Sombra’s Successor
In the Beginning…
“Lord Sombra, are you alright?”
The servant grew wary as his master stared at him with eyes wide-open. Never before had the ruler of the Crystal Empire displayed such a lack of wits and it unnerved the servant considerably; especially with the envoys that stood before the King.
“Lord Sombra,” repeated the servant, “are you alright? You are unharmed?”
With a swift shake of his head, Sombra’s wits returned to him. His eyes spread across the room warily, taking in the scene that lay before him.
The room was enormous, standing tall enough that only darkness could be seen overhead despite the torches fixed to the columns that held the cathedral like room aloft. Size alone would make the average being stand in awe of the room, but one detail made it beyond grand. True to the Empire’s name, the room was composed entirely of crystals. Exotic and wondrous, the crystals shimmered just enough to hint at the splendor of the room, yet gave off just enough light to darken the room that did not lie directly on and in front of the throne.
A pair of unicorns garbed in ornate robes stood stock-still before nearly a dozen pegasi. Outfitted in armor and spears poised to strike, the pegasi seemed eager to attack the pair before them. Sombra’s eyes met with one of unicorn’s for a brief moment. Fear was clear on the unicorn’s face, but beneath that fear laid clear contempt and disgust for the one that held the Crystal Throne.
“Yes…” Sombra hissed at the servant. “Tell me, what has happened here?”
Color began to drain from the servant’s face as he looked at his master. “S-Surely,” the servant began, “you remember how these envoys,” the servant gestured to the unicorns, “attacked you with magic? O-Of course, your Excellency, you recovered immediately and the assailants were trapped before further harm could be done.”
“Of course!” Sombra proclaimed. “No harm can come to the King of the Crystal Empire! But these… envoys, they must be dealt with.”
“Certainly my King!” the servant said with an unsettling zeal. His eyes crept over the pair of unicorns even as they held their position. “Shall I send them to the dungeon my Lord or shall I have them sent to the crystal mines?” Blackened lightning struck at the servant’s hooves, forcing the pitiful stallion backwards.
“I am the King!” Sombra shouted. “And I,” he said as he looked over the envoys again, “shall decide their fate.”
With his wits about him, the King examined the two unicorns with an uncanny air to him, as though he were a great beast circling a doomed doe. He basked in their fear and reveled in the contempt that he made them produce. Yet something was preventing the pair from crumbling into disheveled masses. Something he did not understand; then he was the gold band around each of their horns and an absolutely, awful smile sprawled across his face.
“Tell me miss,” Sombra started as he circled around the trapped unicorns, “how long have the two of you been married?” The female merely stared ahead while her husband audibly swallowed. Several moments passed before Sombra raised his voice again.
“Tell me!”
“Three years,” the wife said tersely.
“I see…” Sombra smiled devilishly as he drew closer to the wife. “Tell me, do you have any foals of your own.” All was silent save the soft plink of sweat from the husband’s brow. “Do not make me raise me raise my voice Miss-”
“Shimmer. My name is Shimmer Bright and I have two foals, a filly and colt.”
“Wouldn’t it be a shame,” Sombra hissed as he came face to face with Shimmer, “if they never got to see their mother or father again?” A solid minute passed as Sombra stared down Shimmer before her husband spoke up.
“W-What are you talking about?” he asked as his voice trembled. Sombra glared at the stallion, but returned his attention to Shimmer.
“It is simple Missus Shimmer, you offer yourself to me for the night,” Sombra ran a hoof through Shimmer’s violet mane, “and on the morrow, you and your husband may leave unharmed.”
“You do not think I will allow you to-!” The cold touch of sharpened crystal silenced the husband’s complaint, yet he seemed ready to leap into a berserker’s rage despite the thin line of crimson seeping down his snow white coat.
“It is not for you to decide fool!” Sombra shouted before addressing Shimmer. “So what shall it be Missus Shimmer? Shall you spend a single night in my company before returning to your son and daughter or shall you condemn your children as orphans all the while toiling underneath me?”
Hatred burned deep within her being, but she could not force such a terrible fate upon her offspring. “What choice do I have?” Shimmer said with forced resignation.
Sombra smiled. “None.”
The night came and went and on the following day, Sombra’s word was kept. Shimmer and her husband left unharmed, but not unchanged. The consequences of the previous night would affect more than just them and their family. Even as the married couple tried to put the event aside Fate conspired against them.
As Sombra’s reign came crashing down, neither he nor the citizens of Equestria would have anticipated the chain of events that Fate would lead them through. After all, nopony ever expects a colt.
