History Characters / CodexEquusGoldenScepter

* OddFriendship: It's mentioned he has this kind of relationship with Temnobog. Despite both of them being night and day in terms of personality, beliefs, and abilities, and despite Temnobog being the ''last'' sort of person that someone like Golden Scepter would want to associate with, they were nevertheless able to become good friends. Part of the reason is implied that, as a highly beloved ruler and the living embodiment of Ponykind, Golden Scepter represents [[ForWantOfANail the god Belyolen and Temnobog should have been]], though a Codexverse quote also reveals that he and Temnobog became friends because, after hearing of the latter's emotionally abusive past, Golden Scepter treated him kindly and went out of his way to help him and his brother despite Temnobog being a GodOfEvil. Their friendship is such that Temnobog is willing to restrain his own lustful nature for Golden Scepter's sake despite finding him "incredibly handsome", and Golden Scepter is equally willing to protect him -- and by extension, Belyolen and the Bogolenya Deer Pantheon -- if need be, as High King Irminsul unfortunately discovered. Some of Golden Scepter's sons see this as rather odd, blasphemous even, though Pokhot, Temnobog's youngest daughter, sees nothing wrong with it and often plays "[[SecretTestOfCharacter games]]" of temptation with them whenever they visit the Bogolenya pantheon, as her way of being friendly with the children of a god who's friends with her father. It's revealed in Canteros' entry that Canteros was responsible for Golden Scepter befriending Temnobog in the first place; as Temnobog [[IJustWantToBeLoved only wanted to be loved and respected]], Canteros pulled some strings to ensure the Deer god of Evil's emotional recovery from the Elternteil Deer Pantheon's emotional abuse, "[[TheEmpath nudging]]" empathetic individuals like Upepo, Golden Scepter, and Kaldr to him so he could receive a steady stream of support.

* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: As the living embodiment of Ponykind, he's essentially this trope since he embodies both Ponykind's good and bad traits. Given how Equus works, this is considered a good thing, as his domain makes him more "human" than a large majority of the Codexverse's gods. It's also because he embodies Ponykind's dual morality that Belyolen and Temnobog respected and even befriended him, as in their eyes, [[ForWantOfANail he represents the god and ruler they could have been had their father, Irminsul, not tried to erase the flaws of his then-unborn son]]. This ends up being discussed between him and his son Written Word, who has a hard time understanding/accepting the idea allowing Evil to exist.

* ForWantOfANail: InUniverse examples.
** It's rumored that he represents the person Belyolen and Temnobog were supposed to be. As the Alicorn god of Ponykind, Golden Scepter embodies Ponykind's best and worst traits, and has a balanced view that allows him to rule over things his mortal subjects hold with their highest esteem (though it wasn't possible without CharacterDevelopment). Had Irminsul not tried to purge his unborn son's inner evil to make him "perfect", Belyolen and Temnobog would have been born as a single deity who's just like Golden Scepter, except they would have embodied mortal Deerkind instead, which is presumably why they respect him and even befriended him.
** Golden Scepter admits to Temnobog that the "[[{{Gotterdammerung}} Twilight of the Alicorns]]" conflict was the best thing that happened to him and his people. If it hadn't happened, he wouldn't have become a much better person down the line, or see the Alicorns' behavior and their fallen civilization what it truly was: A breeding ground of stagnation and corruption that promoted toxic, self-righteous, and high-hoofed attitudes due to the Alicorns' overwhelming successes and power.
** During the "Temptation Unbound" event, his eighth son, [[HandicappedBadass Crimson Star]] foresaw a bad future in which his family would turn on each other one by one in a catastrophe similar to the [[Literature/HorusHeresy Horus Heresy]]. It was noted that in said bad future, Golden Scepter would have died trying to stop the catastrophe by himself, much like what happened to the Emperor of Mankind. But because Crimson Star informed him of his vision beforehand, the outcome changed -- Golden Scepter instead became so pissed off that [[PapaWolf he revealed his true godly form and confronted the Fallen deities and their worshipers responsible for trying to destroy his family]].

--> '''Alicorn Hierarch''': "We - we would've found a way!"
--> '''Golden Scepter''': "...If you could have, why didn't you? Why did you locked [[BystanderSyndrome yourselves away in your sanctuaries while Hell descended on the entire galaxy?]]"
--> '''Alicorn Hierarch''': "...."
--> '''Golden Scepter''': "Tell me, how would the what was left of the Alicorn Civilization have dealt with ONE of those horrific nightmares and hellish monsters?!"
--> '''Alicorn Hierarch''': "I...I...I don't know..."
--> '''Golden Scepter''': "Then how can you blame Majesty for doing what you and I could not by dealing with them ALL?"

** His raising of the Terran Princes can be seen as part of his atonement. In the Imperium era, he treated his Golden Generals as nothing more than tools, and brutally humiliated one of them, General Faithful Belief, for encouraging public worship of him. This later led to the birth of the Aurum Apostasy, where half of his Golden Generals betrayed him. In the Fourth Age, [[spoiler:his Golden Generals would be {{Reincarnation|reincarnated}} as his nineteen sons by benevolent forces to give them a second chance]], allowing Golden Scepter to give his sons unconditional love and support [[spoiler:that their past lives did not]]. As a result, the Terran Princes -- especially those who were based on the [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 traitor Primarchs]] -- became legendary demigod heroes whose Ascensions were partly thanks to their father, and were never given a reason to betray him.

** His raising of the Terran Princes can be seen as part of his atonement. In the Imperium era, he treated his Golden Generals as nothing more than tools, and brutally humiliated one of them, General Faithful Belief, for encouraging public worship of him. This later led to the birth of the Aurum Apostasy, where half of his Golden Generals betrayed him. In the Fourth Age, [[spoiler:his Golden Generals would be [[{{Reincarnation reincarnated]] as his nineteen sons by benevolent forces to give them a second chance]], allowing Golden Scepter to give his sons unconditional love and support [[spoiler:that their past lives did not]]. As a result, the Terran Princes -- especially those who were based on the [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 traitor Primarchs]] -- became legendary demigod heroes whose Ascensions were partly thanks to their father, and were never given a reason to betray him.