//------------------------------// // The Chairman and the King // Story: Into the Darkness // by Subject 19 //------------------------------// “Christopher!” Janet exclaimed as she gave him a hug. “I’m so relieved that you’re alive and well!” Razka was surprised by the spontaneous show of affection from the usually reserved woman. He awkwardly shrugged Janet off of him. “It certainly is good to see you again, thanks to Luna.” “I take it you’re here so that you can keep an eye on the war,” Stahl assumed, getting straight to business. “Indeed I am. How are our forces doing?” “We’ve been encountering the heaviest resistance around DC, as we anticipated. It could be quite some time before the president and his cabinet are dead,” Stahl regrettably informed the chairman. Christopher nodded and turned to Luna. “Would it be possible for you to give us some privacy?” he asked. “Of course,” the night princess confirmed. She began to dissipate into the air. “Just give me a shout when you’re done.” Once Razka was sure the princess was gone, he returned his attention to Janet. “I might be here for a while.” “What have they said in regards to getting you home?” Janet asked. “Not much, but they do have a plan. How long would it take to get another portal built?” Stahl gave her superior a worried look. “If I was to guess, I’d say at least a month or two?” “A month!?” “All of our resources are devoted to the war, we don’t have a lot of spare mechanics and materials,” she explained. “I’ll do what I can, but I need time.” Razka ran a hand through his hair. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about.” “What is it?” “There’s a tyrant here that Luna and Celestia want me to help them deal with. He’s taken control of a neighboring empire and they fear he’s going to attack their kingdom.” “How serious of a threat is he?” “This tyrant, King Sombra, has enough power to make the princesses worried about an attack. I’d say it’s rather serious to them.” “Can you handle this?” “Sombra should be nothing more than a speed bump. The princesses don't have the tactical knowledge I do. What's serious to them may be nothing to me. You know, I almost pity the poor bastard. He didn’t choose to be put in my crosshairs, but I will slaughter him regardless.” “How are the princesses treating you?” “Well enough, but they seem hell-bent on befriending me. Their society holds friendship and love in very high regards. Friendship is power here.” “And destruction is ours.” “No, order is. Destruction is just part of the process of creating a perfect order of peace and control.” "What about this 'Sombra' character? What makes you think he'll be so easy to defeat?" “I have two immortal gods on my side. I think it’s safe to assume who the overwhelming victor is going to be.” “Just be careful. We need you to come home alive, not in a body bag.” Luna appeared in front of Christopher and Janet. “I’m afraid it’s time to wake up.” The two humans nodded their acknowledgement. “Well, Christopher, you seem to be in a good mood this morning,” Celestia commented as Razka took a seat at the dining table with a wicked grin on his face. “Stahl is making exceptional progress with the US. With a bit of luck, I’ll have total control over America by the end of the year.” “That’s… good to hear,” the princess said hesitantly. “I want to discuss how exactly you plan to get me back to Earth, because right now all I have to go with is your word.” “I’ve been looking into that actually,” she replied. “Thanks to the residual magic from the portal we used to get you and Luna here, I was able to figure out where exactly your planet is in relation to our own, so now you won’t have to build a portal on Earth.” “Good, that will allow Stahl to focus committing our resources towards the war.” “I’m curious though, what will you do once you’ve won the war?” “We will rebuild the nation with me and Stahl in charge. We will beat down everyone that opposes us and reward those who stand with us. In time, they’ll see how right I really am, and how wrong they were. I mean, they spew out the most ridiculous things. Things like, we should be tolerant of those who disagree with us, or how we shouldn’t use violence to solve global problems. They’d rather use their words and risk defeat than use their fists and be guaranteed success.” “Well, Christopher, I agree with those people. You should be tolerant of those who don’t agree with you and you should always try to find a peaceful solution.” Razka shook his head. “And that is why I will never truly respect you as a leader,” he mumbled. “What was that?” Celestia asked, not hearing what he said. “Nothing.” The chairman quickly finished his breakfast in silence, not feeling there was anything else to say. As he was returning to his room, he noticed Luna and a pony he didn’t recognize. It was a white unicorn with a black mane and tail. The unicorn's eyes were an icy blue “Ah, Christopher, I’d like to introduce you to General Swift Strike,” Luna said. Swift Strike gave a small nod. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Razka. I’m the leader of the 501st Legion.” “Am I supposed to know who you are, general?” “The 501st is our most effective group of soldiers in the army. They've all undergone intense training to make it into the legion,” Luna explained. “General Strike here has been in command of it for the past decade. He’ll be joining us for our attack on Sombra.” Razka simply gave the night princess an unimpressed look before directing his attention back towards the general. " “Humph….Well as long as he proves his usefulness then I have no issues,” he replied as he slipped into his room and shut the door. The moment he entered the room, he noticed how cold and dark it was. Something was off. He quickly walked to his rifle leaning against his bed. Something was hiding in the shadows. “It’s you, isn’t it,” Razka whispered. “Sombra.” Spinning around the chairman was face-to-face with King Sombra. Razka aimed his rifle at Sombra’s head. The dark tyrant simply laughed. “Go ahead, use your device. It won’t do anything. I’m merely a shadow projection.” Razka lowered his gun and set it down. “So we finally meet.” “When I heard about an alien in Equestria I had to see it myself. Tell me, what are you doing here?” “Short version, I was forced into the portal I created to get Luna home. The sisters have agreed to help me home once we’ve dealt with you. Then I get back to managing a real war.” “I wouldn’t be so sure. I won’t be stopped so easily this time. I’m much stronger now.” Razka closed the gap between them until they were just an inch away from each others face, the chairman with a deep scowl. “You have no idea how truly insignificant you are to me. You are not a threat, you’re a nuisance.” “Oh really. I may not know who you are stranger. But I can tell in those eyes of yours that you like seeing blood spilled.” “Pardon?” “Oh there is no bother denying it. Like all leaders of conflict you try and hide your love for the smell of your enemies’ blood as their bodies litter the battlefield.” Sombra said as he began circling Razka. “We both share some similarities. After all, we are like many others before us….masters of war. So why hide our monsters, why hide what lurks in our souls as it tries to claws its way out and rip whoever’s head is near….Don't you agree?” Razka’s scowl changed into a wicked smirk. “A shame isn’t it that we are pitted against each other?” “You call it a shame, I call it a cruel play from fate herself. Even now Celestia and Luna think that YOU are their hope and savior. How ironic that the two most peaceful beings who despise war and everything it stands for would side with a master of war itself.” “Our interests align for the time being. They don’t care who I am, all they care about is that I can provide a solution. And once I do, I’ll be gone and we’ll never see each other again.” “Oh is it ever that easy.” Sombra said sarcastically which made Razka raise an eyebrow. “What's that supposed to mean?” “Do you honestly think that they will just...Let you go. Do you think for a moment that after learning everything about you and what your purposes are, do you honestly think that they will let you walk away... free? That's adorable.” “If they don’t hold up their end of the bargain, I will slit their fucking throats. But so far, I have no reason to doubt them.” “Heheheh...Not yet. But it will happen sooner or later. And when it does, instead of letting you go back to your war, they will stab you in the back when your job is done. They will then throw you in the darkest cell in Tartarus where you can't do ANY harm to anypony and you will sit there...For all eternity, if you last that long of course.” “Luna has seen exactly what I’m capable of to those who oppose me. I assure you, she wouldn’t dare deceive me. They will watch as I slowly kill you. I will make you beg for death.” “Ah….There’s the fire in those eyes of yours. It saddens me that I will have to kill such an interesting piece of work such as yourself, but like I said it’s a cruel play by Fate. And we all have to play by her rules. But the only question is, who will break the rules first.” “You’ll see once the fighting starts that I have no rules. I’m not bound by ideals or morals.” “We shall see soon enough...Razka.” With that, Sombra faded into the shadows from which he emerged from. “Such a waste of talent and power,” Razka said to himself. “Oh well, his head will make an excellent trophy.”