The Carnival of the Damned

A stray bolt of lightning crashed down to earth near the run down cemetery, filling the area with a blinding light and roaring thunder. Ryn and Blood's illuminated faces echoed similar expressions of grief, anger, heartache and fury as they struggled with the relentless strings of Fayt. The blind unicorn kept a firm hold over his magic, the crimson threads never slackening in the slightest as they tightened around the throats of the two. The necromancer Mortis removed Rose from his embrace, lips curling into a smirk of satisfaction as he took in her fearful expression. Without another thought he forcefully knocked her down. sweeping her legs from under her to ensure the potion's path as her body hit the ground. She swallowed the elixir with a grimace, effect nearly instantaneous as she doubled over with a new wave of agony. A green glow encompassed the scar on her cheek before slowly fading til not a trace of it remained visible upon the snowy flesh.

"Pathetic mortals, all of you! You make things all too easy for me. Hah! Even your so called 'immortals' can barely call themselves that much. Immortal in body perhaps, but still with an all too mortal heart. So easily ensnared with such emotions as love and concern." Mortis grinned as he stood over Rose, a manic cackling resonating with the dwindling thunder. The lightning gleamed fiercely over his eyes, giving the already crazed unicorn an even more bizzare appearance. He was far gone, drunk with the power that lay before him and the taste of victory so close to his grasp. A light drizzle of rain began to fall upon the scene, dirt becoming mud and blending with the still flowing blood as Dimitri struggled to right himself.

"M-Mortis...you...," he coughed, blood staining his lips in the process.

The dead unicorn paused in his laughter, turning his head at a sickening angle to better see his victim. "I, what?" He wheeled on the injured stallion, quickly moving forward to give a joyous kick to the fresh wound. Dimitri winced, crying out as the edges of flesh torn open even further. "I removed the weak from my way? I cleared my path to victory through the blood and flesh of others? You'll need to be more specific in your statements." The manner of his movement seemed almost dance-like as he cavorted in triumph, Fayt smirking at the other's actions.

The gypsy Dimitri's eyes rolled back into his head, body going limp from the profuse pain as the lich sneered. "Weak. Tell me, Dimitri? What good is your precious gold now? Will it buy you a coffin for royalty? A funeral fit for a king? Nono, you must die as you lived, and I will do you the honor of a shallow grave." He turned away to kick dirt upon the stallion, the rain picking up in intensity as droplets fell from his coat. In another fit of laughter, he glanced over at Ryn and Blood, finding humor in their wrathful expressions. "Oh? Will you speak as well, hmm? Do tell, do tell. I'd like to know your thoughts." He andvanced toward them, letting the dagger hover as his eyes trailed the blade to estimate the distance to the entangled pair. A sudden flicker of thought passed over him, eyes widening as the idea fully manifest.

"Hmm..no...nono...WAIT! I have a much better idea!" His eyes roamed over to the fallen mare, and he hurried to pull the dazed pony back to her hooves. Rose wobbled under the influence of the strange potion, her eyes seeming far away as Mortis set the dagger before her.

"What better way to reward your efforts, my dear gentlecolts? I shall let you die by the one who you have both tried so desperately to save!" He urged her forward, grinning as the struggle from the strings began anew. "Oh, no need to thank me. Consider it a mercy killing. Oh.. wait..." Mortis shook his head, mockingly putting a hoof to his chin as he looked over to the mesmerized audience of carnival members. He sighed, long and unnecessary. "I suppose a promise is a promise..." The lid to the music box slammed shut, the troupe blinking as they began to come to. The mint colored mare Taffy shook her head, blinking as she looked down to where Dimitri lay near her hooves. With a panicked scream she bolted, the cry being taken up by the others as they all scrambled to get as far from the cemetery as possible.

"Yes! Run! Run away!" The lich called after them between peals of thunder. "Leave or die!" The rain fell as they disappeared into the outer-lying forest, each fleeing for their lives while Fayt watched.

Only few were left standing. Dimitri and Hazel covered with rain and mud upon the earthen floor, unseeing witnesses to the madness of the necromancer. Fayt stayed concentrated on the strings as Blood and Ryn glowered down at Mortis.

"Tch, coward. Couldn't stand an audience? Some all powerful being, you are." Ryn mocked the other from his position. "Look at you. Using a helpless victim in your place. What's the matter? Is my blood to filthy for even you?!"

Blood leveled his glare to the pegasus at his side. "You choose this of all times to antagonize him? You do realize we are not in a position of bargaining."

"Listen to your friend," Mortis warned. "Maybe your death will be less painful."

Ryn continued as though the two had remained silent. "Oh, the all powerful necromancer. Too scared to do his own work. Kill a filly? Psh, easy. Stab a swindler? Child's play. Oh, but he doesn't dare dirty his own hands to get rid of the real adversary. What's the matter? Did you come back to life part chicken?" He strained against the tightened strings as Mortis clenched his teeth in a furious grin. Pulling Rose close to his side, he slid the dagger's blunt edge down her throat.

"I don't waste my time with pests. I'll leave that to my little flower here. But first..." He shifted his gaze to Blood, whom had lunged angrily against the strings at the sight of the dagger upon the mare. "Your 'Highness', I regret to inform you that I'll be removing you from your position. I'm the ruler of this land now. You've ruled in the blood of others for far too long."

"I will not allow it. The instant you pass the boundary into my domain, my guards will have you surrounded. Dead or not, you will be stopped." The lord held his head high, even in the middle of the restraints. "Life blood is everlasting, as are the blood crystals of old."

"Oh, but that's the thing about blood..." Mortis kept a close watch on the others as he flipped the dagger to press the sharp edge to Rose's coat. "There is only so much blood in one body. It drains away to leave behind the gleaming bones. And that is how my reign will begin!" The dagger made a shallow cut to the unicorn's throat as the blood underneath began to well up and drip to the earth below. Rose didn't seem to feel it however, her eyes glazed over in unquestioning obedience.

The ground received the blood immediately, petals from the magical energies littering the ground even as the soil began to rumble. "Blood for bones...blood for bones...blood for bones!" Mortis chanted as the rain-softened earth gave way to reveal skeletal remains of ages past. The bits of flesh and bone from the decaying bodies slowly merged, each becoming full figures of horrendously disfigured skeletons. "Blood for bones...my army of death and the life eternal which awaits!" The eye sockets glowed green with the lich's power as the lightning flickered high above. "Come, my army! Tonight we storm Rosencroix!" The roar of impending victory was taken up by the clattering of bones, an unholy orchestra in the endless night. Mortis stood at the front, turning to grin at his captive audience and the mare that stood close by. He tossed the dagger to her hooves with a grin.

"Finish off these pests, dear flower. If you do well enough, I may consider sparing you. After all, the prettiest of roses can grow on the darkest of graves. I may have more use for you yet." The necromancer chuckled at the responding curses from Ryn and Ancient Blood before he turned to beckon to the fortune teller close by. "Come, Fayt! Let us take what is rightfully ours! All of Aelor will be under our command and then, Equestria!"