Queen Umbra tapped the armchair of her throne in impatience. For the past several hours, she had been sitting there in agitation. Said agitation was due to the Prince's failed attack to break through her lines. While she may be a vile sorcerer, killing wasn't exactly something she enjoyed. Breaking bones and the like, sure. That was fun but killing? No. That wasn't her forte and yet both sides had lost a number of people. Umbra won but she knew Prince Bolero was up to something.
That was why she was agitated. She had dirtied her hands in something she didn't care for and now her enemy no doubt had done something that would prove to be a thorn in her side. It always happened. These no good, goodie two shoes were like that. They would fight for their precious 'friendship' and all that sort of nonsense. She would have liked them to be at least honest with themselves. It was all obviously a lie. Queen Umbra knew the truth of people. They were all selfish and vile people beneath their surface. She would bring that to light and watch them break.
Just as they watched her break.
Still, she was not going to fail this time. No. She was going to win and tear down the Crystal Empire. Then she would tear down Equestria and then the rest of the world. She would bring darkness to the hearts of all. That was her wish. That was her destiny. No matter how many times they 'killed' her, she would be back. Queen Umbra was eternal. Death was not the final journey for her and never would be.
"You seem agitated, my Queen." A cloaked female voice spoke up beside her.
Queen Umbra didn't even turn an eye to her as she spoke in turn, "It's just slight frustration. I'm not a mind reader so I can't know what the 'heroes' of Equestria are up to. Perhaps I should have taken the other Element bearers as well."
"We need only one," the servant replied. "The rest cannot function without their leader. The same goes for their country. We have them right where we want them."
"Perhaps," Queen Umbra said, "I just wish to be a tad bit more cautious in this life compared to my previous ones."
"We have taken precautions to ensure your victory," the servant said. "Our forces are great in numbers and we have a number of beasts at our command that will destroy any hero that dares to challenge us."
"I will take your word for it," Queen Umbra said before standing up. She walked down her small flight of stairs that led to her throne and exited her throne room.
"Do you wish for me to accompany you, Your Majesty?" the servant asked as they walked beside her.
Umbra waved her off, "No need. I just wish to be left alone is all."
The servant nodded and walked away.
Umbra huffed, satisfied that she was alone. She quickly opened and closed the door behind her. While she did love having servants to fawn over her, there were times she liked to have some privacy. That went especially for who she had to converse with on occasion.
Her room was luxurious and dark. An erotic, gothic state of affairs if one had to say. There wasn't too much in the room; just some closests, a desk and mirror, and then the bed. Yet it all had an allure of darkness to it. She sat down in front of her desk and gaze into the mirror. She sighed, feeling her agitation starting to boil over.
"What ails you, my child?" A wickedly sweet woman's voice seemed to reverberate around the room.
Queen Umbra didn't even flinch as she responded, "There is nothing that ails me, mother. I'm just sighing. Can't a ruler sigh after dealing with lesser folk? They drain my resolve just listening to their insipid words."
Her mother. A being of immense age and power. Being a creature of darkness, her mother was queen of the Umbran. A fierce creature that even locked away in a prison she could not escape from, her mere voice made Umbra's skin crawl and shiver in fear. She would tell no one of this, which is why she prefered to talk to her mother by herself.
"I would hope they would be rather helpful," her mother spoke again, the voice chilling to the bone. "I did create them to serve you after all."
Queen Umbra sighed, "I know."
This was all true. Her servants were not at all regular mortals. They were created using dark magic and blood to craft a small army of dark followers. They would not question her. They would only obey. This suited Umbra just fine, but that didn't mean she found them particularly engaging.
"But that's not what really bothers you," her mother hissed. "You are displeased with taking the lives of your enemies."
"I wouldn't simplify that matter like that," Umbra brushed off the comment, narrowing her eyes as she did so. "It was simply irritating to have to kill my future subjects is all."
"Now that is a good reason to be irritated," her mother said. "I just worry about you sometimes. A mother has the right to fear her child losing her way. After all, you almost lost it once before with the help of that Radiant-"
"Leave her out of this!" Umbra shouted and smashed a fist into the desk, denting it. The desk was thankfully made of incredibly sturdy wood and magically enhanced to boot. Yet she still made a big dent in it. She honestly didn't care right now as she was pissed off, "She's long since dead and she no longer influences me."
"Like how you're losing your temper at her mere name?" Her mother said, which made Umbra growl in anger. A sinister chuckle came from the mirror, "I know, my child. I know. Stop being so fussy when your mother worries, alright?"
"I'll stop being so fussy the day you get off my back," Queen Umbra snarled, "I am queen of the shadows. The greatest ruler of these lands. I am the most beautiful being to have ever existed. I deserve more respect."
"You are all those things," her mother said, "But above all else, you are still my child. Second to me in everything. So please, do not forget who gave you perfection nor forget to tear your heart away from others. It will fail you if you don't."
As the voice departed, Umbra's breathing slowed as she patted her chest, "Easy, Easy. She's gone now." She told herself as a manner of calming down. It was never easy dealing with her mother.
It didn't help that she brought up Radiant Hope. Umbra couldn't help but remember her once friend's smile. How they used to play together. They would cuddle, talk, and grew up as one. They were so rarely apart that they were basically family. If… if things had been different… If she hadn't been an Umbran….
No. Now wasn't the time to think of the past and regret. She had an empire to conquer and a new nation to form. Her enemies could use her weakness to get at her. No. She wouldn't allow it. She was Queen Umbra. She was unstoppable and she would show the world the might she possessed. She grinned wickedly. Oh she couldn't wait to crush them under her feet.
Suddenly the doors opened up and a servant rushed in. He dropped to his knees, "Your Majesty!"
Queen Umbra quirked an eyebrow, "What is it? I would hope it is something important or you will experience misery beyond comparison."
"Our force sent to take out Celestia has fallen," the minion stated.
"What?" Queen Umbra scowled, "Are you telling me that you have failed me?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." The minion said with a bowed head, "I take full responsibility. I sent out that force so it is my fault they failed."
Queen Umbra waved him off, "You can make it up by leading the next batch of soldiers in person. This time bring me the former princess and don't fail me. If you do, don't ever think to return."
"Your Majesty is truly kind," with that, the minion departed.
Umbra was left in silence once more. It was truly agitating to know that the former sun princess was still at large. She was a powerful and intelligent opponent, but the queen of shadows was not truly worried. Celestia had been beaten a few times before and now Umbra had an army. True, she had fallen to Celestia once before, but this time would be different. She had everything under her control. Nothing would be left to chance. Celestia would be bound and at her feet soon enough. The image made her chuckle. Yes, this would be absolutely delightful.
Now that Saito had time to calm down and think about his situation, he really didn't like his odds. Unlike in his own world, he couldn't even rely on having a number of allies and an army to help him. Of course, that was something he had dealt with before. Taking on an entire army by himself was a trying experience and he pulled it off. He died, but he was able to give everyone time to escape while he did so. This time, he was not looking to die again. He wasn't sure he could be resurrected this time. So no experimenting with death or anything of the sort.
So that meant he had to be cautious. Said caution made him want to run away. A powerful dark lord honestly sounded more terrifying than any of his other foes. At least most of them were human, at least in abilities. He wasn't sure what a 'dark lord' could even do in this world. He could basically just be walking into the slaughter here. What's worst about this situation, he could very well never see Louise or any of the others again. He could be stuck here even if he won. He didn't know how to feel about that.
"Got something on your mind, partner?" Derflinger spoke up. The pair were sitting by the building as they waited for Celestia to finish a few things. The others were a bit away so Saito and his sword could talk in peace.
"I've just got a lot on my mind is all," Saito sighed, "What if we can't return to our world, Derflinger?"
"Knowing Louise," Derflinger said in response, "She'll blow a hole in space and time big enough to drag your sorry butt back to her room."
Saito snorted, but a small grin spread across his face. "I know she would, but… this is a lot to take in. We're not fighting just any foe. It's a dark lord. This 'Queen Umbra'. I don't know how powerful she is and how this is all going to go down."
"You never knew how everything was going to go down before," Derflinger pointed out, "And you survived everything thrown your way so far."
"Yeah, so far." Saito huffed. "Who knows if my luck will hold out here. Besides, it's not like I know the people or this place."
"So are you going to just let them deal with the problem then?"
Saito frowned, "Of course not. What kind of hero would I be if I just let the bad guy just go around beating innocent people?"
"Then what's the issue?" Derflinger said, "If you ask me, we'll beat this bad guy in a week and be home with enough time to spare."
"You're really confident in our chances of victory?"
Derflinger chuckled, "Of course I am. Who do you think we are? Chopped liver or something? So chin up and stop moping, kid. We've got a country to save."
Saito sighed before he started to chuckle, "Fine, but its your butt on the line too."
"I don't have a butt to worry about," Derflinger said, "Although, I could Ass-k you a question on why you said that." When Saito groaned, Derflinger started to laugh.
Saito stood up and made his way to the carriage they were using. They had loaded it with all the supplies they needed for this journey so he didn't have to worry about getting any more. He saw Raven and Flare Warden inside. Raven was going over the items, occasionally lifting one with magic. It was so weird to see magicians use just their hands instead of wands. It was like the magic of this land was much more natural to these people. Did that make them stronger too?
Guess he'd find out when he fought Umbra.
He peered over to her ears and wondered if that had anything to do with it. Her ears were pointed. Was she an elf? It was strange to see an elf so carefree outside of elflands but he guessed they didn't feel the prejudice here as they did in Louise's world. Then again, their ruler was a giant winged elf and a winged person was there as well. He guessed the humans here just were more accepting.
"What are you staring at?" Flare spoke up. She had a slight glare to her expression. Her arm was on her sides and she still was in wrapped up bandages.
"I'm just curious," Saito said, "Are elves not persecuted here?"
"Elf?" Raven quirked an eyebrow, "No, I'm a human. I'm just magically gifted is all. A Mage."
"But your ears…"
"I'm guessing in your world, these 'elves' differ from humans with their ears?"
"Mostly, but there are a few other things to them." Saito said. He idly remembered Tiffania. Even if they weren't technically elves, Tiffania would love it here. Here she wouldn't have to fear going out and exposing her elvish traits, "But that's not important really. Anything I could do to help?"
"I'm recounting our supplies," Raven said, "We shouldn't worry about anything going too wrong on our expedition but I just want to be safe. You can help me."
"Sure."
Celestia peered down at the body of the deceased warrior she killed. There were a few others that she and Flare had dispatched. Not enough to pose too much of a threat, which told her this attack might have been hastily made. If that was true, then this was the early days of the war. It also meant that Umbra might have let these soldiers do the planning for this raid. Queen Umbra was much more meticulous about her plans. There would have been little room for error if she had led the attack herself. She was grateful for that. She could exploit this weakness.
As well, she noticed that these soldiers leaked purple ooze like blood. She could easily tell that this meant they were artificial, which made her breath a sigh of relief. No wonder it had been so easy to kill them. These were constructs meant only to serve their mistress and kill all those that get in their way. While it meant that she could go all out without fear, it also meant they wouldn't know much about mercy. She feared for her ponies even more so.
She walked back to the cart. As she passed, they spied the small graves they had dug for her people. She frowned but kept moving on. They had paid their respects. There was nothing more they could do for them. She had lost many people before. It always stung but she had gotten used to it. As well, this was no time to mourn. Queen Umbra needed to be stopped as soon as possible or else more people would die.
The ox they had on hand was munching on some hay. The rest of their entourage was inside it. She idly wondered if their summoned hero would be up to the task. With her power depleted by the summoning, she would certainly hope he could pull his weight. He looked a bit young but he had an aura of a hero. So she could trust him. It also helped he was pretty cute~ Perhaps she could start teasing him to pass the time.
She opened the flap of the cart and walked inside.
"Princess," Raven stood up. Flare started to but grunted in pain.
Celestia held up a hand, "Sit." She frowned as she looked at Flare, "I'm sorry, Miss Warden. If I had more magic on hand, I would heal those injuries for you."
"It's no problem," Flare grinned and gave her a thumbs up to let her know she was okay, "I've had worse during training. I'll pull through."
"Still," Celestia said, "When my magic returns, I will do my best to heal you."
"And when will it return?" Saito asked.
"I should be up to strength in about a week's time," Celestia said, "Perhaps more, perhaps less. It depends on how much magic I use in the interim. Hopefully a strong warrior like you can defend a princess in her time of need."
Saito puffed out his chest and smirked, "I've got some experience defending princesses so you can count on me."
Celestia giggled, "I feel safer already."
Flare huffed, "You better keep that promise, hero. I've got my eyes on you if you screw up and get our princess-"
"Former princess," Celestia corrected.
"-Hurt," Flare finished.
Saito nodded, "I promise nothing bad will happen to her on my watch. This I swear."
Celestia knew he was honest about that. Perhaps she had chosen the right hero for this adventure. She inwardly squealed. An adventure. She was going on an adventure. She hadn't gone on one in over a thousand years and now she got to go on one with a cute guy. Oh she couldn't help but feel a tad bit overjoyed. Oh she still was mad at Umbra and wished this never happened, but it was always good to look on the bright side of things. That's how she kept herself sane in her long lifespan. She would do so now as she always had done.
She sat by him, pushing her shapely form into his. "I'll keep you to that promise~" She whispered into his ear and he blushed. So adorable. Yes, this would be fun.