CLAWs of Equestria

5

"How could they have been so foolish?" King Sombra hissed and smashed his right hoof in fury.

The outraged king marched back and forth in spitting anger and rage as he conjured the consequences of Ziggy and Zaggy's failure. The exposure of his two slaves left the indignant king's plans in turmoil. His escalating fury for the two spider bots only mad his anger spiral as his plans unhurriedly collapsed on top of each other within his isolated mind. He slowly watched as the concentration and hard profound effort that he put for months into his plans slowly fade away into a transparent mist. His mind started to hurt for stress had soon succumbed into a gathering of dark emotions. Pity, anger, fear, rage, they all screamed together as they rattled the mind of King Sombra. Pain swam through the senses that linked to the core of his mind, and time itself slowed to a miraculous halt. The environment around him collapsed and shattered into tiny pieces as his anger quickly enhanced. The fascist penumbra that plagued King Sombra roared, hissed, screamed and yelled so insanely that it could have shattered any living creature that was unfortunate enough to be nearby. The penumbra, a mysterious, feral, cruel, dark, and evil presence that rotted in King Sombra had mutated into a more enraged and tempered shadow. This anger, shared with the inferior common anger of Sombra, greatly rooted a new source of devastating anger that could drive any pony or inhabitant to insanity and unmerciful lust for devastation and power. The defeat at the Crystal Empire was the sole reason for such unjustified actions and feelings to coexist within the corrupted mind and darkened heart of the king. Such a defeat, which ridiculed his hierarchy and status among the Crystal Ponies, whom now look to him as a joke and not a ferocious and preeminent king that he was supposed to be, morphed the taste and demand for revenge. From what the evil commanded from Sombra, he only plunged deeper into corruption as he foolishly agreed to its message; all was property and possession and slaves to the true king. His judgement, clouded by a shadow wall, was not that of his own, but through disorganised and ignorance of emotional conflict.

Sombra's eyes winced in itching pain. The pure corruption, tormenting and swaying no matter where he looked, created unique images of devastation and chaos that synchronised different futures that seemed palpable to the twisted king. Again, his desire drove him forward into obeying what the images wanted to scream at him. With eyes bloodshot, he greedily glared at what his mind wanted. His breathing grew into quick pants of excitement and desire and his eyes absorbed every little detail from what the shadow moving images awarded him. The first image was that which would sprout from corrupted minds, such as Sombra's, which lust for all in their sight. Canterlot castle, in flames and the marvellous and prosperous city, Canterlot, permanently obliterated into black ashes was what the shadow spoon fed Sombra. This was his dream. To see the ponies, if not slaughtered by his robotic army, kneeling at his hooves and looking up to him as if he were an Alicorn. Beautiful rusty chains slotted around their necks and hooves as they very slowly and gravely worked under his authority and kept guarded like pathetic farm animals by his mighty army. Every passing second was suffocated with misery and agony for all the inhabitants, but superiority, glee, pride, and confidence raged through the fake version of Sombra. The cruel imagery was even generous enough to donate the harsh image of the Crystal Empire and the ruins of what remained of it. The once magnificent Crystal castle gained a cruel and annihilating demolition as the rubble that once represented its inner walls of beauty had toppled over the homes, road and land. Everywhere, from high social towns and cities to simple villages, fell under subjection to the dictatorship of King Sombra. Likewise, the shadow continued to feed Sombra his dreams like they were an inevitable reality. One particular moment, which King Sombra seemed to have immorally enjoyed the most, that stood out from the rest involved the benevolent leader, Princess Celestia. King Sombra released a maniacal laugh that escalated further every second as he watched the princess squirm. She was subdued with chains that fitted so tight that she could never get used to it. From the quiet and friendly whispers in Sombra's mind, they told him that she was enslaved to his rule and became his personal tool to enjoy at his leisure.

"Yes…yes….yes! This is what I want! This is my destiny! They are my slaves! This is my land, my land! I am the one and true leader! All belong to me! Everything belongs to the mighty King Sombra!" The ambivalent king cried in sheer instability and forced desire. Sweat greeted the forehead of the power hungry king. His imbalanced breathing was the only existent sound that his ears could detect.

The overwhelming lust for his dreams, which was abused to him like an addictive potion, slowly climbed back into the fragments of King Sombra's mind and hushed to sleep. The pieces of reality had fixed itself together again after the dark illusions had swallowed themselves into Sombra's mind. The glimpse of reality almost seemed like a bad nightmare for the king. The power of reality was seemingly harsh for attacking King Sombra since it provoked the cold hard truth that he wasn't the assured ruler of Equestria for the time being. His eyes, still bloodshot from the excitement, averted his attention towards the lifeless mechanical killers that remained as still as statues. At that very moment, King Sombra's eyes widened once more as he realised exactly why his penumbra had decided to illuminate the vision to him. King Sombra suddenly unleashed a hysterical laugh that portrayed him almost as if he had lost complete glimpse of his sanity. Still the CLAW machines remained emotionless and seemingly unaware of King Sombra's unnatural performance, but every single one had witnessed his actions and every word that he spilled out.

"The time is now, my slaves," King Sombra started after calming himself down from his hyperactive state once more," I believe that you are ready for the storming of the Crystal Empire!" A loud and synchronised movement of every CLAW was heard as they all stood up fully. Straight after their rise, they all released an alien like noise to show that their systems were fully online and ready.

King Sombra simply stared at his slaves as they prepared themselves for the starting of the invasion of Equestria and their assault on the Crystal Empire. Maximus and Brutus, just two of the thousands of astronomical CLAW machines, stood out from the rest as their armour contained a light dirt brown colour while the others possessed a much darker camouflage. The contrasting colours made Maximus and Brutus easily stand out from the rest of the army which helped King Sombra with the mission he had arranged for them. Their colour scheme difference allowed King Sombra to easily identify them.

"Maximus, Brutus, come here now!" King Sombra ordered as he held his head up to show his hierarchical position. The two massive CLAW robots slowly marched their way over with loud 'thuds' on every step. The cynical king stood only slightly taller than Maximus and Brutus but they were superior in their thickness and width. "I trust you know your mission well because I have no time for failures!" King Sombra screamed in the face of his two slaves as they remained almost dead.

Maximus and Brutus had been assigned for a capture mission within a timid yet warm hearted town known as 'Ponyville'. The voluminous CLAWs, instructed and dictated by King Sombra, were given enforced orders to capture the Elements of Harmony alive and harmed as little as possible. The pleasure of torturing them personally for their assist back in the Crystal Empire would be pleasing for the king as his inner demon craved for the sounds of his nemeses suffering under his divine power. Once the two mechanical slaves had subdued at least one of the six then the others, as Sombra believed, would surrender to their terrifying power. The first sighting of the two foreign emotionless killers would undoubtedly lure the prying curiosity of one of the Elements which would grant the deadly machines with the unmerciful pleasure of slaughtering anything that protested with courage against their demands. King Sombra thought it through simply as if it were child's play. Subduing one of the Elements into a position where their mercy rests in the emotionless killers could and then forcing the inevitability of surrender from the other elements, for the sake of their friend's life, linked to King Sombra's special 'upgrade' for the two outcastes.

"For your important mission, I will grant the pair of you with a rather 'special' gift which will surely provide useful if you wish to lure those gullible little ponies out of their homes," King Sombra stated pleasingly," and remember I will be checking on you very shortly! By the time I travel through my magic, I hope that these pathetic ponies have been captured and ready for me to transport them into my dungeon. This is just the beginning of Celestia's suffering! The kidnapping of the Elements of Harmony is bound to catch Celestia's attention, and when she sends her guards out for them to realise that I have conquered her territory with an unstoppable army, she will have nothing to do but surrender!" The evil rooted mind of the poisoned king was injected with glee as his horn started to glow the infamous dark red colour. "Well…" The King stated with a hideous chuckle," you two can't be convincing without voices now, can you?"

The blackness that blanketed the inner red of Sombra's magic was darker and more alien that what his former magical abilities possessed. The slight purple that once bonded his magic with his dark crystals had expelled itself and was eaten away by a new presence of dark magic. One that would stare at his horn's magical aura would immediately understand fully the pure hazard and danger that surrounded it, and the very idea of being struck by a force so corrupted would plant a scar of eternal grief and fear if it did not kill them or corrupt them in the same way. The presence of it could immediately send a very nerve wracking chill down any creatures' spine, so the wisest and safest option for any weaker minority of species that was to see such an evil force… was to run! However, power was what all evil fed on and craved for. King Sombra enjoyed his new power as if it were a gift that he had been destined with for eternal partnership. The enhanced magical capabilities that cloaked itself in promise of eternal power and success was what King Sombra greatly adored about his atrocious new magic, so his mind was clouded by its mirage of a promising future for him as the ruler of all Equestria and all the inhabitants within it. The adrenalin that flowed through his veins from how the dark magical energy within him grew stronger and stronger every day gave him more of a selfish excuse to accept whatever he saw in front of him and follow it as if it were his life goals.

With the speed of a Dragon, Phoenix and Windigo combined; the hideous and abominable magic zapped Maximus and Brutus and fizzed around them like electricity. An unnatural and painful screeching sound erupted from the two CLAW machines as they dropped heavily to the floor as if they were suffering from a series of never ending painful nightmares. Every screech screamed in pure agony as each second past. King Sombra himself even found the cries slightly disturbing, but a villainous smile, stretched from ear to ear, clawed its way onto his face. Eventually, after a short while of idle screaming and mechanical cries, Maximus and Brutus had stopped completely and were seemingly paralysed as their legs had bent down to show that they were almost kneeling down. The quietness stretched itself for a short while before King Sombra became easily frustrated.

He walked over and stood in front of Maximus.

"Report, Maximus!" He demanded with his strict authority.

The seemingly offline Maximus suddenly rose slowly with grace. The mechanical structure within Maximus's legs rattled and clicked together as they adjusted back to his standing position. Throughout the process, King Sombra's smile faded slightly as he was seemingly judging Maximus's appearance as if it were an inspection day. The king snorted through his nose as he waited to see if his magical capabilities had worked. And much to his relief, with the dirty smile that smashed its way back onto Sombra's face, he heard a mechanical voice reply to his command…

"All systems are officially operational and functional. CLAW machine, Maximus, is officially online and awaiting for further instructions. Identifying…King Sombra: All mighty master and leader of Equestria and the inhabitant slaves living within it," Maximus stated robotically as he stood tall and proud in front of his master. King Sombra hissed pleasingly at the sight of his enhancing magical abilities working right in front of him. Again, he walked to his right and stood in front of the kneeled Brutus.

"Report, Brutus!" He repeated with the change of name but same tone of authority.

"All systems are officially operational and functional. CLAW machine, Brutus, is officially online and awaiting for further instructions. Identifying…King Sombra: All mighty master and leader of Equestria and the inhabitant slaves living within it," Brutus stated robotically in the same sentence and tone as Maximus. King Sombra smiled heavenly at his new CLAW machines.

"Good, this is very, very good, "King Sombra started as he started to walk slowly back and forth between the two, "listen closely, slaves, for we have some minor details that we need to attend to before I send you off! I want you to search back into your memories. Find the exact mission I have assigned for the pair of you." King Sombra ordered aggresivley but with a smirk at the same time.

The simplicity of failure was not a bargain that the cataclysmic king wanted ever again. Just the thought of a single defeat sparks a small and slow chain reaction of built up anger and corruption. His two embarrassing defeats in the past fuelled his acidic temper and emotional corruption with the love drunk desire for victories as well as his malfeasances. The hint of his paranoia for defeat forced his need for an assured victory to become assured, accurate and promised. Everything needed to be checked thoroughly with Sombra. No flaws, no weaknesses, no self-consciousness, and, of course, no peaceful emotional conflict! The idea of having even one of his CLAW machines rebel against his supremacy slithered the dark feeling for destruction and rage once more. Despite the fact that King Sombra had thousands of deadly machines of mass destruction, his penumbra illness possessed his feelings on certain situations, and it purposely tortured his senses by making his desire lunge for victories in every given circumstance. So therefore, the threat of one of his machines turning on him could cause his penumbra to erupt in a physical rage. Upon this, he had given Maximus and Brutus limited voice patterns and only certain speeches that he intended them to have.

"Processing…processing…processing…mission briefing found. Mission objective: obtain crucial precious cargo, the Elements of Harmony: Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkamena Diane Pie; also known as Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle. One captured, the Elements of Harmony are immediately to be held detained until master Sombra escorts them to base. Further briefing required," Maximus stated with a firm and clear robotic voice.

"That is correct. The Elements of Harmony are extremely important if Celestia is to surrender under my divine power. She is too weak in the heart to allow ponies as precious as the Elements of Harmony to be tortured so easily. Even better, with the Elements of Harmony under my control, their power combined with mine would make us greater and stronger than Celestia could ever wish to be! Either way, she would be forced to hand the throne and Equestria to me! However, my slaves, there could be resistance that might need taking care off before you capture the Elements of Harmony. As you can notice, Maximus and Brutus, through your vision there is a blue and purple bar on the top right of your screens. Is that correct?" King Sombra hissed.

"Locating the requested blue and yellow bars…bars found," Maximus and Brutus bellowed in sync.

"These bars are the energy that is stored in your impressive weaponry. Thanks to my beloved magic, all of your brethren contain them. As I noticed before I saved your inferior little lives back on your home planet, this frequent resource, which is constantly referred to as 'ammo' by your creators, does not last for very long. I figured that these small issues would cause a minor set back in my goal for domination. So I performed a little upgrade in all of your systems. Never again shall such a distraction bother you. But be warned, this bar will start to deplete when you use your weaponry for too long and will take a while to refill to their original quantity. The blue bar links to the impressive weapon hoisted on top and the purple is for your dangerous explosive devices. Oh and Brutus, you might notice that you have an extra bar which is orange. That is for your deadly fire device!" King Sombra informed the pair in the most pleasing manner. He used his dark magic to pry the allowance of seeing through the same perspective as the pair. He smiled when he noticed the bars.

"Upgrades are noted and saved," Brutus responded.

"Good, now you are ready for your mission," King Sombra stated as his horn began to glow. In the same mirroring movement, the magic began to spin viciously around Maximus and Brutus. The fog of magic was so thick that it almost became impossible to see Maximus and Brutus within it. King Sombra looked at the blanket of magic in a determined way, "but remember this, my army is ready to begin its reign of terror across Equestria. The last thing we need is the powers of the Elements of Harmony being used upon us…do not fail me!"

In a swift instant, the black magic began to corrode itself over the two robots. A strong gust of wind had entered the room and little bright flashes, much based around the shape of lightning, flickered within the black magical sphere. A sudden strong thunder crashed and echoed all around the throne room before the black sphere flashed brightly and left in Maximus and Brutus's place was nothing. They were on their way to the outskirts of Ponyville!