Short Smut: Shattered Armor

“Congratulations!” The herd of mares sang in sync. Happy faces displayed their genuine joy, some faces were more excited than others, but the sentiment remained. They formed a group hug to suffocate him in a pile of love, and he was okay with that—well, for a few seconds. Anymore and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to breathe.

“You guys are here! I feared you’d get swept up by the crowd and I wouldn’t get the chance to thank you individually,” Shining Armor combed a messy strand of blue back into his mane. Gifts were hoisted on him, and he was going to mention they were supposed to drop them off at the door upon arrival, but instead he lifted it in his magic and levitated it to the closest menial. “Please deliver these packages to Princess Flurry’s room,” he smiled at her, and she nodded before scurrying off to accomplish the task.

Twilight bounced on her hooves like she was a foal again. It warmed his heart as he watched that look of pure innocent bliss spread across her entire being. She lit up. “BBBFF! You do not know how excited I was to hear the Princess had an alicorn! Talk about a rarity,” stars were in her eyes.

“Yes?” The white unicorn, recognized as the Element of Generosity, closed the mirror she was gawking into and flipped her mane behind her shoulder. She was painstakingly making sure her appearance was perfect for such a high class event. The group laughed as she gave a confused look. “What’s so funny?”

Spike was quick to assure her. “O-oh nothing. We were just admiring your beauty,” and he rested his chin on his palms as he looked at her with deep infatuation. “At least I was,”

Twilight shook her head. The snickering died down and she faced Shining Armor again. “Mom has been hogging Flurry Heart the whole time. I’ve never seen her more happy,”

“Really? Well we better step in before she grows too attached, and won’t want to give her back,” his hoof ruffled Twilight’s mane and she allowed it. There was only a soft laugh in disapproval, but eventually she pushed into him as if she craved the head pats. The prince led the group towards the ballroom. They were excited, spoke among themselves, giggled and joked. They were dressed for the occasion, gowns like that at the Grand Galloping Gala and hairdos similar. He wore his royal red suit and Twilight used her magic to pluck a stray strand from his right shoulder.

“Oh! Before I forget; the princesses will be arriving a little later,” The mare then got close and whispered against him. “And between you and I, apparently Celestia isn’t in the best of moods,”

Shining Armor nodded. “Thanks for the heads up,” he whispered back before giving her a playful wink. Angry Celestia didn’t sound too fun, but she was good at concealing her emotions, so beyond a few short remarks she’d be no different than happy Celestia. It was nothing to worry about.

A set of guards stood tall, and as serious as ever, saluted at their captain. They turned on their hooves to open the large crystal doors. The group watched in awe when the inside of the ballroom was revealed. Ponies, both crystal and fur, were dressed formally. They congregated and tapped glasses, conversed, and most admired the newborn princess held up at the front of the room.

Nobles, lords, the wellborn, friends, family. All gathered to celebrate the birth of the alicorn. Later tonight fireworks would fall from the heavens to close the festivities. They’d rain joy on his kingdom and he would share this moment with his family. When his eyes made contact with his wife's, that fluttery feeling in his gut resurfaced. It was amazing how he was able to fall in love with her all over again whenever they were away for so long. Shining Armor felt grateful for all that he earned, and all that he cherished, and it was all laid out for him in one location.

“Ladies and gentlecolts of the court! Your high prince; Shining Armor, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the Elements of Harmony!” A triumphal entry announced their arrival. Heads turned as the room lit up with hoops and hollers. Shining Armor waved and smiled as the sea of ponies parted to allow the group through. The crowd went wild at the appearance of the dragon, who only gave a sheepish smile, and they didn’t stop until they made it to the throne. Shining Armor’s wife, mother, father, and new foal awaited him with bright looks.

“Congratulations, son,” Night Light placed a hoof on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you,”

Cadance giggled. “Look at you blushing more than when we shared our first kiss. I didn’t think I would ever see you so red,” She got close to her love and pressed their horns together. It was a warm embrace. Their foal was levitated towards the couple as they both held her. The sunlight appeared to shine down on her, a kind blessing from her great aunt.

It started as a chill.

Nothing too noticeable, but that chill quickly became a large gust of icy wind. It blew through the room and caused the guests to hold onto hats and manes to unravel from do’s. Like a dark storm rolling in, the sun was blocked out.

“What’s going on!?” Twilight Sparkle screamed over the sound of the wind.

Rainbow Dash spread her wings as she flew higher to get a good look through the large crystal windows. “That’s no thundercloud!”

The cloud moved unnaturally quick, and in seconds a small twister crashed through the glass and filled the ballroom with dark smoke. It flew just over heads and sent Rainbow Dash to the ground. The twister grew smaller, tighter, as it traveled with cognizant. The ponies got down and covered their heads as that painful chill roared past them.

Then it stopped.

Everything grew still, and the smoke balled then landed in the center of the room. Ponies pushed out of the way to get as far away from the darkness as possible. A good amount of space was made when it formed, stirred like liquid ice, and out of the shadow stepped a tall stallion. His eyes were cold, and the tip of his horn was ember with dark magic. Silver armor clattered beneath his red cape, and with each step he took it appeared he weighed a ton. Yet he had no hooves, no legs, just pure shadow beneath his barrel. “I have returned home, and what is this I see but another alicorn?” a wide sharp-tooth grin spread across the tyrannical maniac’s muzzle. He licked his lips. “Shall I offer my blessings? How about a long, happy, and healthy life—or perhaps that is too much to ask,”

“Sombra!” Twilight growled. Her friends took a defensive stance. They had her back and that alone charged her up to the max. The alicorn shot a blast of purple magic at the old king and he disappeared into a puff of smoke. Sombra reformed near the back door. “How is this possible!?” Twilight Sparkle yelled as she prepared another blast. “What happened to the Crystal Heart—?“

The grey stallion smiled wide when the doors burst open and an army of guards stormed through. Sombra was quickly spotted as he casually turned to face them. Horns went ablaze and weapons were ready to take down the threat. Before the tip of a blade or a spark of light could touch a strand of his fur, a black wave crashed from beneath them, wild, and it spread like the ocean crashing over the shore. It engulfed them in one mighty splash, and just like water, it solidified and entrapped the army in one swift move. The guards became a wall of ponies and they blocked the exit.

Sombra wiped a stream of ink from his cheek.

Twilight aimed again, and smoke filled the room. The castle was absolutely surrounded by it. The blue sky and the natural daylight became a thing of the past. A scream was heard not too far away and the alicorn tried to spread her wings when suddenly something fell on top of her and weighed her body down. It poured from the ceiling, a stream of thick molasses, sticky, and hard to move through. It didn’t take but a few seconds for it to harden and encase Spike to her back. She feared it would kill him, but found the substance made sure to avoid eyes and snouts. Before she could turn her head she became still and trapped in her last pose. A rat in a sticky trap. A living statue. The yelps from her friends behind her told her that they too were coated in this stuff. Twilight’s horn went ablaze when suddenly another wave of black liquid washed through the whole of the room. They were underwater, holding their breaths, as they were weighted down to the floor. It only lasted a few seconds before the wave drained, and the room cleared, but the fear of drowning still had the mare's heart beating rapidly. Unlike the guards, she realized that she wasn’t encased, but when she tried to use her horn again nothing came of it. Black diamonds coated the heads of all the unicorns.

“Shining!” A shriek of panic surged through the rumbling ballroom. Not a minute before the ground shook, the telltale signs of a shifted tectonic plate. The walls vibrated, moving in such a way one would think there were doubles. Princess Cadance still held onto their daughter, but she too was covered in thick tar. Twilight Velvet and Night Light were glued together, a two headed horse, as diamonds held them. The goans and screams of the cocooned ponies rang throughout the ballroom.

The prince noticed that he was clear of any obstructions; no tar, no diamonds, and he was as dry as a bone. The smoke cleared away. The ground continued to rumble. He spotted Sombra poised in the center of the room, and the grin he wore made Shining Armor sick. The knight charged forward and a sword was formed from his magic as he grasped it in his teeth. And he leaped into the air, his feet tucked, as he jumped over a large group of trapped ponies without a beat. He swung his sword down at his opponent. There was no time to question why he was untouched, what mattered was subduing the enemy before he caused more damage. The blade sliced through the smoke. Sombra moved seamlessly like running water, and Shining Armor kept up, light footed, and with precise strikes. He moved quickly, spinning the blade effortlessly. It was wielded with such master craft that one would wonder if he was destined to handle it. He slashed Sombra on his curved horn, and the former king grunted in pain.

The dark stallion took solid form. “You steal my throne and now you dare to strike me?!” King Sombra raised his voice, and he shot a bolt of lightning at Shining Armor.

The knight blocked it with the blade before charging and leaping with the tip of his weapon aimed forward. Sombra dodged again, but the prince was quick to shuffle to his next move, and his next, and his next. Each time getting dangerously close to cutting down the once glorious ruler. This was all done without the use of magic, his opponent had it, yet fought him without fault organically. That fact alone had a rage brew deep in Sombra.

The king had to change tactics. He shot the ground with a ball of destructive magic. The terrain parted as the floor cracked. The ponies just above the crystal floor were unable to move as more and more of their sturdy haven shattered.

Shining Armor caught this in his peripheral vision. He quickly shot out a magical shield to catch them before they fell into the maw of the earth.

Sombra laughed as he shot another destructive orb at a corresponding portion of the ground and watched as Shining Armor was quick to shield those useless ponies too. And while he was distracted, Sombra shot another bolt of lighting at him. The sword blocked it, but in the process was split in half. The unicorn prince was forced to rid his weapon.

The two stood face to face, circling around the crumbling ballroom. Smoke blew from beneath Sombra’s hooves, his horn lit as the same devious grin widened. In seconds another bolt of dark magic striked the last pillar, cracking what was holding the broken half of the hall together. The floor collapsed and the remaining ponies on the island fell.

As quick as a mantis’ tibia, another shield went up to catch them. With his magic he levitated the bubble of ponies in midair. Beneath them was the crash of molten magma at the bottom of the pit. They screamed, covered in tar and unable to move, it would’ve been a helpless death. Seeing what Sombra was planning, Shining Armor bubbled the remaining paralyzed ponies.

“That’s it, little prince! Protect the expendable!” Another black strike of lighting came barreling to Shining Armor’s side. With the distraction of keeping multiple shields up at once, the knight was caught off guard and only managed to jump out of the way at the absolute last minute. Instead of the strike piercing his heart, it got his left hind thigh.

“Gahh!” he grunted and fought the need to fall on his knees. The skin was badly burned, black crisps edged his white fur, yet he didn’t look at his injury as he swallowed back the pain. He wouldn’t let Sombra win that easily. Not when lives depended on it. Shining Armor glared at the dark lord with heated determination. “You’re a coward! You know you can’t win unless you play dirty! But why don’t you fight me one on one like a stallion?!”

Sombra laughed as sharp teeth glared under the light of the bright crystals. The mist at his feet dissipated to reveal a body as physical as any other. In seconds the heavy armor decorating his dark form was lifted and flung aside. Bulky hooves pawed at the ground, and air blew from his nostrils, a warning of his next act. He didn’t break his eye contact and neither did Shining Armor. “You will regret those words!” the ashen steed charged forward. Smoke coasted at his hind legs, wisping from his body like steam above a boiling pot. His mane blew behind him as the sound of his gallop thundered full speed towards his foe.

Shining Armor planted his legs firmly where he stood as he prepared for the impact. Sombra aimed for his neck with all intents to barrel right through it and snap his spine. The knight was smarter than that as in the last minute his feet shifted beneath him as he dodged the first blow. This left Sombra struggling to slow down in order to make a sharp turn, and he was bucked hard against the flank. The grey stallion nearly lost his footing, but he dispersed his weight on his rear to break. Sombra’s hooves dragged to a halt. Shining Armor galloped towards him. The ex king turned on his hinges, head forward to stake his horn into his opponent’s flesh. Shining Armor’s head remained low until they made contact, he ended up just beneath the dark lord’s chin, and he sprung his head up to crash against the other’s jaw. Sombra let out a deep grunt of discomfort. He immediately pushed up on his hind legs to gain higher ground, and Shining Armor launched himself backwards to get out of the other’s stomp zone. Without much thought he two got on his hind legs, and the two stallions crashed against each other like opposing tides. They both tried to topple the other with shear strength. The height difference gave Sombra an unfair advantage, yet Shining Armor still managed to shove the larger back on all fours. Sombra growled, quick to push his head against the side of the white stallion’s cutie mark, and Shining Armor did the same, causing the two to fall into a sort of tango. Around they went in a circle, nipping at rears and keening. The white stallion raised a hind leg to buck the other again, this time getting him square in the forehead below his horn, and breaking their aggressive dance.

Dazed, Sombra shook his head. He stumbled. He refused to fall. It would be a sign of defeat, an easy win for the younger stallion, and in front of so many eyes to boot. The anger on Sombra’s face wasn’t hard to miss.

And despite their battle, the unicorn's glow didn’t falter, and the shields stayed as intact as the solid ground. Shining Armor raised his head high as he looked down at his adversary. “You will turn yourself in immediately. The fight is over,”

“You!” The dark king started, his voice raising with rage. “You do not dare to command me! This is my kingdom!” And he charged forward again, his horn burning with magic, as he aimed for between the eyes. “And if I cannot have it then it shall be destroyed!”

Another shield went up to reflect the bolt of black lighting. It boomeranged back towards Sombra and he galloped out of the way before shooting again, faster this time, and with a spell that would dissolve solids quicker than hydrochloric acid. Another shield went up and it caught it and shot it back with such precision that the magic hadn’t a chance to scratch the surface. Sombra threw two bolts of lightning, each going in two separate locations, and he picked up his pace, the ballroom seeming to get longer the more he charged. Again, Shining armor put up a bubble shield around his person, regardless if they hit the shields were inextirpable. No magic would pierce through it—no magic known to Sombra.

Muffled cheers and words of encouragement could be heard from his subjects, his family, his loving wife, and it made the prince—despite his injuries—dig in his heels. When Sombra at last reached him, the old king slammed into his shield and he beamed with rage.

Out from his dark magic came a blunt mace wielded in the horse’s jaws and swung with great fruition. His tactics were barbaric; leaning more on brute strength and the power in each blow than careful movement. Yet over and over again, he senselessly bashed against the magical targe as his mane became a mess and his eyes crazed with spleen.

The heated king’s weak spots were exposed. An easy defeat once again reared its head. Shining Armor had no intentions to kill, but as a soldier he would do what needed to be done for the safety of his nation. The shield around him lowered and morphed into a sword of his own, and this one longer than the last. He held it with his magic and blocked an upper head strike from Sombra’s club. It was then, as he struggled to hold his weapon up, he saw the desultory in his opponent’s eyes dissolve, and a grin replaced his anger.

Muted through his shield he heard the ponies scream as if trying to get his attention. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but made the grave mistake of turning his head just slightly to catch what they wanted—

“Gahh!” Shining Armor yelped as an agonizing burn hit his injured thigh. Black smoke clouded the two stallions obscuring the view for only a second before Sombra was quick to blow it away. The sword went down as the dark horse’s mace clobbered the prince on the right shoulder and tore his red suit in the process. It didn’t break bone, as that wasn’t Sombra’s intentions, but it caused a ghastly gash to tear from his skin and trickle blood down his pearly white coat. Shining Armor stayed on his hooves, prepared to put up another shield, when Sombra bucked him hard against the new wound. The prince stumbled, and another hard buck caused him to fall on his face.

“Stay down, colt! Accept your place beneath my hooves!” The old king laughed before rearing up on his hind legs. “Know your place! This kingdom is mine!” and all of his weight came crashing down on Shining Armor’s side. He did it again, and again, and again. Each time adding more vigor, more force. He enjoyed the screams from the bubbles of ponies, he enjoyed the crunch of bone, and the blood pouring from his lesser opponent’s nose. And he didn’t stop stomping until he felt satisfied.

Sombra let out a victorious whinny as he left the fallen prince to soak in his shame. His hooves were dusted off, his horn wiped clean. Now he faced the tarred masses, and he stared at the two alicorns specifically. “My reign begins anew!” And the faces he saw weren’t ones that would fill him with devious joy, but rather they seemed to cheer, and they weren’t looking at him.

“N-not,” slowly he heard Shining Armor get on his hooves. “Not in this timeline!” And he once again took a defensive stance despite the blood oozing from him, and despite his broken bones, and despite his battered body. The shields stayed up, undisturbed, and he was ready to battle Sombra again. Determination, bravery, never left his face. The love and the loyalty he felt kept him going.

And it was sickening.

Sombra was dumbfounded if only for a moment. Shining Armor prepared to summon more magic, but his horn was smothered in black smoke. The king grabbed it, no longer interested in drawing this out, nor playing fair. “You lose, Shining Armor. Accept the defeat or watch them die,” and the smoke squeezed around the base of his horn, but the magic holding the ponies up didn’t swivel.

Shining Armor stared Sombra in the eyes. There wasn’t an ounce of fear. He stepped forward.

“You want to play again? Then let’s play,” and the grey stallion charged, not forward, not directly at his target, but around him. The white stallion did what was only instinctive for an equine, he turned his rear to his target, so when the other got close they would be in kicking range. But this is what Sombra wanted. He knew the prince couldn’t punt with his injured side, so he came towards where he was weak, and he reared up, and he mounted. It was a display of dominance, and if they were wild horses it wouldn’t go much further than this, but they weren’t wild and Sombra wanted to break his spirit. Shining Armor tried to buck him off, as a bull would at a rodeo, but Sombra was a much bigger and heavier male, and the prince had damage to account for. The act was simply hurting him further, so it wasn’t long before the kicks weakened, and his movements stopped.

Sombra looked at Princess Cadance. The two locked eyes. Her gaze alone begged for him not to do it—to spare his life, to save his dignity. The Elements of Harmony all struggled to free themselves from the tar, but it was Twilight Sparkle who tried the hardest to free her horn. They spoke among each other, clearly formulating a plan, but Sombra laughed. Forget the tar and the black diamonds, Shining Armor’s shields were indestructible, and Sombra knew this all too well. Their holy knight indirectly created their prison.

To test this theory, Sombra shot a bolt of lighting at the unstable ceiling. A large chunk of crystal fell, shaped like a frozen icicle, and it crashed towards the largest orb carrying most of the party guests. The trapped ponies could do nothing but scream and shield their eyes when what would surely crush them came ever so closer. The crystal dropped, and it shattered against the shield, yet it stayed unshaken. The magma below them hissed when it was fed the large gem. The gorge opened to the center of the earth had spread wider.

Shining Armor kept his magic up despite the pain from the grip on his horn. He wouldn’t be able to cast another spell, but he could contain the shields currently up. “Get off me and let’s settle this the right way!”

Sombra’s cock fell out of his sheath then. The member rubbed against his lesser’s ballsack, telling precious Shining Armor what was about to happen. He arched into him, pressing more weight on his bruised back, and he continued his hip grind. “I’m all done with that. Now stay still won’t you, my good little broodmare?” Sombra whispered against him before he chomped down on his ear.

Shining Armor was geared back into action. His senseless bucking became a more masterful effort to shake the beast from his back. He sidestepped, an awkward movement, and one hard to keep up with. Yet Sombra was not dissuaded by his attempts. The king still held his ear in his clenched teeth, and he bit harder the more he moved. The other tugged, staggered, but he didn’t stop his attempt to flee. Sombra’s front hooves jammed against his injured flank, and that got Shining Armor to both grunt in pain. The member of his assailant rubbed itself against his nethers, and Shining Armor knew the minute he stopped would be the minute it was forced in. As long as Sombra was too distracted with wrangling him into submission he wouldn’t have to worry about—

A hoof stomped against the crystal floor as Shining Armor’s hips were pulled backwards with just enough force for Sombra to shove his flair through the tight ring of his asshole.

“Yes that’s it,” The dark king mocked as his length pushed deeper while he still had his prey stunned. Their bodies were further interlocked together. They became a being of one, a mash of two stallions with eight legs, four eyes, and two heads. His beta clenched around him in a feeble attempt to force him out, but Sombra only applied more painful potency to his next thrust. This earned more bucking, more scampering, but where could one run when the threat was already on them? Regardless of Shining Armor’s aggressive movements, Sombra didn’t stop until both their testicles clashed against each other. “Now that’s a good breeding bitch. You’re taking all of me so well,”

Shining Armor swallowed back any indication of pain. He wouldn’t give Sombra the privilege of hearing him object or seeing him wince. He stayed on his feet and took the abuse with strides. Despite the old king’s words, and despite the bite to his ear, Shining Armor kept his head held high. From their angle it was hard for the crowd to see the gory details, but it took no genius to know what was happening. To be raped by another male was the biggest shame a stallion could experience, but he wouldn’t allow it to be that; shameful. He wouldn’t accept the humiliation, and as of right now, this was no different than losing a fight, or taking damage from a weapon. It was a thing no one would bat an eye at. It was a thing to shake off once it was done.

Sombra noticed his amour propre. He hated the cockiness—the gall—to keep his pride despite being rutted like an old harlot. It just filled him with ungodly rage, so he pulled his hips from his dry hole just before his tip could exit. Without much warning, he thrusted in again, stuffing the whole of himself inside his bitch. He watched the back of Shining Armor’s head, and beyond a low snort, the stallion stood unwavering. Sombra pulled out again, just before the tip, faster this time. He drived violently into him, and Shining Armor’s body rocked forward this time, but his head remained high. Sombra released his grip on his ear, adjusted his position, hugged his side, and pulled out completely this time. The other’s asshole tore, just slightly, at the flesh that sat between his testicles and anus. Still Shining Armor made no sound, and he held his useless head up.

Sombra grabbed his neck with his magic. “Why so quiet? Don’t you want your wife to hear her special somepony enjoying the company of another male?” His voice taunted, filled with bitter venom, as he attempted to get under the stallion’s skin. Shining Armor only looked forward with a stoic expression on his face. “It’s okay,” Sombra dragged his tongue down his neck. “You can moan her name,” He then shoved himself back into him, and this time he didn’t skip a beat with his rutting. Over and over again, he pounded at his back door, coating his shaft in blood and fluids, and grunting as he went faster. He made sure the sound of his wet hip smacking could be heard even through the shields. Loud and sloppy. It made heads turn and eyes clench shut, but that is what he wanted. The magic grip around his victim’s neck got tighter, yet the only noise he was graced with was another pathetic snort. Sombra went faster. The goal, his only goal, was to cause as much damage as a stallion’s cock could dish out. Between their legs was a ghastly mess of blood and runny waste.

Shining Armor still held his head high. Sombra could see he now stared at his whore of a wife. She sobbed but her love for him was a visible wave as tangible as any magic. It fed her husband, fueled him, and it was more gross than the prince’s inflated self-worth. To witness it caused the king to snap.

He hit a hoof against the back of Shining Armor’s head, and he kept doing it until his neck hung, and his front hooves went down. “Know your place!” Sombra barked as he continued to beat the defiance out of him. Shining Armor still held his tongue. He still refused to cry out in pain. “Know your place!” Sombra was no longer fucking him, yet balls deep, he only raised a hoof to strike. When that wasn’t enough he materialized a horsewhip and began lashing him on the back of his neck over and over and over again. “Know your place! Know your place! Know your bloody place!”

Still Shining Armor wouldn’t give him more than a few pained grunts.

“I’ll break you! Snap you in half! I’ll make you scream for mercy!” His hips started again. Fast, messy, primal. His whip kept coming down and was now tearing through flesh. He released his chokehold on his bitch’s neck as he hoped to hear at least a gasp. Nothing. The stubborn sow was as quiet as a church mouse. Sombra was fucking his chin into a puddle of his filth, scuffing it, bruiseing his whole being, yet Shining Armor still held his strong defiance.

Then the former ruler of the Crystal Empire’s cock swelled. The smell of blood, and the feeling of beating the bug beneath him, was bringing him close to climax. He wanted to break him though. He wanted to keep his word and see the look on the crowd’s face when he shattered their holy savior. He wanted to see this useless excuse for a prince break under the pressure.

“Prepare your womb, broodmare. You will be carrying my offspring soon,” Sombra laughed, crazed, and half hoped this would get a desired reaction out of Shining Armor. The whipping paused. The hold on his horn let up just a bit, and he amplified their voices for the audience to hear. His dick twitched in the prince’s rectum, and Sombra could feel a cry wanting to come out of the mule. The squeeze on his hips, the way the other’s hind legs struggled to stay up, the tight constricting. He knew that soon, soon this shameful excuse for a knight would cower underneath him. So Sombra’s dick crashed against his barrel one last time as a stream of hot semen shot out of him. It filled the other’s tunnel and added to the sick soup at their hooves. A mess of white and red, and the evidence of their twisted union. A gush of his cum violently overflowed the battered hole, and Sombra smiled wide, gleeful, as he went quiet and listened for Shining Armor’s pitiful whimper.

It did not come.

And when Sombra ripped out of him it still did not come. The prince breathed heavily, and he shook, if only slightly, but he let out no cry, and he once again raised his head. As Sombra pushed off his back to look at his handiwork, Shining Armor slowly got back up on all fours. He had the audacity to face him and look him in the eyes as if he weren’t just dominated in front of his nation.

Sombra smacked him which forced his face to the side. The stallion recovered quickly and stared him down again. So he smacked him again, but only got the same result. He could hear the ungrateful ponies shouting what he could only guess were useless words of encouragement, and didn’t that just piss him off?

He glared at the crystal ponies and the alicorns and their little elements of friendship. He realized the black diamonds obscuring the horns were being chipped away in a group effort. The pink earth pony was chomping down on the tar, somehow swallowing it whole as if it were measly bubblegum and not toxic hydrocarbons. She got herself, the other earth ponies, and the blue pegasus’ hooves free. They took turns bucking at the alicorn’s restraints. The baby dragon melted the tar from his upper torso, and Cadence brought her horn to his mouth and he bit into the diamond.

Sombra growled. He took a few steps towards them. Perhaps more drastic measures would have to be taken to keep them well behaved—

“What!? You can’t face me now!?” Shining Armor yelled, and he still had all the confidence as when they first started their fight.

The old king could only glare, and at first his head hung low in heated aggression, until he caught a glimmer in his peripheral vision. The army of guards were frozen solid in black diamond. Expressions and poses stuck as if turned to statues. Horns aglow, wings spread, weapons aimed in their mouths. Just like the precious little prince, they would give their lives to defend the kingdom. That selfless honor would be Shining Armor’s downfall.

“Perhaps I haven’t bred you enough, broodmare? I can see you are lusting for more, and as your king it is only right I provide you with what you desire,” Sombra sauntered over to the wall of guards. With his magical hold he grabbed Shining Armor by the mane and forced him to follow as if led by a spade bit. The white steed limped as he struggled to keep a fast pace. Eventually he was forced to be dragged, but the minute he stopped just at Sombra’s side he made sure to stand high. A trail of bloody cum told of his footpath.

“Pick your bachelor,” and a smile spread across the old king’s face.

Shining Armor looked at the faces of the many. These stallions and mares he trained and trained beside, were true bravehearts. They weren’t just pawns on a bigger game of chess, but comrades, friends, and he refused to subject any one of them through Sombra’s games. So with a voice as heavy and serious as a sitting judge, he told him, “No.”

Sombra smacked him again. “Broodmares don’t get to say no. I’ll give you one more chance, otherwise I’ll be forced to pick for you,”

Shining Armor only wiped his bloody cheek. He refused to say anything more. The heated glare continued, and if looks could kill Sombra would’ve toppled over.

“All right. You have forced my hoof,” not that Shining Armor had a choice to begin with. Sombra had already picked his favorite—rather a bundle of favorites.

In the far back was a Goliath; a stallion about 16 hands from hoof to shoulder. A powerful 1,700 pounds, a good 2,000 soaking wet. Built sturdy, pure unadulterated muscle, and unsurprisingly belonging to the earth tribe. The armor the guards wore created an illusion so all looked identical when placed under the helmet. This made a unit and destroyed any semblance of individuality while on duty, and this was acceptable since what he looked like under the gear didn’t matter. He wanted Shining Armor to fear the platoon rather than the pony.

Sombra melted the diamond around the warrior. His ears twitched as he was thawed out, and as if still in the middle of the action, he swung his weapon down with a powerful roar. It crashed on the diamond around him, scattering it. The stallion blinked as if trying to recall where he was and what happened. It wasn’t shortly after he spotted Sombra and charged at him, full speed, with his axe raised.

The king was quick to dodge. His body dissipated into black fog in the blink of an eye. He reformed right behind the draft horse and the warrior turned to give him a powerful blow to the chest. Ink leaked from the wound before Sombra once again melted into smoke. He reappeared, unharmed, and in the air with Shining Armor hovering next to him. He had him by the neck and he squeezed, cutting off circulation. “Calm down or I’ll snap his neck,”

This seemed to catch the stallion’s attention. He paused, weapon still in his mouth, but now assessing the situation. He breathed heavily as air blew from his flared nostrils like an angry bull. He stared at his captain, awaiting some form of signal, an order.

With bulging eyes and a pink face, Shining Armor wheezed, “kill..him..”

The warrior didn’t hesitate. He charged forward, aiming for a surface to jump himself off to swat the fly. The blade of the axe went back as the heavy paladin picked up speed.

Quickly, Sombra released Shining Armor’s neck and grabbed his horn instead. “Come closer and I’ll cut off his magic!” The knight didn’t slow as he was clearly still set on slicing him to bits. “They will all fall to their deaths!”

The stallion skidded to a halt just before he made it to the slanted crystal prodroiding from the ground. It was then he turned to the four floating orbs of differing sizes holding the castle’s guest covered in thick tar and diamond. Their faces weren’t obscured so he could see their terrified expressions. Every single face from the young, the old, male and female. He then spotted the princesses trapped—though seemingly closer to freeing their horns. The large crack in the ground became apparent, and what happened finally pieced itself together.

Shining Armor’s horn faintly glowed underneath the shadow, and it was the sole thing keeping dozens from falling to a gruesome demise. One life was no longer a threat but many. Immediately the axe fell to the ground, cracking the crystal, and the warrior bowed in submission.

“That’s a good colt!” Sombra laughed, his voice booming for all to hear. “Now I didn’t release you from your shackles to challenge me,” Shining Armor was dropped with a painful thud, but the grip on his horn remained. Again, the pathetic prince forced his broken body to stand. It took longer this time, but he managed it, and this time Sombra allowed it. “This broodmare needs to be mated,” a black whip cracked against Shining Armor’s back. The white stallion swallowed back a yelp. “And it is your duty to service her,” he was whipped again, and now his legs shook, but he forced them to continue to carry his weight.

The earth pony raised his head. Confusion was first edged in his face before it was quickly replaced with angry disgust. To even dare to say such a thing was unheard of. It was barbaric. It was unequine. He opened his mouth to speak when Sombra quickly cut him off

“Unless you rather they all burn. Either option works for me,” and his demeanor was so casual that one couldn’t mistake his intentions.

There was only a minute of silence as it was clear the warrior was debating it. The ponies in orbs got another glance. The gravity of the situation was considered again. The clock was ticking though as the grip on the horn appeared to squeeze.

“Alright.” The paladin said before he got up on his hooves. He approached Shining Armor, and his superior turned his head away from him. “Forgive me, my lord,” he whispered. His captain said nothing in response.

“Let’s not dilly dally. His womb is weeping for your seed. Don’t you hear it?” Sombra’s grin twisted into something of sick amusement. Again, he looked at the Princess of Love and he hoped she got a very good eyeful. “I think it’s about time we give his daughter a little sister,”

The much larger guard got behind his commander. He lowered his neck to sniff at his rump. Shining Armor’s tail flicked against him, he clearly wasn’t open to this, but by the look of his injuries, he couldn’t afford to buck. Old cum seeped from his bloody rectum telling of his previous domination. To know this wouldn’t be the first of his violation somehow made the situation more tolerable. The courtesy to lick him to at least make entry more pleasant was offered, but the side glare he now received made the draft horse reconsider. His captain was telling him to hurry and only do what was necessary without wording it.

And he got the message loud and clear.

The paladin reared up and got on top of his back, and he attempted not to place much weight on Shining Armor but rather on his own hind legs. Then he closed his eyes and tried to imagine a soft, willing, mare. In a few seconds he grew aroused, and an erection slowly peeked its way out of its sleeve. Their bodies rubbed together, hot, glued with sweat. Shining Armor’s smaller form made it easy to pretend, and with a good imagination it was easy to envision his waist tighter and his rear thick for foal bearing. His dick fell out then. It glistened and twitched with anticipation.

Shining Armor could feel his subordinate’s malehood bump against his own. It was nearly the size of his whole barrel—far bigger than Sombra and even himself. Such a monster could break the flexibility of a well lubed uterus, so there was no way it was going inside of him flawlessly. If at all. Panic surged through his heart, but Shining Armor refused to show it. With all the agony he was in, all the pain he was put through, he simply told himself he wouldn’t feel it. It’d be over soon and he wouldn’t feel it.

He wouldn’t feel a thing.

The earth pony pushed against him. Slowly, but without any signals that he was hurting his partner, he applied more force to get himself in. One would think after already being pounded, his asshole would easily stretch, but the stubborn thing only grew swollen, and thus taut.

Shining Armor was wrong.

He could feel it. He could feel it over the other pain, and it only seemed to increase tenfold the deeper he went and the more he peeled through the tunnel of his rectum. A piercing cry nearly stumbled out of his throat, so the prince bit down on his tongue, hard. Enough to draw blood and drown out the burning sensation running throughout his body. His spine ached the most. It felt crushed on top of the leviathan tearing through his guts. The dick began to pull out, and somehow that was even worse. Shining Armor’s head spun as he felt his knees buckle. He kept standing. He told himself only a little longer and it’d be over. Then the cock pushed back in and it felt like the pain was starting all over again.

Just a little longer.

He only had to hold on a little longer.

It settled. The two still for what couldn’t have been an eternity. The world quickly became a blur as his mind only focused on the cock stuffed deep inside him. He prayed to Celestia it wouldn’t move, not until he had enough time to gather enough air in his lungs, but alas, his prayers went unanswered. A low snort was the only warning he got before the humping began and it was relentless despite his—his soldier? His subordinate? His subject? Shining Armor was bleeding from the mouth. He was going to bite his tongue in half if his rapist didn’t slow down.

“Since you refuse to let your mate know how much you are enjoying his generosity, perhaps your mouth should be put to use,” Sombra got closer to his ear and whispered gently. Shining Armor hadn’t noticed a large bar hanging above his head or the second guard freed from his diamond prison. It was another earth stallion, smaller than the one at his rear, but still massive. He too wore a face of remorse and regret.

Sombra tapped the bar and instructed this guard to get up and rest his front legs on the support. Not wanting any civilians to be killed, he did as commanded, and as his weight fell on the bar, it groaned and creaked. His cock now stood eye to eye with Shining Armor, and it was obvious what Sombra wanted, but he would not get it willingly.

“Open wide, broodmare,” he would only tell him once. It was clear the stubborn prince knew this, yet he still refused to follow orders. It was a pity. Sombra shook his head. “Fine. We’ll do it the hard way,” before there could be any objections, dark magic hooked into the stallion’s nostrils and the corners of his mouth. It forced his mouth agape, now nose pulled back, and left him looking like a filthy swine in the process. A whip cracked against the guard's rump, which caused him to snort, but push his hips forward and his cock into the new open hole. It went to the hilt and up against his uvula. The brutal pounding in his ass shoved Shining Armor forward and forced him to swallow more of his soldier’s meat then what was initially put into him. Shining Armor’s throat bulged as he choked, snot sprayed from his tugged nostrils, and tears burned in his eyes, but he held them back. The last thing he could do was give Sombra the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

The two started to thrust in rhythm. One would pull out, the other in, over and over again like the workings of a machine. Knobs were dripping with sticky fluids, covered in Shining. His insides were bullied, beaten, forced to stretch beyond their limits and conform to the foreign entities. The dizziness in his head only seemed to double as he struggled to get in the oxygen from his pulled and leaking nose.

And still he refused to cry.

Grunts and groans escaped him, but Shining Armor felt he no longer had control of his vocals. Those sounds were literally pushed out of him. His assailants went faster and his eyes rolled into his skull. He felt himself slipping. He was going to fall unconscious. He was going to fall. He was going to—

The sudden screams pulled him out of his mind as he realized he let a shield go. Immediately he worked his magic, quick to restore what was broken, as every second lost could result in a lost life. It only took a few seconds, just a teaspoon full, for a pony to fall to their demise.

“You better pay attention. That bubble held your parents. Would be a pity if you lost them,” Sombra’s voice sounded so distant despite being so very close to him.

Shining Armor was forced to face the crowd but his vision was obscured by the underbelly of the stallion he was made to service. He tried to see if he lost anypony. If maybe one slipped. If one wasn’t glued together in tar and thus fell from the cracks. The tar at least made it easier to contain them all. From what he could tell nopony fell, but now he actively reminded himself to focus.

The thrusts got more rapid. Their dicks were swelling, he could tell they were close. Just a little longer. To remain focused and not to lose himself he thought of the love of his life. He thought of their foal. They were seeing this. They were watching him be humiliated—no, he was saving their lives. He was keeping every pony safe. This was for the best. This made him a hero.

The burn of salt on the open wound on his tongue had a stray tear escape his ducts. Sperm sprayed down his throat, and Shining Armor wasn’t quick enough to consciously swallow it down, so he choked, and he choked, and the cum came back up mixed with bile. It poured from around the cock and out of his bleeding and snotty nose. More cum erupted in his rectum and it stung more than sandpaper on raw skin. His asshole was torn to bits, and as the draft horse pulled out a stream of milk came with him. His mouth was made free next, and Shining Armor spat up the rest of the filth before he gasped for air.

It hurt, but it was done. It was finally done, and he was still standing.

“Next batch, princess. You have a lot of good suitors for your future foals. Don’t you feel like a lucky filly?” The voice became nothing more than an echo somewhere far, far away.

Shining Armor was too busy trying to catch his breath and trying to focus to realize two new guards approached him. It wasn’t until he was mounted again did he try to kick. He was barely able to get his foot off the ground. His asshole was stretched wide again as a new dick and a pair of balls swiveled in front of him. Neither waited for much time to violate him. The new shaft was more aggressive as this particular guard only seemed interested in quickly taking care of his arousal rather than making it as much of a pleasant situation for his captain as he could manage. Shining Armor tried only once to look at his face, but with the illusion it didn’t matter. They were all the same anyway. They were all just one collective guard. They were all his rapists.

“Go on. See if you can fit,” the voice said, and Shining Armor felt more weight on his backside. He felt the shoving, the short fight, as another pushed against his abused hole. They were going to put two of themselves inside of him at once, and now he couldn’t contain it anymore.

“Nnnowe” it came out muffled through the face fucking. Shining Armor tried to pull his mouth free, but the more distance he tried to create the more pushback he got, and the more he was impaling himself on two battling cocks. The second stallion pressed up against the initial invader, and soon he too managed to stuff himself in. It was snug. Snug enough to rip Shining Armor in two. The thought of his pride no longer mattered as the disgraced prince screamed, and he didn’t stop screaming until his voice fell raw. The sound was harrowing enough to cause all three guards to pause.

Sombra cracked his whip. A warning.

They resumed their assault.

“What was that, princess? Are you enjoying yourself?” The king laughed as he cracked his whip again. All three moved with more vigor, sawing into Shining Armor until he couldn’t bear to stand anymore. His knees gave out, but he was held up at the rump by the cocks, and at the mouth by Sombra’s magic. His legs were limp and they swung carelessly. His midsection slumped down, the form akin to a banner. They kept fucking and he tried not to lose his mind.

He had to focus. Ponies would die. He had to focus. Ponies would—

“Look at him! Look at your fallen prince!” Sombra yelled at the masses. They tried to shield their eyes, to look away, but Sombra’s red horn glowed a deeper shade. Magic formed crystal balls that displayed moving images. The good ponies of the empire were forced to see all the details. From Shining Armor’s leaking, sucking, gagging mouth, to the rutting at his behind. Clamor filled the bubbles. Many of the ponies cried. Many were disgusted. Many held stone cold expressions.

All pitied him.

Shining Armor was more prepared to swallow the next serving of cum. He tried to keep up with the flow so as not to choke again, but near the end there was just too much and it was just impossible. More drooled out of his mouth and coated his once white fur in sick. His mouth was pulled free and soon after he felt that familiar feeling of his ass being filled. It was so hot, yet he was shivering like a wet dog. When the two stallions thrusted out of him some of his tunnel came with them, resulting in a painful prolapse. His lower half fell in a puddle of his and his rapists’ filth. His head was now forced up with magic as if to mock his previous defiance.

But now it was done. Now he could breathe.

Another set of stallions appeared. All the same. All the same faces. All with the same intentions.

Shining Armor broke then. He cried and his face morphed into one of great fear. “Nooo! Please…please no more…Please…I’m sorry…please no more,” he was begging. The desperate pleas devolved into fractured bawls.

Sombra only cooed. “Now, now. What did I tell you about saying no?” He licked his lips. To see the mighty fall was one of life’s greatest delicacies. “As a broodmare it is your duty to mate with all of your steeds,” a pull of magic went around Shining Armor’s hips, forcing them up as another stallion approached his inverted rear. He mounted.

Shining Armor broke down in loud heavy sobs. “Please…no more..no..no—!” All of his insides were violently shoved back like the stuffing of a turkey. It knocked the wind from his lungs, but he barely had a moment to catch his breath before he was once again forced to throat fuck a soldier’s cock.

Sombra’s whip hit his back, and like the petrified colt that he was, he let out a stream of hot piss. “Remember to focus, Shining. Lest your loved ones die. Those shields must stay up,”

Right. He had to focus. The shields. The shields had to stay up. He had to focus. It hurt. He had to keep them alive.

His throat felt like an open wound. It was swelling, making it tighter but harder to breathe through. He lifted a weak hoof to paw at the guard’s hips as if to beg for mercy. The thrusting did not stop, but rather it went in deeper and Shining Armor could feel his jaw unhinge. The most alien screech escaped his throat as he was thrown in his most primal mode; fight or flight. With the fight beaten out of him, he tried to flee, half unaware of himself, but the movements his body made were only useless leg twitches.

The sound of pounding filled his eardrums and blocked out the muffled hollering from far away. He tried to focus. Were they falling? Were the shields down?

Sombra glared at the two alicorns in their protective prison. Both horns were free, bright, as they hit, and shot at, and screamed against Shining Armor’s impossible shield. It only seemed to thicken as the group tried harder to break free. A bellowing laugh rumbled out of him.

Now this is what Sombra wanted.

He turned back at the shaking breeding bitch. The poor lad struggled to keep his eyes open. “Tsk tsk tsk,” he started, before suddenly raising his voice directly into the other’s ear. They perked as the fallen prince’s eyes darted around. Demented and confused. “Quick! Your wife! Your daughter! They’re falling!”

The bubble that encased the alicorns and the elements doubled, and those muffled cries for Shining Armor to lower their shield fell dead silent.

“That’s a good filly. You just saved their lives,” Sombra ran his hoof through Shining Armor’s messy mane. It was coated with sweat, throw up, and—

The stallion in his mouth pulled out and shot his load all over the bitch’s face. The magic didn’t need to hold his jaws open anymore. It swung freely, painfully. The rocket at his backdoor also pulled out and sprayed its fuel on what was once a suit of great dignity.

Sombra lifted the filthy excuse for a horse by the neck with a magical hold. He held him high for the audience to see, and with the same crystal balls he made sure they got a good look at his tormented face. “Is this your prince!?” Shining Armor was shook with each word spat. His limbs still twitched and his once glistening pearl coat was filthy, matted, stained red, and off-white, and yellow. He puked again, a waterfall of stomach acid and blood cascading to the crystal floor. “Is this your prince!?” Sombra asked with a smile, and the ponies could only gawk in shame.

The dearest princesses were still trying to break their way out of their bubble. They tried to teleport, but the magic of the shield canceled out the spell. Shining Armor was hovered over towards them. Sombra forced Cadance to face what became of her husband, and he watched in glee as the couple’s expressions mimicked each other.

Shining Armor was so far gone he couldn’t notice his wife. He couldn’t react, but he could twitch, and jerk, and try to focus lest they all fall.

“Would you look at that? It appears your royal highness has grown aroused after a thorough breeding,” dark magic gripped the base of the unicorn’s unwanted erection. Slowly it started to rub, and this got nice, pathetic, squeaks out of Shining Armor. He didn’t fight against it, he didn’t even bother to keep his head up, but Sombra wouldn’t let it fall.

Not now.

Now he would be forced to show his kingdom what a pretty face he made when he was forced to cum. The stroking grew more rough, more steady, as beads of precum were milked out of him. “Go on and moan your wife’s name. Tell her how good of a filly you are,” Sombra whispered, and Shining Armor was drooling all over himself. Not because it felt particularly good, but because his mouth wouldn’t shut, and the constant exposure to the outside world triggered his salivary glands to work overtime. He was wheezing and struggling to breathe through his pulled taut nostrils.

Yet the stroking continued.

Over and over. Shooting fire down his shaft. “Cadance..” he bemoaned. Even the idea of an orgasm hurt more than death itself, so he’d say anything to make the pain go away. “…I’m a…a good filly..” it staggered out of him. His voice squeaked after a particularly aggressive tug spoke of Sombra’s approval.

“She can make this all go away. You just have to beg her,” The king looked at the Loving Princess as now a look of pure rage replaced her sorrow. “Hurry, Shining Armor, or it won’t ever stop. Tell her how you feel,”

“Cadance…Cadance..” The prince didn’t see her, not really. His head was so clouded that his senses couldn’t tell the ceiling from the ground, but he understood every word from Sombra’s mouth. He understood he was handing him the kill switch and this was the only way to press it. So Shining Armor wasn’t granted the right to refuse. “I’m hurting…please make it stop..” The words were wet, sickly, moans as more coals crept up his being. The thrusting, and tugging, and unrelenting jerking. The continuous pulling on the thing that once made him a proud stallion. This weird blend of pleasure and pain and mortification brewed in a cauldron in the pit of his soul. It was more chaotic than Discord himself.

And then it happened.

A small burst of white spurted from his urethra. It wasn’t anything impressive. A tablespoon of cum, pathetic next to the gallons that leaked out of his winking holes. Shining Armor released the breath he didn’t know he was holding. It was finally over.

Finally, they could stop. Finally—

“You messy little filly. I suppose you should have your suitors clean you up,” Sombra’s magic gathered the cum and lathered it on Shining Armor’s once shiny mane. “Well, after you service the rest of them,”

“N-noo..Cadance..I’m a good filly! I’m a good filly!” The sentence to make it all go away was yelled—screamed at the top of his lungs. His brain was growing confused and started to wonder why the love of his life would do this to him? Did she not love him after all? Had he done something to make her hate him so much? Why was she punishing him? Why was she doing this to him? “No! No! Please! Cadance, please! I’m sorry..I’m a good filly…I’m hurting…please make it stop… Please don’t make me..I’m a good filly—“ His front hooves reached out to grasp at something, anything, to keep him from returning to the guards. There was nothing, he was in midair. Hot tears obscured his vision, but Shining Armor still looked back and what he felt was the cold sensation of dread, a fear that caused his heart to race, a feeling that filled the body with anxiety. He was mortified, and not of Sombra, but of his own subordinates—he was scared of the armor and the symbol edged in gold. He saw the shame and regret on their faces, and that meant nothing. It didn’t make them less terrifying. It didn’t make them any less of his rapist.

When the bitch was thrown to the ground he thought to run, but could only drag his body so far before his head and waist were hoisted up. “Round four! Who’s next?”

Shining Armor was bawling now. His face wet as he hyperventilated. The next stallion mounted, his heart dropped. “Cadance! Cadance, I’m a good filly…don’t let them..no more..I can’t take anymore,” There was no way he was going to survive another round of this. Not mentally.

“Try to keep your back straight, love. Otherwise he might very well break it,” Sombra petted his cheek. He grinned as he realized the stallion refused to look him in the eye—he couldn’t, rather, and the sweet joy that brought him was unmatched by any other. It turned him on more than words could describe, so instead of another guard, he decided he would rear up on the metal bar and see what his loose throat felt like. “Open wide, won’t you?“

Through the shadow that domed around the castle, a spec of sunlight shined through. It was small, red, unnoticeable at first, but it grew wider. Like a flame to paper, it spread. It grew very wide by the passing millisecond until the spec of light penetrated through the barrier of darkness. A mighty gust of wind crashed through the shattered ballroom as a set of angelic wings pulled away to reveal the flowing mane of the sun goddess.

For a second all was still.

A halo of light eclipsed from her crown. All watched in stun bewilderment. Time itself seemed to pause as her mighty wings beat slowly. All eyes were on her, all were paralyzed by her gaze. And when she reared her head back, with a horn that shone a blinding light, reactions were delayed.

Hot magic aimed for Sombra.

The old king had to mentally pull himself from the stupor in order to react. Black diamonds shot up from the ground to block the large beam of light, but it burned hot like roaring solar winds, and reddened his barricade before parting. Sombra stepped down on all fours as he quickly clouded himself in darkness. The guards around him now bowed in submission to the vengeful princess, but they too were cloaked in thick smoke. Under the cover King Sombra aimed a bolt of lighting at Celestia’s wings.

She was quick to dodge the bolt, shooting up higher into the air, before her horn glowed bright again. There was a sound to it—it was unheard of, but the sound was of warping currents. It was of suction, and if one looked closely they would see a pull to it. The thick darkness was blown away,and in seconds she shot another beam of light towards Sombra. With such carelessness one would think she’d hit a target she didn’t intend, yet when he held up Shining Armor to shield himself, the rays of light teleported right through him, unharmed, and ripped into Sombra’s chest.

He groaned in pain when he realized not only was he bleeding, and bleeding badly, but Celestia was shooting to kill. He deformed into a cloud of smoke, threw Shining Armor away, then rushed around the ballroom. The dark lord shot more and more diamonds towards his heavenly target all while dodging the barrage of her hell fire. From where she hovered, so far up, one would think the stars were falling on their heads. As quick as a bolt of lighting, a wave of blackness shot from the ground and launched itself towards her. Sombra had to pause to aim his dark magic in order to engulf her properly, but it was then he saw the cold leer in her eyes. The expression was that of an unforgiving deity. There would be no mercy if he fell into her crossfire. There would be no forgiveness.

He was frozen in place. The waters of diamond evaporated.

The room grew hotter, at first like a sauna, but quickly it became a furnace. Her horn once again burned bright, glowing red now like metal dipped in scorching temperatures. Sombra could see the heatwaves warp around her. Once again she reared back and prepared a blow.

The bubbled ponies would be safe from the heat as long as they were behind the shields, but one by one the guards fell from heat exhaustion. Despite the light, shadows gathered to form into a towering mare. The moon goddess put a protective cloak over the guards stuck in diamond and the guards free. She could feel the few who fell’s beating hearts, noting that none had passed. Not yet.

“I’m sorry..I’m sorry Cadance…I’m a good filly..I’m a good filly..” Shining Armor mumbled, a shaking mess. His beaten body was discarded near the edge of the shattered ground. His horn only glowed faintly.

Luna approached him. “Oh, Shining,” she mourned for his broken mind. Pressing her head against his own she could feel his soul cry out for mercy. From this day forward he would never be the same. The honorable soldier—the hero that fought hoof and nail for his nation and for the crystal ponies' freedom, had died on the battlefield. What was left were fractured pieces of a stallion. “It is over. You are safe,” She couldn’t prevent what happened, but she could take away the nightmares.

Such a cruel crime was akin to the days of old. The days before a unified Equestria, and Luna wondered if her sister was reminded of this fact as well. Celestia worked hard to eradicate such barbarism. It was what they fought for and what many died for.

Luna looked at her sister and realized the lava in the pit was now boiling over. It jumped like aggressive sound waves. It twisted up, a sprout of fire, and fed her burning horn. The room was getting too bright that ponies, even with their eyes closed, would go blind. The moon goddess casted the darkness of night on the sight of those around, yet the ballroom continued to boil, and the crystals holding the remainder of the walls started to melt, then they blew towards her. Matter, from as small as an atom to as big as a pillar, raised into the air before gravitating towards the massive force around Celestia’s horn.

Luna knew what was going to happen.

If they were lucky, the sun goddess would only fire the force of a dozen atomic bombs, and if they were unlucky— she could very much go supernova before imploding. Sombra was no longer a threat. The heat had turned shadow into a physical entity as it was now engraved in burning crystal. “Sister! Please! Calm down!” Luna yelled over the morphing of sound as the room started to contort. “Celestia! You’ll kill them all!”

The focus the sun goddess had broke when she looked at her sister. Her face no longer flat, but of surprise. She caught herself, realized what she was doing, but a fired pistol could not be undone. The sound of the fabric of space splitting had crackled, piercing the two’s eardrums. A powerful blast of concentrated light tore past where Sombra once flew, and through the several layers of melted crystal, and through the shadow.

It would take faster than one hundred and eighty thousand miles per second to catch it before it ripped through the Crystal Empire and killed thousands. Faster than the speed of light, and so Luna’s horn wasted no time. With her magic she grasped the burning ball, attempting to net it and prevent it from moving forward. She screamed as her horn went ablaze, and yet she threw temperatures as cold as the moon’s surface at it. It cooled, but not nearly fast enough. It was slipping and she could feel it. It was slipping and the surrounding area was burning. The alicorn pumped more magic through her being. She forced her everything at the flaming gas ball—this micro star of destruction, and the embodiment of her sister’s unbridled fury. Luna yelled as blood leaked from her nose, and her eyes shot open.

“Luna!” Celestia quickly grabbed hold of the mistake she made, helping her sister cool the fireball, but by then it was too late. It shot off, smaller, with only the crack and boom of a cannonball. A fiery explosion leveled several crystal homes.

The ground shook then,

The ground shook but not from the explosion.

Luna’s magic went haywire. It spurted out of her horn like a leaky faucet. She tried to regain control. She held her head, she screamed. A large wave of magic shot from her, and it traveled, and it traveled quickly. As it hit Celestia’s body she knew exactly what it was, and had the power to counter it, but every other pony in a miles radius dropped into a deep sleep. Outside in the open holes that made up the barely held together castle she could see the bodies of rescue pegasi drop out of the sky, and Celestia tried to catch them, she tried to save her ponies, when the bubbles popped. The shields concealing the party guests broke once Shining Armor fell unconscious. Ponies trapped in hard tar would fall on the hot volcanic rock that now sealed up the crack. Celestia tried to catch them too, but before she could, they were lifted in a purple glow.

Twilight Sparkle carried the crowd to safe solid ground. It was hot, but Celestia used her magic to cool the area. The ponies Twilight didn’t get her friends swooped in and caught with wings or magic. She flew next to her mentor, shaken, but determined to help anyway she could. “Princess, what do we do—?”

Luna’s screams turned into a deafening shriek.

Suddenly the world grew so very quiet. Eerily so. No sound was heard as the air itself became flat. The tide had quickly retrieved and a storm brewed. The moon rose in the sky, and as it did it appeared to get bigger and bigger. Faster and faster.

Celestia let out a staggered breath, but she had no time to comfort her sister or calm her down. Quickly she grabbed a hold of the moon in her magic. Even the slightest movement would mess with the tectonic plates. The ground shook again. It caused what little ceiling was left to fall as the crystal homes of the nation shattered and crumbled all around them. Yet the nation was forced asleep, so they couldn’t run, they couldn’t save themselves. They were dying in silence. Celestia wrestled with her sister’s hold. Luna didn’t let go of the moon, she couldn’t, and the more they fought the closer the satellite was pulled towards the earth.

“Luna!” The goddess wailed as tears formed in her eyes. “Luna, please let go!” And she was begging now, pleading that her sister would listen through her screams. “Luna!” Up above, the clouds parted as the space rock nearly covered the whole left side of the sky. It eclipsed the sun and it’s brightness dimmed.

Twilight looked at her friends, at her parents, and at her new niece. The foal was shoved in Fluttershy’s arms as Cadance disregarded the situation to run to her love’s side. The alicorn used her magic to brush away Shining Armor’s mane from his eyes. She held his head in her lap, and she tried to put his mouth back in place, and wipe the filth from his coat, and tried to get him to wake up and look at her.

“We’re going to die,” It was Pinkie Pie who said it. The tone in her voice would make anypony think otherwise, but she said it plainly, fearfully, and she didn’t need her Pinkie Sense to predict the obvious. A smile no longer stuck to her face, yet her hair remained poofy. She sat down and looked up. The group joined her. Collectively they stared up at the sky, and many cried, but what would tears accomplish?

The moon was beautiful up close.

“It was nice fighting alongside y’all. Ah will cherish these moments,” Applejack removed her hat from her head.

“Didn’t think I’d die this way. Guess it's something,” Rainbow Dash landed and sat next to Rarity and Fluttershy who both held their tongues. Spike cried into his palms, but nopony comforted him.

They said a prayer and prepared for the end.

But this couldn’t be it. They couldn’t meet their demise by the hooves of the ponies that protected them. They weren’t going to die. Nopony—nopony here would.

Twilight grabbed Luna’s horn with her magic. She squeezed as hard as she could just to see if she could stop the hectic flow of magic, but the ground only shook with more vigor, and the moon now approached the ozone layer. It got red hot as it fell. Celestia’s hold grew weaker as she was now only babbling her unresponsive sister’s name through broken tears. They would die. They would die and it would all be for naught. Twilight had to do what was best for everypony, not just the ones she loved, but all of the world.

Her magic pulled with all her force, and there was a loud snap before Luna’s head fell.

The horn remained in Twilight’s hold.

The moon froze, held up by Celestia, but the princess was holding her mouth. Her pupils were as small as pinpricks as she choked back her sobs. “Luna…Luna…Luna!”

“I’m sorry, Princess I had to—“ In the distance the earth opened up. It bled from the abuse, and it’s blood erupted from the mountains. Living fire shot into the sky. Burning rocks flung miles away, crashing against pillars of ice and the slowly falling shield protecting the kingdom. The Crystal Heart. There was no way it could’ve been destroyed, but how did Sombra get in to begin with? How was any of this possible?

Twilight looked over at her brother. His head was limp in Cadance’s arms. She rocked him back and forth. “Oh my love. I’m so sorry,” her tears fell on his beaten cheeks. “Please don’t leave me,”

Twilight could see his chest raise. She knew he wasn’t dead, neither was Luna, so why was the ground still rumbling beneath them? Why was the sky filled with darkness even after Sombra was defeated? Why was her friends only watching, holding each other, and not doing anything to help? “We can fix this,” Twilight whispered to herself at first, and it was only for her own comfort. For her own assurance. “We can fix this,” she said it louder, and she was sure of it this time. “We can fix this! Princess, we can fix this!”

Fire rained from the heavens. A toxic cloud of smoke was heading for the kingdom and cities beyond. The sound of another eruption went off even further away. It started to get cold as Celestia’s sun no longer shined through the soot. The moon remained in place, too close, causing the magnetic fields to spiral as the earth tried to adjust.

“They’re dying. My little ponies…they’re dying,” Celestia fell to her knees. She couldn’t even look at her twitching sister anymore. Her mistake—her anger—was killing so many. The wails of Equestria filled her ears. She failed them. She failed them all. “My ponies…”

Twilight ran to Cadance’s side. She shoved her to get her to regain focus, but without her love she wouldn’t move. So Twilight ran to her friends. They had their eyes on the incoming smoke, the flames, and the realization that all those ponies couldn’t run had them paralyzed in place.

Death was at their door. There would be no fighting it.

Twilight ran for their monarch next, and she begged her to get up and do something. She shoved her over and over again. “We can fix this,” she reminded her. She shoved her and she needed her to believe it. They could fix anything with determination and the power of friendship. They could fix it if they tried. “Please,”

But Celestia only wallowed in her grave mistake.