My Little Necromancer

by Midnight Moon

Chapter 5: Recovery

“... almost drawn too deep... fortunate to arrive when we did...”

“... could take anywhere up to a month to recover, even with transfusions...”

“... attacks are increasing... move them to bigger cities...”

“... initial waves were easy to repel... unable to fly, which is good...”

“Hush now, I think she’s waking up.”

She felt like she drank too much spiced cider, and her limbs felt like lead. Nonetheless, Twilight managed to pry her eyes open. At first she had to squint, but her friend’s faces slowly faded into view.

“Oh good, you are awake,” Fluttershy said. “We’ve all been so worried for you.”

“Thank heavens you’re alright, darling,” Rarity said. “You gave us quite the shock when you passed out right in front of everyone. Poor Spike was worried sick, especially when we found out you were using your lifeforce back there.”

“Sorry to make you all worry like that,” Twilight apologized. “I wanted to make sure the rest of you would be safe. Especially you, Spike.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay now,” Spike said, hugging her. “Don’t make me worry like that again.”

“I’ll try not to.”

“It’s rare to see a pony recover so quickly after what you’ve been through,” Princess Celestia said, entering the room. “I’d thought that you would remain in a coma for a good while longer. It seems my worries were unfounded.”

“Princess!” Twilight tried to get up to bow, but her head started pounding like a jackhammer, and she fell back down on her bed.

“Take it easy, Twilight,” Celestia said. “You’ve been out for two weeks now. It will take time for your energy to return. Just focus on recovering for now.”

“Two weeks?”

“She’s right,” Rainbow Dash said. “You were in pretty bad shape. It would have been worse of Princess Celestia and Shining hadn’t shown up when they did.”

“Shining Armor is the one you should thank,” Celestia said. “He saw the smoke coming from Ponyville, and was worried, so he had a scout fly over to investigate. When he reported back, Shining insisted on leading a regiment to rescue you.”

“I’ll have to do something special for him,” Twilight said. “Where is he anyways?”

“He’s still leading the defense,” Celestia said, furrowing her brows as she did. “Trixie’s undead started their assault several hours ago.”

“What? Trixie’s here already?”

“Not in the flesh,” Applejack said. “If she was, ah’d deal with her myself for everything she’s done.”

“Finding her is currently our top priority,” Celestia explained, “But it’s been increasingly difficult as of late. Many towns and cities across Equestria have fallen under siege. With the Guard stretched thin across our lands, we’ve had to evacuate many smaller towns to major population centers, where they can be more easily defended. The loss and conversion rate from the initial attacks were... near total.”

Near total? The thought was almost too much to bear. How many ponies have died? How many have watched as their friends and loved ones were torn apart, only to be raised to repeat the carnage? How many ponies were attacked by ponies they once knew? How many foals could only watch as their family died? How many mothers lost their children to the undead? How many would have to move on after watching their entire life violently torn away from them?

Trixie had moved far beyond misguided revenge. This was full-on madness. Not Nightmare Moon, not Queen Chrysalis, not even Discord have ever killed, and certainly not on such a massive scale.

“There is only one punishment for ponies such as her,” Twilight said, not realizing she had spoke aloud.

“And it will be delivered,” Celestia said. “I will do it myself. There will be nothing left of her.”

Hate. That was all there was in her mentor’s voice. Pure, unending hatred. It was completely alien to the Princess. She was angry at Discord when he stole the Elements of Harmony. She was furious at Chrysalis when she revealed herself and her plan to rule Equestria. But hate? Not once in Twilight’s entire life had she noticed even a hint of it in Celestia. And with the power of the sun at her command... it was too frightening to think about.

But as quickly as it came, it was replaced with her usual motherlike demeanor. “But now is not the time to think of such things. You should rest now, Twilight. After the ordeal you and your friends went through, it will be some time before you are well enough to leave.”

With that, Princess Celestia took her leave, likely returning to her throne room to organize the military. Twilight was already tired, despite only having just woken up. Spotting this, Rarity led the rest of her friends away, saying she’d need some quiet. Spike, however, stayed right at her side.

“It’s so good to see you awake again,” he said. “It was bad enough losing Owlowiscious. I don’t want to lose you too.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

The two of them simply embraced each other for a good while, happy just to be together. Despite everything that had happened, they were alive. The two of them were practically brother and sister. They would stick together through thick in thin.

Then sleep finally claimed Twilight, and, for once, no nightmares awaited her.

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She was famished.

Twilight’s empty stomach eventually woke her up, growling loud enough to be heard across the room. This also woke up Spike, who was sound asleep on the bed next to her. Waking up, the first thing he did was hop over to Twilight’s bed.

“Sounds like you’re hungry,” he said. “Almost thought that was an earthquake.”

“Didn’t mean to wake you up,” Twilight responded. “But yeah, I could probably use something to eat. Feels like I could eat an entire buffet.

“Gotcha, I’ll get you something to eat.”

Spike left, heading out to the kitchen. They had been together for nearly as long as she could remember. He was a faithful friend to be sure, possibly even matching Rainbow Dash in terms of loyalty.

Soon after Spike left, she heard the clank of armor coming from outside. From the door emerged her dear brother, Shining Armor. He wore the same armor as before, but it had seen lots of use recently. Still, the sight of her BBBFF filled her with joy. Shining rushed over, smiling.

“Twilight, so good to see you doing well!” he said. “I made sure to come over as soon as I heard you finally woke up.”

“Thank you so much, big brother,” Twilight said, hugging him. “Princess Celestia told me you were the one who found out what was happening in Ponyville.”

“You could see the smoke from a mile away. I couldn’t just let my little sister get hurt now, could I?”

“I suppose not. I’ll have to make it up to you somehow when I get better.”

“No need, Twily. That’s what big brothers are for.”

“Nonsense! You saved me and my friends back there. I have to do something.”

“If you say so. I just wish I could stay here with you longer.”

“Right, you’re still needed to lead the defense.”

“I won’t lie, Twily,” Shining said, frowning slightly. “Things aren’t looking as good as they could be. We’re under constant attack from the undead. We’ve got the superior position, and they can’t use magic or fly, but their numbers are nearly overwhelming, and they aren’t letting up. They’ve got us on the defensive. We’ve had to start sleeping in shifts.”

“I just... It’s still hard for me to believe it,” Twilight admitted. “Pinkie Pie was having one of her parties before all this started. I want to believe that this is all just some bad dream, but...”

“I know how you feel. I’ve already lost a lot of good men defending Canterlot. We have to burn their bodies, or they just become one of those things.”

“What could have drove Trixie to do this? I mean, revenge is one thing, but this is murder on a massive scale. How could she do this?”

“It’s better not to think about it. We’ve got some of our best trackers constantly looking for her. If we can deal with her, all this will be over.”

“I hope it’s over soon. I can’t imagine how many ponies are suffering because of her.”

“Too many. But you need to focus on the bright side. We’ve got most of the population moved to more defensible positions. After the initial chaos, we’ve managed to keep casualties to a minimum. And plenty of ponies have volunteered to help defend the cities and look for Trixie.”

“I wish I could help out. It doesn’t feel right, being stuck in bed while everypony else is doing their part.”

“You can help by focusing on your recovery. Knowing you’re safe is a weight off my mind.”

“Alright.”

“Am I interrupting something?” Spike asked, pushing along a cart from the kitchen. “I can wait outside of you two want to be alone.”

“Come on in, Spike,” Twilight said. “We were just talking. Whatever you brought, it smells delicious.”

“Sunflower sandwich with fruit salad and apple juice. I remember it being your favorite before we moved to Ponyville.”

“Thank you. Did you get yourself something to eat? I wouldn’t want you to go hungry.”

“Nah, I’m fine. Princess Celestia’s been letting me have a few gems from the treasury.”

“If you say so.”

“I really need to get going now,” Shining Armor said. “Wish I could stay longer, but somepony needs to lead the defense.”

“Okay... just be careful, alright?” Twilight said. “Don’t push yourself too hard. I’ll be waiting for you to visit again.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be sure to come again soon.”

With a final hug, Shining reluctantly left, glancing back on the way out the door. Twilight was still worried for him. Trixie’s undead had already proved themselves deadly, having killed dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of ponies. Her brother was stronger than most ponies, even within the Guard, but he was still mortal. He was not infallible. He could hurt. He could get killed. And even worse, if he did get killed, they’d have to burn him, or else he’d become one of the very monsters he fought against. She wasn’t sure which was worse.

“Don’t worry about him so much,” Spike said, practically reading her mind. “He’s not going to throw his life away or anything. He wouldn’t make you worry like that.

“Thanks, Spike,” she said in response. “It’s just hard not to, after everything I’ve seen.”

“I know. But Shining and the rest of the Guard know what they're doing. They've got all their training, and you've seen what they can do to a crowd of those things.”

“I guess you’re right. He’s not the type to throw his life away.”

Still, she couldn’t help but to worry for him. One lapse of judgment could be the end of her BBBFF. Wanting to get her mind off it, she decided to follow his advice and focus on getting better. At least then she could help him out. But first, she needed to eat.

Author's Note:

The next few chapters are going to be dialogue heavy, focusing more on character development and build-up. Eventually, there will be more action, but it's important to show how the characters react to everything that's going on, Twilight and Spike (being the main characters) especially.

Oh, and friendshipping.

Comments

[The Shade]

I am unsure of how to react.
Trixie is SUCH A CLICHÉ Necromancer, Take over the world with the help of demons and the dead? Bah.

[Still Wearing Black]

Nice to have give them a little time to breathe.

I'm probably done here. Much as I love the fact that Spike and Twilight are the focus characters, my main reason for starting this was to see some interaction between Spike and Trixie. But since she's a deranged murderer, there probably won't be much comical friction between them, let alone bonding.

[Pinkacalypse]

Instresting fic i'll keep an eye on this.

[Crystal Static]

I want more.

~Crystalline Electrostatic~

[MustacheMerlin]

3426038 Really, Trixie isn't herself anymore. Necromancy essentially fills the user with a desire to grow the horde at all costs. The caster isn't anymore alive than their undead armies. (On the internet, I am Merlin. Text role playing in random places is the best!)

[Cloud Drop]

When does Twilight do necromancy
thats what i came for