Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

What If, What If

Chapter Sixty Eight: What If, What If
~BlackRoseRaven

Subterra reminded Cadence of Decretum, in so many different ways: it was beautiful, exotic, and brimming with life; life that even a short time ago would have struck her as unnatural and likely hostile, but now, after everything she had seen and been through...

Cadence watched with a small smile as a group of demons strode by: horrible, scaly things with rippling, massive muscles and awful, skull-like faces. But they weren't hurting anyone, or even patrolling menacingly: they were chatting cheerfully, one of them carrying a much smaller demon on his back as they headed towards what looked to Cadence like some kind of shopping district.

There were Nightmares, demons, undead 'monsters,' batponies and other creatures of the darkness, and all of them seemed to be living in harmony together in a place that apparently existed right beneath Canterlot. It reminded Cadence so deeply of Clockwork World, where the Dogmatists and machines of war all lived and worked together in peace. She liked that.

Her eyes roved upwards to the stone ceiling, high above the world: up there, huge lanterns and crystals cast a beautiful glow over the underground city below, emanating not just light, but a potent, magical warmth that the demons apparently fed off of and reduced their effect on the populace above. Demons sustained themselves off of emotional and spiritual energy, and as a side effect, they tended to make mortals agitated just by being nearby.

Cadence felt an odd familiarity from the larger lanterns: they reminded her of the Crystal Heart, somehow, which brought back... memories. Not good, not bad, just memories at this point in her life: everything that had happened felt so long ago right now. Sure, there were some days where it hurt to think about, but maybe because of the calming aura of the city – which is funny, considering it's a city of demons – or maybe just because she was having a decent day to herself, right now it felt okay to think about.

She rested back on the stone bench, then glanced up with a small smile as Thesis dropped down beside her, the stallion giving her a grin as he said: “You seem like you're in a good mood for once.”

“Shut up.” Cadence said, then she hesitated before nodding and adding grudgingly: “And... maybe, I guess. I think the place is growing on me. Especially now that Brynhild and her family are all gone, and we know that Thorn's in good hooves.”

“Plus we don't have to worry about doing work until Necrophage finishes up her job.” the stallion added with a smile, and Cadence grunted, shifting a bit before she nodded in agreement. It was nice to have time off, even if she knew Decretum was in the middle of a lot of changes right now, and she had heard that they had begun transferring all personnel to Endworld...

“Hey.” Thesis said in a gentler voice, and Cadence glanced up at him before the stallion slid himself a little closer to her. “Sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of the way and let everyone else take care of things. You're great at taking things apart, Honk, but bricks are for building, not for beating people to death with.”

“Shut up.” Cadence repeated, but she was smiling in spite of herself, shaking her head with a sigh before she asked almost hesitantly: “How do you just... how do you not...”

“It takes practice.” Thesis answered after a moment, smiling over at her as he leaned back in the bench and let his front hooves fall loose in his lap. “But hey, I'm almost as old as you are, you know. I spent a lot of my life asleep, too, and blind to my true purpose, and... the life I did spend awake, I spent...”

He quieted, looking down for a moment as he chewed at his lip, before Cadence asked impulsively: “Do you remember your life as... Heimdall?”

“Just... flashes. It's hard to put into words: I don't think I was ever Heimdall, but Heimdall is a part of who I am...” Thesis touched his own breast thoughtfully, looking meditatively at the ground before he murmured: “I think he was just a piece used to help put the rest of me together, if that makes any sense at all.”

“Yeah.” Cadence hesitated, looking at him, before she asked: “When we fought... did you... I mean, I don't remember you having an exoskeleton back then.”

Thesis smiled a bit, looking over at her and replying quietly: “Dad was dragging me around with him because I'd just failed a mission, and my last exoskeleton had been destroyed, actually. I was using a 'patch,' and Valthrudnir...”

Thesis quieted, then he shook his head as he reached up and tapped his own temple gently. “I was a little saner at that point, too... god, that's weird to think of, though. You were just a cute little girl. Not cute like that, though, I'm not into fillies. Or colts! Even though you're still kind of a colt.”

Cadence rolled her eyes and nudged him firmly with her shoulder, before she pressed on: “I hurt you, with my magic.”

“Yeah. You caused an emotional reaction, that caused my uh... serotonin levels to...” Thesis absently reached up and hammered on his head, before he shrugged and said mildly: “Hell if I know. The nodes kept track of all that. I just acted as a voicebox for them.”

“So you were a puppet, too.” Cadence said ironically, and Thesis gave her a pointed look, which made the mare clear her throat and turn away, mumbling: “Hey, you're the one who wanted to find common ground and all.”

“Yeah. Silly me.” Thesis said dryly, before he shook his head and asked bluntly in return: “So tell me about your ex-husband.”

Cadence scowled at him, but after a moment, she sighed and looked away, saying finally: “Shining was... he was a good stallion, don't get me wrong. But I'm not going to get into the 'it was him' or 'it was me' crap, either, because I mean... I could have probably gone on like we did, day after day, pretending everything was okay, when it really wasn't.

“We were great for each other. But we weren't perfect. I'm sure... some of the other Shinings and Cadences out there were perfect, but not us. There were too many problems, and... better people for us both. We had different priorities, and I'm... the Swan.” Cadence reached up and stroked along the tattoo on her breast, before she blushed a bit as Thesis reached out and traced over this in the opposite direction, letting their hooves gently brush together.

“I like who you are.” he replied honestly, and then he added with a wink: “Anyway, I bet I'm more handsome than him. And I could totally lift more.”

Thesis leaned back and flexed, and Cadence rolled her eyes as she shoved a hoof against his face, grumbling: “The only reason I believe that is because you have to carry that fat head of yours around all day.”

“It makes my legs strong!” Thesis declared, and Cadence snorted before the two looked at each other, and Thesis smiled a little more honestly, saying quietly: “Do you regret the relationship?”

“No. No, not at all. He was a good stallion. And I was... as good to him as I could be. We just... didn't work out, and there's nothing wrong with that.” Cadence said, and then she lamely lowered her head and mumbled: “Wow, that sounded a lot more defensive than I thought it would.”

Thesis only shrugged, before he glanced back and forth, then suddenly hopped to his hooves, Cadence blinking before the stallion grabbed her and half-yanked her out of her seat. She scowled as she caught herself easily, before staring in disbelief as Thesis exclaimed: “Picnic!”

“No. I never agreed-” Cadence grimaced as Thesis grabbed her, slapping his hoof off as she grumbled: “Stop touching me, you asshole.”

“Why, because only you're allowed to punch me without permission?” Thesis asked blandly, and Cadence couldn't help but shift lamely before the stallion urged: “Come on. There's some kind of festival going on up in Canterlot, I heard. Let's go to the fair, get our minds off things, and... then we can have a picnic. I bet I know a nice little private spot we can go to, too.”

“How would you know anything about this world?” Cadence asked, and Thesis shifted, her eyes locking on him as she caught something in that movement.

“Well, you know, the geography of most worlds is the same.” he reasoned, although Cadence knew immediately that wasn't the whole story. “Let's just go, come on. Get out of this dark cave.”

“This cave isn't all that dark.” Cadence argued, but then she rolled her eyes and sighed when Thesis turned away. She didn't even know why she was following him, even as she asked: “So how many times have you been here?”

“A few times. Not... here, specifically, but yes, I have been on this world before.” Thesis admitted almost grudgingly, and Cadence cocked her head curiously, trotting a little faster so she could fall in step beside him. “I don't know how much you know about it, but for a while, I was uh... trying to 'force' an alliance between myself and Luna Brynhild and her family. I thought of Scrivener Blooms as my brother... I still do, but in better terms these days. I'm not crazy anymore.”

“You can repeat that all you want, Thesis, but I think you're still a little crazy.” Cadence said gently, and Thesis couldn't help but smile a little. “I've heard a bit about it, but... I don't like Brynhild all that much, I guess, so I never really dug too much into it.”

“I was very confused back then. Okay, I was completely insane.” Thesis paused, then he shook his head and said softly: “I was running on two things: I thought they were family, and family was the most important thing, and that they absolutely had to help me... while the other part of my mind identified them as a threat that had to be destroyed so I could harvest their genetic data and make myself... complete. The only 'complete' Replicant is Scrivener Blooms. The rest of us are all missing genes or we're running off unfinished programming.”

“Those RED Replicants seemed pretty finished to me.” Cadence muttered as they headed up a gentle, sloped road, past picturesque homes that would have looked right in place on the surface... except for the demons and monsters occupying them, that was.

Thesis only smiled in amusement over at her, answering: “Yeah, you'd think so, but they're all under the control of nodes in their brains. I mean, look at Necrophage, for example. You can see the uh... flaws in her design, right?”

“Yeah.” Cadence halted, her mind almost immediately jumping to Moonflower and Thorn, before she shook her head quickly and asked: “So you weren't complete, either?”

“No. I required regular maintenance after I was activated, so to speak. Which is even more gross than it sounds.” Thesis paused, then he added softly: “And I was never meant to be... well, let's just say that trying to finish the job myself went very badly. And even after I died...”

Thesis lowered his head for a moment, but then both he and Cadence had their attention drawn forwards as they approached a large archway, where two guards in silver armor were standing as normal-looking ponies wandered in and out past them. As they approached, Thesis caught the attention of one of the demons, pointing at the tunnel past the archway and asking: “Does this lead up to Canterlot?”

“Close enough. Go through, follow the path up.” one of the guards replied in a bored voice, gesturing absently at the ponies a few times before he frowned a little as his eyes settled on Cadence. “What are you doing here? Moon Blessed are supposed to remain in the palace.”

“The hell is a 'Moon Blessed?'” Cadence asked moodily, and the guard winced and immediately looked away, Cadence sighing and rolling her eyes at this reaction as she muttered: “Great.”

“You know, you could work on your people skills.” Thesis said, and then he winced when Cadence punched him in the shoulder, rubbing at this awkwardly before he volunteered: “I'm a Replicant!”

“Right.” said the other guard slowly, before he gestured irritably with his spear at the tunnel. “Please move along. You're holding up the line.”

Thesis and Cadence looked back over their shoulders at the thin air behind them, and then they both simply shrugged before they continued into the tunnel. It wasn't a long walk, punctuated only by the sound of their hooves echoing off the walls of the passage, but Cadence felt like the seconds stretched out, made her painfully aware of the 'border' that existed between this beautiful little sanctuary inside the mountain, and the daylit world outside.

They stepped out of the other side of the tunnel, blinking as they emerged into bright, happy sunlight and brisk mountain air. A stone path was under their hooves, curling up the side of the mountain to a gate that led into Canterlot, and for a moment, Cadence could only stand and gaze up at the castle-city above, laughing a little before she murmured: “Never thought I'd see this place again. Every time I do, it always... gets me.”

She stopped, then shook her head before she glanced over at Thesis, asking: “So what do we do? Present ourselves to the Princesses?”

“For one thing, we're here to have fun. For another thing, the Princesses of this world became Luna Brynhild and Freya Celestia.” Thesis replied mildly, and Cadence blanched a bit.

“What does that mean? That Cadence is in charge? Or Twilight Sparkle?” she asked uneasily, but Thesis shook his head with a smile.

“The last I heard, it was a council. Don't you pay any attention to the briefing files? I mean apart from the stuff about who you're supposed to kill, obviously.” Thesis teased, and Cadence gave him a sour look before she sighed and trotted after him as he cantered up the path, adding: “Now come on, come on! Warm day, bright sunlight, and nothing to do but enjoy the sights! Can't you hear the people and the singing?”

“Those voices are all in you head, Thesis.” Cadence said tiredly, and Thesis huffed loudly over his shoulder at her.

They reached the gates with only a little more sniping at each other, and Cadence found herself dumbstruck as they were both immediately stopped by a pair of soldiers in golden armor who stepped into their path, one of them saying shortly: “Passes.”

“Passes?” Thesis asked dumbly.

“Passes!” barked the guard, and the other soldier frowned before the first guard explained grumpily: “Any non-mortal entity attempting to enter Canterlot during any holiday or event day must present their security passes on arrival. Failure to do so will result in being turned back. So if you don't have them, turn back.”

“What I have are wings. I can literally fly over this wall right now if I wanted to. Also, I'm pretty sure I'm a pony.” Cadence said flatly, glaring at the guard.

The guard only snorted, however, saying grumpily: “Then fly over. There are scanners all throughout the city. And you're clearly either a Moon Blessed or a shapeshifter, and he's... I don't know what he is. A Clockwork Pony, I'd wager.”

Thesis shrugged amiably, and then he asked curiously: “What's with all the security? I mean. I thought you guys were okay with us not-ponies. I mean, plenty of us not-ponies look, act, feel-”

The guard groaned loudly, and then he asked tiredly: “Can you just leave? We have the Senate breathing down the backs of our necks as it is. We don't need trouble. We're just trying to do our jobs.”

Cadence frowned at this, but Thesis only leaned forwards and winked, saying pointedly: “Pretend you never saw us, and we'll just be on our way.”

The guard scowled, and then he traded a look with the other soldier before saying moodily: “I don't think we can do that... sir, you're going to have to go back the way you came, or...”

“Or what?” Cadence asked with a scowl. Both guards immediately frowned back at her, one of them nervously shifting, but Thesis quickly cleared his throat as he bowed his head politely, half-leaning between Cadence and the soldiers.

“You know, I get it, you guys are just doing your job. But we got a job to do too, see.” Thesis smiled, then he reached down and tapped on his Mission Drive, and both guards – and Cadence as well – stared in surprise at the holographic project of Freya that appeared, Thesis saying quickly: “I have a message to present to the council on the state of Freya Celestia. We're emissaries from Clockwork World. We aren't supposed to talk about it past that, of course, so...”

The guards traded uneasy looks, but then one of them shrugged, and the other sighed and waved at him, saying finally: “Fine. Go ahead. I don't want to hear any more about it, though.”

Thesis only winked and smiled before he dismissed the holographic image and led Cadence through, the mare scowling at him horribly for almost a block, until Thesis finally tilted his head almost lazily towards her, asking: “Yes?”

“What the hell was that?”Cadence asked flatly, gesturing outwards, then wincing as she almost smacked a foal in the face, the colt staggering quickly out of the way before hurrying onward through the busy street.

A few ponies shot her a dirty look, and Cadence blushed slightly as she looked back and forth, reminding herself they were in a busy city full of busy ponies. She lowered her foreleg awkwardly, and Thesis smiled slightly before he asked: “Would you really have preferred punching your way through a few innocent ponies?”

Cadence grunted, then she argued: “That isn't the point-”

“That's exactly the point. Anyway, one of our duties is to meet with the Council here. We have to make our alliance with this Equestria as official as possible.” Thesis countered, and Cadence frowned a bit. “You know there are rules. We can bend these rules, sure, but we should avoid breaking them where necessary. And Looking Glass World has evolved to the point where they can detect surges of magic and supernaturals like us. We want to avoid drawing too much negative attention to Ponyville. And we shouldn't be depending on Ponyville to tear down their houses to send us materials when we have an entire country to ask for help from.”

Cadence grumbled under her breath, and then she winced when Thesis reached out and gently grasped her, pulling her forwards as he added: “But let's not worry about that right now, we've got a whole city to explore. Come on, let's enjoy ourselves, just you and me!”

“God I hate you.” Cadence grumbled again, but then she sighed as the stallion only winked at her and quickly pulled her forwards, the mare adding moodily: “I wish you would stop pulling me around.”

Thesis stopped, then looked mildly at her as he released her before he simply shrugged and turned, leaving her behind as he walked away down the street. For a moment, Cadence stared after him, and then she winced before trotting quickly after the stallion, blurting: “Hey!”

“I'm just doing what you wanted me to.” Thesis said mildly, smiling slightly over his shoulder at the mare. “Leaving you alone. Why are you following me?”

Thesis picked up the pace, and Cadence scowled as she hurried after him, opening her mouth-

Thesis ducked sharply into a side alley, and Cadence shouted in frustration before she bolted after him, chasing him out the other side and into a busy thoroughfare. But the stallion didn't slow, grinning widely as he darted around wagons and surprised ponies, and Cadence followed after him with a volley of curses, staggering back and forth around people as she shouted: “Come back here, you jackass!”

Thesis only continued to canter on down the street, and Cadence swore under her breath as she stumbled and zigzagged to keep up with him, glaring after him even as she struggled not to smile in spite of everything.

“Bastard!” she shouted, but a laugh crept into her voice as she jumped quickly around a set of wagons, then leapt a fence after Thesis, sprinting after him-

Cadence's eyes bulged as Thesis simply halted, watching mildly as Cadence scrambled to a stop, dropping her rump and tearing up the fairway as she skidded to a halt. She spun towards him, glaring furiously, before her jaw dropped as Thesis grinned and gestured at the ticket booths and the line of gaping ponies behind him. “Glad you decided to join me. I guess you wanted to go on a date after all, huh? I mean, how could you resist, though, am I right?”

Cadence slowly closed her eyes, reaching up to drag her hooves down her face, before she scowled when Thesis grabbed one of her hooves and childishly pulled her towards the ticket booth, the stallion saying cheerfully: “Two, please!”

“Wait your turn.” groused one of the ticket-takers, shaking himself out of his stupor, and Thesis grumbled theatrically before Cadence frowned at him. “What?”

“How the hell do you plan to pay?” she asked in a mutter, and Thesis shrugged amiably, making Cadence grind her teeth. “Thesis...”

“You really need to learn to trust.” Thesis said mildly, and Cadence gave him a flat look.

“I do trust. I trust my friends and I trust my family. I just don't trust you.” Cadence retorted, and Thesis gave her a hurt look.

“Ouch. You know, it wouldn't hurt you to pretend to be nice, you know.” Thesis said pointedly, and then he smiled a bit and added in a gentler, more-serious voice: “Trust.”

Cadence sighed a little, and then she nodded almost grudgingly, muttering: “I can't believe you dragged me here. You're a giant asshole, you know that? You want me to trust you, but...”

Thesis looked at her mildly, and Cadence blushed ever so slightly before Thesis said plainly: “You have a lot of problems.”

Cadence grumbled under her breath, looking moodily away: it only took a few minutes for them to reach the front of the line, the ticket-taker looking at them suspiciously before he said shortly: “Ten bits. Each. No discounts for freaks.”

“You're nice.” Thesis said blandly, and then, to Cadence's surprise, he reached back into his satchel and pulled out a cloth bag. He took his sweet time pawing it open before taking out one bit after the other, gently setting each coin down on the counter of the booth as slowly and painstakingly as possible until he had set twenty out.

The stallion in the ticket booth scowled at him, but then he grouchily yanked the coins back with one foreleg and tossed two paper tickets at them, which Thesis took with a wide smile and put in his satchel, as the ticket taker grumbled: “Have fun.”

“Oh, we will.” Thesis replied with that same wide, obnoxious smile, and Cadence couldn't help but smile despite herself as she followed him into the fairground, looking at him with amusement despite herself.

“So what do you feel like first? Because I've got plenty of bits to spend.” Thesis smiled over at her, tipping her a wink. “You didn't think I was going to come here without any money to use, right? I mean, Cadence, the whole world turns on economics.”

“I'm going to shove your economics up your ass.” Cadence grumbled, but Thesis only looked at her with amusement for a few moments before the stallion turned to trot through the happy crowds of people, and Cadence sighed as she followed after him, self-consciously furling her wings against her body as if she could try and hide them.

But Thesis didn't seem to care about the looks he got, and as they trotted right down the center of the little path that had been walked through the fairground together, Cadence found herself starting to feel a little less self-conscious as well, raising her head a bit as she glanced back and forth before she said abruptly: “It's weird.”

“Not killing everyone you meet?” Thesis asked without looking back, and Cadence glowered at his back before he spun around and locked gazes with her, saying emotionlessly: “We could, you know.”

Cadence stared at Thesis, and he stared back at her before the smallest of smiles twitched at his muzzle as his eyes widened a little more, and Cadence groaned before Thesis spun back around and trotted off towards a booth, saying cheerfully: “Come on, Honk, I'll win you a teddy bear or something.”

“I can win my own goddamn teddy bear, thank you very much.” Cadence grumbled, but she followed him all the same to the games booth, watching as Thesis tossed a few bits down with a grin.

Cadence looked moodily up, surveying the game: simple, throw a ball, knock over the stacks of jars, win prize. Three balls, three pyramids of jars. Easy.

Thesis tossed some bits down, and the bored-looking pony in the booth rolled him three baseballs, saying tiredly: “Knock over the jars, win a prize, hip hip hooray.”

“Hip hip hooray!” Thesis exclaimed in a far-brighter voice, and then he swept the balls off the counter and grinned as he began to juggle them easily, winking over at Cadence. “So what do you want?”

Cadence looked mildly up at the prizes hanging from the top of the booth, her eyes passing over the silly stuffed animals, and she pretended her eyes didn't linger on what looked like a white bird hidden among the ponies and puppies and toys. “I don't care. They're just stupid foal toys.”

“Swan it is.” Thesis said amiably, and then he suddenly snapped a wrist out, sending a baseball rocketing past the pony in the booth and snapping the carny awake.

There was a crash and a clatter, and Thesis grinned widely as he winked at Cadence, catching the balls in either front hoof and flexing his forelegs as Cadence rolled her eyes: she was pretty sure she could throw a ball hard enough to break a jar, too. “That's one set down.”

Thesis paused, then he turned and flung the ball again, smashing down another pyramid of jars as the pony in the booth winced away. “There's another!”

The black stallion grinned as he squeezed the last ball in his hoof, and then, without looking, he flung it with a flick of his wrist, knocking down the last pyramid of jars, before blanching slightly as the final jar landed with a thud on its base. The carny glanced over his shoulder at this, and looked almost relieved before he began to turn-

Cadence didn't know why, or even how she did it, but she reached out with her powers and struck the jar with something that was both physical, and yet not: it wobbled for a moment, then plopped forwards on its face, and the jaws of both stallions dropped before the carny spluttered: “That's not right! That can't happen!”

“It can when I'm this awesome!” Thesis shouted, thrusting both hooves above his head before he quickly pointed, adding: “I want the swan.”

The stallion scowled at them, opening his mouth to argue, and Cadence immediately caught his eye with a glare as she reached up and cracked her wrists. The stallion immediately paled, then he hurriedly reached up and grabbed the stuffed white bird, grinning lamely as he shoved it across the counter and whimpered through grit teeth: “Have a good day.”

“I think it's going to be a great day.” Thesis said mildly, sweeping up the swan toy. He smiled at it, then winked over at Cadence when she automatically reached for it, the black stallion leaning away and holding it out of her reach as she scowled. “Hey, screw you. I asked you and you said you didn't want anything, so this is mine now.”

“Asshole.” Cadence grumbled, and then she rolled her eyes and followed when Thesis spun around and trotted away before he suddenly paused, ears swiveling towards a few distinct pops.

Cadence followed grouchily, unsurprised when they ended up at another booth. This one was already occupied by a filly, however, who had a toy rifle in her hooves, flapping her wings wildly to try and keep herself hovering so she could shoot at the targets slowly moving by at the back of the booth.

“Dammit!” the foal grumbled as she missed another shot, before she whined loudly: “Come on, one more!”

The pony behind the booth began to open her mouth, and then she cocked an eyebrow as Thesis tossed a few bits down on the counter, smiling as he said mildly: “Let her have another round.”

“Yes! Thanks, Mister!” The filly beamed up at him for a moment, then nearly fell out of the air. But Thesis caught her before her wings could give out, plopping her down on one of the cheap stools that had set up for shooters. “Uh. Thanks. This is a bad angle, though.”

“Take a shot.” Thesis invited, and the filly shrugged before pointing the rifle awkwardly down the range, and Thesis grinned before he said mildly: “You're not going to hit anything like that.”

“Yeah! That's why I was hovering!” the mare retorted, glaring up at Thesis almost challengingly. “It means I get a better angle!”

“You don't have to yell, kid, I'm literally right here.” Thesis said pointedly, and then he reached down and gently adjusted the rifle in the mare's hooves, saying mildly: “First of all, keep both eyes open. Don't close one and open the other as wide as you possibly can.”

The filly grumbled, but then nodded, aiming carefully as she shifted uncomfortably back and forth, before whining: “It's not comfortable.”

“Yeah, well, that's because guns aren't for little fillies.” Thesis replied reasonably, making the little filly scowl horribly. “Okay, aim down the sights, those things sticking out of the top. Look where you want to shoot.”

The filly grumbled under her breath, but she nodded after a moment, biting her tongue before she fired, then cackled when she managed to scrape one of the targets. “Yes! Ha! I hit it, did you see, I hit it!”

“Good for you, kid.” Thesis said amiably, and then he winked at her before he glanced up at the targets, asking: “What prize do you want?”

“I'm gonna win a dinosaur! And I'm gonna do it all by myself!” declared the filly, before she took aim with the rifle again and fired, only to wince when the gun almost jumped out of her hooves as she flailed wildly in all directions, then toppled backwards.

Thesis caught her with one hoof and gently pushed her back upright, plucking the rifle out of her forelimbs, and the filly huffed loudly, opening her mouth, but then her jaw simply fell open in a gape as Thesis rose the gun and emptied the rest of the magazine with a grin, knocking several targets over before he slammed the gun down on the counter under one hoof and smiled at the staring mare. “That'll be one dinosaur, please.”

The attendant awkwardly checked a prize sheet on the wall, then shrugged before looking at the filly, who brightened immediately as she pointed at one of the red dinosaurs on the wall, blurting: “That one! I mean...” The foal glared at Thesis, who grinned back at her. “I was gonna do it myself, mister!”

“Okay, I'll take the dinosaur if you don't want it.” Thesis said blandly, holding out a hoof to take the red dinosaur from the mare when she awkwardly offered it, and the filly's eyes grew wide as she stared up at him before Thesis leaned down towards her, dangling the toy above the filly's head. “Yes?”

The filly glared at him, then she suddenly leapt up and bit him firmly in the nose, and Thesis yelped as he dropped the toy to grab at his face as Cadence burst into laughter. The filly snatched the toy away and leapt quickly down from the seat as Thesis glared at her, before an outraged voice shouted: “What are you doing to my daughter?”

Thesis looked dumbly up as a Pegasus mare stormed towards them, and the filly winced and tried to either run forwards to defuse the situation or escape, but the mare caught her daughter and yanked her protectively up against her chest in a crushing embrace, the filly wheezing as the mother demanded: “You stay away from her, you sicko pervert! Keep your dirty hooves off my daughter!”

Thesis opened his mouth to argue, and then he yelped when the mare slapped him firmly on the nose before she spun and stormed away, the filly wiggling awkwardly over her mother's shoulder to wave wildly with one hoof as she gave an embarrassed, apologetic grin to the stallion, the other foreleg tightly hugging her red dinosaur toy.

Cadence laughed until she hurt, shaking her head slowly before she turned an amused look to the stallion, and Thesis grumbled a bit as he rubbed at his face before he finally sighed theatrically, then turned back to the booth, saying wryly: “I guess no good deed goes unpunished. Well, Cadence. Since we all see mares can't handle guns-” Cadence immediately stopped laughing to glower at Thesis. “What do you want me to win you from this game?”

“No. You know what?” Cadence reached back to her satchel, then she looked awkwardly at Thesis as she realized she hadn't thought to convert a single credit to bits. “Uh... you're going to pay for us both. And I'm going to kick your ass.”

“I'll pay to watch you kick my ass.” Thesis replied with an amiable shrug. “After all, I'm in the mood for a fantasy story.”

Thesis winked and rose a hoof high, and Cadence responded by picking up one of the toy guns from the booth and slamming the butt into his face, making him yelp and stumble before she grumbled: “Load me up.”

The pony running the booth winced, but after Thesis recovered and tossed down two hoof-fulls of bits, she shrugged and rolled five bullets out to both ponies. Thesis loaded his rifle with expert precision, then chambered the first round with a grin as Cadence took her time, feeling out the weight of the gun: admittedly, she was not quite as familiar with the weapon as she should have been, considering that- “I heard you put up a hell of a fight to not use a gun. I'm sure Mom'll be glad to hear that-”

“I will put one of these pellets down your throat if you don't shut up.” Cadence grumbled, and then she took aim at the targets rolling slowly by at the back of the booth: there were large ones shaped like simple bullseyes going along the top and bottom, and then smaller square ones, and then tiny metal ducks splattered in scraped yellow paint that bobbed up and down as they moved.

Cadence began to take aim. then she swore as Thesis fired off a shot that pinged off one of the ducks, knocking it flat as he said cheerfully: “Five hundred points!”

“Who the hell decided that?” Cadence asked sourly, and Thesis shrugged.

“I did. Just now. How about the bullseyes are fifty, the squares are a hundred, and the ducklings are five hundred?”

“Screw you, that's-”

“I mean, unless you're admitting now that you can't shoot as well as me and need-”

Cadence gritted her teeth, narrowing her eyes to slits, and Thesis winced a bit before she growled: “Fine. Have it your way, Thesis. Five hundred points, right?”

Cadence took aim, then fired off one, two, three shots, pinging down three ducks before she glared over at him challengingly. Thesis whistled loudly at this, and then he grinned widely before he took aim himself and said mildly: “Lucky for you, I was never trained specifically in shooting things. Always been about my hooves.”

Thesis calmly chambered a new round, then he shot down a duck, smiling as he loaded a fresh bullet. Cadence glowered at him, visibly fuming, before he easily squeezed the trigger and pinged down another, saying mildly: “Let's raise the stakes. If I make these two next shots-”

“What, you want me to be your personal slave?” Cadence asked grumpily. “You're like a colt.”

“I know, right? But no, I wasn't thinking of anything quite as juvenile as that.” Thesis replied with a wink as he carefully took aim. “If I make these shots, I get to ask you one question, and you have to answer it honestly. No matter what it is.”

Cadence scowled at this, but after a moment, she nodded grudgingly before saying suddenly: “But I want the same.”

“Fine. If I make these two shots, you can ask me a question, and I'll have to answer it honestly, no matter what.” Thesis replied blandly, and Cadence blinked in dumb surprise before the stallion took aim and blasted down one of the ducks, then grinned as he swiveled his aim slightly, firing, and blasting down both a duck and bullseye target that was passing behind it, making Cadence shout in frustration.

She rose her own rifle, before flinching as her hooves refused to move any further, not letting her fire or even aim as the Swan flowed through her body. Cadence gritted her teeth, fighting against the intrusion, but even she was surprised when her first furious thought was I don't want to cheat.

No cheating. the Swan reassured, and there was a strange gentility in its voice that made Cadence shift uneasily, calming: and as she calmed, the Swan let her take control back over her body, the ivory mare taking a slow breath as the Swan said softly: I will allow you to win or lose on your own terms. But you like him. I feel your emotions for him. We will protect him. We will protect him, until... we can protect him no more.

“I don't want to go through that kind of pain again.” Cadence whispered, looking down for a moment, not realizing she had murmured her words out loud, although only Thesis heard, and only Thesis understood, as he softened, gazing at her silently.

Love is cruel. Love is selfish. Love is undeniable. We have heard the words of poets, Cadence, but have you ever truly stopped to listen? I have listened. I have listened well. In her mind, the Swan seemed to smile, before she whispered: We relish this opportunity, to love, for the very first time. To feel love like this. To endure it. And to suffer, when it ends, as it must end, with his d-

“Don't say it. Don't you dare say it.” Cadence muttered, and then she shook her head vehemently before she realized she was clutching her rifle against her and Thesis was gazing at her and... “I... I'm not done yet, so cram it!”

Cadence took aim, breathing hard before she fired, and missed her shot. She swore as she clumsily reloaded the rifle, but then closed her eyes, and took another breath, playing slowly with the lever before she worked it to load the last round into the chamber, muttering: “It's not over until it's over.”

Cadence brought up her rifle, taking aim, watching the targets roll by, knowing she couldn't make up her points; but all the same, she forced herself to wait, to be patient, and to take the shot when it presented itself, whether it was futile or not.

She banged down both a ducky and another target with one shot, smiling a bit as she straightened: at least she'd figured out how Thesis had cheated the game, by waiting for the targets to line up to domino into each other. She put the rifle down, then sighed a bit before she scowled when the mare behind the counter awkwardly offered her some crappy plastic toy, saying lamely: “Uh... your prize?”

“Great.” Cadence grumbled, swiping up the little plastic toy. She looked at it moodily, then scowled over at Thesis as he pointed at some other toy, which the mare grabbed for him. “Alright, what's next, asshole?”

“What do you want to do?” Thesis asked, and Cadence grumbled under her breath before her eyes widened in dumb surprise as Thesis awkwardly held out a large felt rose to her with a lame smile. “I know this is selfish and I don't want you to hurt. I just want you to smile with me and realize that... we can enjoy the time we have together.”

Cadence looked at the felt rose for a moment, and then she sighed a little before she took it and murmured: “You're such an enormous asshole.”

“Yeah. I guess I am.” Thesis shrugged, and the two looked at each other for a few moments before Thesis smiled and asked: “Want to watch me eat an entire cake?”

Cadence sighed, and then she said abruptly: “I don't want cake. I want a goddamn pie. A blueberry pie. And you can have half of it.”

“Okay. Let's go find a pie stand.” Thesis said with a smile, and Cadence sighed before she nodded almost grimly. But when Thesis turned, she followed after him, studying him curiously and figuring that, well, really... she could probably do worse.

At the end of a long, busy day, Thesis and Cadence sat on top of a secluded little plateau, where they could look across at the beauty of Canterlot, but were far from any prying eyes. It had taken them a bit of extra effort to get up here, since some of the natural paths had eroded into steep slopes, but it felt like it was all worth it for the view.

Canterlot was all lit up, the faint sounds of revelry and music reaching them every now and then from the fairground. Some of the rides were still going, it looked like, but one ride on the Ferris wheel had been more than enough for Cadence: she had no problem with heights, but being caged in the cabin had been an entirely different matter.

Birds didn't like being chained down, she supposed.

Cadence smiled a little despite herself, and then she let her eyes slide towards Thesis, who was resting calmly back on the blanket they had thrown out across the nettly grasses, an empty plastic plate beside him. They had both eaten probably too much, but Thesis had the bits to spare, apparently, and Cadence wouldn't turn down a nice meal. He had ordered all the things she'd liked, as if he'd known...

“How much do you know about me?” Cadence asked impulsively, and Thesis finally dragged his eyes away from Canterlot to look at her curiously.

“I guess as much about you as you know about me.” he answered, and Cadence snorted at this.

“I doubt it. I don't know the first thing about you. All I know about you is that you're an asshole.” she said, and Thesis grinned and winked at her.

“And all I know about you is that you're a bitch. So we're even.” he replied amiably, and Cadence rolled her eyes before the stallion returned his gaze to Canterlot, saying softly: “Crazy, isn't it? This world's gone through a lot more than most, and yet its Canterlot is so... alive, still. Still going strong. There's just something magical about it.”

“I... guess I know what you mean.” Cadence admitted, sitting back a bit as she murmured: “I've seen a few Canterlots now. A lot of them are more of the same... but this one, this whole world has a lot of life and vitality to it, no 'more of the same' feeling. It's exciting. And the ponies are strong. They've accomplished so much.”

Thesis nodded, rubbing absently at one of his shoulders before he turned towards Cadence with a smile. “Okay, Honk-”

“Horses of Heaven, forget everything I was just starting to think about you, I hate you.”

“I know.” Thesis smiled at her, and then he asked softly: “So be honest with me. If you had to choose, Cadence, to live anywhere, to do anything...”

“I wouldn't change this.” Cadence smiled a bit, glancing down, and Thesis tilted his head curiously towards her.

“You know, normally when you wouldn't change something, you'd look happier.” Thesis said quietly, as he slipped a bit towards the mare.

Cadence nodded, then she sighed a bit before she murmured: “I guess lately... I've been learning a lot about the ends versus the means, you know? And I look at myself and think... even if I'm doing the right thing, I don't do it in the... right way. And the ends I get are not... I don't know, right.”

Thesis only looked at her softly, as Cadence shifted a bit before she lowered her head and whispered: “I do believe in what we're doing. We're fighting so hard. We... they... are all such good ponies. Strong ponies. They're ponies who have given up everything. But I've just been given... everything. And I enjoy it. I like to pretend I'm altruistic and that it's about helping ponies and saving ponies and being a good person, but I enjoy the fighting. I feel like I belong in war. I enjoy all the killing...”

“There's a big difference between enjoying fighting and killing, Cadence. I guess you weren't listening to me though, huh?” He reached out with a smile, gently nudging Cadence's shoulder and earning a frown from her, although this one was more curious than irritated. “Can't you imagine anything better than Decretum?”

“I... don't know.” Cadence said honestly, shrugging a bit as she looked over at Thesis for a moment. “I like it there. I like having a sense of duty, I like the obligations, even. I like-”

Thesis rolled his eyes, and then he asked plainly: “What's your dream job?”

Cadence scowled at this, and then she grumbled: “Well, it's certainly not being a princess, if that's what you're-”

“Well, obviously not.” Thesis retorted, and then he reached up and pressed a hoof against her nose, making her cross her eyes dumbly. “Cadence, you can't tell me you've gotten through life just doing what everyone else has told you.”

“I...” Cadence stared at his hoof for a moment, and then she sighed a little and lowered her head, her eyes drifting away as she realized... “Daddy told me I was his daughter, so.... I was his daughter. Princess Celestia told me I must be a princess, so I tried to be. Shining Armor asked me to be his wife, so I tried to be that, too... and then I was confused for a while and then... Hecate asked me to be her soldier...”

“Who do you want to be?” Thesis asked quietly, leaning towards her.

Cadence turned back towards him, lowering her head in shame and silence, but she looked up hesitantly, their eyes almost meeting, their muzzles inches apart.

Thesis leaned towards her, his white eyes gazing silently into her own, and the ivory mare finally answered in a quiet voice: “I just don't know. I... I'm not the Swan, Thesis. But I'm not Cadence, either. I'm just a... mask.”

“Stop that now. You're Cadence. You're Cadence, and I'm Thesis. Be here with me, Cadence.” Thesis said softly, and Cadence across at Thesis silently as he looked back at her with a faint smile. “I know a lot about masks and pretending to be something you're not. But when I look at you, Cadence, I see... you. Cadenza Danzsöngr, show me... you.”

Cadence lowered her head for a moment, breathing quietly in and out before she asked quietly: “What if who I am isn't real? What if I've only ever been the Swan? What if-”

“What if, what if.” Thesis said softly, and then he smiled and asked gently: “What if it all turns out okay?”

Cadence shifted awkwardly at this, and then she nodded briefly before she lowered her head. Thesis reached up and squeezed her shoulders gently, the stallion hesitating before he said quietly: “Growing up, I thought I made all my own decisions. I wanted to serve my country. I didn't just want to be a lazy prince: we were at war, and I wanted to fight, to protect my people.

“I thought... when I went insane, that I was making all the decisions myself. That I was in control, coherent, that it all made sense. I thought I was doing the right thing.” Thesis smiled faintly. “I wasn't.”

Cadence frowned, but Thesis continued: “It's not a bad thing that you can recognize you don't know what the hell is going on. I think the closest we ever get to really understanding life and ourselves is when we don't know what the hell is going on. I sure as hell don't understand anything, after all, and I'm doing just fine now, compared to how I was crazy before when I totally thought I understood everything.”

He shrugged amiably, and Cadence sighed as she shook her head before she almost blurted: “But I want-”

“Do you need it, though?” Thesis countered, and Cadence halted at this and frowned a bit, and Thesis smiled as he said: “I know there's a lot of ponies who would argue with me, but if you know what you need out of life... maybe you can figure out who you are along the way. Good friends, a purpose, and some set goals... Cadence, who do you want to be? Who do you need to be?”

“Me.” Cadence said simply, and Thesis nodded to her. The two looked at each other for a few long moments, and then the ivory mare gave a faint smile as she reached up and stroked under his chin, whispering: “I hate you for doing this to me. I hate you for making me hurt.”

“I know. I'm sorry.” Thesis murmured, before he blushed a bit when Cadence leaned in, their lips almost brushing as she glared into his eyes.

“Don't apologize. Don't ever apologize for that.” Cadence replied in a low voice, and then she hesitated before licking her lips, and Thesis felt her tongue brush against his muzzle with how close she was. “Thesis...”

Thesis only smiled at her, and then Cadence leaned forwards and kissed him, and he closed his eyes as he kissed her back, gingerly, gently, and then his eyes opened slightly in surprise as Cadence pushed forwards, more aggressive, more passionate than he had imagined.

She grasped his shoulders and pushed him firmly down on his back on the blanket, and Thesis looked up at her dumbly as his exoskeleton gave a hiss of steam and a squeak. Or maybe he was the one who had squeaked: at this point he wasn't sure where he began or where anything else ended, as one of his hooves grasped Cadence's hip and the other nervously squeezed into the blanket as he grinned up at her lamely. “Hi.”

Cadence leaned over him with a smile, and Thesis turned beet red as he added awkwardly: “Be uh... gentle. I'll. Do my best, but uh... I mean, you're not the first mare I've ever slept with been with or anything, I just... I mean, I might be, I was totally in the Void and while I was getting all sorts of action in the Void, I mean, all kinds, just, everywhere, every day, I just-”

“Shut up, Thesis.” Cadence said gently, as she cupped his cheeks in her hooves and pressed her weight down against him, lightly pinning him beneath her as she leaned down and murmured softly into one of his ears: “I'll lead.”

Thesis was only able to smile awkwardly in response, but Cadence silenced any protests he might have had with a kiss, and the stallion closed his eyes as he tasted her, he breathed her in, as she breathed in him.

And for a little while, they were together, and that was all that mattered, as fireworks burst above Canterlot and ponies celebrated beneath the starry night sky.

Comments

[Mira Starlight]

This could end very happily or in tragedy . Personally, I'm hoping for the former. But I guess I'll just have to wait and see!