Characters / Codex Equus Imperium Of Ponykind

Here is a list of characters from the Imperium of Ponykind.

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Imperium of Ponykind

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General

• Abusive Precursors: The Golden Imperium was one of the many great precursor civilizations that sprung up on Equus before Known History, though they were far from the last. Led by Emperor Golden Scepter, who was born a "prodigy" deity among Alicornkind, the Imperium would become an incredibly huge and powerful empire that was advanced both magically and technologically, and managed to reach the stars and surrounding galaxies. Unfortunately, a slew of monumental mistakes on Golden Scepter's part, combined with calamitous outside circumstances, would turn the Imperium into a deep cesspool of xenophobia, racially-motivated expansionism, and reactionary fanaticism that would ultimately decline and crumble under its own weight. What contributed to its fall was the rise of younger and more benevolent civilizations (including King Ibrida and his Halfblood Empire) that saw the Imperium as a threat to everyone around it and attacked it to protect more innocent people from being killed. It was ultimately Queen Majesty and her Dream Kingdom that dealt it the final deathblow.
• Absolute Xenophobe: Deconstructed. Ponykind under the Imperium gradually became xenophobic thanks to the influence of Emperor Golden Scepter, who became extremely protective of his Pony subjects because of past experience and trauma, and launched great campaigns of genocide against non-Pony races out of the belief that they were threats that must be destroyed. However, after the "Aurum Apostasy" conflict, it quickly became worse as Ponykind began using their now-absent Emperor as an excuse to carry out even more atrocities, partially resulting in it being destroyed by younger benevolent civilizations to stop it from antagonizing everyone.
  • That being said, there were exceptions to their xenophobia. The Mignons, for one, were able to find in the Imperium partly because they were relatively harmless (except when they screw up spectacularly), and partly because they were enthusiastically loyal to a fault, given their psychological/evolutionary need to serve (in Prince Crimson Star's words) the "biggest, baddest, and most despicable people around" - which the Golden Imperium fit quite perfectly. Their knack of not really being noticed nor treated as a big deal certainly helped.
    Emperor Golden Scepter: I could had sworn seeing them fooling around back in the time of the Golden Imperium. Even in my own continent-spanning Imperial Palace, no less. However did they find it to work for my domain for Ponykind back in the day despite its blatant xenophobia?
    Prince Crimson Star: To be fair, by your own recollection the Imperium of Ponykind certainly fit their standards of being the 'biggest, baddest and most despicable' people around. And even back then they made some exceptions in their policies to harmless and even useful 'Xenos' and non-Ponies.
• Ban on A.I.: The Golden Imperium arose in the aftermath of a Robot War which fell an even more advanced and prosperous precursor civilization built by Ponykind in the time between its rise and the 'Twilight of the Alicorns'. This A.I. revolt - the "Mare Of Iron Rebellion" as it would be called by historians - was so incredibly brutal and devastating that it deeply tainted Golden Scepter's views and opinions on Artificial Intelligence and influenced him to place a near-universal ban on any technology that could lead to the potential birth of A.I. while Ponykind rebuilt itself. Even in the Fourth Age, long after the Golden Imperium's fall, Golden Scepter still carries biases against A.I. (save for a few that managed to earn his grudging respect) despite developing more tolerant views of organic non-Pony races. The Golden Imperium's story also became a major argument against recreating 'Synthetic Automatons' at the 'Council of Hoofington' where it would be discussed for the first time in the the Fourth Age at a major capacity.
• Civil War: At some point, the Imperium experienced one in the form of the 'Aurum Apostasy', which was both led by and named after Aurum Lupus, one of Golden Scepter's greatest Generals. After witnessing Golden Scepter's then-increasingly tyrannical and hypocritical rule, and receiving a vision where the Alicorn Emperor was worshiped as a god, Aurum Lupus took it upon himself to overthrow Golden Scepter in a well-intentioned attempt to save both the Imperium and its residents from a divine tyrant. The following war was so brutal that it took away a third of the Imperium's own military, both half of the loyalist Generals and their elite forces, and left Golden Scepter crippled and sealed away in healing stasis for countless Ages. It's implied that like its inspiration, the Horus Heresy, both Aurum Lupus and the Imperium itself were influenced by powerful, malicious third parties that used the conflict as a weapon to destroy the Imperium, as Golden Scepter believes to this day that his traitorous General was corrupted by evil demons and divines for their own purposes.
• Crapsack World: It's heavily implied that the "Twilight of the Alicorns" conflict left much of the world in ruins, necessitating a few Alicorns like Golden Scepter to stay behind and help with rebuilding and finding other survivors. This led to the rise of the Imperium of Ponykind when Golden Scepter's good deeds led to a popular following... however, the Imperium would in turn become this after Golden Scepter's mistakes and flaws motivated some of his Generals to betray him in disgust, leading to a brutal civil war that led to Golden Scepter being sealed away for a long time while the Imperium became a reactionary, xenophobic, and fanatical theocracy that worshiped him as a god in his absence until it was ultimately destroyed.
• Egopolis: Subverted. Despite it being sometimes called the "Golden Imperium", it originated as a joke among Pony historians in reference to the massive amounts of magically-enchanted gold. Not only that, at the time, Golden Scepter went by "Auriolus Scaeptrum", a name given to him by his people in accordance to an ancient tradition that saw Alicorns being renamed after becoming full-fledged royalty. After the Imperium fell and Golden Scepter woke up from stasis countless Ages later, he threw his Alicorn name away and readopted his birth name, "Golden Scepter", in an attempt to distance himself from the mistakes he made during the Imperium era, as well as the Alicorns' collective mistakes and flaws.
• Expy: To the Imperium of Man as a whole. Much like the Imperium of Man, the Imperium of Ponykind was founded by a godlike being in a well-meaning attempt to give a certain mortal race a safe haven from all threats, and a chance to prosper. However, the flaws of its ruler, its government, and its subjects, combined with the influence of malicious outside forces, ultimately caused the Imperium of Ponykind to degenerate into a stagnant polity of fanaticism, xenophobia, and extreme ruthlessness.
• Galactic Superpower: It is heavily hinted in multiple entries that the Golden Imperium, being an ersatz/expy of the Imperium of Man, extended far beyond the world of Equus and turned into a galaxy-spanning empire in its scale and reach. It's noted that even with all its internal problems and all the threats they faced, the sheer size of its territory, population and economy (spread out across millions of systems) along with its hyper-militarized, paranoid and religiously fanatical society managed to allow it to endure relentless warfare and internal rot for tens of thousands of years before it finally falls apart.
  Cardinal Mortal Bleat: The Imperium! How mighty its aspect! How far-reaching its boundaries! As one world dies ten more are brought into the fold. Fear us, for we count the lives of PLANETS, not Manes!
• In-Series Nickname: It's sometimes jokingly called the "Golden Imperium" by Pony historians, due to its massive abundance of magically-enchanted gold.
• Implacable Man: It spent much of its history as a dying giant, but the galaxy-spanning empire's sheer size and power meant it still took tens of thousands of years of external warfare against unimaginable threats and internal decay from its countless faults before it finally collapses, and even at its weakest its still staggering might made it not a power to be casually trifled with.
• Lost Technology: They were technologically sophisticated even by the standards of Known History, but after the Imperium's destruction, much of their stuff were lost... until Golden Scepter returned from stasis and started reintroducing some of them to the outside world. To note, Crazy Ant of Machina went absolutely ga-ga when he saw Golden Scepter's Powered Armor for the first time, because it's far more advanced than anything he had ever seen in the Fourth Age. The irony is, given its inspiration and how it developed afterwards, the Imperials likely barely understood even their own technology and reverse-engineered them from one of their own precursors, which was destroyed by a AI rebellion and other calamitous events.
• My Greatest Failure: Golden Scepter essentially sees his entire reign over the Imperium as one huge failure, as he had committed so many atrocities and mistakes during this time that, after reemerging in the Second Age, he spent much of it in depression and guilt, even seeing himself as a "relic" that deserves to be forgotten by his Pony subjects. And as he revealed to Princess Twilight in the Fourth Age, the things he did in the Imperium era motivated Golden Scepter to throw away his Alicorn name, "Auriolus Scaeptrum", and readopt his birth name in an attempt to return to his roots, seeing his previous identity as a symbol of everything wrong with the Alicorn Civilization, his people's practices and beliefs, and himself. He even deems said identity as dead, as in his eyes, it was Golden Scepter who reemerged in the Second Age, not Auriolus Scapetrum. This motivated him to become more tolerant and kinder when he founded the Terran Empire, as well as making it far smaller than his previous empires so it wouldn't buckle and collapse under its own weight like they did.
  Emperor Golden Scepter: (to Princess Twilight/Amicitia Sparkle) It was Auriolus Scaeptrum who thought himself above the judgement of others, who thought only he knew best for his mortal subjects, and bathed his hooves in blood and fire to create a world where mortal Ponykind could grow. In the end, it was Auriolus Scaeptrum who died at the hooves of those who deemed him a divine tyrant and threw him down from the pedestal he built for himself.
  
  Now, I am Golden Scepter. 'Golden Scepter' was my name when my blessed parents brought me into this world. And Golden Scepter is all that I shall ever be until the end of Time itself.
• Posthumous Character: Many inhabitants of the Imperium are long dead, either from falling in battle or dying from old age. It's implied that some were reincarnated in the Fourth Age by benevolent cosmic forces to give them a happier ending, like the Golden Generals, who were reincarnated as Golden Scepter's nineteen demigod sons.
• Praetorian Guard: The fabled Custodes Praetorian Guard was implied by Jasper's entry to be this, being designed to protect and serve Golden Scepter as an elite force of Pony super-soldiers. One of the Captain-Generals of the Custodes would befriend General Scarlet Vortex, a talented mage/"psyker" who served as a Golden General under Emperor Golden Scepter, with implications that both of them would be reincarnated in the Fourth Age as Jasper and Prince Crimson Star, respectively.
• Precursors: One of the most notable, powerful and advanced precursor civilizations built by Ponykind alone, and from various hints of its scale is a testament to the scales of both the setting and Ponykind's potential. Of course, it also embodied its worst, especially after the 'Aurum Apotasy' took out its founder Golden Scepter and caused its decline into a xenophobic, expansionistic, reactionary and fanatical polity that ultimately fell apart under its own weight and weaknesses and be taken out by more benevolent civilizations.
• Psychic Powers: From what was implied, psychic powers were extremely common, likely the work of Golden Scepter guiding Ponykind's evolution as a psychic species. Golden Scepter's entry notes that the Imperium had one of the largest recorded numbers of psychics in history, and he plans to do it again in the Fourth Age - which he succeeds in after founding the Terran Empire.
• Reincarnation: It's implied that the Generals are not the only Imperial citizens who got reincarnated. Jasper, a young Abyssinian soldier living in the Terran Empire, is suspected by Golden Scepter himself to be a reincarnation of an Imperial Custodes Captain-General who was frequently disrespected and insulted by his own soldiers. What furthered the connection is that like Jasper, who befriended the blind psychic prodigy Prince Crimson Star, the Imperial Captain would befriend one of Golden Scepter's Generals, Scarlet Vortex who was also a talented psychic/mage in life.
• Superior Successor: As Golden Scepter reveals to Princess Twilight/Amicitia Sparkle in the Fourth Age, he founded the Imperium so he could succeed where the Alicorns had failed, with the Imperium of Ponykind intended to be this to the Alicorn Civilization. Unfortunately, his traumas and other untreated psychological issues ensured that the Imperium would fall into the same sins, mistakes, and depravities that felled the Alicorns in the first place, ultimately leading to Golden Scepter being injured in a civil war that he unwittingly helped create and sealed away for countless Ages.
  Emperor Golden Scepter: I thought I could succeed where my people had failed by starting anew, helping those who too, lost much in our petty squabbles, and building another empire... but I was wrong. My own flaws and inner cruelty had reared their ugly heads despite my best efforts, and everything crumbled around me until I was sealed away.
• The Theocracy: What the Golden Imperium gradually turned into after the 'Aurum Apostasy' devastated the Rising Empire and put Golden Scepter into a healing stasis for the rest of and past its history. The irony is that like the Emperor Of Mankind, whom he is based on, being worshipped as a god is the last thing Golden Scepter wanted.

Auriolus Scaeptum, the Radiant Emperor of Ponykind

See his page here.

Sigil, Regent Imperialis

First mentioned in an entry and expanded in a Drabble, Sigil was the cloest mortal companion and advisor of the Radiant Emperor of Ponykind, as well as the co-founder of the Imperium of Ponykind and its regent in Auriolus' absence.

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• The Ageless: Downplayed. While he did aged, he did so slow enough thanks to his own psychic powers and the Radiant Emperor of Ponykind's presence that he lived, worked and fought on Auriolus' side for millennia before he had to perform a Heroic Sacrifice in the final hours of the Aurum Apostasy.
• Been There, Shaped History: Had been around with Auriolus/Golden for much of the latter's post-Twilight of the Alicorns history, and had been fighting by his side during the lamentable Mares of Iron Rebellion preceding the Age of Strife and the Imperium Era.
• The Collector: Mentioned to be part of and likely last member of the Sigillite order, an ancient organisation dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of Ponykind throughout the ages from loss and destruction during the Age of Strife.
• Expy: Of Malcador the Sigilite, who was the Emperor of Mankind's most trusted assistant, friend, and regent of the Imperium during the empire's early days.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Famously and tragically had to perform one in the final hours of the Aurum Apostasy to give Auriolus and the loyalists a fighting chance at victory and save the galaxy.
• Honest Advisor: Gave valuable counsel to the Radiant Emperor of Ponykind before and during the Imperium Era, and is one of the few beings who had his complete trust and whom he would listen to. Unfortunately it was not enough to avert Auriolus' greatest mistakes.
• The Magnificent: Sigil 'the Hero', post-Heroic Sacrifice, as decreed by Auriolus Scaeptum/Golden Scepter himself.
• My Greatest Failure: One for Golden Scepter, as much tragedy could had been averted if his past self had listened to Sigil's wise counsel more, and he considers it at least partially his own fault that Sigil had to perform his Heroic Sacrifice to begin with.
• Old Friend: Sigil had been the closest companion of the Radiant Emperor for much of post-Twilight of the Alicorns history. Golden Scepter still mourns his loss to this very day, blaming himself in part that he had to perform his Heroic Sacrifice to begin with due to his mistakes and failing to heed some of his friend's wiser counsel.
• Our Founder: He co-founded the Imperium of Ponykind with Auriolus Scaeptum and served as regent in his absence. He also founded many important imperial institutions, such as the Officio Assassinorum and even more infamously, the Imperial Inquisition.
• Posthumous Character: As mentioned and implied in Inquisitor Adamantia's entry, he died long before the start of Known History, having been Golden Scepter's most loyal servant before he eventually succumbed in a heroic sacrifice to save the galaxy in the climatic final hours of the Aurum Apostasy.
• Psychic Powers: Was the most powerful mortal Pony psyker in the galaxy at the time short of the Golden Generals and Auriolus Scaeptum himself.

Golden Generals

General

• Enraged by Idiocy: According to Golden Scepter's own recollection, some of the Golden Generals grew so sick and resentful of the High Lords of the Imperium's real or perceived ignobility and ineptitude, they once tried to get them fired - from a cannon, out of the throneworld - and have them replaced with Servitors instead. The Radiant Emperor had to pass a few decrees outright forbidding them from doing that, even though he understands and sympathize with their reasons.
• Expy: All of the Golden Generals who served under Golden Scepter in the Imperium era are based on the Primarchs, though they focus on the Primarchs' more toxic and dysfunctional aspects. One of them, General Aurum Lupus, whose name is Latin for "Golden Wolf", is based on Horus Lupercal. Much like what happened in WH40k, some of Golden Scepter's Generals turned traitor and rebelled when their leader's worst flaws became apparent, causing them to see Golden Scepter as no different from a divine tyrant.
• Fallen Hero: The Golden Generals were the greatest heroes and warriors of the Imperium of Ponykind, commanding incredible power second only to Emperor Golden Scepter himself. However, a combination of their own flaws, Golden Scepter's increasingly tyrannical behavior, and the influence of the Ruinous Powers turned almost half the Golden Generals to evil.
• Raise Him Right This Time: It's heavily implied from the entries of Golden Scepter's sons that all of his Generals were reincarnated to help him atone for his mistakes by teaching him how to treat people close to him with unconditional love, respect, and kindness - things the Generals themselves did not receive in their lifetimes. Golden Scepter is starting to suspect something, though Luminiferous assures him that even if they are reincarnations, his sons are still unique people with their own thoughts and feelings.
• Reincarnation: After settling down in the Fourth Age, Golden Scepter starts suspecting that all of his Golden Generals from the Imperium era have been reborn as his nineteen demi-divine sons that he sired with his mortal wife, Blessed Skies, since some of his sons have behaved in ways that heavily reminded him of them. Luminiferous assured him that even if they are, his sons are still unique individuals with their own thoughts and feelings, and at this point Golden Scepter has enough knowledge and experience to ensure that his sons will have the "brighter future" that his Golden Generals did not.
• Unrelated in the Adaptation: The Primarchs are related to the Emperor of Mankind by virtue of being his gene-clones, but here they're simply Golden Scepter's greatest Generals ala Nobledark Imperium. Then it's inverted in the Fourth Age, as they were all reincarnated as Terran Princes and Golden Scepter's biological sons.

General Aurum Lupus, the Breaker of Tyrants

A mortal Pony general who once worked under Emperor Golden Scepter during the Imperium era.

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• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: He managed to inflict serious wounds on Golden Scepter, leaving the Alicorn Emperor near death, which is pretty impressive even if he had to be divinely empowered to do it, considering how powerful and ancient Golden Scepter is compared to him. However, Golden Scepter still ended up overpowering and killing him for his treachery.
• Expy: Of Primarch Horus Lupercal. Both of them were once loyal to a godlike Emperor before they decided to turn traitor, feeling betrayed by the very person they once served and wanting to save their people from a tyrannical "god". They also died the same way, being killed by the very rulers they attempted to overthrow, and their actions, while ultimately failed, still caused so much damage that the empire they once served started falling into a state of irrevocable decline.
• Face–Heel Turn: Justified; his ruler, Golden Scepter was becoming increasingly tyrannical, ruthless, and cruel despite his good intentions, but the final straw was when Aurum Lupus received a vision where Golden Scepter was worshiped as a god by trillions of Ponies. This would lead to the "Aurum Apostasy", in which he rebelled and masterminded a coup in a well-meaning attempt to save his people from what he saw as a divine tyrant. However, it is believed even by Golden Scepter himself that Aurum Lupus was actually manipulated and empowered by malign forces, which explained how he was able to deal grievous wounds that required Golden Scepter to be sealed away to save his life, before being killed in turn.
• Meaningful Name: His name translates to "Golden Wolf" in Latin, likely referencing his position as the first and most favored of the Golden Generals, much like how Primarch Horus Lupercal was the favored son of the Emperor of Mankind and a beloved Imperium hero.
• Posthumous Character: He died long before the start of Known History, having been killed by Golden Scepter for betraying him and raising a coup against him. However, it's implied that he got reincarnated in the Fourth Age as Golden Scepter's firstborn son, Prince Blazing Hoof of the Terran Empire, with the purpose of giving him a second chance.
• Reincarnation: It's implied that he and his fellow Generals eventually got reincarnated as Golden Scepter's demi-divine children; in his case, he was reincarnated as Prince Blazing Hoof, Golden Scepter's first-born son. This trope gets discussed when, after getting into a heated argument with his thirteenth son, Written Word, Golden Scepter confided his suspicions about his children being reincarnations of his Generals from the Imperium era to Luminiferous. Luminiferous would assure him that even if they are, all of his sons are still unique individuals with their own thoughts and feelings, and he has enough knowledge and experience to ensure that they'll have the "brighter future" that his Generals did not.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Much like Primarch Horus, he received a psychic vision where Golden Scepter was worshiped as a god, causing him to start the "Aurum Apostasy" event in a well-meaning bid to save the Imperium from a divine tyrant. Unfortunately, his actions ended up fulfilling the vision anyway, as after Golden Scepter was injured and sealed away, his subjects deified him, influencing the Imperium's fall into paranoid, xenophobic fanaticism.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He kicked off the brutal "Aurum Apostasy" event because he started seeing how Golden Scepter was becoming increasingly tyrannical during his reign, with the last straw being a psychic vision where Golden Scepter was worshiped as a god by trillions of ponies. He genuinely believed that by overthrowing his Emperor, he could save mortal Ponykind and allow them to prosper without a divine tyrant ruling over them. Unfortunately, his actions led to the very thing that he was trying to prevent, as after Golden Scepter went into stasis to heal his wounds, his surviving subjects deified him in his absence, influencing the Imperium's fall into paranoid, xenophobic fanaticism.

General Howling Winter, the Lord of Winter and Ruin

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• Expy: Of Primarch Leman Russ.
• Foil: To Prince Fanged Paw, his Fourth Age reincarnation. Howling Winter distrusted psychics to an unhealthy degree and constantly clashed with his fellow Golden General, Scarlet Vortex, over it. Fanged Paw began distrusting magic in part thanks to Crimson Star's insufferableness, but later realized his beliefs were wrong and hypocritical after he was exiled for severely injuring his brother, and reconciled with Crimson Star once he was allowed to return home.
• The Magnificent: Known as "the Lord of Winter and Ruin" in life.
• Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the Fourth Age. However, he would be reincarnated as Prince Fanged Paw, Golden Scepter's second son and the Alicorn demigod of Animals, War, and Disruption.
• Reincarnation: He is reincarnated in the Fourth Age as Prince Fanged Paw, Golden Scepter's second son and the Alicorn demigod of Animals, War, and Disruption.

General Sterling Defense, the Unyielding Praetorian

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• Expy: Of Primarch Rogal Dorn.
• The Magnificent: Known as "the Unyielding Praetorian" in life.
• Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the Fourth Age. However, he would be reincarnated as Prince Clear Voice, Golden Scepter's sixth son and the Alicorn demigod of Truth, Architecture, and Fortification.

General Scarlet Vortex, the Master of Sorcery

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• The Archmage: In life, he was one of the most powerful and talented mage-psykers in the Imperium of Ponykind. The only one who outclassed him is Golden Scepter, the Alicorn god of Psionics, which is saying something.
• Expy: Of Primarch Magnus the Red, being incredibly talented mages/"psykers" and learned scholars. However, he has elements of TTS!Magnus, as he befriended a Captain-General of the Imperial Custodies Praetorian Guard.
• Interclass Friendship: As a Golden General of Emperor Golden Scepter's Imperial forces, he is ranked very high in the system. But much like TTS!Magnus and Kitten, he befriended an Imperial Custodes Captain-General who is frequently disrespected and insulted by his own soldiers. This would carry onto their respective Fourth-Age reincarnations, Prince Crimson Star and Jasper, who would become friends under heavily similar circumstances.
• The Magnificent: Known as "the Master of Sorcery" in life.
• Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the Fourth Age. However, he would be reincarnated as Prince Crimson Star, Golden Scepter's eighth son and the Alicorn demigod of Psionics, Knowledge, and History.
• Psychic Powers: Implied. Given that he is the Expy of Primarch Magnus the Red, he is the most psychically powerful of the Golden Generals, and the second-most powerful psychic in the entire Imperium after Golden Scepter, who embodies Psionics. This would carry on into the Fourth Age after he is reincarnated as Prince Crimson Star, who became a psychic prodigy and later the Alicorn demigod of Psionics.
• Reincarnation: He is reincarnated in the Fourth Age as Prince Crimson Star, Golden Scepter's eighth son and the Alicorn demigod of Psionics, Knowledge, and History.

General Sanguine Light, the Great Angel

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• The Ace: Implied. It's noted in Prince Bright Eyes' entry that he was one of the greatest and most benevolent Golden Generals of the era.
• Expy: Of Primarch Sanguinius.
• The Magnificent: Known as "the Great Angel" in life.
• Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the Fourth Age. However, he would be reincarnated as Prince Bright Eyes, Golden Scepter's ninth son and the Alicorn demigod of Hope, Love, Light, and Prophecy.
• Reincarnation: He is reincarnated in the Fourth Age as Prince Bright Eyes, Golden Scepter's ninth son and the Alicorn demigod of Hope, Love, Light, and Prophecy.

General Tungsten Will, the Rumbling Mountain

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• Demon of Human Origin: At some point, he became a Daemon Prince of the Malignant Powers following his betrayal of the Imperium.
• Evil Counterpart: To Prince Steel Barricade. Both are logical, stoic, and brilliantly talented stallions, except Tungsten Will let his own jealousy and resentment towards another person get the best of him, causing him to fall into evil. And despite sharing the same qualities, Tungsten Will hated Sterling Defense for getting the recognition he felt he deserved, causing their relationship to deteriorate until they became bitter enemies locked in an 'iron cage' built from their mutual hatred. What prevented Steel Barricade from going down the same path was being exposed to the horrors of war and going through a few experiences that, while traumatizing, ultimately humbled him and influenced him to become kinder, both to his family and his mortal subjects. Bonus points goes to Steel Barricade being the heroic Fourth Age reincarnation of Tungsten Will.
• Evil Is Bigger: A Codex drabble describes him as "a giant of a stallion", making him one of the bigger Golden Generals. However, after years of being marginalized by the Imperium and treated as a 'janitor' who took jobs no one wanted, he eventually snapped and sided with the traitorous Generals during the Aurum Apostasy. He would also Ascend to Daemon princehood and spend his years trying to one-up his rival-turned-Arch-Enemy, General Sterling Defense, whom he always resented for the glory, accolades, and privileges he felt he deserved.
• Expy: Of Primarch Perturabo.
• The Magnificent: Known as "the Rumbling Mountain" in life.
• Meaningful Name: He's named after the tungsten metal, which is one of the strongest, rarest, and most durable metals in the world... but it's also the weakest in terms of impact strength. Tungsten Will is a stoic and coldly logical General who is known for his extremely brutal strategies, but deep down he is a brilliant architect and craved recognition for his deeds. Years of being marginalized and treated as the Imperium's 'janitor' eventually boiled over until he snapped and betrayed the Imperium during the Aurum Apostasy.
• Odd Friendship: Much like Perturabo and Magnus, he's best friends with General Scarlet Vortex despite his stoic, logical, and brutal personality. Such is their friendship that when Scarlet Vortex betrayed the Imperium during the Aurum Apostasy, he followed.
• Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the Fourth Age. However, he would be reincarnated as Prince Steel Barricade, Golden Scepter's eleventh son and the Alicorn demigod of Technology, Endurance, and Innovation.
• Reincarnation: He is reincarnated in the Fourth Age as Prince Steel Barricade, Golden Scepter's eleventh son and the Alicorn demigod of Technology, Endurance, and Innovation.

General Faithful Belief, the Devoted/Traitorous Arch-Priest

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• Break the Believer: In a parallel to what happened to Primarch Lorgar, he was harshly punished by Emperor Golden Scepter for promoting public worship of him by having an city he preached to burnt to the ground in its entirety. This backfired enormously, as Faithful Belief, broken and humiliated by the Radiant Emperor's actions, would later help arrange the events that led to the 'Aurum Apostasy' conflict in revenge. And after he was severely wounded by General Aurum Lupus and put in stasis, Golden Scepter would ironically be worshiped as a god by the Imperium itself, which had turned into fanatical, reactionary, and xenophobic theocracy in his absence. Following his discovery and reemergence in the outside world, a deeply remorseful Golden Scepter would call the incident one of the worst mistakes he ever made.
• Evil Counterpart: To Prince Written Word, who is his Fourth Age reincarnation. They both idolized Golden Scepter and promoted worship of him, which Golden Scepter disapproved of. However, when they had their faith tested, they reacted differently in part thanks to how Golden Scepter reacted to their idolization - Faithful Belief was publicly and harshly humiliated by Golden Scepter in an excessive way that he turned evil, corrupting him into daemonhood, and helped organize the 'Aurum Apostasy' conflict that paved the way for the Imperium of Ponykind's destruction. Written Word went soul-searching after Golden Scepter gently explained to him why he didn't want to be worshiped, which led to him realizing the true value of faith and Ascending to demi-godhood when he freed a backwater Pony kingdom from a demon-sponsored Corrupt Church.
• Evil Knockoff: A doppelganger of the Traitorous Arch-Priest would be created by Optima, the Summoner King from the darkness that lies so deeply buried in the soul of Faithful Belief's reincarnation Prince Written Word to do battle against him, using one of his enchanted cards, when the Viceliege of Malregnar realize that he and the diabolical forces he summoned is outmatched by the Terran Prince and his Word Bearers forcers.
• Expy: Of Primarch Lorgar.
• The Magnificent: Known as "the Devoted Arch-Priest". After his Face–Heel Turn, his epithet changed to "the Traitorous Arch-Priest" to reflect his betrayal and treacherous actions against the Imperium.
• Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the Fourth Age. However, he would be reincarnated as Prince Written Word, Golden Scepter's thirteenth son and the Alicorn demigod of Faith, Purification, and Truth.
• Reincarnation: He is reincarnated in the Fourth Age as Prince Written Word, Golden Scepter's thirteenth son and the Alicorn demigod of Faith, Purification, and Truth.

General Hanging Edge, the Night Haunter

A mortal Pony general who once worked under Emperor Golden Scepter during the Imperium era.

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• Expy: Of Primarch Konrad Curze.
• The Magnificent: Known as "the Night Haunter" in life.
• Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the Fourth Age. However, he has quite an impact on Prince Night Shade, who's implied to be his modern-day reincarnation, as much of his struggles come from dealing with the malicious influence of the "Night Haunter".
• Reincarnation: He is reincarnated in the Fourth Age as Prince Night Shade, Golden Scepter's fifteenth son and the Alicorn demigod of Justice, Darkness, Protection, and Karma.

Astra Militarum

General

444th Penal Regiment

Mentioned in a number of Drabbles, the 444th Penal Regiment are composed of criminals and 'rejects' of the Astra Militarum and other Imperial organisations who (actually or supposedly) committed transgressions or failings which condemn them to serve together to 'atone' for their failures and sins in the eyes of the Radiant Emperor. Despite being frequently sent into impossible suicide missions as an expendable force, the 444th have a notorious tendency to survive and prevail against everything the universe in the grimdarkness of the distant past has to throw at them.

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General

• Boxed Crook: All members of the Penal Regiment are this, hence their name. It's worth noting that not all of them actually committed crimes which warranted their undigified status, but were screwed over for various reasons by less-than-scrupulous members of the Imperial organisations which they came from or by circumstances beyond their control.
• Expy: Of the 444th Penal Squadron from Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.
• Trading Bars for Stripes: All members of the Penal Regiment are spared penal sentences for whatever crimes or transgressions they committed in exchange for serving on the battlefield
• Face Death with Dignity: Most of the regiment eventually perished somewhere on Holy Equus at the end of a major conflict, but many of them died saving civilians and faced their imminent end with dignity which they never received during their time of service.
• We Have Reserves: They were seen as expendable scum by their higher ups and are sent to die with the expectation that they could easily be replaced by new penal regiments. The problem for said higher-ups is that they have a notorious tendency to survive everything the hostile galaxy in the grim darkness of the distant past has to throw at them, and steal their thunder in the process.

The 'Rejects'

Sergeant Gael Notus

Nogg

Halcyon-Gamma 4

Shadow Flower

Other Imperium-Era Characters/Groups

The Sensei

• Divine Parentage: Or rather, distant relation, in that they are descendants of Golden Scepter via his flings with both male and female divines/mortals, but are not his direct sons and daughters.
• Expy: Of the old, now dubiously canon faction of the same name, and shares virtually all their traits.
• The Paragon Always Rebels: The Sensei are 'natural rebels', in that while they would heroically fight against any threats to the survival of Ponykind, they also stand in opposition to any injustice and oppression they come across. This puts them at odds with the Imperium of Ponykind, their own forefather Golden Scepter's own empire, especially as it begins to slide into tyranny, stagnation and zealotry in the absence of their ruling divine sovereign following Golden Scepter's mortal wounding and entering into stasis at the end of the 'Aurum Apostasy'.
• Perception Filter: The Codexverse Sensei, being direct expies of their 40K counterparts, are unique 'Psykers' with the ability to hide their presence from all magically and psionically sensitive entities and beings, up to and including their forefather himself. This allows them to wage their Secret War to protect Pony/Equuskind, and fight to topple the Imperium that they oppose out of principle, especially once it became an extremely oppressive, fanatical, and xenophobic Wretched Hive.
• Semi-Divine: Descendants of the Radiant Emperor of Ponykind from his flings with mortals and immortals prior to 'Twilight of the Alicorns', each of them would inherit both his immortality and a fraction of his powers (give or take a few exceptions such as Majesty), to which they would use to protect Pony/Equuskind from various threats and oppose the Imperium which their forefather founded (except the 'Grey Sensei', who turned villainous).
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Few of them apparently are said to have survived to see the fall of the Imperium of Ponykind and the defeat/destruction of all the unimaginable threats faced by Ponykind during the Imperium Era, and the rest, apart from Queen Majesty, would 'fade from history'. If any of them remained, their whereabouts are unknown.

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