Outside the Crystal Empire, there now exists a shadowy realm which has now been tainted by the Corruption. Lakes filled with blood, grass covered by corpses and body parts of every deceased pony, corroding tar covering the banks of every small oasis, and trees dying everywhere due to being burnt by the dragons and griffins that now roam Equestria. Patrolling for any ponies that now remain within their grasp as various battles were being held. Up in Canterlot, it is now covered in black clouds of Corruption. The wall, guarded by a giant armor-clad minotaur and dragons with automatic crossbows, griffons and hippogriffs patrolling the skies and the sea, manticores and timberwolves guarding the gates, buffalo and yaks keeping an eye out for any threats, and changelings keeping an eye out for spies and intruders. In the castle sits a terrifying force that rules over all of Equestria with an iron fist, carrying no regard for pony life as its king.

“My liege! We have found another battalion of ponies in Shadow Equestria! Do you want them captured dead or alive?” Gilda asked as she kneeled.

On that throne made of flesh and bones cut from the bodies of dead ponies, guarded by dragons in the hallway, sits an ominous dragon that has now taken Equestria for himself. The creature had eyes with color of blood circulating with the feelings of hatred, anger, and malice. He was very tall and shadowed almost every creature inhabiting Canterlot. His body covered in black clouds and dark scales that were so dim, yet vibrant anypony would think they were mirrors when in the sun. He wore an outfit that consisted of gold adorned by the most rarest jewels ever found in Equestria with golden gauntlets dawning his arms and golden shin guards surrounding his legs. His fingers were riddled with rings fit with all sorts of jewels that were found all over Equestria. And for the final show of his everlasting royalty, his crown was purely made of platinum and it was decorated with the most beautiful rarest jewels found deep within the mines of Equestria. The griffon in front of him waited for his command as the king pondered. He said in one of the most calmest tones,

“Dispose of them.”

Gilda looked up and nodded towards the dark entity before she left. She saw Garble come inside the throne room. Garble kneeled down towards It upon coming near It’s throne.

“Report.” It commanded.

“So far, the dragons have decimated the entire forces up in Cloudsdale, Los Pegasus is now ours thanks to the griffons, and Ponyville is all but destroyed, my king. It was reported that the Changelings have managed to find more sources of food for us in the Everfree Forest. The Hippogriffs have scouted out some more spies coming from the Crystal Empire and we have captured them. We are currently holding them for interrogation. But have no fear. Our guards are currently watching them as we speak. Anyway, do you have the object?”

“Hmm?”

The dragon started to shake as soon as it asked.

“T-The object, sire. Do you have her head?” Garble asked, albeit nervously.

“Oh. You were referring to this?” the creature said, going behind his throne.

The dragon raised his head a little to see what was behind the throne. He had no idea what the creature was hiding, nor does he know what the object is. He could only hope that the creature has no intention of punishing him. He went back into his kneeling position when the king turned turned around. Just then, the king came back from behind the throne and showed him a decapitated head.

“Huh?!” Garble said, startled.

Garble fell back a little before going back to kneeling. Upon a closer look, he started to notice the head. He started to feel more flabbergasted when he finally recognized the head.

“I-Is that… Princess… Celestia?” Garble asked, awestruck at the head.

“Yes. I found her tending to her garden and I killed her before she had a chance to fight back. I intend to show her head as my gift to the people.” it explained.

Garble was completely stunned upon hearing his intentions to display her head to the masses.

“Would it be a good idea, my liege? You could start riots if you did so.” Garble warned.

“Why not? It is our time of celebration for the death of the Sun Princess.”

Garble was entire speechless at that point. But then he gave a toothy grin and said,

“...good. I want to see her head look like a trophy.”

The creature chuckled and said,

“You will. But for now, return to your duties.”

“Yes, my liege.”

Before Garble could leave, he said,

“One more thing.”

“Be quick.” the creature demanded.

“Queen Novo wants an audience with you.”

“Tell her to meet me in my room when my duties are finished. Now out of my sight.”

Garble nodded and left the throne room upon the creature’s orders. The creature rose from his throne and proceeded to walk around the castle. As it toured the palace, it took a look at the stained glass windows displayed in the hallway close to the entrance. The ooze went away and Spike revealed himself as he took a look at the glass with his own two eyes. His eyes were dark-green and his once purple scales were now blackened from the influence of the Corruption. He looked upwards at the stained glass window showing Twilight Sparkle and her friends, including himself.

“Does it bring back memories?” the creature asked.

“None that I can ever think of.” Spike replied in a somber tone.

“Ah. But what about the times when you were still a poor, defenseless baby dragon?”

“That was all in the past. I’m moving on to bigger better things.”

Spike moved a little further and stopped to look at the window displaying Spike saving the Crystal Empire from King Sombra. He moved towards the window and pressed his body onto it, remembering what he did back at the Empire.

“Being loved and remembered was more than anything I could ever ask for. Everypony that knew me, worshipped me, and revered me. They treated me like I meant Equestria to them. I was treated like a king when they surrounded me after I arrived at the Crystal Empire for the Friendship Games. But it just wasn’t enough for them…”

“You are right. Despite you being the one that saved your beloved friends and always doing the right thing, you were always second best when it came to working hard. They never invited you, they never helped you, and they never treated you as their equal. To them, you were their goat. Just an animal ready to haul in his next load at hand. Whether it be big or small.”

Tears started to pour out of Spike as he remembered the times that he used to be with the Mane Six. He remembered the time when he and Twilight spent their time working and studying on new spells, the times when he used to help Rarity with her dresses, and when he used to help Starlight with her friendship problems. The memories that flowed into Spike became too much for him to bear.

“Don’t be sad. Don’t be confused. All the times that they spent with you were illusions to the real truth that had been displayed before you. Everything that they did for you was all just a facade to what you truly meant to them. But now… vengeance will belong to you. You have already broken the pony’s spirits by killing their princess, you have wrought destruction everywhere in Equestria, and all you have left is to destroy the Empire. A task that King Sombra failed to do.”

Anger began to swell as Spike clearly remembered the times that he spent with the Mane Six. He remembered when he was viciously pranked by Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash so many times, he remembered the time when Twilight introduced him to Owlicious, the times when Rarity would display her new crush to everypony, and when Applejack would yell at him. The hatred that coursed through him, coupled with all the bad memories that came back to him, lead to him destroying the stained-glass windows in a fit of rage as he screamed. After destroying the entire menagerie, he fell to his knees, crying from the times that he experienced with the Mane Six.

“I know it was hard for you living in their shadows, but now you have a kingdom where every creature worships you. To them, you are their god. No matter who will come to oppose you, I will always be the one to shield you from death. You are their idol of worship now.”

The creature grabbed Spike’s chin and shifted it towards the throne room where Celestia’s head is being kept. Spike look at the creature with a feeling of being lost. Then the creature said,

“Now show them that they mean everything to you.”

Spike looked towards the throne room and went inside to grab the head.

. . .

Three hours later, every creature was gathered outside the castle for a special event with the captains and the corrupted monarchs on the top. They were all murmuring among themselves, wondering what their king has gathered them for. Would it be for an execution, or would it be for a banquet? They were all craving for some to be given out. The creatures were all hungry from the pony holocaust. They were more than ready to be fed. Just then, the king showed himself and they all bowed. It chuckled and said,

“Rise.”

They did as it commanded and rose up from the ground.

“My fellow subjects, we have all gathered here to celebrate the birth of our new kingdom.”

Every creature that heard this was confused and bewildered upon hearing the king’s gratitude.

“For the past year and a half, we have driven out every pony that took our homes from us, shunned our cries for help, and swept away whatever comfort we felt with our lives! But now… their only sanctuary left is the Crystal Empire, a mere kingdom that now holds the cowards who held us back! Whatever sense of pride that was diminished has been rebuilt, our food supply has been rebuilt, and I have rebuilt our place at the top of the food chain!”

Everybody was awestruck at his words.

“We have invaded every city that has been known to us and we have crippled them! Their princesses have decided to hide themselves away in cowardice while I stood in the front, fighting for what we wanted! And now we have it… we have built our own cities, we have built our own religion, and we have built our own dynasty! The princesses have all but wasted theirs throwing parties, but we have fought for the very lands that we owned with our power! And now, I have a gift for all of you!”

Everybody looked at the gate as it started to open. After finally opening, a wagon was rolled out by two yaks. It was carrying five ponies on there with burlap sacks on them. It stopped in the middle where every creature could see.

“Garble, if you would, please…?”

Garble got on top of the wagons and removed the burlap sacks, revealing the pony spies. Upon showing their faces, the creatures started cursing at them and roared for their deaths. Knowing that they wanted them to die, the creature asked,

“Who would you like to start with first, lyncher?”

A huge, muscle-bound dragon started to come out of the entrance, carrying this large axe with a hammer attached to the opposite side on his shoulder. He wore a bloodied apron with knives around the waist, a pair of tattered pants, and an iron mask on his face. He also had no wings on his back which made him all the more frightening.

“Her.” the lyncher said with a low growl, pointing at the female pony.

The king chuckled and said,

“Go ahead.”

The lyncher grabbed the pony and started torturing her in front of everybody as they cheered for her demise. After that, he went for the other ponies and they were all but dead. They all cheered away at the sight of them being executed. Even the corrupted monarchs clapped at the mere sight of their deaths. It was like discovering a horde of diamonds for the first time. It was so rewarding that they could barely think straight. The creature shouted,

“Silence!”

They all stopped cheering and paid attention.

“I have one final present for all of you tonight.” the creature said.

Everybody leaned themselves forward to see what it was. Then, the creature brought out the head of somepony they never would have imagined dying.

“I present to you all… the head of your most hated enemy… Princess Celestia!!!” the creature roared as it held her by the mane.

Everybody raved around and cheered like rabid dogs upon seeing her head. They could never have been more pleased to see her head shown to them by their own beloved king. Then it said,

“This is but a preview of what is next to come. When the time comes, the remaining princesses will share this creature’s fate, just like all the other ponies who will join them when we have snuffed out their shining beacon of hope! But soon, when we are finished with them, there will be nopony to tell the tale of their fate, no creature to preserve the last of their kind, and nopony to ever know or see the light of day again!!!! Because I, your beloved King Bahamut, will blot out their existence! And when it is all said and done, Equestria will be ours FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!”

They all yelled and cheered in ecstasy upon hearing the king’s declaration. Never before have they felt such excitement when they saw the head of the princess they despise so much. Bahamut gave them the okay to eat the corpses before returning to the inside of his palace, grinning over the fact that he is coming around to accomplishing his goals.

Author's Notes:

Hello everybody. It's been quite awhile and I am back with this brand new chapter for the 3rd arc. I have been postponing it because I wanted to write more of it along with the other stories, but I just couldn't hold back any longer. I am going to write more of it and this time, it will be far more terrifying than you can ever imagine. Tell me your thoughts in the comment section down below and I'll see you on the other side.