The doors to the Crystal Castle's throne room opened almost silently as the crystal pony servant pushed it open.

Once opened fully, the servant stepped aside and bowed the 'Queen of the Night' in. 'Queen Luna' dismissed the servant as well as the rest of the Crystal Guard that were currently in the room. She stepped inside, looking for all the world as if this was the last place she wanted to be.

And indeed it was.

The throne room itself looked strikingly similar to the one that had been in Canterlot Castle, the only real obvious differences being that most everything was coated in crystal -- the walls, the pillars, and the back drop of the throne itself.

The lengthy carpet leading from the entrance to the throne, while a different color, was more or less the same if a paler looking red. The placement of the windows, while not filled with the same stained glass of Canterlot's, were of similar make and structure.

One could argue that there were several key differences, but the overall feel of the room was the same for anypony who had been to the throne room of Canterlot's Castle.

Not that anypony could visit Canterlot Castle anymore, Queen Luna's warships had made that an impossibility.

Queen Luna however, had long since grown accustomed to the odd similarities and currently only had disdainful eyes for the shadowy stallion standing on the far end of the throne room.

He sat not on the throne itself, but rather stood in front of one of the windows on the far wall, staring out at his moonlit empire below with a pensive expression.

The bright, multifaceted light coming from the crystals around him threw his dark features and grim countenance into sharp relief. His jet black mane and tail billowed in an unseen wind, much like Celestia's or Luna's had.

The only indication Sombra gave that he had heard Luna's approach was the slight flick of an ear and nothing more. His eyes were trained on the scenery outside, his eyes slightly narrowed and his mouth set in a thin line.

King Sombra was not a happy stallion at the moment.

He had wealth, slaves, an empire and a kingdom under his hoof, the support of the most advanced race when it came to military might, a massive army at his command, and the 'aid' of a certain bug queen and her subjects to seek out any dissenters among his own subjects.

The thought made the corners of the stallion's mouth lift briefly before it quickly settled back into a flat line. He may have had all these things and then some, but Sombra was nevertheless upset.

Something hadn't gone to plan... something vital.

"What is it this time, Sombra?" Luna said, her voice weary with just a hint of annoyance, "I've already had my chil... my subjects, working around the clock, running themselves ragged I might add, trying to root out those--"

"That's not why I called you here, Luna."

Luna frowned and narrowed her eyes slightly as Sombra continued to speak, his eyes never leaving the window.

"I received a... visitor from one of the neighboring countries earlier today," he continued, "a country I haven't thought about in ages," he finally turned to Luna with a scowl, "the visitor was a pony, a rather strikingly tall unicorn mare with a scar and a broken horn."

"A pony from another country?" Luna replied with a raised eyebrow, "that's not so odd, there are other pony ruled nations outside of Equestria, though they're small in number and tend to keep to themselves, have I not already told you of this?"

"You have," Sombra replied before shaking his head, "but that's not what I'm talking about, Luna, this mare wasn't from any pony nation. From what she told me, she was originally from Equestria."

"Oh?" Luna answered, her face lighting up with intrigue, "and where exactly was I when this mare arrived?"

"You were seeing to the interrogation of our special prisoner," Sombra responded, "I decided the visit didn't warrant your attention," before Luna could protest, Sombra returned his gaze to the window and spoke again, "in any case, that's not what's important."

His horn suddenly sparked and bubbled with a violet and black aura, and a scroll appeared before Luna's eyes. Unfazed by now, she simply yanked it out of Sombra's magical grip with her own green aura, shuddering in disgust slightly as her magic briefly intertwined with his.

"That is the real issue at hoof," Sombra continued as Luna read over the scroll, "this new development, as well as another, demand our immediate and urgent attention."

Luna's eyebrows furrowed as she finished reading the scroll. A small, conspicuous smile spread across her muzzle very briefly before she schooled her features once more.

Without a word, she rolled the scroll back up, but before she had a chance to do anything else, the scroll suddenly and violently erupted in a black flame and within mere seconds was reduced to ash.

"Much has changed since I've returned, False Queen," Sombra said as he moved away from the window and trotted back to his throne, "I knew of this country from long ago, but I don't remember it being quite so... militant."

Luna grimaced and one of her eyebrows gave an involuntary twitch at the dark king's insult. He knew how much she despised the title, as well as how technically inaccurate it was.

She was very much a real queen, just not the one she currently portrayed herself to be. She was a queen to be sure, but she was also a mother. Of course, in her blind arrogance and overall foolishness, she had once thought herself a queen first and a mother second.

It wasn't until she had witness her 'subjects' die a slow agonizing death after she and the rest of them had quite literally been launched from Canterlot after her utter defeat at the hooves of that mare and her mate, that she realized her folly.

But all of that was neither here nor there at the moment. Right now, an opportunity had presented itself, and Luna would be damned to Tartarus if she missed it now.

"Nevertheless, this poses a problem," Sombra said, oblivious to Luna's thoughts, "a problem compounded by the latest news I've received from one of the scientists you sent to Sky Talon Labs in Griffonia."

Luna fought hard to suppress the smirk making its way across her muzzle as she replied.

"Really, now? And what sort of news did he bring?" Luna asked before giving a small frown of annoyance, "and why wasn't I informed first?"

"Because, like you, they are mine first and foremost," Sombra replied in a bored tone that spoke of having repeated this conversation countless times in the past, "they answer to me before anyone else, and you know that already, Luna."

Luna just snorted in irritation. Sombra ignore this and continued to speak.

"From what I've heard, there was an... incident at the labs earlier this morning," Sombra idly tapped a hoof on the arm of the throne, a thoughtful frown on his face, "it seems the former Elements of Harmony have finally awakened."

That meant it was time for 'Luna' to put her original plan into action.

"How fortunate," Luna replied with a smirk, "once we get them back here and run a few more tests, you'll have that--"

"No, it's not fortunate," Sombra interjected as he rose from his throne, "it is a disaster waiting to happen, and it needs to be dealt with swiftly."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked innocently, before eyes widened, "surely you're not saying they've..."

"They've gone rogue, False Queen," Sombra finished, casting a suspicious glance Luna's way, "the virus was born of my race's blood and magic, Chrysalis," Sombra hissed, dropping any pretenses in his growing anger, "it was supposed to enforce absolute loyalty to me and nopony else."

"And apparently that's not what happened," Chrysalis responded, dropping her disguise and revealing her weak and withered frame. She raised her head and tapped a hoof to her chin, "I did send a warship, mercenaries, and a golem to detain them in case of such an event."

"And it seems every single one of those measures failed," Sombra replied with an angry snort, "we shouldn't have needed them at all, but..." he trailed off and turned to stare off at something Chrysalis couldn't see, his eyes distant, "maybe they need to be in my presence for the virus to take it's proper effect."

"But then they wouldn't be very effective as bioweapons if that were the case," Chrysalis pointed out, "on top of that, if they really have gone rogue and escaped, there's no telling what kind of damage they may cause."

Sombra was silent as he returned to his throne. He frowned in thought and Chrysalis could practically hear the gears turning in his head. The emaciated queen inwardly grinned at the thought of her plan going without a hitch so far.

Though Sombra had been somewhat of a passenger in Chrysalis' mind for the first few months they had known each other, that's all he was -- a passenger. He couldn't read her mind during that time, and for that she was grateful. It was one of the major reasons she had agreed to aid the stallion in his return.

Unlike Sombra, Chrysalis had known a bit about the Elements of Harmony before, and what she didn't know, she had manged to find out on her own once her mind had been free of Sombra's consciousness.

She had a fairly good idea of what they'd try to do if they'd escaped the facility.

With a simple thought and a small grimace, she reached into the hivemind and contacted the remnants of her hive. She didn't like to reach this far into the hivemind normally, as it was a constant reminder of how much she had lost... and how little she had truly gained.

Everything is almost in place, my children. Be prepared to move her from our current location and back to Equestria within the next week or so, we may not have much time.

She felt a ping of affirmation in response and with that, she quickly retreated out of the hivemind, and refocused her attention on Sombra. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized Sombra had been staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"I-Is something wrong?" Chrysalis asked, trying not to sound as worried as she suddenly felt, "why the look?"

Sombra eyed her for a few more moments before a cruel smile crossed his face. The smile made Chrysalis shudder and avert her gaze. Sombra merely chuckled and when he next spoke, his voice was tinged with a hint of dark amusement.

"I think I may just have a solution to both the problems at hoof."

I'm aware that Sombra and Luna/Chrysalis are technically an Emperor and Empress, but I'm gonna leave it as it is anyway for now. I might go back and change it later but... meh.