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// Prologue: A Coming Storm 
// Story: Fall of an Empire: A Ranger's Tale 
// by Bellum Facio 
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	This story retells the seven year war between the Crystal Empire of Old and the Principality of Equestria from the eyes of a young man named Darius Regillus, who fought under the banner of King Sombra the Honorable. 

The Crystal Empire bordered two nations between the years 201 B.D and 57 F.D. (Before and Fall of Discord); The Gryphon Kingdoms to its west and the Principality of Equestria to its south. From the years 39 to 51 F.D., King Sombra had been allowing his people to steadily expand in the wild northern borders of Equestria. These areas included the vast Forsaken Forest and the River Willow.

The Gryphons, being long time trading partners of the Crystal Empire for the last fourty years, had shared similar cultural characteristics such as forced servitude of criminals and freedom of arms. Because of this they held no concern over the Empire's expansion southward. Their only response was that Sombra avoid the already colonized Eagle Peak Mountains that ran along the eastern border and that this expansion would not interfere with their countries' relationship.

The Principality, however still recovering from the after effects of Discord’s rule, grew to be hesitant at this expansion. The two monarchs of Equestria, The Solar Princess Celestia and the Lunar Princess, Luna, believed that Sombra was encroaching on their country in the idea that in its weakened state could be taken over. 

As precautionary before relationships grew hostile, dignitaries were to sent to Sombra's court to curb the amount of colonists along the border. The only compromise Sombra could give was that he would attempt to regulate the colonization yet would be unable to fully interfere unless problems arose. He would not come between his people and their wishes to expand for fear that stagnation may occur. Incapable of coming to an agreement, many of the diplomats were recalled and only a few were left in order to send any new problematic events back to their princesses. As time elapsed so did the rapid influx of colonists of the empire as well as the two sisters anxiety of the budding situation. 

Even before Sombra had united the human species in 201 B.D., at the age of thirty-six, the princesses didn't trust the centuries old human nor his kind. Being the weakest of the known civilized species, the humans relied on cunning and manipulation when it came to survival. They would never directly challenge a foe, but instead would use their intellect to draw them into an area of their choosing, corner them, and either defeat them with numbers or technology. When being endangered themselves they would fight like a cornered dog, only stopping when either their opponent lay dead or they themselves. The only difference now was that they were united and that made them far more dangerous.

Both sisters, doubtful that Sombra had plans other than just the annexing of unclaimed land so close to their border, agreed to enlist spies to help procure any and all knowledge of continued colonization. 

Unbeknownst to the sisters their spies were not the most competent at espionage as previously believed. Due to Equestria still recovering and simulating towards peace; the majority of its foreign policies and tactics were rather lacking. Thanks to false information and militia movements that were sent back to the princesses; the two sisters placed more and more belief into the idea that war may be waged upon their kingdom.

The citizens of Equestria also frowned upon some of the cultural aspects of the empire. Nearly the entire population believed that servitude for crimes was too far a punishment, and that citizens bearing arms would only further cause death and mayhem, and because of this many were reluctant in interacting with the Empire. The ponies of Equestria had been virtually slaves under Discords reign and could not bare to see others be forced into servitude.

Nearing the end of the 45th year after the Fall of Discord, tensions began to rise along the border. Most of these conflicts were nothing more than petty arguments and shunning of villages. Before long though, small fights could be heard of when villages and towns attempted to trade amongst one another. Many of the Equestrian settlements did not enjoy seeing the forced labor that a few groups brought, and refused to even acknowledge their presence. A few occasions were heard of servants being freed with unexpected results. 

The majority of the time individual servants actually refused to be freed due to their sentences being rather short and having families waiting for them; most sentences were between three months to a year and a lump sum was paid upon completion to the families. Many 'attempted rescues' ended up with nothing more than an individual being awakened in the dead of the night and forced into the freezing weather.

As the year progressed tensions soon became hostilities. A significant event in leading towards all out war was the raiding of a colonist caravan traveling towards the northern banks of the River Willow, resulting in the deaths of fifteen family, one hundred and three in all. While no one could pinpoint who committed the act, accusations flew between both nations. The humans crying out that this was the first blow of many that the Equestria would commit. Whilst the Equestrians argued that a group of bandits that stalked the Forsaken Forest were the murderers, and that the Empire should look to protecting its own people than making false assumptions. In an attempt to quell these hostilities for a time both countries rulers took measures to prevent any more travesties. 

Sombra began to increase the militia security of his frontier and the penalties for committing acts against any and all people along with the crown. While Celestia forbade any transgression into claimed territory of the Crystal Empire unless given right to beforehand in order to maintain peace for the time being.

These policies worked for a time before an event that sparked fury into the hearts of the citizens of the Crystal Empire and their king.

On the eve of the Winter Solstice, which was the end of the calendar year in both countries, Princesses Celestia and Luna invited Sombra and part of his court – consisting of his adviser, Marcus Farthorn, and many of the political elite - to a party in the minor city of Trottingham to celebrate the birth of a new year and help relax the strains that the old one brought.

When the group of sixty arrived at the town hall on the edge of the city they were let into a large ballroom with around one hundred Equestrians along with their princesses. While it was a rather awkward situation at first both parties soon let go of the differences they had and began to greet one another. Hours seemed to fly by as the party was well into the night, and everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves in the celebrations. Nobles from both parties could be found dancing to the orchestra lead by Note Melody and Vince Scratch, conversing about different topics, or enjoying the winter flurry outside. While Celestia was attempting to persuade Sombra to some of her finest champagne and Luna mingled amongst everyone.

Everything went silent however, when a loud crack was heard as the doors to the hall were slammed open, and a bloody female messenger bearing the tabard of the Crystal Empire stumbled in. Eyes followed as she made her way across the floor to Sombra. Upon reaching him she shot Celestia a hateful glance before speaking,

“My lord, I bring terrible news. The villages of Tiller and Beit are now nothing more than ashes amidst the snow. They were attacked three nights ago by a group of Equestrian militia lead by a captain of the very city that you stand in, and twelve hundred and forty-five now lay dead at the hands of these murderers. To make matters even worse, four days after your departure two spies bearing the marks of this princess were caught in your office and chambers tearing through any and all documentations they could get their hooves on.”  said the corporal.

A pin could have been heard as the words hung in the air. The two groups separated onto either sides of the room with looks of disgust and confusion. Many of which drew small blades from their jackets and uttered curses. Celestia was the first to speak,

“Hells be damned. We ordered him to take prisoners not slaughter them like animals! We were so close... if only we had a little more time.” Casting a glance back to her sister, who gave only a slight nod, Celestia turned back to and shot a glare directly at Sombra that would have terrified a lesser man. “Thou think thy will conquer our nation so easily, thou thought wrong. We’ll just have to contend with the fact that we can still end this war before it even starts.” 

“What?! Celestia, explain yourself!” yelled Sombra. He did not get an answer however, for Celestia whipped out a dagger using her magic, stabbed him in the side of the his body, and sent him flying into a wall with an eruption of telekinesis, a sickening crack was heard upon impact. The few guards and nobles of Sombra's entourage stared in horror at their fallen king before striking up a defensive position against the crowd of armed Equestrians around them.

“With Sombra's death so will any fear that Equestria and her people will be subjectivated once again. Without the Crystal Empire's King the nation will spiral into chaos and any form of large scale military resistance will be nonexistent. We will not allow a threat to grow under our very eyes as it endangers our people. My sister and we never wanted this to happen, yet due to escalating hostilities this was our final option. We pray that this conflict will end quickly.” Celestia stated.

As she finished, chaos ensued the room. Bolts of magic were sent in the direction of the group killing twelve of the sixty before the group managed to barricade themselves in a side room. Huddled together with only minutes to formulate a plan the remaining nobles agreed that any form of retaliation would end in not only their deaths, but the destruction of the entire nation. 

They needed someone of political skill to lead the Empire; that person was Marcus Farthorn. The best course of action would be to have half of the group stay and buy as much time as possible While the other twenty-four escaped through the windows behind them, flee thirty miles north, over the River Willow, and reach the safety of the city of Brimstone.

Once the plan had been agreed upon, twenty-four of nobles and guards surrounded the door in preparation for the Equestrians to come storming through. They knew that there was no chance of survival, but in their hearts they hoped that it would be enough to save their homes and families. With seconds remaining the closest window was broken and the other half fled into the cold flurry of winter's night.

Marcus was at the head of the group holding onto his old friends body. No one knew how long it took for the men and women left behind to be overwhelmed, only that their sacrifice would not be in vain. Before long though, dark shapes could be spotted behind the group in the blizzard. Ten of twenty-four turned around and stood their ground. Their shadows began to disappear amongst the weather, yet the screams of pain did not. The remaining fourteen pushed themselves for four hours on end while evading the Pegasi that flew overhead in search of them. Eventually the group reached the bridge that would allow them to cross the River Willow. From there it would be a ten minutes jog to Brimstone.

The group checked the skies for any Pegasi, yet either there were none or the blizzard was hiding them. They couldn't wait any longer though; the sounds of their pursuers echoing in the wind. Taking their chances, they fled across the bridge with all the speed they could muster.

As the group neared the midway point of the bridge the leading nobleman stopped and fell to his knees, his head slumped down, looking at something. When the group caught up they saw he had a spear through his chest before fifteen Pegasi descended from the sky and landed in front of them, cutting off their escape. In vain, five of Marcus's group fled back only to be cut down by ten Earth and Unicorn ponies that had caught up with them.

With no hope of escape the group surrounded Marcus in one last stand. The Royal guardsmen only laughed at their pitiful attempt before they charged, lances drawn. In a matter of seconds eight of the humans were slain, and before the remaining seven could retaliate bolts of magic and arrows soon found their marks. Marcus watched as his friends slumped to the ground around him before he himself found two arrows biting into his back and right leg. Unable to stand, he fell back into the icy river with Sombra's body.

The twenty-five Royal Guards watched as the two bodies collided with the icy water below. Knowing that Sombra was dead and his adviser soon to join him left to report that all targets had been eliminated.

Marcus's last thought to himself as he drifted down the freezing river was that of his family and what would become of them. Praying that his wife and two daughters would find safety from the coming conflict so they did not have to endure the horrors of war. However, before slipping into darkness he felt his numb body being pulled onto the cold bank of the river.

*

Celestia sat across from her sister as they finalized the preparations for the coming war on the carriage home from Trottingham, her mind in a conflict.  She despised the fact that she had jsut condemned the lives of thousands to a gruesome death, but in her own heart it was a necessary price to pay for the long term safety of her nation and people. Her sister’s words, however, did not help to put her mind at ease.

“Tia, we believe that this hath been a grave mistake. Maybe, maybe there was another way.” Luna said but Celestia only shook her head.

“We cannot say for sure sister, but we will not risk the destruction and enslavement of our entire species. Mother raised us the way she did five hundred years ago so that we would protect those that could not defend themselves. We will not stand idly by for it to happen again. All we can hope now is that we can instill our forces in the Crystal Empire before any form of retribution can cause more death.” Celestia said with a drip of sadness in her voice.

“I pray that thou are right. Mother would be ashamed of us if we became exactly what we sought to prevent.” Luna remarked as they landed outside their snow covered castle.

“We as well. Come, a long day is ahead of us.” Celestia responded. The two sisters entered their warm home knowing full well that their lives were going to change forever.

Preparations for the conflict with the Crystal Empire had been set in motion a month ago. Propaganda campaigns and enlistment requests had been sent to all cities and settlements in Equestria. Training for the nation’s forty some thousand enlisted stallions and mares had begun or increased. Finally, invasion and defense plans had been laid out by the princesses or their four military generals: Earth Pony Tiber Stormhoof, Pegasuses Alexander and Hannibal Whitewing, and Unicorn Julius Caster.

The next day was chaotic to say the very least. Due to the drastic change in military plans everyone from the highest nobleman to the lowest servant had to be reassigned to different positions in and out of the castle. Celestia and Luna could hardly attempt to keep up, and had little chance to let alone breathe. The day went quick though, and soon the two sisters sat alone in their throne room, frazzled from the day’s events. They had expected as much and were glad for the much needed rest.  

As they were resting on their thrones, a Pegasus entered the room bearing a small scroll with scarlet string. The Pegasus said that she found it outside the door to the palace, and that it must have been placed there sometime in the past hour. Curious, Celestia dismissed the mare and levitated the parchment and unraveled the string. She rolled open the scroll and read it to herself. Luna sat patiently awaiting for Celestia to finish only to jump when she saw her sister drop the scroll at her feet, staring at in fear. Luna immediately picked it up, noticed the message written in bold black ink, and began to read.

	I do not understand why you butchered my subjects, or the reason for the inhumane betrayal of last night. But I will promise you and your sister this; I will sacrifice everything, even give my own life if needed, in order to protect my people. 
All the known world believes you to be Gods that walk among men and never would dare rise against you. Yet, while cowards tremble before your might, we shall stand, and shall never fear the likes of you.
You believe yourselves to be so harmonic in your goals, yet you are blinded by your own ignorance. Children toying in powers that supersede us all combined.
Your people and this world alike will suffer from what you both have allowed to transpire. Even your own mother will rue the day she birthed you both. You will pay for your crimes, be it in the coming years or until time itself stands still. 
Until the day we fall, we will stand defiant against your tyranny until our last breath. Before this is over, the marks of war will scar your lands, people, and all that you love.  
King Sombra of the Crystal Empire