//------------------------------// // To Dethrone A King // Story: Into the Darkness // by Subject 19 //------------------------------// Princess Celestia and Luna were having breakfast with Chairman Razka when a royal guard burst into the dining hall. The corporal went straight to Christopher and whispered in his ear. “What do you mean they’re missing?” Razka quietly demanded, making sure the princesses couldn’t hear him. “They’re gone, sir,” Corporal Orion said. “We don’t know what happened.” “Well this changes everything now. You’re dismissed corporal,” Razka said with a wave of his hand. The corporal nodded and swiftly left the dining room. Christopher turned his attention to Celestia. “Twilight and the others have been captured by Sombra.” “WHAT!?” Celestia roared. She stood up from her seat and began marching out of the room. “We’re leaving right now!” Luna and Razka got up and followed the enraged princess. “Christopher, get what you need and meet us in the courtyard,” Celestia coldly ordered. “Understood.” Giving Celestia and Luna a quick nod he went straight to his room. Razka grabbed something he had been working on for the past week. He had been modifying his CHK 51’s ammo. Using materials he gathered from a scientist in Ponyville, Dr. Hooves, he was able to make his rounds explode on impact. The results were devastating to say the least. The explosion was powerful enough to tear limbs off. He also grabbed a black trench coat one of the designers had made for him. The design featured CHECKMATE’s logo on both of the arms. Having everything he needed, Razka made his way to courtyard to prepare for their flight to the Crystal Empire. Razka, Luna and Celestia landed on the roof of the Crystal Palace. The flight to the empire had been a quiet one. None of them uttered a word, the three leaders knowing what had to be done. As anticipated, the HALO drop allowed them to avoid any detection from Sombra's forces. The chairman noticed that Celestia looked livid. “If he so much as touches a hair on Twilight, I will end him,” the solar princess vowed. “Just follow my plan and we shouldn’t have any problems,” Razka reminded her. “We go in through the roof of the throne room. You two will deal with any guards in the room. Sombra’s mine.” Celestia gave him a questioning look, but eventually nodded in agreement to the plan. The three of them observed the throne room from the glass skyline above. Minus King Sombra, there was no other pony in the room. "He may be cocky, but he’s not stupid," Grimm warned. Motioning to the princesses, they broke through the skyline. Razka dropped in directly over Sombra and pressed his gun against king’s head. “You move you die.” The dark king chuckled. “I’m impressed.” "His horn is back," Grimm observed. "How the fuck did he pull that off?" Christopher wondered. "It doesn't matter. We have the advantage on him. Even if he's back at full strength, the three of you should be able to handle him without a problem." Grimm said. “This is where it ends, Sombra,” Razka stated. “Not for me it doesn’t. And besides, without me Twilight and all her friends will die.” Celestia charged the dark unicorn and pinned him against the wall. “Where is she!?” the princess demanded. When Sombra refused to answer, Razka slammed the stock of his rifle against the back of the king's head. Sombra crumbled to the floor in agony. “They’re being held by my best soldiers in the dungeons. Be careful though. If they see anypony that isn’t me, they’ll kill all six of them without a moment's hesitation.” “How many?” Razka calmly asked. “Six,” Sombra answered. Razka looked over to Celestia. “I’ll take care of it.” With a nod of approval from the princess Razka left the throne room and headed for the dungeons. Princess Celestia and Luna were having breakfast with Chairman Razka when a royal guard burst into the dining hall. The corporal went straight to Christopher and whispered in his ear. “What do you mean they’re missing?” Razka quietly demanded, making sure the princesses couldn’t hear him. “They’re gone, sir,” Corporal Orion said. “We don’t know what happened.” “Well this changes everything now. You’re dismissed corporal,” Razka said with a wave of his hand. The corporal nodded and swiftly left the dining room. Christopher turned his attention to Celestia. “Twilight and the others have been captured by Sombra.” “WHAT!?” Celestia roared. She stood up from her seat and began marching out of the room. “We’re leaving right now!” Razka peeked his head around a corner of the dungeon’s long corridors and saw what he was looking for. The mane six with six soldiers guarding each of them. Pulling the pin on a flashbang grenade, Razka launched it at the twelve unsuspecting ponies. The moment he heard the bang, Christopher whipped around the corner wielding his personal rifle and opened fire on the hostile ponies. The first five shots hit their marks with lethal accuracy, the explosive rounds sending chunks of flesh and blood flying, but the guard protecting Twilight recovered before he could kill him. The black and gray unicorn used Twilight as a shield, his horn glowing a dangerous blue. “One wrong move and I’ll kill her,” the soldier warned. “Do that and it will the last mistake you ever make.” “Drop your weapon!” Razka hesitantly lowered his rifle and placed it on the ground. He kept his hands at his sides, making sure his suit jacket hid the pistol on his hip. “Looks like it’s over for you, alien,” the unicorn soldier said as he aimed his horn at the chairman. Christopher took this moment to grab his pistol and fire a single shot at the enemy. The bullet hit the soldier in the neck, causing his head to jerk towards Twilight. The defenseless lavender pony was hit by the blast meant for Razka, causing her to drop to the ground with the dead pony next to her. “Twilight!” the other five ponies shouted in fear, rushing to their fallen friend. Razka rushed over Twilight and placed his fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse. It was weak, but she was still alive. “Go up to the throne room, I’ll take Sparkle,” he ordered them. The chairman carried the unconscious unicorn up to throne room where all the other ponies were waiting for him. The moment Celestia saw Twilight her heart sank and her eyes went wide. “No,” she whispered. Setting Twilight down, Razka stepped back as Celestia rushed to her student’s side. “What happened?” she demanded. “She hit by one of the soldiers. She’s alive but in serious condition. I don’t know if she’ll make it,” he regretfully informed. That’s when the chairman started to notice celestia’s mane and tail color start to change. It began to change into a blazing fire. “Celestia?” In a flash Celestia charged Sombra and beat him to ground. The king tried to get up but the princess continued to pummel him with her hooves. "You thought you would get away with this!?" Celestia roared, consumed by her rage, still beating the defenseless unicorn. Her assault continued for another minute until she ran out of steam. Luna and Twilight’s friends stood in shock, the jaws open in disbelief to what they had just witnessed. Razka simply stood with a neutral expression. The enraged princess refused to stop beating the defenseless unicorn, hooves breaking bone after bone from their powerful force. The chairman walked over to Celestia, his pistol held firmly in his grip. He looked at the princess and motioned towards the bloody, beaten Sombra, seeking permission to end him. Celestia gave a nod through her heavy panting, her mane and tail returning to their normal colors. Christopher stood over Sombra and aimed his pistol at the fallen king’s head. The two made eye contact, and that was when Razka saw a flash in Sombra's eyes. He knew that look. It was defiance. A black sphere shot out from Sombra's horn and hit the chairman in the chest. Razka squeezed off a shot but missed his target completely. Another shot of magic tore his pistol out his hand. Sombra was quick to get on his hooves. Razka and Sombra charged each other, hoof and fist colliding. Razka's momentum and strength trumped Sombra's, which the chairman used to his advantage. Christopher clenched his hands around the king's throat and squeezed as hard as he could. He then bashed Sombra's head into the marble floor. Razka continued choking Sombra until he was just on the brink of death, and then released his grip. "I don't submit to terror," Razka said as he stood over Sombra, who was panting heavily. He pulled out a knife, knelt down and pressed the tip against the stallion's throat. "I make the terror." Razka shoved then knife into Sombra's throat and left it there, leaving the poor king to choke on his own blood. Standing up once again, he walked over to the princesses and the mane six. All of them were in shock of the sheer brutality of what he had just done. “We’re done here,” Razka said, snapping them out of their daze. His part of the agreement was finally done. Now it was time for Christopher Razka to finally return home.