Eyes of the Tyrant

The crowd of ponies watched the center of the city square with grim resignation as their hero who had defeated the dragons, stood before the chopping block for the very same reason. Ponies from across the Empire came to see this hero, hoping to see a glimpse of history by his mere presence, only to be greeted by the sight of him in chains.

Snow began to drift onto the silent square, several foals in the crowd began to cry. The guards lining the stage stood uneasily. They stood with quiet submission at the task they were given, most warriors had known Sombra as a brilliant leader and talented unicorn.

Sombra looked into the crowd, seeing them was a reminder of why he was there. He could escape whenever he chose, but doing so would only hurt these ponies in the end. He had to die.

Captain Jadewater, a jade mare with a blue mane and one of Sombra’s good friends, walked in front of him to address the crowd. She looked back at him nervously, Sombra nodded his head slowly and assuring.

He whispered, “Thank you for keeping her away.”

The Captain faked a smile, then looked back towards the crowd and announced, “This… stallion… stands before us, condemned of using magic reserved for use only by our great rulers, the Alicorns, for the purpose of evil.”

Ponies shifted in the crowd, it was difficult for them to understand the scope of his crime. They watched the announcer closely, but they didn’t seem to accept the words. Sombra understood, but no pony else seemed to. Alicorn magic, forbidden magic, dark magic, it was all the same.

“After a fair trial by our benevolent leaders, he has been found undeniably guilty, and unrepentant for his actions. He alone is responsible for the death of thousands of dragons, adults and children alike.” She paused. The crowd shifted nervously.

Sombra’s heart sank at the last word. His reasoning was clear in that matter, but it was still difficult to actually hear what he had done. If even one of them had escaped, even the young, they would only grow to fight the Empire later. It was best to get rid of them all and avoid the suffering later.

Even hearing his crime aloud was not enough to convince him his trial and punishment were not a facade. His mother’s presence at the trial had been evidence enough that he was here for another reason.

Sombra grew angry just thinking of the Alicorns and his mother, it was all their fault that so many had suffered, and all his mother’s fault that his father had died. None of that mattered now though. Now, he had to accept that they were more powerful than he. Perhaps one day all ponies would see them as he did.

An executioner climbed onto the stage with a large axe, wearing a hood and covered from head to hoof in black.

“It is with devotion and honor that…” The captain paused, and turned around to face Sombra. She looked at him, then to the hundreds of guards attending the event to preserve the peace. Hundreds of warriors stood in the crowd to watch as well.

Captain Jadewater stamped her hoof and scowled in anger. “I refuse to let our hero be executed for saving us!” she yelled. “Executioner, release the prisoner!” A murmur ran through the crowd.

“Captain!” Sombra yelled in surprise, “don’t do this, this is treason! The Alicorns will have you executed for this!”

The executioner unshackled Sombra’s hooves.

“Humph,” she replied, “it’s only treason if they are the ones in charge my lord.”

“What are you saying?!” he exclaimed. “Think of the Empire’s ponies, the Alicorns will make them suffer if I live!”

Several lieutenants and captains climbed the stage from the formation of guards down below. One of the captains, a yellow stallion, stood in front of the rest.

“Ha!” he said, “we’ve been suffering since day one of that blasted princesses rule, there’s not much else they can do now is there?” He smiled. “And I think most of the country folk would agree.”

Sombra looked back at the crowd, they looked eager for something.

“No, let me die, there’s still time to make this right. We will be better off that way.” He said quickly.

“Ack! Don’t be foolish Sombra, I’ve already cast my lot in with you.” Jadewater said smiling. “Now, are you going to stand there all day or are you going to help us take back the throne, my lord?”

One of the lieutenants yelled to the crowd, “For the Empire!” and they returned with a cheer.

“This is madness!” Sombra yelled, “They will send armies for your heads, if they don’t come personally, all of you!”

“That’s quite alright my lord,” the yellow stallion replied, “if we fail, I don’t plan on living past today anyways.”

Sombra was lost and confused, he didn’t know what to do anymore. They would all be executed now, even if he killed himself here and now. Every last pony in the crowd was as good as dead for cheering for him. There was only one possible option now.

Sombra straightened himself, adopting a commanding pose. “Then we won’t fail.” He said somewhat apprehensively.

The crowd cheered once more, “All hail Lord Sombra!”

-Four ponies stood huddled around a streetlamp, cowering from the black abyss that surrounded them. The two parents huddled around their young filly, while one of Sombra’s mare acolytes trembled at the encroaching darkness.

The group’s breath shimmered in the lamplight as the temperature dropped even further, their skin stung as if being stabbed with thousands of needles beneath their coat.

“Master please!” the acolyte pleaded. “The others… they were foolish, I never would have been caught if not for them, please show me mercy!”

The father turned and scowled at the acolyte with as much hatred as he could muster. “You idiots! What monster did you bring with you!?” he yelled.

“Watch your tongue peasant, the master is no monster.” she responded nervously, more to the abyss than the father.

“He… the master, he is the true King of the crystal empire, and the future King of the world!” she said, hoping to sway Sombra with her loyalty.

The mother held the child tightly and turned to the acolyte. “I hope you never find peace after you die!” she cried as tears slid down her cheeks.

Black tendrils began to pierce the bubble of light around them, inching across the ground towards them from every direction. The tendrils looked as if they were a part of the surrounding abyss, not something coming from inside of it.

“Master!? Master!?” she pleaded more desperately. The group huddled closer to the center, shaking with both fear and frozen skin. “I would do anything for you, I always would, pleas…”

“Yesss…” A dark voice emanated from all around them. “I expect as much of all my acolytes.” One of the tendrils began to curl around the acolyte’s chest. Strangely, it felt warm to her. She didn’t try to resist or fight.

“And you have done just as I designed.” The abyss said.

The acolyte tried to speak, it was difficult with such unnatural cold. “We failed our mission here, but the others… you already punished them,” she paused to take a breath in the cold, it burned her lungs. “It was their fault, I can still be useful to you...”

This was nothing more than yet another task designed to fail. They were intended to be caught, then after tonight no other town or city would dare trifle with the master and his acolytes, but failure in any form was still unacceptable. The biggest prize however, was who might respond to this horror.

The tendrils around the acolyte yanked her into the darkness, there was no scream. Their fear was intoxicating to Sombra.The three remaining ponies huddled closer together, the parents tried to hide their child between them from the evil.

The temperature began to rise, and the light slowly began to grow. The tendrils snaking across the ground vanished. The stars and moon began to illuminate the streets once again. The abyss coalesced into a form at the edge of the light, the silhouette of a large Alicorn.

The father’s eyes widened at their possible savior. “Your highness thank-“ he said excitedly, but cut himself off as the form entered the light.

Sombra grinned baring his teeth at the family. “I will let you live,” He said, “This town was full of foolish ones who would cause me such heartache,” He looked at the mother holding her child, still crying. “But I see no reason to end you yet. It would do you well to tell others of what happened here tonight.”

Blood spattered the windows of the town, streaks lead into buildings, and limbs and entrails lay strewn about the streets. The bloody town glistened in the moonlight.

Sombra left the group to stand on a hilltop, covered in trees overlooking the town. He enjoyed these small excursions, and it was a distraction from his anticipation for the next day. Seeing that mare had made him excited. Of course, he had been skeptical if the process would even work, but seeing everything put in motion was enough to forget that this might be just another failed attempt to have a child. Regardless, he would learn in the next few days.

The night was silent, the stars and moon clearly visible, but the sun would be peaking over the horizon in a few short hours.
What would he do if he failed yet again? Sombra tried to ignore that thought. He wouldn’t fail this time. This time, he was taking no chances. He was providing everything he could possibly think of so the mare could live comfortably, and happily give birth. He would even restrain himself if she misspoke or did something foolish, at least until his son was born.

Sombra stamped his hoof in irritation. He had expected at least one of the Alicorns to show up. His intention was to finally confront his mother. Given what could come of the next few months, to Sombra, it seemed somewhat poetic that he would deal with her before bringing his child into the world.

After another hour, Sombra had become inpatient. Waiting was only making time pass slower, and the lack of a response was troubling. Perhaps he should have waited until his legacy was secure before he started taking risks.

“This is unacceptable…” he growled to himself. She obviously knew it was him, somehow.

The light of the sun began to glow behind the mountains on the horizon. Now was the time to leave; he could certainly defeat one, possibly two of them now, but three or four? He wasn’t a fool.

Sombra retreated to the shadows, and began to fade into the darkness that remained. For a moment, his glowing red and green eyes burned the air where he had stood.

-“You should rest my lady,” the amber mare said as she shoved Rarity into a large bedroom, “we, along with an acolyte, will return to serve you breakfast in the morning, then tend to your appearance and hygiene before the master arrives.”

Rarity turned to the other pony, still somewhat unnerved and confused. “What’s going on, why have you taken my sister and I captive?”

“My lady, the master has chosen you for something. You should be honored that he sees you in such a way,” She replied as if it where the obvious, “don’t squander such a gift.”

Rarity shook her head trying to understand. “Gift!? That… monster, hurt an innocent little filly, my sister!”

“Watch your tongue, the master has his reasons for what he does, it is not for us to question him!” the crystal mare snapped.

“You can’t be serious, you don’t serve a monster like that by choice… do you?”

She gasped, “Of course I do, how dare you question my loyalty! I chose to follow the master of my own free will, and I will serve him until the end of time.”

“But why?” Rarity couldn’t understand why any pony would follow such a tyrant, given what stories she was told about his reign in the crystal empire a thousand years ago and what she personally knew now. Who would hurt a child for no reason?

The attendant regained her composure. “He offers many things to this world once he rules, you will come to see the master’s benevolence.”

Rarity stepped back in astonishment. This crystal pony was nothing more than a brainwashed thrall. Were all of his followers like this? She had to get her sister away as soon as possible.

“I’m sorry for keeping you my lady,” the attendant said, “you should rest, he does like to come early at times.”

The attendant closed the door, leaving Rarity alone in the room. She turned to survey her accommodations. Rarity had to admit, it was rather opulent. There were no windows in the room though, but the walls where lined with dark intricately carved wooden wardrobes and dressers with several mirrors. A standing mirror sat askew next to a large unlit fireplace. The large canopy bed with white sheets and curtains sat in the middle of the room, with a luxurious white carpet spreading from wall to wall. The walls themselves shined like polished marble.

The candles placed throughout the room began to die, giving off only a dim glow.

Tears began to form in Rarity’s eyes. She bit her lip and walked towards the bed. She couldn’t think of anything else but Sweetie Belle’s face. If only Rarity had told her no, and gone alone. If only. This was all her fault. Her sister could die, or worse, all because she couldn’t say no when the little filly asked if she could help.

Rarity climbed onto the bed and curled into a ball in the center as the light finally disappeared. She had to get them out of this, somehow, but her mind still held her on that sweet little filly’s face. The room began to grow colder. She had to be strong for her sister’s sake.

How was she going to get them out of there? Rarity saw at least ten guards on her door alone, and there were many more roaming the halls from what she could see. Half of them looked like unicorns, but it was difficult to tell with the amount and type of armor they wore. If that were the case, it would be even more difficult.

The next hurdle would be actually finding her sister. She saw three other rooms on this floor as the attendants walked her to this one. One of the other rooms had four guards watching the door; that must be where they were keeping Sweetie Belle.

With tears still welling up in her eyes, Rarity cursed herself in the dark. In her state, she had forgotten to check her surroundings for anything at all that might be of use. She doubted they would leave much, but it was still worth a check.

Rarity conjured an orb of light in the middle of the room. The light wasn’t bright, but it glowed just enough to see in the dark. She rose from the bed and jumped to the floor to begin sifting through the drawers and dressers.

Within moments she found black and crimson fabric, the exact colors his followers that captured her had worn. A disguise, that was the solution.

A few more minutes of searching, and she noticed several large chests hiding under the bed. She pulled one out and flipped it open. Needles, thread, everything she needed was right in front of her. Rarity couldn’t help but smile, her tears disappeared. It felt a bit too convenient to her. Regardless, she would take whatever luck would throw her direction, and this was perfect.

Even in the darkness it was a simple task to fashion together one of the cloaks Sombra’s acolytes wore. She placed it on one of the dressers, she knew she wouldn’t be able to just walk out, the guards weren’t that stupid. If she drew the hood over her face as much as possible, perhaps then she might be able to pass for one of his followers.

Rarity drew her courage, and walked over to the door. Slowly, she began to open it, peeking out as much as she could while revealing as little of herself as possible. On the other side was a day room, no pony was there. She walked in, the room was covered in bookshelves. The floor was polished marble as well as the walls, and a fireplace sat to one end of the room with a red daybed sitting in front of it. The fireplace was lit, but slowly eating the last of the wood. No windows there either.

She walked into the room, cautious and looking from corner to corner. The door opposite of the one she had left lead to the hallway; that she knew. Peeking through another door on the same wall as the one she entered revealed a pristine and polished washroom, but again there were no windows.

Rarity sat in the dayroom for a moment, considering her options. The only thing she could think to do was wait until the attendants came in the morning, perhaps then she could find some way to slip out.

That was that. Rarity made her way back to the bed in the room, and hid the cloak beneath a pillow. She rested on top of the sheets, but didn’t sleep. Thoughts of her sister still kept her awake. There was nothing to do but wait in the darkness for morning.

-A knock at the door startled rarity, she jumped in the dark as her heart began to race.

“Your meal is hear,” one of the attendants said as she opened the door, “you should eat quickly so we have more time to clean.”

Another crystal mare entered the bedroom and began to light the candles. The amber mare set a tray of fresh cut apples on the bed and smiled at Rarity, who had somehow found her way under the sheets while sleeping.

“You look… better this morning my lady,” she said in a disturbingly upbeat manner. “I wasn’t sure how you would feel after last night, but I’m glad you’ve at least made yourself comfortable.”

Rarity hesitated to take one of the slices. “Th-thank you.” She faked a smile.

“The master was certain you would be a little… uncooperative this morning, he will be delighted to hear you’re already starting to feel better. Please, eat as much as you like, we will prepare your bath in the washroom; join us when you’re ready.”

Rarity gave a nod, and the Amber pony almost pranced out of the room. Rarity waited until she was certain they were both in the washroom, and jumped out of the bed with the cloak from under the pillow.

Outside in the day room staring at a newly lit fire was one of the acolytes, the door to the hallway was partially open. She peeked out of the bedroom door with the cloak already drawn, staring at the pony in front of the fire place; she was a sky blue unicorn with a beautiful silvery mane. The acolytes cloak looked natural on that one.

Something looked familiar about her, but she couldn’t put a name to the mare; Rarity wasn’t about to wait for her to turn around anyway. She snuck across the room to the door, not taking her eyes of the acolyte for a second.
The door to the hallway was surprisingly light, even with its heavy metal frame. Rarity opened it only a small bit more, just enough to fit through. Luckily, it made no sound as she pulled it. The acolyte remained fixated on the fire.

Rarity’s stomach exploded in nervousness as she entered the stone hallway. Five armor clad guards stood on either side of the door, each one wearing a long sword across their back. Rarity held her breath and drew the cloak further over her face as she began to walk by, they didn’t so much as glance in her direction. It did a little to calm her nerves, but her heart still pounded through her chest.

She rounded a corner and stopped to let out a long exhale. She was less nervous now, but the disguise would only help for so long. It was only a matter of time before the servants would send word of her escape.

Rarity began walking down the stone floored obsidian walled corridor. Red crystals hung off of the walls and let out an unnerving glow that illuminated the labyrinth. She passed several doors she didn’t remember seeing on the way to her room, perhaps this floor of the spire was bigger than she thought.

As Rarity rounded yet another corner, she saw the door. A guard stood on either side of the door, which looked similar to the one to her room. It had to be the right one. She gathered her composure and walked over as confidently as she could, while still holding her head low.

“Excuse me gents,” She said as she took a step in front of them, “is this the room with that little filly?”

They exchanged glances. One of the guards, an old Pegasus with a faded blue coat and tan eyes eyed her carefully up and down. He wore a lighter armor that covered his mane, legs, and flank. Something about that one reminded Rarity of Rainbow Dash of all ponies.

“I don’t think you have any business here acolyte, you should keep going.” He said.

“On the contrary my good stallion, I have been sent here by the king himself to retrieve the filly.”

“The king? Are you certain the MASTER sent you?” he asked, tilting his head to see under her hood.

Rarity stepped back and lowered her head just slightly. “Yes, the master,” she chocked on that word, “I’m here on the master’s command.”

The stallion raised a brow in curiosity. “What is your name acolyte? I don’t think I’ve seen you around these halls before, I think I would have remembered your accent.”

She gulped, and her nerves began to wane. “I’m uh-”

“It doesn’t matter,” he cut her off quickly, “I think you should go back.” His voice was almost fatherly.

“No, no I have to see the filly, please just let me through.”

“I insist you head back. In fact, it might be best if I escort you back from where you came.” He said, as calm as ever. He truly didn’t appear threatening at all. The other guard just stood like a mindless statue staring at the wall.

“This is outrageous! He won’t be pleased at all if I go back empty handed,” she asserted, stamping her hoof, “You don’t want to incur his wrath, do you?”

The Pegasus stepped in front of her, and held her back with a light touch of his hoof. The other guard grabbed the hilt of his sword with a confused look on his face. Two other guards rounded the corner further down the hall, curious about the commotion.

Rarity gulped, she knew it was already over.

“We can play this game all day,” he said in a lower voice, “but I know the master wanted to see you this afternoon, and I know he doesn’t like being kept waiting.”

In a panic, Rarity shoved the Pegasus aside and pulled on the door with hooves and magic, but it didn’t budge. “Pleas, just let her go!” she cried.

The Pegasus grabbed her, and pulled her back as gently as he could. The other guards hesitated, afraid to even touch Rarity.

“My lady, the door is locked, and none of us have the key anyway.” It sounded as if he were trying to calm her, but she only became more defiant. He began to guide her down the hallway, dragging her as she tried to pull away from him.

“You three guard the door, I’ll be back.” He shouted down the hallway.

“Let me go you brute!” she yelled and struggled the entire way. Rarity wasn’t going down without a fight, but even with her resistance, she couldn’t pull free of the Pegasus.

Further down the corridor, an acolyte rounded a corner towards them; the mare from her room. It was Trixie. Rarity wasn’t too surprised to see her here. That unicorn had a habit of showing up in bad places, if memory served.

“Humph, why am I not surprised to find you prancing about the halls with the captain? The master isn’t enough for you, you whore?” Trixie spoke with the most contempt Rarity had ever heard from another pony.

Rarity gasped, “W-what?!” She shook her head and forgot about the captain. “And why am I not surprised to see you here, did you lie your way into this place or did they just feel pity on a talentless nopony and decided to let ‘Trixie’ in?” She said her name in a mocking tone.

Trixie growled, “Trixie is- I am here because of my loyalty to the master! You are nothing to him, he would not hesitate to kill you and your sister if you anger him.” She smiled “I suggest you apologize to him when we return to your quarters…”

Rarity gulped, she had almost forgotten. She was so wrapped up in escape that she forgot what might happen if she failed, what would happen to her sister. She took a risk, and now she and her sister were going to pay for it, maybe even with their lives.