Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

A Different Tomorrow Than Yesterday

Chapter Ninety Two: A Different Tomorrow Than Yesterday
~BlackRoseRaven

Thorn Blackfeather strode through the portal with Silver and Muse accompanying him, and he was immediately greeted by a firm hug from Necrophage, who chirped happily: “Great to see you back, sir! How are you doing?”

Thorn smiled briefly before he glanced up, and Freya grimaced as Antares grinned, even as his eyes locked immediately on Thorn's face, noting not just the prosthetic eye, but the subtle blemishes and marks of surgery as he asked easily: “Hey, I'm sure you can give us some kind of report without breaking your precious confidentiality or whatever, yeah?”

For a moment, the sapphire stallion paused, lowering his head meditatively before he nodded once and said simply: “Busy.”

Antares smiled at this, before Innocence piped up from beside him: “Your eye is weird. Even Big Mac has a glass eye that at least looks like his other eye, you know.”

“The false iris looks blue because of the sensors they use, which operate under an HEV frequency.” Thorn explained, and Antares looked at him dumbly until the stallion simplified: “It glows blue because it's a little camera.”

“Oh! So you can actually see out of it, huh? Like Hecate's eyes, I get it.” Antares said wisely, nodding sagely several times before he firmly nudged his sister, who scowled at him horribly. “Don't be so stupid, Sin. Usually you're good at figuring that stuff out. I'm almost disappointed in you.”

“I hate you, Antares.” Innocence said honestly, and Antares nodded again several times before he winced when she reached up to grab the end of his face, before both siblings winced when Freya firmly shoved them aside.

“Was it Loki?” she asked, and Thorn hesitated.

“A Primordial.” he answered finally, before he looked over at Silver, asking: “Have you been introduced? While there's no official data on the report-”

“Yes, Luna. It's very nice to see you again.” Freya said kindly, and Silver scowled horribly through her mask. “Stick out that lip any further and a bird will poop on it.”

Antares and Innocence stopped bickering to giggle like children at this, and Thorn sighed and rolled his eyes before he looked up in surprise as Morning Glory plowed through the small crowd, shouting: “Training in ten minutes!”

“Alright.” Thorn said, nonplussed, before he shrugged and turned his eyes towards Silver as she blanched beneath her mask. “Muse and Necrophage will accompany you. I want you to go over the security precautions with Freya... Freya, I know it's not my place, but...”

“Aye, yes, don't worry about it. I'll take care of her and tell her what needs to be done. I'm... grateful.” Freya said almost grudgingly, and Thorn smiled a little. “Oh, don't get too big a head yet, little boy. You're still nothing more than a babe.”

Thorn only shrugged amiably, then he turned to follow after Morning Glory, deciding the best thing he could do was let Silver acclimate on her own. He realized after a few moments, as he headed down the steps into the streets of Subterra, that Antares and Innocence were trying to 'stealthily' follow him, but he at least let them have the illusion that he didn't know they were there until he reached the first crossroad, saying bluntly: “You're both leaking quite a few bæns of energy. Innocence, your cloaking spell isn't working properly, you're disturbing the air slightly because you're putting out too much energy, causing the light to distort. And I can detect your thermal signatures, anyway.”

“Goddammit he is a freaking robot!” Innocence snapped as she dropped the invisibility illusion, and Antares snorted laughter before he winced when Innocence simply bull-rushed the younger unicorn with a roar.

Thorn simply stood and waited for Innocence to get close, and then he gently redirected her with a simple telekinetic push, sending her stumbling wildly off the path to trip over a short fence and fall into a weedy yard.

Antares laughed louder as Thorn absently smoothed out his half-cape before he turned and walked away, and Innocence grumbled as she clambered to her claws, flinging herself over the fence and grumbling: “I'm going to kick his ass one of these days. I bet I could use the corruption-”

“No. No, no, no. Bad idea.” Antares warned immediately as he became serious, and Innocence looked up at him grumpily, but Antares only looked pointedly back at her before he said gently: “He's still got a lot of growing... in, to do. Not growing up, just... getting used to himself. He's already more of a grown up than the two of us put together.”

“That's not saying much. That's like seven.” Innocence pointed out, and Antares only shrugged amiably before the mare sighed and nodded, mumbling: “Okay, okay, I'll leave him alone for a while. Let's go see what he's up to, at least.”

Antares nodded before he trotted down the road in the wake of Thorn: it didn't take long to find him, at least, since it was no secret he was heading towards the pagoda owned by Burning Desire.

They found Thorn calmly removing his prosthetic limb as Burning Desire neatly folded up the stallion's cape to place it aside on the floor of the pagoda, before the Passion brightened as they approached, greeting jubilantly: “Well, if it isn't lovely Innocence and her wonderful brother Antares! This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it now?”

Antares shrugged easily, winking and replying cheerfully even as his eyes couldn't help but linger on Thorn: “Well, I do make everyone's days better. Did you hear that they brought Mombot back?”

“Oh, Silver? Well, she seems nicer than Hecate, at least... no offense meant, Thorn.” Burning said awkwardly, but Thorn only smiled briefly at him. “Yes, well, we're very different, that's all. Very similar, I'm sure, in our love for our family and friends, but... very different in our presentations.”

“Sort of like you and Pinkamena, except Hecate would actually beat the crap out of you.” Antares said mildly, and Burning Desire nodded in agreement as he rubbed slowly through his fiery mane. “So what are you doing here?”

“Training.” Thorn said simply as he put his mechanical leg aside, then he reached up and absently touched his remaining stump, Antares looking at this with interest: it was black, but it didn't seem goopy or mucky anymore, which he assumed was a good sign: rather, it seemed almost crystalline, although with the lack of any node in his shoulder, Antares had to wonder...

“You can just ask, you know.” Thorn said, and Antares gave an amused smile to the stallion.

“What, and trade all the fun of guessing for one of your famous one-word answers?” Antares asked mildly, and Thorn shrugged slightly, Antares snorting in amusement as he corrected: “Or one of your no-word answers, even better.”

“It's just a temporary prosthetic. A sleeve, it's called. I control it by focusing the Clay through it.” Thorn explained, and Antares and Innocence both looked up in interest before Thorn grimaced for a moment, before a black limb sprung into being from his stump, the perfect replica of a pony's leg flexing slowly, the hoof at the end clutching and unclutching before Thorn carefully settled to the ground.

He turned to face Burning Desire, who was smiling from where he was seated on the edge of the pagoda, kicking his hind legs lightly as he asked casually: “What happened to your eye?”

“We engaged a Primordial. It shattered my visor with an explosion. I'm fortunate to be alive.” Thorn reached up and touched his face, before he silently touched his stump of leg, murmuring: “I suppose I should be more upset and angry, but I'm... in a stage of processing, right now. A lot has happened over these last few days. Moonflower's homeworld was destroyed by Loki.”

Antares' eyes widened in surprise at this as Innocence mouthed wordlessly, before she shook her head vehemently and muttered: “Not even Gymbr could just destroy a world... how is that possible?”

“An explosion of force of roughly five hundred and twenty thousand bæns of energy in a single area is enough to disrupt the ecosystem of an entire continent.” Thorn answered, and Innocence stared dumbly at the stallion. “Multiply that value by even something like 1.2 and target a specific vulnerable area, such as by concentrating that blast into a deep-wave seismic impact to the asthenosphere of the planet, and you can cause an apocalyptic eruption that would eject the contents of the planet's semiliquid interior while collapsing the techtonic plates into the ruptured portion, disrupting the pressure balance of the world and causing a chain reaction that would ultimately result in worldwide collapse.”

“I don't know entirely what you just said, but I feel that it's scary.” Antares said after a moment, and Thorn smiled despite himself. “You know, the fact that you like, know how to destroy an entire world...”

“Required training.” Thorn said, and it took the others a few moments to realize that Thorn was making a joke.

Antares finally rolled his eyes with a snort, and then he said wryly: “You do kind of have that supervillain vibe about you though, you know. Especially with that.” He added, gesturing at the stallion's foreleg of corruption, before he asked in a more serious voice: “Do you ever use it to fight?”

“I'm not ready for that yet.” Thorn answered, and somehow Antares was both pleased and disappointed before Thorn turned his eyes towards Burning Desire, asking: “If you had no other training in mind for me today, could we start with resistance testing, if Antares is willing to provide his magic?”

“Oh, I can help, too! I mean, I can't just. Fling around purification like Tarry does, but I can do this.” Innocence said brightly, before she flicked a claw towards Thorn, and the sapphire stallion reared back slightly in surprise as his limb transformed into a crystal-scaled claw. “See?”

“Nearly as awesome as me.” Antares said mildly, and Innocence huffed at him before he added: “But I think little sis can be helpful. Or... middle sis, since Thorn is the baby of the family and all.”

“He is not, I am!” Innocence shouted, before she glared at Thorn, and the stallion winced as black veins pulsed firmly through his body, Antares glowering at Innocence before his eyes widened slightly in surprise as Thorn gritted his teeth and visibly forced the black veins to retreat even as Innocence leaned towards him with her eyes narrowed, growling in vexation.

Burning Desire watched intently, his usual cheerfulness gone, and Morning Glory had appeared like a ghost to watch as well, silently touching her own breast as the wills of Thorn and Innocence clashed.

Finally, Innocence grinned as Thorn relented, gasping as a black network of veins pulsed through his body, and the mare relented as Thorn slumped to the ground. Burning Desire grimaced and Antares glowered at Innocence, but Thorn shook his head before he slowly rubbed at his skull, murmuring: “I'm fine. My emotions are... a little heightened, but not much. I think-”

“You failed.” Morning Glory said shortly as she seized Thorn by the back of the neck, hauling him into the air before she slammed him down on his back. Innocence and Antares both squeaked and winced away, but Thorn was unflinching, not even reaching up to grasp the hoof pinning him by the throat as Morning Glory asked contemptibly: “Well?”

“I failed.” Thorn admitted, and Morning Glory looked at him for a moment before the stallion reached up his black claw and grasped her ankle, saying quietly: “It will happen again. But I will not give up.”

Morning Glory looked at the stallion for a moment, and then she smiled thinly before she half-turned and flung him viciously into Antares, who barely managed to catch the stallion before she ordered: “Take turns. And if you care about your brother, then hurt him.”

“Wow, Morning Glory, glad you've grown into such a lovely, wonderful, caring person after all these years.” Antares said blandly as he awkwardly picked himself up, before he winced a bit at the glare that Morning Glory favored him with.

“I knew what I was getting into when I came here. If you're saying that you can't take part in it, though, Antares, I understand.” Thorn said, and Antares scowled horribly as Innocence grinned slightly. “I won't hold it against you if you feel you have to leave.”

“Okay, I'm going to kick your ass.” Antares said flatly, and then he grumbled as he shook his hooves out before straightening up as Thorn smiled slightly at him, the black stallion's crystalline wings flexing powerfully before he muttered: “Well, no good deed goes unpunished...”

Aster was waiting for them in the portal room, already outfitted for the journey ahead. Faint red veins pulsed through her pale body, but she seemed ready and willing to assist: that was good, since the only thing Cadence was sure of was that whatever they were going to be looking for, it wouldn't be easy to find, and she was the only pony Cadence had met so far that had any knowledge of ships.

Well, apart from Freya, but she didn't think making living longboats really counted when it came to sailing the seas.

“We seem to be wearing the same uniform today.” Aster said with a small smile as Cadence approached with her team, and Cadence smiled wryly: that was true. They were both in lightweight synthetic plate that was marked with the emblem of the Clockwork Empire: the kind of thing worn by Hecate's special forces. Her personal gear, unfortunately, needed more time to be repaired.

Cadence just wished she had her own armor back, even as she encouraged: “It looks good on you. You fit in really well here, Aster.”

“Merci, Cadence. I just wish I could do more than act as a guide to that place and the oceans around it. But I understand that I must make myself useful where I can, and I know that I am still on... liberté surveillée, so to speak.” Aster answered with a small smile.

“I was on uh, liberal surveillance for quite a while too.” Moonflower said with a small smile, and then he laughed a bit before joking: “Liberals! You know what they say, scratch a fascist and... find a liberal!”

Aster smiled politely, looking uncomprehendingly at Moonflower, and Cadence sighed before she said finally: “You know that political jokes don't translate very well.”

“Politics be stupid. Either you be lookin' at puppets or you be tryin' to guess which tyrant you vote for so y'don't lose your damn head.” La Croix said mildly, before he glanced curiously over at Sombra, asking: “You were a King, right, Papa Sérénité?”

“Yes. My family ruled the Crystal Kingdom for seven generations. My fifth-great grandfather was selected for the seat of King, but his loyal knights became the first knight-lords, who would later become the Council of Voices.” Sombra smiled briefly, saying softly: “I will admit, of course, that we had never... done quite as much for the people as I had hoped we would. But the Council of Voices did speak on behalf of the peasantry, and they did give me both advice and helped to ratify and discuss the merits of certain laws.”

“Sounds good to me. Me? I be a Baron, but titles don't mean nothin' 'cept to those who got no idea what it means. Sounds real fancy and all, Baron La Croix, but really I be just a humble Loa, and I was the least special of all Bondye's servants.” La Croix said mildly, then he sighed and shook his head, smiling wryly as he murmured: “Still, guess it be better that way, huh?”

Cadence sighed a little, and Sombra chuckled quietly before Aster said softly: “I suppose I have never wished to be a queen myself, but simply... known and respected. I wanted to do good with my power, as much as I admit... I wanted to be known for it, too.”

Aster quieted, then she cleared her throat and said finally: “But there are more important things than being known, aren't there? And... Moonflower, I uh... en ces moments difficiles, je tenais à te faire part de mes sincères condoléances. I don't know how else to say it, but... I am your friend and I am here to... help you, as much as I can, as you have done so much for me.”

Moonflower smiled faintly at this, and La Croix chuckled quietly before he said softly: “Don't you worry none, madamoiselle. Moony, he be a tougher nut than he looks or acts. Sure, things be... a little rough right now. We all get that. But ain't no use cryin', either, and Moony... you handlin' things better than I ever did.”

“I don't know about that. I just... I just want to keep going forward. For them.” Moonflower said honestly, lowering his head slightly and smiling faintly before he closed his eyes tightly and murmured: “I just want to... I don't want to think about it. Thank you for everything but I don't want to think about it right now. I want to... I just want to keep going.”

“Yeah. Okay, Moonflower.” Cadence said softly, before she cleared her throat and looked back over her shoulder, watching as Thesis approached with the RED unit, looking distinctly disgruntled. “Anyway, there's our 'commander' now.”

“Horses of Heaven, if I ever called myself 'commander' even in protocol, you'd punch my face down my throat. And then pull it out my ass. Do you ever notice you threaten to either shove things into or pull things out of asses a lot?” Thesis asked mildly, but Cadence only smiled slightly: he was more than clearly irked by Thespis' pretend-cooperation and Karsilamas strutting along with her sinister, predatory smile.

Cadence wasn't very fond of any of the RED, but at least the others were pretending to be professional: Gesicht and Manes both looked bored and uninterested, but Faunus was his usual serious if sour self, and gave Cadence maybe just a hint of respect when he deigned to actually look at her, compared to the way the others looked everywhere but her, even as Thesis said dryly: “Now listen, guys. I'm commanding this mission, but all of you have to listen to Cadence. She's second-in-command and-”

“Yes, don't worry. The wife of the commander is always a vulnerable target. We'll protect her.” Thespis said with a false kindness that made Cadence scowl. But Thespis only looked at her with a patronizing smile, asking: “That is what you are, isn't it?”

“What I am is the mare who made you and your entire team eat dirt with one hoof behind my back. Do you want a repeat of that lesson, Prongs?” asked Cadence waspishly, and Thespis' smile fell away from his face before she barked sharply: “Line up!”

Gesicht, Manes, and Faunus all winced and hurriedly lined up, while Thespis scowled darkly as he stepped back, and Karsilamas only smiled her eerie smile as she lingered at the edge of the line, almost purring: “You don't have to be so cruel. You just have to ask politely.”

“Politeness isn't a requirement for superior officers.” Cadence said shortly, and the Illilleap huffed before finally stepping back to join the other RED.

Cadence glanced over at Thesis, asking him silently, but Thesis only shrugged and gestured at her to go ahead, so the mare turned her attention to the others: her team, Aster, and the RED, as she explained: “Our goal here is to investigate the disturbance at the soul furnace. We can't underestimate what we might find there: the last time we checked it out, we encountered both a hostile, extremely powerful Voidborn, as well as an army of undead.”

“Yes, White Swan. We were there.” Thespis said in a bored voice, before he winced when Thesis glared at him.

“Stand down, Comedian. Respect protocol or I'll have you sent to the stockade.” Thesis said coldly, and Thespis saluted and grimaced. “Continue, please, Lieutenant.”

Cadence couldn't help but smile despite herself before she nodded and turned her eyes towards the RED, saying calmly: “Your team will be in charge of securing the soul furnace while my team seeks and destroys the threat.”

“Thespis, a contingent of Dogmatists and drone troops will be under your command as well. You'll report to both of us, but I want to see you handling as much as possible yourself. We can trust you, right?” Thesis asked pointedly, and Thespis grimaced and saluted: his expression was still dour and arrogant, but now there was a hint of discomfort in his eyes, too: maybe even nervousness, as he shifted a little to the side. “Good. I'm going to be busy with Cadence's team.”

Cadence glanced up in surprise, but the stallion only smiled slightly and tipped her a wink before he invited: “Well, keep going.”

Cadence rolled her eyes, then she nodded once before she returned her eyes to the RED unit, explaining: “Hecate doesn't want us losing any more time or resources on protecting the soul furnace. After it's fully secured and we've exterminated whatever threat is waiting for us, we're going to shut it down. The harvested energy is already being moved to batteries as we speak, we'll... put it to good use.”

She felt her teammates shift behind her uneasily, but the RED didn't seem to have any problem with the fact they were basically bottling souls to be burnt away later, the soldiers only nodding before Thespis asked, professional now: “Will we be wiring the facility to self-destruct?”

“Yes. The self-destruct protocols are still active and we have a squad on site already, finishing the sabotage. Once we're done, we're going to evacuate. Team 0-0 will stay behind and detonate the charges to bring down the soul furnace.” Thesis said, and Cadence smiled grimly: she didn't know if she was glad or not they were the ones getting the honor of shutting down the facility. Nasty as the soul furnace was... we spent so long protecting it. It almost feels like a waste. “They'll comb the wreckage afterward, then return to base via vortex.”

Thespis nodded, and Cadence picked up: “The soul furnace is currently on lockdown. In a few minutes, they'll deactivate the shielding protecting it, so we can portal in. To complete preparations for self-destruct, a lot of the protections will have to remain down while the work crew starts the drain and disassembly. That's when the furnace will be at its most vulnerable and when the enemy is most likely to attack. That's where you come in.”

“I remember the facility. Are they using the same security protocols we established before?” Thespis asked, and Thesis nodded.

“That's why your team is coming with us. You were there when we set things up, you'll be the most efficient in reestablishing control.” Thesis said, and Thespis looked more than a little pleased with himself, Cadence thought wryly. In that snide, better-than-you way he has. He's like that kid in school who always thinks she's better than everyone else because Mommy let her wear makeup.

“Very well. We'll take over all security operations, and I'll have Manes take over watchtower duty. He'll act as contact between our teams as well.” Thespis said, and Manes looked less-than-happy with this, but he saluted grudgingly all the same.

Thesis glanced at Cadence, and when she nodded, he smiled slightly before he glanced up and said: “Just in time.”

All eyes turned to watch as Hecate approached calmly, Seneschal striding beside her nervously, the AI playing his fingers together incessantly as the Jötnar mare instructed: “Move into position.”

Cadence headed to the front of her team to stand in front of the portal, and the RED unit fell in behind them, brisk and professional under the watchful eye of the Empress of Clockwork World. Hecate smiled thinly at this, then she turned her eyes towards Thesis before she gestured with her head towards the platoon of Dogmatists and Chimera Drones behind her, saying shortly: “Don't fail.”

“Never, Mother.” Thesis said ironically, and Hecate grimaced slightly before the Replicant said softly: “Failure isn't the worst thing that can happen, Mom.”

He paused, then grinned and winked, adding: “How could you possibly expect your darling little boy to fail though, huh? I mean... look at me!”

Thesis flexed a foreleg with a wink as the portal crackled to life, and Hecate looked moodily at her son for a moment before she suddenly reached out, picked him up, then turned and flung him hard over the heads of the two teams ahead of them, sending Thesis bouncing like a coin off the cement before he splashed through the rift.

There was silence for a moment, and then Hecate barked: “Move out!”

Cadence winced, but all the same, she led her group quickly forward, leaping through the portal and leading the charge through the swirling tunnel of light and out onto an open steel landing pad, the mare grimacing a bit as she looked up to see turrets immediately training on her, bright lights shining over her team before there was a loud, affirmative beep, and the weapons realigned on the RED as they emerged from the portal next as the mare led her team quickly off to the side, where Thesis was nursing a bump on his head.

Thespis looked fearlessly up at the cameras until they beeped, before he turned and approached impatiently, stating briskly: “Permission to begin operations.”

“Are you asking or are you telling me?” Cadence retorted, glowering at the antelope, and the Replicant sneered back at her... but quailed when she leaned forwards aggressively and bared her teeth: “Well?”

“Asking.” Thespis muttered after a moment, lowering his head slightly before he repeated, more politely this time: “May we have permission to begin operations?”

“Granted.” Cadence said after a moment, as she watched the Dogmatists and drones emerge from the portal, noting that the turrets didn't so much as twitch in their direction, before she frowned as several security orbs shot through, fizzling faintly but then zigzagging wildly through the air, the mare saying quickly: “Wait.”

Thespis scowled, but he at least kept his mouth shut before looking up with slight interest when the orbs zipped over towards them, sparking once before the projected the image of Seneschal, the AI wheezing silently as he rested his hands on his knees before he snapped: “What is it with you ponies and always rushing, rushing, and rushing around?”

“What do you want, Seneschal?” Cadence asked dryly, and the AI looked insulted before he grimaced as he fizzled, the ivory mare asking: “How can you even-”

“I can't for very long, my signal is already being lost, and the portal can only remain open for a few more seconds. So shush and listen.” Seneschal grumbled, before he explained quickly: “A void pulse was detected when we opened the portal, likely trying to conceal itself beneath the energy of the vortex. We have no precise location, but we know it opened northeast of here, roughly twenty miles away, and it was large. Output of perhaps ten thousand bæns, and...”

Seneschal broke off, then fizzled violently before his AI image began to fluctuate and fade, the AI swearing before the orbs quickly withdrew, Seneschal blurting: “Lock down as much as possible and prepare to engage hostiles! And don't-”

Seneschal's image sparked out as the orbs shot back into the portal, which crackled for a moment longer before closing, and Thespis frowned before he asked quickly: “Orders?”

“You heard the AI. Get in control and then bring all the security systems online we can operate while the workers focus on shutting that furnace down. Divert power from other systems if you have to.” Thesis ordered, before he glanced over at Cadence and asked: “So can the Swan see...”

Cadence opened her mouth to answer, but the Swan easily pushed her aside and answered for her, saying calmly: “Cadence's body cannot handle seeing with so many bodies present. Their auras will overwhelm her. We need to be isolated. Away from the water: there is too much life in the ocean. We can see anything through the Astra that we choose to, but when we do not know what we seek, we must see everything until we find what we are looking for.”

“Alright.” Thesis looked back and forth around the landing pad, before he turned around and pointed at the ruins of the facility in the distance, past the ruins of the metal city that the Dogmatists still had yet to repair. “Let's head to the observatory, Cadence. Aster, we need you to act as our navigator, so uh... do you know how to use your Mission Drive?”

Aster looked at the machine on her foreleg and smiled awkwardly, and Thesis smiled wryly back before he muttered: “Well, you know what it is, that's good enough I guess. Faunus, escort her down to the docks, the worker drones should be outfitting a ship for us and it should have all the equipment on board she needs to figure out what the hell is northeast of here and-”

“An island.” Aster said, and Thesis blinked in surprise, but the mare only smiled faintly before she shook her head and murmured: “A graveyard, too. For both ships and people. It was where Salazar dumped the refuse, the... failed experiments, and where he sent the pirates who... disagreed with him.”

Thesis grimaced slightly, and Moonflower frowned uneasily before he asked: “But I thought he just... the corpses...”

Aster grimaced now, but La Croix was the one who answered, shaking his head and replying: “Not every body be usable, and not every corpse will take to the magic. Some bodies you just can't manipulate, and some be too damaged, even for... well... you know.”

Moonflower grimaced and shuddered at this, and Aster nodded even as she looked uncomfortably away, before Thespis asked bluntly: “Is Loki seeking access to weapons in the area?”

“It's unlikely Loki knows a lot about this area. A Blood Seer was the one in charge of the soul furnace...” Thesis paused, frowning slightly before he looked thoughtfully over at Cadence. “Haruspex. Do you think he's still here?”

Cadence looked blank, before, to her surprise, Manes quickly tapped a command across the Mission Drive on his foreleg and simply held it up, a projection appearing showing a profile of the Blood Seer, including his current status. “Incarcerated, still in the laboratory area.”

“Change of plans. Let's go see him. Aster, Moonflower, you come too. La Croix, Sombra, why don't you head down to the docks with Faunus and get ready to depart.” Thesis said meditatively, and Cadence frowned, but then nodded slowly when the stallion only looked at her pointedly, and Aster chewed on her lip, but then nodded hesitantly as well when Moonflower gave her a small smile that promised he would be beside her the whole time. “Good. Get to work, Thespis.”

Thespis saluted sharply, and Thesis turned away to lead them quickly off the landing pad towards a set of stairs, Cadence catching up to him quickly and asking in a low voice as Aster and Moonflower followed a few feet behind: “What the hell is all this about?”

“Got a feeling. I just got a feeling.” Thesis muttered, and Cadence looked uncertainly at the stallion, but he only shook his head before he asked in a lighter voice: “So... Aster, did you ever meet Haruspex in person?”

“No. I don't... think so, anyway. Salazar never introduced him, and after he revealed his true colors, I... kept to myself as much as possible. We all did.” Aster shivered a little, flexing her wings before she sighed as they entered the building, looking back and forth at the damaged walls, murmuring: “But it feels like every time I have moved on and am done with him and all his machinations, I end up back here. Perhaps this is just my fate. Perhaps this is Hell.”

“Oh, don't be like that. You don't deserve hell. None of us do. Not you, not... not me, not any of us.” Moonflower said quietly, and Aster smiled faintly as her eyes lingered on him for a moment, and Moonflower smiled back, murmuring: “That's a little better. Besides, this... this world... your home is here too, isn't it?”

“Non. My home is Decretum now. Or Endworld or... whatever the fancy machine-world we live in now is called. L'Empire du Horlogerie.” Aster answered with a small laugh, and then she lowered his head before she said softly: “Home is... where the heart is, is that not the old saying? I have nothing left to tie me to this world. But I have dear friends now, who have taken me in, and whom I am eternally grateful to.”

Aster leaned over and kissed Moonflower's cheek, and the stallion blushed deeply before he smiled awkwardly over at the mare, but Aster only turned her eyes ahead and murmured: “It is all that gives me the strength to survive... all of this.”

They continued silently through the facility, Aster's eyes lingering here and there on the faint stains that the Worker Drones hadn't been able to clean entirely away, and doorways that led to places Cadence probably never wanted to see, from the look on Aster's face. It took them long, far too long, to finally reach the makeshift prison where Haruspex was being kept, and Cadence couldn't help but wonder silently why Hecate had left the stallion here... except maybe she knew he'd be better off here than anywhere else.

Haruspex sat on a bench inside a room with fortified glass walls, many of these cracked and damaged, but still clearly far too strong for the old, crippled stallion to break. A collar was cinched tightly around his neck, a small light blinking calmly on and off: either a shock collar or a bomb collar, and Cadence figured either way, it would not end well for Haruspex if he tried to take it off.

He looked up with a faint smile as they stood in front of his broken glass prison, in the middle of a dirty foyer that still stank of the experiments and mutilations that had happened here. They looked at one-another for a few long moments, before the Blood Seer asked softly: “Is your name Danzsöngr?”

“Yes.” the Swan replied, before Cadence even realized that the Swan had taken over her body again, and the Swan studied the Blood Seer intently, before she asked calmly: “Why are you still here, Blood Seer? You are dying. You should have died long ago.”

“Yes, I should have.” Haruspex slowly rubbed at his stump of leg, smiling faintly before he murmured: “But none of us can die before the day we're supposed to, can we? No, no... that is the sad truth of life.”

He sighed a little, then shook his head before he looked up and asked curiously: “How many times have you returned here now? Twice? Thrice? More? Yes. More... many more. I see it in your eyes. You just don't remember.”

Cadence frowned, and Haruspex smiled knowingly before his eyes turned towards Aster, saying gently: “Greetings, young one. Don't worry. That anger you feel isn't your own. It's Salazar's. His soul is gone, but his blood thrives in your veins.”

“It does not! My body would not accept the blood of... of a losangier like him!” shouted Aster angrily, before she trembled as she stepped back, hugging herself and gritting her teeth as she looked sharply away, before she clenched her eyes shut as Moonflower reached up and grasped her shoulder gently. “Do... do not... I don't want...”

Moonflower shushed her gently, and Thesis gazed silently at Haruspex as the Blood Seer drew his eyes to the Replicant, who frowned and bit his lip for a moment before he murmured: “Black blood. But a beating heart, a living soul... but your energy is... ah, yes. I understand now. Your death day has come and gone, but all things are circular: be reborn, and become...”

“Redead?” Thesis asked ironically, and the Blood Seer gave the slightest of smiles before he said quietly: “Freya reported a prophecy from you. A prophecy that didn't come true. You said that the Swan Maiden and the Night Maiden would fight a great evil that was drawn here by the soul furnace, and it would kill you. One of the Jarsongildi did, in fact, attack the soul furnace, and both Luna Brynhild and Cadence here were here to fight it. But you didn't die, and the soul furnace wasn't destroyed.”

“And now you return. I felt the presence, the Void-static that filled the air. Besides, you know as well as I do that no prophecy is perfectly accurate... or rather, they are not... so easily interpreted.” Haruspex paused for a moment, tilting his head back and closing his eyes before he murmured: “Something is coming. I feel it.”

“We're going to destroy the furnace.” Thesis said blandly, but Haruspex only smiled, and Thesis scowled a little at this. “Hey. You're supposed to be upset about that. It would make it a lot more obvious that, you know, you were working for Loki or something.”

“Freya mentioned this Loki during our last conversation. She also mentioned something about how he feels he is bound by story and prophecy.” Haruspex shifted back on the bench, absently rubbing at his stump of rear leg before he said softly: “In my heyday I would have been considered dangerous, but somehow I feel that those who have belief, and worse yet, 'justification' behind their actions, are the most dangerous of all.”

Thesis grimaced a bit, and then he hesitated for a moment before he asked quietly: “If I come inside there and let you sample my blood-”

“No.” Cadence said immediately, glaring at the stallion, but Thesis only smiled back at her. He smiled, in that calm, kind, goddamned reasonable way of his, and the mare ground her teeth together in frustration as Aster and Moonflower both shifted worriedly. “Thesis, if he gets your blood-”

“His blood will kill me.” Haruspex said softly, and Thesis looked up in surprise, but the Blood Seer only chuckled quietly. “Oh, no. Perhaps I could handle that poison blood of yours alone, but there is a... an essence I am unfamiliar with present as well. No, if you want a prophecy...”

His eyes roved to Cadence, and now Thesis scowled, before he twitched in visible consternation when Cadence said moodily: “I'll warn you once, Haruspex. If you kill me, something bad is going to happen.”

“Why does it always come back to 'killing?' That was never what made my kind so feared, anyway.” the Blood Seer said with a small smile, before he shook his head slowly and murmured: “No, don't worry. I don't mean you any harm. I've wasted my whole life with good intentions, good intentions that ended up being only for my own gain, my own benefit. Now I... I can say that perhaps my intentions are not at their purest, no, but it is not I, that I seek to protect.”

“Who are you protecting, then?” asked Cadence, and Haruspex chuckled and shook his head slowly.

“Family.” he said simply, meeting Cadence's eyes, and Cadence saw truth in his gaze: it was the same look she had seen so many times in the mirror, after all. Not conviction, not courage... no, that feeling there's no name for. That... need to protect what's close to you. Even when it means sacrificing yourself. Even when it means...

Cadence nodded once, and then she said after a moment: “Fine. How does this work? You need my blood, right?”

“Blood is best, yes. Blood is the bond, blood is the story.” answered Haruspex, before he added gently: “But if you are concerned, even just touching your hoof will be enough for me to do a brief reading concerning the role you have yet to play in the near future.”

Cadence sighed, then she shook her head before she flicked a throwing knife out of her bandoleer, muttering: “In for a bit, in for a bushel, I guess. Here.”

She stabbed quickly down, wincing slightly as she pierced her own rubbery foreleg, and then she took a slow breath before she pulled the knife back, which gleamed with her crimson, strange essence. She studied the dagger for a moment as it steamed eerily, then she shook her head before she slipped the dagger through a crack in the window-wall, and Haruspex caught it in one open hoof.

Her blood thrummed for a moment, sliding off the knife and coalescing into a tiny red stone in his hoof, Haruspex chewing thoughtfully on his lip as he allowed his eyes to slide thoughtfully closed. Thesis watched suspiciously, his features tight, and Aster shifted worriedly as Moonflower grimaced and looked nervously from Cadence to Haruspex, but neither mare nor Blood Seer twitched, as she gazed at him measuringly, and he breathed slowly, his eyes flicking back and forth beneath his closed lids.

“Yes. Interesting.” he murmured softly, and then he shook his head slowly before he smiled a little, asking quietly: “Are you selfless or selfish? Are you... no, no. I apologize, it's so easy to get lost, but it's almost as if you wanted...”

He stopped for a moment, musing again before he said softly: “You won't die here. Why do you think you will? No, you won't die here. There are awful things in your future, and death... much death. But the death you have to face yet is not the one you should fear, and you know that. No. Your desire for death is...”

Haruspex gave a crooked smile as Cadence scowled darker. “I apologize. A bad... choice of words.”

“Just tell me what you see.” Cadence said shortly, and the Blood Seer nodded before he opened his eyes, meeting her gaze evenly.

“I know what you want to hear, Cadence Danzsöngr. It has nothing to do with what's happened here. And everything to do with you. But that doesn't mean I can tell you the answers you seek. That doesn't mean I should, either.” Haruspex smiled faintly as Cadence bristled. “And threatening me will not compel me, either.”

Cadence did her best to remain silent, and she hated that, yes, the first thing she wanted to ask was whether or not her hooves would help convince him to share those answers with her. She felt the others looking at her, but she kept her eyes on the Blood Seer as she forced herself to ask, as civilly as possible: “Well, what can you tell me, then?”

Haruspex looked at her for a few moments, and then he said softly: “Nothing has changed. You are who you have always been; the story will continue as it always has. The future is not so bright, but you, least of all, should be worried: there is nothing you can do. Fight, Cadence, as you have always fought. And listen to Danzsöngr, when the time comes.”

“That seems to be everyone's answer. Listen to the Swan.” Cadence muttered, doing her best to hide the bitterness in her voice.

Thesis reached up and squeezed her shoulder gently, and Haruspex chuckled softly before he said kindly: “The Swan is just a powerful voice, the you-who-was. It seems both silly and quaint to act as if the you-who-were is not the same as the you-who-are.”

Cadence looked down for a moment, chewing on her lip before she nodded hesitantly, and then she murmured: “Still. I feel different. I really do. I... I am not the Swan. I know that I am, but I'm not... does that make any sense?”

“Each of us is a different person every tomorrow than we were yesterday.” Haruspex answered gently, and Cadence laughed faintly at this as Thesis gave a small smile.

There was silence for a few moments, and then Haruspex said softly: “Before the week is out, I will be dead. The Swan Maiden and the Night Maiden both have roles to play in the coming conflict: she is coming. She is coming, closer and closer; she smells the enemy. Do you?”

“Yes.” Cadence said after a moment, frowning slightly as she raised her head slightly, before she corrected: “No. I'm not like the Valkyries. I... see things. I see them. My other senses aren't as strong, but I can see through the Astra, maybe... feel through the Astra, but my body...”

Cadence shivered a little, looking uneasily down at one golden hoof and hating how naturally those words came out of her mouth, as much as she wanted to resist, and then Thesis gently reached up and caught her by the foreleg, pulling her back as he said carefully: “I think that's about enough for now. We have what we need. We'll double security-”

“Not on my account, please. I have no desire to run from my fate.” Haruspex said softly, before he smiled briefly as he held up the small red stone he had made from Cadence's blood, saying softly: “Please. Take this.”

Thesis glanced uncomfortably at Cadence, but she only grumbled under her breath as she lifted the stone free from Haruspex's hoof, lifting it back through the crack in the window wall before she hesitated, then flicked her horn to almost toss it to Thesis, saying dryly: “Don't be a little girl. Here. Take it.”

“You know this could like explode or something with the force of a thousand suns and kill us all.” Thesis said moodily as he caught the jewel awkwardly between his hooves, and Haruspex chuckled softly.

“No Blood Seer has ever been quite that powerful, my friend.” Haruspex responded with a shake of his head and a smile, and then he sat back on the bench, calmly rubbing at his stump of limb as he murmured: “We can't run from our fate, any more than we can be who we are not. But both of you know that well, and I respect you for that.”

Thesis smiled wryly, then he shook his head slowly before he muttered, as he looked down at the stone: “Hey, I'm running away as fast as I can from dying. I know it'll happen eventually, but... that doesn't mean I'm willing to let it happen now.”

“Living is worse than dying.” Haruspex said, and Thesis looked up with a frown at this, but the Blood Seer only closed his eyes and settled his hooves in his lap, sitting back as he finished: “Well, don't allow me to interfere with your lives and business, my friends. But if you need my help, then please, ask. I don't want to run from Fate, either. But I have no problem with... changing the course of how we get there, and making a better future for our loved ones.”

“Who do you love? Do they even know you exist, if you are here, locked up in this miserable place?” Aster asked in almost a growl, and Cadence grimaced a bit as Moonflower nervously reached up to touch the mare's shoulder, but as the red veins pulsated through Aster's flesh, she seemed unaware of anything but her anger as she shrugged away the stallion's touch and snapped: “Do you know how much you have destroyed, with your desire to 'help?' And now you have given us nothing but... useless words and a promise that you will die soon! Some prophecy!”

“The words not spoken are the most powerful ones, Aster. You can hate me for many things, but please, hate me for the crimes I have committed against you and yours. Don't hate me purely because the poison in your veins demands hatred.” answered Haruspex gently, and the mare bared her teeth.

But after a few moments, Aster finally pulled herself away from the cage, cursing under her breath as she headed back to the stairs. Moonflower hesitated only for a moment before he followed after her, and Thesis sighed before he tucked the red gemstone away in his pack, then said finally: “I'll meet you down at the docks, Cadence.”

Cadence nodded, watching as Thesis left before she looked back towards the glass prison where the Blood Seer sat. There was silence for a few moments as she only studied him, and he rested, unfettered, beneath her gaze, until she asked: “How much do you know? How much have you seen?”

“Neither is important. It's understanding that holds the key.” Haruspex answered, before he asked: “Why are you so afraid of the past? What are you running from, Cadence? It is not being the Swan. It is not Danzsöngr. It is not even the idea that you were born a servant.”

“Haruspex, I...” Cadence hesitated, but maybe it was the blood link, maybe it was just because this stallion was so old, and reminded her so much of her father, but without the... the awful guilt... “Haruspex... I know. I know the truth. I know that I am the Swan. I know that Cadence... never existed.”

The ivory mare bit her lip silently, looking down before she whispered: “I know the truth now. I fell. And I became what Daddy wanted, because that's what we do. I don't know if my emotions are real or not, I don't know if my emotions are like... what people feel. Is this all we are? Adjusting ourselves, programming ourselves in pursuit of... I don't know, not happiness. People don't care about being happy, not really. They care about being better than other people and they care about leaving a mark on the world. The only reason we do good is because we're told it's good, because... it gets us recognition. Killing just ends up leaving us all alone.”

Cadence laughed a little, and then she hugged herself as she lowered her head, whispering: “I'm running because I'm terrified that I am a monster. I'm already a killer, a murderer. But somehow it feels... it feels so much worse to think that I've been manipulating people all this time. I am a puppet. I am a toy. I don't want to accept it because it means I was born this soulless... thing, this husk, this empty shell, and my emotions might not be real and I... Daddy, Shining, Thesis, and every friend I've had, I'm only manipulating them because they are people whom the Swan has laid claim to, because the Swan needs to serve, needs-”

“Yeah, um. I'm still here, you know.” Thesis said awkwardly from the doorway, and Cadence twitched and creakily looked over her shoulder to see the Replicant standing in the exit, the stallion smiling faintly before he murmured: “I... heard you and uh...”

He lowered his head, then said quietly: “Cadence, you're confused, and if there's any emotion that proves you're a pony it's... well, that. Being confused and not knowing what's real and what's not and... not even knowing what to do, well... that's kind of life.”

There was silence for a moment, and then he said softly, as his eyes flicked up: “I'm a Replicant. And every day I questioned... you know, how much was me, and how much was programmed into me. Valthrudnir made it worse when he put the nodes in my head: I couldn't control myself. I couldn't think anything that he didn't want me to think. But even that was better than when the nodes rotted away after Valthrudnir died, and I was stuck... seeing everything logically, but reacting emotionally, and then left scrambling, trying to explain why I did what I did. Trying to...”

Thesis paused for a moment, and then he looked up and murmured: “Trying, ultimately, to pin the fault on everything and everyone but myself.”

Cadence studied the stallion for a moment, and Thesis looked down before he suddenly smiled, gazing up as he said quietly: “And that's why I know that, even if you were born a puppet, Cadence, even if you only came to life because a father wanted a daughter and you responded to that... you're you, now. Not Cadence, maybe. But not Danzsöngr entirely, either. You're a whole different person all your own. And uh... I love who you are. I love you. So stop trying to convince yourself you're not you, because... you are.”

Cadence smiled faintly despite herself, and then she sighed and shook her head slowly before she mumbled: “No one asked you, you big stupid... you.”

“Yeah. I know. But you know me. I have to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong.” Thesis replied as he approached with a smile, before he said in a softer voice: “Let's get going, okay? There's still a lot of things to do. We have to check out that island... hey, uh, Haruspex, do you know anything about that?”

“Only that it is where 'waste' was disposed of. As to what that waste is composed of, I would recommend considering the character of Salazar and what he would consider 'waste' before you venture there.” Haurspex said, before he smiled and added gently: “It is little comfort, but I know that she will be there with you, until the end.”

“Hey. I didn't need a prophet to tell me that.” Thesis replied easily, and then he hesitated a moment before he asked almost grudgingly: “So hey, uh... can you operate the equipment in the observatory?”

Cadence looked at Thesis with surprise, and he shrugged before saying mildly: “We might as well put the old bastard to work if he's stuck here. And I don't think he's going to hurt anyone, because, well, you'll kill him.”

The ivory mare scowled, and Haruspex chuckled before he said softly: “You don't need to fall back on threats or warnings. I'll be happy to help.”

“Alright. Mom's going to kill me, but okay. We can put him up there with Manes. Manes is a Replicant, so... you know, don't try and touch his blood, either.” Thesis said after a moment, before he glanced over at Cadence as the ivory mare gave him a mild look. “Look. I know what I'm doing. I think. I just... I guess that it's something I learned from some old friends. Everyone gets a second chance. Everyone.”

“That's stupid and I hate it.” Cadence said, but as honest as that was, mentally she agreed all the same.

“I know.” Thesis smiled, that stupid smile of his, and then he turned and gestured with his head, saying easily: “Come on. Let's head down to the ship. We've got a long day ahead of us.”

“A long week, sounds like.” Cadence said softly, and she gave a thoughtful look at the stallion's back before the Swan murmured in her mind: That is why. Leadership, but not dominance. Guidance, but never control.

Haruspex watched as the two ponies left, and then he chuckled softly as he rested back on the bench, closing his eyes as he lowered his head to let himself doze a little. Sometimes it was hard to keep going, to keep forcing the blood to flow through his heart and make it beat, to keep climbing when he knew the grave he'd dug for himself was so deep that he would never escape.

But seeing those ponies had given him strength. Knowing they were fighting, knowing that even if all the bad things that he had seen in the future had yet to happen, all the good things were waiting, too: that made it easier. Knowing that there really were protectors who could defy prophecy, could defy fate, could defy even their own instincts, maybe there really was hope, after all. Maybe, in spite of everything he had seen, they would survive.

Haruspex Loptr smiled as he slipped into dreaming memories, of golden halls, and ancient feasts, and stories that were now all unfolding in front of his old eyes... but maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't end in tragedy.