Antiblue P.O.V. (A year after the conversation with Celestia)
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One year later i was transferred into a another volunteering workplace, situated inside one of the wings of Canterlot's Castles, along with Ruby Honey and Marine Sapphire, were i continued to work as before.
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That wasn't a coincidence. My transfer was ordered by Celestia herself.
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That was a expedient to increase the surveillance on her, just to make sure that i couldn't even escape, not that changed anything to me anyway.
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I was glancing at some of the other ponies that i didn't bothered to interact with before.
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And among there was no other than the future threat to Equestria that is Necro Meele. However the orange mare in question was called with her original name, Noontide Bloom. She was used to be another mare before she became who she will be in the future.
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At least that is what somepony who could had possibly know her will say...
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At the time, Noontide was a very naive, understimated and insecure one. She seemed that kind of mare that kept a dark story inside her mind. Noontide was still the weirdo in appearance because of the strabismus made evident by her left eye stuck uphill, but at least she was one who tried to do something helpful to the others.
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Noontide was also accompanied by her unicorn mentor, Sunlight Chime, a azure maned beige stallion who is also a great magic caster and a good teacher.
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While Antiblue continued her work, Noontide and her mentor walked outside the workplace. The duo was briefly observed by the two royal guards who were tasked to watch over the violet mare.
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"So this must be Noontide Bloom. I heard that Sunlight asked Celestia to be her mentor despite Noontide being a earth pony. I wonder why." said one of the guards.
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"You don't know nothing about that?" said the other one.
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"About what?"
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"Noontide is almost the same cases as that Antiblue. She is also a orphan with the difference that we cannot explain her parents deaths."
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"Why not?"
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"They died under mysterious circumstances. In their house, or i should say in their cave, there wasn't any fire or any kind of incident at all. The only thing that we just saw when we arrived was a shocked Noontide and only a small thing that used to be their parents... Ashes."
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"A-ashes? Without any kind of fire?"
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"That happened some years before Antiblue's case."
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"But what has Sunlight to do with her?"
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"Well, Sunlight took care of her since she was transfered here, at Canterlot. He started to teach anything about science, biology and some of the magic arts without being a unicorn. Only for academic purposes of course."
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As they continued to talk as Noontide and Sunlight walked through the corridors far away from them.
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The orange mare started to feel uneasy. Sunlight tried to comfort her.
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"Don't worry, they don't know nothing about-"
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"What? That my parents died because they abused of the power of Necro-alchemy?" interrupted brusquely Noontide.
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"But you don't want to repeat their mistakes. You swore this to yourself. Remember?"
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"... Yeah. You are right."
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As the days passed, Noontide tried her best to use the knowledge obtained by her studies to help anypony and doing something good. That because she wanted to be improve herself in order to be appreciated by the others for her efforts.
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Her purpose was justified since she wanted to be remembered for her contribute rather than for her own past, something that was made unknown by everypony except Sunlight himself.
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Noontide can be easily discouraged or even frustrated when something doesn't go in the right way. Despite this, she doesn't blame anypony for her failures.
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There some upsides and downsides in the course of her days.
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Sometimes she was praised for that, and some in other cases she was simply snobbed by some ponies who were envious of her or were against some her thesis.
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For the rest, she was almost entirely distrusted by most of the ponies in the society despite her good intentions because she was considered a weirdo for a few of them who didn't understood her very well or some of them considered her a paranoid mare who want anything perfect immediately.
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Such thing are only misunderstanding that fell in silence after a period of time, allowing her to integrate herself in the society. The things were going a little bit better than before.
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But then something threatened her good will and credibility.
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The fact that her parents committed the act to make use of the forbidden art know as Necro-alchemy and died due to their abuse was partially leaked outside the walls of Canterlot's Castle despite Celestia's and Sunlight's attempts to keep that a secret.
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At that point, almost everypony who knows about it started to ostracize her completely to the point to consider her as insane as her now deceased parents.
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Despite this, Noontide tried to move on and continued to trying to improve herself in both her studies and her practice. But the major shadow of the Necro-alchemy, the real catalyzer of her parent's madness and death continued to cover her life.
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Noontide feared that she, one day, will end up like her parents or, worst of all, being corrupted by it.
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One night, Noontide Bloom was alone in her room, sitting on her desk. The silence was the only companion to be with her. Just a moment before it was broken by the door being creaked open by Sunlight Chime.
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The mare turned her head toward Sunlight as he entered the room and approached her with a calm and yet worried expression.
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"Sunlight. I don't want to talk with anypony right now. What do you want?" asked Noontide with a tired voice.
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"I just want to-"
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"Comfort me... I don't need that. Really."
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"No, you don't get it. I have something that can help you."
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"And how!? Almost everypony knew about my infamous backstory, so nothing changes! I cannot even escape from my curse! How can you possibly help me!?"
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Sunlight remained silent, with the face of somepony who wasn't sure if what is going to say was a sensated thing. But Noontide looked so defeated. She was going to give up from a moment or another. Something that he cannot even allow that.
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"Noontide, i think i had found something in which you would agree." said Sunlight.
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"What are you talking about?" asked Noontide.
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"... I think is time to confront your demons. I will ask you to give Necro-alchemy a chance."
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Noontide quickly stood up and looked at him with a grave shocked expression. She wasn't expecting this coming out from the mouth of her mentor.
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"WHAT!?" screamed Noontide.
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"You heard it. Besides, don't scream. I don't want anypony to heard us." said a still calm Sunlight.
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"But Necro-alchemy is a very dangerous and forbidden art. Nopony should even think so make use of it. That equals to commit something that violates the balance between Life and Death. You know what happened to my parents. They were internally burned by their powers' abuse and reduced into ashes. Do you want me to suffer their same fate?"
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"I know what are you talking about, but you don't have to use any single one thing of this practice. Just learn a valid one method and try to use that for a noble purpose."
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"But... Celestia will never allow that."
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"Leave the rest to me. This will be our secret."
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"But i don't want!"
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"Just one time. If that doesn't work, you can still give up that. Is still there that book of yours?"
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"No, is in the archive. You sealed it by yourself. Seriously, i don't know why you are trying to convincing me to do something that i don't want... that is not a good idea at all."
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"I'm starting to doubt myself about what i'm gonna to say but... I'm sure you had a great talent. Thanks to that and your conscence, you will not end up as your parents."
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"No... Nononono. That is not-"
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"Trust me. That is the only thing you had to do to confrot this dark chapter. try to take a look in your closet if you don't believe me."
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The mare doesn't know what Sunlight was referring to, and that last instruction was just confusing and sporadic on it's own.
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Noontide Bloom walked toward her closed were she conserved some of her books and opened it. She laid her gaze on the omnious unchained black book who. Noontide was shocked to see that. She wasn't expecting that to be there.
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"Is the Necro-alchemy Tome! But how-"
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"Let's just said that was delivered by a benefactor who knows all about your fears." said Sunlight, interrupting Noontide.
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"Impossible. Only you and Celestia could break the seal. Who could possibly be?"
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"I don't know. That pony preferred to be anonymous. But who cares. He said that he will help you."
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"... You seriously want me to-"
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"I will keep a eye on you, just in case something goes wrong. We will take the responsibility of our actions together."
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"... But..."
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"Take the time to think about. Good Night."
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After that, Sunlight leaved the room, leaving Noontide alone. Noontide reluctantly turned her attention to the black book.
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Noontide Blood never wanted to use this kind of things. Not after what it has done to his parents. She will never use that. But then she was considering what Sunlight has said so far. Noontide was conflicted and worried about the effect that this situation would have on her morality. But as she was pondering about the strange incentive that Sunlight said so far, that wretched book, despite it's own dark history, it started to gain an appealing look, intoxicating her mind. Noontide struggled to keep her conscience still clean, but since his teacher asked her to give it a chance, she gives the book one.
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Noontide putted the book on the desk, opened it and took a look at it's pages. She continued to read it for a hour only to stop and going toward her bed, asking to herself if that was the right thing. Noontide wasn't even sure if Sunlight was sane in his mind when he come out with that shocking incentive. But the most bizarre about that, to her, was that the reading of the black book leaved her a bad taste in her mouth, especially since she has done what she swore to never do because Sunlight asked to do so just for a bit. A there comes the creepy part that surfaced in her psyche. Deep inside she couldn't help but feel curious about what she can do with this obscure art.
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And she knew where to start.
Three days ago, a trio of dragons were flying on the Everfree Forest, in the point were a filly, Arborea Cleverhooves, Silkveil Cleverhooves' daughter and second-born, was walking along with her mother, Salva Phillia.
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The dragons spitted their flames to track down one fourth dragon who stole their treasure out of jealousy.
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One of them end up accidentaly hitting Arborea, leaving her burnt and covered in flames as she descent toward her burning death in front of her mother.
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Despite the fact that the dragons can be sometimes jerkish and uncaring of the consequences, this one in particular, the culprit of her death, was completely horrified from what he had done. His guilt became utterly heavy as he saw Salva cursing him and howling at him in rage.
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That accidental murder was so despised, even among his fellow dragons. Garble and his gang in particular didn't even want having to do with them since they were a bunch of cowardly hypocrites in contrast with their other comrades..
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But for that dragon, Renota, that wasn't important. Having the life of that filly on his conscience was too much for him that he cannot think to anything else. He was too traumatized for that.
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That is a real tragedy, a very gruesome one for both Renota and the whole Cleeverhooves' family crying for the loss of their daughter.
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But Noontide knows how to act and has the right solution about that. She will put what she has learned from that black book.
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Starting by the next night.
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One cloudy afternoon, a week after Arborea's funeral, there was a grave and cold wind, blowing in a quiet, rural village far far away from Ponyville.
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Noontide arrived in the village accompanied by little cloaked foal that hesitantly followed her.
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The orange mare could perceive the unpleasant silent filling the air. She took a look around her, searching what she come here for.
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Noontide could feel her research being concluded as the silent was broken by some screams and flying accusation.
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She turned toward the source of these voice only to find a dangerous scenario.
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Silkveil, Salva and their male first-born, Quartzgrain Cleverhooves, were standing in front the dragon responsible of their suffering.
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The dramatic part was the dragon's attempt to apologize, begging for forgiveness and assuming the responsibility for his action.
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Silkveil, despite his anger, could see that honest feel of guilt in the dragon's eyes and could perceive his conscence asking for help. Nopony could believe that even if they saw that. A dragon apologized and felt guilty for his actions.
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The other two ponies, on other hooves, doesn't believe to his words, including their sons Quartzgrain himself, who suddenly pullout a wooden bat from his bag and furiously tried to beat up the dragon only to be held by both his father and her mother.
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Quartzgrain furiously struggled to set free from his parents' hold. He seemed so willing to kill the dragon despite Silkveil and Salva not allowing it at all.
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At that moment both Noontide and the cloaked foal approached the scene, The orange mare started to talk to them.
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"Look. I'm sorry if i'm interrupting you, but i don't think that this is what Arborea really wanted." said Noontide.
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"Don't interfere! That's none of your business! Go away!" screamed Salva.
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"Don't you understand that this is a delicate situation?" said angered Silkveil.
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"Yeah! Because i'm about to butcher this dragon!" screamed Quarzgrain.
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"NO!" yelled Salva.
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"I WON'T ALLOW IT!" screamed Silkveil at his son.
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"Let him do it. I guess that cannot be avoided." said resigned the dragon.
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The cloaked foal walked toward them and tried to get their attention.
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"Wait! Stop! Don't do it!" yelled the foal.
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Suddenly the whole Cleverhooves family, including Quartzgrain, and the dragon stopped moving. They were slowly turning toward the cloacked foal, dumbfounded and shocked. The foal's voice was that of a filly, and a very familiar one.
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"Please, listen to me for one second. You are completely free to believe me or no what i'm going to say. This dragon over her didn't realized that i was there at the moment. He didn't intend to do it. Please. Don't be that sad. Is the only thing that i'm asking to you." said the filly.
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That voice was so familiar to them that they forgot their what they are doing in that moment while they are looking at the filly.
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The dragon couldn't even believe what was happening in front of him.
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Salva was the first one talk.
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"I-is this some kind of a sick joke!?" said incredulous Salva.
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"You are free to not believe me. But please. Don't be angry. Don't be sad. And most of all... Please, forgive that dragon and move on. All of you don't deserve it. I know. But this hatred won't resolve nothing." said the filly.
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"T-that's not possible..." said shocked the dragon.
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"Shut up!" screamed Quartzgrain at the dragon.
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"Brother." said the filly to Quartzgrain as he returned her attention to her.
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"Please, put aside your anger. My death wasn't what this dragon wanted. I beggin you to forgive him."
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"Is-s..." the stallion looked at Noontide. "Hey, you! That is a serious sick joke! You are using some filly with a voice similar to Arborea to defend this murderer!"
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"Quartzgrain!" yelled Silkveil "I can understand that you feel frustrated and you can't trust that. Not even i. But... I can understand if this is my daughter. If i'm not mistaken, that should be her but... it's impossible."
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"Are you going to believe this farce?" said Quartzgrain.
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"Hey. She said that. You can believe her or not. Is your choice." said a calm Noontide.
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Silkveil walked toward Noontide with a grim glance pointed at her.
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"You're not lying, right?" said distrustful Silkveil.
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"You decide. I just brough this filly with me because she wanted to help you." said Noontide.
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"Wait! That isn't right! My daughter's body was inside the coffin at her funeral! I saw that! And yet... This voice seems to real." said Salva.
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"Your preoccupation is legit-"
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"Legit!?" said Salva interrupting Noontide "It is! I don't know why your are here, but now you are confusing my ideas! Why are doing this!? Why brough this filly there!? And why is she cloacked!?" said Salva before hastly walking toward the filly.
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The cloaked filly stepped back a few steps, but was immediately reached by the mare.
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"No, wait! I'm not sure that is what she wanted!" said worried Noontide.
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"Why not? If this is my daughter, she should have no reason to hide! Let me see her!"
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Salva removed the cloak and sawed the filly real appearance. She should consider this a miracle, but what she saw leaved her horrified.
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Salva let out a terrible scream symbolizing the nightmare she was living in that moment. As she wasn't the only one since Silkveil, Quartzgrain and the dragon can see this too.
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That filly was indeed Arborea, their daughter. But her appearance was horribly wrong. Her left eye was missing, resulting her eyesocket being exposed, some bone of her rib cage were made visible through some open wounds and there are still traces of burn on her back, almost part of the right side of her body and on her half burnt mane.
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Salva was incredulous, terrified by what she was looking at, refusing to believe at the existence of the undead filly in front of her.
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"T-That thing cannot be her! And yet her voice was that of Arborea! But that is not possible!" yelled Salva.
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"Arborea... Don't tell me...!" said Silkveil.
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"N-no... You're exactly what you were during your death." said shocked the dragon.
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Quartzgrain looked at the living filly corpse who is supposed to be Arborea. But his mind wasn't filled with just horror and shock. His anger threatened to be released once more, motivated by another reason.
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He continued to look at the filly in a very shocked way.
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"Arborea. Is that really you?" asked Quartzgrain.
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The filly shook her head, getting scared as she kept watching her parent's horrified faces.
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"I-i... I know this would happen!" said undead Aborea before turning her head toward Noontide. "Miss! I told you that was not a good idea! I know that you have brought me back from the death to help my family and that poor dragon over there... But look at me! Now they are going to hate me!"
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"This will not happen! It's not your fault!" said Noontide.
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Noontide tried to comfort her, but she couldn't do or say anything that Quartzgrain suddenly struck her head with the wooden bat in the most violent way possible.
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"YOU BASTARD!" screamed Quartzgrain in rage.
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Noontide's glasses felt to the ground after that blow. Noontide was stunned and couldn't had the time to moan for the pain as Quartzgrain continued to beat her up with the bat, guided by his anger.
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"HOW DARE YOU TO DO THIS TO MY SISTER!" screamed again the stallion, continuing to brutaly hit her. "I WILL KILL YOU!"
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"Quartzgrain! Stop!" yelled Silkveil as he rushed toward Quartzgrain along with Salva.
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"Brother! No!" said Arborea, almost on the point of crying.
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Silkveil and Salva they were holding their first-born back while he continued to waggle.
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The orange mare had fallen to the ground. The whole beating leaved Noontide in almost severe conditions. Her head started to bleed in splited directions while it was steining part of her mane. Her blood was slowly dropping to the grass. Noontide was dizzied and battered from the whole beating. She barely managed to get up, moaning for the pain and trembling for the brief sense of vertigo caused by the physical immediately repressed her moans to silence and picked up her glassed just to clean them and putting them on again.
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The whole Cleverhooves familty, including the undead Arborea, looked at Noontide with disgust and sense of fear. Quartzgrain was still angered toward her, as he had already converted that anger into hatred.
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Arborea, on other hooves, was mentally begging to her family to stop.
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Noontide could feel a mix of fear and confusion upon realizing that she had done something more grave than just a failure to help them. But she wasn't feeling guilty at all. Despite the consequence of her act to resurrect Arborea, horrendous or not, Noontide was still thinking to have done a right thing. And that was the problem.
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"Y-you had to consider that i brought her back to life and asked her help for a good reason. Arborea was reluctant at first, but i managed to convice her to help me. I just wanted to relieve your pain and exonerate that dragon. I know that will sound sick and disturbing, but-"
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"Shut up! You don't get it, right!?" said Quartzgrain interrupting Noontide.
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"Enough!" said Silkveil.
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"All this violence should be avoided. When we're home, i will make you reflect about your action. I don't want this kind of vengeance entering in our house. Ever!" said Salva to Quartzgrain.
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Silkveil turned his gaze toward Arborea and started to feel a sense of guilt for the fear he was feeling toward her, despite that being a natural impulse. He doesn't know if he can consider the undead filly her daughter for real, but he couldn't say no to his conscience.
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"Arborea." said Silkveil with a calm tone.
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"D-daddy... Stay away... i'm not."
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"it's okay."
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"No! It's not okay! I'm... i'm.."
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The filly stepped back.
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"We are gonna resolve this problem together. Please, come with us." said Silkveil.
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"R... really?" said Arborea, crying some tears.
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"Trust me. I will take care of you. We don't hate you. I promise."
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Arborea hesitated for a moment, but then she ran toward Silkveil and hugged him. The older stallion comforted her under the surprised gaze of his wife, his first born and the still shocked dragon, who doesn't know if feel happy or confused toward this chilling and grotesque situation.
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Noontide wasn't sure if that was bittersweet ending and doesn't know if that can be considered resolved.
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Silkveil then raised his gaze toward Noontide with a expression of muted disgust sculpted in his face.
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"You had used a forbidden method on my daughter's dead body. I can see that you had used some sort of art that is completely different from Necromancy. Which means that you had resorted to Necro-alchemy to barely resurrect her without even considering the final result of this act. You cannot fool me. You brought her back to life through this forbidden form of Alchemy. I know almost everything about almost every aspect of magic. No wonder Arborea has this appearance instead of her normal one after her resurrection. You are inexperienced at this type of art. You were usinga forbidden art without fully know it's uses or the consequences that will come by it's abuse." said coldly Silkveil.
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"At least i allowed her to explain her point of view! I even investigated this dragon's reason and then asked Arborea to come with me. I know what she feels."
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"What have you done to her?"
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"If the problem is her appearance, i will immediately solve this. I-"
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"That is not what i am talking about! You shouldn't had resurrected her in the first place!"
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"What!?"
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"Look at her." Silkveil then pointed to Arborea. "She i gonna to be marginalized and hunted down because she was brought back from dead. Such action in Equestria is completely forbidden. She will be hunted down because of her current conditions! No matter what appearance will have, she will have to suffer another death because the dead must remain dead. Somepony will have to kill her. But i won't allow this to happen. I don't even want to see my family suffer again. You put us in this situation!"
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Noontide was briefly speechless, struggling to finds some words in her defence.
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"But... but... I was-"
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"I know about your intentions, but that act is unconceivable for this world. No matter how you look at. It is the law, and for a valid reason. To preserve one of the fundamental balances of nature. You should have thought about that twice before committing this crime."
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"I know is forbidden. But i just used that because i wanted to fix this situation. It wasn't my intention to create even more problems."
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"You should have considered that there is the balance that i mentioned about. The one between Life and Death. Life is the time given to us while Death is the end of it. Putting aside the basic functions, the loss of somepony dear to us served also to remind us of our mortality and made us remember the value of life and the how important was the time we spent with that pony. By resurrecting Arborea you had violated that balance and commited a crime, not only against that balance, but against Arborea as well."
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"I-i did that!?"
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"You should feel ashamed of yourself. I'm sorry, but, like my predecessors, i'm friend with Celestia. I know the aspects of the magic of that caliber and i know the risk that come with their abuse."
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"But in which way i hurt Arborea!?"
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"By not considering her feelings and her future, just like you did NOT HAD considered the consequences of your actions! Just like your parents before you!" concluded Silkveil.
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Noontide remained bewildered and speechless. That wasn't supposed to happen to that. She had clearly listened to his motivation and yet she still couldn't accept that. This time was something more than just a failure. That was a tremendous moral defeat to her. She has done something forbidden for a good action and not even this goes in the right way.
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Usually she get used to her failure and reminding hersef to not blame anypony for it. After all, that was nopony's fault. She could take this defeat as a lesson and use it to learn from her errors.
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But not this time.
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She wasn't feeling her usual frustration, but a very sinister one. Noontide looked at the whole family in front of her with a mute indignation. She couldn't believe at her absurd situation that was presented in front of her.
Noontide passed her previous week to resurrect Arborea's resurrection, thinking about a good resolution to appease the Cleverhooves' suffering and show that the dragon was really guilty about his action. She has done all this, knowing her risks, and even done that for a good reason... and then this happens.
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Noontide couldn't believe herself. She used the same forbidden art as her parents not to abuse it but to do something good with it. And yet she was blamed for the resurrection of their daughter as she has committed a real crime against them despite her good intentions and was even subjected to a brutal beatdown delivered by their own first-born.
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According to Silkveil, the resurrected Arborea should die because the resurrected creatures are considered pariah just for the fact that resurrection is illegal, and yet they refused to kill her, and decided to keep her and welcomed her open arms, like it was some sort of free pass.
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Some thoughts traveled through her mind with such intensity:
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"What kind of hypocrisy is that?" screamed Noontide in her mind."Why this kind of comprimise? Why should i be ostricized in this way!? I'm going to be always blamed put under the press despite my good will for the rest of my life!? ... I won't accept that!"
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Noontide lowered her head, putted her left hoof on her head and started to laugh a little, and laugh, and laugh, as she was on the point to snap very soon.
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Quartzgrain was going to react, but he was stopped by Silkveil gesturing to his family to not doing anything. He then holded the undead filly very tight.
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Arborea started to fear for her pseudo benefactor's sanity.
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"I don't think you are laughing because you find this funny. You seemed really upset for how this story come out. It's true that we wanted her to come back to us. Even my wife wished for that. But we could not do anything that will endanger this important part of nature. We had to accept that. But now you had complicated our situation and her own. Do you even understand that?"
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"Oh, really!? Seriously, you continued to go on and on about the importance of the balance between Life and Death and how the resurrection of your daughter is a crime against that balance, so she had to die. But you decided to keep her and going so far as break some rules to protect her. You wouldn't even allow me to fix that. And i have to be the one to blame despite my effort to resolve your situation. Why has to be always like this!? A failure after another!" said frustrated Noontide.
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"You better calm down! I decided to protect her because i wanted to make her feel at all. I also promised to resolve this problem without hurting her. It's different!"
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"That is very contradictory! You wanted to get those who died a injust death to you, and when you finally get it, you started to complain about it because is goes against you ethics or even nature itself! You didn't know what to choose! This is ridiculous!".
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"It's not like that. Try to understand my point. I know what happened to your parents. They used the Necro-alchemy and now you are even ostricized for you bond with them. I know about the difficulty you were going through, but following their ways will only-"
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"YOU ARE A BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES!"
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Noontide Bloom ran away from them, as fast as she could, leaving Arborea behind. She wasn't even realizing that her head was still bleeding asdrops of blood being versed on the grass once more, leaving a trail of bloodstains behind her passage.
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"Yeah! Go away! You had caused enought trouble!" said exultant Quartzgrain before getting slapepd by Silkveil.
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"Enough!"
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Silkveil than picked up the cloack and putted it back to the undead Arborea.
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"Daddy." said Arborea. "What is going to happen to us now?"
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"... I don't know. But i will find a solution to this situation."
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Silkveil looked worried at Salva, who was still shocked about what happened. He patted on her head, snaping her back to reality.
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"Salva. We're going home with Arborea."
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"What!?... But is she gonna-"
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"We will find a solution. I promise." then Silkveil looked at Quartzgrain. "And you are going to behave. I don't want see any scene of violence. Not more."
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Silkveil hovered his hooves and dropped them on the wooden bat, smashing it in two.
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"Do you understand that?"
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"Yes, father... I apologize." said mortified Quartzgrain.
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As they were going to leave, Silkveil walked toward the dragon and gestured him to listen.
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"Consider this. I will forgive you, but you are not allowed to surpass our home. Do you understand that?" said Silkveil with a stern voice.
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"Y-yes, mister Cleverhooves... Thank you... I... I will take my leave." said the dragon.
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As the dragon he got up in the air, he and the Cleverhooves took different paths.
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The dragon can return to his homeland while taking that as lesson for himself, but he was still baffled of how the story turned out.
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The Cleverhooves family, on other note, were afflicted by a fear regarding their future and that of the gruesomely resurrected Arborea, their daughter and second-born.
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Because of Noontide Bloom's actions, their life will never be the same again.
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Antiblue was helping Sapphire and Ruby to clean the volunteering classroom inside Canterlot's castle as a extra work. Sapphire in particular continued to watch over the violet mare to ensure she won't sit and doing nothing, much to Antiblue's annoyance. Not because she was lazy, since there's no reason to be, but because of Sapphire's pedantic behavior.
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Antiblue has almost finished her daily work and can't wait to return to her jail until Ruby Honey accidentally dropped a bucket full of liquid flooding the corridor outside the class. Sapphire face palmed for the umpteenth for the honey farmer's clumsiness, followed by altered Antiblue looking at her.
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"Guys... Sorry!" said apologetic Ruby before Antiblue started to yell in a very pissed off tone.
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"Ruby Honey! For the last time! Do not-"
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Antiblue's sentence was suddenly interrupted by Noontide Bloom passing by her class and slipping on the liquid wax. She was flying in mid air only to end up falling abruptly on the floor as some drop of blood coming from her still bleeding head was mixed with the liquid wax. Antiblue quickly approached the orange mare with a little worried look while Noontide was trying to ignore the pain during her attempt to stood up.
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"Our bad... Nopony meant to do that. You don't look very good. Are you actually alright? It seems like that somepony had beat you up. You need some help. If we..."
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Noontide slowly rose up and gives a dreadful glare at Antiblue while gesturing at her, like she was swearing some kind of revenge despite this humiliation not being her fault, just for a brief time before returning to her hastly footsteps. She was leaving a trail of wax steined blood behind as she was running far away from the violet mare.
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Antiblue should feel a little pissed for the glare that the orange mare has given to her, but instead she was just confused for her behavior.
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"I thought that mare was a real odd case" said Antiblue in her mind. "But i wasn't expecting this behavior. What is wrong with her?... Ah... Now, time to go resume my work and clean this mess as well, if Ruby doesn't create any more disasters for today."
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Two hours later Noontide was recovered into Canterlot's General Hospital since she fainted and collapsed in the corridor nearby her bedroom.
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Sunlight Chime, frightened of her conditions, was watching the development of her recovery. She wasn't in grave conditions, but she wasn't looking good either.
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Upon being asked for the cause of her head damage and bleeding, she said that she had slammed against multiple rocks in a fall while she was walking into a mountain. Of course it was a lie, and they believe it.
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Sunlight was the only one who knows what happened that day.
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Celestia, of course doesn't know about what happened. Sunlight didn't have the courage to tell her about Noontide and her first use of the Necro-alchemy.
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After a while, she was dismissed from the hospital and returned to the castle. Sunlight suggested her to remain in her bedroom to take a rest and recover all of her energy.
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As the door was closed, he could feel a sense of emptiness inside him. He couldn't even say anything, as if were some shards of glass inside of his throat that were preventing him to even emit a sound.
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He know the cause of those uncomfortable sensation. Is guilt. Sunlight leaded Noontide, her student, on her most hated path, just because somepony told him to do so with the excuse to help her. But, despite this being wrong, what that somepony said to him was right. But nothing matters anymore. The only thing that Sunlight wanted to do now was to help Noontide to cope with this story and convince her to forget everything about that portion of Necro-alchemy she had learn so far and it's heinous practice.
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Celestia, of course doesn't know about that story.
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Noontide Bloom was in her room with the dark of the night engulfing it, slamming her now bandage covered head against the desk, completely angry at herself not for her failure, but having, even if in part, committed the same crime as their parents despite having done that for a good reason.
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But she should had took that fact in consideration. There are rules non written on paper in Equestria that musn't be violated. And the ones regarding the balance between Life and Death were some of these.
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After a little time, she stopped her head slamming before slamming her left hoof on the desk for just one time.
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Noontide groaned in frustration and ceased to move for a moment as the fatigue started to catching her up.
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"I have really passed the line this time..." said Noontide with a tired, regretful tone. "I had committed that same past crime. I had accidentally resurrected a poor filly as a monster and hurt her feelings. I had called her family a bunch of hypocrites out of my stupid frustration for not being appreciated... Now i have a real reason to be depressed."
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Noontide looked at the black book as it was some sort of horrible curse, which it was.
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"I wanted to say that is that stupid book's fault... But is not the case."
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She looked into the ceiling and rolled her only functional right.
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"Sunlight... You encouraged me to give Necro-alchemy a chance. Why would you even do that?"
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She then dropped her head as she was on the verge of surrender to her sleep.
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"Who matters now. I guess that i'm going to do my last act. I will confess my crime to Celestia and going to jail. In other words... I give up."
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Noontide slowly closed her eyes, not even bothering to force herself to go to bed, waiting for the dreamworld to open it's gate.
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But that sleep was delayed by a very omnious and yet benevolent voice.
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"Don't say that yet. Is not like that you want to give up now. What you had to do is to continue that path."
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Noontide quickly raised her head and turned toward the source of the voice, which i coming from the left side of the door. There was a obscure figure. She couldn't identify it, but it sounded like a stallion, judging by his voice.
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"H-how did you enter in my room without even open the doors!? Just who are you!?" said Noontide.
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"Let's just say that i'm your fan. Sunlight should have talked about me."
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"Y-you are the one who brought the Necro-alchemy tome in my closet!"
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"You should be thankful. I wanted to give a new turn in your miserable life."
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"What are you talking about?"
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"Well... you had to listen to me."
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Noontide and the obscure figure continued to talk as the former was explaining something that the orange mare was starting to find legit and relevant. After that conversation, the figure was giving one last information to her before leaving the room.
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She remained in, Noontide couldn't help but being overhelmed by a mixed feeling of fright, surprise and irony, at first. But after a few seconds, she materialized a tangible proof of her grim change that happened in her mind:
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Noontide was smiling. In a very disturbing way. She seemed to know what to do next, and this time without warn Sunlight.
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Three hours later she was sitting on her desk with the bandage completely removed from her head and wearing a scientist room. She has almost finished to read the Necro-alchemy tome, and this time she was serious about it. Noontide goes even deeper in that forbidden art, forgetting all her fears and worries.
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She set aside any single friction dictated by her conscience, causing it to take a very sinister turn.
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"Now i understand what is going on. There are a lot of flaws in both the Harmony and Celestia's methods. It's not just ponies who feared the death and yet complained when somepony had actually managed to defy it only to being scorn and crushed by the others. There is an even more big flaw. Celestia could preach on and on about Harmony, peace, hope and the values of Friendship. But these are nothing but dogmas, and anypony should know that those dogmas will lose their meaning to exist once everypony dies. Sure, the alicorns are immortals, but without subjects, a civilization to preserve and real reason for them to exist, they will become useless and becoming insane over the years since their said immortality will eventually consume their minds. Maybe they will end up killing each other for foolish reasons and leave only a dead word... or half dead since they would at least leave the nature intact. But for the rest it will still be a dead world."
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Noontide paused with her mind processing any other possibility as she continued to read.
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"But the real flaws start to describe itself with the mortality of their subjects. As long as there is no food shortage, population will rise at a fast rate than food production, and the technology improvements in farming technology will eventually create a shortage. A big one food shortage of course. I guess that Harmony and Friendship would mean nothing if there would be not pony remained to learn it. Besides i don't think that they would survive without food. Celestia can defend them, but cannot maintain her world happy and secure for the whole eternity. Those ponies will eventually face a famine of colossal proportions and eventually a agonizing death by starvation, unable to perform their duty and to keep faith to these flawed ideals. In other worlds, their mortality is their weakness... But that does not apply to the dead ones. The living dead of course. Let's be honest. Necromancy is a waste of time and energy, and Alchemy doesn't give much possibility since it doesn't synergize with Necromancy. But Necro-alchemy has a perfect balance between the two forces."
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Noontide chuckled a little as she raised her head and does a twisted grin.
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"Replace every living creatures with the undead ones is a great idea. After all the material used to create those creatures can be just their corpses. Sure, they wouldn't be that if they are still alive, but once they are dead, they are just inanimate object. Nothing more. But why stop there? I could also used some alchemic material or magical one to improve their physical and magical abilities. But i had also to use some chemical factor to make sure that they won't go against me. These undead ones will not be Homunculi, but Enhanced Wraiths. After all, i can use that to create something else that is useful for my defense or to support my goal. My resources could be limitless. Thanks to this power, i have the power of Life and Death on my side."
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She paused again, prey of her own euphoric descent to her madness. Just thinking about what she has discovered so far was making her more willing to take this twisted path. She could feel her newfound insanity becoming more appealing until it became part of her being.
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Noontide slammed her hoof against on the desk twice in sign of excitement. There is no point to going back now. In that moment she discarded her old self as Noontide Bloom and embraced her unholy identity of Necro Meele, a new alias in which she can identify with while hiding her real name to lure any suspect. She knew that will be a little clichè, but since the current Harmony is insultingly ridiculous, why stop now?
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"I will create a new phase. A Harmony of Death, with my style!"
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And like that, that night marked a turning point.
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As Celestia was preparing for the far but not so far day of the Sun Summer Celebration, she couldn't stop thinking about her exiled sister Luna. It was a obvious truth. The celebration of her victory against her sister wasn't a happy thing at all.
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She was completely lost in her memories until Sunlight entered the room, snapping her back to reality.
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"Did i disturbed you?" asked worried Sunlight.
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"No. Not at all." said half present Celestia. "Is something bothering you?"
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"Is about my student. I don't even know if she recovered from that incident and i don't even know where she is."
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"What? I hope she hasn't left the castle. She is your responsibility after all."
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"I know, Celestia. I know."
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Unknown to anypony, Necro Meele has gone deep in the desolated Changelings' Kingdom, covering her appearance with nothing more than a black cloak.
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She explored the cavernous halls of the castle, picking up some Changelig's sample from the broken shells that were once their pod.
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But that wasn't enough. Necro Meele was also in search for something more rare.
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After a long time of wandering, she managed to find what was supposed to be a treasury room.
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The mare entered the room and dropped her glance on the first thing that immediately caught her attention: A granite chest.
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Necro Meele unveiled her face and tried to open it. This action was slightly made difficult by the weight of it's cover. After a handful of seconds, she finally managed to open it, revealing it's content.
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A dark green oval sphere. Necro Meele was looking at it with a very sinister look a the object, as if she was designing a very nefarious factor of her plans stored inside her mind.
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After that, she returned to Canterlot after two days later.
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Upon her return, Sunlight Chime scolded her for her sudden disappearance.
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Necro Meele justified her journey as act of recklessness and apologized to him for her stupid act, without even mentioning the details of her journey in the Changeling's Kingdom.
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During the next days, Necro Meele took possession of a forsaken laboratory and started to create Changelings' clones. The clonation was giving her some fruit as time passed with nopony realizing anything about her exploits.
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But one day something complicated her situation. Somepony set the now matured clones free, along with their children, and let them escape the laboratory. That result her reserve of Shape Camouflage, a special camouflage she was developing with the Changeling's clones, created until now to have only a few of them.
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Necro Meele was furious about that and cannot wait to know who did this and make him pay for this.
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But for now that little revenge can wait. She should instead focusing on what to do and how to do it, all while waiting for the right moment to act.
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After all, she has a plan to put into fruition in every single detail.
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To be continued in Chapter 4