Dead in civilization

by Voltsthevoltvolts

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Dark, Comedy, Romance
Length: 109133

What happens when a necromancer who has not had contact with living for centuries comes back to civilization? Your guess is as good as mine.

Story on hold for the time being reason:
Bad writers block for ideas that will go with story.

Dead Quiet has made the choice to return to the living. Or die trying. With the help of Twilight and Rarity there may be a slight hope from her yet.

Or the whole thing could collapse in on itself and Dead could end up being the undisputed leader of Equestria. Or not.

My tagging system.

Themes come and go in the story, sometimes I put in romantic elements, some times I do sad and sometimes I do dark. Once a theme has reappeared a few times I will add it as a tag. E.G. The romance in the story shows itself at time in the story, however I didn't add the romance tag until Three Little Words.

And just a warning. in some of the latter chapters (such as 41) Their are sexual themes and references, but not written…

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-10-12 12:19:38 UTC

In a thousand years it could be your bones on display

"Dead! DEAD! Where did you get to?" Twilight shouted as she frantically searched the house for any sign of the Necromancer. While earlier they had all been eager to go to Ponyville, Dead had to pack and get ready. Since then she had seemingly vanished from the house.

"Twilight! I am down here!" A voice came from under the rug in the hallway of the house. "Yeah, just saying goodbye to the collection."

"The collection?" Twilight called out. "May I come down?"

"Sure thing Twilight, just mind the drop." A white magic overtook the rug and pulled it away revealing a stairway that went down.

"How did we not fall down this?" Twilight quizzed. "Seriously, where is the floor?"

"MAGIC!" Was all that could be heard as Dead shouted back to Twilight. "Where is Rarity and Spike?"

"I'm here Dead!" Rarity called out. "Spike has gone back, I think he should be okay going back. He had a skeleton go with him." Rarity said sounding assured. The two ponies headed down the stairs and entered a large room that was made under the house. A variety of magic equipment and robes could be seen. "Wow, I knew you were a collector. But I never thought that there would be so much stuff."

"I am rather impressed with this collection of artifacts. You two! Come over here and check this out." Dead called out to the two that were in in the basement. After a few moments they found Dead and the large exhibit.

"What is that?" Twilight asked as she eyed a large collections of bones. The bones were numerous and contained in some magic status.

"Well you see Twilight, I have no clue. They are just some strange bones I found while bone-calling. I have never seen any bones like them and they don't match any known creature. But if you look closely you can make out some key bones." Dead said as she sorted the bones around.

"Oh yeah," Twilight said "Wait are those some sort of claws?" Twilight asked as Dead pull a hand out of the bones.

"I don't know but whatever it is, I have no clue on how to assemble them. But I do have a few theories." Dead said sounding defeated. "But check out this skull!" Dead pulled out a skull from the from the pile. "Its certainly not pony, dragon or griffon. It looks similar to that of a monkey except the bones don't match up. It looks like it would walk around on two legs!"

"I've seen ponies do that sometimes, its look strange when they do it." Rarity said sounding intrigued.

"Yeah, I know I once tried it myself... But check out the femur!" Dead brought out a large femur from the pile. "Whatever it was, it must have been at least the size of an adult stallion!"

"Wow, I don't know what to say." Twilight said eyeing up the femur. "I have seen any creature that bones are like this... So its a monkey or ape like creature that walks around on two legs? Wow..." Twilight said as she returned her gaze to the bone pile.

"Wait a moment, if I ever come back here I will try and figure out how this thing fits together! How could I not see it!" Dead shouted at herself! "Wow I'm so stupid some times..." The group then left the large basement and headed back upstairs.

While Rarity wasn't as interested in the magical aspect as much as Twilight she was more then amazed when Dead showed her a large collection of exotic silk. "And these Rarity, are the silks I was talking about. While you can't really make any magical armor with it, it still looks rather pleasing to the eye right?" Dead handed Rarity the soft fabric. Rarity relived Dead of it and brought the silk to eye level.

"Its perfect..." Rarity mumbled as she simmered the silk in the light. "How did you even get this?"

"I made it myself, over the years I have taught myself may skills. Fabric weaving and tailoring were just a few." Dead opened a small doorway in the bedroom and a large amount of various fabrics and silk tumbled out. "Sadly I never really found and inspiration for what I might make. Consider all of this your payment for making me a dress to wear."

"Oh no its fine, I would be more then happy to do it for free." Rarity insisted.

"No no no! It will not do, A few days ago I was flying you out of my property in the rib cage of a griffon!" Dead insisted even more then Rarity.

"Very well if you insist.." Rarity said, admitting defeat.

"Oh but I do Rarity! I would be more then happy to supply the necessary materials." Dead said happily. "I shall have them transported to your house once we arrive during the night, that way no pony will see the skeletons."

Twilight could see Rarity and Dead talking happily together. It was strange to think that Dead was a necromancer that could raise the dead. It was even stranger to think that she was more then capable of killing anypony, her happy attitude always shone through and at the best of times she only seemed mildly grumpy. But of course this was only because she considered Twilight and Rarity her friends. There was no telling how she would react to other and there was no telling how they would react to her.

As they finished packing Dead's supplies the group figured it would be a good idea for Dead to stay at Rarity's shop while she stayed in Ponyville. The group didn't plan on staying in Ponyville for too long however temporary accommodation would be needed.

With a happy bounce in their steps the group slowly made their way towards Ponyville.

Dead in Ponyville

Ponyville was a quiet town, not much really happened. Except Nightmare Moon and Discord... And Trixe taking over the town. Well maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring Dead into the town. Still it had been done and they were at the edge of the forest. Twilight could just about see Fluttershy's cottage. Dead was looking understandably nervous, from where Twilight and Rarity had not been in their houses the previous night the town was somewhat more restless then before. "Hey Dead," Twilight started sounding slightly nervous. "Are you sure you want to do this? We can head back now, but this is your last chance."

Dead took a deep breath. "No its okay, I can do this." Dead sounded shaky and worried. "I will do this! I have faced untold perils, I can do this!" Dead started to sound a lot more perky, within a moments notice she had charged into the small town. Twilight could just make out the sound of Dead yelling 'CHARRRREEEEEGEEEEE' as she stormed into town. Twilight sighed and chuckled to herself.

"Well at least we won't have to worry about introducing her subtly to everypony. Anyway lets catch up before she dives into the deep end." Twilight broke into a spring with Rarity close behind as they attempted to catch up with Dead.

Dead was in the center of the small town, the sounds almost overloaded her. Dead was used to the silent shuffling of the undead, not the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, the single color of bone white, not the giga-rainbow that was the center of town. Dead saw a pony in a stall selling some food items, while Dead hadn't been in any sort of town for decades, she was certain that bits were still the currency. That and Twilight had given her a few. Dead slowly walked up to the stall and went to address the hat wearing pony however the pony beat her to it. "Howdy!" Dead could only imagine what kind of face she was pulling. "What can I get'cha?" Dead glanced over the various treats that were on the stall, taking in the smells.

"I think I will have one of those!" Dead said gesturing to an apple flapjack. "Will this cover it?" Dead brought a few bits out of her saddlebags and placed them on the counter. The Pony on the other-side and nodded and place the treat in and bag and placed it on the counter, she then picked up the bits and took them behind the counter. Dead took the bag in her magical grip. "Thanks!" Dead cheerfully said and left the stall.

As Dead walked away she could just about make out that the Pony had run out of apple flapjacks and would need to bake some more. Dead took a bite out of her apple flapjack and kept on walking.

Twilight and Rarity had entered the town center, after a short debate they decided it would be best to see if Applejack had seen Dead. And then ask Pinkie if she had seen her due to high risk of a welcome party being caused. Withing mere moments of entering the market Twilight imminently spotted Applejack's stall. The two made their way over to the stall. "Hey there Twi, Rarity! You here on a social call? Or business?"

"I hate to say it but we can't buy anything, we are look for a pony." Twilight said rather frantically.

"Uhuh, a chestnut colored mane and fur with a skull as a cutie mark? Yeah, she was here a moment ago. She headed off to Rarity's, but I don't think she knew where she was going." Just as Applejack finished Rarity came rushing in, she had gone to ask any ponies in the market if they had seen her.

"She at my house Twilight, she was has had the good fortune to not bump into to Pinkie, but at some point we will have to meet and greet them." Rarity said as she calmed down. "Just not right now, I don't think she is ready for a Pinkie grade party." Rarity looks around to see if she could spot Pinkie in the crowd, fortunately not bright pink ponies were out.

"Whats the matter with her? She came by and ordered a flapjack then left. Seemed fine to me." Applejack asked with a hint of concern. "Is she ill or something?"

"Oh no Applejack, she just isn't orientated to living with ponies. She has spent most of her life living alone in Everfree." Rarity reassured. "We just found her and are trying to get her to come back, this was all on her request. We didn't just drag her out of the forest and demand she mingle with ponies."

"Alright, be sure to send her down by the farm so we can be properly introduced!" Applejack shouted as the duo left the market and headed towards Rarity's.

Dead was happily nibbling on the flapjack she had brought in Rarity's house, after Rarity had found her wondering around the town she directed her to her house so she could settle down. Rarity and Twilight both came through the door at the same time and only just managed to squeeze through. "Hey you two! There is this pony in the market place, she sells these amazing flapjacks!" Dead finished off the flapjack and look happily at the two.

"That was Applejack," Twilight said happily as she moved sit down in the sofa that was opposite Dead. "She is the element on honesty. I guess that means you only have three left to meet!" Twilight said happily. "This is moving a lot faster then I had hoped, at any rate we will be in Canterlot within a few days!"

"So Dead, how was town then?" Rarity asked.

"It was, like a slice of the past. I felt like I was a foal again. It reminded me of a happy time, a time I was without worry of being found. Anyway it just felt nice. I don't know why I was so scared of it." Dead said happily. "However I am a bit worried if they find out about my past. Still, we will have to cross that bridge when it comes.

New world new perspective

Twilight, Rarity and Dead were heading towards Apple acres. The group were slowly making their way through back lanes to avoid bumping into Pinkie. Although Dead said she was happy to meet Pinkie, both Twilight and Rarity thought it would be a good idea to leave it for the time being. "As much as I think you would enjoy meeting Pinkie, I just don't think it is practical now. If anypony finds out about your past it may have negative repercussions. Pinkie has been known to... Get ponies noticed." Rarity said as the trio slowly made their way towards the farm. "Maybe tomorrow..."

"Okay then, I guess I can wait a day. Anyway who are we meeting out here?" Dead asked as she happily walked with the group.

"Oh we are going to Applejack's place. You met her earlier, but she asked us to properly introduce her." Rarity said sounding happy. "I'm amazed you we able to adjust so quickly to being around other ponies!"

"Yeah, I am as well. I guess its because I have two good friends to help me adjust!" Dead said happily as she happily trotted towards the farm following Twilight and Rarity.

The farm had fields of apple trees that went on for miles, eventually going over a hill meaning that Dead couldn't see far they went on for. Dead could make out a red stallion pulling a large metal object through a empty field. The orange hat wearing pony that she saw at the market was kicking the tree and knocking the apples down. A smaller pony with a large bow in her hair was running around the tree with a basket attempting to catch said apples. The trio entered the farm and the orange pony quickly noticed them and head towards them.

"Howdy, Twi, Rarity. I see you found your friend." Dead could still not get used to that peppy-accent heavy voice, then again she still wasn't used to ponies speaking, however the pony sounded happy so Dead assumed that she hadn't been found out.

"Hey Applejack," Twilight begun. "Yeah we found her alright. Anyway Applejack, this is..." Twilight gestured for Dead to continue.

"Dead, Dead Quiet. Either name will do. Or you could make up a name, doesn't really matter. Pleased to meet you Applejack." Dead put a friendly smile on and extended a hoof for Applejack to shake it. Applejack extended her hoof and the two shook hoofs for a moment.

"Pleased to meet'cha ummm... Dead." Applejack looked nervous. "Mighty rare name you got there, not many ponies with a name along the lines of that." Applejack chuckled nervously.

"Don't worry, I know how it sounds... Its hard to get a normal name around here let alone have a name that had references to negative aspects." What Applejack had just said reminded her of days when she was the villain, how ponies would go against her and curse her name. Dead had to fight back the emotions and this was not an easy feat. Because of this Dead wanted to do something that would most likely upset Twilight and Rarity. However she remembered that Applejack was the element of honesty and thus she told the truth, no matter how ugly it was. So Dead just tried to reassure her. "Its perfectly fine if you want to call me something else. I have no issues."

"Well I have no problem calling you Dead, if that's your name its your name. Ain't no sense in calling you something else." Dead felt a small smile coming on. Still Dead dreaded to think how she would react if her past was found out.

"Thank Applejack, its nice knowing that ponies have only gotten nicer since I left. Anyway, I will be staying at Rarity's place while I am in Ponyville." Dead smiled happily. "Hopefully we will be seeing a bit more of each other."

It was good that Dead and Applejack had gotten one so well, considering that they had just met. While Dead seemed a bit off at times she was always seemed relatively perky. There was a bit of an unconformable expression on Dead's face when Applejack told Dead her name was odd, but that passed quickly. Twilight's main concern was meeting Dead with Applejack because she was always the one who was the most sense. Pinkie liked everypony not matter what, Fluttershy would get more confident as it went on and Rainbow Dash would be as simple as getting Dead to fan her ego a tiny bit. Of course there was no plan in place for what would happen if they found out about Dead, but Twilight had a rough idea.

While Dead was meeting the rest of Applejack's family Rarity and Twilight decided it would be a good idea to go back to the library and check up on Spike.

As Twilight and Rarity opened the door into the library a pink blur charged into Twilight and threw her to the ground, while send Rarity a few feet back. "YOU!" Pinkie said in a slightly annoyed voice. "You brought in somepony! And you weren't going to tell me!"

Twilight was able to move Pinkie off her so she could have some breathing space. "Pinkie, we were going to tell you. I promise! Its just that she might not react very well to a massive party!" Twilight explained as Pinkie got up and allowed Twilight to get up.

"Oh why didn't you say so! I'l throw a teeny tiny quiet party for them!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Not right now Pinkie, she just needs a few days to get used to civilization." Twilight explained as Pinkie was happily bouncing around the main room of the library.

"Oh was she doing a Bear Grylls?" Pinkie asked.

"A Bear what?" Twilight asked with a confused look on her face.

"You know, out in the wild living of the fatta the lan!" Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped up and down the stairs of the library.

"Ummmm... Anyway you will be able to meet her at some point. Maybe even later today! You might even get along with her." Rarity interrupted as she entered the library.

"Yippe! I can't wait for to meet her. Make sure see meets me before you leave to see Celestia!" Pinkie shouted as she jumped out the window and heading towards sugercube corner.

"How did she know about Celestia?" Rarity asked with a very concerned face. However before Twilight could even responded her expression turn into a warm smile as both her and Twilight said at the same time.

"Its Pinkie, its best to leave it at that!"

Dead can dance

Twilight woke up, not only was it the early hours of the morning but, she was asleep outside. To make matters worse Twilight had a killer headache. "Urgh." Was all she could string together as she shakily stood up. Twilight glanced around and noticed a old music box with a large amount of ponies bowing around, and a equally large group building a wooden shrine to it. "Dead! What happened?" Twilight shouted. after a brief moment of silence she felt a hoof placed on her back.

"Hey Twilight, you really kicked that party up to an twelve, after Pinkie kicked up to a eleven!" Dead sounded like she was also nursing a hangover. "I still can't believe you summoned a demon."

"I summoned a demon? That sounds like something you would do Dead." Twilight said as she tried to hide a sheepish grin.

"Nope, I'm undead. You summoned a party demon after you got drunk on spiked punch. I don't know who spiked it but they might as well made us drink fire. That stuff burned." Dead quickly cast a spell and Twilight's headache was gone.

"Thanks Dead, do you remember what happened? And why are ponies here worshiping that music box?" Twilight asked with a confused and concerned tone.

"Alright Twilight, but get some popcorn. This one is going to be a while."

The previous evening...

"Alright Dead, this in Pinkie Pie. She really, really, really wanted to meet you." Rarity said nervously. Twilight and Rarity had tried to avoid Pinkie and Dead meeting, but Dead had gone out looking, and found her.

"Hey Pinkie. I'm Dead! Pleased to meet you." Dead said in a cheery voice with a beaming smile. "But please if you have anything else you want to call me, feel free to."

"Hi Dead! Its wonderful to meet you! I'm Pinkie Pie but my friends just call me Pinkie!" Pinkie said ecstatically as she bounced around Rarity's house. "But you already knew my name... That must mean... We were friends and I never even knew it! Wow your good!"

"Yeah, just don't ask me to do a magic trick. My magical abilities are fairly limited as it stands." Dead said without thinking, a few moments after she had said she became aware of how silly she sounded. It was as if she had been forced to say something that could possibly be related to parties

"That's fine Dead, but why would you be doing magic tricks?" Dead could swear that some sort of mind control was forcing her to think about party related activities.

"Whats your angle Pinkie? Your minds tricks won't work on me!" Dead said playfully as she received looks of concern and confusion.

"What mind tricks? I don't see any mind trick. Do YOU see any mind tricks?" No Pinkie I don... Wait...

"Pinkie who are you talking to?" No reply. "Pinkie? Hello? Anypony in there?" Twilight waved her hoof in front of Pinkie's face and received no response. "Alright Pinkie is out. Now what?"

"I say we have a rave about it." Dead said expectantly. "Wait... I didn't mean that! Its the mind tricks! THE MIND TRICKS!"

An hour later...

The so-called 'rave' took place outside of Rarity's. Due to a lack of music Dead had quickly ran back to her house to retrieve what she called the 'music box.' The fact that she referred to it like that gave Twilight concern however she was still trying to figure out why Dead wanted a rave in the first place. "Rarity, I need you to help me keep Dead under control when it starts. The last thing we need is a skeleton filled party."

"Of course Twilight! If it gets too much for her -or- me for that matter I will bring her to bed." Rarity said calmly before realizing what could have been implied by her last words. "Her bed of course! The sofa!" Twilight sighed.

"Rarity, tonight is going to be a long night."

"And so I came back with magical music box that plays whatever music the majority wants to listen to. I set it up and the party started. Ponies brought snack foods and punch. I think somepony spiked the punch and made it really alcoholic! You got plastered and thought it would be a good idea to summon a party demon! And you did." Dead said happily as the look of terror in Twilight's face said it all.

"Why would I do that?" Twilight asked sounding very, very concerned.

"You were drunk! Like super drunk! Like mega super drunk! Wow I am sound like Pinkie. You didn't warn me she had mind tricks and/or control." Dead said with a mock anger at the end.

"I didn't! And she doesn't!" Twilight partially yelled. "Oh my head..." Twilight's headache came back. "I must have really drunk a lot, I normally have a high alcohol tolerance." Twilight groaned and place her off on her forehead.

"You did. I mean you thought summoning a demon would make it better. But know a party demon is just a demon that uses parties to subjugate ponies. Not a demon that makes ponies party as you thought."

"What did it do?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know. The second you summoned it Rarity dragged me back into her house and I for some reason I drunk some of the punch I had with me. I blacked out and woke up in Rarity's bed. For some reason."

"Oh..." Was all Twilight could muster.

The previous night...

"Come on Dead, Twilight has gone off the deep end. Its time to get you to bed." Rarity said as she grabbed a slightly tipsy Dead holding a small glass full on punch. "Look at you! We need to get you to the spa ASAP!"

"Naw ish fine Rarishe. I jus need shome sheep." Rarity was leading Dead back to her house as she chugged the remainder of the punch she had. "Woah! Thash goo punch!"

"Hush now, you sound unladylike when you are completely wasted." Rarity said sounding slightly frustrated.

"Buh Rarishe! Yew luk lovehly!" Dead slurred.

"Hush, that's the punch talking." Rarity said as she opened the door to carousel boutique. Dead tumbled in and feel on the sofa but quickly rolled off it due to its small size. "Oh Dead, you are a funny drunk." Rarity let out a happy sigh. "I guess we are going to have to share beds if you want to get to sleep without getting a concussion."

"Air bedsh? Buh tha meansh..." Dead was putting a two and two together that didn't exist as she walked up the stairs to Rarity's room.

"No it doesn't! Now get in bed before I change my mind!" Rarity snapped at Dead who let out a small whimper as she climbed into bed.

After a few minuets of quiet in the room Dead whispered in the silence. "Rarish... Yew arh beutooful..."

"Go to bed Dead. I need sleep just like you." Rarity said in a flat tone followed by a huge sigh.

Hangovers and headaches

"Oh my head..." Dead groaned as once again her pain relief spell wore off and she felt the full effects of her heavy hangover hit her. "Why did I have to have that last drink of punch..." Dead fumbled around the outskirts of the town looking for some herbs to help her deal with her hangover. Clouds hung high in the sky. "Urgh, wasn't today supposed to be sunny... Can't say I would complain, the sun would give me a splitting eye ache." Dead rubbed her eyes and looked at the ground. As she brought her eyes back up she saw a cyan pegasus in front of her.

"Sup." Was all the pegasus said, after no response the mare decided it might be a good idea to be a bit more informative. "So you're the mare Twilight has been showcasing around to everypony?" The pony spoke confidently and in a slightly mocking tone. "To be fair, not a bad catch."

"Urgh..." Was all Dead could muster. Her headache had evolved into a fully fledged meltdown complete with a migraine, she tried to summon enough magic energy to provide some pain relief but failed to. "Please, not now. My head is pounding like a drum." Dead pleaded with the mare.

"Wow, you must of gotten hammered. I bet you were a riot." The mare said confidently, she was clearly unaware of how doing the equivalent of poking a tiger with a blunt stick would have ended badly for her. "Yeah, I would have gone to that but its a bad idea to drink and fly."

"Yeah, would have..." Dead was just trying to kill conversation.

"So I heard Twilight got plastered, care to tell me anything about that?" The mare inquired before elbowing Dead is side.

"Please, I just need to find some herbs..." Dead groaned as she went about her searching.

"What'cha looking for? I could help, provided you return the favor." The mare asked, giving Dead a subtle wink.

"No, its fine. I can find it by myself. I mean how hard can it be to find a one in one million herb that is the size of a pin."

"Look, I could find you that herb in like ten seconds flat. Just tell me what it looks like and I'l find it." The mare threw a large amount of confidence in her voice as she ended her sentence.

"Alright, if you really, really, really want to help... It is a small flower that looks like a drop of blood. You can tell if it the correct flower because it will bloom if it comes into contact with blood." Dead gave in, she was at war with her migraine and the mare and she had to pick a side or face the consequences.

"Names Rainbow Dash by the way, a name I'm sure you will be hearing a lot of." The mare said as she jettisoned off to scan the horizon for herbs.

"Hey I found it!" Rainbow Dash crashed into chestnut colored mare. "Look here it is!" Dash present the flower, that had bloomed slightly and a small cut on at the bottom of her hoof explained why.

"Wow, thanks Rainbow." The mare said as she slowly got up and dusted herself off. "Maybe next time you can avoid crashing into me?" The mare chuckled slightly. "Well thanks for the help, I can make this into a potion to beat of the remainder of this hangover. By the way, the names Dead, Dead Quiet."

"Nice to meet you Dead, now maybe we can go back to my place and go about repaying me..." Rainbow said, attempting to hint towards thing to come.

"Alright although I don't know why we can't just do it here..." Dead said unwillingly knowing what she had just gotten herself into. Much to Rainbow's surprise she took a notepad out and looked to take notes.

"Wow, aren't you worried that somepony will see us or something? I mean you maybe new but I got a reputation to uphold! I definitely think it should be something we do at the cloud at least." Rainbow said as she leaned close to Dead, a little too close for Dead's liking.

"Um Rainbow, do you think you could let me breath for a moment... I mean I like being friends and y'know jumping in their breathing space." Dead slowly tried to back away from Rainbow, however she only seemed to get closer. "Could you at least let me go tell Twilight?"

"Tell her what?" Rainbow said as she backed away, a hint of worry could be heard in her voice. "I mean, we don't need to tell her anything. It can be our little secret..."

"But if she needs me for something she needs to know where to find me. I mean she is responsible for me." Dead said sounding worried slightly.

"Fine, we can tell Twilight, but I don't know why we have to tell her everything." Rainbow Dash said quizzically.

"We don't have to tell her everything, I mean if you don't want to." Dead said attempting to calm the slightly anxious Dash down.

"Oh that's okay then, I mean we don't really want her getting in the way of anything. I mean, she is a good friend and all but sometimes she can be a bit of a control freak. Like this one time, she cast a need it want it spell. On a doll. To make a friendship problem." Dash said as she regained her confidence, and started to lean in into Dead again.

"Well urghhh..." Dead once again tried to back away, but found herself pinned up against a tree. "She errrr.. Summoned a party demon. Last night. To make the party better." Dead gulped as she tried to move her head so that she could breath without getting a face full of Dash's breath.

"Really? A party demon you say? That sounds rather typical for Twilight. Y'know to do something totally unreasonable in a attempt to do something reasonable." Rainbow Dash moved even closer to Dead as Dead tried to back away. Dead was now nearly climbing the tree in order to get some breathing space. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash was still moving even closer to her, she only stopped when she was a few millimeters away from her face. "So do you want to go tell Twilight that you're going to be busy for a few hours?"

Much ado about something

It was quiet in little clearing where Dead was, not much could be heard or seen. A small hammock hung from two trees and a stump that was positioned next to it showed signs of being used as a cup placement. Dead had left Ponyville so she could just relax. After her and Rainbow showed up at the library Rainbow and Twilight started arguing about something to do with boundaries and crossing them. Dead had left just before the debate got too heated.

"Ahhhhhh, no shouting here!" Dead said as she swung on the hammock, slowly lulling her into a relaxed state. "I wonder how long it will be before they notice I'm gone." Dead sighed happily as she shut her eyes. "Lets hope nopony shows up in my face this time."

"Oh..." A small voice that was barely audible could be only just be heard by Dead. her ear flicked briefly as she opened her eyes and inspected the nearby area. Its was empty.

"Hello? Anypony there?" Dead called out to the empty clearing. A small barely audible mumble could be heard from the treeline. "Skullworthy? Is that you? Has something happened?" Another mumble came from the trees. "Am I talking to trees now? Hello? Don't worry I don't bite." Dead pleaded with the mumbling, she was worried that some sort of horror from the depths of the forest had come out for a snack. "Please just come out, this isn't funny. Pinkie is that you messing with me?"

A short mumble that sounded like sorry followed by a shuffling noise made Dead alert, she jumped out the hammock and looked around. Her eyes darted from tree to tree until finally she was the cause of her worry. A cream colored pony with a pink mane emerged from the treeline.

"Hello." Dead said as the shy mare shuffled around. "Tell me, what are you doing out here?" Dead asked, hoping that she would start a conversation.

"I'm not doing anything important..." The mare mumbled as she slowly started to back out of the treeline, she clearly hadn't planned on bumping into anypony, and certainly one she clearly hadn't seen before. "I'l just go now..."

"Wait!" Dead called out. "Where are you going? Do you need a hoof?" Dead asked out as she tried to stall the slowly reversing pony.

"No, no its fine. I'm okay." The mare mumbled as she vanished into the treeline, as Dead tried to follower her she soon found that she was by herself and the mare had vanished.

"Okay fine then. Leave me alone in the forest, see if I care..." Dead moaned as she slowly trotted back to her hammock. "Not like I have feelings or anything..." Dead hoped back into her hammock in the clearing, she looked at her saddlebag that she had brought, Twilight had put a few books in it and asked her to read them ASAP.

"Oh the joys of reading..." Dead said sarcastically. "Lets see, I what this book is about." Dead pulled a book out the bag and glanced at the title. Talk pony to me: Speech and lingo at the bar. "At least the title sounds interesting..."

An hour later...

"Oh..."

An hour later and a second book...

"OH!"

An hour later and all the books...

"OH NO SHE DIDN'T"

"Now Rainbow, have you learnt your lesson or will me and Rarity have to go through it again?" Twilight asked, the debate that had gone on for hours had finally ended.

"Sheesh Twi, why you being so uptight about this? You could at least tell me what this is all about." Not once during the debate had Twilight even hinted to Dead's abilities to commune with the dead and summon them.

"Maybe some day Rainbow, but we can't risk blowing all our progress with her just because you felt horny." Twilight stated bluntly.

"Not my fault if she was attractive..." Rainbow sulked and crossed her arms.

"Not to mention that you were going about it in the most unladylike fashion!" Rarity said with a hint of anger. "Now did anypony see where she ran off to?"

"No, you both were too busy dragging on about her for me to notice." Rainbow said flatly.

"Well, if you think about yow two. She has seen everypony except Fluttershy. Maybe we she went out looking for her?" Twilight rejoined the conversation before to turned into another argument. "So maybe we should swing by Fluttershy's place to see if she is there."

"Yeah its worth a shot, although I don't think she will be. Fluttershy has never seen her before in her entire life." Rarity said staring at the ground with a sad expression. "Lets hope that she has at least seen her."

Fluttershy was confused, she couldn't understand why the one day she decides to look for herbs that could be used in medicine in a different spot, she bumps into some strange pony she had never seen before. The pony that tried to talk to her but failed to, the pony that grumbled as she went back to her spot to start reading books.

Knock, knock, knock

"Fluttershy? Its me, Rarity and Rainbow. Can we come in?" Twilight asked as the group patiently waited outside.

"Oh of course Twilight, just let me open the door." Fluttershy quietly responded as she made her way over to the door and undid the lock. Her friends who had claimed to be at the door were all there. However unlike normal they all looked lightly worried. "Is something the matter?"

"No its okay Fluttershy, we were wondering if you could help us. You see we have lost somepony." Twilight explained as they all sat down in Fluttershy's cottage.

"Oh my, I hope you find them. Its awfully scary to be lost." Fluttershy said as she tried to relate to her friends.

"Its okay, we were just hoping that you might have seen her." Rarity joined in.

"What do you need my help for?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well Flutters we were hoping that you might have seen her. A chestnut mare, about yay big." Dash made some hoof movements to show roughly the size of the pony missing. "Has a slightly longer then Twilight's hairstyle and a skull and a cutie mark. Sometimes complains about a lack of breathing space."

"Oh, her. I saw her in a clearing in the forest." Fluttershy nervously said. "Do you want me to take you there?" Fluttershy quietly asked.

"Yes, lets not waste any more time. Every second she spends in there increase the chance of her not coming back!" Rarity hollered as she stormed to the door and threw it open with her magic. "TO THE FOREST!" She proclaimed.

Picking up the slack

Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were heading towards the clearing where Dead was supposed to be resting. "So Fluttershy what was she doing?" Rarity asked, she had been constantly asking about the state Dead had been in since they entered the forest. They had been walking for a good few minuets.

"She was just reading books... I'm sorry if I had known that you were looking..." Fluttershy said as she lead the group onward.

"Its no worry, I just hope she is alright. The forest can be full of all sorts of horrors." Rarity said to comfort Fluttershy. Soon they were at the entrance to the clearing.

Dead was half asleep. A small pile of books on the ground had left her both enlightened and emotionally scared. A small breeze was blowing in the clearing and with it some smells. Familiar smells and mainly she could smell perfume. A shuffling sound could be heard. "Who, is there?" Dead called out, she already knew who it was but just wanted to sound surprised.

"Its just us Dead, and Fluttershy." Twilight call out from behind the treeline. "Oh and Rainbow Dash."

"Oh, Alright. Yeah come on in. Not like I own this clearing anyway." Dead said as she swung to and fro on her hammock. "So what kept you then?" Dead said mockingly as the group of four emerged from the treeline.

"Just bumped into a few things. Nothing overly big." Twilight said eyeing up the pile of books. "So I see you read those books I gave you."

"Both eye opening and traumatizing. But still, thanks." Dead was a lot calmer then she normally was, to the point it was scaring her friends.

"Dead? Is everything alright?" Rarity asked sounding concerned.

"Its alright Rarity, I'm just think about things." Dead said with little emotion in her voice, her normal peppy attitude had faded and was replaced with the attitude that she had when Twilight and Rarity first met her.

"You don't seem to happy, Dead you can trust us. Just tell us what is wrong." Rarity said, half pleading.

"I'm just thinking, that maybe this isn't such a good idea. That maybe I should just go back to my house." Dead sighed as she turned away from the group. "I'm just not cut out for this. The emotions, the involvement. I've just got a bit excited with meeting you all."

"Dead, it was just a stupid mistake, I honestly didn't know you had no idea. I'm sorry if I was too forward." Rainbow Dash apologized and tilted her head down.

"Its not that. I just don't know how long I will last before I go off the deep end." Dead said even more flatly.

"Can't we just give it a second chance? Somepony is coming down from Canterlot, you might want to meet her before you leave." Twilight said with a slight tinge of hope in her voice,

"Alright, I'l try again. But if it doesn't work out you know where to find me." Dead said as she jumped out of the hammock and headed towards Ponyville.

Just as Twilight went to follower a hood stopped her in her tracks, she looked up and saw Rainbow Dash stopping her from proceeding. "Twi, You have to tell us all what is going on with her. I have seen ponies that live alone, heck I have seen a few that don't recognize ponies because they haven't seen one in so long. Yet when they come back they always fit in. Why does she not? No more delays, please just tell me."

"Do you really, really want to know about her Rainbow?" Twilight asked sternly.

"Yes. I just want to know what is up with her." Rainbow said solemnly.

"Alright Rainbow, also Fluttershy you can listen if you want to. Dead is, a necromancer."

"A what-o-mancer?" Rainbow asked sounding confused.

"She can raise the dead and use them as minions. A lot of ponies would have saw it bad thing and would drive her out if they knew it. However on the upside, a lot of ponies don't know about it anymore. Only the Princesses do from what I have heard." Twilight explained.

"That. Sounds. Awesome! So does she like have a ton of zombies working for her and doing chores?" Rainbow asked ecstatically.

"Not so much zombies, but they are skeletons. She says zombies cause too much of a mess when they are used." Twilight said as she laughed a bit. "But in all seriousness she did kill an entire village of griffons because they killed her family and friends. And she also tried to take over Equestria several times. And you were about to try and sleep with her."

"Oh-Kay Twi. I can see why you stopped me. But still!" Rainbow aloud Twilight to push past her. "Anyway lets go catch up with her!"

Dead was with Rarity in her house. Rarity had her sewing glasses on and various tape measures that would be used in measuring a pony. "So would you rather me measure you with magic or by hoof?" Rarity asked Dead.

"It doesn't really matter too much to me Rarity, what ever one you would rather do." Dead said, her voice had become a little peppy however she still sounded slightly depressed.

"Alright then, hoof it is. So Dead, did Twilight tell you who was visiting." Rarity asked as she wrapped a tape measure around her. Making a small note of the length.

"No she hasn't, you want to give me a hint?" Rarity now went from each leg measuring how long each leg was before moving onto the next. "Do you have to measure each one?"

"If you want it done properly I do. But I can help you out with guessing." Rarity said mockingly. "She is coming all the way down from Canterlot."

"Really? Is she important?" Dead asked with growing enthusiasm. "Oh I need to know!"

"Yes, she is very important!" Rarity said happily.

"Is it one of Princesses?" Dead quizzed.

"Maybe..." Rarity teased.

"Is it... Princess... Luna?" Dead asked slowly, building up to the last word.

"Yes!" Rarity shrieked.

"Wow, I didn't see that coming. I see why you want to hurry with the dress. Well if she sees me I will try my best not to get you implemented." Dead said jokingly. "Thanks Rarity you have really gotten me out of this slump."

"Oh but of course Dead, that's what friends are for. To help pick you up while you are down. Now lets see to making you this dress." Rarity said as she pull out a variety of cloths and materials formally used in dress making.

What not to do when panicking

Rarity was busy making Dead's dress, she had polity requested that Dead leave her alone while she work on the dress. Dead had gone to Twilight's house to return her books. Dead was worried about the upcoming visit from Luna, while Twilight and her friends were confident that the visit would go smoothly Dead was not.

"Twilight, the last time I saw Luna we were at each other throats. It wasn't friendly. I know what Celestia is like and I doubt she will be very welcoming as well." Dead was addressing her concerns to Twilight. "I know you are trying hard but the last thing I want to happen is get banished or something." Dead didn't wait for Twilight to respond she walked around the room looking at the books in the library.

"Dead, how many times are you going to do that?" Twilight said as she saw how worn the floor was getting from Dead's constant movements. "Don't worry about it, she was once like you." Twilight walked over to her and put her foreleg around her and directed her to look out a window. "And besides, you have us to look after you. Not like anything bad will happen if the elements of harmony are protecting you."

"Yeah, I guess so." Dead smiled lightly. "But still I worry, I just don't want this to come crashing down. I almost let my feelings destroy it when I should not have, and that was something I could control." Dead freed herself and looked at the slowly setting sun. "So how long do you think it will be until she shows up?"

"Not too long Dead, the letter said a few days. But if I know Luna she will be over as soon as the moon has been risen."

"I guess I better go see how Rarity is doing, she kicked me out an hour ago." Dead said as she slowly made her way towards the door. "Well here's to hoping that things don't go too bad." Dead chuckled lightly as she left the library.

Ponyville was always such a quiet little town, the sun setting over the forest bathed the town in a warm orange glow. Dead had gotten to know a few of the regulars in the town however they never did much except say hello and wave to each other. A cool breeze was blowing in the treeline that made the trees sway gently from side to side. It was peaceful.

Suddenly a loud gust of wind came over and settled, the sound of something landing could be heard, followed by the sound of hoofs on soil. Dead shuddered in anticipation of what was to come.

"Greetings!" Was shouted at Dead in the royal Canterlot accent. "Oh sorry. Greetings. We hope we did not cause distress." Luna said more calmly. While Dead never saw her she knew it was Luna.

"Its okay, no harm was done." Dead said trying to not sound like herself. "So what brings you to Ponyville Princess?" Dead asked hoping that Luna would not ask her to face her.

"We are just checking for denomic arts at play. We did not expect demons to surface here though. This town seems to be a hotspot for villains." Luna spoke regally, an accent that would have taken years to master.

"Oh really?"

"Yes. Myself, Discord and you."

"Me?"

"Did you not think we could not smell your foal arts? You reek of death. Turn around." Luna commanded.

"But..."

"Turn. Around." Luna said harshly.

"So, you know who I am then. Tell me and I will turn." Dead said, not asking but insisting.

"You are Dead. In more ways then one." Luna said flatly. "Now turn around Dead."

Dead turned and was met by a bright flash that threw her a few feet backwards into the wall of a house. With a large thump she hit the ground dazed and confused. Its had become clear to what Luna's intentions were. Dead readied her various shielding spells as she got up. With a determined look on her face she prepared herself for what was to come.

"Ha!" Luna mockingly shouted. "Do you honestly think you could stand up to us? You were weak with your minions and you are weak without them." Dead could take the insults, they were just Luna attempt to cause her to fly into a fury. "Very well then." Luna fired a bolt of dark energy and Dead who blocked it with a quick reaction shield of bones. As soon as the spell had been blocked the bones dug underground before anypony could see them.

The fight had been taken toward the center of town, ponies who were at their stalls had run inside and the streets were barren. Every time Luna attacked Dead would block it in a flurry of bones that would vanish within moments.

"Dead! Stop hiding behind your bones and face us!" Luna shouted as another attack was deflected. Dead remained silent throughout the fight, not say a word and just focusing on surviving the onslaught. Each attack Luna did pushed Dead back and drained her of energy. Dead had been pushed back to the town hall when suddenly a rumbling noise could be heard.

"That's not me... What are you doing?" Dead asked angrily. "Your not going to raze this town just because I'm here are you?"

"Hold your tongue, we would not do something so petty." Luna said spitefully. "Now Tell us what you are doing, witch." Luna's use of the term witch took Dead back a few decades, however she was more focused on the rumbling. Something was coming, something big. "Tell us!" Luna shouted.

"Nothing, at least nothing I am not aware of. Now tell me. You recently returned from being banished. What was it like?" Dead asked hoping that Luna would give her some insight to what was happening.

"Not something I would tell you!" Luna bark back, the rumbling getting louder every second.

"Well I heard you were a bit, evil." Dead asked with a grin forming, if Luna answered it correctly she would know what was coming.

"It is not something I care about. Do not bring up the past if you want to live." Luna hissed at Dead as the rumbling became incredibly loud. The ponies who were outside had ran inside in fear of what was to come. "But yes. I was."

Dead let out a large sigh. "Well then I hope your happy, go grab the elements. We will need some support if we are to take what is coming." Dead said as she prepared a large summoning spell.

Skeletal Nightmare Part I

"Skullworthy, if we can relate the notes back to the previous scroll it might make more sense." A series of clicks followed. "Yeah that is what I thought, if I could just figure out how to summon and bind it to me..." A few short sharp clicks could be interrupted. "No, I don't think so. But still I could at least lure it to Canterlot, to summon it and then let it run riot in the city."

The scrolls were organised in a orderly fashion, a few were open and had magic markers set up to link to passages. Dead was sat against the bench with a inkwell and quill. Skullworthy was hoovering next to her. "Even if we need a binder and fuel to summon it... We could use one of the princesses! Of course! Either summoning a skeletal horror or a skeletal nightmare of sorts. A high level bone-weaver would be able to make one, but I can't do that yet." Skullworthy let out some clicks. "No. I will not give this up."

The scrolls moved around the room suspended in a white aura. Certain ones falling down to Dead as she took notes before sending them away. "Well by the looks of things this can't be summoned. It just happens when a Necromancer is near a very powerful being." More clicks came out . "I don't think so. I can't at all. Now we can go about gather that life thread." A few short clicks followed by a few long clicks came out. "NO! I haven't given up. I will rule them all. They wronged me!"

"Its just one of those days..." Dead was stood in the town center, alone. The rumbling getting louder every second. It was close. "Alright Dead, I can do this. No need for any minions... Yet anyway." The rumbling picked up to an earthquake and then stopped. "Well you took your time." The ground shook violently and a mound formed in the center of the town square. A Sudden shake threw Dead to the ground and when she gazed up a large skeletal claw that was shrouded in a midnight blue mist that glistened in the moonlight.

A second claw burst from the ground in the same mist as the other. The claws started extending into arms that planted themselves in the ground and heaved. The ground around the arms started to heave up and a disfigured skull appeared, followed by a torso. The creature could not fully uproot itself in its current state. As it was the skeletal beast was stuck in a single spot with only access to its arms.

"Ah look at you. So stuck in the ground..." Dead mocked the creature until it threw a dark bolt of energy at her. "Got a lot of energy in you. Funny I used to dream of summoning something as beautiful as you. Now I dread your very existence." The beast let out a roar which was then followed by another bolt of energy which Dead dodged by the skin on her teeth. "Look stop being so rude. Its not you its me." Dead mocked the beast as it helplessly tried to claw its way out and letting out the odd energy bolt.

"Twilight!" Luna shouted as she the the door to the library open. "We need your assistance!" Luna rushed into the library to find Twilight was drink some tea in the main room reading a book. "Twilight, gather your friends! Bring them to the town center!" Was all Luna said before running out quickly.

The sleepy town was currently echoing with the roars of the skeletal beast. Luna took to the sky and could make out the skeletal beast that was throwing energy bolts around, she flew down just out of range of the bolts and called out to Dead. "You! What is this? What did you do!" Luna called out to the nimble necromancer who was hopping around.

"Not much, just y'know. Stuff" Dead mockingly said as she hopped around the energy bolts and occasionally raised the odd shield.

"What is this 'stuff' you speak of? Have you not noticed what the massive skeletal beast trying to tear its way across the town?" Luna said loudly.

"Oh yeah, that. Try and help me with this." Dead said as she swiftly raised a shield and defended herself from a large blue energy bolt. "I hate to say it but, you need to help me and vis versa."

"Why should we help you? You have done nothing but cause our sister pain."

"Luna, you were in my position. I noticed Nightmare Moon. Most of Equestria did. I'm just trying fit in, surely you could understand my predicament. Now please, help me. If not for me for the people of this town. If this thing gets out we are all dead." Dead said looking over to the skeletal beast that was trying to claw its way out.

"Only for Equestria, this is not an alliance this is..."

"Fine, that is good enough for me." Dead huffed as she kept dodging the swipes of the beast.

"Rainbow! Rainbow!" Rarity called out to the cloud above her, a few rock throws later a moaning could be heard from the house. "Rainbow! Get your lazy flank down here!" Rarity shouted out, she had been woken up by Twilight just as she had gone to sleep.

"Urgh, somepony got up on the wrong side of bed." Rainbow sighed as she came out of her house. "Whats up Rarity?"

"Its Dead, or something like that. Twilight didn't say much. We are needed in the center of town though." Rarity said in a huff as she started walking towards the town hall. "Come on, we need to move." Rainbow flew down and walked next to Rarity.

"Alright, I'm only going because its Dead." Rainbow sighed as they approached the town.

"You still think you have a chance Rainbow? She knows what you tried to do." Rarity sighed.

"Shows what you know, I still got it. Anyway she said it doesn't matter. Meaning I do in fact have a chance. And that is all I need." Rainbow argued as the pair slowly approached the town, unaware of the danger they were in.

Skeletal Nightmare Part II

"I'm glad you are all here." Twilight announced, the roars and screams of the Skeletal Beast in the background. "We need to formulate a plan. By the sounds of things we might be over our heads. But with Dead and Luna..."

"Twilight," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "We don't have time for a plan. Dead is out there, fighting. She needs our help." Rainbow placed her hoof on Twilight shoulder. "We need to act now. Not later."

"Very well Rainbow. As a brave mare once said! CCCCCHHHHHAAAARRRRRGGGGGEEEEE!!!!!" Twilight cried as the group ran into the town square. "Oh..." Was all Twilight was able to say as she saw both Luna and Dead fighting the Skeletal Nightmare that was submerged in the ground partially.

Luna was hoovering around the beast throwing the odd magical bolt at it. Meanwhile Dead was casting a spell that shot three white bolts of energy at the Beast in a triangle formation. Each time both spells hit the beast it would double back and scream in agony, only to response by unleashing a volley of dark energy.

"This thing Dead, how do we stop it?" Luna shouted out after she noticed Twilight had appeared.

"Its simple. The Skeletal Nightmare. As I have come to name it, was created by a combination of our powers. We both had 'residue' energy. You from being Nightmare Moon and me from being myself. The energies combined to form this creature. Therefore both our powers combined would be needed to stop it." Dead shouted to Luna as she darted around the Beast's claws.

"So what does Twilight and the elements have to do with this?" Luna shouted as she avoided a magical bolt and fired back one in retaliation.

"Not going to lie Luna, if one of us dies they will be the last chance. I doubt you will. But myself... I can't dodge and fly around like you." Dead sighed. "I grow weary Luna. I can't keep this up, I am only a Unicorn after all."

"Do not worry. We can help... If it is needed. " Luna said in a friendly voice as she flew alongside Dead as she dodged a swipe.

At this point Twilight and her friends had started their attack on the Beast. Twilight started used the elements the channel a large amount of power into the spine of the Beast, however what seemed effective at first soon lost its power. The creatures shrugged off the rainbow colored beam and struck down with its claws.

"No!" Dead shouted. "I have had enough. I will end this!" Dead channeled a spell and then threw her energy into the ground. "Rise!" Dead shouted as the ground started to tremble.

"Dead!" Luna shouted. "What have you done?"

"I have done what I must to save those I love." Dead said spitefully. Within moments a skeletal claw poke up from the ground. "Please do not think any less of me... This was a last resort." A few more shakes and a small squad of skeletal dragons burst out of the ground.

The skeletal dragons flew around the beast, occasionally letting out a white burst of fire on the Beast that was trapped. Luna, who was now avoiding the speeding dragons that were in the air landed by Twilight. "Twilight, we need you be on your guard, these skeletons are... unsettling."

Twilight nodded as another swipe from the Beast caused them to break apart. "Luna!" Dead shouted from the other side of the Beast. "Luna! Hit it with everything you got!" Luna nodded and flew up in the air and channeled a powerful spell. The spell flew into the Beast and caused it double back in pain and lose its mist. Under the mist it was a simple bone creature. The dragons flew around it in a diamond formation and channeled a large amount of energy into it. "Yes! Its working!" Dead shouted happily.

The creature wailed in agony, its scream causing Dead and her skeletons to be thrown off focus. At this point Twilight once again used the elements of harmony to fire a strong bolt of energy into it. The Beast fell back in pain and then did not move, each of its bones started to turn into dust and then the dust was blown into the wind.

The small squad of dragons landed and dug underground before anypony could notice them. A cheer could be heard from the nearby houses as the Beast's dust was blown far away. However for Dead the victory was short lived. Withing moments of the creature being defeated she was hit with a bolt of energy that knocked her into a wall and out cold.

"Luna!" Twilight shouted out in protest. "What was that for?" Twilight closed the distance between Luna and Dead as Luna walked towards Dead still body.

"She is not what you think Twilight. She may claim to be your friend, but she is nothing more then a heartless fiend who will stop at nothing to achieve her own goals." Luna said with almost no emotions in her voice. "She has committed unthinkable crimes, not just against Celestia but against nature."

"But she can change! You should know that more then anypony! You changed and so can she!" Twilight shouted out in protest. "Just give her a chance..."

"That is not for me to decide, it is for Celestia. You are more then welcome to join us in returning to Canterlot." Luna said, her voice still remaining devoid of emotions. Luna then picked up Dead with her magic and threw the unconscious mare over her back.

"Luna, you can't just do this..." However before Twilight could finish her sentence Luna had already taken off and was on her way to Canterlot.

Cold Heart, Colder Walls

Dead awoke, she was on a small bed in a stone cell. The walls were gray and no decoration was on them, a single window that was barred was letting sunlight in and the cell had a sink with a mirror above it. Dead got up and moved over to the cell door. A single guard was positioned at the door. Not to guard those captive but to make sure they weren't forgotten. Dead could feel a suppression field limiting her magical attributes.

A few hours had past and the guard had swapped with another, no words were said. Dead had no idea how long she had been out cold however the sun was high in the sky. "Hey!" Dead called to the new guard as she stuck her hoof through the bars and waved it. "You there!" The guard ignored her and remained still. "Hey! How long have I been here?" Dead asked, but got no response. Dead turned back and hopped back on the bed, she let out a long sigh and pulled the covers over herself with what little magic she had. Within moments she had drifted into a slumber.

"Alright Rarity, gezz chill out." Rainbow said as once again Rarity had pelted her house with rocks. "I'm coming!" Rainbow shouted as another rock flew into the cloud she called home. Rainbow emerged from her cloud and flew down to a mad looking Rarity. "Whats the rush anyway?" Rainbow asked Rarity as she landed next her.

"Have you really forgotten? We have to go to Canterlot." Rarity said with a huff.

"Why do we need to to Canterlot?" Rainbow asked.

"Wow, really Rainbow? You really, really forgot?" Rarity sighed. "And to think the other day you were being rather unladylike to her."

"Oh Dead! Yeah I knew that... I was just teasing you... Yeah lets go with that." Rainbow rolled her eyes as they both headed towards the train station.

When they arrived at the train station only Twilight and a few bags were there. "Where are the others?" Rarity asked.

"Well Pinkie had a code seven delta... Apparently. Fluttershy didn't want to come because she was worried Dead would attack her animals for some reason. And Applejack has a whole week of work to do today or else they miss harvest session." Twilight said sounding slightly disappointed. "I had hoped they would come but... It looks like it will just be us three."

Dead awoke a second time, the loud whistle of the train leaving the station was enough to wake her from her slumber. The sun had not moved from its position in the sky and the only major difference in her cell was that a plate with oatmeal in it had been placed within the cell. Dead quickly ate the small portion of food before sighing, she turned her attention to a mirror that was place above the sink in her cell. Dead quickly raised her hoof and punched the mirror, causing it to shatter into a thousand tiny peaces.

"Why must I be here! Why won't somepony come down!" Dead shouted as she pulled her hoof back. "I don't want to be forgotten..." A more calmer Dead said as she slumped to the ground.

The train was running late, as always. Rainbow had suggested several times that she fly over to Canterlot to let them know they were coming. However Rarity had thought that it would not be a good idea to risk Rainbow being alone with Dead. As the trio boarded the train the conductor checked their tickets and let them on board. Rarity stowed her bags and sat down. "How long do you think it will be until we arrive?" Rarity asked as she took one of her bags down and sorted through its contents.

"At least an hour, and that is hoping that there is no cattle on the rail." Twilight sighed. "I can't believe that Luna just took her away. And that she is all alone in some dungeon."

"Don't worry about her," Rainbow interrupted. "She is strong and will be able to tough it out. I mean come on, she summons skeletons! A few days in a dungeon won't do her any harm."

"I suppose. But still I don't like it." Twilight said quietly. "We have to try our best once we get to Canterlot. We can't let her down!"

"That's the spirit!" Rarity called out.

Dead was sound asleep. Or she was, the sound of hoofs slowly stepping down the stairway woke her up. Dead looked up expecting to see a guard coming down the stairs. It was no guard, instead Celestia. Or who Dead thought was Celestia came down. Dead could have sworn last time they met she was a little larger. However after a quick eye rubbing Dead was sure she was not going insane.

"Surprised to see me?" Dead said mockingly as Celestia regally walked in front of the cell.

"Dead, I knew someday you would turn up here. It was only a matter of time." Celestia always spoke calmly.

"If you knew I was alive why did you not send anypony to get me? To arrest me." Dead spoke with a negative tone.

"I can understand, you are angry. You don't think you should be here..."

"No I do. I understand. I am a abomination, a crime against nature. I defile corpses and other untold taboo."

"But you don't. You are nothing like that. You are just misunderstood. I can see that."

"You think I'm that shallow? You think you can just say a few words and it will make all the pain go away?"

"It is not something I have come to the conclusion of overnight. Try a thousand years."

"And what makes you think I have changed?" Dead asked quizzically as she leaned against the bars.

"Your actions speak far louder then your words."

"Oh so I saved a few ponies from a monster. Big deal."

"You saved your friends or as you put it. 'The ones you love'"

"Hmmp. You think you have me sorted don't you?"

"If by that you mean I think you don't belong in a cage, then yes." Celestia said confidently as she undid the locking mechanism and opened the cell doors.

I Don't Want to Hurt Anymore

The cell doors were open. The magical field had been lifted and Dead could feel her strength return yet the only thing she could do was ask. "But why?"

"Because Dead, you have the power to control your destiny, you seem to think that everpony is caught up in the past when they are looking into the future. You would be lying to yourself if you think you are useless." Celestia said as she gestured Dead to walk out. However Dead remained still. "Dead, you need to stop worrying about the past. It can't hurt you and me and Luna are the only ones who remember what you did."

"I still remember. I remember so much. You think that one day I just snapped and killed those ponies and griffons. The griffons I will admit to, but not their lies." Dead said coldly as she remained still. "You banished me when I was a foal for the murder of my family, a murder I never committed. You chose to believe the words of griffons that had blood on their claws over mine."

"Did you not think I had realized that? As soon as the griffon war happened the truth came to me in the form of a report that was salvaged. But at that point you had already gone on the offensive." Celestia said as Dead remained stationary in her cell.

The train came to a grinding halt as it arrived at the station. Twilight and Rainbow hopped of the train followed quickly by Rarity who was carrying a few of her bags. It would be a quick walk over to the castle that was at the edge of the city. While Rarity wanted to do a small amount of shopping. However the three of them agreed it would be best to wait until they knew what state Dead was in.

Canterlot was as busy as it normally was, the nobles were all eating as restaurants as it fast approached midday. As the trio moved swiftly from street to street they eventually found themselves outside the castle gates. The guard who was guarding gates smiled as he let the group past, after all Celestia had expected them to come.

"Hey, Twilight." Rainbow called over. "What do you think they have done to her?"

"She is probably in a dungeon in the lower levels. They never get used that much but they would be able to hold her." Twilight said blankly as they moved up the stairs towards the main hall. "Here is to hoping that Celestia is in the main hall."

Several minuets earlier...

"Sister are you sure this is a good idea? She is unstable at best." Luna asked as a sleeping Dead was lying down on a bed, snoring gently. "She normally has strong control over her dream but in this state... Anything could happen in there! We can't let you simply jump in there unprotected."

"Then come with me. I know the risk of going in, but she is torn." Celestia calmly said as she gazed over Dead. "I know you care little for her..."

"Sister you know our feelings on this abomination. Do not make us voice them a second. However we shall help, only because you see it fit to." Luna said calmly.

Within a moment a guard came rushing in, he was sweating heavily from running in heavy armor. "Princesses!" He bowed as he spoke, he sounded drained of energy and was breathing heavily. "They have arrived, only three of them." The guard nearly collapsed as he stood back up.

"Very well, you may take a rest. Where were you stationed?" Celestia asked as she smiled warmly over the guard.

"I was at the checkpoint just by the station. I saw them in a carriage and ran here as soon as I could." The guard huffed.

"You have come a long way. Would you kindly go to the mess hall and have a break."

"Yes... That sounds good." The guard said as he slowly dragged his drained body out of the room.

Luna moved over to the doorway. "So you think they want to help?" Luna asked.

"Yes, from what I have gathered she has spent the past few days in Ponyville." Celestia said with a small grin forming on her face. "Making friends."

"And you know this how? We would like to know where you acquired this information. And why you did not tell us." Luna asked in a raised voice.

"I have my ways... But for now we need to remained focus on the task at hand. Dead will not wake up from this slumber while we are in her dream, will she?" Celestia asked her sister as she paced around the room.

"She will not. As least until we have finished our work. We have been able to make it more stable. How long until they arrive?"

"Knowing Twilight, five minuets." Celestia chuckled as she looked out a window down onto the city below.

The castle was calm, all accept the group and were swiftly moving from room to room. "I'm sure they will be somewhere around here." Twilight shouted as she ran frantically from room to room. "We have to find her! She might be in mortal peril!"

Rainbow sighed. "This is Celestia we are talking about. She wouldn't do anything without telling you first. Especially with something as big as a pony that can raise the dead." Rainbow caught up with Twilight quickly. "Maybe we should check their chambers... Y'know just in case..."

"Rainbow." Rarity said after she caught up with the duo after overhearing what Rainbow had said. "I doubt that the Princesses would do that."

"But its like the only place we haven't looked! Even if they are not... Y'know. It would be worth looking."

The group rapidly ascended the stairs and headed towards the royal chambers. Two guards that were outside let them in. Inside Celestia chambers Luna and Celestia were both waiting on the balcony, while Dead was asleep on the bed.

"Ha! I told you!" Rainbow cheered as Rarity's facial expression dropped,

"Now, now I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for this... I hope." Twilight sighed. "Celestia!" Twilight called out alerting Celestia that she was there.

"Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow Dash. It is good that you are here. We need your help." Celestia asked calmly.

"What would you need us to help with?" Rarity asked dreading the answer.

"It is Dead, she is locked in a state of self conflicted.  We need to head into her dream to help her resolve it."

"She... Is currently in a dreamlock state. She... Will not wake up however, she lacks control over it." Luna added. "I do not know what we face in her dream."

"While in her dream we will most likely be facing a manifestation of Dead's past and Dead'd future. Or the future she doesn't want to happen. And we will need to stop it."

Confrontation: Memory lane

Celestia, Luna, Twilight , Rarity and Rainbow Dash appeared, so to speak. They were asleep and inside Dead's nightmare. The area around them was thick with smoke. Scream could occasionally be heard and in the distance fire could be seen. Every now and then a group of five griffons would fly overhead. The ground was stained black from fire and the nearby houses were char.

"Where are we?" Twilight asked as she studied the destruction.

"It would seem that we are in a fragment memory. This appears to be Dead's village. And as the report suggested. It is under attack."

"Where can we go from here?" Twilight asked as she flinched to a scream in the background. "I don't like this..."

"I agree, this is most unsettling. You said we have to find the manifestation of Dead's past and the future she doesn't want. It would thrive here." Rarity said as the fire burst in the distance.

"It would seem a clear path would lead us deeper into the village. Luna, what do you think." Celestia asked Luna as the group gazed over a pathway that lead into the depths of the village.

"This place, it is painful. We must not waste any time, least it tears our sanity." Luna sighed. "We must go deeper. While it is weak I can seance the manifestation."

"Alright then, let beat this and go save Dead... From herself!" Rainbow shouted as she took off. The moment she hit the skyline a shrill cry could be heard and a group of three griffons landed by the group. "Woah!" Rainbow barely dodged the dive-bombing griffon.

"What do we do?" Rarity shouted as the griffons enclosed. Withing moments Luna cast a spell and as soon as it contacted the griffons they collapsed. "Well I guess..." The griffons started scream and convulsing as their flesh began to bubble, nearly as quickly as Luna had defeated them they were skeletons. The skeletons then flew off quickly.

"We should stay on the ground, while I can stop these memories... Doing so is taxing. We need to move." Luna said emotionless as the group started walking down the pathway. As they went deeper and deeper into the village the destruction only seemed to get worse. "We are getting closer to the manifestation we can feel it."

After what seemed to be an hour of walking down the pathway what seemed to be a chestnut colored pony was lying on the ground. However after the group approached it, it convulsed and turned into a skeleton in a fashion similar to the griffons. "Dead never killed anypony, however that pony looked... Similar to her." Celestia said sadly. Luna looked down at the skeleton.

"Welcome to the death of her childhood. This will not be easy." Luna said as she looked away and continued walking down the pathway.

After a few minuets of walking the group came across a mare who was running around frantically. Twilight ran up to her to ask her what the matter was however the mare beat her to it.

"Help! Please! Anypony!" The mare cried out as Twilight approached. "You! Please..."

"Whats the matter?" Twilight asked her.

"My foal! She is in that house! Please I went to try and save her and nearly chocked to death." The mare gestured to a house that was not burned down, but was halfway there.

"Twilight, we do not think it is a good idea to... Interact with these memories." Luna instructed however Twilight had already charged toward the burning building. As she got within earshot of the fire a griffon swooped down and dropped a large container on the house. The container cracked when it hit the building and poured oil all over the house, which then collapsed down. When Twilight turned around the mare had vanished.

A strange presence could be felt as Twilight ran back to her friends. A fog fell over them and a foal's voice could be heard.

I tried. I tried so hard to save them. They took everything from me... My home, my family, my friends... I was just a foal of eight years. And they killed my family in front of me. Can you imagine that. My brother, mother and father killed in front of as I hid under a table. Their lifeless eyes staring into my soul, begging for revenge.

The fog dissipated and then swirled into a black energy. The energy the rushed down the pathway and another voice could be heard however this one sounded more demonic, however the foal's voice could still be heard.

Yes... YES! Make me relive every moment of my scared past! Make me remember it all! Make me stronger!

"I'm sorry... So sorry... I don't know what came over me. As soon as I saw that mare I thought I knew her, that I had to help or at least try to..." Twilight cried into Celestia's shoulder as she sobbed.

"Do not worry, it was not your fault." Celestia comforted Twilight and gently stroked her mane in a motherly way.

Luna took the lead as the group contained down the path until they encountered another memory.

"N-No! Please don't! H-Help!" A stallion ran across the path with a young colt on his back, once he got halfway a griffon slammed into him and began viciously tearing at the stallion and colt. Within moments the griffon took off and all that remained of the stallion and the colt was a muddled pile of bones. The skull of the stallion turned and looked at the group. "Why.. Didn't you hel..." The skull fell down, leaving the group stunned.

The fog returned along with the foal's regular voice.

He died in front of me. I knew him and his colt well. And his last words were questioning why an eight year old didn't seal her fate. I hated myself for the next five minuets and considered jumping and a fire several times. But they eyes. The eyes of the dead called out to me. Begging, pleading and demanding revenge.

The fog once again swirled and turned into a black energy that flew down the pathway. The demonic foal's voice returned with it

I was called a monster for what I did. But now. You see, you see it all. The ugly truth. All the while I grow stronger. I will claim her and the world above, nothing will ever hurt her again. I will make sure of that.

Confrontation: Wrath of Dead

"I.. I don't know where we are..." Celestia sighed as the group st down to rest. "I though we were near the end but..." Celestia sat down next to Luna and Twilight.

"Do not worry sister, we are close. I will be able to summon a portal soon enough." Luna said, ever since they had seen the first memory Luna had been devoid of emotions when she spoke. "I can feel it, we are so close... I can make a portal that will take us straight to the Manifestation."

"Alright, good. I think if I stay here any longer I will lose my mind. I can't, believe that this is all in Dead's head." Rainbow Dash said as she looked at one of the burnt down houses.

"Yes, lets try and make a move. I have to agree with Dash here." Rarity said after Rainbow had finished. "If you need any help, anything at all I will try my best."

"It is fine we just need a moment to prepare, this should only take a moment." Luna go up and walked five meters away from the group into a clearing that was between a few burnt houses. The spell she was channeling used a lot of energy when she cast it, however it would recharge her when she passed through it.

After a brief amount of time Luna fired a small blue bolt into the floor. A small purple portal opened above the spot effected. Luna called out to signal the group that she had opened the way for them. The group were now stood in front of the portal. "Luna, why didn't you do this earlier?" Rainbow asked.

"We were not close enough to the manifestation, I knew we would need a portal. It was just a matter of getting close to the center of the nightmare so I could pin point it." Luna said as she stood at the gateway. "Shall we make a move?" The group all nodded and stepped through the portal.

The group was in a small court room. In the center of the court room there was a small chestnut colored filly.

I went all the way to Canterlot. After what I had done I decided it would be best to go tell somepony, but much to my despair the griffon had already flow there. I was arrested and...

"She must be BANISHED!" A younger looking Celestia looked over as a younger looking Luna shouted across the room. The group were at the back of the room.

"I do not wish to relive this." Luna stated as the courtroom Luna shouted. "I was not... Myself." The courtroom fell into silence and the courtroom Celestia passed judgement. At this point the filly in the center started sobbing into the floor. The lights feel dim and only the small filly was in the room.

A door opened at in the other side. And the group made their way across to it. "We need to go, I know this may be hard but we need to move." Celestia said as she moved her across the room. "Let us hurry. I do think I can bear this much longer." Twilight stayed back for a moment as the others had gone across the threshold of the door.

The next room was a large bone platform. At one end stood Celestia and the rest of the group at the other end Dead was stood. Dead was wearing some sort of purple robe that covered the entirely of her body, a Minotaur skull was worn as a headdress and cloth draped across her muzzle left only her eyes showing. The cloth was adorned with various symbols and markings.

"So you are finally hear." Dead hissed at the group as she faced them, an unnatural white energy burned in her eyes. "Since there are five of you I shall give you five questions."

The group looked at each other, finally Luna walked forwards. "What are you?" Luna asked slowly unaware how she was going to answer it.

"You of all ponies should know, you have said several times. I am a manifestation of Dead's past, and as she puts its 'a future she doesn't want.' I exist only to protect her."

Celestia now walked forward to ask a question. "Why are you doing this?" Celestia steadily asked

"I just said, I protect her. Dead, we were once a single pony. But when Twilight came she shed me like a snake sheds it skin, she had hurt herself and was letting other hurt her. I could not allow that so I do what I must and take over."

Twilight now moved forwards she had a bit more time to think of a question. "What will you do if you are able to take over?"

"I will take over the Equestria, I will drive the griffon to extinction and I will make sure nothing ever hurts her again."

Rarity moved forward before Rainbow Dash could of. "How did you come to be? Something like you doesn't just form overnight."

"When she saw her parents die. I was born."

Finally Rainbow Dash came forward. "Where is Dead?"

"I am Dead." Rarity was halfway through a facehoof when.

"No you are not." Rainbow shouted. "You are not Dead!"

"Dead is locked away, in a dream."

"A dream within a dream? Can such a thing even happen?"

"You are out of questions. No more games! It is time for me to claim what is mine!" The Necromancer shouted as she threw a destructive fire spell at the group of five. The group dodged the spell however before they could even think about attacking the Necromancer charged another spell and charged at Celestia. Twilight was able to throw a shield up just as the spell came close to her. "You are nothing but dust! You spend your time helping those. They will only stab you in the back."

The group was in the courtroom again however this time the courtroom version started firing bolt at the group. After a few volleys of magic the group was back on the bone platform. Rainbow was able to pick a large amount of speed up and slammed into the Necromancer, throwing both of them onto the floor. Luna was able to quickly grab Rainbow Dash and once she was clear Celestia fired a bolt and the Necromancer pushing her closer to the edge.

The Necromancer hopped up. "I have had enough of this farce. I will end this!" The Necromancer exploded leaving only a skeleton that was shrouded in a black fire. The white smoke that was coming off the skeleton was intoxicating. "Choke on your last breath!" It shouted. Rarity and Twilight were dodging a large amount of fireballs as Celestia and Luna kept attack the skeleton. The room was now full of smoke and Rarity was chocking on it.

"Twilight... I don't think I can last much longer..." Rarity gasped as she fell on the floor. "Go on without me..."

A sudden gust blew the smoke off. And Rarity started to regain her breath. Twilight turned around and saw Dead, the real Dead. The platform started to appear until everpony was suspended in nothing. The white began to glow bright until the group found themselves awake.

Aftermath

Dead's rapid breathing was a signal that she had awoken, however when she looked around she no longer in the castle. Dead quickly glanced around, it must have been night because of how dark the room was. Dead could just about make out the silhouette that approached her. "Dead," The voice sounded familiar. "Dead! You're awake. How about that!" Dead connected the voice to the one pony she knew spoke like that.

"R-Rainbow? Where am I?" Dead asked as she sat up. "How long was I out?"

"Well..." Rainbow started. "You are in my house... After we all woke up you were still asleep. They moved you into another room but you just rolled of the bed... A lot. I thought it would be a good idea to have you in my house since it is a cloud. Oh and about two weeks." Rainbow shuffled awkwardly around the room.

"Oh... Sorry if I caused any distress." Dead solemnly said as she looked around. "Why is it so dark? And why haven't I fallen to my doom?"

"Well its night. What did you expect? I can't have torches or lanterns in here. They just won't light." Rainbow snapped. "Sorry about that, its late and I had a full day working, if you could believe it. Oh and Twilight cast a spell or something allowing you stay on the cloud for now.. She said it would last a few weeks."

"I don't think the words 'Rainbow Dash has spent a hard days working' can be put in a sentence together." Dead joked as she let out a large yawn. "Wow I was asleep for two weeks yet I'm still tired."

"Its okay, I will just go to the sofa for the night. Not like I haven't been sleeping there for the past two weeks." Rainbow huffed at she walked towards the doorway. However just as she reached it the fluffy cloud door it slammed shut. "Hey! What was the for!" Rainbow half shouted as she turned around.

"Well this bed is big enough for both of us. No sense in making you sleep on the sofa..." Dead blushed slightly as she saw a large grin come over Rainbow's face. "Just not like that in case you were wondering." The smile calm downed slightly however it was still there.

"Can I at least hug you?" Rainbow asked with a slight grin. "Please..?" Rainbow half pleaded.

"Rainbow... Are you begging? For a hug?" Dead asked as the blush deepened.

"Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee... Just for tonight. And I won't tell anypony."

"You won't tell anypony that you hugged me? I don't know... You did trick me..." Dead teased Rainbow, Dead did not normally have the high ground in debates however she was more then happy to take it now.

"Please Dead, I looked after you for two weeks when you were asleep. I went into your dream to try and help you..." Dead sighed, she had lost the high ground.

"Alright..." Dead sighed as she rolled over. "But..." Rainbow had already jumped onto the bed and gone under the covers, she quickly wrapped her hoofs around Dead and pulled her in. "That's fine..." Dead sighed happily as she slowly drifted into sleep.

"Goodnight Dead..." Rainbow sighed as she drifted into a slumber.

Rainbow woke up, her hoofs were still wrapped around Dead. A small grin came over her as the sun started to rise. Dead looked peaceful which was a relief, given that past few days she had tossed and turned and even screamed in her sleep. Rainbow was happy just to see her in her hoofs and settled down, she was so happy she didn't even notice that she had said "Morning beautiful..." And woke Dead up. Still, it was nice to pretend that they had something, even if for just a moment.

"Urgra-gah?" A sleep Dead mumbled, her mane was all over the place rather then its normal style. "Oh sorry. I tend to talk in tongue when I am half asleep." It was funny to think that Dead's mumbling was another language, she could say anything and Rainbow wouldn't have a clue. It was adorable. "I meant to say. Good morning Dash. Sleep well?"

"Yeah, of course!" Rainbow rushed as she released Dead from her embrace. "And how did you sleep?"

"I slept well, considering my recent turmoil. Thank you, for letting me use your bed while I was... Dealing with myself." Dead happily said as she got up. Dead ran her hoof over her hair and straightened the majority of it. "As far as sharing a bed with somepony who is hugging you to death is. It was nice."

"Well I'm glad to hear you slept well, and on my end it was enjoyable as well. So no harm done I guess." Rainbow hopped out of the bed and Dead followed suit. They both made their way down the cloudy stairs and into the main room. "I will make some breakfast if you want. Shouldn't be too hard to make another serving."

"Would you really? I can make myself some food if you need me to." Dead asked in a chirpy tone as she familiarized herself with the layout of the room.

"Its fine, I would be more then happy to whip something up." Rainbow smiled at Dead, at a glance nopony would be able to tell she was a necromancer, or that she had such a scared childhood or suffered emotional pains that nearly overtook her. While Rainbow never fully forgave herself for how she first treated Dead, she would try and make it up to her anyway possible. Rainbow then made her way into the kitchen and started making some breakfast.

"Rainbow!" Dead called out.

"Yeah?" Rainbow hollered back.

"Thanks again, I'm lucky to have friends like you, Twilight and Rarity."

"Don't worry about it Dead, we got your back and you got are back right? That's what friends do isn't it? And hey if I ever need some skeletons summoned. I know who to ask." Rainbow chuckled as she prepared breakfast.

"Yeah, I guess that works out fine. Now what do I have planned for today..."

I can be happy, or so they say...

Dead was happily trotting through the park in Ponyville, ever since the whole Luna abducting her, and her summoning some skeletal ponies had given her a wide berth. The odd pony still came up and said hi, but it wasn't like Dead disliked the odd interaction. Dead had considered going to Twilight's library or Rarity's shop but in the end she figured she just needed some fresh air.

The small pond in the park was the perfect place for Dead to rest. It was a simple spell that caused water around her to freeze over. Dead walked into the center of of the pond and sat down. Despite all the ponies giving her strange looks she was able to meditate for a moment.

However a small group of foals that were charging around the park screaming a battle cry that caused Dead to loose concentration and fall into the pond. "Bah!" Dead groaned as she swam back to the shoreline before picking herself up and and. Dead huffed as she removed her mane from her eyes and quickly cast a heating spell to dry off. This was a mistake as her hair became frizzy and puffed up.

"Woah! Look at your hair!" Somepony shouted behind Dead, once again the voice was familiar however Dead could not put her hoof on it. Until the pony did a double back flip over Dead and landed in front of her.

"Oh hey Pinkie, yeah I fell in the pond and got soaking wet. I then tried to dry myself off and got mixed results." Dead sighed happily as she was glad to be with a pony with such a happy nature.

"Woooow... You must of really fell in! I mean so in that you came out! In China!"

"What's a China..?" Dead puzzled as Pinkie started bouncing around. "Never mind Pinkie..."

"Okie-dokey-lokie!" Pinkie sang out as she hopped around. "So! What'cha dooin?"

"Not much, I don't really have anything planned for today." Dead turned her gaze to the ground and shuffled a rock around.

"Oh well that's cool. Sayyyy if you don't have any plans, wanna help me at the store?" Pinkie asked as she continued to happily hop around.

"Uh, yeah sure. I don't see any harm in that... Just direct me to the poison and I'l have half the town out by sundown!" Dead joked as she let out a hearty laugh. "I was joking by the way... My humor is a little depressing..."

Pinkie just smiled largely at Dead, she started to bounce over to sugar cube corner and Dead slowly followed.

"Alright, do you need me to explain it again?" Pinkie sang as she took a fresh batch of muffins out of the oven.

"No, no! Singing that song three times was enough for me!" Dead nearly shouted before remembering that two young foals were asleep. Following Pinkies sing-song instructions to a T she bake a batch of muffins. Only burning down half the room when the oven jammed shut. "Woops..." Dead stared at the muffins, well the term muffins was out of the question. They were lumps of charcoal. "Maybe we can sell them to a blacksmith?"

Pinkie let out a sigh. "That's the fifth time this week... The blacksmith has enough charcoal as it is! I think maybe we should set up a contract..." She scoped up the 'muffins' and placed them in a bag with other 'muffins' in it. "Well I guess this bag is ready to be shipped out." Pinkie chuckled. "Soooo Dead. What'cha dooin?"

"I am... Leaving before I get implemented!" Dead quickly teleported out of the store. Unaware that Pinkie was with her Dead started to walk away. Only to be thrown to the ground by the pink earth pony. "Ahhhh!" Dead shouted as she fell down.

"What'cha dooin?" Pinkie asked as she sat on top of Dead.

"I am not eating dirt, if that's what you mean. Pinkie why are you sat on me." Dead asked as she sighed.

"Well... I overheard Twilight talking to Dash about it.." Pinkie said sheepishly.

"Go on..." Dead dreaded saying that.

"Well Rainbow said that it would be something fun to do, I didn't hear all of it but I got the gist of it. Or so I hope."

"So you decided to sit on my. Because you were eavesdropping Twilight talking with Rainbow. Pinkie. You are too random, if you don't mind... Could you hop off so I can started breathing properly?"

"Oh sure!" Pinkie said as she happily jumped off Dead and helped her get back up. "Anyway. You still haven't told me. What'cha dooin!" Pinkie said with a slight happy-angry tone.

"I am going to try and figure out something, care to help?" Dead reluctantly said.

"Ooooo a mystery!" Pinkie pulled a deerstalker hat out from her mane with a bubble pile. "You know Sherlock Hooves never wore a hat."

"Um no I didn't. Anyway I have a task which will fit you perfectly." Dead trawled her mind and attempted to think of a way to throw Pinkie off her tail. "You see I have this problem. Ponies seem to backing away from me a lot recently. I need you to undercover and find out why." An idea suddenly hit Dead. "Wait never mind."

"Awwww..." Pinkie sighed as she threw her cover off. The cover that Dead failed to notice appear and cover Pinkie.

"Pinkie! Your mission is to not accept this mission! Do you accept?" Dead said triumphantly.

"I..! I...I ummmm..." Pinkie was half in midair when she reversed back into her position. She placed a hoof on her chin and rubbed it, she mouthed the words. "I..." Pinkie stood still for a moment. "Give me a moment Dead. I will get back to you ASAP!"

About as normal as it gets

Dead left Pinkie and headed around the town for a bit. While she had left Pinkie with a paradox that could not be solved she was assured that she had at least given herself five minuets of peace. Dead walked around town and took in the various smells and sights a few stalls catching her attention however she lacked the necessary funds to buy anything. As Dead moved from stall to stall she stopped paying attention to where she was walking and bumped into somepony.

"Oh, sorry!" Dead said as she fell to the ground after clashing heads with the pony she bumped into. "My fault, in a world of my own." Dead staggered back onto her hoofs, she looked over to see who she had bumped into. "Hey, you alright?" Dead said to the mare that was lying on the floor, after a few moments Dead realized that she was out cold and a small rock that was under head explained why. Dead being the pony she was picked up the poor mare with her magic and gently placed her over her back as she headed towards the closest house she knew.

Dead knocked at the door and heard the regular sing song, "Coming!" The door opened and a rather startled Rarity was in the doorway. Dead guessed that she startled because Dead was awake and also because she had a mare that was out cold on her back. "Hello Dead, what a pleasant surprise." Rarity greeted Dead nervously as she glanced over to the pony on her back.

"Don't worry about me, we bumped heads on the street and she landed on a rock. Shes not bleeding but you were the closest pony I knew." Dead said as Rarity ushered her in and closed the door. "Thanks for this.. I know it must be odd for me to show up after being out for so long with a pony on my back."

"Well around here... It is not uncommon for that to happen. For a short time this was the chaos capital. Anyway lets put her down on the sofa and clear her breathing." Rarity lead Dead over to the sofa and Dead placed the mare on her side on it. "Perfect, now let me get my concussion kit."

"You keep a concussion kit?" Dead questioned.

"Well fabrics can be deadly if a large amount fall on your head. I am just being prepared!" Rarity defended herself.

"Fair point, now I will keep an eye on her while you go grab it." Dead smiled as she tended to the mare. Dead studied the mares features in case she ever bumped into her again. The mare had a coat that was almost identical to Rainbow's however unlike Rainbow her mane was a pale blue color. Shortly after Dead had done examining the mare. Rarity came back with a small red box with a white cross on it.

Dead took a closer look at the mare, she could sense something off. Deciding that it was a possible magical connection Dead examined the mare with a quick magical pat down. It was there, a dark energy that Dead had seen a few other times before. More recently she saw the same energy on the corrupted Alicorn amulet. Rarity sat on the spare spot on the sofa and placed an ice pack on the mares head.

"Rarity," Dead began. "When I took the Alicorn amulet, it was because it recently came into my magical scanning range that I had set-up." Dead looked over to the mare. "How did it end up so close to me?" Dead then turned back to Rarity with a stern look, she already knew how but she wanted to hear it from another.

"Well, this here is Trixe. A few months ago there was an incident with a ursa minor which ended up in her leaving the town in a huff. Not to long after you arrived she came back. Just this time she had the amulet."

"Alright, I just need to confirm what was happening with her. I was half worried it was something worse!" Dead laughed as she helped Rarity sort through the components that made up the concussion kit.

"Still, I don't know why she has come back. Nearly everypony in town disliked her to an extent after what happened." Rarity sighed. "Personally I just feel sorry for her.. I can't really bring myself to dislike a pony too much. But anyway, shes here and in our care until she wakes up. A pony in need is still a pony in need after all!" Rarity said triumphantly as her and Dead tended to Trixe.

Knock-knock-knock

"I'l get the door Rarity, you keep and eye on her." Dead said as she jumped up and made her way to the door. When she opened it she saw a rather surprised Twilight was stood in the doorway. "Oh hey Twilight, sorry for not dropping by. I kinda got caught up here with something."

"Oh no its fine Dead, Pinkie came over and asked me for help with that 'mission' you sent her on. But I need to let Rarity know that I am expecting a certain somepony to show up in town today." Twilight said sheepishly as she spoke.

"Hm does she happen to be a she?" Dead started.

"Yeah, but Rarity knows who I am on about." Twilight smiled as she tried to get past dead who blocked her advances.

"Has a coat like Rainbow's and pale blue hair?" Dead asked.

"Yeah... How did you know that?" A confused Twilight asked.

"Goes by the name of Trixe and once wore the Alicorn amulet?" Dead ended.

"Yes! Who told you this?"

"Nopony, well maybe Rarity. But I bumped into her earlier and she is currently out cold on the sofa." Dead gestured Twilight in and called out to Rarity. "Rarity! Its Twilight, she just coming in to see your guest!"

Moral high ground

Twilight and Rarity had gone out to go fetch a few items and books for when Trixe had woken up, they decided it would be best to leave Dead with Trixe for some reason. Dead didn't argue but she didn't enjoy being left in a house with a mare she had knocked out. After ten minuets of sitting on the sofa and occasionally stroking Rarity's cat Trixe began to stir. Dead hopped up in the sudden movement. "Ahhh! Wait..." Dead remembered that she was with company. "Hello! Sorry I bumped into you."

"Uhhh..." Trixe mumbled, she sat up and glanced around the room. "Where am I? What time is?" Trixe frantically asked.

"Oh its about half past six..." Dead started before Trixe jumped up.

"No! I can't be late! I can't be late!" Trixe yelled as the made a beeline for the door only to be stopped by Dead grabbing her with her magic. A now floating Trixe thrashed violently against the magic holding her. "Put me down! Put me DOWN!" Trixe yelled.

"Woah, Trixe settle down. Twilight will be over in a bit. No need to worry, after all you took quiet a bump." Dead calmly said. Now Trixe had stopped thrashing around and had settled in Dead's magical grasp. "That's better, now just relax Trixe." Dead brought Trixe over to the sofa and sat her down. Before Trixe could even open her mouth Dead began to massage her back. "Anyway, until they get back just relax."

"Uhh, why?" Trixe questioned Dead as she gently worked her back.

"I bumped you earlier which knocked you out cold. I figured I owe you. This is the least I can do." Dead sighed happily. "You know this is the first time I have massaged anypony..."

"It... Doesn't... Show..." Trixe mumbled as she gave up fidgeting and resisting.

"Mmmmm maybe I should give up the whole necromancer gig and just go find a spa to work at, I hear there is a nice one here." Dead said casually as she talked to Trixe. As a sinister idea formulated in her head.

"Nerco-whatsi?" Trixe moaned as Dead unraveled a large knot.

"Oh y'know, raising the dead and all that jazz. Rather depressing." Dead continued as she kneaded Trixe's back. After a brief pause Dead realized that she had rendered Trixe speechless, either that or she knocked her out cold. "Oh its okay, I don't bite... Much and that's only if I haven't had anything to eat." Dead joked and started to laugh as her stomach let out a large rumble. "Oh yeah, I was asleep for two weeks..." Trixe twitch slightly as Dead's stomach continued to bark, howl and groan.

"You're not going to sacrifice Trixe... Are you?" Trixe said as Dead paused her massage. Dead chuckled, Twilight had told her that Trixe sometime refereed to herself, and she also told her that Trixe could be a bit abrasive at times.

"No, well not unless I want to feast on that dark energy inside you." Dead said in a serious tone, however she was just trying to joke with her. "Yep, that amulet filled you with a evil energy that I could just gobble up!" Dead sung happily "However I could do with a nibble..."

"No! Please don't eat Trixe!" Trixe said as she tried do get up, only to be stopped by Dead's magic. "No! Please Trixe will be good! She had already promised to Twilight! Please!"

"But you look so delicious!" Dead whined. "Just a tenney-tiny nibble on your soul perhaps?" Dead joked as her muzzle traced above Trixe's pinned back and faked smelling it. "You smell so yummy I could just devour you here and then take over Equestria!"

"N-no! Please don't, Trixe join you! You don't need to eat me if I am on your side! Just don't eat me!" Trixe pleaded as Dead traced her hoof against her her back. "Nggghhhhh Don't, please Trixe knows where they took the amulet! You don't need to eat me!"

"Hm, I know. Because I took it, that is how I can recognize its magical trace. And you are covered in it. Mmmmmmm if I could just have a hint of the energy..." Dead continued to suppress her laughter as Trixe started to struggle, this only caused Dead to increase her magical grip and stop the struggling mare. "Please do struggle, it only makes me feel more in control. And I looove to be in control."

"No! Please, just let Trixe live. Trixe will do anything, anything at all!" Trixe flailed around. "I don't want to die!"

"Oh no, I wouldn't kill Trixe, I would have Trixe in my house and Trixe would work of course. With the others..." Dead said darkly as she allowed a sinister grin to overtake her.

"Others?" Trixe asked shakily.

"Oh yes, the other skeletons. You won't be alive so to speak. But you will certainly not be dead and gone. The living require feeding, sleep, food and health care. Oh the health care."

"Trixe doesn't want to be a skeleton... Please, anything! Teach me, leave me or use me as a hostage! Just Don't..."

"I wouldn't think of it... The hostage idea sounds lovely... I wonder how long it would take them to realize that you weren't coming back." Dead cackled like a madmare, for the first time in years she cackled. And she loved it. "You know Trixe. You know my secret, I can't really let you... Live."

"But, you were so nice to Trixe..." Trixe stuttered.

"Of course, but then I spilled the beans. Trying to be nice and not blow my cover. However now that I think about it, it wasn't your fault."

"No, I wasn't! You should let Trixe go! Trixe will not tell another soul of your secret!" Trixe pleaded as Dead kept her pinned. "Just let me go..." Trixe started to give up.

"Oh no I could never do that. However thinking back... I could use an apprentice, somepony to clean the ritual room after I have used it." Dead smirked. "I just can't let you go. No, no What should I do with you..."

The not so moral high ground

Dead had been tormenting Trixe for the past ten minutes. Dead had enjoyed tormenting Trixe a little too much, however knowing that wasn't going to stop her. Thinking back to what she had read in several of the books an even more devious idea formulated in Dead's head. Trixe had ran out of energy and had stopped flailing around, she only gave out the odd twitch and the occasional grunt, she very rarely spoke and she only did when Dead was talking about something she particularly didn't want to happen.

"Trixe..." Dead spoke in a tone that she had picked up from Rainbow Dash, however anypony in the nearby area would refer to it a seductive. Dead shuffled uncomfortably close to Trixe's head and gently whispered in to her ear. "Oh Trixe..." Trixe reacted by squirming as her eyes shot wide open. Dead chuckled and pulled away from Trixe's head. "I see that woke you up, wouldn't want you tall fall asleep yet." Dead got up and walked over so that she was facing Trixe. "You know Trixe, there are certain things that an undead hoard can't do. Certain things that might keep you alive." Trixe grunted and gave a rather large flail as she remained pinned. "Oh yes, you will need a lot of energy."

"N-no..." Trixe grumbled. "P-please d-don't..." Trixe's voice was weak from all the yelling she had done, at one point Dead had debated gagging her but decided against it because she thought it might have been too much. While Dead was enjoying her cruel little joke she had to stop herself from going to far, the last thing she wanted to do was to do any permanent damage. Trixe weakly tried to move around, however unlike normal Dead allowed her a slight amount of freedom.

"Come now Trixe, it can't be that bad... Just relax and it will be more enjoyable for the both of us." Dead moved close to Trixe but decided against doing anything in fear that it might push her over the edge. Dead then tightened her grip. "However if you want to play rough I am more then happy to oblige." Dead got off the sofa and walked around the room. Something was off, she had the faintest feeling that she was being watched by somepony. Dead glanced out the windows. Nopony was there and nopony was within earshot of what Dead was doing. Yet it still felt off and she never checked the skylight.

A few minuets had passed and Trixe had regained some strength. "Please don't do what you are thinking of doing to Trixe..." Trixe half grumbled and half moaned. This reassured Dead for a moment, the last thing she needed was a mare who was suffering Stockholm syndrome from a joke gone wrong.

"You know Trixe, I find it ever-so attractive when you talk about yourself in that way." Dead cooed as Trixe gave a half horrified look. "Oh come on Trixe, don't pretend you don't know its sexy." Dead noticed Trixe's face flush slightly red. And there it was again, Dead looked over to the door and made sure it was locked from the inside, the last thing Dead wanted was for Twilight or Rarity to burst in and ruin the fun, well her fun anyway. "Perhaps another massage will do help you relax?" Dead never intended on letting Trixe have a choice, but she didn't want to seem like she was forcing it. Dead was well aware of stressed she had made Trixe and before she could respond Dead started working her hoofs on Trixe's back.

"Ahhhh!" Trixe moaned as Dead once again started reliving her of stress that had build up from the whole fiasco. "P-please stop..." Trixe groaned as Dead continued to work, the idea that somepony who had threatened to kill her was now massaging her made her uncomfortable.

"Hush now Trixe, you're making it harder for me to work. Just relax..." Dead sang smoothly as she worked, eventually Trixe stopped fighting it and just accepted it. "That's better, see how much easier it is if you just accept your fate." Dead cooed as she gently pressed Trixe's soft blue fur.

Trixe cooed softly as Dead continued removing the stress, while Dead was busy working her back she failed to notice the door being knocked, several times in fact and she certainly didn't hear Rarity calling out, oh no Trixe was busy relaxing. And apparently Dead didn't either. Several moments later a loud crashing was heard and the door burst down with Twilight and Rarity in the doorway. This caused the whole building to shake, Dead, who was now sporting a rather red face, traced the shock wave through the building until it reach and open skylight and knocked a startled Rainbow Dash into the room.

Dead promptly caught Rainbow in her magic and gave her a stern look before placing her. "I knew it! I knew somepony was watching me!" Rarity and Twilight remained in the doorway speechless of what they didn't interrupt. "So how much did you see?" Dead smugly asked Rainbow as she released Trixe who sat up, looking confused.

"I flew over when Twilight and Rarity left. I was gonna drop by and say hey but when Trixe woke up I decided to watch to see where things went. A lot more funny then I first thought..." Rainbow Dash happily said as she burst into a fit of laughter. "The bit when you said you were going to eat her soul, cause she wore the amulet was the funniest!" Rainbow started rolling on the floor while laughing hysterically as Dead joined in.

"I'm glad somepony can see a good joke when it presenters itself! Still, at some point I think I overdid it." Dead sighed as got up. "No hard feelings right Trixe?" Dead offered her hoof to Trixe.

"I.. I... I... I..." Trixe stuttered.

"Uhhh sorry Twilight, I think I broke Trixe. Sorry I think I may have gone to far towards the end..."

"If you ask me, you didn't go far enough! Next time your over could you do that to me? And maybe go too far?" Rainbow half pleaded.

"In your dreams Dash. And even then that's pushing it." Dead joked. "Maybe on your Birthday."

"Oh Its... My birthday today! Come on..." Rainbow Dash was interrupted by a pink blur that pinned her to the ground.

"No its not!" An enraged Pinkie said as she turned and smiled sheepishly at Dead. "I think I..."

"This sentence is false. Or is it?" Dead quickly said causing Pinkie to freeze up and place her hoof on her chin.

"I will add that to the list!" Pinkie said as she flew out the window at a unreal speed.

Dead now turned to Twilight who had remained still since the door opened. Rarity had managed to get past and was gently talking to Trixe as she remained stunned. "Well I suppose I better started explaining..."

And this road took us where?

"Really Dead?" Rarity huffed as a sorry looking Dead sat on the sofa. "I expected better of you! You scared the poor mare half to death! What were you thinking?" Rarity stood with an angry stare at Dead.

"How was I supposed to know she wouldn't take it very well? Its not like she couldn't of tried to overpower me. And besides she left relatively happy, I mean she shook my hoof and all and smiled." Dead half sulked half pouted.

"I know, I shouldn't get so upset. But you really scared her. I just think it may of been a bit over the top." Rarity had calmed down a bit and was speaking moire calmly. "Well at least she found it funny, but if you had showed up at my house and done that..."

"I would have done it because I would never had met you!" Dead joked as she started to laugh. "Rarity, you know I would never do anything to hurt an innocent pony. Now its been said and done with no and/or little harm done." Dead said with a serious tone. "Speaking of which do you want anything done for your birthday? Rainbow was quiet interest in that so I figured might as well have the same offer for you."

"Oh.. Possibly... Explain to me why Rainbow wanted you to do that to her." Rarity questioned.

"Oh I am pretty sure it was because at the end I was trying to be seductive and was giving massages. However from the short time I have known Rainbow I am now well aware of her intentions." Dead happily sang before Rarity gave her a question that she was not sure how to answer.

"And that would be?"

"Well she want to... You know.... Erhm... Yeah that..." Dead shuffled around nervously as she spoke. "Yeah that thing that... Starts with and S and has two other letters..."

"You mean sex darling, I am pretty sure you are talking about sex." Rarity said bluntly.

"Yes, sex. That is what I trying to say." Dead shuffled around a bit more. "I am not new to the idea, I mean I have known it for like the few days I have been awake since coming back... Those books Twilight gave me to read scared me."

"Oh Dead, sex is nothing to be scared of. Its a perfectly normal thing that happens everyday." Rarity informed Dead as Dead kept shuffling on the sofa.

"Its just not something I have ever had... When you live with skeletons its not really something you can just do. And from what I read, sleeping with a skeleton is frowned upon."

"Yes its rather morbid, I can imagine why you have gone your life without it." Rarity looked over at Dead who was still shaking nervously. "And you didn't know what any of this meant until Twilight showed you those books?"

"No I had no idea, and I had no idea what Rainbow first meant, can you imagine that. If I had not gone to Twilight's house she would have..."

"Now, now. I know Rainbow may have been a bit forward but I doubt she would really go that far without letting you know what you were in for."

"Even then I would not have known what she meant by it. What do you think she would have done to me?" Dead froze up and looked at Rarity.

"Once again Dead, I don't think she would have done anything to you if you honestly weren't aware."

"You really think so?"

"Rainbow was never one for the clueless types." Rarity laughed and Dead joined in picking up on the joke. "I see you do have somewhat of a normal sense of humor."

"So it would seem Rarity, however I must ask. What kept you so long?" Dead had stop fidgeting and was now sat calmly.

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked, unaware of what Dead was on about.

"Well think about it, you were gone for like an hour. I and I can tell you this! Seduction was my last resort. I was running out of ideas!" Dead jumped up and did several strange gesture to try and explain to Rarity how long she was gone.

"Oh we got caught up with the CMC. Had to put out a few fires..." Rarity sighed. "Yes that took us a bit longer then we anticipated."

"CMC? Hmmm." Dead thought back to the battle cry that knocked her into the pond. "Yes, I know the young foals are talking about. They caused me to fall into the pond earlier."

"Oh goodness, I am so sorry! My little sister is part of the group. Sadly when they get out they cause havoc." Rarity said with a hint of a disappointed.

"Don't worry about it Rarity, oh..." Dead suddenly remembered something. "Never did get to finish that dress did you?"

"I did, but the Luna came and abducted you..."

"I see. That is a shame. But still thanks for making me a dress!" Dead said happily as she sat next to a rather disappointed Rarity. However once Dead sat next to her she noticed that Rarity seemed to perk up. It was funny how Dead had only just noticed this, she saw it when she knocked at the door, even though it was brief she was defiantly happy. "So Rarity how are you doing? I mean given that you went inside my dream."

"Oh that? It fine. I had a few nightmares but they stopped." Rarity looked at the floor and then glanced back up at Dead and gave her a friendly smile. "I'm glad you're awake, I was worried when we all woke up and then you started tossing and turning..."

"Sorry if I gave you a fright, I can't remember what exactly happened but..." Dead paused she noticed tat Rarity had a tear running down her face as she smiled at Dead. "Is something the matter?"

"No, I'm just happy you're awake. I never really noticed with all the commotion today..." Rarity looked deep into Dead's stone grey eyes. "I didn't really want to think of what might happen when you woke up."

"Well I'm here now and I don't plan on going anywhere!" Dead said happily as she tried to figure out what angle Rarity was playing at.

Reality check

Rarity was staring at Dead, this had been the first time in a while where the two were alone. While Dead was giving more of a confused look at Rarity, she was simply gazing into her eyes. "Sooo...." Dead stuttered, however Rarity didn't want to respond, in fear of breaking the moment. The whole world seemed to slow down for Rarity as she just sat down staring at Dead, who had changed for being confused to concerned. "Ummmm Rarity? Is everything alright?" Once again Rarity didn't respond, she remained fixated on Dead's gray eyes as she watched them dart around nervously, however once those eyes locked with Rarity's they stopped darting around.

Dead chuckled nervously as she started at Rarity, once again she tried to provoke a conversation but it went unanswered. "So Rarity, got anything on your mind?" Rarity wanted to respond by saying you but she thought it might break the mood. "Well ummm..." Dead chuckled again however she was a lot more nervous. "Rarity? Rarity..." Dead's voice faded out.

"What was that darling?" Rarity asked as she looked back up at Dead.

"I said, I love you Rarity." Dead said happily.

"Excuse me?" Rarity asked as she was taken back by Dead's sudden outburst.

"I said I love you Rarity! I want to spend every moment of everyday with you!" Dead sang out.

Something about this felt very unreal to Rarity, yet she didn't want it to end. "Dead are you sure of this?"

"Of course I am! Ever since you first knocked on my door I have been sure!" Dead announced to everpony in the room, that being only her and Rarity. Dead then jumped off the sofa and did a small dance before stopping. "Why else would I have come out of the forest? Why else would I have let Luna take me away? So that you can make me better Rarity. If I could only show you how much I love you... But alas, nothing short of overthrowing Princess Celestia will be big enough." Dead sighed as she sat back down.

"But you didn't know what love was a two weeks ago. How could you have loved me before?" Rarity asked Dead, in truth Rarity just wanted to hug and kiss Dead. But that feeling of unsure that made feel funny was still prominent, Rarity needed to know the why before she could get involved.

"A feeling, in my chest. The moment I saw you! It was there I never knew what it was and I had never felt it before! But it was there. And when I saw you choking in my dream, I couldn't let that happen..." Dead looked sadly at the floor. "I never want nothing bad to happen to you, and if that mean taking over Equestria then so be it!" Dead stood up on the sofa and waved her hoof in the air. "But lets hope it doesn't have to come to that."

Rarity was officially sure that this was genuine love and not some poor prank that Rainbow had asked Dead to do. "Alright then Dead, I just have one last question..."

"You want a kiss, don't you?"

"Yes. If you don't mind."

"Of course not, I would be more then happy to oblige, however I need you to do one thing for me first."

"And what would that be?"

Just as the couple were about to lock lips  Dead muttered two words that Rarity would regret hearing.

"Wake. Up."

That was a cruel joke Rarity's mind played on her, she was so sure it was real but then again, there was that feeling. The feeling that Rarity could now identify as being in a dream. Of course she would never tell Dead that she dreamed of her confessing her love. However that none of this could explain the puzzled look Dead had on her face when Rarity opened her eyes.

"Hey Rarity, you alright?" A puzzled looking Dead asked as she looked over Rarity, who had apparently fallen on the floor. "You're luckly I caught you. That would have been a nasty bump had I not grabbed you."

"What happened?" Rarity asked as she stumbled back up. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Very much so, one moment you were giving me funny looks and then the next you were passed out on the sofa. And well, you kinda scared me." Dead said as she once again started to shuffle around the room.

"How so Dead? I am sorry if it was too much." Rarity apologized.

"Well it wasn't anything too bad, I mean if any other pony had seen it they would have thought it was something else. But I guess it may have just been me and my reactions." Dead spoke with a concerned tone, she walked around the room a bit and then sat back down on the sofa. Her eyes kept darting around the room and glancing outside as if she was waiting for something to happen.

Rarity was used to Dead taking her time when she was nervous however this time she was taking a bit too long, while Rarity would never order one of her friends to 'spill the beans' she couldn't help but try and speed thing up a bit so that they would not be stuck all day. "Dead, its alright you can trust me. I won't tell a single pony unless you want me to." Rarity reassured Dead as she sat next to her. "But you have to tell me what it is."

"Well Rarity, while you were asleep you kinda said my name." Dead slowly said. "I didn't think much at first but then you said it again, and again. You were asleep for an hour and you seemed to say it once every five minuets. But right before you woke up, you said it differently."

"Oh?" Rarity started to form a blush. "How was it different?"

"You kind of moaned it... And then pushed your head forward which then caused you to loose balance and fall. I'm not really certain what it all meant..." Dead said as she turned her attention to a very interesting patch on the sofa.

"Oh... Don't worry about Dead. I'm sure whatever it was will pass. Eventually, as do most thing around here." Rarity sighed. Just as the silence started to get scary a loud pounding was heard at the door which caused both mares to jump.

Destiny and other things

The frantic pounding on the front door was enough to get Rarity away from Dead for a moment so she could think about what Dead may have been implementing. According to Dead, Rarity was asleep for an hour, the clocks proved it however the grey clouds that hung overhead made it hard to see where the sun was. The sound of heavy raindrops hitting the skylight could be heard throughout the shop. After what seemed like an eternity of walking Rarity finally reached the door and opened it to a soaking wet Rainbow Dash.

"Oh hello Rainbow, enjoying the weather out there?" Rarity teased as she levitated a towel to a soaking wet Rainbow. "My word it looks as if you have gone swimming!" Rarity chuckled heartily as Rainbow snatched the towel and started to dry herself.

"My house! My cloud! The storm... It charged it!" Rainbow managed to say before she fell to the floor drained of energy. "It was... Awesome." Rainbow smiled as she got back on her hoofs.

"Rainbow, you would have been better off flying to Twilight's or Fluttershy's house, why on Equestria did you come here?" Rarity asked, however she knew the answer.

"Oh y'know I thought I would check up on my old pal Rarity..." Rainbow said as she wrapped her hoof around Rarity shoulder in a friendly manner.

"You came here because you wanted to spend the night in the same house as Dead. Didn't you." Rarity said flatly, while she knew that they both had some sort of feelings for Dead, Rarity was not as open about hers.

"Pretty much, but also to check on you. I know Twilight has that spell and Fluttershy had a new lightning rod installed. It would have been way too risky flying to Applejack's place in these condition so your house seemed to be the best one to check up on. And well Pinkie is Pinkie. It wouldn't surprise me if she was having a party on top of the storm."  Out of all the excuses Rainbow had made to be with somepony this was the longest, and the one that made the most sense.

"Okay then Dash, you can stay the night..." Rarity sighed however she did not expect Rainbow to wrapped her hoofs around her and give a huge bear hug.

"Thanks Rarity!" Rainbow said as she released Rarity and trundled into the main room. Rarity let out a sigh and then followed her into the room. Dead was sat on the sofa smiling to herself about something.

"Hey Rainbow! You look a tad bit wet." Dead chuckled as Rainbow was still damp from the rain. Dead turned to Rarity. "Look like that giga-storm is coming over. Funny things those. They appear in the deepest parts of Everfree. Then they vanish. Then they appear somewhere else!"

"I was wondering why it was raining so hard. Its kind of relaxing after a while." Rarity moved ahead of of Rainbow and took the place next to Dead. "Still we managed it at your house."

"Wait... You slept over her house! When did this happen and why was I not invited." Rainbow asked as she took a seat. Next to Rarity, she half pouted as she sat down.

"Oh yes Rainbow, when we first met her... Well second time or was it third? But yes a storm came in and we had to sleep at Dead's for the night."

Dead got up and headed to the kitchen. "Mind if I make some tea? I mean if that's okay with you Rarity."

"Fine by me, Rainbow would you like some tea?"

Rainbow didn't normally have tea however since Dead was making it she considered it. "Sure why not... Can't be that bad." Once Rainbow had finished Dead promptly got up and made her way to the kitchen, leaving Rarity and Dash alone in the room.

A silence was in the room briefly as the two mares were sat down. After a few moments Rarity spoke up and broke the silence. "So Rainbow... Are you still, how do they say it..."

"Whatever you're gonna say I will just say yes and hope that it involves Dead." Rainbow laughed as Rarity frowned.

"Do you have to be so forward about it? You could at least try and be subtle about it." Rarity sighed, she knew Rainbow wouldn't change her ways, but all Rarity wanted a chance.

"Yeah, but if I try and be subtle about it I will miss my chance. And also everpony knows that shes mine now." Rainbow said in a sinister tone as an evil grin overcame her face. It became evident that Rainbow was not aware of Rarity's feelings for Dead. "So Rarity, I have a favor to ask... Do you think you could put in a good word for me? I'm kinda worried that she thinks less of me after we first met."

Rarity sighed. "I will see what I can do..."

"What the matter Rarity? You sound a bit upset." Rainbow asked in a concerned voice.

"Don't worry, its nothing." Rarity turned her cold gaze to the floor. Rainbow noticed this and placed her hoof on her chin, cogs slowly grinding in her head in an attempt to come to conclusion. Rarity noted the rather blank look on Rainbows face and attempted to stop her coming to the inevitable conclusion . "Rainbow, are you alright? Do you need some help?" Rarity hoped that this would snap her out of the trance like state she was in. However the hope died away when Rainbow started to mover her mouth slowly as her brain had come to a conclusion.

"Rarity, are you in love with her as well?"

"I...I..." Rarity tried to form together a sentence however the shock of Rainbow catching on had made her mind go blank temporary.

The clatter of a plate with three tea cups on it being placed pulled Rarity back into reality.

What you don't know

Twilight was happily waiting out the storm in her house, it was relatively quiet par the odd lightening strike. She had just gotten Spike to settle down for the night and was reading a few books while drinking a warm cup of hot chocolate., just when she thought things couldn't get any calmer a white light lit the room up in a flash and then died down, at the epicenter of the flash a rather frustrated Dead was stood, muttering something under her breath. Twilight immediately put a bookmark in her book and refitted it onto the large bookcase and addressed the stress out necromancer.

"Hello Dead, what brings you to the library at this time?" Twilight calmly said.

"I don't know how fillies normally act but that's what they are acting like! Honestly..." Dead grumbled before realizing what she sounded like. "Sorry about that Twilight, but I need some away time from Rarity and Rainbow. I didn't know where else to go." Dead sighed. "Sometimes ponies let their emotions get the better of them, that was a prime example."

"Wait who's house were you at?" Twilight asked as Dead walked over to her and took the seat next to her.

"I was at Rarity's, but Rainbows cloud got charged from the storm and she decided it would be a good idea to 'check up' on me and Rarity." Dead calmed herself down before going on. "It was all going well, I mean I learned a lot about how they both feel for me."

"I see, I take Rainbow was being forward and Rarity was being reclusive?" Twilight interrupted however Dead didn't seem to mind.

"They were at an impasse, Rainbow had put two and two together and Rarity was well aware of how Rainbow felt." Dead rambled on. "It was all going well, from what I gathered they were discussing 'sharing' me."

"So what went wrong?" Twilight asked the obvious question.

"Two words Twilight Sparkle, two words. Sleeping. Arrangements."

"Were they arguing over who shared a bed with you?"

"No, the opposite. Rainbow insisted that Rarity and me shared because it was her house. While Rarity insisted that Rainbow share the bed with me because Rainbow was her guest!" Dead let out a long drawn out sigh. "IT WAS BACKWARDS!" She shouted, nearly waking Spike up. "And the worst thing about it was, they wouldn't share the bed and let me sleep on the sofa!"

"I see. Well you are welcome to stay here for the night until things die down." Twilight said as she smiled warmly at Dead.

Dead nodded and then ranted on more. "The worst part about this whole thing... It is based off the premise of me wanting to be in a relationship with a mare!"

"Well do you?"

"I don't know... I have never been romantically involved with anypony, or anything for that matter. I know I have had thousands of years to choose my preferences. But I never expected to come back." Dead admitted. "Well this is something I need to sort out. One way or another."  Dead craned her neck and caused it to make a loud clicking noise. "This stress is going to kill me..."

"No you!"

"No you!"

"No you!"

"Wait how long ago did Dead leave to go grab a snack?" Rarity stopped the to and fro-ing.

"About an hour ago... I hope she is alright." Rainbow settled back down before realizing what had happened. "Oh, I think she may have left."

"Yes, she had. I think she teleported out of the house when she went to go grab food." rarity sighed as she went to go check the kitchen for any sign of the wayward necromancer. Once she emerged it became obvious that Dead was not in the house.

"Not there huh? What do you recon pushed her over the edge?" Rainbow asked Rarity as Rarity sat back down next to her.

"Looking back at it. I would say it was the arguing over who slept with who. Mainly because we were arguing over whether the other one should." Rarity chuckled. "Wow we argued backwards. I can't believe us!"

"Haha, me neither. Truth be told I am kinda glad she left. I mean I may be up for it, but I don't really want to rush it. I would rather take my time and get it right." Rainbow stated.

"Do my ears deceive me? Did the fastest flyer in Equestria just say she wanted to take it slowly?" rarity chucked as she poked fun at the now blushing Rainbow Dash. "I can't say I blame you, you can never be too certain around her. One moment she may be happy and then the next she will be flipping tables or something like that. I don't think she fully understand emotions yet." Rarity droned on slightly as Rainbow entered deep thought

"Rarity, do we even know her sexual preference?" Rainbow Dash asked in a modest tone. "I mean all this love and stuff won't mean anything if she doesn't swing our way. How would we even go about find out? Would we just be like. 'Hey Dead, wanna sleep with me and Rarity to see if you rather mares?' I'm not really used to being in love with somepony who is undecided..."

"Hmmm, that is rather vexing. I never considered that. Give me a moment to think." Rarity paused and formulated a sinister plan. "AH-HA!" She announced. "I have a plan, it might not be a good plan, but it is plan." Rarity grinned like a madmare. "Come over here and I will explain it..."

The Quiet after the Storm

The storm had ravaged the small town, trees had been blown over and boulders had been pulled out the ground. Some trees that were stuck by lightning had static bouncing between the branches. Some patches of ground had been charred black by some not so lazy lightning and a few houses were worse for wear. Dead emerged from the tree house in the early hours of the day and surveyed the damage. A plan formulated in her mind.

Dead walked into the center of the town, the ground was still uneven from the Skeletal nightmare that had tried to break out. Dead decided that this would be a good place to start her plan. A few ponies were wondering around the town and seeing the damage for themselves. Dead approached the uneven ground and put her plan into motion, a quick spell that went undetected to those around was cast and after a few minuets of waiting a slight rumbling could be felt.

Dead grinned like a madmare as she received a few concerned looks from the ponies who were now running back to their houses. Dead chuckled as she thought about the best way to execute her plan, she didn't notice Twilight come up behind her.

"Dead! What are you doing?" Twilight asked as she took note of the rumbling patch of earth. "What are you up to?" Twilight said with a concerned tone. When the sinister looking mare didn't respond Twilight moved in front of her and violently shook her with both hoofs. "Dead! What. Have. You. DONE!" Twilight dropped Dead to the floor. The necromancer quickly got back up and maintained an evil grin. The uneven ground started to shake violently before it gave way and left a large hole. "Dead whatever you're doing stop!" Twilight ordered. However Dead seemed to be in a traced stated. A quick idea formulated in Twilight's head and she ran off.

Twilight had gathered her friends and they were in the center of town a second time, however this time Dead was encased is some magical aura that prevented anypony for getting close to her. Because it had been an hour since the whole thing started a large amount of ponies were in the town center waiting for something to happen. Twilight spoke to her friends.

"So any luck with snapping her out of it?"

"Nope, I don't know what she is doing but that shield won't let us get near her." Applejack stepped forward. "Not even Rainbow can get close enough to see what is going on in there!"

"I don't really want to go see Dead until I can answer her question, have you made any progress Twilight?" Pinkie asked with a hopeful grin.

Twilight slapped her hoof against her face. "Pinkie. For the last time, its a paradox it doesn't have an answer! Now we need to try and see what Dead is doing!" Twilight shouted. "Anypony have any ideas?"

"I could fly over and see if I could get a good view?" Rainbow suggested however just as she finished the magical field intensified and push the group back a few meters.

"As good a plan that is Rainbow," Rarity started. "She appears to casting a very powerful spell, it looks like most of the energy its being redirected up. I don't think it is that safe. What do you think Twilight?"

"Rarity is right, while we are getting some push back here, it looks like a lot of the spells energy is being sent up and out. If you were to fly up it would push you back until you couldn't see it."

"Do you know what she is up to Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know Rarity, I came out and just saw her. She was laughing like a madmare." Twilight sighed. "Do you think she has been planning this? Waiting for our guard to go down and then attacking us when we least expected it?"

"She did seem to know about the storm coming..." Rarity slowly said. "Even so this is Dead we are talking about, I don't think she could do something like this."

"But is it?" Twilight stated. "She has said several times that she has spend a thousand years alone. Who knows how long she has been planning... For all we know that might not even be the real Dead in there!"

"No! I don't believe that Twilight!" Rainbow shouted, it was true that she wanted to romantically involved with Dead however she did not want to think that the whole thing was a ploy. A set up to catch the elements of harmony when they are vulnerable. "Look I will prove it!" Rainbow shouted as she charged towards the unstable energy.

"Rainbow don't! That energy could tear you apart!" Twilight shouted however Rainbow kept charging, just before what Twilight had labeled the danger zone an invisible shield had appeared and shoved Rainbow back. "Rainbow, you're lucky... If there was no shield you would have been torn apart."

"How can this while thing be some sort of ploy... How can Dead of done that to us..." Rainbow said in defeat. "I..."

"Don't worry Rainbow, I'm sure we can..." Rarity started before a large energy spike caused the are effected by Dead to swell even larger, push the group back. "If we don't stop her soon the whole on Ponyville will be covered in that spell."

Suddenly the ground shock and the energy that had been swirling around Dead started to slowly draw back into her. An unnatural wind started to sweep through. "Something is happening!" Twilight called out promptly turning the heads of her friends towards Dead. As the energy slowly pulled back to its master. The group quickly rushed over to Dead however they paused when several skeletal claws emerged from the hole and started climbing out.

Awoken

The skeletons claw out of the large hole in the center town, most of the ponies who were outside ran back in except a brave few who wanted to see what would happen to their small town. The skeletons seemed to pour out endlessly, however there were only about eighty. Eighty skeletal dragons and griffons had clawed out of the hole and lined up in rows of ten.

Twilight and her friends resumed running towards Dead only to run into the invisible wall was still there. The group sprung backwards and landed in a heap.

"Alright troops!" Dead announced, she spoke like a drill Sargent of sorts. "It is time for operation Charlie Lima Echo Alpha November..." Dead paused for a moment. "Uniform Papa!" The skeletons froze after Dead had finished the announcement, and then a familiar skull flew up from the hole and floated next to Dead. Dead smiled. "Alright troops! CHARGE!" Dead shouted and the skeletons took off and flew to various points in the town and landed.

"Operation Charlie..." Twilight started mumbling to herself before Rainbow ran up to her.

"Twilight! What do we do! There everywhere!" A panicked Rainbow shouted.

A smile over came Twilight. "Nothing." She calmly said. "We do nothing at all."

"What!?" The group shouted as Dead casually walked pass them, almost going unnoticed. Applejack promptly grabbed Dead and placed her in the group.

"Now what the hay was that all about?" Applejack angrily asked Dead.

"Think about it, I am certain Twilight got it... Doesn't surprise me." Dead chuckled. "Just think about what I called the operation." Dead teleported out of the circle and slowly walked away.

"Now what was she talking about?" Applejack asked as she rubbed her head in confusion.

"The operation, she spoke using code, the Phonetic alphabet. It translates to... Operation C.L.E.A.N.U.P! She set the whole thing up, made it look like she was doing something sinister!"

"Sooo, she pranked us?" Rainbow said sounding incredibly confused.

"Yes, yes she did." Twilight sighed.

"And there I was thinking nopony could pull a better prank then me. I'm going to have to pull something big in order to catch up with that! She had the whole town pranked!" Rainbow chuckled happily as she realized what they had been saying. "We really fell for it..."

"That we did..." Rarity sighed happily. "Well at least she is not evil."

Thump!

A tree was thrown down the hole and made a large thump as it hit the bottom the ground that was carrying it let out a small silent cheer and then went back to work.

"It seems like they're having a fun time." Rainbow pointed out. "Well I'm not going to be outdone by a bunch of bones!" Rainbow shouted as she quickly flew off to aid in the clean up of the town.

"Well I'm going to go find Dead and see if I can't lend a helping hoof!" Rarity chirped as she happily walked off.

"Well I better go see if Big Mac needs a hand in the orchards. See ya all later!" Applejack announced as she went off in the direction of Apple Acres.

"I will go help some forest animals, a lot came in from the edge of Everfree..." Fluttershy quietly said as she slowly flew off.

"Well I will go distract all the ponies with a huge party! That way they won't be so stressed!" Pinkie shouted as she bounced off and began materializing invitations.

Twilight was now alone, save the skeletons flying around a dropping waste into the large hole, "Huh... I guess I should..."

"Greetings!" A familiar voice shouted out, Twilight turned around and saw the floating dragon skull slowly making its way over.

"Skullworthy! How are you doing?" Twilight said happily.

"All has been we at my end, how has Dead been?" The skull asked.

"She has been good, but she was asleep for two weeks." Twilight said, she noted the skull tilt slightly.

"Ah yes, I felt that. She started to lose grip on some of us, however we decided it would be best to stay."

"Lose grip?" Twilight sounded slightly confused. "What would happen if she lost her grip?"

"We are in Dead's 'grip' so to speak. We have free will, that is something she allows. Other necromancers in the past have kept us as mindless slaves. However Dead allows us our free will to an extent, we are unable to do certain things, I believe that Dead has a list somewhere." The skull informed.

"But what happens if she loses that?" Twilight quizzed.

"We can become unbound... We could lose control and go on rampages. Much like the skeletal nightmare, we will try and generate more undead by killing others." The skull said sadly. "However as her grip loosens we can choose to stay in her power, most undead creatures would not choose that. But most necromancers do not allow free will, which is why most undead become unbound when given the choice."

"So as far as necromancers go... Dead is a good one?"

"Yes, a very good one. Out of the four alive she is the nicest."

"There are four necromancers alive? Only four?"

"Yes only four. All immortal by their own means. One feasted on the essence of a lich, one is frozen in time, one feasts on the souls of the lost and the last one is a natural born immortal however we are uncertain if that is immortal of long lived."

"Wait with Dead that makes five necromancers... What did Dead do?"

"I said what Dead did in order to obtain immortality. However I will not say which one is hers."

"You can trust me Skullworthy, I don't think Dead would mind."

"You would have to ask her yourself. I cannot tell you because I am unable to, I forgot which one did what...."

"Oh, okay Skullworthy. Do you know where Dead is?" Twilight asked the floating skull as it started to orbit her. "Um Skullworthy?" Twilight asked as the skull glowed with a white energy. "Why are you doing?" The white aura flashed and Twilight was outside Rarity's house, dizzy and dazed she fell to the ground as was helped up by Rarity.

"Twilight? Are you alright?" Rarity asked as Twilight stumbled around.

"Uh I should be, just give me a moment. I think Skullworthy just teleported me here. Uh my head is spinning." Twilight stumbled and nearly fell over however Rarity caught her.

"Did Skullworthy teleport you here?" Dead asked as she came around the corner with a large boulder in her magical grip. She placed the boulder down and three dragons and two griffons came over and took it. "Sorry about that Twilight, I warned him that teleporting living beings confuses them."

"Teleports should not normally do that... What kind of spell is it?" A dazed Twilight half stuttered as she fumbled out of Rarity's grip and into Dead's.

"Its a special spell meant for teleporting undead creatures effortlessly, you see the stabilization goes out the window... Meaning that distance you travel..." Dead started as Twilight fell out of her grip and onto the floor. "You spent the whole trip spinning around... Anyway what brings you over here then, I don't expect Skullworthy just teleported you for no reason.

Once again, at Rarity's

Rarity's house was relatively quiet, given that a hoard of skeletons were shifting trees and boulders around and then throwing them in a hole, the loud thumps occasionally shook the house. Twilight was sat on the sofa, still dazed from the teleport. Rarity was sat down next to her. "You know, its funny how much this sofa has gotten in the past few days!" Rarity happily said in a attempt to break the silence. "I didn't really use it much, however I might need to get another one!" Rarity sighed happily as a loud thump shook the house.

Twilight started to regain her bearing. "Where did Dead go?" Twilight glanced around the room, with no sign of the the necromancer Twilight pressed the matter forward. "Did she go back outside to keep and eye on the skeletons?"

"Don't worry about her, you had quite the ordeal!" Rarity sang happily. "You may not remember it, but you threw up outside and passed out!"

"I was sick? Urgh that would explain that groggy feeling in my chest.." Twilight grumbled as she shut her eyes. "How long was I asleep for?"

"Oh not too long..." Rarity said smugly. "However long enough... About four hours..."

"Not long? Four hours! That's the start of the day gone! All my plans have to be rewritten and planned! And... And... Rarity! Get a bucket!" Twilight retched and convulsed as Rarity held a bucket up. Shorty after Twilight threw up, not a drop spilling out of the bucket.

"That's good Twilight, get it all out." Rarity sat down next to Twilight and patted her back, after Twilight had stopped hurling chunks Rarity continued. "Dead is upstairs, I'm sure she will be down any moment..."

A disgruntled Twilight regained her ability to talk. "What is she doing upstairs?

"Nothing, she is probably just asleep at the moment... She was rather tired..."

"Was? Okay then, what were you doing?" Twilight asked.

"Hm? That's not overly important Twilight, we need to focus on keeping you stable."

"But..."

"Twilight, you're still dizzy. Just rest for now."

"Wait! tell me what happened! What did you do to her?"

"Nothing, I mean it. She passed out shortly after you did! She was trying to stabilize you but she passed out from exhaustion. I guess that spell she did really took it out of her." Rarity sighed. "I hope she wakes up, all Rainbow has to do is fly over and hear her snoring and get the wrong idea..."

"The same idea I just had..." Twilight said sounding rather upset. "Sorry Rarity..."

"Oh no, its fine! I knew that it looked suspicious so I had expected it. I just hope that Rainbow doesn't jump to a similar conclusion..." Rarity said as she tried to hide her concern. "We had this whole plan to see if Dead was... Interested in mares..." Rarity sounded a lot more sinister towards the end.

"You are what now?" A puzzled Twilight said. "You have a plan, to find out Dead's sexual preference... Why not just ask her?"

"Because if we ask her, she will know about our feelings towards her. And if she says no it may cause her to move out, in fear of upsetting us."

"Oh really? Well then if its a plan you have, let me hear it." Twilight considered telling Rarity that Dead knew, however she decided it would do more harm then good.

"Well..." Rarity started however a loud groaning could be heard from the upstairs alerted Rarity and she stopped. "Look like Dead's awake! Sorry Twilight I will have to tell you later." The sound of hoofs coming down the stairs echoed through the house.

"Hey everypony, sorry about that. Didn't realize how much magic I used calling all those bones from the forest. I still feel a bit groggy... But I should be able to stay awake." Dead happily said as she stood in the front room. "So Twilight, care to explain why Skullworthy teleported you to me?"

"Oh yeah, he mentioned that there were four other necromancers and they had gain immortality through some means, I was wondering how you are immortal or, long lived." Twilight asked politely. "You don't have to tell me, but its just something I want to know."

"Oh, I see. What did Skullworthy tell you?"

"He told me that... One of you eat souls of the lost, I don't know what that means but I don't think it can be anything good."

"Eating lost souls... That is when lifeforms die alone and betrayed... Their souls wonder around, trying to find comfort. Feasting on them is considered an act of mercy. Its a rather depressing notion... But go on, what else did he tell you?"

"One of you... 'feasted on a lich' I don't know what he meant by that."

Dead chuckled. "A lich is what happens when a powerful necromancer comes back to life, with its mind still intact. They become a incredibly powerful undead creature with the ability to summon hoards of undead. And they are immortal in terms of time."

"So how do you 'feast' on one?"

"As far as I know, when they die they release all the energy they have built up. One could theoretically drain the energy and use it to make themselves immortal."

"Skullworthy mentioned a time lock? What does that mean?"

"It is a spell the dragons have mastered, if I recall a dragon captain who went by the name of Jack discovered it."

"What does it do?"

"It locks you in place, if you die you come back to life. You don't age. If your body tears, it mends. You don't need to eat and you never get ill. You don't age either. It is considered a blessing and a curse."

"And last but not least. the prolonged life theory."

"Ah yes, this one. Not much to it. They were born thousands of years ago and they haven't died yet. No magic working them or anything. Some say it is destiny."

"So which one are you? Do you feast on souls of the lost in order to extend your life? Did you defeat a lich and drain it of its power? Were you locked in time? Or are you just long lived?" Twilight asked as Dead smiled happily at her.

Will usually kill you

Rainbow walked next to Rarity the two were heading away from the farm at a slow pace. "So tell me again, what do I have to do?" Rainbow asked.

Rarity let out a sigh. "This is the last time I will tell you Rainbow..." Rarity stopped and looked around to check if anypony was listening in. "Okay then. Phase one: Get Dead helping at Applejack's farm, more specifically helping Big Mac."

"Okay, I got that. What happens next?" Rainbow interrupted as Rarity explained.

"Phase two: You need to watch them, see how Dead acts around Big Mac. If she displays interest then we will know where her preference lies. However doesn't show interest we know that we have a chance."

"Hm, I see. What happens after that?"

"Provided that nothing happens between her and Big Mac. We can go in for the kill... So to speak."

"The kill!" Rainbow cheered. "Well I better get going to the farm! Lets hope any unforeseen consequences don't happen!"

"So you work here every day?" Dead asked as she levitated fallen apples into a waste basket.

"Eeyup..." The large stallion said as he trudged slowly through the orchard, pulling a waste bucket filled with branches and rotten apples.

"Wow, everyday?"

"Eeyup..."

"Don't you get board?"

"Eenope..."

"Huh okay then..."

A silence descended over the two as they worked. Up in the treeline Rainbow Dash sat with a notepad, she was taking notes about what the pair was doing. Once the two were out of range Rainbow took off and landed in a nearby tree.

Fifty minuets later...

"So..." Big Mac started. "Skeletons?"

"Oh yeah, I summon skeletons. Rather dull but they are better then zombies! A lot less mess to clear up! Heh..." Dead chuckled.

"Eeyup..."

Meanwhile Rainbow Dash had been taking notes, she noted that this was the second time that Big Mac had tried to make conversation, only to sandbag himself. Rainbow chuckled, she knew that Big Mac was just trying to be a good host, however he was hopeless when it came to long term talking.

Forty minuets later...

"So..." Big mac once again started. "How are you doing?"

"I am fine, thanks for asking. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. So what do you do? Besides skeletons."

"Oh, I try and help out when I can. Not everypony likes my methods."

"Ethnics and all..."

"Those! Yes, I know! They are annoying! I understand them, but I don't always like them."

"Eeyup, ponies trying to do the right things, but it causes the wrong things."

"You know it so well. I try and do well, but then some pony tells me that what I am doing is wrong gets in my way."  Dead sighed. "But even though they tell me to leave, I won't go until I have redeemed myself... Or so I say. I enjoy it here, a lot more then I thought." Dead rambled for a bit. "Oh listen to me ramble on!"

"Eeyup, but its fine really." Big mac stopped for a moment causing Dead to miss a few apples. "Sorry."

"No its fine," Dead caught the apples quickly and moved them onto the bucket which was now nearly full. "See. No problem. Want me to compact it again?"

"Eeyup!" Big Mac said happily. Dead's horn glowed white as the barrel hoovered while covered in the same white aura. The barrel made a creaking sound as it shifted around. The once full barrel was now filled with a strange goop. Dead then placed the barrel back on the cart and the pair the went on.

"So you got any plans for tonight?"

"None at all currently, my day was dedicated to helping clear up the town. I guess my day is free once I am done here."

"Fancy coming for dinner?"

"Sure, why not. Not like I have plans."

A dumbstruck Rainbow Dash flew out of the treeline at high speeds drawing the attention of both Big Mac and Dead.

"I guess she remembered she had something to do... I don't know why she was here though...."

"Eeyup..."

"I guess its just one of those 'Rainbow' moments!" Dead happily said as she was completely unaware of what Dash was really doing.

"Rarrrriiiiitttttyyyyyy!" Rainbow shouted as she crashed through the library window.

"Why do you thin Rarity is here?" Twilight asked as she looked at the once windowed hole in her house. "She is out shopping for supplies. I don't know why, she has all that stuff that Dead's minions brought over."

"Oh, uh sorry Twilight, she wasn't at home so I thought she would be over here. Anyway our plan went horribly wrong! I need to go tell Rarity what happened!" Rainbow frantically said as she picked up her notepad and went to fly out the hole she made, however Twilight garbed her tail with magic and planted her firmly on the floor.

"Now Rainbow, I want you to tell me about this 'plan' you and Rarity had conceded. Its not nice to go around planning things about your friends." Twilight said sternly as she shot a pricing gaze at Rainbow, who then cringed and tried to fly away only to be dragged back down. "Rainbow. Tell me what you two did."

"It was foolproof, nothing could have gone wrong! It was so simple!" Rainbow proudly said.

"So then what went horribly wrong?" Twilight sighed. "And what did you even plan?"

"Well it was a simple set-up. We got Applejack to tell Dead help Big Mac, to y'know see if anything happened that would suggest that Dead preferred stallions." Rainbow paused and checked to see if Twilight was following.

"Uh-huh. Go on."

"I was told to take notes and all. Look at this!" Rainbow passed the notepad to Twilight who glanced over it.

Alright Rainbow all you have to do is keep a log on what happens when Dead is with Big Mac, try and stay out of sight and make sure to take regular notes.

Ten minutes in: Nothing

Twenty minuets in: Nothing

Thirty minuets in: Dead tried to talk to Big Mac about something, however he quickly ended the conversation.

Forty Fifty an hour Seventy Eighty minuets in; Big Mac tried to talk to Dead about skeletons, he ended up sandbagging himself.

Ninety Hundred Hundred and ten Two hours in: They had a large conversation, well large for Big Mac. It is still going but it might end soon, Big Mac just stopped and Dead threw a few apples on the floor. She picked them up and did something to the barrel to make more room. Big Mac just asked Dead if she had any plans for tonight. Dead said no and how she is having dinner with him...

"Oh..." Was all Twilight could muster before she looked over the report again. "Did you not think that Big Mac might fall in love? You might as well made a love poison, and given them that!" Twilight huffed. "You tried to see what Dead preferred but you never thought of what might happen if Big Mac fell for her?"

"The worst part is... I don't think she is aware of it. I mean she is used to me being forward and all, but Big Mac was rather subtle about it, I saw him taking the odd glance at her but I though nothing of it. I just figured that he was keeping an eye on her." Rainbow fell to the floor and hid behind her wings. "I don't know what to do Twilight, I mean me and Rarity talked about sharing her, but what made that work was because were are close friends. And that we are both mares! I have no idea what to do..."

"Look rainbow, you got yourself into this mess. Well you and Rarity did, and you can pull yourselves out. my only jib is... Why didn't you just ask her? I mean with you being so forward, you basically ask her every time you see her." Twilight asked as she started to patch the hole in the wall up.

"I asked that but Rarity was worried that Dead would say no and then run away!"

"Look Rainbow, you and Rarity kept think that the worst would happen. And now it has! You two are on your own. At the end of the day I just hope that Dead doesn't find out. All this scheming and plotting..."

Talk of the Dead

It was evening, Dead had finished sending all the skeletons away and she was happy that the town was clear of debris. She hadn't  seen Rainbow since she had flown off the in orchard, and she hadn't seen Rarity since she saw her in front of the farm. Dead never really minded walking around in the evening by herself, most of the ponies that would have come out at this time were avoiding Dead. That never bothered her. No, what bothered Dead was that she had not seen anypony since she left the orchard. She had wondered around, looking for Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and she even looked for Pinkie. Yet nopony was around. The ponies who would talk to her had no information for the matter.

But no, Dead was alone. And this time she hated it. She questioned herself, asking how she was able to live alone for so long.

"So, why did you have to drag me and Big Mac away for the evening? And where are we going?" Applejack questioned as she walked alongside her brother. The other elements of harmony walking through the trail in front. Twilight who was at the front was walking next to Rarity.

Twilight spoke quietly so that Rarity could hear her but not Applejack or Big Mac. "Rarity. Rainbow told me about what happened. If you are doing this so that you can crash their dinner..." Twilight sighed.

"Twilight I will be honest with you, that is exactly why I am doing this. That and Fluttershy really did find a creature that was stuck in cave. A boulder had fallen over the entrance."

"Is that true Fluttershy?"

"Oh... Yes... The storm blew a rock in front of its den." Fluttershy stuttered. "I was going to ask Applejack to help when she can, but then Rarity said she would get her quickly..."

"Rarity that is just cruel. How could you do that?" A partially enraged Twilight asked Rarity as she paused the group.

"What did Rarity do?" A confused sounding Applejack said as she caught up with Twilight.

"Just something really stupid... Maybe I will tell you about it someday." Twilight sighed as the group moved on.

Knock-Knock-Knock

The sound of hoofsteps on wood could be heard. The door the ranch house slowly opened and a small little filly stood in the doorway. "Howdy! You must be Dead!" A small filly said happily as Dead smiled. "Applejack and Big Mac just went out, they said they might be a while. I don't know what ya did but it took AJ a long time to get Big Mac to leave."

"Oh I see. Well I take it that dinner will be delayed? Or did you already have it?"

"We ate just before they left. It sounded pretty urgent. But they didn't want us to go hungry."

"Alright then, well just let them know that I dropped by... I guess I will see them around, and you maybe..." Dead sighed as she left the farm, once again she was alone walking by herself. Dead sat down against a tree, she had been looking forward to the dinner, still it wasn't anything a good nights sleep couldn't solve. A skull unearthed itself and levitated by Dead.

"Hello Madam. What seems to be troubling you?"

"Not much Skullworthy, just the living. Emotions are annoying... Sometimes I miss the old house. How long have I been gone?" Dead asked the floating skull.

"It is coming up to three weeks, everything is well in the house and it should be just how you left it!" The skull announced as it bobbed around happily. "Ah yes, we do await your return."

"Yeah, I want to try and get you all moved down. I want to live in a house here..."

"That would be splendid, the 'troops' are happy with what they did today. They enjoyed getting a workout." The skull bounced around and settled down.

"I am glad to hear it! Its nice knowing that I did the right thing for once. Currently I have just been drifting from house to house. I have slept at Rarity's, Rainbow's and Twilight's. All I need to do it sleep at Pinkie's, Applejack's and Fluttershy's and I would have slept at the house of all the elements of harmony." Dead laughed a bit.

"It is good to see you happy Dead, I must admit I felt your depression a few minuets ago. What happened?"

"Not much, I was supposed to have dinner with the Apples... But they had to go do something, so I here I am."

"That's awful... Just remember that we will always be here for you. And that..."

"Wooooaaaaaahhhhhhh! Coming through!" A light gray mare crashed into Dead and Skullworthy. The resulting collision sent Dead up the tree and Skullworthy flew off.

"Ah-haha... OW! Dead flumped out the tree and landed in a heap. "Skullworthy! Where are you! Just give me a sign and I can repair you!" A small white burst of energy flew out of a nearby bush and Dead ran over to it, with the mare following her. "Ah-ha! Here we are." Dead picked the skull up and examined it. "Nothing too bad, I can fix this." Dead placed her hoof over a large crack that was in the middle skull. Dead started chanting quietly and her hoof glowed white. Within moments the white went over the skull and repaired the crack.

"Ah, thank you Dead. That was painful to say the least, it felt like a battleaxe was in my head!" The skull turned and looked at the mare that was behind Dead. "What were you doing? You could have killed us... Errrr her!" The skull opened its mouth and shot a small fireball out that hit the ground nearby the mare, the mare took a few steps back. "Watch where you are flying next time." Before Skullworthy could do any harm Dead stepped in the way

"Calm down Skullworthy, I'm sure she did not mean it." Dead turned her attention to the mare. "Now what brings you here?"

"Oh I was just flying over, the I saw you sat by a tree. Talking to a skull and thought you might need some cheering up." The mare said Happily. "I didn't mean to crash into you... I planned on land just over here!" The mare walked over to a spot near to where Dead was sat and sat down.

"I see..." Dead stomach remembered that it hadn't eaten in hours and let out a very large grumble. "Oh wow, I forgot I haven't eaten all day... I need to take better care of myself..."

The mare chuckled. "Got distracted while doing work?" Dead nodded. "Yeah I get that sometime, delivering mail can make me miss breakfast. I normally drop by the Cake's shop and get a muffin before I work."

"Mm Sounds nice, I heard from Pinkie that they do nice confectionery over there. However I have not had a chance to go yet because my life has been rather hectic." Dead smiled warmly. "By the way, I'm Dead. Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you Dead. Someponies call me Derpy, others call me Ditzy. Whatever suits you."

"Pleased to meet you Ditzy. And you have already met my friend over here, Skullworthy. He may seem a bit bash, but he is only looking out for me." Dead motioned to the floating dragon skull.

"Pleased to meet you Ditzy, I was merely looking out for Dead... Can never be too careful around here... However I must return to the house!" The skull buried itself quickly.

"Huh... I wonder what that was about, he has never done that before...." Dead started as her stomach grumbled again. "Ohhh... I think I might pass out..."

"Why don't you come back to mine Dead, It isn't to far from here. And it is on the ground unlike some of the other pegasus's houses!"

"That sounds lovely... You won't bail on me though?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Just checking! It happened once today..."

Three little words

"So Ditzy, what do you do around Ponyville?" Dead asked as she followed the light gray mare. "I mean besides crashing into ponies who look lonely." Dead chuckled lightly. The pair were walking at a relatively slow pace, enjoying the sight of a slowly setting sun on the horizon.

"Oh I'm a mailmare, I just deliver the mail in the mornings. It puts food on the table so I can't complain." Ditzy said happily as they slow approached the town center. "Not to far from my house. But anyway Dead, what do you do? Besides raise skeletons to help clean up the town."

"Oh I have been living by myself for the past thousand years. I have a little shack in Everfree and had a small farm. Of course this was run by skeletons, but they didn't mind." Dead explained. "I haven't really had much interaction with any living ponies. But still no time like the present eh?"

"Yeah, I guess your right." Dead's stomach interrupted with a large rumble. "Wow, you must be really hungry, how long has it been since you have eaten a full meal?"

"Uh I have been asleep for two weeks, so I guess since then. I have had the odd snack but it doesn't really tide me over well enough. However, before you go off saying that I must eat... I am used to pushing myself over the limits of normal ponies. I have gone for years without eating... It doesn't make it less painful, but it doesn't kill me. I just get very weak..."

"How do you do that?" Ditzy asked as she stopped and looked at Dead with a puzzled look. "I mean, ponies have been saying that you are immortal. But surely you have got to eat? Are you like locked in time or something?"

"Time-locked? How do you know about that?" Dead said in a surprised tone.

"You would be surprised what ponies send to each other, and what they are willing to tell you when they get the said something..."

"Well, I will give you points for knowing. But I am not time-locked... I just learnt that I can take control of my primal systems, the ones that run all the time on auto pilot. I can make them slow down so that I don't consume so much energy."

"Wow... Anyway here we are!" Ditzy stopped and held up a hoof, they were outside a large restaurant that was packed full of ponies coming and going. While it wasn't exactly a fancy restaurant, it suited the town well. "I know the manager here, he owes me a favor."

"Wow, really? I don't need all this... I'm fine with just something small." Dead stuttered as she started to walk back. The idea of being in a restaurant that was full of strangers who would be most likely talking about her, or her skeletons. "Its not that I don't like the offer... But..."

"No, I insist!" Ditzy ordered as she stopped Dead from backing up. "I can get us a privet booth if you are worried about other ponies. Or one that is well away from them at the least..." Dead's stomach answered for her. "I take that as a yes then!" Ditzy took Dead by her hoof and lead her into the busy restaurant. Ditzy quickly walked off to go find the manager, leaving Dead alone in the restaurant.

A clearly drunken colt tripped around the restaurant, he slowly stuttered his way over towards Dead. While Dead was a bit slow on picking up ponies feelings she could tell that the colt had one thing on his mind. The colt tumbled over to Dead and bumped into her. "Osh! Shorry." The colt slurred out, it was clear he had drunk a little to much. He looked over Dead and took a few moments to register who she was. "Oh! You! You're er'! Tha one who mahde all the dead things!" The colt made some strange gesture that Dead did not recognize. "Whe shud halve shex!"

"Excuse me?" A shocked Dead said.

"Yew 'eard me!" The colt said half angrily.

"No. No thank you..." Dead stuttered out. She rolled her eyes when she the colt refused to move.

"Why nawt?"

"Because you're clearly drunk."

"Buh that makes it better!"

"No means no. Okay?"

"Plwease?"

"Look, she said no. Now leave her alone." Ditzy said as she returned. "By the way Dead I was able to get us a seat on the VIP balcony. We won't have to deal with drunken colts looking to score."

"Stoopid goofy eyes... " The colt mumbled as he trudged away, head hung in disappointment.

"Alright Ditzy. Lets go, if anymore colts try their luck I might have to summon some protection." Dead sighed. "You lead the way."

"Alright..." Ditzy sighed. "Sometimes the colts in this town can be right idiots when they are drunk..." Ditzy stared at the floor for a moment before weakly smiling at Dead.

"You alright Ditzy? You seem a little down." Dead asked with a concerned look and tone.

"Yeah, I will be alright in a minuet. I'm used to having ponies making fun of my eyes, but sometimes it too much." Ditzy started to walk towards a staircase. "Come on, lets forget about that drunken idiot."

"Well you heard of skeletons in your closet?" Dead said as a sinister smile formed slowly made its way onto her face.

"Dead what did you do?" A curious Ditzy asked.

"Well lets just say, when that colt wakes up. He will know not the try and hit on a necromancer. Or drink too much. He will wake up in a graveyard within a pile of bones. Cruel I know, but well deserved."

"I ain't arguing..." Ditzy let out a small chuckle. "Ponies don't normally stuck up for me like that, I crash and make so many mistakes..."

"Well I summon skeletons from their graves and get them to do labor for me. Can't be much worse then that." Dead laughed as they made it to a staircase. A large stallion in a black tuxedo stepped in the way. The stallion glanced over the pair and smiled when he saw Ditzy.

"Hey Ditzy, hows the mail delivery gig working out?" The stallion asked polity, while he may have been a bouncer he obviously had a sensitive side.

"Same as always, not much happening that calls for a lot of news."

"Ah, so a bit slow then?"

"Yeah, but its a living."

"I'l let you two on up now, no need to keep ya dinner waiting."

The pair walked up the stairs and a waiter greeted them, they were directed over to a table at the corner of the balcony. It had a view of the restaurant below, however a tilted railing meant that it would be hard to see those sat on it. Only a few other ponies were in the VIP section and they were chatting away and failed to notice the pair sit down. The waiter did the usual meet and greet, he took orders for drinks and promised to be back with a minuet or so.

"I never would had pegged you for someone who drunk cranberry juice. I haven't tried it personally. Not many bushes grow out here." Ditzy said happily.

"Oh I had a few at my house. I am quite the cranberry addict... I also want to avoid getting drunk tonight... Last time it cause a fair amount of issues." Dead laughed. "Still I'm glad I came down. Even though we have just met, I am not regretting a moment. Anyway what do you have planned for food?"

"Oh I might just get something basic. I'm not really in the mood for something fancy." Ditzy smiled at Dead.

"I might get a salad and some hay fries. Maybe some dragon fruit on the side... Its been a while since I have had dragon fruit..." Dead sighed as she relaxed. The thought of eating a dragon fruit flooded her mind. Unaware of what she was doing Dead let out a small moan.

"Dead? You alright?" A stunned Ditzy said.

Dead, realizing what she had just done blushed largely. "Oh... Sorry! I didn't mean to do that... I was just thinking about dragon fruit... Its so delicious. Mmmm" Dead smiled lightly. The waiter returned with the drinks and placed them on the table. He took the duo's orders and left quickly. Dead drank a bit of her drink before talking again. "Y'know, I never expected anypony to treat me so nice. I have done some bad things..."

"Dead. Now is not the time. Nor will there ever be. Your past will remain that." Ditzy said in a stern tone.

"Woah... Okay..."

"While you were asleep Luna made sure that everypony was informed of the risks of a necromancer living in the town. Someponies weren't happy about it, but they cal just go shove it..."

"Woah, Ditzy... Where did that come from?" Dead asked.

"Sorry... I had a rough foalhood... I don't like it when ponies judge others so quickly... I mean you cleaned up the town after that huge storm! And yet some ponies still think you are evil..." Ditzy paused at looked over to Dead. "You're a wonderful pony... I don't think I could not like you... And those ponies that don't like you..."

"Its okay Ditzy, they can't hurt us, and if they try... They will end up like that colt. In a graveyard... Surrounded by skeletons and most likely screaming 'WHAT HAVE I DONE!'" Dead laughed, however she noticed that Ditzy was still staring at her. "Something the matter?"

"Its just..." A large bead of sweat rolled down Ditzy's head. Ditzy placed her hoofs on the table and tried to take a hold of something. Ditzy was obviously in some sort of distress, Dead extended her hoofs and took Ditzy's hoofs in hers. Ditzy's hoofs stopped moving the moments Dead took hers. "Dead..." For the first time Dead took note of Ditzy's actions. She was sweating heavily and hyperventilating, she was agitated and unable to sit still. Every now and then she would let a nervous chuckle out. Dead knew what this was, because she was in a similar situation.

Dead's throat was drying, she kept swallowing nervously, she could feel beads of sweat starting to form on her face and she began to get very hot very quickly, her stomach was full of butterflies and for no reason she let out the odd chuckle. She felt one of her eyes twitch.

The sudden sound of plates being place on the table brought both mares back to reality. Dead chuckled as she started to eat her dinner. "So... That happened..." Dead said with a mouthful of hay, she tried to beat back her dry throat but the hay did not help. She found herself chuckling again for no reason. A quick drink beat back the dry throat and allowed her to swallow. "Sorry about that. This has never happened to me before. I have never been at a fancy restaurant and I have never been treated so nicely..."

"Its okay..." Ditzy stuttered out. "Just take it slowly... I think I will as well." Ditzy started to eat her dinner. She took small slow bites. Dead watched almost every movement in her body before she slapped herself back into reality. She cursed herself for gawking. "Uh Dead? Are you going to eat that? You just seem to be staring..." Ditzy said nervously and smiled at Dead.

"Yeah! I'm alright." Dead stuttered as she was taken back. She quickly piled a small amount of hay in her mouth and started chewing erratically. She scoffed the hay down quickly and set about eating her salad, she tried not to focus so much on Ditzy.

She wasn't trying hard enough.

She kept looking at mare as she slowly ate her meal. Every time  Ditzy looked up Dead would quickly put something in her mouth to make it look like she wasn't paying any attention. Of course this made her look even more suspicious, and Ditzy was just giving Dead a strange look as her mouth was packed with salad. "Dead are you alright? You seem to be having trouble eating..."

"Murf." Was all Dead could muster, she quickly tried to bite down and compact some of the salad. "Urrrrhrhhhhh!" She was able to swallow a bit and then resume chewing. "Ahhhhh!" She sighed happily as she finished swallowing her salad. "Sorry about that..." Dead blushed. "My mind seems to be wondering a lot..." Dead stuttered and coughed.

"Are you sure you're alright? You seem to be having trouble eating..." Ditzy chuckled as she smiled warmly at Dead, and then the eggs that were in the salad hatched and Dead's stomach was full to the brim with butterflies. Dead chuckled back, however it sounded forced, she began to sweat and she started to heat up... Again. "Dead? Are you alright?"

"Yeah... I will be alright! Just..." Dead noticed a small bowl of exotic looking fruit next to Ditzy. A fruit that she was all to familiar with. Dead's eyes lit up like the night sky. "Is that..."

"Yes, I had it given to me with our meals. I thought now might be a good time to give it to you..."

"I..." Dead took the bowl with her magic, something she had not used in the night. The bright red fruit split evenly and Dead levitated a piece over to Ditzy, who instinctively opened her mouth as Dead slowly placed it in. Ditzy slow closed her mouth and started to chew of fruit.

"Mmmm... That was delicious." Ditzy said as she swallowed the fruit. Once she had finished Dead began eating her half.

Dead smiled happily as she chewed on the exotic fruit, however her mind was elsewhere. She was focus on the mare sat opposite. The mare who had reduced her to a chuckling, sweat and jittery filly. The mare who she had literately met an hour ago. The mare who made her feel feelings she didn't know she had. "Ditzy..."

"Dead..."

"I...I..."

"Yes?"

"I...Think that..."

"You think that?"

"I think...No... I know that..."

"You know that?"

"Darn it! I can do this! I may have only just met you... But you're the nicest pony I have met! And I!"

"You?"

"I LOVE YOU DITZY!"

Dead's dilemma

"Uh yeah," Dead stuttered, in the heat of the moment she had jumped up onto her seat. "So that happened." Dead chuckled as she got down and sat back down. She was now staring at Ditzy who had a blank look on her face. "Uh Ditzy? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit taken back..." Ditzy slowly said. "Are you alright? I mean you did kind of stand up and shout that you love me really, really loud and everpony in the restaurant is looking at us."

"Oh yeah..." Dead chuckled again. "I'm alright. I guess I just got caught up in the heat of the moment. But what I said stands. Even if I have only just met you... I know it may be sudden, but I have never been so sure in my life."

"Wow really? I never expected something like this to happen so quickly!" Ditzy said happily. "Who would have thought it. Me a mailmare, who crashes a lot and tends to make the odd mistake. And you, a powerful long-live immortal necromancer, Together!"

"I know right! Such an odd mix... Well I say that, but I have seen some pretty strange relationships..." Dead laughed as she finished, she grab her drink and drank a bit of it. "As long as you are happy, I'm happy."

"Don't go getting too lovey dovey on me! We still have dessert!"

"Dessert? Hang on a moment I thin I just need to rest..." Dead said abruptly as she passed out from emotional duress. Leaving a rather puzzled Ditzy with an unconscious Dead.

Five minuets earlier...

It was getting relatively dark and all the club goers were starting to stumble home. Normally at this time Twilight would in the library, sorting out books or researching some tome. She did not normally spend this time looking for a friend. A drunken colt being pursued by a skeleton would normally have grabbed her attention, however tonight it didn't.

"Twilight!" A floating skull shouted out. "Twilight! What are you doing out here?" The skull floated over to Twilight.

"Hey Skullworthy, I am just looking for Dead. Have you seen her?" Twilight asked the skull.

"Last time I checked she was in that restaurant over there." The skull turned and nodded down a street. "She asked us to make sure that this rather rowdy colt wake up regretting drinking..." The skull started chuckling.

"How is she going about that?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Just going to take the colt and surround him in skeletons... Nothing violent or anything."

"I would complain, but its too late for that... All I can do is hope that you don't do anything too bad to the poor colt, probably he first time drinking..."

"Have no fear! Dead has ordered us to 'go easy' on him... Whatever that means." The skull chuckled after finishing. "Hm? Twilight?"

"Yeah? Whats the matter?"

"Why are you looking for Dead?"

"I'm just worried... I mean I know she can look after herself, but that's what I'm worried about. This place has already been the chaos capital for a short time, what do you even call it when a necromancer takes over a town?"

"A nercocity, or something like that."

"Uh... Okay then! Thanks Skullworthy!" Twilight said as the skull started to float after the colt and skeleton. Twilight then decided to head down the back ally and towards the restaurant.

"Woah, Dead?" Ditzy asked as she waved for help. "Dead! Are you alright?"

"Urrf!" Dead mumbled as she let out a large snore.

"Oh Dead, trust you to fall asleep during dinner... Well not really, seeing as we have only just met." Ditzy chuckled as a few waiters came over.

Twilight entered the restaurant, by herself. This factor alone caused most of the ponies on the ground floor to stare at her. Twilight chuckled nervously and made her way over to the bar section of the restaurant. She sat down and tried to hail the barcolt. "Hey!" Twilight called out, the barcolt turned around and smiled at her.

"I will be just a moment!" The barcolt called out as he picked up two pint glasses and wobbly walked over to a table and placed them on the table. Twilight turned her attention to the restaurant, she kept her eye out for Dead however she could not see her anywhere. Twilight sighed as the barcolt moved over to her and startled her. "What can I get you?" The colt asked with a cheery smile.

"Oh..." Twilight flustered, in all her time spent in Ponyville she had never been to this restaurant. "I'm just looking for somepony, do you think you can help?"

The colt smiled at Twilight. "Sure, what do they look like?"

"Oh she had a dark chestnut coat and name, her hair is similar to mine except she changes it a lot so I don't know what it is like now..."

"I see, anything else?"

"Oh, shes a bit of an oddball. Goes by the name of Dead and has a skull for a cutie mark."

"A skull you say? Yeah, she was here a while ago. She was stood just over there." The colt nodded to the center of the restaurant. "She looked like she was having trouble with a colt... But she shooed him away before things could get... Intense."

"Yeah, I think I saw that colt in question. He was pretty drunk"

"Hm, I think the bouncer threw him out a few minuets ago. Anyway as I was saying, she was stood there until what I can only assume was her date took her to the VIP section."

"She was with somepony?" A confused Twilight asked. "Who was she with?"

"She was with... Uhhh I should know this!" The colt thumped his forehead with his hoof. "She is in here at least once a week! How can I forgot her name!" The colt huffed. "Sorry I couldn't be any help, if I see her again you will the first to know."

Twilight paused for a moment. "Did she come back down from the VIP section?" Twilight asked, the colt placed his hoof on his chin and thought for a moment,.

"Now that I think about it... I don't think she ever did. Then again they haven't been here too long. But if you want to get access to the VIP section you need to pay a monthly subscription."

"Can't you do anything about it? I am really worried about her." Twilight pleaded to the barcolt, who then sighed.

"I swear if I allow every heartbroken mare into the VIP section it wouldn't be much of a VIP section. Would it now?" The barcolt let out a hearty laugh. "Well I suppose I can do it this one time, but you owe me. And just for future references... Name please?"

"Twilight, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said as the colt ducked under that bar. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just sending a message to the bouncer. So he knows to let you past..." The bar colt emerged from the bar and flashed a smile at Twilight. "Hes is just over there." The barcolt pointed to the stairs.

Twilight left the bar and slowly made her way over to the stairs. The amount of ponies that were in the restaurant seemed to be decreasing every moment, just as Twilight reached the stairs she turned around to see that she had an unbroken line of sight to both the exit and the bar where she was just at. Just as Twilight reached the stairs the bouncer popped out of nowhere and stopped her.

"Name?" The bouncer asked. He looked sternly at Twilight.

"Uhhhhhhhh..." Twilight stuttered, the large overbearing stallion threw her trail of though out the window.

"Take your time... I'm here until midnight..." The bouncer sighed.

"Twilight, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight half shouted.

"Ah yes, I see." The bouncer stood aside allowing Twilight past.

"Thank you..." Twilight stuttered. She slowly started to move up the stairs

The stairs were long, to say the least. Or so they seemed. Midway up the wallpaper changed to mach something that was more refined, one that would suit the higher class citizens that live in Ponyville. After what seemed like an hour Twilight arrived on the balcony that overlooked the ground floor. A few groups were sat down and eating their fancy foods, one table stood out. A table that had a light grey mare eating a dessert with a dark chestnut colored mare slumped over. Two waiters quickly hurried over to the table and checked the sleeping mare for any signs of foal play.

Twilight swiftly ran over to the table and addressed the mare who was quietly eating. "Derpy! What are you doing with Dead!?" Twilight half shouted to avoid drawing attention. Just as she finished the waiters left.

Ditzy shrugged. "We were just having dinner here. And she passed out! The waiters assured me that she would wake up in a moment.." While Twilight was confused and worried, it was highly unlikely that Derpy would even try and slip something in Dead's drink. Not only was she not that kind of pony, but she would have be unable to do it without making a mess.

"Alright... So tell me, what are you doing here with Dead?" Twilight asked as she took a seat next to the knocked out necromancer.

"Dinner date!" Derpy cheered happily. A slight immature tone took over Derpy as she half squealed.

"And how did this happen?" Twilight asked as she started to bring her hoof closer to her face.

"Well I was doing an evening run for the Apple's they got some late mail from Manehattan. And she was slumped up against a tree, talking to a skull and all."

"So you saw her by herself talking to Skullworthy, then what?" Twilight said as she confirmed the events.

"Well I was looking at her as I flew over her, and I..."

"You crashed into her right?" Twilight's hoofs made contact with her face, she swiftly pulled them away and allowed Derpy to go on.

"Well she was hungry and all, her stomach was rumbling really bad! I decided that she needed to eat something!"

"So you brought her here?" Twilight asked with a puzzled look on her face, her hoof rubbing her chin.

"Well, we were going back to my house."

"But you didn't..."

"Well I remembered that the manager owed me a favor, and I thought that it might be a good idea to treat her. Seeing as she cleaned up the town."

"And then what?" Twilight asked politely.

"Well we came up here, and well... Something happened..."

"What happened?"

"We fell in love..? Yes, I am pretty sure that happened."

"You what!?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yep, she even shouted it out! It was, quick. Then after that she fell asleep, then you showed up. Then I told you what happened!" Derpy said happily.

"Alright... I uh... Need to think about this... Its a lot to take in..." Twilight stuttered.

"Yeah, it took me a while to take it all in as well Twilight. I mean, she lovely and all but I have heard about..."

"The others?"

"Yes..."

"Don't worry about them. They have done nothing but cause problems for each other. Sabotaging Dead's dinner today and all." Twilight said flatly.

"Rain and Rarity did that?" Derpy said with a shocked expression.

"Yes, although they didn't do anything too bad... I just think they went over the line this time."

"Really?"

"Yes. But don't you worry about them. I will take care of them. You just take Dead back to yours and I will deal with Rarity and Rainbow and possibly Big Mac..."

"Big Mac? He was in love?"

"Yes, Dead seems to attract a variety of ponies." Twilight chuckled slightly.

"Oh, well I hope this doesn't pose to much of a problem..."

"It won't Derpy, I will make sure of it. Come on, lets get you two to bed. I'm sure Dead could use a break..."

Me, myself and Luna...?

"So, do you think you will be alright?" The evil demonic necromancer asked herself, her burning pale eyes seething evil and dark powers.

"Of course, I will be alright. Do you think me to be unreliable?" Dead snapped at her somewhat evil self. "You dragged me here... Why?" Dead stamped her hoof on the bone platform, causing it to shake violently.

"You need to calm down. You forget you hold more power in this realm." The evil necromancer chuckled. "You forget what you were once me. I am only here because you need somepony rationalize with. You dragged yourself down here. Don't accuse yourself of something you did.

"That makes no sense at all!" Dead laughed at the other necromancer. "Hmmp then tell me, why did I drag myself down here? Explain! EXPLAIN!

The demonic necromancer chuckled evilly and turned away. "Dead, you are in love. You are worried. You love Ditzy! The great at powerful Dead, smitten by a simple mailmare!" The necromancer laughed evilly a second time. "Dead do not kid yourself! Even the evil version of you that you created to talk to knows you two are perfect!" The necromancer turned around and glared Dead in eye, her eyes burning white.

"Please don't do that, I don't need any reminder of what I once was." Dead looked at the platform as it swayed. "Why are we here?"

"You control this realm, you tell me." Just as the necromancer finished the world changed to a rolling green field with a few houses in the background. "Ponyville? I suppose that would seem fitting."

"And to think you would have let this world burn, just because of a misunderstanding!" Dead chuckled as she poked the necromancer in the gut. "Now let practice kissing!" The necromancer riled back, while her face was not visible due to her robes, Dead could tell she was blushing.

"T-That is not suitable!" The necromancer stuttered as she backed up. "Dead! Control yourself."

"Oh... Your face! Even tough I couldn't see it. I could only imagine it!" Dead started rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. "No we don't have to kiss or do anything like that! What do you call it when you kiss yourself in a dream?"

The necromancer facehoofed. "Dead focus! Remember why you dragged yourself here and created me."

Dead slapped herself. "Right, yeah I need to focus. Thanks for that other Dead. Evil Dead, other Dead... I am here because, I am worried about the others and Ditzy. I am worried about hurting their feelings and I am worried about not being good to Ditzy. I have never been in love before! How will I be able to tell if I am doing the right thing?"

The necromancer laughed, not evilly. But normally. "Dead, you keep putting yourself down. I mean you may have been a bit slow with Rarity, and evil slower with Rainbow... And you even missed out on Big Mac!"

"Big Mac?" Dead questioned as she shot a confused look at the other Dead.

"Oh come on Dead! I could see it! You just didn't want to believe it! Well not at first. But admit it, when you went to the farm and they had already eaten and gone. Your heart nearly shattered."

A tear formed in Dead's eye and trailed down until it dropped onto the field and a flower grew and blossomed where it landed. "I was. I will not lie, if Ditzy had not show up I would have gone to Rarity and Rainbow and told them to give up."

The necromancer walked over and placed her hoof on Dead's back. "Look Dead, we both know that deep down you want to make everpony happy. But we both know you can't do that without breaking hearts."

"But why does it have to be the hearts of those I like and love? Why can't there be enough Dead to go around?" Dead said frustratingly. "Its not fair, why can't I make everypony happy? Why can't it work?" Dead stomped her hoof.

The necromancer removed the veil over her mouth and spoke bluntly. "Because Rarity wants a relationship, Rainbow wants constant sex which will take away the love from Rarity, Big Mac... I don't know... I would say relationship with a bit of tender loving. And Ditzy... You want to make her happy... You want to keep her safe..."

"I guess you are right..." Dead sat down and the necromancer took a seat next to her. "But I just..."

"I know Dead, I am you remember. I know what you feel. I just have a different... No, old view on things." The necromancer pulled Dead in close for a little mini hug. "Now Dead, I may be an old, long forgot fragment of you. But I want whats best for you. You have Twilight, she will help. Trust me, trust yourself." The necromancer removed her headgear. She was a slightly younger looking version of Dead, and had shorter more crazier hair.

"Wow, my hair..." Dead said in awe of her old hairstyle.

"I know, sexy isn't it?" The younger Dead teased.  She placed her hoof on hair and pressed lightly. The hair then sprang back into place.

"I don't think that is suitable!" Dead laughed, mocker herself from earlier.

"Oh ha-ha, very funny..." The young Dead sighed. "Look Dead, you have problems, really bad problems. You think that are unworthy... You think you don't deserve anything. But you forget!" The younger Dead stood up. "You are Dead Quiet! You are one of the most powerful necromancer in ALL OF Equestria! You could tale on Luna, Celestia and the elements of harmony! You could summon an army of the dammed and rule the world with a skeletal hoof!"

"Uh, other me..."

"You could rule them all! You could rule the world! YOU CAN DO IT!" The younger version shouted.

"Uhh...." Dead questioned herself.

"WHAT CAN YOU DO?" The younger version barked at her.

"Uhhh?" Dead questioned a second time.

"WHAT! CAN! YOU! DO?" The younger version shouted even louder at her.

"IT!" Dead shouted, putting two and two together and figuring out what the younger self wanted.

"DON'T JUST SAY IT! BE IT!" The younger Dead jumped as she shouted.

"I CAN DO IT!" Dead screamed, causing the whole dreamscape to shake.

"Alright, calm down. Deep breaths Dead, you don't want to destroy your dream now do you?" The younger Dead attempted to calm Dead down. She suddenly stopped and twitched. Re attaching her headgear and veil she looked up to the sky. "Dead. We have company!"

"We have arrived!" Luna announced as she landed in the nearby area, causing the dream to ripple slightly.

"Luna!" Normal Dead stumbled. "I... We did not expect you to come here..."

Younger Dead grumbled. "Took use ages to hide our dream from you. Well since you are not trying to kill me..."

"Neigh, we would not think of such an act. We have merely spent the past hours trying to delve into your dream. You did well in hiding it from us."

Younger Dead took pride in this and sang out happily. "Well, what else would we have done? When your enemy can delve into your dream to attack you..."

"We understand why would take those actions. It is a feat that very few have achieved." Luna sighed before moved over to Dead. "However I am not here to simply congratulate you on hiding your dream from us. Twilight has brought a matter to our attention..."

"Oh no..." Regular Dead shuddered. "Please don't make me choose..."

"We would not do such a thing, and besides you have chosen. The one they called Ditzy, if we are not mistaken."  Luna smiled firmly at Dead. "We just wish to help you. That is all."

Younger Dead laughed evilly. "So Dead, you have a younger more homicidal you, and an Princess of dreams and night helping you! How can this go wrong?"

Normal Dead sighed. "You would be surprise how many ways this could go wrong. You two better behave yourselves while you are in my dream."

Younger Dead chuckled. "Oh Dead, you know I will be on best behavior!" Younger Dead walked next to Luna and chuckled under her breath.

"And what do you find so funny about us?" Luna said sternly.

"Nothing, just go on." Younger Dead kept chuckling. "Please do go on."

"Very well." Dead sighed. "Look, I know you both mean well, but I need to think about this. As much as I want this to work out for everpony...."

"And it will!" Both parties shouted at Dead.

"Urgh you two, trust my old self and Luna to get along... Anyway younger me, what did you say earlier about me having to break hearts? You know what, never mind..." Dead sighed. "Look if you two keep popping up in my dreams..."

"But Dead! I am you! I am only here because you want me to... Deep down inside." Younger Dead tormented herself.

"We have to ask... Why is she here?" Luna gestured to the younger Dead. "She tried to kill us, if you recall."

"I know that!" Dead shouted, causing the dream to shake a second time. "She was, overacting... After all, I had suffered a lot... I was stressed..."

"And she tried to kill us. She tried to choke us with flames of the dammed. And yet you have her here trying to support you! EXPLAIN!" Luna bellowed at Dead.

"Woah!" Dead stumbled back, causing the horizon to fade slightly. "Luna calm down, you are throwing me off... She is here because, I need somepony to talk to, somepony that can support me."

"Somepony like yourself?" Luna questioned Dead.

"Yes. Now please I need to focus. This dream will collapse in on itself." Dead warned as she regained focus. "Younger me, Luna. Could you please leave me? I want to wake up."

"Ah!" Dead woke up, in an unfamiliar bed.

"Whats wrong?" Ditzy said as she darted up.

"Oh Ditzy! I had this horrible dream! A younger me and Luna was there!" Dead said as she started to sweat.

"Oh?" Ditzy asked.

"Yeah, they were giving me romantic advice of all things! A Princess that has been living on the moon for the past thousand years, and a younger more homicidal version of me! Of all things!" Dead sighed.

Ditzy laughed. "That does sound funny! You know, your hair looks kinda crazy..."

"Oh no..." Dead sighed, she had a bad case of super bad bed hair.

"It suits you, and you look cute with it..." Ditzy sighed happily.

"This, this is not hair. Its a mess!" Dead said gleefully. "How did I get here?"

"Twilight helped bring you over, she said she would help take care of Rarity and Rainbow."

"Great now I have Luna, past me and Twilight helping..." Dead facehoofed, she facehoofed so hard she fell back onto the bed. She started at the ceiling. "Ditzy, you know I love you."

"Of course Dead, no matter how fast this happened."

"Alright, do you love me?"

"Of course. I love you Dead, no matter how fast this happening. I will stay by you no matter what happens."

"Even if I turn evil and take over Equestria?" Dead chuckled.

"Yes, I will rule by your side. All shall fear the mighty overseer Ditzy! ALL WILL BOW AT MY HOOFS!"

"Alright, I am scared now... Heh." Dead sighed again. "So Ditzy..." Dead sat up and looked at Ditzy who had also half gotten up.

"Yes Dead?" A tired Ditzy asked.

"You are my first lover, so to speak... So I'm sorry if I am no good at it." Dead sighed as she turned her attention to the bed.

Ditzy placed her hoof in Dead's. "Don't worry about it!" Ditzy reassured Dead. "Even if you are no good at it, if anything that just makes you more sexier..." Ditzy let out a growl and slipped on the covers. She then landed on top of Dead. "Woops clumsy, clumsy me!" Ditzy smiled at Dead who returned the smile.

"So.." Ditzy started to descend on on Dead, partially because she wanted to and partially because she was tired.

It was clumsy to say the least, Ditzy's forelimbs gave up and she just happened to lock lips with Dead, Dead just happened to think that it was a kiss and go with it, and Ditzy just happened to return it. Ditzy just happened to push her tongue forward and Dead just happened to allow it access. However at that point it stopped being an accident and it started being passionate, the two mares turn so that they were both on their sides, rather then one crushing the other. Ditzy's tongue danced it Dead's mouthing causing Dead to moan lightly as it did so.

When the kiss finally broke a thin trial of saliva drifted down onto the pillows as the two stared at each other. Dead was the first to break the silence. "Wow... That was intense. To say the least..." Dead sighed, while the kiss was over she longed for more, but it was late and she could see how sleep Ditzy was.

"It was..." Ditzy said as a yawn interrupted her. "Sorry I'm not more awake..."

"Don't worry, just get some sleep... And as far as first kisses go..." Dead trailed her sentence as she leaned into Ditzy and fell asleep.

"Oh look at you, first kiss and all! Wait until Luna hears about that!" Younger Dead teased as she danced around Dead.

"Remind me why I didn't obliterate you when I had the chance?" Dead sighed as she froze the younger with her magic.

"Because you knew that if you killed me you wouldn't have anypony to talk to in your dreams!" Younger Dead shouted as she struggled against the older mare.

"Look, I'm going to let you down. And you're going to calm down. Okay?" Dead ordered.

Younger Dead nodded slowly as she was placed on the floor, she took a few deep breaths before sitting down. "I don't know why you have to be such a killjoy Dead, you should be happy. You've just had your first kiss and you loved it!" Younger Dead cheered out.

"Look, as much as I was to discuss this I am sorry to say..."  Dead grinned evilly.

"No! You can't!" Young Dead screamed as she started to fade away.

"Look, I just need some sleep. That's all." Dead sighed. Withing a moment Dead was alone and getting ready to dream a happy dream.

The Rising Tide

Mornings.

Dead was never much of a morning mare, her skeletons would wake her up when they needed her to be awake. However today she was not in the company of skeletons. She was in the company of somepony very special to her. Dead rolled over to find that she was alone in bed, the morning light seeping through the curtains that had been drawn a tiny bit, a cool breeze blew in through the open window and carried with it the smells of the morning. A soft hissing noise could be heard from what Dead could only imagine was the kitchen. a familiar smell of pancakes and honey seeped into the dimly lit room, this was enough to coax one sleepy eye open.

"Urgh..." Dead groaned as she tried to drag herself out of bed. Her eye darted around the room in hope that she might find some sort of clock. Dead mumbled as her one open eye landed on a clock that was hung just above the door, it read six O'clock on the dot. Dead dragged herself out of the bed and opened both eyes, a simple almost automated spell saw that the bed was made and neatly set up for the next night. Dead yawned as she pushed open the door and was forced back by a large assault of light on her eyes. After her eyes adjusted she made her way out of the bedroom and towards the sound of the hissing.

"Good morning sleepyhead!" Ditzy said cheerfully, a few pancakes stuck to the roof made it clear that she had been up for a while, or long enough to make and stick ten pancakes to the roof. Dead took a seat on the well presented table. Two glasses of what appeared to be apple juice, a jar of honey and two plates with a stack of pancakes on both were set up. Once again Dead came to the conclusion that Ditzy had been up for a very long time.

"Good morning..." Dead tried to say a cheery tone, however her half asleep status turned it more into a grumble. Dead slapped herself awake and decided to try again. "Good morning! Sorry about that, was half asleep." Dead sighed happily, remembering the days when she could have slept in as if they were only yesterday. "I'm not used to getting up this early..."

"Don't worry about, I'm sure you will get relatively used to it..." Ditzy said as she took her seat opposite Dead. As she sat down she batted her eyelids at Dead. It became clear that she had not forgotten the events that had take place last night. "And anyway I would be surprised if you weren't tired."

"But didn't I fall asleep in the restaurant?" Dead questioned as she though back to last night.

"Twilight said something about that... You weren't fully asleep or so she said.... I didn't know what she meant but..." Ditzy sighed happily. "I'm glad that you woke up last night... I really am." Ditzy poured some honey on her pancakes before giving the jar to Dead.

"Yeah, me to. It was a surreal moment, my first kiss... Its funny I'm thousands of years old and I had my first kiss last night..." Dead sighed as she added honey to her pancakes.

"And yet you don't look a day over twenty!" Ditzy blushed slightly as she started eating her pancakes. Just as Ditzy finished her mouthful she looked up to see Dead blushing madly. "Dead, are you blushing like a madmare? All because I said you look young?"

"Y-Yeah..." Dead stuttered as her flustered face continued to glow red. "I'm just... I just, never expected anypony to say that. I know it sounds silly."

"Of course not, everypony likes to hear how young they look, as long as its not too young!" Ditzy chuckled as she took another large portion on pancake and ate it. Dead started eating her pancakes at a alarming rate. Despite Ditzy having a slight advantage they both finished at the same time. Ditzy got up and gathered the plates and gave Dead a quick kiss above the base of her horn. Dead shuddered at this action slightly. "Woops, sorry. I forgot unicorns are sensitive around their horns."

Dead blushed and stuttered. "I-Its okay, I didn't know it either until I read those books Twilight gave me..." Dead paused briefly before shivering a second time. "Those books..."

"And what about those books?" Ditzy asked as a smirk overtook her.

"There were lot of them... Some clearly made for foals and some made for stallions and some made for mares. And I read them all. Some of things that those talked about..." Dead shuddered at the thought of the content in the books.

"Was it too much?" Ditzy teased Dead.

"To say that would be an understatement.Somethings are better when you don't know about them."

"Well if you ever want to try some of them..."

"Uh, yeah..." Dead fell of her seat from being taken back from what Ditzy said. "Yeah, maybe some other time..." Dead sighed as she stumbled back onto her feet.

"Ha! And ponies say I am clumsy!" Ditzy laughed. "Well, before I head out to work. You need to go see Twilight." Ditzy went into the main room and emerged with her mailmares satchel and hat. "Well, I will see you later Dead... Then we can work on nicknames for each other! Cause that's what couples do!" Ditzy said as she made her way over to the front door and flew off to post office.

Twilight's library was abuzz of activity. Dead could hear Twilight running to and fro in the hallow tree. Dead walked up to the door and swallowed her pride and knocked three times. She paused as the sound of hoofs approached the door. The door creaked open and Twilight wordlessly ushered Dead into her house. Once Dead was behind closed door Twilight decided to speak up.

"So Dead, last night?" Twilight said as she rattled her hoof along the floor expectantly. "Care to elaborate on it?"

"Uh yeah!" Dead jumped. "I was walking back from the Apples..."

"I know that. I mean what happened while you were asleep." Twilight sighed. "I asked Luna to visit you... I hope that went well." Twilight said as she dropped her stern demeanor and became more gleeful.

"Twilight, whatever or whoever gave you the idea that Luna would be good on dating advice..." Dead facehoofed. "Well I can tell you that  it was interesting to say the least. And please Twilight if you have any other ideas to bring in royalty to help... Don't"

"Well I guess Cadance will be disappointed..." Twilight quickly levitated a list over and made a few mental notes before the list vanished in a puff of purple smoke. "Are you sure about that Dead, out of the help..."

"For now yes... Anyway you wanted to know what happened in my dream?" Dead said as she moved away from the doorway.

"Oh yes!" Twilight cheered as she pulled a small notebook out. "I want know about the area you were in, what happened and who you saw!"

"Why is all this so important? If I may ask." Dead asked as she began to trawl over the memories of her last dream.

"Well Dead, you are an oddity to say the least. You are the first uh... Evil doer to come back and not be... turned to stone or obliterated. And you can hide your dream from Luna and take control of it! Not many ponies can do both those things."

"I see, well I should be thankful..." Dead sighed, she knew this was going to drag out.

"Well, if you can tell me as much as you possibly can... I would sure appreciate it!" Twilight shot a beaming smile at Dead.

"Alright. The dream started off like..." Over the next hour Dead recounted her dream in every last detail. Every color, every scene and everypony that she saw.

"Uh-huh! That sounds pretty hectic!" Twilight sighed as she put her third notepad down. "I seems you have more control over your dreams then most ponies do. It seems to level with Luna's power... But only in your dream. The other you though... I have heard of ponies creating younger versions of themselves for things..."

"Its the same thing, but the younger me... Is different... To say the least!" Dead smiled as she finished, the great explanation had finished. "Now Twilight, I believe you owe me some information. All I ask is that you explain to me how you are going to get Rarity and Rainbow off my back. Without causing to much trouble for everypony." Dead said sternly as she shot a sinister glare at Twilight.

"Well, it should be relatively easy with Rarity, she is always understanding, she might over dramatize the whole thing, but it should die down. Its Rainbow I am worried about..."

"Or Rainbow's ego, as I have heard..."

"Yes, its very big. Very, very big. I don't think she can understand the concept of being rejected. Also her and Rarity have this whole fantasy about you... I think they might just be attracted to bad mares..."

"I'm not that bad am I?" Dead pouted.

"Not now, but you were. I think they kind of get off to that..."

"That's..." Dead paused and chose her words. "Odd to say the least. And what of Big Mac."

"We don't have to worry about him, Applejack said she should be able to help him get over you..."

"Good, I don't want to make this any harder then it has to be!" Dead half cheered, before dropping into a deep thought.

"Well Dead, it is good to see that you still care about everypony, and for what it means I wish you and Ditzy the best of luck!"

Dead snapped out of her thought and an evil smile crept across her face. "Thanks Twilight, now how are you for extremely complicated plans that have a huge chance of failure and a small chance of success?"

"If we can avoid them I will be happy. And I don't want a plan when the outcome is you ruling Equestria with Ditzy at your side!"

"Aww..."

"Dead! Be serious! We need to figure out how to let them down gently. You might create a rift in the elements of harmony!"

"Then can I rule Equestria with Ditzy?"

"If that happens, sure. I will even back you up." Twilight said, knowing it would be the only way to get Dead to stop going on about it. "Anyway I have my own plan its a three phase plan I call operation: Love busters..!" Twilight sighed. "If Cadance had heard me use that term..."

Operation L.O.V.E.B.U.S.T.E.R

"I must admit Twilight, I feel downright rotten for what happened. I tried going and apologizing to Big Mac, but Applejack wouldn't let me in. He must really be upset, or angry, or both!" Rarity sighed as slowly walked back to her house with Twilight. "I haven't seen Dead for a while. I hope she is alright."

"Shes fine Rarity." Twilight reassured. "However I do need to talk to you about her." Twilight sighed and stopped.Rarity noticed this and stopped as well.

"What the matter? Did she go back to Everfree?" Rarity said sounding concerned.

"Not entirely, I don't really know how to say this Rarity..."

"She in love with Ditzy, isn't she?" Rarity said bluntly. "I saw her leaving Ditzy's house this morning and put the pieces together."

"Oh!" Twilight jumped. "Yeah, that's kind of it. I hope this doesn't effect anything..."

"Don't worry Twilight. Even if I truly despised her going out with any other pony, I would hide it very well... No I am truly happy for Dead!" Rarity said happily as she smiled at Twilight, the smile wasn't one that was hiding sorrow, it was one that was happy and looking forward to the future. "Come now Twilight, we have much to discuss." Rarity sang as she started to move forward.

"Uh yeah..." Twilight mumbled still trying to take in what had just happened. "Rarity?" Twilight said, causing Rarity to stop momentarily.

"Yes Twilight?" Rarity called out.

"Thanks, you may not know it. But you do too much for us."

"Nonsense! No pony can ever do too much to help!" Rarity laughed as she walked, a short sprint from Twilight meant that they were side by side.

"Dead I want you to tell me!" Ditzy called out as she pounced on Dead.

"Never!" Dead laughed as she rolled over and tried to throw Ditzy off. "Its my secret!" Dead chuckled. Ditzy drove her hooves into Dead stomach and started rubbing her tummy. "No! Not belly rubs! My one weakness!" Dead helplessly flailed around. "P-Please! Stop!" Dead begged between breaths. Just as Dead started to show signs of exhaustion the hooves drew away and pinned her to the ground.

"So, will you tell me now? Or do we have to do a second round?" Ditzy warned Dead.

"No, I can't! It will warp your frail weak mind!" Dead half laughed half shouted. "Please let me go, or you will regret it!"

"II don't think you are in the position to be making threats. Now since you don't want to do it easy way. We get to do it the fun way." Ditzy ruthlessly drove her hooves back into the stomach of her captives rubbing ever sensitive spot on her stomach.

"N-No!" Dead shouted. "S-S-Stoooop ittttt! P-P-Please!" Dead begged as she tried to suppress her laughter.

"Not until you tell me! Why won't you tell me!?" Ditzy ordered.

"B-B-But... I-Its my little secret! N-Nopony knows why I have lived this long except me! Y-You can't change that." Dead laughed hysteric.

"I see... So Dead was really torn?" Rarity said with a concerned tone. "I had no idea what this was doing to her..."

"Yes, she is very much like a foal with a new toy. You offer her a new one but try and take away the old... And she cries." Twilight said flatly. "Sorry about that Rarity. Dead is a good friend and all. But I'm worried that her emotions will be the end of us all." Twilight let out a small chuckle. "Can you imagine her? Ruling over us with Ditzy at her side?"

"I think she would be a good leader... What would you do if she tried to take over Equestria?"

"Well, I don't know. What would you do?"

"Urgh, I promised her that I would side with her... But I don't know how Celestia would react to that."

"Well, I'm behind you Twilight. We friends have to stick together! Through better or worse." Rarity placed her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Even if it involves overthrowing the princesses..."

"I'm more worried that you are going along with it..." Twilight chuckled. "I don't think Dead is capable of being evil... Much."

"D-Ditzy! S-Stop! I-I-I Will eat your soul!" Dead howled as she flailed around like a fish out of water. The belly rubbing had been going on for an hour. Ditzy pulled her hooves away from Dead and allowed her to get up. "Thank you..." A tired Dead mumbled as she slowly got up.

"The all powerful Dead, stopped dead in her tracks with belly rubs!" Ditzy proclaimed. "At least I know what to do if you ever try and argue with me."

"You know I would never do that, and besides I'm always right." Dead proclaimed. Much to her dismay Ditzy's expression showed that she did not believe Dead. "Oh come on, try and find a time where I was wrong."

"Maybe earlier when you said you had no weakness..." Ditzy sighed happily.

"Alright, but I highly doubt the royal armies of Equestria will start defending Equestria with belly rubs." Dead sighed. "As effective tactic as it is..."

"Oh come on Dead, there are more times then that." Ditzy placed her hoof on Dead's shoulder. "Everypony can be wrong every now and then. Its what makes them ponies."

"Alright Ditzy, I'm not always right... Happy?" Dead huffed.

"Yep!" Ditzy chirped as she brought Dead in for a hug. During the hug Ditzy was close enough to whisper gently into Dead's ear. While inaudible to everpony except Dead it was enough to cause Dead to blush madly when Ditzy pulled away.

"Ditzy!" Dead shouted as she flustered. However before Dead could say anything more Ditzy quickly went in for a long passionate kiss, leaving Dead speechless and confused. However if Dead had looked out the window in the short time before the kiss got to passionate, she would have seen a cyan blue blur quickly vanish from view.

So that happened...

Knock-knock-knock

"Mmmmmmhhhhh!" Dead pulled herself off Ditzy. "Should we get that?" Dead asked as a slightly disappointed looking Ditzy sighed. The knocking came back twice has hard with a sense of urgency.

"Yeah..." Ditzy said slowly. "We can finish this later..." Ditzy pulled away from Dead and walked over to the door and slowly opened it. A rather sweaty Rainbow Dash was in the doorway. "Hiya Rainbow!" Ditzy said cheerfully. "What can I do for you?" Rainbow, remembering that this wasn't one of her close friend's houses opted against storming in and demand an explanation, instead she stood still for a few brief moments before stuttering and flying off at breakneck speeds. A confused Ditzy turned back around and gave Dead an evil smile.

"So where we were?"

Rainbow frantically flew through Ponyville, looking for any of her friends that might be out. Much to her dismay she saw Pinkie hopping back into sugar cube corner and decided it would be to try and talk to her. Rainbow flew through the door and tackled Pinkie. Throwing the pair into the back room.

"Rainbow, I'm all for tackle the unsuspecting pony. But can we not do it inside the shop?" Pinkie asked as she got up, just as she got back on all four hooves Dash quickly slammed the door shut.

"Pinkie I need to talk about something! Its really important!" Rainbow shouted at Pinkie, who the promptly sat down and waited for Rainbow to go on. "Its Dead! I saw her a Derpy kissing! Like really kissing! Like full on kissing!"

"Uh-huh!" Pinkie exclaimed. "So what are you going to do about it?" Pinkie asked.

"I dunno, I just needed somepony to talk to. Say Pinkie do you know what has been going on? I tried talking to Rarity about Dead earlier but she just stonewalled me." Rainbow sighed. "I get the feeling that something big happened last night... And nopony is telling me about it!"

"Oh something did happen! But I Pinkie promised not to tell!" Pinkie happily exclaimed. "But you might wanna go see Twilight about it. I'm sure she will tell you!"

"Urgh, Twilight will just go on about what me and Rarity did last night... Its not our fault the plan didn't work how we intended it!" Rainbow huffed. "Maybe if Dead wasn't so attractive... What am I saying?"

"I dunno!" Pinkie shouted as she jumped up. "But still go see Twilight! I still need to figure out who shaves the Barbra!" And with that Pinkie vanished in a pink blur that sped through the closed door.

"Uh... Okay... Bye Pinkie..." Dash muttered as she slowly left the shop. Dash made her way over to Twilight's house, she didn't fly like she normally did. Instead she slowly walked, taking the the surroundings and trying to think about what was happening. After what seemed like forever Rainbow  ended up outside Twilight's house. She considered just leaving and forgetting the whole thing. However she decided that doing that would solve nothing. Dash walked up to the door and slowly knocked it.

"Just a minute!" A sing song voice called out, a voice that was not Twilight's.

"Rarity?" Dash said sounding rather puzzled. "What are you doing here?"

Rarity opened the door and greeted Dash with a happy smile. "Oh I have just been talking to Twilight about some things. Cadance sent over some books on necromancy from the crystal library."

"Didn't Dead steal them all though?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes, but when she stole them the crystal empire was... Missing!" Rarity cheered. "You have to read some of this. Most of it is about Dead! Or so Twilight says..." Rarity noticed Rainbow's lack of energy. "Don't worry about Dead, Rainbow."

"I just, wonder. What would have happened if it had gone our way..." Rainbow sighed. "I'm happy for her and all. Maybe a tad jealous of Ditzy..." Rainbow laughed. "I saw them really going for it!"

"That's the spirit Rainbow! What makes you such a good friend is that you aren't bitter about it! You are happy for Dead. And that makes you a great friend." Rarity said happily. Rainbow perked up at this. "Come in! Twilight is certain she will find out why Dead is so long lived and/or immortal!" Rarity happily ushered Rainbow in and sat her in front of a book titled 'The Formation of the Crystal Empire' Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"And you expect me to read this?" She asked. The book was then picked up in a purple aura and drifted over to Twilight who was in a skyscraper of books. "Woah!" Rainbow exclaimed. "When Rarity said Cadance sen over some books..."

"Yeah, I've been reading nonstop since they got here. Some of these are real page turns. They document ancient rituals and such. Its amazing how much was known about a forbidden magic." Twilight said as she emerged from the towering pile of books. "However some of them seem to over exaggerate their abilities. Giant skeletons have not been seen or heard of, ever." Twilight sighed as she took a book out the pile and tossed it aside. "I think this book here... It explains why Dead is still alive." Twilight held up the book she took from Rainbow. Twilight quickly flipped trough some pages and started reading an extract aloud.

The area on which the Crystal empire sits is a focal point for magic. Hence why it is made of crystals, they conduct magic effectively and are sturdier then other magical building materials. However somewhere beneath the Empire something is emitting high levels of magic, hence why if darkness resides in the Empire it corrupts the rest of Equestria.

Long before the Empire was founded a variety of magic eating and seeking creatures braved the snowy wastes in order to set up camp around the focal point. When construction teams originally began setting up the Empire they encountered numerous imps and a few power hungry magi. However they lived on the outskirts, the midsection was devoid of any lifeforms and in the center of it a large jar rested. The passage that follow are accounts from the the diary's of construction workers names have been removed and some areas re-written.

The first mistake that the construction crew did was attempt to move the jar. Survivor recounts tell of a large strange skeletal creature emerging from the ground and killing several crew members by impaling them with large ice lances.

"Woah, Twilight. That's..." Rainbow started.

"Yeah I know. But I have a feeling it gets better... That, and I have read it. I will skip to the good bits for you, save you hearing about the massacre that followed it."

Three days pasted with no work and nearly fifty deaths. However it would seem relief would come in the strangest of ways. A unicorn mare, clad in strange purple robes showed up on the third day. While her personality was abrasive she wanted access to the focal point, in order to enhance her magical abilities, however she changed when we told her about the creature.

The mare refereed to the creature as a 'lich' and after a slight bit of explaining she offered to remove it for us. Free of charge. However she requested that we did not tell any of the Princesses, until a thousand years has passed.

"So what? It just says that a unicorn showed up." Rainbow huffed.

"Yes, a unicorn that was wearing the exact same kind of robes that Dead was wearing when we faced her in her dream. Look at the picture." Twilight levitated the book over to Rainbow and displayed a picture from the following page. The robes matched the ones the other Dead wore in the dream perfectly.

"Oh!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I take it the book gets better?" She asked. Twilight nodded ad took the book back and kept reading.

The mare, who only refereed to herself as DQ requested that an observer watch the encounter take place, so that events could be logged.

The fight started around midday, a strange white mist filled the immediate area. The mare walked up to the jar and shook it violently, causing a large crack to appear in the base of it. The skeleton emerged just as expected and hurled a large ice lance at the mare. A skeletal griffon jumped in the way and took the hit. It also became apparent why the mare didn't want the princesses knowing. The 'Lich' spoke in some sort tongue to which the mare replied in turn. The mare then raise a few of the works and began using them to blockade the Lich, stopping it from attacking. The mare then fired a large volley of white bolts that homed in on the Lich's body. While this seemed to stun it, it seemed to fight back and grow in power.

After what seemed like an hour of dodging and occasionally attacking the mare  paused and fired a large grey bolt with a white skull in it at the lich.

Twilight stopped. "Alright then what?" Rainbow asked.

"That's it. It ends there. However we can come to the conclusion that Dead won... Seeing as she is still here." Twilight said as she put down the book. "Maybe she will tell us someday... Anyway Rainbow, what brings you over here?" Twilight asked, unaware of why Rainbow had shown up.

"Oh just Dead. I saw her and Ditzy really going for it."

"Oh..."

Dead's Plan For A Grand day Out, Totally Not Doing Anything Evil.

Dead was happily running through town at breakneck speeds, it had been a few weeks since she had been with Ditzy and she was looking forward to meeting Dinky. However fate would have it so that something popped up, something in the form of a letter written in fancy claw writing. Dead charged into the town center towards the one stranger in the town.

"Grim!" Dead called out alerting her visitor. A ebony feathered griffon with slate grey fur turned and called out.

"Dead! My favorite little pony! I have been looking for you!" The griffon slowly walked over to Dead, who was still sprinting at an unsafe speed.

"How are you Grim?" Dead asked as all the ponies in the town center turned their attention to the duo, it was well known that Dead disliked griffons on a very good day for her.

"I am well. However, how are you?" Grim asked curiously as he placed his claw under his beak and observed the surroundings. "Do you have anywhere we can go? I don't like some of the looks we are getting."

"Oh yeah..." Dead said as she looked around. "We can go to my marefirend's house... I think." Dead nervously said.

"Oh a marefriend?" Grim said sounding intrigued. "My little necromancer is growing up... I would shed a tear but alas, you are long overdue." The griffon chuckled lightly. "Lead the way Dead."

"I'm not being unreasonable! They just went into Ditzy's! Dead and that griffon." Rainbow shouted at Twilight.

"But Rainbow, she hates griffons, she proved that when Gilda came back..."

"She didn't exactly murder her! She expressed some very strong opinions. Anyway you can asked anypony in town! They all saw her!." Rainbow bellowed.

"It just doesn't make sense, why would she go into Ditzy's alone with a griffon?"

"I can think of about five..." Rainbow said as a smirk appeared on her face.

"Urgh come on lets go find her..." Twilight sighed as she dragged Rainbow out of her house and into the busy town.

"So... This Ditzy, she is a mare?" Grim asked as he examined a picture.

"Yes she is." Dead stated. "And I will be meeting her foal soon. Or I would have if you hadn't sent me that letter. To be honest I forgot about the whole ordeal. Where are the others?"

"Nazz is in town somewhere, she was lucky to get away from the hive, the whole place has been abuzz since they failed to take over Canterlot." Grim sighed. "Her speech is coming along well."

"That is good to hear. Last time she couldn't speak in Equestrian properly."

Knock-knock-knock

Dead got up and slowly walked over to the door, she opened it slightly to who was knocking. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were waiting on the other side. "Dead! We know you are in there!" Rainbow yelled out. Rainbow then rammed the door which threw Dead back and she landed gracefully on the sofa in the front room. Rainbow charged in and Twilight slowly followed her.

"Sorry about that Dead..." Twilight sighed. "I asked Rainbow to relax but..." Twilight stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the griffon sat down calmly in the main room.

"Greetings..." The griffon said politely. "And who do I owe this pleasure to?" The griffon extended his claw only to draw it back when Rainbow went to smack it.

"What are you doing here with Dead?" Rainbow barked at the griffon who sighed.

"Business, business that you can't know about." The griffon stood up and was now towering over Rainbow. "Now if you don't mind!" The griffon strode past Rainbow, pushing her aside in his wake and flew out the still open door.

"Uh..."

"Don't worry about Grim, hes just a bit grumpy. But anyway... I will be out of town for a week or so."

"Why?" Rainbow rudely interrupted.

"Business, with Grim and a few others. Don't try and follow me... And yes I did tell Ditzy, she took it a lot better then you Rainbow."

"..." Rainbow stared blankly at Dead.

"Well if you two don't mind, I need to go buy some supplies for the trip." And with that the group found themselves outside the house. Dead promptly shut and locked the door and left, leaving Rainbow and Twilight speechless.

"And then she just left! For like, no reason!" A frustrated Rainbow explained to Rarity. "And that griffon! He was too fancy!" Rainbow sighed. Rarity came over and assured her.

"Now now Rainbow, I'm sure Dead can handle herself. And besides we need to prepare for Princess Cadance's visit."

"Hm, I don't why we can't just stalk Dead around." Rainbow sulked.

"Because stalking is very unladylike. And because you're not subtle at all." Rarity teased Rainbow. "Now come on, lets go meet up with the others." Rarity said as she left her house with Rainbow in hot pursuit. They headed over to Twilight's house and entered, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Twilight were sat in a circle. Rarity and Rainbow joined the circle and Twilight began to talk.

"So Cadance has basically asked that we do not have a massive welcome ceremony, apparently according to my brother she has taken quite an interest in necromancy. So she will probably want to talk to Dead, provided she is in town." Twilight sighed. "Trust Dead to go all mysterious just as Cadance comes down."

"Twilight!" Rainbow interrupted. "What are going to do about Dead, she is obviously going off with this griffon somewhere! I think we should keep an eye on her!" Rainbow ordered.

"Rainbow, we are all a tad worried about Dead. However I think we should wait for Cadance to arrive before we plan anything."

An hour later...

Twilight was alone in her house, she double facehoofed and sighed. "Five minuets." She said to herself. "It took five minuets for Rainbow to convince Cadance that we should follow Dead..." Twilight removed her hoofs from her face and got up. She knew today was going to be long.

Trekking Along the trail

Twilight met her small group of soon-to-be stalkers by Fluttershy's house. She once again sighed at what Rainbow had been able to achieve. Cadance was oddly ecstatic about following Dead, in the brief time she had been with Twilight she had constantly asked about what kind of magic Dead used. Twilight had been warned by her brother that Cadance was showing showing traits of an unhealthy obsession with the forbidden magic.

"So any news on Dead?" Twilight found herself asking the group as she arrived, Cadance smiled at her and they did their usually greeting, once that was over  Rainbow stepped forward.

"No, its just Dead and grim at the moment. All they have been talking about is what has happened in the past thousand years. Grim mentioned that two others will be arriving soon." Rainbow sighed. "I think I'm going to lose it if nothing happens." Just as Rainbow finished Cadance perked up and focused on the duo that were stood in the clearing.

"Look!" Cadance pointed to Dead, just as the others focused their attention a pony came in and joined the group. Cadance's ears perked. "That's a changling." She stated.

The pony became covered with purple flames and  changling with purple coloring stood in its place.

"Hey Nazz!" Dead said happily. The changling shot a smile forward and started to mouth words before forming them.

"Hel-low..." The changling shakily said. "How are you?" The changling started to speak more clearly. "Its been a while Dead and Grimnash."

"It has," The griffon stated. "How goes life in the hive?"

"Not so good, the failure to take control of Canterlot took its toll. Most of the changling that survived fled and became outcasts." The changling sighed. "Has Marcia showed up yet?"

"Not yet, she should be here soon. Then we can get going." Dead said, the changling then gave her a stern look.

"I see you found love!" The changling said happily. "May I?"

"Not too much... I need some of it for her." Dead chuckled, she felt a slight tugging sensation in her chest. The tugging stopped after a moment and the changling looked happy.

"Thank you Dead, its been a while since I have eaten steadily. Things have been... Hard, to say the least."

"Hm..." Cadance remarked. "I haven't seen a changling like that before. You see some with blue coloring rarely. But most of them have green. But purple?" Cadance paced back and forth.

"Well there are a lot of things we don't know about the changelings Cadance. It wouldn't surprise me if you get red ones..." Twilight stated. "Do you know what they were talking about?"

"No I couldn't hear properly, I think the spell timed out." Cadance sighed. Rainbow got up and looked around.

"Hey Twilight, Cadance. Look!" Rainbow said. Over in the clearing the griffons claw briefly glowed a dark grey. A small bone fragment formed in the claw and the griffon presented it. The changeling's horn the started to glow purple and a second fragment appeared. The changeling handed the fragment over to Grim. Dead's horn lit up in a bright white light and a third fragment appeared, she then gave the piece to Grim.

"How odd." Rarity remarked. "It looks like some sort of key..." Rarity placed her hoof on her chin. Dead mentioned three other necromancers... Do you think they are all meeting up?" Rarity asked.

"Like a great big party!?" Pinkie said happily. "Well a party with four things and a bunch of skeletons!"

"Hm, I don't know. Dead never said anything about other necromancers. They could be evilish..." Twilight sighed. "Hang on... When did that dragon get there?" The group turned their attention to the small group that had a new member. A teenage looking dragon that was decked out with a clock was stood upright, being the highest in the group by a small amount.

"Marcia!" Grim cheered. "Do you have your fragment?"

"Settle down Grim." The dragon hissed. "You don't know how long I have been in the air. I need a sit down at least."

"I see you're still as grouchy as ever..." Dead sighed.

"I have been a hormonal teenager for what? Five-thousand years now? Gezz..." The dragon pouted and turned away from the group and sat down.

"Well sooorrrrryyyyy!" Dead mocked. "Lets us know when you are ready, not like I'm worried half the town will start following us."

"I see you finally made some friends Dead!" The dragon mocked back. "Its about time you stopped living like a crazy skeleton mare."

"Yeah, well unlike your kingdom, ponies don't understand the fine art of necromancy. And because of that, they tend to make it illegal." Dead huffed. "That, and it helps if you don't try and overthrow the crown."

The dragon let out a hearty laugh and stood upright. "Oh Dead, I have missed you!" The dragon admitted.

"So have I Marcia. we should try and meet up outside of this sometime." Dead suggested.

"That would be a good plan. But I would have to pull myself away from the hive and get better at shape shifting." Nazz joined in. "But I wouldn't mind it."

"Now we have to figure out when we can do such a thing..." Grim joined in. "However I think we should head out. Marcia, do you have your fragment?"

"Of course!" Marcia pulled a fragment of bone out of her hood and gave it to Grim. "Alright Dead, its all up to you now."

"All up to me then? Heh..." Dead laughed. Grim held out a claw and displayed the four fragments. Dead's horn lit up with a white aura that picked up the fragments. Dead then carefully put the fragments together and locked them in place.

"Oh look, Dead made the loop of the key look like a skull... How original..." Marcia sighed. "Well then, who has are robes?"

"I do. Grim took his satchel off and opened it. All except Dead's." The bag contained three sets of matching robes. All with the familiar purple coloring and trim. "So Dead, you lead the way."

"Alright... And I think I will let that insult slide Marcia." Dead headed off into the forest, towards her house. "Just let me pick up my robes from my house."

Three hours and about ten miles into the Everfree forest

"Since when does this forest go on for so long!?" Rainbow half shouted. "I mean, I knew it was big... But this!" The group ahead had decided to take a quick rest, Rainbow almost unwillingly walked into them, however Cadance grabbed her and brought her back.

"At least they seem to tire, come on lets have a break here." Twilight said as the group ducked behind a bush. Applejack promptly opened her bulging saddlebags and a large variety of food poured out.

"Well, we all better eat up. No telling how far they are going for." Applejack said. The group started feasting on the baked goods and after a brief moment of rest the group ahead could be heard conversing.

"So Dead... How long will we be walking for?" A dragon spoke out. "I mean, we have been walking for hours. How much further is it."

"The view altering spell is still in effect, the old magi did a good job of hiding it. We should see the mountain in about five minuets." Dead spoke out.

Twilight's group giggled, they were nearly at the destination. However Twilight took a moment to think about what Dead said. "Hey girls, Dead said that mountain should be visible soon, but look around." Rainbow quietly flew up a tree and did a three-hundred and sixty degree turn. She came back down and shook her head.

"Unless they plan on getting to it by rainboom, its going to be a lot longer then five minuets. The ground is flat for miles." Rainbow informed the group.

"But!" Cadance joined in the discussion. "Dead mentioned a view altering spell. Maybe that is why we can't see it." Cadance smiled. "Wait can you hear that?" The sound of four lifeforms getting up could be heard, Twilight's party slowly got up and followed them.

"Walking, walking, walking, walking on the trail..." Nazz started to sing. "Walking on this dusty trail, trying to find my way back hooommmeeee." Nazz sang out.

"Nazz, not now." Marcia huffed.

"Don't be such a killjoy Marcia..." Dead said. "Nazz is just trying to pass the time."

"Yes, like the last time, and the time before that..."  Marcia went on reaping the phase. "And the time before that..."

"Quite! You are acting like foals, and hatch lings!" Grim snapped at the group. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it!" Twilight's group that followed them heard the commotion.

"How many times have they argued like this?" Rarity asked.

"Five times..." Cadance stated. "I would do something, but that changeling would notice." Cadance sighed. "Hey look..." Cadance pointed out a large mountain that seemingly popped out of nowhere. "I guess that is where we are heading!" Cadance cheered. The group paused. A large skeletal beast was stood on the way of the group in front of them. A shout could be heard.

"DAMMIT DEAD YOU SAID IT WOULDN'T COME BACK!"

Skeletal Guardian

The skeleton pulsed and grew, it was now the size of a small hill. Marcia jumped frantically around. "BIGGER?! HOW DID IT GET BIGGER!?" The skeletal being seemed to be made up of various bones from different species. It had a large Minotaur skull and its ribs were made up of various sea creatures ribs. One arm was a single bone that was spiked at the end, despite this the bone still bent to and fro like a normal arm. The other arm was made up on large dragon forearm and an unknown creatures radius. The spine was a mix mach of bones, no two being the same. The rest of the skeleton was made up of unidentifiable bones, worn by time and being submerged in dirt.

"Alright, stay calm..." Nazz shuddered. "Dead, you're a bone-weaver, what going on with it? The guardian seems to be growing!" The changling stated as the skeleton pulsed and grew again.

"Its been enchanted by something, it will stop growing soon. Now you three..." Dead chuckled. "Remember that old bone necklace? Well I need you to find it."

"Wha... Wait I'm not going to question it..." Grim sighed. "Come on then!"

"I will keep the skeleton distracted. But as soon as you find the necklace I need to know." Dead sighed. The skeleton was now the size of a large hill and attempted to step on the group.

Twilight watched the foot come down on the necromancers. three of them dodged it. Dead did not. It went silent in Twilight's group. Everypony in shock at what just happened.  "Did..." Rainbow stuttered. "Did that thing just crush Dead?" Rainbow was calm, Twilight assumed she was in shock. Nopony in the group said a word. The necromancers were scrambling around, they were digging and raising skeletons. Twilight noticed a small trail of ice form around the foot that had crushed Dead.

"Of course..." Twilight mumbled, a huge smile came over her face.

"What is it Twilight?" Cadance shakily said.

"She ate a lich. And she was just killed. Cadance, did you ever read that book on lichs and other undead creatures?"

"Of course. I read it several times before sending it over. What of it?"

"Dead is a necromancer, who was just killed. However..."

"Of course!"

A large ball of ice exploded out from under the foot on the skeletal creature. A skeleton resembling one who had recently been crushed emerged. White fire burned in the chest and eye sockets of the skeleton and two large skeletal wings formed on its back. The skeleton flew away from the larger skeleton and floated at chest height.

"Of course!" Cadance remarked. "She let it kill her! So that she could come back as a lich!"

"The amulet that she mentioned, it was in the book. If she puts it on within the first hour of being a lich, it will bring her back to life. However the amulet will shatter upon use." Twilight looked at the ground. "We need to start looking for it. If Dead's time runs out her mind will deteriorate. She will try and kill her friends... And us if she sees us."

The group spread out and began looking for the amulet.

Not good. Dead thought to herself. I need to be quick. She repeated in her mind, the icy chill of death clawed at her mind, shouting at her. Kill them. Kill them all. Why should they live while you suffer death. Dead fought hard against the will of the lich, its undead grip on her mind tightening. Dead flew up and hit the skeletal creature dead in its sternum with a large ice lance. The skeleton stumbled back and nearly fell over, however it swiftly regained its footing and charged quickly at Dead.

"Look out!" Dead shouted to the ponies below. She turned her eyeless gaze below and saw her friends raining away from the large creatures feet. She also saw Twilight and her friends digging up holes behind the treeline. Kill them! Oh shut up! What is Twilight doing here? Doesn't matter I need to stop this thing. Dead thought to herself. No you need to kill them! Dead sighed and attempted to fly up to the skeleton's jaw. However one of its arm slammed her back down. Why do you fight what you are? Just kill them. They will understand. Dead was now getting rather annoyed by the voice in her head, the voice that told her to kill those she liked. She knew she would not be able to fight both the skeleton and the voice for much longer.

Dead flew around the skeleton and charged into the bottom of its spine, she hit the skeleton with such force that it began to topple over. "Look out below!" Dead shouted without the use of a tongue. the skeleton fell down with a large crash and began to rapidly shrink. Grim briefly tried attack, however his claws bounced off the bones of the guardian.

"Argh! Its not use!" Grim tried to charge his claw, however this bounced back a second time. "Dead! We need help!" Grim called out.

Dead landed next to Grim. "Grim, there are others in the treeline. I counted seven of them. Gather them, alive preferably." Dead chuckled. "I will deal with this skeleton." Then you will kill your friends! HAHAHAHA! "I don't know how much longer I can hold this up... Its clawing at my mind." Grim nodded and signaled to the other two necromancers to follow him. Dead looked at the skeleton and grinned slightly.

The skeleton raised one of its large bony arms and conjured a white fire bolt and hurled it at Dead. Dead conjured up an ice lance that impacted with the fire bolt just before it came crashing into her. The skeleton quickly charged through the settling debris and picked up Dead in one claw. The skeleton slammed Dead into a nearby rock and began pummeling her into the ground. After seven pounds Dead's vision started to fade. In a brief rush of adrenaline she quickly teleported away. She decided not to question how she had an adrenaline rush without any bodily systems.

Dead quickly regained her bearings and conjured another ice lance and charged it at the skeleton. The skeleton was thrown back by the sudden impact, Dead then Charged at the skeleton and grabbed it with her magic. She threw it at a nearby rock, causing its skull to split. Dead could make out a quiet rattling sound from the skeleton. Dead resumed hurling ice lances at the skeleton until it started ignoring them.

Dead started hauling ice balls at the skeleton. The skeleton started keeping it distance. It side stepped past Dead's attacks and attempted to ram Dead every now and then. Surely you can see the futility of it all. All you have to do is stop. Dead shook her head, in the lapse on consecration the skeleton was able to connect a heavy hitting blow. Dead flew until she connected with the ground. She shakily stood up. "Urff..." Dead mumbled. The skeleton slowly moved forward and enclosed on Dead.

Dead charged up all her energy, she knew that this would end in two ways. She would keep her mind, or lose it. The torrent of white energy unleashed itself from Dead's bony horn. A white bolt with a grey skull in the center of it slowly flew towards the skeleton as it moved in closer. The skeleton nimbly dodged the bolt, however as the bolt began to fly off Dead grabbed it in her magic and swung it around.  The bolt locked onto the skeletons back and struck it. The skeleton flew forward and began to disintegrate, the skeleton disintegrated as Grim emerged from the treeline.

"Dead, we could not find it..."

"The skeleton's skull... Its in the skeleton's skull! Please, I can't..." Dead pleaded, the voice in her head attempt to take over what little free will Dead had. Grim ran over to the skeleton's ashes. He quickly searched through them and picked up a necklace with a skull pendant on. Grim threw the necklace to Dead who then flew off. Twilight emerged with the others.

"Where is she is going?" Twilight asked.Twilight attempted to run forward however Grim stopped her.

"Twilight. Her flesh burned off her body while she was dead. That amulet is about to do the reverse of it. While she can feel it." Grim looked at the floor. "Twilight it would be best that you go home. Or at least out of hearing range... Once you hear it..."

"GAAAAHHHHHHHH!" A blood curdling howl could be herd from the trees, several flocks of birds flew out of trees and away from

The Mountain With A Clieché Name

Dead crashed down, the voice in her head was yelling 'kill them' constantly and she was rather fed up. She threw the necklace on and the voice stopped, it was the quiet before the storm. "GAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Dead shouted as her hear reformed and started to beat. She gasped for breath as her lungs came back. She fell to the group and doubled over in pain. Dead flesh muscles and body systems quickly came back and her skin and fur regrew just as the amulet shattered.

Grim emerged for the tree and sat down by Dead, who was groaning in agony. The griffon chose to remain silent, as speaking would only cause Dead more discomfort. after a few minuets the other necromancers and Twilight group showed up. Dead got up slowly, every bone in her body clicking as the magic that was holding it together faded from her. She craned her neck back and a loud click caused everything in the nearby area to flinch. "Ahhhhhhhhhh! That's going to hurt in the morning!" Dead sighed as she started walking towards the mountain.

"Uh Dead?" Marcia said. Dead spun around and noticed that their group had grown in numbers.

"Oh yeah, sure. You know what they say..."

"Don't say it!" Nazz insisted. "Please, just don't." The changling sighed as the group started to slowly make their way to the mountain. After a while a small worn dirt path could be clearly seen. The air got thinner and the group started to tired. Nazz started to slow down and soon Cadance was walking beside him.

"So..." Cadance begun. "You're a changeling."

"Yes." Nazz stated bluntly, he didn't want to have this conversation. "Is that all?" Nazz hissed.

"Well not really, I mean your queen did try and ruin my wedding." Cadance rudely said. Nazz sighed.

"And your point is?" The changling scoffed. "I don't have time for the past. Only now."

"No need to get so uptight about it. Sheesh!" Cadance remarked as she pulled away from him. Just as Nazz started to think that he was going to enjoy a nice quiet walk Twilight bumped into him. Nazz sighed.

"Yes Twilight?" The changling had learned her name from hearing Dead go on about her.

"How did you become a necromancer?" Twilight asked.

"Born with it." The changling stated blankly. "Not everything is some adventure filled quest with heroes and villains."

"How long have you known Grim, Dead and Marcia?"

"Hm, about three thousand years for Dead, four thousand for Grim and Marcia." Nazz sighed. "Those were the days, back when Dead was a complete sociopath."

"You will have to come down to Ponyville sometime and tell me about it. Dead doesn't tell us much about her past." Twilight said as she left the changeling alone.

"Yeah... Sure, just get me a permit first..." The changeling chuckled as he sped up his walking to catch up with the group.

Not much talking took place as the group climbed the mountain path. At the top of the mountain two large wooden doors bared the group entrance to a bleak castle. Dead walked up to the door and pulled the skeletal key from he mane. Twilight puzzled about how Dead kept the key in her mane, as at one point Dead had no hair. However she dismissed it. The doors slowly opened and the dark depressing castle seemed to come to life.

Candles and chandeliers in the hallways sparked and lit. Skeletal attendants came out and greeted the guests.

A spectral attended appeared before the group. "Greetings..." It whispered into the minds of the ponies, griffon, dragon and changeling. "We have been expecting you..." The greeter murmured.

"Wow, some sort of ghost!" Cadance exclaimed, sounding a little too happy to be seeing a ghost.

"Yes..." The greeter hissed. "Now... Shall I escort you to your rooms?"

"Yes, please do." Dead paused. "May I have a word?"

"Of course..." The ghost hissed as it directed Dead through a door. "Please, your rooms." Before anyone in the room could question what the ghost meant a ominous light flash and the group found themselves in a corridor.

"Lady Dead, you required an audience?" The ghost turned and faced Dead.

"How long to we have before the ritual has to be preformed?" Dead asked.

"A few days. Three to be exact." The ghost replied.

"Great..." Dead sighed and looked around worrying.

"The guests?" The ghost responded.

"Yes, the guests. I don't trust them here..." Dead sighed. "This place has warped the minds of so many good unicorns and other magic users."

"Understood, library restrictions?" The ghost look Dead straight in the eyes.

"Only the archives, allow them free access to the rest of facility." Dead said calmly.

"Understood, should I tend to the guests?" The ghost asked.

"Yes, I will find my way to my quarters. Oh how I have missed them..." Dead sighed happily and slowly started to move down the dimly lit halls. After a while she passed a large bone door. The words 'Lady Dead, Head Bone-weaver' were printed on. While Dead earned her position at the academy long after ponies had stopped going to it, she still valued her place in it. Dead gently placed her hoof on the bone door.

"Dead? Is that you?" Rarity called out from behind the door

"Rarity? Isn't the tender showing you to your rooms?" Dead asked in dismay.

"I asked it if it would show me where you were. Next thing I knew, I was in here!" Rarity shouted beyond the door.

"Alright Rarity, back away from the door. I will open it." Dead slowly pushed the door open, the small office room had a well maintained desk on it. Files and paperwork drawers were kept tidily and four large candles and a chandelier kept the room well lit. Rarity walked forward and examined the text on the door.

"Was this a school of sorts?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, just like you have school for unicorns and flight camps for pegasus. I am a teacher, so to speak. But I have never taught in here. I was born long after necromancy was abolished, and its users died out."

"So what did you do here?" Rarity asked, she shifted her hoof through the paperwork. She picked a random one up read it.

"This was my lair, I planned all my raids from here. It was close enough the Canterlot for it to be suitable. However the spell meant that nopony found me." Dead laughed happily. "Yes those were jolly old times. Back when I a super-villain and relatively evil." Dead noticed that Rarity had froze up. "Is something  the matter Rarity?"

"No, I'm okay Dead." Rarity sighed.

"Come on Rarity, I know you well enough to tell that you aren't holding up so well." Dead walked behind the desk and sat down. As she did so a small bone chair came out and positioned itself in front of the desk. "Take a seat in my office Rarity, I believe this talk is long overdue..."

Emotional Duress

"Dead, I'm not some filly at a school." Rarity stated as she refused to sit down.

"And yet here you are. In the office of a teacher." Dead grinned. Dead leaned back slightly and her head moved into the darker section of the room. "Now Rarity, are you going to tell me what is troubling you?"

"As I said Dead, nothing is troubling me. I don't know what you expect to achieve with all this." Rarity slowly started to back away, just before she reached the door it gently shut. "Dead. Open the door." While to any other pony Rarity would be perfectly normal, Dead could see the small tells.

"Not until you tell me what the matter is Rarity, the others may not notice it. But I do. We have known each other properly for, about a week. And I know you have known the others for longer. But all that has gone is given you time to adjust. Time to change your tells so that they don't notice."

"Honestly Dead, I don't know what you are on about." Rarity flustered, trying desperately to hide her nerves. "Just let me go."

"Not until you tell me. Look you can tell me, or we can starve to death in here." Dead said flatly.

"What do you want from me?" Rarity half screamed. "Dead! Just let me out! If you let me go now I will forget about this whole thing!"

"But you came to me, you asked the tender where I was. You came to me." Dead got up and walked around her desk and over to Rarity. She gently place her hoof on Rarity's should. "Rarity, you are hurting. Just tell me." Dead locked eyes with Rarity and gave a sharp stare. Rarity's eye were soft and pleading.

"Dead, please. I don't want to go over this. Just let me go." Rarity disengaged  her eyes from Dead's. she turned away and faced the floor.

"Alright Rarity, but this won't go away. I will always be here to talk to..." Dead opened the door and Rarity walked out. Once Rarity left Dead shut the door. Rarity slowly walked away from the white door. She turned and faced the door and sat down. Once she was certain Dead could not hear her she dared to speak.

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Rarity sighed. She got up and started to walk around the castle.

"So you're a ghost?" Cadance asked.

"Yes..." The tender hissed. "Now if you please...." The tender started to fade away.

"But! I have so many questions!" Cadance called out, causing the tender to fade back.

"Very well ask..." The tender sighed.

"How old are you?"

"I forgot after five thousand years..." The tender sighed a second time.

"Oh okay.. I guess you don't remember much about your life then." Cadance sighed and her head dropped.

"Sadly, no. I serve the creatures that come to this castle."

"What is this place?" Cadance asked after a brief pause.

"This is where they teach the art of necromancy, and all its sub schools. Would you like to know anything in particular?"

"No that's okay, you can go now." Cadance said and the tender vanished quickly. Cadance then dropped her bindings that were holding Twilight underneath her bed spread.

"You know, Cadance. I don't think I can bunk with you if every time a ghost show up you shove me under the covers." Twilight said.angrily as she emerged from the covers. "I felt like a dirty secret..." Twilight scolded as she sat on her bed.

"Oh I'm sorry Twilight!" Cadance jumped onto Twilight's bed and pulled her into a bear hug. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"I-I-I URF!" Twilight gasped for air. "If you let me down!" Cadance complied and dropped Twilight onto the bed. "T-Thank you..." Twilight said as she gasped for air.

"Sorry Twilight, this whole necromancy thing had got me excited. The whole concept of a forbidden magic that only a few ponies know about is fascinating. I mean, everypony knows about Discord and his chaos magic, Sombra and his shadow magic and even changelings and their love magic!"

"I resent that!"  Nazz yelled out from his room.

"Sorry!" Cadance shouted. "But as I was saying, nopony even knows about necromancy. Its a myth. We were lucky that I was able to seize all the book on it before ponies started taking them out!"

"Uh-huh... So you like necromancy because nopony know about it? And that why you took all the book on it out of the crystal achieves?" Twilight said as she rubbed her head with her hoof, trying to understand why Cadance would do something so silly. "Alright Cadance. I give up. I don't understand you at all right now. Now I'm going to go to sleep. If I wake up and you're wearing purple robes..." Twilight trailed as she fell asleep on the bed.

"I am so glad I learnt that sleeping spell!" Cadance exclaimed as she jumped off the bed and into the hallway. Cadance stampeded through the hallways and followed the markings that pointed her into the direction of the library. Just before Cadance reached the treasure trove of books on the forbidden magic she stopped.

"Cadance?" Rarity said as she noticed the pink alicorn go into an emergency break. Cadance stopped and faced Rarity, her eyes darted over Rarity's body several times before she came to an conclusion.

"Rarity!" Cadance said as she wrapped her hoof around Rarity. "How are you doing?" She asked happily, giving Rarity a chance to come clean."

"Oh I'm fine!" Rarity said as she let out a nervous chuckle.

"Mmmmhhmmmm... So who is it, and how can I help?" Cadance asked with a sinister grin forming.

"Why can't you just leave me alone!?" Rarity snapped. "I am fine!" Rarity quickly brought her hoof over her mouth and silenced herself. She slowly moved her hoof away. "Sorry Cadance..."

"Its alright Rarity, you just need to tell somepony about it. The worst thing you can do bottle it up, your next explosion might be more volatile." Cadance let Rarity go and proceeded into the library. "Come on Rarity, we can talk about it."

The library was abuzz with activity, tomes flying off one bookcase only to land in another. Skeletal attendants sweeping the floor. Candles glowing with a bright white flame kept the huge room lit.

"Wow and I thought the crystal empire's library was huge! This is amazing!" Cadance exclaimed. "Twilight would love this place, its a shame I had to put her to sleep for the night..." A ghostly tender appeared.

"Welcome to the library," The ghost took a long gaze at the pair. "Guests of Lady Dead. I regret to inform you that the achieves are unavailable as of now. A untold skeletal horror escaped and is currently running rampant in the elder halls." The ghost smiled. "Sorry for any issues caused by this matter." And before either of the pair could respond, the ghost vanished.

"Huh, that's odd. I could have sworn the elder halls were open earlier. Never mind.." Cadance sighed. A magical tome flew above her and she caught it in her magical aura. She pulled the tome down a read the title out loud. "Bone-weaving for dummies. A beginners guild. Well I got to start somewhere. But before I do, Rarity..."

"Its Dead." Rarity said bluntly. "I am in love with her."

"That great!" Cadance cheered. "But what seems to be the problem?"

"She already has a special somepony..." Rarity admitted. "I was working with Rainbow to figure out what her preferences were, however it backfired..."

"You could have just asked her, I'm sure she would have told you."

"You may not believe it, but Dead was not always as confident as she once was." Rarity sighed. "Then I did something stupid and it ended with Dead being alone..."

"I see, go on."

"A mare who was passing by picked her up and took her out for tea the next day they were dating. While I was being wary about how to act around Dead I completely missed my chance altogether." Rarity turned her attention to the floor before bring her gaze back up to Cadance.

"Hm, sound like quite a predicament. Have you told Dead yet or even tried?"

"I think she knows..."

"But have you told her? She may know, but not be acting on it. Dead seems like one of those ponies... Y'know, they love to love..." Cadance found herself rolling her eyes. Once again Twilight's friends had made the simple matter of saying I love you into something that may cause the very world to end.

"I don't think she would do that to Ditzy, they have been close since they got together."

"Yes, but she values you as a friend right?" Cadance rushed out.

"Yes she does, if she knew what has happening she would leave. Not because she doesn't like me, but because she doesn't want to hurt us..." Rarity sighed.

"Has she shown any signs or indications that she wants to help?" Cadance placed her hoof on her chin and rubbed it furiously.

"I trying to tell her earlier, we were in her office. She knew something was up and locked the door. But I argued with her and managed to get her to let me out without saying a word." Rarity sighed. "Cadance, can I tell you something?" Rarity looked Cadance in the eyes.

"Of course Rarity!" Cadance said happily.

"Can you keep it a secret? I need you to promise... Pinkie promise me that you won't tell another leaving soul, or dead soul for that matter." Rarity smiled slightly towards the end of her sentence.

"My lips are sealed Rarity, now do tell."

"I fantasized earlier... In Dead's office." Rarity admitted shamefully. "I Imagined that she would storm in to the office, throw me onto the desk and then..."

"Okay Rarity, I think I have heard enough. Its not that I don't want to hear anymore. I'm just worried about what might happen if I do..." Cadance gave Rarity a wink that caused Rarity to blush slightly.

"I wish I hadn't thought about it. When she came in through the door I froze. I stumbled and completely shoved the matter aside. I had the perfect opportunity to tell her, but I didn't... If I could just go back now, I would tell her everything!" Rarity said as her confidence started to arrive in boatloads.

"Oh why didn't you say so!" Cadance clapped her hoofs together. "Tender!" A ghostly tender appeared and looked at Cadance.

"You called?" The tender said in its ghostly voice.

"Yes, is Lady Dead still awake?" Cadance asked, Rarity was too stunned to say anything.

"She is... I can feel her presence in her office. Shall I take you there?" The tender asked.

"Not me, but Rarity here. And don't let her tell you otherwise!" Cadance instructed. The ghost looked at Rarity its ghostly horn lit up. A bright flash blinded Cadance and when she regained her sight she was alone. "Time to do a Twilight!" She announced to the library.

Rarity's world spun, when she opened her eyes she was lying on the floor. Rarity quickly got up and scanned her surroundings. The candles that lit the room up, the well kept desk and the small bone chair were all indications of where she was. Rarity closed her eyes, her head still spinning.

Click!

The familiar sound of a door being bolted. Rarity slowly opened her eyes, she saw a set of hooves move behind the desk. Rarity slowly started to get up.

"Take your time. The teleport spell can leave you... Dizzy to say the least." Dead sounded calm. Her voice put Rarity at ease. While she had sounded hostile before; trying to force Rarity to tell her, now she sounded softer. Rarity slowly got up and placed her hoof to the desk to steady herself. She fell back on the small chair behind her and sat down in it. The candles danced elegantly in the room and gave it a warm cozy feeling. Once Rarity was sat steadily Dead spoke. "So Rarity, what brings you down at this time? Any particular reason?"

Rarity gulped, the confidence that she had built up started to ebb away. She swallowed her fear and spoke out. "Y-yes their is. I tried to tell you earlier, but I couldn't" Rarity paused and tried to see Dead's reaction. Dead nodded for Rarity to continue. "Dead I don't think I can do this..."

"Its okay Rarity, I'm not forcing you to do anything you don't want to." Dead's calm voice stirring a warm feeling in Rarity's chest. "If you want some help, just say."

"Thank you Dead. But I think I can do this myself." Rarity felt her confidence surge. "You know Dead, when you first moved to Ponyville you spent the night in my house. You were drunk. I let you sleep in my bed that night, because you couldn't sleep still and the sofa would not have been suitable." Rarity took a deep breath. "What I never told anypony, was that when you were sleeping... You cuddled up to me..."

Dead opened her mouth to speak, but then shut it abruptly. She gave Rarity a go on motion.

"You must have turned in your sleep or something. But I woke up and you had your hooves around me. I knew back then that you had no idea what you were doing, or what it meant... But I never wanted you to let go. I still don't. Ever since that day I have wanted to be with you... I tried with Rainbow, to work something out. I let my feelings get the better of me, and I ruined something that could have worked. However that gave you Ditzy. I deserved that. I..."

"Rarity, you never did anything to deserve a fate like that." Dead said solemnly. "I know you well enough to know that all you do is try and do the best. You rarely ever think of yourself. As you are probably aware, I knew how you felt. I told Ditzy how you felt."

"You what!?" Rarity barked back.

"I asked Ditzy for some advice, she has been in a relationship before. I asked her what I should do, seeing as you were hurting yourself so that I could be happy." Dead shook her head. "Ditzy said I should do what I have to. She knew what it was like to love someone but not have them return the feelings."

"She..." Rarity trailed.

"I asked her if she was certain about it, I didn't exactly want to cheat on her. I knew that if I told her she would understand. Believe it or not, Ditzy know a lot about romance, she claims it comes from the experiences she has had. And from a few romantic novels I have seen around the house."

"So what you're saying is that Ditzy know about my feelings?"

"Yes, and she is happy for me to return them, just as long as I give her the love as well... The way she put it, never mind."

"You are say that Ditzy said it was okay for you to love me?" Rarity quickly spoke sounding concerned.

"When you say it like that it sounds like I'm doing something bad..."

"Its not bad... So to say, just rare. Not many ponies would have more then one partner..."

"Rarity, I've been alive for over three thousand years. I have only been experiencing friendship, love and other emotions for... A week now? I don't know everything. Let alone the ins and outs of it."

"I suppose you are right Dead, I'm not going to complain..." Rarity sighed.

"Why?"

"Because its more then I deserve..."

"But its not! You deserve so much more! You keep treating yourself like dirt, its not right!" Dead starting speaking with passion. "All you ever do is give, give, give. You never take or anything, how nopony has seen this remarkable quality and swept you off your hooves amazes me." Dead stoop up. "I just don't understand it... I just don't. The living confuse me..." Dead slumped back down. She let out a large sigh as a silence overtook the room. After a few minuets of silence Rarity spoke out.

"Dead, why do you beat yourself up over me?"

"Because, I don't want you to hurt. I can see it, sense it. I know its stupid but I can tell, read the signs. Three thousand years living with hard to read skeletons can do that. You have to look for the little things." Dead sighed, she unbolted the door with her magic. "You can leave if you want I won't keep you here."

Rarity remained seated.

"Honestly, you can go. I'm not going to slam the door shut on your face or anything." Dead sighed as she shut her eyes.

Rarity remained still, refusing to move from her seat.

"If you plan on staying here all night I can turn the heating on, the mountain is built under a geothermic vent. All I have to do is move some bones and the room will warm up."

Rarity was as silent as she was still.

"I'm sorry I went off the hook their Rarity... But I care about you, I care about you a lot. And when your hurting, I hurt... I can't explain why, and I care little for the feeling besides wanting it to go. The only way I can do that is helping you... In whatever way I can." Dead opened her eyes.

Rarity smiled at Dead. "Anyway you can?" Rarity smirked. "Tell me, have you and Ditzy ever... Been interment?"

Dead's mind traced around, slowly she pieced together what Rarity meant, she shivered slightly. "Would you rather go someplace privet?"

Rarity's magic shut the door and locked it. "Here is fine, but you never answered my question."

"Twice..." Dead slowly replied.

"Second question, are you aware and comfortable of what I am implying?" Rarity asked innocently, gently batting her eyelashes at Dead. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable..."

Dead considered what to say. "That doesn't matter..." Dead trailed off. Rarity's magic started to undo the locking mechanism, however Dead's magic canceled it out and the backfire left Rarity with a slight headache. "Rarity, leaving is out of the question. You have made your intention clear. Just because I didn't answer your question doesn't mean you have to stop."

"Its not right Dead, its wrong." Rarity said as she tried to undo the lock, however Dead placed a warding spell that prevent Rarity from opening it.

"Rarity, we are in a castle that is maintained by the skeletons of the dead. The souls of the lost act as tenders to those who show up. What is right and wrong is lost..." Dead sighed.

"Dead please, I don't want to do this." Rarity stomped her hoof on the ground.

"You did five minuets ago. What changed?"

"Its not the same if you don't want to. I love you Dead, I don't..."

"Enough Rarity, stop thinking about me. Think about what you want."

"But I don't want this! This is wrong and disgusting!" Rarity snapped, she attempted to force the door open with her adrenaline. The force she imparted on the door flew back at her and threw her to the floor. "Urgh..." Rarity groggily said, Dead got up and walked over to Rarity.

"I'm sorry Rarity..." Dead pulled Rarity up quickly cast a spell causing Rarity to become hyper alert. "I'm so sorry..." Dead passionately locked her lips with Rarity's, Dead's horn lit up and charged Rarity with energy. With a sudden burst of energy Rarity pushed Dead to the floor and gave into a very primal instinct.

I hate to admit it, but this was always going to happen. I just needed a good point to inject it... Uh yeah this will either work really well... Or the dislike bar will rise sharply and people will stop leading or like it?

Anyway this is at the bottom because I used the authors note at the top. Sorry this went on for so long. And uhh I stayed up past midnight writing this...

The Regret*

The Regret*

Cadance was sat in a small fortress of books and tomes. A small fishbowl with skeletal goldfish was positioned in front of her. Cadance once again read over the spell and aimed it at the lifeless fish. A white bolt fired out of Cadance's horn and flew towards the fishbowl, the magic passed through the glass and hit this fish. The fish sparked to life and started swimming around happily, a bright smile came over Cadance.

The skeletal goldfish stopped and started to shake, white fire began pouring out of its empty eye sockets. The bowl steamed up and cracks start to form. The water evaporated and the glass shattered. The fish flailed around and then its energy faded. "Cruses! I was so close!" Cadance shouted out in the empty library.

"You're doing it all wrong you know, you shouldn't be using a bone weaving spell to animate a skeleton." Nazz's mocking voice shot across the library. "Did you not read Bone-weaving for dummies?" Cadance sighed and crossed her hooves. She collapsed the fort she had made and move to books to a bookcase. "Now, now Cadance. No need to be snappy. Your attempts to raise the dead have kept me awake..."

"Well soooorrrryyyyy!" Cadance sarcastically said. "Not everyone can do this stuff first time..."

"Cadance, I'm not trying to rub salt in your wounds. If you want help just say. I am a teacher here after all." Nazz sat down next to Cadance.

"I guess I'm just grouchy. I was so sure I would be able to pick this up quickly, but the only thing I have been able to do is explode the skeletons." Cadance sighed and rested her head on the table. "I followed what the book said..."

"I know what you are doing wrong. Most necromancers who aren't natural born necromancer pour too much energy into the skeletons. This causes it to implode on itself. Also, you are still using a Bone-weaving spell to raise the dead. That is something only Dead has done."

"You use that term, Bone-weaving. Is that a sub school?" Cadance said, raising her head.

"Yes, Bone-weaving is the manipulation of bone. I do a little of it, but I prefer skull magic. I can tell you about that!" Nazz laughed. "If you want to know more about Bone-weaving go ask Dead, I'm sure will tell you a bit."

Cadance paused, she considered going to Dead, but remember how she direct Rarity to her and decided against it. "Hm, skull magic? I have never heard of it. Is it like shadow magic?"

"Not at all! Now skull magic is..."

Rarity woke up but her eyes remained shut. The room was warm however she could feel a very warm and soft object in front of her. Rarity tried to think back to the previous night, before she had fallen asleep. She remembered being in Dead's office, but she didn't remember leaving the office.

Rarity mulled over the night again, it was hazy at best. She remembered the door locking and opening. She remembered that she locked it but couldn't remember why she did. Rarity creaked open one of her eyes, it darted around the dimly lit office room. The desk had been moved and turned against the wall, to allow more space. Rarity opened her other eye and looked around, she noticed nothing new.

Rarity tried to move, but she found that her hooves were wrapped around something, something warm. Rarity's eyes slowly looked down to see what she was hugging. Rarity gulped and tried to pull away when she saw that she was squeezing Dead into her. Rarity was able move two of her hooves, however her position of her other two meant that she would not be able to move them without moving Dead.

Rarity sighed, she knew she wasn't able to move away without waking Dead. Rarity wrapped her hooves back around Dead and pulled her into her embrace. Rarity slowly remembered the events that took place before she fell asleep. "Oh Dead..." Rarity sighed. "Why did you do it?" Dead shuffled slightly and mumbled, Rarity held her breath worrying that she had woken up. However Dead settled again, the movement  aloud Rarity to stand up. Rarity sat down next to Dead and gently stroked her mane. Dead stirred slightly.

Rarity gently hushed Dead and went over to do the door. The magical seal that was preventing Rarity from leaving was still in place. Rarity went over to Dead and thought about what she could do. She could wake Dead up, but she didn't know how she would react, or she could wait for Dead to wake up by herself.

"Urfffff..." Dead moaned as she started to stir. "Urgh..." Dead opened her eyes and looked at Rarity. "Rarity? What are you doing here?" It was evident that Dead did not remember the night as well as Rarity. "Wait... Does it have something to do with why I need a shower?"

"Yes..." Rarity admitted. "What happens now?" Rarity asked.

"What do you mean?" Dead asked as she got up. "I'm personally going to go have a shower."

"I'm talking about last night. What happened?" Rarity walked over to do. "We can't pretend it never happened."

"What happened you say?" Dead smirked. "You tell me what happened."

"Don't make me spell it out. I'm not happy with you... Why did you do that last night?" Rarity glared at Dead.

"I told you so many times. You needed it, you were bottling your emotions up. You needed some form of release."

"That doesn't make what I did the right thing. I forced myself upon you... You clearly didn't want it, nor were you comfortable with it."

"Friends do things they don't like for each other..."

"But not that! That's... I can't even explain how bad it is."

"I was just trying to help Rarity... I could see how much this was hurting you..."

"You just made it worse! And the fact that you act so casually about it makes it so much worse. Why can't you see that it did more harm then good?"

"It seemed to make you better last night..."

"What would Ditzy say? Did you think about her?"

"Yes, but Ditzy isn't here. Its just me and you."

"That doesn't make it okay..."

"But last night, you said you loved me."

"I do..." Rarity sighed, she focused on Dead's slowly tearing eyes. "But its not right if you don't return it. I could never do what I did to you last night again." Dead moved and positioned herself in front of Rarity. "Dead what are you doing?" Rarity asked. Dead just smiled gingerly at her. "Dead, I don't feel... MMMMMMPPPPPHHHHHH!" Rarity squawked as Dead locked her lips onto Rarity's, Dead then pulled Rarity down on top of her and let it go from their.

"So Rarity... Never going to do what again?" Dead teased. Dead ran her hoof through Rarity's mane.

"I wish you wouldn't pounce on me..." Rarity sighed. "Now what?" Rarity buried her muzzle into Dead mane.

"I definitely need a shower." Dead laughed as Rarity jumped off of her and aloud her to get up.

"What about Ditzy?" Rarity asked as she got up.

"We can make it up to her, I'm sure of that." Dead said as she started charging a spell. "Coming?"

"What do you mean 'we can make it up'? Dead!?" Rarity called out. Dead started casting her teleportation spell and Rarity quickly jumped into its radius. Rarity was suddenly blinded by a flash of light and when she regained her sight she was in a clean room made of bone that had no doors or window.

"Ah my old shower block, nothing says privacy like a bone chamber submerged underground."  Dead chuckled. "So Rarity, what were you saying?"

"What did you mean when you said we would have to make it up to Ditzy?" Rarity asked as Dead opened a compartment in the room.

"I will leave that up to you..." Dead pulled some shampoos and conditioner out. "Now, you first or me?" Dead said as the roof of the box started raining warm water on the pair.

Tag! I'm it.

Cadance perked up. "Hey Nazz, can you tell if Dead is nearby?" Cadance looked at the changling who was stood upright in the small circle and channeling a spell. the changeling stopped and perked up.

"She has a shower block just under here. We all do." The changeling said. "Why, did you feel it?"

"I felt something suddenly come into the nearby area..." Cadance rubbed her hoof on her temple.

"I guess Rarity finally did it!" Nazz said happily. "I picked up on that earlier when we going up the mountain, good for her!"

"That's sort of my fault, at the start of the night Rarity came down and told me. And I kind of gave her a little 'boost' of confidence." Cadance admitted. "I am glad it worked... To say the least, I just never expected it to happen so fast."

"Love is a very strange thing, I sometime wonder how we are able to feed on it. Love is unstable at the best of times." Nazz sighed as he sat down next to Cadance. "Anyway think you could that spell I was showing you? I can summon some inanimate skeletons, hollow so to speak. No soul in them or anything." Nazz quickly channeled a spell and a skeleton rose up. Unlike the other skeletons this one did not move at all, signaling that it was empty. "Go on, if you can't cast I will take the backfire."

Cadance got up and walked over to where Nazz had been spell casting, she stood a good five feet away from the inanimate skeleton. Cadance charged the spell to her horn and concentrated on the skeleton. Cadance horn started glowing and with in moments she was holding back a vast amount of energy, she focused on the skeleton and fired out a white bolt. The white bolt grew as it slowly flew through the air. The bolt crashed into the skeleton in a bright flash the skeleton was no more.

"Woah, I did that?" Cadance said as a fine powder set around her and Nazz. "I can see why this was abolished, if you used that on living pony."

"It would just throw them back, it is a spell that is made for taking out skeletons. While necromancers did have a large college... Where they could learn. They didn't always get along. After so many disagreement on what the majority should do, such spells were put in place." Nazz chuckled slightly before settling down. "Those were the days..."

"Nazz, you said this was a college. You said you haven't taught here. But..."

"I lied. I am a very old changeling." Nazz got up and paced.

"But why?" Cadance asked as she sat back down and inspected a open book on the table.

"Cadance. You, Twilight, her brother and her friends threw the changelings into chaos. Forgive me for not telling you the ins and outs of my life within the first five minuets of meeting you." The changeling rushed out.

"Fair point, but go on." Cadance huffed.

"Yes, I used to teach here. Back when necromancy was a thing. I helped Dead with her control and such." Nazz said with a pinch of pride in his voice.

"And?" Cadance said expectantly.

"And that is all I am going to tell you. Now that you have gathered some basic necromancy skills, may you please go to bed? It is only four hours until daybreak." The changeling said as he let out a loud yawn.

"Alright Nazz, I will go to bed. I hope Twilight isn't awake.

"She is..."

"Drat..."

"Oh thank Celestia! You are finally coming to bed!" Twilight cheered as she threw her pillow off her head. "I never thought that necromancy could be done wrong..."

"Ha-ha, very funny Twilight. I would like to see you do it first time. Anyway Nazz came in and showed me what to do. He is a friendly, for a changeling..."

"I resent that!" Nazz shouted.

"How can he hear us?" Twilight asked. "And how can we hear him! His office is on the other side of the sleeping quarters." Twilight pouted, she waited for a reply but it never came. "Anyway Cadance, do you know loud you have to be to wake up somepony that is under the influence of a sleeping spell?"

"Very, now Twilight, I think I finally have got the grips of basic necromancy." Cadance said beaming with pride. "You should really try it some time."

"Oh yes Cadance, Celestia's prized student partaking in the forbidden art of necromancy. That will set well with the nobles." Twilight said mockingly.

"A simple no would have been acceptable. Twilight you could try and relax... This is a school after all."

"Academy or college!" Nazz shouted, once again he voice sounding as if it was outside the room. "Get it right or don't get it at all!"

"I don't understand how you can act so casually about this Cadance, this place confuses me to no end. The skeletons, the ghosts and the CRAZY CHANGELING THAT USES MAGIC TO SHOUT AT US!" Twilight bellowed.

"..."

"Okay Twilight, I guess this place is kind of crazy. But that is why it is so interesting. I mean this place has been abandoned for years and yet its kept clean by the tenders." "Cadance's eyes glittered. "Imagine if we could use them."

"We would drive thousands on ponies out their jobs. And also, I don't think that Equestria is ready to have skeletal servants." Twilight sighed. "Just pause and think a moment. Not everypony shares the same enthusiasm as you."

"I guess you are right Twilight. But it would be cool wouldn't it?"

"I guess... But I just want to hurry this all up. These place gives me the creeps."

"That's the idea!" Nazz shouted. "We bring the Dead back to life!"

"Anyway..." Cadance started. "I set Rarity and Dead on a track."

"You did what!?" Twilight half shouted. But she kept her voice down. "Cadance I don't think what you did was the right thing to do."

"It might not have been, but Rarity was bottling up her emotions and storing them away in a shelf that was full. It was only a matter of time until it all came down." Cadance sighed. "Anyway the fact that I haven't seen either of them indicates that it went well."

"You are aware that Dead does not fully understand love, and she also has a marefriend."

"Rarity told me about her marefriend. But Dead is one of those ponies..." Cadance stated

"They love to love..." Twilight said rolling her eyes. "That's not a reason to go around making ponies fall in love with each other."

"I didn't do that Twilight. I merely gave Rarity a nudge." Cadance winked at Twilight. "As I said, Rarity had a lot of bottled up emotions, labeled 'love for Dead.' I did it for Rarity, not just for the fun of it."

"Well Cadance, I guess we can see how they are tomorrow, how long until sunrise?" Twilight asked Cadance.

"Not too long I should expect. I lost track of time in that huge library. Oh Twilight! You should have seen it, so many books. And they just flew off the bookshelves and organised themselves. If you threw a book on the floor it got magically picked up and sent back. By its own! No ghosts or skeletons!"

Twilight jumped in her bed and threw the covers over her. "Alright Cadance, I know that you are excited but I need some sleep. I will talk to you tomorrow about this..."

"Yes that's right Twilight... Go to sleep." Cadance grinned evilly.

"Darn you Cadance..." Twilight trailed as she fell asleep.

"I wonder how many more times I can cast that spell on her without her becoming aware of it..." Cadance chuckled as she got up and returned to the library.

And how do you explain this?

Twilight and Rarity left the bedroom and headed towards the library. "Rarity, dd you think it was a good idea to leave Dead alone with Cadance?" Twilight said as her and Rarity traveled through the long hallways. The torches changed for burning orange to a dark purple. "Urgh this place creeps me out so much. Its not that it is a castle, or a place that teaches you how to raise dead." Twilight huffed.

"Then what is it?" Rainbow shouted as she landed next to the pair and started walking with them.

"Its empty." Twilight said bluntly. "A place with this much magic keeping it running should be packed full of ponies, dragons, griffons and changelings... But its not."

"I can understand that, it must be hard for you Twilight, you practically grew up in a castle full of ponies. And the only other castle you saw was crumbling to dust. Oh and the crystal castle, that was empty wasn't it? Oh but then again..."

"How do you know that Rainbow? Who did you talk to?" Rarity exclaimed and interrupted. She was surprised at Rainbow's understanding of the situation.

"Marcia... She said that might be one of the ways you reacted." Rainbow chuckled. "She knew you wouldn't be happy about being here, she said you a bit of a teacher's pet."

"That Princesses... Hey!" Twilight grumbled realizing the trick.

"Every time Twilight. Every time you fall for that." Rainbow laughed as the group went on. "Wow how long do these hall go on for?"

"I don't know, I normally have something else on my mind when I go through these halls..." Rarity sighed, hoping that she did not give too much away.

"Oh yeah, like what?" Rainbow asked, giving a very strange signal to Rarity.

"Whats it to you rainbow!?" Rarity snapped at Rainbow unexpectedly.

"Woah settle down you two!" Twilight burst in before thing escalated. "You two are just grouchy from a lack of sleep. You need one of those ghosts to zap you..." Just as Twilight finished a tender appeared and fired a blue bolt that hit Twilight on her flank. "Not me! These two!" Twilight shouted at the ghost.

"Apologies..." The ghost murmured as it fired a similar bolt at Rarity and Rainbow. While the first bolt hit Rarity, Rainbow dodged hers. Rainbow was in the middle of sticking her tongue out at the ghost before the bolt turned and hit her in the back of the head. The ghost promptly vanished before Rainbow could complain to it.

"Twilight!" Rainbow shouted. "I got sleep! Marcia put a sleeping curse on me. I slept through Cadance's lame attempts to bring the Dead to life."

"I heard that Rainbow!" Cadance's voice boomed in the halls. The group turned around and tried looking for the princess of love, but could not find her. Twilight grew very angry very quickly.

"WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO LISTEN IN ON ME!"

"Because..." Cadance started.

"Its kind of..." Nazz continued.

"Funny to see you..." Grim went on.

"React so poorly..." Marcia finished. Then the sinister laughter of three necromancers and a princess of love could be heard echoing through the halls.

"ARGHHHHH!" Twilight screamed as she quickly teleported, leaving Rarity and Rainbow alone.

After a few minuets of slow silent walking Rainbow broke the ice. "So Rarity... Seen much of Dead?" Rainbow asked innocently.

"I saw her a bit last night." Rarity started. "She was working on something and needed some help." Rarity quickly finished, trying to hide her lie.

"I see, was it anything good?" Rainbow quizzed.

"Not really, she just needed some help moving some stuff around her office." Rarity said.

"Like a desk? After you had really rough loud sex." Rainbow said flatly. Rarity froze up, she had no idea how loud they were. "Don't worry Rarity, I have no reason to be angry and even if I did, I wouldn't. But I have to ask, how did you do it?" Rainbow asked nudging Rarity who was still frozen in place.

"R-Rainbow..." Rarity stuttered. "I-I..." Rarity tried to fight back her tears. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, honestly! She cast a spell on me!" Rarity blubbered.

"Rarity, calm down. Honestly I just want to know how you did it. Then we will be even." Rainbow said, forcing Rarity to fight back against her tears. "Now are you going to tell me?"

Rarity regained her composure. "You just need to bottle up your feelings for her, use said bottled feelings to make you look like a mess emotionally. Completely mess up saying said feelings once and then bump into Cadance. The rest should unveil itself." Rarity grinned as Rainbow stood in shock.

"Huh, okay Rarity. One problem, I'm not good at bottling my emotions. So I guess that goes out the window and away to a faraway place." Rainbow laughed. "So what was she like?"

"A lady never kisses and tells." Rarity said as she started walking ahead. She turned around and saw Rainbow frowning at her. "I'm sure if you ask her how I was she would tell you..."

"Its not the same thing! Anyway, how do you think Ditzy will react." Rainbow said evilly, clearly unaware of what Dead had told Rarity. "You might start getting the wrong mail on Mondays."

"That happens anyway Rainbow..." Rarity sighed, stringing Rainbow along.

"You might stop getting your muffins then!" Rainbow teased.

"Not my Monday muffin!" Rarity cried out as she swooned to the floor, only for Rainbow to catch her as she was inches away from the floor, "However..." Rarity stood back up. "Something is telling me I might get something else..."

"Wow Rarity, you are luckiest mare in the world right now. I want to turn into a changeling and hide you somewhere and steal your position."

"No you don't Rainbow, trust me its not all its cracked up to be." Nazz spoke as if he was next to them. "I wish you could hear Twilight flipping out right now. Grim is getting popcorn!"

"Moving on..." Rarity started. "Let go see Cadance. I left her with Dead and I am regretting it." Rarity said, remember what Twilight had asked her.

"Dead can handle herself. I am sure of that." Rainbow said full of confidence.

"She was out cold..." Rarity slow trembled.

"Lets hope she woke up..." Rainbow said as she picked up her pace.

Cadance was once again buried in a book. She didn't notice Dead wake up. She didn't notice Dead grinning evilly and she certainly didn't notice Dead raise a skeletal dragon. Just as Cadance flicked the page the dragon roared. Startled Cadance turned around and fired a skull bolt into the dragon. The drop promptly froze and turned to dust.

"Cadance, you dusted my dragon! What was that for!" Dead chuckled as she emerged from the cloud of bone dust.

"Y-You... I-I... I DID IT! I did the spell! I fired a skull bolt!" Cadance cheered and jumped until she saw Dead. "Oh sorry Dead, I didn't mean to do that."

"Its okay, my fault for scaring you. But since when were you a novice necromancer?"

"Since last night, Nazz gave me some basic lessons on skull magics." Cadance said with pride. "Why don't you teach this anymore? We wouldn't have problems with changelings if we had an army of dead on our side."

"Yeah, but most ponies don't agree with raising the Dead. Its become a taboo nowadays, but then again most ponies have forgotten about it." Dead sighed. "Well I could teach you, back at Ponyville. I mean if you want... As long as it doesn't get in way of Ditzy and Rarity." Dead then took a seat next to Cadance, she would later regret this action.

"Speaking of Rarity, how is she? I mean you didn't get to talk much earlier." Cadance said as nudged Dead.

"Cadance I know you could easily see how Rarity was before last night, you tell me. What did she look like?" Admittedly Dead didn't really feel like talking to Cadance, the two had never had much interaction before hand and Dead would have just settled for light talk.

"She was a wreck Dead, I mean I'm good at sensing love and she had it in the boatloads." Cadance sighed. "I don't know why she let it get so bad."

"I know Cadance." Dead placed her hoof on Cadance's shoulder. "I couldn't let it go on. Hence why I did what I did, and let her do what she did."

"Your a good friend Dead, a really good friend. I don't know any pony that would another pony have sex with them while both parties unwilling..." Cadance laughed. "Well one side being half unwilling, half about to give way to an emotional flood."

"She took a bit of prompting, but after that..." Dead grinned.

"What kind of spell did you use? I have gathered that it was a simple sense enhancing spell." Cadance asked.

"It was along the lines of that, I had also energized her as well. But the sense spell also enhanced a primal feature..."

"That's a very old spell Dead. Before you were born old..."

"Marcia is a good teacher, she has been locked in a teenagers body for so many years." Dead laughed. "As I was saying..."

"Wait Dead, before we can go on. How do you think you and Rarity will work out? Will you try and make it work?"

"I will do everything I can to make it work. And what I told Rarity wasn't exactly a lie. I was kind of surprised when Ditzy suggested expanding our little love circle."

"Well that's certainly a present turn." Cadance patted Dead on the back. "I wish you luck."

"You would not believe who Ditzy suggested. But anyway, I mentioned Rarity and she seemed to be okay, if not happy. Then it was the matter of convincing Rarity."

"You had to convince Rarity of something she knew. But would not admit it." Cadance sighed. "I'm glad she did after all. Now tell me... Do you have any other ponies you would like to catch in your web of love?" Cadance said with a smirk. Dead locked up for a moments before sighing and relaxing.

"Come visit me in my dream sometime. Then I will share that list with you, just not here right now. The other necromancer are probably listening in. Especially Grim, I know him too well." Dead chuckled. After she finished chuckling a silence fell over the two. After a few minuets Cadance decided to ask Dead a burning question.

"Hey Dead, could you give me a few pointers on Bone-weaving?" Cadance asked. "I learnt the basics of skull spells and I fancy learning Bone-weaving, Nazz made it seem like so much fun!" Cadance clapped her hoof and looked at Dead with puppy eyes.

"What do you want to learn?" Dead asked Cadance. "I'm happy to teach you, the world could always use more evil necromancers." Dead chuckled.

"Hey I'm not evil! Yet..." Cadance chuckled. "I just want to learn how to make a basic shield, it might scare Shining if he wakes up and I'm in a shroud of bones."

"Oh a bone shield!" Dead laughed. "Those are foals play. The trick is to swirl the bones around you at an absurd speed. That way they cover as much as you as possible."

"I know that, I have read all the theory. I just don't know how to pull bones out the earth." Cadance sighed. "I have read that bone calling is a simple spell. Yet I can't even get it right in the practicing arena..."

"Don't worry, at least you didn't completely fail at it. I can see that the bones have moved slightly in the area." Dead said reassuring Cadance.

"Really?" Cadance said with renewed hope. "How did you do on your first try?"

"I flared up and cause a boneplosion. They are a lot worse then they sound." Dead sighed.

"I thought you raised the dead when you first discovered your power?" Cadance asked, thinking that Dead was changing her history to reassure her.

"I did, but my talent is Bone-weaving. Hence the skull for a cutie mark." Dead said. "But anyway show me your casting and I will give you some pointers..." Dead started as she set about teaching Cadance a bit of necromancy.

Ritual of the dammed

Thump!

"Rarity! Do you have any idea what that was?" Rainbow asked sounding concerned.

Boom!

"Uh oh Rainbow! That sounds like it is coming from the Library!"

Crash!

"Double time Rainbow!" Rarity called out as she broke into a sprint. Rainbow followed suit and tried to keep up with the surprisingly fast Rarity. The long winded halls that they had been walking through started to twist and turn. That hallway broke into two ways, and without anyway to tell where they were Rarity had to stop. "Drat." She sighed. "Rainbow do you know where we are?"

Closer... Come closer...

"Rainbow did you hear that!?" Rarity shouted as Rainbow caught up.

"Hear what Rarity?" Rainbow shook her head. "I didn't hear anything."

You have potential... Come to my chambers, we can... Talk.

"Uh Rainbow, I think some horror is trying to corrupt me..." Rarity said. "I want you to go find Twilight..." Rarity was said shakily.

"Alright Rarity, what are you going to do?" Rainbow asked.

"Whatever it is, it wants me for something. I want to know what it is after." Rarity stated. Without saying a word Rainbow nodded and flew of at a fast speed.

"Alright whatever you are, I'm not coming to you until you tell me what you want me for." Rarity said trying to coax the voice to speak again.

You have potential Rarity, I need you. Please, take the left path. I can explain when we meet.

"One condition, I want one of the necromancers with me." Rarity ordered.

Ah very well, I take you want Dead...

Rarity sighed and nodded her head, within moments Dead was next to her.

"And if you do that Cadance, the shield will fly off in all directions... Hey!" Dead said as she examined her surroundings. "Rarity? How did you get here?" Dead asked.

"Where is here?" Rarity asked.

"No, this isn't right. Rarity, what are you doing here?" Dead asked sounding confused and angry.

"I was looking for you with Rainbow, she flew back. But Dead, where are we?" Rarity asked again. "Dead I'm worried. Please..."

"It alright Rarity, we are just going to have to go do something. I don't know if I can do this without the others." Dead sighed. "Look Rarity, the fact that you are here worried me. You can only get access to this section when the ritual is ready. And I fear that we have been locked in..."

"Where are we though?" Rarity asked again.

"The archives, they were supposed to be sealed to prevent this. But that doesn't make sense. You have been hexed!" Dead lit her horn up and Rarity's world began to fade. When she refocused she was in a room that had bones for flooring, a few massive stained glass window that portrayed some stories were around the walls. "Come with me Rarity."

The pair walked for what seemed like miles, Rarity constantly asking Dead how they arrived in the hall and Dead constantly telling her the same thing. However at some point Rarity stopped asking. The pair walked on for five more minuets before Rarity asked Dead a question she was worried about.

"Dead?" Rarity started. Dead stopped and turned.

"Yes Rarity?"

"Does this effect us? I am sorry..." Rarity said as she started to tear.

"Rarity, this does not effect us. I only hope that I can get you out of here." Dead hugged Rarity. "Now lets get going you."

The pair walked on for a few moments. They ended up in large room with several objects placed around. In the middle of room a large jar was violently shaking. Around the edge of room several bone objects sat. They were shaped like dragon skulls with their mouths open and facing the jar. Dead walked over to one of skull and charged it. The skull then fired out a line of white energy that reflected around before hitting the jar. The jar shook violently before calming down slightly.

"This might be goodbye Rarity, I'm sorry if it is. But not likely." Dead sighed and she walked over to another skull and charged it. counting the one she had just charged there were a grand total of eight. The jar shook violently as the white beam refracted around the room and crashed into it. Several skeleton jumped up from the floor. The skeletons were different, they walked around on two legs and rather then having arms they have scythes that they swung around aimlessly.  Dead quickly took advantage of the unstable necrofield and rose a few skeletons to aid her. "Ha!" Dead chuckled.

Rarity... You must stop her...

"Dead, whatever it is. Its asking me to stop you!" Rarity called out. "Don't worry I won't."

"He made a mistake, he removed the shield so he could call some souls, but..." Just as Dead was explaining the other three necromancers and Twilight's company teleported in. "I had to do an emergency life form teleport or else I would be dead, and not just in name." Dead chuckled as she went about dodging the slowly increasing intensity of attacks on her left.

"What is this room?" Twilight called out. "Just went I thought this couldn't get any worse..." Twilight eyed the shaking jar in the center of the room.

"Dead, how did you get in here? The ritual isn't for a few days..." Grim asked. "Better yet, how did she get in here?" Grim pointed at Rarity.

"Not now!" Dead called out as she gingerly dodged a swipe from a skeleton. Cadance had already gone to work, trying to fight back the skeletons. "Urgh..." Dead groaned. "I hate the reapers."

"They are rather dull, if you ever want something killed... And a mess made." Grim sighed. Grim then charged his claw and then slashed if horizontally, a purple energy emitted from it in a line and crashed into a line of skeletons. The skeletons flew back but soon got up. "Hm, this isn't working. We need to figure out how to stop them."

Marcia promptly flew above the skeletons, just out of their reach and let loose a large firebreath attack. A few of the skeletons showed signs of charring however none were overly damaged. Nazz channeled a vast amount of energy and started blinking around the room, every time he blink a volley of skull bolts flew out the ground around him and honed in on a skeleton, however this had little effect.

Cadance, noticing that the others were failing to deal damage to the skeletons Cadance took note of their features and aimed a powerful spell at the sternum of a skeleton. Cadance blasted a skeleton and the skeleton fell back. The skeleton remained still for a brief moment and then crumbled to dust. "Ah-ha! I did it!"

"Yes... But if we did that we would be out of energy by the fifth kill." Nazz sighed. "And to make matters worse they only seem to be after us."

"Now why would they be doing that?" Applejack asked.

"Well, we are the only threats to it. If it kills us it can use you as a blood sacrifice, and a vessel." Dead said reluctantly. "It is an odd one..."

We have a name.

"Hmmp." Rainbow jeered. "Go on then, tell us."

We have many names. The destroyer. The Fester. And so many more, however we prefer Legion.

"Legion huh, that's a stupid name! And let me guess..."

Do not mock us. We shall smite you when we rise.

"Oh no! the jar ghost doesn't like me. Whatever will I do!" Rainbow mocked, the jar shock violently and all the skeletons turned their attention on the Pegasus. Rainbow flew up and over them causing them to give the necromancers a break.

"Now!" Cadance called out as she hopped behind one of the skulls and charged it with what energy she had. The other necromancer followed suit and went behind the remaining skulls. The necromancers all charged their skulls and the remaining five skulls shot their white beams at the jar.

RAGH! I AM UNLEASHED!

"Wait what? You planned of freeing it?" Twilight asked as the jar cracked and a black smoke started to leak out. The skeletons collapsed as the smoke start to solidify. The smoke formed to arms with razor sharp claws at the end of them, it had no legs but rather it stopped forming after the torso ended. Its body was large and a head sat on top of the torso. Several bones were implanted within what seemed to be armor and a large blood red teardrop crest sat on its torso. Legions eyes burned red and a white smoke appeared when it drew breath.

"No Twilight, we plan on beating it up and then trapping it again. If we just left it in the jar it would break free." Marcia sighed.

Legion roar out and raised ten skeletons, these tried to intercept the necromancers and Cadance as they attacked Legion. Dead was pulling large amounts of bones out of the floor, melding them together and then hurling them at Legion, while in flight Nazz would charge the bone ball with skull energy and this would increase its speed and damage. Any skeletons that got in the way were obliterated.

"Hey Dead, why isn't it attacking us?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, I don't mind sitting this out but..."

"If we die, or fail, or vanish it will use you powers to grow in strength. By eating your souls." Grim sighed. "The whole point of us locking the archives was to stop you from entering here and being used in that way."

"Oh..." Rainbow sighed.

Cadance flew up in the air and landed on a skeleton, crushing it under her hooves. She then absorbed some energy that was keeping the skeleton alive. Using the energy Cadance fired a large bolt of energy that hit Legion in his blood crest on his chest. Cadance did a short cheer before Legion turned and faced her. Legion raised his claw in the air and a purple bolt flew up and over to Cadance. The bolt hit the floor and caused a small purple cloud to form, after briefly chocking in it Cadance decided it would be a good idea to move out of it.

"Watch out! That stuff is lethal." Cadance said, alerting the other necromancers to Legion's change in tactic. Dead turned and nodded as Legion picked up the pace and kept firing the purple bolts.

"Urgh, not this again. You must be desperate Legion." Marcia mocked. "You know you won't win. You can never win."

You are nothing but followers of my art. You used to follow me, you were loyal, everlasting. You took my gifts and used them. Now you trap me, mock me and go against my wishes.

"What is he talking about?" Cadance asked. Legion threw up a purple shield that blocked all attacks on him and pointed at Dead.

"He is... Death so to speak." Dead shakily said. "I don't know how to explain this properly... He lived in the underworld. One day somepony or something summoned him. He came up and taught us how to raise the dead. He made lichs to spread his art. He tried to kill everything. The necromancers turned on him and stopped him in his tracks. They sealed him the the jar and left him. A thousand years later the amount of undead increased drastically, they started rising up by themselves."

I called out to them, offering them a second chance. They took it a tried to convert others. The traitors sense my power and released me, I thought they had changed but they simply put me back.

"And so the ritual of the dammed came into effect, every thousand years we needed to release him and then trap him." Grim added. "The original ritual had eight elders to do the deed."

And now fledglings and whelps imprisoning me.

Dead fired a large bolt that drained her energy and shattered Legion's shield. The other three necromancers and Cadance joined together and fired a huge singular bolt at Legion. Legion riled back in agony and started to return to smoke. Cadance jaw dropped when she saw she did.

"Did I just do that?"

"Yes... You took my place." Dead stated. "A Princess of unfathomable power is more then a suitable replacement for a trained necromancer." Dead chuckled as she blacked out.

"Quickly!" Grim shouted. "We need to activate the skulls to re-seal him!" The three necromancers and Cadance ran behind the giant skulls and charged them. The white bolts hit Legion and caused him to roar. The necromancers ran to the other four skulls and fired them. Legion roar and the gas started to get sucked back into the jar.

"We did it!" Cadance cheered. "Now what?"

"We go back and take care of Dead, she looks exhausted." Nazz said as he ran over to Dead. "Lets get her to the infirmary." Nazz turned and looked at the jar, which was now sealed and not shaking.

Sometimes the pain doesn't go away, and the memory doesn't die.

Dead opened her eyes. She was in the crystal empire, although it was hard to tell. Inky black and green crystals marked out the exit. Several skeletal griffons and dragons came running thought with bags full of magical equipment. Dead grinned, her plan had gone off without a hitch. Luna and Celestia, being the rash ponies they were had charged Sombra's front entrance. Dead could hear the clash of swords and shields, it was music to her ears. She sighed happily as her skeletons kept pillaging the castle for magical supplies.

After five minuets one skeleton dragged a guard that had been unluckily enough to see them. The skeleton threw the guard before Dead, the poor colt was shaking in his armor.

"P-Please don't kill me, I never wanted to be a guard." The guard quivered, he must have been no older then sixteen.

Dead sighed, that was the common conversation starter she normally met. "No, I won't. You are too weak to be of use. However you have seen me. That is enough to warrant a silence." Dead said tonelessly to the colt. She charged her horn and knocked the colt out. She then instructed the skeleton that brought him in to hide the colt. Skullworthy flied over to Dead and emitted several clicking noises

"No, we need to find the artifact. I can't ascend without a catalytic of some kind. The heart should just about do it. Then the fun can begin." Dead laughed. "I will go in. While you move the others out."

Dead headed into the depressing castle, the foal stench of shadow magic hung heavy in the air. Dead moved silently for room to room, through every long hallway that seemed to go on forever. She found herself in the throne room after what seemed to be hours of running and walking. Two guards were watching the main doors, however nopony seemed to be looking at the back entrance. At the back of the room Dead saw her goal, the crystal heart.

A loud crashing noise saw to part of the wall caving in and knocking out one of the guards. A bright flash stunned the one next to it.

"Sister the heart! We have found it!" Dead heard Luna shout out. Dead considered bailing out, she couldn't take on both princesses and the elements at the same time.

"Be aware Luna, I have no doubt that Sombra has set up some kind of trap." Celestia strode into the room, filling Dead full of rage. How can she act so regal, so above everypony. She is responsible for more deaths than I, yet I am the villain. Dead nearly shouted out loud. "Luna, be on guard." Just as Celestia finished Luna came into the room, both princesses were in their ceremonial war armor.

Dead was in her war robes, not be mistaken with her ceremonial robes. The grey-white robes draped over her body had bones attached to the barrel of it. A twisted dragon skull rested on Dead's head. The purpose of this outfit was to always have bones at hoof in case Dead needed them.

"Sombra! You rat! Show yourself!" Luna shouted, over the throne room a shadow emerged from one of the doorways. This was going to well for Dead, she could mop up the survivors and claim the whole empire for herself! The shadow took form, it was undoubtedly Sombra. Dead zoned out as he hissed a few words of insult at the Princesses, while Dead was restraining herself from charging in.

Within moments the two Princesses were fighting the corrupt king. Dead watched in glee as two parties exchanged fire and magic, after a few moments the foundation of the crystal castle began to shake. Dead chuckled, she decided it would be a good time to join the fight. Admittedly it was a one verses one versus two. Dead causally walked in, the battling ponies failed to notice her until she was stood next to the crystal heart.

"Mine!" Sombra shouted as he fired a green bolt at Dead, who nimbly dodged it. Dead chuckled as all the ponies in the room turned and faced her. Sombra charged at Dead while the two Princesses watched. Dead vaulted over Sombra using magic, causing the reckless King to collide with the wall.

"Ha!" Dead faked a laughed as the King removed his horn from the wall it had impaled. The King unleashed a volley of bolts aimed at Dead, however she was able to dodge these with ease. Dead charged her horn with a skull spell meant to knock out undead creatures. She fired the spell at Sombra who flew back from the force of the spell. "Pathetic, that spell was meant to knock out undead. Not throw you a mile back." Dead mocked. While Sombra was ranting and firing the odd easy to dodge spell, Dead turned her attention to the Princesses.

"You're..." Luna stuttered.

"Dead? Yes I am." Dead finished abruptly, laughing evilly as the two Princesses stood in shock. "You thought you had killed me? No, not at all. But of course that is just you two, rushing decisions before hearing the whole story." Dead sighed as all three ponies zoned in on her and began attacking

Dead flew around like a rag-doll, her war robes protecting her from the magical damage. All three ponies had gone all out on her, just so that they could get back to killing each other. After the tenth throw Dead's robes exploded out. The bones flew into the air and split, leaving sharp ends exposed. The bone daggers flew into a mass and then exploded. Celestia was forced to raise a shield to protect her and Luna, while Sombra had ran behind his throne.

"Dead! Stop this. The past can not be undone." Celestia shouted from beyond her shield. The bone daggers kept flying around the room causing everypony except Dead to hold their ground. "This doesn't concern you at all. Leave."

"You really think you can reason with me? HA!" Dead mocked. "You think this is simply about the past? No, this is about the future Celestia. I didn't just hear about the war and decide to pop in and say hi. My minions have been pillaging the supplies of this castle, scrounging what they can. Magical materials are the game here."

"You are stealing from this place? During a war? Does your shame know no bounds?" Luna shouted.

"Hmmp, you seem to think of it as a bad thing. Fine I will return the equipment to the crystal army. I'm sure they will make use of it."

"What do you even need it for?" Celestia questioned.

"I need it to make a new set of robes, my old ceremonial robes are a bit tatty. Oh and I also found the plans for some war robes. Robes of the Alicorn if I am not mistaken. I don't normally give credit but those are some fine robes. I should be able to subjugate Equestria in a week with them."

"And I suppose you have the amulet? The outfit can't be used without the amulet." Celestia said smugly.

"It is only a matter of time Celestia, and you know it." Dead gloated. "You know my raiders should be done now. I will allow you to kill each other in peace." Dead laughed as she teleported out. "So long everypony!" Dead shouted as she started run around the winding halls.

"No! She can't get away!" Luna shouted as she started following Dead's residual energy.

Dead laughed as she ran through the halls, while she had been unable to acquire the crystal heart but she was sure she had scared her foes. She grew ecstatic as she heard the sounds of hooves in hot pursuit. Dead broke out into the outside, the harsh snowstorm hit her hard. Dead turned around and saw a thick beam of dark blue energy pulsing towards her, Dead jumped out the way.

"You Coward!" Luna shouted as she emerged in flight. She was a good five feet above Dead. "Face us you whelp!"

"Hmmp! If that is your death wish then so be it. I will not hold back." Dead stood steadily focusing and awaiting for Luna to attack. A voice echoed in her head. Shall I get the amulet? Dead paused. Yes. "Luna, since you are so pathetic and weak I shall let you have the first strike!" Dead gloated as Luna grew angry.

"You will not be missed you worm!" Luna shouted as she summoned her energy into a mighty attack, she fired it directly at Dead waiting for her to jump out the way.

She never did.

Dead flew back and hit the wall with force. She was dead. Luna gasped at the realization of what she had done, unaware of Dead's body starting to glow with an ethereal blue energy. The wind picked up to a brutal speed and ice shards pelted Luna like small daggers. Dead's body started to rise, much to Luna's dismay and the flesh started to bubble away, after a few moments Dead was a skeleton, with a white fire burning in her chest and eye sockets.

"Tell me Luna, do you fear death?" Dead said coldly as she threw several ice lances at Luna. Luna dodged the incoming attacks only to be throw into suspension by Dead.

"LET US DOWN!" Luna bellowed.

"Tell me Luna, do you fear death? Do you worry about what awaits you on the other side? Do you think of the ponies that have died because of you and your sister? Do they haunt you at night while you sleep?"

"No they do not, we do not think of those we wrong. We seek forgiveness and think of those we have helped. Can you do the same?" Luna said flatly, her anger seething in her voice.

"I can not. But that do not scare me Luna. I have seen the other side. I know what awaits me. And I will accept it." Dead said coldly, Luna shivered as Dead's breathless form floated around her. "I should kill you, and your sister. But... I shall not."

"It is unlike you to give mercy, we have seen the reports..." Luna sighed as Dead held her in an icy grip.

"Oh yes the reports. I can never forget those. But no, I have been told things. You and Celestia must leave here."

"What...?" Luna questioned as Dead's grip loosened. Dead far away using her power and Luna was left puzzled.

Dead's dream, one week earlier

Dead you have a plan... A voice echoed in Dead's dreamworld, causing it to shake.

"Who is their? Luna show yourself you coward!" Dead shouted as she materialized in the dream, she began inspecting objects in the dream.

No, I am not who you think. The voice spoke calmly and reassured Dead.

"How did you get here?" Dead asked as she sat down and started eyeing up the dream sky.

It does not matter. What matters is you. The voice spoke as some of the stars in the sky formed a mouth that moved in time with the voice.

"I am listening..." Dead spoke uneasily.

Dead Quiet, necromancer, murder and among other things. You have a plan for next week do you not? The voice asked. Dead paused for a moment as she trawled through her brain.

"Yes, I am going to raid the crystal empire for supplies while Celestia and Luna attack it." Dead said quickly.

They must not die. Celestia and Luna. The voice spoke firmly, causing Dead to fall back.

"Hmmp, if you say so." Dead said as she rolled her eyes, she was certain it was Luna in her dream.

I do Dead. They must live, they serve a higher purpose. If you kill them you will doom Equestria. The voice boomed, causing Dead to drop to the floor and cover her ears.

"And that would be...?" Dead said shakily.

HE would rise. The world would be dammed and the blood would be on your hooves. The voice said flatly.

"The fact you know about him... I will not question it. I will grant you your request, be it odd." Dead sighed as she gave in to the voices demands.

Very well Dead, so long. The voice said as the stars faded, leaving Dead alone in her dream.

That's what friends are for!

Dead was lying on the infirmary bed. Marcia and Rarity were watching over her. Marcia was silently rocking back and forth on a chair and Rarity was sat on the large bed next to Dead. Marcia occasionally let off the odd puff of smoke that would be blown out the doorway. The room had a window in that let in a warming light.

"So Rarity, what do you do exactly?" Marcia asked, breaking the silence that lorded over the room. "I mean, I know you are an element but. What else?"

"Well, I make dresses." Rarity sighed nearly admitting defeat. "But they are nice dresses, if I may say so."

"Dresses huh? Why do ponies wear dresses. I mean, you all seem fine strutting around in the nude." Marcia argued to Rarity.

"Well ponies who are richer of higher class tend to wear them to show off wealth or social stature. Not may ponies in Ponyville wear them because it is hard to do work and keep an one hundred bit dress clean." Rarity said happily.

"Hm, I guess so. I mean we dragons sometimes wear clothes. Its harder for the larger dragons to wear stuff, but I can." Marcia stopped rocking. "Have you ever made a dress for a dragon?" Marcia coughed out quickly, Rarity almost didn't hear her.

"A dress? You want a dress Marcia?" Rarity double checked to make sure that she was hearing correctly. In the brief time that Rarity had known Marcia she had been some what of a tomboy.*

"Yes... The dragon tailors don't exactly... Make dresses, I have been on a treks into Equestria and the dresses always amazed me. I know a dragon would you stupid in a frilly dress..." Marcia sighed. "Just forget a mentioned it."

"Not at all Marcia, I would be more then happy to make you a dress!" Rarity cheered. "If you pop down to the shop I would be happy to take your measurements and get your ideas for the dress." Marcia looked up at Rarity and looked her dead in the eye.

"You mean in it? Really? I mean, I have some bits that I could pay you with. Well a lot of bits I can pay you with." Marcia said excitedly.

"Don't worry about paying, I would be happy to do it for a friend of mine." Rarity cheerily said.

"No no no, I insist. You can't go handing out free dresses that have to be custom made left right and center." Marcia insisted as she sprung out of her seat. "This is perfect, I'm not due back at the citadel for another month."

"The citadel?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, its a place where the elders meet up and talk about things. I will be giving my report on the containment of Legion. Its pretty boring" Marcia huffed. "I don't like doing it. The elder try to act wise and such, but they don't understand me..."

"I can't imagine it is easy doing that. All those huge dragons..." Rarity said, trying to comfort Marcia.

"Yeah, they are pretty intimidating. And they always rush me." Marcia puffed out a large smoke ring. "But anyway enough about me and my annoyances. Now tell me, how did you end up with Dead? Not like I don't know what happened. But I want to know more about you, what did you see in Dead that attracted you?" Marcia asked, placing her claw on her chin.

"Well Dead is... Odd to say the least, when I first met her she wasn't one for talking much." Rarity sighed.

"Yeah that sounds like Dead alright, she has always been a bit of an oddball, but her heart has always been in the right place." Marcia sighed happily as she sat down and leaned in her chair.

"Well anyway, when I first met her I didn't know what to think. She was abrasive, but after we spent a night at hers she really opened up. Just the basic interaction seemed to do a world of good for her. When she came to Ponyville she tried so hard to push herself more, she got out and talked to ponies and even offered a helping hoof to someponies. I came respect that, and then there was the party. She got drunk. I guess that when you could say I fell for her." Rarity gently ran her hoof through Dead's mane as she rested.

"Dead drunk? Ha! You must be pulling on my leg." Marcia joked. "I guess it went upward from there right?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Now tell me more about you Marcia. I get that you are time-locked. But besides that I know very little about you." Rarity asked.

"Not much to tell. Most dragons have some sort of magic in their blood. Mine just happened to be necromatic. The elders foresaw the decline in necromancers and froze me in place. That was ages ago." Marcia sighed.

"Not your past, you Marcia." Rarity insisted.

"About me? Nopony -or- thing has ever really cared to ask that." Marcia paused. "Well I like steak, that's for sure. I enjoy flying around, as long as it isn't for too long or too high. And well I guess beaches aren't so bad. It feels nice stepping on sand. Oh and swimming! I know its odd, but most dragons don't swim too much. But it is really fun."

"Oh I never would have guessed. You are full of surprises Marcia." Rarity chuckled happily. Just as silence started to fall over the room Dead stirred slightly. "I think she is so adorable when she is asleep..." Rarity murmured.

"Yeah, at a glance you wouldn't be able to tell that she is a necromancer." Marcia said as she got up. "I will  leave you alone for a bit. I got some spells to go over and then I will be heading out. I will see you around Rarity." Marcia waved goodbye to Rarity and left through the door.

"Urghhhh...." Dead groaned. "I feel like I headbutted a brick wall..." Dead mumbled as she rolled over into Rarity. "Huh? Who's that?"

"Its just me Dead, Rarity." Rarity said calmly as Dead sprung up in bed. "Marcia was her a moment ago, but she had to go do something."

"Oh! You two talked? Did she open up?" Dead asked.

"Yes she did, she is..." Rarity stuttered, looking for words. "Like a rock. Or a boulder. She may have a rocky outcrop but inside she hides gems."

"Yeah, that is a nice way of putting it." Dead looked around. "She is really nice once you get to know her."

"She wanted me to make her a dress. Do you have any ideas for what she might like?" Rarity asked Dead.

"Marcia probably would want something fierce, but also elegant. Also try avoid making it too frilly, she may want it like that but other dragons will not be so nice." Dead sighed. "Yeah, I learnt the hard way that teenage dragons can be jerks."

"Oh?" Rarity exclaimed. "What happened."

"I was the grouchy Old Lady Bones! If I caught any young dragons in my yard I would try and capture them and make them into mindless slaves." Dead laughed.

"Oh so I guess it wasn't all bad then!" Rarity said as she joined in. After the pair stopped laughing a silence fell over the room. Dead shuffled around awkwardly in the bed trying to prompt conversation.

"So Rarity," Dead began. "Do you want to do something when we get back to Ponyville? Maybe you, me and Ditzy can go have a date? I mean, if you want to." Dead stuttered out.

"That sounds wonderful Dead. I will be look forward to it." Rarity said happily. "How much long do you think we will be here?" Rarity asked. Dead paused for a moment.

"Not much longer Rarity, this place can maintain itself so we should be leaving within a few days." Dead sighed. "I wish we could speed this up, but from previous experiences..." Dead suddenly panicked and tried to get out of the bed. "I need to go help them clean up!"

"The others are cleaning up and making sure Legion is secure. Don't worry Dead, Cadance is helping them out." Rarity reassured Dead. "It is scary how good Cadance is at necromancy."

"The Princess of love... And dead things. Sounds funny doesn't it." Dead chuckled happily.

"Yes I never would have thought in a million years that Cadance would try and learn a forbidden magic. Lets hope this has no knock on effects..." Rarity said happily. "I can't imagine Celestia or Shining would be too happy with Cadance being all evilly."

"No, I can't see them being too happy with it." Dead chuckled. "Well if it doesn't work out, tell Cadance to come visit me. I can help her develop her skill... To a safe level."

"A safe level?" Rarity questioned. "What does that mean?"

"Well Rarity, necromancy can have some side effects. Its nothing to big but... It could corrupt her similar as it did to me."

"I see, and how can we avoid this?" Rarity asked.

"Well, I would have her drop down at least once a month. I can keep a track of her progress and monitor her power." Dead assured Rarity. Just as Rarity was about to start speaking Cadance burst into the room.

"Hey Dead, just decided to say hi and check up on you!" Cadance cheerily said. "You did quite a thing back there."

"I did?" Dead said sounding puzzled.

"You took down Legion's shield. That took a lot of energy, and power." Cadance explained. "Legion had a powerful shield that you destroyed."

"I did that? Wow, I had no idea." Dead exclaimed.

"You are a lot stronger then you think Dead, if you really set your mind to it you could easily overthrow everything." Cadance chuckled happily. "That is if we don't stop you."

Dead didn't take the bait. "Don't worry, I have two beautiful mares with me. I'm not changing sides unless they do." Dead pointed at Rarity. "Its your call Rarity, do I go evil or not?"

"No, no! I like you the way you are Dead." Rarity happily sang. "Please don't change."

"Don't worry Rarity, I won't." Dead happily responded moving closer to Rarity. "At least not until I have you on the evil side..." Dead whispered into her ear.

"Dead!" Rarity exclaimed. "Well you have already half corrupted Cadance, so just say when." Rarity whispered back to Dead. The pair then chuckled evilly.

"What are two doing?" Cadance asked looking puzzled.

"You should know Cadance, weren't you once in love?" Rarity said in a mocking tone.

"I still am, marriage doesn't mean the love goes. Despite what some ponies say." Cadance said happily as Dead and Rarity laughed. "The others are thinking about heading back in a bit. Nazz has already left and I think Grim was about to. We kind of need somepony who knows where we are going to lead us back to civilization... Will you Dead?"

"Yeah I guess I can lead you back to your homes. Or not!" Dead laughed evilly. "But no really, I can help you get back. How much longer are you willing to stay?"

"Well thanks to Twilight and her magic we were able to contain any residue magic left from Legion. So we are good to go when you are."  Cadance happily announced.

"Alright then, once I'm ready we will head back home!" Dead cheered.

Have things ever been normal?

Its was late in the evening when the group arrived back. The sun was setting on the horizon and a cool breeze blew softly through the town. Twilight quickly left to go see Spike at the library, which despite Twilight's concerns was not a pile of ashes. Fluttershy said goodbye shortly after and left to tend her animals. Rainbow Dash took note of the clouds in the sky and flew off to clear them. Pinkie suddenly remembered that she had to go foalsit the Cake twins and Rarity left to go plan out a grand design. This left Applejack alone with Dead.

As much as Dead wanted to go home and tell Ditzy all about her time out, she had one pressing matter she need to talk to Applejack about. "Hey Applejack, can I have a word before you head back to the farm?" At the best of times they would talk for about five minuets.

"Why sure sugercube, whats on your mind?" Applejack spoke confidently, the two had tried talk more, however they were so different is so many aspects.

"Its something I am not overly proud of." Dead shuffled awkwardly, she wanted to avoid have this talk. "But if I don't get it of my chest..."

"Take your time, I ain't got to be anywhere right now." Applejack assured Dead, who was still shuffling around a lot. Applejack glanced over Dead's body language and picked up what it was about. "Is it about Big Mac?" Applejack asked rolling her eyes slightly.

"How'd you know?" Dead asked.

"Dead, your not very subtle." Applejack chuckled.

"Well how is he doing? I'd hate to cause an issue." Dead sighed.

"Hes fine, sure he was a bit jittery at first. But he got over it." Applejack said sternly.

"I see, well its good to hear that. I don't think I would have been happy with myself if I had dealt a lasting blow." Dead said, looking at the ground. "Maybe its better this way." Dead chuckled falsely. "Anyway I better head home." Dead turned and left Applejack alone in the town. On her way back Dead couldn't help but wonder what if.

Dead walked through the door, the main room was dimly lit. Dead could make out Ditzy sat down in the main room of the house.

"Ditzy!" Dead called out. "I'm home!" Dead laughed slightly as she called a second time.

"Dead!" Ditzy called out as she flew into Dead, pinning her to the floor and hugging her ruthlessly. Ditzy then started ruthlessly kissing Dead on her muzzle. "I missed you so much... Even if you were only gone for a few days."

"I missed you to Ditzy." Dead said returning Ditzy's affection. "Did I miss Dinky?"

Ditzy momentarily stopped. "She will be back next week... It was a mix up in communication. The school got the dates wrong. She was never here." Ditzy sighed and returned to hugging Dead. "So did anything unexpected happen while you were out?"

Dead pulled Ditzy into a long hug. "I talked to Rarity like you said..." Dead was interrupted as Ditzy quickly placed her lips on Dead's.

Ditzy pulled away from Dead. "And how did it go? Did you explain everything to her? Did she say yes?" Ditzy piled on the questions.

"Well..." Dead said, interrupting Ditzy.

"Did it not go so well?" Ditzy said sounding sad. "Dead?"

"No, it went well! I told her what you said and she was okay with it!" Dead said happily. "I suggested we have a date at some point."

"See Dead, I told you it would work out!" Ditzy kissed Dead a second time on the lips. Dead opened her mouth and aloud Ditzy's tongue inside her mouth. Dead moaned slightly as Ditzy wrestled against her tongue. Ditzy pulled away, leaving Dead slightly disappointed. "So did you organize anything?"

"Not yet, I just purposed the idea. I don't really know anywhere we could go." Dead said sounding defeated.

"I guess we should take it slowly then. I guess it didn't go as well as we had planned?" Ditzy said gently kissing Dead's muzzle.

Dead sighed. "What happened could only be described as Rarity being Rarity. I could tell her body was screaming to do something, but she kept telling herself no. I had to improvise..."

"I see." Ditzy said as she smiled at Dead. "I hope you didn't do anything too uncomfortable."

"It wasn't anything that I don't expect to get in the coming weeks." Dead chuckled.

"You're sure of that? I mean I could just kick you out." Ditzy joked. "Then where would you go?"

"Rarity's." Dead said bluntly. The pair went back to kissing and eventually broke off from each other. Just as Ditzy got up Dead spoke. "I love you Ditzy."

"I love you to Dead!" Ditzy said happily as she went back into the main room.

An hour later...

Rarity had left her house and had decided on an evening stroll. The cool wind blew through her mane, it was relaxing to say the least. Rarity was towards the center of the town, a few late night shops might be open.

"Rarity!" Pinkie shouted as she emerged from Sugercube corner. "Rarity, Rarity!"

"Pinkie, what brings you out at this time?" Rarity asked the bouncing pony.

"Oh not much, I just saw you coming and thought I would say hi!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Oh and also ask you what you are up to!"

"I'm just walking around Pinkie, nothing out of the ordinary sadly." Rarity chuckled. "How long has it been since we have had a normal day?" Rarity asked Pinkie.

"I dunno, like a billion million years?" Pinkie said. "Soooo how you doing?"

"I'm fine Pinkie, I just needed a bit of fresh air. It feels like ages since we left to follow Dead." Rarity sighed. "I wish that didn't seem so long."

"Yeah, I hear you Rarity. It felt like yeeeeaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrsssssssss!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I'm glad I can go back to making cupcakes and treats."

"Yes, quite." Rarity said causing a silence to fall over the pair.

After what seemed like an eternity Pinkie spoke up. "Are youuuuu... Looking for Ditzy's house?" Pinkie asked. "Because...."

"No Pinkie I am not right now, I'm just out walking. Nothing to it." Rarity sighed.

"Well..." Pinkie said subtly.

"No Pinkie, I don't need a double date party that would be." Rarity sighed a second time.

"Well if you ever do, you know where I live!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced back into the cake shop.

Rarity sighed as she walked through the town center, a old building that had been for sale for ages had a young colt stood outside. The colt was handing out information about a new restaurant that was going to be built in the old building. Just as Rarity decided on walking by the colt ran up to her and gave her a leaflet before she could argue. Not wanting to litter Rarity decided on giving the leaflet a once over before recycling it.

The leaflet explained how a new 'hip' eating establishment would be open withing a few weeks, it also listed a few celebrities who would be attending the event. Nothing really seemed to call out to Rarity until she glanced at the back. The back of the leaflet detailed the various seating arrangements however what caught Rarity's eye was how 'modern' the restaurant seemed. Rarity mulled it over in her mind a bit, a three pony relationship had never really been seen in Ponyville so none of the restaurants were set up with romantic settings for three.

After a few minuets of mulling it over Rarity decided it would be a good idea to inquire inside about how 'modern' the restaurant would be.

Painters, construction works and the odd interior decorator ran rampant in the inside of the building. In the middle of it a blue colt no older then Rarity wearing a scarf and shades was trying to organize the chaos.

"No no! Ah what are you doing!?" The colt called out. "The potted plants go outside!" The colt ordered a few ponies carrying plants outside. Rarity slowly approached the colt in the scarf and shades.

"Hello? Are you the manger?" Rarity asked the colt.

The colt looked at Rarity, tilted his shades and then levitated a notepad over. He quickly looked through the notepad. "No, no! You are not on the list of workers. A visitor perhaps?"

"Oh yes, I came to inquire about your restaurant." Rarity said politely.

"I see, the restaurant is not open for business now. But I can answer any questions you have." The colt said cheerfully. "Please do ask."

"Well I was wondering about..." Rarity started.

"Membership? Oh of course. A one off payment..." The colt happily sang out.

"Not membership, sadly." Rarity sighed. "I want to know about..."

The colt once again tried to guess what Rarity was saying. "Seating arrangements?"

"You are getting closer, but please I would rather explain it." Rarity sighed.

"Very well. I shall stop my guessing." The colt huffed.

"I have friends. Well two special friends." Rarity started. The colt nodded. "I was wondering if your restaurant would have any special seating arrangements."

"I see, what kind of special friends are we talking about. Special friends or special friends." The colt said, winking.

"Special friends." Rarity sighed. "Now please tell me you have something planned."

"Fortunately for you we do. As stated in the leaflet this is a modern restaurant. I hope to see you when we are open. Here take this." The colt handed Rarity three vouchers for a trial membership to the VIP section. The colt waved to Rarity as she left.

Dead and Ditzy were sat down in the front room of Ditzy's house. the fireplace was flickering as the flames started to die down. Ditzy got up and put a log in the fireplace.

"I don't know why you don't let me feed the fire Ditzy. It would be easier with my magic." Dead sighed as she sipped from a cup she was holding in front of her.

"I have always done the fireplace myself Dead. Maybe some over time." Ditzy said as she returned to her seat. The evening was really playing out well for the pair. It had been calm and Dead was able to tell Ditzy what had happened while she was out, and Ditzy had told Dead what had happened in Ponyville.

Knock-Knock-Knock

"We should get that Ditzy, even if it is late." Dead sighed. "Who would be knocking at this time..." Dead got up and went to go answer the door. However Ditzy beat her to it.

"You sit down Dead, I will get it." Ditzy insisted. Dead didn't argue and sat back down.

Ditzy went into the hallway and opened the door, to her surprise Rarity was on the other side.

"Good evening Ditzy, I was wondering if I could come in." Rarity said polity. "If that is okay with you."

"Of course!" Ditzy happily said. "It would be strange to never meet a pony I am dating."

"So Dead told you about it?" Rarity inquired.

"It was my idea Rarity, Dead was worried about damaging her relationship with me to do it without me telling her to."  Ditzy sighed. "She worries too much. But do come in Rarity."

Rarity came into the main room of the house. Dead turned and looked over to her. "Rarity!" Dead smiled as Rarity walked into the room. "What brings you over at this?"

"Well Dead, I figured it would be a good idea to properly meet Ditzy." Rarity said as she sat down in the free seat in the room.

"Yes... It might have been a good idea to have us all meet and greet before we decided on this." Dead sighed.

"Well I know a lot about you Rarity, I mean you are one of the elements of harmony. I am more then happy to go on with this if it makes Dead and you happy." Ditzy said happily.

"Same here Ditzy, I am will give it my all Ditzy." Rarity said confidently.

"You two... I don't know what to say..." Dead stuttered. "However I have an idea of what we can do." Dead said she started walking towards the bedroom with unnaturally large grin on her face.

Mornings can be your friend.

Ditzy's house was calm, a warm light swept through the partially drawn curtains. In the bedroom of said house, three mare were soundly sleeping on the large bed. All worn out from activities that they had done the previous night. Ditzy was the first of the trio who started to wake, her job as a mailmare meant that she had to be up early everyday to deliver the mail. The mailmare gently kissed the two sleeping mares before she put on her uniform and left for work.

About ten minuets passed and Dead started to stir. She rolled in the bed and tried to find something to attach to. Two rolls later and she fell off the bed with a loud thump.

"Ow...." Dead groaned from the floor. "My head..." Dead groaned a second time, hoping that somepony would come to her rescue.

"Oh Dead, you are rather silly." A voice called out from the bed. "No sense in letting you stay on the ground. A magical aura picked Dead up and placed her on her hooves. Dead could now see Rarity lying on her side, giving Dead a half ladled look. "Why not come back to bed darling?" Rarity gently patted the area in front of her. Dead climbed back onto the large bed and positioned herself in front of Rarity.

"It looks like Ditzy has gone to work." Dead turned and looked at the clock of the wall. "She can't of left any longer then ten minuets ago." Dead sighed happily her mind replaying the events that had taken place the previous night. "I am so happy it work out. I didn't really have any idea what I was doing last night."

"It was a first for me as well Dead." Rarity said happily. "I hope I didn't do anything wrong..." Rarity  chuckled slightly.

"I would no be the pony to talk to that about that, but anyway I think I should get. Have any preferences for breakfast?" Dead paused. "Normally Ditzy makes pancakes before she leaves, they might still be warm if she did."

"Pancakes sounds wonderful Dead, lets go before I fall asleep." Rarity sighed as the pair got out of bed and made their way to the kitchen. Much to Dead's joy two plates of freshly made pancakes were already set up on the table.

"I guess I don't have to cook today, lets hope they are still warm." Dead said as she sat down at the table. Dead eyed up two muffins in the center of the table. "Looks like she left some muffins for us."

"We should eat up before its get cold. I would hate for this to go to waste." Rarity said as she started eating the warm pancakes. Dead quickly hurried ahead and downed her pancakes. She picked up the muffin and began devouring it.

"Mmmmm. Blueberry." Dead said with a mouthful of muffin.

"Dead, please can you avoid talking with your mouth full." Rarity said as she rolled her eyes. "It is highly unladylike."

"Sorry Rarity, I'm not used to fine dinning yet." Dead said after swallowing her mouthful. The pair went silent as Rarity finished her breakfast.

"That reminds me Dead, the reason I came down last night was because I had an idea." Rarity started. "You remember that you suggested we go on a date?"

"Yes, I do recall saying something along the lines of that." Dead said as she cleaned her plate.

"Well I new restaurant is opening in town soon. It claims to be 'modern'. I spoke to the owner last night and he said it would be open in a few weeks." Rarity continued. "I have a leaflet if you want to look at it." Rarity brought the leaflet out and levitated it over to Dead. Dead took it and began reading it.

"Seems interesting, yeah I think that is something we could do when the place opens." Dead said happily. Rarity got up and started heading to the door. "Wait, where are you going Rarity?"

"I recall making a promise to a certain dragon not too long ago. Would you like to help?" Rarity asked Dead.

"Yeah, let me just leave a note for Ditzy." Dead said as she teleported a piece of paper and a quill to her. She quickly wrote something down and then joined Rarity in leaving the house. The pair walked through the town happily, it was still early in the morning and the weather team had not cleared the morning clouds that had blown over from Everfree.

"Dead can I tell you something?" Rarity asked.

"Sure thing Rarity, I'm all ears." Dead sang out happily.

Rarity lowered her voice so that anypony withing earshot would not be able to hear. "I didn't really know what to say about the whole... Relationship." Rarity sighed. "I have my mind made up now but, when you first suggested the idea..."

"I know Rarity," Dead reassured her. "When I first heard the idea I was a bit shocked." Dead chuckled. "Ditzy is just full of surprises isn't she?"

"Yes you could say that." Rarity sighed happily. "I am glad it had worked out well."

Ditzy was flying from house to house dropping off the mail as she went. She was flying a fair bit faster then normal and while this may have caused her to crash a few times it would be worth it when she got to spend a few minuets longer with the mares she loved. Ditzy was half amazed that her plan had played out so well, while flying from house to house she had time to reflect on what had exactly lead up to it happening.

A few days earlier...

Ditzy rolled off of Dead, it must have been late as the sun was starting to rise. "Urgh, I have to at work in a bit..." Ditzy half groaned. "I need a shower though. How about you Dead?" Dead had fallen silent. "Was I too much?"

Dead sighed. "No, not at all. I mean I don't really have anything to go on about how that should have gone." Dead chuckled slightly.

"Having regrets?" Ditzy asked.

"No, just..." Dead rolled over and looked Ditzy in the eyes. "Do you know Rarity?"

"Not personally, but I do know the pony." Ditzy replied. "Why what happened?"

"Well, I can't really confirm this yet but. I am certain that she was vying for my affections." Dead sighed. "Its not that I'm not happy, I just feel bad for leaving her out. After all she was one of the ponies responsible for bringing me in, I feel like I owe her at least." Dead sighed again. "I really should have thought about this before diving into a relationship..."

Ditzy gently tapped Dead on the muzzle. "You shouldn't stress too much about this Dead, have you talked to her about it?"

"Not since we started seeing each other Ditzy, I get the feeling she is avoiding seeing me with you... I can't figure out why though." Dead sighed once again. "I'm so stupid..."

"Maybe she  just doesn't want to see you as taken. She is the element of generosity, but everypony has needs and desires." Ditzy kissed Dead gently on the muzzle. "You're not being stupid, just caring." Ditzy said calmly.

"But what should I do Ditzy, I can't leave you nor would I. But I can't be happy knowing how Rarity feels or felt for me..." Dead sighed for the forth time. "Help me Ditzy..." Dead latched onto Ditzy and hugged her deeply. Tears started to trail down Dead's face and onto the bed.

"Look Dead, who said you can't have both?" Ditzy said insistently. "And you know what I mean by that don't you?"

"You mean both you and Rarity?" Dead questioned.

"Yes, you can make us both happy. And we can make you very happy." Ditzy said smugly.

"How would that even work Ditzy? And wouldn't that force you into something you don't really want to do?" Dead questioned.

"Well I never said I would not be happy with it Dead, and besides you seem pretty wound up over the whole matter. I think it would be a good idea for all of us." Ditzy said confidently. "Next time you see Rarity, and if you are comfortable tell her what I said or something along the lines of it."

"But what if she says she doesn't want to? What if it makes out friendship awkward?" Dead panicked slightly.

"We will never know unless you try Dead. But right now, I need a shower..." Ditzy pulled away from Dead and headed towards the bathroom. "I suggest you have one as well Dead."

Present day...

Knock-Knockknockknock

Twilight got up from the table and answered the door. She cursed silently as she pulled the door open. "Rainbow?" Twilight exclaimed. "What are you doing here at this time?" Rainbow, who was on the other side of the door looking rather tired. "Did you get any sleep last night?" Twilight asked. Rainbow stood at the doorway expectantly. "Fine, come in." Twilight rolled her eyes as Rainbow flew in past Twilight.

"Sorry Twi, I just need to talk about something." Rainbow said as she sat down. "And no, I got very little sleep last night. Something was keeping me awake."

Twilight went back and sat down, she levitated a hot chocolate that she had made for Spike and gave it to rainbow. "Do you want to tell me about it Rainbow?" Twilight said warmly.

"Yeah, I guess its pretty stupid. I'm normally awesome and all." Rainbow said hollowly. "But I didn't realize that what Rarity said was for real. I thought Dead slept with her so she wouldn't feel so bad." Rainbow sighed. "I'm such a jerk for thinking that..."

"Go on Rainbow, I'm all ears." Twilight said calmly.

"Well I was out on an evening fly, like I do most days. And I saw Rarity go into Ditzy's house. I expected her to leave within a minuets. But she didn't." Rainbow facehoofed. "I don't know what I was think at the moment but I was worried, so after a few minuets I flew to the bedroom window..."

"I see." Twilight said calmly. "So you saw them having a three-way?" Twilight reluctantly said.

"Y-Yeah, but I thought that I would get over it. But it kept me up." Rainbow turned away from Twilight. "I don't get it..."

"Well I think that you have been smitten by one of them." Twilight concluded. "And seeing as you have known Ditzy and Rarity for a while. I'm going to go with Dead."

"That's silly Twilight, I mean sure when she first showed up I did kind of want to...." Twilight shushed Rainbow.

"Rainbow, I don't need to know about what you wanted to do with Dead. But I think you have developed some feelings for Dead." Twilight rolled her eyes. "I know you think you are impervious to love, but..."

"Twilight, I think I would know if I was in love." Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"But you lost sleep over her, when you saw her with other ponies it upset you to the point where you have come to me to talk about it. Face it Rainbow you are hopelessly in love." Twilight said smugly. "Now you can admit it or we can argue all mourning."

"Fine, but only because I nee... Would like some advice. So Twilight what do you think I should do?" Rainbow asked.

"Well from what I heard from Rarity, they are looking to 'expand' their love group. You could try and gain entrance." Twilight said quickly.

"So it would be Me, Ditzy, Dead and Rarity? Don't you think that is possibly a bit too much? I mean I am only one pony Twilight." Rainbow said confidently. "And what if it goes on? Before you know it half the mares in Equestria would be dating them. Heck you could be Twilight!" Rainbow chuckled.

"Well think about it this way Rainbow." Twilight said flatly. "Dead has spent well over a thousand years not knowing what true love is. She has just been introduced to it and she probably wants to share it with as many ponies as possible. Think about it, who has she had interest in since she arrived?" Twilight said confidently and happily.

"Me, Rarity, Ditzy and Big Mac? Yeah I think that's all." Rainbow started to drink her lukewarm chocolate. "So?"

"Well think about it, she fell in love with Ditzy in what, a few hours. And this is true love Rainbow, she wasn't faking it." Twilight happily said. "And then a few days later, that same love is directed at Rarity. Dead has over a thousand years of love 'stored' in her."

"So you're saying that she would love a thousand years worth of ponies?" Rainbow questioned. "Because that's a lot of mares."

"I don't think Dead would go on if anypony wasn't happy with it. And I need to talk to Ditzy about how the idea of Rarity joined their group came to be."

"So I have a chance?" Rainbow said with hope in her voice.

"Yes, but you would have to be able to love all members in the group or else you might get kicked out. If you go into the group and only love Dead the others will feel left out." Twilight explained. "Listen Rainbow, I have a book on this kind of things. Do you want me to lend it to you?" Twilight asked.

"Pshhhh. Books are for eggheads..." Twilight gave Rainbow a stern look. "I will have it for a one week loan please." Rainbow hastily said.

Twilight quickly scanned the bookshelves and pulled out a book titled; Love shapes, its not just a line. The cover illustrated a strange multi-sided shape with various faces that were joined via lines. "I read this not too long ago, it was also one of the books I lent Dead."

"You mean one of the books the emotionally scarred her?" Rainbow questioned.

"No, I don't know how much of it she read to be honest. She read about fifty books in a few hours, she probably skimmed over them." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Do you want it or not?"

"Yes please!" Rainbow exclaimed. She swiftly took the book and flew out of the library. Twilight sat back down and started drinking her how chocolate, she didn't notice that Spike had been listening from the top of the stairs.

"Twilight. Did you have any idea what you were talking about?" A tired sounding Spike said from the top of the stairs.

"Nope, not a clue. I was just saying something Cadance said and hoping for the best." Twilight giggled.

Trust your feelings, they won't let you down.

"So what kind of ideas do you have Dead?" Rarity asked Dead as they arrived at the shop. "I still have all those supplies your skeletons dropped off ages ago, maybe we could use them?" The pair walked through the door and into the main room of Carousal Boutique. The shop was clean save for a thine lay of dust that had settled on everything. Rarity opened the curtains and natural light flooded the room. "My word, this place is filthy!" Rarity exclaimed.

"I can deal with that my petit chou-fleur!" Dead happily announced.

"Since when did you speak Prench? And you do know you called me your little cauliflower right?" Rarity said giving Dead a strange look.

"Of course! You would not call yourself a large mare would you?" Dead happily said.

"Well No, but..." Rarity started.

"And you are almost the same color as a cauliflower, are you not?" Dead sang out. "And of course everything sounds one-thousand percent more sexy when spoken in Prench!"

"I can't argue with you there Dead, now could you lend me a hoof?" Rarity asked.

"But of course!" Dead happily sang out as she channeled a cleaning spell that absorbed all the dust. "Skeletons get old and flaky. This leaves bone-meal on everything. So I am used to cleaning fine powder."

"So Dead, do you think you could teach me a spell like that? It would be useful to be able to clean the dust in my house without a feather duster." Rarity inquired Dead.

"But of course my dear!" Dead half shouted half cheered.

"Alright, what did you do with Dead?" Rarity said to Dead. "I know she can be happy but not this happy!" Rarity said trying to hold back a chuckle.

"Life is wonderful at the moment Rarity! I have the two best mares in the world at my side and things are finally settling down for once." Dead pirouetted on the spot and swooned onto the sofa. "I feel alive!" Dead sighed happily. "If every day was like this I would be happy."

"You know Dead, you have changed so much in such a short time. By the end of the week you would have forgotten you were a necromancer!" Rarity giggled.

"No I can't forget who I am. I will just have to start living without skeletons, let the others." Dead got up. "Well they are keeping the house tidy, and Skullworthy will be meeting with me weekly to give me a report and say hi to everypony." Dead said happily. "I'm the luckiest mare in Equestria!"

Rarity went over to Dead and gave her a huge hug. "I am so glad you are happy! It makes me so happy to see you happy!" Rarity cheered. "Today is going to be a great day." Rarity sighed happily and realized Dead from her hug.

Knock-Knock-Knock!

"Oh, I wonder who that could be?" Dead said in a sing-song voice as she gracefully jumped to the door. Dead opened the door slowly and revealed who was on the other side. "Oh hello Rainbow, how are you doing on this fine day?"

"Uh, Dead? Are you alright?" Rainbow said sounding mighty confused. "Rarity are you in there? I think a changeling has taken over Dead!" Rainbow called out.

"She fine Rainbow, come in!" Rarity called back. "Shes just a tad bit... Happy." Rarity chuckled. Rainbow slowly walked into the clothes shop. Just as she got past the door line Dead shut the door and glided past her.

"Wow Dead, you are really, really happy." Rainbow sighed.

"I've just realized how lucky I am Rainbow. Its made me all giddy!" Dead cheered happily.

"Uh yeah..." Rainbow stuttered. "Do you mind if I speak with Rarity alone for a moment?" Rainbow asked shakily.

Dead happy mood dropped slightly. "Uh, sure. I might go try and find Ditzy..." Dead trailed.

"Are you sure Dead? I mean this can wait." Rainbow hastily spoke trying to get Dead to perk back up.

"Its okay, better to do it now then later." Dead headed towards the door. "Guess I will see you later Rarity, have a good day!" Dead called out as she left. Dead shut the door and headed out into the town.

"So Rainbow, whats on your mind?" Rarity resisted the urge to just flatly asked why she needed Dead to leave.

"Well Rarity I was just at Twilight's, well not just at Twilight's but I was there not too long ago." Rainbow stalled, she regretted not going to Dead and asking her.

"Rainbow, be honest. Is it about Dead?" Rarity said flatly.

"Well..." Rarity gave Rainbow a stern look. "Yes." Rainbow said flatly.

"Well then, out with it!" Rarity tried to hurry Rainbow Dash on.

"Well, I will say what Twilight said. She seems to think that I have fallen in love with Dead." Rainbow said confidently. "I think she is being stupid. I mean, come on I'm Rainbow Dash."

"So then, why are you here?" Rarity asked. "Do you want a dress or something? You didn't really need to send Dead away for that..." Rarity said, trying to trick Rainbow into admitting the truth.

"I... Its not that, I'm just asking for your advice. I mean if Twilight thinks so, its only a matter of time until Dead catches on... I mean gets the idea." Rainbow quickly stuttered out.

"I'm not following you Rainbow, you want me to give you advice on how to make Dead not think you are in love with her?" Rarity strung together slowly.

"You are following it!" Rainbow exclaimed. "So what should I do?"

"Tell Dead you love her and want to be part of the group. Its that simple." Rarity said quickly. "You always said you could never stay with one mare, why not three?" Rarity blushed slightly after she stopped. "Look Rainbow there is no point hiding your emotions."

"You really think that would work?" Rainbow said, dropping her act. "I don't really know how to go about it."

"Well you could just go and tell her, its not like she isn't used to you being forward. Remember when you first met her?" Rarity rolled her eyes. "That could have ended badly."

"Yeah, Twilight kept telling me that." Rainbow rolled her eyes and huffed. "Maybe this isn't worth it, Dead might not take me seriously." Rainbow sighed. "Love is stupid sometimes."

"Rainbow, I assure you that if you go to Dead and tell her face to face. She will know you are being truthful." Rarity placed her hoof on Rainbow's shoulders. "Just say what you think you should say and it will be fine. Trust me."

Ditzy had just finished her rounds, she was on her way back to her house however she saw Dead walking around the town center. Dead was aimlessly wondering from stall to stall.

"Hey Dead!" Ditzy called out as she dive bombed into Dead, throwing both of them to the ground. "What brings you out at this time?"

"Can't a mare just walk around by herself?" Dead said as she playfully wrestled Ditzy to the ground. It was relatively early in the morning and while stalls were open, not many ponies were out. Ditzy struggled free and got up next to dead.

"I guess not, I just thought you would be with Rarity. Did something happen?" Ditzy asked.

"Rainbow showed up, just like you said. I guess the last part of the plan is falling into place." Dead chuckled evilly.

"It was your idea with Rainbow not mine, shes your responsibility." Ditzy said as Dead stumbled up.

"I know Ditzy. I promise you she will respect the boundaries to some degree." Dead chuckled. "And that she won't obsess over me, much."

"Good! I don't want her hogging you." Ditzy said, jabbing Dead in the shoulder. Ditzy looked around briefly. "No doubt she will be looking for you in a moment. I better give you two some space." Ditzy went to take off before stopping. "Try not to tire her tout too much, she may be Rainbow Dash, but every pony has their limits."

"Why would you say that?" Dead said innocently.

"Well you were the last one to give up last night, and even then it was because Rarity had ran out of steam. I don't know how much longer you would have gone on for." Ditzy chuckled. "For somepony who knows nothing about love and the finer points of it all... You sure caught on quickly..."

"I have good teachers..." Dead sighed happily. Ditzy winked at Dead and then flew off into the market.

"So I just need to go and tell her?" Rainbow asked one final time.

"Yes Rainbow, just go do it." Rarity sighed forcing Rainbow out of the shop. "I need to design Marcia's dress." Rarity shut the door on Rainbow.

"Urgh!" Rainbow grumbled to herself as she took flight. She hoped that Dead hand't wondered to far, the longer she spent flying the longer she had to back out. Then again she was Rainbow Dash, when had she ever back away from everything? Never! But then again Rainbow was never one for long term commitment...

And there was Dead, practically in the town center talking away to Ditzy. Dead was as beautiful as always. Rainbow sighed and landed in a nearby cloud, she didn't really want Ditzy to be in the middle of things, before Rainbow had a chance to even consider flying away Ditzy took to the skies and flew deeper into the town, without crashing into anypony.

Dead made a move, she was heading in the direction of the park, Rainbow hopped from cloud to cloud in order to stay close to her. Rainbow could tell that Dead was waiting for somepony, she kept looking from side to side expectantly. Dead made it to a bench by the pond that was empty and sat down. Rainbow wait a few minuets before landing nearby and walking past Dead.

"Oh hey Dead, I didn't expect to see you here." Rainbow said a nonchalantly as possible. "What brings you to this part of Ponyville?"

"Oh not much, just felt like relaxing a bit." Dead said happily. "So what brings you to Terra-firma?" Dead questioned.

"Its a nice day for it really, mind if I take a seat?" Rainbow said, eyeing up the free spot next to Dead.

"Not at all, take a seat." Dead said as Rainbow quickly dived onto the seat next to her. "Something on your mind?" Dead asked.

"What makes you say that?" Rainbow hastily said.

"Well you're sat next to me, in the park." Dead pointed out. "Normally when somepony does that they want to say something." Dead looked Rainbow in the eyes. "So I will ask again, whats on your mind?"

"Uh yeah! Something is on my mind Dead!" Rainbow said, then fell quiet.

"Well?" Dead pressured. "I do have places to be." As much as Dead hated pressure she knew that if she didn't try and hurry Rainbow she would back out.

"Well you know how you got that whole thing going on with Rarity and Ditzy?" Rainbow spluttered out.

"Yes, its hard to forget." Dead rolled her eyes. Of course she would be that blatant. Dead thought to herself.

"Well, could I possibly ummm... Be involved?" Rainbow stuttered out. Dead resister the urge to facehoof. Of course the fasted flier and most confident mare in Ponyville would completely botch this up.

"Well... In what aspects?" Dead started to tease, she could tell she would be able to drag this out for a while.

"Uh what?" Rainbow said sounding puzzled. "The book never said..."

Dead ignored the last comment and went on. "Well when you are in a... three way relationship you have several aspects to it. You know what I mean?"

"Not really..." Rainbow trailed slowly.

"Well..." Dead faltered. "Forget it, I know what you want. I have always know Rainbow, even if you didn't." Dead blundered out, dropping the whole act.

"Wha...?" A confused Rainbow stuttered.

"I only have one questioned Rainbow, how serious are you taking this?" Dead asked sternly.

"Very!" Rainbow said confidently. "Admit ably if you had asked me when you first showed up I would have answered differently. But things have changed and well, I want to be a part of it." Rainbow said happily. "So what do you say Dead, do I have a chance."

"Of course, its not like I didn't see you watching us last night." Dead said smugly.

"Wait you..." A dumbstruck Rainbow said. "You knew I was there?"

"Yes, that's why just after we finished I talked to Rarity and Ditzy about it, and they agreed with me." Dead said evilly.

"Wait so Rarity knew I was watching? And Ditzy?" Rainbow stuttered.

"Yes and yes. Now shut up and kiss me." Dead said, pushing Rainbow over the edge.

"I...Ah...Oh..." Rainbow stuttered.

"Great, I broke Rainbow." Dead got up and sighed. She threw Rainbow over her back and began about carrying her to Twilight's. "Not the best start to a perfect day..."

If its broke, you really need to fix it.

Dead casually strolled through Ponyville, with a broken Rainbow Dash on her back. Sure Dead was getting a ton of strange looks, but that didn't matter... Much. Dead soldiered on, until somepony stood in front of her. Dead glanced up to see who was in her way. An unfamiliar face gave Dead a worried look.

"Hey are you two alright?" Dead looked at the mare, given her cheery demeanor and cutie mark she was Miss Cherilee, the teacher.

"Yeah, I just broke Rainbow. Nothing to big." Dead chuckled, but the serious look on the school teachers face made her stop. "But seriously its fine, I'm just taking her to the library." Dead readjusted Rainbow so that she would not fall off her back. "Yeah..."

"If you say so, by the way I'm Cherilee." The teacher held out a hoof for Dead to shake it. "I don't think we have been properly introduced."

Dead took the hoof of the teacher and shook it polity. "Pleasure to meet you Cherilee, I'm Dead. You may run away screaming in terror now." Dead joked. The teacher gave Dead a perplexing look. "Oh didn't you know, I'm a necromancer." The teacher continued looking clueless. "Oh yeah I forgot that not many ponies know what necromancy was. Don't worry too much about it, unless..."

"Wait, you were that pony that summoned all those skeletons!" Cherilee half shouted out.

"Yup, that was me." Dead proudly admitted. "You can now run away screaming in terror knowing that there was a good reason!"

Cherilee chuckled. "I don't see any reason for that, I mean it does look like you are kidnapping the element of loyalty..."

"Shhhh, not so loud! I don't want everypony to find out my evil plan!" Dead jokingly said. Cherilee got the joke and chuckled slightly. "Well I got to run, I don't want Rainbow to wake up and start panicking." Dead waved goodbye and continued onto the library. "Well that was nice. I didn't know ponies weren't petrified of me." Dead said happily.

Dead continued walking towards the library, par a few odd looks the trip was uneventful. Dead arrived at the library and knocked as calmly as she can.

"Twilight! I think I broke Rainbow!" Dead called out, trying to suppress a laugh. Moments later the door swung open and Dead happily walked in. Once inside Dead gently placed Rainbow on the sofa and sat down. "I would not recommend doing that, my spine feels like it is going to collapse." Twilight shut the door and inspected Rainbow.

"Dead what did you do to her?" Twilight asked as she inspected the pegasus.

"Well I told her what she wanted to hear, something I tend to do a lot. And I think I overloaded her. Just a teeny tiny bit." Dead chuckled happily. "I hope she is okay, I really do. I just don't think she saw it coming." Dead gleefully said.

"She looks alright, save the fact that you knocked her out cold." Twilight placed her her hoof on her chin. "I don't know how to wake her up. Do you have any ideas?" Twilight asked.

"Just one Twilight." Dead sighed. "And its a long shot." Dead moved over to Rainbow and gently kissed her on her forehead. Rainbow suddenly sat up.

"Woah, woah woah!" Rainbow looked around quickly. "Twilight? Dead?  Why am I in the library, on a sofa."

"You broke, so I fixed you." Dead said as she took a seat next to Rainbow.

"I, broke?" Rainbow questioned. "How was I broke?" Rainbow asked.

"Well we were talking and then I told you some stuff and then you broke. Its simple." Dead teased.

"Uh, I remember you talking to me, I can't remember what it was about. I think its coming back to me..." Rainbow quickly looked shocked. "Wow I guess that happened."

"Yep, it sure did Rainbow. Can you remember the last thing I said to you?" Dead asked.

"Yeah, I think it is coming back. Hang on a moment Dead." Rainbow quickly shuffled over to Dead and she rather hastily kissed Dead on the muzzle.

"Well that was disappointing. Really Rainbow?" Dead sighed, she then took the initiative and locked her lips onto Rainbow's. Dead prodded her tongue at Rainbow's lip asking for entrance her mouth. Rainbow slowly opened her mouth. It was an odd sensation, normally the other mare would be leading and Dead would be following. Dead wrestled her tongue against Rainbow's after a few seconds she pulled away. "That was what I meant when I said you could kiss me." Dead said to a speechless Rainbow.

"I thought you had never done that?" Rainbow slowly strung out,

"Well not until a few days ago, I learnt quickly." Dead said as she grinned slightly.

Rainbow wiped the saliva that had started to drop out of her mouth. "Sorry about that then Dead, I was worried..."

"Worried that you would upset me and I would run off? The time for that has passed Rainbow." Dead sighed happily. "Now all you have to do is do that Ditzy and Rarity." Dead chuckled.

"Could you two tone it down? I don't want wake Spike up." Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes. "Also, congratulations Rainbow. I'm glad you took the dive..."

"It was nothing Twilight. I was just being awesome." Rainbow said as she returned to her normal confident self.

"Really?" Dead questioned as she sighed.

"Yeah, I didn't want to over-do it. So I acted the way I did." Rainbow said attempting the cover up her nerves.

"Uh-huh sure, lets go with that then Rainbow." Dead said rolling her eyes. "So you were acting then? Even when I carried you over here?"

"Yup!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Had you fooled."

"Uh-huh, then who did I meet on the way down here?" Dead said smirking as she spoke. When Rainbow didn't respond as quickly as Dead thought she took the high ground. "Come on Rainbow, how could you forget what we talked about it was very important." Dead teased.

"Well uh..." Rainbow raked her brain for ponies who Dead might have saw. "Lyra?"

"Nope!" Dead chuckled. "Keep guessing."

"Hm, Cloudkicker?" Rainbow guessed again.

"Nada!" Dead laughed. "Keep guessing."

Rainbow raked her brain, but at the risk of embarrassing herself even more she stopped. "I give up..." She sighed.

Rarity was busy seeing how various fabrics went with each other. A quick knock on the door pulled her away from her grand designs. "Come in!" Rarity sang out, she noticed that she had not flipped the open sign around, the call must have been social. She also noticed that she had the door locked. "Oh how clumsy of me, I will let you in!" Rarity called out as she rushed over to the door. On the other side of the door Ditzy stood, happy as always she cheerfully greeted Rarity.

"Hiya Rarity, mind if I come in?" Ditzy asked.

"Sure thing Ditzy, make yourself at home." Rarity said as she went back to her designs. "Ditzy can you take a look at these? I need another opinion on these designs." Rarity said as she pick up the designs and floated them to Ditzy, who was sat on the sofa.

"Wow, the all look so nice! But, they don't look like they would fit on a pony." Ditzy sighed.

"Of course not, its for a dragon. One of Dead's friends. I promised to make her a dress. She is a necromancer, just like Dead. I don't really know what she likes so these are all guesses." Rarity chuckled. "She really is quite a character."

"I see. Was she one of the uhhhh... Things that was with Dead when she went out?" Ditzy asked.

"Yeah," Rarity sighed. "It feels like that was so long ago."

"Yeah, those few days were really long. I really missed Dead." Ditzy sighed happily. "I am so glad she was able to kick things off with you."

"Yes... It was your idea wasn't it?" Rarity said as she sat down next to Ditzy.

"Yup! It was my idea, I mean half my idea. Dead told me about you and I figured that we might as well try it." Ditzy chuckled. "If you ask me it wasn't a bad move. However it did have one drawback..."

"Oh? And that would be?" Rarity questioned sounding concerned.

"I'm stuck with two beautiful mares." Ditzy chuckled. "Well possibly three if you count Rainbow. I wonder what they are up to?"

"Well given the short time I have know Dead, and also knowing how quickly she jumps into things..." Rarity chuckled. "I just hope they don't make a mess."

"Raiiiinnnnnnbbbbbboooooowwwwww!" Dead shouted. "Get back here!" Dead quickly got up and followed the cyan pegasus. Dead hurried out of the library. "Sorry Twilight, we can finish our conversation later."

"Its alright Dead... Good luck with Rainbow." Twilight calmly said as she shut the door and sat down on the sofa. "Those ponies..."

"Can't catch me Dead!" Rainbow chuckled. Dead growled at Rainbow in response.

"I will get you Rainbow, your wings can't help you now." Dead chuckled as she started to glow white. "You can run and fly, but you can't hide!"

Rainbow stopped her flight and hovered in place. "What are you up to Dead?" Rainbow looked at Dead, who was now a glowing white blob on the ground below her. Gray energy swelled around the white blob and then pulled away, taking the white energy with it. Dead, who was standing proud seemed unchanged. Rainbow glanced over, trying to see what Dead had done to herself. Rainbow glanced at Dead, her eyes scanned over her body until they stopped at her midsection. Two lengthy skeletal wings were poking out of Dead's body.

"They look nice don't they?" Dead said as she jumped up into the air and started flying at Rainbow. Rainbow quickly took the initiative and took off. "Get back here Rainbow!" Dead shouted as she tried to catch up with Rainbow.

"Ha! Good luck, see if those bony old things can catch up with me!" Rainbow teased as she started to gain distance from Dead. However where Rainbow was fast she lacked one thing Dead could do.

Magic.

Dead's horn lit up white as a lasso flew out of it. The lasso wrapped around Rainbows hind leg and started pulling her back. Dead chuckled evilly. "What the matter Rainbow? I thought you were the fastest flier?" Dead gloated as she caught up with Rainbow.

"Using magic like that is cheating!" Rainbow huffed as she tried to pull free of Dead's grasp. Before Rainbow could complain more Dead tackled her into a nearby cloud. Dead landed on top of Rainbow and pinned her to the cloud.

"I promised Ditzy that I wouldn't wear you out too much. But being honest how long do you think you could go for before you tire out?" Dead chuckled confidently.

"Longer then you Dead." Rainbow said cockily. "A lot longer then you."

"Oh really? I would like to you do that. I would really like to see you do that." Dead gloated. "I take it challenge accepted?"

"Challenge accepted!" Rainbow shouted as dead quickly locked lips and the pair fell into the cloud as it drifted freely through the sky.

Dead's resting time

"So you decided to bring her here? Why exactly did you do that?" Twilight asked, Rainbow was smiling coyly at her and Dead was passed out on a cloud. "Wait forget that, how did this happen?" Twilight questioned. Spike came around the corner to see what all the commotion was about, as soon as he saw Dead he gasped and ducked behind Twilight. "Whats the matter Spike?"

"I-I-I Don't know..." The young dragon said as he emerged from behind Twilight. "She looked kind of scary like that."

"Anyway..." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Bring her in Dash, and then you can tell me about it." Twilight sighed as Dash moved the small cloud into the house and gently sat Dead of the sofa. Dead instinctively curled up once she was placed on the sofa. "So Rainbow tell me what happened, and spare me the details."

"We finished, she walked off the cloud and blacked out when she touched the ground." Rainbow said abruptly. "She was fine until her spell wore off."

"What kind of spell was she using?" Twilight asked politely.

"She had bone wings, I'm guessing it was like that spell you did on Rarity." Rainbow said confidently.

"Yes, similar. She must have been holding it up so that she would not fall through the cloud. But then how was she on it when you brought her in?" Twilight asked.

"I think she cast the cloud-walking spell when she landed, she must have known what was going to happen." Rainbow chuckled.

"I see, well I guess I can look after her Rainbow. This would be a good time to do that study Luna asked." Twilight sighed. "Guess I'm going to have to close the library for the day."

"Wait what did Luna ask?" Rainbow interrupted.

"Well she taught me a spell, but first I need to explain how it works and why I am doing it." Twilight sighed as she began to figure out a quick way to word what she was saying. "To put it simply Rainbow, Dead hides her dreams for Luna. She has done so for so long that she does it without thinking. Luna taught me how to find said dreams while I am awake and enter then."

"So, you will be going into Dead's dreams? Oooo tell me what you find!" Rainbow asked.

"Dead's dreams are unstable at the best of times. Her past tears at her in her dreams and she struggles to sleep happily. Luna would normally help ponies when they struggled in the dreamscape. But she can't do that with Dead and the rest of Equestria." Twilight explained.

"So what exactly does Luna want you to study?" Rainbow said with a curious tone.

"Well besides Dead having unstable dreams, she also sees a past version of herself. Dead's consonance stops it from getting out of hoof. Luna has basically asked me to keep a log of what goes on in Dead's dreams. Not all the time, but when I can." Twilight finished smiling.

"Uh-huh, can you explain that in a way I would want to remember?" Rainbow pestered.

"Goodbye Rainbow Dash..." Twilight sighed as she pushed Rainbow out of the library. "Spike! Lock the door and switch the open sign around."

"Well done Dead you successfully threw yourself into a coma. I hope you are happy with yourself." The younger version of Dead chuckled. "Maybe when you wake up I could say hi to your friends?"

"No,no, a thousand times no. You know this is why I locked you away." Dead sighed.

"Oh no, not this again. Look you are really really annoying. If I could I would kill you in a heartbeat and take over." Younger Dead said threatening the older version. "I was here first!"

"Oh you really think I care that you were here before me? The reason I exist is to stop you from ruing EVERYTHING!" Dead shouted, causing the dream to shake. "You annoy me to no end! You seem to think you are entitled to everything!" The dream shock violently.

"Woah Dead calm down. I'm sorry, its just annoying. Being stuck in here all the time." Younger Dead sighed, dropping to the ground. "I don't have anypony to talk to, and seeing you having fun with everypony..."

"I know its hard, but you know why I can't let you out, but nor can I." Dead sighed. "You remember what happened last time..."

Younger Dead got up. "Yes, lets agree to never let that happen again. I forget that if we merge it would spell doom." Younger Dead perked up. "Somepony is here..."

"Hey Dead! And ummm, Dead?" Twilight called out as she floated aimlessly around the town ponies. "Can one of you get me down?"

"Of course Twilight, but first what are you doing in here?" Dead asked. "And how?"

"Luna helped me out, I would have asked but you were..." Twilight was interrupted by a hoof silencing her.

"And a hello to you... Fine looking mare..." Younger Dead said with a smirk. "You know, I can't understand why I don't..."

"Wha..?" Twilight stunted back. "I thought you didn't..."

"I see what she sees." Young Dead chuckled. "I have been doing so for a long time. But things only just got worth watching."

"Enough!" Dead shouted, trying to hold back a flood of laughter. She quickly grabbed Twilight and brought her onto the invisible floor. "You were saying Twilight?"

"Luna basically asked me to keep an eye on your dreams. I can explain it if you want." Twilight started.

"No its fine, really. Just be careful around... Her." Dead pointed to the younger version of herself, who hadn't taken her eyes off Twilight.

"Yes, always keep those eyes on me! Don't take them away..." Younger Dead chuckled.

"Um, okay?" Twilight chuckled nervously. "Hey Dead can I ask quickly, who is she?" Twilight pointed at younger Dead.

"Dead of course, but for you I could be anypony." Younger Dead started. "But in all due seriousness, I am Dead. A younger version of Dead. I am always inside her mind watching everything. I come out in her dreams when she wants me to." Younger Dead sighed. "Sadly for both of us, I can't come out without kill myself."

"Oh, that's depressing." Twilight said sadly. "Well..."

"Its not so bad. I didn't always watch. At least until recently." Younger Dead chuckled, regular Dead facehoofed. "Don't be like that Dead. Its not so bad."

"Alright you two can do whatever, I'm going to go craft myself a happy place." Dead sighed. "Goodbye you two." Dead vanished leaving a nervous Twilight with a slightly rowdy younger Dead.

"So Twilight, what do you fancy?" Younger Dead said as she leaned into Twilight.

"Nothing right now..." Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Please, you don't know how boring Dead's life is. For like the past thousand years she has done nothing but sit on her flank and read." Younger Dead sighed. "Well can we at least talk about something besides bones?"

"I think I can manage that." Twilight said as she settled down. "Anything on your mind?"

"Tell me about Celestia, I want to know if she has changed at all. I didn't see too much of her when we were in Canterlot. Then again I was a sociopath trying to snuff out myself and take over." Younger Dead chuckled. She removed her headgear and rolled onto her back.

"You look different, but similar to Dead. What happened?" Twilight asked.

"You first, you owe me one explanation on Celestia." Younger Dead pulled Twilight down to her back and moved her next to herself younger Dead was look Twilight in the eyes..

"She is Celestia, ever graceful, always polite, always caring..." Twilight began. Just as Twilight started to get passionate younger Dead moved her eyes..

"You know she branded us an outcast. Well it was me. The other me didn't exist." Younger Dead sighed. "I guess I will tell you about myself then. I am a younger version of Dead, I was the one who was trying to overthrow Celestia. However something told me to stop. I tried to follow it... One time I slipped up and then next thing I knew I was in the back of her mind."

"I don't understand..." Twilight said sounding confused.

"Something threw me into the backseat of the her... Our mind. She became dominant and stopped us. I don't know how or why." Younger Dead chuckled. "We tried to merge but I ended up mutating and attempted to kill her and overtake her body."

"So that dream we fought, that was you?" Twilight asked.

"Yes it was me, well... No it was me, no point trying to cover it up." Younger Dead sighed. "If it means anything, I'm sorry."

"Its alright?" Twilight sighed. "Yeah don't worry about it. You seem to be an alright pony."

"I'm not Twilight Sparkle. I really am not." Younger Dead rolled away from Twilight. "I kept telling myself that it was the right thing to do, but it never was. I did so many bad things, I nearly threw Equestria into chaos. I nearly sparked a second pony/griffon war. I am nothing but a monster."

"But you're not, you are a good pony. Sure you were misguided but you thought what you were doing was right." Twilight tried to comfort the younger Dead. "The past is the past. It happened and there is nothing that can be done to change it."

"No Twilight. Think about others like me. Discord, he was turned to stone. Sombra cursed himself for a few thousand years and Luna was banished to the moon. I was kicked out of my own mind and replaced with some strange version of myself." Younger Dead sighed and curled up slightly. "I regret everything I ever did." Younger Dead curled up tighter. "I hate myself, every time I see her having fun with others I beat myself up. I missed so much... All because I was too stupid to see the light... To see what was right..."

"But would things have been different if you had stayed?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, this place would be a graveyard. Everything would be a graveyard. I would be sitting on a throne of bones..." Younger Dead sighed. "Twilight, I need to ask you something. Something personal."

"Sure thing, whats on your mind?" Twilight asked.

"Never come back here, please. Please just stay out of her mind, it hurts too much, just let me fade away." Younger Dead curled up into a ball. "Just forget about me. Live your life."

"But why? Why can't I come here?" Twilight asked as she got up.

"I don't like knowing what I missed. I don't like interacting with you, I don't want to feel the pain in my chest when you go, I don't want to be waiting for your return. Please Twilight..." Younger Dead started to sob quietly. "Please..."

"Dead, if you really want that I will never come back. I will tell Luna that you cannot deal with the magic. If that is really what you want." Twilight said calmly. "I shall go if you don't mind. I don't want to stress you out too much."

"No wait, don't go yet..." Younger Dead rolled over. "Just... Stay here for a bit..." Younger Dead rolled into Twilight who sat down next to her. "Just hold me... Please, just for a moment."

"Alright..." Twilight said as she gently wrapped her hoofs around the sobbing, younger version of Dead.

Sometimes you don't want to wake up

"Twilight?"

"Yes Dead?"

"Don't leave me, I don't want to be alone."

"I will have to leave at some point, but I can come back."

"Yes, I changed my mind. I want you to come back. I don't want to be alone."

"You don't have to be alone Dead, you never have to be alone."

"T-Thank you Twilight, I-I would like that, a lot."

"Its okay Dead, I would be more then happy to come back."

"W-W-What I said earlier, I was joking. I was just being silly."

"Its okay Dead, don't worry about it. As far as I know it never happened."

Dead's dreamscape was a long beach, the sun was setting on the horizon and Dead was sat down next to a small sandcastle. The one thing Dead never really got to do was go to a beach, in her dreams the sand was smooth and warming. Dead sighed happily as her head dropped to the floor. It was perfect, yet Dead felt odd a strange feeling made her stomach churn. Dead sighed as she rose to her hoofs, the beach started to fade and soon Dead was suspended in darkness.

"Is something troubling you?" A voice echoed. Dead perked up and tried to find the source of the voice, Dead sighed after a brief search turned up nothing.

"Luna, is that you?" Dead asked the nothingness.

"No, it is not. Now I ask a second time, is something troubling you?" The voice boomed loudly.

"Yes, something is troubling me. Now can you please leave." Dead huffed as she tried to turn away.

"No, now tell me. What is bothering you my little necromancer?" The said more calmly.

"I am... Not me." Dead sighed.

"Excuse me?" The voice said sounding taken back.

"I am not Dead, I am just some personality in her body."

"You are Dead. Nothing can change that." The voice echoed.

"I'm just something that took over when she was bad! I'm not Dead, I'm just a personality. I'm nothing more then a fragment, a fragment that has been forced into place."

"You are Dead. Nothing will change that." The voice echoed again.

"I am not Dead. I am just... Nothing..."

"You are not nothing, you exist because you have a purpose. A purpose that you need to fulfill. You are Dead, just as much as she is Dead." The voice echoed loudly. "You are Dead. Nothing will ever change that, nothing will ever make it incorrect and nothing you can do will stop it."

"I am nothing. I..."

"And who is to say that you were created by an outside source?" The voice shouted. "Your sub-consonance could have created you just as much as I could have. You seem intent on putting yourself down."

"I..."

"Tell me, who are you?"

"..."

"You seem so confused. You are lost."

"No, I know who I am. I am just not important. I don't know why you seem to care so much about me."

"You play a larger roll in the world then you think. You, not her but you. You exist because you must, and no matter what you say. You are Dead."

"Hey Twilight I don't recall ever telling you how I became immortal. Have you heard the story?" Younger Dead asked Twilight. The two separated no too long ago and younger Dead was more stable.

"You killed a lich right? I read it in a book sent over from the crystal empire." Twilight said happily.

"Yes I did. But the book only says so much, mainly because the poor watcher got impaled. I take it that it got up to the bit where I fired a penultimate skull bolt at the lich?" Younger Dead said happily.

"The book described it as a big while bolt, or something along the lines of that. I can't really remember it." Twilight sighed. "Not like me to forget something like that..."

"Anyway!" Younger Dead said happily. "I fired the penultimate attack at the lich, it flew a few feet back but quickly returned to attacking me..."

I was already on edge from its previous engagement and I didn't really want to take any chances. I swiftly jumped to and fro in order to dodge its ice lances. The cold wind picked up as the Lich summoned a large amount of power. I shock my head, go figure to lich would be worrying over me.

The icy landscape of this strange area only seemed to give the lich an advantage. I considered running, it wouldn't take long for the lich to gain the upper hoof. Yet I felt compelled to fight it. I summoned a few skeletons to aid me during the fight, they were crudely summoned and would not last very long in the heat of battle. They served their purpose, the lich had to focus on them before it could deal with me. I built up my strength the the skeletons tormented it. I fired another huge bolt of energy at the lich I flew back and landed on its back. I turned my attention to the jar which contained its essence.

I threw my hoofs on the jar and attempted to crush it, the bone inlay dug into the hoofs and caused me to draw blood. The lich turned and charged at me, ignoring my skeletons who were attacking it. I stomped a second and heard a cracking noise. I felt the cold skeletal grip of the lich creeping up on me, I stomped again and the jar broke.

The lich cried out in pain as its skeleton dropped down onto the ground. Its energy formed a small black orb that was cold to the touch. I picked it and it dripped a few drops of a black inky like substance. I honestly don't know what I was thinking, but I thought it would be a good idea to eat the orb. I placed it in my mouth and bite down. It was spongy, tasted slightly bitter and yet at the same time I craved more of it. It was a shame that it was the last lich alive that we know of.

I blacked out, and when I awoke I was the edge of the boundary of the snow planes.

"And that is a jist of it." Younger Dead smiled.

"Hm, I can't imagine something like that was easy." Twilight said happily.

"I was slightly worried at points, but once I got into the swig of it, I was confident I would win. And for what I gathered shortly after I killed the lich they started building the crystal empire." Younger Dead chuckled. "I guess Cadance can thank me, if I didn't kill that lich she wouldn't have her kingdom."

"I guess so, but if it was that much of a problem wouldn't Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have done something about it?" Twilight curiously asked.

"I guess so, but they would never have killed it. Just turned it into to stone banish it to Pluto." Younger Dead chuckled. "Pluto was a planet." Suddenly a lush green field formed below to the pair and they gently dropped down. Younger Dead didn't get up, she rolled on the ground.

"Hey Dead, can I ask you a question?" Twilight asked as she sat down next to younger Dead.

"Sure, go ahead." Younger Dead chirped.

"I don't really know how to word this properly. But if you're Dead then who is the other Dead?" Twilight asked curiously.

"She is me, she is Dead. She thinks that she is some other pony, but she is as much of me as I am of her." Younger Dead started. "A delayed case of schizophrenia."

"Delayed?" Twilight puzzled.

"Yes, delayed. I don't know how it happened but it did. One day she was in command. She follows all the symptoms, we share our memories and I can see what she sees. When she is awake of course... However she doesn't believe herself to be Dead. A side effect of her schizophrenia." Younger Dead sighed.

"Is that why she was shouted when I was entering the dream?" Twilight asked.

"No that was me, I was being myself... I sometimes provoke her." Younger Dead sighed.

"I see..." Twilight said started. However the young Dead latched onto her and hugged her. "Dead?"

"Don't go! Please, I won't do it again!" Younger Dead pleaded.

"Dead are you alright?" Twilight paused for a moment and the younger Dead detached herself. "What was that about?"

"Sorry... I guess I was worried you were going to leave me." Younger Dead sighed. "I worry that you will see me as some evil pony and leave..."

"If I was going to leave I would tell you. And I would promise to come back." Twilight said calmly. "And just in case Dead suddenly wakes up, I promise I will come back."

"Thanks Twilight, it means a lot. Anyway Twilight, I think we could be great friends! I will try to calm down my psychotic mood swings, but no promises." Younger Dead chuckled.

"Alright..."

"So Twilight is inside her dreams. I wonder what she dreams of?" Rarity asked the small group of ponies who were dating the necromancer. "Lets hope she doesn't do any permanent damage to Dead." Rarity chuckled slightly.

"Damage that hasn't already been done?" Rainbow let out a hearty chuckled.

"You know if anything bad happens to her its your fault." Rarity sighed. "How exactly were you able to nearly put Dead into a coma?"

"Well from what Spike told me a few minutes ago, Dead had exhausted herself to the point where she nearly fell into a coma." Rainbow sighed. "Its scary because I thought she slept for a long time back at that old castle." Rainbow huffed slightly. "How much sleep can one mare need."

"Well I don't know about you two, but if I was doing what she was doing... I would be tired." Ditzy sighed. "We really need to be careful around her. We don't want to kill her."

"That would be one heck of a way to go though..." Rainbow said while day dreaming.

"Now now Rainbow, maybe later..." Rarity sighed.

"Why not? I mean we are all marefriends, and Dead has seen to us personally... One of the things I was told to was to make sure to include you two." Rainbow said smugly. "Dead can catch up when she wakes up and has the energy. But I wont force anything."

"I guess we could..."

"Its not like we haven't done it before..."

"Whats the worst that can happen?"

"Lets go to my house, that way we can be in private! But lets try and not make a mess."

"So Dead, what do you think they are up to now?" Twilight asked.

"If I had to guess, judging that they would all be together talking about me... Yep..." Young Dead chuckled happily.

"Oh! You think that they are..." Twilight said sounding surprised.

"Yep, definitely. In fact I would bet a hundred bits on the matter." Young Dead said confidently.

"Wow you are that certain?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yep, that certain. And I would also bet they would be doing it at Rarity's since its not near any houses." Young Dead's chuckle turned into a full blown laughter.

"And you know all this just from observing them?" Twilight probed, looking for an answer.

"Yeah, where Dead has been in control I have had to watch. I have learnt to be able to tell what ponies are like by reading body language." Young Dead said proudly.

"I see..." Twilight took mental note to be careful around Dead.

"If you want I could show you exactly what they are doing, if you want..."

"No... I think I will pass for now..." Twilight said as she blushed slightly. "But you could tell me a bit more about yourself."

"Well I skip the traumatic foalhood and jump to when Grim picked me up a few years later..."

Serving up the works

"...And that pretty much lead me to where I am now. Trapped inside the head of Dead Quiet." Younger Dead finished.

"Wow, could you write that up in a book or diary?" Twilight jokingly asked. "Well at least the parts which don't contain dark secrets or rituals."

"But the rush of blood is one of the best bits of being a necromancer!" Younger Dead said as she jumped up and down.

"Yeah, but I don't think it is suitable... For anything." Twilight rolled her eyes. "By the way, do you know how long I have been here?"

"In the real world? About three days now. Time flies in the dreamscape." Younger Dead chuckled slightly.

"Three days!?" Twilight exclaimed. "I'm really really, sorry but I need to head back to the real world. I have missed so much!" Twilight said as she started to pace around. "Luna said that the easiest way to get out would be when Dead wakes up, but how has she been asleep for three days?"

"I think she has fallen into a coma, or something close. A magical hibernation. She won't wake up until she 'recharged.' I don't know how long she will be asleep for." Younger Dead sighed. "I can help you to an extent. I can partially wake her and weaken the boundary between dream and reality. It will only be for a split second, but it should give you the time you need."

"Thank you Dead, and I promise... No I pinkie promise that I will be back." Twilight said sternly. "When you are ready."

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh... "Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Twilight yelled as she woke up. "Woah,  that was painful." Twilight winced as she got up. Dead was snoring loudly. "For a magical hibernation you sure are loud..." Twilight looked out the window, it was pitch black outside. Twilight glanced at the clock, it was two in the mourning. Twilight sighed, nopony would be at this time in the mourning nor would they want to be awake. Reluctantly Twilight got up and made her way to the kitchen.

Twilight was mentally exhausted but physically awake. She glanced from shelf to shelf and looked for something to do. Her stomach growled loudly and reminded her that she had not eaten for a few days due to being inside a dream. Twilight searched the cupboards for something to eat. A rustling from the front room drew Twilight's attention.

"Dead are you awake?" Twilight called out.

"Na, its just me. Rainbow. I came to check up on Dead." Rainbow called out, startling Twilight.

"How did you get in?" Twilight asked.

"Spike gave us a key, that way if we needed to we could check up on you and Dead." Rainbow chuckled. "So what was Dead's dreams like?"

"Pretty strange, but why are you so interested?" Twilight curiously asked.

"Well I was wondering if she dreams about us, so did she?" Rainbow asked.

"I already told you Rainbow, Dead's dreams are different when compared to others. She doesn't dream about things she wants. She has a mental block that prevents Luna from giver her those kinds of dreams, so she makes her own based on experience." Twilight paused for a moment. "In theory she could conjure up those kinds of dreams, but given what I saw they take a lot of focus to hold up. A simple action like shouting can cause the whole dream to shake."

"Huh... Okay." Rainbow rolled her eyes and nodded her head.

"You didn't understand a word of that, didn't you?" Twilight sighed.

"I got some of it, like how she has a block that prevents Luna from working." Rainbow said as she entered the kitchen.

"Regardless, I didn't really talk to Dead much. I spent most of the time with a younger version of her." Twilight said happily. "Dead suffered from a delayed case of schizophrenia. I don't know how or when, but she has two personalities. The one that we have seen is dominate one, and the one who you are dating. The other one seems to be Dead until a certain point in her life, the Dead you know is always present when they are awake. The other comes out when she asleep, and talks to her in her mind."

"So she is insane? Coo-coo? Needs to be wrapped up in a white jacket?" Rainbow joked.

"No, she seems to hide it really really well. When Luna first saw them she thought that the younger Dead was made by Dead, rather then younger Dead being a its own personality." Twilight said happily.

"Oh alright, as long as it doesn't change anything too much. Also were you able to figure out when she will wake up?" Rainbow asked.

"No, I wasn't able to find out... But she shouldn't be asleep for much longer. The younger Dead called it a magical hibernation." Twilight chuckled to herself.

"Magical hibernation? Yeah I remember that." Rainbow said smugly.

"Oh you do? The tell me about it."  Twilight said as she called Rainbow's bluff.

"Its like when regular animal sleep for winter. But except magical hibernation is when a magical creature fully drains their magical powers. They fall asleep and regenerate their energy." Rainbow said smugly.

"And where did you fin that out?" A shocked Twilight exclaimed.

"A book I borrowed after Dead fell asleep. Figured it would be good to know what was wrong with her." Rainbow sighed. "We're all really worried, about you and Dead." Rainbow turned away from Twilight.

"Were those heartwarming feelings for Dead I just heard? Have you gone all soppy?" Twilight jested in an attempt to pull Rainbow out of her slump.

"What? No!" Rainbow scrambled. "I mean yes. I mean... I don't know! I just wanted to make sure Dead was alright. I was up early for a weather clear and thought it would be a good idea to drop in and see what was up."

"Worrying about your friends is nothing to be ashamed of Rainbow. By the way, can I get you anything?" Twilight said as she opened a cupboard. "Or I would if there was any food left in the house..."

"I have a few muffins in my saddlebags, you fancy one Twilight?" Rainbow chuckled as Twilight's stomach grumbled. "Ditzy gave me a few before I left."

"Oh, I guess younger Dead was right. Wow..." Twilight sighed happily. "And yes, I gratefully accept your offer of a muffin." I just hope that they are clean.

"Alright then here ya go!" Rainbow dug into her saddlebags and picked out a blue berry muffin, she held it out and Twilight took it with her magic and began eating it ravenously "I guess somepony was hungry..." Rainbow chuckled. Within moments Twilight had finished devouring the muffin.

"You do not know how tired and hungry I am. I would go to Applejack's and harvest all the apples, then eat them all. Just so I would be tired and not hungry." Twilight chuckled once she finished speaking.

"Didn't you just say how tired you were though?" A puzzled Rainbow asked.

"Mentally yes, but not physically. My mind needs sleep, but not my body." Twilight sighed. "Say Rainbow, how has it been working out with you, Rarity and Ditzy?"

"Really really good Twilight. Like amazing. And for once its not just because I am there. Yeah go ahead and laugh, but I mean it. We can't wait for Dead to wake up. We have so much catching up to do." Rainbow said happily. "I really hope she wakes up soon."

"Just try not to tire her out too much..." Twilight started.

"Oh no not like that, thing like going out, having fun and spending time together. You know, marefired things." Rainbow said happily. "Its not all about sex Twilight."

"Hang on Rainbow, I think I need my ears checked." Twilight laughed as Rainbow frowned. "Come on Rainbow, I was only joking." Rainbow burst out laughing. "Whats so funny?"

"Twilight? Joking!" Rainbow rolled on the floor in a laughing fit. "Oh Twilight..."

"Oh haha Rainbow. Very funny. 'Twilight makes a joke. Joke.' Like I haven't heard that one a thousand times..." Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Sorry Twilight..." Rainbow said as she chuckled and got back up. "Couldn't resist it." Rainbow calmed herself down for a moment. "I need to head out and clean up the clouds. See you later Twilight."

"So long Rainbow, and good luck." Twilight said as Rainbow took out the front door and vanished into the dark night. Twilight moved back into the front room and shut the door.

Later that morning...

Ditzy was flying and walking from house to house, delivering the mail and greeting those she saw with a cheery smile. She saved the mail for Twilight's house for last, the librarian rarely got mail from anypony, however today she had a letter and Ditzy was glad for it. Even if Dead was asleep Ditzy could pop in and say hi to her.

Avoiding a few nasty crashes, Ditzy arrived at the library. Much to her surprise Twilight was waiting for her.

"Hey Twilight! Nice to see your awake. Anyway I got some mail for you." Ditzy happily said as she dug into her saddlebag and pulled out the last letter."Here ya go!" Ditzy dropped the letter onto Twilight and waved goodbye.

"Now what kind of friend would I be if I didn't offer you drink or at least a break. And by the looks of things you have finished your rounds. Come in and make yourself at home." Twilight sighed happily as Ditzy strode in. "Dead is still on the sofa if you want to say hi to her."

"Thanks Twilight, your the best!" Ditzy called out as Twilight entered the house. "So do you have any idea when she will wake up?" Ditzy asked as she sat down next to Dead.

"Well since Rainbow came in the mourning I have had some time to do some sums. Given Dead's magical abilities and the fact she is immortal she should wake up soon, I'm hoping the next few days or so. One of the books I used suggested that the lichs essence would help speed it up." Twilight said happily.

"She so cute while she is asleep!" Ditzy said as she unruffled one of her wings and draped it over Dead, Ditzy then pulled Dead closely into her. "I could just sit like this all day." Ditzy sighed happily.

"You two do look rather cute like that. On another note, how is everything going with you, Rarity and Rainbow? Rainbow came down at two and told me that things were going well." Twilight inquired.

"Oh yeah, things are going great! Just as I expected, the whole plan worked out well." Ditzy said happily. "Everypony is happy and life couldn't be better... Well it could be if Dead was awake. But begers can't be choosers."

"Well said Ditzy, I will not lie. I was a bit worried about how it would work out, but you seem to coping very well." Twilight said happily.

"I had that same thought when Dead told me about Rarity, I was a bit confused at first, but I had noticed how Rarity was looking at Dead when they were out and about. I assumed that Dead either knew but didn't want to say anything or was oblivious to it." Ditzy said happily.

"So Rainbow tells me you have plan, is there any way I can help out? I feel kind of responsible for this whole thing happening..." Twilight said shyly.

"Don't tell, me you want in as well?" Ditzy chuckled.

"Well not entirely. Dead suffers from schizophrenia, she has another personality in her head. The other Dead is alone in there and the only time she can talk to anypony other then Dead is when I go in there. Its just so that I have a bit more to talk about when I do visit her." Twilight said, finishing with a smile.

"Sure, I don't see anything wrong with having an organizer, especial somepony like you, heck if we had to have an organizer it would be you!" Ditzy chuckled. "Now I can get to explain our plans. The first order of business is a dinner for us all. We have selected a restaurant that is opening in the coming weeks..." Ditzy started to explain there plans as Twilight levitated a quill, inkwell and notepad over to take notes.

The one thing you can't plan for

"Well this sucks. I want to wake up." Dead sighed as the younger Dead ran circles around her.

"She so nice, she listened to me for three whole days!" The younger Dead want from running to dancing. "When will I see her again?"

"Well, soon. probably... From what I have heard Twilight can keep a promise, except that one time." Dead sighed happily. "That was a funny story indeed." Dead got up and joined younger Dead in her dance. "You know, I really need to relax more. I get so caught up in things I fail to see the little things that make it better." Dead chuckled as younger Dead swooned into her.

"You have really perked up a lot Dead, what happened to you?" Younger Dead asked.

"I had an epiphany, or something spiritual like that." Dead chuckled as younger Dead stood up and danced again. Dead sat back down on the grassy hillside.

"Well good for you Dead, I hope life works out for you!" Younger Dead laughed and then sat down next to Dead.

"So whats gotten into you then? I can tell something happened to you." Dead laughed as she poked younger Dead in the side.

"I think I have Twilight fever..." Younger Dead chuckled. Dead looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"You mean love fever?" Dead said curiously.

"No I did mean it. Its like love. But quite there. Its kinda like a mix between how you feel for your marefriends and Skullworthy." Younger Dead finished and looked at Dead, who look mighty confused. "Dead, you alright?"

"Yeah, just trying to process what you just said." Dead rubbed her forehead with her hoof. "I think I understand it." Dead sighed and chuckled.

"Anyway, I told her out life story. I hope you don't mind." Younger Dead said nonchalantly.

"Yeah that's fine... WAIT WHAT!?" Dead exclaimed as she rose up and started hyperventilating. "Why did you do that?"

"Cause..." Younger Dead got up and tackled Dead to the ground. "Shes a nice pony and I know we can trust her." Dead calmed down slightly.

"Okay, I think I can justify your actions. I don't agree, but it could have been worse."  Dead sat upright once younger Dead had gotten off her. Younger Dead sat down next to her. The pair fell silent.

"Hey Dead, do you ever think you would be able to ascend?" Younger Dead asked, breaking the silence.

"You mean into an Alicorn?" Dead replied.

"Yeah, I mean Princess Cadance was able to." Younger Dead stated.

"I guess I could. I know how to, its just really really risky." Dead paused for a moment and placed her hoof on her chin. "If I recall I need Alicorn bones. I don't really know how to get those but sometimes they pop up while I am bone-calling. If I can make a skeleton I will be able to fuse it to me, replacing my current one. From there my... Our body will adjust to cope with the change. Effectively making us an Alicorn." Dead stated while younger Dead listen in awe.

"I thought Princess Luna and Celestia were the first two Alicorns, are you suggesting there were more before them?" Younger Dead puzzled the regular Dead.

"Not entirely, Alicorns are made up of the three types of ponies. I think deep underground a magical energy leaks somewhere... I just need to find where... But anyway this 'leak' seems to fuse bones. I have taken to naming it the Bone-weaver's folly. And when I say fuse I don't mean like what I do where I make something new. The bones have to be identical in almost every aspect for it to work." Dead sighed. "You should know what we have."

Younger Dead mulled the statement over before she remembered. "Yes, we have the wings, horn and skull. We got them when we found the folly for the first time... And the folly isn't underground, its in our house! Dead..."

"I don't know why I am hiding this from you... Sorry but no, I won't. In the current state of Equestria it would only mess things up. Also collecting all the bones, and making sure they are perfect will take me years." Dead sighed, she had hopped that younger Dead would have no 'bright' ideas. "I know I lied about well everything just then, but the last thing we need is a huge surge of power that could drive me insane."

"Alright I will drop the matter for now, but I think it would be something we should look towards." Younger Dead huffed.

"Thank you, its not that I don't want to. Its just not really a good idea right now." Dead sighed. "By the way, how long has it been since I passed out?"

"Eh, about five. Give or take a day or two. Hey you got any idea when we will wake up? I mean it might take a bit longer because I had to push Twilight out." Younger Dead sighed.

"I don't know, maybe a few more? The hibernation shouldn't take longer then a week." Dead said happily. "So not too much longer." Dead sighed. "I'm waiting for the moment I finish a sentence like that and wake up right after finishing..."

"Ha! Like that will ever..."

"GAHHHHHH!" Dead rolled of the sofa and landed on the floor. She looked around and started chuckling. "It happened!" Dead pulled herself up and looked around. "And the time is?" Dead looked for the clock. "Midday, lovely." Dead sighed. "I guess everypony is out." Dead sighed. "I really need to stop talking to myself, its making me look crazy."

"To be fair, I think you have always been a bit crazy." A voice said from upstairs. "And yes, Twilight is out at the moment. I don't know what they are up to..." The voice moved to the stairway.

"Hey Spike, long time no see." Dead said happily. "Well maybe for me, I expect you have seen me a lot as of late."

"Pretty much, Twilight has been logging your sleep. You snore really, really loud by the way." Spike chuckled as he walked downstairs. "Well I guess I don't really have to worry about it anymore."  Spike crossed the front room and made his way into the kitchen. "Fancy some ice cream? It won't look so bad if you have some as well."

"Sure, ice cream is always good. Especially when you have just woken up." Dead chuckled as she went into the kitchen in search of the frozen dessert. "So how has things been?"

"Hectic as normal, Ditzy, Rainbow and Rarity kept coming to see you." Spike said, pretending he didn't know what it meant. "But anyway Dead, how have you been?" Spike innocently asked Dead.

"Its been good, spent the last five days in my head. Twilight stayed for a while but I didn't talk to her much." Dead chuckled happily as Spike fished out the tub of ice cream. Just as Spike opened the ice cream tub a brief rumbling shook the house. "Hm? I didn't call any skeletons up." A the sound of the door being opened drew Dead out into the front room.

The floating skull in the room was a dead giveaway to who was visiting. "Dead! Madam! It is good to see you awake. I called earlier but you were still asleep."

"Its good to see you as well Skullworthy. How have you been?" Dead asked as the skull floated towards her.

"I have been fine, the house has been fine. Save a few timber wolfs attacking the food stocks. Everything has been quiet." Skullworthy said happily as he bobbed up and down. "A few of the troops have been wondering if you will need them again, I told them that they would know if you did."

"I see, so everything is going well?" Dead asked happily as the grabbed the skull and hugged it. "I've missed you so much!" Dead said as she sighed happily and let the skull go.

"Everything is going well, and the feeling is mutual." The skull sang out happily. "And it is good to see you as well Spike, it has been a long time."

"Y-Yeah! Its good to see you to Skullworthy. How the afterlife treating you?" Spike chucked as he finished. "Sorry couldn't resist."

"Very funny Spike, and the afterlife has been very good for me so far. Speaking oh which, I need to ask you something, something in privet." The skull said evilly as it drew it gaze over to Dead. "But not now, after we have caught up."

"Alright Skullworthy, I can lend my ear." Spike said happily.

"So Skullworthy was there something on your mind?" Dead asked.

"Well, some of the skeletons have been talking about the lich..." Skullworthy began. "They seem to think it is regaining its power."

"This is mighty troubling, I knew it would be able to regenerate but not this fast. How much longer do we have?" Dead asked.

"A few months at minimum, a few decades at maximum. Should I start preparing for a Delta Echo Alpha Delta event?" The skull said nervously.

"Yes..." Dead began. "Is that all?"

"As it stands, now if you don't mind..." The skull started.

"Of course, I will go see if I can find Ditzy. She will be happy to see me." Dead chuckled as she left.

"Spike I have one word for you. Birthday. It is coming." The skull said sternly.

"You mean Dead's birthday is coming up?" Spike questioned. "Really how close?"

"In three days! She thinks that I forgot, but I never do! I will try and find the one your friends call Pinkie Pie, but in case I don't it all rests on you Spike."

"Alright! You came to the right dragon, now I just need to ask. How old is Dead?" Spike asked, the dragon skull dropped to Spike's height and whispered in his ear. "Wow, that's a lot of candles... I don't think we have that many in Ponyville."

"I would avoid reminding Dead how old she is... The last thing we want is for her to feel old on the her birthday." Skullworthy bobbed back up and looked down at Spike. "I trust you will do a good job Spike, now I must try and find..."

"PINKIE!" Pinkie shouted as she burst into the room. "I heard something say the BD word and it didn't end with SM!" Pinkie shouted as she bounced around the room on her tail. "So who's birthday is it? Wait let me guess!" Pinkie exclaimed as she stopped bouncing. "Is it mine? No I would know if it was mine... Is it Twilight's? No, she is terrible at hiding it. Can I have a hint?" Pinkie asked.

"The floating skull in the room should be a giveaway Pinkie." Spike rolled his eyes and Pinkie turned and faced Skullworthy.

"Oh its the skull's birthday! Happy birthday Mr Skull!" Pinkie sang out, throwing confetti into the air. The blank looks she revived from Spike made her pause. "Not the skull? Then who?"

Spike sighed and face-palmed with a force that nearly threw him back. "Its Dead Pinkie, you know the necromancer who had been living in Ponyville for the past few weeks." Spike sighed. "Its her birthday in three days and Skullworthy wants us to prepare a party for her."

"Ooo! I have never done a party for a pony who is obsessed with the dead! I will do my best!" Pinkie saluted and began to make her way to the door. "Now, I have some planning to do! TO THE PINKIE CAVE AWWWAYYYYY!" Pinkie shouted as she charged out of the library.

Skullworthy laughed. "And yet I find her to be more sane then Dead! Haha!" Spike joined in and soon they were both rolling on the floor laughing. "I do believe I made a pun!" Skullworthy calmed down and floated into the air. "I will provide you with a list of things that you might want to include in the party, that shout help you and Pinkie prepare. Now I must be off. Good luck Spike!" The skull shouted as it vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Tis better to have loved and still be loved, then to have loved and lost.

Knock-knock-knock

Someone was knocking on Ditzy's door, the mail mare was used to the odd complaint about incorrect mail and she steeled herself for the worst. Ditzy sighed and got up, she knew that even if it wasn't somepony complaining it would probably be Twilight telling her that Dead is still asleep and there is no need for her to come down. Ditzy slow trudged towards the door.

Knock-knock-knock

The knocking was harder, it must have been something urgent like incorrect mail. Or maybe something had happened to Dead. Ditzy dreaded the thought, last time Twilight had urgent news was when she rolled off the sofa and Twilight couldn't move her for some reason. Ditzy got to the halfway mark and as per the usual she started to imagine that it was Dead on the other side, but knowing Dead she would have all ready dived in and they would be having a rather romantic session.

Knock Knock knock KNOCK!

The knocking was frantic it was defiantly urgent yet Ditzy didn't speed up. After what seemed like forever Ditzy made it to the door and slowly opened it.

"MAILMARE!" The old colt shouted. "I got the wrong mail today!" The colt threw some mail at Ditzy. "Fix it!"

"This is your mail, and I didn't deliver your mail today." Ditzy said as she picked up the mail and tried to give it back.

"Its not mine! This mail is addressed to a Mr Grouchy. I'm Mr Growouchy!"

""No, you're just reading it wrong, I can assure you that the mail is yours. If its that much of a problem take it up with the post office." Ditzy huffed slightly as the stubborn colt refused to leave. "Sir, could you please leave."

"Fix it! NOW!" The old colt shouted.

"I believe she asked you to leave. I would appreciate if you followed her wishes." A voice said threateningly from behind the colt.

"Bah the youth of today, no respect for mail hoarding elders." The old colt said as he walked away.

"Ditzy are you alright?" Cherilee said as she walked just outside of the doorway. "I hope he doesn't come back, I don't think I could do that again." Cherilee sighed. "Anyway do you mind if I come in for a bit, I have something I need to discuss with you."

"Of course, its the least I can do. And thank you Miss Cherilee." Ditzy said as she lead Cherilee into the front room. "Just take a seat anywhere." Cherilee took a seat and Ditzy sat down next to her. "So what are you after?"

"Careers days in school is coming up, I'm asking as many ponies as I can to come in and give talks about their jobs. Would you like to come in and give a speech about delivering the mail?" Cherilee asked hopefully.

"I would be more then happy to! Its a shame Dinky won't be there to see..." Ditzy sighed. "How many times can Canterlot be 'locked down' due to a changeling risk?" Ditzy huffed.

"Yeah I know what you mean, first they got the dates mixed up then Canterlot got locked down and nopony could leave." Cherilee huffed slightly. "I don't like it one bit, I could imagine the teachers their brainwashing the unicorns that have visited." Cherilee chuckled.

"So anything else on your mind?" Ditzy asked.

"Oh one thing! Could you tell me everything you know about Dead, I'm trying to compile a dossier on her. Like we have on Pinkie, just for Dead, just in case something happens." Cherilee said happily.

"Did the mayor ask you to do that? She could have just asked me." Ditzy sighed. "Or ask Twilight, she seems to know tons about Dead."

"I know its a strange request, but if its too much to ask..." Cherilee said shakily.

"Oh no, its fine I will tell you what I know..." Ditzy started.

Knock knock knock

"If it's that colt again..." Cherilee sighed. "Don't worry Ditzy I will get it." Cherilee sighed as she got up and went to the door, she sighed a final time and then opened the door.

"Hey Cherilee! Didn't expect to see you here!" Dead exclaimed as she stood happily in the doorway. "Is Ditzy home?"

"She sure is, come right on in Dead." Cherilee smiled happily as Dead passed her, if Dead had turned around at any point she would have seen Cherilee gawking at her. "D-Ditzy is in the front room. I'm sure she will be happy to see you." Dead kept her stride until she entered the front room.

"Dead!" Ditzy yelled as she flew into Dead and hugged her until she was gasping for air. "Opps... Sorry, I guess I missed you more then I realized. You need to stop getting pulled away from me! I feel like you are intentionally doing it!" Ditzy chuckled happily as Dead caught her breath.

"S-S-Sorry Ditzy, didn't mean for it to last so long, or happen for that matter." Dead spluttered as she caught her breath. "Wow, was it really that bad without me?"

"Well it was bad in some sense however, it was good in another way..." Ditzy winked at Dead, Cherilee blushed slightly, although it was impossible to tell with her fur color.

"I see, well maybe in a few days or so we could try that..." Dead smirked slightly. "Unless you had plans."

"As a matter of fact we do. We have a dinner date at a new restaurant when it opens!" Ditzy cheered happily. "We're all going to be having a dinner date as marefirends!"

"That is certainly a date I am look forward to, it will be nice when all of us are at the restaurant!" Dead sighed happily. "You know I am really looking forward to it. Anyway I'm going to go try and track down Twilight, lets hope she hasn't gotten too far." Dead gave Ditzy a quick kiss and then ran out the door. "See you later Ditzy!" Dead called out.

"She really is something is she Cherilee..." Ditzy chuckled happily and let out a sigh. "I can't wait for our date!"

"Well I certainly hope you all have a good time! Anyway I must be going, I have tomorrows lessons to plan, no rest for the wicked eh?" Cherilee giggled as Ditzy chuckled.

"Yeah, I know how you feel. Good luck!" Ditzy said as Cherilee left the house. "She was total checking Dead out..." Ditzy sighed. "That's such a Rainbow Dash thing to say."

They were nowhere, Dead had turned the town of Ponyville upside down and she could not find Twilight or any of her friends. She assumed that they had gone to Canterlot but talking to Lyra briefly relieved that they were in town somewhere but Lyra had also told Dead that she saw them five hours ago. Dead went to the library and knocked on the door, if she didn't know where Twilight was, Spike would.

"Hey Spike!" Dead called out. "Do you know where Twilight is?"

"She just left for the Crystal empire, something important apparently. Regular Armageddon doomsday stuff." Spike called out from behind the door.

Thump.

"Oh dear, it would seem Skullworthy was wrong." Dead chuckled as she called the skull from the ground. "Skullworthy it is time, say ahhh."

"Dead, what did you do?" Spike called out.

Thump Thump.

Skullworthy opened his jaw and Dead reached in, after fishing around she pulled out a small sphere rather then being smooth the sphere had hexagons covering it. Dead levitated the sphere at horn height. "Ready?" She asked the floating skull.

Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump

"Ready!" The skull cheered. "Do it!"

Dead siphoned a large amount of energy of the object and fired a huge stream of energy into Skullworthy. The energy stream swirled and pushed Dead backwards as she maintained the spell. The energy curved and jagged while Dead was channeling, two grey strands swirled around the white beam and the skull started to grow, skeletal body parts were ripped out of the ground and they attached to the skull, soon Skullworthy was sporting a complete body with bones wings.

Dead groaned as the spell consumed a large amount of energy. The gray lines swirled around the skeletal dragon and forced it grow in size, within seconds the hard grown to the size of a two story house, Skullworthy grew slightly more and stopped. The huge skeletal dragon picked up the somewhat smaller looking necromancer and placed her on top of his skull.

"Looking good Skullworthy, so are you ready to kick some lich?" Dead happily asked. The somewhat larger skeletal dragon nodded happily and took to the skies quickly. Dead used the sphere pull a few grey energy streams out of the skull, they wrapped around her barrel and kept her in place.

Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump.

"Its running... What should I do Dead?" Skullworthy shouted to Dead.

"Follow it, we can't let it get to anywhere populated... How did we miss it?" Dead rubbed her forehead as she considered her options. "Of course, it reconnected itself and ran off. Then it grew massive, when we wouldn't see it!" Dead chuckled as the dragon picked up speed. "Woah you are going fast." Dead exclaimed. "Go faster!" Dead laughed like a madmare. The dragon lowered his head and picked up even more speed.

"Dead, I sense it. The lich is heading towards the Crystal empire. It must be trying to tap into the magical source." Skullworthy explained. "We will be there is five minuets. Are you ready?" The dragon said confidently, his voice changed and was more deeper, more suiting for his size.

"Of course! I am always ready!" Dead shouted confidently. "Lets go do something life threatening and dangerous!" Dead focused mentally for a moment. "We need to be quick, I can't hold this spell up for too long." Dead paused. "No I'm lying I can hold this up for a few hours the folly makes sure of that! Everything is so much easier with relics of magical power."

"So Cadance what did you want to talk about?" Twilight asked, it was just her and Cadance in the crystal library the others had gone out to explore the empire.

"Magical relics, more specifically the ones to do with necromancy." Cadance said sternly. "Dead has one of the them, the Bone-weavers folly."

"And how did was she able to get this relic?" Twilight asked.

"She made it! I mean, I doubt anypony except her knows where it is but she made it." Cadance said confidently. "The skull source, Bone-weavers folly, shadow diamond and blood robes are the four main necromancy relics. And guess who made them all."

"Grim, Nazz, Dead and Marcia?" Twilight sounded confused. "But why not tell anypony?" Twilight puzzled.

"They were to be used if Legion was ever able to escape. And I fear he may have done just that to some extent. I studied the letter you sent me about Dead and the lich, tell me did Dead have any strange items in her house? Preferably skeletons." Cadance curiously asked. Cadance took a seat on a table.

"Yes... A strange skeleton in her basement. It had hands and thumbs! Looked like it stood on two legs. Wait are you telling me that was the lich?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yes, and Legion has been pouring his power into it ever since he had the chance to when he fought us. The lich will soon rise and attempt to come here in order to feed off the magical energy that originates in here." Cadance said sounding concerned. "Twilight you need to find out when it will return. I need time to prepare for its attack."

Thump, Thump.

"No, not now..." Cadance sighed.

Size Up You Enemy

Cadance and Twilight ran up to the balcony, the purple shield that covered the empire had another blue shield added to it. Shining was looking out of the balcony. A large skeletal creature wearing tarnished robes was slamming a large bone scythe on the shield. Cadance gave Shining a boost however the blue shield was shattered by a heavy hit from the large lich. Twilight's friends came running up the stairs in a panic. A large commotion ensued with ponies shouting and trying to formulate a battler plan.

"We need to evacuate the city!"

"Maybe our forces could take it on?"

"Make another shield they seem to slow it down!"

"Everypony for themselves!"

"QUIET!" Twilight shouted and silence feel on the room. "Cadance, what do you know about the lich?" Twilight asked quickly.

"Normal magics have little to no effect on it. Either physical or necromatic magics can hurt it enough, but the lich is massive, who knows how much power it has..." Cadance sighed. "I don't know what to do..."

Woosh! Thump!

"Woah... Look at that!"

Just as the lich broke the last shield Dead and Skullworthy came into view of the empire. The dragon cut ahead of the lich and landed in front of it. The two large skeletons glared at each other, finally Skullworthy stretched his arm out, opened his palm which was facing upwards and brought his claws in and out twice, otherwise known as the international sign for 'come on then'. The large dragon stood strong as the lich yelled.

"FOOLS YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MEDDLING WITH!" Dead cast a spell on herself that would make the lich not sound so loud. "I will wipe your pathetic excuses of a skeleton off the face of this world." The lich raised his scythe high in the air and attempted to bring it down on Skullworthy. Skullworthy caught the scythe as it fell and began pushing back.

The lich shot icy charges through its body and into the scythe. These caused ice to form of Skullworthy's bony hands. The ice shattered and weakened the bone. Dead quickly repaired the bone and Skullworthy started to win the power struggled. the skeletal dragon pushed the scythe high enough to move out of its imminent path. The dragon let go and punched the lich in the sternum. The lich flew back and the skeletal dragon walked to engage it. The lich charged at the skeletal dragon the scythe morphed into a sword pointed at the dragon.

Skullworthy sidestep around the lich and then tripped it up with a flick of his tail. The lich teleported up and locked into another power struggle. The lich dropped his weapon and had locked his hands onto Skullworthy's body. The lich picked the dragon up and attempted to siphon energy from it. Skullworthy flailed around and eventually spotted a weak spot. The lich loosened its grip briefly and Skullworthy broke free. The two locked arms and Skullworthy threw the lich back.

"So Cadance tell me what you know about the folly? It seems important." Twilight asked while the two giants fought outside the empire.

"The folly is one of the four relics that Dead and the other necromancers made. From what I have gathered from the books in the necro academy the folly can be used to aid Bone-weaving. Hence why there is a massive skeletal dragon fighting the lich." Cadance explained. "How Dead was able to make it I never may never know." Cadance sighed. "I don't think the relic itself is that strong, but when in the right or wrong hoofs it could be disastrous."

Thump, boom!

"Not to mention what is going on out there." Cadance sighed. "I hope that Dead can keep that lich away from the empire."

The lich jumped backwards and charged towards the skeletal dragon. Skullworthy sidestepped out of the way and connected a heavy blow to the back of the lich, launching it to the ground. Skullworthy quickly doubled back and began searching for the bone weapon the lich was using. Skullworthy quickly located the weapon and picked it up. The swords morphed back into a scythe, Skullworthy turned to face the lich. The lich had gotten up and was outstretching his arm. The lich tried to grappled the weapon out of Skullworthy's grip with its magic, however it failed to. Skullworthy lowered his skull and charged at the lich, scythe in claw and prepared to swing it viciously.

Dead quickly channeled a energy into the ground and a large bone claw sprung up and gripped the lich's leg, preventing it from moving out of the way. The lich struggled as Skullworthy swung the scythe into the rib cage of the lich. The claw that was holding the lich uprooted as the lich was launched backwards. The lich flew over the Crystal empire and landed on the other side. Skullworthy took to the skies and flew over the empire.

Rather then teleporting up, the lich rose to it's feet shakily. Once the lich was upright it froze for a moment. A red energy pulsated through the lich and it began to grow rapidly, it went from being the size of a two story house to the size of a small castle, then a regular castle and then it grew to the size of a fully grown dragon stood upright.

Dead quickly copied the spell and Skullworthy started glowing white as he grew to a similar size. During the growth the lich was able to steal it's scythe back. The lich grinned as it swung its scythe, a white energy beam discharged from the scythe and made its way to Skullworthy. Just as Skullworthy was about to jump, Dead gave the signal to remain put.

"We can't risk this lich destroying the Crystal empire!" Dead shouted. The skeletal dragon nodded as charged into the energy beam. The skeletal dragon screamed out as the last of the energy impacted on it. Dead quickly went about repairing the damage as the lich prepared for another attack. Skullworthy charged at the lich and connected a clean blow to its chest, the lich flew back and Skullworthy jumped into the air.

The dragon flew around the lich and landed on the other side of it. The dragon then charged at the lich jumped into the air...

Rainbow dash was speechless, what she had just witnessed could only be described as 'awesome' if anything the only reason she hadn't gone and told the others was because she stunned. Twilight came out onto the balcony. Skullworthy was currently pounding the lich's heads with his huge claws and the lich was lying on the ground.

"Rainbow!? What happened?" Twilight exclaimed as she tried to figure out what had happened in the two minutes she had left with the others for a snack. "Rainbow!" Twilight shouted as she shock the speechless mare. Twilight let Rainbow go and huffed. In the distance Skullworthy raised his claw high and slammed it into the skull of the lich.

Crack!

A painful crackling noise was heard as Skullworthy turned the lich's skull into fragments. Rainbow snapped out of her trance one the lich shrunk.

"Twilight, it drop kicked the lich. It looked awesome." Rainbow said as she held back her excitement, even thought she couldn't she really want to be onto of Skullworthy with Dead. "I think the lich will be needing a new a head..." Rainbow laughed. The sound of large wings flapping drew her attention. "I guess Dead is heading back to Ponyville, can't wait to see her when we get back. I wish she had come in..."

"We will be back there before your date with her, I promise." Twilight said happily as she took Rainbow back to the main group. "We just need to get a few decorations for the party. And Cadance said she will be able to make it."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Well partially forgot, its hard to remember things when a massive skeletal dragon is beat up another massive skeleton. I remember now of course!" Rainbow said confidently as the pair walked through the crystal hallways.

Ditzy was at home, after Cherilee left it had been relatively quiet. That was until Dead teleported into the middle of the room looking like a mess. "Dead! What happened to you?" Ditzy exclaimed.

"I Had to fight a lich on the head of a massive skeletal dragon. How was your day?" Dead chuckled. "I think I need a relaxing bath."

"Why don't we go to the spa? There is still enough time in the day left. It will be nice for it to be just me and you. I also need to talk to you about something." Ditzy said happily has she got up. "Come on Dead, its my 'welcome back I hope thing become normal' treat!" Ditzy didn't give Dead a chance to answer, within moments she had grabbed Dead and was dragging her out of the house.

Dead got up once they were outside. She looked even worse for wear after the dragging. Ditzy chuckled at the rather dirty Dead. "And whats so funny Ditzy?" Dead jokingly asked, despite what had happened during the day Dead had really perked up.

"Its just that you look..." Ditzy couldn't finish her sentence, her laughter overwhelmed her and she had stop herself from falling over. Ditzy stopped herself laughing. "You look like you decided to go explore Everfree on your belly."

"Its not my fault that somepony didn't give me a chance to say yes." Dead pouted. "I didn't ask for any of this!"

"Awww who's a grumpy little necromancer?" Ditzy teased. "Well I know what we can do with you!" Ditzy said as she started dragging Dead through the town.

"Please Ditzy, can I at least walk myself?" Dead pleaded as they reached the halfway mark however Ditzy's lack of words confirmed her fears. Dead crossed her forelegs and pouted as she was dragged in front of the spa.

"Was that so bad?" Ditzy joked when they arrived.

"That was humiliating, and my flank is sore." Dead said flatly. "I don't hey why I couldn't of just walked." Dead pouted as Ditzy opened the door.

"Well you were being grumpy and stressed. I couldn't have you complaining all the way through town." Ditzy laughed. "Now are you coming in or not?"

"Fine..." Dead grumbled as she walked into the spa. Ditzy cut ahead of her a quickly spoke to the spa ponies, within moments Dead had been thrown on her back on a deck chair and her hoofs were being filed. "Ahhhhh..." Dead sighed happily as she started to relax.

Dead was in a warm mud bath, her hair was wet and wrapped up in a towel that was neatly placed on her head. Two slices of cucumber rested on her eyes. Dead lifted one of the slices up with her magic and peered at Ditzy in the other bathtub. "This was nice Ditzy." Under her cucumber Dead rolled her eyes. "Thank you for dragging me here." She said flatly.

"No worries Dead, and if you ever need dragging elsewhere just give me a shout." Ditzy sighed. "You could have taken the horn filing a bit better though."

"Its not my fault my horn is sensitive, I normally do it myself and it felt strange." Dead crossed her forelegs and huffed a few long moments of silence passed. "So Ditzy, you had something you wanted to tell me?" Dead finally asked.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot!" Ditzy chuckled. "But first I need to ask you a few questions, and anything we disuses here will be talked about with Rainbow and Rarity."

"Hm alright. Ask away." Dead said as she sunk slightly in the mud bath.

"I take it you know Miss Cherilee?" Ditzy asked.

"The school teacher? Yeah I know her, she was in your house earlier." Dead replied. "And I have seen her a few times out and about."

"Uh huh, that's good to know. Saves some explaining." Ditzy chuckled slightly. "But what do you think of her?"

"She nice, but I guess she has to be. I mean its her job to deal with young foals, so she can't exactly be mean." Dead sighed. "I don't really know her personally though..."

"Alright, well can I ask you... Do you think that she is a nice pony?" Ditzy put extra sway into the word 'nice'. Ditzy blushed slightly, however Dead didn't see due to her eyesight being restricted.

"Nice or nice?" Dead chuckled. "Don't worry I know what you meant. So tell me, why is this important?" Dead innocently asked.

"Well you know when you were over earlier?" Ditzy started.

"Yes I do..." Dead replied.

"Well I don't know if you were aware of this, but she was clearly... How does Rainbow put it? 'Checking you out'? I think that is how she says it." Ditzy chuckled "I'm not saying anything is set in stone, but lets try and keep an open mind about it."

"I have heard of love triangles but this is getting ridiculous..." Dead laughed. "But I am more then happy to invite another into our group! You know what they say, the more the merrier! I just hope that applies for love and other things."

"Well I am glad you are so... Enthusiastic about it... I'm a little worried about that, but hey..." Ditzy chuckled lightly.

"If you want to move slower I can." Dead pulled herself out of the mud slightly."So Ditzy... Its your call."

"My call?" Ditzy stuttered.

"Well of course, I have always seen you as the mare in charge. Even if the obsession is with me. I have always seen you as the top mare..."

"Oh wow, I need to think about some stuff then..." Ditzy stammered. "Come on, lets get going!" Ditzy cheered as she hopped out the mud bath and made her way to the shower rooms.

A 'normal' day for Dead

Dead woke up a few minutes earlier then she normally did, her eyes darted around the dimly lit room in an attempt to find the clock that hung on the wall. Dead groaned as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, eventually she found the clock sitting on the wall, it read five forty-five. Either Dead was reading it wrong, or she had woken up early. Dead rolled on her side to see if Ditzy was still asleep and much to her pleasure she still was.

Dead slowly got out of bed and crept out of the room. She sneakily made her way to the kitchen and started using her magic to sort out ingredients for pancakes. Within moments the ingredients were swirling around Dead as she started adding them to a large jug that was under the sink. Dead whisked the mixture with her magic, and with as little mess as possible she started to pour a bit of it onto a frying pan she had found.

The mixture sizzled quickly as Dead added a spark of her own magic to help speed up the process, she flipped the soon to be pancake over gave it an even cook. After making several pancakes in a similar fashion Dead placed them on plates that were set on the table. Dead quickly search the cupboards for two glasses, when she found said glasses she was able to pour some apple juice that had been brought at sweet apple acres the previous day.

Confident with what she had made, Dead placed two muffins on the table and then head back to the bedroom. Ditzy had just started to wake up, like she did everyday at six. However unlike normal, nopony was sleeping calmly next to her. Ditzy quickly shot up and looked around quickly. She rubbed her eyes and attempted to find her wayward lover. After failing to locate her in the bedroom Ditzy shot up and out the door, she promptly crashed into Dead just as she made it out the door.

"And good morning to you Ditzy..." Dead chuckled as she got up off the floor. "I guess somepony is eager for breakfast today!"

"Dead! What did you do?" Ditzy questioned as she got up.

"I made breakfast, care to try some?" Dead said confidently as the pair strode into the kitchen and sat down in the dining area. "I made it specially for you." Dead said as she started eating away at her pancakes. Ditzy, while a first was a bit reluctant, eventually started to eat the pancakes. The pair ate their breakfast at break neck speeds and within moments the table was clear of food.

"Those were nice, I might have to wake you up early from now on!" Ditzy joked.

"Good luck with that, I can be pretty grumpy in the mornings. Today was a good day." Dead sighed happily. "So do you recon Rainbow and Rarity will be back today?"

"Certainly, I doubt they would miss what is happening in a few days!" Ditzy said, trying to not give Dead any hints about her upcoming party. "That being a royal visit that is, Twilight would never miss one of those." Ditzy leaned back briefly. "Well I got to go get ready to deliver the mail, if I see either of them I will tell them you said hi!" And with that, Ditzy hopped out her seat, threw on her uniform which was in the front room and made a beeline for the door.

Whack!

Ditzy collided with an invisible wall and froze midair, Dead nonchalantly walked up to her as she was suspended in midair.

"So you're going to leave me without saying goodbye?" Dead asked as she sat down in front of Ditzy, Dead then dropped the suspension spell and Ditzy dropped to the floor gently. Ditzy shot Dead a cold glare. Dead jumped back and then tried her best to put on puppy dog eyes. Ditzy's expression soften slightly and Dead walked cautiously up to her. Ditzy sighed and gently kissed Dead on the muzzle.

"Goodbye Dead, see you later." Ditzy said softly, Dead opened the door with her magic and followed Ditzy out until the moment she took flight.

"Love you Ditzy, have a nice day!" Dead called out as Ditzy slowly flew out of sight. Dead shut the door and sighed happily.

Dead walked into the front room of the house, it was spotless. Dead had hoped to pass the time by cleaning the house but it would seem that Ditzy did that the previous night while Dead was asleep. On the large sofa a piece of paper sat. Written on it were the words, 'To Dead.' Dead instinctively picked up the paper and flipped it over to see if anything was written on the other side.

Hey Dead, figured you would be board today and we are running low on supplies, could you please run into town and pick some up for us?

--Ditzy

P.S. If you see Miss Cherilee please don't be shy, and say hi!

Dead sighed, she looked back on the sofa and saw a small bag of bits and a saddlebag. Dead threw the bits in the bags and then picked them up and placed them on her back. Dead made her way out of the house and locked up using the spare key Ditzy had given her, she turned away from the door and made her way towards the market place. The market was about five minutes away from Ditzy's house, however because of the time most of the stalls would be setting up for business rather then selling.

"Oh hey Dead fancy meeting you here!" Of course Dead would run into Cherilee. Dead would have bet money that Ditzy had something to do with it. "Doing some early morning shopping as well?"

"Yeah, woke up early and made Ditzy breakfast. Now I have to do the shopping! Funny how things work." Dead laughed slightly. "Not that I'm complaining." Cherilee chuckled nervously as Dead laughed a bit. A silence then fell on to the two. And I thought I was awkward when it came to this stuff... Well better try and help her. Dead thought to herself as the silence became thicker. "So Miss Cherilee... I don't really want to say this but I don't have a clue what I'm doing. This is my first time out shopping."

"I see, well I would be more then happy to help you with it! That is, if its alright with you." Cherilee cheered happily, nearly jumping up and down. "Is it alright with you?"

"Fine with me, so got any ideas where we should head first?" Dead happily said as the two walked towards the town center.

"Well at the moment, there are only a few shops open. Do you have any idea what Ditzy needs you to get?" Cherilee asked as the two stopped for a moment,

"Uh let me see, we need to restock food, get muffins for the week, restock the water storage, buy some fancy stuff and last but not least buy some new inkwells, paper and quills." Dead chuckled. "I think that is all."

"Alright, well I think we can pick up some apple juice from the Apple's store. They normally open early." Cherilee started to move forward. "Come on Dead, lets go." Cherilee beckoned for Dead to follow.

"Alright, lead the way." Dead said as she caught up with Cherilee.

The pair walked through the market stalls as they started setting up for day. Cherilee pointed out a few stores that they would be visiting later on during the day. Cherilee made the odd joke and Dead would laugh, Dead would talk a bit about her magic and Cherilee would seem intrigued by it. After a long walk the pair ended up outside Apple acres. The youngest of the Apple family was setting up the store.

"I guess they haven't finished setting up." Dead sighed. "Are there any other places we can go?" Dead asked the school teacher.

"Not for a while, normally the Apple's store is the first store open. We could do something in the meantime though." Cherilee said happily. If I didn't know better I could have sworn she set this up... Dead thought to herself. "Maybe the park? Its normally empty at this time." She set this. I know it. As the pair walked away Cherilee turned around and waved to the foal at the store.

"Hm?" Dead questioned.

"She one of mu pupils, at the school." Cherilee stated. Yep, she set this up, no doubt that Ditzy had something to do with it. Dead sighed happily. Nice to know some ponies will kick up a fuss about me.

"So the park it is then?" Dead asked, trying to  draw her suspicious away.

Cherilee and Dead were sat on a park bench by the pond, they had finished shopping for the day and the sun was setting on the horizon. A cool breeze blew through the town and cooled the pair who were sat down by the pond.

"Today was nice Dead, you sure make shopping fun." Cherilee laughed as she recalled the events. "When you got those skeletons to haul the stock back the house... Poor Shoeshine... I don't think she will ever recover."

"I'm sure she will, its not my fault we brought too much to carry. And yes, today was fun. When I go shopping again I will be sure to give you a call." Dead sighed happily as she sat back.

"You know Dead, despite what some ponies say. You are a really nice pony. I don't understand why some ponies are scared of you so much. Sure it is a bit much at first, but your skeletons don't really do anything bad." Cherilee said happily. Come on Cherilee, drop the question already. You know I will say yes. Dead thought to herself. "So Dead, you have that... How do you put it?"

"A multi pony relationship?" Dead puzzled. "You mean Ditzy, Rarity and Rainbow?"

"Ummm, yes?" Cherilee responded. "How does that work?" Cherilee asked.

"Well, it helps that we all seem to have strong feelings for each other. Even if we have only been at it for a short while, we all seem to be madly in love with each other." Dead chuckled.

"Oh I see, so what exactly do you do then?" Cherilee inquired.

"Oh we just hug and kiss a lot at the moment. And I guess we have the odd interment moment. Oh and we are having a date soon! Yeah that will be tons of fun! Our first major action as a love... Square." Dead said happily

"Um Dead, could I possibly ask you... Is there anyway that you could... Make it a love pentagon?" Cherilee shakily asked.

"Finally." Dead chuckled as Cherilee started to look dumbstruck. "You know Ditzy picked up on you yesterday when you were over. I figured she had something to do with us meeting up. And the rest was all you."

"I... How?" A dumbstruck Cherilee asked.

"I used to plot to take over Equestria, I can smell a scheme before you have even thought of it." Dead said as she chuckled.

Cherilee was able to snap back into reality. "Well that is certainly clever of you, however my question still stands. Do you think I would be able to join?"

"I should make this some kind of society club, or something like that!" Dead laughed heartily. "Of course, you have mine and Ditzy's vote. We will just talk it over with Rainbow and Rarity. I'm sure they will say yes though." Cherilee relaxed slightly and Dead picked up on this. "So anything you want to do before I head back to Ditzy's?"

"Yes, but I think its a bit too soon for that. Maybe if we do something like kiss I will be satisfied." Cherilee said as she moved closer to Dead.

"Miss Cherilee! What if your pupils are watching?" Dead said over dramatically as Cherilee started to close the gap between them.

"Let them watch..." Cherilee started before she swung her hoof around Dead and closed the gap between them.

Meanwhile in the nearby bushes three pairs of eyes watched the events unwind.

"Told ya, that why she never looks fur' anypony on hearts and hoofs."

"Woah..."

"Isn't she dating Rarity?"

"An' Rainbow..."

"And the mailmare!"

"Wow... How does that even work?"

As the evening went on the three young foals bickered and squabbled about how a five way relationship would work, and if a pony who raises the dead is a trustworthy mare at all. However as with everyday they broke up for the night at decided to get some rest before arguing further.

Not the best time to hatch a plan

"Dead you're being unreasonable." Ditzy sighed. "I don't think you should leave just because there is nothing to do. I'm sure if you looked hard enough you will find something to do." Ditzy gently bumped Dead causing her to nearly fall over.

"I'm not saying I am leaving, but I want to do some research. And I doubt I can do that in your house." Dead huffed. "I'm not saying I won't come back."

"But you have been away so much, I don't want to lose you..." Ditzy stopped walking as the pair approached the edge of Everfree. "Please don't go..."

Dead sighed. "Alright, but can I at least bring some research in?"

"Yeah! I don't mind if you totally trash the house doing so!" Ditzy chuckled. "But sure, I don't mind."

"I hate it when you make me feel guilty..." Dead pouted. "I fall for it every time."

"Not my fault you have a heart, anyway before you trash the house doing some forbidden ritual could we go see Rarity and Rainbow?" Ditzy said as her and Dead started to walk away.

"Wait they got back? When did this happen? Why did nopony tell me!?" Dead exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, they got back late last night. I would have told you but you were sleeping so soundly." Ditzy sighed happily. "And you look so cute when you are asleep."

"I'm not supposed to be cute Ditzy, I'm a necromancer." Dead sighed as she followed Ditzy. "If I was cute nopony would run in terror when I appear!" Dead joked. "But why not tell me in the morning?"

"I'm not going to lie, I completely forgot... I know it was stupid, but I was in a rush on account of running late." Ditzy sighed. "Will I ever be able to make it up to you?"

"Maybe... I just have to think of something..." Dead said evilly.

"I don't know weather to be worried or not..." Ditzy said nervously.

Last night...

Rarity and Rainbow silently knocked on the door to Ditzy's house, it was late at night and loud snoring could be heard from the house.

"Come on Rarity, face it. They are both asleep. Now its getting cold and I'm tired." Rainbow sighed. "Can't we just tell Ditzy when she is out on her rounds?"

"Rainbow, we need to do this now. We can't really let it dwell any longer." Rarity sighed as she knocked slightly louder. "Dead is a heavy sleeper, she doesn't normally wake up to early." Rarity was about to knock a third time however the door slowly creaked open.

"Uh?" Ditzy groaned as she slowly opened the door, she stood for a moment until her eyes adjusted to the darkness. "Oh Rainbow and Rarity! Its lovely to see you back!" Ditzy said happily. "But did you have to come knocking so early?"

"Sorry darling, but we couldn't really wait." Rarity said apologetically. "I trust Dead hasn't found out anything yet?"

"No she hasn't. I don't think she even remembers to be honest... She hasn't mentioned anything to me." Ditzy sighed. "So I take it everything went well in the Crystal Empire?"

"Yeah, if by well you mean we got to watch Dead beat the stuffing out of a massive lich then yeah, it went well. Plus we got Cadance and the other necromancers to agree to come." Rainbow happily.

"That's good to hear, so do we have the decorations?" Ditzy asked.

"Of course!"

"And the party food?"

"Pinkie is cooking it as we speak!"

"And the guests?"

"Only everpony in Ponyville who isn't scared of her!"

"So, everything is set up?"

"Nearly, we will set it up tomorrow night. Now did you have anything you wanted to tell us about? Anything happen while we were gone?" Rarity politely asked.

"Oh yeah, something did happened. Can I as you two a quick question?" Ditzy asked as she started to think about her next words.

"Yeah, sure thing. Ask away." Rainbow insisted.

"Well remember when we all go together when Dead was asleep and talked about other ponies?" Ditzy started.

"Yes..." Rarity shakily said.

"Well you see..."

"Alright Ditzy, tell me who it is." Rainbow said sternly. "I would rather not go through all this build up."

Ditzy chuckled. "I could tell you now... But where would be the fun in that? I think it would be best if you guessed."

Rainbow facehoofed. "Really? At this time of night?" Rainbow sighed. "Alright, can we have a hint?"

"Nope!" Ditzy cheekily said.

"Hm, got any ideas Rarity?" Rainbow asked Rarity

"Can't say I do Rainbow." Rarity turned to Ditzy. "I take it that they live in Ponyville?"

"Yes she does, but that is all I am saying." Ditzy happily cheered. "Come on you two, its not that hard."

"Hmm, is it Cloudchaser?" Rainbow asked. "Would be nice for another pegasus in the group."

"Sadly no Rainbow, it isn't." Ditzy said evilly. "Keep guessing."

"Hm..." Rarity started. "You know I think I might just know who it is." Rarity smirked. "Is it by any chance, Miss Cherilee?"

"Yep!" Ditzy said happily. "So what do you two say about it?"

"Dating my little sister school teacher? How scandalous, I'm in." Rarity said unexpectedly.

"Well even if I was going to say no, I guess I don't have a choice. But yeah, I'm happy for this. Happy for us! What kind of crazy sex we will have now?" Rainbow said as Rarity's jaw dropped.

"Yeah they came over last night, it was really, really late. I told them about Cherilee and they seemed happy, albeit a bit shocked after what Rainbow said." Ditzy chuckled happily as the two approached Carousal Boutique .

"I can imagine that Rainbow would say something like that, either that or she started talking about how awesome she is..." Dead sighed. As the pair approached the door Rarity swung the door open and greeted the pair.

"Hey my two lovely friends, what brings you over at this time?" Rarity asked happily.

"Ask Ditzy, I don't have a clue what I am doing." Dead chuckled.

"Well I thought it might be a good idea if we all go out as a group. Me, Dead, you, Rainbow and Cherilee. All five of us!" Ditzy sang out happily.

"I think I can do that, just let me pack up in the shop first." Rarity said as she went back inside the shop. Loud clanging and the sounds of items falling could be heard before Rarity emerged. "I can deal with that later..." Rarity chuckled as she joined Ditzy and Dead. "So I take it we are heading to Rainbow's house now?"

"Yup!" Ditzy said as the trio made their way to Rainbow's house. After a few minuets of walking the trio ended up under Rainbow's floating cloud house. Ditzy posed to take off however she promptly stopped by Rarity.

"Hang on darling, I got this." Rarity chuckled as she levitated a rock and threw it at the cloud. The rock flew slowly towards the cloud house and after a few seconds.

Donk!

"Hey! Who threw that rock?" Rainbow shouted as she quickly flew out the house. Rainbows expression turn from angry to happy once she saw the trio. "Oh hey you three, what brings you out at this time?"

"Mare's day out, you in Rainbow?" Ditzy called out as Rainbow slowly started to descend to the floor.

"Did you even need to ask?" Rainbow confidently said as she landed next to Ditzy. "So I take it we are going to go pick up Cherilee now?

"Yup! Lets go!" Ditzy said as the small group made their way to the outskirts of the town.

It was a slightly longer journey to Miss Cherilee's house, however the group had plenty to talk about on their way down.

"...And then the skeleton said he didn't know who's bone to pick!" Dead laughed and the group joined in. "Honestly sometimes the skeletons can be really silly. I mean they do lack brains and all but the ancient magic that keeps them running should do the trick."

"What about Skullworthy? I mean he is different isn't he?" Rarity inquired.

"Yes, I have enchanted him in several ways. He is about ten times smarter then normal, and he is mighty logical. He helped to keep me relatively sane... Or he did before I moved in." Dead chuckled.

"How were you able to do that exactly? It sounds rather complex." Rarity continued.

"Its just a ton of enchantments, nothing to complex... But if it goes wrong, it goes really wrong." Dead cringed. "I still have nightmares about skulutron every now and then."

"I thought you dreamed differently? Compared to other ponies anyway..." Rainbow said as she joined in.

"Yeah, but nightmares can still manifest." Dead sighed.

"I guess that make sense, by the way before I forget. Why didn't you say hi after you beat that lich?" Rainbow asked with a mock anger.

"That wasn't me. That was Skullworthy." Dead chuckled. "I was not controlling him. Just sitting on his head."

"Wow really? I never thought Skullworthy would do something so violent." Rarity exclaimed slightly.

"Yeah, when defending the world he can be rather violent. He really, really enjoys pounding skeletons to dust." Dead laughed. "That's why he is a skull. So he doesn't go pounding skeletons."

"Really?" Rarity exclaimed.

"Not really, I just gave him a chance to be the hero." Dead chuckled.

"Well that was nice of you Dead, very considerate of you." Rarity said shakily. Just as a silence started to set over the group they arrived at school teachers house. "So this is it then?"

"Yup!" Ditzy cheered. "Care to do the honers Dead?"

Dead nodded and knocked on the door, a sing-song voice happily called out. "Coming!" Within a few moments Miss Cherilee opened the door. Within a few more moments she pieced together what the group being there meant. "Oh wow..." Miss Cherilee slurred before she fainted and crashed into Dead, who caught her in her hoofs.

"Great, she did a Rainbow Dash." Dead rolled her eyes. "Do we take her back inside?"

"Wait she did a me?" Rainbow asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"She passed out when she became aware of what I/we were after/meant." Dead chuckled.

"I didn't pass out... I fell asleep!" Rainbow responded.

"On my back?" Dead questioned.

"Uh yeah... You were warm and I was on top. So I'm not complaining." Rainbow said smugly.

"Settle down you two, lets get Miss Cherilee on a sofa. Then you two can go back to bickering like foals..." Rarity said as she rolled her eyes. The group then took the passed out mare into the house and set her out onto the sofa.

Just one of those days

Rainbow, Rarity, Dead and Ditzy were all sat down in Cherilee's house, it had been a slow day since she passed out. An open window let a cool breeze into the warm house. Bright paint made the house seem bright and happy, just like its owner. A few hoof painted pictures from aspiring students hung on the wall. A clock that hung just above the main door read twelve thirty, Dead's eyes darted nervously around the room.

"You alright Dead?" Rainbow asked, sounding concerned. "You seem a little on edge."

"Just waiting for something to happen." Dead sighed. "Last time my life was this quiet, I was buried in about a thousand old tomes." Dead rolled her eyes.

"Really? And after what you did yesterday?" Rainbow said, causing Dead to roll her eyes a second time. "Hey don't be like that, it was awesome." Rainbow confidently said.

"I must say Dead, it was rather impressive." Rarity joined in.

"But it wasn't me, well it was. Just... Never mind..." Dead sighed as her head dropped to her hooves. "I just wonder what would have happened if things were different, if I was still evil." Dead chuckled slightly. "Imagine that..."

"That would be... Odd to say the least." Rarity sighed happily.

"Would you side with me, or would you do your duties as the elements of harmony?" Dead chuckled evilly, putting two of her marefriends in a tight spot.

"Well given that we have all three Princesses, and the Crystal empire and the elements of harmony. I would have to say that we would side against you." Rarity said happily. "I trust that the same goes for you Rainbow?"

"Uh... I don't know... I mean, yeas of course! I would side with us. Wouldn't be the element of loyalty if I ditched you for some broad." Rainbow's expression dropped when she heard what she said.

"Uh-oh..." Ditzy said nervously.

"Dead, are you alright? You seem unphased by this." A concerned Rarity asked, it was true. Dead had not changed in expression since Rainbow had finished talking.

"I'm fine Rarity, just figuring out how to... BLAST THE VERY BEING THAT IS RAINBOW DASH OFF THE FACE OF EQUESTRIA!" Dead shouted as she jumped up, a pale fire overtook her eyes and white energy poured out of the flames. A thick smoke poured up and out of her mouth as she drew breath. After a few moments of blind fury Dead calmed down. Her eyes put themselves out and her breathing returned to normal. She then rather cruelly started laughing uncontrollably. "Your faces!" Dead howled as she rolled off the sofa and onto the floor. Rarity rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Really Dead? That wasn't funny." Rarity pointed out. "I think you scared Rainbow half to Death."

"Pfft, I wasn't scared. Since when I have been scared?" Rainbow smugly said.

"Hmmp," Dead huffed. "You know, if we weren't dating..." Dead chuckled. "I will. get you back later." Dead's chuckle turned into a cackle.

"Wow... Dead you need to calm down. I don't want you to be turned into a stone ornament, like Discord." Rarity said, trying to calm the pair down before anything escalated. "Now I believe that we have forgotten about the mare we came over to see." Rarity gestured over to Miss Cherilee, who was sound asleep on the sofa. "I for one am surprised that she hasn't woken up from all this."

"Same here, but do you really think I wouldn't be able to take over Equestria?" Dead asked sounding hurt.

"Well I'm not saying we wouldn't out-rightly crush you, but you certainly wouldn't win." Rarity said happily.

"Oh really? Very well then, after our date I will try and take over Equestria... Well maybe just Canterlot." Dead chuckled. "You can warn Twilight, but it will happen."

Rarity sighed. "This will not go well at all..." Just as Rarity finished, the sleeping mare started to stir.

"Oh, Rarity, Rainbow, Dead and Ditzy! I'm terribly sorry for passing out like that!" Cherilee said as she stumbled up. "Let me get you something drink!" Cherilee jumped up and tried to rush into the kitchen, only to be stopped by Dead's magic which grabbed her and pulled her back. "Uh Dead? What are you doing?"

"Just thought we need to talk before we all go running off." Dead chuckled. "I believe Ditzy has something to say/ask."

"Oh yes!" Ditzy exclaimed happily. "As a our group is growing a bit more I thought it would be a good idea for us to do something as a group!"

"Oh I see, I would be up for that. I finished marking all the foals work for yesterday, and today is Saturday so no school." Cherilee said happily. "So what do you have in mind?"

"Well..." Ditzy began. "Since we have a date coming up in a few weeks I figured we could go out to a coffee shop. Kind of like a practice."

"I'm up for that!" Rainbow cheered

"Same here!" Dead happily called out.

"I believe I can do that, and even if I couldn't I would." Rarity happily said.

"Alright then, lets go!" Cherilee said as the group got up and headed out into town.

The group arrived at a small coffee shop by the train station, the small little shop drew a large amount of customers. However this at this time of the day the shop was rather empty. Ditzy gently opened the door and a small bell rung as the mares walked in. The colt that was working the cash register greeted the group as they walked in.

"Welcome to Express Espresso!" The colt cheerfully called out. "Take a seat and I will be with you in a moment." The colt sighed happily. "Glad the morning rush is over..."

The group sat down around one of the larger tables, they turned there attention to the choices that hung above the counter.

"Hm..." Rarity started. "I think I might go with a mocha, it has been a while since I have one of those."

"I think I will have a double espresso. One of those sounds good right now." Rainbow happily said.

"Well I think I will have one of the iced drinks, I think I will go with a mocha as well." Dead sighed happily at the thought of her iced drink.

"I think I will just go with tea..." Cherilee said happily. "Sorry if that isn't exciting enough for you." Cherilee chuckled happily.

"And I will will a latte!" Ditzy happily cheered. Just as they finished making up there mind the colt came over.

"I take it that you have made up your minds?" The colt polity asked.

"Yep!" Ditzy cheered. "We will have two mochas, one iced. A double espresso, one pot of tea and a latte." Ditzy said happily.

"Alright..." The colt said as he jotted down the orders and headed back to the counter.  "Two mochas, one on ice, a double quicker, a fresh pot and a latte!" The colt called out to the staff working the machines and ingredients.

"You know, in all my years living in Ponyville, I have never been to this coffee shop." Rarity chuckled. "Ponyville has a habit of hiding little gems like this from the public."

Ditzy chuckled. "You should see this place after the twelve O'clock arrives. Its packed. Not so much now."  Ditzy sat back in her seat slightly. "Its nice when its not packed."

"Yeah, I'd say. This place doesn't look like it could seat too many." Rainbow said as she looked around the abandoned shop. "I take it they bring seats outside on nicer days?"

"Pretty much, I sometimes come here after my rounds." Ditzy said happily. "We should come here more often."

"Agreed, this place is nice." Cherilee said, finally joining in the conversation. "I came here once after visiting Canterlot, it was rather busy."

The group continued with small talk for a few more moments. Just when they were running out of things to talk about, the colt came back with a large tray filled with various hot and cold drinks.

"I have one iced mocha..." Dead nodded and the colt placed the cool plastic cup filled with an icy brown liquid in it by Dead. "A hot mocha." Rarity nodded and levitated the hot drink over to her. "A double espresso." Before Rainbow could respond the colt placed the small cup in front of Rainbow. "A pot of tea..." Cherilee nodded and the colt placed a cup and pot of tea next to the school teacher. "And last but not least, a latte!" The colt placed the last drink next to Ditzy. "Enjoy your drinks!" The colt said happily as he went back behind the counter.

Rainbow quickly downed her drink. She twitched briefly after she finished drinking. "Woah!" Rainbow exclaimed. "ThatwasawesomecanIhavemore?" Rainbow hastily said. Rarity rolled her eyes and took small sips at her piping hot drink. Dead had gotten up and returned with a straw, she took relatively long sips from her iced drink.

"Ah this is nice..." Cherilee said as she happily poured herself some tea. "We should really do this again."  Cherilee took a gently sip of her tea before deciding that it needed a bit more milk.

Ditzy quickly drank her drink, while she was not as fast as Rainbow she was still second to finish. "Yeah, we should. I really love doing stuff like this." Ditzy placed her cup in the middle of the table to signal that she had finished her drink, Rainbow quickly copied her.

Dead finished her drink third, she got up and placed her plastic cup in a nearby bin and then sat back down. "You all are the best, I love you all so much." Dead said happily. "I'm still going to try and take over Canterlot..." The group all laughed as Rarity and Cherilee finished their drinks.

The colt returned to the table and took the empty cups away, he then returned happily. "That will be around... thirty bits!" The colt announced. Ditzy retrieved a small bag of bits and counted out thirty and handed them to the colt, Ditzy then gave the colt a three bit trip. the colt left happily and wished the group a good day as they left the coffee shop.

Feeling like a broken record

Dead sighed as she reentered Ditzy's house. The door was unlocked so she assumed that somepony was home. "Hello? Anypony home?" Dead shouted. No reply. "Ditzy? Are you home?" No reply again. Dead sighed and walked towards the front room, the curtains were drawn so that the normally bright main room was a lot darker then normal. Dead's eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, she scanned the room in an attempt to locate anypony in the room.

Dead turned suddenly when the sound of hoofs echoed behind her. She saw a glimpse of a pony run out the door. Dead sighed and quickly used her horn to light up the room. Suddenly, the candles that were normally lit during the evening slowly sparked to life, one by one. Dead dimmed her horn and the candles slowly started to glow brighter. Dead focus on the room around her, she scanned for any magic however she failed to find anything except the weak magic that lit the candles. Dead retreated back to the doorway, however when she tried to open the door the emergency lock had been locked. Without a master key Dead was stuck in the creepy house. Dead heard movement coming from the kitchen, she gingerly walked over to the doorway and slowly pushed the door open.

"Hiya!" A small foal called out as Dead opened the door.

"ARGHHH!" Dead overacted and slammed the door shut, her breath was heavy and she took a moment to figure out what had just happened. Wait... Was that a foal? Dead questioned herself. Dead slowly opened the door a second time. "W-Who's there?"

"Dinky!" The young filly cheered. Dead pushed the door open further, unlike the main room the kitchen was well lit. The curtains were open and light was beaming in. It took Dead a few moments, but it registered.

"Hey Dinky, I'm Dead." Dead said as happily as she could, but she still sounded scared. "I take it that was you setting the candles up in the main room?"

"Yup!" Dinky said happily as she got up and walked into the front room. "Did it scare you?" The foal asked happily.

Dead really, really wanted to say no, but Dinky seemed a bit too happy at her accomplishment, Dead opted against crushing the spirit of a foal. "I will not lie, I was a tad bit scared." Dead admitted. Dink seemed overjoyed by this and happily hopped onto the sofa.

"I knew it!" Dinky cheered. "Mum said it might scare you a bit."

"Hm, and what else did she say about me?" Dead harmlessly inquired.

"Stuff..." Dinky awkwardly replied. If Ditzy had told her anything else, Dead wasn't going to find out this way.

"Alright then... So what are you doing here alone?" Dead pushed the question slightly, implying that she wanted an answer.

"I wasn't alone, Mum was in a moment ago. She said you would be in after she left, and you were." Dinky happily said as she started to bounce up and down on the sofa. "I just got back from Canterlot!"

"Oh really, what were you doing there?" Dead asked as she sat next to the bouncing filly.

"Well we were touring the school for gifted unicorns, and Canterlot guardians again. Unlike last time Discord didn't get out so it was kind of boring..."

"Discord... That is a name I haven't heard in a long time..." Dead drifted into though as Dinky started rambling about her time in Canterlot.

I sighed, I really didn't think things could get worse. But they did. My skeletons were is chaos, arms on heads. Foots in spines and femurs stuck in rib cages. I don't really have any idea what went wrong, one moment everything was fine. The next, my skeletons ere everywhere and molding and melting.

I scanned the nearby area for magic. There was a lot of it, I tracked it over to nearby tree and promptly blasted it into tiny splinters. The source of the magic flew into another tree that soon met a splintery death. As the magic darted back and forth I started to grow tired. I gave the order for one of my still intact skeletons to grab onto the magic as it flew over. I destroyed the tree the magic was hiding in and once again it flew out, only to be caught and dragged down to the ground by one of my skeletons.

I hastily walked over, forced the magic to take form and promptly pinned the creature against a rock face with my magic. My horn was glowing with the intensity of a small sun and I was preparing to blast this creatures soul away.

"You really are rather dull you know..." The creature said. Within moments it slipped out of my iron grip and was flying rings around me. "You need to lighten up." It took me a few moments to realize that this wasn't any ordinary creature.

"What are you?" I stuttered. The creature stopped spinning and floated in front of me.

"Discord, or spirit of chaos at your service m'lady." The creature said poshly. It then materialized a hat and tipped it at me.

"Are you the tormenting me in my sleep?!" I shouted at Discord. "Tell me you monster!" To be fair, my sleeping issues had put me on edge.

"No, and please, I am hardly a monster in comparison to you. I mean sure, I am a bit... Unorthodox, but it is kind of my thing." Discord morphed into a mirror. "Now this is what a monster looks like." He levitated in front of me, I could see myself. Not clad in robes, but me. "At least I don't go around forcing the souls of the departed into skeletons."

"No, but you enjoy mangling them." I pointed over to the skeletons that were aimlessly dancing around in an attempt to walk in a straight line. "Turn them back, now!" I ordered. "My patience grows thin!" I threatened. Discord morphed back into his 'normal' form and clicked his claw. All my skeletons stop their strange dancing and returned to normal.

"You really need to lighten up, has failing to beat Sun-butt annoyed you?" The creature tormented, nearly pushing me into a blind fury.

"You are stepping into dangerous territory, I suggest you stop right there." I growled at Discord. "Least I tear you in half."

"Looks like I have struck a nerve..." Discord teased. "You should relax Dead, take a chill pill." Discord snapped his claw again and a large blue pill appeared. He threw it down by me and it landed with a mighty thump. "Go on... I won't judge."

"What the buck are you doing." I hissed. "You know what scrap that, just leave me alone. I'm leaving." I huffed, I had gone past my limit and this was getting way to stupid for me. However as I turned around Discord appeared in my face and was breathing heavily on my muzzle.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Dead Quiet, you need to be shown the errors of your ways." Discord said as he spun me around.

"Error of my ways?" I sighed. "There is nothing wrong with necromancy."

"Really. You see nothing wrong with stuffing the souls of one thing into the skeleton to another." Discord rolled his eyes at me. I sighed a second time and huffed slightly.

"Sure when you do that. But I don't. If you had any sense in you, you would be able to see that they are happy. I only put the souls of those willing to come back. And I kept them in the bodies of their own race." I smugly said, Discords jaw dropped and he turned and faced the army of skeletons that were slowly approaching him. He gave them a brief look over chuckled.

"So you are right... It doesn't seem like you are that bad a pony... Save the whole trying to destroy Celestia." Discord robbed his beard and chuckled.

"You're an idiot. You have come in assuming all these things about me and yet you yourself are a villain!" I chuckled madly. "Your are Discord, the spirit of chaos, disharmony. And what, you expect to get along all fine and dandy with the elements of harmony!" My cackled turned into an evil laugh. "You honestly just thought you could show up and manipulate me like that?" Discord sighed.

"Alright you win. Yes I was trying to manipulate you, I had heard that you had been skulking around here as of late and decided to come see the 'powerful necromancer' for myself." Discord faced me directly. A cold win blew through the once forested clearing. "Tell me Dead, if you ever win. What will you do?"

"Whats it to you?" I replied, to be honest I had never thought about what would happen if I were to win. Mainly because Celestia and Luna were rather overpowered with the elements on their side. "And even if I don't have a plan, I honestly don't think I am going to win anytime soon. I have plenty of time to plan."

"Hmm, so it would seem. You know what Dead. I like you, I don't know why." Discord brushed his hair back. "I will make this intrusion up to you someday. I promise, no I pinkie promise." Discord smirked at me and extended his paw, I had no idea what a Pinkie promise. As a shook his paw he drew his claw and crossed is heart and then feigned poking himself in the eye. "Pleasure meeting you Dead." And with that Discord vanished, leaving me rather stunned and confused.

"What the buck just happened?" I sighed before returning to the academy.

And that is how I met the fabled necromancer Dead Quiet. I haven't seen or heard of her since then but wherever she is I'm sure she is doing fine. The statue thought to itself as it served its sentence.

"So I take it you had fun at Canterlot then?" Dead happily asked Dinky. "And do you know how much longer we will be waiting in here fore Ditzy?"

"I enjoyed it a lot, and not too long." Dinky chuckled happily. "Mum said she would be like five minutes." Dead relaxed slight and sat back on the sofa. Dinky tried to copy her but ended up rolling over. "How can you sit like that? It looks funny."

"I dunno, I saw somepony in town say like it and tried to copy them." Dead chuckled as she stood up. "It hurts my back a bit though."

"Oh I know who you are talking about!" Dinky proclaimed. Before she could go on the sound on a door opened could be heard and Dinky shot up and ran towards the noise. "Yay!" Dinky came back into the front room with Ditzy behind her.

"Oh what a surprise, I didn't expect to see you here!" Ditzy said sarcastically. "What have you two been up to?"

"We have just been talking about what Dinky was up to while she way away. Apparently no element of chaos got out this time..." Dead said, she attempted to coax slightly more information about Discord's brief freedom..

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about him. A while ago... Just before Princess Cadance got married, Discord broke out of his prison. He turned Ponyville into the chaos capital for a short time. However Twilight and her friends were able to stop him." Ditzy said happily. "It was quite a fight, you should have seen. Discord made all the elements turn against each other."

"Oh really...." Dead grinned evilly. "Good to know."

"Wow, you scarier then Princess Luna did on Nightmare night." Dinky said as she hid behind Ditzy,

"Yes... I have a habit of doing that." Dead chuckled evilly. Dead looked at a clock that was hung up and sighed. "Wow it got late fast... Better get ready for bed."

"Yup!" Ditzy said happily. "Come on Dinky, its past your bedtime."

"Aww..." Dinky protested and Ditzy lead her to her bedroom and settled her in for the night. Ditzy returned to the main room and sighed happily.

"If you go to bed, I will be up within the hour. I just have a few things to do..." Ditzy said suspiciously.

"Alright, but don't be too long!" Dead said as she made her way towards the bed. Ditzy followed her and as Dead got into bed Ditzy gently kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry Dead, I won't be." Ditzy reassured as she headed out into the dark night.

A dream to remember [Mini chapter]

"So, Twilight is studying necromancy. And you didn't notice." Younger Dead said. "Honestly, I didn't even see that coming. She too nice to do something evil." Younger Dead chuckled happily.

"Necromancy isn't really an evil thing, its just misunderstood. You should know that." Dead said as she rested on the grassy hillside in her dreamscape. "I wish I could have asked her to visit but..."

"Yeah I know, you had your hooves full. No need to explain." Younger Dead rolled over onto her stomach. "Would have been nice to get a visit though."

"Yeah, I will ask her tomorrow, promise." Dead sighed happily. Dead paused for a moment and then changed the conversation topic. "So Dinky seemed to know about Discord, what do you recon that was about?"

"Well I assumed what they said was true. That being that Discord took over Ponyville for a short while." Younger Dead perked up. "We can ask her when she arrives. Somepony has entered our dream..." Young Dead jumped up and ran around. "Oh! I'm so happy!"

"I will give you two some peace..." Dead chuckled as she faded away. "Don't be up too late..." Dead's voice echoed in the dreamscape. Younger Dead darted around happily.

"Hey Dead, I came back. Just like I promised." Twilight called out as she materialized in midair, the dreamscape's gravity took effect and soon she was falling down to the ground. "Ahhhhh!" Twilight shouted as she plummeted towards the ground. Just as Twilight was about to crash into the ground younger Dead gently caught her with her magic.

"Gotcha!" Younger Dead said happily. "Phew that was close, you could have broken the dream." Younger Dead gently placed Twilight next to her.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Twilight jokingly asked. Younger Dead twitched and started sweating.

"N-Not at all! Its just that you are a very... Powerful being, if you were to collide with the dream you would cause damage." Younger Dead stuttered. Twilight smiled lightly and younger Dead relaxed slightly. "Oh, you were joking..." Younger Dead chuckled slightly.

"Its quite alright Dead, so do you have anything to talk about? Anything on your mind?" Twilight happily asked.

"Hm... A few things perhaps." Younger Dead rubbed her chin. "It has come to my attention that you recently had an encounter with Discord."

"Discord? I remember him, tried to take over Equestria by driving me and my friends apart. He turned the elements around." Twilight informed. "Fluttershy was mean, Rainbow Dash was disloyal, Rarity was greedy, Applejack kept lying, Pinkie wasn't laughing at anything. And I lost my friends..." Twilight gave a long drawn out sigh. "But we beat him in the end, and now he is a stone statue in Canterlot gardens." Twilight chuckled evilly.

"Nice to see you're not a one-hundred percent goody four shoes." Younger Dead chuckled happily, she sat down and patted the space next to her. Twilight sat down next to her. "I knew him, back when I was out rightly insane, well not so insane but..."

"What did he do to you?" Twilight jumped in, sounding defensive.

"Nothing, he tried to convince me that I was doing wrong. He failed. I sent him on his way... I think anyway. He is a bit of an oddball." Younger Dead rubbed her forehead and rested on the ground. "What was he like with you?"

"Cruel, very cruel. He tricked us. For the element of disharmony, he sure planned that very well." Twilight laughed. "He planned everything down to a T, save my friendship reports."

"Well, I for one am glad that it worked out. Now I have to ask..." Younger Dead started.

"Can I ask you something first?" Twilight interrupted. "If you don't mind."

"Uh sure, ask away Twilight." Younger Dead replied.

"What do you know about the Bone-weavers folly?" Twilight curiously asked. Dead paused and Twilight suddenly froze up. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to!"

"The Bone-weavers folly... It is a relic that I made a while ago." Younger Dead started. "My specialty is Bone-weaving, so it seemed fit that I made the relic for it."

"But what does it do?" Twilight puzzled.

"I amplifies a necromancer's abilities in Bone-weaving of course. I also supplies the user a large amount of magical energy to preform spells with. It acts like a catalyst and an energy supply." Younger Dead promptly said. "Now it was made when Me, Nazz, Marcia and Grim were experimenting with methods to contain Legion. We made them by mistake." Younger Dead chuckled happily. "We were molding our magics... Don't ask why, but we were."

"And that is what made the relics?" Twilight asked. "I take it you had knew what you did to make it?"

"Yes, I know how to make another but... I don't really want to tell or show you, no offense but knowing how to make powerful relics could be dangerous. Anything could target you." Younger Dead warned. "Its not that I don't trust you..."

"Its fine Dead, I understand." Twilight said warmly.  "So what were you going to ask me then?"

"Hm, I appear to have forgotten." Younger Dead chuckled. "Did you have anything you wanted to talk about, besides the folly?"

"Well, I guess we could talk about stuff. Anything on your mind?" Twilight said, throwing the proverbial ball back at younger Dead.

"Well... What kind of stuff do you like?" Younger Dead slowly asked. "Nothing personal, just want to know you a bit better."

"Well I enjoy reading, writing reports, libraries, locking myself in and doing a case study, hanging out with my friends as of late, researching magic, practicing magic..." Twilight spent the next ten minutes listing all of her activities and pastimes to younger Dead. "...And that about covers it." Twilight said as she finished.

"Uh-huh. Good to know..." Younger Dead rubbed her head. "Well I like..." Younger Dead proceeded to spent the next twenty minutes explain to Twilight her hobbies and pastimes. "And last but not least, necromancy! I think that about covers everything both me and other Dead enjoy. Hint hint." Younger Dead chuckled and winked at Twilight. "Now go on, you have a party to prepare!"

"Wait wha...?" Twilight was interrupted as she flew out of the dream and back into reality. "What just happened?" Twilight asked herself. "Wait..." Twilight slowly got up and headed towards the door. "I've got to warn them!" Twilight said as she ran outside and towards the designated party area.

A morning to remember..?

It was early morning, the town of Ponyville was relatively quiet at this time. The quiet murmur of ponies could be heard around Carousel Boutique. Various decorations were hung around around lampposts and nearby houses. The decorations were a mix of happy bright decorations, such as colorful banners and brightly colored streamers. And leftover decorations from Nightmare night, such as mock tombstones, plastic skulls and fake cobwebs. Twilight was inspecting each of the stations, after giving everything the once over she happily went over to Pinkie.

"Great job with the decorations Pinkie, but don't you think it is a bit much? Ponies might thing we are starting a new strange holiday." Twilight joked happily.

"Well.." Pinkie started. "I was thing about doing something small! But the I thought to myself. 'Pinkie, has Dead ever celebrated her birthday?' I came to the conclusion of no seeing as she can't even remember it! So then I thought... 'Pinkie! We need to make this a super special Birthday to make up for all the birthdays Dead has missed!' And that how I came up with this!" Pinkie gestured to everything around her. "Its like a mix of Nightmare night and a birthday, I think I will call it... Day of the Dead!" Pinkie cheered happily. "So what do you think Twilight? Do you love it?"

"Well Pinkie, it certainly is different. I think we might just have been able to pull it off!" Twilight exclaimed happily. "Have any of the special guest arrived yet?"

"Yup! Cadance got here an hour ago, you remember that? You said hi to her an all." Pinkie nudged Twilight.

"Yeah, I meant the other special guests. You know, Dead's friends." Twilight rolled her eyes at Pinkie.

"Oh those! Yeah they got here five minutes ago. Would have told you but you were busy talking to somepony." Pinkie said ecstatically.

"The only pony I have been talking to is you!" Twilight half shouted.

"Exactly!" Pinkie replied happily. Twilight started laughing and then Pinkie joined in.

After a while Twilight stopped and returned to more serious business. "So Pinkie, is anypony else doing anything to help?" Twilight asked.

"Yup, Applejack is on food and food related games. Rarity is making costumes... Don't know why, maybe for dress up. Rainbow is making sure that the skies are clear of rain clouds. Fluttershy has her hoofs full, a lot of the animal or on edge. And you are planning everything while I am overseeing it!" Pinkie happily explained.

"Alright, good to know Pinkie. I trust that all the activities are set up?" Twilight asked happily. "We need to be set up before Dead wakes up."

"No worries Twilight! Everything is ready, from the apple bobbing to the balloon racing, to the  food bar. We are one hundred percent ready!" Pinkie announced happily. "Oh that reminds me..." Pinkie quickly ran off, shouting something about little snacks and cakes.

"Oh Pinkie..." Twilight sighed happily. "Now lets go see what Rarity is up to." Twilight muttered as she headed towards Rarity's shop. After cutting through a few decorations, that Pinkie swiftly mended. Twilight swiftly arrived outside Carousel Boutique. Twilight gently knocked on the door an waited for a response.

"Coming!" A sing song voice called out. The door slowly creaked open and Rarity was on the other side. "Oh hello Twilight, come to check up on things?" Rarity asked as she ushered Twilight in.

"Only for a moment, Pinkie said you were making some costumes. I take it that they are going well?" Twilight asked. Rarity quickly ran out and emerged with an outfit, the outfit was made for a stallion, it was a basic tuxedo however white fabric shaped like bones were dotted on it. I took Twilight a few moments to connect where the bones were in the body itself. "Wow... You got all the right bones in the right places!"

"This is a prototype, it also comes in a dress form." Rarity happily said. "Skullworthy gave me the idea." Rarity chuckled happily as she set the suit down. "I also have these masks left over." Rarity pulled a small face mask out of a bag and placed it over her lower jaw.

"That's good! I really like the idea for the suit. But don't you think we might be going a bit overboard?" Twilight innocently asked.

"I did think that for a moment, however you were the one who invited a Princess to the party. You set the bar relatively high." Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah... I did kind of do that. Sorry about that Rarity, I didn't mean to make your job harder." Twilight sighed. "I really, really didn't mean to do that at all."

"That's alright Twilight, I rather enjoy all this hullabaloo. The party will be a sight to see." Rarity said happily.

"I just hope it isn't too much, I don't want to attract too much attention." Twilight sighed. "Not everypony is ready for Dead, and visa versa."

"Yes... I have been a bit worried, but the again Dead can handle herself in a sticky situation." Rarity paused for a moment. "Speaking of sticky situations..." Rarity grinned evilly.

"No Rarity, don't wanna know." Twilight interrupted before the conversation could get any worse. "I will be leaving now." Twilight said as she slowly backed out of the house. "Well that was odd." Twilight muttered to herself. Twilight reviewed the decorations one final time and decided that everything was in order.

Dead woke up, it must have been around half six in the morning judging by the light coming in through the curtains. Dead checked the bed to see if Ditzy had forgotten to wake up for her job, like every day she hadn't. After a long sigh Dead got up and out of bed, she gingerly walked down the hall to see if Ditzy had made breakfast. Unlike everyday nothing was waiting for her. Dead sighed form the break of normality and checked the cupboards for food, they were empty.

"Odd, could have sworn that me and Cherilee only just recently restocked the shelves." Dead sighed to herself and decided to check if Dinky was in her room, she might be hiding a stockpile of food somewhere. Dead slowly walked up the hallway towards Dinky's bedroom. The house was strangely quiet. Dead gently pushed the bedroom door open and peered in. It was empty.

"Where is everypony?" Dead asked angrily to the air. Her voice bounced around the empty house. With one final pout Dead decided it would be a good idea to head out and search. Dead walked out the door and locked it from the outside. Dead turned around and saw a sign with an arrow that pointed firmly towards Carousal Boutique. Dead sighed. "Now I wonder what they are up to?" Dead puzzled to herself, she shrugged and decided to follow the signs.

Dead was about halfway to the clothes shop when the signs stopped. The last sign had been turned around and it pointed backwards. "How odd..." Dead started, however a brown sack being thrown over her head cut her off. A purple magic swiftly bound her hooves and flipped her upside down. Dead tried to shout out for help, however a spell kept her silent. Unable to speak, see or move Dead gave in and stopped struggling.

Dead tried to scan her captors with her magic, however some sort of mental block prevented her from identifying their race. Dead sighed and tried a second time, her magic fizzled out and a draining spell took the rest of her energy. Distorted voice mocked her.

"Nice try, but you will have to do better then that!" A voice mocked Dead as she was carried around.

"Mmmmppphhhhh..." Dead struggled against the spell that was keeping her mute.

"Well well, looks like she breaking the silence." The voice noted.

"I'l get that then, don't strain yourself m'lady." Another voice mocked. "Harr, harr harr." Dead rolled her eyes and tried a second time to break the silence.

"Grrrrr...." Dead growled.

"Oh, somepony is getting snappy. Oh and for the record Dead, this wasn't my idea." A third voice said.

"Oh yeah, go figure you would completely wuss out of it. I would have bet bits on it." A forth voice joined in.

"Urmff!" Dead groaned against her mute. "Shut up..." Dead was able to squeak quietly.

"Oh look, she fighting against your spell. Maybe you should try and, I don't know practice?" One of the voice said.

"You try practicing in my line of work! Its downright hard. Why didn't you do it then?"

"Because I don't know that spell..."

"Exactly..! Sorry about that..."

"..."

A silence fell over the ground for the rest of the short journey. When the group finally arrived Dead could hear the sound of a door being opened and then shut. The magical bonds were removed, however the bag remained of Dead's head. The sound of a door opening and closing could be heard again and Dead decided to try and remove the bag on her head.

Dead quickly scanned the room she was being held in. It was... Rarity's house as far as she could tell. Dead got up and tried the door, it was bolted shut. An inky black fog covered the windows that prevent Dead from seeing out.

Grim, Twilight, Cadance, Rarity and Nazz were all stood outside the clothes shop. Cadance was rubbing her head and the others looked rather tired.

"Urgh that did not work well. I can't believe she was able to break that silence!" Cadance groaned. "My head is pounding like a drum..."

"Tell me about it, her magical focus provided her with some degree of defense about my grip." Twilight gently touched her horn and the winced in pain. "Even with no magical energy she struggled heavily... Without even knowing!"

"I was not a fan of doing that, but what do we do now? We still have to finish setting up." Rarity sighed. "Why did she have to wake early..."

"Rarity, I think it would be a good idea to go in an comfort her. She is probably scared out of her mind." Nazz sighed. "Even if she is hiding it..."

"Wait we scared her?" Cadance said sounding concerned. "Did we go to far?"

"What else could we do? She was about to walk into the half completed surprise party." Grim sighed. "Look, if we get the others maybe you could say this was some kind of erotic set-up?" Grim blushed slightly. "Oh gods that sounded bad..."

"That is not a bad idea Grim, I will go round up the other. Rarity you go in an explain what is happening to Dead." Cadance happily said. "Ohhhhh this will be a very fun day..." Cadance said evilly, she started to laugh. Grim and Nazz joined in and the trio were laughing evilly.

"You all scare me sometimes..." Twilight joked. Twilight's horn briefly lit up and then died down. "Alright Rarity, you should be able to pass through the doorway now... Good luck."

Dead sat back on the sofa, she sighed and glanced around. Dead attention was drawn towards the kitchen when her stomach rumbled hungrily. "Still hungry..." Dead sighed.

"Hello Dead..." A voice echoed from behind Dead. Dead quickly turned her head around.

"R-Rarity? How'd you get in here? The door is locked and I didn't hear it open..." Dead quickly stammered, however before she could go on Rarity gently pressed her hoof against Dead's mouth, silencing her.

"All in due time Dead. Now do you have any idea why you are here?" Rarity kept her hoof covering Dead's mouth. Dead gently shock her head, signaling that didn't know why she was stuck in the clothes shop. "Well I was talking to the others and we had a few ideas... " Rarity stopped. "Just say shake your head if you want me to stop." Rarity relaxed, she was sure Dead was going to shake her head. However Rarity was rather surprised when nodded her head to signal Rarity to go on. "Very well Dead..."

The quiet before the storm...

Twilight finished scouting the soon to be party, she had come to the conclusion that everything was in order and that it was time to get Dead. Twilight was about to knock on the door when a hoof stopped her in her tracks.

"Sorry Twilight, but you really don't want to go in there." Cadance stated as she pulled Twilight back from the door. "They're busy..." Cadance chuckled as Twilight blushed slightly.

"Thanks Cadance, would not like to have walked in that." Twilight sternly said. "Do you know how long they will be?" Twilight asked.

"Well we will know when they are finished because Rarity will come out looking like she has been to a spa, Rainbow will come out looking confident and proud..." Cadance started, however before she could go on Twilight signaled her to stop.

"Alright... I think I get it." Twilight sighed happily. "Dead just had to wake up. And Grim just had to have that idea." Twilight chuckled happily as she sat down.

"Ain't no sex like birthday sex. And yes, I know from experience." Cadance chuckled madly as Twilight blushed furiously.

"Cadance, you seem to have changed a bit..." Twilight sighed, Cadance stopped laughing and looked seriously. Twilight took this as a signal to keep talking. "Since you started studying necromancy you sense of humor has gotten rather dark..." Twilight sighed. "Dead warned us that necromancy can change ponies and make them evil. I don't want to see you go down that dark path."

"Twilight." Cadance placed her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm still Cadance, I will never stop being Cadance. Nothing will ever change me or make me evil. And besides if I ever did turn evil I would totally get you on my side." Cadance laughed happily and Twilight joined in.

"Apparently if anypony is turning evil and I am the pony you want on your side!" Twilight laughed. "Speaking of evil things, hows your studies going along?" Twilight asked.

"Its going well, I have gotten the basic spell down. Nazz did something rather nice for me." Cadance said smugly. Twilight nodded her head slowly. "He is currently 'spying' on me. And by that I mean helping me out a fair amount. I'm catching on rather fast apparently." Cadance said proudly.

"I see, well I won't lie to you. I have been studying a fair amount of necromancy. Since Dead arrived really. However recently she showed me something." Twilight slowly said. "I'm just asking, but do you know about any scrolls that are used to help novice necromancers?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, Nazz told me about them. Some of them can be used to advance skills, some can be used to learn spells that a pony would not be able to cast. And finally they can be used to open mental blocks on the mind. Since necromancy was always considered a dark art it only seemed fitting that some sort of mental block was put in place by Celestia." Cadance explained.

"Celestia put a magical block on everypony? How did she manage that?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Not everypony, only those that showed potential to get corrupted. And those she holds dearly. Like you Twilight!" Cadance exclaimed happily.

"Really? When did she do that?" Twilight asked. "And wouldn't I have noticed it at some point or other?"

"Well she probably did it over time, so that you wouldn't notice it." Cadance said. "I don't blame her though, dark magic can be highly volatile, even the simplest of spells can backfire and have negative reactions." Cadance sighed. "Trust me, I know that from experience."

"Well, then I guess I haven't had any spells backfire on me then. I have covered the basics but Dead seems to think I could learn some of the more advanced spells. I don't really know what to do about it though... What would Celestia think?" Twilight sorrowfully said.

"I will tell you what she told me. Its your life Twilight, you do what you want. Just make sure you don't forget who you are and what you fight for, remember those you love and friends..." Cadance said happily and smiled at Twilight who returned the smile.

"Thanks Cadance, I needed that." Twilight sighed happily. "So... Have any idea when they will be out?"

"Nope, to be honest I am kind of shocked they have been going at it for this long. Good thing we soundproofed it." Cadance chuckled happily. Cadance twitched slightly and shivered. "That was odd... Did you feel that Twilight?" Cadance quickly scanned the nearby area. "Twilight does anything look out of place to you?" Cadance's eyes darted around. "Something feels out of place!"

"Yes..." Twilight sighed. "I feel something, something familiar. Something odd..." Twilight scanned the nearby area. "That plant pot has moved." Twilight pointed to a plant pot that was in the middle of the pathway. "And there is an extra flower."

"Oh boo! You found me!" A voice boomed. "Well I admit defeat." The voice chuckled madly. Twilight jumped back.

"Discord! I knew something felt familiar!" Twilight shouted. "Show yourself!" Twilight ordered.

"Very well. But only if you don't blast me away." Discord asked pleasantly. "Pretty please?"

Twilight sighed. "Only if you don't do anything radical." Twilight insisted. "If you promise me that I will not blast you." Twilight rubbed her chin slightly. "And tell me what you are doing here!"

Discord magically appeared in front of Twilight. "Repaying a favor. I may have said a few upstart things to Dead a long time ago. I had always intended to show up when she was celebrating something, but she never did. This is the first time Dead will experience the pleasures of a birthday party." Discord floated down to Twilight's level. "And before you ask, the spell that freed me will send me back after the party."

Twilight sighed. "Alright, but I am doing this for Dead okay? And if you do anything to hurt anypony I will make you regret it!" Twilight threatened. "Now that's out of the way, what do you have planned?"

"Nothing to extreme. Nothing to major until the skeletons show up!" Discord happily announced.

"How do you know skeletons will be at the party?" Cadance asked.

"Well, there are four advance necromancers and two trainees. How can there not be any skeletons?" Discord announced happily as he flew a circle.

"Good point..." Cadance sighed. "Maybe we should have rethink the guest list." Cadance chuckled. "Wait... How did you know?"

"You reek of necromatic energy. That magic has a strong signature." Discord clicked his fingers and purple energy pulsed out of Cadance and Twilight. "That's what you look like to me." Discord chucked madly and then vanished. "See you at the party!"

"Wait!" Twilight shouted, when Discord failed to return Twilight sighed. "Well this is going to be hard to explain." Twilight looked at her hoof as it pulsated purple. "I mean, how do you explain a strange pulsating energy?"

"Well it will be easy to explain if Discord shows up, however until then... We could just tell everypony?" Cadance asked, however before Twilight could respond Cadance went on. "No that's a terrible idea, only you, the others, Princess Celestia and Shining know about me. And I doubt anyone apart from me and Dead know about you."

"Yep... I have kept the quiet..." Twilight sighed. "Everypony is going to be upset that I lied to them..."

"No they won't, trust me Twilight your friends won't hate you because you hid this from them." Cadance said, reassuring Twilight. Cadance then gently placed her hoof of Twilight's should and smiled at her. Twilight smiled weakly back at her. "And trust me, nopony will thing you are evil. I know this because I can still hear Shining laughing from when I told him." Cadance rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, he has a tendency to do that. Laugh at something for a long time." Twilight chuckled weakly. "But what if they think less of me?"

"Trust me Twilight, they won't." Cadance said firmly.

"Alright Cadance! Lets get ready for the party then!" Twilight announced triumphantly.

The door to the clothes shop slowly opened. Rarity, Dead, Ditzy, Cherilee and Rainbow dash all walked out looking rather happy. However the group stopped when they saw Cadance and Twilight outside the clothes shop. Dead paused and looked around at the party decorations. "Hey, is there some sort of holiday that nopony told me about?" Dead asked, ignoring the energy pulsating out of Cadance and Twilight.

"I guess you could say that Dead, tell me what you think of the decorations!" Twilight happily asked, forgetting about the energy that pulsated out of her and her former foalsitter. "Also have you noticed anything different about me and Cadance?"

The other four ponies that had come out of the clothes shop had obviously noticed the energy, they were speechless and were just staring at Twilight and Cadance. Meanwhile Dead just rubbed her chin. "Nope! Nothing odd about you two. Now tell me what the holiday is about!" Dead happily insisted. "I need to no if it was okay to have sex on it." Dead chuckled as her four marefriends snapped out of their trances and blushed. After a few moments of light blushing and the odd murmur Rarity finally said what was one everypony's mind except Dead's.

"Twilight, Cadance. What happened to you? You look like you're about to explode." Rarity asked. "Who did this to you?"

"Well Rarity, first of all..." Twilight started. "I have been studying necromancy for a while now." Twilight paused and waited for one of the four ponies to say something. When none of them did she decided to go on. "Well, Discord showed up a while ago and made it so that the magical signature of necromancy a bit more... Telling." Twilight started to giggle slightly.

"Oh he did that?" Dead said abruptly. "I have seen that since you started studying. It helps me identify possible students... Or it did." Dead chuckled happily. "I have never had a student to teach in my entire life."

"Maybe you should teach Twilight, it would seem like a good idea." Rarity said.

"Hm, Celestia already teaches Twilight... So I won't for now. It would be a tad bit too much for Twilight." Dead smirked. "Now tell me what is going on!"

"We need to find the others first. The I will tell you what is going on." Twilight said as the group started to search for the other necromancers and the other elements.

"Alright Twilight, we have found the rest of your... Our friends, the necromancers and we also managed to get Discord to stick around for a bit. Now please tell me what is going on." Dead sighed as the rather large group of lifeforms were stood outside of the decorated clothes shop. Rainbow had pulled a few dark clouds over from a nearby storm. The clouds were dark but would not rain.

"Well Dead, I think it would be best for Pinkie to explain..." Twilight said as Pinkie started shaking uncontrollably.

"Happy happy happy birthday! Happy birthday to you!" Pinkie sang happily as Dead's expression turned into one that was dumbstruck. Pinkie kept singing her song until... "Happy five thousand six hundred and twenty eighth birthday!" Pinkie stopped singing and rubbed her chin. "Wow I don't think we have that many candles!"

"Pinkie... I thought we said we weren't going to shout out how old she was..." Rarity sighed. "That was rather unladylike."

"Sorry Rarity..." Pinkie stopped in her tracks and calmed down. "I guess I got carried away." Pinkie's mane started to deflated until she saw Dead laughing.

"Five thousand!" Dead laughed. "I am really, really old. I should be in a museum!" Dead fell on the floor at started pounding it with her fore-hooves. "I just... I am so happy! You don't know how happy this has made me!" Dead got up slowly and calmed down. "Alright then, lets kick this party up to an eleven!" Dead announced happily.

What can only be described as 'the building storm'

The party had just started, a few ponies from around the town had been attracted to the large celebration. Dead was chatting happily away to a small group of ponies.

"And then I said, 'sure its all well and good you telling me that, but what happens when the skeletal dragon bursts from the ground and eats you, again and again and again?' And the of course that scared the poor griffon half to death and he ran back to his clan." Dead chuckled happily. "Not too long after that the griffons stopped sending assassins after me." A few of the ponies backed away from Dead and a few grew closer. Dead shuffled around awkwardly , a few of the ponies picked up on this and decided to try and break the ice.

"So how long were hiding from the griffon empire then?" One of the ponies asked.

"Not much longer then a few hundred years. After they found out I wasn't dead they sent a few assassins after me, but I was able to scare them away pretty quickly. After that they stopped." Dead chuckled and disengaged from the group. "Well I got to go find Pinkie to find out what is happening." Dead said happily as she left the group.

After a few minutes of aimlessly wondering around Dead eventually Pinkie, she was in a large group and telling jokes. "And I was like 'OATMEAL? Are you crazy!' And they were like whhhhaaatttt?" Pinkie laughed and the rest of the group joined in. Despite the party only just starting a large amount of ponies had show up. As soon as Pinkie noticed Dead she quickly ran over and happily greeted Dead. "And here's the birthday mare herself!"

As funny as Pinkie blurting out my age earlier was, I was rather reluctant to talk to ponies. A few 'you're how old's!?' had brought me into the party rather quickly. Tell a couple of ponies about my relations with the griffons was uplifting, even if I lied about letting them live. Still, that was in the past, now I just wanted to know when the party was going to start.

"Hey Pinkie!" I greeted Pinkie happily, trying to guess what would come next. Pinkie was rather unpredictable at best.

"So what's on your mind?" Pinkie happily said. I really loved that about her, her perky attitude was always uplifting and she just seemed to make everpony happy as well. "Wait let me guess, you want your present!"

"Nope!" I happily announced, it always felt good telling ponies they were wrong. A part of the old me that remained prominent. "I just want to know what we have planned today." I stated plainly, Pinkie rubbed her chin and pulled a rather long list out of her mane. Rather then question how she kept that in her mane, I decided to remain quiet.

"Alright!  The party officially starts in an hour!" I really didn't know that Pinkie parties had a designated start time. "And around mid-day the DJ should arrive at the train station. We have a whole bunch of games planned. Some for adults and some for foals." I didn't bother questioning what'adult' games were planned. Pinkie's cheery attitude meant that she couldn't be sexual, or so I thought. "And during the evening we have the mature party for the older ponies, like Twilight." I resisted the urge to burst out laughing.

"Cool, I guess I will just mingle around for a bit. Its nice to getting know some new ponies!" I stated happily, Pinkie quickly jolted back into the small group she talking to. I wondered around for bit before bumping into Rainbow Dash, I spent the next two seconds wondering if I would regret bumping into her.

"Sup Dead, what's a sexy mare like you wondering around alone on her birthday?" It was odd, I was feeling a slight tinge of love and regret. "Have any issues with me hanging with you?" Slightly less regret now, and Rainbow's confident manner and smile made me feel warm inside.

"None at all." I stated happily, Rainbow quickly trundled next to be and bumped her flank into mine. "I see somepony is still a bit on." I joked, however Rainbow's blush seemed to suggest that it was true.

"Y-Yeah..." Rainbow cutely stuttered, it was always rather amusing watching her flounder when being put on the spot. "Not my fault were all so dam sexy." Rainbow happily stated as her confidence surged back. I chuckled, that was good and quick.

"So got any plans currently?" I asked, not like I had any plans. "Maybe we could go talk to somepony?" I suggested, but knowing Rainbow she would probably like to go somewhere a bit more privet.

"Uh..." Rainbow rubbed her chin. "I heard that Applejack has a small little table of food set up, maybe we could get a bite to eat?" Rainbow suggested and I nodded. "Alright then! Lets go!" Rainbow started to run ahead however my slow pace made her slow down so that she could walk next to me. Rainbow tried to hurry me, however I remained walking at my slow pace. Rainbow sighed. "Could you be any slower?"

"Yes, I can go a lot slower." I teased. "But I won't right now." I giggled happily and Rainbow rolled her eyes, teasing Rainbow was all too fun. "Come on Rainbow, lighten up. It is my birthday after all. Even if things are a little slow." I giggled again, I sounded like a school filly.

We walked for a while, around Rarity's house and towards Applejack's farm. A small stall was set up just between the halfway point at the edge of the party.  A small sunny patch from a hole in the cloud cloud made the little stall look bright in comparison to the rest of the party, which was under dark clouds. Applejack and her little sister were tending the stall to make sure nopony helped themselves to food before the party started.

"Howdy!" Applejack greeted me and Rainbow with her stranded greeting, like every time I saw her. Rainbow quickly ran up and attempted to charge the food stall while I sat down and rolled my eyes, it was obvious what was going to happen here. Rainbow picked up speed and attempted snatch a few apple treats, however she was defected by Applejack. "Rainbow! If everypony ate some now there wouldn't be any for the party!" Applejack shouted as Rainbow got up and huffed, once again I found myself chucking happily to Rainbow's failed plan.

"Rainbow, we could always wait until the party starts." I suggested jokingly, a small smile crept onto Rainbow's face.

"Didn't we just eat out?" I sighed and my hoof slapped into my face with enough force to knock me backwards. I sat back up and frowned at Rainbow, who was now sporting a massive grin while Applejack's jaw was dropped slightly. Rainbow turned and looked at Applejack, she then burst out laughing and fell to the floor.

"Really Rainbow? How old are you? Two?" I angrily said. "Act your age not your IQ." I smiled and Rainbow paused for a grand total of ten seconds.

"...Hey!" Rainbow frowned and got up. "Not funny." I started to smile, this was going to be fun.

"No, the really funny part was the fact that it took you ten seconds to connect the dots. You may be the fastest flyer, but you are by no means the fastest thinker." I taunted Rainbow and my smile grew bigger, even Applejack was starting to giggle slightly. I decided to pull the plug before Rainbow made an even bigger idiot of herself. "Come on Rainbow, we can come back later. I want to see what game Pinkie has arranged!" I eagerly said, when Rainbow remained still I threw on my best puppy eyes and pleaded. "Pleaseeeeeeee!" I knew what Rainbow was going to say next.

"Hm, I guess we could check out the games. But first..." I didn't give Rainbow a chance to finish, I jumped onto her and pulled her into a deep kiss. She gently opened her mouth and I was quick to start wrestling with her tongue. The kiss lasted for a few seconds before I pulled out and turned my attention to Applejack.

"Sometime you got to give baby it's bottle." I joked. "We will be leaving you in peace now." I started to walk away and Rainbow quickly jumped up and followed me. I sighed happily as Rainbow caught up with me.

"Way to tease me." Rainbow huffed evidently having sex in front of one of her friends was alright by her standards. "I'm sure Applejack wouldn't of minded." I sighed.

"And her sister? Did you stop to think of her?" I sighed. "She was under the table, hence why I stopped when I did." I rolled my eyes and then began walking aimlessly, I had no clue where I was going. "Rainbow, you're normally good when it come to non-sexual games. What do you recommend?" I asked.

"Well personally I would..." Rainbow started as we headed into the slowly forming party.

A few hours later... just before midday.

I bobbed my head underwater for the seventh time, for the life of me I could not seem to get an apple. It wasn't fair, everpony else had an apple except me. Sure my friends had offered me an apple, but its not the same as winning one. I brought my head up and sighed, once again my mouth was appleless. I took a deep breath and dived again, I was going to get an apple, even if it killed me. I failed again and had to come up for air.

"Dead, I don't want you hurting yourself. Please stop." I heard Cherilee say. I quickly turned to see if I could see her, she was coming over from a nearby pumpkin-catapult that had been re-purposed to fire mock skulls that were on fire. Rainbow smiled as Cherilee stood next to her. "You've been going at it for an hour now, maybe you should stop." Cherilee sighed and pulled a sad puppy face, there was no way I was diving back down now... I sighed and pulled away from the bucket and gave it a cold glare, that caused the water to freeze over. I sighed at my uncontrollable burst of ice energy.

"Finally!" Rainbow cheered, mocking my failure by celebrating my defeat.  "The DJ should be here any moment, we don't want to miss out on the good spots."

"Oh and Dead, happy birthday!" Cherilee said happily, aside from Pinkie she had been the only one to say that. Most of the ponies knew it but didn't say it.

"Thanks, Cherilee." I said rather flatly, but my smile showed how happy I was. The three of us started walking towards the makeshift stage that had been set up, a large amount of ponies were waiting outside the boundaries of it and a few bouncers were prevent ponies from entering. The three of us made our way over to one of the bouncers, before he could stop us I stated our intentions. "Dead, Rainbow and Cherilee. Should be on the list." I once again wondered to myself. 'How did Pinkie pull this all together?'

"Ummm..." The bouncer pulled out a note pad and flicked through it quickly. "Yep, that checks out alright." The bouncer stepped aside and let us past. A gave him a small 'thank you' smile. The large makeshift stage had a few VIPs sat down already, some at the back and some right up close to the front.

"So where do we sit?" I asked. "I don't see Ditzy or Rarity at the moment so I guess that means we get to choose where we sit." Rainbow stopped in her tracks and surveyed the small area.

"Lets go over there!" Rainbow said a tad too loud for my liking. The three of us were sat near the back right next to a small food table. "Ah this is the life." Rainbow sat down and I sat down next to her, Cherilee then sat down next to me. I sighed happily and Cherilee leaned into my neck and Rainbow draped her wing over me, I was rather content in staying like this for the time being. Rainbow yawned rather loudly. "So I wonder what the others are up to?"

"Rarity!" Marcia happily announced as she opened the door to the clothes shop. She paused for a moment and smelled the air. "I will not ask about that smell..." Marcia chuckled happily briefly. "Rarity? Are you in? The sign said open."

"Just a moment darling, I'm getting the dress ready." Rarity called out from the back of the store. "Just wait right there!" Marcia sighed and sat down on a chair and tapped her chin with one of her claws. Rarity quickly came out from the back store. "I do hope you like it, I tried to avoid making it too frilly." Rarity levitated a elegant dress out from the store room, the color scheme compliment Marcia's natural orange scales and green underbelly. A few engravings on the dress added to the effect but did not draw attention away from the wearer. Rarity levitated the elegant dress over to Marcia and dropped it in her claws.

Marcia was quick to put it on, she walked over to the large mirror and stood up straight and examined her reflection. The dress itself was a dark red, various little skull and tear drops were embroidered in silver and black thread. "I look amazing! I love it!" Marcia giggled happily. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Marcia quickly ran outside and return with a large backpack in her claws. She reached into the bag and pulled out a moderately large sack. She shock the sack and it jingled slightly. "Five-hundred bits should cover labor." Marcia placed the sack down next to Rarity and opened it. "All genuine, no fakes or rocks. I am a honest dragon."

"F-F-Five hundred?" Rarity stuttered. "F-For a single dress? Are you sure?" Rarity sat back on the floor.

"Of course, a custom made dress for a teenage dragon is rare to come by. And besides, being a necromancer earns me around a thousand bits a month. Yeah, dragons pay well if you are vital to the survival of everything." Marcia chuckled. "Do you mind me asking how long it took to make?"

"Not too long, the longest part was designing the dress. I wanted something that captured your personality, but didn't scream necromancer or be to frilly." Rarity stated. "Are you interested in buying some more?"

"Yep! Maybe five... And that will be two-thousand and five hundred bits, I think I will pay in advance." Marcia chuckled and pulled an even larger bag of bits out her backpack. "You would be surprised how much bits you save when you don't need to eat or pay for medical care, or a house, or anything except the odd trip to the spa and the bathing pools." Marcia sat back down. "I think I will enchant this one for now..." Marcia took the dress off and levitated in a pale white energy that radiated from her claws and spines. The dress pulsed and then settled back down in her claws. "Perfect! I will wear this during the evening party!" Marcia happily announced, she turned and then left the clothes shop.

Rarity got up and levitated the two bag of bits. "Three thousand bits in one day..." Rarity chucked to herself and then locked up and headed towards the makeshift stage near her house.

At the end of the party Dead goes a tad bit crazy and summons something up... That is all I am saying MUHAHAHAHAHAHA

What can only be described as 'a party and/or rave'

Ponies were dancing everywhere, lights were bouncing off the clouds everywhere and to top it all off the DJ had only been playing for two minutes. Dead however, remained seated. Rarity was gently leaning into her neck with Cherilee doing the same except on the other side. Ditzy and Rainbow were dancing in the dance section of the small concert, Dead wasn't listening to the music although the words 'spooky scary skeletons' seemed to be chanted a lot. Dead chuckled happily. "So this party, pretty off the hook right?" Dead said happily.

"I'm not really the pony to talk to about that, I'm always planning lessons or marking work." Cherilee calmly spoke over the music. "But if its just like this, I'm happy." Cherilee sighed and gently kissed Dead's neck. "I know its been said so many times, but you look too normal to be a necromancer."

"Well, you have changed since you came back. A good change if I may say so." Rarity joined in. "I would be dancing, but when Twilight goes up ponies tend to duck out." Rarity chuckled slightly. "Before you ask, it is that bad." Rarity's chuckle turned into a laugh and Cherilee joined in.

"I have heard the rumors about it, but I have never seen it for myself." Cherilee looked around. "Oh my..." Cherilee blushed as she saw Twilight dancing in the middle of all the dancers. A small empty circle surrounded her. "Wow... I didn't know..."

"Yes... It is a sight to see." Dead said awkwardly. "I would join in, but I can't dance and nor do I want try... If that is the result." Dead sighed as the music picked up in temp. "Say has any of you seen the other necromancers?"

"I saw Marcia dancing a moment ago, she seemed to really like the dress I made for her." Rarity said proudly. "I am rather happy with the finish product, and the payment." Rarity shock her head. "Five-hundred bits per dress!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Ah Dead! There is the mare of the hour." Grim shouted as he landed next to the trio sat down. His large overbearing body shadowed the three ponies sat down. "I have for you, a gift." The griffon produced a small box wrapped up neatly in purple wrapping paper with a blue bow and ribbon. Dead gently took the small package and rested in in front of her. "You can open it now, no need to wait." Grim said happily.

Dead gently tugged at the bow with magic, it unraveled and wrapping paper fell off. A small born box sprung open and Dead took its contents out by hoof. A strange twisted horn that was strung on a beaded necklace was gently floating in the air. "Wow, a demon horn necklace, these are rare." Dead calmly said, trying to hide her excitement. "How did you get this?"

"I made it from scratch, killed a demon and enchanted it to act as a magic absorbent. I have had a long time to prepare for your fist birthday party..." Grim sighed happily. "I hope you have wonderful day Dead. Now I am going to join Twilight on the floor, no need to let her suffer by herself." Grim took off and vanished in the dark sky.

"That is certainly a unique gift Dead, what does it do?" Rarity politely asked.

"It is a demon horn necklace, enchanted heavily to increase my magical strength and reduce the impact magic has on me." Dead explained. "Grim told me three-thousand years ago that he was hunting a demon for its horn. I had no idea it was for me though..." Dead sighed happily.

"Wow, I guess hes a pretty good griffon then?" Cherilee added.

"The only one I can stand to be around." Dead sighed happily. "He stopped me when I was younger, trained me, nurtured me..." Dead lost herself in thought before snapping back to reality. "Maybe someday I will tell you all of my past. Just not right now."

"That's fine by me Dead, as much as you are comfortable with." Rarity said happily. "We should go up and dance." Rarity suddenly said.

"Umm why?" Dead asked.

"its your birthday, and i just saw Grim dancing." Rarity chuckled. "And before you ask. A lot worse. I doubt you could do worse then that."

"What do you think Cherilee?" Dead happily asked. "I will dance if we are all willing to. I see no harm in dancing."

"I didn't intend to, but I want to see what you are like dancing Dead. And besides, whats the worst that can happen?"

Dead's ability to dance was the polar opposite of her ability to conjure the dead. It would seem that all the necromancers could not dance to modern music. Dead's rather repulsive dancing had thrown several ponies around and nearly caused the end of the world, twice. Dead's popping and locking had worn here out, she retired back to her seat and sighed. Dead turned and looked at Rainbow who had retired before her.

"Told you I was bad at dancing." Dead stated proudly. "I don't get this 'dub-step' I don't see why anypony would want to drop a bass... They're fish and they live in the water." Dead sighed and looked around. She could still see Twilight and Grim dancing. Cherilee was just coming back and Marcia had just entered wearing her new dress. Marcia quickly spotted Dead and flew over.

"Hey Dead, nice to see you." Marcia said happily as she landed. "Like my dress?" Marcia span on the spot.

"Its certainly nice, I will thank Rarity for doing such a brilliant job." Dead said happily. "I hope you didn't see me dancing, I was rather terrible."

"But Dead, I know you can dance. I know you can dance well. I have seen you dance." Marcia paused and listened to the music briefly. "Just not to this." Marcia spotted Grim dancing like a loony and gave a hearty laugh. "How long will this stay on for? I have an idea that involves skeletons."

"This is the second hour the DJ has been playing, I doubt they will stay up on the stage for much longer." Cherilee said. "I'm Cherilee by the way."

"Pleased to meet you Cherilee, now I need to go and find Nazz. Do you know if hes disguised?" Marcia asked Dead.

"I think he is Grey Mane the magical at the moment, not sure though." Dead sighed. "He may be Blue beard the Not-so-magical. I honestly don't know anymore, too many titles."

"I know how you feel, I lose track of him a lot. He always tries to be a famous magician." Marcia sighed. "I heard he got sent to 'spy' on Cadance. She might know who he is."

"Somedragon say my name?" Cadance announced as she came down from the cloud she was sat on.

"Do you know who Nazz is at this present time?" Marcia asked.

"At the Empire he is Tide Turner, captain of the weather team." Cadance stated. "Cobalt blue pegasus with sapphire mane." Cadance stated happily. "Quite the sight when in flight."

"I am shocked, he is not trying to be some famous mage. That is so unlike him." Marcia said with a sarcastic tone.

"He wanted too, but I told him that we don't need a court mage. He wanted to try and get 'close' to me so that he could teach me a few spells every now and then." Cadance quickly spotted a slow grin appearing on Marcia. "And no, not in that way. I am happily married."

"Eh? What?" Marcia snapped. "I didn't mean it like that, geez." Marcia huffed. "Anyway, have you seen him?"

"Yes, he is in the north-west section. Dancing with a few mares." Cadance rolled her eyes. "Go figure."

"Alright, well I got to go see him. See ya Cadance!" Marcia shouted as she took to the skies.

"So Cadance, how have you been? Aside from Discord being Discord." Dead curiously asked.

"Its been good Dead, aside from watching ponies fail at dancing." Cadance sighed. "Equestria needs more dance studious, seriously. This many ponies dancing poorly should be a crime." Cadance joked happily.

"Dead, what was Marcia saying about you being able to dance?" Cherilee probed.

"I can dance... Just not to modern music. Grim taught us how to dance as a 'get to know the things you will be working with for the next eternity' shortly after I joined the group." Dead answered. "I am worried about what Marcia has planned. I hope she doesn't use to many skeletons, they can be rather frightful."

"Would you say that they are spooky scary?" Cadance joked.

"Yes..." Dead said flatly.

"Would you say that they send shivers town your spine?" Cadance continued.

"Oh... I was slow on that one..." Dead chuckled happily as the group shared a laugh. "Hey Rainbow, you have been rather quiet. Whats up?"

"Tired. All that dancing really wears a mare out." Rainbow yawned. "Cherilee do you plan on moving for the next hour?"

"I don't have any plans to..." Cherilee started. Within moments Rainbow had gotten up and walked around and was lying on Cherilee's chest.

"Good, for the next hour could you be my pillow?" Rainbow asked as she started to drift off into a shallow sleep.

"Sure... Not like I have a choice..." Cherilee sighed. "Hey Dead, if they change the music to something more suited would you go back up?"

"Only if I was with Nazz, hes the only one I can dance with efficiently." Dead sighed. "Took years of practice but we finally nailed it." Dead proudly stated.

"So what kind of dance is it?" Cherilee asked politely.

"Its a waltz, but we can also dance a mean tango. Back when we danced the waltz was the 'hip young thing' everpony tried to do." Dead stated happily. "Now only aristocrats reliving the old days really dance to it." Dead sighed.

"Hey Dead, if I learned how to waltz would you dance with me?" Cadance curiously asked.

"Uh, I suppose so. But the dance I do is rather complex. You should watch me and Nazz do it first." Dead happily said. "This reminds me of when I first met Grim..." Dead said as she started to slip into a daydreaming state. She quickly snapped out. "But that's for some other time."

For the first time in a while the music started to quieten. A large number of ponies returned to their seats and the music faded. Dead looked around briefly and saw Twilight and Ditzy walking over. However she couldn't see any of the necromancers. Dead sighed and shock her head.

"Whats up Dead?" Ditzy asked as she settled next to Dead in the spot Rainbow had been sat in. "Something on your mind?"

"The other necromancers, I can't see them." Dead nervously said. "The last thing you want to do it lose track of necromancers at your birthday party." Dead sighed. "I only hope they wait for the majority of ponies to leave."

"I see, well I hope it goes well for you Dead." Ditzy said happily as she leaned into Dead. "Have you seen much of Rarity?"

"No I haven't." Dead shook her head. "Has anypony here seen Rarity since we got up and danced?"

"I'm over here!" Rarity shouted from far left. "Just had to talk to somepony about a possible dress." Rarity chuckled happily as she came over. "Sometimes business never stops."

Rarity sat down next to Ditzy and sighed happily. Ditzy draped her wing over Rarity and gently pilled her in. Rarity gently muzzled Ditzy neck and all members of the love group sighed happily, except Rainbow who was snoring loudly. "This is nice." Cherilee sighed happily. "We should do this more often." The music had stopped and a lot of the ponies were leaving. A few minutes passed and soon it was only Dead, the necromancers, Twilight and her friends and the rest of the love group. For once, it was calm.

What can be only described as 'anything but ballroom dancing with skeletons'

"Hey Dead!"

"What is it?"

"The necromancers are on the stage. Are we in danger?"

"Not yet at least..."

Marcia, Grim and Nazz -or- Tide Turner were stood on the stage. They were talking about various things that they could do in the remainder of Dead's birthday. It was getting colder and darker every ten minutes. The sun was starting to set and a natural darkness started to slowly creep in.

"I'm just saying I know Dead can dance to that old stuff. But who is saying she wants to?" Marcia argued. "I know the Equestrian music scene has taken a turn towards dub-step. But surely there are other music scenes we could use. I liked the rock and roll phase the griffon empire went through a few hundred years ago." Marcia rested in midair hovering gently. "We need something that really screams 'Dead' and we can't just summon a skeleton rave, those are annoying after the first three-hundred." Marcia laughed happily.

"I agree with Marcia." Nazz stated as he flashed back to his normal form. "And besides, just look at her over there. She is as snug as a bug in a rug over there." Nazz pointed to Dead and her lovers. The changeling giggled happily. "Such a strange and tasty love..."

"Hey, calm down lover ling. You had your chance." Grim rolled his eyes. "Even if it was a few thousand years ago, you still had it. And you can't say that you didn't try because she didn't know. You could have easily taught her." Grim chuckled evilly.

"Yes... Whatever." Nazz sighed. "Its not like it would even work though." The changeling huffed. "It would be very hard explaining her to the others, or why I was getting fed better."

"But you could just fall into one of your personas and live with Dead." Marcia stated. "Maybe you should have taken a shot, it could have worked." Marcia paused briefly. "We are going off track, back to music."

"Yes... This topic is resurfacing a large amount of memories that I would rather not remember." Nazz sighed. "But I do think with going with what Marcia said would be a good idea. I'm not sure if the rock and roll scene ever made it to the ponies." Nazz chuckled. "Just like them to miss out on something 'cool.' Oh well."

"I don't know, I think we should go with something she can dance to. Something that won't tire her out, but she won't be doing nothing." Grim suggested. "Not that playing some old music isn't a good idea, had it been any other time I would have said yes." Grim shook his head and sighed. "We need something we can relax to."

"Come on Grim, don't be such a killjoy." Marcia pouted. "Can't we just have fun for once?"

"Not if it wake up the whole town." Grim huffed. "I say we do a pleasant waltz and that's final!" Grim ordered.

"Oh yeah? Its two against one. What do you  say Nazz?" Marcia said as she prepared for combat. "You ready to go Grim?" Marcia smirked and Grim took to the air.

"Hey! Don't you drag me into this!" Nazz shouted and the two necromancers that were at a stand off. The two necromancers charged their talons and prepared to attack. "Hey! Calm down!" Nazz ordered. "This is stupid!" Nazz himself charged his horn and prepared to cast a nullification spell. Marcia foresaw this as an attack on her and quickly fired a bolt at Nazz. "Hey!" Nazz shouted as he threw a stray bolt of necro-energy that bounced around and struck Grim on the back.

"Dead, they're fighting."

"Well, I guess the dancing is out of the question."

"Are you going to do something?"

"If by that you mean join in, then yes."

"That's not what I meant by that at all!"

"Never mind, I'm still joining in. Nothing like a good old fashion four way magic duel!"

Dead jumped into the air and hovered above the group unnoticed, she called upon a torrent of pale energy to spearhead her attack on the three unknowing necromancer below her. The attack hit the center of the group and cause the trio to disperse. Dead gave a somewhat threatening cackle as she dropped to the floor when her levitation spell gave out. Dead singled out Grim, who was the only one who was flying slowly and fired several flying skulls that were ablaze with a ethereal blue fire. Grim promptly lit up his claws and hacked at the skulls when they flew with swiping distance.

Grim laughed. "Is that it?" The griffon taunted. "Take this!" Grim rose his claw high in the air and a purple lightning bolt flew out and headed straight for Dead.

Dead, being quick on her hooves quickly rose a bone shield and blocked the attack. The bone shield swirled around her and protected her from any other attacks Grim may throw at her, however she couldn't see out it. Inside the shield it seemed to get hotter every second. Dead soon realized that a vicious white fire was effecting the shields northern face. Dead quickly imploded the shield, sending shard flying in all directions. She turned and threw a volley of skull bolts at Marcia, who failed to raise a proper defense and took the punishment Dead had thrown at her.

"Really Marcia? Your going to take that from Dead?" Nazz said as he teleported in the middle of the group and unleashed a volley of purple bolts at all members of the fight. Grim, being midair still was unable to raise a shield in time and was forced to lang after his wing was clipped. Marcia let loose a torrent of fire which prevent Nazz's bolt from hitting her. Dead simply side stepped out of the path of the bolt a sighed.

"You never change your style, so easy to dodge." Dead mocked as she planted her hoof firmly in the ground and surged magic into the earth below her. "Now lets how you fair against something new!" Dead shouted as Skullworthy surged out of the ground.

"Really? That is your end game? Skullworthy? Please Dead, a challenge." Marcia taunted as she swooped down and attempted to land on the skull. Dead swatted her away and she crashed into the ground. "Ow my dress! Lucky I made it indestructible!" Marcia chuckled as she brushed the dirt off. Now all four necromancers were firmly planted on the ground, except Nazz who could easily fly away if push came to shove.

"Well shows how much you know!" Dead shouted evilly. "Skullworthy!" Dead channeled a stream of white energy into the floating skull. The energy surged into the size of a tree trunk and then the size of four tree trunks. The other necromancers could not get close due to the unstable energies that were leaking off the energy stream. Dead stopped channeling her spell and strained from the mental drain. Skullworthy pulsed and then surged into the size of a trailer. The skull promptly fell on the ground with a large thud.

"Dead what are you doing!?" Nazz shouted as he examined the large skull that was facing the dirt floor. "You made him to big to support himself." Nazz went over a gently tapped the skull. The ground suddenly shook around the skull and Nazz jumped backwards. Two large skeletal limbs pull themselves out of the ground. The two large arms with razor sharp talons and claws now rested next to the skull. Nazz once again walked gingerly over to the limbs and inspected them. The other two necromancer had remained rather quiet since Dead started the spell.

"Dead, have you lost your mind? That would never work!" Grim shouted as he saw the inanimate limbs and over sized skull. The griffon quickly joined the changeling in prodding at the strange bones. "What were you even trying to accomplish?" The griffon laughed as he flew up and landed on top of the skull. "Was this supposed to be your end game?" Grim laughed as he poked the skull with Nazz.

Marcia jumped backwards. "Dead, what's your angle?" Marcia said as she slowly approached Dead. "This isn't you at all."

"Very true, now stand back and watch." Dead stated as she started weaving her magic around the skull and limbs. Dead's magic pulled the limbs up and connected them to the skull with a magical field. The bones weren't touching the skull, but they were connected by magic. The skull lit up with a beaming white magic and started floating. It slowly picked up its new limps and raised them high in the air. "I present... Skulletron! Just in my command this time."

Grim and Nazz quickly doubled back once the skull was in the air. Skulletron slammed its large fists into the ground, causing a large shock-wave to fly out in all directions. The skull opened its large mouth and fiery white bolts flew out in all directions. Grim quickly charged his claw and charged the skull directly and slashed the large skull. Skulletron roared and buckled back, the skull started spinning and it raised its arm limbs high in the air and slowly span towards Grim. "Dead, what have you done to that poor skull!" Grim shouted as the skull quickly flew at Grim, sending him flying backwards and down into the floor. "Urgh!" Grim groaned as he slowly got up. "What was that!"

Skulletron turned its attention to the changeling that had hopped on it and was pounding its skull. One of the claws snatched the changeling and held it in front of the skull. Skulletron then let out a loud roar and threw the changeling at Grim. "Gah!" Nazz said as he pulled himself off Grim. "How did you summon that?" Nazz exclaimed.

"Not telling, but you better do something about it. I can only control it for so long before it goes on a rampage." Dead chuckled as her glowing horn shone brightly. Skulletron quickly started spinning again, however this time several large spikes formed on the skull and its arms. Skulletron span into the dirt and started throwing mud everywhere in an attempt to daze it opponents.

"Hmmp!" Marcia huffed as she decided to join the fight. The dragon quickly conjured up a large bone-staff and sprung up into the air. Spinning the staff wildly she slammed it into the forehead of the spinning skull with impeccable timing. The dragon sprung back and smirked. Skulletron uprooted itself and faced the dragon that had assaulted it and flew at high speeds towards it. Marcia was quick on her feet and dodged the dragon, she was able to unleash a torrent of pale fire on the back of the skull and one of its limbs. The effected limb turned grey and started to show signs of rapid decay. "The limbs! Attack its limbs, the magic holding it is weak at the connection." Marcia took a deep breath in and unleashed a torrent of blazing blue fire on the grey limb. The limb burst into a blue flame and disintegrated. Marcia savored her victory. Until a flying fist flew into her and knocked her out. The half awake dragon grumbled. "But mommy, I don't wanna go to school! I have been three hundred times before."

Nazz and Grim both got up and charged the other arm. "Get a load of this!" The pair shouted as they did a combined attack on the remaining arm. The arm quickly vanished quickly, however the skull remained. Skulletron roared loudly and unleashed a swirling torrent of fire aimed at the two remaining necromancers. Nazz jumped in the way of fire and shielded Grim from the fire.

"Finish it..!" Nazz grumbled as he passed out on the floor.

Grim quickly overcharged all of his magical abilities and countered the torrent of fire that was coming out of Skulletron's maw. A large battle between the two almost illuminated Ponyville. Energy and sparks flew around as Grim pushed against the fire with all of his magical might. Skulletron fought back with equal power and attempted to push forward, however Grim's training and experience showed and the griffon started to push the fire back towards the skull. The two stopped and paused, Grim charged up all of his might and the skull took in a large amount of energy that was floating around.

Skulletron fired his energy in a steady stream of fire at Grim. Grim fired all of energy in a larger stream and the energy flew past Skulletron's and directly hit the forehead of the over-sized skull. Grim stopped his spell once the skull had stopped returning. The large skull pulsed and then slowly started to disintegrate away, until the only thing remaining was Skullworthy.

"I win! I am the best!" Grim shouted proudly and he flew a circle in the air. "Beat that Dead!"

"Can't, out of energy." Dead sighed and went over to Skullworthy. "Hey Skullworthy, are you alright?"

"Never better." Skullworthy said happily as he bobbed up and down. "However Marcia and Nazzorath..."  The skull picked up the two necromancers and placed them on the ground in front of Dead and Grim. "I am terribly sorry about that, I don't know what came over me." Skullworthy sighed and Nazz started to wake up.

"Did we win?" Nazz grumbled as he slowly woke up. "Oh my chest..." Nazz sighed as he inspected his charred shell. "I can still feel that..." Nazz turned and looked at Marcia. "I hope shes alright." Nazz sighed.

"She should be." Dead stated. "I severally limited Skulletron's power. It was running at about twenty percent power." Dead shook her head. "Any stronger and I would have lost control."

"How did you do that?" Grim asked. "I take it that you weaved that, but still. Quite a feat."

"It was an accident, but a happy accident. I will leave it at that." Dead chuckled happily as Marcia started to wake up.

"Urgh, did we we win?" Marcia asked as the other three necromancers chuckled. "Oh my head..." Marcia turned and looked around. "Wait, headache... Can't remember much, was asleep before remembering, next to Nazz... Was at a party... Nazz did we have sex?" Marcia blushed slightly as she asked. Marcia quickly robbed her head. "Wait, I remember! Something about Skulletron." Marcia looked at Nazz. "I didn't know changelings could blush under all that chitin."

"I..." Nazz stuttered. "How did you even come to that conclusion?"

"Party, can't remember, woke up on the ground next to something..." Marcia paused. "I will stop here." Marcia herself started to blush under her scales. "Can we pretend that this never happened?"

"Agreed." Nazz said. "We can talk about it in privet later... If you want."

"I would like that..." Marcia said calmly as the pair got up.

"Uh hello love birds? Get a room." Dead chuckled. "And no, you can't say that to me."

"Fine..." Marcia huffed. "Now what? We tore the arena apart and completely wrecked the ground." Marcia pointed at all the upturned dirt and charred grass. "Dead, you can do the regenerate earth spell right?"

"Yes, I will do that now." Dead's said happily as her horn lit up. The charred grass started glowing and then turned green. The upturned dirt levitated and flew back into the holes where it came from. Soon the ground looked like it did before the necromancers fought. "That's the ground cleared. I can't do anything about the stage though. Its a good thing it wasn't too big." Dead turned and saw Twilight and her friends. "Now I have to do some explaining..."

"Dead, what was that?" Twilight asked as Dead returned.

"It was a duel of sorts. I lost, Grim won. As he always has." Dead said as she took a seat in between Rarity and Cherilee. "But I assume you are talking about Skulletron."

"Yes... Nothing in the books have ever suggested that something like that was possible. How did you do it?" Twilight asked as her curiosity peaked.

"To say that we know every single magic spell in existence would be foolish. I 'discovered' that spell while I was trying to make new spells." Dead sighed happily. "It destroyed my house and I had to turn into a lich in order to stop it." Dead placed her hoof on her chin. "That was about one and a half thousand years ago though..." Dead went about explaining how she had accidentally mutated Skullworthy into Skulletron and how she was able to defeat it. One by one the ponies left as the cold night settled in.

Rainbow was awake and had seen the entire battle, she had remained speechless since Dead had arrived. Rainbow closed her mouth and licked her lips briefly. "That was awesome. And I don't just say that all the time."

"You do to me." Dead chuckled. "It was risky though, no way I could have know if I could have controlled it." Dead stared at the ground and shook her head.

"Well it seemed it payed off..." Rainbow started, However Dead raised her hoof and silenced her.

"I still lost." Dead sighed. "Grim won in the end."

"You took out Marcia and Nazz. Grim only destroyed one of your minions. You took out two while Grim only destroyed a skeleton." Rainbow stated as she got up and walked in front of Dead. Dead shuffled awkwardly for a moment. Rainbow gently placed her hoof on Dead's shoulder and made her stop. It was late at this point and the few members of the group that had stayed had gone back. Discord had returned to Canterlot and aside from Cadance and the necromancers no other ponies were there. Rainbow gently pulled Dead up. "And a two to one ration isn't half bad Dead. I think you deserve a reward." Rainbow said confidently.

Rainbow gently pulled Dead into a deep passionate kiss. Dead leaned backwards onto the ground and allowed Rainbow to rest on top of her. Dead cooed as Rainbow pulled away and playfully nipped her neck. "Oh Rainbow.." Dead moaned happily. Rainbow moved back up and leaned back into another deep kiss, Dead gently opened her mouth and Rainbows tongue moved in and explored Dead's mouth. The pair had kissed before but it had never been so passionate. Rainbow pulled out of the kiss and a thin strand of saliva hung between the two mares.

"Hey Dead, have I ever told you how sexy you look when I'm on top?" Rainbow said smugly. Rainbow once again started nipping Dead's neck and Dead once again moaned in response. "You like that?" Rainbow smugly said as Dead cooed and giggled underneath her. Rainbow pulled off of Dead and got up. Dead sighed and closed her eyes.

"Why'd you stop?" Dead asked as she awaited for Rainbows response. "Is this payback for earlier?" Dead hastily said.

"Nope, I would never be so petty." Rainbow said smugly. Dead sighed and got up. Dead briefly looked around and saw Cadance talking to the other necromancers.

"I think I might head to bed, I'm worn out from that duel." Dead stated, a slight tinge of disappointment could be heard in her voice. Dead slowly walked towards the exit of the area. "I guess I will see you tomorrow then?"

Rainbow quickly flew in front of Dead and blocked her pathway. "Its getting dark, why not just sleep at my house? Its closer then Ditzy's and Twilight recently upgrade the cloud so that anypony can stay on it." Rainbow stated. "And don't worry about sleeping arrangements."

"Oh, I didn't know you had a spare bed." A surprised Dead said.

"I don't!" Rainbow laughed as she picked up Dead and started flying towards her cloud house.

Explaining nothing takes forever

"So dead, you just woke up in her bed after you blacked out?" Twilight asked sounding more concerned then she ever had. After they had gotten rid of the party demon and then gotten the town freed of it mild control. "Hey Dead! You there?" Twilight waved her hoof in front of Dead in an attempt to get her attention. They library was quieter then normal because Spike was out doing some chores and helping Rarity clean her front guardian.

"Yeah, I'm here. And yes I blacked out and then I woke up in Rarity's bed, she was asleep next to me. I don't understand why this is such a big thing Twilight." Dead said, in reality she had no idea why Twilight was so uptight about this whole waking up in Rarity's bed. In truth Dead didn't even understand why or what it meant, this was most likely because she had not had any social interaction since she was eight.

"Really Dead? Has nopony told you about love or the ummmmm... Birds and bees?" Twilight asked, almost dumbstruck by Dead lack of knowledge.

"No and no. I mean Twilight think about it, I have not properly talked to anything living since I was like eight. And skeletons ain't the best when it comes to those kinds of matters." Dead stated as she got up and walk to one of the many bookshelves. "Quite a nice section you have here Twilight."

"Dead!" Twilight shouted. "I am serious, this could be something bad!" Twilight stated as she got up and walked over to Dead.

"Why? I don't see why it is so big. I mean I was clearly drunk, so if nopony except Rarity remembers what happened so be it!" Dead turned around and smiled happily as she made a slight dash towards the door. "Anyway I have things to do, ponies to meet and eat errr greet."

"That better have been a joke Dead..." Twilight said as she magically locked the door before she could leave.

"Yeah sure a joke..." Dead laughed nervously as she undid the door and dashed out.

Twilight had the utmost confidence in her friends. And more so in Rarity because her ladylike acting and appearance. However that didn't mean that Twilight thought everything was fine. While Dead was old she was very uneducated, she would probably have no idea if a pony was flirting with her or just being nice. And also Twilight just wanted to be aware of the possibility of a awkward relationship.

Twilight passed Spike as she arrived at Rarity's, he said he was heading into town to pick up some more quills. Twilight knocked lightly on door to the cloths shop and waited for a response. "Just a moment!" Twilight could hear Rarity come downstairs and approach the door, then the door opened relieving a rather tired looking Rarity. "Oh Twilight, I'm so sorry you have to see me in this state! I haven't long gotten up... Dead was rather drunk when she came in."

"That's okay Rarity, I need to talk to you about Dead, but I'm saying anypony had done anything but..." Twilight looked around and decided it would be a good idea to be inside when she talked to Rarity. "Well Rarity, its not Dead has said anything but."

"Twilight, I can read you like one of your books, nothing happened. Dead was just completely drunk and not understanding what she was saying. When she tried to sleep on the sofa she rolled off so I figured it would be best if she slept with me. That way she would have more room and if she fell of I would be at hoof to help her." Rarity gave Twilight a stern serious look before a smile came over her face.

"Thank Rarity. That's a relief. I mean if it had happened it would have been fine and all. But I just don't think she would be able to tell love from friendliness." Twilight said as she chuckled happily with Rarity.

"Well she had no problem showing love last night, except I think that was the punch." Rarity said with a giggle.

"Wait she was being forward?" Twilight said sounding rather confused.

"Yes, she even called me Rarishe. It was rather funny... And I guess it was kind of cute... But she was completely out of it." Rarity chuckled nervously and smiled plainly. Twilight gave her a comforting smile..

"Maybe once she gets settled, I think a relationship would just put a lot of not needed stress on her."

"Yes, that would be best. We don't want her running back to that cabin in the woods."

"So just to double check Rarity, nothing happened."

"Yes Twilight, nothing happened at all. Even if we were both were willing she was too drunk. But not as drunk as you."

"You had to bring that up Rarity. Was I really that bad?"

"Yes, and probably worse. You summoned a party demon! I mean a demon! How does anypony go about doing that! And to make matters worse, while Spike was here he coughed up a letter!"

"Wait he did?" Twilight said in shock.

"Yes, he read it to me, but I think that a reflex."

"What did it say?"

"Princess Luna is coming to town to make sure that the recent demonic activity can be controlled." Rarity stated calmly.

"And you didn't think to tell me first? How long do we have until she gets here." Twilight asked.

"We have about two days before Luna arrives. But Twilight, I think this could be a really good opportunity. If she makes friends with Luna it will be easy for her to get along with Celestia, and thus allowing her to settle down."

"Yes! That might work! I mean I have to replace the whole five week introduction to everypony, but at the rate she is going."

"So Twilight, do you know where she is now? We may have to help her get ready." Rarity asked with a slight bit concern.

"I think... Don't hold me to it, but I think she is visiting either Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy. However she could have gone into town.

"Alright I'l go to Fluttershy's house and you look for Rainbow Dash in the market!" Rarity said triumphantly as the two headed out to go look for their wayward friend.

The truth the whole truth and Dead

Dead hurried outside with Twilight in hot pursuit. "Dead tell me!" Twilight called out as she attempted to tackle the nimble necromancer, Dead hopped out the way and Twilight face planted the ground. "Murf!" Twilight muttered as she spat a mouthful of dirt out. She quickly stumbled back up and resumed chasing Dead. Dead laughed as she started to gain distance.

"You know Twilight, I spent a good few years outrunning the royal Canterlot guard! You can't catch me on the ground!" Dead mocked as Twilight started to tire, however when Twilight saw a familiar cyan pegasus in the clouds a grin overtook her weary face.

"Rainbow!" Twilight called out. The cyan pegasus poked her head out the cloud to see who was calling her. "Rainbow! Tackle Dead for me!" Rainbow nodded and took of, within moments she was flying above Dead, just as she went to drop Dead make a sharp right turn throwing her off, Dead then turned around and jumped over Twilight confusing both of them.

Dead laughed. "Come on you two, you're being outdone by somepony almost a thousands times older for you! Well maybe not that old, but still it still stands." Rainbow did a sharp U-turn and was back hoovering over Dead however this time she didn't not drop down. Dead slowed her pace down and allowed Twilight to catch up momentarily. "The elements of harmony are really unfit!" Dead mocked, however her mocking allowed the two who were chasing her to jump on her and pin her to the ground.

"Ha! For a necromancer who is used to running away from royal guards, you sure make some sloppy mistakes!" Rainbow mocked as she sat on Dead. "So Twilight, why are we sitting on Dead?" Rainbow asked. "While I am perfectly fine with sitting on Dead, I would rather know why we are doing this."

"She said she would tell me something about her, but she ran off for some reason and we left Rarity in her house... I don't know if she followed us or not." Twilight sighed. "So Dead, are you going tell me what you did to leave for such a long time?"

"Uh nope." Dead said bluntly. "I will tell you, but not today, or now. I have over things to deal with currently." Dead vanished in a flash and appeared next to the two now dazed ponies sat on the mud. "Now I have a bunch of skeletons to lay to rest."

The Apple's farm had been hit pretty bad, to make matters worse they had refused the help of the skeletons, at the entrance of the farm a griffon was making claw gestures to the family as it tried to gain entrance. The skeleton gave Applejack a stern look and made a few more gesture in the ground below it, it had written the words help in capitals, the griffon pointed and the small group behind it and then pointed at the farm.

"We appreciate y'all offering a uh... Claw, but we would rather the help be a bit more... Lively!" Applejack half stuttered, the griffon gave a sad look and then turned around, it made a few claw gestures and flew away, the rest of the group following it. Just as the skeletons flew away Rarity showed up at the entrance of farm. Applejack greeted Rarity as she walked over to her. "Howdy Rarity, what brings you down?"

"Oh nothing, I just have a proposition to make." Rarity said with a slight hint of mischief in her voice. "I see you rejected the help Dead offered, I have no doubt that she will come over and try to offer her hoof in the way of help."

"Uh-huh, what are you getting at Rarity?" Applejack ask sounding rather confused. "And who says I am gonna let her help?"

"Well Applejack, you clearly don't know Dead that well. Trust me, once she arrives she will not leave until either your farm will be removed from the face of Equestria, or you let her help you." Rarity said smugly. "Listen Applejack..."

"Hey you two!" Dead shouted as she came over to the farm. "Now Applejack I expected, but Rarity? Guess I see something new everyday." Dead chuckled as she placed her hoof on Rarity. "Just kidding Rarity, still what brings you down here?"

"Oh, I'm just asking Applejack for a huuuuuuuge favor. But what brings you here Dead? Didn't your skeletons clear up the town?"

"Oh nothing much, I heard from my skeletons that Applejack was refusing help. So I figured that I could give a helping hoof seeing as my skeletons couldn't." Dead happily said as she moved next to Rarity. "So, how can I be of assistance Applejack?"

"Now now, I will tell you what I told the skeletons. We don't need any help here, me and Big Mac can cope with it. It ain't nothing that we haven't dealt with before." Applejack said, barring both Rarity and Dead from entering the farm. Dead expression turned sour.

"It wasn't an option. I will help out, one way or another." Dead said in an almost threatening tone.

"Now, now Dead. If you just give me and Applejack a moment alone I am sure I will be able to sort something else." Rarity said calmly.

"Alright Rarity, come pick me up where you are done. I will be in the town center. I got a few stragglers that are still cleaning to send back." Dead said as she happily walked away.

"Who does she think she is!" Applejack half shouted.

"Calm down Applejack, she just wants to do good... Even if we don't want it... Now back to my favor." Rarity said with a slight smirk forming on her face.

"Alright Rarity I will hear ya out... But were're even if I say yes." Applejack said calmly.

"Alright Applejack, my request is simple. When Dead comes back, let her help." Rarity asked blankly.

"That it?"

"And get her to help Big Mac..." Rarity said as she shifted her gaze around. "That is all I ask of..."

"What are you up to Rarity? I ain't never seen somepony as shaky as that when asking that somepony help me..." Applejack said with a pang of suspicion in her voice.

"Its okay Applejack, its nothing that will effect you that much. I just need you to make sure that she spends the time here with Big Mac."

Rarity confronts Twilight about Dead after she talks to Cadance

Dead had fallen asleep in the showers with Rarity, given the rough night she had she was lucky to have gotten any sleep at all. Dead rolled over on the cold bone surface of the shower box. "Urgh. I need to make this up to Ditzy somehow." Dead laughed as Rarity stirred. "Hey Rarity and good morning. Enjoy last night?" Rarity rolled over.

"Dead, next time give me a warning before you are going to jump me. And before you bite back, yes I did." Rarity stood up and offered her hoof to Dead, who was still on the floor. "Come on Dead, I don't know how to get out of here." Dead took Rarity's hoof and got up.

"Thanks Rarity, I have to say out of all the sexual encounters I have had. That was in the top five." Dead chuckled at Rarity.

"But you said you have only slept with Ditzy twice, and besides her there is only me."

"Exactly!" Dead winked at Rarity and started charging her teleportaion spell. "Now we should end up in the library, its directly above us." Dead's horn flashed and the pair were in the middle of the library. Dead turned her attention to Cadance who was sprawled out on a table. She was asleep and a large puddle of drool was around her mouth. "Hey Rarity, look at Cadance." Dead held back her snickering.

"She looks like she has gotten minuets of sleep!" Rarity exclaimed. " We should leave her be. I would hate to see Cadance grouchy." Rarity said as she pulled Dead towards the exit. "Lets go before we wake her up."

"To late..." Cadance said groggily. "But I'm not grouchy, Nazz came in earlier and energized me." Cadance got up. "I feel so much better for that brief rest." Cadance looked at the puddle of droll by her mouth. "Nazz warned me that I might drool... Oh that reminds me, how did your night go you two?"

"Well..." Dead started. "It was a bit slow at first." Dead sighed.

"I didn't want to do it. You know that Dead." Rarity huffed at Dead.

"And yet you did Rarity, don't try and say you didn't want it." Dead said smugly.

"I may have wanted it. But I didn't want to do it to you! You weren't comfortable with it."

"Rarity, I did it for you. And yes, while at first I didn't really feel comfortable with it, but I was enjoying by round two."

"Twice?!?" Cadance said sounding shocked. "I know you didn't know much about Dead, but sheesh slow down!" As much as Cadance hated to admit it, she was a little shocked by Dead. Twilight and her friends had given her this idea that Dead was a recluse similar to Fluttershy, and they also gave her the idea that Dead would be a slow lover. But no, by the looks of things Dead was getting the hang of it, and fast.

"Yes Cadance, the first time Dead cast a some sort of spell that enhance my sense, all it took was a tiny action to set me off. I wasn't in control at all..." Rarity sighed. "And Cadance next time. Don't force me to do that."

"Rarity, if I had let you go on like you were... I don't know what would have happened. And frankly I wouldn't want to be near you when you exploded. But what has happened has happened. We can't go back." Cadance sighed. "I am sorry I forced you into it Rarity, but I couldn't bare to see another pony do something insane because they have bottled their emotions."

"Oh really? And when was the last time?" Dead said, trying to nose in.

"That is a tale for another day Dead. Now Dead, I take it you cleaned up?" Cadance said smugly, she knew that Dead was in a shower earlier.

"Of course, how else would I got my mane this nice." Dead teased as she ran her hoof through her mane to prove her point.

"Alright Dead, as if you did that..." Rarity said rolling her eyes.

"You did Dead's mane Rarity? I must say it looks nice." Cadance said causing Rarity to blush slightly and Cadance decided to do something rather cruel. "So Rarity, do you see yourself with Dead in a few years? Maybe you, Dead and Ditzy? Living in a mansion?" Rarity's blush intensified, and Dead started to blush slightly. "Look at you two, soooo cute!" Dead's face flustered red as she fell on the floor.

"Well done Cadance, you made her faint for embarrassment." Rarity picked Dead and laid her out on a long bench. "Now what?"

"Well I'm going back to studying!" Cadance cheered as she buried her head in a book. "Oh and I will keep an eye on Dead for you. Maybe you should see Twilight, I doubt she got much sleep." Cadance called out. Rarity sighed and headed to the bunk rooms.

"Twilight!" Rarity called out as she threw the door to the bedroom open. "Twilight I need some advice!" Rarity sang out. Twilight woke up and rustled under the covers.

"Rarity." Twilight said flatly. "Cadance has kept me awake all night. Can I just have five minuets to rest?" Just was Twilight finished a ghost appeared above the bed. A ethereal blue bolt fired from the ghost and hit Twilight, who yelped and sprung out of bed at the sudden shock. "What was that for?"

"An energizing spell. To prevent students sleeping in." The ghost said as it vanished.

"Urgh this place, its like a haunted house.

"That's the idea Sparkle!" Marcia shouted out.

"And the necromancers..."

"Tutors! While we are here!"

"The 'tutors' seem to have ears everywhere! I can say anything without them listening in." Twilight sighed. "Let me guess, its about what happened with you and Dead last night?" Twilight asked.

Rarity lost her trail of though and stumbled. "Me and Dead... Oh! Yes that is why I need your help Twilight! I don't know what to do. I mean Dead was rather ummmm."

"Forward?" Twilight said expecting Rarity to say yes.

"Not at all, well maybe the second time." Rarity sighed as she foresaw Twilight's reaction.

"You did it twice?" Twilight said sounding shocked.

"Why is that such a big thing all of a sudden?" Rarity sighed.

"You are aware that this is Dead, who just a few weeks ago had her first interaction with living ponies for a thousand years. The same Dead who didn't know Rainbow was hitting on her."

"Alright Twilight I get it, but now. Please can you help me?" Rarity pleaded to Twilight.

"I will try, I did promise Dead I would try and help her." Twilight said, sounding a bit too confident.

"Dead suggested that Ditzy is okay with me and Dead being in a relationship. As long as Dead maintained her relationship with Ditzy." Rarity stopped speaking and looked at Twilight, signaling her to say something.

"I don't see the issue. But I haven't heard it all." Twilight held back the urge to roll her eyes at Rarity and nodded for her to go on.

"Well you see, during our... Second round I was a bit more stable, so to speak. Dead suggested that both her and Ditzy had taken an interest in me and suggested that we all date each other..." Rarity admitted.

"I see.. I still don't see an issue, unless you don't want to date Ditzy." Twilight said with a matter-of-fact tone. It was clear that she did not understand Rarity'd predicament.

"Its not that, but... Does that kind of dating even happen? What will ponies say about us?" Rarity said as she locked her eyes with Twilight's hoping to coax a simple answer.

"Its more common then you think nowadays, while a century ago it would be considered wrong, but times have changed. You will likely run into a few groups that are in the same status as you." Twilight said happily. She took pride in helping both Rarity and Dead with their love life.

"So you're suggesting that I go with it?" Rarity asked curiously.

"Only if you want to Rarity. I don't think you should do anything you don't want to do." Twilight said, slowly moving closer to Rarity.

"I owe Dead, a lot." Rarity said as Twilight started to circle her.

"That's no reason for you to force yourself into doing something you don't want to do." Twilight said, trying reassure Rarity.

"No Twilight, I said we did it twice. but the first time we did it, Dead did not want to." Rarity admitted as she stared at the dark blue rug she was stood on.

"What!?" Twilight said in shock.

"Its not like that Twilight, she cast a sense enhancement spell on me! She accepted that it was going to happen at least once." Rarity hastily explained. "Honestly Twilight, I didn't want to..."

"I see, so she forced you to force her into having sex." Twilight tried to hold back her eye rolling, but couldn't.

"Yes! That's it!" Rarity exclaimed.

"It was a force within a force?" Twilight chuckled slightly.

"I guess so?" A confused Rarity responded.

"Regardless Rarity, I don't think you should get involved with both Dead and Ditzy if you don't want to." Twilight placed her hoof on Rarity's shoulder.

"But, I kind of do..." Rarity admitted, sounding full of shame.

"That's not a bad thing Rarity, and if you ever need help or a shoulder to cry on. I'm here for you." Twilight said in a serious tone.

"Thank you Twilight, you are such a good friend." Rarity said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Come on Rarity, don't get all teary on me! We need to get ready for the day. I doubt the necromancers will let us spend all day in bed or relaxing!" Twilight said sounding full of energy and expecting to hear a necromancer shout at her,

"You got that right Sparkle!" Grim shouted out.

"Urgh! I hate how they are always listening in!" Twilight pouted.

"Deal with it!" Grim hollered out.

Nothing like a peaceful walk in the woods

"So what do we do now?" Rarity asked as the group aimlessly wondered around Ponyville. "I don't have long and then I have to go clear the skies, it looks like we have nasty storm blowing in from Everfree." Rainbow said, pointing over to a large black cloud that was drifting over from the forest. "In fact... I might have to go clear it now." Rainbow frowned and sighed. "I really don't want to go..."

"That's fine Rainbow, I might go open the shop up for the day then." Rarity said, causing Rainbow to perk up slightly.

"Alright then you two, I'm going to go plan out Monday's lessons." Cherilee added.

"Alright then, I think I might go pick up Dinky, or at least check if I can get into Canterlot and say hi ." Ditzy added.

"Given that storm... I might go make sure my house is still standing. I have too much in it to lose it." Dead said sounding concerned. "I might go grab Twilight for that, magical static can be dangerous."

The group all gathered round and exchanged good-byes and kisses, just after Rainbow and Ditzy took off, Rarity and Cherilee left. This left Dead alone for a moment. She quickly glanced up at the cloud and then made her way over the library. It was a quick walk from where Dead was to the library, she could occasionally see Rainbow flying to and fro, clearing the skies of the clouds that were slowly making a move on the town.

Dead arrived outside the large oak library, she gently knocked on the door. Spike almost instantaneously answered it.

"Hiya Dead! Come over to see Twilight I take it?" Spike happily said as he backed away from the door. "HEY TWILIGHT ITS DEAD!" The young dragon shouted out.

"Coming!" Twilight called, a series a loud thumps could be heard before Twilight appeared at the door. "Hey Spike could you get those books for me?"

"Fine..." Spike huffed as went in the library to clear Twilight's mess.

"Hey Dead! What brings you over?" Twilight happily asked as she ushered Dead in. "Can I get you something to drink?" Twilight asked.

"I'm alright Twilight..." For once in her short time at Ponyville, Dead wasn't being rushed into or out of the library, she wasn't hibernating or having a crisis. Spike came down the stairway carrying some books. Dead immediately took note of their white and grey covers and what seemed to be bone spines. Twilight hurried Spike along and chucked nervously. Dead quickly put tow and two together. "Twilight are you studying necromancy?" Dead inquired.

"No!" Twilight nervously blurted out quickly. "I mean, I am reading some of the books about it, but I'm not really learning spells!"

"Those were spell books Twilight. History books don't have skeletal spines." Dead pointed out as Twilight's expression dropped. "Come on Twilight, just tell me. I won't judge."

"Alright, I admit it. I have been studying it since you came to Ponyville. I figured out quickly that a few of the books Cadance sent me were spell books that were encrypted. It didn't take me long to figure out the key to reading them..." Twilight said shamefully. "I took a few tomes and books out of the library when we left the academy..."

"A few? My records say that you borrowed over two hundred." Dead chuckled. "I take it you have only been reading them?"

"Well yes and no, I got the hang on bone-calling and singing. I was able to do some small stuff, little fishes and the odd mouse." Twilight sighed. "Please don't tell anyone Dead, I don't want anypony finding out about this."

"Your secret is safe with me, don't worry Twilight." Dead reassured. "By the way, I need to ask a favor. And given your current dilemma I believe that it could be beneficial for you." Dead looked up at Twilight waiting for a signal to go on. Twilight slowly nodded and Dead continued. "A storm has recently blown over Everfree, I need to go check up on my house to make sure static isn't clinging to the nearby area. I could go alone, but I would rather do it with a unicorn with stronger magical abilities."

Twilight froze up briefly before she unfroze. "You think I am stronger then you?"

"Very much, I have power... But beyond necromancy I'm pretty useless." Dead sighed. "However, at my house I have a few books that you might be interested in. So what do you say? Are you in?"

"Yep! But not for the books, you are a friend and you need a hoof!" Twilight said. "I take it we are leaving now?"

"Yep, lets go!"

Everfree was calm to say the least, Dead and Twilight walked happily along the worn forest path. As they passed Zecora's house Dead reminisced about her past slightly.

"So the Zebra didn't lock her door properly, then again I could easily teleport in. The amulet was on the counter next to some herbal remedies. It was a simple grab and go." Dead chuckled. "I don't feel proud for it, but that thing was leaking dark energy."

"I see, so you took it because you needed it to finish some war robes and because you didn't trust Zecora?" Twilight puzzled.

"No, I just didn't trust the living in general. Greed, power, wealth and corruption. It happened to me, it can happen to anypony." Dead sighed happily. "You know, in a few weeks time I plan on raiding Canterlot."

"What!?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Not for real, just to show Rarity that I can hold my own." Dead laughed slightly. "Honestly I would have bet it would have been Rainbow who called me out."

"Wow really? What did Rarity say?" Twilight curiously asked.

"She thinks that you, the other elements, Cadance, Celestia and Luna could mop the floor with me. Well not mop the floor, but beat me back." Dead said happily. "As I said, I might be useless at other magics, but when it comes to raising the dead... I'm your mare."

"You're being serious aren't you?" Twilight sighed. "Dead please don't do anything stupid."

"When have I ever been stupid? Trust me Twilight, I won't overdo it." Dead chuckled happily. "Much..." Dead muttered under her breath. The pair had walked quite far and were slowly nearing the clearing where Dead had lived. The signs of a heavy electrical storm were evident, a tree split in half with static jumping down the split. Patches of grass that had been charred black. A thick static tension made the hair on the two mares stand up. Dead's messy mane seemed to deify gravity and slowly drift upwards. Dead quickly pushed her hair down and sighed.

"Yep, you were right Dead..." Twilight said as she tried to keep her hair under control. "Do you think your house will be alright?"

"It should be, provided Skullworthy raised a shield. It doesn't hurt to check though." Dead said as the two approached a break in the treeline. Dead quickly ran ahead and Twilight followed her. Soon they were at the small cottage where Dead had once lived. Despite nopony living in the cottage, it was bustling with skeletons that were cleaning and tending the guardian.

"Wow, they are all still working?" Twilight exclaimed. "I didn't know they would still be running."

"Of course, how else would my house stay clean. These ones have been with me for so long, I hardly need any energy to keep them running." Dead said happily. "Well it seems like everything is in order, so I will go in and grab your books." Dead happily said as she ran towards the door. "Oh Twilight! Do come in!" Dead called out as she opened the door. Twilight slowly followed Dead.

"Its been a while since I have been in here Dead." Twilight said as she entered the hallway to the house. The doorway that lead to the bedroom was shit tightly and the rug was in its place. Twilight walked over to the stand that was at the halfway mark. She picked up the picture and looked at it. "Hey Dead is this..."

"My family? Yes it is, the only picture I have of them." Dead called out. Twilight looked closer at the picture. A young filly was being held up by an older mare and stallion. All three of them had beaming smiles.

"When was it taken?" Twilight asked.

"Just after magical photos became cheap." Dead called out. "It was when we briefly visited Canterlot." Dead came out from the bone door at the end of the hallway. "Alright Twilight, come on it. I just set the store room up." Dead motioned Twilight to follow her as she disappeared behind the doorway.

The storeroom was a dark red room that had a few torches hanging on the walls. Several bookcases stood against the back wall and various tomes were piled up around random parts of the room. A small desk with a mountain of scrolls was wedged into one of the corners of the room. Dead quickly went over to said desk and began flicking through the scrolls. "Nada, nope, never again, not on my life, not on her life..." Dead mumbled as she sorted through the scrolls. Finally she pulled out one from the bottom of the pile and held it up. "Got it!" Dead announced as the pile of scroll came tumbling down.

"Uh Dead?" Twilight asked, she tried to back up slightly however Dead had rooted her in place. "Dead?" Twilight said nervously.

"Uh-huh, just read this." Dead opened the scroll and held it in front Twilight. Marking and symbols shifted around on the scroll as Twilight's eyes became fixated on it. Twilight's jaw slid down slightly.

"Woah..." Twilight mumbled as her pupils expanded, her eyes grew massive as she examined the scroll. "It all makes sense now..."

"Alright Twilight, that's enough." Dead closed the scroll and Twilight snapped out of her trance.

"Wow... That really was something else..." Twilight slowly said, her mind was working at a slightly slow pace. "What did that even do?"

"Well... You should have no problem with bringing minor skeletons up from the ground now. I simply unlocked a part of your magical ability that was holding you back." Dead sighed happily. "It shouldn't take you so long to bone-call and it certainly shouldn't be so tiring."

"Thanks... I guess... That felt funny, I feel like I want more..." Twilight sighed as she heard herself.

"Nope, can't do that. Would make you evil." Dead chuckled. "Anyway I think I can fish out a few tomes for you... Some of my starter books will help you. They cover the basics, and they start on some of the more advance spells." Dead levitated a few chunky tomes into some saddle bags that were propped up against the wall. Dead quickly pulled the bags over her. "Lets go Twilight."

"Hey Dead, can I ask you something?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, ask away." Dead happily said.

"Well... Never mind..." Twilight sighed. "Come on lets get going!" Twilight said, rapidly perking back up.

"Alright then... I will pretend that didn't happen..." Dead muttered under her breath. Once Twilight was out of hearing range she sighed. "Urgh the living, why do I even try."