Diary of the Necromancess

by Sebbaa

Chapter 3: Bones and Leather

Chapter 3: Bones and Leather

I headed for the center of town. Not many ponies were out on the streets, I guess due to either the hour or weather. I actually walked past a few buildings until I spotted the first one. A cream colored creature with neither horn nor wings; its hair had two different colors. I quickened my steps and approached it.

"Hello? Could you give me some directions?"

It turned around, a ready smile on its lips, but when it saw me, its eyes went wide, it reared on it hind legs and gasped for air. "Incubus! Run for you lives!"

Before I knew it, it had turned tail and ran, slipping on the snow in the process. It jumped back onto its hoofs as fast as it could and made a beeline into the next building. The door shut close behind it with a bang.

I scowled and went after it. When I knocked on the door, the shutters on every window were slammed close one by one. I turned around as I heard more clapping and banging around me. The residents of the buildings around me were barricading themselves in their homes.

My body tensed up, but I quickly forced myself to stay calm. Stomping the ground in anger would be most unbecoming of a sorceress. Instead I turned with bellowing cloak and continued towards the town center with ever more determent steps.

But word of my coming must have preceded me, for wherever I went the streets were deserted, doors and windows shut tight.

By the time I reached a marketplace at the center of town, I was fed up enough to force my way into any house and demand common curtsey from its inhabitants. I stood in the center of the place, turning on the spot, looking around for the most promising door to face my ire.

The place was in the shadow of a round three story building with red tiled roof. All the market stands where deserted, not a pony in sight. That is not a pony in sight until I turned around again.

"Hi! Are you a human?" A mint green unicorn was standing behind me, her snout not two fingers away from my face. I jumped back, involuntarily reaching for my dagger, but I stopped myself short when I saw the creature beaming with excitement, rather than snarl at me in anger.

I straightened myself, but before I could properly greet it, the unicorn dropped back unto all fours, rushed over to me and grabbed my left hand between her hooves. "A real human! With hands and fingers!" She grinned so widely I feared her face must split any second.

I pulled my hand free and cleared my throat. "Yes, a real human indeed. I take it you know of my species?" I raised an eyebrow when I saw her walking around me, lifting up my cloak and inspecting every part of my body. I rolled my eyes. "And I'm the first one you have ever seen. Great, just great!"

I snapped my cloak out of her grasp, took a quick step back and raised my hand before she could close in again. "Hey! Stop it! Is this how you treat guests in this world?"

This gave her pause, she stopped her advance and looked down on her hooves. "Oh, sorry about that, I was just so excited to finally see a real human."

I took a deep breath to collect myself. "It's alright." She looked up the second I said this. "Just don't do it again!" I quickly added. She let her ears sink again, but my respite was short lived.

"I think we started this wrong so lets do it again right I'm Lyra nice to meet you who are you where are you from do humans really play instruments with their hands. . ."

I stopped her babbling with extreme measures; I invaded her personal space, pushing my right hand over her muzzle to make her stop. She didn't seem offended, instead she squinted her eyes to get a better look at the fingers she so admired for some reason.

"I see you are excited," I said, looking her straight in the eye, "but for the sake of conversation slow down and only ask me one question at a time."

She nodded and I let go of her muzzle. "Sorry again," she said with a sheepish smile, "it's just, that I have read so much about humans. Having a real one walk right here through Ponyville is so exciting!" She paused for a second and cleared her throat. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lyra. What's your name?"

"I am Hela Regina Mortium, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I gave her a slight bow. When I looked up, she was staring at me with wild eyes. I groaned and put a hand on my hip. "Let me guess, my translation amulet has made something atrocious out of my name. Would you mind repeating for me, what you believe you just heard me say?"

"Radiance Queen of the Dead," she replied deadpan.

I had a sudden urge to rub the the bridge of my nose. The translation was actually accurate. It's not the name my parents gave me, but a sorceress' name I took up after becoming a full member of the circle. I wondered why it spooked the unicorn; this place was probably a backwater province that still clung to superstitious old ways and was afraid of any advanced magic. Trixie had not been bothered when I had introduced myself. I wonder if she took it for part of an act.

I shook my head. “Just forget about that. You see, I speak a vastly different language than you and use a magic amulet to translate it, but it seems to botch up names. Just call me. . . uhg, I don't know. Any suggestions? Something beautiful, something with the air of mystery to it?”

She immediately sparkled with excitement. “Uh, uh! How about. . . Black Lotus?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “I. . . suppose that is a wonderful name, but I don't want to give someone the impression of being a delicate flower. A sorceress has to bear her powers with pride!”

She rubbed her chin with her hoof, pondering for a moment. “Then what about. . .Sapphire Glow?”

I let my shoulders sink. “It's no use, the amulet messes up every name. Oh well, it will have to do. Call me Sapphire for now. It's a precious gem, and it comes in my favorite colors.”

Lyra clapped her fore hooves together in some form of applause. “I have named my own human, brilliant! We have so much to talk about! You can teach me to walk on two legs, we can sit together on a bench the human way. . .”

“You are getting quite ahead of yourself!”

She looked at me like a beaten dog, with big watering eyes. “Please!”

I sighed. “Look, you seem to know a bit about my people and I'd like to chat and find out why, but I have to find a troll path back to my home world and for that I have to find a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. Do you know her?”

“Of course I know Twilight Sparkle! She lives in the library. I could lead you there.” She gave me her best smile, complete with big puppy eyes. “We could talk along the way, and you won't miss a second of your time!”

“Fine, lead the way! But let's make this an actual conversation instead of an interrogation. So, where did you learn about humans?”

.oOo.

The library wasn't really far from the market place, but since the conversation turned out to be quite interesting for both sides we were in no rush, and I think Lyra took a deliberate detour as well. Along the way I learned that humans are only obscure creatures of legend in this world, like unicorn are in mine. Lyra explained that there was evidence of human presence in architecture and the design of some everyday objects, but there was no accounted sighting of a human in known history. As far as she knew, no human had been in this world for several thousand years.

I was reluctant to tell her about my world in return, so I spend most of the time explaining the working of every joint in my hand and anatomic requirements for upright gait to her. She was fascinated by those topics none the less.

When we finally did reach the library it took me a few moments of staring, before I brought any words out. “You made a building inside of a tree?” And a giant tree it was, at least a dozen steps in diameter. Light came out of several glass windows, hinting that the tree was hollow up to it's crown where a balcony had been constructed onto a large branch.

Lyra nodded. “You should see it in summer. The crown spends a lovely shade and keeps the inside nice an cool.”

“You're saying the tree is not only a house, but also still a living tree?” She nodded with a proud smile. “Fascinating. The magic of this world seems to offer more than I had anticipated.”

I stepped towards the door an raised my hand to knock. “Thank you for bringing me here.” I said, looking back at Lyra over my shoulder. “You were of great help. I wish you farewell.”

She walked up to stand right next to me. “If it's alright with you, I will stick around. This is just too exciting!”

I shrugged. “If you don't have anything better to do, suit yourself.” And with that I knocked on the door.

It took a moment, I could hear movement from the inside. Not the four-stroke of hooves, but the sound of two feet. Shortly after the door was opened, and this world surprised me once again.

“Good evening. Oh, hi Lyra! Didn't see you there. Who's that big friend of yours?”

The creature hardly reached above my knee and looked like a wingless, round headed dragon with pink scales and a row of green spikes running down the the center of his head and along his spine.

I squatted down so I got a closer look. “How curious. A baby dragon! Didn't expect to ever see one again, one that can already talk. Draco had wings though.”

The little guy took a step back. “Uh? What now? You knew a dragon that was named Dragon?”

“I know! Stupid isn't it? But Omar kept calling him that and I didn't have time to care.”

Lyra took a step in front of me and shot the Dragon a reassuring smile. “Oh don't mind her, she's from another world.”

I stood up and cleared my throat. “Ah yes, of course. I am here to see Twilight Sparkle. I need her magical expertise.”

His eyes darted between the two of us for a few seconds. “Alright, I will get her. Please come in.” With that he hurried inside of the building and up some stairs winding along the wall.

Me and Lyra stepped inside; I had to bow down to get through the door. The unicorn closed it behind us, and while I was still busy staring at the rows upon rows of books stacked in cases carved all along the walls into the very wood of the tree, she began to hang up her clothes on a coat rack. Oddly enough she was only wearing a scarf and a saddle matching her hair as well as yellow boots.

I hung my cloak on the rack and began undoing the wraps around my feet. Getting my host's floor wet would probably not be the best first impression I wanted to make, if I wanted to get the information I needed.

“Let me help you with that!” Lyra called out, and before I could protest, her horn glowed and a golden magic field undressed my feet. “Real human feet, complete with toes!” Her face was hovering right above my feet with barely contained excitement.

I refrained from wriggling my toes, less she would never stop staring at them. “Ah yes. Now if you could put my sandals back on, my feet are getting cold.”

She made some sort of squeaking noise and looked at me bashfully. She quickly levitated my shoes and put them back on my feet, giggling sheepishly. “Sorry, got a little excited there. Won't happen again.” She boggled, took another look at my sandaled feet and sniffed at them. I inhaled sharply, but she looked up and asked me a question before I could say anything. “You shoes look strange. What are they made of?”

“Leather! And it's considered rude to sniff at someone where I come from!” I stopped short when I saw her with a now familiar expression. “Oh come on! What did my amulet translate this time?”

“Flayed and processed animal skin.”

I smacked my face. A herbivorous species. I should have known. They probably never got the idea of slaughtering animals for resources. I sighed and shook my head. “No, that's stupid amulet got it completely wrong. I was using the name of a certain tree native to my homeland. It has the most resilient bark, you can make almost anything out of it.” I didn't have to play being annoyed, just to lie about what I was annoyed about and make up a cover story. The act was pretty good, but I think she would have believed me either way. With the difference in body language of our species and a magic spell for translation, it was all but impossible to see through a lie. That would of course work the other way around as well. I made a mental note about that, just as Lyra recovered and began beaming again.

“What useful plants you humans have. Tell me more about it!”

Before I was forced to elaborate on that, I was rescued by our host. “Sorry to make you wait, but I had to finish a list.” Twilight Sparkle turned out to be a female unicorn with lavender fur and square cut hair and tail of a dark pink with light pink strands. She trotted down the stairs, the dragon skipping behind her. Her rushed demeanor gave me the instant impression of a novice; a full fledged sorceress was never rushed to do anything.

I was already disappointed by the proclaimed magic expert when she reached me and Lyra at the entrance, but I tried not to let it show on my face when she greeted us.

Twilight Sparkle slowed down and came to a standstill, her eyes going wide as she looked up to me. “You are a human.”

“Yes, indeed. Now if we can get past the awkwardness of meeting a strange fabled species, I'm getting quite tired of the act. So, good evening to you! I assume you are Twilight Sparkle? You can call me Sapphire. I'm a traveler from another world, and I was told you are an expert in magic and the most likely person to help me find a way back to my own world.”

After I had finished my introduction, Twilight eventually caught herself staring and quickly recovered her composure. “Ah yes, I am Twilight Sparkle. Why don't you explain everything to me over a cup of tea. I'm sure we can work something out.”

I just nodded and took a step into the room. She began to lead the way further into the building. But after a few steps she stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “Say, Lyra, why are you here anyway?”

“Real live human!”

“Alright? Come along then. Spike? Would you make some tea?”

The little dragon nodded and hurried towards another room.

“Real tea for me please, not the grass one!” I called after him, earning me curious looks from both unicorns. “I hope you don't mind. Grass is not a part of human diet, and I find the taste to be. . . lacking.”

I had expected our host to lead us into her parlor, but instead she stopped in the middle of the main room and just lied down on the floor. Lyra followed her example. “Would you like a pillow?” Twilight offered, when she saw me hesitating.

I looked around the room for a table or chair, but didn't find either. “No, it's quite alright,” I replied and sat down cross legged.

“You say you come from another world how did you get here?” the magic expert asked as soon as I had settled down.

“A rip opened up in my world and I was swallowed into the Limbo. I have yet to figure out why this happened. I assume it was an aftershock of a battle between great sorcerers ages ago or something. In the Limbo I cast a reversed teleportation spell and was transported into a random world. I later learned that there is an infinite number of vastly different worlds.

“In one world I met a man, an expert in Limbo magic, who had created his own world, a ship in a bottle. It's from him that I got this amulet that translates any language, and from him I learned spells to orient myself inside of the formless void of the Limbo as well as its basic rules. We started following a troll path, connecting a series of worlds which were inhabited by creatures that I knew from my world. Furthermore they prayed to gods I knew from my world, so there was a high chance that we would end up in my home home world of Dere if we kept following the path.

“But the last two worlds we had been to had been most hostile, and I was forced to make an expeditious retreat by teleporting back into the Limbo. After recovering some arcane energies I cast another reversed teleportation spell, and from all the myriads of possible worlds landed in this one.”

By now Spike had brought a tablet with three cups, a steaming mug, and a plate with baked goods on it. He placed it between the three of us and poured us all, before he excused himself and vanished upstairs.

“A troll path you say?” Twilight's horn lit up, and dozens of tomes were floating around her within seconds. I was astonished by this display of magical prowess, but tried my best to look unimpressed. I lifted my cup of tea to my lips an blew on the hot brewage before taking sip. With delight I noticed the tea to almost taste the same as I remembered it from back home. I briefly noticed Lyra watching intently how I used my hands to hold the cup.

“The topic is rather obscure,” Twilight began after browsing through several books. “There are old references to troll paths leading to both the Griffon Kingdom and the Dragon Lands. And by old I mean really old! Like centuries old. But that's strange, both lands are part of this world.”

“Maybe both griffons and dragons emigrated to this world in large enough number to form their own nations. The origin would surely become an obscure legend over the course of centuries. Do you know anything on troll paths and humans using them?”

She shook her head. “There are barley any records on humans at all. Until you showed up, everyone, that is everyone excepts Lyra here, thought your species to be a myth.”

I frowned. “I feared as much. Maybe the only humans who ever came to this realm came the way I did, by accident. Couldn’t have been more than a handful in all of recorded history.” I rubbed my face with my right hand. Suddenly I felt dead tired. “That would put me back to square one. Teleport back into the Limbo and make another random jump, hoping to find the troll path again.”

What I saw on the faces of the two unicorns was something I had neither expected, nor did I care to see: pity. “I could send a letter to Princess Celestia. If anyone knows about a troll path to a human world, it's her!”

“You can stay at my place until the Princess replies if you want. You look travel weary I mean. . . if you want to.” The human obsessed unicorn offered with a hopeful smile.

I considered the possibility for a moment. True, an immortal would be the most likely person to know about long forgotten knowledge. But there was also the chance that she had met another human who got stranded in this world, and then in turn there was a good chance he had made a bad impression. Could have tried to conquer this world or something similarly pointless.

“That would be most helpful,” I eventually answered. I was going to teleport out of here anyway, so the risk of provoking the princess' ire was reasonable if it gave me another chance to find the right troll path again.

“Oh, we could have a slumber party. My first slumber party with a human!” Lyra clopped her hooves together excitedly.

“Eh, yes. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll think I will stay in the library and conduct some research if Mistress Sparkle has no qualms with that.”

“Oh, not at all, I was going to study late into the night anyway. We could study together, it will be fun!”

“Than it is settled!” I emptied my cup and poured me another one, before standing up.

“Then I will stay and conduct some studies too!” Lyra followed my lead and drank the rest of her tea, then rose to her hooves.

“Oh, what studies are that?” Twilight asked.

“Human studies!”

“Be my guest.” I just shook my head and began walking along the rows of books, searching for any interesting topic. “Do you have any actual spell tomes in here?”

“There are plenty! Any specific spells you are looking for?”

“Anything on healing magic, temporal spells or necromancy.”

“Temporal spells are kept in the Canter Lot library, in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing. . . wait, did you say necromancy?”

“Yes, do you have anything? Anything on necromantic diseases or the draining of life?”

“But. . . that's black magic!”

I turned around to look at my host. “What? Black magic? What does magic has to do with color?”

“I mean it's evil magic.”

I crossed my arms before my chest. “Is it? Please, explain to me what makes this kind of magic evil.

Twilight shook her head in disbelieve. “It's magic to raise the dead! It unnatural!”

I sighed. “I see. Let me approach this differently then. Say Mistress Sparkle, what do you people believe happens to one's soul after death?”

The sudden change of topic seemed to confuse her, it took her a few seconds to form an answer. “The soul crosses the river styx, where it is washed free of all worldly ballast and then rejoined with harmony. It is then reincarnated into the world anew.”

I pondered the thought for a second. “Rebirth. . . a very interesting concept. Quite different from the believes of my home world. Say, do you think of this as a positive outlook, or are your people trying to get out of this endless cycle of reincarnation?”

I think by now she had forgotten the original topic. She looked eager to explain the workings of this world to me. I figure she must normally be surrounded by simple minded oafs who don't listen to a voice of wisdom. Having someone at least as intelligent as herself to lead a proper discussion with must have been a nice change of pace. I know that feeling well. I too jump at every opportunity for a proper intellectual exchange. Just as I did right then.

“It's generally perceived as a blessing, or at least a hopeful opportunity. A blank slate to begin a new live and enjoy the wonders of the world. Only a very small minority believes live to be a cycle of suffering and try to find a way out of it.”

I nodded. “So life in this world is not constant strife, at least not for the majority of the population. Is that correct?”

“No, of course not! Though it wasn't always like this, and only through everyone working together did we make this world what it is today.”

“Fascinating! You see where I come from life is a constant fight for survival, the vast majority of the population lives in poverty, and even for the rich and powerful live in constant fear of loosing their wealth and power. And now you see, there are several gods who promise that one's soul will go to live in their paradise after death, if only they live by that god's principles. No one knows for sure what those paradise are like, or if they even exist, for no one ever came back. It is as if the gods are competing with each other for the souls of the mortals, for what purpose I can only guess.

“But I digress. So from you explanation I take it that the mortal body of a person is only a hollow shell once the soul leaves it, is that correct?” She nodded hesitantly. “So what do you do with said shell?”

“We bury it.”

“What do you do with dead animals?”

“We bury them too, of course.”

“And what do you do with your waste?”

“We bury that as well, so it can decompose and fertilize the soil.”

“So tell me Mistress Sparkle. What is the difference between the body of a dead person, animal, and waste?”

She boggled at the question, but pondered it non the less. I couldn't repress a smile. The sign of a true intellectual! Question everything you think you know, think even about the absurd, about the abstract, and the revolting. Simply believing in the things you are taught is the sign of the ignorant!

Twilight rubbed her chin. “There are several differences. For instance the graves are places where family and friends can remember their loved ones. No one ever goes to a waste deposit to remember her broken furniture.”

“So there are sentimental values attached to the corpses. But say there is a corpse in a forgotten grave, or forgotten altogether, with no one there to care what happens to it. Would anyone be offended when it is dug up and used as say, a crafting material?”

She frowned, took her time to form an answer. “I think some people might still be offended.”

“Offended by what?”

“By principle! You just don't disturb the rest of the dead.”

“But since the soul is reincarnated, it is not the dead that are disturbed, but merely their remains. And since there is no one with sentimental attachment to said remains, those people who are offended don't have a real reason to be. They wouldn't care if you dug up broken furniture and used it to make new one?”

“No,” the unicorn replied slowly. “They wouldn't”

I could see that she was not yet convinced that using corpses as a resource was not in itself evil, but just common sense, but the idea had certainly taken hold, and I could see her thinking about what I had said.

“But I'm not looking for any spells to raise corpses anyway.” I finally said to get back to my original intent. I already knew those spells anyway. “I'm looking for a way to cure a necromantic disease, a curse laid upon me by the touch of a necromancer's creature.” I generously left out that I had been said necromancer myself.

She instantly looked up, eyes wide with shock. “What? That's horrible! Why didn't you say so in the first place.”

I had to smile again. “Because I had too much fun arguing with you.”

She shook her head, then quickly levitated a scroll and a quill to take notes. “What kind of disease are we talking about, what are the symptoms?”

I grabbed my left arm with my right hand and turned, so Twilight couldn’t see it, involuntarily. “I'd rather not tell.”

“Please, I promise I will do everything I can to help you, but you have to trust me!”

I shook my head. “Thank you, but no. I'll do the research on my own, just point me in the right direction.” I watched her intently from the corner of my eye, but it was all but impossible to tell what she was thinking. I asked myself what it was that she wished to gain from helping me. Knowledge? The opportunity to place a spell on me an enthrall me like that dragon? That sounded almost likely. It would make her the only sorceress in this world with a human minion.

I should have left immediately, but I decided to risk it. If there was any chance to find a cure I had to take it. I swore to be on my guard though.

“Alright.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “You don't have to tell me if you really don't want to. But it will make the research much more complicated.” She started to walk around the library and levitated several dozen tomes from different cases and put them in three stacks on the floor; one of them she levitated into my hand. “This is a work on supernatural diseases and remedies. Its your best point to start out.”

I opened the book and skipped pages until I reached the first one fully covered with text. “Damn it!”

“What is it?” Twilight walked closer, when she heard my outburst.

I snapped the book shut and slammed it onto one of the stacks. I leaned onto it and rubbed my nose's bridge. “It seems like my translation amulet does only work on spoken language. I can't even begin to comprehend the gibberish written in that book.”

I almost jumped when I felt something touch my shoulder, my head snapped around, and I looked into the warm, golden eyes of Lyra. She was standing on her hind legs, resting her fore hoof on my shoulder. Quite a remarkable feat if I think about it. “Me and Twilight could do the reading for you,” she offered. “If you tell us what we are looking for.

I took a deep breath to collect myself and brushed her hoof of my shoulder. “Fine, if there is really no other way.” I slipped my left arm out of the neck of my gray robe and began to roll up the sleeve of the underlying shirt.

“Oh, shiny!” The white glow coming from my shirt reflected in Lyra's eyes.

“Focus please, I'm not undressing here to show of my wardrobe.” I had to suppress a smile though, being the focus of admiration had always pleased me. But soon I had the sleeve rolled up to my shoulder, and there was nothing that could make me smile anymore.

“Just to remind you, I'm not a demon, and I'm not in a pact with one. My condition is the result of a magic disease, nothing more, nothing less.” By now I had their utmost attention, but the way they stared at my arm made me more than uncomfortable. I gnarled my teeth as I began to undo the linen wrappings around my arm.

“Where the creature had touched me, a form of rapid decay set in,” I explained as I uncovered my hand. “It spread fast, consuming my hand, arm and finally gnawing at my shoulder before I found a way to stop it.” I undid the last of the wrapping and let it fell to the floor. I clenched my now naked hand a few times and bit my lower lip. It didn't get any easier to see it, no matter how often I did.

The two unicorns stared mortified at my arm, that was nothing but bleached bones up to my black and decaying shoulder; stared in horror how it moved with unnatural life.

Twilight only broke out of her stupor, when she heard a body slump on the floor beside her; Lyra had fainted. “Merciful Celestia!” she gasped an took a step towards me. “Does it hurt?”

I shook my head. “No, actually I don't have any feeling in the arm. Even the rest of my body began to feel numb ever since the decay reached my shoulder.”

“How fast did this spread.”

“Fast at first. The hand was but bones in a matter of days. I manage to slow down the process by drying out the decaying part with salt, but only a year later did I find an alchemical balm to stop the decay altogether.”

“What if it had reached your torso, your head?”

The very thought sent cold shivers down my back. “I shudder to think about it. Would I die and my body be reanimated as a skeleton? Or would I continue to life as an undead abomination, my soul forever trapped in this decaying shell?”

Twilight reached out with her hoof and touched my skeletal hand tentatively; I immediately pulled away and turned her the other side.

“I promise you, I'll find a cure,” she all but whispered.

“Tss, yea sure. Spare me your pity! I don't need it, all I need is a cure.” I took my bandages from the floor, sat down in a corner of the room and began re-wrapping my arm. I could feel the unicorn look down on me for a few more moments. I gnarled my teeth and tried to concentrate on the task at hand.

Eventually she let me be and turned to Lyra instead; she picked up her unconscious body with her magic and carried her upstairs. I looked after them when I heard the door close. I let out a relieved sigh. Only now did I manage to regain control over my emotions, and with clarity, my mind began wandering again. Was that really pity I had seen in the unicorn's eyes, or did I misread her expression? And why would she pity a strange creature from another world? Throwing me out of her home would be far easier. No, there must have been something else; sooner or later she would come up with a potion or spell to use on me, and if I were to be lulled into trusting her by that time, she would put me to sleep, poison me or worse.

Only the small hope that my suspicion was unfounded kept me from leaving at that very moment. I continued wrapping my arm. I still wasn't done when Twilight Sparkle came back down after a few minutes. Bandaging a skeletal arm to resemble a limb of flesh an blood is no easy task. The hardest part is the hand, wrapping every finger separately takes a lot a patience.

Twilight didn't bother me in my work when she came back down. I felt her gaze on me for a short time, than she began skimming through the books she had stacked for me. I noticed she was a very fast reader, and a systematic researcher. Soon she had reorganized the stacks for -what I thought was- cross reference, put some of them on a pile for discarded sources and pulled new ones from the shelves. By the time I was fully redressed, she had started on her second scroll of notes.

I watched her work for a minute or so. If this was all an act to make me lower my guard, it sure was an elaborate one.

With nothing there I could do to find out what she was really doing, and no way to speed up the research, I took out my diarium to write the events of the last two days down. When I pulled it out if my belt pouch, the scroll Trixie had given me fell out with it.

I had totally forgotten about that. I picked it up, and went over to the unicorn. “Mistress Sparkle?” She looked up as I called for her, and I offered her the letter. “A unicorn by the name of Trixie ask me to deliver this to you.”

If she wondered why I didn't give it to her earlier, she didn't ask. She took the letter with her magic and unrolled the scroll. I saw her eyes darting quickly over the lines. “When did you met Trixie?” she asked as soon as she had finished reading the letter.

“I fell into her magic show when I was transported into this world. It was her who recommended you and brought me here.”

She nodded and quickly finished the letter. “You mean she is still in town?”

“Yes, staying in a tavern right at the border. Why? What did she write?”

“She apologized for the last time we met. We. . . didn't part under the best of terms. But now she asks me to meet her.”

“Huh? Sounds like a. . .” Before I could finish that sentence one of the windows exploded, as something crashed through it at high speed. I ducked, shielding my head with my arms from incoming splinters. Twilight was hit by the projectile, and both vanished in a pile of books.

“Twilight, there is a monster attacking the town! We need your help.” The head of a light blue pony with the most impossible, rainbow striped hair burst from the pile of books.

Twilight quickly dug herself out. “What? Where? What kind of monster?”

“It's horrible! You gotta see for yourself!” And with that the rainbow menace freed herself completely, grabbed the unicorn under her fore legs and dashed out of the window with rapid wing beats again, leaving a rainbow streak and a quickly vanishing scream of a unicorn.

I shook my head. “Never mind me, I'm unharmed too.” My spite only lasted for a heartbeat, replaced by a stomach turning feeling of foreboding. A monster attacking only hours after I came into town? Could be a coincidence, but most likely not. And if it was not, I knew what the ponies were about to face.

I hurried for the door, grabbed my cloak and threw it around my shoulder before rushing out into the cold. I didn't bother wrapping my feet up again; time was of the essence.

It wasn't hard to find where the battle was taking place. All I had to do was follow the screaming and head to the point the the fleeing ponies came from. Incidentally it was the way I had taken before; the battle was taking place where I had come into town. I shuddered, it looked like my prediction was right. I clenched my teeth and quickly looked around, when I was sure that no one was paying me any attention, I threw my pretense of a sorceress never running over board and jumped into a wild run.

My lungs were burning, and legs heavy as lead, when I reached the outskirts of town. Still, it looked like I was running late anyway. The town lay in utter chaos; buildings were burning, carts were overthrown, and wounded ponies were dragging themselves from the sight of battle. The fight was still raging on. Several ponies were flying and running around in circles, throwing spells and various heavy objects at their opponent.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw what they were fighting, and I reached for my banishing sword. "Not you again!"

Author's Note:

Special thanks to Daring-Do Book for helping me with editing.

Comments

[Solarkness]

The undead zombie she made...

Gross.