Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

Omega Of The Pack

Chapter Ninety Nine: Omega Of The Pack
~BlackRoseRaven

Thorn Blackfeather sat calmly at the table in the library, a holographic screen projected in front of him. His hooves moved back and forth, swishing gently across it as he compiled a report out of the data he had recorded and gathered during the short time he had been here, before he glanced up as Silver suddenly cleared her throat loudly.

The mare was seated at the other end of the table, a long-forgotten book open in front of her. Thorn looked at her for a few moments, and then he asked: “Do you need anything?”

“No, no. Besides, the little pigs... I mean, Necrophage and Muse are here to take orders, not you. I know you're... the Regent.” Silver said, as difficult as that obviously was for her to say, and Thorn smiled despite himself before Silver asked almost abruptly: “My sister, though. Does she... trust me? Or are you here to babysit me?”

“I think you are here to keep an eye on me.” Thorn answered, and Silver maybe gave the smallest of smiles behind her mask before Thorn returned his eyes to his report, continuing: “If Hecate didn't trust you, then you wouldn't be here.”

“That is not what I meant.” Silver said after a moment, before she scowled when Thorn looked up and gave one of his brief smiles to her.

“I know what you meant. And my answer is the same.” he said tactfully, then he returned his eyes to the holographic screen, saying: “We have to be awake and active in six hours to help Freya prepare the ritual.”

“I don't like it.” grumbled Silver with a brief shake of her head. “It was not what we were told, and that forest is rife with magic and life of its own.”

“Which I'm sure is precisely why Freya has decided to change the location to there. Don't forget, she is Vanir, a goddess. The Everfree may provide better security for her than Subterra or Ponyville would.” Thorn answered, before he finished filing his report and banished the screen, absently flexing his mechanical limb before he added politely: “I suggest you get some rest, Silver. It would be best if we were both in optimum conditions for-”

“I am not one of your damned machines.” Silver grumbled, before she sighed tiredly and added moodily: “But very well. I will try and be a good little pig.”

Thorn only shrugged, and Silver gave him a foul look before she said grumpily: “I already regret this, but I suppose you must know the route to wherever we are going to help the disgusting sex goddess?”

“Fertility, forests, and war, actually. And yes.” Thorn answered, before he glanced up as Necrophage and Muse entered the library, the stallion giving a brief smile to the twins as Muse shyly lowered her head and Necrophage bounced excitedly towards him. “Did you complete the assessment?”

“Yep! Shouldn't be any problems, sir! I mean, Thorn!” Necrophage said brightly, smiling warmly at Thorn before she glanced back at her sister, as Muse blushed slightly and half-hid behind her mane. “My sister scanned everything, and I mapped the entire area for you, right here!”

Necrophage tapped her Mission Drive several times as she spun back towards Thorn, then she scraped a hoof awkwardly against her leg before she blurted: “And um, you know, not to, you know, step beyond my authorization, sir, but um... you should go get some rest!”

“Yes, you're right. I should rest, and you and Muse should do the same. Secure the library, then settle in for a few hours. I want everyone in top form for tomorrow.” Thorn agreed after a moment, and Necrophage and Muse both saluted, the former mare giggling and the latter murmuring in agreement before Silver snorted and rolled her eyes.

But she didn't say anything, so Thorn simply let it slide as he turned to head for the bedroom: Freya's bedroom, he thought. He had reorganized it neatly and cleaned it to leave it all-but-sparkling, but every time he stepped back inside, the room was in shambles again. It left him wondering whether Freya snuck in and out during the day, or if she had literally enchanted her room to return to a state of chaos any time it was cleaned.

Thorn carefully removed his prosthetic limb to place it aside for the moment, flexing his stump before he slipped into bed. He turned off the lamp by the bed with a simple telekinetic touch, before he smiled as he gazed at the patterns of stars and shapes that glowed across the ceiling. He followed their movements with his eyes for the longest time, and he didn't know when he slept, and when he woke up: the only thing that told him he had was the fact that one moment the luminescent were in one place, and next, they had jumped to another... and...

He glanced to the side to see Freya sitting there, calmly sharpening her greatsword as she studied him intently. After a few moments, she smiled wryly, before asking: “Are you too stupid to be afraid or too stupid to know better than to trust me?”

Thorn meditated for a moment, and then he answered simply: “Neither.”

Freya scowled at him, and then she flicked her horn as Thorn sat up, another of her swords leaping to press against his throat as she said moodily: “Don't get cocky now, little boy. Because that's all you are still, young and small.”

“Measurements reflect correlation, but correlation is not causation.” Thorn answered without flinching, before he simply slipped to the side and out of bed, Freya's mouth quirking at the way he completely ignored the sword. She bad-naturedly poked him in the rump with it a few times, but Thorn ignored that as well as he picked up his prosthetic limb, asking: “Are we ready to begin?”

“Almost. I have summoned landvættir, and friends and family will be present and should be setting up the last of things now. Atavus is already there and I will ask you kindly not to upset him, he's already had quite a trying journey just getting here.” Freya continued, and Thorn nodded as he turned towards her. “I understand that you are here to offer us help and protection, and I do appreciate it. I know I asked for it and I know what I was asking was no small thing. But all the same, Thorn Blackfeather, I am now further asking that you do not interfere with whatever it is that I choose to do.”

“Within mission parameters.” Thorn answered, and he met Freya's eye evenly when she glowered at him. “I have my orders and I know my duties.”

Freya smiled wryly, then she reached up and flicked up her eyepatch suddenly, revealing her crystalline eye. Thorn frowned ever-so-slightly, before Freya asked evenly: “Tell me. Which one of us do you think has the better sight, boy?”

Thorn studied the mare for a moment and the crystal in her socket that thrummed with its own eerie inner light, before he gave a brief sigh and nodded once. That seemed to be enough to satisfy Freya, who flicked her eyepatch back down before she said brusquely: “Get your dolls together. And let's hope your toys live up to the high expectations I have for them.”

Thorn only nodded, refusing to rise to the obvious baiting as he headed out of the room: he found Muse and Necrophage already waiting for him downstairs, and only had to look at Muse for her to suggest: “I heard Lady Silver on the balcony earlier. Perhaps she is still there.”

“Alright. You two go ahead to the mission site, Silver and I will catch up.” Thorn instructed, and the Replicants nodded and saluted before Necrophage bounced over and hugged the stallion tightly, making him lean back awkwardly for a moment before she smiled at him and hurried away, Muse following with an embarrassed smile over her shoulder to Thorn.

They vanished through the door, and Thorn picked up his cape from where he'd left it on the back of a chair. He put it on, then glanced up as Silver appeared at the top of the stairs to the second floor, smiling briefly up at her. “I was about to come looking for you.”

“I'm cooperating.” Silver grumbled, and Thorn nodded before the mare sighed loudly as she strode down the stairs, muttering: “So much information and so much of it is so useless, my brain still hasn't sorted through it all. But I'm smart enough to know this is a bad idea, and the stars and moon agree with me.”

“You were able to night-read?” Thorn asked curiously, and Silver gave him a disdainful look.

“Yes. As I just said, I am not stupid.” she said stiffly, before she grumbled moodily: “The other little piggies certainly aren't bright, though, so I'm sure you're used to dealing with-”

“Let's move on.” Thorn interrupted, and Silver rolled her eyes but followed the stallion to the door all the same, grumbling under her breath but swallowing the rest of her complaints as they headed through the village towards the Everfree Forest.

Freya had thoughtfully marked a path all the way to a clearing: some battle had taken here long ago, and a ferocious one at that, by the burnt stumps of trees and the scars that still pulsed in the earth. And yet all the same, this clearing still pulsed with vitality and magic that seemed to welcome them, and offer a protection to them so ancient and powerful even Thorn couldn't deny Freya's wisdom in seeking such a sanctuary out.

A statue of a Draconequus, frozen with an expression of defiance that said so much more than how his body had been forced into a bow, the rusted remains of a prosthetic arm hanging off of one shoulder: Discombobulation. Atavus was standing across from this, staring at with awe, never taking his eyes off the chaos entity as he seemed to somehow converse with it, making little noises now and then that could be laughter, or sighs, or even sobs.

The statue and the Primordial were inside a ring of stone obelisks: another, much-larger ring of carved wooden stakes surrounded the field as well, and it was inside this large ring where everyone was seated and gathered. Thorn felt the magic the moment he passed over the border of the ring of stakes: it was both security precaution and something else, something that Thorn couldn't quite put his finger on, that filled him with a strange feeling of warmth, kinship, family...

“Nephew!” shouted a jovial voice, and Thorn winced as he was picked up in a tight hug by Sleipnir, who laughed loudly before he set him down with a smile, and then winced when Pinkamena promptly slugged Thorn across the face, knocking him over. “Phoenix!”

“What? He asked for it.” Pinkamena growled as she absently shook out her hoof, adding moodily: “Harder face than I recall.”

“It's been a long journey.” Thorn said after a moment as he straightened, giving a brief smile to his aunt as he reached up and absently touched his cheek. “It was my fault. I allowed myself to get distracted.”

“Nothing's gonna change how much I hate you, huh?” Pinkamena asked sourly, but Thorn was spared from answering by Antares bouncing over with Innocence, as always, in tow.

“Hey, leave the kid alone! He's just a kid. Right, slugger?” asked Antares cheerfully, before he easily ducked away when Pinkamena growled and swung a hoof at him. “Good to see you though, squirt! Here to meet Discombobulation?”

“Just to provide security.” answered Thorn with a shake of his head, before he closed his natural eye, letting his optic sensors quickly assess everything. It all came so quickly that it made his head hurt a little, but he ignored the pain for the moment as he muttered: “Interesting. I didn't expect this much energy, or so many signals. It's crowded here... how many people do we have?”

“Uh... a lot.” Antares said lamely, as he looked back at the crowd, and Innocence grunted as she looked suspiciously at Thorn, even after he blinked both eyes open, grimacing a little bit. “What, don't you have a headcount?”

“Yes. Thirty-two, including the landvættir that Freya summoned and the defense forces I brought.” Thorn answered, and Antares stared at him. “My optic sensor identifies and dissimilates thermal and energetic signals so I can instantly acquire a count of active entities in the area.”

“Uh huh.” Antares slowly reached out and grasped Thorn's nose gently, before he asked seriously: “Are you a robot?”

Thorn looked moodily at Antares, before he carefully reached up and removed Antares' hoof from his muzzle, saying dryly: “I am not a robot.”

“He's a robot.” Innocence declared, before she punched her front claws together and growled: “Let's show him what we do to robots.”

“Leave that machine and his mechanical friends alone, we've got more important things to do!” Freya shouted, and Thorn was somehow unsurprised to see the Valkyrie striding through the crowd as if she had been here the whole time, Innocence squawking and Antares looking relieved. “Well, robot, set up your dollies!”

“I hate her.” Silver said moodily, and then she grumbled under her breath before she looked at Thorn with surprise when he produced a crystal on a band from under his cape and held it out to her. “What's this? I do not need an amplifier, if that is what you are suggesting, this pig-”

“You are not a pig, and it is not an amplification crystal. It's a pocket rift: I preselected some of your gear before mission, just in case.” Thorn explained, and Silver snorted, but she seemed more amused than bitter.

“So, not even allowed to make my own choices, am I? I'll have to have a talk with my sister about that.” Silver griped, but she gave maybe the tiniest of nods when she took the crystal from Thorn, muttering: “Fine. I'll be a good little pig.”

Thorn nodded, then he produced his own crystal-inset band and slipped it around his flesh-and-blood foreleg, tapping it several times as he explained: “All you have to do is charge it with ten bæns of magic to create a small rift in reality. Then you can reach inside and-”

“How do you portal a pocket dimension? I didn't think that was possible!” Innocence interrupted as she leapt forward and then suddenly shoved her claw against the crystal, and Thorn winced as a swirling portal formed that was almost a meter in diameter beside him, Innocence grabbing the edges of this like it was a physical hole in the wall of reality before she shoved her upper body through.

Thorn hurriedly grabbed her and yanked her back, and Innocence grinned widely as the portal snapped closed, saying cheerfully: “Bigger than I thought!”

“Sin, he's your brother!” Antares said in mock horror, and Innocence scowled at him horribly. “Besides, it can't be that big.”

Innocence started to open her mouth, but Thorn cut her off, saying dryly: “Please do not do that again. The pocket dimensions are calibrated specifically for non-organics and each can only carry a set weight of objects. It could collapse and kill you if you enter it.”

“Cool.” Innocence said brightly, and Thorn rolled his eyes before he gently dropped the odd mare, who brushed herself off before she held up her claws with a grin, a glow suffusing her forelegs before a pair of heavy metallic gauntlets appeared over them, the mare waggling her eyebrows at Thorn as she punched together her... Talons. Like Father's. “But I can do cooler.”

“Stop prattling.” Freya grumbled, and Innocence squawked as the Valkyrie slapped the back of her head before Freya ordered: “Get out there and do your jobs. I will stay here and protect Discombobulation and Atavus, but the forest warns me we already have uninvited guests. I suppose you feel it, brother, don't you?”

Sleipnir smiled wryly, eyes flicking to the side as he answered: “Aye, of course! But perhaps they do not mean harm, Freya... I may not sense my little brother among their number, but I do feel a strange... familiarity. Does thou not sense it too?”

“Loki I will not strike down or fight. But his disciples, and furthermore, those arrogant and rude enough to intrude upon this...” Freya smiled thinly. “Well, Thor, I'm sure you know it's better that I don't let my poor woman's hands wander. Otherwise I'll end up red with blood.”

“Sleipnir now, Freya! And that is a silly thought. Thou hast hooves, not hands!” Sleipnir said cheerfully, before he glanced to the side and said suddenly: “They come from all sides. They are many. And... sister will not be pleased.”

“Brynhild is never pleased.” Freya muttered, before she barked: “And what are the lot of you standing around here for? Move!”

Innocence and Antares both yelped and scrambled away as Silver grimaced and stepped nervously back, but Thorn only remained standing even as Freya glared a hole in him with her eye, before the Valkyrie blinked in surprise as Thorn murmured: “Husks. Aetherhaunts. Elementals. And... Atropii. Three Voidborn. And... something else. My optic sensor isn't calibrated to read it.”

“And yet you can see Aetherhaunts?” Freya asked dubiously, before she grimaced as she shook her head and muttered: “Atavus and I will create a shield around Discombobulation. And considering the size of this enemy force, I may yet reconsider my decision not to put Loki's head on a stick.”

Freya turned and headed to the center of the field, and Sleipnir smiled wryly before he turned his eyes towards Thorn, reassuring gently: “Fear not. It has simply been... a very trying time for my sister, this last while. But we can speak on such later. Can thou track the Aetherhaunts?”

“Not very well. I can tell they're in the area: they create an atypical distortion in my optic sensor, similar to electromagnetic resonance.” Thorn explained, and Sleipnir looked at him dumbly, but Thorn only turned away and said clearly: “All present, keep your eyes open, cover each other in pairs or groups! Our opponents include dishonored Reapers capable of instantaneous and silent transmission, and entities that can only be detected by visual line of sight and will sap spiritual energy if they get close, you-”

“Hey, we know already! Also we totally don't work for you!” Antares called back, and Thorn rolled his eyes before he strode quickly to the edge of the circle. He didn't look back even as he felt the magic in the air change, and a golden dome of energy formed around the center of the ritual area, Freya, Atavus, and the statue of the Draconequus sealed safely inside.

“My name is Thorn Blackfeather, and I am the Regent of Decretum. By the authority of the Clockwork Empire and Empress Hecate, I order whoever is in charge to step forward and declare their intentions.” Thorn announced clearly.

A voice laughed quietly, before a black unicorn emerged from the forest. His pristine armor gleamed as brightly as his grinning teeth as he growled: “Perfect. Just what I was hoping: all the bastard children of Luna are here in one place.”

“Um, hey, my parents were married before they had us, so. We're not bastards.” Antares said pointedly as he sidled quickly up beside Thorn, Innocence scowling as she joined his other side, and Scarlet Sage landing beside her sister with narrowed eyes. “So uh, who are you?”

“Ignominious of the Jarsongildi, former Paladin of Equestria.” Thorn answered, before his eyes flicked calmly back and forth as the other Voidborn emerged, the stallion picking them out one after the other: “Sol Seraph, formerly of the Order of the Seraphim; and I am sure you recognize Cancer.”

Cancer cackled loudly, popping up to his hind hooves and bowing several times as he declared: “Well well well, what have we here? It's the four little mice, all precious and dear! Oh honey, I'm-”

Cancer was cut off with a hurk as Sol Seraph picked up a rock and slammed it savagely back into his face, sending up a splatter of goo as the destruction entity dumbly fell back on his haunches, before the Pegasus Voidborn said contemptibly: “I am here for my daughter. I am not here to sing songs, to scavenge weaklings, or to play games. I will kill anyone who gets in my way.”

“Wait.” Ignominious growled, but Sol Seraph only looked at him measuringly: something Ignominious clearly mistook for obedience as he smiled contritely before turning his eyes back towards the ponies in front of him: and in spite of all the others gathered here, he only had eyes for the four children of Luna and Twilight and Scrivener, saying in a soft, triumphant voice: “This. This is what I have been waiting for, this is what shall be my victory. This shall be my revenge against Luna, for all the years that she-”

Sol Seraph calmly produced a knife, spinning this in her hoof slowly as Cancer – with the rock still comically embedded in his face – hurriedly leaned away, before she simply leaned to the side and slammed the knife into the side of Ignominious' neck.

He gargled and clawed wildly at the dagger embedded in his throat, staring at Sol Seraph with horror, but the Voidborn didn't so much as look at him as she said contemptibly: “Daughter. You failed at many things when you were a foal, but you were never tardy. Or are you trying out new ways to disappoint me?”

“I apologize, Mother. But I have my own family to look after now, and it was hard to convince them to stay back.” Fluttershy said gently as she approached politely, bowing her head before she asked in a voice so kind, so courteous, it made the ridiculous request seem almost plausible: “Can we go and have tea together? Can we... talk, for once? Just once, Mother. Just once. I won't even ask you to put down your weapons. Just that you give me... a little bit of time, before we...”

“You are weak. You are pathetic. You are everything that I was told to never be, everything that I worked so hard to crush out of you when you were a filly...” Without looking, Sol Seraph flicked a foreleg up, a hidden blade popping out and pressing threateningly to Ignominious' throat before he could turn to yell at her, and the Voidborn unicorn went pale, mouthing wordlessly as he shivered, energy leaking out of the wound in his neck as Cancer scampered hurriedly away into some bushes.

Sol Seraph looked silently at the ground for a few moments, and then she said softly: “Very well, Fluttershy. Show me the den of your pack. Betray your family by bringing the hunter home. I will give you one single hour. I will not fight you. But if you show weakness, I will strike at you, and I will kill you. And after you are done with your nattering, I will kill you, and I will kill your entire family.”

Yet even at this, Fluttershy only smiled faintly before she said softly: “Funny, the things you feel... nostalgia for. The things you remember.. It's just like when I was a filly, and you would be reading to me or Matilda or Carhop would be teaching me a lesson, and then you would suddenly strike from out of nowhere...”

“You survived.” Sol Seraph said grudgingly, in the most reluctant form of compliment possible, and yet Fluttershy lit up with it all the same, even as the Voidborn Pegasus rose her head to glare at her with frustration. “I should have struck you harder. I should have killed you.”

“But you never did. You and Father made me strong though, Mother. For everything you did wrong, you did make me strong. And I... I'm not going to give in to anger and sadness anymore. I love you.” Fluttershy said fearlessly, and Sol Seraph almost recoiled, her eyes widening slightly in confusion, as if she couldn't understand what her Phooka daughter had just said to her. “I love you, and-”

“Enough of this nonsense!” Ignominious shouted angrily, stepping forward as his horn glowed with malevolent light as he lunged at Fluttershy.

Not even Antares could completely follow what happened next: one moment, Ignominious was striking out at Fluttershy: the next, he was on the ground, another knife buried into his back, his whole body quaking with fear and pain as Sol Seraph slowly pressed down on him, her eyes strange and ruthless and terribly-sad all at once as she leaned down to whisper something in the stallion's ear. For a moment, Ignominious failed to comprehend whatever she had said, but then the Pegasus Voidborn twisted the knife in his back, and he screamed before nodding wildly, howling: “I promise! I promise I won't!”

“Your whimpering means more to me than your promises.” Sol Seraph said with clear disgust, before she calmly straightened and looked down at Ignominious with contempt, as he shivered and whimpered on the ground beneath her.

Then she simply looked up at Fluttershy, and Fluttershy smiled at her as she strode fearlessly up to her mother. There was a flash, but a moment later, Fluttershy was gently cradling her mother's hoof, the hidden blade extended from Sol Seraph's wrist trembling as the Phooka said quietly, honestly: “I'm sorry I lashed out at you. It won't happen again.”

Sol Seraph didn't reply, but she almost seemed to shiver as she yanked her hoof back, retorting: “I do not care what animal filth does. It is all meaningless to me.”

But Fluttershy only smiled again, before she calmly strode past Sol Seraph. And Sol Seraph watched her, strangely, before she shook her head and silently followed after the Phooka.

For a moment, Thorn hesitated, but then he sensed several other signatures leaving the area. He began to shift, but Antares muttered: “Trust her. Just let her do her thing. That's the hardest part of being a leader.”

“Yes. You're right. Our resources need to be focused here. No matter how it ends, she's done us a favor by removing the most dangerous Voidborn.” Thorn answered, before he glanced up at a harsh laugh.

“No! No, you have no idea what kind of 'danger' you're in, boy...” hissed Ignominious, as he slowly clawed his way up to his hooves. He panted roughly, leaking energy, a knife still buried in his back, eyes wild and maddened as he snarled at them furiously. “I have the powers of Loki's children! I am-”

“You're Mutt's ex. You're dumb.” Innocence said loudly, and Ignominious stared at her before she sniffed disdainfully. “Anyone who would date Mutt is crazy and stupid. But you're crazy, stupid, and you weren't good enough for her.”

“Innocence, don't hurt the guy's feelings now! I mean, look at him. He looks...” Antares paused, awkwardly staring at the Voidborn for a moment before he said lamely: “...nice.”

Ignominious snarled, before Cancer poked his head out from a bush and added helpfully: “Hey, boss, ain't no one blamin' you for being a little... y'know, off your form. There are some things even we destruction entities don't play around with. And she hates my singing! Can you believe that, kiddos? I mean, I sing like an angel!”

“You sing like a cat in heat.” Antares said dryly, and Cancer glared at him before the unicorn spread his crystalline wings, becoming suddenly serious as he said coldly: “My name is Antares Mīrus, and it is my duty to protect this world and these people. This is your one and only warning: surrender or leave now, or we won't show you any mercy.”

“Nay! 'Tis always room for mercy. Even when the heart hurts, there is always room for mercy.” Sleipnir said kindly as he joined them, smiling warmly as he looked at Ignominious before he asked politely: “Does thou remember me?”

Ignominious scowled, studying Sleipnir with a strange intentness before he said disgustedly: “Far too well, slave hoof. I remember you. I remember how you interfered. I remember how they blamed me for your stupidity!”

“My sisters have always been overprotective. And to this day, Ignominious, I hold that 'twas not thy fault, but mine own.” Sleipnir smiled faintly, shaking his head slowly before he said gently: “Give up this crusade. There is nothing to be done here, nothing to...”

Sleipnir halted, then he frowned uneasily before he suddenly strode forward, Thorn frowning as Ignominious snarled, sword and shield appearing in his magic grip before he slammed the latter out. But the shield clanged uselessly off Sleipnir's side, and Ignominious staggered stupidly as the enormous stallion simply kept walking, his ears swiveled forward, his eyes intent before he whispered: “I hear thee, old friend. But who holds thee?”

Sleipnir simply wandered away, passing through the enemy forces like an icebreaker, as if he didn't even see the monsters that materialized around him. But none could so much as touch him as he was drawn onward, Ignominious still staring in confusion over his shoulder at him before Cancer whispered loudly: “Spoiler alert. Poppet already drove him crazy.”

“Shut up, monster.” Ignominious growled, before he turned his eyes back forward as he straightened, sword and shield at the ready, and yet he was visibly shaken for some reason, Thorn and Antares both studying the stallion intently, looking at the way he moved and shifted more than listening to his words as he continued harshly: “My forces have by now completely surrounded your little friendship circle. Sol Seraph had led off some of your soldiers, just... just as planned! And-”

“Yeah, Fluttershy is like, crazy badass. I think she's almost as good a fighter as Mom. Plus there's the whole Phooka, can't be hurt by physical blows, thing.” Antares emphasized this by punching himself lightly a few times in the cheek, before he squawked when Innocence slapped him firmly. “What the hell was that for?”

“I thought you wanted me to.” Innocence said innocently, and Antares gave her a dry look before the mare added mildly: “Also I don't think you planned that. I think she beat you up.”

“She did not 'beat me up!'” Ignominious shouted angrily, before he snarled as he pointed his sword at her: “Now listen to me you little bitch, you-”

Innocence promptly dropped on her rump and burst into tears, Ignominious and Cancer both staring as Antares shouted: “Now look at that! Look what you did! You made my little sister cry! Which isn't as cute anymore, actually, because she's not the baby of the family. Thorn is.”

“I'm still the goddamn baby you son of a bitch!” Innocence shouted furiously as she leapt up to her feet and slammed her face against Antares', who reared back in horror, before Innocence hurriedly cleared her throat and leaned away, making a few awkward sobbing noises: “I mean. Boo hoo, I'm so. Sad.”

“Stop mocking me!” Ignominious roared, leaping forward, but Antares leapt forward, gracefully sliding between sword and shield to ram straight into Ignominious and then slam him down on his back.

The stallion shouted in consternation, but Cancer leapt forward with a cackle, roaring: “Let's start the fun, we're gonna have a-”

“Blast!” snapped Innocence, lashing her horn down, and a fireball smashed into the monster and knocked him flying away with a squeal of pain before Innocence winced and dodged backward when an Atropii appeared beside her, narrowly missing her with a slice of its scythe. “Bad guys!”

“They're launching a full attack!” Scarlet Sage warned, and Thorn grimaced as his visor showed the same: enemies had appeared on all sides of them, although it looked like the people gathered here had moved to counter just as quickly.

Innocence snapped her horn out, blasting the scythe out of an Atropii's claws before she leapt up and slammed a claw through its mask, the dishonored Reaper screaming as it exploded in a blast of energy. Thorn was relieved that he at least didn't have to tell them what to do, before he grimaced as a Husk came charging out of the forest at him.

It was intercepted by Scarlet Sage, who smashed it across the face before she shuddered as she threw it backward. “No blood, not even real energy... what the hell are they?”

“Shadows from the Void.” Thorn answered calmly as Antares was flung off Ignominious, before he glanced to the side and added: “Cancer. Left flank.”

Scarlet Sage grimaced as Cancer leapt in from the left with a snarling grin, roaring: “Gotta kill the kiddies in order! Babies first!”

“I'm the baby!” roared Innocence as she bodychecked Scarlet Sage out of the way before snapping her horn out, and Cancer squealed as he was blasted into the sky by a tornado of wind before Innocence grinned as her eyes flashed, and the wind became twisting snakes of lightning that ripped across Cancer's body before there was a tremendous boom that launched him face-first into the earth.

Innocence cackled, before she scowled horribly as Thorn remarked: “You wasted more than a thousand bæns of energy with that show of power.”

“We have more important things to focus on right now than me showing off how much power I-” Innocence cut herself off as she felt the pulse of magic, and Thorn looked sharply up as he felt it as well: the ripple of unnatural power, as Antares was driven backwards by a shockwave of force from Ignominious as the stallion leaned forwards with a guttural snarl.

His fur thickened, his body bulging as steam hissed off his body, armor melding into his form as his shadow lengthened and grew. Hooves split apart into claws, then morphed into bulging paws as his tail swished back and forth, rasping in a mutant voice: “I will not be... humiliated!”

Ignominious roared as he transformed, expanding into a massive, terrible black wolf, eyes glowing with crimson hatred and teeth gleaming like blades. Antares winced as Thorn grimaced at the readings his cybernetic eye detected, but it was Scarlet Sage who identified it first, who understood most the danger this monster posed: “Black Wolf! They steal power from the earth!”

Thorn leapt backwards when the monstrous, gigantic wolf lunged at him, roaring and biting savagely: Atopii appeared on either side of him, but Thorn didn't so much as glance in their direction as he concentrated on the task at hoof, saying coldly: “Begin analysis.”

Readings flashed across half his vision as Innocence blasted one of the Atropii and Scarlet Sage leapt up to smash through the face of the other. Antares lunged at Ignominious' hindquarters, but a ball of white goo collided with him, knocking him stumbling before he swore in pain as two Husks tackled him and drove him to the ground.

He rolled backwards, throwing one off and pinning the other beneath him, but then he cursed as the white goo still clinging to his body exploded in a noxious blast, knocking him crashing backwards again as Cancer chortled loudly, hopping gleefully after the stallion as he mocked: “What's wrong, kiddo? Thought you could see everything with those special eyes o' yours!”

“Not when they're closed!” Antares complained as he rolled backwards, grimacing a bit as his eyes flicked quickly back and forth: he could see Husks and Elementals surging by, but apart from the two Husks that had already attacked him, none of them seemed interested in interfering with the fight between Cancer and his prey. Good.

One of these Husks ran at him, but Antares caught it by the head before twisting viciously, snapping its neck before he slammed the Husk into the ground. Cancer grinned widely as he leapt at the perceived opening it left, but Antares simply created a white wall of energy in front of himself that the destruction entity smacked into with a squeak, stuck to it like a bird against a window for a moment before he was launched violently backwards when the wall of energy exploded.

The screams of Cancer were drowned out by the furious roars of Ignominious as he charged after Thorn Blackfeather, rabid red eyes locked on the stallion as he stomped and clawed his way after the stallion. “Come here! Come... die!”

“Voidborn subject determined hostile and non-compliant. Lethal force has been authorized. Move to neutralize.” Thorn stated calmly, his mechanical limb sparking before he suddenly stepped forward and slammed it out as the Ignominious beast lunged at him, and the wolf howled in pain and skittered backwards as his nose exploded in a black, gooey mess from the force of the blow.

He healed almost immediately, but Innocence grinned widely as she leapt up beside the stallion, remarking cheerfully: “You sound like a robot, robot, but you sure can punch! I guess you must be my brother after all!”

“Elementals, moving in from all sides. Earth type.” Thorn said shortly, and Innocence huffed before she suddenly swung her horn sharply up, grinning widely as her body pulsed with power, and Thorn felt a distinct energy surging not through the air, but feeding from Innocence into the ground below.

Massive vines ripped out of the earth, snaring around the hound-like elementals of rock and bone that were leaping towards them, the creatures yelping in pain and surprise before they were torn apart or crushed by the powerful tendrils of plant life, Innocence grinning widely as she said proudly: “Nature magic just happens to be my special talent! And everypony knows that rocks are weak against plants!”

Thorn disregarded Innocence's bravado as Ignominious roared furiously, jaws slavering, madness burning in his eyes as he snarled: “I smell you! The power of Fenrir flows through me and makes me hunger for your flesh!”

He lunged forward, before gasping in pain as Scarlet Sage shot down from the air and slammed her hooves into the side of his face. As he staggered, Innocence swept her horn up and sent a spike of rock ripping up into the underside of his jaw, making him howl as he shoved himself backwards; just what Innocence had clearly hoped he would do, as living vines snapped up around the wolf's neck before he was jerked viciously back down again, impaled a second time on the spike of rock.

“It won't work!” Scarlet Sage shouted from above, before she winced as Ignominious proved her right by ripping free with a furious howl, foam flying from his jaws as his wounds almost instantaneously healed, the ground around him charring as he stole energy from the earth to power his massive body. “You have to get him off the ground somehow!”

“Easier said than done! He's the size of a freaking elephant! I've never even seen a real elephant and I know he's got to at least be as big as one!” Innocence shouted back, before she cursed as Ignominious-Fenrir lunged at her, stomping her talons into the ground to create a massive wall of black crystal that the Black Wolf uselessly hammered into.

It scrabbled wildly against this, and Thorn's eyes narrowed sharply even as the monster began to smash down the wall, ordering: “Corrupt the ground beneath him!”

“Hey, don't tell me what-” Innocence was cut off as Ignominious smashed through the wall of crystal, roaring and biting savagely at Innocence, but Scarlet Sage dropped out of the sky again to crash against the monster, harrying it and distracting it as Innocence scrambled hurriedly away, shouting in a strangled voice: “Got it doing it okay!”

Ignominious leapt up after Scarlet Sage, swatting and biting at her furiously, like a cat chasing a bird. He was more animal than pony, gnashing his teeth and making furious, senseless sounds, his eyes wild and darting distractedly back and forth.

Then he suddenly hissed and staggered backwards as the ground beneath him transformed into mire, yanking his paws hurriedly away from the corrupted earth as he barked wildly before hissing: “No, no! We will not fall for that again!”

The massive wolf paced back and forth at the edge of the muck, every now and then stomping at the black ooze as he barked and rumbled, twitching every so often as he fought to control himself. Thorn watched closely as Innocence scowled, before the mare growled as she flexed her claws against the earth: “I can transform this whole section of forest into mire if you want.”

“You don't have to. The wolf's instincts are overwhelming his mind. We just have to be patient and he'll defeat himself.” Thorn said calmly, and Ignominious snarled at him furiously.

“What do you know, brat? Weak horse-flesh!” roared Ignominious, spitting foam as he glared furiously at the sapphire stallion, stepping forwards and swatting the corrupt earth in front of him several times with one huge paw, as if to test it. He snorted and rasped, staggering back and forth, but in spite of his threats and fury, it never seemed to occur to him that he could easily walk around the mass of black earth, as he roared: “You can't hide forever!”

“I have no intention of hiding.” Thorn said quietly, and Innocence grinned widely before she swore under her breath in surprise when an Atropii appeared in front of her. But before it could strike, a bullet smashed through its mask, the creature howling as it collapses into ashes as Thorn said calmly: “Thank you, Silver.”

Silver only grunted as she reloaded her rifle before she swore under her breath as Elementals came charging in from the left flank. She immediately spun towards them, keeping the glowing golden barrier in the center of the field at her back as she shouted: “Pigs, kill the rats!”

Muse and Necrophage both leapt forward without question, Necrophage growling like a puppy as she charged headlong into the Elementals, and Muse anchoring herself as her features tensed, her body thrumming with power.

Necrophage rammed into the rocky monsters with a yell, smashing through their ranks and knocking them flying like toys, and Muse caught the ones that Necrophage rendered defenseless, slamming them into each other with enough force to smash them to pieces. They worked efficiently as Silver fired potshots into the ranks of the Elementals, the powerful rifle she had produced from the personal storage space Hecate had given her tearing through limbs and bodies like putty.

As the Elementals were rebuffed, Husks and Atropii tried to attack from the other flank, but they were met by a force of warriors they had not expected: ponies and other creatures threw themselves against both the Void creatures and the dishonored Reapers, fighting as ferociously as any warrior of Valhalla would.

Ignominious-Fenrir roared furiously, suddenly leaping forward over the black ooze and diving straight at Thorn, but the stallion held his ground fearlessly as he watched the massive black wolf sail towards him before his horn glowed and he vanished from the spot, the monster slamming face-first into the ground with a yelp of confusion.

Then he howled in frustration and pain as ropes of vine lashed up around his body, fighting to drag him down as the ground beneath his paws transformed into mire, Innocence growling: “You know, this would be so much easier if I had a little bit of help here!”

Ignominious' blazing eyes locked on the mare, barking wildly as he clawed towards her, even as his body began to shake and shiver as he kicked up muck and mire. Innocence swore and reared back with a wince as the monster strained against the vines wrapped around him, choking and gargling as black drool fell from his mouth and his eyes roiled with crimson hate, rasping: “N-No... you... die! Give me... die!”

“I'll give you all the death you want, pal.” Innocence growled as she stepped backwards with a grimace, her body flexing as she shoved her claws against the ground, anchoring herself even as the Black Wolf continued to force forwards. “Can I get any help at all here, or-”

A shot rang out, and the Black Wolf howled in frustration as it tried to spin around, glaring over its shoulder at Thorn as he calmly worked the lever of his rifle before he fired a second round into the Black Wolf's eye as it began to turn.

Ignominious-Fenrir howled in misery, shaking his head violently back and forth as he shambled to the side, ripping up vines and ivy before he roared incoherently at Thorn. But the stallion only looked fearlessly back even as the wolf-beast rounded on him, drooling black ooze as slimy tears and red light shone from its pierced socket, gurgling and foaming as it pawed through the muck towards the unicorn.

Thorn didn't move even as the beast lumbered towards him, rasping and growling, rivers of black ichor flowing from its nostrils and maw, single eye pulsing with rage as it glared into him. Thorn couldn't understand anything that the beast was trying to say, but he could feel it in the corruption that pulsed through his veins, his mechanical forelimb creaking faintly as he felt the black poison getting excited, drowning out the fear, the fury, the panic in his veins-

A geyser of corruption erupted into the air, spraying high towards the sky, Ignominious-Fernrir roaring in confusion before a pair of massive claws slammed down on his shoulders, a huge, crystalline Tyrant Wyrm pouncing on top of him and shoving him to the ground as Innocence snarled: “I can't keep this bastard pinned forever, Thorn! What the hell are we doing?”

“It's already been done.” Thorn said calmly, as he worked the lever of his rifle before he took aim at Ignominious again, firing a third round into the monster's face and making him howl in fury, before the wolf-beast's eyes widened in horror as he choked and gagged, then vomited white foam.

The creature struggled wildly against Innocence, who gritted her teeth before her eyes widened in shock as she saw a strange grayness beginning to travel through both the massive wolf-beast and the earth beneath him, as Ignominious-Fenrir's eyes rolled in his head and he whimpered and rasped.

Innocence swore in surprise as one of the wolf-beast's shoulders suddenly tore away beneath her, crumbling away into stone and shale as black slime burst from the wound. Thorn stepped backwards as Ignominious-Fenrir howled in misery, his eyes losing their color, his fur falling out, his muscles bulging before rotting away.

Thorn stepped backwards with a grimace of distaste as the crystalline Tyrant Wyrm shoved herself hurriedly away from the collapsing, decaying beast. She stared in horror as the monstrosity all-but-liquefied before her eyes, leaving behind only a pile of mush and stony debris as the earth beneath it became ashes and dust. “What in the name of god...”

“We exploited its strengths to our benefit.” Thorn half-answered as he put aside his rifle, and then he strode across the barren, mutilated landscape, crushing shale and sweeping muck aside as he headed for the middle of the rotten mass.

Innocence watched as Thorn stopped in front of the hump of decay, before she grimaced as he shoved his mechanical leg into it. A moment later, Thorn tore Ignominious free, slamming him down on his face, the Voidborn choking and rasping as he hugged himself and stared in horror up at Thorn, who looked ruthlessly back down at him.

“N-No... it hurts... how can it hurt me?” Ignominious almost pleaded, before he leaned up, rasping: “Mercy! Mercy! Y-You... you have to give me mercy!”

Thorn looked coldly down at Ignominious as the broken paladin writhed on the ground, before he gave a twisted grin, his eyes half-blind and poison pulsing through not just his veins, but his very energy: the corruption he had absorbed as Fenrir and the wolf-mind had warped his spirit more than Ignominious realized, and the White Matter rounds that Thorn had pumped into him with his rifle was turning all that poisonous power he had been filled with into nothing but sludge.

“I know... you... I know your kind. I... surrender.” Ignominious smiled widely, his eyes wild, one of them rolling blindly as he rasped: “Give me the antidote. Fix me. Cure me! Make me strong, h-help me... help me, child of Luna Lightblade... you stink of the p-p-poison, too, just like... your Daddy... but you have Mommy's eyes. A martyr's eyes. I gave up! So y-y-you have to help me...”

Ignominious' words echoed eerily through the forest, causing Elementals and Atropii to halt, Cancer looking up with a grunt of surprise from his fight with Antares before he snorted and turned back to the stallion, growling: “Well, I sure don't care about that! Hey, kid! Catch me!”

Cancer grinned, then he lunged suddenly forward, roaring as his forelegs became blades and spikes ripped out across his entire body, but Antares only yawned loudly before he created a barrier of white energy, bouncing the destroyer into the treetops with a squeal.

Then he looked up in surprise as he heard screaming, and Innocence stared as Thorn calmly pressed his steel hoof down over Ignominious' face, the Voidborn shaking his head vehemently as he rasped: “S-Stop it! Save me, you have to help me! Y-You-”

“I do not accept your surrender, but all the same I will grant your request for mercy, Ignominious.” Thorn said evenly, and Ignominious screamed again as another pulse of electricity ripped across his body, sapping the strength from his form as energy fumed up from his decaying shell. “Go back to the Void. Tell Loki that we are not afraid of him”

Thorn slipped his hoof down to Ignominious' chest, crushing down on his ribs as the Voidborn stared up with horror, trembling violently as Thorn said in a low, soft voice: “And for your personal edification, Ignominious... I do not operate by the same rules as my parents.”

Thorn shoved down as his hoof crackled with lightning, and Ignominious screamed, back arching and eyes bulging before his body simply exploded into ashes and embers, Thorn's hoof crushing down into the earth before he glanced up fearlessly as Cancer came rocketing down through the trees, shouting gleefully: “Hey dumbass, I got a-”

Innocence reached a crystal claw out and caught the destruction entity, who squeaked in pain before he was slammed down into the ground, squirming uselessly in one of her claws as the black crystal thrummed faintly with magic energy. Then Cancer snarled as his body slowly began to petrify in the grip of the Tyrant Wyrm, head snapping uselessly back and forth as he spat: “I'll get you yet, kiddies! I'll get you, and your little stupid dog too! Yeah, you heard me, I'm gonna kill your bitch, you... you...”

Cancer petrified completely, and Innocence snorted before a thick cube of black crystal formed around her claw and the beast inside. This split away from her wrist, and after a moment, the massive Tyrant Wyrm slowly sat back as its chest cracked open.

Innocence strode out of this as they were joined by Antares, who glanced quickly back at the crowd before he muttered: “Looks safe. Safe-ish, anyway. Most of the enemy withdrew the moment you uh...”

Antares cleared his throat as Thorn flexed his mechanical hoof, before he glanced up and explained: “Accelerated the process. I excited both the Clay and the White Matter and caused a spontaneous combustion event.”

“Are you okay?” Antares asked bluntly, and Thorn smiled briefly.

“Fine.” he said after a moment, before he turned his eyes outward and added quietly: “I just hope the others are as well.”