We stood together just outside the barrier of the Crystal Empire. The cold snow that showered down stuck to our black exoskeletons. Despite what you would think, given our insect-like appearance, the cold temperatures were nothing to us. We were not just some weak insect, after all, we were the might of the Changeling Kingdom; so long as one of us stands, we are legion.
A scout had informed us that the mighty King Sombra’s top general had recently lost a majority of his dark power. My mother, who had disposed of her top commander, decided for herself that this would be the perfect opportunity to attack them and finally take control of their resources.
We spent weeks preparing a plan to invade. The barrier they had would immediately alert the kingdom, so a sneak attack would be pointless. It was decided by our Queen that we would simply do a full frontal assault. Despite the skepticism I saw on our drone’s face, they said nothing, remembering what she did to Pharynx. We realized that day that she would kill anyone that opposed her; possibly even her own daughter. Not a day goes by though that I wished I collected those doubters and had us stand together to oppose my mother. How I wish I wasn’t a coward at that time, because my fears would condemn them all.
Mother gave the signal and our front troopers transformed into ursa majors. She had the most sinister and content smirks as she made the command, "Go forth my children. We shall make blood rain down on the empire and claim it in my glorious name." Roars for victory could be heard throughout from the front troops. As they marched forward and triggered the barrier, even though they had turned into a monstrosity that could only be rivaled by a selective amount of creatures, I feared then that we had made a grave mistake.
The illusion had dissipated and the Crystal Empire was in our vision. From the stories that were told, I couldn't help but lament how Sombra destroyed the vision I had of it. Its once glistering colorful crystal palace from the distance now looked dull and unpolished. The grassy fields with bundles of crop and sheep now decimated and replaced with smoke-belching factories.
As our first row of troops made it inside the weather barrier (I would soon discover why Sombra never kept a forcefield to keep his enemies out), Mother continued to signal the next row to transform into giant hornet-like monsters to go out: along with the next few rows that became hydras, timberwolves, manticores, and chimeras. Just as the drones and I were about to head in as well, we saw Sombra with his troops ready for us.
Every troop froze in place out of fear. This was the first time I really ever laid eyes on Sombra; he usually allowed his top general to spread the darkness and never bothered to come out himself. Sombra's eyes gave off the most intimidating and sadistic look I had ever seen; Mother came off as a demon, but I could have confused Sombra for Death himself. What made matters worse were that he had apparently captured a dragon in the weeks we spent preparing; our "wise queen" thought it was pointless to continue spying on the Empire. He rode on top of this demonic-looking dragon; red as the royal robe Sombra wore, and with darkness emanating from its wings.
Behind him was the pony of shadows and a large army of Sombra's enslaved soldiers - it was rumored that the helmets they wore controlled their body, but that they could still see everything that happened. Besides their enslavement helms: they possessed a war lance, dark armor with the insignia of Sombra, and shields designed to make an impregnable wall of defense. What made things scarier was that they would never need to move in this battle.
"I must say Chrysalis, I'm very disappointed with your progress, I imagined you would have been here sooner," Sombra said in a tone that sounded more truthful than sarcastic. "Tell me, does it trouble you to know you have led your troops to their deaths?"
In one of the rarest moments I ever witnessed, my mother - Queen Chrysalis of the Changeling Kingdom - looked intimidated; though perhaps terrified would better describe it. She quickly regained her composer and gave a response. "Eternity is relentless, is it not? To think that you started this war because of a lost lover. Oh, how I wish I could have been there to devour such a powerful love. It's a bit surprising you keep that weakened shade as your general. I would have already killed him myself in your position. I must admit, you're very intimidating, Tyrant Monarch, but I'm afraid this is where your chapter in this wars history ends. Your kingdom belongs to me. ATTACK!"
The troops already inside the barrier began to charge. From the way things looked, you would have assumed that victory was as good as ours, but as we approached, I didn't see Sombra in fear; he was smiling.
Before we knew what to expect, dark crystal golems carrying spears and shields of the same crystal emerged from the ground and impaled our charging front troops. From the sky, I saw dragons made of the same substance as the golems. From their mouths, they shot out crystal shards and gave the appearance of raining spears. The aftermath of this frenzy we saw was horrid. Never in my life had I seen our blood flow as steady as a river. To see the hundreds of thousands of torn, mangled corpses that littered the battlefield and quickly emitted that rotten repugnant stench; it caused me to vomit almost immediately.
Despite the massacre we had witnessed, we quickly noticed how the crystal monsters didn't come for us outside this barrier; meaning the barrier was the proximity for the beasts to move and attack. I could see the anger in mother quickly change to sheer terror as she quickly flew away yelling for us to retreat after gaining a headstart from me and the remaining few thousand troops. "I'm afraid you're queen has abandoned you. It appears it never troubled her to murder her children. Such a disappointing mother."
With dread and the greatest fear for our lives, we flew as fast as we could. It didn't matter, however. Sombra used his magic to rise crystal above us; impaling hundreds of our troops. The pony of Shadow launched spears of darkness and impaled multiple troops. To make matters worse, Sombra had his dragon expel a massive ball of fire from its mouth. I thought for sure it was the end for me, but to my surprise, the remaining changelings gathered and formed a barrier behind me.
"What are you doing," I shouted, completely in tears, "you'll all die. Get out of here."
The troops, in those final seconds, said to me, "Find Pharynx, princess. He'll have the others. It's clear now who was truly meant to lead us. Live on and become the better queen you were meant to be." The blast hit them and the impact of the blast sent me flying away. As I was losing consciousness, I saw the final troops, my family, incinerate before me.
When I awoke, I found myself mysteriously in a cave, sleeping on a pillow and wrapped in a blanket. I didn't know how I survived, how my injuries were not as severe as I would have expected, nor exactly how far I was launched out of the empire, but that wasn't what concerned me at the moment. All I could do was cry; mourning my dead brothers and sisters that my renounced mother, Crysalis, left to die. At that point, in all my enraged furry, I swore to avenge them, to find Pharynx, and to become the future queen they saw in me.
It was then that I noticed in the distance five others coming in the cave: a pony, dragon, griffon, hippogriff, and a yak.
"I'm glad to see you're awake now, madam," the pony chivalrously spoke, "can you tell me what happened?"
Author's Note
And that is how dangerous Sombra is. I hope you enjoyed this fic and hope you will read The Equestria That Never Was to see them eventually appear again.
