The Fate Of Equestria Book 1: Sombra's Reign

A couple minutes after Jet had left, Rainbow heard a commotion from downstairs. She descended the metal staircase and out into the hallway by the ladder. At the end of the hallway, she could see some odd pink barrier standing in front of the ladder itself. She also saw the source of the commotion, Luna was banging on the barrier and shouting in some foreign language with Cadence standing beside her with a childish smirk on her face. After another moment, Luna gave up and turned to walk away. Rainbow walked over with a concerned look.

“Everything ok, princess?” She asked once she was close to them.

“No. Jet Stream refused to allow me to aid him in his mission.” Luna replied in a huff.

“Yeah, that sounds like him. Always wanting to do everything himself. What’s with the weird pink wall?” Rainbow replied, pointing behind them.

“That’s a barrier conjured by my royal armament. He used it to keep Luna from following him.” Cadence answered.

“I see… How long do they last exactly?” Rainbow asked, moving over to tap on the wall with her knuckle.

“Depends.” Cadence replied.

“On what?” Luna asked curiously.

“However long he focuses on keeping it up.” Cadence answered with a shrug.

“Probably won’t be long then, he’s always had problems focusing on a single thing for too long.” Rainbow said with a small laugh.

“Fair point, I suppose.” Cadence replied with a laugh of her own.

“Just wait for it to go away then head out and follow him anyway. He can’t stop you if you’re already out there with him.” Rainbow suggested.

“That… Is a brilliant idea, Rainbow Dash.” Luna said, turning back towards the barrier.

“Hey, don’t sound so surprised.” Rainbow said jokingly.

“Yeah, Luna, you make it sound like she doesn’t have good ideas.” Cadence said, keeping the joke going.

“That is not what I meant, you two.” Luna said with a slight smile.

“Oh, we know. It’s just kinda fun to give you a hard time.” Cadence replied, gently elbowing Luna in the side.

“Why must you insist on acting like a filly, Cadence?” Luna asked with a smirk.

“The same reason you insist on acting like it’s still the nineteen hundreds with your mannerisms and speech.” Cadence retorted and returned the smirk.

“I cannot help how I speak and act, this is just how I was brought up by my parents, Lord Galaxian and Lady Starshine. Gods rest their souls.” Luna replied, a brief frown crossing her face.

“Hey, it’s ok Luna. I know it’s a touchy subject, but I’m sure they’re looking down on you with pride over what you’ve become.” Cadence said in an attempt to lift her spirits back up.

“Thank you, Cadence. That does give me some solace knowing that.” Luna said quietly.

“Uh, should I get some tissues or some wine? I can’t tell if this is a pity party or a girl’s night. Maybe both would be best?” Rainbow chimed in with a small laugh.

A small reluctant smile crept across Luna’s face, followed by a giggle. Even Luna and Cadence had to admit that the atmosphere of the conversation was changing more than the seasons do. The trio shared a laugh that lasted several minutes. Once the mutual laughter came to a close, Rainbow wiped a small bit of tear from her face.

“I guess this whole situation has our emotions all over the place, huh?” Cadence asked rhetorically.

“I suppose that is a fair assessment.” Luna agreed, placing a hand on Cadence’s shoulder.

“Sooo, no tissues or wine then?” Rainbow asked, crossing her arms with a grin.

“No, we don’t need any tissues, though some wine would be awesome if we had any.” Cadence replied, nudging Rainbow with her elbow.

“Yes, I believe we are fine now, Rainbow Dash.” Luna agreed with Cadence.

“Well, alright then. It’s been a fun chat, but I gotta go deal with some crap. Catch you guys later.” Rainbow said through another small giggle, giving the pair of princesses a smile before turning and heading back down the hallway.

As Rainbow proceeded down the hallway, she could hear the princesses still talking and carrying on. At one point, she heard Luna exclaim that the barrier had gone down and she was heading out now. After that, it went quiet from that end of the hallway as Rainbow made it out into the cafeteria. The crowd from breakfast was already dying down, leaving the cafeteria mostly empty. Though it was fairly dirty and there were several trays left out on the tables as well. She saw Applejack sweeping up the floor. Before AJ could protest the offer of some help, Rainbow slipped into the kitchen and grabbed a clean rag from the cupboard. She quickly wet the rag down before heading back out into the cafeteria and started to wipe down the tables.

“Well howdy there, Rainbow. How ya feelin’ today?” AJ asked as she looked up to see Rainbow wiping down the tables.

“Can’t complain, not that it’d do any good even if I did.” Rainbow replied jokingly.

“Yeah, I hear ya. Ya have been seemin’ more upbeat since Jet woke up though, not to mention more… relaxed.” AJ said, giving Rainbow a knowing look.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Rainbow replied, playing dumb to what AJ was hinting at.

“Oh, come on, Rainbow. Ya can’t get nothing past me. Plus, Rarity told me that ya borrowed her copy of the Pony Sutra.” AJ said, giving Rainbow a sly grin.

“That gossiping little… Ok, fine. You got me, but can you blame me?” Rainbow asked, her face red as a beet while she picked up some of the left behind trays.

“Well dang, Dash. You’re redder than a red delicious. And no, I don’t blame ya one bit, if I swung that way, I’d probably try to steal him from ya.” AJ replied with a chuckle.

“You’d have to fight me for him if that was the case. Though, he’d more than likely enjoy that too much.” Rainbow said, sharing the laugh with AJ as they finished up wiping down the tables and retrieving the left behind trays.

“You’re probably right about that, what stallion wouldn’t enjoy two mares fighting over him?” AJ asked rhetorically as the pair headed back to the kitchen.

“Good point. Did you need help with anything else? I’m kinda putting off some shit right now.” Rainbow said, setting the trays in the sink.

“Nah, I can do those bit of dishes on my own. Besides, shouldn’t ya be training them newbies?” AJ asked with a quizzical look.

“Not since those rescues came in, apparently some of them used to be guards. So, I put them in charge of that so I could start sleeping in a little bit.” Rainbow admitted with a shrug as she hopped up to take a seat on the counter.

“Well, that makes sense. Heck, even me and Bloom got some help tending to the greenhouse. Things are certainly getting better around here by the day.” AJ replied with a smile, starting some water for the dishes.

“Yeah, mostly…” Rainbow said, an ere of skepticism in her voice.

“What the dickens is that supposed to mean?” AJ asked, turning to give Rainbow a soft glare.

“What it means is that there's a traitor in our midst according to Jet.” Rainbow replied with a groan.

“Why the devil does he think that?” AJ asked suspiciously.

“He heard from one of the assassins that Sombra knew about his coma.” Rainbow said, rubbing her temples.

“I see… Any ideas who it could be?” AJ continued to ask as she went about washing up the few remaining dishes.

“I have a couple suspects and an idea of how to weed them out.” Rainbow replied with a smirk.

“Ya should probably get to it and stop procrastinatin’ then.” AJ said with a raised eyebrow.

“I know, but on top of everything else, this is too damn stressful.” Rainbow said, letting out an exasperated sigh.

“The longer ya put it off, the longer it’s gonna eat at ya.” AJ replied matter of factly.

“You’re right, as always. I used to wonder what prissy pants Rarity saw in you, but I think I’m starting to see it too.” Rainbow said jokingly.

“Don’t let her hear ya say that, she might get the wrong idea. You know she gets jealous easily.” AJ warned with a chuckle.

“Yeah, especially when it comes to fashion.” Rainbow said with a laugh.

“But, that’s our friend and my fiance.” AJ replied.

“I guess I better go get this over with… Thanks for being there just to talk, AJ.” Rainbow said as she hopped off the counter.

“Just don’t go making accusations against anybody without proof now, I know how ya are.” AJ replied with a serious expression.

“No promises, but I'll try.” Rainbow said as she headed for the kitchen door and back out into the cafeteria.

Without any further distractions, she set out on a path for the gym. Along the way, she pulled a cord that was dangling from the wall just outside the gym. As soon as she pulled it, a small alarm rang throughout the bunker, signifying an emergency meeting. She stood in the middle of the gym while everybody in the bunker gathered inside to see what the commotion was about, The bleachers slowly filled with bodies as Rainbow waited patiently. After a few minutes, the entirety of the bleachers and even some of the floor was filled with ponies. Once she was sure that everybody was in the gym, she walked over and pulled the doors shut. She took her spot in the middle of the gym floor and scanned the crowd, spotting who she was looking for.

“Sunblast, Discord. Can you two join me up here please?” Rainbow asked calmly.

The two slide from within the crowd, having to step over and around others to get through. They took position on either side of Rainbow. They tried their best to look professional and intimidating like she did, but Discord’s complete lack of clothing and Sunblast’s disheveled hair and lab coat made it kinda hard for them.

“Thank you. Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering the same thing. Why have I gathered you all here? Well, the short answer is that there’s a double agent among us somewhere.” Rainbow stated, keeping her voice steady.

There were several gasps from the crowd as they all began to look around at each other. Some of them shifted to one side to make some room beside whoever they were sitting next to. There was now so much tension in the air that you could cut it with a butter knife. Rainbow took a long deep breath before continuing, steadying her nerves.

“That’s right. One of you is feeding information to our enemy, and I plan to find out who it is, through whatever means necessary.” Rainbow continued.

“Uh, how do you plan to do that?” A pony, that Rainbow recognized as Fleetfoot from her days as a Wonderbolt, asked from within the crowd.

“I’m so glad you asked. The answer is as simple as the question itself. Our brilliant inventor, along with some help from Discord, has managed to cobble together a makeshift lie detector. Bring it out, boys.” Rainbow answered the question.

Discord snapped his fingers and a cart popped into existence in front of him. On the cart sat a rather sketchy looking device that had several wires running from it. The device itself looked to be a welded together contraption of miscellaneous pieces of metal, wire, and duct tape. In the center, somewhere below all the metal and tape, a bright light sparked and glowed worryingly. The wires that were extending out from the main body had small suction cups on the ends. From the top sprouted a small laptop looking screen that showed a variety of readings along with a computer chair with wheels. Sunblast took a seat in the computer chair and fired up the device with a few quick presses on the laptop screen. Discord grabbed the wires with the suction cups and held them up, tiny jolts of electricity arced between them.

“So, who’s first?” He asked with a rather wicked looking grin on his face.

“If I were you, I’d fess up now. This thing isn’t exactly… Safe yet…” Sunblast said to the crowd with a serious expression.

Aside from a few concerned murmurs and whispers, nobody said anything or volunteered. Rainbow took this as a sign to just randomly pick somebody. She looked through the crowd and tapped her chin lightly. With a sudden flick of her wrist, she pointed at somebody in the crowd. It was Sea Foam, the only one under Rainbow’s training regime that she had issues with.

“Come on down, Sea. Your lazy ass is my prime suspect right now.” Rainbow said, motioning for her to come down onto the floor with them.

“What? Why me?” She complained, but got up and made her way down from the bleachers.

“Because you’ve been slacking ever since I saved your ass eight years ago. Now stop complaining and take a seat.” Rainbow retorted as Discord materialized a chair next to the cart.

“Fine, but if this thing hurts me, you’re getting me a gift dude.” Sea Foam said with a huff as she sat down in the chair.

“Yeah, yeah. If this thing hurts you, I’ll give you whatever you want.” Rainbow replied with a roll of her eyes.

Without another word, Sunblast started to place the suction cups on her face and arms. After they were all placed on her, she looked like some kind of mental patient getting ready for shock therapy, which got a small chuckle from Discord.

“So, how’s this shit supposed to work anyway?” Sea asked, looking between the three.

“It’s simple really, we ask you a couple questions and if you lie, you get a… Relatively small shock.” Sunblast answered absentmindedly as he fiddled with the setting of the device.

“Relatively small shock?” Sea asked nervously.

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt… Too bad, at least…” Sunblast replied, saying the last bit under his breath so she didn’t hear.

“Wait, what did you say?” Sea asked, giving Sunblast a very worried look.

She got no answer as Rainbow stepped in front of her, holding a sheet of paper with a stern look on her face.

“Question one, what is your name?” Rainbow asked, reading from the paper she held.

“What kinda question is that? You know my name, dude.” Sea replied, confused.

“Just answer the damn question, slacker.” Rainbow retorted in an irritated tone.

“Fine… My name is Sea Foam. Happy now?” Sea answered, nothing happened when she did.

“Thank you. Question two, where were you born?” Rainbow asked calmly.

“I was born in a hospital, duh” Sea answered with a roll of her eyes, almost immediately a jolt of electricity went through her body.

“I warned you to not lie. Maybe you’ll take this seriously now.” Rainbow said with a small giggle.

“What the hell! You said this wouldn’t hurt!” Sea yelled, her ears still ringing from the electrical shock

“I also told you what would happen if you lied. Now, try that answer again.” Rainbow replied coldly.

“Ugh, this is so fucking stupid… I was born in the backseat of a cab in Manehttan…” Sea said, a bit angrily but with no shock this time.

“Good. Question three, do you support the Lunar Empire or the Celes… Discord, what the hell are these questions?” Rainbow asked as she scanned over the paper.

“Hey, you asked me to write the questions. I couldn’t come up with that many, so I checked some internet forums from another universe.” Discord replied with a shrug and grin.

“Forget it… I’ll ask my own questions.” Rainbow said with a groan, tossing the paper to the side and onto the floor.

“That wasn’t part of the agreement, Dash.” Sunblast said, briefly looking up from the readout monitor of the device.

“I’m changing the agreement. Now, Sea Foam, I have a question for you.” Rainbow said, leaning closer to Sea.

“W-What is it?” Sea asked nervously, gulping dryly.

“Did you steal a pair of my panties from the laundry hamper?” Rainbow asked, locking eyes with Sea.

“What? W-Why the hell would you ask something like that?” Sea replied, trying in vain to avoid Rainbow’s gaze.

“Because I’ve caught your ass going through the hamper before and I’ve been missing a special pair for ages. Now, answer the damn question before I slap the lazy out of you.” Rainbow retorted irritably.

“N…” Sea began, immediately getting shocked.

“You fucking perv! I knew it!” Rainbow shouted.

“F-Fine… Yes, I stole them… But why do you care so much? They’re just panties.” Sea asked, a little dazed from the shock.

“I care so much because those were a pair that my husb… Boyfriend bought for me.” Rainbow replied, faltering slightly in her frustration.

“How fucking cliche…” Sea said, rolling her eyes.

“LIsten here you little bitch, I will slap you so hard that not even your own mother will recognize you.” Rainbow said, getting close enough to Sea’s face that she could smell the breakfast on her breath.

“Rainbow, calm down now. No need to get upset, you can deal with her later.” Sunblast chimed in, to which Rainbow took a deep breath and backed up.

“Last question, have you been feeding any info to Sombra?” Rainbow asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

“Of course not. I’m lazy, not a fucking snitch.” Sea answered, getting no response from the device.

“Alright… Go sit on the other side of the gym. I’ll deal with you later.” Rainbow said, grabbing the wires and ripping the suction cups off her with several loud pops.

Sea Foam yelped slightly from the sudden jerk of the wires, but stood and made her way to the opposite side of the gym from the bleachers that still held the other residents of the bunker. Rainbow picked another from the crowd and hooked them up to the device. She asked the same basic questions of name, birthplace, and if they were working with Sombra. With no results from that pony, she moved on to the next and then the next. This went on for over an hour, until there were only a handful of potential suspects left. Rainbow called up the next one, who was all too familiar to her. She was hooked up just like the others.

“Lightning Dust…” Rainbow said coldly as she approached the light teal mare with two-toned orange mane,

“Sup, Crash?” Lightning replied with a sly grin.

“Let’s just get this over with so I can go back to pretending you don’t exist. What’s your name?” Rainbow asked, getting exasperated with her already.

“Lightning Dust, the one and only.” Lightning replied, eliciting no response from the device.

“Thank the Gods for that… Place of birth?” Rainbow asked, rolling her eyes at Lightning’s cockiness.

“Cloudsdale, duh.” Lightning answered, getting shocked immediately, which got a curious look from Rainbow.

“Oh? Is the perfect Lightning Dust a liar?” Rainbow asked, a smirk crossing her face briefly.

“I don’t lie, this stupid thing must be broken or something.” Lightning replied with a frown.

“Funny, it didn’t mess up with anybody else or when you gave your name.” Rainbow said, giving her a suspicious look.

“For fucks sake… I was actually born in Phillydelphia, but I was raised in Cloudsdale.” Lightning retorted in a smartass tone, the device did nothing in response to that.

“I always knew you had that big city vibe to you. Last question and we can be done here. Are you working with Sombra and feeding him info?” Rainbow asked in an accusing tone.

“Fuck no, I might hate you but I’m no traitor to Equestria.” Lightning replied, getting no shock to Rainbow’s surprise.

“Gotta say, I really thought it would turn out to be you…” Rainbow said, unhooking Lightning from the device.

“Gee, thanks for that.” Lightning said as she made her way to the back of the gym with the others who had already been tested.

Rainbow turned back towards the few ponies who remained on the bleachers and looked between them. The only ones left were AJ, Sweetie Belle, Redheart, and one that she didn’t recognize. He had a pink coat and a red mane, his eyes darted around the room nervously before suddenly locking eyes with Rainbow. He gulped visibly and quickly looked away.

“You there, come on over and have a seat.” Rainbow said, staring right at him.

“M-Me?” He asked, pointing a shaky finger at himself.

“Yes, you.” Rainbow replied, giving him a slight glare.

With another visible gulp, he stepped down onto the floor from the bleachers and slowly made his way over to the chair and plopped down into it. Rainbow hooked the wires up to him and took a step back, looking him over again. She really had no idea who this guy was, and that only added to her suspicions.

“What’s your name?” Rainbow asked in a very suspicious sounding tone.

“I-It’s uh… Um… Wilfred Warfstache?” He said slowly, getting an immediate shock.

“Lying about your name? Not a great start for you.” Rainbow replied, raising an eyebrow.

“B-But I’m not lying!” He protested, getting another shock, but this time with more voltage.

“Yeah, the device doesn’t believe you, so neither do I.” Rainbow said with a frown.

“This is stupid, I’m not lying about my name!” He continued to argue, getting yet another much more intense shock.

The shock lasted for almost a full minute. The intensity of the shock caused the mystery pony to seize violently and his eyes to roll back in his head. While the electricity flowed through his body, a sudden bright flash of green lit up the gym. The flash momentarily blinded everybody in the immediate area. Once the spots cleared from her eyes, Rainbow gasped loudly, followed by several gasps and a few screams from the crowd, as they all saw what now sat before them. Sitting in the chair where the mystery pony had been sitting was now a changeling. Its black carapace shimmered ominously in the light of the gym as its bright green eyes darted around in a panic and its dragonfly-like wings fluttered in an attempt to escape the electricity.

“What… How?” Rainbow asked in shock.

“Shit, shit, shit… This is bad, so very bad…” He said in a panic.

“Who are you and how the hell did you get in here?!” Rainbow yelled loudly.

“Please, have mercy! I didn’t want to do this, but she said she’d kill me if I didn’t comply!” He pleaded, tears forming in his insect-like eyes.

“You’re going to tell us exactly how you got here or so help me I will mash your skull like a pumpkin on Nightmare Night.” Rainbow threatened, getting close to the changeling's face.

“I’ll tell you whatever you want, just please don’t hurt me…” He pleaded again, tears streaming down his face now.

“Good, get to talking. I don’t have all day.” Rainbow replied, pleased with his willingness to cooperate.

“I-It all started the day of the attack…” He began, trying to keep his voice steady.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The freezing wind and snow whipped around Sombra as he stood at the perimeter of the Crystal Empire, his ebony mane blowing violently with the wind. The only thing that kept him at bay was the power of the Crystal Heart, for now. He watched as the ponies roamed about around the city, happy and carefree under their new rule, the sight made him sick to the very pit of his stomach. Since his defeat at the hands of that eyesore of a princess a few weeks ago, his anger and hatred for Cadence and her wife-throwing husband had only grown. As he brooded in his quiet solitude, he heard footsteps crunching through the snow from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and briefly smiled.

“You’re late. What took you?” He asked as they approached.

There were two figures, both shrouded in dark green hooded cloaks. Once they were standing beside Sombra, they lowered their hoods, revealing Chrysalis and one of her changelings. This particular changeling was much smaller than the normal offspring of Chrysalis. He was carrying something long wrapped in a cloth that was tied with twine and a small burlap sack.

“My apologies, my king. It took longer than anticipated to cocoon all those pesky royal guards at the palace. But, our plan is underway and my children await our signal to destroy the Crystal Heart.” Chrysalis said.

“Excellent work, my dear. Our vengeance is close at hand.” Sombra replied with a wicked grin.

“It gets better, my king. I managed to track down that thing you asked for. Show him, you useless runt.” Chrysalis said, looking over to other changeling she had brought along.

The changeling slowly handed the burlap sack over to Sombra, who snatched it from his hands. Sombra held the sack in his hands and untied the top of it. He looked inside to see a rather familiar looking amulet that was a silver and black metal piece in the shape of an alicorn mid-flight, in the center of the amulet was a glowing red gemstone.

“My dear, you are magnificent. Everything is almost in place, we’re just awaiting one final component then we can begin.” Sombra said in a pleased tone.

“What are we waiting on, my king?” Chrysalis asked curiously.

As if on cue, a pair of flares shot up into the sky in the distance. They were a vibrant blue and the smoke trails they left in the air formed into what looked like a pair of dragon talons pointed upright.

“That.” Sombra answered, a wide devilish grin crossing his face.

He gave Chrysalis a knowing look and she nodded. She sent a wordless order to her changelings stationed inside the kingdom. It wasn’t long before the barrier formed by the Crystal Heart dissipated, letting both the snow and the three intruders inside. They stepped into the kingdom and made their way to the city itself. On their approach they could hear the commotion and fear of the crystal ponies in the air. There was next to no resistance as the crystal ponies were all too familiar with Sombra and his heartless ways of doing everything. With nobody willing to fight and the guards replaced by changelings, they were able to make their way straight to the palace effortlessly. They passed the spire-like altar that had once held the Crystal Heart, now empty with only some shards left on the ground as an indicator that anything had even been there at all. Sombra stepped forward and kicked the door to the palace open, the three of them stepping inside. The interior was bright and colorful, columns of crystal with a rainbow sheen lined the entrance hall. Even the floors and ceilings seemed to be made of the same type of crystal, Sombra cringed and frowned at the sight.

“Look at what those do-gooders did to my beautiful palace! Disgusting!” Sombra exclaimed in anger.

“Don’t worry, my king. We will have it back to its former glory in no time.” Chrysalis reassured him.

With a deep uncomfortable shudder, they continued on through the palace. Sombra led the way, even though it had a change of decor, the layout of it was more or less the same and he knew the layout of this palace like the back of his hand. It didn’t take them long to find the throne room and barge in, just like the uninvited guests that they were. The interior of the throne room was no better, everything being made of the same iridescent rainbow hued crystal. Sombra visibly gagged as he looked upon where his once glorious throne had been, now replaced by a cheap iridescent knockoff.

“This whole place disgusts me to my core. It’s all so gaudy and flamboyant…” Sombra said to nobody in particular

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing you won’t be here long then, huh?” Cadence’s voice suddenly called out from behind them.

Just as Sombra turned to face the source of the voice, he was greeted by the sight of Cadence barreling towards him. Her teeth were gritted and her gauntlet clad fists flying surprisingly fast towards Sombra’s face. Though, not quite fast enough to actually land any hits as he dodged her strikes with ease. He visibly smirked as a way of taunting her. It worked like a charm as she started to strike faster and more erratically. After a few moments of dodgin her attacks with almost no effort, Sombra grew bored of it. Without any warning or sign of any kind, he suddenly teleported several feet behind where he was previously standing.

“What’s the matter princess, is that body of yours wearing down already? And here I thought you’d actually put up a proper fight this time.” Sombra taunted her.

“We beat you once before, we can do it again!” Cadence screamed and charged.

She put all the power she could muster into Love Spell and swung at him, her eyes shut tight as she strained both her body and her magic. There was a very loud ringing thud that echoed off the walls and high ceiling. Panting incredibly hard, she opened her eyes and was horrified at what she saw. Sombra had completely stopped her fully powered royal arm attack without even flinching.

“So confident, and this is all you can deliver? Tsk tsk, little princess. You’ll have to do much better than that.” Sombra boasted with a villainous toothy grin.

“B-But… How…?” Cadence asked in shock.

“Are you really so foolish as to think that you faced me at my full strength before?” Sombra asked rhetorically, clenching his hand around the gauntlet.

“How are you even back? We destroyed you with the power of the crystal heart…” Cadence said, her gauntlet starting to crack from the force of Sombra’s grip.

“No, my dimwitted false princess. You merely destroyed my body, but my horn remained. Then, my new queen here found it and kept it safe until my body could regenerate fully. Lucky for me, that didn’t take long, so I didn’t have to wait too long to take my revenge.” Sombra explained casually, putting more force into his grip on her gauntlet and causing more cracks to form.

Before Sombra could shatter her royal arm, she banished it back to the pocket dimension she usually kept it in. Just as she did, a series of footsteps could be heard running down the hallway towards them.

“We may want to keep this brief, my king. Sounds like we have company.” Chrysalis said.

“Hm, indeed it does. Well, it was an absolute pleasure catching up. But, unfortunately for you, we are through here.” Sombra replied, quickly headbutting Cadence hard enough to bust her nose and knock her out.

She fell in an unconscious heap on the floor just as Shining Armor burst through the door. He was dressed in his old royal guard armor and was wielding a sword and shield. He let out a loud gasp when he laid eyes on Cadence and Sombra, not paying any attention to Chrysalis and the other changeling.

“Cadence?! You monster, what have you done?!” He shouted with rage.

“Monster is such a strong word, I prefer the classic tyrant or dictator.” Sombra said tauntingly.

“You son of a…” Shining started to say, but was cut off by Chrysalis grabbing him from behind.

“Hey there, Shiny. Miss me?” Chrysalis whispered in his ear as she slowly wrapped one of her clawed hands around his throat.

“C-Chrysalis…” Shining whimpered and gulped dryly around the encroaching hand on his throat.

“Aww, you do remember me. I’m touched.” Chrysalis said, fully gripping him by the throat now.

“You w-won’t get away with this…” Shining choked out around his closing windpipe.

“Oh? And who’s going to stop us? From where I’m standing, we’re pretty in charge here. With that being said, we don’t really have a need for you, do we?” Chrysalis asked, looking up at Sombra, who shook his head.

Chrysalis grinned wide and tightened her grip around Shining’s throat. He gasped and choked audibly as his airways were squeezed shut by the pressure of Chrysalis’s hand. He tried in vain to escape her grasp, but she had a death grip on his neck.

“Aww, what’s the matter Shiny? Don’t want to die by strangulation?” Chrysalis asked coldly.

“N-N-No…” Shining roughly choked out through her squeezing hand.

“Hm, well how about this then?!” Chrysalis screamed in his ear before quickly dragging her claws across his throat.

She let him go and backed away. It took a moment before Shining realized what had happened. A thin crimson line began to form where her claw had drug across. The thin line quickly grew and began gushing crimson all over himself and the floor. His hands flew up to his throat in a pointless attempt to stop the bleeding, but he was already getting lightheaded. His body grew weaker and he fell to his knees, making pitiful pleading gurgling sounds as he bled out quickly. As a last effort, he began crawling towards Cadence’s unconscious body, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He reached out with his hand towards her as he made a few last gurgles before slumping forward onto the cold crystalline floor. Satisfied with this outcome, Sombra gave a long evil laugh and kicked Shining’s motionless body. The changeling guards filed into the room and knelt near Sombra’s feet.

“What are your orders, my liege?” One of them asked.

“Prepare our troops and send for my ride. We are ready for phase two of the plan.” He replied, grinning wide and taking a seat on the throne.

“Yes sir!” All the guards replied in unison before filing back out of the door.

Almost as soon as he sat down, the whole palace began to rumble. As Chrysalis and the other changeling watched, the throne started to grow and contort. A black shadow emanated from the base of the throne and engulfed the entirety of the room. Before their eyes, the palace walls began to shift and reshape themselves into fractured looking black crystals. At the base of the throne, a large hole opened up which led to a staircase that spiraled down further into the palace. Several minutes passed before the rumbling stopped and the walls quit reforming. Once he was satisfied with the reforming of the palace, he used his magic to conjure a stereotypical red king robe with a puffy white neckline.

“Ah, much better. Feels so good to be home at last.” Sombra said loudly in delight.

“It looks wonderful, my king.” Chrysalis agreed as she came over and plopped down on the arm of his throne.

“Indeed it does, my queen. It won’t be long now before we can settle down and rule as proper tyrants.” Sombra said with a wicked smile as one of the guards from before came back.

“Sir, your troops and ride are ready to depart when you are.” The guard said with a salute.

“Excellent. We will leave immediately.” Sombra replied, shooing the guard away.

“What do we do with her, my king?” Chrysalis asked, pointing to Cadence.

“She’ll be thrown in with the other slaves in my crystal mines. She’ll never see the light of day again.” Sombra answered with an evil smirk.

“Oooo, what a devilishly horrible idea. I love it! You can carry her to the ship, runt.” Chrysalis exclaimed, kicking the unconscious princess in the direction of the other changeling.

The changeling reluctantly picked up Cadence and carried her toward the exit doors and outside, where a pair of airships were hovering in wait. They were huge wooden ships held aloft by a series of massive steel propellers. As they approached the ships, a pony clad in dark gray armor from head to toe with a black bodysuit underneath stepped out of the cabins of one of the ships. They looked over the railing at Sombra and Chrysalis.

“You take that ship. This one is ours.” The armored pony said before disappearing back inside the cabin.

“I don’t mean to question you, my king, but how exactly did you get these ships again?” Chrysalis asked skeptically.

“I got in touch with an old acquaintance.” Sombra said, boarding the ship with Chrysalis and the other changeling following behind.

Sombra and Chrysalis stood at the bow of one of the airships, the other one following close behind. Having just conquered the Crystal Empire and taken that dreadful princess of love as a hostage, they were en route to Canterlot, the very heart of Equestria itself. Both airships were loaded down with soldiers clad in the black armor of Sombra’s army. The wood of the ships groaned against the whipping winds that surrounded them and the propellers that held them aloft creaked loudly against the strain of the speed they were traveling. As they approached their destination, the tyrant king looked down at the small city below them as it bustled with the citizens, unaware of what was about to befall them. With a devilish smile plastered across his face, he turned to address his army, who was waiting patiently for their king’s orders. He shed his red kingly cloak to the side.

“My loyal army, It brings me so much joy to say that we are on the very precipice of victory, and thus, the total rule of this land. You have played your respective parts well, and for that, I am so very proud. But, I would be remiss if I did not give credit to my new queen. Without her, none of this would’ve been possible.” Sombra spoke to his army, giving them a proper speech.

“Why, thank you, my king. My changelings are at your beck and call, so long as you keep feeding me that delicious love of yours.” Chrysalis said with a villainous giggle.

“Of course, my queen. With your nearly endless army and my war strategies, we will put an end to those pesky princesses that have been a thorn in both our sides for far too long. We will destroy them and everything they stand for, starting here.” Sombra exclaimed as he turned back to face Canterlot.

“So, shall we begin, my liege?” Chrysalis asked with an evil grin.

“Yes, we shall. Troops, are you ready?!” Sombra yelled out, looking back over his shoulder at the well equipped army.

“Yes, my lord!” They all exclaimed at once.

“Excellent. Let it begin!” Sombra cried out, throwing his arms into the air.

“To the skies, my children! Rain hell on those pathetic ponies!” Chrysalis screamed as she started laughing maniacally.

“I do so love your laughter, my queen.” Sombra said before joining in with her laughter.

The troops jumped over the sides of the ship and took to the air, immediately diving straight down towards the city. Sombra laughed loudly as the troops started the attack, watching as they rained chaos from above onto the unsuspecting ponies down below. He paid close attention to the castle, as he was waiting for his sign to join in and take the castle for himself. He hoped with everything that was in his black heart that Celestia would be there and he could finally get some revenge for all those years ago. Even if she fought back, things would be different this time. He had been preparing for this encounter since he was defeated by them over one thousand years ago. As he watched, an explosion could be seen just inside the castle walls. That was it, his sign to join the onslaught.

“It is time, my queen. Our plan is entering its final stages.” Sombra said, turning to Chrysalis with a wide evil smile.

“Very well, my king. Thorax, come forth! Now!” Chrysalis shouted towards the back of the ship.

There was some commotion from down in the cargo hold under them as a rather small changeling made his way up top, emerging from the grate leading down to the cargo hold. He carried a large black sheathed sword and a small red gem stone that was housed in a gunmetal gray amulet that resembled an alicorn that had been frozen mid-flight. He stumbled a little as he approached the pair of tyrants, his nerves a wreck and his hands trembling.

“Y-Yes, mother?” Thorax asked timidly, to which Chrysalis slapped him hard across the face.

“You will address me as queen, you little worm!” She shouted, baring her fangs at the small changeling.

“I’m s-sorry, my queen. P-Please forgive me…” Thorax pleaded, rubbing his cheek where she had struck him.

“Better, I suppose. Now, give our king his gear. He has to go and be useful, unlike you.” Chrysalis replied, turning her nose up at him.

He very timidly handed Sombra the sheathed sword and the amulet, his hands shaking from his nerves. Sombra snatched the items from him and slipped the amulet around his neck and the sword on his back before stepping up onto the bowsprit of the ship. He turned back towards Chrysalis and Thorax, giving the smaller changeling a look of utter disdain. He looked back up at Chrysalis with a bit of a scowl.

“Please, make that… Thing useful while I am gone.” Sombra said with a frown as his horn lit up and he disappeared into a black mist, which quickly flew down towards the castle just as the second explosion rang out across the valley.

“What use could I possibly have for you? You’re not big enough to do any actual fighting, not smart enough to do any recon, and definitely not fast enough to loot anything of value.” Chrysalis berated the timid changeling like a scolded dog.

“T-There must be something I can do…?” He asked nervously.

Chrysalis looked over the side of the airship and happened to see a group of ponies fleeing from the castle and picking up stragglers along the way. They were headed somewhere and she intended to find out where.

“Actually, I may have a purpose for you after all.” She said with a sneer.

“What is it m-my queen?” He asked, trembling a little.

“Put on your best disguise and follow that group of ponies. You will be my eyes and ears for whatever they think they’re planning to do.” She replied, pointing down to the fleeing group.

“O-Of course, my queen…” He said, straining a bit and changing into a pink pegasus with a red mane.

“Ugh, is that the best you can do?” She asked in disgust.

“I-I’m sorry, my queen… I n-never had any training to use my powers…” He replied, looking down at the floorboards of the ship in shame.

“Whatever, it will have to do. Now, get down there and try to blend in. This is your last chance to impress me, fuck this up and I will personally rip your wings off and shove them down your throat, then watch and laugh as you either choke to death or bleed out from your wings stumps.” She threatened with a glare.

“Y-Yes, my q-queen!” Thorax stuttered out in fear of the threat.

Without another word, he flew down and joined the groups of fleeing ponies. Seemingly unnoticed by anyone due to the commotion happening all around them. He followed the group along as they ran away from Canterlot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’ve been with us that long?” Rainbow asked, her anger subsiding briefly as she felt kinda bad for him.

‘Yes…” He admitted, the device not making a sound.

“How much have you told them?” Rainbow continued to question him.

“J-Just about the coma, I swear. After seeing and experiencing how nice you ponies are to one another… I just c-couldn’t do it anymore, so I stopped contacting them…” He answered, the device not reacting.

“You defected?” She asked curiously.

“Yes… I never knew any form of kindness until I came here, and after experiencing it, I couldn’t go back to her abuse…”

“I see.” Rainbow said, rubbing her chin in thought.

“What should we do with him?” Discord asked, walking around the changeling like a vulture circling its next meal.

“I could always take him. I’ve never gotten to dissect a changeling up close before.” Sunblast chimed in, looking the changeling over with a brightly lit endoscope.

“What?! You c-can’t be serious!” Thorax cried out, visibly shaking now.

“Sunblast, stop it. You’re freaking him out.” Rainbow said, giving his chair a light push which caused it to roll a few feet away.

“Aw, but I’m curious how a changeling’s anatomy differs from ours.” Sunblast complained.

“You might still get to. We’ll let Jet decide what to do with him when he gets back, for now we’ll lock in one of the isolation chambers in the lab.” Rainbow replied, unhooking Thorax from the device.

“Y-You mean if he comes back…” Thorax said softly, looking at the floor.

“What do you mean ‘if’ he comes back?” Rainbow asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“He w-went to Canterlot, right? Well, there’s s-something there waiting for him… Something I’m not sure he can handle alone…” Thorax explained vaguely.

“Elaborate or I’m letting the crazy unicorn in the lab coat have you.” Rainbow replied with a glare.

“O-Ok, but you’re not going to like it…” Thorax said, frowning as he started to explain what lie in wait within the walls of Canterlot.