King Sombra's Harem Conquest

A few days later, the siege ring had been closed around Equestria's capital! The preliminary steps this highly defensible city off had been rushed through in a night attack and it had taken a bit to lay the proper means otf interception. Taking Canterlot, however, would indeed be a daunting task. It had, according to Twilight, been provisioned to withstand a siege for months, if not years, and with its position on the side of a tall mountain, multiple river arms running through the city as well as a strong wall around the city and another one around the castle itself.

Adding to that was that most of population was made up of unicorns! Yes, they weren't as physically strong as earth ponies, nor could they fly, but they provided a powerful magical deterrent! Especially since they now would be trained for emergency fighting... And then, there was a strong garrison of the Equestrian Army alongside the elite Royal Guard detachmeants protecting the castle and Princess Celestia, both beefed up after the raid on Ponyville. Not that Sombra hadn't known about it, that had been part of the intended effect of said raid afterall.

There also was a powerful magical barrier engulfing the ctiy! Twilight recognized the shield! It was a spell her brother had shown a particular affinity for! Apparently, Princess Celestia was proficient in it as well! Or, maybe, her brother had put an enchantmeant down and Celestia was just fueling it with her own, impressive magical might..

At the same time, this strength could be turned against Celestia... So many ponies cooped up in a relatively small area! A perfect target for a great spell! A great spell that would turn them into loyal subjects of the Crystal Empire, loyal to King Sombra!

Twilight and Starlight were already preparing the ritual, and they estimated that it would not take too long. Once the preparations had been finished, the king and them would cast their magic...

For their experimeants, the two had a separate tent, while most of the staff and Sombra's guard shared the king's ludicrously huge, and exquisitely furnished, tent. Rarity had surpassed herself when she had supervised its creation and outfitting! She truly had a magnificient touch with those sorts of things!

In the entrance to the tent, which doubled as the assembly room where Sombra spent a lot of time, the egg-warming device had been placed. Based on what Twilight had seen in Celestia's tent, it had been refined, and featured a burning fire in the basis to add extra warmth. Barb never moved very far away from her egg, stoking flames every now and then with her own breath! If need be, she'd leave the tent, but unless things to serious or the final push commenced, she wouldn't move from it!

On the third day of the siege, Sombra paid a visit to Ponyville. He was curious to see how the seeds he had planted had grown... On this trip, he was accompanied by Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Maud, Spitfire and her unit as well as his former Ponyvillians...

For Applejack, Apple Bloom and the others, it was a bittersweet event. They had missed their homes, yet at the same time, they feared what had happend to their families, or their farm... And meeting their friends again after they'd been kidnapped, or gone to retrieve their family, but then ended up joining King Sombra instead! They worried how they would be received... Especially, Applejack and Big Mac, who hadn't been told what the king had done with Mayor Mare!

They first passed by Sweet Apple Acres, in part because the farm would certainly be useful to supply food to the besieging army but also because the Apple siblings wanted to see how it was doing.

When they got there, it seemed to be in decent order, though the workers were lazying about! Seeing the Apple family return, with armed soldiers, however quickly motivated them to get back to work with redoubled effort. Getting some nice new helmets fitted on them also helped, though they would be allowed to remove them once the conditioning was finished. Right now was not the time to take it slow and easy with turning them to Sombra's cause.

Fifteen minutes later, they reached the town itself. Apparently, they had either been spotted by a pegasus, or maybe somepony taking a stroll, or the town has been on high alert ever since the siege started, since all the adults of the town had gathered to meet them. This time, they wouldn't be taken by surprise!

Mayor Mare stood in front of the assembled town as they expected King Sombra's arrival, defiance on her face. In her arms was a baby unicorn colt. The king had to supress a grin, wondering how much of the townsfolk already were on his side, and how many would be in for a very nasty surprise...

From the point of view of Ponyville, they outnumbered the small group that accompanied King Sombra by a decent amount. However, even with the army garrison that had been stationed in Ponyville after the raid, the Crystal Empire forces on average still were more experienced fighters and more well equipped... But the numbers advantage certainly bolstered their morale, and they had probably trained for such an occasion.

Mayor Mare took a deep breath and steadied her nerves.. Standing there, undaunted and with her foal in her arms, she cut a daring figure of defiance! "So you have returned, Sombra!" She called out! "The first time you came here, you took us by surprise! You burnt our houses and took our friends and family away! But this time, Ponyville is prepared to deal with your army and whatever your plans for us are!" Her loud voice caried easily over both, Sombra's forces and Ponyville! Cheers rang out from behind her back in support! "But know that you will not find these ponies wanting in their dedication to their home and their ruler!"

More cheers, as well as some shouting of 'For Princess Celestia', or 'For Equestria and Ponyville!' filled the air.

The mayor continued defiantly! "The ponies of this town-," she paused for but a moment, then dropped down to one knee and bowed her head, magic drifting around her eyes, "-swear their undying loyalty to you, King Sombra!" Slightly lifting her head again, she looked at him over the rims of her glasses.

The momeant these words left her mouth, about a quarter of the ponies behind her turned on their fellows! Petrified by shock and surprise, and with Sombra's forces joining in, the rest couldn't muster much resistance. Swiftly, all of them were captured. The fact that there had been no fatal casualties came to a relief to both, Mayor Mare and the locals and the former Ponyville citizens that now lived at Sombra's court.

As the the prisoners watched, King Sombra stepped up to the treacherous mayor! Looking down at her, an amused smile on his face, he spoke up: "Well done, mayor." His hand caressed her head and face, causing Mayor Mare to coo happily! Her king had praised her work! "I didn't expect it to go this well!"

"Thank you!" Holding her colt with one arm, she grabbed the king's hand and kissed it! "Thank you for your kind words, King Sombra! All this humble servant wants is to serve you!" Rising to her hooves under the calls of 'traitor!' and jeers and hisses from the captured ponies, she presented the foal to him: "Your son, Your Majesty!"

Carefully and gently, Sombra took his third-born in his arms. "I named him 'Onyx Star'! Your Highness, I know it is a bit mundane, but I had to keep it local enough that it wouldn't cause anypony to wonder, so I hope that you approve of the name."

A short nod answered that question. As the prisoners, and the inhabitants of Ponyville that had had not tried to fight but instead had hidden in their homes, fell under Sombra's spell, he laid out to Mayor Mare what the future would bring, what would happen with Ponyville, which she would rule for him, and how she should raise the foal! It finally culiminated in: "Once he is old enough to rule over Ponyville as governor, I want you to come and join me." Mayor Mare was elated!

At the same time, Sombra's servants that hadn't seen their hometown in months took a stroll. Pinkie accompanied them, very much curious about the place. "You know," Applejack told the others, "I think Twilight would like the old library..."

A week later, the great spell was almost ready! All they needed now was a little orgy between Twilight, Starlight, Trixie, King Sombra and Radiant. Maybe Tempest Shadow as well! OK... Technically that wasn't needed. But Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer were rather horny and were in the mood for a nice orgy...

The day after however, Sombra, Twilight and Starlight began the great spell! Their magical power combined and began to take shape! Slowly, but steadily, a great field of purple-colored dark magic began to engulfe Canterlot's protective shield! And then, it began to constrict around it...

At first, the shield held fast! But, after a while, slowly, it began waver! Cracks started to show! And then, finally, even Celestia's powers couldn't hold it against the power of the three unicorns and the magical powers they had prepared! The shield began to constrict! Step by step, the protective dome gave way, shrinking, exposing more and more of the city to Sombra's forces! And any pony it left behind, to the magic that pushed it away. Here and there were bubbles, apparently created by gifted unicorns, that kept the spell away. Twilight was curious.... She wanted to see what ponies were able to resist her work! Or, alternatively, at least for how long they were able to do so!

Many hours later, the shield had been reduced to Celestia's castle and the parts of the city near to it. There, it had stabilized and now held firm. Most likely this was the area that Celestia could protect against the magical onslaught without needing to use too much of her powers, as to still be able to fight when needed! The area was probably overflowing with the ponies that managed to evacuate before the spell caugh them! Even if most of their supplies were stored in the area, the massively increased amount of ponies per m² would, sooner or later, lead to internal conflict...

But Twilight was still curious as to whom might have been able to shield themselves from the spell, at least temporarily!She dispelled her magical wings, put on a cloak, grabbed her staff and set out to investigate, unworried about any potential dangers, even in her current state. The magical powers King Sombra had bestowed on her with the Alicorn Amulet meant that anypony short of Princess Celestia, or maybe Twilight's own sister-in-law, would hardly be a threat!

She wandered through the streets of her hometown, and each time her staff hit the ground, it echoed through the eery, unnatural silence. Everyhwere she saw ponies whose minds were slowly being reprogramed to serve her king, the spell had to work slowly, for otherwise it would have just fried their brains. Every now and then, a few of them would get up and stagger towards the camp to declare their new allegiance. Twilight allowed herself a satisfied smirk. She had done good work, and, maybe, would get rewarded for it...

Oh, who might those ponies be that dared to venture through the magic? They had to be quite gifted to sustain the shield so well... Maybe... Yes! Maybe it was her older brother! As Captain of the Royal Guard, such a rescue action would be something Shining Armor would be chosen for! Or, probably, volunteer for. He had exceptional skill with the shield as well! It would make sense!

Twilight hoped that it was Shining! Her Big Brother Best Friend Forever! Since a while now, whenever her thoughts had drifted to her family, she had begun to think about him in a different way. He was a very handsome and well built stallion, and his magical prowess, while nothing compared Twilight's own, or Cadance's, was substantial! He certainly would make an excellent candidate for further children... Maybe her BBBFF could become a BBBBF? A Big Brother Best Breeder Forever? Be it with her, and their foals would certainly be something special and might form, one day, the guard for the crown prince, or with other mares!

After a lengthy stroll, she finally came upon what she had been looking for! A few unicorns and earth ponies! One of the unicorns, a blueish stallion, cast something like the shield spell around them, protecting them from the brainwashing magic and allowing them to retrieve ponies that had been trapped. As long as the magic hadn't affected them too much, or if a strong enough counterspell was evoked, say by Princess Celestia, it was reverseable. Or if King Sombra undid the spell... or died... He was the lynchpin of this magic after all.

Twilight grinned as she took a closer look! The stallion aside, she saw a gray unicorn mare, a yellow unicorn mare and... All together, it seemed like seven members of the rescue squad and ten to twelve ponies they were trying get to safety. And she had recognized some of those ponies! Oh! This was too good!

The stallion who kept up the shield was the first to spot the hooded figure! He immediately had a bad feeling, seeing how whoever this pony was, they apparently were unaffacted by the spell... And since he wasn't seeing any protective shield around whoever that was, or some sort of protective artifact or whatever, it was pretty likely that she was part of Sombra's forces! "Who are you? What do you want?" He called over to the unknown pony, but received no answer.

He shouted a warning to the others, though it probably hadn't been needed. They had heard him adressing the stranger. Immediately, they gathered near the stallion, many of the rescued ponies still visible out of it, just a few able to move at a normal pace. If they wanted to make a getaway, they would probably have to carry some of them. And maybe even leave others behind...

"Let me take care of this!" The gray mare declared grimly as her horn began to glow!

They saw a slight glow underneath her cowl, alongside a gesture with the left hand, and the spell harmlessely gathered around the hand and just... fizzled out. The stallion couldn't help but notice its purple fur, how hadn't he noticed that earlier? The pony's righ thand had been in plain sight, around that weird staff...

The top of the staff began to shine as another glow appeared underneat the figures hood! Moments later, a massive magical blast shook their shield! It held. Barely. The stallion whinced at the impact... He had to make a call he rather didn't, but he doubted that this hit was all the other pony could muster! And they had to get their charges back to safety! "V! Take the others and go! I will hold that guy off!" He shouted towards the gray mare, then turned to the yellow unicorn! "Lemon Hearts! You take over the shield spell!"

"But, without the spell, you will..." Lemon Hearts sounded unsure. They hadn't expected to run into enemy fighters so soon!

"I'll be fine! I just have to be quick enough to get the spell back up, or get back to the castle in time!"

"Alright!" She didn't quite sound unconvinced.

"Night Light!" V snapped at him! "I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE THAT GUY ON ALONE! I already lost my daughter to to King Sombra! Celestia knows where Shining and Cadance are! I-.."

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! GO!" He angrily shouted back, before calming down a little. He sounded almost... sad as he pleaded with her: "Please, Velvet! Get the others back safely! This is more important right now!" Realizing that further arguing wouldn't change anything, Velvet gave her husband the saddest imaginable look before she gathered the others around her. "I love you..." He whispered quietly, looking over his should and seeing them disappear around a corner.

Night Light took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, to steady his nerves. Slowly opening his eyes again, he breathed out. "Well... Just you and me now... I'll warn you: I might not be as strong as my son or daughter, but I'm no pushover either!" The only answer was a female-sounding chuckle. A chuckle that sounded oddly familiar... As he wondered who it reminded him off, Night Light's opponent, in the blink of an eye, shot a magical blast at him!

He barely managed to dispell it! Its force had been unbelievable! And the speed with which it had been cast... Another shot, Night dodged! And now, it was his turn to shoot back! But, to his great dismay, every single of his attempts, be they with magical projectiles or levitated debris or whatever else he could think of, was easily thwarted as his opponent almost casually closed the distance between them!

Finally, the enemy had, to Night Light's dismay, gotten close enough that he could tell that it was a mare! What little he saw through the shadows of her cloak left little doubt! Annoyingly, it was obvious that she was toying with him... Seeing more in the shadows now, he really felt like he knew her... Wait a moment! Did she look like...? No! It was just his mind playing tricks on him... He unleashed another barrage!

Grinning confidently, not that Night Light could see it, Twilight easily dispelled his spells, adding some dashing flourishes with her staff! With her free hand, she opened a little bag. Carried on aon a string around her hip and pulled something out. It was one of Sombra's magic blocking rings. She should be getting close enough for him to recognize her now...

"No!" Night Light called out, as if on command when his opponent was just a few steps away! He froze, and stopped his assault. "Please tell me you're not..."

Twilight closed the distance with a few final steps and threw her coat to the ground, revealing herself completely! "I can't wait to show you your grandfoal, daddy!" The last word, she breathed into his ear...

"Twi-... Twilight?" Her father stammered! He hadn't expected to see her here! Not like this! And not dressed so... sparingly! "Is... is that you?"

"Yes, dad!" She chirped innocently, a stark contrast to her her previous behavior, and her appearance!

He couldn't notice any sort of magic to change appearance or anything like that, but maybe he was just too out of it, or already under the effect of Sombra's magic. "But... how? Why?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. Before she continued, she used his confusion and uncertainty to slip the ring over his horn. Now, he was hers to toy with, and he hadn't even realized it yet... Better hurry, before the magic did him in completely... that would take a lot of the fun out of it! "I joined Sombra! I guess Princess Celestia didn't tell you and mom? Though... I guess she didn't know it either, probably thought that I got kidnapped!" Still not realizing that his magical powers had been cut off, Night Light stared at his daughter, unable to speak. He wouldn't even have gotten the chance as she began to rant about how unappreciated she had felt! "Celestia had assigned me a bodyguard who, you won't believe it, was actually a spy working for King Sombra! And there, I finally got what I deserve! But enough about me..."

Finally, Night Light seemed to get his wits back, her implication that she would now turn her full attention to him apparently snapping him out of it! He tried to use his magic to push her away! But nothing happened... Chuckling again, She ran a hand over her father's chest! "Sorry, dad. I had to keep you from doing anything stupid with your magic... Until I remove that ring from your horn, you can cast as much magic as an earth pony..."

Her father swallowed. He was trapped. But maybe he could work something out? He just had to keep her busy for a while to think! Or maybe another rescue unit would run into them... His eyes wandered down her scantily clad body, she looked like some evil, seductive sorceress from an old story, and saw the bump. Immediately, he remembered how she had greeted him! Grandfoal? "So... you are pregnant?"

Gently, she stroked his right shoulder. "Yes. With King Sombra's foal."

Night shuddered at the mere thought... his little filly? Serving Sombra, happily carrying his seed? It was like a nightmare! Worse than when Celestia had told him and his wife that Twilight had been captured... His gaze moved up again, almost against his will! Oh, sweet Celestia, when did his daughter become that hot?

This time, his eyes stopped on her breast! And sweet Celestia, what breasts! Twilight had always been a bit... more slight than her mother, though that had changed... But wait! What was that pedant?!

Finally, Night Light saw the amulette around his daughter's neck, nestled between her breasts. He wasn't as well educated as Twilight, but he and his wife were well off. While not nobility, both their families were affluent enough to have allowed a comfortable status of living, and education for their children, allowing both him, and his wife, to follow their interests, rather than having to work for get through! In case of Velvet, it would have turned out well either way, as she had become a very successful author! Night Light instead had always had a certain interest in books, something he had passed on to his daughter, and had learned how to restorate them. He had opened a small shop near some of Canterlot's most important, and renowned, book stores, all equipped with sections full of antique books. Most work was smaller, less important stuff, but he also had handled some real treasures!

Once, a customer had come to him, asking to have an old book about magical artifacts rebound. Night Light had read a few pages, and this one, he recognized, had been in said book! An Alicorn Amulette. Very old, very rare, very powerful – it is was said, apparently, that it could make one the equal of Princess Celestia, though he assumed that this was probably an overstatement – artifact! and very corrupting, making the wearer prone to hybris, erratic behavior and more! Maybe that was the reason for how she looked? And why she served Sombra? He had fastened this evil thing on her? The fact that his daughter wasn't showing any of these effects meant that, either, she was playing a very long con, or Sombra had found a way to keep these downsides in check... "Twilight? What is that around your neck?" He asked carefully.

Twilight grabbed it and held it in front of her father's face. "You mean the Alicorn Amulette?" She talked about it like it was nothing special. But that she knew what it was... "Don't look so surprised! Of course I know what it is! King Sombra gifted it to me when I started to serve him! Naturally, he has taken precautions against its more... detrimental effects! The megalomania, the hybris... It is a connection between him and myself!"

Before Night Light could respond, she proceeded to change the topic: "Enough about me, for now! Let's talk about you! I have to say, dad, you are pretty attractive... Especially for a stallion your age! Mom really is a lucky mare..." She had a dreamy look on her face now, he could see that! "It will be so nice to see the two of you serve King Sombra by my side. And once we get them, Shining and Cadance as well!"

Serve him? Did she mean... physically? Wait! Why was he even thinking that?! She was probably talking about menial labor, or fighting... Night Light started to feel a bit... dizzy. And air-headed! It became harder and harder to concentrate, and his daughter's voice sounded so... tempting! It was as if he wanted to hear her give him commands he could follow...

"Let me lead you back to our camp. There, King Sombra will truly make you into one of his servants! You must have seen those that you and mom couldn't get to in time? When they begin to move, they have only one thought on their minds: 'Serve Sombra!' All of them march to our base so that the king can put the finishing touch on them! But don't worry... you won't turn into a stupid drone until you meet him!" With the snap of her fingers, all of Night Light's clothes, except for his shoes, disappeard. "I've made sure of it." With another snap, a very delicate looking chain appeared on Night Light's body, fastened to his neck, arms and ankles with a choker, bracelets and greaves. All of it was golden, but, as bad as his mind had gotten, he knew it was more than that. It was magical, probably almost unbreakable. The chain's end was in Twilight's firm grasp. Smiling, she started to lead her father away.

Luckily for Night Light, it was a very warm and beautiful day, so he wasn't cold. Unfortunately for him, his body reacted very... excitedly about the whole situation, especially how his daughter's backside swayed in front of him! And the pleasant weather just made it worse as Twilight lead him past ponies in varying stages of the spell's effects.

They entered one of Canterlot's market squares. Twilight remembered it fondly. When she'd been a little filly, Night Light, after closing down his shop for the day, or while taking a break, had often taken her there, sometimes her mother and brother accompanied them. They bought some groceries, did some window shopping, looked at new books at different stores, and then, he had always taken her out for lunch!

Happy memories... Maybe they could repeat some of that, once Sombra's conquest was complete? She turned around and looked at the nude form of her father. "Well, that stiffy of yours must be very uncomfortable, and I am not in a hurry to return... So, what do you think, dadd?" Leading him to a little fountain she had often sat on while eating ice cream. "Do you want to fuck your little filly here? Where we had so many nice memories?"

Night groaned! It was wrong to see his daughter as that attractive and alluring, even if she was dressed like somepony from a fantasy movie porn parody...

Twilight undid the clasps holding her bra and skirt up, letting them fall to the ground, pushing her panties down right after, and bent herself over the fountain's broad stone frame! Lying on her side, her right leg planted on the ground, she grabbed her left and presented her dripping cunt to her own father. But he didn't react! "Oh?" For a moment, Twilight was confused! After a short contemplation, she realized the reason, however! "Oh! Of course! You're conflicted because I am your daughter! But daddy, I'm also a sex-loving slut! You have no idea how much I've been fucking around since I joined King Sombra! Maybe you could pretend that I'm mom? I mean, we almost look the same!" She suggested. When Twilight continued, she had lowered her voice a little, to sound more like her mother: "Come on, Night Light! Just a quickie! Ever since I've gotten pregnant with our second foal, I've been just soo horny! And Shining's foalsitter is payed for another two hours..."

"V-Velvet..." He groaned, as, in front of his inner eye, a picture of his wife began to overlay his daughter. His wife and daughter ruly looked similar, their fur colors aside. At times, Twilight Velvet and Twilight Sparkle had even been confused for sisters! Although, in fairness, sisters with an age gap of at least five to ten years... The smell of her aroused nethers was pushed against his nostrils by the flicking of her tail... He was unable to restrain himself any further! The next thing Night Light knew was, that her right leg was thrown over his shoulder as he was fucking her, making her tits jiggle at every thrust!

After a while, they shifted their positions and Twilight rolled onto her belly as Night took a firm grip of her hips! Groups of groggy ponies past by them, but either didn't notice them, or didn't care for them, on their way to King Sombra.

Next, Night Light sat on the fountain's edge, his hooves in the water as his daug-... wife sat in his lap, his cock up her ass. He nibbled on her ear, kissed her neck, played with her tits as she bounced happily. Her moans, so sweet... He and Velvet hadn't had done it in weeks, and now his wife was kinky enough to do it outside, during a siege! Or was it his wife? The colors of her mane seemed to constantly shift between his wifes' and his daughters'!

Yes! That was right! He was fucking his own daughter! His own, pregnant daughter! Pregnant with the tyrant that was brainwashing him and conquering Equestria! His wife had left with the others, and when his daughter had suggested to imagine her as Velvet, his mind had done so... It-it must have been the magic messing with his mind! It was wrong, yet... Why did it feel so good?! And if it felt that good... Why stop?

They had changed their position again, Twilight was laying on her back on the frame, one arm idly splashing in the fountain's water. Night Light was plowing into her, his left hand clasped around her waist, his right squeezing one of her tits! Her hooves were crossed behind his back. His face was mere inches away from Twilight's, that intoxicating scent of hers filling his lungs.

"Kiss me, daddy! Kiss m-.." Before she could finish, her father's lips silenced her! When they broke, both their tongues hung out of their mouth, a trail of spit between them! "Good daddy! Knows how to make his little filly happy!" Twilight moaned.

"Twilight! I'm about to cum!" He groaned a few moments later!

"Yes! Yes! Fill me up! Fill your daughter up!"

"I'm cumming in my own daughter!" He called out, half ashamed, half exhilerated, as he emptied his balls into her cunt! "And it feels good!"

"So much cum... Either you're more virile than I expected,-" she scooped some of his jizz up and then licked her hand clean, moaning ever so slightly, "-or you and mom haven't been busy in a while. Or maybe both!" Both of them embraced and basked together in the afterglow and the warmth of the day.

Once they had recovered, Night Light used the fountain to wash himself, but Twilight only cleaned her face and upper body. She would take a nice, hot bath later! However, she had tired of walking, but with her father in tow, she couldn't just fly back. No, she had a better, more fun idea! "And now, you will carry me on your shoulders like you did when I was little!" She commanded him. And he obeyed, getting down to one knee to allow her to climb onto him, then raised himself up.

She was lighter than Night had expected! Maybe she was using a spell to make herself lighter, so that he could carry her more easily? Or had this been part of the alicorn amulette's effect? Well, it didn't matter to Night Light as he began to walk. Her father felt his own cum trickle down his back... He didn't care.

After a while, Twilight spoke up again. There was a question that she was quite interested to know the answer of: "Say, dad... do you know where Shining Armor is? I would love to play with him like I've played with you!"

Two sides of Night Light fought in his head. One wanted to tell his daughter dearest everything, not that he knew much. The other wanted to tell her, and King Sombra by extension, nothing! Slowly, but inevitably, the first managed to win out, but his answer was not without interruptions: "I think... he is on a mission... for Princess Celestia."

"And what might that be?"

"I don't know."

"Hmpf..." He could've been a little more helpful... "Could you walk a little faster?"

King Sombra grinned on his throne! The spell had been an astounding success! It hadn't taken all of Canterlot, true, but it had taken a good part of it and it had forced the protective shield to constrict... If indeed it was Celestia who was sustaining it, then exercising continous pressure on that shield would tire her out over time... And every now and then, groups of ponies arrived to serve him. All of them were not yet completely under his control yet, the spell had basically put them on a sort of autopilot for now with their personalities repressed, but once enough were there, he'd give them the finishing touch. Then, they could go on and live normal lifes... as his subjects.

Originally, he had wanted to use the citizens of Canterlot as an example for the rest of Equestria. Surrender, or become mindless drones! But Radiant had convinced him otherwise. However... maybe he should keep them in this robot-like state until the siege was over? Unquestioning, obedient laborers would, for now, be far more convenient. Yes. For now, they wouldn't regain their minds, and if Radiant Hope objected, he could honestly tell her that it was for miliary expediency!

Twilight had returned an hour ago, bringing another pony with her. As it had turned out, it had been her own father! Bringing her own father before the king to be made one of his pawns... Twilight had truly become one of his best servants, and he greatly enjoyed how she thought at times... And this Night Light seemed to be a reasonably useful subject in more than one way. A number of his mares, and Barb, also seemed to be somewhat interested in him, and considering that his children were the Captain of the Royal Guard and Twilight, maybe he should allow the stallion to make a few more?

A few days later, inside of Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia was pacing up and down, a stern expression fixed on her face. Some of her best unicorns were struggling as much as they could to maintain the shield so that she could rest for a while. Rest, and think. They wouldn't last long, and sooner rather than later, she would need to take over again. With all the pressure exerting on the shield, it was even more tiresome now than when it had protected the whole city. Before that, rotating the unicorns powering it functioned well enough.

The last message she had received from the three ponies she had sent out had been that Shining Armor was on his way to the changeling hive, while Blueblood and Cadance had finished their audience with Dragon Lord Torch and begun their journeys to the yaks and hippogriffs respectively.

The old, gigantic dragon, to their surprise, had sympathized with them and seemed to understand that Sombra would, sooner or later, come after the dragons as well! However, despite the usual powers of the Dragon Lord, there were issues that prevented him from simply ordering the dragons from raining fire from the sky onto the Crystal Empire!

For one, if he just ordered it, a lot of dragons would be rather unhappy about having to get involved in pony business. Best case? They would be bored and do the bare minimum. Worst case? They'd "accidentally" not care about what, or who, caught fire, maybe even pretend to have been unable to tell if a group of ponies had belonged to Sombra or to Equestria! And Celestia would have preferred freeing those poor soulsf rom the mind controlling magic, if possible, rather than to kill them!

Additionally, Torch's reign was nearing its end! He knew it! It wouldn't be long until he'd call for the Gauntlet of Fire to decide the next Dragon Lord, and if the wrong dragon won, Equestria would wish that the dragons had stayed out of the conflict... Sombra wouldn't have been happy, but if Equestria and the Crystal Empire both got turned into smouldering heaps of ashes, nopony would be happy. Most of them probably wouldn't even be alive.

Now, she wouldn't receive any further news. The shield kept the usual ways of magical communication out. Damn it, the princess shook her head as all of these thoughts and more raced through her mind, she needed some fresh air!

Celestia threw open the glass doors leading to the balcony adjacent to her room and stepped outside! It was dark, and the air pleasantly cool. She could see the dark houses of the city. Due to the the current situation, power had to be limited. In Sombra''s camp, she could see the camp fires burning, could faintly hear the training drums...

She thought about the whole siege again: So far, they had focused on defense, had counted on the shield being able to keep Sombra off until reinforcements could be mustered and, maybe, new allies be made. Gilda and Gabby were still with them, and maybe she should send the two griffons home, for their own safety and to, maybe, come back with a unit of of griffons to relieve the city. Before the siege had started, the had already tried to have Gilda return home, but she had denied this. "Not until I find out what happened to Rainbow Dash!" the griffon had said.

Maybe it was time to rethink the current strategy... Perhaps it would be good to be a bit more aggressive. Instead of waiting until relief arrived, a concentrated assault against Sombra himself might end the whole war then and there! Or at least force him to pullback again. Perhaps, she mused, they should've done that from the very beginning.

Yes. Tomorrow morning, she'd order the preparations to commence...

The preparations were complete. Arrayed in the throne room, Princess Celestia and unit of hand-picked volunteers were dressed in the best armor available and equipped with the most potent weaponry stored in the castle's armory! Enchanted weaponry, collected over centuries... Celestia herself was carrying a spear, and a sword as a back-up.

They were but a few dozen, split between unicorns, who were especially tasked with providing protection against Sombra's mind control spell and general support, earth ponies and pegasi, who would be the ones focusing on fighting. Maybe they could rescue some ponies before they were completely brainwashed... And if everything went well, the siege, at the very least, might be lifted.

Early in the morning, they slipped out of the castle and the protected area. Keeping a low profile, they made their way towards the main siege camp. The Princess herself took point, leading them. Seeing so many ponies at best half-conscious, many of them walking like zombies through the streets to the very same monster that had put them into this state to begin with, it almost broke her heart! And made her angry... How dare he?!

Finally they reached Canterlot's outer wall. To ease movement, Sombra's forces had breached the walls in multiple locations, damage that would have to be repaired later. A few sentinels were stationed in the cleared field between the walls and the camps' defensive trenches and other defenses...

And then, Celestia and her troops saw something that made their blood run hot! Groups of the freshly brainwashed ponies had already began to errect a huge statue to honor their subjugator! Some of them, the princess had recognized! Members of her own guard she had known for years! Pupils, and former pupils, of her school for gifted unicorns! Palace staff! While the siege was still going on! As if that thrice damned King Sombra wasn't even taking this seriously!

Even the usually so calm and collected princess could feel how rage began to bubble up inside of her! How dare that monster! HOW DARE HE?! He had not even won the siege and already was doing this! Celestia was almost frothing with rage and her voice trembled as she shouted: "CHARGE!"

Shouting war cries, the unit surged forward over the field, dumbfounding the sentinels and swept them away! Just a few managed to get away. Celestia and her unit had managed to take them by complete surprise!

A few of Sombra's units were already equipped and they hurried to form a defensive line! Many more were scrambling to get their gear! King Sombra and his personal retinue was amongst the latter! He cursed himself for having been so complacent! After everything had gone so well, and with the magic surrounding the shield, he'd thought he could afford to have the troops rest a little more than usual, so that they would be well rested once potential assaults against the shield would commence!

Apparently, that had been a miscalculation... Hastily, he strapped his armor onto his frame, Radiant helping. Tempest Shadow had foregone most of her armor and instead had only hastily put on her breastplate and helmet. Spitfire, Soarin and Thunderlane were away in Ponyville to organize the next delivery of apples. Rainbow Dash was armored and hurriedly rallied her pegasi, with Flash Sentry hurrying to join in. Barb had never taken off her armor since they'd gotten here. She fanned the flame keeping her egg warm and hurried outside.

Big Mac was already fully equipped and expected them, alongside Twilight and Applejack. His sister, unfortuately, didn't have time to put on any armor, and so was sent back to guard the tent, Radiant Hope, Fluttershy and the young ones together with Pinkie Pie and Maud.

King Sombra and his retinue hurried to the frontline, which was worryingly close to his tent. Tempest stayed close to him as the others fanned out to take command of the rest of the units. Against this onslaught, they would be needed to bolster the grunts and keep them steady.

Equestria's forces had just managed to route the first, haphazard defensive line and were about to break through the camps defenses! Just in time, the Crystal Empire's had been drawn up to receive them! Driving into the camp, the attackers regrouped and prepared another charge! Across the field, the eyes of king and princess met.

Inside of Celestia's heart, a burning hatred, fueled by everything her little ponies had to endure because of that vile monster, kindled a fury she had never felt before! Her ethereal mane turned into blazing fire, the white of her eyes turned black, and her purple irises became the red of boiling magma! Her face, in better times almost always featuring a gentle expression, a soft, reassuring smile, and during these hard times usually a beacon of stoic resolve that showed that, no matter what, Equestria would endure, turned into a wrathful grimace that frightened her allies just as much as Sombra's forces!

Leading the charge of her forces, Princess Celestia tossed her weapons away. Uncaring of the fight happening around her, not thinking about magic, she charged at King Sombra! The armour she was wearing seemed to be on the verge of melting off of her body as it glowed red from the heat she was radiating! With every step she took, her speed increased!

The line of the Crystal Empire braced itself to receive the charge! Sombrat stood in the center of the formation, the lynchpin, the foundation of his forces, not hiding behind the wall of flesh and steel. He had to set an example, and he was the only one among them, except maybe the amplified Twilight, but considering her situation... It would be better if she wasn't put into a physical contest with Celestia. The king prepared to receive her chage as she lowered her head, glaring at him through burning, hate-filled eyes.

The king slouched over, prepared to receive the charging princess, to force her into a one-on-one fight so that she wouldn't be able to use her magic to break his lines! Moments before they met, however, and too late to act, he realized that he had misjudged the situation! The furious alicorn evaded his attempt to grab her and instead her blazing horn pierced through the king's armor!

Sombra's eyes widened in shock, as he felt the searing spike pierce his flesh! For now, he didn't feel any pain, the adrenaline supressing it, but he knew that it was a nasty wound! He saw the ground shift, realised that Princess Celestia was lifting him over her head! The strength of an alicorn was truly magnificent!

The princess threw her head around and flung the king off of her head. With a heavy thud, and the clatter of armor, he crashed to the ground. The heat was gone, replaced by an icy cold. Sombra was breathing heavily, and he tasted blood in his mouth. But then, his attention was taken by something else...

"SOMBRA!" He heard Radiant anguished cry! Echoing loud and clear over the battle, it caused everypony, and one dragoness, to stop their fighting and look. The unicorn raced over the field, passing Princess Celestia without care.

The queen knelt over her wounded husband, inspecting the hole in his gut. As she was taling to him, others joined her: Barb was the first, followed by Twilight, Tempest Shadow, and Applejack. Her brother stayed with his unit. And from the tent itself came Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Maud. Rumble, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara! Those idiots shouldn't even be on the battlefield!

All of them crowded around the tyrant with sorrowful expressions. Shy took his head into her lap and tried to talk to him as she caressed his sweat-drenched face. She looked at Radiant, who had gone very pale. "We have to get him into the tent immediately!" The unicorn told them!

Barb and Applejack carefully lifted their sovereign, and Radiant supported them with her magic to keep him as steady as possible. As they began to move, the battle started anew.

Celestia watched them. Seeing her former aide-de-camp, the members of one of her elite unit, a dragon she instinctively knew had been hatched from the egg that had been in her posession, the pegasus that had taken a blast meant for Celestia and some ponies she didn't know but just knew had been free and happy citizens of Equestria before Sombra had returned... Seeing them worry about the pony responsible for their enslavement and brainwashing... It almost broke her heart! The heated fury inside of her was extinguished with ice cold despairr

The flames died down, and her mane became normal again. In fact, it seemed to have lost its usual ethereal splendor! Her purple eyes were filled with anguish as she stared on... And she hadn't noticed that her shock unit started to get overwhelmed by their enemies' superior numbers! Her troops, however, had realised that they had to retreat especially after the princess seemed to have lost the will to fight! Two of her Royal Guard ponies grabbed her, each hooking their arms under one of her armpits, and pulled her away. She let them, without resisting.

Back in the king's tent, Radiant hurried to treat his wound!First, she put a sedating spell on him, so that she could walk in peace. "Quick! Remove the armor and the clothes underneath!" Cloudy Quartz, and Starlight, who had joined them by now, hurried to obey her orders. They didn't untie the straps holding the platees to Sombra's body and just cut them off and the same happened to the clothes underneath.

Moments later, little Sombra and Umbra came stumbling in! All the commotion had woken them up, after they had been left asleep in the bed. The two, who had developed shockingly fast for newborn fillies, tried to get to the king, but Fluttershy held them back! They let out an excited excited chatter of syllables, but the meaning was clear to the assembled crowd: "What is wrong with daddy?"

"You two! Go back to the bedroom!" Radiant shouted, more aggressive than she had intended, the stress getting too her. She did her best to calm herself down and "Cloudy! Pinkie! Rumble! Starlight! Please, take care of them!"

Giving a short nod, the four grabbed the little ones and brought them back into the bedroom, trying their best to calm them down.

With something approaching calm returning to, the queen a closer look to the hole in her husband's body! Radiant was working for well over an hour to examine the wound and take care of the worst of the bleeding! She let out an audible sigh of relief! "It could have been much worse! Celestia missed his stomach and, by nothing else but sheer luck, it seems to have missed, and, at worst scratched, other organs. Adding to that, it's as if the heat Princess Celestia had been giving off cauterized a lot of the wound! But even with the best of my healing magic, this will take a while... and leave another scar."

She turned to the assembled crowd: "Somepony, bring me fresh bandages! A lot of them!" Adding a long list of other medical supplies she needed, or at least would appreciate to have, she started to patch the wounded monarch up, while Barb, Twilight and Applejack hurried to get what she asked for.

As she she had predicted: Despite her magical healing prowess, the wound was taking time to heal. Two weeks later, King Sombra, his midsection heavily bandaged, sat on his throne. It still hurt like a bitch, especially shortly before Radiant had to renew her spells on him. Thinking about it, he heard his wife call out: "Sombra! Come here! I have to change the bandages!"

He grumbled but knew better to argue with Radiant Heart on the topic of medical needs. And when she was in that mindset, she was more than able to get one over on him. Especially since it was obvious that Fluttershy and the others would support her.

So far, everything, except his goring, had gone as planned, but soon, time would start to become a problem... "The longer this drags on, the greater the chance that either armies or volunteer forces will attempt to relief Canterlot."

They hadn't had sex since his wounding. Yes, they had given him hand- and blowjobs, but those only went so far... Even Rumble and Flash had refused to offer their puckers for his relief! Neither of them had ever dared that! The younger pegasus in particular had been nothing but an attentive servant to Fluttershy and, by extension, Sombra and Radiant. Almost femcoltish, always eager to please and serve, and be rewarded by his superiors... And now,despite looking flustered, he replied with: "Queen Radiant explicitely told all of us not to! If we put any stress or pressure on your wound..." Radiant had also made very clear that she, and Fluttershy, would be very angry with whomever disobeyed that order. None of them wanted to risk to find out what the consequences would be...

Once he was fit enough, a whole lot of holes would be filled by him... Beginning with his wife and Fluttershy,... No! He'd make the two and Rumble watch while he fucked the others! Only when they begged him he'd grant them release! That would be his little bit of sweet vengeance!

Well, better not make her wait.