Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

The Day We Never Wanted To Arrive

Chapter Sixty Four: The Day We Never Wanted To Arrive
~BlackRoseRaven

Morgan Heldóttir sat on a plastic-covered couch in a clean, neat, sterile little room. Luna and Scrivener were staying with Thorn for now, out of respect for Hel's desire for privacy. Not that anything would really be private, but it was the thought that counted in this case, Morgan thought. And it wasn't like Hel was unaware of their link, either.

Hel herself was sitting back in an old rocking chair, covered like most other things in the room in a thin sheet of plastic. Her cane rested in her lap, and she looked so very old, in spite of how young the goddess' features were. But they were so tired, so careworn, and Hel smiled faintly as she turned her eyes towards Morgan and said quietly: “It's just about time.”

“I'm not ready.” Morgan said honestly, but Hel only chuckled softly.

“You knew this day was coming. You knew what this was all really about, why I was making you stronger, giving you freedom and then taking it away...” Hel halted, then she gently touched her own breast, saying softly: “You understand that I can't return to Underdark, don't you?”

“Isn't there some way we can safely bring you back?” Morgan asked almost desperately, but she already knew the answer. Even if they could somehow reach Underdark with Hel in tow – and oh, the moment they stepped into Helheim, the moment they even brought her near a portal to Hell, demons would swarm down on them, screaming for retribution and revenge and justice – it didn't matter. She knew all about the failsafe.

But Hel smiled at her, and explained with a strange satisfaction: “You know how it works. I was never a very powerful goddess. Talented, oh, sure! And I could make very powerful things, like the Swans, I knew how to get all those odds and ends to fit together right. But Underdark, my cradle, these are the things that made me powerful. Powerful, as long as I stayed inside my birdcage and never, ever, ever tried to leave. But now I've left. And if I try to go back, all that power will rush into me and poof!”

Hel clapped her hands together loudly, and then she smiled faintly at her clasped hands, rubbing them together slowly before she lowered her head and murmured: “It's not nearly as awful as I thought. I hate the dirt and I hate the dust and I hate everything else, but I know you'll do well. You'll fix what I failed to. You'll make things right. I find that very comforting.”

Morgan remained silent, and Hel shook her head before she sat back with a sigh and added: “But for now, the Lady of the Moon can handle keeping it all in order. I can still talk to her, at least...”

Hel reached up and absently rubbed at her amethyst eye, closing it meditatively for a moment before she mumbled: “At least this silly thing still works. Is Freya still sulking? I'm terrified she'll try and rape me but I figure I should talk to her. I also heard they captured a Primordial who might still be here, you should probably talk to him, then run as fast as you can in the opposite direction of the Mad Hatter. It would be a great idea to see good old Kvasir, after all. He'll know absolutely nothing about the Prime, which means he'll probably be able to gossip all about him.”

Morgan sighed a little, but she nodded hesitantly before starting: “The Archives...”

“Will be very, very busy with me gone. Helheim will be business as usual for a little while, but once everyone realizes I'm no longer popping up here and there to mete out justice, and the Archives and their members have lost their protection...” Hel shivered and hugged herself. “Well, sure glad I'm not there. Which I mean I get is kind of ironic, if I was still there it wouldn't be happening at all but still, hey, you know, it's a thing.”

Morgan only looked patiently at Hel, who opened an eye before she grunted and straightened, grumbling: “Alright, alright. Getting back to the point. You're no fun at all, honeybun, I hope you know that.”

The mare only smiled wryly, and Hel sighed a little as she slumped back in her rocking chair, slowly moving back and forth as she murmured: “It's true, though, you know. Everything ends not with a bang, but a whimper. A terrible, final little bark at nothing, and then poof.” Hel snapped her fingers, looking up at the ceiling before she sighed softly and rocked slowly. “This is my end. The worst end, for anyone of our bloodline, my daughter. Quietly fading away in a room...”

“You can still help us, though. Decretum is built on technology, on the power of the mind. You can do good here.” Morgan urged, and Hel looked at her sourly. “I mean it. I honestly do. I believe in you.”

“You shouldn't.” Hel said shortly, and then she groaned as she sat up, mumbling: “I mean, sure, I could do a lot. But what should I do? I just feel-”

“You're depressed. You're beaten. That's understandable, Hel. But we all have to stop Loki, for the sake of the balance, for the sake of these worlds that I know you protected, no matter what you pretend to be, no matter what you convinced yourself you were.” Morgan leaned forwards, gently resting a hoof on the woman's knee and making her scowl a little, but her eyes focused almost hesitantly on the pony as her daughter leaned towards her with a faint smile. “Please.”

“You're getting my dress dirty.” Hel complained, using her cane to push at Morgan until the pony stepped backwards, and then she sighed and grumbled a little as she looked away, scowling a bit. “Fine. I'll... see what I can do, help out my new best friend Hecate the Horse Giant.”

Morgan sighed and shook her head, before she asked quietly: “So she really has the powers of Valthrudnir now?”

“Now? She always did.” Hel said mildly, and Morgan's eyes widened in surprise. “Well, okay, not always always, but Valthrudnir shared a bit of his power with her a long, long, long time ago, sweetie, way before you were born. But his power destroyed her body and nearly killed her. Vally-wally used all his fancy machines to save her, and he repressed her powers... it looks like Hecate managed to fix herself right up, though. But she was always the smart one in the relationship, you know.”

Morgan nodded slowly, before she asked curiously: “Did you... know them?”

Hel only snorted laughter at this, however, the mare grinning and shaking her head as she replied mildly: “Oh no, by that point Vally-wally and I were off each others' friends list. I never got to meet her until just recently! By just recently I mean a few thousand years ago but... when you're eons old, that's 'just recently' to you.”

Hel tapped her fingertips together, then scowled a little as she asked suspiciously: “Are you trying to trick me into talking about Loki again? Because I don't want to.”

Morgan only waited patiently, and after a moment, Hel groaned and rubbed at her face, mumbling: “No, I don't know how old he must be, how many years he spent in Ginnungagap, and how crazy that must have made him on top of everything else. I just know it must have been a long, long time... and he's obviously pretty pissed off. But no, for the billionth time, I can't tell you anything. I could never see very well into Asgard: All Daddy wanted me to be the enemy for realsies, remember.”

The mare nodded, but felt like there was something that hadn't been said, that Hel was edging around. So she remained quiet, and as she expected, Hel fidgeted in her rocking chair before she finally grumbled: “Valhalla might still have some records. And if not there, then Vally-wally's mansion definitely will. Loki's chasing stories.”

“So maybe we can use these prophecies to get ahead of him.” Morgan murmured, looking down thoughtfully before she nodded slowly. “These stories... were they really the reason Loki was punished?”

“They were part of the reason.” Hel grumbled as she rubbed her hands together moodily. “And yes. All Daddy did have several sets of prophecies created, and oh, they worked very hard to make those prophecies come true, to make themselves look more powerful. Oh, sure, All Mommy could actually see the future, more clearly than anyone else in probably all the universe. But prophecies are an entirely different beast. They're something you can use to make someone feel real important about themselves. They're something that you can show the whole wide world. And just having it written down somewhere, well, that's a power all by itself!”

Hel paused, then added pointedly: “And you know. When you got an easy scapegoat, and you can pretend that, hey, these stories from totally somewhere else say that we're going to be the awesomest of all awesome gods as long as you do exactly what I say, well. That helps a lot too. Way different from when All Mommy says 'okay guys don't eat that' and Thor goes 'nay but I must!' and he eats it and then pukes because there was a dead rat in it and All Mommy scolds him because she knew that was going to happen but Thor just never could listen.”

Morgan grimaced a bit, but before she could ask another question, Hel rose her hands and said grumpily: “I'm tired. And not being at home and having to clean my new place and adjust to the fact I'm stuck here in some horrible rathole has left me feeling awfully cranky. So enough with the questions and the poking and the prodding. Go pick on some other old lady for a while.”

“Alright.” Morgan smiled, then she leaned forwards as Hel reached up and stroked a hand through her mane before the goddess sighed, then gently pushed her away.

“Horse for a kid. Wouldn't All Daddy be proud?” She paused meditatively, then muttered: “Nevermind. Bunch of freaks in Asgard. They might actually be proud of me for that. Gross. Get out of here, I need to wash the floor.”

“I'll make sure we stop in again later.” Morgan promised, before she turned and headed to the door, giving a last quick smile over her shoulder before she stepped out into the corridor.

She gently closed the door behind herself, before she looked up curiously as she heard approaching voices. Then she smiled as Thesis and Cadence stepped around the corner, although she couldn't help the way her eyes immediately went to the Replicant, studying him almost warily.

Thesis cleared his throat awkwardly as they approached, before he grinned and lamely rose a foreleg. His exoskeleton was humming away, and Morgan noted that he was also wearing some other device on his side... and he's leaking energy. Bleeding, like a wound. “Uh... hi! Cadence was just showing me to her room.”

He halted, then cleared his throat before adding helpfully, as Cadence dropped her face in a hoof: “We're not going to have sex.”

“I'm sorry, Thesis. I don't mean to treat you differently. You were just... one of our most dangerous enemies in the past.” Morgan said honestly, and Thesis looked both embarrassed and a little proud of himself as Cadence tilted her head curiously.

But the Replicant only waved a hoof, laughing a bit before he said: “No worries. I get it. And... I mean... I haven't been stable. I'm... still not stable.” he admitted, rubbing slowly at his shoulder before he shook his head and murmured: “But I know what's right and wrong, my mind is clearer on that. I'm still feeling.. twitchy, I guess you could say, but it helps to be... me. To remember that I can be me, and to just let myself be me, instead of falling back on all those logical things, to talk about brain chemicals like I can quantify emotion...”

He looked up and said softly: “I don't want to be the person you and your family, unfortunately, had to deal with for all those years. And I want to say sorry. To you, to Luna, to my brother, Scrivener Blooms. I want to apologize and I want to take responsibility and... if I can make it up to you, somehow...”

“You are, by fighting with us, Thesis.” Morgan said softly, and there was silence for a moment before she smiled a little and asked: “So you live here, Cadence?”

“Yeah, just a few doors down. Most of the Orphans live in this building.” Cadence answered with a nod, before she looked over at a door, eyes lingering on it as she murmured: “Or at least they did.”

There was silence for a few moments, before the ivory mare shook her head quickly and smiled awkwardly, looking over Morgan before she asked awkwardly: “Visiting...”

“My mother, Hel. I'm going to go see Thorn now. Scrivy and Luna are with him. Do you know where we could find Necrophage, too? I heard that she saved his life, I want to thank her.” Morgan added, and Thesis grinned wryly.

“Still amazed Mom kept her around. Necrophage is a... bit odd.” Thesis said delicately, and Morgan smiled in amusement. “Oh, so you have met her, then!”

“Hecate activated all the Replicants while we were at war with Greater Heaven. Do you know anything about that?” Morgan asked, and Thesis smiled wryly.

“She didn't activate all of them.” he mumbled, and Morgan frowned a bit, but Thesis shook his head before he chewed on his lip, then he said finally: “I'm going to get in trouble for this, but I'm being sent to this big facility, the Ten Moons. It's a huge storage site for all of Valthrudnir's old projects. We're going to bring a bunch of them back online. There will be other Replicants. They might be crazy. I just thought you should know, since... you know.”

Cadence looked at Thesis with surprise, but Morgan smiled before she nodded and said softly: “Thanks. I appreciate it. Scrivener really does, too. And Luna... well, she wants to have a rematch with you, she says.”

Thesis smiled a bit, then he looked down at his hoof and said softly: “Thanks. I'd love to, really, but...”

“Take it slow.” Morgan encouraged, and she smiled as she stepped forwards, reaching up to squeeze the Replicant's shoulder firmly, making him look up with a blush of surprise. “Don't beat yourself before you even try. Just take it one step at a time, day by day. You can figure this out. Even if it might feel too hard right now... look at where you are, and all the reasons you have to keep going.”

“Thanks.” Thesis said after a moment, and he smiled a little as he looked almost shyly over at Cadence, murmuring: “I know. There's always a reason to keep going.”

Cadence looked curiously back at him, but Thesis cleared his throat loudly, looking back at Morgan before he said lamely: “So uh... we should get out of your way. Right. I'm gonna come and see Thorn later.”

“Please do. I'm glad he has a brother like you.” Morgan said kindly, and then she walked past, leaving Thesis looking dumbstruck as Cadence glanced over her shoulder, watching the mare leave before the ivory pony laughed and shook her head, turning her amused eyes back to the Replicant.

“Wake up, idiot.” she said, and Thesis blinked before he scowled at her, but Cadence only smiled and said softly: “And I hope you listened to her.”

“I did!” Thesis glared at her, but Cadence only looked back at him mildly before she shook her head and walked onward. “What? What?”

“Here's where I live. Go sit in the kitchen and don't touch anything. I don't know why, but I feel like you're going to be as bad as Moonflower when it comes to going through my stuff.” Cadence instructed as she opened the door to her apartment, Thesis following her quickly in before he grumbled under his breath when she pointedly gestured towards the kitchen, the stallion trudging his way into the room.

He looked around as Cadence headed towards her room, then he opened the stove and peered into it: it hadn't seen much use. She had a few nice appliances and everything was neat and organized, but he got the feeling somehow that it wasn't Cadence who did the neatening and the organizing. He couldn't really make out what Cadence was saying to him from wherever she had gone, so instead he dug through her cupboards.

When Cadence returned with a set of file folders, she found Thesis leaning on the counter, a set of teacups on the countertop and the kettle heating on the stove. Cadence looked at him dryly, but the stallion gestured pointedly towards what he had set out. “Hey, I didn't break anything. I also didn't eat literally all your blueberry pastries. Why is literally everything you own blueberry flavored, anyway?”

“Look. I only get a few luxuries here in Decretum. That happens to be one of them. Now stop touching my stuff.” Cadence said dryly, and Thesis huffed before wincing when the mare thrust her folder of papers at him. “Here.”

The stallion took the files, paging them open as he sat back with a bit of a grimace, stretching one hind leg absently. Cadence frowned a bit, but the stallion turned his eyes pointedly to the files, paging through and muttering: “Access codes, authorizations, signals, callsigns... hey, this is basically like a manual for our forces. Totally contraband. Why the hell are you giving it to me?”

“If we're going to work together, I want you to actually be able to communicate with me. It sounds like you've been out of commission for a while, so I would appreciate it if you tried to brush up a little on the basics.” Cadence instructed, and Thesis looked with mild amusement at the ivory mare. “What? Look, you need to take this seriously.”

“I totally am!” Thesis argued with a loud huff, leaning back and looking offended before he returned his eyes to the pages, shuffling through them and grumbling: “Mom never let me have a written guidebook, you know. And obviously Dad didn't, either.”

“Dad?” Cadence asked despite herself: she knew that biologically, Thesis' father was Valthrudnir, but she didn't think-

“Yeah. Valthrudnir.” Thesis said almost casually, and Cadence stared at him, the stallion looking up over the sheaf of papers before he said reasonably: “Well, hey. You don't get to choose your family, you know. And no matter how awful he was, he's still my Dad, I can't pretend otherwise. And...” Thesis smiled a bit, shaking his head as he looked down at the papers again. “I guess I got to understand him a little more in the Void. Still mad at him a lot. Still... sad at him, a lot. But overall, I think... I think I get a lot more why he was the way he was, why he did what he did. Anyway, it's all in the past and he's gone now and he's... still my Dad.”

“He committed genocide. Apparently on a regular basis.” Cadence said before she could stop herself, and then she figured the damage was already done, so she added pointedly: “Most people find that pretty hard to forgive and just 'leave in the past.' Partly because they're all dead. Sometimes worse than dead.”

Thesis huffed a bit, then he hesitated before looking down and muttering: “I don't know if being a Dogmatist is really a fate worse than death. I mean, I know for some of them it was. For others? Not so much. It's really easy to throw things into black and white and really hard to say 'maybe it isn't so bad' without sounding like an asshole, but... I know that I'm glad... I was a Replicant. Even if it meant I did some very bad things. I still... had the power to save my family. It gave me the power to fight when no one else could. And now...” Thesis glanced up and smiled a little over at the ivory mare. “I'm... real glad that uh...”

Cadence cocked her head, and Thesis cleared his throat before the kettle went off, the Replicant stumbling to his hooves with a grunt. “Hey, uh, go sit down and I'll-”

“This is my house. You can't just come into the kitchen and...” Cadence scowled as Thesis ignored her completely, not just preparing the tea, but yanking down two plates he had shoved into a cupboard already loaded up with pastries. “You asshole.”

“I said I didn't eat them.” Thesis said in an injured voice, and then he held out a plate towards her with a grin. “Hey, why don't we eat out in your living room?”

“Why don't you go sit down and finish review those papers?” Cadence said dryly, but Thesis only gave her a pointed look until she finally rolled her eyes and muttered: “I'll... bring the stuff out when it's ready. After I make sure you didn't leave any other surprises here for me.”

“Alright, alright. I get it. I'm going.” Thesis said mildly, holding up his hooves before he grimaced a bit as he picked up the papers and started forwards, then winced when Cadence reached out and caught him by the tail.

She didn't look up at him, only gazing calmly forward as she asked quietly: “How much does it hurt?”

Thesis shifted a little, then he gave a lame grin before he said finally: “Not that bad. I guess I'm just going to have to do a better job of pretending nothing's wrong, though, if I've made a mare like you get all worried about me.”

“I'm not worried about you hurting.” Cadence grumbled, letting go of Thesis' tail and letting him stumble away, the earth pony huffing at her over his shoulder. “Just go sit down, Thesis.”

Thesis grumbled as he found his way to the living room, flopping down on Cadence's couch and grimacing a bit as he shifted a little, doing his best to repress a shiver as pain flooded through him for a moment. But he did his best to shove it away, breathing quietly as he turned his eyes towards the papers and murmured: “Okay, okay. Let's take a look.”

In the few minutes before Cadence entered with the tea and the plates of pastries, Thesis was able to go through most of the papers, reacquainting himself with how Decretum worked and the many codes they used. Most of them had remained the same, although he noted Hecate had shuffled priorities around and changed almost all of the authorizations.

He glanced up at Cadence, then smiled slightly as she carefully set the plates and cups and kettle down, the Replicant saying mildly: “Having a bit of trouble there?”

“Oh shut up.” Cadence grumbled, blushing ever so slightly in embarrassment: for any unicorn, keeping a few objects hovering along with telekinesis was an easy task, but for her, with her stupid shrunken horn... “Did you memorize all the new codes yet?”

“Mostly.” Thesis said mildly, and Cadence gave him a suspicious look, but Thesis tossed the sheaf of papers aside as he recited: “Empress 0-0 has replaced Clockwork King as command authority, but every order still follows codeword-serial number formatting. But do you guys ever use your callsigns? My callsign is Lightning Hoof, yours is White Swan, but everyone seems to use that just as your nickname.”

“What, no one ever called you Lightning outside of combat?” asked the mare, and Thesis shrugged amiably before the mare muttered: “I bet your marefriends probably did, though.”

“Hey!” Thesis huffed as he picked up a cup of tea, sipping at it before smacking his lips and looking meditatively at the blue-tinged substance. “I never had a marefriend. What about you? Did you ever have a marefriend?”

“I never had a marefriend.” Cadence said grumpily, and then she hesitated before she sighed a little as she sat down in the couch beside Thesis, leaning back into the soft cushions and admitting: “I was married once, but... it didn't... it didn't work out.”

Thesis peered at her, and Cadence frowned over at him before the stallion asked slowly: “Did you... kill him?”

“No!” Cadence snapped, smacking the stallion and making him flinch backwards. “What the hell kind of question is that? Why would you even assume that?”

“All I know about you is that you like to kill everything and you're really good at fighting! What the hell else am I supposed to think?” Thesis argued with a huff, then he punched her back in the shoulder, making Cadence flinch in surprise before she glared at him as they both leaned away from each other with matching glowers.

But eventually, Cadence shifted a bit before she relaxed a little, mumbling: “Look, it just... didn't work out between me and him, that's all. Shining was a great guy...” Cadence softened, slumping back into the couch as she shook her head a little. “But I wasn't the right person for him, at the end of the day. I loved him. I really did. But I didn't love him enough, and it wasn't the kind of love where... I mean, yeah, we could have kept... going through our days the way we always did, but there was someone else, someone better for him, and she fulfilled him and... I had to save Daddy.”

Thesis smiled a little at this, studying Cadence for a few moments before he said softly: “Family is the most important thing, huh?”

“Yeah. I mean... not that Shining wasn't family, just that... I knew he'd be okay. One way or the other. I knew he'd be okay.” Cadence laughed a bit, shaking her head slowly before she murmured: “I had to save Sombra. And I did, and I ended up here, and Shining and... Miss Take, I don't know where they ended up, but...”

“Well, I hope she wasn't a... mistake.” Thesis said with a waggle of his eyebrows as he leaned towards her, and Cadence rolled her eyes even as she fought back the urge to smile, shoving Thesis away. “Huh? Huh?”

“Yeah. Real creative, Thesis.” Cadence said wryly, and then she shook her head before she asked impulsively: “So how have you never had a marefriend? You're not great looking and you're not all that smart, but you certainly have a great personality. By which I mean a lot of money. And when I was a princess, I had all kinds of would-be suitors even after I got married.”

“You shouldn't date people after you get married, you know. Maybe that's why your relationship collapsed.” Thesis said helpfully, and Cadence rolled her eyes and shoved at him, but the Replicant simply swayed before he smiled a bit and said quietly: “I was also always a Replicant, Cadence. From the day I was born, everyone thought... knew... that I was different from them. Not even really a pony. But I had friends, too... Singing Lark and Red Sky. I grew up with Singing Lark, and I only knew Red Sky for a little while, but...”

Thesis quieted, then he shook his head and cleared his throat before asking: “So uh... how is it working with Thorn? I guess Mom must trust you a lot to have your team work with him so often.”

Cadence shrugged a bit, and then she replied honestly: “He can be... kind of a hardass, yeah. But we work well with him and he really... believes in Hecate. Although he at least, you know, refers to her by proper title instead of calling her 'mommy.'”

“Mommy is mommy's proper title.” Thesis said seriously, and then he grinned slightly as he sat back and said mildly: “Not long after I was promoted to captain, way, way back when, I remember being told I had a special mission and to report to the throne room. So I went down, and the moment I stepped through the door, boom! Confetti literally everywhere, balloons, the works. It was my birthday, and Mom had set up the whole party in the throne room. There were pinatas and paper planes and... all these horrified nobles, covered from head-to-hoof in streamers and flakes of paper.”

Cadence stared with disbelief at Thesis, as the Replicant leaned back and laughed, shaking his head with a warm smile. “Mom was amazing at stuff like that. She did whatever she wanted, she always made me feel special. Even Dad was there. He looked so mad. But... he was there, all the same. We... we were a family, weird as that is to think about. We really were.”

The ivory mare softened a little, before she said softly: “I never really imagined Hecate being... anything apart from... scary. No offense.”

“No, believe me. She was scary in the past, too.” Thesis grinned wryly as he leaned towards Cadence, saying mildly: “One time I was on a mission that went south and...” Thesis' grin toned down, glancing down as he continued softly: “Well, a lot of ponies died. When I came back, Mom stripped me of all status and... I ended up working in the mines, actually. Until a giant asshole diamond dog attacked, anyway, and I got transferred to another unit.”

He halted, then smiled suddenly before he said: “Also, you know, Mom's had to pretend to be... okay, not pretend, more like... had to actually be a heartless, ruthless bitch and all, for a few millenia. You know, after having her heart broken by multiple assholes, me included in that number. Because I was really an asshole kid for a while. Of course she's a little mean. But I bet she still loves a good bit of mischief or a prank or two.”

“Yeah. I don't know about that.” Cadence said dryly, and then she hesitated before muttering: “Then again, she does somehow put up with all of us, and it's not like the Orphans have ever been the most sane bunch of people.”

Thesis chuckled at this, before he asked curiously: “So how did all of you come together, anyway? Did Mom recruit all of you herself, or...”

“Quite a few of us, yeah. Moonflower was, La Croix was, Lancer was... Cataskeuastros was...” Cadence quieted, then she shook her head slowly before she cleared her throat and continued: “Daddy and I were recruited because we accidentally activated some kind of Clockwork Titan, and it contacted Decretum. We destroyed it and Hecate came to see what happened, and she brought Daddy and me back here and... that was how I joined the Orphanage.”

Thesis nodded and whistled a little, smiling slightly as he remarked: “You know, I wouldn't believe it from most people, but... you seem like you're badass enough to take down a Titan by yourself.”

“I had help from Daddy. And the Swan, I suppose... although... it did kill me.” Cadence quieted again, before she blushed a bit when Thesis reached up and gently touched her horn, asking softly:

“So how many times have you died? For me, I guess it's been like... three times.”

Cadence huffed a bit, shoving his hoof back before she grumbled: “Seven times. I've died seven times, actually. Happy?”

“That you have more than seven lives? Yes.” Thesis replied with a smile and a wink, and Cadence grumbled and crossed her forelegs, looking away with another faint blush before he picked up one of the pastries and asked: “Did you make these yourself?”

“No. Like I said, we don't get many luxuries here, but... we do have a few.” Cadence said after a moment, smiling a little over at Thesis before she reached out and swiped the pastry out of his hoof as he started to raise it to his muzzle, making him huff before she took a bite out of it, admittedly relishing the taste a little... and rather enjoying the look on Thesis' face, as well.

Thesis picked up another pastry from the plate, quickly licking it and glaring at her challengingly, but Cadence only gave him an amused look before the Replicant picked up the sheaf of papers and went back to reading through the codes.

He frowned thoughtfully, then murmured: “Credits, status reports... Mom has done a lot.” He took a bite out of the muffin in his hoof, saying softly: “You're like mercenaries, but with honor. It's an interesting concept. A private military company built around the idea of guardianship, not just profit.”

Cadence smiled a bit, then she shrugged and replied quietly: “There'll always be war, and always be a need for warriors. I guess I'm just glad that Hecate seems to recognize the value of maintaining the worlds as they are.”

“Not warriors. Protectors.” Thesis corrected, and Cadence gave him a pointed look, but the Replicant only winked in response before he replied softly: “Hey, it's true. You're not going out to make war, after all, but to... try and keep the peace. Peacemakers.”

The ivory mare snorted in amusement at this, and then she took another bite of her pastry before asking: “Isn't that just another word for someone who goes in and kills everyone? Yeah. That's definitely what I want to be, Thesis. A peacemaker. That's... that's what I am.”

Cadence looked moodily down at the ground, and Thesis studied her for a few moments before he said gently: “Kind of mopey, aren't you?”

“I am not mopey.” Cadence glared over at Thesis, but he only shrugged before she said grouchily: “Look, you don't know what it's like-”

“I know exactly what it's like to be a killing machine. I was born and bred one, after all.” Thesis said mildly, and Cadence winced a bit as she shut her mouth before the stallion flexed a foreleg, adding thoughtfully: “But I did have, you know, all this to look at in the mirror every day and keep me motivated.”

Cadence rolled her eyes, before Thesis leaned towards her and said in a gentler voice, as he met her eyes: “I also had my friends and family to guide me. Not just when they were alive, but in memory, as well. I never wanted them to be disappointed in me... I never wanted them to be disappointed in who I would become, either.”

Thesis looked down, then he smiled a little as he rubbed slowly at one foreleg. “I... had a dream, a long, long time ago. I was walking with the people I'd lost. Singing Lark, Red Sky, and Sworn Tenet... sisters, and a war-brother. I... I hated Sworn Tenet so much. He was such an asshole. Even after he was dead, he was an asshole. But I realized when he died that he'd been that asshole because someone had to be. Because that was how he could prepare us, protect us.

“Anyway, they walked with me, but I couldn't see them. We saw Valthrudnir's machines, and they reminded me that no matter what I was... homunculus, Replicant, whatever you want to call me... I was also a pony. That tin soldiers could never make an army. That no matter what I became... I was also the only person who could surrender. I never had to stop fighting. And I... I did, for a while, because it was easier. And I lost my mind and lost everything that made me, me. And I did awful, terrible things, Cadence, because I let myself forget everything, I stopped being... me.

“I could have been better, though. I could have kept fighting. Mom tried so hard to protect me and my family... was always there for me, even long after they had all passed away.” He quieted, closing his eyes and breathing slowly in and out before he looked up at Cadence with a smile. “Never really sank into my head, but... mares are supposed to be better about that whole 'learning not the hard way' thing, right?”

“I don't know about that. I've done a lot of things the hard way and I still haven't learned better.” Cadence muttered, sipping at her tea before she hesitated, then asked quietly: “So uh... you fought Brynhild and her... friends, in the past?”

“Uh... yeah.” Thesis looked embarrassed as he rubbed at the back of his head. “Like I said, I've... made some mistakes.”

“The only mistake was not killing her.” muttered Cadence, to which Thesis cleared his throat loudly.

“Whoa, hey, okay. Whoa. Let's uh. Just slow down there, Cadence.” Thesis said blandly, raising a hoof. “You seem to like Thorn, after all. And without Luna Brynhild, there would be no Thorn. So. You know. Remember that your actions always have consequences and... that's why you can't just look at things as black and white.”

Cadence frowned a bit at this, looking over at Thesis for a few moments. He met her eyes, then smiled before he picked up his teacup, cradling it in his hooves as a faint blush rose in his cheeks before he loudly slurped at his tea like a foal, making Cadence sigh and roll her eyes in exasperation, but maybe fight to hide a small smile all the same, as she grumbled. “You're like a child.”

“Only if you'll be my pedophile!” Thesis blurted out, and Cadence stared at him with something like horror as Thesis slowly turned beet red, before he grinned lamely and rubbed at the back of his head, laughing awkwardly. “That. That didn't turn out the way I wanted it to sound. I um...”

“Yeah. Okay.” Cadence held up a hoof as she put down her teacup, and then she said dryly: “How about we forget this ever happened and we go visit Daddy, instead? I...” Cadence hesitated, before she asked: “Can you... really control the corruption?”

“The Clay?” Thesis hesitated, and then he held a hoof out, and Cadence's eyes widened in surprise as a sphere of black crystal formed above his hoof, the stallion saying softly: “Yeah. I'm nervous about using it, because uh... well, focusing the corruption has always had some rather nasty side-effects on me, but...”

He smiled after a moment, tossing the sphere of black crystal from hoof-to-hoof before he shrugged a bit and murmured: “Huh. Feels weaker than it was, but somehow I'm not sad about that. But yeah. All the Replicants... they all have something to do with the Clay of Prometheus.”

“Like Daddy.” murmured Cadence, and then she shook her head before smiling again at the stallion, asking hesitantly: “Your powers then... the Clay of Prometheus...”

“I think I know what you're thinking but... none of the Replicants are capable of that.” Thesis said gently, and Cadence half-scowled and half-blushed as she grumbled a bit, but then she winced when Thesis tossed her the sphere of corruption, catching the crystal between her hooves and shivering automatically at the contact with it. “This is diluted. Both because my powers are uh... not what they used to be, and because I did my best to tone it down and just make it crystal. But... you can feel it, can't you?”

Cadence didn't want to admit it, but after a moment she gave a hesitant nod and murmured: “Yeah, I can. It's... it's not good, is it?”

“It's not. It's not that it can't be used for good, but... not in the way you want it to be. Some poisons can never be anything more than poison, unless you want them to consume you completely.” Thesis said gently, and Cadence sighed a little as she looked silently at one of her hooves.

“I guess I know what you mean.” she murmured, and when Thesis smiled slightly at her, she gave him a sour look: she recognized that expression by now. “No, I'm... I'm not talking about the Swan. And I can't believe I'm now stuck here actually trying to justify myself to a former enemy.”

“I'm glad you think of me so fondly. Also technically we were never enemies because we never fought, did we?” Thesis said mildly, gesturing pointedly at himself, and Cadence gave a slight smile.

“We fought once. And I kicked your ass.” she said dryly, before she almost shoved the sphere of black crystal back into his hooves, Thesis giving a lame grin as he caught it in his hooves and squeezed it against his breast. “Either way, let's go see my Father. And on the way you can tell me more about... Replicants.”

“That wasn't fighting. That was... uh... not fighting.” Thesis said lamely, as he quickly put the crystal aside and hopped up to his hooves. He grimaced for a moment, and Cadence frowned slightly at him, but the stallion only waved a hoof. “It's nothing. Just a pang.”

“Yeah. Well, I hope that's all it actually is. The last thing I need is another stupid stallion trying to act tough. We have enough wounded to deal with as it is.” Cadence said, and Thesis smiled despite himself as Cadence frowned slightly at him. “What?”

“Oh, I just realized exactly why Mom seems to like you so much, that's all.” Thesis said wryly, and then he shook his head before he winked at her. “Let's go meet Daddy. 'Sonly fair, since you know my Mommy and all.”

Cadence scowled at him, but forced herself to only nod instead of rising to his baiting. They left in silence, Thesis looking at her awkwardly as Cadence kept her gaze ahead on the way through the residence. At least, until Thesis suddenly half-stated: “So Mom's uh... fairly relaxed with your protocols, huh?”

“What do you mean?” Cadence turned her attention towards him, curious in spite of herself, and the stallion shrugged a bit as they stepped into an elevator together.

“Well...” He seemed to gather his thoughts as Cadence hit the button to descend, before he smiled and asked: “Your callsign is White Swan, right?”

“Yeah. Usually. Usually just 'Swan,' too.” Cadence answered after a moment, cocking her head towards the stallion curiously. “Why?”

“Your father is actually Solenne Serenite, but he goes by his callsign, Sombra. Moonflower and La Croix both go by their names, even though Moonflower is Black Star and La Croix is Crossroads.” Thesis continued, and Cadence was admittedly impressed: he had learned a lot more from the file than she had expected him to. And he seems to know my whole team already, but... “Hey, don't look at me like that. I used to be Lightning Hoof, and I was responsible for my own teams of soldiers.” He stopped, then looked down and murmured: “I've never forgotten any of their names, even if...”

He cleared his throat after a moment, then smiled at Cadence as they stepped out into the hall, continuing in a more-cheerful voice: “Anyway, yeah, once they started calling me Lightning Hoof, Mom made it my callsign, and from then on out that was how I was referred to. She was very strict about that. Obviously my Father was, too. Us being robots and all.”

Thesis' voice stumbled only slightly when he talked about his father, and Cadence honestly wondered how he could do that, as she smiled at him hesitantly. Thesis nodded to her a little, and they walked on in silence, until they reached the infirmary where her father was being treated.

They found Sombra in the back, the curtains pulled around his bed, a machine rumbling quietly away and large tubes buried in his back. He was sitting up in bed, and he looked tired and worn, but he smiled at them all the same when they approached. “Mi amore, and Prince Thesis. It is a pleasure to meet you. My daughter speaks highly of you.”

“You don't have to lie, I'm pretty sure the only 'highly' she thinks of me is 'where is the closest high place I can drop him off of.'” Thesis paused, then added mildly: “It's not the top of the castle, by the way, the highest point in Equestria is still Stone Fang Mountain.”

“I climbed that mountain once, during my younger days.” Sombra said, and Cadence cocked her head curiously as Thesis smiled curiously. “As I have told you, mi amore, I was a... boisterous youth.”

“It's still hard to think of you that way, Daddy.” Cadence said softly, as she sat down beside the bed. Sombra chuckled quietly, then allowed his eyes to rove curiously towards Thesis, and she said quickly, with maybe the faintest blush: “That's part of what I wanted to talk to to you about. You and the rest of the team can relax for a while, just... try to heal, okay? I've been assigned to be Thesis'... bodyguard, I guess.”

Thesis snorted in amusement at this, and Cadence gave the stallion a sour look, but the Replicant simply winked over at her as he said mildly: “Hey, I'm not disparaging your killing skills. We all know, you're great at beating people up. But this isn't about you killing people to protect my sorry flank. I think Mom wants you to be an Executor.”

Cadence looked blankly at Thesis, but Sombra nodded thoughtfully before he smiled at Cadence and said: “Such as Thorn is, a Reggente.”

Cadence snorted at this, grumbling: “As if I could ever do that. I'm no administrator. I sure as hell made a lousy princess.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Thesis said blandly, and then he grinned and ducked back when Cadence swung at him irritably. “Hey, I can't acknowledge the truth? But your father has the right idea, except the Regent is supposed to stay back in Decretum and handle affairs under the Empress, while the Executor is her hoof out in the battlefield. You'd still get to kill plenty.”

“Great.” Cadence said dryly, and then she shook her head and muttered: “I still don't think I could handle that. I can barely take care of my own team. I only manage because you're there, Daddy.”

Sombra only smiled at her, before he turned his eyes towards Thesis, letting the conversation shift away as he asked: “Did Decretum used to have an Executor? In the past, were you perhaps Regent, Prince Thesis?”

Thesis snorted laughter at this as Cadence gave the stallion an amused look, the Replicant shaking his head quickly. “No, no. Never even close. But I suppose you could say that yes, Decretum... every world, as a matter of fact, had a Regent. The Clockwork King was Regent of Decretum, Ferrous was the Regent of Endworld, Silverstride was the Regent of Fyrverǫld...”

Thesis smiled a bit, reaching up and tapping on his temple gently. “I was... too sick to be the Regent of anywhere, and I don't think Valthrudnir would have made me one, anyway. And Hecate was originally sort of the neural center of all the worlds, but... Dad abandoned all his projects, just left us to rot for hundreds of years... probably even longer, really, who knows? He vanished completely for a long time, I remember that much, and it didn't take very long for the Clay to start clogging up pipes and our worlds to fall into ruin...”

The Replicant looked down, shaking his head briefly as he murmured: “I was in and out of stasis a lot, while the nodes in my head went bad. Mom was awake for all of it... that's why I always ask people to be... to not take her personally.”

“I don't. Well... I do, and I don't. I always try to listen to her, maybe I should just put it that way.” Cadence replied, and Sombra smiled softly as he nodded in agreement. “I respect her.”

“Good.” Thesis seemed satisfied by the answer, in spite of how simple it was, and then he glanced over at Sombra and straightened a little, bowing his head and saying quietly: “I'm... sorry. For what Valthrudnir did to you, for what I assisted in. I was telling Cadence that I don't think I can help, but... if you want me to try...”

“It is not so difficult a life. I am very fortunate, and I believe that with each passing day, the corruption has less of a grip on me, and I have more of a grip on it.” Sombra replied softly, before he smiled over at Cadence and said gently: “I would like a moment to speak to Thesis, mi amore. Would you mind fetching me a bit of food? I am feeling well enough to try and eat something small.”

“Of course, Daddy.” Cadence smiled and nodded to her father, touching his foreleg gently before she quietly excused herself, giving Thesis a pointed look as she left. The Replicant huffed at her as she left, before he turned his eyes back towards Sombra, who smiled at him kindly.

“You care for her.” he said, leaving Thesis grinning lamely in surprise.

“Um... yeah.” the Replicant finally replied, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his head. “Not... uh... I mean, your daughter's really great, and... she's...”

Thesis stuttered to a halt, looking lamely at Sombra, but the Replicant simply chuckled before he said softly: “Cadenza is very sensitive. Very kind and compassionate, very loving... but serious, and fearful of hurt. Not of being hurt, oh no. But rather, of hurting others, I think. She is very hard and acts very aloof and sometimes seems to fare il contropelo purely for the sake of it... but I believe she is a gentle soul. And I would be grateful to you, if you could help her heal that wound in her heart, that makes her believe she is nothing but a dannazione.”

Thesis smiled a little, and then he nodded before saying quietly: “I uh... I will do my best. So I have your blessing, I guess, in um... you know. Trying to. Date her, I guess?”

Sombra smiled in amusement back at the Replicant, who gave a lame laugh as he rubbed at his head before he said awkwardly: “Well, uh, great, then, thank you, uh... sir. Dad? Maybe that's a little too early. I haven't even... I mean, I don't even know if she likes me...”

“I think she does. I know my daughter well, and I believe she sees something if you. Now you must just prove to her that what she saw was more than a trick of the light.” Sombra replied kindly.

Thesis nodded, and then he let out a breath before he said finally: “You know, Mom always told me that if I ever wanted to date someone, I'd have to really impress their fathers. I'm uh... glad you approve of me, I mean. I just... well, I hope I'm... I hope I live up to your expectations.”

“Do not strive to live up to mine. Just prove yourself to be more hidalgo than guido with my daughter, and I hope that your love for her is as pure and good as it seems to be.” Sombra smiled kindly, then he leaned forwards slightly as Thesis reared back a little, before the stallion said pleasantly even as his eyes turned to slits: “Because se le spezzi il cuore, ti spezzo le gambe.”

“Message received, uh, thank you, uh... gracias? I mean, grazie!” Thesis hurriedly corrected with a lame smile, and then he gave an awkward, half-forced donkey laugh as Cadence returned with a small tray.

She frowned curiously as she passed this to Sombra, but the stallion only smiled as Thesis looked lamely away. “Thank you, mi amore. You and Thesis should go have dinner yourselves. I'm sure you'll need your strength for the missions ahead.”

“We had a bit of a snack upstairs...” Cadence argued, sitting back on the edge of the bed as Thesis lamely shifted, before he winced as Sombra gave him a pointed look.

“Uh, yeah, but you barely ate anything and you didn't even finish your tea. Why don't we let your father rest and we can take a walk around the exterior? There's a civilian district, right? We can assess how things look and get something to eat over there.” Thesis wheedled, then he gave a lame smile as Cadence looked at him oddly, before she frowned curiously over at her father when he gently touched her hoof.

She sighed after a moment, then shrugged and finally nodded to her father, grumbling: “I don't know what you two are up to, but alright. For you, Daddy.”

“Thank you, mi amore. Try and enjoy yourself.” Sombra said kindly, and then he smiled when Cadence leaned in and kissed his cheek before she slipped away. Thesis lingered a moment longer before following, looking awkwardly back over his shoulder at Sombra, but the stallion only smiled at him as he pointedly tapped his nose with a plastic knife from the tray, and Thesis winced a bit as he spun around and hurried to catch up to Cadence.

Sombra chuckled quietly to himself as he shifted back in bed before he calmly began to cut up the simple ration, reflecting that there were many kinds of youth and love, and he only hoped that his daughter would share what she had left with that strange and somehow noble stallion.

For her own heart's sake.

Comments

[John Tomson]

Love this budding romance with Cadence and Thesis, adorable.

And man volume one is amazing, so many great moments.

Story has been top notch so far.

Still waiting for Bob to be free!