DING

DONG

DING

DONG

The Bell of Prophecy rings throughout the lands, letting all beings in every kingdom know that the End... has begun. That He who was exiled has returned for his final journey. That the world...is dying, once more. Of course, many had known it was on the brink of it from all the signs; the Fire fading, and the Darksign appearing on the flesh of many. Yes, the End was most certainly here.

A lone, feminine figure stood upon her balcony, carved out of a large mountain in the shape of a jagged throne. A throne her father once occupied. She gazed out into the distance with her amber, draconic eyes, seeming to be searching for something. A scepter was in her clawed grip, a large, ruby red gem at the top of it. Her blue wings were folded behind her, a set of golden barding gilded with platinum covering her blue form. Two curling horns stuck out of either side her head, almost ram-like in appearance. Her eyes were full of sadness, but over what, was unknown. The chiming of the Bell had stopped, but still she gazed out towards the horizon. This continued for an hour or more, her simply watching the lands afar. Finally, with a deep sigh, she walked away and back into her chambers.

The Dragon Lord couldn't afford to worry when her people's lives were in the balance.

My trek across these hot sands has been long. The sun had risen quite some time ago, and already it was nearly halfway across the sky, yet still there was no domicile or even a hint of civilization in sight. I sighed. Well, I suppose it was too much to hope for to find any refuge. I trudged on, the sound of my boots meeting the soft, grainy sands and the wind blowing being the only melody I could hear. The sun... I looked up at it. So brilliant, so glorious... so grossly incandescent... so...warm. I reveled in the warmth it bestowed upon me, but... The cold inside me beckoned as well. This duality was something that truly perplexed me, and it never faded. How could one feel warm and cold at the same time? How could one feel the gentle pull of Dark, yet also the kind embrace of Light? It made little sense.

Regardless, I continued my journey, one step after another. Right, left, right, left, right, left. My boots sunk into the sand with each step, leaving very blatant foot prints. I do not know how long this continued, just that I was growing increasingly exhausted. But I couldn't stop until I had found shelter, lest I wished to be out in the open for any hostiles to assault me.

A good while later, I finally saw a structure in the distance. Hope flared in my heart, and I rushed towards it. But when I started to make out the shape of what I thought to be a simple yet abnormal tower, confusion flared in my mind. The structure was no tower, but instead a massive, dried, dead tree, with various holes all over it's sun-dried trunk that instilled a feeling of wariness in me. Cautiously, I approached, and once close enough to peer inside one of the larger holes at the base, found that it was big enough for me to walk through, and that inside it was a smooth, spiraling ramp of sandstone supported by roots that led downwards. Wary of what might be within, but curious and needing shelter, I stepped inside the hollowed tree and began my descent down the ramp.

My boots clamored each time I took a step, and I glanced about constantly, checking for threats. This dark staircase with it's many holes and crevices were unsettling, to say the least. At one point I could have sworn I saw a bony maw with jagged teeth and the glow of yellow eyes in a small hole in the wall, but it quickly disappeared into the darkness. My boots clanged against the hard sandstone, until I felt my boot impact something other than sandstone: wood. Bending down, I picked up the object and found it to be the remains of a torch, the oil-drenched rag wrapped about it's top dried, but still very flammable. This could be useful. After all, one could scarcely hope to survive in darkness without some light. So, I searched for a flint and a regular rock, and, thankfully, after much searching, found some. With a bit of trial and error, I managed to light the torch, and after taking in the small warmth it gave me, pressed on.

As the sound of my boots meeting hard sandstone resounded throughout the chamber during my descent, I could not shake the feeling that I was being watched. But each time I glanced about, I could find nothing. This unnerved me to no end. I did not fancy the idea of being watched by some unknown and possibly malicious entity. But, I knew I had little choice now but to brave this husk of a tree's depths.

Finally, I reached the bottom of the staircase, and was greeted by a dimly lit passage leading to a wooden door ahead, which seemed to be the source of the dim light, if the cracks leaking it were any indication. The passage walls were dotted with holes, and I felt a great sense of unease from them as well as the door. But, I needed shelter, and I couldn't afford to wander the desert for another shelter, especially at night.

So, I forged onward towards the wooden door, and upon reaching it, opened it a tad to peer inside. To my surprise, the inside was devoid of any life. At least, that I could see. So, comforted by this notion, I opened the door further and stepped inside the room, placing the torch in a sconce on the wall. It appeared to be a study of sorts, with papers, scrolls, and tomes scattered about the sandstone floor as well as a number of tables. They took up most of the room in fact, such was their numbers. I noted that there were also a few apparatuses strewn about some of the tables as well, some looking to be for magical purposes, and others for chemical purposes. A shelf lay at the far side of the room, looking very worn and seeming to be struggling to not buckle under the weight of the tomes it held. There was also an unkempt bed on the side opposite from the shelf, one that looked to have been used somewhat recently. I scanned the chamber for any threats, but found none. So, I chose to look around. Stepping up to one of the tables, I picked up a small, leather bound notebook and began reading.

Entry 517

I have made great progress in the pursuit of materials for the Sacrament of Tears, more so than I thought I would. My creations, which I have taken to calling Chatters, are more effective than I previously thought. They retrieved all of the components for the Sacrament with astounding success. Soon, I will be able to convene with the Goddess, and drown those wretched simpletons at the Academy with sorrows they have never seen the likes of!

All those years toiling away in the Academy of Sui, filled with harassments and jeers, all those weeks spent in Ponyville, only to be chased out by the local alchemist and her friends for my supposed, "heretical practices", oh yes, I will make all of them feel the pain I have. They called me a madpony, but I know better!

I will stay here, build my army, and covene with the Goddess of Woe to spread suffering to those who wronged me from afar, and then, then I will end it by taking their homes, their families, and all they hold dear, like they did to me! I will march upon the capitals of the world, and then I, Shady Drinks will rule all!

So this is the dwelling of some lunatic named Shady Drinks? And that academy... It sounds familiar, but I can't place where I've heard of it before. Was I once a student there? Or a teacher? Again, it seems, I am left with more questions than answers. I placed the note back on the table and continued searching the study. Most of what I found was unimportant nonsense on this madpony's experiments, but the books were certainly something to look into.

It was only when I approached the strained bookshelf that I noticed something truly odd. An odd yet soothing humming sound, and the crackling of a fire. I recognized it as the same sound from that bonfire I found at the tower earlier. With that realization in my mind, I made to move the shelf. It was, understandably, a little difficult to do so with the weight of all the books and the shelf itself working against me, but I managed to move it enough to reveal a hidden side room bare of any decoration, a bonfire in the center of the floor. There were, however, runes painted on the walls and floor with something crimson and dark. The room was rather spacious, as if it were made for a certain purpose. Walking inside to further inspect the walls, I discovered that the paint was not paint, but blood. That did not bode well.

"And just who in Tartarus are you?!" came a masculine voice from behind me. Swiftly turning around provided me with the view of a black robed pony with dark green fur and a horn, denoting him as a unicorn. He had a dark gray mane which belied his age, and held a typical sorcerer's staff in his off hand, which he was pointing threateningly at me. I deduced that this was the Shady Drinks that the notebook belonged to. I tried to speak, but all that came out was coughing and croaks that amounted to little else than incoherent nonsense. "A Hollow, eh? Well, what a stroke of luck! I've been looking for a new test subject!" the pony grinned before raising his staff and summoning a mass of blue magic from his staff and shooting it at me.

I rolled out of the way as quick as I could, drawing my blade and readying my shield. He raised his staff once more and created five balls of blue light that floated above his head, before swiping his staff at me, creating a sword of magic. I blocked the attack with my shield, grunting as the force pushed me back. Then, the five orbs of light sped towards me, and I tried to sidestep them, but one clipped my leg, making me cry out as it bit into my armor.

"Hahaha! Give up, fool!" the madpony taunted. I growled and charged forward, making to thrust my sword into his heart, but he parried my blade and struck me with his staff hard in the head, making my ears ring, but doing little damage thanks to my armor. I shook it off quickly and rushed forward again. This time, I dodged the strike of his staff and cut him across the chest, drawing a spray of blood. He screamed and stumbled back. "You-!" he tried to say, before I headbutted him, disorienting him further. He fell to the ground, and as I made to end the fight, he cried out a word in some foreign tongue, and I was tackled from behind.

A body pinned me to the ground, and I rolled over to pin it instead, switching our places. When I was face to face with my new opponent, I was surprised to see that it was not a pony that had tackled me, but the skeleton of a six legged dog with glowing yellow eyes. It snapped at me ferociously, struggling to be free of my hold and tear out my neck, but I held fast, and grabbed the sides of it's skull, before ripping it off, causing it to somehow let out a howl of pain as it fell apart, whatever magic that had been holding it together gone.

Standing back up, I was witness to the madpony Shady Drinks up on his feet again, still heavily wounded and bleeding profusely from his chest, but surrounded by a small group of those skeletal dogs. I realized that these must be the "Chatters", that his journal spoke of. A fitting name, for they did chatter quite a bit, constantly snapping with their bony maws at me.

"Let's see you get past this!" Shady Drinks laughed maniacally. "Attack!" he cried as he pointed at me, and the Chatters charged. I blocked the tackle of one with my shield, it's skull cracking upon impact with the sturdy metal, and cleaved another one's head in twain with my sword. A Chatter lunged at me from the side, but I gave it a swift kick and shattered it's bones. One more made to bite my leg, but couldn't pierce the black metal. I shook it off of me before stomping it's head in, ending it's miserable existence. More came at me from all sides, but somehow I kept in the fight, either by bashing the creature's heads in or slicing them in half. By the end of it, there was naught but a pile of bones in my wake. I looked up at the shocked visage of Shady Drinks. "No! My creations... You bastard!" he roared, making a sloppy charge at me with his staff. I was ready, however, and simply thrust my blade through his gut as he ran straight into it. He coughed up a wad of blood as I lifted him into the air with my blade still inside his chest cavity, before slipping my blade out from under him, letting his body fall to the round. "No... My plan... My dream..." he said weakly, before the light in his turquoise eyes dimmed, and life left his body.

I felt a rush of vigor as some form of energy sped out of his body and into mine, and I deduced that that must have been his soul. It seems I truly was an Unkindled. Despair seeped into my thoughts then as my gaze bore into the body of the stallion.

I was an Unkindled. I had tried to link the Flames, only to be reduced to Ash. Even more troubling was that of my old life. My family, my friends... What became of them? Do they still live? And if so, do they even remember me? I don't remember them. What was the point of this? To extend the life of a dying world? And to what end? Just so the Gods could live longer? So they could have their Age? What was the point of even living?

I shook my head clear of those thoughts. No, I couldn't afford to let such thoughts control me. I needed to stay strong. I needed to find a purpose. To discover my past. I had a quest, and I could not afford to fail it. With that steely determination set in my mind, I went back to the main room and began my search anew. Anything that could help me gleam something about my past would help to settle my mind, I'm sure.

In time, I had scoured the entire room, every shelf, every book, but found nothing that was related to me, only tomes and writings on magic and it's teachings, and one account on the Goddess of Woe, Beretha. What I did find, however, was a map of the desert I was in, which gave me some hope. According to it, I was just a short ways from a town, maybe a few days at most.

So, with my mind made up, and a destination in sight, I made my way back up the steps and into the desert. I had a long journey ahead of me.

Whoo! This one was a bit harder to make, but I managed. Hopefully that'll be enough conflict for you all until the next chapter.