No… No, no, no…

Horror rose in Twilight’s heart as she stared at the swiftly approaching dragon, tears rising up. She had been so certain Spike had escaped. He was small when the bombs fell, small enough to escape notice, surely. When she had returned to the library, the basement door had been opened from the inside, not kicked down. What could have happened? Spike’s body was tortured and cruelly forced into such a monstrous shape, hissing dragon blood streaming from thick cuts along his scaly hide. As he roared again, a horrible hissing scream, pieces of bodies flew from his maw, brown and red and torn into chunks. Twilight’s stomach curdled at the idea of what her little brother had been forced into. After that feeling had passed, however, a new one arose. A dark feeling Twilight always forced out of her mind. But now…

Hate. Utter and complete hatred. The emotion was a wildfire in her soul, drawing power from all else to fuel it, the force it out of the alicorn in a horrible scream, magic ripping out of her horn in a black-green beam. Spike was deceptively nimble for his size, tucking his wings and diving, letting out a burst of green flame towards Twilight. A purple shield snapped into place, and Twilight screamed again, hooves slamming against the wall of solid light.

“I’ll bucking KILL YOU!” she roared to… to Spike, to the Caribou who had taken her earliest friend and shattered him, morphing him into a monster, “I swear, I’ll kill you all! S-spike, just hold on! I’ll-”

“Now, now. He’s mine, Empress. Your dragon pet has a new master.”

The voice was slick and dark, resembling the Caribou’s magic so intensely that bile rose in Twilight’s throat. She turned her head as the dragon passed, another bout of flame hissing against her shield, making her wince. The strength of the fire was incredibly, and the space inside her shield was heating up quickly. The second the fire subsided, Twilight beat her wings once, blasting out of her shield with a roar.

“HE WAS MY FRIEND!” she snarled back, cherry red blades flinging from her horn.

The blades cut horribly, but he dragon didn’t cry out; indeed, it’s abyssal eyes merely turned up towards the Empress, a horrific smile crossing its draconic features.

“Was being the operative phrase. He’s still in here… and he hates you. You left him to die.”

The barb pierced deep, raging tears streaming down Twilight’s face as she dived at the dragon. Oily magic leapt from the dragon’s claws, grappling intensely with Twilight’s own, quickly darkening, arcana.

“I left him to live,” she hissed down at the beast, drawing deeply on her reserves as she pressed forward, “Spike was smart, he was brave! He-”

“Was left with nowhere to go. You gave him nothing; it was so easy to take that squalling little mongrel, to break his mind and spirit, to gorge him on ponies till he-”

“I’LL KILL YOU!”

With a maddened howl of grief and hate, Twilight poured her magic into the dragon’s mind and soul, towards the cackling darkness that was all too happy to welcome her into its grip.
**********************

Twilight was horrified by the state of the souls in Spike’s shell of a body. The Ash’ei… the enigmatic spirit that had caused the death of her nation… his inky blackness seemed to consume all inside the body, his whispers rising and falling all around her. Images came unbidden to her mind; her friends bound to mating stalls, their stomachs distended as stallions in Imperial uniforms used them over and over. A mighty black and purple throne in the Canterlot throne room, crushing the ancient thrones of Celestia and Luna. Ponies as far as the eye could see, bowing low under the watchful eye of soldiers in Imperial uniforms, guns lowered. It was a twisted nightmare of the Equestria Twilight had planned to rebuild; factories clouding the sky, the sky cities chained to the ground below, to never abandon their people again. A wall around their borders, the bodies of millions of Caribou spiked along the top of it, constantly surrounded by flocks of crows and flies. An object lesson to anyone who would dare strike against her. Twilight, Empress of Equestria.

And a small part of her was horrified by the perverse pleasure the rest of her mind was taking from the images.

“You are the most powerful pony in existence, Twilight Sparkle. But you could be so much more. Think of the power you could wield… the security you would bring to your ponies… With an undead army at your back, no nation could stand against your might.”

Looking up, Twilight tried to jerk her mind, eyes widening at the grinning, horned visage filling her mind’s eye. It’s face was flat, with no hint of a muzzle. A thick beard ran over it’s jaw, and two powerful horns swept back from their origin just behind the creature’s dark orange eyes. It smiled down at her, revealing glistening, razor sharp teeth, flesh still stuck to them in places.

“Give yourself to me, Empress Sparkle. I will return your dragon to you… and I will give you everything you seek. Open yourself to me…”

Even as the mind spoke, it was tearing at her soul, doing everything in it’s power to worm its way into Twilight’s depths. And the Empress was torn. Twilight struggled to fight against the monstrous presence around her, to cut the link before it could take all of her. But the other part, the half filled with so much hate, was sluggish and unresponsive, enraptured with the power of the Ash’ei. Oily tendrils wrapped around the gleaming light of Twilight’s core, and she opened her mouth to scream.

“Enough!”

Light, brilliant and powerful as the sun cutting through a rain cloud, broke the bond the Ash’ei had built with the trapped alicorn’s soul, interposing itself between the two souls and quieting its raging voices. More colors began to seep into the darkness, slowly driving it away from Twilight and Spike’s cores, the latter a shriveled, weakened mass. Orange wrapped protectively around them both, sturdy and powerful; cyan took up a protective stance above them on the astral plane, rainbow light flickering on its edges. Yellow and purple soothingly pressed against Twilight’s torn soul, mending the damages with quick images of sleepovers, of days laughing in the sunlight and the good days of an Equestria intact. Pink giggled and gathered Spike’s core up in her brilliant color, bringing an emerald hue back to the little gem as it pressed it to Twilight.

“T-twilight?” Spike whispered, voice faint, tired, and hopeful all at once.

Doing her best not to sob, Twilight merely held her brother’s soul tightly, wrapping all the power she could spare around it. Looking up, Twilight watched in awe as Light, Midnight Blue, Soft Pink-Red, and Blood Red stood in front of the friends, their power and might driving back the darkness and its questing tendrils, their snapping magic shattering its hold and breaking its power.

“You cannot break the spirit of Equestria, Ash’ei,” Celestia’s voice, as firm and powerful as her strongest days as Princess, rang out in the din, “For we stand together, even in the darkest of shadows. You will not have Twilight. You will not have Spike. And if I… if we, have anything to say about it, you will have no piece of pony, body or soul, ever again.”

“A touching speech. But you have no clue what I bring with me. This is nothing- merely a meat puppet, an avatar. When we arrive, whether or not Twilight Sparkle leads the Empire into darkness, we will take it all. I cannot wait to have you in my harem, Celestia… your purity is simply... delicious.”

Twilight’s soul surged at the sacrilege, beginning to rise up in hatred once more… only to be tugged back down by the magic of her friends’ souls, their strength overpowering even her own.

“Don’t,” Applejack whispered simply, “You’ve done enough, Twilight.”

The Blood Red slowly slid back to them, and Twilight hesitantly opened herself to Trixie as she pressed into the protective wall of souls. Surprisingly, the Blood Mage was worried for Twilight, her magic carefully smoothing down the edges made ragged by Twilight’s forceful hate. The two gazed at each other slowly, their souls intertwining.

“Your stay in this body has long since worn out it’s welcome. You shall leave.”

Magic, black as night, ripped out from the Ash’ei’s soul, pressing firmly against the mass of Dark Blue.

“Princess Luna, certainly you wish to hold such power again. Surely you remember the-AAAH!”

With wide eyes, Twilight watched in awe as the magic was crushed, ripped apart, and shredded by the blue, tendrils of Luna’s magic piercing deep into the core of the Ash’ei.

“I do remember,” Luna hissed, twisting the magic assault deeper, “And it shall never return, monster. Go back.”

A blade of light and soft pink slammed into the core, a keening of agony rising up from the black mass.

“Go back.”

“Leave this land!”

This time, Twilight and her friends rose as one, surging forward in a rainbow of color and sound, piercing the core and widening the magically radiating fissures. The Ash’ei struggled and bucked, tendrils hissing out to fight and slash at the ponies, but there was nothing to be had. Twilight grit her teeth, ready to annihilate the creature once and for all… but fell back, slowly, quietly. The hate was still there, and it was hungry.

“C-celestia…”

“I know, Twilight.”

The Light slowly took its place in front of Twilight, her sun-like radiance flaring out.

“LEAVE!”

And with a scream and a burst of magic, Twilight was flung free of the dragon’s body, into the waiting arms of Trixie and Rainbow Dash, a tiny green-purple egg clutched in her hooves. The dragon’s body had lost all color, turning black and shadowy even as it lifelessly fell out of the sky. With wide, pained eyes, Twilight watched as the monster, the butcher of her race, fell from the skies, splattering messily on the rocky mountains below, alongside his powerful weapons of destruction. The world, for a brief moment, was quiet and, with a faint smile, Twilight closed her eyes, enjoying the blast of magic and heat as the Crystal Heart, combined with the Elements of Harmony, erupted across her home.
******************

The magic had been tainted. This Twilight had known, and she knew it was her own fault. The spell had worked! When the Crystal Heart let loose its charged power, combined with the Elements of Harmony and their divine magic, it washed over the land like a tidal wave of rainbow light. With an addition of Trixie’s blood magic and Celestia’s holy light, bodies were formed for those who had been obliterated by the thermo magical weapons. Reports brought back from Manehatten and Fillydelphia by Pegasi all gave mounting figures of raised ponies, all of them being taken care of by military forces left to find them. Other reports, and what Twilight could see with her own two eyes, gave a darker picture. Hidden in the magic had been hate. Twilight’s hate; her hate, her lust for power, every bit of dark magic that she had absorbed from the bombs and the dragon. A single tear ran down Twilight’s cheek as she scanned her army, all standing at attention on the Crystal parade route.

From what the alicorns could tell, the dark magic had not corrupted the souls of her ponies, but many of their bodies, warping and changing them based on the magic they resonated most closely to. Many pegasi now sported bright golden manes, tails, and wings, licks of fire and holy light rising off their bodies. Celestia believed they had responded most closely to her Light, and had changed accordingly. Other pegasi, and many of the former undead ponies, were standing silently in place, their eyes focused adoringly on Luna. Bat-wings had taken the place of feathered ones, and several earth ponies had found themselves changing shape, growing large, sharper teeth; their hooves splitting to form canine-paws. All those changed by Luna’s Night sported the same silver eyes, gleaming lightly in the light of the Crystal Palace.

Those most attuned to Cadence had sprouted crystalline wings of rose quartz, glimmering in the sunlight; horns on unicorns had grown small crystals and blade-like edges, while Earth Ponies found themselves with diamond hard hooves and bones. But it was truly Twilight’s and Trixie’s darker magics that had changed the most ponies, even among Twilight’s friends. Rainbow Dash proudly stood at Twilight’s side, having traded in her bomber saddle for a new Imperial Air Force uniform, a sleek black barding with the Imperial crest on her chest. The magic had hit her body, turning her cyan fur a shimmering sapphire sheen, purple streaks running along her feathers. On Twilight’s other side stood Applejack, a small smirk on her lips. She relished being alive again, her hooves digging lightly into the ground. Red streaks ran across her hooves and legs, glimmering softly in the bright light. She was dressed in her own black Mechanized uniform, Countess stripes on her fetlocks and chest. Applebloom hadn’t left her side since the Spell had gone off, gently nestling against her big sister, even though her powerful body rivalled that of the Countess.

Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy stood respectfully behind their Empress, smiling proudly as they gazed out at their soldiers. Little of Pinkie Pie had been changed by the magic, though Twilight was certainly she spotted purple and red undertones hidden throughout her fluffy mane. A grey overcoat covered her pink furred body, several golden stripes running down her shoulders and fetlocks, with a cannon stylized on the broach holding it to her grey under-uniform. Rarity stood close to Pinkie’s side, head held high. Surprisingly, she had deigned to wear a hat: one of the squarish officer’s hats, a gleaming badge of her Duchess office settled squarely in the center. The rest of her uniform was a deep black, a pair of diamonds taking the place of her officer stripes. Her horn had taken on a bladed appearance, and a pair of smallish fangs peeked past her lips. Fluttershy had taken the most dramatic of changes; the magic had dredged back up her vampire fruit bat genes, but none of the instincts had followed, thankfully. Her bat wings were stronger than her pegasi feathers, and she had been fluttering to and fro about the battlefield, before the stand-to had been called. Now she sat quietly, dressed in her stark white medic barding, the Imperial crest on her chest being the only source of color.

Twilight let out a slow breath as she slowly stepped up to the makeshift podium they had set up at the end of the parade grounds. Celestia and Luna stood to either side of the Empress, dressed again in their old regalia, though it was far less striking on Celestia’s smaller frame. The sight of their former Princess had been shocking to many a pony; a shock, and a blessing. Many had assumed the worst… Twilight had nearly assumed the worst.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” She intoned, switching her mindset back to that of the people’s Empress; the warrior goddess that had risen out of a dead city to bring hope back to a dying race, “I cannot declare that the war with the Caribou is over. There are still many of their soldiers out there, and I cannot promise that they will not seek revenge. In our future, there may be fighting… and death…”

Twilight Sparkle smiled softly, raising her head high, “But there will be a future, now! Because of your bravery, your sacrifice, ponykind has a future we can look forward to with pride and determination! While Equestria may have died with the Bombs, the Equestrian Empire will rise- no, it has risen. It has risen like a phoenix; from death and fire, to life anew. We will be stronger than before. We will be smarter. We will be unified, and prepared.”

“We know that this is not the end of this war. The creature Ash’ei is not dead. We are certain of that. Indeed… I believe he will come back. He will come back to finish what his Caribou started. What say you to that, my ponies?”

The answering roar was enormous, the sheer volume shaking the Crystal Palace above them. These ponies had evolved past the peaceful, calm creatures they had once been. Thousands of voices, hardened and made hoarse by war, cried out their challenge to the Ash’ei, weapons shaking in magical grips or in powerful teeth. Enterprising drivers revved up their half-tracks, engines adding a baritone roar to the din. Twilight allowed herself a small smile. She had never truly wished to see her people as such warriors. But it did make her feel far more secure in their future. A wing raised, just a smidge, and the crowd silenced in an instant.

“As I thought. But there is more. As you can see, Celestia and Luna have returned to us. Our beloved diarchs live on. I may have brought many of you back, but it was their work that helped bring you all back to true life. If they wish it, I would give the reigns of the Empire to the Sisters. Celestia? Luna? What say you?”

They had rehearsed this, of course. It was an important ceremony, more for the ponies than for the Empress. It did not make it any easier.

Celestia spoke first, stepping forward once, “I must decline, Empress Twilight. I loved Equestria. My sister and I gave our hearts and souls to its preservation. And, unfortunately, we failed our obligations.”

Acting quickly, she held up a hoof to stop the tidal wave of pleading ponies, their cries for her, that it surely wasn’t their fault.

“However. We cannot in good faith abandon our home.”

Now it was time for Luna to step forward, raising her voice just below her powerful Canterlot Voice, “Indeed, former subjects. That is why, starting several months from this day, Celestia and I will be overseeing the construction and management of a new university, dedicated to the study of all forms of magic, and its responsible use. All ponies should have the chance to learn, the chance to experiment and create, as did our Empress.”

Both Sisters turned as one, bowing low to Twilight, who was struggling mightily to keep a straight, not-sobbing face. She bowed her head slowly in acknowledgement, then looked forward into the crowd.

“Will Princess Mi Amore Cadenza please step forward?”

Princess Cadence looked worlds better than when Twilight had first seen her; now well-rested, well-fed, and walking side by side with a reborn Shining Armor, Cadence looked resplendent, a warm smile gracing her beautiful visage. She had traded in her battle armor for a crystalline robe, glimmering amethyst and red in the light of the Palace. As they reached the podium, both Royals bowed low to their Empress. Twilight smiled softly, stepping down from the podium to walk to them, giving each a chaste kiss on the cheek.

“Cadence… you and Shining Armor have ruled the Crystal Empire with grace and strength for decades now. And while I wish for the Empire to join with Equestria, I do not wish to strip you of your well-earned, and hard-fought titles.”

What Twilight had imagined before… would not do now. Her foray into the mind of the Ash’ei had convinced Twilight of that, quite well. Going it alone could lead to very bad places. When she thought about what she had almost done… what the Ash’ei could have done with a body as powerful and corrupted as her own… She suppressed the horror as much as she could, turning her attention back to her surprised sister-in-law. Twilight smiled softly, stroking her steel-clad hoof along Cadence’s cheek.

“I would like you to join me, Cadence, as an Empress of Equestria. I cannot do it alone; I should not do it alone. You, and my friends, must keep my ambition and power in check. And in return, I will show you when strength is called for. When power must be expended, for the good of the Empire.”

Twilight closed her eyes. The scene was quieter than death itself, and she could feel the thousands of stunned eyes looking upon their Empress.

Please, Cadence…

“I will, Twilight.”

Twilight’s eyes snapped open, focusing on the warm smile of the Princess of Love. Cadence slowly rose to her hooves, head held high as she turned back towards the gathered ponies.

“I let myself fall into a bitter depression, before you came. I was willing to sacrifice our friendship, for zealotry. No more. Together… we will watch each other. We will work together, for the good of the Equestrian Empire.”

Cadence’s crystalline hoof lifted, and Twilight quickly clicked her own against her partner, both mares smiling tearfully at each other, then back to their waiting ponies. To Twilight’s surprise, it was Trixie’s voice that rose up before any other, clear and strong and sounding vaguely amused.

“All hail Empresses Twilight Sparkle and Cadenza! All hail!”

“HAIL!”

“HAIL!”

“HAIL!”
********************

Ash’ei let out a pained snarl as he jerked back on his throne, a gauntleted hand going to his throbbing forehead. What a headache… There was a squeal of fear nearby, and Ash’ei blindly swatted it with his magic, uncaring of the lifeless thud that resonated seconds later. No time to bother with slaves. Finally, he pried open his long closed eyes, gazing slowly about. As per his last orders, his body had not been removed from the throne room, and the doors were barred. A bloody smear tarnished one of his marble pillars, but he merely grunted. Nothing for it.

“I am awake,” he rumbled, pleased to hear his true form again; the deep, guttural voice that made slaves, and weak-willed sycophants, void themselves in fear at the sound.

Thankfully, a weak-willed sycophant did not answer his call. The metallic doors screamed in protest as they were thrown open, and two of his personal guard galloped inside. The centaur-like guardsmen were clad in the form-fitting body armor Ash’ei preferred; fabric and ceramics over crude metals beaten into place. They were wise enough not to carry weapons inside the throne room, horned heads bowed low the second they saw his wide open eyes.

“My Lord Ash’ei.”

“You are awake. We welcome you.”

Pleased, Ash’ei did not kill them; instead, he merely waved a hand to dismiss the guards. His legs, only now reawakening, protested and wobbled as his great bulk rested upon them, but Ash’ei would not be denied. He rumbled his displeasure at his body, but stumbled forward as quickly as he could. He would not reacclimate slowly. There was far, far too much to do.

His magic slammed the doors fully open as he strode out, eyes glaring down through the lead-lined windows of his fortress-palace. The tell-tale clop of hooves spoke the return of a sycophant, and Ash’ei turned his head slowly to gaze at him. The centaur was larger than most, speaking of a fattier diet that only the rich could afford. Underneath the fat rippled tell-tale signs of muscle, and Ash’ei could only nod in approval. Another warrior.

“My Lord,” the other centaur rumbled, his tone obedient but not beseeching, “Do you have orders? Your House awaits you.”

“Prepare the two-legs, and our slave masters. I want our armies ready to set sail for distant shores.”

Both centaurs turned to peer back out the windows, watching thousands of the pale, two-legged creatures scurry about the bustling shipyard, working frantically to build new weapons, new ships, new planes… indeed, everything seemed to be in the same order that Ash’ei had left it at thirty years before, just on a grander scale. All but…

‘Why is a ship missing?” he rumbled slowly, tone taking a dangerous edge.

To his credit, the sycophant did not grovel or make excuses. He merely nodded, once.

“A group of slaves escaped several weeks ago, my Lord. They fought their way onto the cruiser, and sailed it to the west. Your last Marshal was killed, as per policy; I am his replacement.”

West… the Equusan Portal. Ash’ei’s teeth clicked together, and he scowled.

“Double-time the preparations, and bring breeding battalions of the two-legs. This will be a full invasion of that world. I want… everything.”

“It will be as you say, my Lord.”

As the Marshal turned away, Ash’ei turned his gaze back to the hallway around him, eyes alighting on a trembling two-leg slave. She was hunched over in abject fear, stringy blonde hair covering her homely face. She was completely naked, her stomach stretched in advanced pregnancy. She peered up at her master slowly, giving a small sob. The smile Ash’ei gave back was positively ghoulish.

“Come, young human… walk with me. We have much to do… and I am hungry.”

Author's Notes:

PHEW! HOLY CRAP!

That is officially the longest chapter I've ever written, and I'm pretty proud of myself! Things have come full circle, and now you see the official rise of the Equestrian Empire, and the beginning of the next great invasion of the Centaur race.

I'd like to give my deepest gratitude to everyone who has followed me since the beginning of ToaNE. this story has become something like my own child as I wrote it, and I'm very proud of the world I have created. I'm hoping to start a whole new universe for creative writers to dig into and enjoy. From this point forward, the ToaNEverse is open to anyone who wants to write in it, as long as you make it clear what 'verse it's from, and maybe give a link back to this story.

Also, there is a direct sequel to this story in the works, covering the Centaur War. It, however, will take some time to do. In the mean time, I plan to add in two side sequels, covering the Countesses Scratch, and the Changeling Hives. I hope everyone who has followed ToaNE so far, will follow those stories as well!

And again, thank you all. I appreciate your commitment to following this story more than you'll ever know.