Golden Dawn: Dusk of an Empire

Reappearing in a flash within the library of Twilight's castle, Rael'ia's mind was abuzz with plans. She quickly trotted over to a table with paper, inkwell and a quill readily available, grasping the quill with a thin sliver of purple magic from her horn.

"Alright, first I will need to see the Tree of Harmony and take a... seed or graft one of its branches... then care for it while Celestia and Luna prepare their portal... the receptacles... I'm sure the Fairies can handle those..."

"Is it even possible to graft a crystal tree branch? Heck, does it even produce seeds?" asked Applejack. "I mean, if it's anythin' like an apple tree, I could help with that."

"There must be a way, I'm sure. All trees grew from something, right?" Rael'ia replied without lifting her eyes from the table. "Don't worry, I plan on doing as much research as possible before we begin this monumental task. Twilight, surely you have a book about crystal trees in this library? It's quite impressive."

"Oh, thank you... I'm sure I have a book or five about the subject in here somewhere."

"Wonderful, could you please bring them to me? I'm afraid I wouldn't know where to start looking," she chuckled. Twilight gave a happy nod and was off in a flash to search for the books. "Let's see... after that, I'll need to retake the Crystal Mountain's summit from the humans... hm, I'll need to meet with the other warleaders to figure that out. Oh, right... how are you all with combat?" she turned her gaze at the five remaining ponies.

"Awesome, as always," Rainbow Dash closed her eyes in confidence, flexing the muscles in her forelegs.

"Hm, I've taken a few self-defense classes in the past... and while my magic's not on par with, say, Twilight's, I'd say I'd do alright for myself," replied Rarity.

"Does this count?" Pinkie Pie asked as she again pulled out her party cannon from nowhere in particular behind her.

"Heh, mah girls Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee here can buck a tree clean in half," Applejack smirked as she lifted her left and right hind hooves respectively. "Ah'm good."

No response from Fluttershy. In fact, she simply sank to the floor in a puddle of pink and yellow. Rael'ia frowned at the sight and sighed.

"I see... well, until I can have some chameleon armor made for you, I will protect you from any immediate threats myself."

"Oh... it's, um, okay..." the yellow pony stammered. "I... um... uh..."

"She's never been a fan of violence," Rainbow Dash spoke for her, reaching a sympathetic wing around her back. "Or fighting... or anything remotely resembling conflict, actually."

Boy, do I have bad news for you, little one, Rael'ia thought to herself, eyes softening at the thought. "Well, hopefully we'll witness as few war-related atrocities as possible, but I cannot make any guarantees. I will give you my oath as Crown Princess, though. No harm will come to you as long as I'm around."

"Ah... um, thank you," Fluttershy timidly replied.

"I'm not sure how long we'll have to wait, but for now, I would suggest preparing the best you can. Brush up on your self-defense skills, gather together supplies you think we'll need... anything you think will be useful. Please, don't hesitate to ask for my assistance should you require it." The other ponies nodded as Rael'ia turned to a nearby window, noting that the sun had set long ago. "But first, it is late, and I'm sure my... situation has left you with sudden, unfinished business here. Please, return home and get some rest."

Twilight returned with a tidy stack of twelve books floating beside her as Spike showed the other ponies to the door. After the din of goodbyes had faded away entirely, the little dragon returned to the library, finding the two Alicorns already thumbing through the pages of two with their respective magic.

"Whew, I'm beat," he yawned. "Would you like me to make you two some coffee before I go to bed, Twilight?"

"That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Spike," the purple pony nodded.

"Coffee?" Rael'ia asked as Spike slipped out the door.

"It's a dark brown liquid made from roasted coffee beans. They come from a tree that grows in more tropical climates. It's great for waking you up and making you more alert, especially when studying." Rael'ia let out a hum of interest then returned to her book, as did Twilight. They read in silence for about ten minutes, when Spike returned with a tray carrying two mugs, a coffeepot, a pyramid of sugar cubes and a small pitcher of milk. As Rael'ia thanked him and poured herself a cup, Twilight bid goodnight to her dragon friend as he yawned again and shuffled out of the room once again.

"Ooh, smells delightful!" The peach pony took a sip, making a face soon after. "Oh, bitter."

"Many ponies add milk and sugar to their coffee to make it more mild, to their liking."

"Oh, no," she giggled. "It's fine. It reminds me of a tea we have that's served between banquet courses, to cleanse the palate. I quite like it, reminds me of home." She took another sip, reveling in the scent and bitter bite.

"Ah, glad you like it," Twilight smiled. "So, could you tell me more about your world? It's so exciting to learn about different cultures and places!"

"Oh, of course! What would you like to talk about?"

"Ooh, where to start..." the purple pony inquisitively put a hoof to her chin. "Well, how about your homeland?"

"Ah yes, Fae. Bordered by the Impassable Mountains to the north and northwest, surrounded by ocean around the rest," As her quill hastily scratched at a sheet of paper, outlining a map, Rael'ia paused to glance at a nearby globe. "About... three- no, four times the size of Equestria, I would say. Through the center of the land is the Viridian mountain range, with the Crystal Mountain located in the middle. Between the two mountain ranges is my kingdom, and on the other side is the human kingdom. The Orcs and Dragons make their home in the mountains, while the Harpies prefer the Silent Forest that takes up most of my borders. The Sirens live in the ocean, lakes, rivers... any body of water, really. And the Fairies, well, they used to be all over the place."

Twilight sat quietly, enraptured by the map that was slowly appearing before her, piece by piece.

"There were many other races in the past... Dwarves, Trolls, Anima - humanlike beings but with the characteristics of different animals... Goblins, Satyrs... Like I mentioned, either they were wiped out by the humans, or they fled over the ocean or the Impassable Mountains, or their numbers are just so few you hardly see them anymore. I do hope they return when the war is finally over."

"How about the humans? If they're our main threat in your world, it would be best to learn all I can about them."

"Ah, good point. Centuries ago, they were such a lovely people. Compassionate, honorable, generous... and inventive, most of all. Many more reside over the ocean in a distant land, but the Sirens have done a marvelous job preventing most reinforcements from reaching their shores. Since they're incapable of magic, they turned to their inventions to "keep up with us", so to speak. They have great, flying ships that sail through the skies as swiftly as any Harpy, and speeding, wheeled transports that carry them from one place to another on the ground. Not as fast as teleporting, but it's the best they can do, after all, plus driving or riding in one can be quite enjoyable. They also discovered a substance called gunpowder, which fuels their fire-arms, and those are stick-shaped objects that send bits of metal flying faster than the eye can see! Easily deflected with a simple magical ward if you know they're coming, though. A shame, I believe if only they could harness magic, they would be fantastic mages for all their creativity."

"Seems to me the humans felt intimidated by all that magic, especially in recent years."

"Yes. Though they always wished for magical abilities of their own, they were also wary of those who could use it. I mean, imagine knowing the others around you were capable of conjuring fire and lightning from their empty hands and you couldn't, how could you hope to defend yourself from that? The only race they trusted entirely were the Pony-kin, and... well, you know the rest. The loss of the Elements of Harmony seem to have affected them the most, strangely, as they went from completely reasonable and kind-hearted to mistrustful and bloodthirsty in a matter of centuries. Then, after spending years refining Nullifite and crafting it into their weapons and armor, Antheras - the king at the time - declared war by launching a sneak attack on one of our closest villages to them. Not knowing what they had been planning, they didn't stand a chance."

"And every human king since then has continued the war?"

"Sadly, yes. In the beginning, there were attempted coups to try to bring it to an end, but none were successful. Six generations of kings and queens have passed, with the current king Bastillion being the most vicious of them all. And he has the audacity to call himself "The Thaumaturge King" because the Angels were apparently his creation."

"Creation? What do you mean?"

"Nobody knows for certain," Rael'ia shivered. "They certainly aren't human, however. If only we could defeat and capture one, we could find out for sure, but they are simply too deadly." She stared into her reflection in her coffee cup for a few moments, then closed her eyes with a sigh. "...I had a brother once, Prince Jorath. Easily one of our greatest warriors. He was the first to challenge an Angel, and he was also the first to fall to one."

"Oh... I'm so sorry, I can't imagine-"

"It's alright. I find solace knowing our parents were no longer around to witness it. My mother had been taken captive by the king many years prior to this. My father died trying to save her. Nobody even knows if she still lives." Rael'ia looked up to see Twilight's somber face, searching for comforting words to say. "It happened long ago... there's no need for condolences," she smiled softly. This seemed to ease Twilight's mind.

"You've endured so much. I must admit, the fact you wish to use the Elements of Harmony to peacefully end the war is quite noble. If it were my family, my big brother, my parents... I'm not sure I'd wish for the same."

"Oh, I used to feel such unfettered rage at the thought. Three times have I experienced the deepest of sorrows, I swore I would raze the human kingdom to the ground along with every elder, child and pet within it. But one day, I realized... the other combatants, my people, all involved have felt the same as well, and will know the feeling sooner than they must if the war continues. I guess you could call it an epiphany. I then resolved to end the war with no more blood being spilled if possible. The Elements of Harmony make this desire attainable... but make no mistake: if this plan should fail, I must fulfill my duty to my people. We will persevere. I will destroy the humans."

Twilight shivered at the coldness of her words. "Then I guess we should try our best to end the war peacefully." Rael'ia solemnly nodded, then returned her attention to the book about crystal entities she had been reading before.

"I apologize... I didn't mean for that to get so... heavy."

"It's alright. We'll end this war peacefully. This will work, I just know it," Twilight smiled. The reassurance in her words made Rael'ia smile as well. "Now, maybe this book has something about the reproductive cycle of magical trees..."