//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - The Mountain // Story: Once a Necromancer Always a Necromancer // by ThatOneLittleBoy //------------------------------// Twilight and Spike walked up over the hill and looked up at the massive fortress sticking out of the side of the mountain. It had held up well in its thousand years of abandonment, it was in one piece and none of the roof or towers seemed to have clasped or caved in. "Twilight, that's the place, isn't?" Spike asked looking over to Twilight. "Yes, I believe so," Twilight looked back at Spike with a worried frown "Be careful, we could find anything in there and I don't want you to get hurt." "I will Twilight, I promise," Spike smiled at Twilight before looking back at the impressive building before them. "Shall we?" Twilight said as she gestured towards the fortress. Spike nodded "Yes let's." Twilight nodded as they began to walk toward the building. Ten minutes of walking through foot thick snow later they were at the heavy iron gates of Dragon's Gate. The gates were decorated with the image of a battle. Wolves, bats, and snakes were fighting tooth and nail against ponies wearing full plate armor. In the center of the two gates at eye level there was the face of a pony with two fangs coming out of its mouth. Spike ran up and tried opening the gates. "Come on, open already!" he yelled out as he pushed on the gates, trying to open them. It was a valiant effort but it was in vain, the gates didn't budge a single inch. Twilight couldn't help but laugh as she watched the small dragon try to the open metal doors almost ten times his size. Spike stopped and looked at Twilight with frustration "What are you laughing at!?" Twilight stopped laughing with some difficulty and smiled at Spike "I'm sorry Spike. It's nothing I promise." Spike was not convinced. He walked over to Twilight, shaking his head, and asked "You think you can get it open?" "I think so, shouldn't be to hard," Twilight said as both the doors and her horn were enveloped in a purple glow. Twilight grunted with effort, putting everything she had into opening the gates. The doors didn't budge even an inch. Twilight finally gave up, panting as she did so. "Wow, how is that door not opening? It should of bee-" her sentence was cut of by a loud voice. "What is your business here?" Twilight looked at where the voice was coming from. It was coming from the gate. The vampony's eyes were glowing a blood-red. Twilight raised her voice and said "We wish to come inside this place!" "What is the phrase we gave?" the head on the door asked. 'What?' Twilight thought, tilting her head 'What could it possibly mean ... wait,' suddenly a thought popped into her head 'It couldn't possibly be...' She rose her voice and said "My time has come!" The face on the door smiled and said "Well done Twilight Sparkle." The gates then opened wide to let the newcomers in. Spike looked up at Twilight with a frown 'I hope she doesn't really mean that,' he thought back to the letter Twilight had gotten almost a week ago, the one that started this whole mess 'but even if she does I will walk by her side the whole way.' Twilight squealed in glee as she ran in, Spike ran in behind her. As soon as they were in the gates behind them slammed shut with a massive "boom!" and they were shrouded in darkness. "I have a bad feeling about this." Spike said as he was enveloped in black darkness. "Everything's going to be fine," Twilight said in a reassuring voice as she cast a spell. From her horn bright white light shone out. "That's better, see? Things ar-" she was cut off by the sound of a explosion not faraway, the ground shook as the building was filled with the sound of the explosion. Suddenly she was filled with with dread, the persistent feeling that somepony was going to die filled her. "That's not good,' Spike said with a frightened frown. "Maybe everything's not going to be okay," Twilight exclaimed with a frightened and grim frown "Get behind me." Spike did as Twilight instructed and walked behind the lavender alicorn. Twilight knew that a fight in going to happen any second now so she decided to get familiar with her surroundings. They were in a massive pillared hallway going on into the darkness. To both the left and the right there were smaller but still impressive hallways leading off into the distance. The tunnel was empty of anything. It's only inhabitants Twilight and Spike. A second later bright, warm light flooded the hallway as guard pony after guard pony ran out of the hallway to her left. They were crystal royal guards. Finally the last soldier came out of the hallway. He looked at Twilight with his light blue eyes and their eyes met. Twilight looked at him with fear, fear of what she was afraid he was here to do 'No! Why did you have to be here!' Twilight yelled in her head 'Why do you have to be here, Shining!' Shining Armor looked at Twilight with sadness, his eyes filling with tears "Twilight?" All of the guards stopped what they were doing and looked at the robed figure standing before them. Twilight stood her ground and just looked at her older brother with shock and fear. One of Shining's guards looked at Twilight and said "She fits the description sir, what should we do?" Shining looked between Twilight and the guards until he finally sighed. "Celestia warned us it could be her," he wiped away the tears that had been welling up in his eyes and he looked at Twilight with anger and sadness at the same time "Did you raise the dead and attack Whinnyapolis?" "I-I," she bowed her head and said "Yes, yes I did." Shining was silent for a second before he punched the ground in anger and frustration and said "Why did it have to be you Twilight, why..." He raised his gun at Twilight and the other guards did the same. He looked at Twilight with tears rolling down his face "I'm sorry Twilight, I truely am. FIRE!" Twilight screamed as she threw up a magical shield around Spike and herself, protecting herself from the fire. But she wasn't fast enough and a few bullets made it past her and into her shield. 'I should have expected this!' Twilight thought to herself with a sad and angry frown 'I should have expected that even my own family would try to kill me!' "AHHH!" Spike cried out behind her in terror and in pain. Twilight looked back at Spike and froze. Her blood became ice and her ears fell flat against her head. He was laying down in a rapidly expanding puddle of his own blood. He had multiple bullet wounds all over his body. He wasn't just hit by one bullet, or two, but four. The worst of these was in his chest. It went straight through his body right where his vital organs would be. "NO!" Twilight yelled as she turned around and kneeled next to the bleeding dragon. She quickly got out her bandages and wrapped him up in them, using all of them in the process. 'No no no no! I won't let you die!' but now that she had used her bandages there was nothing for her to do but wait and watch. Her face twisted into a scowl of pure hatred 'I will make you all pay for hurting Spike!' "Hold your fire!" Shining yelled and all of the guards stopped shooting and looked into the cloud of dust that obscured their vision. As the dust settled they saw Twilight kneeling down, in a puddle of blood. "Looks like we can hurt her!" one of the guards said "Maybe this won't be so hard after a-" he was suddenly cut off. He bagan thrashing around, clawing at his throat. His face one of true horror. Then suddenly his neck was twisted violently to the side accompanied by a loud crack. He instantly stopped struggling and fell limp onto the ground. The other guards all looked at their fallen comrade with shock and fear. The guard closest to him took his pulse. "Sir, he's dead." They all looked and the still kneeling figure of Twilight Sparkle in the puddle of blood. "Dear Celestia," Shining said as he looked at his falled brotherin. He looked at Twilight "Celestia was right, she is evil." Twilight stood up, blood dripping from her belly and her legs. Shinings eyes widened as he saw the figure laying down besides Twilight's blood soaked hooves. He recognized him even through all of the blood soaked bandages covering his entire body. Twilight's voice rang out, filled with unadulterated rage "You will all pay for what you have done!" She turned around and they all saw her face. It was half covered in dragon blood, her eyes glaring at them with a hatred none of the guards or Shining had ever seen. Shining yelled "FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" all of the guards obeyed and brought their guns to bear. They all fired in unison but at the last second all seventeen of the remaining guard's guns were flung and they shot themselves in the head. Blood sprayed from their heads in a massive cloud of red liquid and gore. Shining screamed in horror, Twilight on the other hand laughed. "And now it's your turn brother!" The shield went down and the blood covered Twilight ran out. She tackled the stunned Shining Armor to the ground. She stood over her brother and looked into his terrified eyes. "You are not my brother! You all an evil murdering monster! I am doing a service to society by killing you and your guards!" She then raised her hoof and stomped down on her brothers head. It exploded into blood and gore as her hoof pushed straight through Shining's skull and to the ground. She stepped back and looked at what she has done. She then realized how she had laughed as she had killed. Her face turned green as she looked at the nineteen dead body's in front of her, all killed by her hooves. "What have I done!?" She yelled, tears forming in her eyes "I'm a murderer! A fucking murderer!" She kneeled down next to her brother and cried. She cried until a voice behind her called out "But you aren't, you were only defending your friend, someone you considered family." Twilight swung around ready for a fight. She then saw five robbed figures, all standing in a line. The one in the center walked forward, pulled down his hood, and looked straight into Twilight's eyes "Hello Twilight Sparkle, we've been expecting you."