King Sombra's Harem Conquest

Twilight Sparkle brooded over a table filled with statistics, inventory manifests and maps. The war against the forces of King Sombra had turned into a stalemate... Despite him fighting a two front war against both Equestria and Griffonstone, after one of his armies had invaded and conquered part of the latter.

She stared at the maps in front of her, showing the current deploymeant of Equestria's forces: The current frontline spread from forty miles south of Vanhoover, which had fallen in the first assault, in the west to to the Neighagara falls and then to north of Manehattan in the east. Sombra's troopes had reached nearly down to the San Palomino Desert in their first, massive assault, but after hard fighting they'd been pushed back north, losing most of their gains. Another line was drawn through part of Griffonstone.

The western army, in the Vanhoover area was lead by her brother, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and current general, Shining Armour. The forces to the east, in the Manehattan theater, were under command of Princess Mi Amore Cadenca, her former foal-sitter, and better known to her simply as Cadence. Then there were the forces stationed in Canterlot, commanded by Prince Blueblood, and if there was one thing positive about this tragedy it was that the prince had actually proven himself competent! Celestia knows how her nephew (many times removed) might've turned out, had he been able to continue to indulge himself as spoiled royalty! He had always had a gift for diplomacy, but in these dire times, he actually had been able to setp up and proof himself as reasonably competent commander of the home guard! Chancellor Neighsay commanded a small garrison in the Las Pegasus area in case there were any remnants from the first assault left, or any landing attempts were made in the area.

Meanwhile Twilight herself served on the staff of Princess Celestia who lead the central army in person. Unfortunately... Of course it was a great honor to serve as the Princesses chief of staff and head of logistics and, Twilight had to admit, she was excelling at this job, making sure the troops were well fed and equipped.

But... it was nothing that gained recognition... Ever since she'd failed her application test for Celestia's school, there was an urge in her to proof herself, to be recognized. And so, when the Crystal Empire had returned and King Sombra launched his invasion, Twilight Sparkle quickly pushed her studies to the side and enlisted. Despite her earlier failure, through hard work and talent, she'd still made still managed to get entrance to a number of Equestria's leading magical schools and many of her teachers were in awe of her talent and thirst for knowledge. But all the accolades couldn't extinguish that nagging feeling: What would've been, had that damned egg hatched? If she'd been good enough... talented enough... strong enough to make it hatch... Celestia still kept that egg around, even in her tent! As if to taun ther...

With her brother already serving as Captain of the Royal Guard, and quickly made full general once it'd become obvious that this was a large-scale invasion. With her own undisputable talents, Twilight got comissioned as second lieutenant at first, but then had risen quickly through the ranks. When she'd been made major, Twilight had been transfered to Celestia's army. Her talent for organization had shown early on and the Princess herself often was too busy to properly manage the supplies.

Her latest promotion to full colonel had been accompanied with being made chief-of-staff and, at first, it'd been a great honor to her. And, as any good military mind can tell you, logistics are one of the most important, if not the most important, fields in a war... Yet, logistics weren't the most glorious field of war either.

While her brother and sister-in-law, before taking their respective commands Shining Armor and Cadence had married, were generals leading their own armies against King Sombra's mind-controlled hordes, Twilight stood in Celestia's huge shadow. The ponies back home, as far as Twilight had heard, credited every victory, every report of how well the army was supplied, to Her Majesty, every victory and every successfull outmaneuvring of Sombra's forces.

And every error, set-back or defeat, every day of hunger or day without fresh supplies arriving was, directly or indirectly, blamed on her, Twilight! She knew it wasn't Celestia's fault, the Princess even tried her best to make sure those serving under her got their due, but... the ponies at home and the press didn't care. When Twilight last had gotten a medal for her exemplary work, one newspaper even published an article complaining about it due to those reasons!

Even her substantial contributions to strategy and tactics, two other areas she proved gifted in, were constantly swept under the rug by the war reporters! Every success! Every great plan! Celestia's work... Every failure? Twilight's fault! When she'd committed part of the reserve ad-hoc during a battle while the Princess and the troops around her were hard-pressed, pushing the enemy back and securing the perimeter for the time being, they even had the gall to write that they'd won DESPITE Twilight's action!

Celestia simply outshone everypony else... Beloved, wise, powerful... there was little to no way for anypony not a frontline warrior to make a name for themselves. Shining and Cadence meanwhile, leading their own forces, were celebrated heroes in their own right, and so were a number of the commanding officers in their forces. They didn't outshine them like Celestia did. And maybe it wouödn't have been that bad... If there wasn't that nagging feeling deep down inside of her that something was very wrong. Well, aside of Equestria fighting for its survival against the forces of King Sombra in what the press already called "The Great Crystal War". Somewhere, deep down, she knew that she should be... more? Should be respected... Should've been Celestia's pupil! Her gut told her that in no uncertain terms... Yet, something, at sometime, must've gone horribly wrong...

Twilight looked over the plans and maps, supply manifests troop movemeants and scout reports again. So far, everything seemed stable, but morale... The stalemate of the war was poison to everything! If there was movemeant, in either direction, there was something that could be done! Victories that pushed Sombra back and successfull defenses raised morale and galvanized Equestria! Even defeats and getting pushed back could fan the flames of resistence, causing more to flock to Celestia's banner... but this grinding stalemate? Nothing happening except for rising casualties?

She shook her head. Especially with a major issue they faced: Celestia cared about her little ponies. Sombra didn't. Celestia had to preserve as much as she could. Sombra just sent out the next wave. And any captured equestrian pony would get a helmet slapped on their head and sent against their former ally, while any liberated crystal pony would need a long time to be able to support Celestia... if ever. And even worse, it seemed that the mind-control spell that Sombra used on them was becoming more perfidious. Already there were reports of ponies that had their helmets removed still being under the influence of the spell, and of independent Crystal Empire commands harrying the supply routes... something that those mind-controlled automatons wouldn't be able to do without at least semi-independent leadership...

The unicorn grabbed the manifest of the latest supply shipmeant: Uniforms from Manehattan, weapons and armors from Fillydelphia's forges, hard tack and a variety of apple-related food stuff from Ponyville and Appleloosa. She had to admit, the Apple family was very reliable! Magical amulettes and such from Canterlot...

Looking at the numbers, Twilight's mouth twisted into a sardonic smile. The numbers looked good enough. Nearly enough, even! Some might say that they actually were very good and that the army was nearly as well supplied as if it was peace and ample of crops were grown int he fields! But Twilight new better It was never enough! At any point, they might have to move further away from the somewhat hastily constructed railway line to the front, or their routes might get interrupted, or... and in any such case, their supplies would dwindle sooner rather than later. If they even could take much of them with them. But it'd make due, for now. But those reports of Sombra Commandos working behind their lines were worrying...

Suddenly, the entrance of the tent opened and a gush of the cool night air hit her back. The unicorn turned her head to see who was entering. Then, she spun around her own axis, facing the entrant. "Your Highness!" Twilight snapped a parade ground salute.

Princess Celestia, general of the army and Commander-in-Chief of all forces of Equestria, replied the salute, but in more lax fashion, she always prefered a more informal environmeant, a certain tiredness in her face. "Colonel Twilight!"

Then, she let out a sigh, "At ease, please! How often do I have to tell you that you don't have to... that I'd appreciate you to be a bit more relaxed around me?"

Twilight, having removed her hand from her temple but still standing attention, replied as she always did when Princess Celestia asked her to relax more. "The regulations are clear on this, and the guidebook says, on page..."

"I know what it says, I had to approve it..." The Princess grumbled. "But life is not a guidebook situation. Out here, we're all comrades in arms, and I would appreciate it if you'd try to integrate more with the others!"

Now, it was Twilight's time to sigh. The general had told her that a number of times already, but... she just wasn't comfortable with it. The only ponies she really associated with on a regular basis, outside of service hours, were three mares that were the closest to what she'd consider friends: Minuette, Lemon Drops and Moondancer, The latter was quite similar to Twilight and her own skills in logistics were invaluable to the chief of staff.

But, she relaxed her posture. Twilight looked at Celestia. "General? What brings you here, if I might ask?"

"I just wanted to check how you're doing. I've been told that you haven't slept much the last few days?" The questioning tone sounded genuinly worried, but the way she said it made Twilight feel like the question was of rhetorical nature. She was proven correct when her superior continued in a stern tone: "I want you to take better care of yourself! Sleep deprivation can lead to horrible errors, in planning or in battle!"

"I know, your Highness, but...,-" She gestured towards the table, "-duty never sleeps!"

Shaking her head, Princess Celestia looked at the table, glancing over the documeants on it. "How does it look?"

"Well, so far?" The colonel shrugged, "Could be worse. If we can coordinate with Shining's army, we might be able to encircle a large part of the opposing forces here,-" She pointed at a place on one of the maps on the table, "- and here! Even with how Sombra throws his subjects at us, this should put a dent into his ability to replenish his troops... For a while, at least..."

The Princess answered with a short nod, showing that she understood. "And now for the real reason for my visit.." At those words, Twilight cocked her head in curiosity. So, there was more to it than just checking the situation? "You have heard the reports about enemy forces in our rear?"

"Of course!" Twilight replied. "I've already drawn up plans to detach units to secure the areas!"

"I am worried," The army commander told her, "These reports... If those units really are there and strike guerrila attacks on Equestria, it could cause a lot of problems!"

"If the reports are true, and especially if their numbers are currently underestimated, they might wreak havoc among our supply lines, true, but..."

"Or," Celestia interrupted, "it might be a ruse... A few units sent behind our lines to make themselves get noticed, so that we are forced to reduce the strength of our armies to protect the supply routes, while also reducing the speed with wihich the convoy can travel..."

"That is certainly a possibility as well," Twilight admitted, "and I have considered it. But under the current circumstances, I think it's of higher importance to keep the supply convoys safe and protected! If it ends up looking like a ruse, we can always recall the escorts back to the army!"

"That's not all, Twilight. I worry about them trying any surprise attacks on the camp, on forraging parties, on officers on reconaissance!" All of that would be annoyances at best or pin-pricks that might make the army bleed out at worst, Twilight had to admit, especially since... "And I know that you like to get an overview of the situations yourself, and often don't even take much of an escort with you! Your abilites are invaluable to the army... to me! Please, consider this!"

The colonel waved those concerns of, stating that, "Moondancer is more than able to take over in case something happens!" Partially to Twilight's pride, since she did consider her a friend and had instructed her on the matters, but also, partially, to Twilight's disgruntlemeant. She knew, or at least thought, that she was replacable... and even had helped that herself! "And I prefer to get an overview myself than to rely on potentially inaccurate reports, even if pegasi scouts have a better overview!" She rummaged through the papers on the table, looking for something. "I wish I had an assistant... Moondancer's too busy with other stuff..."

"Twilight..." The Princess said, with sadness audible in her voice. The unicorn looked up in surprise. "I wish all of this would've never happened..."

For just a momeant, it seemed that most of Celestia's regality dropped, and instead of the great Princess, there was a sad and tired mare, the weight of centuries and all of Equestria on her shoulders. She sighed again, and, in the saddest tone Twilight had ever heard from her, told the unicorn: "You have no idea how much I hoped you'd make it into my school all those years ago. I had such high expectations... probably too high for a little filly like you were... which is why I gave you the egg as test in the first place! I was so eager! Too eager! I didn't even consider what might happen if you failed... II had been such a fool! Often, I wonder how everything would've turned out if... "

Twilight looked down on her combat boots, feeling surprised and a bit shamed. As much as she felt that everything went wrong from that momeant on, despite her still having a good career, it seemed like the Princess regreted the outcome even more... "It is, what it is, your Majesty. We can't change the past after all!"

Shaking her head and letting out another sigh, the Princesses old regality returned. "True enough. However, because of the value you have to the army, I decided to assign a bodyguard to you!"

"A bodyguard?" Twilight was surprised. There were guards in front of the tent after all. And during battles, she had a squad with her anyway...

"Yes, a bodyguard!" The Princess reaffirmed. "She joined the army two months ago and has proven herself to be more than capable in leading her squad and a great fighter in hand-to-hand combat!" She turned around and called to the tent entrance, "Sergeant, would you please come in?"

"General! Colonel!" A tall, obsidian mare greeted them with salutes as she entered. Tall, but not huge. Probably a head taller than the unicorn she was apparently meant to protect, but noticeably smaller than the Princess.

Twilight noticed the broken off horn on her head. Maybe an injury from the battlefield? And now, Celestia wanted her in a position where the mare's magic probably wouldn't be needed? A safe place away from danger? But then again, she did look like quite a formidable opponent in terms of physique... Even through the armor she was wearing, it was noticeable that she was quite well built.

"This is Tempest Shadow! She's proven herself as one of our best fighters. And I want her to make sure that nothing happens to you in case something unforseen happens! Tempest, please introduce yourself! And be at ease. Twilight might be your superior, but you'll be spending a lot of time together from now on, so I don't want you two to only be distantly professional with each other!"

Twilight roled her eyes. Why was Celestia so interested in her making friends? She had three ponies she considered friends, even if they didn't really do a lot in their off-time! Well, whatever! Twilight offered her hand to Tempest Shadow. "I am Twilight Sparkle. Colonel in the Equestrian Army, chief logistics officer and chief of staff.

Tempest took the offered hand and shook it. "Tempest Shadow. I ended up here after travelling Equestria for a while and then, I found myself fighting and so it was only natural for me to fight Sombra's forces when I encountered them. Then, sometime ago, I ended up here and offered my services directly to Princess Celestia!"

To Celestia's pleasant surprise, the two actually chatted for a while, talking about their respective backgrounds, though she noted that Twilight, probably deliberately, avoided asking after Tempest's horn. All in all, it seemed like they'd get along together just fine, at the very least. Both were professionals, wich already was something they had in common.

After a few minutes, Twilight turned to her commanding officer and, with a slight smile, told her: "Well, your Highness, if this is your wish... I'll accept Tempest Shadow as my bodyguard!" Celestia replied with a smile, and a nod and Tempest smiled as well. Then, the general and the colonel bent over the table, talking about what to do next.

Neither of them noticed how Tempest's smile turned into a smirk and the faint, green glow with dark edges that flared up in her eyes...

Over the next few weeks, Tempest carefully began to use Twilight Sparkle's doubts and resentmeants to drive a wedge between her and Equestria, and get herself in Twilight's good graces, to get the colonel to trust her...

The army camp had been moved near some small, local mountains and scouts had even discovered a hot spring there. And, one evening, Tempest managed to convince Twilight to go vist them with her, telling her that she needed some relaxation, arguing logically that, without some pauses, her decision-making skills would suffer.

When they arrived at the springs after a 15 minute trek up the mountain and hidden behind some cliff walls, Twilight had to admit that this was a rather nice spot. Secluded, quiet... and the cool night air with the smell of mountains and of the forest that grew on the levels above. It made her think that the army must've been the first ones here, or at least, the first ones that included some ponies with business sense. Otherwise, there'd probably be a hotel here already...

Twilight and Tempest opened their backpacks they had brought with them and spread the towel and the fresh clothes out on the rocks next to the spring.After that, Twilight began to strip out of her uniform. Tempest eyed her as she did so, evaluating her body and had to admit, to a certain disappointmeant, that it was as unassuming as she had looked in her uniform.

Her body certainly might be considered "cute", but that was all one might say. Her tits and ass were small, her thighs unimpressive... the bookish face, on a more impressive body, certainly would've been great, but as is? Military training had left Twilight with a decent musculature, but even that was just "above average" at best... If she was attacked, she'd certainly need a guard if her magic couldn't handle the threat... Celestia certainly was wise in wanting a bodyguard for her. And, Tempest had to admit, there might still be ways Twilight could turn into a real stunner...

Now, it was Tempest Shadow's turn to strip. First, she removed her bracers and placed them next to Twilight's clothes. Next, she unfastened her armour's breastplate and put it down as well, followed by the greaves. This left Tempest's boots and uniform. Boots went first, then her jacket and shirt, and, apparently, a necklace of some kind, leaving her in her miltiary issue bra from the waist up.

Twilight stared at her bodyguard. She'd known that Tempest Shadow was... well developed, but seeing her like this? Especially as she bent over to remove her pants? Tempest had a truly amazonian build! Tall, her body well trained, large breasts that were just small enough not to hinder her even when unrestrained by her armor...

She probably was many a stallions wet dream, Twilight realized with a hint of jealousy. Few stallions had ever cared about her, even when she'd been in heat and surrounded by stallions in the army camp... She'd gotten it on with one or two despite that, but it hammered home how unassuming she was.

By now, Tempest had completely undressed and Twilight was cautioulsy dipping a hoof inot the hot water. Feeling that it was not too hot, she slowly let herself slide into the spring. Her body reacting to the water immediately and showing her that she'd been putting off rest and recreation for herself far too long. She felt how her muscles ached as the warm water began to caress them, felt, how, slowly, they began to relax. It felt good. She couldn't help but let out a happy sigh of content.

And then, Tempest Shadow joined her. "Oh, that's nice!" She cooed, "I think I could stay here forever!"

Twilight had to agree. "I didn't even realize how much I needed something like this!" As if to emphasize this, she stretched her arms and let herself sink further into the water, so that her her nostrils were barely above the surface. Truly, it'd been a good idea to listen to Tempest! Since she'd been assigned to her as bodyguard, she'd proven herself to be... as close to a friend as was possible for Twilight to consider a pony as friend. Even more so than Moondancer, Minuette and Lemon Drop! If Twi was honest, she had to admit that there were momeants where it felt like Tempest had tried to push herself between those three and her, but that was an utterly ridiculous thought!

As the two mares relaxed, they, as so often since their association started, got into making small-talk. And now, after weeks, Twilight just had to ask the question that'd been nagging her since she met Tempest, the question she didn't want to ask because it might've been too personal and potentially painful! "I... I am sorry if that's too personal, but... I want to ask you... What happened to your horn?"

Tempest ran a hand over the broken stump on her forehead and sighed. "No offense taken. I'm somewhat used to that curiosity by now, and I did notice how you stared at it every now and then. Since it broke, I've met too many ponies that were just as curious to think badly of them..." She answered in a somewhat sad tone. She let out a mirthless laugh as she continued, "And at least, you asked politely!"

She chuckled for a momeant and began to explain. "I'd love to say that I lost it in battle. An injury received while fighting off impossible odds against superior enemy forces, but... It was an accident that happened even before the war... and my so-called friends back then cast me out for it. But, I found a new place of belonging!"

Obviously the equestrian army, Twilgight thought. As long as she could fight, and she could do that very well, as Twilight had seen during training sessions, she'd be accepted.

"But now it's my time to ask a dark and personal question!" The unicorn with the broken horn told Twilight with a sly grin. Twilight half-expected this to be a joking announcemeant, that the question would be something innocent! But instead, the question shocked her to the core! "With how you feel undervalued here... have you ever thought about switching sides?"

That must've been a test! Maybe Princess Celestia ordereed Tempest to ask her this question, trying to see just how dissatisfied Twilight was with her position? Twilight's voice was shaking with shock and disbelief! "No! Never! How could I betray my home? My Princess? MY FAMILY?! My-my brother is fighting! My sister-in-law is fighting! My father WOULD be fighting, if..."

"The home that blames you for every failure? The Princess who receives all the praise that you'd deserve? The brother and sister-in-law who are considered the greatest heroes in Equestria just after Princess Celestia, while you dwell in obscurity?"

It stung.. Twilight loathed to admit it, even if to nopony but herself, but there was at least a kernel of truth to what Tempest was saying... They were gaining all the glory, all the adoration... while she golt left behind, feeling like... No! Knowing that somehing was wrong with her station in life. "What would I gain by joining King Sombra?" She asked, pointing out the obvious holes in the idea of joining Sombra because she was a bit displeased with her current position! "Getting mind-controlled and turned into a disposable pawn doesn't win you many laurels, recognition or respect, I assume! Everything I've seen so far about him tells me, that he's only interested in his own power, in his own gains, in his own glorification. In having a horde of mindless drones to worship him! Serving Princess Celestia at the very least allows me to protect and better Equestria!" Under her breath, she also added, "And to keep my free will..."

"True..." Tempest had to admit. "But, I've heard rumors that things changed quite a bit since the war started..."

Twilight couldn't help it but be intrigued. That was new information! "What do you mean?"

"I am surprised that you don't know about it, to be honest!"Tempest replied, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I'd assume that the equestrian military would keep taps on such things!"

"It's kind off hard to do a lot of information gathering via spies and informants on an enemy who mind controls his subjects..." Was the snarky reply.

"True enough, I guess..." The other unicorn shrugged. "Well, what I've head before I joined the equestrian army was that Sombra had changed his approach for some reason. The frontline grunts still get those helmets, but apparently mainly to ensure unit cohesion, discipline and swiftness of action. Other ponies however seem to be allowed to avoid such a fate, as long as they are loyal!"

Celestia's chief of staff stared at her bodyguard, a shiver running down her spine despite the warm water! "How... how do you know that?"

An eldritch glow started to appear in Tempest Shadow's eyes as she continued. "Well, if you'll allow me to explain... I might not have been totally honest about my sources..." I'll have to I tried to enlist when the war started, to proof that I could still help! But the enlistemeant office? They turned me away! Laughed 'What do we want with a unicorn that can't use magic? Can't fly, don't have the physical strength of a earth pony'!" At those words, she flexed her muscles, to show how wrong those examiners had been. "'We need everypony to do their duty!' They said! But I? I wasn't good enough for them! So... I decided to go out there and fight Sombra's forces as good as I could on my own... Beat some forraging parties, beat some raiding parties that attacked a village or two... But then, I ran into him..."

"Wait... you-you fought against King Sombra?!" Shock and disbelief audible in Twilght's voice! How could anypony that wasn't Princess Celestia take on that monster and not end up dead or as mindless slave?! Unless... Twilight tried to move away from her bodyguard, pressing herself against the wall behind herself.

Deciding that the jig was up anyway, Tempest decided that it was time to put the cards on the table! She rose to her hooves, a torrent of water running down her body, dripping off her tits. Staring down at Twilight, she began: "He trounced me... I've never fought a pony that strong! He didn't even use his magic! Still he defeated me without breaking a sweat! Sombra is stronger than any earth pony I've ever met! Maybe Princess celestia would be his match, or maybe even his superior, but who knows? I don't! He beat me, left me in the dirt!"

"How-" Twilight swallowed hard, her throat suddenly very dry, "-Did you escape?" She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer...

"Who says I did?" A rhetoric question as reply, Tempest began to gesticulate as her voice lowered to barely a whisper! "I was left there, lying on the ground. Beaten and battered. Sombra stepped over me and grabbed me by my throat! He lifted me, so that he could look me into my eyes. I must've impressed him, because he gave me a choice... Serve him willingly, or serve him as mindless slave... The one who took me in? It wasn't the Equestrian Army! The one who took me in was His Majesty, the great King Sombra!" Her voice turned more and more ecstatic as she said thi and the baleful light in her eyes shone brightly.

She composed herself again, continuing in a calmer town as she bent over in front of Twilight. "I want to offer you the chance to serve him. I've seen your talents, seen how good you are at magic and administration!"

"You are delusional, Tempest!" Was the not unexptected rebuttal by her, though it was a bit undermined by how she seemingly couldn't stop staring at Tempest's breasts in front of her face. "Sombra doesn't care for anything or anyone but himself and how he can dominate others! How he can enslave and rule everything!"

"At first, I thought so as well... but then, I saw what was really going on! When he first returned, yes, King Sombra wanted to turn all into his mindless puppets, but then... she returned!"

Twilight's reply was basically dripping with the need to know it! "Who? Who returned?!"

"His queen! Radiant Hope! And..." That name threw Twilight for a loop! She just couldn't imagine anypony with a name like "Radiant Hope" to be involved with that tyrant! Tempest continued, after she'd interrupted herself once she'd seen Twi's disbelieving stare. "Well, from what I've found out, been told... His Majesty grew up as a shunned outsider, and Her Majesty was the only one who really cared for him... In any case, she has returned to him, and, it seems, is a softening influence. She loves him, he loves her, but she also cares for their subjects, even if they had tormeanted him in his youth. Instead of turning everypony into a mindless drone, she convinced His Highness to find... other means."

Twilight couldn't help herself, her natural curiosity for feats of magic taking over. "What?"

"In the Crystal Empire's libraries, there are tomes of ancient magical writing, predating even the likes of Starswirl the Bearded!" Besides herself, Twilight nodded. Of course there were books of similar age in the library in Canterlot castle, but she only rarely had gotten permission to visit it during her studies... It made sense that the Crystal Empire also had them. Maybe even more! After all, it had disappeared for a thousand years! "Spells that, in in combined and modified form, would instill unwavering loyalty to His Highness! Ponies would be able to continue their normal lives, just completely loyal to King Sombra!"

"You mean..."

"That the whole world would live peaceful, well ordered lifes if King Sombra wins? That, and more. And those that serve loyally by his side will be rewarded. Radiant Hope herself promised it! She wants the best for her beloved Sombra, but she's also kind to her subjects. And she does her best to convince His Majesty to see that it is also in his own best interest. Together they cast a great spell over their kingdom, ensuring loyalty, peace, stability amongst their subjects!"

She hated to admit it, but Twilight had to agree that this sounded... good? A peaceful world, everything in ordered lines... All united in one goal? It did speak to that nagging OCD Issues she so often had to fight against... Everything in its place!

The green glow in Tempest's eyes bore their way into the other unicorn's as she made her offer: "Twilight Sparkle, I give you the choice: Join us, and become one of King Sombra's assets! Defy us, and I'll drag you before him to turn you into a tool of his will! Or, if you think you can beat me, crawl back to your princess to be nothing but a footnote in history!"

"I... I... I..." She stuttered, unsure how to respond, hating herself for being uncertain what to do! On the one hand, she knew what would be the "right" thing to do... but... was it really the right thing? With a ruler like King Sombra, most wannabe invaders most likely would be scared off. Celestia meanwhile? The return of Nightmare Moon and her re-banishmeant after she terrorized Equestria for months! Then the narrowly beaten back Changeling invasion during her brothers wedding!

"Serving has a number of perks..." Tempest now told Twilight as she bent down over her again, running her finger over Twilight's lips. Her staring at Tempest's tits obviously hadn't gone unnoticed. Twilight, despite not being very interested in carnal activities had to admit one more thing: Her body WAS rather frustrated! Andher next words dug even deeper...

"Admit it! You're frustrated! The stallions aren't all that interested in you!" "I've seen how they react to the other mares in camp and how they look at you! Heard what they say about you! Call you alright, but there are so many better in the camp... like that cute pegasus! What was her name? Rainbow Dash? Or those earth pony sisters! Or even your own pseudo-protege, Moondancer, the cute nerd! Join Sombra and you'll have your own harem, if you want! Who knows! Maybe he himself will have some interest in you! And I can tell you... he is... gifted! His libido and stamina are... truly impressive! And the queen herself admits too much for her to handle! She wants him to create a harem to satiate him, and more..." And, with a soft chuckle, she added "I bet your brother would make a wonderful toy for him! His Highness is somewhat open, as long as his urges are satisfied!"

She knew it was wrong, knew it'd mean to betray everything she'd stood for... but that nagging voice deep down in her mind...

"I... I... I'm...I'm in! You're right! Continuing as I do now will just mean that I'll forever be in Celestia's shadow! Unrespected! Unremembered! Held back! And... unsatisfied!"

"Atta girl!" Her bodyguard cheered her on! "You know, I'm actually happy that you decided to do so! I wouldn't have taken a 'no' for an answer!"

Tempest turned around, her private parts on perfect display for Twilight, and pulled an amulette of sorts out from behind her breast plate. It was an obsidian octagon inlaid with an emerald and Twilight could feel the magic radiating from it, now that she saw it! "Otherwise I'd have used this necklace to... well, I think you can guess... You choosing to come willingly makes everything easier!"

Slowly, Twilight'smouth curled into a grin... "I already have an idea for a little present for King Sombra!"

A few days later, Twilight Sparkle and Tempest Shadow stood in front of Princess Celestia's tent and argued with the guards. "Princess Celestia is currently inspecting the outer troop positions and in her abscence, no pony is allowed to enter her tent!"

Twilight snapped back: "And I have a report for the Princess. If she isn't here at the momeant, then I'm going to put in on her desk! Now, get out of my way, guard!"

"Nopony is allowed to enter!"

"I AM HER CHIEF OF STAFF!" This argumeant only reinforced Twilight's decision. Even Celestia's personal guard had no respect for her or her position! "Let. Me. In!" She pressed out between gritted teeth. "This. Is. An order! From the chief of staff!"

"Sorry, Colonel... You know orders are orders! You know that! If you really need to leave that report, you can give it to..."

"Sorry, Sergeant... confidential!" She snapped back with an uncharacteristic smugness. "It'd be against protocol to give it to somepony without proper clearance! Orders are orders after all. I'll be going on a reconaissance trip soon and the Princess most likely will want to see the report as soon as she returns! I certainly won't be leaving it lying in my tent! So, either you let me in, or YOU can explain to the Princess why she had to wait for it!"

"I... uhm... Well...." Then, the guard let out a defeated sigh. If push came to shove, he could at least try to blame it on being uncertain due to Twilight's role as chief of staff... He gave a sign to his fellow guard and, in sync, they raised their crossed spears.

Twilight replied with a nod and a terse "Thank you... was that so difficult?" As she and her guard passed the two.

Once they'd entered the large tent and were far enough from the entrance to be not easily overheard, Tempest gratulated her. "I am impressed, Twillight! Have to admit that I didn't expect you to force him to stand down!"

"Thank you for your confidence in me..." She snarked as she placed the, genuine, report on Celestia's overflowing desk. Then, Twilight turned to the blanked covered... thing? Maybe an incubator? That held the egg that had blocked her way so long ago. "This is the first time I'm taking a good look at it since many years... "

And now, after years of learning and gained experience, she realized what the egg was! "It's a dragon egg! That's an even better present than I'd expected!"

"And what is this?" Tempest pointed at the... thing the egg was in.

"I have no Idea!" Twilight admitted, though she wagered a guess. "It might be a sort of incubator. Not necessarily to breed the egg, though. Rather, to keep whatever life might be inside alive until Celestia has a way to hatch it! She wanted me to do it as the test for her school... and I failed... so maybe it needs a lot of magic? Or a specific type of magic?"

She contemplated for a few momeants, but then turned to Tempest again. "Doesn't matter for now. Let's continue with the plan! The chariot is parked right next to the tend. I'm going to put a few spells on the egg to protect it and keep it warm and then, we'll roll it out under the tent, hidden behind the wagon. Afterwards, we'll hide the egg under the supplies in the storage of the cart!"

Tempest let out a chuckle, "And you're really telling me, that you had no intent on switching sides before our talk? This sounds like you've planned it for a while!"

Once the preparations had been finished, Twilight gathered four ponies to pull the chariot and act as guards for them... and an additional gift to Sombra. Four new recruits...

Two hours later, Princess Celestia returned from her inspection trip, accompanied by Moondancer and a few other aides. She let out a tired sigh as she saw the pile of paperwork on her desk, wondering if Twilight and/or Moondancer might take some of that burden from her, when she realised that something was... amiss? Wait! The blanket on the egg container! The way it was placed on the container was different!

The alicorn princess hurried over, her eyes widened by worry. She lifted the blanket and... "Where's the egg?!"

But before Celestia could process this disappearance, a shout rang out from outside the tent! "YOUR MAJESTY! YOUR MAJESTY!!!" And again, this time closer, but shorter of breath! "Y-YOUR MAJE... YOUR MAJESTY!!!"

The general and her entourage left the tent and saw a captain bent over, his ahnds pressed against his knees and panting heavily. Moondancer glared at the stallion and, coldly, told him, “This is a camp of the equestrian army, and not a Manehattan farmer's market! Information is not—repeat, not—simply shouted in the general direction of its intended recipient. Is that clear?”

Celestia waved her protest off. Protocol was fine and good, but not, when it delayed the flow of, apparently, important information! "What is it, captain?!" She asked with tendrils of terror running up her spine.

Still panting heavily from exhaustion, the captain did his best to tell her the news. "A-a pa-patrol just found the carriage Co-colonel Sparkle used on her reconnaisance trip! It seems to have been attacked, and no traces of her, Sergeant Shadow or her escort were found!"

Celestia felt a knot in her stomach. And what he told her next made it all the worse...

"What was recovered, however, was this!"

He showed them one of Sombra's mind control helmets. Something had went terribly wrong, and Celestia just knew that she could blame nopony but herself... Another failure in her long, long life.