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

Twilight landed outside the building leading to the abandoned basement that held the mirror she had crossed through. With a shiver and a sigh, she felt weak, tired, and drained. The discoveries, the encounter with Dainn, his tale… her mind couldn’t take any more or else she’d surely suffer from an aneurysm at the sheer volume of information and conflicting emotions she was going through. She needed time to calm down, think objectively, and prepare herself for worse things.

She made her way down to the basement and fear gripped her heart. What if the mirror isn’t there anymore? She asked herself and came to a sudden halt. Wait a minute… how is it possible that Dainn doesn’t know about the mirror? Why was left there alone in the first place? J-Just how old is the mirror in the human world? Oh gosh, for how long has the human world been in contact with magic and other Equestrians!?

The alicorn felt as if she was about to hyperventilate. So many questions on top of all those she already had… existential dread was not something she needed right now. Instead, she took a moment to practice the breathing technique Cadance had taught her and repeated it until it worked. “Right… focus, Twilight. Principles and theoretical; one problem at a time, one solution at a time.”

With her resolve regained, she made it to the basement and found the mirror right where she last saw it. She didn’t want to spend another second in this dimension and simply walked through without precaution. Why should she worry? Only Dainn was alive and she was sure that either the rest of the world shared the same fate as Equestria or had died out on their own. Dainn had told her that, too. So the only living thing left in a lonely, dead world was the half-living thing the caribou had become.

The dizziness of crossing through dimensions was like a backdrop compared to how she was feeling as she stepped into the now dark, lonely basement back in Canterlot High. Using her magic, she concealed the mirror, just to be safe, and walked out of the basement not before grabbing the requested cube Vice-Principal Luna was searching for. When she made her way back to the hallways of the school, she found them illuminated with what appeared to be Sunset Shimmer looking around for something.

Ughhh, I really took too long. How long was I out there? It couldn’t have been more than three hours… I think, she thought a moment before the red and golden-haired woman turned to her and ran up to her, shouting her name.

“Twilight!” Sunset cried out, hugging her friend tightly as she picked her up. “Oh thank Celestia you’re okay!” She ended the hug and slapped her across the face. “WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU!? We were worried sick! Luna was about to call the police before I told her I would look for you! Did something happen!? Are the dazzlings back? Another creature from Equestria crossed over? Did you find another magical rift or something? Well? Come on, filly, talk!”

“Sunset…,” Twilight replied, swallowing hard, unbothered by the slap she had just received. “It’s… a long story. Something that Princess Celestia and everyone else in Equestria needs to hear. B-But, let me ask you something very important… do you know anyone, anyone at all by the name of Dainn?”

“Dainn? No, not really? I mean, I’ve heard it’s a pretty common name in Denmark and other surrounding countries. Also Iceland for some reason, but I don’t know anyone with that name. Why?” Sunset asked, her anger replaced by worry.

Twilight let out a long, relieved sigh. “Because there’s something I need to figure out first… and I need you to come with me back to Equestria for it. This may be your home now, but Equestria may need you in case my worries are true.”

“Twilight, you’re starting to freak me out,” Sunset gulped nervously. “But… if you need my help, I’ll go with you. You… you look pale. Here, eat this and have a drink,” she said, passing her a handful of her beef jerky snacks and a bottle of juice.

Twilight grabbed them and ate the jerky greedily and gulped it down with the juice in mere seconds. “G-Goodness, I didn’t realize I was so hungry or thirsty until now,” she licked her lips, finally feeling something in her stomach after emptying it completely back with Dainn. “Where are the rest of our friends?”

“Follow me,” Sunset said and guided Twilight to the Principal’s office. Principal Celestia was there, waiting for new information along with her sister. Twilight handed over the cube while Celestia called off the searching parties and summoned Twilight’s friends over. When they arrived, Twilight gave them a quick explanation of a magical mishap that, while not dangerous, she needed to see through. She never told them anything about the mirror, only that the basement would need to be off-limits for a time until she could fix it and prevent any accident from happening.

I hate lying to them… but I will not risk their lives with something like that, Twilight thought to herself while Celestia seemed confused. “Is something the matter, Principal?”

“I sent a search party to the basement after we thought you went missing. Nobody found anything there. Care to explain why that is?” Celestia asked.

“The anomaly only interacted with alicorn magic,” a half-truth if they saw the mirror but couldn’t interact with it. “I don’t know how to explain it, but this issue has more to do with my dimension than yours. Oh, that reminds me, I will need Sunset’s help in this regard, Principal Celestia. She’s a pony, as you may recall, and this matter concerns her directly.”

“I see. At least it won’t be a terrible accident. Superintendent Discord would be very, very happy to avoid putting more budget into our school to fix ‘Crazy-Ass random magical doohickey’. I’m still not done filing the paperwork relating to the crater your little episode caused,” Celestia said, eyeing Sunset drily. “Fine, I’ll approve it. What about the rest?”

“I’d rather they continue with their studies normally,” Twilight smiled at her human friends. “If I need your help, I’ll tell you all, okay?”

“You better, Princess,” Applejack was the first to speak and pull Twilight into a hug that soon turned into a hugging pile.

Half an hour later, the alicorn and unicorn stood in front of the statue portal, ready to cross it. “Was it that bad?” Sunset asked out of the blue without turning to face her friend. “Whatever you found?”

“It might be. I pray my suspicions are correct and that we are free of that danger… but I also plan to uncover the truth. The whole truth and maybe,” she shook her head. “Well, who knows?”

“Then let’s go,” Sunset said and the two crossed the mirror at the same time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twilight was feeling as if she was about to have a panic attack. She really hadn’t given much thought about how to convey the information she’d gathered, only that she had to tell her friends and closest allies as soon as possible. The second she arrived back in Equestria, she’d sent urgent messages and to her great relief and dismay, they all had arrived within the hour with the only exception being Discord himself.

Now she sat with Sunset at her side while all of her friends, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Sunburst all sat around the large map table, waiting for her to speak up.

“Twilight… is everything okay? Are you feeling alright?” Cadance finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Cadance is right, darling. I didn’t want to mention anything since you looked awfully stressed out, but you look like you haven’t slept in days,” Rarity pointed out, worried for her friend’s health.

Spike, ever helpful, placed a claw on her hoof and squeezed it in support. Twilight smiled at her little brother and took a large, unsteady breath. “Thank you, everyone, for worrying about me. And to answer your questions, no. I am not alright. I am… mortified, horrified, terrified, and every other descriptor that could possibly describe apprehension, fear, anger, and dismay.”

“Geez, you’re making it sound as if Tartarus itself split open and every monster in it is now roaming free,” Rainbow boasted with fake bravery. Even she was left worried after hearing the most logical and skeptical mare she knew talk as if they were already defeated. “Come on, Twi, it can’t be that bad!”

“You’re right, Dash. It’s not that bad. It’s a thousand times worse,” Twilight replied, silencing the room once more. Not even the shuffling of feathers could be heard now. She looked up and her eyes searched for Luna and Celestia’s eyes, practically pleading for an answer. “Before I continue… I have a question I need to be answered. You two are, aside from Discord, the oldest living beings in Equestria. Nay, the entire planet. If anyone knows, it is you. Do you… do you know anything about a species called caribou?”

The two royal sisters exchanged confused looks and shook their heads a moment later. “Caribou? Never heard of them. I know of a kingdom of Deer in the far west, though. Fierce and fearless protectors of their forest and excellent allies,” Celestia answered. “Their current king, Aspen, is a good friend of mine.”

“Likewise,” Luna admitted. “Though I know of a legend about three mythical reindeer that live far up north, past beyond the cold lands of the Yak. Otherwise, nay, I have never heard of caribou in my life.”

“Are you sure? No mentions at all? Nothing written? No records? No passing comments made by your parents or other ancient beings?” Twilight asked in a constant string, her heart pounding hard against her chest, desperately wanting it to be true.

“Twilight, calm down! Breathe!” Applejack said, ready to leap from her seat and aid her friend if need be. Everyone else in the room was now visibly shaken and worried.

“Twilight, we assure you that before you mentioned them today, we have never heard of anything even remotely similar to that name,” Celestia replied, eyebrows furrowing and eyes narrowing as a cold, hard suspicion was building in her heart.

“Good! Gooood… th-that’s good, very good. The best kind of good. Goodarific,” Twilight breathed out incoherently as she felt a massive strain being lifted from her shoulders, back, flanks, and everywhere else in her body. Then, another worry struck her. “What about a town called Lindisbarne, up in the northern frontiers of Equestria near the coast?”

“See for yourself,” Luna said and her horn ignited. With a shot of magic, the table came to life to show the entirety of Equestria with little flags sprouting everywhere signaling where even the smallest hamlet was located.

Twilight immediately searched the general location where she presumed Lindisbarne was located in Dainn’s world. It took her only a few seconds to find a rough match to the coast, cliffs, and a fjord that seemed similar to the land described by Dainn. There was a forest near the coast, the ample hillside and the open plains after. Try as she may, there was not a single settlement anywhere close to that area except for a frontier outpost without a name.

Another massive weight was lifted from her very soul and she allowed herself a little moment of respite. Exhaustion washed over her for a moment, only now noticing how drained she truly was. The map died down as she sighed in utter relief.

“I’m officially freaked out,” Shining Armor interjected a moment later. “Twily, what’s going on? Is this something I should be aware of? Why are you suddenly that worried about creatures and some town that doesn’t even exist? I believe everyone in this room deserves to know what you’re talking about.”

Twilight looked at a frightened Sunset and found her courage. “You’re right, Shiny. Everypony, listen to me closely because what I’m about to tell you is something I wish wasn’t real,” she stated, fear once more creeping its way into her heart, but with the confirmation that there were no caribou in her dimension or the starting point of their assault made wonders for her confidence. At least at the moment. “I--”

“There you are!” A disembodied voice rang out from everywhere before a griffon claw pierced reality itself and pulled it aside as a shower curtain. Discord stepped out and closed the gap in reality with a whisk of his tail. “Do you have any idea how worried Fluttershy was, Twilight? What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?”

“Fluttershy?” Twilight’s attention shifted to her shy friend, who only blushed and nodded in confirmation. Confused, she turned to Discord. “W-What do you mean, Discord?”

“I meeeean that you ruined our tea party! There we were, talking and munching on some goodies when all of a sudden I felt you wink out of existence! Like you entered a null space or some other nonsense! Of course, I told everything to my wonderful and best friend Fluttershy about it and she grew worried, so I went out to investigate.” He huffed and crossed his arms while his tail formed a third hand and pressed a furry finger against her snout. “And then, boom! You appear back in that strange human dimension! I tried to figure out where you were, but no luck. What do you have to say for yourself, you little devil you?”

“Sorry?” Twilight offered, earning an unamused glare from the Lord of Chaos. “Unless you happen to know what caribou are?”

“WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT!?” Discord erupted suddenly, sprouting two more heads and shaking Twilight a few times. “Where did you go, Twilight!?”

“Discord?” Fluttershy spoke up, shaking. “W-What do you know about them? Is Twilight going to be alright?”

“Yeah… okay… give me a moment,” Discord’s heads merged together and he turned around, gathering his thoughts while Spike helped Twilight regain her senses. “Look, I don’t know much about these caribou freaks other than that they are bad, bad news. Other Discords got unlucky in their dimensions and got that plague. When I learned about them I checked here to see if there were any. Nope, zero, zilch, nada. We’re lucky. Most of the other dimensions that have them aren’t as lucky. Again, I don’t know much about them except ‘run to the hills, hide in your bunkers, and stay away from them’,” he explained, turning around again to face a not-so-surprised Twilight. Realization dawned on him. “Twilight… you silly, silly bookworm. Why, of all places, did you go to one of those places?”

“I didn’t know where the mirror was going to take me, okay!? I… I didn’t know,” Twilight exclaimed, looking down at the table.

Everyone else present was either confused, fearful, or a mix of the two as they looked at each other, unable to comprehend what was going on. Except for the two royal sisters. With a nod from Luna, Celestia stood up. “Twilight… what are you talking about? What mirror? Is it another portal?”

“Y-Yes,” Twilight exhaled. “It’s a portal mirror to another Equestria, one that seems to mix the traits of ponies and humans together.”

“The mirror, Twilight. Describe it!” Celestia said half-shouting, panic creeping into her voice.

“I-it was darker than the night. Looking into the mirror was like looking into nothingness itself, but worse. The frame was silver but it was… cracked, unkept, and falling apart. The symbol was--”

“That of a sun and a moon blended together, shackled!” Sunset finished the sentence for her. “That ghastly mirror? It’s a fucking portal!? What the fuck, Twilight!? You didn’t tell me!? Do you have any idea how many times I’ve handled that thing before!? Why? Why did it work with you and not with me?” Sunset asked, anger turning to relief as the questions went on.

“It was… the symbol… they were no mere sun and moon, Sunset,” Twilight looked up, tears swelled in her eyes. “They were the Cutie Marks of Celestia and Luna as they were… were… enslaved.”

Once again, silence reigned. But only for a moment as Celestia made her way to Twilight, gently placed her hooves on her shoulders, and calmly spoke up.

“YOU FOUND A DARK MIRROR!?” Celestia asked with all the calmness she could muster, pupils the size of pinpricks and body shaking in fear. “WHY!? What possessed you to walk THROUGH A DARK MIRROR, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!? Do you have any idea how dangerous those things are!? Do you… You were in terrible, terrible danger, you foolish mare!”

In a rare instance of anger, Twilight shoved Celestia away and glared at her. “How the fuck would I have known about that if YOU never told me about them in the first place! This is the same as when you refused to teach me dark magic and I had to learn it myself! You don’t get to protest about me making a mistake over something I didn’t know, Celestia!” She breathed out, letting her anger subside while Celestia recoiled in shock. After a few seconds, she stood up. “I-I’m so sorry, Princess Celestia! I shouldn’t have-”

“No... don’t apologize, Twilight… you are right. I… I cannot fault you for an honest mistake when the one at fault is I for not warning you earlier,” she sighed. “I never thought you’d come across a Dark Mirror, of all things, on your own… Forgive me, I spoke out of turn,” Celestia apologized, retaking her seat.

“See, sister? I warned you that keeping such secrets in an attempt to protect those around you was folly,” Luna remarked, not wasting a chance to humble her sister a little.

“As for what I found on the other side,” Twilight began, earning all eyes on her once more. “I wasn’t in any danger… there was nothing that could harm me there. It was… it was little more than a perverted wasteland,” she shook her head, chuckling darkly and emotionlessly. “No. That’s wrong. It was hardly a wasteland. Nothing was alive there. Nothing at all. It was more like a dead dimension, inhabited by a single half-dead, half-living thing,” she said, already shaking as she remembered her first encounter with Dainn. Shaking her head, she focused on Celestia. “But… you know what that mirror is? Are there more like it? What exactly is a Dark Mirror?”

“You kinda owe them an explanation at this point,” Discord muttered through a mouthful of popcorn.

Celestia shot him a glare but relented a moment later. “What we, Luna and I, know about Dark Mirrors we knew mainly through what our parents told us. We’ve always known that other dimensions exist. Some are nearly identical to our own, others are so different that they could hardly be considered counterparts or even familiar. The human dimension is a good example. Constants and anomalies are the rules all dimensions abide by. There is no ‘Original’ dimension; all exist at the same time.”

“Traveling to another dimension is a difficult process. In the past, there were numerous mirrors and other natural portals leading to other dimensions. Some were peaceful, others were not. In some we ruled, in others we did not. In some we existed, in others… well, you understand,” Luna lifted a hoof. “In some others, roles are reversed. Heroes are tyrants, villains are heroes, and so forth. But then there are… some dimensions in which things go bad. Really bad.”

“We call such dimensions Dark Dimensions simply for the fact that whatever outcome they reach, it is usually one filled with pain, hardship, misery, and cruelty,” she smiled apologetically at Twilight. “I believe you are familiar with that concept already, Twilight, Starlight.”

“Then… those Equestrias were not other timelines? They were other dimensions?” Twilight muttered, aghast while Starlight began to tremble.

“Glimpses,” Luna corrected. “But you are correct. Altering the past is impossible. If it is, then we do not know how to change it. Regardless, you are familiar with the concept of Dark Dimensions. Those lost in war, ruled by tyrants, or eradicated in the worst cases.”

“And a Dark Mirror is merely a reflection of a Dark Dimension. The more corrupted, broken, dark, and lifeless a mirror seems to be, the worse the dimension on the other side is. And you, Twilight, described one of the worst Dark Mirrors I have ever heard about.”

“It’s not the worst!?” Twilight shouted in disbelief. “Please tell me you don’t have more of those things locked up somewhere! What could possibly be worse than what I saw!?”

“Fret not, Twilight, for we’ve made sure to destroy every Dark Mirror we’ve found. We are not foolish enough to keep them unharmed,” Luna replied.

“As for what could be worse? I do not know what you saw, my dear Twilight. But I assure you, there are horrible, terrible, dark things that could break you just by gazing upon them,” Celestia answered, sighing. “However, to describe such a mirror and for you to retain your sanity… then I imagine that dimension went through exorbitant and senseless cruelty and depravity.”

“Emphasis on depravity, Princess,” Twilight shivered. With a strong exhale and sitting down once more, she gathered all the courage she could muster and finally spoke up. “It was… such a horrible place. Aside from that one thing I encountered, nothing else was alive. Everything was gray, dull, and dead… I only saw the glimpses of horrible, depraved things.”

“Such as?” Luna asked, eyes narrowing. “Nothing you may speak will surprise me, Twilight. I have seen many things in the depths of dreams,” she turned to the rest gathered. “You may wish to leave if you think you won’t be able to withstand what I fear Twilight is about to describe.”

“Not a chance, Princess,” Applejack answered. Everyone else nodded or muttered in agreement. “We’re not going anywhere. Whatever Twi saw got her shaken up more than a can of worms on a fishing trip.”

“In that case,” Twilight took a big breath and sighed. “In that case, here goes nothing. It all started when I volunteered to search for an object in the school’s basement…”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“...and that’s everything he told me before I decided it was time to return. I wanted to know more, but I couldn’t stay any longer until I, well, informed you all about it,” Twilight said, relieved and exhausted as she finished her retelling of events. At the request of Cadance, of all ponies, she didn’t omit nor downplayed any detail.

Of course, that had been a bad, bad idea at first.

Fluttershy had been the first one to cry when she reached the part about how that Equestria looked like. How everything was lifeless, abandoned, falling apart, and dead. When she started describing her findings, Rainbow Dash started to shake in anger at the loss of Cloudsdale. Applejack shared her fury when she described the ruin that Ponyville had become.

Then… the true horrors began. She told them about the decrepit cities, the lonely towns and villages. The milk farms, the pens, the kennels, the posters, the messages, the vandalism. Rarity was the first to break as her face turned green and used a bucket (provided by Discord) to hurl into. By that time, she was on a roll and she wouldn’t stop.

By the time she reached Canterlot again and described in detail the statue she found, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, with her mane deflated, also vomited. She described in grizzly detail how the castle looked and what she found in it: paintings of male domination depicting caribou in roles of power over mares, relevant or important historical figures in pony history in bastardized, re-imagined depictions showing them as slaves, incompetent fools, or surrendering to the mighty caribou. The cherry on top of that cupcake of horror was, without a doubt, the stained glasses.

Cadance broke into a mix of hurling and ugly crying when she described the one depicting the Crystal Empire and how the Crystal Heart had been turned into a Crystal Cock. Shining Armor didn’t vomit, but he was crying and fuming at the same time; the mere thought that he would betray his nation and his wife made him furious, with due reason. Her friends were shaking, crying, or vomiting as she described the murals and stained glasses, but all their disgust shifted to hatred when she gave them two names they could direct it towards.

Caribou and Dainn.

Then she told them about her most horrific discovery, the throne. That horrible nightmare throne. This time not even Celestia and Luna remained impassive. They too hurled, shaking terribly at the notion that someone would be so cruel as to remove their horns. Everyone else looked as if they had been slapped into next week by a giant Tirek, and even Discord looked uncomfortable after hearing about it.

Finally, and against all odds, everyone listened silently as she recounted her encounter with the old, half-living caribou, their exchange of words, and his tale. She told them everything, except for the name of the old caribou. She wasn’t ready to deliver that bomb just yet, not until they heard the tale he told her.

“Twilight… now I understand your distress and fear,” Luna said, eyes narrowing. “I don’t know if I would’ve kept my word in your place.”

“Such… such a horrid world. How terrible,” Rarity shuddered. “Twilight, dear, I think you undersold just how ‘depraved’ this world truly is… or was, thank goodness.”

“S-Should I be happy that everyone there is dead or angry?” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself, wings stiff in rage.

“Twilight,” Celestia began, gaining everyone’s attention due to the seriousness in her voice, “who is this old caribou you spoke with? And how, pray tell, is he still alive? According to what you told us, he’s been alone for a few couple hundred years.”

Twilight shuddered. “I know who he is. I figured it out before I agreed to listen to his tale. But how he’s still alive… I actually don’t know. He didn’t explain it and I didn’t ask. I’ll have to ask him the next time I see him.”

Cadance snarled, actually snarled, baring her teeth and everything, and stomped a hoof on the table. “The old caribou… he’s Dainn, isn’t he?”

“Say WHAT!?” Applejack, Shining Armor, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie blurted out. The rest remained silent or narrowed their eyes.

“I had a feeling that was the case,” Sunset sighed, smacking her lips. “I could do with some mouthwash right about now. Vomit has a horrible aftertaste.”

Starlight ignited her horn, summoning a bottle of it from the bathroom. “Here… and pass it along. I think all of us need a swing,” she shuddered and turned to Twilight. “Twilight, if you knew that-- that monster was Dainn… why didn’t you attack him?”

“I would’ve beaten his sorry flank from here to the ends of Tartarus and back again!” Rainbow boasted.

Twilight frowned. “You all say that because you didn’t see what I saw… I know I described him but… but I simply don’t do it justice. Words fail me,” Spike hugged her from behind and kissed the back of her neck, comforting her as she started to shake. “He looked so… so frail, so old. His skin was almost transparent, I could see his bones for fucks sake! And his eyes! Oh sweet mother of Equestria, his EYES! Those sad, lonely, unfeeling, uncaring, empty doll’s eyes… I--I can’t unsee them. A pair of blue marbles that showed nothing but the deepest sadness, guilt, regret, and pain I’ve ever witnessed. I wanted to kill him,” gasps were heard across the room. “I swear to you all, I really wanted to kill him. But when I looked into his eyes… when I felt his hands touching my face, how that tiny spark of life shined through those two blue voids… I couldn’t lift a finger against such a sorry creature. I just couldn’t.”

“Th-That bad?” Fluttershy managed to squeak out.

“Worse,” Twilight continued. “His voice reflected his eyes. He even confessed to me that he had tried to end his existence many times, but he just couldn’t die.”

“Serves that two-bit vermin right after all he did!” Applejack said, spitting into her bucket.

“That’s the thing, Applejack,” Twilight raised a hoof. “From what he told me, from his confessions and his tale, I think… I think something was wrong with the caribou on a fundamental level. Think about it. Dainn was constantly raped by Svarndagr. He was shunned, denigrated, manipulated, and stepped on by those around him. He saved his people and he truly tried to turn things around. He never desired power for himself… I want to know what happened to him, why did he change and did the horrible things he did. The start of his journey doesn’t align with the horrors I saw across Equestria and it surely doesn’t add up to the pitiful caribou I talked with. Something is amiss and I intend to discover what went wrong.”

“Hold up, Twily, I have a question,” Shining Armor spoke up. “If Chrysalis and Discord showed up… where was Tirek? And Sombra?”

“I may offer up a plausible solution,” said Celestia. Clearing her throat, she continued. “Since the events in that dimension happened several hundred years ago by our reckoning, not to mention the bodily differences, then that surely means that not all was as we know it. A town that doesn’t exist here exists there, likewise for these caribou. Who is to say a Sombra existed in that dimension? Or a Tirek? We cannot take anything for granted based on our own assumptions, my friends.”

“But there are things we can deduce, auntie,” Cadance added. “Since they did that… corruption to the Crystal Heart, then that means the Crystal Empire froze. But why was there a Crystal Empire to begin with if Sombra was never mentioned?”

“Maybe the caribou invaded after Sombra was defeated? I left before Dainn could begin to tell me how their whole invasion started,” Twilight replied.

“I still don’t like that you’re being buddy-buddy with that asshole,” Rainbow protested. “You should at least kick him where the sun doesn't shine, ehhh, with your pardon, of course, Princess Celestia,” she finished with a nervous chuckle.

“I did slap him pretty hard, though,” Twilight admitted. “But I really can’t see myself doing anything more than make rude and snide comments.”

Sunset chuckled. “First Twilight and now Rainbow. Is human swearing contagious?” She chuckled again, turning to Twilight. “Twilight… I’ll help you in everything I can, but are you sure you want to return? We could find a way to destroy the mirror and be done with this nonsense.”

“I’m too deep inside the rabbit hole now, no pun intended, Fluttershy. I have to know what happened next. Who knows? It might help us prevent something like that from happening to us or the human world in the long run,” Twilight replied.

“There’s something that I still don’t understand… why did their Shining Armor commit treason for a bunch of rapists and slavers?” Pinkie Pie asked with a hint of anger in her voice, her bubbly personality all but gone at least for now.

“And why on Equestria’s good green soil did Dainn change so much? His personality sounds like something shifted dramatically over the course of his reign. Not to mention his capacity for reflection and his own opinions on the matter. It doesn’t make any sense,” Cadance added. “I find it baffling that a stallion, or bull in this case, capable of showing such an intense brotherly love for this Gunne fellow and showing compassion and pity for his sister, Ginna, would become this horrible monster capable of cutting the horns of four alicorns.”

“Speaking of which, HOW!?” Shining Armor blurted out. “The caribou obviously didn’t have wings and their magical abilities were lackluster. How, just HOW were they able to launch an invasion across Equestria when they were absurdly outnumbered, outmatched, and outclassed?” Then, he blinked as he realized something. “Wait… if that other me betrayed Equestria, I bet it wasn’t willingly. Brainwashing. Mind-control. Those are the only answers I can think about. Being under the thrall of a mind-control spell isn’t fun. Remember our wedding, Caddy?” The pink alicorn nodded. “I remember everything and how I was screaming behind that false persona acting like it was me. Maybe something similar happened on a wider scale?” He asked and sighed tiredly. “I’ll need to work on reinforcing my mind. I’ll ask Thorax if he can help me with it somehow.”

Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity turned to Starlight with deadpanned expressions.

The lilac mare blushed and took on a defensive posture. “D-Don’t look at me! I know charm and mind control spells, but you saw -and felt- the results! You were like automatons!”

“Wait, what the fu--” Sunset began but was cut off by a sudden eureka moment. “The Dazzlings! The sirens! They were able to manipulate people’s emotions and their thoughts however they wanted! Twilight, we have to go back and search for them. Get them to tell us how their powers worked. All of this keeps sounding more and more like a case of Wide Arcana.”

“That… would certainly even the playing field for them,” Twilight admitted.

“Has anyone else noticed the high number of foes with mind control or brainwashing capabilities we have faced so far? No? Just me?” Discord pointed out. “The Nightmare tricked and corrupted Luna into becoming Nightmare Moon. Yours truly is, of course, the greatest one of all. Chrysalis and the changelings do their emotion and brainwashing schtick. Starlight is Starlight. Sombra’s mind-controlling helmets. Honestly, some originality would be welcome.”

“If something isn’t broken, why fix it?” Sunset countered. “The Dazzling did something similar and of course, I nearly turned a whole city into mindless minions to invade Equestria that one time we never talk about again,” she coughed nervously.

“What is it with villains using mind control and brainwashing over and over again?” Applejack questioned, genuinely baffled and surprised by the number of times it’s happened. “Oh, and Twi? I know this is obvious now, but I think Dainn was corrupted by his so-called council. Bunch of prissy, shadowy puppeteers, good-fer-nothin’ coward vermins. Two-faced backstabbing snakes! Especially that Ivangri guy! I want him to meet Kicks McGee and Bucky McBillygutty. Personally.” Said the apple farmer before stretching her back legs, popping her joints.

“Dainn sounds like he hated him a lot,” Fluttershy said, finding her voice and frowning heavily. “I-I’ve only heard a little about Ivangri and the other council members, but they make me... make me… so fucking angry!” She hissed, slamming a hoof down on the table.

“Great, now even Fluttershy is shouting humanity's harshest swear,” Sunset sighed. “Though I have to agree with Dainn regarding his council. He picked the wrong men for the job. And honestly? I don’t think they would’ve let him pick anyone else but them.”

“It is a shame. Perhaps things would’ve been different if Dainn had a true left hand he could rely upon and trust, such as Gunne,” Celestia said with a hint of sadness in her voice. “And that stag, Gunne, was also unlike most other caribou. No wonder he and Dainn got along the way they did.”

“Big Mac would be glad to know Gunne was a good big brother… as far as he could be, anyhow,” Applejack pointed out.

“But we all agree that this Skarvanwhatshisname was a total bastard, right?” Rainbow Dash asked, earning several nods of agreement. Her eyes narrowed, refusing to mention the name of the late caribou king. “Sounds to me he was a colt cuddler and didn’t want to admit it.”

“Unlikely. Rape usually isn’t about the sex, but rather the power behind it. ‘I own you’ is the most basic meaning of rape and, well, Dainn admitted Svarndagr owned him. Literally,” Luna explained.

“It hurts my head to think such crimes happen in our home,” Rarity said, ready to faint.

“They are rare, but crimes such as murder, kidnapping, and rape do happen. No society is perfect, after all,” Celestia admitted. “What about the human world, Sunset? Are such crimes more common in your dimension?”

“Technically, this is my home dimension,” Sunset chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head. “Aaaand yeah. They are common. Like, a lot. But there are so many, many, many more humans than ponies so it sorta evens out? Plus, if there is anything I’ve learned from humans, is that they will quite literally fuck anything given the chance. You have no idea how big their porn access is.”

“I can confirm that,” Twilight said with a blush across her face.

“Moving on from that topic!” Cadance interjected, also beating red across her face. “Twilight… what are you planning to do now?”

“First, I’m going to rest up, scream at my pillow, take a long, long shower, scream at my pillow again, probably release all this pent-up aggression on some unlucky rocks, and then go back to Dainn. I promised him I will come back soon… and I need to hear the rest of his story, for my sake and that of everyone who died in that dimension. It’s all I can do for them and honor them in some way.”

“Then rest, Twilight,” Celestia stood up and moved to give Twilight a tight wing hug. “If there’s anything you need from us, please, just tell us.”

Twilight blinked, confused. “Y-You’re not gonna try to stop me?”

Celestia giggled. “Dearest Twilight, I would be insulting your resolve and drive! Besides, you’re as stubborn as our dear Applejack once you set your mind on something,” she said, causing the orange mare to puff out her chest in pride. “Now, go to sleep and rest. We will see ourselves out. Oh, and Spike?”

“Yes, mo--Princess Celestia?” Spike replied.

“Take good care of Twilight and make sure nothing disturbs her, okay? Don’t leave her side if you can.”

Spike saluted. “At once!”

Everyone stood up except for Shining Armor, who had a pondering expression as if he was lost in his thoughts.

“Shiny? Is something wrong?” Twilight asked while Cadance caressed her husband’s face.

“Hmm? Oh… no… I mean yes. Possibly. It’s just something that Storm guy? You know, the Runecrafter? He mentioned something about working on a rune to make females more docile and enlighten males at the same time. I think… I think that’s what they used on that other me…” he turned to his wife, his gaze piercing past her soul. “...and you.”

“Me?” Cadance asked, taken aback.

“Think about it… in the stained glass you were kneeling in front of Dainn, right? Why? You would never do that. And the statue outside with Celestia and Luna? Maybe… maybe he didn’t have to fight the alicorns because there was no need to fight them at all. Maybe everyone fell victim to it, including Twilight and, of course, myself. I know it doesn’t make much sense… but I can’t think of another possibility.”

Silence reigned in the room for several moments until a zipper sound made everyone turn to where Discord was.

“I don’t like this one bit. Just to be sure, I’ll go see if I can find other Discords and ask them about that. Fluttershy, my dear, call me if you need anything,” with that said, the God of Chaos left.

Spike climbed on Twilight’s back as she wordlessly walked off to her room. Answer one question, three more pop up, she thought to herself. She didn’t remember entering her room or belly-flopping on her bed. The last thing she remembered before darkness took her was embracing her little brother in a tight hug.