Reign of the Diamond Emperor

I had gathered all my soldiers in the majestic throne room, having each of them served a cup of mushroom alcohol from my personal reserve. Fifty fighters stood before me, astonishment evident in their eyes. They knew it was not a common drink, especially in the depths of the mines.

Once the last of my men was served, I rose from my throne, keeping Bandit by my side, his presence attesting to his importance.

"My brave soldiers, I am sure you are wondering why I have gathered you here today!" My confident voice echoed through the hall, instantly capturing the attention of all my men, and the attentive ear of Fallen.

"Today, we stand at a turning point in history. The echoes of destiny resonate in the air, calling upon us, the strong, to rise and expand our empire against Equestria! We will rally our brethren and raise an army that none of those wretched ponies dare defy!" Excitement was visible on the faces and tails of my soldiers, while Fallen remained frozen in her usual fear.

"We will not merely win, we will obliterate their history and restore their species to its rightful place," I added, a determined smile stretching across my lips. "As our servants!"

I turned to Fallen, emphasizing her crucial role and breaking her a little further. "Fallen as a good slave, has provided me with the missing piece to initiate our preparations. Tomorrow night, we will reduce the hamlet of Emerald Val to ashes and capture as many of those wretched ponies as possible!"

I took a deep breath, raising my cup "TO THE ETERNAL DIAMOND EMPIRE," before drinking its contents, mirrored by my brave soldiers, in front of a tearful Fallen.

I led my troop, the night shrouding our advance. The armor of my men glinted subtly, and their steps echoed heavily... That would need to be addressed for the next assaults. As for myself, my dark armor blended in perfectly, except perhaps for my footsteps. Adding rubber soles would be wise, although finding Hevea in these mountains is unlikely.

The march was not supposed to exceed an hour, but unfortunately, the dogs were slow and poorly trained. Some of them even seemed devoid of the slightest intelligence to think about grabbing some water... I will have to standardize their equipment and train them properly, I was too accustomed to working with trained mercenaries to have thought of it before today.

We finally arrived at the small hamlet of Emerald Val. The forces were divided into two groups. Twenty of my soldiers, armed with crossbows and spears, were under Bandit's command. Their mission: encircle the hamlet, hide in the shadows, and aim to kill any Pegasus while doing everything in their power to capture a unicorn. As for me, I was accompanied by my personal guard, consisting of ten of my most 'seasoned' soldiers, and twenty more soldiers, all equipped with spears and, most importantly, plenty of handcuffs.

The minutes stretched on, and the dogs were anything but discreet. However, I waited patiently for Bandit to finish his work and give me the confirmation.

"Boss, the guys are in position," he whispered to me.

"Perfect," I replied, a sadistic grin lighting up my face beneath the helmet.

I turned to my assault group, divided into five teams of two, reviewing the plan. "You enter each residence with at least two people and maintain visual contact with each other. Capturing as many ponies as possible is crucial, but the main objective remains a unicorn." My group acknowledged. "No noise until the signal."

I moved stealthily through the fields, preceded by my guard. No light yet pierced the windows, evidence that we were still operating in the shadows, shielded from prying eyes. My men, my pride, positioned themselves in pairs near each door. Even setting the barn aside, we had twelve dwellings to deal with.

I stood before the largest residence, kicking the door in with a masterful strike. "TO THE ETERNAL DIAMOND EMPIRE!" I shouted. The assault signal triggered, cries of surprise and groans of pain quickly rose throughout the hamlet. I closed my eyes for a moment to savor the efficiency of my men.

Suddenly, a powerful force ejected me from the house. I landed on my feet without any trouble, reopening my eyes to face a gray unicorn with a white mane standing at the entrance. "Ready to dance?" I say.

I rushed towards him, anticipating his move. With a smooth motion, I skillfully dodged to the side just as his horn lit up, a beam of energy passing through the spot where I stood less than a second ago.

With a swift motion, I executed a sliding tackle, sending him to the ground. In a seamless sequence, I grabbed him holding him to the ground with all my weight in a controlled chokehold, aiming to render him unconscious. "shh, it's almost over," I whispered in an unyielding voice.

Cries echoed in my ears, and suddenly, something struck my helmet with force. I looked up to find a frantic unicorn foal, hammering my helmet with hoof strikes. A sinister smile formed beneath my visor..

It was even better. Abandoning all restraint, I let my power burst forth. Tightening my grip, I crushed the unicorn's neck with a heartbreaking crack.

I stood up, leaving the unicorn carcass behind. My gaze fell upon the foal crawling towards the corpse, sadness in its eyes. I didn't have time to waste on a tearful scene, even though I would have liked to hear the cliché phrases. With a quick movement, I grabbed the child by the horn, putting chains on his legs and blindfolding him before leaving him on the ground for now.

I then returned to assist my guards. The rest of the plan went off without a hitch, except for an earth pony who was performing katas with a shovel. I couldn't help but laugh before delivering a dropkick, accidentally break is skull open… People are made of glass in this world ?

"Gather all the captured ponies as well as the corpses," I commanded. Once they were assembled, I quickly counted the living and the dead ponies on a piece of parchment.

Total deceased: 10–1 unicorn, 3 Pegasus , 6 earth ponies

Living: 13–1 unicorn (1 foal), 2 Pegasus (1 foal, 1 elderly), 9 earth ponies (2 foals, 3 injured adults, 4 adults)

"Perfect. Relay to Bandit that he should split his forces in two: one team to scout the surroundings and the other to maintain the perimeter." The ponies murmured amongst themselves, but their constant chatter did not reach me. My icy gaze settled on my elite guards. "You ten, keep watch over the prisoners with me. The rest, inspect each house, pack up any books, gems, and supplies you find."

A heavy silence fell, interrupted only by the anxious breaths of the prisoners. I scrutinized each of them, making sure none of my men were seriously injured and that the wings of the Pegasus were securely bound. Any whispered word or slip of tongue was met with a corresponding response, ranging from a frosty glare to a resounding kick.

Submission quickly seeped into their terrified eyes. I took particular pleasure in the most frightened, dragging them behind me by their manes to a house, where I questioned them about the number of people present. The answers were uniformly affirmative; the entire hamlet was accounted for.

An hour had passed. My soldiers had gathered everything that could be carried from the village. I knew it was time to act. "Tell Bandit to come with his men," I commanded.

Once my entire troop was assembled, I quickly make them stacked some corpses to make an improvised grim throne. I sat upon it, fixing my new subjects with an imperious gaze before speaking. "I am Emperor Edward, ruler of the Diamond Dogs. Henceforth, you belong to my empire and its subjects..." Murmurs and some slight protests rose from the crowd, stifled by the weight of my presence.

My icy gaze swept over the gathering, piercing each one of them. "Let anyone who dares oppose me stand up. I will grant them the gift of an honorable and swift death." Of course, none of these wretched ponies dared to rise. "We have three hours left before the sun rises, you're going to obey or die."

I turned to Bandit, entrusting him with the task of chaining them together and organizing the loading. "I'll take the unicorn with me." With a firm motion, I grabbed the still-blindfolded creature, securing it on my shoulder.

"Oh, and Bandit, one last thing," I added in a frigid tone, "make them drag the bodies of their kin." With the foal on my shoulder, I began to set the houses ablaze, one by one. The flames danced, illuminating the night with an eerie glow, silent witnesses of my power.

My troop was moving too slowly, escorting our new slaves. "Hold your heads high, my men. Your women await you, and you have reason to be proud of your work !." My men lifted their heads, with pride.

Our entrance into the cave was triumphant. I ordered the new slaves to be taken directly to the throne room, where Fallen Star watched my arrival in horror. "Celestia, what have I done..." I caught her whisper as I settled onto my throne.

"A job worthy of a reward, my little toy." I returned to the parchment where I had recorded the count of the ponies. They were all there. It was time to examine their Cutie Marks and assign them new names. Then, I would personally dissect the corpses of the dead pony, hoping to glean some useful information. At worst, a horse can be consumed.

Of course, the unicorn was an exception and was chained near my throne with Fallen. I had too much work to be immediately concerned with him. The logistical problems these new slaves brought were staggering. Sorting through the recovered books was laborious, largely due to the reading level of my right-hand man. The only thing progressing as I wanted was the standardization of my soldiers' equipment, until I could establish a hierarchy amongst them.

Be a Emperor is not an easy task after all …