Three undead explore into a new realm and cannot escape some of their nightmares from Lordran, but will try to protect the ponies they come to care for. They fend from chaos, demons, and some other undead to protect the friends they have made.
Agroth the warrior is almost at the end of his journey in Lordran, but when he and his comrades are killed by one of the Lords, they are teleported to a different bonfire. They find a bridge leading to a strange land full of ponies! They still fear the Darkwraiths in this new land, and now try their hardest to protect something they have never had before, something very worth defending: their friendships with these ponies.
Finally past the Darkwraiths and ghosts of New Londo, I slip the Covenant of Artorias ring on my finger and prepare to drop down into the Abyss, as my two companions did the same. I look at the other two, the sorcerer wearing Logan's Sage Robe and the Crown of Dusk, and the pyromancer wearing the Crimson Robes. For a moment, I wonder, will we kill the four corrupted kings? Or will we fall to their magic power? Little does it matter, we are undead. We cannot die. We all know strange things happen to those who fall to the Abyss or to those corrupted by it. I am the first to jump down. After what seemed like ages the others follow. We land safely and the first of the kings appears. The sorcerer quickly casts pursuers as I rush towards the king. The pyromancer casts a great fireball that flies past my head and bursts into lava all over the king's silver flesh. I stab his chest with my Zweihander as the pursuers all hit the king as well. The first king has fallen.
The second king approaches just in time to be shot with a Soul Spear from the sorcerer. I fiercely bring Zweihander down on his head, staggering him. The pyromancer quickly used a firestorm, engulfing the area surrounding the king and blinding me. The king recovered quicker than I did and slashed at the three of us, then stabs and kills the sorcerer. Damn! Without him, we may not last much longer! My Greatshield of Artorias absorbed most of the hit, I saw that the pyromancer was weak, so I took a swig from my estus flask. He hurled a fire orb at the king's skull, blinding him long enough for me to bury my sword in his corrupted heart. Two down, two to go.
The third appears and fires a brilliant magic energy at the pyromancer, bringing him horrifyingly close to death. I quickly drink my last dose of estus, healing him just enough to continue the fight. Just as I think the king is going to unleash another sorcery, the pyromancer summons a great fire tempest which devours the third king in flames and magma. The king has one last chance to kill us, and takes full advantage of the moment. He grabs the pyromancer before I could stab the king, and takes his humanity and the rest of his life force as well. "NOOOO!!!" I shout, then stab the king's chest. It was only me now.
The fourth king appears, and thoughts rage through my mind. What if I die here? What will happen? Those who died in the Abyss never returned. Have my phantom companions suffered the same fate? Where had they gone? As I think, I block the sword of the king just in time to deflect what would have been a stab through my body. I roll left to dodge his hand trying to steal my humanity, then go for a slash across his body. Yes! He's getting weaker! But before I can get another hit on him, he spins completely around, his blade out, and slices across my chest, the magic of the blade dealing heavy damage through my black knight armor. I put my flask to my mouth only to have a single drop of estus touch my lips, then he fires a single magic blast. The magic collides with my body. I am dead.
I awake at the Darkroot Basin bonfire. I must have forgotten to rest at Firelink. Oh well. I use a humanity and reverse my hollowing. I feel like taking the long way back, so I exit the cave and approach the base of the hill. But something is different. I look left to the giant hole that is near the hill. There is a bridge there, not just an empty void like normal. An old, rickety wooden bridge, may not withstand the weight of my heavy armor. I carefully cross the old bridge. How long has this been here? This could have been built yeterday, or centuries ago. Since the flow of time is so greatly distorted in Lordran it is hard to tell. Ever so slowly I make my way across the bridge. At the end of the bridge there is a fog door. I traverse the white light, and when I do it doesn't disappear. Uh-oh. Imminent tough enemy. But there is nothing to be found. No dragons, demons, or corrupted knights. Strange. I traverse back through the white light. I stare at the lake where the hydra used to be and at all of the crystal golems that are still there. Very odd indeed. I traverse back to the side without the bridge. It was still forest, so not much of a change in scenery. Then I could smell something horrible, almost as bad as a decaying hollow. Suddenly two beasts appeared. They look like wolves made from trees. I pull out my black knight greataxe and make quick work of them. Slash! The wolf falls to pieces. Crush! The other does the same. I then decide to traverse back to the other side of the white light to check for summon signs. I traverse, and sure enough, the names Arthur and Joshua are in white written upon the earth. I touch both signs, these names are familiar. Arthur, the great sorcerer from New Londo who helped with the kings, and Joshua, the very same pyromancer. Looks like we all came back to this bonfire. Very peculiar.
As soon as they are summoned, I bow to them, and they to me, and we are off. We traverse the light and destroy more of the wooden beasts, quite common in this area. I look back at my phantoms. They are no longer phantoms! They are here, completely, in my world! Well, we can have a conversation later perhaps. We have fighting to do here and now. We finally breach the forest and are on the outskirts of what appears to be a small town. The buildings are colorful and not destroyed, maybe people still live here and were actually sane. That would be a pleasant change. We walk to a large house that was built inside a tree and I try to open the door. Locked. I pull out my master key and try that. Still locked. Damn! I turn towards the center of the town. There's a bonfire! Albeit unkindled, but I can use some humanity to kindle it, I don't mind. I get more estus! I crush one humanity and one twin humanity and offer them all to the bonfire. I then sit down for a nice rest. My companions stare wide-eyed at me and the lit bonfire. They sit down as well. "So...we are not phantoms anymore?" asks Arthur. "You can speak to us and we can speak back now, correct?" "I suppose so" I respond. "Well excellent!" Joshua says, "Maybe now we can actually have a conversation!" "Splendid idea!" Arthur says. "I do not really wish to talk at the moment..." I say. I'm not sure about this. Suddenly these two phantoms are brought wholly to my world? Why? And why did we all come back at the Darkroot Basin bonfire? Was it just the power of the Abyss that was causing strange things to happen? And probably the most important question, where in the Lords' names are we?! Why is this town so nice and not destroyed by undead, are we the first undead to come here?
Just then, there is a noise in an alley. Like something just running away. There is another noise, this one sounding like somebody dropped a metal shield against a large stone. I get up and run over to investigate. I see a small figure, orange, with a purple tail and hair, and...wings. "Please don't hurt me!" The figure says. Simply because it can speak, I know it isn't a hollow or demon. "Alright. I won't hurt you, because you're not hollow and my companions and I are very confused. Perhaps you can help us." This should get some of my questions answered. "O-Okay..." "Good, now follow me."
We arrive at the bonfire and the others look at us in shock. "Alright," I begin as I resume my seat by the fire, "let's begin easy. What's your name?" "Scootaloo..." She says as she sits by us at the fire. "And where are we?" To this question I recieved a strange look of surprise from the small being. "You're in Ponyville. You didn't know that?" "We had no idea where we were until you told us." Arthur chimes in. "But we still don't know exactly where we are. What land is this? It is not like Lordran in many ways." "Lordran? What's that?" "It is the land where all undead are sent for the rest of their days. To await the world's end," Joshua states. "'Tis a land of misery and death, brimming with hollows and demons and many other spiteful creatures," I explain. "We were sent there because we are all undead, and therefore not wanted by our home countries." "W-Well, you're not gonna h-hurt us then?" "No, we won't hurt you." I decide that this is the best decision for the moment. She doesn't appear to be insane or hollow, and we haven't seen a single hollow or demon yet. I could get used to this. "Well good! Then I'll tell everypony it's safe to come out!" After saying this, the young being whistles very loudly, deafening us for a few moments. Then, other beings come out of the houses and shops that were locked before and lock their gazes on us. "It's safe everypony! They said they won't hurt us!" They seem to feel safer after that and they approach the bonfire, some have a seat. These strange creatures are incredibly trusting. We are completely surrounded now, some of the creatures sitting near us or next to us. "If all of you are quite comfortable now, I have a few more questions to ask." "As do I", Joshua chimed. "I do as well", said Arthur.
We all sit around the bonfire, Arthur attuning his magic, Joshua improving his robes with twinkling titanite, all while I am repairing my armor and weapons. "So," I begin, "what land is this?" A light blue pony with wings and a multicolored mane is first to answer, "Duh, this is Equestria." "I have never heard of such a land, I am from Astora and now reside in Lordran." "Lordran?" This time a purple pony with a horn on her head speaks up. "What's it like there?" Joshua responds before I have a chance, "It's horrible! A land brimming with hollows and demons, turmoil everywhere, death 'round every corner. The best way that I can think to describe it is a nightmare." "That is quite accurate, 'tis an incredibly dangerous land. Even with my sorceries I find that Lordran and its residents are not to be tested." "When somebody turns undead, like us, their homeland exiles them to Lordran. Sometimes they meet others from their homelands. I met Oscar the elite knight, Andre the blacksmith, and Solaire the Warrior of Sunlight." "As I met the great sorcerer Logan, and a student of the dragon school, Griggs. Griggs, that evil little rat!" "What did he do that was so evil?" "I'd rather not get into that, but we still don't even know your names, and you don't know ours either." Arthur points out. "Good point," the purple pony states,"well, I'm Twilight Sparkle." "Ah'm Applejack" says the orange pony. "I am Rarity" says a white unicorn with a sense of nobility. "My name's Pinkie Pie!" said a pink pony. "I'm Rainbow Dash" stated the blue pegasus with the multicolored mane. "And, um, I-I'm Fluttershy" the yellow pegasus whispers just barely loud enough to hear. "Well it is quite a pleasure to meet you all. My name," I stand and bow as I introduce myself,"is Agroth of Astora. "And I am Arthur of Vinheim. It is a pleasure to meet you all." He bows properly as he introduces himself. With a standard bow as I had done, "And I am Joshua of the Great Swamp." Almost as if on cue, as he finishes introducing himself, our bonfire goes out.
"Oh no, have either of you sinned and not requested absolution?" I question the two with me. "I would never stoop so low as to sin against your covenant Agroth, I am not foolish enough as to provoke the wrath of the Darkmoon Blades upon myself" Arthur states. "If I ever sin then I request absolution from that odd fellow from Carim" Joshua informs me. "That means it's a Darkwraith..." I hopes it wasn't who I thought it was. "What are the odds Agroth? Do you honestly think that it will be him? In all my years as a sorcerer I've never been invaded by him before." "Nor have I, even in Blighttown or at the Ash Lake I've never been invaded by him before." "But there is still a chance that it is him! He seems to find my world with ease. I understand it is just a chance but-" "What's going on here? Why'd the fire go out all of a sudden?" Rainbow Dash asked us. I had forgotten about them, they wouldn't last a chance against this Darkwraith. I hear a phantom enter the world and the ponies and undead alike begin to panic. "Rainbow Dash, get everypony inside now, lock the doors and hide until we tell you to come back out. Do you understand?" She nods and goes to go secure her friends. I don't want them to get hurt and just want them safe for the moment. As she gathered them up and took them back to the locked building from earlier, I prepare for the fight, as do the other two. Arthur unsheathes the Moonlight Greatsword as Joshua uses the Power Within pyromancy. We brace for the invader to approach, and a dark spirit wearing armor covered in spines approached us. We all breathe a sigh of relief. "It's only Knight Kirk" I chuckled as I raised my large shield. Then yet another dark spirit appeared behind Kirk. I am sobered at the sight. This Darkwraith is wearing the full Dark Armor set, wielding the gold tracer of Ciaran the Hornet, and the bloodshield. He removed his skull shaped mask as if to confirm our fears. His heavily scarred and beaten face was revealed, as was his parted, jet black hair. "Agroth, it is good to finally see you again." He said with a dubious grin upon his evil face. "Without this Red Eye Orb I wouldn't have seen you since the death of our parents." He laughs and puts his mask back on and we prepare for a true battle.
Tightly gripping Zweihander, I angrily lunge myself at Raymond, my brother, and he narrowly dodges the blade. I swing the huge sword with inhuman speed and strength. When I miss a second time, I lift the Greatshield of Artorias and bash his head with the giant piece of metal. While he is dazed I bring Zweihander down fiercely, only to be parried by the red and silver shield after a quick recovery. He then lunges the golden curved blade through my stomach. He slashes at me with great fury, as I kick him hard enough to send him on the ground. As I bring Zweihander down on him, my rage empowering my attacks, I hear a myriad of magic spears and fire orbs being launched at the unfortunate Kirk. I had forgotten all about him. I quickly spin around and use the momentum to leave a massive gash across the knight's armored chest. Immediately afterward I feel a curved blade go through my back and see it come out the center of my chest, only barely missing my heart. I run a few yards away and have just enough time to take a swig from my estus flask. I feel a burning sensation as the liquid heals all of my fresh wounds. I see that now only Joshua is attacking Kirk, and Arthur fires dark beads at Raymond. With that massive damage dealt to the Darkwraith, I charge in for the final strike. Only to be parried yet again and stabbed fiercely in the chest. He runs a few yards away and crushes a humanity as I drink another estus. I hear a phantom be vanquished, I look to see Kirk on his knees, bleeding profusely. I turn toward Joshua, still standing but nearing death from his earlier pyromancy. He takes a few swigs of estus to heal himself. I am slashed in the stomach several times by my brother and begin to bleed badly. My estus is out. How could I be out of estus so quickly? Raymond turns toward Joshua and slices him several times as he begins to bleed. His Power Within had worn off so he was no longer being drained of his life force. Arthur quickly launches a set of ten pursuers at Raymond. Raymond grips his Silver Pendant and the pursuers all fly off in different directions. He stabs Arthur in the back and kicks him onto the ground. As we kneel there at his mercy, he raises his sword up in preparation of the final strike to my throat. When he strikes, only his hand comes down. His sword is suspended in midair! Surrounded by some magical aura! I take full advantage of this moment and call upon my last bit of strength and much of my rage to strike him with my Zweihander. He parries and kicks me away as the blue pagasus flies down and catches me before I hit the ground. She lifts me up and I look behind my brother. All six of them are there! Applejack rushes up behind him and kicks him to the ground, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle launch magic at him which mostly goes through his shield. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash fly at him and quickly kick him as they fly. Pinkie Pie is firing some sort of cannon at him. Joshua and Arthur get to their feet as I firmly hold my ground. I raise my Zweihander, Arthur prepares the largest crystal soul spear I had ever seen, and Joshua prepares for a powerful black flame. The six see this and run so as not to be hit accidentally of any of these. Raymond raises his shield as Joshua charges in, a great black flame already coming from his hand in a great blast of pyromancy. The black fire connects with the bloodshield, knocking Raymond's shield from his grip. The crystal soul spear hits him in the center of his chest and explodes into a powerful blast of magic. Immediately after, I swing the Zweihander harder than I ever had before horizontally across his stomach. He falls to his knees. As his final breath in this world escapes his lips I stab him in the heart with the ultra greatsword I wielded. I look deep into the eyes of the Dark Mask and see the light exit his evil eyes. We have been cleansed of these dark spirits. For now at least.
"He's gone," I manage to choke out, "It's safe now everyone." I sit down at the bonfire, as does Arthur, and Joshua lies down on his back. That fight was exhausting to say the least. The ponies approach us cautiously, and they have a right to be cautious. They had just witnessed one of the most difficult fights I had ever had thrust upon me. Even a fight which rivals that of killing the great Dragonslayer and head executioner of Anor Londo. I thought for sure we would've died. We probably would have if they didn't come in and help us. They had saved our lives. "T-Thank you all." I choke out. "We did what we could sugarcube" Applejack says to us. "That magic you used, to halt his weapon in midair, could you teach me how to do that? It could come in quite handy as you've proven." Arthur asks Twilight. "I might be able to teach you sometime." Twilight answered. "You probably saved our lives, we cannot thank you enough" Joshua reinforces. "Raymond could have killed you" I think aloud. "Raymond? That was his name? How do you know him anyway?" Rainbow asks me. I sigh. This is going to be difficult, but they should know if we plan on staying here in Ponyville. "Alright, I'll tell you I suppose." This isn't going to be easy. "Raymond is my brother." They all gasp. "We were invaded by Knight Kirk the Murdurous," they shudder a bit when I mention his name,"and Raymond the Dark, my brother. Kirk was the one in the spine-covered armor, Raymond was the one wearing the Dark Armor, the armor that looked like a skeleton and which is the symbolic armor of their covenant, the Darkwraiths." "What are covenants?" Rarity asks me. "A covenant is a group of undead that are dedicated to a certain purpose or cause." I explain. "So it's like a team then?" Rainbow asks. "Somewhat" Arthur responds,"There are nine covenants, I walk the Path of the Dragon, Joshua is a Chaos Servant-" "You serve chaos?!" Twilight asks with a tone of sudden anger. "Chaos in Lordran is a special type of pyromancy, based on the daughters of chaos and the Witch of Izalith's powers. I work to make one of the daughters well again. She has fallen ill and when I offer a humanity to her she becomes healthier." "So ya don't really serve chaos or disharmony, but ya work to heal one of the daughters of chaos in Lordran?" Applejack asks. "Correct" Joshua states. "And I am a Darkmoon Blade. I serve the god of the moon, Gwyndolin, and take revenge on sinners for the deaths of the innocent. I serve the moon, and use the blue eye orb to destroy evil. You mentioned chaos and disharmony, well the covenants behind that are the Darkwraiths and the Gravelord Servants." "We thought you meant disharmony, like a lack of peace." Twilight explains. "But if you serve the moon god in your homeland, you should meet Princess Luna, and Arthur, you should meet Spike." "Who is Princess Luna?" I ask, intrigued. "She is the moon princess of Equestria. Celestia is the sun princess, and Luna's older sister." "Interesting, and what do they do?" I ask. "Celestia raises the sun, and Luna raises the moon." Twilight casually explains. My eyes widen in disbelief of this. "She raises the sun?! And Luna raises the moon?! That's amazing! Do they use magic to do it?" I'm very interested now, a single being that can raise the sun, turn day to night and night to day! I am astounded! "Yeah, that's why they're the princesses. They're the most powerful beings in Equestria. They're alicorns, so they have the parts of pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony." Twilight explains further. "Is there any royalty in Lordran?" Fluttershy asks. "Well, yes, but...well, it's hard to explain. There's Lord Gwyn, Lord of Cinder and Sunlight, his son Gwyndolin, god of the moon, and Gwynevere, his daughter, goddess of sunlight. Lord Gwyn has been corrupted by the first flame. He sacrificed himself to fend off the Age of Dark, which the Darkwraiths want to bring about. I was attempting to kill the last being in which I needed to reach Lord Gwyn before I came here." "Back to the covenants though," Joshua says, "there are nine covenants in total. The Warriors of Sunlight, the Darkmoon Blades, the Way of White, the Princess' Guard, the Chaos Servants, the Gravelord Servants, the Forest Hunters, Path of the Dragon, and the Darkwraiths." Rainbow Dash is lying on the ground, she seems to be in pain. "Are you alright?" I ask. "I'm fine, it's just a scratch, it'll heal in no time." "Let me see." I tell her. She lifts up one of her wings and reveals a deep cut near the joint of the wing and in her back. "Why didn't you say anything sooner? You've probably lost quite a bit of blood." I inform her. I give her my estus flask. "Take a sip of this, it should work." Honestly I don't know whether it will work or not, as it is an item made for the undead. She shuddurs at the taste and the fiery feeling. She gives my flask back and grunts from the pain of the flesh and bone moving back to it's original place."You're going to need some rest now that you've gone and lost all that blood." I glance at the area around her wing, dampened with her crimson blood. "The guilty pay the price, and they always shall" I mutter under my breath. "What was that?" Twilight asks. "I said it's getting late, we should find a place to stay for the night." "Arthur can come with me back to the library." "Oh excellent! And perhaps I can learn some spells whilst I stay." Arthur says excitedly. "You can stay with me at my cottage Joshua, um, if you want to I mean. You don't have to if you don't want to." "That sounds excellent, Fluttershy" Joshua says. "Would you like to stay with me Agroth dear?" Rarity asks me. "I think that's a splendid idea, as for the rest of you, I'll see you tomorrow then." Then we all say our goodnights and go to where we were invited. 'Tis a shame I will need to leave for a while.
I walk in and see many shelves full of books. It reminded me of the Duke's Archives, where I had spent much of my time reading about the crystallization of soul spells and about dark magic. I had nothing much to do after my master's death. "So" Twilight started,"can you tell me a little about yourself before I teach you some spells?" "Of course. I come from a land of intellectuals and sorcery. I attended the Dragon School of Vinheim and was then as I am today a rather adept sorcerer. I was taught by one if the best sorcerers in all of Lordran." "Who was that?" she asked with genuine interest. I sighed. "Big Hat Logan." As if she could sense my sudden sadness, she asked softly,"What happened to him?" "He went hollow..." "Hollow? What does that mean?" "When you are undead, you will never leave this world for an afterlife, you can die an infinite amount of times and you will come back at the last bonfire you rested at. But eventually, you will go hollow. When an undead goes hollow, they seek out souls wherever they can." "Once there was one sort of like you, he was wearing torn up boots and had a broken piece of metal in his hands. He looked a lot different though. He stunk up the whole town but then moved on. We were afraid of him so we hid in our houses, like we did when you came here." "Most hollows are like that but some undead only go hollow mentally, like Logan did. He retained his human flesh and never decayed, but he didn't even know who I was." Tears began to form in my eyes but I held them back. "He had just taught me his greatest spell, I went to test it on a crystalized hollow and when I returned he had no idea that he'd ever seen me before." I turned away and sat down by the window. I felt her forehooves wrap around my side in a consoling hug. I returned the embrace. "Thank you" I managed to say. "Hey Twi, who's this?" asked a new voice from behind us. "Oh, hi Spike, this is my new friend Arthur, he's going to stay here for a while with us." "Hey Arthur" the small dragon said nervously,"I'm Spike." The dragon got over his nerves quickly. "I am Arthur the sorcerer of Vinheim. I work with sorceries and magic." "Hey, just like Twilight! Is she gonna teach you some new spells?" "Indeed she is, I hope to learn that levitation spell however." "Why that one in particular?" Twilight asked. "Simple really, because it saved our lives hours ago, we are very grateful to you all for that as well." "Oh, it was nothing," she said with a small blush,"you're our friends and we saw you were in trouble." "Well, nonetheless, I thank you. It is getting quite late, perhaps we can do some magic tomorrow morning, eh?" "Sounds great, here's a blanket and a pillow." She used magic to levitate them over to me. "Make yourself comfortable, see you tomorrow." "Thank you, goodnight both of you" "Goodnight" Spike said. I lay down on the floor, even though it was made of wood it was much more comfortable than the places I usually slept. I soon fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. It was the greatest feeling of peace I can remember having.
Fluttershy and I walk back to her cottage. It is a decent walk, she doesn't live near the center of Ponyville. We walk in silence, she is a bit shy, but I don't mind. She unlocks the door and we walk in. I'm greeted by myriad of various creatures of the forest. One small creature shoots me a strange look upon seeing me duck down through the door. I shut the door behind me and sit down on the floor. "You can sit on the couch if you like." She tells me. "Thank you, I'll be fine on the floor." I say that due to partially due to being humble and partially due to not being able to see the layout of her home. "You said you're from a swamp right?" "Ah, you listen well. Indeed, I do come from the Great Swamp as most pyromancers do. In spite of my homeland however, I have seen very little of these creatures." I glance back in the general direction of the small animal, possibly a rabbit, which I can sense is still glaring coldly at me. "What's wrong with him?" I ask. "Oh, that's just my bunny Angel. He can be a little jealous sometimes. How can you see through that mask you're wearing?" "I can't. When you've been without sight for this long, your other senses become strengthened. I can feel the very environment around me. Most of it at least." "Well how long have you been wearing it? If you don't mind me asking that is." "It's quite alright. I've worn it for a few years I think. Time is very strange in Lordran. Distorted some even may say." "So you don't know how long?" "Not really, I do know that it's been a very long time since I saw anything though." I then take off the wooden mask and red hood with it, so that she can see what I look like and I can see what she looks like. I stare into her light blue eyes, blue as the clear skies. I see ger hair, a light pink color. Like the butterflies marked on her upper leg. "Much better, now I know what you look like." We both smile at this and I sense she is not as nervous now as she was when we first met."I used to be very shy as well you know." "Really?" she asks in disbelief. "Definitely, I'm from a swamp so I never really had anybody to talk to. One day long after my death, I was walking through Lost Izalith and I placed my summon sign down in front of a fog door. I was summoned by Agroth and we killed the Witch of Izalith together. Arthur was there as well. They met at the Duke's Archives where Arthur assisted him in killing Seath the Scaleless." "Why did you kill all these things?" "They were corrupt and very evil. They had to be destroyed. The three of us destroyed the Gravelord Nito, First of the Dead." "So it's a good thing they're dead then?" "Very. The Gravelord Servants have been stopped, some still remain loyal to the Gravelord, but will be stopped soon enough. Before we came here, we had been killed by the Four Kings, the Lords of the Darkwraith covenant. If we killed them, we may have stopped the Darkwraiths. But we failed... We could be invaded again at any time. Without all of your help, we'd have perished earlier, without a doubt." "Nopony hurts any of my friends" she sits by me and embraces me with her forehooves and her wings "nopony." "That's...that's very kind of you Fluttershy. We're...friends?" "Of course we are." she says, still embracing me. "T-Thank you." I find it rather difficult to speak. "I've never truly had a friend before." I return the embrace.
"Your home looks wonderful." I say as a look around at all of the dresses on pony-shaped mannequins surrounded by much beautiful décor. She clearly had been hard at work, there are rolls of cloth of various colors lying on tables and chairs. "I apologize for the mess, I've been very preoccupied recently and with all the hollows, as you called them, coming in and out of Ponyville. I have had to hide whenever they come through." She walks upstairs. "I understand, besides I have seen far worse." I say, following her. "You may sleep in my bed if you wish, I can sleep on the couch on the first floor." She tells me, taking a blanket and pillow from the closet. "Oh no, I am your guest, I could not take your bed. I will sleep downstairs." "I insist darling, I don't mind at all." Well, it would be a nice alternative to sleeping on the ground like I usually did. But I just couldn't. "That's very noble and generous of you but I cannot accept. I usually just sleep on the ground anyways, just staying here for one night is a great luxury, even if I were to sleep on the floor." I tell her politely. "Are you certain?" she asks. I nod in response. "Alright then, here you go." She levitates the pillow and blanket my way and leads me downstairs to the couch. I remove my helm and gauntlets; she seems shocked to see my face. "What is it?" "Your scars! How long have you fought?" "Oh. My face is quite weathered, indeed, and I have fought long. For ages. Ever since my first death, life has been a battle with few chances to relax in between." I take off the plates of my armor and leggings, but continue to wear the blackened chain mail since all my battle scars seem to upset her. I set the hunks of metal beside the couch and sit down in my full chain mail suit. "So will you be alright then?" "I will be fine, thank you." I won't be here very long anyway. "Goodnight." I say as I lie down with the blanket. "See you in the morning then." Rarity says kindly as she goes back up to bed. I sit up and wait for about an hour. She must be asleep by now. I quietly put all of my armor back on and reach into my bottomless box. I put Zweihander away and retrieve the great hammer of Smough the executioner, and the cursed sword of the knight Sir Artorias the Abysswalker. I also take out my Blue Eye Orb. "The guilty pay the price brother. They always shall."
I awake exactly where I had fallen asleep on the floor. I have a great energetic feeling, that was an excellent night's sleep despite the fact I slept on hardwood flooring. I stand up and reach into my Bottomless Box to pull out Logan's Catalyst. I also pull out the Crown of Dusk and put it on my head. I look outside and the sun had risen. It is quite bright out, the light hurts my eyes for a few seconds. I wonder how the others are. Spike comes downstairs looking quite tired. "Good morning Spike." I say cheerfully. "Good morning." he responds, tiredly, but with a smile. "Is Twilight Sparkle here?" "No, she's not actually, she seemed excited to do spells with you today though. She really likes to learn magic." "As do I, I'm rather excited as well. I can teach her some Soul Magic probably. Do you know where she's gone?" "To Fluttershy's and Rarity's houses. Probably just to check on them and the other undead." "Alright. Thank you. What should I do until she gets back?" "Well, I dunno. What do you usually do for fun?" I chuckle. "Try to stay alive and keep my mind tethered to reality. But so far that hasn't been a problem here for the most part." Just then there was a large roar, however, distant. No doubt we both heard it. Perhaps staying alive will still be an issue after all, that sounded like a Taurus Demon. Either that or a small dragon or a large drake. By the gods please let it be a Taurus Demon. "That sounded like it came from Fluttershy's house!" Spike says. "Well let's go then! Lead on!" He ran out the door and I followed. "Wait!" I shout. I go back and take two stones and my Moonlight Greatsword out of my bottomless box. Joshua should be able to handle himself, but we should help him just in case this demon is powerful. "Ready!"
We arrive at Fluttershy's cottage to be greeted by quite a sight. Joshua is shooting flames at a Taurus Demon. Fluttershy is lying on the ground a few feet away. Looks like they could use some help after all. "Spike! Take care of her!" I shout. He nods and rushes to Fluttershy's aid. I swiftly take off the Sage Robes and throw them on the ground as I tightly grip the Dragon Torso Stone. My skin turns to scales and I feel small wings sprout from my back. I grow much taller and my nails turn to sharp claws. I roar and a blast of energy brings the demon closer to me. I jump on the demon, wielding just my greatsword, and stab into his back, giving Joshua a chance to heal. I breathe white fire all over the beast as Joshua pelts it with chaos pyromancies, being extremely careful not to hit Fluttershy, who is not far at all from the battle taking place. The demon swings its greataxe and knocks Joshua and I away. He charges for Spike and Fluttershy. With the speed only a dragon could have, I bolt to Spike and Fluttershy and scoop then into my arms. Fluttershy seems to be hurt rather badly. I jump onto the roof of the cottage and set them down. I jump of the roof and land right in front of the Taurus Demon and use my drogon roar a second time to knock the demon away. The Taurus Demon falls right ontoJoshua's Great Combustion. I breathe more fire on the hairy monster and then stab it with the Moonlight Greatsword. Joshua goes in for the kill with his powerful battle axe, striking the beast in the head. The demon falls and shakes the ground when it hits it. We feel the souls of the beast being absorbed into our bodies. "Thank the Lords you got here Arthur." Joshua says between breaths. "I heard the roar from the library, where did that damned thing come from?" "I don't know. But I will find out." Joshua swears. I jump onto the roof and set Fluttershy and Spike back on the ground. I tightly grip the dragon stone again, with te catalyst, and become human. I put my robes back on and sit down by Fluttershy and Spike. "What was that thing?" Spike asks. "Demon. I had hoped to not have those here. We can handle them however. They are not incredibly difficult to kill. That one however, was pretty strong. We have all had to kill them before. Or we've all seen them before at least." "Another thing, are you a dragon?" "I am human, but I can become partially dragon by using the Dragon Stones from my covenant. Normally one wouldn't be able to change back without dying, but I have discovered a sorcery that allows me to do so. Let's go back to the library, Fluttershy should come as well," I turn to Fluttershy,"we can heal you back there." She winces in pain when she tried to stand up. Joshua stops her. "No, no. Here, I've got you." He picks her up off the ground. "Thank you" she whimpers. We walk back to the library.
We walk through the library door to find Twilight Sparkle and Rarity with worried looks on their faces. Looks which worsen when they see Fluttershy. Rarity is first to speak up. "Is Agroth with you?" "Afraid not." I answer. "Shame too, he loves demon slaying." "Demon slaying?!" Twilight shouts. "There was a demon here?!" "Yes, there was." Joshua says, laying Fluttershy on a couch. "The beast injured Fluttershy quite badly. If Arthur hadn't shown up it might've killed us both." "Well it's quite alright, I'm just concerned where it came from and if any more will come. I certainly hope not." Joshua takes some bandages from the closet and wraps them around Fluttershy's wounds. He runs out if the bandages and tears a piece of cloth from his robe to suffice. He isn't wearing his mask anymore. Odd. "I will find these demons. And I will destroy them." He says.
I awake to the sounds of many animals. Fluttershy is feeding them all. Twilight Sparkle is here as well. "Good morning Joshua." Twilight says. "Good morning Twilight." I say. "Good morning Joshua." Fluttershy says, just now realizing that I woke up. "Good day Fluttershy." I say. "Breakfast is on the table, if you want." I get up and walk over to the table. I see a large dish of vegetables and a seat set for one. I sit down and prepare to eat. "Why thank you Fluttershy, this looks delicious." It looks much beter than anything I ever had at the swamp. It's no welcome feast, but any food is good since the undead don't eat much anyway. I take one large chunk of the salad on my fork and eat it. It's amazing! Nothing I had ever eaten before tasted so fresh! I hungrily and swiftly finish the dish. "That was amazing Fluttershy! I had never had anything so delicious before. Thank you very much." "Oh it was no trouble. You're quite welcome." I clean my dish and put it away. "So, Twilight..." I begin. "Yes?" "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but what are you doing here?" "Oh, I just thought I'd check on you guys. Speaking of which, I'd better get over to Rarity's to check on her and Agroth." "Is Arthur here?" I ask. "No, he was still sleeping when I left the library. I figured it would be best to just let him sleep in. You all looked so tired yesterday." "Alright, well goodbye then." "Goodbye Twilight." Fluttershy says. "Bye you two." she says as she shuts the door. "So," Fluttershy starts,"what are you going to do today?" "I think I'll practice my pyromancy, I still need to improve a lot. I'm the weakest of the lot of us undead." "You're strong, I've never seen anyone do fire magic before." "But Agroth is very strong physically, and Arthur has his sorceries which are immensely powerful." "Even if you're not as strong as them, you're still my friend." she says, giving me a short hug, which I return. That was good to hear. "I've never had a friend before." I say under my breath. "How do you practice pyromancy?" "Oh. Just perform the spell, but focus more on how the spell will perform and what the outcome will be. Or you can just visit a string pyromancer and he or she can improve your flame. Pyromancies are rather simple, but the better you understand them, the stronger they become." "What an you do with pyromancy?" she asks me. "Well, I can do many things. I can create things from Fireballs to Fire Tempests. Great chaotic fire spells. But I have yet to ascend my Pyromancy Flame. So my spells won't be as powerful as they can be." "You can still defend yourself though, Lordran sounds very dangerous and scary. But you made it out." she says to me. "By pure chance, yes. I placed my summon sign by a new fog door and Agroth happened to touch it. Fortunately, I am now here, in Equestria. With my new friend, my first real friend. But, just so you know, I will be going back to Lordran." She looks at me with a sudden sadness. "But, you can't go! It's too dangerous! It's full of demons and hollows! You said yourself that it was a nightmare!" She says. "Well I'm certainly in no mood to fight any demons today, but I must strengthen my pyromancies. I will go back. But I'm not leaving today." She wraps her forehooves around me in another hug, which I return. She buries her face in my robes and I can feel her begin to cry. "Please don't go." She says. Then I feel something else. Like a tremor, the ground shakes violently. Fluttershy holds on tighter, I let go. "Wait here." I tell her. I cautiously walk outside. I hope that isn't what I think it is. I see a gargantuan hairy monster in the distance, staring directly at me. It is holding a giant greataxe made of bone, covered in blood. The monster charges for me and I summon a Great Chaos Fireball. I hold the fire in my hand. I hurl the fireball at the demon and it explodes into lava all over the monster. Fluttershy runs outside to where I am fighting it. "What's happening?!" she asks, her eyes still red from crying. "Stay back!" I shout. "It's a Taurus Demon! Very dangerous, don't go near it!" The beast recovers and brings the axe down, I barely dodge in time. The beast narrowly misses Fluttershy and hadn't even noticed she was there until now. It stares her in the eyes and I see her freeze up in fear. She is petrified. I prepare a Fire Orb to distract the beast. I throw it at the monster's shoulder. It turns and looks at its attacker, throwing another Fire Orb at it, hitting its face this time. The monster jumps towards me and the axe lands on me, slamming me to the ground. The beast turns around and swings the greataxe at Fluttershy. Everything stopped. I froze. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I see Fluttershy get knocked far to the side, blood coming from the fresh wound on her leg and side. I fell to the ground as soon as I heard two of her legs and many of her ribs snap from that strike. She falls unconscious from the pain. I stand up and charge at the beast and shoot flames at it rapidly. I catch a glimpse of Arthur jump on its back as a dragon. When he lands, the Moonlight Greatsword is thrust deep into its back, I take the opportunity to take a drink of my estus flask. Arthur breathes white fire on the demon as I bombarde it with Chaos Fire Whip, though I was very careful not to hit either of my friends. Arthur and I are blown off our feet by its next attack. He charges for Fluttershy, who I see now is conscious again and accompanied by Spike. Arthur quickly dashes towards them and gets there before the demon does. I see him holding Spike and Fluttershy as he jumps to the roof of her cottage. He places them on the roof and jumps down in front of the demon. He force pushes him in my direction and I have just enough time to use a Great Combustion. He breathes more fire on it and I strike it in the head with my powerful battle axe. The beast falls. We feel our bodies absorb many souls. "Thank the Lords you got here Arthur." "I heard the roar from the library. Where did that damned thing come from?" "I don't know. But I will find out." I swear. He jumps up to the roof and gets Spike and Fluttershy down. He then uses a spell to return to his human form and puts his robes back on. We sit by Fluttershy and Spike. I now notice just how severe of a hit she had taken from the demon. Two of her legs are broken, the bones snapped in two, and one of her wings is hurt badly as well. A surge of guilt washes over me. I should have protected her better. "You did what you could. It's okay." She says with pain, almost sensing what I'm feeling. "I could have done better, and I should have. I don't have any estus left now so I cannot heal you that way." "That's okay. I prefer to just allow my body to heal on its own anyway." "Let's go back to the library." Arthur says. He turns to Fluttershy. "We can heal you back there" he says. Fluttershy winces as she attempts to stand. I immediately halt her. "No, no. Here, I've got you." I pick her up off the ground. "Thank you" she whimpers. We walk back to the library to be greeted by the worried looks of Rarity and Twilight Sparkle. The become visibly more worried when they see Fluttershy in her condition. "Is Agroth with you?" Rarity asks. "Afraid not." Arthur responds. "Shame too, he loves demon slaying." "Demon slaying?!" Twilight shouts. "There was a demon here?!" "Yes, there was." I say as a lay Fluttershy on the couch. "The beast injured Fluttershy quite badly. If Arthur hadn't shown up it probably would've killed us both." I could never thank him enough for his action. "Oh, it's quite alright. I'm just concerned with where it came from and if any more will come." I grab some bandages from the closet and begin to wrap Fluttershy's injured legs, wing, and ribs in bandages. "No more demons will come. I promise you Fluttershy." I whisper to her. I run out of bandages. I'm almost finished, so I tear a piece of cloth from my robe to use as a bandage to finish the job. "Thank you." "I will find these demons. And I will destroy them."
"So nopony has seen Agroth anywhere?" Twilight questions. "No, he wasn't at the fight with the demon." I explain. "Perhaps he's just in town somewhere." Arthur suggests. I'm still sitting next to Fluttershy on the couch, the others are standing nearby. "We checked everywhere. Nopony's seen him." Twilight says. Just then there is a knock at the door. Arthur opens it to see Rainbow Dash standing there. "Come in Rainbow." He says. She comes in and flies up to Twilight. "Good morning to you too." "What's going on?" she asks. "Rainbow, can you search for Agroth by sky?" Twilight asks. "Sure, you can't find him?" "No we can't." Rarity says. "We looked everywhere! When I woke up he was gone! I don't know what happened." There is another knock at the door. Rainbow Dash answers then bolts out the door and up to the skies. A grey pegasus with yellow eyes that stare off in different directions walks in. She is carrying a mailbag and pulls out three envelopes. Twilight takes them and the grey pony flies off. Not a moment after she places the letters down on the table, Agroth walks in with Rainbow Dash. He looks as though he had just been through a long battle. He collapses on the floor in exhaustion. That was quick. "I found him." Rainbow Dash says.
I walk to the center of Ponyville. It is very early in the morning. Everyone is still asleep. I grip the Blue Eye Orb in my hand. The Greatsword of Artorias and Smough's Hammer are on my back. I kneel down and say one quick prayer to Gwyndolin as I feel myself fade to another world. To take my revenge. Revenge for hurting Rainbow Dash, for invading this peaceful land, and most of all, for the death of our parents.
I materialise into a world very familiar. The center of Ponyville, where I was just standing, but it's much different. The buildings, all of them, are either a pile of rubble and ashes, or burning down and collapsing. I turn in the direction of the now unlit bonfire. I see the figure of a man standing near the extinguished flame. I put on the Bloodbite Ring and the Ring of Steel Protection. I pull Smough's Hammer and the Greatshield of Artorias off of my back and walk towards the figure in the Dark Armor. "Agroth, how nice it is to see you again." He says with a smug tone. "Sinner," I say,"prepare to taste the wrath of the Darkmoon Blades." "I almost killed you last time and you had assistance from 8 others, how could you possibly kill me by yoursel-" I cut him off by swinging the hammer at him, knocking him far to the left. While he is on the ground I take the Dark Mask off of his face and hold it in my hand. I crush the piece of metal in my fist, rage empowering my strength. He looks at me, still dazed,"Why, why did you do that?" I drop the hammer and grab him by the throat and lift him off the ground. "Becuase when I kill you I want to see the last bit of life leave your worthless being, sinner." I say through clenched teeth and a furious glare. "What's that in your eyes brother? Is that fear I see?" I stare deeply into his eyes and his demonic soul. "Did our parents have fear in their eyes when you killed them? You are nothing but a cold-blooded sinner that needs to die. After I kill you, if I see you again in this land, I will not hesitate to kill you and everything that you ever loved." He chuckled at this. "You would never, you can't kill me!" I drop him. He stands up and unsheathes his Gold Tracer. "We shall see." We stare at each other for a long time, him with no mask, me through the Black Knight helmet. He goes for a stab, which I sidestep and quickly retaliate with a strike from Smough's Hammer. With a direct hit, he lies on the ground, face down, in intense pain. I can tell how weak he is becoming. "Pathetic." I say to him. He quickly recovers and stabs me in my right arm with the tracer. He gets a few more slashes on my right side before I swing the hammer horizontally, sending him flying through the air and onto the ground some thirty feet away. I quickly pull out my talisman and heal before he has a chance to get up off the ground. When he does get up, he pulls his estus flask out. I charge at him hammer first and knock him to the ground. Damn, he got a drink of the estus. I walk to the flask on the ground and stomp on it, sending shards of emerald into the air and estus fluid on the ground. He stares at me in shock. I feel no remorse for doing so. All I feel is hatred and anger towards Raymond. I walk to him while he is on the ground and bring the hammer down. He narrowly rolls right of the blow and quickly comes to his feet. He stabs me in the back with the tracer and kicks me to the ground. He then jumps at me wih the tracer in a downward stabbing position. I catch him on my feet and tear the tracer from his iron grip. I drop my shield and break the blade in two. He unsheathes his Uchigatana and stands up in one fluent motion. I go for a downward strike and he takes the opportunity to stab me multiple times in the chest. I finish the strike and then hunch over as I bleed badly. I pray again and am healed. He stands up as I drop the hammer. He looks at me in confusion. I take the Cursed Sword off my back. When he sees what I am wielding, his face twists into an expression of pure terror, the likes of which I have never seen before. I take off the helmet and drop it beside the hammer so that he can see my face, my smile. I stared at him with delight as I held the black blade in my hand. He begins to run away but I chase him, rage still strengthening me. When I catch up I stab him in the back and push him to the ground. I rip the sword from his back and turn him face up so he can stare me in the face as I kill him. I come close to him and stab him in the heart with the sword. "The guilty pay the price." I tell him. He begins to turn to stone with crystal-like spikes protruding from his body. Before the curse takes full effect and while he can still hear and see me, I smirk and repeat, "The guilty pay the price, and they always shall. Never come back." He looks into my eyes with...sadness...sorrow. "Forgive...me...please." He manages to choke out between coughs. He reaches his hand up to me, in a last begging gesture of mercy. As his face turns to stone I see a single tear run down his face. I stand up. I look down at him. I place my foot on his solidified and worthless skull, and crush his stone head. "I can never forgive you, scum." And I feel myself leave his world.
I return to the center of a busy and now shocked town. Rainbow Dash immediately lands in front of me as I collapse to my knees, then collapse completely. Dash just stands there, not quite knowing how to react. "Uh, come on," she says, "the others are waiting. Hey are you okay?" Waiting? For me? How long had I been gone? I now realize it is after midday. I had been gone for hours. She helps me to my feet again, then flies up to my eye level. "Come on Agroth. Please get up." "Thank you. I'm fine" I say. "Where were you? What happened?" She begins to question. "I'll explain later. Where are we going?" "To the library, that's where they're waiting for us." I see a grey pegasus leave the library door and then we knock. We enter and I immediately feel too weak to stand. I collapse onto the floor in front if everyone, too tired and fatigued to care. "I found him" Rainbow says. "Indeed you have." Arthur states. Joshua doesn't leave Fluttershy's side. Arthur gives me his estus flask and I take a drink and give it back. "Much appreciated" I say, feeling better. "I suppose you're all wondering where I was all this time then?" They all nod in response. "First, allow me to apologize for leaving so suddenly and unannounced. Especially to Rarity, who was kind enough to allow me to stay at her home. I am very sorry for how rude I was to all of you by doing this." I bow. "Where were you? I was worried sick about you darling." Rarity looks as though she may begin to cry at any moment. I didn't know how much I had hurt her until now. I suppose I didn't think about it at tw time. I take out my Blue Eye Orb. "I use this to invade the worlds of those indicted in the Book of the Guilty. My brother is a notorious sinner and a Darkwraith. Since I knew where he was I had decided to invade his world to repay the deeds he did." "Like attempting to kill us?" Arthur says. "Or like hurting Rainbow Dash?" Twilight says. "Or for bringing demons to this land." They stared at me with puzzled looks. "The presence of a Darkwraith is like a beacon for other creatures. Especially demons. What's worse is now we may be infected by the Gravelord Servants." "What do they do?" Fluttershy asks from the couch. "Hopefully you'll never have to find out. The undead know well what they do," Arthur and Joshua nod, "and I think I speak for us all when I say I never want you to experience it." "Agroth, may I speak to you privately for a moment?" Joshua asks. "Of course, I suppose." We walk outside. "I must go back to Lordran." "Go back? Are you hollow? Absolutely not!" I whisper. "I must! I'm the weakest of us three, I want to become stronger. The only way to do that is to speak to Quelana and the Fair Lady." "How soon will it be? You know how distorted time is in Lordran." "Exactly, as do you. Therefore, you know as well as I that I could return at any time." I sigh. There will be no changing his mind about this. "Do hurry, please. And speak to Fluttershy about this, she seems to have taken you as quite a friend." "I have spoken with her about it. She did not take it well. However she knows I have no choice if I wish to ensure her safety." "Then good luck friend." "Thank you. I will need it." He says. "When do you plan to leave?" "Tomorrow, before dawn." "We should go back into the library." "I agree." We walk back into the library.
"Shall we stay with the same ponies tonight as well?" Joshua asks to none in particular. "I suppose," Rarity says,"unless there are more invasions to take care of Agroth?" she asks jokingly. I laugh along. "All taken care of, don't worry." I say. "Maybe today we can teach each other spells Twilight." Arthur says. "Sure, I'd love to!" Twilight says excitedly. "I'll stay with Fluttershy again tonight." Joshua says with a smile. "I mean, that's fine. I-If you want to that is." She says quietly. "Excellent, let's get going then." Arthur says. "It is almost evening after all." He walks over to the letters on the table. "Wait a moment." He examines them. "These are addressed to us." "From who?" Twilight asks. "Princess Celestia!" he responds. "That's strange, usually she sends mail to us via Spike. Strange, but not unheard of." Arthur hands the letters to each of us. We read them. "She's inviting us to somewhere called Canterlot for the..." I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly, "Grand Galloping Gala?" I hold up a small golden ticket that was in the invitation. "I have one too." Joshua says. "As do I." Arthur says. The ponies all gasp in envy at this. I suppose this is a big deal then. Suddenly Spike releases a large belch of green fire with a letter addressed to the Elements of Harmony. We stare at the small dragon in confusion. "Never seen a dragon do THAT before." I say. "Do what?" He asks. "Vomit mail" Arthur says. "We've seen dragons' breath before, and they are all very different. The cursed breath of Seath, black breath of Kalameet, toxic of the gaping dragon, even the fiery breath if the Hellkite Dragon." "Don't forget the drakes and their lightning breath." I remind him. "Never before have we seen a dragon breathe something not life-threatening" Joshua states. "Forgive us if we seem surprised." "What are the Elements of Harmony by the way?" Arthur asks.
They stared at us, surprised. "Well" Twilight started,"the Elements of Harmony are six special objects that each of us represents. I'm the element of magic, Applejack is honesty, Rainbow Dash is loyalty, Pinkie is laughter, Rarity is generosity, and Fluttershy is kindness. When we use the Elements, we can overcome just about anything, even Discord." "Who is that?" I ask. "Discord is the being of chaos in Equestria. He even disharmonized us and tricked us into becoming our opposites once." "That's why you reacted how you did when I mentioned I was a Chaos Servant, you thought I meant actual chaos." Joshua says. "Exactly, I didn't want Discord to come back again." "So, Discord is a very powerful being then?" I ask. "Oh yeah, definitely." Rainbow states. "Well the Elements of Harmony sound more like the qualities of a good knight to me. Minus laughter and kindness anyway." I say. "Then again, knights are not always peaceful or harmonic. They are just soldiers in wars." I say as I think back to Oscar of Astora and all the other knights that went hollow, the knights that were turned to pitiful shells of men by their own minds. Solaire almost suffered the same fate, and he would have if I didn't rip that parasite out of his hands before he put it on his head. Spike vomits another letter. "Agroth, it's for you." "Thank you" I say, mildly disgusted. My name is written in orange and glowing. It was written with an orange soapstone! By an undead! Upon this realization I tear the letter open and begin to read it. The entire letter is written with the soapstone. I read the signature at the bottom of the letter. Written in white, with a great golden aura emanating from the signature, the name Knight Solaire was signed at the bottom of the letter. I take my helmet off and they see the expression on my face. "Who is it from? Celestia?" Twilight asked. "No, it's from the only true friend I had in Lordran. Who battled by my side countless times. And who I had saved from himself." "Who is it?" Rainbow asked. "Knight Solaire!" I shout excitedly. The other undead nod pleasantly. They clearly remember his assistance as well. "He's in Canterlot then?" Arthur asks. "Indeed he is! He says he cannot wait to see us at the Gala." When reminded, Twilight gives her friends the tickets from Celestia's letter. "Rainbow, can you take these to Applejack and Pinkie Pie please?" "On it!" She says as she bolts out the door. "When is the Gala?" I ask. "Later this month" Twilight responds. "Do you have anything nicer to wear?" she asks us. "I have the Dragonslayer Armor of Ornstein" I say. "And I have the Moonlight Robes" Arthur says. Joshua says nothing. "I have nothing very nice to wear, I may not even be here..." "Where are you going?" Twilight asks, surprised. Joshua sighs. "Lordran. To improve my pyromancy. I'm far too weak as of now, if I went back and trained with Quelana then my pyromancy would become much better and I would be more fit to," he pauses and glances over at Fluttershy,"protect those who are dear to me." "Oh, well do you think you'll make it back in time for the Gala?" Twilight asks. "Perhaps. Honestly I have no idea when I'll be back." "We wish you luck then" Arthur says. "Why don't we head to Canterlot early as well? Then you can get a better chance to see the city and meet the princesses." Twilight says. "That's an excellent idea!" I say. "I wouldn't mind going a bit early." "Nor would I" Arthur agrees. "And if I come back in time then I could just met you all in Canterlot." Joshua says. "That's not a bad idea Joshua" Twilight says. "We'll meet you there then." "We should probably head back now" Rarity says. "Alright then, let's go. Goodnight then everyone." I say. "And good luck Joshua." "Thank you. Let's go Fluttershy, are you able to walk yet?" He asks her gently. "I think so" she says quietly. She takes a few tentative steps, Joshua's there to catch her if she fell. "I can walk fine." She says. "Great, let's go then." Joshua says. "I'm going to rest at the bonfire before I sleep tonight." Arthur says. "I recommend you two do the same." "I will" I say. "As will I, it's probably more critical that I do as well." Joshua says. We all walk to the bonfire and rest. The others fall asleep. Before I do however, I get up and go to Rarity's. She's waiting for me since we didn't rest long. "Sorry about that, we all need our estus." "I understand, I wish we could talk but Sweetie Belle really should get to bed." She says. "Sweetie Belle? Who's that?" I ask. She gasps in surprise. "I completely forgot that you haven't met her yet! Well, sorry but you'll have to meet her in the morning." "That's quite alright." I say. "Goodnight then Rarity." "Goodnight Agroth." I collapse on the couch and fall asleep.
I awake to the smell of something delicious. I didn't even notice I hadn't eaten anything for a while. "Good morning Agroth" Rarity says cheerfully. "Good morning" I say, groggy from my sleep. "Did you sleep alright?" she asks. "Just the fact that I slept at all amazes me." A smaller unicorn walks downstairs, her mane is a light purple and pink. "Morning Rarity." she says. "Good morning Sweetie Belle, this is Agroth by the way." Rarity tells her. Sweetie Belle is paralyzed with fear the moment she sees me. "Don't worry, he's nice. A true gentleman, and a strong warrior. He's not like the others that passed through town." Rarity says as she tries to snap the smaller unicorn out of her fear-instilled trance. I stand up and she flinches. I bow as I introduce myself. "I am Agroth of Astora, I mean you no harm. I am a friend." I take my helmet from where I put it last night and set it on the couch where I slept. "Breakfast is on the table if you like, dear." Rarity tells me. "Thank you very much." I go to sit down, as does Sweetie Belle. She sits down cautiously as I begin to eat. I finish quickly since I was so hungry. "Delicious, if you didn't have breakfast ready I probably would have forgotten to eat again." I chuckle. "Forgotten to eat? You forget sometimes?" "Undead don't get hungry often and so we rarely eat, that and we rarely get a chance." I explain. "Why don't you get a chance to eat?" Sweetie Belle asks. "I am from a land that's very dangerous, if I am given a chance to eat or rest, I take full advantage of it because I don't know when I'll get another. Actually one of my companions went back there today to train." I leave my helmet on the couch as I start for the door. "Where are you going Agroth? We have to pack for Canterlot!" Rarity says. I point to the Bottomless Box sitting by my helmet. "Already taken care of. Are you going to wear something special?" "But of course! It's the Grand Galloping Gala! I will ensure that all my friends and I look our absolute best." "Well good, I'm going to see if I can make myself useful around town. I'll be back later today." "Alright, goodbye then." "See ya Agroth." Sweetie Belle says. I walk outside and the weather is pleasant. Sunny day, not too hot, almost like Firelink Shrine. I start down a road with a sign that says Sweet Apple Acres on it. I can guess that this is where Applejack and her family live. As I walk down the road, I notice more and more trees bearing ripe, red apples. As I approach I see a large red wooden building in the distance. Applejack greets me first. "Mornin' Agroth." Applejack shouts from across the yard. I duck under the gate and enter. "Good morning Applejack." "Watcha doin' here today?" "Did you get your Gala ticket?" "Ah did actually. Rainbow dropped it off last night, told me you got one too." "Indeed I did. While I'd honestly rather not go, it would be impolite to refuse when invited." "Why don't ya wanna go?" She asks, not shouting anymore since I walked over to her. "I've never been to a party before." I tell her. "Never?" She asks, shocked. "Never, and by the way, I believe we're leaving for Canterlot today so that we can get a good look at the city before the Gala. And another reason I'm here: do you need any help today?" "Actually, no. Usually we're loaded with work to do but today's been slow." I hadn't even realized we had walked into an orchard until she kicks a tree with apples on it. The apples fall into the bucket and the tree creaks. She kicks another. "Well, should you need any help just ask." I said as she kicks an older looking tree. The tree creaks loudly, then snaps right in two! Applejack gasps as the tree comes down. Reacting just barely quick enough, I throw my arms out and catch the tree in my hands with my immense strength. I groan under the massive weight of the tree but I hold it just above the crouching Applejack's form. She looks up and sees the tree just above her head, held in place by two ironclad hands. "Get out from under there!" I grunt. She scurries out from under the giant tree and steps behind me. I drop the tree and sigh with relief, now free of its weight. "Like I said, should you need anything, just ask." I say. Her eyes are watery. I don't blame her, as ponies don't come back to life after death. She holds her tears back however. "T-Thanks, s-s-sugarcube." She says, both terrified of what had just happened and amazed at th fact that I had just caught the tree. "You're quite welcome." I say, cracking my shoulders. "Let's go back to the barn then, hm?" She nods, and we begin the trek back. We are met halfway by a large red stallion. "You okay?" He asked in a deep voice. "Fine, ah'm fine. Just a little startled." She say. "Startled is the worst of it, we should be thankful for that." I say. A yellow earth pony runs up to us. She has a light red mane and is quite small. "What happened?" She asks. "He just saved mah life." Applejack told the others. "Thanks again." "And who are you?" The red one asked. I bow, "I am Agroth the warrior, of Astora." "Well, thank you for saving mah sister." he says, reaching his forehoof around Applejack's shoulder. "Ah'm Big Macintosh, you can call me Big Mac." "Can I call you Macintosh?" I ask. He puts a hoof to his chin, as though nobody had ever asked him that before. "Ah s'pose." "Well, it was a pleasure to meet you all. I should head back now, it appears it may storm soon." I say as I look at the darkening sky, filling with storm clouds. "Alright, it was nice havin' ya!" Applejack calls back to me as I walk away.
I return to Rarity's and begin to help her pack while she works on the dresses for her friends and herself. "The dresses look nice." "Why thank you. I've been hard at work on them since you were gone." "It shows." "What are you wearing to the Gala, Agroth?" "I think I have at least one set of armor that looks decent in my Bottomless Box." I tell her as I take out the Dragonslayer Armor, excluding the helm. Its golden spikes on the shoulders glistened in what little sunlight was left and the expert craftmanship showed in the brilliant layered design of the armor. A design which both looked nice and was effective in battle. I put the armor on to show Rarity how it looks on me. She looks shocked, but pleasantly surprised. "The way you describe Lordran, I didn't think anyone would have armor this, this good-looking." She says with a sparkle in her eyes. "It belonged to one of the Four Knights of Gwyn, this armor is of the Dragonslayer." I say as I take the armor off and put my Black Knight Armor back on. "And I'll be certain to be armed as well." "Armed? Why?" "In Lordran, you can never prepare for a battle, so you're always prepared for a war. I don't think anything will attack us there, but better safe than sorry, yes?" "Nopony would attack at the Gala though." "Nopony would, my brother could. Even without some essentials he wants me very dead now. I don't know what he'll do. If he is foolish enough to fight me yet again, he will regret it to no end." Hearing my own sudden seriousness, I decide to change subjects. "I went to Sweet Apple Acres today." "How was that?" "Great up until the tree fell." "A tree fell?! Where?" She asks, worried for her friend Applejack. "On the ground in one of the orchards and, thanks to me, not on Applejack." "The trees at Sweet Apple Acres? You caught one as it fell? They look gigantic though! If what you're saying is true then you're much stronger than I thought!" "You should see the weapon I'm bringing to Canterlot then. I shall not be caught off guard." I say as I remember how many times Smough's Hammer has saved my life, and assisted in justice when I invaded as Darkmoon Blade. There's a loud boom of thunder outside and Rainbow Dash bursts through the door. "Come in" Rarity says. "Sorry, we're way behind schedule in Cloudsdale so we have to make up for it with this storm. I just wanted to tell you guys." Rainbow says. "Well thank you for telling us." I say. "Yep, I'm gonna go tell Fluttershy and Joshua." Before she bolts out the door, I interrupt. "Joshua's not here. You weren't there when he told us he planned to leave today, but he'll be back soon. He's going to meet us in Canterlot for the Gala if he can." I inform her. "Oh, well I'll go tell Fluttershy anyway, then Twi and Arthur." "Goodbye then." I say as she bolts out the door, loudly slamming it behind her in her urgency. "I can not remember the last time I've been through a storm. Many areas in Lordran don't get much rain." "If you hate Lordran so much, why do you talk about it so often?" Rarity asks. "Well, it was my home for a very long time. There's no escaping what happened there. I'll always have the memories, but now I'm somewhere much better. Somewhere I have friends and a roof over my head, even if it's just for a while." "Well, stay as long as you like, but we are leaving for Canterlot today you know." Rarity reminds me. "We are aren't we." I say. "The train leaves in one hour," she says as I heave my bottomless box onto my back. "So we have about half an hour to finish packing." She says as she adds the finishing touch to a green dress with many flowers on it. "But, as I said, everything I need is in this box. Are you finished?" "I was almost finished when you got back, I'm finished now." "Should we head to the train station now or just stay here then?" There is a large thunder clap and a flash of lightning, but the rain isn't here yet. "We should go now, the rain could be here any minute, and I don't want my mane to get ruined." She says, struggling to try and carry one of her many bags. I sigh and pick up all three of her bags. She looks surprised. "Are you sure you want to take those dear?" "Oh yes, I'm fine." "They are quite heavy though." She says, now noticing the large box on my back in addition to all three bags in my arms. "I'm strong enough. Let's get to that train station then." I say. "If you insist. Be careful please."
As a torrential downpour ensues over Ponyville, we arrive at the station with all of our baggage intact, about a half hour before the train is scheduled to arrive. Suddenly a downtrodden Fluttershy walks up next to us and sighs sadly. She is drenched in rain. I crouch down and place my hand on her shoulder to comfort her a little. I remove my helmet and smile consolingly. "He will come back you know, he's not leaving forever." "I know...I just...miss him." She says, crestfallen. Rainbow Dash pops up next to us in an instant and shakes off. "Arthur and Twi are on their way here," She says. "So are Pinkie, and Applejack." We then see Twilight and Arthur walking up to the station. Arthur wearing the Crown of Dusk and his usual robes, and Twilight wearing Logan's Big Hat that Arthur must have given her to keep dry. "Hi everypony, hi Agroth." Twilight says as she takes off the hat with her magic. "Hello everyone." Arthur says while putting the hat in his Bottomless Box. "We planned to get here before the storm began but we were held up. Spike will be here in a moment or so." Spike and Applejack walk up shortly after Arthur says this. Each of them is carrying a rather large suitcase and drop them heavily to the ground as Pinkie bounces up carrying luggage of a similar size. "Hi everypony!" She beams. "When's the train getting here?" "Should be here any minute now." Twilight says. Sure enough, a moment or so later the train rolls up. We all board and load our luggage above us. Arthur and I have trouble fitting in the seats but we manage. As the train rumbles beneath us and the raindrops patter heavily on the windows, I drift into a deep sleep.
"Agroth, we're here." Says the voice of a familiar sorecerer. I stand up, irritated to be disturbed, but glad to be awake. As I stand, the horns of my helm touch the roof of the train. I remove the helmet and begin to unload Rarity's mountain of baggage and my Bottomless Box. I step off the train and set the bags down. I look around and see a magnificent city, many well-kept houses around a brilliant castle that towers over all else. Images of Anor Londo race through my mind. The giant cathedral and the castle of Gwynevere, the spiraling elevator guarded by gargoyles, and all the homes that shone gold and orange in Gwynevere's eternal sunset. I am so awestruck by the sight of Canterlot that I almost don't notice a hand on my shoulder. I turn and see the iron helm of a familiar warrior. The dented metal headgear has a large crimson feather on the top. I recognize the silver colored plate armor over steel chainmail with green sleeves. Above all, the white tunic over the chestplate stood out most, emblazoned with a picture of the sun. "Solaire!" "Agroth! It's been too long my friend!" He says while giving me a hardy warrior hug. "Indeed it has!" I say, returning the hug hardily. "I think I have finally found it!" He says, breaking the embrace. "This isn't like the last one is it? Will I have to save you again?" Embarassed, he shakes his head. "No, this is not some silly parasite. This is my true sun!" "If what you say is true, then I am very happy for you." I say with a warm smile. "Why are you here though?" "I heard you would be here early so I decided to meet you." He says pleasantly. "Still strong?" He asks. I lift up the entire mountain of bags with ease. "Of course, and without doubt you still have great faith." I say. "Even greater!" He says jovially. "How long have you been here? I haven't seen your signature anywhere in Lordran before I got here, not after the Centipede Demon." "Oh, a while." "Well, we had better get going." "Farewell Agroth." He departs. The ponies stare at me not quite sure what they had just witnessed. "I take it you know him quite well?" Rarity asks me. "He's the one who sent the letter when we were in Ponyville. A good friend of mine, saved me plenty of times, as I have saved him, and he made my experience in Lordran much more bearable." I say as a pony in golden armor leads us to the massive palace.
We arrive at the back entrance of the castle. Arthur and I look around at the ornate design and interior of the palace. We walk down a series of hallways and are each led to our rooms. Everypony has rooms to theirselves except for Twilight and Rarity, who request that we stay with them. We don't see Solaire again and there's still no sign of Joshua. Days pass, a week even passes, still no sign of Joshua. Solaire only rarely drops by to see us. The Gala is tomorrow, my armor and Arthur's robes are ready, as are everypony's dresses. Joshua's robes are ready as well, he will be wearing the Painting Guardian Robes unless he brings something better back from Lordran. I keep getting this feeling that something bad will happen. The feeling I get when a bonfire goes out or I stand in front of a fog door that wasn't there before. Rarity clearly notices this and asks what's wrong every so often, an question to which I gently respond "Nothing, I'll be fine." Fluttershy seems depressed since Joshua still isn't here. The night before the Gala, she walks into our room while Rarity is out.
There is a soft knock at the door. I'm sitting on the bed and hardly hear it. I get up and answer the door to see a very downtrodden Fluttershy. "Come in Fluttershy." I invite. I sit down at the foot of the bed and she sits next to me. "How are you?" "I miss him." She sighs while laying her head on my armorclad leg. I sigh as well. "I know. He'll be here. He's probably on his way right now. He still has to take the train you know, the white light is in Darkroo- I mean, Everfree Forest." She sighs again. "I hope he hasn't forgotten about me." She says sadly. I can plainly tell she's holding back tears. "Forgotten about you? Why would he do that? You're the greatest friend he's ever had. I had never seen him this happy in Lordan. He met you and became, different. He truly loves you, you're so kind to him." "Thanks. I just..." "It's alright. We should get to bed. Big day tomorrow after all." "You're right. Goodnight Agroth. Tell Rarity I said goodnight." "Alright, goodnight Fluttershy." "Goodnight" she says as she walks out the door. She doesn't seem as sad as she did when she came in. I smile at the fact that I cheered her up, even if only a little. I lie back in the bed as Rarity walks in. "Hello Agroth." She says cheerfully but tiredly. "Fluttershy says goodnight." "Did she stop by?" "Indeed she did. Any sign of Joshua yet?" "Afraid not." She says. "She really misses him." "I could tell. She seems so sad." She says, worried for her friend. "What's wrong Agroth?" She asks gently. "I keep telling you nothing is the matter Rarity." "And I keep telling you that I don't believe that. You can tell me." She says softly. I sigh and she lies down next to me. "I just...I have this feeling. This feeling that something horrible is going to happen." "Nothing will happen. That's just your undead instinct from Lordran talking." "You're probably right." I agree, but I'm not fully convinced. I certainly hope she's right. "I am right. You're just a little paranoid because so many bad things happen in Lordran and you aren't yet accustomed to a place like Equestria where there isn't danger around every corner." "Perhaps you are right." I say, drifting off to sleep. "Goodnight Agroth." She whispers. "Goodnight Rarity." I respond before I fall asleep completely. By the Lords I hope you're right Rarity.
A knock at the door awakens me. I look outside through the window, the sun hasn't even risen yet. I gingerly get out of bed so as not to wake Rarity. I place the Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring on my finger to silence the clinking of my armor and I walk over to the door in just my black chainmail. Solaire is standing there in his armor, helm under his arm. "Good morning." He says. "It almost was." I reply. "Oh, now that's no attitude to have on the day of the Gala!" He says, hushed. He walks to the window and waits for a moment. "The Gala! That's right! It's tonight isn't it." I say, also hushed. "I should get my armor ready, then I won't have to later." I open the box and slip the Dragonslayer Armor out and lay it neatly on the floor. I then put on my plate armor that I took off before bed last night. "It's tonight indeed." Solaire says as I lay Smough's Hammer and the Greatshield of Artorias just below the armor. "Any signs of Joshua?" "Who? Oh, afraid not." He informs me. I groan in frustration and he shushes me immediately. "Right, thanks." I say. Suddenly a small sliver of sunlight breaks through the window and Solaire throws his arms up in praise. "Praise the Sun!" He whispers. "Praise the Sun!" I whisper as I stand up to do the gesture as well. "What covenant are you in now? You aren't a Warrior of Sunlight anymore." "No I am not," I tell him, "I am a Blade of the Darkmoon." "Because of your brother?" "Partially. His covenant as a whole. But...I've had my revenge, and the Darkwraiths are becoming less and less active, as are the Servants of the Gravelord. The Darkmoons are ceasing to have a purpose in the world. Which reminds me." Solaire turns toward me and away from the window. "Would you consider allowing me back into the covenant?" I ask sheepishly. A smile grows across his face upon hearing the request. "Of course! Welcome back to the Warriors of Sunlight!" He says, holding out his hand. I grasp his forearm and he grasps mine in a knightly handshake. A bright light eminates from our grip. A light that signifies the changing of one's covenant affiliations. Praise the Sun!
It's midday now, only hours before the Gala. I rested at a fully kindled bonfire outside the palace recently, just in case anything goes sour at the Gala. We all are waiting anxiously at the train station for Joshua, this next train is from Ponyville, and may be the last train of the day coming from Ponyville. If Joshua isn't on this train... Fluttershy is the most anxious to see Joshua. She has been waiting to see him again since he left and she was the first one of us at the station. The pony at the counter said that if another train does come from Ponyville it won't come until the Gala has started. The train arrives and the brakes hiss as the metal contraption comes to a halt. The doors open and ponies flood out onto the platform. We look at all of the cars but no sign of any undead. The last pony gets off the train and the doors shut. I look at Fluttershy, her lip quivering, tears forming in her eyes. She runs in the direction of the palace as tears roll down her cheeks and onto the ground. "Fluttershy wait!" I call after her. No avail, she continues to run. "One thing is certain." I say, "Joshua had better have one damn good reason for not being here." "Agroth, calm yourself," Arthur says. "The flow of time in Lordran is greatly distorted, remember?" "I know...but still. I'm going to go calm Fluttershy down. You all should prepare for the Gala, it starts in a few hours." I say as I run towards the palace. I arrive at the palace and begin to make my way through the series of hallways that leads to our rooms. When I reach Fluttershy's door, I knock gently. No answer. I knock harder. Nothing. "Fluttershy please let me in. I have to talk to you." I can hear her sobbing, so she's definitely in there. "Please Fluttershy. I only wish to help you. Joshua isn't like this, the time in Lordran is immensly distorted, it's not his fault." I hear the door unlock after a while and I come in. She is lying face-down on the bed and clearly she's crying. I walk over and sit next to her. I take off my gauntlets and the chain underneath and softly pat her head. "He won't make it now." She says between sobs. "Maybe I'll never see him again." "Of course you will, he loves you very much and I'm sure he misses you just as much as you miss him." I say consolingly. She looks up at me and sniffs as she wipes some tears away with a forehoof. "You really think so?" She asks. "Of course." "Then why isn't he here?" "Time is very confusing in Lordran. A week there may be merely a day or so here, or vise versa." "Why is it like that?" She asks, her voice still shaky. "Nobody is quite sure. We just know that it's very corrupted and unreliable. Not even Logan could find out why the flow of time was like that and why it still is. Of course I never really spoke with him except when he told Arthur and I how to defeat Seath the Scaleless. But anyway, you will see Joshua again. You never know, he could be back in Ponyville trying to get a train to Canterlot right now." I tell her. She sighs. "Maybe." I smile in an attempt to cheer her up further. She smiles back weakly and I stand. "The Gala is in a couple hours you know, is your dress ready?" "Yes." She responds. "Maybe he will make it to the Gala." She says. "That's the spirit." I say. "Have fun tonight." "Aren't you going?" "Yes, but I have a dreadful feeling about this." "Don't worry, nothing will happen. Do you know what your going to do?" "No, do you?" "Didn't you hear us sing about it in Ponyville?" "Afraid not." "I'm going to go to the gardens with all the animals and the exotic plants and flowers." "Sounds fun, will the princess be at the Gala?" "Celestia will, Luna might even be there." "I think I'll go meet them then." "I'm going to start getting ready." "Alright, I'll be off then." "Goodbye" she calls. "Bye." I say as I shut the door. I walk back to me and Rarity's room. I open the door and look at my armor and shield. Instantly a wave of fear rushes over me. Where's my hammer?! "Rarity?" I ask loudly with a fearful tone. "In here!" She says from a different room in our suite. "Have you seen Smough's Hammer?" "That giant thing that was with your armor?" "Yes!" I shout. "Calm down, I lugged it over here to polish it before the Gala, it was quite dirty. Perhaps I should have told you first." She says. I sigh, incredibly relieved. "Please do next time, I was scared to undeath." "Sorry, I just couldn't have you go to the Gala with a weapon so dirty. In fact I would prefer you go without a weapon at all but you insist on taking it. At least it goes well with the armor." I pick up the massive and now glistening hammer with ease. "You didn't use any of the special shards in my box did you?" "No, I respect your space and didn't go near your box." "Thanks, you may look in there if you wish, just don't touch any of the rocks in there please." "May I look now?" "Sure." I permit. She squeals with glee and rushes over to the box. She gasps and pulls out the Helm of Ornstein. "What's this?" She asks. "It's the helmet for that armor." I say as I point to the armor on the floor. "Why aren't you wearing it to the Gala?" "So that everyone knows it's me in the armor and not the dead dragonslayer." "Oh." She says as she puts the dog-faced helm back in the box "Is this a diamond you have in here?" She says excitedly without pulling anything out. I walk over to see what she's talking about. She points to a Twinkling Titanite. "Oh, no." I chuckle. "It's a material for upgrading special types of armor and weapons. Joshua uses it for his robes, as does Arthur. And I use it for my armor and some of my weapons. It's very important." "Oh, so it's not a diamond?" "No, just a shiny hunk of rock." I tell her. "I'm going to change into my dress for the Gala." She says as she walks into the bathroom with a dress. "I'll change into my armor as well." I say as I begin to take the plates off my armor. I take the chainmail suit off and replace it with a gold-colored suit of chain mesh. When I get the plate leggings on, Rarity comes out in a brilliant pink dress with a shawl around her shoulders and a small tiara on her head. "Well?" She asks. "What do you think?" I stand there wordless, my mouth agape. I search for words to describe how she looks. "Great! Did you design it?" "I made it, as well as the others' dresses." She giggles gleefully. "I'm glad you like it, finish putting your armor on so I can see." She says. I put the chestpiece on over the gold chainmail and slip the gauntlets on my hands. The layered armor and spiked collar is all either made of gold or just colored gold, I'm not even sure. She gasps with delight. "I look well then?" "Brilliant darling! Absolutely brilliant!" She says as I strap the greatshield and hammer to my back. She groans. "Must you bring the shield?" She asks. "Of course, if we get attacked and I don't have a shield then I'm surely done for." "If you insist, but it really clashes with the armor and weapon." "But it also may save our lives." I say. Someone knocks at the door. I open it and Arthur is standing there, in the Moonlight Robes but without the Crown of the Dark Sun. Actually he is still wearing the Crown of Dusk. "Are you ready? Twilight is going to be with the princess and I'd like to meet her. We're going to leave soon." "I would like to meet her as well. Fluttershy will be in the gardens, I didn't ask Rarity what she will be doing. You are bringing Logan's Catalyst?" He pulls out a wooden staff with a crook at the end. "Just in case, and the Moonlight Greatsword and the Darkmoon Bow." "Brilliant, shield?" "Not needed often for a sorcerer. But I'll bring the Crest Shield." "Leave the bow, you're no good a shot anyway." I snicker. "I know, and I'm not faithful enough to use its powers." "It's quite alright. Perhaps I can teach you sometime. But we should go." Rarity checks the clock on the wall. "Oh my! Yes we should, the Gala is about to start! We're already late!" "Well let's go then!" I say and we all leave hurriedly to the front entrance to arrive on time.
Arthur and I running far ahead of the two unicorns, who don't want to arrive sweaty or with their dresses ruined, we can see the doors of the palace. We aren't worried about our armor getting ruined, it was built for battle and therefore is very durable. We arrive before there's a very long line. We walk up the stairs to be greeted by a pony with both wings and a horn, larger than anypony else as well. She greets us with a heartwarming smile. A guard approaches and whispers something in her ear. She turns to look at him while still welcoming us. "Good evening, welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala, have a nice evening." She says without looking at us. "Who are you?" I ask. She looks at us, surprised, then returns to the smile. "Forgive me, I didn't realize you were undead. I am Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun." She tells us. "Princess?" Arthur says. We both drop to our right knee and place our right fist over our heart in praise. "Oh, please, stand up." She says, blushing. "I'm used to being more casual with my subjects most of the time, and guests to this land are no exception. Welcome to the Gala, might I have a word with you afterward?" "Of course." I say, not sure how I feel about speaking casually with royalty. "Oh, do you know Knight Solaire by chance?" "We know each other." Arthur says. "Him and I are excellent friends and know each other quite well actually." I tell her. "Well, I should get to the other guests." She says looking at the new line of ponies behind us. "It was a pleasure to meet you both." "The pleasure is ours." I say. "One more thing though." "Yes?" "Is Luna here?" "I believe so, she won't be attending the Gala but you're more than welcome to see her in her chambers if she allows it." She says with a smile. "She will be glad to have company." "Excellent." I bow, "Thank you for your time, your majesty." Arthur bows as well. "Thank you very much, your highness." She blushes again. "Please, you two." She says with a smile. We both smile back, thank her again, and move on. I ask one of the guards for directions to Luna's room and he just leads me there himself. I end up at a rather large door with a goldclad guard on either side. I knock gently. "Come in." Somepony says, almost tentative or surprised. I open the door and enter. "Solaire? You look different." I laugh lightly at the remark. "Solaire? I'm not Solaire, though I am an undead like him." "W-who are you then?" "My name is Agroth, former Darkmoon Blade." She lights up when I say moon. But then she is confused. "What is that?" "You know of Solaire, he says he is a Warrior of Sunlight. That is the covenant he is in. Well my covenant was the Darkmoon Blades. The Warriors of Sunlight help people through Lordran and progress further through the land." "And what do the Darkmoon Blades do?" She asks, intrigued. "The Darkmoons take revenge on the Darkwraiths and Forest Hunters who kill innocent people every day. Yet the Darkwraiths have been less and less active as of late, so I decided to abandon the covenant." "So, what are you now?" She says as she looks out the window, clearly saddened that someone she finally met who served the moon no longer does. "I am now a Warrior of Sunlight, like Solaire." I see her slump further. "I still adore the moon and the night however, the covenant merely began to lack a purpose due to the great decrease in invasions of dark spirits." This seems to raise her spirits. "Why are you not at the Gala?" "I must watch over the kingdom at night, it is my duty. I must ask you, is Lordran really that bad? Solaire speaks of it as though it is a horrible, lonely place." She looks me in the eye and I walk over to the large window next to her and sigh. "It is horrible, it is lonely. Worst of all, it's hopeless. I just want to move on, death has an unending grip over my soul due to the Darksign. Lordran is a place no soul should ever have to suffer through. I was completely alone for a very long time. Ages. Eventually I met Solaire and other undead but I still was alone most of the time." "Alone...you know what it's like to be truly alone don't you?" "I believe I do, why do you ask." "Have you read anything about Equestrian history?" "No, I haven't." "Read the tale of Nightmare Moon. I knew lonliness for a thousand years..." She says this and there is a roar of screams and shrieks in the main hall of the palace where many of the guests are. I run down to the main hall. I met Arthur on the way down, he draws his Moonlight Greatsword as I draw Smough's Hammer and the Greatshield. We arrive at the main hall to see three undead men. One wearing the full Black Knight armor set weilding the Black Knight Greataxe and the Greatshield of Artorias. Another wearing Logan's Sage Robes with his catalyst and the Crest Shield. He also wears the Crown of Dusk. The third, in the center, with the knight on his right and the the sorcerer on his left, wears the Dark Armor with no mask, and wields the Bloodshield with the Gravelord Sword. The Dark Silver Tracer is sheathed on his belt, opposite of an empty tracer sheath. He is a Dark Spirit, dark and glowing red. His phantoms are jet black, with red brightly glowing eyes, surrounded by an aura of crimson and glistening a bloodred color. A dark spirit and two black phantoms. The dark spirit raises his head to reveal a familiar, heavily scarred face. "Hello again, Agroth." He says with a sinister smile that quickly twists into a face of pure rage.
Raymond pulls a knife off his belt and hurls it at me with great speed. I block it and charge forward, hammer in the air. I smash it down, but not quick enough. Now a monumental crack in the marble floor where Raymond just stood, I struggle to see his movements. He is like a blur of crimson and black. I feel a deep cut form in my side that quickly becomes infected. I turn to see a Black Knight Greataxe swing towards my head, and a Crystal Soul Spear hits the assailant in the shoulder. I hear a multitude of magic blasts and see the two sorcerers launching various wizardries at each other. I quickly turn back around to block a large blow from the axe. I run towards the sorcerer black phantom and swing the hammer horizontally as I charge. I send him flying towards Raymond and knock him down. I jump and the hammer comes down on Raymond's chest. As it does, I hear many of his ribs crack. The sorcerer gets up and now wields a Moonlight Greatsword, as does Arthur. They fight each other up close, hardly doing any damage behind each other's Crest Shields. Someone grabs my arms from behind me and brings me to my knees. I struggle with all my might to break free, but it's useless. I see Raymond slowly approach as he unsheathes the tracer, holding his ribcage with his free hand. Still doubled over in pain, he lunges his knee at my jaw. He stabs my right leg with the toxic weapon. He kicks me powerfully in the stomach and I cry out in pain, unable to block the attacks. I struggle to break free of the phantom's grasp, to no avail. He hits me in the face with a clenched fist. He punches me again with more power, this time hitting me in my right eye. I wrench my arms at another attempt to break free. Whoever this phantom is he's incredibly strong, and still holds my arms back tightly. I look up at Raymond, I now notice his skin is decaying a bit. He is hollowing. He stops for a moment. "You kill innocent people, you killed our parents, and you expect me to forgive you?!" I shout. "You took away my purpose." He says calmly. "Because of you I was removed from the Darkwraiths! Everything I had worked for, everything! Just gone!" He yells. "All the people I've killed, the humanity I've recieved, gone!" He raises his tracer. "Because of you!" He looks as though he is about to stab me again but then relaxes his arm. He kicks me in the chest with his metal boot. I feel ribs breaking. "So I will take away something you hold precious as well." He looks into the crowd and takes two ponies in his grasp, Fluttershy and a blue unicorn with a blue and white mane. "You seem to love these creatures very much." He says. "I relished being a Darkwraith, but serving the Gravelord has its advantages as well." He says while glancing at his black phantoms. Holding both of the ponies in one of his arms, he kicks me in my unprotected face, causing me to bleed badly from the mouth. He kicks me in the nose, breaking it easily and causing blood to drip from it. He kicks me a third time, in the forehead, shooting a wave of great pain through my skull. My vision is blurred from the kick but I see the blue unicorn escape his grasp, Fluttershy is obviously too terrified to move. "No matter, I'll kill them all one by one if I must." I hear Fluttershy sobbing, and I am close to tears as well. My vision finally clears and now I can clearly see him holding Fluttershy by the throat, away from his beaten body. She flaps her wings wildly as his grip tightens. I struggle with all my willpower and physical strength to break free and save the pegasus, if Raymond killed her now, Joshua would never forgive me or Arthur. The phantom's strength greatly surpasses mine and I'm still captive in his grip. I slouch in defeat and look down at his feet to see the marble begin to glow a bright orange. He looks down as well and loosens his grip on Fluttershy. "What is this?" As if to answer him, a monumental pillar of fire devours him, not an ember touching Fluttershy. He screams loudly and drops her as his flesh burns badly from the pyromancy. "Sorry I'm late." A voice says. I look over and see a man wearing the Black Cleric Robes with no mask or helm. "Joshua!" Fluttershy cries, overjoyed. She runs to him, now free of my brother's grip. Joshua kneels and catches her in a long and close embrace. Though I can tell they're speaking I cannot hear what they're saying, but I feel the grip of the black phantom slacken. I'll just buy them a little time. I lunge my arms forward as hard as I can and I am freed of the phantom's grip. At last! I land a strong punch to his face and it removes his helmet. I see a perfect replica of my face on the phantom, but with bloodred eyes that glow like torches. The phantom is of me! I dodge his punch and hit him again. I reach for the axe on his back and successfully retrieve it. I grasp it tighty with both hands, hold it so the blade it on the ground and drag it for a short few seconds. When the time is right, I heave the axe upwards and send the phantom straight up into the air. When he is about to hit the ground, I swing the axe right, sending him a couple feet away. I feel a sharp pain throughout my body as I look down and see the tracer protrude from my stomach. I cry out in pain and see the black sorcerer phantom fade away across the room. Arthur looks exhausted, but sends a Soul Spear in my direction. I duck my head and it hits Raymond in the throat. He releases the tracer, though it still is stabbed through my body. I look down at the curved sword again and see my blood dripping to the floor. I reach around to my back and painfully thrust the tracer out through my back. I fall to the ground in pain as the toxins take effect and I see Raymond running towards me. A volley of pyromancies hits him when he jumps to me. I see many bright orange lights caused by Great Fireballs, followed by a myriad of red flame pillars and several pools of lava from a Chaos Firestorm that swiftly dissipate. I now notice that the ponies are cheering our names, and I see Celestia and Luna both launch magic at the warrior black phantom. I use all that is left of my strength and willpower to stand up and face the warrior phantom. I hit him once more with the axe and he falls to his knees. I kick him back as he dissolves into nothingness. I turn to my brother. Joshua is standing over him. Raymond isn't dead but he is on the brink of death. His skin begins to rapidly decay, he is hollowing quickly. I limp over to him. His hair in singed and his skin badly burnt. I see his body's strained movements with every breath. I look at his face and he is crazed and insane. He looks me in the eye. "I give up, I'm not even going to try to kill you anymore. You are just a lost cause." He says this as his sanity diminishes entirely. This will very likely be his final death, or at least he won't invade us again. I reach for Smough's Hammer as I drop the axe. I raise the great executioner's hammer high into the air. "Farewell, Raymond." I raise the hammer higher and prepare to swing. "Farewell, brother." I crush his head with the hammer and feel the souls move to my body as I absorb them. There is a small yellowish flame as his body dissipates. I pick it up. The Soul of Raymond. I crush it in my hand and take the souls within as I feel his soul move on. "You are forgiven."
I drop to my knees, then onto my face. I feel myself slipping away, Rarity rushes over to me. There is a small puddle of blood that I lay in now, my own. My estus flask is levitated off my belt and brought to my lips. Three doses are poured down my throat and I can now hear the ponies around me saying something. "Agroth, c'mon, stay with us." I can hardly make out fainbow Dash saying this. The sight of her is blurry, a blob of cyan with many colors on it. I cannot hear well either. A hand takes a purple clump of moss with white flowers on it off my belt and puts it to my mouth. "Agroth, the toxin." I hear someone say. Joshua perhaps? I chew the moss and bitter juices are released. Nonetheless, my vision and hearing return to normal and I feel the infected gashes in my body heal. "Rarity!" I call as I rapidly sit up. Pain shoots through my skull and I lay back down. "I'm here Agroth." She says, sitting near me. I sigh, relieved. "Thank the Lords." I say as I put my hand to my head. Damn, it feels like my head is full of Chaos Bugs! Where is Solaire? How did Raymond get to Canterlot? He was a Graelord Servant? My head aches ridiculously as I mentally ask all these questions. "Joshua, you're very late." He helps me to sit, then to my feet, tentatively. "Ascended pyromancy takes some getting used to." He replies. I see Arthur struggling to get to his feet. "Help him." I tell Joshua. "That was some fight dear." Rarity says. I touch the new scars on my face caused by my brother's boot. Arthur limps over with Joshua and Twilight. "You handled yourself well Arthur." "Thanks Agroth, wish I could say the same." He says, staring at my still broken nose and bruised forehead. "Am I still bleeding?" I ask. "Only a bit." I look down and blood is still steadily dripping from my nose. "Here, use this." Rarity levitates me her shawl. "Oh, no. I couldn't." "I insist, you need it." She levitates it to my nose to stop the bleeding and I hold it there. "Thank you, that's very generous of you Rarity." "We should get to our rooms. Twilight dear, where's Spike?" Rarity asks. I look around and find him staring at the crack I left in the floor when my first attack missed my brother. It looks like a giant slammed his shield down in the spot the crack is so big. He stares at it wide-eyed, obviously not believing I really caused such a thing. But he knows I did, for he saw it himself. I stumble over and pick up the hammer. "Spike, we're leaving. Rarity and I are going back to our room. You should go with Twilight and Arthur." This snaps him out of it. "Wha- oh, yeah. See ya then Agroth." He says. I look over and see Joshua carrying Fluttershy out in his arms, her wings are wrapped around his shoulders as well. "Let's go then." I say to Rarity. "You three, may I see you for a moment?" Celestia calls to us. "Of course" I say. We walk to Celestia and Luna, who lead us to a rather large room with a fireplace in it. They sit down. "I have a couple of questions for you." Celestia says. "I do as well." Luna says. Solaire walks in and sits down next to Celestia. The three of us still stand. "What just happened down there?" "An invasion, by a Darkwra- I mean, Gravelord Servant. He was a Darkwraith once though." "What's a Darkwraith?" Luna asks. "A Darkwraith is someone who feeds off the humanity of innocent people, that one was Agroth's brother." Arthur explains. "Darkwraiths are able to choke the humanity out of people, he didn't however. He just wanted Agroth dead." "Will he come back?" Celestia asks. "No, when I killed him, he was deeply hollowed. I took his soul and released him. He won't come back. That was his final death." I tell them. "You used to hunt Darkwraiths right? But you were an invader?" Luna asks. Celestia looks puzzled. "Solaire, would you explain the Darkmoon blades to Celestia please?" He nods and begins to whisper to her. "Yes Luna, I was an invader. But I used the Blue Eye Orb, which only affects the worlds of sinners. They use the Red Eye Orb or Cracked Red Eye Orbs, which affect everyone." "What's the difference if it's cracked or whole?" Celestia asks. "A cracked orb can be used by anyone, whereas a whole orb can be used an infinite amount of times, but only by Darkwraiths." Joshua says. "He must have used an Eye of Death, then a cracked orb." He tells me. "I don't care how he got here, I'm just glad he's gone." I say with some anger and frustration, trying not to speak of my now permanently dead brother. "What is an Eye of Death?" Luna asks. "My brother mentioned he now served the Gravelord. The Gravelord Servants use Eyes of Death to lure invaders to their world. He must have found a way to use an Eye of Death and a Cracked Red Eye Orb at once. When an Eye of Death is used, black phantoms exist on the infected worlds. They mimic beings except they gain half the strength of the being they mimic, which explains why I couldn't break free of the phantom's grip." "Why did he invade you?" Celestia asks us. "Not certain, possibly revenge. This was his second invasion, he invaded us in Ponyville as well. Ponyville!" I shout. "What if another demon entered?! One of us should have stayed back there to keep everybo- er, everypony safe!" "There are Royal Guards there now, I stationed them after Twilight sent me a letter explaining about the beast attacking." Celestia informs us. We sigh, intensely relieved. "Still, we should get back there soon. We should probably leave tomorrow." Joshua says. "Alright, we would love to have you stay though, anytime you wish to come to Canterlot you may stay in the palace if you wish." Celestia says. The princesses smile at us, we kneel down out of habit. "Thank you, your majesties." I say. We stand and exit.
Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Spike are all waiting for us. Joshua goes with Fluttershy, Arthur with Twilight and Spike, and I with Rarity. "Hello." She says gleefully. "What was that about?" "She just wanted some information. About covenants and Raymond." "Oh, I see. Agroth, I've been thinking." She says ponderously. "Yes?" "I think perhaps, I would like to go to Lordran with you." She says as she flinches away. Obviously she also though about how I would react. "Absolutely not! No! I'm not ever taking you to Lordran!" I shout. I take some deep breaths as an attempt to calm myself. "As your friend, I refuse to take you to that awful, hellish place. I pray that you, as my friend, will come to your senses and not wish to go to Lordran." We exit the palace doors and begin to walk around to the back where our rooms are. "You spoke of adventure and battle, and it's not like I'd be going alone." She says as she looks up at me. She puts on a begging face that says 'Please? Just this once?' "Faces do not work on me Rarity, my heart is as cold as my blade." I sigh. "Except to friends, as yourself." I stop and kneel on one knee beside her. "If you got hurt in Lordran, I could never forgive myself. If you were to be killed...well I'll try not to think about that. Lordran is a very dangerous place, insanity and chaos run wild in the forms of hollow men and demons." I sigh as she continues to stare at me. "I'm sorry Rarity. But I refuse to let you die as I have so many times before." She sighs heavily as I stand and continue to walk. "If you really think it's for the best. But, thank you Agroth." "Hm? For what?" "Looking out for me, caring so much, not wanting me to get hurt." I walk over and hug her, even though I'm still in great pain. "Of course." We continue and reach the door leading to the hallways. We travel down one, Rarity seems to know exactly where we are going as I feel hopelessly lost. It reminds me o the Depths, only much cleaner and less violent. We reach our room and I begin to remove my blood-drenched armor. She walks to another room and returns without a dress as I slip my chainmail off. She stares at me in my cloth shorts that I always wear under my chainmail. "What?" I ask. "Where is it?" She says, circling me. "Where is what?" "Your cutie mark." She says. "My what now?" I ask. Cutie mark? What in Gwyn's name is that? "Cutie mark. You don't have one." She says. "I don't know what that is." I say as I slip on my black chainmail. "It's a mark that shows your special talent, the thing that makes you different from everypony else. Didn't you notice them on everypony?" "In fact I did, I just didn't wish to offend anypony by asking what that mark was on their backside." "Well, now you know. Do you not have cutie marks in Lordran then?" "We do have a mark... But no, none like that. Our mark is not unique, but everywhere in Lordran." I point to the mark of a flaming circle on my left cheek an inch or so under my eye. "This is the Darksign. All it tells anyone is that you're cursed and therefore only deserve to be locked away in the asylum in the far north." She nods slowly. "I'm sorry." "It's alright. I don't really mind." I lie. "Well, I won't further press the matter." She sneaks under the comforter of the bed from the top where the pillows are. "Goodnight Agroth." I lie down on top of the blankets and try to relax. "Goodnight Rarity."
I awaken. Rarity is sleeping still. I get up out of the bed and leave the room. I walk down the hall leading to outside. As I reach the outside, I realize that the sun has not yet risen. It is clearly morning though, the air is light and the sun's light shines in the distance. I sit down on the cool grass and think. Perhaps she can go to Lordran. The voice of reason speaks up. Of course not! That would be suicide for her! Rainbow Dash walks up next to me and yawns. "You're up early." She says. "As are you, don't you usually sleep late?" "Yeah, but I heard chainmail clinking through the hall and thought I might see what you're up to." "Sorry for waking you. Just thinking. How did you know it was me?" "Nopony wears armor, and you're the only undead that wears armor made of metal. Whatcha thinkin' about?" I sigh. "Rarity asked me if she could go to Lordran with me yesterday." "Well I can see why." "What?" "Well, you guys talk about it a lot. You tell us about adventures and great battles, sounds exciting." "But Rarity asked me. She's more fragile, not built for great battles, no ponies are that I've met, except possibly for you." "Me? Really?" She asks excitedly. "Sure, you're the fastest pegasus I've seen. Your speed could be a great advantage, one that I couldn't dream of having. In Lordran you're either fast or durable. I may not be very fast but damn can I take a hit." "I noticed, both times you fought your brother you took every slash and stab he dished out. What's that flask for anyway?" "My estus? It's for healing in the midst of battle. It's my most important item." "I guess that is pretty important." Some beams of sunlight begin to reach over the horizon. "Why does Raymond keep invading you anyway?" "Not sure. Could be to finish off the family. He was very insane but he won't be coming back. I promise. You are all safe from him now." "I hope so. I though he was going to kill you." "That wouldn't be so bad." "What do you mean? I never would have gotten a chance to really talk with you." She scoots a bit closer. "I mean, you're such good friends with Rarity, Joshua is with Fluttershy, and Arthur is with Twilight. If you were killed I never would have had a chance to be your friend, I'd never really know you well."I laugh at this a little. "I didn't even think of this. You haven't seen me lose a battle yet have you?" "No." "Well, I am an undead. When I am killed, I come back at the last bonfire I rested at. I won't be permanently dead until I hollow, and even then there's a chance I'll still come back. So you would have still gotten a chance, you would just realize that I'm not invincible." "You are pretty powerful though, right?" "My power comes from experience, I know how to fight because I have died countless times." "What's the worst part about dying?" I am shocked at the suddenness of this question. "Um. Well, uhh..." "Like, does it hurt?" "Well, that depends. But, I suppose the worst part of death, is the calmness and serenity you feel." She stares at me, obviously puzzled. "An overwhelming sense of nothingness...then you open your eyes and your sitting at a bonfire, thrust right back into battle. Simply to await another death. And another, and another. That is the curse of the undead. You die over and over again until you snap and go insane. Then you have but a slim chance of staying dead." I say, gravely serious. "Sorry... I shouldn't have asked." She says apologetically. "No, it's alright. I don't mind, really." I lighten up a little. "By the way, where do you live in Ponyville?" "In a cloud in Cloudsdale." She says, very glad I changed the subject. "Of course you do." "You could stay with me when we get back! Twilight could cast a spell on you that lets you walk on clouds and you could stay at my house!" "That sounds nice, but there's still the problem of getting there in the first place." "Twi could take you up, do you want to then?" She put on a face with a huge smile that screamed 'Pleeeeeaase?' "Faces don't work on me." She frowned and her ears drooped down. "But sure, I'd love to." She lights up and flies a few feet into the air and flips. "Great! Uh, I might have to clean up a bit before you come though." She says as she regrounds herself. "Well just tell me when we get back to Ponyville then." I look at the sun, now almost completely over the horizon. "I should head back to our room, farewell Rainbow Dash." "Bye Agroth." With that I walk inside the palace, and now I know my decision about Rarity going to Lordran: Still no. I open the door to the room and Rarity is standing near the bed, packing one of her suitcases. "There you are darling! Can you help me pack please?" "Certainly." "And about Lordran, I'm sorry. I understand your decision." "Oh. Well then, thank you for your understanding. I just don't want you to get hurt." "I know, thank you." I put my plate armor on, except the helmet. "There, now I'm about ready for a fight." I put Smough's Hammer away and replace it with my Black Knight Greataxe and strap it to my back. I strap the shield to my back and put the Bottomless Box on over that. I put my helmet on as well. Rarity finishes her packing and we walk to the train station. I set her bags down and we wait for the others. Pinkie Pie and Applejack walk up, well Applejack walks anyway, Pinkie bounces up as usual. Rainbow Dash flies up and lands next to me. "Oh, Rarity, by the way. You don't mind if I stay with Rainbow Dash when we return do you?" "Of course I don't mind, you'll drop by every so often though, won't you?" "Indeed I will, and thank you very much for allowing me to stay in your home as well as for your brilliant hospitality." I say as I bow. Arthur, Twilight, and Spike all walk up. She returns the bow and says "You are quite welcome." She stands and smiles at me. I smile back under my helm. "Hi everyone." Twilight says. Spike and Arthur just smile as a greeting. I can see Joshua and Fluttershy walking this way. They arrive, both smiling as well. "Hello everypony, and undead." Joshua says. "When will the train be here?" "It should be here about now." I respond. Sure enough, there is a whistle in the distance. I pick Rarity's bags as I see the train from afar. The train hisses to a stop and the doors open. We all load on and I set the bags in the area above us. I put my bottomless box up there as well and sit down in one of the small seats. I remove my helmet and lie sideways in my seat. I should get some extra sleep, I did wake up very early this morning. I look out the window of the train as it begins its departure from the station. I look up at the palace and see Solaire and Celestia at the highest window. Solaire praises the sun then waves to us. I smile and drift off to sleep. Praise the Sun!
I wake up on my own this time. "Have we arrived yet?" I ask to nopony in particular. "Almost there." Twilight responds. I begin to stand up to retrieve my box. My head hits the shelf with the luggage on it and I sit back down. Rainbow flies over and sits next to me as I rub my head in mild pain. "Hey" she says. "Hello." I say back. "So, um, you need to get anything at Rarity's then?" "I should drop off her luggage. But everything I own is in that box above us." I say, pointing to the Bottomless Box. The train stops and I replace my helm on my head. Rainbow flies to the platform and I grab Rarity's bags and my box from the shelf. The rest of us exit the train, Rarity and I last. We all walk to our homes. Rarity holds the door for me and I set the bags down on the floor by a mannequin. "Sorry about your shawl at the Gala." "Oh, don't worry. It was well worth the mess to keep you alive." She says holding the heavily bloodied cloth with her hoof. She sets the shawl down. "Thank you for staying." "Thank you for allowing me." I kneel down and give her a hug and Sweetie Belle walks down the stairs. "Rarity! You're back!" She shouts happily as she squeezes herself into our hug. "Hello Sweetie Belle, I certainly am glad to be back home." "It was nice to meet you Sweetie Belle, and it's nice to see you. I will be leaving shortly and staying with Rainbow Dash." I inform the young filly. "You're leaving?" She asks sadly. "But, you just got back." "You will see me again, I'm not leaving forever. And I promise I'll drop by every so often. Maybe I'll see you around Ponyville as well." "Bye Agroth." She says as she hugs me tightly. Rarity hugs tighter too. "Goodbye Agroth." Rarity says. "Goodbye Rarity, bye Sweetie Belle." I hug them closer, not tighter since I don't quite know my own strength. "I should go, I need to learn a spell from Twilight." I release them, but they still hold tight for a moment. "Alright." Rarity says as she lets go. "It was nice having you." "Nice to meet you Agroth." Sweetie Belle says. I open the door and wave goodbye. I walk to Twilight's tree library house to learn the spell. "Hello Agroth." She says with joy. "Hello, how is your sorcery with Arthur going?" "Quite well actually." Arthur says. "We both have learned much from each other's magic abilities." "Actually that's why I'm here. I know basic sorceries, would you care to teach me the cloudwalking spell? Please?" "Of course, it's a pretty simple spell." She says as she levitates a large book over to a table. She uses her magic to flip through the pages to the lage with the spell on it. I take out my Oolacile Catalyst, which is a small bundle of ash-white sticks. The spell doesn't look difficult. I read the page over a few times and attempt to cast it. I immediately feel much lighter and there is a dim aura of magic underneath my feet. I think it worked! Only one way to find out though. "Got it." I tell her. "Now how do we get to Cloudsdale?" "We might be able to go in my balloon, not wearing that heavy armor though." Twilight says. I sigh. "We can try." "Alright. If you insist." I put on Havel's Ring. After replacing Smough's Hammer with the Great Club that had been smithed with a Titanite Slab, Twilight Sparkle calls for me. "Great! Then off we go." I charge out the door feeling much lighter and I see a great big balloon outside. Twilight invites me into the basket underneath. I climb in, and we begin to rise off the ground. Suddenly I feel horribly ill as I recall the Bat Winged Demons lifting me from Sen's Fortress to Anor Londo. My illness is so great I am forced to sit down in the basket. "I feel like I may vomit." She just giggles a bit. "Don't worry, we're almost there." She says. "Just don't look down." Within a few short moments the balloon stops moving and we touch down somewhere. I leap over the side of the basket and land on a large cloud. "Thank you Twilight Sparkle." I say nobly as I bow. "Your welcome, have fun with Rainbow Dash." She begins the descent back down to Ponyville. I look around to see Rainbow Dash sitting near...a bonfire! Thank the Lords! I rush over and sit at the fire. I take a deep breath as Rainbow Dash notices me. "Hi Agroth! My house is ready if you want to go there now." "I'd like to sit by the fire for a while, if you don't mind." "Okay, cool. So, how do you like Cloudsdale?" "It makes me uneasy, but I feel with time I'll get used to it. I'm not used to being in the sky, most things that fly often try to kill me." Bat Winged Demons, dragons and drakes, Harpy Demons, other evil creatures invade my thoughts as well. "I'm not gonna push you too much about Lordran." She says. "I don't mind, however I do have a question for you." "Go for it." "You are the Element of Loyalty, yes?" "Yep, that's me." She says proudly. "You are very loyal to your friends then?" "Totally." "Good, loyalty is a rare quality, and true loyalty is one if the best qualities a knight can have." "You're pretty loyal then too?" I nod. "Has your loyalty ever been...tested?" "What do you mean?" "Like, after I met my friends, I was tempted to leave them behind to follow my dream of being the greatest flyer in Equestria." "You chose your friends over your dream? How honorable of you. That was a truly loyal act. I think I understand now. I don't believe I have had such a test of my knightly qualities." I stare into the flames and become much more relaxed. "Do you have any like, dreams?" "What do you mean?" "Like, I wanna be a Wonderbolt someday. I've wanted to since I was just a filly. I work so hard every day, and I train really hard so I can be one someday. Do you have anything like that?" "I hope to defeat the corrupted Lord Gwyn and link the First Flame. For it is my destiny. And what are the Wonderbolts?" "Only the best group of elite flyers in Equestria! I used to watch their shows all the time as a kid! But anyway, link the flame?" "The Age of Fire is coming to an end. Lord Gwyn tried to hold off the Age of Dark by sacrificing his soul to the flame he created. In the Age of Dark, there is nothing but chaos since the Darkwraiths will rule. They will prey on the innocent, and death will reign everywhere. But Lord Gwyn has hollowed, therefore another must take his place. I hope to do so. I must sacrifice my life, my soul, to keep order in Lordran for a time. I cannot let the Darkwraiths win." "Sacrifice your soul? But, you can't!" "I must. They cannot win. Before I came to Equestria, the three of us were fighting the last lord we needed to open the door behind the Firelink Alter and hopefully, reach Gwyn." "Lord?" "The Four Kings, the Bed of Chaos, Gravelord Nito, and Seath the Scaleless each possess a great soul that the Lordvessel will accept. When full, the door behind the Lordvessel will open to Lord Gwyn's domain. We had defeated the Bed of Chaos, Gravelord Nito, and Seath the Scaleless before coming here. We were fighting the Four Kings of New Londo and were killed. We came back at a bonfire in the forest and traversed through a portal into this world. It's the best mistake I've ever made." I say, smiling under my helm. "Mistake?" "I could have gone right back to the Abyss and fought the kings again, but my curiosity got the better of me." "Oh, well I'm glad it did. Wanna go back to my place now?" She asks, not quite enjoying the bonfire as much as I am. I feel great comfort at the fire, the amount of times I had simply dozed off while staring into the flames is far too great to count. "Alright, let's go then." I say in spite of my comfort. She flies off the clouds as I clumsily make my way across them, following her to her home. We reach her home, which is made of clouds, and she sits down on a couch. I tentatively set my box down, testing the cloud to see if it will fall through. It does not, so I begin to take the plates off my chainmail. When the plates are off, I am tackled by Rainbow Dash. "Agh! What are you doing?" She gets off and lays down near me. "Comfy? Check out the clouds." I actually feel very relaxed, the clouds are soft and plushy. "Actually yes, I am. Wow, clouds are quite nice." I feel very tired just lying here. "And you only got me down because I wasn't on my guard." "Oh really?" "Really. I am like Havel the Rock or Artorias, immovable in battle." There is a multitude of loud screeches outside and we both become serious. "Perhaps now you will have a chance to see." I strap my plate armor back on and rush outside with my hammer and shield. Just as I thought. There are four scrawny, pale, winged creatures. They wield spined spears and are huddled around a grey pegasus. I sprint over and slam two of the demons aside with the hammer. One goes to stab the pegasus and she shields herself with a hoof. I dive in front of her and take the stab with my shoulder. A painful electric shock courses through my body and the other three go to stab me as well. I raise my shield and block the attacks. I swing the hammer with great force and pain, being very careful not to hit the grey pegasus. The three demons are knocked away. I yank the spear from my shoulder and gulp down a dose of estus. The unarmed demon grabs me by the throat and begins to strangle me. I drop the hammer and grab his wrists with my free hand. I crush the bones in his forearms with ease. The creature cries out in pain and I punch it in the face, crushing its skull. I gasp in a big breath of air as the other demons charge. I pick up my hammer as I see a flash of rainbow in front of me. "Rainbow, no!" I shout as she kicks one of the demons in mid flight. It isn't affected and tries to claw her in the air. She dashes away with great speed as I charge after the demon that clawed at her. I leap towards the demon feet first and kick it full force in the throat with both legs, crushing its windpipe and causing blood to come from the creature's mouth. As it slowly suffocates I grab my hammer again. I see another flash of color and Rainbow is kicking a demon in the face, hovering in midair. The winged demon grabs her with its free hand and digs in with its claws. I see blood drip from Rainbow Dash and run for her, still held by the demon. It brings her to its mouth, looking as though it is going to tear her to ribbons with its jagged teeth. I shout with rage as I bash the top of the head of the hammer into the demon's chest. I hear ribs crack and it drops the bleeding Rainbow Dash onto the clouds. I slam my shield down by Rainbow to create a barrier between her and them. I grasp Smough's Hammer with both hands and charge, shouting wildly and holding the hammer high above my head. I jump and bring the hammer down on one of the demons, killing it instantly. I swing upward and hit the other, sending it high into the air. When it lands I hit it again, killing the last of the vile creatures. Gasping for breath, I take another swig of estus and strap the hammer to my back. I walk over to Rainbow and my shield. "Are you alright?" I ask, looking at her wounds. She has ten deep puncture wounds, none fatal however, five on either side of her body. I kneel down and put the estus flask to her lips. "Drink up, you'll feel better." Her body is still quivering and shaking badly with pain, and she drinks some of the estus. She grunts with further pain as the estus liquid closes her wounds and stops the bleeding. "Now, are you okay?" I ask softly. "Yeah, fine now." She stands hesitantly. "Good." I say, still kneeling beside her. "Promise me something?" "Sure." "Never do that again. If I tell you to run, you run. I don't want to lose you. So please, promise me that you will never fight demons again." "Okay, I promise." She says, smiling innocently. I hug her for a moment. She hugs back. "Thank you." We release. "However, not letting your new friend go into a battle four to one is a great act of loyalty. An act that I have not seen in Lordran by any, save for Solaire and a few others. I am impressed." "Thanks. Can we go home?" She asks. "I don't see why not." I stand and we begin to walk back to her house, but a grey pegasus stops us. She looks traumatized, but not hurt, thankfully. Her yellow eyes look in different direction, which I find odd, as I have seen no ponies such as that before. "T-Thank you. You saved my life." "Think nothing of it, I am merely glad you were not harmed. What is your name?" "Derpy Hooves. Who are you?" I bow. "I am Agroth of Ast- I mean, of Lordran." Lordran has shaped me into who I am today more than Astora has, especially in my combat. "Agroth? Well, thanks Agroth." Derpy says. "You are quite welcome." We continue back to Rainbow's house. That fight must have taken longer than I thought, the clouds glow as orange as the flames of a bonfire in the setting sun. We arrive at Rainbow's home and I remove my plate armor. "Why do you take your armor off?" "I don't need to have it on all the time anymore, and just the mail is much more comfortable." I take my rings off and put them in my box so as not to lose them. I take my catalyst and cast the cloudwalking spell again, just to be safe. "Room's this way." She says, leading me to our room. She flies above the bed, inviting me to enter first. I lie down and almost instantly fall asleep with such comfort. "Comfy huh? The bed's fluffed up more than any other clouds in the house, so it's more comfortable." She lands beside me. "Excellent." She yawns, as do I. "Goodnight Rainbow Dash." "Goodnight Agroth." I fall quickly into a deep, delightful sleep.
I awake put my plate armor back on. Rainbow Dash must have woken up already, she is nowhere to be found. Wait, now how will I get back to Ponyville! Damn! I exit the house and walk to the Cloudsdale bonfire. I sit down and rest at the fire. I repair my equipment, then kneel at the fire. I grasp the hilt of the sword with my hand and will myself to warp to Ponyville. I shut my eyes and open them again. Upon opening them, I see earth. I look around, Ponyville. Excellent, it worked! I stand and see Rainbow Dash flying through the sky, chasing a... I rub my eyes. Was that right? Chasing a pink cloud? What sorcery is this? She seizes it and gets stuck. "Rainbow Dash! What's going on?" I call. "Ugh! I don't know, this is really weird!" She shouts back. Very strange indeed. Perhaps Twilight will know what's going on. She flies towards Sweet Apple Acres and I begin to follow in my heavy armor by foot. When I arrive I see Applejack harvesting some of her vegetables in the distance. The pink cloud begins to release a dark substance that pours on Applejack. Applejack shouts something to Rainbow Dash as I begin to make my way over closer. "There's crazy weather all over Equestria!" All the plants around me begin to pop. "Ack! What's going on?" Pinkie pops up from one of the piles with a great smile on her face. "But why would you wanna stop this?" Pinkie says, bouncing between piles. Rarity walks up with a raincoat and umbrella and says something to Applejack. I am too distracted to hear, the apples on the trees triple in size and the trees lean far too the ground. Squirrels leap onto the apples and begin to chomp at them. "Fluttershy, do somethin'!" Applejack yells. Joshua walks over to me. "Any idea what's happening?" He asks. "Not a clue." Many rabbits with very long legs run by. Arthur walks up by us and Twilight and Spike are in the distance. "I have seen many things, yet nothing like this." Arthur says. "Don't worry everypony, I've just learned a new spell that will turn everything back to normal!" Twilight shouts. A magic aura glows from her horn and a brilliant beam of light shines over everything. We shield our eyes from the light. When we look again, everything is as it was before the spell, nothing is back to normal. "Well that didn't work." Joshua points out. "No, it didn't." Twilight says. She gasps. "I got it! Rainbow Dash, round up those clouds!" She flies in the air and gathers the clouds together. "Applejack, I need you to get those clouds on the ground!" She nods and swings a lasso in her mouth. She releases and the rope ensnares the clouds. She tugs then to the ground and Pinkie rushes over to it and begins to eat the pink clouds. Twilight whispers something to Fluttershy. "Oh my, I sure hope the animals don't get to these tasty chocolate milk cotton candy rain clouds. I sure would hate to share them." Upon hearing this, the critters rush over and ravenously eat at the clouds, knocking Pinkie out of the way. "Hey!" She shouts. "Well that was handled quite well, impressive Twilight Sparkle." I say. "Indeed, good show." Joshua says as the others walk over to us. "Thanks. See Spike? Never give up, together we can accomplish anything." Twilight says. Spike vomits a letter. Twilight reads it and her eyes widen. "Celestia wants us in Canterlot immediately, she says it's very important."
We rush inside the palace in Canterlot. "We came as fast as we could Princess." Twilight says. I breathe heavily, as I am far behind but moving as quickly as I can. Twilight bombardes Celestia with questions. She raises a hoof to silence her student. "Follow me." She says. She leads us all to a long hallway with many stained glass windows. Fluttershy walks to one. "I fear that one of my old foes has been reawakened. Discord. He ruled over Equestria in a reign of chaos and unhappiness. Fluttershy eeps and runs back toward us all. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony to defeat him." "You can count on-" Twilight begins. "Wait you guys." Pinkie interrupts. "Discord comes with chocolate rain. Chocolate. Rain!" "Don't listen to her princess. We are honored to wield the Elements again and defeat Discord." "Excellent " Celestia says. "And we will help in any way that we can." Arthur states. "Many thanks to you undead. Come. This is where we keep the Elements of Harmony." She leads is further down the hall to a door with a star in the center and six circles in areas on the door. She places her horn in the center of the star and uses a spell to open the door. A chest with six symbols on it is revealed, tye symbols are made from gemstones. "Nevermind the Elements, I'll take that case." Rarity says. Celestia presents the box up high and opens it with her magic. When it opens, it is empty! Nothing is there. Everypony stares wide eyed at it but Pinkie. "If you need me, I'll be outside in the chocolate milk puddles with a giant straw." Pinkie Pie says, seemigly unaffected by the absense of the Elements. "Is this some sort of joke?" I say. "Where are they?" Joshua asks. "That's impossible! The Elements are protected by a spell that only I can break. This doesn't make any sense." Celestia says. A malicious laugh echoes throughout the room. "Oh, what fun is there in making sense?" The voice says. I can't tell if it's in the room or in my head, but everyone seems to have heard it. "Discord! Show yourself!" Celestia demands. The voice, which I assume is Discord, laughs again. "Did you miss me Celestia?" There is a flash and a picture on a window begins to move. "I missed you. You see you wouldn't know that would you? Because I don't turn ponies into stone!" He taps a picture of Fluttershy and it sounds like rock. "Enough! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?" Celestia shouts. "Oh I just borrowed them for a little while." He snaps his fingers and the picture of the Elements of Harmony disappears. "You'll never get away with this Discord!" Celestia shouts. Discord hasn't acknowledged the presence of undead yet, I wonder if he even knows what we are. "Why wouldn't I know what you are? Chaos thrives in your homeland doesn't it Agroth?" Discord says. What? He can read my thoughts?! "Yes, I can. And I've forgotten how grim you can be Celestia, it's really quite boring." "Hey! Nopony insults the princess!" Rainbow shouts. She charges for the window but Discord disappears before she can get there. "Ah, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for your loyalty which is also the Element of Harmony that you represent." "That's right. I'll always be loyal to the princess!" Discord teleports away. "We'll see about that." He says. His voice is maddening! It sounds like it's in my head! Is he in my head? Agh! "I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window." Rarity says. "The beautiful Rarity, representing the Element of Generosity if I'm not mistaken." Discord says. "So ya know who we are, big deal." Applejack says. "Oh I know much more than that, honest Applejack." "You seem to know our strengths too." "Oh indeed I do, Twilight Sparkle. And yours is the most powerful and elusive Element: Magic. Fluttershy's is kindness and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine; laughter." He begins to laugh and Pinkie is as well. "Pinkie!" Twilight says. Pinkie bursts into laughter. "He's standing on your head!" We look over to see Discord in the stained glass window standing on Twilight in the window. "Do you know our strengths as well?" Joshua asks the creature. "Yes I do Joshua the willful. Arthur is very intellectual and good with magic, and Agroth possesses the strength of nothing seen in all of Equestria, and few undead in Lordran." "Discord, stop stalling! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?" Celestia booms. "Oh, really Celestia, so boring. Fine. I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way. To retrieve your missing Elements just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan, then find the Elements back where you began." The last line echoes throughout the hallway as the picture on the window stops moving and returns to normal. "Can we go home now?" Fluttershy asks. "I don't understand. Twists and turns? A labarynth perhaps? Change of events. Back where we began." Arthur begins. "We all began in different places, if Discord knew what we were, could he have hid the Elements of Harmony in Lordran?" I think out loud. "I certainly hope not." Solaire says as he walks into the hall. "Then no pony could retrieve them, we would have to. But we don't even know what they look like." He says. "Exactly. I think it's worth a try however." I say. "Solaire, can you look? Just generally, not in every nook and cranny." "I suppose, how did you get here?" He asks me. I stare at him, quite surprised. "What? We came through Darkroot Basin then to the Everfree Forest. How did you get here?" "I came from Anor Londo directly to the palace. Here in Canterlot." "Well, good to know that there are other ways to get here. And have you tried warping back to Lordran? I haven't, but warping from Cloudsdale to Ponyville worked fine." "I have, it doesn't work. Like in the Painted World of Ariamis or Seath's prison, these bonfires are cut off. Not from others in Equestria, but from those in Lordran for certain." "Well, that's good. I don't want anything else coming here uninvited." Or hurting my friends. Why Rainbow Dash? Raymond, the demons, both got a decent hit on her. Perhaps she's not as excellent at dodging as I though she would be. Twilight walks over to the window. "Twists and turns, twists and turns." She look out the window to the large hedge maze in the gardens. "Twists and turns! That's it! I bet Discord hid the elements in the palace labarynth!" "Wow. I was actually right." Arthur says with genuine surprise. "Good job old friend." I say. "Good luck everyone, the fate of Equestria is in your hooves." She looks at the three of us. "And hands." "Thank you princess. We won't let you down." Twilight says. With that, we run out the palace doors, headed for the maze.
"We have to go in there?" Fluttershy asks. "Nope, Discord forgot about these babies." Rainbow Dash says, flaunting her wings. She takes off. "I'll just do a quick fly over and we'll have the Elements in no time." Her wings disappear and she falls to the ground. "My wings!" Fluttershy's disappear as well and she screams. Twilight and Rarity begin to panic when their horns disappear. Oh no. We're next! I swing Smough's Hammer off my back just in time for it and my box to vanish. "My hammer! No!" I shout. Arthur's catalyst disappears. "Logan's staff! All my magic!" His dragon stones vanish as well. "AHH!" He shouts. A small flame is lifted from Joshua's palm and he shouts as well. I notice that the flame is much bigger than it used to be. Discord appears with an evil laugh. "You should see the looks on your faces! Priceless!" "Give us our wings and horns back!" Twilight shouts at him. "And our weapons!" "And catalysts!" "And pyromancy!" We all shout. "In time, I simply took them to ensure that there's no cheating. You see, the first rule of our little game. No flying, no magic, and no weapons." "Listen to me you vile serpentine chimera. I will not hesitate to tear you to bloody ribbons with my bare hands the next time I get the chance!" I scream with rage. "You really should control that temper of yours Agroth, lest it get the better of you." "First rule?" Rainbow asks. "The second rule is that everyone has to play, or the game is over. And I win." He flies into the air. "Good luck everybody!" He laughs and teleports away. "Don't worry, we can overcome anything as long as we stick together!" Twilight says. "Right! So let's do this!" Rainbow says as we all step forward. "Together!" The ponies shout. Immediately walls are thrust up from the earth between each of us. "Get to the center as fast as you can! We'll regroup there." Twilight shouts. The ponies all agree. "Undead do the same!" I shout. "There's strength in numbers, regroup as quickly as possible." "On it!" Arthur shouts over the wall. "Let's get going then!" Joshua shouts. I begin to walk through the tortuous labarynth. It isn't long before I am horribly lost. I hate places like this. The sewers of the Painted World, the Depths, not to even mention Blighttown, many places in Lordran are just labarynthine hallways and ladders. I wander aimlessly in the maze for hours. I reach a dead end. I look down my the wall amd my box is there! My Bottomless Box! Ha hah! I rush to the chest and kneel down beside it. I throw it open and my heart sinks and my smile drops. My box is full of teeth and has a giant tongue. Arms begin to protrude from the mouth and I shut the lid on them. "Hahaha! I though that would have gotten you for sure." The chest says. I have heard that voice before. "Discord!" I shout. I lunge myself at the chest. It warps behind me. I whip around and almost get it. It warps to my right side. "Gah! Stop that! Give me my weapons back!" I shout angrily. Discord laughs. "Calm down Agroth." He says as he shapeshifts into his form from the box. "My my my, you need to learn to manage your anger better. I'm surprised you could manage it around your new so-called 'friends'." I calm down a bit. "What do you mean my 'so-called friends'?" They are my friends...aren't they? "Why would they be? You intrude into their land and you kill. That's all you've done. What? Did you think they loved you? You come from a land where staying alive means getting on the good side of the powerful. Why wouldn't they do that in times like these?" The monster says. A small cloud of fog appears and he shows me Rarity, greedy, holding a rock she believes to be a diamond; Fluttershy, who is being mean everyone, even her animals; Applejack, fabricating lies to her friends and family; and Pinkie accusing her friends of laughing at her; Twilight has isolated herself from her friends; and Rainbow Dash is lying on a cloud, apathetically neglecting everything in the world. They seem to have forgotten all about me. I fall to my knees. "Oh poor Agroth. Nobody understands. Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. Be like Rainbow Dash." He says pointing upward. I look to the sky to see her flying away, betraying her friends...and me. Apathy. "I'll give you your weapons and box back and you can go back to Lordran." I grit my teeth under my helm in rage. I clench my fists and stand. Apathy, avarice, isolation, fabrication, cynicism, and malice rule now. Discord has won. "Deal. At least in Lordran I know what to expect, and the undead don't feign love or friendship before they stab you in the back." He snaps his claw and my box appears at my feet. "You'll find your weapons inside. So long." He disappears. I look at my hands, now a shade of light grey. My entire body, even my armor is grey. No matter. I stand above my box, motionless, paralyzed with rage. Traitors! A path clears to the exit. I scream to the skies with anger. I pick up my box and put it on my back. I walk back to the palace, oblivious to whatever is happening behind me. I walk to the main corridor where the fog door is located. I step up to the white light and stop. Luna walks up next to me. "Agroth?" "What?!" I say without turning to look at her. She remains silent. I turn to see tears forming in her eyes. For some reason I don't care in the slightest. "Please. Don't do this. You're the one being I've met that worshipped the moon, even if only once." Tears begin to roll down her cheeks and onto the marble floor. "Please. Don't leave. Your friends need you, now more than ever with Discord here." She cries even more. "If those are what you call friends, then I shall never make another friend for the rest of my days." I traverse the light, saying nothing else.
Dammit Discord! I am on my guard much more now that I am powerless to defend myself. I make my way through the maze, I've been trudging through at a torturously slow pace for hours now. I feel as though around every corner there's something that will try to destroy me. Have I just been going in circles? Where's the center? Oh, I'll never get out of here at this rate. I round a corner and see Logan's Catalyst on the ground. Hah! "That's very funny Discord, you think I'll fall for that?" The staff transforms into Discord. "I'm smarter than you think." "I though I could get you with that. Well, at least the others aren't so smart." The others? Oh no! "Where are they Discord?" "You may be smart, but do you think I am that stupid? Besides, you are completely lost." Damn, that I am. "It doesn't matter if I tell you where they are or not." "I refuse to listen to you Discord, you shall not win this day." "Hmph, fine then." He snaps his fingers and is gone. Well, that worked better than expected. Rainbow Dash zips in front of me. "Rainbow, stop!" "Huh? Arthur! Finally, someone else." She says. A cloud booming rainbow lightning rushes by, right between us. "I've got you now, Element!" She pursues it. I chase after her. "Rainbow don't! It's a trap!" I run after her as quickly as I can. She stops. I catch up and she's staring at the cloud, now spinning. Discord is laying on a hammock made of clouds. "Discord! What've you done to her?!" I shout. "Oh, nothing." A box appears and he turns back to Rainbow. "This box contains your wings. You may have them back if you like, or continue wandering around aimlessly in this maze." She touches the box and her wings appear on her back. She takes off. "No! Rainbow Dash!" I shout. She ignores me completely. "Damn you Discord! What have you done?!" "I merely let her decide if she wanted to continue this nonsense or not." Agh, my head. "You see her choice now." But, she was supposed to represent loyalty, not desertion and apathy! This doesn't make any sense. My skull is bombarded with pain. "Agh! Why does my head hurt so much?" "What's wrong?" A voice asks from inside my head. Discord's voice. "Head hurt?" When it speaks, pain shoots through my entire body. "Get out of my head!" I shout. Discord snaps his fingers and disappears. I grasp my head with my hands. I hear a loud, bellowing scream from across the maze. "Never." Damn you! The pain, my sanity. Am I hollowing? Or merely losing it? Augh! I can feel my sanity hanging by a thread, I'm slipping away. No! I have to stay strong! For the others. The walls of the maze collapse. The other ponies are in the distance, Joshua is with them. Thank the Lords. Joshua rushes towards me. "You alright friend?" "Fine." I say through clenched teeth. I relax as the pain goes away. I look over my shoulders. "Arthur!" Joshua says somewhat loudly. "Hm? What?" "What's the matter with you?" "I feel fine." "Where's Agroth?" He asks me. Agroth? Hmm. "I don't know, I thought he would be with you. I was dreadfully lost for the longest time." "You look...different. Like the other ponies." "What?" Pain shoots through my head again, causing me to collapse. I cover my face with my hands. "Don't slip away? Stay strong? You're really quite funny Arthur." The voice says. I uncover my face and look at my hands. They are grey, quite grey, almost colorlessly so. "What's wrong with the others?" I ask through pain. "Um, they seem colorless compared to how they used to be. Fluttershy is being mean, Rarity is being greedy." He glances iver to Rarity and Twilight holding a boulder on their backs. "Sort of. But, they all are acting very strange, and they look awfully faded in color." Yes, all but Twilight seem grey, as I do. "Let go, give up. It's wonderful." The voice says. "Ahh! Shut up!!!" I shout. They all flinch and stare at me. "Get out of my head! Leave me alone!" I continue to yell at nobody. I run away from the ponies as I hear a boom behind me. I continue to run. I hear Discord's voice, but not in my head this time. I don't care, I keep on sprinting as fast as I can to the palace. I rush through the doors and see a fog door in the main hallway. I charge to it. Maybe I can learn how to rid oneself of insanity in the Archives, there has to be something there! Princess Luna walks toward me from the fog door. She looks as though she has been crying for quite some time. "Not you too." She begs. "I'm sorry. I need to cure myself of this chaotic curse if I am to be of any help in finding the Elements." My Bottomless Box appears just in front of the fog. I rush to it and open it. I grab Logan's Catalyst and my Balder Shield. I almost forgot I had Andre use a Titanite Slab on this. I grab the Moonlight Greatsword as well. I put the box on my back and rush through the fog door. I hope I'll be close to the Archives, or a bonfire. I stop in front of the light. "Goodbye for now Equestria." I traverse.
Arthur runs off after his outburst. Discord appears with a crack of thunder. "Well, well, somepony broke the no wings, no magic, no weapons rule." Damn it Rainbow Dash! Damn it Discord! Where is Agroth?! Twilight and Rarity's horn reappear, as do Fluttershy's wings and my pyromancy flame. "Game's over my little ponies! Look's like we're in for a big storm of chaos!" He laughs maniacally. Indeed we are. He gave me back my pyromancy flame...big mistake on his part. I summon a gigantic flame and will it all on Discord's body. He combusts and shouts with pain. The earth beneath him melts from the pyromancy as he snaps his fingers. The fire turns to water and he heals himself. "Don't play with fire. Lest you get burned." I say. "Now that was just rude." He says as he brushes himself off. He remains charred and singed from the flame and I can't help but chuckle. Fluttershy giggles as well. Discord begins to laugh. He collapses onto the ground he's laughing so hard. "What are you laughing at?!" Pinkie shouts. "You ponies are just the most fun I've had in AGES! Hahahah!" "Well quit it!" Pinkie jumps over to him. Discord smiles smugly as Pinkie warns him not to laugh again. "Oh yeah?" Fluttershy says. "Ha, ha." "Quit it!" "No. Hahahahahah." "Quit iiiit!!!" Pinkie shouts. They continue to bicker at each other. Applejack begins to aggravate Rarity when she mentions sharing her diamond...rock. "Girls, why are you all acting like this? We need to stick together!" Twilight shouts. She looks very distressed. "It is just too entertaining." Discord says on a bench he conjured. "Stop it Discord!" Twilight shouts. "This is hardly fair." I say. "I'm not playing fair? Perhaps we haven't met. I'm Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony. Hello." "Tell me exactly how we were supposed to even find the Elements if you destroyed the labarynth before we could even complete it!" Twilight yells. "Oh, wha? Did you? Hahahahahahahahah! How funny! You thought the Elements were IN the labarynth?" He teleports us back to the palace corridor where he said his riddle. We observe ourselves as we hear it a second time. "Twists and turns are my master plan, then find the Elements back where you began." He teleports us back to the crater where the maze used to be. "I never said they were in the labarynth." "But, but-" she starts. "Keep trying Twilight Sparkle and Joshua, maybe the magic of friendship can help you." He says sarchastically. "Now if you'll excuse me I have some chaos to wreak." I quickly conjure a fireball and hurl it at him. He snaps and disappears, only a fraction of a second before the fire could make contact. Damn! "Back where you began, back where you began." Twilight repeats. "I reeeeeally hope they aren't in Lordran." I say. Solaire walks up, exhausted. "Don't worry, they aren't." He says. "Are you sure?" "Would you like to go check?" "No, but I trust you well enough." "Thank you, where are Agroth and Arthur?" "Arthur left after the maze fell, we haven't seen Agroth though." "Home! That's it!" Twilight shouts. "What's it?" I ask. "Back where you began! The Elements of Harmony are in Ponyville!" "Well, it's as good a guess as any I suppose." Solaire says. "Let's go then. You lead the way Twilight, I don't know the roads back." "Just follow me." We begin the long trek back to Ponyville.
Ponyville is in sight now, many hours of travelling. "I'm certain this is what Discord's riddle meant. If we get back to the library, I have a book that I know can give us a clue!" She gets trampled by a herd of long-legged rabbits. I flip out of the way just in time to avoid them and Solaire's armor prevents him from taking any actual damage from the stampede. "Good boy Angel! Momma's so proud." Oh, I want the old Fluttershy back. The sun sets. What the, the sun sets? It was mid afternoon a moment ago. "Wow I can see so much better now." Applejack shouts. She slips and slides into the other ponies. "I meant to do that." The sun rises. Celestia what are you doing?! "Discord replaced our dirt roads with soap!" Discord skates up to us and I use a pyromancy on myself. My feet catch fire but do not burn, good. Now there's a barrier between me and the road, preventing me from slipping. "Beautiful isn't it? Picture it! Ponyville: the chaos capital of the world!" He lifts Twilight up and the sun sets again. "I can't picture anything, it's too dark." "Oh wait a few minutes and you'll see it in the beautiful light of day, or not." He disappears. "Ponyville, the chaos capital of the world? Not if I have anything to say about it!" Twilight states with confidence. "Don't worry, you won't." Fluttershy laughs maliciously as she slides by us. I really want the old Fluttershy back. We continue on the road.
We arrive at the library. The sun rises quickly. "Okay, everyone please go inside please." Twilight pleads. The disharmonized ponies all walk inside with their own little saying beforehand. They seem to become even more grey upon entry to the library. Rarity struggles to get her rock in. "Please!" Solaire and I walk inside to see a very wet and confused Spike. "Why'd you do that Fluttershy?" "Oh, you just looked so peaceful." "Um, I...was?" A rock smashes through the wall. "Careful Twilight! You'll ruin his beautiful finish." "Oh for the love of-" "Twilight! What's going on? Why is everypony so...grey?" "It's a long story Spike. What I will tell you is that the next time I see Discord I'll light him brighter than the fires of Izalith!" I shout. "Spike, I need you to help me find something." "Hey Joshua. What's soaking wet and clueless." Fluttershy says. She's holding a bucket that's full of water. I can see where this is going. I use a fire burst to melt the bottom of the bucket. "I don't know Fluttershy, what can control fire and is getting very annoyed with his so-called friend?!" I ask angrily. "What?" "A pyromancer in bloody Equestria!" "Oh, boo hoo hoo." She taunts. I feel fire forming in my hands. Deep breaths Joshua. C'mon. I just need to remember, Fluttershy isn't herself right now. The stress of this whole situation even had the other undead running. The fire dissipates. "Let's just find the Elements so I can go back to Lordran and I never have to see you again." "What's happened to everypony?" Spike asks. "Ah guess you just bring out the worst in us Spike." Applejack says. "Ugh, no time to explain. We have to find the reference guide to the Elements of Harmony before somepony does something she'll regret!" Twilight turns to look at the grey ponies. "The Elements of Harmony? Oh! I know exactly where that book is!" Spike rushes up a ladder and pulls a single book from the multitude on the shelf. He holds up a large book. "Found it!" I scroll hits him hard in the face. Fluttershy grabs the book as Spike regains his senses. "Fluttershy, you better give me that book!" Twilight stomps a hoof. "Fluttershy give her the book now!" I shout. "Keeeeep awaaaay!" She shouts to the other grey ponies. I swear to the gods I'm going to murder somepony! This is absolute chaos! I'm going to find Discord and scorch every fiber of his being! Pinkie bounces the book to Fluttershy a second time but Spike leaps at her, taking her to the ground with him. The book lands on the ground with a thud. The purple unicorn rushes over to it when it is surrounded by a blue magical aura. "Mine!" Rarity shouts. "I HAVE HAD QUITE ENOUGH!!!" I scream as I trip rarity with my foot. The book flies in the air and I reach to catch it. Fluttershy grabs it and smiles smugly. I knock her down with my hand and grab the book. Twilight and Spike run to me and I summon a great flame in my hand. I push the flame to the ground and a bright dome of flames surrounds us as a shield. "There, I got the damned book. Do what you need to do." Understanding my frustration and me understanding hers, she opens the book with her magic. When the pages turn she gasps. "The Elements!" I look down and see five golden necklaces, each with a different colored and shaped gem in the center. One is a crimson lightning bolt, another is a pink butterfly. There is an orange apple, a light blue balloon, and a violet gem. There is also a crown with a purple star on it. "They were here all along!" Twilight says. I let the fire dome go out. "This is great Twilight!" Says Spike enthusiastically. "Maybe now we can get this mess sorted out." "See girls? We did it! We found the Elements of Harmony! Together!" Twilight stops with the book. She drops it on the ground. Applejack yawns. "You don't even care do you?" "No." They answer in unison. She sighs. "I never thought it would happen. My friends...have turned into complete jerks!" She rushes over to them and puts their necklaces on them with her magic. "There. Now c'mon everypony let's go." "Aren't we missing one?" I ask. "Nope. We got the liar, the grump, the hoarder, and the brute. That about covers it." "What about Rainbow Dash?" Spike says. Twilight puts her hoof to her chin, then uses her magic to put the red lightning necklace on Spike. "Congratulations Spike, you're the new Rainbow Dash. Now let's go." "Me? B-b-but, what if she finds out I've been impersonating her?" He stops. "Oh, that won't end well." "Too bad, you're Rainbow Dash. Now let's go defeat Discord so we don't ever have to talk to each other again." The other ponies all agree to this without hesitation, and charge out the door. I walk out an a boulder is thrown through the window. "Well, well. I see you've found the Elements of Harmony. How terrifying!" "Discord! I figured out you're dumb riddle. You're in for it now!" "You have no idea of the pain that I prepare to deal to you, monster." I mutter. "Indeed I am, you have clearly outdueled me. Now I am ready to meet my fate. I am prepared to be defeated now, fire when ready." A target appears on his stomach. Well, he did say fire. A giant red ball of flames materializes in my hand. I hurl the Chaos Pyromancy at him and he lights up like a rotten tree in the Demon Ruins. The heat melts the ground around him, turning it to lava. I push another red flame into the ground. Dark red pillars of fire surround Discord, burning him badly and turning more ground to lava. I prepare to fire a burst of fire at him but Twilight stops me. "Joshua! What are you doing?!" "What do you mean what am I doing? I plan to kill him! He's so close to death! And where the hell is Solaire?!" "I'm right here." He says from the balcony. "You cannot kill Discord, he is basically the Equestrian god of chaos." The knight informs me. "If we can't kill him then how will we defeat him?!" "They have to, with their power of friendship!" I've had just about enough of this. "Look at them! Do they look like friends to you?" He stares down at the ponies, all glaring at each other. "Even Fluttershy, my only friend. Now she wants nothing to do with any of the others, or me!" I think for a moment. "And I want nothing to do with them." My body and my robes turn a dark grey. I'm going back to Lordran. Away from these damned ponies. Deceitful creatures. I walk through the Everfree Forest. "Joshua, please." Solaire had run after me. "Have faith. They need you right now." "Well they certainly don't want me." We reach the white light. "Joshua. Think about this. If you traverse that light, you may never see the ponies again. Your friends." "Never see the ponies again." "That's right." "But only if I traverse the light?" "Yes." I say nothing more. I walk through the white fog. If I'm lucky, he's right.
Well, I understand why he left. He has nopony else in Equestria to to be a reason for him to stay. He only had Fluttershy. I will always have Celestia, my dear sun. Agroth left because his friends were taken by the chaos. Arthur was consumed by it as well. Joshua was strong, but even he succumbed to the very chaos he tried to defeat. I stand motionless by the white light in the Everfree Forest. Agroth, what happened to you? Arthur, where have you gone? Joshua, why do you doubt? Joshua has just left for Lordran through the light. I raise my hand to the light. Perhaps I should go back too. No! Solaire, you are a loyal knight! Have faith! I unsheathe my straight sword and unstrap my shield. Discord, you had best prepare yourself. For I shall come like a storm. A storm of lightning and sunlight. And when I do, there will be no place for you to hide!
I storm out of the dark forest, weapons ready for battle. I pick up the pace, from a walk to a run, then to a full sprint. I see Discord and the ponies, save for Rainbow Dash. "Harmony in Equestria is officially dead. Discord rules, Celestia drools." "Discord!" "Oh! What now?!" "Hear me, monster! And hear me well! You have driven the undead from this new land, save for myself. Your chaos shall not prevail, harmony will triumph. Hear my words, and remember them when the undead return. By the power of the sun and all power within me, I promise you one thing." "And what might that be, knight?" "You will not be victorious so long as I stand with faith against you." "Well, I have places to be and havoc to bring about. Farewell." He slides away on the slippery roads. "It's your fault it didn't work!" Pinkie shouts. "Who are you talking to?" Twilight asks. "Any of you! ALL of you! I'm outta here!" She bounces away angrily. "Ah gotta go too. I got new, better friends waitin' fer me at the farm." Applejack says. Rarity pushes her rock away without even the courtesy of a goodbye. "Yeah! I'm sick of you losers." Fluttershy soars away. "Fine! Leave then! See if I care! With friends like you, who needs," Twilight Sparkle hangs her head in defeat. "...enemies." Her body turns a dark grey. A tear falls from her face and onto the ground beneath us. "Twilight, you cannot give up. Not now. Have faith, we can defeat Discord yet." She turns to me. "I'm going home Solaire. You should do the same." "What? But. Just. Leave? I, I would never..." Perhaps she is right...maybe I should just go back to Lordran. My body begins to grey over as well. I stomp my foot and stand with pride. "No! I will not just leave. I refuse to let him do this." Twilight is already well away. Damn. I look down, my body isn't grey anymore. At least I have one good sign in my day so far. I look over at Twilight, Discord is speaking to her. She rises to look at him for a moment, she looks at the new Ponyville. Her head slumps back down. Discord begins to dance joyously. "Discord! I believe we have unfinished business?" "Solaire, you're not under my spell yet! Impressive." "Of course not! My great faith can hold off any form of evil. And I shall remain ever faithful." I slip my straight sword back into its sheath. I prepare a large Lightning Spear in my hand with my talisman. "Well, if the 'Elements of Harmony' couldn't defeat me, what makes you think that you-" I hurl the great bolt at him with great power. Electricity courses throughout his body visibly. Yellow sparks fly from his skin. They wear off and he brushes himself off. "You're going to need more than that if you are to hurt me foolish knight!" "Then with more shall I attack!" I shout. A beam of sunlight shines through the eye slits in my iron helmet. I look up to the sky. I pull the sword back out and raise my arms in praise. "Praise the Sun." I say softly. I let my arms fall back to my sides and I think of Celestia. "By the power of the sun, I shall not be defeated!" "Isn't that adorable; well Solaire, where are the other undead? The undead that you have aided in battle countless times? Where are they when you need help?" "I will not fall for your tricks! I wouldn't be surprised if you yourself had cast a spell on them just like you did to the ponies!" I gasp suddenly. That's it! "That's exactly what you've done is it not?" Discord begins to clap. "Bravo, bravo! Though you are quite slow, even for a dead man. This information probably could have helped you more in the maze, shortly after its collapse, or especially just a short while ago. You could have fought me and achieved an easy victory for four undead, instead it will be a sad defeat for one." He teleports to a throne a short walk away. "Have at me then, knight!" I rush at him with a primal battle cry. I stab at him with the sword, but he easily dodges with his serpentine body. He breathes fire at me, I block with my shield. The ground beneath my feet turns to soap. Luckily, my heavy armor prevents me from slipping. I slash at him again and again, he dodges every strike. I have an idea. I stab at him, he dodges and I kick him. When he loses his balance, I slash at him. Success! He bleeds mildly from the cut across his slender body. "Enough!" Discord shouts. A blast of force energy pushes me away. I land harshly on the dirt. He forces my weapons from my grip with his magic. "I am sick and tired of you undead interfering with my chaos! Accept it! Harmony in Equestria is gone! And peace has never existed in Lordran." I stand and look him in the eyes through my helmet. "The Warriors of Sunlight always have hope, we can make Lordran a land of peace." "And how do you plan to do that?" "Through the power of the sun and the strength we have in numbers. You may be able to defeat me, but you cannot defeat the covenant." Twilight Sparkle tugs me away from Discord as magic fries the spot where I was just standing. "Solaire, we need your help!" "Why? What do you need?" The other five are with her as well, and their color has returned! "Oh praise the sun you all are back to normal!" "We need your help Solaire." Discord shoots me in the back with magic. "Gah! Alright, let's speak of it on the way then shall we?" We retreat away from Discord.
On the border of the Everfree Forest we catch our breath. "So, what do you need?" I ask between breaths. "We need your help navigating." Twilight says. "Navigation? But why? You know Equestria much better than I do." "Yes, we do." She says. Rainbow Dash chimes in, "But none of us have ever been to Lordran before."
I knock on the door to Celestia's room. The door flies open and Celestia smiles upon seeing me. "Solaire, thank goodness Discord's magic hasn't gotten to you!" "Princess, I have a few questions for you." "Of course, go ahead." "Did Agroth say anything about where he was going? Or Arthur? Or Joshua?" "No, I'm afraid not. Why do you ask?" "I am going to look for them. Twilight Sparkle and the others are all coming as well." She sighs heavily. "As much as I wish for you not to look for them, as much as I wish to tell you that it's too dangerous, I know that you will go anyway. I know that I cannot keep you from the other undead. But I never thought that you would bring my student and her friends." "Do not worry, I will protect them for as long as I live and freely think." "I know. Be careful Solaire." She bows to me and I to her. "Goodbye." "Farewell, Princess." I exit the palace and the six ponies are waiting for me on the steps. I gesture for them to enter the palace. "So? Are we going?" Rainbow Dash asks. "Yes, now let's get a move on before they go hollow." They let out a cheer, even Fluttershy cheers a little bit. "You must stay close to me, and be extremely careful. I will protect you, but you must also try to protect yourselves. When they snap out of this, they will surely come back to Equestria with us." We walk down a hallway to a door covered with a white light. I'm not even sure if the ponies will be able to traverse the light or not. "Here we go." I traverse. I look around to see the great cathedral of Anor Londo, the bronze tilework and setting sun shining all over the inside of the large church. Welcome back to Lordran, Solaire. I turn and see four of the ponies. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy traverses, shortly followed by Rarity. "We all here?" Twilight asks. I count, indeed there are seven of us. "That's everypony, and myself. We are all present." Where to look? A pyromancer would likely be in Blighttown or Lost Izalith. The sorcerer will very likely be in the Duke's Archives. As for Agroth... I suppose we'll just have to keep our eyes open. "The Duke's Archives is the closest location, we can start there. Twilight, how good are you at soul magic?" "I can almost do the Soul Spear that Arthur taught me." "What about Great Soul Arrow? And the Great Heavy Soul Arrow?" "Yeah, easy." "Good. We are going to need that." We walk onto Smough's elevator and slowly ascend to the Chamber of the Princess. When we arrive, we all file off and sit down at the bonfire. "Why are we resting here?" Rarity asks. "Yeah, we got to find 'em before Discord turns all of Equestria into chaos." Applejack says. "Hold on." They all grab onto my armor and I grasp the hilt of the sword through the tall flames. I will myself to appear at the balcony bonfire of the Duke's Archives.
We are now sitting at the Duke's Archives bonfire. Maybe Arthur is where Logan was studying. I hear a magic spell being released into the environment in the giant library and turn to my right. Crystals are shooting out of the room that Logan formerly studied in. I turn back to the ponies. "Well, I found Arthur. Can you fix him Twilight? Twilight?" She is staring at the massive collection of books with wide eyes. "Twilight!" "Huh? Sorry." "Can you fix Arthur when we restrain him?" "I can try." She says with dwindling confidence. "I just don't know if it will work on an undead or not." "We can hope so." We get up and walk towards the opened bookcase wall, and into Big Hat Logan's former study. Arthur sits in the back of the room. The floor is almost covered with books. He's mumbling some incomprehensible insanity to himself with a book in his hands, facing the wall. I put on the Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring so the noise of my armor won't spook him. I silently step between mounds of books from the half empty shelves. I stand above him, my shield on my back and my sword in its sheath. His head perks up, and I grab him. He struggles furiously, Applejack tries to get a rope around him. He uses his catalyst to offset the course of the rope and it flies onto me, immobilizing me. I grasp my talisman and use Force to knock the rope off me. I leap onto Arthur, him shouting at me wildly, and tackle him to the ground. He jostles at me madly, and Twilight runs to us with a glowing horn. A spell is shot into his forehead, his eyes begin to glow. I step off of him. His eyes stop glowing and the grey leaves his body. "What... What happened? And by the gods why does my head hurt so horribly?" He says. "Yes! It worked! Now we need to go find the other two." Twilight says. "Let's find Joshua next." Pinkie says. "Good idea, we may need all the help we can get with Agroth." I say. Let's check Blighttown then. We all walk back to the bonfire. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity cling to me and the other three hold on to Arthur. Our hands meet at the hilt of the rusted sword in the large flames, and we warp to the Firelink Shrine bonfire.
Solaire and I arrive at the shrine simultaneously. "Wait, do we truly want to take this route down through Blighttown?" I ask. "I didn't think of that, we easily could warp to the Fair Lady's bonfire." "Good idea, you look in the Demon Ruins, I'll check Blighttown." "I'm surprised you wouldn't rather check Lost Izalith." I joke. He glares at me under the helm, but gives a short and false laugh. We place our hands on the hilt of the sword again, and warp to the Fair Lady's bonfire.
Now at the right bonfire with all six ponies, we stand near the Izalith elevator. "Perhaps we shouldn't split up after all." I say. "G-g-good idea, c-can we stick together?" Fluttershy stutters. "Well, there is strength in numbers, and I suppose if we were to find Agroth before Joshua we could use all the strength we could get." "And maybe match his." Rainbow says. She seems so sad, so unlike herself. "Solaire, take them up to Quelaag's Domain, wait for Rainbow Dash and I at the end of the webs." "Alright. Come on everypony." Five of them follow him up the stairs. I wait for them to get out of earshot. "Rainbow Dash?" "Yeah?" "What is the matter?" I sit down at the foot of the stairs and she joins me. "Do you think Agroth will try to hurt us? Like you did?" "I don't know to be honest. I certainly hope not." Though very likely. "Being under Discord's magic, it was like a dream to me. Everything is all fuzzy now, I can barely remember it." "Really? I remember it perfectly, I could control myself somewhat. His magic messed with my sanity so it's a little unclear, I imagine Agroth and Joshua will be able to remember it better." "Agroth saved my life you know..." "Did he now? How so?" "These things... they attacked Cloudsdale. They were these skinny, tan, bat things with barbed spears and lightning powers." "Bat-winged Demons." "Sure. A few of them surrounded Derpy, and would have killed her. Agroth jumped in and started fighting them. For a pony he didn't even know and probably had never seen before. When one of the demons was about to stab her... he dove in front of her and took the whole hit for her. Just so she could be safe." "My... He really has changed." "He kept fighting the demons. One of them grabbed him by the throat, he killed it after. Then I jumped in and started fighting them. I just wanted to help him. I only wanted to help." Tears begin swelling up in her eyes. "So, I attacked some of the demons. And one of them grabbed me, and stabbed me with its fingertips. Its claws dug into my skin, and they kept getting deeper. He told me not to," hot tears begin rolling down her cheeks, "but I didn't listen. I want to see him again, to tell him I'm sorry. He said that loyalty was a rare quality, and one that every knight should have." I put my arm on her shoulder. She wipes her tears away. "You probably think I'm all sappy now huh?" "Sappy?" "Weak, too emotional." "Not at all. He protected you, and he still cares about you, even if he is under the influence of Discord's magic. You will see him again. I promise you that." She sniffles and wipes her eyes again. "Thanks Arthur." "Now then." I stand. "We should be getting up there by about now shouldn't we?" "Mhm."
Joshua POV I sit on the root entrance to the Great Hollow. I look up slightly, to get a better view of the swamp. I close my eyes, really does feel like home. Lonliness, quiet noises of the natural world, and a stench that is damnable and horrid no matter who you are. "Joshua!" Someone calls. My head bolts up at the sound of my name. That sounded like Arthur! Fluttershy flies at me and nearly knocks me off the branch. "Oh Joshua! I'm so glad to see you again! I missed you so-" I cut her off by pushing her off me. "Step off! What is it that you want?" "I, I just wanted to see you again." "Oh really? And why would that be? I've just about had it with you you know. With ponies, Equestria, even the other undead!" She embraces me and begins to cry into my green robes. The robes I came to Lordran with. She cries more into the badly tattered cloth. "Tears won't work on me. Nothing will. So why don't you-" A spell shoots into my forehead and I pass out. I wake up on a small "island" of dirt in the swamp, next to a large rock pillar. Arthur, Solaire, and five of the ponies are standing above me. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Where's Fluttershy? I feel much different now, like everything is better. Wherever Fluttershy is, I need to speak with her. "Where is she?" I ask. "Back at the bonfire, she probably wants to speak with you." Arthur says. "I'd like to speak with her as well." I say. "Then go on, here are your robes." He holds a pile of crimson cloth in his hands. I take off my Tattered Cloth robes and put on the Crimson Robes, again excluding the mask. I run through the swamp. "Thank you Arthur, go and find Agroth if you can. I'll catch up with you." I shout behind me. After trudging through the poisonous muck for a few minutes I step up onto the web land that marks the beginning of Quelaag's Domain. Fluttershy is sitting on the ground at the mouth of the cave, where the webs meet the dirt. "May I speak with you?" I ask. "Are you sure you want... to talk to me?" She says between heavy sobs. That hits me, hits me like an arrow right through the heart. "Please?" She slumps her head even further and says nothing. I step towards her. "Fluttershy... I'm very sorry." "So am I..." "Why are you sorry?" "If I had known *sniff* that you didn't want to see me..." She turns to face me and I can see tears pouring from her eyes. "I wouldn't have come looking for you." And that hits me like a dagger in the back. I fall to my knees and sit beside her. A tear forms in my eye. I wipe it away quickly. "Remember what I said when I came back? After the gala?" She sniffs. "Mhm." A hold my cupped hands out in front of us both. A small flame forms in the basin of my palms. I focus, to create a pyromancy that isn't used for combat. To create a pyromancy I made only once before, for my friend. The flame flickers, then brightens. It twists and begins to shape itself. Both of us are staring anxiously at the flame in my palms now, the flame shapes itself further. Then it molds into the shape of a hummingbird. I focus more and the bird made of fire flaps it wings rapidly and ascends to Fluttershy's face. "I said, that no matter what happens..." "You would always be my friend. And then I said that I would always be yours..." "I'm very sorry Fluttershy." I let the bird disappear. "Under Discord's influence I had forgotten just how much you meant to me. Can you find it in your kind, kind heart to forgive a foolish swamp dweller like myself?" Tears steadily roll down both our faces now, I can't remember the last time I cried. She quickly hugs me tight, I return it without hesitation. Her tears go into my robes, and mine fall openly. "I forgive you Joshua." "Thank you. Thank you dearly." We remain in the embrace for a few more moments. I pull myself together. "Well then. Let's go find Agroth then, shall we?" She takes her head off my robes and wipes her tears away with a forehoof. "Yeah." She says with a sniffle. "Well good, if that touching moment is finished, then we shall be moving on?" Solaire asks. The five other ponies laugh a bit. "How long have you all been standing there?" I ask. "Since the bird disappeared." Rarity says. "Long enough to know just how close of friends you two are." Twilight says. Fluttershy and I smile and stand. We proceed through Quelaag's Domain back down to the Daughter of Chaos's bonfire. The nine of us sit down by the flames. "So, anypony have any clues on where Agroth might be?" Rainbow asks. We all shake our heads. She sighs. "Me neither." "Well then, we get to go adventuring!" Solaire says. "I think we should stay as a group, more eyes in one place. We can search more thoroughly, even if it does take a bit longer." I suggest. "He's right, we need to check everywhere. He could be anywhere in Lordran by now." Arthur says. "Or just walking through the fog door." Solaire points out. "By the gods, he could even be back in Equestria." I say. "But why would he go back there when he has been cast under Discord's spell? Discord wanted us as far away from each other, the ponies, Equestria, and himself as possible. Think, what is Agroth's major flaw? Mine was my insanity, yours was your spite I think, Joshua." "My faith kept me normal." Solaire stops suddenly. "Oh no." He puts an ironclad hand to his helmet in worry. "What? What's Agroth's flaw?" I ask. "Have you ever seen him angry?" "Oh Lords." Arthur says. "Indeed I have, during our battle with Seath the Scaleless dragon. We need to find Agroth now." "And I think I know just where to look." Solaire says. "I helped him during the battle with the Centipede Demon, he thoroughly enjoyed killing it, he loves killing demons." "So he's probably where demons are! The Demon Ruins!" Arthur says. The Demon Ruins is like a location that is made of rage. "And we're close." I chime in. "We should walk down there right now. At least we can find out if he's there or not for certain." We stand and rush to the tunnel that leads to the Demon Ruins. We run past the bonfire and infected inhabitants of Blighttown and the ruins. When we reach the bottom of the hill, sure enough, a knight is sitting on top of a pile of Taurus Demon corpses. He is wielding the Demon's Great Hammer, which has fire eminating from it, a slab of granite as a shield, which looks like Havel's, and Havel's armor set. He didn't notice us yet. "Agroth! Is that you?!" Rainbow calls out. The knight looks up. He leaps from the mound of corpses and lands in front of us. He plants his fist in the ground as he lands, the ground shakes and a large cloud of dust and rocks is swept up from his landing spot. The knight stands and removes his helmet. The face beneath isn't badly scarred, and his messy black hair is swept back. "And what in the gods' names do you want?!" He shouts. That's definitely Agroth. If he were any angrier, his eyes would probably be glowing red. "To bring you back." Rarity says, obviously desperate to have her friend back in Equestria. "I bloody am back! Just like my old bloody self! Even in the same damned place! I can see you're all here, I'm honored." He says sarcastically. Capra Demons approach from our right. "Agroth, listen to me! Please come back!" Rarity yells. "Why?! So I can be abandoned by my greedy, dishonest, cynical, cruel, and above all disloyal so-called friends?" Tears roll down Rarity's face, obviously she's deeply hurt by his words. Even Rainbow Dash is crying now. She quickly wipes away her tears. "Look out!" I shout. A Capra Demon jumps to Rainbow Dash with his blades raised in the air. Agroth puts his helm back on and charges at it, blocks the attack, then swings powerfully with his hammer. The demon is knocked back about fifty feet as it burns with the chaos fire from the hammer. It lands in the lava and perishes. Four others charge at the angry warrior. He charges back at all four of them, is he going to fight them all at once? Solaire charges in with him. Agroth swings the hammer and knocks Solaire back to us. He spins once with the hammer and hits the Capra Demons' heads. One of their skulls cracks. Agroth abandons his hammer and shield. He grabs the cracked skull by the horns and pulls on both sides. The skull splits in half and the demon falls to the ground. He sidesteps a vertical attack, then punches the demon's skull. He rips the machete from its grip. In a flash of attacks, he uses the machete to crush one demon's skull, decapitate another, and chop another demon's head. He rips it from the last and stabs it directly through the heart. The three demons fall. I'm impressed, even if this is Agroth. He storms over to us and picks up his weapons. "Leave me be." He says, out of breath. He turns and begins to walk toward the deeper part of the ruins. A rope is hurled around his right arm and he drops his weapons again, instictively. I turn to see that Applejack is holding the rope in her mouth. "C'mon, help!" She says. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all grab ropes and hurl lassos onto Agroth's arms. Two ropes on each of his arms, Solaire hurls one rope to his neck. "Are you joking?" He says. The ponies and Solaire begin to tug on the ropes, I rush to Applejack's and Rainbow's ropes and tug on them in an attempt to bring Agroth down. Arthur runs to Pinkie's and Twilight's and does the same. Fluttershy cowers behind us, on the lookout for more demons. Agroth firmly plants his feet and the solidified magma cracks beneath the weight of him and his armor combined with the force of our pulling. He relaxes his arms and lets them go back a bit. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" He hollers. He uses his strength to fling the ropes, us still on them and the ropes still tied to him, back far behind him. Rainbow Dash carries Applejack away, only me on the rope. I see Twilight use her magic to levitate herself and Pinkie away from the rope. The undead all still grip the ropes tightly. He whips them again and Arthur is thrown off. He misses the edge of the cliff and disappears over the edge. He will land in the magma lake at the bottom soon. Solaire and I release our grips and we land by the ponies. "Arthur!!!" Twilight screams. She is clearly fighting back tears at the death of her friend. "I'm warning you! Leave me be! Go back to Equestria!" Agroth shouts. "I cannot let Discord reign supreme! But we need you to help us defeat him." Solaire shouts. "Come with us! You don't know what you're doing!" I say. He gets the ropes off his arms and neck, then stops. "I don't care." He picks up his weapons and walks towards us. Solaire and I prepare for a battle. The sun knight raises his shield and I raise mine. Agroth yells and charges at us. He slams the hammer on Solaire's shield and fire spews in all directions. I shoot a burst of flames at him, he is hardly affected. He kicks Solaire down and turns to me. Oh gods. He is about to crush me with the hammer when I see a flash of blood and a sword come out his stomach. I see Solaire on one knee behind Agroth, his sword in his back up to the hilt. He yanks the sword out and Agroth falls to the ground. I throw a Great Fireball at him when he stands. A Great Soul Arrow flies over my shoulder and hits Agroth. I turn and look, only to see that Twilight Sparkle is the caster. Dammit Arthur! Hurry! "You killed Arthur. He was my friend!" Twilight yells to him. Many soul sorceries are fired from her horn, each one hitting Agroth in the chest. Solaire shoots lightning at him, I use my Great Combustions as well. Some of our attacks bounce right off his granite armor, most hit him though. He stands and takes every hit. We stop, exhausted from our magic uses. He takes a swig of estus. "My turn." The three of us are hit by Wrath of the Gods. He grabs Solaire by the throat and tosses him to the edge of the cliff like a ragdoll. He conjures a ball of glowing white energy and pushes it to Solaire as he is getting up. He raises his shield, but it's too late. The energy explodes into a force push that knocks him far off the edge. "Twilight! Take the ponies and run!" I shout. She nods and runs away, the other five following her. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity stop. Seeing this, the other three stop at a safer distance. "What are you doing?! Get out of here!" I shout. "We aren't leaving you!" Rainbow shouts. I am knocked far away from where I was standing and a painful burning sensation goes throughout my body. I land by the two pegasi. Fluttershy tries to help me up, but I am in far too great of pain to stand. "Go on! Just leave! Like you did at the labarynth!" Agroth shouts. "Agroth, why are you doing this?" Rainbow asks. "Maybe if you stuck around longer you would know!" The angry warrior shouts at her. Rainbow sighs. "You know, a brave knight once told me-" "Filthy deserter! Why are you still here?!" "Once told me," Rainbow says with a strained voice,"that loyalty was a rare and valuable quality. One that I should be proud to have. I respected that knight, he saved my life once. He was my friend. But now he's a monster! I look at him now and I don't see my friend anymore! All I see is anger. Please, Agroth. Please just come back to Equestria. You've already killed two of your friends today." Arthur lands on my right, a blue energy emanates from his feet as he lands. The ponies look at him, shocked to see the sorcerer resurrected. "What?" "You-you're not!" "Dead? Yes I am. Which is why I don't stay dead. It's complicated, is Agroth back to normal yet?" Agroth still stands where he has been, his head sinks down and he looks like he's thinking. Slowly but surely, the color comes back to his body. Even wearing the grey armor, he visibly turns back to normal. He takes his helmet back off, he's back alright. He walks to us slowly, dragging the hammer and shield on the igneous ground. "Yes Arthur, I'm back to normal."
"Yes Arthur, I'm back to normal." I say. "Well, good. Did you kill Solaire as well? I see Joshua's still here." "Yes, I did. I don't know what came over me, I saw the ponies all acting so horribly to each other. I just became so angry." My fists clench up, then I release. "Can you all ever forgive me?" "Well, I'm back, Joshua's still here, and so are the ponies. I forgive you." "You were under Discord's spell, we forgive you too." Twilight says, speaking for the Elements. "I forgive you of course." Joshua says. "And you know Solaire will when he finds you're back to normal." "Thank you all." Solaire walks down the hill and meets the entire group. "Hello, is he...?" "Yes, Solaire. I am." "Well good." He turns to the ponies. "I know how much you have probably come to love Lordran, but we must go." He says sarcastically. "You probably don't hate it as much as we do. We've had to spend years here, many of which were spent rotting in a cell." I say. "Can we leave now?" Pinkie asks. "Yes, let's go." I respond. I'm glad to be on the way back to Equestria. We walk up the hill to the bonfire, then warp to the Undead Parish. We materialize at the bonfire, the only sounds are the crackling flames and consistent tinging of Andre's hammer on the anvil. We all walk downstairs and slip past the old smith, who is far too busy working to notice us. We walk in a group through the room where the Titanite Demon was. All the undead, myself included, are on guard with shields up and weapons raised. The ponies happily walk through this new land that they blissfully don't know as we do. We enter the shadowy forest that is Darkroot, the ponies slow down and look around. "Don't worry, we won't let anything get you." Joshua says. We sure will try anyway. A thundering noise shakes the ground and the trees. It was like a beat, like my hammer hitting the earth. We hear it again, and it repeats. Uh oh, it sounds like a beast charging at us. The other three know as well, and brace for a fight. We aren't even close to the hill leading to the basin yet, cone on! This is just inconvenient. We see the white head of a lion in the distance, its piercing red eyes stare at us with hatred. Its horns are like that of a goat, and it has four large birdlike wings on its back. The monster raises its tail, which is covered in spines and has a stinger resembling that of a wasp's at the end, with a fierce barb on the tip. A Sanctuary Guardian? These are supposed to only exist in ancient Oolacile! We turn and run back to the beginning of the woods, I'm not fighting it in a corridor, I want space to move. The guardian roars and chases us, the ponies lag behind. I stop, turn, and drop my weapons. The ponies rush past me, save for Rainbow Dash. She looks up at me with confusion. "Agroth? What are you-" "Go! I'll hold him off!" "You can't just-" "Get out of here Rainbow!" Solaire runs back and picks her up. "No! I'm not leaving you!" I ignore her. I now stare the charging beast in the face. It lowers its head as it nears me, going for a headbutt. Before it can send me flying with its skull, I grab it by the horns. My feet slide back, creating large marks in the ground as I slide. I firmly replant my feet and push the beast with all my might. It slides back slightly at first, but the momentum causes it to slide back with greater speed. Finally, I shove the creature away from me. "Agroth, come on!" Solaire shouts. "You have to come with us!" A very distressed Rainbow Dash shouts. I turn. Fluttershy calmly walks closer to me as the monster gets to its feet behind me. "Fluttershy? What are you doing?! Get with the others!" I turn just in time to see a giant horned head about to hit me in the stomach. I react to late and the horns connect, sending me flying back past Solaire and the blue pegasus. I struggle to regain my breath, Rainbow flies to my side and Solaire rushes to Fluttershy. Soon the other four ponies join Rainbow Dash, and the other two undead join Solaire. I take a few short breaths of air and attempt to sit up. About halfway, pain shoots through my back and ribs. I lie back down. Twilight says something, but everything is silent to me. I reach for my estus flask and painfully bring it to my lips. As my ribcage and spine are healed, and my hearing returns. "What was that?" I sit up. "I said 'Are you okay?'" "Well, better now." "Ah thought we were gonna lose ya for sure!" "Honestly? I won't be killed that easily. Wait!" They stop. "Do you hear that?" They shake their heads. "Neither do I." I get up and run to the fight. The guardian is lying on the ground, Fluttershy is stroking its head with a hoof. The other undead stand there with the same look of immense confusion that I have. Eyes wide and mouths agape, we stare at the yellow pegasus, wondering if we've gone hollow. I pick up my hammer and shield. "How does she-" I whisper. "We don't know. I knew she was good with animals in Equestria but monsters in Lordran? Now I'm really impressed." Joshua quietly interrupts. Fluttershy quetly says something to the Sanctuary Guardian, it stands and flies away. We stare at her, surprised isn't a strong enough word. She blushes and smiles. "I'm good with animals, and I've calmed a manticore before." We blink silently and say nothing. "I haven't gone insane again have I? I'm not hollow?" Arthur asks. "Either all four of us are or that really just happened." Solaire says. The ponies trot past us and we regain our senses. "Well, I'm going to pretend that a Sanctuary Guardian never even appeared here today. I'm going to pretend that some of my estus is just gone, and I'm going to continue on to the white light that leads to Equestria." I say lightheartedly. "Agreed." The other three chuckle in unison. We continue into Darkroot and walk to the top of the large hill, the bridge waits for us at the bottom. A little more than halfway down the snaking cliff, we see a faint glow about twenty yards away from us. I feel excitement from all four of us and we charge at it. We tumble over each other and struggle to be the first to get to the light, as the ponies still follow at the same pace, probably very confused. We reach the glow and we all attack it. My hammer misses, Solaire's stab and Joshua's combustion are both dodged. A crystal shoots up through the lizard and through the diamond on its back. "Haha!" Arthur says. We groan at our foiled attempts to get the animal. He takes the lizard and rips the gem from its back. It turns to two Titanite Chunks and a glimmering stone of Twinkling Titanite. He puts the materials in his box and the ponies catch up. "What was that all about? It looked like fun!" Pinkie says. "Upgrade materials, these lizards commonly have rare ones." I say. "Let's move on shall we?" We drop down the ledges while Joshua leads the ponies down by walking. Eventually we all reach the bottom of the hill, and the wooden bridge that leads to the white light to the Everfree Forest. Solaire and Arthur lead and traverse. The ponies all traverse before Joshua and I. "I'm glad Fluttershy's back to normal." He says. "Did you end up under Discord's magic?" "I did. They found me in Blighttown. We found you in Izalith. We all seemed pretty close together except for Arthur." "Duke's Archives?" "Where else?" He says with a chuckle. "You still staying with Rarity?" "Nope, now I'm with Rainbow Dash." "I expected as such." "What do you mean?" "She seems to have taken a liking to you. Almost as Fluttershy has to me and I have to her, you seem to be good friends almost. She didn't want to leave your side when you fought that guardian. I told everyone to stop so they could see your true strength, and to watch you kill the beast." "And?" "Fluttershy said she could get us past without harming it. Then I said that you could handle it. After I said that you got knocked quite some feet over us." "Then Fluttershy calmed it, somehow." "That night, before I left, before the gala, we shared stories. She told me of the day she met Twilight Sparkle and the others. I told her of the day I met you and Arthur. She said that she had calmed a manticore before with her kindness, I told her of when I had killed demons with fire. We are so different, yet so much the same. We get along so well for some reason. When I came back, the night of the gala, I stayed in her room. I showed her some of the things I could do with my new pyromancies." "What did you show her?" I ask, genuinely intrigued by his story. "I focused, hard. And I made a hummingbird of flames in my hand. A delicate creature made of fire. When I showed her, she smiled and her eyes glowed it seemed. I made the hummingbird fly up to her face and land on her nose. Then it disappeared." I remain silent. "Why did you share this with me?" "Because, it seems like you have that with Rainbow Dash. Don't let it rush past you like you let time rush past you." I pause. "Thank you Joshua, I won't. Thank you." He pats his hand on my shoulder, then traverses. I stand there, thinking about what he said. Rainbow Dash and I are friends, but not quite as good of friends as that. That'd be nice though, for certain. I traverse.
I arrive to the six ponies and three undead anxiously awaiting my arrival. They sigh in relief that I arrive okay and on time, in spite of how long I stayed in Lordran to hear Joshua's story. Discord will pay. The guilty pay the price. Always. "Agroth?" "Hm? What?" "You okay?" "Yes, must have started daydreaming there for a moment. Let's go get Discord then." We walk through and finally out of the forest. We come to see a horribly chaotic Ponyville. Arthur and I stand surprised at the sight. "Oh, right. After you two left things really went downhill." Joshua says. "By the looks of it, I'd say downhill is not powerful enough to describe it." "It's pure chaos." The mage says. "Which is why we need to hurry up and get Discord out of here. So stop dragging your hammer and catalyst and let's get a move on." "Agreed. Let's go Arthur." He tugs his robes off and transforms with the dragon stones. "Now I'm ready, let's go." He snarls.
We march through the chaos-filled Ponyville, on a mission to end Discord's madness. When we reach Discord, he is sitting on some kind of throne, like a prince of mayhem. He sees us and hovers in the air. "You never give up do you?" "The guilty pay the price!" I charge at him immediately. I swing the hammer with great power, it connects with the side of his head and sends him flying. Joshua rushes to where he landed and the ponies put on some sort of necklaces, Twilight puts on a crown. Joshua sets him up in flames and a Soul Spear hits Discord's serpentine body. I drop the hammer and grasp my talisman. Solaire's Lightning Spear zooms past my head as I get closer to Discord. The chaos demon stands, I use the Wrath of the Gods miracle. Again, he is thrown far away from me. He stands up, bleeding badly. "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into." Solaire and I hold lightning in our hands, Joshua has a large flame ready for pyromancy, and Arthur is preparing a large Crystal Soul Spear. "Very well." We all release our various magics at him. The lightning strikes him, he is engulfed in a large pillar of lava-spewing fire, and the Soul magic hits him as well. When the fire goes out, Discord just sits there nonchalantly. "What? How are you still alive?! That's-" "Impossible? That doesn't make sense? Remember who you're fighting here." I pick up my hammer once more. I feel my rage swelling up inside me, I feel a desire to end him. I run at him with a battle cry. He just smiles and awaits my attack. Before I can crush him, a spear hits me in the stomach. "Oh my, I'm terribly sorry." He chuckles. I rip the spear out and drink a dose of my Estus Flask. I charge at him again, but this time I raise my shield before the spear can hit me. I swing downward fiercely and crush him to the ground, my rage making me seem so much stronger. I use the power of the greatshield and my skin turns to stone. I hold my talisman over the Chaos Demon's Great Hammer and cast Darkmoon Blade. Lastly, I cast Replenishment on myself. He desperately conjures and hurls weapons at me. Spears, daggers, arrows, bolts, and swords all bounce off my armor and stone skin. I see fire, lightning, and magic all hit him. I crush his head with the great hammer. It doesn't kill him, but he is definitely hurt from the massive power and quantity of our attacks. He struggles to stand, I struggle to stay standing. He looks behind me and his expression changes to that of fear. I turn to see a blinding light, then everything goes silent for a moment. The Elements of Harmony slowly hover to the ground. I turn back to Discord, who is sealed in stone with the look of fear still on his face. All the chaos is gone and Ponyville is back to normal. "What? What just happened?" Arthur asks. "We stopped Discord, like the princess wanted." Twilight says. "Fair enough." The pyromancer says. "Great." I'm exhausted from that battle, my anger has subsided, and I just want to rest. The sun and our long shadows show it's late afternoon, and a good victory has us all fairly tired out it seems. The ponies talk and giggle about our victory, the three undead walk over to me. "Well, that's over." Solaire says. "I always believed we could do it!" "Believed? I knew we would!" Arthur says. He casts a spell, turns human, and puts his robes back on. "Say, what time is it?" "Almost evening by the looks of it." Joshua says. The six walk over to us. "The princess probably wants to see us, we should head back to Canterlot." Twilight says. She has a point, I imagine the one who gave us this quest should see that it is complete. "Fair enough. Let's be off then." I say.
The doors open and the Elements of Harmony walk ahead of us to the princess. The four of us march behind them. Celestia stands at her place, above the gathered masses of ponies. "We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six friends, and these four undead, who triumphed over Discord and saved Equestria from eternal chaos!" The ponies all cheer. The princess uses her magic to pull back a curtain on the wall. Underneath, there is a large stained glass window. The artwork portrays the Elements of Harmony, the four of us, and Discord. Solaire and I are holding Lightning Spears, about to be thrown, Soul magic is coming from Arthur's catalyst, fire from Joshua's hands, and beams of light from the Elements of Harmony. The crowd cheers even louder than before. I smile at this, I had never been recognized for my accomplishments in battle.
Back at Rainbow Dash's house, the sun is setting. It's nice to have been honored for a battle for once. Rainbow flies in and lands next to me. I wear only the chainmail of my armor now. I'm just sitting down and staring out the window. "That was awesome." She says tiredly. "You were good in that fight today with Discord." "Thank you." "I've never seen you so winded after a battle. You really fought hard huh?" "Indeed. And even though I'm strong, swinging that massive stone hammer around isn't always easy." "Sure fooled me, you swing that thing around like it's a toy." She smiles contently. "I'm glad to have you back." She wraps one wing around me. "It's nice to be back." I wrap my arm around her. We stare at the setting sun. "Celestia's doing that?" "Yep. Her magic is really strong." "I can tell." "You're not gonna leave again are you?" I pause. "I don't know honestly. One of us four is the Chosen Undead. We are destined to defeat the corrupted Lord Gwyn and Link the Flame." "Link the Flame?" "We sacrifice our own soul to keep the fire lit. Thus continuing the Age of Fire." "So if you're the one...I'll...never see you again?" We both stop. I look away. "There's only a one in four chance." "I don't like those odds, please don't go back. Please!" "I may have to. I don't know yet. Whichever of us defeats Lord Gwyn is chosen." "They can defeat him, they're strong! Can't you just stay here?" I sigh in response. I look out at the orange and blue clouds in the darkening sky. I hug her tight, she returns it without hesitation. "Why don't I just sleep on it. In the morning maybe I can tell you an answer. How about it?" She sniffs. "Okay." She releases the hug. "You probably think I'm pretty sappy now huh?" "Sappy? What's that?" "Emotional, weak, you know." "I don't think you're that at all. Even I get like that every once in a while, less so before I came to Equestria." "Why?" "I guess I was just being numbed by all the battle. The death, the fighting, the struggle, it was all getting to me. The worst part was the lonliness. I scarcely met another undead that didn't want to kick me down into a pit or stab me in the back. And when I did they went hollow or were killed somehow and I never saw them again. Solaire is the one companion I've made that I still have the honor of him fighting by my side." There is another pause. "We should get some sleep." "I'll join you in a while, I'd like to look at Luna's moon for a little bit." "Alright, goodnight Agroth." "Goodnight Rainbow Dash." She lies down in the bed in the center of the room, leaving me by the window to stare up at the sky. I'm probably not the chosen one anyway. She's right, they could handle Gwyn one by one or with each other. Especially Arthur. Joshua has gotten stronger, and Solaire has fought great monsters that double his size and power. He's even helped me when I struggled. The stars begin to peek out of the dark sky, each one like a shining diamond in the blackness. It somewhat reminds me of The Abyss. The Abyss! I had almost forgotten what I was doing in Lordran before I came here! The Four Kings must still be defeated! Well, they won't need my help for that either. I stand and walk to the side of the cloud bed. I crawl in next to Rainbow Dash, who is asleep and breathing lightly. They can handle it. Though it would be selfish and disloyal to stay here. Bah! Enough Agroth, you fool! Sleep! I begin to relax. I take off my chainmail shirt and lay shirtless against the clouds. They are incredibly soft, within a short while I fall fast asleep.
I am alone, in The Abyss. The pure blackness seems infinite, yet far too close all around me. I hold Zweihander and the Greatshield of Artorias. It's just like the first time, except now I'm alone here. Where are Joshua and Arthur? Where's Solaire? Why am I back in Lordran? Are the ponies alright? Something in the distance catches my eye. A small blue figure, moving very fast. Streaks of colors follow in its path. "Rainbow Dash!!!" I shout. She stops, then bolts to me. I hold out my arms and she flies into my embrace. "Agroth! Thank Celestia you're here! Something is trying to get me!" She is crying and frantic to escape whatever's after her. "It's alright, you're okay now." I stroke her mane to comfort her. Realization hits me. "Wait! Why are you here? You could be killed!" "I'm sorry, you just...left. No warning or anything, I was scared. I didn't want to lose you." Something else catches my eye, farther away, but also much larger. It's hovering over here almost as fast as Rainbow Dash flew. The first! "Rainbow Dash, get behind me." I release her and she obeys. My fear is confirmed, it's the first king. He approaches fast, and I prepare to take the hit with my shield. He slashes his sword and a blast of magic is shot at me. The blow is absorbed by my shield, and I charge at him. I jump up high and land sword first on his head. Most of the blade is buried in his skull. I rip it out and he bleeds a black and silver substance from his head. I jump off of him and stab his heart. He bleeds more, shrieks, and fades away as he dies. "There, one down. Three to go." "Three to go?" "They are called the Four Kings for a reason." The second appears much closer to us. He leaps at me, blade first. I narrowly dodge, as does Rainbow Dash. I quickly cast Darkmoon Blade on the Zweihander. The king raises his arms, clutching his sword with both hands, and swings downward. I swing the heavy greatsword and slice his forearms, severing them at midpoint from the rest of his body. His arms a third gone, I slash at his head and decapitate him. This is much easier than the first time. The third king appears behind us, dangerously close to Rainbow Dash. I run to protect her. The king must see that I'm not running to him however. He raises his sword in one hand. Almost in slow motion, Rainbow Dash takes her last breath as the sword chops her skull almost in two pieces. Deep red blood spills into the eternal pit of The Abyss. Her wings stop keeping her up and her muscles all relax. I catch her and hold her lifeless body in my arms. I feel like crying, I feel like giving up, but now I can't. I drop her into the emptiness and the fourth king appears. I put my shield on my back and grip Zweihander with both hands. I look up at the kings. I'll end their pitiful existence. For Rainbow Dash! The kings prepare magic and their weapons. Before they can attack, they freeze. It's as if time itself has stopped. A blue mist forms next to me, it is riddled with sparkling white dots. Almost like the night sky. Princess Luna materializes next to me from the mist. She stares at the kings, then looks down to Rainbow Dash's corpse, still falling but frozen in time. "Agroth? What's happening?" "Why are you here? How did you get here?" "I can enter the dreams or nightmares of whomever I wish. I noticed you were having a nightmare and decided to come visit you." "I don't think there's much you can do to help. But, I'm dreaming right now?" "Yes, where are we?" "Oh thank the Lords! Such relief. We are in The Abyss, home of the Darkwraiths and the Four Kings of New Londo Ruins. I was here before I came to Equestria the first time." I trail off at the end. "What happened?" "I was killed." I chuckle. "Bastard got me good, I was with Arthur and Joshua. Arthur died first, then Joshua, and finally me." "What are you afraid of, why are we here in this nightmare? Do you fear the kings?" "Not really. I fear this place. Remember the man that attacked us at the gala? He was a Darkwraith, my brother as well. This is the home of his covenant, which rivals my own." "How do the Darkwraiths rival the Warriors of Sunlight?" I take my helm off and smile at her. "Do you see my weapon?" I hold it up so she can see the brilliant dark blue shining from the blade. "I used a miracle to do this. And I rejoined the covenant that I got it from." I see hope form in her eyes. "What is it called?" She asks anxiously. "The Darkmoon Blade." She gasps and smiles. "I am a Darkmoon Blade again." I kneel down to her, bow my head, and put a fist over my heart. "And I shall remain as such for the rest of my days. I am sorry I ever left your covenant." "My covenant?" She blushes and smiles. "I am the only Darkmoon in Equestria, and since Gwyndolin isn't here then I am loyal to you." I stand. "Thank you. I never knew what it was like to have a knight, I have guards but it's not quite the same. But anyway, would you like to awaken? It is about dawn after all." "Agroth? Agroth!" I faintly hear someone calling me. "You are still in the nightmare, and will wake up as such. She thinks you are still in this horrible dream." "It is better now thanks to you. I would very much like to awaken." "Farewell my knight." I bow again as she disappears.
I wake up. My eyes still closed, I feel hooves on my bare chest. I open my eyes to see Rainbow Dash standing over me. It's quite bright now, dawn has passed a while ago. I sit up, my hair is matted to my forehead and the back of my neck. I sweep it all back with my hand. Rainbow gets off of me. "Thank Celestia you're awake." I'm still breathing heavily from the shock of the nightmare. "You okay?" "You're alive!" "Yeah, you were having a bad dream. You said my name and something about some kings." "It was only a dream." I struggle to say. "It's over now, I'm fine." She sighs, relieved. "Good, you want breakfast then?" "I'm alright, I must speak with Solaire anyway." I put the rest of my chainmail on, then the plate armor. "I think he's with Rarity, he's staying in Ponyville for a few more days, then going back to Canterlot to stay woth the princess." "Thank you. I should leave immediately." "Bye." I walk out the door then run to the bonfire. I kneel down and put my hand on the hilt. I will myself to warp to the Ponyville bonfire. I disappear.
I knock on Rarity's door with an open hand. Sure enough, Solaire opens the door. "Ah, Agroth. How are you this morning?" "Recovering." "Oh?" "Bad dream, but anyway I still need to kill the Four Kings to get to Gwyn." He laughs. "No you don't." "Yes, I do." He irks me sometimes. "No, you don't." "Yes I do, they killed me before I came to Equestria." He reaches into his box for something. "I never killed them, so I still need to kill them to get-" "A Bequeathed Lord Soul?" He pulls out a large orange orb with energy glowing around it. It's the soul I need! "Yes!" I'm awestruck! By the Lords, they killed Arthur, Joshua, and myself! How did Solaire get it alone? He must be trained better than I thought. "You have the other three souls though?" "I do! This is excellent!" "We still don't know which of us is chosen." He points out. I know which. "Yes, but now we can find out. You know what this means, don't you?" He sighs. "Yes. I'll send a letter to Celestia saying farewell." "And I need to see Rarity, when shall we leave?" "I think we should leave as soon as possible, the flame could die at any moment." Rainbow Dash...I haven't said goodbye. "Alright, excuse me." He stands aside to let me pass him. Rarity and Sweetie Belle are sitting down at the table, laughing about something. "Rarity, excuse me if I'm interrupting." "Oh no, you're not interrupting anything." "Hi Agroth!" "Hello Sweetie Belle. Rarity, I must tell you something." "Sweetie Belle, may we have a moment?" The small pony nods and walks over to Solaire. "Something on your mind dear?" "Somewhat. You know, I came to Equestria unexpectedly. I shouldn't have stayed here for as long as I have." "Whatever do you mean?" She looks up at me. I take my helmet off and set it on the table. "One of the four of us undead has a destiny to fulfill. We don't know which of us is the chosen one, but whoever is chosen definitely will not come back. So if I'm chosen, I'll never see you again." "When are you leaving?" She is clearly straining to get the words out, she seems pretty close to tears. And rather shocked. "As soon as I can, the fate of Lordran depends on it. The fate of mankind depends on it. Solaire possesses the last soul we need to get to the Kiln of the First Flame. That is where we will defeat Lord Gwyn, and Link the Flame. I'm no good with goodbyes Rarity, but by the gods I'm going to miss you." I kneel down and we embrace each other. "I'll miss you too." We pause for a while. "So, this is our last goodbye?" "I'm afraid so. There is a chance that I'll come back, but I think saying there's a slim chance is being optimistic." "I see." We release each other, she wipes tears from her eyes and sniffs. "Well at least you told me this time." She laughs weakly. "For Celestia's sake, do be careful." "I'll be fine. He's only the god of fire and destroyed most of the everlasting dragons that ruled over the land in tyranny, what could happen? Worst case scenario: I get killed. In which case I simply try again, right?" "Oh you know what I mean you fool." She smiles and another tear comes from her eye. I take off my gauntlet and my chainmail glove to wipe away the tear with my bare hand. She looks down and sobs some more. I hold her close. "Don't forget me Rarity." "Never." I release her. I put the armor back on my hand and stand up. I put my helmet back on. Sweetie Belle sees me walking to Solaire and trots back over to Rarity. "Goodbye Sweetie Belle." She sits by her sister and they both wave goodbye. "See ya later Agroth!" Sweetie Belle says. I turn away. No, no you won't. I walk outside with Solaire. I shut the door behind me. "Going to miss them hm?" The knight says. "Of course. But we should go tell the others." "I'll tell Arthur, you go tell Joshua at Fluttershy's cottage." "Alright."
The four of us stand at the fog door, deep in the Everfree Forest. "Well then, I trust you have all said your goodbyes?" Solaire asks. We all nod. "Good, then let's-" "One moment Solaire." I interrupt. "Have you any parchment?" "Yes, but why?" "Might I have a few pieces?" He unfolds some papers of parchment and hands them to me. I take my Bottomless Box off my back and set it on the forest floor. I open the box, pull out my Orange Soapstone, and write two letters. One of them I sign, fold up, and stick to the box with a dagger. I write "RD" on it in big, bright orange letters. The other note I hand to Joshua. "If you would, please sign that." He reads it. I hand him the soapstone. He smiles and signs. He then passes it to Arthur, who does the same. Arthur passes it to Solaire, who reads it and signs. He passes it back to me, I stick it to the box with a dagger. I look at both notes. "We should leave things for them. I doubt we'll be able to come back here anytime soon." "I agree." Joshua says. "I left a few belonging in my box, the rest I've disposed of." I say. "I've marked who they are to go to." Joshua takes off his pendant and puts it over the dagger on the note. "Fluttershy will know." He says. Arthur pulls out a scroll. He pulls the dagger out and pins the scroll and letter against the box with it. "Twilight will know as well." Arthur says. Solaire lays his Sunlight Talisman on the dagger so it won't fall off. "Celestia will certainly know, though I doubt she will be the one to find it." "I don't think we need these items where we're going. Or many items at all in fact." I say. They unstrap their Bottomless Boxes and set them on the ground. Joshua combusts the three boxes. "The items they will remember us by are on that box. They don't need to remember us by the junk we picked up on our adventures." The three boxes burning, we traverse the white light.
We look around at the dark green trees and moss-covered cliffs of Darkroot Basin. The forest is very damp and humid, and the stench of rotting wood and corpses is thick in the air. We walk across the bridge, and drag our feet to the bonfire. We all grab the hilt of the badly rusted and ancient iron sword. The small tunnel fades into darkness, and we find ourselves at Firelink Shrine. We're all depressed and low on energy, but once we hit a battle I'm sure we'll be back to normal. At least, for what used to be normal. We trudge along to where Kingseeker Frampt is and jump down into the blackness around him. A spell catches us before we hit the floor and we land painlessly. This place smells heavily of smoke, it is dark everywhere except where the Lordvessel sits on the altar. We take out the Lords' Souls. I hold the Soul of the Gravelord Nito, Joshua holds the Soul of the Witch of Izalith, Arthur has the Bequeathed Soul of Seath the Scaleless, and lastly, Solaire has the Bequeathed Soul of the Four Kings. We drop them into the Lordvessel. With each soul, the fire grows much larger. Arthur drops Seath's Soul, Joshua drops the witch's, Solaire drops the kings', and I drop Nito's last. Upon recieving the Gravelord's Soul, the stone wall behind the Lordvessel splits in two upon the crack. It opens to us. We tentatively step through it, and I see ghosts. Not ghosts like in New Londo, more like, lost souls of some sort. All of them are Black Knights. There is a long, black staircase, and an endless white light on either side, as well as above and below us. We walk down the staircase and stop on a platform made from giant slabs of stone. "Do you think they found the notes yet?" I ask. "I don't know. I certainly hope so. What was that other note you wrote?" Joshua says. "It was to Rainbow Dash. Just a final goodbye. That's why only I signed it." "I see. I miss Twilight Sparkle already." Arthur sighs. "I'm sure. We all miss our friends that we made there. But we cannot give up hope, have faith!" Solaire says. Three black phantoms pop up, as does a name on the ground. In white, with a black aura all around it is "Zander" written on the ground. I swing and knock all of the phantom Black Knights away, then touch the signature. I warp to the world of the servant, and I will not fail.
At the Kiln yet again, but this time it's just me and the Gravelord Servant, and I am a Spirit of Vengeance. "You should not have come here." Someone shouts behind me. I spin around to see a man, very slim, Mask of the Child, Black Leather Armor, gloves, and boots. He wields the Gravelord Sword in one hand, a Target Shield in the other. "I wouldn't have reason if you didn't create those phantoms." "Oh what's it to have a little fun around here? It's so bleak and grey, a challenge ought to be fun! Mind you I said 'a challenge'. Unfortunately I got you instead." "You want a bloody challenge? Well now you've gone and pissed me off, here's your damn challenge." I rush him swing the hammer horizontally, he parries and stabs me in the gut. "That all you damn got?" He laughs. So he isn't a fool, and he's actually good at fighting. Very well. I put my Demon's Great Hammer on my back and take a talisman off my belt. "Oh? Faithful are we?" He taunts. I heal myself, then conjure a large bolt of lightning. He attempts to block but it goes right through his puny metal shield. He collapses with pain. I summon another, even greater bolt of lightning and throw it at him ferociously as he attempts to stand. It knocks him on his back. "You should probably just lie there if you value your life. Then again, it is your own fault that I'm here." I stand above him and put both hands to my chest. "No. You wouldn't, you couldn't!" I quickly bring my arms dow and a forceful push blows away anything and everything near me. Zander is flung into a stone pillar and he dies. I love the Wrath of the Gods miracle. An Eye of Death materializes in my palm. I drop it, and I am teleported back to my own world.
"Well, that was fun." I say. "That was fast!" Arthur says. "Those phantoms just disappeared, how did you kill him so quickly?" "A little faith was all I needed." I smile at Solaire under my helm. "That's the Agroth I remember!" Solaire exclaims. "Now, let's finish this!" We charge through the ashes and to Lord Gwyn, and inevitably, to our fate. After a few Black Knights, we are faced with a fog door at the bottom of a melted stone staircase. I touch the fog with my armored hand. Even through the charred iron, I feel the fog touch my hand. It is cold, and very soft, like silk. It may be the last time I will feel this sensation. I let out one heavy, shaky breath, and turn to the undead I have come to know as friends. "Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure. One of us won't return from this battle. And so, you must promise me something." I say. "Of course." Solaire says. The others nod in agreement. "If I am chosen, and if you're able, go and tell the ponies of my fate. It is written in the letter I left them, but it would be better if they were to hear it in person. I promise to do the same for any of you. Can you promise me this?" They nod firmly. "We swear." Joshua says. "Thank you. You once were simply my comrades, my companions in battle. But now you are all much more. Now you stand with me, before the Great Lord Gwyn, as my friends. The only friends I have in Lordran, and I know that we will see this fight to the end. I thank you for all your help, may your journeys take you great places. I know that I would not be standing here today if it were not for you three." "Bah! Enough of this! I'm a scholar, I don't do well with goodbyes. And this is getting a little sentimental for my taste." Arthur chuckles. "Alright." I laugh. The others laugh as well. "Let's go then." We traverse.
The moment we pass through, I see Gwyn standing on the other side of the grounds. He leaps high into the air and lands in front of us. We sidestep his sword attack and get a good look at him. His beard is scraggly and as grey as the ashes outside and in the area we now stand. His eyes have a crazed look in them, like that of a mad dog, but not quite that of a hollow. His face is weathered, beaten, and badly burnt. Sweat drips from his brow, and he raises his sword. The swing hits my shield just as I block. Flames shoot out from the sword, leaving a black streak on my shield around where the blade hits it. Arthur fires magic at him, doing massive damage. The Great Lord turns and grabs Solaire before he gets a chance to stab the king. Gwyn holds him high above his head. Fire bursts from his fist and Solaire is launched to the other side of the room. Great Fireballs hit Gwyn, and I go in for the kill. I raise the hammer high, and bring it down on his head. Time seems to stop. I stare at the once great lord of all things. The Lord of Cinder, the King of Sunlight, the master of the flame. I stare at his skull, bits of which are flung into the air by the force of the hammer. Blood drips from his head and drops trail the bone shrapnel of his head. He falls to his knees, then falls on his face, and finally he dissipates into nothingness. I killed him. Now they all know, I am the one. "You're...!" "You know what this means don't you?!" "Yes, I do. Leave, I don't want the flame to consume you as well. Don't forget your promise to me. And thank you again...friends." They nod and leave, knowing what I must do. I step to the bonfire in the center of the battlefield. I raise my hand over the sword, and flames light my body. The fire doesn't hurt, it merely tingles my senses a bit. It is warm.
Agroth linked the First Flame and sacrificed his soul to preserve humanity for a while longer. Though his body burned in the fire, his soul remains a part of the flame. The three undead returned to every portal to Equestria they knew of, but could find nothing. The walls in Anor Londo collapsed over the light, and the bridge in Darkroot Basin crumbled. Solaire was left to the realization of the permanent absense of his sun, and he went hollow. Joshua could not bear to be without his closest friend anymore, and snapped after some time. Joshua went hollow. Arthur however, could mentally withstand the loss of Twilight Sparkle. He remained sane for almost one year (Equestrian time) before discovering the Everlasting Dragons' secret to immortality. His dicovery led to him hollowing soon after however, today he mindlessly wanders the swamps of Blighttown. No human being was ever to withstand immortality. Arthur could one day be saved with powerful magic. As for the notes, the ponies went searching for the undead when none had returned from Lordran. They found three piles of ashes and one wooden box in the Everfree Forest, near a gateway that once was covered by a powerful white light. Arthur left Twilight the White Dragon Breath spell, the only soul magic that she hadn't mastered. Joshua left Fluttershy his Pendant, with a picture of them both inside. On the back of the pendant was the charred image of a hummingbird. Twilight Sparkle found Solaire's Sunlight Talisman and delivered it to Princess Celestia. Agroth left some belongings for Rarity, Rainbow Dash, even Applejack and Pinkie Pie who he did not know very well. He left Rarity a Crystal Shield and some Twinkling Titanites. Rainbow Dash was given the note, which she has kept to this day.
"Dear Rainbow Dash, I cannot express my apology in words that I could not say goodbye in person. Time is always of the essence, and Lordran needed us. Though we hate it, the curse needs somewhere to go and not harm innocent people. You are very lucky. Follow your dream, join the Wonderbolts. I know that I am chosen, I am the one who killed the Lords. I dealt the final blow every time, and it was my world that we were adventuring in. Even though we are connected now I suspect I am still chosen here. There is a three in four chance I don't come back. I merely wish to keep it a secret so that the others are not concerned for me. Tell nopony, please. Keep this note if you so wish, though it will not be all you have to remember me by. I give you my most important item: my Estus Flask. I will not need it against Gwyn, I have my talisman still. Just in case anything else were to happen, now I know that you will be safe with the flask. To refill it, simply rest at a bonfire. Always follow your dreams Dashie, since I am bound to a cruel fate and cannot. Stay true and loyal, always. There is another item in my box for you as well, you'll know it when you see it. I made it myself. Goodbye Dashie. -Agroth" Rainbow Dash read the letter to herself and could not help but sob openly at the certain, and final, death of her friend. She folded the letter up and fell to lie down. Twilight came over to comfort her. Applejack looked into the Bottomless Box and found an apple from a tree in Darkroot Garden and an ornate dagger. Pinkie Pie recieved a jester's cap and some bells, for Astoran celebrations. Rainbow Dash got a hold of herself and walked over to the box to see the item Agroth had left for her. Sure enough, when she saw it she knew. She picked up a metal kite shield, it was made of a light but strong material. The shield was painted a cyan blue, the exact same color as her coat. In the center, painted on, was a white cloud striking multicolored lightning. Tears welling up again, she turned it over. Carved with a dagger above the handle was the message "Let this protect you, since I no longer can. Goodbye Dashie."
