Fall of the Crystal Empire

by Blaster Master

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The force the Princesses had mustered in such a short time was impressive, over two thousand in only a few hours. Pegasi Guards pulled chariots containing Unicorn and Earth Pony Guards across the sky, their golden armor and spears glinting in the sunlight. It was a testament to the Royal Guard’s training and devotion. But ten thousand of them weren’t worth as much as one Alicorn. And they had two.

“What if this is all a misunderstanding, sister?” Luna asked as she flew alongside Celestia, “What if we have assembled our forces and marched upon the Crystal Empire for nothing?”

“Then we shall smile, apologize, and go home” Celestia answered simply, “Thou simply does not wish to believe thy friend could be a usurper.”

“We have only the testimony of a delirious girl!” Luna objected, “Yet thou have brought not only an army, but these as well!”
Luna pointed down to her necklace, which had 3 jewels on it: one magenta, one orange, and one red. Celestia also had a special necklace of a similar design, but the jewels were pink, blue, and purple.

“The Elements of Harmony are nothing to wield lightly, sister…” Luna warned.

“I know, Luna,” Celestia said, her tone softening, “But if Cadance is right, we may need to use them against Sombra. Somepony who was strong enough to kill Luzra and smart enough to keep hidden this long might be too dangerous to leave anything to chance.”

As the Princesses crested the horizon and saw the Crystal Empire, they realized that Cadance must have been telling the truth. The energy familiar pink and blue energy that kept the Empire safe from the frozen north was long gone. In its place was a dome, a dome of dark energy, emitting from crystals around the city that were as black as obsidian. The Alicorn sisters were so in tune with magic that even from this distance, they could feel the darkness emitting from the crystals, and it appalled them.

“How can this be?” Luna whispered.

“Sombra…” Celestia muttered, “What has thee done?”

As the approached, unsure what to expect, Celestia noticed walls around the perimeter of the shield. And atop the walls were Crystal Guards, manning what appeared to be…

Suddenly, the Crystal Guard fired their new weapons at Luna and Celestia’s airborne army, sending projectiles flying towards the two Alicorn’s forces. But even worse, the projectiles exploded in mid-air, splintering from dozens of arrows into hundreds.

Designed by their king, Sombra had called these weapons ‘ballistae’. They were large projectile weapons that used tensed, coiled ropes to hurl arrow-like bolts at enemies. And the walls of the Crystal Empire were lined with these weapons, in preparation for this very attack.

“INCOMING!” One of the Royal Guard called.

Celestia and Luna raised force field around themselves for protection, and several of the Unicorn Guards did the same, but the Equestrians were taken by surprise and many of the bolts found their marks, taking down scores of ponies, and causing chariots to plummet to the icy ground as Pegasi Guards were hit in the wings and torso.

Celestia, Luna, and several Unicorns fired magical blasts, but their magic bounced off the force field.

“We must get inside the force field!” Celestia cried, “CHARGE!”

The sisters and their forces charged the shield, more bolts flying at them. They took fewer casualties from the second wave since they were prepared, with Unicorns and Alicorns alike casting shields to deflect the deadly arrows. Passing through the dome barrier, the magic users of Celestia’s army were finally able to fire back at their attackers. Ballistae emplacements exploded spectacularly as Unicorn energy blasts slammed into them and sent Crystal Guards scattering. Within minutes the wall was breached, and the Royal Army was inside the Empire.

“FORWARD!” One of the commanders shouted, “FOR THE PRINCESSES!”

“No…” Celestia said to herself darkly, “For Luzra…”

***

Sombra could see the smoke from his balcony on the Crystal Palace, and didn’t need a messenger pony to tell him what had happened. The sisters were here, and his army had already engaged them.

I had planned for this little arrangement to happen in another year or so Sombra thought to himself, But I suppose there’s no time like the present. Besides, they have no idea they’ve already walked into one of my traps. But Celestia will know soon enough.

As he thought over his plan, he began to chuckle darkly to himself.

***

Inside the empire was a truly wretched sight; as the sisters and their army flew above the city, they looked down upon a city shrouded by darkness. Crystal Ponies in chains or wandering the streets, the dead vegetation, and the sheer sense of misery that was emanating from the city like a rancid odor. And those damn dark crystals everywhere, they seemed to be growing out of the ground like weeds.

The Crystal Ponies looked up at the twin Alicorns, not with happiness or relief, but with hopelessness. There was no cheering as they flew overhead, no waving or cries of freedom. Only blank stares, as if the invading army was a passing wisp of cloud.

“Does thou see what has happened here?” Celestia asked Luna, “Between the attack against us and all of this, there is no doubt of Sombra’s guilt!”

Luna had no response to this, she only gazed at the scene below with horror and shook her head slowly.
As they drew closer, they saw that what must have been the entirety of the Crystal Guard was amassed around the Crystal Palace, and the palace itself was bristling with more of Sombra’s new artillery weapons, which opened fire upon the Equestrians as soon as they came into range.

“Land and engage the Crystal Guard!” Luna ordered, “Take them from below! Mine sister and I shall attack from above! Pegasi! To me!”

And so, the Equestrian chariots landed and the battle was joined as the Crystal and Royal Guards clashed, spilling Unicorn, Crystal Pony, and Earth Pony blood alike. The Crystal Guard were armed with the advanced weapons are armor designed by Sombra himself, and they fought with the fervor and frenzy of fanatical fighters thanks to Sombra’s meddling with their minds. But they were outnumbered nearly three to one, and the Royal Guard were a more highly trained fighting force.
Celestia and Luna lead the Pegasi Guards on their aerial assault of the palace, destroying ballistae emplacements and Crystal Guards on balconies. After clearing a space, the two sisters dove forward and fired their horns at the same time at the same place. They blasted a considerable hole in the side of the palace and flew in.

“There!” Luna cried as she pointed down a hallway, “That way leads to the throne room. I am certain of it!”

“Then lead the way, sister,” Celestia said, as she flared her wings and landed, “But I believe we will have some opposition on the way.”

The sun goddess was referring to the dozens of Crystal Guards who began pouring from every direction, their lances sharp and their voices howling for blood.

“Then we shall have to deal with them,” Luna concluded as she also landed and took a battle stance.

Sombra’s warriors were fearless and zealous in combat, but the power of the Sun and Moon would not be undone. Celestia burned Sombra’s soldiers with the heat of the sun and Luna blinded them with the dark of the night. Their hooves hit hard enough to shatter armor, and their wings made them too nimble to hit. They moved in perfect harmony, fighting not as two ponies, but like one whirling storm of destruction. The two were nigh unstoppable, and they were heading for the King’s throne room.

***

From his throne room, King Sombra used his magic to hold aloft a dark crystal mirror which allowed him to see though the various dark crystals in the palace as if through a window.

“General Citrine…” Sombra called, sounding almost bored.

The general stepped from his place by the throne’s steps, decked from head to toe in his finest armor and with his dark crystal lance already secured to his saddle.

“Yes, my king?”

“It appears the Alicorn sisters are approaching my throne room,” Sombra informed the general, “Would you be so kind as to inform them that I won’t be accepting any visitors at this hour?”

The general nodded seriously and trotted towards the door, along with ten members of his honor guard, all as heavily armored as he was. Citrine nodded and the visor for his helmet snapped into place, the Crystal Empire’s symbolic snowflake emblazoned on his helmet in gold.

Sombra didn’t think for a second that Citrine and his guards had a chance. But at best they’d hurt them and at worst they’d slow them down a little, buying Sombra some time.

***

As Celestia and Luna rounded the corner that lead to the doors to the throne room, they saw their last obstacle between them and the evil king they sought: Citrine and his elite honor guard.

“Commander Citrine!” Luna called, “Stand aside!”

“I am a general now, Princess Luna,” Citrine corrected her, “And I will not yield.”

“Thou art a brave and noble knight!” Celestia pleaded, “Thou served Luzra for many years, and this cannot be what thou truly want!”

“I want for you southern ponies to acknowledge the strength of the North,” Citrine replied coldly, “I want you to know that we are the true power on this planet. Because even without the sun or the moon, the northern cold endures and we thrive in it!”
Citrine pawed at the ground and set himself into a charging stance. His loyal guards followed suit.
“For the king!” Citrine bellowed, “FOR THE EMPIRE!!”

Citrine charged.

***

The doors leading into the throne room exploded open, hurling the doors off their hinges. Smoke poured from the doorway and was thick and hazy. A helmet rolled out of the smoke and all the way to the foot of the throne. The helmet was blackened, stained with a little blood, and bore a badly burnt legible snowflake design on it. The helmet was lifted by Sombra’s magic and brought to his eye level just as the rulers of Equestria also emerged from the smoke.

“Tsk, tsk” Sombra said, looking at the helmet of his former general, “Such a waste of a good soldier.”

With a shrug of his shoulders, Sombra flicked his horn and casually tossed the helmet aside like a disposable cup.

“Oh, well,” Sombra said dismissively as he turned his attention to the Alicorns, “Now then, tell me: what can the King of the Crystal Empire do for you lovely mares this afternoon?”

Comments

[Ese Wey]

FIRST VIEW/POST!!

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