Hehehehehe.... Crystals... the perfect embodiment of order, structure, and unyielding perseverance. They stand the test of time, eternally flawless. Yet one must be wary when cutting one, as they usually have a shatterpoint.
But not me. I am flawless, I am eternal. I am SOMBRA!
I, the Eternal Dark King Sombra, Soverign of the Crystal Empire, had brought safety and security to my kingdom. Forever it would stand against the test of time!
I turned my gaze downwards. I stood upon the balcony formerly occupied by my father. He was strong, but even he fell to the test of time. I looked down upon my subjects... my slaves. Theirs was the easy task. I had removed the burden of independent thought from their poor minds. I had successfully bound EVERYONE to my will. I had hidden the only weakness, the shatter-point of my empire, away where no one would ever find it again. I was the only one who knew these dark spells, and only they could activate most of my traps. But still... I had hidden the door behind a light spell and a nearly endless staircase! No one would think to look for it there!
I smiled, heading back in. My crystal slaves. I would protect them all, no matter what I had to sacrifice in order to make it happen.
Walking back towards the throne room, I did have time to ponder. The guards at the door stared blankly ahead. They only stood there because... well... it seemed right. There were ALWAYS guards outside the throne room, but I didn’t know what they were there for now...
However, a frown crossed my face. The thing that troubled me the most was HOW Discord had been defeated. It was a good thing for me, as it meant one less thing I needed to worry about protecting my people from. But all this time, I had been preparing for this... for him to come to ME, to appear on MY doorstep. He would come, and I would be the first to fully rebuke him. WHO had managed to take him out?
I settled into my throne, contemplating, an uneasy feeling just on the back of my neck. It felt like the last bit of the old me, trapped in the deepest cells of my mind. It felt like a nagging worry, had I done something wrong? It felt like... like... LIKE BEING WATCHED!
I knew in an instant that my belief was assured, as I rapidly cast about, a scrying sensor telling me that SOMONE had been spying on me. SOMEONE was probing for my weaknesses. SOMEONE was... was coming. I had hardly a split second before I felt a massive surge of magic, and the fracturing of my wards.
With an earsplitting CRASH, and a very bright flash of light, two figures appeared in my throne room. Biting back a curse of astonishment, I recognized them. The brave duo of sisters, the ones who were hunting for a way to defeat discord.
Thinking back, it made a certain bit of sense. The reason discord had not appeared here was that he was busy elsewhere, and these two would certainly have done the trick. The tall radient one was a monument to stern belief and rightiousness, and the smaller dark one had a dark aura around her. The tall one lowered her spear and spoke clearly, bypassing the customary groveling appropriate to standing before me.
“King Sombra! What have you DONE here? My sister and I had heard that this was a safe haven for those fleeing Discord, but instead we find... find... THIS!” She bellowed, indicating the glossy-eyed guards at the door that were gazing dully at her. “What have you DONE!” she finished.
The younger one narrowed here eyes, as I looked upon them. Fools... They could not see my great works! “How I govern my empire is of no concern to you, alicorn sisters,” I began. I knew about alicorns of course, from my precious book, the Alicornomicon. “I have made it safe, and if I am not mistaken, my lands are in much better shape than YOURS” I finished, allowing a small smirk.
The older one began to speak, but the younger one cut her off. “You are no king! Thou art a TYRANT!” she bellowed, drawing her sword.
That was all it took, as with a slight twitch of my mind, I sent the two guards forward, confident that these would be plenty to handle the duo.
THAT thought didn’t last long, as both of them fell back, knocked flat on their hindquarters by a vicious strike from the white ones polearm. I finally stood, and in my hand appeared a cruel, black sword.
“I will give you this one chance, and this one chance only. LEAVE my Crystal Empire, or I will put you on display for everyone ELSE who gets any bright ideas. While your lands lie in ruin, devastated, the Gryphon Kingdom in a state of anarchy, the land of Zebracity infertile and barren... MY lands produce crops! MY skies shower rain! My people-”
“Have no free will, as you have betrayed all of them. You are no king. You are a COWARD, and a FIEND!” shouted the smaller one, and she lunged, as her sister cried “NO LUNA!”.
It was too late, as with a cackle I brutally swiped my sword to the side, easily blocked by her, although she was unprepared as I lifter her with my magic, drew power from the enslaved heart, and smashed her into a pillar, then spun to block a lunge with the radient ones spear.
“Can you not see what I have done? WHY do you refuse? JOIN ME!” I bellowed, slapping away another thrust and then parrying the blunt end of her spear as she spun it around. I heard a brief whoosh behind me, and sidestepped, casuing the smaller one, Luna, to crash into her sister. It was laughable really, as the two were clearly a formidable team, but the young one was so much more hot headed. I could practically SMELL the jelousy off of her.
The golden white one thrust once again, and I stepped back as she said “Joining you is out of the question! My sister and I shall bring HARMONY to the world. Power is to be SHARED, not HOARDED, you monster!”
I gave a deep, throaty laugh, before grabbing the shaft of the spear and bringing my sword down on it, shattering it. Pushing the bright one away, I powerfully attacked Luna. “Power is to be shared, is it? It seems that that is not so... Luna, is it? If I recall, you raise the moon... pity no one cares. The sun is so much more precious, isnt it?”
There was a startled look on her face, and then I mentally cursed, realizing that irritating her was a bit of a mistake as she drove me back towards a wall, forcing me to evaporate into smoke before I was skewered. Reforming behind her, I cuffed her across the back of the head, knocking her forward and dazing her. A few seconds was all I needed...
A searing pain erupted in my gut, and I looked down to see the point of a golden sword sticking through it. With another chortle, I turned to smoke, whisking away. “Tyrant... Tyrant, I may be, but I listen to my family. I did what they asked. The elder always knows better, right? I hope your sister sees it that way... poor, poor Luna... no one appreciates her hard work, least of all you.”
“SILENCE, CURR!” she screamed, and with a painful jolt, I was forced back into a corporeal form as the room filled with light. With no shadows left, I could not teleport, I could not discorporate, and I could not use some of my more potent spells. Luckily, I was still handy with a blade.
That was put to good use as I parried, blocked, riposted, and dodged her flurry of attacks. It was discovered rapidly that we were equals in swordplay, and I still retained enough of my defensive magic to block her incoming spells. What I needed was some way to end the fight quickly, something to tip the scales.
Unfortunatly for me, SHE got the scale tipping bit first, as her sister arose, looking angrier than ever. With me backing away, blocking on all sides, I finally cursed and yelled “ENOUGH!” as I summoned what power I could, and with a stomp, the lights went out in the room. Time... I needed more time!
It started as a glow, and then both voices overlapped. “King Sombra... you have thrown things out of harmony. You sought a weapon against Discord, but your purpose became corrupted.”
An eerie music filled the air, and their faces were suddenly revealed as six small objects of different colors began to spin around them. The power coming off of them... the power... I would have been awed by the order, the HARMONY in them, but at that time I was fearing its effect on me. Their order was of light, and mine... my darkness... I had no idea what would happen. I was defeated. I had lost this battle.
But I would not lose this war.
“CRYSTALS! MINE!” I shouted, and just before a rainbow of light reached me, I reached out, enveloping the Crystal Heart in my mind, and with one final, bitter curse, I dragged myself, my subjects, and my entire Empire out of time and space, with one thought in my head.
I would return. And when I did, I would not fail.
I would succeed.
And I would bring the rest of the world to its knees.