Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

More Than A Weapon

Chapter One Hundred and Ten: More Than A Weapon
~BlackRoseRaven

Cadence slowly woke up, her entire body in agony, the Swan silent. And yet she knew she had died. She felt warm, though, and above her, the sky seemed to be swirling and dancing, and there were beautiful arcs and twists of light shooting back and forth through the air, chaotic fractals twisting for her, in endless, untamed ballet.

Was she dead-dead? Was this the Void? Had Loki won?

She felt warmth.

Cadence blinked slowly, and she let her head roll to the side to see Thesis laying beside her, his eyes half-closed, his limbs embracing her tightly against his chest. As she came to, she realized that she could hear his exoskeleton buzzing brokenly away, like he'd broken the goddamn thing.

“Have to be a hero, don't you?” she asked quietly, smiling faintly at him, and Thesis chuckled quietly before he gave a small smile back as he reached up to touch her smooth white features, then silently stroke up to her forehead, and Cadence scowled a bit before she mumbled: “My horn is gone, isn't it?”

“Completely. But you're more beautiful without it.” Thesis said softly, and Cadence smiled faintly despite herself even as fear gnawed at her about how she was supposed to use her magic now, before she winced slightly as he gently tapped on her forehead. “We could get you one of those dot things that Miss Take wears. I know, you don't like jewelry that much, but you could make an exception.”

“Really taken with that, huh?” Cadence asked softly, and she smiled again: here they were, both of them exhausted, laying in the middle of a city-turned-battlefield on the dirty street, and there was nowhere else she'd rather be. She had just died, and yet all she felt was warmth.

Well, warmth, and a growing itch, her bangs falling across her face before she murmured: “We should probably get off the ground. And... Stronghold is still out there. The last thing we need is for her to catch us like this.”

“Yes, it's bad enough when we catch you like this, after all.” Miss Take said gently, and Cadence rolled her eyes before she carefully pushed herself up and turned towards the Changeling, doing her best to keep her head high in spite of the changes she knew were evident.

Miss Take, to her credit, only faltered slightly before she smiled and held up the mare's fallen helmet, saying softly: “Not that I think you need to hide anything, of course. But you might not always have a handsome stallion around to catch you when you fall.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Cadence said after a moment, giving a brief smile before she stood up with a grimace, her hind legs cracking as she stretched out to stand on the tips of her hooves as she straightened her back, putting her front hooves in the center of her back for a moment before she cracked her spine, then sighed and relaxed, slumping into a natural stance.

She frowned as she realized she was looking down at Miss Take, who stared up at her with surprise, and Cadence looked back and forth curiously as she realized she towered over the other ponies, blinking again before she asked disbelievingly: “I didn't grow that much, did I?”

Thesis cleared his throat as he clambered to his own hooves, pointing down, and Cadence looked dumbly down before she winced and stepped backwards, staring in disbelief as she realized she was standing on her hind legs, her body twisted like... like... like the old days.

No, that was going a bit far. But this was different from the awkward forced-stance that Veliuona had adopted, or the way she felt when she reared up for quick melee with her hooves. The only discomfort came from the fact that her armor was ill-fitted for the way her body had... changed. I changed again. How much this time?

She silently reached up and touched her own breast, before she looked down at one of her hooves, flexing it slowly: that felt strange, too. Like it was ready to become something different, if she just concentrated a little harder.

She grimaced, then dropped forward on instinct, and she felt bones and flesh shift as she landed on all fours and became quadrupedal again. And there was a very real sense of going from two legs and two not-legs-anymore to four, which made her shiver a little.

But she did her best to ignore it for now as she reached out and took her helmet from Miss Take, before she scowled as she shook her head slightly, long white hair wafting like silk around her as she muttered: “It'd be really nice if this didn't always grow back.”

“Well, I like it. But I can chop it off for you if you want me to.” Thesis said with a smile, shrugging amiably, and Cadence smiled briefly at him before she shook her head, concentrating...

Nothing happened, and Cadence scowled as she remembered she didn't have a horn, reaching up to touch her head and grumbling: “This is going to be just great. I guess uh... yeah, let's just get rid of it.”

“Oh, darling! Don't be so negative.” Miss Take half-chastised with a smile as she slipped quickly behind Cadence, and the ivory mare did her best not to fidget too much as the half-Changeling yanked her mane back before quickly balling it into a bun as she complimented: “It's very light and easy to work with. You're a very interesting creature, Cadence.”

Cadence began to open her mouth to reply, and then she felt something nudge at her instincts. Her eyes narrowed slightly as they focused on Electra, who was staring raptly into the distance, and then she felt the panic, the terror that washed through the Changeling, even before her face changed and she started to open her mouth- “I know.”

All eyes stared at Cadence, and the ivory mare shrugged Miss Take back before shoving her helmet over her messy mane, turning around with a scowl as she shouted: “Show your face, asshole!”

“Oh, are you trying to hurt my feelings, little nag? You'll have to try harder than that.” came the contemptible response, and Cadence narrowed her eyes as Stronghold slunk out of a nearby alley, her eyes locked on Cadence; but in spite of her tone and her scowl, what Cadence felt most from Stronghold was jealousy and envy. “So, broodmare. Is this what Loki meant when he said you were difficult to kill? Because it doesn't seem all that hard to me.”

“You're free to try your luck, Stronghold.” Cadence growled, even though she still couldn't feel the Swan in her mind and her body still felt strange, almost alien, to her. Then she looked to the side in surprise as Moonflower shakily stepped forward on trembling legs, his eyes locked on the Draekin.

“You... you'll have to go through me if you want to hurt anyone else, Stronghold.” Moonflower said in a voice that quavered only slightly, but he seemed to steady even as Stronghold turned a disgusted look to him. “We never finished before.”

“True. I do have to kill you. But I'd prefer to kill your friends, first. You have dessert after your dinner.” Stronghold said contemptibly, before she gave a cold smile as she mocked: “Or are you offering yourself up as an appetizer, worm?”

“Hey, Stronghold. Why are you such a bitch?” Thesis asked plaintively as he stepped forward, and Stronghold eyed him moodily before the stallion said in a colder, more-serious voice: “Bondye and Veliuona have both been eliminated. They aren't going to return. They've been dissolved completely. Do you really want to be the next Voidborn to be erased?”

“Either I'll return to the Void or I won't. I don't care. I ceased to care a long time ago.” Stronghold snorted as she flexed a claw slowly, and Cadence scowled as her eyes traveled uneasily over the Draekin. She could see something else there, something burnt and damaged, but it was hidden under the layers of plate mail Stronghold wore, just as she tried to hide her eyes under that heavy grille over her face. “I could ask you the same, though. I smell you. You're dying. You should have been back in the Void a long time ago, but you're dragging your life out here... killing yourself. For what? For the nag?”

“She's not a nag. Nags just nag. She mostly smacks me around to get what she wants.” Thesis answered mildly, before he said in a softer voice: “I have my reasons to stay here. But you don't. Loki got whatever he came for-”

“Yes, revenge. More lives for the Void.” Stronghold said, and Cadence's eyes narrowed slightly at this as Thesis tilted his head curiously. Stronghold only gave a jarring laugh, however, saying disgustedly: “Oh, please. Isn't it obvious? Loki is attacking worlds, taking lives where it suits him and where it will send a message. He has to kill and absorb the energy of souls to become more powerful; but the worlds he destroys are always related to those who have... become unpleasant to his eyes. We did the same thing in the old days. We needed ponies to carry our supplies and drag our war machines. We needed meat for slaughter. We needed treasure. The ponies we took, the meat we slaughtered, the treasure we stole could come from any Equestrian city we passed, but we always chose the ones that most annoyed us.”

Thesis grimaced, and Stronghold smiled grimly before she said quietly: “You might scowl, but I see it in your eyes. You understand, don't you? When someone doesn't listen, you hurt them. You hurt them until they understand that it's meaningless to resist. You make a point, so all the other cowards know to keep their heads down, and to weed out the ones who are too stupid to understand.”

Stronghold lowered her head, then she shook her head slowly before she muttered: “Everything is power, and power is meaningless, because all it takes is one traitor to sneak up behind you and stab you in the back to take it all away. We live for no reason but to kill others and spread our own kind and then kill our own kind, with no justice for the righteous, no punishment for the wicked. Only what we inflict on each other.”

“It doesn't have to be that way. Stronghold, your sister-”

“Weak. Charlatan. Stupid... faithful.” Stronghold laughed shortly, shaking her head slowly before she closed her eyes behind her mask and muttered: “Don't talk to me about my sister. Throna deserved...”

But even Stronghold couldn't force herself to be that bitter, that cruel, and Moonflower smiled faintly before he shook his head and stepped hesitantly forward, saying quietly: “We could take you to her. You don't have to fight anymore, Stronghold. Or fight with us! I... I want to offer you a second chance, because I got a second chance, even after everything I did.”

Moonflower smiled widely, even as tears shone in his eyes and his body shook with embarrassment and fear, and Stronghold stared at him as the unicorn said: “Because you lost a world, too. Be... I don't want to be your enemy, so... so be my friend.”

Stronghold stared at him, and then she shook her head slowly before she looked down at the ground, laughing quietly before she said bitterly: “Be your friend. The plea of ponies everywhere. Nonsense. Celestia, she said that same thing to me, before I killed her.”

Stronghold rose her head, saying in a colder, harder voice: “No. I will not be your 'friend,' Moonflower. What an embarrassment you are: at least the nag is willing to fight. But you're broken anyway, aren't you, with your sick love of other stallions. Is it because you envy mares, or is it something deeper, more pathological? You disgust me. You need to be fixed. And if you can't be fixed, then you need to be destroyed. All this universe needs to be destroyed, burnt away to nothing. All these lies need to cleansed by the truth that nothing we do matters, and we are all alone.”

“The universe didn't lie to you, Stronghold. All you've done is lie to yourself.” Moonflower said quietly, and Stronghold snarled before she lunged forward, slashing a claw down at him, but Moonflower didn't so much as flinch as it slammed into the ground in front of him, the two meeting each other's eyes through the mask of the Draekin's grille before he murmured: “I'm not afraid of you anymore.”

“Good. I'll teach you to be afraid again.” Stronghold stepped forward and lashed her foreleg up, but Thesis caught the back of her claw before he shoved it backward, knocking Stronghold stumbling.

“You can't fight all of us at once.” he said quietly, and Stronghold grinned as she stepped backward, wings spreading and flapping powerfully once, her eyes glowing with cold fury.

“I am the Killing Light. And you are all no different from the heroes and soldiers and saviors of Equestria that I slew in the past.” growled Stronghold, and then she set herself as her flanged tail slammed down against the road behind her, roaring: “I am Stronghold Halfdragon, and I will burn you all!”

Stronghold's horn glowed, and Cadence winced as she sensed what was coming before Stronghold lashed out and sent two massive, crisscrossed crescents of light ripping through the air towards them.

Moonflower gritted his teeth as he stepped forward and slashed his own horn down, blasting the crescents of light into shards with a pulse of magic, and Stronghold reared back in surprise before she grinned slowly, digging her claws into the street as she growled: “Your magic is more powerful. Good. You'll need it.”

Stronghold lunged forward, twisting her body so her mace-tail could slam down towards Moonflower, who winced as he flung himself out of the way and narrowly avoided being crushed into the street. Stronghold's tail shattered cobblestone like cheap plastic, but then mire erupted over her tail, trying to trap her in sticky strings of black ooze.

Stronghold barely twitched, however, ripping her tail easily back as she snorted in contempt before she flicked her horn almost dismissively, blowing Thesis off his hooves in a thrum of telekinesis. “A slave hoof is forever a slave hoof!”

Thesis winced as he crashed back into something, before he grinned awkwardly and looked up at Cadence as he realized she had caught him. She was glaring at Stronghold, but then she grimaced when Thesis said pointedly: “Protect the others.”

“I hate you.” Cadence muttered, but then she nodded, shoving Thesis forward as she reluctantly took a step back, watching as Moonflower clumsily led Stronghold away, but the Draekin was focused almost entirely on the unicorn, the mare gritting her teeth before she looked back at Shining Armor. “You better get ready. If Stronghold gets desperate she might turn on us. Thesis, don't screw up.”

Stronghold roared in frustration as she stormed after Moonflower, leaping at him and snarling in frustration when he teleported away, the Draekin instead crashing into the wall of a building. She shoved herself off it with enough violence to nearly collapse the wall, trying to tackle the unicorn, but he snapped his horn down and blasted her out of the air with a thrum of gravity.

Stronghold bellyflopped to the ground, but then she only snorted in contempt, slowly forcing herself back to her claws even as Moonflower gritted his teeth and focused his powers further, trying to pin her down. Stronghold snarled in effort as her muscles flexed with such power her scales threatened to tear, the edges of her armor grinding into her body with enough force to saw through her hide as she rasped: “I know what you're trying to do.”

She staggered towards him, but Moonflower stumbled backward, keeping a safe ten feet of distance between them as Stronghold continued in a hiss: “But all you're doing is separating yourself from your friends, from the ponies you need to protect you, herd animal. And if you won't fight me, Moonflower, all you're going to do is prolong the inevitable with these stupid... tricks!”

Stronghold roared as she snapped her head back, a pulse of power ripping out of her body and dispelling Moonflower's magic with such violence that he was knocked crashing and rolling backwards. Stronghold immediately pounced after him, but Moonflower snapped his horn forward as he crashed down on his back, knocking the Draekin backwards with a psychokinetic hammer.

The Killing Light twisted her body around in midair, backflipping and landing with a grin before she slashed her own horn down, and Moonflower squawked as he flung himself to the side, scrambling to get out of the way of a series of golden lasers before Stronghold leapt suddenly forward, intercepting him on the flank as she slashed a claw down and knocked the stallion rolling painfully in the other direction.

But to her surprise, Moonflower managed to catch himself and twist around in a circle, blasting her with a torrent of black flames and knocking her skidding backwards until she managed to dig her claws into the street, grinning coldly as she rasped: “Better.”

Stronghold leaned forward and roared, breathing out a torrent of golden hell-flame, and Moonflower gritted his teeth as he reared back even as his horn flashed, summoning a swirling rift of darkness that absorbed the flames. Stronghold snarled as the flames whiffed out, before she slammed her tail back into the cobblestone street again, sending up chunks of rock that she caught in telekinesis so she could lob them one after the other into the air, then send them rocketing down at Moonflower.

The stallion winced as a jagged rock smashed off his armored body, knocking him staggering as the rift snapped shut in front of him, before he narrowly flung himself out of the way when the other rocks slammed into the earth around him. He snapped his horn forward, but Stronghold plowed through the blast of black flame and tackled him, her mouth opening as fire licked around her jaws-

Moonflower fired a blast of dark energy straight down her throat, and the Draekin choked and coughed as she staggered backwards, smog pouring out of her jaws as she shook her head wildly. She snarled as she snapped her head up, but then staggered with a gasp when a blast of magic slammed into her face, ripping her helmet off and sending it clattering across the street.

Stronghold snarled, and Moonflower stared at her with disbelief: her scarred features looked almost like they had been skinned, and he knew that hadn't been from his attack. Stronghold took advantage of his moment of shock to leap forward, swinging a claw at him, but she was halted by a series of black spikes that ripped out of the earth in front of her.

She snarled, looking back over her shoulder with disgust as Thesis said quietly: “Careful there, Stronghold. You're going to burn yourself out. Looks like you've already done enough damage to yourself as it is coming back from the Void early.”

“Pain has always been at my side.” Stronghold growled, raising her head slightly before she asked contemptibly, as her eyes flicked to the group of ponies in the distance: “Do you really think that the two of you alone can kill me? That you've actually 'separated' me from the rest of your herd? That I couldn't just rip straight through you both if I wanted to?”

Stronghold glanced at the spikes of corruption between her and Moonflower, and she smiled callously before she stretched a claw out, pressing her palm against the tip of one spike before she slowly pushed down, the crystallized corruption pushing through scale, then flesh, then out the other side of her claw as she said quietly: “Do you think I care at all what happens to this husk?”

“Horses of Heaven, lady, get some drugs or something.” Thesis blurted with a wince, and Stronghold snorted before she suddenly turned towards him, lashing her claw out and splattering blood over the stallion's face, and Thesis flinched away with a wince, swearing and grabbing at his eyes before Stronghold lunged forward and slammed a fist across his muzzle with a crack, knocking him to the ground in a heap.

She seized the stallion by the neck and spun around as the corruption collapsed into muck, flinging the Replicant at Moonflower. The unicorn caught Thesis with a wince in telekinesis, then he hurriedly flung Thesis skyward before his horn gave a second pulse of magic as Stronghold charged at him, and a plate of earth erupted out of the street and smashed into the Draekin, nearly knocking her off her feet.

She roared in frustration as she recovered, seizing the almost-solid plate of earth and tearing it loose before she flung it viciously at Moonflower, but he ducked under it before catching Thesis again in telekinesis and tossing him to the side, the Replicant wincing but twisting around to land on his hooves as Stronghold leapt at Moonflower and breathed out a deadly stream of golden flame.

The unicorn winced as he shielded himself against the firebreath, but the golden flames rapidly ate away at his magic, licking greedily at his body as they burned through his shield. Then one of Stronghold's claws lashed through the inferno, catching him across the face and knocking him sprawling before she lunged on top of him, seizing his throat as she grinned down at him, dropping her armored weight over his body with a snarl as she glared down into his eyes with fury.

Moonflower stared up at her, choking, and Stronghold's grin stretched wider for a moment, but then it died on her lips. She scowled instead, looking slowly to the side at Thesis as he dropped out of the charge at her and stood at the ready instead, before she looked back over her shoulder with a scowl at the cluster of ponies behind her, La Croix and Cadence both leaning forwards on their hooves, as if they could barely hold themselves back.

Then her eyes returned to Moonflower as he breathed hard, looking up at her as she looked down at him. Her claws shifted, gently grasping his face, tilting his head back and forth, and Moonflower remained passive under her, breathing quietly and looking up at her, uneasy but also unafraid.

Her eyes flicked up, looking again at Moonflower's friends, frowning strangely as she took in the sight of them, before her eyes roved back down to the unicorn beneath her, studying him again. He remained unmoving, and yet it didn't seem to be fear that had him paralyzed, as he leaned ever-so-slightly to one side, a hoof half-raised, not to strike, but as if gesturing at his friends not to move. Not to interfere. Not to stop the inevitable.

“Disappointing. Disgusting. Filthy animal.” Stronghold said distastefully, and yet with a strange, bitter affection, before she grasped his horn as she leaned down, tilting her head back as she said softly: “Cut it.”

“No.” Moonflower whispered, and Stronghold narrowed her eyes before she pulled higher on his horn, pressing the tip to her throat, sinking it through scale-

Moonflower yanked back, cutting her palm open, and Stronghold flexed her claws slowly as energy steamed from the wound as he gritted his teeth. His horn began to glow, but Stronghold only grinned, asking bitterly: “Going to knock me back again? What are you waiting for, for me to run out of energy, to destroy myself? Or are you hoping that someone else will kill me for you? Or do you just want to die, is that it?”

Moonflower remained silent, and the two looked at each other for a few moments before Stronghold snorted and stood, saying moodily: “You had me excited. I was anticipating a fight. But now I'm disappointed, and bored of playing with you. I could kill you, but what would that accomplish when you're all but giving yourself to me?”

Stronghold eyed Moonflower distastefully, and then she turned and strode towards the group of ponies, stopping in front of Cadence and eyeing her for a few moments before she asked contemptibly: “What about you? Do you have the fortitude to kill me? Or are you going to be like this coward, and pull your punches in the pathetic hope I'll somehow become your new best friend?”

“I don't think Moonflower wants to be friends with you. I think he just doesn't want to get his hooves dirty.” Cadence shot back, before she stepped forwards and met Stronghold's eyes fearlessly. “But I don't mind.”

Stronghold met her gaze evenly, and then she gave a cold smile before she glanced back over her shoulder with a scowl when Moonflower said quietly: “I'll fight you. I'll stop you if I have to, but I'll do it my way.”

Stronghold chuckled, turning a cruel smile towards Moonflower before she scowled when he added in a braver voice: “But you aren't fighting with your full strength, either. You're fighting like... like you want to die, Stronghold. Maybe all this talk about how nothing matters is getting to you, not to us. Maybe even you can't pretend that... once you take your stupid revenge, or whatever this is, you'll no longer have any reason to fight. You'll no longer have any reason to live.

There was silence for a moment, and then, to Cadence's surprise, Stronghold actually relaxed as she said softly: “All that excites me anymore is the fight. Nothing matters, no, but there still is... was, a thrill in fighting. And yes, I think often about revenge. I think about all the ways I want to draw out your death. I think about how I want to crush you, destroy you... the pleasure I felt when I proved my superiority before. I want that again.

“But fighting for Loki, even if it's killing a chunk of mare-flesh like you...” Stronghold scowled in disgust, shaking her head with a grimace. “It takes away my enjoyment. Unlike the scavengers like Sol Seraph and Cancer, or that worthless scumbucket Ignominious, what I desire most is a challenge. I look at you... weakened, beaten, bloody. I feel no pleasure in beating you at your worst, when you refuse to fight back. I am no scavenger. I have my pride.

“Nothing matters. Not me, not you, not Loki's idiocy.” Stronghold rose her head, giving a thin smile. “But still, I miss that momentary bliss of the fight. I want to recapture it. I don't care who wins or loses, if I am the victor or the fallen. I only care that you entertain me. And now? You're boring.”

Stronghold snorted, before Thesis said quietly: “If you join us, you'll have nothing but powerful enemies to fight. Think about it. All those people from the Void you hate. And your sister-”

“Don't talk about Throna.” Stronghold said coldly, before she turned her eyes towards Moonflower and said contemptibly: “You've never fought me with your full strength unless lives were on the line. Likely because you recognize the worthlessness of your own. So I'll tell you what, Moonflower: find me at the castle when you're ready to fight. I've already taken the rulers of this world hostage, as per Loki's instructions. If you fail to arrive within the hour, I'll kill them all.”

“Wait, we can talk-” But before Thesis could finish, Stronghold had already taken to the air, flapping her wings and flying off towards the castle in the distance.

Moonflower stared after her, and then he smiled before he lowered his head and whispered: “I'm sorry, everyone. I... I don't know why, but I couldn't fight her. Maybe she's right about me. Maybe I'm just too weak. I don't want to kill...”

“That's not weakness.” Cadence said softly as she approached, giving a small smile before she glanced over at Thesis, asking after a moment: “What do you think of what she said?”

Thesis was silent for a moment, lowering his head and mulling over what Stronghold had inadvertently revealed before he glanced up as Chrysalis asked grouchily: “Does it matter? Look, as much as I don't like... well, any of them, we should probably go and save the stupid royals from her.”

“I don't think it will be quite that simple, dear.” Miss Take said carefully, but then she cocked her head curiously when Moonflower shook his head almost vehemently as the ponies rejoined one-another, but he calmed after a moment as he looked up in embarrassment, giving a small smile.

“No, it's... I'll deal with Stronghold. I... I will.” Moonflower promised, before he glanced up in surprise when Sombra gently touched his shoulder, smiling at him kindly.

“You are not alone. And it is understandable that you do not want to kill, even her: she is still of your world. Why would you want to destroy yet another fragment of that?” Sombra gently squeezed Moonflower's shoulder, saying softly: “There is great strength in mercy.”

“Yeah. Definitely. Great strength, really. Can we go before more of those spirit zombie things show up?” Chrysalis asked loudly, shivering a little as she looked back and forth moodily. “I don't really care who kills who but I'd really rather no one kill me.”

“Oh, Chrissy. Who would want to kill you? You're not important enough for that.” Miss Take reassured kindly, and Chrysalis scowled horribly at the half-Changeling, before Miss Take turned a more-serious look towards Moonflower, adding quietly: “I hope, though, dear, that you are prepared to do whatever it is you have to do. Even if the Voidborn started behaving strangely...”

“I saw strings. I think she was being controlled.” Electra said softly, and the others looked up in surprise before Electra bit her lip, then she gestured with her head towards the castle, murmuring: “I can almost feel her instability from here. We should move. She may kill the princesses out of hoof. She is volatile.”

Moonflower nodded, taking a slow breath before he turned, letting Thesis and Cadence take the lead. La Croix joined him after a moment as Sombra stayed supportively at his side, and Shining Armor let himself fall back to the last in line, following Miss Take, Electra, and Chrysalis down the wide street as the Changelings muttered among themselves.

La Croix looked at Moonflower, then he said quietly: “Listen, mon ami. When we get a chance, I'll heal you up. But I hope you know your life be more valuable than hers. Maybe that ain't sayin' a whole lot, considerin' who and what she be, but... don't second guess yourself.”

Moonflower hesitated, and then he lowered his head and murmured: “I don't know what it is. I don't know when I stopped trying to kill her and started trying to stop her... I... I don't know.”

He dropped his head forward, mumbling: “I just don't know.”

La Croix smiled despite himself, and then he said softly: “There you go again, Moony, second-guessin' yourself. That's why you such a rube and all the damn couyons try to to take advantage of you.”

Moonflower huffed a little at this, before he hesitated, then looked back over his shoulder and asked: “Dear, what did you mean when you said she was being controlled?”

Electra smiled as she looked up, then she said hesitantly: “Well, I don't know if I would quite go so far as to say she is a puppet, but... did you not feel it? She came to life as she fought. She found her will. It is well-hidden in her nihilism, but there is a spark in there, still, some... desire to cling to life, a powerful will. But it feels almost as if there is some kind of hook, hidden in her mind, compelling her to act the way she is.”

Electra tasted her words, licking her lips slowly before she shook her head and murmured: “It's hard to say. It's something I feel. I think she searches for meaning, even now. How she speaks and how she acts are very different things, after all... she has great respect for you.”

Moonflower looked dubious at this, while Thesis snorted, saying wryly: “I always knew that's what that meant. That's why you call me all those names, right, Honk?”

“Shut up.” Cadence said dryly, before she shook her head, strangely wishing the Swan was awake: the Swan was better at reading emotions than she was, after all. But all the same... “I think I get what you mean, Electra. She concentrated on Moonflower. And she wanted him to...”

Cadence frowned slightly at this, before she asked uncertainly: “You don't think...”

“Only time will tell.” answered Electra with a small smile, before she shook her head and murmured, as Chrysalis cocked her head slightly: “Good news. They are frightened, and they will not come out to meet us, but there are still ponies, very much alive.”

“Good. That... Harvester thing must not have been able to move through the entire city.” Cadence said, even if it felt a little halfhearted. So only ninety percent of the population was wiped out instead of everyone...

“It is good. I have come to understand why it is sad, but I fail to understand why you cannot value the lives that were saved. One is always greater than zero.” said the Swan, and Cadence scowled as she looked up at the strange shape of the entity as it strode beside her, looking down at her with calm curiosity through its featureless bird-mask.

“It's not good. We should have done more.” Cadence said grumpily, and most of those present stared at her, which made Cadence wince before she did a double-take as she looked up at the Swan, realizing... that shouldn't be happening. I shouldn't be seeing this. What the hell is going on? “Sorry, I... uh... arguing with the Swan.”

“We are not arguing. I do not think it is an argument. I am merely trying to understand.” the Swan answered in reply, before she looked around as she stretched her strange, scaly fingers out, murmuring: “We have much growing to do, even if we can once more feel the Astra flow through us, as we flow through the Astra. We are everywhere, and nowhere. We will teach you, as you mentor us.”

“Focus on the mission.” Cadence grumbled, both to the Swan and herself, and the Swan studied her strangely before it simply vanished from sight. And yet it wasn't gone: it felt closer than ever, if anything, and Cadence shivered a little before she shook her head when she sensed both her father and Thesis looking at her.

The silence was uncomfortable as they made their way to the castle, but no one knew what to say until they were crossing the bridge towards the forced-open doors of the castle, Miss Take muttering: “This is the work of more than just that nasty creature. Cadence, I hope you don't mind, but I think I'd feel safer keeping your rifle for now, dear...”

“Forgot you still had it. You should keep it.” Cadence muttered as she readied her own daggers, spinning them nervously on either side of her as Thesis pulled down his visor, scanning back and forth with a frown as they entered the castle.

He grimaced at the sight of the entrance hall: it had been torn apart in the conflict, and dead Royal Guard lay across the room, Thesis shaking his head slowly and Electra covering her mouth with a shiver, as Shining murmured: “Goddammit. A lot of these guys were homeguard... just kids in training.”

The group made its way slowly across the hall, before Thesis looked up with a grimace as a body suddenly shifted in spite of the spear that was pinning it down. Miss Take began forward, but Cadence reached out and caught her as Thesis said quietly: “Husk.”

Shining Armor frowned, before he winced and leaned back slightly as the pony half-rolled towards them, unable to tear loose from the spear buried through his body but all the same trying his hardest to stretch out and grasp them as they passed by, glaring callously at the group as they made their way past.

A few other Husks had been either restrained or pinned: here by weapons, there by a collapsed balcony. Chrysalis scowled darkly at them as they passed, while Electra looked ill, murmuring: “Awful things. Awful, empty things. Like hollow drones, devoid of love...”

“They're like the Brokenhearted.” Shining Armor muttered, and Cadence couldn't really argue with that as she gave a faint smile; it was funny, though, how everything kept coming back to that. Maybe all those years ago, that really was nothing more than a prelude to... this.

Cadence wasn't sure whether it was good or bad that they found fewer and fewer signs of combat as they made their way through the castle, and to Cadence's surprise, past the throne room. Moonflower seemed to know just where to go, however, and no one questioned him as he took the lead, looking both anxious and determined all at once.

He brought them up through the galleries, and only slowed as they entered a less-used area of the castle, finally coming to a stop in front of a set of double doors at the end of a long, unused corridor. The dust had been wiped from the floor by something heavy being dragged along, which Cadence guessed meant they were in the right place: but even she hadn't been up here that often in the past, except in the old days, when Celestia...

La Croix reached up and gently shook Moonflower out of the stupor he had fallen into, and the unicorn looked at him dumbly before he smiled faintly when the Loa offered him a bottle, saying softly: “Drink up.”

Moonflower took the bottle, studying it for a moment before he sipped at the contents, then made a face. When La Croix only gave him an amused look, however, the stallion bit his lip before he downed the rest of the contents, and La Croix grinned wryly. “Better, m'seu. Glad to see you can at least pretend to be a real stallion, pédé.”

Moonflower smiled despite himself, and then he turned and faced the doors, breathing slowly before he murmured: “Let's hope you're right, and I can pretend a little longer.”

With that, Moonflower shoved the doors open and strode out into the beautiful, secret square here on the roof of Canterlot, nestled away between its mighty peaks and towers. It was surrounded by beautiful gardens, but Moonflower had no eye for the plants or bushes or trees as he climbed the short flight of marble steps up to the square stage where Stronghold Halfdragon sat.

The Voidborn had removed her armor, her body wrapped in cloth bandages, but bare flesh still clearly visible here and there through the uneven wrapping. Her expression was cold and serene, her head raised proudly, as if she had no shame of the grisly ornaments that hung from the old trees bordering the square.

The princesses had all been savagely beaten, then hung from the trees by ropes. Celestia hung upside down, her mouth agape, her eyes half-open and blinking blearily as drool fell from her jaws and matted her rainbow mane, and Luna shivered, both forelegs limp and broken, making the occasional snuffle or whimper as she twitched weakly, tears rolling down her dirty, bruised cheeks.

Twilight Sparkle had her forelegs bound behind her and was hanging by these and a crude harness belted around her body, the ropes grinding and digging through her hide as a ring around her horn glowed eerily. Her eyes were unseeing, flicking helplessly back and forth as she mumbled silently to herself in broken rhythm, her whole body shaking as magic was constantly extracted from her body to power the barrier that had imprisoned Canterlot.

Cadence scowled darkly, but Moonflower only shook his head slowly before he asked almost desperately: “Why, Stronghold? Why would you do this? What did they do to deserve this?”

“They lived.” Stronghold answered calmly, before she opened her eyes and looked coldly across at Moonflower. “To live is to acknowledge that you may die. That you will die. To live is to be responsible for your place in the chain of existence, and responsible for protecting that.

“We say life is unfair, and that we are cheated of what we deserve. But it is not and we are not. We all get precisely what we deserve, what we have earned.” Stronghold said bitterly, shaking her head slowly in disgust. “What are we? Animals. Filthy animals, both you and I, driven only by one desire, to be alive. I hate it. I hate that I have no reason to exist. I hate that I know these primal pleasures are nothing but the reward for being better, for staying alive, when life itself is meaningless. What does it matter, Moonflower? It all goes back to zero in the end. Why fight?”

“Why fight?” Moonflower echoed back, and Stronghold scowled at him as the unicorn strode forward, asking quietly: “Why fight at all? I don't want to be your enemy. You... please, Stronghold. Loki destroyed our world. Our world. You don't have to do what he says-”

“Except I do.” Stronghold muttered, shaking her head slowly. “He has control over all the Voidborn...” She stopped, then looked at Thesis, studying him coldly. “Or almost all of them, at least. And he threatens my existence. Here or in the Void, I still exist, but only as long as Loki wants me to. I don't want to live, no. I wish my life had been passed over and I had never been born. But I don't want to lie down and die, either.”

“No, you do. You want it to be over. And it is not the pain you fear...” Electra whispered, as she leaned towards Stronghold, who looked back at the Changeling impassively. “It is failure. Is your pride so great that-”

“It's all I have left.” Stronghold slowly climbed to her claws, then she faced Moonflower and growled: “Kill me, or I will kill you.”

There was silence for a moment, and then Moonflower gave a weak smile before he asked quietly: “Why can't you just ask for help, Stronghold?”

“Because we are enemies. And I will not bow my head before you, worthless gelding.” snarled Stronghold, before she lunged forward, sweeping a claw viciously down-

Cadence stepped in front of Stronghold, lashing a knife up and catching her wrist against the blade, the Draekin snarling before the ivory mare twisted viciously to the side and sliced Stronghold's claw completely off. The Voidborn staggered backwards with a roar of shock, eyes bulging as she stared in shock at the stump of steaming wrist, her claw dissolving into energy before it could even hit the ground as Cadence growled: “You aren't fighting him alone. You're fighting all of us.”

Stronghold's snarl twisted into a grin, her eyes blazing as her horn flared with light that seared her wrist shut before she lunged forward, jaws opening wide, but Cadence felt hooves grasp her shoulders, leaning forward and letting Miss Take jackknife her so the Changeling could slam both rear hooves into the Draekin's face and knock her back.

Stronghold recovered almost immediately, but when she lunged again, she smashed into a barrier Shining created before the unicorn snapped his horn down, shattering the barrier into deadly shrapnel that tore across Stronghold's body, frustrating her.

She covered herself with her injured limb, and Cadence immediately shot forwards, slamming a volley of blows into her unprotected body. Stronghold roared in frustration, swinging out and breathing out a gust of golden flame, but Cadence dodged to the side and Miss Take struck suddenly from above, slamming her hooves into the back of Stronghold's head to send her face-first into the ground, cutting off the stream of golden flame before she was staggered again when a green flare erupted into her eyes.

She swung her forelegs out, but both mares dodged before they both plowed forward into the Draekin, pummeling her viciously. But even as Stronghold flinched, she clawed outward, seizing Cadence by the head and yanking her off the ground to slam her into Miss Take, flinging them both away before her horn blazed with magic-

A blast of gravity hammered into her, Moonflower driving the Draekin back as he gritted his teeth, and Stronghold grinned, eyes blazing as her whole body flexed with excitement. She lunged at him, slamming her horn down, but Moonflower met her spire with his own, black and gold lightning sparking through the air around them as they slashed against each other, Moonflower's strength and courage lending him skill, while Stronghold was hindered by her injured limb and the damage she had already suffered.

Stronghold suddenly twisted hard to the side, and she swung her claw out, catching Moonflower by the face and yanking him off the ground before she dropped heavily on her side, crashing to the ground but slamming Moonflower face-first into the stone square beside her. She rolled quickly backwards, her tail snapping up and out, but it crashed uselessly into a shield of energy that Shining Armor summoned before black mire erupted from the ground around Stronghold, pinning her in place.

But it only lasted for a moment before Stronghold roared, a shockwave of golden flame ripping through the air, neutralizing the corruption. She sprang forward, sending up a cloud of mire-turned-dust, but Moonflower rolled quickly to the side, wincing as Stronghold clumsily staggered on three legs but still turned with a snarl after him-

A bottle smashed against her face, and Stronghold hissed before she reared back, grabbing automatically at the sticky substance that had covered her cheek. Her claws stuck in the goop, and she shook herself violently, trying to tear loose from the cement before she grunted in surprise when a stream of black tar hit her horn, before it solidified into crystal.

It smoldered violently when she began to focus her magic, but Cadence had more than enough time to tackle Stronghold from behind, yanking her crippled foreleg up into the center of her back and slamming her face-first into the ground. Her tail snapped up, but Thesis and Sombra both caught this, yanking to the ground and covering it with a mix of sticky mire and immobilizing crystal.

Stronghold roared in fury and frustration, glaring with her single visible eye at Moonflower, flushed with fury and humiliation. She struggled uselessly as the unicorn pushed himself slowly up to his hooves, and then she roared furiously: “Coward! Fight me! Fight me, gelding!”

“If you fight one of us, Stronghold, you fight all of us. We get what we deserve.” Moonflower answered bitterly, shaking his head slowly before he looked silently around at the ponies: the ponies who had all rushed to his aid to help him. To help him stop Stronghold, and more importantly... “I... I won't kill you. I refuse to kill you.”

“What?” Stronghold looked up, eyes flaring with fury and surprise, before she snarled: “Stupid worthless faggot coward!”

“I know why you want to die, Stronghold.” Moonflower said quietly as he approached, looking down at her silently. “I know it's because if I kill you, it gives you a reason to come back. But I'm not going to be that reason anymore. I'm not going to do it, not anymore. You're in the past. Please... please leave that in the past. Please realize you're... more than a weapon.”

Stronghold struggled, then roared, twisting and turning, shaking and shuddering violently before she suddenly stilled, lowering her head slightly, breathing hard in and out before she whispered: “Nothing has any meaning. Nothing. Do you understand how terrifying that is? I just want to go back to the way things were before... was it so bad? It hurt, it thrilled, it was the worst thing in the world... and yet eternal war was so much better than standing on the edge of oblivion. Pretending, for a little while, that I was in charge of my own destiny, that I at least decided my own fate on the battlefield, than to be a servant, a slave, to a power greater than I can fathom, whose sole desire is to finish stripping the little meaning left in the universe, from it. That there was... something, I was serving, whether it was myself or the... the God I wish I could punish. The God that never existed.”

Stronghold breathed slowly in and out, before she looked silently at her stump of wrist, watching as energy steamed off it before she looked up at Moonflower and whispered: “Mercy. Please. Kill me. Give me a reason to come back, Moonflower. Revenge is all I have. Don't take that away from me. Let me pretend this was my own, my only choice.”

Moonflower smiled faintly, and then he said quietly: “Please, Stronghold. You can come back with us. Throna misses you. Who you once were. Come back with us.”

Stronghold stared up at Moonflower for a few moments, and then she gave a faint smile before she closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head briefly before she murmured: “Weak. Pathetic. Stupid and... meaningless. Throna is the future. I am the past. All I can ever be is what the world made me. And I... I still have my pride. All I have left is my pride.”

Stronghold looked up coldly, before she smiled thinly as her horn thrummed, the crystal over the spire shuddering. Sombra began to lean forward, but then Cadence's eyes widened as she realized what Stronghold was doing, shouting: “Get away from her!”

She shoved those in reach back, but Stronghold only laughed harshly as her whole body smoldered with energy, golden flames bursting out of her scales as a bizarre sound like popping corn filled the air. But there was no great bang, no tremendous overload of power: Stronghold's golden flames ripped across her body as she cracked like glass, glaring up at Moonflower as she self-immolated.

The ponies staggered back, all but for Moonflower, who looked down at the mare silently, watching as she burned like a golden pyre, her body shaking with the effort it clearly took to power the devastating magic and not give in to the tremendous agony she had to be in. And yet somehow her voice was steady as she rose her had and rasped: “You will not save me, pony. No one can ever save me. I... I won't let anyone save me.”

Energy flared across Stronghold's body, and then she simply vanished with one last gasp, dust and embers crumbling to the square where she had lain moments before. For a few moments, the others only studied the ground where the Draekin had lain, and then Thesis cleared his throat and shook his head, saying finally: “Come on. Let's get the princesses down and secure the castle.”

There was a strange sense of emptiness as they went about their work, carefully pulling down the princesses and freeing them from their bonds so that La Croix could attend to them.

The moment the ring was removed from Twilight's horn, the magic barrier around Canterlot was dispelled, and the sense of oppression vanished. It was like a veil had been lifted, Cadence thought, and she imagined that it meant they had lost any reason to stay here any longer. She knew that Archon was missing, hundreds – perhaps thousands, perhaps more – had died and been swept away by Loki; she knew the princesses were all severely injured, perhaps crippled, perhaps worse.

She wondered if Loki had planned this from the start, too: not just these petty fights and the abductions and executions and the metaphorical victory in stealing her coffin, but this, right here, right now, as she sat silently and looked at the princesses, her friends, her former family, and she was forced to grapple with the fact that she felt almost nothing for them.

She watched Shining Armor and Miss Take, and thought about how the feelings she had, and the feelings she'd thought she'd had, were nothing compared to the feelings she'd developed for her new friends, her new family, her new homeworld. She realized with some irony that like Moonflower, she had been so afraid of coming back here to this world, but it had been an entirely different fear: he had been worried about rejection, terrified of not living up to their expectations, then of losing them.

Her? She had never been afraid they would reject her. She had been selfish, worried they wouldn't acknowledge her, that they'd hold grudges for how she'd treated them even though they'd had every right to, that they would get in her way or worse, want her to stay or guilt her when she didn't belong here. She prettied it all up and tried to convince herself otherwise, but in the end, all she ever thought about was herself, every time.

Now she was sitting here, and part of her said this was a waste of time and they should head back to Decretum so they could continue to pursue Loki. Some cold, hollow part of her didn't give a rat's ass about the princesses, the lives lost in Canterlot, the fact they hadn't heard from Archon, or even the fate of this world.

She looked up at the Swan, who stood apart from her, studying her silently, and she knew that she couldn't blame the Swan for this. The Swan was a thousand terrible things, but most of that stemmed from existing solely as a puppet, a thing with stifled emotions, suffocated under the rules and laws of the Aesir.

Then what was she? What the Swan would have become without those rules and laws to guide it? Even with all her father's love and Hecate's discipline and the rigorous teachings of Decretum and the morality of her fellow ponies to encourage her, she would have still slit Stronghold's throat instead of sparing her life. She still wanted to abandon her old friends and go back home, now that their duty here was done.

Cadence rose her head slightly as Sombra gently touched her shoulder, saying softly: “You are thinking too heavily again, mi amore. I know it is painful to feel like you are unable to help here: perhaps we should check the rest of the castle.”

Cadence shifted slightly, but Thesis looked up with a smile and a brief nod from where he was helping support Twilight Sparkle, as La Croix checked quickly along her body. “Good idea. Cadence, Sombra, take Electra and find the survivors. Stay in contact via Mission Drive and let us know if you find anyone. We'll keep you updated on our movements.”

“I... yes, of course.” Cadence reached up and pulled her visor down, then she grimaced as it only fizzled uselessly, shoving the broken visor back up with a grumble of embarrassment. My... eyes are fine, anyway.

With barely a thought, her vision changed, looking into the Astra for a moment before she flinched as her sight returned to normal. Thesis frowned slightly at her as Electra and Chrysalis both gave odd twitches, and Cadence shook herself quickly out before she said finally: “It's fine. I saw some ponies in the barracks and at the Magic Academy. I'll check there, first.”

Electra smiled awkwardly, before she winced when Chrysalis asked suspiciously: “How do you know that? I saw that change again. Just what are you?”

Cadence only scowled at Chrysalis until she awkwardly looked away, and then Miss Take cleared her throat before she said carefully: “Perhaps for now we should just concentrate on getting everyone safe. And then perhaps we'll finally all be able to sit down and talk about things.”

Cadence gave a brief smile, looking over at Miss Take, answering with an unenthusiastic lie: “Yes. I'm sure we will.”

With that, Cadence turned, leaving the group behind as she headed back into Canterlot Castle to finish her duties here, and the Swan lingered behind her, wondering why ponies wanted emotions at all if this was the price they paid.