Sombra's Bat

It happens the next day. One moment Sombra and I are enjoying our breakfast listening to the birds sing, and the next, there is shouting and the thundering of hooves on the floor and loud bangs from the edge of the Empire. Because the crystal ponies are incapable of using magic, it is down to Sombra and I to protect the Empire. We teleport immediately to the dais where the Crystal Heart once stood and have to use all of our combined magic to keep out the Equestrian invaders. As I fuel the protection spell, I watch the scene outside of the Empire. About two hundred ponies ready to storm in. Ready to take the Empire and the Crystal Castle. They haven't learned that they are expendable to Celestia. However, this raises doubts in my own mind. The moment Sombra and I give the order to send our own soldiers out there, it makes us just as cruel and uncaring. These ponies have families too, and though Celestia's evil rays of sunlight shattered mine long ago, it hasn't destroyed theirs yet.

Once we know the Empire is secure, I request an emergency meeting with the entire Crystal Empire. Although dazed and unsettled, the guards spread the message and it is a mere few minutes before the entire population is here. I fly onto the balcony to address the crowd. I prepare for the pain of what I have to tell them all.

"Everypony, we have the misfortune to currently be at war with Equestria," I announce.

A gasp spreads amongst the ponies. Some start heckling me, shouting, "Will we be safe?" and "Will the children be evacuated?" Soon the whole crowd is talking and they lose sight of the matter at hoof.

"LISTEN!" I yell with all the power of the Royal Voice of Canterlot. I don't mean to be so harsh, but I am having to choose between following my head or my heart, and in a crisis like this my head wins. I need to think clearly.

I continue, "We will not be evacuating anypony, nor will you be in any danger. Though we have enemies, who wish to destroy the peace that the King and I have tried to establish here, we also have allies: the changelings. Their queen, Chrysalis, has formed a deal with us and we have sworn to protect each other. They will arrive here soon, and they will build a new hive near the Crystal Empire. For a while, we may have difficulty accommodating them, for there are so many of them, but that means there are more of them to protect your homeland, which has become my homeland as well, and I will do anything to keep it and its inhabitants out of harm's way."

Sombra teleports to my side. "Regarding the Royal Wedding, it may not be as grand as we thought it would be, but we will begin to make preparations as a way to stay together in these times," he tells everypony. "There will still be celebrations. We will still have the Festival of Colour. It may be delayed for a while, but as soon as we can, we will make sure it goes forward."

The distraught looks on the faces of the foals breaks my heart. If Celestia only knew the damage she was doing, she would stop at once and leave us alone.

You think she has enough of a heart to do that? I am surprised to hear Sombra's thoughts, but I keep my cool demeanour this time.

Maybe, I think, giving him a look.

She doesn't, and we both know that. She didn't care about you, or me, and she refused to do anything but watch us trot down this path and then start a war. She doesn't care, Moonlight. Don't let the sun block out the truth.

If she decides that this will be a full-on war, we will soon see whether she is capable of seeing what she has done wrong.

If she DOES realise what a grave mistake she is making, I will eat the jewels in my crown.

"My suggestion," I force myself to continue, "is that you go about your lives as usual unless the front lie gets too close to our kingdom and there is some kind of disturbance to our normal routines. In this case, we will make extra efforts to find you a temporary place to go so that you are safe. This may be difficult for the next ten days once the Changelings are here but after that we will be able to accommodate you all."

Is that everything?

Yes. Let me finish off with some faintly sentimental words about sticking together through tough times.

"Now, do not allow this to get to you so quickly. No, we are Crystal Ponies, and we are strong. I want all of us to stick together as a kingdom. Apart from the Crystal Guards and the group of you who are under Elite Guard surveillance, you are all dismissed."

There is movement as most of the ponies leave the square. However, those who are usually forced to work in the mines are here to stay, along with the guards who make them work.

What are you going to do?

Brief them on what is going to happen.

And your plans for the prisoners are?

To make them loyal.

You're going to turn them into Elite Guards, aren't you?

Yes, I am. While there is a much more important reason for getting them down into the mines than what most ponies think, we ultimately need to have a large army to prepare for this war. Do you think this is an issue?

Well, yes. I don't like the lack of free will, to be honest. Do we have to do this to them? Surely this makes us no better than Celestia controlling Equestria like a ventriloquist and her army of puppets.

They can still walk around and interact with other ponies. They are not fully under my control, believe it or not. You have never used mind control on a pony properly, but it does not restrict them completely. They have a lot more freedom than what those who are locked in Tartarus get. That is what Celestia will do with you if we don't act. I am only doing this to protect you, my queen.

Fine. Lead the way.

"All of you, to the throne room," he orders. I walk there with him, and eventually everypony gathers there. We each take our places on the two black crystal thrones.

"First of all, I am to address those who have previously spoken out against me and refused to co-operate. For you, I have an offer. Join the Crystal Guard willingly, and you shall be allowed to stay here on the home front, or join the existing Elite Guard and be sent to fight for the Crystal Empire by force." He gives the group of unruly mares and stallions a deadpan stare. Most of them have filthy coats and need to brush their manes and tails. Some of them look wild and defiant, standing tall and staring back at us; others have lost the fight in them and bow in submission. Two Elite Guards walk through the crowd of prisoners and separate the fighters from the ones who have given up.

"Those of you who have refused once again to stand with me, know this: I am... disappointed that I have been unable to convince you to willingly become a part of this new society. I am not as cruel as I used to be. In fact, I have been incredibly lenient. You have made your choice to defy me once more, and now I will take the choice away from you, as I have already done with some of the others.

"However, those of you who have changed your minds have made me glad. I know that it has been difficult, but you have realised that really I mean no harm. I want the best for all of you. I will endeavour to keep you and the rest of the regular guards safe from the tragedy of war, and only make you join the fight on the battlefield if it is absolutely necessary."

Good speech, now why am I here?

I need to show you what happens when a pony joins the elite guard.

Now?

Not quite. I can sense your fear. Do not worry, it is painless. Also, I am protecting them from Celestia's putrid reign.

I still don't think this is right, but if you think it is, then continue.

"All of the current guards may go back to their usual duties. Those of you who would ordinarily be supervising the mines should patrol the streets or train together. I would also like all of those who have decided to become Crystal Guards willingly to go home for now and await further instructions."

I wait for the slightly luckier group of ponies to start leaving before I ask Sombra, So how do we decide which of these need to be fully under your control and which ones are "good"?

You don't have to watch if you don't want to. If he were speaking, his voice would barely be a whisper. He avoids my gaze. If this is not what you want for your subjects, I can find something else for them to do. I can relax some of the rules if you wish.

I would appreciate it. I don't know why I'm hesitating, but I'm worried we'll lose their trust if this is what we resort to every time Celestia threatens us. I also pity them slightly.

Have no fear, I can tweak my original plan.

"All of you, my future queen here wishes me to take pity on you. I see no problem in making you all join the Elite Crystal Guard here and now, and forcing my control upon you, but she has a much kinder soul than I, and her wish is to grant freedom for all ponies regardless of their actions." He looks at me and motions for me to step forwards and speak. I have no idea what to say, though.

Follow your heart. My heart has been twisted by anger and jealousy beyond recognition, but there is still light and hope in yours. Let me hear your plan.

"I want you all to understand that I have trotted this path in life because of the great injustice done to me by one of the rulers of Equestria. She took my home, my family, my friends, everything and everypony I loved. King Sombra happened to be in a similar position, and the only one that I knew would be there despite Celestia's corruption. Others may see it differently, but the Princess of the Sun had ruined my life up until the monarchy was re-established here.

"I am completely torn as to what to do with all of you. I know that we have to have the rule of law here, but I feel that the King and I have been harsh. All of you have been stood here together to defy King Sombra and myself, so I would like to know what it is that you dislike about us."

A stallion with a white coat and grey mane steps forward.

"Speak," I order.

"You and Sombra organised the coup of our homeland. You took away our right to choose our leader. You also put huge restrictions on what we can and can't say and do. There is so much secrecy around you both that we have no trust for you. One of you is a random vampire who showed up out of nowhere and declared yourself Captain of the Royal Guard, and the other is a thing who is barely associated with a pony." He spits on my hooves. "I spoke because I wanted to, not because you ordered me. I am a free pony."

I give Sombra a look of pain as I realise that there has to be a better way of ruling the land. Head or heart? What to do?

"Moonlight, Equestria doesn't get to choose their rulers. Their government is picked for them by Celestia and Luna. I rule this place, and you are going to rule it too. We have to do what is best for everypony involved."

"Is this the best thing? Look at them. They have a perfectly good reason to dislike us. Celestia would keep everything the way it is, because she is stuck in her ways and won't get of her high horse. Good leaders need to adapt to their circumstances."

I receive a few nods and murmurs of agreement.

"We are going to war, and Celestia did not back down like we thought she would. Moonlight, they have broken the law and need to be punished."

"Laws can change."

"Only if the monarch sees a good reason to change them," he counters.

I can feel my emotions boiling over. Yesterday, I was so sure that he was right, but now I am much less so. He cannot see that what he is doing is nonsensical and that there has to be a positive relationship between the rulers and their subjects. I raise my voice. "This is a good reason. Do you want to be King of the Crystal Empire or not? The Equestrian train line doesn't actually reach the Crystal Empire and has probably been cut off by now, but if you don't give everypony a good reason to stay then you won't have anything to be the ruler of. Besides, our war isn't with them, it's with Celestia."

"If they think that she is better than us, let them leave and see for themselves when this war really kicks off. The same goes for you."

His words are a thorn in my heart. I turn away from him. "You don't mean that, Sombra. You aren't thinking clearly."

"I am. Now make your choice. You can be my queen or Celestia's servant. Run along now, foals are not allowed to play in the throne room."

"What if I refuse to make a choice? Will you use your fancy mind control tricks on me?"

No reply.

"Answer me, Sombra, I haven't got all day. The fact of the matter is that I could leave and side with Equestria, which has the might of three alicorns behind it, and if I did then our power would vastly outweigh yours even with the Changelings helping you out."

"Go then! Get out of my sight! What you seem to forget is that I want the best for you. I gave you a chance to shine and this is what you do. So ungrateful, it's despicable."

"Ponies make mistakes, and your biggest is not realising how many irreversible mistakes you have made."

Out of pure anger, I walk down to stand with the convicted. An Elite Guard walks into the room and shoves me to one side. I watch as Sombra creates that cruel-looking black armour and puts it on them. The dark magic takes effect instantly. That ghastly purple gas forms around their heads and the eye slits on the helmets turn green. I have not witnessed this before, but I never imagined that it would be so horrifying. I have only seen one side of my fiance's character. I know that this is only a little hiccup, that we will make up quickly, but I cannot look at him. I teleport to my bedroom and lock the door.