Chapter 1: In My Kingdom ColdView OnlineAnd They Gnawed Their Tongues in PainChapter 1: In My Kingdom ColdThe large doors leading into the throne room of the magnificent Canterlot Castle swung open as a soldier of the Royal Guard galloped inside, the sounds of his armor clanking against his gray hide and his hooves against the castle's stone floors echoing off the walls. Drops of sweat rolled down his muzzle and onto the floor beneath him with every frantic gallop he made. "Princess Celestia," he gasped as he approached the throne, his voice weak with exhaustion and body shaking violently with fear. He pulled his helmet off his head, placing it at his side upon the lush carpet. "There has been a situation..." He paused, trying to catch his breath. "What's happened?" Celestia said as she got up from her throne to a standing position, a look of concern upon her pearly-white features. Whatever it was, it must have been something quite horrible to shake up one of her guards like that. The unicorn took a moment to collect himself and regain his composure before he answered the Princess' inquiry; he took a deep breath and exhaling from his nostrils he began his tale. "I was patrolling around the Neighagra Falls, when I noticed that a small boat had washed onto the riverbank, with no passengers aboard the vessel." Celestia's eyes widened in surprise at the guard's report, though her expression quickly became stoic. "Perhaps a strong river current pulled it down the river?" "That's what I thought at first, but when I got closer to look inside, I found..." The patrolstallion lowered his voice to a whisper, not wanting to cause a scene. "I found a body, wrapped in leather binds." "Where are the boat and its contents at right now?" She asked firmly, her own voice lowering in volume. The guard replied with nothing but a gesture to follow him outside, before turning around and heading back the way he came; towards the castle's courtyard with Celestia being quick to follow. Golden rays of sunlight illuminated the courtyard with a serene glow, almost seeming to mock the presence of the morbid casket to a watery grave that laid silently upon the grassy meadow, flattening the plant life beneath its wooden frame. As the regal mare and her escort approached the watercraft that awaited their arrival, Celestia's mind was racing. Who was the poor equine who had drawn their last breath? Who was responsible for such a vile act of cruelty? Drawing closer to the boat, several distinct details made it apparent that it wasn't created by an Equestrian carpenter's knife. The most blatant detail was the bow of the ship, which ended in an upward curve. And upon closer examination, Celestia could see strange markings carved into the boat's rim. The Princess then took a look inside the boat, and even with her nerves of steel the body inside sent chills down her spine. It was just as her escort had reported. A body lied there, lifeless and bound in leather that was soaked with the crimson hue of the slain equine's blood. She shuddered at the sight, but knew she needed to press onward. She unwrapped the straps that encased the pony's head, revealing the identity of the corpse. It was a unicorn stallion with a long, stringy mane as black as obsidian that spilled around the lifeless body. Two large indents in his skull could be identified, as if he had been kicked or struck in the head. These gruesome wounds only drove the Princess to take a look at what lay hidden beneath the bloodied wrappings that cloaked the rest of the body. As she removed these bindings from the fallen lord's carcass, her breath was caught in her throat. Thirty stab wounds marked his body, and in strangely scattered places. It was like the murderer was in a panic or frenzy as he or she went in for the kill. His fur was white as fresh snow upon the ground, with thick smears of war paint (The colour of which was as dark as the midnight sky) around his eyes, a trademark of only one pony that Celestia knew of. "It's...It's Immortal Frost," she said softly, her voice barely louder than a spring breeze through a forest's lush meadow. The guard looked at her with a questioning look, curious as to who the pony was. "He was the king of the Crystal Empire. While he wasn't the nicest pony, often quite vulgar and more often than not angry, I'd never wish such a fate as this upon him." As she looked within the waterborne coffin, she spotted a small book from the corner of her eye that was tucked away beneath Immortal's skull. Wondering if it could be a clue to uncovering the answer to who the murderer was, she carefully pulled it free and examined it. The book was, to Celestia's surprise, in remarkably good condition despite its resting place. The cover was made from tough, hard leather that was of the same color as the wood boat, serving as a makeshift camouflage. The cover itself was completely barren, not a marking or letter to be found upon it. "Take the body to the morgue at once, before it draws attention." She commanded to the guard beside her, tucking the book under her wing. "Actually, now that it comes to mind, where is. everypony? It's unusually quiet today." "I have ordered several guards to be stationed around the entrances to the courtyard, told them to keep the area closed off from any civilians." The Pegasus replied. "Smart thinking. If anything of note is discovered, notify me at once." Leaving the guard to his work, Celestia returned to her throne and opened to the book's first page, and began readings its contents aloud. "To whomever may be reading this, please excuse all the blood." Celestia's expression darkened, having become quite angry at the rather tasteless remark. She sighed, having to keep herself from throwing the book into a fire, before continuing onward. "Here lies Immortal Frost, son of Mayhem, King of the Crystal Empire. On the first day of the ninth month, year 93 of his rule, he was struck down on the field of battle in a duel to the death with Sombra, former adviser of Frost." As she continued to read the book, it chronicled the history of Immortal Frost's reign, starting from his coronation after his father committed suicide all the way to his death. However, there was one particular section that grabbed her attention, and that was because of one very simple reason: It was almost completely false. It detailed a long, bloody war with Equestria that left thousands dead and entire cities burned to the ground. The Princess knew for a fact that while neither her or Luna got along with Immortal Frost very well, none of their disputes ever escalated to anything more violent than a small skirmish, and even those were few and far between. But, what was truly strange about this falsehood was how it claimed Immortal Frost alone was to blame for these atrocities, as if to vilify him for some unknown reason. These twisted retellings went on and on the more Celestia continued to delve into the pages of the journal. Page after page described the King's supposed tyrannical madness, of how he had throngs of ponies working as slaves that he constantly beat and tortured for his own amusement. This was an interpretation of Immortal that Celestia could and would not believe to be true, due to the previous exaggerations of actual events. "Something suspicious is almost certainly at play here," Celestia said to herself, laying the book on the cold stone floor beside her throne. She rested her head upon her hoof, and began to ponder what would be a proper course of action. She couldn't risk asking rashly and risking the consequence of innocent blood being spilled for naught, and an unjustified attack on the Empire would be just asking for a publicity nightmare when she had to explain to the citizens that she was attacking based on a hunch that there might be something unruly going on. Picking the book off the floor as she rose from her throne, she decided to consult her sister for her opinion on the matter. The hall leading to her sister's room was adorned with the Princess of the Night's own special touches. The ceiling was painted a dark blue, with small blotches of titanium-white paint to imitate the Equestrian sky under the moon's gentle light. The panes of stain glass lining the stone wall were tinted with a brick-red hue that gave a similar tint upon the rays of sunlight soaking into the hall. Coming to Luna's bedchambers, she was not surprised to find the wooden door closed. She knocked upon the oakwood door three times before pausing to await her sibling's response. Thankfully, only a few moments passed before the door creaked open and Luna poked her head through. "Oh, hello Celestia," she said cheerily, opening the door completely after seeing who it was. "Come on in. Is there something I can help you with?" "Yes there is Luna," the elder sister replied, withdrawing the book from her wing as she entered her sister's room. "It's actually something quite important." She went on to explain the events that had occurred over the past couple of hours, as well as the dilemma she was faced with. Luna's expression became firm and serious as she listened to her sister's story, and gave her own thoughts on the matter after she had finished. "Not attempting to seem rude when I say this, but has it occurred to you that you could be overreacting somewhat? Even a little bit? I mean, maybe it's just tradition for them to send their dead leaders off in such a manner. Not like that's entirely unheard of. And, what if his death was entirely justifiable?" "I would love to hear your idea for how sending a body drifting downstream with only a fabricated series of events to explain the situation would be considered "justifiable", Luna." Celestia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm like blood from an assassin's blade as it is withdrawn from a fresh wound in the victim's back. Luna's expression contorted into a scowl at this response, but made no verbal retort at her kin's snark, as it would get the two mares nowhere and only lead to more insipid bickering. "How about you send a messenger, request for Sombra to meet you on peaceful terms?" Celestia nodded in agreement, hoping this was one large misunderstanding. Though, she knew she was pretty much projecting sunshine straight out of her ass with that kind of overblown optimism. The next few days were spent readying a caravan to deliver a request to the new ruler of the Crystal Empire, asking him to travel to Canterlot so they could be properly introduced to one another. As the Pegasus took to the cloud-speckled sky, her shape becoming smaller and smaller until she disappeared from the Princess's sight completely. Now, there was naught the Canterlot royals could do but wait. Celestia's sun dropped beneath the towering mountains that adorned the horizon like spikes from a warrior's armour, its orange rays of light streaking across the eternal canvas of nature that was the sky, until the blazing ball of gas vanished completely, only to be replaced by the Princess of the Night's pale lantern gleaming with its eternal radiant brilliance, accompanied by a most gorgeous display of stars that gleamed in the darkness. And as always, when morning came the cycle began anew. Days melted into weeks, with no word from either their messanger or the leader of the Empire. At long last, on the dawn of the third week, the silhouette of a Pegasus appeared, arriving from the Northern Lands of ice and cold. As the Pegasus drew nearer with each flap of her golden wings, the Princesses were ever anxious as to what the King's reply was. "He has agreed to meet with you," the messenger said as her hooves touched the ground with a practiced gracefulness. "However, he said that he would prefer if you visited his Empire, so he could assure you that the ponies of the Crystal Empire are in good hooves." "That can be arranged," Luna said with a pleasant smile. "Thank you, Feathery Wings. We shall make the preparations for our trip ato once." The Pegasus gave a salute, and with a single flap of her mighty wings was airborne once more. Once the loyal messanger vanished from sight into the horizon, Luna turned to her sister and said, "It's a trap, isn't it." "I wouldn't rush to such a conclusion Luna," Celestia replied with a shake of her head, her elegant mane shifting around her as delicately as a dancer whirling around a stage. "However, I do think we should prepare ourselves in case something goes wrong." A final message was sent to the monarch, notifying the King that his request that they meet within his Empire's walls was accepted, and that they would arrive by the week's end. And by the crack of dawn the following morning, they had set on their journey, clad in fine cloaks that wrapped around their elegant forms perfectly. And by their side, an escort of soldiers clad in the breathtakingly beautiful armor of the finest quality that gleamed in the early morning light that was tasked with guarding the two royal ponies; ready to die if need be. For the first few days of their march across the land, everything went incredibly well. They were making good progress, and would reach the Crystal Empire within fourteen days. And with every passing day, the jet-black tower that Sombra resided in illuminated blindingly bright with magic light, before a rusty red beam of energy shot into the sky. Frostbiting winds howled and twisted around the princesses and their soldiers as they drew near to Sombra's castle, and thick sheets of blinding snow clouded their vision. However, they pressed on through the Arctic land, thick snow crunching beneath their hooves with every step they took. And like a beacon Sombra's castle shone with his sorcery, crafting a light on their path that brought both hope and agonizing horror for the advancing equines. Their march through the cold and unforgiving terrain slowed to a crawl, only making a few miles a day. Several poor soldiers met their tragic ends in the seemingly endless sea of snow, but the Equestrians continued onward. A journey that should have taken a couple of weeks turned into a month-long endeavor through torturous conditions and temperatures. For thirty days their perilous journey through the unforgiving weather and unending barrage of snow continued. Any small amount of heat they could hope to have was robbed from them by the gales, their hides cracked and bled from the cold, and they were running low on food fast. The only things keeping them from giving up and returning to their homeland was the sight of Sombra's abode that gleamed like a blaze in the northern sky, perhaps to repel the twisted frost from slaying his populace and leaving him upon a nightmarish, dark throne that was seated upon a pile of carcasses. And, just as they began to think their trek across the wasteland would never reach an end, they finally made it. The escort had reached a series of cliffs that overlooked the Empire, with the only way forward being a long, narrow path of stairs crafted out of white marble that twisted around the steep cliffs. From there, they'd have to breach the front gates, which towered over even the cliffs. Celestia peered up, looking past the gates and towards the colossal tower in which the King that reigned over the Empire with an iron hoof did reside. And even though the blizzard threw snow into her eyes, she could make out the silhouette of a stallion as he illuminated with a hellish red light that seeped into the tower itself. The Equestrians began their trek down to the bottom of the cliffs. Due to the horrific weather, they were forced to use the narrow and incredibly long staircase to reach the bottom of the cliffs, which took several hours and wasted even more time and energy. Once the Princesses touched the snow-covered ground beneath their hooves, they noticed something incredibly strange. "The blizzard...it has stopped," Luna said, a look of puzzlement on her face as she looked around the land before her. She was right, the snowstorm that had been howling around the Equestrians just a few moments before had stopped dead in the blink of an eye. Now, all that stood before them was that black gate that defended the Crystal Empire. Cautiously, they approached the ebony structure. "Sombra, lord of these frozen lands, come forth!" Celestia shouted, her voice booming across the sprawling emptiness. And to the ponies' surprise, it seemed that Sombra had responded, the gates opening before them. And as they passed through they noticed something that chilled them to the bone. The empire was completely barren and lifeless. Not a sound was heard but the crunch of snow beneath their hooves, and the only thing they could see that wasn't snow was Sombra's ebony tower, which no longer pulsed like a bleeding heart as it did when it was infused with the nefarious magic of the tyrant. "What happened to this place?" A soldier said from beside Celestia, the stoicism her guards had always retained was now drained to nothing but unpreceded horror, unable to produce more than a feeble, horrified whisper as his gaze absorbed the pure nothingness before him. A second guard, a Pegasus to be exact, was doing his best to calm his companion's nerves, though he really didn't appear to be doing much better than the unicorn was. Really, she didn't blame them. The choking atmosphere of the lifeless land around them brought to Celestia's mind images of a mass grave. But somehow, this was far, far worse than her wildest nightmares. However, the time of their fateful meeting was upon them. They could not turn back now. "I'd prefer not to think about what Sombra has done to the citizens of this realm. But if we are to prevent him from doing anything so horrific ever again, we must confront him. Let's make this quick," Celestia replied as they drew nearer to the tower. It seemed the only way inside was an archway that was just as narrow as the staircase they had used to descend the cliffs that now loomed behind them. As they passed through the foreboding entrance leading into the dark fortress, the only way forward seemed to be a single hallway, the walls decorated with a pallid and lifeless black hue of color, a nihilistic color pallet that brought a sense of bleak loneliness into their hearts. The only sight to break up the endless blackness that almost seemed to stare back at them was the occasional candle that flickered dimly along the walls, casting their shadows upon the stale grey texture of the floor. For several minutes they traversed this passageway, until they were finally rewarded with something to break up the void-like shadows. A gate, red as a dying star, adorned with the symbol of a piercing green eye wreathed in purple smoke. The gateway slowly opened before them, releasing a deep moan of agony as it moved. Beyond this gate was a lavishly decorated throne room. Chandlers hung high above, gleaming with with delicate light as they swayed. Carefully sculpted statues of muscular, athletic stallions adorned either side of the chamber, their bodies laying upon their slabs with their hoofs tucked under their chins, with a coy smirk adorning their faces as if eternally awaiting their lover to join them beneath the covers. A carpet, red as the most brilliant rubies and lined with a golden silk, led through the middle of this room and right to the currently vacant throne. The throne itself was forged out of ebony crystals, with the back decorated with weapons of all kinds. Axes, swords, lances, all of differing variety and size, their blades jutting outward like makeshift spikes. To the left of this room was an alcove that held within it yet another staircase, one that spiraled upwards to another floor. Across from this alcove was another exactly like it, except that its staircase descended instead of ascending. "This place is quite large," Celestia said as her gaze crossed the room, lingering upon the empty throne. She wondered if those weapons had seen much use, and where the King acquired them. She had a very good idea what the answer to that question was, but she shied away from that horrific image. Suddenly, her ears picked up a rather peculiar sound. It was the sound of metal hitting stone, but it was nowhere as firm as a blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil. It was much lighter than that. As she tried to locate the source, she noticed something much more important. It was raising in its audibility, and quite quickly. It was getting closer. Everypony's gaze was fixed upon the staircase, awaiting whatever would descend it. They didn't have to wait long. It was a unicorn, with a coat of fur as dark as the choking smoke of a roaring flame, and a mane as black as ash that rolled down his neck. His eyes were like the emblem on the gate, green as jade gemstones that seemed to pierce all that caught their gaze. He towered over most of the other occupants, coming eye-to-eye with the Princess of the Sun, and his body was sleek, and well-fit. His torso and hooves were clad in a menacing black metal armor, as if ready for battle at any moment. His expression was extremely cold, almost completely soulless. A crimson cape flowed around his form, brushing against the polished white floors with every step he took. "Good evening," The unicorn at last spoke, shattering the uncanny silence that had settled over the room like glass. His voice was a deep baritone, rumbling like the shifting of tectonic plates and carrying a sense of power with each word. His composure was firm, and cold as stone. His eyes, however, told a different tale. You could always trust the eyes to tell the truth, and this was no exception. They were constantly shifting from one pony to another, like the scenery of a theater as it performed The Conqueror Worm. A fitting analogy, as he wore the attire of an antagonist straight out of a play. "I am Sombra, the King of this mighty realm." "I am Princess Celestia," The elder of the two Princesses replied, and Luna followed suit with her introduction. Their tone was cold, official and dry as a bone. There wasn't a single thing about Sombra that Celestia found likable, from his appearance to his voice that seemed to radiate pure malice and hatred. She didn't trust the unicorn as far as she could throw him. "Where are the civilians at?" A guard shouted angrily from behind Celestia, barely waiting a moment's passing after they had finished introducing themselves to interject what he had to say. Both the Princesses and Sombra turned towards the crowd of ponies, wanting to know which guard decided to open his mouth. It wasn't difficult to determine which one, as all of of the other guards had moved a good fifteen feet away from him and left the Earth pony out to dry. "And, what would your name be?" Sombra said, approaching the Earth pony. And while many a novel would write that he had death in his eyes, that the guard had attempted to strike him down right there, or that the King had ripped him limb from limb, these were only dishonest exaggerations fueled by a need by the author to give a historical hero upgrade, or to villainize Sombra even more than what the actual events had provided. The actual course of events between the two was quite different. "Er, my name...my name is Evening Star," The stallion replied, shrinking away from the King as he drew closer, grasping his spear in a death-grip when he suddenly realized just how much taller Sombra was. Beads of sweat soaked his fur, and his heart thumped like a war drum in his chest. His gaze never once met Sombra's, it kept glancing towards the two statues on either side of the room. Sombra seemed to have noticed this, and this got a chuckle out of him. "Do not worry Evening Star," He said as he approached one of the perfectly sculpted works of art and caressed its mane that curved around its figure. "These were never organic. You do not have to worry about being turned to stone, I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. That is a spell beyond my knowledge. Now, you asked where the civilians are, and I think it would only be proper for me to show you." Beckoning for the crowd of Equestrians to follow him, he began to make his way down the eastern stairwell. Evening Star was about to join his comrades, when he was suddenly lifted into the air by Celestia's magic. As she turned him around to face her, he could tell she wasn't pleased. "What were you thinking?" She said, clearly having to restrain herself from outright screaming at the guard. "If you had angered him, you could have wound up as a splatter on the wall." Evening Star considered pointing out that they made this visit to check on the populace, but decided that it would be in his best interests to not do the exact same thing that was getting him this little talk in the first place. She slowly set him on the ground, and released him from her magic's grasp. He immediately rushed to join his comrades, a deep blush staining his smoke-grey cheeks as he traversed the stairs, with the two Princesses right behind him. The stairs continued to spiral around and around a wall of polished black rock that gleamed with a mirror sheen and revealed the reflections of all who passed it upon its surface, creating a light-born canvas of colors as the group of ponies continued to descend. The deeper they went, the more the guards began to mumble about different ideas of what Sombra had done to the ponies that lived under his rule. Celestia didn't catch the majority of what they were saying, she caught bits and pieces. Most of their ideas weren't pleasant, such as if the ponies were in underground death camps, or he had just killed them outright, and they were just being led into a giant death trap. After a few minutes, she just tuned their chatter out for the rest of the descent into the mysterious darkness.
Chapter 2: Descent Into Medieval DarknessView OnlineAnd They Gnawed Their Tongues in PainChapter 2: Descent Into Medieval DarknessTheir path twisted and spiraled, curving around the smooth wall with nothing but the occasional torch to break apart the darkness. No windows, no diversions or splits in the stairway, not even the smallest chip or cut into the stone steps. They were just as smooth as the wall. Everything there was so cold, everything was so dark. From the corner of her eye, diabolic shapes flew by out from the dark, but they vanished into nothingness as soon as they seemed to appear, once again merging with the bleak darkness from whence they came. Eventually, after they were led through what felt like an eternity of stairs, there was finally something new to see as the claustrophobic stairwell gave way to an opening; a large hole that was perfectly cut out of the thick wall of rock into a rectangular entrance, with rays of artificial light spilling through. Never before had Celestia been so ecstatic to see even the smallest change in appearances, but after that trek of what felt like hours of nothing but stairs, who wouldn't be? Even with the light spilling through the entrance like a wave of water through a broken dam, darkness clouded either side of the opening, and such darkness would be perfect for an assailant to hide behind, just waiting for the right moment to drive their blade into their target's back. She shook her head, unsure of where the sudden tension and paranoia had come from, and made her way out of the tunnel. The more she thought about it, the sense of nervous uncertainty wasn't the only peculiarity she noticed about their surroundings. It had been present ever since they had entered the tower, but it had became truly noticeable ever since they made their way down the stairwell. She felt as if some kind of burden had fallen upon her, but she couldn't figure out why. Her train of thought suddenly derailed once they had exited the blackness, as it was as she trotted into the light that a soft wind brushed against her muzzle, carrying with it a scent most foul that reached her nostrils within moments, invading her sensory receptors with painful intensity. It was the unmistakable reek of putrefaction, and it was beyond disgusting. It made her feel ill, and she thought that she would regurgitate her stomach acids upon the polished ledge. Thankfully, she managed to repress the urge to do so. As she took a look around her, she was unable to locate the source from where she stood, but she truly did not want to find out. Now that she, her sister, and their guards were finally free of the shadow-drenched staircase, Luna took a moment to look around their surroundings. They had arrived upon a wide cliff that was polished so thoroughly that not a bump or chip marred its surface, with a makeshift guardrail carved out of a thick chunk of rock being the only thing standing between those perched upon the cliff's surface and a plummet down to the ground below, which was completely comprised of what appeared to be razor sharp crystals. She knew that a drop from the height they were at would be fatal from the elevation alone, and those makeshift spikes would only solidify that possibility of meeting one's demise. On either side of the balcony, there were yet more stairs, where they led being labelled by a slab of wood that had been engraved with directions that dictated the foals take the left, and the full-grown equines would descend via the right staircase. Peering over the balcony, Luna gazed upon two pairs of buildings of equal quantity and size that were segregated by the large wall of jagged black crystals that stretched out from where they stood, spread out to the farthest borders of each camp, then came back around on either side of the stairs like a makeshift fence. The camps appeared to be exactly the same, except for one single difference: The camp on the right seemed to have a large opening in the ground, though Luna was unsure of what that opening was for, or where it even led. "Why are they separated like that?" She inquired as she turned from the railing, feeling a sense of mild dizziness overcome her the longer she peered over the sickening drop below her hooves. Along with the dizziness had come a low sense of unease as well, a fear that she would be shoved over the ledge to her death. She shivered as she imagined herself screaming as her body collided with the jagged edges of the cliff face, jutting like spikes that would tear her apart, splitting her hide with deep, horrific wounds as she descended. She blinked, snapping back to reality from the depths of her imagination's deranged projections. She wasn't even sure where that came from; she wasn't afraid of heights or used to such vivid illusions. Were such horrible images created by the atmosphere sinking into her psyche? Had the long and tiring journey begun to truly affect her mental state; causing her to tumble off the deep end of sanity's cliffs into the unending abyss of insanity and mental instability? If that were the case, it couldn't be that long before she began to hear the feeble screams from sources unknown. "To prevent the adults from experiencing emotional and physical hindrances from their young during their work. However, they are allowed small amounts of time to visit their offspring when they are not working. Which camp are you wishing to inspect first? Deeper down, I will show you such interesting sights," Sombra replied without so much as turning to face the Princess, his words spoken with a tone as cold as the wailing gusts and blinding snow that ravaged the land above their heads, something that sent chills down Luna's spine. The way he spoke only brought to her mind images of the ponies being kept in cells or filthy alcoves, treating them like livestock to be brought to the slaughter; a terrifying process of degeneration into mindless drones to serve the King's every whim, even if they were to gallop blindly straight into an empty grave and be buried alive en masse. She couldn't imagine what sort of horrific experiments or torture he could be inflicting upon the foals as well, and she would not allow it to go on. "Whichever camp that you are keeping the foals in," Luna blurted out quickly, hoping that her sister would not object to her rashly-made decision. Thankfully she did not, only nodding her head in agreement. Perhaps it wasn't actually agreement, only a desperate attempt in a hope to keep from a dispute starting, but she did not particularly care what her reasoning was at that precise moment. She just had a wretched gut feeling that what they were looming above were the borderlands of something truly despicable and vile. The King was just as silent as her sibling, his only response at all was giving a hoof-gesture that the Princess of the Night had seen plenty of times: Right this way. Although, she could have sworn that he had also given a quick glance towards the archway from whence they had entered this underground chasm, but she wasn't completely sure about that. The monarch then turned his back on the group, causing his lush cloak of crimson cloth that was spilling behind him like a sea of flowing blood from a victim's back after the flesh is split by a traitor's knife over and over again to whip around his form as he began to make his way down the ass-numbingly long flight of stairs. As they followed right behind him, the group was so caught up in wild fantasies and nervous anxieties about what they would find at the bottom, they failed to notice one particular change: One member of the guards was not present in the group. This was because a stallion by the name of Evening Star had taken it upon himself to play hooky from the rest of the guards, and was going to go snooping around in the adult-populated camp by his lonesome. Was it a stupid idea? Oh, most definitely. Especially considering that if Sombra found out about him digging around in places that he shouldn't be, there would be little that Evening Star could do to prevent the unicorn from beating him so badly that even if the Princesses discovered his corpse, all they would find that could be salvaged and taken back would be his teeth. But even with such frightening possibilities, the Earth pony knew that it would be worth it if he could save innocent lives. However, while it was quite a brave and noble thing for him to do, it would have not been very wise for him to charge into the situation with his spear's head facing outward as he let out a bloodcurdling shriek of war. No, the use of such a tactic was known in pony culture as, "A dumb move". Based on this absolutely stunning use of common sense, he had waited until he was absolutely sure that the rest of the group was out of sight and earshot before he would make his next move, and only once they were gone did he reveal himself to the light of the torches. And with his spear's thick shaft gripped in his teeth, he began to traverse the unoccupied staircase; unsure of what he would find once he reached the bottom. The monotonous rhythm of armored hooves marching down the long flight of stairs one after the other in a perfect unbroken formation was the only sound to break the unending silence that twisted through the atmosphere around the descending group of ponies, the pounding of the metal against stone akin to a formation crafted not by soldiers, but by and endless supply of mighty hammers striking against steel to mold it into place. And like a foal struggling to stay above water as they struggled in a raging river, the distance between them and safety grew larger and larger the farther down they descended. Down, down, deeper down they went, with no knowledge of when or where this journey would come to an end. All that they could hope for was that it came to a optimistic conclusion. And as the path twisted deeper like the walls of the wild and untamed Ghost River, that wretched smell grew stronger and stronger, flaring inside the equines' nostrils like the unending and searing heat of a blazing fire. Not even the faintest remnant of hope's fire remained in their hearts once they reached the bottom, as its luminosity was doused by the black tidal waves of horror and fear. What had caused both the soldiers and the Princesses' blood to run as cold as the light of the freezing moon was not a gruesome sight of death or illness, but a complete and total lack of any life in the camp. They were basically standing upon a perfectly flat and barren slab of rock, that was split through the middle by a vast, colossal wall of jagged crystals that glistened like some wild abomination's teeth as it prepared to split apart its victim's exposed hide, tearing apart the helpless creature's soft flesh without the faintest hint of remorse or mercy. Totally empty, except for the two large buildings that were, much like the majority of everything else that the ponies had seen, made out of the exact same black rock. The building material used wasn't the only similarity between the two, either. Both were the exact same size and height, both completely lacked any windows, and both had only one door crafted out of heavy iron that served as both an entrance and an exit. The only visible difference between the two was that the building on the left had the word 'fillies' written upon the door with something sharp, while the building on the right had the word 'colts' written upon its door. Though; admittedly, the wording was actually quite difficult yo read thanks to the stylistically jagged format in which the lettering was written. The herd split up into two smaller groups, with Sombra leading Celestia and twelve of her guards through the building designated for fillies, while Luna and the rest of the guards explored the building for colts. Peering into the dimly-lit shadows, the mares and stallions knew that it was finally time to pull back the veil of curiosity, and see what the ruler was keeping within these walls. Evening Star raced down the long, twisting flight of stairs with great haste. His heart was pounding like an unending wave of war drums as a battalion marched across a colossal field on their path to slay any and all who stood in their path of conquest; banners flying in the wind as they marched onward to fight the unholy war. With no companion to guide him through this path, he was a stranger in strange lands, and that genuinely made his hide crawl. After what felt to him like an hour of galloping, he finally saw the last step within his sight. Once his hooves touched the cold stone, he noticed something very peculiar. There wasn't a pony in sight. However, he could hear a faint sound, coming from the opening in-between the buildings. He hadn't a moment to waste, so he began to make his way across the camp and towards the ominous opening.
Chapter 3: The Uncomfortable Silence In Between BeatingsView OnlineAnd They Gnawed Their Tongues in PainChapter 3: The Uncomfortable Silence In Between BeatingsAs he peered downward into the mysterious darkness from whence the noise was coming from, Evening Star let out a deep sigh of frustration through his nostrils, which appeared as a small cloud before him as it touched the cold air around him, before disappearing just as quickly as it had came into view. And as he stared down into the waiting opening, a single thought entered his mind. It was a quote, to be precise: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. The cause of his immediate annoyance was that there were, surprise surprise, even more of those damned stairs. He swore, his journey so far had been like 85% walking down stairways. How every riveting, what a wild and epic adventure that would be told for many generations to come. He could picture himself a few decades from now, his grandfoals racing to him as he rested in a rocking chair and begging for him to tell the epic climb of the stairs. Actually, that was a joke in and of itself; him having offspring, much less grandfoals. After all, he attracted the opposite gender about as well as a giant pile of fresh dog shit would attract royalty to come visit. Sighing once more, he readjusted his hold on the spear's thick, long shaft, and began to make his way down the obsidian stone steps. Perhaps whatever was down there would provide some variety, at the very least. Heck, if he was super lucky, it might be something absolutely amazing like another pony, which meant an incredible event could occur: Social activity! He doubted it would happen, but he was keeping his hopes up. With the King by her side, Celestia led the small group of guards inside the building, with an illumination spell's bright light to lead their way and to pierce the dark that seemed to choke the very air itself like a nocturnal poisoning. With the brightness of the spell as her guide, she came to realize that the room they were standing in lacked any form of decor or furnishing, and was completely barren of any life. The floor was covered in a fine layer of dust that had clearly remained undisturbed for quite a while now, something that was surprisingly evident, even if somepony was just giving the floor a quick, nondescript glance. The only thing keeping this room from being nothing more than a glorified box was an opening in the northern wall that appeared to be completely identical to the one that had led into this empty chamber in the first place. "Go that way, and you will find what you are looking for," Sombra said without a hint of any readable emotion in his voice. His tone was the same as it had been since they had all made the descent; it carried with it nothing more than cold indifference to the situation. "I will not be joining you from here on out, for I must attend to some business elsewhere." Celestia turned to face Sombra, the magic that enshrouded her horn washing across his dark features in a rather intense manner. His eyes seemed to gleam like a pair of emeralds, and not once did they break contact with her gaze. "Where will you be going?" Celestia inquired with interest and curiosity lathering her voice. Something else she was quite curious about was what exactly the King would be doing; it wasn't like this was just a relaxed get-together where they could just leave whenever they pleased. "I will be going elsewhere," Sombra said, completely deadpan in his tone and reply. Celestia scowled, not exactly thrilled with the King's snark. She never could stand a smart-ass response like that, but with the situation at hoof being such a dire one it truly made her blood boil like the magma chamber of the Emperor volcano chain right before it was about to have an eruption that the King would be cracking wise like that. However, she thankfully managed to keep her cool and didn't say another word as he finally broke eye contact and turned towards the way that the group entered; guards that stood in front of the entrance parting like the curtains to a theater to give him passage. And like that, he left them alone to traverse the building's interior, while he trekked the long staircase all the way back up. The guard continued his descent into the mysterious darkness, thankful that there were torches placed along the walls to light his way. He smiled as the image of himself bravely racing down the stairway only to trip over his own hooves and tumbling down the stairs entered his mind. He wondered if they would write that down on his tombstone. 'Here lies Evening Star, son of Iced Earth and Burnt Offerings. Killed by a flight of stairs.' That would be an embarrassing way to go, that was for sure. Maybe Sombra kicked his servants down a flight as a form of punishment; it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest, as it would be suitably painful, and would actually give all of these blasted stairs a real purpose outside of giving a decent cardio workout. Though, he could think of worse fates, like being forced to listen to that obnoxious excuse for a musical track called Vanvidd for all eternity. That would be a real pain in the rear end, he was certain of that. The farther he went, the more distinguished the sound he was constantly hearing became. He realized that it was the sound of some metal tool hitting stone; something he was well-acquainted with from his first job as a miner before he joined the Guard. That repetitious sound, which he would usually consider quite obnoxious and headache-inducing, now raised his hopes that he would finally find civilians, and would hopefully be able to rescue them from this freezing land. Leading the way into the narrow hallway, Celestia couldn't help but feel quite unnerved by the whole experience. Not just the horrendous stench of rot, or the darkness that seemed to go on for eternity, but just how quiet everything was. The previously chatty guards had become a group of mutes, leaving only the deathlike silence to fill the atmosphere around them. The hall's design was just like the entrance, completely empty of anything to break apart the monotony of the nihilistic bleakness that just seemed to continue stretching on and on. Celestia would have thought that they weren't going anywhere at all and they had been lured into some kind of endless trap or illusion if the sudden and dissonant sound of her hoof landing in a shallow puddle of some liquid hadn't reached her ears. Stopping in utter and total shock, she looked down to see what exactly she had stepped in. At first,s he thought it might have been water, but how could it have gotten in there? Then, it dawned on her: It was piss. It was a puddle of piss. Her stomach wretched as she tried to ignore the implications of such unsanitary conditions, but she could not when every step from that point onward was accompanied with that same soft splash. Her companions seemed to have taken notice as well if their murmurs of disgust were any indication to go by. Suddenly, her magic's light washed over a different sight amidst the all-enshrouding shadows in the hall, and the sight of some actual progress for once made her both relieved and very tense. It was a decrepit, well-worn doorway that was painted a pallid white color. Her gaze falling to the floor once again, the Princess could see that this was where that repulsive stream of liquid was coming from; under the crack at the bottom of the door. "Princess," Called out a guard from behind her as she slowly approached the final obstruction to their destination. When she turned to face the pony, she realized that it was Brimstone Sorcery; the same unicorn soldier that had been reduced to a shivering wreck when they had first arrived at this kingdom of darkness, and she could tell he wasn't exactly doing any better now than he was back then. His gray fur was marred with beads of glistening sweat that were constantly rolling down his armor-clad figure. He paused, audibly cleared his throat, then continued his inquiry, "What are we going to find in that room?" After hearing this, Celestia let out a soft sigh and turned to face all of her guards. "I want all of you to know," She said with a firm, yet compassionate tone that seemed to brighten up the incredibly gloomy atmosphere that twisted around her and the guards. "I am beyond grateful for every last one of you who have accompanied Luna and I on this journey. I know not what lies beyond this door, and part of me does not want to find out. But, I know in my heart that we cannot give in to our fears and our worries. We must uncover whatever lies hidden, and be prepared for anything. Now, I am going to pull this door open, so keep your spears close." With those final words to her guards having come to an end, she turned to face the large door once again. She grasped the black metal handle in her magic's grasp and began to pull. For a few moments, the door didn't budge even a little bit. However, with some time and some patience, it did finally give way. Moving outward with a hollow grinding noise as the old hinges were finally put to use after who knew how long. Immediately afterward, Celestia knew that things were far worse than she could have imagined. It wasn't just the noxious smell of decay that choked the air, she had grown used to it by now; no what truly made her hide crawl and the fur on the back of her neck stand straight up was the splat sound she heard, which came from right in front of her. "Celestia, what was that noise?" Brimstone muttered from behind her. Panic constricting and twisting around his voice like a boa. Smothering any certainty or hope he may have previously had. As much as she didn't want to find out the answer to her guard's inquiry, her duty still remained. Even as her mind screamed at her not to look, she ignored her better sensibilities and gazed downward to find a poor filly's carcass lying face-down in the wretched pool of urine. Everything was silent, but death was howling. Unable to twist her gaze away from the horrid sight, she took in several details that made her stomach churn like an alchemist's cauldron. For one, there was a sickening gash caked in dried blood, starting from where the ear would have been and tearing down the back of the skull, revealing the repulsively shriveled external muscles underneath. The filly's mane had been ripped out of her scalp, and what little of it that remained attached was frayed like well-worn rope or twine. "It's a..." Celestia felt her throat go as dry as the eternally shifting sands of the desert as she tried to speak, but the sheer shock and boiling rage were choking her words. "Just come take a look, but prepare yourselves. It's a pretty grisly sight." Tentatively, she grasped the body with her magic and turned her over on her back, causing beads of urine to roll off her face and back onto the floor. Blood caked her murky brown fur like the pulsing polyps of a maggot-infested infection or disease, and her hide hung loosely around the pony's bony frame. The smell of regurgitated stomach acids pierced the already repulsive smell of rot and stung the Princess' nostrils. "Why would anypony be so sick as to let such a young life wither away like this?" Brimstone said, clearly on the verge of tears. Celestia shook her head, the knowledge that as bad as this was, it was only going to be worse once they took a look inside the room itself. As gently as she could, she rested the limp corpse as far from the pool of bodily waste as she was able to in the confined hallway. She had suffered enough, there was no need to humiliate her body even more. Celestia inhaled deeply, before slowly exhaling the carbon dioxide she had accumulated in her lungs through her nostrils. It was finally time to enter the room itself, and see what horrible secrets lied inside. As she took the first few steps past the entryway; Celestia's magical light purged the darkness from sight, unveiling what it cloaked within its black void. And what she revealed was something that she would never forget. The carcasses of maybe a dozen fillies laid about the room, their bodies soaking in the repugnant pool of urine which must have been a full inch of the stagnant fluid. Looking downward, if only to find literally anything else to lay her eyes upon, Celestia found the half-digested remains of an ear, with the strip of equine hide still attached, lying halfway out of another corpse's gaping mouth as they laid within the murky wastes of their deceased friends, their body covered in their own feces. If that wasn't enough, the disgusting liquid was mixed with liquefied excrement that mixed with the sickening waste to form an absolutely stomach-churning concoction that made the Royal want to vomit. And while she was able to keep from doing so, some of her guards were not, made blatantly clear as her ears were assaulted by the nauseous sound of bile being forced out of their mouths, only adding to the already repulsive environment around them. And the longer that they stood in that chamber of decay and waste, the more their collective emotion of disgust was overcome by something else: Untamed seething rage. "That sick, worthless cunt," A soldier growled from beside Celestia, his hatred for the cruel tyrant dripping from his voice like the corrosive venom of a cobra. Gripping his weapon's shaft in his hoof he screamed, "I swear, I am going to ram my spear through his stomach until he vomits blood! I say we track this fucker down and rip him apart!" Within moments, the group was shaken from their disbelief at the sight, and their resolve to end this madness was once again kindled. Shouts of what they were going to do to the King filled the air, along with incredibly foul barrages of language. And quite frankly, the Princess couldn't really blame them. While Celestia had been trying her hardest to make the relationship between Equestria and the Crystal Empire a peaceful and beneficial one, she was not going to allow this senseless neglect and torture of the innocent populace to continue any longer. "Comrades," Celestia roared, her eyes blazing like the mighty fires of a forge as it crafted new tools upon an anvil, designed to bring enemies to a fatal standstill as her voice echoed throughout the hall. All went silent, each guard was ready to do as the Royal mare asked. "We are going to make him pay the price for all those who died under his rule, this I swear to you. However, we must keep cool heads, and not charge blindly into danger. Now, Brimstone Sorcery, I have a special task for you." "Yes, Princess?" "Once we leave this forsaken hall, go find Luna and her escorts in the other building, and tell her we require their assistance. I would do it myself, but we can't eat up any more time than we already have," Celestia explained firmly. The unicorn nodded, to affirm that he understood. "Now, let's get going." And with that final command, they finally began to make their way back to the entrance. Evening Star was beginning to get quite frustrated. All he had been hearing for the longest while now was that monotonous noise, which may have at first been a beacon of hope that he would find somepony that could actually explain the full situation to him was now just drilling into his skull over and over and over again like a rain of magical blasts upon a war-torn battlefield. By the time he could see the bottom of the staircase, those infernal pounding sounds were almost deafening. As he finally reached the last step on this accursed journey (Or so he was desperately hoping, anyway), he took in the sights around him in utter awe. There must have been at least a couple hundred workers diligently carving away at colossal walls of black rock. Scattered about the mining site were carts loaded with the stuff, being gathered for whatever the King desired to be constructed. Suddenly, after a few moments of an incredibly uncomfortable silence, Evening Star realized that the entire site went as still as a graveyard when the funeral fog begins to roll over the seemingly endless rows of tombstones. "Why hello there," a lanky, rather tall stallion said as he and a few other stallions set aside their tools and approached the guard, his tone sounding on the verge of being flirtatious, for some strange reason. His fur was gray as the smoke of a beautiful bonfire, and his mane was a dark brown hue. While his looks weren't that strange at all, there was just something about this stallion that truly made Evening Star feel uneasy. It was just how he talked, and the way his eyes seemed to scan every inch of Evening Star that they could. In fact, it seemed that all of the stallions seemed to be doing the exact same thing. Though, the mares actually seemed to be acting somewhat normal, surprisingly enough. They just quietly watched, as if they were waiting for something. "Um, hello," Evening Star muttered after resting his spear against the nearest wall so he could speak properly, trying his hardest to avoid eye contact with the stallion. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what's your name? Mine is Evening Star," After hearing this, the stallions just laughed at him, which puzzled and angered the guard quite a bit. "What did I say? What's so funny?" For once, one of the mares spoke up before any of the stallions. It was a somewhat older mare, with a dull, lifeless blue color to her hide and a graying mane. "We don't have any names, not anymore at least." She called from across the mine. Intrigued by her answer, Evening Star quickly pushed his way through the small group of stallions (Which rapidly disbanded afterward) and made his way over to the mare. Seeing as she seemed somewhat sane, he figured that it would probably be wise to ask for a few explanations. When he finally reached her, she continued. "Now, we're just assigned different numbers, and he just enforces that number into our heads until we forget our names. I was assigned the number 1991, for example." "Why? What did Sombra do to all of you? Surely not all of you were given Cutie Marks that have something to do with a mine. That would be absolutely insane," Evening Star said quizzically. The elderly mare sighed, and continued her tale. "You wouldn't believe it, but we all used to have a purpose. That stallion," she said, pausing once more to gesture towards the one who had originally greeted him (And was still watching him with a rather unnerving look of interest in his eyes). "the one with the grey coat, he used to be an author. I used to be a cook, to give another example. But, that was before our former king was murdered before Sombra plunged his dagger into Immortal's chest over and over again. He sees anypony without magic as nothing more than equipment that can easily be replaced once it breaks. Now, all were are permitted to do is work in this mine, eat whatever scraps Sombra throws us, and work some more. Well, unless you happen to be a stallion that he finds...appealing to his tastes. If that happens, you wind up like the stallions who greeted you. I don't know what he does to them, all I know is that magic is involved somehow..." Suddenly, the mare just trailed off, as if she had lost her voice all of a sudden. "Is something the matter?" Evening Star asked, hoping to the stars above that there wasn't anything wrong at all, and that she had just forgotten what she was going to say. But as he witnessed a pale hue wash over her cheeks as she gave him a nod, he knew precisely what was wrong. "...He's right behind me, isn't he?" Another nod from the former culinary expert. "How very observant," A deep rumble like the very foundations of tectonic plates were coming apart spoke, seemingly inches away from the Earth pony. After he slowly turned around, Evening Star found himself face-to-face with the King, who did not exactly look pleased to see him. His eyes seemed to pierce his own gaze like steel daggers through a warrior's heart, and when he was about to try and back way, he suddenly realized that he had nowhere to run. He was trapped.
Chapter 4: Memorial to the Waste of LifeView OnlineAnd They Gnawed Their Tongues in PainChapter 4: Memorial to the Waste of LifeAs he gazed upward into the emerald green fury that twisted in King Sombra's eyes, Evening Star instinctively reached for his spear to defend himself from whatever his foe might throw at him. And it was right then and there that he found his hoof to be grasping at nothing but the air. It was in that moment that he finally broke eye contact, and allowed his vision to slowly shift to the wall behind Sombra...where his spear quietly rested, completely out of his reach. He wasn't going to make it out of this pit of despair alive, and as he saw 1991 backing away as far as she possibly could from the two of them out of the corner of his vision, he felt like there was nothing he wanted to do more right now than follow her example. Everything was quiet, as if all the inhabitants of the room where waiting for something to shatter the silence like a hammer against a thin glass pane. After what felt like a full eternity, it was Evening Star who decided to take the initiative. "How did you even know I would come down here?" He asked the King, who had yet to move a muscle. However, the question did seem to change his statue-like behavior, if only by the slightest detail. Like a knife's blade splitting a thick board of wood, a smile cracked across his previously stoic face. "Based on your dumbfounded expression and utter surprise, I take it that your downright pathetic attempt to use the shadows to cloak yourself like the filthy coward that you are was meant to genuinely work and wasn't just some jest, then?" Sombra replied, seeming to be quite amused by the soldier, whose expression had shifted from bewilderment to anger. "My vision is not impaired by the darkness like yours would be; it's clear as day. Besides, I've found my servants hiding in crevices like that more times than I can remember. And when I do find them, they learn their place soon afterwards. Isn't that right, 1993?" Sombra cooed softly, his gaze shifting to the grey stallion, who gave a hesitant nod as his only reply. Something that Evening Star found as chilling as the cold winds during the rage of the winter was the stallion's expression. It was an empty, hollow smile with about as much life to it as a storefront's mannequin. "What have you done to these ponies?" Evening Star screamed, his voice bouncing off the walls of the nightmarish crystal mine. He wasn't only mad at the King, he was mad at himself as well. He was mad at himself for rushing into the situation alone, for not discussing his plans with either of the Princesses, and especially for leaving his only real means of defense so far out of his reach. If only he had thought this out for longer than ten seconds, he probably wouldn't have wound up in this situation. Come to think of it, that summarized pretty much every situation he got himself into. The only difference was that most of his previous mistakes didn't end up with him about to be plastered all over the wall behind him like a fresh coat of paint. "It's quite simple, in actuality. I have just taught them to behave," Sombra replied with truly insufferable smugness to his tone. He seemed proud of what he had done, like it was some monumental breakthrough in psychology or some other heroic cause that he had found an answer to. "Much like a child, they just needed to be educated that they should never defy my orders. And with certain subjects, like 1993 here," Sombra paused to caress the eponymous stallion's cheek. "I have blessed with my touch, and perhaps even showed them a little affection during our time together." "I'm going to kill you," Evening Star growled, eyeing his spear with cold determination. If he could just reach the blasted thing, there was a chance he could take the tyrant down and end this terror once and for all. Perhaps not a large chance he would succeed, but there were no other options at this point. He just needed to think of a way to distract his opponent, and he needed to do it fast. "You want to try that little stunt, hmm?" Sombra inquired with a raised brow. He wasn't exactly surprised by this declaration, he had heard it so many times that he could recite the phrase in his sleep. No, he was just somewhat curious to see how well this nameless guard would do against a trained warrior such as himself. Based on his previous record when it came to combat, he guessed that it would not end well for the soldier. "If that's the case, then allow me to level the playing field for you somewhat. 1993, bring him his spear. This will not take long," Upon hearing the King's command, his underling gave an affirmative nod and trotted over to where the Earth pony had carelessly left his weapon. He carefully gripped the shaft with his teeth, and carried it over to the Royal Guard, gracefully laying the weapon at his armored hooves, before he quietly retreated back to the crowd of workers that had huddled together, possibly for protection from the rain of blows that was about to commence between the two stallions. This course of events had left the Guard completely speechless. Why hadn't he been turned into a fresh bloodstain left to dry on the ground already? Was he supposed to believe that this bloodthirsty unicorn lived by some feeble code of honor? If he was, that would be rather hard information to swallow when the bastard didn't even try to deny or shy away from the fact that he had been using brainwashing to keep his subjects in line. Heck, he basically said it outright! When he finally regained his voice, he decided to ask his opponent for some logic behind the decision. "Why are you doing this, Sombra? I would have thought you would have just split me in half so fast that you might have as well struck me with the fabled Black Swordstallion's blade. Why the sudden pretenses that you even have a sliver of honor or ethics in your black heart?" Sombra let out a deep, rumbling chuckle in response to the stallion's questions. "I wouldn't call my unending generosity that I have provided you to have stemmed form a sense of honor, exactly. It's actually because I need a little entertainment to hold myself over, before the Princesses show up. And I can assure you, they will. It's such a shame, too. I was hoping to have this mine running for a few more years, at the very least." The Guard looked dead at Sombra as he finally took a hold of his weapon, ready to duel to the death with his opponent. With such certainty that they would arrive, he couldn't even imagine what he had done to the foals. And based on the audible murmurs of panic from around the mine, it was clear that what the King was heavily implying had dawned on the slaves' minds as well. Without another word, Evening Star gripped the spear in his maw, dug his hooves into the ground, and awaited his opponent's first move. For victory or for death, he swore to fight until his last breath. He had one shot, one opportunity to take the King down. He had to capture it; he couldn't let it slip from him. Sombra, as opposed to the soldier, appeared to be in nowhere as much of a rush to get this fight over with. As silently as the dead, he pulled back his crimson cloak to reveal a sword's sheathe strapped to his side. From what he could see, the hilt was rather lavishly decorated with gems. As Sombra grasped the hilt with his magic and unveiled the weapon from its sheath (Revealing the weapon to be a broadsword with a blade crafted from steel), Evening Star began to think how very flattering it was that the King would wield a weapon so beautifully donned with expensive decorations when he was about to maim and stab somepony as useless and expendable as a common guard. How very sweet. Evening Star would be touched, if he wasn't about to get gutted like a fish. Oh well. "Clear as much room as all of you possibly can," Sombra ordered his underlings, which was a command that they were very quick to follow; getting as close to the far walls as they possibly could. However, Evening Star wasn't exactly sure if they were moving out of the way for their own safety or to avoid being in the blood's splatter zone when Sombra began to cut him to ribbons. Heck, it might have been both. And once they had the majority of the room to commence in their duel, the battle finally began. The thunderous pounding of hooves against the solid rock floor rang through the mine like the war-drums of two spectral infantry battalions marching through a freezing timeless void, prepared to stain the battlefield with a crimson hue as the two foes charged towards one another, weapons drawn and ready to clash. With every passing second they closed the distance between them, until they finally came within range of each other's weapons. Evening star attempted to swing his spear's hilt so that the razor-sharp blade would come into contact with the King's neck in hopes to embed the steel head in his opponent's flesh, knowing that such a maneuver would end the battle in a single stroke, but he misjudged the distance and Sombra easily blocked the weapon's swing with the blade of his own. For a few tense moments their blades were locked against one another, each one of the combatants hoping to overpower the other, before Sombra got the upper hoof by pulling his weapon away and stepping aside of the strike. The sudden gravitational force threw the soldier off, causing the poor pony to lose his balance and leave him open to a counterattack. Sombra smiled, having spotted a perfect chance to end their pathetic little scuffle once and for all. He rushed the guard, his majestic cloak wildly whipping behind him as he galloped towards the defenseless stallion. And, within a single move, he ended the battle. He swung the flat end of his broadsword against the soldier's helmet, which resonated with a loud metallic clang and knocked the stallion backward by several paces. He must've been quite dazed as well, as the sudden strike caused him to drop the spear from his mouth and roll away uselessly as he crumpled against the wall behind him. A few moments passed before the stallion finally came to his senses. He slowly shook his head, and realized that for some strange reason he didn't have a blade shoved down his throat yet. Not that he was complaining about that per say, it just confused him. Any competent soldier would have ran their sword through his gut so fast that he wouldn't even have time to beg for forgiveness or mercy. Why not Sombra? Perhaps he wanted to torture some information out of him. However, what information would he even want? The location of Canterlot? It wasn't exactly hard to find, he would just need to keep heading south and he would eventually come across the castle. After contemplating this for a few seconds, he finally decided to open his eyes so that he could take a look around. The first thing that came into his field of view was a very familiar pair of hooves; clad in steel hoofguards. His gaze began to ascend at a snail's pace, taking in every inch of the muscular physique before him, before he finally met the gleaming emerald eyes of the tyrant. Those eyes, they sent a chill down Evening Star's spine. The way they were watching him, the way they carried the same hunger that the numbered stallion had when he turned his back on the former author. What was the King waiting for? Just slit his throat, decapitate him, ram the sword so far into his stomach that its blade got entangled in his organs, he didn't care at this point! He failed in his task; he deserved a painful death. But alas, that sweet embrace of death had yet to be granted. "Now that you're finally awake," he heard the King say as he leaned down uncomfortably close to the guard. This invasion of his personal space wasn't helping either; it was just raising even more red flags that something truly horrible was about to happen to him. He could feel Sombra's hot breath against his muzzle with each breath that the Royal exhaled, why was he getting this close to him?! "I think it's about time that I claimed my prize." And with that, the King did something that the helpless Earth pony could have never predicted or seen coming: His foe closed the distance and kissed him. For the few moments that it lasted, Evening Star was in total and complete shock. His mind desperately tried to connect the dots on what was going on, but continuously kept failing over and over again. Though, there was a single thought that formed in the deepest crevice of his thoughts: He...felt a small sense of pleasure from the kiss. However, before he could even contemplate on that thought he felt some kind of smokey sensation fill his mouth and throat. It felt like it was sifting into his mind, dulling his thoughts and making it incredibly difficult to think properly. A few moments later, his eyes rolled back into his head and he lost consciousness once more. As he watched his former opponent slump silently against the wall, King Sombra couldn't help but smile. While the pitiful little Earth pony had provided absolutely no challenge to a stallion of such high stature as himself, that was to be expected. Earth ponies and Pegasi alike were meant to serve their Unicorn masters, and the idea of a whimpering little soldier taking him on and hoping to defeat him was a total joke. However, that wasn't to say that his feeble attempt at combat had been a complete waste of time. No no no, it was quite the opposite, in fact. It had given him something to do for a minute aside from just wait for the main course to arrive, and he would even be a perfect backup plan that those Royals would never see coming. He sheathed his sword, having no need for the weapon, at least not for the time being. Without even a second of warning, his gaze turned to the small herd of his slaves that had yet to move from their positions. It was such a shame that he had to waste such good muscle, but if this plan was to come into fruition he would need to truly fuel the wrath of his foes. As he began to concentrate his sorcery, he took a good long look into their eyes. He saw a wave of fear wash over them, causing his heart to race as if he were excited by the sight. It was time to get to work.
