Hyacinth's eyes peered open to look at the clock next to their bed. It was almost 3 in the morning, and yet sleep refused to come. They sighed softly, lifting their head from their bed and shaking theirself off. Restlessness was not a common feeling to them, but it also wasn't unfamiliar. They pushed theirself out of bed, puffing softly.
Cardion, having been laying next to them, looked up. "Mother?" She questioned sleepily.
"It's time, dear," Hyacinth replied softly. "Come with me," They expressed.
Cardion blinked, but got up, following Hyacinth out of the room. A few guards gave the two equids confused looks, but didn't stop them.
"Where are these ones going, mother?" Cardion asked, looking up at Hyacinth.
"You recall how we've been spawning a new Titan for a long time, yes?" Hyacinth asked softly.
Cardion was able to put two and two together. "It is finished?" She asked.
"Almost. When we get close, it becomes harder and harder to sleep. All of the energy of the final piece becomes harder to bear," Hyacinth explained as they walked through the castle.
Cardion nodded as she took that in. "Will this one spawn the final piece?" She asked.
"I'm not sure, dear," Hyacinth admitted. "I still don't fully know everything about you," They expressed. "I haven't even come up with a name for your kin..." They rubbed their chin with their hand as they walked.
Cardion thought for a long moment. "This one would like a kin name," She admitted. "What happens if another one like this one comes along?"
Hyacinth chuckled softly. "I've been thinking about that, too," They admitted. "There's something different about you, from the others. They usually don't have the ability to control their siblings like you can," They mused.
"Oh... Is that bad?" Cardion asked, her ears pinning back slightly.
"Not 'bad' per say, but it is very different, dear. It's similar to how you're the only one who spawns your siblings like I do," Hyacinth explained. "I suppose a title of some kind of leadership feels appropriate. Perhaps an Archon."
Cardion thought about that for a moment. "This one is a leader?" She pondered aloud.
"You're still learning, but you will be," Hyacinth nodded. "I've been trying to let you grow into it at your own pace."
"Oh," Cardion nodded a little, looking at Hyacinth. "This one wishes to learn quickly for mother's sake," She expressed.
Hyacinth smiled softly. "That's another way you're different from the others, you know," They commented. "You take time to learn. You hadn't figured everything out as soon as you were born. Your siblings are all my children, but you are the first child I have taken care of, I suppose," They rubbed their chin. "I think that's why it's felt so wrong for you to take on so much responsibility right away."
Cardion stared down at herself for a moment, processing that. "This one is... A child," She pondered slowly, letting that thought settle for a moment as they walked through the castle. "Why is this one a child, rather than all of the others, mother?" She asked. "The siblings this one spawns are not children like mother describes."
"I... Don't know, dear. It could be because of how you were made, or it could just be part of you being you," Hyacinth admitted. "I do know, however, it doesn't make me love you any less. You're perhaps the best thing to have happened to me since the alicorns disappeared," They expressed, their tone equal parts warm and serious as they looked at Cardion.
Cardion shrank slightly under Hyacinth's intense gaze, but trotted forward and nuzzled them. "Thank you, mother," She replied softly, tail flicking a little in content.
In the dark of the moonless night, the colossal titan was barely a silhouette. It was large enough to be mistaken for a feature of the earth rather than a pony: Hyacinth had trouble gauging how large it was, even as they lit their horn to cast some light on the creature. Its head alone was bigger than Hyacinth in their entirety; they could've fit inside it many times over. Its mane was made of large, thick bristles, almost closer to quills than regular hair. Hyacinth gently rubbed a hoof over the massive equine's nose as it slumbered lifelessly.
"What kind of sibling is this, mother?" Cardion asked as she paced around, running a hoof along the colossal equine's lip.
"Something new," Hyacinth replied softly. They closed their eyes. "I don't know what it will be like. But we'll meet it soon," They expressed as their body began to churn.
Cardion squeaked as the pupa hit the ground beside Hyacinth, hatching into what looked like a large, magenta flower, with petals roughly as long as Hyacinth was from nose to tail. "Oh, my... I might need some help to move this one," They admitted, rubbing their chin.
Cardion trotted over, looking at the large bulb. "It doesn't look too heavy," She commented. She sized up the bulb for a moment, before using her hooves to bump it up onto her snout, tipping her head back so the bulb would settle into the curve of her back. It was a bit heavy, but Cardion didn't have too much issue with the weight once the bulb had settled.
"My goodness..." Hyacinth chuckled a bit. "You make it look easy, dear," They expressed. "But I suppose you have your specialties like any of the others," They mused.
"This one is strong," Cardion puffed softly. "Where do we put this?"
Hyacinth closed their eyes for a moment. "...Come with me, dear," They expressed, starting to walk around the side of the massive equine.
They led Cardion to one of the creature's massive wings, which stretched outward, connecting an opening in the creature's body to the ground. The surface of the wing had some give, but was solid, like canvas drawn taut. "Just this way," They said, carefully walking up the wing.
Cardion had some trouble keeping the bulb on her back on the incline, but thankfully she could adjust her posture accordingly. They both slunk up the sloped surface, carefully stepping across the gap and into the massive puppet's interior.
The large space was dark, lit only by the light of Hyacinth's horn. "Not much further," Hyacinth promised, looking back at Cardion briefly.
Cardion puffed as she followed her mother. "This one is coming, mother," She promised, coming up close behind Hyacinth.
The large space was surprisingly easy to navigate, most of its features flat or having only gentle elevations. It was also textured a certain way, though it eluded precise description: Somewhere between soft dirt and thick carpet.
Finally, however, they came to a large socket in the floor: An impression of perfect size for the bulb to seat itself in, a thin pool of blood awaiting the capstone to its vessels.
"Right here, dear," Hyacinth expressed, patting the edge of the small crater.
Cardion attempted to gently roll the bulb off her back, getting it to the ground with Hyacinth's help.
Hyacinth took a deep breath. "I'm ready," They murmured softly, slowly rolling the bulb toward the divot.
"Will mother be okay?" Cardion asked softly.
"I will, dear. It's just... Always an adjustment, with a new titan. I doubt this one will be any different," Hyacinth expressed. "You might want to lay down, dear," They warned as they shimmied the bulb closer and closer, letting it teeter over the edge.
Cardion obliged, laying down according to Hyacinth's instruction.
Hyacinth took a deep breath, giving the bulb the final kick it needed to settle into its awaiting socket, stumbling back into laying down as they did so.
The psionic burden was immense, and just for a moment, the new puppet entirely took over their senses. Hyacinth could see in a wide area around them as the puppet opened its eyes, its large scales sealing into shape as its body and mind kickstarted themselves. The beating of a dozen hearts beat loudly beneath them, and Cardion chirped in surprise from the feeling of the pulse working its way through the puppet's massive internals.
Given it had already appropriated their control of itself, Hyacinth gently guided the enormous puppet to its feet, getting used to the slow, graceful movements of such a large creature. It towered over the base it had been assembled in, now stretching to a monstrous height.
Inside, its body began to change as the large bulb bloomed into a glowing flower. The luminosity stretched all through the creature, small nodes of white-pink bioluminescence glowing through the puppet's tissue. Bits of plant matter sprang up within the large puppet, seemingly growing under the internal light.
Cardion looked around as she recovered from the surprise, her gaze wandering around the large chamber she was in, before her eye caught the sight of three of her own puppets having just hatched from her earlier surprise. They were all new arrivals: A small puppet with flippers, a moderately-sized one with a thick layer of flesh over its torso, a somewhat large one with what seemed to be a thick layer of sand all over its body and a cavern on its back.
Hyacinth was still in control of the gigantic puppet, testing out its range of motion. They were surprised, however, as they felt it catch on the air, briefly lightening its load on the ground. They tested this theory further, allowing the massive puppet to stretch its wings and push off the land, sailing into the sky with surprising grace. It felt much like controlling a Barycenter, but the effect on gravity seemed only to apply to the puppet itself, not its surroundings.
The large puppet sailed high into the sky, rapidly climbing past Canterlot Mountain and its castle. As it flew, a thin skin of energy stretched over it, making it glow faintly as it crossed into the sky.
There was a lurch, however, as it hit something. Some sort of webbing at the edge of the sky, pushing back against the colossal puppet. Rebounding back deeper into the atmosphere, it hovered for a moment as Hyacinth pondered.
All across the world, Perditioners slowly rose from their resting slumps. One by one, their globes lit up as they turned towards the sky.
The sound of hundreds of Perditioners firing was a thunderous cacophony that rang the earth like a bell. Beams of red magic shot straight up, and one by one, they rent apart the webbing that sealed Equus away from the stars.
With the great cacophony of lights and sounds, nearly the entire world was awake to see the sky it had long forgotten: A mosaic of beautiful stars and nebulae, unpolluted by the sun or moon, nor dampened by whatever seal had been placed over the world they left behind.
As Hyacinth guided the massive puppet gently to the ground, they finally came to as it landed. They rubbed their head, wincing at the feverish heat.
"M-mother?" Cardion asked weakly, looking over at them.
Hyacinth said nothing. They gave a gentle smile and stood up with a heave, gesturing for Cardion to follow them. Cardion followed obediently, her siblings in tow.
Hyacinth elaborated on their silence as they approached the entrance of the large puppet, gesturing out at the starry sky wordlessly.
Cardion stared. "It... It's beautiful, mother," She expressed softly.
Hyacinth nodded a little, just sitting near the ledge and looking out at the sky. Their posture slumped as they sat there, sleep slowly creeping into them. For that fleeting moment, alone with the ones they loved, it seemed as though everything might turn out okay after all.