Princess Celestia was sitting in her thrown room. It had been a long day full of complaining nobles, diplomacy, and court charges. She had just set the sun to end her day, and now came for her favorite part of the day; dinner. Cake was being served today. Just and only cake, Celestia's favorite meal of the day. Ohh, how she so enjoyed cake. The very thought of the meal began to make her mouth water.
Celestia was about to head toward the dining room when she suddenly felt an overwhelming presence of power hit her. It was a sensation that she had only felt a few times before, and it meant nothing good. The pressure was so strong that she struggled to sit upright in her thrown for a few moments. After a few moments the pressure on her body lifted, but it still caused her legs to shake. Never before had the mere presence of somepony make her struggle to keep upright.
Luna suddenly teleported in front of Celestia "Sister," Luna said "Did thou fell that?"
"Yes," Celestia replied "It can only be one of those things again. Luna, assemble the night guard. We are going to make sure that this one does not do any damage. I will gather Shining and a few others. We must act with haste."
"Yes sister," Luna said before she vanished with teleportation.
Celestia soon followed her example and appeared before Shining Armor "Captain," she began "Assemble your best. Another monster that dare threaten Equestria has just appeared."
Shining, who was shaking slighly, saluted "Yes ma'am!"
Celestia teleported away once more, but to the castle armory this time. Before her stood golden armor that was made specially for her. She began to use telekinesis to put the armor on while she thought to herself. This one is powerful... I can feel it's power even from this far away. She began to search more thoroughly and inspect it's power, and her eyes widened when she realized where it was. Ponyville. She began to panic, the elements of harmony were at risk. They had yet to be exposed to the evil that and destruction that these beasts were capable of. But there was no way that they had missed the felling of it, not when they were so close.
Celestia finished putting on her armor and teleported just outside of Caterlot's walls, were shining, Luna, and those they assembled were waiting. They had reacted extremely fast, but they knew what was at risk. The safety of thousands depended on them.
"You all know the deal," Celestia began "The safety of everypony depends on us. You all know how dangerous these things can get. Let's all make short work of this."
"Sister," Luna began. She too was dressed in her own version of Celestia's armor, except her's was midnight blue with the moon crest on the chest and flank. "There is more than one this time. I can barely feel the presence of it before, but it is there."
Celestia nodded and closed her eyes to focus. She reached out her mind to the exact source of the energy, and did indeed feel two beings. Their powers felt so similar to her it was no wonder that she couldn't feel it earlier. "I see." Celestia said. She looked over the group once more, and could see fear in the eyes of the pony's. "Listen up. The lives of your families, are at risk. The lives of your friends, are at risk. The lives of the innocent, are at risk. I need you all to be strong. Not just for the pony next to you, but for the ponies that you care about. Now," She turned her head to see the faint glow of ponyville in the dark night "lets go kill us a monster." The group cheered, and they charged toward Ponyville
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Twilight stared at the book before her intensely. Her eyes were trying to absorb and catch every single detail that was before her. She would need every single piece of information for the moment ahead of her. After a few moments of searching, she finally looked up at her five friends who were comfortably wrapped up in their sleeping bags. They were having a slumber party, and Twilight had spent the whole day studying up for it. She looked at one of her friends in particular who had a purple mane "Rarity," Twilight said "Truth or dare?"
Rarity thought for a moment "Dare."
Twilight smiled evilly to herself as she took took one last look at her book "I dare you," She paused for the dramatic effect, and all her friends started to lean in. "To kiss the floor." Twilight couldn't help but smile when rarity gasped and opened her mouth in shock at the request.
"How vulgar!" Rarity yelled "How can you ever even think about making me do that!? Me? Kiss the floor?I would not do that even under the worst circumstances! I refuse to do this, chose another dare."
Rainbow Dash snickered "Those worst circumstances just so happen to be that you will lose the game if you don't do the dare."
"Well," Rarity stated "I would rather lose the game than have to-"
"Really?" Rainbow Dash interjected "You would rather lose the game than be able to play it? If you lose you won't be able to play the game with us for the rest of the night, just so you know."
Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash "Well that is the biggest lie I have ever heard. I will not be removed from the game just because I did not do a dare."
Twilight looked down at her book "It's actually true, Rarity. You can be disqualified from the game if you do not do the dare and participate."
Rarity looked at Twilight with disbelief. How can anypony expect a mare like to her to stoop so low as to kiss the floor? Preposterous. She would never do that if her life depended on it. Yet, she was facing disqualification for the rest of the night. These where her friends. They of all ponies should be able to understand her qualities and standards as a young mare, but perhaps that was why Twilight chose this dare.
Rainbow was loving the look of pain on Rarity's face, and decided to make her own fun of the situation by slowly saying "The whole night... You won't be able to do anything for the whole night. The whole dang night. Do you know how long that is? It's pretty long."
Rarity glared at Rainbow Dash. She was purposefully taunting Rarity just so she could see possibly the cleanest pony in Equestria do one of the most disgusting things. It would be quite the sight to see, and Rainbow would not let Rarity forget about it for the next month probably.
Yet these where here friends. They would do anything for her. They would put their own thoughts, feelings, and worries aside for her just so she would feel welcomed. They had saved the world together multiple times, and they would do anything possible to make sure that she was OK. Perhaps a floor wouldn't taste that bad...
Rarity took one last look at her friends before she closed her eyes, and slowly lowered her head. Each centimeter lower her mouth got to the ground the more strain appeared on her body. When she was several inches from the floor several veins appeared on her forehead. Almost there. This will all be over soon. This is gross! Why do I have to lick the floor? Why? This is disgusting, making me do this. I will get Twilight for this, and when I do it will be glorious. Oh yes, she will regret this moment.
Rarity was just about to touch her face to the floor when a sudden pressure came over her. It immediately forced her whole body to the ground along with her friends. It was so strong that it felt like several thousand pounds of metal had sudden fallen onto her back. She tried to stand back up but couldn't. After a moment she struggled to breath. Her lungs where beginning to scream for air, and she could start to see several black spots come across her vision. I can't.. What is causing this? I can't get up! I can't breath! I can't breath. I can't...breath. I... can't...
Just as Rarity thought it was all over, a purple bubble appeared over her body and each of her friends. The pressure was immediately lifted from her body as she gasped for air. She began to take the deepest breaths of her life as she sat there trying to regain the oxygen that her body so desperately needed. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Twilight was covered in sweat. Her horn was aglow in a purple aura that gave it away that Twilight had just possibly saved Rarity's life.
Twilight continued to reinforce the barrier around her friends, and the residents of Ponyville. How she had thought of this certain spell, she did not know. Perhaps all that studying had indeed payed off and it became a natural reaction. However, she had noticed that she did not seem that affected by the pressure that came upon the group. Everypony else was on the ground barely able to breath, while she was just on her her front hooves. She began to wonder why she was less effected by the pressure that had come across her friends.
Now that everypony was no longer struggling to breath, Twilight began to pinpoint the location of the pressure. She could already tell it was coming from somewhere close. It only took her a few moments of concentration to find its exact spot. The edge of the everfree forest, near Fluttershy's house. She looked at her friends and noticed how they were all still breathing hard. I will have to go without them. They are in no condition to leave. I have to find out who did this. She took one last glance at her friends before she bolted out the library door.
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There was a still breeze near the everfree forest. A few birds chirped their songs while the trees rustled softly. The day had gone by like any other. The sun had just set, and all was at peace. A stallion and his offspring had a picnic been near the forest when the sun set. They were both asleep. All was quite, happy, and normal. When slowly, a white slowly materialized into the air. For a moment, nothing happened. That changed however when two beings sprinted out of the white. They both grabbed the two ponies that had fallen asleep and the items around them. An instant later, they vanished in a blur.
5 miles away in the same second, the beings blurred into existence. One was considerably taller than the other, and they both wore the same clothes with the only difference being the symbol etched into their backs.
Toshiro was the first to speak "Think anybody saw us?"
"That is unlikely. We where there for only a moment." Byakuya said. He observed Toshiro for a brief moment and could see how tense he was. Byakuya then realized suddenly that Toshiro was letting off an enormous amount of spiritual pressure. "Control yourself," Byakuya said. Toshiro's face went slack at the realization at what he was doing, and he quickly calmed himself down.
"Sorry," Toshiro said "It's just, a new world. We might be the first people of the soul society to ever be here. All the new things that we might see, do, touch, and eat, the possibilities are endless." Toshiro smiled to himself. He looked over at Byakuya to see him staring at him with a unemotional expression.
"You should not let your emotions get the better of you," Byakuya said.
Toshiro merely shrugged before he looked down at the gigai in his arms, which was his new disguise. "No way... these are horses. There must be a mistake." He studied his unconscious gigai more closely. it was a ice blue, the same color as his eyes. It had a silver mane, and his squads symbol on the flank. The most distinguishing feature however, was that it had a pair of wings extending from it's back. Toshiro nearly laughed,"Wings. Ha! Byakuya, check this out." Toshiro glanced over his shoulder to see Byakuya studying his own disguise, not even paying attention to Toshiro.
Byakuya's gigai was the same slate gray color that his eyes where. It had a black mane, with his squads symbol on the flank. It also had a horn sticking out of the top of the forehead. "How fascinating," Byakuya said to himself. He looked up at Toshiro staring at him.
"Do you even think that they will still work?" Toshiro asked Byakuya, "I mean, our bodies are no longer similar in appearance anymore. Do you think the head captain made a mistake in making the proper gigai?"
"I do not believe that the head captain would supply use with inadequate materials." Byakuya stated "Perhaps these are accurate representations of the species that live here. That gives us no reason to assume that mistakes were made and that we will not be able to proceed with our mission. No, the best way to test these is to try to get into them just as any other gigai."
Toshiro nodded,and put his hands on the forehead of his horse gigai. He took slow, deep breaths, and concentrated on becoming one body, mind, and soul with the gigai. Over the next few seconds, Toshiro's body slowly faded away into nothing until there was nothing left of him. In that instant, the blue horse immediately opened its eyes.
"It would seem that it worked." Byakuya said. The joining of their bodies went on just as expected. Byakuya knew now that instead of the blue horse having it's own conscious and being able to control itself, it was Toshiro that was in complete complete control. Such was the purpose of the gigai, to provide a disguise in material worlds and to interact with the people living there.
Toshiro lifted his now blue head off the ground. Everything felt different to him, the weight of his head, the balance of his legs, the presence of a tail, and the feeling of wings. He wondered how he would ever be able to get used to this new form. He struggled to get upright in a sitting position. He no longer had hands, instead he had four flat hooves. He floundered around like a fish trying to get his hooves in a steady position so he could lift his body up.
Byakuya merely stared at Toshiro struggling to get off the ground with amusement. He then set his gigai down gently on the ground, and walked over to the several bags that they had grabbed. He opened the largest one to find it filled with thousands of gold coins with the word Bit written over each and every one. This must be the currency of the land. Byakuya thought to himself. He proceeded on to the next bag. It contained a few books along with several pieces of paper. Our documents and history books about the land. And finally, there was a small envelope. It contained a map of the land and the location of the house they would be staying at.
He glanced back at Toshiro for a short moment to notice that he had somehow gotten into a standing position, and was flexing his new limbs. He seemed intrigued with his new wings in particular. Toshiro had wings before, multiple times in fact, but they where never an actual part of his body before. Byakuya assumed that learning to fly for him would be much easier than learning to run, or canter, as it were.
Byakuya was just about to test his own gigai, when he suddenly felt the presence of several powerful beings heading toward him. His head snapped up "Toshiro," Byakuya said, "It would seem your excitement has attracted the curosity of others." He could feel them getting closer. They were moving at abnormally fast speeds. "We must leave this place. I do not need to remind you what would happen if we are found."
Toshiro nodded. He disconnected the bond he made with his gigai and was once again his own self, his gigai feel to the ground unconscious. The two of them quickly grabbed the bags off the ground and secured their gigai under their arms. "Let's go," Toshiro said.
They were both about to vanish from the spot, when a sudden voice yelled "Halt!" The two captains looked in the direction of the voice. They saw that the presences they had felt were now staring right at the pair. They were different colors, and had horns and wings coming out from their bodies. They where unsurprisingly the same type of being that they had for gigai. One of them, a midnight blue, shouted at them "If thou does not relaease our subjects this instant, we will not hesitate to destroy thee!"
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"Just over this hill!" Luna shouted at the ponies she was leading. They had been going as fast as their bodies would allow them to arrive at where they felt the invaders presence. She would not allow them freedom to wreak absolute havoc on her citizens as they had in the past. Should that happen, hundreds of lives were at stake. These monsters where absolutely devastating. They devoured whatever came in their path of destruction. They especially went after the ponies and would gorge themselves to no end.
Once they had arrived at the top of the hill, they saw two bipedal beings with a few bags, and two ponies securely gripped under their arms. Oh no... they have our subjects! She thought to herself. She then used her royal Canterlot voice to yell "Halt!" The two beings turned toward her. One was considerably shorter than the other, but that did not matter. If they were given at all the chance to eat the ponies at all, she knew that they would not hesitate. "If thou does not release our subjects this instant, we will not hesitate to destroy thee!"
As Luna uttered the threat, the right side of her face exploded in pain as her body was thrown to the ground. She cried out from the sudden attack. She heard other grunts and shouts of surprise from the ponies around her as well. Luna immediately stood back up. Her jaw throbbed. She quickly looked around her to see that the creatures had vanished from sight, with their pony captors with them.
"No!" Luna cried. They were so close! How had they been able to knock Luna clean off her hooves without her even seeing them move? How did they get away so fast? They where there one moment, then gone the next. How!? Now the whole of Equestria was at risk. If these beings could move so fast that Luna couldn't even follow them with her eyes, how could she even hope to stop them? She clenched her jaw as she boiled in rage.
A loud groan came from Celestia as she struggled to breath. She had been hit with the force of a train right in the stomach. She didn't know how they were able to move so fast. One moment she was glaring at the two creatures, the next she was lifted skyward from the sudden force that smashed her soft belly.
"Princess Celestia!" Celestia turned her attention toward the voice. It was surprisingly her favorite student, Twilight Sparkle. "Princess!" Twilight yelled, "Are you alright? You were all standing one moment, then you all acted like something hit you. What happened? I don't understand how something could have hit you when I saw nothing, but those creatures are gone. They nearly suffocated my friends back at the library! What were those things?"
Celestia's mind was spinning to hard to hear Twilight clearly. She needed to figure out a way to resolve this issue, and did not have time to answer questions that she was asking herself. "Twilight," Celestia said with authority, "I need you to go back to Ponyville as soon as possible. I need you to alert me at once if those creatures, or anything else, shows up that you have never heard or read before in your books."
"But princess-"
"Listen to me, Twilight." Celestia intervened "Those things are dangerous. They are capable of mass destruction. I should not have to explain, as they just nearly killed us. If you want to protect your friends, you must alert us as soon as one shows itself. Please Twilight, I will need to concentrate as we hunt down these beasts. You must do this for the good of all Equestria. If i cannot defeat these creatures, I will need you and the other elements to give it your all. Until I send word that I will need your help, I need you to stay safe."
Twilight was about to open her mouth in protest, but the steely gaze that Celestia gave her made her think otherwise. She bowed her head "As you wish, princess." Celestia nodded in approval before heading over to Luna and Shining. Twilight had one more question however, "Princess," Twilight said, "What shall we call this new creature. Since you said Equestria has basically never seen it before, what shall it's name be?"
Celestia glanced at Luna, who nodded. Celestia then turned toward Twilight and said "We have decided to call this new type of creature a hollow."