The Dark Mirror Saga: Book 1: The Tale of the Last Caribou

As it turned out, hoping for a proper bathroom was a fool’s errand. Still, she managed to get the job done, spend ten minutes staring into the desolate wasteland that the broken wall failed to conceal, and then made her way back to Dainn. The caribou was sitting, likely not moving an inch until he heard her approach. Even after everything that had happened, she felt a rush of unease, fear, hatred, and pity ran up her spine whenever his dead, cold blue eyes stared at her from a distance. She arrived at her spot and sat down, ready to continue.

“How does it feel like?”

“Pardon?” Twilight asked, taken aback by the sudden question. She even raised an eyebrow and tilted her head sideways.

“To pee. To defecate?” Dainn asked without much reservation. “I’ve… forgotten how that feels like, though I recall a certain whisper of relief?”

Blushing, Twilight replied. “You know, if you were anyone else, I would slap you for asking me something so impolite and gross,” she finished with a sigh. “Though, you’re right. It is a relieving sensation. Maybe you’ll get to experience it after what you ate.”

“Hhhmmm, probably. Though I wouldn’t really know about what will happen with real food,” he began, leaning back and smiling in a twisted sense of amusement. “I wouldn’t recommend trying to kill yourself by eating glass, rusted nails, pieces of wood, metal filaments, and stones. I didn’t, ahem, ‘squeeze it out’, but they did find a way out of my body. It is a harrowing experience.”

Twilight had the willpower to not vomit as her vivid imagination provided a very likely scene of what the outcome of that particular attempt would bring, but she did find her voice. “What in Tartarus is wrong with you?”

“Aside from the obvious?” Dainn countered. “I did tell you that I tried to end my suffering many, many times. I have been… creative with certain methods.”

Twilight shuddered and shook her head, driving the mental images as far away from her mind as possible. “I’m eager to change the subject now, please. W-What happened after Oksho left?”

“What else? I took some of his warning to heart and tried to take the reigns of my newly acquired kingdom. Of course, it wasn’t that easy… no. No. It was that easy. The damnable enchantment made it all so perfectly easy. Not two weeks passed and I got reports that city after city fell, region after region captured at an astonishing rate. Most were enchanted, a few tried to fight back, the rest went into hiding, for all the good it did to them,” Dainn shook his head, gripping his cane tightly. “Despite every warning sign, I ignored it all. So what if a few males raped females openly on the streets? So what if instead of focusing on doing their jobs, males preferred to force females into humiliating conditions to simulate the work? Oh, a weak stallion is unaffected by the enchantment as is trying to speak against Male Superiority? Switch him if he likes females that much.”

“I tried… I tried so fucking hard to implement my laws, my ideas, my programs of production. But no one listened! NO ONE! The only ones that made an attempt to follow them were Gunne, Oksho, and the few lower-end administrators that, like myself, could never become warriors…,” Dainn stopped for several moments, not breathing or moving. He was just there, frozen in contemptuous silence. “I will spare you the most disgusting horrors that began to erupt at the time. But there is something I must tell you about before we continue.”

Twilight nodded, feeling her throat catch a lump of lead in it and feel her entire being shudder in dread. She knew exactly what he was referring to… but she couldn’t stop her mouth from uttering those words. “Celestia’s training.”

It wasn’t a question or a guess, it wasn’t even a stray thought or something she gave deep thought to. It was an affirmation. Cold and simple, surgical and clean. Dainn’s nod sent a chill down her spine as she saw a flare of hatred flash in his otherwise blue, dead eyes. “How did it happen?”

“As I’ve already told you, I didn’t train her. How could I? I didn’t have the time though I did… check regularly. No. Hrathr, one of the best female trainers still alive, was the one that trained her for me. He tried to train Luna, but that quickly became torture sessions, in all but name. Though Luna went through the same process, her mind was and remained intact. Celestia… she was dancing on the edge the whole time. The enchantment worked on her but not completely.”

Twilight gripped her dress and bit on her lower lip until she bled and pain overrode the anger surging in her heart. “There’s nothing I can do now,” she said out loud, but her words were not directed at Dainn. “It already happened… despite everything, this isn’t my dimension. It didn’t happen to my Celestia.”

“It did not, Not My Twilight. And with any luck, it shall never be so,” Dainn commented, gritting his teeth for a moment in discomfort. “Hrathr acted with my blessing to do whatever was necessary to break her. First, Celestia was removed from her quarters and put inside a cage barely big enough to house her and was forbidden from walking upright again. She would only crawl on all fours or sit kneeling idly. He--I took her dignity as an individual first; making sure she would come to understand she was now a mere animal,” Dainn paused for a second as a familiar pain started to course throughout his body. It was like poison running through his veins, stabbing him from within with hatred and revenge. Still, he carried on.

He had to admit that Twilight was holding up nicely so far, but for how long? “Then, all her meals were replaced by a mixture of cum and aphrodisiacs. The cum would come from caribou, stallions, or animals if need be. It didn’t matter. That was everything she w-would eat after her taming began. Hrathr was cruel and methodical. He forced her to talk a ‘walk’ around the castle every day, so that others may see her: their Princess reduced to a captive and a slut,” he gripped his cane tightly as the pain intensified tenfold. He could hear the scratching of something at the back of his mind, wishing for nothing more than for him to suffer but not to die. His palms felt like acid raining on them, his knees felt like they were being dragged through gravel, and more torments started to appear all over his body, including his asshole, guts… and the intense burning on his flanks that had just started to manifest.

Twilight noticed that something was happening to Dainn, but didn’t ask him what was wrong. She couldn’t use her voice as she heard -and imagined- the tortures Celestia and Luna went through. But Celestia had obviously gotten the worst out of that punishment by an order of magnitude.

“But she refused to break… no. No, that’s not right. She wanted to break, to submit: the enchantment was strong within her. But her will, despite how twisted it was, was still standing. Despite everything I thought about her during our fight and prior that point, she was strong… stronger than I ever was, at least,” Dainn said, his hands starting to tremble. “Hrathr was a contemptuous asshole. When he saw her resistance, he forced her to wear blinders and a butt plug at almost all times. Not only that, he devised a machine that would show Celestia recordings of her many, many raping sessions. He s-showed her --arrrghh!- he showed her what other mares went through! The pain! The suffering! The humiliation! The depravity!”

Pain. His world was turning into pain. He could feel the pain Celestia felt in his own flesh as he retold the story. He knew this. He accepted the pain willingly. It wasn’t the first time it happened. Whenever he felt like suffering he spoke of her torment and in retaliation, the pain came to punish him. But he didn’t care. His mind would not fog due to pain. He could carry on. He could continue.

He had to continue now more than ever.

“AND FOR WHAT!? Not even my mentor was so cruel! There was never a need to train females to such extents! For all his faults, Svarndagr was never known to punish unjustly! He kept females in line, but nothing more than that! He despised the males that focused on satisfying their own perversions and hedonistic ways! He punished them! Yanked the collars! And made sure to keep everyone working not for pleasure or sadistic torment, but to a goal!” Despite the pain, he managed to chuckle. “Did you know that Svarndagr’s favorite method of discipline was to unleash a kick so powerful that would leave a male’s groin useless for weeks? Some even became sterile or worse. Ivangri was punished constantly and far more than any other offender.”

“But my regime knew no such restrictions nor limits. I was a weak king. I wasn’t even one, not really. I was just an excuse, a puppet… and those around me did as they pleased. Hrathr trained her harder, made Celestia suffer by making her see countless mares being raped before her eyes. He made her witness what her weakness had caused and the ‘proper’ place females deserved under the heel of Male Superiority. He taught her to retrieve her ‘toys’ using nothing but her nose. He whipped her, smacked her, forced her down, forced her to prostrate before me, clean her own juices whenever she came and so much, much more,” Dainn stopped for a moment, letting the pain take a hold of him as he felt the burning of the Sun itself in his veins. Looking at his arms, he could see his veins bulging out and slowly changing from an ash-like color to a golden one, moment by painful moment.

“During the reports Hrathr gave to me personally with a demonstration… he forced her onto me, to test her progress. I hated it. But I couldn’t deny it either. He was doing what I requested, after all. Each day brought a new nightmare, a new horror. He somehow managed produce a drug strong enough to work on alicorns, enlarging her breasts by triple their original size at the cost of making her horny and lustful all the damn time. I could see the c-cracks… the… nnnghhh! The downward… spiral!”

“D-Dainn?” Twilight asked, her focus split between the tale and whatever was happening to the caribou. He was now trembling and shaking, she could smell the faint scent of burning flesh and see how his veins turned from a dull, brown gold to a shinier, yellow sort quickly and violently. He didn’t hear her, he was too focused on his tale even as his eyes began to glow a faint golden light.

“What broke her were two things! Storm… Storm created a runecraft device so vile and evil that I forbade him from using it again, but Shining Armor and Discord… they convinced me it was necessary to instill discipline and order in the hearts of ‘unruly bitches’. Storm created something he simply called ‘The Blankening’. Horrible monstrosity. It turned anyone condemned to a mindless, brain dead thing,” he paused, somehow managing to open his mouth, cross his eyes, and gurgle an unintelligent, lifeless moan for a few moments. “Living beings… reduced to that,” he added even as the pain was now overwhelming, ready to finish the worst part.

“The second… thing that… b-broke her was… was the definitive. Making her w-witness the downfall of her p-people was one thing… but to rob her identity… w-was another thing,” he struggled to say and for a moment watched Twilight’s eyes widen in horror. “I could only watch… as Hrathr grabbed the burning hot iron--”

“NO!”

“--and walked up to--”

“SHUT UP!”

“--Celestia… he pressed it against her flanks--”

“STOP!”

“BURNING INTO HER CUTIE MARKS, MARKING HER WITH CHAINS!” Dainn shouted, letting go of his cane. In a second, he was lifted off the ground until he was hovering two meters atop the table. The pain was white hot, burning away at his senses. His flesh was burning even as the chained Cutie Marks of Celestia appeared on his withered flanks flashing through his cloak. “A PRINCESS REDUCED TO NOTHING BUT A LOYAL PET! I SAW HER SPARK LEAVE HER EYES! I DID NOTHING! NOTHING NOTHING NOTHINGNOTHINGNOTHING NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO----”

A sudden howl of pain that could only come from a banshee escaped his throat and past his lips. His body was smoking, his eyesockets were two pyres, an ashen cloud of smoke erupted from his mouth, and the heat in the room raised by several hundred degrees. A miniature sun exploded inside his body, destroying and burning his body as quickly as it regenerated; condemning him to suffer a never-ending cycle of pain so absolute that Twilight didn’t know how was it possible for him to still be conscious.

Worse of all was the howl. It froze her bones, chilled her blood, and nearly caused her to pass out as pure hatred, pain, and regret washed over her with an intensity so bright it was akin to teleporting with her eyes open. The entire castle shook from the howl’s intensity, she could hear marble and stone fall from various places, destroying more walls, floors, and ceilings.

Then, as it came, it ended. The howl still echoed throughout the empty Canterlot, plaguing it with a sound that no one but her would hear. The heat died down almost instantly and Dainn fell to the ground with a wet sackcloth.

“Dainn!” Twilight yelled and rushed over to him, kneeling next to him before covering her nose with a hand in an attempt to dilute the smell of burning flesh. She examined him and nearly vomited out of reflex when she saw the ruined, wrecked, burned carcass that was the caribou king. Joints and appendages were bent at odd angles, his entrails were… they weren’t there, flat out. Only his spine connected his lower and upper bodies, his chest was a wreck of charred bones but she could see a beating heart through his ribcage.

His face, though, was another thing entirely. His teeth were gone, melted by the sheer intensity of the fire that had erupted within him. His tongue was also gone, and his cheeks were somehow still somewhat intact, but his snout was black, charred flesh. His eyes were there, though. From flames and golden light of fury, back to blue, cold, dead eyes of ice and longing. Eyes that stared at nothing but were still, cruel as the world around her, alive in a twisted, horrific way she could hardly stomach.

“Damn you,” she whispered, eyes watering. “Y-You idiot. Why did you do it?”

She would have to wait for an answer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dainn woke up all of a sudden, consciousness returning to him after what felt like a second of blissful darkness. He coughed and gasped for air, lungs burning for a moment before he regained his composure. He sat up, head-turning around only to find he was in the throne room and that Twilight was patiently waiting seated on her spot. Slowly, he stood up and retook his seat. A twist of his neck followed by a crack and a sigh was all they exchanged between them for what felt like eons of time to pass.

“You know,” he began, breaking the icy silence, “Svarndagr often dragged me and other disciples to his ‘curtailment’ displays. He often made crude jokes. ‘See, Dainn? The greatest thing that most caribou value over any other treasure is also their greatest weakness. A simple kick and they curl on the ground like worms out of the soil’, he often said to me. He had a point though. You’re a mare, so you don’t know the terrible pain that a well-placed strike on a male’s genital area can cause. It was.. funny watching them squirm, often crying their hearts out, while clutching their groin with both hands, trembling like fish out of the water,” he chuckled with honest humor. “Two weeks before the Cycle claimed him, he threatened to castrate and then switch Ivangri for being the most incompetent and disgusting caribou ever to live. Personally, I would’ve tossed Vestri and Storm in there, too, knowing what I know now.”

Twilight giggled and barked out a genuine laugh. “I can imagine that being kicked by your ex-mentor provided a lot of reasons to actually do their jobs correctly?”

Dainn smiled, nodding. “You are correct! My… ex-mentor, as you say, usually shouted insults to those he found slacking or too focused on the matters of the flesh. Slackers! Even females can do a better job! Piss-poor warriors! Dick-for-brains! Sex-focused morons!” He said, trying to imitate Svarndagr’s voice and outrageous manly tone. “For all his shortcomings and sexual tendencies, he was a warrior through and through and knew how to whip our entire species into actually running a kingdom, a civilization, instead of focusing on hedonism,” Dainn’s smile faltered and he let out a low, rumbling grumble. “The truth was there in front of me from the very start, and yet I was too ignorant and blind to see it.”

“A kingdom that was set in an icy plane, who had conquered other species, enslaved them, and built a monument to your own egos and deplorable narcissism,” Twilight explained, thumbs fiddling. “Dainn… I don’t care how Svarndagr ran his kingdom. What does it matter? He was a tyrant, a dictator, possibly the only way to run such a destructive species,” she chuckled. “You know… I’ve been thinking about how to classify you as a whole. After all, you’ve said and shown, after all, I’ve seen and heard… and that display a few minutes ago, I think I can finally say without risk of being wrong that you, caribou, are parasites. Simple and easy to understand. You are parasites.”

Dainn merely nodded, agreeing with her conclusion. “Curiously? Svarndagr said something similar once. ‘For all our strength and power, our right to rule and conquer… what can be said of parasites that lack the drive to create something new?’. My mentor was a tyrant, yes, but he had to be to run our kingdom. He was many things. A despot or stupid, he was not. Perhaps he was more aware of the Cycle than even I thought possible. Who knows? It doesn’t even matter anymore. We caribou just take and take, we never create, never plan for the future without a strong guiding hand. What we take, is ours. What we claim, belongs to us. If we can’t have it, then no one else can. Such… such mindless, megalomaniacal way of thinking… as if I was any different.”

“Then why… why did you do it?” Twilight pressed on, frowning as her horn began to send sparks of magical energy as she tried to contain herself with all her might. “Why did you do it, Dainn? Was it ego? A need for power? Your inferiority complex? Or were you simply that fucking stupid?” She cursed at the same time her eyes turned into shining velvety orbs. “Why did you do it?”

Dainn didn’t lower his head, he didn’t try to avoid her gaze, and he felt nothing but emptiness swell inside him. “Truly? I simply wanted power. I guess… I guess I should’ve known you would figure it out sooner or later. However, I can assure you that I took your powers only after the starvation kicked in as a way to counter it, to solve it. Not knowing what folly I had unleashed until it was far too late.”

Twilight stared at him for several moments… and then let out a single beam of pure magic that went through the open ceiling in the throne room. When the energy dispelled, so did her rage. “It all makes sense now. I can see why you say you don’t deserve her love. But what about the others? Do they torment you, even beyond death, constantly or only when you touch a particular subject?”

Dainn sighed. “I can’t really tell. Only Celestia’s power is constant. The others? I cannot predict when or how they’ll attack. Especially my Twilight’s,” Dainn casted a glance back at his nightmare throne, glaring at it after a few seconds before returning his attention back to Twilight. “No use in hiding it anymore.”

“At least… you did for the same cause you became a king. Foolish as that decision was,” Twilight argued.

“Foolish indeed. No good deed goes unpunished, or so the saying goes,” Dainn hummed deeply. “Although, my deeds can hardly be considered ‘good’. I heard much the same coming from the mouths of Oksho and some of his followers one fateful morning.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As luck would have it, I found out what some of my troops thought of my glorious rule during the same day I was to see Thror to discuss matters of commerce, as his charge dictated and how… stagnant I felt his work had become shortly after the conquest began. It was something rather normal for me to do, walk alone, without guards or escorts. Why should I bother with security within my own castle, right? A blessing and a curse at once. I could move on my own but that made me unnoticed, giving me access to things that Svarndagr would’ve never tolerated.

I was passing by the barracks and the meeting hall that Oksho and his followers had claimed for themselves when I heard it. A loud groan of frustration and irritation. Curiosity got the better of me and I approached, unseen and undetected.

“-fucks sake, what are we even doing anymore?” A bulky warrior complained loudly as he sat surrounded by five other caribou, including his fearless captain, Oksho. Behind him, a pegasus mare with runes on her wings stood obediently. There were more females standing or kneeling close to the stags, all without leashes. There was something in the eyes of the mares. They were willing with an odd fascination set upon the large, red-aura glowing Oksho.

“Why, didn’t you hear? We’re enjoying the fruits of the eternal kingdom of our great and invincible King, Dainn!” Another warrior mocked and laughs followed. Even the mares couldn’t contain a giggle.

“Invincible? More like incompetent!” A third warrior champion and this time everyone but Oksho burst into laughter.

“C-Can you believe Svarndagr never kicked him once!? I thought that meant he was intelligent and sensible. Now I doubt Dainn is even male at all, ahahahaha!”

“He was female enough for Svarndagr to rape and fuck! I bet switching him won’t do anything HAHAHAHA!”

I heard them laughing at me, so openly… it didn’t hurt. That surprised me more than anything else. It didn’t hurt because there was nothing they could say that could ever change the pathetic cowardly thing I’ve always been. But I kept listening, far too intrigued into their discussion, though I still don’t know if it was due to arrogance or morbid curiosity.

“Enough,” the command was strong and definitive. The laughter stopped as Oksho let out a steamy sigh. “Mare, I see you wish to speak. You may do you. You may be a female but you are a prize. You have value as such. Speak your mind.”

An earth pony mare fidgeted for a moment before she pointed at a unicorn mare that had been blanked. “D-Do you know what happened to Smoky? Yesterday she was fine and then… then the guards came and she… looks like that.”

She asked, pointing at the dead-eyed, unthinking, simple-minded mare that had once been an individual. She hardly blinked, she never stopped smiling, and she was unmoving, uncaring, and unfeeling. Like a puppet that was alive and yet devoid of life at the same time. I saw the warriors, females, and even Oksho shake in revulsion, disgust, and some fear.

“It’s unsettling, that’s what it is.”

“I know an insatiable slut that doesn’t complain or cry is a stag’s wet dream, but those are dreams for a reason, for fuck’s sake.”

“I don’t even want to touch the damn thing. Fucking Storm and his magics, she was meant to be my prize and now look at her!”

Oksho raised a hand and silence followed once more. He grunted, steam escaping his mouth once more. “Listen closely, mares,” Oksho replied, “for I shall tell you this only once. What you are seeing here is the culmination of what I hate more than anything else: dishonor and cowardice. As much as I despise your false ideals of a matriarchy and the poison that is females being equal to males… there is no excuse for dishonor and cowardice. Ever.”

“This whole invasion has been nothing but dishonor and cowardice,” a red pegasus mare said, but not glaring at Oksho or the warriors. She seemed fit, probably a Royal Guard, and it seemed she understood to some extent the way of the warrior. To my surprise, Oksho nodded in agreement. Let it never be said that he did not respect the spirit of a warrior even if that warrior was a female.

“Hmmm, too bad Switching doesn’t work the other way. You would be a fitting warrior, mare,” he praised with a hint of a smile.

The mare bowed her head. “I deserve no such honors, my master.”

“But she’s right,” a warrior continued. “Even a dumb female can see the truth that’s right in front of our eyes and yet everyone, including that joke of a King we follow, is too blind to see it!”

“We are elite warriors, not common peasants waiting to till the soil! And yet, not even we are so self-indulgent as to neglect our duties like some other ‘warriors’ do. Pathetic.”

“Svarndagr wouldn’t have tolerated this. He would’ve killed Vestri, Ivangri, and that failure of Storm for merely suggesting the shit Dainn allowed them to pull. Cycle or no Cycle, honor demands a conquest fought in blood and righteous battle. Facing worthy opponents and earning the glory of the ancients… not… not whatever this is.”

“A hollow victory that feels like defeat and surely tastes like ash in my mouth,” another warrior exclaimed, gently caressing the back of his prized mare. “What are we to do? Grow fat and lazy like the rest? What kind of life is that for a warrior?”

“You talk as if we conquered Equestria, brother.”

“Didn’t we all through the machinations and cowardice of Storm?”

“Did we now? Because all I saw were mountains and hordes of traitors conquering the land, claiming and raping it before our eyes. One simple enchantment and poof! They see the glory of Male Superiority? Females understand their place under the heel of worthy males? No, I don’t buy it and I don’t trust the traitors. Who is to say they won’t turn on us after Equestria is fully enchanted? Or worse, the rest of the world?”

“The strong rule, the weak obey… but where do we stand in that balance?” Another asked with grim determination.

“Bah, Storm did nothing. It was that pony, Orestes? He’s the worst scum I’ve seen. Even greater than Ivangri. He is a pure traitor to his own species! What can we expect of someone like him?”

A yellow-colored unicorn female chuckled. “Perhaps he wants to make Prin--Shining Armor the King of Equestria?”

A low rumble escaped Oksho’s mouth followed by a plume of red, vivid fire. “Would you trust a traitor to guard your sleeping chambers at night?” He asked softly, almost whispering and I felt fear run down my spine. “Of course you wouldn’t. We know those traitors are planning something. We don’t know what their agenda is, but we know we cannot trust them.”

“Then, my Lord, what should we do?”

“Listen to these mares, for once,” he chuckled. “They, unlike the fool that is Vestri, they seem to be able to think and see the obvious.”

“Master?” The red pegasus asked. “You’ve told us of your exploits and deeds, your achievements and conquests. Why… do you tolerate them? Wouldn’t it be easier to remove those fools?”

Oksho remained silent for a few seconds, then replied. “Because I’m a warrior… I made the mistake of bowing and swearing loyalty to Dainn. I will not act without his input against my fellow caribou. I will serve as I served Svarndagr… but I fear that Surtr is coming.”

“The Bringer of Ragnarok!?” A mare asked in shock, I couldn’t tell who. “B-But how can that be, master?”

Oksho was visibly fuming now, trembling, and steam freely left his body. He was a furnace, but even with the intense heat I could feel from my hiding spot, his warriors and prized mares didn’t move away from him. They endured the heat without complaint; with honor and dignity. He drew his sword, the famed Surtalog: a large slab of black metal in the rough shape of a blade that was now glowing with red, intense heat at the tip. His first work as a swordsmith, his proudest creation and the ugliest, too. But it worked and was the only blade that had ever tasted the blood of Svarndagr.

He stood up and his followers did the same, stepping back to give him space. With a swing of his weapon, the air itself hissed with fury. Then, the blade turned black once more but Oksho remained livid. Controlled, but livid.

The first warrior coughed, clearing his throat. “What you must understand, mare, is that Surtr is not a ‘someone’. Surtr is a force of nature and prophecy, a monster… that you DO NOT wish to encounter. Surtr will come when the time is right to unleash Ragnarok. I saw Surtr once, long ago. When depravity claimed a caribou tribe much like what is happening right now. I saw Surtr and I was lucky to live to tell the tale.”

“A whole tribe, slaughtered in a single night. Burned and maimed, parasites and monsters of wanton lust that needed to be purged. A tumor, nothing more. Every stag and doe died that night,” another continued, having seen the aftermath of the carnage but not the monster itself. “Ragnarok unleashed is… not something I wish upon anyone but those deserving of it.”

“Good things don’t happen to heroes. Surtr is both a monster and a hero, a force of destruction and a shield against the ultimate evil,” the first warrior said, glancing briefly at Oksho. “I survived seeing Surtr… and so did our Lord.”

“My tribe, destroyed by Surtr’s blade, Ragnarok unleashed,” Oksho finally said, snorting angrily. “Such a fitting end to such a cursed place; a tribe of depraved lunatics that exiled their savior and hero. A fitting end,” as he turned to leave, he stared into the eyes of the red mare once more. “Yes?” He asked abruptly.

The pegasus took a step forth, ignoring the heat radiating from her Lord. “I am… confused, Master. I thought Ragnarok was the final battle? How can there be multiple Ragnaroks?”

“Ones that target sex-focused morons, no less,” another mare asked in a submissive tone. In her place, I would’ve done the same.

“Sex-focused morons, huh? Indeed apt descriptor, mare,” he chuckled heavily, his laugh sounding like the roaring furnace of a blacksmith. “That was Svarndagr’s favorite insult. Though, to answer your question, I believe there’s a small misconception. Ragnarok isn’t a final battle. Ragnarok,” he turned again and began to walk away, each step leaving ash behind him, “is unclear. Even to me. That is what I think.”

With that said, he began to walk out of the room. I was stunned after hearing the real thoughts of my warriors. So stunned, in fact, that I didn’t move when I saw him approaching my hiding spot. It was inevitable for our eyes to meet as he walk past me. Oksho only gave out a grunt of annoyance, shoved my shoulder, and left me there. He didn’t care that I had listened to him and his followers speaking.

I felt shame, not for what was said… but at my weakness for not confronting him. I only proved to be a spineless coward yet again. I moved only after the warriors and their prizes immersed themselves in other talks. I made my way to Thror, tired and my mood bitter.

When I entered his workshop, with Oksho’s words and that of his followers still ringing inside my head, I barely managed to contain a gasp when my eyes saw what was happening there. Hrathr was present, posing on a pedestal with Celestia kneeling in front of him with his cock rammed down her throat; a tight fit given the black collar adorning her neck. Behind him, Luna was bound and roped, gagged as she was forced to stick her ass up with a large dildo sticking out her ass while her asscheeks were beating red, no doubt caused by a brutal spanking. There were other mares present, black-collared ones looking away while red collars muttered how they wished to trade places with their former rulers.

“Ah! My King,” Thror’s voice was booming and arrogant as ever as he stood up from his workstation while his laborers and assistants continued on their cryptic work. “You’ve come just in time to see my latest masterpiece!”

“What I want to know at this moment is why are my prizes here and in such a pose!” I demanded, frowning. “I doubt this is part of their training, Hrathr!”

“You are welcome to train them yourself, my King. But your busy schedule and lacking… hand would leave them as poor pets,” Hrathr said, backhanding me with a polite insult.

“And the reason why your cock is inside my prized pet?” I asked, arching a brow. I looked past Thror to see something familiar resting on his desk, though I couldn’t make it out just yet.

“Thror needed a model. A strong, capable model,” the trainer once more commented, slapping me with yet another insult. I couldn’t react to it, at least I would draw unnecessary attention. Yet one word caused me to turn to Thror completely.

“You needed a model? For what purpose?” I asked and I swear I could hear his teeth chattering with how wide it went. He silently guided me to his workbench and there I saw first that the object I had recognized was Celestia’s necklace. Her regalia was there, resting on his desk… or what little remained still intact. I saw discarded golden coins resting inside a trash bin and a final coin, golden and beautiful, engraved with caribou runes on the edges, but the center was depicting Celestia sucking on Hrathr’s cock… no, it wasn’t Hrathr’s cock. Not really.

How could I not recognize my own genitals?

That only infuriated me further. Hrathr had merely acted as a base model. Why had Thror not said anything to me about his plans? Did he know I would reject him outright? The answer, I found out, was yes. “What in the pits of Hel itself is this!?” I blared in outrage.

“Our new currency, my King!” Thror exclaimed, overjoyed. He reached for the coin and flipped it, showing Luna’s ass. “I--”

I didn’t hear him. I only saw red and felt genuine rage burn within me. I had backhanded Thror as hard as I could, which made him spit a tooth and blood to splatter on the ground. Everything froze. “M-My King?”

“YOU DARE USE MY CUNTS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!?” I barked, enraged, ignoring my pulsating fist. “Have you no shame!? And to do this… this thing!?” I picked up the coin and stored it in my bag. I didn’t know what drove me to do it, but I picked the rejected coins and the surviving regalia and stored them. “I forbid the use of this coin, Thror! Ponies already have a functioning coin that we can use! Featureless golden coins! Millions of them! This… this is an unnecessary extreme!”

“My King, please, understand me!” Thror said, spitting a glob of blood but actually pleading before me. “We need to display your power and the submission of these two alicorn cunts! Cadance has already accepted her rightful place and soon you shall deal with the remaining alicorn, Twilight Sparkle!”

“And that is why you decided to go behind my back trying to achieve, what? My favor? To please me!? For your transgressions, Thror, Svarndagr would’ve flayed you alive!” I countered, unwilling to accept his lip service.

“But you aren’t Svarndagr!” Thror countered. “You are Dainn! You must be greater!”

“Then put MY FACE in the coinage, not my cock and the furtherment of unnecessary cruelty!” I pointed out. “You will NOT do this, understood? Now I understand why you wished to show me this sickening project with such vehemency. Did you honestly think I would approve?” Then, I turned to Hrathr. “And you, Hrathr, resume their training! If they are required for another… experiment, I shall be consulted first and only I shall decide if they are allowed to be used or not! Understood!?”

Heads bowed but no word was spoken. I could feel something bubbling in my core, though I didn’t know what it was. As I turned to see Luna and Celestia, released from their bondage but made to crawl as they retreated, I saw nothing but resentment in Luna’s eyes. But I saw a flash of… I don’t know what was it. Gratitude, maybe? A flash in Celestia’s eyes. I watched them until they were gone and I was about to leave when several guards entered the room with Ivangri, Storm, Orestes and Vestri rushing forth towards me.

“My King!” Ivangri said, smiling widely. The bastard. “We found her! The purple bitch is hiding in Ponyville!”

“Ponyville?” I muttered, confused. “Wasn’t that town taken during our assault? How is it possible that she hides there?”

“I made a mistake,” Orestes exclaimed, bowing his head. “I thought the coward would run to the Saddle Arabians or to the Griffons, but to hide right under our noses? A bold if almost intelligent move made by a worthless cunt.”

“How did you find her, then?” I asked and I saw reality itself tear open in front of me to give way to Discord. Even now, my memory is fuzzy when he’s around. I saw Fluttershy, wearing a red collar and happily crawling to his side, acting as if she was but a mere animal, the same she loved so dearly. “Good to see you again, Discord. I presume it was you who found Twilight Sparkle?”

“It wasn’t hard to find Sparkle Warkle. Your incompetent advisors and goons just don’t know how to do their jobs!” He mocked with a toothy grin. He had no idea how right he was. “Besides, I was around and decided to give you a hand, Dainn my boy. Now, I gotta dip! I promise my little Fluttershy to visit lots of forests to see how many creatures rape her holes!”

“Woof! Woof!” Fluttershy replied.

And before I could say anything else, they were gone, vanished as a twister filled with fish and cotton candy replaced them. Then, reality returned to normality. I saw the four bastards staring at me, waiting for something. “Prepare to move. I shall lead the assault on Ponyville myself and deal with the last alicorn once and for all.”

The next two hours passed as a blur to me. I only came to my senses when I was already on my way to Ponyville with a full contingent of caribou warriors, Oksho and his followers nowhere to be found. Not because he refused or I didn’t want him near me. But rather, I sent him to face off against the buffalo tribes that had beaten two full assaults already. I had no time to deal with such a distant annoyance, so I sent Oksho to a place where he could find at least some glory in battle.

Yet another stupid mistake of my making.

The trip to Ponyville was filled with jeering and cheering, enchanted were eager to put Twilight in her proper place and enjoy even more spoils, while caribou warriors were not that far behind. We had just landed far, far down the road that linked Ponyville to Canterlot; the small town barely visible even to my elevated position, when I saw three pegasi flying at full speed toward my contingent.

I recognized Soarin and expected bad news. I had sent Vestri and Ivangri to form a perimeter around the town and put it under siege until my arrival. What had gone wrong? “Report,” I ordered as the stallion, flanked by two more, hovered in front of me just a few meters apart.

“I bring joyous news, my King! Lord Vestri has launched a successful joint assault supported by Lords Ivangri and Storm! The few remaining defenders have surrendered or seen the light of Male Superiority, including the dragon the alicorn kept as her closest confidant.”

“Dr-Dragon?” One soldier muttered. I have heard reports of dragons, actual dragons, being sighted across the frontiers and even some found in dwellings and caves. But I had not believed the rumors. Not until that moment. But my rational thinking was supplanted by disbelief and anger.

“DAMN THEM!” I shouted. “I told them to wait! What of the alicorn!? Where is Twilight Sparkle!?”

“She was surrendering when I was ordered to carry out this message, my King,” Soarin replied and smirked evilly, darkly. “Now nothing can stop us!”

“I shall be the judge of that,” I remarked, feeling betrayed and tired. I wanted to at least prove to myself that I could be a good commander, a good leader. A king that doesn’t hide behind his generals and only reaps the rewards for something he didn’t do. I wanted to feel a fraction of the pride and honor Oksho felt as a warrior. Even if just for once in my life. A genuine feeling, not merely tasteless ashes.

That’s when I heard it. A roar. By the heavens, that roar of rage and fury. And then I saw him. A blob of pure muscle the color of purple and green, rushing towards me. How? Why? Who was that? Why was he making his way to me?

“MY CUNT!” The monstrosity roared. Two and a half meters tall, bulked in muscles and fury and lust and rage that just barely escaped being a deformed thing. Arms too thick, wide torso, small, thin stomach, and thin legs and tail. The dragon roared, his body bulked more, and changed again; muscles reformed with each step until a dragon with a muscular physique remained, now only a few meters in front of me and my command platform. “MY TWILIGHT! BELONGS TO SPIKE! SPIKE. WANTS. RULE!”

“I am your King, dragon!” I commanded, standing up. “Cease and---ohh…” That was all I could say before the dragon lept at me. With a powerful tackle, he sent us to the floor where sharp claws pierced my back, my chest, and my left thigh. “GAAAHHH!” I cried out in pain and horror. My armor proved to be next to useless and panic gripped my heart. I tried to reach for my hammer, only to find empty air. It was still on the platform! The beast roared, laughing and claiming he would rule after I was gone. He picked me up only to slam me against the ground, breaking my right arm. I screamed, again, and he tossed me to the side until I crashed against a tree. Four ribs cracked and a lung was punctured.

For a moment there, I felt nothing and realized I was about to die at the hands of a dragon. But then, he stopped as the flapping of lavender wings landed next to him. “Master! Master, don’t harm our King!”

“Spike want! Spike rule! Weak! King weak! I make better King!” Spike said and I vomited blood as ai gasped for air, the pain returning to me in a flash.

I watched as Twilight, smiling dumbly and obediently, kissed the bare chest of the dragon and that seemed to calm him down enough for her to turn to my broken form and prostrate herself as low as she could manage. Then, she spoke the words that I wish I had never heard.

“My King, this lowly bitch vows before your greatness. I, as the last remaining alicorn whore, surrender myself to you, my King. Please, do with me as you desire~”

I passed out a second later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“I---My other me, this world’s me, fell to the enchantment, just like that!?” Twilight protested, outraged. “That’s… actually plausible. My connection to magic is a strong one. Ugghh, I feel like I need a bath after hearing you say that,” she exhaled, grossed out. “I am… more concerned about Spike. He was too affected by the enchantment and he immediately went after you?”

“Vestri and Ivangri never stopped boasting, I came to learn. He knew who I was, and where I was coming from, and their comments ensured to plant a weakling in his mind. As for his… transformation. Storm panicked and used ten crystals on him at the same time. I am more surprised he actually survived the process,” Dain commented, frowning. “Although, I must praise you, Twilight. I always thought that my Twilight surrendered out of her own volition, whatever the reason was. That she gave up her horn and wings maybe because she lost the will to fight or understood that she had already lost. If that was the case, why try to start a rebellion or hold out? No. The Twilight I see in front of me is the real Twilight: strong, determined, with an unshakable will, and one that does not falter, no matter the odds. My Twilight… it seems my Twilight was greatly affected by the cure, that damned enchantment, as I feared. Or perhaps I’ve always known… I just didn’t want to see the truth.”

Twilight nodded. “This… enchantment was the main reason everything went so horribly, right?”

Dainn stared at her for several long, dead silent seconds that felt like ages before his voice found the strength to leave his mouth. “I’m the reason everything went so horribly, Twilight. The enchantment just… accelerated the process and turned everything that much, much worse.”

“I know,” she agreed, “but, ultimately, this enchantment was the fire that burned Equestria in the end, was it not? Or at least the source. But there’s something I don’t understand. You mentioned blanking before and a general description of it, but I can’t quite picture it in my mind. What is that process?”

Dainn let out a low rumble of disgust. “Imagine making a living thing in a doll. The process is difficult and complex, I certainly don’t understand it. But, essentially, the process takes away all individuality, personality, and drive of a pony may have and replaces it with a sole desire to obey. They obeyed, without question… without enthusiasm, without ever uttering a single complain or sound. Just silent, indifferent, cold obedience,” he growled again, eyes flashing with hatred.

“Blanking was and remains the greatest sin of my people. It only worked on ponies, the same as the enchantment. The free will of the ponies pushed into those horrid machines was destroyed, their Cutie Marks erased, their destinies forever lost. In its place, a blank shell remains, one that could be molded into whatever we desired. It was used as punishment in the early days after Storm Perfected the process, but as time went on, food began to dwindle, depravity erupted, and blanking became more and more widespread. Thankfully, it ended with the cycle… at least one good thing came out of it. Blanking should've never existed.”

“Imagine this: having to lose your Cutie Mark, replaced by a mockery of a caribou cock with bulging balls trickling down cum onto a pool of feminine lips. Not even a real replacement, just a sick drawing or even a branding with hot iron. You lose your mind, your very soul and purpose. You are reduced to a husk of a living being. If for nothing else, we Caribou deserve the worst just for this silent genocide called Blanking alone.”

Twilight was shocked, but her shock quickly turned into understanding and then realization. “The blanking effects sound eerily similar to what a villain-turned-friend did. Her name is Starlight and she basically kept an entire village under her hoof by removing their Cutie Marks, but they could still live a normal life, though diminished. My friends and I experienced what that feels like. It is not a feeling I’d wish upon anyone. Yet this blanking sounds worse,” she scoffed, her voice turning sinister. “What if the ponies that were blanked were still there? Trapped inside their own bodies and minds; forever screaming with no one to hear them as they watched on?”

Dainn closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Thank you, Twilight. As if I didn’t have enough things to regret already. I honestly wish the souls of those ponies left their still living bodies behind; flesh with empty dolls-eyes. They were the wet dream of many a caribou, but the horror of having a thing that didn’t tire, didn’t complain or uttered a sound always waiting to fulfill the next order given soon turned into living nightmares.”

“I can’t imagine why,” she replied with acidic sarcasm. “Although… speaking about horrible fates, what did that warrior mean by “good things don't happen to heroes?”. I’m a hero. My friends are heroes. And good things happen to us all the time. We stopped Nightmare Moon, we helped Shining Armor and Cadance push Chrysalis out of Canterlot, we defeated Discord, and we defeated Tirek, The Storm King, and solved countless other problems. I’ll admit some of those were close calls… but good things happen to us!” She exclaimed, spreading her wings out of reflex when remembering all the adventures she had experienced with her friends. The many times they had saved the day, the perils, the dangers, and the rewards, too.

“That’s because you are a hero that the people desire. But what is a hero, really? A hero is someone that pushes back against the darkness, not caring for personal harm or the price to pay as long as said evil is vanquished. In simpler terms, a hero is someone that aids the innocent regardless of circumstance or danger, correct?” Dainn commented.

“You’re correct. That’s the basic premise and definition of what a hero is,” Twilight agreed, not knowing what Dainn had in mind.

“Then, tell me, what happens when a hero acts without the people asking for help? What happens when a hero has to destroy evil… and that evil comes from the ‘innocent’? What happens when the people plead for help and yet only show scorn in return?” Dainn questioned and sighed tiredly. “Oksho… his tribe was under the assault of a beast simply known as Garm. A forsaken monster once thought unkillable. They cried out for help, but they were too unimportant to catch Svarndagr’s attention. Oksho stood up to the challenge and battled the damnable beast for days on end until he finally ripped out its heart and burned the corpse to ashes.”

“I don’t mean to sound cruel, but since Oksho was a caribou, no matter what he did he could never be a hero,” Twilight said, frowning. “I’ve come to despise your species, Dainn. Am I… am I being unfair and evil for that? He saved them all, he was a hero… and yet knowing he survived I hoped to hear he died during the encounter.”

“I don’t blame you, Twilight. My species has done nothing to earn nothing but hatred, scorn, and disgust. You said it best yourself. We are parasites and I agree with that conclusion,” Dainn agreed, humming deeply. “And you’re right. He was a hero. And how was he treated? What was his reward? Fear and ostracizing grew day by day. Paranoia got to them. If Oksho was able to kill the beast that had eaten so many of them and their food storage, then who could stop him?”

“Wait, what!?” Twilight sprung from her seat in a fit of outrage. “B-But he saved them! They asked for help and he stepped up! As much as I hate Caribou, he was a hero! And all he got in return was contempt and disdain!?”

“What he got, Twilight was to be exiled from his tribe because they feared him. With him gone, they celebrated, thinking they were finally secure and free to live as they pleased. The celebration sparked depravity and hedonism in them while Oksho met my mentor during his exile. And the rest, as you say, is history. Oksho told me his story after he culled his village for their transgressions. Despite the unfair treatment he got, he was proud of his victory. A battle that spurred him into following the path of the warrior.”

“He almost sounds noble. Almost,” Twilight remarked, sighing and retaking her seat. “I… I need a moment to process all of this. But I have to ask you… after Spike--”

“Nearly killed me? Beat me within an inch of my life? Made me fear dragons to the point I developed a phobia?” Dainn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“--yes… that. After that, what happened? I mean, many of your warriors and subjects saw what happened and it looked like none tried to help you,” she pointed out, crossing her arms.

“You would be correct on that observation. None helped me because they thought I would be able to handle Spike myself. As for what happened after my thorough beating? The incident was silenced, of course, and I was quickly brought to our medical facilities in order to heal.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I lay naked on my royal bed with medical equipment meant to continue my treatment while I rested. Healing magic is amazing but it can’t fix everything. I had spent a full week already in my quarters and I would be there for at least three more days. As I looked down at my previously broken body, I found it was more muscular than I remembered, I was also slightly taller, perhaps two or three inches at most.

My penis, however, was the appendage that had seen the most change ever since I became King. I knew these changes were the effect of the Cycle, but I never expected such a drastic change on my genitals. My shaft was erect, revealing the light brown coloration that covered it alongside white splotches scattered across my length. It was also girthy and paired with a heavy set of testicles; each hefty orb the size of a small melon. I grimaced at the sight of my once less-than-stellar penis. Now it looked more like the monster Svarndagr carried. I didn’t like it, at all.

At my side rested Ginna. She was peppering my chest and neck with sweet, hot kisses while her dainty hand stroked my shaft slowly. She would sometimes move around just to kiss my cock and balls, giving me a full view of her nethers in the process. Despite everything Svarndagr did to me, the punishments and the conditioning, I couldn’t resist the charming, sweet treatment of Ginna. There was nothing sexual with her treatment aside from our physical contact. I rarely climaxed during our sessions since sex was not the goal.

I needed her sweetness, her noble and caring aura, her tenderness and genuine devotion and gentle nature to relax me. I petted her head, rubbed the stumps of her antlers, caressed her back, and kissed her forehead from time to time, each time with less pain for my efforts.

“Your dick has gotten big, Dainn,” she said, calling me by my name during this time. “It was lovely before and now is so strong. You’re a male, Dainn,” she whispered, smiling and placing a kiss on my neck.

“I don’t like it,” I confessed. “I’d rather have my cock as it was before.”

“You are our King, Dainn. Malehoods grow, you’ve grown. Don’t hate yourself,” Ginna whispered sweetly, kissing my cheek afterward.

“You’ve always known how to ease away my frustrations,” I declared, pulling her just a little bit closer so I could enjoy her warmth, the softness of her flesh and fur, and her large breasts pressing against my tired, bruised body.

“I’m still at a loss how that happened, Dainn,” Gunne commented while his eyes were focused on the reports I had received earlier that morning. “Ugggh, Ivangri is proposing one of his underlings to take control of Ponyville. Vestri is no better and the rest of the council is quiet about it, no doubt because their ambitions are focused elsewhere.”

“If that coward thinks he’ll get Ponyville as a reward, he will be sorely mistaken,” I replied softly. “What of the buffalo?”

“As Storm speculated, the enchantment doesn’t work on them. Oksho reports that the buffalo are worthy warriors and should be respected as such. Scouts say that a small town named Appleloosa is near their territory, the ponies seem to know about the enchantment and are avoiding a direct confrontation.”

“I’ll… have to deal with that personally, it seems,” I hummed as Ginna moved herself on top of me, her weight next to meaningless even in my bruised condition. Her vaginal lips trapped my cock’s length as she moved back and forth slowly, stimulating me without aiming for me to reach an orgasm. “How about the rest of Equestria?”

“It has nearly fallen under your command, Dainn. Only Neighpan, the elusive Cloudsdale, and Germane still resist, but they shall fall within the week, according to the commanders in charge,” Gunne sighed tiredly. “As for the neighboring countries? Turns out dragons are real but they don’t really care about what’s happening. The griffons, on the other hand, are fortifying their borders for the upcoming conquest.”

“Upcoming conquest? We have Equestria. What more could we need?” I asked before I could shudder in fear at the prospect of who-knows-how-many dragons living right next to us.

“Are you so naive as to believe the warmongers that so easily convinced you of this folly to stop now? The gates to an entire world have been opened. They won’t stop.”

I frowned. “I will stop them.”

“You won’t.”

“I wil.”

“...I want to believe you, Dainn. But either you’ll cave in or they’ll do it on their own. I’m sure of it,” he complained before letting out a dark, knowing chuckle. “That is, if we even survive these coming years.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, concerned.

“There are several reports indicating a drop in productivity across all sectors, mainly agricultural ones. At this rate, we may face a famine within two, maybe three years,” he estimated. Oh, my sweet friend, you were always too optimistic.

And, of course, as the fool I was, I brushed the problem aside. “Conquests have a price to be paid. This drop shall stabilize quickly and things shall return to normal. Our people will be saved and the Cycle will end. This is the foundation of what I promised: a golden empire forged by caribou hands. An immortal empire,” I groaned, grabbing Ginna’s hips tenderly. “But since you are so worried about production, I shall make you Magistrate of Ponyville, my friend. The food that rural village produces shall grow strong under your care and be an example for all to follow!”

“M-Magistrate? Me? I… I don’t know what to say, Dainn… are you sure you wish to grant me such power? Aren’t there others more qualified?”

“I was robbed of having you by my side since the start. I shall make amends now and put you in charge of Ponyville, a seat of power next to my own,” I explained, smiling. “Though I will miss you and Ginna dearly, I shall visit as often as I can.”

“In that case, I shall obey and do my best, my King,” Gunne said while Ginna focused on her task, happily.

I would not see them again for a long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“You have got to be kidding me,” Twilight breathed out, frustrated and tired. “You seriously treated Ginna as a therapy pet?”

“Male. Caribou. Female. What’s not to understand?” Dainn drolled with mild amusement. “But Ginna was happy to aid me. She was a female but, as odd as this sounds, she was rarely fucked and raped. Many stags feared that having her close to them would taint them with the imaginary ‘curse’ the birth of the twins brought. Instead, she trained to be a therapy doe. It fit her personality and Gunne was happy his sister was mostly ignored by other stags. I never treated her like a pet, though the comparisons are obvious and mudded from an outsider’s perspective, I must admit.”

“Did she ever felt, you know… lesser for being pushed aside by other stags?” Twilight asked, gagging a moment later. “Bleeergh, asking that just feels wrong!”

“Not really. She accepted her role and did her best to be useful. She… sweet Ginna deserved better than what this accursed world gave her. Though she tended to cry whenever she failed to seduce a stag since being sexually active and sought after was a mark of pride between the does. As you can imagine, she was at the bottom of the barrel, but not even that broke her spirit. If there’s one person I could’ve chosen to save and sent to another place to live a happy life away from all of this… I would’ve chosen her.”

“I know you said you didn’t love her romantically, but I’m having a hard time believing that,” Twilight commented with a raised brow.

“Is love and affection the same as sexual attraction? Admiration? Platonic love? No, of course not. My love for Ginna was always platonic and one I believe would be shared between siblings. Or was it sexual desire and romantic love that made you rescue your brother from Chrysalis’ manipulation?” Dainn asked, cooking his head slightly to the side in intrigue.

Twilight coughed, embarrassed, and nodded. “Touché. And now that you mention it, I see more or less what you mean. You had sexual interaction with her but there was no real desire there.”

Dainn shrugged. “Sexual desire was destroyed within me. Even with Ginna, there was no satisfaction, just relief. I cannot say the same regarding Celestia,” said the king softly. “Not the same.”

“After you were healed, what happened?” Twilight asked after five minutes of awkward, uncomfortable silence.

“What else?” With uncanny agility and flare, Dainn stood up lifting a small cloud of dirt and ash around him, raising his cane to the sky as if it was a sword. “Ragnarok happened.”