• 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 Seventy Four

Chapter Seventy Four

Rainbow Dash leaned back, letting out a groan as she propped herself up against the cloud bedding in the room, eyes almost completely shut at the moment. Her stomach ached right now. But it was the sort of ache that went with being satisfactorily stuffed for the first time in days. For so long, breakfast had consisted of oatmeal. No matter how many times she refused to eat it, they kept bringing it to her, as if the next time would be different, and she'd actually eat it. Even chucking the bowl across the room, right back at them, had done nothing to sway them from their stubborn refusal to accept the fact that she wasn't going to eat that slop! There were just was too many bad memories attached to it right now, for that to even be an option.

She wouldn't lie. This stubbornness had left her miserable, and at times feeling like she was starving. But even just looking at a bowl of oatmeal was enough to leave her feeling nauseated. But in the absence of... it... she was left with an uncomfortable, hollow, gnawing feeling in her gut. If it hadn't been for the fact that lunch and dinner consisted of other meals, she might've been reduced to skin and bones by now.

But thankfully, that wasn't the case this morning. There was no aching, burning emptiness in the pit of her stomach, that she needed to try and tune out. Instead it was nothing but satisfaction, and being utterly stuffed for the first time in a good, long while.

Across the room, Luna sat and smiled as the cyan pegasus leaned back, traces of syrup and whipped cream still around her muzzle; signs of how enthusiastic she'd been about breakfast on this morning. The way she'd besieged the stack of waffles and fresh fruit, it was amazing there was even a trace of food left present on the plates. Watching how voracious Rainbow Dash had been in devouring what she'd been presented with, Luna was surprised she hadn't gone so far as to lick the plate clean. She could only assume this was the result of actually getting full, and not wanting to stuff herself to the point of being miserable, simply for the sake of finishing her meal.

But if that was the case, that was perfectly alright as far as she was concerned. There was no sense in making oneself sick, just for the sake of cleaning a plate.

"Now that was some good eating," Rainbow Dash groaned and rubbed her stomach, feeling rather content right now.

"I am glad you enjoyed it," Luna replied, mentally noting that the dishes would have to wait until the current crisis was resolved, before they could be cleaned. For the time being, they would simply have to be set aside along the wall, where they would be out of the way. And really, that was all she could do right now with the palace being on lock down. She couldn't teleport them away to the kitchen, meaning the only option available was to physically transport them there. But doing that either meant leaving her post, and leaving Rainbow Dash alone with the guards -who likely couldn't stop whatever had lead to Thrush's murder- or having the guards cart them away, and leaving her alone with Rainbow Dash; which would only be a problem if she potentially needed assistance in some manner. Although the likelihood of that possibility seemed rather minute, all things considered.

"I tell you, I've had waffles before, but those were something else," Rainbow Dash added as she closed her eyes and smiled to herself. "I think I ate way too much though, I'm stuffed. Between all the waffles, and the feathers that Spike burnt off, I don't think I could fly right now if I tried."

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but paused in thought, and closed it again. She couldn't think of anything that seemed appropriate to Rainbow Dash's statement. Commenting on how there was currently no need to fly, might seem insensitive by pegasus standards. And mentioning how any extended traveling they did, wouldn't be carried out by wings, might just get her hopes up unnecessarily, before she could confirm with her sister whether or not the request to visit Ponyville could actually be fulfilled. But that would have to wait until the appropriate time.

"Luna!"

She jumped at hearing her voice so unexpectedly. Looking around the room, she realized nopony else was speaking. That fact, and a few seconds to think it over, made her realize that it had to be Celestia trying to get in touch with her, via the telepathic link. Maybe there was good news to be had.

"Yes, sister?" she asked. With Rainbow Dash looking like she was bordering on a food coma right now, she could devote her attention to the long range communication. "What news do you have to report?"

"You're still with Rainbow Dash, right? Have you seen Ulquiorra anywhere?"

"Not since our return to the palace, from tending to the matters of last night," Luna replied, curious as to what was going on. "Why do you ask? Was he not available for the investigation into Thrush's death?"

"No, he was available, he even found what he believes to be the mana pattern of the one who murdered Thrush. But when we went to try and locate the guilty party, he took off like a bat out of Tartarus, and we haven't been able to find him yet. I was hoping he might've come your way."

"So far I have neither seen, nor heard, any trace of him. Should he come our way, I will alert you at once," Luna replied. "Under different circumstances, I would assist you in your search, dear sister, but my hooves are tied right now. I cannot yet leave Rainbow Dash if the murderer is still on the loose; especially if Ulquiorra Cifer might be close at hoof as we speak. And being unable to teleport from here, I am at a disadvantage when it comes to aiding in the investigation," she explained.

"Alright then. If you see him, be sure to let me know. If we find something before that, I'll keep you posted."

"Very well, dear sister. I shall keep an eye out for the Espada, should he happen to wander in our direction," Luna replied, before giving a mock mental salute. Now she was glad she hadn't sent the guards away with the dirty dishes, as she may truly be needing them now. With Ulquiorra having disappeared in the search for the killer, that added a whole new level of difficulty for her to deal with. The only upside that she was aware of, as she came out of her focus on the mental conversation with Celestia, was that being full seemed to be lulling Rainbow Dash into a state of contented rest.

Maybe this time her dreams would go unmolested. That was all she could hope for right now, as tending to them would require her to drop her guard in the outside world. Either way, whatever may happen, she had to recognize -and accept- the fact that she couldn't do both options at the same time. If push came to shove, she had a hard decision ahead of her that had to be made.


Celestia didn't like to admit to the fact that she was weak, but she understood that when it came to physical matters, there was substantial room for improvement. Tending to the bureaucratic requirements of overseeing Equestria -especially during Luna's long absence- tended to leave very little time for exercising, and other essential physical conditioning. And while alicorn physiology certainly had its perks, they were in no way any substitute for proper fitness, and endurance training. She was far more accustomed for running sprints, than she was galloping about in a desperate effort to find where Ulquiorra had gotten to. And as huge as Canterlot palace was, it was a whole lot of running that left her winded, and in need of a break.

Flight was an option she'd considered. But flying aimlessly throughout the palace halls wasn't the most efficient method of searching. There was no way for her to fly slow, and try to scan for Ulquiorra's presence; she just covered too much ground whenever she unfurled her wings. But as much as her legs were proving to burn and ache right now, it was very tempting to just breeze through the long stretches of hallway; even if she might have to backtrack due to missing something.

She was really wishing that Luna could've aided in the search right about now. For whatever reason, Luna always seemed much better at the more physically involved activities than she was. Her sister could've been galloping down these halls all day long without getting worn out. Or at least that was how she saw it. Somehow, somewhere, Luna found the time for a proper exercise regimen.

Celestia shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the irrelevant thoughts currently running through it. She had to stay focused on the task at hoof, and locate where Ulquiorra had disappeared to. Or perhaps more importantly, just where the murderer had managed to escape to, and what else had occurred up to this point. And if she found out that anymore of her subjects had been killed, then Tartarus would be sending out notices of debt in response. And she would be the one collecting the fees from the responsible party's hide.

With that thought in mind, and a renewed sense of vigor, she straightened herself up, and set off in search of both Ulquiorra and the murderer.

"Your Highness!"

Only to nearly trip over her own hooves at the sudden excited yell from down the left hallway. Turning her head to look, she saw one of the day guards galloping towards her. And going by how hard he was panting as he galloped along, it looked like he'd run all the way here, from wherever he'd been in the first place. And by the time he'd come to a stop, just a few paces away from her, he'd dropped to the floor, gasping for air in deep, ragged breaths, as the plates of his armor rattled against him.

Having witnessed the whole display, Celestia knew that the matter was serious if it warranted such an approach. But she didn't have any idea just how serious it was; and she really didn't want to randomly speculate right now. But until the guard succeeded in adequately catching his breath, random speculation was all that she really could do at the moment. And those speculative notions filling her mind right now were... not pretty.

"We," the guard began in between pants as he moved to raise his head and look at her. "The Espada, Your Highness, we found him," he managed to get out, before going back to trying to catch his breath.

"Excellent news," Celestia replied, "where is he? Does he know the location of the responsible party?" she asked. She really did want to give the guard the time he needed to recover from his gallop. But right now that just wasn't an option. Not knowing what they were up against, every second that passed was potentially crucial. Ulquiorra could quite easily be in over his head if he was confronting the killer on his own.

"Third floor," the guard panted, "in the east wing's maintenance closet. He and a dozen guards are there right now," he explained and grunted, trying to push himself back up onto his hooves, so that he might show her the way to the location.

"No, no, it's alright," Celestia spoke up as she extended her left wing, and gently draped it over the guard's back. "I can find it myself. Take a break and rest, you deserve it after having run all the way here," she told him, not seeing the purpose in him trying to follow -or lead- her all the way to the east wing of the third floor. Considering he'd even been able to find her, she was left wondering just how much running he'd been doing up to the moment he ran across her; finding her right off the bat would've been far too coincidental.

Fortunately the guard seemed perfectly willing to take her advice, and simply plopped back down on the ground, too tired to try and stand, or move elsewhere. But that was fine by her, as she didn't need somepony that was exhausted, potentially putting themselves in harm's way. Dulled senses, and delayed reactions, were of no use to her right now; besides putting others at risk, it would lead to sloppy work, and potentially disastrous consequences. She simply didn't need any of that.

Once she was confident that the guard wasn't going to attempt any other physical exertion, she took her leave, and made her way towards the third floor. Knowing the location of where to go, was far better than simply wandering aimlessly.


Oh either side of where Ulquiorra currently stood were a half dozen of Princess Celestia's guards, each of them holding a spear in the crook of their right foreleg, and each of them trained on the door ahead of them; and each one of them appeared quite ready to strike at the drop of a hat.

Depending on what was currently hiding behind the door, the response was one of either excessiveness, or inadequacy.

Tracking down the perpetrator had been an effort on his part, requiring him to zero in on two specific and distinct patterns of reiatsu in the same exact location; and all while his pesquisa was being hampered by Princess Celestia's own overwhelming reiatsu being in the immediate vicinity. Trying to detect anything under such circumstances had proven to be a considerable effort on his part, considering how she could easily overshadow nearly everyone else in the palace. And that was to say nothing of the added difficulty presented by Princess Luna, even if she wasn't in the immediate vicinity. Those two being in the palace together, it had proven to be an almost impossible task for him to locate anything.

Almost, but not quite impossible. It had required a great deal of concentration and focus on his part than he was accustomed to, trying to tune out everything he had been sensing, that didn't directly correspond to those two particular and specific patterns of reiatsu, but it had been done.

The moment he'd had the location detected, he'd taken off like a shot, not even bothering to wait for the others to get their act together, and follow after him. Waiting would've taken far too much time, and potentially allowed the target to escape detection; which would in turn require significantly more time being devoted to detection once again. He would have nothing of the sort occurring on his watch. The others could catch up with him, after he'd established the approximate location of the target, and ensured that escape would be an impossibility; a task that proved all the easier, once he'd learned about the palace lock down procedures having already been initiated, and how they involved anti-teleportation countermeasures. It was also the only reason he hadn't ripped the door off of its hinges yet, and casually discarded it in the pursuit of his quarry.

One of the only reasons he was showing as much restraint as he was, and not subjecting the one behind the door to an enhanced method of interrogation right now, was due to the fact that he knew -and understood- how much Princess Celestia wanted to be present and involved. She wanted answers not only to who had murdered Thrush, but also why it had been done in the first place.

The other reason was that he knew full well, that if the door came off, there was the possibility of the guards -unintentionally or otherwise- killing the perpetrator before questioning could actually be carried out. Remote -or unlikely- as it was, it was still a possibility that couldn't be readily discounted. And if that was what occurred, he wasn't entirely certain that he'd care to be around to actually observe the aftermath for himself, when Princess Celestia discovered what happened. At present time he didn't know the true depths that her fury ran, and he wasn't particularly curious in finding that out either; not when her emotional stability was so closely tied to the intensity of her reiatsu. That would essentially be the equivalent of walking into the middle of a raging bonfire, simply to try and determine the exact temperature at the very center of it; hazardous, and utterly stupid.

Fortunately for the lot of them, the guards didn't seem to be particularly motivated to press the issue, and demand that they be allowed entry. Nor were they attempting to force the door open on their own. But whether that was because they were aware of what Princess Celestia would do to them should they go through with it, or because they feared what he would potentially do to them if they should make such a move, was another matter entirely, and not relevant to what was at hand.

And right now, those matters that were more relevant, were growing closer at hand, as Princess Celestia was quickly making her way down the hallway towards their location; the guard who had taken off some time ago, had most likely found her, and informed her of the developments that had occurred. Now it would just be a matter of minutes before this entire mess could be adequately resolved. Then they could get back to the more pressing duties that they were facing, before something new managed to go wrong.

Finally, he could hear the sound of heavy, shod footsteps against the marble flooring approaching their location. As well as the sound of heavy, labored breathing, that someone was trying to make sound less labored than it was.

"I should put a belled collar on you for running off like that," he heard Princess Celestia huff from behind as she approached, doing her best to keep as much of her composure as she could. "We could've been searching for hours, if you'd gone to one of the towers, or the furthest reaches of the palace walls," she pointed out grouchily.

He could've commented about how her statement bordered on ridiculous with the notion of collaring him. Or that he would've had no reason to go to such locations, unless the search had demanded such, because his pesquisa had detected the target in just such a location. However he chose to ignore such petty goading, and instead cut straight to the issue as he turned around to face her.

"Your inability to exercise calmness under present circumstances, is what necessitated my immediate departure in the first place. The intensity, as well as the sheer volume, of reiatsu you've been exerting on the general area since the beginning of the escapade, has presented significant interference. We were quite fortunate that I was able to detect anything at all. The guilty party might have even eluded us entirely, had we not experienced a sharp drop at the right point in time," he explained, making it abundantly clear that she had no one to be dissatisfied with except for herself. Had she not been so emotionally volatile, he could've done his job more easily.

No retort on her part. Nor even on the part of the assembled guards. With that fact in mind, he continued with his verbal tearing down.

"Furthermore, I wasn't informed, until just recently, of just what palace lock down procedures involved, or even that they were in place to begin with. I had no reason to believe that teleportation would not be an option currently in place, and thus had no time to wait for others to keep pace, when the target could be utilizing the time to escape," he explained bluntly. If she had complaints about his methods of carrying out the assignments that she gave him, then that was her fault rather than his own.

If she wanted a specific task tended to, he could do that. If she wanted that specific task done within a vague measuring of time, then he could reasonably do that as well. But he would make no such guarantee of results, if he were tasked with actually relying on the physical inabilities of others.

He noted, however, that she didn't seem particularly interested in arguing with him at that point; likely because she knew that any argument offered up to the contrary, would be quickly -and correctly- refuted on his part.

Celestia groaned where she stood, pinching the bridge of her muzzle. She really didn't want to be having this discussion right now. She'd save it for another time when there was less stuff to worry about.

"Guards, lower your spears. I want the perpetrator taken alive for questioning," she instructed, before observing as they did so obediently. With that addressed, she stepped closer to the door, and where Ulquiorra stood. "Open it," she ordered.

Ulquiorra gave no response, as he saw no point in wasting the time. Instead he simply turned around, slipped his right hand out of his pocket, gripped the doorknob, and pulled it open to gain entry to who was on the other side.

Immediately, like a punch straight to the face, a wave of pungent odor greeted all of them in the hallway, the moment the door had been opened. Some winced and coughed, some gagged, others tried to remain stoic in the face of such an overwhelming assault on their senses. Ulquiorra remained as unfazed by the assault as he had been the first time he'd experienced it, and immediately knew what the source was; biological waste. Just like back in the dungeon. Except this time it was more concentrated, as it had been sealed inside a small, enclosed room where it could fester, and there was no drain system in the floor.

From his point of view, this turn of events was certainly not looking good for them, and their quest for getting answers.

"Oh Faust, that's rancid!" Celestia stated as she coughed. Her eyes were stinging, and her nostrils were burning at this point. "What's going on here?" she asked as she looked forward into the closet. But when she saw what was at the back of the closet, she let out a gasp of surprise as she covered her mouth with her hoof. "Oh no..."

At the back of the closet, in a crumpled heap, was the body of one of her royal guards, still wearing his armor, and his neck twisted around in a very unnatural -and physically impossible- way. She didn't even have to ask the obvious question, to know that he was already dead; peace or no peace, there were some things that one still experienced in over a thousand years of time passing, that could never be forgotten.

"We're too late..." she muttered to herself, seeing the body for herself. Making matters all the worse was how she was very familiar with this guard, and recognized him from the graying mane that was still readily visible, identifying him as the unicorn Ready Stance. Out of all the members of the royal guard, Ready Stance was one of the few that she trusted the most, based on his long tenure of service to her.

He must've caught onto something being wrong, moved to intervene, and paid with his life. And all because they'd spent too much time trying to find Ulquiorra's location after he'd run off like he had.

And then, with that thought in mind, she turned her attention to where Ulquiorra stood, and frowned at him. "You said the one we were looking for was inside that closet."

"Correct," Ulquiorra replied, not bothering with turning around to face her.

"There's no one in there except for one of my guards. And he, too, has been murdered," she hissed. What in the name of Tartarus was he going on about, by claiming the killer was in the closet? "Were you talking in past-tense when you told the guard that the guilty party was in there or something? Are you incompetent?"

Ulquiorra slowly turned around to face Celestia where she stood. Did she really expect him to be intimidated, or otherwise disturbed, by her finding dissatisfaction with how he went about conducted business? Surely even she couldn't be that stupid; not after everything that had happened.

"Your lack of satisfaction with the results, does nothing to invalidate the findings. Everything that has been said, has been completely accurate. The one responsible for murdering Thrush has been located, and is present right now," he stated. Was she truly so blind, that she couldn't see the obviousness of the situation, even when it was staring her right in the face? Did he really have to spell it out for her?

If that was the case, then so be it.

"Your guard was the one who murdered Thrush in his cell last night," he stated. And there was no way to make it any simpler than that.

Silence overtook the hallway after his announcement. But that was to be expected to some degree, as the notion had to be adequately comprehended by them. The notion of one of their own being responsible for such an act, couldn't have been the easiest of pills to swallow. It was significant enough that each and every one of them was losing their visible composure, as they started coming to grips with the facts of the situation. It was something that likely forced them to question long-held notions that they'd once been certain of. But that was their problem right now, rather than his. Right now there were far more important matters that had to be tended to, and right away.

"We..." Celestia started, "w-we should probably find Doctor Challons, and tell him that his skills are needed again," she stated, her voice lacking any sense of her sentence constituting an order. It was more of an exercise in thinking out loud of what they needed to do from this point. "I-"

"You need to leave," Ulquiorra stated, interrupting her mumbled attempts at speaking. "Now," he added bluntly.

"What?" Celestia asked, caught off guard by the interruption, and uncertain of what Ulquiorra was saying.

"You need to leave the palace grounds immediately. Princess Luna as well. Your inability to exercise proper emotional stability and control, is drastically interfering with my ability to investigate, and analyze potential clues. With the amount of fluctuating reiatsu you're exerting on the entire area in your current state, trying to sense anything at all, will be like trying to follow the numerous conversations in a crowded room, while suffering from a head cold," he explained. There was still much work that had to be done here, and Princess Celestia was nothing but a hindrance to him right now. That was a fact that he needed to get across to her, and shake her out of whatever stupor she was currently trapped in. She could wrestle with the fact that one of her palace staff was a murderer later on; and away from here.

"And just what clues do you think you're going to find in this case?" one of the guards spoke up, his tone gruff in response to what he'd been witnessing throughout the back and forth exchange.

Ulquiorra ignored the guard, other than momentarily turning his attention towards the stallion, before turning back to face Princess Celestia herself.

"Our investigation has turned up the party that was responsible for the murder of Thrush. That was what we set out to do. But in doing so, we've now uncovered a new mystery that needs to be addressed. We now need to determine not only why the guard was murdered after Thrush, but who was responsible in this case. And to reach such determinations, I need my senses to be clear, and unhampered," he stated. The longer the diarchy remained present, the more difficult his work would prove to be. Was it really that hard to understand?

Over where she stood, Celestia remained silent as she weighed everything Ulquiorra had said, and the points that he'd made. The delivery had been harsh, but very effective nonetheless. He'd been quite right in determining that she wasn't calm; on the outside she certainly might appear that way, as it was something she had much experience in crafting. But beneath that outer veneer of serenity, and professionalism, she was a raging ball of nerves that was just barely keeping it together. To find out that one of her own guards -and one of her most trusted of guards no less- had murdered Thrush inside his cell, had been bad enough. But now they were confronting the fact that Ready Stance himself had also been murdered afterward.

She didn't need to note to herself how nothing about this situation was right, or how none of it made any sense. Sadly, it all made perfect sense to her in a sadistic, and twisted manner. Someone was murdering her subjects right under her nose, and within the confines of the palace; supposedly the safest location there was in all of Equestria. To say that this was unacceptable would be a gross understatement.

"You're certain that you'll be able to find what we're looking for if we leave?" she asked him simply.

"Quite certain," Ulquiorra replied. Surely he didn't need to give a remedial explanation on this matter, about how he could detect even minute traces of reiatsu left on the surrounding area; she should remember that from the early stages of investigating what had happened to Rainbow Dash in Ponyville. And she should be able to remember it on her own.

"Very well then," Celestia replied and gave a single nod, before turning around to face the assembled guards. "Guards, my sister and I are soon to depart from the palace. Inform the staff that, during our absence, Ulquiorra is in charge of this investigation, and they're to assist him in whatever manner he deems necessary," she instructed.

If Ulquiorra could find the one that was murdering her subjects, then there was no sense in slowing him down in any way. What they were facing was far bigger than all of them right now, and it was a time to come together in cooperation; not remain divided over differences.

The guards saluted in response to her instructions -which was an awkward display as they still had to contend with their own spears- before heading off to carry out their assigned orders. With that done, she turned back around to face Ulquiorra.

"Don't let us down, Ulquiorra, we're counting on you," she stated.

Ulquiorra said nothing in response. It went without saying that they were counting on him, to do the tasks that they themselves were incapable of doing on their own. But he chose to maintain his silence, rather than engage in any berating right now. The sooner the diarchy was absent, the sooner he could actually get something done.

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