//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20 
// Story: The Necro Walk 
// by WorldWalker128 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 20


My hand slid down the spiral grooved (but otherwise smooth) staff that was the last, and most powerful source of my power and smiled fondly.
“Hello, my old friend.” I said to it, not feeling silly in the slightest. “It's good to see, and feel you again.”
I lifted it from the ground and spun in around in my hands as I had a thousand times before, and as practitioners of the various martial arts had for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Over and around it whirled, rolling through my fingers and over the backs of my hands and whistling as it slid through the air like a dart from a blowgun.
My smile became a grin as the gentle warmth from the near-perfect balance of force and finesse  finished spreading through me, and I brought the staff to a stop and a clack on the plastered floor of the town hall, which was where Twilight and the mayor had hidden it away. All in all, I felt good. I felt strong again. I had taken that feeling for granted before for years, but having recently once more experienced what it felt like to just be a normal Human, I vowed I never would again.
The town hall had pretty much the same appearance as in my reality, but roughly fifteen years ago as far as the inside's appearance was concerned. (I hadn't noticed it before due to having several far more important things on my mind.) It seemed that with a continuous war going on redecorating the walls wasn't a particularly high priority.
“Do you always talk to inanimate objects, Lighthand?” Mayor Mare asked, looking like she wanted to either laugh or roll her eyes.
“No, not always. Sometimes I feel the need to talk to the living ones, too!” This time she really did roll her eyes.
“I suppose I left the door wide open for that one. So what does it mean exactly for you to have that back? You seem rather excited.”
“With good reason. I-”
The door to the mayor's office burst open and a winded stallion Earth Pony, followed five seconds later by a Hunter-Human barged in, breathing heavily and the door itself banging loudly against the wall. Our heads jerked towards them, surprise written on our faces. Neither of us got into a defensive position, but given that we were in the heart of a now-fortified town, neither of us had really felt the need.
“Mayor!” the Pony said loudly 
“Lighthand!” the Human said, both speaking at the same time. “We need to speak with you. Both of you.” While the HH stopped to breathe again the Pony spoke.
“Princess Luna's army has been wiped out and the Human king will soon be sending an attack force through the Gateway!”
“What?!” Both myself and the mayor shouted. We then shared a look. Her face was anxiousness bordering on fear, my own was shock mixed with her same fear. 
Luna's army destroyed?! How?!
“But how could this be?!” the mayor said, voicing my own looping question. “Princess Luna leads her own troops! Has-” she paused and took a steadying breath, visibly removing emotion from her face. I admired that. Hiding emotion had never been one of my own strengths, especially when it was strong. “Does princess Luna still live?” The stallion nodded, and the HH continued where the stallion left off.
“Your princess was not present when her army was devastated, nor were a few others that had been away with her, but she's in no mental state to be doing much of anything at the moment. At this present time, she's still burying the dead.”
“How did this happen?” I asked. “Is Faltos' army already here?” The HH shook his head.
“No. But as I said, it soon will be. From what rumor in our camp says, it was done by a group of perhaps eight to fifteen carrying small jars filled with a poisonous gel. The water used for drinking was poisoned during the night.”
“They died in pain.” The Pony added.
“Those poor soldiers...” the mayor said, her head drooping and her voice full of sympathy.
That smart bastard. My eyes narrowed. He slaughtered an entire army without losing a single man or woman.
“He'll pay for that!” I growled, one fist clenched and the other gripping my staff until the knuckles turned white, startling both Ponies in the room. The HH only glanced at me briefly, likely having heard similar growls over the course of his own life. He continued.
“The messenger that was sent to our camp ordered us to use our truce with you against you for when the main force did arrive, but Sampson Darkfist refused and killed him personally.”
“Sampson?” I asked. The name wasn't familiar to me.
“Jackylin's father. Now Darkfist senior is on his way to this town to speak to you, Mayor Mare.”
“Me?” The mayor cocked her head to one side. “Why does he want to talk to me?”
“Because we need your help.” Now she straightened her head and lifted both eyebrows.
“My help? Whatever for? You Humans seem more than capable at handling yourselves. She must have briefly looked my way, because the HH did so for a moment and made a related response.
“Lighthand is a tad different from our breed, miss mayor. Besides, for all his skills he's probably still worn out from his earlier labors.” It was true, I was. “He should be along later tomorrow.”

I did not find out what it was that the HH needed help with until sometime around two forty five the following day, and just as it had been with the last several days, it was a day of boredom with the one difference being several games of chess just outside the fortified town with Twilight Sparkle, in which I was thoroughly schooled three times in a row. I'd used to think I was at least fairly good at chess, but not anymore.
“You're definitely a different Twilight Sparkle from the one I knew back home.” I said as she once more, took my queen and put me in check. I moved my king and she took my black-square bishop. “She stunk at chess.”
“Well, she probably didn't have to go through a few decades of war. I've learned to think a little more strategically than I used to when I was still a friendship student.”
“Have you ever had to fight in battle yourself? Aside from during the raid that happened shortly after I got here, I mean?”
“Twice. Once when I was on my way back from paying a visit to Zecora's hut in the Everfree forest, and again when the train I was on was attacked by a group of Gryphon raiders while on my way to visit my parents. It was...unpleasant.” I moved a pawn forward and to the right and took one of hers, clearing the way to her side of the board. Her eyes became distant and she made a slightly sick face. I understood.
“Killing isn't as easy as veteran soldiers would have us think.” Which is why Jackylin is dead. If I'd killed that girl down in the maze, then Jackylin would still be alive and so would Trixie.
“Does it ever get easier? Living with it, I mean?” Twilight moved her own queen in to a position that guarded the last strip on her side. If I tried to trade in my pawn for something else, she'd take it.
“I may not be the best person to ask that question. When I was younger and back in my reality I fought in a three-way battle between Gryphons and Dragons with your race fighting alongside my own. 	“I have been told that murder is easier on one's conscience when it's not your own species that you're killing or when why you kill is in self-defense. I suppose that must be true, because I don't regret the kills I made in that fight, or those that I made before it. I've never killed anyone or anything having without a good reason first.” 
“TWILIGHT!”
We turned our heads away form one another and looked down towards the road that we'd used. Out from the gate camp Spike, carrying two scrolls. One of them had a copper band with the symbol of royalty on it, and the other a simple cord. He was breathing rapidly as if he'd been running pretty much since he'd received the two scrolls. When he stopped next to us I got a better look at the scrolls. One seemed to be the thick paper that Equestrians typically used, and the other looked to be made of, if I had to guess, leather. It certainly had the appearance of a few leather scrolls I'd seen in a few museums.
So one of them's not from a local, then. I doubt the Equestrians even know what leather is. My version of Mythica's didn't. Not until they met my kind, at least.
Twilight asked him who the scrolls were from, and what was on them.
“The one in...” he stopped to catch up on a little breath. “my right hand is from an old Human from the camp. The one in my left is from princess Celestia.” He paused to breathe again. “Actually, hold on a second.” Spike took a deep breath, and torched the leather scroll. The scroll burned to a fine ash and zoomed off toward Canterlot. “Okay. Now, this is for you, Twilight.” He reached out an arm, and Twilight levitated it away from Spike and unrolled it to read the contents. While she did so my eyes flicked to the board for three seconds, and then back to the scroll. I smirked a little and reached for a few pieces, hoping to cheat a little and finally win. Spike cleared his throat. I paused and looked at the young frowning Dragon, whom had crossed his arms. I stuck my tongue out at him and continued to reach for Twilight's queen only to receive a stinging slap to the back of my hand from a small cloud of purple energy.
Without lowering the scroll, Twilight scolded me for trying to sneak a free move while she wasn't looking. I frowned at her, then frowned too at Spike when he snickered. Following my example, he stuck a forked tongue out at me, and gave me a smug look. 
When Twilight finished she gasped and then lowered the scroll again so her eyes were once more level with the first sentence and read the whole scroll a second time, this round faster. When her eye level had reached the bottom of the scroll again she rolled it up, revealing her face to possess wide eyes.
“What is it?” I asked, our game temporarily put on my mental back-burner while curiosity took the forefront. 
“Thanatos is gathering all Unicorns and Pegasi to him for a direct assault on the Gryphon nation! I'm being summoned to join them!”
“Just Pegasi and Unicorns?” I asked. “What about the Earth Ponies?” Spike rolled his eyes and snorted, small puffs of smoke exiting his nose.
“And what would they do? Gryphons fight mostly in the air, not on the ground! They'd be walking targets!” Spike turned from me to Twilight. “You're not really going to go, are you Twilight?”
“I have to, Spike. It's a royal summons. Don't worry, I can take care of myself.”
“Well yeah, but-”
“Twilight's the second-most capable Unicorn I've ever met, Spike.” I interrupted. “If she says she can handle herself, she probably can.”
“The second most capable?” Twilight asked, frowning slightly. “Who's better than me?” It seemed this Twilight had a slight ego to her. Another difference.
“Back home, you had foals.”
“Foals?!” Twilight exclaimed. “With who?”
“One of the royal guards. He and I didn't get along too well, but you loved him, so I put up with his crap.” Twilight re-rolled the scroll, and set it on the table. After catching it several times when it attempted to roll off our little table she set it on the ground and cleared her throat.
“Um...out of curiosity, what was his name?” I stroked my beard, thinking.
“It's been awhile, hold on...I believe it was-” I stopped and shook my head. “wait no, Bright Steel dated Rainbow Dash, not you...” I tried for several minutes to remember, but was unable. I recalled his face well enough, but for the life of me, I had no idea what his name was. 
Getting older sucks! “I can't remember. If you showed me his picture I could point him out, though.”
“Darn...” she whispered. She said it really quietly, so I don't think she meant to speak aloud. Her blush when I raised an eyebrow and caught her eye confirmed my suspicion. She coughed and looked away, as if that could hide the darker shade of purple she'd turned. 
“A-anyway, I suppose I should go pack! I won't need much, but if nothing else I'll need writing materials so I can write home to you and the girls, Spike.”
“Are you sure you can't stay? I'm worried, Twilight! Let me ask the princess! Maybe she-” Twilight placed a hoof over his mouth.
“I have to go, Spike. Not only because this is a royal summons but also because we're finally not on the defense anymore. Though they're not really our allies the Dragons are pushing the Humans out of their territories, the Diamond Dogs are defecting away from the Humans pack after pack, and Celestia just informed me in the scroll that even some of the Changelings are siding with us! Even with Luna's army having been effectively wiped out this is as good a chance of us getting the upper hoof on our enemies that we're ever going to get!
“And what happens if I talk to Celestia and she does let me stay here? How many of our soldiers will die that I could have protected? How much quicker would we have defeated them had I gone along? I have to do this, Spike.”
“But Twilight...” Spike objected once more, a claw outstretched but no other reason forthcoming.

In the end Twilight did indeed leave on the next train to Canterlot. Thanatos had returned there after the victory and partial reconstruction of Manehatten's destroyed structures and outer wall. He had brought most of the military forces that had arrived both during and after the battle with him (or so the scroll from Celestia had said) and he would wait for three more days for other soldiers to trickle in before he teleported the lot of them directly into the Gryphon's capital city. Once he was there he would attempt to take the city with as little bloodshed as possible and try to force the Gryphon's queen to surrender and break off their alliance with the invaded Humans.
Twilight and both Spike and myself doubted it would be so easy, mainly because none of us were stupid (and because I'd met their queen before, back home). But she had gone anyway after saying her farewells to Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, as well as several of the Ponies around town.
“Do you think she'll be alright?” Spike asked me as the train vanished from sight. I nodded.
“Like I said before, she's one of the most talented Unicorns I've ever met. She should be fine.”
“It's the 'should' that worries me.” Spike muttered, lowering his arm from the waving he'd been doing. 


__ __ __ __ __


Zecora watched Ponyville from the edge of the recently-harvested Everfree forest. The ground was littered with a combination of wood chips, splinters, broken and discarded branches, and sawdust. The former forest floor had been packed down from the steps of many a hoof pressing down upon it as tree after tree had been felled to fuel the effort that had gone into the construction of Ponyville's wood wall.
She regarded the transformed Ponyville with wise, old eyes. The town had undergone many changes since Lighthand's arrival, and, she suspected, had one left yet to undergo, unless things took an unexpected turn.
Her own country had not yet been affected greatly by the Human incursion, and with how things in the world were going now, it was unlikely that it ever would be. The Humans as a general whole had made long-term allies of only one nation, and that nation was soon going to fall to the wrath of Thanatos and the forces he was gathering to him. All others that they had once counted on were pulling away from them for one reason or another, or perhaps even a multitude of reasons that had finally tested and at last reached the end of their patience.
“As always, Humanity's arrogance has been it's greatest weakness. They might have done better, if only they'd showed a bit of meekness.” She smiled a little, and turned her attention now to where roughly about fifty to sixty or so figures were making their way toward Ponyville. Several carts were being pulled along behind them, presumably by the same figures. “But these ones, on their own kind they've turned. I wonder...perhaps a better way they've learned?”
The snap of a breaking twig behind her broke her focus, but she did not turn. There was no need to.
“So, do you think they stand a chance?” A voice all too familiar asked her, it's owner casting the shadow of a Pegasus. A brief wind came, and caused it to wave like a shredded windsock until its end.
“That will depend upon several things, my dear. A few tasks and trials still await, it would appear.”
“Well, however it ends, thank you for making me a part of this. It's nice to see them all working together again.”
“It would not have come this far, if our efforts here had been sub-par.” The Pegasus' shadow cocked it's head slightly to one side and it's wings briefly fluttered before once more settling by their owner's sides.
“Still, did we have to do that to everyone else? After spending so long around them, I feel lonely without them.” Zecora smiled again.
“Worry not, my dear friend. It is now near, this war's end.”