Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

The Last Great Truth

Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen: The Last Great Truth
~BlackRoseRaven

Skuld slashed out in desperation, but all she struck was one of Luna's Jötunnfang, her sword bouncing off the ice fist before the other claw smashed into her stomach and knocked her staggering.

The Norn snarled in frustration, then leapt backwards, gasping for breath as Urd and Verdandi uselessly attempted to keep Morgan and Scrivener at bay, but the stallion was able to deflect most of their magic with walls of black crystal, while Morgan retaliated with short bursts of magic to keep the two Fates distracted.

“What are you doing?” Skuld hissed as Luna punched her giant, floating fists together, the sapphire mare grinning mockingly and waiting instead of pursuing the wounded Fate.

“Playing a game with a mouse, it would seem. Although I am much more a dragon than I am a cat.” Luna growled, before she stepped forward and slammed one of her Jötunnfang down on the Norn's sword when she bent to reach for it, shattering the blade and sending Skuld staggering stupidly backwards before she fell on her rump. “Oh! Careful now, little girl, thou does not want to hurt thyself! That is my job.”

Luna grinned widely as Skuld snarled in fury, before the Norn suddenly vanished from the spot. But then she gasped in shock as she was flung back into reality, landing painfully on her back as Morgan's core thrummed once, preventing the Norn from teleporting too close to them.

Skuld tried to yank herself up to her feet, but Luna quickly leapt over and swept her into the air with one Jötunnfang before slamming a punch into her with the other, knocking her across the ballroom to crash into Urd.

Verdandi flinched as her sisters hit the tile behind her, and then she cried out in pain as a blue fireball smashed into her with enough force to send her rocketing into the stone wall, shivering for a moment against the cracked surface before she peeled off and landed on her hands and knees in a hail of stone flakes.

“Go ahead! Run away, cowards, thou art no match for us!” Luna boasted, and Skuld snarled as she staggered up first, clenching her hands into fists.

Urd breathed slowly, then she simply vanished from the spot, and Verdandi followed a moment later. But Luna remained unfazed even as Skuld slowly stepped backwards, promising coldly: “You will regret this. You... you will regret this, worthless whore!”

Luna growled and flexed as if she was about to pounce, and Skuld staggered with a wince before vanishing from the spot, the Valkyrie grinning wryly before she spat to the side as Scrivener said quietly: “Get ready.”

“Thou worries too much.” Luna said confidently, but even as she struck a pose, she reassured her partners silently that she wasn't going to underestimate their foe. Gymbr was a force to be reckoned with, an enemy she would rather not fight...

But unfortunately, they had to make sure they destroyed Gymbr as well as the Norns. Whether or not he was some Tulpa or a puppet or something else entirely, the only way to be sure that Loki wouldn't be able to use him against them was by severing his connection to the Norns... and destroying him utterly, not just killing him.

A portal rumbled open in front of them, and Morgan vanished without a word as Scrivener and Luna stepped forward, facing the monstrosity that calmly stepped through the rift. The portal snapped closed behind it as Gymbr looked back and forth, before he said bitterly: “So we are to repeat the story again. For the thousandth time... will we never have our rest?”

“That's what we're here to do, Gymbr. Make sure you don't come back. That Loki can't use you anymore.” Scrivener said quietly, but the beast across from them only smiled indulgently, shaking his head slowly before he looked down letting his mane spill across his face and veil his eyes.

“We can feel them, inside us.” Gymbr whispered. “We are them, and they are us. And more, but less: for what is an idea? Abstract, and real; everything, and nothing. We are... we do not know. We do not know. All we desired was to break free of the stories, our shackles, our bonds, but from the very beginning, we were nothing but a craft of Loki's, were we not?”

Gymbr shivered, then he gritted his teeth as he rose his head, rasping: “It will end. It must end! We will see that it ends! We demand you surrender to us! And if you do not, we shall make you bow before our might, and we shall devour you both!”

“What the hell would that make you then, Double Gymbr?” Scrivener asked dryly, and Gymbr snarled before the stallion said in a softer voice: “Hey in there. I've never been much, Scrivener Blooms... but I was always stubborn.”

“Aye, we were both stupid idiots, but thou, Luna Brynhild! Thou, proud Valkyrie, why can thou not resist? Fight! I have always fought, so I know that thou can, too!” Brynhild added sharply as she stepped forward, her Jötunnfang reaching out almost pleadingly.

Gymbr blinked in confusion, then shivered before he snarled and grasped at his head, his body quaking for a moment, then falling still as he lowered his head, whispering: “They are gone, and all that is left is Gymbr. Please, let our nightmare end.”

The beast trembled, and then he threw his head back and roared furiously to the sky, shaking the room with the force of his rage. But Luna and Scrivener held firm, both grimacing and readying themselves as the stallion said quietly: “That's what we plan to do.”

“Thou shall know peace.” Luna promised over the snarls of Gymbr as he dropped his head to glare at them furiously. “Now come, fight me, with all thy strength!”

Gymbr charged forward and leapt like an animal, and Luna jumped to meet him, slamming both Jötunnfang down-

They shattered through Gymbr like he was made of glass, and Luna's eyes widened in shock as she stumbled forward before Gymbr appeared beside Scrivener with a cruel grin, slashing his claws through the stallion's face and knocking him staggering in a burst of black blood. Scrivener swore as he swung a Talon out, but he hit only thin air as Gymbr reappeared behind him, seizing him around the throat and yanking him roughly to the side to use him like a shield when Luna attempted to jump on him.

The Valkyrie slammed into Scrivener instead, grunting an apology even as she hauled him into the air with Gymbr still clinging to his back, and the beast snarled before it kicked viciously off Scrivener, flapping his wings to launch himself higher before he snapped his horn down, unleashing a devastating ray of dark magic. Luna, however, launched herself backwards with Scrivener, nearly suplexing him before the two rolled together and Luna ended up propped up over his back as she popped her rifle out of her holster and took aim.

Several bullets slammed home into Gymbr in midair, knocking him backwards with a snarl before he dropped to the ground, slamming his silver claws into the floor. Spikes erupted from the ground in a stream towards them, but Scrivener leapt to his hooves with a grimace as Luna balanced across his broad back, slamming his Talons into the ground and transforming the stained tile around them into impermeable crystal.

Stone spikes uselessly tore out of the ground around the crystallized floor, and Gymbr snarled before he howled in pain as a bullet slammed into his face, stumbling backwards and grabbing at his head before he looked up too late as Lung sprung towards him. She slammed both of her Jötunnfang down, but Gymbr managed to bring his silver claws up and catch the fists before they could crush him, sliding backwards only a little before he locked his hooves against the ground.

Luna gritted her teeth as she tried to force down with the Jötunnfang, but Gymbr pushed back, muscles flexing and body shaking with effort as he growled: “We will not be stopped by your pathetic tricks! We are God! We are Destroyer! We are-”

Luna flicked her horn sharply, Prúðbikkja appearing in a burst of blue flames and ramming forwards to slam up into Gymbr's throat, and he choked violently before he screamed in pain as Luna shoved higher, stabbing the spear out the other side of his neck and hefting him into the air before one of her Jötunnfang slammed into Gymbr's face and punched him free from her polearm and across the room.

Gymbr hit the ground and rolled violently, then slammed his claws down with a snarl as the wound in his throat healed in a steaming hiss, catching himself and arching his back with a long, animal hiss. But Brynhild only grinned as she leapt forward, stomping her hooves down in a ready position as one of her ice claws beckoned mockingly.

Gymbr roared in fury as his eyes flashed before he charged forward: he leapt over a savage punch from one of the Jötunnfang, then seized the second claw in midair when it tried to grab him, jackknifing it before he dropped as his horn glowed with dark fire.

Luna blocked the attack with the body of her spear, cursing at the black flames that washed out and licked at her, before she gritted her teeth as she was driven back under a hail of vicious slashes and claw attacks, each one followed by a burst of black flame.

The Jötunnfang slammed down, but Gymbr pushed forward, hard and fast enough that he continued to drive Luna back as he kept out from beneath the hail of blows. Then, as Scrivener began to run forwards, Gymbr suddenly seized the body of the spear between his claws and kicked off the ground, vaulting high into the air before he dropped down on Luna's back to crush her against the ground as he swept his horn to the side, blasting Scrivener Blooms off his hooves with a swirling shockwave of magic.

Scrivener swore as the spiral wave twisted upwards and became a tornado that whirled him helplessly into the air, the stallion flailing wildly in all directions as Luna tried to roll out from under Gymbr, but he seized her by the shoulders before his jaws yawned open as his emerald eyes glowed, beginning to inhale-

Luna slammed her head into his nose, knocking him back with a snarl before he simply bit at her savagely, but the Valkyrie twisted her head out of the way before she snapped her horn up, blasting him off her with a gout of sapphire flame.

Gymbr caught himself in midair, spinning around with a roar before he snapped his horn down with a snarl, but the Valkyrie's Jötunnfang shot in the way, blocking the blast of magic before they both swung viciously up-

They were met by claws of black crystal and smoldering flame, Luna's eyes widening in shock as Gymbr roared: “We are you, and more! All your powers are ours!”

Luna snarled before her Jötunnfang shoved the pale imitation of Gymbr's backwards, then they slammed upwards in a vicious series of blows: the dark-stone fists matched her strike-for-strike, however, both refusing to give any ground even as Luna shouted back: “Thou art nothing but a feeble shadow, foul beast! And shadows are cast and destroyed by the whims of the moon!”

Frost and crystal claws slammed together repeatedly before Gymbr flinched with a hiss of surprise as Luna's Jötunnfang suddenly jackhammered forwards, striking twice as fast and twice as hard into the mockery of her magic, the dark claws spasming, then shattering away to pieces before Luna slammed both Jötunnfang down on top of Gymbr and crushed him between them, squeezing the life out of him as he howled and twisted back and forth in agony.

A blast of raw force erupted from Gymbr, so furious that it tore apart Luna's Jötunnfang and sent the Valkyrie skidding backwards with a wince. He leapt at her, claws stretching eagerly towards her, but then howled in frustration when he was intercepted by Scrivener Blooms, who tackled him out of the air and crushed him to the ground.

Spikes of black crystal ripped upward through Gymbr's body, and he screamed in a duet of hateful voices before he snapped his horn out, blades of rock ripping out of the earth around him and knocking Scrivener rolling away.

The stallion caught himself as Luna dropped in beside him, her spear at the ready as Gymbr smashed his way up from the black stone, barely seeming to notice the wounds steaming shut over his body as he roared: “You shall not stop us! You shall not defeat us nor replace us! We are truth! We are glory! We are-”

Luna snapped her rifle off her back and fired a shot into Gymbr's face, the beast staggering with a howl as the bullet tore through his jaws before she followed up with a sharp flick of her horn, sending a blue fireball at him. He slapped this angrily away even as he staggered before his eyes glowed with malice, rasping: “Your trickery will not keep you alive for much longer.”

Gymbr flapped his wings, and the air vibrated with his hatred as he launched off the ground, both Scrivener and Luna grimacing as almost tangible malice filled the hall and waves of dark energy began to pulsate out of Gymbr's body. The beast flew up towards the ceiling, and Scrivener looked up warily as he slammed his Talons into the ground, creating a half-dome barrier of crystal as he muttered: “I don't know what this means, but...”

“Aye, I am ready.” Luna muttered as she reholstered her rifle, then spun her spear to a ready position with a grin as she stepped back to look up past the barrier at Gymbr, who was floating near the ceiling now, visibly thrumming with power as dark energy sparked through the air around him and tore through the hall, occasionally shocking against the barrier with enough force to crack the gemstone wall. “But what is he doing? All his powers are ours, and-”

It wasn't an explosion, or a surge, so much as it was a gasp that filled the room, completely ignoring the barrier that Scrivener had created and washing over both of the ponies. It felt like only a moment, but in that moment, Luna found herself snared inside bonds of stone, and Scrivener was trapped on his back beneath Gymbr, who grinned savagely as he pinned the stallion down, his eyes glowing and the stallion helpless as Gymbr's jaws yawned open and stretched down-

Luna snarled in fury, her eyes blazing before she snapped her horn forward, a wave of frostfire ripping across Gymbr and making him hiss and arch his back before his eyes widened in shock as the ice and flame transformed into savage claws that crushed around his body and yanked him into the air.

He flailed uselessly before he was jerked roughly around by one of the claws as the other slammed into his face, ruthlessly pummeling him as Luna growled: “Wretched, stupid, worthless heap of reeking garbage!”

Gymbr flinched and gurgled beneath every strike, his body going limp as the icy fist smashed into his face again and again, until Luna's Jötunnfang finally seized him around the throat, throttling him as the beast slowly regenerated. Gymbr twitched weakly, then grasped helplessly at the wrists of the massive fists of frost, glaring defiantly as his features filled back in even as he twitched uselessly in her grip.

The two glared at each other furiously as Scrivener wrenched himself free from the bonds restraining him. The beast began to grin, his horn starting glow-

His horn cracked.

Gymbr went limp, his eyes losing focus, his mouth falling open for a moment as he simply seemed to shut down, and Brynhild blinked in surprise before she winced as the stone holding her in place crumbled away to dust, barely catching herself on her hooves.

She hesitated only a moment before her Jötunnfang almost flung Gymbr to the ground, and the beast lay in ruin, breathing slowly in and out before he whispered: “So. It is done.”

Scrivener and Luna frowned as they approached, before they understood, a moment before Morgan reappeared with a faint smile. Gymbr tried to look towards her, but he couldn't quite make his body shift as he gave a faint laugh, then shivered as he instead curled up slightly, half-hugging himself as his trembling body began to steam.

His wings curled on themselves like burning paper as they started to smolder and disintegrate, Gymbr's eyes blinking slowly, lethargically, as he murmured: “This is the way it should be. This is how the story is made different, is it not? Not by conquest. By being conquered. By failure. Through failure... we escape.”

Gymbr smiled briefly, and then he chuckled softly as his mane and tail wafted upward before they both pulled themselves apart into ghostly strands, vanishing into the air along with the remains of his wings. He twitched once on the ground, then shivered as he grasped at his face as his horn splintered further, then simply fell away, leaving a gaping, glowing third eye in his forehead.

Gymbr breathed roughly in and out, then he slowly looked up, ignoring Luna and Scrivener to instead gaze at Morgan Heldóttir. He studied her intensely for a few moments, then he blinked: and when his eyes opened again, they were mismatched, one darkest ebony, one emerald-tinged blue.

It smiled, and said softly: “We are so proud of you.”

Gymbr continued to smile for a moment, and then he closed his eyes and sighed as he sank down, but he dissolved even before he could lay completely down, his body fading rapidly from sight to leave the three standing alone in the ruins of the hall; alone, with one another, to reflect on their sins.

Moonflower groaned as he sat slowly up, his body shivering in pain before he blinked, then looked wildly back and forth. He only relaxed after he saw La Croix was kneeling beside Sombra, looking exhausted, but whole... well, apart from his... his poor leg. “La Croix!”

“Moony. Go check on Cygne, will you? And toss me my bag, I done enough walkin' for two lifetimes today.” La Croix grumbled, and Moonflower smiled briefly as he clambered to his hooves, stumbling quickly over to the zebra's satchel before he tossed it-

It landed with a thunk about halfway towards La Croix, who gave Moonflower a sour look, and the unicorn smiled lamely before he used telekinesis to awkwardly push it the rest of the way across the cracked floor to the Loa, mumbling: “I think I know how you feel.”

Moonflower glanced back at Cadence, and he sighed in relief as he saw she was already sitting up, looking at him with a small smile before she shook her head and murmured: “All I remember is light and sound and...getting my ass kicked. You won though... right?”

“He did.” said a soft voice, and Moonflower and Cadence both looked up in shock as Melinda came striding towards them, a small smile on her face. Moonflower fell backwards with a yelp, but even as he half-scurried away, he could feel something different about her, and Cadence frowned uneasily as her eyes saw... shadows Just... shadows.

“You're... not really here, are you?” asked Cadence slowly, and Melinda chuckled quietly as she shook her head, giving a soft smile.

“No. I am not. This is nothing but an echo. I used the little magic remaining in my parallax to weave this as I was... shall we say, uprooted from reality.” Melinda gestured at herself calmly, her hoof and chest blurring together as they made contact before she straightened and said in a softer voice: “I am so proud of you, Moonflower. You have true determination, and limitless potential. The only thing that will ever hold you back is yourself.”

“Thank you, Melinda, I... I would like to believe that, but...” Moonflower smiled awkwardly as he clambered up to his hooves, blushing and shaking his head as he murmured: “I wouldn't be here without my friends, and without Thorn, and... without you, too. You taught me a lot.”

Melinda smiled softly, before she glanced up in surprise as a Nightmare flickered into being beside her. Moonflower and Cadence both tensed with winces, but the Nightmare only looked at them for a moment before it turned towards Melinda, rasping something to her. Melinda laughed, however, reaching up and silently stroking over the deformed features of the creature before she whispered: “It happens to all things, darling. We all must return to where we came from, and we should be grateful for the time we were given, that is all. I know. You'll all miss me. But it's time for me to go. Now run along, my dear. There are many things to be done.”

The Nightmare hesitated, then it nodded once before it gave a low, mournful whisper. It vanished, and Melinda studied where it had been for a few moments before she said softly: “The ultimate dark magic is not destruction, but... life. Calling back life that's already been spent, giving it will, giving it freedom... then forcing it to bend to your will. Giving it happiness and joy. Then ordering it to sacrifice all of that, all of it, for you. What is more vile, more vicious, more powerful than that?”

Melinda chuckled quietly, then she looked up at Moonflower, saying softly: “You, too, have the power to summon these things should you ever desire... my Nightmares. My... nightmares. My most wonderful mistake. My greatest mistake.” Melinda quieted, then she shook her head before she murmured: “Do not make the error I did. Love them. Love them with all your heart. And they must never be used for selfish reasons.”

“Yes. Of course. I promise, and thank you for-”

“For what? For another curse?” Melinda smiled faintly. “Every bit of magic you learn is another spell that begs to be used. Believe me, I know. There were many long, dark nights where I wondered at the power of my hexes, these powers I had devised, and what they could do...”

Melinda looked down, shaking her head slowly as she murmured: “Their power felt infinite. So I felt infinite. That was silly of me, though... I am not infinite. I never was. And in the end, that power consumed me, turned on me, because when you open the door and let the power out, it does not take well to any attempts to restrain it again.”

Moonflower shifted awkwardly as Cadence tilted her head, but Melinda shook her own with a chuckle before she said softly: “I'm sorry. I don't have nearly enough time to tell you all the stories I want to, or to answer all your questions, my dears. This echo won't last forever, and there's a few things you should know.”

Cadence nodded and grimaced a bit before she asked: “So this was all a setup? Loki knew-”

“He knew because I told him. I knew because Thesis told me.” Melinda said gently, and Cadence's eyes widened before Melinda gave a slight smile. “Loki decided he would use this setup to ambush you. He left half a dozen Primordials in this ship, and did something to the core of this floating fortress, so it would come crashing down into Decretum with all of you aboard, with no way to leave because of the barrier shield.”

“Barrier shield?” Cadence asked, before she remembered the forcefield they had seen protecting the ship... “Wait, it's two way?”

“Of course. Didn't you think it was strange this floating fortress wasn't firing back at Decretum?” Melinda pointed out. “You've seen what the Bellona was able to do in the past first-hoof, haven't you? Well... when the disruptor array was mounted on it, anyway. That devastating weapon has been moved, and...”

Melinda frowned slightly as she went blurry for a moment, before she shook her head and said in a more-urgent voice: “Now you have to listen to me, and listen well. When the core fails, this floating island will fall. There is nothing I can do to stop that. Loki has removed everything he needs from here already and placed it on another ship, a terrible, living weapon called the Ahriman. He is going to attack Thanatos in the World Without End: he believes these shards of his own soul are the 'keys to the truth,' as spoken of in the prophecies...”

Melinda grimaced a bit as her body flickered, and Cadence's eyes widened before she blurted: “What do you mean? We've heard so many things about these prophecies, these old stories, but nothing matches the stories of the Aesir and-”

But the shadow of Melinda only smiled faintly at this, shaking her head before she met Cadence's eyes as she answered: “Because there were gods before the Aesir, and prophecies older than them. Childe, born to bring pain, to the warrior gods he came... childe, born to dream and defy, rend and rip the world awry; bringeth Ragnarok, the bitter swell, to the place twixt Heaven and Hell...”

Melinda shivered as she lowered her head, breathing hard before she looked up as she began to fade from reality, forcing out: “Find the key to your enigmal lock... bereft of sin... ticking clock...”

Melinda closed her eyes and grasped at her head, but her outline became blurry, her body fizzling before she murmured: “No, I'm out of time. But you will understand, soon. You're ready.”

“I'm... I'm scared.” Moonflower said weakly, and Melinda gave him a faint, reassuring smile, shaking her head before she reached her hooves out and gently touched his face, even as she began to dissolve.

“The first step is the hardest. Just remember, you're not alone. And I believe in you.” Melinda smiled, before she leaned forward and chastely kissed Moonflower on the lips, the stallion's eyes widening in surprise before Melinda leaned back, solidifying for a bare moment as she murmured: “The only person who can stop you now, is you.”

Melinda smiled, then she simply dissolved away into shadows that danced away through the air, Moonflower helplessly reaching a hoof after her before he clenched it and gritted his teeth, letting out a slow breath before he whispered: “Yes. Okay. I... I understand. I won't fail. I won't.”

Moonflower looked down for a moment, and Cadence grimaced a bit before she looked at her Mission Drive and tapped on it. She bit her lip as it only fizzled at her in response, the mare cursing under her breath before she asked sharply: “Hey, does anyone have a working Mission Drive? We need to get in contact with Seneschal so we can send a warning to Decretum and get the hell out of here.”

“Mine might be, Cygne, fell off with everything else.” La Croix said wryly, and Cadence nodded, giving a quick look over at Moonflower. She hesitated for a moment, then simply smiled and patted him on the shoulder before she strode quickly past, heading over to the Loa's fallen gear.

His Mission Drive was scrambled, but still working, and Cadence sighed in relief as she quickly tapped across it before asking, as a distorted fuzz burst out of it: “Seneschal?”

“Y-Yes, yes! We have to evacuate immediately, Cadence!” Seneschal blurted, sounding both relieved and anxious. “The core of the Bellona is unstable and likely to explode at any moment, the damage will be devastating! I'm sending you updated schematics, you have to-”

“They're going to crash this floating fortress into Decretum to try and destroy the city, can you do something about it?” Cadence interrupted, and Seneschal fizzled at her before he grunted from the Mission Drive after a moment.

“Y-Yes. Yes, scans of the systems indicate the auxiliary power systems have been disconnected and rerouted into a fusion generator. The overload would trigger... I can fix this! I can stop this!” Seneschal babbled, before he added sharply: “Withdraw, your orders haven't changed!”

“Alright. You heard him!” Cadence shouted as she slipped the Mission Drive on: she badly wanted to give her companions at least a moment to recover and recoup themselves, but... I can be nice now, or I can be nice later when I know we aren't all about to die. “We have to... goddammit, Brynhild. Get yourselves together and I'll get the Valkyrie.”

Cadence didn't let herself hesitate, closing her eyes as she focused on the presence of Brynhild, before she stepped forward to reappear directly in front of the sapphire mare, who squawked loudly and nearly fell over as Cadence forced herself not to show how dazed the jump made her, instead snapping: “We have to move!”

“We are moving!” Brynhild snapped back from the ground, before she winced when Scrivener and Morgan both grasped her and hauled her to her hooves as Cadence looked quickly around. “Damned... labyrinth of a place is... a labyrinth, though!”

“We have to get out of here. The Bellona is going to fall out of the sky and explode.” Cadence said simply, deciding there was no point in trying to be formal or boss Brynhild around, and the Valkyrie blinked and straightened in surprise. “Seneschal is sending us to the escape point now, but the shields-”

“We can handle ourselves.” Luna said, and for once it didn't sound like she was arguing with the Swan even as she almost shooed her away with a hoof. “Go, lead thy little lambs out of here to safety. I shall call Hex to bring us back to Endworld.”

Cadence grunted, and then she gave a brief nod before she turned, before she frowned when Luna called her back. For a moment, the two looked at each other, and then Brynhild gave an awkward smile before she said finally: “I am glad Melinda did not completely wipe the floor with thee. Not that I would expect any different from a... distant. Aunt. Cousin.”

Cadence scowled horribly, but it gave her a small, awkward sort-of-happiness all the same as she nodded once to the Valkyrie, then turned her attention quickly back to what she was supposed to be focused on, vanishing into thin air. Luna grinned wryly at the spot where the Swan had been a moment before, then she winced when Scrivener smacked the back of her head, huffing and complaining: “I was nice! Hex!”

Scrivener and Morgan both winced as reality vibrated, before they both fell out of the way as the motorcycle exploded into being, Luna grinning widely and leaping forwards to land on the seat of the machine as she shouted: “Now come, back to Endworld, then onward to the next battle!”

Above, Cadence reappeared beside her team, nodding with a relieved smile as she saw that her father was back on his hooves, and Moonflower was tightening La Croix's cape. Then she frowned after a moment as she noted his wooden leg wasn't in place, but La Croix grimaced and waved his stump awkwardly, a faint blush in his cheeks as he muttered: “Exorcism didn't just knock me on my ass, it dislodged the part in my leg that holds that in place. Don't you worry, though, I won't slow y'all down. I'll just stay outside of reality.”

“I can carry you!” Moonflower blurted, and La Croix blinked, the unicorn smiling awkwardly before he posed lamely a few times, saying finally: “You know. Always. Ready to help.”

“Thanks, really, mon ami, but I think I got this.” La Croix said wryly as he picked up his prosthetic leg, studying it for a moment before he shrugged and tossed it into his satchel, then he became translucent even as he smiled at Moonflower.

Moonflower smiled awkwardly back, then saluted as Sombra asked: “Do you know where we're going, mi amore?”

Cadence nodded after a moment, gesturing quickly for them to follow as she glanced down at her Mission Drive and ordered: “Display navigation.”

A small projection of a map appeared beside her, fizzling faintly, but giving clear enough directions: they were the white dot, they had to follow the red line. “Okay. Let's move, we-”

Seneschal suddenly appeared on the projection, making Cadence wince in surprise as the AI flailed before blurting: “Twenty minutes to core meltdown!”

“Crap.” Cadence grumbled, and then she took off at a run as she flicked Seneschal off the map, checking back over her shoulder to make sure her team could keep up with her, gritting her teeth at how exhausted they all were: even La Croix was having trouble matching her pace, and Sombra was staggering heavily in his run.

She slowed only a little, however, hoping that as they moved, the pace would smooth out: she was more relieved than she could say when the rest of her team managed to balance themselves out a little, moving- “I can't disengage the security locks, and at this rate you won't be able to reach the second escape point! Move faster so I can reroute-”

“I'll disengage the locks manually or punch through the goddamn wall if I have to, just get us there!” Cadence shouted, and Seneschal yelped an affirmation before the ivory mare stumbled with a curse as the floor shook beneath them, dust hailing down from the walls and ceiling.

She skidded to a halt and looked back over her shoulder to see that the rest of her team had fallen: she leapt immediately towards them, grasping Moonflower and yanking him to his hooves before she grabbed her father by the shoulders, and it pained her, terribly, as he smiled up at her before saying quietly: “Don't slow down.”

“I need you.” Cadence said simply, and then she hauled her father up onto her back, grimacing in effort before she shouted: “Moonflower, run!”

She took off at a gallop, and Moonflower leapt after her, wheezing loudly but keeping pace with the mare as La Croix whisked along beside them, ethereal and nearly invisible. They followed the directions on the map to a cargo hold, and Cadence winced at the sight of the massive, sealed shutters that barred the way out of the flying fortress, Seneschal saying in a bitterly-triumphant voice: “See? I warned you! The locks have all short-circuited. I can still reroute you but there's less than ten minutes, and-”

“Alright. If I destroy the locks, will I be able to open the shutter? Or at this point should we just punch through it?” Cadence asked evenly, and Seneschal squawked in disbelief.

But after a moment, the AI grumbled before he said finally: “It's not just the locks. The entirety of the shutter mechanism has been destroyed, there's no way I can raise it. You'll have to cut through it, but-”

“We can do it.” Sombra said softly, before he grimaced a bit as he carefully slipped off Cadence, shaking himself off before he murmured: “It might be good to put my powers to use, anyway.”

“Just don't hurt yourself, Daddy.” Cadence said quietly, but Sombra only smiled at her as they walked across the cargo bay together to the shutter.

“It would hurt more to do nothing.” he answered, before he pressed his front hooves against the cold steel, closing his eyes as crystal spread across the shutter before it began to shudder as metal transformed slowly but steadily into dark gemstone.

Sombra's purifier hummed louder as miasma began to spill from his eyes, the stallion gritting his teeth as darkness spread through his coat. But he seemed to take strength from it as he focused his powers into the shutter, breathing slowly and steadily as he murmured: “I can feel the other side. How much time do we have?”

“Less than three minutes!” squawked Seneschal, the AI popping up in the projection of the map, and Cadence grimaced. “Systems have begun to fail ship-wide and there's nothing I can do to stop it! Once the core explodes-”

“We've got this.” Cadence said firmly, before she pointedly turned off the projection and returned her eyes to her father, who had already refocused on the shutter.

“La Croix, go ahead. We'll be ready to jump, don't worry. We're all getting out of here.” Cadence said firmly, and La Croix smiled briefly, nodding hesitantly before the ethereal stallion simply vanished from sight.

“Mi amore, if you would be so kind?” Sombra glanced back at her, and Cadence looked up in surprise, but the stallion only shook his head before he murmured: “Il meglio ricolga il peggio.”

Cadence smiled wryly, and then she nodded before she took one of the vials from the belt around his body and lifted it to his mouth so he could drink from it. He grimaced at the taste, then flexed as the miasma leaking from his eyes flared up, black gemstone spreading faster across the shutter as he murmured: “Dio mi aiuti.”

Sombra pressed forward, gritting his teeth as his hooves sank into the black mess of stone, breathing out steam as he poured his powers through the metal, corrupting it rapidly before he gasped as he shoved forward and the black crystal shattered outward, chunks of stone hailing out into the open sky as Sombra staggered-

He grunted as Cadence caught him, smiling awkwardly at his daughter as they both looked out the pony-sized hole in the shutter before Seneschal blurted: “You have to jump now! Systems are failing! The barrier is down and the Black Owl is en route!”

“It better catch us.” Cadence grumbled, before she gritted her teeth as she looked at her father, then back at Moonflower. They both nodded to her, Moonflower giving a queasy smile and Sombra squeezing her shoulder, and... what choice do we have?

Cadence ran forward: if she gave any warning or called out, she wasn't aware of it, but Moonflower and Sombra followed all the same, both of them leaping through the hole behind her and following her into thin red air.

It was beautiful, and terrifying, and wonderful, and awful all at once, as they fell away from what looked like a small moon that was already shrinking into the distance, through glowing crimson light and smoky pollution and swirling black cloud carried on unfelt winds.

They fell together towards a world that was black and tarred and corrupted and beautiful, that from above, was dark and foreboding and yet still bore the shape of Equestria to it. They fell, and in the distance Cadence could see a massive and beautiful city all lit up with lights, and the candlelight glow of corruption wells, and the steam of the immense trench where corruption was burned and recycled into carbon that kept their atmosphere hot.

They fell, barely aware of the cannonfire that tore through the air above them, or the explosions ripping through the Bellona's hull, or anything except the fall and the beauty and the terror of the world around them. They fell, and Cadence grimaced before she pointed down and shouted over the roar of the wind: “There!”

She didn't know if they heard her or not, but Moonflower and Sombra at least were able to follow her gesture to the sight of the Kirin ship angling up through the sky towards them. The Black Owl twisted sideways on its stubby wings, powerful boosters kicking on beneath it as a door opened in the bulky, rectangular ship, and Cadence grimaced as she held her forelegs out to either side.

Sombra and Moonflower reached down for her, managing to grasp her and pull themselves in close against her back on either side of her, and Cadence gritted her teeth as she stretched her legs carefully down as the ship seemed to rise towards them, but Cadence knew at this point what it was actually doing was falling beside them, carefully adjusting its position and speed to match theirs.

Cadence saw her opportunity as the ship tilted slightly towards them, and she flung herself forward, dragging her teammates with her into the ship as it gently scooped upwards. She gasped in pain as her hooves touched down a little too hard on the floor of the Black Owl for a moment, the ship wobbling slightly as the floor pulled away from beneath them before it gently lifted upwards to let Cadence and her teammates settled to the floor.

Cadence grimaced at the feeling of pressure pushing up her legs, gritting her teeth before the ship jounced lightly, and she winced when Moonflower grabbed at her as she stomped down to anchor herself.

Sombra grimaced slightly himself as he stumbled a little, before he looked up with a smile of relief as the door to the ship slammed closed, La Croix grinning wryly as he leaned heavily against the handle and remarked: “Y'all are a whole damn lot braver than me, mon amies.”

“Good to see you join us.” Cadence said with a relieved smile, her legs still trembling a bit under her before she managed to straighten, wheezing a little as the pressure started to even out, her mind still reeling with vertigo as she half-dragged Moonflower over to sit in the harness seats beside her father, who was already locking himself in.

La Croix jumped into one of the seats across from them, yanking the safety bar down across his body, and Cadence didn't bother scolding him: she was far more concerned with what was going on outside. “Did you see where we are?”

“Oui, 'bout thirty miles as the crow flies away from Decretum. That big rock be fallin', but it ain't holdin' up too well: it looks more a lot more like the soleil than it does la lune at this point.” La Croix answered, and Cadence frowned as she wished for a window.

And then she winced as her vision flickered, and suddenly she was looking out through the eyes of the Swan, who was calmly standing on top of the Black Owl as it streaked back towards Decretum. But the Swan didn't feel the wind whipping around her or momentum trying to tear her loose from the Black Owl, as she stood like a statue with her back to Decretum, watching silently as the Bellona fell.

It was a meteor, nothing but fire and stone and metal as it slowly tumbled from the sky, massive chunks of debris falling free from the floating fortress as it crashed slowly towards the earth. Explosions continued to rip across it from both within and without, as it was hammered by artillery fire that served a dual purpose, both breaking the Bellona apart while pushing it off course and away from the city.

The Black Owl rushed to Decretum, but by the time it was settling down to the landing pad on top of the Orphanage building, the Bellona had fallen from the sky and crashed down outside the city with surprisingly-little fanfare: Cadence figured that was probably a good thing, however, as she jumped out of the transport. I guess Seneschal managed to disable the power core or whatever it was...

“Empress Hecate orders you to withdraw to Endworld for reassignment! A portal has already been prepared!” shouted a Kirin shoulder over the sound of the Black Owl's jet engines, and Cadence grimaced as she turned towards him and nodded before quickly tossing a look back at her teammates.

“Alright, fall in and let's move!” Cadence called, and La Croix turned ethereal as her father and Moonflower both hopped down from the transport to follow as Cadence strode across the tarmac. But even at her most professional, she couldn't help but steal a look to the side, taking in the towering skyscrapers, the flashing neon lights, and the raw life in this steel world.

She turned her attention back to their task as a Kirin opened the door for them leading into the building, descending the stairs quickly, and it was funny how quickly and easily she remembered the halls of the Orphanage, how easy it was for her to find her way though the complex facility and back to the portal hall.

They found Hecate waiting there for them, Cadence halting and saluting as the Jötnar mare eyed them for a few moments, then asked shortly: “Situation?”

“I...” Cadence hesitated, then she looked back at her team for a moment before answering truthfully: “I'm ready to serve, but my team was hit hard. They need medical-”

“I'll have La Croix sent to the ASC for immediate refitting. A Beauty unit should suffice for his treatment. Treatment Pods are being prepped for Sombra and Moonflower, and you need to report to Thorn for reassignment. Communications with Thanatos just went down, which means World Without End is under attack.”

Cadence's eyes widened before she started to open her mouth, but Hecate only smiled thinly, interrupting: “Thanatos is more than capable of holding his own against even Loki for a few hours, and Decretum forces have already been deployed to reestablish communications and defend World Without End. You and your team are not the only soldiers I have at my disposal, Cadence.”

Cadence smiled lamely at this, nodding awkwardly before Hecate gestured towards the portal and ordered: “Go. Don't keep Thorn and the other officers waiting. Sombra, Moonflower, La Croix, I'll escort you to medical myself. It's on my way.”

Hecate almost absently flicked a hoof back at a portal ring, which burst into life in a crackle of power, and Cadence awkwardly saluted before she smiled lamely at her teammates, then turned and hurried for the portal when she felt Hecate glower at her. She was amazed as always at the power of the Jötnar mare as she leapt into the portal, not looking back even as she sensed the Swan lingering.

Hecate glanced calmly over at Danzsöngr, who was studying her curiously before she said: “You are worried for him. You care about him.”

“My sister always said I had a thing for older stallions.” Hecate replied acerbically, before she turned her eyes towards the trio in front of her: Moonflower and La Croix looked confused, while Sombra only smiled kindly up at her. “Enough. Let's go.”

Hecate strode forward, and the trio of Team 0-0 fell in around her as Danzsöngr lingered at her side, asking: “Will this be the final battle? Do we fight to save Thanatos, or to destroy Loki?”

The Jötnar mare was silent for a few moments, and then she glanced over at Danzsöngr, replying in a cold, mental voice that echoed through the Swan's mind: Both, but ultimately, we must put a stop to Loki. I am sure that Thanatos understands this as well: this won't end until Loki is stopped.

“We... are not arrogant enough to promise we will not fail you, but we will do everything in our power to see that it is done.” answered Danzsöngr, and yet the Swan still lingered, and Hecate tossed a pointed look at the creature.

The Swan shifted, then said almost hesitantly: “What if we fail?”

That is a fear we all have, every moment of every day. Part of being able to make your own decisions, to be more than a tool, is being able to fail, and shouldering the responsibility for that. Sometimes when you must make a decision, there are so many choices that you freeze up and do nothing, because everything seems wrong. Hecate replied calmly as she turned her eyes forward, a thin smile playing over her features. But you will only truly 'fail,' Swan, if you allow yourself to. Find your answer.

“Yes. We will.” promised the Swan, and then it vanished from sight as Hecate focused back ahead.

Cadence winced in surprise as the Swan appeared beside her, strangely aware of everything that had happened. She looked moodily at the creature as it looked back at her, before the Swan seemed to smile in its voice as it said: “Hecate is a Mother. Hecate is our Mother.”

Cadence hesitated, then she mumbled: “Yeah, she sort of is. That doesn't mean you get to bother her with every little thing, though. She's a busy pony. God. Giant. Whatever the hell she is.”

“She always has time for us. Thesis would be proud of that. Proud of her. Proud of us.” said the Swan, and Cadence glanced down: yeah, that was right. She couldn't even be mad, because that was what Thesis had wanted... them to be family. Them to trust.

She sighed a little, but thankfully was spared any further conversation as she reached the war room in Endworld's Orphanage, pushing it open and steeling herself as Thorn greeted cordially: “Rex Prox Cadence. Please take your seat and we'll begin.”

The other two Rex Prox were here, Cadence noted, along with a slew of other officers and administrators, all of them clustered around the massive, U-shaped table that Thorn stood in the center of, surrounded by holographic projections. He looked proud, and strong, and ready, Cadence thought: if the poisons or his missing eye still bothered him, it was impossible to tell.

Cadence took her seat between Lancer and Tormentas, nodding to the two before she straightened and focused on Thorn as he began immediately: “The attack om Imperia was a distraction and a clear attempt to weaken and confuse our forces. Thanks to the efforts of Team 0-0 and Strike Team Valkyrie, however, Seneschal was able to disengage the fusion cores and self-destruct the Bellona while it was still airborne, averting a catastrophe.

“Seneschal was also able to extract data from the Bellona, giving us much-needed information about Loki's movements and equipment.” Thorn continued, and Cadence perked up at this: she could feel the intensity through the entire room increase as Thorn explained: “Loki stole generators and basic equipment from the Ten Moons facility in order to reactivate several small Shed and bunker facilities that had been recorded as derelict, and Auriculos and possibly others assisted in modifying them to create small-scale manufacturing plants to outfit his troops with Clockwork technology.

“Loki also possesses a prototype orbital disruptor: this device is powerful enough to damage the bonds holding a planet in place in reality using the Gjallar vibration principle, the feedback of which we feel as kinetic force.” Thorn continued, and Cadence thought back to when she had felt that tremendous shockwave that had come out of nowhere, before her eyes shifted to Lancer as she softened a little, thinking of everyone he had lost because of it. “Data records indicate that the disruptor was originally mounted to the Bellona so it could harness its fusion cores as a power source.”

“Is the device still operable?” asked a voice, and Thorn nodded.

“We have to assume so. It wasn't dismantled, but removed. The array itself could easily be mobilized: the difficulty is providing enough power-”

“The Ahriman.” Cadence blurted out, and Thorn frowned slightly, but then gestured at her to continue when she began to drop her head, and the mare hesitated only a moment before she straightened and said: “Before she died, Melinda said that Loki had put everything he needed on some sort of living ship. She called it the Ahriman.”

Thorn glanced at one of the projections, tapping over it quickly before he shook his head and muttered: “There's no Clockwork project in the files known as the Ahriman. Seneschal, deploy Investigators to the site immediately, scan for anomalous energy signatures.”

“Oh sure, yes, I'll scan the world of the Reapers for strange life forms, I'm sure that won't come up with anything at all!” Seneschal complained, before he added grudgingly: “Records indicate there was something docked in the large hangar bay until recently. This could possibly be the Ahriman, which means it can't have a maximum size exceeding five hundred by two hundred feet...”

“It's not a floating fortress like the Bellona, in other words. But a living ship of that size might have a greater potential energy output, especially if combined with synthetic reactors. Thank you, Cadence.” Thorn gestured at her to sit down, and Cadence lamely did so: she hadn't even realized she'd pushed herself out of her seat. “Let's return to the briefing.

“All of you will be assigned new Mission Drives with new operational procedures on them. Currently, one hundred Dogmatists and a thousand Kirin soldiers have been deployed to assist Thanatos and break the first wave of Loki's attack: Orphans with anti-Void equipment will begin deployment in roughly two hours' time. You are expected to prepare and be at your assigned portal ten minutes prior to your deployment, ready for an extended engagement.”

Thorn shifted, and Cadence knew that in spite of what he was saying, he didn't think this battle would be very long: she didn't know if that was because he hoped they would pin down Loki quickly, or because they weren't going to be able to stop Loki from using his superweapon.

But no matter what happened, Cadence told herself, she wasn't going to turn away. She felt Danzsöngr squeeze her shoulder in agreement as they synced up, in thought, in body, in soul, and shared one single promise: We will not surrender.

We will stop him, no matter what the cost.

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[Randomfastreader]

the battle is upon us