"Even my knowledge of the empire is limited" -Celestia Princess of Equestria on the history of the Crystal Empire
The sun started to rise the Army had been sieging the walls for threes days straight and because of their wings the sieging party had a lot easier time keeping reinforcements and supplies from entering the city. The defenders on the other hand had the safety of crystal walls to guard them the walls were with current technology impenetrable by force and stealth. But this had come with a price the sieging army just had to wait until food stores would deplete and the defenders would simply starve. A plan that would be used by the hesitant and the thinker. Unfortunately the sieging army was entirely made up of Pegasi and Griffin and these two species were not known for their patience. Thankfully though the top general of the Pegasi army was a unicorn and patience was his virtue.
Both sieging armies had set up camps outside the massive crystal wall to ensure that the enemy inside the kingdom could not maneuver it was a strong tactic but a straining one for soldiers with such low tolerance to the idea of waiting. The Griffins set their camps closest to the wall so that everyday they could scour the outside of the enemies empire and use their eagle like vision to spot any weakness in the enemy fortification. At the back of the Griffin camp sat the Pegasi they're job outside of battle was to ensure the weather for the siege was optimal while keeping an eye out for any enemy reinforcing armies and supplies. In the middle of these camps sat four tents each for a different general. Two of the generals were ponies and two Griffin. At the front of these tents was two simple wooden tables with maps of the surrounding area And at these tables sat all four generals.
The two farthest to the left of the table were ponies one was a Pegasus with a lime colored mane a light blue coat and light green eyes he wore silver armor that covered his whole body except his face and wings. He seemed to be arguing with the other pony a unicorn his coat and mane as black as coal his horn blood red but the base it was grey the unicorns eyes were red and green.
"Sombra I'm sure the troops won't last much longer we should attack while we still have their loyalty" The Pegasus was showing visible discomfort. Sombra had demanded the that pegasi and griffon stay grounded unless raiding enemy convoys to ensure defenders couldn't use their fireballs effectively.
Sombra looked back at the Pegasus with a look of calm "don't worry Longshot it won't be much longer and the city will be ours." Sombras calm switched to a small smile of encouragement "Besides you told me your pegasi were well disciplined."
Longshot wore a look of pure irritation he had wanted to fly stretch his wings to soar above the clouds but alas it was of no use Sombra had a point he would rather be uncomfortable than fried by one those surprisingly accurate fireballs the idea of being roasted kept Longshot on solid ground. He sighed to himself turned the tents housing his Pegasi brethren and again for the fourth time that week went to inspect the troops.
Sombra on the other hand went to check up on the Griffins, Pegasi were rash but griffons were violent when forced to wait Sombra knew he had to be careful if he wanted to keep their loyalty. As he reached the generals table Sombra took in the features of the two generals the one on the left was a female her body and wing feathers were brown while her head was covered in white and grey feathers her like many other griffon her two front legs held talons like a hawk while her two back legs were brown paws like a lion. Her beak was small but pointy like a spear her eyes were orange.
To her left was a male Griffins his features were similar yet he held more of a muscular feature while her features were slim his body screamed strength while hers screamed agility. His eyes were crimson red and his face held look of disdain at the approaching Sombra while the female held a look of suspicion. Neither both war a mixture of golden chain mail and plate armor neither wore a helmet Griffins believed the restriction of eyesight that helmets brought was too much of a hindrance to a species that were experts at reading their opponents movement in combat.
"General Iron talon and General Gilda how are you two holding up over here" Sombra asked trying his best to seem interested.
"General Sombra! this waiting is useless what is the might of a few wingless lizards in comparison to the might of the Crimson Beak" Gilda said while approaching the unicorn general her claws at attention ready to strike. Her companion at her back ready with his wings flared.
Sombra looked at this act of intimidation inside he was laughing to himself he could see it her body was ready for a fight but her eyes they on the other hand showed fear betraying her aggressive stance. This was an enemy the Griffins new all too well they were fierce beasts whose fire could incinerate on impact the teeth could chew through jewels their scales tough enough to take multiple rounds from catapult and multiple scratches from the Griffins talons they were land dragons amazing in their craft metal and diamond building very tame in comparison to other Dragons but fierce warriors when need be. On the outside he put on a mock sigh and sat on his haunches.
"General Gilda please calm down your waiting will come into fruition trust me in fact my scouts tell me that the enemy is nearly weakened and soon our offensive operations will start" Sombra put on a fake grin and stood up Gilda had calmed down and so had Iron talon she and Sombra made their way to the table on it sat a map of the empire. It was pretty vague since the scouts who had made it had to dodge fireballs and heavy concentrations of smoke to map the area.
"Now remember when the attack starts I will" Before Sombra could finish that sentence Longshot came zooming over to him at blazing speed.
"The front gates have opened the enemy has surrendered" Longshot yelled in excitement.
At hearing this news Sombra held a look of disbelief instead of responding he turned around and headed for the gates the other generals followed wordlessly.
As Longshot had said when they reached the gates were wide open inside sat the road directly to the crystal tower the road had been barricaded with the bodies of the dead dragons who starved to death unlike their flying cousins land Dragons were not migratory therefore they usually settled in one area and were not prone to greed they even had learned to control it allowing them to grow to the size of a house which was more manageable.
Without even coming to agreement Longshot, Iron talon and Gilda entered the gate and walked into the city Sombra in tow with a detail of pegasi scouts and griffon guards. As they continued towards the Crystal tower Sombra ordered the city searched any Dragon found was to be killed wounded or not. He looked a the giant stone structures they were perfectly measured side by side to fit Sombra ordered them searched cleared and destroyed.
When they reached the Crystal tower Sombra had been surprised not only had his scouts that scoured the city found only dead dragons there were no gems to be found a look at the local library had shown the tomes inside were missing and to his complete surprise the Crystal towers front entrance had been left unbarricaded Sombra approached the door he used his hoof to push it open as he did everything started to fade to white.
In a faraway land far into the future sat a small town called Ponyville in that small town with its many unique buildings sat a tree and in that tree laid two of its residents a young lavender unicorn Twilight Sparkle and her number one assistant the baby dragon Spike who laid in his little basket thinking about the dream he just had trying to decipher its meaning. His slitted emerald eyes watery from crying in his sleep saddened by what he had just experienced.