Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

The Broken And The Mended

Chapter Ninety Eight: The Broken And The Mended
~BlackRoseRaven

Loki whistled and clapped his hands slowly together as the last Primordial hit the ground on the other side of the barrier. Then he flinched in spite of himself when a massive Jötunnfang slammed into the magical wall protecting the core, waving his arms wildly before he hurriedly held up a finger and said: “Wait, genius, if you smash this barrier, you'll be doing the nuclear inferno dance!”

Luna Brynhild snarled in fury as she withdrew her Jötunnfang from the cracked barrier, the huge ice claw flexing slowly before she grimaced when Morgan said quietly: “He's right. We'll kill everyone.”

“Yes. You will. Not me, you guys. You don't want that on your conscience, right? Besides, I'm just going to take these souls and leave. That's all.” Loki said pleasantly as he floated backwards in the airless chamber: the soul chamber, where the souls all burned around him, but not endlessly. No, all of that raw energy, that endless power, was being slowly drawn into his body, making him feel alive, strong, healed; but not stupid enough to try and start a fight. Not with these three in top form and him still wounded.

Not with the Swan out there, waiting to strike.

Loki clicked his tongue as he put his hands behind his head, radiation from the massive core crystals that were mounted around the furnace feeling like a soothing warmth on his skin. “You know, you could join me in here, though, if you wanted. It's sort of like a tanning bed. Except the sun's really close. And since you guys are, you know, not me, you'll probably die horribly. Nice thing about being the Prime. Huge elemental resistance. I'm basically invulnerable.”

“You're not invulnerable.” Morgan said quietly, and Loki scowled before the mare slowly approached the barrier, meeting his eyes evenly as she asked: “Why are you here?”

Loki grinned and spread his arms, and Morgan shook her head before she said softly: “You and I both know you could have easily simply torn open a hole to the Void to drain all of this instantaneously. Even calculating against lost energy, that's still efficient enough that-”

“Hey, don't tell me the numbers. I know all the numbers better than you. I am the numbers.” Loki retorted, before he let himself float a little closer to the barrier, becoming more serious as his eyes roved out and silently drew over the remains of the Primordials in the viewing room beyond, before they returned to the trio of... not just ponies anymore. No. No, no, no... these three... they're special. “I thought it might be nice to have a little chat, that's all. Now, don't give me that look. I'm not here to fight. I'm not stupid or prideful enough to pretend that what Hecate did didn't hurt. It hurt. It hurt like...”

Loki clicked his tongue, searching for a metaphor, but Luna interrupted impatiently: “It did not hurt half as much as I will hurt thee if thou keeps up this stupidity, Loki. Loki... Loki, thou...”

The Valkyrie softened visibly, stepping up to the barrier and shaking her head slowly as her Jötunnfang silently pressed against the magic, whispering: “Loki, thou wert never like this. It hurts me to see. Perhaps thou cares not for that, but think of thy brother: it has broken his heart.”

“My 'brother' chose to be a horse. He chose his side, and I never got to choose mine, Brynhild. I was shunted off to fulfill all the legends and the stories, forced to play my role.” Loki retorted bitterly, before he smiled thinly and added harshly: “I didn't expect you to sink that low, though, you know. I always had such a high opinion of the lowest of the Valkyries, even if she did end up being a junkie.”

Luna flushed and snarled in humiliation, but then she took a slow breath and replied evenly: “My addiction is managed, Loki. But thine own is not.”

Loki scowled at this, before Scrivener asked quietly: “Why don't you just change the story? You clearly have the power to.”

“Because actions have consequences, and you reap what you sow. We all do. I won't let them escape that. Whether they ran away to death, or hiding, or somewhere else, I am the living consequences of their actions.” Loki answered, placing a hand over his chest as he met the stallion's eyes evenly. “Believe me. I don't really want to hurt or kill anyone, oh no. I want to bring everyone together. I want to make this... 'transition' to the Void as smooth as possible, and it's not just for my sake! Look, when it's all said and done, it'll be better for everyone. And best of all, the bastards who did this to me will have paid in full for their crimes against me.”

“Because it's all about you.” Scrivener said softly, and Loki scowled before the stallion shook his head slowly. “The best thing about a story is that even if it ends, you can sit there... and imagine what happens next. You can give it a new ending, beyond what had been written. Even if everything is blinked out, you can close your eyes and think... 'now they're together in a better place,' or 'maybe they didn't really die after all,' or-”

“That's stupid. You're stupid. And arrogant.” Loki said flatly, and Scrivener gave the trickster a wry smile. “Oh shut up, I am not that arrogant. I would never, ever consider changing someone else's story for my own benefit. Never. Ever.”

There was silence for a few moments, before Morgan asked quietly: “And what will you do once the Prime has erased everything, and there's literally... nothing left? Even Hel-”

“Hel, Hel, Hel. Hel was just playing Daddy's games, following his orders like a good little girl. Being the cartoon nemesis who was always defeated but never gone. Who was somehow always an enormous threat, even though she never really got that far, did she?” Loki said contemptibly, gesturing off to the side with a snort of distaste. “And I bet she's just sulking in her room in Endworld. Yes, I know all about Endworld. I know about all of Hecate's projects.”

“Of course you do. You've borrowed quite a few of Valthrudnir's old weapons, haven't you?” Morgan replied evenly, and Loki smiled wryly at this.

“That's such a rude way to put it. And I also don't need weapons, I have plenty of those. What I 'put to good use' was mostly in the way of equipment, I'll have you know. Lab equipment, generators, helpful little machines like that.” Loki answered pettishly, flicking his fingers a few times as he glanced away, but Morgan only smiled, making Loki frown. “What?”

“You're very good at baiting.” she said softly, and Loki scowled deeper at her. “It's subtle. You don't overplay your hand. And you tell a lot of truths to make the lies more believable... but you distort it all. But I'm not going to fall for it, Loki. I'm not going to ponder why you have all that equipment. I'm just going to ask you, again, to please stop doing what you're doing. There's still time to turn back. Time to make this all right. You have that power, and it is a far greater power than-”

“Enough. Enough.” Loki said gently, shaking his head slowly as he held up his hands before he sighed and knitted his fingers together, studying Morgan silently through the wall before he said quietly: “I'm not silly. I know who you are. I know what you are. I know even without these two helping, you could kill me. Part of you wants to, I'm sure. You keep that part locked up, nice and tight, though, don't ever show anyone, don't ever tell anyone about it. You're very different from me that way. Do you know why? Because unlike you, I really don't want to kill.”

Loki meditatively tapped his fingers together, and then he smiled at her and asked almost conversationally: “What does it feel like? To be a monster, but to be written as a hero, so that everyone loves you, adores you, even though you're really the scum of the earth? For me it was the opposite. I mean, okay, not completely opposite, I'm no hero, I'm... I was more of the prankster, the everyman, the fool. But they wrote me into the part of a monster, a villain, but I could never be something like you.”

Morgan was silent, and Loki gauged her intently before the mare looked up, and their eyes met. And in that gaze, Loki saw his answer.

Loki flinched.

Morgan smiled.

For the longest moment, there was silence, before Loki exhaled loudly as he reached up to apprehensively touch his own lips, giving a brief, shaky laugh, but he couldn't speak. He couldn't say anything, as Morgan looked at him for a few moments before she said softly: “No matter what I am, Loki, I have chosen my own fate. I don't have to be what I am. I'm not following the story other people have set out for me. I'm... following my own path, wherever it takes me. To protect and save the people I love. The places I love. That's what guides me, not... all the praise, all the stories about Twilight Sparkle, the heroine, the friend to all, the savior...”

Morgan smiled faintly, before she said softly, conversationally: “And if you threaten them, Loki, then I won't hesitate to bathe this entire planet in nuclear hellfire, just so I can split your soul itself in half and watch the energy bleed out of you and the life fade from your eyes until I can be sure there's nothing left but dust and bad memories. And you know that even hiding behind the Prime won't save you.”

Loki winced back, and then he scowled and hugged himself, saying loudly as he looked over at Luna: “Your wife gives me the shivers! I don't see how you can stand to be around her. Then again, I guess you Valkyries have always been into that whole, you know, deadly sexual encounters thing...”

“Freya was the one who killed men in bed, 'twas not I.” Luna said ironically, before she added quietly: “And none of us here are without sin, Loki. 'Tis better to acknowledge it than try and sweep it away.”

“And better to kill one world than let me kill another?” asked Loki pointedly, but Morgan simply smiled faintly at him.

“I don't want to. I know you're not bluffing. A lot of people will die if I break this barrier before the furnace is empty. I could pass through it, but it would only be a matter of seconds before our fight ruptured something and caused an even worse blast.” Morgan shrugged, before she said softly: “And I... want to believe you're going to do the right thing. Or that at the very least we can convince you to stop. For a little while, at least... you're wounded. I feel it in your energy. You aren't just attacking this furnace for more power, you're doing it because it's the greatest source of power for you to heal from.”

Loki scowled, then he gestured flippantly to the side and said distastefully: “And it was a great chance to try and kill some of Hecate's annoying kids. You know, she's adopted so many kittens you'd think she wouldn't mind me throwing a few in a bag and tossing it in a river.”

“Well, Hecate is a Celestia, and Celestia has never been able to have enough pussies around.” Luna said bluntly, and Scrivener sighed and dropped his face in a hoof as Morgan looked dryly at the mare, while a smile twitched at Loki's lips before Brynhild said softly: “We have always been able to share a joke, have we not? Thou wert never like the others: thou wert crass and crude and funny and spared us no joke nor trial because we were women. 'Twas the best thing about thee.

“Truly, is this what thou desires? To be Enemy? To spitefully fulfill all these lying prophecies? Loki, better than any other I understand: did I not deny Odin, was I not punished, too? Are all of us not victims here, of the machinations of others?” Luna almost pleaded, shaking her head slowly before she said quietly: “Have we all not suffered?”

Loki only smiled coldly, before he leaned forward and almost pressed his face into the barrier as he asked tauntingly: “Do you truly want to understand my suffering, Valkyrie? Because I happen to know just where your children, and I would be more than happy to tie you up in their entrails and leave you somewhere for the crows to pick over, just as what happened to me.”

Luna snarled, but Scrivener only shook his head before he answered: “Why does it always come back to 'you can't understand me' with all you would-be conquerors? I think we were all supposed to have outgrown the angsty emo stage a long time ago.”

“Hey, at least I'm not cutting myself.” Loki replied reasonably with a shrug, before he winked and added pleasantly: “It doesn't change the truth, though, no matter how you might try and downplay it. Compare yourself all you want, you can't understand what it's been like, how even now, everything that I went through is still gnawing at me. I need closure. And honestly? I'm just trying to do exactly what Dad wanted. You could say I'm just fulfilling all the plans Dad had for me, all along.”

Loki snorted, then he turned around, surveying the contents of the soul furnace before he said in a softer voice: “Besides, what will it matter after everything is nothing again? Precisely, it won't. There will be no morality, no victory, no defeat, no pain or pleasure or hate or any difference between man, animal, race or religion. Nothing will exist, and everyone will finally be in that perfect state of perfect harmony we've always dreamed of. This universe never earned the right to exist, after all: the Gods just took over the Primordials' sandbox, chopped up the Prime, tossed what they couldn't use into the Void and made slaves of the rest. We have to tear it all down. We can't honor slavery, now can we?”

Luna snorted, but before she could respond, another voice said softly: “Quite to the contrary, we should honor slavery. We should look at the past, and all the evil that has been done, so we may never repeat it; and we must honor what has been built by the hands and hooves of those who came before us, and under conditions few ponies of today could survive. We should honor the slaves that were, including you, young man, for everything they have accomplished.”

Loki scowled as a pony joined them, calmly striding across the room on three legs, smiling kindly at Loki through the barrier as if he was seeing an old friend for the first time in many years. Loki's scowl went from irritated to curious as he studied the stallion intently, before the old Blood Seer, Haruspex, lowered his head and said gently: “I think you know, somewhere inside of your heart, that you're making a mistake. You don't want to do this. But how much of you is you, and how much of you had been corrupted by hatred: hatred and anger that the Prime is exacerbating in order to get its own way? The Prime is as conscious as you are, after all: just in a different way.”

“Yeah, okay, I'll listen to the crazy old horse that just wandered in here from nowhere. Who the hell are you, again?” Loki asked flatly, and Haruspex merely smiled.

“'Crazy old horse' probably isn't that far off. But time and experience have weathered me. My name is Haruspex, a Blood Seer. I understand now why I foresaw your arrival, and all those evils you brought with you.” the Blood Seer said politely, before he glanced back and forth at Luna, Morgan, and Scrivener. “Even in the old days, we were told not to meddle with what we foresaw... but all the same, I want to ask you this: please, do not kill Loki. When the chance comes, do not kill him. He cannot be beaten through anger and hate and violence. That will only lead to devastation, to pain, to an endless cycle of grief.”

Haruspex turned his eyes to Loki, who smiled cynically to try and hide the discomfort in his eyes as Haruspex said softly: “You do not break what is already broken; you mend it, to make it right.”

“You're crazy.” Loki said flatly, and then he pointed at Haruspex through the barrier, saying grumpily: “I think you should go away. No one asked for your help, and I was having an interesting philosophical debate here before you showed up and ruined it.”

“I think you were just trying to buy time. You're paranoid, and afraid; you think everyone wants to hurt you. Not an entirely foolish view to take when you've done much to antagonize all those around you, but honor does exist; you've just gone to great lengths to blind yourself to it, among so much else. It's always been easy to find the answers you want to, though, if you're willing to bend the truth...” Haruspex paused, before he smiled again as Loki glared at him. “It is a sad thing that you are still so young in spite of being so old; that for all you have done and learned and plotted, you still have yet to understand that when you reach out to hurt the world, you only cut yourself.”

“No, I'm pretty sure I'm cutting the world.” Loki said coldly, before he held up a hand, and then scowled when Morgan immediately stepped up beside Haruspex. “Really? And don't think I'm taking this as picking a fight to protect a stranger, this is pretty clearly 'let's protect him because it'll piss Loki off.'”

Morgan smiled a bit, and Haruspex chuckled before he gently reached up and pushed Morgan aside, the purple mare looking with surprise at the Blood Seer before he said softly: “I don't need them to defend me. I understand now, whose death I witnessed here. I was both... right and wrong, Loki. And I know what will happen, but all the same, I have to warn you: if you hurt me, you only hurt yourself.”

“Cute. Somehow I doubt it, though.” Loki said contemptibly, stretching a hand towards the stallion, before his eyes flicked towards Morgan as he added pointedly: “And so we're clear, he's literally asking for this. So no stupid heroics or revenge, right?”

Morgan hesitated, but then she nodded even as Luna frowned uneasily as her eyes roved over Haruspex, and Scrivener shifted slowly. But the old stallion only smiled at Loki, their eyes meeting before he slowly extended one of his front hooves back towards the being, saying softly: “When we lash out at the world, there is no guarantee we won't injure ourselves in the process.”

“Honestly, pal. I'm sick and tired of all the 'wisdom' I've been hearing lately. Here's some advice for the next life: say what you mean to say, and don't prance around the subject. Leave that to us silver-tongued rascals, huh?” Loki said mildly, before he added with an idle flick of one finger: “Y'know, the ones who can talk and... get...”

Loki's eyes widened, and then he suddenly leaned forward and vomited blood, falling to his knees in midair as he hugged himself around the middle. He gritted his teeth, gasping and shaking his head in denial as he mouthed wordlessly, before he looked up in horror as Haruspex only smiled at him, asking quietly, as tears of sorrow rolled down his cheeks: “Do you understand now?”

“N-No...” Loki wheezed, and then he snarled and clenched his eyes shut as he gasped in pain, energy steaming off his body as Morgan, Scrivener, and Luna could only stare in disbelief and shock. “I can't... you b-bastard, you made me...”

“I did not make you do anything. I warned you. How could I be more blunt? I told you: when you cut me, you cut yourself. When you kill me... you only kill part of yourself.” Haruspex said softly, as energy began to fume off his body, his form cracking apart like glass as he smiled sadly at Loki. “But I suppose that's what you want and what this is really all about, isn't it? Destroying yourself, until you can't feel, can't care anymore. But it won't work, you know.”

Loki looked up, trembling violently as he squeezed himself so tightly his long jacket tore, his teeth bared in fury and humiliation and despair, as he rasped out: “W-Why?”

“But that's precisely the question you have to ask yourself... why?” Haruspex Loptr said softly, before he smiled faintly as he reached up and pressed both front hooves against the barrier, even as his hindquarters shattered away into glowing dust. “Why did you do it? Don't you understand... the more you die, the more the Prime takes over?”

Loki shook his head weakly in response, unable to even mouth coherent words, but Haruspex reassured him gently: “No, no. You won't die. Not merely because you died a long time ago, but even if I am a shard of you, I have lived my own life for too long, and you have walked your own separate path. But I understand now that many of my visions and talents stem from you, and for that, I thank you... and that is why, even though it hurts, as I die... I pass my memories, my emotions, my thoughts on to you, in the hopes that you will do a greater good than you have done so far... that even you, Loki, may change your mind...”

Loki shook his head violently, grinding his teeth together before he grabbed weakly at the other side of the barrier, hands pressing over the hooves of Haruspex as he rasped: “Such are the stories... that even I betray myself!”

“Stories are often open to interpretation... we all see things, based upon what we want to see. Just as in real life... perception is king.” Haruspex chided gently, and Loki looked away as if ashamed before the old stallion gave one final smile, and one gentle, yet somehow ominous warning: “Remember always, Loki... none of us are above consequences for our actions. Innocent blood spilled, even in the name of 'good,' is still innocence lost.”

Loki snarled, then he slammed a hand against the barrier, and Haruspex exploded into splinters of light and energy that faded into the air, leaving Loki staring for a few moments before he slowly slumped. His fingers dragged slowly against the cracked barrier, before he looked up in surprise as he felt the faintest shift, glancing up to see Morgan standing on the other side of the wall, her hoof gently pressed against the magic.

She looked at him, and he snarled as his head jerked away for a moment before he forced himself to look back at her with a crooked grin, saying harshly: “Guess this was all a stupid waste, wasn't it? Well, have your laugh. My schemes don't always turn out right, either; you can't plan for the unpredictable, and planning for everything leaves you ready for nothing... but oh, Dad was right, I never ever learn...”

“It's okay.” Morgan said gently, and Loki looked away with fury and humiliation before he suddenly shoved himself up to his feet, breathing hard as he stumbled around in a circle. He smoldered with energy, flickering eerily in and out of reality as he staggered over thin air towards the center of the reactor, before he halted when Morgan asked quietly: “Did you even realize how much of the Prime had replaced your soul? Loki, can you say with a hundred percent certainty that the Alpha Primordial isn't just using you? That it isn't taking your rage, your hate, your sadness...”

“My bitterness, Morgan. I'm not really that angry or that hateful, but I am... bitter.” Loki laughed shortly, hugging himself and shaking his head slowly before he whispered: “And somehow that is so much worse.”

He was silent, then he shrugged before ignoring her question, waving a hand out as he said disgustedly: “I have another thing on my to-do list now. God, it's a mile long and getting longer every day! How hard is it to destroy the universe? Really hard, apparently, you can't just... put 'destroy the universe' next to a checkbox and do it anymore. Red tape! Bureaucracy! And now shards of my soul, which I should probably recover.”

Loki scowled darkly, then he simply flicked a wrist creating a rip in reality in front of him that led to the Void before he said coldly, without looking back: “Stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. Screw with me, and I'll screw with you. Very simple, isn't it? Oh, I'm not kidding myself. I know we'll fight again. It just doesn't have to be right away.”

“Fear not, Loki. I do not prey upon the wounded and the weak.” Brynhild retorted, and Loki scowled before the Valkyrie said quietly: “Haruspex was noble in the end. Does that not mean thou, too, can be noble?”

“No. It only means I killed my nobility.” Loki murmured, and then he shook his head slowly before he strode into the rift, and the Void portal snapped shut behind him, leaving the flickering cores still steaming with energy.

For a few moments, the trio of ponies remained silent, and then Morgan sighed softly before she said quietly: “Come on. Let's catch up with Cadence and the others. We need to finish clearing out this base.”

“Yeah. We still have a job to do.” Scrivener half-agreed and half-nudged, and Brynhild gave a brief smile before she nodded once.

Yet all the same, she lingered a moment even as the others turned away, gazing back through the cracked barrier and wondering silently just how much Loki had seen, when Haruspex had died.

Medical was full of bodies, and manufacturing and repair was full of broken drones and machinery. Cadence kept moving between the two: partly because she was anxious, and partly because she badly needed something to do, and toting life-support machinery and running errands for the engineers and medical staff kept her busy, at least.

The ivory mare entered the medical bay for the hundredth time that morning, and as always, her eyes roved silently to the side of the crowded room that was occupied by her teammates. Moonflower was sedated and half-asleep, drooling on himself as he stared vapidly at the ceiling; La Croix was twitching fitfully, curled up around his stump of leg; Aster had her bodysuit off, hooked up to dialysis machines that were cleaning her blood.

Sombra was still in isolation, and he would likely remain there. Thesis was locked in a corruption vat, and every now and then she'd slip into the back of the facility and just stand there and stare at him: he was always unconscious, tangled in a myriad of wires and cables and tubes inside the glass isolation tank.

His broken exoskeleton had already been moved to engineering, but she knew it too damaged to be repaired quickly: Auriculos had fried the systems along with damaging all the inner workings when he'd torn it off, and...

No, she didn't want to think about it. It was too hard to think about.

Haruspex was dead: apparently he had been a shard of Loki. His predictions hadn't come entirely true... or maybe they had, just in a different way than Cadence had expected. But she knew no future was ever certain. She had to believe that: she had to believe that fate could be changed, because if what she was feeling right now was what she was going to feel or worse when... when...

Cadence shook her head violently, before she looked up silently as she realized she had somehow come back here yet again. Here she was, standing in the back of the facility in front of one of the active corruption vats: the others contained various RED Replicants who had all been severely injured, but this one...

Thesis was awake this time. It made her want to run away. She didn't know why she was so scared, when she... I love him. And that's exactly why I'm so afraid, isn't it?

Thesis smiled at her, and she hated him. She hated him and she envied him and she admired him and she loved him, as she leaned up against the window of the large, rectangular vat, whispering: “You stupid son of a bitch.”

Thesis shrugged briefly, then he questioned her with his eyes, and Cadence laughed sourly. “Really? You want to know what happened to Brynhild and her idiots? They found Loki, that's what happened, and they let him get away.”

Thesis looked at her pointedly, and Cadence shifted before she sighed and nodded, muttering: “I know. I know it's not fair. Haruspex was there, too... he must have followed them in. He died, he was... a shard of Loki. A piece of him... how is that possible?”

Except Cadence knew: Loki had died, after all, had been broken and picked apart by the Grimm so many times over so many years that his soul itself had fractured into pieces. Pieces she had thought had gone to the Void, but... “Does that mean... am I only a fragment of the Swan? What about Brynhild, or Thor, or-”

Thesis tapped gently on the glass with a hoof, and Cadence sighed and lowered her head, but she couldn't help but ask: “What about you?”

Thesis shrugged with a smile, and she hated him for it and loved him for it, because it was the answer she didn't want, but the answer she needed. “I know. I know, it's stupid to think about, because it's not just... who we were. It's who we are now, right? I'm... Cadence Danzsöngr. I'm the Swan, but someone else, too... someone... worse.”

She quieted, then scowled at Thesis when he looked at her pointedly. “Fine, I'll save the self-pity for later, but... still. Okay, don't give me that look. Fine. Yeah, when Haruspex died, it apparently hurt Loki. But I guess destroying a piece of your own soul would hurt, wouldn't it?”

Thesis nodded, and Cadence shifted a bit before continuing: “Apparently Loki just... left. He didn't take all of the uh... the energy from the furnace with him, so we've been continuing to put it into batteries. A small detachment of Drones is finishing wiring the self-destruct mechanisms around the furnace, but after Loki left, all of his forces just... stopped fighting. The Husks sort of laid down and died and the one or two Primordials that were left fled through rifts. But the cost was... the cost was really high.”

She looked down, and Thesis silently pressed closer to the glass, and Cadence smiled faintly as she looked up at him and asked bluntly: “Was it worth it? All we actually did was stop Auriculos... but does that even matter?”

Thesis nodded firmly, and Cadence tilted her head curiously before she smiled a bit, saying finally: “I guess that's right, yeah. But still, it doesn't feel worth it. I know that getting rid of him will help with the problems we've been having, but... I mean, is he really gone? I cut him apart in the Astra, but... if he could manipulate the Astra like that...”

Cadence halted, then she frowned before her head turned slightly in the other direction, and the Swan said contemptibly from her mouth: “No. He could not manipulate the Astra as we could. He was crude. He harnessed it as weapon, and magic, and it is not weapon, nor magic. He used technology and electricity to try and replicate our powers, but our powers cannot be so easily stolen.”

The Swan fell silent, before she turned her eyes towards Thesis, saying calmly: “We agree. There may be other betrayers and others whom Loki will use from Decretum. But they will not serve as readily as Auriculos did. And most importantly, he was betrayer, and those who betray Mother Hecate must be punished and destroyed.”

Thesis smiled wryly at the Swan, and Cadence blinked before she shook her head vehemently, slapping absently at the side of her face before she muttered: “I wish she would stop doing that.”

Cadence hesitated, then she looked up at Thesis and asked bluntly: “Are you okay?”

That wasn't really what she was asking: she knew he wasn't okay. And Thesis looked at her for a few moments before he gave a small, honest smile, nodding once to her before he told her something with his eyes that she hadn't expected, and she shifted and blushed maybe ever so slightly before she whispered: “No, your health comes first. You come first. Before... before anything else.”

It surprised her, and Thesis looked surprised by it too, before he gave that old, stupid smile of his. The 'I'm a hero' smile that was never too macho, the 'don't worry about me' smile that aggravated her and she envied terribly at the same time, because Horses of Heaven knew that she could never manage to be half as tough or altruistic as he was.

She lowered her head, then she sighed a little before compromising: “We'll see what Hecate says. But if she says you have to stay in bed, you have to stay in goddamn bed, do you hear me? But if she says... you can... or should come with me, when we go... check out my world...” Cadence shifted hesitantly, before she tried to reason awkwardly: “But Loki ran away, so... I don't think he'll be back anytime soon so there's no rush, anyway. I'm sure... if there is some Void presence there, I mean... Shining is tough, and Miss Take is a great fighter and... and look okay I don't want you to die!”

Cadence shouted the last, before she blushed deeply and lowered her head, and Thesis softened before the ivory mare whispered: “It's so hard. And I know I can't stop it, I can't save you, and it makes me so mad. But I just want to spend every single moment I have with you, and... and the closer we get, the more I see you... hurt... the more I want to turn away from it all, and protect you, and be with you, and forget... everything else. And I know how bad that is and how childish it is and I know we can't but all the same... I wish...”

She bit her lip, looking away before Thesis knocked gently on the glass. At first, she refused to look up, but finally he drew her attention with his insistent, gentle knocking, their eyes meeting, before Thesis promised her silently: I am never going to leave you.

“I'm not a little kid, Thesis. When you die...” Cadence bit her lip, and then she shook her head quickly before she murmured: “Okay. Okay. I'm... I'm trying.”

Thesis nodded to her, before he paused and awkwardly waved, and Cadence frowned before she flinched in surprise as Hecate said quietly from behind her: “If you want to run away, Cadence, I won't stop you.”

Cadence spun around, looking up at Hecate in surprise as the Jötnar mare looked calmly back down at her, before she repeated in a colder voice: “But don't expect to be happy. Not with Loki threatening the worlds, not when you know you've turned your back on everything that we built together. Because we did build this together, Cadence: you were one of my first, and one of my finest. But now I find myself questioning you resolve and your dedication, and wondering if perhaps love has made you weak.”

Cadence snarled at this, straightening before she shouted: “I don't want to leave! I don't want to stop fighting! I just... I don't want him to die!”

“He will die.” Hecate said ruthlessly, before she stepped forward and loomed over Cadence, who reared back with a wince. “He will die, and you will die, and I will die. The question is only when.”

Cadence trembled for a moment, before Hecate leaned down and said, like caretaker to foal: “Nothing you do will change that, so stop crying and pull yourself together. I expect better from you.”

Cadence lunged forward and slammed a hoof into Hecate's face, knocking her stumbling back a step, and then the ivory mare simply glared, ignoring the tears stinging her eyes as Hecate slowly turned her eyes back towards the mare, and then she gave a thin smile, saying quietly: “Better.”

Cadence shook her hoof out, then she wiped her wrist childishly across her eyes before she muttered: “Don't talk to me like that anymore.”

“I'll do whatever I have to in order to motivate you, Cadence, and to make yo remember who you are.” Hecate retorted, before she shoved Cadence aside, stepping up to the tank and looking intently at Thesis as she said calmly: “As I'm sure you're aware, all portal rings in the area have been destroyed and we have interference from both Primordials and Void activity. It's made it impossible to stage either a tactical retreat or to send reinforcements, leaving the furnace particularly vulnerable.”

“How did you... Jötnar, right.” Cadence said finally, before she asked: “Can you... portal us?”

“Yes. But we have a safer alternative. Freya created a root here, one that connects to Decretum. Medical transports are being stationed by the root as we speak: they should be able to take care of the wounded during the second stage of the evacuation procedure.” Hecate answered, looking moodily at Thesis through the window of the vat, mentally arguing with him even as she continued: “I want you to secure the area around the root with Luna Brynhild and her partners. It's far from optimal, but we don't have the luxury of picking and choosing right now. We're only fortunate that Loki seems to have overlooked it... or perhaps he simply wasn't interested in utilizing it.”

Cadence frowned uneasily at this, and Hecate smiled thinly before she gestured at Cadence, saying quietly: “You have your mission. Get it done, Cadence.”

The ivory mare grumbled under her breath, and then she nodded once before she turned and left, muttering to herself. She wiggled through the crowded medical lab, then scowled as she stepped into the hallway and found Brynhild leaning against the wall with a grin, studying her intently as she said easily: “Well, 'tis good to work with thee again, Swan. I heard thou had thine own problems and... well...”

Brynhild shifted awkwardly, then she cleared her throat before she said politely: “If there is anything that me or mine can do for thee and thine, know that it would be our greatest pleasure to assist. Thy teammates have... served well.”

“They aren't servants. I should have taken care of them.” Cadence murmured, looking down for a moment, and she hated the way Brynhild's gaze turned sympathetic before she growled: “We don't need your help. You should concentrate on helping yourself you... bitch.”

Cadence's voice lacked venom, and the Valkyrie smiled at her with a mix of amusement and compassion before she said gently: “Surely thou can do better than that, Swan. For aye, I am indeed a bitch. A terrible bitch. A proud bitch. Or did thou not know why I chose that name for my spear?”

“Because you're a child.” Cadence answered shortly, and Brynhild huffed before the ivory mare asked tiredly: “Can we just go, please? Where are your... friends?”

“Why is it so hard for thee to call my lovers my lovers?” Brynhild asked curiously, but when Cadence only scowled at her, the Valkyrie rolled her eyes and threw her forelegs up in consternation. “Oh, fie on thee, fine! I shan't ever be nice to thee again, Swan. Curse thee, bless thee, praise thee, mock thee, I am only ever rewarded with vilification and scolding. Thou art... dumb.”

Cadence scowled at the Valkyrie, then she asked grouchily again: “Where are your friends?”

Luna threw her forelegs out to either side, then she finally dropped to all fours and spun around with a flick her tail, striding away down the hall as she grumbled: “This way.”

Cadence rolled her eyes, but followed after the mare: at first she was glad for the silence, but soon it grew uncomfortable, and she couldn't help but break it by asking: “Why do you talk like that? It's dumb.”

“It is not dumb! Damnation, I spent years being schooled in my speech and I shan't give it all up simply because some ponies are too stupid to enjoy the music of my words.” Luna retorted grouchily, huffing loudly as she rose her nose proudly. “'And what of thee? Thou lived long ago, did thou not? Hast thou given up thine old ways of speaking?”

“The Crystal Kingdom talked pretty much the same, informally. We used Istallian for the courts and stuff, though.” Cadence said after a moment, as she remembered those old days: those wonderful, carefree days with her father, when their isolated kingdom had been a paradise, even with the constant threat of the barbarians and the monsters that lurked in the frozen wastes. “I guess... I don't know, I guess things were different in Equestria. I never knew much about the land to the south. Just that... it was there, and Daddy said his ancestors had come from there.”

“Interesting. We never had neither Cadence nor Sombra in our world, thou may know. Nor is there any Crystal Kingdom: to the north in our world, there is only...” Luna caught herself, and for a moment, she looked strangely nostalgic as she corrected: “Was only unicorn settlements, and of course the Gray Mountains beyond. Where reality was terribly, painfully thin...”

Luna fell into meditation for a moment, before she asked curiously: “What is the strangest thing thou hast killed, Swan?”

“The hell kind of question is that?” Cadence asked grumpily, although what almost made her smile was the fact she didn't immediately have an answer. I've killed a lot of weird things over the last while... “I don't know. I just killed a robot. Well. A Kirin in a robot that was trying to control the Astra.”

“Pah, boring! I have killed many robots! 'Twas I who brought ruin to Decretum, after all!” Luna bragged, and Cadence rolled her eyes before the sapphire mare added: “Well, Scrivy helped. Somewhat. But 'twas mostly I. Once I killed Hecate!”

“I find that hard to believe seeing as Hecate is my boss and still alive.” Cadence said dryly, and the Valkyrie huffed loudly at this.

“I destroyed her mechanical body and swatted her head around like a beachball, 'twas a kill! Decapitations count as kills!” Luna argued.

“Not when they're just a head to begin with.” retorted Cadence, before she added grumpily: “And Hecate is a Jötnar now. Furthermore, all the people you've killed have come back from the Void even meaner now, and I'm the one cleaning them all up.”

“I have killed a Jötnar before! I slew Valthrudnir! Twice!” declared Brynhild, and Cadence only rolled her eyes. “And well, if thou art saying 'tis too difficult for thee, perhaps I will have to be the one to take over in thy stead. Truly, though, Hecate's Orphanage must not be nearly as proficient as I had imagined if the likes of thee are having trouble with waste like Ignominious, Swan. And 'tis an embarrassment to Valhalla as well, I shall add.”

“Oh shut up, Valkyrie.” Cadence grumbled, rolling her eyes again before she added grumpily: “The only embarrassment to Valhalla here is you.”

Luna sniffed loudly as they stepped into an elevator together, and the two mares shouldered each other grouchily. It almost came to kicks, but thankfully the elevator rose quickly and Morgan and Scrivener were waiting at the top, both of them glaring at Luna as the doors opened and making the Valkyrie groan and roll her eyes, muttering: “'Tis her fault. Not mine. She started it, I merely sought to end it.”

Cadence's features puckered, but Scrivener grasped Luna by an ear and dragged her gently away as Morgan slipped in and asked: “Do you know how the root works?”

“Sort of. I was there when Freya created it.” Cadence said after a moment, letting the two separate them. But Horses of Heaven, are we really that bad? Sure, Luna's like a stupid kid, but I'm... that's... okay, that's not very mature of me to think. “You know, uh. Luna and I aren't trying to kill each other. She and I are... talking. That's all.”

Morgan smiled despite herself as the Valkyrie perked up, then exclaimed as she nodded vigorously: “Yes! Exactly so, we are... we are great friends!”

“I wouldn't go that far.” muttered Cadence, and then she shook her head and said finally, as she moodily looked over at the Valkyrie: “But I'm developing a... tolerance for her.”

“A tolerance, like I am some wretched poison?” Luna huffed loudly, then she bodychecked Scrivener firmly, knocking him staggering away before the Valkyrie very politely grasped a handle and opened a door for Cadence, bowing her inside.

“The next door leads to the tower.” Cadence said dryly, and the Valkyrie blinked and looked dumbly through the door she had opened into a storage room, before she hurriedly slammed it and dashed to the next door down the hall, yanking it open and glowering at Cadence as she muttered: “A tolerance, because I'm not allowed to cure you.”

Luna huffed loudly at this, hip-checking Morgan so she could quickly trot up the stairs behind Cadence, opening her mouth for a moment, then instead leering and saying roguishly: “I can see now what attracted Thesis to thee in the first place, Cadence! How does the saying go? Did thou sit in sugar?” A pause, during which Cadence prayed to the Gods and closed her eyes, hoping- “Because thine ass is sweet.”

Cadence slowly ground her teeth together, before Luna added with a waggle of her eyebrows: “Although I would have to taste it myself to know for sure!”

“Oh for the love of the Aesir, stop staring at my ass!” Cadence shouted in a strangled voice, hurrying up the stairs as she whipped her tail angrily back and forth behind her, and Luna squawked as the whip-like appendage caught her across the face before she huffed loudly.

“'Twas a compliment! Damned mare, take the compliment! Why is it that my brother can-”

“Because Sleipnir is charming and harmless. You're charmless and harmful.” Scrivener said dryly, and Luna huffed loudly before there was a loud smacking sound, which Cadence correctly guessed was the mare kicking him.

Cadence emerged into the fortified top of the tower, scowling at the tiny thing that was the Root of Yggdrasil. It hurt her eyes to look at, with all the energy that was pulsing through it: the only sign it might be anything special at all. A moment later, Brynhild and her partners joined her, and the sapphire mare studied the root intently before she grumbled: “Stupid small thing. No good things are small, I will have thee know.”

Cadence only glowered at her, before Morgan murmured: “It's giving off so much energy already. And I can almost... feel the connection to the other side. It's hard to describe. It's like it's there, even though it's not.”

“Aye. I suppose I feel it, too... I had forgotten this. I had forgotten that Freya could do such things as this, that she was once so much more than swords and nettle.” Luna paused, then smiled wryly and shrugged with a wink over at Cadence. “Or so much less, I suppose, depending upon how thou chooses to look at it.”

The ivory mare grunted, declining to comment as she instead asked: “So do you know what we're doing here, then? I get that these roots are like connection points, but... why are we securing it?”

“To get us out of the way, I imagine.” Luna said blandly, and Morgan winced as Scrivener only shrugged agreeably, making Cadence sigh and roll her eyes, but secretly agree herself before she looked up in surprise as Luna added gently: “And likely to make thee rest. Thou hast been a whirlwind, blasting to and fro. Even Swans are not tireless.”

“Yes, we were. But we are still unused to having a body: it is difficult to change old habits, to domesticate what was only tame.” Danzsöngr answered calmly, and Cadence flailed mentally at the Swan, but went ignored as Danzsöngr continued almost kindly: “We wish to extend our appreciation to you. You have dealt with Loki for us.”

“Nay, as much as I would like to say 'twas I, 'twas not.” Luna replied, sounding strangely... diplomatic, Cadence thought with surprise. “'Twas Haruspex. And I think he gave Loki a lesson, rather than a beating, and I hope 'twill be more useful than had I simply pummeled him with mine hooves.”

“You and Freya both would treat him with mercy. We are curious. We mean no disrespect or insult, we are merely... curious.” Danzsöngr said politely, and the Valkyrie gave a wry smile as she glanced back at her partners, softening perhaps just a little.

“For I, perhaps I have been taught a little of the art of mercy; one cannot remain a stupid bitch-wolf forever and expect to survive, after all.” Luna said easily, smiling before she shook her head and became more serious, continuing quietly: “I believe Loki must face justice for his crimes, but... aye, I would prefer it be justice. We owe him, Swan. Thou, too, owes him. And the Gods did terrible things to him.”

“I want to kick his ass through his face.” Cadence said sourly, before she winced as she realized the Swan had allowed her to take back control and she had just blurted that out loud, which made Luna grin in amusement.

“Swan, Swan, Swan! What is it with thee and asses?” Luna teased, and Cadence scowled at her before the Valkyrie added mildly: “I must say, thou art very different from how things ever were with mine own self and Nightmare Moon. And I am also very glad that I do not have some... awful Luna or awfuler-still Valkyrie in mine head. Did thou know most of the Lunas I have met have all been full of whimsy and trite?”

“Because that doesn't describe you at all.” Scrivener commented, and Luna huffed and turned to whack him firmly with her crystalline horn, making him wince.

“Quiet, beetle.” Luna paused, then she cleared her throat and looked at him pointedly, and Scrivener smiled wryly before he nodded and turned his eyes towards Cadence.

“I uh... hope it's not too awkward to offer, but if you think that your father or Thesis could use any help, I'd be glad to stabilize them for a little while. I can't change the composition of a Replicant or their corruption, but I have learned to modify it a little.”

Cadence hesitated, then she nodded once before answering as tactfully as possible: “Thank you, but I think that we have it under control. I'll uh... pass it on to them, though, when I get the chance.”

Scrivener smiled and shrugged a bit, and Cadence shifted before she asked: “How did you learn to control it, though? How did... I mean, were you an agent of Valthrudnir's?”

“I was a cuckoo, I guess you'd say. But I was never uh... 'activated.'” Scrivener said delicately, before he shook his head as he eyes turned towards Luna with a slight smile. “I guess my job was actually to hunt down Luna, and maybe that... programming lodged in my mind somehow and subconsciously pushed me to Canterlot-”

Luna huffed and grabbed Scrivener's head before she shoved him face-first into the ground, complaining: “Idiot. And thou, troublemaking Swan! As if I have not dealt enough with Scrivy moaning and groaning about fate this and fate that. 'Tis stupid. Thou art stupid.”

“You're stupid!” Cadence snapped back, then she forced herself to take a breath and not let the Valkyrie get to her, or at least not with such a stupid, childish insult. “So you are actually a Replicant? What class were you?”

“Same as Thesis. Class VI, except my design was apparently more blue collar than Mister Important Officer Thesis.” Scrivener said mildly, and Cadence smiled a little despite herself before the stallion continued, as he held up a claw and flexed it slowly: “At first I really wasn't all that special, though. The changes came after I was exposed to corruption from the Hexad, but... it's a long story, and I don't know if we have the time to tell it right now.”

“Thou art a fine storyteller, Scrivy, so tell it anyway. And besides, 'tis better than the Swan and I arguing, is it not?” Luna said mildly, and Scrivener Blooms sighed but nodded in agreement after the moment as Morgan gave him an encouraging smile.

“Well... I guess it really began when our world ended, didn't it?” Scrivener started, and Cadence sat back, more curious than she wanted to admit, and feeling a strange sort of understanding as he began to talk, about Ragnarok, about the Black Wolves, about Valthrudnir.

Because her own story had started the same way, hadn't it? With her world – much smaller as it was, being only her father's kingdom – being ended, by Valthrudnir.

And yet, somehow, it was that same thing that had brought her here, today. It was Valthrudnir who had made Thesis. It was Valthrudnir who had given Hecate her powers. It was Valthrudnir who had begun all of these events by destroying the arrogant gods.

And inside her, the Swan wondered curiously if perhaps Valthrudnir wasn't to thank for giving life and meaning to the very universe he had sought so hard to destroy.