• Published 13th May 2013
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HiE - A Hollow in Equestria - Charlie_K



Ulquiorra Cifer resigned himself to his fate of death. What he didn't count on was the spirit of chaos finding and taking interest in his case

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Chapter Thirty Eight

Chapter Thirty Eight

Pinkie Pie knew that something was up. She had to know, as her Pinkie Sense was working, and it was a strong one this time. Out of all the times it'd kicked in to alert her of something happening, the combination of left ear twitch, right forehoof ache, and double sneeze, had only happened twice so far. And such a combination meant a very specific event was taking place right now.

Ulquiorra was back in Ponyville!

And if Ulquiorra was back in Ponyville, then it was another opportunity for her to try and make him laugh. And she wasn't about to waste such an opportunity. Eagerly she worked on the latest attempt to make the Espada grin, then ducked down behind the counter of Sugarcube Corner with only her tail exposed to indicate her current location. The few patrons that were present, were far too engrossed in their baked goods to pay her much attention.

At least until her tail started to twitch like mad. That was a Pinkie Sense she really hated experiencing, as it meant something was about to fall, and potentially hit some poor pony right on the head!

"Oh dear! Oh dear!" she stated as she stood up, the surprise she'd been working on forgotten about as she launched herself over the counter, preparing to run outside to warn everypony about what was developing. She couldn't forgive herself if she let some poor, unsuspecting pony get hit right on the head by something if it could be avoided.

However by the time she managed to cross the distance between the counter and the door, the door was already opened, and the sound of a flowerpot shattering on impact against something hard, telling her that it was too late to warn anypony about what she'd known was coming. But she was distracted from that fact by bits of clay shrapnel flying freely into the bakery, in a manner consistent with a flowerpot being tossed horizontally rather than falling vertically.

What exactly was going on here? This was strange... strange even by her standards of strangey strangeness.

"Get in! Get in!" a voice called as Pinkie found herself being herded back into the bakery and the doors slammed behind them, but not before another flowerpot had come hurled through the opening. However this time there was no crash involved, leaving her even more confused than before.

She looked around and quickly realized what was going on. Spike, Twilight, and Ulquiorra were all present, the former two panting and out of breath, the latter as perfectly composed as ever, and strangely holding a potted plant in his hand.

"What?" she asked and tilted her head to the side. Even she hadn't seen this one coming.

"Roseluck," Twilight panted in response.

"We were just walking by, and without warning she just started throwing potted plants at us," Spike elaborated inbetween breaths.

"Myself specifically. I believe the others were merely regarded as collateral damage for being in the vicinity," Ulquiorra replied and set the intact potted plant on the ground, some of the dirt and shards of broken clay falling from his hair and shoulders to the floor in the process.

"Seriously? What could've made Roseluck turn into such a big meanie pants just like that?" Pinkie asked, quickly appearing behind Ulquiorra with a feather duster, and standing up on her hind legs to sweep the remaining clay and dirt off of him. "Usually she's such a nice and friendly pony. This is completely unlike her."

Ulquiorra chose not to question just where Pinkie Pie had managed to procure the feather duster. It hadn't been in her possession at the time when she was at the door. And she'd had no time to go and acquire it even if it had simply been behind the counter.

"I know, Pinkie, it's a complete mystery to me," Twilight added. Maybe this was the precursor to the third event Ulquiorra had theorized coming? If it was then it was... rather underwhelming to experience. "You three wait here. I'm going to go back out there and talk to her, and see if I can get to the bottom of this," she stated.

"Oh no. Twilight, you're not going to sing Roseluck a few bars of the four-letter word chorus, are you?" Spike asked. No matter how much he considered it, he still didn't like it; Twilight and profanity simply didn't mix.

"Don't be silly, Spike, I'm simply going to approach and have a nice, reasonable, intelligent conversation with her, and find out why she started throwing potted plants at us. And then I'm going to ask her if she needs any help putting them back together again. A gesture of good will, despite being on the receiving end of her tirade, should help do some good," Twilight explained, before picking up the intact potted plant with her magic and trotting her way back out the door, effortlessly closing it behind her in order to prevent anything else from getting inside.

The inside of the bakery became quiet once Twilight had left, apart from the hushed murmurings of the patrons who'd been present previously. All the excitement had broken them out of their morning routines and left them curious about these recent developments.

"Boy Ulqy," Pinkie spoke up as she continued her efforts to clean the Espada off, "I tell you what, I'm gonna need a toothbrush or something, you've got a lot of grunge inbetween these ridges on your mask thingy," she pointed out.

"It would be appreciated if you refrained from such. I'm perfectly capable of tending to matters related to hygiene by myself," he replied, but made no move to stop the pink earth pony as she brushed him off. He was trying to exercise and observe lesson number one right now, and not brush her away like she was trash. However it was proving to be quite tempting to do such.

"So Ulqy, what brings you to Ponyville this time?" Pinkie asked, completely oblivious to the previous statement as she continued to dust him off.

Seeing as the pink earth pony wasn't about to heed his request, he remained silent and exercised a burst of sonido to step out of her reach, turning to face her in the process before he spoke again. "Attempts to better understand the concept of friendship. So far I've learned that every pony has their own interpretation, and there is no definite answer to what constitutes friendship, other than knowing that someone has your back when things have gone very wrong," he explained.

Spike nodded in agreement, but couldn't think of anything to really add on the matter. Despite his best efforts at racking his brain, trying to add something that would be meaningful to what Ulquiorra had learned so far, was proving to be quite difficult. Trying to explain friendship was... well it was harder than his attempts back in Canterlot of trying to convince Twilight she needed friends.

Pinkie blinked at Ulquiorra's sudden movement, but dismissed it as easily as she did the feather duster, finding herself far more intrigued by what he was saying about friendship.

"Ooh! Well for me, friendship means parties, and fun, and lots of laughing, and making sure nopony ever has to be a saddie pie," she explained.

Ulquiorra accepted the fact that Pinkie Pie was quite nonsensical in nature, despite what he could only assume were her best efforts. But her concept of friendship was far different from what he'd been expecting to hear.

In the case of Twilight Sparkle and Applejack, their definition of friendship entailed support from one another, in one form or another. He would admit that, to some degree, their definition made sense to him. When all the points were boiled down to remove matters that amounted to irrelevancy, their definition of friendship basically amounted to maintaining peaceful relations with potential allies for in times of need. It was a concept that required one to be aware not only of their own strengths, but also their weaknesses, and appropriately responding to such.

In some way, he was already conforming to their definition of what friendship meant. He recognized his own inability to keep these ponies safe, due to the various circumstances that worked against him, and had responded in turn by calling upon the holders of the Elements of Harmony to assist him in the matter. They kept tabs on the town, and surrounding territories, and he would provide protection should a threat be discovered. In some strange way, it all made perfect sense to him.

In the case of Pinkie Pie, however, there was no such mention of support, but rather matters he had no experience with. What could she possibly gain by trying to instill these ideas of nonsense in others?

"Sadness and despair are basic aspects of existence, and tied to the heart. They are not something that can simply be escaped or pushed aside," he pointed out.

"Oh trust me, I know all about sadness and despair. Sadness and despair are what I grew up in. If anypony knows about them then it's definitely me," Pinkie replied.

He stared at her in response to such a statement. What could this pink, ever-smiling pony possibly know about despair? What was her experience that she could claim to be an expert on the topics?

"Explain."

"When I was just a filly I grew up on my parents' rock farm. It was just me, my sisters, and our parents. There was no talking, there was no smiling, there was no happiness. Just rocks, rocks, and more rocks, as far as the eye could see, surrounded by the dullest and most lifeless trees you ever did see. Every single day it was nothing but moving rocks from one location to another. There were no sights to see, there were no parties, there were no birthdays, no visitors or friends, just rocks. This is the world that I grew up in. This was the world that I spent most of my early life in. Nothing but rocks and utter despair in every single direction," Pinkie explained, wincing at the unpleasantness of the memories that were being brought back.

Ulquiorra remained silent, allowing the story to be told uninterrupted. Truth be told he was mildly curious at this point, wondering exactly what events had needed to unfold to result in Pinkie Pie being who -and what- she is today. At the very least, her story gave some measure of insight into the issue of her strength. If she'd grown up working on a rock farm, likely moving heavy stones about, that would explain how her strength rivaled Applejack's.

"You see, Ulqy, I've been thinking about this since the first time we met, and I finally realized something. You and I, we're a lot alike. We both know what despair is, the only difference is how we each deal with it. You see sadness and despair as things that can only be accepted. I see sadness and despair as things that nopony should ever be left to face alone, things that nopony needs to experience," Pinkie explained as calmly as she could. She didn't want to admit the fact, but this really wasn't easy to go into detail about. Taking a steadying breath, she continued. "What's my definition of friendship? Not leaving anypony to experience the sadness that I did while growing up. I might not be able to eliminate all the sadness and despair in the world, but if I can make ponies happier in their day-to-day lives, then that's what I consider to be a job well done."

Ulquiorra continued remaining silent, even after the story was concluded, uncertain exactly what to make of it or the strange pink earth pony that told it. She didn't deny the existence of sadness and despair -either in herself or in the world around her- but rather chose to regard them as nonessential in nature, and simply ignore their existence.

Pony psychology was not one of the subjects he'd versed himself in during his time in the Canterlot library. Physiology, yes, but not the psychology of the three races. But if the psychology behind Pinkie Pie was anything like the psychology of humans, he could at least hazard a theory behind the motivations for her actions; a matter of wish fulfillment by proxy. Perhaps in attempting to ensure happiness in others, she was attempting to erase a past that was less than pleasant for her to experience. Perhaps by giving others the memories she wished she herself had, she was surreptitiously erasing her own past through denial; if others around her were happy, then she must be happy too. And if those around her were happy as children, and had the memories she wished that she herself had, then her own memories did not exist because they would serve as an unacceptable point of conflict.

At present time it was nothing more than a theory. There was no evidence available that would actually support such a theory, but it was the only thing that came to mind right now.

And now that he gave thought to it, something else was becoming apparent to him. If the above theory was accurate in nature, then he could see her possessing certain similarities to Aizen, and how he went about his business in Hueco Mundo. Which in turn gave rise to another thought; what exactly would a meeting between Aizen and Pinkie Pie involve?

However he never got the chance to give serious consideration to what possible disasters could occur from such an encounter, as his thoughts were interrupted by the approach of Twilight Sparkle. Whatever matters involved the earth pony Roseluck, it was likely safe to say they were concluded since she was approaching alone.

"So what happened, Twilight?" Spike asked as the mare walked through the door. Even if he wasn't familiar with emotions, he could tell that the look on her face was not one associated with pleasing news. "Did you find out what's up with Roseluck?"

"I did," Twilight began slowly as she approached and sat down on her haunches next to them. "It would seem that when the changelings were... eliminated... a few innocents were caught in the line of fire and suffered the same fate," she explained.

"I was informed all thirty eight missing Ponyville residents were located and in good condition. The only ones to die were the changelings present. Of that I am absolutely certain," Ulquiorra stated.

He had acted quickly in killing each of the changelings present, picking them out of wherever they'd been hiding, eliminating them with great speed and efficiency. He had personally identified each of the thirty seven changelings located in Ponyville and tended to them himself. No ponies had been targeted, nor had they been harmed. All that were dead were those regarded as the enemy. Of that there was zero doubt in his mind.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Ulquiorra. You might not've killed any ponies, but innocents were still harmed," Twilight explained as she looked up at him, "you told us some of those changelings were here for months as part of the full-scale invasion. And apparently one of those changelings took the form of a pegasus pony that Roseluck developed feelings for."

"What?" Pinkie asked in surprise.

"Seriously?" Spike asked in utter disbelief? "But... but how would that even work? I mean... how could Roseluck not know something was up when they suddenly couldn't talk?"

"According to what Roseluck said, their special somepony was new to town and functionally mute from the very beginning, but that didn't stop her from caring," Twilight explained as she looked at Spike. And then she slowly turned her attention back to Ulquiorra. "And apparently on that day, she was present and witnessed what amounted to her special somepony's execution. According to her account you literally appeared out of nowhere, skewered them through the head, and disappeared again, leaving her alone as the pony she cared about so much died right in front of her, before reverting to their true changeling self. And when she saw you in town again today, she just lost it..."

The bakery became silent at this revelation, nopony and nothing daring to say a word in light of this new information. To lose somepony was hard enough on its own. But to lose somepony in such a gruesome way, only to discover that they were an imposter, it was something else entirely. It was a whole other level of gruesomeness that they didn't even want to consider.

"But... but it was a changeling," Spike stated as he tried to wrap his head around it. How could Roseluck feel such sadness for something that was never true to begin with? It was just so... impossible! "Doesn't she understand that it wasn't real? That she was just being tricked by Chrysalis? How could... why... she... she..."

"The heart wants what it wants," Ulquiorra stated, interrupting Spike's inability to properly articulate his thoughts. It was strange to actually be using such a statement so freely, and he could see that the others shared his doubts, as they were all now looking up at him in confusion. "It is a saying from one of the plains in my dimension. An explanation for why beings desire something that's completely illogical in nature. To explain why one yearns for something to the very depths of their being, despite consciously knowing that nothing good can ever come of it," he explained.

Yet another reason he still held doubts and confusion about the concept of the heart. Here was a viable option of how the concept has easily and completely overpowered the logical aspect of the mind. Roseluck's feeling for the changeling that had truly been the pony she cared for, were doing little to help convince him that it was worth learning about. She was deliberately ignoring the parasitic aspect of the changelings, and how she had been put in a position of great danger, choosing instead to focus on what she believed was really the truth of the matter.

Did he possess resentment for Roseluck, and her choosing to see him as a monster that murdered the one that was special to her? No he did not. He held no resentment for her or any other pony, regardless of how they chose to perceive him. They were living, emotionally driven beings, vulnerable to their own illogical nature, and motivated to do things an outsider such as him would find doubt with. Resentment for them would serve no point.

"That's a... rather astute explanation of the situation," Twilight replied as she looked up at the Espada, more out of surprise over the use of the phrase, than the explanation given. His world had the same saying? That was... highly coincidental in nature. How many other similarities were there between their two dimensions?

"Merely an analysis of the facts in evidence," Ulquiorra replied, "that being said, I don't believe any attempt at an apology would be accepted. Therefore I see no beneficial reason to bother with such at present time," he explained, effectively shutting down any attempt Twilight Sparkle might make in trying to suggest such a course of action.

Twilight was silent, unprepared for Ulquiorra's preemptive response. It was true she was going to suggest an apology from him, but he made a good point overall with his two statements. Roseluck was emotionally raw right now, and being in that position herself barely more than a week ago, she could see the logic in refraining from such. If Roseluck felt even half as bad as she had when she'd cursed Celestia out, and accused her of some of the most heinous things she could imagine, then getting through to the florist pony would be like talking to a brick wall.

"I agree with Ulqy on this one," Pinkie announced, causing all three heads to turn and look in her direction. "Matters of the heart are a real fickle pickle to be dealing with. Right now Roseluck needs a cooling off period in order to start feeling better. Otherwise we'll just make her more upset than she is."

He hadn't seen that one coming. To think Pinkie Pie would agree with his logical outlook on life, was something he had never given consideration to. Her randomness and seeming lack of critical thinking skills, had lead to him discounting her potential for intelligence, only to be surprised now.

Perhaps it was necessary to be more careful around her from here on out.

"So what now?" Spike asked finally. Leaving Roseluck alone, he could agree with that, he really didn't want to get hit by anymore potted plants today.

"Good question," Twilight replied as she thought, "maybe we should go and see what Rarity's doing?" she suggested.

"I was under the impression that Rarity's workload was substantial in nature. Would it not be considered a better example of friendship to not disturb her work process if she's busy?" Ulquiorra asked, seeing it as a sufficient opportunity to test the theory. If the unicorn Rarity was busy, disturbing whatever train of thought was currently in place, sounded far more appropriate for one who was a nuisance in nature.

He also had no interest in being measured and examined any further than he had been so far. But he saw no reason to mention that fact.

"I think he's getting it," Pinkie stated with a smile, "but Rarity's had a lot of time to get caught up on most of her work. She was in here not too long before you got here, to pick up a snack before getting back to what was left," she explained. "You three go on ahead, I've got a lot of work to do. First I've gotta deliver a get well cake to Wheelie over at The Wagon Depot, his lumbago's acting up again and he can't do any work on wagon wheels until he gets better. And then I've gotta tend to some stuff back here with Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Probably gonna be busy for the whole morning, and most of the afternoon too."

"Well if you say so. See you later, Pinkie," Twilight replied, a little unsure by the pink pony's sudden enthusiasm at sending them away, and just what she could be working on. But she'd learned long ago to be cautious on what she questioned her about. And even though she couldn't use the Pinkie Sense herself, she did get a strange sensation that now wasn't the time to be asking questions.

"If we're going to get moving, now would be a good time. Roseluck's reiatsu pattern isn't in the immediate area," Ulquiorra explained.

"That's probably a good idea. Although if you could just sonido us out of here, it wouldn't matter where she was right now," Twilight pointed out.

"As I explained, I have no idea how well your body would stand up to the speeds at which you would be traveling in such a situation," he replied. Why exactly was it so hard for her to understand such a fact?

"I know, I know. But I've been thinking about that. The only way to find out if it's safe is to actually try it. I'm not saying you'd have to cover a long distance or anything. Maybe just three meters for the initial endeavor?" she suggested.

An interesting thought. Using sonido, it was possible to cover considerable distances in the blink of an eye. But utilizing it for short term movement to determine the resilience of a foreign body... He would admit that it wasn't something he'd given serious consideration to before.

"Another time, perhaps. For now, if our intention is to seek out Rarity, I would recommend we do so before any other Ponyville residents decide to take up implements of convenience against us," he explained.

"Well then let's get going already!" Spike spoke up. If they were going to leave then they should get going, rather than just standing around and talking about how they should get going. The longer they stood around talking, the more opportunity it gave Roseluck to come back and pelt them with potted plants.

Pinkie watched as the trio finally left Sugarcube Corner in search of Rarity. The moment they were out the door, she was off like a shot, disappearing into the back of the bakery. As much as she wanted to be with her friends right now, it simply wasn't an option at the moment. There were a lot of things that needed to be done, and not a lot of time with which to get them done. But considering what the potential payoff was, she was willing to make the sacrifice in this case.

"Geronimo!"

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