Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

Primordial Chaos

Chapter Thirty Eight: Primordial Chaos
~BlackRoseRaven

They weren't quite ready when the twins suddenly bounced into the cavern, but they weren't completely caught off-guard either: while chaos wasn't something that could be predicted, it could certainly still be sensed. And they all felt those malevolent energies long before the two idiots came bursting in.

Neither destruction entity seemed either surprised or upset at the fact that the ponies had escaped their imprisonment, any more than they seemed angry about the fact their island had been converted into a battlefield of black gemstone. Their very presence was causing Sombra's crystalline corruption to begin rotting away, however, so it wasn't like they would have to worry about that possible disadvantage for very long.

If anything, the two seemed excited as they faced the ponies, the serpent saying happily: “Look! Look at this, they prepared a party for us!”

The leonine creature nodded, clapping his hands together and saying warmly: “Now, isn't that so nice of our guests? Just look at all of this, we can burn it all up!”

“Is that all you ever think about?” chastised the serpent, making the feline wince a bit. “No, no, no! Even when we were supposed to be washing things away, what were you doing?”

The lion awkwardly looked down, tapping his fingers together slowly before he mumbled: “Burning things.”

“Burning things, you big flamer!” The serpent smacked his companion, making the other destruction entity wince and huff sulkily. “We aren't burning them all this time!”

“Okay, okay! You don't have to be so rude about it, though.” complained the lion, rubbing at his head grouchily, before both he and the serpent looked dumbly up as Freya whistled sharply.

“If you two are done...” she began pleasantly, and the twins nodded and both tilted their heads before the Valkyrie shouted: “Bring them ruin!”

La Croix whistled sharply from where he was holed up in a niche in the furthest side of the cavern, and win a great burst of ghastly energy, the wraiths erupted from beneath the feet – and tail – of the twins, the destruction entities squawking and jumping into one-another's arms in shock before the phantasms converged violently on them from all sides.

The destruction entities both squawked and flailed wildly in all directions as the wraiths tore into them, and Freya smiled thinly as she immediately felt the antimagic they emitted being suppressed. Then she scowled and clicked her tongue when Cadence began to lean forwards eagerly, making the mare wince before she glared at Freya, a faint tinge of humiliation in her cheeks at how the servile Swan immediately made her body go rigid as Freya snapped: “Don't get overeager now, girl, we haven't started yet.”

“Haven't started yet, what do you-” It was a thought that Cadence was unable to finish, and a question that came with an unfortunate, swift answer, as Cadence was almost knocked off her hooves by the tremendous wave of chaos energy that was released by the destruction entities, the mare swearing and barely keeping her hooves as Freya shielded herself with a grimace.

The wraiths were torn to shreds by the power of magic, and Cadence gritted her teeth... before her eyes widened in shock as a voice hissed: “For that, you will die.”

“But slowly.” growled the other twin in agreement. There was no more playfulness, no more joy, no more sense of chaos: the madness and the silliness that had been reflected in their bodies was all completely gone.

The serpent's scales were no longer smooth, but rough and jagged like ice, his claws like broken bones sticking out of the ends of his fingers. His eyes were nothing but glowing blue pits, his body rippling as he breathed out toxic, icy mist, his tail a barbed deathtrap of spikes that coiled restlessly back and forth over itself. “Choking? Suffocating? Smothering?”

The lion growled, baring enormous, curling teeth in a pointed maw, his mane no longer shaggy fuzz but hellish crimson fire. His claws had become enormous and hooked, and his body itself looked like a hideous maw: there was no flesh, no skin over his chest, only gaping, jagged bones and opened and closed over what looked like an endless, burning pit of flames inside his writhing chest. “How about gouging, ripping, shredding? And devouring.”

“Can't forget devouring.” the serpent agreed, and both destruction entities straightened with cruel, matching grins, looking hungrily towards the ponies.

But Freya only smiled thinly, and Cadence's eyes widened slightly as she realized that the sense of antimagic in the air had greatly weakened, as the Valkyrie said calmly: “Destruction masked by chaos. But take away the chaos, and oh, you may look fierce, boys... but you're vulnerable now. Unlike chaos, destruction is predictable.”

“And are you stupid enough to think you can destroy destruction?” sneered the serpent as it twisted out to one side while the lion slowly paced to the other, his eyes blazing. “The Tsunami and the Wildfire, the unforgiving ocean and the all-consuming blaze...”

Freya stepped fearlessly forward, raising her head high and proud even as the destruction entities strode out to either side of her, the incarnations hissing at her as the Valkyrie said calmly and contemptibly: “And I am a goddess of life and death, bringer of the sun, earth-grandmother and matriarch of nature. The oceans feed my children, the fire burns down the old so they can be reborn stronger. You do not scare me, either of you.”

Both destruction entities snarled furiously, and then they lunged, as Cadence felt the Swan twitch inside her-

All eyes watched in shock as Freya's swords withdrew sharply so she could swing her front hooves out to either side, catching the destruction entities fearlessly by their faces, both of them staring in shock for a moment before Freya grinned as her horn glowed.

Both monsters were blown backwards, howling in agony as they were knocked skidding towards the edge of the island before Freya stomped her hooves down, and a network of hidden runes erupted over the crystalline surface of the gemstone floor, both monster hissing as bonds of energy lashed up around them and chained them in place. “Now!”

Sombra leaned forwards, channeling his magic through the crystalline corruption, and spikes of black gemstone erupted beneath both destruction entities, making them snarl and howl as they were impaled on the mess of blades.

“Pour on the pressure!” Freya roared, and Moonflower and Aster both stepped forwards, snapping their horns down and firing rays of magic into either destruction entity. The monsters screamed in agony, writhing beneath the concentrated beams of magic, unable to yank themselves free from the spikes impaling them or tear loose from the magic binding them-

Cadence felt the shock of antimagic a moment before both monsters suddenly reverted to their almost-comical selves, the serpent whining: “This sucks!”

“Lemme out!” shouted the lion miserably, and there was another violent thrum of antimagic before the spikes restraining both chaos entities exploded, and Moonflower and Aster were both knocked off their hooves as their magic was deflected from the creatures.

Serpent and lion defied physics and reality by flying towards each other instead of into the air, loudly smacking together before they flopped to the ground in a twitching pile in front of Freya. The Valkyrie snarled at this, raising her swords high, but she was knocked skidding backwards by a powerful pulse of antimagic from the two that knocked her swords from her grip, the Valkyrie swearing as she was driven to her hooves before she managed to rasp: “Danzsöngr! Force them to revert!”

Cadence's body reacted on instinct: there was only one thing Freya could have in mind, after all, and the Swan was all-too-eager for a bit of vengeance as she leapt forward, smashing into the twins and kicking the serpent savagely into the air before she tomahawked the lion in the skull, driving him face-first into the ground with a tremendous bang.

The lion bounced off the crystalline earth like it was made of rubber, the chaos they were emitting warping and twisting the world around them as Cadence grimaced at the surges of antimagic that tore against her body, making her skin crawl and her horn tremble with pain in spite of the protective sheath covering it.

But this wasn't like last time: this time, she had enough protection from their antimagic that she was able to leap forward and slam a vicious punch into the face of the leonine creature, making him squeal before she spun around and flapped her wings hard, leaping over a wild grab from the serpent before she crashed down on top of his body tail.

She seized into him with a snarl, yanking him off the ground and hauling him into the air, dragging him into orbit around her as he squealed and flailed uselessly in all directions. “Stop, stop!”

Cadence twisted suddenly, yanking the serpent on an arc through the air before slamming him cruelly face-first into the ground with a tremendous bang, making the rock floor shudder with the force of the impact. The snake bounced out of her grip, landing on his side and curling up with a whimper before he rose an arm and said weakly, as antimagic sizzled around his body: “Well, at least you put me down.”

The ivory mare didn't respond: instead, she leapt straight at the serpent's face, and he threw his arms back and gave a girlish scream-

His scream turned to a furious roar as he transformed, shedding his chaotic mask in a burst of blue mist as he slashed a claw towards her. Cadence barely evaded the attack before countering with a savage punch to the snake's face, before her eyes widened in horror as the destruction entity grabbed at her immediately with a cruel grin, her blow barely making it twitch.

She quickly threw herself forwards after her strike, using his head like a vault to fling herself over him before she flapped her wings hard on instinct. She narrowly shot into the sky, barely avoiding a blast of deadly crimson flames from the lion before she twisted to the side, avoiding a missile of ice from the serpent.

Both the serpent and lion snarled, before the leonine twin was slammed into the air by a magic missile from Moonflower, gasping in pain. The snake-beast swore as he spun towards the other ponies, before he howled in pain as a lasso of electricity snared around his throat before he was twisted to the side and slammed face-first into the ground with a tremendous bang.

Cadence dropped to the ground, but forced herself to disengage with a grimace, watching as Freya snapped her horn out and sent a blast of golden flames into the fiery lion while he was still airborne, sending him hurtling backwards to bounce across the ground before he suddenly sharply rolled, flinging two fireballs back at the Valkyrie.

But Freya was undaunted, her swords leaping up to her defense from the ground to bat the fireballs away with ease as she shouted: “Press the attack!”

The serpent suddenly reached up, seizing the leash of electricity around his neck as he snarled in fury, yanking savagely on it to nearly jerk Aster off her hooves before he slammed a webbed claw into the ground. Water burst upwards through the crystalline stone, transforming in mid-arc into massive spikes of ice that hailed down towards Aster in a deadly rain, but Moonflower was in front of her in a moment, snapping his horn upwards to create a barrier of energy that deflected the stakes of frost off to either side.

The serpent roared in frustration, then arched his back, howling in misery and clawing wildly at the collar of electricity around his neck as the leash of lightning suddenly turned a terrible, glaring crimson, energy steaming up from the destruction entity's neck as he twisted back and forth wildly. Moonflower's own eyes widened in shock as he looked back at Aster, who barely seemed aware of what she was doing, her eyes wide, her expression frozen, her whole body quaking as those red veins pulsed with a malevolent life of their own through her body.

Suddenly, the serpent transformed back into his bouncy, chaotic shape, squawking comically as he grabbed the red electricity around his neck like it was a physical thing before he slipped it off like a loose collar, falling backwards with a loud thump as the air began to fill with antimagic. But Cadence was on top of him in a flash, slamming a hoof into his stomach before she smashed him under the chin with another, knocking his head back before she tackled him face-first into the ground with a tremendous bang.

The snake began to hurriedly crawl away, and Cadence felt the Swan take over, the ivory mare leaping onto the serpent's back and ignoring the sizzles of antimagic that tore over her body before her forelegs wrapped around his neck, and then she twisted savagely to the side. And with a sickening crack, the serpent's neck broke, his eyes bulging and his jaw dropping before the Swan suddenly wrenched savagely to the side.

There was a sickening sound of snapping bone and tearing flesh before the serpent's head was torn from his shoulders. His body spasmed, flickering wildly between chaos and destruction beneath the ruthless Swan's hooves as she callously examined the head in her grip, as the serpent's mouth worked uselessly, blood and energy spilling from his jaws as his eyes rolled weakly in his head.

He looked up after a few moments, mouthing wordlessly as the leonine twin watched with horror, before the serpent suddenly gave a crooked smile, his features half-melted and caught between chaos and destruction before he whispered: “Back... to the Prime...”

The serpent sighed, becoming icy mist that swirled up past the Swan, and the lion trembled from where he was laying on the ground. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, and then threw his head back and roared, the ground beneath them rupturing, the cavern shaking as the temperature sharply rose, steam exploding up out of the moat around the island as he roared: “Brother!”

The leonine beast leapt to his feet with a snarl as he transformed back into his monstrous, destructive shape, roaring in fury as he charged straight for Cadence as his body burst into hellish flame. But the Swan Maiden was unafraid and ready, only watching calmly as the destruction entity approached.

He pounced, and the Swan didn't flinch and didn't move: there was no need to, as blades of black crystal exploded out of the ground around her, smashing one after the other into the leonine monster and knocking him backwards with a roar of frustration before a swirling black vortex formed in reality behind the destruction entity.

The lion was pulled backwards into this, the destruction entity howling in misery, trying uselessly to swim through the dark energies swirling and twisting around him as Moonflower gritted his teeth, his horn pulsing with energy as he focused all the magic he could into the maelstrom of gravitational energy. Yet the monster had no eyes for the other ponies, even as he was pelted with energy: he only glared with hate and fury down at the Swan, screaming: “At least what we did, we did for each other! What about you, murderer? What do you live for? What do you fight for?”

The Swan answered by charging her horn with magic, rearing back as her holy energies quickly ate away the sheath of black crystal around her spire before she dropped forwards and snapped her horn out, an arrow of white energy streaking upwards and tearing through the chest of the destruction entity. It gargled in agony, twitching uselessly in the grip of the black hole before Danzsöngr leaned up and said coldly: “Like you, I exist to destroy. Only I am superior.”

The lion roared in fury, and then he arched his back, his whole body bursting into flames as he roared: “Then let's all die together, in one final blaze of glory!”

“I don't know if I can contain all of that!' Moonflower shouted, even as he focused more energy into the singularity, making it pulse larger and pull the lion deeper, but even with the power of gravity, some of the flames were still dancing outwards, flares of heat and energy lashing out of the black hole as the one-winged unicorn trembled with the effort of trying to pull the destruction entity and his malevolence deeper into the maelstrom. “He's... he's pulling free!”

Freya shot a look at Sombra, who nodded quickly before he closed his eyes tightly, the purifier clanking and grinding on his back as the stallion focused his powers. The broken and melted gemstone floor shuddered as it began to turn back into liquid corruption here and there, patches of poison swirling up into the air to form into thin, floating plates around the barely-restrained destruction entity.

“Aster, fortify the shield!” Freya ordered sharply, grimacing as the world shook with the rage of the lion. The lion-beast struggled back and forth with a snarl, his eyes blazing with hatred as he tried to yank himself free as waves of fire and heat burst from his body, charring the walls of the prison of corruption slowly forming around him as he shouted in frustration. “Moonflower, crush him! If he gets loose, he'll bring them mountain down, and us along with it!”

“I... I...” Moonflower grimaced, looking up with a wince: the creature was so immensely powerful, and he didn't know what would happen even if he did manage to crush the destruction entity, and his powers were... “But he's-”

“Either he dies, or we all die!” Freya snapped, before she lashed her horn upwards, sending a blast of golden flames rocketing through one of the last remaining holes in the spherical prison of corruption forming around the lion, making the destruction entity howl as the holy flames scoured his body, making him writhe in agony as smoke and ash hailed down from his form.

The lion roared in fury, his eyes glowing with hatred and power as he twisted back and forth, and a pulse of hellish heat tore through the world as steam vented up through cracks and deep wounds in the crystalline floor. Moonflower cursed and stumbled to the side as Aster shook herself quickly, stumbling to her hooves beside him as she blurted: “You can do it! You have to do it!”

Moonflower looked up, gritting his teeth before he clenched his eyes shut, leaning forwards as he poured more energy into the black hole as Sombra finished sealing the crystal sphere around the destruction entity. The black unicorn was barely holding on to his sanity, however, even as the rippling orb became a jagged prison of black stone; miasma was leaking steadily from Sombra's eyes, and the purifier on his back was squealing brokenly as dark blood leaked down the sides of his body, Sombra rasping: “Contain him... he has made his choice...”

The destruction entity roared, the black gemstone began to crack as the creature howled from behind the thick layer of gemstone: “No, no, no! I won't go alone! These flimsy walls, this whole mountain, all of it will burn with me!”

“I won't let you!” Moonflower shouted, and then he arched his back, his teeth bared, his eyes glowing with power as his one wing stretched open and shivered before it began to boil with energy.

Moonflower's horn snapped upwards, and his single remaining wing flexed before it exploded in a burst of blood and energy, streaming violently upwards before he snapped his head forwards, using up all that reaped vital energy in one powerful gasp.

There was a thunderous boom from inside the crystalline dome as it shuddered violently, the air seeming to twist and writhe on itself around the orb before there was a single, powerful pulse, and a moment later, a black gemstone with a burning crimson core fell out of the air, hitting the ground and bouncing silently along the cracked but already cooling stone. Moonflower wheezed loudly as he collapsed to his stomach, and Freya blinked in surprise as the Swan tilted her head.

Sombra wheezed quietly as he slumped, closing his eyes tightly, but even as miasma continued to leak out beneath his sealed lids, he was able to whisper: “I can only applaud your decision, Moonflower.”

Moonflower smiled faintly as La Croix appeared beside him, quickly kneeling by his friend's wounded side before he placed a hoof against the ugly, infected-looking wound where his wing had used to be, the Loa muttering: “Just had to jouer au héros, huh? Y'ain't never been the brightest, Moony, but damn... you gotta ruin yourself like this?”

“They were never really... mine to begin with.” Moonflower whispered as he trembled for a few moments, slowly laying down his head before he closed his eyes tightly. “I knew... I couldn't kill it. But it was transforming itself into a bomb, a magic bomb, and I... learned that any magic can be changed...”

“Taisse-toi, mon ami. You ain't makin' any sense.” La Croix said gently, as he carefully scraped his hoof over the no-longer-winged unicorn's wound, and Moonflower gasped in pain as a green, eerie glow suffused his flesh, making him whimper and writhe in pain as the Loa muttered: “I ain't good at healin' spells, but I got a few tricks to keep you from the diable for a little while, at least.”

Freya, meanwhile, had walked over to the black crystal and picked it up, studying it silently for a few moments as she tilted it back and forth in her hoof. She could feel the burning rage of the entity trapped inside the gemstone, and she had to admit, she was impressed by Moonflower's fast thinking: she had only been able to concentrate on destroying it by trying to force it into the singularity, while Moonflower had been strong enough to transmute his and his allies' magic along with the creature itself to imprison its power inside a stone...

Well, almost. He had made a sacrifice: one she might not have been willing to make herself, she reflected, as she turned her eyes towards the stallion. She noted that the others were all gathered around him now, even though Sombra still had that poison leaking out of his eyes, and Cadence seemed unsteady on her hooves from the Swan's possession...

Freya shook her head slowly, then she simply made the black gem vanish for the moment before she calmly turned around and said quietly: “Atavus.”

The draconic entity was standing silently behind her, twiddling his fingers nervously together as he looked fearfully down at the Valkyrie. Freya looked back at him, and the creature smiled meekly after a moment, but his eyes were cautious and frightened as he whispered: “It seems no matter what I do or where I go, I end up someone's... pet? Slave? Toy? Oh, I don't really know what I am... I just know that I am very much afraid, and seeing you... k-k-k-k...”

“Kill them. We killed them.” Freya said calmly, and Atavus winced and shrank his head between his shoulders before the Valkyrie asked quietly: “If you don't want to be a slave, Atavus, then why do you so readily put on the shackles you're offered?”

Atavus looked down lamely, rubbing silently at the back of his head before he said in a weak voice, half-joking and half-pleading: “Well, I... I don't want to die either, of course!”

Freya smiled thinly at this, and then she shook her head slowly before replying moodily: “Death is far from the worst thing you can experience, boy. Believe me on that.”

Atavus whimpered a little and shifted backwards a bit before he bit his lip, then blurted, holding his hands out in a supplicating gesture as he felt the eyes of the other ponies turning towards him as well: “But I'm here! Isn't that enough?”

“Not even close.” Freya retorted grimly, glaring at the creature and making him flinch and whimper. Then she sighed quietly, lowering her head and shaking it slowly. “But I do need your aid, creature. For that reason, and that reason a lone, I will overlook your... failings. Are you capable of jumping between worlds?”

“Wait, just... just like that?” Cadence asked sharply as she straightened, ignoring the way the Swan twisted inside of her. “I have a lot of-”

“What you have, is too much lip, Danzsöngr.” Freya said shortly, cutting the mare off. “Your friend needs medical attention, we have little in the way of gear, and we are still trapped here in the belly of the beast. There's little doubt that more destruction entities will be here, sooner or later: like attracts like. What we came here for is right here, and your entire team is wounded, weak, and next to useless to me with the state you've been left in.

“We head back to Looking Glass World, by the Bifrost. Between us, we should have enough magic energy to open it and make our way across the rainbow bridge. From there, you can go on your way back to Decretum.” Freya said calmly, and Cadence shifted slowly, feeling like something about that wasn't exactly... something's wrong.

Cadence bit her lip, and then she shook her head before saying finally: “We should head back to Decretum first. We need to be debriefed and we have reports to make.”

“You need to get back to Decretum. I need to go back to Looking Glass World.” Freya replied evenly. “Our business is done, Danzsöngr.”

“Not entirely. You have to-”

“I don't have to do anything I don't want to.” Freya retorted, and Cadence sighed in exasperation before the Valkyrie's eye flicked towards Atavus, who shifted fearfully, biting his lip as he played his fingers nervously together. “And you aren't going to try to run away or anything, are you?”

“I won't have to... hurt anyone, right? I'll be safe?” Atavus asked uncertainly, and Freya smiled wryly, shaking her head briefly.

“I just need you to help me wake up a friend. And after that, you can go on your way.” Freya said gently, and the entity bit his lip before he finally nodded.

Sombra looked uncertainly at Freya, like he had a bad feeling about the Valkyrie's words, while Moonflower was slowly picking himself up with La Croix and Aster's help. Cadence wanted to argue, but there wasn't really anything she could say, as Freya said briskly: “Now that we have all that out of the way, let's open the Bifrost and head to Looking Glass World. I'm sure you'll all find some way to be unhappy with me, but for now let's get along long enough to open the bridge.”

No one argued, the ponies only looking back and forth at each other before Freya turned and said calmly: “Atavus, you can provide a bit of energy here too. I need you to link with me, though, since your magic is a sight different from mine. Do you know how to do that?”

Atavus tilted his head, and Freya smiled: a disarming, charming, pleasant smile, Cadence thought. It made her nervous. “Alright. Stay still. It may sting for a moment.”

Freya rose her horn, and Atavus bit his lip nervously before he opened his mouth, but it was too late: the Valkyrie's horn pulsed before a coil of golden light wrapped around his neck and cinched tight, becoming a physical rope of golden fiber that wrapped around Freya's own neck. The creature winced and grabbed at the rope, wheezing a bit in surprise, and then he squeaked when Freya's horn glowed sharply, energy crackling along the rope and driving him to his knees as the mare said calmly: “Good.”

Atavus wheezed loudly, and Cadence's eyes narrowed as Sombra asked quietly: “What are you doing, Signora Freya?”

“Exactly what I said I was going to do. I just also want to make sure that Atavus doesn't try to do anything silly.” Freya replied evenly, and Cadence narrowed her eyes as the Valkyrie glanced towards the entity, who was now whimpering a little as he clutched at his chest, looking at Freya with a strange sense of betrayal in his eyes. “We don't want to have come all this way for nothing, after all. It's only a binding spell, perfectly harmless.”

She paused, then looked over at Cadence, meeting her eyes as she added in a colder voice: “And before you get any ideas, Danzsöngr, you and your team are not here to pretend to be my conscience. You are here to provide a service, which you have not excelled at.”

Cadence grimaced a bit, but then she took a slow breath and straightened, making herself nod even as she felt the others wanting to argue. She held up a hoof, meeting Freya's eyes as she said quietly to the Valkyrie: “You're right.”

Freya frowned slightly in surprise at this, and Cadence looked over her shoulder before she said calmly: “Our team was loaned out to the Valkyrie. She is in command, and she is responsible for this mission. We're just here to provide support, that's all.

“Ultimately this mission can't likely be counted as being under Decretum jurisdiction. And ultimately, our loyalty is to Hecate. We're just mercenaries.” Cadence continued, looking icily at Freya even as she felt the Swan twisting furiously inside of her. “Freya is responsible here. She's the one who will have to explain all of this to Hecate.”

“What makes you think I'm afraid of Hecate, or that I care at all what she thinks of me or my methods?” Freya asked irritably, looking moodily at the mare. “I can't say I have any idea where you're trying to go with this.”

“I think you do, actually, Freya.” Cadence replied evenly, although it took all her strength to hold up under the Valkyrie's glare. “Hecate let you hire us with the understanding that you wouldn't... embarrass Decretum. But if we tell Hecate-”

“Tattletale, you mean. A wonderful threat, Swan.” the Valkyrie interrupted sourly, but Cadence refused to be distracted.

“If we tell Hecate about this, and you can't explain yourself, what do you think Hecate will do?” Cadence asked in a quieter voice, forcing Freya to listen to her, to focus on her. “She's not like the ponies you're probably used to. She's not like us, who have to obey you, who you like to argue with, but you ultimately prefer to boss around and have control over.

“You'll lose access to all of Decretum's resources and facilities. She may even refuse to protect Looking Glass World. And with Thokk in play, do you want to risk your entire world because you're impatient to get home?” asked Cadence evenly, and Freya was silent, her eye narrowing slowly as the smaller mare finished quietly: “I understand that 'honor' and 'conscience' and 'duty' don't have much meaning to you, Freya, but we have to get back to Decretum, and I somehow think making a slave out of Atavus might end badly for you. Or do you want to push him until all that's left is the destroyer?”

“Enough.” Freya said moodily, and then the Valkyrie shook her head slowly before she sighed tiredly and muttered: “Enough. Fine. Your argument is weak, but all the same, I understand what you're saying. And all this for a life that you don't have any reason to care about.”

Cadence smiled briefly, and then she shook her head before saying quietly: “I don't need a reason to care about the welfare of other people, Freya. But it is my job to see these worlds remain stable, and... the last thing I want to worry about is you going rogue or rushing things along and getting us into more trouble. The last time you tried to rush us off this world, it didn't turn out very well.”

Freya rolled her eye, muttering: “Oh, of course, it's all my fault. Now I know how Brynhild always felt. It's no wonder she was always so cranky.”

The Valkyrie halted, and then she moodily looked at Atavus as the entity weakly grabbed at the magic rope, asking meekly: “Does that mean you're going to let me loose?”

“Loose, yes. Go, no.” Freya replied, looking grumpily down at the creature. “And I cannot help but note that the only reason you've been helped at all is because, yet again, someone else has stepped in for you on your behalf. Do you plan to live your entire life like this, creature? Sown only to the winds of fate, riding them wherever which way they take you with no passion nor determination to call your own?”

“That sounds nice. I don't really want to have goals, you know... when you make goals, it's so much easier to do everything wrong, I've come to realize.” Atavus smiled nervously, looking uncertainly at Freya. “After all, I had decided that I was going to leave with you and apparently I must have done something wrong because, well... here we are!”

“Here we are indeed.” Freya said dryly, shaking her head briefly before she sighed and flicked her horn moodily, the golden leash loosening slightly from around the creature's neck. But more than reducing his physical discomfort, it allowed him to regain some of his strength, the creature smiling awkwardly as he stumbled up to his feet. “We're still going back to my home. But yes, first... it looks like we'll have to head to Decretum.”

Freya turned a sour look towards Cadence, adding dryly: “We wouldn't want anyone to have to tattle on us, after all, now would we?”

Cadence only shrugged, refusing to let her frustration or exasperation – or most of all, embarrassment – show on her face, and Freya studied her for a few moments before she closed her working eye, seeming to measure her with the glowing crystal in her other socket before she suddenly nodded and said: “Very well. We'll use the Bifrost to jump to Decretum. This cavern is large enough, and I assume you know how the Bifrost works.”

“We've been briefed on it before, but none of us have ever used it.” Cadence replied after a moment, tossing a look over her shoulder at the others. “Moonflower, are you going to be okay?”

Moonflower only smiled wryly as he nodded weakly, saying tiredly: “Well, you know that a god's work is never done.”

“Godly you might be in form, but you certainly aren't in mind or power. Impressive as your last trick was.” Freya said mildly, and Moonflower scowled a little even as he shifted awkwardly backwards a little. “But don't you worry yourself over him. The Bifrost should give us all more than enough of a boost to cross it from edge to edge.”

Cadence grunted, shifting a little and still not sure about this whole situation, but she did at least believe that Freya wouldn't put them in any serious danger. Sure, she might get them hurt, or manipulate them, but put their lives at risk? “Alright, I'll trust you. How do we set the coordinates?”

“By magic, of course.” Freya smiled almost patronizingly at Cadence, which made her glower before the Valkyrie calmly rose her horn, saying in a clearer voice: “All of you have to simply concentrate on lending what magic power you can into the spell, and I will do the rest.”

Sombra rumbled, shifting uneasily, as Moonflower bit his lip and Aster looked up uncertainly, but Cadence only nodded and said evenly: “Whatever you need.”

She looked over her shoulder at the others and noted that only La Croix seemed any kind of confident, and she grimaced a bit before saying quietly but firmly: “Everyone, lend your strength to Freya. She won't lead us wrong.”

“I don't make any promises. But I'll take you back to your metal kingdom, aye, and talk to the mother you so like to hide behind the skirts of.” Freya said mildly as her swords vanished one after the other, and Cadence glowered at the Valkyrie, but only forced herself to nod grudgingly.

Freya nodded back, then rose her head, taking a slow breath as her horn began to glow, pulsing with powerful, ancient magic as she muttered: “Now, lend me what strength you can... but be careful not to get pulled into the flow. That goes for you too, Atavus: I don't know how the Bifrost will affect a creature like you, but it does have a habit of... exciting those who try to cross it.”

Atavus only smiled awkwardly, and then Freya turned her eyes forwards, her horn glowing brightly as she rose her head high, the magic weaving through the air around her in almost visible currents as she said sharply: “Now, lend me your magic!”

The rest of the ponies all looked up to the thrum of magic that coursed through the air, and Moonflower gritted his teeth as he rose his head as high as he could, quavering a little but all the same supplying what little energy he could spare. That was more than enough encouragement for the rest of the team to turn towards Freya and begin supplying their own magic, and Cadence smiled a bit as she turned around and focused her own energies forward as well.

Freya grimaced a bit, then she nodded abruptly before turning around herself, breathing hard as she rose her head and said clearly: “Just a little more now... Atavus!”

Atavus winced from the end of the leash, tugging nervously on it, but as he was no longer choking, he seemed almost relieved to literally be tied to Freya, the destruction entity saying hurriedly: “I just thought that-”

“Well, that is precisely why your duty is not to think, Atavus, it is simply to do.” Freya replied sharply, as she dug her hooves in the soft crystal beneath her, her eye flashing as the glow in the crystal orb in her socket grew. “Now, all the strength you can!”

Atavus winced, then he grasped the leash binding him to Freya before his body sizzled with energy, and Freya gasped as the creature's power was added to her own before the Valkyrie's mouth spread in a wide grin, her eyes blazing before she leaned forward and roared: “Open before me, Bifrost! Bow to my command!”

The world rumbled around them as energy crackled through the air, crystal and stone both shattering beneath their hooves as chunks of rock fell from the ceiling above. Cadence looked uncertainly up, wondering for a moment if the cave was just going to end up collapsing on them before the mare could finish whatever it was that she was doing.

But after a moment, she saw it: the ripple in reality, the way the energy was gathering in the air above before, with a great crackle, reality itself seemed to split apart in a great burst of energy, vomiting out a stream of light that transformed in a flash into a neon rainbow. The bridge of energy glowed brightly, leading up to a swirling vortex in reality, but there was no time to hesitate: whether or not she trusted Freya, the cavern was beginning to collapse around them, and the Bifrost didn't look like it was going to stay stable forever either.

Freya leapt to the side, sweeping up Atavus and making him squeak and cling into her immediately before she shot for the portal, and Freya and the others followed, Moonflower gasping as he staggered into a run with Aster and Sombra both helping him along. But just like the others, the moment he touched the bridge, he felt a surge of energy tear through his body, his eyes widening as he felt himself breaking into a full gallop as agony dwindled away to a faint ache easily overwhelmed by the excitement and the energy that coursed through him.

They charged into the rift together, and Freya grinned at the emotions she felt from the others: the amazement, the awe, the thrill that never quite went away: even for her, a goddess of thousands of years of age – if not more – it was invigorating in a way she couldn't describe, breathtaking, almost making her forget about the giggling entity on her back, distracting her to the point where she barely noticed that the Bifrost had disrupted her magical tether. And for these lucky ponies, was all brand new as she shouted: “Don't lose your heads now, keep moving! But drink deep of that feeling, and hope it never goes away!”

Cadence couldn't help but grin as they ran along the Bifrost, the mare feeling like her veins were filled with lightning as they tore down the rainbow bridge through a swirling tunnel of light and darkness. She could feel even the Swan reeling from the sensations, from the sense of both excitement and nostalgia as they ran down this whirling passage...

And in what felt both like moments and minutes, they were through the tunnel, leaping out the other side in a whirl of sound and color to charge down the other end of the rainbow. Freya skidded to a halt with a wide grin over the steel plating of a metallic bridge, her false eye glowing with divine energies as she said easily to the Titans already taking aim at them: “I wouldn't start anything if I were you, friends.”

“Stand down!” Cadence shouted as she quickly strode forwards: in spite of the energy thrumming through her body, it was second nature to take control of the situation as she walked in front of Freya and the destruction entity.

The Titans turned their attention to her, and she felt them scanning her for a few moments before they relaxed as a voice blurted from the Titans' vocal systems: “Oh, you're all alive! And better yet, successful!”

“Alive and successful, yes.” Cadence said wryly, looking up with a slight smile as several glass orbs whizzed down out of the air before the holographic image of Seneschal appeared, the AI looking oddly relieved to see them all. “Moonflower needs medical attention, though, and-”

“Yes, yes, of course, I have already dispatched a wagon. You're quite a distance from Imperia, though.” Seneschal said mildly, gesturing around them, and Cadence blinked in surprise as she looked around, realizing they were standing on some kind of... half-complete steel highway. “But of course the energy signature created by that rift was quite easy to lock on to, and it seems you were able to target with some intelligence, in spite of how crude the addressing was...”

Freya snorted as Atavus nervously peered at the holograph from her back, before the creature whimpered and dropped his head when Seneschal distorted suddenly, as Hecate's voice snapped: “If you have time to lick your wounds, you all have time to prepare your reports! Freya, I will be debriefing you personally.”

“Oh, I'm so honored.” Freya started drolly, before two of the Titans stepped forward, one of them reaching out and yanking the destruction entity off Freya's back and tossing him over his shoulder like a sack of grain.”Return him, cur, or-”

“Shut up.” Hecate said shortly, and Freya glared in fury at the fizzing hologram as the Titan turned and walked away with the destruction entity hanging over one shoulder. “Don't keep me waiting for very long.”

“I suppose trees will be trees... and the wasp needs little reason to sting.” grumbled Freya, and Cadence couldn't help but smile wryly. For once, she had to agree with Freya, only she thought that she and the Valkyrie were thinking of very different people.