Dusk Village

Far outside Equestria, there was another kingdom; one self contained and cut off from the rest of the world. Born over one thousand years ago, this kingdom began as a prison for the Alicorn King, Hayperion, who once tried to wage a war among the gods; the first such declaration in countless thousands of years. He desired control and power, and for his greed he was cursed and banished to this land by his own wife's dying breath, where he and anyone loyal to him would be bound to this location, hopefully to perish and be gone from this world forever, saving this world from catastrophe. But Hayperion's subjects were not so easily subdued. In the face of oblivion, they flourished, and took to their new settlement as home, not prison. Their population grew, as opposed to declining, and each generation passed on the legend of their past; as well as the tale of their destiny to one day conquer Equestria; onto the next. Now Hayperion, once a mighty god, now a withered, bedridden old stallion approached his final days in life. It would seem that the time his people have awaited for over a thousand years would finally come to pass...

Hayperion's kingdom was located in a mountainous region far south of Equestria. It was always cold there. The small kingdom was populated entirely by soldiers; generations of training, knowledge, wisdom, and hatred of Equestrians had turned them into an incredibly powerful army. They were confined to their limited location by the curse of Hayperion's wife, the Alicorn Queen Equest, which stated that anyone who entered this land would not be able to leave, and no one could permit someone to leave in their place.. Hayperion's son, Paragon, once exploited a loophole, in which he left without notice, thus there was no one who was aware of his actions, and as a result he alone was able to leave and wreak havoc amongst the ponies of Ponyville and Cloudsdale. Now that this loophole has been exposed, however, Hayperion's knowledge of its existence has automatically extended to curse to covering that situation as well, binding Paragon to the kingdom as well.

It was 5 years ago that Paragon first broke free; he wanted to slowly destroy Equestria,  targeting it's people rather than it's land. A weak pony had respect for power, respect for authority. When commanded by someone who demanded respect and who presented authority, they would follow that command. It was an innate pony instinct to worship those mightier than they, and Paragon knew all of this. He corrupted the weaker ponies with his influence, and eventually he controlled Cloudsdale. When he won the people of Equrestria, he won the war on Equestria. When his true nature was revealed however, he abandoned this scheme for a more blunt approach the same result; taking Equestria by force. He engaged Twilight Sparkle and her friends in battle, which he initially believed would be a simplistic task; it rapidly became apparent, however, that they were no ordinary ponies, and he was left badly hurt by the end of their fight. Though he inevitably won his match against the Mane Six, their fight was interrupted by the appearance of Paragon's half-sister, Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, and with his horn having been broken in the chaos, he was unable to properly defend himself and was promptly defeated.

But Celestia made a mistake: she allowed Paragon to leave with his life intact, believing her to have won. She thought she had the upper hand over him. She was right to degree; she was the winner of that instance. Head to head, even at full power, the best Paragon could do is match her. But to think she had a true advantage over Paragon was a foolish thing. And he intended to throw that mistake back in her face; Paragon was an opportunist, he took advantage of exploitable moments wherever possible.

The once mighty king, Hayperion, lay in his bed, unmoving. Even for an Alicorn, the thousands of years Hayperion had weathered cost a tremendous fee; the same fee all life cost; and that would inevitably be death. After all, you never truly own the life you have; you merely borrow it for however long you are meant to stay in this world, and then at the end of it, you give it back. And while different creatures might take out smaller or bigger loans than others, in the end, all debts must eventually be repaid.

Hayperion had been given over a thousand years to look back on the last; and he needed every second he had been given to assess it all, for his past was more expansive than any creature in this world. He knew well and personally the Equine world long before any of it's current inhabitants had been alive, and he had seen ancient cultures come to life and die in the span of his time. Such a long history truly did make him seem immortal; but the feeling he had in his body now told a much different story. It told him that he was indeed mortal, very much so in fact, and that soon, he'd pay his last debts.

As he lay there, contemplating his considerable life, only really able to guess at what the world around him was like, being to weak to move; too weak even to speak; he thought about his family. His family had been shattered over a thousand years ago, and was now divided, living as far away from each other as possible. He had been the one to shatter it, he remembered. He threatened war, and upset the balance of the gods. He wanted power and control, and he shunned his wife and two daughters for that reason; he thought they were weak. Had he really been like that when he was younger? He tried to remember their names: Luna, the younger sister, who's dark complexion sharply contrasting her warm, bright heart, and Celestia, the older sister, a shining little angel with a bright pink mane, Hayperion figured that by now she'd be old enough to have her mature mane of a vastly different color. He wished he could see it. She always looked more like her mother, while Luna took after himself. It all aspects but personality, of course. She was far too sweet to commit the selfish atrocities he had...

He looked back on his life now with more regret every day. It was a stupid thing he did, and now he had at his disposal an army; an army of fools,  who were like a might spear of revenge forged over a one thousand year old anvil of lies. He regretted that too, as even if he weren't helplessly weak from age, there was nothing he could do to stop them. They had their own desires, and their own idea of destiny. All that Hayperion had to do now in order to unleash hell upon Equestria was die. And that is why he was determined to live as long as possible. He wanted to give them every bit of time they had with their families like he never had.

As he lay there, Paragon walked into the room, feigning a smile for his ill father. Hayperion knew Paragon cared very little for his father's well-being, for the sooner he passed on, the sooner he'd be free again to exact his vengeance. This too, was Hayperion's own fault. He had filled Paragon's young, arrogant little head with terrible ideas about being the 'true heir' of Equestria, and about seizing the castle one day. Only now, in his final years has he been able to see clearly the apocalyptic devastation he was to unleash unto the world as a result of these actions, for now he sees Paragon has grown into a dangerously powerful and dangerously greedy Alicorn prince. He already tried to invade Equestria by himself and kill Celestia. His attempt may have failed, but next time he will be back by an entire army. That, he knew, Celestia could not handle.

"Good afternoon, father." Paragon faked a pleasant greeting. "Are you comfortable? How are you feeling?" Paragon knew he wouldn't reply, but continued to speak. "It's really a shame you can't walk anymore, father, the weather out is unusually pleasant. I dare say it almost feels warm, for once!" Paragon walked over to the balcony door, which typically remained closed during the winter, such as it was in their part of the world. "Shall I open a window for you?" Without getting a response, he opened the doors to the balcony wide, letting a cool draft of late-winter air wash over Hayperion, sending a chill down his body.

Paragon inhaled deeply, letting the cool afternoon air fill his lungs. "Can you feel it, father?" He asked. "Spring is just around the corner. in Equestria, I imagine that Summer is just about to break, and soon it will be Fall. That's, a fun, word, isn't it? Fall."

Hayperion simply lay in his bed, watching his son behind glazed eyes. you were my biggest mistake, Paragon. How I wish I could correct it. He thought to himself, wishing he could say it out loud.

"How I'd love to take them from their homes in the Fall, and leave them for dead all Winter. Don't you think that would be the ultimate blow to their morale? To have to muster their strength at temperatures below freezing, shattered and homeless? Ah, glorious. Whatever is left over in the spring, will be a light patrol's sweep away from total obliteration. A Flawless victory. And then we have the entire warm season to celebrate! It's brilliant, don't you think, father?" Again, Paragon asked aloud, as if he expected an answer. Hayperion continued to stare at him expressionlessly.

Please Paragon, don't! Take the opportunity you will soon be given and leave! Go somewhere warm, somewhere safe, live and let live! Hayperion continued to plead silently.

"Oh, the things I plan to do to those who have disgraced me so... the one by the name of 'Rainbow Dash', and her little friend 'Twilight Sparkle', I'll never forget those names... their little friends, and Celestia too- oh, they will know true misery." Paragon continued. "I will break their minds 20 years before I finally break their bodies!" He announced, pacing the room with energy. "I won't kill them, oh no, death would be too merciful! If they could live forever, I'd let them! Let them know the enormity of a thousand years of pain!" He was practically yelling at this point.

Hayperion, weak and frail, put all his effort into an attempt to respond. After a cough and two barely audible squeaks, he managed to whisper, "N-..oo...no..."

As if his father had yelled at the top of his lungs, Paragon turned to face him, caught off guard. "Father? Did you say something just now, I'm not sure I understood you correctly." He walked up to Hayperion's bed and made an exaggerated gesture of leaning his ear towards him.

With all his strength, Hayperion repeated himself, "N-..oo...no...." He whispered into Paragon's ear.

"No?" Paragon repeated, and paused. "Hm hm, I didn't think so." Paragon walked away towards the open balcony door, a grin on his face that told Hayperion everything he needed to know.

You know what I said! I said no! Don't do it!

"Anyway, as I was saying, Father, I'd love it splendidly if you could go right ahead and die as quickly as you can, so that I might begin my invasion. It's a bloody long trek, and I'd love to arrive in Equrestria before the Equestrian Winter sets in." Paragon said rather bluntly.

What?! What kind of world do we live in where a son would even consider requesting his own father to die for his own convenience! I may deserve to die, but I can't! Not now, not yet...

"I know It's not an easy thing to do, letting go of life, so how about this: I'll help you." Paragon turned around, a devious look on his face as he approached his father.

What are you doing? You can't seriously mean-!

Paragon's horn began to glow, and a pillow rose up from Hayperion's bed. "No injuries, of course, no need to turn this sudden death into a mystery murder. Like I said, I'd like to be out of here as soon as possible. Everyone's patience runs out eventually, and mine ran out 5 years ago!" And on that note, the pillow was pressed against Hayperion's facing, beginning the process of smothering him. Hayperion's body reacted naturally and panicked in a futile attempt to save itself, twitching and twisting in more movement than it had seen in a very long time. All his effort went in vain, however, as the pillow remained flush to his face, heavy pressure reinforcing it.

No! Not now, not this way... Not by my own son's hands..!

Hayperion's could feel his lungs burning from the lack of oxygen, and he knew he wasn't long for the world. He couldn't see his son's face, but he imagined it wearing a devilish grin.

Celestia...Luna...Equest, my dear... I'm sorry... I have doomed us all...

And his body went limp. Paragon continued for a couple additional seconds, just to be sure, and eventually released his grip, replacing the pillow.

"Ah, Now that wasn't so hard was it? You just needed a little push." Paragon chuckled, which rapidly escalated into a maniacal laugh. " "I guess that makes me King!" He declared, storming out of the room with vigor.

As he marched down the hallway of his castle, he passed General Iron Hoof, his right hand and the leader of his army. He was fairly old for a stallion, nearly 50 years of age. He was tall and muscular, but not as much so as Paragon. He was a unicorn, and his horn was framed by the helmet he almost always wore.

"General Iron Hoof," Paragon addressed him without looking at him. Iron Hoof stood at attention.

"Yes, sire?" He replied.

"Inform the people that the king would address his people now." He commanded, and immediately began to continue down the hall.

Iron Hoof, having not heard the old king speak in a long time, hesitated briefly. When he finally understood, he said. "Yes your majesty, very good. I shall inform the public at once."

As Paragon's people gather around the palace, ready to hear their new king speak, Paragon couldn't help but tremble with excitement. He stood perched from his balcony, where he could see every soul at his command. And there were a lot of them.

"My people!" He began with a strong, commanding voice. "It is my duty to inform you, that Lord Hayperion, our king of more than one thousand years, has finally passed." He announced, deliberately leaving out the cause of death. There was silence amongst the crowd. They were having mixed reactions to this revelation. "Although we must mourn the loss of his leadership," He continued, "This is also a time for celebration, for our time is finally at hand!" He declared. "For it is only now, after 1000 years, we are free! Free to fulfill our destiny, and claim this world as our own!" A cheer from the crowd. "We have prepared for this for generations, and we have become strong! It is time to show those Equestrians how strong we are!" Another cheer, louder now. "We sent here to die, under the belief that this harsh climate and our limited space would kill us! But we have proved them wrong, for instead we have flourished! We have persevered!" Once again, the crowd cheered. They we eating right out of Paragon's hooves. "We have become the greatest force in this world, and now nothing can stop us! Nothing can restrain us! Today, we march to Equestria to reclaim our ancient birthright! To arms, my people! By this sun's setting, we shall march for Equestria!" A final, deafening applause, showing to Paragon that his people were every bit as excited about this as he was.

Over the cheering, General Iron Hoof could be faintly heard, declaring, "All hail King Paragon, our new leader!"

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Now that Paragon commands an army, is there any hope for the people of Equestria, as they continue to be oblivious to this unsettling change?

END OF CHAPTER 2.