• Published 19th Sep 2016
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Hecate's Orphanage - BlackRoseRaven



Cadence and other ponies from across countless parallel worlds work together to protect their universe from monsters.

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A World Ruled By Death

Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen: A World Ruled By Death
~BlackRoseRaven

Cadence checked over her team as they waited in the zone that had been marked for them: Moonflower was in a brand new set of armor, La Croix had his wooden prosthetic reattached, and her father seemed strong and in control even as a bit of miasma streamed from his horn.

Thorn was walking down the groups of Orphans who were all neatly positioned inside the prep zones marked by yellow paint, his clipboard floating beside him so he could make the occasional note. He was accompanied by Necrophage and Muse, and Cadence couldn't help but note wryly that even after all this time, Moonflower still stiffened up and glowered at the bubbly Replicant as she bounced happily along beside Thorn when they approached.

She turned to salute him, satisfied that her team was ready: their equipment was in working order, and while they weren't in top form... we'll be good enough. We'll be better than whatever we have to fight. “Sir.”

Necrophage waved wildly at her as Muse bowed her head politely, but both Replicants stepped politely back as Thorn studied Cadence, sizing her up with both eyes, and to this day, Cadence didn't know if his mechanical eye or his organic one had the sharper vision.

“Are you ready?” Thorn asked bluntly, but Cadence only nodded, and the stallion surveyed them for a few moments with his mismatched eyes before he nodded back, saying quietly: “Remember your orders. Track down and eliminate Loki. Neutralize all resistance you encounter, with special priority given to Voidborn. And remember, as Rex Prox, Cadence, other Decretum forces will obey your authority. Try not to abuse it.”

“Don't worry. I want to take care of this myself. I don't want anyone to interfere.” Cadence answered, and Thorn gave a thin smile.

“That is fine, but it goes both ways. If you can utilize Decretum troops to isolate Loki's forces, do so. Don't waste your resources.” Thorn replied, and Cadence smiled wryly as she half-saluted: at least now she could tell the difference between when Thorn was giving advice and scolding her. “Our drones have yet to return with any information about the Ahriman, but the communication network has been fully reestablished across World Without End and beyond. You'll be the first to know if we discover anything.”

“Thanks. Is there anything else I should be aware of?” Cadence asked, looking pointedly at Thorn, and he met her gaze calmly.

“No. But there's an indication that Loki's forces are trying to converge on a particular cathedral, and a... rumor, that Thanatos may have a piece of something in his possession that Loki has been trying desperately to acquire, which would explain both Loki's aggression and why he hasn't used the disruptor.” Thorn answered quietly, and Cadence's eyes widened slightly before Thorn continued: “Decretum forces have already heavily fortified the cathedral, but if you move towards it from the drop zone, you may be able to intercept enemy reinforcements.”

“Maybe even an officer or two.” Cadence muttered, and then she nodded quickly. “Thanks, Thorn.”

Thorn smiled briefly before he glanced over the others, then he suddenly stepped forwards and kissed Moonflower. The stallion's eyes bulged in surprise, but he quickly kissed his partner back before Thorn stepped away and absently caught Moonflower as he nearly fell over, gently pushing him back to a standing position as he said curtly: “Good luck.”

“T-Thanks!” Moonflower stuttered, then he smiled lamely and watched as Thorn walked calmly away, striding across the deployment hall to Strike Team Valkyrie, where Luna was positively beaming and Morgan and Scrivener both looked amused, if anything. Necrophage and Muse only lingered for a moment more, the former waving wildly again and the latter murmuring a 'good luck' to them before they turned to follow after their superior officer and friend.

“Daddy, how would you feel if I kissed a mare in front of you?” Cadence asked before she realized what a strange question that probably was, and Sombra smiled in amusement.

“I can't say I would be surprised.” he replied, and Cadence rolled her eyes as La Croix snorted in entertainment, while Moonflower only dreamily swayed on the spot before he blinked and looked up as a klaxon blared loudly.

“Into position! First wave, departure in thirty seconds!” shouted Thorn, as he strode quickly into the center of the hall between the two lines of ponies, his Replicant companions falling in behind him. “Remember your mission! Strike teams, your duty remains to support the alpha teams! Neutralize all opposition and protect Thanatos and the Reapers!”

A klaxon blared again, and without hesitating, the first team ran for the portal, followed quickly after by their support team. Cadence couldn't help but smile wryly as she glanced across the hall at the strike team they had been paired with, and Brynhild gave her a wide, cocky grin in return: they didn't get along that well, but she had the feeling neither of them were going to have any trouble behaving here.

There was a brief respite before the process repeated, and Cadence took a slow breath as the next group vanished into the portal. The first klaxon blared, and Cadence wondered what the hell she could say in thirty seconds that-

“Good luck.” Danzsöngr said from Cadence's mouth, and Moonflower gave a small smile as La Croix grunted and Sombra nodded calmly. And Cadence simply smiled wryly as she faced ahead, figuring that maybe she didn't have to say anything at all.

The klaxon blared, and Cadence broke into a gallop immediately, her team following closely behind her, and their support team of Luna and her partners moving smoothly in behind them. They charged into the portal and through the swirl of light and sound that seemed so much louder and sharper than usual before they tore out the other side and skidded to a halt on an island of stone, all of them shocked by the incredible sight before them.

They were on a massive, flat island of stone where a base camp had been established, and countless other islands, towers, and barriers floated around them, most of these anchored into place by mighty chains that swayed and clanked in the windless air. It took Cadence's breath away: they were standing in the sky, and for as far as the eye could see below them there seemed to be nothing but forest-

Something flashed in her vision, and Cadence looked sharply up, watching in shock as an island in the distance cracked in half as the chain fell away like a struck-down serpent, massive chunks of stone hailing down into the forest below before there was a tremendous flare of light and a boom so deep and loud it shook the air around them and resonated deep in their stomachs.

Cadence stared in horror and disbelief at the sight, before she shook her head quickly: they had been briefed on the fact that the entirety of World Without End was actually some kind of soul furnace, and what would happen if that outer shell was penetrated... but Horses of Heaven. Seeing it, feeling that... that release... “We need to move.”

It was strange: she knew she had spoken, but even as her body began to move, she felt like it was something else guiding her. Not Danzsöngr, either: Danzsöngr was right beside her, watching her as intently as the rest of her teammates as she ordered: “Fall in, escort formation. Brynhild... I want your team with us.” She almost grimaced as she added grudgingly: “You can take point.”

“Good of thee to offer, Swan.” Brynhild said, looking very pleased before she huffed when Morgan looked at her pointedly, and then she grumbled and turned suddenly, whacking Scrivener with her horn and making him blink and rub at his head dumbly as she added grouchily: “But fear not, I recognize that even if we are in the lead... I am not master of this journey.”

Cadence only grunted, but she nodded respectfully to the Valkyrie before she tapped on the sleek Mission Drive that had been attached to her armor, then reached up and yanked down the glass visor of her helmet, a digital display spilling across the screen in front of her eyes and telling her everything she needed to know and precisely where she needed to go. “Alright, let's move.”

She led them through the encampment, the others falling in around her as they sprinted past tents and Dogmatists and soldiers of Decretum, the ivory mare resisting the urge to stare for too long at the base of the massive communications tower they passed, even as Cowlick shouted as they passed her: “Give 'em hell, huh?”

“And more than that!” Brynhild proclaimed, grinning widely before she winked as she leapt up beside Cadence, as Scrivener and Morgan fell in on either side of them. “Show the course, Swan, and we shall break the path!”

“Please don't.” Cadence said dryly as they charged past several massive artillery cannons towards a metallic bridge that had been extended over a deep drop. Luna immediately leapt to the front as they fell into single file, and it took Cadence reminding herself that she had said the Valkyrie could take point – and every fiber of restraint in her being – to not bodycheck the mare off the bridge or wrestle her for the lead.

They charged over the thin metal bridge to the next floating island, leaping over a barrier, then skidding down into a trench that Cadence turned to follow along, grimacing as the banging of artillery fire reached their ears. “We're heading into the active battle zone: Loki's troops have been pushed back for now...”

“But aye, they are of the Void, they will return again and again anew when their master has need from them, and who knows where they will strike next?” Luna said wryly, before she frowned as Morgan shook her head.

“No. I mean, yes, but no. World Without End isn't a physical world. Thanatos has a lot more control over who comes in and out of this plane of reality, similar to how Hel can... could control Helheim from Underdark.” Morgan explained, before she grimaced as another terrible explosion ripped through the air, muttering: “All that energy venting out, though... Loki must be after more than just a fragment of his soul.”

“So you overheard that, huh?” Cadence asked wryly as she leapt out of the trench, then skidded to a stop. Luna's team leapt up to join her on the edge of the trench, while her own stopped and waited in the shallow ditch as Cadence scanned back and forth as her visor lit up with several signals as she drew her gaze over the multitude of floating islands of every shape and size floating between them and... the cathedral.

On Cadence's visor, it was highlighted in bright red, but Cadence didn't need to be able to see the island to know it was the center of the action, from the swirling chaos all around it. The islands closest to the cathedral looked like war zones that were straining to stay afloat under the artillery fire, but many of them were being shored up and manipulated by Primordials, who were both destroying and rebuilding the battlefield as they pleased... wait.

Cadence scanned over the floating islands again, and Luna frowned as she seemed to realize Cadence was checking something specific before the Swan muttered: “Incredible. The Primordials are reshaping reality itself. They're not just making bridges and taking over those floating islands, it's like where they are...”

“They're emitting chaos magic. That's how Loki is creating holes in Thanatos' reality. The chaos magic breaks the rules Thanatos has in place and lets Loki create at least short-lived portals.” Morgan exclaimed, explaining it better than Cadence could have: she was still trying to work through what the hell was going on right in front of her eyes. There was chaos, energy, battle everywhere, and they were standing right on the edge of it all. “We should prioritize the Primordials, if we stop them we might be able to reduce Loki's ability to bring in new troops.”

Cadence hesitated, then she tapped a button on her Mission Drive before saying quickly: “Seneschal, Loki is using the Primordials he's brought in to weaken reality so he can create holes to the Void and restore his troops.”

“The Primordials are not priority all the same: concentrate on eliminating the Voidborn officers first and foremost and intercepting Loki himself.” Seneschal answered grouchily, and Cadence grimaced a bit before she nodded as she tapped the communicator again before she looked over at Morgan, who bit her lip as she shifted awkwardly.

After a moment, Cadence sighed before she looked at Luna and said finally: “If you think it's worth engaging them, I won't stop you.”

“How about we serve as a distraction, then? We'll attack them directly, try and open a hole so you can slip through to the cathedral?” Scrivener reasoned, and Cadence smiled a bit at this as Luna nodded vehemently and Morgan looked with gratitude at the ivory mare.

“Alright.” Cadence hesitated, looking quickly out over the islands as they lit up again before she nodded once. “Draw them to the islands on the left side. We should be able to pass through on the right.”

“Then there is no point in dallying!” Luna shouted, before she flicked her horn sharply at Scrivener Blooms, who visibly flinched in pain as several plates popped back on his armor before a pair of wings almost exploded from his back, Cadence wincing away in shock as corruption flew in all directions. “Onward!”

Luna leapt to the air, and Morgan smiled lamely before she awkwardly followed, Scrivener shaking himself briskly out before he sighed, then glanced up as Sombra said kindly: “La maggior' sventura o ventura dell'uomo è la moglie.”

Scrivener blinked at this, and Cadence translated dryly: “Your wife is either the best thing to happen to you or the worst.”

“Sometimes both.” Scrivener agreed after a moment, and then he turned and leapt into the air, flapping his powerful, leathery wings hard to follow quickly after Morgan and Brynhild.

Cadence shook her head, then she gestured towards a narrow, jagged path that led down along the side of the island: past it, a short distance away, Husks appeared to be embattled with Soldier Drones, but Cadence didn't think they would offer enough resistance to deter them for long. “Let's push through across the next island, then it looks like there's a structure we might be able to sneak through to keep moving forward.”

“Let's hope the enemy has not occupied it.” Sombra said in half-warning, and Cadence smiled briefly as she nodded quickly: that was right. They couldn't get too careless.

Cadence led her team quickly down the half-carved pass to another extended metal bridge, grimacing a bit as gunfire erupted around them from both sides of the narrow battlefield ahead. She led her team forward and to skid to a halt behind a barrier formed by sandbags piled on a jagged ridge of rock.

The Soldier Drones didn't so much as look at her, one of them calmly leaning up over the barrier before its head was blasted away in a sparking mess of metal and gears, and Cadence winced as Moonflower squawked and winced away before it could fall on him. Without letting herself stop to think, Cadence picked up the drone's fallen rifle, tossing it over to La Croix before she took out her own gun, calling: “Cover!”

La Croix grimaced, then he blindly aimed over the barricade, firing wildly several times. Cadence quickly shoved herself up enough that she was able to aim over the barrier herself, sweeping the scope back and forth before she winced as bullets hammered the barrier around her, ducking quickly back as she muttered: “There's a dozen of those assholes over there. All with carbines.”

“Those are big guns?” Moonflower asked dubiously, and Cadence smiled despite herself before the stallion brightened slightly, holding up a hoof. “I have an idea!”

“Go ahead. Just don't get yourself killed.” Cadence said dryly, but she didn't hesitate to gesture at the stallion to go ahead: in the past she might have, but... Moonflower has more than proven himself by now. Even I couldn't fight Melinda.

Moonflower nodded firmly, then he took a breath as his horn thrummed before he snapped it out, and Cadence felt a strange pulling sensation for a moment before she looked up in surprise as a crackling sphere exploded into reality above the line of soldiers. A moment later, to her amazement, she saw metal weapons all yanked up into that swirling orb along with one or two unlucky Husks in full armor, and her eyes widened slightly before Moonflower exclaimed: “It worked! I magnetized them!”

Then the orb exploded, sending weapons and chunks of metal flying in all directions, and Moonflower and Cadence both winced as they ducked back behind the barrier as it was pelted with shrapnel. But the mare didn't waste her time scolding Moonflower, instead shoving herself back up and shouting: “Drones! Charge!”

The Soldier Drones immediately abandoned their rifles and leapt over the barricade, charging fearlessly towards the remaining, confused Husks. Cadence waited a moment, then she readied herself as she ordered: “Alright, we're going to storm past. Just follow my lead.”

The others nodded, and Cadence took a last breath before she leapt forward over the barrier, charging straight into the melee. She hammered a Husk out of the way when it stumbled in front of her, then trampled another, keeping her eyes ahead and following the path marked through the pockmarked battlefield by the readings on her visor.

She winced in shock as something suddenly lit up bright red, skidding to the side before an elemental of some kind erupted out of the earth with a howl, leaping after her. Other elementals tore out of the ground all around her team, diving and grabbing at them, but Sombra and Moonflower rebuffed them with blasts of magic, and the monstrosities didn't seem very interested in pursuing them as they ran onward.

They followed a half-crumbled path beneath a broken cliff, towards what looked like some kind of gatehouse: it seemed abandoned, but Cadence could hear fighting both above them and beneath them, although she didn't dare to get close enough to the crumbling edge of the island to look down and see what was happening below.

As they approached the gatehouse, Cadence realized it wasn't entirely abandoned after all: there were two Clockwork Titans standing guard outside it, and it wasn't age that had crumbled the exterior, but artillery fire and magic. Judging from the remains of armor and weapons here and there, they had likely been attacked by Husks, but she didn't think they had lasted very long in combat against the Titans.

She skidded to a halt in front of the Titans, both of whom only looked at her impassively until Cadence ordered: “Update.”

One of the Clockwork Titans ticked loudly, and then Cadence grimaced and looked down as information spilled quickly across her visor, and the navigation layout changed slightly. She nodded after a moment, then dismissed the rest of the information with a tap of a button, saying quickly: “We can go through here to pass through the cliff, but the other side of this building has been bombarded and might still be under attack. We'll have to push through.”

“The Husks did not try to pursue us, nor did the elementals. I doubt the enemies ahead will, either, if we break through their lines: they seemed more occupied with struggling to hold their territory than stopping us.” Sombra pointed out, and Cadence grunted.

“True... either way, we have to keep moving.” Cadence said quickly as she shook herself out before starting forward, and the rest of her team followed her towards the building, Cadence grimacing a bit as she muttered: “We're still on the edge of the battlefield. Things will change. I bet the Valkyrie isn't having such an easy time...”

Cadence scowled despite herself, unable to help from wondering moodily what Luna was doing, imagining it probably had something to do with those ridiculous Jötunnfang of hers...

And she was not far off, as Luna smashed a Jötunnfang into the face of a Primordial with a laugh before she batted another elemental away like a toy, roaring: “None of thee are made of stone! Nothing but the most brittle clay!”

The Primordial in her frosty claw lashed and howled in frustration, before it screamed and collapsed backwards into ashes when the Jötunnfang suddenly squeezed viciously and simply crushed its skull like paper. But even as it collapsed, energy whispered upwards, forming a living spirit-

Morgan blasted the spirit of the Primordial with a jet of black flame before it could even fully appear, and the Primordial gasped in shock and pain before it simply flickered out of existence. But it didn't give them so much as a moment of respite as the island of stone beneath them shuddered, Scrivener grimacing and doing everything he could to repel the powers of the Primordials.

Some hideous, four-armed thing exploded out of the ground, screaming and clawing at him, but Morgan caught it with telekinesis and slammed it savagely into the ground, the beast hurking before Scrivener slammed a claw down into it and made it all-but-explode when he pumped a bit of blast of corruption through it. “How many of these things are there? How are there so many when we've never seen-”

He winced as the four-armed thing became some glorious, golden star that ripped up out of the corpse of the creature, smashing him onto his back even as veins of blackness pulsed through it, but before it could either escape or strike again, it exploded into blue flames before whiffing out like a candle when Luna leapt at it and clapped her Jötunnfang over it, replying sharply: “Aye, even if Loki has gathered them from all the worlds, how are there so many?”

“Because all obey the Prime! All of us will return to him! We shall be whole again, anew!” cackled a Primordial as it twisted violently around the stone island, reality quaking with its passage as the awful fish-thing filled the air around them with biting wind.

Morgan dropped to the ground, swinging her horn sharply around and countering the growing winds with a cyclone of magic that neutralized the Primordial's powers and knocked the fish-thing flipping out of control with a squeal.

Luna immediately leapt forwards and slammed one of her Jötunnfang into the Primordial, launching it like a rocket across the island, before she looked up sharply as a furious voice shouted: “She is mine!”

The island trembled violently as Luna dropped to the half-crystallized earth, Scrivener and Morgan immediately falling in on either side of her as elementals and Primordials both scattered as another figure slammed down. The Voidborn snarled at them furiously, his perfect, polished armor gleaming, sword and shield burning with his magic power as Ignominious roared: “Luna Lightblade!”

“My name is Brynhild, and thou will learn it even if I must beat it into thy body.” Luna growled, setting herself as her eyes flashed. Her Jötunnfang clenched, floating to ready positions above her as her spear burst into being beside her, the mare saying coldly: “This is the only chance thou shall be given for mercy. And by mercy, I mean a swift death.”

“I have no intention of surrendering myself to you, little Luna. No, not when we're so close, when we're here, at the heart of all worlds!” Ignominious proclaimed, and Brynhild narrowed her eyes as Morgan frowned.

“What are you talking about? This isn't the core word, this is-”

“Stupid girl, but of course you don't understand.” sneered the Voidborn, and Luna gritted her teeth, but kept herself still as Ignominious gestured widely around with sword and shield, proclaiming: “This world, Death's world, sits on the opposite pole of the core reality! If we destroy it, we will loosen the core world from its pole and we will be able to eradicate it, and along with it, this entire universe!”

“As if we are about to stand back and let thee destroy Thanatos' realm.” growled Brynhild, before she leaned forwards and added sharply: “Loki has lost Melinda, lost the Fates, lost Sol Seraph... and if all he has left to serve as his hoof and assassin is thee and thine, Ignominious, then there is little doubt in my mind that his fool's errand ends here!”

“We shall see about that, Brynhild.” growled Ignominious, before he grinned cruelly as he leaned forwards, body rippling as his shadow stretched unnaturally outward, boiling and bubbling eerily. “I have new powers, new gifts... and I know your every trick, your every-”

“You still know nothing of me, Ignominious. But I am saddened to see, thou art the same as thou wert before.” Luna replied bitterly, before she only snorted in contempt as Ignominious roared at her furiously, the stallion melting into his shadow with his sword and shield as the quaking darkness humped up and morphed into some new, monstrous shape.

A nightmarish head rose high as two, three, five, eight powerful legs ripped and kicked out of the ground, stomping against the earth eagerly as hooves formed from shadow and became like steel. The beast whinnied, then reared with a demonic scream, Brynhild's eyes widening before a crooked grin twisted down her muzzle as the smoldering mane and tail of the eight-legged horse whipped around the monster like furious serpents. “This? This is what thou faces me with? Oh, Loki, of all thine accursed children...”

The eight-legged hell-horse leapt towards them, but Brynhild only smiled before she clucked her tongue loudly, then stepped forwards and firmly swatted the massive stallion across the face, sending it staggering off to the side before one of her Jötunnfang roughly slapped the horse's buttocks, making it squeal as it panicked and charged away across the blackened and fractured plateau. “'Twill be a great laugh when I tell my brother that I broke and tamed his namesake today!”

The hellbeast skittered around with a roar, hooves stomping and kicking against the ground as Ignominious roared from the shadow-stallion's jaws: “You won't be laughing for long, foolish filly! I am the inheritor of Loki's powers, I am the son he chose!”

The great, eight-legged horse-giant stormed towards them again, and Brynhild smiled coldly before she suddenly leapt into the air, slamming a Jötunnfang down to smash the horse-beast with a vicious hammer fist to knock it skidding over the rocky earth face-first beneath her until it blindly managed to stagger back to its many hooves, stumbling around with a humiliated snarl as Luna taunted: “Does thou have anything to offer but more empty threats and harsh words? Come, at least horses can be dangerous! But thou hast never had the mind nor the body for risk, hast thou, coward?”

Ignominious roared in fury before he charged again, snorting smoke and blind to everything but Luna. But even though her partners were ready to step in at any time, the Valkyrie didn't have to so much as give them a look to let them know that she wanted to handle this alone: that she had to handle this on her own.

The hell-stallion lunged at her, legs kicking savagely out, but Luna easily dodged back and forth between the swipes of its heavy hooves, making short stabs with her spear in response as her icy claws flexed eagerly, staying at the ready above her head. Then she suddenly ducked back when the monster lunged at her, one of her Jötunnfang slamming up beneath the beast's jaw and nearly snapping it with the impact of the uppercut.

Ignominious staggered backwards, stunned and shaking his head vehemently, and then he howled in shock when Luna suddenly swung her spear into his mouth like a baseball bat, teeth clamping down around it in shock before her Jötunnfang seized either end of the polearm, forcefully yanking it up like a bit as Luna spun herself around to drop down on the nape of the hell-horse's neck.

Ignominious bucked and snorted, then roared as he kicked wildly in all directions, eight legs hammering the air and the ground uselessly as he danced around in a circle. But Luna rode him easily, shouting as she clung to his smoldering mane with her front hooves and her Jötunnfang firmly twisted her spear back and forth in his jaws, keeping it locked in the hellhorse's teeth.

“I will not... I'll kill you!” Ignominious roared, before he took off at a broken canter, twisting and jerking back and forth uselessly. But at the same time, a mass bubbled up on the stallion's back, and Luna grinned mirthlessly as she let herself be bucked upward, spinning around and yanking her rifle off her back to take aim as Ignominious ripped out of the hell-stallion, lunging at her with his sword blazing with magic-

A bullet slammed home into his face, knocking him crashing back into the hell-stallion's back in a splatter of fuming darkness, and the eight-legged warbeast staggered out into thin air before it simply twisted around, cantering wildly through the sky as its body molted long strings of darkness. Luna only continued to grin, however, legs gripping the horse and Sting in one hoof, Jötunnfang staying locked on her spear, which twisted firmly to force the beast's head to the side and made it canter roughly in a circle with a snort.

Ignominious exploded out of the hell-beast again, lunging at her with a wild yell and his sword pulled back, and this time Luna waited until the last moment before she slammed the bayonet across his face as she ducked beneath the vicious slice of his sword. Ignominious was knocked backward with a howl of agony, before Luna fired three rounds into him with Sting, and she grimaced and leaned back as the hellbeast they were riding screamed and reared, shooting upward through the air before it simply dropped like a meteor, spinning around and around as it fell.

Tendrils of shadow twisted over Ignominious' body, keeping him secured to the hell-stallion as he snarled in fury at Brynhild, who was slowly taking aim at him again, dauntless even as they spiraled wildly down through a sky filled with artillery and jagged rock and magic. Then she swore as Ignominious suddenly lunged, swinging his sword hard out to knock Sting out of her grip, but his own sword shattering against the heavy barrel of the gun and uselessly hurtling out of his psychic grip.

The half-malformed stallion slid at her more then pounced, still melded into the beast beneath them, and Luna swore as she caught his front legs as he tried to grab her throat, the stallion snarling: “I'll kill you with my own bare hooves!”

The hell-beast caught itself as Ignominious pressed forward, roaring as it galloped through the air, and Luna grimaced as she let Ignominious gain a bit more advantage and she felt the hell-stallion's pace smooth out even more, felt the victory pulsing through both beast attacking her and the beast below her- “Idiot.”

Ignominious had a moment to look confused before Luna grinned as her Jötunnfang twisted suddenly and savagely to the side, wrenching the hell-horse off balance as it almost squealed before one fist yanked the makeshift bit loose and the other slammed viciously into the head of the eight-legged stallion as it tripped over its too-many-legs, crushing the side of its head down into the rocky island.

Luna's Jötunnfang hammered down in a wild flurry of blows against the head of the hell-horse, reducing the mass of darkness that had formed its face to nothing but a pulp. The Valkyrie herself, meanwhile, had snared her spear when it had been thrown loose and had already rammed it through Ignominious' chest, the Voidborn howling in misery and twisting uselessly back and forth as he was slowly but steadily levered free from the hell-beast.

And then, with a horrifying squelch and a splatter of ichor, the upper half of Ignominious tore loose from the back of the hell-stallion, and the eight-legged horse spasmed once before it exploded into smoke and ash that quickly vanished from sight, leaving nothing behind but a stain on the jagged rock.

Luna calmly stepped on Ignominious, then ripped her spear free from his chest, the Voidborn gasping in pain before he glared up at her furiously, fearfully; helplessly. The two looked at each other for a few moments, and then Ignominious rasped out: “You... cheated.”

Luna scowled, and Ignominious trembled, glaring up at her through teary eyes as cracks spread through his body, before he laughed harshly as Morgan and Scrivener joined the Valkyrie. Her fellow winged unicorn gently passed her back her rifle with telekinesis, and Luna checked String before she drew a single round free from the bandoleer around her body and loaded it into the weapon as Ignominious hissed: “All your friends, your... family, here to mock me, taunt me, but I know the truth, you... cheated! You take powers from others, without your... precious magic fists I would have annihilated you, without that black blood you suck from your stud-”

The Valkyrie savagely slammed her spear down into the ground beside Ignominious, and he yelped in terror and leaned away as Luna surveyed him coldly, then she said quietly: “Worthless, wretched creature. Still, thou cannot, hast not changed. And still, I can do nothing more than send thee back.”

“You... you can't stop me, I'll return, I'll come back until-” Ignominious' eyes widened as he found himself staring down the barrel of Luna's gun, mouthing wordlessly for a moment before he whispered: “I loved you.”

“That was not thy sin.” Luna said quietly, and she smiled at him, making the tears hidden in her eyes glint before she squeezed the trigger.

The boom was everything and nothing: they heard nothing over it, but Luna saw Ignominious' lips move in a sigh, saw his body twisted once before it shattered away and dissolved. And for a moment, she stared at the bullet lodged in the ground and the stallion-shaped stain beneath her hooves before she shook her head quickly, reloading Sting as she let her burning mane spill across her face, muttering: “Stupid wretched idiot. Stupid... wretched idiot.”

She took a breath, then calmly spun her rifle before holstering it on her back, her eyes cold as she rose her head and said: “Let us hope that was enough of a distraction for our friends. Because now I am no longer interested in mayhem, but rather racing the Swan to see who can oust Loki first.”

Luna shook her head, then she smiled wryly as both Scrivener and Morgan reached up to touch her shoulder on either side, murmuring: “No time for softness. No need for it, either! I am Valkyrie, and the past is in the past, and... all we can do is move forward.”

“They're preparing to attack from all sides. They sensed it when Ignominious died.” Morgan said quietly, before she added with a small smile: “I know you want to stop Loki. But... we were going to leave this world in their hooves, weren't we?”

“Oh, and we will. But Loki has crossed us now as much as them, and I know thou heard and saw the challenge as clear as I did.” Luna replied with a slight smile, glancing back at Morgan and nodding briefly to her before she grimaced and leaned back slightly as a meteor struck the ground a short distance away and exploded in a tremendous conflagration that made the island of stone shudder. “There will be time to moralize and chastise later.”

“We'll follow.” Scrivener said, and Luna grinned over her shoulder at this before she turned her attention ahead, sprinting towards the flames before she leapt to the air with a single mighty flap of her wings.

And of course her partners followed her, fearless and brave.

Just as she could always have faith they would.

From the outer edges of the battlefield, it had seemed like they were in control. All they had encountered were the straggler Husks and elementals at the edges of the combat zones.

But it was only after they had passed through the crumbled building that Cadence got some idea of what they were really up against, and the devastation that had been wrought on World Without End. Stepping out of the ruins had been like stepping into some untold-of hell dimension that Cadence hadn't imagined existed before, full of floating, broken boulders of spiked rock and melting metal debris that couldn't rightly be called islands, many of them burning with frost or drowning in flame. It was a world of untold destruction that didn't make sense, where Reapers and Dogmatists and other servants of order and balance fought against chaos that twisted the very laws of reality and physics.

Cadence winced as they ran across a narrow bridge of rock that jutted between two floating plateaus of stone, before she winced and looked up as a whistling filled the air, spotting the mortars of magic above- “Moonflower!”

Moonflower snapped his horn up, creating a wall of antigravity that reflected the mortars when they struck it, the magic artillery exploding violently in bright starbursts in the air above that cast blinding, magnesial light over the battlefield. Cadence swore, wincing in pain even as the visor over her eyes automatically tinted to protect her from the starfire, the others covering their heads and keeping their eyes on the jagged path under them to the other side.

Clockwork artillery cannons were pounding islands occupied by enemy forces here, but Primordials and strange abominations were responding with their own devastating, less-than-predictable magic in return. Nor did the destruction seem to phase them all that much: if anything, they reveled in it, drew power from it even as it tore them apart.

“Go, go, go!” Cadence shouted, urging both herself and her teammates on, rushing through the explosions that ripped the air around them onto the next island and putting their backs to the fiery meteors crashing down behind them.

Elementals tore out of the devastated earth in front of them, roaring in fury as they leapt towards Cadence and her team, but she led the way through their ranks by force, slamming wolf-like rock-beasts aside as Moonflower and Sombra followed up with blasts of magic force that knocked the stumbling monsters crashing into one another like cannonballs.

A massive Primordial made of boiling water erupted from the earth in front of them, tentacles of seaweed lashing out as it vomited foam and spray at them from its gaping, hideous maw, but Moonflower slashed his horn out, unleashing a massive blast of lightning that tore across the Primordial, setting its stretched tendrils aflame as its bubbling body spasmed.

It squealed as it reared back, then howled in agony when Cadence simply rammed through it with a flash of white, the Primordial all-but-exploding in a mess of slimy muck. Cadence didn't stop to savor her victory, however, only shouting for her team to keep going as they charged onward over a twisted bridge, once-beautiful stone etchings cracking and crumbling away beneath their hooves as they ran across its upturned side.

They were getting closer to the cathedral now, as they ran along a J-shaped island of stone that had been reshaped into a melted half-pipe, the rock and metal twisted and malformed into a petrified wave. Primordials and elementals roared and howled around them in air that was thick with chaos and desolation, but not a single one tried to swoop down to attack them.

Cadence sensed something vile and hostile all the same, before she winced before her instincts screamed at her, ducking sharply and narrowly avoiding a scythe that sliced through the air where her head had been a moment before.

She skidded to a halt, her team falling in around her as Atropii appeared in front of them, the hollow abominations blocking the only route towards the cathedral as the dishonored Reaper in the lead rasped: “Take the Swan. Her soul is most valuable.”

Atropii lunged forward and slashed their scythes in from all sides, and the only thing that saved her was the Swan's speed and instincts, the mare leaping into the air and kicking into the neck of one scythe as her front hooves lashed out and caught the poles of two others, gritting her teeth before she kicked her free leg savagely out when an Atropii attempted to lunge at her from below, punting it out of the air.

Cadence's Third Eye gleamed before it flashed brightly, stunning the other three Atropii as she flapped her wings hard to launch herself away a moment before several black spikes tore through the air, shredding two of the dishonored Reapers. A third was blasted out of the air by magic, and the remaining were confused as a powerful gust of wind ripped through the air, green sparks racing eerily across the creatures.

Cadence took the moment to leap back, mouth opening to shout orders, but then her eyes widened in surprise as Reapers appeared around the Atropii in a mass, scythes lashing cruelly down through masks and bodies from every angle.

It was over in moments, the Atropii all-but-dissolving under the onslaught of the Reapers before one of the cold, almost-clockwork creatures looked up and studied Cadence, then pointed calmly towards the cathedral in the distance. “Thanatos awaits you.”

Cadence stared for a moment, but the Reapers vanished as quickly as they had come, and the mare shook herself out quickly before she swore and forced herself to get her bearings. “We need to keep moving, they're right.”

“It's strange that Loki would use the Atropii here. I am not surprised by the violence with which the Reapers of Thanatos attacked them. They would be hated above all others by their former kind.” Sombra reflected, and Cadence grunted, even though that made strange gears turn in her mind.

But she disregarded it for now as she pointed at a crumbled set of towers that were eerily floating in the air beneath a massive island: it looked to Cadence like if they climbed up those towers... “There's some sort of structure in the bottom of that island. I bet we can reach it from there if we can get to the towers.”

“I can follow.” Sombra promised, and Cadence smiled a little at her father, promising silently with her eyes that she wouldn't leave him behind. Not that he seemed to need the promise, though, as he only smiled in return, in a way that told her the last thing he wanted was to slow them down.

You never slow us down, Daddy. Cadence thought as she turned around, leading the way to the edge of the ruined island they were on. She grimaced a bit as several elementals swam by through the air, but they went completely ignored, which chilled her: they were heading in the direction of the cathedral... Did Loki breach it already? “Okay, let's move!”

Getting to the towers was easier said than done: while they were beneath the worst of the action, debris and artillery and magic still constantly hailed down around them, and while many of the elementals were ignoring them, the Primordials attacked them ferociously as they passed, even if they kept moving towards wherever it was they were being called.

The crumbled towers led up to a ruined silo of some kind that led up through the island, and allowed them to surface back on the battlefield, only a short distance away from the cathedral. They were either behind the main enemy line, or in front of it: Cadence couldn't tell with all the chaos everywhere around them.

Reapers and Dogmatists were fighting armies of Primordials and Void creatures, maintaining a tight cordon around the cathedral, which was protected by some kind of strange, mystical shield that absorbed or reflected the magic of the Primordials. Physical things, like rock and debris and metal, passed through it and crashed against the cathedral, but the shrapnel rarely managed to do more than scratch the polished stone.

Loki's forces were in scattered lines that were being pincered and pressured from both sides: on the one hoof, they were trying to push forward into the cathedral, but on the other, they were being hammered by artillery fire and Clockwork forces on their other side. Yet what worried Cadence was that there was no sense of panic, no desperation: all she saw was a chaotic, violent glee and a desire to cause as much devastation as possible, for no reason but the pleasure of it.

Cadence grimaced as they left the battered ruins of what had once been... a building, a structure, I don't know. That's not important now. “Let's hope they recognize us as friends. Shield us, Moonflower, this place is getting hammered hard.”

Moonflower nodded, creating a forcefield around the group as they stuck close together, and Cadence simply led them on a run across the floating island. She swore in pain as blinding light tore suddenly at her vision, but she kept pushing forward, the Swan guiding her through the Astra as it promised: They are right behind us, we will keep them close.

Cadence didn't know how the Swan did it, but suddenly she could feel the others through the Astra, like she was grasping into them, guiding them along by touch. She gripped into them as she used the Swan's vision to guide her, cursing under her breath as she felt the island shudder beneath them. Those crazy bastards are going to bring this whole thing crashing down!

She could see it through the Astra: the Primordials were tearing up the island beneath them so fiercely that it was beginning to break apart, sending chunks of rock and metal crashing down into the world below. Just those pieces were enough to send up massive flares of light and energy when they collided with the surface: if the rest of the island fell...

Cadence forced herself not to think about that as she followed the Swan, trusting more in the Astra than what she saw in front of her own eyes even as her vision cleared. They charged across broken metal tundra towards the barrier and the bridge to the cathedral beyond, Cadence putting her fatih in the Swan even when it led them towards what looked like an impassable, impenetrable wall of rock, but even before Cadence could reach it the wall tumbled backwards as the island trembled beneath their hooves, forming a bridge over a massive fissure that tore across the ground and threatened to split the island in half.

They galloped over the makeshift bridge, Sombra barely making it across before it cracked in half and collapsed into the fissure as the rupture through the stone spread larger. Steam vented as more cracks spread through the ground and it began to fall away beneath their hooves, jutting bones of stone and metal piercing the skin of the ground as the island twisted itself inside-out.

Cadence shouted wordlessly, in frustration against the world, in encouragement to her team, in anger and desperation as they bolted towards the barrier. And at the last moment, she lunged with all her might from the collapsing island and through the serenity of the barrier, feeling it sear her body before she crashed past a team of Clockwork guardians and rolled to a smoldering stop on the bridge.

The rest of her team fell after her like bowling pins, but they all made it, landing in an awkward heap before Cadence looked up, forgetting about everything else as she watched as the monumental island fell from the sky in several massive pieces. She heard it as it crashed against smaller islands on the way down, as chains shattered, and then as below, stone and rock impacted with the surface-

A wall of pure light erupted up from the earth, and Cadence winced at how powerfully bright it was even through the tinted barrier, shocked at first that it was silent, but then she realized the sound was so loud and steady, it was drowning out absolutely everything else, that it was the loudest silence she had ever heard.

The noise went from all-consuming to unbearable, and then faded slowly, gradually, as the curtain of light steadily settled. Cadence grimaced a bit as she finally picked herself up, before she glanced up in surprise as a clawed hand gently grasped her shoulder, and she found herself staring up at a massive, robed figure that said calmly: “Thanatos awaits inside.”

“Yeah.” was all Cadence could think of to say, as she looked awkwardly for a few moments at the immense Great Reaper, before she shook her head hurriedly and turned her attention back out to her team, ordering: “Okay, fall in. Uh...”

Cadence looked awkwardly back at the Great Reaper, which calmly tented its metal fingers as it looked down at her politely, perhaps a little curiously: it wasn't hostile, but even the Swan felt a little cowed in the presence of what it recognized as a Judge of Death. “Uh. Is it secure? I... don't want to waste Thanatos' time.”

“There is neither waste nor time in the World Without End.” answered the Great Reaper almost kindly, and Cadence smiled awkwardly before the Great Reaper confirmed: “The barrier still holds. We will maintain it as long as possible against the enemy.”

Cadence nodded quickly, then she gestured for her team to follow as she headed across the beautiful stone bridge towards the cathedral doors, looking up awkwardly at the massive titans of metal and ancient technology that guarded them. But the giants only watched them curiously as they passed by and through the narrow crack in the massive doors that led into the cathedral.

They found themselves in an immense hall: Reapers floated around the rafters above alongside strange phantasms, and drones of every shape and size rumbled and clanged across the floor. Cadence noted several Replicant officers among the masses, and she immediately began to head towards Thespis once she spotted him.

She was stopped, however, by a Reaper that floated down from the ceiling, pointing at the double doors at the back of the hall. “Thanatos awaits.”

“Uh. Thanks.” Cadence said lamely, and then she cleared her throat before she instead headed past Thespis, who only scowled at her as she passed with her team anyway. She had the respect of the RED, but she didn't think any of them would ever actually like her.

The doors at the back of the hall opened for them as they approached, and Cadence could feel a strange weight settle over her as they proceeded down the corridor beyond. She knew her team felt it, too: a pressure, a force like gravity, like they were being judged by something. She wondered if it was Thanatos watching them, or something else vast, and powerful...

The doors at the end of the corridor opened for them, and they entered a massive, domed junction room that stretched almost as high as it was wide. It was beautiful, pristine, covered in architecture that was vaguely reminiscent of the very same art and design Cadence had seen around Canterlot, she thought, only more refined. More polished, with more pride, more risk, more reward in the designs.

And as beautiful and wonderful as it was, the room itself was all-but-empty, except for a single figure pacing grouchily back and forth in front of a fountain, several books floating in front of him and his hands behind his back. They approached slowly and almost cautiously, but Thanatos, the God of Death, barely looked up at them as he continued to pace in front of the fountain in the center of the room.

Cadence halted, and Danzsöngr stopped beside her before she crossed her arms over her chest in a strange gesture that somehow felt right, bowing low as she said: “Father Thanatos.”

“I am not your Father, woman.” Thanatos grumbled, continuing to pace and ignore them as he flipped through the pages of his books. Then he simply snorted as he dog-eared two of them and almost flung the third into Moonflower, who squeaked as it hit him with enough force to knock him sprawling even as he caught it against his chest.

The other two he floated in front of Cadence, saying moodily: “Take these. Don't let go of them.”

Cadence didn't question his order, taking the books as her Third Eye gleamed faintly, the mare smiling awkwardly before Thanatos turned and gestured for them to follow, saying shortly: “Come with me.”

There was no room for argument as Cadence stumbled into a trot behind the God of Death, the rest of her team following: La Croix was visibly cowed, and Moonflower had his head shrunk back into his armor like a turtle. Even Sombra seemed a little nervous, not that Cadence could blame him.

Only Danzsöngr seemed relatively unaffected as she strode at Cadence's side, studying Thanatos curiously before she asked: “Why is Loki here?”

“Because he is an idiot child.” grumbled Thanatos, before the God of Death shook his head and said contemptibly: “I believe he has several goals. To absorb the energy of the furnace, to retrieve the shard of his soul, and to steal the souls from the Hall of Heroes.”

“The Hall of Heroes?” Cadence repeated, and Thanatos gave her a patronizing glance over one shoulder that made her shrink slightly, even as she felt herself twitch a little.

“Yes, girl. The Hall of Heroes. A repository of souls kept because of unique circumstances.” Thanatos answered as they approached a set of double doors. He shoved these open roughly, Cadence wincing and Moonflower yelping a little at the tremendous bang it made as the God of Death led them into a circular room that was bordered by massive, imposing pillars and occupied only by a circle of runes in the center of the room that surrounded a pedestal, and a glass cage...

And Cadence could feel the energy in that glass cage, could hear it crying out through the Astra, and she shivered a little as she whispered: “Loki's soul.”

“A fragment of it. A large fragment.” Thanatos said with a short gesture towards the pedestal, before he frowned and glanced up moodily as a rumble passed through the cathedral, Cadence feeling a strange pain tickle along her skin as the God of Death scowled. “Of course. I should have known that was what he was doing.”

“What? What's happening?” Cadence asked quickly, but Thanatos only held up a finger to her, then he snorted in contempt as he flicked his wrist, pointing instead at a figure that had appeared at the other side of the hall.

Loki grinned widely, flanked by two Primordials and a bevy of Voidborn, his hands in the pockets of his rumpled jacket as he winked at them from across the room as if he had been there the entire time, chaos magic still faintly flickering around him as he said cheerfully: “Hey, Thanatos! Long time no see, good buddy! How the hell are you doing?”

Thanatos snorted, and Cadence gritted her teeth, raising her head high but not quite daring to step between these titans even as she readied herself for the inevitable.

The time had come to end this.

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