Crystal Knight

Sombra took in a sharp breath of air as he looked out over the blue and green crystallized field that they now stood upon. Beside him Surefire stood, her tunic and loose pants blowing slightly in the wind. She brushed a strand of yellow hair out of her eyes. “There is a lot of them.”

He could only nod as two figures started making their way over to his location. “More than I had expected. Are you sure your knights will not be overwhelmed?”

A small smile crossed Surefire’s lips. “Even if we are, our lives are merely pennies to fund your dream, my lord.”

A slight chuckle came from Sombra. “You have always known just what to say.” He glanced back as the armor of his opponents shone in the light. “You should be going. That way you have plenty of time to get dressed and join your squad.” He turned to her when she stood still. “I gave you an order.”

“I… I know, but are you sure you do not wish for me to stay here? Be closer at hand, if not merely for moral support?”

He sighed deeply as he noted the wringing out of her fingers. “Such a loyal assassin, aren’t you? I promise, I will be fine. Fulfill your part, and the two of us will get the dream I imagine.” He paused for a few moments and gave the side of her face a gentle brush. “I may even reward you by making your dream come true afterwards. I know your loyalty deserves much by now, my queen.”

Her eyes widened at the words and she bowed deeply to hide the excited blush across her face. “I look forward to our foes falling before your boots.” She then spread her wings and took to the sky.

Sombra couldn’t help but grin at the flying figure. She had been his lead assassin before being trapped for a thousand years and had easily slipped into being the head of his elite Crystal Knights. He knew she had strong feelings for him and his plans, and he would be lying to himself if that fact did not comfort him on the colder nights. A scowl came across his face as he started to shake his head. Come now Sombra, now is not the time to dwell on past misconceptions of what rulers should be like. You came here to kill the princesses, and that is exactly what you will do.

Speaking of which... He stepped forward in his light chainmail tunic and leather pants that were padded by a small metal plates within the fabric, all designed to encourage movement. This was a drastic change to the princesses’ own enchanted armors. Celestia was clad in gold while Luna wore cold, black iron. “Come now girls, not willing to wear something a little flashier for today?”

Luna turned away and Celestia sighed. Both of their armors covered most of them, an almost necessity seeing as they were fighting not only a unicorn, but someone with control of the very environment they stood upon. At least, if nothing has changed. “We are not here to play games, Sombra. We are here for the duel you arranged.”

He nodded slightly to Celestia, taking in the thin rapier by her side and the dual daggers and longsword that Luna carried. So they haven’t changed, even after all these years. Thank goodness. “Come now, a little banter before a fight is almost customary.”

Luna growled at him. “I doubt coming in your peasant’s clothing is customary.”

Sombra raised an eyebrow. “I suppose. Though, I wanted to offer you another chance to not fight before we began and they fit far more for such proceedings.”

Luna chuckled as she glanced beyond Sombra to the ‘army’ that was a few hundred yards away. “I don’t think you’re in a position to claim that, what with that pathetic force you call an army backing you now.”

His gaze hardened and his right fist clenched. “I would not be so quick to criticize if I were the one to be made a fool simply by a few hundred flags.”

Celestia held up a hand to cut her sister off. “We estimate your real force to be maybe one to every four of our own. Those are not good odds for you, so please be so kind as to lay down your weapons and we can discuss a peaceful route to end this violence.”

Sombra looked between the two for a few moments before shaking his head. “You still have to fight me, regardless of how many troops I have. Or have you turned into some sort of tyrant willing to kill my paltry force because it wouldn’t take you more than a few moments of bother.”

“I would never do such a thing.”

Luna couldn’t stop Celestia as a cruel smile spread over Sombra’s lips. “How true, I suppose. About not doing anything at least. In fact, I believe your niece found that out first hand as my cock took away everything from her right in front of her dying husband.”

Celestia paled. “Yo-you didn–”

Sombra’s smile spread over his whole face as oily, black tendrils came from Celestia to him. “I think I remember her even praying. Something like, ‘Sunshine, sunshine.’ I can only guess it was hoping you would come to save her. But you didn’t, did you?” His face became deathly serious now, only inches away from Celestia’s as Luna unsheathed her blades. “Instead, you just sent some simpering purple sop who couldn’t give two fucks about anything but a test. A test–”

“Shut up!”

“That you–”

“Shut up!”

“Gave.”

Crack.

Neither mare had been watching Sombra’s feet, having been too wrapped up in watching his hands and face as the tension had risen. His steel boot had slammed into the ground and before Celestia could react, a black spike came up from the from the ground. She barely moved fast enough not to be spitted right there, but instead received a gash over her right cheek.

The armies, full of ponies who expected to see their diarchs relieve them of all worry, prove that nothing would go wrong that day, didn’t see Luna slice into Sombra’s side and push him back. They only saw what looked like Celestia being wounded and stepping back.

Luna jumped back as Sombra brought around his massive greatsword. She tensed her legs, ready to spring forward, just as a heart shaped glow appeared beneath his chainmail. She shifted her aim for it, but her knife shot out at the same moment that hundreds of black tendrils enveloped him. Her dagger screamed off of metal as they swirled around his form.

A black, gauntleted hand shot out of the writhing mass and grabbed her arm before yanking her off balance and then throwing her to the ground. The tendrils started to become whole as a spiked, iron greave came down on her stomach. Luna’s own protection spell was all that stopped her ribs from shattering. Sombra came out from the mass with a dark aura surrounding his body and full heavy armor.

Celestia watched as Luna rolled away from Sombra and a large cloud of dust filled the air, originating from where his sword had met the ground. She had to focus, had to get the image of that bastard doing… doing... She shut her eyes tight. Luna is in trouble. Whatever happened when he came back, it has changed the circumstances and you have been a fool for falling for his tricks. Now grab that anger, focus it, and protect your people! Her eyes popped open with bright suns instead of pupils.

Luna continued her own retreat now as she tried to come to grips with the sudden speed that Sombra seemed to have gained, and the feeling that she was somehow being attacked by a greatsword that was wielded with the speed of a dagger. She pushed back with her wings, ducking beneath his swipe and putting him between herself and the magical surge she’d just felt. Sombra stood staring straight down the path of a giant ball of fire and light.

The ensuing explosion shook the ground as Luna flew back to her sister. “Impressive.”

Celestia panted and shook her head. “It has been far too long since I’ve been in comba–”

Luna tackled Celestia out of the way as a jet black beam shot through the air right where they had been standing. Sombra stepped out of the dust, scowling. “Get back here!”

Celestia spread her wings and shot into the air while Luna turned around to face their opponent. Sombra scame forward, his armor scratched and his left arm and leg uncovered from the blast. His sword came through the air, but he expected Luna’s dodge. What he hadn’t expected were the dark blue sparkles that were left in the air as his foot stamped down on nothing. He growled and glanced up to where the two sisters were.

They glanced at each other as a crystal spire rose up from the ground, launching Sombra into the air. Celestia’s horn glowed a vibrant yellow and the blast shot him straight back to the ground. Luna’s follow up coated him with dark blue magic, pinning him to place. “It won’t hold him like last time.”

Celestia nodded and started to hover closer and closer to Luna. “Lets make this quick then, and don’t hold back. Kill him, don’t just seal him.”

Luna looked back to her sister and nodded as her horn started to glow. Sombra looked up from ground and started to hyperventilate. A strange sense of deja vu came over him as those two hovered in the air with him pinned to the ground, desperately attempting to free himself before their horns touched. Any moment now, he would be gone, turned into shadows again, forced to feel that painful agony for another thousand years. He shut his eyes as a tear came down his face. My kingdom. My land to rule, to control, to make my own as I wish instead of being trapped in a bubble by these witches, all to be lost again.

Crack!

Celestia’s eyes gazed deeply into Luna’s. Any moment now their magics would connect, their auras would become one, and she would become one with her sister for just a moment, a feat they had done only a handful of times before. She watched as Luna’s cocky smirk suddenly changed, and instead of feeling a surge of power and love, she felt fear, surprise, and above all else, pain, just before her sister started to fall.

Sombra ran towards the site where Luna was falling, but Celestia recovered from her shock just a moment too soon. Another large crash of fire and light cut him off before he got too far. Celestia landed next to Luna as she shook on the ground and she immediately threw up a barrier to protect them as she assessed damages. “Sister, stay still.”

“It… it hurts. Celestia, it hurts.”

“I know, just give me five seconds. Erect a barrier or something.” She smiled as Luna’s horn glowed. “Good girl.” Celestia’s own magic was already coating Luna and starting to attempt to heal the fractured ribs that her sister had just received. She turned her over and stared at a purple crystalline shaft that stuck into the base of her left wing. “How?”

A sudden slam against the field brought her attention to a large crack within her shield and the arrowhead that now stuck through from the direction of Sombra’s men. Her eyes narrowed as she stood up and drew her rapier, ready to defend her sister from both fronts if she had to. I hope.

This was about the same time that the shock had finally worn off on Spear Tip and he shook his head furiously. “Men, get up! The bastard cheated and now we need to get in there to set the scales right!” He stumbled as the ground shook and a dark cloud that had surrounded Sombra sank into the ground.

A large wall of black crystal started to slowly rise between Sombra and the Equestrian army. Spear’s eyes followed the massive columns and grimaced as they cut off just before interrupting the enemy’s ability to get behind it. He looked to his lieutenants. “Get your troops up as fast as you can. If we don’t get over there soon, the Princesses will have almost a hundred more enemies on top of them!”

“Bu-but sir, he just–”

He grabbed the stallion by the collar and growled. “Do I look like I care? Now move!” He tossed the stallion and watched as others started to move. A quick glance back up, and he saw another two shafts go behind the wall. We need to move. Now.

The squads soon surged forward. Despite the hurry, they knew better than to completely abandon formation, lest they wanted to be lose their numbers advantage to a bad start. Sombra’s army stayed where they were, but a strange mixture of auras started to appear at the front. A command was given and shieldman soon were to the front of each squad in order to take any magic that may have been coming.

The auras sank in at the same time as Sombra’s men surged forward. The shieldman soon found themselves alone as spikes of blue, green, and purple crystal rose up from behind them and impaled the front ranks of the Equestrian army.

Knight Shield took the brunt of his first attacker’s sword against his shield as he thrust outwards, cutting open another enemy’s stomach. A third came, but a heavy push against his new army issue kite shield forced the first off and into the second. He felt his mouth drying as he backed up towards the wall that was getting most of his kindred shield users killed. A quick glance up allowed him to spot arrows flying above him as pegasi tried to come over the wall as backup. Those aren’t the large ones, though. Not like the one that took Princess Luna down. His attention came back forward as he had to quickly back and now felt the cool crystal against his back.

Boom!

The section of the wall next to him suddenly came apart as thick pieces of shrapnel cleared the men in front of him. A small swarm of arrows filled the gap and felled another group of enemies before any more infantry made their way through. The reinforcements were quickly cut off though, as green spikes impaled a few while closing the gap, albeit briefly. Knight couldn’t linger on his luck or the chaos though. Equestrian or Sombric, neither mattered, not when compared to the pink mare with a bow almost the size of her body that was firing oversized, crystal arrows behind the black wall.

He made his way slowly through, ignoring the death around him and concentrating on whatever lay before him and wore the wrong armor. Knight couldn’t focus on the fact that the person who he had just spitted on his sword had a face like his or any others, only on the fact that a monster had to be killed and as always, it was his job to kill the monster.

Surefire continued to fire upon the weak barriers Celestia erected with a small, sick smile over her face. She had made the princess unable to walk because an arrow through her leg, but it was that, or one through Luna’s skull. Sombra of course wouldn’t relent, not that he had any reason to with a Celestia who was hampered by only being able to fly. Flight that would do her no good because if Celestia went too high into the air, Sombra would have a clear path to her sister, but on the ground she simply couldn’t beat Sombra’s destructive force while her arrows shot past her head. Just as it should be.

A purple glow came from next to her and a dark green stallion with black hair crawled out of it. “You need to get better at that.”

“And you need to pull your weight. Scan for the troops that get too close, or you’ll get the lancing you deserve.”

For a moment she considered ignoring her second in command’s words as he sank back into the ground, a special trick he still wouldn’t share with her. However, she couldn’t deny he was at least somewhat correct, though she would keep that ‘as you deserve’ comment in mind for after the battle if the prick was still alive. Besides, my lord has it under control over there, just as I do over here. She kept her arms at full draw as she spun on her toes a full one hundred-eighty degrees and fired her heavy shaft into a shield man coming towards her. Another arrow was already growing out of the ground and she panted as the shard in her chest grew hot.

Knight flinched slightly as the man next to him crumpled, his limbs contracting to the arrow that made up his chest cavity. He didn’t stop though, not when he could now see a clear path straight to his target. This also meant that she could see straight to him as she plucked the arrow out of the ground and started to pull back. He could almost feel the tension in the bow building as sweat came down his brow. He had to force his hands to loosen. Too tight, and he would screw up.

Thwack

Surefire’s eyes widened as the brown shieldman deflected her arrow off a now bent kite shield and started to spin. Her eyes grew wider as he charged forward by thrusting the shield forward once it had come full circle. She deflected the sharp edge of the shield with her bow, but the impact caused the crystal to shatter as the stallion drove his sword into the ground to stop himself.

Knight turned to face her and found a purple blur coming straight for him. A sharp pain filled his side and he only stopped her backstab by thrusting behind himself. The effort was rewarded though with another strike against his other side. He didn’t bother with them for more than a moment, remembering that he had more important matters than simple cuts to deal with.

She smirked as the bottom of his kite shield bit into the crystal ground and he seemingly disappeared behind it. She watched the sides and ducked low as she came around. Only, no one was there and the shield soon and she paused long enough for the shield to come crashing into her, destroying what little balance she had on the blood slickened ground. Knight lowered his foot back onto the ground and came down with his sword quickly in an attempt to stop her from recovering.

The hurried attack cut through Surefire’s light armor, but it was not fast enough to stop her from rolling away just in the nick of time. Knight was just about to follow the roll when a sudden stab of despair filled his chest. He collapsed to the ground and barely managed to deflect an incoming spear with his sword. His mouth was completely vacant of moisture as one word screamed over the din of the battle.

“Sombra!”

Surefire bent low behind some of the other soldiers, trying to think while she shaped the crystal beneath her feet into a new bow. That must have been Luna. If I can just get one, maybe two– Her head flared in pain and she shook the notion away. Used up too much making walls and the earlier volleys. Besides, my lord can do this. I just need to get out of here and see him at the castle. Yes, that is what… She glanced up and saw one of her fellow knights get overwhelmed by a small squad of troops and run through. Her blood chilled as a tear came to her eye.

“So-Sombra made me their commander.” She gritted her teeth and pulled the bow out of the ground. “I… I can’t fail him, not yet.” She swayed on unsteady feet as she reached for the arrow growing beside her. The nuisance had finally gotten back up, having traded a hole in his armor for getting back his shield. “Just need to take you out first, then I can go. Just need to take out my target, like a good little assassin.”

Knight charged forward as she grabbed the arrow. It was quickly put against the bow and she started to draw back. Still, he did not slow. She made it to full draw, a point where the strong arrow could pierce through solid steel. Still, he did not slow. She loosed the arrow and watched as his shield flew off into the distance, no longer attached to its owner. Still, he did not slow. She closed her eyes as her chest burned in agony and the soldier’s longsword came forward. A tear ran down her face as she stood there, unable to move. She barely whispered “I’m sorry,” before she could feel the sword tip pierce her chest.

Shoonk.

Slowly, a blood covered greatsword was pulled out of the white mare who it had been thrust through. Her fiery hair finally returned to its normal triple colored luster before it stopped shimmering or moving. A broken gauntlet grabbed ahold of her throat and the princess was lifted into the air for all to see as the black wall came crashing down.

The entirety of both armies stood there in shock as golden power filtered into the tyrant that stood in the open field. He dropped the lifeless rag and walked over to the other corpse that populated the plain he had fought on. Outcries and sobs could be heard as she too was drained of any remaining power.

Sombra, in only a few shreds of armor over his broken chainmail now, then bent down and planted his hands firmly against the ground. With a mighty roar, the crystal shone a bright angelic white and a calming, deep blue. The pools of light slowly focused until only two small symbols remained. Symbols that Sombra now pulled out of the ground; one a sun, the other a crescent moon.

Only now did he turn to the armies and saw the blood covered battlefield that lay at his empire’s doorstep. A small, satisfied smile crossed his lips before a green stallion pulled himself out of the ground. “Yes, Fissure?”

The knight grinned at him. “Shall we examine the new troops?”

Sombra glanced at the man as the cries of sadness and pain grew ever louder. “I will do so with my second in command.”

The grin did not leave the stallion’s face as he beckoned Sombra to follow him. The soldiers parted before the pair in silence. None of them knew what to do, not when confronted by the man who had killed the princesses, even if he walked with a limp.

Knight kneeled panting as the emptiness that had invaded his body at the same time as his sword invaded his opponent refused to leave. It didn’t hurt, but the force of her death… it had left him numb. Only being kicked off of his kill caused his head to start working again. He looked upon Sombra as he knelt beside his opponent, examining her.

The stallion beside Sombra could see the veins starting to bulge out on the leader’s forehead as he stared at the gaping hole that had once been where the one heart that had ever loved Sombra laid. Now it was gone though, and he couldn’t even grieve. Not while in front of his new soldiers. Slowly the tyrant came up and turned to the crowd.

“If any of you warriors wish a life outside the dungeons where you will starve until you die or start eating each other, you will join my army. I will take volunteers, but know those who don’t, even if you still don’t resist, will be treated the exact same because you brought arms against the Empire.” He could watch as the gears in the stallions’ heads turned, but none responded. That is, except for the shaking hand that belonged to the one that he had just kicked. He walked over to the brown stallion. “You wish to join me? After what you have done?”

Knight slowly stood up, gritting his teeth against his newly bruised side and keeping his right eye closed, ignoring the throbbing welp on his skull from where his shield had nicked his temple in the final charge. He looked into Sombra’s eyes. “We lost, which puts my family into danger. I… I know a lost cause when I see it, and I don’t want to make my family wanted simply because I believe in a now dead diarchy.”

Sombra stared at the stallion. He wanted to hate him. Wanted to rip his head off and take his vengeance. The tyrant couldn’t though,not when she would have wanted his dream to be aided by someone strong enough to defeat her. He glanced back and grimaced.. “Your family? You would die for them, wouldn’t–”

“In a heartbeat.”

Sombra nodded and walked away, the stallion’s resolve proving just high enough to ensure loyalty. He carefully reached into Surefire’s chainmail as he bent low and kissed her forehead before pulling out the stone firmly imbedded into her chest. He then walked back and solemnly gave Knight the jagged piece of crystal. “If that cuts you, you will gain power matched only by my knights. It is how they manipulate the crystal like I can, and it gives them great strength and defense, just as it and fear does to me.” He tapped his chest, the black crystal heart now being able to be seen through the shattered links of his chain mail.

Knight went to take it with his right arm but soon found it unable to be used now that his adrenaline had worn off and the dislocated joint screamed in agony. Once he had the shard though, he dropped it into his sword sheath and glanced back at Sombra. “I… I am allowed time to make up my mind, correct?”

“Yes, you are.” He then grabbed Knight’s right arm and pulled him into the air, screaming. “One of you has already defected, now the rest of you should if you desire to keep your lives. It is ultimately your choice, but the agony you will feel in my dungeons will be a thousand fold what he goes through now.” He then dropped the stallion and waited as the Equestrian force dropped their weapons. “Good. Now, I have a couple hundred tents that need to be packed by my army. That is your first job before you report to the barracks.” He looked to his new, temporary commander. “You make sure nothing happens and that no one disturbs me unless it is you. Understood?”

“Understood, King Sombra of Equestria.”