Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

Blood Rivals

Chapter Three: Blood Rivals
~BlackRoseRaven

Cadence felt... good. As a matter of fact, she was feeling excited and eager and downright happy, in spite of the fact that Moonflower was rambling away like an idiot in a futile effort to psyche himself up, and La Croix looked even more worried than usual: and considering the fact he was always nervous whenever they so much as brushed up against a combat situation, the fact it was so noticeable said something.

Her father was only curiously studying an abandoned firepit they'd found, inspecting both the still-warm embers and the marks here and there around the stones. He seemed as calm as ever, but at the same time, there was a certain tenseness to him... but Cadence had already seen why. It wasn't just the sense of energy in the air, but the traces here and there of corruption in the earth and soil: whatever they were after, it was likely capable of generating some kind of poison like her father could.

Except in the case of this creature, it likely had better control over it: Cadence could sense the malice from here, but there were none of the other telltale signs that would normally show up when something corruptive passed through the area: no rotten earth, no monstrous vegetation, no unnatural, predatory life or so much as a single shard of black crystal.

Cadence felt a moment of worry creep through her almost unnatural joy, shifting a little on the spot: because of her father's condition and some of Hecate's more dangerous creations, she had been well-versed on the effects of corruption, or, as it was properly named, the Clay of Prometheus. To her surprise, her father had actually been injected with an incomplete version of the compound, which was why he couldn't control it and why the changes, in the grand scheme of things, had been minimal.

That made her maybe a little bit anxious: when he wasn't contained by the purifier, Sombra emanated a poison and a malice powerful enough to corrupt the hearts and souls of ponies around him, and he could regenerate almost any amount of physical damage done to his body. He could create black crystal at will, and his dark magic would eat through even the hardiest of magical defenses in time.

And all that was just from an unstable version of the Clay of Prometheus. She had seen glimpses of what the full, completed version of the Clay was capable of, and it honestly frightened her to imagine what a demon would be capable of if it somehow became able to manipulate the effects of the corruption...

Cadence shook her head slowly, then she took a slow breath as she felt both her worry and anticipation growing. Her father was nervous, and that made her nervous; but that stupid, dangerous, evil part of her, that Swan part of her, relished the danger. It delighted in the thought that maybe they were going to be dealing with something that could hurt them, that could even kill them.

But then again, maybe the Swan wanted her to die. The Swan, unlike the rest of her, certainly didn't care in the slightest about her friends and teammates: the Swan only cared about whatever could make it stronger, and whatever would feed its hunger for violence. And Cadence thought sometimes that the Swan instinct in her wanted her to die, because every time she died...

She shook her head quickly, doing her best to throw these thoughts off as she adjusted the lightweight armor she was wearing. She didn't want to think about that, and she had more important things to focus on right now, like where these targets were that they were supposed to hunt down...

The ivory mare reached up and rubbed a hoof through her short mane, and then she glanced up as her father approached, asking quietly: “What did you find?”

Sombra studied her quietly, and then he said softly: “They are still close. I don't think they're aware of us just yet, thanks to La Croix, but we should be quiet and cautious. The corruption was... very different from mine. More concentrated and controlled, as I expect you already figured out, mi amore.”

Cadence nodded slowly, the two looking at each other for a few moments before the mare asked finally: “How do you feel about what we're getting into?”

Sombra smiled a little, and then his horn glowed, and Cadence blushed a bit as she felt her armor tightening and neatening itself a little over her body. Her rose-hued breastplate was always polished to perfection, along with the bracers that locked around all four of her legs, but she always got a little sloppy when it came to making sure everything was fitted properly, especially when she got a little excited.

She lamely swept at the plates of the battle-skirt that hung over her hindquarters, then reached up and quickly adjusted the belts of throwing knives and other trinkets around her waist before her father had to fix that for her, too. She had brought her best weapons with her, and made sure that everyone else was outfitted as best she could...

Although as her eyes traveled moodily towards where La Croix and Moonflower were now quietly bickering, she reflected that wasn't a whole lot. La Croix refused to wear anything but his same fancy clothing, carrying around the same large leather satchel he always took on missions; although that was a lot better than Moonflower, who refused to wear any armor at all and carried around his saddlebags like they were marks of shame.

She shook her head, then forced her eyes back to her father: at least Sombra had put on a vest that was specially-designed to fit his body, not only protecting him but also better securing the straps that harnessed the purifier on to his back. He had refused a weapon, as always, though, but he at least had his own set of tools and magical ingredients in the sidepacks hanging off his waist.

He only gave her a gentle look, and she sighed and dropped her head, mumbling: “Alright. I'll.. get everything under control, Dad, sorry.”

She straightened, then looked over at Moonflower and La Croix before saying clearly: “Get your flanks over here, or I'm going to leave you two behind to find your own way home.”

La Croix and Moonflower looked at each other, and then they traded one last shove before they both grumbled and hurried over to the mare, looking at her awkwardly. She looked mildly back at the two, then shook her head slowly before she asked moodily: “La Croix, how well will your stealth charm protect us?”

“Well, uh... I don't want to make no promises now, Cygne, but they should keep us invisible to whatever cocodrils be crawlin' around. We won't register as nothin' but crawdads on their radar until they see us.” La Croix replied after a moment, and then he grimaced and hugged himself, pulling his cape around himself like a blanket. “This place feels mal though, ma ami. Tres mal.”

“Oh, stop sniveling.” Moonflower said grouchily, waving a hoof at him, although now the handsome stallion was looking nervously back and forth himself as he added awkwardly: “After all, we... obviously completely missed finding these creatures, whoever and whatever they are, so... so really, we should just leave! Leaving would be the intelligent course of action. Maybe it's even the actual answer to this secret test, using our minds to outwit these good-doers and leave them waiting for us. That sounds very evil to me.”

“That's not evil, that's just rude. And this is a combat evaluation, not an... avoiding combat evaluation.” Cadence replied flatly, crossing her forelegs as she glared at Moonflower.

“Oftentimes, the wisest course of action in regards to war is not to make it at all.” Sombra said softly, and Cadence shifted uncertainly as she looked over at her father, who smiled at her gently. “I'll follow wherever you lead, mi amore. But I hold no illusions to the true nature of this test: this is not about us as much as it is about you.”

Cadence blushed a little, then looked awkwardly down and silently rubbed at her face... before scowling horribly as Moonflower held up a hoof and said awkwardly: “I actually think that it is about me. Because clearly, out of all of us, I am the one most likely to be promoted to a position more suiting to my talents and expertism.”

La Croix rolled his eyes at this, then grumbled: “Y'gonna get a position on my rear hoof if you keep this up, you paon. But hey, maybe your papa got a point, cher. If anypony gonna take the responsibility for whatever is goin' on here, it's gonna be you. So you just tell us what to do, and we all gonna do right by you. Right, rein de la nuit?”

Moonflower scowled at the nickname, but then he gave a loud, theatrical sigh before gesturing grumpily with one hoof as he mumbled: “Alright, alright. Very well, I will do my best to obey as well. You have all the powers of the great King of Evil at your disposal, Cadence.”

“Sometimes I wonder how you don't implode from the size of your ego, Moonflower.” Cadence remarked dryly, and the black winged unicorn huffed loudly at her, crossing his forelegs and glowering at her grumpily. “But... thank you, all the same. I'm glad I can depend on you, on all of you, and...”

Cadence hesitated, then she shook her head quickly before murmuring: “Hecate told us herself that this was an evaluation... she's going to want to measure our effectiveness, our combat skills, how we've developed both individually and together. I... I don't honestly think it's the winning or the losing that's as important to her as proving that we can all function.”

The others nodded, and then Moonflower held up a hoof before asking awkwardly: “But we're going to win, right?”

“Duh.” Cadence smiled despite herself, nodding firmly before she reached a hoof forwards, saying quietly: “All in, guys.”

Moonflower rolled his eyes, and La Croix groaned loudly as her father only smiled... but all three stallions willingly pushed their hooves together as the mare said quietly: “We're the Irregular Hunters. We're the very best Decretum has to offer. And no matter who or what these demons are, we're going to trample them into the ground by working together. Got it?”

The three nodded firmly, all of them looking at her with respect: past La Croix's snarkiness and Moonflower's arrogance, after all, they were both strong, trustworthy stallions who knew her as well as she knew them. And her father, of course... well, he knew her better than any pony here, and she adored and respected his wisdom more than she did even Hecate, and Hecate had become something of a mentor to her over the years.

They didn't always listen and they didn't always get along, but they would obey her when it came to the mission, at least. She looked between the three stallions, and then nodded firmly once before Cadence asked briskly: “Who are we?”

“Irregulars!” The response was a little more muted than usual, but it was still empathetic and clear, and they all moved as one as they pumped their hooves in the air, her father taking things as gracefully as ever, while La Croix was smiling wryly despite himself and Moonflower looking oddly relieved: for a self-proclaimed god of evil, he seemed to really need a lot of reassurance.

Cadence wanted to linger, to look at her father for advice, to do a hundred different, conflicting things, but she forced all those thoughts away and instead forced herself to fall back into the role of leader, ordering: “La Croix, I want you right behind me. Moonflower, keep a bit of distance between us and your magic cloaked but readied. Sombra will bring up the rear.”

It was standard formation for them: as much as Cadence always wanted to partner with her father, she knew that it was better to have La Croix with her and Sombra with Moonflower. Not just because La Croix and Moonflower would do nothing but argue if they were left alone together, but because she and Moonflower were the team's heavy-hitters, while Sombra and La Croix both acted as support personnel.

Individually, they all had glaring personality flaws: she was brash and easily provoked, La Croix was rude and cowardly, Moonflower was arrogant and loved to talk, and Sombra was... well, he was far too nice with the purifier on, and animal and insane with the purifier off.

Cadence smiled briefly to herself. Even when they tried to work together, they still had plenty of friction, and they still argued and clashed from time-to-time, and they still had a lot of kinks to work out. She wasn't going to pretend they were the perfect team, or that on more than one occasion, they hadn't been turned against one-another. But every time they fractured apart, it was only so they could find a better way to fit themselves back together again.

And when her team worked, they worked: there was no better team in all of Decretum. They didn't just make up for each other's flaws, they augmented each other's strengths. They were capable of fighting as one, able to communicate without words, able to flow and improvise with each other even in the heat of conflict or disaster.

Cadence was proud of them, and had faith in them. They might not seem like much, but there were no other ponies she'd rather work with. She'd found an even more natural rhythm with them than she'd ever had even with Shining Armor and Miss Take.

As always, there was a... a funny pang when she thought of those two. She hoped they were doing well together: they deserved it, after all. She and Shine hadn't really worked out at the end of the day, but, honestly, that was okay. They'd still had something special, and she liked to think that it had all been a worthwhile experience for them both. She would always cherish those memories, of all the time they'd spent together.

She knew it wasn't the time to be reflecting on the past, that she had to keep her focus on the here and now, but her mind always loved to wander at the most inappropriate times. Even when – maybe especially when – she knew they were walking headlong into a dangerous fight, she often found herself becoming loose, less-focused, relaxed and giddy and almost floating until they walked smack into the enemy. She didn't know if that was because of the way her nerves got to her, or if it was because of the malicious Swan inside of her...

Cadence shook her head hurriedly, trying to make herself focus on the here and now, but as always, she felt that sly, subtle poke at her concentration from whatever was lurking inside her, telling her that Archon would never have this kind of trouble, trying to trick her into going down the path of memory again and away from the present, trying to-

And then Cadence felt it: a chill that ran down her spine, something that made the Swan inside her stiffen in shock, shiver in excitement and quiver, in... in fear? Or was that jealousy, or anger, or something else petty and petulant and so hateful?

Whatever it was, it was drawing her attention like few things had before: she felt herself homing in on it, her gaze intensifying, her breathing quickening, her teeth gritting as she dropped her head between her shoulders, quickening her pace without even realizing it.

La Croix's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the mare storming through the underbrush, apparently no longer noticing the bushes or the branches she stomped straight through. And her whole body was tense and furious, her expression cold, her eyes glaring and locked ahead: La Croix couldn't think of a single time he had ever seen her so... so focused, so furious. Not when Cadence was in control, at least: right now, he reminded her more of her... moitié. Her dangerous moitié.

The Loa looked over his shoulder almost desperately at Moonflower and Sombra: while the one was oblivious, Sombra was frowning deeply, but he shook his head quickly in response to La Croix's unasked question. If there was one person that La Croix trusted to give him the right answer, it was Sombra: the old unicorn might have his demons, but when he was in control, there was no better pony to trust. And he was almost always in control.

Not that La Croix was entirely reassured: Cadence wasn't a pony he ever risked treating lightly. With ease, she could mash a zebra spirit like him into a pulp, after all, and he wasn't one of those crazy cocodrils who were fond of pain. And when she got into one of her moods, she seemed to forget that most ponies didn't like getting bent in half... or more likely, she forgot to care.

Cadence wasn't a cruel pony: really, she was a damn sight nicer than he was. She was compassionate, empathetic, good, all those things; but she also had this wickedness in her soul, that she just couldn't get rid of. That was from the Swan, he knew, and he didn't blame her for it, oh no, but La Croix had also learned from the life he'd lived that when you were dealing with serpents, you didn't mistake their coiling for hugs, just because they weren't crushing the life out of you yet.

He gently tapped her on the shoulder, then almost danced away when Cadence gave him a sharp look before he blurted: “Hey now, Cygne, ain't no reason you gotta go givin' me the evil eye now! Just makin' sure you're still in there under that stormcloud, that's all.”

Cadence blinked a few times, and then she came to a stop before blushing a little, shaking her head hurriedly out as she realized... “Oh, I... yes. I am. I'm sorry, La Croix. I just... I sense something. I sense something dangerous and powerful and...”

Cadence turned her eyes ahead, licking her lips slowly as she breathed quietly in and out, feeling that distinct, that rival power. Yes, a rival, an enemy who had once been unwanted ally, someone she... she hated and loathed for reasons that she couldn't put into words. She could feel it already magnetizing her, pulling her again, her horn sparking with energy before she gritted her teeth and forced herself not to give in to that draw.

She felt a hoof on her shoulder, and Cadence blushed and lowered her head slightly, not needing to look back to know it was her father. “Mi amore, are you alright?”

“I... I am, Daddy, I'm sorry.” the ivory mare replied after a moment, shaking her head briefly out and giving him an awkward smile. His presence was the only thing that could ever override the Swan, and those other awful instincts in her; but then again, he had always been more than just father and mentor. He had always been just about everything to her.

Sombra smiled at her reassuringly, and Cadence bowed her head to him before she forced herself to take a breath, knowing what her father was going to ask even before he did. “There are... it feels like its essence is divided across multiple entities, but only one of them really stands out to me. Not because of the power I feel but...”

Cadence's horn sparked with white energies, her eyes narrowing slightly before she whispered: “I know her. I know I know her...”

Sombra frowned slightly, and then Cadence gritted her teeth, feeling the Swan rising up through her suddenly and violently before she hissed: “They were pretty, but their weakness is proven now: they deserve to be erased!”

Moonflower stared at her as La Croix winced, and Cadence blinked a few times before she flushed and covered her mouth. But Sombra only reached up and squeezed her shoulder gently, gazing at her with kindness as he said softly: “Remember, Cadenza. There is nothing gained in destruction: not victory, nor punishment.”

“You are so wise.” Moonflower immediately said, leaning in towards Sombra and nodding repeatedly as his eyes almost sparkled, and Sombra only looked curiously at Moonflower, even as La Croix groaned and grabbed his hat, yanking it down over his head as he grumbled under his breath.

Cadence was almost distracted by Moonflower's awkward sucking-up to her father, but then she felt it: that pulse of the familiar creature's powers, drawing all of her attention, making her whole body shiver with bloodlust. It made her forget almost everything: the only thing that stopped her from lunging towards the source of that power was the fact that her father still had one hoof resting on her shoulder.

All the same, she quaked under his touch before she whispered: “They... this is no... I have to fight her. She's a traitor, she has to be, it's the only way...”

She couldn't make herself coherent. She couldn't put it into words, everything she was thinking, as her head swam with visions of the furthest past, as she felt and remembered things that even Hecate hadn't been able to tell her of. And the Swan was writhing, with wounded pride, with anger, with hatred, with so-deeply-ingrained, ruthless and murderous need like she had never felt before.

It didn't matter that she knew this was some kind of test or trap; it didn't matter that either Hel had lied to Hecate, or Hecate had lied to them; it didn't even matter, anymore, that this was part of their mission. No, all that mattered was that she fought this creature, that she defeated this maiden, that she punished and humiliated this usurper, this traitor, this armored whore-

Cadence's eyes flashed as her horn crackled with barely-repressed magic again, gasping, before she looked up, trembling and staring, as her father squeezed her shoulder again before he said gently: “Let the anger flow out with your breath, not into your heart. Anger will not lend you strength, no matter what promises it makes.”

Cadence tried to take her father's advice: she honestly did her best to. She lowered her head, took a breath, hugged herself and clenched her eyes shut, trying to bury the Swan, trying to make herself calm down, doing anything and everything in her power to calm herself down as a hoof soothingly rubbed along her back.

She felt their eyes all on her, felt the concern from Moonflower and La Croix, even if they both had very different ways of expressing it. Horses of Heaven, why was she so weak? Why couldn't she just swallow this, force it down, ignore the-

The pulse came again, vibrations of rage and hatred and powerful magic pulsing down her horn before she looked up with a furious snarl as her eyes glowed white. “Kill her!”

Cadence exploded into the air with a boom of sound, her horn and eyes glowing with hellish white light as she streaked through the trees, smashing heedlessly through branches as her whole body sparked with energy. She moved like lightning towards the source of her anger, her hate, towards the traitor she needed to destroy, seeing, sensing, feeling nothing else in the world except for her and the all-consuming hate.

She burst onto a natural path through the trees, and she saw her. The armored whore didn't even have enough time to look back before Cadence... no, before the Swan was on top of her, slinging a hoof into her face as she turned with enough force to crack bone and send her rocketing down the path. The Swan didn't stop, shooting after her and laying a second savage blow into her face.

This time, the traitor bitch managed to twist with the blow, flapping her own wings and kicking one rear leg out to smash the Swan backwards. The Swan landed, not caring that there were two enemies at her back, both gaping in disbelief as her enemy landed in front of her. It didn't matter: all that mattered was the... the... “Valkyrie!”

The sapphire winged unicorn looked up in surprise as a mane of dark starlight twisted around her head, and then she grinned slowly, revealing sharp fangs as she slowly rose her head, blood dripping from her split lip. Her green eyes gleamed, and a spiraled horn of blue crystal sparked with malign magic, lit from within by a core of black, eerie light. “Swan Maiden.”

The Swan's teeth grit, her whole body trembling with fury as she studied her enemy, memorizing every last detail of her. From the little horns half-hidden in her starry mane, to the collar of braided ivy around her neck that was inset with a black pearl, inscribed with a rose blossom, to the lightweight armor of black plate and blue dragonscale leather that covered her body, engraved with designs of roses and the language of demons, reeking of the putrid essence of Helheim, where it had no doubt been forged. Her hooves were sharp and cloven, and oh, she stank, she stank of corruption and of the corrupted... “So you are not only a whore, you are a traitor. Do you take more pleasure in licking the demons than the angels, oathbreaker?”

The sapphire mare laughed, mocking, loud, and clear, before her eyes gleamed dangerously as she replied easily in the old language the Swan had lapsed into: “I am no traitor, puppet... but it is not as if I care for the words of a broken, failed toy of the gods, too ugly to their eyes to serve as anything but hunting beasts! Do you even have a name, or shall I simply call you dog?”

The Swan hissed furiously through her teeth, and then she straightened and snarled: “I am Danzsöngr, crow! And I will carve my name into your body before I send you back to Helheim, where you belong!”

The sapphire mare only smiled coldly, then she bowed her head shortly forwards as she replied clearly: “And I am Brynhild, the Night Maiden. I stand with-”

But the Swan didn't care who accompanied Brynhild. The Swan instead launched forwards, her hooves stretching out to crush, trample, murder-

Without flinching, Brynhild slammed an elbow up under the Swan's jaw, hitting her with enough force to make her spit blood into the air as her eyes bulged and she back arched, the ivory mare halting stupidly in midair, before Brynhild slapped her disdainfully across the face with the back of her hoof, knocking the glow out of Cadence's eyes as she was struck to the ground. She barely caught herself on her hooves, breathing raggedly and staring stupidly at the ground before Brynhild said calmly: “I was not finished, dog. But thy kind has always been without honor. Or brain, for that matter.”

Cadence trembled furiously on the ground... then she snarled and launched herself viciously up towards Brynhild, who leapt backwards with a wide grin as her own powerful wings spread, her forelegs rising to deflect and defend against every vicious punch that Cadence slung forwards as the ivory mare roared in rage and challenge as she hailed a flurry of blows against the Valkyrie.

The tall violet mare and bulky black earth pony that had accompanied Brynhild both stared in disbelief for a few moments, and then the mare suddenly turned, her tall horn sparking as she exclaimed: “Ambush!”

A blast of powerful black magic shot out of the trees, but the violet mare quickly slapped this out of the way with one hoof, her cloak flapping around her from the force of the blow. Her mane of black shadow twisted around her, the single streak of white light glowing through it writhing like a serpent as her cat-like purple eyes glowed faintly before they flicked quickly towards the stallion.

It seemed to carry a hidden order, as the stallion rose not front hooves, but metallic claws that flexed before he slammed them down into the ground in front of him; the earth exploded in a wave of black matter that formed quickly into a solid wall of dark stone, and several spikes of dark crystal uselessly collided with this before the barrier simply melted away.

The stallion dropped to a ready position, his shaggy white mane tickling against the large, hoof-shaped scar that covered one black eye as he scowled. Heavy, modular black and silver armor clicked as his silvery claws flexed against the ground and strange, conical pistons of bone pumped slowly on his back in three pairs that ran along his spine, as the gemstones of onyx and white crystal that formed a crescent moon in the thick silver collar around his neck stared like an eye towards the forest cover.

As behind them, Brynhild and Cadence fought, Sombra fearlessly emerged from the forest, with Moonflower pridefully strutting behind the black unicorn, doing his best to hide the distinctly-fearful tremble in his body as he peered nervously past the pony in front of him. But Sombra only smiled before he said calmly: “I would like to give you the chance to surrender before things get out of hoof.”

“Yes, or else... we will make you submit!” Moonflower exclaimed, leaping forwards and thrusting a hoof into the air... but still half-hiding behind the smaller unicorn in front of him, even as he spread his wings and glared imperiously at the two. “I am Morpheus, God of Darkness and Evil, and I hereby declare you my prisoners who are going to be... imprisoned!”

“I cooked dinner last night, so you can deal with the loudmouth.” said the unknown stallion dryly, and then he hesitated before his eyes locked on Sombra, adding softly: “Besides, I can feel...”

Sombra frowned slightly, leaning forwards intently, and the purple mare sighed before she nodded briefly, reaching up to open the clasp that held her cloak around her body. She tossed it away, then stretched black feathered wings slowly as Sombra and Moonflower both stared in surprise at the dome of sapphire crystal that stood out of her chest, glowing with an inner, powerful magic that occasionally made the runes carved over its surface flare to life.

“Alright. I guess Luna's not going to back off, anyway.” she muttered, as she reached up and adjusted the collar around her own neck: thick, black leather, with an ornamental clasp in the shape of a lunar lily.

“One of you alone is not nearly a match for me and my powers!” Moonflower shouted, although because of how nervous he was, his voice came out in more of a high-pitched squeak than anything else. “You will... you are absolutely no match for I, the esteemed... the Prince of Bad Things!”

Moonflower thrust a hoof into the air... and then he stared as Sombra gestured politely to the side, and the black stallion across from him nodded before the two strode away, leaving Moonflower and the purple mare in their own little space. The stallion paled ever so slightly, whimpering a bit as he stared after Sombra, before his eyes roved nervously to where Cadence and the blue pony were smashing furiously away at each other, and... and where the hell was that coward, La Croix?

The purple mare was only looking at him calmly, and Moonflower took a quick breath before he straightened and summoned up his magic, reminding himself that he was in control, he was powerful, he was... he was... “I am a God of Darkness, and you shall fear my wrath!”

Moonflower snapped his horn forwards, sending out a blast of black flame at the strange pony as he grinned widely, but only for a moment before simply staring blankly when the ball of black flames simply bounced off the purple mare and landed on the ground in front of her, puttering out after a moment. His fellow winged unicorn looked less-than-impressed, and Moonflower mouthed wordlessly for a few seconds before he suddenly put his hooves on his hips and declared: “Yes, that is merely a small taste of what I am truly capable of, and if you do not surrender immediately, you wretched... lady-parts, you will feel the full wrath and might of I, Morpheus, the-”

The purple mare sighed loudly, not waiting for him to finish as she simply rose a hoof up beside the core of crystal in her chest, and it glowed brightly for a moment before releasing a short blast of blue energy that hammered into Moonflower and launched him backwards into the trees with a squeal. Then the violet pony only shook her head slowly, letting her hoof drop as she mumbled: “Why do I always get the weird ones...”

Sombra and the other stallion, meanwhile, were surveying each other calmly before the black unicorn said softly: “So you are the one controlling the corruption.”

“I see that you've been affected by it, too. Are you a Replicant?” asked the armored stallion, gesturing pointedly towards the purifier on Sombra's back, and the unicorn chuckled quietly before he looked down at one of his hooves, studying it, his black coat, his changed body...

“No, I am nothing so... complete. I am called Sombra now, and long ago, I made a foolish deal with a dragon for what I thought would bring peace to my nation...”

“But Valthrudnir tricked you.” The stallion smiled wryly, and Sombra looked up in surprise before the strange pony chuckled softly and murmured: “You aren't the first pony we've met who we've heard this story from...” A pause, and then another smile, brief but more honest this time. “My name is Scrivener Blooms. That's... well, she goes by Morgan Heldóttir now, and the crazy one is Luna Brynhild.”

Both Scrivener and Sombra looked down the path, where Brynhild and Cadence were savagely fighting, their hooves a blur as they hovered above the ground, energy seeming to crackle through the air at the fierceness of their contest before Sombra remarked softly: “I would apologize for my daughter, but it seems like...”

“Oh, believe me. I'm sure Luna's thrilled.” Scrivener said mildly, smiling slightly again before he turned his eyes towards Sombra and flexed his silver claws against the ground: “I'm guessing you're part of a retrieval team. Admittedly, you're a little different from what I've come to expect but... you know that we're not going to come with you willingly, right?”

“We were warned you wouldn't cooperate.” Sombra smiled back as he readied himself, his calm eyes meeting Scrivener's equably, without hostility. “When I was young, I used to love fighting. Now, it is rare that I enjoy harming others... so I would prefer to keep this a test of skill over brutality.”

“Considering how much of my time is spent getting beaten up, I'm more than happy to agree.” Scrivener remarked wryly as he punched his claws together, then cracked his metallic knuckles loudly. “Fortune favor you, as a friend of mine would say.”

“In bocca a lupo.” Sombra smiled and bowed his head politely. Then, without another word, he reared back, his horn glowing as dark liquid burst from his hooves before forming rapidly into spikes of crystal that he launched one after the other at Scrivener.

The earth pony dodged to the side as his dark eyes narrowed, before he looked over his shoulder in surprise as the spikes transformed the moment they hit the ground, expanding into twisted masses of crystal wall that half-surrounded the stallion. The moment of distraction allowed Sombra to slam both front hooves into the ground, a wave of dark crystal exploding out of the earth in front of him and tearing through the earth towards the earth pony-

Scrivener stepped forwards and slammed a claw down into the wave of spikes, crystals exploding like brittle glass as either half of the wave twisted violently off to either side. He grinned slightly as he felt the familiar sense of corruption through the gemstone: even if it took a different form than what he was used to, it was still something he could exert some control over.

With a thrust of his palm, the shattered crystal in front of him burst backwards, becoming a wave of mire that rushed towards Sombra. But the unicorn studied this fearlessly before he simply flicked his horn upwards, a single solid pillar of black crystal tearing out of the ground in front of him, and the wave of mire broke uselessly against this, splashing down on either side of Sombra before he leapt directly at the crystal and passed into it like it was liquid, vanishing completely from sight.

Scrivener blinked in surprise, mouthing wordlessly before Sombra half-emerged from the crystal wall behind him, shoving both front hooves into the ground behind the earth pony. Immediately, dark liquid splashed up around Scrivener's cloven hooves before solidifying into crystal before the earth pony could pull away.

Sombra vanished back into the crystal before reappearing through the earth in front of the stallion, his horn glowing as black chains of gemstone tore out of the ground and wrapped around Scrivener's claws, yanking them into the earth. The moment they touched the ground, manacles of gemstone formed around them, and Sombra smoothly leapt out of the rippling earth to land a short distance away from the enormous stallion.

Scrivener narrowed his eyes, and then he looked down in surprise before he grinned wryly as the crystal only gleamed, saying quietly: “Wow. You must be smart. I can't control your corruption.”

“Then I would recommend you surrender, my friend.” Sombra said, smiling. But then his eyes widened slightly as Scrivener simply grunted and tore his claws free, shattering the crystal manacles with his sheer brute strength. “I did not expect that.”

“I work out.” Scrivener said mildly, flexing his claws absently before he tore one rear hoof free, and then the other. “Let's continue.”

Sombra smiled, the two focusing on each other even as a hail of wild curses rose through the air from nearby, where Moonflower was flinging spell after spell at Morgan, who was only calmly dispelling or negating everything he had thrown at her. Finally, the stallion wheezed as he dropped back on his rump, staring at the mare in disbelief as she only looked at him mildly before asking: “Are you done?”

“I am never done! I... I am undone!” Moonflower snapped, leaping back to his hooves and stomping up and down childishly before he gritted his teeth, dark energy sizzling along his horn before he snapped it forwards with a shout, a black ray shooting towards the mare.

Morgan fearlessly swung her own glowing horn into this, deflecting the ray into the ground before she slowly began to stride forwards, Moonflower wincing as his head twitched slightly and he dug his hooves into the ground, cursing in surprise at how easily the mare resisted his magic. His silver eyes stared at her with something like horror before they filled with equal parts pride and humiliation, and he ground his teeth together before his horn sparked, shouting: “I will not be made a fool of!”

He leaned forwards, and Morgan's eyes widened in surprise as she was forced to halt, feeling not just energy, but raw kinetic force pressing into her horn now. She was forced to dig her hooves into the ground, straining to keep her horn forwards under the waves of unfamiliar magic, magic she had only felt rarely...

She began to slide slowly backwards, hooves digging trenches in the dirt, and Moonflower cackled as he poured more of his strength into the magic, his body flexed with the effort as he shouted: “There! There, you will... feel the strength that conquered Equestria, you will-”

Twilight sighed tiredly, then she simply ducked, and the beam of kinetic force shot over her head and hammered through several trees as Moonflower was nearly blown off his hooves by magical recoil with a squawk, his magic immediately puttering out. He pinwheeled his forelegs for balance, and then was blown off his hooves by a simple telekinetic hammer, knocked in a sprawl on his back as Morgan said dryly: “You really don't have a lot of self-control, do you?”

Moonflower twitched on the ground, then hopped quickly back up to his hooves, glaring furiously at her before he snapped: “How's this for self-control?”

The stallion snapped his horn forwards, and then grinned widely as a black sphere ripped its way into reality, sparking with energy before it began to emit a terrible, powerful pull. Morgan winced in surprise before she felt it beginning to pull her in as she gritted her teeth, feeling what this was: powerful gravity magic, a crushing singularity that would suck her in and compress her until nothing was left.

Her horn lit up with magic as she focused on the black hole even as it began to pull in the trees and dirt around it, crushing them into nothingness; even as Moonflower began to ramble away again, she mixed her magic into his, twisting it, warping it, transforming the energy he was feeding the black hole to keep it stable into something else...

Moonflower felt a shock of magical recoil burst down his horn, the stallion squawking in surprise, before he gaped in disbelief as the black hole became a massive boulder of black glass, his mouth working wordlessly before Morgan leapt forwards and slammed a punch into this, knocking the floating mass out of the air. The stallion had more than enough time to react, but not nearly enough sense to before the meteor of glass slammed down on top of him and crushed him helplessly into the ground.

Morgan landed with a huff, and then she glanced up with a frown as she realized there was someone else watching. The moment she sensed it, it tried to retreat, but with only a sharp flick of her horn, a powerful burst of wind hammered through the trees and knocked the figure out of hiding, sending a surprisingly familiar shape rolling violently to land in a sprawl at her hooves.

Morgan stared in disbelief at La Croix, as La Croix stared back up at her, and then the zebra turned almost dead white even as he leapt to his hooves, stumbling backwards as he babbled: “W-W-Well ain't this a pleasant surprise, if it ain't T-Twilight Sparkle and... and the rest of my... bon amis!”

“La Croix?” Morgan asked incredulously, and Scrivener Blooms halted in mid-swing at Sombra, the stallion blinking in surprise as the black unicorn leapt backwards, but then frowned and looked up himself as he realized something had changed.

Scrivener blinked for a moment, and then he looked in confusion over at Sombra as La Croix gave a reedy laugh before he held up his front hooves, saying hurriedly: “There... there ain't no hard feelings over... I mean, y'all know before I was just d-doin' my job and... hey, just like you, I nearly got fed to the cocodrils! Oh, y'all wouldn't believe the trouble I done went through and... I mean, ce sera bientôt de l'histoire ancienne, yeah? I... I work for Nanny Hecate now with these fou ponies, ain't that punishment enough?”

“Wait, you weren't sent by Hel?” Scrivener asked with a frown, and Sombra looked back at the stallion with slight surprise, which seemed to be more than enough to answer his question. “Hecate... you're part of Hecate's Orphanage?”

Sombra nodded calmly, and Morgan frowned as she looked back at La Croix, who gave another weak laugh as he held up his hooves and rambled: “See? We good people! Now there ain't no need for any of this, so why don't we all just-”

The zebra was interrupted by a roar, and all eyes turned towards Luna and Cadence as the two smashed together in midair again. Cadence shouted in wordless fury as her hooves slammed punch after punch after punch towards Luna, but the sapphire mare was grinning mockingly, deflecting and blocking each and every attack as she allowed herself to be pushed backwards towards the trees.

And then, as Cadence swung a hoof viciously in at the Valkyrie's face, Luna easily hooked her own foreleg into the attack and tore Cadence's limb wide, leaving her open and vulnerable. A flurry of short, vicious blows smashed against the Swan Maiden's front, knocking her backwards before she quickly brought both forelegs up, gasping in pain and effort, her eyes widening in shock as Luna forged savagely forwards with her own endless hail of blows.

Cadence was driven back beneath the flurry, before her forelegs were slammed wide by a vicious haymaker that was followed up by a straight jab into Cadence's face, her head snapping back with a burst of blood. Luna was relentless and ruthless, front hooves smashing back and forth across Cadence's muzzle and face, sending up splashes of crimson that stained her ivory fur and mane as her wings flapped wildly, barely keeping her airborne before a sudden hammer-hoof to her face knocked her out of the sky and sent her crashing head-first into the cold earth.

Cadence skidded to a halt on her face, gasping quietly, tasting dirt before she trembled in fury as Luna rolled her head on her shoulders and she grinned. She grinned, as Cadence slowly picked herself up, her body shaking with rage that made the pain in her face and chest and aching forelegs absolutely nothing, as she snarled in fury over her shoulder before roaring: “Valkyrie!”

She spun around, her horn glowing and hooves snapping over her bandoleer to rip a hoof full of throwing knives free, flinging them in a vicious fan towards Luna. But the sapphire mare simply half-spun, her galactic mane bursting out like a shield and catching the knives in a ripple of magic before she easily dodged to the side when Cadence lunged at her.

The Swan shrieked in rage and hate inside Cadence as the ivory mare leapt after Luna, the Valkyrie easily swaying back and forth, dodging like a swift wind as Cadence chased after her like a rabid dog. Luna laughed, and Luna grinned, and Cadence snarled in fury and hate, swinging a hoof out with enough power to smash a hole in a tree before she dove straight at the Valkyrie, too fast to dodge-

Luna slammed a crushing elbow down on Cadence's skull, knocking her to the ground, but Cadence caught herself on all four hooves before she threw herself upwards, catching Luna around the waist and tackling her backwards. They flipped wildly through the air for a moment, before Luna slammed both rear hooves into the mare's stomach, knocking her up into the air and sending herself towards the ground.

Cadence's horn glowed, sending a blast of white fire shooting straight down at Luna as her hooves tore knives free from her bandoleer and flung them viciously down in a hail of silver. But Luna snapped her horn up, countering with a blast of blue flame as her hooves lashed out, slapping the knives away like toys.

The fireballs collided with each other and exploded in a tremendous boom that sent Luna crashing down on her back and knocked Cadence flying backwards in a low arc. But Luna immediately rolled backwards and sprung a short distance away, while Cadence twisted herself in midair to slam down on all four hooves before she flapped her wings hard, feathers ripping themselves free to shoot like darts at the Valkyrie.

Luna snarled as the bolts of white magic tore across her armor and body, stumbling backwards before she looked up as Cadence charged at her. Again, she was vicious, straightforwards, stupid with rage. And again, Luna stepped into a straight, fast counter-

Cadence twisted slightly to the side with a cruel grin, wrapping one foreleg around Luna's own as she yanked a knife loose with her other hoof and stabbed it savagely up towards Luna's throat. The sapphire mare barely managed to twist her head to the side before her eyes widened as the knife cut into her collar of ivy, and Cadence began to wrench to the side to tear out the mare's throat-

There was a tremendous boom of force, and Cadence was knocked flying helplessly backwards, electricity tearing across her body before Luna dove after her and slammed a savage volley of bone-crushing blows into Cadence's chest, the ivory mare gargling in agony as she was driven backwards into a tree, before Luna snarled as her hoof burst into blue flames before she slammed it savagely into Cadence's chest, punching the Swan Maiden through the tall birch to crash bonelessly into a boulder.

Cadence fell forwards as the splintered tree crashed over its side, the mare trembling violently before she looked up with a snarl, and Luna grinned back in challenge and fury, her eyes blazing before she roared furiously at the mare. And, knowing nothing else but hate, and anger, knowing no other way to respond, Cadence roared back as the Swan took her senses over, horn and eyes glowing before she leapt into the air and her entire body glowed with energy, becoming a blazing comet of white light.

Luna leapt forwards as she corkscrewed her body, her galactic mane fanning out as her body sizzled before she transformed into a massive, terrible maelstrom of blue and black hellfire. The white comet struck into this, sending up sparks of energy as the massive screw of raw Valkyrie power tore forwards, two impossible, incredibly powerful forces tearing ruthlessly into one another.

And then, there was a tremendous, echoing shockwave of electricity and energy, joined a moment later by a broken scream as Cadence was blasted backwards, her armor torn asunder, her body smoking before she crashed down on her back with a gasp. The screw of energy tore by just above her before transforming back into Luna, who spun to a halt in midair before she simply allowed herself to drop, landing a few feet away.

“Mi amore!” Sombra leapt past the others, running towards his fallen daughter and skidding to a halt beside her as Luna looked coldly over her shoulder. The unicorn dropped over the Swan, touching her breast before gently grasping her neck, cradling her head as he lowered his own to her ear, and then he sighed quietly in relief at the feel of her slow but steady breaths, murmuring: “Oh, Cadenza...”

Luna turned slowly towards them, and Sombra looked up at her silently before he bowed his head to her, saying quietly: “My daughter was no match for you. We are no threat to you, and we do not wish to fight a pointless battle. Can we discuss this?”

Luna looked moodily at the stallion for a few moments, and then she sighed quietly as she looked up at Scrivener and Morgan, who both nodded to her. The mare grudgingly stomped a hoof a few times as she turned her eyes back towards Sombra and Cadence, and then she muttered: “Very well. But do not drop all the blame for this on my head. 'Twas thy silly filly who challenged me.”

Sombra smiled briefly, and then he returned his eyes to his daughter, studying her silently. Completely drained, badly injured, but not dead. Something he was glad for, for more than one reason... “No, it was not. It was the Swan who challenged you, miss... Luna Brynhild, is it?”

“Aye, but I am no miss.” Luna said crankily, before she groaned and twitched slightly, looking grouchily up at Morgan and Scrivener, who were both glaring at her. “Oh, fie on thee. Fine, I shall be... nicer.”

Scrivener grunted... then he turned a moody look towards La Croix, who gave a weak grin before he blinked in surprise as the boulder of glass finally slowly shifted, and Moonflower crawled out from beneath it, looking frazzled and covered in a multitude of cuts and bruises, tiny, glittering glass fragments pattering out of his hair.

He stared at the three ponies as they looked awkwardly back at him, before Moonflower slowly rose a hoof and wheezed: “I... I was merely resting my eyes because I was... so... bored! La Croix, I... you are far more of a... suitable match for these... pathetic... pathetics, who are too... pathetic for me to fight. Destroy them my Loa... servant...”

Moonflower keeled forwards, continuing to mumble as he laid on his face, twitching weakly, and La Croix looked meditatively at the winged unicorn for a moment before he looked awkwardly back at Scrivener and Twilight. “Suppose I owe you a 'merci' for swatting the rein de la nuit. So uh... merci. For that. And, y'know, for not... havin' any hard feelings, and all that.”

Scrivener looked meditatively at La Croix as Morgan smiled a little, and then she asked curiously: “So what happened to you? It's... kind of funny to see you after all this time.”

La Croix smiled hesitantly over at Twilight, reaching up and nervously playing with a charm hanging around his neck. “Yeah, but I guess I'm kinda glad you ouaouarons escaped the boilin' pot and all. Much as I'd love to blame y'all for what happened to me, I got the feelin' that Bondye was just lookin' for a reason to get rid of me, and y'all just happened to be the first to come along.”

Morgan nodded slowly as Scrivener turned to head towards Luna, and the mare laughed after a moment before she said softly: “Thank you.”

La Croix blinked in surprise, looking up at her dumbly, and the mare smiled before explaining quietly: “Maybe Luna or Scrivener wouldn't say it, but... we all owe you. Sure, we didn't all get along very well, but... I know you were just doing your job, and you did help us. And I know that... well, whether or not it was going to go badly for you from the start, we made things worse. But you helped us, and you helped Hel, in a way, and I've never forgotten that.”

The zebra looked absurdly touched by this, taking off his hat before he chuckled quietly and looked down, murmuring: “And here I was, too scared of y'all seein' me to step up and try and help out my friends. I don't deserve your thanks, Madame Twilight. I'm just a connard and a coward.”

“Morgan. Morgan Heldóttir now. I'm trying to accept who I am.” the mare said softly, and the Loa looked at her for a few moments before he gave a wry smile and nodded.

“I hear you there, Madame. I suppose I'm tryin' to do the same.” He paused, then glowered over at Moonflower as the winged unicorn beckoned at him, looking up in dumb confusion. “'Sharder some days than others. 'Scusez-moi for a moment.”

Morgan nodded, and La Croix strode over to Moonflower, leaning down as the stallion crawled forwards a little before he leaned up and asked in a whisper: “Did we win?”

“Oh, oui. We won.” La Croix said sardonically, and then he rolled his eyes before reaching into his cape, digging around in it for a moment before he pulled out a vial of white liquid, grumbling. “Ici. Drink up, I gotta go attend to Cygne.”

Moonflower took the vial, staring at it for a moment before he thrusted it above his head, snapping as he began to clamber up to his hooves: “I do not need such... silly zebra medicine! I am perfectly strong and fine and-”

Moonflower dropped forwards and landed with a thud on his face, whimpering a little. He was silent for a few moments, then carefully tilted his head to the side and uncorked the vial, pouring it haphazardly into his muzzle and swallowing it back with a grimace.

After a few moments, the stallion felt his strength returning, allowing him to push himself off his head, and then he leapt backwards with a yelp at the sight of Morgan offering him a hoof, recoiling in terror. Morgan blinked in surprise, and Moonflower stared at her for a moment before he hurriedly straightened and cleared his throat, stretching quickly back and forth as he mumbled: “Simply... stretching out after... a short nap, yes, that is all. I am... glad that you have done the logical thing and surrendered to me.”

“Uh huh.” Morgan said after a moment, and then she sighed and shook her head before she asked curiously: “How did you learn to control gravitational energies? That's one of the few schools I've never been able to study... I only ever met one other being with gravity magic at their disposal, and she... she wasn't precisely a pony.”

“Nothing is beyond the reach of a God of Darkness such as myself!” Moonflower boasted, looking very proud of himself as he rose his head high, before he eyed her meditatively, half-closing an eye as he peered at the crystalline dome standing out of the mare's chest. “And nor do I require... petty toys to make myself so... powerfully powerful.”

Morgan only smiled wryly, then she strode quickly past the stallion to retrieve her cloak, and Moonflower huffed before childishly following her, adding: “Yes, yes, I know, you cannot help but be utterly awed by how... awesome I am, and-”

“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Morgan asked as she joined the other ponies, completely ignoring Moonflower, and he huffed loudly again.

Luna nodded firmly, smiling over at Morgan as she said softly: “Aye, I do. I am very curious, after all... and now that we know this is some silly game of Hel's, I feel we should play it. Besides, I wish to see if Hecate's empire has come to fruition and... there are other reasons to visit Decretum.”

She bit her lip, looking over at Scrivener Blooms, and Morgan and the stallion both visibly softened and nodded slowly. Then they both watched as Sombra stood, the unicorn smiling briefly and nodding slowly as he said quietly: “I would be indebted to you. We all would. But if I may make a suggestion, let us wait for Cadenza to awaken before we make any decisions. She is our leader, and I think it would be best if she got a chance to meet you, and you were to meet her, instead of just the Swan.”

“Oh, aye, blame me for what happened, wretched wretches.” Luna grumbled, but Sombra only smiled reassuringly to her as Scrivener shrugged amiably and La Croix awkwardly cleared his throat, gesturing a few times towards the unconscious Cadence. “What, was I simply supposed to ignore her namecalling and hoof-flinging? She called me a whore!”

“You like whores. You're always arguing with everyone about the value of prostitution in society.” Scrivener pointed out, and Luna huffed loudly at this.

“'Twas not the word, 'twas the tone. 'Twas very rude of her, or... it, I suppose, if thou insists upon treating the Swan as another entity.” Luna grumbled, looking over at Sombra, who bowed his head politely in acknowledgment. “Fine. I will strive to be more kind, but...”

Luna scowled slowly at Cadence's unconscious body, and then she muttered: “Their kind came before mine, and they hated us, and we loathed them. 'Twill be difficult, even if now, we are merely two ponies.”

“Two ponies can have many differences, but all the same, find much in common. Let us try and find the common ground, then. We already all have much in kind, do we not?” Sombra asked softly, gesturing back and forth, and Luna groaned loudly even as Scrivener and Morgan smiled.

Moonflower only mumbled childishly, but La Croix looked relieved at the words of sound, sane advice that Sombra offered, before the zebra added: “Anyway, hey, this be workin' out just great for all of us. Sure, maybe it ain't quite the way we imagined... but we still retrievin' them and bringing them back to Nanny Hecate, eh? So no need to get fou 'bout this whole mess.”

Sombra nodded in agreement, and Moonflower sighed loudly as he dropped his head but grumbled in assent as well. But even in her sleep, Cadence seemed to frown, shifting uneasily as inside her, the Swan writhed in fury, humiliation... and with a hatred that would never, ever fade.

Comments

[Mira Starlight]

Ohhh, yeah! They're back! They're back! Woohoo!

Will Luna, Scrivener, and Morgan appear in more chapters?

[BarrenBaron]

I think you missed a small thing in editing, Luna groused or grumbled or whatever, then proceeded to smile with Scrivvy right after at the end? Sure it wasn't to be Morgan smiling because she's not an asshole?