A giant figure made it's way through the snowy north of Equestria. His hooves left enormous prints in the snow as he walked through the heavy blizzard, his goal lying at the end of it. He had left his brother to deal with the ponies around Canterlot and set his own destination to the Crystal Empire. Having heard of how vital the empire was to Equestria, it provided a perfect starting pointing in his quest for absolute power.
Howwwwwwwl.
Tirek stopped in his tracks when he heard what sounded like a howl coming from somewhere above him. He looked up to the white sky and, at first, saw nothing but the falling snow. However, he kept his gaze locked for a moment and made out a figure in the sky. A figure that resembled a white/blue horse. He then noticed another and another. Wendigos.
This caught Tirek's interested as he knew wendigos to be creatures that preyed on hatred. From what he had heard, the Crystal Empire was ruled by the Princess of Love, Amore, and had been at peace even during Discord's reign. Why would Wendigos start gathering around such a place?
Suspicious but not distracted, Tirek pressed on with his guard up.
After around half an hour of trekking through the snowy wasteland, Tirek bumped into something. He backed up slightly and looked to see only more of the tundra with no empire in sight. He pushed his hands forward and found them pressing against something invisible. A hidden force field. Tirek grinned as a yellow orb of magic appeared between his horns. In a second, the force field in front of him melted away. However, he was not prepared for what he would see on the other side.
At first thinking his eyes were deceiving him, Tirek stepped through the opening. His hooves met bare dirt as he took his first steps into the Crystal Empire... or at least, what he had thought was the Crystal Empire. He had expected a kingdom swarming with hapless ponies, bright colors, and friendship. But the empire that was laid out in front of him was like Tartarus.
The crystals that made the city were dark and jagged. The ground was like that of a desert; completely lifeless. The sky was as black as night. The Crystal Ponies that he could see were in chains. Slaves. This was not the empire he had made plans for. Of course, Tirek would not let this surprise detour him and looked to the Crystal Palace that sat at the center of all of this... and that's when he saw him.
Standing on the balcony of the palace, between two green flames, was a black pony dressed in silver armor with a red cape on his back; fit for a king. The dark pony was looking down at Tirek as if he had locked on his gaze. He stood there for but a moment before vanishing in a black flash.
Deciding to investigate, Tirek started walking towards the empire.
It was then that bolt of magic resembling red lightning slammed into the centaur, knocking him backwards into the blizzard.
Tirek got up out of the snow only to get blasted backwards again.
From beyond the repaired force field came the same pony whom Tirek had seen on the balcony. As the centaurian prince got up once more, he got a good look at the dark pony. He had a red horn upon his head that curved at the end, red eyes that had purple mist around them that acted like flames, and gave off a dark vibe with his presence of in which even Tirek could feel.
Sombra's eyes glowed green as he reared back and stomped his fore hooves into the ground, causing a barrage of dark crystals form out of the ground and move towards the centaur, their sharp tips aimed directly at him. Sombra grinned as he prepared to impale the intruder.
However, a yellow orb of magic appeared between the centaur's horns and a beam was blasted right into the barrage, effortlessly destroying them.
Sombra's grinned vanished and he quickly got out of the way just as the beam reached him. However, as he tried to run, a yellow aura of magic caught him and lifted him off the ground.
Tirek smiled as he turned around and flung his foe towards a small mountain in the distance.
Sombra's mind went into overdrive as he quickly approached to mountain and put a force field around himself just as he crashed into it. The force field broke from the impact, but protected Sombra from serious injury. Nonetheless, the impact rattled Sombra's body.
Tirek, deciding to finish his foe off to prevent having any loose ends, galloped towards the dark pony, stopping to send another destructive beam his way.
Sombra took notice of the beam coming towards him and teleported away right before it could reach him.
Tirek continued his gallop until he close enough to the mountain to see if the job was done. When he saw no signs of life around the smoldering remains of the mountain side, he smiled. "Foolish pony. Thinking you could defeat me." He turned around to return to the Crystal Empire.
"Ahahahahaha."
The centaur stopped in his tracks when he heard a dark laugh echo across the tundra.
"I believe the matter of who is the foolish one is up for debate. Hehehehe." The voice was low-pitched and ominous as if it came from the mouth of the Devil himself. It came from all sides, not allowing Tirek to figure out where it's source could come from.
Tirek looked all around him, an orb of magic between his horns, ready to fire. "Show yourself!" He demanded.
A booming sound came from behind Tirek.
The centaur turned around to see a mass of shadows forming. A pair of red and green eyes appeared before a red horn and a grey face. Sombra, in his gigantic shadowy form, launched himself at his foe.
Tirek crossed his arms in front of him and put a force field around himself as darkness surrounded him. He felt a brief surge of magic rush into his head and he lowered his arms to find himself in complete darkness. Hold on a minute... Something wasn't right. He felt weak, as if all of his strength had been drained from him. He looked down at himself. He was frail and small. He brought his hands to his a abdomen to make sure it was really him and, as he did, saw that his wrists were cuffed and attached to chains.
"What... What is this?" He questioned in a weak and raspy voice.
It was then that he heard that laugh again.
Tirek looked all around himself, once again trying to find the source of the voice. Despite how weak he felt, he tried in vain to pull against the chains. His eyes glowed in rage as he searched the darkness. "What kind of trick is this?"
No answer.
He tried to summon up his magic, but found himself unable to. Just trying to felt like he was pushing against a mountain. He was just too weak. "...This... isn't... real..." He gritted his teeth and tried harder. Sweat starting pouring down his face. "...This... isn't... real..." He tried with all his might, crouching down and putting whatever strength he had left into summoning up his magic. Finally, he felt a spark and then another and then another. A yellow orb of magic appearing above his head. "...This... isn't... REAL!"
Sombra was knocked dozens of yards away when the centaur willed his way out of Sombra's spell. The dark pony landed on his back and looked at his foe.
Tirek took deep breaths as he took in his surroundings. He was back in the tundra. It had all been an illusion.
Sombra recovered and got back on his hooves as the centaur turned to face him.
The two stared each other down for a moment.
Tirek was fascinated by this unicorn's power. He was far more powerful than any normal unicorn, having magic that could easily rival that of an alicorn. The centaur smiled as he made his decision; he would not yet kill this pony. First, he would drain him of his magic.
Sombra couldn't help but admire this centaur's power, being able to will himself out of his deepest and darkest fear. The dark stallion returned his foe's wicked smile. "Interesting." He commented.
"I must commend you," Tirek said. "I had thought only alicorns were capable of such power here." Knowing that he was not to underestimate this unicorn's power, he thought it wise to try and talk down his foe and catch him off guard. "I wouldn't have thought that I would meet a unicorn of such power and skill."
Sombra's smiled widened, showing off his fangs. "Flattery will get you no where. Still, no one ever died for it either."
"I'm curious, how did you come across such magic?"
Sombra hummed in thought. He knew what this centaur was doing, trying to make sweet talk with him so that he would lower his guard. Still, the black king played along. "It wasn't something I was born with, I'll admit. I took to studying the black arts, learning and utilizing the darkest and most forbidden of magic. And now, I am more powerful than even Princess Celestia. What of you?"
"I learned from an old centaur named Sendak, but he's not of any importance now."
Sombra continued to hum to himself.
"What do you call yourself?"
"I am King Sombra, Ruler of the Crystal Empire and soon all of Equestria. You?"
Tirek couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Apparently, the two of them had similar plans and just happened to be at each other's throats by pure coincidence. It was rather humorous. "I am Lord Tirek." Figuring it best to not mention his goal at that moment, he moved to change the subject. "I heard that the Crystal Empire was ruled by the alicorn, Princess Amore. What has become of her?"
"Dead." Sombra said without hesitation, that amused smile never leaving his face.
"You killed her?"
"Yes."
Tirek stroked his beard. "Obviously, she's been dead long enough for you to have taken complete control over the Crystal Empire. How have you avoided suspicion?"
Sombra chuckled and started walking to the right, keeping his eyes locked on Tirek. "You ask a lot of questions, Lord Tirek. Why so curious?"
He had seen through Tirek's tactics and still had his guard up. However, Tirek still had a few aces up his sleeve. "Well, you see, King Sombra, my goal is similar to yours. I came to Equestria with my brother so that I may conquer it. But here you are; with the same plan and enough power to for us to be at a stalemate."
Sombra stopped his pacing and straightened himself. "What do you have in mind?"
"We're very much alike, King Sombra. You and I want the same thing. Why not work together? It would certainly be smarter than to be against each other and complicate things for the both of us."
"You propose an alliance?"
"Exactly. You'll rule over Equestria and I'll have Equestria's magic. I will then move on to my own realm and conjure it. We will both get what we want."
To Tirek's surprised, Sombra laughed. "Ahahahaha hahahahaha! Amusing offer, Lord Tirek, but I know better." His eyes grew green. "If you are so determined to have Equestria's magic, why would you pass up the opportunity to take mine? Did you not commend me for it? And when you said that you and your brother came to Equestria to conjure it, you said 'I' rather than 'we'. Does that not indicate that you are only looking out for yourself? Hehehe. Besides, if you really are so much like me, then you are already making plans to stab me in the back as we speak."
Angered that his attempt at manipulation completely failed, Tirek summoned up his magic and blasted at Sombra, only for the unicorn to teleport away without a flinch. Noticing the dark stallion reappear several more yards away, right at the edge of a cliff, Tirek gritted his teeth and steeled himself.
Deciding to take a more direct approach, Sombra charged trait for his foe.
Tirek raised up and fists and slammed them into the ground, causing the ground the shake and pieces of rock to fly to the surface.
Sombra's horn glow and beams of red lightning struck and destroyed every boulder in his way. However, his charge was halted when he felt the ground under him start caving in. As the ground beneath him started falling apart, he summoned up his power and made a pillar of dark crystal under himself.
Tirek took notice and blasted apart the pillar.
As the pillar under him was destroyed, Sombra made another before he could be caught in the avalanche. Each time Sombra created a pillar, Tirek destroyed it only for Sombra to make another.
Grow frustrated, Tirek galloped towards Sombra and leaped, making a b-line for the dark pony.
Sombra saw Tirek coming at him and smirked as he teleported behind the centaur and blasted him in the back.
Tirek yelled as he was knocked straight into the avalanche, unable to recover as he was dragged down off the cliff.
Sombra teleported to the other side of the cliff and looked down at his work with a smile. There was no sign of the red fiend, meaning he was completely buried in the snow. However, Sombra wasn't going to call him dead until he saw for himself. Using his magic, Sombra levitated himself down into the canyon. As he got closer, he could have sworn he saw movement.
When he reached halfway down, a yellow beam of magic erupted from the snow and came straight for him. To Sombra's luck, the beam just missed him. However, it did hit the wall directly behind him, knocking him into the other side of the cavern before dropping into the snow.
Using his magic, Tirek melted the snow around him and picked himself up.
Meanwhile, Sombra entered into his shadow form and morphed into a pony shape. In this form, he was able to match Tirek in size.
The two glared at each other, but both knew that trying to fight in the canyon was suicide.
Sombra got an idea and ran in the direction opposite of Tirek.
Tirek followed after him.
After a moment, Sombra made it out of the canyon and turned to give Tirek another magic blast.
Tirek stopped in his tracks and put a force field in front of him.
Sombra took the opportunity to blast both canyon walled beside Tirek, hoping to trap his foe for a moment.
However, Tirek galloped through the resulted avalanche and leaped towards Sombra once again, this time successfully tackling him. The two rolled off the ground with Tirek using his magic to keep Sombra from slipping away from him. Seeing his chance, Tirek opened his mouth to suck the magic out of Sombra.
Sombra was startled when he felt magic being sucked out of him, seeing it being eaten by Tirek. Thinking fast, Sombra discharged red lightning bolts of magic into Tirek's horned. Little gray crystals started growing on Tirek's horns.
Tirek felt his magic faltering and flickering it out. He felt himself unable to continue draining Sombra as well as losing his magic grip. Out of time and out of ideas, Tirek pulled back his fist and punched Sombra before he lost his ability to lose his magic.
Sombra grunted and rolled into a ball before reforming as his normal self. He stood up straight and smiled at Tirek.
Tirek tried to summon up his magic again, but found himself unable to. "What did you do to me?!" He asked angrily.
"It's simple, I put a magic nullifier on you." Sombra said in a rather smug tone. "You won't be able to use your magic for a while."
Tirek narrowed his eyes. "I can still take you on. Even without my magic, my strength is enough to fight you and I can still take whatever you throw at me."
Sombra's smile faded and was replaced with an annoyed look.
TIrek's look softened a bit. There was no point in continuing to fight Sombra if he couldn't even take his magic and he doubted that he simply kill the unicorn with his bare hands.
Sombra was also tired of this fight. While he had ideas of how he might be able to kill Tirek, he didn't know enough about him to be sure and he didn't like the risks.
"It seems we have reached an impasse."
"It appears so." Sombra agreed.
"Perhaps it would be best to save this for another time." Tirek needed time to figure out how to defeat Sombra.
"Very well." Sombra needed time to figure out how to defeat Tirek. "You go on and try to drain Equestria of it's magic," His smiled returned. "But be warned Tirek, it is always easier said than done." With that, Sombra teleported away.
Tirek stood in the same spot for a while, anticipating Sombra attacking once more. When Sombra didn't attack, Tirek moved on though with his guard up. The Crystal Empire would not be his starting point, but it didn't matter. Soon, Equestria would be his and Sombra would be just another broken body.
Cerberus stood guard at the gates of Tartarus as he always did; ready to attack any intruder who dared to trespass and any inmate who dared to try and escape. Not long ago, the prison had been fed a new inmate: Lord Tirek. He had attempted to steal all of Equestria's magic for himself and rejected the offer of friendship given to him. Too dangerous for risks to be taken and too hateful to seek redemption, he was condemned to Tartarus for eternity.
It seemed like it would be an incident free day, but this was not to be the case.
Cerberus growled as a dark pony entered through the gates. The three-headed dog barred it's teeth as the pony approached. The intruder gave off a vibe that filled Cerberus with a sense of dread and made him hesitant to attack. The pony came closer and started to turn into some kind of living shadow before pouncing the guard dog.
Cerberus snapped his jaws and rolled around, trying to attack the stranger, but found himself all alone. He felt smaller. Vulnerable. He examined himself to see he was just a puppy. It was then that he heard a growl. No, several growls. He looked up to see several three-headed dogs closing in on him. All bigger than him; all looking at him with murderous intent. There was nothing he could do as they swarmed him.
Sombra stood back and watched in amusement as the three-headed guard dog wallowed and yelped in fear and agony before moving on with his visit.
Tirek opened his eyes when he heard the sound of hooves clopping against the stone ground approaching him. He raised his head and turned to face the unexpected visitor. The moment he saw those red and green eyes, he knew who it was.
Sombra placed himself right in front of Tirek's open chamber. The centaur's wrists were shackled and chained to the ground. He was unable to use his magic and Sombra was at a safe distance so that Tirek couldn't try anything. The evil unicorn wore the same sadistic smile he usually wore, showing off his fangs.
"Hello, Tirek." He greeted. "It seems your plans of conquest did not go the way you intended."
Tirek rose and tried to attack Sombra, but was held back by his restraints.
Sombra chuckled at his futile attempt.
Tirek took a deep breath and stepped back. "What do you want?"
"I came to answer your question." Sombra explained. "The reason the Princesses did not know of their sister's death nor the state of the Crystal Empire is because I had kept up the illusion that I was Amore. I took the time to study her writing so that I could flawlessly copy it. I studied her and the things she did. What she would say and how she would say it. I kept up the act until it was time to strike."
Tirek raised an eyebrow. "You came all the way here to answer a question?"
Sombra hummed to himself. "Actually, I came here to let you know about the war."
"What war?"
"The war I have waged on Equestria. I heard all about your attempt at conquering Equestria. I heard of the ponies you drained. I heard of how your destroyed their homes and left them as broken shells. I also heard of how the Princesses foiled your plans and locked you down here. I just had to see for myself."
Tirek clenched his fists. "They only defeated me because of my brother! He betrayed me!"
Sombra laughed.
"What's so funny?!"
"I just find it amusing that someone who cares only about himself has the audacity to whine about betrayal. You had put too much faith in your brother. That overconfidence is the reason you're here just as it's the reason Discord is a stone statue. But now, I've plunged Equestria into war. I've taken control of ponies' minds and bodies and have made them my soldiers. I am assimilating Equestria into my power and all that resist shall be met with death and destruction."
"But how could you have accomplished that?" Tirek questioned.
"The Crystal Heart. With it, I have corrupted the land with fear and hatred. Didn't you notice the wendigos?"
"You summoned them?"
"Yes and they have provided an obstacle even the Princesses have trouble dealing with."
Tirek thought to himself. He believed there was still a chance he could persuade Sombra into a helping him. "What if they regain the Crystal Heart?"
Sombra chuckled once more. "I have made arrangements. The Crystal Heart will not be easy to get to."
"And what if they defeat you regardless? You've talked about overconfidence, so surely you must have it in your mind that you may lose?"
"I have considered the possibility of my defeat and I have made arrangements for that as well."
"Hmm... You've definitely made plans, but regardless of how many arrangements you make, you can't possibly know what will happen when the time comes."
Sombra raised an eyebrow.
"I would have had Equestria under my hooves if my brother didn't betray me. How was I supposed to know he would do that? No matter how many plans you make, there's no telling what will happen."
"And what do you think will happen?"
"The Princesses will defeat you and you'll end up here or least somewhere just as bad. But that's exactly why I want to help you."
Sombra scoffed.
"I need out of here, you need an ace. It's a deal nether of us can refuse."
Once again, Sombra laughed at Tirek. "Do you think me a fool, Tirek? Setting you free would be my downfall. Like you said, we are very much alike. I know what goes through your head because it would go through my own head. I would stab you in the back and take over therefore you would do the same."
Tirek let out a frustrated sigh. "You're smart, I'll give you out that."
"I'll show you the Princesses' heads once I'm done with them." Sombra promised before turning and starting to walk away.
"Mark my words, Sombra,"
Sombra stopped and looked back at Tirek.
"I will get out of here one day and when I do, I will destroy Equestria."
"Heh. If you get out of here, they will send you right back."
"And they will kill you before they can send me back."
"We'll see." With that, Sombra left Tirek to fester in his prison, freeing Cerberus from his spell as he left.
Little did the Princes of Darkness realize just how right they were about each other.