Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

In Betrayal Of All That We Believed

Chapter One Hundred: In Betrayal Of All That We Believed
~BlackRoseRaven

This was the last place she had ever expected to be.

Sol Seraph calmly produced a cigarette and slipped it into her muzzle, looking moodily back and forth as she stood in her daughter's home. It was not what she had expected: it was clean and neat and orderly, with pretty pictures on the wall and not a single fleck of dirt underhoof.

It did not surprise her that her daughter would have made a fine maid. She had always been good at cleaning up after other people, at hiding the evidence of her failures and her foolishness. But it did surprise her that she would retain these things even with what she had become.

Sol Seraph stood like a statue in the sitting room,fan refusing to move from the corner of the room, where she could put her back against the wall and keep an eye on both entrances and the painted window. She scowled ever-so-slightly when Fluttershy reentered the room carrying a tray, and without hesitating, she flung a knife at her daughter's face.

Without so much as making the spoons on the tray rattle, Fluttershy easily slipped to the side, the knife burying into the wall behind her before she bowed her head: a gesture of both politeness and evasion, metal wire gleaming as the loop sliced uselessly over the Phooka's head before Sol Seraph snorted and yanked hard on the knife, catching it with a scowl. “Twenty-six minutes.”

“Thank you, Mother. I hope you still like your tea the same as you did when I was young.” Fluttershy said gently, and Sol Seraph studied her daughter coldly as Fluttershy carefully set the tray down and put the tea out with her perfect grace and poise.

“I should have sold you to the Order as a slave. You missed your true calling.” Sol Seraph said callously, but Fluttershy only smiled as she sat back on the couch.

Sol Seraph approached after a moment, the Voidborn studying the cup before she picked it up. She tilted it back and forth, then sniffed it for a moment before she rolled her unlit cigarette to the side of her mouth and took a sip.

“Two hundred and sixteen seconds. A mix of chamomile and lavender. It was homemade, small batch.” murmured Sol Seraph, before she snorted as she turned her eyes on her daughter, judging her coldly. “If you had paid half as much attention to your lessons as you did to slave-hoof work, you would have been adequate. Instead, you are a failure. You will always be nothing but a failure.”

Sol Seraph took another sip of the tea, and Fluttershy only smiled kindly, saying softly: “With all due respect, mother... somehow, I don't feel like a failure.”

Sol Seraph snorted in contempt, before she slammed the teacup down on the saucer. Her eyes flicked to the side moodily, but Fluttershy only smiled as she said softly: “Please excuse them, my children are very curious, and Avalon is very protective. Do you want to meet them? I would love to introduce you to my family... to your family. You are their grandmother, after all.”

Sol Seraph snorted, but her body shifted and tensed in surprise, her eyes widening maybe the slightest bit before she sneered and asked contemptibly: “And should I consider the rest of the animals you've bred and bred with family, Fluttershy?”

“We're all animals.” Fluttershy answered, and Sol Seraph scowled in distaste before the Phooka asked gently: “Children, do you think you could come in here and introduce yourselves properly?”

For a moment, there was only a nervous shifting, but then Tender Trust carefully stepped around the corner, bowing her head low as she murmured: “I apologize, okâwîmâw. I could not help myself. I was worried for you and I was... curious.”

“I know. It is in our blood to be curious.” Fluttershy said gently, before she smiled and added: “Sol Seraph will not harm you.”

“Not yet. But when our time is up, I will kill them all.” Sol Seraph said ruthlessly, before she turned towards Tender Trust, studying her intently before she ordered coldly: “Sit up. Raise your head. Look me in the eye.”

Tender Trust nervously sat and rose her head, squaring her shoulders, ensuring she was respectful but proud, and Sol Seraph leaned back and forth before she reached a hoof out and grasped Tender Trust by the muzzle, tilting her head to the side as she said meditatively: “Younger than I had thought. But more experienced, as well, although it does not seem to have done her much good. What is she trained in?”

“The skills I have passed on from you, I have shown her to use to protect others. My daughter and my student, Avalon, are both trained to protect and defend others. Not to kill. Never to kill, unless there is no alternative.” Fluttershy answered, and Sol Seraph smiled thinly.

“Weakness.” she said softly, and then she flexed her hoof, hidden blade springing loose from her bracer before she slowly guided this up to Tender Trust's throat.

But Tender Trust was fearless, looking up into her eyes calmly, and Fluttershy only sipped slowly at her tea as Sol Seraph narrowed her eyes, before she suddenly looked back at her daughter and barked: “Do you really think that this weakness is without consequence? That I won't kill this bitch-Phooka?”

“You would, I know. I know. But not right now. And I feel like, maybe, just maybe, I can convince the scorpion not to sting. Just once. Just this once.” Fluttershy answered with a small smile, before she slipped out of her seat and approached her mother.

Sol Seraph rounded on her with a snarl, but Fluttershy could swear it was fear in her eyes as she lashed out with the blade. Fluttershy let it pass harmlessly in front of her, then she weaved like liquid when Sol Seraph slashed out with her other foreleg as that blade sprang free as well.

Fluttershy danced through the strikes and slashes, never so much as scratched before she suddenly caught her mother's hooves to squeeze them silently, smiling at her faintly as Sol Seraph stared at her, before the Phooka gently released the Voidborn's hooves and asked quietly: “Don't you want to meet the rest of my family?”

Sol Seraph shifted, flexing her hooves slowly before she grimaced as the hidden blades retracted and she stepped back towards the safety of her dark corner. Her eyes flicked almost apprehensively towards the doorway as Fluttershy smiled, gesturing with a hoof towards the archway as she said something in that dirty animal language of the Phooka.

After a moment, three more Phooka emerged: stallions, she thought. She watched as they approached, two of them bowing low, the third lowering his head almost slightly as he kept his eyes on her, afraid of her, but a touch from Fluttershy reassured him, as she introduced: “This is my husband, Nirvana, and our sons, Virtue and Temperance. And... Avalon, I know you're here, too. Please be polite.”

A tiny Pegasus fluttered in, and Sol Seraph could smell the demon in her blood as she landed and glared up at her angrily. Sol Seraph looked back down at her contemptibly, and there was maybe the faintest sense of relief as she said coldly: “This one is a murderer.”

“I've killed. And I won't hesitate to kill. And Horses of Heaven, I'd love to kill you.” Avalon said coldly, her eyes glaring into Sol Seraph's, and the Voidborn gave a thin smile at the rage, the hate, the violence she saw there, before she frowned ever so slightly as Avalon gritted her teeth and her expression tightened, becoming almost... sad, as she whispered: “But I respect Fluttershy, and I know that violence will only lead to more violence. Because I'm not like you. I'm a killer, but I'm not a murderer.”

Sol Seraph was silent for a moment, and then she lunged suddenly forward, seizing Avalon by the neck and slamming her down on her back. Before the tiny Pegasus could react, there was a blade aimed at her eye, Sol Seraph leaning over her as she asked: “Do you all fail to understand that my daughter is a failure, and an animal? Of course the Phooka cannot. She is their broodmother, their bitch. But I would expect more from a Pegasus who has seen Hell.”

“The only Hell I've seen is what's in your eyes. And I think, for the first time in my life, I really, truly understand what Fluttershy was always trying to teach me.” Avalon whispered, before she gritted her teeth as she leaned up slightly, looking past the blade and into the eyes of the surprised Voidborn. “I am never going to become you.”

Sol Seraph scowled in disgust, before she narrowed her eyes dangerously as Fluttershy chided quietly: “We aren't enemies here, Avalon. And my mother has many good qualities. We disagree on many philosophies, but she is strong, fearless, and determined. She is just...”

“I do not need your admiration or your excuses, Fluttershy. I never have and I never will.” Sol Seraph said contemptibly, glaring over at her daughter, and then she stepped quickly off of Avalon and retreated to her corner, eyes glowing with fury that did a poor job of masking her confusion as she said quietly: “You are running low on time. You will not accomplish your goal. You will not stop me.”

“I do not intend to stop you.” Fluttershy said softly, before she smiled faintly as she shook her head slowly, striding past her family as she said quietly: “And I'm sorry to disagree with you, Mother, but... I already got what I wanted.”

Sol Seraph frowned, and Fluttershy smiled at her radiantly as she whispered: “We walked here, side-by-side together. We've had tea. We've talked, even if it has been... a little strange, maybe, for most mothers and daughters to share. For these precious few minutes, you have been a member of our family. And I feel like Daddy is here, too, with us. That he would be proud of us. Don't you?”

“Ardor did not exist in the Void. Do not speak of your father.” Sol Seraph whispered, but Fluttershy only smiled at her mother.

“I never knew him, but he must have been an amazing stallion. And I know that you must have loved him very dearly.” Fluttershy said quietly, before she turned and calmly went back to the table to grasp her mother's cup of tea. She brought it back to the Voidborn, who took it without looking at her daughter, eyes staring at the ground.

“Ardor was my weakness. That is all.” Sol Seraph said quietly, as she gazed down into the teacup for a few moments before she gave a short laugh. “A greater weakness than I had thought, considering he produced only you.”

But Fluttershy only smiled, asking after a moment: “Do you think it's possible, Mother, that things have been so difficult between us because I remind you of Father?”

Sol Seraph was silent, and then she snorted before she threw the teacup and saucer aside, dark-colored liquid splattering against the wall as she said coldly: “I suppose I shouldn't be surprised this is what you choose to waste your time with, and yet I am all the same.”

Fluttershy only chuckled quietly, however, saying softly: “And I can't begin to describe how glad I am that you are giving me this time with you.”

“Stop it.” Sol Seraph said sharply, her eyes flickering, her eyes shifting away as her hooves trembled, before she stiffened in shock as Fluttershy stepped forward and embraced her.

The mare breathed slowly in and out, her eyes shifting back and forth before she shoved the Phooka backward, then grabbed her by the throat, her eyes blazing. But Fluttershy only smiled at her, saying quietly even as the hooves crushed down against her neck: “I love you, Mother, and I won't fight you. Not again. Not anymore.”

“Why not? I'll kill you.” Sol Seraph whispered, sounding incredulous, but Fluttershy only shrugged with a quiet laugh.

“There are worse things. Far worse things.” she replied with a smile, before she said quietly: “Growing up with you, you were... you were like a goddess and this awful monster, all at once. But I think only now do I really finally understand you. You must have grown up in so much pain. You must have suffered in ways that no pony can imagine. It doesn't excuse what you did, but... understanding you helps me...”

Fluttershy searched for the words, before Sol Seraph seized her by the shoulders and spun her around, slamming her savagely to the ground. The floorboards cracked with the force of her impact, and yet Fluttershy gazed up, unfazed, at her Mother: her only gesture was to reassure her family that she was fine, not to intervene, as Sol Seraph leaned over her and said with the barest hint of a tremble in her voice: “You will never understand what I went through, and how it made me strong, Fluttershy. How it taught me that that concepts like compassion, mercy, love... they are all weakness.”

“What did you learn, Mother?” Fluttershy questioned, and Sol Seraph laughed shortly.

“That strength and power are all that matter in life. That to care, about anyone or anything, was a weakness that your enemies would exploit. That all relationships are based on power, on dominance and submission.” Sol Seraph's hooves trembled, as they slid out to Fluttershy's shoulders, almost clutching into her even as she kept her pinned beneath her body, whispering: “That the weak must be culled, and those who lack the will to fight and survive must be destroyed.”

Fluttershy looked up at her mother, and she asked: “Why did you kill Daddy?”

“Because he made me weak.” Sol Seraph answered without thinking, without hesitating, and then she lowered her head, her voice shaking with bitterness: “Because without him, I had no weaknesses. Because it silenced the voices in my head and my heart. Because it made it easier to kill. Or so I thought...”

Sol Seraph breathed slowly, then she looked down at her daughter, studying her for a few moment before she silently took the Phooka's face between her hooves, tilting her head back and forth, taking in every detail of her daughter's features.

Then she stepped slowly back, leaving Fluttershy on the floor in front of her, before she rose her eyes to Tender Trust and said quietly: “I am going to kill your mother, unless you stop me.”

“I will not. I am sorry, but I respect the word and rule of my okâwîmâw, first and foremost. It is her rule that we do not fight you, and so I shall not.” Tender Trust answered quietly, bowing her head with a faint smile. “I will not raise my hoof against you.”

Sol Seraph shook her head slowly before her eyes roved to Nirvana, but he only shook his head slowly, and the mare snorted in disgust before she said softly: “Weaklings. Animal filth. How your kind survived, I will never know.”

Nirvana only smiled, before Sol Seraph returned her eyes to Avalon, asking: “And you? I will kill them all. You have the power to stop me. Or at least you think you do. Will you stop me, then, or will you permit me to kill them?”

But Avalon only smiled faintly at this, shaking her head slowly before she looked fearlessly up at Sol Seraph. “I trust Fluttershy. I trust her decision.”

“Her sacrifice will be in vain. She will die, and then I will kill all of you.” Sol Seraph threatened, but that was all it was, a threat. Empty words, empty promises.

And yet Fluttershy only smiled at her, with compassion, with understanding, as she sat up and said softly: “None of us will fight you. None of us are going to hurt you. The world you lived in, the world that hurt you, that made you what you are today... that world is different now. And I wish with all my heart that you had been able to see and experience what I have: the power of love, the strength of compassion, how friends and family made me strong.

“I've also learned that two wrongs don't make a right. I want you to know that I regretted, every day, that I killed you when you were alive. I wish I had found another way, that I hadn't let fear rule me, that we had just... talked.” Fluttershy smiled faintly as she gazed into her mother's eyes, shaking her head slowly. “Because we've talked now, for the first time I can really think of, and... it's made all the difference in the world. Or at least, I feel like it has. I wish you could feel that... in fact, I want to give you the chance to experience that. I think... I know that Daddy must have believed in you, so I'm going to believe in you too.”

Fluttershy smiled at Sol Seraph, who stared strangely at her daughter, in uncomprehending confusion and heartache. “You're part of this family, too.”

Sol Seraph stared at Fluttershy for a few moments, and then she slowly rose a hoof, studying it with strange intensity. How many lives had she taken? They had all been nothing but prey to her, worthless animals that she had gladly ended the lives of, but this...

The mare looked up at her daughter for a few moments, and then she said quietly: “I am no housepet like you. I am not a beast to be domesticated like your family has made itself. I am a predator. I am a hunter.”

“There will always be a need for hunters, Mother. Even in these peaceful worlds. But maybe you can be a protector, maybe you can-”

“No. I am a killer. I am a destroyer. I am a predator, a... scorpion.” Sol Seraph said coldly, before she looked at Fluttershy, then suddenly drove one foreleg forward, her hidden blade springing free and driving deep into the Phooka's breast.

Tender Trust trembled, and Avalon shouted, but no one leapt forward as Fluttershy only silently looked at her mother, and Sol Seraph almost pleaded with her eyes, even as she mocked: “So you really are content to simply die? Or do you understand that you are too weak, that you are a failure, that you are-”

“Enough, Mother. Enough.” Fluttershy said quietly, and then she reached up and gently grasped the Voidborn's foreleg, smiling at her as she said softly: “The choice is yours. No one will stop you. I won't fight you.”

“Then you are a failure!” Sol Seraph shouted, twisting the blade slowly, and Fluttershy gritted her teeth, but didn't cry out, didn't plead for mercy, didn't beg her to stop... “Fight back! Fight me!”

Fluttershy smiled, and Sol Seraph stared into her daughter's eyes before Fluttershy said softly: “I won't. And you can't force me to. You can't stop me from loving you. You can't stop me from trying, this one last time, to fix you. To help you. To save you.”

Sol Seraph slowly lowered her head, and then she slowly withdrew the blade from her daughter's body. For a moment, she sat, silently studying the steaming wound, before she reached for a knife-

“If you do that, you'll remain Loki's pawn forever. And I know you don't want that, either. He's using you. He's using all of you.” Fluttershy said quietly, and Sol Seraph smiled faintly.

“Almost all of us are stupid enough to believe we are using him. But if we are manipulating him, it is because it serves his interests. Because it makes us easier to control.” Sol Seraph murmured, before she shook her head slowly and asked, almost desperately: “Is this your choice? Is this what you have become?”

“It is what I have always been.” Fluttershy answered, and Sol Seraph studied her silently before Fluttershy smiled faintly. “Please, Mother-”

“I am not your mother. I have never been your mother.” Sol Seraph murmured, but Fluttershy smiled at her, shaking her head slowly.

“No. That's wrong.” she said, and the Voidborn looked at her with a frown. “You made me strong. You taught me right from wrong. You gave me my life here. I think you loved me, in your own way.”

“You are naive. You have always been naive.” Sol Seraph whispered, before she looked silently down at the knife in her hoof, studying it for a few moments before she simply let it drop.

It clattered to the ground, and Fluttershy began to smile before her eyes widened slightly as Sol Seraph began to smolder. The Phooka began to step forward, but Sol Seraph held a hoof out, shaking her head as she said quietly: “Only the strongest survive in the Void. Those with wills of iron. My will is broken: I... I have no desire to kill you.”

She fell silent for a moment, then she gave a brief laugh as she lowered her head and murmured: “My existence was based around fighting, around killing... around nothing else. And for the briefest moment, you made me feel as if... I had missed something important in life. As if I had... failed, somewhere important. And I do not entirely understand why or how. I only know that for a moment, I felt... I felt an emotion I had not felt since Ardor.”

Sol Seraph rose her head, saying quietly: “I am beyond redemption. I do not care. Redemption is a petty reason to do anything. And I am... bitterly amused that perhaps the answer to taking away all of Loki's power is... this childish, simple idea, of 'fixing' us. We are all broken. That is our greatest weakness and our greatest strength. We are irrefutably broken.”

Sol Seraph quieted, then she turned and strode away, and Fluttershy stumbled after her mother, following her out as tears rolled down her cheeks, asking: “Isn't there anything I can do? Mother, I-”

“It is fine.” Sol Seraph said fearlessly, as energy steamed off her body, as she began to grow translucent as she stepped outside of the humble house and onto the dirt highway. She gazed over pretty farmland and towards the comfortably village in the distance, then allowed her eyes to rove upward, looking at the blue skies, for the first time seeing the world that she lived in, as she asked quietly: “Did all of this... always exist?”

“Yes, Mother. This is the world.” Fluttershy answered, as she strode up beside the Voidborn and rubbed her wrist across her eyes, before she gave a trembling smile as Sol Seraph frowned at her.

And then the Voidborn silently rose a hoof and stroked the Phooka's cheek, before she looked at the tears that clung to her, that glimmered on her hoof. She turned her hoof back and forth, studying the shining pearls from every angle, before she asked almost curiously: “Why are you crying?”

“Because I love you, and I feel like we just connected, for the first time.” Fluttershy said, and Sol Seraph looked at her, then she rose her hoof to her mouth, tasting her daughter's tears, before she gave the smallest, the briefest of smiles.

“I did love you.” Sol Seraph said, and then she paused for a moment before she added quietly: “You are your father's daughter. You are just like him. I am glad. I am glad that I failed to stomp that out of you. I am glad that you are stronger than I ever was.”

Sol Seraph halted, then she looked slowly up at the sun as her body began to crack, her spirit flowing out of her with every breath, but a relieved smile spreading across her face as she murmured: “Yes. This is the way it was always meant to be. I never imagined it would be like this, though...”

Sol Seraph smiled, then she looked over at her daughter as Fluttershy trembled, before the Phooka leaned over and hugged her tightly. And daughter held tightly on to her mother, until Sol Seraph was no more.

Sleipnir wandered through the Everfree Forest, drawn by that strange sensation of being called. Not by a voice, but by a presence, so familiar to him that it drew him forwards like an old friend crying out for help.

The enormous earth pony finally strode into an open field, and he smiled as he found a tall wooden puppet waiting for him, the effigy of Loki turning a painted grin towards him as he exclaimed: “So you came!”

“Yes, brother, of course!” Sleipnir said warmly, smiling at the puppet kindly. “'Tis too bad thou art not here in person, but all the same-”

“Hey, hey, hey, let's not get crazy now.” Loki said pointedly as he crossed his arms, wooden joints clicking and clacking as he swayed back and forth from heel-to-toe. “I'm not here to discuss anything, or to make friends, or any nonsense like that. I swear, Thor, haven't you learned a damn thing?”

“'Tis Sleipnir now, brother. Like Father's horse! Well, I suppose I am Father's horse now!” Sleipnir said jovially, and Loki shuddered at this as he hugged himself convulsively.

“Don't even joke, you're going to give me nightmares! Don't forget who Sleipnir's mama was, dumbass. And what that would mean. That's pretty gross, even for you.” Loki said mildly, and Sleipnir chuckled at this before Loki sighed and added softly: “And there you go, doing that thing you like to do again. Making it all about you, and worse, tricking me into laughing about it. You always were a bastard.”

“Aye, but it has been very difficult with thee, brother. Harder than thou might care to imagine.” Sleipnir replied with a smile, shaking his head slowly before he asked softly: “Will thou not reconsider this path? Is there nothing that I can do-”

“There is nothing that you can do. There's nothing that... anyone can do, at this point.” Loki responded in a gentle voice, before he sighed a little and let his puppet eyes rove upward, shaking his head briefly. “It's all a mess. I'll agree with you there. But I didn't want this, I really didn't. I was pushed into it, and well... there's no turning back now. It's too late for that.”

Sleipnir began to interrupt, but Loki shook his head, holding up a hand and repeating firmly: “It's too late. The die is cast and the games are being played and here it's all been set in motion. If you really want to help, Thorn, or Sleipnir, or Horse Face or whatever you want to call yourself now, then you'll come with me. Because that's really the only choice any of you have left: to give in quietly, or die fighting.”

“Well, I hope it does not disappoint thee too much, brother, but I am sure thou art aware I am a fool.” Sleipnir answered with a faint smile, and Loki sighed, then chuckled softly and nodded after a moment.

“Yes. Yes, you are. You always have been, Thor. That's why I always had to be there to take care of things for you, remember?” Loki replied with a wink, before the puppet clapped his hands together and added pleasantly: “We had a lot of good times, didn't we? Saw a lot of adventure, had a lot of fun, fought a lot of enemies. We were heroes! Or well, you were a hero. I know. I know, I'm trying not to be too bitter about it all, I promise.”

Sleipnir only smiled briefly, and Loki clicked his tongue before he shook his head and said softly: “Well, that's all behind us, anyway. We're in a brave new world now, one full of... colorful ponies struggling to fight death-defying odds.”

“They are very good at it as well, brother. I think thou would be quite impressed and delighted by it, and the stories they have to share. Thou wert always so fond of stories...” Sleipnir hesitated, then he asked in a gentle, tactful voice: “Art thou sure this is not what 'tis truly all about, my beloved brother? Stories, and thy whimsy and love for them?”

Loki chuckled quietly at this, before he asked in a falsely-injured voice: “What is that, brother? Trying to see the best in everyone but me?”

“Nay, 'tis precisely because I think the best of thee, I ask. For 'twas always one of thy greatest qualities, that thou wert such a storyteller, and so dedicated to the craft and finding the truth within even the most childish of stories... but it was thou who taught me that when a story is too difficult for the elders to bear, thou must write it for the children instead.” Sleipnir replied with a smile, and Loki smiled wryly at this.

“You always were a master of words.” Loki murmured, and then he shook his head slowly before he asked softly, with the faintest hint of bitterness to his words: “Do you think I want these prophecies to be true? Or that I seek justice or... morality and reason, in a children's fable? Tell me, dear brother. Tell me all about myself.”

But Sleipnir only smiled at his brother, and Loki chuckled before he shrugged and said finally: “Maybe you have a point. I'm not being a great conversationalist right now. But can you really blame me? I mean, you wouldn't believe the last few days, honestly. It's been a terrible mess. I mean, I'm not talking to you through a puppet because it's fun, you know.”

“It must at least be a little fun.” Sleipnir remarked, and Loki looked thoughtful before he shrugged again. “Why, if I could control a puppet...”

“Now, now, get your mind out of the gutter, because I know that's inevitably where it goes. No morning wood for you, young stallion.” Loki said seriously, and Sleipnir chuckled before the trickster gestured kindly outward with his puppet as he said pleasantly: “No, no. Before I was so rudely interrupted before, I actually had something else I wanted to say to you, you know. Because I was the brains, certainly, but I helped you with your brawn too, now didn't I?”

“Aye. And 'tis not something I have ever forgotten. Pray tell, Loki, for thy presence was hidden to me until I was close, but this other that I felt... is it indeed...”

“You boys and your toys. Not that I'm one to talk, being a boy who loves his toys himself.” Loki said mildly, patting his own chest a few times before he gave a slight smile. “It sure is, though. The one thing, however, old pal, is that you're going to have to try and earn those stripes again yourself. And I'm sure you remember how Dad felt about how you 'earned' things, right?”

Sleipnir only smiled indulgently, not so much as flinching even as the world shook as a massive hand tore out of the earth behind the puppet. Sleipnir's eyes flicked up ever-so-slightly, curious more than anything else, as the immense, iron-skinned biped lifted itself free from where it had hidden, Loki grinning and cracking his wooden fingers as the huge, horned-helmeted beast behind him straightened ominously.

“I don't know why people think we wear the helmets with the wings and the horns. All you macho men ever wanted to do was take your shirts off. And all I ever wanted to do was hide in my furs. I mean, corn on a cob, was it ever cold where we went!”

“Aye, even Asgard could be very cold at times, could it not?” Sleipnir agreed, and Loki grunted and nodded in agreement before Sleipnir let his eyes rove over the Iron Giant before him before he gave a slight smile, unable to deny the way his gaze roved towards the simple, block-headed hammer that had been strapped in to one gauntlet, secured by chains and ribbons and magical power to a metal fist that had been welded shut around it.

“'Tis good to see thee, old friend. What, art thou going to start an argument already?” Sleipnir joked jovially, before he stomped a hoof and grinned wryly. “Well, we always were good at arguing, were we not? Mjolnir, 'tis good to see thou hast not changed at all since last we met... but aye, what could make a stubborn rock like thou ever change thy ways?”

The hammer reverberated faintly, and the Loki puppet chuckled before he said mildly: “I see that you haven't lost your touch. Good. But let's see how that new body of yours handles a foe from the past: I'm sure you remember what these golems were used for, yes?”

“I do, brother. As I remember how they were made and how they betrayed us.” Sleipnir answered politely, before he drew his eyes up to the featureless face of the Iron Giant, gazing into the depths of darkness beneath its horned helm as he said calmly: “I seek no quarrel with thee. And if we must fight anyway, then I wish thee good fortune and godspeed, friend! But I do fear thou hast something of mine I would dearly like back...”

The Iron Giant looked down at the hammer grafted into its clenched gauntlet, and then it rumbled before it stretched this out towards Sleipnir over the Loki puppet, who scowled as Sleipnir brightened and began to reach up-

The Iron Giant smashed Sleipnir across the face with the hammer, sending him rocketing backward, and the Loki puppet cackled loudly, holding his sides as he swayed backwards before he squeaked when he was slapped viciously aside by the other hand of the Iron Giant.

“I didn't deserve that.” Loki whined from the sidelines, and then the puppet brushed at himself before he sat up, just in time to watch as Sleipnir leapt back towards the Iron Giant, and was firmly slapped to the ground like a child, the trickster snorting in amusement as he called helpfully: “Hey, try not to lead with your face!”

“I am trying not to, but 'tis very difficult, as my face happens to be ahead of the rest of my body.” Sleipnir said almost apologetically as he picked himself up, eyeing the enormous golem for a moment as it squared its shoulders and set itself. He measured it quickly: it was faster than he had expected, and now that it wasn't just looming over him, he could see it was built narrower, too, with its armor designed to form natural, dangerous edges and ridges that would make it difficult to strike and impossible to grapple.

The claw that was welded shut around the hammer was a little too small for the rest of its frame, but the perfect size for the weapon; conversely, its other hand was oversized, a heavy, spiky gauntlet that had already done more damage to the stallion than he wanted to admit.

The Iron Giant gestured at him, and Sleipnir smiled wryly before he dashed suddenly forward, but the Iron Giant was ready for him, slamming Mjolnir down with a snarl. Sleipnir barely managed to twist to the side, narrowly avoiding being caught by the attack before he leapt forward-

The Iron Giant yanked Mjolnir upward, striking Sleipnir with the backswing and knocking him into the air, before the earth pony gasped in pain as a vicious punch smashed him down back-first into the ground,. He barely managed to get his front hooves between himself and the giant's punch, grinning wryly as he slowly pressed back against the huge metal fist bearing slowly down against him. “Thou art far fiercer than I had expected, friend! 'Tis more of a pleasure than I should be willing to admit to face thee!”

The Iron Giant responded by raising Mjolnir high, but Sleipnir only grinned before he suddenly slammed both rear legs up into the wrist of the behemoth, knocking its hand loose and letting him quickly roll backwards, narrowly avoiding being pounded into the earth by the hammer. He quickly shot to the side, just managing to duck when the hammer swung at him again before he skidded to a stop and flung himself at the back of the Iron Giant's leg, slamming a hoof into it and knocking the metal warrior to a kneel.

The Iron Giant narrowly caught itself on its hands, then it roared as it slammed both its fist and Mjolnir into the ground, the earth rupturing around the kneeling beast and making Sleipnir stagger. The stallion didn't react in time to avoid a swing of the Iron Giant's arm, squawking as he was knocked crashing backwards before his eyes widened as the Iron Giant thrusted Mjolnir towards the sky.

Thunder crackled through the cloudless air above, before there was a mighty, powerful boom, and a pulse of static tore through the air towards Sleipnir. But the earth pony narrowly managed to roll out of the way, grinning wryly as he called: “I see thou hast not lost any of thy might, old friend!”

The Iron Giant shoved itself up off the ground, flinging himself through the air towards Sleipnir as it drew the hammer back, but Sleipnir only watched for a moment before he suddenly leapt straight up, the hammer just scratching across his breastplate before one of his front hooves slammed into the face of the Iron Giant, knocking its head before the enormous earth pony seized it around the neck and yanked it out of the air to slam it savagely down on its back.

The earth shook with the force of impact before the Iron Giant seized Sleipnir and flung him backwards: the earth pony attempted to catch himself, but then a swing of the hammer smashed into him, knocking him crashing head-over-heels as Loki called loudly: “We just had that talk about not leading with your face, remember?”

Sleipnir rolled to a halt with a groan, and then he smiled wryly before he rubbed slowly at his bloody head, opening and closing his mouth testingly. His cheekbone was broken, his eye swollen, his nose and mouth bloody, and yet he only chuckled before he remarked: “Aye, so I do recall, brother. But I fear perhaps I have gotten too used to always having a friend by my side, to cover me when I am foolish. I have never been very good alone.”

“Well, I suppose some things never change.” Loki remarked, before he sighed and added, as the Iron Giant lumbered towards the earth pony: “Please tell me you aren't really going to make me save your ass, though.”

“Oh, nay, I have him just where I want him!” Sleipnir exclaimed cheerfully, before he glanced up dumbly as the Iron Giant lunged suddenly and swung his hammer down, Mjolnir crashing down on Sleipnir's head with a sickening crack.

The Loki puppet flinched ever-so-slightly as Sleipnir twitched for a moment, then smiled wryly even as a few broken vines fell around his head, a bit of blood rolling down from the crack in his skull as he said softly: “Aye, I have him right where I want him.”

Sleipnir's forelegs wrapped tightly around the Iron Giant's wrist before he twisted savagely, metal squealing and cracking loudly before the Iron Giant roared in surprise and pain as Sleipnir yanked backwards as he leapt away, ripping the fused hand and hammer completely free from the Iron Giant's arm.

The behemoth staggered backwards in surprise, debris and slivers of metal flaing away from the wound as Sleipnir landed with a grin, his eyes blazing, torn ribbon and broken chain and steel falling away as the stallion held his mighty hammer out to the side in one hoof, declaring: “Aye, now that is a feeling I had all but forgotten! How does it feel, old friend?”

Mjolnir sparked in Sleipnir's grip, and the stallion smiled before he grinned when the Iron Giant suddenly lunged at him: with ease, he swung his massive hammer out, smashing apart the metal claw that reached for him in a single blow before he spun around and slammed both rear hooves into the groin of the steel warrior, knocking it crashing backwards with a tremendous bang.

Sleipnir laughed loudly as he leapt forward, swinging his hammer down into the breast of the handless goliath before it could shove itself up to knock it flat on its back before he landed on it with a thump. He stood on it for a moment, posed proudly on three legs with his heavy hammer against his shoulder, rawhide handle comfortable and wonderfully familiar in his grip as he smiled at his vanquished foe, before he suddenly turned towards Loki and asked: “Tell me, brother: is there room for mercy? I remember these creatures well. 'Twas our failings that made them what they were, not any fault of their own. Even if 'tis only a construct, still, I would spare it.”

“Same old Thor.” Loki said softly, before he smiled slightly and said quietly: “Kindness isn't strength.”

The Loki puppet thrummed, and a moment later, Sleipnir was blown off his hooves as the Iron Giant beneath him simply exploded in a torrent of flame and shrapnel, knocking the earth pony crashing backward with a gasp of pain. He landed on his back, blinking blearily, staring at the sky in betrayed confusion, and Loki chuckled quietly before his puppet calmly climbed up to its feet and walked slowly over to gaze down at Sleipnir with a mix of sympathy and disappointment. “Little Thor, little Thor. When you were a child, you were so angry. Weren't you? Dad had to send you away, as a matter of fact. And when you came back, you were so very proud, so very prideful. But between me and what happened in Jötunnheim...”

“Mistakes were made, Loki. And they are mistakes... I shan't make again.” Sleipnir answered as some of the sense returned to his eyes, the stallion straightening slightly as he clutched his hammer tight, breathing slowly in and out as he looked up at the puppet, and the puppet gazed coldly down at him. “Tell me, brother. Was this thy plan all along?”

“You hurt me, Thor! And you think too much of yourself. No, if I wanted to bring you to the Void, I know that all I'd have to do is ask. I just wanted to make a point.” Loki responded calmly as he gestured towards the earth pony, saying quietly: “Freya gets it. Brynhild certainly gets it. I need you to get it too, you see. That if you stand against me, well... I won't hesitate to do whatever has to be done to deal with you. Do I make myself clear?”

Sleipnir smiled faintly, then he shook his head slowly before he murmured: “Aye. But 'twas clear enough from the start, brother. I truly do wish it did not have to be this way, though: I do not desire to fight thee-”

“Well, we can't always get what we want, Thor. Sometimes all we can do is make the best of what we have.” Loki said gently, before the puppet reached down and gently tapped Sleipnir's nose, saying softly: “Chin up. When this is all said and done, you'll thank me, you'll see. There'll be no hard feelings.”

“There are none now, brother. For thou art my brother, though and through, and I only hope... thou knows what thou art doing.” Sleipnir smiled faintly, and then he chuckled quietly before he held up his hammer, adding gently: “Thou hast my thanks, at least, for returning this to me. Thou always hast been too kind to me.”

Loki only shrugged, before the puppet made a brief little gesture, and vanished, leaving Sleipnir alone with his thoughts as he cradled his hammer against his breast, closing his eyes as he listened to the voice of his friend and reflected how, in spite of everything, he wouldn't change the life he'd lived for the world.