Reunited in the Dark.

Chapter 3 - No Turning Back.

The late evening sky glowed with a mysterious red and purple, whilst the wind grew colder and more unsteady. The young prince nervously made his way back to the castle. The gentle tapping of his hooves echoed softly in the empty street. His mind buzzed with uneasy thoughts about the dark deal he took just under an hour ago.

It was a deal he struck with the God of Darkness himself, the Dark Lord. Saber had the feeling he did a mistake, a very, very bad mistake. He knew this deal would eventually cause a lot of trouble sooner or later, since it was too good t be true. That didn't matter to him though, he needed that power, and he needed dark magic.

The colt arrived at the castle gates that late evening. The two guards bowed in respect as he walked through, unaware of what the Prince did just under an an hour ago.

He ventured through the silent corridor, hoping he wouldn't come across his father. Anger still overthrew the prince every time he thought about what the God said. How is father wanted to kill Prismia. How it was his choice not to return the throne to it's rightful heir. All the evil things his father committed, yet ponies still called him a good King.

Saber wished he could confront his father and lash out at him about the things he found out. His heart drummed in his chest as he thought of a chain of curse words he was afraid to say out loud.

Unfortunately, he knew he had to stay silent about everything. If Sombra started getting suspicious, and questioning Saber about how he knows about Prismia, he would get in trouble.

Saber's determination got put to the test as Sombra came walking from behind a corner. He looked tired and sleepy, but still managed to smile upon seeing his son. Saber quietly groaned.

"Saber. Here you are little one." Sombra said softly, as he brought his hoof up to his sons cheek to caress it. Saber pushed it away coldly.

"So? What do you want?" Saber snapped angrily.

Sombra took a hurt step back as he looked at his son for a moment. He had no idea where this attitude was coming from. "Saber... I am only trying to make sure you are okay..." The King muttered. There was a lot of pain in his voice, and Saber knew it was his fault.

"Yeah, right. I'm fine." The colt replied bluntly, and then started walking off.

Sombra watched the young prince for a moment. A frown grew on his face as he decided he is no longer was going to put up with this. He knew that Saber usually gave him an attitude, but it was never this bad.

"Saber!" Sombra snapped, and used his magic to teleport himself. He appeared in front of Saber with a flash of crimson light, causing the colt to stop abruptly. "First of all, I am grounding you. Secondly, you are going to explain why you are giving me this kind of attitude. I have done nothing but take care of you." The King spoke sternly. He had an angry look on his face.

The colt looked up at his father nervously. "What?! You can't ground me! Dad!" Saber snapped frantically. He was clearly very frustrated.

Saber realised he was in trouble. He could not have been grounded, because this would get in the way of the deal he made with the Dark Lord. Sombra remained looking at his son with a stern expression. Fed up with everything, he calmly started to speak.

"I can, and I just did. You are grounded until you explain why you are being so disrespectful." The King explained, and then sighed. His expression slowly changed from angry to concerned. "I understand you are hurting, son. We all are. However you cannot shut yourself away like that, I am here for you, it is what your mother would have liked. Right?" He spoke softly to the colt.

Saber's eyes watered. It has been a long time since he felt like his dad really understood him or cared at all. "I guess so..." The colt mumbled, unsure of what else to say. He looked down at the floor and gently scraped the carpet with his hoof. He felt ashamed.