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



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

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That Which Shaped The Universe

Chapter Sixty Two: That Which Shaped The Universe
~BlackRoseRaven

Hecate staggered backwards, one of her mechanical arms falling loose in a hail of metal and broken parts. She narrowed her eyes as she grasped at the stump, breathing slowly in and out as Loki moodily stuck a finger through a large hole in his coat, saying grumpily: “Great. I guess now I can finally get my clothes tailored, but this totally had sentimental value. And you just ruined it.”

Hecate rolled her head on her shoulders, before her eyes flicked slightly to the side as a reading glowed across one of her lenses. She straightened a little, ignoring the clank of stripped gears in her chest and the click of loose plates against each other across her damaged body, as she instead called up a holographic screen at her side.

It sizzled in and out of reality, but it displayed what she needed to know, the mechanical goddess barely acknowledging Loki as he asked mockingly: “What's that? Making sure your final will and testament is in order? I'd say that's a pretty good idea, except, you know, for the fact that I'm not planning on leaving any next of kin behind.”

Hecate ignored Loki as she dismissed the screen, instead checking the status of her own body. In spite of the fact she had layered her armor with magic, Loki had still torn her body's systems apart: his magic wasn't completely different from how it had been when he had disguised himself as Thokk, but his focus was, although she attributed that to the fact that Loki was no longer trying to keep up a false facade while channeling devastating, intense powers.

Except there was something else, too: he was simply putting out more energy, like he had greater reserves to draw upon. Had he been stalling all this time, waiting to grow more powerful? Was that really what the entire charade had been about?

“You know, I've barely gotten warmed up here. And since you've already ruined my suit, I'll give you a chance to go get another war body.” Loki clucked his tongue, turning around and striding a few paces away as he looked around the enormous room, saying wryly: “Pretty lame, really. I mean, the Aesir made the same sorts of golems as you... and they had the same ideas about architecture, too. Let's make the ceilings all really high, that'll be really cool! No, it gathers dust. That's all it does. It's dusty in here.”

Hecate smiled thinly as she leaned backwards, then she reached up to undo the collar that held her head in place on the machine as she said calmly: “This is not a war body, Loki.”

Loki cocked his head curiously as he spun around on his heel towards her, then he grinned as Hecate easily lifted her own head free before it floated eerily out of the grip of her mechanical hand and towards a hole in the back wall, Loki spreading his arms as he shouted: “Hey, where are you going? That's not a finished thought! Aren't you going to show me what is, then?”

Loki swung a hand out, smashing the broken metal body away with telekinesis as Hecate vanished into a narrow gap in the wall, the god huffing and crossing his arms before he frowned in surprise as the world rumbled and shook, the remains of the badly-damaged control terminal sliding smoothly into the ground as the back wall trembled, before klaxons began to blare as the entire wall began to slowly rise up. “Okay, hey, really cool, but-”

A huge metal claw grasped the bottom of the shutter, forcing it to rise faster as Loki froze with one hand in the air and his mouth open, before he stared up in disbelief at the massive machine that stomped into the room. It strode forwards on hooves that were larger than him, towering over the small man by at least thirty feet, with a thick, armored body and enormous arms that ended in complex claws. Its head was solid and dome-like, Hecate glaring down at him through a screen that formed the face of the immense combat machine as she said coldly: “This is a war body.”

Loki stared at her for a moment, and then he shouted: “Well I can do this! Magic, bitch!”

Loki posed and pointed at her, a streak of energy shooting out of his hand to strike the armor-

The blast of magic ricocheted as the armor glowed faintly, shooting back down to smash Loki in the face and knock him sprawling with a yelp. He twitched a few times on the ground, mouthing wordlessly, his features smoldering before he sat up as one eye twitched, shouting: “Well that's not-”

A massive metal fist slammed down, crushing Loki almost comically into the floor before Hecate leaned down, pistons pumping along the machine's arms as she pummeled him savagely into the ground, leaving Loki laying broken in a crater in the floor. She stepped back, but didn't slow, already preparing her next attack even as the god slowly peeled himself out of the crater and staggered up to his feet, clutching at his head as he rasped: “What the hell, lady, where did that...”

A long, gleaming cannon sprung over Hecate's shoulder from her back, locking into place along one of her mechanical arms as she aimed it straight down at the god, and some of the bruising vanished from Loki's body as he abandoned his exaggerated pain at the feeling of energy that tore through the air, the god shouting in a strangled voice: “You can't be serious!”

Loki snarled, but Hecate only smiled coldly as her targeting systems locked on to the demigod in his moment of panic, not hesitating to fire the rail cannon. There was a boom like thunder and a flash of white light, the air vibrating with the force of the single shot as her systems flared with warnings for a moment.

But as the light and rumbling faded, Hecate smiled coldly to herself as she looked up and noted the massive hole she had left in the wall. She was well-aware that it had been far too easy, though, as some new, uneasy feeling gnawed at her... but I will finish this, here and now. “Thorn! Report in!”

Silence greeted her, and Hecate gritted her teeth before she took a breath, calming herself and ordering: “Seneschal! Trace Thorn Blackfeather and his team!”

“Everyone is active, and Muse is present and accounted for, but Thorn himself is...” Seneschal suddenly halted, then he blurted: “Empress Hecate! Our... our readings are incorrect!”

“What? Impossible!” Hecate's eyes widened slightly as she clenched her steel hands, asking sharply: “Update and explain!”

“I don't understand, it was... it must have all happened while power was being rerouted, disguised as fluctuations!” Seneschal babbled. “Wait, some of our Worker Drones have come online, they've been given new tasks and their priorities have all been reshuffled, I can't-”

“Shut down all Worker Drones. Reactivate them on locked emergency protocol.” Hecate instructed as she brought up several readings across the screens she was facing. Power was nearing optimum levels, which meant that Thorn had at least succeeded in the task she had given him before she had fought Loki...

“Check all our active systems. Ensure that no one has tampered with the shielding protecting the civilian shelters and all automated security.” Hecate looked up calmly, before ordering: “Begin activation of Stage I of Ithavoll once we've rerouted enough power. Code six.”

Seneschal made an uncomfortable noise, but then the AI gave an audible breath before he said steadily: “Yes, Empress Hecate. As you command. Once power levels stabilize, it shall be done.”

“Good.” Hecate returned her attention the screens in front of her before her eyes widened slightly in surprise as a new alert blared over her screen, and she swore under her breath as she turned around to sprint for the freight elevator in heavy weapons storage. What are you up to...

“Cadence!” Hecate barked, and there was a fizzle and pop followed by hurried babbling from the ivory mare. “Shut up. A high-priority target is on the move and a Class I alert has just breached Decretum. I need you to-”

Cadence winced in pain as Hecate's words were cut off in a scream of static, the mare swearing under her breath as she leaned out from cover. She and her team had been in and out of skirmishes as they had zigzagged around Decretum, until they had reached the Castle District, where they had decided to lay in, since it seemed like the Husks and Elementals were being drawn here. Then the whole world had shook with the force of some kind of missile had torn its way out of the castle, and now they were making their way towards... something. Cadence had no idea what it was, only that it resonated with an alien yet familiar energy, calling to her...

The mare shook her head quickly as she scanned the warzone in front of them: the ground had been torn up from the force of the blast, but it looked less like something had struck here, and instead something had torn out of the ground. She wondered for a moment if it was a Primordial, but the cut almost seemed smooth, as if something had sliced up through the earth with incredible force...

Cadence felt a strange whisper of energy, but it was Sombra who located the source first, the stallion turning calmly around to gaze at the lone figure standing in the open square, asking calmly: “Were you once Thokk?”

“Once, even twice. But not anymore.” said the young man moodily, as he breathed slowly in and out, and Cadence shivered as she turned towards him, her eyes locking on the figure. And oh, so many memories rose up through the Swan as he grinned that old, boyish grin, twiddling his fingers at her with one hand as the other held his bloody side. “Heya, Danzsöngr. Nice to see you.”

“Loki.” Cadence breathed, as Moonflower and La Croix both readied themselves on either side of her. “But you... no... no, that's...”

“Impossible? I wish!” Loki laughed shortly, then he groaned as he cracked his back, grimacing a bit as he straightened and muttered: “Real nice place here. Very... Valthrudniry. Oh, frig, I can't even make up a good pun right now, that's how much this sucks. Your boss sucks. She sucks. This sucks.”

He shook himself out, then scowled at Cadence as she stepped forwards, and she shivered before the Swan took control, leaning forwards and shouting almost desperately: “But it is not possible! Thokk was a Creator!”

“Yeah, well, I worked under a lot of names and faces in my day. Worked hard, I might add, did everything the Aesir wanted me to do, got myself named a son of Odin...” Loki spat to the side, scowling in disgust. “And what good did it do me in the end? None at all. Just as the stories foretold.”

Loki snorted in contempt, before he returned his eyes to Cadence, saying quietly: “Prophecy. All prophecies are self-fulfilling, you know. I mean, if you want to believe in something hard enough... you find a way to make it true. Now, you know that, don't you, Swanny? Or maybe I should be talking to you, Cadence, for this one. Because you wanna make it fact that the Swan is a murderer, but oh, silly-billy, the Swans could never do that without permission... and I see the look in your eye. I'm very familiar with it. I've seen it a lot. All the Aesir looked at me the same way, and the Vanir, too. That look that says 'give me a reason. Give me a reason, so I can kill you.'”

Cadence shook her head weakly, before the Swan leaned forwards and asked: “Why have you done this, Loki? Why do you not honor your Father's-”

“He was no more my real father than Frigg was my mother!” shouted Loki, the young man snarling in fury as he stomped a foot. “They blamed it on my head, they said it was just as the prophecy foretold, that I was wicked and evil! But I didn't murder him! I wasn't responsible for Baldur or for Frey, it was all Valthrudnir, Valthrudnir's plotting and Dad covering it all up! But Odin used the prophecies, the stupid old fairy tales, to make me look like the villain!”

Loki breathed hard in and out, and then he straightened and said coldly: “Well, if they want a villain, they got one. They said I'd come back from the dead to bring Ragnarok. Well, here I am, and I'm sure as hell ready to wipe all of Daddy's precious little creations off the face of the universe. I want to bring it all back to zero, and I'm going to make everybody either help me or sit down, shut up, and watch. Watch what they made me become. They did this to me! And they did this to themselves!”

Loki stomped a foot angrily, and Sombra shook his head slowly before the stallion said gently: “No, my friend. The only one who paints you as the villain now is you, yourself. Come. There is time to end this peacefully. Let us wash our hooves of this trouble, there is no need to make war.”

“No. The only thing I plan to wash away is you.” Loki said coldly, raising a hand and pointing at Sombra, and a blast of black lightning streaked through the air-

Moonflower blocked the blast of magic with a shield of magic, and Loki glared at the unicorn. But the unicorn looked back with a strange expression: pitying, unafraid, and yet almost self-loathing, Cadence thought, as the black stallion murmured: “How many times have I seen you in the mirror? Too many... you're just like me, after all. Loki, what will you do when you're all alone?”

“I've always been alone.” Loki said quietly, and then he looked away as he breathed shakily in and out, before he closed his eyes and whispered: “Alone, or in the shadows, always trying to get Odin's attention, always looking for that praise from Dad, the praise that Thor could get from just tying his shoes together...”

“Yes, my brother, but 'twas much harder for me than it ever was for thee, with thy great big brain and my very little one.” came a soft voice, and Loki looked up with a faint, sad smile as Sleipnir strode slowly up to join them. And with him, came others, as Cadence realized that the sounds of fighting had become... muted. She could still hear it, all around them, and yet it was distant, leaving them in their own little world.

Sleipnir and Loki studied each other for a few moments, and then Loki straightened and put his hands in the pockets of his tattered overcoat as he remarked: “Well, you're looking much more handsome than I remember, Thor. Lost a lot of weight.”

“Aye, thou hast my thanks for noticing!” Sleipnir smiled warmly, raising his head with a nod before he started: “I would like to introduce thee-”

“The time for that has passed.” Loki interrupted, although he was strangely gentle, and he seemed to hesitate as Sleipnir's face fell. For a few moments, there was silence, before the trickster god asked almost pleadingly: “Won't you fight at my side? As much as I hated you sometimes, you always... you were always there for me, you were one of the few people I could count on to take my side...”

“I cannot, Loki. I must honor all that Father had created, and the new life he hast given to me. And whether or not the thought is as poison to thee, thou should as well.” Sleipnir said gently, and Loki laughed bitterly. “He saved-”

“Saved me?” Loki scoffed, his features twisting with disgust. “Countless eons of being bound up in the the guts of my own kids, of serving as a feast for the Grimm in Ginnungagap! Yet you would say he 'saved me,' brother? I fail to see how!”

But Sleipnir only smiled and shrugged before he responded softly: “Aye, he left thee there. And everyone else is dead.”

Loki was silent at this, and then he shook his head slowly before he looked down at his hands and whispered: “You speak as if I am not.”

Sleipnir softened, but Loki snorted as he waved a hand out in disgust before he looked up and met the stallion's eyes, saying coldly: “I will not back down from this. From what I must do. And I will not spare even you, Thor. I've spent eons readying myself, hardening myself for what must be done. There is no turning back for me.”

The earth pony simply bowed his head silently, and Loki closed his eyes before he took a slow breath, then he scowled as a voice chided gently: “Now, now, sweetie. Just because you never got your way with All-Daddy, doesn't mean you get to make such a great big stink about all this.”

Loki snorted as he turned around, scowling across at Hel as her ice puppet smiled and traced a curtsy to him. “Well, how long has it been since the last time we met, huh?”

“In the legends, the stories, you're supposed to be my daughter. And Fenrir and Jormungandr were sons.” Loki snorted in contempt as he looked over the goddess with disgust. “I'm supposedly the root of all evil. So forgive me if I'm not quaking in my little booties right now.”

“Hey now, that's no way to talk to a lady!” Hel said in an injured voice, touching her own breast before she added mockingly: “And all I see right here and now is a big crybaby. What's wrong, crybaby, you gonna cry some more?”

Loki narrowed his eyes dangerously, but Hel only grinned, leaning forwards as she said softly: “But that explains just how you were always able to avoid detection by me. Just like I thought! Well, okay, it took me a while to think it, but eventually I did thunk it, you know. Not that it matters, because I'm going to turn you into paste.”

“Hel, please! Have mercy on my brother! He does not know what he does!” Sleipnir pleaded as he stepped forwards, but Loki only snorted in disgust, pointedly shifting his back to the stallion.

“Too kind, brother. Too kind and too forgiving. You've always been so... weak.” Loki muttered, and Sleipnir leaned back, deep hurt etched on his features. “No. No mercy. No mercy for me, no mercy for you, and none at all for you, Hel.”

“No, no. There will never be any mercy for the likes of us... but that's the life we chose, Loki. Oh, sure, it might feel like all this was forced on us, but there's always a choice. Why, just look at you, making all these choices right now! How many times have you been told 'turn back, turn back,' only for you to declare dramatically, 'I can't, I can't!'”

Hel posed theatrically with the back of one hand against her skull and the other arm thrown wide, before she stomped down and turned serious, saying coldly: “It ain't that you 'can't,' it's just that you won't. And hey, maybe these others got the patience for it, but I sure as heck don't.”

Loki snorted in disgust, and then he flexed a hand slowly as Hel cracked her knuckles, then rolled her head on her shoulders, growling: “Now, I see big metal momma already got a few good cracks in on you, which is fine and dandy by me. Because unlike the rest of these losers, I don't have to pretend to be the good guy. I don't have to try and make all the right decisions. Me? I'm merciless.”

“All you are is another fortune teller with too high an opinion of herself.” Loki retorted as he shook his own hands out, his eyes locked fearlessly on the dark goddess. “But hey, I'll entertain you, sweetheart. After all, I'm about to make your job obsolete, anyway.”

“If only that were true, Loki, I'd let you kill me with style.” Hel said kindly, before she smiled and said softly: “But so far, all I've seen is that even if you take the people out of Hell, you can't take Hell out of people.”

She paused as Loki frowned slightly, before the goddess suddenly shouted: “Think fast!” and lunged forwards into a blast of magic.

Loki brought his arms up to block the telekinetic hammer, before he gave a gasp of shock as instead of striking his front, a psychokinetic force crashed into his back, knocking him skidding on his face right to Hel's feet. She covered her mouth and giggled childishly as Loki blinked, before he snarled as she shoved a foot against his face and asked: “Hey, you think I need to trim my nails?”

The trickster god flung himself up to his feet, both hands bursting into dark flames, but Hel simply punted hard upwards, her foot slamming directly into his crotch and knocking the god staggering backwards with a wheeze of pain before Hel crowed: “I don't know you! That's my purse!”

Hel stomped down on one of Loki's feet, making him squawk before she slapped him roundly across the face, then she suddenly became deadly serious as she stepped forwards and seized him by the throat in both hands, hefting him into the air above her head.

Loki choked for a moment, but then grinned suddenly before he burst apart into electricity and fire, Hel's ice puppet staggering backwards with a hiss as it half-melted. But even as she stumbled, she spun around on the spot, lashing out an arm to send a blade of blue flame ripping through the air to crash into Loki before he could even fully reform.

He swore under his breath as he rolled back to a crouch, shoving his hands against the ground, and spikes of rock ripped out of the earth in all directions around him, heedless of the collateral damage as ponies scattered backwards. But Hel simply flicked both arms out, shattering some of the deadly blades of rock and ripping the rest of them free from the ground to launch them like missiles into the god.

Loki swore as he was battered backwards under the hail of sharp rock, rolling backwards before he caught himself on all fours, breathing roughly in and out as he shook with visible pain. He looked up with a snarl as Hel smiled coldly, the goddess saying quietly: “Poor little sweetie. That's real blood you're bleeding, not energy, not Voidstuff. But I do have to wonder... how much you is god and how much of you is... something else?”

Hel tilted her head inquisitively, and Loki smiled thinly before he picked himself up. He breathed slowly in and out, then he rose a hand and answered: “Enough to remember this old trick.”

There was a pulse of power, and then Hel's ice puppet simply exploded into fragments, Loki snorting as he mocked: “Not so tough now, are you? Not so smart, either. How often did Dad do that to you? Sure, take a few free, cheap shots on me after you've let your stupid little friend do all the hard work, show off, pretend you're a big tough girl, but I've got your number, Hel. You're just a scared little witch, hiding away in her little hovel down in Underdark. And let me promise you something, right here and now: I'm going to come down and drag you out of there, feet first if I have to.”

“Now, now. Stronger men then you have promised that. Stronger women, too.” Hel's voice retorted, and Loki half-spun to stare at the icy puppet that had just spoken, before he snarled as a second ice puppet tittered, his eyes turning disbelievingly towards this other Hel.

“And I do have to say. I'm not all that impressed just yet, sweetie pie.” it chided after a moment, before both puppets grinned coldly as the one Loki had just shattered reformed in front of him, the trickster leaning back in surprise.

“I'll let you in on a little secret, just because you're so handsome.” Hel said kindly as she spread her arms and winked at the god. “It wasn't that All-Daddy was ever able to really make me go bye-bye whenever he wanted... it was that I let him.”

Loki snarled as he stepped backwards, looking back and forth as he seemed to realize the odds were against him, but before he could even think about trying to escape, claws of ice and shadow surged upwards from the ground and seized into him, the god gasping in pain as Hel's voice whispered in his ear: “Now, now, it's far too late to run away. Just count to one-two-three-four, and it'll all be over soon...”

The two puppets of ice strode calmly towards the one in the center, merging into it with pulses of light and power. As they did so, more puppets appeared, striding calmly from all directions to join with the puppet standing in front of Loki, melding into it with a thrum that Cadence could feel in her bones as she leaned backwards with a shiver: was this the true power of the Goddess of Helheim?

Loki gasped as he was forced down to his knees by the claws of frost and shadow digging into his body, the god gritting his teeth as one of the burning black hands seized him by the scalp and yanked his head forcefully back as the final puppet merged into the eerily-glowing avatar of Hel, which leaned forwards over him, speaking in a soft, echoing voice as she reached down and gently laid a finger against his face: “I only have one question, Loki Jarson. I don't care about why, or even about how you managed to do all this: you're not the strangest thing I've ever seen, sweetie. No, no, no. What I care about is why you choose this place: the here, not the how.”

Loki scowled up at Hel, before he howled in misery as electricity ripped through his body, Loki jittering violently before he was hefted up into the air by the claws of ice and shadow, hanging limply in front of the tall puppet of frost. Hel smiled as she drew a finger quickly upwards, stroking under his chin and forcing his head up so they were eye-to-eye as she asked softly: “Did you really consider Hecate to be a bigger threat than me, honeybunch? But then again, I do keep myself all cut up into sixteenths usually... it's oh so very rare I have to piece myself all together for something. But I think you deserve the show of power, sweetie. I'm not taking any chances with you.”

She paused, then stepped backwards and turned around and clenched her hand into a fist, and Loki screamed in misery and pain as he jerked back and forth, his body shaking violently in the hold of the hands of frost and darkness before he finally fell limp with a gasp. Hel smiled coldly, before her eyes flicked over her shoulder as Loki whispered: “Why here? I'll tell you why here...”

Loki slowly rose his head, coughing a bit of blood... and then he suddenly smiled, his eyes cold as they locked on Hel. “I needed all my enemies in one place. And I knew that you wouldn't come out to play unless I fell all to pieces right in front of your eyes... but I'm full of tricks and piss and vinegar.”

Hel snarled as she spun around, slashing a hand out as it burst into white, purging flame, but Loki grinned widely even as her hands plunged through his chest, a terrible thrum pulsing through the air as he leaned forwards so their faces almost pressed together as he hissed: “You can't kill what's already spent a million eons in Nothing!”

The frost puppet's eyes widened as her forearm was torn off, pulled into the terrible void she had punched in Loki's body, and the god laughed loudly: except he wasn't a god, not anymore. His body was transforming, that wound in his body and reality seeming to spread violently over his entire form, transforming him into an amorphous, almost slimy shape, colors glowing wildly across a frame that no longer had any real definition to it.

The claws of ice and darkness shattered away from his body as he straightened, featureless and covered in ever-changing colors that flowed over the slime-like body of the two-legged, two-armed thing. In its chest, a single glowing abyss stared, bright light shining out of this as Hel staggered away even as the frost puppet's arm regenerated, and Loki thundered bitterly: “I am the bringer of Ragnarok, I am father of destruction! I am the Void, and all things within the Void, Hel!”

“The Prime.” Hel whispered, before she rolled her shoulders and growled: “Child, you have no idea what you are tampering with...”

“Oh, believe me, I do. After I finally freed myself, I was forced to scavenge like the rats of Ginnungagap, piecing myself together with the broken chunks of the Prime... that was how this all came about.” Loki spread his arms with a cold smile, his body thrumming with power. “And below Ginnungagap, the garbage dump of the gods, is the Void. I fed, like a ghoul, off any refuse I could find, just to stay alive, just to keep myself... coherent in the chaos, after having spent so many eons being devoured and healed, devoured, and healed...”

Loki shivered for a moment, and then he looked up and whispered: “But in the end, I have become more. The Prime is a fairytale, a legend... just like me. The 'bad guy.' The destroyer of the universe, another... commonality we share. So why not? Why not become what they have always tried to make me, anyway? Why not join forces with our worst enemy? Hel, you should be helping me! What are you but another victim of story and circumstance?”

“No, Loki. I am not like you.” Hel said contemptibly, as the ice puppet flexed her fingers slowly, before she straightened slowly, adding in a callous, disgusted voice: “All you are is another Terror from the Void. Oh, pitiful little Loki. So young, so shielded from the world, you don't even know how many gods traveled to the Void and came back with the same stupid thoughts in their empty heads, transformed into nothing but hosts for the parasitic Prime... except, unlike them, you still have a chip on your shoulder and a pebble in your shoe.”

Loki snarled, leaning forwards as he roared: “I am the Prime! I am the Void! I am what I was made by-”

Hel stepped forwards and disdainfully slapped Loki across his now-featureless face, but his shock was palpable as he twitched violently, before Hel said softly, in words so ancient that only Cadence understood them: “You are the sum of your own decisions, child, and you shall never be anything less, nor anything more.

Loki seemed to stare at Hel as she looked defiantly back, before the goddess reached up a hand and said distastefully: “And I'm still old enough to give you a spanking, boy.”

With that, Hel simply flicked Loki's head, and the Prime was sent rocketing backwards, crashing and bouncing through the square before Hel simply vanished with a cold smile. As Loki caught himself and skidded to a halt – away from most of the gawking crowd, Cadence realized – the world shook violently before a massive beast of black stone and hellfire ripped out of the ground, the huge, draconic monster roaring in fury with Hel riding atop its collared neck, the behemoth lurching at Loki as Hel clamped her hands together, and chains of ice snapped violently around the Prime to lock his arms against his sides.

The beast dove down on top of Loki, crushing him in its jaws, but only a moment later the beast's head exploded. Eruptions of energy tore through its body before Hel swore and vanished just before the rest of the beast went up in a blast that shook the entire world, Loki roaring as he tore his arms loose from the frosty chains, but realized too late that the shards of crystal monster were all floating eerily in the air.

They hailed down on top of him in a violent rain, crushing and burying him beneath an avalanche of burning gemstone as Hel reappeared a short distance away, raising a hand. But then the ice puppet's eyes widened as the pile of rock shuddered before rising up and launching itself straight at her, Hel snarling before she shoved both hands out at the last moment, deflecting the meteor with a blast of force and sending it careening off into a nearby building.

Loki laughed harshly as he straightened in the crater, spreading his arms and shouting: “You cannot destroy me, Hel! My body is invulnerable, my powers far exceed yours, and-”

“Sweetie, I've tangled with worse than you.” Hel said coldly, and Loki realized too late that the voice had come from directly behind him before a massive claw of ice tore out of the ground directly beneath him, crushing him its grip before he howled in agony as it burst into blue, spirit-eating flame. “Spirit body... Astra?”

Loki snarled, before his body unleashed a shockwave of force that didn't so much blast the hand to pieces as it melted through it, dissolving the blue flame and ice alike. Hel snarled as she immediately lashed a hand out, sending a blast of magic at Loki, but the Prime ducked under this before he leapt forwards and slammed a punch into the puppet, knocking her staggering back a step before her eyes widened in horror and she clutched at his chest as she realized too late his hand was buried into her body as ripples pulsed through her puppet.

“Guess I have to stop playing.” Loki remarked, before he stepped backwards and yanked hard, and Hel gave an unearthly, horrified scream before a shape was torn completely out of the puppet and flung backwards, crashing and rolling across the broken stone of the square.

The figure came to a halt, trembling and gasping weakly in the dirt, her scraggy black hair falling over features similar to Loki's. She weakly scrabbled at the ground, the metal brace around one leg screeching against rock as she tried to shove her trembling body up, half-tangled in her own long, white dress before she gasped as Loki seized her by the hair and yanked her up to head level, the Prime looking down at her with distinct coldness. The woman hung helplessly in his grip, staring up at him with shocked eyes that were blue and mismatched amethyst, and the colors seemed to pulse in a grin across Loki's frame as he reached a finger up and gently poked her forehead, saying softly: “You fell right into my trap. But I do wish you hadn't gone and spoiled the fun right away...”

“Hel.” Cadence whispered as she stumbled forwards, before her father caught her, holding her back. She felt numb as she stared across the battlefield, staring at the two: at Loki, the Prime, the fallen trickster god of the Aesir, and at Hel. Hel, the goddess; Hel, the Mother; Hel, first child of the All Father.

Hel looked up at Loki, trembling, and Loki looked callously back down at her before he dropped the helpless goddess to the ground. Without looking, he simply rose a hand and snapped his fingers, and Hel's ice puppet exploded into useless shrapnel as Loki said contemptibly: “Helpless outside of Underdark, isn't that right? Well, don't worry. I don't plan to keep you alive for very long. Just long enough to give you a choice. After I kill you and send you to the Void, you can either serve me willingly, or I can just devour your energies in the Void, as I have taken the lives and energies of so many others to become the Prime. I'm only offering, Hel, because you would be a lot more useful to me as a Voidborn than a snack... but hey, I'll take what I can get. So what's it going to be? A second chance at life after death... or complete erasure from the universe?”

Hel trembled on the ground, shivering and shaking her head, still looking stunned and stupefied. Loki laughed under his breath at her, before he began to reach down, but he froze and looked up with an audible snarl as a massive war machine landed a ground distance away, Hecate saying contemptibly: “You ran away before we could finish our fight.”

“Hey, uh, news flash, you shot me and launched me here. This is all your fault.” Loki retorted as he straightened and pointed at himself, before the colors twisting across his body seemed to darken as another set of figures appeared behind him, saying in a softer voice: “Of course. You three...”

“Aye, us three.” Brynhild growled, a horn of black crystal gleaming from her skull, her spear thrumming dangerously beside her. Scrivener stood at the ready on one side, and Morgan was flexed on her other, trembling with barely-repressed fury as the Valkyrie said coldly: “Step back. For whether or not I feel terrible sorrow upon seeing how it is thou behind all these events, poor, ill-fated trickster... if thou fails to surrender, then I shall cut thee down as I would any other wretched disease upon this universe.”

“Ouch, Brynhild. Manners. Don't go calling people names like that.” Loki said in a falsely injured voice as he rose his hands, before he turned around with a cold smile as his eyes glinted dangerously. “But you know, I'm glad we get to have this time together, even if for some reason you're trying to protect the one person who wanted you dead even more than Valthrudnir did...”

The Valkyrie narrowed her eyes, and Loki smiled before he slowly took a step towards the trio, continuing pleasantly: “And you know, really... I've been your best friend all these long years. Without me, do you know how much would have been different? Are you even aware of all the things I did for you, how many strings I've been pulling all along?”

Not even Brynhild responded, but Loki laughed as if he could all the same hear their thoughts, responding in a falsely-surprised voice: “What, you haven't put it together yet? But I suppose it is kind of tricky to figure out on your own...”

Loki waggled his fingers, and the three ponies readied themselves, before they all reared back in shock as holes opened in reality and three figures pushed out of them. Three strange females, faces covered by mask and veil and cowl, and Brynhild shook her head weakly before Loki visibly puppeted them with mocking gestures of his hands, making the three gesture violently back and forth before the eldest, dressed in a burka-like robe, stepped forwards and rasped as she held up her gauntleted hands: “We knew that you would reach us. Just as we knew the chaos beast would as well.”

The second staggered forwards, dead eyes staring out through the strange mask that seemed almost as if it had been bolted to her face as she whispered: “We have been expecting you. Submit to us, listen to our wishes, and perhaps we can alter your destiny.”

The last chopped back and forth clumsily through the air with her silver sword, twitching violently before she chanted through full, rosy lips that stood in stark contrast to the hollow dead whiteness of her face: “You are nothing but a pawn. You are nothing but a pawn. You are nothing but a pawn.”

The three laughed, the sound like shattering glass as the Norns, the Fates, the Watchers of the World themselves twitched like toys in Loki's grip, before all three of them suddenly collapsed in a dead pile on top of each other as Loki clasped his hands together, the malice clear in his voice as another rift formed in front of the toppled Norns: “But it didn't take me very long to find an even better puppet than these three...”

Slowly, a strange, emerald pony rose up out of the rift, his black-fire mane twisting slowly out behind him, his gunmetal body flexing slowly. Metallic hooves tested the ground as the portal closed beneath him, and the figure rose his head slowly, looking back and forth as powerful black wings flexed on either side of his body. His emerald eyes opened, bright with power, yet confused and uncomprehending all the same as he whispered, his words echoing over each other in two distinct voices: “We do not understand...”

“Gymbr.” whispered the Valkyrie, her eyes wide and horrified before she looked disbelievingly at Loki, and Loki smiled almost tenderly as he gently jerked one hand back and forth, and Gymbr moved like a puppet on a string for him, head bobbing limply as his mouth fell open, drooling emptily.

“He was a little rough around the edges at times, sure, but he served his purpose oh so well. I couldn't always get him to do what I wanted, but... he was weak minded. Selfish, greedy, arrogant... such a powerful little pack animal, but such an easy mark, too.” Loki said softly, featureless form emanating a cold and self-satisfied thrum as he looked across at the trio of ponies with a cold, knowing smile. “And he was eager to serve. But in spite of the way you act, that's how you've all always been, isn't it? Eager to do someone else's bidding.”

Luna snarled as she leaned forwards, and Scrivener narrowed his eyes. But Morgan remained calm and cold, studying Gymbr for a few long moments before she said softly: “He Of Many Countless Faces. Through Gymbr... you orchestrated that. Or at least, that's what you want us to believe, isn't it?”

“Whether you want to believe it or not, it doesn't change facts, sweetie.” Loki replied, voice dripping with contempt and derision as his attention turned to her, and the more he focused on the purple mare, the more furious he seemed to become. He leaned forwards, hands flexing at his sides, even as he explained in a voice that was almost casual: “Look, I'm patient. More patient than you can imagine. And there have been very few things in all these worlds that have ever stood a chance of even coming close to the kind of power I can put out. I mean, it was my power that made Gymbr so strong, you see, and... oh, let's save that story for another time, though.

“Valthrudnir, well. Something had to be done about him. And now I know he's safe and sound in the Void, imprisoned in a way that he'll never be able to escape because no one will ever want to help the stupid asshole.” Loki said mildly, gesturing idly with one finger to the side. “But now we had something else wandering around. Something else that was-”

“Composed of Astra, which was what made it so powerful. Which was what made it a threat to you.” Morgan Heldóttir said softly, and Loki's body rippled with furious colors as he leaned forwards. “He Of Many Countless Faces. You're saying that you used Gymbr to lure him to us. But Gymbr didn't just show up one day: from what we know, Kvasir found him in the ruins of Decretum and saved him. You didn't plan that.”

Loki chuckled quietly, then he leaned forwards and replied, as his colors flashed with condescension. “Always think ahead. I couldn't just have him show up out of nowhere... I've read enough stories to know that's far too obvious a tell. No, no. Where, logically, would he have been last? Decretum. And of course he can't be a little angel... he's never been a little angel. Maybe sometimes he has these... shifts in character, but you have to keep it to the story. You have to follow the prophecies.”

“There's no such thing as prophecy.” Morgan said quietly, and Loki threw his head back and laughed loudly at this, shaking his head slowly before he turned and pointed at Hel, who was slowly trying to crawl away.

“Oh, but look at us, little queen! We three here are children of prophecy!” Loki snapped, glaring at her before he gestured balefully at Hel, who flinched and tried to shrink away even as the god only looked at her with disgust. “The so-called Goddess of Helheim, banished forever because of a story! The bringer of Gotterdammerung, the cursed child, another victim of fables! And you: the inheritor, protected by her dragon and her knight. But I'll end your story, too. Because prophecy says so.”

“It was wrong of them to treat you the way they did, Loki. But the person making these prophecies come true now, is you. You can't fault them for that.” Morgan said evenly, unafraid as she stepped forwards even as Loki turned his full attention to her, ignoring even the ponies to either side of the mare. “And with every action you take, every day that passes, all you're doing is make their words more true, justify the way they treated you.”

“There was no justice in it!” Loki roared as he stepped forwards, savagely kicking the pile of Norns and sending the limp Fates rolling in all directions, as Gymbr stumbled and flinched stupidly, his eyes staring blankly back and forth.

But Morgan was unfazed as she looked up at him evenly, saying softly: “If you truly believe that, Loki, then prove it. Prove it, by showing them you're a better person than they thought. By ending this madness. By doing good with all this power you've been given instead of doing exactly what they were afraid you were going to do when they locked you away.”

Loki and Morgan looked at each other steadily for a few moments, before the trickster leaned slowly forwards, asking quietly: “So what, is this the part where I start crying? Where I repent, swear I'll redeem myself? Fall on my knees and beg for forgiveness?” Loki chuckled quietly, the sneer was audible in his voice. “No. I don't think that's how this is going to work, Morgan. Stories are unchanging. They have one narrative, one direction they can go in. There can never be redemption, for any of us.”

“I believe anyone can redeem themselves, if they're willing to try. Evil isn't attractive because it's powerful, or superior. Evil is attractive because it's easy, and selfish, and lazy.” Morgan stepped forwards, saying quietly: “Please, Loki. Don't make us fight you. Don't make us kill you.”

“You have other problems to worry about, Twilight Sparkle.” Loki said distastefully, before he rose a hand and pointed as the colors across his body pulsed with anger.

Gymbr twitched on the ground, then hauled himself suddenly up to his hooves, eyes rolling in his head as he looked back as he rasped: “We understand. We cannot escape our Fate. We shall always be the lesser, the shadow: we were foolish to think that we were anything but a tool. We were...”

Gymbr shivered violently as the trio of ponies readied themselves, the creature shaking its head back and forth before its emerald eyes suddenly blazed open as its jaws twisted into a too-large grin, eyes locking on Morgan as he almost sang: “We are the monster at the end of your story! We are never without purpose! We understand!”

The winged unicorn pounced towards Morgan as his silver hooves snapped apart into claws of metal, but Luna lunged immediately into his path and slammed her spear down between his ears, knocking the creature face-first into the ground. But somehow Gymbr managed to turn the faceplant into a roll forwards before he threw himself at Luna with a feral roar.

Scrivener slammed a claw into the side of Gymbr's face, snapping his jaw loudly and sending the winged unicorn staggering with a howl of misery that turned into a broken cackle as he caught himself. And the trio of ponies snarled as Gymbr flexed as broken bones and torn flesh visibly knitted back together, before Morgan's eyes widened as she felt the stream of magic from the fallen trio of Norns- “They're providing the power to-”

“We demand you pay tribute to us in blood!” Gymbr shouted as the beast leapt forwards, furious and fully healed. Scrivener and Luna both leapt to engage the savage thing, to try and pin him down, while Morgan flung herself over them towards the Norns-

But with a firm clap of his hands, Loki made the trio of Fates vanish, the trickster god grinning as Morgan landed in front of him with a snarl before he leaned down and said mockingly: “Hide and seek has always been a favorite game of mine. Have fun.”

Morgan trembled for a moment as Loki glared down at her, but all she could do was steady herself before she spun around and flung herself into the fight with Gymbr as the winged unicorn fought like a savage beast.

There was a powerful pulse as Morgan collided with Gymbr's back, before the group simply vanished in a burst of darkness, and Loki smiled derisively before he turned around and sauntered towards Hel and Hecate. The dark goddess trembled as she scamper-crawled quickly behind the massive, metal behemoth, and Loki laughed loudly as he spread his arms, asking mockingly: “What, don't you want to... I don't know, threaten me, antagonize me, say something? Or are you just upset that someone out-thunk, out-did, and overpowered you in one fell swoop?”

Loki halted, then he pretended to tilt his head to the side, raising one hand beside his head before he smiled coldly, saying softly: “It's far too quiet out there. Most of the fighting seems to have stopped, after all. Let's bring it back up a notch, shall we?”

Loki rose a hand into the air, flicking it sharply, and a powerful thrum passed through all of reality before Hecate narrowed her eyes at the alerts that popped up across her screen as Loki spread his arms and said softly: “And you know what? I'm just too nice, too. I hate separating friends and family.”

Portals tore open across Decretum, holes in reality that lost, helpless souls staggered out of, of every shape and size and race. Some cried out in joy, and others in misery; some looked solid and real, others were pale and ghastly, as if they were thinner than the air itself.

Loki smiled, but his smile was cruel as he stepped backwards, spreading his arms and saying softly: “But they say that it's with good intentions, we carve our path to Hell... isn't that right?”

Hecate's eyes widened before she shouted: “Code White! Emergency lockdown!”

“I'm just trying to reunite them with their friends. I'm trying to bring everyone together. That's all.” Loki mocked, although his body radiated bitterness in spite of his gleeful tone, even as he rose his hands into the sky, as voices shouted in confusion, as some ponies ran towards their loved ones, while others held their ground, and others still only stared as lost souls came running towards them-

“Heavy! Heavy Hoof, come on!” shouted Lancer, and Cadence turned to stare numbly as she saw the earth pony rushing heedlessly towards his former teammate. But Heavy Hoof only stared at him sorrowfully, and Cadence's eyes widened in horror as she realized his body was steaming, smoldering, Lancer either not noticing or not caring as he rushed towards his teammate-

Black crystal ripped out of the ground, seizing around Lancer, and the stallion howled in fury and frustration and terrible loss as Heavy Hoof gave a faint, grateful smile to Sombra. He trembled on the spot, the steaming pony shivering before he forced himself to turn around, even as Loki laughed: “I'll show you harmony; I'll show you salvation!

A pulse echoed through Decretum, and the shades that had stumbled out of the Void all gasped before exploding in terrible pulses of antimatter that erased everything it touched, Loki grinning coldly and challengingly at Hecate as the mechanical goddess snarled in fury before she suddenly charged forwards, and the Prime reacted too late before one of her huge fists slammed down into his face and punched him across the battlefield.

But Loki flipped his body and simply stopped in midair after some dozen feet, laughing again as his body pulsed with colors and he shouted: “You can't stop me! I am the Prime! I am neither alive nor dead! And I have brought you the gift of Nothingness!”

Loki rose a hand and flexed it, and again, rifts tore open throughout reality, once more vomiting out countless empty souls: many of these were not merely shades and helpless shadows, but Husks, armed to the teeth with weapons of both glimmering, eerie metal and bone. The Prime laughed loudly as he spread his arms wide, striding around in a circle even as Hecate shouted: “Status report!”

Static greeted her, as reality shook with the force of the Elementals that tore into reality from all directions as well, as Loki shouted: “Togetherness, friendship, and dominance! I am in control now, Hecate! With every soul that dies, I gain new soldiers for my army: Husks sapped of their will and the weaknesses of flesh, Shades who, even after a few seconds trapped in the Void, become infused with the Nothingness, whom I can drag back and order to do whatever I please! The Voidborn, and all those monsters that had been thrown into Ginnungagap and beyond! You can't stop me!”

Loki spun towards Hecate, before one of his hands snapped up so fast it left afterimages a moment before Hecate fired a rail at him from the mounted cannon. The explosion of force was so tremendous that it knocked Cadence staggering even from a hundred feet away, the mare flinching before her eyes widened in disbelief as Loki tossed down the enormous, girder-like piece of metal that Hecate had shot at him, the Prime saying coldly: “You are outclassed, outmanned, and outflanked. But don't worry. I won't insult you.”

Loki gestured disgustedly in Hecate's direction, a blade of antimatter streaking through the air and slamming through the extended cannon, blowing the railgun to pieces to send the massive battle machine staggering. Then Loki grinned callously as he clapped his hands together, and Hecate flinched in surprise and pain as her screens cracked and her armory body began to crumple, one arm of the war machine sparking as the Prime said contemptibly: “You're more use to me dead than alive.”

The god grinned, leaning forwards as Hecate snarled before she shouted furiously: “We will never surrender! And I will not allow you to destroy all that I have worked so hard to build!”

“Yes. I heard the same from the Aesir, before they locked me up. I heard Valthrudnir said the same thing, too... but in the end, he died at the claws of his own creation, and all it took was a few gentle nudges in the right direction.” Loki said softly, before he frowned as Hecate gave a short laugh, smiling at him contemptibly from the cockpit of her war body. “What?”

“You have the same flaw. You both like to talk too much.” Hecate said coldly, and Loki snarled at her before he realized too late that wasn't just the sound of renewed combat all around him, that whistling through the air-

He spun around too late, and a knife sank into his throat, the Prime gargling in shock as he staggered backwards before there was a powerful thrum of force that smashed into Cadence like a wrecking ball, making her whole body go wild with sensations of heat and agony. She crashed down and rolled several times with a gasp, her body steaming as she hugged herself, but Loki had flung Hecate away and was grasping at his neck, snarling in fury and humiliation before he shouted: “Swan! Obey me! Kill everyone!

“Go suck an egg.” Cadence croaked as she forced her hooves under her, before she gritted her teeth and lunged back to the air, her twin daggers spinning to a ready position in front of her as she lunged at Loki. But the Prime blasted her out of the air like she was a toy as he snarled in disgust.

He began to step forwards, but then another hoof slammed into the side of his head, knocking him staggering before the newcomer vanished from the spot and reappeared beside him, slamming both front hooves around in a scoop to knock the legs out from under Loki. And as the Prime fell, Thesis simply rammed his head into the god's side, knocking Loki flying through the air with a wheeze before he hit the ground and skidded sharply around to a kneel, glaring furiously at Thesis as the stallion rubbed at his head, before he flinched as Hecate said contemptibly: “I see you're out of practice, Thesis.”

“Uh. Hi, Mom.” Thesis said awkwardly without turning around, pointedly keeping his back to Hecate even as she slowly climbed up to her feet. Then he turned his eyes back towards Loki, becoming cold and serious as he said quietly: “Stop this, Loki.”

“Oh, Heimdall. I see you broke free from Rig's control. Very good! You killed your own brother, proud of that?” Loki asked mildly, and Thesis smiled grimly in response.

“I sort of recognize you. I don't... fully understand how, or what it means. But I do know Rig was no brother of mine, just as I know that when I knew you... you were no monster.” Thesis quieted, straightening and softening as he gestured around at the city that was once more being torn apart by battle, as he asked: “Is this really what you want?”

Loki straightened and brushed at his body as it thrummed with a dull mix of color, and then he looked up and murmured: “In the old prophecies, Heimdall, when Ragnarok came, we would fight and you would be the one to strike me down.”

“I don't want to strike you down, Loki. But I will if I have to.” Thesis said softly, as he readied himself, before he frowned uneasily when Loki simply pointed at him.

“I also told you. If Rig died, you would die.” Loki smiled, then he said gently: “I just didn't tell you how, did I?”

Loki gestured sharply with one hand, and shocks of energy ripped across Thesis' body as cracks tore through his form like he was made of glass, the Replicant howling in misery as he staggered back and forth, eyes rolling in his head. Hecate shouted as she lunged forwards, and Cadence's eyes widened in horror as the Prime simply turned away, putting his hands behind his back as he said calmly over the helpless screaming of Thesis: “I really don't like all the violence, I don't. I'm no fighter, no warrior: I never have been. But I've been very clear, haven't I? There is no resisting. There is no fighting. None of you can hurt me... well, you can. But I can kill you, like that.”

He snapped his fingers, and Cadence was blown off her hooves by a powerful explosion of energy that tore apart her armor and left her laying in a shredded, bloody mess. She mouthed weakly and wordlessly as Loki looked down at the ground, saying softly: “I have absolute power over the Void. Those who die... I can make them do what I desire. I can puppet them. Give up. Surrender. Hell, I'll make you a deal. Surrender now, Hecate... and I'll stop Thesis from dying the death-beyond-death. Because once his body loses enough cohesion, he'll be gone, forever.”

Hecate looked down at her son for a moment, at how his body was literally cracking apart, her damaged screen sparking but giving her enough information to tell her it was true: he was burning away, to nothing but energy. In moments, there would no longer be a Thesis, only...

Hecate breathed slowly as she looked down at her son, a damaged metal hand silently reaching down to touch him, to try and soothe him, as he shook helplessly on the ground, eyes rolling in his head, crying brokenly out again and again. Slowly, her eyes roved to the side, where Cadence was laying in a bloody mess, her father Sombra standing over her with Moonflower and La Croix.

She looked around, at the living and the dead, at the debris, the crumbling buildings of her crumbling empire. At the world she had built, burning. At Hel, whimpering and afraid, the mightiest among all goddesses broken and brought low with terrifying ease...

Hecate breathed slowly, then she straightened slowly, raising her head high as she looked across at Loki. The Prime turned towards her, thrumming, ephemeral, seemingly infinite, and yet all the same, Hecate looked at him steadily, fearlessly, as she said softly: “I will not be bought. I will not be intimidated. And I will not break from my course.”

“Then you'll die.” Loki shrugged amiably, seeming to smile, but he exuded a strange mix of disappointment and sorrow as he asked softly: “Any last words?”

“Yes.” Hecate smiled coldly, and then she recited in a clear, crisp voice: “And when the wolf devours the setting sun, and the eagle steals the moon, the wind shall blow towards the earth, and the golden gates shall open.”

Loki began to open his mouth, before klaxons filled the air around them, the earth beneath their feet rumbling as Seneschal shouted: “All units, take cover! The Ithavoll Protocol is now in effect! All units, take cover!”

The world shook, and Loki scowled before he asked disgustedly: “Really? I hope you realize I'm not going to give you another chance to struggle, so you'd better make this last bit of resistance count.”

Hecate only smiled coldly in response, promising silently that one way or the other, the time had come to end this.

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