A Lost Soul Returns: The King of Monsters

by Dark Star the Crazed

A Necromancer and Educational Equality.

Grogar awoke with a start and ran out of his room. As he ran down the corridors of the castle he passed the Shades known as Edge and Muse. The witch saw the ram's eyes and grimaced. They held a determination that she had only seen a few times over her life, when Soul was protecting the ones he cared about and when Fang was trying to protect his family. As the ram sped down the hall Muse turned to Edge and gave a sigh. "Grogar, a ram who is so close to the brink of insanity that he created dragon mice, is determined to do something... There's only one thing I can say at this point in time... Be afraid, be very, very afraid..."

Grogar continued running through the corridors of the castle, seeing his mentor and his wife. The black alicorn saw Grogar charging at them and raised an eyebrow. "Grogar, what are you doing?"

"I sensed necromantic magic, no time to explain further! I know that the Elements of Loyalty and Honesty are going to pick a fight with the source of the energy. How do I know this you ask? I have no idea, but I know that it's going to happen!" With that the ram sped off and Fang looked at Twilight.

"Did he say necromantic magic?" Twilight blinked and nodded. Before she could ask why it mattered, the queen found herself and her husband, outside. They both saw Grogar holding both Applejack and Rainbow Dash in his white, lightning-like magic aura.

"What in the world do you think you're doing Grogar!? That thing and the pony with it could be dangerous!" Twilight and Fang glanced to the right of the group and saw two forms, a pony wearing a black, hooded cloak, making it impossible to tell what kind of pony it was, but from the body structure, Twilight could tell it was a mare. She was also carrying a wooden staff that was topped with a black crystal that reminded Twilight of the crystals Sombra had used to trap her when she tried to retrieve the Crystal Heart.

The other figure also wore a black cloak, but it was far more intimidating than the pony it was standing next to. Maybe it was the fact that the figure was the size of Princess Celestia, it could have been the fact that Twilight could see that the lower half of its left foreleg was made completely of metal, although it was probably the fact that the figure's right foreleg wasn't a leg at all. The right foreleg of the creature was a minotaur's arm. Only one thing was running through the mare's head at that moment in time. 'What in the world is that?'

Twilight heard her husband give a small chuckle and turned to see what he was laughing at. She couldn't hold in her laughter. Grogar had pulled something that Trixie might have done the first time she came to Ponyville if she had been given the opportunity. He had tied up Rainbow Dash and Applejack in a way so they weren't able to move. He had accomplished this by tying their manes and tails together, effectively making it impossible to move, lest they wanted to feel a painful tugging at their scalps. "Grogar!!! Untie us right now!!!"

"Not until you two calm down and promise not to attack them..." The ram walked over to the cloaked mare, leaving Rainbow and Applejack stuck together, and bowed his head. "I am so very sorry for my friends' actions, and I hope that you will not judge the many by the actions of the few... They probably just felt the aura of black magic around you and expected the worst..." The ram looked up so that he was eye level with the mare and smiled. "Once again I am quite sorry, may we please start over? I am Grogar, it is nice to make your acquaintance Miss...?"

The mare took a step back, acting as if Grogar had struck her, but in truth, she was shocked by the kindness in Grogar's words. A few moments of silence passed before the mare spoke. "Obsidia, my name is Obsidia... I hope you don't mind me asking, but... What are you? Are you a member of some lost pony tribe?" The mare saw the ram's eye twitch.

"Give me a second..." The ram quickly ran into an alleyway and cast a silencing spell, a few moments later he walked out of the alley and back over to the mare. "I am quite sorry for that, I have an issue with being called an equine, it is not that I don't like equines, well not any more at least. I am not a pony, I am a ram, a member of the Capra gene family, also known as the goat family..." The mare nodded in understanding.

The ram quickly leaned in so that his mouth was next to the mare's ear. "If I were you, I'd remove the cloak and hood, and have your other two friends step out of the shadows, doing what you are doing now only makes others feel danger around you, even if you mean them no harm." The ram pulled his face away from the mare's ear and smiled.

The mare's eyes went wide under her hood and she hissed at the ram. "I don't trust you, but you make a good point, so I guess that I should at least give it a try..." The mare slowly removed her hood, revealing that she had a black mane and coat, and as a result, she revealed that she was not a unicorn. This revelation confused Twilight, she had never heard of a non-unicorn, or alicorn, using magic before. "Reeves, Butch, get over here..." Slowly, two more figures stepped out of the shadows. One was shaped like a pony and Twilight could see that the other had talons for forelegs and had the hind legs of a lion, it was a griffon.

"Obsidia, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, we've always been turned away, usually being run out of town, because others don't understand us..." They removed their hoods, the griffon was revealed to have some decayed flesh, he was a ghoul.

"Butch, you know that we shouldn't question her, if Obsidia thinks it's a good idea, then we should trust her..." The mare who had spoken had a drab white coat and a dark gray mane.

"I don't trust him, and I want all of you to be ready to run once they get out their torches and pitchforks... And if we aren't able to escape-" The black mare cut herself off when she saw fear in the eyes of her companions that had removed their hoods. "Reeves, Butch, what's wrong?"

The griffon ghoul gulped. "There are two alicorns standing right behind you..."

'Two alicorns...? This might just be the worst luck we've had in years.' The black mare gulped and turned around. She saw the alicorns who she recognized from the newspapers as Twilight Sparkle and, her husband, Crimson Fang. The mare quickly bent into a bow, followed by her companions. "Y-your majesties..."

"If you are willing to do so, please stand and follow us... You will not be harmed, nor shall you be imprisoned... We simply wish for you to tell us your story..." The mare looked up in confusion.

"What? That's it? You just want us to tell you our story?" The two alicorns looked at each other and thought for a second.

"Well... I guess that a better way to put it is that we want to help you..." Fang looked the black mare in the eyes. "It's just that... I can see that you have suffered for most of your life just because you are different, because you can use non-inherent magic even though you are not a unicorn... Your suffering is written in your eyes and is shown in your actions. After all you have endured, I know it will be hard to do what I am about to ask of you, but please, try to trust us."

Twilight walked up the mare and smiled. "If you tell us your story, then maybe we can help ease your suffering... We just want to help you in any way we can, especially if it will help you make some friends, and trust me we can help you make friends." The purple mare smiled even harder. "I am the Goddess of Friendship after all."

The black mare looked at her companions and they nodded to her. It was their best option at the moment. Obsidia turned and looked at the two alicorns. "Alright, I guess it couldn't hurt to tell you our story..." Her thoughts however were very different. 'Yes it could, and it probably will... Whenever someone learns about my powers, we get run out of town...'

Fang smiled. "Then follow us..." The black alicorn turned to Grogar. "Go get the other elements and their coltfriends, oh and untie Rainbow and Applejack's manes..."

Grogar sighed and untied Rainbow and Applejack's manes with his magic. "Dash go get Thunder, since he lives in Cloudsdale. Applejack go get Fluttershy, Acid and North Star. I'll go get Trixie, Soul, Tsukiyomi, Pinkie, Jekyll, Rarity and Spike..." The ram didn't wait for the pair's response and took off down the road towards Jekyll's house. Fang and Twilight smiled at each other and led the mare and her companions to their castle.

Obsidia and her companions, Reeves, the pony that was with her, Butch, the griffon ghoul and Galvan, the large pony with a minotaur's arm. The others at the table included the elements and their coltfriends, and as was Twilight's case, husband, as well as Grogar and Tsuki.

The obsidian black mare, revealed to be a pegasus after she had removed her cloak. Her cutie mark was an inverted purple pentagram. The black pegasus mare was currently looking at a cup of tea that was sitting in front of her, she knew it wasn't poisoned, she had seen some of the other ponies in the group drinking it, and all the tea had come from the same kettle, but even still, it was best not to take chances.

Fang looked at the obsidian mare and saw her glancing around the room, or more specifically, the guards that were posted in the room. Fang frowned and turned to one of the guards. "You and the others are not needed at the moment, you may leave." The armored stallion saluted and trotted off, quickly followed by the rest of the guards. The black alicorn turned back to his guests.

"Is there anything else I can do to make you more comfortable, to assure you that we mean you no harm?" The mare shook her head. "In that case, would you care to share your story with us? If there are parts you want to leave out, you can leave them out, and remember, this your choice, you can walk out those doors right now and none of us will pursue you."

The black mare sat there for a second before sighing and looking at Fang. "There's not all that much to tell, really. I was born in a small village, Coltgrave, near Trottingham, and had a fairly normal, if highly superstitious, outlook on life. I was run out of the village when I was only 7 years old because I could, to an extent, speak to the dead, and because I could also bring small creatures, like rats and mice back to life just by touching them. These facts convinced the townsfolk that I was some sort of demon that wore a pony's skin." The mare took a breath and glanced at the faces of the others sitting at table. To her surprise, she saw no fear and no anger, but rather, she saw sorrow. They were feeling remorse for what she had been through...

The black mare shook her head and returned to telling her tale. "Anyway, I met Reeves a few days later when I entered a graveyard near my village in hopes of getting advice from the spirits there. I met Butch when I was ten, and I created Galvan when I was 13 years old, to protect me from threats that I would encounter on the road, y'know, bandits, wild animals, things like that. After all we've been through together, I believe that these three are more of a family to me than my biological father ever was..."

The group was silent for a moment as they her story sink in. "Twilight, Grogar may I speak with you for a minute?" The purple alicorn and the ram turned to Fang and nodded before the group vanished in a flash of crimson light. A few minutes later the three reappeared and looked at Obsidia. "Ma'am, would you and your companions mind joining me, my wife and my student in Canterlot at a meeting with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, as well as Princess Cadence and Prince Consort Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire?"

Obsidia didn't know why, but she felt as if she should answer the black alicorn with a positive response, she looked to her companions to see what she should do and saw they were offering no objections. She turned back to Fang and nodded her head. "I guess so... As long as you don't try to tell them I'm a threat and should be sent to the moon..." Fang chuckled, knowing that it was out of his sister's power to do what Obsidia feared, and nodded before the group of seven disappeared in a flash of crimson light.

Shining Armor was trotting back and forth through the throne room while Celestia, Luna and Cadence watched him with some minor amusement. He looked up at a clock on the wall and growled. "They're thirty minutes late, Twilight is never late for anything! Fang must have done something to her! If there's so much as one hair in her mane out of place I'll-!" The stallion was cut off when a flash of crimson light filled the room. When they could see again, they noticed Fang, Twilight and Grogar, along with four unfamiliar beings.

Celestia looked at the three undead beings before looking at Fang, sensing the magic radiating off of Obsidia. "We will discuss these four when our meeting about Grogar's parole is finished." Fang nodded as he, Twilight and Grogar sat down. The black alicorn motioned for Obsidia and her companions to sit down. "Now then, let's start this meeting, shall we?"

Cadence looked at Grogar and smiled. "Well, I see no reason to continue treating you as a criminal, Grogar. You've served your sentence and, in my opinion, could become a great member of society." The other alicorns all nodded, though Shining Armor still didn't trust the ram.

Grogar smiled as a thought shot through his head. 'Wow... You ponies, other than Shining Armor, are too trusting... Why hasn't another country taken over Equestria yet?' His eyes drifted to the side and he saw Celestia's cutie mark. 'Oh, right, they have an alicorn who can move the sun... And if she can move the sun, she can probably drop it on someone as well... I'm glad I'm on their good side now.'

Luna turned and looked at Fang. "We shall approve your request big brother, Grogar's status in Equestria will be changed from parolee to time served." Fang nodded to his youngest sister before he turned to Celestia.

"I believe you would like to know about our guests?" Celestia nodded. Fang smiled and turned to the black pegasus. "Well, Obsidia, I believe it is time to tell them your story." The black pegasus sighed and turned to the four royals on the other side of the table before telling her story for the second time that day.

Once she had finished telling her story, she looked at the faces of the four royals. All four of them were giving her sad looks. Celestia cleared her throat and looked at Obsidia. "I'm sorry, I truly am. I never knew that my little ponies could be so cruel to someone just because they were, are, different, especially to a filly that was so young. Although, I do not see what Fang and Twilight expect us to do about it, the ponies who ran out of your town technically committed no crime."

"We don't expect you to do anything Princess Celestia, however we are hoping that you will make it so that non-unicorn magic users become more accepted by the public." The white alicorn turned to Twilight.

"And how, Twilight, do you propose I do that?" Twilight's horn lit up and the room filled with light. When everyone could see again they noticed that they were in the part of the castle that made up Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The Equestrian royals looked around, noticing where they were before they turned to Twilight. "You want me to do something for non-unicorn magic users that involves my school..." Celestia trailed off as she realized what Twilight and Fang wanted her to do. Celestia glanced around and smiled before turning back to Twilight and Fang, and chuckling. "You want me to open my school up to pegasi and earth ponies as well, don't you?" Fang and Twilight nodded, then shook their heads.

"Actually, we asked Grogar for his opinion as well. He believes that you should open the school to all sapient races." The Equestrian royals turned and looked at the ram.

Grogar simply smiled at Celestia. "All sapient races have the ability to use magic, yet you only allow one species..." Grogar trailed off as he saw Obsidia's wings. After a few seconds he looked back to Celestia and continued. "Correction, you allow one subspecies, to attend your school. The whole reason your school exists is to advance studies in magic and technology, correct?" Celestia nodded. "Then imagine if you had the minds of more than just unicorns working on advancing civilization. Start off small by allowing pegasi and earth ponies to attend your school, a few years go by and allow the zebras, griffons and minotaurs to attend. And in a few decades you'll have helped not only Equestria, but Zebrica, Minos and Griffonia as well. Then, after a few more years, you can start offering scholarships to citizens in the kingdoms to the east."

The ram smiled and closed his eyes. Seconds later he opened one eye and looked at Cadence. "There are still kingdoms to the east, right?" The Goddess of Love nodded. "Does Tambelon still stand?" Cadence nodded once again a faint smile appeared on the ram's face.

Twilight, as well as Obsidia and her companions, blinked. "Princess Celestia, what's Tambelon?" Celestia turned and looked at the four who had never traveled to the eastern kingdoms, quickly explaining that Tambelon was one of the two kingdoms that were mostly occupied by goats, the other being Caprus, as well as Grogar's homeland.

Celestia turned and looked at Fang. "Brother, I will grant the requests you have made, however you will need to return to Canterlot in three weeks time, as the requester must be present when I grant their request. Oh, and you will need to bring Miss Obsidia with you as well." Fang nodded and the group that had come from Ponyville disappeared in a flash of crimson light.

Right before that however, Obsidia went wide eyed as a thought crossed her mind. 'Wait, what!? Three weeks in the same town!?' She didn't get the chance to voice her concerns.

After they were gone, Celestia turned to Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor. "I'm going to have to rename my school... How does 'Celestia's School for Gifted Magicians' sound to you?"

"You want to do what!? Have you gone insane Auntie!?" Obsidia, Fang, Twilight and Grogar covered their ears when they heard Blueblood's scream. "It's bad enough that you to let common unicorns into your school, but now you want to let those savages known as pegasi and those brutes called earth ponies into your school as well! For... Well, for your sake, those two tribes are barely ponies to begin with! What possible justification could you have for this action!?" A few members of the court of nobles began to speak up in agreement with the prince.

Fang felt a surge of anger shoot through his skull before he looked at the snobbish prince. "Prince Blueblood..." The blonde prince turned and looked at the Monster King, fury blazing in his eyes. "It would serve you well if you-"

"Be silent half breed! You have no right to speak in this court of nobles, especially since you're a disgusting bat pony!" The room went silent and Luna adopted a look of rage, her husband was a bat pony, and by calling bat ponies disgusting, he had also called her disgusting. Blueblood either didn't notice, or didn't care.

"What!? I am simply saying what needs to be said! That freak has been nothing but trouble for Equestria since he appeared! He married Princess Sparkle and what good has come of it? Nothing, that's what! I should have been the one to marry Sparkle, not some foreign piece of filth who has cast a false, shameful light on the nobility! He has made the ponies of Equestria think that we nobles are not needed in the government, and that they deserve the right to vote for the ponies who would get to make up the court! I mean, have you ever heard something so stupid in your thousands of years of life, auntie?" The unicorn turned back toward the white princess.

After the prince stopped talking, Celestia took a deep breath. "Blueblood... My nephew... Would you please shut up so I can actually answer your questions, as well as the questions of any other nobles? Oh, and your tribalism is not appreciated." Luna nodded to her sister, who turned back to Blueblood. "I will answer your questions in order, dear nephew. First off, no, I have not gone insane. Secondly, there are many good things that have come from the marriage of Crimson Fang and Twilight Sparkle, better trade, better diplomacy between Equestria and the minotaur lands, and the fact that I now have two adorable nieces and an adorable nephew, not you Blueblood, you're not even close."

The white unicorn closed his eyes and smirked, believing that to be a complement. "And finally, yes I have heard of government where the citizens elect officials to represent them so that have a say in how their government is run, it's called a republic, and most of the time, it's a good system of government."

Celestia paused before smirking at Blueblood. "Oh and my justification behind allowing pegasi and earth ponies into my school as well? Deny it all you want, just as I had until Twilight, my brother and his student brought this idea to me, but as much as we ponies preach to others about love and tolerance, we are racist!" The court could feel the venom in Celestia's words. "And most of my family, in fact, all but you Blueblood, intend to change that. If you have a problem with letting pegasi and earth ponies have educations equal to those of unicorns, then I believe you don't deserve to be called a noble!" Blueblood's jaw dropped and he was about to protest, saying that Fang had corrupted both of their minds, but Luna cut him off.

"I like a suggestion that was made by Grogar. In a few years Celestia and I are going to allow zebras, griffons, and minotaurs into the school as well and a few more years later, we're going to give scholarships to promising mages from the eastern kingdoms." Blueblood's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell over, going unconscious due to shock. Luna smirked and looked around the room. "Does anyone else have issues with letting pegasi and earth ponies into my sister's school?" The room was silent. "That's what I thought." Luna turned and nodded to Celestia.

"Starting January 1st, earth ponies and pegasi will be able to attend my newly renamed school, Celestia's School for Gifted Magicians." Celestia smiled and walked over to Obsidia. "Obsidia, I need to speak with you." The black mare gulped and nodded before Celestia teleported them away.

Obsidia reappeared in the throne room and walked over to Fang, Twilight and Grogar. "Um... I don't mean to impose but... Could I stay at your castle for a while?"

Fang blinked and nodded before sending a message to the black pegasus telepathically. 'My sister thinks you will be able to get Grogar to open up more, since you, like him, are a necromancer, doesn't she?' The black mare nodded. Fang smiled and looked at Twilight. "What do you think Twilight?"

Twilight closed her eyes and thought for a second before smiling and nodding. She opened her eyes and looked at Obsidia. "You can stay, as long as you try to make friends." Obsidia sighed and nodded. "Well then let's go back to Ponyville...." Twilight smirked. 'We don't want to miss Pinkie's party, now do we?' With that thought the group vanished in a flash of crimson light.