Necromancy gets a bad rep.

Oh, sure, some ponies like the whole cliche of the evil zombie master, pulling his puppet strings to make corpses dance and kill for their amusement. And yeah, you kinda do have to work with dead bodies a lot, and most ponies find that a bit creepy. Oh, and you learn a lot of spells to kill things and gain power from it.

But, come on, that doesn't mean all necromancers are bad... right?

Feature on Equestria Daily

After long nights searching through the forbidden archives of the Canterlot Library, you finally find a small tome hidden behind stacks of scrolls about the pre-classical era. The book is thick with loose pages inserted between the regular ones, standing out in odd angles. One of them slips out as you take the book from the shelve and falls to the ground. You pick it up and lift it in front of you. It is a note, written in clean and minimalistic hoofwriting.

To whoever finds this book:
If you managed to come this far, and are actually able to read this tome, know that you have taken the first step in uncovering the secrets of necromancy.

Beware! This writings will make you question yourself and everything you hold true. But if you are still reading, then I guess your mind is already made up. So read on then my poor lost pony, and take the second step, for in your hooves you hold the Diary of the Necromancess.

Set only a week after the banishment of Princess Luna to the moon, the realm of Equestria is in a state of upheaval. Celestia's royal guard attempt to regain control over the vast empire once ruled by dual monarchs, and the young alicorn's actions as a ruler have become a subject of scrutiny after her sister's attempted coup. Two factions have risen in the turmoil: The Knights of the Sun and The Bright Moon.

Far away from the political infighting and sword rattling exists a small mining town on the outskirts of Equestrian territory. Where once the royal guard would have no trouble fending off raids from bandits or other criminals, the panic of the capitol has caused a withdrawal of military forces to more essential cities and trading ports. Completely undefended and without a spell or sword amongst them, this town was soon overrun by a band of bi-pedal canines calling themselves the Diamond Dogs. As brutal as they are lazy, the Diamond Dogs have forced the local population to work until collapse to collect gems from the town mine.

Outraged by his inability to fend off these bandits and thieves, a young unicorn named Bone Marrow tries with all of his might to find his purpose in life - his cutie mark - and hopes that it will be enough to drive off the invaders of his home. He will soon discover that his special talent is far more than he bargained for.

((A Sequel will begin for this story as soon as I finish I Am a Pet Changeling. Stay tuned on Discord! https://discord.gg/nDXd3AB ))

As Twilight Sparkle awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, she found she had been turned into a changeling.

How has she become a changeling? How will she adapt? How will her friends respond? And what new terrors will her metamorphosis bring?

Cover image by the fantastic Carnifex... or Siansaar... I can't tell which. You can find more wonderful works here: http://siansaar.deviantart.com/

EDIT: Featured... nearing 1000 Favorites... multiple pages of comments (swoons)

Thanks for everything guys. I never expected this thing to get so popular. I need to rework the second chapter, but it looks like there's going to be a blue moon every Friday for a while yet. Thanks again for your support and please keep reading and reviewing!

EDIT2: I've updated the character list again, a little preview of the second story arc...

EDIT 3: Just doing a quick character update to account for changes made to the next Arc...