Crimson Night

“Wow Galio....never pegged you for a Foal guy.” Vayne said when they all retold their mornings while sitting in the park.

“Vlad I'm so sorry about that, some of those farm hands are from outta town so they're a bit rude...” Twilight said.

“Meh, but you're still a suck up for picking the same weapon as the captain.” Vlad said.

“Oh shut it Vlad, I've never even seen you use a weapon before and We've been working together for three and a half years.” Vayne said.

“I was wondering, what do you use?” Galio asked.

“Well I'm glad you asked. I combine my Hematology with my Necromancy and literally use blood as a weapon...it's not real blood of course, synthetic stuff created from the dark magic, but I can make it solid as spikes or burn like acid.” Vlad explained.

“What about that one time when that ghoul surprised you? You turned into a pool of blood and it took a week for you to re-solidify.” Vayne said, amusement evident on her face at the memory.

“I've fixed that. I can temporarily turn my body into the blood, which I have nicknamed 'Combat Blood' and easily evade things for a short while. Now I solidify just as fast as it takes to Liquify, but it takes a lot out of me.” he continued.

“That is very interesting.” Galio said.

“Hey Vayne, why do you have that Leg bow when you have the giant Crossbow?” Twilight asked, keeping to the subject of Weapon Oddities.

“Well...I only use the big one if I really need it...it's got so many enchantments on it I'm surprised it doesn't glow. When I use it, I can turn invisible for short periods of time and I get quite the speed boost. I've also watched a bolt go through three Ghouls Skulls and then embed itself almost completely through a two foot stone wall so you know it's damn powerful.” Vayne explained with a grin, she loved talking about that thing.

“What about you Galio? How do you fight?” Vlad asked.

“As you know I am truly a Gargoyle. I take the form of a Pony as to blend in easier. In my true form I guess I have claws, but I prefer my fists...stone skin makes a punch hurt as much more as it stops a Ghoul's claws.” Galio replied. There was an awkward silence that followed Galio's explanation, as if they were waiting for something.

“What, you're not going to ask me about mine?” Hecarim asked.

“Well...you can't get much more straightforward than using a weapon like that.” Vayne said.

“...Eh, god point. Twilight, I think now would be a good time to start your training. Galio take this, make sure you're in a secure clearing before using it. It's a spell.” Hecarim said, giving the Gargoyle a scroll. Galio nodded and tucked it away.

“What should we do?” Vlad asked.

“That's up to you. I would find more ways to help the town out, gaining the trust of the ponies will be a great way to help us relax here.” Hecarim said.

“I noticed the hospital and the clinic are a bit crowded, Hematology includes a medical Degree, I'll go help them out for now.” Vlad said.

“That's a good idea, look for Nurse Red heart, she's basically the head.” Twilight said. Vlad nodded and walked off.

“I will go and test this.” Galio said and flew off.

“I think I'll go back to Rarity's. We were discussing some rather interesting designs.” Vayne said.

“Go then.” Hecarim said. Vayne smiled and left.

“Now, that leaves us to your training. Take me to that course you mentioned Luna had Built, there should be enough space there to practice anything.” Hecarim said.

“Alright, this way then.” Twilight said and walked towards the forest.

“Did you bring your spell book?” Hecarim asked. Twilight took It out of her Saddleback, they had stopped at the library. “Good. With that, I can teach you the execution...but there are something you will need to know about Necromancy.” she started.

“Necromancy was originally created as an accident and was deemed dark magic and sealed away. But, just as all seals are made, all seals are broken and Necromancy returned. It was used for evil and eventually the Lich and the Ghoul were born from it. When it was found that normal magic was useless, unless it was manipulating some sort of weapon, and only Necromancy could harm the Creatures...Our Princess made the decision to allow Necromancy to be taught to us. Celestia did not entirely agree, but allowed it. As a precaution, she put a curse on Necromancy...those who were not of the Night would go mad...it was a very cruel thing to do, but it worked for a long time...” Hecarim explained.

“Vayne said something about reversing the Necromancy in the Ghouls...what's with that?” Twilight asked.

“Well...only a few of us actually know how to do it without long rituals...you see, normally you'd need a pentagram and this whole event to do it...but Vayne and a few of the others, myself not included, invented way to do it near instantly...it's very dangerous though, for you need to get up close and maintain a physical connection with the creature...this is only practical when it is a single enemy, you have the element of surprise or if you have an ally to pin them down.” Hecarim explained.

“So it's always an extreme risk...” Twilight muttered.

“Yes. Now, what is the lowest level spell in that book?” Hecarim asked.

“It's called 'Summon'.” Twilight said, confused. “Summon what?” she asked.

“Whatever you want. I have that spell on Soul currently, among other various 'curses' and Enchantments. Basically you designate what you want summoned, use the spell and it will be summoned to you.” Hecarim explained, throwing her Scythe so it lodged into a tree.

“Great if you feel like looking cool.” she continued, her horn glowing black a second as the Scythe dissipated into shadows one moment and appeared back in Hecarim's magical grasp the next.

“I can see the uses of that. Can you use it on another Pony?” Twilight wondered.

“Technically yes, but the magic would kill a normal pony...and a Vampony would be weakened immensely.

“So...how can we practice it?” Twilight asked.

“You mark the book and attempt to summon it.” Hecarim said. Twilight nodded and, using the instructions on the page, drew her cutie mark in shadows on the cover of the book. She then delved into the ocean of dark energies a Vampony naturally has inside of them and tugged on the connection she just made. It materialized in front of her like Soul had for Hecarim.

“Whoa that's...it took me a week to get that one...” Hecarim muttered.

“Really?” Twilight started. “I just sort of...did what felt right with it.” she continued.

“Vlad said you smelled like our princess...if he can smell somepony in a Vampony, that means they have their blood...do you have Luna's blood in you?” Hecarim asked.

“Yeah...she saved my life with it.” Twilight replied.

“That may explain it. Luna had a hoof in the accidental creation of Necromancy, apparently by dark magic in her ignorance meant Lunar Magic. Anyways, she has a vast knowledge of it. It may not be direct, but that my have passed on to you and may boost your learning speed.” Hecarim theorized. It made sense, at least Twilight thought it did.

“Hm...I know of a spell, turn to the Creation section, it should be the first one on there.” Hecarim said.

“Uh...Shadow Image?” Twilight asked.

“Sorry, sorry, second.” Hecarim said, waving her hoof. Twilight turned the page.

“Shadow Steel?” Twilight asked again.

“Yes. Normal weapons and armor can't hold up to what we fight, so we invented a way to create a new Material with Necromancy. It's not actually steel, but that's what Ponies started calling it. The best part of this is that what is created stays and that since you created it, you can manipulate it's appearance.” Hecarim explained as she put a hoof up. A sphere of what looked like Obsidian formed and started warping and spinning.

“You can manipulate all of it's characteristics...it's weight, texture, coloration among other things.” she explained as it became spike, smooth, turned green, then blue, then back to it's normal purple-black. “It takes a lot of concentration and power to create something like a full weapon, Soul took me three days to make, but it's worth it.” she continued.

“Now...attempt to just create a sphere of it. This is rather easy, just imagine you're gathering you normal magic into a sphere of solid power, but use your Necromancy instead.” Hecarim instructed.

Twilight nodded and concentrated as her horn glowed black. After a few moments a bead appeared. The bead grew into a a marble. The marble into a ball, the ball into a sphere. Hecarim was impressed as the ball kept growing until it was about the size of the Pony creating it. With a grunt, Twilight released it and it fell to the ground, cracking it as it embedded ever so slightly into the soft dirt.

“Whoa! I did that?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I'm impressed. Most first timers only get to the Sphere I showed you.” Hecarim said.

“I'm not quite rarity, but this stuff would look good as armor.” Twilight said.

“It works great.” Hecarim said, knocking on her chest plate.

“Oh yeah...hey Vayne knows how to manipulate this stuff right? Rarity told me they were working on some designs...I'd imagine with her there, Rarity would be disposed to design some sort of armor or something. Maybe we can pay them a visit later and see what Rarity can come up with.” Twilight suggested.

“That is a good idea, but why wouldn't you just create your own armor?” Hecarim asked.

“Well, Rarity knows better what looks good on me than I do, plus I'm no good when it comes to that kind of stuff.” Twilight said.

“Oh. Well, you think you can make yourself a weapon from that?” Hecarim asked.

“Uh sure...to tell the truth ever since I saw the scythe in the book I've been imagining what one of mine would look like if I used one...” Twilight said, the large sphere of black glowing with her Necromancy. Some of it siphoned off and started forming a pole. The pole topped off with a large circle, seemingly like a stave, but a blade extended out of one end. A smaller blade extended out of the other side, but only enough to finish the blade. The opposite side of the sharp end was ridged.

“Whoa, damn kid you got talent.” Hecarim said.

“Thanks...I looked at the Staves too and they would be good for a spell caster...so I combined the two.” Twilight said, panting slightly from the exertion.

“I'd say it's a good fit. Now, I want you to try and attack me. Don't worry about hurting me, Friendly blades cannot penetrate this armor, Enchantment courtesy of our Princess.” Hecarim.

“Why don't you just enchant it so nothing can penetrate it?” Twilight asked.

“Well that's a whole other ball game, A friendly blade does not have the intent to harm, the Enchantment uses this to ensure safety while sparring. Now, come.” Hecarim said, putting the scythe up in preparation.