Bleak

by Shortstop

Punishment or Reward?

"U-Um sir," Spike said, unable to keep the grimace off his face. "What... is a foreman?" Spike waited for the answer as Sombra continued to stare a hole through him. The little dragon was already on edge, and the oppressive look that he was getting from the king wasn't helping his nerves at all. That's when he heard a small chuckle from the king. The sheer demonic style of the laugh didn't give Spike any hope that he was in for anything good.

"A foreman, little lizard" Sombra began, "is someone who watches over the workers. And, if necessary, issues disciplinary action." At the mention of the word discipline, Spike became worried. The only other time he heard that word was when Twilight was talking about punishment.

"Before we can get that started," Sombra said, turning to face the throne. "I simply must set this place right again." After depositing the gem into his hoof, Sombra's horn lit up again. His eyes were aglow with a more vibrant green then they had ever been before. The floor began to tremble violently like before, and Spike was struggling to stay on his feet. The room began to grow darker in color, almost as if someone was simultaneously painting it black and turning the lights down.

The once vibrant and colorful crystals that decorated the throne room were fading to black, becoming jagged and sharp like all the others. The once sterling room was now taking on a very morbid vibe. The throne that Cadence once sat on was now becoming like the rest of the room. Once Sombra had finished casting his spell, he opened his eyes to behold his old throne room. Just as he remembered it from before.

"Much better." he said, looking over his newly refurbished throne. The only light left in all the room was the gentle flickering coming from the torches ominous blue flames. "Now for the matter of your attire." Sombra said, looking back down to Spike. "You'll be needing a few things for your new position. Hold still." The magic in Sombra's horn came back, this time enveloping Spike.

Although Spike knew the king wasn't going to hurt him, it wracked his nerves to think about what he might be doing. As the warm glow of the magic surrounded him, Spike felt his body becoming slightly heavier, almost as if the magic was adding more weight to him. There was a brief, but very bright flash of light, causing Spike to shut his eyes in reflex.When the light passed, Spike opened his eyes again, now feeling like he had a few extra things on his body.

Spike looked himself over, taking note of all the new articles he had on. The first that he felt was the vest he was now wearing. It was completely black, and had no pockets, buttons, or anything to secure it to himself. It was simply draped over his shoulders. The next thing he noticed was the belt that was secured around his waist. It was just a simple brown belt with a steel fastener. But what got his attention was what was on the belt. On his right hip was a sort of satchel. He knew there was something in it, but he was far to distract by what was on his left hip to check.

There, dangling on his left side... was a whip. It was coiled up to be compacted, a lighter shade of brown than his belt. Spike knew the implications of having such an item, and it turned his stomach to even think of a reason to need it.

"The satchel contains everything that you will need for your duties." Sombra told him, "Inside are shift papers, as well as plenty of ink and quills. When the work starts, everyone will line up and give their number. Once they state their number, you mark them off. If any are missing, you will inform the Watchers. If any accidents happen, or if someone is not performing their work right, you will write it down."

"W-Watchers?" Spike asked hesitantly.

"Oh yes, that reminds me." Sombra turned around to face one of the large black crystals that had formed in the room. "You'll find that these crystals are far more useful when they have been 'corrupted', as I'm sure you've heard them be called." For brief moment, Sombra's magic surrounded the crystal. For a few moments, nothing happened. Spike was about to question what the king just did, but then he saw the crystal shake slightly. Spike kept his eyes on the slowly vibrating gem. That's when it started to crack.

Slowly the cracks made their way down the crystal, almost like something was inside, trying to get out. Spike continued to watch as the jagged lines made their way down, finally reaching the base. Seemingly out of nowhere, the crystal then partially exploded sending bits of the gem everywhere. Spike shielded his eyes with his arm to protect himself from the shrapnel. After he felt no more of the debris flying past him, he dropped his arm. And the sight he was met with was beyond peculiar.

Where the crystal once was, now stood what looked like a statue made of the same black mineral. It had the basic form of a pony, but lacked any kind of defining features. It was just a very tall, very well built body. It lacked a mane, tail, or any facial features for that matter.

At first, Spike didn't understand why King Sombra had done this. Until he saw the crimson spheres appear on the crystal pony's face. They were right about where the eyes were supposed to be, just slightly smaller. As quickly as the orbs appeared on it's face, they contorted into a sort of furrowed angry glare. The statue then slowly started to move it's head, a soft but distinct grinding could be heard as it did so. It looked to Spike and the king, still holding that angered glare.

Spike noticed the thing try to move it's front leg, but it was stuck to the floor. It moved a few more times, before a loud crack was heard as it forcibly pried it's leg off the floor. It quickly followed suit with the others, each of it's hooves making a loud thud as they hit the ground.

Keeping it's eyes on the two of them, the possessed crystal slowly stomped it's way over to Spike and Sombra. Becoming nervous from the creatures approach, Spike took a step back. This didn't go unnoticed from Sombra, who simply gave a small throaty chuckle.

"W-Wha... Sir, w-what is that thing?" Spike said in a somewhat hushed tone, his voice partially catching in his throat.

"Don't worry yourself." Sombra told him in a slightly amused tone. "This is one of the Watchers I was speaking of before. They act as my workers, overseers if you will. They ensure that the slaves do their respective duties, unbiased by the emotions that normal ponies have. They do their duties without sleep, they don't require nourishment, and they never speak."

"B-But sir," Spike began, "If you have these things, why do you need me?"

Sombra took a moment to look down at Spike, glance him over with a look of minor irritation. It gave Spike a sudden jolt of fear, thinking he had just incurred the king's wrath. But rather than punishment, as Spike expected, Sombra simply sighed in annoyance.

"Where as these golems have their usefulness," Sombra told him, "They lack in a few areas. One of them is mental capacity. They follow orders without question and understand basic instructions, but they can not make their own decisions. That's why I need you, little one. I was complacent before my imprisonment, and it cost me dearly. I'm going to ensure that it doesn't happen again."

Spike looked back to the black crystal pony statue. It hadn't moved an inch since it stopped right in front of the two of them. It's crystal body smooth and sleek, save for a few jagged points that came from the corners of it's makeshift body. It just stood there unwavering, looking at the two of them with those unchanged, angry, glowing eyes. It made the nervous feeling in Spike's chest burning hotter.

"Oh, and when I said they keep the slaves in line, that doesn't go for you." Sombra told him. Spike cast his eyes to the king, a questioning look in his eyes. "They obey me, and do not bother anyone I deem worthy of none manual labor. You have been marked in this case."

That sounded off to Spike. What did he mean that he'd mean marked? He thought for a moment, then began to look over his body, searching for the mark in question. He didn't have to look very long, noticing that his left hand was bearing it. Or, more specifically, his claw. Rather than the usual shade of purple like all of the other ones were, this one was now a deep shade of red. Almost as if it was coated with blood.

"That mark keeps you safe." Sombra told him, "The overseers will not bother you, and in turn will take basic orders from you. And when I say basic, I simply mean telling them of situations that need to be taken care of. This is an incredibility important task... Spike. If I find out that you are not doing your duties correctly, there will be grim consequences." Sombra leaned in close to Spikes face, making eye contact with the young dragon. "Do you understand me?"

Spike shook uncontrollably from looking into his eyes, but managed to give a weak nod.

"Good." Sombra said, giving a slight smirk. He picked the heart up in his magic, freeing the hoof he was using to hold it. "Come, we still have a few things to take care of before the day ends." Sombra started making his way back to the hall that they had walked down earlier. Not wanting to giving the king any further reason to be annoyed, Spike quickly followed suit, his newest items swaying from side to side as he made it over to the king's side.

When Spike managed to catch up to Sombra, he heard several loud thuds come from behind them. He glanced over his shoulder, noticing that the crystal golem was directly behind them, keeping a fair distance from the two of them. It's head swiveled slightly, casting it's eyes on Spike for a brief moment. Just as it's eyes set on the young dragon, Spike quickly turned his head back to facing forward.

As they made their way down the hall, they passed the large dungeon door that they had been to not but a few minutes ago. For the briefest of moments, Spike couldn't help but think of his friends. Think about what he had gotten them into. However, his train of thought was interrupted when he heard another loud bang from behind him, spurring him to keep going with the king.

Finally, they made it back out to the balcony. When they looked over the edge, they saw that the city was still in complete disarray. As they watched for a few seconds, Spike could have swore that he heard an angry growl escape from Sombra's mouth.

"This has gone on for long enough. The anarchy stops here." Sombra thought out loud. He looked around a few seconds more, looking over the many features dotting the land. More specifically, the number of black crystals that were below. After counting out enough, Sombra brought the heart to his hoof once more, the magic of his horn not fading when he released the heart.

The aura of his horn began to grow brighter, focusing hard on the spell he was casting. He narrowed his eyes, as if looking at something in the far off distance.This didn't go unnoticed by Spike, who simply stared as the king kept casting the unseen spell.

For a very brief second, Spike saw a few flashes of light in the distance. He tore his eyes was from Sombra, looking off to the scene of the city below. That's when he noticed where the flashes were coming from. Many the blackened crystals that littered the city were lighting up for a brief moment, much like the way Sombra had done so before.

While many of the crystal ponies were still mindlessly running around, some remained completely still. One such mare remained frozen, blankly staring up at the shadow dome above them. Had she been aware of her surroundings, she would have noticed the faint flash of magical aura that came over the crystal that she was sitting directly next to.

It was only when she started to hear the cracking that she was finally broken from her trance. She looked to her left, finally taking notice of the almost completely cracked gem. She let a short gasp, her eyes staying wide in horror. She had seen this several times before, and knew what was coming.

"No." She muttered to herself, slowly backing away from the now still crystal. With one large eruption, the crystal exploded, leaving only the crystal golem in it's place. All across the city, the loud shattering of crystal could be heard. Each one bringing with it something new to fear.

The lone mare continued to slowly move away from the statue, wishing to be as far away from it as possible. The crimson spheres came to it's face, shaping themselves into the telltale angry glare. She heard the slow grinding as the entity swiveled it's head slightly, casting its soulless gaze on her.

She turned sharply, letting out a loud scream as she ran away from the demonic being. She looked behind herself for a moment, just to make sure the thing wasn't following her. So fixed on what she feared might be after her, she neglected to look ahead, crashing into another solid object.

She looked up, only to now be facing yet another of the cold statues that she was trying to get away from. The possessed crystal simple looked down on her with it's cold, emotionless eyes. Not taking her eyes off the new threat in front of her, she backed away from it, knowing that these things had no mind for anythings well being.

Turning her head slightly, she noticed many of the other citizens, doing much the same as her. They were all either being slowly lead toward the center of the city, or backing away from the golems. When they were all rounded up, she finally noticed just how many of the black crystal statues there were. They must have numbered in the dozens.

"Citizens of the Crystal Empire!" All the ponies heard the loud shout from above, looking up at the noise. Where as this time there were no frightened gasps, many of them simply widened their eyes and let their mouths hang open. Sombra had another announcement to make, and the Overseers were back... there was no way anything good was about to happen.

"There will be order in this kingdom my slaves!" Sombra went on when he was sure he had all of their attention. "I realize that I have been away for some time, but don't think this means things have changed. Things will pick up where they left off, and everything will be as it was. Well not everything."

Spike felt an all too familiar feeling go through his body. He looked himself over once, and noticed that Sombra's aura surrounded him again. The next thing he knew, he was being lifted into the air. After being in the air for a brief moment, he found himself on the railing of the balcony, looking down on all of the rounded up citizens. As if they were cattle.

"Say hello to your new foreman." Sombra introduced him to the crowd, "His name is... Spike. But, you will call him sir, just as you do with me. He'll be the one watching over you from now on, along side the Overseers. I know you remember all the rules, so I won't reiterate them. And also trust you will give the same treatment to your new manager as you would me."

Spike looked down on the crowd below him. He wasn't surprised by the fact that they all looked worried and completely forlorn, but he was rather shocked to see where it was all directed. Every single one of the feared gazes... were being cast on him.

All of these ponies were now afraid of him. All because Sombra had put him in charge of them.

The gears in Spike's mind turned, finally arriving at a horrible conclusion. He now knew why Sombra had given him special treatment. This was as much a reward as his friends received, and most likely worse than theirs. Not only would he have to be right there to watch all of these ponies work themselves to near death, but now he was a part of it.

Author's Note:

Sorry about the big delay. I've had to deal with something recently. Hopefully this will keep your appetites sated for now. More to come, and once again, sorry for the delay.

Comments

[SlipperPutty]

Hey, glad to see you're still working on this.

I really think that this chapter is better than your previous two chapters. Also a very interesting "twist of events" with Sombra and Spike. Nice work!