//------------------------------//
// prologue (edited by Cakebomb and DaLintyMan) 
// Story: Rise of an Empire, Fall of Another 
// by Kyuubi325 
//------------------------------//

The Young Emperor
Inside an ostentatious bedchamber a young diamond dog thrashed in his sleep as dreams brought forth hallucinations of his element.  In those dreams he heard the voices of different diamond dogs, as the sounds of projectiles flying past and the blasts of cannon fire ringed in his sensitive ears.
“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” The image of a stout diamond dog filled his vision.
The image was burned away to reveal the portrait of a short officer in ceremonial uniform.
“You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.” The portraits eyes seemed to look into his soul.
It was then lifted away to reveal countless lines of infantry armed with iron swords stormed from the west into battle, as dragons from the east flew towards the legions of dogs. They soon set loose breaths of fire into the helpless lines of infantry. Screams could be heard as many of the mutts died in agony, and those around them bellowed oaths into the sky. Ballista set loose vladium tipped arrows that pierced the hides of the infernal beasts.
“War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”
The scene changed to a subterranean area, where nests of dragon eggs could be seen. The thin bodies of starving dragon den mothers laid nearby, the life in them slowly fading. There was a loud explosion, and gas started to fill the chamber. The skeletal creatures thrashed in a hopeless bid for survival as their eyes began to tear blood and their lungs blistered. Shouts and the sounds of leather boots against rock could be heard. Diamond dogs dressed in tan military garb wearing gasmasks flooded into the nesting grounds. The den mothers tried in vain to protect their eggs as their lungs filled with fluid, and in response, the invaders opened fire with their heavy weapons. The scene fades as the diamond dogs began smashing the unborn offspring with the stocks of their weapons.
“Suddenly, there was an enormous flash of light, the brightest light I have ever seen or that I think anyone has ever seen. It blasted; it pounced; it bored its way into you. It was a vision which was seen with more than the eye. It was seen to last forever. You would wish it would stop; altogether it lasted about two seconds.”
A city appeared, where many Equine nobles and aristocrats could be seen, trotting on cobblestone roads. Great, almost impossible seeming spires rose from an almost fairytale like castle, where countless equestrians could be seen gathering in the castle's great hall, filled with high stained glass windows and a crimson carpet that lead up to four alicorns resting on their respective thrones. A white alicorn rose from its throne. It appeared to be giving a speech, but it voice could not be heard. Peasant, aristocrat, and noble alike cheered, but in the distance a blinding flash and deafening explosion could be heard. In the throne room the ponies continued to cheer, oblivious to the event. The stained glass windows that once depicted the greatest moments of pony kind were shattered and the skin of the occupants melted from their forms. In the final moments the blurry image of a dark blue form could be seen.
The emperor awoke from his nightmare, and rose from his white silk bed sheets. He sighed and uneasily got out of bed. He made his way to to the balcony, and what he saw as he calmed himself in the night air was the forefront of industry. Countless factories belched smoke into the skies, the lights from the grubby windows illuminated with the glow of electric lights and fires of massive smelters. When he looked closely he saw locomotives crawling forward out of a factory, pulling one of the empire's newest landships from the gantry that had constructed it. The landship was to be moved to the lands in the east to protect the many settlers who had moved to the dragons former homeland. He remembered the day he drew up the designs for the prototype; when he had started he was planning on using them to fend off the many attacks his land experienced during the dragon migration. He shuddered then, thinking about them flying overhead, pillaging helpless peasants as the Empire's armies struggled to arrive in time.
Countless inventions he had created to bring his kind out of the dark ages of famine, sickness, and poverty, only to be used to not only defend them but also to commit genocide. He remembered the 200 year war, his father had taught him about the countless battles that the diamond dogs raged against dragonkind. There were days when he wished he could go back to that simple life, working with his father by the forge, when he wasn’t the great emperor but the son of a blacksmith and a baker. But that had changed when he built his mother an improved stove and oven using only the scraps his father left lying around. His parents were so impressed they begged the local Duke, an old short-tempered auburn furred diamond dog with cloudy eyes named Augustine the Magnificent who, to let him take the exam.
He remembered hearing about the exam from many of his mates at school. Apparently, it was administered to those who not only showed academic promise but also unique capabilities. The elderly Duke looked over his work with the care of an artisan, slowly running his paws over the painstakingly crafted baker's oven and stove. He then turned to me, looking at me with milky eyes that pierced my soul. The old dog had then simply given his parents a short nod.
The next day the emperor-to-be was forced to pack up his belongings and leave home to go live in the capital, to study for the exam. He remembered both his parent's tear filled eyes as they hugged him goodbye, and the wails of his mother when he had left on the carriage. The trip was long, but he remembered seeing the capital in all its glory; shops lined the roads, and more dogs than he had ever seen in the village were walking around.Soon after, he had arrived at a large government building that was 6 stories high, with gothic designs and stone gargoyles standing in the front, almost as if they were guarding the entrance. He had been led in by a middle aged bitch with grey fur and a rich grey dress. She had showed him his living quarters; a small room with a simple wooden desk and a bed. I was then told I would be delivered food three times a day while I studied for the exam, and the high penalties of cheating. Before she left me she gave me a letter from my parents. I opened it to find……
“To our dearest son Theodor,
We know that you must be scared, but we want you to know that whatever happens we love you. The reason we asked for you to take the exam was so that you could have a chance at a life greater than we could ever hope to give you. Ever since you were a young pup you would always ask questions and read any book you could find. Even when you were beaten up after your lessons by the local bullies for getting high marks, you never stopped learning. The days when you would come home and tell your father and me what you had learned made us so proud of you. When you asked your father how to work the forge, so you could try and build the wondrous creations you had drawn up in your room, he nearly died of happiness. On the nights you spent trying to bring your ideas to life, we would sit and watch you work just out of sight, so imagine our surprise when one day I found a new stove and oven in the bakery.  No matter what happens we are proud of you. Never forget that.
Love,
Mom and Dad”
After reading that letter he had dived into his studies, sometimes forgetting to eat and sleep. He would recite the table of known elements before he went to bed and in the
morning practice my mathematics as he ate breakfast. When the day of the exam arrived, he had found himself shaking with fear. He had sat down at a small desk with the exam in front of him, in a closed room with a guard posted at the door. There were others there too, maybe thirty in all, all scared and worried about failure. The questions were mainly logic and science based, but at times he would find oddly philosophical questions that were difficult to answer. The test lasted a few hours. They soon had their papers taken away and were told to return to their rooms and wait. He had spent the next few hours sitting in his room alone, before hearing a knock on his door and an elderly official had told him to follow him to the main office. They walked through hallways lined with doors, the sounds of whimpering and crying coming from them. They had then arrived at the office. It was a small room with a young bitch sitting behind an oak desk. She was wearing an oriental dress that was colored with almost mesmerizing patterns of lavender and emerald. She sat looking through countless documents, seemingly ignoring him before her gaze focused firmly on him. She then harshly ordered him to sit down in the simple wooden chair in front of her desk. She then simply told him that he had passed…. No big speech, no great reward, just her telling him I would be leaving for an “Academy”. Little did he know what they had in store for him and the others who had passed the exam.
He shook these memories of old times from his head as he became aware that he was not alone in his royal bedroom.
“Young emperor, are you well?” said a young servant with black fur who wore a clean servant uniform, consisting of a simple black and white dress.
He nodded in response, then commanded in a tired voice “Bring me my clothes.” Without another word she carried in his decorated dark blue uniform, with countless medals and awards decorating the chest, polished brass buttons, and a decorative pocket watch to him. He slowly put on the uniform and had the servant clean up his face as he got ready to talk with the various generals, nobles, and elected officials about coming out of isolation and opening up trade with the nations across the western sea.