The sound of hoofsteps echoed through the hallways of Sombra’s majestic castle. He was the one producing them, head upright, stamping his hooves on the ground with every step. He could hear ponies cheering from outside on the towns square just outside the castle, the sound was slightly muffled by the castle’s walls but with every step Sombra took closer to his balcony, the louder it got. He was on his way to address the crystal ponies of the newly achieved victory in which he claimed large amounts of forest by fending off the monsters in the vicinity.
Seconds after he arrived at his balcony, he was greeted by the crystal ponies, who at his sight, calmed down and bowed for their leader.
They remained in this position for a few seconds before rising again, looking up in admiration, wondering what he would say. The past couple of years his achievements were astonishing, countless battles were won, all without even a single loss. The crystal empire stood high above all the others at these times. Newly claimed lands led to expansions. Less farmers were needed and artisans had more time to invent and create new things that improved life for the crystal ponies.
“Ponies of the Crystal Empire,”Sombra spoke with his deep voice, sending shivers through the spines of his subjects. Everything he did had majesty and power radiating off of it.” We have cleared the woods of the monsters who roamed it, it went flawlessly, those who did not flee... Were eliminated...”
An eerie silence followed. Sombra has spoken about ‘Eliminating’ those who did not follow his orders before... But still, violence was considered last resort, not general thinking.
“Because of this victory we almost have all the land we need, yet there is still a part that is not yet ours...” After those words, murmuring could be heard all over the town’s square. Ponies whispering their thoughts to each other. Could he really be thinking of... No that’s basically suicide! He can’t be serious.
“The land of the dragons.” If ponies weren’t already starting to hesitate, now they were losing their mind. Dragons were huge fire breathing monsters. Their ego and the fact that they do not take kindly to ponies made them a foe. A quiet one, their lands are reasonably far away and both ponies and dragons have been living in peace for decades. Why would he even want to take over their land? We have enough already and their land is too far away to be used anyways.
“Quiet!” Sombra raised his voice, slight irritation audible in it. “As for the explanation. We of the crystal empire are proud and powerful ponies. The dragons have belittled us long enough. I can assure you that with our new weaponry, and with an attack leaded by me. We will return victors... We won’t take any risks of them planning a counterattack... These dragons are fairly young, and still not even close to their full power. Thus we will slaughter them all..."
The towns square exploded once again, yet not with murmurs and small talks, ponies started screaming and tried to run away. They didn’t get far though. Sombra’s horn glowed dark and a wave of dark magic propelled of it. Affecting all the ponies in the area. Engulfed in his black magic, they found themselves unable to move. The magic forced them to turn back, and return to their original position.
“Impressed?” He asks with a grim smile plastered on his muzle. “This is just a basic spell. I have had my researchers investigate dark magic for a while, and the discoveries were immensely pleasing to say the least. With these newfound powers, I can assure you that victory will be ours... There will be no survivors..."