Author's Note

Warning: in this chapter, things get a little bit darker than they have been so far, and will continue to get worse for a while. There are some descriptions of gore, but nowhere near grim-dark territory.

But honestly, if you can't handle some blood and death, why the hell are you reading a story about a necromancer?

A Visit To The Society

Somehow, I wasn't dead. Head hurt like hell, but I wasn't dead yet. Actually, everything hurt. I don't know why I was even surprised anymore.

I groaned a little as I stretched my forelegs. Like waking up from a nap. Long nap of being dead. Not-dead? Who knew. That was always fun. It was completely silent, and I could tell I wasn't on a bed, so I was neither on the street still or in a hospital. Fine, where was I then? The floor was hard, cold, and my hoof made a small scraping sound as it moved across it, so it might have been marble, or tile. I hadn't opened my eyes yet, but I was aware enough to tell that there was light. Bright light, just begging me to open my eyes so it could blind me. I decided there was still more I could discern about my surroundings without satisfying the light's sadistic wishes.

I groaned again, louder this time. I could hear a slight echo. So I was in a small room, the walls of which were probably made of the same material as the floor. If I had to guess, I'd say that the entire room was white, with several high-powered lights right on me. Just because that would be my luck. I moved to put a hoof over my eyes, then slowly opened them. Very slowly.

Lowering my foreleg as I got used to the light, I took a look at the room I was in. I was laying on a white marble floor, the walls were a stark white tile, save for one which was a mirror. No, more likely it was one-way glass. There were four electric spotlights, one in each corner, aimed right at me in the center of the room.

Damn, could I call it or what? Maybe I just got captured too often. Well, it was some sort of interrogation chamber, but there didn't seem to be the stereotypical metal chairs and table. Oh well, just one less thing I could use to beat the Harmony out of somepony.

I climbed to my haunches, squinting still. I reached for my magic, but unsurprisingly found it gone. I reached up to my horn with a hoof, and felt not one, nor two, but three different magic suppression rings on it. I also just noticed that my cloak was gone. A pity, but I could always get a new one.

Figuring that I might as well try everything I had, I tried to get rid of my headache, but I couldn't do that either. So there was a rather powerful magic suppression field around the room as well.

Gotta give them credit for preparedness, if nothing else. Even if I managed to kill myself to get the rings off, I still wouldn't be able to use magic. If the field failed because of some outside source, maybe somepony trying to break me out, I wouldn't be able to use magic. Fine. I'd play along with them. I promised Cadence I wouldn't hurt any civilians, specially of the Crystal Empire, but I said nothing about underground groups, or ponies who foalnapped. As soon as I had an opportunity, I was going to kill whoever was in charge of all this. Several times if possible.

I sighed. What spell had they used on me? It had hurt like hell. It couldn't have just been fire, it wouldn't have put off so much light. Not only that, but I would have woken back up on the street after dying, since it's kinda hard to contain or move a magical snowstorm. Some over-powered stun spell? Actually, why had my shield collapsed? What had–oh. Of course. That pegasus must have had a void-stone. The second pegasus hadn't moved throughout the beginning of the fight, but after the first bright light I hadn't seen them anymore. That meant that the spell that hit my shield after the light was also a misdirection. Damn. Well played.

Still gonna kill somepony.

There was nothing in this room. Honestly, I was surprised they didn't restrain me at all. I knew how to fight without magic. Whatever, it was their funeral. I stood up completely and turned to face the mirror. I didn't know what else to do, since I couldn't see a door of any kind. My mane was a disaster, windswept and sticking all over the place. Not even the cool kind of windswept like Rainbow Dash, either. My coat wasn't in much better condition. My eyes...well, I'd always thought they looked stupid, but others told me they were unnerving. The irises were nearly as dark as the pupils, so most of my eyes were black. I suppose that made me look soulless and dead, but all I saw were the ridiculously dilated eyes of some love-struck school filly in a badly drawn comic book. Whatever.

I suddenly went rigid. That was why everypony in Ponyville had recognized me! I hadn't had any sort of illusion spell hiding my eyes! I face-hoofed. How could I have been so stupid?! Sighing, I decided it wasn't really important. I was still stuck in here. In the Crystal Empire, not being hunted, on a first name basis with a princess...

Ok, fine, things had turned out relatively well. Still couldn't believe I'd completely forgot to hide my eyes though.

I forced myself back to reality. They better not leave me in here on my own for too long, or I was going to start trying to get through this glass. It couldn't have been magically reinforced because of the suppression field, so it would be hard to break, but not indestructible. A good enough exit as any.

Just to see what I was working with, and to get my mind off of my appearance, I reared up onto my hind legs, forehooves pressed against the glass. I took a deep breath as I brought my head back, then closed my eyes. This was going to hurt. My head whipped forward and I slammed my horn into the mirror as hard as I could. I stumbled back from the pain. Expected as it may have been, it still felt somepony had punched me in the horn. Well, I guess the glass kinda did.

I sat on the floor for moment, holding my head with my hooves. I didn't think that was the greatest idea I'd ever had. I took another deep breath, then looked at the area I'd hit. There was a minuscule crack, almost invisible. I smiled. If I could do that much with one hit, I could get through it easily. Well, relatively easily, and really painfully. Not now though, I was sure I'd scared the coat off of whoever was behind that mirror. Not only that, but I wanted to talk to somepony and find out what the hell they wanted with me before I left.

I didn't have to wait long.

Even with three magic suppression rings on, I felt the field shudder slightly. Not as if it were damaged, it was more controlled than that. It was being shut down. I think. I did have experience with such things. I sat patiently, making no physical reaction to it. I didn't want to let them know I could tell what was going on. When it finally wound down, then shut off completely, I extended my senses. Just a little. I couldn't feel beyond the mirror, but I could feel outside the room. There were nine ponies, one of which–

CLANK

I did not jump into the air, nor completely botch the landing. I simply reacted swiftly. So swiftly, in fact, that I head-butt the floor. With the back off my head.

I was very skilled.

While I recovered from my recent scuffle with the ground, a door sized section of the wall swung open slowly. By the time I got to my hooves again a pony had entered the room, and the 'door' was closing again. The field hadn't started again yet. I could kill this pony, and every one of them in a half-mile radius. No. Not yet. Didn't want to kill civilians. Had to know where I was first.

The pony in front of me was a unicorn. Not a crystal pony. An Equestrian. Looked like a stallion. He was slightly taller than me, with a...dark fuchsia coat. I think that's what color that was. I had never been good with stuff like that. His mane was midnight-blue, longer than mine, and clearly taken better care of. He looked...nice enough. He had nothing on, no armor, no robes, nothing that screamed 'rebel leader'. I knew he was the leader. He had to be. The leaders always came to talk to me personally. I flinched as another massive noise shattered the silence, then had to suppress a shudder as the field asserted its presence once again, abruptly cutting off my senses.

"Good evening, Silver Lining." He said. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but I could already tell he wasn't the most cunning of ponies I'd met so far. He had just told me what time it was, so now I knew I'd been out of it for about seven hours. Not only that, but he sounded like Canterlot nobility.

I didn't respond, just continued studying him. There wasn't much else I could get from his appearance. To his credit, he didn't seem uncomfortable at my intense scrutiny, even when I looked him in his amber eyes. Amber? Really? That threw off his whole look. Whatever.

"I would like to start off with an apology." He said. An apology? For what? Foalnapping me? Ha! I didn't really care about that. When I didn't reply, he continued, "For own rather forceful method of taking you in. We did not believe you would be willing to–"

"Yes, yes," I cut him off. "You captured me, good job. What do you want? I have shit to do still." I said with some bite. My mood was beginning to show, it seemed. Stupid as he may be for facing me in pony, I had to admit he had no fear whatsoever. He did not flinch, or even really react to me cutting him off, or what I had said.

"Very well, I will be brief. We are the New Age, and–"

"Whoa, wait," I held up a hoof, "The new age, with a capital 'n' and a capital 'a', or just 'new age', also capitals, or what?"

"I–wh–" he sputtered. I suppose he had hoped to get into him monologue before I began questioning. "This organization is called 'New Age'. We represent the coming golden age of Equis, by–"

"Equis? Not Equestria? All of Equis?" Oh, I'm so glad I hadn't killed him. The look on his face was much more entertaining.

"All. Of Equis." He said forcefully. Goodness, what frayed nerves ponies had nowadays. He couldn't even handle my good-natured teasing, how was he going to lead a golden age?

"Very well," I said. "Please continue." I wouldn't interrupt anymore. I did want to know, and he was stupid enough to tell me outright. Fine by me. He seemed to relax considerably at my words, and just for that I was tempted to stop him just to see if I could make him combust. Maybe I shouldn't.

"We will usher Equis into a new golden age, one lead by mortal ponies. No Immortals to dictate our lives, to stagnate progress, or to hold back society." Oh no. My eyes widened. I knew exactly where this was going. He must have seen my reaction and taken it as encouragement, because he continued with more vigor, "We will lead a revolution against the tyrants who keep up under their hooves, and replace them with a government of ponies who have the population's best interests in mind." Ok, maybe not what I though. He was smiling now, a dazzling smile which only made me want to punch him in the face.

"Can you imagine a future without living in fear of the sun, Silver?" I didn't answer. I didn't fear the sun, I feared the pony that moved it. "All you need to do is help. When we move to destroy the oppressors, you would be necessary to keep our forces alive as we marched upon them. We wouldn't lose a single soldier. You wouldn't have to deal with any of the tyrants directly; we would never ask you to do something like that, not after one of them came so close to killing you permanently." He paused for a second, long enough to really hear what he had said, but not enough to think about it. "You would be instrumental in bringing about the greatest revolution in history; you would be a celebrated hero, known and beloved throughout the entire world. Isn't that all you've ever wanted?"

It was, actually. But he had no idea how strong they were. Individually, they were impossibly powerful. Together, they were unstoppable. Gods. That's what the Princesses were.

I blinked a few times, looking away from the stallion. All I ever wanted... I'd only ever wanted to help ponies. I wanted to be a healer, but I had been impeded at every step by Celestia. If we could get rid of her...

Suddenly my thoughts ground to a halt. I turned to look at him again. "And when they are gone, who will move the heavens? Who will watch over the dreams of ponies? Who will rule?"

"Long before the tyrants took control, the sun and moon were moved by the unicorns. We will take the reigns once again, restoring the world to its rightful order. A ruler will be decided upon by the majority of the population, democratically, as it should be. With this system, a corrupt or stagnant leader can be replaced, and progress is guaranteed."

I didn't respond for a while. He didn't seem eager to push me, luckily. Eventually, though, I spoke. "How will you destroy them? Their bodies are indestructible, their magic is limitless. Their souls are too strong to be used against them, even by natural-borns like me. They cannot be killed."

He smiled even brighter. "Each of them has a source of power. Celestia, the sun; Luna, the moon; and recently, even Cadence connected herself to a source; the Crystal Heart. When they are disconnected from these sources, they are brought down drastically. While they are in this state, we strike. Each has a weakness, just as you do. We can, and will, exploit this weakness to destroy them. You are necessary to help the ponies capable of casting these spells get near enough to use them; without you, they risk being killed, and then all must be done once again. That would be a waste, no?"

It would. It–

My thoughts froze. They wanted to kill the Princesses. They wanted to kill Cadence. They wanted to kill Celestia...I realized I didn't want that either. I didn't like her, not in a thousand years, but...she had hunted me my whole life, and suddenly I understood that she was completely justified. If this pony thought I would be instrumental in the downfall of the Princesses, I understood why she wanted me gone so badly. I was dangerous. Even if I didn't want to be, I was, simply be existing.

They wanted to kill Celestia, and Twilight would jump to her rescue, along with all her friends. Twilight...the pony who had willingly come into my room, alone, despite the fact that she knew exactly how dangerous I was. Could I consider her a friend? Could she ever consider me one? I realized I wanted to try. I wanted to be her friend. I didn't want ponies to be afraid of me.

But that was what this pony would bring about. When this...revolution of theirs was over, he would put himself in charge, a second Neighpolien. And nopony would dare defy him with me next to him. I would be the most feared pony in Equestria. All of Equis, if his plan fell through. I wasn't going to let that happen.

I looked up at him, then back down to his hooves. I took a shuddering breath. I wasn't really that emotional, I was faking for the sake of my next move. "I–" I choked. Wow, maybe I was getting too into this. "I don't know." I whispered. I closed my eyes and shook my head as I took a small step towards him. "The Princesses are..." Another step. "They're beyond powerful."

I bowed my head, "I don't think I can go near Celestia." He closed what little distance remained between up, and put a hoof on my shoulder. For goodness's sake this stallion was an idiot! I didn't let my glee break the act though.

"I know how powerful they are, but you don't have to be anywhere near the fight. You won't have to face them at all."

"No," I said with a small, deadly smile. "I don't think I will." Before he could do anything, I reared my head up as hard as I could, and felt my horn go right through the flesh where his neck met his jaw. I felt warm blood trickle down my face as he let out a little gurgling noise. I pulled my head back, blood spurt some more and I closed my eyes to keep from getting any in them. He hit the ground, but he wasn't dead. Not yet.

There was a mighty clunk as the door unsealed, and suddenly I could feel my necrotic powers once again. Finally. I held onto the stallion's shroud; I wanted him alive a little longer. As soon as the door began to open, though, I grabbed each of the eight ponies outside and killed them. No fanfare, I simply brought their deaths upon them like the necromancer before me had done to his enemies. I usually wouldn't kill like this, but, well, I could let go every once in a while. These ponies deserved it; they wanted to bring death to Equis like it had never know.

Now though, I needed to get out of here. I walked out the now open door, stepping over the bodies of the soldiers who had been awaiting me. I relished the feeling of the freshly dead, like a ray of sunshine in the middle of an endless winter. A breath of fresh air, a–a feeling I should notbe enjoying this much. I shook my head and considered the fact that I still had no magic. Well, while I couldn't take the rings off, somepony else could. I looked at the pony underneath me. They would do.

It didn't take much. I just had to attempt to bring them back to life without using the soul, after all. I watched as the red coat of the pegasus fell to the ground, shriveled and discolored. Then the skin melted and vanished. The muscles, now exposed, quickly followed, as did the organs. The heart, lungs, even the blood which had been spilling about simply evaporated into nothing. Soon only the skeleton was left, clad in the soldier's armor. It clanked and rattled as it stood, its eye sockets a deep and endless void; mine, but so much worse.

"Get these rings off my horn." I said. It quickly complied, reaching up to pull at the suppressors. The first popped off easily, but the second took more work. As the skeleton pulled at the ring with its hooves, I realized that being so near it was nearly intoxicating. I began to nuzzle at its foreleg (forebone?), making the poor thing work harder to accommodate my movement.

A door behind me burst open, the noise startling me out of the bliss I had been in. It must have been the door to the room behind the glass. I reached for the pony fleeing, then smirked at the following thud. The second ring popped off and fell to the ground. As the skeleton began working on the last ring, I was careful to pay as little attention to the aura around it as possible. This was how a necromancer fell to the darkness. Harmless, at first, just a feeling. Until it became addictive. Then you started killing ponies and turning them into skeletons for the sake of the high that couldn't be achieved anymore. I was pulled out of my thoughts by the skeleton successfully pulling off the last ring, and it clattered to the ground.

Satisfied, I dismissed the skeleton. It collapsed into a pile of bones and armor on the floor. I would have liked to have a servant, but that would have definitely spooked the ponies, as well as act as the gateway to my insanity. Better if I didn't. Oh well. I turned back to the room I had been in. The stallion was still on the floor, now laying in a pool of his own blood. It had soaked into his coat and mane, turning both a rather nasty variation of their natural colors. He was, of course, still choking on the blood getting into his lungs; it didn't matter, as long as I held his shroud at bay, he could neither bleed out nor drown. That did not mean he was not in pain though. Well, that's what you get when you threaten the friends of a necromancer.

I grabbed him by the back hoof with my magic, ignoring his strangled cries and sputtering. I began back out into the hallway, pulling him behind me. Sure, I could have just levitated him beside me or something, but that was more effort than I cared to put into him.

Since I didn't know where I was in relation to...anything, I would have to find the exit normally, then teleport once I had a grip on my whereabouts. Here we go.

I had abso-bucking-lutly no idea where this was. I was at the edge of the complex, on a balcony, sticking off the side of a mountain. I didn't recognize the area around me at all. The complex, the majority of which was burrowed in the mountain, was actually really big. I had gone through it as if it were a maze, always turning left. At some point I had found a bathroom and washed the blood off my horn and face. Aside from that, and killing a few unruly soldiers and what I assumed to be stupidly courageous civilians, nothing really of note happened. New Age, as I'd decided to call him, was still bleeding on the ground. Don't know why that would change, but he had a name now, at least.

Still didn't know where I was.