Golden Dawn: Dusk of an Empire

The peach pony had learned much as she walked alongside her six new friends. Twilight had been more than happy to tell her all about Ponyville and its history, the nearby capital of Canterlot and the Princess Sisters who controlled the sun and moon, the distant Crystal Empire, the lofty Cloudsdale and many other cities in this land called Equestria. There were talks of magic and flight, and promises of lessons in both. She learned the differences between Unicorn, Pegasus and Earth Ponies, and the rarity and importance of her own equine form. She also learned that Spike was a creature called a dragon, and all about his life from hatching to the present day. After what seemed like hours of pleasant talk, the group finally arrived at Twilight's castle. It resembled a castle treehouse, all forged out of sparkling gold and lavender and cyan crystals.

"You live here? My goodness, it's beautiful!" her jaw dropped.

"Thanks! It's not quite the library I lived in when I first came to Ponyville, but it's home," Twilight smiled. Her horn glowed with a pink light, and the double front doors glowed the same color as they opened. The interior of the castle was crafted out of more crystal, with winding, mirror-polished hallways lined with many doors. They walked seemingly in circles until Twilight's horn and a door to their left glowed pink again, and walked inside to a room lined with countless books. The center of the room had only a rug, where they all stood as Twilight and Spike began selecting a few of the tomes.

"Let's see, memory spells," Spike mumbled to himself. He picked out three books and walked back to the group while Twilight decided on four. After pausing to consider which book to read for a moment, Twilight decided on a dusty green tome and began flipping through its pages with her magic.

"Alright, memory spells... dealing with... amnesia. This ought to do it. Now hold still, this won't hurt at all." She levitated the book to the ground and took a casting stance. Her horn glowed with intense, pink light as she closed her eyes, and suddenly it shot out at the peach pony at once. She closed her eyes instinctively, opening them again when she felt nothing but a cooling, misty sensation. Wisps of thin, pink mist gently encircled her, slowly glowing brighter and brighter. But then the mist turned a foreboding, dark red. All of a sudden, the energy erupted violently back at Twilight, who scarcely had time to scream as the force blasted her backwards into a wall of crystal, leaving a perfectly Twilight-shaped hole. The others present gasped and yelled in response to the blast; Fluttershy outright screaming and hiding behind Pinkie Pie.

"Oh! Oh no, Twilight! Are you okay?!" the peach pony shrieked. The others also shouted their concern, stopping when Twilight's hoof poked out of the hole she just made.

"I'm alright," she groaned, plopping back to the floor somewhat gracelessly.

"I'm so sorry! Did I do that? Oh, I don't even know how I did that!"

"No, no..." she shook her head. "That was just one of the most powerful Spell-Lock barriers I've ever seen!"

"Spell-Lock?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"They're cast on ponies when the caster does not want the magical effect to wear off. One that strong, however... whoever cast this was incredibly powerful! This Anti-Amnesia spell isn't gonna cut it." Twilight hummed as she glanced over the chosen books, finally deciding on a dusty, dark gray tome that looked as if it would fall apart any second. She magically flipped through its pages, stopping near the end and reading carefully. "...Yes, Memento Mori's Ultimate Spell of Remembrance. Allows the target to remember absolutely everything about themselves, all the way back until the day they were born. If this doesn't break it, I don't know what will."

After gently setting the book down, Twilight once again assumed a casting stance. Her horn glowed brilliantly and flashed as the magic enveloped the peach pony. This time the cooling sensation was more pronounced, and the veil of magic formed into thousands of rapidly spinning gears all around her. The veil softly glowed white as the gears started to slow, but they sped back up as the magic quickly began changing back into that awful, dark red.

"Uh oh," Twilight opened an eye to check the spell's progress. "Rarity, think you could give me a hoof, here?"

"Of course, darling." Rarity quickly trotted over to glance at the book, then took a stance next to Twilight. Her horn glowed with sky-blue light, which wavered slightly as it joined Twilight's. The rapidly reddening magic quickly changed back to white, and the gears began to slow again. For a few seconds, it seemed as if the gears would fully stop and release the barrier... but just as quickly as it had the last time, the magic shifted back to dark red and exploded back into the two unicorns. Twilight formed another self-shaped hole in the wall while Rarity had a bit softer landing, being forcefully thrown into Spike and sending the two of them skidding along the floor. The peach pony gasped, but could only look on in horror.

"So," Rainbow Dash spoke after many moments of silence. "Looks like nothing will break that Spell-Lock, then."

"Wait," Twilight interjected, sticking a hoof out of her hole again. "It was working that time. We just need more power. About... one or two more Alicorns worth of power."

"Two more Alicorns? The Princesses?" asked Applejack. Twilight dropped even less gracefully to the floor and quickly shook her head before confirming.

"Uh, will they help me? I mean, they're princesses, they probably have more important things to do," the peach pony began.

"Oh yes, they will," Twilight nodded. "Princess Celestia and I are super close, after all. And if I remember her schedule right, she's about to take a break from her duties for afternoon tea in about four minutes."

"Ah... four minutes? But didn't you say Canterlot was a day's train-"

Before the peach pony could finish her sentence, Twilight's horn flashed pink again, enveloping everyone present in a blinding white light that faded away as quickly as it came.

"-ride away? ...Wait, what?" Her mouth hung open as she realized they were all now standing in the middle of a palatial room of white marble and gold accents. Banners depicting the sun and the moon hung from the rafters, and plush, red furniture lined the distant walls. Directly in front of her was an ornate table covered in silver plates full of fruits, flowers, cucumber sandwiches and a slice of pink and yellow cake. And behind that table sat a magnificent mare, coat white as snow and her mane and tail a long, flowing aurora of pastels. Her long, elegant horn held a golden crown with a single amethyst, and her wings were neatly folded behind a collar of thick gold with another lone amethyst. A sun was displayed on her flanks, and the peach pony realized she was in the presence of royalty.

"Oh!" Princess Celestia spoke daintily, her soft, purple eyes commanding the attention of a nearby guard; a gray stallion in golden armor and a blue plume of mane atop his head. "Looks like I will be needing a few more cups and a bigger teapot." As the guard nodded and walked away, the princess smiled warmly at her sudden company. "Twilight! What a pleasant surprise! And you brought your friends with you! As well as someone new," she spoke as she eyed the mysterious alicorn. "What is your name?"

"Princess," the peach pony stammered as she hastily bowed. Before she could answer, though, Pinkie Pie bounced right over and in front of her.

"She doesn't know!" she blurted. Celestia made an intrigued noise.

"She has no memory of who she is," Twilight explained. "And she has a very powerful Spell-Lock on her. We were hoping, if you had the time, that you could help her?"

"Oh, of course!" Celestia smiled as she rose from her seat. She approached the peach pony and circled her, studying her. "What memory spells have you tried?"

"Well, I started with Anti-Amnesia, then I went straight to Memento Mori's Ultimate Spell of Remembrance."

"Both ended in explosions," Rainbow Dash briskly added.

"Hm, and that's the strongest memory spell there is," Celestia mused.

"But it was working! I just need more power, I'm sure it'll break if we both try!"

"Well, how about we try it, then? But if you say the other tries resulted in backfire, the rest of you better stand behind me," Celestia motioned. The other ponies and Spike quickly ran behind the royal mare as she assumed a casting stance alongside Twilight. Her magic glowed with a golden intensity and felt warm as it shot towards the peach pony, joining Twilight's. The spinning gears formed again from the mists, and it shimmered even brighter than before as the gears nearly stopped turning. To everyone's surprise, however, the gears rapidly sped up and glowed a more violent red than earlier attempts. Twilight winced in anticipation, but Celestia saw the explosion coming and quickly recast her magic, forming a massive, golden arc of shielding around herself and the others just before it struck. The force of the eruption blew harmlessly against her shield, but annihilated the table, chair and refreshments behind them, leaving only splatters and splinters behind.

"Oh, I don't know how many more explosions my heart can take today," Fluttershy whimpered, still clinging to Rainbow Dash.

"Almost had it that time," Twilight groaned in frustration.

"Indeed," Celestia blinked as her magic faded. "Let me go rouse my sister." She quickly trotted past the ruined afternoon tea and out a door-turned-porcupine with so many wooden splinters now embedded in it. A few ponies in cleaning outfits arrived to begin removing the mess, only to be shooed away when Celestia returned with her sister. This Alicorn was as dark blue as the night sky, with an azure mane and tail glittering with stars. Her crown and collar were ebony black, with a crescent-shaped moonstone on the collar. A crescent moon in blackness decorated her flanks. Also, she appeared very tired.

"Alright, what is the problem here," Princess Luna yawned. "If it requires waking me from my slumber early, it better be good."

"We simply need your assistance in breaking a Spell-Lock, sister," said Celestia.

"It should definitely work this time," Twilight reassured. "Afterwards, you can go right back to sleep!" Luna mumbled in response, and the three alicorns took their places. Pink, gold and now azure magic shone from their horns, and the beams braided together as they once again enveloped the peach pony. The magics glowed an almost blindingly white light, and the veil of gears slowed more and more, eventually coming to a mere crawl, and finally ceasing to move with a final, loud click. All of a sudden the blinding light expanded upwards, billowing over itself and shrouding the room in white mists. For a moment, the peach pony's mind was completely blank.

Then it filled with images. Words. Sounds. Thoughts.

Thoughts of her past, her family, her home.

Her people, her homeland, other races.

History. Peace. Prosperity.

Jealousy. Mistrust. War.

Sorrow. Blood. Corpses. Death.

So much blood.

So much death.

Screaming.

So much screaming.

She only stopped screaming when she finally noticed all the others present staring at her fearfully. Even Celestia and Luna looked very concerned.

"Are you... alright?" Fluttershy took a step forward.

"Do you remember anything?" Pinkie Pie asked, drawing a glare from Applejack. Before she could say anything, however, the peach pony's shoulders heaved.

"Y-yes," she gasped, trying her hardest not to cry. "...I remember. I remember... everything."

The others stared uncomfortably as she sobbed. Tears welled up in her eyes, which were wide as plates and full of pain.

"Uh... do you need a moment?" asked Spike, to no reply.

"If you wish, my guards will escort you to the Royal Wailing Room. Stay there as long as you need to," Celestia spoke gently. The peach pony only nodded in reply. Celestia nodded towards a pair of guards, and they led the grief-stricken pony out of the room. The silence that followed was deafening, until the Sun Princess sighed.

"So... cake, anyone?"