Wow....just....wow, what a way to go. This was an amazing read and my heart went pumping at some parts! you are an amazing writer and story teller!

Nicely wrapped up.

moral:

Power that great always comes at a price. When you seek it, be sure you are willing to pay in full.

Rest easy dear reaper.

Amazing way to end the story.

Spikey. . .Lives on. . .

I carry his children
A dozen!
She's not a chicken!
Just a dragon lady
damn good reading. . .

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The darkness of the afterlife is all that awaits you now. May you find more peace in that world than you found in this one...(FALLOUT 1)
A Great story but sad end.

Rest Easy My Friend... Rest Well Spike.

This was a really great story and it was just beautiful! Nice Work!

the alliance is struck, seems tis to be war anyway.

Damn dude, that story was messed up but, Dainn got the torture he deserved but he didn't get in the original story.

You Bastard you actually made me cry I loved the story so much

Was kinda hoping he was going to pull a Philomena, and then go beat the ever loving snot out of the useless leaders. Oh well.

That was a very great Read from start to finish loved it

6761744 This song was perfect

You... did you really have to pull on my heartstrings so? I can't take much more of this.

That ending. So hardcore. This is like academy award nominated sad/awesome. Was not expecting this really but this is good No, Fuck that, this is GREAT. I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooo going to finish the rewrites after witnessing this.

It's kinda insane that the entire species is composed of utterly sexist sex driven lunatics. It kinda feels like propaganda, or if the stallions of Equestria were under mind control magic, what the hell, or rather, WHY the hell, wouldn't the caribou bucks be so as well?

The first country any tyrant conquers is their own.

Take a bloody look at what Sombra did to the crystal ponies in the crystal war timeline.

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You're gonna carry that weight

6743771

And there's the fact all Caribou like cookie cutter ponies out of each other.... like... just like... the stallions... under... mind control...

King Sombra was the ruler of the Crystal Empire... who were the first people HE brainwashed?

6736692

It's kinda insane that every single male Caribou alive had the exact same world view and the same sexist and sex driven mania... what was the last country in the WORLD in HISTORY that created a people who views were that uniform? Remember General Custer? He was SYMPATHETIC to the same Indians he was attacking! Even Starlight Glimmer's communist police state had dissenters and all it took was one spark for the entire thing to come crashing down.

If they used mind control on the stallion of Equestria, why not their own bucks?

6732298

Cure his cancer, turn him into a male caribou, and have him repopulate the race with magic to introduce genetic diversity for several generations, have him balance out the genocide he's done.

6493095

"I'd like to meet this Mr. The Caribou, and see that he is judged. ... There seems to be no being by that name, same as there is none named The Humans, The Deer, The Minotaurs, The Ponies, The Changelings... they're INDIVIDUALS dammit... Spike himself (and the dragons of Dragon Town) is a contradiction to the stereotype. I seriously doubt every caribou alive was a sexist lunatic. Not every dragon alive is a greedy monster (Hey, Spike). Not every changeling alive is a heartless love vampire (Hey, Kevin). Slapping them together as a single personality and identity is like saying every German alive in 1944 was a Nazi."

Looking forward to seeing stories from you in the future, also I hope there's a follow up with them finding out that Spike has become part of the crystal heart, with the possibility of the heart resurrecting him in times of dire need for both Equestria and the Empire.

Horrendous. Absolutely horrendous. How dare that...BEAST...become such a...such a SYMBOL OF INNOCENCE. A tainted symbol. An impure one. I don't care for Dainn's crimes. He has gotten what he deserved but Spike has not, not at all. I couldn't think of how to punish him properly...before this chapter. Now I know. A PROPER punishment would be to have the collar be...tweaked. He would not be trapped in Equestria...but he would be trapped in the now barren, empty lands of the Caribou's home land. A foreign and desolate land, now his only home. His "friends" would also be prevented from seeing him, perhaps either by the collar's magic or by guards themselves. Not among his loved ones. Not among his homeland. Completely and utterly isolated in the world of those he killed. I can hear his anger already. THAT...would be a proper and FITTING punishment. He should have received THAT. If I could I would try and SHATTER this new...POISONED Crystal Heart. His essence is unfit to belong in that innocent and pure source of power. He is a heartless, soulless monster, which means he has no compassion, no love, NO REASON to be a part of the Crystal Heart. Absolutely HORRENDOUS.

6761699 Thank you!

6761723 True.

6761744 Beautiful. Although I was thinking more in the lines of Bastion's Zulf's Theme.

6761751 Glad you liked it!

6761825 God knows I love Fallout.

6762002 I'm glad you liked it so much, thank you for reading!

6762028

6762038 Yup.

6762071 Really? Man, thanks. I've never managed to do that before!

6762079

6762117 Glad you liked it!

6762145 Play all the heartstrings!

6762350 Beautiful piece and so fitting, thank you.

6762353

6762455 I'm flattered you enjoyed it so much Mr. Nuke, thank YOU for reading!

6762556 Thank you for reading!

6762875 A sequel? Never thought about it.......maybe. Maybe.

6762978 Fair points and all so very valid. Just one thing to remember, the rest of the leaders (and the judges) were afraid of Spike and scared shitless of their populace. If they came up with that punishment just think what the populace would do in retaliation? Celestia, Twilight, Luna and pretty much everyone agreed to let Spike be a scapegoat but they never agreed for such a punishment. Also, Creslin and the rest of the caribou are still in Hraljord, he wouldn't be alone. But I see your points and I agree with them, but take into account what I said too. Thank you for reading!

6762571 a pair of plot points that you might have missed was the fact that 1) the caribou were being corrupted over thousands of years by the evil of one of their old leaders, and that is plenty of time to spread almost completely through their society, and 2) he did find some uncorrupted caribou back in the fifth or sixth chapter, I forget which, and they begged for death. There is also the fact that sometimes, the corruption was too deep-seated to be removed, like with some of the pony prisoners once open war broke out. Spike made the best of a bad situation, and he was blinded by rage at being turned pretty much into a puppet for Dainn, which would mess with anyone's head
6762978 The caribou deserved every bit of pain they got, my points above apply as well, and you evidently haven't heard of Taira no Masakado, who was a Japanese warlord, he was incredibly brutal in taking down his rivals, but treated the civilians better than they did.

6762978

Having to live among the death he caused for the time he has left? Sounds about right.

Truly a great way to end the story. I think I understand why Spike got the punishment that he got. The Great Tribunal who did not know Spike assumed that he was a heartless monster and thus could not feel any happiness wherever he died. They might have thought that Spike wouldn't even care that he was in Equestria. But the one's in the Great Tribunal who knew Spike knew that being confined to Equestria would be mercy on his soul and maybe one last thankyou to him for saving them.

Sequel.... Please

6761744 &
6763339

Either theme would work here I'd think.

*reads the last line and thinks* Hmmm...Crystal Heart has Purple and Green in it? Mayhaps Spike Is now the Guardian of it.

Spike's fire can never truly be extinguished, his spirit will always live on!

Spike, I believe I speak for everyone when I say (salutes) we will never forget you, nor your sacrifice, and may where ever you end up, be it heaven or hell, the ruler honors you for the good you did in the eyes of your people. Oh-rah to you, Spike. Oh. Rah.

love it

;u;
That tearjerker of an ending. Bravo, and thank you for the great story.

So can someone please explain to me why Genocide is a good thing? Why is everyone cheering for a person that basically did what Hitler always wanted to do?

The genocide pleased me for some reason, other than that good story.

6762978

On the flip side that would also be punishing all the people he saved, no matter how you look at it, Spike thwarted the caribou and ended Dainn's hellish rule. If not for Spike then Equestria would still be under Dainn's rule, and in time the rest of the world. Were there good caribou who's souls were just black from birth but in the long run decent guys? Perhaps. But if there were then they were caught in the absolute slaughter that the freed stallions and mares brought on, remember when the spell was broken all hell broke loose for Dainn and his men, things that were even worse than what Spike had done. Also lets not forget that to every last freed mare, stallion, changling what have you, in their eyes Spike was a hero, a godsend, and they wouldn't take such a punishment too well, they would more or less go there, wreck the collar, and smuggling him back to home. Least, that's how I see it.

6780578
Did you forget destroying the collar is IMPOSSIBLE?

6780646
I...must have missed that. Makes sense though that Tirek had a whole cage of the same stuff made for him.

Now this had been a good story. Damn shame with the end, but he died a hero. And The Caribou got what's coming to them for there crimes.

6795969
Does that include the women and children, too? Because "Genocide of an entire species" means not just the men. :V

His death came.....his spirit is free..your duty is now complete...now all we can do now is hope....for a better future....a better tomorrow.... as his deed is done ours is just starting.... Spike the light bringer rest in peace as for those who have felt nothing but pain in life shall see death as an pleasant escape.... We will continue your legacy....

Now cue the cry.... *NOooooo!!!* *Bahhhhhh!!!* *SNIFF!!!*

6823086 I thank you for reading my work and consider it as a worthy piece to sit through. You are right, it was hard, at many points, for meto write this (I almost quitted twice, guess at which parts?) but nevertheless I promised to finish this and I finished it.

Beautiful soundtrack that really fits the atmosphere of the end. That's one of the reasons I love Metal Gear Solid.

6798250 Sorry for replying to a old question, but basically, and spoiler alerts:

Apparently, the male caribous that didn't support Dainn and his evil ways are cursed and made infertile, unable to sire children. Spike leads the ponies to murder all the males, especially Dainn's followers. Without any male caribous that can sire children, the caribou species would be doomed to extinction. So in a way, yeah, Spike committed slow but surely genocide.

Alright. Starting my read right after this comment, and I have to say. I'm really shaky coming into this. I've always hated any Fall of Equestria stories because of how... Just... I don't have the correct words but you get my point, even with that I am intrigued by this story and will read it with an open mind. And I just so happen to be listening to "Somewhere over the Rainbow" ironically

6907547 Hope I don't disappoint then =D.

Holy. Shit.

6910992 Did I disappoint you?

6911124 No... Not in the least.

I...cried...