• 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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Foes From The Other Side

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Foes From The Other Side
~BlackRoseRaven

Cadence scowled, standing calmly in town square with her long daggers at the ready, Trixie nervously tugging at the collar of her suit on one side of her and Starlight on the other, the two unicorns shifting apprehensively. The ivory mare's eyes flicked back and forth as the army of the dead slowly stumbled and shambled towards them, the mare muttering: “Stay calm.”

“Trixie is perfectly calm!” blurted the named mare, even as her knees shook and she stared with utter terror at the approaching horde. “Trixie is... perfectly calm!”

“Horses of Heaven, you remind me of Moonflower.” Cadence grumbled, before her eyes flicked towards Starlight Glimmer, who was only doing marginally better: the difference was that instead of freaking out, she was dead pale, her lip bleeding from how hard she had bitten into it, her eyes staring at the shambling monstrosities. “We're fine.”

“Perfectly fine!” Trixie parroted, and Starlight shook herself quickly before she forced herself to nod, shifting nervously back and forth before the blue unicorn moaned: “We're going to die.”

“We're... we're not going to die, Trixie, don't be stupid!” Starlight finally snapped, the mare grinding her teeth together before she mumbled, as if saying it would make it true: “We're not going to die.”

“We're not. Shut up, and let me handle this.” Cadence muttered without looking back, and then she stepped forwards as Mfalme Kuoza approached, the golem's eyes glowing ravenously, his puppet body still looking battered... but has it healed somehow? “In the name of Decretum, I order you to-”

“You will order nothing, wench!” roared Mfalme Kuoza as he reared back, his eyes flashing beneath his skull-shaped mask. “The power of Darkwater flows through me! The power of Bondye, the power of He Above-”

“Don't you go spoutin' that idioties!” La Croix snapped as he appeared in a sizzle of energy in front of Cadence, surprising her. “Bondye ain't no He Above! Bondye ain't nothin' but a trumped-up cocodril! He ain't no He Above!”

“What do you know, Loa? You're nothing but a disappointment.” hissed Mfalme Kuoza, and La Croix gave a bitter grin in response.

“I couldn't ask for a nicer compliment than that, comin' from you and yours.” growled La Croix in return, and Mfalme Kuoza snorted before the Loa asked quietly: “Don't you got no pride? Don't you got no sense of duty? I ain't gonna pretend you know the difference between right and wrong, monsieur, but even you gotta know that this ain't what we was built for.”

“Be quiet, leech. You don't know anything of the master's great plan. Of Bondye's designs. You abandoned it... not that you were ever good enough to take part in his designs anyway.” growled the golem, before he leaned slowly back and asked contemptibly: “So tell me, La Croix: if you are so proud of your duties these days, does that mean you're willing to sacrifice yourself? Why don't you let the Nzambi bring you home? I'm sure you'll be much better serving as a dog than you ever were as a messenger.”

La Croix shook his head slowly, and Mfalme Kuoza seemed to smile cruelly through his glowing eyes, whispering: “Good. Then we can spare the discussion. It is time for the culling. It is time for the killing.”

“No, it ain't. Not yet.” La Croix said firmly, and Mfalme Kuoza snorted before La Croix said softly: “We gotta play a game, first. You gotta give me a chance. I know you gonna cheat, and I know you gonna deny me if I win-”

“You won't win.” Mfalme Kuoza said disgustedly, but the golem nodded grudgingly all the same before he said contemptibly: “Very well. Choose your contest, La Croix. I will honor your diversion. And oh...”

Mfalme Kuoza grinned coldly, and Cadence's eyes widened as she heard something shatter, grasping at the satchel hanging on her side as the golem said contemptibly: “Your charms will not avail your friends. Do you really think such a weak gris-gris could protect these pathetic fleshsacks? Or did you think that weak magic was best to protect the weak-minded?”

Mfalme Kuoza laughed harshly, before Trixie blurted: “The Great and Powerful Trixie is... is Great and Powerful, not weak and... minded! We... we are the-”

“You are worthless, fleshsack.” Mfalme Kuoza said contemptibly. Trixie twitched and glared at the golem, her horn beginning to glow as pride pushed her to step forwards even through her terror, but Starlight Glimmer thankfully slipped sideways and seized the mare, muttering to her as she pulled the unicorn backward and calmed her down.

“Hey, your problem be with me. As a matter of fact, I be your problem.” La Croix growled, before he added sharply: “Bourré. We play to win, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Mfalme Kuoza said distastefully, and then he said contemptibly: “Pebbles for the pot. Set limit. Three stones each.”

“Fine with me.” La Croix smiled thinly as he produced a pack of cards from seemingly nowhere. “Get me some rocks.”

Mfalme Kuoza rolled his eyes, but as he lowered his head to conjure up some pebbles, La Croix whispered urgently to Cadence: “Ten minutes. Find a mirror.”

Then La Croix looked back up as Mfalme Kuoza rose his head, six eerie green pebbles appearing as he said softly: “One pebble, one round. Shall we, La Croix?”

“I'll deal. I don't trust a snake in the grass like you.” La Croix said shortly, and Mfalme Kuoza snorted in contempt before he quickly drew a circle in the earth, tossing two green stones into this, and two to La Croix, while the zebra deftly doled out a hand of cards to himself and the golem.

Several Nzambi had come forwards to watch the game with a strange intensity, but Cadence didn't allow herself to focus on this, stepping back and saying quickly to the two unicorns accompanying her: “Find a mirror. A big one, a small one, I don't care. Just find one.”

“Carousel Boutique!” blurted Starlight Glimmer, and then she saluted before grimacing and saying quickly: “I'm on it. I'll be back in a moment!”

With that, the mare turned and rushed off, and Trixie winced before Cadence said quietly: “Fine, then you report back to Thesis that La Croix is...” She glanced at the game, then scowled as Mfalme Kuoza gave a chuffling laugh as he swept the pebbles over to himself. But La Croix immediately started to argue, and the golem snarled before spitting some insult back in the same strange dialect, Cadence giving a grim smile at the sight. He might not be perfect, but... “He's buying us the time he can.”

Trixie flinched, then turned and rushed off towards the library as Cadence turned her eyes back forward. La Croix certainly did his best to draw the game out, but even before Starlight returned from wherever she'd gone, La Croix was sweating and Mfalme was waiting eagerly for the zebra to show his cards.

Suddenly, the Loa threw down his cards and declared: “You cheatin'!”

“Cheating? No, you're just playing nice for some reason, La Croix. I don't know if it's because we didn't set any stakes, or if it's because you think you can get me off guard. What are you playing at?” Mfalme asked mockingly, and La Croix took a breath before he looked up grimly.

“I be willing to go with you to Bondye, but you leave everyone out of this.” he said bluntly, and Cadence's eyes widened in surprise. But after a moment of staring at the Loa incredulously, Mfalme Kuoza only laughed, loud and cruel.

“Is that what we were playing for? Because I ain't interested in such a petty pot, La Croix.” he growled, leaning forwards as his eyes gleamed with madness and malign magic. “You had a chance to surrender long ago, little Loa, and let it all be over. Now, you're gonna hurt. You're gonna lose everything. Everything and everyone you've ever touched, we're gonna take it all away from you.”

Mfalme Kuoza leaned forwards, smiling callously before he mocked: “But I'll tell you what. You play your cards, and I'll kill you first instead of last. You can go home to Bondye and Darkwater and watch from the comfort of the bayou as your friends come marchin' in to join you. The least I can do for you.”

“So generous, mon ami.” La Croix smiled thinly, and then he tossed his cards carelessly down as he growled: “I gotta ask, Mfalme Kuoza... when's the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror? 'Cause you done gotten real ugly since the last time we met.”

Mfalme Kuoza snarled at him, and then La Croix whistled loudly and held up a hoof, shouting: “That be your cue, madame!”

A circular mirror came whistling seemingly out of nowhere, shooting past Mfalme Kuoza's head, and the golem's eyes flashed with shock before he snarled in fury, snapping his horn towards La Croix. But the Loa had already caught the mirror, bringing it up like a shield, and the dark magic of the golem smashed into the glass and shattered it, leaving sparkling bits of broken mirror hanging in the air for a moment before they were suddenly, violently sucked backwards, into a horrific rip in reality that was somehow contained within the frame of the broken glass.

Mfalme Kuoza shouted in fury and fear as he reared back, scrambling wildly at the ground and trying to shove himself away as the Nzambi who had gathered to watch the game all immediately turned to try and bolt, but too late: they were caught up in the whipping, wild tides of force as Cadence stared in shock, their bodies yanked up into the air as if in a cyclone, spinning violently around and around before fleshy corpses were limply tossed aside as the evil spirits of the Nzambi were torn free, then sucked down into the rift-space in the mirror frame.

Magic crackled through the air as Mfalme Kuoza fought against the current of power, struggling to yank himself backwards even as his skull mask was wrenched off his face, revealing a horrific, half-rotted zebra that had ugly charms sewn throughout its flesh, the the living puppet's eyes glowing with hate and malice as its claws grabbed uselessly against the ground and it roared in fury: “La Croix!”

“This ain't my fault! This be yours, Mfalme Kuoza! This be the cost of Bondye's magic, of taking what we once were and turnin' it all against ourselves! Evil don't make nothin' but more evil!” La Croix shouted as he struggled to hold up the mirror, gritting his teeth as he pushed it towards the golem even as his own body shuddered, cape whipping around him and hat barely staying perched on his head. “And one day... we all gotta pay our dues!”

“It will not be today!” roared Mfalme Kuoza, although his body boiled with what was almost desperation before he snapped his horn forwards, and La Croix gasped as the mirror was knocked out of his hooves before the brittle frame shattered, pieces of cheap metal and glass hailing down around him as the unnatural vortex that had been caught within the mirror simply sparked out of existence.

“La Croix!” Mfalme Kuoza's sunken eyes blazed as he dropped forwards, baring his fangs at the zebra as veins pulsed visibly through his almost-skinned features. “La Croix, I will claim your head and present it to Bondye as-”

La Croix yanked a bottle out from beneath his cape and flung it into Mfalme Kuoza's face, and the golem screamed as the potion exploded into eerie green flames that immediately covered him, staggering and stomping wildly back and forth as the Loa spun around and bolted, shouting: “Now would be a great time to get doin'!”

Cadence nodded shortly as she leapt forwards, swinging up her daggers to ready positions before Trixie and Starlight Glimmer appeared on either side of her, both mares posed in ready positions in spite of the sheer terror they were emanating as Trixie squeaked only a little louder than the hum of magic coming from her horn: “Trixie won't let you... take another step!”

“We'll do whatever it takes to stop them!” Starlight added firmly, her own horn glowing with magic before she muttered: “Although this would be a lot easier if I could control them at all...”

“Pah, Trixie does not need control! Trixie is Great, and Powerful, and will... blow them all up with her Great and Powerful magic!” Trixie shouted, and then she snapped her horn out and sent a blast of force straight into Mfalme Kuoza.

The golem was knocked staggering back a few steps, but the most that the spell did was knock the remaining green fire loose from the golem's body, splattering uselessly over the ground as the monster looked up with a snarl of fury. His eyes flashed, and then he reared back and roared something in a guttural language, and the horde of undead behind him immediately began to shamble forwards, walking corpses moaning and crying out in misery as they shambled around the golem.

“Kill them! Break their bodies and make their wills weak! Take them over and turn them on their friends, make them watch as you force them to choke the life from the miserable meatsacks they call family!” Mfalme Kuoza snarled, and Cadence gritted her teeth as the Swan roiled angrily inside of her.

She checked quickly back over her shoulder, and saw La Croix was setting up some kind of protective ward, the mare ordering immediately: “Trixie, Starlight, fall back and help La Croix! Don't use stunning spells, you have to be willing to kill!”

Trixie's eyes widened slightly at this, and Starlight grimaced and gritted her teeth, leaning away. But Cadence didn't have the time to coddle or reassure them as she spun around, feeling the Swan's powers tingling through her body before she lunged at the surging horde.

Her knives slashed back and forth, glowing white as they cut into bodies and slashed through spiritual energy, the walking corpses her blades pierced collapsing like dead wood. Cadence zigzagged through the crowd, teeth and hooves uselessly scratching against her armor before she leapt up into the air, a shockwave of force emanating from her body and knocking puppeted corpses sprawling as she twisted her body into a dive towards Mfalme Kuoza-

The golem stomped viciously down, and a blast of green, toxic energy smashed into Cadence's back and knocked her flat before she gasped as she felt some immense force pinning her, some half-formed, malicious spirit flickering in and out of reality as it ground a huge, elephantine foot down on her back. “Mbwa jike!”

The monster stormed towards her, but Cadence snapped a hoof forwards, flinging one of her daggers at the monster, and the golem hissed in frustration as the glowing white blade sliced against his side, metal peeling and blackening where the dagger managed to bite as it shot past, Mfalme Kuoza glaring after the knife.

The sense of pressure from the spirit lightened with the golem's distraction, and Cadence shrugged her body forwards, her rifle rolling over her shoulder and into her hooves before she quickly took aim as Mfalme Kuoza turned back towards Cadence, and the golem had a moment to look surprised before the ivory mare pulled the trigger.

A silver stake hammered into the golem's face and knocked him flopping backwards, crashing and rolling through his own surging ranks of undead, and the spirit crushing Cadence into the ground vanished in a fizzle of energy. The mare immediately leapt up to her hooves, but then swore as undead attempted to grasp her from either side, slamming the butt of her rifle into the face of one before she shoved the barrel down the throat of another and pulled the trigger.

The spray of gore almost made it worth handling this toy of a weapon, Cadence grinning wryly before her eyes widened as the corpses around her suddenly began to bloat up, glowing with lethal green energy as Mfalme Kuoza roared: “Die a thousand deaths, mbwa jike!”

Cadence shielded herself with her wings as they glowed white a moment before the walking dead around her exploded in violent bursts of green energy and toxic gases. Mfalme Kuoza grinned cruelly at this, leaning forwards eagerly as black blood bled slowly around the stake buried halfway through his face, before he saw the flash of white a moment too late.

Daggers of white energy streaked out of the cloud of poison, hammering across his chest and body and driving him backwards with a howl of misery as Cadence flapped her wings hard, clearing as much poison mist as she could as she stumbled to the side, coughing and gagging. Her body was badly burnt by the corrosive magic, but she could feel herself already healing, the Swan's unnatural regeneration rejecting the poisons of the puppet of Bondye as she snarled: “I am so sick of dealing with assholes like you!”

Mfalme Kuoza looked up with a hiss, baleful green light shining out of the thin holes that Cadence's magic had punched in his body as he roared: “I will burn you, burn you alive! Burn your spirit and your body!”

Cadence responded by raising her rifle and shooting the golem in the face again, and Mfalme Kuoza was knocked skidding backwards with a howl of pain, shaking his head violently back and forth before he snarled in fury, but the ivory mare only smiled thinly at the sight of the spike buried through the Loa's forehead. “It's a good look for you. Asshole.”

The golem's eyes flashed before a pair of massive, animalistic spirits appeared on either side of him, translucent and eerie emerald, the monster hissing some command to them that sent them both charging at Cadence. But the ivory mare didn't flinch, waiting for the last moment before she sharply flung her rifle up into the air, then snapped out a throwing knife with either hoof, white streaks ripping through the spirits – and embedding in unfortunate, stumbling undead beyond – to send both of the bestial shapes staggering off to the side with silent howls.

And as her rifle fell, Cadence leapt forwards and caught it, flapping her wings once to boost herself a little higher as she took aim-

A serpent of green energy streaked down from the air, smashing across the mare and knocking her crashing painfully into the ground. Her shot went wild, hammering into the crowd of undead instead of Mfalme Kuoza, who flinched to the side all the same at the shot before he hissed: “Worthless witch, I'll-”

Cygne! Cover your eyes!” La Croix shouted, and Mfalme Kuoza looked up before he howled in pain as a glass bauble smashed into his face and exploded in a blinding flash of magnesium. He waved a foreleg back and forth wildly as he shouted in wordless fury, before Cadence gasped as she felt something sharp pierce into the back of her neck, one of her eyes twitching before she gritted her teeth almost hard enough to crack them when a rush of adrenaline and energy pumped through her system.

She shoved La Croix violently away, and the Loa winced as he quickly withdrew his hornet needle from her neck, the thin syringe withdrawing into the bracer with a click as he said urgently: “We gotta take him down fast!”

“Don't stick me with your goddamn needles!” Cadence shouted, letting the anger take over, the Swan writhing inside of her with a mix of irritation and amusement that confused itself. Great. No time to deal with that. Focus on... everything else. “Look, La Croix, I can handle this-”

Mfalme Kuoza chanted some awful, arcane spell, but Cadence was ready, spinning to intercept his magic with her blade as it jumped to her hoof, several sharp slashes of her long dagger deflecting the blasts of green malignancy off to either side. La Croix immediately took the chance it presented, flinging a potion into the golem's face, and Mfalme Kuoza howled as the bottle exploded and doused him with some kind of potent acid, his features melting rapidly away as he staggered backwards and screamed: “Malaya! Wahuni! I will-”

“Oh, taisee toi, connard!” La Croix snapped, and then he swept a packet out of his cape before snapping it open, a blast of black dust washing over the golem and paralyzing the half-melted, miserable wretch. “Cygne! Tear out his heart!”

Cadence leapt forwards, letting herself move on instinct, snapping her dagger out in one fluid, dropping motion that tore open the metal chest of the golem-beast before her other hoof punched savagely forwards, piercing the breast of the monster and seizing on something inside that writhed, and twisted, and bucked wildly-

Cadence yanked it backwards, then swore in frustration as the hideous organ exploded before she could even pull it completely free, poison splattering over her face and body and making her snarl in pain as she wildly shook herself out. But even as she stumbled away, the puppet collapsed in a broken, useless heap as a ghastly spirit floated hurriedly backwards, glaring at them furiously with empty, hollow eyes, the emaciated zebra spirit rasping something in a guttural language that Cadence didn't understand...

But La Croix apparently did, smiling thinly as he growled: “Oh, that be just fine. Tell Bondye that I be waiting for him here. He can do whatever the hell he damn well pleases, and I'll meet him and deal with it. Tell him if he half the god he thinks he is, he can meet me hisself, and we'll settle this, Loa to Orisha.”

The ghastly spirit rose higher in the air, stretching its forelegs out to either side, making the bodies of the undead shudder around it, but Cadence felt the Swan seize hold of her before Danzsöngr calmly rose a hoof, saying coldly: “We do not take insolence lightly.”

The Swan flicked her hoof, and there was a brief song of metal through the air before the spirit above twisted violently as one of Cadence's long daggers ripped through its foreleg, shooting back to Danzsöngr's grip. Mfalme Kuoza screamed silently as he spasmed in the air, clutching helplessly at the stump of foreleg that was all that was left behind, bleeding spiritual energy before he vanished from sight as La Croix winced.

But there was little time to celebrate, as the undead that had previously been milling past instead began to turn inward. Even as the corpses became almost lethargic with their master gone, they swarmed forward relentlessly, but La Croix quickly grabbed another sack of powders and herbs out of cape, shoving it down into the ground to pop it open before he spun around in a circle, tracing a crude spiral around himself that repelled the undead, leaving them milling uncertainly around him as he called: “Cygne! Cygne!”

“They will not touch me.” Danzsöngr said quietly, and inside her, Cadence shuddered as they looked back and forth as one: as one... whatever they were among the throngs of the walking dead, zombies brushing past her, grasping at her occasionally, but never trying to pull her down, never trying to bite into her, never clawing or scratching... “Why?”

“I... I dunno. Look, the Nzambi can still puppet 'em. But with that connard gone, those bêtes gonna lose interest in where they was s'posed to go and instead they'll just wander 'round 'til they get too tired to, or until every link with Darkwater be closed.” La Croix said pointedly, and Cadence nodded a few times as she felt the Swan gently lapsing control back to her, the mare studying the daggers in either hoof for a moment before she spun them once and tucked them back into her holsters.

“Okay. We'll clean up the Nzambi. That should do it.” she said, sounding a thousand times more certain than she felt, and La Croix gave a wry smile.

Oui. Should.” he agreed, and then he sighed a little as a zombie pressed into the invisible wall surrounding him, the corpse staring at him mournfully as he murmured: “Bondye... I can't believe we all done fallen so far. I can't believe I ever trusted you. I can't believe...”

La Croix quieted, then he smiled briefly in the direction of Cadence, but the mare was already gone, leaving the Loa standing silently among the sea of living corpses to reflect on everything he had done, and whether or not there was anything he could ever do to make up for all of it.

Overall, Thesis reflected, it had gone very well. Sure, the entire town was covered in rotting corpses, and there were a few zombies still wandering around here and there, but they were about as dangerous as drunken diamond dogs: dangerous if they got their teeth into you, in other words, but too slow and dumb to manage that unless you walked right into one.

Trixie and Starlight Glimmer had the unenviable job of cleaning up these dregs, while ponies had formed uncomfortable 'cleanup crews' that were dragging piles of corpses away to be cremated. Many ponies were understandably upset and work was progressing slow, but that was okay: even if they were terrified and shellshocked and disgusted, they were functioning, on some level. They were responding, as best they could. That was more than Thesis could have asked for.

They had protected the townsfolk, although there had been a half-expected ambush: while the zombie horde had marched on them, evil spirits had attempted to attack from below, taking on the form of both goblinoid monsters and possessing debris and furniture to hurl heavy objects around the room and form beasts out of everyday objects.

After Mfalme Kuoza had been destroyed, however, many of the evil spirits had fled. Thesis figured it was less because the main conduit for Bondye's powers had been defeated, and more cowardice than anything else: when the forces of Bondye had met with actual resistance, their ferocious attacks had quickly devolved into belligerent rioting, and then weak, unfocused aggression that involved a lot more running away than trying to press forward.

There had been a few injuries: when you were dealing with poltergeists, it was hard not to have injuries, Thesis reflected, especially in a room full of ponies. But they had done their best and Thesis could be proud of how they had handled themselves, all of them. Even if La Croix had kind of abandoned his post and Cadence had gone against his direct orders and attempted to take on the entire goddamn zombie horde by herself.

He chuckled quietly to himself, then shook his head slowly before he turned his eyes towards the white stallion sitting nervously nearby with a wry grin, his two tone blue mane disheveled, his eyes constantly, nervously flicking over to where Cadence was currently grumpily polishing her rifle. “Hey. You don't have to look so worried. Your guys are good, right?”

Shining Armor smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head before he said bluntly: “The town is littered with body parts and uh... my...”

Shining Armor slowly looked towards Cadence, before he hurriedly turned away when Cadence's eyes flicked up from her rifle, and Thesis said mildly: “Your not-wife. Don't worry. Everyone feels a little weird the first time they see a parallel of someone they know. Sometimes it's even harder than when you see another version of you.”

“Yeah. It's a lot to take in.” Shining Armor murmured, and then he cleared his throat before he gave an awkward smile, saying finally: “I've uh... never met a Prince Thesis before, though, I'm not aware of any Prince Thesis in Equestria, either, unless... you're from Saddle Arabia or...”

He fell into awkward quiet, but Thesis only shook his head and glanced down at one of his hooves, saying softly: “It's a long story. We're here to help, though.” The Replicant paused for a moment, then glanced up and asked mildly: “What took you so long, though? I figured that we must have tripped some kind of alarm the moment we got here.”

“The first line of response is the Special Investigation Team.” Shining Armor defended lamely, and then he awkwardly looked towards Trixie and Starlight Glimmer, who were both moaning and grumbling and generally trying their best not to cooperate as Twilight made them fill out immense stacks of forms. “Okay, look, they're good at what they do. And in the past it's never been anything: blips on the radar, short investigations that have come up with a lost pony or two. Even you have to admit that undead hordes are a little not-normal. Even if my sister is involved.”

“I heard that!” Twilight shouted, and Shining Armor grinned awkwardly and waved at her lamely, blushing a bit as all the many eyes clustered in the library stared at him.

“You uh. Would not want to experience my normal.” Thesis said delicately as he balanced a pencil on his muzzle, tilting his head back slightly as he rested back in his seat, and Shining Armor scowled at him before the Replicant gestured absently at the exoskeleton grafted into his back. “I have a literal engine keeping me moving. I'm powered by explosions.”

“You are not powered by explosions. You're just an ass.” Cadence grumbled, and the stallion put a hurt look on his face, but the mare only cocked an eyebrow moodily at him as she continued to slowly polish her rifle. “Look. Hecate gave you one job-”

“Yeah, well, it's hard to do my one job when you kind of keep ignoring me and just running into battle against the literal army of literal zombies.” Thesis said blandly, and the ivory mare's scowl deepened even further as Shining nervously slid himself a little away from Thesis.

But to his surprise, Thesis suddenly spun towards Cadence and became serious, saying quietly: “Everything worked out. I trust you, Cadence, to make the right decision. You and Danzsöngr both. But I need you to listen to me all the same.”

Cadence felt strangely reprimanded. She didn't want to admit it, but she did, as she scowled a little and dropped her head before shrugging grouchily. But then La Croix popped in between the two, saying quickly: “It was my fault, mon ami, so don't be blamin' Cygne none. 'Sbad enough you gone and told everyone who she is, you don't need her mad at you 'bout takin' the fall for me, either.”

“She's a commanding officer. And seriously, La Croix.” Thesis let himself half-hang over the back of his chair, huffing a bit. “I know what I'm doing here. But what all of you guys still have to learn is that as hard as she is on you, Cadence is also the one who bears all the responsibility for what you guys do. You might think she treats you guys mean sometimes, but believe me, I'm sure Mom's even tougher on her than she is on you.”

“Your mother is mean.” Moonflower said plaintively, and Thesis shrugged and smiled amusedly over at the unicorn, but he was admittedly encouraged and a little relived when Moonflower added quietly: “But I understand why she is the way she is. Still... I think we're all grown up enough to accept responsibility for our actions. Cadence has dealt with us long enough.”

He smiled over at the mare, and Cadence smiled back before Moonflower added helpfully: “Also, La Croix is an irritating stripehorse and I vote we just send him back to... make a stew out of this Bondye or whatever it is that his irritating stripehorse kind does to those nasty lobster things in the marshland.”

“Oh, ta guele, rein de la nuit. For one thing, he be a cocodril, not a crawdad. For another, it be the bayou, not the 'marshland,' you pédé.” La Croix retorted, and Cadence slowly closed her eyes as she resisted the temptation to knock their heads together.

“Perhaps for now we should try and rest and recuperate. We'll have plenty of time for discussion along the way, and I'm sure it won't be long before we leave.” Sombra interrupted diplomatically, and Cadence sighed a little, but then smiled wryly and nodded.

“Daddy's right.” she said, ignoring the double-take this earned from Shining Armor. “Once cleanup's done here and we've determined there aren't any other threats, we should leave with Captain Armor for Canterlot. We'll have to be prepared for ambushes along the way...”

Cadence hesitated, then shook her head before she muttered: “Melinda was here, and that Mfalme Kuoza was stronger than I expected, but... I don't think either of them were the force I felt trying to look through the Astra.” She looked down at her foreleg, flexing it slowly as she tilted it back and forth, studying the faint corrosion burns still tingling along it. “If that puppet thing shows up again, though, I'll try and eliminate him immediately. His poisons don't seem to affect me enough to do anything permanent.”

“Uh, actually, Cygne, the only reason you ain't dead... y'know, again... is because I injected you with an antitoxin.” La Croix said helpfully, and Cadence blinked and stared at La Croix with surprise, but the Loa only grinned wryly and shrugged awkwardly. “Hey, I don't want you dyin' or nothin' again when there ain't no need to. But you... you gotta be careful, hear? Nah, we Darkwater types ain't nearly a match for you warriors of Valhalla... but we a lot more sneaky and cunning.”

“Just like a stripehorse.” Moonflower said softly, and La Croix gave him a dry look before the black unicorn hesitated, then he added almost impulsively: “And I don't think you can fight Melinda, Cadence. I... I don't mean any disrespect, of course, but she's... well... she's a bad matchup for... your kind.”

“My kind now. Hitting all the elitism buttons today, huh?” Cadence asked sourly, but she knew that Moonflower was right: she couldn't kill a Voidborn fast enough to negate Melinda's awesome magical abilities... and I don't think we've even seen what she's truly capable of yet. “Well, you better be ready to fight her, then.”

“I'm not fighting her!” Moonflower sounded almost horrified, leaning back in shock. “Me? Fight the Melinda the Sky Witch, the legend, the most powerful mare to ever live?”

“Aren't you supposed to be the most powerful stallion to ever live?” Cadence asked dryly, as La Croix grinned behind a hoof and Thesis waggled a hoof at her, but she pointedly ignored him as Moonflower looked back and forth like an animal in a cage. “Well?”

“I... I'm... me!” he blurted lamely, then he dropped his head and mumbled: “Cadence, I'm just me. I can't deal with that kind of magic.”

“Well, do not be afraid, for Trixie the Great and Powerful is here to train you!” suddenly declared the blue mare, as she leapt out of her seat and then nearly crashed to the ground on her face. She barely managed to catch herself, turning her fall into an awkward, quick hop over to stallion, who stared at her blankly. “Yes, Trixie the Great and Powerful! Why, she may be even more powerful than this Merlinda!”

“Melinda.” Moonflower corrected grumpily, before he winced when Starlight Glimmer appeared on his other side in a poof of magic.

“Well, Trixie may be a lot of things, but you know she did once defeat the Twilight Sparkle in a contest of magic.” Starlight Glimmer said encouragingly, although Moonflower only looked dubious at this as Twilight smiled in amusement from where she was sitting across the library, finishing up the reports for the unicorns. “And you know, I once... well... I was the student of Twilight Sparkle. I'm extremely well versed in every kind of magic imaginable.”

“Between us, how could you lose?” Trixie asked with an arrogant grin, and Moonflower cracked a slight smile in spite of himself as Cadence shook her head slowly.

He was spared having to answer by a knock at the door, however, and a moment later a gray-maned mare nervously opened the door and leaned in, saying awkwardly: “We've... finished most of the cleanup operations, and all the townsponies are accounted for and everything seems to be uh, secure...”

Twilight nodded, then she turned her eyes towards Shining Armor, saying: “Okay, I think I can handle it from here. If you want to talk them to Canterlot, that sounds like it would be best.”

“Uh... yeah.” Shining Armor rubbed lamely at his head, before he grimaced a bit when Trixie and Starlight both shoved their hooves into the air, saying tiredly: “Yes, I know. Special Investigations Team is responsible, we're just the escort. God, I wish I didn't come back from the Crystal Kingdom for this.”

“Well, we all need to work together right now, right?” Twilight encouraged as she approached her brother with a smile, and Shining sighed before he nodded with a small, grudging smile of his own in return. Then he winced when Twilight spun away, shouting in a voice that Cadence thought was far too cheerful for the situation they were in: “Okay, everypony! Let's band together and get going! There's still lots to do and lots to explore!”

There was an assortment of sarcastic cheers and grumbles that Twilight seemed oblivious to, and Cadence sighed a little before she looked moodily over at Thesis, saying finally: “You're the boss.”

“Nah. But I'll pretend for a little while.” Thesis shrugged a bit, then he hopped to his hooves and said quickly: “Escort formation. Diverge and mix, we're with acting allies.”

Sombra nodded, but La Croix and Moonflower both looked confused; with a roll of her eyes, Cadence translated shortly: “Walk nicely with the others.”

“I knew that!” Moonflower blurted, before he squawked as Trixie and Starlight sandwiched him from either side, making him flail helplessly as he glared between the mares.

“We'll talk as we walk! The Great and Powerful Trixie is capable of doing many things at once, you know! No pony is more capable of handling multiple tasks at once as she is!”

To Cadence's surprise, while Shining Armor took the lead, he left most of his Royal Guard behind to help secure and clean up the town: two soldiers followed behind them, but most of the escort was made up of Twilight's friends. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack... and of course the eccentric mares in suits, who were rambling away to Moonflower in the middle of the group. Cadence just hoped they were half as good at magic as they were at talking and boasting.

Her father was trailing near the rear of the group with Thesis, while Cadence was near the front with La Croix, who was looking nervously around as he chewed on his lower lip. Cadence frowned at him as the group walked – loitered, by her standards – slowly down the road, asking quietly: “What is it?”

“Just... somethin' in the air. That be all.” La Croix muttered, shaking his head briefly as his eyes wandered back and forth apprehensively. “Mfalme Kuoza, he ain't no bon ami. But there be worse cocodrils than him in the bayou, and I ain't just talkin' 'bout Bondye, neither.”

Cadence nodded slowly, grimacing a bit before she called to Shining Armor: “Hey, you want to pick up the pace?”

Shining mumbled something awkwardly, and Cadence sighed before Rarity asked kindly: “Oh, darling, what's your hurry? There's no need for such a gorgeous mare to rush!”

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at her with a wide smile, and Cadence leaned slightly away before Rainbow Dash said grumpily: “You need to stop flirting with all the crazy mares.”

“What? What are you talking about, dear? I would never!” Rarity gasped in exaggerated tones, before she added with indignation so exaggerated it almost came across as sincere: “And furthermore! She's not a 'crazy' mare! I know crazy, Rainbow Dash, and she certainly isn't it!”

“I didn't say it was a bad thing, did I? But you are crazy, mare.” Rainbow said mildly, and Cadence grunted and shrugged a bit before the Pegasus added, as she glanced apprehensively towards the horizon. “Storm's moving in, too. I don't remember one being scheduled for today...”

Cadence smiled wryly: she'd almost forgotten how the Pegasi controlled the weather of Equestria, how everything was so tightly maintained... I guess it's easy to forget that maybe Decretum isn't quite that different after all. But... “That could be a bad sign. What do you think, La Croix?”

“Don't like water. But a lot of the more étrange of Bondye's servants find the dark real preferable to the light of day.” La Croix muttered, even as he glanced almost warily up at the sky. “We ain't at our best when it be real bright out.”

“Yeah, the walking corpses during the day thing is still really creepy, but not nearly as bad as if it happened at night.” Rainbow agreed, and Cadence glanced mildly at the Pegasus, wondering if she was trying to impress them or really just had that much trouble keeping her mouth shut. Then again, Rainbow's boasting was far preferable to awkward flirting from Rarity. “Hey, we really should pick up the pace!”

“We're fine. I don't know what's going on ahead, but we better not rush. Give the Pegasi around Canterlot a chance to break up that... whatever it is.” Shining Armor reasoned, and while it did make sense...

“Let's pick up the pace a little, keep your eyes open for ambush. Moonflower!” Cadence shouted over her shoulder, and the stallion and his mare cohorts visibly flinched. “I want you scanning the perimeter as we move! Stop giggling with your girls and get to work!”

Moonflower blurted something, but it went ignored as Cadence began to stride faster, Shining Armor wincing and falling into a trot to try and stay ahead of the quick march of the mare as he said awkwardly: “You know, uh, technically we're supposed to be the ones escorting you, and-”

“And if I wanted I could punch your face out your ass.” Cadence grumbled, and Shining stared at her as Rainbow chortled and Rarity gasped and blushed ever so slightly, while Pinkie Pie made wild shushing noises and Applejack just adjusted her hat and looked awkwardly away. “Look. Our job here is simple. And we're doing this for your protection.”

“Well, I don't think we need your protection.” Shining Armor said after a moment, and La Croix laughed dryly at this, earning a sour look from the unicorn. “I don't. We were ready to handle-”

Monsieur L'Armee, you weren't no match for me. And me? I ain't a whole lot of much.” La Croix said blandly, looking mildly at the stallion. “Now, Cygne here? Cygne be the scariest thing I ever seen. And as y'all might have seen from the army of the dead that just walked on in from Darkwater, I seen a whole lot of things.”

Shining Armor grumbled under his breath, and then Cadence sighed as she felt both her father and Thesis looking at her, not needing to look back to know... I know, I know. “Okay, look. Captain Armor...”

She stopped, then asked bluntly: “Why are you still a Captain, anyway? You're a Prince, right?”

“I... well, sort of.” Shining fumbled, looking surprised by the question as he rose his head slightly. But when Cadence only continued to look at him, he shrugged briefly before saying finally: “Captain suits me better. Commander, General, Prince? I didn't join the Royal Guard to rule my country, I joined it to serve, and... that's why I'm happy to contribute the best way I can.”

“I can respect that.” Cadence gave a brief smile, studying the stallion for a few moments before she asked almost impulsively: “Cadence is your wife?”

“Yep. She's... um.” Shining stuttered a little, then he hesitated before simply shrugging and saying finally: “She's a lot like you. But you're a little...”

Shining Armor broke off, but Rainbow quickly flew in and supplied: “Awesome!”

“Hey, my wife's great. I think Cadence is great.” Shining Armor defended lamely, and the not-named Cadence smiled with bittersweet nostalgia.

“Yeah, but great isn't awesome. I'm pretty sure this Cadence could kick your Cadence's butt.” Rainbow said mildly, and Shining Armor gave the Pegasus a sour look. “What? What?”

“That's not something that should be discussed in polite company, Rainbow! Besides, the only reason to focus on a mare's posterior is to compliment her on how elegant and... very impressive it is.” Rarity said quickly, giving a bright smile to Cadence, who leaned awkwardly away with a scowl.

“Yeah. Uh. Great.” Cadence said moodily, and then she shook her head before turning her eyes forwards, grumbling: “Let's just focus on getting to Canterlot. I don't even know how this group got so big.”

Pinkie, to her surprise, was the one to answer her question, bouncing in from the side and saying happily: “Well, you know that we always gotta help each other out, right? Because even the meanie-heads sometimes turn out to be really good guys.”

La Croix gave the briefest of smiles at this, and then he shook his head before muttering: “Sometimes we just connards, too. But don't you worry. Cygne be stubborn, but she be a good pony. She just worried 'bout 'yall.”

Cadence shrugged grumpily at this, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but Pinkie only nodded before Applejack finally spoke up, saying kindly: “And we do appreciate it. We just also know we gotta be able to take care of ourselves.”

“And what better way than traveling with you, Miss Awesome?” Shining Armor asked mildly, and Cadence finally cracked a bit of a smile, giving the stallion a dry look.

But her joy didn't last long as she gazed at him quietly, thinking of her husband and how he and so many others had been just as ready to follow her into danger, and all the lives it had cost them in the end, including her own.

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