//------------------------------// // The Fall of Illyrium // Story: The Great Draconequus War // by Everythingpossible //------------------------------// The great city of Illyrium sat on a large archipelago of several islands, miles off of the western coast of Equestria. It was a great city, a centre of enlightenment and progress, with great marble buildings and towers shining in the brilliant sunlight. It was the only remaining of the Seven Great Cities of the Draconequi, once a great empire spread among the coast, now diminished by war, famine, and plague. Every single remaining member of the draconequus species lived within its shining stone walls. All of them, except one. From his usual bush, he could see the shining metropolis on the horizon. He sat lurking among the brambles, banished from the island by the High Council, for some matter about turning the Imperial Treasury building upside-down. He had always had a wonderful talent for magic, especially chaotic magic. He thought he saw something, something new. He conjured a spyglass. From the harbour, he distinctly saw several galleys loading with troops clad in steel plate, carrying pikes and shields. The city was preparing for war. Illyrium had been involved in several wars, mostly minor trade conflicts with the other Draconequian cities before their downfall, and now with the land ponies. He wondered which great Equestrian power would be facing the might of the city. It could be the Bullzantines, the Oxtrians, the Ottomane Empire– or, perhaps, even the great Kingdom of Canterlot - the mightiest of them all, which he had heard was ruled by a maniacal, despotic king. He heard several hoofbeats. He guessed maybe ten, twelve ponies- surely this was not the mighty mythical army of a great empire? He looked up from his hiding place - two large alicorns, accompanied by several armoured pegasi bearing a large, covered object. Is this what the ponies were sending? Perhaps it was only a diplomatic mission. He wondered what was being lifted by the pegasi, covered in purple velvet, embroidered with a ‘C’ in golden thread. The two alicorns, one large and white, with a multicoloured mane, and one smaller, blue one, took position just feet from the coast. The large object was placed between them. By now, several hundred ships, each with a crimson draconequus on its mainsail, the bulk of the Illyrian navy, were headed at full sail towards the shore. The cover was removed with the larger alicorn’s golden magic. He had heard of the Elements of Harmony, just an old tale told by only the elders of the city. According to legend, they were created from powerful magic by the six smaller cities when they rose in rebellion against the last. They had supposedly been taken by the army of Canterlot during the Siege of Sardonium in the last great war. Still, it was only a legend, wasn’t it? But sure enough, the velvet was lifted, and there they were, exactly as they appeared in the history books, six shining stones, carved into perfect spheres by draconequus sorcerers of yore, bearing the emblems of the six great cities: Illyrium, Sardonium, Victorium, Murarium, Argentium, and Lacertium. They were placed in a circle on the ground, while he watched with bated breath. The legends told that they could bring great destruction, yes, but how, exactly? He didn’t have to wait long to find out. As the ships were approaching land, the alicorns activated their magic, and the Elements rose into the air, surrounded by a green aura. They began to rotate rapidly, until they formed a perfect grey ring. To his surprise, a large rainbow appeared from the ring, and bolted up into the sky, where it formed a silver sphere. Suddenly, the sphere grew larger, and let out hundreds of smaller rainbows. They each came down upon an Illyrian galley, and the wood of their decks was blasted apart. Draconequi were screaming, attempting to flee, but then something odd began to happen. As they abandoned ship, they were overcome by the rainbow, and from their tail upwards were transfigured into solid stone. They tipped off the sides, faces frozen in agony and shock, and plunged to the bottom of the sea. In one fell swoop, the two alicorns had destroyed the greatest military force in the world. He could only look in awe and confusion. He wasn’t saddened to see it crushed so, he had always been a pacifist at heart. But the way his countrymen were paralysed struck fear into his heart. But they didn’t stop there. The alicorns increased their magical power, and the sphere grew larger. A huge rainbow now arced over, striking a point in the ocean mere meters away from the city. It burned a colourful ring into the sea, until it had completely surrounded Illyrium. A dome of pink, dense magic now surrounded the city. Through his spyglass, He could see that those inside began to suffer a similar fate to the sailors. Thousands of civilians, horribly turned to stone by some dark magic, frozen in mundane positions with fear in their eyes. He felt a shockwave under him. The sphere was now even larger. While he sat in a hedge by the seashore, he could see Illyrium, the metropolis, the last city of the draconequi, his home, begin to sink into the sea, still surrounded by the pink dome. “No….. No…..” Water flowed through and overcame the marble seawall, flooding the streets and the marketplace. “No….” A small whirlpool appeared when the top sank beneath the water, and disappeared. It was gone. “NO!!” He had to lower his voice, lest the alicorns hear him. He let the picture invade his mind: Hundreds, thousands of his own kind, petrified in a watery tomb, probably never to be seen again. And here he was, alive. The Elements were again placed under their cover, and taken by the pegasi. Slowly, the convoy disappeared over the horizon. So that was it. The last war of the ponies and draconequus. Extinction. Wooden fragments of the fallen utopia floated to the surface. No survivors. Except for him.