Shaking Hooves With Death
"Welcome to Pony Joe's," the coffee colored stallion announced with practiced ease, "What'll it be for you today?"
Bone Marrow was surprised that Pony Joe didn't have a reaction to him being taken by Princess Celestia the day previous, but Scenic took the lead in the conversation.
"We'll take a booth."
The stallion pointed to the same area they were in yesterday, right next to the door. "A table for two, or are you expecting a royal third guest again?" He teased with a smirk.
Bone shook his head, "Hopefully just us for once."
"I'll send Miss Sundae over as soon as she's ready. You two have a pleasant day, and thank you for coming to Pony Joe's!"
The foals replied politely, making their way to the clean seats of the booth to stare at confusing menus once more.
"Do you think they serve normal food, like sandwiches?"
Scenic shrugged, "If they do, it probably comes with five scoops of ice cream by the looks of it."
Bone searched his menu, "What's ice cream?"
The filly's menu flipped around, a small hoof pointing to the item in question. "It's that thing."
His ears folded with doubt, "That looks like some kind of frozen egg..."
"Eh, It was on the Banana Split yesterday. Can't be that bad, I guess."
The waitress slowly approached the two young ponies as they discussed the menu, her eyes shifting nervously between the two. "What can I get you two dears today?"
"Do you have sandwiches?" Bone Marrow asked, his hood blocking the waitress' face from his vision as much as his eyes from her view. "All I've found so far is desserts and 'ice cream'."
She pointed her hoof to the rear of the menu. "It would be in our lunch menu, d-dear."
Bone's horn glowed a deep blue to flip the menu over, the writing soon shifting and clumping together before returning to normal when his magic vanished. "Oh, cool."
The waitress had never seen anything quite like that before, and was worried that the menu might be damaged somehow before she reminded herself that she was serving a Necromancer at the moment. She had seen Bone Marrow's eyes when Celestia carried him away to the palace and she had no intentions of upsetting him in any way.
"Would you need a bit more time to decide?"
"Just a few minutes," Scenic agreed.
"Call me if you need me, dears."
The faint sound of metal hooves clanking against cobblestone sounded from the front door before it swung open, the small bell chiming to announce the new customers. Bone glanced over his shoulder, his hood blocking most of his vision. Most ponies didn't wear plate armor when they went to dinner, so whoever had entered wasn't good news for him.
"Hey Joe," The first voice greeted pleasantly, "Have you seen that one colt around; wears a cape and whatnot?"
Bone thudded his head on the table, placing the menu on his head. "Can't I just have a single day without somepony coming after me?"
"Sure thing, Shield. Colt's right over there."
The young necromancer let out a drawn out sigh of annoyance, the room's temperature becoming noticeably colder. Clanking metal approached, two ponies from what he guessed.
"What do you want now?" Bone grumbled from beneath the menu.
"Sorry if we're intruding, Bone Marrow," The first replied, causing Bone's ears to raise with surprise. "We heard you were in Canterlot and wanted to pass on our thanks."
The necromancer's head shot up, the menu falling to the side. "You what?"
He was confronted by two Knights of the Sun in full armor, swords and shields included. One seemed to be a unicorn mare, and the other was an earth pony stallion.
The stallion spoke first, "We heard about what happened to Galloping Glades and... well, you saved a lot of pony's lives. My niece's included."
Bone's eyes narrowed with suspicion, "But you're Knights..."
"We know that," The mare replied, "But you aren't like the Necromancers we've heard stories of. You didn't go around killing ponies, you saved them. We can respect that, especially when your actions directly saved my husband."
He was completely lost now. "Who?"
The stallion reached into a pocket on his armor, producing a small roll of drawings. "My niece, Frosty Pie, drew these. All of them were about you, your glowing eyes, the skull markings... There's only one way she could've known about them, because I hadn't said a word about necromancers."
"And my husband just happens to be Cherry Pie, Frosty's father." The mare added.
Bone pulled away in his seat, "So... what do you want from me?"
The male guard shook his head, "We don't want anything more than what you've already done, as strange as it is to say. You're probably the kindest necromancer that's ever lived!"
"Hah!" The colt guffawed, "You're the first pony to ever call me kind."
"We did want you to know something though, Bone Marrow," The unicorn interjected, "Our captain, Captain Pure Intent? He thinks that you've poisoned the mind of the princess somehow. He says that he saw your mark of death in her eyes and that she's been acting strangely ever since."
Bone gestured to himself, "Look at me, do I seem like some sinister and all-knowing villain?"
The knights glanced at each other before replying. "Kind of?"
The necromancer sighed, his muzzle impacting the table once more. "Is it the hood?"
They nodded. "It makes you seem kind of creepy."
"What, and the skulls in my eyes don't make me look worse?"
"Eh, that's true," The knights replied in unison.
The knights stayed for a while, sitting in the seats opposite the two foals and listened to Bone's tale of events and what lead to him and his 'act of kindness' while their food was being made. The newcomers related stories of their own about protecting ponies in need and fighting off bandit camps to make Equestria safe once more. They expressed apologies for Scoria and Galloping Glades, as they had been ordered to protect trade ports and towns bordering hostile nations rather than being spread out evenly across the land.
Their conversation was interrupted by a quick tapping of the glass, startling the four ponies. It was Pure Intent with a perplexed look on his face.
"What are you two doing!?"
The knights innocently gestured to Bone, "We're talking!"
"You're conspiring is what you're doing!"
Growing red in the face, Pure Intent stormed away. He went from a walk to a gallop, heading straight for the palace.
Bone was quickly becoming numb to all of this drama. "Whatever, let him grab Celestia to come hunt me down in Pony Joe's again."
"We should go talk with him," The stallion replied, "My name is Shield Wall, by the way. My partner here is Phalanx."
Phalanx the unicorn mare gave a smiling salute. "Pleasure to meet you, Bone Marrow."
The two Knights scooted from the booth onto their armored hooves, wishing the foals well as they left.
Scenic tapped her friend on the side, "See? Not everypony hates you!"
Bone rolled his eyes, "Two ponies in a city of thousands. I'm adored."
.
There are a few things you should be made aware of in regards to your more standard spells, Necromancer.
First and foremost, the 'Devour' spell as I have called it will allow you to not only devour the flesh of the living and the dead, but it will empower your magic to greater heights the more flesh you devour. You may have a different name for this, as it seems most ponies name their own spells differently in their heads and have the same result.
If you attempt to devour a non-fleshy object, it will rapidly decay instead. Stone will dissolve into sand, metal will rust away into dusty shards and wood will rot and fall apart. Our magic is drained by doing this, however, so I would advise you to simply devour the flesh of your would-be attackers rather than attempting to dissolve their armor and weapons.
Another note: Magic and Crystal will block your magics. Crystal doesn't decay and has no life to speak of, and even a foal with a random shield spell being cast will block your ability to kill them. I only learned that particularly specific example when making my way through a crowded encampment, only to have a giggling idiot shoot off an unexpected spell that gave me away.
In any case, be aware of your limitations. A pony with a spell, unicorn or not, can kill you quickly. Use skeletons to counteract their shielding and to buy you time to escape capture.
Bone rubbed his eyes with a corner of his hoof, once again taking residence underneath the bed. He had been up all night reading from his necromancy book and it was fairly draining on him. Normally he wouldn't need to sleep, but reading took something out of him that he couldn't place. At the same time he tired, the void inside of him became quieter. He welcomed the break from hearing the constant beating hearts of everypony in Canterlot, though the fatigue worried him.
Tapping the page, he soon found where he had left off.
As an alternative to devouring your enemies, you can order them to Die on the spot. Their organs will liquefy, their hearts will shred into pieces and in moments they will be sputtering piles of soon to be dead flesh on the ground.
A fitting end for those that would kill you, I imagine.
At any rate, this spell can be blocked like any other: Crystal or Magic. The tendrils of death will glance off of a protective shield and hit the next closest pony in their trajectory like a crossbow bolt ricocheting from a stone wall. Crystal will simply not notice your spells either, as they have nothing to work with.
Keep yourself hidden, Necromancer. Hidden away with those that bring you joy.
Bone sighed. He could read and learn all day about Necromancy but the void inside screamed for him to test his abilities, to practice. He couldn't harm anypony, and he didn't want to. There had to be some way that he could practice, right? Maybe a stray animal that nopony cared for.
He groaned at that, resting his head on the open pages of the book. What kind of pony would he be then, tormenting random animals for his own pursuit of knowledge?
What kind of necromancer would he be if he didn't? He had a special talent that nopony else had, after all. If he refused to learn how it worked, it could end up getting him killed when he could've known something that would easily save him.
The cover of darkness is the surest way to remain hidden, both by the darkness of night and the darkness of your own design. Simply speaking the word, Darkness, will summon forth a portion of the void within you. It will devour all sources of light nearby, but isn't very useful during the day. It's a kind of 'advanced darkness' which might draw attention to you if you're out in the open. A noticeable drop in temperature is a warning as well to would be adventurers and bounty hunters that you do not wish to be found.
A pony is less likely to explore a cave that hungers with the darkness of the void, providing protection from all but the most foolish ponies. The most foolish being the Knights of the Sun, in my opinion.
Other helpful spells for avoiding capture are Blind and Deafen. You can use these spells to rot a pony's eyes and ears, making them useless for the rest of their lives unless mended by a particularly gifted healer.
Bone was curious now. Wouldn't the book mention his ability to heal other ponies? Had the necromancers before him not even tried?
I fully recommend you practice what abilities you've learned, and write them down onto this book for necromancers that will most assuredly follow in your hoof steps. This is the culmination of Necromancer knowledge thus far, as the notes I've discovered have been either damaged beyond all repair, secreted away by Princess Celestia herself, or been nothing more than the insane ramblings of a madpony for the centuries leading up to their final demise.
I wish you good luck, Necromancer.
For the sake of all of us, please add something helpful to this book with your magic. Scrawl it into the pages by willing it into existence and only we fellow Necromancers may read what has been written.
-Gloomy Night
Bone Marrow flipped the page, finding it blank. Page after page had been left empty, most of the book remaining little more than a weight.
"This can't be right!"
He flipped the book over, starting from the back and flipping pages to the front only to find the same amount of unused space between the covers.
"What am I supposed to do now? That was barely anything!"
Frustrated, the colt slammed the tome shut and slid it away from himself. He had hoped the book would contain more answers than just notes, after the centuries of necromancers in Equestria. There had to be something more to it, something that no other pony had discovered, right?
He looked to the book once more while scratching his head. "It said to practice, didn't it? Maybe they didn't have the time to study..."
Bone then thought of the last month of his life, constantly hounded, killed, running from place to place without a moment's chance to catch his breath. He hadn't been able to stay in one place for long without trouble raising its ugly head and then guessed that if he was constantly living in fear of his life, he wouldn't have the time to write down even what he had just read.
He sighed, "Maybe that's what my role as a Necromancer will be; adding on to what's written on this book."
The young necromancer shook his head, nudging the book further away from himself. "I'm not going to get myself killed by Celestia and be a waste to the Necromancers that will eventually replace me. I have to learn as much as I can while I'm free, don't I?"
His gaze peered through the nearby window, noticing a squirrel staring at him from atop a tree branch.
He grinned, "Perfect."
Bone Marrow had never bothered walking in the Palace's gardens, wanting to stay as far away from Celestia as possible at any given time. Scenic was out exploring Canterlot on her own, searching for ponies that seemed friendly and asking them for news on the happenings of Equestria.
In the meantime, Bone had decided that it would be a perfect time to practice his abilities. Looking from side to side, he summoned the void inside of him for some privacy.
Darkness.
Instantly he was reminded of his eyes being sliced open, laying on his back and squirming in agony as he was held down. He had used this spell once before, the same as Blind. He had been panicking, he was drunk... but nopony had been injured by his casting of the spell. Or did he have to speak it aloud?
Blind.
He then realized it would be mostly pointless to test if he was blind if he was also enveloped in a complete absence of light, and willed the darkness away. The young necromancer could still see nothing.
"Huh. Guess that worked," Bone voiced to himself, touching the side of his muzzle with an experimental hoof.
Heal.
His vision slowly returned like a steamed mirror, sight becoming bright and clear. Blinking, he looked around with sharpened eyes.
"This is so strange..." A voice muttered behind him. Bone turned around, noting the approaching Royal Guard. "I watch you come outside, talking to yourself like a crazy pony when all the light in the world vanishes into nothingness."
"Um, can I help you?"
The guard pointed to his clouded eyes. "You might have something to do with this, I take it?"
Bone reeled back, his ears flattening. "Oh! I'm so sorry!"
The Royal smiled, "If you can return my eyesight back, that would be wonderful."
Bone willed the guard to be healed, and witnessed bright pink flood into their eyes. They nodded politely.
"Thank you, Necromancer. Princess Celestia warned us that you might cast some of your magic around the palace, I just wasn't expecting to be caught in the epicenter."
Bone was growing quickly suspicious of this guard. "Why aren't you freaking out or panicking and trying to stab me or something?"
The royal shrugged. "I figure everypony has a reason for what they're doing, right? I'd rather talk with them first than jump to conclusions. Besides," The pony added, "I haven't seen this well in years."
"You're not going to try to kill me, even after I blinded you?"
"No," The royal replied with a soft voice, "I don't think I even could if I wanted to anyway."
Bone backed away from the guard. "You're being really strange..."
Their ears shot up, "Oh! I don't mean to, I just find you interesting is all. Do you want me to leave you alone?"
He was now even more disturbed. "You followed a necromancer, were blinded by them, and now you're asking if I want personal space?"
They considered that for a moment. "I guess it does sound kind of bad when you put it like that. Do you want help with anything?"
"Help?"
The royal nodded his head, extending his hoof. "I'm Shy Sprint. My friends call me Shy because I don't usually start conversations or spend time with them on my days off when they go to taverns. You're kind of an exception, though. I've always been interested with necromancers ever since I heard about them as a colt, so I'm kind of excited to meet you despite being blinded."
Bone Marrow tried to call on the Royals name, testing how much he could trust the guard. If the name had been correct, then he would know that this guard was at least somewhat trustworthy. He still had his own suspicions about why the stallion had followed him into the garden and watched him. Maybe Pure Intent wanted to place a spy next to him and watch his every move?
Shy Sprint.
Bone's vision quickly shifted through murky blackness and he was soon staring at himself through the guard's eyes.
"Oh, that's really s-strange," Shy stuttered, holding their hooves closer to their body, "Did it get really cold all of a s-sudden?"
Bone returned his sight to his own body after that, extending a hoof outward. "Shy Sprint, my name is Bone Marrow. Pleased to meet you."
The Royal straightened out, extending an armored hoof of their own with a smile. "Glad to help a fellow pony, necromancer or not."
"Stand still, okay? If this hurts too bad, let me know."
Shy Sprint was now standing atop a stone pedestal in the maze garden far away from the Palace. The guard happened to be a pegasus, offering the necromancer a lift over the hedges for a bit of added privacy as he practiced his craft. Surprising to any sane pony, the Royal also offered to be a test subject.
"Does it usually hurt?" Shy asked, his armor rattling together in fear.
Bone's hoof wavered, "A bit? I'm not going to go full necromancer on you, so don't worry."
He couldn't help but think about the insanity of the situation. Here he was with a royal guard that was offering themselves as a dart board for his spells. They were timid, sure, but brave enough to confront him face to face without so much as batting an eye at being blinded. Bone didn't want to hurt the pony, but he still had to know what kind of things would work and what the limits of his abilities were.
"Stick one of your hooves out in front of you, okay?"
Shy did as asked, one forelimb shaking its way directly ahead of his body as he looked away, closing his eyes. "R-ready when you are."
Bone took a deep breath, focusing his magic and the void tied with it into a single portion of the hoof. He wanted to see if he could consume just the trim of the golden armor.
Consume.
A horrific screeching came from the metal as it twisted and cracked. Shy immediately scraped the gauntlet from his hooves and backed away on the pedestal, his wings opening for balance as he teetered on the edge. After a few seconds, the horrid sound ceased.
Both Shy Sprint and Bone examined the gauntlet, noting that the outer edges of the armor had corroded away leaving only the gold of the armor safe.
Shy shivered, "I'm glad I threw that thing away from me, now." His ears flattened as another thought crossed his mind, "Do you think I'll get in trouble for the armor being damaged?"
Bone took a moment to register what Shy had just said, his head slowly turning to face the pegasus. "I think you're past worrying about that at this point, don't you?"
"Hey Bone!" A shrill filly voice shouted from above, "Who's this?"
Scenic landed softly on the ground, a stray feather fluttering away as her wings folded. "New friend?"
The Royal and Necromancer regarded each other for a moment. They both nodded.
"Seems like it."
Bone's eyes narrowed for a moment, hidden by his hood. I'll see if you betray me, Shy Sprint. If you do, you won't live long enough to regret it. Until I can be sure, I'll play your game.
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The captain is gonna get himself and a lot of ponies killed if he doesn't pull his head out of his backside.
IT's fine for me. everyone needs a break every now and then. I hope you had a happy Halloween.
Shy Sprint seems like a distant ancestor of Fluttershy.
With how very suspicious and untrusting Bone is, I'm worried that he's going to become way too cynical and eventually fall into his void. At least we know his healing ability works on other ponies, so that's a plus.
Yay! New chapter!
The captain is becoming distrustful of Celestia. Given what happened to Luna, I can see where he's coming from, even if his conclusions are wrong.
Bone is starting to see that actions speak louder than words. He's saved lives, and ponies are starting to notice. While I still foresee a lot of conflict ahead, perhaps it won't be quite as bad. He'll have advocates.
I love how calm Shy Sprint is when he loses his sight. It looks like Bone has discovered something no other necromancer knew: heal. Given the needed selfish behavior of necromancers needed for survival, most probably never really considered it.
Bone should tell Tia to rein in Pure Intent before he does something stupid, or before he outright defies her for being corrupted or something.
And now, the set is complete; a thousand years into the future, Celestia will look back and realize, Bone Marrow truly is touched by the fates, he has protected and aided direct ancestors of virtually all of the Element Bearers. These selfless acts of good committed in the short term, will go on to facilitate something far greater; and Celestia will likely come to wonder, wether or not Bone Marrow may in fact be, an unwitting agent of the very forces of destiny itself.
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Good chapter, really like the story, Keep it up!
It appears necromancy entails the ability to read any written word, if the book on necromancy is another thing to go by.
Ahhh nice to see Bone making friends with ye olde butterpony
Happy to see a new chapter, glad to see Bone not trusting strangers either.
Given he has finished reading the book and it doesn't mention necromancy's power to heal general wounds... (We have seen him heal someone other than himself from a wound he didn't cause, right?) ...I wonder if Princess Celestia knows about this ability?
Also I don't why it took so long to point out but given Granny Smith apparently living a 1000 years, I assume Bone will meet her again, at least to make something like her living so long possible.
Edit:
So True! 👍
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Definitely. One can only hope.
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Good observation, I somehow just overlooked Joe's menu with nothing more than a shrug.
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Wait when?
I see Granny Smith - Applejack, and after "MyLittleTimeLord" comment, Shy Sprint - FlutterShy, and maybe Scenic as Rainbow?...
Could you help clarify, please?
Pure Intent's intent doesn't seem very pure.
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Wouldn't that be only half? I only recognize Pie, Apple, and Shy.
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No, that’s all of them. Sanny seems to have a really good job hiding them in plain sight.
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He's a zealot who only sees a necromancer to be destroyed, not a foal who wants to be left alone.
...i kinda hope that knight is actually being truthful...
I'm always happy when this updates.
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The others don't have as obvious names, but have all been confirmed by 'word of god' on the discord server.
Bright Idea is an ancestor of the Sparkle family; while Radiance is an ancestor of the Belle family.
But most of all, we have known that Scenic Sights, is Rainbow Dash's ancestor, for some time now, and the parrellels in their personalities are not hard to see, also Scenic's coat is light blue, and her eyes are magenta.
8506607
As well we now have fluttershy's ancestor
The Evil Mc Muffins trying to attack the Author with her glorious writing! They should rot in Tartarus!
Also good to see you are back and well!
I once played around with the idea of having one of my primary OC be called Shield Wall XD
Didn't feel right to me back then, so seeing the name brought it back to my mind. Kinda weird seeing it and feeling like it fits well to the pony who has the name
He is going to screw everything up, huh?
Two whole days without updates?! Burn the heretic!
Your update schedule is phenomenal - no need to worry if you don't update for a week or two. Nice chapter.
I love this story. Don't worry if you don't update for a couple days man, a story this good earns its author a good rest. Just don't let those days turn into weeks, and weeks to months. Thats when we get roudy and worried.
I hope bone adds his own spells to the "Necronomicon: Natural Born Edition"
It would be really cool if he learned some shadow magic too. Not dark magic, that usually taints a non-natural user. I mean like falling into your own shadow and the shadow of others, as well as shadow gates, (think long distance teleport frames or the ones from kingdom hearts) that would be so cool. Not this early in his life though. Perhaps in the time he gets to live life with Scenic.
Do you think he could teach her some magic too? Some non unicorn magic like silent and shadowed flight? It would be so cool!
Hmm, took me a bit to realize Bone was making certain eh pony’s name wasn’t an assumed or fake name. That’s smart. By looking through their eyes, he confirmed the name was genuine.
Someone already posted the original advanced darkness
Just thought I'd share a ponified version of it if anyone hasn't seen it.
The guard's an ancestor of fluttershy right?
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Shy Sprint (aka: Run, Rush, Dash, etc.) makes me think he may be a common ancestor of both Flutters and RD, and I recall a very enthusiastic tailor making his and his skeletons current clothes back at the manor, who would likely be Raritys. Only one I don't remember seeing a plausible ancestor for yet is Twilight. May well have forgotten/missed the hint for hers or it may be coming-up anyway, which would make it six out-of six.
I want to say that Granny Smith was a friend of a necromancer at one point, since she is alive during Bone's time and alive 1000 years later.
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"Pure" and "good" do not correlate.
His intent is pure - it is devoid of any contaminants like mercy or discretion.
Pure Intent..... The path to hell is paved by pure intentions.
Good chapter! I can tell just how much thought went into this
I don't think he's gotta worry about that. If anything, he could trap that pony in a thing and just consume him for all eternity. That's what I would do. I am loyal, not kind. But loyal to a fault.
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Looking for a unicorn you say
one with a thing for study, and a penchant for extreme trust of particularly close friends, you say.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm∞mmmm
"You can heal the living if you want. They tend to like you for it. -Bones"
Boom. More nice guys.
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His intent is the preservation of Equestria, even if he is making erroneous leaps of logic. Necromancers, even by their own accounts are time bombs, and if Celestia's sudden shift in demeanor really was Bone somehow circumventing the alicorn immunity to harmful magical manipulation then his paranoia would be justified. These are tumultuous times he is living in and things are going increasingly upside down. One of the immortal diarchs who has protected Equestria for centuries goes berzerk, murdering numerous ponies and attempts a solo coup which Sparks a bloody civil war. This emboldens bandits and raiders alike to do what they do. In times like this, people will cling to what they "know" above all else like a drowning sailor clings to a life preserver.
For Pure Intent the "fact" that necromancers are all inherently evil is his life preserver. His fixed point when even the constants that were the Two Sisters seem to be failing.
sorry ment to press preview and wouldn't let me add a video for some reason.
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or
3:27-3:55
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That's what I though on the eye section!
Well that was a huge risk with the consuming part, glad it worked out thou. Xd
Nopony from Galloping Glades ever did? Nor Obscenely Rich either?
Evidently paranoia is an occupational side effect.
d'awwwwwww <3
Is... is that Fluttershy's ancestor?
Poor kid can't even trust Ye Olde Fluttershoo
More friends is good, but it is indeed troubling the tome was not more... Complete.
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Well, I think when Celestia killed the previous owner he had been the only one to write in it. That being said, by the time Bone is done, it will be FULL. It just went over the basics though. Hell, Bone may even find another way to counter the void.
OOOOH
New friend uwu
If this somehow works out he would have more than his love at his side. I wish it will be so
Celestia is a ass... Really hope Bone and his young love might chance her one day...