Eyes of the Tyrant

The crystal court was full of patrons, nobles, and peasants alike, all vying for a better view of the center aisle. They had all gathered to witness the punishment of the loyalists.

The hall was adorned with black and crimson banners and tapestries, which hung from every open space of white crystal wall. The courts tall windows that lined both sides of the hall had already been replaced with painted glass, scenes of the empire’s new king’s heroism.

Sombra sat on the throne, flanked on both sides by his generals. Autumn Gem, her turquois coat and violate mane as radiant as ever, sat just beside him on the throne. He looked down at the five loyalist prisoners and their captors. He adjusted the crown on his head, and continued to listen.

“We won’t let you get away with this!” A golden stallion from the group yelled.

A brown mare stepped forward from the group. “You can’t do this to us, the Alicorns will-“one of the guards kicked her in the side and growled, she fell to the ground in pain.
“You… your nothing but a pretender… and traitor! Our princess will return!” The mare on the ground strained to yell.

Sombra rose his hoof, causing a ripple in the surrounding crowd. If things were going to get better, others needed to see him as more than just another pony.

“You betray your fellow crystal ponies, and you call me the traitor?” he shook his head in disgust.

One of the guards escorting the prisoners stepped forward and bowed. “My king, have you had the opportunity to review the evidence?”

“I have,” he replied, “and I have found these five guilty of conspiracy to assassinate my appointed governors.”

Now was the punishment. He closed his eyes in thought, this wasn’t something he wanted to do. Misguided as they were, they were still his people. The punishment had to be something that everyone could remember, something that they wouldn’t forget so no one would try something like this again. He had to scare this rabble into submission. It would undoubtedly save more lives in the end, but would they still follow him after all was said and done?

Sombra rose from the throne. A black aura surrounded the golden pony, and dragged him forward. The aura pressed him to the ground, chocking the air from his lungs. He had gotten this far from taking risks, why not keep going?

There were plenty of other ways to execute a traitor. Perhaps he did want to do it, just without actually realizing it. Somehow, he felt compelled.

Sombra’s fangs dug into the stallion’s neck, crushing what little fleeting life he had left. The pony tried to kick and flail but the black aura held him firmly in place. Every time he tried to move, Sombra tightened his grip and dug his fangs in deeper.

The pony became lifeless; his blood collected on the carpet beneath. Sombra looked up to see the results of his actions. The guards looked on as if nothing had happened, trying to avoid eye contact. Some in the crowd had fainted, others stood shocked and wide eyed. A few had started making their way towards the exits.

Sombra motioned for the guards to intercept those who were leaving, they were probably the ones who would make trouble if he let them leave. They had to be dealt with now.

He wiped the blood from his mouth and returned to the throne, his queen was missing. He loved her so much, but how could she just leave in the middle of an audience? Hopefully no pony noticed. If she appeared disloyal, then what would others think of him? A queen that appeared to disapprove of the king’s actions was unacceptable.

The king growled in frustration, and patiently waited for those who had left to return under armed escort. As soon as the last had returned the guards closed the large golden doors at the end. The audience was frightened, but his guards remained emotionless.

“We must remain whole,” he announced, “we are threatened by countless horrors on all of our frontiers, and our enemies would see us torn amongst each other rather than fight us directly. They know they will lose if they fight us in the open, so they hide amongst us…”

The crowd grew even more nervous. The guards eyed them warily. His officers smiled in satisfaction, they were proud of their new king.

“I will do whatever it takes to make this world a better place…”

The black aura radiated from his form, bubbling as it crossed the room in the form of tentacles. They wrapped around those who had tried to leave. Their eyes began to glow green, and their faces contorted into horror and fear.

Half the room screamed and yelled as their worst fears came true before their own eyes. The other half looked on, trying to ignore what was happening; it was impossible to ignore. Many just collapsed in fear or burst into tears. They would remember this.

---“Imagine my surprise when I arrive to see how my mare is adjusting to her new life, and she is nowhere to be found.” Sombra said calmly, circling rarity like a shark with his crimson robe trailing behind him in the day room.
“Perhaps, it was my fault. After all, I didn’t tell you not to leave your room without an appropriate retinue accompanying you.”

The faded blue Pegasus captain stood like a statue in front of the door to the hallway. Trixie stood next to him, watching rarity with a smug look on her face. The two crystal attendants sat in front of the washroom, staring at the ground in a fearful manner.

“But then,” Sombra went on, “why did you decide to leave disguised as one of my acolytes, if you didn’t know you shouldn’t be leaving there should be no need to conceal your identity should there?”

He stopped, and stared at the attendants. “No, you are not at fault here are you my little mare? The attendants here never told you otherwise either, did they?” The two servants flinched as he spoke.

Rarity squeezed her eyes tightly and folded her ears back in fear. She had no idea what to do now. Her stomach churned, she felt like vomiting.

Sombra turned back to rarity. “I am not disappointed that you left your room. No, I expected that, I am disappointed that you would leave when I expected to see you.”
He moved closer to Rarity, and craned his neck to bury his nuzzle into her mane. She staggered as he pressed against her. Trixie bit her lower lip as she watched. “And you haven’t even been prepared yet.” He stepped back.
A strong fire roared on the hearth, cracking the wood and giving a glow that shined off the marble floors and walls. Even with its glow, the room was eerily dim.

“At any rate, I hope you understand now that you can’t leave here.” He sounded satisfied. “Its best you learned this lesson earlier rather than later, maybe you wi-“

“Shut up… you, you… monster!” She cut him off.

Rarity gulped and opened her eyes to stare into his. Her senses went numb as she spoke. “I…I’m not afraid of you,” she stuttered, “an… and… you don’t own me, you don’t own any pony!” She tried to yell. “You’re just a beast and a coward, a coward who tortures little fillies instead of fighting a real pony!”

She gulped. “You’ll fail this time like you always have! Princess Celestia and Luna-“

One of the attendants gasped. Sombra snapped his head back, and yanked her to him with his black aura. She let out a scream as he pushed her down, and stomped his hoof into her side. Rarity could hear the poor attendant’s ribs cracking under his strength. It seemed he was placing all his weight onto her. He dug his fangs into her neck and began shaking his head, twisting her neck back and forth until finally, he ripped open the mare’s throat.

The entire room stared at the sight. Rarity stepped back, frozen in terror as he stared at her with pure rage. His glowing green and red eyes pressed down on her, freezing her in place.

“How dare you speak that name! How dare you speak to me like that in front of my own servants!” he yelled with blood dripping from his maw.

Sombra bared his teeth as he stepped closer. Without another word he pushed her over and placed his hoof onto her side, slowly applying more and more pressure. Rarity screamed and began to flail about, kicking him several times, which didn’t faze him in the slightest. Sombra bent down and clenched his jaws around her throat, digging his fangs deeper and deeper into her neck.

Rarity closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do to fight back, she had never felt so helpless before in her life. Was this what dying was like, feeling so helpless and useless? She never thought she would end in such a horrible way, in the jaws of a demon. Her screams became a whimper, every time she let something out his jaws became tighter.

She started to cry. At least now she would never have to worry about anything again, but what about her sister? Hopefully he would spare her, doubtfully, or at least make her death quick. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

The pressure on her chest began to lighten, and she could feel his fangs sliding out of her flesh. Rarity panted as she struggled to breath, every breath burned her chest. Blood trickled down her neck from the bites.

She opened her eyes, barely, to see the captain’s hoof on one of Sombra’s forelegs. Sombra stepped back and attained a disturbingly calm composure; blood still covered his snout, and his black wings flared outward. His gown rested on the ground next to rarity. The captain took more than a few steps back from his master.

Rarity wanted to gasp in horror, but all that came out was another whimper; how could he be an Alicorn?

“Look what you made me do, you stupid mare.” Sombra growled. “Acolyte,” Trixie snapped to attention, “send for a healer and another attendant, now!”

“Yes master.” She bowed.

“Wait for me in my chambers after you have sent them.” he said under his breath. Trixie ran out without another word, she had heard.

Sombra folded his wings to his side and bent down towards Rarity. She tried to shy away, but she couldn’t move. She shook uncontrollably as tears trickled down her face. The pain was enough, but fear gripped her even tighter.

“You will learn that I do not make idle threats, and no pony speaks to me with such disrespect!” he spat. “I thought I made it clear at our first encounter that your sister suffers for your stupidity. If she lives past today, she will learn a very valuable lesson about respect!”

Rarity struggled to speak. “She…it’s not…pleas, I’m the one you should punish,” it was still painful to breath, “she doesn’t deserve it, I do.”

“Silence!” he snapped, kicking her across the floor. “I had hoped it did not come to this, that you would heed my first warning. I thought you were smarter than that.”

Sombra turned around and walked towards the door, dawning his robes. “Captain!” he glanced towards the Pegasus, “you will personally oversee the guard of my mare.”

“As you command master.” The Pegasus entered a deep bow.

Sombra looked back at Rarity, she still lay on the ground unable to move an inch. “Try to stay alive now. If you die, I might mistake your sister for a tasty snack.” Sombra and the captain left the room, slamming the door behind them.

Rarity shifted her eyes towards the dead attendant in the center of the room, even that simple action caused pain. The Jade attendant with the watery blue mane sat crying next to the lifeless corpse of the amber mare.

“Why… why did you anger him,” she cried, “She was so young… why couldn’t he just kill you instead?”

---“Captain, walk with me.” Sombra said; they began walking down the corridor followed by a silent entourage of nobles and officers. The captain took his place on Sombra’s left.

Sombra was angered that he had failed so badly to control his temper, he thought he had been doing much better. There was just something wonderfully intoxicating about the feeling of warm flesh and blood, every time his heart beat faster it was all he could think about.

He shouldn’t have hurt his crystal servant; that angered him more than anything.

“Some pony fetch me crystals!” he snapped to no pony in particular. Several ponies trailing behind them darted off.

There was so much to do, too much on his mind. Sombra just wanted to rip something apart, to do that without another thought in the world. His nose twitched as he smelled the fear wafting through the air.

“Captain,” he tried to speak in a calm voice, “you will be watching the mare, see to it personally that she does not leave her room again unless under heavy escort, and assume control of my guard.”

“Yes master.” He spoke meekly.

“Don’t make me regret putting her in your care, do you understand? I don’t want a reason to kill you.” His nose twitched again, he had to shift his attention before he snapped again.

The smell of fear grew as the group climbed the stairs that wrapped around the spire’s interior. His jaws began to ache.

“Tell me captain, where did you find my mare?” Sombra asked.

“She was trying to gain entry to that Sweetie Belle’s quarters,” the Pegasus said.

“Of course,” he muttered. It was obvious that she would try to escape with her sister, an attempt was inevitable. He had hoped she would wait at least a few more days.

“it’s good that we get that out of the way now I suppose, at least she knows now she can’t escape, but what were you doing up here?”

“I noticed the chests of tailoring supplies delivered to her room just before she arrived last night, and I recalled what my daughter had told me about lady Rarity and her affinity for clothing.” The captain couldn’t help but grin, he enjoyed mentioning anything about his daughter.

“A chest you say?” there was a hint of anger in his voice now, the desire for blood began to pool in the back of his mind again. He should have stayed away from this line of questioning, he didn’t want to hurt one of his most loyal officers by mistake.

“Yes master, I felt it would be more appropriate if I watched over her sister’s room personally. I didn’t want one of my men injuring… your mare… by mistake when she came by.” He said nervously.

They reached his quarters where a stallion and mare stood with large platters of crystals. They glowed vibrantly, and smelled wonderful. He didn’t savor them though, in seconds his aura drained the crystals. It was like drinking after days of no water, crystals always dimmed his appetite but he was still hungry for flesh.

The two ponies stood side by side as he inspected them. The orange and green stallion had a healthy stout figure, plenty of thick musculature. The grey mare, a Pegasus, had a plump figure and strong wings. He salivated just looking at them, both good choices.

Trixie rounded a corner down the hall. She looked as though she had been running, and she no longer wore the acolyte’s robes but instead dawned a transparent blue silk gown.

Sombra waved his hoof in dismissal. The two ponies bowed in silent relief and backed away. The rest of his entourage stepped back, exchanging silent conversations with one another, but avoiding their master’s eyes.

Trixie stopped in front of him, and looked up at him with pleasing eyes. He scowled at her, but said nothing and motioned for her to enter his quarters. She entered without hesitation, Sombra followed behind and slammed the doors shut.

Immediately inside his quarters was a dayroom with obsidian walls and floors. In the center of the room sat an empty stone pedestal, shelves with books and assorted trinkets lined the walls. A fire roared on the fireplace, and glistened off the black mirror like floors.

They entered his room where the curtains to the balcony had already been drawn shut, if not for another fireplace in the room, it would have been pitch black. Sombra began to circle Trixie, the room began to grow colder.

“Every time you give me reason to trust you, you do something foolish to change my mind,” he growled, “I question whether or not I should keep you.”

Trixie stared at the ground and folded her ears back. It looked as though she were on the verge of tears. She wasn’t afraid, but genuinely regretful and ashamed of her actions. She didn’t smell of fear, but a pleasant aroma of perfume he recalled from one of their first encounter.

“You knew she would act that way, you knew she would defy me!” he spat. She cringed at every word.

He trembled with anger. “You forced me to corner her, and like any animal… I expected to have that encounter at least a few days from now, when she had already been broken!”

Sombra raised a hoof, and planted it squarely on Trixie’s back. She collapsed to the floor, but not before she let out a quick whimper. He shifted his weight to allow her to breath.

“Why?” he snapped, “why are we having yet another discussion like this, and why is one of my crystal attendants dead?!”

“Master… I was only trying to help!” she panted, “I thought-“

“Help?!” he yelled. Trying to help, that was obviously a lie, Sombra wasn’t a fool. The mare was obviously trying to sabotage his efforts. “Mare, there is a reason you are in this position… now don’t lie to me.”

“It’s the truth master! I thought if she tried to escape early on, she wouldn’t try later when that foolish captain’s soldiers let their guard down!” She spoke quickly, “and… and now she won’t resist you, she has felt first hand your wrath; she wouldn’t dare disrespect you again!”

He shook his head, then shifted his weight to her back, slowly crushing the breath from her lungs. His nose twitched again, but it was the aroma of that perfume again. There was no enjoying it if he had the taste of that in his mouth, but this wasn’t about enjoyment.

He pushed the thought of the perfume from his head. His blood boiled, his anger seethed, he didn’t want to think about anything other than making this fool hurt and suffer.

She didn’t fight back, didn’t even try; not a single whimper came from her. She only stared up at him with those pleasing violet eyes, crying without a sound. Why did she always just take it? All of his other servants, no matter how devoted, always fought back or resisted in some way. If they didn’t fight back they at least screamed or yelled in fear.

A weak knock came from the door. It was the page. Sombra lifted his hoof from Trixie’s back. “Enter!” he yelled.

The door opened just big enough for the young sun colored colt to enter. He took one step in then dropped to the floor in a bow.

“What are you doing here?!” Sombra snapped.

“M-master…” Sun Dew stammered, “I thought you wanted to see me after your visit to the lady’s quarters this morning…”

Sombra growled and closed his eyes. His hunger seemed to disappear with his anger, just looking at that colt was enough to cool his blood.

“I did.” He finally replied, his voice was calm again. It took him a moment to remember what exactly he wanted to tell the colt, his line of thinking had been ruined by this morning.

“Yes, I would like to give you more responsibility, something to test you.” He said, it was a wonder he was so calm now. “I thought of it last night after you had already left.”

“I would like to have you personally oversee my mare’s sister’s safety. Organize her guard and retinue. Ensure she does not leave her quarters without a sufficient guard and is back in her room before nightfall, in the event I have any lessons I wish to teach her.” He grinned, baring his teeth.

The colt raised a brow in curiosity. “She’s allowed out of her room?” he asked carefully. “Aren’t they prisoners master?”

Sombra sighed, “Only of circumstance, unless they disobey me. They are not prisoners of war, nor have they committed any crime. Think of them as disobedient pets that might run away if not watched.”

“I understand master.” The page said.

It was a wonder what that colt did to him when he was around. Sombra still couldn’t exactly figure out why.

Sun Dew looked towards the ground. “Did… did you want your midday meal… master?” he asked reluctantly. “I… I can find you some better choices… if that’s what you want.”

Sombra rolled his eyes, and pat the colt on the head. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’ve lost my appetite for some reason. Besides, I haven’t slept in days and it isn’t good to eat right before you sleep.”

His page took a breath of relief. The colt obviously didn’t like bringing his meals, but he would get used to it eventually. Perhaps one day he would even join him.

“Speak to Captain Rainbow if you have any questions about the guard, and make sure they are not out of their quarters at the same time; keep them separated unless I say otherwise. You are dismissed.”

“Yes master.” The colt bowed once more, and darted out of the room.

Sombra turned and walked towards his bed, he glanced at Trixie trying to rise from the floor. He had almost forgot about her, but he had suddenly become tired and didn’t care to deal with her now. Without a thought he threw off his cloak and crown and climbed onto the bed, resting on top of the crimson sheets.

Before he closed his eyes, he forced himself to sense the shield he had placed over the city. It would keep his mother from spying on his and his servants’ dreams, mostly by preventing any pony from having them at all. A small price to pay.

He spread his wings across the bed and closed his eyes. It didn’t take long to fall asleep, but just a few moments later he began to feel something shaking on his chest, and barely opened his eyes.

Of all the things that mare could do. Did she want to die? Trixie lay on top of his wing with her forehead pressed against his chest, shaking but somehow asleep, or at least pretending. She no longer wore the silk gown, but still smelled of that sweet perfume; the aroma smelled even stronger now.

Sombra growled but Trixie didn’t budge. He really didn’t want to deal with her anymore, and her shaking was annoying him to no end. This was going to stop tonight, she needed to remember her place. If she couldn’t, then he would have to end her once and for all.

Trixie began to shake more vigorously. Sombra didn’t notice the cold anymore, not since his banishment. He was never going to fall asleep if she kept shaking though. Without a thought, he pulled her tightly against his chest, and wrapped his wings around her.

She was surprisingly warm, it was strangely comforting to feel that warmth. She nestled closer to his chest, forcing him to feel her soft coat and mane. Trixie still shook a little, he must have broken her ribs a few moments ago.

The black aura wrapped around Trixie’s comparatively small form. She was exceptionally small and fragile in his hooves. He should have just broken her neck then and there, but instead he healed her with a delicate touch so she wouldn’t wake up. It would be more satisfying to break every bone in her body when the time came rather than have several already damaged.

Why did things have to be so complicated? Sombra remembered back before he was a king, those days where so much easier. He remembered the days when he would lay in bed with his wife… he wondered if she was still alive.