Chapter 9 - The Return
Light Flow was happier than he had ever been.
Though, he hadn't been nearly as happy a week ago.
A week ago, when he had returned from his impromptu trip to the forest.
After emerging from the shadowed groves within, It had taken him a moment to adjust to the relatively blinding sunlight. It had burned into his retinas, and he had to close his eyes before they began to water. He raised a hoof up in front of his face and just sat there, trying to get used to the feeling of sunlight on his fur.
With the extreme absence of sunlight in the forest, he had become quite used to feeling cold. The warm light on his short coat almost burned in comparison, and he wondered for a moment if he should look into obtaining some sort of cloak. Though he still couldn't see, he felt a small smile grow on his face at the thought.
A real villain like him should have a suitably dastardly outfit.
A real villain. That's what he was now!
His vision began to return to him, and he immediately flicked his eyes down to his flank.
It was still there. He hadn't been hallucinating again. He had a cutie mark.
He had a Necromancy cutie mark.
He giggled drunkenly under his breath as he swung his body around, trying to see it from different angles. He noticed the pony skull sitting in the book was specifically a unicorn's, and he admired the addition of the horn. He thought the spiraling bone structure jutting from the forehead really added something to the whole picture; like it was just screaming: 'Magic!'
He realized that a pony skull on a book didn't automatically mean 'Necromancer', but it was just like he knew.
It was sort of like how a pegasus instinctively knows how to flap their wings, or a unicorn inherently knows how to draw power from their inner fount.
It was instinctive. It was inherent.
He just knew.
Unfortunately, as he had been busy staring down at his rear, he hadn't noticed the two ponies approaching him from the direction of town.
"Well there you are, you varmint!"
He heard a familiar southern twang ring out loudly amidst the relative quiet, and turned his head up towards two orange hooves as they approached. It was Applejack, and she had another pony with her; a big red stallion who he vaguely remembered as her brother. The first time he had met him, he had been quite talkative; but recently he had been far quieter than what he assumed was normal.
He smirked as the orange pony approached rapidly, her brother trailing after her. He glimpsed a stormy expression on her face, but he figured she was just sore that she was wrong about him.
He squinted at the approaching ponies, noticing that something was... different?
He could have been imagining it, but he swore that he could see a small orb floating at the middle of each pony's chest.
He looked closer as the ponies stopped in front of him. Yes, there was definitely a small glowing orb floating around inside of each pony. There was something familiar about those orbs...
His eyes widened as he recognized them. It was exactly like the green sphere he had seen in the Timberwolf!
Their orbs weren't green though. The one inside Applejack was glowing with a faint golden light, and pulsing at a very steady pace. He could also see something deeper inside, some other flash of color, but he couldn't quite make it out.
The one inside her brother was a very light brown, and it quivered solemnly. Unlike his sister's, his didn't pulse. It just sat there, steadfast and strong.
Seeing the orbs again filled him with that strange desire from before. A whispering in his head that told him to just reach out and take them.
He blinked his eyes rapidly, and shook his head. He could worry about the spheres later. He had bragging to do. He turned his head up, stopping it at about level with Applejack's.
He opened his mouth, ready to boast about his new cutie mark, before he felt something strike him in the face.
His mouth gaped open from where his head had tilted to the side, and he reached a hoof up to prod at his stinging cheek. He worked his suddenly aching jaw, and moved his head back around to stare with wide eyes at Applejack from where she stood staring at him with a rapidly reddening face.
"Now what d'you think y'all have been doin'? Ya can't just proclaim to the whole darn world 'bout yer intent to traipse off to the most cursed place on Equus, an' then not come back!"
Applejack seemed to be upset. Though he couldn't understand why she was screaming at him so loudly with that red face of hers. He idly noticed her tendency to sink deeper into her accent when she was mad, and thought about telling her to calm down.
Though... his mother always told him to never try to tell a raging mare to calm down. It was probably best to just let her blow off steam for now, and he would apologize when she was done. He sat his butt down on the ground, and prepared himself for stinging ears as Applejack took in another deep breath.
"Ah was sure y'all were just blowin' steam, but yer mother came by the farm this mornin' askin' where y'all were, an' ah didn't know what to tell her!"
"Land sakes Light Flow! Ya' got family to think about! Ya' can't jes' go off and spend th' night in a haunted forest, lettin' yer poor mother an' everypony else think y'all were DEAD!"
He grimaced as he noticed tears begin to bunch up in the corners of her eyes. He flicked his gaze over to her brother standing just behind her. He just shrugged and shook his head.
"Very helpful, thanks."
"And y'all know the worst part? Ah lied to her! Ah told her you had spent th' night over, and that y'all had gone off somewhere in th' mornin'!"
"I.. I.. I thought ah had killed you!" Her face seemed to scrunch in on itself as the words came out, and she sniffed loudly. She seemed to be losing steam quickly, and he readied himself for a well-practiced apology.
"It was 'cause o' me that y'all went out into th' forest! When you didn't come back, I... I..."
She seemed to lose her voice at this point, and was just making little choking noises. He couldn't see her face from where she had tilted it down, but he assumed she was crying.
He sighed, and opened his mouth for the long awaited apology, but it stalled on his lips as he felt something crash into him.
Extrapolating from what he could see out through a sea of orange and yellow, he guessed that Applejack had rushed forward and hugged him.
Smells like apples.
The orange pony's embrace was tight, and he felt her soft orange fur rub comfortably against his. He belatedly realized that he was filthy, and thought about telling Applejack about it before her coat was ruined.
He sighed softly, realizing that she probably wouldn't care. She lived on a farm after all. He reached his hooves up and returned her warm hug, knowing it would probably be rude to just sit there.
He felt Applejack clutch him tighter in response, and idly wondered how much of this he could survive.
Or stand.
He felt something wet leaking into his mane, and he looked out past hers over at her brother. He shot a pleading look at the red stallion, but he just shook his head again. He lowered his face into a glare, before he heard muffled words drift up from the pony in his hooves.
"I'm sorry sugarcube. I didn't mean to make you feel like y'all had to prove anything."
He sighed softly, and internally cursed his luck.
"Why did I have to go and make a friend?"
He licked his lips and finally took his chance to speak. "I'm... I'm sorry too, Orange Hooves. I didn't mean to make anypony worry about me. I just lost track of time."
He pried the pony off him, and held her at about hoof's length. Her face had returned to its usual orange color, though her eyes were still a little red.
He stared into those red, runny, emerald eyes as she sniffled a small line of snot back into her nose. He shuddered slightly at the sight of it, and didn't dare to look down at where her head had been resting on his coat.
Brushing the sanitary concern aside, he smiled softly and spoke again: "But don't you see? I did prove myself, look!"
He let the orange pony go, and turned around to show her his new cutie mark. He heard a soft pair of gasps, and cheered internally as a larger smile grew on his face.
He knew they were impressed. He had ventured into the most feared place for miles, and come out with the greatest special talent ever!
He waited there, butt turned toward the pair; as he waited for them to comment on his incredible mark.
The silence was deafening. He couldn't even hear any birds.
It was like he was back in the forest.
His smile slowly slipped off his face in favor of a nervous frown. "W-Well?" He called out behind him. He was seriously debating whether he should turn around when he finally heard a voice cutting through the hush.
"Oh sugarcube... That's.. That's great!" Applejack was speaking quietly, probably because she had just been crying. That was it.
"Um... Sugarcube... I'm sure you're real happy right now, but... Don't you think it's a mite... grim?"
He frowned at the word. Grim? Of course it was grim. He was a Necromancer for Celestia's sake!
He took a moment to wonder if he should be invoking Celestia's holy name for a topic like this.
He turned around to stare at the uncertain faces of the apple siblings, ready with a scathing reply about not judging other ponies' cutie marks. He opened his mouth and prepared to give them a lecture they would nev-
"Well, what does it mean?"
Huh?
He stared, open-mouthed and mid-word, at the large red stallion with the short mane who was staring at him with a furrowed brow. "W-What?" he managed to stammer out, as he tried to collect his suddenly scattered thoughts.
"Well whether it's grim or not, it don't matter." The stallion spoke with an air of caution, as if approaching a wild animal. "What does matter is its meaning. What's your special talent?"
Light Flow felt all of his prepared remarks empty from his mind. His jaw flapped uselessly as he searched desperately for words.
It was then that he remembered three very important things.
One. Necromancy was very illegal.
Two. The Apples were a very traditional family.
Three. There hadn't been a Necromancer for over one thousand years.
These facts all collided simultaneously in his mind, leaving him with one solitary thought. His eyes flicked down to what might as well have been a target on his flank, and he felt all of the moisture leave his mouth.
"I'm in trouble"
Okay. Okay he could handle this. The Apples were waiting for an answer. He needed to answer. He would just tell them the-
No. He couldn't tell the truth, was he stupid?! That kind of honesty could get him arrested! Or maybe killed? At the very least he would get in trouble, and he didn't want that.
He had to lie.
He smacked his lips, and breathed in and out erratically. They were staring at him strangely, he had to speak. He just had to say something, anything.
"Speak you fool!"
"Archeology!"
Two sets of eyes widened in sudden understanding, and Applejack let out a small 'ah' sound.
He smiled woodenly at the nodding ponies as he felt a small trail of sweat drip down the back of his neck.
He had no idea where 'Archeology' had come from, it had just appeared in his mouth. He hoped they didn't ask him about it. He didn't know anything about-
"So how'd you get it, sugarcube?"
He silently cursed Applejack and her dumb penchant for politeness. She was so considerate, asking about something so special to him.
"Why couldn't she be rude?!"
He was going to have to make something up, but what?
"Well, um... You see, the, uh, funny thing about my cutie mark is... it's really funny actually.... Um...." He knew he sounded stupid, but he didn't care. He had to come up with something to tell the inquisitive pony...
!
Of course! It was perfect! Cover the truth with a half lie!
He lowered his voice to a near whisper: "Well, my cutie mark story is something alright."
This was perfect, absolutely perfect. This would work beautifully.
"While I was in the Everfree, I found something... something disturbing..."
Two sets of heads leaned in closer. This was it, the deadly hook.
"I found bones. Pony bones."
He watched as the Apple siblings leaned back, eyes wide. He saw Applejack take a sideways look at her brother, and he could tell that she was regretting asking.
But he was going to give her what she asked for.
He began speaking loudly and confidently, attempting to sound as grand as possible.
"I was lost in the darkened woods, wandering for what felt like forever; when suddenly! I caught a glimpse of white. I smelled something on the air, something foul and sickening. It was the stench of decay."
"I followed my senses to what I thought was a small white pole jutting oddly from the ground. It was long and sharp. I went to dig it up, wondering what it could be attached to."
"And that's when I found it. It was a terrible sight, almost too horrible to describe..!" From the corner of his eye, he could see Applejack breath a silent breath of what he assumed was relief.
"But... I'll try anyway." He felt a sly grin grow on his face, sure that it would happen any second now.
"T-That's enough sugarcube!" Applejack's voice rang out at exactly his estimated time, and he morphed his face into one of outward surprise.
"Gotcha."
"But didn't you want to hear about my cutie mark?" He asked in a hurt tone. He looked down at the ground with a downcast expression, doing his best to mime the movements of a colt who had just been told his passion was uninteresting. Though, he supposed that's what he was?
Lies were always so confusing.
"Uh, w-well sugarcube, don't you think it's time you were heading home?" She stammered out nervously. He could see in those red-rimmed emerald eyes that she really didn't want to listen to him wax on about corpses. He internally celebrated for a moment, happy that he had averted the disaster.
But that's when he again noticed the rings around Applejack's eyes. The more he looked at them, the more he didn't think they were from crying. She must have been exhausted, he realized. It couldn't have been easy waiting for him to come home, he figured. He noticed the way she seemed to sway slightly on her hooves, and reasoned that she must not have had much sleep last night.
His eyes glanced over to the seemingly uninterested dark green eyes of Applejack's stoic brother. But now Light Flow was sure he knew what was going on, and the reason he was here at all.
"Waiting to take her home?"
"I think you should be getting home too, Orange Hooves." He spoke softly, a contrast with his previously projected voice. He wasn't entirely sure, but the feeling welling up in his chest seemed to be pity.
He really hadn't meant to make her worry, no matter how much he had wanted to prove her wrong.
He reached a hoof out to place it on her withers, and gave a small smile at the flustered look on her face. "I'll get going now." He returned his hoof to his side, and walked out past Applejack. He eyed her brother as he walked by, staring at the orb in his chest for a moment before passing him by.
"Light Flow!"
He stopped in his tracks as he heard Applejack call out from where she stood a few hoof-lengths away. He turned around, and fixed a questioning gaze on her. What did she want from him now?
Applejack seemed to flinch back from his gaze, and whatever words she had prepared stalled in her throat as she made several noises of consternation.
She finally seemed to find her voice, and leaned her head forward a bit: "I-I'll see you around, alright?" She licked her lips, and her gaze dipped back down to her hooves. She rubbed one against the other in a very familiar fashion, and he saw the golden orb in her chest begin to pulse more rapidly.
He watched with weary eyes. He wasn't quite sure why she had stopped him just to say goodbye. He had thought they had it all wrapped up pretty nicely without needing to say it outright. He gave her a nod, though he wasn't sure she could see it, and turned back towards the town.
"Now to face my mother.."
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Cutie Marks are a very prevalent symbol in pony society. This story honestly brings up something I wish would be brought up more.
Similar to how Cozy had a cutie mark in manipulation, Light somehow has gotten a cutie mark deemed 'bad' by pony society. The idea that a colt/filly could be shunned for a cutie mark they have no control over really rubs me the wrong way.
Or maybe I'm looking too much into it. Idk
note: manipulation is bad lol, not just in pony societyI'm very interested in seeing what happens now with Light Flow being able to see a Pony's soul/magic/whatever. Great work on these last two chapters!
10761572
While I love that idea, and would love to explore that theme in this story: I'm not sure I have the writing skills necessary to implement such a subtle topic while also telling the story I have planned.
The idea of writing a character trying to reshape the way ponies see special talents is incredibly alluring, but I just can't do it. I don't have the finesse to do it justice.
10761573
Thanks a ton!
Personally, I think my last two chapters have been scattered at best. I don't feel like they've had the same cohesion my other chapters have had, because I felt totally lost while writing them.
It was sort of like I was just throwing words at a page, instead of crafting a story.
I'm really hoping I do better from here on out, though I appreciate your enjoyment nonetheless.
10761582
It's alright, practice makes perfect after all
10761582
if it gets too stressfull to try and write conflict then you could write it so that there is an obscure law that makes it so he can legaly practice his talent but must enrole in celestias school and be mentored that way by her. that way you could have him learn a bit more about necromancy from a sorce that proberbly saw some in the past and you could have celestia help him grow in ways that still make him as villen but allow him to understand that he doesnt need to be over the top.
just some thoughts. your doing good so far either way
10761778
That sounds like a bit of a cop-out, don't you think?
And besides, I don't have a lot of trouble writing conflict, it's more that a plot thread about society and cutie marks would involve quite a bit of knowledge of educated theory on social dynamics and class structure. At least, for it to be any good.
Don't worry, there is conflict planned, but it's a bit more vanilla than commentary on pony society and underlying ostracization of specific groups.
Thank you for awesome story! Really looking forward to see what else you can give!
Well he seemed to be more mellowed out now at least with his ego swelled up, I wonder how he will go about exploring his new powers and if elderly ponies are going to be afraid of him
10761894
Thank you for the comment!
I'm also looking forward to seeing what I have to give!
oh I have reached the latest chapter, that's surprising.
I like ware this going hope to see more.
10762917
Glad you like it!
10761793
Meh doesn't SEEM like a cop out to me. After all, how can you fight something you don't know even the bare basics of? Researchers have been known to look into, and in some cases use, otherwise illegal materials and methods in order to study them and their effects. Even though its illegal to own assault weapons in many countries, they still have a military. It's all about the level of oversight.
10776146
It does make sense logically, you're right.
But from a narrative standpoint, it comes across as a sort of deus ex machina. The kind of contrived resolution that is extremely unsatisfying due to the complete removal of tension.
Plus, It's just not where I wanted the story to go.
also i'm possibly a huge hypocrite
Aw, nice that he finally admits to having a friend.
The Archeology aspect is an interesting twist. At first I thought the occupations he could use to cover himself would be an Anatomy/Bone Doctor, a Gravekeeper or an Undertaker (the ponies that deal with bodies before they're put in coffins). Another idea I saw mentioned by someone earlier was a horror writer... It'd be pretty cool if this eventually leads him to checking out forgotten temples and stuff like in Darring Do. :D
I can see it didn’t stay like AuroraDawn, but for what it’s worth, both ‘moods’, so to speak, of this story are quite enjoyable.
Aww, they're pretty cute together.
Oh, he is VERY different.
No more overthinking, and almost no fear.
the necromancer awakens to his manipulative calling, will his previous self before the mark come back to bite him in the ass when people notice the stark contrast? Or is it expected that some cutie marks simply change the pony? Wonder if that previous attitude will come back as some kind of force acting against his current self like some kind of ptsd split personality thing
10931632
My own personal outlook on the topic is that cutie marks are a matter of destiny. They shouldn't come with any major personality change because they should already be exactly what they were always supposed to be. Instead of having the outlook that a pony gets a cutie mark in cooking because they really like cooking, I prefer to think that they like cooking because their cutie mark was always going to be cooking.
Light Flow seems to be some kind of exception, but I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a pretty weird kid anyway, so I don't think anyone will think it's any stranger than a colt trying to act even more grown up than he already had been.
10931893
Doesn't that kinda give the middle finger to any sense of free will that anyone could have in this world? Having a major part of your life seemingly predetermined like that?
11005060
Well, I suppose it does!
Of course, I wouldn't really think of it in those terms. Sure, a pony is predetermined to have a fixed aptitude and a certain picture on their butt, but that's not too far off from how it works in the real world. Let's say that I happen to be really good at cooking. How would I know that I wasn't always predetermined to be good at cooking no matter what? Furthermore, just because i'm really good at cooking, does that necessarily mean that I have to become a chef?
I think that ponies will always have a certain cutie mark, no matter what; and that through not so random chance, they'll always eventually be put into a circumstance where they have the opportunity to discover that mark. If a pony will one day have a mark in politics, then somewhere along the way, they'll randomly find that they enjoy debate or something. None of that means that they have to enjoy their mark once they get it or that they have to become something relating to that mark.
That sort of flies a bit in the face of what I said in that particular comment, but I never express myself very well anyway. Even now, I'm sure I've misrepresented my argument in some horribly stupid way; though I think I did alright for the time being.
oh also thanks for the comment
11005102
No problem it was interesting hearing your thoughts on the subject
It's always nice to pick the author's brain some on topics, gives us readers something to chew on and think about.
I appreciate you replying and entertaining my ramblings
daaww
~AJ has a crush~
11104409
what the fuck
It's a good topic to study though, it gives you a ready-made excuse for why you're digging in a given location, and you'll learn where all the important bodies are buried.
What? No, I totally have a reason to have this dead body in my back yard! I’m an archeologist! An archeologists digs up buried bones you say? Well let me grab a shovel and bury this body, then I can dig it up again!
11406613
Plus, archeology, paleontology, and geology would be quite useful fields for a necromancer to study just for ideas. I mean, reanimating a dinosaur isn't really gonna work, since fossils are just rocks in the shape of bones and any of the original organic material has been lost to time. But something like limestone is the compressed shells of a multitude of ancient undersea creatures, and that's used in quite a lot of building materials, including cement. Imagine what a skilled enough necromancer could do to a concrete building if they turned a sizable proportion of it into mollusks.
Archeology makes a lot of sense, as one digs up the past in the form of ruins, the other digs up the past in the form of resurrecting the dead
It's finally happening! Necromancy time!