"Is that leg going to be okay to walk on?" Twilight and Rainbow Dash had sat down near Bone Marrow as his leg slowly healed. It looked like a steady progression of his muscles and skin growing back over the bone of his leg as charred flesh peeled off and fell to the ground.
Bone nodded. "I've been through a lot worse than this... but thanks."
Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Thanks for what?"
He gestured with a quick flick of his horn, "With the hydra. I'm so used to running off and confronting threats that it was more of a reflex than anything. Check the uniform, kill or ignore."
"The uniform?" Rainbow glanced at Twilight to be sure that she was equally confused. "Hydras don't have a uniform, Bone."
The wounded colt sighed, "I know that, but from my point of view I was in a massive battle only a day or so ago. I was directing a massive battle through a thousand eyes at a time to fight off The Bright Moon's attack on Canterlot. I didn't have time to think about things in much detail. Like I said, it came down to checking a uniform-- or in this case, seeing if the hydra was immune to my magic-- before deciding to kill or ignore."
"That's..." Twilight trailed off, not having the right words for the situation.
"I didn't know that I was weaker until I tried to fight that hydra." He pointed to his still healing leg, "this should've been completely healed while I was still running away from it, but here we are, waiting for my leg to mend itself back together at a snail's pace."
"Wait, you're weaker than you used to be?" Rainbow shook her head, "I saw you barreling through the jungle like it wasn't even a problem for you. You're saying that you were even stronger a thousand years ago?"
The necromancer leaned into the ashen tree stump behind him. "Whatever Celestia did to me with those rainbows made me weaker. I'm not even sure if I could raise a skeleton at this point, but at the same time..." He paused as if searching for something. "I don't hear the void anymore, so maybe that's a trade off?"
"The void?" Twilight pulled out her notes. "What do you mean by that?"
"The more I killed, the more ponies I consumed, the more the void called to me. It would tell me to kill more and more, it would make me aware of every beating heart for miles like a constant headache. It... well, it drove me insane."
"But you don't feel that now, right?" Rainbow was smiling, "maybe the Elements of Harmony did something good?"
Bone let out a huff of annoyance. "Maybe. I still don't like being this weak. If you two hadn't distracted the hydra and given me room to escape, I think I would be endlessly digesting in its belly right now." He held a hoof to the golden pocket watch around his neck. "Though I think some things could be worse than that..."
Rainbow tilted her head, "What's with that pocket watch, by the way? You've been poking at it ever since you woke up from that statue."
He pressed the pocket watch close to his fuzzy chest. "That depends; what are you two planning to do with me?" Bone shook his head, "It's pretty clear that I can't really fight either of you if it came down to it. I can't even protect myself now."
Twilight was even more concerned than she was before. "What do you mean by 'do with you'? I was originally going to take you to Ponyville and figure out what to do next. The cutie map sent us out here for a reason, but I'm not sure what reason that was. You really don't want to see Celestia and from what you've been saying, I doubt the two of you were ever friends, so..."
"Ponyville?" Bone smirked, "You're kidding, they actually named it that?"
Rainbow let out a pained groan of annoyance. "Yes, they named a town Ponyville. I don't know how many times--"
The necromancer held up a hoof, "No, I mean The Ponyville? I was there when Rich was talking about rebuilding Galloping Glades and he put that name in as a joke!"
"Rich?" Both mares asked.
"You mean Filthy Rich?" Twilight stopped herself and shook her head, "No, that wouldn't make any sense."
"Obscenely Rich, his ancestor I think." Bone's smile continued, "That's crazy. I was talking with him about a week ago."
"A week and a thousand years ago," Rainbow pointed out.
"Would you want to see the town?" Twilight offered a hoof to help Bone Marrow stand. "I'm pretty sure nopony is going to give you any trouble there."
Bone accepted the hoof and favored his injured leg. "It's not very far, is it? You said we were out in the middle of nowhere."
"We flew here in a day, but walking will take longer." Rainbow rolled her wings to stretch them. "I think Twilight could teleport us a little bit of the way, though."
The necromancer's eyes narrowed, "Wait, teleport? That sounds like magic, right?"
Twilight nodded, "I've perfected it down to an art!"
"This pocket watch of mine is... precious to me." Bone held it up in one of his hooves. "If we teleported, the pocket watch would be left behind. I can't let that happen."
"Then walking it is! Besides, I'll get a better look of all the different kinds of plant life around here, too."
Rainbow Dash groaned and shook her head. Why couldn't Bone Marrow have been a pegasus?
"So," Twilight piped up, "About that pocket watch of yours..."
The three had been walking through the jungle until midday and had stopped for a quick meal.
"Is it magical or something?" Twilight had her notes out again and flipped to a new page. "You said that teleporting would leave it behind, but I'm not sure how that's possible."
"It was a gift to me from Obscenely Rich for saving his life, and his castle." He held the pocket watch in his hoof, the chain still wrapped around his neck. "He said it was indestructible and that nothing would ever harm it. That means magic as well, and true to his word, nothing affects it. I refuse to lose it no matter what happens."
"I know it's a gift and all, but it must be pretty important to you if you don't want to leave it behind for anything." Rainbow was resting her hooves from the long walk. She was more used to flying and she took it down as a mental note to practice more galloping when she returned home.
"Like a loved one." Bone ominously replied.
"Don't want to talk about it?" Rainbow asked while massaging one of her cramping legs.
He shook his head. "Maybe later, but not now."
"Do you know how the watch is indestructible?" Twilight had finished drawing a picture of Bone's pocket watch. "I don't think I've seen engravings like that on anything else before."
"Rich told me they were runes that were extremely expensive to carve, but he didn't really explain how they worked."
"Would you mind if I gave it a look? Just to record everything in detail-- I promise not to do anything harmful."
Bone Marrow shook his head, "Nopony is laying a hoof on it."
Twilight held up a hoof, "Okay, okay. Just curious is all."
Bone had to admit, it was nice to be able to walk with ponies for once. They didn't seem to mind the skulls in his pupils either, and Rainbow Dash had made a comment about how 'cool' his glowing eyes were. It was a pretty stark contrast from being hunted down all the time.
Aside from that, Bone was looking forward to seeing Ponyville. He wondered if there would be any other ponies that he would recognize, at least by their family's name. Did all the families survive, or maybe they changed their names?
Twilight had been asking him a lot of questions about Necromancy as well, though he was reluctant to give any details. He was already wary of alicorns after Celestia betrayed him. The thought of an alicorn with his spells was enough to dissuade him from ever letting on about what he could really do.
As the three made their way closer towards the heart of Equestria, Bone became nervous. Galloping Glades had been a short distance away from Canterlot. If Celestia knew that he was going to be in Ponyville, what would stop her from flying down to seal him away in stone again?
He shook his head. He didn't want to bring up that question with Twilight or Rainbow Dash. It would be better if he prepared himself for a conflict like that rather than let the two mares know how worried he was. Besides, what would be the point of worrying if he couldn't do anything about the outcome?
He had better things to worry about. His friend, Scenic Sights, for example. Bone held his watch close to him, promising his friend that she would be among the living again. He had sealed her soul away inside of the pocket watch to prevent anything bad from happening to her, but during the battle of Canterlot he was powerless to stop a batpony of the Bright Moon from driving a blade through her heart.
Her soul was safe, however. The watch made sure of that through his thousand-year petrification. All it would take to bring her back was enough power... and something else. The books he had read were vague on the subject.
The first thing Bone knew was that consuming meat gave him more power. Not eating it directly, but by using his magic. The meat could be from animals or from ponies, it didn't really matter too much. Everything from fur to bone could be consumed by his magic in the blink of an eye, though he worried that the void would return with the more power he gathered.
Bone Marrow didn't want to be like the necromancers that had come before him, maddened and consumed with power only to face Princess Celestia in a final battle that ended with them being thrown into a volcano to die a final death.
He idly wondered why Celestia hadn't thrown him into a volcano while he was a statue...
The damp and swampy jungle gave way to rolling fields of green grass, swaying evergreen trees and the chittering of squirrels. Bone Marrow smiled. It was a very nice break from the horrible smells of the swamp to finally breathing in a breath of fresh air.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash were tired, of course. The walk had been a long one, and Twilight was more used to flying and teleporting everywhere rather than walking. Rainbow simply loved to fly as well, so she had been skipping leg day for some time now.
"Finally," Rainbow huffed, "I'm gonna go to my house and pass out. I'll see you tomorrow, Twi." She gave a tired salute and flew off, her body drooping as her wings carried her off towards her home in the clouds.
"See you, Rainbow!" Twilight waved as her friend shrank in the distance.
"So, Ponyville." Bone briefly pointed to the town further along the road they walked. "Anypony going to freak out and wave pitchforks at me without my hood covering my eyes? I know you and Rainbow Dash don't mind, but..."
She shook her head, "I'm pretty sure most ponies are going to think that your eyes are some kind of magical cosmetic. If anything, you might get a few jokes here and there, but everypony in Ponyville is pretty welcoming. Pinkie Pie especially."
Bone raised an eyebrow. "Pie? I think I've heard that name before. Are they related to Frosty Pie?"
"Maybe?" Twilight shrugged as the two neared the outskirts of town. "I'm sure Pinkie could spend some time with her photo albums if you're really curious."
"Anypony else that you think I should know?" Bone was feeling vulnerable from his lack of a hood to conceal his face.
"Well you've already met Rainbow Dash. There's Fluttershy; she lives in a cottage on the edge of town. Applejack, who manages the family applefarm. Rarity, she runs a fashion boutique and... well, now that I think of it, she'll probably want to design something for you since you're new to town."
"I don't have any bits on me to pay her for something like that." Bone shook his head. "Maybe if I can find some, though."
"She does it for free at least once for everypony. I wouldn't worry about it too much." Twilight scratched her chin, "There's also Starlight Glimmer. She lives in my castle with myself and my friend Spike."
The name sounded somewhat familiar. He had met a dragon named Skewer while he was in Canterlot before the battle took place. She was giving one of her eggs as a 'gift' to Celestia as part of a treaty's demands. He would have to ask later when he could be more certain.
"You have a castle?" Bone decided to switch subjects, "You mean that big crystal treehouse over there?"
Twilight nodded with a proud smile. "Yep!"
The necromancer colt had some experience with castles, and the one in front of him left him feeling... disappointed. "How are you supposed to defend a castle like that? A single catapult could knock out the bottom and send the whole thing toppling over..."
Twilight grumbled but let the subject drop. She didn't feel like arguing about architecture after having walked however many miles through swamp and jungle to get home. What she really wanted was to go home, have some tea, hug Spike, and fall asleep on her bed. Bathing could come later when she didn't feel like a sack of cabbages.
"Let's just get home, okay?" Twilight picked up her pace and Bone Marrow followed along. "From everything you've told me, it's a lot to take in. Make yourself comfortable in the meantime and get to know everypony. I'll know what to do in the morning."
Bone nodded, "Alright, but I have a quick question."
"What question is that?"
"Do you have any butcher shops in Ponyville? I could help out in exchange for... bits."
Twilight paused and studied Bone's face. "Why a butcher shop specifically?"
"I'm... familiar with slaughtering things?" Bone smiled nervously.
The alicorn shuddered, her mental images of a battle happening in Canterlot coming to the front of her mind. "Yeah, alright. I can see that." Her tail flicked and she began walking once more. "I think Fluttershy should have some meat in a cooler at her cottage. She takes care of all kinds of animals, including carnivores."
Bone smirked, "I'll have to meet her sometime, then."
Things were progressing better than Bone Marrow had hoped. A place to sleep, ponies that probably wouldn't hate him for existing, and the possibility of meat in the near future. He'd get back on his hooves, gather enough power to resurrect his friend, and... well, he'd have to figure out what to do from there, but his first goal was bringing back his best friend from the dead.