//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 - The Book 
// Story: Once a Necromancer Always a Necromancer 
// by ThatOneLittleBoy 
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Twilight walked down the street with a massive grin on her face. She just got done having the time of her life at the spa with Rarity. 'I needed that,' Twilight thought 'I feel so much better now!'

She looked around, finally admiring the gorgeous day. To her left Big Mac was selling apples and apple cider at an apple stand and to her right, a couple were aggressively kissing each other. Twilight chuckled 'Get a room, you two lovebirds!'

Twilight kept walking down the street in happy bliss. After a few minutes of walking, Twilight felt a new presence next to her. She looked over and was face to face with an over-energetic pink pony.

"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie said jumping up and down with a massive smile somehow larger than Twilight's "How was your time at the spa!"

"It was amazing Pinkie. Thanks for asking!" Twilight's smile got a bit wider "We got a massage, and oh my Celestia! It has to have been the best massage I think I've ever had!"

"Ohhhhh, sounds like fun!" Pinkie exclaimed with a massive smile on her face. "Did they hit your back like wawawawah!" She yelled as she punched the air like she was trying to break a plank of wood.

Twilight laughed "No Pinkie, they did it slow and methodically. They rubbed my back in just the right places and got all the tension that I didn't even know I had out of my back, it was truly amazing!"

Pinkie laughed and said "That sounds amazing Twilight! Wish I could get one."

Twilight looked at Pinkie quizzically "Why can't you?"

"Because when I went to the spa last time I thought it would be funny if I turned off the hot water," she frowned "Everypony else didn't think it was that funny though and they said that people who did that were banned forever from ever getting back into the spa." She smiled and looked over at Twilight "But they also said that they would make a special exception for me and I'll get my spa privileges back in just a few weeks! If I pinkie promise I never do that again. "

Twilight smiled "Well I guess that's good." She then pointed a hoof at Pinkie and said "But don't ever do something like that ever again, okay?"

"Oki Doki Loki!"

Twilight smiled "Good," she laughed and added "But I do have to say you definitely got them good!"

"Yep, I did!" Pinkie also laughed "It was a little mean though so I won't do it again." A mischievous smile slowly spread across her face "Doesn't mean I won't do something just as bad!"

Twilight gasped and brought a hoof to her mouth "You would never!"

Pinkie just laughed and smiled at Twilight.

After a few seconds of walking Pinkie said "By the way I've heard that you got something in the mail." Pinkie smiled and looked over at Twilight "Is it a new book for the library?" her smile got even larger "Or is it a pen pal? Ohh, or maybe even a letter from a special somepony!"

Twilight smiled "No, no special somepony."

'Hm, I didn't order anything and I wasn't expecting any letters ... wonder who or what it could be?' Twilight thought.

"I actually didn't order anything so I don't know what it could be," Twilight smiled at Pinkie Pie "But why not let's find out?"

"Okay sounds like fun but-" Pinkie pulled a clock out of thin air and gasped "OH NO! I'M GONNA MISS THE LAN PARTY! GOTTA GO!" and with that she ran off running almost impossibly fast down the street.

Twilight shook her head and laughed "Pinkie, you're so strange sometimes." Suddenly a thought came to Twilight's head 'What is a LAN party anyways. You keep on talking about it but I've never seen you at a LAN party. Is it a party for the land or what?'

Twilight put that thought in the back of her mind and continued walking down the street enjoying the wonderful day. Just a couple of minutes later she was back home.

"Spike, I'm home!" Twilight yelled happily as she walked into the Ponyville Library, also known as her home. Twilight looked around and saw a package on the ground a few meters away. "Now let's see what this is," She said as she walked over to the rectangular package wrapped in brown paper and picked it up in her magic. On top of the package there was a letter.

"Hmm, I bet this is the 'mail' Pinkie was talking about," Twilight said excitedly. She levitated the letter in her magic and brought it to her face. She ripped it open and read the letter.

Your time has come. Go north and climb Totenberg Mountain. Go to the fortress on the mountain. You are ready, your time has come.

She looked at the letter with a confused tilt of hear head. 'What does that mean? Why does a stranger want me to go to Totenberg Mountain?' Twilight thought. She laughed "They do have me intrigued though."

She was about to open the package when Spike came downstairs and smiled at Twilight "Hi Twilight, how was your time at the spa?"

"It was amazing, especially the massage." Twilight smiled brightly at Spike "So what did you do over the last two hours?"

"Oh, nothing really. Mainly just read my comic books and slept," Spike said.

"Oh, by the way, do you know who sent this?" Twilight asked, holding up the package and the letter.

"No I don't, do you?" Spike asked.

"No, that's why I'm asking you," Twilight said, looked at the package inquisitively.

"Well why not open the package, that might solve the mystery," Spike said as he walked towards Twilight.

"Okay sounds good. Here goes noth-" she was cut off by a green flame suddenly erupting from Spike's mouth, quickly followed by a loud belch. Out of the green fire came a letter, stamped with a golden C.

"Ohh, it's from the princess!" Twilight yelled excitedly as she dropped the package and ran over to the letter. She picked up the letter and began to read.

Twilight, I need you to go to Totenberg Mountain. There have been sightings of what the locals have described as "demons of flesh and bone." Please travel there as quickly as possible and make sure that these rumors are just that, rumors. If on the off-chance that there is an evil presence on the mountain you are to leave immediately and go to Canterlot. It is vital for you to not tell another soul. Not even your friends. I'm really sorry Twilight for putting all of this pressure on you but if word gets out about demons there would be mass panic. You are the only pony I can trust to do this and keep it a secret. 
Your fellow princess and friend,
Celestia

Twilight stared at the letter and read it over and over again. 'What the hell is going on!' She thought as she picked up the first letter and re-read it. 'There is no way this is not a coincidence!'

"Twilight what is it?" Spike said looking at Twilight with a worried frown.

It's nothing," Twilight lied, gritting her teeth "I need to go."

"I know you're lying, Twilight," Spike said with a sigh "Come on you can tell me."

"I can't," she shook her head "I'm sorry, I have to go." With that she picked up both letters and the package and ran upstairs, leaving a slightly confused and really annoyed dragon behind. As she ran off Spike sighed in frustration "Or don't tell me, not like I was just trying to help you or anything."

She then opened the door to her room, ran in, and locked the door behind her. She then threw the packages onto her bed and began to think. 'What is going on!' Twilight thought as she began pacing back and forth in her room. 'Some strangers tell me that I have to go to Totenberg Mountain because 'my time has come' at the same time some weird monsters are showing up around the mountain? That can't be a coincidence!'

'What am I going to do now?' Twilight thought. She slowly looked over at the package on her bed. 'Maybe I should start by opening that,' she thought as she walked over to her bed and sat down next to the package.

She lifted the package over to her and dropped it in her lap. Twilight sighed, the anticipation building up within her. What was going to be inside it? A book? An empty box? A box of chocolates? An ancient evil spider of death and destruction? 

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," she said before she ripped off the brown paper and looked at the book underneath. The book had a black, featureless cover.

Twilight's eyes widened in horror as her eyes fell apawn the black book. 'No, it can be! I watched it burn. No I made it burn!' She started hyperventilating. 'Why is it here, and who sent i-' she looked over at the letters. "No," Twilight said as she levitated the letters over to her eyes. She re-read the letters and everything began to fall in place.

"Your time has come," Twilight said under her breath. She levitated Celestia's letter over to her "Demons of flesh and bone." She thought back to the skeleton she had resurrected all those years ago and began to cry. She shook her head "N-no, i-it can't be!"

'Let's just think about this' Twilight thought to herself 'No pony knew about, about that but Princess Celestia, so who could have given me this book?'

'What about the one who gave me the book in the first place?' Twilight though 'What about him?' Twilight's eyes widened with horror as she relieved a part of her life she wished to leave in the past, forgotten.





Twilight walked into a large courtroom and sat down next to Celestia. In front of her sat the pony who had given her the book. A necromancer trying to recruit her into his cult of dark magic.

Besides the necromancer, Twilight, and Celestia there were only six other ponies in the room. Two guards guarding the door, two guards with spears pointed at the necromancer making sure the prisoner doesn't try to escape, a judge, and another guard standing next to Twilight.

When she sat down Celestia looked over at Twilight, smiled, and said gently "It going to be okay Twilight I promise." She looked back over to the necromancer and frowned darkly, her eyes filled with malice "We're going to make sure he gets what he deserves."

The judge stood up and began to speak "Silver Mane, you have been charged with accounts of necromancy and trespassing. What do you say in your defense?"

He just smiled "It doesn't matter what I say I'm dead either way." He looked at the young filly next to Celestia and his smile got even larger "And my mission is complete. That's all that matters." He turned his head towards Celestia and smirked "You know what they say, once a necromancer, always a necromancer!"

Celestia frowned "Let's just get this over with."

"A-a-a!" the necromancer said with the same smirk as before "I'm not done. Your young student there is very powerful. Possibly one of the most powerful necromancers to live since the Lich King himself! She was able to learn magic that normally takes years to learn in just a few weeks, that's just, wow! " He leaned back in his chair and smiled at Celestia. The other people in the room were looking at each other in confusion and fear. Celestia's own face was slowly filling with fear as well.

"Unless," he laughed "She's a part of one of the bloodlines, or ooh! Maybe she's the heir to the throne? Maybe she's a Funkeln!"

Celestia stood up, concealing her fear with rage "That is impossible! I hunted them down, every last one of them!"

He just smiled "Well you might of missed a few of the-"

Celestia yelled and cut him off "Death by guillotine!"

The room went silent as every pair of eyes fell on the princess. "What?" The judge said with apparent fear in his voice "Th-the punishment of necromancy is life in prison not," he gulped "Execution." 

Celestia looked him straight in the eye "I don't care. That is his punishment." The judge began to argue but before he even got two words out Celestia yelled with the rage of a thousand suns "I AM PRINCESS CELESTIA, THE SOLE RULER OF EQUESTRIA I WILL DO AS I WISH AND YOU ALL WILL FOLLOW MY ORDERS!" The judge took a step back before nodding and bowing to Celestia. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she looked at the guards by the door "Go get the guillotine in the dungeon ready and bring ... it-" she looked at the necromancer, who just smiled, almost with pride "-down with you.

The guards nodded and saluted before heading out the door, practically dragging the prisoner away.

Celestia looked down at me and smiled "Come my young student, let's never think of this again." I nodded and followed her out if the court room. 

Hours later at Silver Mane's execution his last words were "Gott vergib mir meine Sünden und vergib denen, die gegen mich gesündigt haben." He said them sadly just before the blade of the guillotine fell upon his neck, severing his head from the rest his body.





"No!" Twilight sobbed, streams of tears running down her face. 'This was their plan all along, wasn't it?'

'Yes, yes it was,' Twilight thought responding to her own question.

Twilight looked at the book. With a shaking hoof she opened the cover. Inside there were pencil markings, hundreds of notes all written in pencil. 'What?! How! This was my book, but how is it here? I started it on fire and afterwards I disposed of the ashes myself!'

Then she turned the page. On the page at the top was the title "On Necromancy, a Shunned Art." Reading that title made Twilight feel ... nostalgic. It actually brought a smile to her face. Twilight, realized what she was feeling and nearly threw up. 'Twilight, how can you be like this!? You are feeling happy about necromancy! How could you!'

She shut the cover of the book and threw it at the wall. She layed back in her bed and began sobbing even harder. Her bed sheets were wet from her own tears. 'I have to tell Celestia, now.'

Twilight sat up and was about to jump out of bed when a thought occurred to her.'But do I?' Twilight thought 'What if I just don't tell anypony?' She looked over at the black book. "B-but I-I have to," Twilight said, barely audible even to Twilight's own ears. 'I don't have to though, it's as simple as just not telling anypony.' She then levitated the book back over to her and set it down right in front of her.

Twilight sobbed "M-maybe I'm r-right, maybe I-I just shouldn't tell a-anypony," Twilight whispered to herself between sobs. She then touched the cover of the book. A single tear fell from her face and landed on its cover. She then took the book and shoved it under her bed.

She then curled herself up into a ball and cried herself to sleep.

(Revised April 20, 2019)