My escorts had left me in the throne room, alone save a few guards, to wait for the Prince and Princess to arrive. Turns out I have a horrible sense of time, for currently the royals are enjoying breakfast. So I must wait.

It wasn’t a long wait before they walked in. The pegacorn (Princess Cadence if I’m remembering correctly) sat on the throne. The white unicorn stallion stood on her right. Turns out he is the prince. Shit, I slapped the Prince. Oh boy, this isn’t going to end well.

I spoke first “Princess Cadence, I can only guess at which of my past actions landed me in your prison, however I must ask you to look past them.”

“Look past them?! After you put the poor ponies of this city through nearly two months of starvation?! After you usurped the throne, when Sombra was gone. You KILLED their Princess. WHY should we look past your actions?! Why should we even give you a chance!?” snarled the White Stallion Prince.

“Two months and a thousand years.” was my only reply.

“What?” the Prince asked confused by my reply.

“Prince Armor” I began, remembering the name the guards had called him. “Do you know how much food and water were within the city when it was banished? Two months worth. Maybe three if it had been rationed immediately. Of course I had the food rationed. I did not want them to starve! Sombra did not put the stasis spell over the city, I did! If I had not, all you would have found would be skeletons littering the streets.” Both the rulers were startled by my claims.

“That still doesn’t excuse killing their Princess!” The Prince shouted after a few moments of silence.

I was quiet, not knowing what to say. I knew they would believe it, I knew I would have to face this. But what can I say. Do I tell them she lives? No. Yes. A moment of self debate and I had decided. I will tell them if they do not tell the citizens, they have to believe she is dead and gone, to keep her safe, and them safe. “What I say must never leave this room, the crystal ponies can never know what I say. Do I have your word, Prince Armor, Princess Cadence?”

They were silent unsure of what to do, it was Cadence who spoke. “It will not leave this room, unless it is a threat to my ponies.” Quick to claim them isn’t she?

I took a deep breathe “The crystal ponies have had their memories altered.Thier Princess is not dead. However she is unfit for the throne. Unfit to rule the crystal ponies, dark magic must not sit on that throne again.”

“Dark magic? She was a foal. Why would anyone teach a foal dark magic?!” Shouted a visibly startled Princess Cadence.

“I did, under Sombra’s orders. He wanted the future mother of his heir to have as much dark knowledge as himself.”

“Why? Why would Sombra want to give his direct rival to throne so much power?” Said the purple unicorn from yesterday. This startled me, all six of the mares from yesterday were in the room and I had not seen them. What the hell, first the hatchling yesterday, now six mares?! How did I not see them? What is shielding them?

“That's why he let the youngest live and not the eldest. He choose the one princess young enough that he could mold, that he could prevent from over throwing him. Sombra had one claim to the throne: His strength and what he took by force. The noble families did not accept him, neither did foreign rulers. He needed a better claim, a blood claim on the title. He needed the blood of the royal line. He left one mare, one he would force to bare his children. His children would then be the true heir of the throne by blood and he their Regent. He wanted his children to know the dark arts, to be weapons at his disposal.” The others were startled at my claims. Sombra may have been an Evil Asshole, but he was smart enough to know he would be unable to hold the throne for long.

“Then why teach the Princess? It still doesn’t make sense. Why teach the Princess and not the foals?” the purple one asked again.

“Dark magic and its knowledge are unlike any other magic. The knowledge exists in your soul, in your heart, in your mind, in your very blood. A child of a dark mage is born with all the dark knowledge of their parents. This is why dark mages are slain and not reformed, no matter their age.”

The purple unicorn had more questions, and it was obvious, however Cadence quickly changed the subject “You said the memories of the crystal ponies were altered, why? Why were they changed? Is it truly so bad if they thought her alive?”

I sighed “I altered them, hundreds of years after casting the stasis spell. The ponies fear dark magic, they spent too many years under Sombra’s rule. They would have feared her, hated her. Inevitably they would have removed her from the throne. I was selfish, I do not want to lose my family again.”

My words sank in “Umbra, she is the princess isn’t she?” Cadence asked. I nodded.

“Yes she is, for three years I have kept her safe. After Sombra killed her parents and siblings in front of her. I kept him from her. He wanted an heir, badly. ‘She does not know enough’ I would tell him, ‘She knows enough’ he would reply. Excuse after excuse to keep him from trying. I would go through Tartarus to keep her safe. I would fight the creator himself if it would keep her safe.” The royals dismissed me after several moments of silence, they needed to decide what to do with the knowledge I revealed to them.

I was escorted away by the three from the jail, midway to jail I changed direction. They protested but did not use force. They fear me. We arrived at the oak door to the library and I told them “This is where I will be staying.” They didn’t argue as I went inside.

Umbra and the others had not arrived yet. I sat on the floor in front of the largest bookshelf and began to cry. I will not lose her, not now, not ever. I do not know where the words came from, but the came nonetheless:

“I am Nox the necromancer, I am the soul trapped in the dark yet seeking the light. Should you serve the light in the world: I shall seek to aid you. Should you follow the dark path: Fear me, for your soul is mine.” I didn’t notice the pointer finger on my skeletal hand fall of and vanish. It regrew before Umbra even arrived, a mere ten minutes later.

Author's Note

Well number 4 is here, hot of google docs and freshly written this morning. And a shocking twist: Crossovers are now a go. If you find a bony finger give Nox a call.

Thanks again to those you like this! And I'll probably start looking for an editor/proofreader next week or so. Maybe...

Edited by: Crescent Quill