Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

The King Of Everything That Never Was

Chapter Ninety Five: The King Of Everything That Never Was
~BlackRoseRaven

Everything was confusion, as Cadence suddenly collapsed with a scream a moment before the tower exploded in a tremendous blast of flame and hellfire. Chunks of burning stone rained down around them as Thesis swore and ran immediately for the fallen Cadence as he shouted: “Ambush, this is an ambush!”

Thesis tackled Cadence, rolling with her several times as fire and stone hammered down where she had been a moment before, the stallion swearing under his breath before he covered her with his body and clenched his eyes shut as he sensed another fireball arcing towards them-

Black walls of crystal erupted from the earth, shielding the ponies from the rain of fire and stone as Sombra said sharply: “They are using magic! Something is above!”

“I got it!” La Croix said quickly, vanishing from sight for a moment: but he reappeared only seconds later, punched back into reality with enough force that he went skidding over the broken earth, leaving a trench cut through the ground behind him as he mouthed wordlessly before he shook himself quickly and blurted: “Trois! There be trois, they ain't ponies, and one of 'em just slapped me outta the ether!”

“Oh poop.” Thesis said morbidly, and then he flinched when there was another explosion before he felt the pulse of magic travel through the air, cracking the crystalline shields that Sombra had made. He felt the urge to call on his own powers: he was eager to use them again, to feel that strength, to... to...

“Stop it.” Thesis muttered, rapping a hoof firmly against his head: whether or not Rig had taken most of the programming from his logic nodes with him, he didn't think he'd ever escape the effects of the corruption. And even with the exoskeleton... no distractions. Act. Do.

Thesis threw Cadence over his shoulder, then he lunged out of hiding just before a massive chunk of flaming stone crashed down into the cracked wall where he had been a moment before, shattering it completely. He winced and stumbled as the earth quaked beneath his hooves from the force of the crash, an explosion of muck splashing over him as he hurried towards where Moonflower was struggling to maintain a shield of magic under a barrage of fireballs and chunks of flaming stone.

Then he swore as a rock slammed into the ground in front of him, skidding to a halt before he threw himself to the side, twisting his body to shield Cadence as a cannonball of rock punched into his gut, wheezing in pain as he collapsed on his side with a wince and Cadence spilled off his back to the sallow earth.

He groaned in pain and clutched at the rock buried into his stomach as a voice said contemptibly, echoing eerily around them as the firestorm calmed for a moment: “No matter how fast you run, you will never escape your truth.”

Thesis wheezed in response as he pried the rock out of his stomach, grimacing at the hiss of energy before he scooped up some of the ground, turning it to mire that he packed into the hole in his open wound with a grimace. His body assimilated it, corruption becoming flesh as he grumbled: “You know, it's funny. When Loki subjugated the rest of us, we all reacted with... with happiness, with anger, with fear. You three, though... you three were the only ones who reacted with a temper tantrum.”

A chuckle whispered through the air around them, before a voice spoke in smooth, soft tones: “We are all bound by our fates and actions, are we not? My sisters cannot help the way they act.”

Cadence's eyes flickered open as she shook her head weakly, but the Swan was unconscious, Danzsöngr like a weight in her mind and stomach as she gritted her teeth and carefully shoved herself up to her hooves. She looked uncertainly up, but Thesis silently gestured to her, keeping her behind him, and she could read in his body language that it wasn't some dumb show of bravado. And considering how badly her head was ringing and the fact that whatever had hit her, had knocked out the Swan... okay. Just this one time, pretend you're a damsel, Cadence.

“The Swan is awake. Good. Do you remember me, Swan?” asked a cold voice, and Cadence blinked blearily as she looked up. She let her body slump slightly, made herself look weak- “Oh, don't worry. You can't possibly make yourself look weaker than you already are.”

Cadence mentally swore, going rigid as she realized that whoever, whatever the hell these things were, they could read her emotions, and with Danzsöngr unconscious inside her she could barely function, let alone sense where these things were coming from. ,She struggled to sit up, but she felt her strength slowly returning as Thesis leaned back against her gently, and the presence of her father appeared on her other side, reassuring her further. “Rest, mi amore. We will protect you.”

“You will fail. But I'm sure the Swan knows that. You've already failed seven times, isn't that right?” sneered a voice, and Sombra tensed ever-so-slightly as Moonflower, La Croix, and Aster fell into defensive positions around the mare, Aster looking confused and bleary and La Croix shaking and a little pale, but all of them ready to protect the mare at any cost to themselves.

“Why don't you come down here and say that to her face? Cadence can show you just how much she needs 'protecting.'” Thesis said bluntly as he looked up at the flaming ruins of the tower: more than half of the upper portion had been destroyed: not just by the explosion, but because these powerful magic-users had been ripping chunks of it up to chuck pieces of stone at them... they're not there. Where are they? Outside reality, maybe? “C'mon, guys, don't make me do the chicken dance.”

Thesis' eyes roved back and forth, before he smiled slightly as his visor blinked a few times, detecting a pulse of magic as he muttered: “This was a setup right from the beginning. But you know what I've never been able to figure out? Whether or not you're working for Loki of your own free will, or you think, somehow, that you're still the ones in charge. All I really know is that the three of you are assholes enough to think that if you can't have the universe, no one else should, either.”

“Everything happens for a reason.” said that gentle but derisive voice, suddenly close, but Thesis didn't flinch even as his eyes roved calmly to the side, to the tall, burka-clad Norn, Urd. Those old, crinkled, cruel eyes gazed at him, immeasurable in their knowledge and their hatred, as she laced her gauntlet-covered hands calmly together on top of an old, gnarled staff.

“Everything. And the reason is what we will it to be.” added Verdandi forcefully as she appeared on the other side of the group, her eyes blazing beneath her mask, her dress flowing around her as she pointed one finger accusingly at Aster, who flinched back in surprise. “Otherwise, why would you include such a weak-willed child, one of this world, one who we could manipulate?”

“Is that a whom? I think that's actually a whom, not a who. But who knows? Right? Right?” Thesis said with a grin, winking as he leaned towards Urd and waggled his eyebrows. “You get it? Who knows?”

There was a snarl, and the sound of cutting air, and then a clap as Thesis' front hooves snapped around the blade of Skuld's broadsword before it could slash into his face, the red lips of the Norn curling in disgust as she stumbled slightly, her whole body flexing as her cape settled around her from the speed she had lashed out with.

Thesis only smiled pleasantly up at her, however, saying mildly: “You know, part of your problem is that you're always too direct. Sure, that works great on your average person, the whole, 'woo, teleport in' nonsense, but... you're very distinct. And you're very... sloppy.”

Skuld snarled and wrenched her sword back, then she slashed it savagely out at Thesis' face, but the stallion simply ducked his head slightly, the weapon passing uselessly over the tips of his ears before he only shrugged and said amiably: “Going to give you that one for free. That strain you felt on your wrist? That's because you're putting too much strength in the wild swing and letting your arm whiplash. You're going to hurt yourself, sweetie.”

Skuld opened her mouth, but Urd cut in coldly: “Step back.”

For a moment, Skuld trembled in rage, and then she finally stepped back and hissed: “Thank your gelding, Swan. For that insult, I will make your death slow, and I will make him watch every moment of it.”

“Seriously? Does everyone know that he's my... look, that's not important. I'll kick your ass.” Cadence retorted, although her head was ringing too much for her to come back with more of an insult, and her confidence was admittedly a little lower than usual with the fact that Danzsöngr was still dead weight inside of her.

“You can't lie to us, little girl. We knew the death spirit was weak and would fail. We were prepared for you, and we know how to keep Danzsöngr deep asleep. All you are now is mortal, weak and 'pony.' You do not have access to your powers, you cannot fight, you cannot survive. You are a dead weight. You are-”

“Please do not speak to my daughter that way. She is strong. Stronger than you know.” Sombra interrupted politely but firmly, and Thesis rose his head slightly in surprise as Moonflower and La Croix both looked up, dumbfounded. Then the dark unicorn bowed his head towards Aster, adding gently: “And perhaps you should apologize to Aster as well. If we are all bound to our fates, then even by your logic, she can have done nothing wrong.”

“Fate is fickle in many ways. Weakness is still weakness: perhaps it is her weakness that made her a slave. Perhaps it is because she is a slave that she is weak. But that does not change the fact that she was the link we were able to manipulate. And your mask does not hide the fact you are still nothing more than a beast, King Serenite.” said Urd almost conversationally, and Cadence bared her teeth slightly, but Sombra only smiled kindly.

“I can only feel pity for you. Pity, and disappointment, perhaps, that creatures of such obvious esteem and power would also be so... self-serious. What do you call yourselves?” Sombra inquired gently, and Urd smiled thinly.

“It is not what we call ourselves. It is what we are. We are the tellers of Fate. We are the authors of the beginning and the end.” retorted Verdandi, as she rose her head proudly, and Urd smiled as she calmly rose the withered staff in her hands before idly dragging a claw along it.

Aster shuddered violently, gasping and hugging herself as her eyes looked blindly back and forth for a moment before she whispered: “N-No. I don't... I don't want to, don't make me... don't tell me...”

She whimpered as her horn began to glow eerily, her eyes rolling in her head, not seeing, not reacting even as Moonflower grabbed her before he shouted: “What are you doing to her? Leave her alone, you... you monsters!”

But Urd only smiled, digging her claw deeper into the staff, Aster crying out in misery before Thesis said sharply: “Parley!”

“No. We are not here to talk. And we hold all the cards. If you want her to stop suffering, then surrender the Swan's host. While I am sure you care far less about the infested mortal, think of this logically: we will take the Swan's host from you if she does not surrender. And if you try and fight, we will make the mortal fight you and your friends.” Urd explained gently, and Thesis gritted his teeth, opening his mouth as he half-turned away-

Skuld slammed the pommel of her sword into Thesis' face, knocking him sprawling before she slashed the sword down at his throat, but Cadence moved like lightning, intercepting the sword before she snapped her head upwards and deflected the attack. Skuld stumbled, staring in disbelief at Cadence, and Cadence gritted her teeth before she lunged forward: she was sloppy, confused, distracted, and all the same she swept a cut through Skuld's battle-dress and drove the Norn back another step as her eyes widened further in shock.

They were wrong, Cadence thought bitterly, as she lunged over Thesis and stomped her hooves at Skuld, forcing the Norn to back further off. Her sword whipped back and forth in elegant and overpowered slices, but Cadence either deflected or dodged these strikes, even with the ringing in her ears, the weight in her soul, the pain in her heart. They were wrong, about her, about the Swan, about everything.

The Swan was just a servant. Danzsöngr was a tool; an intelligent, living tool, but a tool all the same.

Cadence was a murderer.

Skuld slashed down, and Cadence leapt forwards, catching Skuld's wrist against her head before she sliced to the side with her horn, and Skuld screamed in agony as her forearm was nearly severed from the rest of her body, crimson spraying from the wound as she staggered backwards before howling: “Help me!”

Verdandi snarled, shoving a hand forward, but Sombra easily countered with his own telekinetic blast as Urd rose the staff, starting to threaten: “We will not hesitate to-”

Then the Norn shouted in shock as the staff transformed in her hand into a massive brown snake that bit at her angrily, the Fate flinging the snake away and recoiling from it before La Croix quickly leapt forward and swept the serpent into his hat, giving a mocking bow to Urd as he did so as he remarked: “Gotta be faster than that, madame! Y'only supposed to talk to distract, see!”

Urd snarled at La Croix, clenching her hands into fists before the zebra winked and said mildly: “Just like me, see?”

La Croix dropped flat on his stomach, and the Norn didn't even have a moment to react before a massive blast of gravitational force hammered into her and knocked her flying away. Moonflower immediately pursued, eyes blazing, a furious look on his face as he shouted: “No one threatens my friends and gets away with it!”

Verdandi hissed in frustration as she flung fireball after fireball at Sombra, but the stallion stayed cool and calm, keeping a shield of crystal between himself and the Fate as she growled: “You will not humiliate us, worm! Everything has happened now because it was written, and you will not be the first to defy your fate!”

“I do not question my fate. Only those who would say they are its authors.” Sombra answered fearlessly, before he didn't so much as flinch when a fireball shot past the barrier before arcing itself towards him, the unicorn turning and almost casually swatting the missile of magic away.

Verdandi snarled, then she shoved both hands forwards, unleashing a savage blast of magic that shattered the shield of crystal into a thousand floating shards as she let out a short, triumphant 'ha!' a moment before the mass of shattered crystal became a whirling storm of jagged knives that whipped across the Fate.

Urd crawled to her feet, eyes blazing with fury as she looked towards first Verdandi, and then Skuld: one was shielding herself with magic, almost panicking under the maelstrom ripping around her, and the other was desperately trading blows with the Swan's host... but how? How could the stupid mortal pony be any match for Skuld, how was it that Skuld couldn't see her future, predict her movements?

The Norn swore as another blast of magic ripped past her, barely deflecting it before snarled in frustration when a potion flew at her, shattering the bottle in midair with a burst of psychokinesis as she said in a soft, cold voice: “Surrender now and we may yet be merciful, Loa.”

“Pardonnez-moi, but Nanny always said, don't ever trust no cocodril.” La Croix retorted, nimbly sidestepping a thrum of telekinetic force before he retaliated with another bottle. Again, the Norn shattered this with telekinesis, but this time the contents exploded in a blast of toxic smoke when they made contact with the air, Urd grimacing and taking a step back before she blasted the smog away with another thrum of magic.

Moonflower fired a shockwave of gravity into the Norn, taking advantage of her moment of vulnerability out of luck more than anything else, and Urd gasped as she was knocked crashing and rolling backwards before she fell prone, clutching into the ground with a snarl of humiliation. It was bad enough she was being forced to fight, but being injured by these ridiculous talking animals brought the insult to unbearable, unacceptable levels.

Urd threw herself to her feet, crackling with power, and her rage fed Skuld the strength she needed to finally repel Cadence, the Norn hissing as she flexed her fingers slowly as he feeling finally returned to her hand, the thin lacerations across her body healing, although her cheeks burned with humiliation, and her armor and clothing still bore the marks that Cadence had left on her. “So what, you've figured out a way to move that I cannot see... but you're still nothing more than an animal, one I will take great pleasure in-”

Cadence slashed her horn out, blasting Skuld in the face with telekinesis, and the Norn's head snapped to the side as a tooth popped out of her stupefied mouth before Cadence rammed forwards and tore her horn deep into Skuld's leg, making the Norn scream before the ivory mare wrenched to the side as Skuld tried to pull away.

The Norn staggered weakly, gasping and clutching at her bloody, mangled limb, the flesh and skin of her thigh hanging in flayed tatters before she snarled as Cadence said shortly: “Put up or shut up.”

Skuld hissed as her wound healed, before she lunged forward and slashed her sword deftly back and forth: Cadence deflected and slashed back into the blows, grimacing, finding it bitterly amusing how the song of the sword against her horn was actually helping with the ringing in her ears, driving it away like music soothing a headache. This is what I was made for.

Skuld twisted around, fast, skillful, a hundred times more dangerous now that she was no longer relying on her precognition, but Cadence was still faster, stronger, better: the blade danced and slashed at her, but Cadence dodged and weaved backwards, mocking her, frustrating the Norn, before she suddenly clapped both her front hooves around Skuld's sword with a cold smile. This is what I was meant to do.

The Norn had a moment to stare before Cadence rammed the sword backward, driving the pommel into Skuld's stomach and knocking the wind out of her before the mare added insult to injury by contemptibly slapping a hoof across Skuld's face, sending her reeling backwards, shocked, her lip bloodied, but Cadence not bothering to pursue, not giving chase. No, instead, she waited, as Skuld touched her bruised face before she snarled in rage and hate, forgetting everything: her training, her powers, her uselessness against Cadence. This is the moment.

Skuld screamed as she leapt forward, bringing her blade up, and Cadence reared back before she slammed both her front hooves into Skuld's shoulders. The Norn had a moment to look surprised before she toppled backwards, her sword flying wide, her arms helplessly spread as she fell on her back, and then Cadence's front hooves crashed down on her chest, crushing the life out of her, the Norn vomiting blood as her eyes bulged in horror.

Cadence smiled coldly as she plunged her hooves through the shattered ribs of the Norn and into her heart, crushing down on the organ before Skuld screamed in terror and agony as white fire burst to life over the mare's hooves. She channeled the powers of the Swan even as the dormant Danzsöngr only shifted sleepily inside of her, no longer a weight but a battery she easily tapped into, a source of power: a tool. A tool she would put to proper use.

I am a killer.

Suddenly, that didn't seem like such a bad thing to be.

Skuld gargled, grabbing uselessly at Cadence as she struggled to resist the mare bearing down on her, shaking her head wordlessly as uselessly tried to push at the mare, but Cadence was merciless and ruthless, burning into the very spirit of the Norn as she crushed down and said coldly: “Don't worry. None of us can fight our fate, right?”

Skuld snarled, and Cadence smiled thinly before Verdandi suddenly diverted a blast of magic away from Sombra and towards Cadence, slamming the mare off of Skuld as she shouted almost desperately: “Something's wrong!”

“Enough games! Call the chimera!” ordered Urd as she narrowly deflected an attack from Moonflower, and then she sharply gestured at La Croix, making him yelp silently as he was banished to the ether, then punched violently back into reality with enough force to send him rocketing like a cannonball into Moonflower.

As the two fell in a stunned sprawl, Urd suddenly stepped back and vanished from sight, and Verdandi snarled in disgust before she teleported to Skuld, seizing her before disappearing into thin air with the Norn.

Cadence snorted in disgust as she picked herself up, before Thesis said sharply: “Everyone, fall in!”

The ivory mare grimaced, then she nodded shortly as she leapt over to the stallion, asking moodily: “Falling into REMB mode?”

“Hey, screw you, I took a huge rock to the gut for you. Not all of us can just instantly get back up from getting our faces smashed, you know.” Thesis retorted.

“Didn't know your face was in your gut.” Cadence shot back, as Sombra, Moonflower, and La Croix quickly fell in, before the ivory mare grimaced as she saw Aster was simply standing stupidly in the middle of the battlefield, looking lost and confused. “Goddammit.”

“Wait!” Thesis shouted as Cadence broke rank, but the ivory mare ignored him, and Thesis gritted his teeth before he said sharply, as Moonflower began to shift away: “No, stay in position! They're still watching us.”

“Not just watching. Judging. And we have decided that you are unworthy of our effort, but deserving all the same of special attention. So we offer you a slow, miserable death at the claws of our finest executioner...” Urd said calmly and contemptibly, although there was a tremor of rage and hate beguiled beneath the evenness of her voice. “Go forth!”

“Yes. The perfect use for the monster.” hissed Verdandi in agreement, the air around them quaking, the fires that still burned over the tower and the battlefield turning eerie blue. “Go forth!”

Energy swirled through the air as Cadence grabbed Aster and began to drag her backwards, before she looked up sharply as reality split open in front of her, and Skuld rasped: “Die, Swan... go... forth!”

The air itself trembled as the creature emerged, slumping its way out of the rift: a winged unicorn. The winged unicorn that had attacked Brynhild and her companions, that she had called Gymbr.

Gymbr looked at them with hollow eyes, and then it laughed bitterly before whispering: “We are here again. How many times must we live? How many more must we kill?”

Gymbr arched his back, his emerald eyes glowing with helpless hatred and fury, his teeth baring even as he almost whimpered as he stalked slowly towards where Cadence was half-holding a trembling Aster: “How many? Do we not feel? Are we not real? Why is it that we, as a thinking, feeling thing, are nothing more than puppet?”

Gymbr came to a halt in front of Cadence, and Cadence swallowed slowly as she looked up at the creature: the monster, in which she saw the Valkyrie, and the Tyrant Wyrm, and worst of all, her own self, as Gymbr asked weakly: “How many more lies will we have to tell until they are satisfied?”

The monster suddenly lurched forward, a hoof splitting apart into a silver claw, but Cadence caught it by the wrist with a curse. Inside her, the Swan snapped awake the moment she made contact with Gymbr, and Danzsöngr gritted her teeth before she flung Gymbr backwards as she stated coldly: “This one is mine.”

“We are not one. We are many. We are countless!” Gymbr roared, lunging forwards again, but Danzsöngr smoothly caught the windmilling claws of the monster and flung it to the side before she leapt at the creature as her daggers appeared in her hooves.

She stabbed them both savagely down, but Gymbr ducked away at the last moment, hissing in fury before he roared in frustration as a blast of black flame hammered into him, driving him backwards in what seemed like confusion more than pain as Sombra leapt up beside his daughter, saying quietly: “This one is too dangerous for you to face alone. Let us help you, mi amore.”

Danzsöngr glanced coldly at Sombra for a moment, before Moonflower and Thesis both joined them as well, the black unicorn whispering: “That power. I've... never felt anything like it before.”

“It is the power of the Aesir. It is the power of the Valkyries. It is... corrupt.” Danzsöngr said calmly, before she stepped forwards as Gymbr snarled at her furiously, shrugging off the black flames. “Leave the monster to us. This is what we were meant to do, what we were designed for; we do not... wish to see you harmed.”

“And we do not wish to see you hurt either, Danzsöngr. That is why we choose to fight beside you.” Sombra countered gently, before he stomped a hoof into the ground and created a barrier of crystal when Gymbr lashed his horn at them, the shield shuddering but resisting the black magic of the monster.

Danzsöngr stared strangely for a moment at Sombra, before Thesis shouted: “Incoming!”

Gymbr smashed through the crystalline barrier, which transformed into a torrent of living snakes of sludge that leapt greedily after him towards the group of ponies. But Danzsöngr lunged fearlessly into the fray, slamming a hoof across Gymbr's face and knocking him off balance, giving her the opportunity to leap upward and slam both rear hooves into his chest-

Gymbr caught her hind hooves, twisting viciously to slam her face-first into the ground before he leapt on top of her, his weight pressing down sickeningly against her as his hot breath flooded her ear, snorting and rasping like an animal. Claws tore her armor and shoulders to ribbons as she gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying out before she felt hot drool, the scrape of fangs-

She slammed an elbow viciously back into the side of Gymbr's neck, his jaws snapping uselessly beside her before she managed to roll over beneath him and kick him into the air.

Immediately, Gymbr spread his wings and caught himself, but then Thesis appeared beside the monster and slammed a hoof into his face with a resounding crunch, Gymbr howling as he was knocked crashing backwards before he flipped violently to land on his hooves, skidding to a halt as he roared: “Enough!”

Reality quaked with the power of his roar, the snakes of corruption dissolving and the forms of the ponies all lifting helplessly into the air before they simply froze in place, Gymbr's eyes glowing with hatred before he stared in surprise at Cadence as she slowly stood, shaking herself out before she looked back and forth in disbelief at her companions, each and every one of them frozen in time.

“What the hell is-” Cadence didn't have time to finish her sentence before Gymbr shot in and seized her by the throat, hefting her into the air before slamming her savagely down on her back, the mare wheezing in pain before the monster leaned down into her face, studying her with feverish intent.

“The power to resist Fate. You will be ours. We claim you.” Gymbr whispered, before his eyes glowed solid green as his jaws stretched open, and Cadence's eyes widened in horror as the beast leaned down, already feeling the life beginning to drain from her body as it inhaled her spiritual energy.

Danzsöngr snapped awake inside her, and Cadence didn't question the Swan as she focused magic through her body before she slammed a rear hoof upward, and she was rewarded with the sound of hardness crushing into soft flesh as her foot hammered home between Gymbr's legs.

Gymbr screamed in a multitude of voices as he cowered back, his eyes bulging as he lost concentration, and Cadence exploded off the ground as she slammed a forehoof upwards, sending up a great spurt of crimson as her uppercut knocked Gymbr flying, muzzle shattered. Cadence grinned as she landed on her hooves, but her victory was short lived as Gymbr halted eerily n the air before he could crash down to the earth, his claws flexing before he slowly revolved with a disgusted, infuriated look to land gently on all fours.

Cadence's eyes widened in horror as she realized she hadn't left so much as a mark on him, and the Swan was quick to answer her fear, saying coldly in her mind: He is being empowered by the Norns. He draws power from them.

“Then I'll keep putting holes in him until he stops getting up.” Cadence grumbled, before she looked back and forth, noting that at least the others had been freed from their frozen state, although even her father looked disoriented by what had happened as he picked himself up out of the muck.

Gymbr looked shortly back and forth, and then he locked gazes with Cadence and ordered: “You will surrender and submit to us, or we will make you suffer.”

Cadence snorted at this, retorting: “How about you stop fighting, or I'll find out how many times I have to kill you before you stay dead?”

Gymbr smiled thinly at this, and then he simply gestured towards Sombra, and the stallion had enough time to look surprised before his purifier exploded out of his back in a torrent of black flame and corruption, Cadence crying out in disbelief as she turned-

Gymbr seized her by the throat, moving so fast she couldn't even see him before dark lightning crackled across her body, agony lighting up her spirit and every nerve of her physical form. She spasmed helplessly, and Gymbr smiled coldly before he almost absently flicked his horn, blasting Moonflower away with a pulse of magic before his eyes locked on Thesis.

Thesis gritted his teeth as he felt the corruption boil in his veins, his exoskeleton sparking violently before he dropped his head forwards with a curse, and Gymbr's eyes narrowed before he said contemptibly: “We see. Alter your signature as much as you like. We will kill you after-”

Thesis gave a strained grin before he suddenly vanished, and Gymbr shouted in frustration, dropping Cadence as a hoof slammed into his cheek as Thesis reappeared beside him. He dropped into a hard elbow that smashed into Gymbr's head and knocked him to the ground, but Gymbr lunged up, clawing out like an animal and flaying open Thesis' side, making the stallion wince before he narrowly managed to shove himself backwards, stumbling to a defensive position over Cadence.

He snuck a look to the side: La Croix was trying to drag Sombra to safety, Moonflower was snarling and charging back towards them-

Moonflower suddenly halted, then he screamed, his eyes bulging in horror as blue flames ripped to life across his body. He spasmed helplessly for a few moments, then he collapsed in a smoldering heap as Gymbr said callously: “Worthless dregs. You cannot compare to us. You cannot hope to fight us. We are too powerful. We are... we... are...”

Gymbr seemed to become confused for a moment, grasping at his head as he looked back and forth before he looked down at one of his silver claws, whispering: “No. That story ended a long time ago. Why will you not let us rest?”

He shook himself wearily out, before snarling as his emerald eyes flashed, glowing with sudden rage as he looked up at Cadence, roaring at her: “You! We must have your power! We must taste your soul!”

Cadence looked blearily up from the ground before Thesis stepped in front of her, saying sharply: “Gymbr! You don't have to do this! Fight back, show us where the Norns are, we can free you!”

Gymbr only seemed confused and infuriated by this, however, retorting angrily: “We are no puppet! We are not a toy! We have become God! We are God, and you will bow before us!”

Gymbr lunged, and Thesis grimaced before he leapt forward to meet the attack, not knowing any other way to stall the monster. They crashed together, but Gymbr had the immediate advantage, slashing his claws across Thesis' face and chest before he snarled as he bore forwards, ripping and tearing at the stallion as Thesis snarled under the ruthless barrage.

Thesis staggered backwards, barely managing to defend himself, gritting his teeth as those wicked claws ripped back and forth through his chest and body in disgusting sprays of black blood and corruption. He narrowly managed to catch one of Gymbr's wrists, twisting hard and half-flinging him to the side to force him further away from Cadence as he shouted: “We aren't going to last against this thing alone! La Croix, find the source-”

Gymbr blasted Thesis away with a psychokinetic hammer, then roared in fury as crimson magic sizzled against him as Aster leapt forwards, glaring through terrified, teary eyes. “No, no, not this! I will not let this happen! I will not be part of this!”

“You will play the role you were given. That is all any of us can do.” Gymbr whispered, before he stretched a claw towards her, but Aster anchored herself as the red veins pulsed over her body, gritting her teeth as she fought back against him, and the monster's eyes widened in surprise as his magic crackled uselessly across the mare.

“We can all change our fate.” Aster replied in a rasp, before she leapt up into the air, tears falling from her eyes as she arched her back, her horn thrumming with power before she snapped it down, sending a massive peal of crimson lightning hammering down into Gymbr.

Gymbr was driven down to his knees by the force of the blast, lightning crackling over him with such force it began to push him down into the ground as Aster's eyes glowed, her body steaming, the red veins pulsing powerfully across her form as she snarled in fear, in desperation, in determination. But Cadence grimaced as she looked up, knowing it wouldn't be enough: Gymbr was too much, too powerful- Call.

Cadence knew what Danzsöngr was asking, and she was loathe to do so. She didn't know how she knew: she supposed it was more knowledge, passed on from the Swan. And at any other time, in any other place, she would have gladly fought Gymbr by herself, indestructible monster against undying Swan, until one of them finally stopped moving...

But Aster was struggling just to keep Gymbr pinned, and her father was trembling on the ground, shellshocked and burning with malevolent energy, and Moonflower was hurt, and La Croix was desperate, and Thesis...

She stared at the bleeding Replicant as he staggered away from Gymbr, shouting wordless orders as he looked wildly around for any sign of the Norns, and Cadence sighed softly as she closed her eyes before she rose her head slightly and whistled.

The long, sharp note cut through reality, and Gymbr stiffened even under the blaze of lightning before he suddenly reared back, slashing his horn out and repelling the blast of magic with such force that Aster was blown out of the air, her own magic ripping across her body and sending her hurtling backwards like a comet.

Gymbr leapt forwards, slamming to the earth in front of Cadence as the Swan looked up at him defiantly, before she swore in pain as he seized her by the face and hefted her into the air, asking in two distinct, echoing voices: “What have you done?”

“The worst thing in the world.” Cadence retorted bitterly, before she gave a thin smile when Gymbr snarled at her. “Hey, they're the last people in the world I want to see, too. But sometimes you just need to swallow your pride.”

Gymbr flung the ivory mare down on her back before he began to stomp forwards, but Danzsöngr moved like liquid, hitting the ground and rolling backwards before she flung out a hoof full of throwing knives. They barely scratched the monster, but all the same Gymbr flinched away with a hiss of frustration, giving the Swan the moment she needed to leap backwards and away from him as she said coldly: “I have learned. I have evolved. And I understand now why these ponies value unity above all else.”

“No, the only thing that matters is power!” Gymbr roared in return, his eyes blazing as his horn glowed with dark flames, his wings spreading wide as he towered over the ivory mare, and yet Cadence stood, undaunted and unafraid. “We are power! We are powerful! We are God!”

“You are a slave to the Norns, and the Norns are nothing but slaves to Loki! You're nothing but a parlor trick!” Cadence shot back angrily, and Gymbr reared back in shock before a furious snarl spread over his muzzle.

“How dare you, worthless Swan, speak to us that way? We demand your respect!” Gymbr leapt forwards, swinging a silver claw out, but then his eyes widened in surprise when something seized him from behind, forcefully slamming him down on his stomach.

“Respect is earned, not demanded!” Thesis growled, before his front hooves seized the base of Gymbr's wings and he twisted savagely as he yanked back as hard as he could, the monster howling in pain and surprise as his wings were torn from their sockets.

Gymbr bucked back and forth, trying to throw Thesis off before he gargled in shock when Cadence lunged forwards and slammed a hoof into his face: Thesis let the body of the monster slam into him, rolling backwards before he kicked him hard in the center of the back, knocking him helplessly into the air before Cadence streaked up into the sky and hammered the monster straight down with both hooves, sending him crashing like a meteor face-first into the rocky earth.

Thesis kicked up to his hooves and grinned wryly as he landed beside Cadence, and the ivory mare cracked her neck before she said shortly: “This is the first and last time I am ever asking them for help. Understood?”

“Everyone's okay. I stabilized Sombra as much as possible and La Croix is attending to the others. He's a pretty good medic.” Thesis replied, answering her unasked question, and Cadence both loved and hated how well the bastard knew her. “I'm detecting a lot of energy irregularities in the air. If we hurt him enough, the signal from the Norns should become strong enough for us to trace.”

“Good.” Cadence said simply, steadying herself as Gymbr picked himself up with a rumble of humiliation, violently twisting his body back and forth as bones snapped back into place and wounds healed across his frame. “Should have told me that before. I don't need her help for that.”

Thesis grinned wryly as he began to answer, before they both gargled in shock as Gymbr simply appeared in front of them, seizing them both by the throat and hefting them above his head as he said contemptibly: “You underestimate us. But with every moment that passes, we grow stronger.”

Gymbr slammed the heads of the two together, dropping them to the ground and leaving them in a stunned heap before he glanced up in distaste as a blast of black magic tore past him, harmlessly scraping past his body as Sombra rasped: “Get... away...”

“You cannot even touch me. Your corruption is animal, uncontrolled, weak. I will make you watch as I purge the world of all that you love.” Gymbr said callously, but Sombra only bared his teeth in response, staggering forwards as his body twisted and burned with black flame.

“I will die before I allow that to happen.” Sombra whispered, before he leapt suddenly forwards, streaking towards the monster-

Gymbr held up a claw, and Sombra staggered suddenly before he fell forwards, vomiting black bile as the malevolent light died from his eyes, Gymbr saying contemptibly: “You are not weak because you are animal. You are weak because you are stupid. You are weak because you hide, like a child, from your true nature.”

“And have you become strong by embracing yours? Or are you even less than a puppet?” asked Sombra, and Gymbr snarled as he savagely batted Thesis and Cadence aside as the two began to stir, storming past them towards Sombra, but the unicorn only smiled faintly as the black fire burned and twisted over his body. “You do not scare me, barbaro. No... you are not even that. You are... lost, and wicked, and very much a codardo beneath your glammer of snarls and barks.”

Gymbr loomed over Sombra, emerald eyes burning with hatred before he hissed, as his voice became distinctly masculine for a moment: “Who are you to judge us? You have no idea what we have been through! You are... you are inferior, you are nothing but-”

“Have you spent your whole life in front of mirrors, trying to break them? Why not look past yourself, instead?” Sombra asked softly, and Gymbr reared back slightly before the dark stallion murmured: “I pity you. You are so old, so powerful... and yet so young.”

Gymbr hissed, raising a claw, before he looked sharply, suddenly up as a strange vibration passed through the air, the creature whispering: “No.”

A moment later, a hole shattered in reality, a roar exploding through the air around them before Brynhild shot out of the rift on her motorcycle and lunged off it to slam herself into Gymbr, tackling him backwards. The monster almost immediately twisted around to throw her off and evade the motorcycle as it ripped past before vanishing, but he almost looked panicked as Scrivener and Morgan emerged a moment later from the hole in reality, the beast staggering backwards as he shouted desperately: “No! No, you are not supposed to be here, you are not wanted here! You cannot exist!”

“Nay, 'tis thou who are not wanted, Gymbr, and thou who should have remained banished, forever!” Brynhild snarled, slamming a hoof savagely down into Gymbr's face and crushing his head into the ground before she shouted: “Find the Norns!”

Cadence didn't know whether to be impressed or aggravated that the Valkyrie already knew what to look for, before she grimaced when Brynhild was kicked savagely off of Gymbr, the ivory mare leaping forwards to join Luna as she muttered under her breath: “You should have made sure they were going to stay dead last time.”

“Last time we did not kill the Norns. We simply destroyed Gymbr. And it seems that whatever else, he remembers that.” Brynhild said wryly, as Gymbr scrambled backwards with a disbelieving snarl on his features, shaking his head wildly. “Stay back, Swan, this foe is beyond thou.”

“Say that again, Valkyrie, and I'll kill you after we finish dealing with this monster.” Cadence growled, and Brynhild grinned at her, opening her mouth to reply-

Gymbr slashed his horn suddenly out, sending a wave of hellish black energy at Brynhild, but Cadence immediately lunged into the path of the blast, her wings glowing white before she flapped them hard and countered the wave of dark magic with her purification, nullifying it.

Brynhild leapt over Cadence, grinning as she boosted herself with her wings and dove straight at Gymbr, and the monster snarled as it lunged to meet her, their horns clashing as he hissed: “We are not afraid of you!”

“I do not require filth to fear me!” Luna retorted, before she countered a slash with a vicious upward parry, Gymbr swearing in surprise as he was knocked rearing back before Cadence lunged past Brynhild, slamming a sharp, savage volley of hooves into the monster's face before she hammered him into the air, and the Valkyrie used her like a step to leap above the stunned monster and slam him back down into the earth, sending him bouncing and rolling away.

The Valkyrie landed and winked over at the Swan, remarking cheerfully: “So thou hast gotten a bit better, I see! Perhaps one day, Danzsöngr, thou will have to make me actually put forth a little effort to beat thee!”

“Shut up, Valkyrie.” Cadence grumbled, before she leapt forward with Brynhild in almost perfect time as Gymbr picked himself up, before both mares swept up one of the stallion's forelegs, yanking them wide and jerking him into the air before they both slammed a rear hoof into his stomach, knocking Gymbr crashing down on his back before the two dropped down on top of him to pummel him savagely into the earth.

Meanwhile, Sombra was slowly clambering back to his hooves with the help of Scrivener Blooms and Thesis, and La Croix was hurriedly doing what he could to revive Moonflower and Aster. The old unicorn grimaced slightly, but nodded gratefully even as his eyes burned with malevolent magical energy, the stallion murmuring: “I did not realize that he would be able to manipulate the poison so easily.”

“Sorry. Think he learned that one from me.” Thesis said apologetically as he gave a slight smile to Scrivener Blooms. “Well, I think so. I might be wrong. Never been great with that whole relative time-space thing.”

“Gymbr is bad enough without your influence, don't worry.” Scrivener said as he carefully placed a hand against the swirling darkness that composed Sombra's back, and the unicorn clenched his eyes shut, miasma leaking out of his closed lids as Scrivener muttered: “Sorry. Your corruption is... a little unstable. It makes it hard to stabilize.”

“It is more than enough. I will remain sane. But Gymbr-”

“Morgan will track down the Norns, they're not far: all their powers are being channeled into Gymbr. The moment they stop channeling, Gymbr should vanish.” Scrivener explained, before he stared as Thesis winked and spun around, charging towards Brynhild, Cadence, and the bloodied Gymbr.

“Then let's make it even easier to find them, huh?” Thesis shouted as he leapt towards the three, before he squawked when Gymbr roared in fury, a shockwave of power knocking Thesis, Brynhild, and Cadence all flying.

He crashed painfully to the ground on his face, and Cadence and Brynhild narrowly managed to catch themselves on their hooves as Gymbr snarled through the blood running down his face: “Scum! Filth! Betrayers!”

“And what art thou but a bundle of lies and treachery and secrets?” Brynhild growled in return, before she grimaced as Gymbr snarled at her, his body flexing as his eyes blazed, the malevolent power in the air growing before the Valkyrie muttered under her breath: “Be wary, Swan. If Gymbr goes into true rage, 'twill be all we can do to survive.”

Cadence grimaced at this, setting herself, but she felt Danzsöngr whisper through her mind, guiding her, her eyes seeing for a moment before she muttered: “But the angrier he gets, the more power the Norns are passing into him...” The easier they'll be to find. It's almost like strings...

“Hey, I'm totally here too.” Thesis said bluntly as he crawled his way back between them, and both mares looked at the stallion flatly before he glanced sideways at Cadence, asking mildly: “So what do you think? Should I go high or low?”

“I think you should stay out of it.” Cadence said sourly, before she turned her eyes back towards Gymbr, answering the question under the stallion's words with a few quick flicks of her eyes before she said coldly: “Gymbr. Under the orders of-”

“The only order we respect is the order of power, where we are King!” Gymbr snarled, before he rose his head high as his horn crackled with malevolent energies, roaring: “We shall remind you why you fear us, Luna Brynhild!”

Luna snorted in contempt, her crystalline horn thrumming in time with Gymbr's pulses of power before she stepped forwards when he lashed his horn down, and the monster snarled in frustration as his dark magic was drawn to Luna's horn, the Valkyrie wincing and gritting her teeth even as she used her spire like a lightning rod, absorbing and discharging the monster's power as he thundered: “We will not abide this insult!”

Cadence surged forward, slamming into Gymbr and hammering a vicious tattoo across his chest and face, the winged unicorn hissing in fury before he retaliated with a slash of his claws. But Cadence ducked and seized his foreleg before she twisted it up behind his back, the god howling in frustration as he struggled to maintain his concentration and fight back against the bond Luna had forged between their horns, even as she slammed him down on his stomach with a resounding bang.

Gymbr shoved a claw against the ground, before his eyes widened in horror as black crystal immediately spread up over his foreleg, Thesis grinning before he snapped a hoof out and sent a mess of black needles hammering into Gymbr's face as he shouted: “Watch it!”

Gymbr hissed in frustration more than pain as the black quills peppered his features, before his eyes widened in energy surged from his horn to the crystalline spikes. He shook his head wildly as Cadence winced, leaning back and shielding herself with a wing a moment before a tremendous boom of energy tore through the air, knocking Brynhild crashing onto her back with a gasp of surprise at the magical recoil that tore across her body.

Cadence shook herself out, her ears ringing before she stared in shock at the sight of Gymbr: the monster was staggering uselessly back and forth, his face nothing but a gaping pit that energy streamed endlessly out of. But before Cadence's eyes, flesh began to fill in, energy solidifying into something more as Gymbr's voice rasped: “You will... burn... for that...”

Cadence gritted her teeth as Gymbr turned slowly towards her, before he suddenly gasped and staggered, his half-formed features contorting with shock before he blurted out: “No! We... we cannot... we will not suffer such an ignoble death!”

Gymbr swore as he shook himself violently back and forth as his body began to smolder, his mouth working uselessly as he clutched at his chest as he ceased healing. His legs wobbled beneath him as he shook his head vehemently, before he collapsed with a gasp to his knees as Brynhild said coldly: “Morgan has driven off the Fates. Thou art finished, Gymbr. This is the end.”

“No... no it is not.” Gymbr whispered, as he stared miserably at the ground, shaking his head weakly before he looked slowly up. He stared at them through melted and mutilated features, with bitterness and despair and alien longing, Cadence thought, as he lowered his head with a weak, broken laugh. “Again and again. We must live out this story. Again and again we are nothing but puppets of Fate, a... character, ripped from a story, forced to dance. Forced to push you forward... because we are nothing but...”

Gymbr halted, then he slowly rose a silver claw, watching as it cracked like glass before it shattered away. More cracks spiderwebbed down his foreleg, which collapsed after a few moments into dust and shale and ash that blew away before they could even hit the ground, the broken god laughing weakly again before he suddenly looked up and said almost urgently: “Destroy them, Luna Brynhild. We would do much for life, but not this, never this! We will not be a puppet again, a... a tool, used to further some mad author's desires!”

“And yet thou hast allowed themselves to be such, all the same. 'Tis disappointing Gymbr. We have trusted thee, but now... now, I suppose, we know the truth.” Luna shook her head slowly, saying softly: “Thou art not 'alive.' All thou ever wert, was a character in a story. Puppeted and controlled, only able to act as ordered... a pawn.”

“We will never be a pawn!” Gymbr yelled, but his voice was tinny, desperate... afraid. He snarled as he hefted himself up, before he gasped as he clutched at himself, his body cracking apart, his form shattering away to nothing but dust and leaving only his voice pleading to the air: “We must be more... we were... you...”

But Brynhild only shook her head, smiling faintly at the air where the monster had been moments before, reflecting silently that yes, they were Gymbr, and Gymbr was them, and none of them could escape the roles they had to play.

Comments

[Mira Starlight]

Gymbr's being so meta today, isn't he? I know that the story he's talking about is Because Love Conquers All, but it could be taken to mean this one too.