[WIP]
Tropes:
- Badass Boast: After shedding his "default" Alicorn form to reveal his true form as an incredibly ancient, six-winged Alicorn god, Golden Scepter goes on to confront the Fallen deities and worshipers who tried to destroy his family, and gives them two boasts in short order.Emperor Golden Scepter: I HAVE SEEN MANY MORTALS AND DIVINES CLAIM THAT FATE IS THE ULTIMATE DECIDER OF LIFE AND DEATH. AND YET THEY FELL BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO ASSURED IN THE INFLEXIBILITY OF A RATHER FLIMSY AND UNPREDICTABLE CONCEPT, AND TOO LAZY TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. AND THUS, ON THIS DAY FORTH, I WILL ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE FATE OF MY FAMILY WITH MY OWN HOOVES, BY ENDING YOUR COLLECTIVE MISERABLE EXISTENCE.
[...]
I HAVE LIVED IN A TIME WHERE THE ALICORNS HAVE PROSPERED, AND FOUGHT THROUGH TEN PASSED AGES OF WAR. I HAVE CREATED AN EMPIRE OF GOLD THAT WOULD HAVE ASCENDED AND REACHED THE STARS, HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR MY OWN FLAWS AND INNER CRUELTY. I HAVE AIDED COUNTLESS MORTAL AND DIVINE HEROES IN THEIR QUESTS, HELPED THEM TAP INTO THEIR INNER POTENTIAL, AND PREVENTED THE COMPLETE DESOLATION OF A FLOURISHING PLANET BY HIDING AWAY WHOMEVER I WAS ABLE TO. I HAVE SEEN AND ENDURED MANY CYCLES, AND WITNESSED ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT THIS WORLD HAS TO OFFER. IF YOU NAIVE, MEWLING BABES THINK THAT YOU CAN GO AGAINST SOMEONE WHO HAS LIVED LONGER THAN EVEN THE FORE-BEARERS OF YOUR FOREBEARERS, THEN I WILL SHOW YOU JUST HOW MUCH POWER AND EXPERIENCE I HAVE GAINED OVER COUNTLESS MILLENNIA. I WILL SHOW YOU EXACTLY WHAT MY LITTLE PONIES AND THEIR FRIENDS THINK OF BEING USED AS PUPPETS TO GRANT THE 'DARKEST WISH' OF A CHILDISH, PETULANT, AND SELFISH MANIAC.
I WILL SHOW YOU JUST HOW FAR A FATHER IS WILLING TO GO IN PROTECTING HIS CHILDREN FROM THOSE WHO DARE TO HARM THEM.- Ispita gives one when her seal is broken:
Ispita: Mortals! Give into your inner beast! Let it loose! Let it roam wild and free! Society says let it rot away behind bars in the zoo, but I say let it loose upon the world were it belongs! I am the temptation of power! I am lust! I am power's corrupting influence! I am the selfish black heart we all have! I am the devil on your shoulder that tells the angel to be still! I am the force that draws ponies to the Alicorn Amulet and all the rest! I am all of you sapient deep down! I am ISPITA LILITH SET! TEMPTATION UNBOUND! - Deal with the Devil: Ispita's MO is to make deals with others to get what she wants:
- She made a deal with Decepticolt, Zappityhoof, and Goldencap to make them Alicorns in exchange for a favor, which turned out to be distracting the heroes from her real plan.
- She makes one with Gallus: he sets her free and she gives him a family. His emotional turmoil over that makes him take it, but on the belief that she'd be beaten anyway. Unfortunately for him, Ispita is a lot smarter than that.
- Ispita's ultimate goal is to grant 'The Darkest Wish', which is presumably some sort of deal.
- Dragon Ascendant: Ispita was originally one of Discord's Co-Dragons, but now long after his original defeat she's returned as the main villain in her own right.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Katastrofa is a Tier 3-ranked Draconequus god, making him far older than Crystal Prism, who was a young unicorn colt when he Ascended and is now an Alicorn demigod, the equivalent of a newborn infant by divine standards. Nevertheless, they were able to become best friends during the "Temptation Unbound" conflict.
- Interspecies Friendship: Katastrofa is a divine Draconequus and Ispita's youngest son. Crystal Prism is a young Alicorn demigod. Despite this, they were able to become friends during the "Temptation Unbound" conflict.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Gallus ends up giving into temptation and releasing Ispita in exchange for a family.
- No Indoor Voice: Upon shedding his "default" form to reveal his true form as an ancient, six-winged Alicorn god, Golden Scepter starts speaking in BOLDED CAPSLOCK. It shows the sheer scope of just how powerful, experienced, and ancient he is compared to the many deities that populate Equus.
- Odd Friendship: Katastrofa, the Duke of Disaster and the youngest son of Ispita and Discord, would end up befriending the young Alicorn demigod, Crystal Prism, after the latter suggested that he didn't have to be evil and could use his seemingly malevolent abilities for good while also embracing his creative side. However, it's speculated by some that they're actually more similar than they think - Katastrofa's true nature is to recreate after destruction, as he's a Destroyer Deity who embodies Distasters, but also Creation. This is similar to Crystal Prism's divine domains of Rebirth, Change, and Transformation.
- Painting the Medium: Upon shedding his "default" form to reveal his true form as an ancient, six-winged Alicorn god, Golden Scepter starts speaking in BOLDED CAPSLOCK. It shows the sheer scope of just how powerful, experienced, and ancient he is compared to the many deities that populate Equus.
- Papa Wolf: After one of his sons, Crimson Star, warned him about a bad future in which his family would be torn apart in a crisis that would result in his death, Golden Scepter was so angry that he saw fit to shed his "default" Alicorn form and reveal his true form - that of a ancient, six-winged Alicorn god whose power, experience, and age puts him around the same "age" bracket as the first generation of the divine "Ponyfriends". And during his confrontation with the Fallen deities and their worshipers who tried to manipulate and destroy his family, he makes it quite clear that he won't let their actions towards his sons, as well as his pony subjects and their friends, go unpunished.Emperor Golden Scepter: I WILL SHOW YOU JUST HOW FAR A FATHER IS WILLING TO GO IN PROTECTING HIS CHILDREN FROM THOSE WHO DARE TO HARM THEM.
- Rousing Speech: When Golden Scepter's soldiers started faltering in the face of massively numerous Fallen deities and their allies/worshipers, he would give them a speech that boosted their morale. It helps that he's the Alicorn god of Leadership, allowing him to magically bolster his soldiers' courage and inspire them to do the right thing. As a result, the Fallen side lost more than his side did.Emperor Golden Scepter: (to his soldiers) Equus and its surrounding universe has many horrors yet to throw at us. This seemingly horrific battle will not be the end of our struggle. This is just the beginning of our trials, the beginning of our crusade to save Ponykind and all of the sapient creatures that live with them. So be faithful! Be strong! BE VIGILANT!
- Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: Ispita was sealed in pony form by Pakak thousands of years ago. He intended to monitor, but was sealed away himself, allowing her to roam freely, though in a greatly diminished state. The arc is kicked off when she finally realizes a way to break her seal: get one of the Young Six, who are much younger and less experienced than the other Harmony Bearers who could free her, to do it. She succeeds in manipulating Gallus into doing so.
- Spanner in the Works: Crimson Star, one of Golden Scepter's sons, foresaw his family being torn apart when his brothers would turn each other one by one, starting with his younger brother, Written Word, which would create a great catastrophe that would end with Golden Scepter's death. He would end up averting the bad future by warning his father, exposing the Fallen deities and their worshipers who tried engineering his family's downfall in the process. In addition, Golden Scepter was so furious upon learning that someone tried destroying his family, that he saw fit to shed his "default" form and reveal himself as an ancient, six-winged Alicorn before confronting the people responsible.
- Title Drop: When her seal is broken, Ispita ends her Badass Boast by proclaiming herself 'temptation unbound.'
- You Are Too Late: The Mane Six realize what Ispita's actual plan to be unbound is (use the much less experienced Young Six) and rush back to stop her...only to arrive right as Gallus falls for her temptation and releases her.
