After their defeat at Canterlot all those years ago, we believed Chrysalis to be beaten, her armies never to return again. We thought that the power of love and magic of friendship had defeated her once and for all.

We were wrong.

5 Years ago, they attacked again. But this time, they thought bigger. Without us noticing, Chrysalis had spent the years following her defeat at Canterlot uniting the Changeling hives under her personal leadership. And with her at the top, one singular motive quickly drove all Changelings together: their hatred for us Ponies.

While Equestria spent the following years in blissful ignorance and isolation, as it so often did, the Changelings began preparations for what was to come. Their numbers grew, and their technological know-how expanded rapidly. As the continuously decaying Griffonian Empire across the great lake began to crumble and wither away for good, Chrysalis sent military delegations and attachés to study their weapons and technologies... While they still could. Unbeknownst to us, it wasn't Equestria that had invented the Tank at all, but it was the Changelings who had begun experimenting on this sort of vehicle months prior, with research into the field of armoured warfare rapidly progressing.

It took them 6 years until they were ready. Chrysalis was recognised as the sole ruler of the hives, with no one left to challenge her rule. Her minions were now armed not with sticks and stones but with Rifles and Grenades. They had catapulted themselves into the modern era with lightning speed, and they did not intend to stop.

The first test of their new developments was not against Equestria but against the Deer people of Olenia. The Country was plagued with instability and corruption after a pretender, King Johan, claimed the throne despite the legitmate claim of her sister, Velvet. Chrysalis knew how weak this pretender King was, though. She had her spies all over the Deer Kingdom, knew the weaknesses in their defences and the shortcomings of their Military.

The Deer were hopelessly outgunned and outnumbered when the Changeling tanks began to roll across the border, having no real answer to such well-armoured vehicles. They tried to halt the advance by digging into the mountains that laid in front of the Changeling horde, but even that was hopeless. Changeling organization was superior as air strikes and artillery barrages went hoof in hoof with an armoured spearhead. Their line was broken. Olenia was broken.

As Olenia surrendered and went under full Changeling occupation, there was no outcry among the Ponies of Equestria. Rather, they felt it was none of their business. They somehow felt that it was not necessary to be bothered because "it wouldn't happen to them anyway". Even when intelligence records made it into the newspapers, clearly showing images of a Changeling build-up on the border to Equestria, many Ponies simply refused to believe that war, real and total war, could ever come to Equestria. But they were quickly proven wrong, and there were to be no peace in our time. No longer.

Emboldened by her Olenian victory, the Changelings wasted no time in preparing for their real goal: Defeating Equestria. Air fields were built closely behind the border, additional roads for supplies and troops to move across and fuel and ammunition stockpiles were carefully managed. Morale was high, and no matter if Pilot, Tank Commander or Grenadier: they were poised for what was to come.

The few handful of divisions we had near the Changeling border stood no chance. They were pinned down, encircled and consequently massacred. They radio'd the attack in, and High Command froze in fear as the radio transmission was cut short by a loud scream as the radio operator was gunned down. The civilian population fared no better either, as they would not be killed on the spot but suffered an even worse fate. The Changelings drove reservist troops from town to town as they pushed on, capturing and abducting innocent Ponies they deemed carried sufficient love to be of use. They tied them up and shoved them into trucks or trains and brought them back to the Hives where they would be sucked dry of all their love. And when the Changelings left for a new town, they usually remembered to torch the one they were leaving. Bustling towns turned into infernos, Cities into true ghost towns. And there was no end in sight...

By the time the Changelings captured and pushed past the port town of Vanhoover, Equestrian High Command was finally starting to realise the need for mobilisation. But by that point, the Changelings were already pushing onwards and through Northwestern Equestria. At such speed, they'd get to Central Equestria in mere weeks and come close to capturing not just Ponyville but Canterlot.

As Celestia was overwhelmed with decisions, her morals hung on the line. For hundreds if not thousands of years she had believed Peace and Friendship were the way to Harmony, and that these ideals had to be defended at all costs. But with the Changelings racing towards Canterlot... It simply was no longer possible to speak of peace any longer. Peace was but an obstacle in the defence of ponykind in its entirety. Equestria, now more than ever before, needed a strong ruler that embodied and promoted Order and Power rather than Peace and Friendship, because only then could the Nation live on and survive this Great War.

And so, as the Sun rose and Daybreaker ascended, the Solar Empire was born. Daybreaker quickly reshuffled her political cabinet and military command. She enacted new, strict policies to ensure the survival of her ponies. A War Plan was finally drawn up and put into place, where anypony not serving in the Military would have to do their part on the homefront instead. Conscription was introduced, allowing the new Empress and her Commanders to access millions of new possible recruits. The Industry was militarized and subsidized greatly, allowing for a rapid expansion of heavy industry and arms manufacturing. And within a month, the Empress was able to halt the Changeling advance for the first time.

As months and years passed by, Daybreaker's reign, as successful as it had been at halting the Changeling advance, began to face issues domestically. There were riots against her strict reforms and policies. Ponies demanded to adhere to their special talents rather than being drafted into the Army or Industry by force. Daybreaker knew there was no room for compromise, and established the Solar Inquisition in response. Without remorse, they scavenged Equestria for wrongdoers of any kind. Tasked with protecting stability and order, and as such Harmony, they eliminated anyone who posed a threat to their Empress.

For the following months and years, the Solar Empire's forces began to not just match but outnumber the Changeling forces. High Command played by the Changeling's own rules, paradropping infiltrators behind the lines to blow up roads and bridges to cut-off the supply routes of the Bugs. With ponypower and wartime materials now aplenty, we started to finally push back. Without remorse, and with vengeance written between our eyes, we rolled over a stagnant and by now ill-supplied Changeling Army. Their Army was made for offensive movements, their tactics made to overrun an inferior enemy.

But we were not inferior. Not anymore. We gave it our best shot to show the bugs how strong Ponies really were. We cracked their tanks, we shot down their Aircraft, encircled Divisions, one after another. Soon the Changelings were in full retreat, unable to defend the vast frontline across Equestria. As Equestrian troops entered the scorched towns and villages of the occupied zones though, they saw the legacy of the Changelings within the scorched ruins. Entire cities were torched, nothing left but crumbling ruins, and rotten corpses filled the remnants of what used to be homes. Some of our troops were demoralized by such imagery, though most of them were only emboldened by such vile acts of villainy by the Changelings. It showed them the importance of their fight, their struggle for survival. And so, town after town, they liberated and pushed on.

And as our forces finally pushed past the initial border to the Changeling lands, everypony celebrated. Equestria was safe, that much they knew. And they realised that now nothing could stop us from a crushing victory. And indeed, our troops marched onward, capturing and consequently torching many important Hive cities along their path. They showed no remorse, just as the Changelings had. It was bittersweet payback for what had been done to Ponies in Equestria, though certainly more bitter than sweet as Soldiers overran Hives just to find dead ponies cocooned deep inside the Hive catacombs. Their bodies were in tact, Medics realised, but their hearts were sucked dry. They were fed empty, to the point where their poor hearts simply stopped beating.

But this streak of victory, like all, had to end at some point. Changeling resistance became fierce and unrelenting as we pushed deeper and deeper into the Hivelands. Chrysalis commanded her minions to not give up one inch of territory to the Equestrians, and any Changeling not pre-occupied with important duties elsewhere was drafted to fight on the frontline. Sometimes, due to a now lackluster industrial base, this meant these draftees lacked weaponry or even uniforms.

But Technology had progressed since that fateful day of Invasion, and by now the Solar Empire was ready to finish this war for good, and they did it so by cutting off the head of the snake, by grabbing the problem by its root. The general advance was halted to allow the troops to rest and dig in for the time being. The final mission was prepared, and on a rebuilt air field just outside of Vanhoover, a small squadron of bombers took into the skies. They floated safely above the clouds, beyond the sight and reach of Changeling Flak, headed straight towards Vesalipolis, the Capital of the Changeling Lands and main hive of Chrysalis herself. One of the bombers slowly opened its bomb bay doors, readying itself as the target was near.

Then the bomb dropped.

A Whistle was heared as the object plummeted through the clouds towards the bustling Hive construct below. Bigger than any bomb before it, a few Changelings below managed to spot it before it blew, but their fate was inevitable by then.

The blast of the bomb immediately erradicated Vesalipolis as it was consumed within the initial blast. Within mere seconds, thousands of Changelings died to the blast, then even more as the shock wave spread like a expanding ring across the surrounding area. Daybreaker watched from afar as Vesalipolis was removed from the map, with nothing but a gigantic, irradiated mushroom cloud remaining. Next to her stood Blaze 'Bomber' Firehooves, her Chief of the Air Force who had brought up this plan to her and consequently planned the Operation. She smirked confidently as she watched the expanding mushroom cloud above the Changeling Capital through her Binoculars. She always enjoyed a big firework, especially if it came at a cost for the Bugs. The two of them briefly looked at one another before glancing back to the Capital, or rather, what was left of it.

That was it. It was over. The Queen was dead, Chrysalis had been slain at last.

As Changeling Hierarchy and Communication collapsed, the consequent assault from the Solar Empire's ground forces was child's play. In less than a week Ponies stood in front of the remnants of Vesalipolis. As the Country's defences fell, many Changeling Commanders packed their things and fled the Country, going into hiding in various locations all over Griffonia. Those that stayed congregated in a somewhat improvised meeting and agreed that continued fighting was senseless. They sent a telegram to Equestria that read as follows:

Situation hopeless. Supplies non-existant. Reserves used up.

Queen slain and High Command missing. Likely deserted. Asking for immediate halt of offensive. Continued fighting senseless.

We surrender.

- Field Marshal Lycosidae, Changeling High Command.

Shortly after, Daybreaker and her Command agreed to a ceasefire. Days later, a final peace settlement was signed by both parties. The Changelings had surrendered unconditionally. The lands previously known as the Changeling Lands would fall under full Equestrian occupation until further notice, and most importantly, peace had finally returned.

Peace... Almost a strange word after such gruesome years. For years we had known nothing but war, nothing but brutal fighting and death. And now... There was peace, once more. And was the troops returned home and the Military could finally stand at ease, many ponies asked themselves...

...what now?

That same year, only a few months later, Daybreaker wandered around the Canterlot Gardens. She could finally hear the birds singing again as peace returned not just to Ponies but to nature, as well. A fresh breeze of wind stroked her warm cheeks as she walked past the brightly coloured flowers that surrounded the path. And how wonderful they smelled, too. It was like nature had been reborn, at last.

Reborn...

Daybreaker stopped and turned as she arrived at her most cherished place inside the whole Garden. It was the main reason she visited it everyday.

In front of her was a monument, no, a memorial, atop of which stood a statue made entirely out of Crystals.

It depicted Cadence.

Daybreaker's eyes turnt to the plaque on the memorial. She knew the text by know. She looked up into those crystalline eyes of Cadence's statue and spoke out loud.

"Let us remember then the true cost of Harmony. Let the shining light of love and bravery shine on for those who stood valiantly until the end. Let their courageous sacrifice, this ultimate sacrifice, remind us of the price we had to pay for Harmony. Let it remind us of our victory.

And let us never forget."

Author's Note

There we go, the end of the Solar Empire series... for now

I really hope you enjoyed not just this story but the two prequels, as well! If you did, please do leave a like and consider leaving a comment with your thoughts if you have the time. I'd love to receive feedback from all of you!

While this Story may be over, the Solar Empire's story certainly isn't, and you'll certainly hear from them again... soon.