Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

A Quiet Night In

Chapter Forty: A Quiet Night In
~BlackRoseRaven

Cadence couldn't help but look around in fascination at Thorn's private room... or well, one of his private rooms, she reflected. She didn't know why it was so amazing to think about, but Thorn had quite a large apartment of his own, situated inside Castle Imperia itself.

They were currently sitting in his comfortable living room, and by they, she meant herself, Thorn, and a giddy-looking Moonflower. If she didn't know any better, she would have said that the stallion had actually forgotten about the fact he had lost a wing only a short time ago.

Thorn was currently tapping away on a control panel next to a large glass screen, as the stallion absently reprimanded: “-so you see, it makes a lot more sense for you to keep your Mission Drive on you at all times, if at all possible. We would have collected a lot more data that way.”

Cadence shifted a bit, then asked before she could stop herself: “But since all our things were taken, wouldn't we have lost all that data anyway?”

“Not necessarily. We already deployed Scavengers to retrieve what they can, and Mission Drives emit a distinct signal that allows us to interface with them from up to three miles away wirelessly. The data can then be retrieved almost at leisure.” Thorn shrugged a bit, stepping away from the control panel before he glanced over his shoulder and asked: “Are you sure you don't want anything?”

“I'm sure, Thorn.” Cadence said with a smile as she rested back in the comfortable cushioned chair, looking with amusement at the stallion before Moonflower awkwardly rose a hoof from the couch.

“I would like more coffee!” Moonflower said hurriedly, and Thorn smiled a bit before he nodded, walking out into the hall as images began to flow over the glass screen: pictures of Decretum taken by satellite, Cadence thought.

She paused for a few moments to make sure that Thorn was out of earshot, and then she leaned towards Moonflower and said dryly: “You know, you don't have to keep taking a cup of coffee every time he asks.”

“He bought it for me! What else am I supposed to do?” Moonflower almost whined, wincing a bit towards the door before he added hurriedly: “And he's going to hear you!”

“He will not. And I don't think he bought that all for you. It sounds like going to that Looking Glass World or whatever they call it really helped him loosen up a little. I'm sure he wants you happy. I'm not so sure he wants you drinking ten gallons of coffee just to make him smile.” Cadence replied mildly, as she looked pointedly at the stallion.

Moonflower huffed a bit, then he absently grabbed at the air before grimacing a little as his back flexed automatically, trying to bring around a wing that was no longer there. He shifted awkwardly after a moment, then cleared his throat when he realized Cadence was looking at him sympathetically, mumbling: “I'm perfectly fine. Just... just adjusting, that's all.”

Cadence nodded, and Moonflower cleared his throat before he shook himself out and grumbled: “Well, it's not like it really matters, anyway. I could always bring them back, but... pah. It was painful enough the first time. Do you know what it's like to apply a permanent polymorph?”

Moonflower paused, looked awkwardly at Cadence for a few moments, and then he looked lamely away before mumbling: “Sorry.”

Cadence frowned a bit, then she looked down at her own hoof for a moment before smiling briefly and shaking her head. “No. I can't say that I've ever... really felt the changes, after all. Annoying as they can be.”

The unicorn nodded to her, and the mare softened a bit before she said: “But you know, if you asked, I'm sure...”

“No, no. No. I'm...” Moonflower hesitated, then he looked towards the screen before he said softly: “What point is there in being a god of darkness if I still don't like myself? I... I want to like myself, Cadence. And more than that, I want to accept myself. And... I feel like Thorn is helping me do that.”

He smiled a little after a moment, then he chuckled quietly and shook his head, murmuring: “But perhaps that's all just silliness and fluff.”

“I think it's very important.” Thorn said softly, as he reentered the room with two cups and a small plate held in his telekinetic grip, and Moonflower smiled embarrassedly at the stallion as Thorn simply sat down, passing Moonflower a mug before he offered the plate to Cadence.

Cadence glanced at the pastry balls on the plate, then she shrugged before taking one with telekinesis. She bit into it as Thorn floated the plate to the safety of the table in front of him, where it joined his cup on a pristine little plastic pad: just about everything in Thorn's apartment reflected his almost OCD-like need for order.

She bit into it, and smiled slightly in surprise: it was stuffed with some kind of blueberry filling, and tasted delicious. Then she couldn't help but laugh when she looked up and saw Thorn dabbing at Moonflower's face with a cloth napkin, the black stallion looking embarrassed and childish as he shifted back and forth, which was just resulting in more smears all over a face that was already covered in gunk, thanks to the fact it looked like Moonflower had just chomped into two of them at once.

Moonflower whined in his throat, but he gave up after a few moments, sheepishly lowering his head a little as Thorn cast a cleansing spell over him and wiped up the last of the gunk from his face. But even if they seemed more like parent and child, there was such a tenderness in Thorn, and Moonflower clearly liked being doted over, whether he would ever admit that or not.

Thorn neatly folded up the used napkin and put it aside, and then he glanced towards Cadence, asking: “What do you think?”

“I like them. Thank you. I might have another later.” Cadence said quickly, preempting Thorn before he could offer the plate to her again. He was trying maybe a little too hard with the whole host thing. “So what did you want to show us?”

Thorn glanced towards the screen, then he rose his mechanical foreleg, a holographic screen appearing just above the metal limb so the stallion could tap a quick code over it. Immediately, there was a thrum from the screen before images flashed to life over it, the sapphire stallion gesturing at the screen as he said softly: “I thought that I would... share a little with you both.”

Moonflower perked up as Cadence looked with interest at the screen, before she smiled in amusement at the image of the three ponies on screen. They were strange looking ponies, though: one had scales, one had crystalline wings, and the last... well, there was just something different about the red-eyed Pegasus. “Are they Orphan candidates?”

“They're my siblings.” Thorn said, and Cadence did a double take as Moonflower sat up with interest, cocking his head curiously. “Their names are Antares Mirus, Innocence Sparkle, and Scarlet Sage. The oldest is Scarlet, and youngest is Innocence. Well... I suppose I'm the youngest, but... Innocence doesn't really want to accept that. She's taken a liking to being the 'baby' of the family, apparently. And Antares and I... we had a bit of difficulty getting along at first, too.”

Cadence smiled a little as Moonflower chuckled, before he asked with a surprising, earnest interest: “But what did you think of them? And you fixed things with them, didn't you?”

“I did. And I was... amazed by them, really.” Thorn admitted, nodding to the stallion as he looked at him almost curiously, surprised by Moonflower's near-excitement. “They weren't like anyone I'd ever met before. They were... free, in a word. Strong, vital, and with their own rules and laws, and... free.”

Thorn smiled briefly, rubbing slowly at his face before he murmured: “They tested me a lot. But they always had a purpose, a motive behind it.”

Moonflower smiled as Cadence nodded, looking with interest again over the image of the three ponies before she asked softly: “Did they even know you were taking their picture?”

“Sometimes. Not all the time.” Thorn smiled despite himself, shrugging a bit, and Cadence looked at him with amusement: at least he's always honest. “Let me show you some of the other ponies I met.”

Cadence nodded as Moonflower looked eagerly towards the screen, and Thorn only had to gesture to make the images change, showing three more ponies now, and even though it was only a picture, Cadence's eyes widened as her instincts told her two of those were demons, but that laughing, jovial stallion on the right... “That's... he's a god!”

“He's my uncle. Sleipnir. Avatar of Thor, as Luna is the Avatar of Brynhild, and you are the Avatar of Danzsöngr.” The stallion paused, then corrected after a moment: “Well, I don't know if that's entirely the best way to put it, to be honest. Your relationship with Danzsöngr is different from the others... except Freya, of course.”

Cadence smiled a little at this, nodding a bit as she gazed back at the screen, studying the stallion before her eyes roved towards the demons as Thorn continued: “That's his wife, Pinkamena, and their daughter, Aphrodisia. Aphrodisia is actually an Inquisitor, and we... I want to say we met at some point in the past, but I was too young to really remember. We got along very well, but I know that in part is because of this.”

He reached up and tapped on the ring around his horn, and Cadence hesitated, before she blinked in surprise as Moonflower beat her to the question she wanted to ask. “How did you get that, anyway? It's... quite a symbol of status, isn't it?”

“Yes. It marks me as a Grand Inquisitor, although it was mostly a ceremonial position, really.” Thorn smiled briefly, shaking his head. “Something to keep me busy in Helheim, so that... my parents and Nanny Hel didn't have to worry about me.”

“Nanny Hel.” Cadence smiled despite herself, shaking her head briefly before she muttered: “Kind of scares me to hear you refer to her like that. I mean, I know she's a backer and all, but at the same time...”

“That's the Swan, Cadence. I thought that was something you were working on keeping in check, furthermore.” Thorn said mildly, and Cadence looked awkwardly away before Thorn glanced up curiously as Moonflower nudged him gently.

“Cadence is... very good, you know. She keeps herself quite... good.” Moonflower said lamely, finishing much more quietly than he started but Thorn couldn't help but smile all the same, shaking his head briefly before he nodded a little in return.

“I know.” he said softly, glancing towards Cadence. “I don't mean any offense by it. I just also... worry, I suppose.”

“I understand. And I... I do have to do better. It's just that... more than hating the Swan lately, more than her really having power over me, it's like...” Cadence bit her lip as she rubbed slowly at her face, thinking about how the Swan's feelings, the Swan's thoughts and opinions... they seemed to more and more be infecting her own, making her think in ways that she didn't want to.

She was quiet for a few moments, and then she glanced up as Thorn switched to the next picture, Cadence staring in surprise at the group of ponies and not-quite-ponies that appeared on screen. “Ponyville in Looking Glass World has a lot of... not just ponies, but other peoples. It's a little utopia, in a lot of ways, and it's a lot like what I think we're trying to establish throughout the worlds. A place of harmony, where everyone is accepted, where everyone is free to be themselves.”

Cadence smiled a little at this thought, nodding slowly before she asked curiously: “Isn't that Tender Trust? So that mare beside her...”

“That's her mother, Fluttershy.” Thorn nodded, then hesitated for a moment before he said: “She's Sol Seraph's daughter, hard as that might be to believe.”

“What? Really?” Cadence blinked in surprise, leaning forward and staring at the picture before she said slowly: “But she's... she's a Phooka, right?”

“She wasn't always. She was a Pegasus, but she was... invited to join the tribe, I suppose you could say.” Thorn smiled a bit as he gave a quick nod, while Moonflower only stared blankly at the screen before Thorn continued: “The small Pegasus there is Avalon, who is Applejack's daughter. A lot of these ponies have been fighting to follow in their parents' hoofsteps, really. Many of them are warriors, but it's not... a warlike world, so to speak. And they are good ponies. They know discipline, and honor, and something... purer than that.”

Moonflower smiled a little, and then he said softly: “It sounds like quite a wonderful world. Do you think we could go there one day, you and I?”

“I'd like that.” Thorn smiled over at Moonflower, nodding to him as Cadence shook her head with a soft laugh at the two. They were such a cute, strange pair, she thought. And they were so good for each other, funny as their relationship was.

Finally, Thorn glanced back up at the screen, gesturing at it to change the picture, and Cadence smiled at the images that appeared over the monitor: it looked like some kind of massive, underground city, inhabited by all sorts of demons, undead, other strange and marvelous creatures. And yet none of them seemed like they were hostile to each other. They looked curious, and friendly, and like... “You really like when things get along, huh?”

“I like unity. I like when different parts are able to come together for one common purpose. I think there's a lot we can learn from that, and a lot to be inspired by in that, yes.” Thorn replied with a nod, and Cadence smiled in amusement at how serious he sounded.

“You know, you don't have to explain anything that you don't want to, Thorn.” she said with soft amusement, and Thorn shrugged awkwardly as Moonflower chuckled.

There was silence for a few moments, then Cadence and Moonflower simply sat back and enjoyed the pictures that Thorn showed them. He explained things now and then, but otherwise seemed content just to flick through most of the pictures, lingering a little here and there: mostly on ones that depicted his family, Cadence thought.

As Thorn paused on a picture of his siblings Antares and Innocence – and Cadence could now definitely see the resemblance to Brynhild in how they had been caught in mid-shout at each other, shoving wildly at each other's faces like puppies – Moonflower suddenly rose his head and said: “I had two sisters, you know.”

Both Cadence and Thorn looked curiously at Moonflower, and the unicorn smiled a little before he hesitantly shifted to sit back against Thorn. He seemed to take strength from the sapphire stallion wrapping a foreleg around him, lowering his head and silently tapping his front hooves together as he continued: “Two sisters. It was a lot of mouths to feed, but... my sisters married young, like most mares of that day, and while they were loved, they were also... I don't know how to put it politely. Bargaining chips? Their dowries certainly were a large part of what kept us alive in those years, after all...”

Moonflower chuckled softly, shaking his head slowly. “My father always said that... being raised with two girls was what made me a colt cuddler. He was... quite angry with me when he found out that I hadn't been visiting the farmer's daughter, but the farmer's son. But...”

Moonflower glanced down, then he shook his head and murmured: “But he loved me. He and my mother accepted me after a time, and I know he was upset because... I didn't tell him. He said it should have always been obvious from the start, later on, but he supposed he needed time to adjust too, and he...”

The unicorn silently rubbed at his eyes with the back of a hoof, and then he cleared his throat before straightening with a small smile. “Well, I was quite fortunate, especially for back in those days. They didn't force me to change who I was, and they scraped together everything they could for me when I decided I wanted to learn magic... to really learn magic.”

He halted, then looked back at the emblem on his haunch, studying it silently as he murmured: “When I was only a foal, afraid of the dark and all the things in it, I moved the moon. No one ever believed me, of course. A silly foal's tale. But I heard the moon call out to me while I was shivering in my dark little room, and I called back to it. I moved it, even if just a smidge... just enough so that its pale glow came in through my window, and lit up my room. That was how I got my cutie mark.”

Moonflower looked up with a smile, gazing between Cadence and Thorn before he lowered his head and murmured: “But I had no formal training. Only the magic I learned from a few dusty old books, or I was able to teach myself by feeling it out. They had little use for me around the village and even less use in the big cities, where all the best positions were already taken up by the well-dressed, well-connected unicorns. It wasn't fair, I thought back then. It wasn't fair that everyone was judged by how you looked, and who you knew, and where you had come from, instead of what your talents were...”

He shook his head slowly, looking down and murmuring: “So I began... making up identities for myself. Changing myself. Reshaping myself, to be someone new. Someone who would fit in. But they always saw through me... until the day came that...”

Moonflower shook his head slowly, glancing up with a faint smile. “My parents died while I was away, trying to prove myself. I could have protected them, saved them, but... I didn't. I was away from the village when it was attacked by raiders, and...”

The unicorn halted, taking a shuddering breath, and Thorn silently rubbed along his back as he nuzzled him reassuringly, Moonflower shaking a little before he straightened slightly and murmured: “After I found out, proving myself, proving my worth... it was all I could think about. One way or another, I swore that I would become...”

He shook his head slowly, then closed his eyes and smiled faintly. “Well, I ended up... becoming a god of darkness and despair, bringing ruin to the world. A tragic end to my tragic tale.”

“You attacked Celestia and were locked away in Tartarus for five hundred years. Except it wasn't Celestia, it was Stronghold Halfdragon.” Thorn said softly, and Moonflower lowered his head awkwardly before the sapphire stallion added: “And your story is not yet over, Moonflower. What would you call this?”

“A sequel. A new story, of better times.” Moonflower replied after a moment, giving a brief smile as he looked almost shyly up at Thorn, as if for his approval.

Thorn smiled a little after a moment, and Cadence shook her head slowly before she said softly: “I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Moonflower. It sounds... like a lot went wrong.”

“Oh, I suppose it's not really so tragic, all in all... it just seems that way because...” Moonflower shrugged awkwardly, giving a small smile. “Sadness is in the telling, like everything else, I think.”

“You and your false modesty.” Thorn said, and Moonflower blushed in embarrassment before the sapphire stallion smiled a little. “But I'm glad to know more about you. I might be quieter than you, but you rarely... really talk yourself.”

Moonflower chuckled quietly at this, looking down and nodding a bit as he murmured: “I suppose that is true, isn't it? It's not that I don't want to, mind you. I like you. I like you both.” Moonflower looked almost bashfully over at Cadence, shifting a bit as he wiggled himself a bit deeper against Thorn. “I really do, Cadence. I know that in the past I've always pushed quite hard to try and be team leader, but... I suppose in the past I never felt I could properly make something for myself unless... well, you know.”

“I do, so you don't have to apologize or anything.” Cadence replied, and Moonflower nodded before the ivory mare added wryly: “Although it would have been really nice for you to have realized before that you don't have to be in charge to be important.”

“I don't know if I ever really wanted to be in charge of anything. Important, yes, but... even I was smart enough to realize I never would have gotten anywhere without the help of Antecedes. He was always the smart one, not me.” Moonflower admitted, chuckling a bit before he shook his head and glanced over at Thorn with a warm look in his eyes. “I think that's why we get along so well. You're the smart one here.”

Cadence looked mildly at Moonflower, and he gave the mare a lame look before clearing his throat and correcting: “The smart one in the relationship, I meant, of course. You're very smart but we certainly aren't in any kind of relationship.”

“Of course.” Cadence said in a wry voice, shaking her head before she added: “Also, I am your friend, Moonflower, and I'm also technically your boss.”

“Commanding officer. There's a small but crucial difference.” Thorn corrected, and Cadence gave him a dry look. “Well, there is.”

“Thank you, Thorn.” Cadence said dryly, and Thorn shrugged and smiled slightly before the ivory mare gestured at the screen and asked: “So what else did you want to show us, anyway?”

“Just a few more. Older pictures, I thought... you might be particularly interested in, Cadence.” Thorn said softly as he created a holographic screen beside him, tapping through a few commands on the projected screen before the glass monitor flashed, then displayed what had to be an older photograph that Thorn had digitized, the mare's eyes widening with a look of amazement.

“Is that...” But she knew the answer already, as she laughed faintly before shaking her head in disbelief, whispering: “Wow. They look so...”

What was the word she was looking for? Young? Normal? Brynhild looked almost exactly like the Princess Luna she had known in that picture, except she was missing both her peytral and her diadem in favor of a simple band of ivy hanging around her neck, with a gorgeous black pearl hanging from it. She thought she recognized that from the collar Brynhild had worn...

Scrivener and Morgan looked the same way: normal. Absolutely, completely normal. Sure, the stallion was huge and covered in scars, but he still looked like nothing more than a big earth pony with a dark coat, instead of some kind of clawed Replicant. And Morgan... that was no Morgan Heldóttir. That was Twilight Sparkle, the same Twilight Sparkle who she had once babysat as a foal...

She laughed faintly, shaking her head slowly before she leaned forward and whispered: “Wow. How'd you get these pictures?”

“Scarlet Sage shared them with me.” Thorn replied with a smile and a shrug, looking at the screen. “I have the hard copies locked away, but... I've digitized a lot of them so I can carry them around with me.”

He rubbed slowly over his mechanical limb, then he returned his eyes to the screen, saying softly: “Look at them. Those are my parents, when they were young, maybe... I don't know, fifty mortal years ago? Sixty? The years have changed their bodies so much, and of course, that's not considering how long it's really been for them, with how long they were in Helheim, but... that's how long it's been for Antares, and all their friends and...”

Thorn shook his head with a quiet chuckle, murmuring: “I'm not even sure what I'm trying to say. Maybe it's just that... everything can change so much, so quickly.”

“I know what you mean.” Cadence smiled briefly, and then she shook her head slowly as she looked back at the picture, asking quietly: “So they really were just... normal ponies? All of them?”

“I don't know, Cadence. What defines normal?” Thorn smiled a little as he looked over at Moonflower softly. “Do we all begin as 'normal?' And where do we become 'special,' or 'strange?' What do those qualifiers even mean, in a world where everyone strives to be unique, to embrace their own special talent?”

Cadence and Moonflower both looked curiously at Thorn, and the sapphire stallion chuckled quietly before he shook his head and murmured: “How can we all be special, and yet also nothing more than... statistics, numeration, qualifiers? Look at them. In the past, my parents were 'normal,' just as all of you were. And yet at the same time... weren't you all special, too, in a different way? My parents were still heroes, even back then. Even Twilight was special, with a great destiny ahead of her, something she was being groomed for. Cadence, even at your most 'normal,' you were a princess. Of love, and romance, isn't that right?”

Cadence blushed and looked awkwardly away, and Moonflower smiled a little as he said softly: “Well, I was never a lord, you know. They never thought I would amount to more than a poor merchant, at the very best. I was born into the peasant caste, and my kind generally wasn't considered 'special.'”

Thorn laughed quietly, looking at the unicorn and saying softly: “I think you must have been very special, Moonflower, considering that you were able to move the moon when you were only a foal.”

Moonflower smiled and blushed slightly, lowering his head a little into the comfort of Thorn's chest. Cadence smiled softly at the two, before she reached up and tapped her horn gently, saying quietly: “You know, you two have a really good energy together. I can feel that. Like you said, I used to be the Princess of Love.”

Rather ironic, considering how her relationship with Shining Armor had gone... but Cadence dismissed those thoughts as Moonflower smiled widely, and Thorn gave maybe the slightest blush and smile too.

His eyes shifted back to the picture on the wall, and then he said softly: “I want to model all my relationships off of... how my parents are. Open and honest with each other, unafraid to show every side of who they are with one another. Striving to push each other to be better. I think that's what a good relationship should do: we shouldn't just stagnate and reassure each other. We shouldn't just try and make each other feel nice. We should push each other, strive to be better people, together, and work to give each other the best of themselves that they can.”

Cadence smiled at this, but she couldn't help but ask: “And what about that old saying, 'you don't deserve me at my best if you can't handle me at my worst?'”

“I think that's true. I just also think people abuse that and don't understand the meaning behind it. They just use it as an excuse to justify their bad behavior.” Thorn shrugged and smiled briefly. “It's not like my parents didn't put up with a lot between each other. But they worked hard to give each other everything they could. They strove to be their best. And they were there for each other at their worst, because relationships aren't about... cost, and privilege, but... supporting each other as one strong union, one coordinated unit.”

Cadence couldn't help but laugh a little at this, saying: “You know, I can't help but agree with you, but at the same time... you should maybe try and be a little more... nice.”

“Nice.” Thorn repeated dryly, although from the way he awkwardly shifted, somehow Cadence felt like he knew what she was trying to say.

Moonflower immediately nodded encouragingly, looking up with a warm smile as he said quickly: “Not that she means anything negative, of course, just that... you know yourself you have a rather... precise way of wording things. It's something I understand well myself, given as to how I am prone to using fantastic flights of speech that my underlings never could comprehend, and even here ponies simply often don't have the intellect to-”

“Thank you for demonstrating, Moonflower. I'll try to keep that in mind.” Thorn said mildly, shaking his head briefly, and the black unicorn cleared his throat and lowered his head lamely as he gave an awkward smile.

Cadence snorted in amusement, and the three sat back in silence for a moment, Moonflower snuggling back into Thorn, Cadence smiling despite herself at the two, and Thorn looking a little embarrassed, a little exasperated, but still holding the unicorn close, keeping him safe against the comfort of his chest.

Then, finally, Thorn shook his head briefly before he rose his mechanical hoof and waved it gently, the screen turning off after a few moments with a single fizzle of static. He gently pried Moonflower off, then turned his eyes back towards Cadence, asking: “What else were you curious about, Cadence?”

Cadence smiled lamely, shifting awkwardly a little, and Moonflower smiled before he said hesitantly as he awkwardly rose a hoof: “Not that I don't enjoy your directness, Thorn, but... perhaps that's not the most... effective way to deal with more... casual affairs.”

“I do have lots of questions. It's just... well, you know. When you ask like that it's kind of like putting me on the spot and uh... you know, then I start thinking of you more as my boss than my friend, when I really want to think of you as my friend first.” Cadence added quickly.

Thorn frowned slightly at this, and then he tilted his head slightly, muttering: “I don't know if that's a good thing or not... I don't want our friendship jeopardizing our work relationship.”

Cadence winced slightly at this, and Moonflower shifted and bit his lip, before he blurted out: “What about us? Would you put work before us?”

Thorn blinked in surprise at this, and Cadence watched as Thorn shifted before he bit his lip, hesitating: that alone said worlds about how deeply Thorn cared for Moonflower. But Moonflower, of course, was only looking at Thorn with those big, childish eyes of his, almost pleading with him...

After a few moments, the sapphire unicorn finally sighed a little, shifting a bit before he mumbled: “I... I suppose I would not, no. Family is the most important thing, and friends come long before work. That's what Hecate has always taught me.”

Cadence couldn't help but smile despite herself, as Moonflower looked up with a bit of a blush before he said finally: “Well, Hecate taught me that when I don't listen to her it will always result in pain. I suppose that's similar in a sense, isn't it?”

Thorn gave Moonflower a quietly-amused look as Cadence snorted in entertainment, shaking her head briefly before she said wryly: “You know, Moonflower, maybe you'd get hurt less if you didn't feel you always had to argue with everyone.”

“I don't!” Moonflower paused, then said awkwardly: “That... that doesn't count as arguing, does it?”

Cadence and Thorn traded amused looks, and then Thorn shifted a bit before he said softly: “Hecate cares about everyone here. She knows everyone's name, and she wants what's best for all of us. She also just... happens to be a little... rough.”

“What was life for you in Helheim like, Thorn? I mean, compared to here.” Cadence asked suddenly, and Thorn looked surprised by this before he gave a small smile as Moonflower looked at him curiously as well.

He shifted a little, thinking about how that had always been a bit of a taboo subject: ponies weren't even supposed to know that he had been raised in Helheim. But of course, things got out, and Thorn knew that he was also supposed to be making his own decisions about what he told people as well, even though it had always been easier to just let everything else make decisions for him.

Cadence and Moonflower were both looking at him curiously, and it was funny how he had to remind himself that these were... friends. These were ponies he could trust, who just wanted to know more about them, and, well, there was really nothing wrong with that, was there?

Thorn smiled a bit despite himself, then he returned his eyes quickly to Cadence, answering after a moment: “To be honest... while I certainly was always told that Helheim was very dangerous... it never felt all that dangerous to me, because I was... always in this safe bubble. I learned that if I followed the rules, I stayed safe, and everyone stayed happy. I guess that's part of why I ended up... adjusting so well to Decretum.”

The sapphire stallion gave a brief smile again as he reflected on this and how it probably sounded, and then he shook his head before saying quietly: “They always made me painfully aware that Helheim wasn't just dangerous, and it was never just... my own life that was on the line. If I disobeyed, if I got in trouble... it would be my parents who suffered for it. That thought always terrified me: that I was responsible for much more than my own life. That anything and everything I did wrong would be recorded, and my parents would suffer for it.”

Thorn quieted, glancing down before he shook his head and murmured: “And of course, I was a child, and that concept of responsibility was not something I grasped immediately. There was one small rule I broke almost every day at first, and that was the window rule.”

Moonflower and Cadence both looked curiously at Thorn, and the sapphire stallion shook his head again before he said softly: “I wasn't supposed to go near the windows during very specific times of day. My existence was supposed to be a strict secret, and even when I went out with my parents, I had this... it was almost like a little carriage the servants would pull me around in.

“I was too young to understand time and relativity very well, and it was always so beautiful outside. I always wanted to go outside. I think partly because I was never allowed to except on special occasions, so it just became one of those things where... you want it in part because you're not allowed to have it.” Thorn chuckled softly, then he shook his head and looked up with a small smile. “I would always be at the window. And every day, my parents were punished for it, during their daily tortures.

“I never even really understood... that every night, after I was asleep, the Inquisitors would come and they'd torture them for three hours. But once, I woke up in the middle of the night, and walked in on it...”

Thorn quieted, looking away: he could still see it in his mind, crystal clear. “I still remember it to this day. I remember the Inquisitor looking at me, and Luna on the torture rack, bloody and hurt. When she saw me... she didn't shout, she didn't cry out. She told me very gently that I had to leave. I knew that voice: it was the voice she used when things were very serious, when she needed me to listen.

“I listened.” He smiled briefly, glancing up at the two. “But the Inquisitor was stupid. Or maybe just cruel and overconfident. I remember that he told me to stop, then he took a step towards me. He probably just meant to scare me, to use me to further torture Luna: maybe he didn't even realize who I was, or what I was doing there. I don't know.”

Thorn continued to smile faintly, but it wasn't a happy smile as he relived that moment in memory: as he remembered the boom, the crackle of power, the ice... “It didn't matter. He stepped towards me, and then Hel was simply there, beside him. That was the first time I saw her, and I saw her... as she truly is, not the laughter, the madness, the... show, she usually presents herself with. I saw a goddess, of inestimable and unknowable power, of vengeance and retribution.

“She touched the Inquisitor. That was all it took, and he was erased from reality.” Thorn chuckled softly, as Cadence shifted uneasily and Moonflower's mouth fell open in shock. “And then she turned her eyes towards me, and I knew there was... nothing I could do, but listen, when she told me to come to her.

“My mother was so angry. And there was no shouting or swearing, but... just this hard, cold glare. And Hel looked back at my mother, then she looked down at me, and said: 'Nanny has a lesson for you, so you listen close. You see your mother? Your mother is suffering because of you.'”

The sapphire stallion looked down silently, and then he shook his head and murmured: “And it was true. In more ways than I realized at the time... after all, if Luna had never gotten pregnant with me, or they had cared about me a little less, they could have kept running, kept out of Helheim, avoided the daily grind of torture and working for Hel. And if they had given me up before, they... never would have had to go through giving me up later.”

Cadence softened at this as Moonflower bit his lip, but Thorn smiled before he looked up and said quietly: “I apologize, that probably sounds... much worse than I meant it to. I get... self-pitying at times, even though it's not constructive for anyone. I don't know why it happens.”

“Those are emotions, Thorn. You know that, right?” Cadence asked half-jokingly, and Thorn smiled wryly again after a moment, shaking his head briefly.

“Too well.” he said finally. “I know I'm not very... 'expressive...' but I do feel things. Often very deeply, at that. I just don't ever seem to know what to say, or how to say it, especially if it doesn't serve any purpose. My whole life has been based around responsibility, keeping the gears moving.”

“You were being groomed for this position even before you met Hecate.” Cadence said softly, and Thorn smiled a bit, which told him that he didn't agree... but he might not disagree, either. “You know, Thorn, you are... free. And it sounds like your parents are free from Hel, or... well...”

“They'll never be entirely free from Helheim.” Thorn said quietly, looking down for a moment before he shook his head and laughed quietly. “It's just another game to Hel, after all. No matter how she acts, she's never out of control. The only person who might be able to stand up to her is...”

Thorn broke off, and Cadence studied Thorn intently as she felt a strange twinge in his emotions. She shifted a little, biting back the question that even the Swan wanted her to ask, before Moonflower suddenly blurted: “Well, I'm not afraid of her!”

Thorn looked blankly at Moonflower, who nodded vigorously before he posed and declared: “I am a god of darkness, after all! And... I would fight her for you, Thorn!”

Cadence smiled in amusement at this, and after a moment, the sapphire unicorn softened before he chuckled quietly, saying finally: “Thank you, Moonflower. I'm very touched by your dedication.”

There was silence for a few moments as Moonflower simply shifted shyly and blushed as he looked with fawning eyes at his partner. Then, out of almost nowhere, Moonflower suddenly asked: “Thorn, do you want to get a cat?”

“A... cat?” Thorn shifted awkwardly, then he cleared his throat before saying finally: “I don't think there are any cats in Decretum, Moonflower. Nor have we really established rules for pets... right now we only allow familiars and domesticated farming or work animals...”

Moonflower nodded quickly, and then he clapped his front hooves together before saying brightly: “I know, but you could really use a familiar, couldn't you? I mean, you're quite the talented unicorn after all, Thorn, and of course, you're so responsible that taking care of a pet would probably be as easy for you as... well, everything else!”

Thorn looked at Moonflower, clearly knocked off balance for once, as the black stallion continued to nod before he added positively: “I just think that it would be a really great experience for you and all, that's all. You always do a fantastic job with other people, and, well... maybe if you had something to keep you company, since I can't always be everywhere with you and all.”

Thorn laughed a little at this, shaking his head before he replied: “Well, you know, I do have a lot of company. I always have my other friends to talk to, and... of course I spend a lot of time with Hecate and Seneschal.”

Moonflower smiled, then he leaned forward and said earnestly: “That might be true, but you know, sometimes it's nice just to have... a companion you don't really have to worry about... putting up with, so to speak. You can just touch them and pet them and cuddle with them and talk at them instead of talking to them and it's all very soothing. And Thorn, well... not to say anything mean, but... you could use a bit of... personality in your home.”

Thorn frowned at this, then he looked around, saying finally: “I have furniture, and a lot of other personal touches, actually. I mean...”

Thorn gestured awkwardly around at the comfortable furniture, the large monitors, the bookshelves... but Cadence could see what Moonflower meant by this room alone. Everything was neat and ordered and sure, there was plenty of Thorn's habits and tics in it, but even if he had shared pictures with them, they were hidden away again in his Mission Drive already. There were no photographs on the walls, no posters, no signs of personality, just sterility...

“I think what Moonflower is getting at is the fact that your home is kind of... sparse.” Cadence said carefully, and Thorn tilted his head as he gestured again at the furnishings. “No, not like that. I mean... you've seen the inside of Moonflower's home, for example, right? No offense or anything, but this place looks more like a hotel room than anything else. It's all so... perfect, and pristine, and...”

“That's how I like it. That is my personal touch.” Thorn said in an almost-insulted voice, and Cadence wasn't sure whether she should apologize or laugh. But after a moment, Thorn looked around before he nodded and mumbled: “I... suppose that's true, though. Even Mother has the photographs she keeps on her desk. My quarters might seem a little... barren.”

“You do seem to have people you care about, after all, and who you definitely don't seem to be ashamed of having in your life. So why not... celebrate that?” asked Cadence, gesturing at the empty walls. “You could surround yourself with your family.”

“And your not-quite-but-almost-family!” Moonflower added quickly, holding up a hoof with a bright smile, and Thorn gave the stallion an amused look before he nodded a little despite himself.

“Honestly? That's not such a bad idea.” Thorn said, as he looked around the living room, and then he glanced down at the plate on the table before levitating it with telekinesis, asking after a moment: “Do either of you want anything else?”

“No, Thorn. We're fine.” Cadence said quickly, before Moonflower ended up drinking another gallon of coffee. “What about you? Can we do anything for you?”

Thorn frowned a bit at this, and Cadence shrugged before she said in a softer voice: “Well, it just seems like... on or off duty, you're always taking care of us and all. You also don't seem like the kind of pony who ever really lets other people do things for them, when... we'd be more than happy to share a little bit of your responsibilities, you know.”

The sapphire stallion smiled a little at this, and then he nodded after a moment as Moonflower added quietly: “And you know, I wouldn't be much of a stallion if I didn't do everything I could for you myself... much less much of a... partner.”

Moonflower blushed a little, but when Thorn smiled, Cadence saw clearly how much those words meant to him, and she only hoped that Thorn understood that just because he had shouldered the world by himself in the past, it didn't mean he would always have to.