…” Sunset croaked. It was good to see her alive again. “Yo-you’re okay…”

“Well, of course I’m okay.” Rainbow flexed her left arm, then gave her a thumbs up. “You’re the one who had us worried, not waking up!”

“Y-Yeah, we didn’t know what happened,” Fluttershy said. “You just couldn’t get back up.”

Sunset tried to push herself up to a sitting position, but she couldn’t quite muster the strength on her own. “How long… was I out?”

“Four days, darling.” Rarity counted. “Thankfully not any longer, but you haven’t moved in a while. I suppose it’s normal you’ll be a little sore and stiff.”

“Wait, I was gone for four days?” Sunset accepted a glass of water from Applejack. 

“Yup,” the farm girl confirmed. “Ya weren’t answerin’ your phone or the doorbell, so eventually we had to bust down your front door to get in. Guess Ah owe ya a new door on top of that.”

“Then we called an ambulance and had you brought here to the hospital,” Rarity said. “The doctors weren’t sure what was wrong, only that you had fallen into some kind of coma.”

“You know…” Sunset gulped down the water so fast, she almost choked on it. “Plehh… I don’t actually really know what happened myself. I just woke up in this nightmare…”

Sunset began the story of her most recent ordeal, how she found herself in another world and how she had worked to get out, followed by the arrival of the Lord of the Waking Nightmare himself, Phantom Pain, and the message he parted to her when he disappeared.

“So, you had a really scary dream?” Fluttershy asked, concerned. “Do you think it means anything?”

“Normally, I would be inclined to say no,” Twilight Sparkle pushed her glasses further up onto the bridge of her nose. “But given that Sunset just woke up from a four day coma with no unusual symptoms other than this dream, we can’t rule anything out just yet.”

“It wasn’t just a dream,” Sunset insisted. “It felt real, like someone had put me under a spell.”

“Ya sure you just didn’t get food poisoning or somethin’?” Applejack asked, turning her hat over in her hands.

“Food poisoning doesn’t result in comas,” Pinkie said impishly. “Trust me, I would know.”

“Maybe not for you, Pinkie; you’ve got a stomach of steel!” Rainbow guffawed. “But seriously. If the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong, maybe it is magic.”

“If this Phantom Pain is from Equestria, I wonder what he wants with you.” Rarity rubbed her chin in thought. “Does he think you might pose a problem to his plans?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset admitted, lying back down on the hospital bed. “I’m just so glad not to be trapped in that horrible nightmare anymore. I thought I would never get out.”

“Do you think we should tell Princess Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, concerned. “This sounds like something we should inform her about.”

Applejack stood up and folded her arms. “Ah agree. ‘Specially this Nightmare Lord guy. Ya think he’s another person who’s jacked up on Equestrian magic? Twilight’ll know.”

“Yeah…” Sunset sighed. She tried to get comfortable in the bed, but there was something that felt like a small hard lump near her thigh. Curious, she reached under the sheets and fumbled around. Her fingers touched something hard and cool; she took it out and into the light. It was the stone that the Spirit of the Rite of Kindling had given her. The moonlight gem.

“So it was real…” Sunset said as her friends craned their necks to look at the jewel. It seemed to glow gently with a comforting light in Sunset’s palm.

There was a sense of familiarity while it rested between two of her fingers. It reminded Sunset of home. Of Equestria. Whatever had made this gem for her, it had definitely been of Equestrian magic. Something of Equestria had aided her in her travel through the nightmare. Perhaps it was magic that seeped out of the portal. Or perhaps it had been a secret benefactor from Equestria. Sunset guessed it was a question she wouldn’t figure out any time soon.

Sunset remembered Phantom Pain’s last words to her. Something was coming; this was not the end of it yet. Phantom Pain’s speech lingered in her mind, but she did not know what to make of it. She sighed. What would come, would come, and there was no point worrying about it at present.

“You know, Flash came by too,” Pinkie snickered. “He looked really concerned.”

“He did?” Sunset looked up.

“Yeah, I think he still has the hots for you, whatcha think, Rarity?” Rainbow nudged her friend.

Sunset listened to her friends talk and laughed. It was so good to have them back with her again. Her real friends. But the copies of them in her dream world would not be forgotten. Perhaps she could see them in her dreams, like they speculated.

Catching up on the things and people she loved most, talk about the undead and her ordeal were soon pushed further back in her mind. While the future remained unknown, her friends were here with her right now, and they were here to stay. That, Sunset knew.

Sunset Shimmer lay back in her bed and smiled contentedly.

Ah… it’s good to finally be back home.