Equestria
The corridors of the Crystal Palace echoed with the galloping of soldiers as they prepared for battle. Stallions raced from the barracks to the armoury to hastily don their gear before speeding outside, where the main force of the Crystal Guard was assembling.
Though not as numerous as Equestria's Royal Guard, The Crystal Guard was still an imposing sight. Hundreds of glittering ponies in crystalline armour shimmered in the sun as their commanders whipped them into formation.
There were two varieties of Crystal Pony, the majority were the equivalent to Equestria’s Earth Ponies. However, their gemstone like bodies were much tougher, allowing them to take increased punishment and kick like a battering ram. The second, were the Crystal Pegasi, who could manipulate the weather like their Equestrian counterparts, but were a bit slower due to their dense bodies. There were no Crystal Unicorns, though Shining had requested some unicorns from the Royal Guard to help fill the gap.
Shining Armour stood at the head of the infantry formations decked in his purple armour, the Crystal Empires insignia emblazoned on his chest plate. To his left stood Diamond Edge, while to his right was an Equestrian unicorn, Sunburst, the Court Wizard and his daughters caretaker. The golden pony was noticeably nervous, fidgeting with his cloak and glasses as he tried to remain composed.
“First battle?” asked Diamond.
“Uh, yes,” stammered Sunburst.
“You’ll be fine,” replied the crystal captain. “You already help raise the first baby alicorn, I’d say you’re tougher than you know.”
He grinned at the unicorn, who nervously returned it.
Shining looked up at the balcony of the palace, Cadence was looking down at the army, their baby, Flurry Heart, sitting on her back. He gave her his best smile and waved up at them. She returned it, projecting an air of confidence that masked her worry, while Flurry just babbled and waved enthusiastically at her daddy.
His attention was seized by Diamond Edge as he cleared his throat.
"The troops are ready, Sir."
He nodded to his Captain and signalled the buglers to sound the advance. Steeling his nerves, the stallion led his troops to the barrier.
The streets of the Empire were deserted, the civilians having locked themselves in their homes when the black cloud appeared. Shining Armour would occasionally see a nervous muzzle poke itself out a window or through a crack in a door. One brave pony even cheered, before quickly ducking back inside.
The Crystal Guard marched grimly on until they reached the edge of the barrier, the black cloud swirling just beyond. That made sense, the shield was powered by the Crystal Heart, which was a source of light and love, when the dome was energised, evil creatures couldn't touch it.
The Crystal Guard spread out before the barrier, unicorns deployed shields in front of the infantry while the crystal ponies locked formation together with a clatter. All was silent as Shining Armour, Sunburst and Diamond Edge approached the barrier.
"I don't know what you are," he said. "But this is the Crystal Empire, you won’t hurt a single pony while we stand before you!”
Silence from the cloud, a few shapes moved within it’s darkness before the green eyes he had seen earlier manifested before him.
"Prince Shining Armour," hissed a dark voice.
Every pony felt their blood turn to ice.
The figure of a unicorn coalesced within the cloud. His coat was ash grey and a blood red horn protruded from his head, he was clad in a sturdy set of ebony armour with a flowing red cloak, trimmed in ermine, his dark mane and tail swirled in an invisible breeze, almost like they were part of the shadows he was cloaked with.
"Sombra," growled Shining Armour. "How are you still alive, you were blown to pieces!"
The former tyrant chuckled, revealing his fangs.
"A good ruler prepares for the unthinkable, you really should have looked for this."
He tapped his horn.
“You’ll find I’m not so easy to be rid of.”
"I don't know about that,” said Diamond Edge. “You were arrogant enough to come here alone.”
"Oh, you poor deluded fool," mocked Sombra.
His horn glowed a sickly green as he conjured a dias for himself. Lifting it high above the cloud, the dark unicorn laughed.
“Let’s see how long that courage lasts.” His horn alight with evil magic, Sombra dissipated the shadow cloud to reveal his army.
Golems, thousands of them stood before the Crystal Guard. Each one made from black crystal and carved in the likenesses of minotaurs, wolves, dragons and even Sombra himself. Most were the size of the average pony, but many towered over them like giants.
Shining Armour grit his teeth.
“You army is useless, they will never get through the shield!"
Sombra paused, appearing to study the barrier, before laughing once again.
"Let's put that to the test, shall we?"
Three of the massive statues strode forwards, their crystalline bodies screeching as their joints ground against one other. Raising their arms, they slammed their titanic fists down on the shield.
"You see 'Prince' Shining Armour," mocked Sombra. "I studied the Crystal Heart for years, I know it's limits!"
The dark unicron cackled as the golems slammed into the barrier a second time, causing a spiderweb of purple cracks in the dome. They hit it again, then again, dark magic infusing the shield with each hit, slowly eating away at its power.
Diamond Edge came up to his ruler.
"Sir, if the barrier falls we won't stand a chance, there’s just too many of them."
"Every army has a weakness," replied Shining as he turned to Sunburst. "Suggestions?"
"Golems need a unicorn to give them life," replied the nervous unicorn. "If we disrupt Sombra's magic, then they should all return to lifeless statues."
Shining turned to Diamond.
"Spread the word, we take out Sombra, the army crumbles."
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Nehekhara
Usur stood on the crest of a dune as he watched the Tomb Kings break camp. The tents were unnecessary for an undead army at the elements rarely affected them, though they did serve a purpose.
The bulk of them held the research and experiments that he had undertaken over the course of centuries, there was a reason his followers sometimes called him the ‘Scholar King’ after all. His work had allowed his legion to remain hidden and protected from Nagash’s power, even as the world teetered on the edge of oblivion. Carriages and carts were piled high with scrolls and lab equipment by skeletal servants, as the next tents were evacuated.
These contained whatever treasure and artefacts they could find in the ruined cities of Nehekhara, varying from tablets and scrolls, to ornate trinkets of gold and jewels which had managed to evade the greediest tomb robber. These joined the growing baggage train as the Mortuary Cult emerged from their campsite.
As the priests exited the large tents, skeletal thralls brought out eight caskets decorated in ornate hieroglyphics and depictions of the gods. As they were pulled into the centre of the dunes, the priests chanted spells designed to keep the spirits contained within as docile as possible.
This was their most precious cargo, it had taken an immense level of time, energy, and the lives of several Liche Priests, but they had managed to wrest some of their peoples souls back from Nagash. But out of billions, they had only been able to recover five thousand, the rest were beyond their reach.
Usur felt the sand under his feet tremble as the necrotects began their own rituals. Whips cracked and spells were chanted as one of the caskets was opened by a pair of Liche Priests, the soul’s wailing as the necrotects bound them with their power. If he could have grinned in satisfaction, the undead king would have done so, as the spirits gave life to their greatest weapons.
Necrosphinxes, War Sphinxes and Ushabti rose from the desert like creatures breaking water, Tomb Scorpions, Sepulchral Stalkers and Necro Serpent's followed shortly, erupting from the ground in great clouds of sand. These war constructs of Nehekhara, carved thousands of years ago by the nation’s finest necrotects, were originally designed to bring fear and death to their enemies. However, since Nagash shattered their home, many had been lost or enthralled to his cause, those they managed to salvage were not in the best of shape.
The War Sphinxes were covered in cracks and some had chunks missing from their bodies, one of the Necrosphinxes was missing an arm and the Tomb Scorpions were missing legs, pincers and even a tail. The Ushabti fared littler better, having been repaired or rebuilt from whatever they could find in the ruined cities, leaving the ancient statues a mishmash of limbs and parts.
As they were formed into ranks, the leg fell off one of the Ushapti, causing it to topple into the one next to it. As they both fell to the ground in a cloud of shattering stone and sand, a necrotect in a jade mask screeched obscenities at another.
Usur sighed, they didn't have time to repair the damage, the statues would have to be left behind.
As the liche priests and necrotects continued their rituals, the rest of the army began to surface. Bones as black as night clawed their way out of the sand, pitted silver armour glinting in the sunshine while scarlet banners were raised above skeletal soldiers and Usur felt a surge of pride as his legion, The Black Legion, emerged from hiding, silently forming into ranks as Rehu led the rituals of awakening.
His warriors were unique among Nehekhara. Like him, their bones were stained black by the volcanic sands that surrounded his fortress at Red Cloud Mountain, their armour was also heavier, making them more durable. But what really set them apart was silver that adorned their armour and weapons.
Just as gold was believed to be the blood of the gods, silver was considered their bones, and it was so rare in Nehekhara that even the smallest nugget was priceless. To have so much on display at once was a deliberate move by Usur, he wanted to show the surviving kings just how powerful he was.
More warriors emerged from the sands, the remains of Nehekharas famed legions. Skeletons and chariots with the heraldry of Numas, Khemri, Zandri and many more had fallen in the final battle with Nagash. These warriors, deemed too damaged or weak to repair or rebind, had been ignored, but Usur had recovered them all.
Remnants of the Zandri Eternals stood next to a hundred golden Skeletons, all that was left of the the Golden Host of Mahrak, the rest had been looted by the vampiric pirate Luthor Harkon. The remaining dozen of the Sphinx Legion of Numas rose as their dedicated Sphinx Priest read the rites of awakening while silently patrolling the edges of the army were the chariots of Settuneb, horsemen of Mahrak, and the last Legion of the Asp, deadly archers from Lybaras.
With a great rumbling, the final constructs awakened as two titanic Necrotitans and the last Bone Giant of Bhagar burst from the sands. Sand fell from their limbs in great clouds as each stood to their full height, towering over the army.
The Necrotitans were a mismatch of multiple statue pieces that the army had recovered from across the desert, the head of one was a stone Jackal skull, while its robust arms had been salvaged from a statue of Geheb, the god of the earth and bringer of strength. The second had its legs pulled from monuments to K’hsar, god of the desert, and Qu’aph, the god of serpents. Furthermore, it’s body had originally been from a statue of Phakth, the hawk faced god of the sky, and this was reflected in the shattered stumps on its back that used to be wings.
Only the Bone Giant remained unusually undamaged, although it’s weapon, a gigantic Khopesh with a single curved blade that ran down a shaft as long and thick as an ancient tree, had to be salvaged from one of its fallen brethren.
Usur knew they weren’t perfect, they just had to keep larger creatures from attacking them on route to the portal.
As the ancient ruler watched the undead army, Prince Sepa approached on his skeletal steed.
“How are things?” he asked.
“The souls we recovered remain calm and the army is as prepared as it can be, although I noticed both Phar and Hassep were somewhat subdued.”
“Phar questioned me, so I had to put him in his place.”
“I thought I was the warrior,” replied Sepa, with a hint of amusement.
“Never forget that the stick is as much part of diplomacy as the carrot my son,” replied Usur. “What about my research?”
“Rehu reports that it has been secured for the journey, he also says that he received a progress report from the portal site. It should be ready by the time we arrive.”
“Excellent,” replied Usur, gleefully. “I suppose then the only thing left is to head out.”
Usur raised a bony hand as he uttered a spell, and the sand beside him erupted into a cloud as his chariot awoke, its undead steeds and attendant unfazed by their time underground.
“I’ll meet you at the head of the column,” said Sepa, as his own mount was willed into a gallop.
As the two kings made their way to the head of the army, they failed to notice a single dark speck in the cloudless sky, one that circled their formation several times, before drifting off towards the mountains.