Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

The Shivers Of Secrets

Chapter Forty Four: The Shivers Of Secrets
~BlackRoseRaven

The monster was like nothing Cadence had ever seen before: it was mutant and enormous, with a chitinous, beetle-like carapace as it hissed loudly, insectile legs clawing uselessly at the air as it dragged itself out of the depths of the Void.

Energy rippled and twisted around it as the misshapen, monstrous thing twisted its way forward, the beast clawing its way into reality as its beady eyes glared hatefully after them. The black, empty pits looked furiously over them as its jaws gaped open wide, the monster giving a furious, hateful scream as it lurched eagerly towards them.

“Stand your ground!” Thorn ordered as the stretched and distorted portal trembled around the beast, refusing to show any fear as his eyes quickly analyzed this Terror from the Void: it was a Class B threat, something that they couldn't handle with their current equipment, but maybe... “Hold it back!”

The monster finally tore itself into this reality, leaping forwards with a roar as reality shattered around it for a moment, energy sparking and thunder booming through the air before the portal sealed shut behind it, the Terror dragging itself eagerly forwards as its eyes glowed with rage.

Moonflower reacted on instinct even as he yelled in fear, slashing his horn out and blasting the monster with a boom of gravity. The Terror barely flinched, but it ran into the spell like a solid wall, twisting itself back and forth with a hiss of frustration as its large, brush-furred forelegs grabbed uselessly at the ground.

Cadence swore under her breath as she concentrated her magic, while Muse and Necrophage both leapt forward, the psychic Replicant shoving at the giant with telekinesis as Necrophage bolted along the side of the room, yelling at the massive beast: “Look at me, look at me!”

The gigantic beast snarled, stomping furiously after the Replicant, but Necrophage moved too fast for the Terror to follow, and Muse was able to concentrate on blasting and deflecting the creature's attacks away from Necrophage as twisting, tendril-like tongues lashed savagely towards the mare from its biting jaws.

Moonflower stared at the humongous beast: Muse wasn't even trying to harm it, and his blast of magic hadn't done a thing to it. Cadence had launched herself forward to fight it, but the intelligence, the hatred, the living cruelty in its eyes bit into Moonflower's very soul, made him quake at the thought of trying to stand against this indomitable force, this evil from outside the worlds...

“Moonflower! Fight!” Thorn shouted, and the stallion flinched before he stumbled forwards-

The massive beast wheeled suddenly away from Necrophage, its beady eyes locking on the stallion as it growled at him with awful, self-aware hate, and Moonflower squeaked and nearly fell over before the Void beast lashed a forelimb out.

Cadence crashed into the creature's limb before it could strike, knocking its leg off to the side as it hissed in frustration before she snapped: “Goddammit, Moonflower, yank your head out of your ass and do something!”

Moonflower blinked, then winced when Cadence was slapped roughly away by the monster, the ivory mare hurtling across the computer room to crash painfully into the wall before Moonflower snarled and leapt forwards, snapping his horn forward as he shouted: “Get back!”

The Void beast flinched as a tremendous blast of force hammered into it, knocking it off-balance with a hiss as it narrowly caught itself, its chitinous shell bristling. It growled in frustration, then roared in fury when Necrophage leapt in at its side to bite savagely into one of its skittering hindlimbs, sending up a splurt of greenish blood before it knocked her away.

Muse flicked her horn sharply her focal orb flashed brightly, and the beast flinched in surprise as a psychokinetic hammer savagely smashed it between the eyes, knocking its head back between its shoulders as it flinched slightly backwards.

As the others fought, Thorn calmly created a holographic screen, tapping a quick series of commands over it before he only glanced slightly to the side when Cadence landed beside him, the mare asking disbelievingly: “What the hell are you doing?”

“Requisitioning equipment.” Thorn said simply, and Cadence mouthed wordlessly before the sapphire stallion continued calmly: “Return to the fight.”

Cadence glared at Thorn for a moment, but then she only swore under her breath before leaping quickly around and shooting straight towards the monstrosity. The Void beast swung a foreleg at her, surprisingly fast, but the mare easily evaded the strike before she slashed her horn down, sending a blast of white energy into one of the creature's eyes.

Yet even that barely made the Void beast flinch, the creature roaring as the biting tendrils lashed up out of its maw, streaking towards her. Cadence narrowly avoided the attack, cursing under her breath as she felt a wave of disbelief overwhelm her battle rage: what the hell were they trying to fight?

Necrophage lunged at the creature's side again, but this time the beast simply stampeded over her as it turned its attention suddenly towards not Moonflower or Cadence, but instead Muse. The Replicant's eyes widened before she leapt backwards with a shriek, fleeing into the racks of servers as the monstrosity slammed a foreleg through the metal shelving like it was nothing more than paper.

Thorn watched almost impassively as the monster smashed apart metal racks like toys in its sudden, focused search for Muse, the beast slapping absently at Moonflower, Cadence, and Necrophage when they drew too close like they were nothing more than flies.

Then the stallion grimaced when Cadence was suddenly knocked rocketing through the air to crash into the ground on her back and skid to a stop at his hooves, the mare groaning in pain before she blinked and glared up at Thorn, snapping: “Now what are you doing?”

“Waiting for approval.” Thorn answered, before he glanced up ever so slightly, ignoring the frustrated swearing from Cadence as he heard a faint beeping in his ear, several new readings displaying themselves rapidly over his visor. “Equipment was just approved.”

A vortex swirled into reality in the sky above, the twisting white and black energy crackling loudly as an enormous shape slowly began to emerge from the swirling portal. Gravity caught its gigantic, blocky base, and it fell suddenly from the hole in reality above, slamming down with a thunderous bang that made the whole world shake with the arrival of the monumental artillery cannon, and yet even as Cadence fell backwards in shock, Thorn barely flinched as he turned towards the humongous weapon that had crashed down on the ground mere inches from the pony, who was less than a fifth the size of the gigantic weapon.

“Keep the enemy occupied.” Thorn ordered as he called up another holographic screen, his hoof quickly tapping in a short series of commands. And, as if it had heard the words and sensed the threat – or at least the energy of the machine as it geared up – the Void beast turned towards the massive rail cannon, roaring in challenge as it began to scurry eagerly towards its new prey.

The creature lunged, but it was caught by Muse's telekinetic grasp, even as the Replicant gasped with the effort and bloody tears ran from her eyes as her mind quavered with the force it took to restrain the mighty entity. And yet all the same, she fought to drag it backwards with telekinesis, refusing to relent even as the focal orb beside her began to stutter in the air, threatening to crack apart as it gave erratic flares of bright, ominous light.

Moonflower snapped his horn sharply out, manacles of gravitational energy snapping into place around the monstrosity's limbs. The creature struggled against the magic of the stallion, yanking itself forwards before it flinched as Cadence leapt in and slammed into the Void beast's face, making it roar in frustration and surprise, but rear back instinctively, twitching away from the rail cannon.

Thorn's eyes narrowed as the images over the holographic screen beside him blinked several times, and there was a tremendous rumble as lightning sparked along the barrel of the railgun as the machinery began to power up further, pistons pumping and motors thundering into life as they sent power through the massive artillery cannon.

The Void beast's jaws suddenly snapped open, the monster roaring as hungry tentacles leapt out of its maw, their worm-like mouths opening wide as they shot straight towards the machine-

Necrophage immediately leapt between the Void beast and its prey, her powerful jaws snapping viciously through several of the tentacles before two of the maw-tendrils lashed down and slapped her roughly out of the air, another diving after her as if seeking revenge for its fallen siblings. The Replicant was saved by Cadence, however, as the ivory mare shot fearlessly into the fray, slashing her horn back and forth to slice tentacles to shreds and distracting the Void beast as it roared in fury.

But no matter what they did to it, the creature never relented: even if the tentacles reacted with a life of their own, biting and swinging at the ponies like savage worms, the Void beast itself barely paid the parasites leaping out of its maw any mind, the monster single-minded as it attempted to plod towards the source of the energy, and the only thing that might pose a threat to it.

Thorn narrowed his eyes as the creature lurched forward, Muse's legs nearly giving out from beneath her and Moonflower cursing as he fought to fortify the magic binding the beast. They wrestled helplessly to get the monster under control as the Void creature plodded towards Thorn, jaws opening wide, a new swarm of tentacles emerging from its maw and its horrific sounds drowning out the sharp beeping coming from the holographic screen in front of Thorn.

But Thorn didn't flinch, didn't tremble, didn't shake as the beast lunged, the stallion waiting for the last moment before he suddenly slammed a hoof into the screen in front of him, when the beast's jaws gaped widest as it lurched closest to the rail cannon.

The sound was indescribable: the blast of immense force knocked the monster rolling backwards as green blood exploded through the air. It crashed and banged along the floor, then hit the wall, collapsing in a mangled mess beneath an enormous hole that had been punched through the steel by the same missile that had ripped its way through the Terror.

The beast twitched weakly as the rail cannon crackled violently, then slowly began to gear down, thrumming lower and lower until it was only a quiet rumble. Muse panted hard as Moonflower stared in disbelief from the ground as he picked himself up from the massive magical recoil he had felt when the monster had torn loose of his magic, while Cadence was gaping and Necrophage was only worriedly pacing around her sister.

Thorn only scowled, narrowing his eyes before he said quietly: “Ready positions. The monster will be vulnerable to your attacks now, but its threat level will increase accordingly as well.”

Cadence stared disbelievingly over her shoulder at Thorn, except before she could either snap at him or ask how the hell it could possibly still be alive, a rumble tore through the air as the Void beast roared in wounded fury, and the ivory mare spun back around to stare with shock and horror as the hideous creature slowly levered itself back to its countless squirming legs.

The creature roared again, making the world tremble as it picked itself up, beady eyes glaring at them with unintelligent hate. It bristled at them, the plates of its body quaking as its body shivered, bleeding thick, mucous-like blood from the gaping wound through its breast and out its exploded back.

The monster howled as it began to drag itself forward, large front claws yanking itself along the ground as it hissed and snarled, its malevolent black eyes locked on Thorn. It roared, but this time, hideous, spiderine beasts leapt out of its maw in place of tentacles, the arachnid parasites rapidly charging towards Thorn and his team.

Cadence swore as she dropped down into the throng of parasites, slashing her horn back and forth to tear two of the beasts almost in half as she shouted: “Kill them quickly! Don't let them overwhelm us!”

Moonflower grimaced, his eyes flicking almost wildly between the parasites on the ground and the lumbering behemoth, before Thorn ordered crisply in a voice that somehow carried over all the chaos and confusion: “Moonflower, Muse, focus on the Terror.”

Moonflower still had no idea exactly what he was supposed to do, but it was more than just instinct that made him think the obvious thing was to attack the gaping wound in the creature. With a snap of his horn, he tested his theory by firing a black fireball into the monster, and he was rewarded with a howl that was clearly pain as much as fury, as the magic exploded against the vulnerability of its open wound.

Muse looked up, breathing hard, blood running from her eyes and nose but the determination in her irises only all the fiercer for it, as Necrophage blurted: “You gotta be careful!”

“I will be. But I know that I can do this.” Muse replied quietly, as she reached up to wipe blood from her face before her horn and eyes glowed, the focal orb floating beside her thrumming with power as she gathered her psychic energies.

She lashed her horn forwards, and telekinetic bindings snapped tightly around the monstrosity, making it snarl as it yanked itself against the Replicant's psychic strength. It shook back and forth, growling in fury as it pulled uselessly against the psychic restraints crushing around its limbs.

Necrophage supported Muse as her sister gasped hard, throwing all her strength into keeping the beast restrained as her focal orb trembled and quaked in the air. Her psychic strength was augmented by Moonflower's magic as he snared the Void beast with hooks of dark energy that bit deep into its flayed-open chest.

The monster wailed loudly as the fangs of energy bit deeper through its flesh, the monster twisting uselessly back and forth as it tried to yank itself free from the magical hooks. Yet even as it was forcefully restrained, its parasites continued to try and swarm forwards, lurching and throwing themselves at anything they could mangle.

Cadence swept back and forth, her hooves and horn punishing anything foolish enough to get close as the spider-like beasts stampeded towards them. She gritted her teeth as she tried to draw the attention of the monsters away, but plenty of the parasites were still swarming past, leaping at Muse and scuttling towards the rail cannon.

Necrophage leapt to her sister's protection, smashing parasites away as she supported her sibling at the same time. Thorn, however, only seemed to watch impassively as the spider-beasts scurried towards the cannon, Cadence swearing under her breath before she shouted: “Thorn! You have to do something!”

Thorn only calmly tapped across the holographic screen beside him as several of the spider-like parasites leapt onto the rail cannon, digging at it with their claws and biting into the barrel. The bug-beasts only managed to dig a few scratches in the polished steel before a surge of electricity pumped along the rail artillery, sending charred bug corpses spilling to the ground.

The remaining spiders showed a brutal form of intelligence as they turned their attention to Thorn, stampeding their own fallen kin as they threw themselves at the stallion. Thorn reacted fearlessly and immediately, even as spider-beasts the size of large dogs flung themselves at him: he moved faster, knocking them out of the air and crushing them under his strong hooves as he danced almost artfully back and forth between the creatures.

The tide of parasites lurched like a living flood after Thorn, but the sapphire stallion kept his pace and balance, dodging smoothly to the side as electricity crackled along his mechanical foreleg before he stomped savagely down, unleashing a shockwave of lightning that killed those unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast and sent the rest of the parasites panicking.

Thorn stepped quickly backwards, eyes flicking to the side: in that glance, he saw everything he needed to know, the sapphire stallion grimacing before he ordered sharply: “Moonflower, create a black hole inside the creature!”

Moonflower gritted his teeth at this order, but after a moment, he allowed the black chains of magic to drop as he called up all the magic he could. “Well, don't blame me if this ends up making a mess!”

The black unicorn snapped his horn forwards, and there was a tremendous rumble before the Void beast howled in misery as a black hole ripped into reality in the ruined breast of the monstrosity. And then Moonflower's eyes widened in shock as he felt a strange hardening around the singularity, the stallion shouting: “Something's wrong! It's... it's not working right!”

“Muse, power down! Moonflower, keep the black hole powered! Cadence, protect him!” Thorn ordered, and Muse gasped as she was finally able to release the psychic bonds from around the beast, slumping to the ground as Necrophage stood protectively over her sibling.

But as the Void beast wailed and struggled against the black hole, almost all of the remaining parasites turned their attention towards Moonflower, apparently guided by the misery of their mother-hive. The spiderlings charged towards the stallion, but Cadence was in front of Moonflower in a flash, slashing out with her horn to send out a ravaging blast of holy magic to drive most of them back before she dropped down on top of one of the parasites, crushing it flat.

Moonflower grinned his thanks as he struggled to keep the magic focused, his head pulsing with pain as the black hole roiled and rumbled away inside the broken chest of the beast. The singularity was acting almost like a hook inside the Void monster's chest, making it impossible for the creature to move as it writhed in agony, its front claws uselessly tearing and hammering against the ground as it uselessly tried to drag itself loose from the whirling singularity, but even if the black hole couldn't tear any flesh from the beast, the beast also couldn't loosen itself from the swirling black hole.

As Moonflower and the Void beast struggled against each other, Necrophage joined Cadence in fighting off the parasites, the Replicant bulldozing back and forth through the ranks of spiderlings. Thorn's sharp eyes flicked over the battlefield, quickly analyzing what was happening before he looked back towards the rail cannon as he heard its servomotors rumbling back to life.

The stallion strode quickly towards the holographic screen beside the railgun, barely glancing up when a straggling parasite leapt at him: he simply stomped it under one hoof as he continued quickly towards the screen, tapping sharply over it before he said calmly: “Moonflower, push the black hole towards the ground.”

“What?” Moonflower squawked, but then the black unicorn gritted his teeth before he focused on the Void beast. “Yes, a... a worthy challenge for a-”

“Goddammit Moonflower, just do it!” snapped Cadence as a spiderling jumped on her and bit into her neck, the mare ripping the parasite loose before she slammed it like a baseball bat into another spider-beast, sending up a splatter of goo as she stomped back and forth.

Necrophage was still plowing back and forth through the parasites, heedless of their claws and mandibles as she bulldozed and stomped her way through them, while Muse had limped in to create a psychic barrier around herself and Moonflower, rasping for breath as her cracked focal orb pulsed erratically, giving the black unicorn the safety he needed to slowly begin lowering his horn as he forcefully dragged the black hole downwards.

And as the singularity was dragged downwards, the Void beast was forced slowly to kneel with it, wailing as its legs scrabbled uselessly against the ground, forelimbs pounding almost in a tantrum that made the floor shake. The ponies stumbled, but Moonflower managed to hold on to his magic, forcing the beast lower as he gasped for breath.

And as the Void beast was forced to bow, the rail cannon beeped loudly before Thorn unceremoniously pressed a command on the screen, and there was a surge of energy before the massive weapon fired again.

The Void beast's entire body snapped backwards, the singularity inside of it exploding in a second bang that was almost swallowed up by the thrum of power that ripped through the air. It keeled backwards almost noiselessly, the only sound coming from the monstrosity the crackle of its chitinous plates clinking together as it spilled bonelessly backwards.

Cadence gaped as the corpse hit the ground, its tiny, segmented legs kicking weakly as green ichor bled from the ragged, gaping crater that was all that was left of its upper body: its head had been all-but-disintegrated by the rail punching through it, slime and bits of Void-flesh littering the walls.

As the creature settled, the remaining parasites fled in all directions, giving up the fight with their hive-mother destroyed. Thorn frowned a bit at this as he stepped slowly back from the massive rail cannon, and Moonflower wheezed quietly as he slowly straightened, the black unicorn unknowingly voicing Thorn's thoughts: “That's it?”

After a moment, Moonflower laughed in disbelief, and then he grinned widely as Cadence sighed in relief and straightened, but Thorn felt that something was still terribly wrong as he looked back and forth, his eyes narrowed. It had been too easy: sure, the monster would have trampled them if they had lacked the firepower to bring it down, but all the same...

Muse frowned uncertainly as she looked back at Thorn, as Necrophage saluted and turned to face the stallion as well. Cadence and Moonflower were both relaxing, and Thorn opened his mouth-

“Bad, bad girl!” snapped a voice, and Cadence's blood froze as she looked up in shock to see Thokk striding towards them, the witch glaring at them furiously before she shouted: “Go to sleep!”

Cadence gasped as the Swan went dead inside her, and the ivory mare trembled as she felt weakness spreading through her body. She fought to stay conscious, but she was helpless to resist as Thokk simply flicked a wrist, lifting her into the air as psychic bands clamped around her, before she was flung savagely to the side, smashing face first into the wall and falling bonelessly to the ground.

Moonflower stepped forwards, and Thokk snapped her fingers, Moonflower's eyes bulging as his horn sparked violently before he simply collapsed on his face, shivering weakly as the remaining magic was sapped from his body. Necrophage and Muse were flung to either side by telekinesis, and Thorn grimaced as he felt Thokk's psychic claws seize into him, hefting him into the air as the witch approached with an audible growl beneath her expressionless mask. “And you, you dirty little bastard! How dare you! How dare you turn my Swan against me, and how dare you butt your big butt in here where it's not wanted!”

“You're not really here. This is an illusion.” Thorn said quietly, and Thokk snorted in contempt before raising a hand and wiggling a finger slowly in front of the stallion's face.

“This is a little more than that, Thorn Blackfeather. This 'illusion' can whoop your ass.” Thokk growled, and then she flicked her finger, forcefully rolling Thorn upside down. The stallion only continued to survey her coldly, however, and after a moment, the witch gave a thin smile before she asked in a deadly voice: “Do you want to see the Void?”

“This simulacra doesn't have enough power to open a hole into the Void. You're here to give me a message. So tell me what you're here to say.” Thorn replied evenly, and there was silence for a few moments before the witch snarled, then slammed Thorn headfirst down into the ground.

The sapphire stallion bounced backwards, then grunted when Thokk slammed a foot into his side, knocking the pony rolling painfully away before he was seized into by a tremendous psychic force and crushed slowly into the floor as the witch hissed: “Don't you tell me what to do. I've spent my whole life being told what to do, and doing what I was told, and playing by the rules and the prophecies... and look what it got me! Exile, pain, suffering like you wouldn't believe! They made me Prometheus, but this time, this time, I'm going to put an end to all of it and claim what I deserve!”

Thokk glared down at Thorn, and Thorn shivered on the ground beneath the psychic pressure as electricity sparked over his exoskeleton, his armor struggling against the immense telekinetic force. But slowly, Thorn forced his head to rise, and Thokk leaned back in disbelief before the sapphire stallion said fearlessly: “No matter what you've suffered, Thokk... it does not give you any right to inflict that suffering on us.”

For the longest time, the two looked at each other as the others picked themselves up and the psychic pressure slowly vanished from Thorn's body. And then, finally, Thokk snorted before she spread her arms wide, saying coolly: “Who died and made Hecate Midgard's mommy?”

“Odin and Valthrudnir.” Thorn replied evenly as he slowly stood up, and Thokk snorted again at this before the sapphire stallion said quietly: “We stand to protect and preserve the state of the worlds, for better or worse. You want to see it destroyed.”

“I want to see a return to all-nothing, just the way everything should be. In the beginning, everything simply was. And it was beautiful, and it was eternal, until the gods separated it all and ruined the meaning of life and death.” retorted Thokk, but then she shifted, and Thorn could see the contemptuous smile in her body language and hear it in her voice, as she said calmly: “Then again, I wouldn't expect you to understand that, little pack animal.”

Thorn only looked calmly back at Thokk, not speaking, and eventually the witch snorted before she brushed at herself moodily. “Fine. Here's your one and only, final warning: tell your mother that if she doesn't surrender to me, I'm going to attack and destroy Decretum. I will wipe out your entire world, and all its operations. I will obliterate you. I will annihilate you. I will take everything away from you by force.”

There was silence for a few moments, before Thokk said quietly, as she gestured contemptibly towards the stallion: “Just like I can give life to the Void, I can take it away, too. With the prick of a pin, I'll make you bleed energy until you evaporate. There won't be any sentience left: just flecks of energy that will be recycled by this great big universe, to become... stars or life or whatever the hell the universe happens to need at the time.”

Thorn continued to look calmly at Thokk for a few moments before he stated, as he looked into the stone-carved eyes of the mask: “Decretum will not surrender, and we are not afraid of death, destruction, or erasure. You cannot take us by force.”

“Oh, you better believe that I can, you little bitch.” Thokk growled, lacing her fingers together before she cracked them loudly. “You don't got the guns to stop me.”

Thorn only shrugged, and the witch snorted before she flexed her hands slowly, then spun suddenly around, marching away as she said contemptibly: “Fine. If you aren't going to listen to reason, then maybe I'll give you one last challenge, and we'll see if you'll get the hint after you understand just what I'm really capable of when I get going. Let's start with a riddle.”

Thokk stopped, looking pensively towards the Swan and rubbing the chin of her mask before she said softly: “In the black sea, between the raven and the appleseed, there sits the rare red lily; in her blossom, you will find me, lost but not for long, gone, but never far away.”

Thokk spun around on her heel as she became translucent, the simulacra beginning to lose its form and strength even as she said derisively: “There you go. Hope you can put your big brains to use and figure that one out, prove what a smarty-pants you are. Even if you don't have a single damn pair of pants to wear. Horses and pants. Nonsense.”

Thorn studied Thokk intently, but Thokk only bowed before vanishing from sight, even as she spoke one final warning: “Just remember one thing: you might regret solving this puzzle.”

Thokk's presence faded, and Thorn grimaced slightly before he looked back and forth, ordering calmly: “Sound off.”

“Present! Operational!” Necrophage said immediately, holding up a hoof with a bright smile.

“Present... reduced capabilities. I apologize.” Muse said almost meekly, but Thorn gave her a gentle smile before his eyes flicked towards Moonflower.

The black unicorn looked blearily back at him, and then he slowly picked himself up and mumbled: “I'm... here? I'll be fine, I... just... need a moment...”

Cadence groaned loudly, which Thorn took to mean she was at least alive in spite of the fact she was barely shifting from the floor, and Thorn gestured quickly towards her with his head, ignoring the pounding pain in his body as he ordered: “Necrophage, assist Cadence. But we should be safe for now. I have the feeling we were just being tested.”

Moonflower looked up uneasily at this, but Thorn only smiled briefly before he created a holographic screen, tapping a quick series of commands across it to activate a communications link as he silently hoped that they were ready for the war that Thokk was intent on having, and that his mother wouldn't be pushed so far she would unleash the forbidden secrets locked away in the depths of the Clockwork Worlds.

Cadence strode slowly down the corridor, keeping to one side to let a column of Worker Drones pass. She couldn't help but look back over her shoulder at them, wondering silently what they must be thinking, or if they could even think or feel at all.

Thorn had woken up what seemed like a small army from hibernation and put them immediately to work, which they had done without complaint and as if they had always been under the command of the sapphire stallion. The more-paranoid part of Cadence wondered moodily whether or not Thorn really was the son of Brynhild, and thought he really must be some robot of Hecate's, considering how everything listened to him, but she knew that was just because she was... she was mad as hell, in a way.

What had this all been for? Sure, she knew that they had been honest: this was a Decretum facility, and it had been important to take it back from Thokk. But Cadence felt like they had been used, all the same: Thokk had come and gone without any real resistance from Thorn – not that she could have expected anything in the way of a big, stupid, and utterly pointless gesture from him, any more than aforementioned gesture would have had any results – and they had... what had they really accomplished here, in the long run? What were they doing?

The Swan told her she was being ridiculous. That it didn't matter, they were only a soldier, only a tool to be used as their masters ordered, and it wasn't as if anything had changed: the pretenses had simply been different, and the ends justified the means and the half-truth. But Cadence hated the thought that she and Moonflower hadn't been told everything, and that there was something going on beneath all of this that meant everything they were doing was ultimately nothing more than thunder and echo and meaningless distractions.

Cadence rounded a corner, before she stopped and scowled through an open door into a strategy room, where Thorn was standing at a circular table. The table itself was projecting a complex image of the facility above it, and Thorn was quickly tapping away on a screen as he wrote notes on a clipboard floating beside him at the same time, guiding the quill by telekinesis with the absent ease of long practice.

Cadence took a slow breath, squashed the Swan's protests, and then stormed into the empty room. Thorn glanced up briefly, but then returned his eyes to the holographic screen in front of him, asking calmly: “What do you want to discuss?”

“What the hell is Ithavoll? And why the hell do I suddenly feel like we're all nothing more than expendable pawns in some stupid game Hecate is playing with Thokk?” Cadence snapped, glaring at Thorn.

Thorn sighed a little at this, grimacing slightly: he had thought that Cadence had been too dazed to understand what he had been talking about while having his conversation with Hecate. On the other hoof, he did feel both a little bad that she thought that, and a little annoyed, as well. “Cadence, you should know your value to the organization by now. Excuse me, I have to-”

Cadence strode forwards, then reached up and slammed a hoof down on the tabletop, and the projection fizzled violently before the hologram simply puffed out of existence. Thorn and Cadence looked at the tabletop for a moment, the ivory mare's face betraying the fact she clearly hadn't thought that would actually work before she quickly turned a glare back on Thorn, doing her damnedest to fight back the blush creeping up from her collar.

Thorn sighed tiredly again, then he set his pen and clipboard off to the side before he leaned over the table, saying quietly: “I assume that you're assuming the worst about the conversation I had with Hecate. I'll overlook the fact that you were listening in on a private conversation-”

“One you were having right above my head. It's not my fault I was conscious enough to remember it. As a matter of fact, maybe I should point out what an asshole thing that is to say, Thorn.” Cadence retorted, and Thorn gave her a dry look.

“Then next time I'll have my conversation, and then ensure you're alive and alright.” Thorn replied moodily, and then he shook his head before saying in a quieter voice: “Cadence, you are not just pawns. I am the Regent of Decretum and Hecate entrusted you with my safety... with the safety of her son. And I trust you, too. Shouldn't that be enough to tell you that you're more than just some disposable asset?”

Cadence shifted awkwardly at this, glancing away as she felt a surge of embarrassment run through her. She mumbled a little under her breath, then nodded a bit as she felt some of her anger draining away, the ivory mare murmuring: “Well, yeah. But still, Thorn, I don't like being used. That's exactly it: I trusted you, too. How much should I trust you, Thorn?”

Thorn shrugged a bit at this, and then he replied: “Cadence, ultimately, I have to overlook my personal feelings and see to it that whatever job I set out to do, I complete. But I want you to be aware of something: my duty is to keep every single one of you alive. We walked into a danger here that I honestly didn't anticipate, and it has led to a situation that I would have liked to avoid.

“Keeping you, Moonflower, and my other friends alive is my first priority. Ultimately, Hecate wants to rely on the Orphans, not... the Ithavoll Project, to keep the peace in the universe.” Thorn said quietly, shaking his head briefly before he frowned a bit when Cadence gave a small smile towards him, the mare looking oddly touched. “What?”

“You called us your friends.” Cadence said, and Thorn shrugged a bit before the ivory mare preempted: “Well, I think it's a big deal. You used to be so... standoffish, I guess, would be the nice way of putting it. The fact that you just, you know, basically said we were important to you-”

“You're important to Decretum, and to Empress Hecate.” Thorn interrupted, but Cadence couldn't help but smile a little wider all the same: she was starting to really enjoy it when Thorn got grumpy. “Look. You are... you have value to me, yes, but that's not what's important or what you were referring to, so let's put that aside for now. You are not pawns, but you know as well as I do that we operate under an intelligence blindfold. I cannot tell you everything.”

Cadence nodded hesitantly, biting her lip before she decided to just plow ahead all the same, saying quietly: “That's not what really bothers me though, Thorn. There's a difference between not telling us everything and being honest, and I think you know that as well as I do... maybe even better. I don't like being used.”

Thorn sighed a little, and then he nodded almost grudgingly before saying quietly: “Alright. I'll keep it in mind, Cadence, but... please understand that deception, even of our own, is a necessary part of any military conflict.”

“That's a scary thought. And it seems kind of wrong to me.” Cadence replied, even though the Swan roiled angrily inside of her in clear disagreement with the ivory mare.

Thorn smiled briefly, and then he shook his head slowly as he answered: “War is a scary thing. Especially when we're operating against an opponent who knows everything... except for the few secrets we've managed to keep in the heart of Decretum. It needs to stay that way as well, Cadence. We can't risk giving away our secrets or revealing our hand until we're ready to move against Thokk. Until we have no choice but to deploy our final weapon. And I don't want that to happen.”

“So it's bad, huh?” Cadence asked, and Thorn shrugged a bit as he looked away, which made Cadence smile briefly. “Really bad.”

Thorn only grunted, and there was silence for a few moments before the stallion asked: “Can I do anything else for you?”

“No, I just...” Cadence shifted a little, then she asked on impulse: “Who was Melinda, and why did she... do what she did?”

“You phrased that question very well.” Thorn remarked, and Cadence gave him a sour look. “Melinda the Sky Witch is a figure from pony mythology in most worlds, but she did actually exist several thousand years ago. She's referred to as the Mother of Witchcraft because she was the first unicorn to develop hex magic, which is forbidden to this day in almost every world. She was also the first unicorn to harness and control Nightmares, and is even said to be the first unicorn to develop flight magic.”

Cadence frowned uneasily at what this all implied, before Thorn continued: “She's often portrayed as a hostile, if tragic, villain in legend, although there are a few rare stories where she plays a more benevolent role. We don't know the truth about her, but given her behavior, I suspect that she's a mare with many regrets, and far from a willing participant in Thokk's schemes.”

“Why can't Thokk control her?” Cadence asked, and Thorn smiled briefly.

“While I appreciate the fact you seem to consider me such a wellspring of knowledge, I don't have the answer to every question, Cadence.” Thorn paused, then he said slowly: “But if I were to hazard a guess, I would say it has to do with the effects of mental programming on sentient creatures. When you take away free will, you interfere with the ability to act outside of standard parameters. Thokk's servants are unpredictable... and that's part of what makes them so dangerous.”

“The Swans were replaced because we couldn't think, we couldn't act outside of what we were told to do...” Cadence murmured, and then she shivered before shaking herself out quickly, looking up as Thorn tilted his head towards her curiously. “Sorry. It's the... merging.”

Thorn only continued to survey her, and Cadence quickly shifted her gaze away, clearing her throat before she said awkwardly: “Anyway, uh, well... I'm sure that... I mean, we did pretty good against her, right?”

“We did terribly. She was being gentle with us, and the only reason we survived was because she seemed to take an interest in Moonflower... letting him stall her for much of the duration.” Thorn replied, and Cadence winced a bit. “I don't want to imagine what Melinda might be truly capable of. We're only fortunate she doesn't seem to be our enemy.”

“I mean, we still have to kill her though, right?” Cadence said before she realized what that probably sounded like, and then she gave a lame smile to Thorn when he looked at her measuringly. “Uh. Sorry. Swan.”

“That's not just the Swan, Cadence. That's your own tendency to frame everything in black and white terms to assuage your conscience.” Thorn said dryly, and Cadence's mouth fell slightly agape as the sapphire stallion continued: “You prefer simple and effective solutions, and you also prefer to see things in rigid right or wrong, good or evil contexts. You dislike when this is challenged: if something is good, then it is good, no matter what its purpose. If something is bad, then it is bad, no matter whether or not its existence benefits others. I understand that thinking, Cadence, but at the same time, you need to take control of it. And you need to stop faulting the Swan.”

“But everything is the Swan's fault!” Cadence burst out, before she blushed deeply and lowered her head quickly, mumbling: “I guess that sounds kind of childish, huh?”

“A little.” Thorn agreed, and then he sighed a bit before saying softly: “That's part of what we need to curb, Cadence. You're more than just a team leader: the Irregulars are one of the most respected groups in Decretum. I need you at your best to ensure that other ponies are going to put their best hoof forward as well.”

Cadence grimaced a bit, and then she argued hesitantly: “I really don't think that... me being a little dumb now and then has that big an impact-”

“Your behavior does impact others. As the behavior of other units impacts yours directly, whether you realize it or not. Everything ripples: Decretum is not made up of a thousand individual parts, but a million different cogs and gears, all working cohesively together as part of the grand machine.” Thorn met the ivory mare's eyes evenly. “How much of you was shaped by the world around you? How has the world reshaped even the Swan inside of you, a creature of unknown age from the halls of Valhalla?”

“Kindness slayed the beast.” Cadence mumbled before she could stop herself. Thorn tilted his head curiously, but Cadence only gave a small smile, shaking her head and murmuring: “Just something that Daddy used to say, and I guess... I never really thought about it that much until now. The Swan... has changed.”

Cadence nodded slowly: she wasn't just saying that for Thorn's benefit, or because she hated the fact she had come in here to scold him and now she was the one being reprimanded. She knew that the Swan had turned on Thokk for more reasons than just because Thokk had disrespected the Mothers and Fathers, after all: she knew that the Swan felt some lingering attachment, some undeniable affection for the ponies who were important to her.

The two looked at each other for a few moments, and then Cadence said suddenly: “Moonflower would probably like to see you, you know.”

“Yes. I know. I'm going to see him after I finish up here. I'll stop by the twins, as well.” Thorn replied absently as he turned his attention back to the table, apparently satisfied that the conversation was over as he reactivated the holographic map.

But Cadence lingered, smiling at him until Thorn looked slowly up, and the mare chuckled before she said softly: “You better be careful, Thorn. Soon everypony is going to know you have a heart in there.”

Thorn looked at the ivory mare dryly for a few moments, and then his horn glowed, and Cadence winced as she was picked up by telekinesis and gently carried out of the door, before the stallion deposited her in the hallway. The door closed a moment later, and Cadence snorted in amusement before she leaned forwards and shouted: “You can't just hide it forever, Thorn!”

She stepped backwards, then smiled and shook her head again before she frowned slightly as something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. The mare turned, then sighed despite herself at the sight of Moonflower peeking around the corner. “How long have you been hiding there?”

“I... I am not hiding, I'm... stretching!” Moonflower argued lamely, making a few odd bobbing motions with his head before he took several exaggerated steps around the corner, then he cleared his throat as he straightened and said lamely: “I was... it's only been a few minutes, anyway. How long have you been... here?”

Cadence quirked an eyebrow towards the stallion, and Moonflower sat back on his haunches and awkwardly tapped his hooves together, looking back and forth before he cleared his throat and said finally: “I just... well, you know, if you've been here, talking to Thorn, well... how is he?”

“He's fine, Moonflower. He's... the same as always. Tough.” Cadence paused, then she muttered: “I always forget he's like, pretty much a kid, though, because he's always scolding me. He's a little tyrant.”

Moonflower scowled at Cadence, his lips curling downwards so far that Cadence thought they were going to fall off his face, and after a moment the ivory mare smiled despite herself before she said: “Oh, stop that. You know what I mean. He's not a bad guy, though, and... you should know by now that he likes seeing you.”

Moonflower winced slightly, going back to nervously tapping his hooves together as he looked back and forth, the black unicorn licking his lips before he said nervously: “I... I really don't want to be a bother, though...”

“You're not. Go see him.” Cadence encouraged, and Moonflower shifted back and forth worriedly before he winced and flailed his hooves wildly at the air when Cadence turned and hammered on the door, shouting: “Moonflower wants to see you!”

A sigh came from inside, and then the doors opened, Thorn looking mildly at Cadence before he leaned out to see Moonflower sitting in the middle of the hall, blushing profusely. The two looked at each other for a few moments, and then Thorn rolled his eyes before he said dryly: “Come on. You can help me finish this report. Then we'll go see Muse and Necrophage.”

Moonflower immediately brightened and scurried for the door as Thorn turned around and went back inside, and Cadence smiled a bit and shook her head slowly before she turned away to head down the hall, reflecting that maybe Thorn was more correct about how everything in Decretum affected each other than even he realized.