//------------------------------//
// Epilogue: Orphaned, But Not Alone 
// Story: Thorn of the Rose 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Epilogue: Orphaned, But Not Alone
~BlackRoseRaven

Thorn stood at Hecate's side as the mechanical mare calmly put her steel hands behind her back. The two faced an enormous crowd, massive screens and speakers facing their massive audience to better convey every word the mare had to say.
Not that she had much to say: she wasn't one for long speeches. The mare looked slowly back and forth over the gathered crowd, and then she said clearly: “Welcome to my Orphanage for Wayward Youth. Each and every one of you here, for some reason, has become an Orphan: among your ranks are exiles, prisoners, traitors, and lost souls. Some of you were found by my soldiers: others I retrieved personally. And not a few of you have been sent to me by Queen Hel or Queen Terra.
“Your past does not matter here. Your former allegiances are moot. From the moment you set hoof here, you became a member of my empire, and all of you will find a place here.” Hecate smiled thinly, then said coldly: “Those who fail to meet my standards or who betray my trust will be dealt with as I have dealt with all weak links in the past: they will be removed.”
Hecate looked back and forth over the audience before her as there was a distinct, nervous shift, and then she gestured down at Thorn, saying calmly: “This is my son and second-in-command, Thorn Blackfeather. All reports are to be sent to him: furthermore, Thorn is in charge of equipment distribution and other tasks. His authority is second only to mine.”
Thorn kept his features serious and his head high and unflinching, but Hecate thought she caught the slightest flush of embarrassment crawling up his neck. She glanced down at him, then reached up and condescendingly dropped a hand on his head, Thorn wincing a bit as the Queen of Decretum ordered: “Finish the presentation. Earn your keep, Thorn.”
Hecate gave the stallion's head a gentle squeeze before she let her claw slip away, as she turned and strode towards the exit to one side of the stage. She slipped through the curtain that covered the niche, then stopped and tilted her head back, smiling slightly as she closed her eyes and listened.
“Alright. Let's move on to the first order of business.” Thorn began calmly, and she could hear the fearlessness in his voice as he gazed up at a thousand different souls. “We shall first discuss the laws of Decretum in detail, in order to give all of you an understand of the expectations we have in regards to behavior and etiquette...”
Hecate shook her head with a quiet laugh, and then she looked over her shoulder, her lenses activating and giving her a peculiar view of the theater behind: she could see Thorn's outline in blue through the wall and curtain, along with a read of his heart rate, body temperature, biometric readings... or she could just trust in her instincts, and recognize that Thorn was a little embarrassed, a little proud, and dedicated to the task at hoof.
She smiled slightly, then turned her eyes back ahead as her lenses shut off before calmly striding down the hall, to return to her own business: managing and masterminding Decretum, organizing the Orphans new and old, and putting the last pieces of her great empire together. An empire of people and ponies, all just like her, who were strong and free, and who were dedicated to using that strength to preserve safety and order... even if, so long ago, those same worlds had rejected them, reviled them, or collapsed around their heads.
But, as Hecate had learned... no matter how much you lost, or how badly you were hurt, or how many times you cut yourself on the thorns and brambles of the universe...
It was from blood and tears that the most beautiful roses took root, and blossomed.



No matter how much the world hurts us,


It gives us no right to hurt the world;


For the world owes us nothing,


Yet has blessed us by existing.