The Doctor is in

Velvet took a sip of his cup of tea and placed it back down with a satisfied sigh.

"I have to say, Celestia, you know how to make tea." Velvet levitated the teacup on the table next to his hospital bed.

Celestia giggled and took a sip from her tea as well. "I appreciate the compliment." She gave a kind smile before setting her cup down next to Velvets. "How are your injuries fairing?" She asked.

"After two days, I can say that my magic reserves are mostly back up, my horn and bones fully healed; other than that, I'm fine." Velvet smiled. But that quickly turned into a disappointed frown as he held his head up with a hoof. "I'm afraid you aren't here for friendly conversation, are you?"

"Yes indeed." Celestia straightened her back and faced Velvet with a look of seriousness. "I need a detailed account from your perspective. I've got Twilights and her friends. Now all I need to ask you is a few questions."

"You may proceed, Princess." Velvet said with boredom.

Celestia cleared her throat, "As you stated in that emergency spell a few days ago, an unidentified necromancer of high rank derailed the train and proceeded to attack you and the elements. I need you to tell me everything about this necromancer.".

Velvet grinned as he giggled. "Celestia, dear, that necromancer was one of the most powerful in the legion just under the leaders themselves." The twitching from the princess's eyelids spoke enough to Velvet. "There is one thing, though, higher ranking members know little of their existence beyond rumors and speculations. Even I know little, despite being a candidate for the higher five." Celestia perked up at the end of Velvet's speech and gave him a raised eyebrow.

"Higher five?" She asked with confusion.

Velvet sighed and pinched the bridge of his muzzle with his hooves. "To make a looooong story short, The higher five are a group of the most powerful necromancer in the legion, minus the leaders, who all represent the five stages of grief. Tacky if you ask me." Velvet rolled his eyes but continued to speak. "Luckily, we have a member of the higher five, Arctic Specter."

Celestia's eyes widened a bit with surprise. "Sorry if I sound rude, but you had a high-ranking necromancer sitting in ponyville." She asked, some irritation in her voice.

Velvet held his hooves up in defense. "In my defense, I didn't put two and two together before the raid on Lyra's house. Also, if you're wondering, he represents the stage of denial, so he wasn't a strong member, but I'm not saying he was weak." Velvet grimaced, remembering the carnage that he'd failed to prevent. "I could tell as we fought, even when I threw the most power attacks I had, he never backed down." Velvet looked down in silence. But he had been stopped when a gold-covered white hoof held his chin.

"You don't need to burden yourself with your mistakes. Because in the end, you help my little ponies recover and heal afterward." She lifted Velvet's head and greeted him with a kind smile.

"I know that, Princess." Velvet leaned away from Celestia's hoof and laid back in his hospital bed. "It's just an uncomfortable memory for me." He chuckled.

Celestia smiled as she stood back up and levitated the empty tea cup in her golden magic. "Well, seeing as you are still recovering, I'll let you rest now, then you can send me any more details in a letter." She gave a little bow before turning and walking off, but before she passed through the door, she turned her head towards Velvet with a cheeky grin. "But, I have one thing to ask of you."

Velvet tilted his head in confusion."What is it?"

"On the day we first met, I could tell your 'admiration' for me wasn't fully true, was it?" She asked.

Velvet huffed in amusement and pulled the bed cover over his body. "While I have a lot of respect for you, I was a little desperate not to get thrown into Tartarus. So I had to butter you up anyway I could." He admitted with a blush of embarrassment.

Instead of being angry, Celestia giggled as she turned to leave. "Very well, good day to you." With that, Velvet was alone to take a well-deserved nap.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A stallion grunted as a small red crystal vibrated on his desk. With a sigh, he placed down a book he had been reading and blew a cloud of smoke into his shop's air. He picked up the crystal, then the horn on his head glowed faintly as a green aura surrounded the crystal. The crystal stopped vibrating as a holographic image of a cloak mare appeared.

"Yeah-" The stallion coughed into his hoof for a moment before clearing his throat."-what do you what now?" The scratchy voice of the stallion asked, irritation in his voice.

The mare on the other side didn't seem fazed by his rude attitude and held up a piece of parchment with her magic. "Due to the recent happenings. All necromancer members must be on the lookout for one Velvet night. Any information will-" The mare's voice cut off when the small red crystal was smashed to tiny shards by the stallion's hoof.

Picking up and taking a drag from a joint with his magic, the stallion coughed and swiped the crystal shards off the desk.

“So, you finally got ratted out, huh? Bet it was Lyra, that yellow belly snake." The stallion chuckled, his voice making it sound more like wheezing in reality. "Guess I'll be getting a social call soon: better clean up." The stallion stood up from behind his desk when there came a knock at the door.

"Hey, Herbal, open up!" A voice shouted beyond the front door. "A couple of friends and I got to talk with you." His voice sounded shifty to the stallion, and a bead of sweat ran down his face.

"Just fucking great." He mumbled under his breath. The stallion sat behind the desk again with a strange clicking sound.

The door to his shop busted open, and two mares with a single stallion appeared on the other side. In the center, the stallion had a crimson coat, a black mane, and blue eyes. The mares on each side of the stallion were identical twins with silver coats, white manes, and purple eyes.

"The dipshit and the twin freaks, what can I do for ya?" Herbal sighed as the three barged in without closing his door.

"There's no need for calling names." The crimson stallion walked up to Herbal's desk and slammed a hoof on top of it. "I just want to know something, that's all." He said with a condescending tone.

Herbal sighed and put out his joint in an ashtray on the right side of the desk. "What, you need something to get it up in bed?" Herbal snickered as the crimson stallion leaned and grabbed Herbal by the neck with his magic, a deep scowl on his face.

"Don't get smart with me! I know you have something to do with that traitor! You always talked about how you two were such great friends back in the day!" The crimson stallion's horn lit up as he inched closer to Herbal's smirking face.

Herbal frowned and rolled his eyes. "Come on, He and I fell out decades ago. Besides, why the hell would I help a monster like him?" Herbal spat with disdain.

"Don't Yak shit me! I know you got something to do with him. So I'm going to drag you back to HQ right now-"

'BANG!'

The crimson stallion's threat was cut off when an explosion sound went off the top of the desk broke...along with the top half of his skull. The body of the furious stallion fell to the floor as bits of bone, blood, and brain flew across the shop. The twin's eyes' grew wide as they quickly took cover behind the shop's wooden aisles.

Herbal sighed in relief as he raised a medium size object from below the remainder of his desk. "Good thing this didn't blow up on me." The metallic item rose from the ruined desk, held in Herbals magic

The item split in two as a small, cylindrical tube of brass flew out and landed on the floor with a hollow ping, smoke rising from the hole it came out of. Herbal levitated a similar one, with a pointy silver tip, from under the desk and reloaded the weapon.

“Alright, girls,*cough* I suggest you get out of here while ya can!” He shouted.

Suddenly, one of the twins came out from behind the aisles and threw a small blade at the sickly stallion. Herbal fell back, dodging just in time as it stabbed the wall behind him. He quickly got back up, aimed at the retreating mare, and shot at her, directly hitting the back left leg. The mare screamed in pain as she clutched her left hind leg and writhed on the ground.

Luckily her sister came out of hiding as Herbal was reloading, grabbed her sister, jumped out of a nearby window, and teleported away.

"Ah shit," Herbal said, kicking the crimson stallion's corpse. "Guess I gotta start packing." He mumbled. Then he looked at his ruined front desk with a sad look. "That was my favorite too."

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm glad to see you up and about, Velvet, but you need to slow down, darling." Rarity worryingly warned.

Velvet only ignored her and kept walking at a rushed pace. Due to his size, it took all the elements, minus Pinkie and Rainbow dash, all they had not to fall behind the grimacing stallion. The sidewalk they trotted on was somewhat empty, only a couple of ponies sprinkled out.

"I'm sorry, dear, but I've wasted too much time recovering." Velvet stumbled a bit, but Twilight came beside him to support his side.

Twilight sighed and looked at Velvet with pleading eyes. "That's not a good excuse for discharging yourself early. You can return to the hospital; the girls and I can deal with this, okay?" She asked, a hopeful look in her eyes. That didn't last as Velvet grimaced even more, either from the pain or his attitude.

"Ah agree, Twi. He's in no condition to be movin' around like this." Applejack shook her head with Fluttershy silently nodding in agreement.

Pinkie was about to speak before being interrupted by Velvet stopping and facing the group of mares with an irritated scowl.

"While I appreciate the concern, I like to inform you this is no time for arguing. My self-healing magic will function soon then I'll be good as new. End of discussion." Velvet looked away as he approached a seemingly random store with a sign that read, Herbs and spices, and entered through the front door.

Twilight and her friends shook themselves out of their minor shock and quickly followed him inside.

The first thing that came to them was the pleasant smell of different herbs and flowers of varying sweetnesses. The origin was apparent to the group, especially Rarity, upon seeing the many products on display. The items ranged from candles, lotions, flowers, perfumes, and obviously herbs.

The fashionista pushed past the group and b-lined for the products, Fluttershy slowly joining her also.

The walls also held their own products, this time being spices, cooking equipment, and recipe books. Applejack shrugged and trotted to a random spot, with pinkie pie doing the same.

Rainbow Dash scoffed and waved a hoof in front of her muzzle. "I'm going to wait outside," Rainbow Dash turned around. "It stinks." She grumbled as she left and closed the door behind her, causing Twilight to flinch.

Twilight sighed and decided to trot up to the front desk. It wasn't special looking, just a metal cash register with a golden bell beside it. She was about to tap the bell when she noticed the smell of smoke coming from a door next to the front desk. Her eyes widened in panic as she rushed around the desk and barged through the door.

An awful smell of smoke hit Twilight's nose, causing her to shut her eyes and cover her muzzle with a hoof to keep the stench out.

"Dammit, who in the Tartarus are you?!" A scratchy voice yelled in shock. Twilight opened her eyes to see a middle-aged-looking stallion with a mossy-green coat, a dirty blonde mane, and red eyes. He wore clothes similar to Velvet, who was standing next to the sitting stallion but instead a black long-sleeve shirt with a white vest.

"Twilight, you know it's rude to barge in on a conversation like that." Velvet said, his original sly attitude back once again.

Twilight uncovered her nose and waved a hoof in frantic dismission. "I'm sorry, I thought there was a fire, and since you were gone, I figured-"

"No pony gives a shit. What I want you to do is get the heck out!" The sitting stallion yelled while pointing a hoof at the door Twilight had entered.

Velvet rested a hoof on his foreleg and lowered it with a low chuckle. "Now, Now, Herbal, She is one of my allies. So there is no need to speak to her in that way." He said in a semi-threatening tone.

Herbal only scoffed as he leaned back into his chair and took a drag out of a joint he levitated to his mouth, blowing smoke as he placed it back onto an ashtray. "I don't care about your friend's feelings. What I do care about is your flank being in my store."

"*cough* Is it necessary to be smoking that?" Velvet fanned a hoof at the cloud of smoke.

"Got back pain," Herbal smirked as he took another drag." I made this stuff to deal with it."

Velvet rolled his eyes as he trotted towards Twilight. "I think introductions are in order; come now, Herbal, it's time you met the rest." Velvet smiled as he passed Twilight.

Herbal scoffed as he got up from his chair and followed the tall necromancer, making sure to bump Twilight on the way out.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You know, I thought when I had to switch to my other hide-out in the city, I hoped I'd be wrong and actually run my wife's business in peace. But here I am, sitting at my front desk as these mares and Velvet sit in front of me like I'm some school teacher. That lanky bastard already told them I’m a member of the dark moon legion, so if they suddenly try to kill me, I won’t hesitate to blow his brains out.

"I should start by saying my name is Herbal; this is my shop/necromancy hide-out. No, I don't care to know your names, so don't try." I smoked my "medication", and I looked to see the rainbow one giving Velvet the stink eye.

"So, mind telling us who this guy is?" She said in a snarky tone.

I was about to tell her off until Velvet interrupted me." My friend here, Herbal, is a dedicated pharmacist that makes medical concoctions."

"more like an over-glorified nurse for the idiots that get tiny scratches." I spat out sarcastically while blowing out smoke.

The white one apparently didn't like that. "Could you please not smoke in here? It stinks in here." The white one said as she hacked and waved her hoof in the smoke cloud.

I rolled my eyes, "Look, missy, I need this more than you," I held up my medication with my magic. "either you deal with it or wait outside." I glared at the white one when the rainbow-haired one got into my face.

"Who do you think you are talking to, my friend, like that?" She practically snarled. I was about to reach for my new invention when a familiar overwhelming aura filled the room.

I looked over to see Velvet giving both of us a death glare practically tailored to him to entice the most fear in somepony. I had a grimace on my face while the rainbow one looked like she was going to piss herself on the spot and decide to back away from me.

"I know we aren't getting off on the right hoof here. But I would like for this meeting to go on without any physical violence. So let's all calm down." He said in a condescending tone with a sinister grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes and put out my mediation onto my desk. "Whatever, so, what did you track me down for?"

Velvet's aura disappeared and the usual sly smirk returned. "Well, we would like to know if-" He was interrupted when the purple unicorn appeared in front of me looking directly at my invention with wide, sparkling eyes. I nearly fell off my desk from the sudden shock.

"NEW THING, NEW THING, NEW THING!" The unicorn chanted repeatedly. I looked to Velvet for an answer; he just sighed.

"I would like to introduce you to one of my friends, Twilight sparkle." He said while shaking his head. "She's my landlord, so to speak, and an even bigger bookworm than I am." Velvet lightly chuckled.

I gave him a look of disbelief and lightly punched him on the shoulder. "No shit? I never thought I'd see the day somepony out read your flank!"

"Can you tell me what this is? I have never seen anything like that before." She asked while pointing at my weapon, which was in a black felt holster I made for it.

I was about to tell her off, but a sudden surge of pride filled my heart seeing the mare's gaze. I smirked as I levitated my weapon just in front of me. The purple one, her friends, and even Velvet had some range of interest in it.

"Feast your eyes on what I like to call the hoof canon." I dramatically presented it; even some mysterious ray of light shined on it momentarily. "It's something I made in my spare time. As the name suggests, it fires rounds like a cannon," I levitated a brass round from my pocket, to which the purple on awe at it.

"Please, you got to show me how it works!" She practically begged.

A lightbulb, whatever that is, went off in my head as I cracked open the canon and took the existing round out of it. I coughed into my hoof and got the attention of the purple mare as I gave her my weapon.

"Knock yourself out, kiddo, just don't take it apart. I got blueprints in the back, so take you and your friend into the back room so Velvet and I can talk." I couldn't help but smile as the mare beamed like a filly on hearth's-warming day as she ran into my office/backroom, soon joined by her friends.

"Do you think that was a good idea?" Velvet glanced at the shut door behind me with some concern.

"Ahh, it'll be fine. The thing isn't loaded anyway." I waved off his concern as I lit another one of my medications and huffed it. "Now, what do you want from me this time?" I asked with annoyance.

Velvet giggled and shook his head. "Always the one to rush. Why can't we sit down and have a friendly chat?" He flashed me a friendly smirk, but I just scoffed.

"Because you never want to 'chat' with me. I picked you off the streets after dear old dad didn't want you, and all I get in return is you asking me for favors!" I shouted. Unfortunately, Velvet forcefully pushed me to the ground and stood over me with a pissed-off expression.

"DON'T YOU DARE EVER MENTION HIM!" He yelled in my face. After a few moments, his eyes widened, and he quickly got off of me and backed off. "S-Sorry, just don't bring that stallion up."

I pushed myself up from the ground and stood on my hooves. "I forgive you, kiddo. All I ask for is compensation once in a while."

Velvet scoffed in amusement and looked out of a window near the front of my store. "If it means anything, I'll avenge your dead wife in exchange for your assistance." Velvet flashed a smirk upon seeing my shocked expression.

"How do you intend to do that?" I ask with some hostility.

"I got connections, Herbal. I even caught one of the higher five." Velvet said.

I looked at Velvet with a look of disbelief. "I never took you as the joking type, Velvet." Velvet's smirk never let up as he looked back at me with a knowing look.

"I'm not joking, Herbal." He leaned in closer with a wide grin. "Now tell me, what do you know about the leaders' location?"