Celestial Year 998 AB
Light Flow couldn't imagine how this day could go well.
It hadn't started off so bad, so completely unsalvageable in every way. It had actually started out pretty okay. Not the best day, but It had potential.
In the morning, he had woken up in a typical position with his face planted into a book. That wasn't surprising or negative, since he often read well into the night.
His back sort of hurt from the awkward leaning, but It wasn't anything he wasn't used to.
After making sure he hadn't drooled on the book in his sleep, he had gone on with his usual routine. Donning his cloak, brushing his teeth, making a bowl of cereal.
Things he did everyday. Regular old activities. Nothing special, nothing surprising.
But there was one thing on the agenda that held merit.
He didn't often find reasons to leave his little isolated cabin, since he had pretty much everything he needed there. But one certain little menace kept him from becoming a complete shut-in, as it was today.
He was having lunch with Applejack.
The passage of time had been a little dubious as of late, and if not for her constant visits and meetings, he wasn't sure he wouldn't just spend months on end just reading.
She always seemed to find a way to bug him. Inviting him to the farm, or out to lunch. Coming to see him at the cottage, even if she only had an hour away from her work to spare.
Always making time, just for him.
Ugh.
His feelings were getting weird recently. It had been so much easier when she was just an annoying pest with orange hooves and a country accent.
Now she was an annoying pest who kept him anchored to reality.
It was pretty ironic, actually. Poetic, even.
Life for the Necromancer would be rendered dull without the intervention of the living.
He took a moment to ponder the thought as he slurped his way through another spoonful of milk. He had always been fond of writing dramatic poetry, and that one was particularly good. He made a mental note to find one of his notebooks so he could write it down.
Most of his poetry was just witty one liners about macabre things, but he did write other things too. All sorts of things, in fact. And it happened right here, at the very desk he was eating at.
It wasn't a very special desk. It didn't even look particularly impressive or scholarly, since he didn't keep books on it. He had learned his lesson about that not long after he moved in.
Turns out, having a precarious book stack next to a bowl of milk Is just asking for trouble.
Regardless of his shortcomings in the realm of intelligent thinking, this was still the desk where he wrote in his free time.
This milk stained desk was where the metaphorical magic happened. Also breakfast, but that wasn't as important or magical. Though there was a magical component, since he used his magic to pour things, but that wasn't the point.
What was the point? He really couldn't remember anymore. He should really start keeping sticky notes around or something. Quick access to writing material would make it far easier to organize his thoughts.
Eventually, there was no milk left to slurp, and no deep thoughts left to think about; so he stood up from his writing desk where he also happened to eat, and began preparations to leave.
Though, preparations was really just a big fancy word that actually meant loiter around aimlessly for a while.
He had never been incredibly fond of going outside, and the problem didn't abate when he moved here. Anypony with half a brain would be able to confidently guess the problem would only grow worse, and they would be absolutely right.
He really only ever left to go see Applejack. Sure, there was the occasional trip into town for supplies, but even those were few and far between. He could just as easily buy apples from Sweet Apple Acres and skip going into town altogether.
Today was different though. Applejack had invited him to lunch in Ponyville proper, and that meant having to contend with the throngs of ponies.
He quietly shuddered as he stared into his unlit hearth. There was probably a metaphor to be made there, but he was a little preoccupied with thoughts of social interaction.
Okay, it wasn't like he hated being around other ponies. He really didn't, as much as his best friend might argue otherwise.
It was just.... a little overwhelming sometimes. And not in the way most ponies would probably mean that.
There had been a time, back when his mother had died, when he had almost done a very horrible thing. Just a wild impulse that he had almost acted on. A future that he nearly made real.
He had always rationalized his grim visions and urges as a side effect of the emotional trauma, but nowadays he wasn't so sure.
There were times, when.. when he began to feel the urge again. Just occasionally, when there were a lot of ponies around...
A lot of souls around.
He began thinking again about what it would be like to hold one.
And that scared him.
The tiny little thought scared him so much, and he wasn't sure he would be strong enough to say no to himself if it ever got as bad as it was back then.
He could still faintly recall the sounds of the voices screaming in his ears. The horrible echoing from inside his own head.
He was so afraid of what he could do.
But he was more afraid of letting his own thoughts rule him.
The only thing he put stock in was cold, hard reality. Which was why it was a fact that he wouldn't let Applejack down.
He was going to that lunch. And nothing was going to stop him.
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Light Flow cursed his bad luck that nothing had stopped him.
After leaving his cottage, he had made the short journey across the countryside to Ponyville. The pleasant sights of nature usually helped to calm his mind for the upcoming trials, and today was no different.
The sun was shining, the birds were flitting about every which way, and there was even a blooming field of flowers that hadn't been there the last time he had passed.
Such pleasant sights would have been his antithesis in his younger days, but he had been learning to enjoy conventionally pretty things. There didn't have to be some deeper meaning for something to be beautiful. Sometimes, things were just nice to look at.
Though he still wouldn't stop and smell the flowers. Who had the time for something like that?
He certainly didn't, especially since he was nearly late for lunch.
So, he had made his way to Ponyville, and into the town. There were several small crowds around, and he tried desperately not to look too hard at the ponies around him. It may not have been the biggest town, but nopony could say it wasn't busy.
A tourist would probably wonder if there was some sort of festival going on, but he knew Ponyville was just like this. Ponies standing around at small wooden stands, or sitting in front of little cafes, or even just gathered in little gabbing groups in the streets. It may have been poetic and cliché to call this town sleepy, but it was really anything but.
Everywhere he looked, there seemed to be multitudes of ponies milling at one place or another, just going about their business. He knew it wasn't their fault, but at the same time he really wished they could all just go home. It would be so much easier to meet up with Applejack if the streets were empty.
It was times like these he was thankful for his cape. Having his hood up really helped to take some of the pressure off, and it made it feel like there were less holes being burned into his skin. Granted, there were probably more ponies looking at him than there would be otherwise, but the important thing was that he couldn't feel it.
A pony bumped into him, and he stammered out an apology as they obliviously walked away. He didn't know why he was the one apologizing, but... well... somepony had to.
It was just the polite thing to do.
He really just wished he could go home.
But it was a little late for that. The outdoor restaurant where Applejack was waiting was coming into view. And actually, so was she.
He could make out an orange figure with a brown hat standing in front of the building talking to somepony. But who was that? It was a smaller figure, so it probably wasn't a waiter.
He squinted his eyes as he approached, trying to make out any sort of detail, before stopping dead in his tracks. He knew who that little pony next to Applejack was.
Apple Bloom...
Why? Why? Why? Why was she here?!
He ground his teeth together as he watched the little pony rear up to seemingly poke Applejack in the face. It seemed like they were having a good time waiting for him, which wasn't surprising. Applejack adored her little sister, and he was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
But he and Apple Bloom...
He let his hood down as the memories flowed through his head.
He had first met Applejack's little sister not long after meeting the orange pony herself. She had just been a baby at the time, and he actually thought she was pretty cute. He didn't normally like babies, or foals at all for that matter, but there was just something different about personally watching one grow up.
So throughout her childhood, he had been her big sister's cool friend who sometimes brought her presents. And he had enjoyed that. It was nice being around for a kid, though he tried his best not to influence her too much.
But recently, things had changed.
Neither he nor Applejack knew where she had picked it up, but somewhere along the way, Apple Bloom had become very interested in cutie marks.
Whenever she met anypony, she would ask them about their cutie mark. What it meant, how they got it, what it felt like, what they thought about it. If there was a question to be asked about a cutie mark, Apple Bloom would ask it.
And he was no exception.
It had started innocently enough. Just feeding her simple little lies about archeology. He had taken some time over the years to pick up a few basic facts to fool anypony that asked about it, so it hadn't been a problem at first.
But Apple Bloom was persistent. She wanted to know everything about it. She wanted a detailed story on how he got it, how he felt when he got it, what he did after getting it, and what he was planning to do with it.
She wanted to know facts, history, techniques, anything he had to give her on archeology. And he couldn't deliver.
Which was how she had been the first and only pony so far to discover his lie.
Ever since she had trapped him into admitting he didn't know anything about archeology, she had been hounding him relentlessly about his real talent. Obviously, he couldn't tell her, so all he could really do was put up with her badgering.
For an eight year old, she sure did have a way with words.
Oh no, she had seen him standing around. She was looking directly at him, and now Applejack was too. Now they were coming over to him with big smiles on their faces. That meant it was too late to run, and too late to hide. If they hadn't looked so happy he could have said he ran away because he didn't want to bother them while they were clearly emotionally upset.
Okay, he could do this. Just another game of Hide the Truth, a game he was so very good at.
Big smile. Big smile.
"Light Flow!"
A small furry mass catapulted itself into him, and he nearly fell under the sudden weight. Tiny hooves found their way around his collar, and wrapped themselves firmly around the back of his neck. Apple Bloom was a very touchy-feely kind of pony, and she often expressed this through impromptu hugs that probably had a fifty percent casualty rate.
He tentatively brought his hooves around the small weight attached to his neck, and eyed Applejack from where she was standing nearby with a nervous smile on her face. She knew very well what she had done.
"Hey there Bloom.... Uh... How're you today?" He managed to get out through the total collapse of his windpipe. She may have been small, but she was an earth pony, and an Apple besides. It was really no wonder that she was the strongest little filly he had ever met.
Instead of answering like a normal pony, Apple Bloom took the chance to whisper something in his ear, quiet enough so her sister couldn't hear.
"Are y'all gonna tell me yer special talent today?"
He tried not to let his weariness show on his face. Of course she would take the chance to pester him, he hadn't expected anything less. He didn't know why Applejack had brought her sister along today, but he was already feeling like the entire lunch was going to be far longer than expected; as well as being far less pleasant.
Light Flow's day was officially ruined.
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"I've told you a million times, Bloom. It's more like the.. uh... study of Archeology. That's why there's a book under the skull."
"So tell me some things about what you've studied! Unless you can't...?"
Light Flow really felt like he was the one being studied.
So far, things had gone basically as predicted. They had all exchanged pleasantries once Apple Bloom had extracted herself from his neck, and they had proceeded with the lunch.
However, first he told Apple Bloom to pick one of the empty tables outside to eat at, and once he was sure she was preoccupied, he had taken Applejack aside.
"Why did you bring her?!" He whispered harshly. She knew how much Apple Bloom made him uncomfortable, and she also knew how infrequently he partook in social activities like this. He had actually been looking forward to having lunch, but now it was all ruined, and he wanted to know why.
Applejack at least had the decency to look a little ashamed. Her ever-present nervous smile dipped down, and she heaved a sigh as she closed her eyes.
"Sorry, sugarcube. There was nothin' else to do with her. Granny's out with her friends today, and Big Mac's laid up with a cold. There was nopony else to look after her, so I had to bring her."
Her eyes opened, and they flicked up to his. She was doing that sad look that always made him feel bad, when her eyes got bigger and her nose scrunched just a little. Of course there was no way he was going to get out of this conversation while still being mad. He could already feel his inner fire waning, and he knew it wasn't going to stay lit for long.
"You never used to get this mad when Apple Bloom was around. What happened between you two? Y'all used to get along like an apple and a stem, but now you can hardly stand to be near her."
Ugh.
There went all of the mad feelings. Rightly so, too. He really didn't have much ground to stand on in this conflict.
Of course it wasn't Applejack's fault, she had a duty to her family. He couldn't just tell her to leave her little sister home alone. What kind of a friend would do that?
It wasn't really Apple Bloom's fault either. So she was curious, that wasn't a crime. Maybe she came on too strong, but nopony could get too mad at a kid for that. She would grow out of it eventually.
His frown took on a different hue, and he sighed.
"I'm sorry Applejack, I don't know what got into me. I shouldn't have snapped at you."
"I don't really know what to say about Apple Bloom either. We just.... I just.... I-"
"I found a table!"
A yellow blur interjected itself between the two of them very suddenly. A pair of reddish-orange eyes bounced between him and Applejack rapidly, like they were trying to look at both of them at once.
Apple Bloom seemed to have found a table.
He and Applejack stared at each other for a moment longer before she looked down at the smaller pony with a smile.
"That's great Apple Bloom! Why don't we go sit down?"
The aforementioned smaller pony nodded and bounced off towards her table of choice. He really had no idea where she got all her energy from.
Applejack took another moment to stare back into his eyes with that same sad look, before trotting off to join her sister.
Which was how the lunch started. Nothing but bad feelings and worse omens.
Despite his temporary reconciliation with Applejack, he still had very low expectations for the activity.
And he was absolutely correct.
There was nopony else sitting outside, and there was a surprising lack of ponies nearby, which was quite odd now that he thought about it. It was noon, and they were at a fairly well-known restaurant, yet there was just an array of empty metal chairs and tables.
The uncharacteristic lack of passersby left them quite alone. Alone. Just them, their food, and Apple Bloom's country accent.
While his alfredo noodles with mushrooms were great, though somewhat flavorless, the conversation topics were less so. Applejack and Apple Bloom had both predictably ordered apple based dishes, because apparently they didn't eat anything else.
Apple Bloom's food was nearly untouched though, since she had been too busy asking questions the entire time. She seemed determined to publicly reveal his secret, but so far he had been doing a decent job of fending her off.
Applejack paused mid-bite of some sort of pie to glare at Apple Bloom following her most recent question.
"Now Apple Bloom, we talked about buggin' ponies about their cutie marks! 'Sides, you've barely been touchin' your food!"
It was about time Applejack tried to reel her sister in, especially since at some point she had reared up onto the table in some sort of strange fit of excitement.
Apple Bloom turned her head away from him to stare at her sister. He couldn't see, but he guessed her eyes were looking all big and watery by now. It was the sort of face every little pony learned to use as a very effective weapon.
"But Applejaaack...."
"No buts, Apple Bloom! Now I want y'all to sit down and eat, and cut it out with the questions! Yer pesterin' is upsettin' Light Flow."
His face twisted in indignation. While he appreciated Applejack coming to his rescue, she was kind of making it sound like he couldn't handle a filly.
Okay, maybe she was right. But she didn't have to say it like that!
Either way, Apple Bloom listened to her sister, however reluctantly. The small yellow pony muttered something under her breath and took her hooves off the metal surface. She sat down fully in her chair, and stared petulantly into her untouched apple soup.
Applejack sighed at her sister's childishness, and stared down at her own half-finished food. It didn't seem as if she was too keen on making conversation at the moment, however awkward it may be. Usually, Applejack loved filling the empty space in the air with pointless chatter; but it looked as if she had lost the taste for it.
He certainly wasn't going to start up a conversation, since Apple Bloom might take it as initiative to keep bothering him. If Applejack was content to sit in silence, then he was too.
No matter how silent the silence was.
He felt a lump grow in his throat, and he put his fork down. He didn't really have the appetite to finish his noodles.
A perfectly good day, it should have been.
"So, did you hear?!"
His ear perked at the sudden voice cutting through the noiseless din, and he looked up from his half-finished dish to see who had spoken.
The Apple siblings were still ignoring each other like children, and the voice didn't have a country accent besides. It was more of a valley girl-ish tone.
He looked over Apple Bloom's chair to see another pair of ponies who had taken a seat at the next table. One of the ponies was facing away from him, so all he could see was a cream-colored coat and a pink and purple curly mane.
Her soul was pretty strange though. It was an ugly brown shade, which was weird by itself but not really what caught his attention.
He could barely see it.
Her entire soul was somewhat transparent, even more than the regular transparency that most souls boasted. He could just barely focus on it at all, and it was a miracle it was visible at all.
He had never seen a soul like that before. He hadn't read anything about it either, and he could only wonder what it meant.
Was she close to death? Was it some sort of mutation? Maybe it was a curse of some kind?
He would have to give it some more thought later, when he wasn't in the company of Apples.
He turned his attention away from the regular pony with the weird soul, and focused on her friend.
The other pony, the one who had spoken, was a minty green unicorn. She was actually facing him, so he could make out some more details, like her golden eyes and generally pretty face.
Those eyes were somewhat subdued at the moment, but there was an underlying excitement underneath the monotony. She was probably quite the hyperactive pony, or at least excitable.
Her soul seemed to back this up, with the way the little green light flashed and spun slightly.
It was always so much fun to guess personality traits based on souls, even when he turned out to be wrong. Though, from what he had read, it was possible his guesses were still correct even when they didn't seem to be. Some ponies seemed desperate to act differently from how they really felt, though their souls would always show the truth.
He was getting distracted, like usual. He tried to focus on the ponies in front of him, and not their souls.
He was pretty sure he had seen them around a lot, and they always seemed to be together. If he had to guess, he would probably say they were dating or something, though he had been wrong about that kind of thing before.
He couldn't even remember how that topic had come up with Rarity, and he certainly had no idea how Rainbow Dash had been involved. Probably one of his worst conversational blunders, and absolutely his most painful.
Regardless of his past failures, he was desperate for something to fill the silence, so he did his best to tune into whatever conversation the other ponies were having. Of course, he also acted suitably inconspicuous, since it wouldn't do to get caught eavesdropping.
"Why yes Harp, I did hear about that. I'm so glad you brought it up in such a clear and concise manner, it makes the topic far easier to understand."
A sweet voice, drizzled with bitter sarcasm. A delicious combination of flavors, and 'Harp' seemed to think so too, judging by the way she giggled.
"Sorry, Bennie! Sometimes I forget not everypony is thinking the same things I am!"
'Bennie' sighed at Harp's ditzy words, which must have been routine with how practiced it sounded. What kind of a name was Bennie, though? He had never heard anything like that. It must have been some sort of nickname, because it just didn't make sense otherwise.
He was trying not to look at them too much, so he missed what sounded like one of them pouring a glass of water. It was Harp's voice that came next, and she sounded like she was trying to whisper in her loudest voice, which was kind of weird.
"I mean, did you hear about the zebra?"
His eyes widened as he suddenly became very interested in their conversation. He still wasn't looking at them, but he tried to angle his ear towards their table as imperceptibly as possible.
"Oh. Yeah, I think I heard about it. You mean the zebra that ponies say just moved into the Everfree Forest?"
He blinked rapidly as he tried to digest this new information. He hadn't thought it was possible to become any more invested in a conversation, especially one he wasn't even a part of. He licked his lips as he leaned slightly over the table.
"Yeah! But did you hear that the zebra is also apparently some sort of shaman or something? Isn't that spooky?"
If it was possible to die of intrigue, Light Flow was certain he would have keeled over at that very moment.
He gave up on listening to the strangers' conversation. He had everything he needed.
He leaned back in his chair, and stared down at his noodles.
A zebra. A zebra shaman. A zebra shaman living in the Everfree Forest.
There was a zebra shaman living in the Everfree Forest.
This was officially the best day ever.
He tried to hide a wide smile behind his collar, but he was sure he was failing miserably. He leaned forward, and grasped his discarded fork in his magic.
He speared an errant noodle with the utensil, and raised it up to look at it in the light. He stared at it for a moment, before opening his mouth.
"So, Applejack. Has anything interesting happened on the farm recently?"
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The reflection of a suddenly chatty brown unicorn was very clear in a set-aside full glass.
A cream-colored earth pony stared down at the clear surface, before turning her cerulean eyes on her grinning friend.
The green unicorn leaned forward, and whispered much more quietly than before.
"So, Bonnie. Was that good?"
She felt her smile widen, and she leaned forward to lovingly touch her nose to her partner's.
"That was perfect, Lyra."