//------------------------------//
// Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin 
// Story: Hecate's Orphanage 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Thirty Two: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin
~BlackRoseRaven

They stood on the remains of a crumbled causeway, gazing silently over the ruins of factories and run-down warehouses towards the center of the island, where a fortress rumbled furiously away. No, not a fortress, Cadence thought silently: a facility. A laboratory, but which, housed in by all these fallen goliaths of steel, standing on its own pillar of stone in the center of these ravaged ruins; no wonder Salazar and his minions all treated it like a castle.
The light was coming from the laboratory, or rather, from the tower on top of the fortified facility, where a purple beacon glowed like a star. The exhaust port of some sort of soul-devouring machine: Cadence didn't recognize it, but she knew they still existed in older Decretum facilities. Hecate would want to know that there were apparently a few that still worked.
The laboratory was vomiting out all that malignancy, all that poisonous energy, and Cadence could see more poison venting up here and there from around the city. It gave her a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, as she looked silently back and forth before shaking her head slowly. What an awful, evil place this was: all this technology, all the possibilities that it could offer, and whoever had taken control of this facility had used it to craft war machines.
Freya looked over the metal city in contempt, and then she gestured quickly with one wing towards the edge of the causeway, where a makeshift walkway had been formed out of welded-together steel plating. “Keep a sharp watch.”
The others nodded, and they fell into single-file as they walked, with Cadence once more bringing up the rear as she looked uneasily back and forth. She stiffened along with the rest of the group when she heard a scream from above, but a metal bird only flew by, the creature apparently not daring to attack them while they were on the ground. From its crystalline body and steel wings, Cadence guessed uneasily that it was a Thunderbird, but she was rather surprised the kamikaze bird hadn't tried to ram itself into them.
They made their way slowly and carefully through the broken city, but there were no Drowned here to slow them down, and the few constructs they passed didn't seem very interested in fighting them. Maybe the Thunderbirds and Soldier Drones sensed they were from Decretum somehow; maybe Salazar just didn't know how to properly program the machines. Still, they should have leapt to the defense of their facility; was it really possible even these mechanical guardians recognized that their home had been long destroyed, or was already in the claws of invaders?
As they passed by several silent Worker Drones, Cadence couldn't help but let her eyes linger uneasily on them. They were just... standing, static, covered in moss and rotted by salt. But their glass eyes seemed to watch them all the same as they passed, and Cadence could feel more than hear the faint thrumming of energy in their bodies, telling her they were... active? Alive? What was a better word to use?
They walked onward through the maze of steel, broken pathways, until they finally entered a large square in front of the lab facility. Once it had probably been beautiful: now, the statue that had dominated the center of the square had been torn down, laying in broken ruins, its few remaining features rotted away by brine and salt. The rest of the square was much the same: its beauty had been shattered and stolen by time and the ocean, leaving it nothing but an ugly desert of metal, dust, and crumbled cobblestone.
There were four constructs standing guard in front of the laboratory doors: they were all pony-shaped, black metal golems, their onyx eyes emotionless and ruthless. Cadence narrowed her eyes as they began to stride towards them, and Freya smiled thinly, saying moodily: “War constructs. Aye, I recognize these. These are Clockwork, but not of Decretum.”
“They're old, and badly damaged. Valthrudnir often had his slaves build constructs like these to guard his facilities... I remember them well.” Sombra said softly, and Cadence glanced towards her father curiously before the stallion smiled slightly. “We've seen many things since then, mi amore. But I'm sure you remember them too.”
“Right.” Cadence looked back towards the golems, realizing why she recognized them: she and her father had fought machines like them years ago now. And if she remembered right...
Cadence leapt forward, flapping her wings once to boost herself over the head of the closest machine and slamming down on its back. The golem staggered to the side before it started to reach back, but it was too slow and too late as Cadence drove one of her daggers into a crack in the plating on the back of its neck.
Something inside the golem clanked and fizzled loudly before it collapsed, and Freya snorted as she ran forward, leaping past Cadence as her larger, bludgeoning blade swung down and smashed another golem between its steel ears, its head loudly crunching inward as it fizzled violently. She smashed it aside with disdain as she grinned in wry amusement, calling loudly: “There's nothing to be proud of in being able to destroy these meager puppets, Danzsöngr!”
Cadence swore under her breath as Freya rammed into the next golem, knocking it sideways before a mighty swing of angular and ugly Dómr caught it in the side of the neck and nearly tore its head off, the golem crashing down in a hail of steel and shattered gears. Cadence gaped in shock as even Sombra's eyes widened: when they had fought those machines in the past, the golems had proven to be almost indestructible, but Freya was mowing through them like... like they were nothing.
But what else would such inferior tools be, when pitted against a Mother Goddess?
Cadence stumbled and grasped at her head for a moment as a strange sensation twisted through her, like her mind was being turned inside-out, and then she grimaced as she looked up and saw Freya standing over the remains of the last golem and glaring at her, the Valkyrie saying sharply: “Get yourself together!” 
“Yes, Mother.” Cadence mumbled without realizing what she was saying, and then she straightened and shook herself out, looking uncertainly towards the doors as she added: “We need to be careful. Should I go first?”
Freya frowned at this, and then she kicked the broken golem under her hoof aside, striding slowly towards Cadence as Sombra approached and asked quickly: “Mi amore, are you alright?”
“Fine, Daddy. Why? I... what, what is it? Is something wrong?” Cadence looked uneasily back and forth, then turned quickly towards Freya for validation, knowing that the Mother would have the answer, the Mother would tell her...
Freya smacked her across the face, and Cadence blinked stupidly before the Valkyrie said quietly: “Swan, I do not need you right now. I need your host. Do not go mangling her mind.”
Cadence frowned a bit, and then she felt that shifting inside her again, the mare groaning and grasping at her skull before she blinked a few times and realized: “What the... how did...”
“I take it the Swan got fed up of you thinking unkind thoughts about me. But trees will be trees, and it's not like I want that to change.” Freya reached up and patted Cadence's helmeted head firmly, which made her flinch, then scowl. “There, that's better! Now you're looking like your old self, Danzsöngr. Still, you'll never get a man if you keep that foul face on all the time.”
Cadence sighed tiredly as the Swan shifted almost fearfully inside of her, and then she shook her head before biting her lip and saying hesitantly: “Thank you, Freya.”
Freya shrugged, then she gestured towards the double doors leading into the lab, saying mildly: “Now, perhaps the rest of you could make yourselves useful. As I said, there's neither fun nor honor in crushing these pieces of tin under my hooves.”
“Moonflower, take point with me. Let's see what's ahead.” Cadence ordered quickly, shaking herself briskly out one last time before she headed to the armored double doors. She grasped into the handle and started to pull the door open, and her ears detected a whirring, a gearing up as the door began to swing open- “Down!”
Cadence flung herself to the side, tackling Moonflower out of the way as he squawked, before the rest of the team hit the ground as a turret exploded into life on the other side of the door, bullets pounding into the ajar armored door and flinging it open before a stream of rounds came out of the broken doorway.
Cadence swore under her breath as the other armored door began to vibrate, the mare shoving Moonflower hard to make him start crawling ahead of her, and she hurried after him, the two getting out of the way a moment before the rusted door was torn off its hinges by the force of the bullets pounding into it from the other side.  
Thankfully, the rest of the team had all crawled to safety themselves, while Freya was only scowling darkly, hovering calmly in the air above the doorways before she shouted over the roar of gunfire: “Disable those blasted machines!”
“Blasted machines.” Cadence muttered, as she pressed herself against the wall beside the doorway, and then she glanced over at Moonflower, who had his hooves over his ears and was scowling. “Illusion.”
Moonflower frowned at her blankly, shouting something back at her, and Cadence rolled her eyes before she leaned in beside him, yanking his hoof away and shouting into his ear: “Illusion!”
Moonflower squawked and winced away from her, but then he nodded hurriedly before his horn glowed brightly: a moment later, a copy of the stallion appeared, the illusion bouncing quickly and fearlessly out into the hail of gunfire... 
And Cadence grimaced as the weapons showed no sign of following the stallion's illusion, even  it bounced back and forth through the streams of bullets, distorting violently. The mare bit her lip, wondering how the hell they were going to deal with this particular problem before her head rose slightly as she heard a loud, distinct grinding over the sound of gunfire that told her one of the turrets had just jammed.
She winced as the squealing rose higher, like some kind of automated machine was trying to force the turret to keep firing, and then Cadence's eyes widened as she realized that was the only sound in the air now. The mare leaned hesitantly around the corner, and even though the other turret was tracing back and forth, its barrels spinning... “Turret's dry!”
Cadence leapt swiftly forward, looking back and forth sharply for any other traps as she ran quickly towards the turret. The weapon beside it was still grinding and squealing, but Cadence was able to easily shut both turrets quickly down, and they both fell still and quiet as she wheezed in relief.
They were simple enough turrets: ammo boxes on one side, four rotating barrels, and a large, wide-base tripod. No real targeting systems, Cadence noted: it looked like they had instead been set to fire when she had triggered a trap on the doors.
She frowned, then winced when Freya half-pushed her aside, the mare leaning curiously forwards and asking: “Aren't these smaller than the turrets we saw before?”
“Uh... yeah, these look like portable versions. We'll have to be more careful, and...” Cadence winced when Freya grasped one of the turrets with telekinesis, the Valkyrie turning it back and forth thoughtfully before she smiled slightly as she yanked the tripod loose from the base of the gun, tossing it away. “Hey, careful! If it turns on it'll start firing again!”
“Oh, quiet. I may not be as good as my brother always was with these toys, but I can still figure out how a trigger works.” Freya said flatly, as she examined the gun quickly. Cadence only grimaced, then blinked in surprise when the Valkyrie simply flicked her horn, and the weapon popped apart into a multitude of pieces. “Aye, I see here. The bullet got stuck in the feeder, is that it?”
“Yeah. It looks like the belt probably shook loose from whatever was feeding it inside the ammo box, so it all got jammed.” Cadence responded after a moment, as she looked at the chewed-up bullet belt hanging out of the ammo box. “I might be able to fix it if you were... well, interested...”
“Not in using these toys myself, no.” Freya said mildly, and then she turned around and unceremoniously flung the minigun at Aster, who squeaked as it crashed into her chest and knocked her sprawling. “Learn to fight, girl, or you can forget your idle thoughts of revenge.”
Aster uncomfortably sat up, nervously lifting the minigun, and Cadence was admittedly surprised by the fact that Aster could even move it as the mare said uneasily: “I... I don't know about this...”
“Fools don't know. The rest of us just do.” Freya replied, and Aster lowered her head with a wince before Freya tossed the ammo box to Cadence. “Fix this, while we're still here on the doorstep of the beast and yet to make our way into its belly.”
Cadence sighed a little, but she nodded grudgingly as she looked around before pointing at the other ammo box, saying quickly: “Will somebody bring me that, please? They must have just stuck these on without really understanding how they worked...”
“The frailty of pony, I suppose.” Freya said ironically, and Cadence sighed again, but pointedly kept her focus on what she was doing as La Croix hurried over with the box, and helpfully passed her a few of the tools she had been about to ask him for, earning a smile from the mare
It only took Cadence a few minutes to reload the belt and then snap the ammo box into place, the mare saying awkwardly: “You don't want to hold down the trigger for long. Fire in short bursts. The... well, this trigger revolves the barrels, and the other trigger fires.”
“Strange toy. I don't know why you'd want the barrels spinning like that. I suppose Frey would have been able to tell me, but we both know that would have just ended up with him with a bump on his head for being a showoff.” Freya remarked, and Cadence sighed a little as Aster nervously hefted the minigun and tested the weapon, making the barrels spin with a growl. 
Aster smiled awkwardly, and Cadence shifted before she reached up and touched the handle of her own gun, offering: “If you'd prefer, you can take-”
“Stop trying to get rid of your own toy, Danzsöngr. The only thing more embarrassing than a girl who plays with toys is a girl who won't play the toys she was given.” Freya said dryly, and Cadence blushed even as she glared at the Valkyrie. Freya was obviously unperturbed, however, instead casting her eyes over the gathered ponies before she nodded once and said in a more serious voice: “Eyes open, and watch yourselves, all of you. We don't know how many enemies lurk here, and those who do attack us will undoubtedly strike without mercy. So let's not show them any ourselves.”
Sombra only politely bowed his head, and Freya rolled her eyes before she turned around to take the lead, saying calmly: “Let's move. Danzsöngr, you're last as always. Aster, I want you up here, beside me, just in case.”
The ponies assembled themselves into the positions that Freya either commanded they take and more subtly nudged them into, and they moved quickly but cautiously through the halls, Freya checking around every corner and keeping Aster close as she had La Croix sweep ahead for traps every so often.
Even these halls weren't well-kept, though: here and there, doors were crudely welded shut or patched closed with plates of rusted metal, and Worker Drones lay in disrepair in almost every nook and cranny, making it clear why this lab facility wasn't up and running: there was no way Drowned or any other undead puppets could be nearly as effective at managing the complexities of this facility as the Worker Drones would be.
They encountered another war golem at an intersection, but it was already badly damaged, and Freya quickly put it out of its misery with a snort of disdain and a swing of her heavy club-blade. It lay on the ground in a fizzling pile of gears and broken metal plating, and the mare clicked her tongue before she said softly: “Cunning. This golem was not sent to stop us. It was instead left here so that the enemy would know where we are.”
Cadence grimaced a bit, not liking how plausible this sounded, while Moonflower, on the other hoof, blurted out: “Do you just say things and expect us to believe them because you're larger and scarier than the rest of us?”
There was an awkward silence for a moment as Cadence slowly turned to look at Moonflower, and Freya cocked an eyebrow, before she suddenly grinned and shrugged, saying mildly: “Well, it's worked up to this point, and that's all I've ever really done. Spoken loudly...”
There was a gleam of gold, and Moonflower went dead white as his eyes crossed to stare up at the blade of Tyrfing, which was now hovering ominously between his ears. “And carried a big stick.”
Moonflower gave a wheezy laugh, while Sombra strode over to the golem, frowning a little as he carefully shifted it back and forth. Cadence began to approach, checking quickly down both halls before her eyes widened slightly as she caught sight of several lingering, pale ghosts.
She stared at them, her eyes drawing back and forth over the specters as they looked back at her silently. The mare licked her lips slowly, and then she hesitantly approached, feeling the Swan twisting inside her, and before she realized it, Freya was beside her, the Valkyrie frowning and following her gaze before the mare asked quietly: “What are you seeing?”
“Ghosts.” Cadence murmured, and then her eyes widened as the spirits seemed to turn towards her, for the first time, seemed to react to her presence, making the mare stumble before she whispered: “Do... do you hear me?”
The ghosts barely reacted, but they did react. They shifted, ever so slightly, and Cadence began to step closer to them, her eyes locked on the spirits, losing all other thought in her mind as she opened her mouth-
Freya caught her by the shoulder, squeezing gently into her and stopping the mare, and Cadence blinked a few times before she looked up almost blankly at the Valkyrie as she said quietly: “Don't get distracted by shadow and memory, Danzsöngr. Those aren't lost or wandering souls. They're just empty shells, and stains.”
“W-Wait, you know what they are? You know what I'm talking about?” blurted Cadence, the mare whirling towards Freya before her eyes widened. Of course she would, though. She was a goddess, she was a 'Mother,' she was... “You must know... everything!”
“Not quite everything, girl, I wouldn't go that far. But I thank you for thinking so.” Freya replied easily, smiling slightly and shaking her head before she looked back down the hall. “I don't know what you're seeing entirely. But I do know, Cadence Danzsöngr, that you are caught somewhere between the world of the living, and the world of the dead. I imagine you must be able to see things even Scrivener Blooms cannot.”
Cadence smiled briefly, shifting a little before she nodded once and took a slow breath, shaking herself out before she murmured: “Well, either way, the... whatever they are, they usually lead me towards... bad things. And since bad things are where we want to go...”
“We go that way. You take the lead, Cadence Danzsöngr. This time I'll bring up the rear.” Freya invited, and the mare smiled briefly as she heard the unsaid invitation beneath her words, nodding in gratitude to the Valkyrie.
“Thank you.” she murmured, then she cleared her throat before turning her eyes ahead, saying clearly: “Aster, La Croix, I want you two up here by me. Moonflower, take the middle and keep your magic readied. Sombra, you follow, in case we need to assume defensive positions.”
The others nodded, falling immediately into step, and Cadence breathed slowly as she led the way forwards, feeling herself naturally falling more into place, her head feeling clearer as she took the lead. Leading her team, feeling their support behind her, she always felt so much... better. As much as she was coming to... if not trust Freya, then at least respect her as a leader, and as much as the Swan wanted to follow her, Cadence herself never felt right unless she was in control, doing all she could to protect and lead her team herself. They were her friends, her family, and her responsibility, after all.
Cadence followed the trail of specters, her eyes roving uneasily every now and then to the pipes that had begun to line the walls, some of these loudly clanking and thunking as they pumped their contents onward. The heat was growing more intense here, too, she felt: there was a sickening humidity in the air, and it was making her skin prickle, and worse than that, it amplified the growing sensation of dark energy burning through the halls around them.
There was no enemy contact until they rounded a corner, and Cadence swore as two unicorns that had been waiting for them immediately both flung sharpened hooks on chains at them. Cadence deflected one with her horn and slapped the other out of the air with a hoof before she quickly drew a knife and flung it back, but one of the mages deflected this with a telekinetic shield before using magic to snap the chained hook up at Cadence's face.
Moonflower lashed his horn forwards, blasting one of the unicorns with a burst of magic, and he was slammed painfully into the doors behind him with a gasp, crumpling into an unconscious heap. The other attempted to send a fireball at them, but Aster, surprisingly, stepped forwards and dispelled this, allowing Cadence to fling another dagger sharply, before she growled in frustration when her knife bounced off another magic barrier.
But before the mage could do anything else, a golden fireball rocketed past them and exploded with such savagery it all but disintegrated the two mages, and blew the doors behind them open, nearly tearing them off their hinges.
Cadence looked awkwardly over her shoulder at Freya, but before she could say anything, there was a loud laugh from the room beyond, a voice inviting casually: “If you're so eager to meet me, you only had to ask politely, you know. But at least you were nice enough to knock.”
“Go ahead.” Freya said softly, half-ordering and half-encouraging, and Cadence nodded before she turned her eyes towards Aster. The mare was trembling, her weapon jiggling in the air beside her before she gasped when Cadence touched her, nearly swinging the machine gun at her, but Cadence winced and quickly stopped the wild swing with a hoof before she said quietly: “It's okay. You can do this. We're here with you.” 
Aster smiled uncertainly, but when Cadence started slowly forward, Aster fell in step with her, so Cadence just kept herself moving, even as she ordered calmly over her shoulder: “Defensive positions. We're going to let Aster make the decisions here. Follow her actions as much as my orders.”
“I hope your team is smart enough for that. Three heads are rarely actually better than one in a situation like this.” remarked Freya, but Cadence only kept her gaze forward and her focus on where they were going.
The room they entered was large and octagonal, and the heat that radiated up from beneath their hooves was sweltering: little wonder, since the floor beneath them was nothing but grating, and below that was an ocean of swirling magma. The walls were made of scoured and damaged metal, and a walkway was above them, where a stallion was casually resting with his forelegs across a metal railing, a pleasant smile on his cultured feature as mages in red robes stood at the ready on either side of him, both covered in tattoos and snarling down at the intruders.
He had rugged good looks, with a roguish, dark red beard that matched his short yet carefree manecut, and bright, toxic yellow eyes. His coat was chestnut, and his body was covered by simple but elegant clothes: a blue dress jacket, a plain but pristine white silk shirt.
His eyes roved over them, sizing them up like a predator even as the earth pony said easily: “So, Aster, what have you brought back with you? Surely these aren't the best you could find to trade for your freedom? I'll have to make you get more souls to feed the furnace. You're very good at that, aren't you?”
“I'm not... d-don't listen to him.” Aster whispered, looking up at the stallion and breathing hard in and out, before she shouted in a raspy, reedy voice: “I am not your slave, Salazar! I'm n-not and they're... they're going to kill you!”
“Ha!” Salazar grinned as he leaned back, seeming reassured before his eyes glowed, and Aster fell to the ground, dropping the gun as she began to scream in agony, the mare convulsing violently as Cadence's eyes widened in shock and she quickly looked over her shoulder at her father, who ran forwards as Freya only frowned moodily from the back of the group. “You haven't even broken the control charm! Pathetic!”
Aster writhed back and forth, tears running down her cheeks as Salazar chuckled above them, leaning back with a smile as Sombra leaned quickly over the mare, touching along her body before he suddenly rolled her onto her stomach and quickly used magic to slice the back of her jacket open. She whimpered and tried to resist, but Sombra kept her held down as Cadence leaned forwards, pushing the folds of her clothing aside before she grimaced in shock at the line of runes tattooed along her body, seeing how they almost glowed with the malignant magic powering them...
“Blood ink. I can remove it, but I need time.” Sombra said quietly, his horn lighting up with dark energy, and Freya snorted before she strode forward around the group, as Salazar grinned down at them with obvious amusement.
“As if I wouldn't place that charm deeper than skin... besides, you have other things to worry about.” Salazar clicked his tongue, and both mages leapt suddenly forwards over the railing, diving down towards them-
Freya slammed one of the mages out of the air with the massive, deadly Tyrfing, crushing him into a broken heap on the grated floor. Above, Salazar's eyes bulged in shock, leaning forwards and looking as if he was about to choke on his own tongue, even as the second mage landed and began to bound towards Freya.
But Freya didn't even look at the mage, who was slammed off his hooves a moment later by two daggers slamming into his face and throat even as his horn began to glow with crimson light. He landed on his back with a thunk, and the Valkyrie smiled thinly before she called easily: “Would you like to come down here and test your luck now, Salazar?”
The stallion above snarled at this, and then his body thrummed with dark energy before he retorted coldly: “Now, why would I rush down there when you're not done entertaining my friends yet?”
There was a powerful pulse through the air, and then Cadence swore and Freya grimaced and leaned backwards as both corpses exploded in a tremendous gush of boiling blood. The Valkyrie began to snarl, but then she gasped as something invisible grasped into her and slung her down to the ground, feeling it tearing into her spirit.
Cadence's eyes widened in shock as she saw the hideous, deformed monstrosity on top of Freya: it was clearly invisible to the eyes of the others, but she could still see it, as well as the other beast that was lunging towards her father-
She gritted her teeth, her horn glowing white before she snapped it forward, not even sure it was going to work, but the spirit was blasted backwards with a miserable, silent howl as the burst of holy magic shredded it and drove it away. Above, Salazar laughed loudly, looking down and mocking: “None of you have the magic required to take on these beasts! Blood Seers have a penultimate power that you can't even imagine, sacrificing the body to become invincible spirits for a time!”
“And it's nothing I haven't seen before.” Freya growled, before she snapped her horn suddenly upwards, a blast of holy light exploding from the spire and driving the spirit off her before she rolled swiftly backwards, asking sharply: “Where?”
Cadence responded by flinging two daggers out, hitting the ground in front of each spirit, and Freya snapped her horn forwards to send out a powerful blast of golden flame that tore apart the shade right in front of her and further agonized the specter Cadence had already torn into.
The spirit-beast stumbled back and forth, its eyes rolling in its head, its mouth working spasmodically before it turned towards Cadence, glaring at her with fury, with hatred in its malformed, no-longer-pony eyes. The spirit began to rise up, huge, deformed wings spreading behind its hulking body, and Cadence readied herself.
Then La Croix appeared with a fearless grin in front of the spirit, and the ghost of the Blood Seer stared down at the Loa in surprise before La Croix whistled, silent and sharp. The phantasm snarled down at him, raising a claw, but then its eyes widened as green fire erupted upwards over its body, the ghost shivering in place for a moment before it simply dissolved into nothing but ashes.
Salazar frowned as he leaned over the railing, looking back and forth in disbelief before Freya said mildly: “It appears we have more than enough magic to deal with your little toys after all.”
Salazar snarled, and then his fury visibly increased when Sombra straightened, wiping a bit of blood from his hoof as he said calmly: “I've removed the enslavement charm. Can you stand, Aster?”
“What... who are you?” Salazar roared in fury, as he leaned forwards and slammed his hooves angrily into the railing, denting it, and Freya smiled slightly before her eye flicked towards Cadence, inviting her to answer.
Cadence straightened, looking up and saying clearly: “I am Cadence Danzsöngr, of the Irregular Hunters. By the authority of Empress Hecate of Decretum, you will surrender peacefully and explain how you came into possession of Decretum technology, or you will be destroyed.”
“You... you threaten me? You dare to threaten me?” Salazar said disbelievingly, before he snarled in fury, veins visibly pulsing through his features before he leaned forwards and roared: “Do you have any idea who I am?”
“I don't care.” Cadence said simply, and Salazar looked dumbstruck at this response before the mare set herself, raising her head high and saying calmly: “This is your last warning. Surrender or face the consequences.”
“No... no, it will be you who face the consequences for this... this insult.” snarled Salazar, his eyes blazing with hatred as he glared down at the ponies, and Cadence's eyes narrowed as she realized steam was rising from his body, that his flesh seemed as if it was rippling unnaturally. “And I will show you the power that tore me free from Helheim!”
Salazar leapt over the railing as he burst into black flames, and Freya leapt backwards even as a slight smile spread over her face, her eye narrowing. Cadence immediately readied herself, her wings flapping once as Aster trembled and stumbled backwards, whimpering as Salazar slowly straightened, baring sharp fangs in a wide grin as his eyes glowed with unholy light, as the black flames suffusing his body slowly coalesced into his transforming shape.
He straightened, his legs unnaturally long, his neck stretched and rubbery as exposed vertebrae seemed to almost flex along it as a large, blade-like horn pushed up out of his head. The whole of his spine was exposed, his thin skin torn around both the long line of bone and his widened ribs, the latter of which opened and closed like jaws with every rasping breath he took. His hooves were like blades, his tail a whip ending in a spike of bone, and his eyes glowed with ivory cruelty as he hissed: “Through my blood, these mages gained strength! But my sanguimancy is capable of more than just giving power...”
Salazar flexed, growling, and Cadence's eyes widened as almost-purplish blood spilled from his pores, hardening into almost crystalline armor over his flesh. The monster grinned, his horn lighting up with malevolent energies before Freya said calmly: “You are no true demon, Salazar, so cease your showboating and start whimpering for your life. You are Hellbound: you sold your soul to the demons for power, and they transformed you into this. I know all about your kind... your sniveling, pathetic, whimpering kind.”
The creature stared at the Valkyrie with surprise, his eyes widening before he snarled, hissing furiously: “You don't know anything about me, wench! I've courted gods and murdered heroes, and what are you but an arrogant mare who cannot possibly comprehend-”
“Enough. I will not wet my blade with your blood. That would be a dishonor, not a gift, with a coward like you.” Freya said contemptibly, and Salazar snarled before lunging at her. But with a flick of her horn, she repelled him with a blast of holy flame, knocking the Hellbound in a sprawl before he writhed on the ground, screaming in agony as the golden flames mercilessly ate away at his body. 
The holy fire whiffed out after a moment, leaving Salazar sprawled and gasping for air, and the Valkyrie looked down at him with disdain before she asked coldly: “Who do you serve, maggot?”
Salazar looked up at her, humiliation burning in his cheeks, but there was fear in his eyes now, too. No, not just fear: absolute terror, as he shifted slowly onto his stomach, lowering his head and all-but-groveling as Aster looked up with disbelief. “I... I was summoned to this plane by a... a prophet. He knew about this place, knew how to... use my blood to give his minions powers... the mages serve him, not me! They... this was all his idea! Just let me go, please...”
“Oh, you've had a change of heart, have you?” Freya smiled derisively, and then she shook her head before saying calmly: “You are not worth my time, worm. No, to call you that is to insult the worms, who serve a purpose, who keep the forest healthy. You? You are nothing but a parasite. A poison, an infestation, as unnatural as you are stupid.”
Salazar forced himself to smile, even as he twitched visibly and ground his hooves into the ground, but when Freya stepped forward, he quailed immediately and whimpered: “Yes. I am nothing, truly nothing, especially in your presence, oh mighty warrior...”
“Valkyrie.” Freya corrected, and then she looked calmly over her shoulder, saying curtly: “Come, this cur is not worth our time. Aster, if you would like your revenge... then take it. A wretched dog barks loudly but has no bite.”
Freya turned around, and Cadence hesitated for a moment before she said quietly: “I'll... stay here with Aster.”
Aster lowered her head, then looked up in surprise as Moonflower added hesitantly: “I'll stay as well. Just in case.”
“Oh, I won't... yes, he's in the highest tower, through those doors!” Salazar blurted out, pointing hurriedly, and Cadence grimaced at the scheming in his eyes, how he clearly thought that all he had to do was escape Freya's sight, and he would be safe to continue his evils... idiot. “He's very strong, though, you will have to-”
“Don't tell me what I have to do, Hellbound. You do not know the meaning of strength.” Freya said disgustedly, and Salazar swallowed and lowered his head as humbly as he could force himself to, before the Valkyrie turned and said after a moment: “La Croix, Sombra. I suppose it's us, then.”
The two looked back for a moment at Cadence, but she nodded and smiled to them, and her father smiled back after a moment as La Croix shrugged and tipped his hat. Then they both turned to follow after Freya, Salazar watching intently as the Valkyrie made her way to the doors, and barely looking up when Aster asked quietly: “Why? Why did you do all this? Because... because of the prophet you work for?”
Salazar straightened slowly, remaining silent until Freya left, and then an ugly grin spread over his sallow features, the unicorn snorting in contempt as he turned towards them and replied disgustedly: “Of course not. He merely served my purposes, that's all. Gods do not serve mortals, Aster. Now, be a good girl and get out of my way, or I'll kill all of you.”
Aster trembled, but then she stepped forward, taking a slow breath as she rose her head and whispered: “No.”
Salazar blinked in surprise at this, and then he laughed loudly, shaking his head and saying easily: “Oh, I get it! You think because of what that... that bitch said, you're strong enough to fight me! Well, even with your precious little friends here, you have no comprehension of my power, of what I am capable of... but I am more than happy to give you an example.”
Salazar grinned, raising a hoof, and Aster gasped as she was hefted into the air by telekinetic bands, the mare whimpering and struggling helplessly. Salazar's grin widened as Cadence began to step forward, snarling, but then she looked up in surprise as Moonflower said sharply: “No.”
The ivory mare looked at Moonflower in disbelief, but he shook his head before his eyes turned to Salazar, the stallion speaking in a soft, encouraging voice to the trapped winged unicorn even as his gaze remained hard and cold and locked on Salazar: “Aster, this is nothing but a silly parlor trick. He wants you to be scared, and afraid, so you'll listen to him. But he only has the power over you that you give him, do you understand?”
“I have more power than the gods of this world!” Salazar snarled, and then his hoof stomped down, and Aster screamed as she was slammed into the ground beneath a weight of crushing telekinetic force, her wings creaking, her whole body trembling. “And you are next, mage!”
Moonflower only smiled contemptibly, and then he looked over at Aster, the expression becoming one of encouragement even as she whimpered on the ground, struggling underneath the weight before the stallion said quietly: “He's nothing. It doesn't matter what you thought he was, or what you did in the past to... try and impress him, to try and help him. Please get up, Aster. I know it's not his strength holding you down. It's your fear. It's the pain. It's the feeling that... you deserve this. But you don't, do you?”
“Oh shut up.” Salazar said disgustedly, and then he snapped his horn out, firing a blast of black energy at Moonflower-
Without looking, Moonflower simply slapped the black fireball away, and Salazar's eyes widened in shock, his mouth working with disbelief as Aster's own eyes widened, and Moonflower smiled gently before he reached a hoof forward, saying quietly: “But I had a lot of help from my friends, admittedly. I never did anything on my own. And that's okay, because now, I'm here to help you up, too. I just want you to understand that... you can do this yourself.”
Aster trembled, before she clenched her eyes shut, and Salazar snarled in fury, his eyes widening further as the mare slowly forced herself to her hooves, pushing herself shakily upwards as she gasped, before whimpering as Salazar leaned forwards, increasing the telekinetic pressure with a snarl.
She began to fall, but then gasped again as she was caught by Moonflower, her hoof clutching tightly into his, the two looking at each other for a moment before she smiled shakily and nodded. Their horns lit up in tandem, and Salazar growled before he swore in shock and pain, magic recoil blasting over his body as he was knocked staggering backwards, his mouth working spasmodically as both Moonflower and Aster straightened, throwing off his telekinetic attack.
Cadence smiled slightly, stepping slowly backwards to remove herself from the fight: it looked like Moonflower had this, after all, even as the black stallion rose his head and said pompously: “God? No, you have no idea what a true god is capable of! I am...” 
He halted, then stepped forwards, posing sharply and announcing: “I am Moonflower, Master of  Darkness and Lord of Magic! I am Champion of Decretum and its unrivaled loremaster, nonpareil in all paths, turning evil against evil to demolish even the fiercest of competitors beneath my unmatched might!”
He paused, then smiled slightly as Aster stepped up beside him, raising her head high and adding sharply: “I am Aster, Avenger of Terra Volta, Witch-Queen of the seas and Commander of the Black Fleet! And before my might you will crumble and fall, Salazar, for you are nothing before me... let alone our combined might!”
Both Moonflower and Aster posed for a moment, and for once Cadence only smiled in amusement as Salazar twitched, then leaned forwards and roared: “You are nothing!”
He snapped his horn out, sending a ferocious blast of black flame at them, but Moonflower and Aster countered with focused blasts of telekinesis, slicing cleanly through the burst of necrotic fire. Then Moonflower swung his horn upwards, and Salazar yelped in shock as gravity reversed itself and flung him into the air, before Aster snapped her horn down, a telekinetic hammer smashing into the middle of the Hellbound's back and knocking him crashing back to the earth.
Before he could recover, she flicked her horn out, a lasso of lightning launching from her horn and snaring around Salazar's neck. The monster snarled as he leapt up to his hooves, the crystalline blood armoring his body trembling before chunks of crimson shrapnel tore loose from his body and hurled themselves violently at Aster, but Moonflower flicked his horn out to create a barrier, protecting them from the shards of crimson as Aster yanked to the side and jerked Salazar back off his hooves, before she yelled in fury and effort as she half-spun and lashed her horn out, the lasso of lightning snapping viciously with her movement to fling the Hellbound through the air as it burst apart into motes.
Salazar flipped head over hooves before Moonflower lashed his horn down, a blast of gravitational force hammering him into the grated floor with enough force to dent and snap the metal. But the Hellbound was back on his hooves in a moment, a crimson spray of blood bursting out of his hoof and transforming in an instant into a crystalline blade that shot straight at the two ponies.
Moonflower began to lean forward, but this time, Aster beat him to it, snarling as she snapped her horn down and blasted the blade into shards with a magic missile that hammered into Salazar and knocked him staggering. She followed up with two more sharp blasts of magic, her eyes glowing with anger and vengeance as lightning sparked around her horn before she snapped it down, a whip of electricity lashing out of her spire and slashing cruelly back and forth across Salazar's face.
The Hellbound was driven backwards, shouting in horror and disbelief as long cuts were torn through his features, before he snarled in anger as his blood hardened in the wounds, snapping his horn out to knock the whip aside before he stomped both hooves down. Black lightning erupted over the grated floor, Cadence wincing as she leapt into the air, but Aster and Moonflower both swung their horns out, enclosing themselves in a shield that the black lighting uselessly battered against and bounced over.
Salazar fired a volley of dark energy at them, but Moonflower and Aster concentrated their energies into the front of the shield, turning it into an impenetrable wall before they traded looks, then both ran forwards, pushing the barrier ahead of them. Salazar's eyes widened, but the monster didn't have enough time to react before they plowed into him with the barrier, knocking him crashing and rolling backwards with a howl of frustration until they rammed him into the metal wall.
They bore into him with the shield, and Salazar hissed in pain as he pushed uselessly back against the barrier crushing down on him before his horn suddenly glowed, and both Moonflower and Aster were driven backwards as the magma beneath the grating belched upwards in a vicious spray.
As they both hurried backwards, the Hellbound slashed his horn down, shattering the weakened barrier and spraying the two ponies with deadly energy that cut across them like shards of glass. They both staggered with cries of pain as they lost concentration in the pain and confusion, and then Moonflower gasped when Salazar slashed his horn out and blasted the one-winged unicorn off to the side, hissing: “I've had enough of you.”
The Hellbound flicked his horn forwards, several blades of crimson crystal tearing themselves free from his body to slam into Moonflower's face, making him shout in pain and stagger; he grasped at them, before his eyes widened in horror as the crimson crystal liquefied beneath his hooves, sliding quickly up over his features to wrap around his horn before transforming into a solid sheath of crimson stone, suffocating his magic. “Now, stay put.”
Black lightning crackled over Moonflower's body, driving him to a kneel as he gasped again in pain, snarling and shivering under the assault, and Salazar grinned coldly, before he flinched in surprise when a blast of magic hammered into his side, stumbling once before he turned his furious eyes towards Aster. 
The mare was trembling, but her head was high and her eyes glowed with determination all the same, as she whispered: “I won't let you hurt anyone else.”
Salazar smiled thinly at this, and then he flicked his horn towards Moonflower, and the stallion trembled as the lightning crackling over his body intensified. “And like always, Aster, you're nothing but talk. What did you promise me? That you would be my best apprentice, yes. But you were nothing. You were so worthless that I had to kill your parents to motivate you. And even then, you never faced me, never tried to kill me. You just ran away...”
Salazar grinned, as Aster trembled harder, and Moonflower was driven further down under the powerful magic. Cadence's eyes narrowed from where she was hovering, her hooves flexing slowly at her sides as the Swan hissed inside her, told her to act, but she held herself back for now, as Salazar mocked: “So what threat will you say this time? What show will you give me before you turn around and run away? Go on, Aster! Now's your chance for revenge! Aren't you going to take it?”
The stallion laughed loudly, and then he leaned forwards with a cruel grin, his eyes glowing darkly as he hissed: “No, of course you aren't. Because you're too weak, too stupid, too cowardly. And because you know I am better than you, so you had better just run away, Aster. I'll let you run away, if you leave this unicorn for me to devour.”
Aster trembled, taking a step backwards, and then she gritted her teeth and whirled around, sprinting for the doors. Cadence's eyes widened in disbelief as the Swan snorted in contempt, beginning to take over, as Moonflower looked up, but then the stallion grinned weakly even as Salazar laughed loudly and turned towards him, the Hellbound beginning: “You see, she always was-”
Aster's horn snapped down, blasting one of the damaged doors completely off its hinges, and then she picked this up before spinning around with a snarl, electrifying the metal as she lashed it around in an arc with a roar. And Salazar barely had enough time to turn before the electrified door slammed into his face, knocking him flying backwards in a spray of purple blood.
He hit the ground hard, bouncing backwards with a gargle as the metal door buried itself into one of the walls, and Aster stumbled before she snapped her horn forward, the door shooting out like a massive blade as the Hellbound began to get up. It slammed into his gut like a guillotine, knocking him backwards with another spray of blood and spearing him to the ground as he screamed in misery.
He flailed weakly, pinned helplessly as his hind legs spasmed and kicked, his body almost severed in half as Aster approached, trembling violently as she said in a shaking, furious voice: “Ne c'est pas... I am not weak. I am not... your slave! I never was, and you... you can go straight to the diable, Salazar, because I refuse to be your puppet or to be afraid of you any more!”
Salazar gargled on the grated floor, for a moment staring in disbelief and even fear before his eyes filled with hate and fury and humiliation-driven desperation, horn blazing with hellish light as he gathered his dark magic. “Then this game ends now!”
Salazar's hooves slammed into the door stuck inside his body, and it all-but-exploded out of him as crimson and purple tentacles of blood-made-slime lashed up out of the hole in his body, whipping towards Aster. She screamed as they lashed across her, tearing hideous wounds in her body before she gargled in horror as the appendages not only wrapped around her, but his very blood began to flow into her, his eyes glowing with malicious glee as he yanked her down towards him and hissed, as more blood began to bubble up between his teeth, flowed from his eyes, spilled from his nose: “Just like I promised... I'll make you as strong as me!”
His jaws opened as he dragged Aster down towards him to deliver a lethal kiss, but before he could clamp his fangs over Aster's maw, Moonflower leapt forward and drove his horn into Salazar's neck, the Hellbound's eyes widening as the stallion growled: “She can do far better than you.”
There was a pulse, and then the crimson crystal binding Moonflower's horn and most of Salazar's head exploded in a tremendous blast, a spray of crimson slime shooting across the room to smack loudly into the wall. The tentacles binding Aster dissolved immediately, dropping the mare in a sprawl as she coughed, then shoved herself away from Salazar's body with a whimper.
But his corpse was still, already beginning to liquefy into crimson and purple that dripped sluggishly down through the grating into the magma below. Moonflower ignored the corpse, his eyes locked on the crimson slime of blood on the wall as it quivered, before a rippling as a hoof extended carefully out of it and settled carefully down on the grating with a sickening squelch.
A monstrous form pushed itself into being: it was almost shaped like an earth pony, but earless and toothless, its mouth a moaning hole from which dripped foam and purple slobber. Blue and violet veins pulsed through the red slime as its not-hoof stumps slowly squished over the ground, the creature gurgling as it quivered for a few moments before the monstrous thing rasped: “As... ter...”
Aster whimpered, picking herself up as her eyes widened in terror, before she gasped and clutched at herself as red veins began to spread visibly through her body, hugging herself as the monster whispered again: “As... ter... come... to me...”
“Remember what I said! He has no power over you that you don't give him!” Moonflower urged, and Aster looked up with teary, trembling eyes as they flickered with unnatural light, the stallion stepping closer to her before he whispered: “Don't let him consume you. Turn him away.”
Aster clenched her eyes shut, as the crimson slime slowly began to approach, all that was left of Salazar moaning out: “As... ter... you are... mine... no escape...”
Moonflower turned towards the crimson ooze, snapping his horn out, but his telekinetic attack went completely unnoticed, the blood-slime barely rippling as his magic was deflected over it. Aster's eyes opened as Moonflower stepped forwards, as if to protect her, as if to put himself between her and the approaching beast, as if to sacrifice himself, as her parents had sacrificed themselves for her...
Aster's eyes cleared even as the crimson veins pulsed painfully through her body, and then she grasped the stallion in front of her and almost flung him out of the way before she snapped her horn down. And with a tremendous blast of telekinetic energy, the grating beneath the blood-beast exploded, Salazar gasping as he fell backwards through the hole, scrabbling wildly at the edge of the flooring, but with his almost-liquid body, the broken bars and torn metal slipped right through his viscous form.
He fell into the magma below with one last, miserable wail, and Aster clenched her eyes shut as the crimson veins in her body pulsed with red light one last time, before she slowly slumped and relaxed as they faded from bright marks to bruises with the last screams of the Hellbound. 
Moonflower turned towards her with a smile, and then he blushed deeply when Aster hugged him tightly around the neck and buried her head against his chest. The stallion awkwardly patted her on the back, but then smiled faintly as he hugged her back, closing his eyes and whispering: “You did almost as good a job as I would have. Almost.”
Aster laughed faintly, while above, Cadence smiled, before she frowned as she saw something below, emerging from the magma. It was the spirit of an earth pony, she realized, her eyes widening as she saw it heading slowly towards Aster, forelegs stretched out almost desperately, a look of mixed hatred and need on the ghost of Salazar's face.
Cadence prepared herself to move, before she saw something else. Something else that neither Moonflower nor Aster could see nor sense: a shape that whipped past Salazar, and made the ghost look back and forth in terror. The specter leapt upwards, as if desperate to reach Aster-
A black wolf-shape lunged out of thin air, biting savagely into one of the spirit's forelegs and yanking him backwards, as another snarling lupine specter appeared and savagely bit into Salazar's neck. The spirit screamed silently, his eyes bulging as he flailed uselessly at them, even as more of the shadow-beasts appeared, biting into the ghost, tearing through his spiritual energy in great bursts of light and ether-smoke.
Cadence shivered as the pack tore Salazar to shreds in front of her very eyes, before the wolves vanished one after the other. The last, however, paused for a moment to look up at her, and it seemed to nod slowly to the mare before it threw its head back and howled silently. 
Aster flinched at the soundless howl, looking back and forth in surprise, but the wolf was gone by the time she looked up. Moonflower frowned a bit, but Cadence shook herself out and dropped down beside him, saying quickly: “Don't worry about it, either of you. Salazar's... gone.”
“Yes. Yes, he is.” Aster said quietly, even as she looked silently down at one of her hooves: there were still faint red veins throughout her body, and Cadence frowned a little at this, but Aster only smiled faintly as she shook her head slowly before looking up at Moonflower. “Thank you. For... helping me.”
“You did it yourself.” Moonflower replied kindly, giving a small smile before he shook his head quickly and murmured: “I just didn't want to see you... going the same way I did. Forgetting everything except revenge. But perhaps... you mares do have more self-control than us stallions. Most of you, anyway.”
“Shut up, Moonflower.” Cadence smiled all the same, however, and then she shook her head before saying softly: “Rest, you two. I'm sure Freya has everything else under control, so we can take a minute to get our bearings.”
The two nodded, then traded almost shy-smiles with each other. Cadence smiled as well... but all the same, her eyes couldn't help but linger over the veins visibly pulsing through Aster's body, as she wondered silently if perhaps Salazar hadn't left his mark on the mare after all.