Cursed

by SkelePone

Chapter 4: Symptoms

"AN' YA BETTER COME TA THA BLOODY SPEECH YA HALF AR-"

"Thank you, sir," Shudderbones boomed over his Cockney companion's shouts. The drunk apparently did not like being called a 'Brid'. Although Shudderbones admitted it was a rather rude term to use to describe the Bridlish Porter (Shudderbones himself would've used the word 'nincompoop'), the necromancer believed that the brewer's reaction was a little exaggerated. After all, Brid was simply a shortening of Bridlish. Somepony from Great Bridleton. With little struggle, Shudderbones managed to drag Carnegie away from the sniggering waiters at the restaurant they had stopped in. How many more of these embarrassments would he have to endure until Princess Celestia told him he could return to the welcoming hooves of Applejack?

"Porter," Shudderbones growled in warning as the Cockney continued to writhe in his levitation spell.

"Bloody 'ell do ya want, Bonesy?"

"What was that about?" He hissed dangerously.

"What was what about?"

"That scene! Back there! With the waiters!"

"The who?"

Shudderbones face-hoofed. How could Carnegie have forgotten already?! The necromancer decided that he wasn't going to bother with Carnegie Porter's irresponsible, idiotic, insane, stu-

Wait. He felt something. A sort of chill that can only mean Dark magic or maybe even a restless spirit.

Shudderbones cast a quick spell, a flash of purple light going over every nook and crannie within a mile radius. Something wasn't right here. Something felt off about Canterlot. Like a cold, wet blanket had slung itself over the city. But nothing visible or invisible could be detected. Shudderbones wasn't sure how he could explain it, but it was almost like something he could sense.

Carnegie let out a slight cough.

Shudderbones whirled around and gaped at him in alarm.

"Wha'?" Carnegie asked, confused, "Ya look like ya've seen a bloody ghost."

There was a disease in the air. And in Porter. That was the feeling Shudderbones had felt. Not a ghost or evil magician, but a sickness that the good necromancer had never encountered before.

"Carnegie. We need to get you to the Princess. Now."

---

Sunlight.

It burned Valiant's eyes. He felt hatred to that big glowing ball of fire suspended in the sky.

:Yessss... Infect the sun...:

But why? He asked the hissing chorus of voices in his head. What about everypony else? They need the sun.

:Infect the poniesssss...:

Valiant stumbled over several rocks as he made his way from the cavern he had escaped from moments ago. Without that weird bizarro spell that he had randomly cast, Valiant had the distinct feeling he wouldn't had survived the ordeal of navigating a dark cave all by himself. The shrouded stallion took a moment to ponder once more upon the origin of that spell. There was no way he had known one so powerful. Where were these powerful bursts of magic coming from? How did he end up so far down a cave?

He struggled to remember what had happened before he had fallen asleep (he assumed he had fallen asleep), but Valiant kept drawing a blank. Absolutely nothing made sense about his predicament.

Valiant took a deep whiff of the crisp evening air. Unsurprisingly, it still smelled of sickness and rot.

The plague wasn't getting cured anytime soon. He'd have to redouble his efforts in finding a cure. But before he could do that, he would have to find Canterlot and Merry-Go-Round, his colleague. Valiant remembered with a heavy heart the conversation he had last had with her. When she had told him that she... that she loved him.

It had seemed so long ago... and Valiant couldn't understand why.

How long had he been asleep?

Comments

[Skye Mist]

Poor Valiant. Doesn't even know how long he's been 'asleep'.

[SkelePone]

6561781 Yes, expect Valiant to become the tragic antagonist.