Deleted Scene from The King's Gift · 8:29pm Feb 20th, 2016
(image by Pixel_Spark)
A bit that was written but cut from the story's final version as it didn't advance the plot's romance. Enjoy!
“It is good to be back!” Captain Iron Blade said in pleasure at the sight of the triple gate at the entrance to the road that led to the Crystal Empire.
“Yes, yes indeed it is,” Lieutenant True Aim agreed.
The two, along with the other Lieutenants of the ground, and the air divisions flying above them, headed the army's return, following the road to the city in the distance. A small knot of prisoners was being led in chains at the center of the battalion – a mix of strong young stallions to work in the mines, young, beautiful mares as concubines for the army's own victory spoils (the most beautiful for the King's share) and the influential elite of the conquered city's leaders to meet with King Sombra on how to govern their new addition to his already growing territories.
The city's leaders took in the wide, open plains before them – the only natural features nearby of note being a small mountain chain outside the city to the North. Not being versed in military tactics, it was difficult for them to plan out how they could possibly form a surprise attack upon their new oppressor in the future, but they had enough sense to also realize the city was wide open on all sides for such an event.
Word of their treacherous mutterings were quietly passed up through the army until they reached the ears of Captain Iron Blade. He merely shrugged, unsurprised, but sent word back that the instigators were to be brought forward in the caravan to walk with him by the time they reached the gates.
After several hours, the city came into view. The newcomers marveled at the sight of the tall crystal spires that glinted dully in the distance, but soon frowned. For a legendary city made of crystal, they had expected a much brighter gleam to the towers, buildings, palace – everything. Instead, the entire area, including the path's outer edges, were sculpted in imposing black and dark crystal – jagged, free-formed, in no way symmetrical, and absorbing the light of the snowbound landscape around them.
Glad to be rid of the arctic cold as soon as they set forth on the crystal road, the army picked up their pace, glad for the King's outer layer of protective spellwork that kept the dreaded, eternal winter at bay. Quickly after that, within the next hour, they arrived at the city's very edge and the prisoners now saw why the city had glinted with only a dull light from where it was first sighted.
A great, opaque, amber-colored protective crystal field encased the entire city. They had never seen such a sight! While it was known and common for a city, town or commune to be encased in protective fields, this one was enormous and towered well over the tallest spires of the tallest castle they had ever seen. Many of the defeated elites hopes for future retaliation and liberation from this Umbrum King were dashed at the mere sight of it.
Captain Iron Blade stopped right up at the edge of the field. He turned to face the prisoners, slaves and his army. “Stallions,” his voice boomed. “it is good to be home. Today rejoice, for we bring good tidings of another victory to our great King Sombra.”
The army startled their prisoners by cheering, creating a great noise with the thump of their spears on the dusty road beneath their feet.
“Gallopeans,” he addressed next. “this is your new home and we welcome you. There is but one rule as you step through the crystal field. Obey your King. Obey or die. He will brook no rebellion nor hostility from you. He tolerates it not from his own subjects – how much less will he of those of you he has conquered.” Levitating his sword to point at the field behind him, his voice boomed. “Behold your new King and ruler. His Eternal Greatness, King Sombra!”
An ominous cloud of rolling darkness had been approaching as Iron Blade had begun to speak. It gathered in intensity and size, like a restless, living creature, the ground trembling from inside the crystal field at its approach, the shock rolling through the land, making the ground underneath prisoners and army alike shake. The crystal warriors went to one knee, the new slave nation following suit, fearing the entity converging on their position.
Growing in size until the great, dark cloud was the height of the towering crystal field, the barrier parted before it just large enough to admit the army and company. The warriors rose.
A pair of burning red, crystal eyes tinged with sickly green sprouted near the top of the dark mass before them. Their appearance threw many of the slaves into a state of terror.
Those who were not frozen in place with fear tried to run. Instantly the eyes sprouted violet at its edges and leapt upon them, enveloping them in its dark mists, obscuring them from view.
Their screams ceased immediately, causing others who had not run to panic. The cloud seemed to home in on them and they felt themselves weaken inexplicably, falling to the ground.
The army commander regarded all this with quiet anticipation. Every conquest had been like this and he knew the outcome as well as the routine. The evil-looking cloud grew smaller, tighter until it was roughly the size of a pony. The remaining captives and the Crystal Army remained motionless - seeing the unconscious victims of the power of the King's mist and the newer victims, all they could do was wait for them to recover.
Slowly, within a minute, those who had run first stirred, disoriented, their eyes green-tinged, bleeding fading purple mist from their edges. The other later, weakened slaves stirred next, listless at first and subdued. All obeyed the soldiers who moved them all unresisting back towards the center of the caravan.
From there, they saw the now smaller cloud of darkness resolve into the outline of a pony, all black, emerald green where the eyes should have been, purple mist at their edges. It resolved into the form of a tall, charcoal grey stallion, steel armor and greaves accenting a muscular build underneath, his ebony mane and tail ever-flowing. The slaves involuntarily moved back slightly at the sight of the same burning red crystal, green saturated and purple-edged eyes that had bored into them from fifty feet above the ground.
He smiled in satisfaction as all fell prostrate before him, not a single captured slave able to hold on to the slim hope of rebellion in his menacing presence...
Nice scene, to bad it was cut out from the original story, but as you said it didn't really do much for the romance angle of the story.
3768134 Thanks, Askre. It's too bad it didn't end up fitting in. I really had fun writing it! As it turned out, it's over 1k words all by itself (1,111 weirdly enough!). I could do it as a one-shot short, but not sure of the point of that. Sadly it doesn't fit into any of the other many stories I have lined up. Oh well.
Hey, I saw you topped 100 blog posts the other day. Pinky Party and Congratulations!!!
