Undead Retribution

The ponies stared at me. "Party?" Celestia spat, "Ponies have died!"

I scowled at her, "Oh, so when ponies die you get upset but when I was killed everything was all hunky dory? Fuck off."

"I thought you said we were going to put aside our differences for now." She spat.

"Yeah, and I expect you to, and I'm not beating you bloody. That is putting aside our differences." I said mockingly.

"You're a hypocrite."

I shot her a cruel grin, "Suck my rotting dick, you worthless whore.”

“So I take it you don’t plan on forgiving my aunt any time soon?” Blueblood asked, wiping his blades clean and sheathing them at his sides.

I snorted, “Not in a million years.”

He sighed, “That’s unfortunate, but understandable. You won’t let innocents die just to spite her, will you?”

“No. I love life too much to do that. But the bitch better not get in my way.” I shrugged, “I won’t intentionally wound her, but a punch or two builds character!”

He chuckled, “Indeed. Now, I must go organise the clean up and make sure there aren’t any stragglers, but I shall see you later, my undead compatriot!” He left the room and I heard him barking commands.

I looked over the other survivors and sighed, my head fuzzy, “We need to check the city for survivors and to set up better defenses. But...for now we prepare for war. I...I’ll be back, I need to check on something. In the meantime check on your loved ones that are here.” I headed for the exit before pausing and looking back at the blue alicorn, "Hey, uh, Luna, right? Could you make sure word actually gets out that I'm not mindless. It's not that I don't trust your sister...but I don't trust psychotic bitches."

"Go rot away!" Celestia spat.

"Burn in hell!" I yelled back.

“Useless sack of maggots!”

“Psycho bitch!”

“You were nothing in life and you’re still nothing in death!”

“When was the last time you tried a salad? I’m guessing a few decades at least!”

“You should have stayed in the ground, at least that way we wouldn’t have to look at that mess you call a face!”

“I’m dead, what’s your excuse?” I spat, leaving the room whilst flipping Celestia the bird.

I hadn’t gotten down the corridor before I was followed by Twilight and the Guard, who still had his armour on and the shards of metal stuck in his back, blood slowly dripping onto the floor. “Shouldn’t you get that looked at?” I asked after a few awkward seconds.

“Look. Once I know the city and my family are safe then I will, until then I can deal with it.” The Guard sighed, wincing slightly.

“Your choice.” I muttered, ignoring the curious look Twilight was giving me.

As we left the castle and headed for the city. The Guard broke the silence, "So...nice hat."

I raised an eyebrow, "That thing's still on? Huh, you know I thought for sure that it'd fall off by this point."

Twilight gave me a look, "How could you not tell it was on?"

"I got used to the feeling, I guess. That, or the maggots have eaten away any nerves I have up there.” I blinked, “And on that note I should really check if there are maggots eating me."

"Uh...I could...look into a spell for that if you want?" Bless her heart, she was trying at least.

I smiled, "That'd be nice." I frowned, "But now I need to find out why I'm still alive...unalive...fuck it, I'm not drunk enough for this." A thought occurred to me, "Can I even get drunk anymore? Hope so."

“Why would you want to get drunk?” She asked, cocking her head to the side.

The Guard and I shared a look. He understood. “You, little one, are too innocent. How? You’ve just seen zombies and so much death.”

Her lips quivered, “I...I just have to get past it. I can’t let one experience turn me into a fearful shut in.” Her ears flopped down, “I’m sorry.”

I ruffled her mane and smiled, “Never apologise for being innocent. I wish I could be innocent like you, but that’s not an option. Not now. Hold on to that innocence.”

She smiled, “Thanks.”

I turned the corner and both Twilight and the Guard followed me. Speaking of which, "You, Guard, what's your name? Chop, chop!"

He simply raised an eyebrow, "Shining Armor. Captain of the Royal Guard. Until they find a new captain that is."

“You’re being fired?”

He shook his head, “No, I’m moving up north with my wife to run the Crystal Empire.”

“I see. Any good candidates?”

He frowned, “The only ones that are, are racist, speciesist and prejudiced.”

“If they say shit to me, I’m going to scare the shit out of them.” I chuckled. As I got closer to the home of the one I’d infected I was feeling odd, they were still following me. "Yeah, this is great and all, but why are you both still following me?"

"Our parents live this way." Twilight explained.

I blinked, "You two are related?"

“You...couldn’t tell?” Twilight asked.

I raised an eyebrow, “Is this one of those ‘the same species can tell, but anyone else is clueless’ things? Because you two look nothing alike to me.”

“I’m her older brother.” Armor said, shaking his head.

“Alright.” We came to a stop in front of the house the infected was inside. "Wait...fuck." I sighed, "Please tell me your parents don't live here."

"Um...yes?" Twilight said.

I sighed, "Yeah...bad news. Your dad's dead." Oh, goodbye, tact, why are you leaving?

"W-what?!" They yelled.

"Good news. He's some sort of intelligent zombie." I stopped when I noticed they had frozen, Twilight slumping to the ground, tears starting to roll down her face. Crap. "Uh...please don't cry?"

"He...he's dead...?" She whispered.

"Uh..." Don't say yes! "Sort of?" Hi, brain, what's your excuse?

"Don't you have any tact?!" Her brother yelled at me.

"Uh, hello, potentially maggots eating away at my brain here! Besides, he's still talking!" Hopefully. I sighed, “Look, I honestly don’t know what’s going on. That’s why I’m here, to examine him and look for...I don’t know. Some sort of sign. Just...wait here a few seconds.”

I opened the door and walked in, finding the couple in the same room as I’d left them. “You’re back!” The stallion cried, standing up. “I...give me the truth, am I going to start trying to eat ponies?”

“I don’t know, Mr…” I waited.

“Night Light. What’s happened up at the castle?” He asked.

“Dad?” I stepped aside as Twilight and Shining entered. I leaned against a wall as the family hugged and cried together. My eyes were drawn to Night Light’s wound. It had already scabbed over. That was odd.

I gave them a few minutes to themselves. As they talked I pursed my lips, and thought to myself before striding forwards and grabbing Night Light's head.

"Uh, I...What are you doing?" He asked before I lifted his lips up and inspected his teeth. They were still the teeth of a herbivore.

"Inspecting." I snapped my fingers at Twilight, "You! I need you to document the changes! Physical and mental! Armor! Keep an eye on him, I don't know if his mind will hold. You..." I trailed off when I realised I didn't know the wife's name, "Whatever your name is, find out if he's still the man you married, see if he suddenly has a craving for flesh."

Armor spluttered, "You can't talk to my family like that!" I turned and walked away. "Where are you going?!"

I turned back to him as I opened the front door, "I'm sorry, but I don't have the time for niceties. I've told you what needs to happen. If your father is still himself in a week or two I'll consider him stable, until then be prepared to put him down if he turns feral." As I closed the door behind me I locked eyes with him, "I'm sorry."

I slumped to the ground and sighed. This could hopefully turn out with a happy ending, but it was more likely they’d have to kill him. It was a mess. After several minutes sitting there I stood up and started a patrol before planning to head to the castle afterwards, hoping to avoid Celestia, but needing to talk with Luna about any plans to attack the zombies.

I glared at Celestia as she sneered at me, refusing to move out of my way and blocking the corridor, "The sooner I no longer have to look at your rotting carcass the better."

“That’s nice, go gouge out your eyes will you? I have places to be.” I spat back.

“Oh, you think you’re so witty, don’t you? Is that the best that slop you call a brain can come up with?!”

I just smiled, "You know the difference between you and eggs?"

She blinked, "What?"

"The difference between you and eggs." I repeated. My smile could be considered by some to be too innocent.

"I...I don't...Where are you going with this?"

My smile twisted into a mean grin, "Eggs get laid, you don't."

She let out a growl and barged passed me, muttering under her breath as she went. I smirked and continued down the hall. The bitch deserves a much more physical punishment, but while Bone Weaver was still loose I’d have to make do with insults.

I was so into my own thoughts that I almost missed Blueblood coming up to me with a grin, “Ah, my undead friend!” He grinned, “Things are moving swiftly! The city is clean of zombies and we’re dealing with the corpses, I have a speech planned in a few minutes, come! Aunt Luna has been looking for you!”

It had only been two hours since we killed the last of the zombies and there was already a speech going on? These ponies work fast. Blueblood led me out to a balcony overlooking the city. Luna was currently giving a speech, explaining what had happened to the crowd below.

Blueblood pulled me aside before I could step out. “Hold on. Aunt Luna likes her dramatics.”

Before I could ask what he meant Luna shouted, “And we could not have survived this day without our mysterious saviour! Please, welcome our hero!”

Blueblood gave me a small shove and I stepped out onto the balcony. I froze up for a second at the sheer number of ponies staring up at me. Fuck. I hesitantly waved. They were deathly silent. Shit. “Are you sure this was a good idea?” I hissed to Luna out of the corner of my mouth as my legs began to feel like jelly.

She smiled and hissed back, “Shut up and make a small speech, they love speeches.” Oh, of course, ask the guy with...Why did I have be the one to give a speech?!

I gulped and unsteadily stepped forward. Oh, they’re staring right into my soul, that’s great! I locked my eyes on a shop window near the crowd. “Ponies! I...I know what you’re thinking! I am dead, a zombie, how are you to be sure I am no better than those that attacked you? I’ll be honest, I was part of the hoard that attacked! I have killed innocents, my hands are stained in blood!” I took a deep breath, “But none of that was my choice! My mind was being controlled by a foul Necromancer! My raised my corpse along with those of your friends and family! My mind was a haze with my only thoughts of murder! But I was saved from my fate!”

“The Elements of Harmony.” Luna whispered, realising where I was going.

“The Elements of Harmony saved me from my blind hunger! The Necromancer made me into a weapon for his own filthy purposes and I am not in a forgiving mood! I shall hunt him down across this world! I will not rest until his skull rests firmly in my hands! I won’t allow this evil to continue! That is my promise to you, to the people, to this world!”

The crowd exploded into cheers. With a smile I stepped back and tried to stop my hands from shaking uncontrollably. “That was a good speech.” Luna smiled.

“Never make me do that again.” I whimpered. That was terrifying!

“Good show, my friend!” Blueblood cheered, stepping forwards, “Let’s see if I can top it!” He stepped up to the edge of the balcony, “Ponies, I will keep this short! I know a lot of you don’t like me, but this whole ordeal has opened my eyes to how petty I’ve been! Ponies! Today I announce that one half of the Blueblood family fortune shall be donated to the Equestrian Crisis Effort! One quarter of that shall be used to help repair homes while the rest will be used in preparation for the upcoming war against the undead!" Blueblood announced.

I walked away. Away from the peering eyes and their unspoken cries of blame. I hadn’t gotten far when Luna caught up with me, “Wait, Sir...Saviour. Please, may we talk?”

“Saviour? That isn’t my name.” I gave a smirk as we were safely away from the crowd.

She gave me a sad smile, “Yes, I guessed that, but when you…” She hesitated, “When you died all those years ago, Ponyville, the town you saved dubbed you Our Saviour, And buried you. That name is...all we have.”

I sighed, “My name is Thomas Ross. Call me Tommy. And I’m no knight, so quit with that ‘sir’ bullshit. You want to thank me then get me some rum. I need to see if I can still get drunk.”

“I...I see. We’ll get you your drink after we’ve finished our defences erected.”

“Alright. What do you want?”

“Twilight sent me a letter. You’re looking for a way to preserve your body?” She asked.

I raised an eyebrow. “And you have a way?”

She smiled, “Indeed! Consider this a gift for helping to save us despite...previous grievances.”

I gave her an expressionless look, “You mean your sister murdering me.”

She winced, “Yes. I...I can’t apologise enough for that.”

I rolled my eyes, “You don’t need to apologise. She does. Now, this gift?”

She coughed awkwardly, “I...Indeed. We usually use this spell on our dead to...keep them fresh for funerals, but it should keep you from decaying...further.”

“Will it remove maggots?”

She nodded, “Yes. Now, this isn’t a permanent thing. A normal unicorn would have recast this spell every few days, however being an alicorn has its perks. This spell should last at least a year.”

I sighed, “Go ahead. Blast me with it.” I watched as her horn lit up as she hit me with a dark beam I felt...cleaner. But my brain was still a little fuzzy. “There, now perhaps we may even win this war with you at our side, the hero of old!”

And that was pushing it way to far into cheesy lines, “And you’re trying to butter me up. What do you really want?” I asked bluntly.

She was silent for a few moments before sighing, “I’m no fool, you hate my sister, don’t you?”

“I thought I’d made that pretty obvious.”

“Will it affect your ability to work with her?”

“Come on, I can work with her to save the world, but the moment Bone Weaver is dead I’m going to kill her.”

She seemed shocked at my confession. “You...you want to kill my sister?”

“She murdered me. There’s no excuse. Unless she has a very good reason, I see no excuse as to why she shouldn’t face justice.”

Luna sighed, “This...isn’t an excuse for what she did, but...ever since the founding of Equestria we have been attacked by humans every hundred years or so. Most of the time they’re alone, sometimes in pairs, and once in a group of ten, all the time they have powers and abilities beyond our understanding and all the time they seek to conquer. They may act as allies, as saviours from the darkness, but in the end, they try to take this world for themselves and we fight back. Never have we won against an Invader without extreme losses.” She shook her head. “Like I said, it’s no excuse. Never before has my sister or I attacked without provocation. After this is over...I promise she will answer for her crimes.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Even though she’s your sister?”

“I...won’t claim it will be easy to do, but nopony is above the law. She murdered you, for that, she will face the full force of the law.” She struggled to get the words out.

I smiled and rested a hand on her...shoulder? “And for that you have my respect. Thank you.”

I left her there and headed back into the city, I needed somewhere to stay while I could think clearly again, war talks could wait until I didn’t need to give speeches to giant crowds. I didn’t care what Luna said, after the Necromancer was dead I’d fill Celestia with lead. Maybe even jam a spear into her heart, a little poetic justice.

I headed back to Night Light’s house, I wouldn’t be safe at the castle. I hesitated before opening the door and finding a spear pointed at my head. “You know, I’m starting to think you ponies have a thing for pointing spears at me.” I pushed the spear to the side to find Shining Armor glaring at me.

“And you think you can demand anypony to do what you want!” He growled.

I sighed, “I want you to not have to kill your father. That can only happen if you have him under observation. And if he does change...I won’t make you put him down. You’re in the army, you know you can’t just let someone infected with something new just wander around without being watched closely.”

He hesitated, “I don’t like it.”

“I’ll watch over him at all times. I don’t know if I need sleep or not, so if I don’t I’ll be there all night.”

He sighed, “Just...Fine. Fine. Come in, we’ll get you a blanket.”

I nodded, “Thank you. I mean it.”