//------------------------------// // The Midnight Stallion // Story: Shudderbones: The Necromancer of Flame Geyser Swamp // by SkelePone //------------------------------// It was midnight in the Friendship Palace, and Princess Twilight Sparkle had just made herself comfortable in her bed, with Spike already snoring away in his own bed. She was just about to start snoring herself when the doorbell rang. "Who in all of Equestria would come to call at THIS HOUR?" Twilight exclaimed to the now awake Spike. "It's a few minutes to midnight!" Spike merely shrugged and passed out again. "Well, I better go answer it." Twilight grumbled. In a flash, she had teleported to the main entrance. Peeking through the eyehole, she saw a tall figure, wrapped up tightly in a cloak. A long dark grey horn rose out of the hood, levitating a large and familiar pink bow. She unlatched the door and used her magic to open them as she greeted her late visitor. "Hello! I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle and this-" "I know who you are," muttered the figure, now clearly a unicorn stallion. From what she could see of his coat, he was dark grey, with a black mane. His eyes glowed purple from the darkness of his hood, matching the aura surrounding the bow. He did not remove his tattered dark cloak nor did he seem to have any desire to do so. "I am nopony of vital importance," He introduced himself, in a sophisticated, yet quiet, manner, "a small group of foals trespassed on my property, and when my servant went to answer the door, they dashed off, leaving THIS." Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but the intimidating figure resumed: "I came here, assuming the Princess located closest to me would know who this bow's owner is, so I may personally return it and also speak with her parents about letting their child out so late at night." "Well... heh heh... You'll be heading for Sweet Apple Acres, but-" "Thank you. I will be going now. It was a pleasure to meet you, Princess." With that, he turned about, and trotted back outside, using his own magic to shut the great doors, plunging the Princess into darkness. She sat alone in the entrance hall, wondering who in Equestria that was. The midnight stallion had seemed a little odd... and rude. She liked him. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Applejack, Big MacIntosh, and a slumbering Granny Smith were each in rocking chairs, listening to the late night radio broadcasts by DJ Pon-3. Of course, the rapid knocking on the door made Applejack leap up to answer it. When she opened the door, Applejack was shocked, angered, and confused by the three fillies who she had assumed were asleep up in Apple Bloom's room. She slammed the door and rounded on the friends. "Now what in tarnation-" She was interrupted by more knocking. Three loud, echoing knocks. The Cutie Mark Crusaders dashed upstairs, followed by the sound of a bedroom door slamming. Figuring it was an angry neighbor there to complain about the ruckus the three had been up to, Applejack opened the door once more, apologizing. "Dear Celestia, forgive my sister and her-" She stopped and shuddered as a blast of cold wind washed over her, passing into the sitting room, where it extinguished the fire that had been roaring away in the fireplace. The house went dark as a tall, gloomy, cloaked stallion stepped inside. "No, allow me to apologize for intruding at this untimely hour. But I believe your daughter has forgotten this." He rumbled, producing a pink bow that he levitated into Applejack's open hooves. "Ummm... No, I'm only her sister. They call me Applejack and I'm afraid that I haven't-" "I am Shudderbones. And it is a pleasure to meet such a beautiful mare." Said the shadowy stallion. He lifted one of Applejack's hooves, planting a kiss on it. "Now, I was wishing to speak with her parents." This was followed by awkward silence from Applejack and Big MacIntosh. Granny Smith simply snored. "Deceased, I assume? No problems, I can remedy this." The unicorn stallion flung off his cloak, revealing a smooth dark grey coat, with black and royal purple mane and a black tail. His cutie mark was that of an ancient ankh. It sent shivers down Applejack's spine. His horn began to glow purple and green, letting out crackling sounds as his deep voice chanted strange words in a forgotten language. He was performing dark magic. And he was performing it in the Apple Family's sitting room. Suddenly, loud moans could be heard, and from outside, a pair of blue lights appeared, flying in and manifesting before Applejack's eyes. She heard a scream, then realized it was her own. Big MacIntosh had galloped full speed upstairs, and, before she knew it, Applejack was running right behind him. The magic stopped as the two vanished up the stairs. The lights dissipated, the loud moaning ceased. Shudderbones, the dark stallion, looked about in confusion. Where had the pretty mare and her large sibling gone? From the rocking chair in the corner, there was rambunctious snoring that Shudderbones assumed to be the grandmother. He didn't want to wake the old pony from her slumber, but he really felt the need to speak to an elder on the matter of trespassing. Which now seemed ironic, due to him not appearing welcome. Shudderbones spent a moment to wonder why everypony always ran in fear from him. Especially when all he was doing was trying to use his talents to be helpful. - - - - - - - - - - "So the eldest is Big MacIntosh. The youngest is Apple Bloom. And Applejack is the middle child?" "Aaaa-yup. I reckon they're the oddest groupa siblin's you ever seen, Mister... uhhh... what was your name again, sonny?" "Shudderbones, Mrs. Smith." "Aw please, call me Granny. Everypony does." The two were sitting at the dining room table, sipping herbal tea that Shudderbones had made himself. They had gone up to check on the others, but the three fillies were fast asleep, and Big Mac and Applejack's rooms had been locked. Morning had come swiftly, so the elderly mare and the young gentlemanly stallion decided to wait for the others, sipping chamomile tea. The sound of hooves on wooden floor told Granny and 'Bones that a certain three fillies had woken up. "Gee, Granny. I had THE weirdest dream last night..." Apple Bloom said, before seeing who her company was. "Good morning, Apple Bloom. I am Shudderbones. I believe you forgot this at my abode?" The unicorn levitated the bow and tied it back onto her head gently. He smiled at her. The smile turned into a gloomy frown when he saw the look of horror on her face. "It's-it's-it's-" The other two fillies had joined in, stammering. "It's-it's-it's-THE NECROMANCER!" They bolted back upstairs, and Shudderbones hung his head as they heard the door slam once more. Granny nickered and punched him in the shoulder. "Buck up, Sunny Jim! You'll get it eventually." "Thanks, Granny... "And my name is Shudderbones, not Sunny Jim." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Applejack was never afraid. She had no fears, she knew she was strong enough to beat the tar out of any bogey that came her way. Unless, of course, that bogey was a frightening shadow stallion that could summon evil ghosty goos from thin air. Applejack was afraid. And she didn't like it. What had at first seemed like a flirtatious and even a bit handsome (in a doom and gloom kind of way) stallion had turned out to be a terrifyingly monstrous boogeystallion. Even Big Mac had run away in fear! Applejack cursed her sister and her friends under her breath. They had brought that demon into their house. Now she was wondering how she could get the monster to go away. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "So whatever happened to your family, Mr. Bones?" Granny inquired. Shudderbones let out a sigh. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "There was a fire at the Bones Manor. We had just struck oil in Flame Geyser Swamp. I was just a colt. I managed to escape. My family... wasn't as lucky." Granny reached out and patted Shudderbone's hoof in an attempt to comfort him. "I was too young to leave the Manor then. So I stayed inside. The Manor has a vast library, with spellbooks from all over the globe. I learned how to materialize food, and then I found a peculiar set of encyclopedias of magic. In those books were the darkest of magic spells. Reanimation. Summoning spells. Spiritual communication. "Of course, I was excited by the prospect of finding my lost relatives. I learned all that I could. My cutie mark turned out to be that of an ankh, an ancient symbol of rebirth and life. But the creatures I summoned were not the ponies who I knew as my family. I now know that you can recall souls as spirits, but you can never truly restore ponies to life. So all the pony skeletons I had obtained in my studies, I simply animated them and they act as my servants and companions. I had been alone for almost a decade. "Then I made the mistake of visiting Ponyville in broad daylight." Shudderbones rubbed his temples with his hooves, trying to avoid getting visibly upset in front of the present company. "They called me a monster. They called me the Necromancer of Flame Geyser Swamp. There were torches. Pitchforks. Stones being thrown. I barely escaped with my life. Ever since, I have only left my dwelling at night, when the other ponies lay asleep. They still told stories about me. Awful rumors about me eating foals and haunting the Swamp..." Upstairs, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were listening intently. All three had gotten a bit teary-eyed, but Sweetie and Scootaloo blinked back tears in surprise as Apple Bloom walked past them, going back downstairs. Shudderbones and Granny turned to the filly in surprise. She walked up to Shudderbones, head hung low. "Thank ya for bringin' back mah bow, Mister Neck Mincer." Shudderbones smiled feebly down at the filly. "Please, call me Shudderbones." She suddenly leapt up, hugging him tightly. "Sorry if ah hurt yer feelings, Shudderbones. An' Ah'm sorry about yer family. I kinda know how ya feel." Shudderbones hugged her back, saying nothing. A small tear escaped from one of his darkened eyes. "We can be yer new family, if ya want, Mister Shudderbones." Shudderbones grinned. "I'd like that, Apple Bloom. "I'd like that."