Forged Anew

by Friend_Computer

Chapter 01: The Fall

Orange light shone through the palace windows into the large, round chamber. Wherever it touched the polished crystal walls and pillars, it was dispersed and refracted, scattering countless rays of multicolored light in all directions.

Quicksilver had always loved to climb the stairs to the uppermost room of the palace in the early morning, and then sit in front of a window to wait for the rising sun. No matter how often she sat there, watching the first rays of sunshine brush over the crystal spires and fill the entire city with vibrant light and colors, it had always been as awe-inspiring as the first time she had seen it, years ago, when she was still a young squire in the service of Sir Amber Spark.

When she didn't look out the window, she could almost have pretended that the orange glow that filled the room was the light of the sunrise. But the light twitched and flickered constantly, and knowing its source made it look cruel, no matter what she was pretending to see. This was not the beginning of a new day. This was the end of an empire.

The Crystal City was in flames.

Quicksilver looked on in silence as the fire consumed her home. At times, she could see shapes and figures move in the streets, but the thick smoke hid them from view more often than not. And while she sat and stared into the flames, she kept thinking that she should feel something. Anger, or sorrow. Anything. But she just felt tired, and even that was a numb and distant sensation she barely even noticed.

She could not remember when she had started to feel like this. It was as if during the last few days of constant battle, all emotion had gradually bled out of her, until all that mattered was the next charge, the next enemy, the next retreat.

But now, this room of the palace was the only refuge they had left, and from such a high vantage point, Quicksilver could not overlook the scale of their defeat. And yet, she barely felt anything. It didn’t seem any more real than a picture or a stage play.

Can this really be happening? Even in her head, the question sounded flat, as if the answer didn't really matter.

Far below her, one of the city's burning crystal towers suddenly snapped in half with a deafening crack. The upper part toppled to the side and fell, crushing a fountain and several buildings to powder as it smashed into the streets. Quicksilver turned her head and looked closer. She was dimly aware of the fact that she knew the place where the tower had landed. Next to the fountain had been a little cafe that she had often visited. It was stupid to think about that right now, but she could not stop the memories from coming.

She had always sat outside in the sun, at a table next to the fountain where she could hear the running water. She used to order peach tea and dandelion cakes, and spent hours watching ponies walk past and go about their business. Since she had never worn her armor and always concealed her features with a hat, glasses and a simple dress, nopony had ever recognized her. She also remembered the owner's daughter, a plump filly with a light blue coat and a purple mane. The child had been an insufferable little pest, always running around the tables making a ruckus. Just recently, while making a nuisance out of herself as usual, the filly had bumped against Quicksilver's table and spilled her tea, and when Quicksilver told her to apologize, the brat had blown her a raspberry and ran inside the cafe. The owner came out shortly after with fresh tea and an apology, but Quicksilver had still promised herself that she would never visit the place again. That had been almost three weeks ago, and she hadn't been to the cafe or even thought about it since then.

Now she stared at the pile of glittering dust and rubble, with thoughts of cakes, the taste of tea, the sound of running water, an insolent young filly's grating laughter, and a thousand other little things rushing through her mind, and suddenly her vision went blurry. Tears started running down her cheeks, while grief and sorrow struck her so heavy that she could barely keep herself upright. She pinched her eyes shut and lowered her head as far as she could, her body shaking silently with repressed sobs.

No. I need to stay strong, now more than ever! I am Dame Quicksilver The Swift, Knight of the Order of the Crystal Lance, champion and protector of the Empire. They can't see me like this.

She heard someone walk up to her and sit down at her side, but she didn't react. She knew that if she opened her eyes or tried to move, her already brittle composure would shatter like glass.

"It's all right, lass." Sir Amber Spark's voice was deep and rumbling like a low-hanging thundercloud, but right now it was little more than a whisper. "After the last few days, I think we all earned some time to mourn."

The weight of a heavy, steel-clad hoof settled on her shoulder, and it was as if the gentle touch had opened a floodgate. An anguished wail erupted from Quicksilver's throat, and carried on until she had no air left to sustain it. Then she took a deep, rattling breath, and screamed again.

She couldn't tell how long she continued like this, sucking air into her lungs only so she would have the breath to scream, but when she stopped and opened her eyes, her throat was raw, and tears and snot had formed a little puddle in front of her.

Under the puddle, the reflection on the floor's polished surface showed Quicksilver a mare she almost did not recognize. Her coat and mane might have been bright silver at some point, but it was only possible to tell because tears had washed away some of the soot and grime that stained her face. Her gray eyes looked bloodshot, but whether it was from crying or sleep deprivation was hard to tell. What remained of her mane was an unkempt, sticky mess, and she had a nasty looking gash on her face that begun on her forehead and went all the way down to her chin. By the looks of it, whatever caused the wound had almost taken her left eye out.

The city looks worse than me. But not much.

Quicksilver lifted her head and turned to her old mentor. Sir Amber Spark had not removed his hoof from her shoulder, and when their eyes met, he smiled at her. "Feel better?"

Quicksilver tried to smile back, but didn't know how convincing it looked. "No. But it cleared my mind a little." Once again, her eyes were drawn to the raging inferno beneath them, and she had to blink away fresh tears. "I can't imagine anything that would make me feel better while this is happening to our home."

The old knight nodded and remained silent. He was as covered in grime as she was, and the normally vivid orange of his coat and mane was almost not visible. Several fresh wounds showed on his face, disrupting the intricate pattern of old, faded scars. The light of the fires threw twitching shadows in the creases of his face, making them look deeper than they really were, and his heavy plate armor was as scratched, dented, and stained with soot, dust, and blood as Quicksilver’s. Right now, the only thing that made him look young were his bright, honey-colored eyes, undimmed and aware despite his years.

Apart from him and Quicksilver, there were six more knights of the Crystal Lance in the room, almost all of them in equally bad condition. Eight knights where once there had been twenty, and as far as they knew, they might well be the last members of the Order still alive.

The invasion had started twelve days ago, when an outpost at the northern border was overrun by an army of nightmarish creatures that swarmed out of the Crystal Mountains. There had been no warning, no declaration of war. Just a swift strike that left none of the knights and soldiers stationed there alive. They wouldn't even know how the outpost had fallen, if the army's leader had not sent them a message, scratched into the torn and broken remains of the armor that had belonged to Sir Benitoite The Vigilant, member of the Crystal Lance and commander of the northern border forces.

"I am Sombra, and I have come to claim this land."

Nopony knew who Sombra was back then. Even now, they only knew that he was a powerful unicorn sorcerer, a master of dark magic, and full of ruthless cunning.

The ponies of the Crystal Empire had mourned the lives that had been claimed in the attack, but their spirit had not yet been broken. They had their knights to protect them, led by the legendary warriors of the Crystal Lance. They had their friends and allies in Equestria. They had the magic of Queen Vivace. And they had the Crystal Heart, the artifact that would keep the Crystal City safe from all harm. They were not alone, and they were well protected.

But while Sombra was unknown to them, Sombra knew the Crystal Empire well, and he used his knowledge to devastating effect.

Sombra had known where Sir Benitoite had been stationed, and the attack was meant for him alone. Because Sombra also knew that the Crystal Lance would place the armor of their brother in the Hall of Memory, where the Order kept the arms and armor of members who had fallen in battle. And the Hall of Memory was located within the palace, which also kept the Crystal Heart.

They could not explain how Sombra knew everything he must have known to hatch his plan. Divination magic was a possibility, but sadly, spies within the Empire could not be ruled out entirely, either. Whichever was the case, Sombra had prepared for their actions, and placed a powerful, yet subtle enchantment on Sir Benitoite's armor. As soon as the torn suit of plate was brought into the palace, the enchantment reacted to the Heart's magic, hitting the artifact with a powerful curse.

Few ponies knew of it at first, but those who knew where terrified. Their fears were quickly allayed, however. The magic of the Crystal Heart was crippled, but the artifact was too powerful to be destroyed like this. While it could not cast the spell that would protect the Crystal City, the queen had said that she could already feel its magic returning, and estimated that the Heart would regain enough of its strength in little more than two weeks. Until then, all they had to do was hold Sombra and his army off. Conscripts were called in, while messages and pleas for aid were sent to Equestria. Two weeks seemed like a short time back then.

But Sombra's army was like nothing the Empire had ever faced before. The sorcerer had created his soldiers out of crystal and dark magic, mindless automatons that never slept, never tired, and acted with a single will and purpose. His army marched day and night, and headed straight for the Crystal City. The Empire could not muster a force large enough to face Sombra in such a short amount of time, and the troops they sent against him barely managed to slow down his advance. The Crystal Lance had lost four more members within three days, along with dozens of other knights and hundreds of soldiers.

They had hoped to trap Sombra at a choke point by preventing his army from crossing the Windigo Ravine, a massive, miles-long ice crevice that lay between his troops and the Crystal City. Sir Platinum Flake The Bright and Dame Rose Quartz Nimble Hoof were close enough to Blue Glacier Bridge to reach it before Sombra, and were sent with twenty knights to block his passage, or destroy the structure and cast it into the depth of the ravine if need be. However, they barely arrived in time to stop Sombra's vanguard from crossing uncontested, and the only option left to them was attempting to hinder the advance of his army as best they could.

The sole survivor of their group said that the two Knights of the Lance had been the last ones still standing by the time he dragged himself off the narrow stone bridge, too injured to continue the fight. The two had held the bridge by themselves for more than an hour, before the endless numbers of Sombra's soldiers overwhelmed them.

When Dame Citrine the Kind and Sir Variscite of Blizzard Plain arrived with reinforcements, a large part of the enemy's army had already crossed the bridge to the other side. They decided to make a desperate charge and try to drive Sombra's abominations back over or into the chasm. It was a fierce battle, but when Sombra himself joined the fray, it tipped the balance in his favor. Sir Variscite fell before his magical onslaught, and Dame Citrine died while covering the retreat of what was left of her troops. From that point, no real battles were fought until Sombra's horde reached the Crystal City.

The walls held him back for two more days, before Sombra broke through the gates and his soldiers swarmed the city streets. During the fighting around and within the city, the Crystal Lance had to mourn the loss of Sir Cold Shiver of the Frozen Ford and Sir Obsidian Bead the Black Manticore. When it became clear that the city was lost, the queen ordered what was left of the Crystal Lance to retreat into the palace with whatever troops they managed to gather.

Before the enemy could surround them, the queen entrusted three members of the Order with the protection of the Crystal Heart, directing them to flee the city and bring the artifact to Equestria, where it would be out of Sombra's reach. Sir Golden Blaze the Tempest, Dame Garnet Glow Whitewater, and Dame Opal Shard the Gatekeeper were loath to leave their comrades and their home at such a dire time, but knew that the Heart had to be kept safe from Sombra, and they obeyed without complaint.

Convincing the queen's family to flee had been a lot harder. Prince Grazioso was too young to really understand what was going on, and all he did was cry, but Princess Bel Canto and King Bismuth had refused to leave at first. The argument had become heated, until the queen had taken them aside to speak to them in private. Quicksilver didn't know what the queen had said to her daughter and her husband, but after the conversation had ended, no more words were spoken between them, and the queen's family departed not an hour later under the protection of Dame Merry Glint the Little Dragon and Sir Jet Black the Scribe.

The queen had then led the remaining members of the Crystal Lance and a few dozen knights on an attack against Sombra's troops. It was meant to look like they were trying to break through his lines and escape, but even if that had really been their intention, they would not have stood a chance. Instead, the queen hoped to distract Sombra long enough for her family and the knights carrying the Crystal Heart to flee the city unnoticed. After Sombra's soldiers had repelled their attack and driven them back into the palace, all they could do was to hold out for as long as they could, in the hopes that Sombra would focus his attention on them.

There seemed to be no end to Sombra's troops, but the knights of the Crystal Empire and the members of the Lance made them pay dearly for every inch of ground they took. They barred every door, erected barricades from furniture, and collapsed walls and ceilings in order to slow the enemy down, and Sombra's creatures could not take a single step without having to fight for it. Within the palace, Sombra's army could not use its numbers effectively, and it took two more days before they had pushed the defenders back to the highest room of the keep. But by then, only the queen and the seven members of the Order that had remained with her were still alive.

The upper four levels of the palace keep belonged to the Crystal Lance, and contained living quarters, an armory, the Hall of Memory, and the assembly hall on the top floor, which they were in now. After they reached the topmost floor with Sombra's troops in hot pursuit, the queen had collapsed the staircase behind them. That bought them some time to barricade the great double doors, and get at least a little sorely-needed rest.

A massive round table, hewn from a single block of blue crystal, was the only piece of furniture in the room. Now that they had overturned it and pushed it in front of the door, the hall looked very bare. There were no curtains or tapestries either, the only kind of adornment present were statues depicting great members of the Order, placed in alcoves all along the wall. Numerous alcoves were still empty, waiting to be filled with the statue of a worthy knight, but the chance of that ever happening seemed very remote at this point. Apart from the statues, the only ornament in the room was the Order's crest, inlaid into the wall over the door. A blue lance with a gleaming tip pointing straight up, on a plain white background. Written under it were the three words that made up the Order's motto.

Serve. Protect. Inspire.

Quicksilver quietly shook her head. Each word a command to the Order's knights, each one as simple and straight-forward as possible. But they had not been able to live up to it. They had failed as defenders of the realm. They had failed the ponies they were sworn to protect, and looking at the things Sombra had already done, the citizens of the Crystal Empire would pay a terrible price for the failure of Quicksilver and her comrades.

Yes, the odds had been against them. The enemy had been deviously cunning and dreadfully strong. But that was no excuse. The Crystal Lance was supposed to overcome impossible foes. They were not just a knightly order. They were meant to be a symbol.

Quicksilver turned around and looked at the other members of the Lance that were in the room with her. All of them were beaten and bruised, their armor battered and stained, and they looked tired beyond words. Dame Anatase Silver Flute was sitting in front of an empty alcove, playing a soft song on her instrument. Dame Crystal Dance the Lioness lay a few steps away, right next to her twin sister Dame Crystal Song the Stalwart. Sir Fire Opal the Jester had dropped to the floor the instant the door had been blocked, and was snoring quietly at the moment, while Dame Jadeite Glacierstride was whispering something to Queen Vivace.

The queen had fared a little better than the rest of them. She looked beaten and spent as well, but she hid her exhaustion and despondency better than the others, and the imposing alicorn still held her head high. Her magic had served her well in the past battles, making her armor look less torn and soiled. She wore a heavy, open-faced helmet with the Empire's Sapphire Crown placed upon it. Her armor was lighter than the heavy plate of the other knights, so she could still use her wings and fly relatively unrestricted. Bright gold and shining silver were inlaid into the steel, forming an intricate pattern of swirls and fine lines that seemed to move wherever the light of the fires touched it.

When Quicksilver looked at her, a fierce and stubborn pride swelled within her chest. Despite everything, the queen could still inspire courage. She was a knight, the foremost member of the Crystal Lance, and she did the title proud.

Traditionally, the rulers of the Crystal Empire had always been members of the Order, and had served as Grand Master of the Lance, but the title had often been more ceremonial than anything else. Not every King or Queen of the Empire had been a capable fighter, and their role within the Order was mainly meant to be symbolic. But Queen Vivace was a warrior, and the equal of any other member of the Lance, be it in battle or in knightly virtue.

Suddenly, a loud crash grabbed Quicksilver's attention, and she, along with every other pony in the room, quickly looked to the hall's great doors. Another crash followed, and although the heavy doors barely budged, it was clear that Sombra's troops had cleared the staircase, and were now coming at them once more. And this time, there was nowhere to retreat to.

The queen signed and turned around to face the other ponies in the room. "It is time, my knights."

Anatase looked wistfully at her flute. "Just one last tune, your Majesty."

Her voice sounded hoarse, almost to the point of being unintelligible, and she had a jerky way of speaking. Once, she had possessed a voice that could move a pony to tears with a simple song, but years ago, a frost wyrm's claw had torn her throat open, and she had barely survived. Since then, the beauty of her voice had been lost, and speaking caused her pain. But she had taught herself to play the flute, and her music was every bit as lovely as her singing had been.

The queen smiled sadly. "If it were up to me, I would listen to a thousand more of your tunes, my dear Anatase. But I'm afraid we won't have the time. Prepare yourself."

And so, the ponies who knew that they might be the last members of the Crystal Lance got ready for their final stand, while the pounding on the door continued. They had all taken heavy war lances from the armory when they had passed it two levels below, so they would be able to charge the enemy one last time once the door was breached. Except for the queen, who was ill-suited to fight with a lance on account of her exposed wings. Quicksilver fixed the lance to the right side of her harness with quick, practiced movements, and fastened the hempen strap holding it in place with a sharp tug of her teeth. Then she joined her comrades, who were taking up positions on the side of the hall that was opposite to the entrance.

A mighty blow hit the doors, and little cracks spread over the dark blue crystal. The queen, who had placed herself in the center of their line, took a few steps forward. Then she turned around and looked at each of her knights in turn. She was already calling up magic around herself in a lilac-colored aura, and the energies she gathered made her purple mane flow as if she was standing in a gentle underwater current. Wherever her coat was visible underneath her armor, it shone like polished amethyst.

"My friends. I may never again have the opportunity to address you, so I wish to express my gratitude. Words cannot describe how much the realm owes to you, for your services and your loyalty have been invaluable time and again." She closed her eyes and bowed her head deeply to them. "I am overjoyed and deeply humbled that I was fortunate enough to count myself among your number. And I hope that I was able to live up to the example each of you has set, not just the ones who stand before me now, but also those who cannot be with us at this moment."

The other knights bellowed and cheered, and calls of 'Hail Vivace! Hail our sister, the Warrior Queen!' echoed through the hall.

For the briefest moment, the ghost of a genuine smile flashed over Vivace's features, before her expression turned grim and she retook her place in the center of their line. "Now, let us show them one last time how the Crystal Lance does battle."

The pounding on the door had found a quick, savage rhythm, like the sound of war drums. The cracks had grown wider, and large chunks of crystal were now breaking free with every hit. Quicksilver was getting ready to put her helmet on, but hesitated when she looked upon the Order's crest once more.

Serve. Protect. Inspire.

She suddenly felt a lump forming in her throat, and turned to Amber Spark, who was standing at her left side. The old warhorse stopped putting on his own helmet when he felt her gaze on him, and turned to her.

Quicksilver's voice was quiet and uncertain, "Amber Spark, do you think we did everything we could have done? If we had been more vigilant, or smarter, or fought harder, do you think we could have avoided all this?"

The old knight was quiet for a few seconds, and Quicksilver almost thought he would not answer. When he did speak, there was something in his voice that she had never heard from him before – doubt. "I don't know Quicksilver. I wish I could tell you that we did everything within our power, but I just don't know. When you have lived as many years as I have, seen as many victories and defeats as me, at some point you realize you will never be able to truly claim that you always did the right thing. All I wanted to be certain of when my time comes was that I did what I did with good intentions, and to the best of my abilities.
"But looking at all this, I have to wonder..." His gaze drifted out the window, and he shook his head. "Is this really the best we could do? The best I could do? And the worst thing is, the answer doesn't really matter. Whether we failed because we were simply not good enough, or we failed because we didn't do all that we could have done. Either way, we failed, and others will have to pay the price." He looked back at Quicksilver. "Is that the answer you wanted?"

Quicksilver swallowed heavily in an attempt to dislodge the growing lump that was now threatening to squeeze her windpipe shut. "I wanted an honest answer, or I would not have asked a grumpy old nag like you." She tried to make it sound cheerful, but it failed, and after a heartbeat of hesitation, she continued, "Amber Spark, I..."

He stopped her with a gentle but insistent gesture. "Be quiet lass. No farewells between us. This will not be for long." He put on his helmet and pawed the ground with his hooves. "In this world or the next one, I wish to see who would dare come between the members of the Lance."

Quicksilver signed in relief. She did not know if she could have said the words, but Amber Spark had understood her, like he always did. She placed the heavy helmet on her head, and had barely finished setting it straight when the door shattered into pieces.

They didn't make any sound. That might have been one of the worst things about them. They looked disfigured and misshapen, enough like living creatures to make you think that their twisted existence alone must cause them unbearable agony, but they did not scream, or wail, or hiss. They just came at you in total silence, their maws full of sharp crystal teeth gaping wide open, with liquid shadows dripping from their empty eye sockets. Most of them looked vaguely like large ponies, walking on four legs, with a head that was about the right shape and size, but they were made entirely out of dark, chipped crystal, streaked with deep black veins and impurities. Shadows seemed to move beneath the crystal's surface, and serrated spikes and wickedly sharp prongs protruded from almost every inch of their bulky forms. As soon as they were past the door, the battle cry of the Crystal Lance thundered through the chamber.

"For the Empire! We lead the charge!"

Then the Knights of the Lance rushed towards Sombra's creatures, and the battle was joined.

Quicksilver braced herself for impact before her lance hit the first of Sombra's soldiers in her path, shattering the creature into bits and pieces. Her momentum carried her further into the enemy ranks, and she nudged her lance to the side to hit another foe in the chest and reduce half its torso to rubble. When the heavy steel tip hit the third creature in her path, it punched clean through its neck, breaking out on the opposite side. Instinct and experience immediately told Quicksilver that her weapon was stuck and useless, and she twisted her body to the left. The lances were attached to the knights' harnesses in such a way that they would snap off when pulled to the side with enough force, and Quicksilver's maneuver immediately broke the straps and buckles holding the weapon in place, while also pulling her enemy off balance. Then she reared up on her hind legs, and obliterated the creature's skull with a blow of her steel clad hooves.

After that, time lost its meaning. Quicksilver could not tell if minutes or hours went by while she and her comrades fought, but the enemy soon had to climb over a mound of broken crystal to get to them. Blows rained down on Quicksilver's armor, but most of them were harmlessly deflected by the steel, and when she saw or felt a strike coming that could have pierced her plate, she dodged and retaliated as fast as a striking serpent. Despite her heavy armor, Sombra's abominations could not match Quicksilver's speed. She pranced around them with little effort, bypassing their clumsy defenses or simply smashing through them with quick strikes of her armored hooves.

The other members of the Lance did not fall short of Quicksilver's efforts. Amber Spark fought like a young stallion, crushing or disabling an enemy with every blow. Crystal Dance and Crystal Song were like flowing water, rushing between the enemy lines to break their formation apart, exploiting even the smallest gap with such speed and grace that it was impossible to tell where they would strike next. Anatase and Fire Opal did not leave the queen's side, covering her flanks while Vivace cut through dozens of enemies with magic blasts from her horn. Meanwhile, Jadeite was watching their rear, because the enemies in front of them were not the only problem. As soon as the doors had fallen, flying beasts had begun to swarm through the windows of the hall. Most of them looked like giant dragonflies and monstrous bats, and they were made out of the same crystal as Sombra's foot soldiers. And while they were not as numerous or as strong as the rest of his troops, they were still dangerous if they managed to outflank their enemies.

Crystal Song was the first to fall, at least as far as Quicksilver could tell. She threw herself into a blow that had been meant for her sister, and a spike punched through her gorget, leaving her bleeding on the floor. Crystal Dance, now alone and surrounded, died only a few heartbeats later, but not before bringing down her sister's killer.

When she saw this happen, Quicksilver's heart seemed to freeze into a lump of jagged ice. "No!"

She made a step towards the spot where the sisters had fallen, but there was nothing she could do to reach them. Even the one step she had taken made her a target for three more foes, and she stopped just in time to avoid a heavy blow that had been aimed at her head. Quicksilver glanced at the dead sisters, and felt a sharp stab of guilt.

I cannot avenge you. I will not even get an opportunity to mourn for you.

The next time Quicksilver turned around to look for the queen, Fire Opal was nowhere to be seen, and Anatase was bleeding from a long, deep gash in her left side. She carried on as long as she could, but in the end, she simply bled out and collapsed.

After that, the battle continued for a while longer, until Quicksilver heard Jadeite scream in fury. An entire swarm of crystal dragonflies had thrown itself at her, pushing sharp stingers into the narrow gaps between her armor plates and trying to lift her off the ground. Quicksilver hurried towards her at once, but it was too late. Before she could reach her hard-pressed friend, the dragonflies were joined by a giant crystal bat, and together they pulled the struggling knight out of a nearby window.

Quicksilver had to blink away a constant stream of tears as she was forced to watch another friend die, without being able to do anything about it. She choked out a wordless curse, and turned back to rejoin the battle at the door. Amber Spark had just dispatched another enemy, a massive, hulking beast at least three times his own size, with spines like daggers all over its body. A mighty kick, delivered with both his hind legs, had knocked the creature's head clean off. But while he was trying to get away from the falling monstrosity, he stepped on a chunk of crystal that was lying on the floor. He stumbled, only for an instant, but it had been too long. Before Amber Spark could regain stable footing and get out of the way, the defeated behemoth fell on top of him, burying the knight beneath it.

Quicksilver froze. For a few seconds, all sound and color seemed to drain from the world, and all that still existed was the fallen creature. There was no trace of Amber Spark. Not one hoof stuck out from beneath the monster's body. Quicksilver took a single step forward, and it was as if she had to pull her entire leg out of deep mud. Then something hit her in the back and threw her to the ground.

At once, all her senses snapped back to normal, accompanied by a flash of pain. One of Sombra's creatures was standing next to her, silently rearing up on its hind legs. Quicksilver tried to stand, but she could only get the front part of her body to move. So all she could do was watch the creature’s lumpy crystal hooves rushing down towards her head.

But just before the fiend could crush Quicksilver's skull, a bright lance of lilac light hit it in the side, shattering it into pieces and showering Quicksilver with little chunks of crystal.

The Queen! Vivace is still alive!

With this thought racing through her head, Quicksilver once again struggled to rise, but her hind legs still did not respond. And then she realized that she could not even feel them.

Panic began to stir within her. She suddenly felt as if she could not breathe, and began to hastily fumble at the straps holding her helmet in place. After a few clumsy attempts, she managed to pull off the heavy headgear and let it fall to the ground.

Queen Vivace was standing over her. Her armor was barely holding together anymore, and she was bleeding from countless wounds. Her left wing appeared to be broken, while the other one was mangled almost beyond recognition. Her features were twisted with pain, and her legs were shaking, but she was still standing. Seeing that gave Quicksilver fresh incentive to try and fight down the blinding panic that was still threatening to take over her mind.

Your queen stands alone. You call yourself a knight? Stand and fight for her!

She begun to grind her teeth together and tried to push herself up with her front legs, but the lower half of her body was no more than dead weight. Her legs gave out, and Quicksilver fell back to the ground, breathing hard.

She could not bear to even look at Vivace anymore, and she felt her cheeks burn red with shame. "My queen, please forgive me. I... I can't..."

Something soft nuzzled against her cheek, and Quicksilver heard the queen's voice right next to her ear, "Hush, Quicksilver. There is nothing to forgive."

Quicksilver could not answer, so she just nodded her head. Then she noticed how quiet the room had become.

Fallen monsters and chunks of crystal were strewn all over the floor, and in some places, they piled up almost as high as a pony was tall. And between the rubble lay the bodies of the other Knights of the Lance, stretched out as they had fallen to their foes. If a pony could die from nothing but grief alone, Quicksilver would not have survived the sight of it. Her fellow knights, the ponies she had served with for years, and who had become so much more than just her comrades. Her friends. Her family. And now, so many of them were simply gone.

Sombra's creatures were still present, but they kept their distance, standing just outside the door or sitting in the windows, not actually entering the hall. They just stared at the two remaining ponies with their empty eye sockets, silently weeping smoky shadows the entire time.

Why don't they...

She felt him approach several seconds before the wall of creatures at the door parted to let him through. The shadows within the room seemed to grow longer and darker, while the light of the fires outside dimmed. The very air was subtly stirring with power, but it was a nauseating kind of energy, that felt like a greasy film was suddenly covering Quicksilver's coat. Then he entered the hall, and all of his creatures fell to their knees, making a sound like a collapsing mine shaft.

Even without knowing about all the things that he had done to the Crystal Empire, Sombra would have been an imposing figure by any pony's standards. He was dressed in polished steel armor, and a jagged metal crown rested on his head. Quicksilver had visited Equestria several times in the past, and Sombra would have been considered big and muscular for a member of the Tribe of Earth. Among unicorns, she had never seen his equal in that regard.

His coat was dark gray, his mane and tail completely black. The horn that protruded from the center of his forehead was bright red at the tip, but the color became more and more dull towards the base, like metal in the process of cooling down. It lacked the spiral form Quicksilver had seen on every other unicorn and alicorn until now, and instead of being straight, it was curved back. Together with his unusually pronounced canines, she found that it made him look unmistakably predatory, despite the fact that he carried himself with an air of civility at the moment. But the worst thing about him were his eyes.

The sclera were colored in a bright, venomous green, while the irises were red as blood. His pupils were slitted like a snake's, and purple vapor was constantly drifting out of the corners of his eyes. He was smiling, but his eyes remained untouched by it, and Quicksilver knew with absolute certainty that no smile would ever touch those eyes.

"Your Majesty." His voice, deep as a pit and dripping with mockery, sent shivers down the part of Quicksilver's spine that she could still feel. "How gracious of you to grant me an audience. I have been anxious to meet you for a long time."

The queen had her ears flattened to the side of her skull, and her head was lowered slightly, and Quicksilver could see her muscles tense up. Her body was poised to strike, but her expression just looked tired, and so terribly sad. "Save your scorn and false courtesies, creature! I will not hear your mockery while you stand amongst the ruins of my city and the bodies of my murdered subjects!"

Sombra laughed. "Oh, really now? I would not say that this is entirely my fault. If you had just given up your precious crown, none of this would have happened. But don't worry. As soon as the change of leadership is taken care of, I will rebuild the Empire, and it will be greater than it ever was before. Oh, the plans I have." He looked around the room for a while. "This chamber for example. The statues will have to go, of course, but I think after just a few alterations, it will be the perfect place for this."

The wall of creatures at the door parted once more, and one of Sombra's soldiers stepped into the room. It left again after only a few seconds, but seeing what it had clasped between its jaws made Quicksilver feel as if her guts had turned to water.

The queen let out a quiet wince when she laid eyes on the creature. "No. Not the Heart!"

Sombra seemed to enjoy the queen's reaction immensely. "Not an easy acquisition, I'll admit. The ponies who carried it around were very hesitant to give it up. However, I think they did see my point in the end."

Vivace's whole body began to tremble slightly. "Why, Sombra? What insult have we offered you? What injustice did you suffer at our hooves to make you think this is your right?" Her voice remained firm and regal, and you had to know her very well to realize that she was on the verge of tears. "Why are you doing this to my people?"

Sombra slowly raised an eyebrow, and his smile grew wider and more wicked, until it could no longer be mistaken for anything but a baring of teeth. "Why?"

Without warning, something that resembled a black bolt of lightning lashed out from Sombra's horn in complete silence. The queen had obviously anticipated an attack, and managed to call up her defensive magic, but when the projectile hit her shield, there was a high-pitched shriek, and the glowing barrier she had conjured up exploded into a shower of lilac sparks. Then the black bolt buried itself in the queen's chest, dissolving into smoke a heartbeat later. All it left behind was a gaping hole with neatly cauterized edges.

Vivace blinked twice. Then she looked down at the bloodless wound, and her brow furrowed in confusion.

Sombra was still smiling. "Because you cannot stop me."

And Vivace died.

Quicksilver silently watched her queen fall to the ground beside her. When Vivace's head hit the floor, the Sapphire Crown slipped off her helmet and landed between Quicksilver's front legs. It had been over so quickly that it took her mind a few seconds to catch up with it. Quicksilver wanted to cry, but it was as if she had no tears left. Her queen had died right next to her, while she was lying uselessly on the ground. Quicksilver could hardly bear to look at Vivace's body, but forced herself to see.

"I am so sorry," she whispered.

"Tragic."

The single, mocking word made all her shame and sadness turn into cold, all consuming fury. Her head snapped around, and she saw Sombra standing over her. At first, she thought that he was looking at her, but he seemingly didn't consider her to be worthy of his attention. Then she realized that he was looking at the crown lying in front of her.

"The queen is dead." His eyes glittered with greed. "Long live the king."

Quicksilver did not think twice. She just raised her right hoof and brought it down on the crown in front of her with all the strength she could muster. The Sapphire Crown, cut from a single gem by the finest craftsponies of ages past, a symbol of authority and leadership since the first days of the Crystal Empire, shattered into pieces. Without looking away from Sombra, Quicksilver smashed her hoof down three more times in rapid succession, until only tiny shards and dust were left of the crown.

"It is not yours to wear." Quicksilver was surprised at how completely calm her voice was. "And you will not defile Vivace's crown with your touch."

Sombra lost the look of smug satisfaction on his face, and for several seconds, he just seemed baffled. Then his gaze slowly shifted to Quicksilver, as if he had just now realized that she was there.

"You!" Sombra’s terrifying eyes narrowed, and he lowered his head, until his face was only inches away from her. His breath was feverishly hot, and his voice quivered with barely contained rage. "Insect! Filth! How dare you?"

Quicksilver hit him in the face.

Normally, the blow could have easily killed him, but Quicksilver had to strike from an awkward angle, and Sombra possessed the reflexes of a trained warrior. Even so, he did not manage to evade her hoof completely, and it struck him on the nose with a satisfying crunch, while he was still jerking his head back to get out of Quicksilver's reach. Sombra shrieked in pain, and took several hasty steps away from her. His eyes went wide, and he stared at Quicksilver with a look of utter incomprehension.

"You...?" He carefully touched his nose with a hoof and winced. When he pulled it away, a little smudge of blood was visible on it.

Sombra began to shake and bared his teeth. The fallen knight still stared at him defiantly, and Sombra let out a scream of mindless, animalistic rage.

Every shadow in the room seemed to twist and grow, and the entire hall was swallowed up by smothering blackness within seconds. Quicksilver could feel the latent power that surrounded the sorcerer like a foul odor focusing itself on her, making her feel nauseous and dizzy. She was certain that Sombra would kill her then and there.

But his outburst ended as quickly as it had begun. The energies gathering around Quicksilver dissipated from one second to the next, leaving behind only the low thrum of power that had been present ever since Sombra walked into the room. Finally, the shadows shrunk back as well, and the hall was dimly illuminated by the burning city's orange glow once more.

Sombra was still standing at the same spot. He had himself under control again, and was flashing Quicksilver a mocking smile, but she had witnessed what really lay beneath his affably facade, and could see the anger blazing behind his eyes even now. She had hurt him, not so much his flesh, but his pride, and words could not express how much he hated her for it.

"Now my dear. That was ill done. Is this any way to treat your rightful king?"

Quicksilver stared daggers at him. "The one regrettable thing about that blow is that it left you still breathing. And no matter what you call yourself, you are no king of mine!"

It almost seemed as if Sombra would lose his calm once more, but he held on to his composure with obvious effort. His voice, however, was little more than a snarl when he spoke, "Such arrogance! But I suppose that is to be expected from a member of your wretched order."

He took a few steps forward, but was careful to keep a safe distance between himself and Quicksilver. "I almost pity you. Living your whole life, trying to win the approval of an entire nation. Being expected to live up to naive ideals of chivalry, and constantly struggling to surpass deeds that have only been recorded in overinflated tales and legends. Deeds that have grown larger and more remote from reality with each passing century."
He snorted in disdain. "Do you think your defiance will be remembered? Or your loyalty, or your prowess in battle? Nopony will ever hear of it. But even if they did, all they will remember is your failure, and all they will talk about is that the heroes of old would not have let this happen." A twisted smirk made him bare his teeth again. He leaned forward and watched Quicksilver closely, seemingly eager to savor the effects his words would have on her. "That is your legacy, Knight of the Lance. No glory, no honor, and no victory. Shame and defeat is all you and your comrades will be remembered for. How does that make you feel?"

Quicksilver just stared at him. And then she smiled. His words were full of spite and venom, but the thoughts behind them were so transparently petty and childish that they lost all impact. Some of it was even true. Yes, they had failed, but Sombra seemed to think her injured pride would be Quicksilver's prime concern, and he ignorantly threw around words like honor and glory, as if they were an end unto themselves. And yet, the things that truly caused Quicksilver pain were something he didn't even think to use against her. He understood nothing, and Quicksilver knew that she would not be able to explain it to him even if she tried.

Sombra was caught off guard by her reaction. He looked unsure for a few moments, but then an angry tone crept into his voice once more, "Are you mocking me?"

Quicksilver actually had to chuckle at that. When she spoke, her voice was gentle, as if she was speaking to a child, "You know nothing about us Sombra. I pity you."

Sombra's mouth dropped open, and he looked so stunned that Quicksilver could not help but laugh.

That was the last straw, and Sombra's fury tore away every last scrap of restraint he had been holding on to. A bolt of dark energy, twice as large as the one that had killed the queen, lashed out from Sombra's horn and hit Quicksilver in the chest.

She was still smiling when everything went dark.

Author's Note:

All right. Here we go. First 'real' chapter of this little story I've been cooking up.

So. With all the chapters I've written so far, this is definitely the longest prose text I've ever written in English (and it's a My Little Pony fanfic. Funny how things work out sometimes ). I have written other stuff, as well as different stories in German, but nothing quite like this.

Now, please understand. This is not me asking you 'Oh, it's my first fanfic. Please be gentle!' I'm not a wimp. This is me saying 'Alright. This is my first fanfic, and I'm not a native speaker. Mistakes are going to happen. Please, point them out. I'll do my best to fix them, or learn from them if they can't be fixed.'

I'm basically asking(!) you to kick me in the teeth, internet! Best way to improve and all that.

Anyway, aside from all the teeth-kicking you're going to do, I hope you still enjoy this little tale. Writing it was a lot of fun, and if some people end up liking it, that would be the icing on the cake.

Many thanks to Phoenix Archangel for proofreading and making sure this thing ended up halfway readable.

Thanks also to Aurora-Borealis and AndrewRogue, for agreeing to proofread. They couldn't stick around, unfortunately, but while they were working on the story, they made a lot of good and helpful suggestions.

Comments

[Aceofspades69]

Poor quicksilver rest in peace

[Friend_Computer]

5672385
“rest in peace”

Yeah... About that...

Hmm. I guess you'll see.

[Thought Prism]

Wait, English isn't even your first language? $#!%. You have just made me feel inadequate, and that's really hard to do.