Early the next morning, Twilight and Diamond Tiara are waiting in front of the Golden Oaks Library. Spike is with them, although without any additional equipment, as he will remain home. Originally, he wanted to come with, but a quick talk with Twilight and the passing of intel about a stash of Gems within the Library quickly convinced him otherwise.

While they were waiting, an eerie silence reigned between them. Twilight was still wary of the corrupted filly, while Tiara was well aware of that, yet tried to ignore it.

“Why?” Twilight suddenly asked.

“Why what?” Tiara asked back.

“Why are you helping us?” Twilight asked again. “It does not make sense for you to just betray him like that.”

“Who said that I am betraying him? I’m trying to help him reconcile with you by giving you a chance to do so.” Tiara answered.

“And how would you know that he really wants that?”

Tiara thought for a moment, before shaking her head. “I don’t know it. I just… have the feeling that this is what he wants.”

“Alright. Just so you know: I may have agreed to this, but I also still think that this is a trap. Don’t even think that I will take my eyes off you for even a moment.” Twilight warned.

At that moment, one could hear the clopping of hooves approach, before Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie came into sight.

“Alright, here we are. Are y’all ready t’ go?” Applejack asked upon her arrival, not noticing the tension between Twilight and Tiara.

“Yes, of course we are, Applejack. Now quick, we need to find Frosty as soon as possible!” Twilight hurried, pushing Diamond Tiara forward with a hoof.

Tiara looked back over her shoulder and then sighed once. “Alright, let’s go.” She said, before galloping off, which through her short legs was barely faster than a trot for the adults.

“Let me help ya there.” Applejack said, before swinging Tiara onto her back, which caused the filly to yelp in surprise. “Y’all just concentrate on givin’ directions and ah’ma concentrate on runnin’, okay?”

“Alright! First, into the Everfree!”

The soft glow of the morning sun shone into the small log house in the Everfree, in which a colt and his three fillies lay huddled together.

Frosty opened his eyes, as a beam of sunlight shone directly into his face. He carefully got up and gave his body a good stretch. The CMC squirmed in their sleep when the warmth in their midst suddenly vanished. They softly flailed around until they found each other and ended up in a smaller huddle between the three.

Frosty chuckled at the sight. It was moments like these that almost made him drop his goal and just keep living peacefully in the forest together with these three.

Almost.

Frosty moved on towards the door and stepped outside. The warm sun shone into his face and reminded him once more… who his enemy really was.

“Good morning, my lord!” Pharynx greeted from his post by the door.

“Good morning, Pharynx. Did anything of note happen during the night?” Frosty greeted back.

“No sir. With all due respect, if anything had happened we would’ve woken you up.” Pharynx reminded.

“Yes, I know Pharynx, it was just – you know, a standard thing to say.” Frosty replied.

“Ah, of course, sir.”

“In any case, I am going to wash myself before I go to Canterlot again. When the girls wake up, please tell them to do the same. We may be mostly alone out here, but that doesn’t mean they can just ignore their hygiene.” Frosty ordered.

“Of course, sir.” Pharynx replied.

Upon Pharynx’s reply, Frosty nodded and went into the foliage.

The day after they arrived here, the girls had discovered a small waterfall nearby. ‘Nearby’ in this case meaning a few hundred meters away, but still close enough to be reached fairly quickly, made even quicker by the small path that had formed on the ridge between the mountain their house was placed against and the forest itself.

While washing off the traces of last night, he thought of his plans. The officer he turned had brought the duty roster for the palace, as promised, so now Frosty only needed to catch them one by one and turn them into his vassals, just like he did with the lieutenant.

“Sir, miss Zecora has come to visit and wishes to speak with you.” Pharynx called over the mind-link.

After Frosty had confirmed the existence of said link, he immediately went to Pharynx and had him teach the usage of it. Such a method of instant-messaging will undoubtedly be useful in the future after all.

“Of course. Tell her to wait a moment, I’m quickly gonna dry off.” He sent back.

Frosty then shook himself in the sun, flinging off all the excess water like a dog and then combed his coat and mane, lest he look like a certain pink fluffball when he returned. He then teleported back to Pharynx, where Zecora was impatiently waiting for him.

“Good day, Zecora. I hope you’re doing well.” He greeted.

“My luck has indeed been tame, but for you, I cannot say the same.” Zecora said with a frown and a shake of her head.

“Uhh, what do you mean with that?” Frosty asked cautiously.

“What I mean is that caution is advised, for Twilight and her friends will soon arrive.”

Frosty’s look suddenly darkened and he gestured to Pharynx and the commander to barricade all doors and windows.

“Are you certain? I can’t believe they would find us this quickly.”

“How they could find you, I cannot say, but I believe I saw a filly showing the way.”

A moment of realization hit Frosty like a brick, before he firmly facehoofed and groaned. “Ahh, no… wait, if you saw them, how come you are here faster than they are?”

“Well, dear friend, while they are dashing forward without any ruse, I chose a path that is easy to use.” Zecora said smugly.

“Ah. Well, in any case I thank you for that info, Zecora. Now, for your own sake, I urge you to leave, lest you are once again branded a witch of the woods just because you were seen with us.” Frosty advised.

“While that would be true in any other way, I have already elected to stay.”

“What? You do realize that they will likely try to kill you just as well as us?”

“Indeed, stay will likely be a foolish end, but even more foolish it would be to abandon a friend.” Zecora said firmly.

Frosty sighed in defeat, before looking back at the mare. “Alright, if you’re so certain then I won’t stop you.”

At that moment, Pharynx came back around from behind the lodge. “Sir, we have barricaded every possible entrance to the house. Your wives are awake now, but they understand the situation and agreed to stay inside.”

“Wives?” Zecora asked.

“Yep. Pharynx asked me what status the fillies hold and before I could answer him, they already called themselves my wives and, I mean, it`s a nice and short word, so why not?” Frosty explained.

Zecora chuckled in amusement, but otherwise refrained from further commenting on it.

Meanwhile the Element Bearers were squeezing themselves through the foliage, scratching and pinching their skin and fur, but still pressing on.

“Dear Celestia, after this I will have to spend at least half a day at the spa!” Rarity declared.

“First we’ll have to find them, Rarity. If we don’t then this whole ordeal was for nothing.” Twilight said. “Hey, Diamond Tiara, how far until we reach them?”

“Not far. They`re behind that bushline right there!” Tiara said, pointing straight ahead.

“Great. Let’s get out of this mess, before my mane really is beyond saving!” Rarity said, sprinting ahead. The others followed her lead and together, they broke the bushline and saw a small log house in a clearing before a mountain. Directly in front of said log house, they saw that Frosty and two strange, bug-like creatures were already waiting for them, as well as…

“Zecora?” Twilight wondered out loud.

“Frosty! Oh, ah’m so glad t’see ya again!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Yes, it is quite nice to see you’re well.” Rarity agreed.

“So, how’re the girls? Where are they?” Rainbow asked.

Frosty, however, only gave them a cold look. “Why are you here?” He asked.

“What? Euh, Diamond Tiara led us here and—“

“No. WHY are you here?” Frosty repeated.

Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity were looking at the ground and drawing circles with their hooves. Of course, they understood the question the first time around. They just found that, now that they were really there, it was a lot harder to apologize than they had anticipated.

“Frosty, we came here to say that… we’re sorry.” Fluttershy said.

“Yes, we’re sorry, Frosty. What we did back there just… it wasn’t right at all.” Applejack agreed.

“Quite indeed. We’ve made a big mistake and just blindly followed the princess. We should’ve thought for ourselves before we made such a stupid decision.” Rarity added.

“Yeah. After all, you saved my life and you’re the most awesome colt I know! How could I even get the idea that you’re the bad guy?”

Frosty pondered for a moment. The Elements of Harmony are standing directly in front of him, but instead of eliminating him, they want to apologize? The most reasonable thing to assume was a deception, but Applejack was not capable of lying, especially not in such a convincing way. Also, reconciling with the elements will certainly only benefit him in the long run.

“Alright. I accept your apology. I must say, in truth I also missed you quite a lot.” Frosty said with a smile.

“YAY! RECONCILIATION-PARTY!” Pinkie screamed.

“Ya hear that, Twi? Frosty’s givin’ us a new chance! Come on, y’all apologize too an’ we can all go back home!”

However, Twilight didn’t look as joyful as the others. Not in the slightest.

“Apologize? Why should I apologize? First I find out that he has to be controlling you somehow and in a way that I can’t detect, then I learn that there’s even more of his pawns in Ponyville and now, even Zecora is under his control…” She mumbled.

“Control us? Twilight, I can assure you we aren’t controlled by anypony, but ourselves. Really, Twilight, why would—“ Rarity said, but Twilight ignored her.

“… but you know what? Frosty is the source of all this, right? That means if he’s gone, then you all will be free again.” Twilight continued, charging her horn with magic.

“Twi, please don’t do that! We came here t’ apologize, not tah destroy everythin’ we worked for!” Applejack pleaded, but Twilight didn’t listen.

“I will not stand back while an evil tyrant like you is on the loose! FOR THE PRINCESSES!!” She shouted, shooting a high-energy beam of magic directly towards Frosty. Applejack and Rainbow immediately went in to tackle Twilight to the ground, but not fast enough to stop the beam completely.

Frosty erected a strong shield and braced for the impact… that never came. The beam missed him and Frosty’s eyes went wide with shock, when he heard it impact something behind him, which immediately burst into flames. He spun around and saw that the lodge was engulfed in flames, shooting a thick, black pillar of smoke up into the sky.

“GIRLS!!!!” he shouted, before galloping to the lodge as fast as he could, the two changelings directly behind him.

Without a moment of thought, he kicked down the reinforced door and vanished into the flames.

The pained screams of the three fillies could even be heard outside. When they heard them, Applejack and Rainbow had let go of Twilight and they and Rarity were looking at the burning lodge in silent shock. Tears collected in their eyes, from their grief as well as from the lack of blinking, as they dared not look away from the fire.

Finally, Frosty and the changelings re-emerged from the flames and on their backs were three small, smoking forms. They laid them on the ground and Frosty stayed with them. Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow immediately rushed over to them, but really wished they hadn’t.

All three fillies were heavily burnt. Their lower bodies were black as ash and their fur was almost completely gone. Their skin was heavily burnt and only Sweetie Belle’s face was still recognizable. Scootaloo and Applebloom had lost their eyes and their mouths were singed shut. They could only breathe through their snouts and even that was almost impossible due to the damage.

Frosty looked at their souls and saw, that they were already slowly dissipating… they were dying.

“Frosty…” Sweetie Belle pleaded weakly. “Please… help me.”

Frosty had tears in his eyes. Yet again, he felt so powerless. He was a Necromancer, a disciple of death itself, yet he couldn’t even save his own wives.

“I… I can’t. I can’t…” He weeped.

“F-Frosty… please… I don’t want to die…” Sweetie pleaded again.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Sir, if you want them to survive then I suggest turning them undead. That way, their bodies and souls would be preserved.” Pharynx offered.

“But even if I returned their full soul, they would lose all free will. I-I don’t want that…” Frosty said.

“Then… what if you give us… more?” Sweetie offered weakly, before suddenly going limp.

“Sweetie? SWEETIE!!” Frosty panicked. “No, Sweetie, stay with me!”

“Sir, giving a body more than their original soul’s worth has not been tried before. The chance is minimal, but it could work.” Pharynx said.

Frosty looked at Pharynx uncertainly, however he quickly focused again. There was no time for hesitation. There were literal lives on the line!

Frosty concentrated on the souls of the three fillies and removed them from their bodies. In his necromantic grip, he then amplified them. Three-fold – sixfold – TENFOLD! He gave them as much energy as he could spare and placed them back into their bodies… and then he waited.

Silence was what followed, only broken by the rushing fire behind them. Nopony moved, not even Twilight. At first, she wanted to seize the moment and send a second beam into Frosty. However, when she saw the three fillies, her actions finally caught up with her.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, something finally began to happen. At first, it was only a subtle change, but bit by bit, the burned tissue healed. The healing grew faster and faster, replacing burned hair and skin at a pace that even the most advanced medical spells could not replicate.

Their breathing returned and their faces went back to normal – for the most part at least. Their eyes, including Sweetie’s were now gone and replaced with small, red dots that shone through a deep black void.

All three of them were holding their heads and squirming on the ground.

“Whoah! Whooooah! That’s a lotta stuff!” Applebloom exclaimed.

“Frooostyyy~~ My head is gonna explode!” Sweetie whined.

“Yeah. Did you feel the same when you became like this?” Scootaloo asked.

“Uhhh… what?” Frosty answered intelligently.

“Sir, I believe they’re experiencing their first connection to the expanse.” Pharynx stated.

“Ah… Euh, no, it didn’t feel like that for me, I, uhm… I’m kinda not connected to that Expanse-thing.” Frosty admitted sheepishly.

“What, really? Wow, you found all that out on your own?! Hah, I knew we chose the right coltfriend!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Was there ever any doubt?” Sweetie asked.

“Nuh-uh.” Applebloom answered, shaking her head.

“Applebloom! Yer alive! Oh I’m so—“

“Stay away.” Applebloom commanded as Applejack tried to hug her.

“W-What?”

“Ya heard right. Ah dunno, what y’all were tryin’ t’do here, but all ya did was almost kill us! Ya know what? Almost ain’t right. Ah ain’t yer sister no more! Yer sister’s dead!” Applebloom spat.

“Now now, Applebloom, that was a little harsh, wasn’t it?” Frosty chastised.

“But… it was true.” Applejack agreed miserably. “But still, Frosty, yer still alive. You and yer marefriends are always welcome t’come back home.” Applejack offered.

“I’m sorry, but no, Applejack. With everything that happened, I just can’t risk staying any longer. The smoke from the fire will undoubtedly soon be seen and then, the guard will be swarming all around here, searching for me. I simply just cannot come with you.” Frosty declined.

Applejack’s ears fell flat to her head and she looked down to the ground with a sad expression. “Oh… okay then… I guess, this is farewell…”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. Farewell, Applejack.” Frosty said, before he, the girls and the changelings left the burning hut and vanished into the forest.

“Let’s go girls. We better get back home…” Applejack said, passing the group and giving a glare towards Twilight. “Zecora, are ya comin’?”

“I shall wait here until the fire is dead, lest the flames will grow and spread.” Zecora answered.

Applejack nodded once and then continued her walk home. Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie and Fluttershy followed her, each shooting a short glare towards Twilight.

“Girls, please, I’m sorry!” She pleaded.

“Yeah, you should be sorry, alright! You happy now? The girls almost died there and now they don’t want anything to do with us. Really, I wonder why the Elements of Harmony ever chose you as magic!” Rainbow spat, before catching back up with the others.

“So, anyways, how do you plan on conquering Equestria now?” Scootaloo asked.

“Hmm, what? Conquer Equestria? Euh, what are you talking about?” Frosty feigned innocence.

“Oh, come now, Frosty. You know, this mind-link-thingy is pretty useful. We know what you’re planning and we even know about Diamond Tiara and that mare in Canterlot~~” Sweetie Belle said.

“W-What? Uhh, really?” Frosty asked sheepishly. “Uhh, sorry?”

“Oh, no need to be sorry. Really, we’re completely okay with that.” Sweetie said.

“Yeah. You’re our King now. Why would a King not have a few concubines?” Applebloom said.

“Uhh, what, I’m your king?”

“Yep. Seems like we’re now somethin’ like ‘Undead Queens’ an’ that means yer our king!” She stated.

“Huh, neat.”

“Yeah, but Frosty, you have to promise us one thing: Next time we’re in heat, it’s our turn.” Sweetie Belle ordered, while swishing his sheath with her tail.

“Oh, but with pleasure.” He said, kissing her neck and eliciting an erotic moan from her.

“So what do we do now?” Scootaloo asked.

“We’re leaving Equestria for now. We can’t do anything here anymore, at least nothing that would benefit us and I also have an idea. You know, a war really would be the perfect thing to happen for us right now, as we could collect souls en masse, while also gaining the favour of the Equestrian military if we were to help them. Sadly there’s currently no war going on, but that can be changed.” Frosty explained.

“Ooooh, so we go into another country and make them go to war with Equestria? Heh, sounds like fun.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yep. The only problem is that I’m uncertain which country would be best.” Frosty stated.

“I would suggest Zebrica, my lord. As we have heard from Zecora, Necromancy and Soul Magic in general is quite commonly used down there, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find supporters.” Pharynx suggested.

“Good idea, but I would like to save Zebrica as a last refuge, in case things go downhill yet again. What about the Changelings?”

“Changeling society doesn’t allow for wars. We attack sometimes, yes, but not to seize land, but to secure either a new hive or a new source of love. After a successful attack, we generally retreat ourselves back into our hives and are busy staying alive.” Pharynx stated.

“How about the Gryphons?” Scootaloo offered.

“Right now, there’s barely any Gryphon ‘society’ to speak of. It would be hard to unite them under one banner and have them go to war.” Frosty declined.

“Then what ‘bout the Dragons? They’re aggressive, have a king and don’t like ponies.” Applebloom offered.

“Hey, that`s perfect! Nice, Applebloom. Alright, everypony: Onwards towards the Dragon lands!” Frosty ordered, marching ahead with his group following closely behind.

Meanwhile in the Ponyville Guard Station, a young private was looking at a recently filled report with confusion.

“Uhh, I’m sorry, you want to report Princess Celestia’s Personal Student?”

Before him, three mares were sitting and waiting impatiently for him to process the report.

“Yeah. ‘s there a problem with that, officer?” Applejack asked back.

“Uhh, no, it’s just… what do you want to report her for?”

Applejack leaned onto the table and went right into his face.

“Triple Murder.”

Author's Note

And so, the CMC became Necromancers. Neat :3