Sombra looked towards the south.
“So, they say that the lord of Chaos have been defeated,” Sombra said to himself as changed his view to his Crystal Empire. Everyone looked happy and the fear from fighting Discord had vanished from everyones faces. “This is going to end well after all,” Sombra said with a smile as he went back into the castle.
On the inside everything, shined like it had just been polished and there hung a tone of joy and celebration in the air. Sombra\s stomach rumbled loudly and he began to head for the kitchen where the smells of all kinds of Crystal Imperial dishes were made. As Sombra walked in the busy kitchen the chefs bowed but Sombra told them to continue their work and he just came to have a check if they needed anything. The master chef ensured Sombra they had everything they needed and when Sombra was about to leave he saw a plate of sweetrolls, as he took the closest he realized a maid was watching him so he gave her a wink and left with the sweetroll. As Sombra walked down the shining hallway he took a bite and thought there was just a little bit too much cinnamon in it but it was not bad at all and for today he thought it did not matter at all as it was a day to celebrate freedom for the newly founded Kingdom of Equestria.
Sombra sat in a meeting room filled with the finest handcrafted things in the whole of the Crystal Empire, with ambassadors and diplomats from his Crystal Empire and the new Kingdom of Equestria and spoke about trade, military and alliance agreements. As the meeting ended and the Equestrian was just about to leave Sombra said he one last thing.
“As a gift and to help future cooperation I will grand the Two Sisters a whole new castle from my own wallet.” He told them, the ambassadors and diplomats said it was surely something to be remembered and strengthen the bond between them. As they left one of Sombra's ambassadors came over.
“My Lord was that not a bit too much to give them?” he asked Sombra who shook his head.
“No not really, remember that I'm still without a queen and if one of the two sisters and I gets married I also get the Kingdom of Equestria,” Sombra said with a smirk, “And if not... Well it does not matter the Empire is the healthiest and richest in the known world.”
The ambassador looked at his king and complemented, “You are a very sneaky my Lord King, I have to admit,” Sombra and the ambassador began to laugh as they left the meeting room together.
As word reached Sombra that the Royal sisters had accepted Sombra's gift with humble open arms and had sent an invite for a royal gala where nobles, ambassadors, diplomats and royalty from other kingdoms and nations attended. As Sombra left the Crystal Empire he left his most trusted adviser in charge while he was gone. He slowly got deeper into the blooming Equestria the people seemed to have heard about him and saluted him. Sombra sat in the cart smiling and waving to the common people and at one point he drove through this thick forest by this old weird looking hut between the trees, he thought he saw children running around.
“Stop the cart,” Sombra ordered and stepped outside looking around, “Anyone here?”
“My Lord, we should not linger here,” A guard said as his horse paced up to the King, who was looking around to see if his eyes had tricked him.
As he was about to turn around, he and his guards heard child laugher coming from the hut and now Sombra was determined to find out who it was and began to walk directly towards the hut, which could collapse anytime.
“If there is anyone in here, I demand that you come forth,” Sombra ordered in a very irritated voice. Soon after, an old hunch backed lady walked into the light.
“I'm so terribly sorry my King Sombra, but it looks like my children have been playing with you,” she told Sombra, “As an apology, let me show you the future.”
Sombra stood uneasily, but thought to himself what harm it could do to play along, so he agreed. The old lady showed him an accident mirror from before 'the War of the Three Tribes' and as Sombra was told to stare into it, he began to see his Crystal Empire dull and enslaved, but he could not see by who, because no matter who he focused on they changed their appearance.
“What is this? Stop it right now!” Sombra ordered in a tone so loud and pleading that his guards came running in with their weapons drawn.
“My Lord!” the front guard yelled but stopped, “Um My Lord is everything okay?”
“The old lady,” Sombra told the guards, as he held his arm in front of his eyes to not see more of this horror. As he took it down, he saw that no one was there. “Did anyone leave this room?” Sombra asked with a cracked voice, but the guards had not seen anyone. As Sombra sat down in his cart he looked towards the old hut and in the window he saw the old lady. He ordered them to get out of the forest at once. He heard the old lady's laugher and he felt coldness in his heart and bones.
When Sombra arrived at Celestia’s and Luna's castle, which he had funded, he was greeted by them both in person and received a kiss on each cheek from them both. Celestia stood in a long white and golden dress, while Luna wore a deep blue and silver shining dress with the symbol of the moon on the same spot where Celestia's had a sun. They shone like the sun and the moon.
“Your Honor,” Celestia and Luna said as they bowed, “We are most humble that thou hast given us this amazing castle,” Celestia continued. “We are most honored that thou hast come to celebrate Discords defeat,” Luna said before Celestia could say anymore, Sombra giggled as he saw Celestia scowling at her sister.
“O' come now my dear princesses, why not show me your beautiful castle and introduce me to the other kings and queens?” Sombra asked with a small laugh, as he took both Celestia and Luna under his arms.
As they walked inside, Sombra was amazed by how well the craftsmen had used his money. Everywhere he looked he saw small details, different kinds of armor, banners dedicated to the sisters, but his favorite thing in the whole castle was a giant strain-glass showing how they had defeated Discord and when Sombra found out the statue of Discord stood just outside in the Royal Garden, he became so excited he almost tripped over his own feet. Out in the garden Sombra looked upon the castle and it shone like the sun and moon itself.
“It truly is beautiful,” Sombra turned around and saw Celestia come towards him, “I'm surprised that you gave such a gift,” Celestia looked Sombra in the eyes.
“Well I'm just pleased that the lord of Chaos will not attack my Empire. Where is he even?” Sombra asked with a tone which Celestia knew that he wanted to see Discord and showed him.
“By the Crystal Heart!” Sombra stood there with his jaw hanging while he saw the Draconequus, “How did you even defeat him?” Sombra looked at Celestia who began to tell the story, as they went back inside.
As the gala went on and they toasted in honor of King Sombra's donation of the castle, everyone befriended Sombra and even Saddle Arabia wanted to trade, but Sombra who, had become a bit too drunk to think straight, humbly asked it to wait until he had become sober again.
When the life of the gala began to die out, Sombra was also pretty tired and wanted to have a good nights rest. Out in the large hallways, he got lost, but when he finally found a large bedroom with no one in It, he thought that as good as anywhere else. Sombra drunkenly staggered over to the bed and took of his clothes and after a small fight with the bed he got in it. As Sombra lay in the bed just about to fall, still hearing some of the other guests talking outside, he saw the door open but he was too tired to lift his head and see who it was. Sombra was just about to fall asleep, when he felt someone going into the other side of the bed and as he mumbled something he heard Celestia tell him that after all, he was in her bed. Sombra raised his upper body and turned his head towards Celestia but before he realized what happened she pulled him down, kissed him and pulled the covers over them.
When Sombra returned to the Crystal Empire, he felt it was going to be a good reign with the newly forged alliance with Equestria and all the trading . The Crystal Empire's wealth grew faster and faster, but Sombra soon noticed some weird things happening. Castle guards who stood in the wrong place, conversations in an unknown language and sometimes a green flash before he turned around a corner. Sombra began talking with those closest to him and found out the same had happened to them, but some guards had refused to talk to them in certain areas. Sombra began to hire spies to find out what in the name of the Crystal Heart was going on. When he one day was told by a spy, that he had seen a guard charge appearance into a diplomat, Sombra remembered the things he had seen in the mirror on his way to the royal gala and ordered it brought to him at once. Sombra kept walking around the castle uneasily, armed with a sword. But before the mirror was in his possession, he found himself, as he was walking up some stairs, under attack.
“For the King!” his attacker yelled, but Sombra quickly drew his sword and parried the dagger his attacker used.
Sombra stood there for a second and looked his enemy in the eyes and saw a small quick green flash, before he threw himself forwards and with the tip of his sword he pierced the heart of the attacker and a thick green liquid flowed out. As the body hit the stairs, it changed into this almost shell looking human and the liquid slowly flowed down towards the bottom were some guards stood as they had heard the attack.
“Stay back!” Sombra ordered, as the sweat could be seen on his forehead, “I can and will defend myself if needed!” the guards ensured Sombra they were his own men, “Prove it,” Sombra's tone had changed to a mistrusting one and he held his sword close and the only way the guards could think of proving themselves right was to throw down their weapons and walk towards him with raised arms.
Two days after the attack, Sombra had gathered the wisest men in the known world to tell what thing had attacked him. Many had never read or heard about such a thing until a wizard in a long night sky robe and a pointy hat with bells, laid eyes upon the hopeful King Sombra.
“I know what it is,” the wizard said in a slow voice, “And I fear more might already be on the way.”
“Well? What is it?”
“It is what we would call 'a changeling', they are from a time before the tree tribes and feast on love and happiness and I fear your Crystal Empire is filled with it,” the old wizard said.
“Hmmm,” Sombra paused and looked around, “Is there any way to stop them?” Sombra could feel he needed something to go with.
“There is one way,” the wizard said as Sombra's eyes filled with hope, “But I fear you won't like it. The only known way to defeat them is to kill them.”
“I somehow feared you would say that, but very well,” Sombra said with a heavy tone followed by a sigh , “But tell me wizard, what is your name,”
“My name is Star Swirl the Bearded,” the wizard answered.
“In that case thank you, Star Swirl the Bearded, please accept these books as a gift for the help.” Sombra waved a librarian over who held three accident books and Star Swirls eyes shined as he saw it was the only three books he needed to complete his new spell.
“Thank you, you are a true king, King Sombra,” Star Swirl said as he bowed, took the books and left.
As time went by, Sombra prepared for the changeling attack and called for help from his allies, but answers never came back. Sombra grew more and more irritated over the fact that Celestia and Luna had not answered yet.
“How dare they break the treaty so soon?” Sombra asked himself angrily and threw a vase into the wall, “Damn them and damn be their kingdom.” The two guards who stood outside came in when they heard the vase shattered.
“My Lord, nothing is sure yet,” a guard said.
“We are not even sure if an attack will come at all,” the second guard said uneasily.
“We had an agreement! In case of a threat, they should have sent a general to judge if we could win it ourselves or not,” Sombra's fury grew stronger and he began splitting the room apart, “Once this is over, I will march my army to their doorstep and kill them with my own hands!” Sombra did not see the two guards leave the room.
As Sombra left the room a noble came over to him.
“My King, we have found a new kind of crystal and I thought you would have a look,” the noble said and pulled out a crystal and passed it to Sombra.
As Sombra hold the crystal he felt a huge amount of power flowed through him and mumbled the word 'crystals' to him. And as he stood there gazing on the crystal the noble asked if he was okay.
“Uh, um yes I'm fine thank you,” Sombra said a bit confused, “But mine more of those crystal, they do look strong and I do think our blacksmith can work with them.”
When the lord went away to make sure more crystals were mined, Sombra headed towards the library and was sure he could find something on those crystals.
It had been a month since Sombra had first seen the new crystals and he had just received his new battle armor with the crystals in to make it harder than steel. Sombra had ordered drills every day since the attack and as he overlooked todays drill from his balcony, something that looked like a big black mass in the horizon drew closer and closer and suddenly the sound of feet hitting the ground could be heard. Sombra watched closely, but when he saw what it was he knew the hour had come.
“Sound the alarm; our enemy is nearing our gates!” Sombra yelled down to the soldiers below him and ran down to the castle gates. As he got outside, he saw how the Crystal Imperial Army lined up facing the changelings. Sombra ordered the army forward and as he walked with large steps towards the enemy, the army followed.
Out on the field, Sombra and his army lined up and waited, but as the enemy forces were still far away, Sombra stepped forward and knelt. As Sombra was kneeling he felt the field beneath him and looked at his men, seeing how scared they were.
“Sons and daughters of the Crystal Empire,” Sombra spoke loudly, as he turned to face them, “I know little about our enemy, but I know you will fight for me. I do not want you to fight for me but fight instead for the Empire, for your wives, husbands and your freedom!” Sombra said, hoping to boost their morale.
As the Changeling army closed in, Sombra began to hear a language he didn't know, but then again their race was almost a thousand years old and mostly unknown. As they were close enough for Sombra to look at them he thought they looked like a corpse mixed with a bug shell and the smell was terrible. Sombra could hear how his men slowly lost the will to fight, so he asked the changelings what king led them and forth came a weird looking person.
“I am King Salot the Omnivorous, King of the Changelings and we are here to feast upon your love and happiness whilst your land is in ruins,” the changeling said with an insect voice so that shivers ran down Sombra's spine.
“You will not destroy my empire, you foul thing,” Sombra snarled and drew his sword, “Go back to the past where you belong!” Sombra saw how the changeling army had slowly begun moving forward, so Sombra raised his sword and ordered an attack. He heard the battle cries of thousands of soldiers behind him on this dead and cold field, all fighting of the empire.
Sombra quickly looked back and saw how his men were doing, due to the fact he could not hear the difference between his own men and his enemies, but as he watched soldiers on both sides get decapitated, stomachs sliced open and guts falling to the ground, blood and the thick green liquid were being mixed on the field as people stepped and fell in it.
Sombra saw through the corner of his eye, someone or something was about to attack him, so he pointed his sword its way, turned and thrust, piercing a changeling close enough so its blood splattered on his face and he almost vomited because of the stench. As soon as Sombra recovered, he realized he was losing and was being surrounded. As he fought off an attacker, he watched as one of his generals was being slain right in front of him and the slayer paced towards Sombra who mumbled some words.
Just before the slayer raised his weapon, Sombra made eye contact and yelled, “Enough!” and the slayer flew back as a crystal had short from the earth and hit him. Sombra rose; “Leave my empire alone!” and hundreds of changelings flew through the air and broke their bones once they landed on the ground like rocks. “Leave now and never come back!” Sombra raised both his arms while an aura of dark magic sprang from his eyes and the crystals around him began to fly around and the battle slowed down and everyone watched. When Sombra lowered his arms the crystals had turned into flesh and blood and made a crystal dragon which with a hit from a front leg killed tree dozens of changelings.
“We can win this!” Sombra told his men as he looked at them, “To victory and freedom!” he yelled as he once more charged his enemies and his army quickly reformed and followed.
The battle line became so thick that stabbing was the only thing that really did any damage, but with the crystal dragon on Sombra's side he quickly forced the changelings to flee, but in the chaos Sombra saw King Salot trying to make his army stay, so Sombra lashed towards him trying to pierce King Salot where his heart would have been. Salot, who had gotten most of the changelings back in the fight blocked Sombra's attack and now stood face to face with Sombra.
“Your reign is near its end you fool,” King Salot snarled in a tone which echoed the bloody and cold battlefield.
“I will fight to my last breath if that is needed and so will my men,” Sombra tried his best not to lose his head and prepared for a new attack, but missed.
As Sombra and Salot were locked in a deadly combat, soldiers around on both sides fought.
Sombra dodged, but was knocked over and just as King Salot raised his weapon, Sombra blindly thrusted towards his enemy
As the changeling king stood there with Somba's sword inside him,”You idiot! You cannot kill like that,” he hissed at Sombra.
Sombra got back up covered in blood and mud, pulled out a dagger and planted it in Salot's neck and pulled across so a fountain of the thick green liquid sprayed Sombra in the face before he passed out.
As Sombra woke, most of court stood around him as he realized he was in a bed back in the castle.
“What happened?” Sombra asked as he took himself to the head, “And everyone else get lost,” he snarled as he could fell a headache began to come over him.
As he had asked, a few generals told him what had happened after he had passed out. The crystal dragon had crumbled into dust, the changelings fled and had not been seen near the borders.
As time passed by, Sombra ordered more and more people to mine for the crystals that he had used to defeat the changelings and soon he enslaved those who refused to mine willingly. Sombra got letters from most of his allies asking and pleading him to release his people, but Sombra had only one thing on his mind.
Sombra stood on his balcony, watching over the miners and gazed out onto the unfertile fields around his empire. He heard footsteps and chains coming his way and in the corner of his eye, he saw a plate with something on it and as he grabbed it he looked down in his hand and smiled.
“Crystals.”
