Dainn was left speechless by the crystal mare’s declaration. He had not the words to respond to her, not the fortitude to withstand such a brazen attempt to confront him. The way this mare spoke with sheer confidence, unwavering posture, and mocking tone to him was nothing less than stunning.

“Heh…” he started, his feelings eventually making their way to the surface, “Ha! Hahahahahahahaha!”

It was, of course, not that the mare was the least bit intimidating that he had been brought to a brief silence, but her immense foolishness. He couldn’t believe that a pathetic powerless pony mare had the gall to stand up to him in such a manner. It didn’t matter if she wore one of the faces of Death, the absurdity of a red collar trying to talk to him with such an attitude to him of all creatures who existed. Surely she had some undue bravado because of God’s enforcement of a ‘no hostility’ rule, but in any other situation Dainn would have had her severely punished for her insolence, with sexual tortures done to her by his loyal followers that would push her far beyond the limitations of her frail, female body.

The mare took his laughter in stride though, not moving from her seat upon the desk, “Mind sharing your joke with the rest of the class?”

“You are the joke,” Dainn managed to get out amidst his laughter, “You are sitting there with this pompous attitude, announcing yourself as a villain of all things, as if it gives you some sort of authority.”

Schorl’s blank expression gave way to a grin, “I suppose I can see the humor in that. Though that doesn’t affect the truth of the statement.”

“The ‘truth’ of the matter is that it is a ludicrous notion. One doesn’t declare themselves a villain, because to do so is to inexorably declare themselves as evil.”

“You don’t say,” Schorl said, switching her attention from the king to her fingernails.

“To declare one’s self evil denotes an innate sense of morality, in which one can tell the difference between right and wrong, and then purposely decide to go against the morals they have set in place for themselves. It is a contradiction of internal logic on the part of the person saying it, and only a madman would consider themselves in such a manner.”

Schorl kept her attention to the ends of her fingers as the caribou king gave his speech about the inherent flaws of one calling themselves ‘evil’, but the others in the room were not as nonchalant about this turn of events. Both Eadgil and Celestia were left bewildered by the crystal mare’s sudden change of allegiance, set off by what appeared to be petty reasons that lacked any apparent motive for the crystal mare. What stake could she have in whether Dainn considered himself evil or not?

Schorl’s switching of side’s brought the attention of one other in the room as well, prompting the red maned alicorn to speak after a long period of silence from her. “Schorl, am I to understand that you have changed your stance on Dainn and his methods?”

“Not quite.” replied the crystal mare, “I still believe in Dainn’s methods, but it is impossible for me to defend a client who refuses to accept the only defense he could have. At this point, I wish to test his convictions, and see how they stand when faced with the undeniable truth of his role in life. One can be an active supporter of an ideal, and still see the flaws inherent in it.”

“Very well… You made proceed then.” said the alicorn, returning to her role as an observer.

“Thank you, I will take great joy in facing off one on one with my king in a battle of wits, alternate universe or not.”

“Excuse me,” Eadgil interrupted, “But do you expect us to sit idly by as you and Dainn go at it? For all we know, ‘You are doing this with the expressed intention to let Dainn defeat you in debate’.”

Schorl lifted her eyes up from her fingers, giving a dis-enthused look to no one in particular. “I suppose that’s something I can’t assume at this point, seeing how you like to butt in. You and the princess may feel free to add whatever commentary you like, so long as you don’t interfere too heavily.” Turning to the stag behind her, the crystal mare lightly tapped the tip of his nose, “Wouldn’t want to give the king an easy out, would we?”

“I believe that is what Eadgil fears you are trying to do.” Celestia said, likewise worried about the mare’s true intentions.

“Fine, if it will put your mind at ease,” Schorl cleared her throat, faced forward, and straightened her posture, “‘I have no intention of granting Dainn an easy victory, nor do I intend to concede in order to allow him to win. I will face him with the set goal of defeating him in verbal debate, and will strive towards that goal to the best of my abilities’.”

Before the group appeared the longest truth statement yet, clearly defining the crystal mare’s aim in this portion of the trial. There was little room for one to fit in an assumption of treachery with that in place.

“Besides, why would I want to perpetuate this deadlock any longer than needed?”

“Deadlock?” Eadgil asked. At this point he thought it was clear he and Celestia had the advantage.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t figured out how this works yet.” Schorl replied, “We have two members that believe Dainn and his kingdom serve no practical purpose, two members who see value in it, and an interfering, impartial god mare watching over us as if these squabbles mean something, which means they do of course. But then, we have to ask why it matters.”

“Well I assume that it’s because she is determining Dainn’s fate based on whether or not he can appropriately defend his actions, which as of this point he has not.” said Celestia, deducing that to be the case.

“Sorry Sun Butt,” Dainn said, finding an opportunity to show Celestia’s ignorance, “But God has already expressed that they are just an observer in this affair.”

“Precisely my point.” Schorl agreed, “Which means that ‘This conversation only matters to ourselves, which in turn means that we are the acting jury of this trial, the outcome depending on a majority vote’.”

The other three gave pause to this revelation, finding the crystal mare’s assumption to be logical, especially given that the alicorn had recently asked if Schorl’s opinion had changed. The four were in a deadlock that could only be broken when one person submitted to the ideas of the other. Had either Eadgil or Celestia given in to Dainn’s point of view at any point, then he would have walked free.

“Well then, it seems we are in an unfortunate stalemate.” Dainn said, seeing the outcome. “You two are so stubborn that you will deny any proof I give you, and while the red collar is acting defiant at the moment, she has still been trained well enough to know not to go against her better.”

“I think you’re all overlooking something”, Eadgil remarked. “Let’s safely assume Dainn is correct in his assumption that Celestia and I will not change our opinion. If that’s the case, the vote will either end in three to one, in which case Dainn is convicted - or the result will be two to two, in which case no decision is made, this trial never ends, and we sit here for all eternity. Or at least that’s how I would assume this works.”

“Well lookie there, deer boy does have a bit of brain in him,” Schorl said, keeping her demeaning tone towards Eadgil, “As far as it goes, it appears we are stuck until someone is convinced to swap their vote. The problem is that no one seems to want to change their minds about their position in this. It is a seemingly endless debate, isn’t it?” The mare draped her eyes with her arm and leaned backwards, imitating some tragic pose, all while keeping a smile plastered on her face. “Of course, that fate for us can be avoided if one of us just gives in and admits their side is wrong, and that is what I intend to make happen.” Lifting her arm up slightly, exposing one eye to Eadgil, the mare ended her melodramatic mini speech. “So do you mind if I get this show on the road, or do you want to keep asking me pointless questions?”

“I didn’t ask you any questions”, Eadgil pointed out. “I made an observation, and it confirms something I have been suspecting all along.” He shot a glance at their red-maned host, then he turned back to Schorl. “But okay. Show us what you’ve got.”

“Good,” Schorl said, lifting herself back up to face Dainn, “So your majesty, my lord, his highness, king of caribou, conqueror of women, and whatever titles you like to be called by these days, why don’t we take this opportunity to discuss how much of a hero you are, and all the good that you have done with your kingdom.”

“Gladly,” Dainn responded, “Though I feel it would be redundant to go over the topics that we have previously discussed at this point. It is clear to all of us here that none of us had any truly convincing arguments when it came to the topic of public safety or general well-being of the citizens of my kingdom.” A short chuckle was heard from the other caribou at Dainn’s statement.

“Oh of course my lord,” said Schorl cheerfully, “I’m not a big fan of repeat performances, and as I said before, that was all just fluff anyways. If one is truly to get to the bottom of all this, then we need to look at the problem at the source.”

“Which is?” asked Celestia.

“The caribou themselves, of course.” Schorl answered, “We need to see if the ideas that they hold so dear to themselves hold any water whatsoever-”

Eadgil chuckled again. “Been there, done that.”

“And to do that we need to stop with opinionated assumption and speculations, and rely solely on facts.”

“And what facts would you have to convince me, mare?” asked Dainn, confident in his chances of avoiding a lonely existence now, seeing as he had three captive members of his world now to keep him company for as long as need be, trapped in this convenient deadlock. He began to wonder if that was God’s plan all along, and if so, then the deity surely placed its favor upon him.

“Well how about this for a start, perhaps the easiest fact one could present to a person like yourself. ‘Females have more value to them than you and your followers want to believe’.”

The words did appear as fact, but that meant little to Dainn. “I suppose we should be selling you for a few coins more in the slave market then?”

“That’s cute,” said Schorl, “And something I would expect from you, my lord, but you should understand that what I am referring to is their abilities, not their literal worth in gold. But let me humor your position for a moment. What is your opinion on… oh let’s say unicorn magic? Female unicorn magic to be exact, seeing that you don’t see it as ‘dangerous’ to your people.”

“My stance on it is that ‘It is something unnecessary for a mare to have’.” Dainn quickly answered, not needing but a moment to formulate his long standing opinion into words.

“Care to elaborate?” Schorl said, leaning forward a little more, “Inquiring minds would love to know why this is the case.”

“You want me to go into detail?” asked Dainn rhetorically, “Fine, gladly. Mare magic is feeble, useless, without purpose, and ultimately a waste granted to their unworthy forms only by an unnatural accident of birth.”

“Now we are getting somewhere,” said Schorl, “But please, enlighten us as to why it is an 'unnatural accident'.”

“‘Females are not supposed to have magic in the first place’.” Dainn said, anticipating the blue letters this time. He was informed before the trial that mares were indeed supposed to have magic, but that was in other worlds, and his world apparently ran by a different set of rules. “Caribou women go through their entire lives without such power, no matter how small, and they stem from a race that has access to one of the most potent, if not the most potent, magic in existence. If our mighty race produces such feeble females, despite our males being so mighty, then how is it not an accident that your inferior race creates ones that do?”

“Poor Dainn,” Schorl replied, “Still assuming that everyone has to play by your rules. I could spell out how flawed these thoughts of yours are, but perhaps that is not my place. Eadgil, you’re a man. Could you please inform Dainn about the logical fallacy in his argument, where a woman like myself cannot?”

Eadgil nodded. “Aside from him assuming quite a few things about ourselves that still require proof, his main fallacy lies in the assumption that everyone has to be like us. Why would that be the case?”

“Well of course they can’t be like us,” Dainn said to argue Eadgil’s assumptions, “The entire lot of the other races are inferior to us in every way, with only rare genetic freaks like the alicorns holding powers different, but not beyond, our own. However, as even you should be aware of, the caribou’s ways follow the laws on the natural order, and thus our culture acts as the very pinnacle of civilization itself that all others must follow to survive. ‘If not for the caribou interceding and leading the other races, showing them how things are suppose to be, then they would have led their kingdoms to ruin’. Try to dispute that, boy.”

“Well, if that was true, ‘Why haven’t they already?’”

“Heh, the boy got it in two.” Schorl said aloud, “That would be the question to ask in this case. And before you give us a ‘What are you talking about’ or some other such knee jerk response, I’ll explain the arguments at hand.” The crystal mare adjusted herself once more, resting her elbows on her legs, bringing her hands together, and placing her chin upon them. “As you may be aware, my king, your reign upon the lands of Equestria are fairly recent in its history. Before the arrival of you and your people, ‘Equestria had stood as a kingdom for over one thousand years’, with the history books having a fairly good record of the events that happened in that time. ‘The other nations you have conquered likewise existed for this period of time, or sprouted up within that time period because of Equestria’s existence’ such as the Crystal Empire.

“Is that your argument?” asked Dainn, “That all those nations lasted a long time inherently means that they would not fall apart without my rule? Would you say the same to a horologist observing an aging clock as it slowly ticking away to its last seconds?”

“Kingdom’s rise and fall all the time, my lord,” said Schorl, “Thus is the how the passage of time proceeds, as nothing lasts forever. However, I do think it is easy enough to prove something using time as a variable on which we can evaluate success with.”

“...Go on...” Dainn said, having recognized a terrible pattern when it came to him trying to dismiss what sounded to him like nonsense, and not wanting to make a further fool of himself by prematurely assuming victory.

“You see, my king, success is a relative concept. For instance, to you Equestria was spiraling to its own destruction, which could be seen as a valid observation.”

“If an incorrect one.” Celestia added.

“But… if we compare it to other existing civilizations, we can see that Equestria did fairly well for itself. Like if we were to compare it to Griffonstone, which pretty much was reduced to a bunch of truly selfish people living in shambling huts after their previous king lost track of a silly little trinket. One could easily see how in comparison, Celestia did very well with her kingdom.”

“I suppose if you want to compare Celestia to the vultures, then yes, she did an ok job in outlasting them.” Dainn relented in the best way he could.

“And if one was to compare it to a civilization that destroyed itself, or perhaps came fairly close to it, then she would have to be considered better by default, yes?”

Dainn winched a little, having identified what the crystal mare was leading him to. “So you are trying to say that if the caribou are to be considered a lesser civilization because we fell victim to a natural disaster.”

“That’s funny,” Schorl replied, “I personally wouldn’t think that something like a king exploding because his power hit critical mass could be considered a natural disaster." This raise the attention of the two caribou in the room, both slightly surprised, though not entirely shocked, that the mare knew that little tidbit of information.

It was enough though to have Dainn ask the mare plainly, “And how do you know about that?”

“I asked,” Schorl replied, “One of your priorities was re-educating us lowly females so we knew caribou history, so asking the right questions brought me a lot of the right answers. What I didn’t get from there, I got from reading those revised history books that you were so eager to have mass produced upon your succession to the throne. Needless to say ‘I know quite a bit about the caribou, both before and after your takeover of Equestria’. Getting back on topic though, I’m not sure if I should be surprised you call King Svarndagr’s little bout of not-so-spontaneous eruption as a natural occurrence. It does make for a nifty title though. ‘Svarndagr, The Cervid Natural Disaster’. I wonder if someone could make an insurance claim on The Cycle.”

“Be it that his was brought on by an accident-” Dainn started.

“An… accident?” Schorl cut in, “Oh, I’m sorry, my information must be a little mixed up. Here I thought that Svarndagr’s Cycle was something one could predict, that it was something that happened several times before with other leaders because they were genetic freaks whose power went beyond the limits of average caribou to the point that they couldn’t take it. But of course I must be mistaken, seeing that you are saying otherwise. I suppose the whole act of The Cycle is just made up, and you had no reason to leave your still standing homeland.”

“You are twisting my words.” Dainn said, knowing well that the events of The Cycle did happen.

“No, I’m exaggerating. Making nonsensical leaps of logic based on a likewise nonsensical statement from you, my king. You see, this was always a problem with you. You’d say something you thought sounded smart in your head, but never thought of the implications of your words, assuming people would just take them at face value and never question you.” The crystal mare took a deep breath, separating her condemnation of the caribou with what she had to say next. “I am getting off track though, so how about I get to the point. About the caribou, and their so-called ‘Supreme Society’. Let’s assume for a moment that the two kingdoms, Equestria and your homelands, begun at the same time. That one thousand years ago, you both started the foundations of your respective civilizations at the exact same moment, and grew up side by side, never interfering with one another until your homelands went up in a blazing ball of fire. Even had The Cycle only happened one time, then the caribou would have lost out in this unspoken contest, because the ponies managed to last longer, and not only did they last longer, they managed to thrive on their own terms.”

“Again, you can’t-”

“Oh, but I can.” Schorl said, once more stopping Dainn from completing his sentence, “Because that is the case if it happened once. However, ‘The Cycle’ is just that, ‘A cycle of destruction that nearly wipes out your race and everything you work up to when someone decides to grab onto more power than they can handle’. How many times has your race sent itself back to the stone age in one impetuous act? Enough for you to find records about it. Enough for you to try and prevent it.”

“Then you are basing this on a time period you cannot confirm.” Dainn said, posing his argument. “‘Caribou could have lasted longer than you could assume’.”

“But even if they have been around for a million years, ‘We can only count the time within the two most recent Cycles’. Those are the points where your civilization started over again, and when they ended. Don’t try to defend with something silly like ‘Equestria might not have lasted that long’ either, as we know for fact that ‘Celestia has ruled Equestria for one thousand years’.”

Dainn’s statement was smashed like so many before them, and there was little he could do but take it. It was true that Svarndagr was not the first Cycle, and that they happened close enough for records to be kept of it after the destruction. It was also true that The Cycle was something that could be prevented, at least theoretically, just so long as a caribou didn’t breach the power limit their bodies could contain.

“I have a question about this,” Celestia said after a long silence, “If you knew that your people could explode if they were too powerful, then did you ever worry the same about me and the other alicorns?”

“Of course not.” said Dainn, as well as Schorl, in unison.

“You really think that he would assume that a pony, and mares at that, could hold such power?” Schorl went on to say, “It’s part of his caribou supremacy fallacy, to believe that others are not capable of harnessing such power. Never does he assume that it is his people who are the inferior ones, because they cannot channel power as easily as others.”

“You dare?!” Dainn said in outrage.

“Yes, yes, I dare,” Schorl said dismissively, waving her hand to further show her lack of care about Dainn’s rage, “Because ‘Ponies do have powers that rival or outmatch your own, and can even use their bodies to channel other forms of powerful magics through them’. The Elements of Harmony are an example of that, as it is a powerful, seemingly unstoppable magic force that their avatars can use without exploding a kingdom.

Eadgil rose from his seat. “Dainn, the mare is wrong about a few details.”

“Oh, of course I am.” Schorl slid in sarcastically.

“But she got the gist of it right. Comparing our magic to alicorn or unicorn magic is misleading since it’s actually more similar to earth pony magic - but aside from that, she’s right that we weren’t able to channel it properly, which leads to the Cycle. And everything I know by now makes me think we did this to ourselves. We crippled our abilities by the very way we set up our society - and at least in recent history, we didn’t even understand them properly any more. Heck, we even foolishly believed half of our population didn’t even have magic.”

“Half of our… What are you blathering on ab-” Dainn froze, and then pieced together what the other caribou was trying to say. “ARE!? YOU!? MAD!? I could understand in their stupidity these ponies might assume to be our equals, but for one of our own kind to believe that our own females could even hold magic! Exactly how far have you been corrupted by these creatures?!”

“I believe we are getting off track again,” said Celestia, partially amazed at how easily Dainn flew off the handle at the mere assumption that caribou females could have some power. “But if Eadgil thinks this has any bearing on this trial.”

“Honestly, I don’t think it does.” said Schorl, “Seems more like a personal dispute of opinions. I can get with the sentiment that there might be more to the caribou cows than what Dainn, or any normal caribou, would assume though. It wouldn’t be such a far stretched idea to assume that they are just forced to assume they are powerless. Would make my point all the more potent.”

“What point!?” Dainn said, still immensely infuriated.

“Still don’t see it? Don’t worry, I’ll ‘point’ it out for you. Picture this, you have just had everything you knew destroyed because your leader unwittingly enacted a murder-suicide pact upon his entire kingdom. You manage to escape, taking with you whatever scraps you can hold, and barely make it out alive. After a long trip on the open sea, and weeks of scurvy because you decided fruit wasn’t as important as lubricant, you stumble upon a new land. A land brimming with life and prosperity, run by a race of creatures who treat each other as equals for the most part. No wait, not just a singular land, but a whole ‘nother world filled with all sorts of different people who managed to not only co-exist with each other, but not blow themselves up in the process. You set foot upon these unspoiled, fertile lands, and the first thought that goes through your head is… ‘How the hay did they fuck this up so badly!?’.”

It was clear to Dainn that the mare was describing the caribou’s arrival to Equestria. “I still don’t see-”

“Cause you don’t want to see,” said Schorl, “You left an isolated section of the world, that had destroyed itself because its leader was going down a literally self destructive path, and when you saw the rest of the world, how it somehow survived without following the caribou’s ‘natural order’, you immediately assumed that it was everyone else who had done something wrong. ‘Can you give any real proof to why that assumption could possibly be true, except that you want it to be’?”

“Yes, I can,” Dainn answered, “Equestria was under the rule of a female.”

“Sorry, strike one.” Schorl shot back, “We already established that Celestia’s rule provided more protection and better quality of life than yours.”

“You said yourself that meant nothing.” said Dainn, believing that the crystal mare’s own words would shut her up.

“Strike two,” she said in an increasingly triumphant manner, placing her hand upon her waist while sticking out her chest, “I said that didn’t matter to a villain, which you adamantly deny being. Of course if you want to change your mind about that.”

“I will do no such thing,” said Dainn, taking a firm stand against the notion, “I have sat here taking your accusations since the moment we started, each of you tossing around half facts and wild speculations in order to discredit and demonize me. If there were mistakes made in MY kingdom, they were not my own. If there was discontent, it was because people didn’t understand my vision. If there was a lack of safety, then it was because there were those who chose to cause others danger because they were fighting for a cause they could only assume was right. None of this proves in any capacity that I was a poor leader, or that I was in the wrong. All it proves is that ‘There were others that had a different concept of what was right’.”

“You claim that we don’t understand your vision,” said Celestia, “But how can we not? Two of our ranks have experienced it first hand, and while I was spared from seeing what depths your depravity would have lead to had you succeeded in your plan, you had done enough to Equestria already for me to know what you had in mind.”

“You know nothing!” Dainn lashed back, “If you did, then you would be at my hooves begging for my forgiveness. Pleading that I pardon your feminine ignorance. ‘I had nothing but good intentions for a world I saw as flawed’, and what I got in return for my efforts was scorn and a broken neck. No matter how many mares were forced into the roles destined for them, no matter how many males were ‘brainwashed’ to take up their rightful role of superiority, no matter how many were blanked, or switched, or driven insane, the end result was always going to be a perfect, and unified world crafted through my guidance. No more need for wars, no more greed or corruption, no more civilizations being laid to waste. All peoples brought together under a single concept; the supremacy of men over women. Given time, I would be able to make this happen, and all the assumed suffering would not only come to an end, but would be understood by all who went through it as necessary for the world to reach the pinnacle of societal perfection.”

Eadgil stood up from his seat. “We’ve tossed out half-facts and wild speculations, huh? Well then. No more half-facts and speculations - just questions. Earlier on, Miss Tourmaline asked if you can give any proof that everyone not following the caribou way was doing something wrong. You answered that the proof was that females were in charge. Schorl shot that down by what you would call half-facts and wild speculation, but I actually just wanted to ask another question. ‘How is that proof?’ How does that even logically connect to what she has actually asked you?”

“There is no need for him to answer that,” said Schorl, looking at the stag from her peripherals, “Dainn is simply displaying one of the many aggravating characteristics of ‘The Hero’. An unbreakable sense of conviction for their own ideals. Whether or not he can give a legitimate answer is irrelevant, it is unlikely that he will be persuaded that his position is wrong, and will only come to the conclusion that we are somehow mistaken.”

Eadgil chuckled. “You know this and I know this. But let me ask you this: I essentially just asked him to give a proper answer to your question. If there is no need to answer it, why did you ask it? What is your strategy here?”

“That would already be revealed if not for your interference,” said Schorl, “So why don’t you be a good boy for a moment and let the grown-ups talk.”

The stag gave another chuckle in response. “There is a saying. One who has to say ‘I am king’ is no true king. While you think about that, I’ll do the mature thing and sit down.” With that, he took place again.

“Whatever achieves the goal, I suppose.” replied Schorl before adjusting her iris’ back to Dainn, “But like I said, the answer to my question is unimportant, not when compared to our king’s objective. I can agree that the concept of universal unity is appealing, no matter the methods it takes to achieve it, that is so long as the king didn’t cause the suffering inflicted upon the other races for alternative motives like sadism or his own pleasure. After all, hurting people for the sake of hurting them would undoubtedly be an act of evil.”

“‘I have never hurt someone for my own amusement’,” Dainn said with confidence, “I only use pain as a motivator for instilling obedience and educating females. While I cannot say the same for my men, ‘I have not, nor would not, do something that would hurt others without a just reason’.

“I see, I see…” Schorl said, rubbing her chin, “Then perhaps it is time I asked you a question that is important to this discussion. A hypothetical, if you would humor me.”

“If it is hypothetical, then I have no reason why I should. It would just be conjecture either way.”

“Then I’ll just talk and you can choose to respond if you please,” Schorl said before starting her question, “Let’s assume that you were still alive. That you had never died and you were still enacting your campaign to take over the world. However, despite your best efforts to unite all under your vision, you just don’t have the power to do so with what you had at hand. Your men are powerful, but there are lands that are simply too far away for you to properly annex. Saddle Arabia, Zebrica, the dragon kingdom. None of these places can be appropriately subdued without spreading your forces to thinly to maintain a foothold on what you have under your control, and even if they submitted to your laws when you showed a bit of force, they could just as easily default back to their normal way of life the moment your men left. Even within your own kingdom there is strife caused by creatures who disturb your peace, such as the diamond dogs, not to mention the rebels who want your throat. Your only allies are those ponies who had betrayed their nation of their own will and the gryphons, both of which are untrustworthy. ‘Would you be content with these conditions’?, ‘Would you be content in a world where you were not in total control’?

To Dainn, this was starting to sound less like a hypothetical question and more like a recounting of how things were upon the time of his death. He remembered being troubled by these very things the night of the Gala, and that he had no immediate answers to them at the time. “No, I would not be content with this. ‘I would do everything within my power to fulfill my vision’.”

“But what if your power wasn’t enough? What if with even all your horses and all your men, you couldn’t piece together the fragile eggshell that is your vision?”

“Then I would find another way,” answered Dainn, “I would stop at nothing to achieve my goals of supremacy.”

“Well, king of kings, what if I told you there was a way to make you the most powerful thing in existence? That you could have all the magic that you ever needed at your fingertips, and you already had everything you needed for it at your disposal.”

Dainn went silent for a split second. It was starting to sound like the mare was trying to tell him something, with the questioning being awfully specific. “If there is something you are trying to say, then say it mare.”

“Well, you remember those Elements of Harmony you couldn’t get working for you? In the world I came from, when they were given to the Tree of Harmony, a blue box appeared near it with several locks.”

“Yes, that happened in my world as well.” said Dainn

“As it did in mine.” said Eadgil, confirming a pattern.

Celestia didn’t answer though, the mentioning of the box causing her to look away from the rest of the group. Her silence denoted more about her knowledge of the box than any words she could have said.

“Then the box is a constant within our worlds,” Schorl declared, “And luckily, I know what’s inside. A magical force that exceeds even that of the elements. All one needs to do is find the keys for it, and they would become the most powerful thing to walk the planet. It is a power that no one could ever contest with.”

“Intriguing,” Dainn stated, “And you are saying this is a power I could obtain?”

“Of course,” answered Schorl, “In fact you did. In my world, you found a way to create the keys that open the box by bending each of the six mares that represented the elements to your will. With each one you acquired an item that became a…”

“Don’t tell him!” Celestia yelled at the crystal mare, “Do you understand what would happen if Dainn had that sort of magic? He would be unstoppable! No one would be safe from his tyranny!”

“He would have figured it out on his own anyway,” Schorl said, hardly caring about what the alicorn had to say, “But I suppose what I want to know is if this Dainn would likewise use this power to claim what is rightfully his.”

“Why would I ever not?” Dainn said, sounding somewhat disgusted the mare thought otherwise, “In my world, I am the epitome of power, and as such a power such as that is only fitting to be held by me. My only regret is that even should you all do the right thing, and conceded to me, I will not be able to take this knowledge with me. As the purple mare says though, I would probably figure this out myself.”

“So let me get this straight… you would try to acquire this power?” Schorl asked, wanting clarification.

“Yes, of course.” Dainn said clearly, “‘I would certainly acquire this power’ and use it to finalize my conquest of all.”

Schorl smiled, “I thought you might, as you did in my world as well. You were so happy to have that incredible magic in your possession… for the five seconds it took before you destroyed everything.”

It took the others a moment to understand the meaning behind the crystal mare’s words, but Eadgil was the first to realize the implications. “Ha. I think I know what happened. Dainn, you just said that you would without any hesitation or second thought repeat the very same catastrophe you saved us from.” He paused for a second. “Uh, sorry to hear, Schorl. Sounds like an awful way to go.”

“You are actually buying into her lies.” said Dainn, chastising the other caribou for going along with Schorl’s crazy story, “What she said is monumentally stupid. She.. she is trying to say that I enacted The Cycle myself, when I-”

“When you knew the exact cause of it in the first place, yes.” said Schorl, finishing Dainn’s sentence for him, “I know that it sounds silly when you say it out loud, but that is exactly what happened in my world. Of course I wasn’t at ground zero when you opened the box and gained the power you oh so craved, but it doesn’t mean it didn’t get to me all the same. There really is no escaping an explosion of that size.”

“But you’re not even dead.” Dainn said back angrily.

“And what makes you assume that?” Schorl spoke calmly, “While our two associates might have not suffered the agony that is one’s own demise, there is no reason you should assume you are the only ‘Dead One’ present. The only reason I know it was The Cycle that killed me is because I died, as it allowed me to meet Death itself, and it was very forthcoming with the details of how I, and the rest of the inhabitants of my world, came to such a spectacular end. If that alone doesn’t convince you, then allow me to make it irrefutably clear. ‘I. Am. Dead. And it was your Cycle that killed me’.”

“N-no,” Dainn refused to believe that was the case, despite the red letters forming before him, “That is ridiculous!”

“Why is it ‘ridiculous’?” Schorl taunted, “Do you think yourself exempt from the same fate that befell the other kings before you who so greedily coveted power? Do you think that you have in some way surpassed every other caribou in existence, that you are just ‘that good’ that the rules don’t apply to you?”

“It is ridiculous because if you knew from the start that this was the outcome for me, my kingdom, and my world ‘Then you would have never sided with me in this trial to begin with’!”

Dainn’s words appeared in green, and readily charged Schorl’s statement of being deceased, but upon contact, it shattered into more pieces than anyone could keep track of. “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” went the Crystal mare, “There you go again, just assuming that everyone has the same motivations as you. Haven’t I made it clear that ‘I’m a villain’, and thus I am not bound by anyone’s concepts of morality. I just do as I please, without a care of who I hurt or how it affects the world around me. Just so long as I get what I want in the end.”

“I must admit though,” Celestia chimed in, “This does seem incredibly suicidal on your part. I can hardly see what you have to gain from allowing Equestria to be destroyed by Dainn across several different iterations.”

“Destruction isn’t an end goal, it is a byproduct.” Schorl explained, “I’m not sure you are aware, but if the king is resurrected, he will not be starting over from the beginning in some new form. More likely, he will set into a place and time where he can continue being his terrible self. Events are undone and rewritten, and he just keeps on keepin’ on. I know this because Death said the same applied to me, or anyone else with our ‘unique quality’.”

“Which is?” Eadgil inquired.

“Unimportant,” Schorl replied, “And unknown to me before you press further. However, if one is to look at Dainn’s motivations, reactions towards certain stimuli, and how he treats his subjects when given supreme power, they can be able to determine two undeniable outcomes in any world in which he exists. Either he will be defeated and removed from his seat of power… or he will end up destroying his kingdom.”

“‘How can you say those are the only two conclusions’?!” Dainn asked before Schorl could go any further, demanding answers, “In the wide span of infinite possibilities, how can you insist that these outcomes are set in stone!?”

“Because of how you behave,” Schorl answered, “And how you can’t accept something else out there being more powerful than you. We know by now that you will do whatever you can to acquire more power, and will destroy any you can’t possibly control, like the magic of the princesses. However, Equestria is littered with forces of great power that can be easily utilized by anyone. Amulets that amplify the wearer’s magic over time, books that allow the reader to craft the world in their image, and of course the aforementioned box. How many times do you think that you would gobble these things up without a second thought, casually stepping onto the razor thin wire that is the separation from having just enough power, to just enough to set off The Cycle building up inside you?”

“T-then what if they didn’t exist in the world I am reincarnated into?” Dainn followed up, wavering ever so slightly on the conviction he held with the previous question.

“Then you would attempt other means to gain power. Perhaps you’d start siphoning magic away from the ‘undeserving mares’, or try to take advantage of some gullible creature to obtain their power for yourself. You’re a smart man, I’m certain there are thousands of ways you could devise to end your life and the lives of all that serve you.”

“‘A-and what if I-I didn’t’?”

“‘You would’.” Schorl said without an ounce of doubt, “Like a monkey with a typewriter, if you are given enough time, and enough resources, you would devise the perfect plan to gain the power you lust for more than anything else. That is, unless someone stops you first, which is a result that is sure to arise in this realm of infinite possibility, as you described it.”

“B-but I know now. I can p-prevent this mistake. I c-can keep myself from…”

“You say that, my king, but you and I both know that isn’t how this works. You said it earlier even. If you are reincarnated, you will not get to keep any memories from your afterlife. You will just do what you would have anyways, unaware that in one way or another, your reign is always on a timer.”

“And when it does, and you are still the one on top, then it is you and you alone who are to blame for all the death and suffering that comes from it.” Celestia added, trying to press in the point that nothing good could come from Dainn’s rebirth into any world.

“Are you, the self-proclaimed hero of not only the caribou, but of the world you rule, willing to inflict that fate upon those who live within it?” Eadgil finished, bringing a close to the final argument given by Dainn’s opposition.

Dainn was truly at a loss for words. Of all the things he felt he could defend; the torture, the brainwashing, the enslavement, and the violation, all of which he had always had carried out for the notion of the ‘greater good’, he could not defend this. If there was one thing the caribou never did, it was cause the deaths of others. For all the other alleged sins they could be accused of, this was one line they never crossed, at least for as long as Dainn knew. Even the worst offenders among mares and rebels were only subjected to blanking, but if he were to continue this fight to be reborn and win, his actions would cause the deaths of more than he could possibly ever know, in more realities than he could possibly ever know. Schorl had said his Cycle in her world killed everyone. In this room wherein no one could lie, why would he assume she wasn’t being literal? This brought upon a new sensation to Dainn, one that he found repugnant, and one he never thought that he’d ever have to endure: A sense of self-loathing.

“I…” All this time, Dainn had believed he was doing the right thing.

“I…” That he would be the one to lead the world into a utopia of his own design.

“I…” That no matter what he did, it was always justified, because in the end, it would bring about a perfect future, where his ideas brought about peace and prosperity, the likes surpassed even that of Svarndagr’s kingdom.

He never once stopped to think about how wrong he could possibly be.

“Could you please speak up?” Schorl asked the caribou king, “It’s hard to understand you when you mutter to yourself like that.”

“I… relent.” He said loudly enough for the others to hear, despite being completely consumed by despair and revulsion for the life that he had wasted on such a meaningless goal, and the unknown amount of lives he had likewise wasted before it.

He was caught in his own endless Cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, always ending in either fire, or the end of a knife, with the latter always being the more merciful of the two. The mare was undeniably correct with her assumptions. With the way he pursued power, and no foresight of his fate, there would be no end to it. However, he could see his future clearly here, and that the only way to finally close this Cycle, was to bring everything to an end.

“I surrender... You win… My rule can benefit no one…”

Author's Notes:

So here we are at the end of the stages of grief. Of all of the stages, acceptance is probably always going to be the hardest one to deal with, as it is the only one that ever asks anything of a person. It asks them to give in, to put aside their own wants or emotions, and surrender themselves to the reality the have been fated to exist in. For Dainn, he must finally realize that no matter what he does, and no matter what choices he makes, it will always end in failure. He strives to acquire greatness like the kings before him, and quickly forgets that the candle that burns twice as bright lasts half as long.

The idea that Dainn would try to go after the Rainbow Powers isn't something out of the blue either. It was one of the things I had planned with NCN as an ongoing plot point in FoE, of which you can see in the alternate ending of Bruised Apples, though NCN of course never understood that Dainn acquiring that kind of power would lead to something that he himself had set up in the caribou's back story, which I feel is just sad. To casually toss around canon and then forget about it, or choose not to acknowledge it when something new arises. I suppose one could speculate that the Rainbow Powers could "purify" the caribou, remove whatever defect they have makes them go off like a roman candle, but why would it? The caribou don't represent any aspects of Harmony. If anything, they actively go against them. So I see the event of opening the box in two ways, either Dainn opens it, absorbs the UNLIMITED POWAH inside, and goes boom, or the powers go back to their rightful owners, restores them in body and mind, and they defeat dainn in a manner similar to how Tirek was defeated. To otherwise ignore the implications of "The Cycle" would be insulting to the readers who chose to pay attention to your lore.

But I'm certain that is what NCN would have wanted. For Dainn to just go uber powered to finally cement his reign on Equestria in a permanent manner, despite how much caribou have been designed in a way that makes that impossible. Unfortunately, I have to accept that FoE, at least the FoE that NCN wanted, is never going to be as clever, or consistent, or thought provoking, or even just "Good" as I would have wanted it to be. If I had my way, I would have crafted it into something on par with "Fallout Equestria" in scope. Something that people could be interested in and be legitimately good in its own right, if having themes that made people a bit uneasy. I will always say that the issue with FoE is not its subject matter, but how the people in charge chose to use it. One could make a "Fall of Equestria", and remove the stupid from it, but that requires effort, and that is something few wish to put into something that to them is just a personal masturbation tool.

Which of course goes back to Dainn and the caribou, as this can be seen as an analogy to their own take on Equestria. Its not something they actually want to take care of and shape into something viable. They already did the "hard part" by barking out a set of poorly conceived rules. Its everyone else's job to keep it all together now as they sit back and stroke off to the world they created (and sequentially get pissed off when things turn out differently from what they wanted).

Then again, everyone else has already accepted that things in FoE will probably always be that way, and that nothing will change until the last person with a bit of talent losses interest with the setting. Its a damn shame, really it is, but at this point "poor story structure" and "contrived settings" have become synonymous with FoE, and only those who really really like the images it produces are willing to overlook it (And even then most at least acknowledge the flaws).

I suppose this isn't really a very good look into my own psyche when it comes to acceptance, but to be honest I've never had an issue with this. I have come to terms about how their are things in my life I can or cannot change. Even with FoE, I realize that it will always be seen as a shit setting, despite how much effort I put into it, and how much I enjoy the themes of bondage, rape, slavery, ect. Even so, acceptance doesn't mean that I can't continue to do what I can to make it ever so slightly more enjoyable, for both myself and others.