//------------------------------// // 3. The Crystal Throne // Story: Alone // by Child of Stars //------------------------------// Everypony stood dead still. Each one either shifted back and forth on their hooves or had beads of sweat adorning their faces. All were too terrified to even move an inch. For there in front of them, sat regally upon the crystal throne was the dark king himself. And he did not look pleased. The tension in the air was palpable, and the silence near deafening as King Sombra’s gaze continued to bore a hole onto an empty spot upon the throne room’s floor. After a few more seconds of this he tore his gaze away from the crystal ground and looked at all the ponies in front of him. His harsh gaze kept them all on edge as his head swung back and forth, looking down the row of his subjects. Finally, his head stopped and his eyes locked onto their target, a lone crystal guard. The king stared at the soldier for a moment before his lips parted and his gravelly voice drew to life.  “Where is my wife and daughter?” Sombra said darkly as his eyes shifted to become full of dark energy. Upon the birth of his daughter Sombra had decided to reveal to the castle staff that Radiant Hope was his wife and their daughter to be the next heir to the crystal throne. He had concluded that no one of his castle staff would dare to betray him. If the palace staff knew of Hope’s and Gleam’s status as of the royal bloodline then they’d try to protect them from harm even harder, fearing what could happen to them if the royals were injured in any way. “And for that matter, where is Shard Break?” King Sombra said with thinly veiled rage. When the petrified guard didn’t speak, Sombra ignited his horn with a black energy. Right before anything could escalate further a female crystal pegasus soldier spoke up and made her presence known.  “My king!” The mare said, drawing Sombra’s ire. He nearly exploded in rage at her when he heard her speak to him without permission, however; he stopped upon seeing her armor. It was different from the common soldier, the same in most aspects, but just slightly different in other key areas. The feathery plumes upon her armor pieces were purple in color instead of the black of normal soldiers. Her armor was also lined with some red detailing in a few different places that were normally a plain black. Finally, a small black soft pauldron was draped over her left shoulder pad. It was adorned with the flag of the Crystal Empire, completely drawn in red. The whole ensemble was brought together with a silver chain linking her two shoulder pads and going across her neck. Sombra recognized that armor, but from where eluded him at the moment.  “My humblest apologies for speaking out of turn, but I have urgent information regarding Shard Break.” The mare had come forth before the seated tyrant and kneeled. With her now kneeling in front of the king, he got a better look at her. She was a crystal pegasus, that much was obvious, but what was interesting was the condition of her fur. It was a soft icy blue, nearly white in color, and it was pristine from what Sombra could see. ‘Odd,’ he mentally noted, ‘Not even a singular scratch on her? Is she perhaps new? And that armor, whose is it?’ The mare looked up at Sombra with the cool demeanor of an experienced soldier. ‘No, definitely not a new recruit. Hmmm…’ Her messy mane was flopped over the right side of her head, light blue in color with a few white streaks streaming through it. Her dark blue eyes gazed upon the king with respect and affection, a kind born out of an undying loyalty. Her tail was much the same as her mane in color and style, it just streamed down plainly. Who this mare exactly was still confused the king. He had the feeling that he’d met her before, he just couldn’t place where. Some of his past memories were still a bit hazy due to his banishment. So, in hopes of gleaning a clue he shot his eyes to the mark that sat on her flank. And from what Sombra could see of her cutie mark it appeared to be of three shooting stars. The stars themselves seemed to be light blue and crystalized with the middle one being bigger than the two offset to the sides. The trails looked to be white in color and just barely visible upon her fur.  It was at that moment, when the dark king saw the mare’s cutie mark that he remembered not only that the armor she wore belonged to his military’s lieutenant general but the mare’s name.  “Rise and speak to me. State your name and rank.” King Sombra commanded the mare. “Yes your royal highness, of course.” She spoke softly as she stood to attention in front of him. “General Crystal Skies at your command, sir!” She saluted.  “At ease. It’s as I thought.” He commented. “Sir?” Crystal Skies asked with a flutter of her wings. “Remember your place, soldier, and think nothing of it.” The king said with an irritated tone. He thought it best to keep his slightly fuzzy memory a secret from the others, for he saw no benefit in sharing that news.  “Of course my king, I apologize.” The crystal general said with emotion. “Hmmm fine, but can we please stop with the pleasantries and get onto more pressing matters? Like why did you call yourself general, lieutenant general?” The threat was clear in the king’s voice. If Crystal Skies gave an unsatisfactory explanation, then Sombra would surely punish her accordingly.  “Because, your highness, I am your crystal army’s general now.” She began to say. “Oh? Do pray tell.” The dark king said with interest. “Well, that’s part of the information I have to tell you about Shard Break. On the day that this empire was taken with you into banishment and the future by your whim Shard Break left his post. He left the empire and ran from the fight like a coward!” She finished with an edge in her voice. “What?” King Sombra said darkly as he shifted slightly upon his throne and a shadow fell upon his face, obscuring his features forbye his glowing red irises. “Yes, my liege. During his escape he even found me amidst the battle and tried to convince me to leave with him. Of course I’d never betray you, so I tried to stop him. But I could not subdue him in time before he teleported away, and for that failure I am sorry. He betrayed me, the empire, and you.” Crystal Skies disdainfully spat out.  A quick magical scan of the empire confirmed Crystal Skies accusations. Sombra could find no trace of Shard Break anywhere within his empire and he wanted to scream. He was beyond furious. His right hoof pony, his own general, betrayed him on one of the most important days in the Crystal Empire’s history and fled. He ran like a sniveling coward, tail between his legs as he forsake his king and all that he was given. Sombra thought he was his most loyal, yet when push came to shove, he folded. He even had the audacity to try and persuade his lieutenant general to leave with him. It was enough to cause Sombra to go into a blind rage against any who got in his path. Yet despite all that, he didn’t. Instead, he simply grimaced and took all his burning rage inwards, letting it cool off. It may have felt like yesterday to him and the other crystal ponies of his empire, but in reality it had been 1000 years. This one small fact did cause the king to smile too. Even though he may not get to carry out his wrath upon Shard Break he could at least take some solace in knowing that the traitorous general had long since died.  However, the tyrant’s smile quickly fell when he thought about it for a bit longer. ‘So, on the same day the amulet is stolen, Shard Break just so happens to run?’ The revelation causes the king’s anger to reignite. He knew that if he had the Alicorn Amulet to fight the two princesses of Equestria that perhaps he could have won the war. When he had opened the vault in which it was housed to collect it and found it missing, he could only guess at who could have taken it. Few ponies knew of the necklace’s existence, and even fewer had access to the vault it had rested in. At the time Sombra could only brush past it in anger as he tried to come up with a new strategy to win, a new trick up his sleeve.  Now, however, Sombra has time to think. And everything lined up perfectly to point at Shard Break as the thief. He knew of the project, he had access to the vault, and he dared to flee from the empire knowing what could happen to him if he was caught. ‘The only way he’d be stupid enough to try and leave was if he thought he was strong enough that he could take me on, if only for a moment. And the amulet would have given him just the confidence boost.’ Sombra internally seethed. ‘That cur! He not only betrayed me but is at least somewhat responsible for my defeat!’ The crystal king exhaled from his nostrils and relaxed his face in an attempt to keep his cool in front of his guests. They didn’t need to know whether or not Shard Break’s betrayal got to him. Another realization then struck the king, ‘The amulet can give its wearer immortality, so that traitor could still be alive!’ This fact did not sit well with Sombra, ‘Well then, I swear it I shall look for you later Shard Break. And if I find you alive and well, then you’ll wish you would have just been caught 1000 years ago. For now, your punishment shall be worse than anything you could have possibly imagined.’ “Well then, General Crystal Skies, it seems you really are the general now. And I presume you wouldn’t be foolish enough to betray me too?” King Sombra said calmly.  “No!” Crystal Skies immediately responded in a panic. Sombra raised an eyebrow at her outburst causing the mare’s face to flush red in embarrassment. “Er- I mean, no your highness. I would never dream of betraying you like that vermin Shard Break did.” She corrected herself. The way she put emphasis on vermin and her soft voice seemed to crack, caused Sombra to suspect that something more than just the betrayal happened between the two. ‘Something more personal must have been destroyed when Shard Break left, hmmm.’ He thought before brushing it off and smiling slightly at his general’s display. Her burning cheeks showed vibrantly upon her face, due to her light fur. The way she spoke, the cadence of her voice, how emotional she seemingly could be when talking about certain things all reminded Sombra of somepony else.  Crystal Skies reminded him of Radiant Hope. His bemused expression quickly faded as his jovial mood was soured at the thought of his missing wife. The anger he had felt earlier reignited within him upon remembering that his wife and daughter were nowhere to be found within the throne room. Ablazer and his guard stood nervously to the throne’s right, Crystal Skies and her guard stood off to his left, and in the middle was the lone guard who had failed to bring his wife and child to him. Shaking his head in dismay he looked back to his general who was staring at him expectantly.  “Good. And don’t worry,” The king started. “If Shard Break is still around then I will make sure to find him, that’s a promise. He will learn why one should never take betraying me so lightly.” King Sombra stopped speaking with an air of finality, and when nopony spoke up for a few seconds after the conversation had clearly reached its conclusion. With that over the Crystal Empire’s new general bowed her head one more time before stepping back to join the ranks of her other crystal guests. “Now with that out of the way…” King Sombra said with a slow draw as he slowly shifted his gaze to the lone stallion guard in the middle of the throne room. He squinted his eyes menacingly as they reignited with a dark flame, “We can get onto a more pressing matter.” The guard facing the full wrath of his ire trembled in fear and withered under it.  “Stop trembling and step forth, soldier.” The king’s voice foreboding and expression dark. He carefully articulated each word to make them as poignant as possible. Each one was like a dagger slicing into the crystal guard’s skin, causing him to wince with every word said. Upon being commanded the armor-clad crystal pony ceased his trembling and slowly crawled forth before his king. He was so low to the ground that the clinking of his armor could be heard by all as it bounced across the floor.  ‘Such a pitiful display.’ Sombra thought with disdain. His displeasure became clear on his face when his lips twitched back in a snarl and the indigo vapors that trailed from his eyes became more rapid. However, it was the growl of annoyance that escaped the king’s lips that finally got the soldier to change his gate and quickly stand to attention before the dark lord. King Sombra looked the guard up and down, inspecting every detail closely. His gaze felt like a fire to the soldier, burning his skin and causing him to falter slightly under its intensity. “Huh,” The king sighed in disappointment, “How pathetic.”  “My k-king?” The guard nervously said with a gulp as he turned his gaze up to Sombra. “May I speak?” “You can.” The crystal king said simply. “Oh my lord please know I am unworthy to even be graced by your presence and I am truly humbl-” The guard started with a cry, getting low to the ground before Sombra cut him off. “ENOUGH OF THESE THEATRICS!” The king bellowed out as he stood from his throne. “YOU HAVE FAILED ME AND SHALL BE PUNISHED FOR THAT FAILURE LATER!” The guard cowered to the floor as every other pony present flinched back in apprehension. The only ones to not were a worried looking Crystal Skies and a curious Ablazer. “Just accept the fact that you will receive a punishment and cease the groveling. The only thing that succeeds in doing is making your punishment worse.” The tyrant said threateningly as he leaned towards the cowering crystal creature splayed out on his throne room’s floor.  “Y-yes, o-of c-cour-rse y-your highness.” The guard said back with a terror laced voice. Sombra’s eyes narrowed a little more before he let up and sat back down upon his throne. “Good, now why is it that my wife and daughter have not graced us with their presence yet?” He asked the guard before him. “M-my liege, I’m s-sorry but I could n-not locate the queen and princess. I looked everywhere to the b-best of my abilities but still could not f-find t-them.” The crystal guard’s head was bowed so low that his nose had touched the floor.  “So, it is as I had assumed. Well then, I shall do what you failed to do, I suppose.” Sombra finished with a dismissive grunt that caused the guard in front of him to shakily get up, salute, and walk back to the others. During the soldier's retreat Sombra had begun to power up a light magic spell. His eyes lost their green hue as the purple smoke stopped flowing and his horn became ignited with a red magical glow. He closed his eyes as he began to concentrate on the locating spell he had conceived. In his head he pictured the magical signatures of Radiant Hope and Gleam Heart and cast out his spell to lock onto and find them. He let his magic flow out and drift through the castle expecting to lock onto his family’s magical signatures almost instantly. However, neither his crystal unicorn wife nor filly seemed to be in the castle. Annoyance became clear as crystal on the king’s face when he failed to locate them. ‘Why are they not here, they rarely ever leave the castle.’ He internally questioned.  Putting a little more force and power into the spell Sombra extended its range to that of the entire empire. Yet, he was still unable to locate either of the two. The king’s face changed from annoyance to one of worry as the implications of this discovery sunk in. ‘No. I refuse, they are not gone!’ He thought with a twinge of worry.  Exerting himself even more he forced the spell to expand once more so that it covered all of the Frozen North. Sombra’s lip quivered as he quietly spoke to himself in a barely audible whisper, “No, n-no, n-n-no, no, no, No, NO!” His voice gradually grew in intensity as panic set in and the king’s eye twitched. His breath had become labored, and sweat had slightly started drizzling down his face. His features were contoured in a deep grimace as the other ponies in the room began to get nervous. “M-my king?” Ablazer dared to ask with worry. “NO!” Sombra screamed as he slammed his hooves down on his throne and opened his eyes. Veins protruded out upon his face and his eyes looked strained as they filled with a dark energy. Combining the locating spell with his dark powers Sombra pushed the spell past its limits and began to rapidly expand it across all of Equestria. “Sir!” Crystal Skies called out in worry and reached a hoof out. Yet her cry fell on deaf ears as the king pushed on with the spell.  His magic expanded faster as it covered more and more ground, desperately searching for the only two ponies that meant anything to him in his life. Through every mountain, crevice, ravine, town, and unfamiliar structure his magic went searching all the way. He was desperate, desperate for an answer, for a sign, for anything to deny the only thing that he, the master of fear, feared. His breathing became heavier, movements more sporadic, a pressure built inside his skull as he pushed beyond his limits to expand the spell. ‘Further.’ He thought.  Another piece of land scoured. ‘Further!’ Yet another. ‘Further!!’ Another. ‘Further!!!’ Wait, he was beginning to feel something. ‘FURTHER!’ It got closer. ‘FURTHER!!’ Closer still. ‘FURTHER!!!’ Almost. “FURTHER!” He shouted aloud as dark magic flared from his eyes dangerously.  He was there. “FURT-” He was cut off as his magic hit the magical dead zone he had sensed earlier. Touching the unnatural zone caused all his magic to instantly cancel out and a strange sense of calm overcame Sombra as he blankly looked out across his throne room at the opposite wall. “AHHHHHH!!!” The king suddenly screamed out in agony as gray streaks of lighting shot out from the dead zone and forced his deactivated spell back. It was pushed all the way back to the tyrant’s horn, one that upon contact with the dead zone’s energy, caused it to flare up in immense pain. Gray bolts of lightning exploded from the dark lord’s horn momentarily and struck some of the nearby crystals around him causing them to fade slightly in color. As quick as it came it was gone as Sombra got the magic under control and then fell weakly over. He breathed heavily, eyes wide in shock, and limbs twitching slightly as he laid upon his obsidian throne.  He was afraid.  “My king!” Ablazer shouted out in shock as Crystal Skies started to rush forward with worry. Her attempt to help the crystal king was short lived however as Sombra collected himself and stood up on his throne.  “ALL OF YOU CEASE!” He shouted in rage. Crystal skies stopped dead in her tracks and Ablazer flinched back at the outburst. “I AM FINE AND NONE OF YOU SHALL SPEAK OF THIS TO ANYPONY!” He glared at them all with the intensity of a thousand suns. “IF YOU DO THEN YOU SHALL BE STRUNG UP AND HUNG FROM THE GALLOWS! I CARE NOT FOR YOUR RANK YOUR ALL EXPENDABLE AND REPLACEABLE, SO DO NOT THINK YOURSELVES ABOVE ANY PUNISHMENT!” He went on in fury. “NOW ALL OF YOU LISTEN AND LISTEN WELL.” Sombra’s form became more smokey as he calmed down and turned to his general. “General Skies, get your troops together and mount some defensive formations around the empire to start up a border defense and secure the empire’s land.” She nodded vigorously as she listened to her orders. “I will join you later, for now I must take care of other matters. In my absence, you should begin strategizing and coming up with plans for the war ahead.” “Sir, yes sir!” Crystal Skies saluted quickly.  “And Ablazer,” The dark lord turned to his grand mage, “You and your team should start on cooking up some new spells for the upcoming fight.” “Yes, of course your highness.” Ablazer bowed. “Also get working on that Crystal Heart problem some more.” King Sombra said with agitation as his form dissolved ever more. “Your wish is my command.” The mage said sugarly, much to the king’s contempt.   “And finally,” He turned to the castle crystal guards, “Put the city and castle on lock down until I say to end it.” “Sir!” All guards said and saluted simultaneously.  Satisfied and unable to keep his emotions suppressed for much longer, King Sombra quickly dissolved into shadows and rapidly rushed his smokey form backwards through the air to an unseen hallway behind the crystal throne as his subjects began to leave the room to carry out their king’s orders. The last thing any of them heard was the sound of a heavy pair of crystal doors slamming shut. Those doors were the doors that lead to King Sombra’s chambers.