Twilight felt she had a decent grasp on the basic nature of those who 'served' her. She had an old lady eager to sell her things, for souls. She had a friendly blacksmith, who also accepted souls. She had a disillusioned man that didn't seem worth much at all, and then there was the fire keeper.

The last one had her interest at the moment. She trotted back to the blind woman. Despite being nominally blind, the woman's face kept trained on Twilight. "How are you doing that?" challenged Twilight, confused. "You couldn't see me before."

"I cannot see," she agreed. "But that doesn't mean I am entirely unaware. I know where you are, to an extent, but I could not see what you were, or how tall you were. It is a curious sight, but it serves well enough. Have you decided to use those souls?"

"I already used some," admitted Twilight, feeling guilty for it.

"As is your right. You have more. You could use them to fortify yourself. Once used, they will belong to you. They will be a part of you."

Twilight cringed at the mention of them being part of her, and yet... "Aren't they... now?"

"In a matter of speaking... If you wear clothing, is it part of you? Can it not be taken free of you? Can you not put on others? Until the soul is turned to a new task, it is little more than that, feeble and easily stripped."

Twilight gave a slow nod. "And I can't give them back?"

"What is done cannot be undone."

"Can we... try then?"

"Kneel and think of how they will serve you," she bid as she took the short step to be close to Twilight. Twilight fell to a knee and closed her eyes, then felt warmth coming from above, washing through her scalp. It reminded her of the fire's comforting presence.

"Let these souls, withdrawn from their vessels, Manifestations of disparity."

As the words were spoken, Twilight could feel herself in a strange new way. She could feel how she lacked, and how she was strong. She had intelligence, for instance, clever, relatively, but lacked faith in what she could not see and measure. She lacked in physical strength, but was reasonably durable and fit. She was so many things, and none of them were good enough.

"Elucidated by fire, Burrow deep within me, Retreating to a darkness beyond the reach of flame."

She had the power to fix that, just a little. But how should she? She was no warrior, not of that sort. More brute strength would do her little good. She felt scared and alone. But she wasn't alone, right? She had to have... faith. Yes. She had to hold sacred the idea that ponies were waiting for her and let their conviction be her strength.

"Let them assume a new master, Inhabiting ash, casting themselves upon new forms."

A surge of power rushed through Twilight and she let out a little cry of surprised ecstasy. The souls had become part of her. She felt... stronger.

The fire keeper withdrew her hand. "It is done. That was not unbearable."

That hadn't been a question, but Twilight answered it anyway. "It wasn't." She felt somehow less burdened. She bounced from hoof to hoof. "I feel better. What can I... do?"

"You could lean prayers, if you wish to use your faith. Your quest awaits you."

Twilight glanced left and up, to where the old man sat, perched on his oversized throne. "One more person to talk to." She left the fire keeper and trotted up to the throne and its occupant. "Excuse me?"

"Ah, the curious one that is not unkindled." He looked over his shoulder at where Twilight peeked over the edge of his great throne. "Come and speak, if you like. You've already found one of the lords, for I was once a Lord of Cinder, and remain one to this day. See my charred form if you wish proof of it, no need to be coy."

Twilight's eyes fell to his legs, or his lack of. He had nothing beyond little stumps that held up the fabric of his robe. "Why do you just sit here, if you're a lord?"

"Barely a lord," he deflected. "One so small and weak as I? It's almost insulting compared to the others. You will have to find them, and bring them back to their thrones. Only then can the fire be relinked."

"How?" Twilight stepped out onto the arm of the throne. "Tell me how this works, please."

"Knowest thou of our purpose? Five thrones will take five Lords, as kindling for the linking of the Fire. The fast fading Flame must be linked to preserve this world. A re-enactment of the first linking of the fire. So it is, I became a Lord of Cinder. I may be but small, but I will die a colossus." His voice was like he was dreaming, or remembering a fond dream. He smiled at Twilight. "But is this possible, with such a curious undead? I look forward to finding out."

Twilight let out a sigh. "I'm going to assume you've never seen a pony before."

"A pony? Yes, but you are not one of those. Ponies are not purple, nor have wings, nor have a horn. No, you make a poor pony, but you are a fine chance. Perhaps you'll solve this properly, or at least link the flame and allow things to progress further."

Twilight gave an uncertain smile. "I plan to try."

He gestured to the fire below. "You've linked the first of many before you. Travel now and pray not lose hope." He saw Twilight peering at his stubs again. "Fret not, fret not. My feet are here firmly planted. For I am a Lord, and this is my throne."

"Y-yes, thank you." She dipped her head at him, then scurried away. She was quick to the lady who sold things. "Excuse me?"

"Have you forgotten my name so quickly? That's alright, I never told it to you." She sat up in her chair. "What do you require?"

"The fire keeper," She pointed at where the keeper stood stoically. "She said you might have a miracle for sale."

That made her laugh. "Oh, the sound of it. Would that I could sell real miracles... But I have stories, yes, stories of miracles. For those with faith in their heart, they can be their own miracles, small as they are. I have one just for you." She drew a parchment from the depths of her clothing, old and yellowed. "Study it well, and make it part of you at the fire. Do you have a chime or talisman?"

Twilight tilted her head faintly with confusion. "I'll just read it." She didn't need tools to use magic. She had a horn, and that was all a unicorn needed.

"On your head be that. You have enough souls, even after wasting them. Do you want this?"

"Yes." Twilight reached for the parchment. With a sudden jolt, the souls were drawn from her. She was allowed to take it. With a new bit of knowledge, she plopped right down and got to reading it. It was a story. It told of an injured man who was ignored when he wasn't spit on or even kicked aside.

The man was ready to give up when another approached, clad in rags. At first he feared the vagrant was there to pick on him as well, but the vagrant had warmth in his heart. He prayed for the health of the unfortunate. He prayed, and he moved on peacefully.

The man was so taken aback that he forgot his pain enough to stand. It was a little reminder of the comforts of little gestures.

Twilight was perplexed. "This isn't a spell at all."

The shrine maiden shook her head, but said nothing.

Twilight took the silence as a mocking. Surely there had to be a spell there, she just had to see it. "Tell me what it should do!"

"A healing miracle. The smallest of them, but you are the smallest undead we have, so that fits well enough, don't you think?"

Twilight peered at the words again, trying to analyze it, to make sense of them like the scholar she was. That was when it clicked. These were not instructions for a scholar. She had to be like Pinkie. She had to feel the words and their magic and accept them, not analyze and decipher them. They needed her faith, just as she had asked for moments ago.

"When I was a little filly and the sun was going down..." she sang as she walked towards the fire. It was Pinkie's song, one of her first that had bound them as friends. They still were friends, a universe apart. She held onto that warmth, that companionship. With a flare of light, magic burst free of her in a small wash of white.

The maiden seemed duly surprised. "Huh, goes to show what I get assuming little devil horses work the same as human folk."

Twilight spared her a glare, but she had a mission, a purpose. If she was to escape the world, she'd have to play her part and keep her eyes open. "I'll find my way."

She folded the paper carefully and tucked it away, then considered what she had. She still only had a club for a weapon, but she was still a slight unicorn, not a big strong pony like Applejack. Twilight let out a little sigh. "I miss them..." But there was no finding them until she got home. She advanced on the fire, staring into its flickering light. "Time to go."

She focused and felt her sense of space wash away. She was moving. How far? She knew not, but she did know when she arrived, standing in some kind of small building. She was in a room on clean stone floors instead of ones filled with ash. She could see double doors on one side, but her attention was drawn to an altar. There was a coiled sword there, but she felt none of the importance in that one. It wasn't even sharp. It was all worn and broken. There were candles set along the wall and cobwebs attached to every available space.

There were no answers there, that she could see. She moved for the doors and rested a hoof on one, giving it a push. It gave just faintly, but it was heavy. She turned her magic on it, gripping both and giving a mighty mental heave. They swung open, revealing a lit exterior that looked like she was on top of a castle? She wasn't entirely sure, but it was outside, and light. Looking out across the way, she could see a massive castle in the distance, separated by a great void. If her wings were working, she could just fly over there, but then, something she needed could be where she was. It wouldn't pay to assume the answers were in any given place. She would have to be thorough... Next Chapter: 6 - Atop the High Wall Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 5 Minutes