Divergent Destinies

by Leondude

Chapter 15 - The Tale of Grogar

Twilight observed the recently resurrected Rigorous Mortcloth. Rather than a still-decaying corpse that she was used to seeing when practising her necromancy, Rigorous was a flesh and blood stallion with a grey coat and slightly dishevelled black mane and tail with a coffin for a cutie mark. She marvelled at her work as she was now this close to bringing her parents back. Now all she had to do was ask the reborn stallion some questions to see if his mental faculties were in order.

"Is this some kind of practical joke?!" Mortcloth asked frantically.

"I'm afraid not," Twilight replied, "Now, without looking at your own gravestone, what is your name?"

"Rigorous Mortcloth," Mortcloth replied.

"He took a quick peek at his grave just when you finished bringing him back," Spike pointed out.

"Okay, and how old are you?" Twilight asked.

"Thirty-three," Mortcloth replied.

"And what was your job before your untimely departure?" Twilight asked.

"I was a mortician," Mortcloth replied.

"Figures," Spike deadpanned.

"Do you remember how you died?" Twilight asked.

"Couldn't we go for an easier question?" Mortcloth asked, "Like how I got my cutie mark, perhaps?"

"Since it's possible for some ponies to have the same cutie mark, I'm really not interested in that," Twilight replied, "Although it does show how intact your memory is if you can remember something as far back as your cutie mark. Now, about your death..."

"It was just another day at work," Mortcloth explained, "I was putting a Mr. Casket Case in a suit tailored for the occasion then, all of a sudden, he got up and lunged at me. I tried to pry him off but the grip he had on my neck grew tighter and tighter."

Spike burped out the obituary containing the details regarding Mortcloth's death, which Twilight levitated over to herself.

"Death by strangulation," Twilight muttered to herself, "Yeah, that checks out."

As she finished reading the obituary, Twilight looked over to one of the candles, which were still lit. In order to really test whether Mortcloth was actually a living pony once more and not just a highly-advanced undead, she levitated the candle over to Mortcloth's flank and watched as it was slowly engulfed in flames.

"Does anypony smell something funny?" Mortcloth asked.

Spike pointed to Mortcloth's flank, to which Mortcloth turned his head around and saw his now immolated flank.

"Oh," Mortcloth said before fainting.

---

As Xindisious quietly read the Librum ex Mortequus, he heard the door burst open and turned to see his faithful student and her equally faithful assistant, carrying a stallion with a charred flank.

"Another one of your experiments, Miss Sparkle?" Xinidisious asked as he looked at the half-burnt stallion.

"I just wanted to find out if he was a living, breathing pony again or just another mortally-challenged subject that will turn into a pile of bones and viscera within a week," Twilight replied, "Mainly by testing if he could feel pain."

Xindisious tilted his head, "And did he?"

"No, he didn't," Twilight replied, "Spike literally had to point out to him that he was on fire."

"Well, you certainly aren't leaving him with me, Miss Sparkle," Xindisious said sternly, "There are still traces of your last subject on my rug. It is fortunate that the princess doesn't visit here that often otherwise I would have had my license revoked years ago. Speaking of which, just in case you are wondering where I will be at the beginning of next week, Celestia has invited me over to the Grand Galloping Gala."

Spike snickered at the thought of Xindisious going to the gala, which earned him a glare from both Twilight and Xindisious.

"For the record, I'm only going in order to keep up appearances," Xindisious stated, "It would be annoying for some of my colleagues to intrude while I'm working, thinking I have perished."

Xindisious levitated over a book and placed it in front of Twilight and Spike.

"Since you are recuperating quicker than I predicted, I have a task for you," Xindisious said as he opened the book, "Are you familiar with the legend of Grogar?"

"I wouldn't really call it a legend but yeah, I have heard of Grogar," Twilight replied, "My foalsitter used to tell stories of his 'conquests' every Nightmare Night when I was a filly."

Xindisious chuckled, "I assure you Grogar was very real. And he was indeed as powerful as the tales made him out to be."

Twilight scoffed, "With respect, Master Xindisious, I don't think he was that powerful."

"Oh, but he was," Xindisious said, "Not only could he bend nature to his will, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. You see, Miss Sparkle, his army wasn't just filled with zombies and other undead abominations, but also had living, breathing, ponies. Souls that he pulled from oblivion so they could come back in mortal flesh."

Twilight's ears perked at that statement, "Are you saying he actually fully brought ponies back to life?"

"Yes," Xindisious replied, "Long before he delved into the darker side of magic, he used to be a healer for his village."

"Then why didn't he use his power to bring everypony in his ranks back instead of leaving them as monsters?" Twilight asked, "Assuming he did have an army of ponies."

"Because an undead army would be much harder to destroy than an army of the living," Xindisious dryly replied, "And he only reserved full resurrection for generals that earned his respect. He even brought some enemies he admired back as a reward for being a worthy foe. And as long as they weren't killed in battle, the renewed ponies could live for a century before he allowed them to depart for good. Certainly longer than a week, don't you agree?"

Even though she had hope that what her mentor was saying was true, Twilight gave Xindisious a sceptical look, "If Grogar was all-powerful and very much real, what happened to him?"

"Such was his power that the only thing that could truly bring him fear was the loss of that power," Xindisious replied, "and ultimately, that’s exactly what happened the moment he took on an apprentice."

Xindisious flicked the pages of the book until he stopped at an image of the Bewitching Bell.

"Foreseeing his apprentice's treachery and his own defeat at the hooves of Gusty the Great, Grogar sealed his essence in what is now known as the Bewitching Bell," Xindisious explained, "But while it prevented him from ever being fully destroyed, it was also his greatest weakness. When Gusty took the bell from him and sealed it in an enchanted cave above Mount Everhoof, the magic within the cave prevented Grogar from regaining his physical form."

"Wait a minute," Spike butted in, "Are you saying Grogar was a lich?!"

"Correct," Xindisious replied, "One does not become that powerful without discarding his mortality first. Though regarding his choice of phylactery, you'd think he would have been wise enough to have picked something smaller and less conspicuous, such as a ring."

Xindisious closed the book and faced his protege, "If you can bring me the bell, we can use Grogar's power to bring your parents back."

Twilight put her hoof to her mouth in thought, "Wouldn't that result in Grogar being free?"

"Not exactly," Xindisious replied, "Given how powerful he was in life and how long he was imprisoned within Mount Everhoof, it will take a long time for him to return to the mortal realm. During that time, he will be willing to use whatever power contained in the bell to grant you whatever it is you desire. Within reason, of course, considering he's not some magic jinn."

Xindisious conjured a portal to Mount Everhoof. Even looking through the portal, Twilight could feel the strong winds of the mountain blowing against her.

"I trust you are up to this task," Xindisious said.

Author's Note:

Guess what was a partial influence for this chapter.

Oh, and apologies with this chapter is later than usual. I had a busy week last week. Though this week was also busy too.