//------------------------------// // Episode 88: Unseen Pressures // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 88: Unseen Pressures Briefly Twilight went over what she’d been able to learn about the Rich family, mulling the information over in her mind as the sleek limousine pulled up in front of what was perhaps the tallest of the buildings in downtown Canterlot City. Twilight had never given the tall edifice and glass and steel much thought before, even though she knew academically that it was the corporate office for Rich-Mart, one of the countries largest retailers. And land owners. And pharmaceutical manufacturers. And Twilight was pretty sure they had their fingers dipped into some medical research foundations as well. Cross-Tech was the primary business front for most Quincy monetary ventures, but individual families like the Rich’s were financial powerhouses in their own right. It was the same with the McColts and Hooffields. It boggled even Twilight’s mind just how much money the various Quincy families, especially the old ones, controlled. It surpassed the wealth of many nations, even first world ones. A rather unsettling thought, but at least she understood that the money was less about a conspiracy to control the world and more something that was funneled into a ongoing, multi-century long war effort. ...Actually that didn’t make it much better, but perhaps if she could end the war then all the wealth and power of the Quincy could be used for bettering the world instead of just fighting. As for what else she knew about the Rich family, it wasn’t very much. She knew Filthy Rich and his wife Spoiled had a daughter, Diamond Tiara, that went to school at Canterlot High. Which struck her as highly unusual. Why wasn’t Diamond Tiara at Crystal Prep? Wouldn’t that make sense for the daughter of a high profile Quincy family, especially if her father was a Sternritter? Twilight knew Filthy Rich was a very active and ‘hands on’ businessman, as just about every scrap of information on the company made a point of showing just how much effort he spent making public appearances and taking a direct approach to influencing city politics. It was pretty heavily rumored he’d run for mayor at some point. Her own father did do business with Filthy Rich, since both her family and the Rich’s owned quite a bit of local real estate. In fact it was both of their families that funded a lot of the parks and recreational facilities in the nearby Whitetail Woods and Everfree Forest. Which seemed to be the crux of Filthy Rich’s letter. With Twilight’s father across the country dealing with the McColt and Hoffield feud, and Shining Armor on assignment guarding the Hueco Mundo Silburn, that left Twilight as the remaining member of her family in easy reach for discussing business. Apparently since she was now a Sternritter, Filthy Rich considered her an equal and worth at least passing along a business venture idea to her father. As to what the venture entailed, Filthy Rich had only said it involved a piece of land Twilight’s family technically owned. Technically, because the land had been on lease to another family for several generations now, and it was entirely possible someone along the lines had forgotten who actually owned the land. As it stood, the land itself was mostly empty, except for a certain nature camp that had been established there some time ago. “This is suspicious as all get out,” Soarin said as the limousine came to a stop. Like Twilight he was in ‘civilian’ garb, consisting of a deep blue business suit and slacks that just did not work at all with the man’s more easy going features. Soarin looked distinctly uncomfortable, and probably not just because of the out of place clothes he was wearing. “It is, but at the same time I can’t really ignore Filthy Rich’s letter either,” Twilight said, smoothing out the gray skirt she was wearing along with a similarly colored suit blouse. Her ‘business’ attire wasn’t something she’d ever really worn before, and only owned it for those occasions her parents had taken her and Shining out to dinners at upscale restaurants. She wondered how many of those instances had been Quincy business in disguise. “At least you were smart enough to bring me along,” Soarin replied, stepping out and offering Twilight a hand, which she took gratefully. High heels were part of the ensemble, but she felt incredibly awkward wearing them. She wasn’t about to trip, but just getting out of the limo was an annoyance. “On the off chance Filthy Rich is the one trying to kill me, I imagined having another Sternritter around might be the best deterrent. Although I’m worried about leaving the others alone...” “Don’t worry too much. You might not know this, but your house is kind of a fortress in and of itself. Your brother knows wards better than anyone I know, and I’d feel sorry for anyone trying to bust their way into your home uninvited,” Soarin said, his voice carrying a strong tone of admiration that got Twilight glancing sidelong at him as they walked up to the skyscraper’s main entrance. “Do you know my brother well?” “Not super well, nah. Me and him were at the Academy, trained together at the same time. But we both had our own circles, even back then. I respect the dude, though. His Bastion has saved many a Quincy's butt, including mine. I consider it a privilege to pay some of that back by keeping an eye on his little sis.” She offered him a swift smile of thanks before they went through the doors, “I appreciate it.” Once inside Twilight found herself looking at an almost beat-for-beat stereotype of corporate life. Everything was utilitarian in design and furnishing, yet glazed over with a gloss of silvery modernness that felt faintly surreal. A bored looking secretary with wide red rimmed glasses and a swirl of done up blonde hair greeted them from behind a black desk about twice as large as it needed to be. As soon as Twilight mentioned her name the secretary lady blinked in surprise and very hastily made a call, just as swiftly sending her and Soarin to the ‘executive’ elevator that apparently went straight to the top floor suite. On the ride up, Twilight wondered if she could survive it if the elevator suddenly gave out and plummeted back down to ground level. Probably. Blut Vene alone would absorb most of the impact, and that was if she didn’t just try teleporting away. Conversely they could have planted explosives in the elevator. Something strong enough to wipe out half the floor, and me along with it.. The sour thought was dismissed as fast as it had come. Twilight didn’t want to be that cynical yet. If the assassin was connected to Filthy Rich, or was him, attacking her here would be idiotic, as it’d just paint him with more suspicious. Now, if the assassin wasn’t him, and the real culprit wanted to pin it on Filthy Rich- “Stop it, Twilight,” she muttered, and Soarin glanced at her. “You alright?” “Oh, um, its nothing. Just thinking aloud,” she coughed, looking away. She was talking to herself. Not a good sign. The elevator ride was rather short, given the size of the building, and it opened up into the polar opposite of the spartan, simple design of the front lobby. The room was warm and luxuriously appointed. Thick, dark carpeted filled a wide, square room. The wall to the right was filled with a clear window that gave a spectacular view of the city below, thickly bathed in the approaching sunset light. The left wall was lined with glass cases, some low and long, some tall and square, each containing seemingly random artifacts that intrigued Twilight. She saw everything from old weapons to scraps of pages that could be from any number of old books or scrolls. Most of what she saw looked like they certainly belonged in a museum, rather than the office suite of a real estate tycoon. There was a huge desk at the back of the room, but more prominent was a table taking up a large portion of the room’s center area. Upon this table was a scale model of the city and much of the surrounding area, and as Twilight approached it she was amazed by the detail put into the model. It was accurate, down to the street lamps and bushes on the sidewalks. She couldn’t imagine how much time it took to make a model with such exacting detail. “I see you admire quality craftsmanship, Miss Sparkle.” Filthy Rich sat at his desk, but stood up with a smooth and easy motion and approached her and Soarin with a friendly smile. He had on a navy blue business suit that was brighter in color than the one Soarin wore, and had a finer cut to it that Twilight imagined made it worth more than most people’s entire wardrobes. She searched his eyes, wondering if this was a man capable of seeking her death. Unfortunately she couldn't see anything there other than a simple friendliness, mixed with a deeper sense of calculation. “It is impressive,” she said, nodding to the model, “Did you build it yourself?” There was a hint of a sad frown on his face, which passed almost instantly, “Only the most recent additions, I’m afraid. My grandfather started this project when the family acquired its first holdings in the city, then my dear old dad did the lion’s share of the rest. I was just a kid when he put the last touches on it. Most of what I’ve done is keep it up to date over the years.” “Does it serve a purpose, or is it just a hobby?” Twilight inquired, resisting the urge to reach out the touch the model. There was a wry twist to his lips, “Granddad was a big believer in keeping an eye on his holdings. The model is tied to the Quincy crosses my family and I carry, so in case of emergency they can be tracked anywhere in the city.” As proof of this he made a slight gesture at the model, sending out a mote of blue reishi that lit upon the model's surface. The moment it did, a trio of soft blue lights shot up like miniature pillars. One of them was inside the tower. Another was within a large, elaborate mansion around the same part of town Twilight’s family kept their manor in. A third was in the downtown area, at one of the malls. “Looks like my little girl is still out with her friend Silver Spoon,” Filthy Rich noted, nodding his head with a fatherly smile, “Those two have always been thick as thieves. And as you can see, my darling wife is at home.” “Handy,” Soarin said, “I didn’t think your kid was clued in to the Quincy yet.” It was impossible to miss the discomfort that hit Filthy’s eyes for a moment, and the hesitance in his voice, “She hasn’t been. I gave her the cross as a birthday present, but she doesn’t know what it is yet. Not rightly sure I want her knowing until she’s a fair bit older.” That brought up unpleasant memories for Twilight, and after a moment’s thought she said, “Is that why she’s at Canterlot High instead of Crystal Prep? To avoid too much possibility of her stumbling across the truth?” Filthy Rich was silent for a long, heavy moment before he said, “I wanted to give Diamond Tiara a chance to be a normal girl before laying out the truth for her. Spoiled disapproves, but I just feel my little girl deserves to enjoy a real childhood for awhile. When she turns eighteen, I’ll tell her everything then.” Twilight hesitated a moment herself before saying, “I understand, but as a word of advice, coming from someone who was in the same position as your daughter not so long ago... the truth should probably come sooner rather than later. The longer you keep the truth from her, the more trouble she’ll have accepting it.” He looked at her solidly for a moment, then glanced away with a sight, “Yes, well, I didn’t ask you here to talk about my family. Please, Miss Sparkle, have a seat. You too Soarin. I’m not surprised you came along. I understand Miss Sparkle is still under threat. Terrible business with that assassin.” “Don’t worry, they’ll be caught, sooner or later,” Soarin said as he and Twilight followed Filthy Rich to a set of large leather chairs set before his desk. Once they were all seated, Twilight placed her hands on her lap and eyed Filthy Rich carefully. His body language was relaxed, and gave no indication that he was nervous or tense. Was he really not connected to the attempt on her life or was he just a good actor? “So, what exactly is it you wanted to talk to me about?” she asked. Filthy Rich propped his elbows on his desk, hands laced together in front of him as he wore an easy smile. “It’s all fairly simple. There’s a plot of land out in the Everfree Forest that your family owns, Miss Sparkle. My family also owns land out there, bordering the territory owned by your own. On that land is a certain Camp Everfree. Nice place, very scenic. The camp is mostly used by kids over the summer or spring, but it hasn’t turned much profit lately and has been in some financial trouble. More importantly, its extremely well isolated while being almost perfectly self sufficient and well appointed for housing well over a hundred guests at once.” Twilight glanced back at the model. At the very edges of it, deep in the modeled trees and mountain slopes of the Everfree Forest, she saw a modeled lake with a handful of a dozen or so buildings clustered along the shore of the lake. “I follow you so far. Why is this important?” “I have a proposal,” Filthy Rich said, his eyes glittering with a sharp business savvy, “I know you have the ear of His Majesty, and this idea of mine I think may prove fruitful for us, given recent events. Even with the Espada responsible for breaching the Academy wards being dead, we have no guarantee something similar can’t happen again. So I believe we should move our training grounds. I want to use Camp Everfree as the site for this new training area. All I need is for your family to be willing to trade the territory to mine so I can use that as leverage to get the owners of Camp Everfree to sell out to me, then we have a training site that’s already equipped to house the next generation of cadets.” Twilight took a second to wrap her head around the proposal, exchanging a look with Soarin, who shrugged at her with a bemused look. She turned back to Filthy Rich, her mind buzzing with questions. “That’s an interesting idea, but wouldn’t having our training camp there be even more dangerous? Canterlot City is a hotbed of Hollow and Soul Reaper activity, due to the portal located at the high school. How would they react to the Quincy setting up a training came in the Everfree Forest?” Filth Rich’s smile deepened, “But that’s the beauty of it, Miss Sparkle. Because both the Hollows and Soul Reapers maintain a strong presence in the city, they act as guard dogs against one another. We already have Crystal Prep right in the city, which has been a staging area for educating Quincy youth for generations, and the school has remained safe specifically because neither the Hollows or Soul Reapers can afford to attack while the other faction watches. I merely propose that we use Camp Everfree as an extension of Crystal Prep’s purpose. It’d be a lot more efficient than shipping them overseas to the Silburn castle in Europe.” After a second of considering, Twilight realized Filthy Rich’s words did make a fair amount of sense. If the Hollows wanted to attack Camp Everfree then they’d not only be dealing with Quincy defenders, but also it was likely it’d provoke a response from the Soul Reapers, and vice versa. Having a training camp so close to the city might actually be safer than one near the Silburn. “Hmm, I see what you mean, but still, I don’t know if I can make any land deals on my own. Father is still the head of the house, so anything like this would have to go through him.” “I understand, but since you’re the only one here I can talk to, I thought it’d be best to run the idea by you and then if you thought it an equitable arrangement, you could contact Night Light about it. He’s busy with that McColt and Hooffield fiasco, but I’m sure a quick call and a good word from you would smooth everything over. Including if you spoke with His Majesty to get his approval for the idea... perhaps mention who the idea came from?” Ah, so it was as much a matter of getting on Sombra’s good side and earning some prestige as ensuring the safety of future cadets. Twilight had expected there to be something political in here, but even if she didn’t care at all about the Rich family’s prestige, one way or the other, she couldn’t say it still wasn’t a half-bad idea. She couldn’t see any harm in asking her dad about it at any rate, and run the notion by Sombra. “We’ll have to work out the details, but I don’t see a reason not to offer a hand of cooperation, one Sternritter to another,” she said, giving a pointed reminder that her status was equal to his own. Filthy Rich didn’t seem to mind said reminder and gave her a friendly nod, extending a hand to her over the desk. “Well then, Miss Sparkle, one Sternritter to another, it’s a pleasure doing business with you.” ---------- There weren’t many times in Sunset’s life where she could claim to be genuinely fearful for herself or others. Most of those times were from the recent series of battles her life had become, facing down the likes of Captain Platinum or Starlight Glimmer. Now she could add standing in the same room as Puddinghead, Chief of the Kido Corps, to that list. The training area shook like an earthquake as explosions of every shape, color, and size rocked the vast and rocky terrain underneath Discord’s shop. Sunset shielded her face with one hand, her hair being blown about by the shockwaves and backwash of air pressure emanating from the continuous storm of Kido spells that were flying across the landscape. The spells were only loosely being “aimed”, as if their caster considered the idea of having to aim beneath his notice. This was concerning enough, as Sunset had needed to dodge a few errant Kido spells already, but she was doubly fearful for Clover’s safety, as she was the intended target of the furious spellstorm. “Are you dodging or dancing out there, apprentice!? I’m waiting for you to throw something back at me already!” The words were taken between breaths, and Puddinghead immediately resumed chanting Kido incantations, speaking so fast that it was hard to keep up with each spell he was flinging out. He was skipping most of the incantations, only invoking names, and saying them with such fluid speed that one word flowed right into another. He wasn’t a tall man, but he was a wide one. Lime green skin gave stark contrast to a frizzed head of swirl shaped, bright pink hair, streaked with periwinkle blue strands. He had a rotund shape and square features, his body bundled up in a highly unusual robe and coat that had a wide, circular collar that framed his head. The clothes were still of the contrasting black and white most Soul Reapers wore, but he added splashes of blue and gold around the edges, and in diamond patterns along the arms and sides of the robe. Instead of a Zanpaktou he carried a tall golden staff, tipped with a circle that held several metal rings that clinked and clamored with every gesture he made. His free hand remained pointed outward to where Clover continue to struggle to defend against his spells. Clover herself was barely visible through the smoke and dust of the spells impacting around her. A barely tangible barrier, like a pane of glass, had been erected between her and Puddinghead, a high level Bakudo spell called “Danku”. But even with the defensive Kido, Clover had to keep moving to dodge larger blasts, or any Kido who’s energies were designed to wrap around defenses or attack from unusual angles. This had been going on for over an hour now, and Sunset was noticing Clover’s reiatsu was flagging. She’d been purely on the defensive since the training had begun, and it was clear it was all Clover could do to keep defending herself, let alone mount a counter attack. Yet after catching a glimpse of Clover’s face, Sunset could see the other girl was grinning from ear to ear. Clover looked positively exhilarated as she flung her own arm out, ducking around the defensive barrier of her Danku, and sent the curling bolt of a Byakurai firing towards Puddinghead. “Fast and easy. I concocted the Byakurai for shooting down squirrels that kept trying to steal my baked peanuts! Try again, apprentice!” Puddinghead scoffed, twirling his staff and generating a small disc of yellow energy at its end to block the spell, then immediately returned fire with the incredibly potent and loud crack of lightning from a Raikoho that he threw with casual ease. Even as Clover threw herself to the side, barely dodging the spell, she shouted, “Of course, sir! I’ll do even better, sir, just you wait!” Sunset frowned, caught between worry and a certain level of pride for Clover, who really did seem to be enjoying herself. Beside her, Discord leaned on his cane and chuckled under his breath. “Puddinghead’s training style hasn’t changed much over the years. If Clover keeps up, she’ll learn more doing this than spending months training on her own. Assuming Puddinghead doesn’t blow her up by mistake.” A flaming red Shakkaho bolt flew overhead, exploding somewhere behind them, “Or on purpose.” “Isn’t he supposed to be teaching her high level Kido?” Sunset asked, “Level ninety ones or something?” Discord winked at her, “Of course he is. Puddinghead isn’t going to waste his time with an amateur, and he isn’t going to let Clover fry herself with a spell she can’t handle. What do you think he’s trying to accomplish with his current method?” “Other than possibly explode my friend?” Sunset quipped, but put a bit of thought into it, speaking her thoughts aloud as she mulled it over, “I suppose this is giving him a clear idea of what Clover can do currently.” “Mmmhmm... go on,” Discord prompted, clearly wanting Sunset to work it out herself. She couldn't help but give him a bit of a sassy, sidelong look. Even now, he was still the teacher, even if he was being a tad annoying about it. “Well, Kido spells do take a lot of spiritual energy. Clover’s pretty tired, but she’s been at this for awhile too and is still going. I’m willing to bet anything that’s level ninety or higher probably takes up a huge amount of energy to cast. Puddinghead is likely trying to tell how strong her reserves are, and pushing them even further. It’s so she can cast a level ninety Kido without being totally drained by it.” Discord gave an approving nod, tapping his cane to his head, “Good thinking. You’re quite right. Our resident self-proclaimed master of Kido wouldn’t even be able to teach Clover if she can’t handle the drain such a high level Kido entails. A few days of this and she’ll be in tip-top shape, and then assuming she hasn’t gotten accidentally crispified he’ll start in with the real training. Speaking of which, we ought to get started ourselves.” When she and Clover had arrived at Discord’s shop, they’d met up with the other girls and Ditzy Doo. Ditzy had been largely absent since the return from Soul Society, but she’d apparently just gotten back to town after finishing what she claimed was “personal business”. Now she and Sunset’s other friends were off training on their own back at the same mountainside that they had trained at before. It made sense to Sunset to separate the training like this, mostly because they’d all become so strong that training all together in one area was a bit problematic in terms of collateral damage. That said, she and Discord both agreed that she and her friends still needed to train together in group tactics, so there were plans in the works to do training sessions with everyone together at least once a week. But today wasn’t one of those days. With the girls off at the mountains with Ditzy, and Clover getting put through the paces by Puddinghead, she and Discord pretty much had the rest of the training area to themselves. Even Screwloose and Screwball were often out on patrols, so Sunset hadn’t seen much of them either, except for the times Discord’s two assistants threw together a lunch or dinner after a hard training session. “Yeah, you’re right,” Sunset said to Discord, “I just wish I felt like this training was doing some good.” As the pair left Clover and Puddinghead to their own devices and started making towards a larger, empty patch of the training area for themselves, Discord wore a half-smirk, his eyes flashing with dry amusement. “You’re a talented girl, Sunset Shimmer, but you really do need to stop putting the weight of the world on your shoulders. You achieved Bankai at an accelerated pace that the vast majority of Soul Reapers can only dream of. Don’t get frustrated now that you have to work a bit harder to refine that power further. It took even most of the current Captains years of training to properly control Bankai.” A soft growl rushed up from Sunset’s throat, her steps growing a shade harder, “Is Starlight Glimmer going to give me years to train? Is Chrysalis? Or Grogar? Or Tirek?” “No, which is why I’m working on my own creative solutions to the problem of the present power gap between you, your friends, and the enemies that remain to be faced. In the meantime, however, training is the only option available. It is helping, even if you can’t fully see the ways in which it’s helping.” With a slow breath, letting it back out again with a calming gesture she’d been shown once by Princess Twilight, Sunset tried to get her frustration under control. “Sorry to get snippy at you. Just worried that no matter how hard we train, it won’t be enough.” Reaching the wide, relatively flat area of ground about a football field in length where they’ve been having their sparring matches, the pair moved into position to square off. Sunset drew her Zanpaktou and took comfort in the familiar, warm weight in her hand. She could feel the steady, calming pulse of power between her and Hokori no Hikari. It was a good balm to the cold worry that had been creeping over her, both from concerns of Starlight Glimmer’s threat to her home realm, and the recent worries about Twilight and Adagio. She hadn’t told Discord about the situation with Ember yet. She hadn’t wanted to risk bringing it up while Puddinghead was nearby, and might overhear. Better to wait until training was done. Unlike with Celestia there was next to no risk that Discord would spill the beans, and he might have a means to help. If things went well with that conversation, she’d consider going to Celestia as well. “Something other than training is on your mind,” Discord said, and Sunset blinked, feeling the cold steel of his Zanpaktou on her throat. He’d crossed the distance to her in less than an eyeblink and stood with his cane exposing the blade within. “Want to talk about it? If you’re not focused then there’s not much point to us trading blows.” Sunset flinched, but then a bright smirk lit her face and she snapped her Zanpaktou up in a flash, deflecting Discord’s blade and she instantly Flash Stepped behind him, instantly going on the offensive. He moved with liquid grace, bending as if his spine was made of taffy, his hat managing to stay perfectly poised on his head as he ducked her blow and spun around, slashing. Once again their Zanpaktou clashed, sparks flying as they went skidding away form each other, both wearing smiles. “I do have something I need to talk to you about, but it can wait until we’re done here,” Sunset said, flicking her eyes towards the now distant echoing booms where Puddinghead was training Clover. “Once our guest has left for the day.” Discord raised a bushy white eyebrow, but nodded in understanding, “Say no more. Let’s get started.” He spun his sword can lazily in his hands, and the gnarled wood shimmered as the blade itself flowed with a river of painfully shifting hues of light. ”Rip through all boundaries, Konran Arashi.” Sunset responded in kind, releasing her own Zanpaktou, ”Ignite, Hokori no Hikari.” As they faced each other, Discord in a relaxed stance, Sunset more tense and ready to jump into the fray, she asked a question that’d been bouncing around her mind, “So we’re training my skill with my Bankai, but why don’t you use your Bankai? You’ve got one I assume?” A glitter of amusement played across Discord’s eyes, “I do, and I’m afraid you’ll have to keep wondering about it. My Bankai is unfortunately ill suited for training. One thing I share with Celestia is that neither of us can really afford to have friends or allies close by when we use our full power.” “But you could just tell me what your Bankai does,” Sunset said, and Discord responded with a snaggle toothed grin. “I could, but I’m not.” “Hmm... how about if I win this match?” “I’ll think about it.” “Fair enough,” Sunset responded, her blade and shield becoming wreathed in a thick aura of deep, fiery orange and red light that extended to her whole body. Her training had helped her control the energy outburst from this, so she didn’t drill a hole through the ceiling every time she did it. ”Bankai.” Still, training or not, it was impossibly to fully control the swell of spiritual energy or the pillar of flames that roared out of her as she transformed into her Bankai state, the red and gold armor shaping around her body in a wave of flames as Hokori transmuted into its larger flamberge form and Hiarki flowed in a wash of white and gold light into the gleaming phoenix shield. Sunset’s heart still raced with the incredible feeling of warmth and pulsing hot power that lit her veins afire with activating her Bankai. Discord wore a look of approval as he held up the scintillating gleam of his own Zanpaktou in a ready stance, “Your reiatsu is more stable than it was when we first started. Ideally you want to be able to maintain your Bankai for extended hours, if need be. With more control, both the ability of your Shikai and Bankai will increase.” “Hokori and Hikari have been showing me some new ways to use them, including a new technique I’d like to try out today,” Sunset said, tensing herself, eyeing Discord’s stance to look for an opening. He might only be using his Shikai, but she knew just how quickly that Konran Arashi’s power could turn a battle in Discord’s favor. “Then by all means, show me,” Discord said, and Sunset complied with an eager smile, the two halves of her Zanpaktou practically signing in her hands as she charged him. ---------- The girls collapsed, Fluttershy especially drawing in huge lungfuls of much needed air. They were all covered in sweat, a few of them bearing light bruises and cuts from the exertions of their evening training session. The sun was almost down, dusk just starting to paint the sky with a palette of purple and rosy hues. The mountain air itself was brisk and chill, even with the late spring day warmth still clinging to it. Fluttershy was on her back, just enjoying the sensation of letting her muscles relax, while each of her friends either knelt or lay around her in a similar state of exhaustion. Around them the artificial arena Ditzy Doo had created, the same as it was when they’d first trained with her, whistled with the cold wind, many of its walls and empty stone seating smashed to rubble from the rather intense training battle. Sitting on one of the piles of rock rubble, casually swinging her legs like a pleased child, Ditzy Doo whistled in appreciation and gave the girls a warm look with her golden eyes, which were only now bleeding back to a normal color after she’d removed her Hollow mask. “Wheeeeew, very good, girls. A fair bit better than good, actually. You’re all way above where you were before.” “D-don’t dang well feel like it,” Applejack said, down on one knee, but just barely managing to push herself back up to both legs. The farmgirl still breathed heavily, the armored gauntlets and boots of her Fullbring sporting numerous dents and cracks from the training battle. “You were still runnin’ circles around us.” “Not around me,” Rainbow Dash said, sporting a cocky grin, despite leaning against a chunk of rubble and sucking in breaths between words. Her own Fullbring crackled with electrical energy around the chest armor, and prismatic light flowed from between blade-like, steel blue wings, but the energy seemed duller after the long fight and Rainbow Dash was as sweat covered and battered a the rest of them. Still, Fluttershy had to admit she admired Rainbow Dash’s new form. It was quite beautiful, especially in flight. Applejack rolled her eyes, but there was also a competitive smirk on her lips, “Didn’t see ya landin’ any more hits than we were, Dash.” “I got close like, at least a dozen times!” Dash said defensively, “How close did you get to hitting her?” “Ugh, all the talking makes me hungry, “ complained Pinkamena, all but laying in a heap with her mouth drooling over the Pinkie Hammer, “Neeeeed foooood. Someone catch me a rabbit, or a squirrel...” At Fluttershy’s alarmed look, Rarity was quick to say, “We brought plenty of snacks to replenish ourselves with. Perhaps we should partake before returning home?” Out of all of them Rarity was the least exhausted and wounded, mostly because her fighting style required a lot less movement compared to the other girls. She could all but unleash an army’s worth of weapons from her whirlpool of blood, all without having to take a step. Rainbow Dash might have been the strongest of them currently, having completed her Fullbring, but Rarity still seemed to have the most skill in manipulating her spiritual energy. She was also quickly becoming the team’s tactical brain, having directed most of their actions against Ditzy Doo. “Yeah, you girls have more than earned a break,” said Ditzy Doo, hopping down from the chunk of rubble she’d been sitting on, “Even if you don’t feel like you’re making progress, trust me, you are.” She approached them, stretching her arms above her head as if the hours long training battle had been little more than a healthy afternoon jog for her, but it did let Fluttershy see that the woman bore a few bruises herself. They might not have landed any solid hits on Ditzy, but there’d been a few grazing blows and one or two instances shockwaves from their attacks had managed to knock Ditzy around. Ditzy Doo looked between them, pointing to each girl in turn. “Applejack, you’ve improved a lot on controlling your Fullbring’s energy output. Those rapid fire beams really caught me off guard. You’re still telegraphing your big attacks too much. I get that your bigger guns take some charge up, but look for ways to create better opportunities to use them. That’s where teamwork comes in. Rarity, you’ve got some serious talent as a tactician. I wasn’t expecting that maneuver with the electrified pillars, or the way you used Fluttershy’s Fullbring to complete the trap with Pinkie’s ability to basically turn anything into a joke. Your only major issue right now is that I’m sensing hesitance when you’re on the attack.” Rarity’s face flushed red for a second, and she got a look on her face Fluttershy had seen before when Rarity really didn’t want to talk about something, “I assure you it's nothing, Miss Doo. I just have a very healthy respect for how... deadly my ability could be.” Ditzy Doo looked at the girl for a second, but said nothing, turning to Rainbow Dash, “As for you, you’re right, you did nearly have me about a dozen or so times this fight. With your Fullbring in its complete form, your speed is something else. If I wasn’t as good as I am with Flash Step, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with you. As it stands, you’re probably faster than half the current Captains. At Dash’s beaming look, Ditzy frowned and said, “Your problem, as always, is that you’re still too reckless. You’re fast, sure. You have control over lightning like few others do, and can hit with it like a literal thunderstorm. But you leave yourself open a hundred times over, and fast or not, you’re going to run into foes fast enough to capitalize on that weakness. So with you, we need to seriously teach you some defense, or you’ll get injured worse than you did when you fought Fancy Pants.” With the wind taken out of her sails, Rainbow Dash crossed her arms and blew out a huff, looking away. “Isn’t the best defense a relentlessly awesome offense?” “Not when all it takes is one stab through the heart to end it all for you,” Ditzy replied in simple tone of stating a fact, “You girls are powerful, but never forget that you’re still human. One wrong move in a fight, and it’ll be over.” “Okay, yeesh, I get it. You’d think you could give us some credit after whooping so much butt back in Soul Society,” Rainbow Dash said, glancing away from Ditzy’s gaze. “You girls did good back there, no question. I’m not trying to tear down your confidence, but I need to make it clear to you girls that whether you go up against Starlight Glimmer again, or end up facing down one of the Espada, there’s no guarantees. I want to make sure I’ve trained you as best I can, refining your strengths and shoring up your weaknesses. Which kinda requires you understand you have weaknesses to begin with, right Rainbow Dash?” It took a moment, but Rainbow Dash sighed and reluctantly met Ditzy’s gaze, “Right.” “Good, okay then, moving on to our resident garbage disposal,” Ditzy said, pointing at Pinkamena. “Pass,” Pinkamena said, and Ditzy glowered. “It’s a training evaluation. You can’t ‘pass’ on a training evaluation.” “Just did. Gimme food, or I don’t care. We can all die in a flaming spaghetti explosion for all I care.” “Aw, don’t be like that Mena,” said Pinkie Pie, her hammer form bouncing on the ground underneath Pinkamena, “I promise if you’re a good girl and listen to Ditzy’s evaluation, I’ll get you an extra large order of those chocolate drizzle glazed donuts you like so much.” At that point it was less that Pinkamena was drooling, and more like a small waterfall was pouring out of her mouth as she stood on swaying legs and stared at Ditzy with hungry eyes. “Evaluate away, but know that if I do not receive my promised sacrifice of donuts that my wrath will consume you all.” Ditzy looked more amused than concerned by the words, although to Fluttershy’s ears it sounded as if Pinkamena was being dead serious. “Right, so with you two your biggest strength is your unpredictability. At the same time that unpredictability is your largest weakness. It's extremely hard to guess what you might do in a fight, and the nature of your Fullbring makes you the biggest wildcard on your team’s side. Problem is, it's impossible for your teammates to predict what you’re going to do either, and if you’re stuck in a one-on-one fight you can’t fully control the flow of the fight, having to rely on whatever comedic form your power decides to take.” Pinkie Pie’s voice became a shade crestfallen, the huge pink hammer dropping its head, “Oh man did you nail it on the head! Heheh, nail. I’m never gonna get over that. But yeah, I felt super-duper bad we couldn’t do much against Cheesy, even after trying sooooo hard.” “Don’t feel too bad,” said Ditzy, “Cheese Sandwich is one of the top Captains. You lasted longer than most would have. Still, the point stands that you need to work on a way to more reliably control what kind of effects your Fullbring creates, while doing your best to synergize with your ever-hungry alter ego here.” “Okie dokie lokie! Mena, we’re on team building and trust exercises from now on!” “Oh... goodie.” Finally Ditzy Doo’s eyes rested on Fluttershy, and the girl self-consciously forced herself to at least sit up. “So, um, it’s, uh, my turn now?” “Yup, and honestly I don’t have much to say where you’re concerned, Fluttershy. You’ve got a pacifistic streak that I know won’t be going away, so I won’t harp on you holding back or not going for lethal strikes. I get that’s never going to be your style. Still, that’s not the real thing I sense is holding you back. Your Fullbring is insanely powerful and versatile, allowing you to debilitate and control enemies and seriously boost your allies. Problem is I feel like you're hesitating with using your Fullbring to its strongest potential, especially when trying to command enemies.” Fluttershy gulped, feeling a lightness in her stomach. It was true that while her power to control others had grown stronger as her Fullbring had evolved, she still very much feared using that power at its strongest limit. She’d held back considerably against man of the Soul Reapers back in Soul Society, fearful of damaging their minds if she used too much power on them. On top of that she simply was not comfortable with controlling others like that. She’d do it, for the sake of her friends, but it always felt wrong to invade and erase the free will of others. “I, um... can’t say you’re wrong, Miss Doo. I really don’t like controlling other people. What if I went too far? What if I used so much power that they didn’t go back to normal afterward? I... I could really, really hurt people if I wasn’t careful.” Ditzy Doo gave a solemn nod, but she crossed her arms under her chest and eyed Fluttershy with a level gaze. “It's a fair concern, and I understand it's not in your nature to hurt people. But consider this; how many times has your power failed? How many times have you commanded someone, someone strong like Hurricane, and the power just didn’t work?” Fluttershy looked at her hands folded in her lap. There’d been plenty of times her power of command had failed, especially against strong foes. She’d hoped to just excuse it as the enemy being too powerful, but the truth was that more often than not she’d still been holding back. Ditzy took her silence in stride, “I think you already know the weakness you need to work on, Fluttershy, and I won’t blow any sunshine up your skirts about it being an easy problem to solve. You have to decide for yourself just how much you're willing to risk versus how important your morals are to you, and I won’t tell you which is the right call. Just be aware that it is holding you back right now, and before you go up against something like an Espada you’d best find your answer.” With that Ditzy Doo took in and blew out a long breath, “Okaaaay, evaluations over! Training is done for the day gals. Since you’ve all made some decent progress, I say take tomorrow off and blow off some steam. I got personal business to deal with anyway.” “Oh? What’cha got going on, teach?” asked Rainbow Dash curiously. “Eh, it ain’t exactly a secret, so might as well tell you. I finally got Time Turner to get off his skittish, if well toned, ass and come here to the world of the living to spend some quality time with Derpy. We’re going out to the beach tomorrow, a nice little family outing.” Ditzy Doo’s eyes shone with a glow of motherly affection as she gazed up at the sky, “Figure now is a good a time as any, since who knows how long the current quiet is gonna last? Got to enjoy it while it's here, girls. Oh, which reminds me, if any damn shenanigans happen while I’m out with my hubby and kid, I will literally tear the head off the perpetrators, so I’d appreciate it if you gals spot any trouble, deal with it nice and quietly. You know, in case you or your Quincy pal were planning anything.” All five girls froze. Slowly Rarity spoke first, sweat beading her forehead, “So... you know?” Ditzy Doo smiled thinly, licking her lips. “Discy relies on me as his primary intelligence source for a reason, girls. I’m kind of insulted Twilight thought she could get away with a private meeting without me or Discord noticing. Tell her, next time you see her, she needs to adjust her stealth wards to account for wind flow. Any Stealth Corps member would’ve spotted that. Lucky for you only me and one of Twilight’s Quincy friends was around to spot it.” “Wait, whaddya mean one o’ her ‘Quincy friends’?” asked Applejack, and Ditzy Doo shrugged. “Blueish skin, pigtails, wearing a techish visor. Think she was at the Friendship Games on Crystal Prep’s end.” “Hmm, sounds like Sugarcoat. So... she’s a Quincy?” said Rarity, musing. “Wouldn’t surprise me if all of those Shadowbolt chicks were,” said Rainbow Dash, “Wonder why one was following Twilight around?” “Do you think it will be a problem?” asked Fluttershy nervously. “I don’t think so,” said Ditzy, “She looked more worried about Twilight than you, and I don't’ think she actually heard any of your conversation with her. Unlike me.” The girls exchanged looks. Sunset had talked about going to Discord for help or advice, so perhaps it was for the best that Ditzy already knew. Rarity stepped forward, eyes hopeful. “If you already know the situation, then maybe you and Discord can help us rescue Adagio’s friend with minimal trouble?” Ditzy, arms still crossed, said, “Discord might have an idea or two, but things are dicier than you girls realize. I suggest being extremely cautious here. I spent a lot of time in Soul Society after you girls returned, working with Time Turner to keep an eye on things. We knew shaking things up in the Seireitei was going to get unwanted attention drawn our way, and it has.” The woman paused for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts, before dropping, “There’s a Zero Division member currently in Soul Society, keeping watch on things. Discord and I think they’re on the lookout for any more unusual activity on our end. They might suspect Discord and you girls of being a potential ‘rogue element’. So any false moves on our part might end with them dropping the hammer on us. Hard.” Pinkie Pie broke the following, heavy silence by blurting out, “Wow, that sucks.” “And the award for understatement of year goes to...” Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head as she looked at Ditzy, “Okay, seriously, what’s up with these Zero Division bozos? According to Starlight they basically banished her boyfriend to Hell, and sounds like you and Discord have got some history with them too.” Her fierce ruby eyes hardened with pain and anger, her voice bitter, “My mom too. Zero Division is behind why she ran off.” “What exactly is this Zero Division member keeping an eye for?” asked Rarity, “Why are we worth watching?” “You girls need to understand that the Soul Society was built from the ground up by the Zero Division, so anything that might upset what they consider a carefully controlled balance is something they watch for. I have no idea how true it is about what happened to Sunburst, but Starlight believes it. I also don’t know for sure just how connected Discy is to them, other than I know he doesn’t like them. Now, Zero Division doesn’t step into the war, for reasons I don’t really grasp, but if one of them is hanging out in Soul Society that’s a big deal. Word I got from my sources in Seireitei tell me she’s basically hanging over Scorpan’s shoulder twenty-four-seven right now. I know the Captain Commander has gone to bat for you girls, basically singing your praises for helping fight Platinum and Starlight. As of now this Zero Division member is just... watching. Keeping apprised of news concerning you girls, including the whole research project on the portal. As long as you all look like reliable allies of Soul Society they won’t have a reason to move on us...” Ditzy let the rest unsaid, but Rarity filled in the blanks. “But if we’re caught helping rescue an Arrancar prisoner of war, down comes the proverbial hammer.” Ditzy nodded, face a gray mask of dead seriousness, “Won’t say don’t do it. Won’t say Discord might not help. Just saying that if you girls do this, be prepared for the worst.” “Can... can we beat them? If it came to that?” asked Fluttershy. “Discy and I might be able to handle one of them if we worked together and got real lucky. Each Zero Division member is in the same weight class as Scorpan, so if you girls went toe-to-toe with one... yeah, miracle wouldn’t even begin to describe what you’d need to win. If things do go south, the plan should be to run. Preferable through the portal to Equestria.” One by one each of the girls looked at each other, their expressions all equally grave. Things had just gotten a lot more dangerous. ---------- It was dusk by the time Timber Spruce was walking hastily down the street towards the parking lot where he’d stuck the station wagon. He knew Gloriosa would have an earful for him when he got back, since she didn’t like him being out after dark with all the things she’d been seeing around town. He didn’t really mind it that much. His sister was a worrywart by nature, but she was usually right about things. He was just worried about her, too. Everything had really gotten out of whack ever since she found those crystals in the forest. Timber still didn’t know what to think of all this. Crystals giving his sister weird nature powers? Her seeing bizarre spirits and robed people around the city? Even weirder strangers popping out of portals near the camp? And Timber couldn’t see any of it himself, but he knew his sister wasn’t crazy or lying to him. Gloriosa was not prone to flights of fancy, and Timber had seen her using the magical power of the crystals. He hadn’t discounted the magic was still somehow affecting her head in some odd way, but he couldn’t just tell her that, or she’d probably dismiss it. It’s still so dang crazy. Few weeks ago life was pretty normal. Sure the camp was losing money and Glori was stressed out, but at least she wasn’t talking to plants and seeing mysterious boogeymen nobody else can see. Honestly Timber Spruce just felt a tad helpless with the situation, and he didn’t know what to do. And it wasn’t like he could go to anyone else about it, looking for help. His and Gloriosa’s parents were both gone, and had been for a long time. Gloriosa had just barely been old enough to inherit the camp and start running it herself, and more than once Timber thought that taking on so much responsibility at that age had taken its toll on his sister. He just tried to help out as best he could. Like today, with hitting up the library and searching through the archives for information about Gaia Everfree. Unfortunately he didn’t turn up anything he thought would prove useful. The first record of the Everfree Forest having its own “guardian spirit” dated well back before modern day civilization encroached on the area. The native tribe that called the forests and mountains home a few centuries back had legends about the Everfree Forest, how it was a place of primal power, deeply connected to the forces of nature and beasts. There was even a few tales about there being a ‘gateway’ between this realm and a realm of primordial spirits, hidden somewhere deep inside the Everfree. Supposedly it was from that realm of primal spirits that Gaia Everfree emerged, an immortal being fused to the very soul of the forest. The natives worshiped her as a goddess, and even claimed she would emerge to battle evil spirits or monsters that threatened their tribes. With a shudder he also recalled one or two tales that suggested a darker side to Gaia Everfree. That she was not an entirely benevolent guardian spirit, and at times had demanded sacrifices in exchange for her protection. That she consumed the souls of her hapless foes to fuel her wrath, and took bloody vengeance on any who threatened her forest domain. The only thing that seemed to connect this to the crystals that Gloriosa found was that the stories of Gaia Everfree did suggest she had power over the plants of the forest, and that some of the native tribes had long ago used the caves as sites for worshiping her. But no mention of multi-colored geodes, or monsters with skull masks, or people in black robes. Strangely, Timber did stumble across an article about more recent news, about several citizens claiming to see the strange sight of girls flying around town or jumping around rooftops, but that was just dismissed as local tabloid gossip. Still, it made Timber nervous. Life was getting well outside the boundaries of what he was normally comfortable with, and he just hoped that one way or another this would all blow over and life could go back to- He felt a sudden chill down his spine. With a gulp, Timber looked around. He’d been almost to his station wagon, at the far end of the library parking lot. The sun was down, and although there was still a shade of twilight in the sky, things suddenly looked very dark in the parking lot and Timber Spruce realized that he was alone. There was nobody nearby, yet he felt like he was being watched. “Okay Timber, stop freaking out. You just spent hours reading a bunch of about crazy spirit stuff, you’re just wound up, that’s all,” he told himself, fishing in his pocket or his keys while trying to ignore the increasing chill he felt and the sensation that something was watching him. Just nerves. That was all. Just- He was grabbed from behind by something large and powerful, pinning his arms to his side. He heard his keys clatter to the parking lot concrete as he was lifted off the ground by an invisible force, his whole body turning cold. Timber screamed, but even that noise was fast coked off by the powerful crushing force that was squeezing him tightly and turning him around. Timber couldn’t see what was holding him, only a vague, hazy outline of something huge, at least ten feet tall. He had the faint impression of glowing yellow eyes, and heard a horrific, ear piercing howl fill the air. Pain stabbed into his chest as he felt his ribs crack, the pressure on his chest increasing as the thing holding him started to crush the life from his helpless body. He tried to struggle, to kick, to do anything, but there was nothing he could do. Nothing but wait for the end to come. Glori... Before consciousness faded, he saw a streak of blue light. An arrow? The unearthly howl in his ears turned into a scream of pain, and suddenly the pressure on his chest went away. Timber fell to the ground in a boneless heap, his chest burning with pain. His vision was blurred by he saw someone nearby, and several more streaks of blue light flew across the parking lot. The howling abruptly ceased, and in seconds Timber heard voices. “Oh no, were we too late!? Soarin, hurry, help me turn him over.” Timber heard footfalls, then through his darkened vision he saw a blurry, purple shape next to him. A girl? He felt gentle hands on his shoulder, turning him onto his back, and he groaned in pain. “S-sorry. Try not to move. I need to see how bad it is.” Yup, definitely a girl’s voice. She sounded young, and very concerned. Timber tried to talk, but his lungs just coughed and hacked up some blood. That probably wasn’t a good sign. Suddenly a male voice, older than the girl’s but still sound, and oddly ‘surfer dude’ sounding spoke up, “He doesn’t look good, Twilight. A rib must have punctured a lung. We should get him to a hospital.” “No. A hospital doesn’t have the same medical advancements we do. Even my family’s manor has a better set up.” “He’s a civilian. He’s going to have questions if he wakes up at the manor.” “I’ll take responsibility. I’m not letting someone die just because we were too slow to realize a Hollow was attacking someone nearby...” Timber Spruce heard the man say something in response to that, but he couldn’t make it out. His consciousness was falling into cold, cold darkness. He only got one last, blurry look at the girl kneeling over him, her face swimming with worry behind thick glasses. Before darkness took him, Timber’s last thought was that she was way too cute to look that sad.