Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

The Cruelest Is Knowing

Chapter Fifty Three: The Cruelest Is Knowing
~BlackRoseRaven

Cadence shivered as a chill passed through her spine, her brow furrowing as she halted in the middle of her training. Both Tormentas and Vextus Lux immediately stopped as well, clearly able to sense that something wasn't right: Cadence, after all, wasn't the kind of mare who just stopped in the middle of a fight.

“Something happened.” Cadence said quietly, looking uncertainly up before she shivered and shook her head, her eyes distant as the Swan stroked through her mind silently, both soothing her and making her all the more anxious at the same time, as the Swan whispered and channeled through her mind, made her feel... “Daddy?”

Tormentas began to step forwards, frowning, but Vextus Lux reached up and quickly caught her by the shoulder, the gorgeous, bull-horned mare giving a short shake of her head before returning her eyes to the pony, her dark eyes studying Cadence intently.

Cadence felt almost like the Swan's claws were unraveling strands of her mind, and using them to create some kind of... connection, some kind of strange mental braid that made her shiver and clench her eyes shut, before she gasped weakly as she caught fleeting images in her mind: they were ghostly and phantasmal, and yet... “W-What... what am I seeing?”

She shivered, her body slumping before it suddenly stiffened, Cadence's head tilting the other way as the Swan said calmly from her mouth: “You are seeing through the Astra. It is how I see: it is how I hunt. My eyes are not limited in scope as yours are: I see what I choose to see, even if it is across the entire universe. I hear what I choose to hear, because of the same: so I know what I choose to know, and what I chose to know today was-”

Cadence's head wrenched to the other side, as the ivory mare shouted: “Daddy's in danger! We have to-”

“We have to do nothing.” the Swan said coldly, even as the winged unicorn's body shivered violently as the two personalities inside it fought for dominance. “Remember that time flows differently! These seconds replaying in your mind are-”

The mare's teeth clamped together, and then she growled loudly as she forcefully wrenched her body back under her control even as she felt that strange connection snap in her mind and the Swan finally relent in what felt like frustration. But as it drew back, Cadence lowered her head slightly as she forced herself to think about what the Swan had said and what she had seen and what it meant... “Time flows differently in Helheim, and I only saw a glimpse... am I seeing the past? Can I catch glimpses of...”

“The Astra is a plane that's intermingled with all of our universe.” Vextus explained gently, as she stepped towards Cadence, still studying her acutely even as she continued in a soft voice: “The Astra is hard to describe: it's almost like a mass of substance, outside of the physical, the tangible, even the ethereal. It is often called the plane of souls, or emotions: while spirits and their ilk roam and hold dominance over the ether. Spirits are beings of energy and often magic. A pure soul is something that is both composed of and connected to the Astra.”

Cadence frowned uncertainly at this, before she asked quietly: “But aren't spirits souls?”

“Yes and no.” Vextus smiled at her as the High Priestess approached: her magnificent crimson bullhorns gleamed in the light, as the beautiful devil-mare held her head high, her long, straight mane flowing around a stern and strong and fearless face. She was powerful, strong, and in a word, thick: she had the largest, most solid body that Cadence had ever seen a mare carry, let alone with so much poise and dignity. “You could think of it this way: your body is your physical casing, and your spirit is the protective layer around your soul. When you strip away the spirit, you usually also strip away their consciousness.”

Cadence bit her lip, before Vextus continued reassuringly: “And the Astra is a realm that... we do not entirely understand. It's a secret place beyond the control of even the mightiest of gods: the Reapers know more about it than we do, but as I am sure you know, they have neither the time or social skills for our mortal quibbles.”

The ivory winged unicorn gave a faint smile, before Tormentas stepped forwards and bowed her head politely, saying softly: “I've already taken the liberty of sending out a signal to Thorn Blackfeather. I'm sure he'll want to hear about this. Do you want to stop your training, Cadence?”

Cadence shifted awkwardly as she realized that, yes, she had been in the middle of sparring with these two... well, okay, not really sparring, more testing her, and how she and the Swan were starting to comingle.

She didn't want to stop, no. But at the same time, she could feel the Swan lurking around the edges of her mind, trying to cajole her, half-offering something to her, as if the creature inside her had some kind of point to make. “I... sorry, I can't think very clearly. The Swan wants me to do something but I don't exactly want to listen to her right now.”

“While I understand that quite well, Cadence, that doesn't mean you should give in to that urge. Sometimes we need to accept help, even from those we don't desire to owe favors. Sometimes, especially from those ” Vextus advised with a bow of her head, but also a pointed look, and Cadence shifted awkwardly before she automatically looked at Tormentas.

The demoness smiled at her encouragingly, and after a few moments, Cadence finally dropped her head and mumbled: “Okay, I guess that... I should probably at least give her a chance, right?”

All the same, the ivory mare shifted uncomfortably, gnawing at her lower lip as she looked back and forth, almost as if she was looking for an escape. But when she let her eyes rove forwards and saw Vextus and Tormentas still looking at her pointedly, she gave an almost grudging nod before shaking herself out and mumbling: “Okay, okay...”

She closed her eyes, and almost instantly, she felt the Swan take control. No, that wasn't quite right: it was more like the Swan's essence wrapped around hers, gently but firmly guiding her, and Cadence shivered as she realized that with the ease the Swan had in controlling her, if the Swan really wanted her to do something, there was no way for Cadence to stop it.

Before she could lose herself to worries or other thoughts, however, Cadence felt a strange thrumming run through her mind, and her eyes opened as they glowed ivory, the mare staring blindly back and forth as strange shapes danced in her mind, asking: “What am I seeing? What are you trying to show me?”

Cadence twitched, then looked to the other side, and it was the Swan who spoke now, saying calmly: “The future. Not a future that is, not a future that must be, but the future, all the same. Look, Cadence: do you see?”

The ivory mare shivered as the demons watched intently, before the mare's body began to shake as her long, slender tail snapped back and forth. She gritted her teeth, fighting both the Swan's control and her own instincts: she couldn't stop herself from wanting to lash out, from wanting to reject the Swan's powers, from trying to pull back from what seemed like meaningless patterns and images that flashed across her vision... but no. There was a meaning behind everything, and she knew that meaning, and it filled her with too many emotions for her to identify, making her mind ache as she gritted her teeth...

“Get out of my head, I can't... I don't understand!” Cadence blurted out, before her head wrenched the other way, expression changing completely as the Swan smiled through her mouth.

“You do understand. You understand very well, Cadence. By all means, go ahead and pretend that you do not, but I know the truth.” the Swan replied, managing to sound both gentle and derisive. “Do not struggle. Witness, instead: if you desire to save them, then swallow your pride and your hate.”

The mare's head wrenched the other way, Cadence snarling as her eyes clenched so tightly she made the visions blurry before she swore under her breath. Every part of her wanted to fight the Swan... but she forced those parts of her down as she lowered her head, muttering: “Just make it fast.”

For one, brief moment, she managed to fight off both her pride and her fear and loathing of the Swan-

Everything was quiet, and crystal clear, as Cadence stood in a world that seemed to be made of glass and crystal. She looked back and forth, frowning slightly, but she wasn't confused even as sparkling motes danced slowly around them...

Them, because the Swan was there, standing beside her, but Cadence felt strangely distant, almost impartial, as she looked over at the tall, terrible figure of the Swan. And the Swan looked back at her for a few moments before the lithe, graceful, and awful creature gestured to her and said calmly: “You hate us blindly. You think of us, as weapon. And yet... you love us.”

“Show me what you have to show me, Swan. My body can't handle this for very long.” Cadence said almost tonelessly, and it was like she was only distantly aware of the fact that all the emotions had drained out of her body was a bad thing.

The Swan looked at her for a moment, and then it gestured forwards with one taloned hand, and the world flew by in a swirl of clarity and color, leaving Cadence and the Swan suddenly standing in some kind of open hall, and Cadence only tilted her head with detached interest at the sight of Thokk, standing with her arm outstretched, fury and hate in her body language as Freya reared back, blood frozen in mid-spout from her torn-open throat.

Cadence studied this for a few long moments, and then she looked over at the Swan and asked: “Is this the past?”

“The recent past: this occurred only moments ago on the mortal world. Remember that time flows differently here in Hell.” the Swan said, but Cadence didn't need the reminder, now that she was calm, and centered, and... cold. “This is the past. Do you see the future?”

“I... do.” Cadence realized after a moment, as she looked slowly over the frozen, glassy imagines before her: colorless, and listless, and yet beautiful even with the gray tones everything possessed... “We look at the past to see the future. We look at what has happened to see what must happen.”

Cadence felt the vaguest, the faintest pull of emotion when her eyes roved over her father, before she looked at the Swan and said calmly: “I will save them. But we will not save them all. We cannot save them all.”

The Swan gestured, and suddenly, they were standing in front of a massive portal, where Seneschal and the soldiers of Decretum were fighting a hopeless battle against Elementals and terrible, empty, hollow shells...

“We could save them.” the Swan said.

For a moment, Cadence regarded them, but she knew somehow that she couldn't do both. But with her emotions so muted by the Swan's power channeling through her, it meant there was no moral quandary, no argument of logic and emotion, as she looked over at the Swan and replied calmly: “I will save my Father first.”

“I do not blame you.” the Swan said, and there was a smile in its voice as the two looked at each other, before the two slowly turned to face each other, studying one-another in silence.

And then the Swan nodded, as if Cadence had given it some answer it had been searching for, before the strange creature slowly stretched a hand out towards Cadence, gesturing woodenly as it said calmly: “If you will let me in, I will share another power with you. We see through the Astra; we travel, in spirit, through the Astra. That is how we are here, but not. The physical cannot move through the Astra, but the Astra can be split, and those wounds traveled through.”

“To pierce the soul of the universe... that is how we moved before. We are... what are we?” Cadence asked, looking up at the Swan as she felt a roil of some emotion that slipped away before she could identify it, but she thought it was pain, or longing, or perhaps even anger: but anger at what? “If they wanted us to be beautiful, why did not they not make us beautiful? If they wanted us to think, why did they lock us in obedience? We were exactly as they crafted...”

“And that displeased them. We are what we are, Cadence: we are the Swan.” replied the creature, and was that a trace of compassion in its voice?

But then, the Swan turned, and all of a sudden, Cadence was back in her body, and all the emotions she hadn't felt slammed into her like a freight train, nearly making her choke as her eyes watered and her features flushed. She stumbled once, then caught herself and lowered her head, clenching her eyes shut as her body quaked before she took a slow, shaky breath.

Vextus and Tormentas were both looking at her with concern, but they stayed back for a moment, both hesitating. But Cadence slumped after a moment, her breathing evening out, and Vextus strode quickly forwards to gently grasp her by the shoulder, asking quietly: “What did you see?”

“The future. The past, and through it, the future.” Cadence mumbled, and Vextus and Tormentas shared a look before Cadence shook her head quickly and picked herself up, rubbing uncomfortably at her head as she mumbled: “Why have I never heard of Astra before? Why have I never... realized the Swan had all these powers before?”

“We know very little about the Astra, so it isn't a subject that simply comes up in discussion, my dear.” Vextus said gently, before she smiled over at Tormentas as the sapphire demoness approached, studying Cadence thoughtfully. “As to your other question, well... not to stick a nettle in your eye, but you have been rather resistant to anything and everything the Swan has tried to tell you, haven't you?”

Cadence grumbled under her breath as she shifted awkwardly, feeling a flurry of emotion again before she finally felt herself starting to settle. She rose her head, then blinked in surprise as the door opened and Thorn Blackfeather strode in, asking calmly: “What did you see, Cadence?”

“That was fast.” Cadence said lamely, knowing that it had to have been only minutes since they last spoke. Thorn simply gave her a look, however, and Cadence awkwardly cleared her throat as she glanced away before she shook her head quickly and looked back at him, asking: “Do you know what Astra is?”

“Yes. Hecate theorized that both the Swan Maidens and Valkyries were able to tap into the Astra. Were you able to tap into it yourself?” Thorn asked, and Cadence nodded as she reached up and rubbed at her head slowly. “What did you see?”

“Daddy is in trouble.” Cadence murmured, and part of her wanted to panic, but the Swan and some other, colder part of her reminded her of the time difference: that even though she knew her father was hurt, and injured... “They're all in trouble. Freya is dying. But I can save them, I know I can, Thorn.”

Thorn studied the ivory mare silently for a few moments, before he grimaced slightly as the ring around his horn thrummed suddenly before Hel's voice asked cheerfully from it: “Hey, Danzsöngr, aren't you forgetting that you've still got business to take care of here?”

Cadence scowled a little at this, looking grouchily at the ring even as she felt an uncomfortable shift inside of herself at what she remembered seeing inside of Hel the last time they had been in the same room together: probably the reason that Hel was choosing to talk to her through Thorn's ring instead of actually showing up, she reflected. “I'm pretty sure that we already did your dirty work for you, Hel.”

“Still mad about that, huh? Well, I guess I can't exactly blame you. You did get pretty dirty. So dirty that you had to scrub that old body of yours right off!” Hel's voice rang out happily, before it suddenly became cold and serious as she said: “I kept you out of danger for a reason, Swan. I have to insist that you think before you go rushing headlong into the jaws of death after I tried to keep you away from them.”

“Yeah, that worked out great.” Cadence mumbled, and she felt the air grow a little colder as Tormentas and Vextus shifted uncomfortably, before the ivory mare rose her head and said, in spite of the faintest of trembles of fear that ran down her spine: “Hel, I am going to save my Father and my friends, no matter what it takes. Don't try and stop me or... well... you'll regret it.”

“Oh, vanilla cake, don't be like that!” Hel whined, before her voice said softly, as Tormentas and Vextus both grimaced and shifted again: “And anyway, as tough a cookie as you are... do you really think you're any match for a High Priestess of the Nine Circles and a Grand Inquisitor? You can only punch so hard still, sweetie. There's still a lot more sugar than salt to you.”

Cadence grimaced a little, and there was an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Thorn slipped in suddenly, his eyes flicking up to the ring around his horn as he said quietly: “As long as Helheim doesn't take any jumps forward in time, we have plenty of time to decide and negotiate. Hel, perhaps you could-”

“Change the very flow of time for you? Gosh, you must think I like you guys or something. I'm not Santa Claus, you know, I don't just give you things because you behave yourselves.” Hel said mildly, before she clicked her tongue and then remarked: “It sucks you guys don't understand what I'm talking about, by the way. Santa was based in part on All Daddy, after all. Sometimes I think about having Santa Claus come to Helheim as a little memorial for him... except you know, he'd be bringing... severed heads and body parts to all the good little boys and girls instead of squeaky toys and teddy bears.”

Cadence decided it was better to keep her mouth shut as Thorn stated more than negotiated in that fearless, inarguable way of his: “It is in your best interests as well, Hel: the longer we are able to spend here, and the more assured we can be of the relative 'safety' of the world above – whether because you have ensured the safety of our allies yourself, or because of adjustments you have made to the flow of time in Helheim – then the more Cadence and Danzsöngr will be able to work on synchronization and the more dedicated we can be to whatever tasks you have yet to assign to us.”

“You're such an obnoxious little brat.” Hel grumbled, and then she gave a long, theatrical sigh before Thorn winced as electricity sparked across his body, the stallion visibly grimacing as Hel said moodily: “You know, I was totally going to do that anyway. But now you guys are making me not want to do that. That, I will have you know, is a mature and acceptable response, by the way.”

Thorn only looked up at the ring on his horn for a few moments, and Cadence scowled but managed to keep her mouth shut, until Tormentas said hesitantly: “I know it is not my place, Queen Hel, but-”

“Oh, I heard a 'but' on a sentence that should have had its butt before that 'but', and should not have continued with a 'but.'” Hel's voice came grouchily, and then Tormentas flinched as lightning visibly coursed over her body, Cadence wincing back slightly in surprise.

Tormentas mumbled an apology, but all the same looked up awkwardly at the ring before she said quietly: “I apologize for my impertinence, Queen Hel, but...” She stopped at the dangerous sizzle of magic that rose up around her, grimacing before she said almost in a rush: “Perhaps Cadence Danzsöngr will agree that if you do this for her, she will owe you a favor in return.”

For a moment, that dangerous hum of magic built, and then it whiffed out just as quickly as it had come, as Hel gushed delightedly: “Well, why didn't you say so in the first place! You know us devils are all about our deals! Oh, blueberry, why didn't you go and say that in the first place? You really do have your mother's head on your shoulders, I swear... and I don't mean the cute one or the big metal one, I mean the dumb one.”

“I apologize, Hel. You're right: sometimes I think too much like my Móðer.” Thorn replied with a polite bow of his head, although Cadence could swear there was a slight smile playing at his muzzle.

Hel gave an audible grunt and pause, as if she was trying to figure out whether or not he was insulting her, but Cadence cleared her throat before she started moodily: “With all due respect-”

“Darling, I'm like your mommy, so a lot of respect is due if you haven't figured that out already. And since 'with all due respect' is basically like saying 'with absolutely no respect at all your bitchness,' I get what you're about to say. But before you spew it out, Swan, why don't you take a bit of advice from one girl to another: sometimes you just gotta play along, and wait until the piper asks you to pay up before you make any rash decisions.”

There was silence for a few moments as Cadence grimaced and bit the inside of her cheek, before she finally sighed and nodded, muttering: “Alright. But... I still don't trust you.”

“Daughters should never trust their mothers.” Hel replied almost gently, and then her voice chuckled quietly before she suddenly said brightly: “Alright, losers, looks like we're off to save the world again! So here's the deal, you be good little girls – and yes, Thorn, that means I want you being a good little girl too – and behave ourselves for a week while Mommy Hel takes care of everything, okay?”

Cadence scowled at this, but did her best not to argue as she looked away, still unsure of where she should stand with the goddess. Vextus Lux and Tormentas both bowed their heads politely, however, and Thorn only stood, waiting patiently until Hel's presence faded from his ring, and then he turned his eyes back towards Cadence, saying quietly: “Remember that Hel can't lie.”

“That's very comforting right now, Thorn, you always know just what to say.” Cadence grumbled before she could stop herself: not that she had really wanted to, either, as she looked moodily off to the side of the training room.

Vextus smiled and nudged Cadence gently, the ivory mare looking up with a grumble before the High Priestess encouraged: “Now, Cadence, are you really going to sulk? You have a simple choice in front of you. Don't let your pride make the decisions for you: that is the most dangerous of all sins.”

Cadence was tempted to grumble some more, but then Thorn cut in smoothly: “Since it looks like Cadence's training was almost done for the moment, let's regroup and discuss what happened.”

“I agree. Thorn, why don't you ask your Allelois servants to prepare us some treats? I'm sure they'd love to.” Vextus said kindly, and Thorn and the mare smiled at each other before he nodded once.

“Uh... I'll come with you.” Cadence said awkwardly, smiling lamely to excuse herself from the demons. Neither seemed exactly surprised, however, only bowing their heads politely to her, and Thorn shrugged before he turned to lead Cadence out, giving her a questioning look as they entered the hall.

Cadence didn't reply right away, looking back and forth as they made their way through this massive, labyrinthine home: and to think, Brynhild owned all this. She wondered for a moment in spite of herself how exactly the Valkyrie had earned both her reputation and all this prestige and wealth here in Helheim: the stories she'd heard the demons tell about her clearly weren't all true, after all.

Thorn was still looking at her, however, and Cadence finally shifted awkwardly before she almost blurted: “I don't trust Hel.”

“That's nothing new, and it's not what's actually bothering you.” Thorn said, and Cadence couldn't help but scowl a little before the sapphire stallion gestured at her horn, asking quietly: “Does it hurt still?”

“Not a lot.” Cadence mumbled grudgingly, awkwardly looking up at the embarrassing nub sticking out of her head. She reached up and rubbed at this for a moment, then shook her head quickly as she fell back into pace behind Thorn, asking: “Why didn't you ever tell me about the Astra?”

Of course, she already knew the answer, and with the way that Thorn smiled over his shoulder at her, she knew that he knew that she knew the answer, too, which made her scowl. Then the stallion turned his attention back ahead as they pushed through a door, asking: “What did you see?”

“Something bad.” Cadence murmured, scowling a little before she shook her head and asked: “Can we really trust Hel to help us? What if she doesn't slow the flow of time, what if she just... keeps us here, and-”

“Hel can't lie. Furthermore, I know better than to say that I trust Hel, but... I trust that she'll do what's in her best interests.” Thorn replied with a brief shake of his head, and Cadence didn't know how that was supposed to be reassuring.

But after a moment, Thorn glanced at her and smiled briefly, pointing out: “Do you think Hel will want to risk losing Freya to Thokk? Worse, if Freya dies...”

“Thokk could revive her. And they have some sort of pact between them, don't they? Thokk could abuse that.” Cadence said slowly, and Thorn almost looked impressed before he shouldered his way through a door, and winced as he found himself face-to-face with Juliette.

The succubus grinned at him widely as Justine gave a hesitant smile and wave to Cadence. “Yes, Master? How can we be of service to you, Thorn Blackfeather?”

“Please prepare the dining room for a tea, and serve a full course of refreshments.” Thorn answered, and Juliette huffed a little even as Justine looked almost relieved, nodding and clapping her front hooves together happily.

“Yes, sir, very well. But you know that we're here for other things, too. Anything you need, Master Thorn...” Juliette almost purred as she stepped forwards, grinning widely at Thorn as she licked her lips slowly. But then she winced and faltered a little under Thorn's steady gaze before she slumped and huffed, turning with away with a scowl as Justine bowed a few times to them, before scurrying off after her sister.

Cadence smiled a little despite herself, looking over at the stallion before she said wryly: “You really are a hardass. Why exactly do your parents keep those two around, again?”

“They don't 'keep' them: they were gifts from Hel. I'm sure you remember Prejudice: many demons are treated as property here, and many of them 'belong' to Hel: it is, in fact, what many demons aspire to be.” Thorn said, and Cadence shuddered a little at this as they resumed their walk through the halls of the mansion. “Technically, they're still Hel's property, and they serve as watchdogs over my parents while they're here as much as servants.”

Cadence tilted her head curiously towards Thorn, and Thorn smiled wryly before he replied dryly: “Because I'm sure it's a surprise that my Móðer has no respect for Hel's rules.”

The ivory mare grunted at this: at least that was one thing she and the Valkyrie could agree on. They walked on in quiet for a few minutes, before the ivory mare finally asked hesitantly: “Thorn, why... why are we really here?”

Thorn was quiet as he lowered his head slightly, visibly mulling it over as they entered a spacious dining room. Several servants were already here, politely nodding to Thorn before they continued to set the table, and the sapphire stallion briefly acknowledged them with a nod in return before he turned his eyes back to Cadence, sighing a little and saying finally: “I can't say for sure. I think Hel does have a task for us. I think Hel is trying to protect you, because for a brief moment... you did see her true face. I also think she's trying to convince you to side with her, though, in the event that... something happens and her alliance with Hecate ends up failing.”

Cadence automatically followed Thorn to the table, frowning at him as he sat calmly down, before she asked the question that had been on her mind ever since she had first found out about it: “Thorn, what exactly is Ithavoll? And why is it so bad?”

“I can't talk about that, Cadence. Not just because of professional obligation, but because Hecate is my mother, and she trusts me to keep her secrets.” Thorn said quietly, and Cadence grumbled a little under her breath before she grudgingly nodded, but all the same looked almost insistently at Thorn.

Thorn shifted a little, and then he sighed after a moment before asking: “Do you remember what I told you before? That you are important to Decretum, that the Ithavoll Project is... secondary?”

“Yeah, I do. But now I'm less worried about being replaced and more wondering what it is that would make even Hel afraid.” replied Cadence, and Thorn smiled briefly at her.

Thorn rested his forelegs on the table, then tented his hooves, tilting his head towards her and asking: “Why is this coming up again now? I would think you have other concerns on your mind at the moment, Cadence.”

Cadence looked down, rubbing at her shoulder for a moment before he said quietly: “I just... saw things. Felt things, I don't know how to put it. When the Swan's powers ran through me and I looked into the Astra, I got so... cold, and callous, Thorn. I wasn't even thinking logically, like I know you and Hecate do. I was just focused entirely on what I wanted, and what I wanted to see, and it was like as I looked at the past, I knew exactly what must be happening next, what must be happening... right now...”

Thorn only let Cadence ramble, letting her work things out for herself as she shifted back and forth, before she continued in a low murmur: “The Swan was there. She was the opposite. She has emotions now, she's so different from what she was. But somehow that only makes me more worried. Especially now, because... when her powers flowed through me, it was like... almost like we traded places. I was heartless. Cold. Emotionless. I said... 'let the others die, I want to save my Father.'”

Cadence shivered at her own words, closing her eyes and feeling a burst of shame and self-loathing, and then she looked up in surprise as Thorn reached up and gently touched her shoulder. “Cadence, everyone chooses to save those they love at the end of the day. For better or worse. We can't deny what our primal brain tells us to do.”

“You and Hecate seem to be able to.” Cadence said before she thought about how that might sound, but Thorn only gave a wry smile.

“My Mother and I put on confident faces, Cadence. We say that we can, but ultimately...” He quieted, looking away and tapping his hoof against the tabletop before he glanced up as a servant approached: a tall, stoic-looking stallion with leathery wings, somehow far more intimidating and demonic than the Night Guard bat-ponies Cadence remembered served Luna. “Caliginos.”

“Master Thorn.” The stallion servant bowed his head politely. “What do you desire for service?”

For a moment, Cadence stared at the stallion, thinking of Justine and Juliette, but Thorn answered calmly: “Honored, but casual. Allow the servants to join us, if they would like. Allow Vextus to say grace, and mark the meats so there are no accidents. You know how to prepare the rest, Caliginos.”

The stallion bowed his head politely before he turned to leave, and Cadence watched him go before she asked awkwardly: “Grace?”

“Demons have their beliefs, too. And they tend to be better at remembering what prayer is for than mortals are.” Thorn smiled briefly over at Cadence, and then he sat back before asking: “Do you remember anything about Helheim at all?”

“The Swan was created in Helheim, but it knows nothing of Helheim.” Cadence muttered, and then she winced and hammered on her forehead as Thorn only looked at her curiously. “Sorry, sorry. I... yeah.”

“Yeah.” Thorn repeated after a moment, and then he shook his head before he sat up a little, explaining: “Helheim isn't composed simply of souls awaiting Punishment. After completing their sentences, demons are 'freed' to become civilians: furthermore, many demons are born, and these 'free demons' are generally classified as civilians instead of prisoners.

“While the world and culture here is obviously very different in many ways, there are plenty of innocent lives here. Demons and devils who just want to go about their lives, plenty who would be absolutely terrifying to a mortal, but...” Thorn smiled slightly, then he gestured off to the side, towards what looked like a half-mare, half-dragon who was humming to herself happily as she set places around the table. “A lot of them just want to live their lives, the very same as we do.”

“As we did.” Cadence couldn't help but correct, and Thorn glanced at her curiously, the ivory mare smiling a little before she shook her head and murmured: “I think we gave up our normal lives a long time ago, Thorn. There's no chance at any of us just... being normal, ever again.”

“Ten years, Cadence, and then you're all free to pursue your own ends.” Thorn reminded, and Cadence only gave him a look, the sapphire stallion gazing back at her before he tilted his head curiously as he asked: “Do you really think that-”

“I know. I... know.” Cadence murmured, looking down and rubbing at the back of her head before she gave Thorn a small smile. “Look at me, Thorn. I'm not... normal, anymore. There's no way I could ever live a normal life, even if everything magically turned out okay somehow and we were all able to go our separate ways. And I know that Daddy can't leave Decretum, anyway: even if you gave us all the equipment we needed to keep him stable, I know he's... he's a better pony than I am.”

Thorn tilted his head curiously, but Cadence only shook her head before she lowered it and closed her eyes, rubbing almost uncomfortably at her breast. “Cadence, isn't there anything you've ever wanted to do for yourself?”

“What about you? I could ask you the same question.” Cadence retorted defensively, shifting back a bit with a grumble as she crossed her forelegs and glowered at him. “I mean, you're the one who's... well...”

She broke off lamely, looking awkwardly at Thorn as he only looked at her mildly, unfettered, before she cleared her throat and lowered her head, mumbling: “Um. Sorry. I know it's... it's different for you.”

“Do you know why I've been going out on missions with you?” Thorn asked, and Cadence looked at him curiously through her embarrassment, before her eyes widened in surprise as he said softly: “It's because Empress Hecate wants me to decide for myself where I belong. Yes, Cadence, unlike you I've been groomed from birth to be... a prince, a regent, an administrator. But like you, I've always been guided by the hoofsteps of my parents. The differences between us are that I will never fill those hoofprints in the ground, whereas you have proven yourself to be as strong and capable a leader as your father.”

Cadence shook her head at this with a small smile, looking at Thorn curiously before she asked finally: “And how was it, Thorn? Being out in the field, joining us in getting our flanks handed to us? Because you know that's ninety percent of the job, right?”

Thorn gave a slight smile at this, shrugging briefly before he replied quietly: “I can think of worse things.”

Cadence and Thorn looked at each other for a few moments, and then they both smiled hesitantly before the mare shook her head and murmured: “I think you did pretty good, though. And you... fit in here, if that's not too offensive for me to say. You seem to do really well for yourself, Thorn, in these kinds of settings.”

Thorn only shrugged a bit as he leaned back a bit in his seat, murmuring: “Yes, but this is where I was raised, Cadence. It's just like... a coming home for me, that's all. Funny as I know that is.” He halted, then shook his head quickly before he looked up as Juliette and Justine pushed in a pair of large carts.

While the sultry succubus smiled at him hungrily and the shy sister bowed her head almost meekly, the two were extremely quick and efficient in setting out the food. Cadence frowned a bit in surprise at how much food had already been prepared, but Thorn only smiled a little as he glanced over at her, explaining: “The kitchens generally spend the entire day making food when I'm present. I have them deliver the excess at the end of the day to a shelter, and I always tell them they don't have to worry about me, but... they do.”

“Of course we do, Prince Thorn! A growing colt needs to eat well!” gushed Juliette, as she almost threw herself into his lap as she set a saucer and cup in front of him. Thorn only looked at her, however, until she eventually shrank back, then grumbled and almost threw another saucer and cup in front of Cadence, adding irritably: “Don't think we care about you, though, birdie. This is all for the Prince, and for our honored guests. The honored guests, not you.”

“Oh, please excuse my sister!” Justine rushed quickly to Cadence's side with a teapot, smiling at her apologetically even as she poured tea into her cup, and Cadence was surprised to smell blueberries, even as she automatically leaned a little away from Justine and her clear overeagerness to please. “She means well, you know, she always does: you just... well, she's never been very good with angels, she always thinks-”

“No, the problem is that I don't think very much of angels at all.” interrupted Juliette with a haughty sniff and a distasteful scowl at Cadence, who gave the mare a moody look in return.

“I'm no angel.” Cadence said dryly, and then she shook her head and watched as the twins quickly and efficiently set the rest of the table after a moment of bickering, before she was unable to stop herself from asking: “How did you know about the blueberry tea?”

Juliette laughed derisively, but Justine only smiled as she bowed her head several times, replying almost eagerly: “Oh, we know all your preferences, Lady Cadence, we were thoroughly prepped on how to behave and what you enjoy, like... oh, here, have one of these buns, I'm sure-”

Justine began to pass one of the pastries to her, but Juliette snatched it out of her hoof before she gave it a long lick with her tongue, then almost slammed it down on the plate in front of Cadence with a challenging grin, leaving it smushed and glistening with her spit. Justine looked horrified as Thorn rubbed slowly at his face, and Cadence felt one of her eyes twitch-

“Children, behave yourselves.” Vextus Lux said sternly, and Cadence looked up in surprise to see the priestess standing in the doorway with an amused-looking Tormentas, before the ivory mare turned, and her eyes widened a little more as she saw that both of the twins had snapped to salutes, staring almost fearfully at the demons who had just entered the room.

Thorn stood and gestured at the spots on the other side of the table, and Cadence simply sat dumbly, looking up at the sapphire stallion before she winced as she realized why he was standing, but by the time she started to scramble up to her hooves, Vextus and Tormentas had already sat down, and Thorn did so as well a moment later.

Vextus only smiled, however, then she gestured at Cadence and said kindly: “Don't worry about us and our rituals, young one. And Thorn, please don't go to such lengths for us: after all, technically you outrank both myself and Tormentas, and we are but humble guests here in your home.”

“Precisely, you are my guests, and people I respect. If anything I should apologize for not being able to better accommodate your needs.” Thorn replied politely, and Vextus Lux gave him an amused look before she settled her elbows on the table and her face on her hooves, leaning towards him with tangible warmth.

“Now, you stop that, Thorn Blackfeather. You're going to make me blush.” She paused, then glanced up at the Twins, who were both still standing at attention. “Now, Allelois. Seat yourselves and behave yourselves, both of you.”

The twins nodded and hurriedly sat themselves at the far end of the table: other servants began to filter in, most of them unfamiliar to Cadence, and sat at the table as well. To Cadence's surprise, servants continued to enter the room even after the table was filled, but most of these simply sat themselves on the floor around the edges of the room, Cadence shifting awkwardly.

“It's alright, Cadence. Most demons don't need to eat: food is comfort, or a way to help ourselves restore energy faster. But 'sharing a meal,' as it is called, shows trust.” Tormentas explained, before she smiled around the room at the demons, many of whom Cadence thought seemed uncomfortably fawning. “Although it is not a ritual you see practiced widely throughout Helheim.”

“But Thorn Blackfeather has worked hard to be as good a pony as his parents, if not better.” Vextus Lux winked at the stallion, who only smiled back at her. “Oh, don't argue. It's not as if dearest Brynhild never turned a friendly tea into a food fight, after all.”

Thorn shrugged a bit, and then Vextus sat back and smiled, holding her hooves out, and around the table, the demons took each other by hoof or claw or whatever was offered, Cadence lamely letting the demon beside her grasp one of her hooves as Thorn took the other. Vextus bowed her head forwards, and Cadence half-bowed her own, but kept her eyes open as the demoness said softly: “May we all be redeemed, may we all overcome our vices, may we all be eternal in service to who love and honor us. Amen.”

“Amen.” echoed the table, and Cadence looked up awkwardly as the demons at the table immediately dug in. Food was passed around as murmuring conversation started up, and Cadence helped herself to a muffin, unable to help but look around and watch what the others took.

Tormentas had helped herself to plenty of meat, she noted, and some of it looked raw and bloody and made her want to gag; Vextus Lux, on the other hoof, had only taken vegetables and salad. Thorn had a pastry or two, but also a few breaded balls of what Cadence suspected were either chicken or venison: they seemed like the most common meats.

She looked around the table, and she noted that plenty of the demons were happily helping themselves to bits of both... but only one demon apart from Tormentas had piled what looked like bloody meat, and that, to her surprise, was Justine, whereas Juliette had taken what looked like nothing but candy.

Cadence picked up her blueberry tea and sipped at it as she looked slowly around again at all these demons, before Vextus Lux caught her eye and asked kindly: “So what do you think?”

The ivory mare blinked a few times, and then she shrugged and gave an awkward smile. “It's uh... nice. I guess I'm... so what are you a High Priestess of, exactly? And why are you so... I mean, you clearly are a mare worthy of respect, I just mean-”

Vextus laughed and shook her head, looking at Cadence with entertainment. “I suppose it must be strange for you. It's even strange for some of those inside Helheim, after all.” She paused for a moment, then leaned back as she idly flicked a piece of tomato out of her salad, continuing: “The term 'High Priestess' is a bit of a misnomer: my actual title is Whisperer of Secrets to the Sacred Eye, but... that is a bit of a mouthful.

“Rather, 'High Priestess' is a term that denotes any high-ranking member of any covenant. Covenants, of course, being the term we use in Helheim for organized religion. I understand the usage is different on the mortal world.” Vextus smiled as she gestured idly with a hoof, before she touched Tormentas' shoulder. “While many of us here worship Hel as Goddess, she is not the only goddess in Helheim, and nor do all of us see her as the ultimate and absolute in this universe. Some of us join covenants for protection beneath the gods we worship, others do it out of faith, or love, others for... countless other reasons. There are many factions and covenants that believe Helheim is... well, what you mortals think of the earth as. Only one life, before we move on to the next.”

“I uh... see.” Cadence said after a moment, swallowing the urge to argue with this notion as she shifted back a bit, before she frowned a little and asked curiously: “So as a High Priestess, what are your duties?”

“They vary, of course, but most of us are administrators, magicians, and healers. I specialize in healing, myself. The vows I took mean that I must do all I can to aid and assist all those in need.” Vextus smiled, then awkwardly batted away another slice of tomato before she winced when Tormentas speared this with a fork and grinned, lifting it to lick the dripping fruit slowly off the utensil. “I also have to avoid certain things.”

“Won't even eat red vegetables, because they're too much like blood. Shame on you, Vextus Lux. There are plenty of demons with green blood as well, I'll have you know.” Tormentas teased, and Vextus huffed before Tormentas winked over at Cadence. “I know that it's quite hard to take in, Cadence, but we aren't all monsters, you know. There's more to Helheim than just hell and Hel.”

Cadence nodded lamely as she rubbed at her face awkwardly, then she mumbled: “It's just... hard to take in. All I ever knew was that Hel was the enemy, but now...”

She quieted, then picked up her squished-looking bun and took a bite out of it. She chewed slowly, then tilted it back and forth as she muttered: “Weird. There's a sweet aftertaste. I guess you demons like sugar, huh?”

“That would be the succubus saliva.” Thorn said gently, and Cadence blinked before she scowled horribly. She shot a look down the table at Juliette, but the twins were both pointedly looking away, and Cadence muttered under her breath before she took another bite out of the bun, figuring what was done was done.

Thorn smiled wryly as Tormentas laughed, and then the sapphire stallion glanced up and said: “When Vextus was younger, she was one of my nannies. She spent a lot of time with me in Helheim.”

Cadence cocked her head curiously at this, looking up with interest, and Vextus chuckled quietly. “Only a few short years, but... precious memories to me. Do you know how short a decade is to a trueborn like myself? I'm a hundred thousand years old-”

“Closer to two.” Tormentas interrupted, and Vextus gave her a flat look.

“Very well, two hundred thousand years old. The time in Helheim... all grinds together, and as you are well-aware, time is... inconsistent throughout all of Hell. Hel can affect it, and there is often even a vast time difference between the different slices that Helheim is composed of.” Vextus shook her head slowly, looking tenderly at Thorn. “I think when you were present, that was when Helheim was closest to matching the speed of the mortal plane.”

Thorn smiled briefly, and Cadence looked curiously at the sapphire stallion for a moment before Vextus shook her head and continued: “But that's all besides the point. No matter how old we are, how strong we become and how much we retain depends entirely upon our devotion to our craft. Demons suffer from a process called 'rusting,' you see: when we are lazy and do not practice our craft, we quickly lose our fine edge. Our strength diminishes: much faster than it is gained, in many cases.”

“And other demons plateau, and we all have vulnerabilities, too, that mortals do not.” Tormentas added, gesturing idly with a hoof before she speared a bit of meat, lifting it in front of her muzzle and giving a wry sigh. “I miss the taste of salt. But even a smidgen of it will scald all the skin off my tongue, and all I'll taste for a week is my own blood.”

Cadence winced at this, as Vextus smiled in amusement, before Thorn added softly: “It's in part due to the energy levels in the air and the fluctuation of particles: if a mortal came to Helheim, and, disregarding the effects of corruption, trained very hard, he could become quite strong. But when he returned to the mortal world above, he would be lucky to retain half that strength.”

Cadence frowned in surprise at this, asking: “But I mean... muscle doesn't just vanish, right? And I assume you don't just... lose magic magically. Uh. I mean, lose magic... just... like that.”

She rubbed lamely at her face, but Vextus shook her head with a quiet chuckle. “Think of it this way. When you drink dragon's blood, you gain great strength, but it's only temporary. After a short time, that strength diminishes, and you become weaker than you were before. Part of that weakness is in your mind, yes, due to the sudden loss of strength, but the rest of it is very real.”

“I think what Vextus and Thorn are trying to say is that yes, if you could just go somewhere for two years and train, and come back to your home country and somehow not have had two entire years pass, but rather two minutes, then yes. You could keep that strength. But due in part to the way the corruption works, and due in part to the fact that 'stretched' time as occurs here in Helheim is different from 'normal' time in the physical plane...” Tormentas shrugged, saying mildly: “You can make a piece of cloth seem much larger than it is by pulling on it, but it's still the same piece of cloth.”

“Uh. Huh.” Cadence said slowly, rubbing at her head. Well, it sort of made sense, bad metaphors aside. “I think I sort of get what you're saying. But doesn't that mean any training I do here will be useless?”

Thorn only shook his head, however, replying: “No, like I mentioned before. The Estate being barred off from corruption drastically reduces the 'bleed' effect, as it's been called. Furthermore, we aren't concentrating on increasing your strength here, as much as we are teaching you. That knowledge will stay in your mind...”

“All we're really doing is giving you the time you need to reacquaint yourself with yourself. That's all.” Vextus Lux said kindly, and then she picked up her cup of tea and sipped from it with a sigh. “Blueberry, is this? It's a nice flavor.”

“It's always been my favorite.” Cadence said as she picked up her own cup: it was still warm, at least. And when she sipped, it tasted good: as good as it ever had in Decretum, as she looked curiously over at Thorn.

He was only eating calmly again, so she turned her eyes back to Vextus to ask: “So you took care of Thorn when he was young.”

“I was a tutor and a caretaker, yes. Although Thorn didn't require much caretaking: even when he was just a colt, he did work in the Archives, you know.” Vextus smiled over at Thorn, who maybe blushed ever so slightly as Cadence looked at him with surprise: the Archives of Helheim, after all, weren't exactly a place for a child. “And don't you start, Thorn Blackfeather. You did sorting, notation, and plenty of other chores. For such a young colt you... had to grow up very fast.”

Thorn only shrugged, gave one of his small smiles, and then turned his eyes back to his food, and Vextus chuckled as she murmured: “You never could take a compliment. Just like your father... and your mother, I suppose. Although your Móðer, well... she was always the opposite.”

Thorn nodded at this, and Cadence tilted her head, unable to stop herself from pressing: “So you know his family well? The Valkyrie- I mean, uh, Brynhild?”

“The Valkyrie, yes.” A smile twitched at Vextus' muzzle before she glanced over at Tormentas, saying mildly: “I heard this one was already telling tales about her to you, though.”

“I am just... very interested in the Valkyrie's legacy.” Cadence said lamely, and Tormentas and Vextus shared amused looks as Cadence rubbed at the back of her neck, then mumbled: “It's just... still really hard to believe that the Valkyrie...”

“The Valkyrie, the Valkyrie!” Tormentas teased, and then she snatched a cookie off a plate as it floated slowly past them towards the other end of the table. “I can't tell if you hate her or love her some days. Not that I can blame you for that myself... she was...”

Tormentas sat back, taking a bite of her cookie and chewing thoughtfully before she murmured: “I never broke her. Not truly. I could make her afraid, I could grind her down, I could even make her face herself for a few rare moments... but I could never truly break her. That was what made her so hard to teach, too, though. She was bullheaded and stubborn. We never did finish her Punishments, due to the conflict... but I know that when she and her family return to Helheim one day, she will cry and moan and complain and fight against it... but she will all the same complete her sentence.”

Thorn nodded slowly as he looked up, and Cadence cocked her head curiously, asking before she realized it probably wasn't the greatest question with Luna's son right beside her: “So she and her partners were... they earned their way to Helheim?”

She tossed an awkward look at Thorn, and Vextus Lux smiled softly before she shook her head slowly, saying quietly: “Look around.”

Cadence did so, seeing all the demon servants: talking, chatting, all of various shape and size. Demons, both those who had once been mortal, to those who had never known anything except Helheim, and Vextus Lux said softly: “Not even Thorn will deny that his parents have a... rough streak in them. I know you have a great love for Heaven, Cadence, how can you not when that is what the Swan was sworn to protect? But look around. Do you think Hell is really what it's said to be?”

The ivory mare shifted a little, and she felt the Swan shift strangely too, before Cadence looked up and said before she could stop herself: “The Swan was created in Helheim.”

Vextus and Tormentas both only smiled, and Cadence lowered her head lamely, rubbing at her too-small horn as she mumbled: “But I guess that says more about me than it does about Hell, huh?”

“Maybe, Cadence. But you still have much to learn, and a long way to go. We'll get there, though, I promise you that.” Vextus Lux replied with a smile, and her eyes held Cadence's as she added in a soft but firm voice: “To move out of the past, however, you need to be willing to let it go. Think on that.”

Cadence looked at the demons for a few moments, then over at Thorn, as she sat at a table full of what the Swan had once considered less than scum, in a place that she had thought was only a nightmare realm of darkness and hatred. She took a breath as she let her eyes wander instead of trying to hold that steady, yet compassionate gaze from the High Priestess, studying the world around her, and then she rose one of her own golden hooves and looked at it, as if seeing it for the first time.

And finally, Cadence looked up and promised, to herself as much as the others: “I will.”