Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

Triumph Without Meaning

Chapter Fifty Eight: Triumph Without Meaning
~BlackRoseRaven

Moonflower lay in a broken sprawl, his flank torn open, his blood spilling over the floor. His horn pulsed erratically as he desperately tried to sustain a forcefield around himself and La Croix and Freya. The zebra was frantically trying to keep the Valkyrie alive, and Freya was laying still, and silent, her eyes staring emptily at the ceiling, her mouth moving every now and then as if she was talking with someone.

Sombra roared, his eyes blazing, his body more shadow and smoke than it was flesh as miasma streamed from his eyes. He slashed and raged through the low elementals surging around them, burning with ruthless animal fury, seemingly unstoppable even as the bestial elementals attacked on all sides. But even the monster he had become was slowly weakening under the endless tide of elementals surging all around them, slashing with claws of steel, biting with gemstone jaws, breathing flame and ice and biting wind-

A blast of antimagic erupted through the crowd, knocking elementals flying before it slammed into Sombra and sent him crashing back-first into the forcefield with a scream of misery. The magic shield shattered as well, Moonflower gasping as he was knocked onto his side by the force of the dispelling energy, his body quaking with pain as La Croix flinched, then looked up with horror as some ghastly, monstrous, ugly thing floated over them, whispering: “You shall join us. You shall join the Prime.”

The thing began to lean down, and La Croix stared up at it with horror as the elementals began to close back in all around them, and then the Primordial suddenly stiffened, raising its featureless head as its mishmash of eyes widened in horror, rasping: “Impossible!”

Reality itself trembled for a moment before a vortex spiraled open. Many of the elementals immediately turned towards this, roaring and surging for the portal, but they were greeted by several blasts of magic that streaked out of the vortex, blowing monsters into pieces before a goliath of steel leapt out of the portal, chains snapping around the massive Destroyer as it roared: “Run or die!”

Several elementals charged the goliath, but the humongous demon grinned beneath its draconic, steely mask, the chains extending from its back lashing down to seize around victims and fling them around like toys or simply tear them to pieces, as the tall unicorn horn jutting from its head thrummed with white magic. The Destroyer waded fearlessly into the fray as more demons tore out of the rift, and for the first time in his life, La Croix was relieved to see them, croaking a laugh as he whispered: “Well... maybe the second, Nanny Hel...”

Then his eyes widened in surprise as Cadence leapt out before the portal closed, the Loa leaning up as far as he could as he shouted in a hoarse voice: “Cygne! We here, Cygne! Aidez-moi!”

“Encircle the wounded! Destroy the enemy!” shouted Cadence, and the demons plowed through the tide of elementals, smashing their way through their opponents as Cadence's eyes locked on the hideous, grisly thing that was now snarling in fury at them, floating above her injured friends. “Vextus, heal them!”

Cadence launched herself at the beast, and the Primordial howled as it lunged back at her, the two crashing into each other in midair. But its claws raked uselessly at the gleaming white armor Cadence was enshelled in, hissing with shock as its malformed head reared back: “This enchantment is-”

A crescent dagger appeared in Cadence's hoof, the mare driving forwards and slicing through its throat before it could finish its sentence. The beast gurgled as it clutched at its neck, scattered eyes wide with shock before Cadence ruthlessly slammed her other hoof forwards as it burst into white flames, crushing in the features of the Primordial and sending it crashing bonelessly to the ground as she checked quickly on her friends.

Vextus was already tending to Freya, as Aphrodisia grasped Sombra and dragged him backwards while her scythe slashed and tore through the air around her, cutting apart any elemental that dared to come close. It took all of Cadence's strength not to fall back into that circle, but the Primordial shivering beneath her was enough to force her to return her attention to the fray.

She dropped down towards the Primordial, but it flung itself backwards, hissing as it yanked itself hurriedly away from her. It was all sagging gray skin and melted body parts mushed together into some long limbed thing that floated into the air in plain defiance of gravity, long, bony claws flexing as its mashed and ugly, swarm-eyed face glared at her, hissing through the multiple mouths that ran up along one side of its tilted head: “We will not be deterred! The Prime is prepared!”

“The Prime can suck an egg.” Cadence said shortly, as she quickly drew her other crescent dagger, floating slowly in the air. Her armor thrummed over her body, and although she could see clawmarks where the creature had attacked her, she was pleased to see Tormentas had been right: the powerful magic running through it had repelled the Primordial's powers. But she wasn't about to underestimate this thing, whatever it was.

The Primordial studied her for a moment, and then it suddenly grinned before hugging itself... and Cadence's eyes widened in disbelief as the beast seemed to turn itself inside out, transforming into an elegant, androgynous being with a long, fish-like tail, the entity floating in the air as electricity hummed and crackled quietly around it. It tilted its head towards her, saying in a voice that was echoing and soft, yet still had that same cruel undertone, that same crackling in its words: “Can you harm us now?”

Cadence lunged forwards, slashing a dagger out, and she swore as she was repelled by the entity before it seized her. But almost the moment its grip locked on her, the Primordial gasped and flung her backwards: where it had touched, Cadence's armor had blackened and burnt, but its own fingers had reverted to a bony claw, the Primordial snarling as it hissed: “Ancient Aesir magic cannot protect you for-”

Chains snapped down around the creature's throat, and it gurgled in shock before a glowing white hoof stomped down on the Primordial's head, driving it down into the ground. It screamed and flailed uselessly, squealing as it spasmed in all directions, but the Destroyer only watched callously for a moment before it bore down as its huge steel hoof crushed down with a burst of purification, the Primordial flinching once with a gasp before its remains charred away into nothingness.

Cadence glared at the Destroyer, but the Destroyer looked calmly back before she straightened, snorting in derision as her steel mask snapped away from her features, revealing the features of a beautiful, rose-colored mare with a mane of burning gold flames, the Destroyer saying calmly: “You were taking too long, Swan, and we don't have time to waste.”

“Morning Glory, you said your name was, right?” Cadence asked sourly, and the Destroyer simply smiled at her thinly before Cadence pointed towards the wide entrance of the hall, where the last of the Elementals were hurriedly fleeing to, yelping and whimpering as the demons shouted after them. “Take two demons and do a quick patrol. Rout any enemies you come across, and-”

“Wait, mi amore.” whispered her father's voice, and Cadence immediately turned towards him with a mixture of worry and relief. But the stallion was seated up, leaning against Aphrodisia as he smiled shakily, even though Cadence could see orange venom running from a fresh bite wound in his neck, and Aphrodisia was looking worriedly at the old stallion. “There are... creatures like the Voidborn. Husks. They are not strong but they are difficult to kill. But this is all a trap, something is terribly wrong here...”

Cadence frowned, and Morning Glory snorted before she began contemptibly: “The only thing wrong here is how weak these pathetic curs are, and-”

“Please curb your temper, Morning Glory. We have no time for silly disputes.” Tormentas said gently, and Morning Glory grimaced a bit before she shifted a little, her eyes lingering strangely on Freya, who seemed... shellshocked, Cadence thought uneasily. “Something is indeed wrong here, however. The environment is strange.”

“The air feels bad.” Aphrodisia agreed, and then she looked worriedly at Sombra as he closed his eyes and bowed his head forwards, a bit of poison still leaking from his horn and strange shadows playing over his body. “Are you okay, mister? You taste a little like my uncle but I don't want to give you any more poison, it might hurt you, but I mean, if you really need it...”

Sombra only smiled faintly at the mare, shaking his head as he said softly: “Thank you, cucciola, but I think I will be fine. It seems you all arrived just in time.”

“Just as Hel planned it.” Cadence muttered, and then she shook her head quickly before she turned her eyes towards Vextus Lux, who had paused in healing Moonflower and was now sitting with her head high and her ears pricked: she had attracted the nervous eyes of several other demons, which made Cadence feel distinctly uneasy as she asked worriedly: “Vextus?”

The large mare looked towards Cadence after a moment, but her eyes were still gazing off into nothing as her mouth moved wordlessly, before she suddenly flinched and snapped back to reality, saying sharply: “We have to signal a retreat!”

“What?” Cadence's eyes widened slightly, before she asked in disbelief: “But why? Vextus, what did you sense?”

“I don't know. I can't put it into words, but it's like I can feel the tethers tying this world together being ruptured by something.” Vextus replied anxiously, shaking her head quickly before she returned her attention to Moonflower, adding uneasily: “My magic is weaker than it should be, as well... something is wrong. And the feeling is only growing.”

“I would suggest we listen to the High Priestess.” Tormentas said calmly, looking towards the ivory mare before she bowed her head slightly, adding quietly: “But ultimately we will defer to your command, Lady Cadence.”

“Great.” Cadence muttered, and then she shook her head quickly before she approached the group. She traded a quick hug with her father, and the contact alone reassured her, his presence giving her strength before she took a breath and asked: “So what happened here?”

“Thokk.” La Croix shook his head slowly, and then he grimaced a bit and awkwardly pushed Vextus Lux back when the demon tried to focus her magic on him. “Uh, merci, but my kind don't react too well to your magic. You just focus on gettin' that rein de la nuit back up on his hooves, yeah?”

“Wait, Thokk herself? But she...” Cadence halted, before she smiled awkwardly when she felt her father gently grasp her shoulder.

“I see you have some tales yourself, Cadenza, but for now, perhaps we should withdraw. There are other teams: they may be in trouble as well.” Sombra advised, and Cadence nodded quickly and straightened.

She ignored the scowl that Morning Glory sent her, instead asking: “Moonflower, can you stand? And I need somepony to carry Freya. We withdraw towards the portal.”

“You are in charge. Not the stallion. So act like it.” Morning Glory reprimanded, even as she strode over to Freya and almost gently wrapped the strange, living chains extending from her body around the mare, carefully hefting her up over the huge, shell-like covering on her back. Cadence glowered over at the Destroyer as Moonflower hobbled up to his hooves, but Morning Glory had already turned her eyes towards the stallion, snorting in distaste as she said moodily: “You remind me of my brother.”

“He must be incredibly handsome, then.” Moonflower mumbled, as his legs shook a little under him, before he groaned and added tiredly: “Or bludgeoned into a million pieces on a regular basis.”

“He would say the former. I would say the latter.” Morning Glory responded, before she looked up and ordered to her fellow Destroyers: “Helguard! Clear the way!”

“I am in charge of this operation!” Cadence snapped, and the Helguard hesitated as Morning Glory turned a thin smile towards her, Cadence glaring up at the demon.

“You aren't acting like it. Either rule, or step aside and let someone else do the job for you.” Morning Glory said contemptibly, and then her steel mask snapped in place over her features as she leaned down so her nose almost pressed into Cadence's, hot breath washing over the ivory mare's face as she added contemptibly: “I am here as a favor to Hel. My allegiance lies elsewhere.”

“You are here under my command. And we are all in this together. What I choose to do is take the advice of the people I trust.” Cadence replied evenly, putting her temper in check even as the Swan twisted inside her in anger at the demon. “We are going to withdraw. And we are going to do so as a group.”

Cadence turned her attention away from Morning Glory, saying clearly as all eyes focused on her: “Team 0-0, stay in the center. Morning Glory, you'll be behind them, and I want you to continue to tend to the wounded while we move, Vextus. I'll take the lead with Tormentas and Aphrodisia. I want a Destroyer behind us, as well as two artillery mages. The rest of you, follow behind the group, with a Destroyer bringing up the vanguard. I will not lose any lives to an ambush from the rear.”

There was silence for a few moments, but then Morning Glory snorted before she barked: “Well, you heard the mare! Get into position!”

Tormentas smiled in amusement as she strode quickly up beside Cadence, and the ivory mare admittedly felt a bit of relief as she strode to take the lead. “I think you might have taken a step towards earning a bit of respect.”

“That's what I need, really. Respect.” Cadence said wryly, and then she shook her head quickly before focusing ahead, adding as the Swan gave a slow, uneasy twist inside of her: “I think I'm starting to feel what Vextus was talking about, though... something's not right.”

“Yeah. Something's wrong.” agreed Aphrodisia, the Inquisitor chewing nervously on her lip, and Tormentas frowned in surprise as she looked over at her: but what surprised Cadence was that Tormentas didn't seem to be dismissive, but more concerned than she had been when Vextus had mentioned it. “Elska is worried.”

“Then let's move with all haste.” Tormentas said after a moment with a quick shake of her head, and Cadence checked over her shoulder, letting her eyes linger for a moment on her wounded friends. She smiled at them when she saw the three ponies looking at her, before she looked for a moment longer at Freya, and then she turned her eyes forwards.

“Move out!” Cadence shouted, and the group fell in behind her without question, demons and her own teammates moving as one. Moonflower and La Croix leaned against each other, and Sombra walked with head high even as poison streamed from his eyes, and when Cadence snuck another look over her shoulder, she had never felt more proud of her team than in this of all moments.

A group of lesser, animal Elementals attacked them in one of the corridors, but Cadence barely had to react: Aphrodisia and Tormentas tore several of the creatures apart in moments, and the rest fled with squeals and shrieks. Yet already, Cadence could sense there was something much worse going on outside the walls of the castle, and she wondered uneasily if that meant that the portal hadn't been successfully moved into position...

But it was even worse than she had thought: they pushed through a door, and suddenly they weren't standing in a building, but in broken, torn-apart ruins, like an entire section of this facility had simply been erased from existence. Cadence stared out with disbelief across debris and shattered stone, looking back and forth as she mouthed wordlessly at the sight of the devastation, the destruction sprawled before her... and all of it, absolutely reeking of chaos energies that pricked at her skin, now that she was no longer shielded inside the walls of a building.

She gritted her teeth, studying the melted stone, the broken ruins, before she swore under her breath as she saw the massive, one-way vortex had somehow been stopped on the approach to the facility instead of breaching as she remembered Hecate had planned. Either the anchors had been set incorrectly or they had been destroyed, and considering that she could no longer tell the difference between melted facility floor and rotten, broken stone exterior, she thought it was probably the latter.

“Tormentas, Aphrodisia, you two are with me. The rest of you, make your way slowly towards that portal! Vextus Lux, you're in command.” Cadence said quickly over her shoulder, and then she broke away from the group before anyone could argue, Tormentas and Aphrodisia both following her as they ran through the ruins, heading towards the largest knot of activity that Cadence could see.

Cadence grimaced as they ran best several fallen drones: so at least it looked like a good amount of the infantry forces had been deployed, but from what she could see, the Elementals and strange, ghastly-looking ponies she supposed were probably the Husks her father had spoken of...

The ivory mare flinched as a much-larger beast ripped suddenly out of the earth, the massive worm diving towards her with a howl, but Tormentas immediately stepped in front of her with a cold smile, her horn giving a powerful thrum before several massive chain bolas appeared in mid-whirl through the air, slamming into the side of the worm and driving it to the ground as it screamed in agony.

But it only took the massive insect a few moments to wriggle free, shattering through the barbed chains and leaving an black ichor behind it as it retreated into the ground, and Tormentas narrowed her eyes before she said shortly: “Void creatures.”

“Are you sure?” Cadence asked quickly, and Tormentas only nodded: of course she was. Cadence had no idea how, but at the same time, she trusted the instincts of the mare as she turned to continue quickly forwards, her eyes locking on a group of ponies that were attempting to hold back under an onslaught of Husks and Elementals.

Cadence leapt on the back of a wolf made of stone, making it snarl before she drew a dagger and slammed it down into the back of its neck, driving it to the ground with a yelp. She jackknifed the dead beast, snapping her horn forwards to send a blast of white energy into another Elemental, knocking it flat as she shouted: “Cat! Lancer!”

“Where the hell did you come from?” the earth pony shouted at her, sounding more aggravated than thankful, and Cadence rolled her eyes before she leapt past him and twisted to slam both rear hooves into the face of a Husk that had been about to leap onto his back.

“Hell!” she answered shortly, and then she quickly leapt up to the side of Cat, who looked as calm as ever beneath his cowl, even as he struggled to stay on his hooves, Peridot swearing as she leaned against him even as she poured healing magic into the wound in his side. “Situation?”

“A massive enemy ambush came out of nowhere.” Peridot answered, a tremble in her voice even as she focused on her work. “I... I don't know where Sanctum is and they tore Dino apart, we lost all communication with the Command Team and something huge just... vaporized the entire wall! I don't even know where-”

“Hey, need some help here!” shouted Lancer, as a massive rock golem stormed towards him, roaring in fury. The stallion flinched, staggering backwards as the monster swung its fists at him angrily, fingers narrowly scraping through his mane before he squawked when a huge hand snagged against his hair. “Hey hey hey help!”

Cadence began to ready herself, before the golem suddenly stiffened, then simply crumbled apart as Aphrodisia yanked her scythe loose from its back, the Inquisitor smiling brightly through the collapsing stone and waving to Lancer as a few loose rocks tumbled around his head. “Hi there! You okay?”

“Uh. Yeah. Hey, Court, Hoof, Brute, you guys okay?” Lancer called over the cacophony of the battle, and there was one response, then a second as a pony stuck his head out from behind the sparking ruins of a machine, before Lancer swore as there was no third response, scrambling to his hooves and looking back and forth as he grit his teeth.

Cadence swore herself as she hurried over to Lancer, following him as Cataskeuastros only lowered his head, and Peridot gritted her teeth, ignoring the tears in her eyes as she focused on her work. But it was hard to ignore the shout of pain and fury that rose up as Lancer fell on his knees beside the corpse of Heavy Hoof, punching the ground as he clenched his eyes shut, and Cadence shook her head before she murmured: “I'm sorry.”

Lancer only whispered a curse in response, then he took a breath as Cadence grasped his shoulder before he nodded once, shoving himself up and wiping a foreleg across his eyes as he muttered: “We're... all in this together. No time to be a little bitch. Let's regroup.”

“Yeah.” Cadence halted, before she looked up in surprise at a loud, distinct buzzing, the remains of the robot twitching as Court shouted for their attention.

A moment later, a loud squealing filled the air before it was cut off in a blurt of static, then finally solidified into more than just noise as the ponies hurried towards it, a voice repeating sharply: “-all contact with Decretum has been lost! Warning, all contact with Decretum has been lost, recalling all soldiers! Regroup immediately with the Command Team for emergency evacuation!”

Then the signal cut out as suddenly as it had come, and Cadence grimaced as Courtly Love leaned quickly up, saying hurriedly: “That must be why there's so much activity up the hill, but it's a no-pony's land out there, if we go out there alone-”

“My team-” A quick glance at Tormentas and Aphrodisia.”-we'll head straight for the hill to give support to Command. Team 0-0 is being escorted by a force to the same zone: you shouldn't have a problem catching up to them. The whole group should be able to handle pushing through the battlefield.”

Courtly Love rubbed worriedly at his face, smearing his features like wax, and Cadence added quietly: “You're all wounded and low on energy. Even you, Court, you might as well revert to Changeling form because you're bleeding through anyway.”

The Changeling smiled embarrassedly at this, body flickering before he lost his stallion-like features to revert to the shape of a drone. And then, to Cadence's surprise, Lancer rose his head and said firmly: “You heard the mare. Just keep yourself alive out there, Cadence, it's a slaughter.”

“Keep an eye on the team, Lancer, we're all in this-”

Light.

Sound.

And then Cadence was laying on her side, gasping for air as she picked herself slowly up out of the mud, mouthing wordlessly before she was seized by strong hooves and hauled upwards. Her body arched as a powerful wave of energy pumped through her, the mare gasping before she looked sharply straight up, and stared in disbelief at the sight of some massive, ominous floating shape above, shaking her head weakly before she looked back and forth.

By some miracle, everyone was still alive-

No. Not everyone, she realized, as she saw Peridot shaking Cataskeuastros, the unicorn yelling at his corpse helplessly as she tried desperately to wake him up, but he was glassy-eyed, empty, unmoving.

Lancer gasped as he picked himself up from beside her, his body shaking, before Tormentas firmly grasped Cadence and said calmly and gently: “We have to go.”

Somehow, it was so much more effective than a shout had been, forcing her to listen, to process, and Cadence nodded quickly, gritting her teeth before she looked up for a moment at that awful shape in the air, then stared in disbelief as it simply vanished.

Except this time, now that she was alert, now that she had felt that awful power, she was aware of it when it flashed back into existence above the battlefield. And this time, she felt and saw what it did, that awful pulse it released through the air, the invisible, intangible, and yet so utterly devastating pulse that punched through reality itself like cheap fabric. How? How can that happen?

No. No time. She had no idea what that strange sphere was doing, as it vanished again, but they had to move, because whatever was happening, it was bad. Cadence could feel the Swan inside her, twisting, and she could feel Aphrodisia's pulsing terror, and the pain, the suffering, the torment...

Cadence gritted her teeth, focusing through the feelings trying to overwhelm her as she spread her wings and leapt into the air. Tormentas joined her a moment later as Aphrodisia and her scythe burst apart into a streak of black smoke that shot through the sky, whirling slowly around them as they streaked above much of the fighting, making straight for where it seemed like both friend and foe were trying to converge.

Several Husks flung themselves into the air in front of the trio, the ghastly Pegasi smiling coldly, heartless, soulless, and yet terribly aware of what they were doing as the one in the center pointed, and the others rushed sharply forwards with a speed that Cadence hadn't expected. She reacted fast, however, and Tormentas reacted even faster, the faintest scowl of disgust appearing on the demon's face as she blasted one Husk's wing to knock it careening off balance before she caught it as it began to fall by, whirling around with it to throw the Husk like a meteor into the face of their distant leader and sending them both crashing out of the air.

Cadence simply smashed the one that had charged her straight down into the ground, and then she led the way onward, weaving back and forth with a curse as both weapon fire and magic tore through the air around her. But the rest of the air was relatively clear: they were buffeted by winds from strange Elementals, and had to force through another wall of Pegasus Husks, but they didn't face any serious opposition until they reached the hill where the Command Team was trying to hold position.

They were being attacked from every side by Husks, Elementals, and unidentifiable monstrosities that Cadence guessed heralded from the Void, the mare grimacing in disgust as she watched one of these hideous worm-parasites leap out of the ground and swallow a Dogmatist whole before diving back into the earth. She cursed under her breath, then flinched and hurriedly drew back as a blast of lighting echoed through the air, hammering into the earth and tearing through Decretum soldiers and servants of Thokk alike.

She heard the cackling of a Primordial, but she forced herself to ignore it as she instead flew forwards, Tormentas and Aphrodisia both whipping through the air behind her as Cadence dodged back and forth through volleys of magic and gunfire. Then she swore as a stray fireball hammered into her wing, sending up a flurry of feathers as she fell from the air in a spiral, but managed to twist herself at the last moment to crash down with a bang on her hooves, right in the middle of a skirmish between a group of Husks and Combat Drones.

She hit the dirt, gunfire blazing over her head and hammering some of the Husks off their hooves, but the weapons did little more than slow their charge. Cadence swore as one of the Husks tried to tackle her, but she caught her attacker and rolled with him, pinning him under her on his belly before she snapped his neck.

The Husk tried to move, but at least for the moment he seemed unable to. Yet Cadence couldn't deny the sense of horror she felt at the cold, ruthless intellect in the Husk's eyes, and the way it tried to lean up towards her, mouthing a promise: “We will kill you. We will all serve the Jarsongildi.”

Cadence shivered as she staggered up to her hooves, Tormentas dropping to the ground beside her and saying quickly: “They must be just ahead, we have to keep moving!”

Cadence nodded, and the two broke into a gallop through the thronging horde. Cadence winced as she leapt over an Elemental, which snapped angrily at her as she passed before its head was blasted off by a sniper in the distance, and Tormentas smiled reassuringly as she ducked beneath a Dogmatist before she flicked her horn to the side, blasting a Husk off its hooves so that a Chimera Drone could slam a deadly blade through its throat.

The two skidded to a halt in front of a line of Husks that had managed to overwhelm a line of Decretum soldiers, Cadence wincing as one of the ghastly ponies picked up a gun, but Aphrodisia slammed down like a comet into his back before she thrust her scythe above her head. And immediately, the Husks scattered with howls of what sounded like fear, Cadence's eyes widened in surprise before Aphrodisia smiled mirthlessly as she chopped down, and the moment her scythe blade passed into the Husk, it whiffed out of existence.

“Elska hates them.” she muttered, and then she shook her head before simply turning to join Cadence and Tormentas as they continued to run towards the center of the combat.

“Cadence, Team 0-0, reporting with escort!” shouted Cadence as they smashed past a line of enemies and into an opening in the field protected by Dogmatists with heavy cannons, and a narrow corridor was immediately opened for the trio. The Husks attempted to surge into this vulnerable space, but Tormentas only smiled before she flicked her horn, and a flurry of icy spikes erupted from the earth behind the group, slamming into the Husks and the Elementals that had tried to follow them, driving the enemy forces back long enough for Cadence to lead the way into friendly territory and the Dogmatists to seal the hole with suppressing fire.

Cadence made her way immediately towards the center of the zone, grimacing at the state of Seneschal: the Clockwork Titan the AI was occupying had been severely damaged, sparking and twitching, missing most of an arm and with much of its interior exposed. Auriculos, meanwhile, looked like he was attempting to cobble some kind of machine together, the Kirin barely glancing up as he said scornfully: “Couldn't stay away from the glory, could you?”

“What? What are you doing here?” Seneschal blurted as he snapped out of whatever he had been doing, half-spinning towards them before he quickly looked back and forth at the demons accompanying her. “Hel! Did Hel send-”

“Reinforcements. Not much, but hopefully enough to help us all get back to Decretum in one piece, without... any further causalities.” Cadence halted, looking back and forth at the two before she asked: “Wait, I thought Silver was-”

“Silver has decided she serves better as a combatant than an administrator. I am inclined to agree with her.” Seneschal said stiffly, before the AI leaned forwards, asking quickly: “How did you arrive?”

Cadence blinked, but Tormentas smoothly answered for her: “Vortex, directly from a safe location in Helheim. The source energies came from two mages.”

Seneschal grunted and nodded, bowing his head and trying unsuccessfully to cross his arms: seeing as one was only a stump, he grabbed uselessly at the air for a few moments before finally awkwardly holding his side, as Cadence asked: “What are your orders? What about evacuation procedures?”

“Quiet, I am calculating!” Seneschal retorted grumpily, before he twitched visibly as there was a massive explosion, groaning: “My subroutines are all occupied by trying to keep all the Dogmatists and drones organized with only a tenuous connection, further exacerbated by calculating against the calamity around us, even further exacerbated by the constant nattering at me from all of you annoying-”

“What the worthless scrap-pile is getting at is that we seem capable of receiving signals, but we can't reverse the polarity of the portal or send any signals ourselves. Our forces are continuing to pour in through the portal because we can't send an alert or report to Decretum.” Auriculos' distaste was clear in his voice as he shook his head. “At least her mighty highness has stopped sending full assault teams through, but she's continuing to waste drone bodies. Not that they aren't easily replaced, but it's a useless use of resources.”

Cadence scowled a little at Auriculos, before Aphrodisia thrust her hoof in the air, waving it childishly back and forth. Both Auriculos and Seneschal looked at her, but Aphrodisia only continued to wave her hoof back and forth until Seneschal finally grasped at his forehead and asked in an exasperated voice: “What do you have to share with the class?”

“I can get to Decretum and warn Hecate!” Aphrodisia said brightly, before she thrust Elska in the air. “I can travel between dimensions like a Reaper!”

Seneschal looked clearly relieved as Auriculos scowled before saying tersely: “There is no guarantee that-”

“Well, you gotta try sometimes, right? I'll be right back!” Aphrodisia promised, before the mare suddenly spun around and slashed at the air with her scythe, ripping a hole in reality that she vanished into a moment before it slammed back shut.

Cadence stared in surprise as Tormentas chuckled quietly, before the demon said calmly: “Perhaps Cadence and I should go back to doing what we do best and hold off the enemy. We also have wounded on the way here, being escorted by my fellow demons: once they arrive we should be able to hold out until we can make our escape.”

“W-Wait!” Seneschal almost blurted, and Tormentas looked up at the machine curiously before the AI asked quickly: “Can you create a portal to Helheim?”

Tormentas frowned slightly at this, and then she clicked her tongue before closing her eyes... except after a moment, her expression tensed before she muttered: “No. No, that's not possible...”

Seneschal leaned forwards as Cadence frowned, and the demon shook her head before she looked up in disbelief at the sky. “I can't... it's like I'm hitting a barrier. I can't even feel the path to Helheim. Instead, I just feel... dead souls...”

She shivered, then composed herself before she looked up and said calmly: “Yes. We should not concern ourselves, though: Aphrodisia will make her way into Decretum by the Reaper's path, and then we will find and punish Thokk for this atrocity.”

“Oh, I have the feeling Thokk will come looking for us... this was idiotic from the start. We've poured so much of Decretum's forces and casualties are already passing unacceptable levels...” muttered Auriculos, looking up briefly before he glared over at Cadence. “Although that doesn't change the fact that the demon is on to something, and you two should go busy yourselves elsewhere.”

Cadence glowered back at the mechanical Kirin, but then she nodded before she looked over at Seneschal, saying calmly: “Contact me if you need any assistance.”

“Exceed expectations, Cadence.” Seneschal replied, but Cadence smiled wryly before she turned and gestured quickly at Tormentas, leading the demon away as she searched for... There.

The demon tilted her head with interest as they approached what looked like a hastily-assembled archway: a sniper was on top of this station, and there were turrets on either side of it. The archway itself had a pair of swinging doors, behind which was currently a team of four drones... and Tormentas nodded in understanding when a light above the archway turned green with a sharp alarm, the drones immediately storming through the swinging doors and into the battlefield. “Interesting. I would admire the organization even more if it didn't seem you had such... undesirables in command.”

“Auriculos is an asshole to everyone, that's all. But I've always liked Seneschal. He's not as professional as you'd expect a computer to be, but he gets the job done. And he has instincts.” Cadence led Tormentas up to the doors, standing in position, and after a moment they were joined by two Chimera Drones: Cadence whistled a little at this, glancing over her shoulder at the shapeshifting, liquid metal combat robots, muttering: “At least Hecate was taking this seriously.”

Tormentas glanced over her shoulder herself at the mantid-like beings as they rose their huge, scythe-like claws, and then she smiled wryly as she faced forwards and muttered: “I don't think I could ever get used to a battlefield full of golems. At least, not on my side.”

“There aren't just golems here, Tormentas, whatever it might look like. The Dogmatists might look strange, but...” Cadence didn't know how to finish the thought, but she was spared needing to as the signal blared and the light flashed green, and the two mares instead lunged forwards through the doors, charging down a safe corridor carved through the enemy forces by turret fire before they smashed into the enemy lines.

Cadence fought: by reflex and instinct, her blades appeared in her hooves and she balanced neatly on her hind legs as she slashed and tore her way through Husks and Elementals, moving with all the grace of a dancer.

Cadence fought: she could have stayed back in the safety of the perimeter, but instead she threw herself into the danger of the wild melee, tearing, ripping through the enemy forces as gunfire blazed around her, as magic erupted from air and earth, as monsters of every shape and size and ability lunged at her, and she gladly met them; and tried to pretend she wasn't disappointed, when each and every time, they fell to her surgical precision, her violent strength.

Cadence fought: she could retreat at any time. But instead, she pressed deeper into the throng, smashing her way through foes, looking for greater challenges even as the sheer numbers swelling around her meant that her enchanted armor was taking blows from all sides, that claws raked at her, that jaws bit her, that magic seared across her... and yet still, she fought.

Cadence fought: and the fight was good, and the fight made her forget about everything else and feel like she was making a difference, if for but a moment, and the fight let her punish her enemies and filled her with purpose.

Cadence fought: it was what she had been trained to do.

Cadence fought: it was her only reason to exist.

A Husk lunged at her, and her knives gleamed as she twisted, slicing through its face before she caught the other blade against its throat and nearly decapitated it as she knocked it to the ground. The ivory mare vaulted over the twitching enemy to slam her hooves into an Elemental, dropping her full weight on top of the beast to drive it to the ground and crush its skull, before she looked up with a snarl as a Primordial bounded towards her, roaring furiously.

The ivory mare lunged forwards before the beast could, slamming her daggers down through its eyes and driving it to the ground as it screamed in agony. Cadence bore down mercilessly, refusing to let up the pressure as she gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, body flexing as she forced the massive creature down onto its belly as it gasped and whimpered to her for mercy, water spilling over its rocky features from its cracked sockets.

Cadence smiled thinly, then she suddenly shoved down on her daggers as there was a flare of white energy, before she growled and twisted hard to the side, sending up a spray of matter as the Primordial flopped limply onto its side with a tremendous bang.

Another beast lunged at Cadence's back with a roar, but Tormentas was behind her in a flash, flicking her horn upwards and summoning a deadly net of barbed wire snared around the attacker, driving the Elemental to the ground with a howl of misery.

Without slowing, Tormentas revolved her horn elegantly before she flicked it forwards, sending a shockwave of lightning erupting through the air. Both Elementals and Husks were knocked flying, while the snared enemy on the ground shrieked in misery as it writhed beneath the now-electrified barbed wire.

“Watch yourself, Cadence! I can't be there to save you every time!” Tormentas teased easily, before she leapt smoothly over a Husk that dove at her and dropped down onto its back, crushing it into the ground beneath her. “How long do we fight?”

“Until we get the signal from Seneschal.” Cadence replied grimly as she flung her daggers out, sending them both slamming home into the breast of an Elemental and knocking it crashing backwards, before she simply flicked her horn to yank them both to ready positions in front of her, gripped tightly by telekinesis.

Tormentas only smiled, before she glanced to the side, then simply flicked her horn outwards, blasts of blue energy crackling through the air around her before they formed into a multitude of spears and swords, all eight weapons crackling with ominous energy as she said softly: “Try and keep up, dear.”

Cadence only smiled thinly as she felt the Swan twist through her, sharpening her senses and strengthening her body as she replied: “You just worry about yourself, Tormentas.”

The two mares launched themselves into the crowd, slashing and savaging the enemy: Tormentas wielded both weapons and magic with elegance, and Cadence moved with a cold, calculated grace, both mares crushing Elementals and Husks alike. They were ruthless and merciless against enemies that were bestial and fearless, fighting tirelessly as the seconds ticked into minutes...

Cadence swore as a Husk drove a sword into her side, piercing her armor: she yanked herself away before the weapon could dig too deep, but she could feel her strength leaving her through the wound, knocked both off balance and out of rhythm. And the ivory mare flushed slightly in humiliation as Tormentas immediately dropped in beside her, her weapons slashing and stabbing around them to drive the enemy back as she asked calmly: “Have your hooves, Cadence?”

“I do. I...” Cadence halted, then she frowned as a flare from the safe zone caught her eye, looking up quickly as she traced its blue journey skyward before she muttered: “That's not right.”

Tormentas frowned, but Cadence shook her head before she said quickly: “We have to withdraw, let's push back to the gates!”

Tormentas didn't argue, simply turning as her weapons slashed and stabbed outwards, ripping and piercing through the enemy, and Cadence flapped her wings hard, boosting herself into a gallop, doing her best not to favor her wounded side too much. They pushed through the enemy, then past the drones that were trying to force the surging throng back, hurrying towards the defended area as Cadence shouted: “Team 0-0 retreating!”

The gunners on duty immediately switched their aim, covering them with a hail of bullets that drove back the enemy soldiers as Cadence led the way back to the swinging doors, the two plowing through before Cadence yanked Tormentas aside the moment they were inside the barrier to let a team of drones charge into the fray.

There was no time to rest, however: Cadence sheathed her daggers as she hurried through the safe zone, her eyes locking on the sight of Seneschal, who was arguing loudly with Auriculos and, to her surprise, Silver. Aphrodisia had returned as well, and she looked both relieved and afraid as Cadence approached, the demon blurting: “Something really bad is happening! This whole planet is starting to collapse!”

“What?” Cadence asked disbelievingly, and Auriculos snorted in disgust.

“Stupid demon. Don't blurt out information to every soldier that crosses your path.” Auriculos pointed quickly, saying shortly: “We've taken heavy casualties on the southeastern flank. Your friends are approaching from there but they need cover fire. Get on a turret and give it to them.”

Cadence glared at Auriculos, and Silver snorted in contempt before she said shortly: “I see even my sister hasn't been able to stomp the arrogance out of you.”

“I am not arrogant, Dogmatist. I am in command. Now get going, Cadence.” Auriculos ordered, but the moment he started to turn away a hoof shot up and seized him by the throat, the Swan hauling Auriculos into the air and making him visibly flinch, even in his drone body.

“We are not your slave. We are no one's slave.” Danzsöngr said softly but firmly, before she looked at Seneschal and asked: “Why are you sending up warning flares?”

“There's nothing else we can do but send the soldiers to ground and have them secure themselves. Bringing them here only makes us all vulnerable. At least this way some may yet survive.” Seneschal fidgeted, before the AI said, almost sounding desperate: “But the portal drill has been caught in an energy flux and cannot be closed from this side, and Hecate can't activate any kind of portal to this world! It's like the coordinates have been modified, but that would only happen in the event of...”

Seneschal nervously looked away, and Cadence grimaced before Aphrodisia added: “I was barely able to get to Decretum even by Reaper paths! It means this whole world is going to fall into the Void!”

“Nonsense.” argued Auriculos, and Cadence scowled as she realized she was still holding the drone above her head before she flung him backwards, sending him staggering towards Silver, who rudely hip-checked him and knocked him on his side. The drone growled, but then scrambled up to his hooves and said contemptibly: “There is no possible way they could be dealing that kind of damage to reality. Even black holes don't generate the necessary force to punch into the Nothingness without some kind of amplification, after all. So there's no way that-”

“The center of a black hole has never been explored for very obvious reasons, Auriculos. That is a childish assumption based on obsolete science.” interrupted Seneschal, before the machine winced and warned: “Breach on the southeastern flank! Cadence, reinforce it immediately!”

“Figure out a way to open even a small scale portal, we need to at least get the wounded back to Decretum!” Cadence shouted as she turned and sprinted in the direction that Seneschal had indicated: not that she really needed help to find the breach, since she could see the entire perimeter from the center of the encampment.

She ran towards where the enemies were pushing through the drones and Dogmatists, but Tormentas teleported ahead of her and slammed her weapons down, smashing an entire group of Husks and Elementals backwards before she flicked her horn out with a boom of magic. But Cadence could see other holes forming in their defenses, the mare leaping towards one of these and past a sizzling soldier drone to slam an Elemental backwards before her wings flapped hard as they glowed brightly, sending up a flare of ivory light that stunned and surprised the enemies around her.

She was joined, to her surprise, by Silver, who blasted through the ranks of the enemy with tremendous arcs of lightning, dragging the chains of electricity back and forth as she snarled: “I tried to warn all you stupid pigs that this was a terrible idea, but no, no, you have to do what the sow says!”

“You're here too, so don't even start with that crap.” Cadence grumbled as she snapped her horn out, a blast of white energy ripping through an Elemental before the mare slumped and shook her head as her horn vibrated painfully. Was she already out of energy? She felt like she could continue fighting by hoof, but her stupid horn wasn't working right and her magic reserves weren't regenerating... “Do you know how-”

“I don't know anything, Snow White, I'm just another pig beneath the sow.” Silver growled, even as she half-turned and slashed her horn out, a Husk bursting into flames before it collapsed bonelessly to the ground, almost melted by the raw heat of the fire burning over its body. Silver grinned callously, then she corrected contritely: “I do know how to kill.”

“That's nothing to be proud of.” Cadence muttered, even as she caught an Elemental by the head before she slammed the rocky beast into the ground. She crushed its skull beneath her hooves, then looked up, readying herself... except... “What?”

The enemy lines were withdrawing. Cadence narrowed her eyes before she looked quickly back and forth: sure, a Drone had mounted one of the turrets, and Tormentas had done devastating damage in only a few moments, but Cadence could see that more than just the enemies in front of them were pulling back, the enemy forces all around them were disintegrating...

Cadence saw something else, too: the group of demons escorting her wounded companions. She whistled loudly, raising a hoof to them, then bit her lip as she leaned forwards slightly. Her hesitation lasted only a moment, however, before she simply leapt forwards through the shattered defenses and hurried towards the group, as she realized they weren't being attacked by the enemies, which pointed towards something being very wrong, she thought.

Vextus Lux looked up at her worriedly as she approached, the demon beginning: “Something is wrong with this world's balance, and-”

“We know. Aphrodisia said something about how it's falling into the Void, but we can't open any portals, and something is wrong with that.” Cadence gestured quickly towards the energy drill, which was continuing to spiral aimlessly halfway down the hill, the enormous vortex thrumming and sparking every so often. “Do you know how we can get out of here?”

Vextus looked down for a moment, but then she shook her head and murmured: “I will have to meet with the leaders of your camp and see what is available, but we will have to move fast.”

“Then let's move fast.” Cadence agreed, turning and leading the group back towards the encampment. “Hey! Friendlies approaching, authorize, code uh... five-two!”

The drones lowered their weapons, and Cadence smiled a bit as she led the group of demons into the safe zone. Yet she felt an uncomfortable nibbling at her stomach, even before Silver joined them and said in a low voice: “Something is terribly wrong. I'm sure even you must be able to see that, pig.”

“We have to get out of here. As fast as possible. Can you send up a red flare to call everyone here? It doesn't look like the enemy soldiers are trying to fight anymore... I don't want to guess why.” Cadence looked over at Silver, who scowled at her beneath her mask, but Cadence only lowered her head and almost pleaded: “Please?”

Silver grumbled under her breath, but then she finally gave a short nod before she flicked her horn firmly upwards, sending up a red blast of light that streaked high into the sky as she asked distastefully: “Like that? Do I get extra slops now?”

“Ask your sister.” Cadence said shortly before she could stop herself, and Silver gave her a moody look before the ivory mare turned her attention back to Vextus, noting that Tormentas had appeared beside Silver like a ghost... two Lunas. Different and yet... the same. Think about it later, Cadence, keep on task. “Silver is a commander here. She'll know-”

“I only know what the sow and her puppets tell me.” Silver grumbled, before she glanced to the side and visibly flinched at the sight of Tormentas, who was smiling at her kindly. But the Dogmatist hurriedly shook herself out before she pointedly turned away, almost glaring at Vextus Lux, although the demon looked too worried to care. “What do you need? Spit it out.”

Vextus Lux was completely unfettered by Silver's tone, answering: “Something that we can channel portal magic through. An archway: I understand that Decretum is protected by magical shielding, but I am confident we can punch through it... as long as we have the appropriate charge and materials.”

“Considering how disappointing this has all been, I'll be surprised if we can scavenge anything worthwhile here.” Morning Glory said derisively, but Cadence only smiled wryly.

“Then at least you'll get a bit of a surprise.” muttered Cadence, and then she shook her head quickly before she looked up towards Seneschal as they approached the AI, who was unsurprisingly arguing again with Auriculos. “Hey, we might have a way-”

“You're all so cowardly, so quick to turn tail and try to run.” jeered Auriculos, and Cadence narrowed her eyes before the Kirin leaned up slightly so he could peer into the throng, then snort in derision. “I'm counting fewer of you. Who decided to surrender?”

Lancer flung himself out of the crowd, and Cadence grimaced as she caught the stallion before he could sling himself into the Kirin. The earth pony struggled in her grip, but the Kirin drone only leaned forwards mockingly as Lancer shouted in a raw voice: “You son of a bitch! All you've done is hide back here behind good people, good people who died because people like you-”

“It's because they won't listen to people like me. Besides, a soldier's duty is to die in the name of his country... not that any of you Orphans even have a country anymore.” Auriculos flicked his hoof dismissively, snorting in disdain. “Now, to more important things. The enemy is clearly retreating to gather its forces in a safe location. We should gather our soldiers and-”

“I am ordering a full retreat. Cadence, what have you discovered?” Seneschal turned his attention to Cadence, and Auriculos snarled, opening his mouth, but then the drone suddenly shivered once before he simply slumped forwards onto his face with a dull rattle.

La Croix grumbled under his breath as he lowered his hoof, and then he smiled wryly as Sombra tilted his head towards him mildly. “Hey, just avoidin' a little noise. I gots me a real headache, see. Don't want to deal with any more corbeaus.”

“Thanks, La Croix.” Cadence let Lancer go, and the stallion bad-temperedly walked over to the Kirin drone and booted it hard onto its side, but then he only scowled and sat on it, turning his eyes towards Cadence along with all the others as she looked up at Seneschal and said: “I think if my father has the strength to create an archway of crystal, Vextus Lux can help us shape it into a portal. It'll be small and it won't last long, but it'll at least allow us to get some of our forces through. And more importantly, once we open the portal, Hecate can lock on to the coordinates and-”

“Flux detected.” Seneschal interrupted, the AI sounding horrified as he half-turned to stare at the open vortex in the distance, and Cadence frowned, looking back over her shoulder at the whirling portal before she flinched when the AI spun back towards them and shouted: “Go to work immediately! All Decretum forces, emergency! Proceed to-”

The whole world shook, and Cadence gasped before Seneschal collapsed backwards as his mechanical body sparked, hitting the ground with a resounding bang. Aphrodisia yelled in horror as the others fought for balance, before Vextus Lux shouted: “We have to move! We have to move, the world is-”

Reality shook, and Cadence barely caught herself before she looked back at the vortex, her jaw dropping in horror as it whirled faster, grew larger, and then reality, the sky itself literally cracked like glass, pulsing lines of nothingness filling the air as the cyclone of energy vanished. But it left behind those cracks, those thickening, growing, spreading cracks, as the world beneath where the vortex had been shattered-

“The Void.” Aphrodisia whispered, and she trembled before she spun around, summoning her scythe and thrusting it up into the sky as it thrummed with a desperate plea.

Vextus Lux scrambled towards Sombra, grasping him as the world shook again, as throughout the battlefield, drones malfunctioned and Dogmatists staggered as a terrible resonance echoed through the air, magnetic resonance frying their systems. The High Priestess seized into the stallion, then half-dragged him away from the others towards an open spot of land, shouting: “Create a portal ring!”

Sombra slammed his hooves into the ground, only acting, not questioning, as Moonflower yelped as he crashed against the earth, before he squealed in horror as the earth beneath him ruptured, flinging him upwards for a moment before it tilted violently and spilled him towards a gaping wound in the gravelly crust. But Cadence lunged forwards, catching him before he could fall and dragging him back with a gasp.

Morning Glory snarled, her chains tightening around Freya as her fellow both bowed their bodies, letting the smaller demons cling to them. The demon waded over the shattering earth with a gasp, before she looked up with a snarl at shape floating ominously high above, roaring: “Come down here and fight, coward!”

“Destroyer, do not antagonize the enemy!” Tormentas snapped, and Morning Glory grimaced before the demon began to raise her horn, but nothing happened. No glow, no pulse of magic, no power, as her eyes widened in shock before she shouted: “Vextus Lux! Our energy is being drained!”

“We're too close to the hole in reality, we have to-” Vextus was blown off her hooves as the earth beneath her ruptured, knocked up into the air, and then she screamed in horror as she floated backwards, as a force like gravity seized into her and pulled her slowly, lazily back towards the gaping hole in reality, as the sky above was rapidly eaten away by the nothingness, as the Void spread outwards, consuming all in its wake.

Cadence swore, then she leapt upwards, streaking into the air and tackling Vextus before she spun around and flung her as hard as she could towards the ground. The High Priestess fell: slowly at first, but then what gravity remained caught her, pulling her down even as rocky earth began to peel upwards, pulled towards the wound in reality. Cadence gasped as she fought against the tug with all her strength, but she could feel the energy being sapped from her body, her life draining steadily as she wildly rowed through the air and flapped her wings.

But her vision was going blurry, everything was going dark, and there was nothing she could do as she fell back towards the Void. She could only watch, helplessly, as in spite of all her efforts, the ground shattered, countless drones and bodies floating upwards, pulled back towards the Nothingness along with her amidst rock and gravel.

And the last thing Cadence felt was a gentle grasp, and the brush of soft cloth shielding her from the emptiness that had filled the world.

Comments

[BarrenBaron]

I cant say I expected this, but if I had, my money would've been on the ten moons facility.