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

When morning came, Twilight woke up from a rather restful sleep. No nightmares plagued her mind, only gentle, calm dreams that eased her onward. A hot, relaxing bath made her muscles relax as she enjoyed a moment of respite while her mind worked on what she was going to do now.

“I have to go back to Dainn now… back to that dreadful wasteland of nothing. To know that such a thing could happen here, caribou or not… Dark Mirrors, Dark Dimensions, Dark Entities. How can we even fight against all of that?” She questioned herself, but a second later shook her head and her eyes shone with determination. “No. I won’t take the first step and admit defeat when there’s not even a battle fought yet! We’ve overcome great perils and we will overcome more! This is nothing more than an eye-opener to our own naivete. We will be prepared… and I will thank Dainn for this gift, intentional or not as it may be.”

High in spirits, she finished her bath in peace and then used a spell to dry herself off and comb her mane and tail. Grabbing her saddlebags, she stormed out of her room in time to find Spike talking with Starlight as they walked down the corridor. “Good morning,” she said to her friends.

“Morning, Twi!”

“Morning. Feeling better?”

Came the replies from Spike and Starlight respectively. “You two look chirpy. Did something happen?”

“Ehhh, yes and no,” Spike replied. “We’ve been talking about telling some of our other friends about, you know, the dangers lurking outside our Dimension and such. Pretty normal stuff for us to deal with. For them? Not so much.”

“We decided that, since the Princesses, the rest of our friends, and we are going to start training and preparing to face dastardly abominations, as Rarity put it, we might as well warn the others,” Starlight remarked. “Sunburst could be of great help. Not to mention Capper and Caelano would be able to rally support and spread the message around.”

“We’ll talk with the others and see what they think about it. And, of course, you’ll end up deciding what we’ll do, Twi,” Spike added with a winning smirk.

“Me?” Twilight tilted her head, confused. “Why me? Shouldn’t all of us agree on something that important?”

“We will, but you’ll have the final word. After everything that’s happened, the Princesses are, well, unwilling to take a leadership position they feel you should take. Since you are directly involved in this more than any of us,” Starlight replied with a friendly smile.

“I see… heh, it's funny, you know?” Twilight began as she walked up to them and the trio resumed their travel. “Before all of this, I would’ve begged everyone to choose Celestia over any of us. With everything that’s happened, I lost almost all the false respect and blind adoration I had for her. She’s… not a bad ruler. None of us are. We just let the fever of our victories get to our heads and, in the end, we grew complacent. That’s the poison that weakened us.”

“Indeed it is,” Sunset suddenly added as she joined them with a pop of magic. Her mane was messy and she was obviously sleep-deprived. “I forgot how much ponies sleep compared to humans. And how stiff some of our beds can be. Me want my fluffy bed now.”

“Stop complaining and get ready to eat. I didn’t break my back making breakfast for nothing,” Spike replied, smirking. Then, he jumped on Twilight’s back. “So, Twi, what are you going to do?”

“Eat first. Then prepare to leave,” she replied and used her magic to open the door leading to the living room. To her surprise, Celestia and Luna were there already. “Princesses? I thought you were back in Canterlot.”

“We arrived half an hour ago,” Luna replied. “I believe Spike and Starlight have informed you about our plan?”

“They have… but are you sure? I don’t want to be seen as overstepping my authority even if we are technically equals,” Twilight replied as she and her friends sat while Spike quickly moved to serve them all a tray of pancakes and freshly sliced fruits.

“...I’m so going to eat a whole package of bacon once I’m back. I need meeeeeeeat,” Sunset complained but dug into her food regardless.

“Great, you gave me the munchies now,” Twilight shook her head while trying to focus on her breakfast. Thankfully for her, Spike’s culinary talent was as sharp as ever.

“To answer your question, Twilight, would any of you trust me with leadership at this point?” Celestia asked after swallowing a mouthful. None answered her question. “Do not feel ashamed. I wouldn’t trust me either if I were in your horseshoes. In fact, I do not trust myself at all. My victories are few and my failings many. I will defer to your wisdom, Twilight.”

“Thanks… and I’m… I’m sorry for exploding on you like that, Celestia. I was so angry, so overwhelmed. I wasn’t thinking straight… I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized.

Celestia shook her head in turn. “No need to apologize. Despite your unfiltered speech, every word was true. As I stand now, I am unfit to rule Equestria. I am unfit to call myself an Alicorn,” she closed her eyes and a longing smile crossed her features. “By the Gods, I used to be so strong. When was it that I became like this? Each loss weakened and complacency ruined me. No more. I will be the Princess Equestria needs and prove to Dainn that Male Superiority is wrong.”

“Nein, sister. It is already wrong, for Twilight stands among us. I shall, too, rekindle my warrior spirit and follow Oksho’s conviction without his misguided view and path. You will be the hammer, I shall be the spear, Twilight shall be the sword, Cadance the dagger, if… WHEN Shining ascends, he shall be the shield and our niece, Flurry Heart, shall be the wielder of all,” Luna remarked.

“It was that dimension’s Celestia’s doing that ruined it. Her losing streak and her lackluster response invigorated the caribou’s view of Male Superiority and, in the end, brought damnation upon them,” Twilight remarked. “Not to mention the apparent sexism regarding alicorns. Now that I know the truth and that there’s a possibility for my brother, and maybe others, to ascend, we will be prepared to face a malign foe such as the caribou and the Enchantment they used,” another mouthful of pancakes later, she asked. “Where’s Cadance?”

“She’s still sleeping. Had a bad night. Nightmares,” Luna replied. “She’s been the most affected out of us all… poor dear. Were she in your place, Twilight, I believe she would’ve broken. Her heart is too kind to withstand such horrors head-on.”

“Must especially suck knowing that an alternate you fucked up things even more and was basically responsible for at least half of that torment,” Sunset said, not with humor but with dejected understanding. “I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes either.”

“Then it is decided,” Twilight said. “Spike… you’ll decide who tells who, where, and how. You’ve always been there for me and I trust no one more than I trust you.”

“Aye aye,” Spike replied, smiling brightly.

“Then… after I’m done here, I’ll return to Dainn. I’ll bring a few things with me. Oh, that reminds me, Celestia, can you give me one of your cakes? You know, the ones in your private reserve?”

Celestia blinked, surprised. “Of course, Twilight,” with a flicker of magic, a portal opened next to her and then a luxurious and delectable-looking chocolate cake floated out. “May I ask what you intend to use it for?”

“Do you remember I told you he said that he liked cupcakes?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, but didn’t he reject the one you gave him?” Starlight questioned.

“He did,” Twilight answered, nodding, “but I think he really wanted to eat it. He punished himself by not eating it. I have an inkling suspicion that he has a sweet tooth… or had, at the very least. If I’m correct, then he won’t be able to resist a cake with the quality to be hoarded by our local cake devourer.”

“I take great pride in that title, young lady,” Celestia replied, completely unashamed to admit her love for all things sweet.

“I swear, if he turns out to have a sweet tooth like yours, I’m going to go crazy… but it’s a good apology gift, right?” Twilight said, casting a spell to preserve the cake in a stasis field. The rest of the breakfast went without hassle until it was time for Twilight to leave.

“Twilight? A moment, before you go,” Celestia spoke up.

“Yes?” Twilight replied, turning to face her old mentor.

“It may be hypocritical of me to say this, but do not see Dainn as a monster any longer. He is both victim and villain, prisoner and warden, tormented and tormentor. Most of his actions were driven by his ignorance and fear, yet he only meant well in the end. He is not a hero but neither is he a villain. He is something in between. Something I have only encountered once previously: a type of hero that earns as much scorn as he gains admiration.”

“An anti-hero,” Luna added, sighing deeply, “poor… misguided but well-meaning Stygian.”

“Stygian…,” Twilight muttered and as she recounted his story, plight, and decisions, she couldn’t help but see the dark, tragic comparisons between him and Dainn. “Anti-hero… an unconventional hero capable of rising and falling at the same time. I believe you are right to call Dainn an anti-hero. Bound by conviction and duty, his need to save his people blinded him. He put on the mask of a King… and the more he wore it, the more his true self was eroded. Without those close to him to guide and support him, Gunne and Ginna, the further he was subsumed by it. Without a righteous path to follow, like Oksho’s, the deeper the hole he dug became. And without the strength to wield it, he failed to mold it to become like Svarndagr. The mask of his mentor and abuser… he failed to become a beacon of unity for his people…”

“And in turn brought damnation upon them and his world,” finished Starlight, shuddering. “Makes one think about how close some of us came to royally screwing things over, huh?”

“At any rate, I have to go now… and I promise I won’t let my anger get the best of me again. Dainn… may deserve all the hatred, given and self-inflicted, he gets, but at the same time he deserves a chance at redemption, even if it doesn’t exist,” Twilight said, stood up, gave Spike a final hug, and then left once more to meet a living corpse tormented by his actions in a dead world.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After arriving at the ruined castle, the first thing Twilight did was to give the horrid stained glass a glare, not because of what it represented, but what led to it and what caused it. When she arrived at the throne room, she found Dainn already sitting not at the other side of the stone table, but on his throne, standing still like a statue.

She sat down and waited for him to speak first. While she waited, she stared at him intently. He was hunched over, unable to see his eyes while he held the golden necklace with care, almost as if he was caressing it despite not moving an inch. After five minutes of silence, the crackling of joints caught her attention. His head lifted up, slowly, cracking his vertebrae with each glacial movement until his blue, cold eyes were visible once more and finally, he spoke.

“...leave…” his voice rasped. “Unless you are ready to apologize and know why you have to… leave and never return. It will be better if you do.”

“I won’t apologize for hating the caribou,” Twilight replied, unfettered. “But I will apologize for lumping all of you into the same box. I was ignorant to say that you didn’t know love or friendship or companionship. I’m sorry I insulted the memories of those who cared and were unlike the rest of your species. Those I didn’t know included. No matter if there were only a hundred or ten or a thousand among your people… they don’t deserve my harsh condemnation. For who am I to judge them so?” Dainn said nothing, only stared at her and listened.

“You were right about many things. How Celestia’s streak of defeats and her neglect cause Equestria so many problems. How it caused you -and your damnable Council- to see her as unfit and weak. How the absence of a male Alicorn made you believe you were facing a Matriarchy. And… how it made it seem as if our stallions were lesser than females. The fearmongering of Male Superiority worked because I and everyone else, those in this dimension I mean, were weak and complacent and blind.”

She chuckled. “Perhaps if this… your Celestia was the Warrior Queen you imagined her as, something she never was as not even Luna could claim that title, then maybe you would’ve rejoiced and joined her side, reached an accord, and struck a bargain? You were seen as a female by your peers and treated as such by Svarndagr. I wish to believe that’s what you would’ve done, because you are neither a hero nor a villain in the end… you, my dear Dainn, are what can be called an anti-hero,” she said somberly. “And a rather tragic one at that in all the sense of the word. For that… I am sorry. It is all I can say.”

Dainn remained silent for another minute, then stood up. “I do not understand you, Not My Twilight. Your words cut deep but they ring true. Honestly? I prefer the knife over the pity you waste on me. But… for all it is worth, I accept your apology and your words,” he chuckled, his raspy voice colder than the lifeless air rummaging outside. “Anti-Hero? I don’t know what that is… I never heard of it, but the phrasing implies a failed hero, which I argue is unlikely, or a hero who is not a hero. Hmmm, an interesting view on things,” stepping down to the table, he sat on his seat and sighed. “Do you have anything more to say, Twilight?”

“Only that I brought you a few things. As an apology gift,” Twilight said, offering a sincere smile. From her saddlebags appeared a few plates of food, drink, a book, and, finally, the cake she had been hiding under an invisibility spell. “Tadaaaa~?”

“I shall accept them as a sign of good… is that… is that a cake?” Dainn’s voice cracked when he saw the chocolate, heart-attack-inducing pastry. He gulped loudly. “I… I can’t accept that one, Twilight. I don’t deserve it…”

“Probably not,” Twilight shrugged. “But if I’m coming to terms with you, the caribou, and myself, then it is only fair if you do the same. At least, a little. Think of it as a… small reward and a step closer to redemption?”

“Redemption,” Dainn muttered. “I am beyond redemption… but… I-I-I will accept that cake… f-for your sake, of course,” he said, gulping once more.

Twilight nodded, doing her best to not giggle. “Of course.”

“Then… I think I shall start with it. Did you, perchance, bring any silverware?” Dainn asked.

Twilight wordlessly levitated a large cutting knife and a fork to him and placed them on the plate set before him. Slowly, painfully so, she watched as Dainn cut the cake into eight slices. He set the knife aside and leaned in to sniff it. He sighed in pleasure, as if the sugary scent of the cake awakened old memories within him.

Then, she closed her eyes, smiling and happy that her gamble paid off. Not even a second later, she opened her eyes to find an impossible scene. Dainn was munching happily, holding the fork in one hand while only a single slice of cake remained on the plate.

Twilight felt a twitch pulsate on her forehead a moment later. “HOW!? T-That was… HOW!? How did you do that!? Not even Celestia eats a cake that fast! Did you even chew it!?”

“It ish delishioush,” Dainn replied, shining with true joy before gulping down his mouthful. “It’s been so long since I tasted a cake~,” he said before discarding his fork in favor of picking the cake with his hand. He lifted the slice up and he turned to the side, taking a moment to admire the cake as if it was a long-lost lover. Then, he opened his mouth wide, ready to scarf it down in a single bite.

Twilight’s surprise and confusion passed as the memory of a certain newspaper came back to her full force. It was an identical pose and situation, just with Dainn instead of Celestia caught red-handed. “Oh sweet Gods no, they’re both sweet lovers,” she muttered softly before he ate the last slice, munching on it slowly and drinking in the flavor.

“This… if by far… the best cake I’ve ever eaten,” Dainn said as he thoroughly enjoyed his meal.

Twilight wanted to groan but then noticed something odd was happening. Dainn’s right eye started to change color. It was subtle at first, more like a decoloration or a flickering afterimage, but with each munch, it changed a bit more until, right before he gulped it down, his right eye was as violet as Celestia’s eye.

“Wha--” she began to ask, flabbergasted at what she was seeing, but when he turned to face her again, his eye swirled in color and was back to the icy blue a second later. “Did you… notice what happened?”

“That I smiled and was content for once in a long time?” He asked rhetorically and with mild amusement in his voice.

“No… your right eye, it changed color… you know what? Nevermind. I probably imagined it. Though… I can’t believe you and Celestia share an uncanny sweet tooth. Under other circumstances, you two would’ve been friends. Maybe more,” Twilight said, smiling fondly.

“...I do not understand you, Twilight,” Dainn leaned back, his voice back to its normal icy, cold tone. “If you hate me and my species, with just reason, why are you treating me this way now? I have accepted your apology and yet… are you mocking me in secret!? IF YOU HATE ME, THEN WHY ARE YOU TREATING ME LIKE A FRIEND!?”

Twilight’s jaw dropped after his outburst, but only for a moment. It was her turn to be level-headed and teach a lesson of her own. “Because that is what friends do, Dainn. Friends forgive each other for the faults we make,” she stopped for a moment, blinked, and then chuckled. “I just realized that at some point I started seeing you as a friend of sorts, Dainn. I guess that’s my nature as the Princess of Friendship.”

“Friends? We are not friends! I am a speaker, the last of a species of idiots, a deluded fool, an ignorant buffon, and a puppet that didn’t know the strings that controlled him! Why treat me like a friend when you hate my species so much!?” He proclaimed. “I hate myself and them and those stupid idiots that sought naught but their hedonistic pleasure and satisfaction more than you could ever hate us! And yet… and yet… I can’t hate everyone… I wasted our potential for chance… our one chance to be something more than the despotic, conquering monsters we always were. Friendship? I don’t deserve friendship.”

“Well, too fucking bad, Dainn. Because you’re taking my friendship whether you like it or not,” Twilight replied, crossing her arms. “I cannot even begin to fathom your hatred, that guilt and shame and anger and sadness that plagues you. But I, as the dual Princess of Magic and Friendship, understand that you need a friend. I will be that friend… now that you’ve taught me so many valuable lessons that I was too ignorant to see.”

“...then why are you treating me like a male?” He asked, puzzled yet a flicker of hope flashed in his eyes. “The way you’ve exploded… your fury, your anger… it was akin to how Svarndagr and others treated females: with derision and absolute dominance. It is not the same as what the Enchantment my council so foolishly unleashed… and that I permitted to use. A female is just an inferior being. Unfit to rule. Unfit to do anything except obey orders, please males, and produce offspring. Sluts? Sluts and females are not the same. They all wanted sluts, not females… and I, who was seen as a female by many, escaped that fate by sheer virtue of wearing a crown,” he said with disdain.

Several seconds passed in silence until he spoke again.

“You are everything I ever wanted to be as a female. Something that I failed at from the start. Not enough to be a male despite the dick hanging between my legs. Not enough to be a female either. Did I ever tell you that my mentor constantly made fun of how often I had to sit down and why, lack of muscle mass and strength aside, I could never be a warrior?” Twilight shook her head, her attention focused on him. “It’s because I was born with a mild disability that made my knees weak. I could stand, run, walk, carry heavy objects like a normal caribou, but I would tire much, much quicker. I was unfit for physical activities, thus, I turned my focus to academics and I was very, very adept at them. Worthless in the end once that damnable crown saw on my head. Has any caribou ever failed as much as I?” He asked no one. “You… remind me so much of Ginna, Twilight. It's not the same, of course. She lacked your intelligence and power, but her heart was as pure and sincere as yours is.”

“Then let me be your friend, you stubborn old fool,” Twilight replied, smiling.

“In that case… let’s be friends, Twilight Sparkle,” Dainn said, offering a tiny, sincere smile. “You know… after I became King, I rarely indulged myself in sweets. Before that, back in our homeland, every time after Svarndagr ‘used me’, I went to the kitchens to take in some sweets. Sugar and honey were rare treats, but common enough for those in the castle to enjoy. I stole two or three batches of sweets, sometimes a cake. The sweets took the pain away, for some time, at least, and I really enjoyed them,” waving his hand around, he chuckled.

“I always stole so much because I brought some to Gunne and Ginna, mostly Ginna, mind you. Gunne was never a fan of sweet things. But Ginna? She loved them. Seeing her smile eased the pain and her therapeutic sessions did wonders for my sanity back then. See the difference? She was a female, but a therapy female. Useful in her own right. Kind, gentle, friendly, lovable, loyal… she wasn’t a therapy pet or a common slut. I couldn’t save her… I couldn’t save Gunne, either. The closest thing I had to siblings, because I was weak,” he gritted his teeth until they cracked, nearly shattering.

“I failed them… now, all I can do is share what I have learned through pain, blood, suffering, and failure with anyone who will listen,” suddenly, he lifted a finger. “Be that as it may, Not My Twilight. I shall issue a single warning moving forth. I will allow you to ask questions regarding my retellings, but I will tolerate no more outbursts or unjustified interruptions. If you truly have learned your lesson, then you shall contain your ire and hold back your tongue. For if you explode once more, I shall ensure that you will never be able to return and any lessons you may and grasp from me shall be forever lost. Do you understand this, Twilight?”

“I do,” Twilight replied and nodded curtly. “Dainn… I meant every word I said. Truly. Equally so, I am sincere when I say this: somepony other than me deserves to see and speak to the real you.”

“I rebuke that notion. Your arrival came from chance and, were I to still believe in it, fate itself. Perhaps, in another time, in another era. Then again, that Dainn wouldn’t be the one sitting before you, now would I?” He chuckled darkly. “No. You are more than enough. Let your voice spread what you learn from my tale and mistakes.”

“But we aren’t so different in the end. Not culturally, ideologically, or morally speaking, but rather as how we came to fail ourselves and our people. Without even noticing, we’ve been relying on the Elements of Harmony to solve our problems as much as your people used the Enchantment to bring them easy victories and quick conquests. Not the same, but similar,” she then reached into her saddlebags and took out the coin she’d found. With a flick of her thumb, the coin flew for a couple of seconds until Dainn caught it midair before it landed on the stone table.

“One was bound to appear eventually,” Dainn said with hatred. “After I buried my friends and all those that were worthy of remembrance, I spent fifty years going around Equestria destroying several monuments that my people erected until I grew tired of the futile effort and I enclosed myself here. But right before the last volcano died, I poured every last single single of these coins I could find, right before I jumped into it,” he chuckled darkly. “I highly recommend you never try to kill yourself by diving into a pool of molten lava and gold. It took me three years to break the mold from within.”

Twilight winced at that as her imagination provided her with a comparison. Being petrified by a cockatrice was not one of her proudest moments, truth be told. Then, she watched him do something that his frail body shouldn’t have been able to do. With just with index finger and thumb, he pressed on the coin hard enough that it snapped in half, then he compressed the shattered pieces until the gold coin was reduced to hundreds of scattered pieces in his palm. Then, he tossed the fragments up by several dozen meters to be taken away by the howling winds, never to be seen again.

“Thank you, for bringing me that piece of garbage that I failed to collect and destroyed. One wrong put right, so to speak,” Dainn said with a tired shrug. “If Svarndagr ever saw one of these coins being in public use, he would’ve switched every stag involved in using and producing it. Thramm firstmost among them. That is, if he felt particularly generous to even consider switching anyone,” he shuddered, suppressing an unwanted memory. “Let’s just say that Svarndagr had creative methods of punishment that would make ANYSTAG go on their knees and BEG being switched instead.”

“There are fates worse than death,” Twilight muttered, quoting one of Dainn’s first lessons.

“Getting a kick to the ground is one thing, a disciplinary action. A punishment? Trust me, you do not wish to know how disgustingly creative he could be,” Dainn replied, tilting his head to the side for a moment. “Though, I am pleased that you’ve been taking my lessons to heart. Tell me, for I am curious, has Shining Armor chosen to try and become an alicorn?”

“He has. He is going to try and achieve it now that… the price and dangers of immortality are known to him and Cadance. I also learned something that I think you may not know, Dainn. Celestia and Luna told me that there have been male alicorns in the past, but they are rare. They had a brother named Blueblood who sacrificed himself for their sake. They also told me that there have been many stallions showing the potential to ascend, but never did. It just so happens to be a simple problem of statistics and numbers set against probability, I came to realize.”

Dainn blinked. “That is… certainly new to me. I never uncovered evidence of a long-lost brother, though I never searched too deeply, if I’m being honest. Perhaps that’s another difference between our dimensions,” he paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “However, that second part you mentioned… what do you mean by it?”

Twilight shrugged coyly. “Short version? It makes sense why having a stallion ascend is harder than a mare. In my dimension, and I guess in this one, too, there are eight to ten mares for every stallion. Simple statistics say that a mare ascending to alicornhood is ten times as likely than a stallion. The fact that my brother shows so much potential is rare but promising. I will do my best to see him ascend.”

Dainn nodded in approval. “Had my Shining Armor ascended and had Svarndagr lived to meet him, I’m certain that he would’ve made him his heir. I knew little of him before his corruption, but everything he was… I wished I was,” he sighed tiredly. “No point in longing for that which can’t be fixed.”

“About that,” Twilight pressed on. “My friends and I agree that while Svarndagr wasn’t a good guy; he was a tyrannical ruler, a despot, and a conqueror, after all. He was also an excellent ruler who kept the worst aspects of his people in check and was able to run his kingdom effectively. Threats and all. I may not like him, at all, but I can respect his skills.”

“In that aspect, Twilight, our opinions align perfectly. Had all of what happened had occurred under his reign, he would’ve carved a bloody path across the lands until he eliminated all the ‘deranged idiots’. I was no warrior, as you may know, but I had seen him unleash his wrath and fury many times. Had he been in my place, he would’ve carved the greatest groin-destroying and testicle-cracking rampage in caribou history,” he finished with a short chuckle of amusement.

“Despite everything he did to you, you still find such thoughts amusing?” Twilight asked, then immediately shook her head. “Forget I said anything. I almost forgot what your people believed in. The Strong rule over the Weak. The Strong Rule, the Weak Obey,” she said, shuddering with visible discomfort. “Such an ideology is… anathema to me, yet true simultaneously. It all depends on how it is employed.”

“Taken to a toxic view, it can do much harm, no matter the intent,” he replied, warning silently. Twilight nodded, understanding his message and he continued. “Take me, for instance. It was a minor incident of little relevance at the end of the day, but important at the moment it happened. After the Enchantment was unleashed and used to win battle after battle, converted stallions were desperate to find evidence of the might of Male Superiority,” he spat with disdain as he recalled his memories. “A certain archaeologist by the name of Arcane Writ, curse him to Tartarus and beyond, took advantage of the situation to further his selfish ambitions. He wasn’t corrupted like so many others. Darkness already existed in his heart. Envy, greed, lust, and pride all mixed within him. But he was opportunistic and, worst of all, resourceful. Not particularly bright or creative, but resourceful,” Dainn warned, raising a finger.

“He and his partner were authorities in their respective fields and, combined, he presented fake findings that were so convincing that they were legitimized. These artifacts painted an ancient male-dominated Equestria that was eventually destroyed and replaced by the pervasive and unjust matriarchy led by female alicorns who wished to enslave males for their own sick and twisted amusement. He climbed up the social ranking quickly to the point that Fauber and Thramm, equally rotten to the core, came to see him as a collaborator and an associate,” Dainn paused as he shook his head slowly.

“I was so easily fooled. Their ‘proof’ and their ‘artifacts’ were far from irrefutable, but at that time I was a self-centered moron playing to unheard tunes. And like a fool, I accepted those findings as gospel. Svarndagr would’ve seen right through their ruse, destroyed the artifacts, and executed that damnable Arcane Writ where he stood for his insolence. The gal needed to try and trick the King was both unforgivable and an act of treason. And after he was done with him, he would’ve hunted down the artist that created those convincing forgeries,” Dainn sighed bitterly. “I should’ve done that… I should’ve listened and seen the obvious sweet poison fed to me, but I turned a blind eye. I should’ve done what Svarndagr would’ve done.”

“That’s brutal… but justified,” she replied, then smiled and stifled a chuckle. “I can only imagine what those ‘ancient artifacts’ looked like.”

Dainn offered a tiny smirk. “There’s a reason why he got along so well with Fauber and Thramm. Between the three of them, they made up a single neuron dedicated to creativity and talent,” his expression dimmed and returned to one of neutral stoicism. “Are you ready to continue listening?” Twilight nodded. “Remember my warning, Twilight. Keep it at the forefront of your mind. You may ask your questions… until I’m finished with my retelling.”

“I understand,” she replied.

“Then, prepare yourself, for it is from this point on, that the true nightmares begin.”