//------------------------------// // Episode 61: Path of Thorns // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 61: Path of Thorns Day to day life among the horde of Lord Torch was normally an unending blurr of carousing, brawling, and hunting. With word spreading of an impending attack by the hated Quincy the horde’s usual routine was largely halted in favor of everyone forming warbands and competing to see who would lead each warband, which consisted of no-holds-barred smashing of faces and drop-kicking of heads while Torch watched on with great amusement. Ember, of course, wasted no time in picking out the strongest from the horde to form her own warband, and gleefully breaking the jaws of anyone who wanted to challenge her for leading the pack. All out battles with the Quincy were usually rare, but she was lucky enough to get a double crack at it, what with the previous raid and now this retaliation by the Quincy giving even more chances at some well earned glory. She ought to be in a good mood, but two notes soured the otherwise warm rush of anticipation of the violence to come. One was that Adagio still hadn’t become an Arrancar yet, and while Ember wasn’t going to admit it out loud, she worried about the spunky Adjuchas. It was almost against her own will, really. Ember wasn’t one to get too attached, but she’d taken a stronger and stronger liking to Adagio’s ambitious and oftentimes passionate demeanour. The woman didn’t do anything by halves, and while she was a little too much of the thinking type for Ember’s tastes she had to admit that Adagio had guts. It was just that aside from her father there weren’t a lot of people Ember actually liked. Respected, sure. She respected every Espada for their power, even dirtbags like Grogar. But Adagio was about as close as Ember had ever gotten to considering someone a ‘friend’. Which meant she wasn’t keen on losing said friend. This fight with the Quincy, it was gonna be rough. Even her father was showing more caution and seriousness in his demeanor than she was used to, and that actually scared her a bit. Not that she’d ever let anyone know that she was nervous. The second thing souring her mood was... “Hey! Hey Ember, I’m talking to you! Are you listening to me or what?” Ember was taking a break from kicking around her forming warband into fighting shape and was lounging under one of the hordes massive cook tents, munching on some Hollow leg that had just been roasting over the bonfire. Her eyes rolled as she turned her head from its position leaning against the back of her hand as she lay on her side and gave the speaker an annoyed glare. “What, Garble!? If I want a footstool, I’ll let you know, otherwise could you keep it down?” He snorted, resting his one good arm on his hip while glaring at her. His left arm was still just a stump, one of several wounds leftover from the bout with the Quincy. He also sported a scar across his left eye, a long, slim rift in his otherwise smooth flesh. “Real funny. Look we need to talk.” “Uh, pretty sure we don’t. Unless by talk, you mean I ram my fist somewhere between your throat and sternum.” The male blinked in dull confusion. “The hell’s a sternum? Pfft, nevermind. Look you don’t like me and I don’t like you, but you know who I like even less? That freak Adagio.” Ember’s eyes narrowed to crimson slits as she sat up, taking a large meaty bit of the roasted leg of Hollow in her hand, chewing very loudly and deliberately as she spoke around the mouthful. “And I care about that, because...?” “Because I’m telling you that you can’t trust her, that’s why!” Garble snapped, and in a rather unusual move for him he stopped looming over her and instead went and plopped down cross-legged next to her. Ember considered that it’d be pretty easy just to kick him in the side of the head from this position, but she was eating and didn’t want to ruin a perfectly good meal just yet. Instead she settled for continuing to glare at him. “Yeah, ‘cause I’m just supposed to take your word on that? You’ve been nothing but a pain in my ass since forever, Garble. Now, what, you’re supposed to be worried about me?” “I ain’t worried about you.” Garble huffed, “I’m worried about the horde! I don’t like the way Adagio smells. She’s manipulative, an’ I swear she did something to you when we were attacking those Quincy punks. Letting her into the horde is a mistake, but no way I can get Lord Torch to see that. Maybe if you did, you’d get him to listen.” “Fat chance.” Ember replied, tearing off another chunk of meat. “You’re just pissed she’s got dad’s favor instead of you. Like you’d ever be running this horde one day.” There was a tight clenching of Garble's fist as his whole body tensed, his own eyes flashing with anger. “And of course you think you’re gonna be running things around here eventually, right? Lord Ember, future Espada? But here you are spending all this time helping some weak Adjuchas become an Arrancar for no good reason. What are you getting out of the deal?” Ember pulled back her lips in a barring of fangs, “Maybe I just like the idea of having someone else to kick you around with.” He met her look with a open barring of his own sharp teeth. “Cute, but you can’t tell me straight that you remember what happened when you decided to fight me during the Quincy raid, eh? A bunch of that is still a blur to you, ain’t it?” Heistance gave a fleeting shade of doubt across Ember’s mind. She really couldn’t fully recall all of the events during the Quincy raid. A lot of it was still fuzzy, including why she’d gotten so angry at Garble that she’d decided to fight him all out. Not that she needed much reason to want to punt Garble through a wall or two, but even in the many times she’d sparred with him or even got into legit fights over one thing or another, she’d never felt the need to go all out like she had during the raid. She’d even used her Resurreccion, and she’d never done that against a fellow horde member, even one as annoying as Garble. She shook her head, “Whatever. So what if it don’t remember everything? It was a rough fight with a bunch of Quincy. Really chaotic. You forget stuff sometimes.” Garble’s snort was thick with derision. “You seriously believe that?” At Ember’s silence he snorted again and stood up, looking down at her with an expression that almost equated to concern. “Look, believe me or don’t, whatever. I know something about that damn Adagio isn’t right, and if you don’t want to see it then that’s your problem.” “You don’t know the first thing about her.” Ember shot back, standing as well and jabbing a finger into his chest. He ignored the finger and just kept glaring down at her. “Oh yeah? And you do?” “Sure I do. I mean, I know she finds you just as annoying as I do, and that’s a pretty good start in my book.” said Ember, pushing past him and stomping away from the cook fire with an aggravated huff. Garble, however, followed after her. “So if you’re all so buddy-buddy with her, then where is she right now?” Ember paused, mostly because she was considering punching Garble in his stupid face, but also because his question did make her wonder where Adagio had gotten off to. They’d been planning to head back to the Forest of Menos, but Adagio hadn’t shown up yet. Ultimately Ember shrugged the question off, saying gruffly, “I’m not her babysitter or leash holder. She can come and go as she pleases, same as any other Hollow in the horde. Now unless you got anything actually interesting to say how about you quit bugging me and let me get back to whipping my warband into shape, since some of us actually care about the upcoming fight.” Garble growled defensively, “Hey, I got a warband too, and we’ll be taking down more Quincy than anyone else out there.” “Looking to beat your high score of zero?” Ember spat back, and at Garble’s frustrated look she let out a satisfied sigh and marched away. However as she did so she did wonder idly about what Adagio was up to. Just where had the siren gone? ---------- Her pale claw ran over the smooth surface of one of the many stone pillars lining the room’s semi-circular width. Along the circumference of the room a set of stone steps cut a path through lines of carved seating, like some ancient Roman forum, leading down to a wide stage where Adagio imagined any crowd of people seated on the stone benches could be addressed and be heard clearly due to the room’s acoustics. Indeed the musically inclined part of her could view this chamber as an excellent place to hold a concert, as her steps echoed with such powerful yet clear reverberation that she imagined even a simple whisper would carry clearly to every corner. A thick layer of dust pervaded the room, signaling how long it had been since anyone had used the vast chamber. The far wall on the other side of the forum stage held three tall, rectangular windows that actually opened up into Las Noches’ lit interior with its artificial sky. White, semi transparent curtains fell around the windows, hanging still in the breezeless air. From the chamber’s entryway, which consisted of a large stone door with a carved handle, her three Arrancar... employees? Servants? Minions? ...Minions. Her three Arrancar minions stood watching her curiously. Dumbbell cleared his throat after a moment. “Uh, so what do you think? Not bad, right?” She turned contemplative red eyes towards the trio, who stood eagerly waiting her response. She reflected that their attitude was in stark contrast to their bullying arrogance when they first met, but after so many days of being consistently fed not only did the three young male Arrancar look less thin but she saw their old conventional hunger replaced by a new one; the hunger to please. She imagined it never occured to the three of them that without Ember around they were still stronger than her and could probably kill her if they all attacked at once. But it was clear there was no such thought in their heads now. Adagio provided them purpose and sustenance, and having lacked a consistent source of either they now served willingly, even eagerly. She favored them with a smile, gracious as she nodded. “It will suit my needs quite well, I think. Good work.” The three boys all grinned at each other, exchanging fist bumps. Hoops chuckled, “Told you dude’s she’d like it. Even if its-” Score quickly elbowed Hoops in the ribs, “Dude shut it!” Adagio cleared her throat loudly, looking at the three sharply. She’d already suspected they might have been omitting something and had been planning to ask some questions regardless, but she decided to let them think she was only now seeing something amiss. “Is there something you boys want to tell me? Perhaps the reason why such a perfectly good chamber is sitting here, clearly unused for some time, amid Las Noche’s outer wall?” Hoops and Score started to immediately talk over each other in an incomprehensible jumble, but Dumbbell quickly gave both of them a smack upside their heads and then turned back to Adagio with an embarrassed look. “Okay, so, uh, you’ve probably noticed there’s like a bunch of rooms like this built into this part of the wall, but not really anywhere else.” Adagio nodded, for she had in fact taken note of such. Las Noches’ incredibly thick outer walls were largely devoid of chambers, just hallways connecting to paths and stairs to the city-sized fortress’ entrances and gates out into its vast interior space. However when the three boys had taken her to the hallways running along the wall’s interior length she’d noticed that there were several other chambers situated in a tight cluster near the south west end of the wall, and that this forum was at the center of that cluster of rooms. “I would guess that all of these rooms near one another were all owned by the same Hollow.” she said, “The question I have is why are they now abandoned?” “Uh, I don’t know, like, the whole story but there used to an Espada who used this as her personal pad. She was the old Number Two before the big bad Queen Chrysalis came along. I don’t remember what her name was, but everyone called her the Queen of Thorns. There was a huge spat between her and Chrysalis back in the day, and the Queen of Thorns lost. I don’t think anyone knows for sure if Chrysalis killed her, or if this Thorns chick ran off and became a Privaron Espada. At least I don’t know. Either way, she’s gone, and Chrysalis is the current Second Espada.” Adagio’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Intriguing, but that still doesn’t explain why no one else has claimed these chambers since then.” Dumbbell looked at her with a thousand mile wide stare. Then Score cleared his throat and raised a hand, “Err, I think its just that nobody wants to chance pissing on Chrysalis’ shoes. I mean, if any other Espada moved in here, where one of Chrysalis’ old rivals lived, wouldn’t that kind of be like putting up a giant target on their forehead.” “Is this Chrysalis really so petty as to see any claim to these chambers as a challenge to her authority?” Adagio asked, and all three of the boys stared at her. “Yes.” “Yeah.” “Totally.” Adagio sighed deeply, “So what then was the point of bringing me here, other than to waste my time?” Dumbbell was quick to raise his hands, shaking them, “Whoa, hold up! That stuff only counts if you were, like, some big time Espada. You know, someone who’d be on Chrysalis’ radar. But since you’re just a regular Hollow looking for a spot to crash, then nobody would even notice you’re here. And even if they did, I don’t know, Chrysalis probably wouldn’t care.” “That or she’d have you summarily executed.” Hoops said frankly. “Dude, shut up.” Dumbbell said, glaring at the other Arrancar. “Adagio’s, like, tight with Lord Torch and his crew. That’s got to count for some protection.” “Against the Second Espada if she goes on an enraged bender?” Hoops asked, “Didn’t the last time she got, uh... playful and bored we lost half the Warrens?” A spark of irritation lit Adagio’s eyes. “The Warrens?” “Las Noches’ slums.” Dumbbell said, “It's a whole mess of tunnels and crap underneath the fortress. Pretty much one big maze. Lot of Arrancar who aren’t part of an Espada’s group end up living down there, along with a bunch of low class Hollow that just sort of drift in. Lord Smooze actually runs the place, but doesn’t really claim it as his own, which is why when Chrysalis feels like screwing around or sending her horde out to play, they use the Warrens as the playground. Days like that it's best to come topside to lay low.” “The three of you lived there?” Adagio inquired. “Yeah, before we decided to chance living up here where a lot tougher Arrancar might decide to kill us, but the opportunities to get food are better.” Dumbbell said, shrugging as if it’d been a simple choice. He then glanced away from her, his hair hiding part of his face. “Which you’ve been doing your part in helping us stay fed, so not exactly complaining over here. Anyway, like I was saying, you’re probably fine shacking up here. It's really the only place that fits what you were asking for. Long as you got some big shot like Lord Torch’s support then I don’t think even Chrysalis would do anything about you using this place. Still, if you don’t like it we can always keep looking.” “No...” Adagio said, her eyes turning back across the forum’s length. Something about the room appealed to her on more than just an aestitch level. She felt strangely comfortable here, the danger of earning Chrysalis’ ire be damned. “This will do. I’d like to examine the other rooms when time allows, but Ember and I are returning to the Forest of Menos so that will have to wait. In the meantime why don’t the three of you see about acquiring some furnishings for this place?” “What, you mean like... chairs or something?” Dumbbell asked with a confused look and Adagio bit back the urge to groan. “Chairs, tables, preferably a bed of some sort. I’m not planning on sleeping on stone for the rest of eternity. Surely there’s a source of such things somewhere in this fortress?” The three boys all looked at each other and briefly leaned their heads close to whisper in breif conference. Eventually Dumbbell said, “We’ll ask around. Never really thought about where stuff like that comes from. Not like there’s, uh, stores in Hueco Mundo.” Adagio slapped a claw to her masked face, her thinning patience clear in her voice. “If you can’t find anything here then use a Garganta to slip into the living world and raid a shopping mall!” Dumbbell, Hoops, and Score all blinked at that, then grinned. “Hey boss, that’s pretty smart! We can totally do that!” “Can we get a tv, too?” “Hoops, there’s nothing to hook it into here.” “Well, yeah, but we can still hook up a game console to it.” “And power it with what, genuis? Electric farts? Do you see any outlets in here!?” “What if we stole a generator. Like one of those gas powered things?” “Right, and we’ll just hop on down to one of the many gas stations in Hueco Mundo to get fuel for it.” “We can steal that from the living world too.” Adagio just stared at them for a few seconds with a hefty raise of her brow, “You three seem surprisingly familiar with the human world all of a sudden. Don’t tell me you’ve done something like this before?” Score let out a deep throated chuckle-snort, “Heheh, yeah, when we get really bored we used to hop into the living world and mess with people. You ever see that video with the dude freaking out about all the lights in his house turning on and off? That was us.” “...I see.” Adagio said with a flat, dumbfounded monotone. Had she really found individuals who were collectively more airheaded than Sonata? Was she really going to rely on them as competent help? Well, she’d managed to survive Sonata for years (recent events notwithstanding), she’d manage with these three for now. “At any rate, do what you have to do, but I’d like to see this place start to look comfortable in the near future. Just try not to burn any malls down in the process. The last thing I need is for some Soul Reaper or Quincy to take notice of you lot.” Or a certain bacon headed girl and her band of friends for that matter. ---------- Twilight was starting to forget what sleep was like. Restful sleep, at least. Not only was her training at the Academy draining and time consuming but she wasn’t allowing herself much time outside of those lessons either. She had entirely too much that needed doing and barely enough time in the day to get it all packed into those previous, fleeting hours. The lack of sleep compounded an already grumpy mood that left her hair frazzled and her eyes bloodshot and bleary as she worked at a bench she’d had moved to her room, now strewn with various electronic parts. She wa focused on putting together the last components of a special prototype device she intended to test as soon as her guest arrived, but in the meantime she was putting on the finishing touches while trying very hard not to think about what had happened that morning. Spike, however, was not so keen on letting Twilight fume, and he could have smelled her conflicted anger for several kilometers no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Snuggled up against her chair Twilight was sitting in the dog wagged his tail encouragingly. “You can’t stay mad at her forever.” Twilight bit her lip, hands tightening around the soldering iron in her grip. Flecks of sweat beaded her violet brow. Spike let out a light canine whine, “I mean, I get it. Cadence really shouldn’t have messed with you like that, especially without saying anything. Not making excuses for her, and you totally got a right to be mad. I’m just saying you shouldn't stay mad. It's not good for you.” Twilight, hissing out a deep sigh, set aside the soldering iron and picked up a carved ceramic casing that she started to fit over the crescent of wires, circuits, and glass she’d been assembling. Her voice was quiet and tight with strain. “Thank you Spike. I know you’re just worried about me. I’ll be fine. I just need... time to cool my head, that’s all.” It was more than that, and Twilight knew it, but she didn’t want to worry Spike. The poor fella was having a hard enough time adjusting to life in this cold, unfamiliar place, and she hardly wanted to add to his stress. Most the time he was stuck cooped up in her room. She really needed to take him outside sometime soon, if only to just stretch his legs. Twilight needed every distraction she could get, which was partially why she’d focused on finishing this side project. Her anger didn’t feel right. Justified, yes, but unusually intense for her. Twilight just didn’t get mad that often, or for that long. Yet when Cadence had revealed what she’d done during the training session to form a personalized bow, and that it had likely led to that magical surge inside her... Twilight had nearly snapped. As it was she’d given Cadence a frosty shoulder and had refused to talk to the woman for the rest of the day. Cadence, while clearly hurt by this, had quickly taken the hint and given Twilight plenty of breathing room. Yet Twilight still felt almost irrationally angry the entire day. It had come out during the training at the Academy with more than a few instances of having to force herself to hold back from injuring fellow cadets or accidentally blowing holes in Academy buildings with sudden spikes in power when practice firing her bow. She wanted to try forming a personal bow again, but didn’t trust herself to do that while feeling this way. So to combat the anger she’d thrown herself into finishing this project, letting all that chilling emotion pour out of her as she lost herself in the technical challenge of constructing the device in front of her. It was nearly done, too, which surprised her. She thought this would take a lot longer, but her work on the spirit energy scanners she’d made for her friends had helped out quite a lot. All the design principles were the same here, only with an emphasis on focused and detailed readings translated into sensory information a human nervous system could interpret. All she needed was to test it and make sure it would do the job. “Spike, what time is it?” she asked, not looking up from her work. Spike hopped up onto her bed and peered at the grandfather clock, “Nearing seven. You still got an hour before visiting hours are over.” “Good. More than enough time.” Twilight said, finishing the last touches and tightening down the outer casing, making sure it lined up with the glass band along the front of the device. Double checking the power supply and running a quick test to make sure there were no failing circuits, Twilight sighed in genuine contentment. Her anger at Cadence wasn’t entirely gone, but spending an afternoon and a good chunk of evening building something in the same of science and friendship did wonders to temper her mood. She held up the completed visor with a critical eye. It was a white ceramic half circle, padded with comfortable linings of black leather. The front held a band of sapphire blue glass, which acted as the visors focusing lens. The internal structure was very similar to the devices she’d built for Sunset and the girls back in Canterlot City, with a number of fine tuned adjustments to make it more exact and detailed in its ability to process and display sensory input. That, and the cortical nodes meant to allow it to sync with a human nervous system directly. That was by far the trickiest part and something Twilight had needed to rely more on the spiritual side of things to make up where her understanding of science left gaps. Reishi, spirit particles, were sensed differently than any other form of sensory input and as such could bypass limitations in the human nervous system. Including damaged parts of it. Looking the visor over one last time for any defects, Twilight carefully placed it in a shoulder bag along with a monitoring tool designed to hook up to it. “Alright Spike, wish me luck.” “You got it. Say, when you’re done, do you think we could get outside for a bit? Starting to feel like the walls are getting closer around here.” She went over to the bed and reached out to give the dog a loving pet on the head, “Of course. I’ve been meaning to do that for awhile now. Just, you know, busy.” Spike licked her hand affectionately, his tail wagging rapidly. “I know. Don’t let it get to you. I’ll be here when you get back.” Giving Spike one last farewell pet, Twilight hurriedly left her room and made her way through the cavernous, quiet hallways of the castle. She was used to her family’s mansion, so the vast and empty hallways were rapidly starting to feel like something akin to home. And admittedly they weren’t entirely empty. She passed by a number of other Quincy on her way to the hospital wing. The sheer immensity of the Silburn just made it feel empty, despite how many people must have called the castle home. All of that training must have been paying off in more ways than one, because the long trek across the castle didn’t even leave her slightly winded by the time she got to the wing of halls containing the hospital. Never the athletic type, Twilight was secretly pleased at how fit she was getting. Maybe next time she had to play Rainbow Dash in soccer she might actually hold her own a bit? The lighthearted thought passed quickly, not only due to the realization that she would likely never return to Canterlot High or just hang out with her friends, but also because she’d reached her destination. The door was plain white, like most of the doors in the hospital wing, with a simple number label in black. Twilight gave a light, polite knock and waited a moment. She heard a muffled female voice inside say what sounded like, “Come in.” Opening the door she found a plain hospital room no different than the one she’d been recovering in, with the only difference being that this room had a window looking out into one of the castle’s many interior gardens. Not that the room’s occupant could enjoy the view of the evening sun casting shadowy rays on the gardens pleasant arrangement of colorful flower bushes. Sugarcoat was sitting up in her bed, arms crossed, head leaned back. It was strange seeing her hair not done up in its usual pig-tailed style, but instead hanging in loose, wavy strands down her back. However Twilight barely noticed that, her eyes instead  locked on Sugarcoat’s face. Sugarcoat had always had the world’s most frank and deadpan stare. Twilight had once always feared to meet Sugarcoat’s eyes, because of the blunt and often uncaring truth they contained, never hesitant to state things as they were without much care for others feelings. They had been strong eyes, if not kind ones. You always knew where you stood with Sugarcoat, just by looking at her eyes. Not anymore. The Arrancar’s blade had ruined those eyes, and now Sugarcoat wore a simple gray blindfold to hide the empty sockets that were left behind. The image left Twilight feeling cold, remembering seeing that viscous blow and feeling nothing but guilt for the knowledge that it’d been received defending her. Though blind, Sugarcoat’s hearing was just fine and her head turned towards Twilight as the door opened and closed. “Who is it? If that’s you again mom, I’ve had about all the crying I can take for one day so seriously no more waterworks.” “It’s, uh, it’s me.” Twilight said, and Sugarcoat’s head tilted slightly. “Twilight Sparkle. I didn’t expect to s-... expect you to visit.” “I hope you don’t mind.” Twilight said, taking a hesitant step further into the room. “I’ve been meaning to come see you. Spitfire has us working even harder at the Academy than normal, but I was able to find time to work on something. Something I hope can help you.” Even without eyes Sugarcoat could certainly still manage a coy eyebrow raise that conveyed her incredulity. “I doubt anything can actually help me unless you’ve managed to develop the spontaneous power to grow me a new pair of eyes. Which I’d find hard to believe.” A pause, then,”You haven’t, have you?” “Uh, well, no not exactly. But maybe the next best thing? Do you mind if I come over to the bed?” “Why would I mind?” “I don’t know, personal bubble, maybe?” “I don’t have one of those. They seem pointless. So what precisely is it that you have?” Sugarcoat said, making a vague gesture towards the side of her bed, indicating Twilight should walk on up. Twilight did so, pulling up one of the room’s small sitting chairs to take a seat by Sugarcoat’s beside. She took the visor and the corresponding monitoring device out of her shoulder bag. “Before coming here I helped my friends by building devices that detected spiritual particles. I based them loosely off of the magic detection device I had during the Friendship Games. Since then I’ve refined the designs in my head and with some time I’ve managed to build this...” she gently raised her hand and placed the visor in Sugarcoat’s. The other girl flinched, her hands running over the visor in a clear attempt to figure out what it was. When realization hit Sugarcoat’s face it was quickly replaced by skepticism. “I think you’ve watched too much sci-fi. There’s no way you could build something that will actually let me see, let alone do it in a matter of days. I appreciate the effort, but there’s zero chance this would work, whatever it is.” Twilight’s face flushed to a peak of crimson, and a spark of craftsman’s pride welled up in her. “I assure you the device should work just fine. In theory. It’s not quite what you think. It won’t let you ‘see’ exactly, but... well just put it on. I’ll show you. Assuming it does work, which it will!” “I still think this is silly, but it doesn’t cost me anything to humor you, and the thought is appreciated. Alright, fine, I’ll put it on.” Sugarcoat raised the visor to her face and Twilight lent her own hand to help the other girl get it strapped on. The ends of the visor with the cortical nodes lined up with Sugarcoat’s temples, and the rest of it covered her eyes, but the blindfold had to come of first. Sugarcoat hesitated when Twilight moved to take the blindfold off. “I don’t want you to see that...” Sugarcoat said. “It’s okay.” Twilight said soothingly, “Please, trust me.” “For the records this whole situations is seriously uncomfortable.” Sugarcoat said, allowing the blindfold to come off. Twilight didn’t let herself look away from the empty eye sockets. She had to learn to deal with things like this. Taking a deep breath she focused on adjusting the visor so it sat comfortably on Sugarcoat’s face. “Okay, now there’s a button here to switch it on or off, and a small dial here that you can use to adjust the intensity. I’m going to hook up a monitoring device so I can take readings to help with further adjustments, since I don’t expect this to work perfectly from the get-go.” Twilight said as she ran a short cable from the PDA-like monitoring device to a connector on the right side of the visor. Sugarcoat patiently waited until Twilight was done. “So now what? I just turn it on?” “Please do. And, uh, don’t be surprised if there’s a bit of pain from sensory feedback. It should pass, if there is any.” “That’s comforting.” Sugarcoat deadpanned, “Only it’s not. But whatever, let’s do this.” Twilight waited with bated breath as Sugarcoat reached up and flicked the visor on. There was a soft blue glow from the glass front of the visor, lighting it up. Sugarcoat immediately winced, “This feels like someone’s poking a finger into where my eyes ought to be.” “The visor is making connections between your natural capacity to sense reishi and your eye’s remaining nerves, then translating it into images your brain can process.” Twilight said, already making slight adjustments as her monitoring device was fed data. “It doesn't look like there’s any abnormalities so far, and your brainwaves are normal. Can you see anything?” “No, not yet... wait...” Sugarcoat’s face went still, then her mouth slowly dropped open as she turned her head left and right, finally settling right on where Twilight was sitting. “I can... I can see you. Not exactly you, but all the spirit energy inside and around you.” She held her hand in front of her face. “I can even see me.” A glance at the rest of the room was followed by a smirk. “Everything else is so much dimmer, but I can still make out rough shapes. It’s all in shades of black and white.” “Sorry about that,” Twilight said timidly, “Basic sensory input is all I can manage right now until I have a better grasp of spiritual mechanics and biology. You won’t be able to discern writings, or colors, or any kind of fine details. But if you’re patient I’m sure someday I can build something much better than this-” She was cut off very abruptly by a pair of slim by strong arms wrapping around her and yanking her into a crushing hug of surprising strength and intensity. Twilight gasped for breath, shocked at Sugarcoat’s actions, but not really able to resist, even as the hug went on for some time. “S-Sugarcoat, need air...” “Shut up. I’m not done hugging you.” Eventually she did let Twilight go, who sucked in much needed lungfuls of air. Sugarcoat coughed, her own face briefly flashing with a hint of red as she said, “Sorry about that. Just really wanted to do that. You have no idea what this means to me and I’m sorry I doubted you. You’re literally a genius, Twilight Sparkle.” “Hey, no biggie. And just Twilight is fine. We’re friends after all.” “We are?” Sugarcoat said, then paused and nodded. “We are.” Twilight smiled, glancing back at her monitoring device. “Okay, I’ve got my baseline with these readings. Now I’m going to make some slight adjustments, and you just let me know if any of it makes things clearer or not, okay?” They spent the next ten minutes running through different frequencies and intensities of the visor’s sensory input, not unlike an eye doctor might flip through various lenses to try and find a patient's ideal lens type. Once Twilight was satisfied they’d adjusted the current visor design as best as they could she said, “I know its not perfect, and I don’t know if this will allow you to keep being a full fledged Quincy, but I had to do this.” “Why? Because I lost my eyes defending you and the others? That’s a dumb way to think about it. It was a fight, and we all risk bodily injury and even death in battles like that. Its what we were training for. Blaming yourself for it is completely pointless.” “But if I hadn’t gotten injured first-” Sugarcoat cut her off sharply, “Then the same thing might have happened. Or worse. Battles aren’t predictable, Twilight. For all you know if you didn’t get injured someone else might have been hurt even worse in your place, even killed. It's a miracle we all made it out of that fight alive. Others didn’t. You remember that.” A frozen chill trickled down to her heart, flashes of memory entering her mind of the mangled remains of the Quincy cadets who hadn’t been as fortunate as her and her team. “I... I remember. I wish I could forget.” “Don’t.” Sugarcoat said with the firmness of a hammer on an anvil. “Never forget what you saw. That’s war. A war we’re all a part of. Don’t you ever turn away from or try to forget that truth. If you do you’ll just end up making a real mistake that could get yourself or anyone around you killed.” Twilight silently looked at her hands clasped in her lap, nodding without a word. Sugarcoat looked at her, then let out a slow sigh and reached out to hesitantly touch Twilight’s shoulder. “I know I can be... blunt about this stuff, but its true. You’ll get hurt if you can’t deal.” Her other hand touched her visor, a very small wisp of a smile appearing on her face. “But a soft heart isn’t always a bad thing. Thank you for this. It means a lot to me. I might even be able to fight again with this.” “Are you sure?” Twilight asked. “Yes. All that matters is that I can identify and hit my target, which I can do with this.” Sugarcoat said confidently, “I’m sure they’ll let me back into the Academy as long as I prove this works.” Twilight shook her head, “That’s not what I meant. I mean are you sure you want to go back? Sugarcoat, you just made a point of how horrible this war is, and this is your chance to get out of having to fight!” Sugarcoat was quiet for a long moment. With the visor it was hard to read her expression, but Twilight thought it looked like the other girl was thinking hard on how to explain something. “Twilight, your family kept your Quincy heritage a secret from you, but mine didn’t. I grew up knowing my parents were fighting against monsters for the sake of humanity. My father died only two years ago.” Twilight gulped, “Sophomore year, I remember. I thought he died in a car accident?” Even behind the visor Sugarcoat could manage to convey a flat stare. “You ever notice how many students at Crystal Prep lost a parent to a ‘car accident’ or ‘boating accident’ or any other kind of ‘accident’?” “...Oh.” Sugarcoat’s voice softened, “I always knew I was going to be a Quincy. Most of us in the Shadowbotls did. I think maybe Lemon Zest didn’t, but that’s just because Lemon Zest doesn’t pay attention to anything outside of her music. Honestly I’m shocked so many students could keep it a secret there, but then again nobody paid attention to the crazy magic stuff happening at Canterlot High either. I think that whole city has a blind spot for the strange and unusual. Anyway my point is that I want to fight as a Quincy. There’s no way I could just move on to some boring life, knowing my family, my classmates, all of them were busy doing something so much more important.” “And dangerous...” “And worth it.” Sugarcoat touched the visor softly, “Losing my eyes sucked. I thought this was the end. I felt like utter garbage. Twilight, you just gave back to me something I can’t even figure out how to tell you how important it is to me. Don’t question whether I’ve got the resolve to fight. The better question is how am I ever going to repay you for the favor you’ve done for me.” Twilight sat there in stunned silence for a moment. She hadn’t expected quite this level of gratitude, nor had she been seeking to make Sugarcoat feel beholden to her. Making the visor had as much been a way to meet an interesting scientific challenge as it had been about trying to help someone who needed it. And it hadn’t hurt that focusing on finishing the project today had helped keep her mind focused on something other than being angry with Cadence. “You don’t have to repay anything. Just keep being a friend, and we’ll call it even.” she said. “I can do that.” Sugarcoat said, slowly waving her hand in front of her face and giving a dry laugh. “This is going to take some getting used to, but I know I’m good enough to compensate for this different kind of vision. I’ll be back at the Academy in no time.” An unpleasant thought crossed Twilight’s mind like the intrusion of a wasp, “Have you heard about the battle that’s being planned?” Sugarcoat leaned forward curiously, “Haven’t heard much of anything since getting stuck in here. What’s going on?” Twilight took a minute to briefly explain. Sombra was leading the bulk of the Quincy army in a direct assault on the Hollow’s main fortress of Las Noches. Twilight wasn’t privy to many details of the plan, all she knew was that this was in direct response to the Hollow’s own attack on the Quincy cadets and that the primary objective of the assault was to destroy the Espada responsible for creating the portals that were capable of slipping past the Academy’s defensive wards. That, and the fact that Sombra intended the remaining cadets to be present at the battle. Why that was she had no idea and hadn’t the opportunity yet to ask Sombra himself. Sugarcoat took the news with her usual upfront and straightforward fashion. “That’s either a move that’s going to pay off for us in a big way, or lead to a serious disaster, depending on just how much His Majesty is underestimating the enemy. We’re basically countering a trap by stepping right into it intentionally. If that catches the Arrancar off guard, we could win a victory that would tip the balance of the war. If we miscalculate just how hard the Hollows will hit us, we could be the one’s getting decimated. Not the kind of coin toss I’d bet the future of the Quincy on, but I’m not the King.” “I have my doubts as well, but while I don’t really know Sombra that well he doesn’t seem like the type to make rash decisions.” Twilight said, and Sugarcoat’s eyebrows shot up. “You talk really familiar about His Majesty.” Twilight blushed, shrugging, “He seems to prefer it that way.” Sugarcoat adjusted her visor with a single finger in a gesture very much like what she used to do with her glasses. “Interesting. In any case I need to talk to the doctors and make sure they release me from this place ASAP. There’s no way I intend to miss this fight.” “I hope we won’t have to fight at all. At least not us cadets.” Twilight said with a pained whisper, “Too many people have been hurt already. Sombra’s plan sounded like he intended us to stay out of the way of combat.” “Yeah, as if that’ll happen.” Sugarcoat said with a snort, “All the more reason for me to get back out there. I need to make sure you and the others don’t get in over your heads.” “I can’t talk you out of this, can I?” Twilight said, her concern stamped squarely on her face. “Not even remotely.” Sugarcoat replied, once again showing that small subtle smile. Twilight spent the rest of the hospital’s last visitation hour taking down further data and making more minor adjustments to the visor with Sugarcoat helping by providing her own insights. Like most the Shadowbolts Sugarcoat was far from undereducated, and quite intelligent. Twilight might have been the science specialist, but the other Crystal Prep students were highly proficient due to the high standards the school had held them to, and Sugarcoat was no exception. It was a relaxing hour that went by, and it reminded Twilight of how much she missed her friends from Canterlot High. But while she did wonder when she might see Sunset and the girls again, she left Sugarcoat’s hospital room waving and smiling, filled with a renewed sense of purpose. She’d joined the Quincy to find a way to bring peace out of this war, and thinking of Sugarcoat’s small but genuine smile Twilight felt like making friends here was a good step towards one day accomplishing that goal. Now all she had to do was survive so she could keeping making those steps. ---------- The day had been going too well for it to stay that way, Adagio reflected dryly. The prospect of having something resembling a real place live in again combined with how smoothly the past few days of hunting in the Forest of Menos had lifted her mood despite a continuous hanging paranoia concerning Grogar’s schemes. So far she hadn’t raised her concerns with Torch, mostly because she wasn’t certain how the bombastic and quick tempered Espada would respond. Adagio didn’t want to act until she was certain she could control that situation. That aside, things were going well. Which meant it was about time for something to go wrong, by her estimation. It started with her noticing that Ember was acting slightly off. Usually the Arrancar girl brimmed with eager energy and a near palpable enthusiasm for the hunt to come. Adagio had come to appreciate that lightheartedness and the banter that tended to come with it, as it did much to temper her own frustrations in having yet to evolve her powers. Today, however, after meeting up with Ember at their usual spot by the copse of dead trees Adagio immediately picked up that Ember’s mood was distracted. None of the usual quips or eager talk of competing for kills or whether or not today would be the day Gaw finally grew so tired of Di Roy’s chatter that she just stomped on the guy. Instead Ember had giving a subdued “Hey” and began walking towards the distant entrance to the Forest of Menos without saying much else. Adagio mulled that over for a few minutes of silent travel before deciding that given Ember’s personality it was best just to deal with this directly rather than bother with trying to be subtle. “Okay, what’s wrong? Something is clearly bothering you.” she said simply, continuing to float alongside Ember while glancing sidelong at her. Ember blinked in surprise, as if she hadn’t realized how quiet she’d been being, and quickly waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “What? Hell, it’s nothing. Just Garble being stupid, and I guess his dumb is infectious.” Adagio managed a short laugh, despite a warning hint in her gut that while Garble was stupid that that didn’t mean he should be underestimated. He hadn’t liked her from day one, and it was clear he was not only to continue to be a problem, but a growing problem. One that would need to be dealt with sooner rather than later, apparently. “So just what did the fool do this time?” she asked casually. “Just shooting off at the mouth like usual.” Ember said, shrugging, “Nothing he hasn’t said before, he’s just so damned insistent on it. Keeps saying I can’t trust you, that you did something to me during the raid on the Quincy, blah blah blah. He’s just trying to get me to go against you because he’s jealous that you’ve got dad’s favor and he doesn’t...” Despite Ember’s words she trailed off, and Adagio could see in Ember’s eyes that the Arrancar was thinking hard, trying to remember. She’d seen the look before, on other victims of her siren song. Sometimes when a victim was done acting out whatever discordant actions the siren song pushed them towards, or any other form of control for that matter, they would struggle with the jumbled memory or simple blank spaces in their mind that resulted. Ember had come out of raid with the Quincy with little memory of the event and Adagio had believed Ember had written it off as just getting lost in battle lust at the time. Apparently Garble was planting enough doubts in the girl to make Ember think over the events of the raid, and notice how fuzzy her memory well was. “Adagio, would you mind giving me the play by play of that day?” Ember asked, “I mean, just enough so I can fill in the murkier parts I don’t remember well and finally tell Garble he’s full of it?” Adagio knew any hesitance on her part would only enflame Ember’s doubts, so she didn’t miss a beat, putting a smile into her voice as she said, “Of course. It was all rather intense, and you got really into hunting down those Quincy. I’m not surprised it's a bit of a blur for you.” She quickly recounted her “version” of events, keeping it all simple. The simpler the deception the easier it was to believe. In fact most of it was the truth, a factor far too many self-styled manipulators forgot to do; blend as much truth as you could into any lie. She described their arrival, their hunt of Quincy cadets, which led them to encounter Grable’s group attacking a particularly juicy looking group of Quincy that Ember had wanted to claim the kills on, and hence had gotten into a fight with Garble over. That fight had gotten out of hand and both Ember and Garble had been badly wounded, and by that point the Quincy King had shown up and the call for a retreat had been made. Ember’s face was accepting as Adagio told the story, but still flashed with a cloud of confusion. “Yeah, that all makes sense, and that’s more or less what I remember. It’s just... okay I don’t like Garble. Like, at all. He’s a loudmouth jerk and is full of himself to the point that I’m shocked he doesn’t tip over from how big his head gets. But for all that he’s still part of the horde and while I’d smack him around any normal day of the week... I just don’t get why I’d get so angry at him that I’d go all out fighting him when we’re in the middle of a battle against the Quincy.” Ember’s voice held a note of pained self deprecation to it that Adagio didn’t like hearing. “It isn’t like me to do something that stupid. I just don’t understand why I went that far when we had bigger fish to fry. Would’ve been smarter to just either let Garble and his pals have the kills, or split the kills between us. But because I fought him, those Quincy girls got away, and we could’ve killed each other. Dad might not have chewed me out that bad, but I could tell he was seriously disappointed in me and... and he’s right to be so, because that was seriously idiotic of me to do and I just can’t remember why I did it. I don’t remember getting that angry... I just remember being there, with you, watching Garble move in on the Quincy and then... then you said something and I can’t remember what... then nothing.” Adagio kept both her nervousness and her guilt from showing as best she could. There was a time she wouldn’t feel much of either when manipulating others, but Ember had been nothing but helpful and a friend since she’d met her and it wasn’t sitting right with Adagio to do this... but what choice did she have? The truth would cause a rift Adagio couldn't afford right now. That and she didn’t want to lose the only real friend she had around here. Damn that Garble! Adagio had either underestimated how crafty he could be or he’d just blindly stumbled into doing exactly the right thing to cause friction between her and Ember. Adagio was betting on the latter, but just in case it was the former she made a mental note to find a way to deal with Garble as soon as an opportunity arose. But how to handle this situation with Ember? Continuing to pursue the lie seemed the most logical choice. Ember’s doubts had to fade eventually, right? Adagio couldn’t tell the truth, could she? Ember would have no reason not to turn on her, and even if Ember didn’t immediately end any friendship with Adagio as a result there would always be a rift of mistrust between them after that point. For some reason Adagio’s mind conjured an image of Sunset Shimmer, and she could all but hear the annoying bacon-head saying something about the importance of honesty in friendship. It was even more annoying because some part of Adagio imagined Sunset Shimmer was probably right. Well, maybe in  Equestria, or the human world, but this was Hueco Mundo... “Ember, you’re overthinking this. If your father didn’t want fights like that then he shouldn’t have framed the raid like a competition. And aren’t you always telling me that competition is part of what makes Hollows stronger? Sounds to me like you were just following what’s natural for a Hollow to do in that situation. You claimed those Quincy as ours to take down, and Garble got in the way. Simple as that.” “Yeah, I guess.” Ember said, “I just wish I could remember.” “Try not to let it distract you. We’ve got the attention of the Forest of Menos’ Adjuchas tribes now, so we can’t afford to lose our focus today can we?” The shadow of doubt gradually cleared from Ember’s eyes and she managed one of her more naturally eager smiles, “You’re right. Garble’s full of it, and we got more important, and fun things to do than think about what’s already done. Thanks Adagio. You’re a real pal.” Those words hurt more than Adagio thought they would to hear. Again Sunset Shimmer’s shade spoke in Adagio’s mind that “real friends” didn’t lie to one another. Shut up you self-righteous figment! Maybe if I was still living in your world and had my sisters by my side I could afford your little friendship lessons, but I’m here in the realm of Hollows, and survival means I need to do whatever it takes to keep what allies I can. If I tell Ember the truth she won’t forgive me just like that! I...need her to trust me... Now it was Adagio’s turn to become sullenly quiet as they traveled, Ember’s mood brightening as she started to chat more about how many Hollows they’d take down and consume today, but Adagio having trouble getting into the spirit of things as her own mood soured. Fortunately Ember wasn’t the most observant sort, so she didn’t seem to notice. However what Ember did notice was something approaching them from the direction of the Forest of Menos. “Hey, Adagio, did you hear that?” Adagio paused, listening. There was some distant sound, like loud booms of thunder. Then Ember touched the sands of Hueco Mundo with her hand, and Adagio saw the white grains tremble under regular impacts of something distant, but getting closer. Several nearby dunes started to shake, with sand rippling down their length as the impact tremors started to get louder. Adagio felt out with her Pesquisa, and detected a closing Hollow spiritual pressure. One she quickly recognized. “I think it's-” she began to say, but a booming roar that was just beyond the dunes ahead answered her. ”Gaw!” the giant Adjuchas Hollow bellowed, the only verbal sound she was capable of making as she stampeded across the dunes, her hundred foot saurian frame crashing through the bulky sand dunes just ahead with her massive, desert shaking steps. Immediately Adagio could see that Gaw was wounded. Mauled, practically. Her hundred foot tall frame was covered in numerous lacerations and deep, bleeding wounds from what looked like claws, blades, or any number of other large cutting weapons. The huge dinosaur-like Adjuchas was favoring one leg with a limp, but seemed to be ignoring the pain to maintain a fast, headlong charge that only upon seeing Ember and Adagio did Gaw come screeching to a slow skidding stop that shot up a wave of sand over the other two. Shaking sand off of her, Adagio floated up to the panting Gaw’s face, noticing that the other Adjuchas’ mask was bearing some small fractures along its length. Blood dripped from Gaw’s jaws, and Adagio could tell it wasn’t the Adjuchas’ own from the way Gaw’s teeth were stained crimson. “What happened?” Adagio asked, looking around, her eyes narrowing. “Where’s Di Roy.” A mournful sound somewhere between a pained whine and an enraged growl escaped Gaw, and while Adagio was only slowly learning to read Gaw’s body language there was little to no way to mistake what was being said here. Adagio’s own voice now boiled with a low growl herself. “Just answer this, is he dead, or was he taken?” To that Gaw raised her head and let out a coughing, and most of all insistent call, one that was as much a plea as it was a statement of intent. With that Gaw, despite her injuries, turned and started to stomp off back towards the Forest of Menos with such rugged determination that it was obvious that she was saying ’I don’t care if you follow and help, but I’m going to rescue the stupid shark’! Floating down to Ember Adagio said, “I think the Adjuchas’ tribes have captured that foolish shark boy.” Ember nodded, drawing her Zanpaktou. “Hey, at least he’s being useful; he’s leading us right to the dudes we want to fight.” “Which will no doubt be a trap.” Adagio sighed, then smiled behind her Hollow mask. “Well, what are we waiting for? Follow that dinosaur.” ---------- Di Roy was pretty used to the crumby way his life tended to go. He had a unique relationship with lady luck, and he was resigned to the fact that he was one of the universe’s favorite whipping boys. He tried to keep a plucky attitude despite that, actually especially despite that. So despite the fact that was literally nailed to the wall of a large stone cavern at the back of a snaking collection of tunnels within the Forest of Menos, surrounded by a small army of pissed off Adjuchas Hollows that wanted nothing more than to tear him limb from limb and were only not doing that because their leader wanted Di Roy as live bait for her friends... well Di Roy had to laugh. “What’s so funny?” asked his primary captor. The Adjuchas’ Hollow was much larger than most of its brethren. His body was heavily muscled and masculine, like a gray skinned ten meter tall bodybuilder with meaty fists, abs for miles, and a lower body only partially covered (thankfully) by a cloth of Hollow hide. His Hollow hole was on the left side of his burly chest, and his head was covered completely with a mask that resembled a grinning jester, with a wide smile of bony teeth and purple lines of color splashed across the mask’s eyes. Large side horns smoothly protruded from either side of the mask, and the Hollow’s yellow eyes regarded Di Roy with cool amusement as he crossed his thick arms over his chest. “I mean, I suppose you could be laughing at how hopeless your situation is, which I admit is pretty hilarious, but I don’t think it’s quite ‘Ha-Ha’ funny. Maybe if I do this...” The Adjuchas stepped up to where Di Roy’s arms and legs were pinned to the stone wall via giant spikes of bone that the Adjuchas had created from a large bone-like shell on its back where a huge segmented, sharply tipped tail was present. From the shell a spear-like length of bone extended and the Hollow removed it, then turned the spear in his hands until the sharp end was pointed at Di Roy’s abdomen. The Hollow slowly inserted the spear, twisting it around as Di Roy’s laughter turned to a teeth grinding scream. “There we go. That’s better.” Di Roy coughed, blood trickling from his lips, but he turned a grinning look towards the Adjuchas’ Hollow and still managed a weak laugh. “H-hey buddy, what’s wrong with a little laughter, especially at a joke like you?” “Oh yeah, keep insulting the dude with a spear inserted into your gut. This is a smart thing to do that should improve your situation greatly.” The burly Adjuchas grinded the spear around, just for emphasis. “You do realize the only reason I haven’t killed you yet is that I need your spiritual pressure to act like a beacon to draw your companions here, right? The moment they’re in the noose we’re going to close around their necks, I’m going to eat your face. Literally.” “Yeah, yeah, whatever, you're the ‘Big Bad’ here and I’m totally filled with despair or something.” Di Roy said past clenched, bloody teeth as the spear in his gut sent waves of agony through him. “D-dude, you’re not even a speed bump. What do you think is gonna happen when my pals get here?” The Adjuchas’ swept a huge hand out towards the small army of several dozen other Adjuchas-class Hollows, several hundred lesser Hollows, and a contingent of Gillians that all occupied the vast stone cavern like a teeming horde and said, “I was thinking my friends and I would sit them down for a nice round of tea, crumpets, and talking about our feelings.” A round of unpleasant laughter rumbled among the Adjuchas’ Hollows, while the more instinctual lesser Hollows all howled eagerly for blood. The leader Adjuchas yanked the spear out of Di Roy’s gut and licked the blood from the tip. “Mostly my feelings of being royally pissed off that this arrogant newbie Adjuchas bitch has the gall to treat the Forest of Menos like her personal playground! I run this Forest! I was fine with her screwing with the Gillians, because who gives a crap about Gillians, but the second she started going after my Adjuchas vassals... she done screwed herself. If you’re lucky I might let you watch what we do to them before I finish you off.” “Nice thought.” Di Roy said, cracking a bleeding grin, tugging at the spurs pinning his limbs to the wall. “You let me know how that works out for you. I’ll just be hanging out here, watching the show.”