Chapter Seventy-Seven: An Encore From The Orchestra
~BlackRoseRaven
Cadence adjusted her armor with a grimace, checking her gear for the thousandth time: Mission Drive, bandoleers of throwing knives, daggers, and of course the stupid MARES gun holstered on her back. She had a bunch of doodads for it in the satchel hooked to her side, but she honestly hoped she wasn't going to need it.
She was standing with her team: Moonflower in heavy, crystal-insulated armor, heavy sidepacks hanging on either side of him, and La Croix chewing anxiously at one hoof on her other side, bracer around one foreleg, his cape hanging loose and hat askew. Neither of those were good signs: La Croix was always fidgeting with his pose, getting the right tilt to his hat, the right shift to his cape. For him to be that nervous...
Her eyes roved across the portal room towards where Thesis was arguing with Hecate. He had no armor on, no visible equipment, just a Mission Drive and his exoskeleton. Hecate was swearing at him about something, but as Cadence watched, she saw the way the Jötnar mare smoothed out her son's mane, fussing over him like he was a child, and she realized she wasn't really yelling at him. She was just being a mother. A crazy mother, sure, but...
Cadence smiled briefly over her shoulder at her father, and Sombra smiled kindly back at her: he looked healthy, strong, like the treatments he was getting here were finally starting to help his condition a little more. His pallor was better, and the purifier didn't sound like it had to strain so hard to keep him healthy, and his breathing beneath the armored vest was regular and strong.
“Eyes front!” snapped Hecate, and Cadence winced and hurriedly looked straight ahead as Empress and prince approached, before the latter squawked when the former shoved him firmly in front of Cadence, between her and the portal ring. “Thesis will be in charge of this operation. You will obey any commands he gives, including the command to retreat if he issues it. Do you understand, Swan?”
“I... yes, ma'am.” Cadence decided not to argue, smiling awkwardly and shrinking a little under Hecate's cold glare. “I promise.”
“Promises are sacred, Cadence. See that you keep it.” Hecate said coldly, and the air itself seemed to shiver before the Jötnar mare turned her eyes towards La Croix.
The two looked at each other for a few moments, and then Hecate leaned down and said quietly, her voice paradoxically chilling and reassuring: “You are an agent of Decretum now. You are an Orphan, abandoned but not alone. You will not embarrass the Clockwork Empire by cowering to a weak, pathetic belly-crawler like Bondye. Do I make myself clear?”
“Oui, Nanny Hecate. I... I will be strong. Strong as a connard like me can be, anyway.” La Croix said awkwardly, smiling weakly before he winced when Hecate grabbed him under the muzzle, forcefully tilting his head up before she gave a small smile.
“You are strong, La Croix. Stronger than you give yourself credit for.” she said softly. “Otherwise I would have discarded you long ago.”
She halted, then added distastefully: “Say hello to your brothers for me, if you happen to see them. Decretum doesn't have any job openings for obnoxious Loa right now, but I'm sure we can work out some sort of alliance once Bondye is dealt with.”
“Uh... oui, oui. You got it.” La Croix said awkwardly, and then he wheezed quietly when Hecate turned away and strode towards the portal ring, before mumbling. “Fou.”
With only a gesture of her hoof, the portal ring in front of them lit up with energy, glowing brightly as Hecate ordered: “Go. You have your mission: investigate the signal we detected and return with any information you can pertaining to Loki's movements.”
Cadence saluted as Thesis nodded, becoming professional as he ordered: “Team 0-0, move forward, single file! Stay alert!”
With that, he led them quickly to the portal, and Cadence grimaced as they passed through the rift, her body shimmering with energy before she wheezed in pain as they staggered out into another world, nearly falling all over one-another as Cadence mumbled: “Holy hell, why did that hurt so much?”
“Magical protection.” Moonflower wheezed, and Cadence looked dumbly back at the stallion, who gave an awkward smile before he straightened and shrugged, saying lamely: “Well, I am the Loremaster.”
“You are not the Loremaster.” Thesis said dryly, and then he shook his head before frowning uncertainly as he looked around the narrow field they had stumbled into: they were surrounded by trees and animals and abundant, chaotic life, and the stallion murmured: “Weird. Why did we end up here?”
“Feels like... where I first landed.” La Croix muttered, as he looked slowly back and forth before he shivered, silently reaching up to clutch at his pendant as he whispered: “Damn, cher. Real hard to be here again.”
Cadence frowned over at the zebra, but the Loa took a steadying breath before he said finally: “This the Everfree. D'you know what that is?”
Thesis nodded, mumbling: “Okay, then uh...” He rose a hoof above his head, then awkwardly spun it before slowly leaning to one side and letting his hoof tip in that direction, as the others only stared at him. “Ponyville and Canterlot are that way.”
“Do I even want to know what you're doing?” Cadence asked Thesis dryly, and Thesis shrugged a bit before he grinned, making the mare sigh. “Fine. I'll take the lead.”
“Can we at least pretend for another minute that I'm actually in charge here? I am the prince and the substitute regent.” Thesis said mildly, before he winced when Cadence grabbed his collar, then he suddenly leaned forwards and kissed her cheek, making her tense up and blush horribly.
Moonflower gave a little giggle, La Croix scowled, and Sombra only smiled slightly before Thesis said quickly: “Alright, marching orders. La Croix, how much contact did you make with the local populace?”
“Enough to make 'em hate me.” La Croix said, and Moonflower chuckled and Cadence smiled before the zebra said sourly: “No, I mean it. C'est haine. Vrai haine.”
Sombra cocked his head curiously as Thesis gestured slowly at the stallion to continue, and La Croix sighed as he played idly with his amulet, mumbling: “Well, I'm sure y'all remember how I was at first. I ain't ever been exactly... diplomatic-like. Sure, Bondye made me a messenger, but mostly, I think, 'cause he was hopin' someone would chop off my tête.”
Cadence grimaced a bit, and Moonflower asked uncertainly: “Should we try and avoid contact, then? I mean... those Ponyville ponies are always so forgiving, though!”
“There ain't no forgiveness for some things.” La Croix said quietly as he lowered his head, and Cadence frowned before the Loa shook himself, then mumbled: “I'll take the lead. 'Sonly right that I try and atone for what I done.”
The zebra shook himself out, then glanced up as Thesis grasped his shoulder, smiling as he said quietly: “It's not always possible to earn redemption. But it's always, always possible to stop digging the hole deeper. And to at least start the climb.”
For a few moments, La Croix looked at the stallion, and then he smiled a little before he murmured: “We already got us a stallion who says wise things, y'know. Why don't you go back to kissin' up your cher? Seems to be a better use of your time.”
Thesis snorted, then gently waved La Croix onward, turning to follow as the Loa began to stride through the trees. The others followed after a moment, Cadence sighing and shaking her head as Sombra strode calmly at the back and Moonflower hurried up beside her, asking uncertainly: “Shouldn't we be... I don't know, we're always in formation, why aren't we in formation now? What if they have pitchforks and torches and-”
“Listen to you, y'big brave ours. They ain't gonna chase the rest of y'all out of town, they'll probably just string me up to the nearest tree.” La Croix grumbled, and Cadence rolled her eyes.
“Okay, both of you, shut up. Moonflower, grow some balls. La Croix, stop being miserable. Nothing bad is going to happen, and us figuring out what's going on is more important than our personal problems.” Cadence said firmly, and there were grumbles from the group, but both zebra and unicorn grudgingly nodded before the mare asked: “Thesis, can you tell us again why we're out here?”
Thesis nodded, explaining: “Seneschal detected a distortion in this world that's unusual for a Class A Midgard. There shouldn't be any major disturbances here that aren't caused by outside forces. Just the usual blips and twitches. But there was a huge spike in our energy readings: it could be connected to Loki's threats. Unfortunately, these spikes have been detected across dozens of worlds, so it could also have nothing to do with Loki, it could be a freak occurrence, or...”
“Something even worse.” Cadence muttered, shaking her head briefly before she questioned: “And it was triangulated to here, right?”
“Vaguely. Somewhere in the Canterlot region, definitely.” Thesis nodded, muttering: “Which is why it's weird we ended up here. The portal should have opened into open field. Not the Everfree beyond Ponyville.”
Cadence frowned, but Thesis shook his head, saying quietly: “It's not proof of anything. And if Loki did intercept us, I doubt he'd just drop us in the woods. More likely, he'd drop the portal into the Void. That's why Mom's added the extra layers of magic protection to the ring.”
“See? I was right!” Moonflower declared triumphantly, and Cadence didn't know whether to smile or hit him: it was good to see the old Moonflower rear his cocky head, but now probably wasn't the best time for it. “All of you should bow before my-”
“Taisse-toi, y'great idjit.” grumbled La Croix, and Moonflower huffed loudly before the zebra muttered: “We all felt it. I just hope that we ain't gonna be the ones to draw Loki's attention here... he be fou, but real smart, too. What if he was just sendin' out all those signals to try and find worlds we care about, so he could... I dunno, trace where we go?”
“Well, if we don't find anything, we'll be leaving here without much fanfare. And if everyone really does hate you here, then he's probably not going to think this is a super important world for him to investigate. So maybe you being an asshole might have saved a few lives.” Thesis reasoned, and La Croix snorted in amusement, giving the faintest of smiles.
“Bet she'd say the same thing.” he murmured, then he shook his head before he scowled as he stepped onto a natural path through the trees, saying quietly: “I remember this. I remember it so damn well. Scary, bein' back here. Worse than l'enfer.”
“Are you ever going to tell us what happened, La Croix, or are you just going to bottle it up forever?” asked Moonflower with surprisingly bluntness, and Cadence stared at him as even Sombra cocked an eyebrow, before the black unicorn smiled and leaned forwards even as the Loa glared at him. “Because we are your friends. But you're even worse than me, you know. But how could I stop myself from telling everyone how incredible and talented I am, or spreading the evils of homosexuality with my boundless flair?”
Moonflower winked, and La Croix sighed before he mumbled: “All y'are is an idiot.”
“Yes, well. Maybe. But I'm an idiot who cares about you. And who's been learning a thing or two about friendship and relationships.” Moonflower paused, then he suddenly strode forwards, and La Croix leaned uncomfortably back before the unicorn said firmly: “I'm going to hug you now.”
“Don't y'dare touch-” Before La Croix could escape, Moonflower firmly hugged the zebra, making him wheeze as he grabbed uselessly at the unicorn, wincing as his face was painfully mashed against the armored chest of the larger stallion. “This be awkward. Let go of me, you pédé.”
“Shut up you arrogant little stripehorse, I am hugging you.” Moonflower grumbled as he only squeezed the zebra harder, making La Croix wheeze until Cadence sighed and strode up to the two, firmly yanking them apart.
“Alright, if you're both done being fillies, we'll figure this out as we go. It's been a long time since you've been here, La Croix. Hopefully they've forgotten you by now.” Cadence paused, then she scowled over at Moonflower, who smiled lamely. “You stop helping.”
“I am... trying to foster unity!” Moonflower argued, then he asked lamely: “Do you need a hug?”
“I do not need a hug. And do not look at my Daddy or Thesis, or I'll rip your forelegs off and beat you with them like a drum.” Cadence said sourly, and Moonflower shrank away before she sighed and added: “Let's just see if we can get to Ponyville without anyone dying. That would be a great start.”
La Croix nodded, and Moonflower huffed even as he fell back a bit, grumbling: “Well, at least now no one can say I didn't try.”
Cadence only gave Moonflower a wry smile, then she gestured at La Croix, who smoothed himself out before he started forwards. But he did seem a little more focused now, a little less introspective, and like he was ready to face whatever was waiting for them ahead.
That lasted until they reached the edge of the Everfree Forest: after his first step towards the village in the distance, the Loa abruptly stopped on the path, shivering a little before he took a breath and reached up to grasp his pendant, murmuring: “I know... I can't wheedle out of this, but... d'you think I could have a moment? Just to gather myself. It's... it's estrange, bein' here.”
Cadence was tempted to say no, because she knew that a moment could easily become an hour, and that it would likely only make the suspense worse. But before she could say anything, Thesis gently suggested: “Just a minute sounds fine, right?”
The mare grumbled a little, but then she gave a hesitant nod, sighing a bit and muttering: “Fine. But only a minute.”
“Only a minute.” Thesis agreed, as he looked towards Ponyville. La Croix gave the Replicant an awkward smile, but he only shrugged before he murmured: “It's hard for me, too. Every Ponyville is hard, even though all of them are so different from the one I wronged. Some are bigger. Some are smaller. Many of them, though, are filled with the same ponies... and it hurts to see those people. People I upset, people I hurt. But I know I can't avoid going back there. That more people will be hurt if I don't. Sometimes... you just have to go where the job takes you.”
“Fantastique.” grumbled La Croix, and then he scowled out at the town, muttering: “It ain't the place. It ain't the ponies. It... was...”
“Yeah. I know.” Thesis smiled over at him, then he asked: “What would she want you to do?”
La Croix was silent for a few moments, and then he sighed tiredly before he straightened and squared his shoulders, reaching up to touch his amulet before he said quietly: “All o' you... remember that this... this be my bed. So I'm gonna lie in it.”
“I don't see a bed.” Moonflower said dumbly, and La Croix rolled his eyes before he started forwards as Cadence shook her head and Sombra smiled slightly. “What? What stupid stripehorse magic are you working now?”
“Stop being so racist, you... pointy-face.” Thesis said as he lightly slapped Moonflower on the back, and the unicorn looked at him dumbly before Thesis shrugged. “Hey, there's no decent racist words for unicorn.”
“There are quite a few, and I'll thank you not to say them.” Moonflower replied with a disdainful sniff, and Thesis smiled in amusement before the unicorn suddenly asked nervously: “Do you... do you think your mother likes me?”
Thesis cocked an eyebrow at Moonflower, and Moonflower shifted awkwardly before he rambled: “It's just that... I don't know, if she doesn't approve of me, I don't want-”
“Now don't even start that.” Thesis interrupted pointedly, leaning towards the stallion. “Your relationship is with my brother, not his family. I mean, yes, it's important that you get along with Mom as best as possible, but uh... well... you know my Mom. She's tough on everyone.”
“Moonflower, stop looking for excuses to dump Thorn.” Cadence said over her shoulder, and Moonflower squawked loudly at this, looking aghast and incensed all at once.
“I would never dump him! I just... I mean... it's... complicated.” Moonflower mumbled, dropping his head sulkily. “And... and besides, as important as I am, it's natural for you all to forget that this is about La Croix, not me. We should all be focusing on him and all his many problems.”
“Gee. Merci beaucoup, rein de la nuit.” La Croix said ironically as they approached the outskirts of the village, before the Loa rose his head and muttered: “Rester fort, rester fort...”
As they walked into the town, they had quite a few eyes focus on them: there were the usual surprised gazes at their gear and equipment – and the general strangeness of these ponies, of course – but Cadence noted that a few eyes certainly were focusing on La Croix: maybe he hadn't been exaggerating about whatever had happened here after all.
La Croix led them straight to the center of the village, where a massive, ancient tree stood: the library, Cadence recalled, and she grimaced a bit as La Croix knocked firmly twice on the door, asking uncertainly: “Are you sure that-”
She was cut off as the door was almost flung open, a purple pony who Cadence recognized all too well emerging, her eyes wide with amazement as she blurted: “It's you! The zebra priest!”
“I ain't no zebra priest.” La Croix said crankily, and Twilight Sparkle smiled lamely, lowering her head slightly before the stallion sighed a little and asked grumpily: “You been playin' 'round with that bad mojo again?”
“No, no! No, I promise.” Twilight replied earnestly, shaking her head as she blushed deeper, before she hesitantly leaned to the side, staring at La Croix's friends even as she continued: “We've been very careful about that, ever since uh... what happened. As a matter of fact, we even started building a special machine that can detect that level of resonance and uh... um, do you and your friends want to come in?”
Twilight smiled awkwardly, and La Croix glanced moodily over his shoulder, although Cadence could see what he was really looking for: advice. The ivory mare sighed as she began to step forwards, before she winced in surprise when Thesis firmly bumped both her and La Croix out of the way, smiling as he said politely: “Hello, Twilight Sparkle, my name is Thesis, and I am the Prince of Decretum, a world tasked with protecting other worlds from harm. I have a few questions for you.”
“Oh, uh, well then, it's uh.... nice to meet you!” Twilight rambled, looking up at Thesis with a faint blush in her cheeks, her eyes widening in amazement. Cadence had to fight not to roll her eyes before Twilight stumbled back into the library, calling: “Come in, come in! I'll uh, I don't have much but I'll pen a letter to Princess Celestia right away and uh... I'll... make yourselves at home!”
Thesis smiled slightly, then winced when both La Croix and Cadence smacked him across the head at the same time, the Replicant muttering: “Well. That's what I get for being nice.”
Then, without glancing back, he easily shouldered the two into either side of the door before striding quickly through, smiling again when Twilight looked up at the double thump. “Don't worry, we're used to roughing it. Your hospitality is more than enough.”
Twilight smiled awkwardly in response as the others strode into the library, before she said awkwardly as she turned towards a desk: “I uh... just need to send this letter to Princess Celestia.”
“Yep.” Thesis said amiably, obviously pretending not to notice the many tells that Twilight wasn't just sending a friendly letter. Cadence was torn between feeling less generous and softening at the sight of the young purple mare, studying her silently. She'd seen so many Twilights with wings now that it almost made her forget the old Twilight, the one she had foal-sat, the unicorn who had...
She smiled faintly, and Twilight paused in writing her letter, studying her intently. Cadence half-turned away as she cleared her throat, but thankfully, La Croix caught Twilight's attention, asking: “So what has this 'machine' of yours picked up? Ain't that I'm against machines or nothin', but...”
“We've been very careful.” Twilight emphasized, smiling awkwardly across at La Croix, and Cadence cocked an eyebrow at this, curious: this wasn't exactly the treatment she had expected after what little La Croix had told them.
La Croix only looked mildly at the mare for a few moments, and then he said blandly: “Y'said that last time. Y'know, right before the demons marched in.”
“That... that was a mistake!” Twilight blushed deeply, shaking her head vehemently before she continued quickly: “This time, it's all very safe. Like I said, we're just detecting signals. We detected a few strange ones already, as a matter of fact, with nothing bad happening: we've been very careful to insulate the machine properly so that it doesn't even create a counter-resonance that could possibly attract...”
Twilight halted, then she cleared her throat before she turned back towards her letter, mumbling: “Just... I'll just be a moment longer.”
“Take your time.” Thesis said politely, and then he glanced over at La Croix and added pointedly: “Maybe in the meantime you can fill us in.”
La Croix grumbled a little, but then he nodded and explained: “The last thing I did workin' for the fou cocodril was to come here, check out some disturbance. Was all just a setup, of course. Bondye wanted me dead and gone, and thought he had a real easy way to do it.
“With uh... a little bit of help from uh... a Vodunsi...”
“Zecora.” Twilight said softly, and La Croix looked shamefully away as he reached up and tilted his hat down, and the purple mare smiled faintly as she straightened and murmured: “It's not your fault. The princesses told me what she did for you-”
“She shouldn't've done it. She shouldn't've.” La Croix grumbled, looking at the ground as he reached up and slowly toyed with his pendant. “Should be her here, not me...”
Twilight gazed at him silently, then she sighed before setting down the letter and asking quietly: “Can I get you some tea?”
“I... oui, suppose we could use that.” La Croix agreed after a moment with an awkward smile, and then he shook himself as Twilight turned and headed towards the rear of the library, abandoning the letter on the desk. For a moment, La Croix watched her go, and then he sighed as he turned back towards the others, saying quietly: “Bondye stripped me of my powers. Zecora gave 'em back. But... you gotta make a trade, see, one life for another. She gave her life up for me. Stupid, dumb, fou chaoui...”
Cadence smiled faintly, and Moonflower shifted a bit before he said awkwardly: “Well... I... am very glad she did what she did.”
La Croix looked sourly at Moonflower, before Sombra said gently: “And if you traded places with her, you would deprive her of you, and forever at that. For the Loa are not reborn as the zebra who rest in Darkwater, are they?”
La Croix grumbled a bit, blushing ever so slightly as he mumbled: “You got a real silver tongue on you, Papa Sérénité. But that silver be sharp, too.”
“I don't mean to be cruel, La Croix. I only know that sometimes, we can all be selfish when it comes to loss.” Sombra said gently, and La Croix nodded awkwardly as he lowered his head, before Sombra glanced up with a smile as a small purple dragon nervously strode into the room, holding a tray of small treats. “Hello, piccolo.”
“Uh. Spike, actually.” the dragon said lamely, smiling awkwardly, and Cadence couldn't help but smile slightly as she studied him: adolescent, maybe just starting towards his teenage dragon years. He looked at them with a mix of awe and nervousness as he headed towards a small table, setting down the tray before he asked: “So uh... who wants tea?”
Thesis rose a hoof, and Sombra smiled as he did as well. Moonflower hurriedly waved his own hoof, but La Croix only grunted, shaking his head and saying moodily: “We be out of your hair soon, don't you worry 'bout that.”
“I don't have hair.” Spike said lamely, and Cadence was strangely reminded of Moonflower before the little dragon clapped his claws together and spun around, blurting as he hurried away: “That's okay! It's no problem!”
Cadence only had a moment to wonder why the dragon was running away so fast before the scent of something burning caught her nostrils, and La Croix sighed tiredly as he walked over to the table, moodily picking up one of the cookies off the tray as he muttered: “Stupid ouaouarons. Loki be punchin' way down if he be willing to threaten these types...”
He looked towards the archway Spike had vanished through, and Cadence frowned before she asked: “What do you mean? I didn't see or sense anything wrong.”
But La Croix shook his head, and Moonflower frowned a bit before he rose his own slightly as Sombra said quietly: “It is faint, but it is there.”
Cadence frowned, raising her horn, but she couldn't feel it through the spire. Then again, her stupid, short horn felt less receptive to everything these days, and the ivory mare scowled before the Swan said softly: You have greater tools at your disposal than simply feeling a sensation with your horn.
The mare mumbled a bit under her breath, and then she closed her eyes before she shivered as that uncomfortable but now so-familiar feeling washed through her, the mare raising her head as her eyes opened, and she saw.
She only needed a few seconds, eyes flicking back and forth before she clenched them shut and shook her head vehemently. Thesis tilted his head towards her, and Cadence held up a hoof as she felt a faint feeling of lightheadedness run through her: there had been so much light and life here in Ponyville, and so many conflicting auras and colors and... “Just need a minute.”
“Don't overstrain yourself, mi amore.” Sombra cautioned gently, and Cadence smiled a bit as she nodded to her father, rubbing slowly at her eyes.
“I'm okay. It's not like out in the ocean. There was just... I didn't expect so much life, you know? The more souls and energy present, the more strain it puts on my eyes because I can't... control it completely yet.” Cadence mumbled, rubbing slowly at her face before she blinked a few times, then she looked over at La Croix and said quietly: “I saw it, though. Near Canterlot, there's some sort of pulse. I don't know what it is, but I do know it's a trap.”
“Since when we ever walked away from a trap, Cygne?” La Croix asked with bitter amusement, and Cadence couldn't help but smile. “Oui. We gotta check it out, I know. And there's... another place I wanna go, too. But that can wait until after we find out what's going on out there.”
“We should visit Canterlot, too.” Thesis said mildly, although Cadence immediately recognized he wasn't just saying that for their benefit: he was saying it because Twilight was listening in from the hallway, where she was badly hiding. “I'd like to meet with the princesses. Friendship is magic, right?”
Cadence rolled her eyes, but then she sighed and muttered: “I guess Hecate did say we should try and establish alliances where possible. And if Loki or the Voidborn show up here after we leave, it'd be good to have someone who can warn us.”
Thesis nodded, then he smiled as Twilight emerged, the mare suggesting: “You know, we could head to Canterlot at any time you want: Princess Celestia is already expecting you.”
“Even though you haven't sent your letter yet?” Thesis noted with a smile, and Twilight blushed as she looked awkwardly towards the desk, but the stallion only grinned wryly and shook his head. “Don't worry about it. We know we're not exactly the uh... most normal of people. And La Croix was saying that he had some trouble here before.”
“Well, he made a pretty bad impression on Ponyville. But I guess I can understand why.” Twilight smiled a little before she shook her head and added: “My brother's still mad about what happened, though.”
“Oh. Great. Monsieur Armée.” La Croix mumbled, and then he shook his head quickly before he grimaced a little, nervously rubbing at the side of his neck. “You got a store of ingredients 'round here, like the kind used for alchemy? I need to make some quick charms.”
“Uh... yeah. Spike, do you think you can show La Croix where the magical ingredients are?” Twilight asked, and Spike looked almost relieved as he emerged from the back hall, looking at La Croix with a smile: as strange as the zebra was, after all, he was clearly far less intimidating than the half-mechanical ponies and... whatever the hell she was now, Cadence thought moodily.
“Yeah! Uh, this way, Mr. Zebra, sir. I'll show you where it is. I'm Twilight's number one assistant, you know!” Spike said proudly, earning a dry smile from La Croix.
“Oui. I bet y'are. And this be mine.” La Croix smacked Moonflower on the back, the unicorn looking dumbly up before the Loa strode towards the dragon, saying wryly: “But maybe your fine claws will do a little better than some clumsy unicorn magique, eh?”
Spike smiled at this as he led the zebra out of the room, and Twilight laughed a little before she awkwardly turned her eyes back towards the others. Thesis had a smile on his face, and he was keeping himself relaxed, while Sombra had wandered over to investigate the shelves of books with interest. Books, after all, were a rare commodity in Decretum: Cadence was sure her father had read and reread the same few books in their meager collection a thousand times over.
She felt Twilight's eyes on her again, and Cadence did her best to try and look relaxed, knowing that in spite of everything she probably came across as the most threatening person here. Even in his huge armor, after all, Moonflower wasn't exactly- “Hey! I'm not his assistant!”
All eyes slowly turned towards the stallion, and Moonflower blushed deeply after a moment, lowering his head slightly before he mumbled defensively: “Well, I... I am not. I am the... um... I am something. I am something.”
Moonflower nodded firmly a few times, and Twilight blinked slowly before Thesis said mildly: “Don't worry. We're not normally this bad. We're just all a little stressed right now. I don't think I've introduced the rest of my team here-”
“My team.” Cadence said firmly, and Thesis held up a hoof before the violet mare turned her eyes towards Twilight, continuing: “My name is... Cygne. I'm the leader of Team 0-0. This is Sombra, my father, and Moonflower. It's nice to meet you.”
“It's nice to meet you, too. Sombra, though...” Twilight looked almost uncertainly towards the stallion, and Cadence cursed herself: it had been so long ago now and she never thought about it, but... “Are you uh... well, our research has led us to understand there are different variations of ponies throughout different worlds...”
“Mi perdoni, I don't mean to worry you. I, too, was unwell for a time, but I am glad to say that since arriving in Decretum, I have been better.” Sombra bowed his head politely, giving a kind smile to Twilight, who tilted her head uncertainly. “The machine I wear keeps my blood clean of poison, and my mind clear. I will gladly submit to any tests or precautions you feel need to be done, however, piccola. We are not here to cause trouble.”
“We're here to deal with trouble.” Cadence said, grimacing a bit as she rolled a foreleg slowly, and Twilight shifted uncomfortably before the ivory mare added: “It would help if you could tell us what La Croix was talking about with you before. Did you build a portal?”
“Well, yes. We didn't mean to, I thought originally we were just building a.. a window that would be able to see into other worlds. That way we could safely learn about them without interfering with them.” Twilight explained with a shake of her head, giving an awkward smile. “But instead it ended up being a portal to... well... Hell.”
“That's a bit of a miscalculation.” Cadence said dryly, and Twilight blushed a bit before Thesis firmly nudged the ivory mare, making her scowl a little before she probed further: “La Croix stopped it?”
“Well, yes and no. I wasn't there for all of it, but the Princesses told me that... something worse came through a rift after La Croix destroyed the portal, something came after La Croix, some kind of monster. But La Croix managed to call someone else in, they told me she was a goddess. That she saved everyone.” Twilight explained with a small smile, and Cadence traded a curious look with Thesis: there was only one goddess they knew of who had the power to stop 'monsters.' But why would Hel of all people step in for La Croix?
After a moment, Thesis asked curiously: “Twilight, how much do you know about other worlds? I mean, you seem to know at least a little. And as much as we might have startled you, you don't seem surprised, so to speak.”
“Well... we did pick up readings.” Twilight confessed, smiling awkwardly as she shifted a little before admitting: “And the Princesses will have already sent out our new uh... Special Investigation Team.”
“SIT.” Thesis said mildly, and Twilight gestured awkwardly at the table, which only made Thesis grin a bit before he asked: “Should we expect a visit from these ponies soon?”
“Oh, uh... well. Yes.” Twilight answered with a small smile, before she blurted enthusiastically: “But you get to be our first real field test for the Special Investigation Team! The Special Investigation Team hasn't had anything to investigate yet... I mean, apart from that other pulse, but I mean, they didn't find anything there, so we couldn't really test them but uh... I mean...”
Twilight blushed, but Thesis only waved it off and Sombra was now reading a book, while Moonflower seemed lost in his own world. Which, as usual, left Cadence to be the grouchy one, rolling her eyes before she asked bluntly: “Should we just go to speak with your princesses? Because I have the feeling you're not really cooperating with us, Twilight, and I don't have the time or patience to deal with shaking the information out of you.”
Twilight's eyes slowly widened as Cadence kept her scowl on, although even the Swan seemed surprised by her behavior. Then the ivory mare twitched when Thesis leaned over and kissed her cheek, a faint red blush rising in her cheeks as he said proudly: “Cygne is my marefriend.”
“Uh... huh.” Twilight said slowly, shifting slowly and now looking confused more than anything else.
“Yep! She's just cranky, that's all. Takes her job very seriously. And it does make our job harder when it seems like you're withholding information. But if you would prefer us to talk to someone like Princess Celestia, you just have to say so.” Thesis said kindly, before he added mildly, as he gestured his head towards the door: “Also, your friends keep peeking in the window, so you can just let them in if you want.”
Twilight smiled lamely at this, but before she could answer, a bright pink pony seemed to pop out of nowhere, saying cheerfully: “In that case, I'll go get the door!”
Cadence sighed tiredly as Moonflower squeaked and Thesis only cocked an eyebrow, before he smiled in amusement as the pink pony rushed to the door and yanked it open, a cluster of other ponies immediately falling into the room and looking with embarrassment up at Twilight before the pink pony said happily: “They seem nice, guys!”
Cadence scowled flatly, but Thesis took everything in stride, pointing out each pony in turn as he said: “Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and... Applejack, on the bottom there. It's nice to meet all of you. We've heard a lot about each of you.”
Pinkie Pie brightened at this, and Rainbow puffed her chest out a little as she stood up on top of the pile of ponies, saying easily: “Yeah, I am pretty awe-”
“Get off me right this moment! This is unconscionable!” Rarity wailed, and Rainbow Dash winced as she hopped off the pile of ponies, Rarity huffing as she quickly crawled up to her hooves, brushing herself off before she smiled when Applejack held up a hoof, the gorgeous unicorn only gesturing absently at her: “Oh, it's alright, dear, I'm already up.”
“Help me up, you idjit.” Applejack grumbled, and Rarity blushed before she hurriedly grasped the mare's foreleg and helped her up.
Fluttershy meekly looked at the other ponies from where she was almost laying on her stomach, gazing through her mane at them, and Pinkie Pie was only smiling happily, studying the group of strange ponies before she bounced up in front of Moonflower and greeted: “Hi there!”
Moonflower shrank back a bit, before Cadence winced as Rarity suddenly slid in front of her, saying kindly: “Well, you are an utterly gorgeous mare, if you don't mind me saying so, dear!”
Cadence reared back slightly, but thankfully, Thesis took control of the situation, cutting in: “When should we expect to meet your uh... investigators?”
“Oh, well, I guess maybe a few minutes from now...” Twilight halted, then she blushed before spinning around and mumbling: “Oh, gosh, I forgot the tea, I'll be right back.”
“She actually is going to get tea this time, I bet.” Pinkie said positively, as the other ponies awkwardly shuffled themselves around. Rarity was still staring rapturously at Cadence, while Rainbow was slowly edging towards Thesis and Applejack was brushing herself off, frowning a bit at the strange ponies of Decretum. “Don't hold it against her, huh? She's a real good pony, just a little... absent minded!”
“You're one to talk.” grumbled Rainbow, and then the mare blurted out: “Your thing is really cool!”
“It keeps me alive. So yes. It is really cool.” Thesis said blandly as he shifted a bit to show off his exoskeleton, before he said with a pride that made Cadence stare: “I got my back broken. Fighting off like a hundred thousand guys at once.”
“That's so cool!” Rainbow exclaimed, and then she cleared her throat when the others stared at her before adding: “I mean, if it's true. I don't know that it is. I could totally do it. Without breaking my back, too! Uh. No offense.”
Thesis only shrugged, while Fluttershy nervously shifted around the edge of the group before she squeaked a little when Sombra stepped over to her with a smile. He bowed his head, then asked softly: “Is it springtime?”
Fluttershy meekly whimpered a little, but the stallion only nodded before he said: “Springtime is my favorite season. The animals are emerging, new life is spreading. The sun warms the earth again. I've heard that the ponies have much to do with the changing of the seasons in these worlds, and I would love to know more.”
Fluttershy looked up from behind her mane, and Sombra smiled at her kindly, reaching up to gently brush her mane back as he said softly: “There's no need to hide your face, piccola. We are all friends here.”
The Pegasus shifted in embarrassment, lowering her head but raising her eyes a little, and Sombra asked her kindly: “Do you know how many species of animal are nearby?”
“Oh, yes. I take care of them. Almost all of them. I wish I could do more.” Fluttershy replied finally, looking almost apprehensively up. “Why?”
“I am curious about a certain animal, a bear made of stars and dust. Are they present?” he asked, and Fluttershy nervously bit her lip.
“Y-Yes, but they're very dangerous...” she started slowly, but Sombra only smiled kindly at her.
“Only if you mean them harm, and I mean them none. Perhaps you could tell me where they den. Once our business here is concluded, of course. I fear there are other things that preclude a kindness.” Sombra said softly, and Fluttershy nodded hesitantly. “Of course, our responsibilities must always come first, and my friends and I are always on the move. But still, I am sure that you can tell me plenty, and to learn means to never leave empty-hooved.”
Meanwhile, Twilight had returned with the tea and was quickly setting it over the table, asking almost anxiously: “Are the cookies okay? I mean, I'm sorry, I didn't really think or... I guess I just get so caught up with things sometimes it leads me to being a little silly.”
“We all have moments like that.” Thesis said amiably, smiling reassuringly to the mare before he approached the table and picked up one of the cups. He paused for a moment, then glanced back over his shoulder at Cadence and added: “Don't kill anyone, okay?”
Cadence frowned, before there were several flashes of light before a pair of ponies appeared in bright flares of magic, both of the mares in tight, neat black suits and wearing sunglasses, shouting over one another so Cadence couldn't even make out what the blue and rose colored ponies were saying.
Moonflower squeaked as he fell back on his rump, and Twilight winced before she started to shout almost desperately as well, while Thesis simply continued to sip at his tea thoughtfully. Pinkie began to yell for no apparent reason, only delighting in the noise and chaos, and the other ponies winced or swore or tried to lean away.
Cadence put up with it for as long as she could: this was ultimately only a few seconds, before she stormed forwards and seized into the silvery and purple scalps of the two mares before she firmly slammed their heads together, making both unicorns yelp, then glare furiously at the mare.
Cadence glared back, before the blue mare tossed her silver-blue mane – and accidentally flung her loose sunglasses free – and said haughtily: “Extraterrestrials, the Great and Powerful Trixie hereby orders you to cease and desist!”
“I am Starlight Glimmer and, as one of the Special Investigators appointed by the Princesses themselves, I hereby order-” the mare was halted by Cadence seizing her by the horn, making her eyes widen in shock before she added awkwardly: “Princess T-Twilight Sparkle, perhaps uh, you could...”
“Cadence, drop them. Drop them.” Thesis said pointedly, leaning over the table, and Cadence scowled horribly before the Swan suddenly came to life in her body as she felt Trixie channeling magic.
And a moment later, Trixie and Starlight were both on the ground beneath her, choking loudly beneath her hooves as Cadence's horn thrummed with malevolent white energy, her eyes looking coldly from one to the other as she said softly: “Brittle. You should beware: you may be strong in your own realm, but you are nothing compared to the horrors we have faced.”
“Danzsöngr, that is enough. Please let them up.” Thesis said quietly but firmly, and for a moment, the Swan only looked at him before she bowed her head politely, then receded.
Cadence shook her head briefly, then she stepped back off the two mares, leaving them wheezing weakly on the ground as Twilight grimaced. But before anyone could speak, La Croix broke the awkward tension by explaining mildly as he emerged from the back hall: “You best be careful. That Cygne, she got the diable in her. Well, even worse than a diable or a cocodril.”
“You! We were briefed about you!” blurted Trixie, who scrambled quickly up to her hooves, then scuttled quickly away from Cadence, looking at her warily when the ivory mare only scowled at her. “Trixie uh... Trixie, and to a lesser extent, Starlight Glimmer, demand that you-”
“To a greater extent, actually, as one mare here has always directly served the princesses, while the other has always been a showmare.” Starlight interrupted, and the two glared at each other for a moment before Trixie huffed and produced another set of sunglasses from inside her vest, shoving them into place over her muzzle.
“Yes, Trixie is sure you were only ever serving in the best interests of the princesses when you were stealing cutie marks and attempting to defeat Twilight Sparkle. Although you certainly served-”
Twilight cleared her throat pointedly, and both Trixie and Starlight grumbled and dropped their heads before the purple mare said awkwardly: “Uh... sorry about that. But if you could... cooperate, I'd really appreciate that. They're... good ponies. Very talented, very capable, the very best. Trixie is just loud, but Starlight even served as my student for a while...”
“And working together, we stopped Tirek!” Trixie boasted, earning a curious look from Thesis as Moonflower snorted in amusement. “Do not undervalue the Great and Powerful-”
“The Mighty and Limitless Morpheus, God of Darkness and King of All Evil, has no fear of you, for you are neither as 'Great' nor as 'Powerful' as he is in but his smallest hoof!” Moonflower burst out suddenly, and Cadence sighed tiredly as La Croix dropped a face in one hoof, before the unicorn suddenly sat back with a loud clank on his armored rump as he grumbled: “Also, Tirek was never anything but a brute. Not even I was locked up in Tartarus for as long as he was.”
Many of the ponies were staring now, but Thesis took smoothly over by saying gently: “It would probably be best if we went with your Special Investigators straight to Canterlot. I appreciate your company, but-”
“Wait.” La Croix said softly, holding up a hoof, and then he grimaced a bit before muttering: “We ain't goin' nowhere.”
There were a few exclamations at this, but all fell silent when the Loa held up a strange bauble in one hoof that was now glowing eerily, and Thesis asked immediately: “What is it?”
“Nzambi, and maybe even worse. We got maybe ten minutes afore everything goes bad.” La Croix said, and the ponies immediately started to talk all over each other, almost going into a panic.
Thesis frowned, before he looked quickly over at Cadence, and the mare grimaced a bit before she closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt the Swan grasp her, guide her, helped her to peek through the Astra and not be overwhelmed by the amount of life and energy around her.
She gritted her teeth, feeling a throbbing in her head as her eyes darted back and forth, before she muttered: “Evil spirits. Nzambi. Something worse. It's too dark for me to see it properly. It's trying to look back at me through the Astra, but it doesn't understand...”
“What? That ain't possible. Th'Astra ain't somethin' we allowed to manipulate.” La Croix said anxiously, before he asked quickly: “What about those other cocodrils, the ones from le zéro?”
“I didn't see any Voidborn. But that might not mean anything, that... miasma those evil ponies are giving off and the life energy in town...” Cadence's eyes fluttered open as she rubbed at her head with a scowl, muttering: “Hurts like hell.”
“Trixie can scry, too! She just doesn't want to!” Trixie blurted, before she winced when Starlit Glimmer hammered her firmly on the head.
“Our job is to investigate any and all visitors from other worlds and to deal with them as we see fit.” Starlight Glimmer said firmly, awkwardly smiling over at Twilight, who nodded encouragingly. “Therefore, we should-”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not even need any of your help to defeat these... hooligans!” Trixie declared, before she paused and added with an awkward look at Cadence: “Although she will allow you to help.”
Before Cadence could consider seeing whether or not she could pop Trixie's head off like a cork, Thesis instructed: “First priority is getting all the civilians to safety. Are the library and city hall large enough to hold all the residents?”
“It's uh, become a pretty regular thing here in Ponyville. Um, 'safety drills,' I mean.” Twilight said with a hint of embarrassment, glancing away as she cleared her throat, then she straightened and clapped her hooves, exclaiming: “Okay, girls! You know what to do, let's follow standard procedure and evacuate the town!”
“Yay! Evacuation party!” Pinkie cried out cheerfully, while Twilight's other friends grumbled before turning and heading out of the library as Thesis cocked an eyebrow, then turned a mild look towards Twilight Sparkle.
The mare only smiled lamely at him, shrugging a bit before she explained awkwardly: “We uh... Ponyville is kind of a magnet for trouble. I guess... I'm kind of a magnet for trouble.”
“Oh, don't say that, Twilight! Just because problems only started in Ponyville after you showed up, and just because it seems like a lot of the bad guys who come here are solely after you, doesn't mean you're a trouble magnet or anything!” Spike said encouragingly.
Twilight half-forced a smile before Thesis asked: “What about the town's defenses? Do you have a militia, or any Royal Guard present?”
Twilight stared blankly at Thesis for a few moments, which was enough to answer the Replicant's questions, and he shrugged before he put aside his teacup and said wryly: “Well, guess it would have been boring if it had been easy, anyway. La Croix, I need you to do whatever it takes to protect those townsponies. Moonflower, help him out, you should have some kind of magic-”
“Trixie and possibly Starlight Glimmer can help!” Trixie interrupted, her horn glowing as she said proudly: “As part of her duties, Trixie has mastered a great number of protective wards, charms, spells, and-”
“We can help.” Starlight cut off grouchily, glaring over at Trixie, and Trixie huffed loudly before the mare added nervously: “Although... I don't know if our spells will be effective...”
“They don't have to be perfect, they just have to be enough to slow down anything that might get through. You can do it.” Thesis said, and Cadence couldn't help but smile a little: he really was a good leader. A better leader than she was, really: his confidence was infectious. “Cadence, I need you to carry a message out to this horde. Let's find out if Bondye or Loki is pulling the strings here.”
“Are... are they super villains? Are we being attacked by super villains?” Spike asked in a loud whisper, but Thesis only shrugged, making both Trixie and Starlight go from glaring at Spike to staring at the Replicant.
“I guess you could almost say that. I mean, they are pretty scary people.” Thesis said with a shrug, and Cadence sighed before the stallion reasoned: “But are we ever the villains in our own stories?”
“Loki and Bondye are both high-priority targets. They're dangerous, but we'll deal with them.” Cadence interrupted as professionally as she could, before she added moodily: “Keep things under control while I'm gone, alright?”
“Yes, dear.” Thesis said kindly, before he added pleasantly in Istallian: “Do not try and fight either of them by yourself if they show up, please. Divert their attention and stall them as long as possible, this is too simple.”
For a few moments, Cadence only looked at Thesis as he tilted his head towards her with a wink, and then she said sourly: “Your conjugation needs work. You sound like a five year old. A retarded five year old.”
“Please don't use that word here!” Twilight called awkwardly, as Cadence shoved past Trixie and Starlight to let herself out of the library, sighing tiredly and only hoping these ponies wouldn't get in their way... and fearing, in her heart of hearts, what this meant for the family and homeworld she still held so dear to her core.