Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
It was interesting to watch as Applejack went about preparing the tea as she possessed neither hands nor magic. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, as well as Twilight Sparkle all compensated for their lack of dexterity through their magic. Spike possessed rudimentary hands that allowed him at least the basic skills of grasping and manipulation of various implements. Applejack on the other hand was able to suffice with her mouth and somehow her hooves.
Perhaps earth ponies possessed some measure of dexterity to their hooves that unicorns and other species of pony didn't. Perhaps that was how she was able to make use of a potholder for handling the teakettle. Or perhaps the displays of magic he witnessed were merely a form of exhibitionism to try and reassure themselves that they were superior to other races and didn't need to bother with such lowly techniques.
"We're outta cinnamon right now so the tea's not gonna be at its best, but it's still pretty good," Applejack explained as she walked over on three legs and set a tray of glasses down on the table.
The two pegasus guards were sitting comfortably and easily at the kitchen table while Ulquiorra stood. The chairs of the Apple family weren't really built for someone of his frame. Not that it mattered one way or another. Right now he was watching with interest as the guards picked up their own cups of tea to drink. Currently his theory regarding hoof dexterity seemed to be in doubt; at least as far as earth ponies having an advantage on all other species of pony. He'd have to study it out later to arrive at a more definite conclusion.
He sipped the tea, noting that its taste was considerably more pleasant than what Aizen served at the meetings. The food in general tasted better than what was available in Las Noches. Not that any of it was important to him, merely an observation of the available facts.
"Is the tea a'right?" Applejack asked, uncomfortable with the stretch of silence that was going on. This was a lot different from the silence Big Macintosh was known for.
"It is," Ulquiorra replied simply. However an afterthought occurred to him as he remembered Princess Luna's suggestion of exercising courtesy when approached by others. He truly didn't see the practical purpose in such trivialities. But it really wasn't his place to be arguing such matters currently. "Thank you."
After the tea the kitchen was back to being silent again. Ulquiorra definitely wasn't big on small talk, she could tell that easy enough. If there was any small talk that was to be had she'd have to start it up herself.
"So wha' do ya think o' Equestria so far?" she asked.
"I'm as of yet unable to formulate a proper opinion. My time here has been limited to the palace of Canterlot, specifically the library," Ulquiorra replied and set the empty glass down on the table. "I believe you said you would explain about the "Elements of Harmony" over tea. What can you tell me about them?"
"Oh. Well the Elements o' Harmony are these ancient artifacts the Princesses used fer fightin' evil a thousan' years ago, but then they got passed ta us girls an' we each represent one o' them. Like ah said mine's the element o' honesty. Then there's the others; Pinkie Pie's element is laughter, Rainbow Dash's is loyalty, Fluttershy's is kindness an' Rarity's is generosity. Then there's Twilight, hers is unique an' only works when the others comes together, her element is magic. Accordin' ta her it's a double meanin' considerin' that friendship is magic in its own right an' ya can't have friendship without harmony," Applejack explained as best she could. She really should've left the explanations to Twilight as she felt she'd managed to butcher it to some degree.
"So Twilight Sparkle's "Element of Harmony" is the weakest and needs the others in order to properly function?" Ulquiorra asked.
Applejack scratched her head in thought. She'd never really given much thought to that idea before, never bothered to analyze it. To her the Elements of Harmony were just sort of...harmonious and worked equally, none being stronger or weaker than the other. Without harmony and friendship things like loyalty, generosity, honesty, laughter and kindness really didn't amount to much. But without each of those things working in unison could you really have friendship in the first place?
"Ah never really thought abou' that before," she finally admitted.
Ulquiorra remained silent in thought, contemplating the available information. From the sound of it these "Elements of Harmony" were a powerful weapon designed to keep the peace in Equestria during times of great danger. While there was ambiguity on just what was considered "evil" it seemed illogical to believe that such a classification was necessary in order to use them. He couldn't rule out the possibility of these artifacts being able to stop Aizen if he were to ever discover this dimension.
On the other hand perhaps it was for the best that he wasn't aware of this dimension. From the sound of it the safety of Equestria was entirely depending upon Applejack, Twilight Sparkle and the four other named ponies continuing to be friends with each other. If such were truly the case then this nation's overall security was shaky at best. He wasn't sure what to think about that, other than the stupidity of such a pretense. What ruler would make the safety of their nation contingent upon something such as "friendship" or some other intangible concept that his eyes couldn't see?
"And how exactly do these "Elements of Harmony" work when dealing with a threat to the safety of Equestria?" Ulquiorra asked.
"Well ah don' really know the magical er mechanical aspects involved. But when we use 'em this massive wave o' positive energy comes forth an'...well ah don' know how ta explain it. When we used 'em against Nightmare Moon she was purified o' evil and turned back inta Princess Luna. But when we used 'em against Discord he got encased in stone," Applejack explained. "Twilight's a lot more knowledgeable about this stuff than ah am."
Another observation. Based on all the information he had access to it seemed safe to conclude that the "Elements of Harmony" didn't provide a lethal solution to known threats; the fact that he was here was proof of that. Or perhaps it was necessary for a threat to truly be "evil" in nature before it could actually be killed. Perhaps Discord and Princess Luna weren't the proper sort of "evil" to be permanently stopped.
"I've had the dubious honor of meeting Discord myself. It would seem the "Elements of Harmony" were insufficient," Ulquiorra replied.
"Well...that matter was sorta outta our hooves. Princess Celestia had the notion tha' we could reform Discord from his chaotic ways an' had us unleash him. Granted we succeeded but it sure wasn' easy ta do," Applejack explained.
"And how precisely did you go about reforming Discord? How does one tame the chaotic nature out of the "spirit of chaos" as he introduced himself?" Ulquiorra asked.
"Well ya see the five o' us really didn' trust Discord an' didn' wanna cut 'im any slack, but Fluttershy went about befriendin' 'im in ways we jus' couldn' an' when he got outta hoof she made 'im realize that if he didn' straighten up an' fly right he'd be losin' the only friend he ever had. After that he just sorta started bein' good on his own. Granted he's still a pain in the flank at times but his chaotic nature's been toned down a good deal," Applejack explained.
To say the least the tale was interesting, provided it was an accurate account of events that transpired, and provided this Applejack wasn't simply making things up. Simply because she claimed to represent the "Element of Honesty" that didn't amount to actual proof of anything that was being said.
"And these "Elements of Harmony" failed to purify Discord in the same manner they did Princess Luna?" Ulquiorra asked. "Are you able to account for this discrepancy?"
"Uh..." Applejack paused, finding herself further and further out of her areas of comfort and expertise. "Ah don' really know the answer ta that one," she admitted.
"Perhaps Discord wasn't evil to begin with," Ulquiorra replied simply.
"Say what?" Applejack asked and tilted her head in confusion.
"During Discord's time free what actions did he take that could truly be considered evil in nature? Whose lives did he put at risk by being disorderly to Princess Celestia's rule?" Ulquiorra asked. When Applejack didn't have any answers to offer up he continued. "Had Nightmare Moon been allowed to implement eternal night the world's ecosystem would be decimated by the lack of sunlight and billions would die from the resulting deforestation and starvation. Can the same be said for what Discord did?"
Applejack didn't have any answers she could offer up to his questions. Try as she might she couldn't come up with a single thing to say.
"Ah don' know," she said and hung her head, turning her gaze down to the floor.
He could press on with his verbal assault but there would be no real purpose to it. Applejack was already without answers to the questions presented, unable to explain why Discord had been labeled as evil and treated as such. For her part she at least seemed to be contemplating her words rather than blindly rambling a predetermined position. She at least seemed more reasonable than...
+++
His left hand was gripped around the throat of Ichigo Kurosaki, effortlessly keeping him lifted up above the ground. His body was battered and beaten, his reiatsu dropping substantially. And yet he continued grasping his zanpakutō in his right hand. Why?
"Why don't you let go of your sword?" Ulquiorra asked. "You can see the difference in our strength. Do you still think you can defeat me? The difference in our strength--"
"What about it?" Ichigo managed to ask despite the grip he had on his throat. "Do you think I should give up just because you're stronger than me?"
He was genuinely surprised by the human's persistence and stubborn refusal to give up. Even in the face of overwhelming odds he still proved unreasonably stubborn.
"I've always known...you were strong...Nothing I see now will change my mind..." Ichigo stated. "...I will defeat you...Ulquiorra."
"Nonsense," Ulquiorra replied and relinquished his grip, allowing the human to fall to his knees onto the hard ground beneath. "Ichigo Kurosaki, those are the words of someone that does not know true despair. So I will show you. This is what true despair looks like." **
+++
Ichigo Kurosaki, the stubbornest human/Shinigami he had ever encountered. Stubbornly refusing to admit defeat no matter what. And most infuriatingly the one who had defeated him, resulting in his being here. It was unforgivable.
At least Applejack was more reasonable than him and recognized what she couldn't offer up anything of actual substance to the questions he'd presented her. At the very least she was intelligent enough to recognize the fact that she had nothing to say in response.
"Then perhaps not all the pieces to the puzzle are present," Ulquiorra replied.
"I gotta tell ya, Mr. Cifer, yer one deep thinker," Applejack said as she finally looked up from the floor.
Ulquiorra said nothing in response, feeling neither the need to confirm or deny her statement. Instead her chose to pick up the tea pot and pour himself another cup while he waited for Twilight Sparkle to return with the others.
One of the problems with teleportation over an extended distance was never being fully certain where exactly you'd appear. You could find yourself on top of a rock, stuck in a tree, or even trapped on one of the arms of the local windmill and screaming helplessly for somepony to get you down.
Fortunately for Twilight and Spike none of the above was in the cards as they arrived in Ponyville. The teleportation had gone off without a hitch and deposited them right outside of Sugarcube Corner; perfection in other words.
"Wow Twilight, how'd you manage that?" Spike asked upon seeing the bakery.
"I don't really know Spike, I was just trying to teleport to Ponyville in general, not anyplace inparticular," Twilight replied and shrugged. "Oh well at least we found Pinkie Pie."
"I hope so. If she's out making deliveries we'll never find her," Spike stated.
The door chime sounded as Twilight trotted her way inside the bakery. Apart from a few of the usual faces enjoying the baked goods she could see Pinkie at the counter, and much to their pleasant surprise Fluttershy was also there. Two ponies down on the same visit, that made things a whole lot easier.
"Hey girls," Twilight called as she walked over to the counter.
"Oh. Hi Twilight," Fluttershy greeted back.
"Hi Twilight! Hi Spike!" Pinkie greeted with far more enthusiasm in her voice. "What brings you two around? Looking for some cupcakes? Or maybe some freshly baked doughnuts?"
"As tempting as that sounds I'm afraid not. We were actually looking for you two to see if you could come to Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight replied.
"Yeah we've got someone for ya to meet," Spike added.
"Really? Somepony new to Ponyville? Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly. "This calls for a party!"
"Not yet Pinkie," Twilight stated, heading off Pinkie's excitement before it could get out of hoof. "They're not moving to Ponyville to live, they're here on official business. This comes all the way from Canterlot, from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," she explained.
"Princess Luna!? Wow that's awesome! Must be something pretty big if Princess Luna's involved too," Pinkie replied, the excitement in her voice giving way to amazement as her demeanor became somewhat more serious. "So who is this VIP?"
"A visiting dignitary from a far off country. He's here on official business and the Princesses have asked me to show him around and help him get to know the ponies that make Equestria great. And who better to give him a good idea of what Equestria's like then let him get to know my friends first?" Twilight replied.
"Wow that's so cool!" Pinkie exclaimed and started to bounce in excitement. "Are you sure this doesn't call for a "Welcome to Equestria Foreign Dignitary" kind of party?"
"There's always time for a party later on, Pinkie, but right now probably isn't the time. He's still learning about what Equestria's like. At least give him a couple of days to get properly acclimated to everything," Twilight explained. "So can you be there for the meet and greet?"
"Oh..I don't know..." Fluttershy replied hesitantly as she rubbed at her foreleg. "What's...what's he like?"
Twilight paused in thought of how exactly to explain Ulquiorra to Fluttershy. She couldn't really tell her the full story, she was already stretching the truth with the "foreign dignitary" cover story. But in a way he was just that so it wasn't a total lie.
"Afraid," Spike spoke up, bringing their attention to him on Twilight's back. "He's in a new land surrounded by new and unfamiliar faces so right now he's kinda detached and analytical like Twilight right now. Sort've a coping mechanism I guess? He doesn't even have the same manner of talking that we do so he's really in need of somepony understanding right now," he explained.
Twilight smiled to herself. That was a good description of the situation, but she'd disagree with the notion of Ulquiorra being afraid of anything. Empty and unresponsive, sure, but certainly not afraid. Really she wasn't sure if he had any emotions to him.
"Really?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh that poor dear. Of course I'll be there for him."
"Me too! Me too!" Pinkie stated and bounced.
"That's good. Now to go get Rarity and Rainbow Dash," Twilight stated. However before she was even out the door she felt something pulling on her tail and keeping her from moving. Looking back she saw it was Pinkie holding firm. "Pinkie what're you doing?"
"Rarity and Rainbow Dash can't come. Rarity's really super swamped and won't let anypony into Carousel Boutique unless they have an appointment, and Dashie's attending a weather meeting in Cloudsdale," Pinkie explained.
"A-A-ACHOO!"
The lecture hall that was being used for the weather team meeting echoed with the sound of the abrupt sneeze, causing those that were present and trying to stay awake to suddenly jolt back to the land of the living. The pony in charge of the meeting, currently explaining the recent changes in the air currents and how it would be affecting their work, stopped in the middle of his sentence and looked back at the pony who'd interrupted him.
"Coming down with a cold, Miss Dash?" he asked.
"No sir," Rainbow Dash and sniffed. "I'm fine, really."
The stallion pegasus gave a grunt in response before turning his attention back to the charts, picking up right where he left off.
"They can't?" Twilight asked. That was certainly going to complicate things some. Being gone most of yesterday really screwed with her scheduling if she wasn't even aware of Rainbow Dash's weather meeting. Then again Rainbow Dash probably wouldn't even have told her unless she first came to the library asking for the next "Daring Do" novel.
"Then I guess we really can't have a Pinkie Pie Party if all our friends can't be there," Spike pointed out. He knew how much Pinkie loved to throw parties. But the thought of leaving her friends out would seriously make her think otherwise.
"Well we can at least make him feel properly welcome. Come on Fluttershy let's go!" Pinkie stated before hopping over the counter, grabbing Fluttershy's hoof and speeding out the door.
The entire thing had been...weird. Weird even by Pinkie Pie standards of weirdness and they were most certainly unique. Watching Pinkie drag Fluttershy off fast enough to leave behind a dust trail -which was even weirder as Sugarcube Corner never had significant amounts of dust to be found- left them speechless.
At least until Spike managed to find his voice again.
"Hey Twilight...something just occurred to me..." Spike stated.
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"How's Ulquiorra gonna react to meeting Pinkie?" Spike asked. "Or better yet...how's Pinkie gonna react to meeting Ulquiorra?"
"That's...a very good question. We might just have to wait and see," Twilight replied. If those two polar opposite forces were to connect... "No use worrying about it, there's nothing we can do right now. But maybe we'd better catch up to them so Ulquiorra doesn't get overwhelmed by Pinkie's sudden presence. We might have to act like a buffer."
Spike nodded in agreement. If wouldn't be the first time one of them had to keep a newcomer from being subjected to the full magnitude of the Pinkie Pie experience on their very first day. They all knew she meant well but she was...really intense at times.
"Well then we'd better get going while there's still something left of Sweet Apple Acres to go to."
The house was way too silent. Nopony was talking. The pegasus guards were silent, Ulquiorra was silent, and Applejack was uncomfortably silent as she didn't know what to say. The tea really hadn't been much of a distraction and Ulquiorra wasn't much of a talker; by comparison the pegasus guards seemed more lively.
She didn't like it one bit and had to do something to change that.
"So...mind if ah ask what tha' thing on yer head is?" she asked, hoping to strike up some measure of conversation.
Explaining what the remnants of a Hollow mask were wouldn't likely be a conversation Applejack would be able to follow, Ulquiorra could tell that. Fortunately there was another explanation that he could give that would make more sense to her.
"An evolutionary leftover from a previous point in the history of an Arrancar. It ultimately serves no purpose but cannot be removed safely," Ulquiorra replied.
"So it's sorta like a bony appendix er somethin'?" Applejack asked.
Ulquiorra remained silent to the question, having no real answer to give to either confirm or deny the comparison. In a way the two were similar in serving no real function after a certain amount of time. The remains of his Hollow mask certainly had no true function now that he was of Vasto Lorde status. It was nothing more than useless ornamentation anymore. However his focus was drawn elsewhere by his pesquisa.
"Twilight Sparkle and Spike are returning with two others," he replied simply and set the empty glass back down on the table before turning around and walking back towards the door, ducking just enough to clear the top.
"Now hold on how jus' a minute, how can ya know that?" Applejack asked as she followed after him before the two pegasus guards could get up from their seats.
"Whoa..."
Applejack was left silent when she stepped out onto the front porch only to see Twilight and Spike coming back into view with Pinkie and Fluttershy following close behind. How had he known when he couldn't see out of the kitchen in this direction? This Ulquiorra was a really strange one, his name hard to pronounce, his tone of voice offsetting, his point of view really out there and now he knew the others were coming without even seeing them? Twilight was definitely gonna have to answer a lot of questions for her before the day was over.
Twilight panted as she came skidding to a halt in front of the porch, Pinkie and Fluttershy able to stop with far more grace and control. All of them were silent, uncertain of what to say or even think.
"Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, meet Ulquiorra Cifer from Hueco Mundo..."
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good update
let the battle begin! Pinkie's got herself an opponent.
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Nice. I loved the conversation between Ulquiorra and AJ, it was really well thought out and does raise some interesting questions regarding Discord. Now I look forward to seeing how you approach Pinkie meeting Ulquiorra. Let the battle to make Ulquiorra smile; BEGIN!!!!!!!!
Edit: fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/092/8/0/Let_the_Battle_begin_by_MeAndMyRobot.jpg
Evil! Evil evil evil CLiffhanger!!!!
Can Only End Well
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I never thought about it like that before... wow.
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So... Discord's not evil? Well, he's the spirit of chaos, chaos is neither inherently good or evil, but chaos is the opposite of order, which is a symbol of good, but chaos isn't evil, and- I'll shut up now.
That was some deep shit right there!
Shitstorm imminent.
What I guess will happen.
2799096 Please remain indoors. Shit's gonna come down.
5 says Fluttershy's gonna be hiding within a few sentences out of fear of Ulquiorra, 10 says Pinkie's gonna end up declaring 'war' on Ulquiorra to make him happy/smile/cheerful/lessgloomy/non-unemotional. And 50 says Twilight's gonna have one helluva time explaining.
2798922 Yup Discord was never evil. At best he's neutral and worst he's chaotic neutral. In laymans terms he doesn't really care about anything but his own entertainment or he didn't at least.
In case you're wondering that was from D&D. No i've never played a game of D&D in my life i just find the alignment system useful.
Bravo!
So... Discord not being evil...
...
What's the opposite of an anti-hero? One lacking virtues whose actions don't conveniently result in the greater good?
...
This coming meeting with Pinkie is either going to be really, really good or really, really bad. Honestly, I'm not sure which one I'm hoping for more.
I'm really enjoying these introspective points in your chapters, it's not often you find a story that makes you stop and think. Also....I'm thinking Ulqy would probably get along great with Big Mac, they could both hang out and not say anything.
*ground. Her body was battered - ground. His body was battered
2799213 And 3000 says that if Markiplier were to ever get involved, the shitstorm would evolve into accidentally launching Kerbals into the sun
2798922
He's a Trickster God. They're just in it for the nyuks and lols. Not evil. Not good.
2798922 Order is not a symbol for good, a dictatorship might have everything ordered, but still be abusing its citizens, and big organizations might be very ordered in how they do things but have factories in third world countries paying incredibly small wages.
That said there is a lot of good that can come from order.
In the same way Chaos can be used for destructive purposes, but stories like Robin Hood have heroes who go against the "order" that others set up because it is unjust. Also without some chaos boredom sets in, and depending what chaos has decided to bring upon you that could be good or bad.
Order is a neutral force
Chaos is a neutral force.
And now, for a quote from my own fic involving the end of this chapter
2799194
The immovable object flinched.
2800343 To quote the Master...
2799495Jesse Cox is best gamer...
If an unmovable object (Ulquiorra) meats an unstoppable force(Pinkie) in effect nothing happens, because both are eternally constant elements, so both would pass through each other without even recognize each others existence.
So for this theory would state that Ulquiorra and Pinkie would be absolutely unable to interact with each other in regards of being objects of this dimension.
No touch, hear, see, smell etc. pp. or simply stated Pinkie would simply not exist for Ulquiorra and vice versa.
*Gnarf*
^^
P.S. I love your story ^^
2801632
GENIUS!
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2800433 Your eyes must be better than mine.
Whoa, when did Spike get this smart?
One more good chapter and I can favorite this.
2803962
Since the trip back from Canterlot and he knew Twilight would spend an hour trying to give a basic explanation of the situation, possibly going into detail about the size and color of Ulquiorra's eyes in an effort for her friends to craft a mental image of their new guest, the entire thing going right over their heads.
My knees are pinchy...Ulquiorra just might be broken...
Screw you cliffhangers, they were about to meet and Pinkie's head would've imploded.
2807579
Considering it's Pinkie her head might just implode sideways.
you stop it right there?
i would so BAKE you right now but if i were to do that then NOONE would get new chapters so Ill be merciful and let you off. cant wait for more.
"So it's sorta like a bony appendix er somethin'?"
- minor quibble: I don't think equines even have an appendix, and if they did it would probably not be vestigial considering their diet. For ponies, splint bones might be a better example.
2809657
I know but chances are Apple Jack would know what an appendix is since she's friends with Fluttershy, who would have reason to know what an appendix is since she tends to animals and some animals indeed have them.
At least that's my excuse.
2812219
You mean in a manner other than displaying his mental and analytical superiority to everypony involved and leaving them suffering feelings of inadequacy?
I hpe that not end like Cuatro. You know the Pinkie pie trying to make Ulquiorra smile. But that Wasn't Worst. The worst was that *spoilers* he ACTUALLY *Omg spolers Y U reading?* smiled. Ulquiorra. SMILED. I wanted to get my eyes out with spoon. Srsly do you ever tried to imagine smiling ulquiorra?
2817984
I don't really have to imagine it, somebody else already did: allegra-the-neko.deviantart.com/art/Why-Ulquiorra-Never-Smiles-144911714
If Ulquiorra does smile something bad is gonna happen. And it's probably gonna look even more disturbing then Nnoitra's grin.
2818276
Hey thanks! Now i want to get out my eyes off my skull even more!
Just thoughta somethin' - How's Dash gonna take bein' fastest pegasus in Equestria since Ulquiorra can move so fast that it's borderline teleporting?
That would make an interesting crossover...
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Wow, that's a very good point there from Ulquiorra, what Discord actually did isn't as bad as what Nightmare Moon would've actually done. Doesn't make it right though.
Oh dear, Boundless bag of energy and happiness meets an unemotional avatar of logic. Is something gonna blow up?
2823845 Still fastest Pegasus, Ulquiorra isn't a Pegasus.