HiE - A Hollow in Equestria

by Charlie_K

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty Eight

Over the past thousand years, Celestia had cast a great many, many teleportation spells on herself and others, traveling great distances in short amounts of time, going from point A to point B with extreme precision, and masterful control, even with a full entourage of other ponies in tow.

That said, this was the first time in several long centuries that she'd cast a teleportation spell, and wound up missing the intended destination. Instead of arriving with her hooves firmly settled on the floor, she'd wound up teleporting just below the ceiling level. By the time she realized this fact, gravity had already kicked in, and she plummeted to the floor where she'd landed squarely -and quite painfully- right on her haunches with a loud crashing thud.

Then again, this was the first time in several long centuries she'd tried to cast a teleportation spell using the least amount of magic possible, in an effort to prevent her disappearance from being easily detected. Unfortunately that drop in magical consumption seemed to correspond with poor aim regarding the target destination, and that's how she got in this position.

Unfortunately knowing the why didn't make it hurt any less.

"Oh that hurts," she moaned/whined as she moved to lift herself back up and reach around to rub her aching flanks. It was then that her ears became assaulted by a most riotous commotion. Letting her eyes adjust to the dimly lit dungeon halls, she could see Luna laying on her back, legs stuck up in the air as she laughed her flank off. She couldn't help but frown in response. "It's not funny Lulu!" she stated firmly.

"We beg to differ dear sister!" Luna cackled in response as she rolled onto her side. "T'was most hilarious to observe!"

Celestia's frown only deepened as her sister carried on. She was having far too much fun at her expense, and detracting from the overall mission. It'd taken a great deal of effort to get this far, made possible only by rousing her sister her from slumbers, and informing her of the crisis, and securing her assistance. They really didn't have time for this foalishness!

Fortunately it seemed Luna understood this fact even without being reminded, as she soon calmed down on her own, clearing her throat as she stood back up. She was just about to address her when she stopped, her eyes going wide in the dim light.

"Dear sister what hast happened to thou!?" she asked and closed the short distance almost instantly. "Thou art severely injured! What hast Ulquiorra Cifer done to thee!?" she demanded.

Celestia looked over herself at the various injuries she sported from the conflict back up in the throne room. From her point of view she really did look like a terrible sight, like she'd gone ten rounds with a dragon, and just barely managed to escape with her life.

"Lower your voice, dear sister, it's all part of the plan," Celestia replied as the tip of her horn lit up, her injuries fading from existence almost immediately. The goal had been to sell the belief that she was dead. And such a sale would be hard to pull off if she didn't show some measure of damage to indicate that she was out of her league. Had they just seen her shatter without any inclination that things had gone wrong, it would've been completely unbelievable. And that meant having to cast the illusion of her being injured and weakened, and on the verge of death. However it was only a matter of seconds before her stunning white coat, and colorful flowing mane and tail, were returned to their natural glory. "Better?" she asked.

"Not quite dear sister, thou didst miss the blood on thee's back," Luna stated, pointing out the large patch of stained red fur just past her wings.

That was rather strange indeed. The illusions should've all faded simultaneously. Turning her head and looking at her back to the best of her abilities, she found the offending injury, and cast another dispel attempt but it remained unchanged. "Oh my," she said slowly as she looked at it more carefully, "that's not an illusion, Luna, that's real blood..."

"Thou were truly injured?" Luna asked in a concerned tone as she stepped around to look her sister's back over. The dim lighting truly didn't help, and even with an illumination spell cast it still wasn't enough assistance. "We cannot see a source of injury to explain the blood's presence. 'Tis a mystery," she stated.

"And we don't have time for games. Such a shame as I do love a good mystery," Celestia sarcastically replied with a sigh. Nevermind that though, she'd worry about the mystery blood later, right now there was important work to be done. "How did the substitution go with my double?" she asked.

"Absolute perfection dear sister. Thanks to our synchronization, thee's replacement was teleported into place the exact moment thou didst disappear from the scene. We didst even manage proper alignment with thee's royal adornments thou didst teleport out of," Luna replied. It was nothing short of luck that the slight of hoof had worked out in the manner that it had. Had either of them been too slow or too quick on their end everything would've gone horribly wrong, and the entire illusion would've been ruined.

And with Discord being unwilling to assist them in this plan, a fact that Luna still couldn't fathom, they had to go it alone, relying on each other, just like old times. Not that she was opposed to that or anything; she adored the chance to intimately work with her sister, even if the timing did interfere with her own sleep. She was getting away from the main issue, that being how the spirit of chaos had suddenly taken a very hooves off approach to this entire issue, based on what Celestia had told her. His flat out refusal complicated matters greatly, significantly increasing their risk of failure if they didn't pull everything off.

Fortunately that wasn't the case in the matter. So far everything was proceeding according to plan. "However we must say, 'twas not easy finding enough ash to magically construct a life-sized replica, all within the blink of an eye, and in the pose thou didst assume at the moment leading up to thou's teleportation. Synchronization issues aside, we were most certain we wouldst run out of ash before we finished crafting thou's backside," she smirked.

Celestia scowled in response to the comment, but said nothing. She'd deal with her little sister's wit later on when there wasn't a crisis occurring.

However the conversation once again turned serious as Luna began speaking again.

"Tell us, dear sister, what was that significant tremor of power we didst feel minutes ago? We hath never felt anything like it before, and 'twas detectable even down here in the dungeons."

Her little sister would just have to ask that question, wouldn't she?

"That was Ulquiorra I'm afraid," Celestia replied with a sigh, lowering her head and closing her eyes. "Apparently that binding spell I placed on him, failed to adequately restrain his resurrection state. He informed me during our staged combat, that he's been able to access it this whole time, and simply chose not to use it until now," she explained. It was unnerving to think that he could've done something like that, and simply kept the fact to himself. Incidents such as that interfered with her ability to trust him fully. Such secrets were dangerous, and she didn't know how to respond to such. Her shock had been truly genuine, and she had no need to act on that particular matter.

And then there was the matter was Ulquiorra's actions in their "combat." He had been fierce, incredibly strong, and even if he was pulling his punches, he was a force to be reckoned with. If he truly could unbalance her hoofhold with a single swing of his javelin, and he actually had been holding back, how strong was he when he felt like being serious?

And just what could he do if he used both hands during a fight!?

And then there was how he had targeted Twilight directly with his Cero Oscuras, correctly concluding that she would indeed put herself in harm's way in order to protect her student from danger. It more than likely added to the story that he had defected to Chrsyalis' side. And it was a tactic that had gotten her lined up with the balcony, in order for him to get her back into the throne room where Chrysalis would witness everything. But it was a tactic she'd have to speak to him about later on, to make it perfectly clear that he wasn't to do something like that ever again.

She remembered her earlier conversation with him. How he'd gone to great lengths to explain how none of his Ceros would be capable of hurting her, or even bypassing her shields should they make contact. Had he subtly been trying to tell her of what she should expect in this charade? Had his tactic of forcing her to protect Twilight, been nothing more than a ruse to further her own plans? Did he correctly assume that if she believed she couldn't overcome his Cero Oscuras, after first experiencing it for herself to gauge its destructive potential, that she would've torn his arm right out of its socket to prevent it from being fired?

There were far too many questions present right now. She felt like her head was swimming in a sea of uncertainty.

Her worries aside, however, she found it impossible to deny the impressiveness of how his tactics had been devoted to her own overall plan, despite his uncertainty of the overall validity, and his own criticism of what she was aiming for. He'd passed up opportunities to strike her body directly, and instead went out of his way to make contact with her sword.

His performance, coupled with his ruthlessness had been perfect, and there was no way Chrysalis could've doubted his sincerity after such a performance. His emotionless expression and flat voice had added greatly to selling the story that he was committing treason of his own volition.

She needed to stop thinking about her own amazement, otherwise she'd wind up forgetting that she needed to be upset with him.

"Truly?" Luna asked as her eyes went wide with surprise at the news. Her sister had told her about his released state, about the things she'd seen in his memories about his strength, his speed, his power and so forth, laying out exactly why she'd made the attempt to seal it off to begin with. And now THAT was loose in their kingdom with no restrictions holding it back. "Is it as bad as thou didst fear?"

Celestia remained silent for a moment in thought, uncertain of just what to say in response.

"The scary part is I really can't tell. I can't even tell if he was truly attacking with his full strength, or if he was merely toying with me, while making the entire performance look real in an attempt to fool Chrysalis. For all I know, he could've truly killed me if he wanted to. If he hadn't taken several opportunities to speak to me during our battle, and inform me of what the best course of action was, I would've sworn she really had swayed him," Celestia stated grimly and looked down at the floor. "If push came to shove, and the situation were truly desperate, it could've easily gone either way..."

Luna sighed and closed her eyes. This was a serious, serious matter they had to deal with right now. Ulquiorra Cifer had managed to severely complicate the matter at hoof, and introduce an element of potentially disastrous consequences by revealing his deception so openly. They were truly in uncharted territory right now, and it was terrifying to think about.

"... Enough talk about our guest and his deception," Luna finally stated. If they devoted too much time to the Espada, they would wind up losing themselves, and miss their opportunity to deal with Chrysalis. They had to prioritize right now. And right now the Espada was the least of their concerns. 'Tia was still alive and physically unharmed. For her right now, that was enough to suggest he could wait until later. "Discussing Ulquiorra Cifer further will prove futile until we can act, let us tend to matters that we can indeed affect. We hath tended to the guards after verifying who art what. They hath been disguised as other changelings, and are blending in with the rest either in the air or on the ground, and will launch a counteroffensive once they art informed the time is right."

"Most excellent indeed," Celestia replied and refocused herself on the pressing matters they were facing. That part of the plan had been one of the most difficult to pull off. Any one of the royal guard, either of the solar or the lunar division, could've been replaced by changelings, and prove to be compromised. However only the one from previous had been found and all the others had proven clean. They'd been whisked away to the dungeons, informed of the plan, and provided their disguises and their orders. Now there was only one part left to play. "Are you ready to proceed to the changeling hive and determine if it's empty?"

"Ready when thou art, dear sister," Luna replied and saluted, "let us cloak and depart, for we doth wish to be present this time when Chrysalis realizes she hast been had!"

"I couldn't agree more, Luna. I want to get this over with quickly, and get back to Twilight and the others before they wind up getting hurt," Celestia agreed. The sooner this matter was tended to the sooner they could return home and take care of everything.

"Twilight Sparkle? Thou's student and her friends art present for this charade? Hath they been informed of what we art up to?" she Luna asked curiously. That detail hadn't been a part of the overall plan.

"I'm afraid there wasn't enough time to tell them what was taking place. Ulquiorra and Chrysalis appeared not two minutes after they did, and I still wasn't certain if any of them had been replaced. By the time I knew they were the genuine article, we were already besieged. I'm afraid they were swept into the thick of it. All the more reason to get back as quick as possible," Celestia replied.

"'Tis bad dear sister. Art thou certain they will understand thee's intentions and the reasons behind them, and not feel betrayal themselves?" Luna asked. Things could so easily go bad the way they were going right now. Anything could happen and go wrong, and there would be little they could do to stop it from here. "They hath never been put in such a situation before. For everypony's sake, we hope that they art most understanding, dear sister. 'Twouldst be most ugly otherwise," she said as her horn lit up and cast an invisibility spell over the both of them.

+++

Why did Luna's words have to ring so true; especially in a situation such as this?

Her little sister had warned her about the potential for things to get ugly and go wrong if they weren't careful, that Twilight and her friends might not see things from their perspective, and instead might feel violated and used. She had so dearly hoped that Luna was simply being overly cautious, and no real harm would be done. But as she sat before the door in front of her, she realized that Luna had a better understanding of things than she herself did.

"This is all my fault," she told herself and hung her head and continued to sit in front of the door to Twilight's old room. Everything had gone so, so wrong. Chrysalis had been defeated and the changelings had been rounded up, and all of their victims had been located, rescued, and were doing well after recovering from the shock of everything that happened to them.

Unfortunately all of that seemed to pale into comparison to what hadn't gone according to plan. In her zeal to address Chrysalis' threat, she had utterly failed to take into consideration the emotional attachment Twilight had with her, and how it could so easily be fractured without even realizing it.

"Twilight please open the door," she more or less pleaded, but was given no verbal response. Not that she could blame her. She'd realized her mistake far too late to correct it, and now her student had to pay the price for her actions.

"Your student appears to be quite stubborn," Ulquiorra observed as he approached the door Princess Celestia had been speaking to for the past five minutes.

She really didn't need his cold and calculating approach to life in general right now, she really didn't. She didn't care to hear what he had to say on the matter, about how everything was illogical, and unsound, due to the heavy reliance of emotion. If he were to say anything of that sort, she couldn't guarantee what he'd be on the receiving end of. She was still quite sore at him for so many reasons.

"She's quite upset, I'm afraid. She's been crying the entire time and won't let me in. The door is quite sufficiently locked, and she's maintaining an active field to prevent tampering. To be honest I'm quite surprised she can maintain such concentration in her state," Princess Celestia replied. She wasn't proud to admit it, but in her reign she'd indeed made some unsettling and hurtful mistakes, mistakes that she still regretted to this day. It appeared she had one more to add to the list with regard to her precious student.

Ulquiorra truly couldn't understand the situation. Princess Celestia had vast magical strength, and considerable rule over Equestria. Canterlot palace was hers to manage as she so pleased, and those in her service were required to obey her. And yet, when it came to Twilight Sparkle, her approach was as if she had no magical presence, and couldn't command cooperation. Whatever relationship she had with the lavender unicorn, it seemed paralyzing in nature when it came to doing something that might upset her.

It was truly a mystery.

With no further word he stepped forward, withdrew his hand from his pocket and knocked firmly on the door. When he got no response he spoke. "Twilight Sparkle. If you fail to open this door, then I will open it myself."

Nothing but the muffled sound of the unicorn's unabated crying. This was ridiculous.

"I don't know if you'll be able to get the door open without magic," Princess Celestia told him, doubting the entire basis of his statement.

"We shall see. Step aside please," he replied and stood directly in front of the door, waiting until she did as requested before acting. He shifted his weight to his left leg while using his right leg to deliver a brutal side kick right to the middle of the door, delivering enough force to shatter the structure, and send millions of splintery pieces flying wildly.

At least that's what should have happened.

Instead of being reduced to kindling, Ulquiorra watched as the surface of the door wiggled, waves spreading out from the point of impact, and making their way to the corners and sides of the door like ripples in a pond where a stone had been dropped. It seemed Twilight Sparkle was prepared for what might happen. Ulquiorra could only speculate as to the nature of the spell, and its intended purpose, having no true experience in the field of magic himself.

"If you believe a kinetic force dampening spell will be sufficient, then you are-"

He was interrupted as the waves that had spread out immediately reappeared, and flowed backwards to the point of impact, being his foot that was still pressed against the door.

It was a well known fact, that Newton's Third Law of Motion stated when one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force, equal in magnitude, and opposite in direction to that of the first body.

Another well known but seemingly unnumbered law of motion dictated all force travels along the path of least resistance.

In this particular case, the path of least resistance was him, as the door exerted enough force to send his one hundred and twenty one pound carcass flying backward, and skidding on his back along the marble flooring of the hallway, before coming to a dead stop upon crashing head first into an opposing wall with a loud thud.

"-mistaken..."

Princess Celestia watched the entire event unfold in complete disbelief. It wasn't a force dampening spell her student had used, but rather a force reflection spell. The harder one tried to push against it, the harder the spell bushed back. And looking at Ulquiorra's temporarily prone form against the opposite end of the hallway, it went without saying he'd pushed quite hard against it. The fact that Twilight had the foresight to use such a spell, as well as the concentration to maintain it, even in her current state, spoke volumes for her talent in magic; something that would serve her well one day in the coming future. Provided she ever recovered from this.

"Your student seems quite prepared," Ulquiorra commented dryly as he picked himself up off the floor. She was also quite frustrating in nature, but it was more than likely that Princess Celestia already knew of this fact.

Princess Celestia nodded silently, the physical gesture being her only response as she continued standing in front of the door.

"There are a great many aspects I fail to understand pertaining to this situation," he stated as he approached again and stood by her side. For the last hour since Twilight Sparkle's departure, he'd experienced nothing but utter confusion. "Among I believe the best places to start, is your own inaction. You possess vast magical strength, and a reiatsu level and structure that could crush me. I find it highly unlikely that Twilight Sparkle could in any way overpower you. Why do you not simply wrench the door from its hinges, and march in there, since you have the authority to do so, and explain to her that the safety of your kingdom is of greater importance than her own personal feelings?" he asked.

She could. If she truly wanted to display the authority of her rule, she could simply undo all the spells Twilight had placed on the door, march right in there without a problem, and explain the full gravity of the situation that they had faced up to this point. There was nothing stopping her from doing just that.

Except for the fact that she didn't want to take that route. She would never exercise such a display, and especially not regarding Twilight.

"Despite your observations about my character and potential, I have no desire to engage in the tactics of a tyrannical dictator. I've ruled over a thousand years without having to resort to such, and I have no intention of starting now. My actions have already done enough harm regarding Twilight, there's no need to add fuel to the fire," Princess Celestia responded and hung her head.

A strange reasoning. Princess Celestia seemed to care more about her subjects than her own authority. When she'd first told him of her plan for dealing with Chrysalis, he'd seen certain aspects of Aizen's personality in her own. The plan was elaborate and overly complex, but the very basis seemed reasonably similar to some of Aizen's previous gambits, if not far more ridiculous. But now in the aftermath, when the threat had been neutralized, her concern was directly on the wellbeing of her subjects.

He was starting to see less of Aizen, and more of Tier Harribel, in her personality now. Out of all of them, the Tres Espada was the only one who really showed any actual concern for the wellbeing of her fracción, and didn't treat them as servants, slaves, or otherwise cannon fodder. Perhaps it was why her subjects were so loyal to her; because she was loyal to them in return.

At the moment though, it was little more than an observation, made in an attempt to better make sense of the entire situation. There were more important matters to tend to right now.

"As ruler you're certainly entitled to such a decision. I however, favor a more direct approach for handling the situation."

Princess Celestia watched curiously as Ulquiorra approached the door, as if he was about to try and kick it in again. She knew that a rebounding spell like this would produce the same results no matter how many times he might try and bypass it, and would continue to do so until Twilight allowed it to cease. She had doubts that even his Cero would breach it. But much to her surprise he wasn't trying to force it open, but instead was drawing his hand over it, his fingers curled in a manner like he was trying to open a large zipper sideways.

After several such passes she finally had to speak up. "What exactly are you trying to do?" she asked him.

"All Arrancar possess an ability known as descorrer, which allows for the opening of gateways between dimensions. Hollows use this or a similar technique to travel freely between Hueco Mundo, the living world, and Soul Society, via the pathways separating the three worlds," Ulquiorra explained calmly before slipping his hand back into his pocket. "It would seem my own descorrer ability doesn't work in this world, for reasons I can't yet determine."

It was disturbing to suddenly find out one of his abilities was either missing or non-functioning, while being left with no clue as to why. Perhaps there were no outer dimensional boundaries connected to this world, and thus there was nothing for his descorrer to open up? Or perhaps when Discord had brought him here, he had decided to engage in mischief, and deliberately leave him incomplete?

Regardless of the exact reasoning for the lack of his ability, it would have to wait until later. Right now he could feel Princess Celestia's attention focused on him.

"Another secret you've been keeping from me? Just like the fact you've been able to reach your resurrection stage at any time you wished?" she asked him directly, the displeasure obvious in her voice. She'd been so preoccupied in her worrying about Twilight, she'd completely forgotten about that part. Now that she was no longer distracted and her attention brought back to the other facts, she was feeling anger.

"You didn't ask if my released state was not accessible should I find the need to actually utilize it, despite your sealing spell being in place," Ulquiorra pointed out flatly. It was the full truth on the matter, she'd simply assumed that his failure to achieve release back in the garden had been a sign of success, rather than an indication that he simply wasn't trying. What purpose would there be in making a dedicated attempt? Had he done so, he could've leveled the entire palace. "You yourself said I was under no obligation to share with you, information I believe is sensitive in nature. As I recall, you said I was well within my rights to refrain from revealing such material. And seeing as how revealing such information could potentially jeopardize my existence, I saw no reason to point it out."

She had indeed said that upon their first meeting when Luna took offense to his evasiveness. However she had no idea he'd be throwing it back out at her in such a manner, and especially not so soon. It was all very unpleasant; especially the oh so subtle way he was suggesting that it was her fault for not thinking to ask if he was lying to her.

And that was to say nothing of the insinuations he was making, regarding the security of his own skin. Did he truly think that she would kill him? Or was he merely using that as an excuse to justify his secrecy?

"You realize that this development makes it harder to trust you, right?" she asked.

"I am aware," Ulquiorra replied dryly. Was she aware of the irony of this current line of discussion about how it was hard to trust him, after assuring the Elements of Harmony that he was indeed trustworthy? He could point out the contradiction to her, but he had sufficient reason to believe that such a revelation would only make the situation worse.

"This is likely going to have an adverse affect on the progress of your integration with the rest of Equestria," she pointed out.

"I am aware of that as well," Ulquiorra replied, unfazed by this news. Did she expect him to feel bad about the fact that he was going to be under greater suspicion? Or to grovel and seek forgiveness for his deception? He'd known from even before the moment of "Enclose..." that things could go quite bad from here on out. Regardless of that fact, he'd made the decision to go ahead with the reveal, in order to comply with Princess Celestia's order to make the whole charade look believable and convincing. "I didn't foresee this situation ending without consequences for at least some of those involved, myself included. I don't expect the claim of "I was merely following your orders" to be an excuse, or a justification for the actions I took. Nor do I believe I'll be shown any leniency for putting the safety of your kingdom above all other concerns, in order to stop the threat presented by Chrysalis' presence. If there are to be consequences for my actions, then there is nothing I can do about it," he explained calmly in an unflinching manner.

How could anyone so calmly accept their fate like that? He was unflinching, and unapologetic about the fact he was currently in trouble, and just approaching it so casually. Before she could even begin asking questions, he started speaking again.

"That said, I will not refrain from reminding you that it was your request, that I make my defection look believable, which necessitated the action I took. The moment Chrysalis saw that I failed to cut you, demanded desperate measures for the ruse to work. Nor will I refrain from questioning how you were unaware of my falsehood, when we were engaged in telepathic communication. You too bear responsibility for the events that transpired in the manner they did, because of your over-zealousness that bore remarkable similarity to a personal vendetta against Chrysalis. You didn't even seem to consider the trauma you would inflict upon the uninitiated. I can't help but question if you were looking out for the kingdom... or if you were simply after revenge for your earlier encounter..."

"That's enough," Princess Celestia spoke firmly.

"It is quite ironic," Ulquiorra continued regardless of the order. What he had to say needed to be said, needed to be heard. He believed it was relevant to the conversation right now, and his point would be made. "When we first met you regarded me as a monster, as a soul-sucking demon. You feared me for what you saw of my abilities. You understood that I was an unapologetic murderer. And yet, even from the beginning of our interactions, I possessed more concern for the wellbeing of your subjects than you yourself. I was willing to handle problems by myself, and shield them from what could harm them. Even before this entire situation played out, I recognized the potential for harm that your subjects might face at how things played out. My actions, if undisturbed, would leave them blissfully unaware of what would come. I cannot help but wonder, which of us is the true monster here..."

"I said that's enough!" she repeated, far firmer and harsher than before, and with a corresponding flare of her reiatsu.

It appeared he'd managed to strike a nerve with her in his observation. Never before had she flexed her strength in order to silence him. And while it wasn't of the same magnitude as when he'd made his first display in the throne room, he could indeed feel the burn against his skin beginning. She was quite angry, but doing her best to remain in check, and not go overboard.

"I'm very displeased with you, and your actions, at the moment. But at the moment I don't have the time to deal with you in the manner I feel is most appropriate. My primary concern right now is Twilight's wellbeing. But rest assured, you and I will most certainly be having a lengthy, and most likely unpleasant discussion, after everything has settled down. You're dismissed until then. And don't try to leave the palace."

She was thankful, and relieved, when Ulquiorra simply turned and left, rather than continuing to talk. Right now she didn't need the added frustrations he could present, she had enough problems going on behind the door as her student cried helplessly, her heart aching anew with each audible sob.

Aching worse still, because she knew he was right, and she was partly responsible for what had happened. She had nopony to blame but herself for how Twilight was feeling right now. Out of everything she'd taken into consideration in laying out her plan, her student's psyche hadn't been among them.

She didn't know what had her the angriest right now; Ulquiorra's secrecy, his accusations that she was a monster too focused on revenge to consider other possibilities... or that he had pointed out this possible development, and she'd been too blind to see it; too blind to even consider it as actually being a possibility.

"Am I the true monster?" she asked herself in a whisper.

The only answer she received was the continued, unabated crying from behind the door.

---

Finding Princess Luna in the company of the other five holders of the Elements of Harmony wasn't a surprise to him; so much reiatsu in one spot could easily be detected over ten miles away even by even the Diez Espada. They had been together at Twilight Sparkle's untimely departure, it only made sense that they would still be assembled. The real curiosity of his unintended meeting with them, was why they had all converged in this particular hallway, and remained just behind the corner. If they too were seeking Twilight Sparkle, then they were a considerable distance away.

"What hast thou discovered?" Princess Luna asked, being the first of the group to speak up after spotting him.

"Twilight Sparkle has been located, and is currently in an emotionally distraught state, and will not speak with anyone. Princess Celestia wishes for her student to exit the room she has sealed herself in of her own accord, rather than forcing her way in. My own attempt to opening the door proved futile. And Princess Celestia has dismissed my presence until the situation with Twilight Sparkle is firmly under control. Furthermore, my permission to leave the palace has been rescinded, and I am once more confined to the grounds for what offenses I have committed here today," Ulquiorra replied, covering the relevant details in hopes of eliminating any redundant discussion about what events had transpired in the last hour.

"Oh dear," Rarity stated at hearing the news.

"Oh my," Fluttershy added in her usual tone.

"'Tis not good. We didst fear that something of this nature may happen the way our dear sister didst plan everything. However we didst hope that we were merely being overtly concerned about nothing. 'Twould seem we were not," Princess Luna replied.

Why, oh why, did Celestia insist on these gambles of hers? What had happened during her absence, that brought about such a course of action?

Silence crept over the hallway after this, the news about their friend -or acquaintance- being upset enough to not talk with any of them. For most it was very depressing news.

"Ah'm gonna go talk ta her," Applejack finally spoke up and broke the silence. She was just about to set off down the hallway, and try to find her friend and give her a much needed talking to, when Rarity stopped her from moving so much as a step.

"Applejack dear I know you're concerned, but I believe what Twilight needs more than anything right now, is the time to cool down before any of us go to confront her. The poor dear is likely still quite volatile right now, and regardless of what we intend, our efforts might just upset her even more," Rarity pointed out.

A surprisingly well thought out observation by the seamstress pony, Ulquiorra noted. Emotions were not his area of expertise, nor even something he himself had any real experience with, as he didn't truly have them. But the logic was sound enough to make some measure of sense to him. She as well as the others continued to present surprises in terms of intelligence.

Unfortunately there was the habit of them presenting stupidity right after intelligence. He estimated one of the other four would do or say something idiotic within the sixty seconds that followed Rarity's observation, if the currently established pattern was followed.

"So you mean we've gotta let Twilight be a saddie pie until she's feeling better?" Pinkie asked, not the least bit happy about the idea of leaving one of her friends sad and alone. That was a position she'd been in way too many times to wish it on anypony.

"I'm afraid so dear. Right now, only Twilight knows how she's feeling. We can still be there for her, but she has to be ready and willing to accept our help. Until then, all we can do is just wait patiently," Rarity replied as she closed her eyes and sighed. "The same would go for all of us. After everything that's happened, I believe we're all in need of time to cool down, and properly think things out. What happened today wasn't easy on any of us."

"Well that just stinks!" Pinkie replied with a "hmph" and reared up on her hind legs to cross her forelegs over her chest.

"Yeah I'm with Pinkie on this one, we're Twilight's friends, we should be in there trying to help her out, not standing around twiddling our hooves with dopey looks on our faces," Rainbow Dash stated.

It was strange to observe these ponies. They had all been present for the revelation that Princess Celestia had used them to further her plan of dealing with Chrysalis. They all had equal reason to be infuriated with Princess Celestia, and react in a similar manner to Twilight Sparkle at learning that they were nothing more than pawns in a complicated game of chess, more or less sacrificing them for the sake of allowing her bishop -in this case himself- to move into the proper position to achieve a checkmate.

And yet despite the revelation -minus the complicated chess analogy- none of them had shared their associate's outrage at the reveal. Even Rainbow Dash, who had the most reason to feel betrayal due to her Element of Loyalty status, hadn't seen fit to take a route similar to that taken by Twilight Sparkle.

It was truly something he couldn't quite wrap his head around. Why were these five so willing to accept Princess Celestia's actions, and accept them so calmly?

Then again, Rarity was advising a cool down period. Perhaps their tempers ran far deeper than he was giving them credit for. Perhaps she was attempting the logical course of action, for fear of what could go wrong if they simply responded without thinking.

"Unless you can bypass the spells Twilight Sparkle is currently maintaining, you will likely be unsuccessful at doing anything beneficial. I attempted to force the door open with a kick strong enough to kill a Gillian, and it refused to budge," Ulquiorra commented, deliberately leaving out the part about how the door had budged him; he really didn't want to deal with Pinkie Pie's potential amusement at being hurled down the hallway and possibly asking to see it done again.

"Tha's a lot o' force then?" Applejack asked. She remembered that term referred to a higher evolution of Ulquiorra's race, but where exactly it fit in with their world in comparative terms was still a mystery to her.

"A great deal more than any living pony could ever hope to generate. Twilight Sparkle's spell completely negated the force of the impact as if it were nothing. Forcing the door open will likely not be possible. And unless Princess Celestia is willing to override her student's magical field, it's little more than a waiting game," Ulquiorra explained.

"What about the wall?" Pinkie asked after a pause. "Twilight's spell is protecting the door, but couldn't we go trough the wall if we chip away at the masonry and just pull some stones loose?"

A rather interesting and intelligent thought to entertain. If the whole of Twilight Sparkle's focus was directed at the door exclusively, the surrounding architecture would remain unaffected, and even accessible if given enough effort. Furthermore it would be logical to assume Twilight Sparkle's focus hadn't been on the entire room, as it would require her to exert considerably more reiryoku and concentration.

It would also be logical to assume that Twilight Sparkle, even if perfectly calm, wouldn't anticipate someone attempting to come through the wall to reach her.

The surprising aspect of it all was that Pinkie Pie had come up with the idea. Perhaps she was merely obfuscating her stupidity?

"Tha's not a bad idea Pinkie. An' if there's a window in the room, Rainbow Dash could fly in an' talk ta Twilight direct," Applejack added.

The scene was quickly devolving in nature. The other holders of the Elements of Harmony seemed quite intent on ignoring Rarity's observation that the best course of action was to simply leave Twilight Sparkle alone for the time being, in favor of gaining entry to her room through force, and confronting her directly. What type of emotional state possessed them, that they would willingly walk into a volatile situation, and risk making everything worse?

"We wouldst not recommend such," Princess Luna spoke up, the others immediately ceasing their bickering about the best course of action to take and instead focusing their attention on her. "Our friend Twilight Sparkle is upset enough. We need not to further disturb her during this sensitive time. Our dear sister likely doth have this matter well in hoof. It wouldst be best to simply stand back, and allow her to deal with the problem in her own matter. She hath set things into motion. 'Tis only fitting to let her deal with the consequences of her own actions. We doth not need to make her angrier than she art already."

"Ah this blows!" Rainbow Dash stated and stomped her hoof on the ground. "Twilight's our friend, and we can't do anything to help her when she needs us?"

Pinkie reared up on her hind legs again, her forelegs tucked at her sides with a scowl on her face. "It would seem in this chapter of life, we find ourselves relegated to the status of background characters who play no part in the main storyline," she stated in a dull and even tone.

"... Say wha'?" Applejack asked, confused by what exactly Pinkie was talking about.

"That's my Ulqy impression, pretty good huh?" Pinkie asked before setting back down on all four hooves and turning to face Ulquiorra. "How was I? Pretty good?"

There was a great deal of nonsense in Pinkie Pie's words. Did she truly believe she was pulling off a convincing imitation of his personality, or was she merely trying to lighten the tense mood with her randomness, and distract them from the fact that they were currently useless?

Five hundred and eighty three seconds. A rather impressive record, all things considered.

"Anyway..." Rainbow Dash spoke up, deciding a change of subject was in order. She really didn't want to continue with this current line of discussion, it was unpleasant enough as it was. "Look. I'm as loyal as the next pony. But if we can't do any good here, then I'm just gonna head on home. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted after all the adventure we've had today, and it feels like I've been up for nine weeks straight," she paused and yawned. "I'm gonna get some shut eye, and try and put some of this on the back burner for the time being. What Rarity was saying, cooler heads prevailing or something like that."

"And I really need to get back to my animals, and make sure they're all alright. They've been on their own for two days, and I'm scared to think of how terrified they must've been with that changeling playing as me," Fluttershy added. At that she slowly turned her attention in Ulquiorra's direction and looked up to make eye contact. "I never did get the chance to say it before everything seemed to get out of control. But thanks for saving me. If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be in that pod with everypony else, and nopony would've known until it was too late."

"Yes I must say your timing was quite impeccable. To think that so many changelings were running about, and we didn't know it," Rarity replied and shuddered.

Ulquiorra remained silent at their words, submerging himself in deep thought. Impeccable timing and coincidence didn't seem like a possible solution to the question before him. There had to be something more to it.

"Mr. Cifer?" Applejack spoke up, bringing his attention back to her, "ya got that look on yer face like ya got some deep thinkin' goin' on again."

"How can you tell?" Pinkie asked, confused at to how Applejack could come to such a conclusion when the look on his face never changed.

"At present time I'm uncertain..." Ulquiorra replied slowly.

---

The night had fallen not long ago, the sun dipping down to give way to Princess Luna's moon, and a corresponding reduction of outside ambient light to go along with it.

However this fact had no relevance to Twilight at all, having no care for whether it was day or night right now. She lacked the energy necessary to work up to caring as she laid on her old bed, her frame completely still, and her eyes bloodshot. She'd run out of tears long ago and her body was no longer wracked by the constant sobs; just the utter stillness and silence as she laid there in the darkness of her old room. She was exhausted physically from crying, and mentally from exercising her magic so hard, and for so long in an effort to maintain her isolation. Right now there was nothing to keep out anypony who tried to gain entry, other than the possibility that they still believed the room was inaccessible.

The door opened silently, the hinges behaving as if they were well oiled, and not issuing so much as a squeak. The only indication of the disturbance being the sudden invasion of light from the hallway, the stream interrupted by the silhouette of a tall horned pony, before the door was gently closed again.

"Twilight?"

She said nothing in response. She didn't want to speak to the one in the room right now. She didn't even want to see, think about or even smell the one in the room right now. She wanted to be left alone.

"Twilight?"

She tried closing her eyes and willing the invader away, trying to make them vanish through the power of her mind alone. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be doing any good whatsoever, as the imposing pony remained, and seemed unwilling to move.

She truly didn't want to do it. But she knew the only option she really had, was to confront the intruding pony directly. If she didn't, then the disturbance to her isolation would never end. She slowly lifted her head from where it lay on the mattress, and turned her glare to the source of her unhappiness, hoping the misery in her eyes would warrant silence.

No such luck unfortunately. She was still there looking at her; Celestia remained, and wasn't moving from her spot. The Princess' patience would likely not run out anytime soon. Direct confrontation was the only thing that was available to her now.

"Twilight?"

"Get out," Twilight whispered in a low raspy tone.

"Twilight I-" Celestia started but was interrupted.

"I said get out!" Twilight shrieked louder, causing the alicorn to falter before even taking a step forward. "I don't want to speak to you! I don't even want to look at you! Get out! Get out! GET OUT!"

Celestia remained, standing silent as her student screamed at her, moving only when she stopped to take a breath, her head hung low as she moved closer. "Twilight I know you're upset with me. And you have every right to be. Today was incredibly stressful to go through, I can understand that fact. But unless I know exactly what I did that was wrong, there's no way I can help you," she spoke softly in her approach.

"Help me? You think that you can help me? You can't help me, nopony can help me! You took everything away from me today! You destroyed everything I knew with that stunt you pulled earlier, and you didn't even care about it!" Twilight shouted angrily, unconsciously using her magic to hurl a pillow directly at her. Not that it made any difference. It'd wound up smacking her directly in the face, before simply falling to the ground, the impact doing nothing to make the alicorn blink nor even budge from her spot.

Despite being exhausted, she felt a new surge of energy running through her frame, and allowing her to climb down off the bed into a standing position. "Do you even know how much damage you caused today? Do you know how traumatizing it is to watch somebody you care about, crumble like stone right before your very eyes? Do you even care? DO YOU!?" she asked/demanded. "You destroyed my sense of trust in you, and everypony else, when you made me think you died saving me. You completely destroyed my sense of order, and not ten minutes after I got done telling Pinkie Pie that she needed to trust you better, because you'd never mislead us on anything! You lied to us, and treated us like we were disposable junk not worth keeping! Now I don't know what to believe anymore, and it's all thanks to you!" she screamed as her body strained for breath with every word uttered.

Celestia closed her eyes and lowered her head at her student's words, now understanding the source of her pain. Through her own actions she'd managed to disrupt Twilight's sense of order in the world, and left her confused and uncertain about everything. Twilight's trust in her had apparently been a pillar on which she built her outlook on the rest of the world, and she'd managed to shatter that pillar without even realizing it. Now she was lost, hurt, scared, and feeling alone.

Perhaps the Espada had been right all along. A truly disturbing thought.

Unfortunately for her, Twilight seemed to just be getting warmed up, as she started ripping into her again like a rabid animal.

"How many other things have I taken at face value, and on blind faith, that you've been misleading all of us on?" she asked/demanded to know. "How many of the rumors that I've heard about you are true? Do you not raise the sun, and it's just a naturally occurring phenomenon that you take credit for!? And what about those horrible "Molestia" rumors so many other ponies have talked about, are those true too!? Did you lock Discord away because he wouldn't fuck you!" she shouted and stomped her hoof, her choice of language drawing an audible gasp from the alicorn. However she didn't take the time to stop and admire her work of causing the immortal to flinch, but rather continued without distraction, attacking like a bloodthirsty beast with its sights set on injured prey. "Is that it? Is it!? Did the spirit of chaos not want to succumb to your sexual advancements? Did you do it because he preferred your little sister instead of you? And while we're on that topic, what about Princess Luna herself? Did she get sent to the moon because she didn't want an incestuous relationship with her own sister? Did you make Cadence your niece for molestation purposes? How many royal guards have you bedded and banged over the centuries, by telling them they'd be charged with treason if they didn't fuck you? Did you fuck Shining Armor too!? What about me? Was I the next in line to get fucked senseless by you, by being made your faithful student!?" she shouted angrily. "What do you clop to at night!?"

Celestia remained silent throughout Twilight's outburst, no matter how painful it was to hear her prized student accusing her of such heinous and despicable acts. Acts that she would never consider performing, acts that she'd never consider even thinking about. Her words cut her quite deep, and all the while she just remained still and silent as Twilight vented angrily, unleashing the full amount of her rage at the only one she could.

But as deep as they cut, they were nothing but accusations. The cuts Twilight had felt, they weren't accusations, but rather acts that had indeed taken place.

Fortunately her student seemed to hit the point of needing air, and began sucking in deep breaths to try and counteract the dizziness that was setting in, thus bringing a detour to the tirade of statements she knew Twilight would never dream of using if she were calm. This was the opportunity that was needed to try and address her.

"I can now understand how much I've hurt you, Twilight, and I can't hope to apologize enough for how my actions affected you, no matter how hard I might try," Princess Celestia apologized, unable to do much else right now. "If you feel the need to strike me for what I've done-"

She was silenced as a purple hoof connected with the left side of her face and took her completely by surprise, moving her head to the side in the blink of an eye. Twilight hadn't even hesitated before taking the opening presented to her. To be honest, it was surprising how much physical force her student could generate, especially considering she was standing on her hind legs in an unsupported manner.

The initial blow was followed up by a backhoofed slap, moving her head back in the other direction, and then another that moved her head back into the direction from the initial impact.

"You destroyed everything I knew!" she panted through ragged breaths as she set back down on all four hooves, the angered and hurt glare never leaving her eyes. "I had so much respect for you. I looked up to you. I trusted you with my life. I would've gone to Tartarus for you if you'd asked me to do so. I loved you! I loved you just as much as I did my own mother. I even loved you more than Cadence! I would've done anything you asked me, absolutely anything! I would've been your concubine if you'd asked me, and I wouldn't have thought twice about it! And what do you do? When Equestria's in danger, you don't even tell us about what's got to be the most traumatizing thing you've ever done to any of us, and make us think you died in the process of trying to defeat someone you told us we could trust! I almost killed Ulquiorra because you made us think he was the one that betrayed us! I almost murdered a friend because you forced him to pretend to go bad! Do you have any idea what that realization feels like!?" she shouted as she found her second -or third- wind. "We were loyal to you, and this is how you repay us? By turning our world upside down, and leaving us not knowing what to believe anymore? Driven to the point that we'd murder another in retaliation for your death!? I hate you! Do you hear me, I! HATE! YOU!" she shouted right in her face, stomping her hoof with each punctuation to emphasize the degree of hurt she was experiencing right now.

Over the centuries of her rule, she'd been accused of many hurtful and heinous things. But never before by one she cared so much for. And the fact she had chosen to integrate bits of the Arrancar's native language into her verbal tirade, had just seemed to make it all the more painful to hear. She found herself flinching at every single foreign profanity hurled at her; a subtle indicator that her student saw more trust in the Espada than in her. She could practically feel Twilight's rage boiling right now as she vented her pain and her frustration, practically see the boiling affect in her magical aura and the wafts of steam-like energy coming off of her small body.

"I-" she started, but never managed to finish. The next thing she knew, Twilight had flown into a physical rage, and proceeded to wale on her with her front hooves, delivering blows to her body like she was in a street fight, or engaged in some boxing match gone horribly wrong. She'd been caught completely off guard by this uncharacteristic turn of events.

But even if she had seen it coming from the beginning, she still wouldn't have done anything to the contrary. Twilight was hurting far more than she could fully understand right now. Hurting from betrayal, and having her outlook on the world turned completely on its axis, and desperately looking for an outlet of any sort to try and make sense of it all. And seeing as she was the one responsible, it only seemed acceptable that she be the one to serve as her outlet. Taking a few minor bruises -and much to her own surprise, a bloody nose- for her student's benefit was the least she could do.

Twilight's punches and blows were steady but uncoordinated. They were guided by anger and fury, rather than an informed knowledge of how to cause the most damage possible. Celestia didn't even flinch as she served as Twilight's punching bag, her body absorbing the slowly weakening and tired blows, as she exerted herself to the point of complete exhaustion.

And then it happened. Much like a fever hitting a high point before breaking and the body's temperature falling back to normal, Twilight's anger seemed to hit a high point with a particularly loud scream, and one final blow, before finally breaking and giving way to another emotion; sadness. Her body was now slumped and her head hung low as she went silent, other than her heavy breathing.

"I know that I've hurt you quite badly, Twilight, but I had no idea just how badly until now," she said softly, "I'm not proud of what I did today. I acted in a manner I believed would allow me to best serve and protect everyone at the same time. But instead of that, my actions wound up costing me one of the few things I value more than anything..." she said with a sigh. Never before could she remember such a bad situation with a past student. Never before had she made a mistake this big. "Being eternal doesn't mean you're perfect, it simply means you have time to discover new ways to fail, despite your best intentions. I'm sad to say this isn't the first plan I've had in my reign that has gone horribly wrong. And sadly it won't be the last either. There are times I'm going to make mistakes. And when I do there will be consequences involved," she admitted.

"And that's supposed to make everything better? A weak apology and telling me that sometimes you suck? You think that sets things right after you successfully destroyed my entire outlook on life, and left me uncertain if I can even trust my friends now?" she asked bitterly, not even looking up from where she sat. Rather she simply turned her back to her and faced the wall. "You might as well just banish me to the moon right now, or wherever else it is that you stick us mortal ponies, because you know what? I just don't fucking care anymore, I don't have the energy necessary. I don't regret what I said to the ruler of Equestria. I don't even regret hitting you..."

A long stretch of silence, the only audible noise coming from the soft scratching of a hoof pawing against the floor.

"I know there's nothing I can ever say that will make things better, Twilight, it's just not possible. You grew up trusting and respecting me from the beginning by default, because that's what was expected of you. But trust and respect have to be earned rather than expected automatically. And that is something I've been quite lax in. I have no doubt my subjects will forgive me for what's happened here today, but those I consider to be my friends and loved ones are another story. I'm going to have to earn back what was lost here today. It's going to be a long, difficult journey to engage in, and I have to do it alone. All I can do, is ask for you to please allow me the possibility, and the opportunity to earn your trust back, my faithful student... and my dear, dear friend..." Celestia spoke softly, the strength of her voice wavering throughout.

"... You're asking an awful lot of me, you know that?" Twilight asked weakly after a long, awkward pause. She didn't want to consider Celestia's words right now, she didn't want to have anything to do with her right now, especially not after everything she'd said to her. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you again. I can't even forgive you right now after what happened today," she stated. She remained silent a while, waiting to see if any response was given.

How could she forgive someone, when their actions had driven her into a homicidal rage? What if she hadn't stopped at Ulquiorra? What if she couldn't have stopped? What if she'd been overtaken by her magic again, just like she had been during her entrance exam, and killed not only her friends, but everypony in the castle? What if her rage had extended beyond the castle, and all the way back to Ponyville, and leveled absolutely everything between here and there? Did Celestia even consider those possibilities beforehoof when she decided that this was a good idea at the time? How could she possibly forgive and forget?

That was one of the things that truly terrified her about this whole ordeal. As a filly her untapped magical strength had been unbelievable; to the point that only Celestia could suppress it at the time. And now, after so many years of study and practice, that strength had only increased, to a degree she didn't even know about. What if... what if it had gotten to the point that it truly couldn't have been suppressed, even if Celestia had been there to help? How many could've died by her hoof?

When no response came forward she spoke again. "I'm not going to make any promises about what I will or won't do, because I can't make any promises right now. I can't say I'll ever forgive you for what happened here today. You can try, but don't expect any miracles," she all but whispered. "But even if I do. Even if I could find it in myself to forgive you right this second for what you've done to me, nothing is ever going to be the same again..."

Another uncomfortable silence came over the room, neither party saying anything nor looking at each other.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle," Celestia began, causing Twilight to slowly blink at what sounded like the beginning of a letter. "Knowing you has provided me a great opportunity to learn about the true importance of friendship. Today I learned a most important lesson, and I fear I learned it the hard way, this lesson costing me a hefty price. Friendship, as with all other relations, is founded on the concept of trust. Trust is unbelievably strong, and capable of holding others together when nothing else will. But despite this resilient aspect, trust itself can be quite delicate and fragile in nature, and it can be undone without us ever realizing it, because of one stupid, horrible mistake we made, without ever thinking about it. Sometimes when we do what we think is the best course of action for everyone involved, we wind up making terrible mistakes that destroy that trust. And once that trust is gone it can be very, very difficult to get back, regardless of how hard one tries," she continued, pausing to take a breath. "Sincerely, your faithful student, 'Tia."

Twilight blinked again, utterly confused by what she was hearing. "Seriously? 'Tia?" she asked, looking up at the alicorn who sat before her, and whose fur around her muzzle looked wet and matted from her own shed tears. Now that she was actually looking at her she looked so much different from her usual self. She hadn't even noticed it, either during the yelling, or even the beating, she looked like a mess devoid of regal nature. No fancy jewel encrusted adornments, no ethereal flow to her mane and tail as it laid limply against her, and now thanks to her own outburst, a bloody muzzle.

In terms Ulquiorra would likely use without hesitation, she looked like shit.

"And you... my faithful student?" she asked. The absurdity of it all was creeping under the residual layers of rage, sadness, anger, and betrayal that was currently coating her, acting like a figurative paint stripper, and allowing curiosity to slowly peak through, one pinprick-sized hole at a time. "This isn't some kind of joke is it? Because if it is I'm-"

Celestia shook her head, quelling whatever was going to be said next. "I believe a casual term of address is appropriate under these circumstances. For the time being at least," she replied. Now wasn't the time for titles of formality. Hopefully it'd help her student relax better. "And if I'm to be the one learning, I'd say it's very appropriate, since you're more well versed in the matter than I. Wouldn't you say so?"

"I... guess so... 'Tia," Twilight replied, hesitant about using such an abbreviated form of address. It sounded so strange...

This was all an uncomfortable situation to be in right now. So many things had gone terribly wrong in such short order, and now she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings, looking for some bit of stability to grapple onto, the contents of the impromptu friendship report played in the back of her mind.

Without warning her head shot up, eyes going wide as she let out a gasp. "There's something I need to take care of. Are the others still here?" she asked as she stood up from her spot on the floor.

"I'm afraid not. They left for Ponyville some hours ago when it started getting dark out. They wanted to stay, but they had matters to tend to," Celestia replied. "What's come up?"

"Let's just say you helped me realize something very important; a major fuck up on my part that I need to tend to right away," Twilight replied as she moved to stand up. She moved to leave the room immediately... yet for some reason she didn't fully understand, she stopped to face her teacher. Perhaps it was due to some compulsive need to engage in closure for the sake of organization. Maybe some obsessive compulsive desire that was overwhelming her own foul mood right now. Whatever it was, she found herself once again addressing her teacher. " Maybe... maybe one day, I'll be able to come to terms with everything, and find I can forgive you. I don't know. Maybe some day, something can come from all of this horror that's unfolded today."

Despite all the pain that was involved with today's events, some already had come from this whole horrible event as far as she was concerned. One small beacon of light and comfort, in this sea of hurt and sorrow she found herself in. Through everything that had occurred, Twilight finally realized that she wasn't perfect, that just because she raised and lowered the sun, it didn't mean she was any different from her. Her image of being the perfect ruler was tarnished... and she was alright with that, because she truly wasn't. Nor did she have any desire to be regarded as such.

And perhaps... just perhaps, Twilight would realize that nopony had to be perfect in order to be a ruler; a valuable lesson for one day.

"Maybe some day," Celestia replied and nodded. "I won't keep you any longer than necessary, seeing as you have other matters to tend to."

"Actually... 'Tia..." Twilight began slowly, giving the new title another test, "I can't even believe I'm saying this, but... could I ask you for one favor? There's something I really need to take care of, but it's going to take an awful lot of magic, and I don't know if I have it in me right now to do it on my own. I... I need your help..."

She really didn't feel right about this, asking... 'Tia... to grant her a favor after everything that'd happened. All the yelling, the cursing, and accusations, the assault and battery... and so... so much betrayal. But this was an important matter at hand... hoof... and right now the alicorn before her was the only one who was capable of assisting her.

"Anything, Twilight, how can I help?" Celestia asked.

---

+++

"Nice thinking Twilight! What was that back there anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked as they flew along at greater speeds. Ulquiorra was way too much of a threat to face up close, their only hope right now was speed and maneuverability to outpace him, and get the Elements of Harmony before he could catch them.

"It's called a flash bang blast. It disrupts the visual and auditory senses and leaves the recipient dazed and confused for as much as twenty seconds before it clears. After seeing him withstand that blast back at the castle, I didn't think I could overpower him, so I just distracted him so we could get by. Hopefully it buys us enough time," Twilight explained, finding herself have to shout to be heard over the wind.

"Twilight please! This is me we're talking about! Twenty seconds is more than enough time to get away. Why I bet he's... oh horse apples!"

She'd made the mistake of looking back behind her, believing her speed was superior, and Ulquiorra wouldn't be anywhere in sight. She couldn't have been more wrong if she'd tried. Instead of being nowhere, he was right on the edge of her vision, and slowly creeping inward, easily keeping pace with her. So much for a twenty second lead and Twilight's knots keeping him distracted.

"He's on our tails! This is bad!" she stated. What were they gonna do? What were they gonna do? If they kept doing what they were doing now they were gonna be done for. She needed to come up with a plan and fast. "Twilight, you said your magic's recharged? Teleport outta here!"

"What?! Rainbow Dash you're crazy!" Twilight stated.

"No I'm not, hear me out on this one! Without your weight I can fly a lot faster, and can serve as a distraction, and keep him occupied. If the Elements of Harmony really are scattered like he said, you're the only one of us that has any chance of being able to locate and reunite them again. Leave the traitor to me, I'll keep him busy for the time being. When you do find them, head for Sweet Apple Acres, and I'll meet up with you after I lose him, and then we'll go back to Canterlot and save the day! It'll work!" Rainbow Dash stated, all the while beating her wings as hard as she could. "Lemme do this, Twilight, I couldn't do anything to save Princess Celestia, let me at least save you, alright?"

"... Alright," Twilight agreed and nodded, "but I still don't like this."

"I don't like it either. But if we stay together, we're likely going to die together. And I don't want that on my conscience," Rainbow Dash explained.

Twilight nodded silently in understanding, her horn lit up as she teleported away, immediately freeing her up to continue flying at greatly increased speeds. Now she'd have a fighting chance against Ulquiorra, and wouldn't have to worry Twilight in the process.

"Now he's really gonna get it! He's gonna learn why Rainbow Dash is a hero!" she stated to herself.

Without Twilight slowing her down she could pick up some much needed speed, and really shoot ahead and set up what was bound to really slow Ulquiorra down big time. No matter how strong he was, there was no way he could stop this one.

She took the chance and glanced back. Ulquiorra was still on her tail, but didn't seem to be closing the distance any. At least that meant he was locked on her instead of going after Twilight. Maybe this could actually work out. Turning back to face forward, she adjusted her angle of travel upward and far above the treeline, knowing what needed to be done.

The Espada had seen the Sonic Rainboom from a distance, he hadn't been impressed. The Sonic Rainboom had been used in his rescue, he hadn't been impressed. This time he was gonna see the Sonic Rainboom as up close as one ever could, and if he was still unimpressed then that was just gonna be too bad for him!

She veered right as hard as she could, making a hundred and eighty degree turn before flying straight at him, her wings beating hard before extending fully outward and locking in place, her blood pounding in her ears, the air kicking off of her as she could see the mach cone forming around her as she approached the velocity of the speed of sound. Up ahead was Ulquiorra, directly in her flight path, merely standing there in the sky and unmoving as he stared at her, as if he'd been waiting for this the entire time. Target acquired.

Wing position, optimal. Speed, one thousand sixty feet per second and accelerating. Angle of approach, twenty two and one half degrees. Distance from target, eleven seconds and counting. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, speed approaching one thousand eighty three feet per second.

Five, four, three, two, one!

Target engaged!

"Booyah!"

The Sonic Rainboom erupted behind her just a split second before she plowed directly into Ulquiorra at full force, her hooves slamming into his chest near the shoulders, and driving him back with more thrust than he could overcome.

The tree ahead of them shattered as Ulquiorra's back met with it, tearing a large section of canopy off in the process. The same occurred with the second, and each subsequent tree that was impacted along the flight path, bark and the underlying wood splintering and sent flying in every direction, limbs crashing to the ground as they were severed from the trunk being obliterated, entire canopies crashing to the ground as their flight path gradually took them lower and lower toward the ground. They'd completely cut through more than two dozen trees before they were out of the wooded area, and into a clearing.

"You aren't like the others," Ulquiorra stated in a calm tone, his voice carrying no hint of him being in any amount of pain despite it all, like crashing through trees was no problem at all. "I was wrong in my earlier evaluation. Unlike your friends, you possess the willingness to do whatever is necessary for the sake of others, even if that includes murder. I can see it in your eyes," he said in a casual tone that just made her blood boil all the worse.

"Shut up!" she yelled.

"Twilight Sparkle's desire to kill me was fueled by her rage over the loss of her mentor Celestia, and her own helplessness to do anything about it. Yours is far different from hers. You possess the willingness to kill due to a far more sinister aspect of your own personality. It is in your nature, just like it is for an Espada. I must admit that I never before believed you could be so Hollow-like in nature," he continued, his tone of voice and pacing of speech completely improper for the fact he was on the receiving end of a major beating from the back and the front. It was all so casual and collected as if he was carrying on a conversation in the same manner she would with her friends.

"I told you to SHUT UP!" she yelled louder.

"Make me," Ulquiorra replied defiantly, completely unimpressed by her rage. "You can't deny the truth. You and I are similar in nature."

"I'm nothing like you! I'm not and I never will be!" she stated as she continued flying along at top speed. "My friends are counting on me! They need me! I'd do anything it takes to help them because they're my friends! Even if that means killing for them, even if that means dying for them! I'm nothing like the monster you are!" she shouted.

"Indeed you're not," he replied calmly before grinding himself to a halt much as he had done with the dragon, leaving her stuck in midair, and unable to overcome his resistance. In an instant he reached out with his right hand, and grabbed her by the neck, hoisting her up with ease. "You're weak and emotionally unstable, short sighted, and quick to anger, and devoid of any logical thinking capabilities. Your misplaced devotion to those who, by your own admission, have betrayed you in the past, leaves you weakened and easy to outsmart. Instead of fleeing, you chose to stand and fight, to buy Twilight Sparkle more time in a useless attempt to locate the Elements of Harmony. You should have saved yourself instead."

The grip on her throat was too much to resist, his strength was too much for her to struggle against no matter how much she tried. He was choking all the air out of her, and she couldn't even reach him to punch him in the face in an effort to break loose. She couldn't breathe, and quickly everything was turning dark. Very, very dark.

"Such is the price you pay for your loyalty..."

+++

No matter how many times she closed her eyes and tried to put the thoughts out of her head, they refused to go away. They kept resurfacing over and over again, disturbing every effort she made to get some sleep. She felt exhausted, yet she just couldn't rest properly, her mind wandering back to the events from earlier this morning.

It wasn't the fact that she'd wasted three Sonic Rainbooms on the Arrancar that upset her; not really anyway. It wasn't even the matter of how he'd so effortlessly fooled them into believing he'd gone over to Chrysalis' side, she understood that he was acting under Princess Celestia's orders to be convincing until he was ordered to drop the charade; she could accept that. There were far, far more pressing and disturbing matters at hoof that were keeping her from being able to get the sleep she really wanted to enjoy right now at this late hour.

Fluttershy being replaced by a changeling was weighing heavily on her mind right now. None of them had noticed the switch and that was disturbing enough, but for her it was so much worse. Here Fluttershy was her best friend, her oldest friend, and she hadn't even noticed that she wasn't herself. What had she done? She'd brushed off the inconsistencies as Fluttershy just being Fluttershy, and still being spooked by the Espada being a ghost. The only one who noticed the -now painfully- obvious differences, had been said Espada, and he knew almost nothing about what Fluttershy was like. He'd known something was wrong the instant he'd seen her. What kind of friend was she to not notice how her friend wasn't who she was?

But even more disturbing than her poor status as a friend, had been his words directed towards her, his comparing her to a Hollow, his stating that she was like a heartless soul-sucking demon no different from him. There was no way they were similar in any manner, it just wasn't possible!

And yet... most disturbingly... what if he was actually right? What if there was some aspect of her personality and nature that dwelt just below the surface and was lurking, just waiting for an excuse to be let out? What if she really was a heartless, soul-sucking demon who had no qualms with murder, and she just didn't know it yet? She remembered her conversation with Rarity back in the holding cell, how she'd readily said she'd kill for the good of Equestria without giving it any thought. What if she was absolutely serious in her statement?

"Snap out of it, Rainbow Dash, that's not who or what you are. You heard him and Princess Celestia, everything was just an elaborate plan to trick Chrysalis and nothing more. You're no monster, there's no hole in your chest where your heart belongs. He was just being really, really convincing," she mentally told herself.

However this was the fifth time she'd told herself such and it still hadn't helped her rest yet.

Would she really, really kill another if her friends were depending on her? Could she actually bring herself to do that, end one life for another? She didn't know, and right now she really didn't want to think about it either.

What was really weird, was how a conversation they'd had while he was engaged in trickery, was more disturbing to her than the fact that Princess Celestia had played them, even though it was for a good cause. Or perhaps even worse, that what he'd said in charade was more disturbing than what was talked about in the hallway, after the charade was dropped.

"This isn't working," she sighed as she sat up on her cloud bed. Sleep was determined to stay away from her for the time being, unlike Tank, who was snoozing along quite comfortably, blissfully unaware of anything going on around him. "If you can't sleep, you might as well get your Daring Do fix and do something productive," she told herself as she climbed off her cloud bed and decided to do the egghead thing, and catch up on some much deserved reading. She still had that one book in the series she hadn't even gotten past the first chapter in.

If there was one thing she could count on with Daring Do, it was the book always being able to make her forget her problems, and instead focus on something else. She could just submerge herself in the adventures of the pegasus archeologist, and forget about all the stresses and problems of the day, for as long as she could spend reading.

Or at least she could, if it weren't for a knocking at her front door interrupting her train of thought.

Who could be visiting her at this time of night? Fluttershy maybe? No, she didn't like to fly after dark. Derpy perhaps? Possible, but that wasn't the knock she usually used, hers was something of an odd tune she said Lyra taught her. Raindrops? Couldn't be ruled out.

Standing here and speculating wasn't going to get her anywhere, she knew that well enough. With a sigh, she set her book aside and walked out of her room, down the winding staircase, and over to the front door to find out who the mystery guest was.

The first thing she noticed in her line of sight was her friend Twilight, who was currently looking quite haggard.

The second thing she noticed was her flapping wings. They looked like they were really big butterfly wings, expertly carved from solid ice, and holding countless archaic runes the likes of which she'd never seen before, and what she could only assume were complex calculations and permutations of various scientific figures... or something science-sounding like that.

"Twilight?"

"Rainbow Dash... I'm so sorry!"

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash asked and cocked her head. What was going on here? "Sorry about what?"

"Mare Do Well," Twilight stated without hesitation, "it was all my idea, I was the one that came up with the concept, and orchestrated the whole mess. I even came up with the basic idea of a costume for all of us to wear. I thought you were boasting like Trixie, and I didn't want that, none of us did. We just wanted you to understand something about being humble, we never thought that what we were doing would hurt you so much," she said as tears started dripping down her cheeks again while she paused to try and compose herself.

"We were so, so wrong to do it Rainbow Dash, we violated your sense of trust, and risked our friendship when it wasn't our call about what you were doing. We should've just kept our noses out of your business and let you enjoy your fame, you deserved it. Instead all we wound up doing was hurting our friend, and it was all my fault, and I'm so sorry!" she finished before breaking down and crying all over again.

Rainbow Dash was left silent at the unexpected confession, pulling Twilight into a hug more out of instinct than conscious thought. Here was Twilight on her front porch, discussing the Mare Do Well incident with her, and apologizing for all of the pain they'd caused her, and even admitting that she was the mastermind behind that whole ugly incident. No attempts at justifying her actions, no efforts to blame her for deserving what she got, just pure confession and apology.

"I was a horrible, horrible pony, Rainbow Dash, I'm so sorry!"

The cyan pegasus didn't know what to say and was left in stunned silence. Here was Twilight Sparkle, one of her supposed best friends, bawling her eyes out into her shoulder, and confessing to so many things she'd wanted to point out ever since the Mare Do Well incident, and taking full responsibility for it all. This was all very weird to be experiencing.

"Hey... come on Twi' stop crying," Rainbow Dash said as she rubbed the unicorn's lower back as she cried into her shoulder. "Yeah it was bad, and yeah I was upset, who wouldn't be? But I'm not mad about it, not anymore anyway," she stated, unsure of what else she could say. Ever since Twilight started spilling her guts and apologizing, she could feel all the months of frustration starting to seep away. She had no idea what set this bomb off... but she was glad it had been. Now she just had to tend to her friend. "It's gonna be alright, Twilight, it's gonna be alright," she said softly. This whole situation was leaving her really uncomfortable right now.

And yet despite all the discomfort she was feeling right now, she still felt better than she had in a long, long time. This was... therapeutic in a way.

"I'm sorry," Twilight whispered as her latest wave of crying finally came to an end.

"I know, Twilight, I know. It's alright now, you don't need to cry anymore," Rainbow Dash replied and stroked the unicorn's long mane.

"No, it's not alright. Not yet anyway," Twilight replied and sniffed as she moved to untangle herself from the pegasus. "You've got to come to the library. Tonight. Right now if possible. Please."

"What for Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused at her friend's sudden change. What exactly was so urgent that it couldn't wait until tomorrow after she had the chance to get a few hour's worth of shut eye?

"I'm going to get the others together, and we're going to give you the proper apology that you deserve. I might've been the mastermind, but they were all willing participants. We're all guilty on this one," Twilight explained as her wings lifted her up off the cloud and back into the air.

At this hour? Twilight was seriously going to go all around Ponyville, round up their friends, haul them all back to the library, and make them apologize for being involved in the Mare Do Well incident? Was she serious?

What was she talking about? This was Twilight of all ponies, of course she was serious!

"If you say so Egghead," Rainbow Dash replied and shrugged, before flapping her wings, and joining her friend in flight. It seemed rather amazing, for a pony who'd never spent a day in her life flying she seemed to have the whole thing pretty much down pat. No wobbling or struggling to stay up, just smooth sailing and flapping.

Probably magic. Yeah that made sense, no way Twilight knew the fine details of flying on her own. Maybe the skills were built directly into the wings.

"Hey Twilight? Not that I'm not thrilled about this decision of yours but what exactly brought it about? I thought the matter was long closed," Rainbow Dash finally stated. This was way too much of a coincidence given recent developments. Had Ulquiorra been talking after he said he wouldn't? If he had he was so gonna get it the next time she saw him.

"Trust me, Rainbow Dash, that's not a story to be shared right now. I'm gonna wait until I get everypony together, before I approach that hornet's nest. It's a story best heard with friends... and if everypony's willing... maybe some nice hot s'mores to serve as comfort food. I have a feeling we're going to need them before the night is over," Twilight replied.

S'mores? Usually Twilight didn't talk s'mores unless... oh that sneaky unicorn! Was she actually and actively going to use this whole situation as an excuse for a slumber party at the library? Ge them all together, emotionally unsettle them, and suggest that they spend the night together for comfort's sake? Clever filly if that were truly the case.

"Whatever you say, Twilight," Rainbow Dash replied with a grin of genuine amusement.

The only question now, was how Twilight would be reacting to the major news they had to share with her?

Comments

[MC BR0N3]

I shudder to think of the magnitude of physical and psychological destruction Ulquiorra would dish out if he had even the tiniest shred of ambition in him.

[TheEnemyCube]

When I saw the word hero, and the fact it was a link, I immediately sang out "I need a hero, to save my life, I need a hero, just in time!" I can't believe I guessed that was the song.

[link_line]

Hooolyyyy shit.
This was one of the best chapters yet.
So much character development.. It's beautiful.
Now that I got my HIE fix I can sleep.
Thank you!

[GGKKDAJF]

So an improbably sharp sword wielded by a being capable of punching out a dragon effortlessly is incapable of so much as piercing Celestia's skin.

Then Twilight, the nonathletic bookworm, is capable of giving Celestia a bloody nose by punching her.

hosiplan.com/memes/faces/fuck-logic.jpg

So either Twilight is secretly a fuckin' superhero, or Ulquiorra is so full of shit his eyes should be brown.

[GGKKDAJF]

3530565

He doesn't even need any physical prowess to make him a magnificent bastard.

Seriously, if he knows enough about you, just one conversation with him will leave you with suicidal thoughts by the end. I've never seen a more ruthless wordsmith.

[Ketvirtas]

I did not see any of the Molestia content coming. It was pleasant surprise all the same. So, we have more emotional turmoil coming up.
Great chapter, nicely done on the character shredding.

[Blue Spark]

What news DO they have to share with her???
Am I missing something?

[Phoenix Archangel]

3530565 Really? I get excited.

How could anyone so calmly accept their fate like that? He was unflinching, and unapologetic about the fact he was currently in trouble, and just approaching it so casually.

... Are they seriously deaf and dumb?! Ulquiorra's made it perfectly clear that he has no emotions. Hell, he's stated himself as heartless.

The closest thing to emotion he's been getting since he turned up is being confused.

And they still wonder how he's so calm?! GET AN EDUCATION, DUMBASSES!

This edition of Rage Quit Author brought to you by Woodstock, "genuine American oak matured & distilled in our finest 'W' barrels."

[SoundBreaker]

3530722 I dont know why, but the time when they all just brushed off Twilights assumptions of Chrysalis at the Wedding might be involved

[Steben]

"That was Ulquiorra I'm afraid,"... (begins after this paragraph)

Try to keep an eye on the story pacing. Throwing in lengthy narrative monlogue during an active conversation disrupts it.

Awesome update! Thank you!

[Barbecue Sauce]

My god Twilight was such a selfish cunt in this chapter. The only thing I can take solace in is that it looks like she may have realized what a huge hyprocrite she is right now. She had better not have the audacity to ask for Rainbow Dash's official forgiveness and STILL maintain her "maybe" attitude towards Celestia, especially considering what she DID to Celestia.

As Celestia noted, the secrecy of her plan was due in part of the possibility of Changelings replacing any of the mane 6 at the time, and by the time she could verify they were genuine, it was too late to reveal her plan as Ulquiorra and Chrysalis were already upon them. I guess Twilight is the one who doesn't care; doesn't care about the intention of Princess Celestia's plan to draw the entire Changeling hive and their queen out into the open so they can be dealt with one and for all, to no longer be a threat to all of Equestria or ANY nation. That includes Twilight's and her friends' own safety and security. To defeat a deceptive enemy, you have to play dirty.

Her reaction to the reveal was incredibly selfish and unbelievable. I guess she must not have paid attention when Celestia explained everything. Twilight is blowing things way out of proportion. If my closest friend or family member faked their death as part of a plan to wipe out a national threat once and for all (you know, for the sake of the entire nation and its citizens), and then they reveal they're actually alive and explain their plan and why they couldn't have told me earlier, I'd be relieved and then congratulate them on the success of their elaborate plan. I guess Twilight doesn't care about the reasons of how revealing the plan early could jeoprodize everything.

Oh well, I guess we'll see where this goes.

[MC BR0N3]

3530876
Blame the incredibly sheltered life she leads. Despite all the knowledge she's accumulated, the many dangers she's faced, and the fact that she practically grew up in a government office, Twilight has NEVER displayed any knowledge of the hardships of running a country, or the darker parts of political warfare.
You'd think Twilight would be looking that shit up after the first Changeling coup.

[Genesis1212]

Oh damn now that ending in mind I must know what they want to say! o.0
This was a damn fine chapter, very enjoyable.

The way Twi gave Tia all her anger it was kinda nice to see her stand up for herself and know celestia isn't perfect by any means of the imagination.

That said She is so damn sheltered.

Those molestia comments on her I never expected I thought she would rant about if discord was even hurting anyone in his rein or did she simply remove him because it was convenient for her and her sister or something like that. As well as NMM

[TheGericome]

3530683
Well, there can be some good reasons.
1. Ulquiorra wasn't even trying to harm Celestia.
2. Celestia might have used some kind of spell to make skin harder.
3. Twilight was enraged. And that rage was fueled by powerful magic.
I my opinion - logic is not fucked.

[Barbecue Sauce]

3530895 Neither do the rest of the element bearers, but they're taking it about as well as anyone reasonably should. I find Twilight's reaction to be completely unbelievable, unfounded, and downright selfish.

[Dirty Bit]

It would seem Twilight's trying to make recompense with Rainbow Dash and the whole 'Mare Do Well' incident in order to make herself not seem like Princess Celestia, or so I think.

This chapter really brought out the Slice of Life genre and makes me wonder if either Discord or Ulquiorra have their own ulterior motives despite their current statuses in the story

[HIEfan]

A truley great chapter, i really enjoyd Reading it.

The part where Twillight wailed on Celestia and admitted that she used to trust her so much that she would even be her concubine if she asked her was a tad bit disturbing, as was all the other Molestia things she screamed out.

That aside a most exellent chapter!

[ArtichokeLust]

3530876

Except there really isn't a good reason why Celestia couldn't drop a single hint. It doesn't even need to be spoken or in written form; she could even have winked. Not including others in such a large plan when you can shows that you don't trust them enough. To add to that, Twilight is incredibly emotionally distraught right now, and might not even be sure why. All she knows is that she was forced through terrible scenarios and was bereft of her freedom, because Celestia didn't drop a hint.

And again, she is a bit sheltered too, and this betrayal is coming from one of the ones that sheltered her.

[Charlie_K]

3530623

I thought about using Stand Up Be Strong again, but then I stopped and thought on it. The memory is being told from Rainbow Dash's point of view. If it were told from Ulquiorra's point of view, the other song would be appropriate.

3530683

Or Ulquiorra didn't even touch Celestia with his sword and stopped short of full contact, because he truly wasn't trying to kill Celestia.

3530688

He learned from Aizen quite well.

3530722

Those are details reserved for the next half of the chapter, as indicated in the latest blog entry. The chapter was too damn huge in its original cut and had to be provided into two entries. One for Celestia's situation, one for the situation of Luna and the others,

3530876

Unbelievable you say? From the same unicorn who decided throwing all of Ponyville into chaos was the best course of action because she didn't have a weekly report to send to Celestia? The same unicorn who has an OCD meltdown when her checklist doesn't match up?

The same mare who, just a few chapters back, became unhinged from Ulquiorra forcing her to help butcher the changelings as she watched the carnage unfold? The same mare who, by her own words, came to the realization that she even tried to murder someone innocent because she didn't know what was going on? That's a lot of death for the uninitiated to deal with.

And there's the mention of her thoughts about her own rage, and just how far the destruction could've spread, and just how many could've died in the process.

3530897

Oh trust me, I wanted to go with a lot more regarding Discord than the accusation that he was locked away for banging Luna but not sun-butt. But it was a deliberate decision to exclude him, as Twilight's involved in a psychologically unhinged rant, and not engaged in anything guided by logic.

3530903

To start with the others are more scared of Celestia due to her status as ruler than Twilight is. They're not as close to the source as she is, and they understand that there are things they don't fully understand.

Then again after a conversation with Ulquiorra, who knows. They may all become the resenter that Rainbow Dash was.

3530955

Making up for Mare Do Well is why I had Rainbow Dash talk about it in the first place. I saw an irresistible opportunity and took it.

Say what now? Ulterior motives on the part of Ulquiorra and Discord? Do you really think they're that sneaky and conniving?

Just have to wait and see.

3531108

It was intended to be disturbing. From the point of view of one who isn't properly hinged to begin with, and has to grow to accept facts for what they are.

3531369

Bingo on the last part. Celestia making Twilight her personal student made her incredibly sheltered. Can you imagine the difficulty in setting up a play date with the princess' protege, even if she hadn't dived headfirst into her studies to make her teacher proud of her no matter what?

[GGKKDAJF]

3531525
3530898

Ah, so the answer is "Ulquiorra is so full of shit his eyes should be brown." Good to know.

[Barbecue Sauce]

3530955 Celestia was trying to make amends as well, just like how Twilight is now doing with Rainbow Dash. So regardless, she is still like Celestia in that regard. It also makes her a total hypocrite.

[KingOfTheMuffins]

Ah, what a magnificent chapter. Emotional trauma, deception, and Ulquiorra being a glorious bastard who manages to shank everyone's heart while at the same time acting so nonchalant about it. Glad to have read this while drinking my mid-morning coffee.

"Am I the true monster?" she asked herself in a whisper.

Complimentary quote of the chapter (starting now):

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster..." - Nietzche "the pimp"

3530790

Don't forget the unknown feeling that led to confusing after his encounter with Luna and her feels-trip soul-eating (quite literally) story.

[Pyro The Reader]

3530876 I agree one hundred percent, but in her defense, she was sheltered. But I guess it doesn't matter, lots of people seem to like to demonize and hate Celestia.

[Superbowl]

Man, I would've just thrown Twilight in jail to cool off for a couple of weeks if I was in Celestia's shoes. Who the hell does she think she is?

And ew, not the overblown Mare-do-well thing again... It feels like the people who insist that it was traumatizing for RD and the other ponies were in the wrong haven't seen the episode in a while.

[Blue Spark]

3531525
Oh, okay, that makes sense.
Wow, this is gonna be a long section...

[Charlie_K]

3531907 3531876 3531801

If you think Twilight is getting off easy for what she did, then think again. What's coming down the pipe is not going to be pretty for anyone involved. It might not happen immediately in the next few chapters, but repercussions are coming, and I'm making no promises about who will or won't be involved or affected.

Enjoy the calm before the storm, but be ready to take cover.

[Charlie_K]

3531861

And on top of that we've got humor, we've got Rainbow Dash using the Sonic Rainboom against Ulquiorra to some degree of effectiveness, which is set to kickass music, and the question of her true nature of character. Was her willingness to kill Chrysalis due to her emotional state at the time, or is there something darker to her that Ulquiorra truly recognized?

[Genesis1212]

3531525 Ah makes sense. ^^

[LadyFacepalm]

"Mr. Cifer?" Applejack spoke up, bringing his attention back to her, "ya got that look on yer face like ya got some deep thinkin' goin' on again."

"How can you tell?"

Wow. Just . . . wow.

[Demonjack123]

The only question now, was how Twilight would be reacting to the major news they had to share with her?

DUM DUM DUMMMM and I was wondering what brought all this apologizing for on. Guess she believed she was as bad as Celestia. Stupid witch!

[Demonjack123]

3532138 Well it's true lol

[LadyFacepalm]

3532168 Yup.

[SwimmingDalek98]

OH, COME ON! WHY U NO LET ULQUIORRA USE DESCORRER? WHY, WHY, WHY? And I SWEAR TO GOD, if that's Discord's doing… GRRRRRGH!

[xbox432]

3530720 Totally agree, Sigmund Frued (I THINK that's how you spell his name) would have a field day with Twilight's outburst. It's like she can't figure out whether Celestia is a secondary mother figure, or whether she wants to be her sex slave.

3530822 You know, I was wondering about what they had to share as well and I think you hit the nail on the head. Or at least I hope you did, that would bring some pretty spectacular closure I believe.

And below you will find this chapter's typos. Pony on my friend, now to go re-watch the season 4 premier for the 6th time.

*truly didn't help ,and even - truly didn't help, and even
*"Among I believe the best place to - "Among I believe the best places to
*since you are of the authority - since you have the authority
*Now that she was distracted and - Now that she was no longer distracted and
*terrible mistakes that destroys that trust. - terrible mistakes that destroy that trust.
* but didn't see to be closing - but didn't seem to be closing
*thousand sixty feet per seconds and - thousand sixty feet per second and
*devoid of any logistical thinking capabilities. – I’m not entirely positive, but do mean logical instead of logistical?
*was disturbing enough but for her - was disturbing enough, but for her
*basic idea of costume for all - basic idea of a costume for all

[Ketvirtas]

3532742
You spelled his name right. I too have always though that there is something more to their relationship then just teacher and student. Twi is somewhat of a teenager if you consider the whole Equestria girls thing. And worshiping someone for so long would eventually lead to some… strange fixations. That and we don't really know if she has even done anything sexual before in her life. So yea, Freud would be proud.

[Charlie_K]

3532742 3533561

Twilight's response was the hardest part of the entire chapter to write. Because I've gotta write as a girl who wasn't known for her stability in the first place, who's had several incredibly emotionally and psychologically traumatizing events heaped on her in very rapid succession. Fluttershy's death, having to help Ulquiorra kill the changelings while she watched, being lead to believe Ulquiorra had betrayed them and murdered Celestia before them, finding out it was all nothing more than a gigantic trick, coming to the realization that she just tried to murder someone who was innocent... and all on top of finding that that her longtime idol can be as much of a fuckup as anyone else.

As others have said she's been sheltered for most of her life. She's not psychologically capable of handling such trauma because she never had to develop such strengths from an early age like most others. Which is way her rant is so chaotic and not guided by logic. It was deliberately all over the place to show that she's been messed up for one reason or another through Celestia's actions; either through the sheltering from other ponies, or for pulling what some consider to be a traumatizing stunt that'd rattle the nerves of anyone involved.

Maybe she should've thought about how important she was to Twilight, before making her watch as her mother figure died in front of her.

Is the setup perfect? Not a chance. But it's more realistic by not being perfect. Not all the bases are covered, the conclusion doesn't feel right, and we're only seeing the tip of the ice burg in terms of long term consequences. What's Luna going to do when she finds out Twilight committed assault against her sister? What's Twilight going to do when the anger wears off, and the realization of what she did has set in? And what will her friends do if this detail comes to light?

And more interestingly has Ulquiorra, in some tiny way, actually started to care about the wellbeing of the others? Or is he just being an asshole by pointing out that he's given the matter more consideration than Celestia seemed to give?

[Alondro]

A kinetic reflection spell has one weakness: The slow blade penetrates the shield...

Hee hee, I slipped in a "Dune" reference!

[Alondro]

>>>And what about those horrible "Molestia" rumors so many other ponies have talked about, are those true too!? Did you lock Discord away because he wouldn't fuck you!" >>

Celestia looked away coyly, "That's... only a half-truth... I wanted him to do Luna while I watched and he wouldn't because she was the wrong color. Then she got pissed when he turned her pink and refused to let him have sex with her. And from that point it all descended into threats of 'bananas' and 'to the moon', and the next thing we knew, Dizzy was stoned."

Twilight finally completely psychologically broke. And then they bucked right then and there and everything was hunky-dorry again! Because great sex solves everything.

And that was all Ulquiorra could take. "ALL THE PONIES ON THIS PLANET ARE CRAZY!!" he screamed in a girlish voice, and then exploded.

And Discord got all hot and bothered by the chaos and finally had sex with Luna (Celestia watched), and all was forgiven.

The End!

[Alondro]

>>>I would've gone to Tartarus for you if you'd asked me to do so. I loved you! I loved you just as much as I did my own mother. I even loved you more than Cadence! I would've done anything you asked me, absolutely anything! I would've been your concubine if you'd asked me, and I wouldn't have thought twice about it! >>>

Celestia blinked slowly, "Sooooooo... you're saying that we should have sex right now?"

Twilight breaks again.

[Alondro]

>>>Through everything that had occurred, Twilight finally realized that she wasn't perfect, that just because she raised and lowered the sun, it didn't mean she was any different from her. Her image of being the perfect ruler was tarnished... and she was alright with that, because she truly wasn't.>>

*Alondro nods sagely* Few can reach the level of perfection I have attained. *hovers in Troll Nirvana*

[Charlie_K]

3533776

That was next on the list of things Ulquiorra was going to try. But Celestia basically chased him off before he could do that.

As to the rest, hilarious.

[Alondro]

3533695 >>>What's Luna going to do when she finds out Twilight committed assault against her sister? >>>

Pfft, like Luna would even have a case to be angry. She friggin went psycho ETERNAL NIGHT and tried to MURDER Celestia out of something as petty as sibling jealousy (which is totally, unequivocally canon now.. speaking of which, damn that was a good dramatic scene!)! Pot callin' the kettle black!

[Alondro]

3533931 There is the sci-fi concept of 'negative kinetic energy', which should then cause one to be pulled through the shield... I think it would make sense given the world of magic and now Hollows..

[Jacob Hoove]

ok i love this story again :)

[BloodyBreak]

HOT DAMN THIS IS GOOD!!! *Eats Popcorn*

[Clicker]

3533931 Do you mind if I put the FULL story in the youtube comments section?

[Ketvirtas]

3533695
As far as theses kinds of situations go, there are always consequences that follow. Ulquiorra is hard to analyze in the sense of him having developing some kind of care for others, everything that he said could simply be taken as him testing the boundaries of how much of a ruler Celestia is and him only appearing to care because he was ordered to protect them or something like that.

[Charlie_K]

3536630

Go for it.

3536709

A concept I can say for certain will be tested and explored in the coming chapters. What's coming is going to be of significant interest, and will leave everyone uncertain of just what's going to happen next.

[Ketvirtas]

3536763
It is nice to know that great things are to come. One can only guess as to the events that will occur and the outcomes that it will lead to. All I can do is wait patiently.
Out of curiosity, is there a reason as to why you post your chapters on a Saturday around midnight?
Is it due to a different time zone?

[Charlie_K]

3536915

Mostly due to timezone issues. Also due to how long I spend going over everything up until the point of uploading.