Golden Dawn: Dusk of an Empire

"So tell me," Twilight raised her hoof again. "Why did the humans target ponies in your war first?"

Rael'ia sighed. "It's only one of many theories, but I believe the humans were finally convinced to begin their war with the destruction of the Pony-kin capital, Ponyopolis. They had always wished for magical abilities of their own, yet were always suspicious and fearful of our own uses of magic."

"There was a whole country of ponies in your land?" Applejack gasped as everyone's eyes widened at the revelation. "And it got destroyed?"

"Yes. The pony-kin civilization was just as advanced as our own, perhaps even more so. They effortlessly wove their magic and their sciences together, working tirelessly to improve the lives of all races - humans included. In fact, humans even favored the pony-kin, finding them 'cute and cuddly'."

"Well, to be fair, we are," Pinkie Pie grinned as she bear-hugged Fluttershy, who made a squeaky noise in response.

"However, five hundred years ago, there was one pony-kin who wished to achieve even greater things than all the other mages and scientists ever had. He was known as Starswirl-" Her magic swirled to form a gray stallion in a dark blue wizard hat and a short cape, with a modest, white beard covering his chin.

"Hold on, you mean Starswirl the Bearded?!" Twilight shouted in shock. "The most celebrated wizard in history? He was there, too?! Here, look!" Pink magic erupted from her horn and swirled around the stallion, modifying it so he now had a longer cape and wizard hat emblazoned with stars and moons and decorated with bells on the edges, and his beard now dragged along the floor.

"Perhaps so, the two look very similar. Back then, he was called Starswirl the Bright, though others called him Starswirl the Dreamer, or even Starswirl the Blasphemous." She waited for Twilight to incredulously voice her confusion before continuing. "He theorized that the three pony-kin races could be combined into one, making the race as a whole even stronger and more magical than before. However, most pony-kin enjoyed their differences, and believed the combination of all three races was taking science and magic too far. But the desire to test his theory gnawed ceaselessly inside his heart, so he performed his experiments in secret. Using a spell of his own invention - The Amniomorphic Spell - he combined the DNA of Pegasus, Unicorn and Earth Pony-kin within the fetuses created from misleadingly-donated eggs and sperm. Again and again, he failed to create a being that survived longer than mere seconds. After years of experimenting and extensive research, he determined that he needed a source of powerful magic to make the Alicorn a reality."

"But... but Starswirl... he would never do such a thing! ...Would he?" Twilight turned her shocked gaze to Celestia. "You knew him! Right, Celestia?" The Sun Princess put a hoof to her chin in thought. After many moments, a sad realization glazed over her eyes and she turned to her former student.

"It was a very long time ago, my dear. But I seem to recall him talking about something related to this topic many hundreds of years ago." Twilight gasped, then wordlessly turned back to Rael'ia.

"I... but... that's so... wrong! Our physical and magical differences are just as important as... anything! And the moral implications of it all! You can't just do that! Alicorns are chosen!"

"I dunno... I mean, we'd all be Princesses, in that case," Rainbow shrugged. "Doesn't sound too bad to me."

"That's not what I meant! I... ugh, that's just not good science!" Twilight sputtered.

"You see how the other pony-kin would've reacted, then," Rael'ia interjected. "So imagine their disbelief and disgust when Starswirl traveled to the Crystal Mountain and took the holiest of all pony-kind's relics from its summit: The Elements of Harmony."

"Wait... what?!" The others all practically shouted their confusion. Pinkie Pie choked on a huge mouthful of popcorn and promptly spat it into the back of Rarity's head, who turned to glare at her coldly.

"The Elements of Harmony: six magical crystals with the very virtues of happiness, friendship and goodness enshrined within. Together, the Elements were an almost infinite source of magical energy, capable of dissolving all negative emotions for hundreds, if not thousands of miles around. Starswirl took these Elements and embedded them within his two latest test subjects. Naturally, the pony-kin were enraged by this action, and soon Ponyopolis was filled to near-bursting with angry mobs calling for Starswirl to be brought out of hiding and punished. He wasn't found, however, not until it was too late."

"What happened next?" Twilight shivered as she and her other five friends leaned in closer.

"Nobody knows, exactly. But most accounts tell that time and space itself were torn asunder. There was a great blast of white light that enveloped nearly the entire Pony-kin kingdom and reached far beyond sight into the sky. When the light faded... nobody was left. All of the buildings were in ruins, the trees, the grass, the wildlife and all other vegetation was killed and shocked white from the sheer magical power. The land is known as the White Wastes now. Only the pony-kin that hadn't been in the area were spared, and their numbers were few."

The other ponies were silent, amongst gasps of shock and disbelief. Rael'ia paused for a moment to think, blinking suddenly.

"However... now that I'm here, I think I understand what happened. It would seem the ponies caught in the blast were transported to this dimension. And it would seem that Starswirl finally succeeded, for Celestia, Luna and you, Twilight, are all Alicorns. But, the cost..." she trailed off, lost in thought.

"But, but this land... all pony-kind in general, we've been here much longer than just 500 years!" Twilight protested.

"I believe I can answer that," Celestia interrupted. "Hearing this tale has brought back many old memories... if I remember correctly, this all happened roughly fifteen-hundred years ago. I vaguely remember waking up in a dark room alongside my sister, and Starswirl was there. He was... celebrating that we were alive. It was only later that he realized we were all someplace he didn't recognize. We left soon afterwards, I assume to avoid the angry mobs. They were most likely even more angry about being teleported to a new land without their consent."

"But, the Elements of Harmony! We've always had them! You always had them!"

"Wait, you have the Elements of Harmony?" It was Rael'ia's turn to be shocked.

"It would make sense that Luna and I did, if they were responsible for bringing us to life. Until your niece Flurry Heart, there hasn't been a natural birth of an Alicorn in all of our history, after all."

"You mean there are more Alicorns, too?"

"Yes, Flurry Heart and her mother, Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire," Celestia answered. "And as for the Elements of Harmony, they lie within the Tree of Harmony beneath sister and I's old castle, on the border of the Everfree Forest. Without them, the wild growth of the forest would render Ponyville uninhabitable."

"Gods..." Rael'ia breathed, barely able to contain her bewilderment. "The legends are true! The legends are all true! The Elements still exist!"

"Well, yea, of course they do," said Rainbow, raising an eyebrow. "Why's that so exciting?"

"The pony-kin revered the Elements of Harmony for the great peace we all once enjoyed. They were said to negate all negative emotions. When they and the pony-kin vanished, the humans took it as a great betrayal of their trust. Shortly afterwards they discovered Nullifite, and two hundred years later, when their negative emotions had grown unchecked over the years and they had amassed enough weaponry and armor, they declared war on all the magical races, wanting magic for their own... or for no one. And because of their perceived "betrayal", of course the pony-kin were targeted first... But the Elements still exist! They can stop the war!"

"Um..." Applejack interrupted. "We kinda need the Elements, though. Without 'em, the Everfree Forest will destroy Ponyville! And what kind'a Bearers of Harmony would we be if we let that happen?"

"Oh," Rael'ia frowned. "...Wait, Bearers of Harmony?"

"A few years ago, Celestia had lost her connection with the Elements of Harmony, which unfortunately coincided with a terrible threat to Equestria," explained Twilight, draping her forelegs around the shoulders of her friends. "As a result, the six of us became friends, and we became the Bearers of Harmony. Each of us personify one of the Elements, and together we spread the magic of Friendship and fight against those who would seek to destroy Equestria."

Rael'ia paused to think for a moment. "So... you are saying that the Elements of Harmony reside within the six of you..."

"Well... yes, I guess so," the purple Alicorn replied with a shrug. Rael'ia was silent for many moments as her eyes darted back and forth in thought, soon widening with realization.

"Maybe... just maybe... the six of you could help me."

"Oh?" Rarity questioned.

"It would take proper preparation first, but... I believe there may be a way to restore the Elements of Harmony in my land. Yes, craft the appropriate receptacles, take a graft from the Tree of Harmony..." Rael'ia's eyes flashed with hasty inspiration. "...And a ritual to restore the mountain summit... yes. Yes, this could work!"

All of a sudden, the cutie marks on the flanks of the smaller ponies began to glow and buzz, sending apprehensive glances their way. "Are you... thinking what I think you're thinking?" Rainbow Dash cocked her head to one side and shrank backwards slightly.

"Twilight, and my other new friends... I beseech of you," Rael'ia sank to her knees in a reverent bow. "Come to my world and help me restore the Elements of Harmony! I can end the war peacefully, without having to destroy the humans and without further unnecessary bloodshed! Our lands can finally heal!"

"You want to spare the humans? After all they've done all those years?" asked Spike, who quickly shrugged. "I mean, it's your war, I won't tell you how to fight it."

"There is still good inside them," Rael'ia smiled softly. "They only need to be reminded of it. We had peace for centuries beforehand, after all. And I have seen so much suffering fighting this war... I do not wish to prolong it if I can help it."

"I dunno... just seems like a naive plan to me," the dragon sighed, though quickly hushed by Twilight.

"The legends... they were all true. It all makes sense. The Elements are the answer."

"I... don't know," Twilight hesitated. "It is our job to spread friendship and harmony where it is needed, but an entirely different world altogether... not to mention in the middle of a dangerous war. And we are needed here in Equestria to prevent anything bad from happening." She looked to her former mentor, wishing silently for advice. Celestia paused to think, the silence deafening as the others awaited an answer.

"... A heavy decision, indeed. But Luna and I should be able to handle the matters of national security," Celestia finally spoke. "I believe you should absolutely do your best to help our new friend here."

"...Really?" Twilight seemed surprised at her decision.

"Yes. After all, it is your duty as Bearers of Harmony to bring harmony back to lands that need it."

"True," Twilight sighed, then smiled at the peach pony. "Alright, we will do our best to help you."

"You'll end that war in no time with us around!" Rainbow declared, puffing out her chest.

"Oh boy! We're going on an adventure!" Pinkie bounced gleefully. Meanwhile, Fluttershy gulped and nervously nodded in agreement, whereas Rarity and Applejack grinned bravely.

"Then it's settled," Rael'ia smiled confidently. "I would advise you to prepare the best you can. You will find that the land of Fae is full of danger, only the strong will survive."

"We should return to Ponyville then, Miss Rael'ia," Twilight suggested as her horn glowed brightly, preparing another teleportation spell. The elf-turned-Alicorn gently chuckled as she held up a hoof.

"Oh, no need for formalities, Twilight. Call me Rael'ia, or... in fact, that name seems to stick out here. How about just Golden Dawn?" Twilight nodded as the others gathered around her, ready to return home. The peach pony turned to Celestia once more before joining them. "Again, thank you for your hospitality, Celestia. If I may, I would love to return sometime and ask you about your history. Surely you have much to tell if you were there for the very birth of Equestria."

"I'd be delighted," Celestia laughed. "Farewell, my little ponies, though I should hope you'll visit again soon!" One flash of bright pink light later, and the seven ponies and dragon were gone.