“WAR!” yelled a unicorn guard as he galloped through the streets of Canterlot using his magic to amplify his voice. “EQUESTRIA IS AT WAR! A STATE OF EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED AND A DRAFT IS IN EFFECT! ALL ABLE BODY PONIES ARE HEREBY REQUESTED TO ENLIST! DEFEND YOUR NATION!”
It was the same in every city and town as word quickly spread. Many enlisted and many more were drafted. Many had never touched a weapon. Many had no business using one. For a land that’s been known for peace and harmony for centuries, war was a foreign concept, and unfortunately they were on their own. They did have alliances with the Griffon and Dragon Kingdoms but after the two went to war with each other awhile back and Equestria refused to take a side it fell apart. The Zebra Tribes lacked a traditional army, the Diamond Dog Kingdom was hopeless, and the Minotaur Kingdom along with Saddle Arabia and Maretonia simply refused to be dragged into a conflict.
(Earlier)
“Sooo, now that the Crystal Empire is ours what do we do first?”
“The first thing I want to do is spend a little quality time with you.”
“Are you sure we have time?”
“It will be at least a day before the others make it back to Canterlot and I just put up a shield to keep the Crystal Ponies from leaving. We can afford a little time to ourselves.”
“Well what did you have in mind?”
“Oh there’s one thing I’ve been wanting to do.”
Sombra went over and started to nibble on her ear. Rainbow had a pretty good idea of where his was heading.
Sombra and Dash were lying in bed together under the sheets cuddled up close from having just made love for the first time.
“That was incredible. How about you?”
“That was so awesome.”
“Was it worth the wait?”
“Definitely.”
A few minutes passed by and then Sombra stretched. “As much as I would like to continue lying here next to you I’m afraid our spare time has run out and we must start making preparations.”
Rainbow let out a sigh. “Ok.”
“Follow me.”
Sombra led her down a staircase that went to an area under the palace. After a minute they came upon a door, Sombra hit the crystal above it with a blast of dark magic and it opened. Inside were rows and rows of suites of armor and weapons.
“Wow!”
“As you can see I already started. I was planning on invading Equestria a thousand years ago but the princesses got to me first. There is enough here to arm almost every Crystal Pony age sixteen and up. The armor is enchanted so that the wearer will become a mindless drone, fully obedient, they’ll be able to endure excruciating pain, know advanced combat, and they will not fear the enemy nor will their morale or resolve weaken. Of course there will need to be officers to direct the troops in battle and they’ll have different armor.”
“Cool. What next?”
“We must start outfitting our troops immediately before Equestria can muster their own. We must be the ones to strike first. In the meantime I’ll get to work on your own armor and regalia in preparation for your coronation.”
(Present)
The castle ball room was quickly converted into a war room where the princesses, Shining, and the element bearers discussed what to do next.
“Stalliongrad is the closes city we have to the Crystal Empire and the most likely to be attacked first. We need to ensure it’s defended so we can use it as a staging area to launch an attack of our own,” said Shining.
“Very well we shall send troops and aid immediately,” said Luna.
“Princess is there anything we can do?”
“I’m sorry Twilight but without Rainbow Dash there is little you and your friends can do. You’re better off staying out of this and returning to Ponyville,” said Celestia.
“There must be something we can do?”
“Princess I hereby volunteer to enlist.”
“That’s very noble of you Applejack but it’s a no. We've already lost Rainbow Dash to Sombra, if any of you were to die in battle then the situation would only get worse. You’re all welcome to stay in the castle and I’ll let you know if there is anything any of you can do to help.”
“Rise my queen.”
Rainbow stood up from having just been crowned. She had her own armor (although hers was more streamline and aerodynamic so as not to hinder her flying) and regalia with the same cape as Sombra’s but a different crown. It had been three days since Sombra and Dash took over the Crystal Empire and the city was once again covered in obsidian crystal, and their army was assembled. Two thousand ponies decked out in enchanted armor stood at the ready and an additional hundred (in regular armor of the same color scheme) were officers of varying rank from the old crystal guard who were loyal to Sombra and allowed to keep their freewill.
“Are we ready now?”
“Yes we must rally our forces. We march now!”
Celestia, Luna, and Cadence ran into the war room after Shining called an emergency meeting.
“Shining is everything alright? What happened?” said Cadence.
“I just received word from our northern scouts, and they report that Sombra and Dash are marching south with an army of at least two thousand.”
“Impossible! How could they muster that many without mobilizing almost their entire populace, and if they did then there is no way they could have trained them to fight so quickly,” said Luna.
“I don’t know how they did it only that they did. We’ve only just started to build up Stalliongrad’s defenses and the troops we sent are insufficient to protect it against such a large force. I’m afraid the city will fall before we can respond.”
“Damn! We must prepare a counter offensive at once.”
“Already in the works. Between the solar guard, lunar guard, and the reserves we’ll have enough troops to match their numbers. Unfortunately most of our new recruits haven’t even started basic training yet so we can’t use them.”
“We’ll just have to make do with what we have. A good number of our troops still have the advantage of flight or magic, and that might be all we need,” said Celestia.
“Then we must leave immediately.”
The battle of Stalliongrad was hardly even a battle at all. There were only three hundred royal guards stationed at the city and most of them fought to the death, the others fled. The city was set upon so fast that they didn’t have time to evacuate the civilians and now they were at the king and queen’s mercy. The Crystal Empire’s forces marched through the streets while singing like a choir.
HAIL KING SOMBRA!
HAIL QUEEN RAINBOW DASH!
GLORY TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!
YOUR NEW NATIVE LAND!
Sombra and Dash stood outside city hall watching the troops march by.
“So what’s the next stage of your master plan?”
“We wait. We’ve already dealt the first blow by seizing Equestrian territory. They will have no choice but to face us with whatever forces they can scrape together or else we will continue to ravage the north.”
“Then I hope they get here sooner than later.”
“Patience Dash. They’ll get here soon enough, and when they do the real fight begins.”
It wasn’t easy moving an army so far north. Earth ponies had to take trains while pegasi flew towing unicorns in chariots. The princesses, Shining, Sentinel (bat pony captain of the lunar guard), and the element bearers road the train as well. Twilight and the others had convinced Celestia to let them tagalong so they could at least attempt to try to reason with Dash, hoping that she wasn’t too far gone. They arrived at the town of Mareburg where their forces gathered. They marched the rest of the way north and set up camp a few miles from Stalliongrad but it was late into the evening so the battle would have to wait until tomorrow. At first light Sombra and Rainbow lead the Crystal Empire’s troops as they marched out across the snow laden ground towards the Equestrian comp. Equestria’s troops marched as well. As they approached one another the Equestrian forces stopped and a lone messenger galloped forth. Sombra signaled his troops to stop as well and the messenger approached them.
“The Princesses wish an audience.”
“Very well, have them meet us in the middle of this soon to be battlefield.”
The messenger turned and headed back. A couple minutes later the princesses, the two captains, and the element bearers appeared in the middle of the field. Soon after a shadow rose out of the ground and Sombra along with Dash appeared.
“Princesses, are you here to surrender?”
“Never!” said Luna.
“Oh you say that now but I think you’ll change your tune soon enough.”
Twilight stepped forward. “Dash please, don’t do this, it’s not too late. We can still stop Sombra before this goes any further.”
“Yeah, have you even considered how this will affect those that care about you? What would your parents say if they could see you now? Or what about those that looked up to you? I’m sure Scootaloo was devastated when she found out what happened,” said Fluttershy.
“Ok first of all Twilight I’m a queen now so address me properly. Second, you can’t convince me to turn on Sombra. Thirdly, you know my parents died before I moved to Ponyville, so don’t even bring them into this. And lastly, better the squirt finds out how cruel the world can be at a young age, I wish I had.”
“Very well, I can see there is no swaying you then,” said Celestia.
Celestia teleported herself and the others back behind their lines, and Sombra did the same. The two sides stared each other down for a moment. Then the Crystal Empire’s flugelhorn and Equestrian trumpet sounded.
“CHARGE!”
The two sides galloped at breakneck speed while letting out a wicked battle cry. Both leveled their spears at the other. They drew closer and closer quickly closing the distance. Then before they met Sombra used his magic to summon a row of long crystal spikes that were sticking out of the ground angled at the enemy. The Equestrian’s had no time to stop and slammed into them, their momentum was so great that the first two rows of ponies and many of the third were impaled, killing many. The rest of the troops came to a sudden stop and became so tightly packed together that most couldn’t move. Sombra retracted the spikes just as his troops closed in and they plowed into the Equestrian line. Celestia and Luna took to the air, wanting to end this as soon as possible they headed straight for Sombra and Dash.
Sombra looked at Rainbow. “You know what to do.”
“Right.”
Rainbow shot into the air and kept climbing. Celestia and Luna just ignored her believing Sombra was the greater threat. It will soon become a costly error in judgment. Luna was going to provide air support while Celestia landed and faced Sombra directly. Sombra summoned a crystal sythe while Celestia summoned a sword made from magical energy that shone with such radiance that if you could see it you would think it had been forged from the sun itself. They ran up to each other and crossed blades.
Rainbow continued to climb. Some pegasi and bat ponies spotted her and gave chase. Once she was high enough Dash dove down passing her pursuers while sending them reeling as she picked up more and more speed. A cone formed around her as she headed for the Equestrian troops. Then a few feet from the ground it happened.
*BOOM!*
A sonic rainboom detonated in the middle of the Equestrian forces and sent royal guards flying as Dash shot back into the air trailing a rainbow behind her. The shockwave rippled through their ranks knocking over, dazing, and disorienting many. The empire’s troops that were affected managed to quickly recover and went on the attack. The battle was quickly turning into a slaughter for Equestria. After the rainboom Dash shot up and redirected straight to Luna plowing her in the back and drove her hard into the ground a little way off making a small crater. Celestia became momentarily distracted by this. Sombra took advantage of this and attacked. She saw it out of the corner of her eye and just dodged it but some of her mane was clipped. Cadence saw what happened and decided she couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore and sprang into action. When the area around the crater cleared Rainbow was standing on a very injured Luna. She was barely conscious, could barely move, had cracks in her horn, and was coughing blood. Rainbow reared up on her hind legs and brought her fore hooves down hard on Luna’s horn snapping it in half.
“AAAAAAAAH!”
Cadence flew low to the ground and fired a blast of magic at Dash. Rainbow pulled out a dagger hidden under her cape with the intent of finishing the job. Now it was Sombra who became distracted when he saw the blast coming and warned Dash.
“Rainbow, behind you!”
Celestia went on the attack but Sombra managed to block. Rainbow looked back and just managed to dodge the blast. She sheathed her blade and flew toward Cadence who shot some more magic at Dash but she maneuvered around them. The two flew at each other locked in a deadly game of chicken. Cadence leveled her horn intent on impaling Dash. But Rainbow moved slightly to the right at the last second and time seemed to slow as the two came within an inch of each other. Rainbow bit down hard on Cadence’s tail as they passed and Dash being the stronger flyer kept going as Cadence came to a sudden stop then was pulled backwards. Dash whipped her head around and slammed Cadence back first on to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She turned over onto her side and tried to get up but a kick to the chest sent her a couple of feet back and she rolled onto her stomach struggling to breath. Some pegasi saw this and moved in to protect the princess. Dash flew up to face them and while they distracted her a couple of them flew down to grab Cadence and they flew her back to their camp. The Equestrian lines were faltering fast and some even started to turn tail and run.
“COWARDS! STAND AND FIGHT!”
“Damn it Shining we have to pull back and regroup or this battle we be a massacre!” said Sentinel.
“Fuck! Sound a retreat.”
The retreat was sounded and the troops started to pull back. To keep the enemy from pursuing Shining put up a shield. Unfortunately not all of the royal guards were lucky enough to be on the inside of it. Those that were still engaging the enemy on the ground now had no means of escape with a barrier to their backs and the enemy to their front. They had two choices, die or surrender, most chose to surrender. Celestia heard the call to retreat. She broke off with Sombra and went to Luna, teleporting her to safety. Rainbow returned to Sombra as they watched the Equestrians flee.
“Captain!”
A pony ran up to Sombra. “Yes my king.”
“Pull our troops back. I want a count of the dead, wounded, and of how many we captured. Also strip the prisoners of their armor and weapons and have them paraded through the streets of Stalliongrad.”
“Yes your majesty.” Then Captain Greataxe ran off to relay the orders.
When it was all said and done the battlefield was littered with corpses and blood saturated the snow.
Celestia and the others were outside one of the medical tents waiting to hear how Luna and Cadence were doing. Then the field doctor came out and led them in. Cadence was hooked up to an oxygen tank to help her breath but Luna was covered in bandages, she had some casts, and was in a neck brace.
“As you can see Princess Cadence only got some bruises and a suffered a collapsed lung. Princess Luna wasn’t so lucky. In fact she’s lucky she isn’t dead or paralyzed. She had some internal injuries and bleeding. Also she broke three vertebra, two ribs, her horn, and her left foreleg along with multiple fractures in her hind legs along with some other minor injuries. She’ll be bed ridden for weeks.”
Celestia could barely stand to see her sister like this. “Luna, I-I’m so-”
“Tia don’t, you have nothing to apologize for. If anything the fault is my own. I should have went after Rainbow Dash and let you deal with Sombra but I underestimated what she was capable of.”
“I think we all did princess,” said Twilight.
The battle had been costly, between the dead and the captured the Crystal Empire estimates that Equestria lost over a thousand ponies while they suffered only three hundred and sixty seven casualties and a hundred more wounded. The captured troops numbering one hundred and seventeen were marched through the streets to show the ponies of Stalliongrad not only the strength of the Crystal Empire but how hopeless their situation was.
“So, now that we beat them on the battlefield we’re going in for the kill right?”
“No, now we make peace. I’ve already written up a treaty.”
“What?!”
“Rainbow we don’t have the forces nor the resources to sustain a long war effort which is exactly what this is going to become. Equestria can stay on the defense for years and field tens of thousands of troops once trained. Besides we stand to gain far more in a shorter amount of time than if we went on a grand campaign of conquest. Maybe a thousand years ago when Equestria was far weaker we could have conquered it but not right now. All we had to do was deliver one devastating blow to them so they would give in to our demands. Equestria will fall one day when we are in a more favorable position.”
“Ok, so what are our demands?” Sombra showed Dash the treaty and she skimmed it but slowed down at the important parts. “Wow! You’re sure they’ll agree to this?”
“They’re in no position to refuse. It’s either this or the loss of their nation.”
“Didn’t you just say we couldn’t conquer Equsetria?”
“Yes but they don’t know that.” Sombra chuckled.
Two sentries were just outside the Equestrian camp keeping an eye out for trouble when a shadow rose up out of nowhere and scared them half to death. Sombra and Dash appeared from it.
“You two, we demand an audience with the princesses, all of them, immediately, understand?”
They just nodded and ran off to tell the princesses of their arrival. They reached the medical tent and burst in.
“Princess!” they said in unison.
“What is it?”
“King Sombra and Queen Rainbow Dash are just outside the camp and they want an audience immediately.”
Eveypony was a little shocked by that. “Very well I’ll go see what they want.”
“Umm he specifically said that all princesses should be present.”
“And I’ll see what they want first,” she said in a slightly irritated tone.
“Yes princess.”
The guards led Celestia to where Sombra and Dash were waiting. They didn’t look very pleased when only she showed.
“What do you two want?”
“We’ve come to offer peace terms.” That caught Celestia off guard. “But I wish to discuss this with the other two present so I don’t have to repeat myself. That is if they’re still alive.”
“They’re alive.” She let out a sigh. “Very well but if either of you two tries anything it will be the last thing you do.”
“You have our word, we are here to talk but if we are attacked we will defend ourselves.”
Celestia led them to the medical tent. Every guard they passed either gave the king and queen a look of hatred or fear. When they entered the tent everypony was surprised to see them. The doctor and nurses excused themselves.
“What are they doing here?!” said Shining.
“We’re here to extend a peace offer. Now here’s how this is going to go down. I’ve written a treaty, the princesses are going to accept the terms and sign it. Refuse and the war will continue causing further death and destruction.”
Sombra produced the treaty and Celestia took it in her magic then read it over. As she did her jaw dropped and hung open.
“What does it say?” said Cadence.
“You want all of the Equestrian land north of Canterlot!”
“And everypony within. Here is a map detailing our new boarders.”
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5yezsDhQjWLNTBNUVgzVEgwYmc/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-iMxLBn0aw12duvd8_OTUsw
(Note that Cloudsdale is on the Equestrian side of the line)
“That’s everything from Vanhoover to Manehattan to Trottingham!”
The others were shocked at such an imposing land grab.
“Keep reading.”
Celestia went further down. “You want us to pay you five million bits.”
“Just something to replenish our treasury with. I had spent a good sum of it a thousand years ago.”
“And you want Rainbow Dash’s Element of Harmony.”
“Better if you don’t have the whole set, and let me remind you that you’re in no position to negotiate or refuse after today’s loss, so sign.”
“What about our captured troops?”
“They belong to us now.”
Celestia didn’t like that answer. But after thinking over her options for a minute she caved. She summoned a quill along with an ink well and signed, then passed it to Luna. With great reluctance she took the quill in her mouth and signed then Cadence did so as well, he took the treaty back.
“One moment.”
Celestia disappeared and a few seconds later she returned with Dash’s element then gave it to them. She had brought the Elements of Harmony with on the off chance that Dash did have a change of heart.
“Excellent, I’ll send a train to pick up the bits in one week. Now pack your things and get off our land.”
“Wait, can we at least retrieve those that died?”
Sombra let out a sigh. “Fine you can collect your dead but you only have until sunset.”
Shadows swirled around Sombra and Dash, then they disappeared. In a rage Shining flipped a table.
“Captain, control yourself!”
“Damn it! I can’t believe we just made a deal with that tyrant!”
“And what would you have us done differently? Let them march until they conquered all of Equestria.” Shining was still pissed but held his tongue. “Now we have to get moving if we want to gather all of our dead before sunset.”
They were luckily able to collect all of their fallen troops before sunset and made their way back to Equestria. Although many weren’t happy when they heard about the treaty. Once all of them made it far enough south a wall of black crystal rose up along the newly established boarder and a mile into the Celestial sea and North Luna ocean. It was fifty feet tall and five feet deep. It wasn’t so much to keep Equestria out as it was to keep the Crystal Empire contained within. And so marked the beginning of what would come be called the Age of the Shadow Spectrum.
“SOLDIERS OF EQUESTRIA! YOUR PRINCESSES HAVE FORSAKEN YOU!” Sombra was speaking to the crowd of captured troops while using his magic to amplify his voice. “YOUR NATION HAS ABANDONED YOU! BUT I MAKE YOU AN OFFER! FIGHT FOR THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE AND BE REWARDED! THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE PERSONNEL ON THE RIGHT.”
Most took the offer and the few holdouts were dragged off for interrogation.
Word of the Equestrian defeat and the treaty signing quickly spread throughout the territories. Those that could flee the Crystal Empire by ship or air did, but the grand majority of ponies didn’t. It wasn’t because they were unable too. No, they chose to stay because the north was their home, it’s where they lived, and it’s where their livelihood was. They simply couldn’t afford to start over someplace else even if it now means living under new leadership.
What was left of Equestria was in an uproar over the events that had transpired in the north. Friends, family, and other loved ones that lived in the north were now lost to its southern populace and they were making themselves heard. The ponies of Canterlot nearly rioted outside the castle but Celestia managed to restore order before it got to that point. After things calmed down she disbanded most of the draftees now that they were no longer needed. But there were still those that voiced their outrage, like the royal treasurer Bottom Line who was voicing his opinion to Celestia right now.
“What in Tartarus were you thinking princess! We just lost nearly half of our tax revenue! Not to mention we lost Manehattan, one of our biggest and most economic cities! I mean the stock exchange was there, the Crystal Empire now controls the market! Do you have any idea what this will do to the economy! We’ll be lucky if we don’t end up in a depression, and that’s not even taking into account the five million you agreed to pay those bastards!”
Celestia just rubbed her head as she listened to him complain. Finally she had enough.
“Guards escort Bottom Line out of the throne room.”
“Yes your highness.”
Celestia swore she heard the guard mutter something under his breath.
“This isn’t over princess, mark my words, there will be financial consequences from this treaty!”
The city once known as the Crystal Empire was renamed the city of Onyx, the new empire’s capital. Sombra had modified Dash’s crown so that she could affix her element to it. Sombra was at his desk writing when Rainbow walked in.
“Sombra it’s getting late, what are you doing?”
“I’m just writing down the new reforms that we’ll be unveiling soon.”
“You say we but I’ve noticed I haven’t been included in the decision making all that much.”
“Sorry dear but these were important to insure the future of our nation.”
“Well what kind of reforms are we talking about?”
“I’ve decided to end slavery for the moment.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because times have changed. We must appear in a more favorable light to our neighboring nations. I can’t get away with all the things I did a thousand years ago without the risk of isolating ourselves from the rest of the world. But don’t worry. So long as they live within our boarders they won’t know true freedom. Also I’m disbanding most of the troops for the moment and sending the enchanted armor back to storage. It was good in the short run but we need loyal and dedicated troops that will serve us willingly. Anyways I need to fill out a few more papers.”
Rainbow walked over and wrapped her hooves around him. “Come on, can’t that wait until morning. Join me on the bed,” she said in a seductive way. She went over to the bed and laid herself out in an alluring manner.
“Well, if you insist,” he said in a playful way.
The king and queen soon released the new reforms across the Crystal Empire. When it was discovered that slavery was ending the Crystal Ponies and the ponies in the new territories breathed a sigh of relief. Another reform was that all mares had to produce at least one offspring before the age of thirty five, and another said that if an orphan wasn’t adopted by the age of sixteen they would be drafted into the army. Also certain freedoms were revoked in the old Equestrian territories such as speech, press, and assembly.
A week had passed since the treaty which came to be known as the Treaty of Solar Crystal, and a cargo train left Onyx bound for Canterlot. When it approached the wall of crystal a tunnel opened allowing the train to pass and it soon arrived in Canterlot, and to a waiting mob of ponies. The solar guard was just managing to keep the crowd under control as the crates of bits were loaded on the train. After the cargo was loaded the train left for the Crystal Empire, but retrieving the bits wasn’t its only mission. Before it reached the city it let off some passengers, a few ex royal guards and civilians that Sombra had recruited to form a spy ring in Canterlot. The guards would go to the castle and tell of their escape from the empire and rejoin the guard while the civilians would relay any information they got from the guards or obtained themselves back to the Crystal Empire through a new messaging system. An enchanted crystal would slide across a piece of paper and absorb the worded ink which would be transferred to another crystal in the empire, then it would slide across a blank paper printing out the message exactly as it was written.
Paying the bits had been the final straw for some royal guards and they resigned soon after, and one Lieutenant (now self-declared Captain) Strong Hoof managed to rally them and formed a secret militia in the White Tail Woods. He even managed to sway some nobles to privately fund their slowly growing force.
“So glad we could reach an agreement.” Sombra and Dash were with King Gray Feathers of the griffins having just struck a non-aggression pact and a trade agreement. The king and his advisers left soon after. “Everything’s going smoothly. With the agreement we just made along with the ones with the Yaks we’re doing pretty well. It’s a shame the dragons wouldn’t grace us with an audience but perhaps they’ll change their minds. Anyways I’ll send an emissary to the minotaurs right away.”
“So why aren’t we just making allies with these nations?”
“Because one does not simply rush into an alliance, it’s a process. First you make smaller treaties, then you build upon them forging trust and good relations, and then you start making allies. But don’t worry with the trade agreements we’ll have a decent flow of bits and goods while we work our way up. Besides there is no immediate external threats at the moment, from what our spies have told us Equestria is slowly falling apart at the seams and is in no position to cause trouble.”
