Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls

by thatguyvex


Episode 31: Threads in the Pattern

Episode 31: Threads in the Pattern

Sonata didn’t want to get out of bed. Not because she was tired, but because getting out of the warm, fluffy confines of the futon meant she had to face the world outside the bedroom... and that was a world that no longer had Adagio Dazzle in it. That cold reality made her want to just burrow deep into the covers and ignore it. Even though there was this nagging voice inside her, buried beneath the layers of pain, that said she couldn’t, shouldn’t keep this up forever.

After all, what would Dagie think of her? Just sitting here, shut in for days on end, alternating between crying and blubbering; which were both technically the same thing but Sonata wanted to think she was changing it up every now and again. Well, there were times when Aria was nice enough to bring her some food, and the undeniable need to occasionally attend to her hygiene.

That being said she was a wreck and she knew it. She also knew that if Adagio could see her, there’d be some sharp words from her older sister concerning the need to toughen up and get over it. Dagie had always been the strongest of them. The fiercest willpower combined with the clearest thinking. Sonata knew, on some level, that she wasn’t very bright. She was usually happy as a clam to ignore the fact and just enjoy herself, but on some instinctual level she knew she was kind of an airhead. It had all seemed okay and in good fun when she had Adagio around to do the real mental heavy lifting.

Without her, Sonata had never felt so lost. Not alone, of course. Aria was there, but was trying to deal with her own pain in her own way. They weren’t really on the same page when it came with how to express grief. Aria just looked like she wanted to murder things, twenty-four-seven, and was pouring her energy into doing chores around the shop. Maybe that was more useful than what Sonata was doing, but just working up the energy to think about doing anything else was a trial in and of itself.

Yet she did, one morning. Or was it afternoon? She’d utterly lost track of time and didn’t even know for sure what day it was when she finally, eyes bleary and red rimmed, threw the covers off her futon and rolled out of bed. She felt weak and dizzy, with her skin having that clammy stickiness of having not really showered lately, combined with that sour bleariness that comes sometimes after recovering from being sick and bedridden.

Sonata stumbled into the bathroom adjoining the sleeping room, and grunted in near pain as she flipped on the lights, the harsh and bright fluorescent lighting stabbing at her eyes. Looking in the mirror she blinked at the person looking back at her.

“...Wow, Sonata, you look like a bad audition for the Walking Dead,” she said to herself, looking at the pale, frazzled girl looking at her in the mirror, her own visage a ghostly echo of her old self. She leaned on the sink for a second, taking a deep breath, stilling her screaming mind. No, she wasn’t going to go crawl back into bed. She’d cried enough. Mostly. She probably had a few more left in her, but she'd save them for the shower.

A half hour consisting of a warm shower, brushing her teeth, and brushing out her hair almost got her looking like something approaching normal. Still a bit too pale, with dark bags under her eyes, but at least she wasn’t doing a zombie impression anymore. When she returned to the bedroom she found the door open and Aria standing there, blinking at her.

“Sonata? You’re... out of bed,” Aria said, sounding surprised. She was carrying a tray holding a pair of plates with the sweet, steaming sight of what smelled like fresh chicken soup. Sonata’s stomach immediately respond to the delicious scent with a deep rumble and her mouth started to salivate shamelessly.

“Yup, out of bed, and starving!” she said, trying to force some energy into her voice, to crack a small smile, even if it probably came out rather twisted and wrong. Aria had a curled brow of worry on her face as she went to set the trays of soup down at the one table the bedroom shared, and she and Sonata both sat down.

“How are you feeling?” Aria asked in a slow, awkward manner, watching Sonata start to devour the soup in front of her. Sonata took a moment to respond, too focused on assaulting the soup. Only when a sufficient amount was warming her belly did she take a deep breath and met Aria’s concerned gaze.

“Terrible, but that’s... okay. I’m not going to sit in here anymore, Aria,” she said, spooning more soup into her mouth, shivering at the warmth, “I can’t. Dagie would go ballistic on me if she saw me doing that.”

Aria’s expression stiffened, eyes flicking away from Sonata, “Yeah. I guess she would.”

“So, um, what’d I miss while I was cooped up in here?” asked Sonata, “Anything interesting?”

Aria just sort of shrugged, frowning, “Been a bit out of the loop myself. Some big shot Soul Reaper types came through and kicked up a hissy-fit with those Canterlot High girls. I don’t know what really went down, but it got those girls’ panties seriously twisted, and since then they’ve spent like, I don’t know, the past four or five days doing some kind of secret training crap with Discord and that cat.”

Sonata, despite herself, couldn’t help but giggle, even if it was a weak one compared to her usual full and colorful mirth, “They're being trained by a cat. Soon the world shall fear their names.”

A ghost of a smile appeared on Aria’s lips, “Behold the dreaded hairball attack, learned from my sensei Mr. Meowgi.”

Sonata burst out into a fit of more giggles, nearly spilling her soup. It felt good. After days of nothing but pain and sobbing, it felt good to have something to laugh at. The pain from Adagio’s loss was still there, like something inside her had been forcibly cut out of her, but at least it felt like the wound was starting to scab a bit, instead of freshly bleeding. If she could laugh, even a little, maybe she could find the strength to keep going another day.

Still, it made Sonata do something she didn’t do often; think.

“Aria,” she said after a moment, slowly stirring the soup in front of her, “What are we going to do now?”

Aria was silent for a long time, her violet eyes staring in hard thought, her lips now pressed into a thin line. She let out a huge sigh, shaking her head, “You’re asking me? I don’t have a damn clue, Sonata. Adagio... she was the one who made all the decisions.”

Sonata gulped, closing her eyes for a second, pushing back the ready and waiting gloom that threatened to drag her back down. She wanted Aria to be able to come up with something, some kind of plan, but maybe it was time she stopped relying on others to do the thinking, scary as that thought was. She’d never been good at coming up with plans. She just wanted to live life moment to moment, having as much fun as she could. She’d hoped maybe Aria would already have an idea of what to do, but it occurred to Sonata that her sister was probably just as lost as she was.

Maybe it was time to start making choices herself. Even if she wasn’t all that much of a thinker, she had never had a problem following her heart. If she looked past all the pain, it was clear enough to see what that part of her wanted.

“I don’t want to ever be helpless again,” she said, a firm heat entering her normally bubbly voice, “I don’t want to leave Adagio. So... I’m gonna figure out how to become strong. Like those girls are.”

“Sonata, don’t be crazy,” Aria said, grimacing, “We don’t have any of their weird abilities, and even if we did, we couldn’t help Adagio.”

“I don’t care!” Sonata said, determination hardening her tone more and more, “There has to be a way. Adagio wouldn’t give up if it was one of us in trouble. There’s got to be a way for us to get strong, too, and even if Adagio has to spend forever as one of those Hollow things, I want her to still be with us.”

Doubt shadowed Aria’s features like a dark cloud, but she didn’t immediately disagree with Sonata, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms under her breasts in a pensive gesture. After a minute she said, “This is nuts.”

“Maybe not as nuts as you might think, little piglets,” said a voice from the doorway, and both sirens turned to see Screwloose leaning against the frame of the sliding paper door to the room, a slim and coy grin on her face. The odd woman with her stringy gray hair was covered in dirt and bore a few wounds, as if she’d just been through a scuffle.

“What happened to you?” Aria asked, suspicion coating her voice.

“With the bossman out playing coach to the A-Team, me and Screwball are pulling double duty on patrols,” said Screwloose, stretching her arms above her head and groaning, “Tough work today, given the Hollows are getting uppity again. Ran into three different groups slinking around town this morning alone, and I know Screwball has run into much of the same. Nothing we can’t handle, of course, but this pots starting to hit boiling temperatures again. Almost like the Hollows know the heavy hitters are all out of town.”

Sonata frowned, as usual her brain having a hard time processing the nuances of what she was hearing. All this complex supernatural stuff was hard for her to get her brain wrapped around, but Aria filled in the blanks as she said, “Right, no Soul Reaper big shots around, and the girls are out with your boss. Means the Hollows might think the dinner bell is ringing around here.”

“Yup, but it's no big deal. Me and Screwball got this handled,” said Screwloose, slinking into the room with easy, smooth steps. “Now then, about you girls. I heard you saying something about wanting to get strong?”

Aria looked wary, glancing at Sonata, but Sonata felt no need to hesitate. She stood up, eyeing Screwloose intently, “That’s right. I want to help Adagio, and I don’t want to be all weak and helpless anymore.”

“Hmm,” Screwloose licked her lips, eyes shining, “Yeah, I can see that hungry fire in your eyes. It's a good look on you, instead of the empty headed one. Still, you’ve got a problem my fired up piglet. How were you planning to gain this strength you want so badly, hmm?”

Sonata tilted her head. She hadn’t exactly thought that far ahead yet. She just knew she hated feeling like she had, watching Adagio sacrifice herself for the rest of them, while being completely unable to do anything to save her sister. Sonata didn’t know how she’d get stronger, but she definitely wanted to try. She wracked her brain for an answer, and was only able to come up with one idea.

“I, uh, I’ll just ask Mister Discord! He’s smart, and knows a lot of stuff, so I bet he has an answer!”

Screwloose only gave her a small shake of her head, “I can already tell you that the boss won’t help.”

“Why not!?” Sonata asked, unable to keep a hint of desperation out of her voice.

“Because, like you said, he’s smart, and knows things,” Screwloose replied with a wry look on her face as she went over to Sonata and Aria, leaning between them and putting a finger to her mouth as if in conspiratorial confidence. “He’s helping the other girls because he can’t stop them from treading the path they’re so determined to tread, even if it's one that’ll get them smacked down by the big bads of the world. He feels all responsible and junk. Not my business to judge if he’s got a martyr complex going. But with you two? Aside from being magical fish girls from another dimension, you’re basically mundanes. Without your siren gems you two are about as threatening as a pair of declawed kittens. Even with your gems you wouldn’t be more than a minor irritant to even a middleweight power of the spirit realms.”

Aria scowled, shoving Screwloose back with a rough push, “Hey, you don’t need to rub it in! If you don’t have anything helpful to say, then scram!”

Screwloose let herself get pushed, and just stood in a relaxed pose, smiling, “Just making it clear to you, pig-tailed piglet. You’re powerless. If you want power, it’s not going to come from here. Best you start thinking outside the box. Or outside of this world.”

“Outside...?” Sonata began to ask, then her eyes shot wide and she nearly jumped to the roof, swinging about with a whoop of joy as she grasped Aria’s shoulders and shouted, “That’s it! That’s totally it!”

Aria looked at her as if she’d just cracked her skull open and tossed her mind out the window, “What’s it? Sonata you’re making less sense than usual, and I didn’t think that was possible.”

Sonata was having a hard time containing the sudden energy in her, like her bones were ready to vibrate out of her skin, but she was just suddenly excited as new possibilities entered her brain like the scattershot from a shotgun. “Equestria, Aria! Remember!? We can go back to Equestria!”

Aria frowned, “Y-yeah, but... what about Adagio?”

“I don’t mean going back for good, I just mean going back,” said Sonata, almost talking faster than her brain could keep up with, “Magic is what made Sunset and the others all super strong and beat us in the first place, and there’s still all sorts of crazy magic in Equestria, right? And it all works over here, too. We can go to Equestria and look for magic to help save Adagio!”

Doubt crested Aria’s uncertain features, “Even if we found any magic like that, and that’s a huge if Sonata, what are the chances we’d be able to use it?”

Sonata made a deep groaning sound of released frustration, all but shaking Aria like a maraca, “I don’t know but I have to do something otherwise I’m going to go crazy! This is the only idea I’ve got that makes any sense. We gotta try, Aria!”

Aria looked away, eyes pinched closed tightly in clear frustration, but she ultimately relented with a small nod, “Dammit, you’re... you’re right, and I don’t got a single better idea. I just don’t want us running all over Equestria on a wild goose chase for magic that might not even exist. I guess we’re paying Princess Twilight a visit.”

Screwloose, watching the two siren girls with measuring eyes said, “Sounds like you two have a plan then. I’ll escort you to the school.”

----------

After the day she’d had, all Sunset wanted as a bath, a massive meal, and about two days straight of sleep in the fluffiest bed mankind could manufacture. Every inch of her ached. Her left arm was bound up in a cast not unlike Rarity’s shoulder brace, looking like some strange wooden golem arm than a medial cast. Still, the healing Kido laced into the brace was doing wonders for the broken arm and Discord assured her it’d be fully functional before morning.

A good thing, considering training wasn’t technically over yet. Sure, she and her friends had survived the most intense portion of the trials, but now that they’d stepped upon a new plateau of ability, they had to refine what they’d learned. They had to master their new skills, and quickly. Whatever those new abilities were. Sunset knew what she’d learned from Hokori, but she had yet to see what her friends had achieved.

When Discord had led her and Clover to the massive stone coliseum that Ditzy Doo had created on the side of the mountain she’d found her friends all unconscious amid a battlefield that looked as if it’d been struck by a tornado or three. Ditzy Doo was wounded, bleeding from a hefty cut on her brow and, of all things, covered head to toe in whipped cream. Ditzy had refused to comment on either the injury or the whipped cream, only saying that her friends had succeeded in their training and that they’d need rest.

As it was, Ditzy, Sunset, Discord, and Clover had all helped to carry her unconscious friends back through the portal to Discord’s shop, Discord himself slinging both Applejack and Rainbow Dash over his shoulders like delicate sacks of grain. In less than an hour they’d cleaned up, bandaged wounds, and got everyone into beds, or on couches. Sunset and Clover were still awake and sitting with Discord and Ditzy in the lounge room, where a tired silence hung for a time before Sunset said, “Is it going to be enough?”

Discord looked at her, as she seated herself onto one of the chairs with a groan. He remained standing, leaning on his cane, “Enough for now. If we have time, we’ll sharpen what you’ve learned. It will put you as close as we can get to being prepared short of Bankai, and that’s something I’d only risk teaching you if there was no other choice.”

Clover let out a choking noise, “Bankai? Discord, I know you’re a bit of a genius in some respects, and that training was... something else. I think I’m stronger now than I ever imagined I could be. But Bankai can’t be taught in a few days. Or even years. It takes decades to learn, and that's for the few with the talent to do so. Only one Soul Reaper in a thousand has the potential, and only one in a thousand of them come close to achieving it.”

Discord just smiled at her, showing a single snaggletooth, “True, my dear, very true. Good thing I cheat. But it's a cheat that is ten times as dangerous as what I just put you girls through. I won’t do it unless there’s no other way. For now I’d say you’ve grown strong enough to readily take on Soul Reapers of Lieutenant rank, and if you must face a Captain, you at least won’t go down instantly.”

Sunset grunted, then said, “Great, but what about my friends?”

Ditzy smiled like a cat licking the feathers of a recently devoured bird off its face, “They did better than I thought they would when we first started. Get those girls motivated and they can move mountains. I think that friendship magic from your homeworld is working some wonderful synergy with their Fullbrings. I hit them with one incredibly potent attack and they stepped up to the plate. Knocked them on their asses, as you saw, but they still got their Fullbrings to the next level. Not complete, but close to it. Once they recover and spend some time breaking their new abilities in, they might even outpace you. I’d say together they might even beat a Captain.”

Discord glanced at her and Ditzy giggled slightly, amending, “Well, as long as the Captain didn’t go Bankai. Heck, Discy, we’re working enough of a miracle as is getting them this far, this fast. Don’t blame me for trying to be optimistic!”

Discord raised a hand in a placating gesture, “Of course not, but we must keep our perspective. Our main goal when we go to Soul Society will be freeing Celestia and Luna, not defeating every Captain that opposes us.”

Sunset leaned back in her seat, drumming her fingers on one of the leather arms of the comfortable chair, “Feels like a vague plan to me. Like we're just jumping in without a solid idea beyond hoping for the best.”

Discord flashed her a grin that all but bathed in wryness, “Rigid plans break as easily as glass, dear Sunset. We must try to keep our minds flexible, because we won’t truly know the situation until we’re in the thick of it. Ideally, if or when the execution is scheduled to occur, we can take advantage of the chaos to rescue Celestia and Luna and then flush out the perpetrators of this entire mess, whoever they may be.”

“Are we going to go to the Soul Society tonight?” asked Sunset, flexing her tired limbs, which were already starting to leave her feeling drowsy after only a minute of sitting down.

Discord shook his head, “No, I have a few final arrangements to make before we will have a safe house to use while we’re there, and I want to spend at least one or two days having you girls get used to your new spiritual muscles, as it were. Think of it as stretching after exercise.”

“Right, well, then don’t mind if I just pass out here,” Sunset said with a small laugh, “I don’t think I could even make it home if I decided to try walking.” She punctuated her words with a deep yawn.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” chirped Ditzy, “I’ll go get the old training area prepped for you girls to do some sparring in after you’ve all gotten some shut eye and food.”

“Best to also check in with Screwloose and Screwball,” said Discord, “Make sure nothing has happened while we’ve been away.”

“Hey they’re your employees Discy. You keep track of them,” said Ditzy as a thick, misty white glow enveloped her body and she shifted form into that of the small gray feline once more. After giving a loud meow, she said, “I’m heading out for awhile. Be back in the morning!”

The Ditzy cat bounded off before Discord could respond, and once she was gone he let out a huge sigh, muttering, “Fickle woman. Oh well, I’ll go look in on things myself.”

Sunset, hard pressed to keep down another yawn, nodded slowly, already feeling herself drifting off to sleep, “Yeah... you do that... give a shout if the city blows up or whatever.”

She was asleep nearly before she finished speaking.

----------

Leaving the girls to their well earned rest, Discord got on a cell phone in the hallway and gave Screwloose a ring. Strangely, she didn’t answer, which would have bothered Discord more if it wasn’t fairly typical for Screwloose to not always answer her phone. He rang up Screwball next. The girl was still out on patrol, and reported that the city was fairly quiet, save for a few extra Hollows slinking about that had needed to be put down.

Normal ferals looking for meals, or scouts for the Arrancar? Discord doubted the Hollows would try a large offensive so soon after the last defeat, but if they’d caught wind of Celestia and Luna no longer being in the city then the Arrancar of Las Noches might feel bold enough to try something. That only made it all the more critical to end the strife in Soul Society and ensure those two sister Captains returned to their posts swiftly.

The portal to Equestria needs to be guarded. The amount of damage the Hollows could do if they slipped through would be catastrophic for both worlds, and I doubt it’d be much better if the Quincy suddenly took an unhealthy interest in it either.

Then again, he mused, was it that much better to leave the Soul Reapers in charge of guarding the portal? In truth, it wasn’t Soul Society he trusted to look after the doorway to that magical other realm, but Celestia and Luna themselves. He knew Luna didn’t trust him, and that his relationship with Celestia was tenuous at best, but there still weren’t any individuals he could think of better suited to the job of keeping that portal safe.

At least until he had need of it.

If his work was to be completed, he may well need to make a trip to Equestria himself. All the research he’d done so far was pointing towards one glowingly certain theory in his mind; that Equestria and the human world weren’t nearly as separate as they at first appeared. Indeed one large chunk of evidence to that theory was Sunset Shimmer herself. Though she may have been a pony from another reality, her soul’s composition was identical to that of a human’s soul. Discord suspected it wasn’t simple coincidence that ponies that came to this realm through the portal turned into humans, and vice versa. It was only natural, because once one stripped away the physical form, the souls were the same.

He set aside those thoughts as he passed the room where Sonata and Aria had been staying, noticing that the door was closed, but a note was taped to the front of it. With a bemused look, he gave the note a quick read.

”Dear Mr. Discord,

Thank you for being, like, totally nice to us and stuff
To help Dagie me and Ari are going home for a bit, to look for magic!
We’ll totally be back soon so don’t worry!
Tell all the girls thanks for saving us from being eaten.
Sorry for all the trouble.

P.S - I took the last taco from the fridge, don’t be mad!

P.P.S - Screwloose says this isn’t a taco but a burrito. I don’t see the difference.

P.P.P.S - Oh, Screwloose says hi and she’ll be right back after escorting us!

Discord read the note twice, just to make sure he’d gotten it all, then nodded to himself, “Well, looks like that those dice have been tossed. We’ll see where they land.”

----------

The time had come. Celestia kept her outward calm, still as marble, but inwardly she was as tense as she’d ever been. One way or another she’d soon enough have a chance to defend herself and her sister from Platinum’s accusations, and also see just what shape this ‘evidence’ the Sixth Division’s Captain would take. The past five days had been grueling, mentally and emotionally if not physically as she’d tried to theorize on what would transpire today.

The guards that came for her were a combination force of members of the Stealth Corps and Soul Reapers from both Sixth Division and her own Thirteenth Division. She suspected the presence of members of her down Division was thanks to the Captain Commander, as he would be the only one with the authority to authorize that. A gesture of respect and support? She hoped so. Among the Soul Reapers from her Division, of which there were three present as part of the guard, she recognized her Third Seat, Inkwell. She was an energetic, tall woman with a bluish gray tint to her skin, a wavy head of dark hair that, and intense green eyes.

“Captain,” Inkwell saluted as Celestia was led out of her cell.

“Inkwell, it is good to see you, even under these dire circumstances,” Celestia said, offering her Third Seat officer a warm smile, which Inkwell returned despite the obvious worry and strain riding beneath the surface of her features. Inkwell had always been a stalwart and competent member of the Thirteenth Division, and the only reason she was not Celestia’s Lieutenant as opposed to Flash Sentry was because Inkwell often suffered from frequent bouts of illness that made it hard for her to take on the full duties of that position. However she had groomed Flash Sentry well for the position and it was a testament ot Inkwell’s skills that Flash did the work of a Lieutenant so readily despite his young age.

It was hard for Celestia to see the wrinkles of worry creasing the edges around Inkwell’s eyes now, along with the other members of her Division that were present. The tension between them and the other Soul Reapers in the room was a palpable thing, like the air was charged with lightning. The eyes of the Stealth Corps members were hard and forced to unreadable stone, but Celestia imagined they were as tense as anyone, as Luna was their commander as well as the Second Division Captain. Loyalties were being strained to a taut, snapping point simply by the fact that Celestia and Luna were being incarcerated and put through a hearing. If word of treason had already spread, then Celestia imagined all of Soul Society might be turning into a powder keg ready to explode.

I must be ready for anything, she thought, projecting as much outward warmth and calm as she could, as if this were just another day of business as usual.

Her escort led her from the holding cell area and down several long corridors until they turned down a long flight of stairs that led to vast sliding doors that opened into a polished white courtyard between towering walls of the Seireitei’s headquarters. Another group of nervous, tension filled guards emerged into the courtyard from the opposite side, escorting Luna, who was not projecting quite the same calm Celestia was. If anything Luna’s bristling appearance reminded Celestia of a caged tiger, her sister’s deep blue eyes flashing like thunderheads ready to unleash their fury.

Waiting for both of them at the south end of the courtyard, where massive stone stairs led down the face of the rocky plateau the Soul Reaper’s headquarters was built within, were four more Captains of the Gotei 13.

One was Platinum, back rigid, eyes narrowed, and porcelain features schooled to flat control. Beside her stood Starswirl, looking for all the world as if he’d just woken up, even if it was well past noon by the reckoning of time in this spirit realm. He had placid gray skin and a straight, if barely combed head of white hair that matched an equally long and unruly beard. Yellow eyes peered tiredly past bushy eyebrows and the Captain of the Twelfth Division yawned.

“It's too early for legal proceedings. Good day Celestia, Luna. I hope this kerfuffle is over with soon so we can all get back to things that actually matter.”

Platinum’s eyes snapped towards him, “If the laws of the Gotei 13 are too difficult for you to bear, perhaps due to your advanced age, it may be time to consider retirement.”

“Oh come off it girl. I’m just baffled why the Captain Commander is even entertaining this nonsense. Better to get it over with, I suppose. The sooner the better.”

“Agreed,” said the woman standing on Starswirl’s opposite side. Like him she had a grayish tint to her skin, but her features, vibrant and exotic, were marked by a series of black, stripe-like tribal tattoos. Even her hair bore alternating stripes of black and white, and no one in Soul Society was sure which was her natural hair color, and which was dyed, if either. While she wore the traditional black robes and white over coat of a Gotei 13 Captain, she added additional flare consisting of both arm, leg, and neck rings of tight, banded golds. The woman’s eyes held a mysterious cast to them, a bright shade of blue. “I find these circumstances most dire, and think this whole mess to be quite a mire.”

Captain Zecora of the Fourth Division had a thing for rhyming her sentences. All of them. It was just about one of the largest mysterious of the Soul Society why she did it. Most of those who knew her just assumed she enjoyed messing with people’s heads.

“Whatever happens, happens,” said a tall, broad shouldered man beside Zecora, his eyes regarding Celestia without judgment... but also without remorse. “I’ve known Platinum longer than most of you and she wouldn’t bring these charges to bear lightly. If there turns out to be any truth to them, then the laws are clear and ironclad. So let’s get this jabbering over with and be done with it.”

“Your support is appreciated, Captain Hurricane,” said Platinum, managing a thin smile.

Celestia knew that Hurricane and Platinum had both joined the Gotei 13 during its earliest years, only slightly after Celestia and Luna had helped found the organization. Like Platinum, Hurricane was not only a Captain, but also head to one of the four noble families that comprised Soul Society’s upper echelons of power. He was a towering figure of dark blue skin and stormy gray hair, whose physique was second only to his booming voice. He was Captain of the Eleventh Division, the only unit in the Gotei 13 that exclusively specialized in direct combat. While all Soul Reapers were schooled in the arts of battle, each Division usually held other duties in maintaining the operation of Soul Society, from the Fourth Divisions work as healers to the Twelfth Division’s work as researchers, or even Celestia’s own Division’s duty as a training corps for relatively new Soul Reapers.

Only the Eleventh Division existed solely for the purpose of conducting warfare, and hence had the most combative members, emphasized by the personality of its Captain, who was always spoiling for a fight. As evidenced as he turned to Platinum and said, “Don’t get the wrong idea, Platinum. I’ll cut down anyone who stands against Soul Society; period. I don’t care who they are. Hollows, Quincy, other Soul Reapers. If you can prove Celestia and Luna really are traitors, I’ll be the first to take their heads off.”

“That will be for the Sokyoku, but your bloodlust is... noted,” said Platinum as she began to lead the procession down the vast stone steps towards the expanse of the Seireitei proper.

It was going to be a long walk to the chambers of the Central 46.

----------

From a tower several tiers above where the Captains were escorting the prisoners away, Meadowbrook watched from an open window, frowning deeply. Inside the room behind him Lieutenant Redheart stood like a silent shadow, waiting for him to speak.

“So you’re certain of this?” Meadowbrook asked at last, referring to the information she’d just relayed. Redheart gave a stiff nod.

“I checked the record three times, just to make sure. Captain Zecora’s visits to Captain Platinum’s quarters were for the purpose of relieving migraines via Kido spells.”

“That seems a rather mundane task for a Captain to perform,” Meadowbrook noted, but Redheart merely shrugged.

“My Captain likes to take care of some matters herself, and maybe because it was for a fellow Captain she wanted to do it personally as to preserve Captain Platinum’s image. I can’t claim to know her mind.”

“Hmm, so a dead lead...” Meadowbrook muttered, watching the procession of Captains, along with a sizable honor guard of lower ranked Soul Reapers, vanishing amid the many pathways of the Seireitei.

“Perhaps not entirely,” said Redheart, “Looking through the records of that visit also clued me in on something else. Captain Platinum has made a number of requests of the past year to withdraw medicines from our stocks, some for headache relief, but also several that... well, normally they are medicines meant for treating rare diseases. I can’t imagine why Captain Platinum would need them unless she herself had the condition, but then she wouldn’t be able to function as a Captain if that were the case. So I’m baffled as to why she’s been withdrawing that medicine.”

That did sound unusual. Meadowbrook wasn’t certain how that helped them, however. Over the past couple of days his own midnight excursions to observe and shadow members of Platinum’s Sixth Division had not yielded clues to potential wrongdoings among their number. He had yet to hear back from Radiant Hope or Moon Dancer, however, hence why he’d called this meeting. Hopefully one of the other two of his little alliance of investigators had turned up something that might shed light on what was behind the threat he suspected was looming over Soul Society.

It took another tense half hour of waiting, but finally both Moon Dancer and Radiant Hope entered the room, one right after the other. Meadowbrook noticed both had uneasy looks about them, but then again so did just about every Soul Reaper in the Seireitei that day. It wasn’t exactly a common occurrence for two esteemed Captains to be put under suspicion of treason, after all.

He gave the two new arrivals a welcoming nod, turning from the window to face them, “So... any luck?”

Radiant Hope’s lips pursed in a tight frown as she shook her head, looking down at the floor with a frustrated air, “None of my patrols turned up any suspicious movements around any of the Division barracks or officer quarters.” She coughed, “Well, nothing that couldn’t be easily attributed to those seeking private liaisons or simply going out for a night of drinking.”

There were fairly strict rules against that sort of thing among the Gotei 13’s ranks, but as with any system of rules there were plenty of people who bent those kind of rules and oftentimes did so under cover of night and behind closed doors. Granted drinking was still allowed, just not on Seireitei grounds without special permission, and fraternization was frowned upon openly but most turned a blind eye as long as things were kept on the down low. Radiant Hope’s frustration was understandable if she had to spend the past few days chasing fellow Soul Reapers who were only seeking private company at night or a good drink in the Rukongai districts, rather than anyone doing something truly clandestine.

He nodded to her sympathetically, then glanced at Moon Dancer, “How about you?”

Moon Dancer chewed her lip, looking between them with a pensive gaze, “I didn’t exactly spend much time wandering around at night chasing shadows. Instead I thought I’d look into the records to see if there was anything like this that had happened before in Soul Society. Legal precedents for charges of treason, that kind of thing.”

That didn’t surprise Meadowbrook. Moon Dancer was more comfortable surrounded by books than she’d be around her fellow Soul Reapers, and boiling things down to research probably put her mind at ease given the grave nature of what they were doing. Aside from her duties as a Lieutenant, Moon Dancer also acted as a librarian in the Daireishokairo, the Great Spirit Book Gallery, a place that housed all the collective knowledge and history of the Soul Society itself. Quite larger and less specifically restricted than individual Division records, like the one he and Clover had searched through in Twelfth Division, the Daireishokairo didn’t have many security restrictions but it was so large and complex than without an expert librarian like Moon Dancer it’d be difficult to navigate to find anything specific. The library was housed on the Seireitei’s northern block, a circular building that actually was mostly built underground with countless sub-levels. A lot like the Central 46 building, in that sense, now that Meadowbrook thought about it.

“The most interesting thing I managed to learn about treason,” Moon Dancer continued on, “Is that to be convicted requires physical evidence that proves the identity of the traitor without doubt. Witness testimony isn’t enough. You have to have some piece of physical proof the accused was involved, like a skin or blood sample that shows they were there. It's to avoid issues of our enemies using powers of disguise or illusion to sow the exact kind of dissension in our ranks that’s being caused by Captains Celestia and Luna being put on trial.”

“Well, it's not a trial yet, not until the hearing calls for it,” said Meadowbrook, “So this would mean Captain Platinum must have physical evidence, then. Or something she thinks is physical evidence.”

“It’d be pointless to have this hearing otherwise,” agreed Moon Dancer, “If she can prove the charges of treason, custom still dictates a two week period in which the condemned can reflect on their sins before execution. That gives us some time to find proof countering the charge, although it might be pointless if Captain Platinum does have physical evidence...” Moon Dancer trailed off, making a small growl of pent anxiety before saying, “Is it possible the charges are accurate?”

“Not a chance!” said Radiant Hope fervently, “I don’t care what evidence Captain Platinum has, it has to be faked somehow.”

“Regardless,” piped in Redheart, “We still need to find something useful, otherwise all this talking is a waste of time. Did you have anything else, Moon Dancer?”

Moon Dancer adjusted her thick rimmed glasses before slowly saying, “I did find something strange while doing my research. I don’t know if it means anything but... well, I know each and every nook and cranny of the Daireishokairo, and I can spot things when they’re out of place. I noticed one of the texts was missing while I was moving from floor to floor. Specifically a text concerning the treasures of Soul Society over the centuries.”

Meadowbrook raised an eyebrow, “What kind of treasures?”

“You know, old artifacts collected or created over time by Soul Reapers from across our entire history. There’s a lot of different books that detail items like that, their form, function, history, etcetera. You’d be surprised how many random items of spiritual power both minor and major have cropped up over the years, either fashioned by Soul Reapers, or even by humans with rare spiritual powers. Anyway each text usually only details a couple of items in as much detail as possible, but the text that was missing only discussed one; the Queen’s Key.”

Meadowbrook tilted his head. He’d never heard of this object before. “And what exactly is the Queen’s Key?”

“An artifact that has the power to open a gateway into the Palace of the Soul Queen.”

He blinked. Then he blinked again. “That’s... unsettling. I didn’t think it was possible to enter the realm of the Soul Queen without a direct escort from one of the Royal Guard?”

“It isn’t, normally, but the Key wasn’t meant for normal use. The Queen’s Key was constructed to allow the Captain Commander access to the Soul Palace in emergency situations. Far as the record goes the Queen’s Key was never used, merely stored away.”

“Wait, how do you know all this?” asked Radiant Hope, “If the text is missing, that is?”

Moon Dancer coughed in embarrassment, “I, uh, well I’ve read much of the texts in the Daireishokairo, and have a photographic memory. It's not that weird! I just like books, that’s all! I still have a social life!”

“No one said you didn’t,” Meadowbrook said, holding up a placating hand, “So where is this Queen’s Key kept?”

“Actually the text didn’t say. Only the Captain Commander is allowed to know the location of the Queen’s Key, and passes that knowledge down from one successor to the next. The text had nothing on where the object might be right now.”

There was a note of awed fear in Redheart’s voice as she said, “Imagine what kind of damage could be done with that Key if it fell into the hands of one of our enemies. They could just waltz right into the Soul Palace and launch a surprise attack on the Soul Queen herself!”

Moon Dancer rolled her eyes, “Technically true, but with the Royal Guard there, would it even matter? Four Soul Reapers, each with power to rival the Captain Commander? If I was inclined towards feeling pity I might feel some for the poor fools that tried such a gamble.”

“I wouldn’t be so blase about it,” said Radiant Heart, “Even a force as strong as the Royal Guard could be overwhelmed by superior numbers, especially if caught off guard by a surprise attack they couldn’t see coming. I’m shocked there’s any information about this Queen’s Key at all, and now you’re saying the book containing all this information about it is missing!? That’s incredibly suspicious!”

“It is,” agreed Meadowbrook, “But I’m not certain how it helps right now. Anyone could have taken the book. I’m assuming none of the Daireishokairo’s normal security measures were triggered?”

“No,” replied Moon Dancer with a deep frown, “And I already reported the missing tome. Normally there’s wards to prevent texts from being removed from the premise without a permission pass, but no such pass was checked out for that text, and before you suggest it, altering a pass to allow a different book to be checked out is nearly impossible.”

“Nearly... but not actually impossible?” asked Meadowbrook, to which Moon Dancer groaned and threw up her hands.

“Sure! Fine! Yes, its feasible someone might have found a way to fake or alter a pass, but what do you want me to do!? Go through the record of every single person that went in and out of the Daireishokairo for the past few weeks in hopes of spotting anyone out of the ordinary!?”

There was a long pause as Meadowbrook, Redheart, and Radiant Hope all stared at Moon Dancer, who slowly gained a dawning look of realization on her face as she said, “Uh, maybe I should go do that then?”

“Yes, that might be a good idea,” said Meadowbrook, casting a grave and worried look back towards the window. He couldn’t see the Central 46 chambers from this distance, but he knew that by now Celestia and Luna were there, and the hearing was likely commencing. “I suspect our time to get to the bottom of all this is drawing short.”

----------

Adagio met with Ember at the same copse of dead, withered trees as where she’d first met the Arrancar girl. It’d only taken Grogar a day or so to consider ‘his’ idea about planting a spy in Torch’s ranks, and with a look of self-satisfaction had given Adagio her orders to ingratiate herself with Ember and not only acquire all the power she could to evolve into an Arrancar, but to report on as much of Torch’s dealings as she could.

He made it clear in no uncertain terms that he expected her to not only make regular reports, with useful information, but to not get any funny ideas about double crossing him. He spent a large portion of the previous evening demonstrating the price of such treachery, and Adagio still shuddered at the crystal clear memories of pain that had wracked her for hours. Grogar had promised much worse if she didn’t prove loyal, and she believed him. Of course she was planning to betray him anyway, once she found some way to remove the devices that allowed him to hurt her so, but one step at a time, as they say.

“So you were right, you were able to wrap that bonehead around your finger. I’m impressed,” said Ember with a toothy grin, showing off that her teeth had quite the pronounced canines. “Bet you’re feeling pretty snazzy.”

Adagio grunted, rubbing a sore spot on her shoulder that still ached from the memory of last night’s torments and experiments, “I’ll be feeling even better once I’m strong enough to rip Grogar’s throat out. Speaking of which, just how are you going to teach me to evolve?”

Ember gave her a guarded look, “Well, first thing’s first. While I got my old man to agree to taking you in, there is a condition. He’s big on trials and proving one’s worth, all that jazz, so before he’s going to let me train you to become an Arrancar, you’ve got to prove you’re worth the trouble. He wants a show of force.” Ember clenched a fist and flexed her muscular arm in emphasis.

Adagio narrowed her eyes, showing teeth, not quite growling, “What kind of show of force?”

Ember leaned in, almost as if she was afraid someone might be listening in as she said, “Big things are in the works, but I can’t go into too many details. Rumor has it the Soul Reapers are being distracted by some kind of internal dispute, and it's the perfect opening to make a move on a few spots in the world of the living. Without having to worry about the Soul Reapers jumping our flanks a few of the Espada are putting together a raid on the Quincy. We got information on where they’ve got their training camp, and we’re going to hit their Academy. If we’re lucky we can wipe out a whole bunch of their recruits and really put the hurt on those bastards.”

Adagio felt her mouth go dry. She had little to no experience with the Quincy, only knowing that they were humans with unique powers that hunted down Hollows, and that the human world’s Twilight Sparkle was one of them.

“So let me guess, I’m supposed to be part of this raid?” she asked, and Ember nodded eagerly.

“That’s the idea. Do well, show you’ve got some claws, and my dad will welcome you into our ranks with open arms, and I’ll be clear to show you how to evolve.”

“By ‘doing well’, that means I’d have to...” Adagio licked her lips, feeling an echo of hunger deep in her Hollow core, along with a sickening memory of a human soul’s screams, “I’d have to kill Quincy?”

“Well we’re certainly not going over there to have a damn tea party,” snorted Ember, arms crossing as she eyed Adagio, “Quincy hunt Hollows without hesitation or remorse. No reason we shouldn’t give as good as we get. What, you’ve killed and eaten Hollows, Adagio. You’re a predator, just like the rest of us. Don’t tell me you’re feeling squeamish? What’s the difference between killing the Hollows Grogar tosses your way, and killing a Quincy?”

Grogar hasn’t given me a choice. I have to kill Hollows to survive. But if I kill Quincy for this raid, that’s an entirely different affair. Adagio’s thoughts were bitter ones. Revenge on Grogar was something she wanted dearly. However she wasn’t eager to cast off what little was left of her soul to get it. Yet she only had one route to power, as far as she could see, and that lay with keeping Ember’s trust and cooperation. Could there be some way to have her cake and eat it too? Not likely, but she couldn’t give up at the first sign of difficulty. She might find a way to impress on the raid without committing herself to murder, she’d just have to use a little... finesse.

After all, her siren song had worked on Grogar. No reason to think it wouldn’t work on others, Quincy or Hollow alike.

“All this is about is proving my power, right?” she said, floating around Ember, who followed her movements with a raised eyebrow and coy look. “If your father insists, I’ll do what I must, but keep in mind that there are other ways to demonstrate power than with brute force.”

“Can’t say I disagree,” said Ember, frowning, “My dad’s a different story, and he’s the one you’ve got to impress. He’s all about brute force.”

“I’m sure I can convince him, as long as I have a chance to... speak to him about the matter. When is this raid going to commence?”

“Soon. We don’t know how long the Soul Reapers are going to be distracted, so we can’t risk losing the window while it’s open. We’ll attack in just a couple of days.”

“Why not just attack now?” Adagio asked, floating closer to Ember. “Especially if time is a concern?”

“Takes time to get anything done, especially with multiple Espada are trying to work together,” said Ember with a roll of her eyes, her voice filled with a long suffering frustration, “I swear if we Arrancar ever pulled our heads out of our asses long enough to actually realize we’re all on the same side we’d wipe the Quincy and Soul Reapers out in week. As it stands, my dad’s going to spend the next day or so arguing with Lord Squirk and Lady Catrina over who gets first crack at the Quincy, how many troops to bring, how long we can risk fighting before too many Sternritter show up, yadda yadda yadda. They might manage to have a coherent plan by the time we open the Garganta portals to leave.”

“Sounds as if this is typical behavior for the Espada,” Adagio said, thinking of Grogar’s own double dealing plans to gain power for himself, “If your leaders are this disorganized how have they not killed each other yet?”

Ember laughed bitterly, “Simple, old fashioned fear. Much as each Espada competes with one another for position, there isn’t a single Arrancar, Espada or otherwise, who comes close to taking down the big boss himself. Lord Tirek is on a whole different level than the rest of us, and while he lets the other Espada have their little spats, he comes down hard on any serious in-fighting. We all have to play by his rules.”

“Hmph...” Adagio wrinkled her nose, “Sounds like a lovely man to work for. At least he understands how fighting among yourselves weakens you.”

“Yeah, well, I figure my old man wouldn’t be any different if he was in charge,” Ember said, then shrugged, “Whatever. So you’re in, right?”

Adagio nodded, feeling a grim feeling of determination coming over her. She couldn’t afford to turn back from the path she was walking. She needed power, and this was the only route laid before her. Adagio was certainly afraid. Not only would battling the Quincy be dangerous, but she felt like she might lose even more of herself if it turned out she had to take the life of a living human. Even in her darkest moments of pursuing power as a siren she’d never crossed that line. Manipulated others, certainly. Enslaved the wills of those she wanted to control, sure. But she’d never gotten blood on her hands. Hooves. Fins. Whatever.

Ember was right that there wasn’t much difference, technically, between slaying a Quincy, and the Hollows she’d already torn apart and feasted upon. In the end all were human souls, and she’d had plenty of blood on her by now.


But she was still left feeling cold at the prospect of killing a living person. Mostly because, in some deep, dark corner of her soul, she knew she was probably perfectly capable of doing it. If she was pressed hard enough, given enough reason, Adagio knew she was the kind of person who could do terrible things.

And that terrified her.

----------

The building that contained the Central 46 of Soul Society was rather innocuous when seen from the outside. It was little more than a squat, white cylindrical building of polished stone set within a square, perfectly still pool of crystal blue water. The pool of water was surrounded on all sides by a fifteen foot tall wall topped by bright orange shingles, sloped on other side. A single wood bridge only wide enough for two people to walk abreast led from a tall gate in the surrounding wall to a landing of stone around the front of the cylindrical building.

“I do not like this at all, sister,” muttered Luna as they were marched along. Their fellow Captains had formed a cordon both in front and behind them, with Platinum and Zecora leading in the front, and Starswirl and Hurricane bringing up the rear. The escort of lower ranked Soul Reapers formed a trailing procession that had stopped to wait outside the walls. Lower ranked officers were not allowed inside the Central 46 without special permission.

“Do not fear, Luna, we shall persevere through this,” replied Celestia with all the calm and comfort she could put into her voice. She could read her sister like tea leaves at the bottom of her favorite tea cup. Luna’s anger was a strong front for just how nervous her sister was.

Celestia shared the feelings, and understood completely. Luna wasn’t any more fond of not being in control of the situation than Celestia was. It likely did not help that they had long since been disarmed of their Zanpaktou. Luna’s twitching hands was a clear sign of how much she missed her blades, not that they would do much good where they were going. They’d be surrounded by their fellow Captains, the rest of the Gotei 13’s commanding officers waiting within the Central 46 chambers already. To fight would be an exercise in futility.

Arriving at the front doors to the building, which consisted of a pair of thick stone slabs with a near seamless slit between them, Captain Platinum approached and spoke in a loud, clear voice.

“I am Captain Platinum of the Sixth Division. With me are Captains Zecora of the Fourth Division, Starswirl of the Twelfth, and Hurricane of the Eleventh. We bring with us the accused prisoners Celestia and Luna to be heard before the wise council of the Central 46.”

There was a pause of only a few moments before a series of glowing blue kanji symbols appeared along the sides of the stone doors, which then grew into a larger, scrolling set of lines of symbols surrounding the entire building. Among the Soul Society’s most powerful wards encased this building and the many, many sub-level chambers beneath it. Unlocking even a small opening in them took nearly a full minute. With a sound like a distant gong being sounded the wards opened and the stone doors slide open smoothly.

The six Captains entered, walking along a long, spiraling staircase of stone steps that ran along the edge of the inner wall. The stairs led down to an open chamber like an amphitheater. Four rows of encircling seats set within raised tiers surrounded an open, hexagonal shaped space. The seats were occupied by people in incredibly voluminous white robes, with their faces obscured by white sheets of force. Each member of the Central 46 kept their faces hidden in such a manner, traditionally to avoid their identities from being known to any in the outside world. Functionally there was little point, but Celestia wasn’t inclined to bother bringing that up.

Aside from the forty six members of the council, there was a line of guest seats along the very bottom tier, and it was here that Celestia's peers, the rest of her fellow Captains, were waiting. She looked at each of them in turn, wondering which ones might speak out on behalf of her and Luna, and which wouldn’t.

Seated at the far end, looking bored and uncomfortable, was the youngest Captain in all Soul Society’s history. Sweet Cider was a unique specimen, historically speaking. Not only the youngest Soul Reaper to ever be appointed a Captain, but the youngest to hold the title of Kenpachi. In fact few even called her Sweet Cider, or even knew that was her name. Kenpachi was by far the more common moniker for her. The title belonged to the Soul Society’s strongest swordsman. Swordswoman in this case. It referred purely to raw physical talent, as several of the Captains might boast actually higher skill, and a number could boast greater powers with their Zanpaktou... but Sweet Cider was admittedly the most direct and brutal with the raw spiritual power she had and the straightforward capacity she had for violent destruction with her sword.

Of course Celestia had known the familial connection between Sweet Cider and Applejack for some time, and one couldn’t look at the two side by side and not see the family resemblance. Sweet Cider had her daughter’s bright blonde hair, though she let her’s fall in a unruly, wild mass of untamed locks as opposed to Applejack’s more naturally straight hair. Sweet Cider’s skin was bright, cheery red, much like her son Big Mac’s, but it was clear Applejack had inherited her mother’s sharp green eyes. Eyes that looked to Celestia and Luna without sympathy, but also without condemnation. It was clear Sweet Cider didn’t like being here.

Next to Sweet Cider was a man who gave Celestia and Luna an acknowledging nod and small smile, leaving Celestia’ feeling a warm uplifting that relieved some of her tension. Captain Cheese Sandwich, of the Eight Division, was a good and trusted friend. A consummate joker, he never took much of anything seriously, and even now he didn’t appear tense. Indeed he slouched in his chair, orange, cheese colored hands resting behind his head of poofy brown hair, as if he was merely taking in a show and not witnessing a hearing concerning two of his fellow Captains committing treason.

If any voice would be first to speak in her or her sister’s defense, it’d be his.

Beside Cheese Sandwich was a woman who made sitting in the simple wooden chair look more like sitting a throne, though she did it with a sense of humility rather than overbearing regalness. Captain Amore of the Fifth Division was a woman of stately appearance, with a incredibly long and smooth head of hair that fell well past her knees, shining a crimson rose color up top but gradually changing to a deep violet towards the bottom half. Her skin was a vibrant peach color, and her eyes held a kind golden hue to them. Amore looked towards Celestia and Luna’s entrance with an expression of soft pity and deep worry. Celestia knew Amore as a kind hearted and soft spoken individual, not at all combative unless roused to anger, an event so rare Celestia had only seen it happen once in centuries of having known the woman. However she also knew Amore was loyal to Soul Society’s laws, and it was hard to gauge whose side she might be on in the coming hearing.

Towering beside Amore was a man who might generously be described as ‘large’. A hairy mountain with legs might have been more apt. His skin and hair both were a dark brown color, his skin just the most minute shade lighter than the coarse hair on his barrel chest, partially visible past the neck of his black robes. He had thick sideburns leading to a rough, short beard, and his hair fell in thick shoulder length spikes down his back. His shoulders were broader than some people’s entire heights, and his arms were folded across his barrel chest like the trunks of ancient oak trees. Power resided in his dark eyes, and he gave little away in what he was thinking... but Captain Thunderhooves of the Seventh Division was always a difficult man to read, in Celestia’s experience.

Next in line was a deceptively short and relaxed looking woman with light orange skin and a wind swept head of black hair with several lighter streaked shades of grey shooting through it. Intelligent magenta eyes watched the whole room with lidded eyelids that belied just how alert Captain Daring Doo was, the head of Third Division hiding the tension in her petite body by slouching back in her chair and pretending to look as if she was ready to nod off. Much like Thunderhooves, Celestia had no real sense of what Daring might be thinking of the present situation. They’d never been all that close, just professional colleagues. From what Celestia knew, Daring was more concerned with pursuing knowledge of spiritual artifacts than with the day to day affairs of Soul Society. It made it hard to decide just what Daring Doo thought of what was happening.

Unlike Daring, however, the man beside her had a very easy to read mood, one of boredom and an undercurrent of contempt. With white skin that matched Celestia’s own, and a well cared for head of bright blond hair, and blue eyes that radiated a sort of unguided disgust, Captain Blueblood of the Ninth Division looked as if he’d literally rather be anywhere else than in the Central 46 chambers. Whether that was because he detested these particular proceedings or because he simply didn’t like being part of any kind of official work was a matter that could probably be left to a coin toss. Celestia didn’t hold any particular dislike for the man, but he did seem to chafe at doing his duties at times, and his position as a Captain seemed more a token gesture to the noble family he came from than anything else. More to the point, he was a well known friend of Captain Platinum. Celestia doubted she’d find much support coming from him.

Then there was the final Captain awaiting their arrival, the Captain Commander himself. His mere presence alone filled Celestia with both hope and trepidation in equal measure. He was her and Luna’s mentor, one who’d taught them the ways of the Soul Reaper, who’d built the Soul Society and the Gotei 13 practically from nothing. Without him, the world would still be a place of chaos and disorder, where Hollows roamed free to prey upon the souls of the dead and the living alike. He was the world’s most powerful Soul Reaper, barring perhaps the head of the Royal Guard, but that was debatable. Regardless, Celestia admired, respected, and feared the elderly man sitting in the final chair before the podium where she and Luna would be heard, and judged.

Scorpan smiled, but it was a small, hidden gesture, perhaps meant for only her and Luna alone to see. It was a grandfatherly smile, his golden eyes filled with equal measures of grim gravity and reassuring kindness. His was partially bald up top on his leathery, darkly tanned skin, but he still had a long, thick set of hair falling below his shoulder-blades, much of their rich brown turned to light gray. Though neither particularly tall or broad, Scorpan’s well muscled form carried with it a lurking sense of overwhelming might and solidarity that grounded the entire room. As head of the First Division and the Commander of all the Gotei 13, his presence alone carried immeasurable weight, and Celestia sincerely hoped that he, more than any other, would be able to keep this matter from devolving into the kind of infighting she feared would come about.

“The accused shall take their places before this council,” spoke a loud, baritone voice from behind one of the front screened seats on the first tier, one of the six ‘wise men’ of the Central 46. “All Captains, please take your seats as well until you are called for testimony.”

Captain Platinum strode past Celestia, giving her one final, hardened look before taking her seat, followed by Zecora, Hurricane, and Starswirl. With carefully paced steps Celestia stayed beside Luna as they both walked up the three steps onto a hexagonal shaped podium in the middle of the chamber. She and her sister stood under a harsh white light from above, illuminating them while keeping much around them shrouded darkly, but she could feel the stares of her peers and the council of forty six men and women who would be judging her fate. It was like having the weight of an ocean pressing down on her, but Celestia stood firm, and Luna looked into the shadows with a defiant glare.

The same booming voice spoke once more, its words falling like gavels.

“Very well, now that all are convened, let this hearing commence.”