Snow billowed out behind the strange army's chariots as they sped towards Sombra's forces, outpacing the infantry as the undead bowmen knocked arrows to ancient weapons. Pulling hard on the reins of their skeletal steeds, the charioteer's formation broke into two columns heading left and right across the path of the main army, obscuring it with the white cloud kicked up in their wake.
A cloud of arrows whizzed through the air like angry wasps, clattering harmlessly onto the stone bodies of Sombra's army. From behind a magical shield, the dark king felt his concerns rapidly fade and chuckled to himself.
"Whatever those things are, they clearly don't know how to-"
A deafening crack interrupted his thoughts as an arrow the size of a small tree crashed through the golem to his left, driving its broken body backwards to smash through the line of constructs in a cloud of pulverised stone and snow.
Sombra stared in surprise, but had little time to take in the sight as more of the giant arrows crashed into his army alongside a fresh volley of arrows. Reaching out with his power, the dark unicon commanded his forces to reposition, but his magic felt sluggish, almost like he was pushing through syrup.
More arrows came thick and fast, another line of golems crumbled as the giant arrows smashed into them. A larger statue toppled backwards, skewered through the head by a second, crushing more of his army as it fell to earth. To compound his problem, SOmbra noted the standard arrows were now burying themselves in his golems, the stone melting with an acidic hiss.
Growling in frustration, he whipped out his telescope and gazed through the snow cloud towards the strange army. He snarled at the sight of a line of giant, beastial headed statues, armed with bows larger than most trees. In perfect discipline, they drew back their bowstrings and loosed another wave of titanic arrows, accompanied by a line of archers that had formed up in front of them. Sombra made note of what looked like a sorcerer shuffling among the soldiers, the individual carried a glowing staff that must have been empowering the arrows.
Gritting his teeth, the dark unicorn knew they had formed up under cover of the snow cloud, clearly these creatures were not inexperienced in the art of war.
But neither was he.
The weight on his magic had increased, but Sombra pushed through it, ordering his army to return fire.
Golems, styled like Minotairs and each holding a giant stone, tromped forwards. Behind them came a crowd of crudely created constructs, not carved into any style or likeness, just forced into any shape that could move.
Ammunition didn't need to look fancy.
Extending one arm like an olympic thrower, they hurled their payload towards the enemy army.
The first volley crashed into the first line of chariots before rolling into the second. Skeletal horses shattering as the titanic boulders careened into them, riders flying skyward only to crash into frozen tundra.
A second volley hit while the chariots struggled to recover, more riders were crushed or thrown like toys as their momentum was abruptly halted. The unicorn allowed himself a satisfactory grin as the snow cloud which had hidden the strange army began to clear, which would make targeting them much easier.
He felt that weight upon his magic once again, thrice was one time too many. That sorcerer he had observed must not be the only one in this army, there was at least one other disrupting his power.
He ran his gaze across the army once again to try and spot the other magis user, but a shrieking scream brought his attention back skywards as a spectral meteorite, trailing ghostly fire, crashed into his army. More swiftly followed, their piercing cries echoing overhead in a terrifying crescendo.
One of the projectiles got too close for Sombra, so he repositioned his dias as the glowing projectile smashed into where he had been standing. As the dust cleared, the unicorn recoiled in horror.
In the crater was a glowing, spectral skull! He did not know the creature it had belonged to, but it continued the scream and chatter, jaw moving automatically like a demeted child's toy as it crunched on the remains of a golem.
He blasted it to oblivion without a second thought, not that it mattered. More skulls continued to fly through the snow filled sky, ensuing a never ending cacophony of torment.
More of his army detonated in explosions of green fire as they struck their targets. Skulls which survived the impact, bit and gnawed on stone legs, while others exploded into flaming fragments of shrapnel and bone which whizzed through the air, slicing off stone limbs that were rapidly consumed by the flames..
Sombra tried to block out the screams, magically deafening his ears as much as he dared on a battlefield. It was a futile action, the hideous cries that filled the battlefield had burrowed right into his mind, echoing around his psyche as they worked to break his mind.
Unknown to the dark unicorn, his torment had allowed the Tomb Kings a chance to withdraw and regroup. Blocks of infantry marched forwards, Liche priests shuffling quickly between each rank, casting spells that would ensure their ancient weapons cleaved stone as surely as they did flesh.
The surviving chariots raced down perfectly formed avenues as the skeletons parted like waves before a rock. Archers and Ushabti reformed their lines behind the infantry with practised ease. In a matter of moments, a sea of black skeletons, in their tarnished silver armour, stod impassively silent under ragged banners that snapped angrily in the blizzard.
The artillery barrage ceased, the screaming stopped. Sombra blinked away tears as his mind suddenly registered the silence. He raised himself up from the crouch he had been forced into and took in the sight before him, of an army unlike anything he had ever seen before, with weapons of tremendous power he had never experienced.
Looking up at the twin titans that continued to hammer onto the failing shield, the dark unicorn's anger rose. He was too close now to let these...things keep him from victory.
They had to be dealt with.
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Shattering another golem with a fierce buck of his rear legs, Shining Armour paused to look along the trench line.
Things were not good.
A thin, glittering line of crystal ponies were fighting valiantly against Sombra’s army, he could see Diamond Edge get under a construct and bodily heave it over the trench to crash into its fellows. Floating above on their dias, Sunburst and the unicorns were hurling spells of tremendous power into the sea of stone bodies, where they detonated in vibrant rainbows of colour. Teams of pegasai whizzed and weaved through enemy fire to support where they could, whipping the weather into a frenzy of lightning storms and mini tornadoes. The prince could even make out the shape of his beloved wife standing strong beneath the Empire's banner, surrounded by her personal bodyguard.
She was still too injured to fight, but had insisted on being behind their line to at least inspire the troops.
He smiled at her courage, however he privately feared the worst.
Sombra’s titans still pounded the shield, corrupting it further even as pieces broke away to allow more of his army through. The line was buckling hard, they had already lost ground, the shattered remains of their artillery stood as proof, and stood to lose more as stone bodies relentlessly pounded against flesh and steel.
Blasting another golem to rubble with his magic, the unicorn prince charged a third and shouldered it backwards into the trench wall, leaping back poised ready for it’s next attack. Shining Armour was therefore surprised to watch as the stone creature slid to the floor, where it twitched a few times before falling still.
Cautiously poking the previously animate mass of stone, the unicorn fully expecting it to jump back up, but despite a few firm kicks, the golem remained lifeless.
“Sir!”
Snapping his gaze up, he met the eyes of Diamond Edge.
“What are you doing here?” he questioned. “We’re in the middle of a war!”
“Actually sir...you need to see this.”
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The ground quaked as, in a slow, grinding lockstep, Sombra’s army stomped forwards. A mournful horn echoed across the battlefield in response, as the Tomb Kings advanced to meet their enemy. Pike wielding skeletons formed into tight blocks on the flanks, while those with swords and shields made up the core. A standard formation for armies no matter where they came from.
However, these two armies were far from normal.
Sombra's right flank suddenly erupted as something clawed its way to the surface, unnatural strength managing to burrow through the frozen ground. An immense Tomb Scorpion emerged from the cloud of shattered soil a moment later, flailing its tail out like a whip to shatter a line of constructs as it bisected a large golem with its claws. Snake-like Sepulchral Stalkers followed it’s wake, slithering from its tunnel to slice and hack at Sombra's army with their pikes.
Although this wasn't the end of it, as a pair of giant, skull faced, sphinxes bounded out of the snow on the opposite side, King Hassep leading the charge from his personal Necrosphinx. Golems were crushed under obsidian claws, while skeletons riding in the ornate howdahs, thrust down at the surrounding enemy with long polearms, impaling and breaking stone bodies with each attack. Hassep managed to lift a smaller golem up on his Polearm, the king briefly examining the construct before tossing it into the crowd below.
Faced with foes on multiple fronts, Sombra strained to keep his magic focused, sweat matted his coat and tangled his mane as the unicorn tried to keep his attention focused on the battle around him.
However, the appearance of these other creatures, along with his fruitless search for the sorcerer disrupting his power, had driven him to several conclusions. He had spied multiple creatures casting magic in the course of the fighting, which meant his enemy did not have the same magical strength he did. After all, his army only required one source of magic, theirs was clearly fuelled by many, this also meant these things were not truly alive. They certainly looked more like something animated by a mage than any living thing.
Of course he had little time to dwell on such a revelation, as the main lines finally clashed with a riot of shattering stone and splintering bone. Pitted Khopeshes and pikes sparked and screeched as they were driven into stone bodies, while rocky fists crushed and flattened anything in reach.
Rehu observed the battlefield from the nearby clifftop, while a cabal of Liche priests chanted and swayed around a brazier of green fire, subtly working to disrupt Sombra’s magic, though that was not their only function. Golden syllables fell from leathery lips as they worked to reinforce and rebind their soldiers, drawing back those who had lost too much of their physical remains and funneling them into the Caskets of Souls set beside them. This close to the strange power they had sensed, souls were actually calm enough to be drawn back with little resistance, freeing up many priests to support the army below.
It wasn’t all going in their favour however.
He observed bolts of light flying from the mummified fingers of a Liche Priest among the infantry, his power vaporising or chaining the stone soldiers for the soldiers to cut down. Sombra roared in defiance, blasting the Liche Priest with a bolt of dark power and freeing the ensorcelled soldiers.
He witnessed the Tomb Scorpion, unable to flee or join the main battle line, isolated and pummelled into dust by three large golems. Without support, the Sepulchral Stalkers were similarly beaten down moments later.
Boulders continued to sail towards the packed infantry from Sombra's army, the gigantic rocks smashing and rolling through the tightly packed formations of skeletons, grinding and splintering bones into powder.
Yet, despite this, the enemy army was now pinned in place as it fought on all fronts, and at the sound of another low horn, a second wave of chariots thundered into the enemy flanks.
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Phar snarled from his chariot, lashing out with his Khopesh to decapitate something, he didn’t care what, he just needed to vent some frustration. Sepa’s plan was simple enough, but, in his opinion, it was costing their limited force severely, as they had no way to replace any warriors, should their physical remains be destroyed, and the constructs would take years to re-carve. Had they let these, ponies, fight among themselves first, they could have taken everything in one fell swoop.
Not that it mattered to the boy king, he wanted to try and make friends with the creatures, gain an ally. But Phar had served Settra for centuries and shared his opinion that allies were unneeded, when you can simply conquer their cities.
The king barrelled through Sombras line to the boulder throwers at the back. Gripping the chariot tightly, he ordered his formation to charge the giant constructs, scythed wheels neatly slicing through stone ankles, causing them to topple over in a series of thunderous booms.
Before the dust had even cleared, Phar ordered a charge into the enemy's rear line, deciding that if he wasn't going to be listened to, then he could at least work to end things quickly.
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Sepa stood on his fathers chariot and observed the battle, Phar had broken formation, but he trusted Hassep to make sure he didn't get himself killed. The young king sighed internally at the continued defiance from the ruler of Numas, he wondered if his father had ever regretted pulling him back from oblivion.
He looked down at the ancient war carriage, petrified wood, blackened by volcanic ash, silver and gold adornments pitted and tarnished by the ravages of time. His soul ached as he realised this was now his chariot, his father would never again ride to battle, or race him across the sands.
Pushing aside the grief that threatened his focus, Sepa reminded himself of their current priority, defeating this foe and meeting the rulers of the Crystal Empire, then, hopefully, gaining access to this strange source of power, maybe even somewhere out of the cold where they could rebuild.
He looked up at the blackened shield that Sombra’s titans continued to hammer down upon, signalling to a skeleton with an ornate copper horn wrapped through its rib cage. Raising the instrument to his skull, the musician, despite having no lungs, blew a series of sharp notes in quick succession.
The ground quaked as three sets of titanic footsteps marched forwards, shadows passing over Sepa and his retinue as one of the Hierotitans stepped over his formation and fell in with both its fellow and the Bone Giant.
Flash had made it clear the enemy titans had to be broken, both to save the Empire and their army, should Sombra decide to simply squish them all flat. However, Rehu had advised him there was another way to win this battle, one that might silence Phar's doubts for a time.
Sepa had his eyes on Sombra as soon as he saw the dark unicorn floating above his army. Now, with his magic stymied by the liche priests, and his concentration about to be severely impared, the young king decided to make his move. Raising his khopesh he gave a firm order to the charioteer.
"Advance!"
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Sombra stared in disbelief as not one, but three titans slowly stomped out of the raging blizzard. All were clad in pitted gold armour, one had the head of a Jackal while the other was that of a hawk. In contrast, the third had a gigantic stone skull and, as they stepped over their own army onto his, beams of fire shot from the eyes of the bestial headed constructs. They incinerated his soldiers in seconds, while the skull headed statue swung its curved blade in a great arc, scattering golems like trees before a storm.
The unicorn felt his magic getting heavier as he struggled to reposition his forces, but he quickly realised the army wasn't the target, as they stomped their way right through to his own titans.
Forcing them to turn and engage the attackers, the first titan swung its stone fists at the Jackal headed construct, but the strength of the Earth God Geheb was imbued in the mismatched statues’ arms, and it caught not only the attack, but the second, locking the two together in an immense tableau.
The corruption that imbibed the golem slowly began to eat away at the Hierotitans arms, cracks, hissing darkness and shadow, spread like a spider's web across the construct's hands and wrists. Necrotects riding its shoulders cracked their whips, angrily spitting rites of power and reinforcement even as fissures spread up the Hierotitans arms, until, with one mighty pull, Sombras titan ripped both arms off with an ear splitting crack.
Disarmed, the Jackal headed statue staggered back as the titan swung its severed limbs down like twin clubs, crushing the construct's head. It swayed for a moment, debris raining onto the battlefield, then toppled like a great tree, crushing soldiers from both forces in a groaning crash of stone and snow..
Sombra managed a smirk, however, it quickly turned to shock as an immense curved sword erupted from his titans torso. Dumbstruck, he watched as a stone hand, carved like bony fingers gripped the construct's head, as the grinning stone skull of Bone Giant came into view from behind it. A thunderclap shook the battlefield as it snapped the titans neck, ripping its head clean off.
The black magic which infected the construct hissed and flowed from its crumbling body in a cloud, as the Bone Giant kicked the body off its weapon like a living warrior. Sombra latched onto the power as fast as he could, pulling the dark smoke towards him, absorbing it and easing the strain on his magic and increasing his awareness of the battle around him.
Hi new awareness came just in time, as he dove to avoid the swing that would have taken his head.
Rolling back to his hooves, the dark unicorn saw one of the creatures had managed to sneak up and climb up onto his dias, allowing him a good look at one of them up close.
Everything about it screamed death, leathery skin and black bones stuck out from gaps in what was clearly a funeral wrap, while a lipless face grinned at him from underneath sockets of green fire. It wore what might have once been a regal set of robes, but like its wearer, everything was pitted and rotten. A silver band ending in a coiled serpent was set upon its brow, and it had already recovered from the miss to take a fighting stance.
"What...are you?" he questioned, summoning a blade of solid shadow.
“Your end!” it roared, lunging forwards, blade singing.
Sombra blocked the swing, but the creature didn't hesitate and continued the attack, ensuring he had time only to defend. Sparks flew as, with every strike, the enchantments of Sepa's Khopesh fought with the living darkness of Sombra's magic.
The dark unicorn willed the dias to tilt and Sepa stumbled forwards, allowing Sombra to at last go on the attack, swiping at the young kings arm, he missed by a hair as the undead ruler ducked under the swing and took one of his own at Sombra's flank, his khopesh clattering against enchanted armour. The platform tilted backwards and Sombra advanced, his blade slicing through the air as he went to take off the other arm, only to meet an ensorcelled bracer with a loud clang.
Sepa's mummified limb shook, as the magic in Sombra's weapon ate away at the enchanted metal, tarnished silver and gold turning black as they crumbled to dust. Conjuring a second weapon, the dark unicorn went to take the Tomb King's head, but was intercepted by the ruler's khopesh.
The unicorn grinned in satisfaction, Sepa noting his fanged maw, before swinging his skull forwards and cracking it against the dark king's forehead, right at the base of his horn.
Dark magic met an enchanted crown with a bright flash and thunderclap, accompanied by the ringing of metal as the enchantments holding the dias failed and it crashed to earth.
Spitting rock and snow, Sombra struggled to his hooves. His eyes moved to the base of his horn, jaw dropping in disbelief as a crack came into focus, a miasma of dark power sparking and oozing from the break, over his forehead and down his muzzle.
The sound of shifting stone made the unicorn turn in time to watch Sepa drag himself upright from under a slab of rock. The Tomb King's crown was missing the serpent, and had a crack that split the silver band in half, but it remained fastened to his skull as his rictus grin seemed to twist in a snarl.
Events had turned against the dark unicorn, a deafening crash alerted him to the fate of his remaining titan, the construct falling as the two remaining enemy constructs broke it's repaired ankle, and drove it to the ground. The rest of his army was already dropping the pieces as his magic began to break.
"This isn't over!" Roared Sombra in pained fury, his body dissolving into shadow as he fled the battle.
Sepa stared in silence at the spot the unicorn had occupied, slowly lowering his Khopesh once it became clear that it wasn't a trick. Silence followed, broken only by the sound of crumbling stone.
The sound of crunching snow had him turn to see a familiar chariot approach.
“Congratulations,” sneered Phar condescendingly. “You won.”