//------------------------------// // Sacrifice // Story: Inquisitor of the Moon // by Snowliasion //------------------------------// Trotting into the basement left a frown on my lips as I shook my head, it was strange to find such a kind young mare in a place like this. Yet she had somehow convinced me to have a meal, not even mentioning what had just happened in that bedroom. it wasn’t strange to like more than one pony, but I didn’t know I felt that way about other mares. Odd. Despite all of that I still needed to be careful, if experience had taught me one thing it was that necromancers and warlocks tended to dwell in basements and other damp, dark underground lairs. Reaching the bottom of the stairs revealed an open door leading into some sort of laboratory.That was surprising considering most necromancers didn’t bother with them. Various vials and scrolls littered the tables while a steady hum of magitech came from machinery lining the walls. The place was clean, very clean, probably still in use.. Almost clean at least. What could almost be mistaken for a pile of sleeping ponies lay against a bare wall. None of their chests rose with the beating of a heart, nor did their breath warm the air around them. They looked pretty good for a pile of corpses though. I didn’t have the time to study everything on the tables but something in the back did catch my attention. In a cylinder filled with liquid floated a pegasus as white as snow. Every strand of mane, every single feather, she was entirely covered in white. All white except for her cutie mark, a musical note overlapping the sun.The other mare from the family portrait in the foyer, it didn’t take much guesswork to figure out what was likely going on here. “Crazed maniac couldn’t handle his loss, put her in that tank and wants to find a way to bring her back.” I mumbled while staring into the mare’s lifeless blue eyes. Body swapping, restoring life to preserved bodies, even that sentient revenant outside. Why did I get the feeling that I was dealing with a little more than a novice necromancer here? A mocking laugh reached my ears. “Isn’t that a little cliché Inquisitor? And her name is Melodia” Of course the necromancer was not only here, he was also going to give me his evil villain monologue as well. I Cast my blade as my gaze drilled into the older unicorn. The last missing face in that portrait, how predictable. And of course he would start a monologue as predicted. “You see when my wife fell ill I sa-” the rest was cut off as deflecting my strike stole his focus. “Rude!” he exclaimed, clearly not happy to see I was less cliche than he thought. “Sorry.” I sneered. “But I really don’t have the time for your excuses or sob story.” The stallion huffed and threw up a shield while a few undead ponies rose to his side, yet instead of attacking he simply stared at me. My ears perked my to the sound of shattering glass and spilling water, and I just barely managed to duck under the swipe from the pegasus I saw in that cylinder. “Leave my husband alone!” she snarled, her earlier serene look replaced by pure, seething rage, yet she was so soft, so very tender much like Moonstreak. It was clear where those genes came from. Her anger was beauty in itself and even while she raisedher hoof to strike once more, I simply lowered my blade. I could do nothing but stare at her like a school filly with a crush. How could I not? She was so exquisite. I couldn’t turn gaze away... “Alluring as ever my dear Melodia.” the stallion laughed. “You are truly my greatest creation yet.” I looked between the beautiful pegasus and her partner, so he had somehow preserved her after death? I had never seen an undead with such grace. But he was more than right, alluring didn’t even cut it. I was shaken from my thoughts as a sickening crunch made me realize that Melodia had struck me in my shoulder. A burning pain shot its way through my foreleg and into my chest. Did she… I think she broke the bone. In pure reflex I stabbed my blade upwards, it punched clean straight between her ribs and into her chest.. Our eyes met and she blinked, a silent gasp escaped her lips before the pegasus crumbled into a pile of dust.  Guilt hit me like a bag of bricks. I had ended the life of such a sweet and perfect mare, and then I felt not so guilty. . The sway she had over me slowly ebbed away with each blink. But why did she turn to… I spun around to face the stallion, he was still here, couldn’t lose focus. He just stared at me, his eyes narrowing into something dangerous. “I wanted to offer you a place at my side you know? Expect no such mercy from me anymore.” “Blame yourself, you’re responsible for everything that happened here necromancer.” I spat while keeping an eye on his summoned minions. “I loved my family enough to keep them safe from death Inquisitor, would you not do the same?” he said motioning his hoof forward, and his undead started advancing. “Not like this I wouldn’t.” Adrenaline dulled the pain but the bliss wouldn’t last long. Definitely a fracture at the least, I had to end this fight quickly. “It doesn’t matter, I did what I could. But now it’s time for you to suffer the fate you inflicted upon my beloved.” He sneered, moving back as the first undead attacked. Killing them wasn’t too tough but my wound was more draining than I thought.Thankfully the undead were slow and it wasn’t too hard to keep them at a striking distance despite my building discomfort. I slowly closed in on the stallion as he swiftly ran out of his supply of corpses. The laboratory was rather empty and he simply lacked the resources to for a fight of attrition. After cutting down his last pair of minions I finally reached the bastard and hacked away at his protective bubble with a feral scream, it was all I could do to not pass out. I had to end this fight quickly, I would either kill first or I would die first. So with a desperate strike I broke through his shield. He merely laughed as I shattered the barrier and hissed in pain. I glared at my giddy adversary before striking him down in one smooth motion. “You’re insane.And today you met your match.” “A-and you are distracted.” He gasped as his blood pooled underneath his shaking body before breathing his last. Standing over the stallion I felt a presence gradually taking hold of my body, A sensation I recognized all too clearly ever since I read that journal. I had been a fool, He wanted me to strike him down, and had used his own body as fuel to power the spell allowing him to possess me. The bastard played me. With seconds to act I could only think of one solution. There was no time to think of anything else, it was the only way. I took out the vial of basilisk venom and drank its contents in one gulp. And then my consciousness faded away. I hoped Brass would take Dancer to the fair...