//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3. Common ground with old friends 
// Story: How Death Lived 
// by Crimson Wisp 
//------------------------------//

///////////Twilight//////////// 

Everything had been going great until we heard a loud explosion that sounded almost like a blast of electric magic in the direction of Canterlot. I had been sitting with the girls on my balcony during our sleepover at my castle when we saw the sky over the Everfree shatter like glass and saw something crash into Canterlot mountain. At first, I wanted to go immediately and see what was going on. But the girls had insisted we enjoy our night and deal with it later. I was quite annoyed over this, but this night was important. We had all just returned from Starlight's first friendship lesson with Sunburst in the Crystal Empire and the Royal Crystalling. I invited the girls and with some help from Pinkie, we were celebrating Starlight's success. After the party ended, I couldn't sleep knowing that there was something that demanded to be researched near the foot of Canterlot Mountain. As the girls slept in my room, I jutted down a letter to Princess Celestia. I let her know that I really wanted her to take whatever it was that hit the mountain and keep it safe so I could study it. I left the letter near my bed so Spike could send it to the princess in the morning. After that, I got in bed and fell asleep a little more at peace. I woke up to the scent of breakfast wafting its way to my bedroom from the kitchen. I woke up and freshened up before heading down to eat. When I reached the throne room, I found the girls eating pancakes while intently looking at the map. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and even Starlight were silently watching the map with confusion, wonder, and bewilderment. the only one not looking at it was Pinkie Pie, who was gingerly eating her pancakes with a large smile as she chewed on the sweet goodness of Spike's pancakes. When I closed the distance and sat down, I decided to break the silence that was invading the room. 

"Morning girls. What's wro-" 

I followed their eyes along the Cutie Map and saw all of our cutie marks hovering over the map, specifically, over Canterlot. Another few minutes of silence passed and Rainbow Dash let out a groan of discomfort. 

"Can we go just one week without being sent off to who knows where to solve some friendship problem!?" 

Everyone simply looked at her with blank expressions. It was only then that I had noticed that our cutie marks were shining like they usually do whenever the map sends us on missions. 

"Oh, I don't think so darling." 

Rarity answered coyly. 

"Am I the only one who thinks that whatever that thing that we saw fly right into Canterlot is related to the friendship problem?" 

Applejack asked. This made us all look at each other for some hope of finding the answers written on our faces. Unfortunately, there were no answers to be had on our faces. 

"How long ago did the map show our cutie marks?" 

I asked, now my priorities shifting from getting food in my stomach to satiating my curiosity. Pinkie Pie had finished her pancakes and had been sitting quietly, listening to the conversation. 

"The map lit up just before you came here, actually. Also, I made you pancakes." 

Spike said, appearing from behind my chair with a stack of his trademark pancakes on a plate with utensils in one claw and a bottle of syrup in the other. He set the plate in front of me and sat down beside me. I looked down at the stack of pancakes and then back up at my friends. 

"Girls, can you be ready tomorrow to go to Canterlot?" 

I asked them. Rarity and Rainbow Dash nodded, Applejack looked directly at me along with Fluttershy and Rarity. Pinkie Pie was smiling, a lot wider than normal. She was also very quiet. she was rubbing her hooves together as if scheming something. 

"O' course Twi. I'll just let Granny Smith know so she can tell Big Mac and Applebloom to cover for me." 

She stated with a gentle smile. 

"I would have to go home and let my animals know that I'd be gone for a bit... but I can go if I'm needed." 

Fluttershy said with a mixture of nervousness and kindness in her voice.

"I'll tell Sweetie Bell to stay with Applebloom at Sweet Apple Acres while we're in Canterlot. If we're going to Canterlot, I'll need time to have my things in order to meet our soon to be friend. One must always look at the very least presentable to make friends darling!"

Rarity chimed in. Rainbow Dash sighed shortly after.

"Welp, I really wasn't planning on doing much on my day off anyway, so I'll go."

Rainbow Dash's answer had its annoyed tone turned into a more relaxed and cheeky one. I nodded before speaking. 

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow we'll take the train to Canterlot together at 10 am." 

The girls nodded happily and everyone went down on their breakfast, every now and again stopping to talk about the events of the Crystalling. When everypony finished, Applejack spoke up as she got up to leave. 

"Alright, I'm off to go tell Granny Smith of where we're goin' tomorrow. Take care girls!"

In the same fashion, the girls left one by one until only spike and Starlight remained with me in the castle. 

"Twilight?" Starlight asked, who'd finished her pancakes a while ago, was walking next to me as we headed out to walk towards my study. 

"Yes?" I responded. 

"Is this how you girls normally do things? Like going on friendship missions, I mean." 

She asked with curiosity much like my own. 

"Yes, though there have been times when the map calls us when we're out of the castle. As for friendship missions, the map tends to only call one or two ponies at a time. The last time the map called all of us was for something bi- OH MY GOSH THE MAP CALLED YOU FOR YOUR FIRST FRIENDSHIP MISSION!!!" 

I nearly screamed in excitement as realization flushed over me. I hugged Starlight filled with joy. Moments like these were the ones that give me insight if how pinkie pie lives every day. We broke the hug and Starlight, though a bit shaken, was taking it well. 

"I wonder what it could be..." 

My pupil mused to herself. 

"What do you mean Starlight?" 

I asked. I already knew where she was going, but I wanted her to feel safe telling me what was on her mind. 

"Well, You've told me that the Cutie Map sends you and the Elements on friendship missions. And Applejack thinks that it has to do with whatever that thing was that flew straight into Canterlot. For all we know, the chance of it being something ponies are fighting over is just as likely of it being sompony that needs to learn about friendship. What I guess I'm trying to say is that, as far as I know, there's no way to know what the friendship problem actually is until we get there, is there?" 

She explained. I had stopped my questions earlier that morning and realized that I hadn't considered any of that. I nodded to her explanation before answering, which took me a few seconds. 

"That's true. However, the map has never failed to know who to send, when to send them and where. And If it called us all, then it probably means it will take all of us to solve the problem." 

Content with my answer, she smiled in satisfaction and we stayed quiet for the rest of the walk. We parted ways and headed to our respective rooms to pack for tomorrow. Entering my room, I saw the letter from last night that I wanted to send to Princess Celestia. I took it in my magic and read it over before crumpling it and getting a new parchment of paper to rewrite my letter. 

Dear Princess Celestia,
Last night, me and my friends were celebrating Starlight's success in the Crystal Empire with a sleepover when we saw a portion of the sky over the Everfree forest explode like a shattered mirror and the thing that flew into Canterlot Mountain. This morning we woke up and found that the Cutie Map was sending all of us to Canterlot. Starlight believes that whatever it was that came from the sky is the reason we're being sent there. I'll be in Canterlot by tomorrow at noon. We were hoping we could stay in the palace while we sort this out. please let me know if there's anything you need us to do. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. When I finished writing my letter. I went to look for spike so he could send it for me.

//////////////Azazel/////////////////

I woke up from my restless dream feeling weary. I wasn't sleepy, I just felt drained. I sat up on my bed and yawned as I shook the sleepiness off me. It was still dark out. There wasn't a clock in my room so I had no way of telling the time. I looked to my right and saw my bag, carefully seated against my bed on the floor. I picked it up and put it on my lap as I crossed my legs. I opened it and began to inspect the contents. The first thing I pulled out took me a bit to identify, but then I noticed it is a human femur bone. My eyes widened at this and I began to dig again. More and more bones came from within, along with a few colorful skulls. Upon closer inspection, I noticed something odd about the skulls. they had been engraved with writing in abyssal. I dug into the bag again and pulled out a somewhat large tome. I set it aside and for the first time, I peered straight into the bag. Dad told me that if I did, I'd see nothing. The runes that lined the inside of the bag would send the contents into a pocket dimension he made for that specific usage. Don't ask me how dad never explained it to me so I'm clueless. surely enough, I saw nothing. Confused, I took another look at the skulls, and I recognized the names engraved on their sides. 

"Mia, Trephor, Avalon, Anvari..." 

I read the four names aloud and my eyes began to water with tears of joy. These skulls belonged to the first few skeletons I ever raised from the dead. They had been my only friends in my younger years. To be fair, all undead I raise become an extension of what makes me, me. They were all me, in a way, yet they are their own creatures in my eyes, seeing as how they act with a relatively free will I grant them. The thing about the undead is that they require a supply of necrotic energy to keep them up and about like the living need food. What I would normally do would be to draw magic from the environment and use it to replenish my magical reserves while giving them a constant stream of energy if they stayed near me from said magical reserves. As I grew older, I got tired of constantly having to feed them my power, since ambient magic in our part of the woods was used to fuel the barrier that kept us safe. Even then there wasn't enough for me to keep them up and about for more than a few days at a time. But this world was rich in ambient magic, it was only at that moment that I realized the boost in power I got, compared to what I had at my disposal back at home at least. Normally, it would take me a full day to replenish the strength, considering I used magic along with my hellfire to break off my bonds earlier. So I got an idea. I got off my bed and put all the bones on it on the floor. then I flipped my bag upside down and out came the noisy clattering of many small and large bones. I immediately recognized who's bones belonged to who, as I would paint their bones so I could tell them apart when I was younger. Mia had many little yellow and blue flowers on her shoulder blades, arms, and legs. I painted Trephor completely green, every last digit was a grassy green with the exception of his jaw, I painted that brown. I remember I painted him like that because when I was first learning how to hunt with mom, I wanted him to accompany me, so I painted him green and brown so he could be "camouflaged". Avalon was painted a jet black with Red accents in his joints, shoulder blades, and teeth with the hope of making him look like a wraith. Dad didn't like it, but mom was thrilled to learn that I used hellfire to blacken the bones with soot. I made him so I could scare my dad while he was studying, and I got in trouble quite a few times because of it. Anvari was the smallest of the group, she had been a teenage she dwarf in life who died of physical abuse. My dad found her outside of Moonshine city, crying under a bridge with nothing but a blood-soaked rag on her. He put her out her misery when she told him that her mom and dad had abandoned her. I will never forget the way he looked at me when he gave me her cleaned remains. 

"Let it be a lesson to you Azazel. Your magic, your race, or how many things you may have don't define you. It is what you do with the power you have that defines you. And the ones responsible for this are the real monsters of this world. And I want this to stick with you for as long as you live. The day you do that to one of your kids or any innocent person for that matter, will be the day you just how cruel I can be. Understood?"

He made me promise him I'd take care of her, so I have always made a point of protecting her above all my undead. She's the only one I gave a proper burial when I got tired of keeping her around. I also kept some clothes for her and the rest of my friends, though i lost track of where they went after the last time they were raised from their "eternal" slumber. Surely enough, they were in my bag and had flopped in a messy stack that lay next to the pile of bones. I closed my bag set it on the bed, silently thanking my dad for his foresight. It was still a bit heavy, so there were still more things in there. That would have to wait, I was going to get my childhood friends back. I stood to my feet and focused my power onto my right hand. It was enveloped in a combination of black and red flames that condensed into a sphere of necrotic energy just a few centimetres above my palm. When I felt I had enough of it pent up, I released the necrotic energy from my hand in a small explosion that made a noise similar to the movement of ghosts. When the blast of energy struck the bones, the dark flames were absorbed with a gentle swooshing sound. The bones shuddered for a bit before they rolled, tumbled and connected over each other into four complete humanoid skeletons. With a sound similar to a muffled bell, their eye sockets lit up with small wisps of a flame of a crimson hue. 

"Rise friends... and live once more!" 

With that, they rose and shook their heads, snapping out of some sort of daze. 

"Let's see if I can still do this..."

I muttered to myself. I closed my eyes and began to focus on my creations. Soon enough, I could control the skeletons and ordered them to get dressed. All they had were similar white shirts with loose black pants with a rope belt that would go just over their pelvises. It took me a while to get hang of it again. I hadn't raised the dead in a while, much less controlled multiple bodies all at once. Several hours past and I was able to not only make the move somewhat realistically, but I had also managed to make them talk. I started with vowel sounds and moved to full words which then shifted into nonsensical "conversations." It wasn't easy, I had only done it once before and I had been practicing the spell for weeks so I could have them sing for mom on her 40,000ish birthday. I don't know how old she was exactly, but I do know she's somewhere around that number. When the sun rose, I managed to move from harmonizing with one skeleton at a time, to all of them with myself adding to the melody of a song I hum to myself whenever I worked or was studying. I made up the melody ages ago, but I've never been able to write lyrics for it. I had heard the guards outside my door commenting with fear over the singing, everyone and again I would stop the skeletons' performance to hear them shivering in their armor and repeating to themselves that they were getting paid triple for standing there and doing nothing. I also heard one utter something akin a prayer to Celestia, but I paid no mind to it and got back to work. The ambient magic in this world was enough for me to feed my creations without expending my own magic or strength. It was a skill I had perfected while, but I was a bit out of practice. I knew I would get my power back into full with enough practice, but one thing at a time for now. Now was the time for my undead quartet to perform for real. Just before I could command my skeletons to do anything, my door's lock clicked open and the door was flung open. The thing that caught me completely off guard wasn't the fact that my skeletons nearly trampled each other to get behind me and cower under my bed and behind me as I sat on the bed. It was Princess Luna with tired eyes and a WIDE grin on her face as she led her sister into my room. They sat down just shy of a few feet away from me and with her magic, Celestia shut the door behind her. Luna was looking like she about to explode with giddy anticipation. 

"Sister! This is what I told you about the singing undead!"

Luna exclaimed cheerfully. Celestia was not at all impressed. As for me, there was a lot of internal screaming along with me trying to put the most neutral face possible. Celestia simply cocked her head to the side as she tried to look at Anvari, it was only then that I noticed that they were moving of their own volition. She was hiding behind my left-wing in an attempt to shield herself from the Alicorn's gaze. "Azazel, what are those things?" Celestia asked with a tone that implied that she already knew the answer and was asking out of courtesy. I swallowed before steeling my nerves and answering her. "Friends of mine." I wasn't lying. They were my only real companions for as long as I can remember. The only reason that I didn't have them these last few years was because of the lack of new things to do with them. Luna's smile shrunk, but only a little. 

"And who is that, if we may ask?"

She asked, pointing a hoof at the skeleton standing behind me. I immediately commanded it in my mind to come before me, but it didn't move. I furled my eyebrows at this before standing up and turning around to see why Anvari wasn't obeying. She was slowly backing away, her ribs and jaw we're clattering together with what I could only describe as fear. It took me a bit to realize why she was doing that. The skeletons were controlled by my thoughts, which left emotional imprints on their bodies. Anvari was particularly receptive to my fear. And thus she trembled in fear while I simply stared in confusion. "It's ok, they're not gonna hurt you. Not while I'm here." I whispered to the scared skeleton. She looked at me with her red glowing "eyes". She hesitantly walked towards me and I picked her up like my mother would've picked me up when I was small. Turning around, the rest of my skeletons come out from under the bed. These took Celestia and Luna by surprise. Luna simply looked on in awe as the skeletons sat beside and behind me on the bed. Celestia looked at all of them. I can tell from her face that she wasn't expecting them to look the way they did. Even if she didn't know what species they belonged to, I could see she was caught off guard by their color schemes. She then focused on me, and the look she gave me said exactly I thought she thought with what I heard her say next. 

"I assume you killed these poor creatures and used their bodies to indulge in your musical performances?" 

Her tone was very passive-aggressive. I had never heard anyone speak to me or another like that, but I had read enough books and spoken with enough strangers to know that her accusation was something she condemned me of preemptively. I could tell she didn't trust me, and the kindness she had shown me the day before had occurred because she doubted I was even capable of what I claimed. This world seemed to have a lot of negative stigma towards necromancers, much like my old homeland. I sighed at the thought of explaining to her that I wasn't a genocidal monster. Unfortunately, I forgot what happens when you're magically linked to four undead skeletons who can speak one's thoughts involuntary. 

"He didn't kill us you uncultured swine!"

Trephor spoke with a voice similar to my own, but with a posh accent. My eyes went wide at this as I froze in utter panic. Celestia and Luna were taken aback from this. Luna was just not expecting one of my skeletons to speak up, but Celestia's shock turned into a furious gaze. I had to remedy this NOW or I would not live to see another day.

"Forgive me, your majesty! I can't control what they say or think!" 

I spat out as quickly and as respectfully as I could manage, shielding Trephor from Celestia's angry eyes with my wings. Luna picked up on what was happening and cut in to soothe her sister's rage. "Sister. Let him explain himself. I wish to know more about our guest before we make any hasty decisions." Luna implored her sister placing a hoof on her sister's shoulder. Celestia was staring daggers at me while she let out a frustrated sigh. 

"Very well. Explain to us why there are undead in our castle, how they came here and what you plan on doing with them."

She spoke with raw mirth in her tone. Giving her an honest answer was the best option, but I wasn't going to let her off easy. I was a necromancer, yes, but so was my father. He never used his power to enslave and oppress others. his powers to obtain knowledge, punish those who abused their power and help those he cared about, his family. And I refused to be verbally beaten into fear. 

"The skeletons you see are a gift from my father. They are the bodies of murderers, thieves, and an abused child left to die...."

I caressed Anvari's skull as she further buried herself in my arms. this gave me the strength to say more, and more I spoke.

"I told you before. I don't have a taste for killing needlessly. Their souls and bodies are being put to better use than the one they had in life. I found their bones in my bag and wished to do something for me to remember my parents by. Something they loved." 

I never raised my voice, but I was very Stern with what I said. Celestia's anger had dwindled but her resolve remained strong. 

"And what gives you the right to determine whether or not the souls of others should be judged by you? That is a perversion of nature itself!" 

She declares believing she had cornered me. 

"And what gives you the right to determine what is natural and what is not? Especially in regards to life and death? Last I checked, you're a sun goddess. And every time the gods intervene in matters that don't concern their domain, Innocents and the really unlucky ones die."

I countered with the same calmness as before. I was keeping my own anger in check, but skeletons' flaming dots were growing in intensity as I grew angrier at Celestia's ignorance. Celestia was livid, her elegant mane that once danced in a non-existent breeze, now flickered in what seemed to be rainbow-colored flames. Luna got in front of her sister, no longer able to sit idly by and watch us bicker. 

"Sister, Azazel speaks true. We cannot judge him like this. It is unfair and against everything this kingdom stands for." 

Luna objected to my defense. I was relieved to see that someone would listen to reason. What happened next caught me off guard and shook my very being. Celestia's furious stare shifted over to Luna. I could feel the betrayal she felt in her just by looking at the tears that were welling up in her eyes as she clenched her teeth in a vain attempt to keep herself under control. 

"Need I remind you that it was a necromancer who killed our parents!? A necromancer who threatened to destroy everything our father and mother had built! After we let him stay with us in OUR OWN HOME! I WON'T LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF! I REFUSE TO LOSE ANYPONY ELSE TO A MONSTER THAT INDULGES IN BLACK MAGIC!!!" 

Celestia had lost all semblance of control, and her horn flared with magic, readying herself to attack. Her adrenaline-fueled rage was the only thing keeping her from breaking down into a chasm I was all too familiar with. Loss. I could see it in her eyes as I watched the argument unfold. Luna got in between the both of us, and thanked her internally for saving from another blast of what I assumed would more holy fire to the face.

"Celestia! Azazel is not like the monster that took our mother and father from us! He spoke truly when he said he does not take pleasure in taking the lives of Innocents! He's like us, Tia! That is why we must help him!" 

Luna protested gently but firmly placing her hoof on her sister's chest. After Luna set her hoof down without fear of the raging sun goddess, I had moved Anvari behind me and commanded my skeletons to be ready should I need a distraction to escape.

"HELP HIM!? HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY KNOW WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH!? WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH!?" 

Celestia cried as her wings flared outwards in a knee jerk reaction. I had to act fast, or this would escalate out of control. I won't lie, I was getting mad at something that I was all to familiar with. I have tried before to make strangers not fear me. But whether it's my dominion over undeath, or my demonic heritage, no one listens. They jump to conclusions and chalk up everything I say to nothing more than lies. My anger was slowly superseding my fear, and once I noticed it. I decided to use it how my mom and dad taught me to when these situations happened. Beat it into them with the cold truth, and if that doesn't work, abort.

"Because my parents were killed by someone just like you." 

I said calmly. Celestia, though still distressed, was confused and slightly offended by my statement and pressed for answers with poison in her voice. 

"What are you talking about!?" 

She asked. 

"M̴y̶ ̸m̸o̵t̵h̷e̴r̵ ̵a̴n̶d̶ ̵f̷a̴t̸h̶e̴r̸ ̶d̷i̷e̷d̷ ̵t̴o̶ ̵s̴a̸v̶e̷ ̷m̵e̶ ̷f̸r̶o̶m̵ ̸a̸ ̶s̴u̸n̵ ̵g̶o̸d̵d̸e̶s̵s̷ ̴w̵h̵o̴ ̴s̵e̷n̴t̴ ̷s̶o̵l̸d̴i̶e̵r̴s̷ ̶t̷o̷ ̶m̴y̴ ̴h̸o̷m̵e̷ ̸w̶i̶t̷h̷ ̶t̸h̵e̴ ̵i̸n̴t̴e̸n̷t̷ ̷o̷f̴ ̴k̸i̵l̷l̶i̵n̷g̴ ̶m̷e̸ ̸a̶n̴d̷ ̶m̶y̶ ̶f̴a̶m̸i̶l̷y̵.̴ ̵T̷h̷e̴y̸ ̷a̴r̵e̸ ̵d̵e̸a̶d̴ ̴b̴e̶c̷a̷u̷s̶e̴ ̷o̴f̷ ̴s̶o̴m̴e̵o̸n̵e̷ ̵l̶i̸k̶e̶ ̷y̶o̷u̸.̶" 

(My mother and father died to save me from a sun goddess who sent soldiers to my home with the intent of killing me and my family. They are dead because of someone like you.)

I stood up from the bed as I let my displeasure seep into my words. Luna backed away, ready to defend her sister should she need it, but willing to let me make my case unobstructed. I walked over to Celestia and stood right in her face, I didn't bother crouching to her level. I simply looked down at her with my fists clenched as I tried my best to stay calm enough to not tear her throat out. 

"I know the pain you feel. To lose those that you love the most... You can call me a monster all you like, but you are insulting my family and the magic they used to protect me. You don't know what I can do, and that scares you. Well let me tell you what I am not. W̸e̷l̶l̵ ̶l̸e̴t̵ ̶m̵e̸ ̷t̶e̵l̸l̵ ̸y̴o̶u̸ ̷w̸h̷a̸t̶ ̴I̶ ̸a̸m̷ ̶n̴o̵t̸.̷ I̸̟͑̆ͅ ̴̈́̿͒͜ą̶̣̀m̷̮̓͌̃ ̶̫͓͔͝͝n̶̨̓o̷̝͆ẗ̵̥̫̘́͌ ̸̦͈̑̀s̷̼̟̃o̸̡͕̿̈m̶̩̥̙͛e̵͔̕͠ ̷̧͎̤̆i̴̢̼͓̓n̵̗̈͠s̸̩̈́a̴̭̿͊͝n̵̡̢͝e̵͚̗̯͊̌̚,̴̟̈́ ̶̧̌̓g̶̯̉̾̀ẽ̸͔̯̦n̸̤̂o̴̢̜͈͊͐c̵̞̠̉i̸͇̒̀̃d̸͚̙̮̏a̴͎͕̰͋̒l̸̥̯͘ ̸̱̱͗̽̐m̶̪̑̑͆ạ̸̀n̵̗̲̈́ï̴̗̺̜̊̇ǎ̵͔̫c̶̪̪̮͊͗.̸͕̒ͅ ̴̪͆̑Ỉ̶̼͑͜ ̸̧͍͎̓ȧ̷̼m̶͎̹͔̋̒̅ ̶͙̓ṱ̵̝͘h̶̲̉̐ę̶͚̬͊͝ ̸̢͕͎͗̈́s̷͈͐̏o̵̲̒͐͆n̸͔̔ ̴̮̳̹̿õ̸͉f̶̡̠̦̆̎̕ ̷̼̂D̷̡̫͋̅ě̵̮̞a̶̰͚͉͌͠t̵͖̥͠h̷̡̪͠ ̵̢̚ą̸̳̍͐̂n̶̞̏͂͗d̵̼̈̅̚ ̸͈̓͊t̷͍̊͝h̴̖͑̀͘ȇ̸̠͍͈̐ ̵̗̫͒f̶̙̱̭̂̕o̷̭͘ŗ̸͛m̶͖̘̈́ę̵̩̯̌͊͝r̷͇̃ ̵̻͔̔Q̵̢̟͌͝u̶̡̹͋̉͂e̶̼̗͛e̸̼̓n̵̰̘̊͌̏ ̷̢͈̊o̶̯̓̏̽f̶̞̜̟̐̔ ̶̦̗̅t̶̢͘h̵̲̒͝ȩ̸̛̥̗͛͝ ̷̩̰͒n̴͈̆ï̷͓̳̞n̴̼̱̏̕e̴̗̓ͅ ̵̱̽ḫ̴̓̕͝e̸͚̝͈̿̒̿l̴̢̯̱̈l̸̗̽̕ŝ̷͉.̶̛̫̻͑͆ ̶͓̙̀̎Í̸͕͓f̴̧̄͋͝ ̶̢̭̟̆̚͠I̵̮͙͐̆͘ ̸͎͈̟̈́ŵ̶̢̱͔̽a̷͕̓̀̈́n̶͈̖̽̀t̷̠̔e̵̮͙̩͌̆̐d̸̜͉͖͐ ̵̻̰̘̈̒y̶͙̆ó̴̞̚u̶̟̅͐͗ ̶̹̍ǫ̷̮͠ŕ̷̞̂͠ ̴̢͎̌͐̚͜y̵̹̓͝ǫ̸̳̰͋ú̷̧̘̥r̴̳̚ ̴̠̈́̓i̴̪̼͖̔̀l̴̨̑k̴͖̣͓̕ ̵̛͈͇̣͘d̴̺̰̭̈́̅e̶̼̹̅͋͘a̵̯̦͐̎d̵̹͇́,̸̤̪̽́̀ ̵̮͕̀̓Ĭ̵̫̇͝ ̶̠̮̾͆̌ẅ̷̥́̌̈́o̷̤̹͌̿u̸̦͚͗͝l̸͉͘d̶̙̅͐͋'̸͓̣͑̆v̵̳̈́̊̔e̴̟̝̾̎ ̶̖̲̗̀͘a̵̝̒̂͛ľ̸̨͓̄̕͜r̶̟̪̦̿͋e̶͇̝͂̆́a̴̮͛ḍ̸͆̚y̵̱͝ ̷̳̘̓̀͋d̴̝̀o̸͎̰͚͋̈́n̸͎̖͌̕͝e̷̺̳͌͂ ̸̡͎͊̕ś̸̲̎o̷̡͇̽͒.̵̡̯̭̓̓͠ But I haven't, not because I believe it's a mercy I grant you, but because without a valid reason, I could not live with myself knowing I took the lives of the innocent."

(Well let me tell you what I am not. I am not some insane, genocidal maniac. I am the son of Death and the former Queen of the nine hells. If I wanted you or your ilk dead, I would've already done so.)

As I spoke, Celestia's anger was soon replaced with horror at the realization of what I was saying and what that implied for her. She looked down to the floor and silently shed painful tears as I stepped back and sat down on the bed. I drove in the final knife with a vengeance. Feeling the need for retribution being sated at the sight of her tears. 

"I won't let my anger consume me as it has you. B̸e̵c̵a̵u̴s̷e̵ ̶i̵f̵ ̴I̷ ̴d̶o̵,̴ ̷t̵h̸e̵ ̵m̸o̵n̷s̸t̵e̸r̷ ̶y̴o̵u̴'̵r̵e̸ ̵s̶o̷ ̵a̷f̵r̵a̴i̸d̴ ̷o̶f̵ ̷w̵i̵l̷l̴ ̸d̵o̴ ̷e̸x̵a̶c̵t̷l̵y̵ ̸w̵h̴a̸t̷ ̶y̶o̴u̸ ̴t̵h̸i̶n̶k̷ ̴i̴t̸̴ w̷i̴l̷l̵. D̵̝̜̈̊e̷̠̼̓s̸̢̺̊̔̀t̴̖̻̯͆̔r̸̥͒ǫ̴̺̙͐̂̏y̶̧̮̅i̸͚̬̔̎n̸̫͛͗̌g̸̮͉̃ ̶͙̊͗̌e̷͍͗ṽ̷̮̠͎̂è̸̳̓ͅr̴̭̝̄͂y̶̛̥͎̏t̴̛͇͚̆h̸̛͇̗̾̐i̸̟͇̕n̷̛̜͕͆̐ġ̸̨̺̉ ̷̯̲͖̒̚y̶̟̒̂̽ő̴͕̯̟̀û̵̱͖̺̓̔ ̷̝̈́́͜͝l̶̜͇̈́̐o̵̖͓͇͂̋̌v̷̹̟͇̅̓̌ẽ̴͙͓̀.̸̺̭͚̈́͝.̸̺̬̱̕.̷͖̟͗̓ ̶̮̞́ a̸n̴d̷ ̶t̶h̸e̶ ̷o̶n̷l̶y̴ ̸p̵e̴r̸s̵o̵n̴ ̸I̸'̸v̵e̴ ̷e̸v̴e̸r̴ ̷c̵o̴n̶s̸i̶d̴e̵r̸e̶d̸ ̷t̷o̵ ̵b̴e̴ ̶a̶ ̶t̷r̸u̶e̸ ̵f̷r̵i̷e̸n̵d̴.̴.̷.̶ Leave me be. I want no part with a deluded monarch who thinks they can tell me what I am or am not much less with anyone that thinks like you." 

(Because if I do, the monster you're so afraid of will do exactly what you think it will. Destroying everything you love...  and the only person I've ever considered to be a true friend...)

With that, I got up again and went for my things. I took the tome I had taken out earlier and placed it in my bag, and I commanded my skeletons to follow me and with that, I walked around Celestia and Luna, who had been holding her sister close to ease her quiet sobs. My heart sunk at the sight. Arguing with my parents, and dealing with those who would have my head and that of my family had taught me to defend myself verbally and to not be afraid of confrontation. Luna looked over to me with sadness in her eyes, she was pleading for forgiveness with her gaze. I gave her a kind smile before take a glance at her sister. Celestia's form shuddered as I could tell her sobs we're becoming more and more difficult to restrain, while Luna repaid my smile with one of her own and quickly returned to soothing her sister's crying. I left and began searching for a way out of the castle that didn't mean smashing through a window with my entourage. I would have to find the place where their dead would be buried, after that, I'd head to fields at the foot of the mountain and pick a direction from there.