Necrosis

Personal log: Entry no. 781239

A quick recap of my latest exploits is well overdue. After having paid my dues to the Cult of Necrosis, I have successfully made it an extension of my Power. New members are joining every day ranging from ten to fifty. My public resurrection of my first and hopefully last victim (Blueblood) has aided some ponies in wishing to go against the Princesses as well. Their reasons matter little to me.

A brief overview of their opinion over me has brought me to the border of hypocrisy. I am beginning to be revered as a god, or perhaps a demon to the more level-headed of my followers. This will have to be rectified. Also, I've made steps to make sure that Fluttershy never learns about Midnight Breeze's connection to Rarity's death. Coincidentally, I believe that she blames me slightly for not bringing her back like I have Rainbow Dash. I miss Rarity, but her death has served a purpose in the sense that the Elements of Harmony cannot be used against me. Subsequently neither can they be used for our own personal gain not that I believe they would work, considering that we are for all intents and purposes, evil.

I no longer hold any claim to the good of Equestria, which makes me wonder why I have continued to amass such a formidable rebellion. I suspect that there are liars within my sizable band. Things are growing out of control. Fortunately, Trixie has returned and has provided me with some much needed relief. As a unicorn herself, she is able to feed off of my own ecstasy, considerably lessening the adding stress. Her return also brings good fortune. We have gained the trust of the dragons. They agree that Celestia's humble yet unmistakable air of superiority has run its course. Mentioning that she held a baby dragon prisoner was also a winning factor. Trixie always knew how to draw a crowd.

On a more positive note, Morse Code has two Primary functions. She teaches other ponies a unique form of communication in order to pass secret messages during the day. At night, her love for me is... forever understated. Without having to manipulate her mind, she has degraded herself to do unspeakable acts ranging from torture to masturbating in front of a crowd. She is truly devoted to me, of that there is no doubt. She makes the others seem like potential traitors...

"Twilight, that's enough. Come to bed already." Trixie whined.

"Yeah, we're getting tired and that light's keeping us up." Dash added. I smiled and turned to face them.

"Sorry guys. I'll be done in a minute." I replied, turning back to my journal.

...But I know in my heart that all my lovers, except perhaps Midnight can be trusted. It's obvious that gathering in one place could be detrimental to our success. I'll have to divide the ranks. All I have to do is choose who can be trusted to lead. Even now, my first instinct is to ask Celestia for guidance. The very idea upsets me. It's too late to turn back.

I gasped and shuddered as I felt my nether region suddenly scream for release. I felt the juices flow out of me. Looking under my desk, the glow of my eyes illuminated Pinkie, licking her face clean.

"Thanks, Pinkie. I needed that." I said, shoving the chair back so she could slip out. She kissed me and looked at my journal.

"How come you wrote some of the words in a strange language even I don't know?" she asked. I smiled at her and held her in a hug.

"So nosey little ponies like you don't go reading the important things in my life." I replied, kissing her cheek.

"My name's not in that funny language. Does that mean I'm not important to you, Twilight?" she asked, her ears drooping slightly. I offered her a kind smile (or as kind as I could given my features).

"Pinkie, you are as important to me as Everypony in this room. I love you as much as I love Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Trixie, Midnight, Morse and Scootaloo to an extent." I replied. I almost saw a little bit of the old Pinkie in her eyes, but it wasn't more than a flash. She was different, as were all of my friends. It was as if my power was radiating out to them, effecting their morals.

"You look tired, Twilight. Come to bed." the pink pony said, dragging me from my chair. I went without argument. Having torn my eyes away from my journal, they suddenly felt very heavy. I threw myself onto the bed between the girls, effectively bouncing them a little. Letting out a moan of relief at the softness of the bed, I felt my companions huddling up beside me. They threw their hooves around me and pulled themselves closer, effectively making themselves into a blanket for me. Their bodies felt warm and that warmth put me out like a light.

The following morning, I felt it; a distortion in my magic. It wasn't like before, it was different. Before, it was like a bruise on the surface. This time was like a break. I'd advanced too far too soon. My magic was beginning to deteriorate. Even my own body was feeling sluggish and unresponsive. Ecstacy wasn't enough anymore. I'd passed that threshold now.

With the girls not around to give me even that, I began to worry. What would I need in order to either contain or control the power I now possessed? The answer came to me. Of course I'd enter a situation in which Rarity could help. I thought to myself as I rushed to my desk. Pinkie had been kind enough to give me a roster of the ponies within the Cult. Surely one of them would be a dress-maker.

"Not a one. Fifty ponies on my side and not a single one of them is a seamstress or whatever the male equivalent is. Rarity's dead, Sweetie Belle can't make a dress to save her life, neither can the others for that matter." I screamed as I threw the roster across the room. This was not how I wanted things to end! Surely somepony out there can make a dress.

Then it hit me. 'Somepony out there'. I went to the closet and rummaged around through some of my old things. "Aha! Here it is!" I said aloud as I dug out from an old and dusty box my Mare Do Well costume. "It doesn't have what I need right now, but adding the necessary glyphs to the right places shouldn't be too much trouble. I suppose to spare Rarity's spirit the agony, I should place them in areas that would work on this thing. Also, the hat goes... maybe replace the mask with a hood." I thought aloud as I drew up the design on parchment from my desk.

That was the hard part out of the way. The costume was already made, and I should be able to make the necessary changes myself.

I wasted no time getting this project done. Sending one of my followers to gather the needle and thread, I removed the lenses in the mask, sealed up the holes and reshaped it so it worked as a hood. Keeping the lenses, I managed to outfit a pair of goggles to go separately with the suit. Maybe Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo would like them instead. I then laced the thread with a spell for containment restrictions and stitched glyphs into the sleeves of the suit, on the hood and on the chest. There were four in total, each with different levels of sealing.

Wearing this costume would keep me alive as the glyphs would seal away roughly sixty percent of my magic from here on. All I'd need to do is release the seals with my own magic. To be on the safe side, the seals could only be released with either my own magical signature or Trixie's. I'd have to teach her the spell. Come to think of it, she may need one soon. She's starting to show signs of corruption. I thought, putting the idea on the back-burner for now.

I donned the costume, the stretchy suit caressing my fur. It felt nice. Immediately, I felt my magic begin to drain into the glyphs. It felt uncomfortable, very much so. Fortunately, it rested around forty percent of full power, just as I'd predicted. Despite the drain on my magical reserves, my body felt much better. I felt like a great weight had been lifted off my back. I'd admit, I had trouble deciding whether or not to keep the cape. In the end, I chose to do so in order to hide my figure from the others. I had more than enough sexual partners and they were beginning to outlive their usefulness in that regard. Still, it was fun.

The leathery shoes fit nicely around my hooves. I very rarely wore such things, but I could grow to like it. Testing the hood, it rested comfortable over my head, casting a shadow over my eyes and half of my face. It really brought out the glow in my eyes. Looking in the mirror, I tried the goggles next. While they weren't really me, when the hood was up, the lenses would glow red as well, making me look really scary. I kind of liked it. Now there was an idea; night-vision goggles for Scootaloo. I'll have to look Gizmo up when I'm in Ponyville next. I thought, removing the goggles. I then noticed how long my mane was becoming. Have to get it cut.

I decided to name this new costume the 'Cloak of Necrosis'. After all, it ate away at my magic, and calling it a costume just sounded unprofessional. With the cloak still on, I headed for the door. As I opened it, I saw Rainbow Dash just about to knock.

"Oh, you're awake. Good, I wanted to ask you something." she said. Immediately, my instincts told me to be wary of her question.

"Alright... is something wrong?" I asked. Rainbow Dash hesitated, rubbing the back of her neck. She avoided eye contact with me. "Dash, spit it out. I want to ask you something too." I ordered. Dash finally made eye contact and swallowed in anxiety.

"Uh... not that it matters or anything, but... Scootaloo and I were wondering... mainly Scootaloo, mind you... could we..." she gave a pleading look that suggested she wanted to be put out of her misery. Saving time, I read her mind.

"You want us to go to Canterlot... to extend an invitation to the Wonderbolts to join us?" I asked in disbelief. Dash's eyes widened as she was read like a book. She blushed slightly, drawing back from me to get a bit of distance.

"Yeah... you know. The cult could do with a bit of entertainment, and it'd be more reassuring to them if they didn't have to worry about being caught when seeing their aerial shows." she lied.

"Cut the crap, Dash. You just wanna see the Wonderbolts and maybe hang out with them if they accept your proposal to join us." I caught her out again.

"Stop reading my mind! Can't you trust that I'm doing this for the good of the cause?" Dash asked.

"But you're not doing it for the cause, you're doing it for yourself. So obviously no, I can't trust you with this." I replied. Dash seemed saddened by my reply and hung her head.

"Please, Twilight? This conflict has divided my greatest desires, my friends, my loyalty. The Wonderbolts are my dream, and not knowing where they stand in all this is killing me. Flying's not as freeing as it used to be for me. At opposite ends of the conflict, I can't fulfil my dream of becoming a Wonderbolt. I just want to know where they stand." she begged.

"And what if they stand with Celestia?" I asked, giving her the critical stare.

"Then you're all I'll have to live for." she replied. Her answer told me everything. She'd literally given me an excuse to sabotage the meeting and force her to devote herself fully to me. At the same time, she trusted me enough to give me that power over her and not use it.

"What if they do stand with us? Won't your dreams be divided by your loyalty to me?" I asked. Dash shook her head.

"That's the beauty of it. If they join us, I can befriend them, and once all this is over and dealt with, life can go back to normal and I'll join. Until then, I'm still yours to command." she replied.

"So you're just searching for the future possibility of joining?" I asked. Dash nodded. I knew she wasn't lying to me. Still it would be risky. Should the Wonderbolts stay true to Celestia, we could be in grave danger going to meet them. Of course, they may lie and spy on us for her. Not knowing their overall speed, they could go out on patrol, give Celstia information and be back without arousing suspicion. The cons outweighed the pros... but this was for Rainbow Dash, and she held a special place in my heart alongside Fluttershy, Pinkie and Applejack.

"Before I answer your request, I must ask you; does somepony do your mane like that or do you cut it yourself?" I asked. Rainbow Dash's face contorted into a rainbow of confused expressions.

"Uh... I do it myself... why, do you want a mane like mine or something?" she teased.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Tell you what; in return for granting your request and going with you to see the Wonderbolts, you give me a mane cut that you feel would best suit me and make me look cool at the same time." I offered. Dash's face lit up and she laughed as she went in to hug me.

"Yes! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. You got a deal, Twi." she said, kissing me afterwards.

"Alright then. Come on, let's go get Scootaloo and Midnight." I said. Dash paused for a second.

"Why them?" she asked.

"Well, Scootaloo idolises you and and the Wonderbolts, so she'd probably like to meet them. As for Midnight, she's... well she's good at grounding other Pegasi. We don't want Celestia to be alerted to our presence, do we?" I asked. Dash nodded and walked alongside me to the ponies in question.

"Wait, is that your old Mare Do Well costume?" Dash asked.

It was strange. I knew something was missing, a part of the equation I hadn't considered. I looked things over and over but I couldn't find it. The upcoming trip to Canterlot would hold more reward if I could just find what that reward was. I knew I couldn't look to Celestia for guidance, but perhaps I could look to somepony who had bested her. I chose Chrysalis. While Discord may have been a viable option, his victory was unusual and hardly damaging to anypony's reputation.

I chose Chrysalis to talk to. She sat beside me as Rainbow Dash did my mane with enthusiasm one would not see coming from her doing such a dull job. Perhaps she'd fantasized about ruffling up my once straight and fine cut mane.

"What am I doing wrong, Chrysalis? Obviously there must be more I should do, but I just can't figure out what's missing." I said. I heard the Changeling's wings buzz slightly as she thought.

"To be honest, Twilight, I'm surprised you're having so much difficulty with this. The answer's right there." she replied.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Up until now, you've been doing one thing at a time, while unpredictable enough, it allows the ponies to prepare for any and all likely events that would counter your own method of battle." she said.

"I'm not following." I replied. Chrysalis hummed slightly as she thought of a way to explain.

"Think of it like Chess. You're moving one piece at a time, and so the ponies have learned to move their own pieces in order to counter, however, they're still only moving one piece at a time like you. What you need to do is move more than one piece at a time, move all the pieces at once if you feel like it." My eyes glowed like a light bulb lighting up as I realized where she was going with this.

"That's it! I just need to do more than one thing at a time. Thank you, Chrysalis. You were very helpful." I said. Having to keep still as Rainbow cut my mane, I couldn't read Chrysalis' expression, all I heard was the sound of light hoofsteps. "Okay, tell me. How did she react to my gratitude?" I asked Dash.

"Surprised would be my answer. It's difficult to tell Changeling facial expressions. For all I know, she could have been appalled." Dash replied. I chuckled, but my mind had already gone elsewhere. I needed to plan this through. I was going with Dash and Scootaloo to see the Wonderbolts, but I didn't really care that much for them, not unless Dash was one. The advice from Chrysalis still rang fresh in my mind. I didn't need to attend, just take her there. So what else could I do in Canterlot, short of battling the Princesses?

"I've got an idea, Dash." I said. A final snip of Dash's scissors told me we were ready to begin.

Canterlot was bustling with the latest news. Media concocted from imaginative minds. Some newspapers claimed I was a tobogganist. Others mentioned a romance between myself and Chrysalis. That would make for an interesting study in Changeling anatomy. I'll have to wait until later though. I thought, walking through the streets. I wore my 'cloak of Necrosis' with the hood up. Thank goodness I decided to keep the cape; it hid my tail well. With the streets full of active ponies it was easy to hide within the crowd. An added bonus for the plan I'd created. As soon as we were in Canterlot, Rainbow Dash led the way to the Wonderbolts. She knew their hang-out well. It was a bar called 'Liquid Gold Wings'.

"Now, you know the plan?" I asked. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo nodded. Midnight smiled and looked toward the bar.

"Yeah, discreetly ask the Wonderbolts their side of things, ask them to join us. If they refuse, cause a scene and make sure the public as well as the Royal guard chase me. If they do join, ask them to chase me." she replied. I smiled, flashing a glance to Midnight.

"Remember, we want to disable, not kill... yet. And only if it looks like they're getting close to catching Rainbow. Unlikely but better to be safe than sorry." I ordered. Midnight nodded with a devilish grin that caused me some degree of unease. "Good. I'm off to do the other thing. Scootaloo will get herself an autograph from them while she's here." I said.

"I wondered why the kid was here." Midnight said.

"Fortunately, Scootaloo isn't recognized as a part of the Cult of Necrosis. After all, who would suspect a foal of treason?" I asked, smiling under my hood before turning to leave.

"Good luck, Twilight." Scootaloo said.

"Thanks, you too." I called back, disappearing into the crowd.

Rainbow Dash's union with the Wonderbolts served as a distraction, hence the chasing. For Rainbow's sake, I hoped that they would at least consider neutrality. That way, Dash's life would not depend on my usefulness for her. I made my way to Canterlot Castle. Nearing the front gate, I took a right towards the mountain. There was a drain pipe that was disused some years ago to help with flooding. It led straight to the basement, which also happened to be the prison cells; my destination.

"A criminal breaking into prison. Discord's chaos runs still." I uttered as I hopped into the pipe. It was at an upward slope into the castle, but that was expected. It wouldn't make for a very effective drain pipe if it added water to the flood.

I waited at the edge, the iron bars hid me from the guard that would patrol every five minutes. It took about ten minutes before Rainbow Dash's time to shine came. As the guard was making his second patrol, another came telling him of the incident. Rainbow Dash had started a bar fight and flown away with the Wonderbolts in hot pursuit. Her chance to prove herself to them by out-flying them... hopefully.

With the prison devoid of all guards, I used my magic to bend the metal bars and step through. It would act as our escape route. I walked along the passageway, looking into each cell. There were ponies accused of being co-conspirators of Necrosis. One or two of them were, others were simply once-high-strung noble ponies. It was nice to see them brought down a notch.

"Twilight! Twilight Sparkle, please, help us. We'll join your cause of you help us." one of the prisoners cried, throwing herself at the bars. I approached her. Her hoof was sticking out, trying to reach me as though I were the key to her cell. I held her hoof in my own and kissed it.

"Of course I'll help you. But you don't have to join if you don't want to. That goes for all of you!" I called out. The prisoners began to cheer as they discovered freedom came in the form of me. "So why are there so many prisoners? Most of you look like you don't need to resort to crime." I asked.

"Princess Celestia has become paranoid. She's beginning to suspect treason in the most unlikely of places, even Luna became a victim in the form of an argument." she replied. This changed things. I knew Celestia as a calm and collected pony, but if she was going to act completely off from herself...

"What about Spike, a young dragon. I heard he was taken prisoner." I said.

"He was, but Princess Celestia called him up to meet her a few weeks ago. We haven't heard anything about him since then." the prisoner replied. Damn it! There goes my plan! I thought, using my magic to break the locks on the prison cells. The prisoners threw the doors open and cheered with glee before making a beeline for the drain pipe. As the last few stragglers were preparing to leave, I felt a presence that unhinged me. I turned around to look at the source of this feeling. Even the prisoners who hadn't managed to leave stopped and looked at her.

There stood Princess Luna, fully clad in her royal attire with a large blade resting on her back.

Her eyes were colder and darker than I'd ever seen. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle." she said.