Nothing Probably Goes on Forever Too

by TundraStanza


Ch. 28: Voice of the Village

No, you'll never be alone
When darkness comes
I'll light the night with stars
Hear my whispers in the dark

Chapter 28: Voice of the Village
---

The room was dimly lit where she sat. Mattresses of subjective comfort surrounded her on every side of the room. The only thing that didn't have much cushioning was the one door in and out of the room. But even mad dogs knew better than to ram their heads into a metal door unless there was something on the other side.

She didn't know how long she had been in here. Nor did she particularly care. Because some pony had visited her recently. This some pony was much nicer toward her than any of the slave masters that locked her in this room. This some pony always answered her call. All she had to do was make one short request.

"Whisper, Muramasa."

---

The next seven days were occupied by everyone doing their part to rebuild sections of the damaged cities. (I know technically that Ponyville isn't a "city" but it's easier calling it that than "two populated areas that hold several residents".) Aside from a double-digit count of minor casualties, not one pony had died from the invasion. Hey, good news was good news and I was happy to take it.

That threat that was supposed to be more bothersome than David hadn't exactly been as big a deal as it had been hyped up to be. Seriously, I thought we were going to have to face the Privaron Espada, the Gillians, and all those other Hollow-esque baddies. I mean sure, I wasn't going to complain about the relative ease that the Princesses and David had with taking care of the primary source. However, I did think it was a bit too easy. I had a hunch that something else was going on. I didn't like that hunch, but it saved my keister more often times than not. So it did come in handy.

Be that as it may, I had no leads for that hunch to follow. Sure, Twilight Sparkle's instincts were right that something was off with Cadance the day before the wedding. But even she didn't fully understand what was going on behind the scenes. Similarly to my situation, I had a strong feeling that David wasn't trustworthy. Unfortunately, knowing that and knowing what he was actually up to were two very different pieces of information and I didn't have the second piece.

We'll just have to play it by ear, sighed Shirayuki via thoughts.

"Yeah," I sighed audibly. After earning my keep by helping Spike reorganize Twilight's book collection, it was time to get some much needed sleep. Some day, when the hectic battles were over, I wanted to look into getting my own house. I was grateful to my friends for their hospitality but there was just something about moving out that inspired... liberty. Until then, I would sleep soundly under the pink, guest blanket.

---

Geez, Louise, I thought as I woke up, Another morning of waking up to a spiritual pressure?

Unfortunately, that was what woke me up and convinced me to toss the sheets aside. I headed out without a word to announce my rapid departure. As usual, the door knob covered itself in ice as I yanked it open via magic. That wasn't what annoyed me this morning.

No, what bothered me was that the spiritual pressure I felt wasn't a foreign one like all of the enemies we had encountered recently. It felt familiar... too familiar.

Rarity? I thought, What is she doing out this far away from Carousel Boutique? After crossing a few blocks half-galloping and half-flying, the answer was apparent.

That's not Rarity! gasped Shirayuki through thought.

It most certainly wasn't. Sure, there were pink petals floating about and tearing up some rooftops. However, it wasn't the white unicorn that was controlling them. Instead, the epicenter of the destruction consisted of a what looked like a heavily armored man. His face was hidden by a uniquely patterned mask. I knew this man.

"Senbonzakura?!" I shouted in shock.

The armored man turned to look at me due to my outburst. In a quick motion, he swung what looked like an empty hilt in my direction. The swirling cherry blossom blades followed his order and headed my way. Fortunately, my instincts acted before I could think. A quick flash step carried me to a different section of the street behind him. But I knew this wouldn't last long.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" I shouted while pulling out my Zanpaktou. The katana turned white and grew its long, pale ribbon. My body soon joined its color as my other mind took control. Her evergreen armor and helmet took their respective positions. As I feared, Senbonzakura's small, pink blades soon corrected themselves and followed our position. A swish of air was all I heard to indicate that we had once again avoided the direct attack by way of a flash step.

In her new position, Shirayuki held her blade out horizontally while saying, "So-me-no-Mai, Tsukishiro!" A large, frozen circle appeared beneath her hooves. An instant later, a pillar of ice surrounded her just before I heard the sound of Senbonzakura's Shikai colliding with the ice.

No thank you, thought Shirayuki, I've already been cut up by that attack once. I'm not doing an encore. Soon, the pillar protecting her shattered to smithereens. The pink cherry blossom blades returned to their wielder as Senbonzakura's blade. He rushed forward with a more direct approach.

"Hado 4: Byakurai!" shouted Shirayuki aiming a hoof at the incoming enemy. Small arcs of lightning skated through the air. But each and every strike missed their intended target. Senbonzakura was still coming fast. His sword clashed with hers and her back hooves slid across the ground a few feet. He and she exchanged swings of their respective blades. The sound of multiple hits of metal filled the air.

---

An uncomfortable rumbling feeling shook the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. All three Crusaders felt various degrees of anxiety. Apple Bloom was gritting her teeth trying to bear the pressure. Sweetie Belle physically sweat out of an unknown fear. Scootaloo looked worried but also annoyed with an angry scowl.

"We gotta go check this out," admitted Apple Bloom. Her two friends nodded in agreement and they headed out the door. Down the ramp they scampered. The earth filly and the unicorn filly took their respective seats in the wagon as the Pegasus filly mounted her trusty scooter. Helmets were on instantly, and the buzzing of wings set the speed of their travel.

The spiritual pressure was coming from the Everfree Forest. But as soon as Scootaloo slowed to a stop at its edge, the pressure suddenly reduced itself. The sudden calmness caught all three of the girls off guard. They were even more perplexed at the entities that were standing just on the border between safe land and the forest.

"No way..." breathed Scootaloo.

"Hello, cuties," chuckled one of the beings, "Did you miss me?"

---

Clang, clang, clang went my pattern of attacks. If I weren't so busy fighting for my life, I might have considered writing a song to that rhythm. As it turned out, however, there was a masked samurai which was also a Zanpaktou that was trying to kill me. Senbonzakura tried sending forth his flower petal blades again. I wasn't sure if I could counter it with ice alone.

"Bakudo 39: Enkosen!" yelled Shirayuki.

Her yellow-orange kido fan spun rapidly and managed to block most of the blades. But, she had to jump back to avoid the rest.

---

"Scatter!" shouted the man as he held an open hand in my direction. The thousand cherry blossoms flowed with his command. It looked like I was going to need a slightly larger fan.

"Hado 58: Tenran!" I called out. From my tilted blade, a tornado blew and managed to hold off the wave of Senbonzakura's shikai. As the winds subsided, he called his petal blades back into sword form. He looked ready to charge forward again.

---

"You're... Kagehime?" asked Scootaloo in disbelief. The unicorn in question simply giggled in response.

"Hey wait," interrupted Sweetie Belle pointing to one of the other entities, "I know that creature. It's Haineko!" The humanoid cat smirked at being mentioned.

"And that's Fuji Kujaku!" exclaimed Apple Bloom as she looked at the third entity. The man with a bandage-topped hat twitched his eye and frowned.

"That's Ruri'iro Kujaku," he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Oh, right," Apple Bloom rubbed her neck sheepishly, "Sorry, I keep forgetting that."

She then put her hoof back down before tilting her head, "Wait... I thought ya'll were supposed to exist inside our spirits. How can you be out here?"

"I'm not entirely sure," admitted Kagehime, "I just remember sometime this morning, a voice told us to follow our instinct."

"What does that even mean?" Scootaloo asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well, as far as I'm concerned," chuckled Kagehime, "my instinct is to fight freely and stretch my horizons."

"That sounds even more vague," pointed out Sweetie Belle.

The armored unicorn didn't respond to that. Instead, she just raised her hoof out in front of her.

"Shroud the world in darkness," she whispered. A pool of black energy swirled in front of her hoof before it began to take a more distinct shape. The manifested weapon looked like a rather familiar double katana. All three of the fillies gasped as they recognized the shikai release.

"A part of me always wanted to fight a cute little girl," smiled Kagehime. With barely a step, she was gliding above the grass at the crusader in front. Scootaloo instinctively summoned her sword from the ethereal realm just as her Zanpaktou spirit crashed into her. Scootaloo's hooves skidded across the ground as Kagehime pushed her black sword against Scootaloo's. The little filly had no idea why she was being attacked and her wide open eyes showed that.

"Scootaloo!" shouted Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle simultaneously.

"Better look after yourself," muttered Ruri'iro Kujaku as he suddenly appeared right behind Apple Bloom. They both manifested katana and swung at their respective other. The sound of metal clashing with metal rang even on the edge of Everfree.

"Ready to dance, nyah?" chirped Haineko. Sweetie Belle summoned her blade just in the nick of time to defend against Haineko's swing. Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were just as confused as Scootaloo. How had their Zanpaktou spirits entered the real world and why were they fighting them?

---

"Stop right there, Senbonzakura!" shouted a new voice. The interruption was enough to catch both his and my attention as we turned to look at the source.

"Rarity!" exclaimed Shirayuki. Senbonzakura only grunted in annoyance.

"Leave him to me, Tundra!" hollered Rarity as she manifested her blade, "As his owner, I shall be the one to correct his uncouth behavior."

"Makes sense to me," nodded Shirayuki as she jumped back and away from the clash. Senbonzakura quickly found a new sparring partner in Rarity. It was astounding how fast she had him on the defensive. Shirayuki took one last look back at the brawl before she took flight toward the other side of town. I sensed some other stray spiritual pressures. Some pony else might have needed assistance.

---

"Growl!" called Haineko as the blade in her hand crumbled to ashes. The ashes formed a cloud and started to circle around her opponent. Unsure but not clueless, Sweetie Belle swung her own blade around wildly before running through a gap in the ash cloud. She then turned around and stood ready for a counterattack.

"Growl, Haineko!" she shouted. But nothing happened. Confused, she looked down at her Zanpaktou. It was still in one piece and had not reacted to her shikai release command. She tried swinging it once with a bit more force.

"Growl, Haineko!" Sweetie Belle shouted again, "Why isn't it working?"

"You want to know why it isn't working, nyah?" echoed Haineko with a chuckle, "Here's an interesting fact: my spirit no longer resides in that sword of yours. You're basically just playing with an overgrown butter knife."

"What?!" squeaked Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo wasn't faring much better.

"I know it must hurt right now," commented Kagehime, "Without my spirit, you can no longer fight in the shadows."

Scootaloo's only response was a series of grunts trying to fend off the barrage of attacks. Her single blade could just barely defend against the rapid spinning of Kagehime's double katana.

Farther along the forest's tree line, Apple Bloom was somewhat more successful. In translation, her opponent was just as annoyed as she was since their attacks countered each other swing for swing.

"Why won't you just crumble to pieces?" growled Ruri'iro Kujaku.

"Why can't you just calm down?" inquired Apple Bloom while she kept hitting his blade with her own.

---

She didn't want to do it.

"Raise your head."

She never wanted to do anything like this.

"Nngh!"

But... he had attacked without reason.

"Augh!"

And he had threatened to do the same to the ones she loved the most.

Without her sword, she switched to her bear shoulder massage technique. It did more than enough of a job breaking the bones in Wabisuke's neck.

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy whispered as she sat next to the silent blade that she had just defeated. Slow tears ran down from her eyes.

"I... guess I was wrong about you," winced Wabisuke with his last breath, "Your bond with your friends actually makes you stronger."

"But... I hope you won't forgive me for doing what I had to do."

On that note, she reached out and touched the weapon's hilt. This sent it back to the non-physical plane.

---

"Fluttershy!" I hollered as I glided down next to her, "Are you all right? I thought I sensed another spiritual presence around here."

She nodded slowly as she seemed to blink away some tears, "I'll be okay. I did what was necessary."

"Uh, okay then," I acknowledged though I felt like I was missing some details. Still I didn't press on the issue and followed up with, "I'm going to check on every pony else. I'll come back to you later."

"No, Tundra," disagreed Fluttershy calmly yet in a voice slightly louder than her usual self, "I'm going with you."

"If that's what you want to do," I shrugged as I wasn't one to turn down free help. Besides, my other half was commenting about how cute Fluttershy looks when she's determined. I couldn't argue with that.

---

She was starting to slip up. The ashes began to leave visible cuts and scrapes along Sweetie Belle's skin. She wasn't made to keep fighting forever. There just had to be a way for her to end this.

---

"Do you... honestly think..." Scootaloo asked through pants of breath, "... that you're... all that... with the shadows?"

"Well I am the Shadow Princess," pointed out Kagehime.

"Even so," spat Scootaloo, "You said it yourself before. It's up to me to control my shadows as well as my light. You never said that it was important to just let you handle everything."

"Wait... what are you implying?" asked the Zanpaktou spirit in genuine confusion.

"I'm saying that even though I depended on you for a lot," continued Scootaloo, "In the end, I have to be the one to look for that balance." She held her blade out in front of her as a thin layer of spiritual power formed around her body.

"Shroud the world in darkness, Kagehime!" she called. Her weapon was covered by a dark aura as it lengthened and reformed. As the shadow cleared, Scootaloo was now holding her own double katana. Kagehime let out a gasp at seeing Scootaloo pull that off. Scootaloo simply let out a forced chuckle as a circle of sword-shaped shadows appeared in front of her. Kagehime huffed once as she formed her own circle of dark energy swords.

"Shadow Blade!" shouted both of the fighters as their respective shikai powers collided in the air. The multitude of shadow blades dissipated on contact with each other.

---

Apple Bloom struggled against her new predicament. Ruri'iro Kujaku had successfully wrapped her up in a bunch of azure vines. The buds along the branches had already begun to form.

"How does it feel to be on the receiving end of your attack?" asked the man.

"Heh," chuckled Apple Bloom, "Stick with what you know best... right? Fuji Kujaku?"

Ruri'iro Kujaku growled, "I told you to stop calling me that."

"Well, what if I said, 'Bloom, Fuji Kujaku'?" grinned Apple Bloom. The blade in her grasp suddenly glowed an emerald color before splitting into four hook-curved blades. With a wild swinging motion, Apple Bloom chopped off the vines before most of her energy could be stolen.

"Impossible!" gasped Ruri'iro Kujaku, "You can't use my power if I'm not in your power."

"I guess that just proves I've got the strength to try," responded Apple Bloom, "and I'm not afraid of calling you the name I choose... Fuji Kujaku."

---

Senbonzakura was the first to break contact with his blade as he took a leap back.

"Scatter!" he called holding his sword straight up. The metal blade glowed in its familiar pink glow as it separated into one thousand cherry blossom blades. They started to circle his opponent who still held a determined look on her face.

Just because I am a lady does not mean that I cannot take care of myself, thought Rarity.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura!" she cried. Just as the petal-shaped blades closed in on her, her own sword flowed into a stream of pink petals. One thousand blossoms were countered by one thousand blossoms. Not a scratch was left on her.

Grunting quietly, the masked man ran over and started encouraging his thousand blossom blades to outmaneuver his opponents' blades. The air on the street was filled with the shikai of both fighters. If they weren't so lethal, the scene would have been beautiful to watch. Two thousand cherry blossoms glided through the air. Their paths were guided only by the winds of spiritual energy that Senbonzakura and Rarity harnessed.

Eventually, Senbonzakura grew tired of the seemingly endless fight and called his own blades back into his original sword. Curious, Rarity did the same as Senbonzakura held his sword with the blade pointed to the ground. He released his grip and let it drop.

"Bankai," he said. The sword just sank into the ground as if it were sinking through water. The scenery around the fighters darkened to a deep blue. Circles made of floating pink swords surrounded them.

"Senkei Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," he addressed his attack. Two of the blades floated down within reach. He grabbed the hilts and the swords immediately assumed the colors of standard Zanpaktou. Contrary to previous uses of this Bankai, the countless blades that surrounded him and his opponent faded. Eventually, they all formed around the swords that he was holding in what appeared to be wings of white spiritual pressure.

"Shukei: Hakuteiken," he called. But before he could advance, the sound of a flash step was audible. Rarity appeared instantly just behind him.

"It seems I was mistaken," she sighed, "I thought you were a gentleman. Without me, however, you act like an impulsive ruffian."

The white energy surrounding his swords seemed to 'pop' out of existence. What followed was a crack as bits of his armor shattered and revealed his arm and his eye. Senbonzakura shook in place a bit as he realized what had happened.

"L-Lady Rarity..." he whispered as he slowly fell forward.

A bare katana lied on the ground as Rarity trotted back to retrieve it.

---

"Ready for the real fun to begin?" taunted Kagehime as she dropped her double katana behind her, "Bankai!"

After her weapon vanished, the shadow behind her seemed to wrap around her body. But other than a brief flash, she didn't look any different physically.

"Nothing happened," commented Scootaloo while looking with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, something's happened all right," chuckled Kagehime, "Kage Bunshin!"

In less than a second, several copies of the armored unicorn surrounded Scootaloo. All of which looked eager to play.

"How is that possible?" demanded Scootaloo almost losing grip on her double sword, "We're in broad daylight!"

"I'm no longer bound to your limitations, sweetheart," smirked Kagehime, "My bankai is at its peak now."

With a grunt of annoyance, Scootaloo held her ground as several Kagehime clones bounded onto her position. The Pegasus spun her weapon around as quickly as she could. It knocked out some of the clones into puffs of smoke, but more were on their way. One even managed to utilize their own shadow into some dark, physical claw to grab her neck.

"Get... off!" Scootaloo choked as she swept the claw away with one of her blades.

Fighting an entire army on her own was not a good strategy. So, she decided to try galloping through the crowd. She put the handle of her weapon between her teeth to allow room for a full-out run. She shot down some of the clones with her shadow blade technique while swinging her head at any clones that came too close to her.

---

"What's the matter, Apple Bloom?" smiled Ruri'iro Kujaku, "Getting spiritually weaker?"

"Are you kidding?" forced Apple Bloom, "I'm just getting started."

Her heavy breathing wasn't helping her argument.

---

Wait! thought Sweetie Belle, That's it! She'd never see it coming!

---

"Fluttershy, are you sure you're okay?" I asked. I knew she was our quietest friend, but this was a different kind of silence. This was an eerily calm quietness that can only be surreal because some pony had disregarded their emotions. Fluttershy was not one to ignore her feelings.

"Yes," was her reply. That particular response bothered me more than it should have. It wasn't a barely audible whisper or a hesitant and uncommitting stammer. It was solid neutral acknowledgement like a Royal Guard's affirmation.

This battle situation against Hollows, shadow monsters, and rogue Zanpaktou was starting to affect every pony.

Someday, I thought, I hope we can all have a nice relaxing day. I miss those summer days.

Sunny... Lu Lu...

---

Sweetie Belle had just started telling us about kido, thought Apple Bloom.

I guess now's the time to see what I've learned, decided Scootaloo.

"Mask of flesh and blood," chanted Apple Bloom, "Universe soar. The one crowned with man's name."

"The one who reigns, mask of flesh and blood and flutter of wings," recited Sweetie Belle, "The one who crowns us with a name."

"Carriage of thunder," spoke Scootaloo, "Bridge of a spinning wheel."

"Carve a twin lotus into the wall of blue flames and await the blazing fires to reach the distant heavens."

"Gathering of heat and war beyond the seas and rivers take steps to the south."

"With light divide this into six."

"Hado 73: Soren Sokatsui!"

"Hado 31: Shakkahou!"

"Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro!"

Ruri'iro Kujaku expertly dodged the double-burst of blue fire. Haineko easily jumped over the red flame cannon. Kagehime sank into the shadows before the six bars of light could ensnare her. She reappeared to Scootaloo's right.

"Just where were you aiming?" asked the 'azure peacock'.

"I taught you that move," chastised the 'ash cat', "You can't defeat me with it."

"Silly Scootaloo," chuckled the 'shadow princess', "A few lights won't vanquish my darkness."

"Wasn't aiming at you," smirked the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Huh?" questioned the Zanpaktou. But the meaning of the phrase soon became clear.

"What? What is this?!" exclaimed Ruri'iro Kujaku. His waist had become trapped by six rectangular petals of light and he couldn't move.

Haineko looked just in time to be scorched by a giant burst of blue flames.

"Nyaaaaaaah!" she cried.

Kagehime didn't say anything. She could only stare in shock as a small blast of red fire collided with her. She was completely surprised.

"Bakudo 9," shouted Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in unison, "Horin!"

---

"Fluttershy!" I gasped, "Did you feel that?"

"Yes," she nodded, "Let's go."

We were flying rather close to the edge of the Everfree Forest. That's when I spotted six figures.

Hey! thought Tundra, It's the Cutie Mark Crusaders!

"What do we do now?" wondered Sweetie Belle aloud.

"We can't just leave them like that," agreed Apple Bloom.

"Girls!" hollered Fluttershy as we glided down for a landing.

"Fluttershy! Tundra!" exclaimed Scootaloo.

It didn't take long to figure out what had happened here. The other three entities in the vicinity were trapped in Bakudo.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that those are the spirits of your Zanpaktou," I motioned towards them.

"Yeah," affirmed Sweetie Belle, "They just started attacking us for no reason."

"So it was just like with Wabisuke," muttered Fluttershy. I don't know how I caught that when she's usually so quiet. But, this wasn't the time to ponder that.

"I think there's some pony near Ponyville that's wielding Muramasa," I hypothesized, "A strong enough spiritual pressure is far-reaching and I believe it has affected Zanpaktou over a large area."

I only received three stares of confusion in response.

"Muramasa can take control of a Zanpaktou spirit and turn it against its master," I explained, "There are only two ways to counter it. The first way is to apply a spiritual lock-out before its effect takes place. The second is applied when it's too late for the first. You must regain control of your Zanpaktou's power by defeating it with a finisher."

"You don't mean..." trailed Apple Bloom. To that, I simply nodded once.

"If that's what we have to do," sighed Scootaloo. Head held high, she walked over and faced the armored unicorn which I assumed was Kagehime. Scootaloo raised her double katana and a circle of dark blades appeared in front of her.

"Shadow Blade!" she declared and the swords of darkness were launched. The recipient of the attack let out a short grunt of pain before a black aura engulfed her. Scootaloo walked over to the katana that was now lying on the ground. As she took hold of the handle, the sword vanished and her own spiritual pressure felt a bit stronger.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were a bit more reluctant to follow through. But after looking at each other and then back at their Zanpaktou, they knew what they had to do. Two respective sword slashes were followed by two more Zanpaktou recoveries. The afternoon air felt a little lighter.

---

"I ain't too keen on using magic, but I'll try it anyway," said Applejack to herself, "How did it go again? Hado... 4: Byakurai?"

Surprising herself and the retreating duo, a small flash of blue lightning ran through and hit Monkey and Snake. Their hairs stood a bit on end and their bodies seemed to actually freeze from the light electrocution.

"W-w-what th-the he-e-eck?" shivered Monkey. As she was holding the chain that connected her to the other Zanpaktou spirit, Snake shivered twice as rapidly.

"It worked?" blinked Applejack before jumping for joy, "It worked! Alright! Time to turn this fight around!"

"Y-y-you c-c-can't b-b-be s-serious," quivered Snake.

"Thank ya'll for teaching me this particular move," smirked Applejack as the pieces of her weathered sword, "Higa Zekko!"

The 'broken baboon fang' glowed a brilliant red before its parts flung into the opposition. The yells of both of Zabimaru's spirits rang out to the sky. As the shower of sword pieces ended, a flash of light briefly engulfed Monkey and Snake. As it passed, a fully intact Zabimaru weapon stood with its blade earthbound.

"How do you like them apples?" panted Applejack as she breathed away the stress of battle.

---

"Did you collect the data that I asked for?" pondered the 'creator'.

"Of course," was the response, "So long as you remade the tools that I've lost."

"You have my word," he told it, "No one will suspect that they aren't the genuine Arrancar."

"Then that concludes our business."

As the spiritual connection faded, the man took hold of the faded-blue pony in the straitjacket. Without an audible sound, they both vanished from the white room.

---