Golden Dawn: Dusk of an Empire

Rael'ia, Aternus, Twilight and the other ponies couldn't help but stare in amazement. Not only were Pony-kin just now confirmed to still exist in Fae, but the leaders, the Ruling Triumvirate themselves, had forced their way into the Elven Princess' own stronghold. And they looked quite angry.

"Yes, idiot, we're still around," one of the six guardsponies, a grass-green mare spat at Rainbow Dash. Lady Silverwing shot a look at the indignant guard, silencing any further insults.

"Well, certainly you could've entered with more grace and less violence," Rarity remarked, a hoof raised from unnerved caution.

"Indeed, whatever happened to knocking first?" added Aternus. "We would've been more than happy to accept an audience from the Pony-kin Ruling Triumvirate."

"We had to move quickly," Lady Midnight Sun spoke softly, her half-lidded eyes denoting an arrogant smugness. "We had to know if the rumors were true."

"And true they were," Lord Autumn Jasper walked forward a few paces, his glowering eyes fixed directly on Twilight, whose wings extended behind her as she recoiled in confusion.

"That Starswirl actually did it!" Lady Silverwing gasped. Her voice betrayed the fact that she was actually quite young, perhaps even a little younger than Twilight and her fellow ponies. "A real, live Alicorn!"

"A real, live automaton of Unicorn, Pegasus and Earth pony," spoke Midnight Sun.

"A real, live abomination," Autumn Jasper growled. Twilight blinked.

"Now wait just a minute, there-" Applejack started to protest when Midnight Sun's horn suddenly flared with blinding magic. It made the orange Earth pony stagger backwards a step... except she found that her hoof stayed put. In fact, she quickly realized she couldn't move at all. "Wh... What did you do to me?!"

Her shouts of dismay caused Rael'ia, Aternus, Twilight and the others to flinch, only to find their bodies had been frozen in place as well. It was as if they had been locked inside a perfectly form-fitting prison of iron, only able to breathe, blink and speak. Rael'ia concentrated for a moment to try and summon any magic she could to escape, but found herself completely unable. Aternus, given the struggling evident on his face, was having the same trouble.

"Aww, you at least could've warned me so I could've picked a better pose!" Pinkie Pie whined.

"What is the meaning of this?! Guards... guards!" Rael'ia called out in a slight panic.

"Scream all you want. You'll find that no help will come," Midnight Sun replied coldly. Autumn Jasper broke formation and walked slowly around the paralyzed group, smirking sadistically.

"This went much better than I thought. Not only have we captured the abomination and her followers, but the addition of the Crown Princess of the Magikin and her Archmage... we'll have even more bargaining chips to play with," he spoke, a thin, sneering grin flashing from his muzzle.

"Wh... what are you going to do with us?" Rainbow Dash strained against her invisible prison. Autumn Jasper laughed.

"Bargaining chips, little filly, did you not hear me? The Humans have put handsome bounties on your heads, but bringing in the lot of you at once will definitely buy our fellow Pony-kin safety and freedom from The Factory."

"The Factory... it really exists?!" Aternus coughed in alarm.

"Oh, yes," Autumn Jasper replied. "King Bastillion's personal dungeon and thaumaturgical experimentation facility. No prisoner who enters the place ever leaves. Many of my remaining Pony-kin are being held as prisoners of war, and gods help me, I'll do whatever it takes to keep them from being condemned to that cursed place!"

"Do you know how many of my own people have been taken prisoner? The other Magikin races, too?!" Rael'ia shouted. "My friends and I here are working towards ending this horrible war, which absolutely includes freeing them all! Why do you betray your fellow Magikin like this?!"

"This... thing," Autumn Jasper pointed a hoof at Twilight, "...is not my fellow Magikin."

"I am just as much of a pony as the rest of my friends!" Twilight glared, becoming offended. "Just as much as you and yours."

"She even used to be just a Unicorn, she earned those wings!" added Pinkie Pie. This revelation made Autumn Jasper blink in surprise and step backwards towards his guards.

"You... you were made into this?!" He stammered before clearing his throat and regaining his composure. A wicked grin suddenly flashed across his face. "Well then, if you are not a true Alicorn... then I don't see you being all that useful to me when we meet with the King."

"He may have you killed on the spot and dissected rather than live experimentation," Midnight Sun added emotionlessly.

"In fact... why don't we spare him the effort?" Autumn Jasper turned towards Midnight Sun. Her horn began to glow with the brightest yellow Twilight had ever seen.

"Wait..." Silverwing spoke, her voice quivering. "You said we wouldn't kill them. Any of them. Not even her."

"Mind your tongue, Silverwing," Midnight Sun chided.

"Make yourself a useful member of the Triumvirate," Autumn Jasper motioned over towards their captives. "The bounty states that only the blue Pegasus, white Unicorn and orange Earth Pony-kin are required alive. The other three can, and should be delivered dead." Behind her, Twilight could hear Pinkie Pie audibly gulp and Fluttershy whimper. Silverwing remained still, staring with mild horror on her face at the stallion.

"You must not harm these ponies! They are the Bearers of Harmony!" Rael'ia wailed. "The Elements of Harmony live on within them!"

Autumn Jasper snorted. "The Elements of Harmony were destroyed long ago. Starswirl the Blasphemer saw to that. He destroyed Ponyopolis and our race in his mad experiments!"

"That's not true!" Twilight shouted, struggling harder against her paralysis. Her words had little effect.

"And now the abomination itself shows up in your company... how else are we supposed to react?!"

Fluttershy's soft crying was quickly turning into a panic attack, not helped at all by the paralysis. Her shaky voice grew louder and warbling, her breathing grew faster and faster. Tears streamed down her face in rivers. Autumn Jasper glanced in her direction and scrunched his face in displeasure.

"Ugh, Midnight Sun, I tire of this one's pathetic mewling. Kill her already." The Unicorn gave a slight nod and closed her eyes to focus. Her horn pulsed with magical energy, a thin beam of it shooting out and flying towards the yellow Pegasus' throat. Fluttershy's hyperventilating reached its climax.

"NO!" Twilight screamed, her eyes glowing a furious white. A sound of shattering glass reverberated throughout the room as her own pink magic surged from her horn and formed a shield around herself and her friends. The beam of energy deflected off the shield and into the great round table set aside, boring a perfect, smoking hole through one of its legs and through the tabletop at an angle. The Triumvirate and their guards flinched and gasped in surprise, though Midnight Sun's expression remained unchanged.

The danger to her friends averted for now, Twilight allowed her magic to dissipate. Her head and chest lowering after a sigh of relief gave her notice that whatever paralysis spell Midnight Sun had cast no longer affected her. She freely stepped forward, wings flared outwards, her eyes fixed upon these ponies, now proven enemies. This action made the others gasp again.

"Im-Impossible," Silverwing stuttered. "Midnight's magic is unbreakable!"

"Indeed," Midnight Sun blinked. "It would take quite a powerful mage to break my paralysis spell."

Behind her, Fluttershy's breathing crashed back down to normal as her face went blank. A quick burst of magic surrounding her own and the yellow Pegasus' head told Twilight that she had only fainted from fright. But even that was enough to enrage her.

"That's enough," Twilight growled. She adopted as tough and regal a stance as she could, channeling her thoughts of when Celestia had been angered and was ready to defend her ponies. "You will not hurt my friends, and we will not become your bargaining chips."

"Oh, how quaint," Autumn Jasper sneered. "It thinks itself as royalty."

"I am Twilight Sparkle, Equestrian Princess of Friendship," she declared in her best Royal Canterlot Voice, secretly pleased with herself as the stallion staggered back in alarm from the power. She then lowered her voice back to normal. "You will release my friends from your spell, and you will leave us in peace."

"I think not!" Autumn Jasper retorted. "We are not swayed by your delusions of royal title."

"Equestrian Princess?" Silverwing put a hoof to her chin, much to Autumn Jasper's annoyance that she was even entertaining this thought. "Never heard of such a place."

"Midnight! It appears this abomination will have to be subdued... with prejudice. Are you ready?"

"I haven't had a proper test of my abilities in some time," a slight smile broke out on the mare's face. "Silverwing?"

"I... um..." Silverwing shrank back. "Shouldn't we try diplomacy now? So far she seems just as strong as the rumors said..."

"Honestly, what did Lord Skyline see in you to hoof-pick you as his successor?" Autumn Jasper disdainfully shook his head while removing his shield from his back and pulling its straps taut against his front right leg. "Guards, see to it that nopony enters the area! Midnight and I have a false princess to depose."

"Uh... Lady Silverwing's right, we can still resolve this peacefully, can't we?" Twilight relaxed her pose nervously. "I'd much rather talk things through than fi-"

A blast of searing yellow interrupted her words, morphing into a yelp as Twilight leapt out of the way of the blast of magic. She was forced to leap again before focusing her magic into a shield around her, fearing it would pop and dissolve from the numerous concussive blasts Midnight Sun fired. From behind charged Autumn Jasper, throwing his body weight behind his shield in an attempt to break hers. Twilight saw this and teleported away, reappearing behind Midnight while Autumn readjusted his course. Seeing an opportunity to strike, Twilight readied a blast of her own magic and fired at Midnight.

"Too slow!" Midnight snarled as she whipped around, a tendril of yellow magic swatting the pink blast away and into the ceiling with thunderous effect. The tendril recoiled back and reached out towards Twilight, attaching itself to her shield bubble and sparking violently. Temporarily blinded, Twilight saw from the corner of her eye Autumn charging towards her. He hurled himself at her shield, shattering it with sheer force and sending the lavender Alicorn flying into a wall. She took a moment to shake clarity back into her head until Autumn slammed against her again, squishing her against his shield and the unyielding mountain at her back.

"Pathetic," he chuckled as he pushed harder. "I'm not sure what I expected from you, abomination, but it was definitely more than this." Twilight resisted, channeling as much magic as she could between herself and the shield, allowing it to fill what little space there was between them before focusing it into an explosion. Now Autumn was the one flying, but he landed easily on his hooves, spinning around and ready to strike again.

"You want to see an abomination?" Twilight uttered angrily as she picked herself out of her hole in the wall, shaking the dust off her body before charging her horn with magic. "Then let me send you to Tartarus so you can see what one really looks like." Before Autumn could respond she let loose a beam of pure energy, forcing him to raise his shield in defense but soon was sent tumbling across the floor from the power. Even Midnight, behind a shield of her own, strained against the magical blast. While Midnight's eyes closed in concentration, Twilight bent her legs and readied her wings, then rocketed forward with all her might towards the Unicorn, her outstretched hoof breaking her shield and connecting with her chest. She then quickly followed with a kick to her stomach with a hind leg. Midnight let out a wet cough as her body met the opposite wall, then fell to the floor wheezing for air. Twilight then turned her attention to Autumn Jasper, just having stood up, and dashed forward to attack. He quickly rose his shield to block her attack; Twilight's horn lit up with magic, which flowed around her head, down to her shoulder and enveloped her outstretched hoof. As it connected, the energy and vibrations from the force of the blow fractured the hardened metal. His eyes widened as his shield fell to the floor in useless pieces, revealing a glowing lavender hoof mere inches from his face. The stallion was juggled upon the floor, a small trail of smeared crimson in his wake, his armor clanging noisily and gouging holes in the ground until he came to an eventual halt. To Twilight's horror, he stood back up somewhat quickly, laughing.

"A powerful creature, indeed! Go ahead, kill me. Kill us all! Be seen by all as the abomination you claim not to be!" Twilight recoiled as Autumn's laughter transitioned into maniacal cackling. It suddenly became clear to her what this manic, raving and Alicorn-phobic pony was plotting.

He... he wants me to fight him. Me fighting him would only prove to the other Pony-kin that Starswirl created a monster.

Midnight Sun shakily rose to her hooves, the last remnants of coughing leaving her throat. Her eyes creased into a furious glare and her horn gleamed with a yellow that could rival the sun. Before she could cast, Autumn Jasper held out a hoof in her direction.

"Wait, Midnight... it seems to have lost the will to act," he grinned, pupils as tiny as ants from his hysteric hatred. He quickly spun around to face Silverwing, who still hadn't moved. "Then let's see if it can be prodded into action! Silverwing, make yourself useful, take that spear of yours and kill that yellow Pony-kin!" Twilight and her friends gasped in horror.

"What?! But... that's so... she looks dead already!" Silverwing stuttered.

"Oh, for the love of... just kill one of them so this abomination will want to fight again!"

"You act with great dishonor, Autumn Jasper," Rael'ia spoke in a low, angry voice. "You no longer know what it is to be a good leader, do you?"

A good leader... Twilight absentmindedly put a hoof to her Hearth Brooch. Feeling the faceted stones gave her an idea.

"It is you who has forgotten how to lead!" Autumn roared. "I do what I must to protect my people!"

Is it a good idea? Will it even work?

"Silverwing! Unless you want to be found guilty of high treason, you will kill one of these captives now!" Silverwing's legs wavered as she readied her spear, a thin stream of tears making her regret evident.

Can the spell take more than one pony with it?

"Please... forgive me!" Silverwing cried as she galloped, then rose into the air on her wings. Twilight knew if she was going to act, she'd better act now. Her horn charged with magic, she quickly extended three beams of it towards the Ruling Triumvirate. The beams morphed into claws, firmly grasping Autumn within them, who momentarily ceased his mad laughter. Midnight Sun quickly cast her magic into a barrier, but Twilight had anticipated this. She funneled as much magic as she could into her spell, breaking through and engulfing Midnight as well. Silverwing, being in the middle of flinging herself towards Pinkie Pie, would be more difficult to catch up to. However, the Pegasus seemed to slow just enough to be caught, very much like she didn't want to succeed in her attack anyway. Upon contact with their bodies, Twilight quickly studied their magical energies and the properties of the Hearth Brooch attached to herself.

...Oh, thank Celestia, it'll work!

"There's no place like home, I can no longer roam!" Touching the Brooch with her right hoof, Twilight shouted the spell quickly but clearly as she retracted her magic at full speed, sending the Triumvirate flying towards herself. Just before collision, their bodies swirled as if caught within a singularity and disintegrated into soft, golden sparkles before imploding into nothingness. In that moment, Midnight's spell was broken and released the others, who fell to the floor in relief.

"The Ruling Triumvirate! What did she do to them?!" one of the six guardsponies yelled as they raced towards Rael'ia and the others. Now freed from paralysis, Aternus was all too quick to cast a spell of his own. His open hand barely flickered with blue light as thick walls of ice materialized around the guardsponies in an instant, a fifth slab clapping down on top of the walls and forming a cube. His fist closed, bringing the walls and ceiling in close until the Pony-kin were almost crushed together.

"Your kind... has so much to answer for right now," he seethed. "Guards! Get in here!" Meanwhile, Rael'ia and the other ponies stood up and made their way to Fluttershy, still unconscious and glassy-eyed. Rael'ia knelt down over her as the others fretted about their friend's current health.

"Unconscious. Zina, can you hear me?" she spoke as her hands glowed purple, placing them gently on the yellow Pegasus. "Ensure this one is sent to the medics this second!" A few moments later, Zina materialized from thin air just above Fluttershy. She took one look at her, then enveloped her in her own field of magic.

"Right away, Your Highness!" was her only reply before she and Fluttershy dematerialized from the room. Members of the Royal Guard began streaming in from the doors and side passages a moment later, much to Rael'ia's relief. They surrounded the six Pony-kin in ice, who could only blink and nervously shift their eyes.

"We would've arrived sooner, Your Highness, but one of these Pony-kin was powerful enough to immobilize us all! Neither magic nor movement was possible!" one of the guards saluted, his head bowed.

"No, I see that now," Rael'ia held up a hand to calm the guard. "Princess Twilight has broken the spell that caused the paralysis. Now, where did she-" Her sentence was interrupted by a ripple in the space about ten feet in front of herself. Twilight suddenly walked through the ripple, followed by the Pony-kin Ruling Triumvirate. At first she was alarmed, but quickly noticed that the three Pony-kin were calm and somber in demeanor. This didn't stop half of the guards present from shifting their attention from the guardsponies and immediately pointing their various weaponry at the three.