• Published 19th Sep 2016
  • 1,149 Views, 157 Comments

Hecate's Orphanage - BlackRoseRaven



Cadence and other ponies from across countless parallel worlds work together to protect their universe from monsters.

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22
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PreviousChapters
Overdue

Overdue
~BlackRoseRaven

The dragon sat miserably back in his cheap, collapsed stall in Town, surrounded by the rotting debris of all his ugly toys, his once-perfect white suit tattered, ripped, and stained gray. His rings were as lackluster and rusted as his faded egghsell scales, and once proud amber eyes stared emptily at the ground.

He heard people coming and going, but they ignored him, here, chained in his stall. The only prisoner in Town. The only prisoner in all of the Void!

He laughed bitterly.

That was just his luck. That was the way it had always been. Even Loki had gotten a hero's welcome. And what had he done?

Well, the dragon supposed he had filled the Void with souls, and gotten rid of the chaff and the grain. That was something, he supposed.

He supposed.

He sighed, then didn't look up as hooves calmly approached the collapsed front of his stall. He didn't bother looking up: it wasn't Thesis.

Thesis was gone.

He pretended that it didn't hurt. That it was just annoyance. Stupid idiot Thesis, refusing to return to the Void, dying...

dying...

The hooves stopped in front of the broken board that was all that was left of the front counter, and he said, without looking up: “We're closed.”

“Hello, Valthrudnir.” said a voice, and his head snapped up before he could stop himself, eyes going wide as he stared at her. A beautiful ivory mare with a radiant, glowing mane smiled at him, and they studied each other for a few moments before the dragon scrambled to his feet.

He towered over her, glaring down at her as he crossed his arms, then grimaced and recrossed then in a vain attempt to hide the tattered sleeve of his suit, snapping: “Well, if it isn't Hecate! You certainly made a mess of things, didn't you? All that power and you still lost to-”

“Shut up.” the mare interrupted, and then she stepped forward and grabbed his collar, jerking his head down as she met his eyes, before she said simply: “I love you.”

Valthrudnir's jaw dropped as his shoulders slumped, one hand quavering in the air as if he was trying to come up with some excuse or reason or idiotic smart thing to say, and then the mare leaned up on the tips of her hooves and chastely kissed his lips.

He shook, and the mare released him before she calmly strode over to his bonds: with ease, she picked the chain up and snapped it, and then she said quietly: “It's time for us to go.”

Valthrudnir mouthed wordlessly, his hands twitching at the air, his head shaking before he blurted out: “Where?”

“Wherever. Somewhere. Not here.” answered the mare with a shrug, before she paused and turned around, eyeing him critically before she gestured at him distastefully. “That suit jacket is a mess. You should get rid of it. I've never liked it on you anyway.”

Valthrudnir grabbed at himself, glaring at her, but she only glared back at him. He began to open his mouth to argue, but as his hand grasped at the front of his jacket, several buttons fell off, and he looked dumbly down at this before scowling as he dug his claws against the ugly, itchy, too-hot material... Oh, why not? I've lost everything else.

He shrugged the jacket off, then grouchily held it out to her. She made no move to take it, so he rolled his eyes and dropped it. She continued to only look at him, and Valthrudnir shifted uneasily on his feet before he almost blurted out: “Well?”

He awkwardly half-raised his arms, shifting nervously on his feet, suddenly feeling... vulnerable, almost naked, in spite of the silk shirt and dress pants still covering his body. The mare studied him critically for a few more moments, and then she smiled despite herself before she beckoned at him to lean down.

He did so, nervously, and she reached up, sliding a hoof along his breast before she gently flicked one, then two buttons loose on his shirt. Valthrudnir blushed and straightened quickly, grasping at the loose buttons, but the mare shook her head and said softly: “No. You look better like this.”

“I...” Valthrudnir looked at her, and then he simply nodded to her. He shifted silently, and there he was, she thought: there was the person she had loved. There was the boyish charm and that secret want for reassurance and that... sweetness, she thought. That weird innocence.

She smiled faintly at him, then she gestured at him to follow, and the dragon nodded, biting his lip as he ducked out from under his stall, stepping – for perhaps the first time – into the streets of Town. He looked back and forth almost fearfully, half-guarding himself with his arms, but the mare only reached up and touched his side reassuringly.

He looked at her, and then he asked: “Where are we going?”

She looked back, and smiled as she answered: “Anywhere. Everywhere. Nowhere. It doesn't matter, as long as we're together, Valthrudnir.”

“Alright... Celestia.” Valthrudnir murmured, and then he bit his lip before he whispered: “I missed you. I... I'm sorry.”

Celestia smiled radiantly up at him, and then she chuckled quietly and only shrugged before she led the way down the sole road of Town, headed towards the gates and the vast Nothingness beyond. Valthrudnir silently reached a hand down to grip into her as they walked, taking comfort from her and letting her lead as they strode into the endlessness of the Void.

But neither of them were afraid, as they walked away from their pasts, from who they had been.

Now, they looked ahead, as they walked side-by-side, together.

THE END

PreviousChapters
Comments ( 58 )

It's done. I can't say I expected this ending, but it's certainly a happy and satisfying one. It's been a wild ride, that's for sure. Thanks for bringing us this wonderful story, BlackRoseRaven. I look forward to your next one.

I didn't expect this little bit of epilogue, but what a welcome surprise it was.

7731540

Thank you for reading, favoriting, and commenting along the way. I really appreciate it, since I know it's quite a bit to dig into. I'm glad you were able to enjoy.

7731803

Thanks very much. I'm glad it was enjoyable, especially the ending. It just felt... like a good way to close things off, after everything else we've seen.

7732878
I do have one question though...did fluttershy and Tender Trust survive that blast? Normally I wouldn't ask, as stuff like this usually ends up mentioned later in the story, but, well...

7733146

True. There's a lot of stuff that ended up not being worked in at the end, because there wasn't a place to put it. I think I meant to at least pass over them at the very end, when everyone is gathered around, but I never did. I couldn't find the right rhythm to make it work. Not that it's any excuse of course.
But yes. I like to think they did: those forces were far beyond his control at that point.

this... I have no words for... actually that is a lie... there are words... the best... heartbreaking... AWSOME... invigorating. however I can say this, this is the story that brought me into FimFiction into MLP and into writing in general, and now it is over. The sadness this brings has no words... however I can undoubtedly say this... the fat lady has sung. and it is over... for now, by this I mean I will now be devoting most of my time writing a sequel, and I have no clue what will happen but It is time I got serious about writing and I hope this story becomes so big it trumps kkat's fallout equestria in number of sequels. although this is a lofty goal I think It can be achieved. <once again you may have to zooooom in

In which chapter does Thesis meet the Swan, if there is even a chapter like that? I can't remember.

7812067

The Swan herself? It was... one of the chapters in Cadence's homeworld. 111, Never Alone Again, perhaps is what you're thinking of.

7812078
Oooh, thanks so much. I've been looking for that scene for ages.

On another note, what does the Swan look like? Is she human, or a lizard-person, or is she a hybrid of both? The descriptions are kinda vague.

7812113

A prettier Voldemort is kind of my first go to. But I always did try and leave the descriptions more vague so people could sort of. Image them out on their own. It's very hard to describe because they're alien and yet not so different at the same time, so it feels like anything I describe and draw attention to as different, I exaggerate, if that makes any sense. It's one of those instances where I wish I could draw it out and show people instead of trying to figure out the words.

7813579
I see. Thanks for telling me!

I have never heard of this story until now. I have not read a songle wird of it and my god. Do you need a pat on the fucking back. Over 1 million words and only 18 likes, and 10 dislikes.
You wrote over 1 million words for this story and you haven't gotten nearly enough respect.
Fuck it. I'm gonna go spread the word if this story, in hopes that ot will gain popularity fir all the effort put into it.

7837048

Thanks very much for the thought. Mostly I just write to write. I realize pretty much no one's going to look at these stories, but they're more for me than anyone else, anyway, and some people do manage to enjoy all the craziness, which I always appreciate.

7813579
I kinda imagine her looking somewhat like Undyne, from Undertale.

7981402

That's actually not a terrible comparison either, yeah.

7989636

That one was intentional, yeah, because of Eridu's abilities as a clairvoyant. I mean, the more meta part was a bit unintentional, but the rest of it, Eridu would have seen and known.
As to the other comment, I actually didn't realize that myself. I mean, I would love to take credit for it since, it's two very different chapters but they both correspond to the Swan's evolution in her relationship with others, but. That was definitely not something I was actually thinking about at the time, no. That's neat to see, though.

For some reason, I think the best person to voice Thesis would be Stephen Colbert.

I kinda drew some fanart of Cadence over here. Tell me if it's cool or not :pinkiesmile:.

8046170

Thanks for sharing. That's really cool to see and really brightens my day. It looks like you've been putting a lot of work into your art.

8046696
Thanks. I'm so glad you liked it!

So, I was wondering about some stuff earlier. Suppose you had written The Rhythm of the Dance after season 6 had aired. How would Flurry Heart play into that? What effect would she have had on the story if she was actually born to Cadence Danzsöngr, if any? Would you have made Cadence's world an alternate universe where Flurry Heart was never born? Would this hypothetical Flurry be born, but left on Cadence's homeworld, or brought along to Decretum? And can Cadence Danzsöngr even have kids anyway?

Forgive me if these are silly questions, but I'm curious. :pinkiesmile:

8069401

I was pondering about this for a while. I think Flurry Heart would have really complicated the dramas between Shining and Cadence, definitely, but I don't know if it would have changed their respective roles in the story at all. I think ultimately I probably wouldn't've wanted to complicate it overmuch: Rhythm did start off as just a silly "Cadence punches things in the face" and it kind of blew out of proportion, just like Moonrise did. But if I had been writing it more seriously from the start, and more canonically, it would have been a lot rougher, and the split between Shine and Cadence would have been a lot rougher, too. I imagine that during the revisit, Flurry wouldn't exactly be all that excited to see Mom again, for example. And she definitely wouldn't've come along with Cadence to Decretum, either: it's not exactly the most kid friendly environment, after all, even after major reconstruction.
As to the having kids question, I did briefly consider Cadence and Thesis having a kid. It would have been really interesting. I'm not sure if she actually could, however, with the Swan being what she is. There are a lot of sideplots that I'd love to explore and write out, but at the same time, a lot of them never feel quite 'right' with the story and the characters, so to speak. Cadence, technically, was in a state of change until the end of Hecate's Orphanage: maybe in that final shape, she could bear a child, but of course then the question becomes would she? And this Cadence, at least, I don't see really wanting to have children, at least not without Thesis around.
And no worries. I'm always happy to try and answer any questions you might have. It helps me think about it, too, and figure out the details I might have missed before.

8070129
Thanks, man. I'll let you know if any questions come up.

8085670

Thanks for sharing. It really fits quite well, both in mood and language.

Silly me. I keep reading Dogmatists and Replicants as Democrats and Republicans. I need to stop reading politics. :rainbowwild:

Over 1 million words...

And only 215 people have seen it?!?

8101593

I'm not super great at the whole "self-promotion" thing.
Well, and it's a little bit niche, too. Huge story at the end of a huge long series and all.

8102471 well, for a work this long, I really recommend the Shameless Self-Promotion Bureau. Ever heard of Glory Be? You're in the exact same boat: just get yourself out there. And uh, possibly get some better cover art. No offense to the artist, it's not like I can do a whole lot better, but it might appear more attractive.

8102608

I also wrote Glory Be, yes.
And I know. It's a two minute thing I whipped up. I have an actual sketch/design for the actual title page here but I haven't finished it.

8102638 ...
Jesus Christ, no offense, but is this your free time or ALL your time??
Having 1 of the longest stories on FimFic is impressive, but to casually make it in the tops twice? You have my respect.

Ever found it kinda weird that none of the major characters in this story are under the age of 20? :raritywink:

8110510

I never even thought about that. That's a good point.

It's weird how this is the only story where I like Cadence because she's so snarky and grumpy all the time. I can't stand most comics which show her like that.

I guess, maybe, it's because of all the character development she goes through over the course of the story.

On another note, is that cover art ever going to be completed?

8122481

When you take the time to develop a character more, it does often help with making them more... bearable. You understand why the act the way they do and you're less mad at them than if they're just grumps all the time with no discernible reason, certainly. La Croix and Moony are also great foils for Cadence and balance her out a lot more, and sometimes Cadence sort of... balances herself out, so to speak. She tries really hard to be professional and she actually will apologize when she goes too far. Things like that often help a lot, too.
Plus when you put her next to Hecate or Thorn she doesn't seem nearly as serious or grumpy. That probably helps too.
As to the cover art, I'm actually getting some help with it right now. I don't want to rush it out, I'd like it to look, well, half-decent, anyway. I have the basic sketching done, but I need to figure out a background that fits the theme and isn't too distracting.

8122661
That's totally true. Hecate can - or could :( - make anyone seem like Pinkie Pie by comparison. But that's what we love about her.

Do you estimate the cover art coming out by the end of the year? JK, take your time.

This is one of the longest stories on the site. Why does it only have a handful of votes?

Comment posted by Mira Starlight deleted May 20th, 2017

>Comment posted by Grayhoof85 deleted at 11:36pm on the 20th of May, 2017

What did it say?

I got halfway through this and then didn't touch it for fucking forever but I'm done now. Definitely worth the read. Is this the end then? Any more stories in this world planned?

8180405

I'm glad it was worth the time invested. That's about all I hope for and it's good to hear.
I don't think there will be any more really long stories or series in this universe, but there will probably be at least one more story that isn't really connected to this saga or the last, but involves some of the characters, sort of like Slap's Big Adventure. I'm not sure when I'll write that, but the idea has been gnawing at me for a while and I'm sure I'll write it sooner or later.

8180422 Well I loved your more character centric pieces like slap and blue or zecora and ol stripey. So count me in if it's anything like those.

8178082
Nothing much, really. Just the ramblings of a mare who should have drunk a glass of milk before commenting on FimFiction.

8209925
I have a glass of milk every morning.

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