Shadow of the Tyrant

by Casse Tete

First published January 1st, 1970 00:00

Set one thousand years before the present, an earth pony and her family are attacked by King Sombra, who takes the form of a shadow.

As each member of the earth pony's family is slowly picked off, the mare realizes the seriousness of her situation–

She's doomed.

Chapters

Shadow of the Tyrant

Shadow of the Tyrant
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Shadow of the Tyrant

The empire is a dark, mysterious land. Although it is a haven, safe from the blizzards outside, its walls and columns are filled with doom and depression. Our ruler is a tyrant, evil, but swift and powerful, taking the lives of anypony who reject his rule.

It crept upon the old house like a snake, slithering in the night and covering the home in a dark shroud. It wasn't a pony, nor was it any type of creature, but it came closer and closer. And we didn't think anything of it until it entered our house. It crept through the floor and walls, caving us in. "Sombra", Father whispered to himself. Whatever it was, its magic was powerful. When we started to panic, Father told Mother and the other children to stay calm. Father tried to pass through it- then it grabbed him, suffocating him, choking him and clawing at his entire body, leaving bloody gashes. Mother huddled with the brothers, shielding their eyes, while I watched in horror as Father tried to break free. Blood was spilling out of his body as his wings were torn off, with the crystalline shine of his coat being sucked away. His face was turning one of the most ugly shades of purple that you could ever imagine. All of the life was slowly being drained from his body, which was now reduced to a lifeless corpse with thin bones sticking out of it. Then, it swallowed him whole, left, and took the body with him.

With the dark cloud still surrounding the house, Mother took us and hid in the basement. We were uncertain of what the future held for us, so we waited for something to happen, whether it be good or bad. Then we said a quick prayer, that being our last prayer together, and then we heard- hoofsteps and a voice...

"Honey, I'm ok! Everything is fine."

We quickly rushed upstairs and to our astonishment, Father was fine; he wasn't marred, bitten, or scratched. "Children, wait here! Now that we're all ok, there's something I wanted to show you upstairs, honey."

"How could this be so?" I wondered. "I watched Father die. " I knew something was terribly wrong.

"Brothers, stay here! I'm going to check if Father is ok. " I handed them each two small knives so that they could have some means of defense. Now I was no hero. I had no wings or magic, but I knew, after such a tragedy, that certainly Father wasn't alive. So I grabbed the big kitchen knife and started to sneak up the stairs. I could hear nothing but the old wooden staircase creaking and my own breathing, as a deathly silence overtook the house. Approaching their room, all I could think of was if Mother was ok, or even that she is ok. "Well", I sarcastically laughed to myself,"If they see me with this big, sharp knife and everything's ok, I can just say I was making a salad."

I was ready to take on whatever was behind their door. I carefully opened it, and from that point life was over as I knew it- Mother WAS dead. She clung to a chair, violently decapitated and dismembered with parts of her body scattered across the floor.

What I did next was beyond insane... I took Mother's head and cut off all of her shiny, red mane and hid some of it in my hooves so the brothers wouldn't see.

As I went back downstairs to check on the brothers, a feminine, yet ghastly voice whispered to me "It's bath time... Sweetie, come take a bath... It's time for a bath... LOOK IN THE TUB..." It maliciously called.

I rushed to the bathroom as fast as I possibly could, but it was too late. For both of my poor, helpless brothers had been drowned and marred. Their colorless bodies were placed over and inside the tub with blood pouring out from them. I knelt by the tub, mourning their deaths and hoped that their innocent souls passed into heaven.

From this point, I knew there was no escape. Death was truly imminent.With my knife at hoof, I went downstairs to see if anyone (or anything) was alive. To my amazement, Father, Mother, and the brothers were sitting together in the parlor. Looking at the hair that I had hidden in my hooves, I wasn't fooled. "Sit with us" said Mother. "Come play a game" said the brothers. "Ok, what are we playing?", I retorted. "Hangpony", they simultaneously replied. "A three-letter word?", I said as I looked on a piece of paper that one 'brother' held in his hand. I spelled out, "D-I-E", which was quite obvious... I could hardly swallow." Where are you going, sweetie? Stay... " said the 'parents.' "You can be ours forever... Come to the darkness..."

"NO, get away from me, you impostors" I shouted." "So be it", they simultaneously replied in a deep, terrifying voice. Then, their bodies ignited into flames, quickly burned up, and slowly melted into nothing.

He returned:

It crept closer and closer upon me, as he revealed himself, surrounding me like a wall. Darker and darker, he transformed into a cloud of smoke, suffocating my last breaths. There was no other option, but to wait for the king to kill me. I felt every pain he brought forth, tearing the skin off my body, sinking his teeth further and further into my bones, swirling like a tornado, and ripping my soul from the roots. I gasped for air, trying to cling to the floor, resisting the evil presence that drew nearer,

and I knew, for me, that this was truly-----

The end.