Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

Brotherhood

Chapter Twenty Four: Brotherhood
~BlackRoseRaven

Thorn Blackfeather strolled meditatively through the Everfree Forest, accompanied only by his clipboard, and Antares, of course, but the black stallion didn't seem to realize that Thorn had already spotted him, just as Muse had already politely informed him through radio link that Innocence was snooping around the facility they were rebuilding and modifying.

The blue stallion jotted notes on his clipboard as he studied the various flora and fauna, every now and then stopping to pick an herb or flower to safely store in one of the little plastic sample kits he was carrying in his sidepack.

He could sense a funny sort of magic in the air: something primal and powerful and natural, but that had a strangeness to it, an echoing like it had once been so much stronger, but now only traces of its power remained. He was tempted to track down the source, but for today, his main task was to gather specimen samples.

Thorn had been in Looking Glass World for five days now: in that short time, he had learned an immense amount about the area surrounding Ponyville, completed several analyses of the stability of the world, and overseen the completion of several projects, including a mobile base of operations parked just outside the Everfree and a trio of puppet drones, simple but efficient golems that would speed up their future endeavors. He had traveled extensively, and met with both pony nobility and powerful demons, such as Overseer Morning Glory: a Destroyer still loyal to his mother, and who had also recognized him immediately.

The only ponies who hadn't figured out yet who he was, really, were Antares and Innocence: Thorn smiled wryly as he glanced to the side, creating a holographic screen to check his encyclopedia, but also gazing through it in the direction of where Antares was hidden. Both he and his sister had gotten surlier and surlier, the longer he had been here, and while Innocence was suspicious of him, at this point, Antares seemed like he was much more frustrated than concerned about Thorn's intentions.

Thorn paused, dismissing the holographic screen and considering, for a moment, calling out Antares to speak to him, or at least make it clear that following him around like this was pointless, but then the blue stallion frowned, his eyes flicking over his shoulder as he heard a rumbling over the sound of branches shifting and wood cracking...

Something massive suddenly tore out of the trees with a roar, but Thorn didn't so much as flinch, his eyes narrowing sharply as the massive reptile crashed to the ground in front of him, broken branches and chunks of wood flying past the stallion as the huge, black lizard leaned down with a snarl. The stallion recognized it immediately as a marsh drake, and a hungry one, at that.

Thorn turned to face it, and the huge predator snarled at him, setting itself before it roared loudly in his face. But the stallion didn't twitch, only continuing to analyze the creature as he went over everything he had learned about the beasts that roamed the Everfree from his brief perusal of his bestiary earlier in the day. Marsh drakes were hostile, but preferred an easy kill: it wanted to scare him, to make him turn his back on it so it could bring him down quickly. But it wouldn't hesitate to attack him once it realized he wasn't going to run.

Thorn remained still and cold as the drake drew back, snarling and growling as it paced back and forth, glaring down at the unmoving pony. Then it twitched when Thorn suddenly swept his leg out to the side, but all he did was shift his cape out of the way before he said crisply: “Begin combat analysis.”

The marsh drake snarled, then roared and lunged forward, but Thorn simply swung his metal leg up: its crushing jaws bit down uselessly on his prosthetic limb, the beast spitting teeth as it quickly drew back. Even if it was three or four times his size or not, Thorn knew that he was both smarter and faster, and all he had to do was make himself as unappealing a target as possible.

The drake hissed, then lunged again, this time swiping a claw at his flesh-and-blood side, but Thorn summoned a shield of magic, blocking this attack. The drake almost flung itself on top of him, biting and slashing furiously, but the stallion easily backpedaled, evading every attack from the beast before it suddenly pounced and lashed both claws down on top of him.

From his vantage point, Antares winced, his body tensing. It wasn't that he really cared if Thorn got hurt or not – especially if he wasn't smart enough to run away when the idiot was faced with a marsh drake – but whether he liked him or not, he didn't want to see anypony die. Still, the drake apparently seemed confused, not triumphant, so maybe he had overshot his pounce or Thorn had managed to get out of the way, or-

Antares' eyes widened as the drake suddenly howled, its whole body convulsing before it flung itself backwards, scampering hurriedly away from Thorn. The blue stallion was encased in a solid forcefield, his steel hoof pressed against the dome and the entire shield crackling and rumbling with lightning.

Then it vanished as the stallion lowered his limb, and the marsh drake snarled, pacing back and forth nervously. Antares could see that it was slowly building its courage back up, though, and he shifted uncertainly, wondering if he should help out or not before the thing attacked the dumb kid again and Thorn got himself in trouble...

A holographic screen appeared beside Thorn, and he glanced towards it curiously: the drake snarled as it saw its chance, and Antares winced as the beast suddenly lunged forward-

And it stopped. It stopped, floating in midair, and Antares' eyes slowly widened as the drake wriggled uselessly, encased in Thorn's telekinetic aura. The unicorn wasn't even looking at the creature, only studying the screen meditatively before he finally turned towards the marsh drake, saying calmly: “That's enough.”

The drake snarled, and then its eyes bulged as it wheezed loudly, the creature flailing wildly as Thorn grimaced a little, but maintained control, continuing to squeeze the beast firmly with telekinesis until it went limp. Then he simply dropped the body, Antares gaping in disbelief as Thorn calmly produced a needle from his satchel, the sapphire stallion studying the unconscious drake curiously.

He cleaned an area with magic, then worked the needle gently between its scales to extract a blood sample, the sapphire stallion murmuring: “There we go. You're a simple creature, for something so large, but that's perfectly okay.”

Thorn paused, then didn't bother glancing up as he extracted the needle, even as he said to Antares: “Thank you for not interfering.”

“You lifted a marsh drake with your mind. How the hell do you have enough power to do that? Sin said she could barely sense any magic resonance from you at all!” Antares exclaimed, and then he stumbled to a halt before adding indignantly: “And hey! How the hell did you know it was me? And how long did you know I've been here?”

“Since you started following me after I met with Mayor Monkshood this morning.” Thorn replied absently, and Antares twitched and ground his teeth together in frustration.

The two looked at each other, and then Thorn smiled briefly as he lifted a secure case free from his satchel, tucking the needle away as he explained: “And I can't generate much magic power. No more than a hundred bæns. I am, however, very precise: that's how I was able to lift the drake as an object, by channeling my power to specific pressure points. Its flailing didn't break my grip because I wasn't trying to restrain it. I was just keeping it airborne.”

“No way. A hundred bæns is like... dude, even some unicorn foals can-”

“That is correct, yes.” Thorn said with perhaps the slightest hint of irritation, which Antares immediately locked on to: there was something so satisfying, and... and so weirdly familiar about the way Thorn acted when he started to actually get annoyed. “But that's also how I was able to detect you. I don't leak energy. You, on the other hand, are leaking roughly seventeen bæns a minute now that you're excited, which likely accounts in part for your higher than average energy consumption in regards to magic and your inability to use any spells but what you specialize in.”

“I... wow, touched a nerve, huh?” Antares asked mildly, and Thorn simply looked at the black stallion dryly until Antares added: “And I was totally treated for my leaking, by the way, which is fixed now, so you don't have to bring it up. Innocence leaks too. It's a family thing. We all leak. We get it from our Móðer.”

“That's very cute.” Thorn replied, and then he shook his head, resisting the urge to make any further retorts before he continued: “Bleeding energy is common among unicorns, particularly when they haven't been trained to control their magic more acutely. I know that you can exert control over purification and absorb magic energy thanks to your wings, but there are many vulnerabilities that can be exploited by-”

“Oh, great, now you're lecturing me. Fantastic, kid. Hey, uh, hate to break it to you, but I'm like. Old. I mean. Old in body, I'm still very young and handsome and great everywhere else.” Antares argued, gesturing at himself pointedly. “I've been around the block a lot more than you. Even if you were raised by Hecate, and I imagine that was scary in and of itself, I've totally seen stuff and done stuff. What have you seen and done?”

“A little more than eight hundred million seconds of life, each and every one accounted for and valued.” Thorn said dryly, and Antares blinked dumbly at this. “Antares, experiences only better us when we choose to learn from them and recognize what they have to teach us. I learned about the drake as I fought it: I gained more than reflex response and muscle memory.”

“Uh huh.” Antares looked unconvinced, tilting his head slightly towards the stallion before he said dryly: “You know, I've been doing this all a lot longer than you have. You might have a few fancy tricks up your sleeve, but... you wield a clipboard. I wield these.”

Antares held up his hooves pointedly, and Thorn sighed and shook his head slowly before he turned back towards the drake. The black stallion watched as Thorn returned to examining the fallen marsh drake, until the crystal-winged pony suddenly blurted: “You're weird.”

Thorn sighed tiredly again, looking moodily over his shoulder at Antares, and Antares huffed and shrugged before saying lamely: “You kind of are. I mean, I don't really understand anything about you. Which I don't like. But I feel like I should know you by now, which is even more frustrating, and Scar's nice to you so that means I should be nice to you but for some reason, really don't want to be nice to you. You're weird. It's all your fault.”

“Wonderful.” Thorn said dryly, and then he shook his head before returning his attention to the marsh drake, carefully touching along its neck as he muttered: “There's no fat deposits here, and the entirety of the creature is thin... it must have been driven out of its hunting grounds by hunger...”

“I could have told you that. I mean. Not about the fat. But it takes one to know one, right? Right?” Antares said loudly, then scowled when Thorn ignored him, before he stepped forward and began to poke firmly at the blue stallion with his horn. “Hey. Hey. Hey, hey. Hey. Hey! Hey.”

Thorn grimaced: while he could easily ignore the obnoxious stallion's loud voice, he wasn't very fond of being touched. It had been years since he had endured physical contact, and even if every now and then Hecate would pat him on the head or Necrophage would bounce in and hug him, that was about the extent of contact with anypony that Thorn wanted.

“Please stop that.” Thorn said moodily, stepping away, and Antares grinned as he followed after the stallion, growling childishly as he swung his horn from side to side and poked it wildly at Thorn, who continued to backpedal in a circle as one of his eyes twitched. “I'm trying to be professional here, Antares, but-”

“Well, I'm not!” Antares said cheerfully, and then he leapt at Thorn and firmly bopped him with his horn, the sapphire stallion stiffening and staring as the black stallion grinned widely and backed quickly up, winking as he danced from hoof-to-hoof. “You want some of this? Or uh, you... not want some of this? Well if you don't want any of it you better... not... come and not get it! Yeah!”

Thorn scowled horribly, and Antares grinned widely at the almost comical expression on the sapphire stallion's face before Thorn took a slow breath, closing his eyes and stating: “I am here as a professional and I have duties to attend to. I have roughly fifty-eight samples to retrieve still and I do not have time to play-”

“Play!” Antares shouted, and then he simply tackled Thorn, knocking the blue stallion sprawling on his back, Thorn staring in horror up at Antares as Antares grinned widely down at him, half-straddling him as he pinned the smaller stallion beneath him by the shoulders. “So uh, you come here often?”

One of Thorn's eyes twitched before he slowly bared his fangs at Antares, growling: “Get off me, Antares Mīrus.”

“I didn't hear a 'please.' That's very unprofessional.” Antares remarked, and then he leaned down into Thorn's face, almost pushing their noses together as he added kindly: “Also, hey, you're pretty cute when you're mad. You remind me a little of Sin. Or maybe...”

Antares narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, leaning further down into Thorn, and the blue stallion twitched before he suddenly shoved the stallion violently off, shouting: “Will you just stop that? Horses of Heaven, do you ponies know nothing about personal space?”

“It's really weird that you don't like being touched! I touch myself all the time and I love it!” Antares retorted loudly as he caught himself on his hooves, glaring across at Thorn: the sapphire stallion was breathing hard, his eye twitching, his teeth bared, his mane messy and that expression in those dark eyes was so... so...

Antares' eyes widened, and Thorn glared at him before he rose his head slightly and said sarcastically: “I can't imagine why you'd have to touch yourself all the time, Antares, you'd think other ponies would just be falling all over themselves to spend their time with such a fun pony like you.”

That was it. That slight tilt of the head, that droll way of speaking, that posture, it was all a mix of... “Oh holy hell. Thorn, you... are you...”

Thorn frowned slightly, and then Antares strode forward, staring over him with disbelief as he saw it, every piece of the puzzle, every part that added up to... “Thorn, are you... are you my brother?”

The sapphire stallion scowled a little even as a faint blush tinged his cheeks, and then he reached up and brushed himself quickly off before he muttered: “We share the same parents, yes, if that is what you're asking.”

There was silence for a few moments, and then Antares twitched slightly before he leaned forward and shouted: “Why in the hell didn't you tell me?”

Antares glared at Thorn, furious, but also embarrassed and strangely upset, and Thorn looked back at him moodily before the sapphire stallion said dryly: “Because I am a professional, Antares. And I wanted to complete my work and understand each of you as much as I could before revealing who I was. The treatment I've received as Thorn Blackfeather, Regent of Decretum, is much different from how I've been treated as Thorn Blackfeather, son of the heroes.”

There was silence for a moment, and then Antares narrowed his eyes dangerously as he leaned forwards and asked shortly: “And why shouldn't I make you into Thorn Blackfeather, who just got his face broke?”

Thorn frowned, and Antares shook his head vehemently, snapping: “You don't play games with family, Thorn, and you don't put your stupid job first! Maybe you've forgotten how valuable family is spending all that time with Hecate, but... hey, why the hell were you even with Hecate, anyway? Why did we never know about you? When were you even born and why didn't anyone tell us?”

Thorn studied Antares for a few moments, and then he said softly: “You can be as angry as you want, Antares, but it doesn't change what has already happened and does nothing to further current events, either. I am not to blame and you know that, just as our parents are not to blame, either. You speak before you think... or perhaps, as you think. Your gift is acuity; understanding others and predicting their thoughts and reactions. But according to my evaluations, your reliance on your natural abilities seems to have diminished your thinking processes. So stop, and think.”

Antares glared at the sapphire stallion, and then he stomped a hoof before dropping to a ready position, saying shortly: “I'm gonna kick your ass.”

Thorn blinked slowly, and then he said after a moment: “I don't think that is the wisest course of action in this-”

“No. I'm gonna kick your ass. Because goddammit, that's the only way I learned all the hard lessons I did, getting my ass kicked over and over again until it stuck. I was a horrible dumbass too.” Antares said dryly, glaring at Thorn, who only looked uncomprehendingly back at him. “Hey, if I'm your big brother, it's my job to teach, right? So get ready to learn, Thorn.”

“You're projecting your emotions and experiences. You're also angry and looking for an easy outlet. But you're not entirely stupid: you want to confirm your suspicions, and because our entire family is made up of warriors, fighters, and other such ponies, you think the easiest way-”

“Stop analyzing me! That's my thing and only I'm supposed to be annoying like that!” Antares shouted, and then he charged straight at Thorn before attempting to slam a headbutt into him-

Thorn caught Antares by the head, and Antares had a moment to look dumb before he howled in pain as electricity tore across his body, spasming and writhing wildly before his legs simply gave out and he flopped to the ground, smoldering faintly and blinking stupidly. The sapphire stallion simply looked moodily down at Antares, and then he said dryly: “Don't antagonize other people without reason. You may not provoke the response you desire.”

Antares glared up at him, but his whole body ached with exhaustion. Thorn had zapped him with an incredible amount of electrical force, and now... well... now? He felt incredibly stupid. But he wasn't able to predict Thorn's emotions or movements accurately still, even if he knew... “Oh no. I'm not stupid or... too stupid to fall for that, Thorn. You're not getting out of this so easy.”

Thorn looked down at Antares, then he placed his metal hoof on the stallion's forehead, and Antares' eyes widened before he began to shake his head vehemently, blurting: “No no no wait-”

Electricity tore over Antares' body, the stallion yelling a furious string of curses as he convulsed violently on the spot before dropping limp, groaning weakly and blinking slowly as he shivered a little, his whole body pulsing painfully.

“Not every enemy is going to simply sit back and permit you to monologue or recover. If you make a threat or provoke an opponent, don't act surprised when they retaliate.” Thorn said calmly, looking mildly down at Antares before he gave a slight smile. “Although I do feel... a little better now. Thank you for that.”

“Oh, you're welcome, sport.” Antares wheezed, and then he mumbled: “I really hate you, kid. I hope that you know that.”

Thorn shrugged, and after a few moments, Antares slowly pushed himself up to his hooves, wheezing a little as he shook himself out before he mumbled: “Okay. Okay, you still want to fight? I'll give you a hell of a fight. I'll-”

Antares looked dumbly up as Thorn simply turned to walk away, and the black stallion's eye twitched before he grumbled and stumbled after the younger unicorn. “Hey, I was talking to you! I still have a lot to lecture you about and... to kick your flank for being such a... a flank-face! And dammit, I'm going to kick Scarlet's flank too, this is why she was being nice to you the whole damn time, isn't it?”

Thorn ignored Antares as he resumed his search for specimen samples, leaving the fallen marsh drake behind and wandering through the trees as his older brother stumbled after him. As much as part of him wanted to turn around, talk to Antares, learn from him and listen to him and maybe let him vent, he also recognized that he had a job to finish, and responsibilities, and Antares was going to stubbornly follow him and shout at him anyway, so there was no point in shirking his duties.

Antares grumbled, watching as Thorn paused to examine several plants before he said loudly: “You know, real rude to ignore your brother. Do you know what that means, to have a brother?”

“We have the same biological parents and thus share biological similarities.” Thorn said absently, earning a scowl from Antares as the sapphire stallion picked a few flowers. “Genetics are not as cut-and-dried as many ponies would like to believe, however: science is not unchanging, but dynamic, as all things are. Ponies simply force the idea of hard laws on science because it gives them something more tangible to put their faith into, it gives a sense of control as well as frees us from personal responsibility: what, genetics decree that adrenaline stimulates rage, and I have an adrenal overload? Then my lashing out is not my fault.”

“You're not bitter at all.” Antares said mildly, before he tilted his head and added dryly: “Does kind of make me see a lot more of Dad in you, though. But funny. I thought you'd be all over hard facts and science and telling me how dumb I am for believing in monsters under the bed.”

“The Orphans hunt the monsters under the bed. Without the monsters under the bed, Decretum would not exist as it does now.” Thorn replied candidly, and Antares was finally forced to smile slightly at this, before the sapphire stallion continued: “What I hate are absolutes, and handicaps. They become too easy to lean on, to take advantage of, to... hide behind. I dislike cowardice. I dislike entitlement. And I believe in responsibility.”

“You're so not fun. You know that, right?” Antares asked almost curiously, and Thorn only gave him a look before he turned his eyes back forward. “You know, I may or may not agree with you on much of that, which makes me feel weird and kind of dirty. Still, great that we can agree on something, since. I find everything about you terribly disagreeable. You're worse than Sin.”

Thorn only shrugged, and Antares grumbled under his breath before he said grouchily: “We are totally going to fight, though, I hope you recognize that. And also that I'm going to completely kick your flank, too. That's what big brothers do and I've had a lot of practice with Sin.”

The sapphire stallion didn't reply as he approached a bush,examining the berries growing over it before Antares scowled, then muttered: “The worst part? I honestly still can't read you at all. Horses of Heaven, you must have a will of iron. And how... just...” Antares struggled for a moment, then leaned forward and asked almost desperately: “How could you not tell any of us? I mean, do you really think we're going to... I dunno, get in your way or distract you or... well, seriously, I've been distracting you all week!”

Thorn halted, then he sighed quietly before turning around to face Antares, studying him and realizing that he wasn't really angry: he was just upset. It made him feel a strange twist in his stomach that he wasn't used to, as he studied the stallion silently for a few moments, and then he shook his head slowly before saying quietly: “Antares, yes, this is partly about you. But please try to recognize that... this is also about me.

“These last few days have allowed me to get to know you and understand you a little, and the rest of these ponies. To see how the world works...” Thorn looked silently towards the sky faintly visibly through the trees, saying quietly: “I've never seen a blue sky before now. I've never experienced a world where ponies could simply... walk to another city if they felt like it, or where ponies could apply for jobs wherever they pleased or not work at all. There are no cameras, no security drones, no all-seeing eyes, no Archives; there are few machines, and in spite of all the luxuries, I don't see ponies using magic or technology to make their lives lazier or simpler. There are no credits, but these... silly gold coins called bits. How are ponies supposed to carry around bags of bits, anyway?”

Thorn smiled briefly, shaking his head slowly before he looked down at his steel leg, studying it in silence. “I am very alien to this world. And I am conscious of the fact that most ponies seem to consider me to be a Dogmatist, which has not earned me any allies outside of Subterra. And I am not...”

Thorn looked up at Antares, chuckling quietly. “As Hecate put it, I am the product of a superior genetic heritage, and my parents decided I should be an accountant. I was never trained to fight. I was trained to work in the Archives, and to administrate. I am not sure I am precisely... 'brother' material.”

Antares studied Thorn for a few moments, and then he smiled a little and sighed, straightening as he said finally: “You know, I guess... since I can't read you or anything, I assumed you were super tough and all that. But... now I think I'm getting you a little, the old-fashioned way.”

The two stallions looked at each other for a few moments, and then Antares softened before he shook his head slowly, saying quietly: “Just... look at you. You look a lot like Mutt. I don't know how I didn't see it before, but... I guess I also wasn't really looking very smartly before. Just kind of... looking but not really looking, you know?”

“I suppose I understand.” Thorn turned back around, picking a few of the berries as he removed another sample case from his bag. He worked for a few minutes, collecting samples and making the occasional note to himself as Antares simply lingered, studying him intently.

Finally, Thorn looked up, cocking an eyebrow at the stallion, and Antares gave a brief grin before he sighed and shook his head, saying wryly: “You know, I've always had a harder time reading family. But you... you don't twitch, you don't gesture, you just work diligently away like a damn machine. But there's something going on in your brain, isn't there? I just have no idea what.”

Thorn simply shrugged, and Antares rolled his eyes before he said dryly: “Real helpful there, pal. Real helpful.”

Thorn shrugged again, then he turned around, saying simply: “I have responsibilities and duties to attend to. That's all.”

“Yeah. And I was like that growing up. I screwed up a lot because of thinking like that, too, because, like, you don't realize it, Thorn, but always doing what you're told is sometimes what gets you in worse trouble than being a bit of a rebel.” Antares said pointedly, shaking his head briefly. “A lot of things in life are more important than your job, you know. I mean, I know Hecate is a little uh... 'priority-focused,' but-”

“She is. And with all due respect, Antares, I know what I'm doing with my life.” Thorn replied dryly, and Antares grinned, opening his mouth, but he was surprised into silence when Thorn said: “Even though time was set aside for family at the end of the week, to... understand my own heritage, among other things, every free moment I have has been spent with relatives or friends of our parents. Sometimes, such as now, my work time also doubles as time getting to know family. You and Innocence have been stalking me the entire week and I could have simply asked you to leave or evaded you. I didn't, because I want to spend time with you: I want to know you, and understand you.”

“I... well, uh... hey, you totally couldn't run away from me or Sin! Sin's got crazy magic powers and I have super-eyes.” Antares retorted lamely, even as he blushed ever so slightly and felt oddly reprimanded. Thorn had a point after all, but... “Also you can't talk to me like that and you're automatically wrong because I'm your big brother.”

There was silence for a few moments, and then Thorn's horn glowed before the stallion simply vanished from sight. Antares stared in disbelief, then he narrowed his eyes as he concentrated, looking back and forth as his own horn glowed, but there was no trace of magic, no trace of Thorn, no distortions in the air or swaying in the grasses or any hints that he had even been there at all.

“What the hell!” Antares shouted, looking back and forth before he glared at the spot where Thorn had been a moment ago, snapping: “Okay, great, you can turn invisible. Real impressive.”

There was only silence, and Antares frowned before he picked up a nearby rock with telekinesis, swinging it moodily back and forth before he flung it suddenly at the spot where he assumed Thorn was. But when the rock passed through thin air and uselessly bounced off a tree, his eyes widened slightly as he hurriedly searched the ground, but there wasn't a single hoofprint in sight: how the hell had Thorn... vanished?

“Wait, you can't teleport. You seriously can't teleport with that little magic energy!” Antares shouted, and then he yelped and jumped about ten feet into the air when a throat politely cleared behind him.

The stallion glared over his shoulder, one eye twitching as his eyes locked onto Thorn, who was simply standing with his clipboard floating beside him, absently writing several notes over this as he said calmly: “Teleporting short distances only requires fifty bæns of energy, which is why some foals are capable of blinking as an instinctive reaction. Again, the problem isn't magic power, but focus. If you don't have proper control over your own energies and magic, then your abilities are impacted, sometimes severely, and sometimes exponentially.”

Antares stared at Thorn for a moment, and then he leaned forwards and snapped his horn hard, sending a blast of white fire at the stallion. But without flinching, Thorn simply leaned to the side, the blast of purification shooting past his head as he said calmly: “Your spells also become more predictable, because of the changes I can sense in your generation.”

“Yeah, well, my generation was a lot less crappy than your generation!” Antares shouted lamely, and then he roared before charging forward like a bull, horn lowered straight at Thorn-

Antares crashed into a shield of electricity, howling in surprise before he flopped backwards, twitching and coughing smoke. Thorn only looked down at him mildly for a few moments, before he said dryly: “There are much easier ways to test me than to continuously throw yourself at me. It would be less taxing on you physically, as well.”

Antares grumbled on the ground, and then he looked up and asked suddenly: “Do you want to have dinner with me and my friends tonight?”

Thorn blinked in surprise, his head rearing back a bit, and Antares grinned before he shook himself out and clambered up to his hooves; Thorn was admittedly impressed by the durability and determination of the stallion. “Well, see... Aphrodisia is up from Helheim, and she'd love to meet you. By now I'm guessing Pinkamena and Sleipnir know who you are, and uh... well, you have to meet Avalon, she's like a little sister to me. Little as in, tiny. Not as in 'little.' Even though I think she is 'littler' than me.”

“Younger.” Thorn said dryly, and Antares shrugged amiably as Thorn looked away, saying awkwardly: “I... don't know, I made an obligation with your sister...”

“Oh, Sin'll be there, too.” Antares said blandly, and Thorn scowled at him. “What? She will be. She's always following me around when she's not... you know. Doing her creepy magic thing. Doesn't have a lot of friends, poor thing. Clings to me. That's why she still lives with me and stuff. I think she has an incest fetish, too. Probably pretends we're a couple, which really creeps other people out. Creeps me out, too, but hey, it keeps people away from the house and from bothering me. That's pretty cool.”

“I meant Scarlet Sage.” Thorn said sourly, and Antares nodded wisely, staring at Thorn almost childishly. The sapphire stallion looked dryly back, and then he rolled his eyes before muttering: “And I thought putting up with Team C-03 was difficult.”

Antares snorted, then he hesitated for a moment before asking impulsively: “Thorn, uh... could you maybe... tell me about Decretum?”

Thorn frowned slightly in surprise at this, tilting his head, and Antares smiled briefly before he shook his head and said in a softer voice: “I guess what I'm really asking is... how is Hecate? I've never really forgotten her. Honestly, I think I was the only pony who really liked her, who really... saw her, for who she really was, under all the... well, bitch.”

Thorn gave a brief smile, and Antares shrugged before he smiled back and said finally: “I'd like to know she's okay, I guess. I dunno. I learned a lot from her during the war with Greater Heaven. And I think I understand more and more why she had to leave.”

Thorn glanced down for a moment, and then he said softly: “She never wanted to, you know. And some days she talks about it, and of course there are all the history files... although we don't allow access to those to just anyone, either. We have rules and customs you might find rather strange.”

Antares smiled briefly, shrugging a bit before he looked back and forth and declared: “This is boring. Tell you what, kid. I'll go talk to Scarlet Sage, maybe invite her along, too. You just... do your thing, then meet me tonight at Sugar Cube Corners. Big candy house, I'm sure you can use your fancy unicorn magic to find it or whatever.”

“You're a unicorn as well, Antares.” Thorn said dryly, and Antares huffed and placed a hoof against his breast as if offended. “And again, it's not about strength or 'fanciness,' it's about how much control you can exert over-”

“Yeah, yeah, boring, okay, get it.” Antares complained, waving a hoof back and forth and making Thorn scowl a little deeper. Then the black stallion spun around, flapping his crystalline wings once before he called over his shoulder as he bounced away: “Just make sure you show up by seven, got it? And act surprised for once in your goddamn life!”

Thorn sighed a little as Antares loudly battered his way back through the Everfree Forest, and then he gave a wry smile before shaking his head briefly, muttering: “I'll try my best, Antares Mīrus.”

Thorn knocked politely once before he pushed the door to Sugar Cube Corners opened, and he was promptly assaulted by noise and flashes of light, the sapphire stallion grimacing at the loudness of the cheering and greetings and neon magic that assaulted him. He felt himself grabbed and yanked into the shop, sighing a little in resignation as ponies flocked around him.

He wasn't exactly surprised, as he looked moodily up-

Thorn stared in disbelief at the cake on the table... and... were those gifts? He winced as he looked back and forth at the ponies, before he flinched slightly when the happy pink pony suddenly appeared in front of him, asking excitedly: “Are you surprised now? Huh? What do you think of your super happy special happy birthday party?”

“I... wait, what?” Thorn asked blankly, blinking before he began to shake his head, looking in disbelief at the triple – quadruple? I can't even tell – layered cake. “I... no, I mean, it's not my birthday, that's still ninety-eight days away-”

“Well, it's not a birthday birthday party, but more like a birthday party for all the missed birthdays we missed!” Pinkie said happily, nodding rapidly as she bounced excitedly in front of Thorn. “So you're surprised, right, and-”

“Pinkie calm the hell down!” Pinkamena barked as she strode in, making her sister wink and huff loudly, before she squeaked when Pinkamena suddenly turned and slammed a hoof towards Thorn's face. And this time, Thorn didn't react fast enough, the mare slugging him across the jaw and nearly knocking him over as he stumbled, Antares' cackling ringing out loudly through the room over the shouts, sighs, and gasps from their audience. “Not so fast and tough now, are you?”

Thorn grimaced a little, but the punch had at least knocked the surprise out of him as he absently reached up and rubbed at his jaw, looking moodily over at the demon. She looked challengingly back, right up until Sleipnir nearly squashed her as he ran in and swept Thorn up in a hug, making the sapphire stallion wheeze and flail uselessly as the jovial giant of a stallion shouted happily: “Happy many birthdays to thee, my nephew! And many great joys to me, as well, for 'tis a true relief I can sing the praises of thee and thy parents freely now without worry for offending thy secrets!”

Thorn only wheezed in response, and then he gasped loudly for air when Sleipnir finally set him down and ruffled up his mane with one hoof, the sapphire stallion blinking dumbly a few times before Innocence stormed in on the sapphire stallion's flank, snapping: “How the hell could you not tell us, though? And dammit, why the hell was I the last to know! I should have been the first to know! Now I'm not the baby anymore, goddammit!”

“Yeah, but you'll always be my baby, little sister.” Antares said sweetly, before he ducked quickly away from a hard kick aimed at his face. “Hey, watch it!”

“You watch it. Butthead.” Innocence grumbled, before she turned a scowl back towards Thorn, who had already turned away and was looking uncertainly back at the pile of gifts. “Hey! What, you greedy guts, you counting them up already?”

“Those aren't for me, are they?” Thorn's voice was oddly embarrassed, Innocence thought, looking with surprise at the sapphire stallion as he shifted awkwardly, before he suddenly cleared his throat and added quickly: “It would be unprofessional for me to accept any gifts of any kind. Furthermore, I have no way to transport these items back to Decretum, where they would have to be screened and any that are contraband would be removed anyway. I apologize.”

Innocence narrowed her eyes at the stallion, and he looked awkwardly back at her before she said suddenly: “You think you're too good for us! That's it, isn't it?”

“No, no, not at all, I just... there are rules to be followed and I don't want to-”

“Dinner time!” Antares shouted loudly, interrupting Thorn and the clamor of the ponies around him, and the sapphire stallion was immediately grabbed and hauled towards one of the larger tables that lined the walls of the store.

“Is this a restaurant of some kind?” Thorn asked dubiously as he allowed himself to be shoved into a bench: he figured that for now it was probably better just to go with the flow of things and argue with these insane ponies later. And thankfully, Scarlet Sage took the seat beside him, even as Innocence and Antares sat across from him.

His older but not eldest sister glared at him from across the table, and after a moment, Antares attempted to mimic her, crossing his forelegs and puffing out his cheeks childishly. Thorn looked slowly between the two, and then he turned towards Scarlet Sage, who shook her head and smiled as she answered: “Sort of. It's a sweets store, mostly, though. You buy candy and chocolate here, although a lot of people like to stay, eat at the tables, which Pinkamena says is good for business anyway.”

“Yes. She and Sleipnir and Pinkie Pie live above the shop, if I remember correctly.” Thorn said after a moment, as his eyes roved hesitantly over the racks of food behind the counter. There was a distinct, dual nature to this store: on one side, there was nothing but brightly colored, sugary, poofy treats, while the other had black-colored cookies, candies shaped like eyeballs, cakes and confections that looked like limbs and body parts... “In other worlds, this store is usually run by the Cake family, if the data logs are still correct. It's a constant, as are many things in Ponyville.”

“Many years ago, the Cakes ran this store. But unfortunately, they didn't make it past the first... well, apocalypse, I guess.” Scarlet Sage smiled briefly, but Thorn only nodded: he had read the files. He knew that the inhabitants of Looking Glass World were from another world, an outer realm of Midgard: their souls had been ferried here by his parents, and revived after Valthrudnir's machinations had destroyed their original homeworld.

Innocence cleared her throat loudly, and then she pointed at herself, saying flatly: “You see me? I was the youngest until you showed up. From nowhere, apparently. And now they're making this whole huge deal about you? Well, what about me? I'm a huge deal too, dammit!”

“The biggest.” Antares said almost solemnly, and Innocence rolled her eyes before she shoved her older brother firmly, making the black stallion sway before he said mildly: “You know what the weirdest thing here is, though? Not the fact that clearly Mutt and Mom and Dad didn't think about your feelings, Sin, because they obviously never considered my feelings before dumping you in my lap, but rather the fact that Thorn here is trying so hard to be tall, dark, and mysterious, but the only mare he seems interested in so far is Scarlet Sage. Which is sick, Thorn. I mean. Technically it's not sick but goddammit it's the thought that counts.”

Scarlet Sage rolled her eyes as Thorn gave a small smile, before he blinked in surprise as a rose-pink pony suddenly popped up at the side of their table, waving one of her cloven hooves happily as she greeted: “Hey, everyone! And hi to you, Thorn! It's nice to meet you!”

Thorn looked towards the mare, and he knew three things about her immediately: that she was a demon, that she was an Inquisitor, and that she had to be Aphrodisia Celeste Pie. She was beautiful, with long, raven-black hair that was knotted over one shoulder, youthful and smooth features, sharp green eyes and needle-like teeth half-concealed behind her smiling lips. She wore an amulet with the Archive's symbol on its face, and her cutie mark was of an emerald serpent, coiled in a spiral. Thorn knew from the files he'd read that she also had a summoning tattoo on her back: bright red runes that spelled out the name of her favored weapon, Elska, all of them shaped like hearts and stars and other cute, innocent-seeming shapes.

Antares grinned at her, and then he reached up and hugged her firmly as she leaned down and embraced him tightly, kissing his cheek loudly. Then she drew back and smiled at Thorn again, self-consciously playing with her amulet as she said shyly: “I've heard lots about you. Hel swore me to secrecy and stuff, but um... I've heard lots and lots about you, since you're the youngest High Inquisitor ever appointed and all.”

“What?” Innocence almost shouted, as Antares blinked in surprise, then feigned a hurt look, putting a hoof over his chest as he mock-glared at Aphrodisia, who blushed a little. “How the hell is- what the hell, who... who the hell-”

“It was largely a ceremonial appointment to keep me safe, even if... well, it does have its advantages now.” Thorn admitted, as Aphrodisia's eyes flicked up to the ring around his horn. “Hel was very good to me. Better than she had to be.”

“Nah, I think she really really likes you, and more than just because you're you-know-who's you-know-what.” Aphrodisia said positively, nodding firmly.

“And Apps doesn't lie. Oh wait, yes she does. All the time, apparently.” Antares said loudly, and Aphrodisia huffed before she leaned forwards and blew a stream of orange smoke at him, but Antares flailed wildly at the air, shouting: “Help, help! She's trying to make me insatiably aroused so I have an awkward erection in public with my family!”

Thorn stared for a moment at Antares, before Scarlet Sage politely patted him on the shoulder and asked: “Do you want to come with me and get some food? I know that Pinkie is probably going to try and serve everyone, but... you seem like the do-it-yourself type.”

“Yes. Please.” Thorn said, glad to have any excuse to get away from the table as Antares huffed and Innocence grabbed wildly and uselessly at the sapphire stallion as he left.

“We're not done, Thorn! I've got a lot more questions for you!” Innocence shouted, as the two headed towards the kitchen, with Aphrodisia quickly following. For a moment, the scaled unicorn scowled, before she softened and turned her eyes to Antares, asking in a much more serious voice: “So what do you think?”

“I guess I'm not entirely surprised. I mean, I hate my birthday, too, and Scarlet doesn't do much for it either.” He halted, then shook his head briefly before continuing quietly: “Apps did actually tell me a little about him earlier. She met him when he was a kid, apparently, although he probably doesn't really remember her at all. Already had the Archive ring, though... and apparently Luna was forbidden to train him, as part of some deal with Hel. Can you imagine that?”

Innocence grimaced a bit: sure, part of her was a little jealous of the fact that Thorn had probably learned all sorts of amazing things in Helheim, but she'd been stupid enough to trade both her youth and family bonds for power in the past, and learned a very harsh lesson about how valuable those were. “I think what gets me most is the whole Hecate thing.”

Antares tilted his head curiously, and Innocence hesitated before saying finally: “It's just... I mean, it makes a weird sort of sense for her to take Thorn if our parents couldn't look after him and didn't want to leave him in Helheim, but... ten years growing up in Helheim. Wouldn't he already have been permanently marked by it? And isn't Decretum... sort of another Hell? I mean... it runs on rules and logic and war and all, and has one ultimate dictator...”

“I don't think that's really a polite way to put it. And... well...” Antares shifted a little, hesitantly biting his cheek: he didn't know a whole lot about Helheim, but... “If Thorn was restricted to their home and the Archives... those places are pretty airtight, so to speak. I know that the Archives are insulated against the corruptive energies of Helheim: they need to be, because the Historians and other big-league demons and devils can't have anything distracting them.”

Innocence nodded hesitantly, and then she muttered: “I guess Hel sort of has ultimate authority and all, too. I guess if she wants to insulate an area, nothing else can really stop her. Not even Hell itself.”

“I dunno about that. But she is crafty.” Antares halted, then he said mildly: “Anyway, you better be careful too, Sin. Hate to see him humiliate you by outdoing your magic.”

Sin gave a short snort at this, glaring at Antares and nearly shoving him out of his seat as she retorted: “Just because you're too stupid to take him doesn't mean I am too. I knew that without your stupid eyes you'd just be a big bag of hot air.”

“I am an awesome bag of hot air, thank you very much.” Antares retorted, and then he looked up as Thorn and Scarlet came back, Aphrodisia bouncing cheerfully along behind them with a wide smile. “Hey, there you are. Hey, Thorn, while it's really cool to get two mares all to yourself and all, it's actually double uncool points when they're your own family.”

“Only if you don't use protection!” Apps chirped cheerfully, and Antares rolled his eyes in amusement as Sin groaned loudly, before all three ponies looked at Scarlet and Thorn, who were completely ignoring them.

“I completely understand that just because I don't understand how it works, doesn't mean it can't possibly work; with my powers and all, I guess I'm sort of the poster girl for that. What I'm saying, though, is that it doesn't seem like genetics alone could account for our abilities. The whole... not eating thing is a great example. Calories mean energy, and energy powers the body.” Scarlet said, gesturing at the food in front of her. “Not eating should mean our bodies aren't getting any energy, which should result in starvation and death. But for us, immortalized ponies by... any of a variety of processes, it doesn't: we can still experience hunger, and weakening, sure, but not death. How is that possible? How could you just have genes with endless energy?”

“Oh great, she's doing her science thing again.” Antares muttered, before he stared in something like horror as Thorn smiled and engaged her with what was almost eagerness: apparently he enjoyed talking about things that Antares and Innocence both found incredibly boring, even pedantic.

“Well, it's not simply about genetics, per se: genes are simply a broad, go-to term, just as I'm sure you know that mitochondria are responsible for the production of most of our body's ATP. What if their respiration was even one percent more efficient than the average person's? Consider how many times that cycle triggers over the course of a single day, and then consider what that would mean for your lifetime.” Thorn replied, and Scarlet Sage nodded thoughtfully as Antares and Innocence traded looks, and Aphrodisia only stared at them with strange fascination, as if they were interesting exotic animals in a zoo. “It's not about one single 'fantastic' piece: it's about the fact that our entire systems have evolved to the point-”

“We have superpowers and shoot magic out of our horns, why can't you just enjoy how awesome that is?” Antares interrupted crankily, as Innocence massaged her temples slowly. “I, for one, am not questioning my awesome superpowers. Do you know why I have awesome superpowers? Because my parents were awesome. And now I'm awesome.”

Thorn and Scarlet Sage looked at Antares for a moment, and then the sapphire stallion gestured towards the black pony and said dryly: “Also you were mutated by the Pious.”

“You say it like that and it sounds really bad.” Antares grumbled, glaring at the stallion. “And hey. That might be a sore subject. So you know, stop poking it.”

Scarlet Sage sighed, and Thorn simply shrugged before he looked down at the food on his plate, smiling a little after a moment as he picked up a bagel with telekinesis and said quietly: “All your food is so... strange. High in carbohydrates and sugars, even though most ponies don't really need that rapid energy.”

Innocence huffed loudly, retorting: “Well, it tastes good, and that's what matters. You're weird, Thorn. And also, hey, don't you think that you're half as strong as me, got it?”

Thorn simply cocked an eyebrow at her, and then he shrugged before he said simply: “Alright.”

Innocence stared for a moment at this response, and then Thorn turned back towards Scarlet Sage, continuing where he'd left off: “There's also the idea that, while the abilities some ponies have developed are very 'incredible,' for lack of a better word, such as creating fire or calling up feats of magic and seeming miracles, we also all have a shared passive trait that is both responsible for and augments those abilities, based upon how effective it is: the ability to absorb energy from the environment, much as demons and other so-called 'supernatural entities' do...”

Scarlet Sage nodded intently, and Antares and Sin both groaned loudly as Aphrodisia leaned forward with interest. Not even Pinkie Pie was able to interrupt the jargon and science-heavy talk between the two for very long, and it took both ponies quite a while to finish their small meals, while Antares and Innocence both ate at least three servings of various baked treats.

But then Thorn was quite literally dragged out of his seat by Pinkamena, half-carried over to the cake before she thrust a knife into his hoof and said bluntly: “Don't screw up cutting it.”

Thorn stared around at the room as ponies clustered forward eagerly: faces he knew, and a few faces he didn't, but whom he imagined were either friends of his siblings or his parents. He smiled awkwardly as he looked back and forth, calculating the size of the gathering before he looked down at the stack of plates, and then he cleared his throat before turning towards the cake, mumbling: “Well, uh... let's get this going, then.”

Thorn's horn glowed, and a holographic grid appeared over the cake: the sapphire stallion used it to quickly and evenly cut the massive cake into much smaller pieces, serving them out to the plates and passing them out without looking, his horn floating pieces quickly to each pony that came forward. Antares was both amused and a little horrified by his little brother's professionalism, even when it came to something as simple as cutting a cake.

Thorn passed out the last piece, then smiled briefly as he glanced around the room as Antares loitered beside him, absently picking at the delicious cake with his fork before he said mildly: “You proud of yourself there, champ? Because hey, genius. There's an empty plate left.”

“Yes, everyone got a piece. There were thirty ponies to serve. Each pony received an equal share of the cake.” Thorn replied with a shrug, and Antares gave the sapphire stallion a moody look at his... mechanicalness. Horses of Heaven. I need to get him to stop doing that.

The black stallion glanced quickly around the room, counting the heads present: even Pinkamena was grumpily slaughtering her piece of cake, complaining loudly about it to Pinkie Pie, even though the twins had probably done equal work on the cake. He counted twenty nine ponies, and then there was him, and...

His eyes slowly roved to Thorn, and he said after a moment: “You didn't give yourself a piece.”

Thorn smiled briefly and shrugged, saying quietly: “The cake wouldn't divide evenly into thirty-one pieces. This is all very generous, Antares, and very... fascinating to me. I'm already thankful for-”

“Hey, Aunt Pinkamena! Come over here, huh?” Antares shouted, and Pinkamena grunted before she shoved herself out of her seat, wandering over with a frown. “Thorn didn't serve himself.”

Pinkamena narrowed her eyes dangerously at Thorn, who looked blankly back before the demon growled: “What? Not good enough for you, your highness? You got a problem with that cake, asshole? Sissy worked real goddamn hard on it for you.”

“I. What?” Thorn looked honestly confused, which made Antares feel a little bit bad... but only a little. “I thought that-”

“It's for you. I didn't even want the stupid cake, I make cakes all the goddamn time. Tastes like crap, anyway.” Pinkamena grumbled, and then she looked over at Antares before yanking the plate out of his hooves, the black stallion huffing loudly as the demon thrust this towards Thorn. “Eat it.”

“Thank you, but... I'm alright. I apologize for offending-”

“Eat it.” Pinkamena repeated threateningly, and Thorn simply looked at her before the demon growled: “Okay, fine.”

With a flick of her hoof, Pinkamena tossed the plate into the air, then she caught it as it fell and rammed it into Thorn's muzzle, the glass plate cracking as Thorn was knocked over with a grunt of surprise, cake smeared all over his face and mouth. He blinked and rubbed immediately at his face, looking horrified before Pinkamena stepped forward and grabbed some of the loose cake from the ground, leaping on top of the stallion and-

Antares' eyes widened, watching with amazement as Thorn caught Pinkamena by the wrist and rolled his body at the same time, slamming the demon down on her side. She immediately tried to drag him into rolling further to reverse the grapple, but Thorn was incredibly agile, slipping loose and leaping backwards.

Pinkamena was just as fast, however, leaping after the stallion and making a sharp grab at him, but Thorn brought his mechanical limb up immediately to defend himself. The demon grabbed this instead, however, growling as she twisted hard to the side and yanked forwards as one of her hooves went up and seized into his shoulder, and Antares saw Thorn's eyes widen too late to warn her, too late to intervene as the sapphire stallion's usual stoic, impenetrable facade dropped-

Thorn's artificial limb squealed before it popped free from his shoulder with a loud hiss of steam, and the stallion staggered backwards on three limbs as Pinkamena dropped the artificial leg like it was hot, her eyes widening in shock. The whole room went silent as Thorn grimaced and dropped his head forwards, the sapphire stallion breathing slowly as the stump at the end of his limb curled on itself as best it could, as if he was trying to hide what little was there. But it was little more than a muscular shoulder, scarred hide, and a mechanical slot...

Thorn's horn glowed as he quickly lifted his steel limb free from the ground, and the hidden lock on the shoulder clicked as it snapped back into place, electricity sizzling over the artificial limb as Thorn flexed it slowly before he shrugged his cape forwards to cover the steel appendage. He shifted a bit as the pistons pumped, and then, still looking at the ground, he said shortly: “Thank you for dinner.”

The stallion strode forward, and Pinkamena reached out automatically to try and stop him, but Thorn's ring glowed and the demon was immediately repelled by an invisible force, wincing slightly as she staggered out of his path.

Thorn made his way out before anyone could stop him, and Pinkamena and Antares looked at each other before the stallion lowered his head and muttered: “Goddammit. I'll go and talk to him.”

Pinkamena grunted, then caught Antares' shoulder as he began to pass, the two looking at each other for a few moments before Antares smiled briefly and simply shrugged. Somehow, it seemed to reassure the demon, even as she rolled her eyes and shoved him away.

Antares exited the candy store, then grimaced a bit as he looked back and forth: Thorn was simply... gone. He couldn't sense any trace of him as he looked back and forth, before he glanced over his shoulder in surprise as Scarlet Sage followed him out and said quietly: “He'll be at the Clockworks. That's where he's been spending most of his time lately. And you're an asshole, by the way.”

“Yeah. I know.” Antares mumbled, as he looked awkwardly back and forth before he grimaced and shook his head. “I wanted to push him a little, but I didn't think that he'd... well...”

“That, what, he'd purposefully pop his leg off?” Innocence asked mildly as she emerged from the shop as well, and Antares gave her a flat look even as he blushed a little. “I don't think he did that on purpose, Tarry.”

“Gosh, thank you so much for solving that mystery, Sin.” Antares said flatly, and then he shook his head, muttering: “No, I didn't think that... you know. I just wanted him to loosen up.”

Scarlet Sage sighed as she shook her head, and then she started down the road, her younger siblings following as she said quietly: “Well, maybe that's part of the problem. Thorn isn't like you, Antares, or like you, Sin. He's kind of like me, but... still different there, too. I mean, sure, he's got a little of Mom and Mutt and Dad in him, but...”

“We're not stupid, you know. We just act stupid.” Innocence said pointedly, and Scarlet Sage smiled slightly despite herself as the three strode down the street, the scaled mare muttering: “Well, okay. Sometimes we're a little stupid, I guess. What I mean, though, is that I see your point. Still, he's... weird.”

“Helpful.” Scarlet Sage remarked, and Antares and Sin both glowered at her before the Pegasus said quietly: “We can't really force him to do anything, alright? We need to let him adjust to us and come to us in time. We can't... force him to open up.”

“Yes we probably could, but... I know, I know. That wouldn't be right.” Antares said grumpily, nodding a few times before he said in a quieter voice: “I guess he's really not used to how we do things. Sure, we're... a little forceful at times, but...”

“A lot forceful, actually.” Scarlet Sage smiled despite herself, glancing over at the stallion and shaking her head briefly before she asked: “Do you really think it's acceptable to shove cake down someone's throat just because you want them to have a piece anywhere else?”

“Yes!” Antares said defensively, and then he dropped his head and mumbled: “No. Still. I didn't think his stupid leg would come off. He uses it everywhere and it holds up just fine.”

“He was playing with it a lot during dinner. He might have loosened it. I mean, we don't know how it works, and it looks pretty big and heavy. I don't expect Thorn would exactly tell us if it was uncomfortable for him to wear or anything, either.” Scarlet Sage halted, then she shook her head slowly and murmured: “He's definitely not a Dogmatist, though. If he was, it would have been built into his body.”

“Yeah.” Antares said after a moment, glancing away as if ashamed, and Innocence gave a small smile. The three trudged on through the town beneath the blanket of late evening, passing beneath dimly-lit streetlamps and glowing windows as they made their way towards the other side of the village.

They reached the Clockworks – or, as it was now known, the Reclamation Facility – without much difficulty, and Antares smiled slightly as he saw Rustproof standing outside of it, calmly smoking a cigarette. As they approached, the stallion looked up inquisitively at them, and Antares shrugged a little before he sighed and said awkwardly: “Yeah, my bad. Kind of baited Pinkamena into attacking him to try and make him either freak out or loosen up a little. She accidentally... uh...”

“Tore his leg off.” Innocence supplied helpfully, and Antares and Scarlet Sage both glared at her, making her wince and quail.

But Rustproof only nodded thoughtfully a few times, then he said simply: “Okay.”

“Okay then.” Antares smiled a little after a moment, and then he strode towards the doors of the facility, saying wryly: “You always know just what to say, Rusty. Thanks for that.”

Rustproof only smiled wryly as the siblings entered the sterile halls of the Clockworks: in the past, it had been the derelict ruins of the old Kwolek Labs and Hecate's own work facility. But after the new engineering had been constructed, the haunted ruins had been excavated and rebuilt into a second set of workshops: considering that Ponyville had some of the best Nibelung Architects in Equestria in residence, it had been an excellent investment.

They found Thorn in one of the lower workshops, although Antares mentally flinched when he saw the stallion was working on his mechanical leg, which was laying on a table in front of him. Thorn looked up from the workbench to survey the three with a neutral expression as they entered, and Scarlet Sage firmly shoved Antares forward, making him wince and stumble a little before he sighed loudly, looking awkwardly at the stallion before he said lamely: “Uh... sorry about the... everything. It's all my fault, really, not Pinkamena's.”

Thorn didn't reply, returning his eyes to the mechanical limb in front of himself as he floated tools around with telekinesis, touching up the pauldron. Antares couldn't help his eyes from drawing to Thorn's stump of shoulder, studying it silently until he blushed crimson when Thorn answered his unspoken question: “Every day.”

“How uh... oh. I guess you're... probably used to people asking that, huh?” Antares said lamely after a moment, and Thorn gave perhaps the faintest smile. The black stallion hesitated, then suddenly asked, on a wild hunch: “How do you function with just three legs?”

Scarlet Sage and Innocence both stared at Antares, but he kept his eyes ahead, locked with Thorn's gaze as the sapphire stallion looked up, and then he sighed a little, but put down his tools before he calmly strode out from behind the workbench, gesturing at himself with his head.

Antares whistled a little, and then he asked curiously: “How the hell do you move like that? I mean...” Antares awkwardly folded up one of his legs, hopping back and forth on three limbs a little and almost overbalancing, and Thorn rolled his eyes as Scarlet Sage stared in horror and Innocence covered her muzzle as she gave a few horrified giggles. “Even I can't do that. I mean, Sleipnir kind of can, but I totally can't.”

Thorn simply shook his head, and then he turned around, striding back towards the workbench: his movements were almost stately as he kept his head high and his body balanced, as he said dryly: “It just takes practice. And either I learned to deal with it, or I spent my days... handicapped. I am not handicapped, Antares.”

“I never said you were.” Antares smiled slightly, and then he strode forward and looked curiously at the mechanical limb on the workbench, asking: “And what about this thing, huh? Why'd it uh... well...”

“The clasping is loose. I've been lax about making adjustments lately, with everything that's been going on.” Thorn looked up as the others approached, and then he shook his head quickly before saying finally: “I... appreciate what you were trying to do. But I don't think that it's precisely... my sort of thing. I'm just not much of a social pony, and I don't take very well to... gifts.”

Scarlet Sage gave a soft laugh at this, and then she said quietly: “Now you really sound like Dad. Thorn, we're the ones who should be sorry: Antares and Innocence and a whole lot of the family, well... they're very... physical people. I guess when most of the family is made up of ponies who treat broken bones like mild sprains, it gets a little hard to judge what's acceptable or not. Are you okay?”

“I'm not hurt, don't worry. Just... a little embarrassed, and I don't deal with embarrassment very well.” Thorn replied with a shrug, and then he hesitated before he looked back over at his mechanical limb, studying it silently. “It's my own fault. Lack of care for our equipment leads to the equipment's betrayal. It's as simple as that.”

The other ponies traded looks, before Antares said wryly: “I can't disagree with you there, Thorn, but... it looks pretty well maintained to me. I think it was just bad luck. Or... well, you know, maybe a blessing in disguise.”

Thorn frowned at this, cocking an eyebrow at the black stallion, but Antares only shrugged before saying finally: “I wouldn't have learned that you weren't handicapped if you hadn't taken that metal thing of yours off.”

Thorn looked at Antares for a moment as Scarlet sighed and Innocence winced... but after a moment, a small smile quirked at Thorn's mouth before his eyes returned to his prosthetic limb. He reached up to touch it, stroking silently over the polished metal before he shook his head slowly.

Well, as frustrating as Antares could be, Thorn supposed that all the same, his big brother had his moments of clarity.