Necrosis

... There she stood, the fellow liar. No, the true liar. Unlike Celestia, Luna actually had tried to control the world while claiming to be a god. She should have been my target, but it was her sister that tricked me, tricked us. Celestia never made such a claim; I, along with Equestria itself just believed it to be so. Celestia was innocent. Luna was not.

"Should I even bother mentioning that you haven't aged a day?" I teased. Her strange blade never left my sight, resting just fine within my peripheral vision.

"No. While you're at it, don't bother speaking to me. You've got a lot to answer for." Luna replied.

"To my recollection, my only crime was killing a Prince nopony even wanted to have existed in the first place, and resurrecting him. Other than that, you can hardly say the truth about you and Celestia is a crime. The lie on the other hoof, well..." I pursed my lips and raised my brows, a facial sign that the lie was in fact the crime.

"Prince Blueblood was Royalty nonetheless. You had no right to kill him." she argued.

"Now there's something I've been looming over for a while now. You're allowed to give life, but you're not allowed to take it away? Sounds like a metaphorical one-sided relationship to me."

"Twilight, cease your research into necromancy and give yourself up. There may still be hope for you." she said. Bait, she's baiting me. I thought.

"Hope in what sense? By giving up, I could be saving my soul but not my life? Or do you believe things can go back to the way they were? I'm curious." I countered. There was a moment's hesitation. I knew then any answer she gave would be a lie.

"Twilight, Necromancy is dark magic, it'll destroy you." she avoided the question.

"No doubt." I replied, earning a look of confusion. "I'll be frank with you, Luna; I've got absolutely nothing left to lose but my own life." I said.

"What about your friends? Your cult that you've been amassing, wouldn't you lose them?" she asked.

"You'd think so, but no; Half of my friends are already dead, the cult means nothing to me, it's just a means to an end, and the killer responsible for all those Unicorn attacks, Midnight... well she's just a weapon to me. A single use crossbow that once fired, will become useless to me afterwards." I said. Luna's expression didn't change from the bored state it had returned to prior to my rant.

"It doesn't matter now though, Twilight. I'm here now, blocking your points of escape. Sure, you could try the sewer drains, but it's unlikely you'll be able to reach it before me. Teleportation magic has been sealed off within the castle to avoid any surprise attacks from you." she replied.

I smiled at her, seeing the unnerving shock in her eyes. Her poker face wasn't so sharp as her sister's. "You know, I always thought you'd be the one to catch me; after all. It takes somepony who knows darkness firsthoof to do so." I said. Why would I need a sword when I could cut with words? Only Celestia, myself and the girls would be able to hurt her with her past. After all, we were directly involved. And to hear her saviour berating her for it would no doubt be emotionally agonising. I saw it, clear as day. Glistening eyes, trying so hard to suppress a tear.

I decided to save her that shame just this once. "Anyway, it's not like that Teleportation blocker actually works against me." I said. With those words bringing her out of her saddened state, she looked at me with wonder just in time. As if on schedule, the castle began to shake.

"What was that?!" she demanded. Her answer came in the form of a distant roar from outside.

"I'll give you three guesses." I replied, grinning as the castle shook once more. A dragon had latched itself onto the side and had begun blowing flames in through the windows. The sounds of guards suffering under the heat of the flames could be heard, the sound not settling well with the dear Princess of the night in front of me. "You have a choice now, Princess. You can let your guards die, knowing you could have saved them, or you can do just that and let me go. Which will you choose? The question then becomes, which is the lesser evil? Save those loyal to you, or condemn somepony you owe your life to?"

I watched with a dominating high as Luna battled the options in her mind. She was not a god, she couldn't do two things at once. I grinned again as she turned to rescue her guards from the dragons. Overall, a rather quick decision on her part. Despite its appearance, the sewer was no doubt unusable to me now. The dragons could only distract the Princesses for so long. And they would expect me to leave through that sewer. I followed her up the stairs to the hallway at a casual pace. My horn glowed a black aura as I reached out to the mind of one of the dragons. "Come pick me up." I ordered. The dragon registered affirmation before I cut the connection.

"Why would I need teleportation when I have transportation?" I asked nopony in particular. The odd guard loyal to the throne passed by, noticing me but too frightened by the events to think straight. They knew they couldn't take me alone. A minute passed before Shining Armor appeared with a contingency of guards. Seems he succeeded where Luna failed; no surprise there when I thought about it.

"Twilight!" he addressed me. I stood by a row of glass windows, leaning against one of the pillars between them.

"That's it? No Twiley any more?" I asked with sarcastic hurt.

"My sister is dead, you're just some demon with her face. Once this is all over, I'll remember the Twilight I knew and loved." he replied. I huffed in boredom.

"So you're playing the 'dead to me' card? How old-worldly of you, and highly outdated." I said with as much boredom as I would give watching paint dry.

"Give up, Twilight! There's nowhere for you to run." Shining declared.

"What is is with you ponies and moving? Luna says teleport, you say run. I'm not trying to do either of those things. I'm catching a ride." I leaned away from the pilllar just in time before the dragon I'd contacted smashed through, shattering the glass and sending shards flying towards the guards along with bits of debris. In all the confusion I walked up to him and jumped onto his neck. The dragon reared his head back outside just as Shining realised what was happening.

"Come back!" he ordered.

"You never did tell me how often that works, Shining. Clearly the answer was 'never'." I replied. The dragon removed himself from the wall and took to the skies with me hanging onto his neck.

I really had nothing left to live for, nor did I have anything left to fight for. Now, I was just enacting my role as the villain in all this, or the hero, depending on the viewpoint. Really, everything had been taken away from me. Rainbow Dash and Trixie were both dead, as was Rarity. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were shadows of their former selves and Applejack was... well, I don't really know what she was. Spike was no doubt dead, and that was thanks in no small part to being affiliated with me. All I had now were shadows to love me and false hopes to give to those who supported me. Discord would be proud.

An idea came to me as I looked below the dragon. Discord. Perhaps he could undo what had been done? Then again, releasing him might create a third party for which neither Celestia nor myself would want to deal with. However, should the decision to release him occur, I'd like the option to fall upon me, not Celestia.

"Fly low and grab that statue in the centre of the garden!" I called out over the choppy winds. Nevertheless, the dragon heard me and obeyed. With magic, I remained stationary on the dragon as he twisted around and dove down, falling towards the statue of Discord. With a powerful beat of his wings, the ground rushed in all directions. With Discord's statue secured safely in the clutches of my transportation, we were off, headed for Equestria's Southern border. There, a mountain that was impossible to traverse hid well a cave spacious enough for our ever expanding army. Fortunately, Dragon territory rested just behind that mountain. Celestia would not openly attack the dragons at their own home.

I had Discord, my wild card. I had the Dragon Empire at hoof, I had my fallen comrades, as well as my expendable assassin. Chrysalis, the one who opened my eyes to the truth feared and respected me, as she should have. It was nothing to me. I just wanted this war over, I wanted everything calm and peaceful, and not even my death would make that happen at this point. The damage was done, there was a divide in the population of Equestria. I'd already won by creating this mess, but now I had to clean it up in the form of a war that would make the Lunar Rebellion seem like a game of Chess in comparison.

I would send thousands to their deaths, some would blame me, others would apologise for giving me more ponies to mourn. But their deaths wouldn't be the end. I'd bring them back to fight on, assuming there was anything left of them to resurrect. This was who I had become. I knew the risks, but not the severity of them. Still, it didn't matter. I was going to win. Now, my only remaining goal was to find something to fight for. Could it be for the girls that stuck with me through thick and thin, none of them receiving the entire truth about everything? Would it be Spike's memory, even though he probably hated me in the end or felt betrayed?

So many options, none of which took my fancy. It was like job seeking. So many options you could pick from, but not a single one was what you were truly searching for. Not even the thought of fighting just for myself sounded appetising. I'd become hollow. I doubt even imprisonment would phase me. I'd won, but I'd lost at the same time. More to the point, I was lost; trapped in a web of lies and half-truths that were suffocating me with the aid of Necromancy, a form of magic even Luna herself feared to tread into. I don't even recall Nightmare Moon having used such darkness, nor Sombra. Necromancers were soldiers of the Lunar Rebellion, but none were as gifted, as powerful as myself. I was the pony who would claim the title of Necromancer Queen.

The mountain was impossible to traverse simply because it was what one would call jagged. A thorny devil among mountains that was given the fitting name of the 'Jagged Peak'. I felt it suited me. A tall overwhelming titan that could kill you without meaning to, yes, that was my most recent update to my Résumé. Plans for relocation had already been made with thanks to Pinkie Pie. Being the greatest planner of parties, it was logical to assume that moving house was not beyond her repertoire. With any luck, they would have just about finished moving the last of the stocks between the portals.

Jagged Peak was dangerous even to a Dragon, so I was left with no choice but to jump off of my ride's neck. Fortunately, he'd reached the minimum safety altitude before I jumped. That reptile was reliable, that was for sure. So with the aid of my magic, I came to a fairly ceremonious halt just outside the mouth of the cave. As if she knew I'd been thinking about her, Pinkie Pie came shooting from out of the shadows and grabbed me in a massive bear hug.

"Twilight! Thank goodness, you're home! We were so worried, some of the prisoners you helped free said that you were cornered by Princess Luna. How in the wide world of Equestria did you escape?" she asked, not with as much energetic enthusiasm as she used to, but certainly enough to annoy, if you didn't miss it.

"I gave her a choice. Arrest me, or save her guards from the fire-breathing Dragon. Fortunately, she chose the latter. Had I been arrested, no doubt between Celestia's visits and the wards placed throughout my cell, my plan would have been delayed for about a week or so." I replied, stepping into the cave with Pinkie alongside me. The darkness illuminated my eyes further.

"What news of Rainbow Dash? Does her dream still live?" I asked. Pinkie thought for a second before answering.

"Well, she says the Wonderbolts are indecisive at this point. Some want to join us, while others want to remain faithful to the Princesses. Rainbow Dash gave them the option of going neutral and taking up the mantle of the winning side when all was said and done. My guess is they're considering it." she replied with surprisingly clear and concise words. She truly wasn't herself anymore. This must have been how she'd turned out had she spent the rest of her life on that rock farm with her family. Come to think of it, I never really asked about her family.

"True, but unfortunately darling, I do believe that after this war is over and done with, the Wonderbolts won't really amount to much in the end. Grief and sadness will coat the lands before anypony even considers the possibility of losing themselves in the spectacularities those ponies used to perform." I froze. That voice, that richly eccentric voice with the Trottingham accent. I turned towards the source of that voice and out of the shadows came none other than the mare herself. Sporting a slightly faded violet mane and tail, along with a pearl white coat, Rarity stood before me, completely revived and restored.

"R-Rarity... I... how did you... I don't understand. Who brought you back?" I asked.

"I admit, it was a surprise to me also, Twilight. But out of all ponies, Trixie was the first one I saw when I rose from the grave. While you were out, she and Fluttershy gave me the basics of what had happened since my death. After figuring things out, I must say, I was quite upset that you weren't the one to greet me. Even more so that you chose not to bring me back like you did Rainbow Dash and Trixie herself. I mean, how could you think to resurrect Trixie and not me?!" Rarity began to go off at me. Fortuntely, I knew what answer to give her.

"Because, even though it would break Fluttershy's heart not to, I didn't want to subject you to this, Rarity. I know how important your image is to you, and to be an undead corpse, to put it bluntly just didn't seem like it would do you justice. I'd hoped to spare you from this dark path I've dragged everypony I loved down to." I knew I'd won her over s she placed a hoof over her mouth. She always did that when she felt embarrassed at not understanding the viewpoint of those she cared about.

"Oh... Twilight, darling! I see now. You were thinking about what I might want in the way of my image. You're such a thoughtful pony. But I can see right now that you're in dire need of help. You look like something even Tartarus wouldn't want living there. You need all the friends you can get. Which is why I'm grateful for your thoughtfulness, but it's clear that you need me. As such, I'm not going anywhere any time soon. I promise I'll help you in whatever way I can." she declared loudly and proudly. While I finally spoke the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, I still felt like it was for naught. The best I could hope to do for her was to use her strengths in the most productive way possible. Battle was not her strong suit.

"Thank you Rarity. In that case, I might need your advice in regards to a banner. We can't very well be an army without a banner to fly under, can we?" I asked. Rarity's eyes lit up at the prospect of using her talents for something so important.

"Oh, idea! What did you have in mind for the symbol?" she asked.

"I was thinking something along the lines of Ouroboros. You know, the snake that curls into a circle and eats its own tail. It's supposed to represent infinity. That's what I want us to represent. Think you can pull it off?" I asked. Rarity gave me a condescending grin.

Darling, it's me you're talking about. No matter what the artistic challenge, I can make it work. Speaking of which, I love what you've done with the Mare-Do-Well costume. It just screams Twilight Sparkle all over. Also, the hood gives it that hip new look everypony's been going for over the last year or so." she said. I smiled at her. It was good to have her back.

"Thank you, Rarity. But I'm afraid that this was done more out of necessity than anything else. The symbols I stitched into the fabric are actually seals. I've been having trouble with my magic lately. My body can't take it all at once. You've can already see in my eyes the physical changes it's made." I explained.

"Yes, I see. Well, if you ever feel like something a bit different, don't hesitate to let me know. Actually, I could make those symbols work for the banner. Of course they won't be seals, just for show." she offered.

"I'm glad you said that, actually, Rarity. I've been looking for a designer to help make some robes for me that would better suit a mage. Although, I'll admit, I've grown accustomed to the hood." I said with a slight blush to my cheeks.

"Twilight, I'll make you something that will combine the flowing robes of a mage and the metallic garments of a Princess. Although, I doubt you'll be very recognisable." she offered.

"That's fine. I want to strike fear into our enemies. If my appearance will deter them from fighting, then that's the sacrifice I'll make. Perhaps in time, everypony will forget what I truly look like and I could step outside again without fear of the Guard looming over me." I said. Rarity smiled and stepped closer to hug me.

"I can see you've given up a lot for this, Twilight. I won't pretend to understand why you chose this path, but you're my friend, and I'll stick by you through thick and thin. Because that's what friends do." she declared. I smiled at her gesture and returned the hug in full.

Personal Log: Entry no. 781240

I am burdened by sorrow. I've lost Spike forever. His association with me has made the ever growing paranoid Celestia fear him. As a result, he has been killed. There is no other logical explanation behind his absence from the cells. The others are each saddened by this news themselves. I fear Rarity, like me has a particular pang in her heart over this loss. Though the feelings between the two were obvious for anypony with half a brain, they never truly discussed the matter between each other to the best of my knowledge. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but what does that say for eternal absence? How fond can a heart be before it breaks apart and becomes consumed by corruption like I have.

Events have led me to believe that I am indeed no longer the Twilight Shining Armour knew. I'm smarter and stronger, and clinically insane given my new doctor's diagnosis (I'm surprised he's still loyal to me after discovering this fact about me). Things are growing steadfastly out of control. I was never equipped to control an entire army to such an extent. Ponies would be one thing, but add Changelings, Dragons and Gryphons to the mix and I'm a veritable Queen. Also, it seems Trixie has begun to peek into my thoughts, ignorant of my knowledge of this happen-stance. Fortunately, I am the superior when it comes to mental manipulation and am able to lock her out of certain parts of my mind. Certain parts of my master plan have to be revealed in moderation.

I mention Trixie's invasion because she's gone behind my back and organised a ceremony for me to be crowned the Necromancer Queen. A self-righteous title that I neither want nor feel I deserve. Still, it's required, now that my legion of followers have gotten excited over the festivities which were no doubt planned by Pinkie Pie. I just wish I could go back and stop myself from doing the things I've done. I wish I could go back and prevent Chrysalis from organising that plot against Canterlot, that way I would remain blissfully ignorant to this day. I just wish... I were back in the castle auditorium, researching under the tutelage of Celestia. Now, I percieve that ignorant past version of myself as a dreamer. But I can't help but to see my current self as living a nightmare from which I will never wake.

I don't really expect to survive this war. Either Celestia, Luna or the magic eating away at me will take me to Tartarus. Celestia, should you ever find this journal, and come across this passage... I am truly sorry for everything I've done and will do in the future. Despite what Luna said, it is too late for me. My crime is beyond forgivable. I've dragged my friends down with me and corrupted them to the point their families wouldn't recognise them. Should you find this journal before everything is over and done with... I know it's beyond selfish of me to ask, but please... save us. I beg you. Save my friends and me by ending my life. Kill me, please!

I couldn't write any more. Tears were streaming down my face and dampening the page upon which I'd chosen to enter this entry. "Somepony, please... stop me." I cried silently in the solitude of my room.