//------------------------------// // Episode 124: Reason To Fight // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 124: Reason To Fight It took Midnight all of a second to surmise what Sapphire Shores had done. Inside their shared mind, Twilight was drawing identical conclusions, her voice running at the speed of thought with a frightful chime. ”This dimension was intentionally designed to become unstable and not only collapse, but create a cascade reaction of explosive reishi particles! Did she set it up to collapse after a set time period or if Sapphire Shores herself lost?” “Twilight, I don’t think it matters why this place is about to explode,” Midnight snapped, “What matters is how we stop it!” “Can’t you just open a magical portal out of here?” Cadence asked, her eyes widely gazing at the walls of the gleaming silver prison dimension as more and more golden cracks of uncontrolled energy started to form around it. “You made those during the Friendship Games.” “The situation is different now,” Midnight reply curtly, trying to ignore Twilight’s increasingly panicked voice in her own head, “I was right next to the portal to Equestria, which was extending a portion of that world’s magical field into this one. That made opening holes right to Equestria easy. But that portal isn’t here, and this place is sealed away from the physical world in it’s own pocket dimension. Any attempt I’d make to rip open a portal would just accelerate this place collapsing on us.” “Then what do we do?” said Filthy Rich, turning a questioning gaze towards Cadence as a fearful sweat beaded his face, “If you have control over Sapphire, can’t you order her to stop this?” Cadence’s eyes flicked over to Sapphire Shore’s placid form, “I can try.” “Go for it,” Midnight said, “If that doesn’t work, I’ll see what me and Twilight can come up with. I’m not about to die just after getting a taste of freedom, I can promise you that!” In a flash Cadence was next to Sapphire Shore’s side, with Filthy Rich following close behind her. Midnight, still holding the petrified Soarin’s body in a telekinetic grip, started to examine the prison dimension’s walls.  “Sapphire,” Cadence said, and the motionless woman immediately turned to face her with her blank expression suddenly filling with utter, blind devotion. It was as if she’d been a dead husk a second ago, then upon hearing Cadence’s words she became filled with life, but a twisted, maddened sort of life that existed solely for the Cadence. “Yes? Do you have need of me?”  Even those simple words were spoken with unsettling reverence and love, as if Cadence had become the sole thing in existence that Sapphire Shores could respond to now with any emotion, and even then the only emotion capable was a savagely consuming love that ruled out all other feelings. A spark of self-hatred fluttered through Cadence upon seeing what she’d wrought, but she pushed the feeling aside with the knowledge that Sapphire Shores had left little in the way of options to defeat her, and that right now the power of her Lust might be the only thing that could get them out of this jam. She tried to convince herself that Sapphire had brought this fate upon herself, but it still didn’t mean that she liked what she saw, or hoped to never have to use this power again. “This place you’ve created is collapsing, Sapphire. Can you stop it?” Cadence asked, and the other woman’s devoted features paled. Sapphire Shores wailed like a child who’d disappointed a beloved parent, “I’m so sorry! I can’t do that, because I designed it to fall apart like this without any fail safes! I’ll kill myself immediately if that makes up for it, Cadence! Please don’t hate me! I just was trying so hard to kill Twilight Sparkle that I wanted to make sure it happened even if you beat me. Forgive me! I’d open a way out if I could for you, but I made sure that if anyone, even I, tried to do so when it got this unstable it’d just explode anyway.” “Blasted zealot!” Filthy Rich burst out with a heated voice, “Are you insane!?” “Filthy, there’s no point admonishing her,” Cadence said sharply, “She can’t change what she did. And no, Sapphire, I don’t hate you or want you to punish yourself. There must be some way to at least slow the process down. You’re still the Quintessence. You can control and change the basic structure of reishi! Don’t tell me there’s nothing you can do.” Sapphire Shores looked around almost bashfully, her demure attitude sharply contrasting with the fact that she was still an eighteen foot tall, silver angel with eight wings. “If the dimension wasn’t already this unstable I’d be able to open a way out easily, but right now even with the Quintessence it would be very dangerous to try. At best, I could probably slow the process of destruction down. I don’t know if I can do more than that.” “Then do so, please. That would, um... make me very happy,” Cadence said, feeling a bit sick at the way Sapphire Shore’s eyes lit up and the other woman beamed out a smile. “Then I’ll do it! For you!” Once free of the chains Filthy Rich had placed around her, Sapphire Shores became a silver streak and went to the nearest point upon the prison dimensions walls, reaching her hands out to touch the cracking silver surface. Filthy Rich watched her go and shivered. “I always rated your Schrift as among the more dangerous ones among the younger generation of Sternritter,” he told Cadence, “But I’m thinking I underestimated it even then.” “I’m not proud of it,” Cadence said, “Sometimes it’s caused me more trouble than it’s worth.” The middle aged business man looked at her with a patient expression, tempering his voice with a chord of experience, “You might resent what it does, but never forget that it’s your power, and that as long as you use it to protect what matters to you, you should be proud of it.” “Yes... well, we’re not out of this yet, Filthy Rich, so don’t thank me quite yet,” said Cadence, eyeing both Sapphire Shores and Midnight, both of whom were not making any obvious physical progress on the walls of the dimension, but were clearly doing something. Captain Starswirl was observing things from nearby, having deactivated his Zanpaktou and sheathed it while tending to his wounds with Kido. While he hadn’t said anything, he keen minded Captain was considering options of his own. His Zanpaktou could, technically, make a Senkaimon Gate, but since he had no way of knowing whether or not that attempt at inter-realm travel would react poorly with the unstable dimension he found himself in, he considered that an option of last resort. He’d let Midnight and Twilight try to handle the situation up until the last minute. If whatever they attempted failed, he’d risk the Senkaimon. For now, he was content to observe, showing no grand distress over the prospect of an impending doom. For him, whether he lived or not, he’d at least get to observe some interesting phenomenon.   ”Midnight, do you feel that?” Twilight said as Midnight was very carefully trying to probe the wall with a combination of both magical and spiritual senses. Twilight could feel everything Midnight was feeling, so it was little wonder she picked up on the faint pulses of reiatsu that weren’t coming from the vibrating rifts of unstable energy stemming from the volatile reishi Sapphire Shores had constructed her prison dimension from. “Yes, I feel it,” Midnight replied with a small smirk, “That’s Rarity and Fluttershy’s reiatsu. Looks like your friends are just outside, and are trying to do something to this place as well.” ”Is there any way we can contact them? A magic telepathy spell or something?” Twilight asked, and Midnight made a mental equivalent of an eye roll. “Magic telepathy? It’s magic, Twilight, not psychic power.” ”Are psychics a thing, do you think?” “How should I know? I’m just your magical mental counterpart that lives in your brain. Now, what I can do is try to send through a ‘Message’ spell. It’s not telepathy, but it’d let us say something to them. Question is, what do we say to them other than ‘Back away before this thing explodes and kills all of you’?” ”I don’t know... I... wait, Midnight, what about this? If we have them raise their reiatsu as high as it could go, couldn’t you use that as a beacon to focus a teleport spell on?” Midnight considered the notion. She hadn’t tried teleporting already due to the fact that this prison completely sealed them off from the outside reality, which meant that any attempt at a teleport would be fundamentally scrambled and be highly likely to fail in... spectacular manner. But with something to focus the teleport on, like as Twilight said a ‘beacon’, that might work. Well, it would work if there was a pathway through which the magic of the teleport could go. Teleportation wasn’t quite what people tended to think of it as. Sure, the people or objects teleporting vanished from one spot and appeared somewhere else, but the magical energy of the spell still technically traversed the space between those two points. That's why warding spells could block teleportation, because the energy of the spell itself could be blocked from traversing from point A to point B. As long as this wall of unstable reishi was in the way, a teleport wouldn’t work, even with a beacon. Sure, there was just enough of a crack in the reality between the prison dimension and the outside for some magical and spiritual wavelengths to pass through, hence why she and Twilight could sense Rarity and Fluttershy on the outside, and why a Message spell might also get through. But there was a huge difference between that, and a teleport. Especially a complex teleport taking along multiple people. There was a high chance that if they tried it, most of them, if not all of them, would get scrambled beyond recognition by the interference the falling apart dimensional wall would cause the spell. Even if some of them survived, it wouldn’t be in particularly pleasant condition. All of this crossed Midnight’s mind in an instant, and consequently it also crossed Twilight’s due to their shared mental space. That also meant a potential solution came to both of them at nearly the same instant. “Cadence! Get everyone over here, now!” Midnight shouted, “Bring your new gal-toy, too! We’re going to need her!” “I would prefer you not refer to her as a ‘toy’ Midnight,” Cadence said with a cutting edge to her tone that suggested she didn’t think the situation particularly amusing. Soon enough all of them were gathered near, including the still mentally subdued Gladmane and, and Spoiled Rich who had apparently passed out at some point during the final moments of the battle and now hung limply in her magical bindings. Filthy Rich gave his wife a complicated look of anger, pain, sadness, and even traces of love. Midnight chose not to comment. The man clearly had some personal issues with his family that needed working out, and Midnight had zero interest in the results of that.  “Okay people,” she said, “Here’s our one possible chance out of here before getting crushed and atomized by an imploding pocket dimension. I might be able to teleport us to the other side, but only if a clear and stable hole is opened up in the walls of this place. Sapphire Shores, you can open up such a hole, right?” Sapphire didn’t respond save to look at Cadence questioningly, and only upon Cadence’s nod of approval did Sapphire turn back to Midnight, “I can, but that will just make things more unstable, especially around the area where I make the hole. Destructive reishi will start pouring out here and this part of the dimension will collapse first.” “That’s fine,” Midnight said, and Filthy Rich cleared his throat. “My pardons, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t describe any of that as fine.” “It will be, because on the other side is Twilight’s good friend Fluttershy, who has a Fullbring that operates on similar logic to the Quintessence. At least in so much as it directly affects how reishi works. She can’t alter the fundamental function of reishi, but she sure can manipulate its general state in a lot of ways. She’s particularly good at calming things down, which is what we need here most. Sapphire, I’m going to need you to time this with Fluttershy, wait until the exact moment she uses her Fullbring to stabilize this portion of the wall, then open a hole in it as smoothly as you can. Got it?” Another questioning look was sent towards an exasperated Cadence who firmly nodded, “Do as she says, Sapphire.” “Yes, I can do it, if it pleases Cadence,” Sapphire confirmed. “Perfect,” Midnight said, “See? Cooperation is an amazing thing. I’m sending the Message spell now. You just keep your senses sharp until you feel Fluttershy doing her thing. The rest of you, stand close to me, and pray to whoever, preferably  me, that this works like I think it should.” With barely a conscious thought she summoned forth a gust of magic that created a faint spark of purple light that Midnight whispered her words into, detailing the plan, and then sent the light through the thinnest of the cracks in the wall. Hopefully the Message would get through relatively clearly. ---------- “I don’t mean to freak anybody out, but I’ve got about ten different Pinkie Sense alarms going off at once and am pretty sure that we’re either all about to explode, or have something of similar horribleness happen,” Pinkie Pie pointed out as the expansive sphere of silver energy continued to gain an ever widening array of cracks along its surface. Harmful energies poured out of the cracks, and the air was vibrating with an increasing roar of noise that seemed to come from all places at once. “Dang it Pinkie, that sense o’ yers ever gonna kick in ta tell us we’re gonna get a vacation!?” Applejack said, hands clenched uselessly as she could do little but watch her friends work to try and deal with the situation, as her power-set was not suited to the kind of delicate work that Fluttershy and Rarity were attempting. “Sorry Applejack, I don’t think we’re going to get a lot of breaks until the series is over, although I think the author still needs to catch everyone up with what’s going on with our pony-selves in Equestria, so I think we’ll get to rest a bit while that’s happening,” Pinkie replied, receiving a blank stare from Applejack. “Man, this thing is looking like it’s about to pop,” Rainbow Dash said, “Hey Flutters, Rares, you guys got this or what!?” “Ugh... Rainbow Dash, I’d thank you not to distract us. This is much more focus intensive than it may appear,” Rarity said, her hands held out in front of her as she concentrated on directing her knights. The crimson gates behind her had formed to bring forth her army, which was now surrounding the sphere like a hovering swarm. Each knight was using its weapon to generate interlocking lattices of ruby crystal that was growing to encompass the widest cracks in the sphere. Rarity was essentially ‘patching’ the holes, using her reishi infused crystal to try and reinforce the spiritual structure. This was hardly a solution, merely a stopgap to buy Fluttershy time as she focused upon doing what Twilight’s unusual message had bade them to. Only a minute ago had a mote of purple light appeared before them and Twilight’s voice had swiftly relayed a plan to extricate herself and the others trapped within the sphere. While the precise nuances of the plan were of a magical nature beyond the girls’ ability to really understand, the short version could be boiled down to Fluttershy trying to re-stabilize, however temporarily, the energies running wild through a particular portion of the sphere.  While she did that, Rarity redoubled her efforts to use her own Fullbring to keep the sphere from falling apart, although even she wasn’t certain how much help she was being. Meanwhile Fluttershy remained the calmest of all of them, a serene figure amid the tense moment. She stood within inches of the sphere, her six flesh and blood hands clasped before her in a complex, prayer-like gesture. From the shining halo behind her a multitude of ethereal arms of solid gold light sprouted and embraced the sphere within a concentrated area, forming a wide circle about six feet to either side of Fluttershy. This part of the sphere was gleaming with an inner light stemming from Fluttershy, who poured her power into the violent, unstable reishi making up the sphere. Much as she might seek to control the emotions of an individual’s soul, or soothe a body to bring out it’s inner ability to heal itself, she stemmed the aggravated tide of destructive reishi. Stillness was her inner being, and she exuded that stillness into the reishi designed to self-destruct and come apart violently. Bit by bit, the reishi around the area she focused upon became stable, the cracks no longer widening, and in a few places even closing up. It was only a momentary thing, Fluttershy knew. As powerful as she’d become, the one who’d made this sphere was on a different level, and the amount of power put into the sphere was truly monstrous. It would explode eventually, even with Fluttershy working to reverse the destructive process. Yet, with all of her might concentrated on one point, one area where she could put forth her full effort to still the violence to come... the sphere became almost entirely stable. And in that moment, Sapphire Shores, on the other side, opened a hole in the prison she’d created. A hole no larger than a baseball, but more than large, and more importantly stable, enough for Midnight Sparkle to cast herself and all those within the prison through the barrier via a teleport spell. It was in a wide, sparkling flash of purple light that Midnight, Cadence, Captain Starswirl, Filthy Rich, Sapphire Shores, the stone body of Soarin, the unconscious Spoiled Rich, and the still mentally dominated Gladmane all appeared in the sky a few meters behind the girls. “Yes, it worked! Hah! I’m amazing! Mmm, smell that sweet air of freedom!” Midnight swept her arms out and took a deep breath, grinning with a reckless abandon. “Whoa nelly! Yer all alright?” Applejack asked, but the farm girl’s eyes quickly took in the sight in front of her with rapid confusion that turned into uneasy suspension, “Twilight, yer... alright?” “Holy crap, look at the silver chick!” Rainbow Dash blurted, “She’s freakin’ huge! Uh... are we fighting? Should we be getting ready for some boss music or something?” Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the side, one of her ears twitching, “I don’t hear any playing yet. I think we’re good, Dashie.” “Captain Starswirl,” Sweet Cider said, nodding to her fellow Captain while eyeing the Quincy with her hands not quite raising her Zanpaktou, but clearly not relaxing her guard, “I’m glad you’re still alive. Just what is the situation?” “The situation, Captain Sweet Cider, is that I don’t believe we should remain close to this sphere for very long,” Starswirl replied, “As it seems to still be in the process of collapsing.” “Oh yes!” said Sapphire Shores suddenly, “It will explode most spectacularly. We will most certainly die if we don’t leave.” She blinked, “That would be bad, right Cadence?” With a frustrated gasp, Cadence ran a hand over her face and said, “Yes, yes it would! We can save questions and standoffs for the moment. Sapphire, how far away do we need to get?” “Oh, a few miles I would think-” “A few miles!? Sapphire, Camp Everfree is only a couple of miles from here!” “It is? Oh, it is. I don’t think I cared about that when I made the sphere. Um, should I care about that Cadence? You’re not mad at me, are you? I’ll start caring about Camp Everfree if that will make you happy.” “Aaaaah craaaap!” Rainbow Dash zipped about, left and right in little bursts of lightning, “Maybe if we just hit it really hard we can punt it into orbit!?” “Don’t be an idgit, Dash! Hittin’ this thing is liable ta just make it explode faster!” Applejack said, glaring at Sapphire Shores, “If ya made this stupid thing, can’t ya just turn it off!?” “Not when the process is this far along. Oh my, I really didn’t expect to lose. But Cadence is so wonderful, of course I’d lose to her.” “Ignore her,” Cadence said, “Midnight, please tell me you have a plan?” “Midnight?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash both said as they exchanged looks. “Step back girls,” Midnight said with a smug look as she rolled up her sleeves and sashayed over towards the sphere, “Now that I’m outside this overgrown marble, I’ve got this well in hand. Fluttershy, Rarity, you two can stand back. Just leave this matter to the undisputed master of magic-” She winced, then said, seemingly to herself, “What do you mean I sound like Trixie, Twilight? I find that offensive on so many levels that I think I need to invent several just to cover them all! She’s a talentless, no-magic hack, and I wield the fundamental cosmic power of reality itself! She only wishes she could fart an iota of a percentile of the magic I, er, we wield.” “Uh... anybody else get the feeling we missed a lot of important things that went down in that sphere?” asked Rainbow Dash while watching Midnight talk to herself. “It’s okay Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said as she withdrew her spiritual hands from the sphere and walked over to stand next to the other girl, “I think everything is going to be alright, now.” “Well, I certainly hope so, because I’ve had enough of explosions for one day,” said Rarity with a self-conscious look on her face as she joined her friends, directing her knights back to the gate, while leaving her crystal lattice around the sphere, “So Twilight, if you’d be so kind as to do whatever it is you’re going to do?” “It’s Midnight, girls, and just watch a master at work.” Cracking her neck, Midnight flapped her raven wings and flew upwards. It had by now dawned upon the girls who they were looking at, and more uneasy looks were sent between them as Midnight reached the zenith of the sphere. Her wings spread wide, Midnight threw out her hands and her palms lit up with bonfires of thick, teal magic. Slowly the entire silver sphere became encased in a sparkling glow of teal light, pin-pricks of stardust flickering across its circumference. While a construct of pure spiritual energies, the sphere did have weight and mass. Now that she was outside the prison dimension, Midnight could exert force on that mass, and with still quite a bit of magical energies in her reserves, she gripped the entire sphere in a powerful telekinetic grip. Then, much as Rainbow Dash had suggested, she hurled the sphere upwards. Unlike a direct impact like a physical strike, that might cause the unstable sphere to explode, the even telekinetic grip was able to move the sphere while still keeping it together, and move it at a decently fast speed, too. Within a minute the wide orb of silver sailed upwards into the sky, gaining kilometres of distance in a short span of time. Midnight kept the sphere moving, until it was little more than a dot that glinted with the sun’s rays. Then, when she was sure it was high enough, she gripped her hands and crushed inward with her telekinetic grip. There was a flash like an exploding nuke, and a second or two later a concussive boom of noise, then it was over. The sphere had exploded safely, high above, and everyone was free and clear of the danger. Or at least, the immediate danger. Midnight and Twilight both could sense the flaring reiatsu signatures of the only remaining battle taking place in the region. “Looks like your friends Sunset and Clover are a little in over their heads,” Midnight remarked, taking in hefty breaths. For all of her magical power, she’d used up quite a lot in the fight against Sapphire Shores and in disposing of the sphere. She was a bit out of breath, and her and Twilight’s body was still rather battered despite her attempts to heal it. ”It’s hard to tell what’s happening over there,” Twilight said, voice tight with concern, ”There’s a lot of magic gathering over in that huge tree, and I can’t clearly sense anyone’s spiritual pressure. Where did that tree even come from, and why can I sense magic flowing into it?” “Good questions. I’d like to go find out, but we’d best get our ducklings in order down below before your friends start quarreling with your coworkers.” Midnight descended back down to the area where everyone else was gathered, the group having essentially divided into two lines facing off with one another. Captain Starswirl had moved to stand beside Captain Sweet Cider, the pair just slightly off to the side while Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie stood in a row. Across from them, none having released their Vollstandigs, were Cadence, Filthy Rich, Gladmane, and Sapphire Shores. The latter held Soarin’s body in one hand, likely under Cadence’s orders. Spoiled Rich remained an unconscious weight floating just behind the group. “Glad to see everyone getting along so well,” Midnight said as she finished her descent and halted between the two groups, “Be a true shame to go through all this trouble to save you all from certain death only to see you all try to kill each other.” “No one was planning to begin hostilities on our end,” Rarity said flatly, “But can we be blamed for being just a tad wary? I, personally, was... injured, by that Sapphire Shores woman.” “And I’m telling you she is no longer a threat,” Cadence said with strain in her voice, “None of us are. My only concern in coming here was to protect Twilight.” “Yeah, great job,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing at Midnight, “Then why is she looking like her magic-crazy counterpart that nearly tore up reality? What did you do to Twilight?” Before Cadence answered, Midnight turned to Rainbow Dash and the other girls, smiling in... not exactly a disarming manner, “That hurts, Rainbow Dash. Magic crazy? Me? Well, I suppose the shoe does fit. However my being here has nothing to do with Cadence or any of the other Quincy. Twilight willingly gave control of our body to me so that I could make proper use of our full power to defeat Sapphire Shores. Without me, Twilight would be dead right now. As would pretty much everyone else standing here. A thank you would not go unappreciated.” “And we do thank you for that,” Fluttershy said, cutting off Rainbow Dash’s red-faced retort, “I don’t know what transpired between you and Twilight, but if she gave you control willingly, then I trust that her reasons for doing so were sound ones.” “Seriously?” Rainbow Dash said, “For all we know she took over Twilight’s body and is lying through her teeth to us right now! How can we know for sure that our Twilight’s still in here?” “If that’s what’s got your panties in a twist, I can just let Twilight take the wheel again,” Midnight said, sighing heavily, “I would’ve liked for this to last a little longer, but since we literally don’t have time for this nonsense I’ll let her back in the driver’s seat.” ”Wait Midnight, if Sunset and Clover are in trouble, our full power might still be needed-” Twilight began, but Midnight shook her head. “Twilight, I’ve used up a lot of energy already. You can’t sense it as clearly as I can, but our body can’t handle too much more magic, even with me in control. You’re better off relying on your Quincy abilities for now. Besides, I’m not too keen on trying to play diplomat. Just promise me that I’ll get some body time every now and again and I’ll promise not to take any joyrides without your permission. Sound good?” ”That’s... fine. We’ll work out the details later, after everything is settled,” Twilight replied, upon which Midnight gave the girls a wink. “Don’t have too much fun without me,” she said, and then in a wash of teal magic, Twilight’s body lost it’s darker purple sheen, the raven wings, the flares of magic around her eyes and the glowing horn, and her clothing reverted to the white and red stained tatters of her Quincy uniform. Twilight Sparkle gasped as the true weight of the battle with Sapphire Shores hit her in a wave of exhaustion and pain from only partially healed wounds. Her left arm was particularly bad, covered in burns and cuts from the destruction of the Hexenfaust, and she could barely concentrate enough to keep the reishi threads controlling her artificial right hand in check. She felt as if she’d been rolled down a mountain and landed in a meat grinder. Without Midnight taking the mental brunt of things, and using magic to wipe away a lot of the physical strain, Twilight could tell she really was on her last legs after all that had happened today. She almost fell out of the air right then and there, but found in an instant that Rainbow Dash had one of her arms, while Cadence had another. The Fullbringer and Quincy looked at each other, and an understanding flashed between their eyes as they both relaxed and supported Twilight. “You alright, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked, and Twilight gave a weak nod. “I will be. Just need a moment to catch my breath. Oof...everything hurts.” “We should get you back to the Silburn,” Cadence said, “I know you want to help your friends, Twilight, but in this condition...” “No,” Twilight said firmly, solidifying a Hirenkyaku reishi disc under her feet so she could stand on the air. She gently, and not without a nod of thanks, had Rainbow Dash and Cadence stop holding her arms as she stood up more solidly. “No,” she repeated, “I left my friends when they needed me once before. I’m not doing it again. Never again, Cadence. This time...” she looked at the girls, her eyes lighting up with renewed strength despite the pain she was in, “I stand with them.” “Awwww, this is such a group hug moment, but I don’t want to make those injuries hurt any more, so I’m just going to make this hugging gesture from over here and hope you can feel the vibes,” Pinkie Pie said, hugging the air in front of her. “Good ta have ya back, Twilight,” said Applejack, tipping her hat, “Even if yer still dead set on bein’ a Quincy, I’ll be dang happy ta fight alongside ya today.” “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Rarity said, smiling, although Twilight noted there was still a nervousness in Rarity that seemed different from the others, although Twilight couldn’t discern why.  “Here,” Fluttershy spoke softly as she approached Twilight, “I should be able to heal the worst of your wounds if you’ll give me a moment.” “I ain’t too sure we got a’ moment,” Sweet Cider spoke up, her own eyes having drifted from the Quincy to the distant, gigantic tree, “I can sense Captain Luna over there fightin’ alongside Sunset Shimmer an’ Third Seat Clover, an’ whoever they’re up against is strong ‘nough ta be takin’ all three o’ them an’ then some.” Fluttershy nodded but didn’t look away from Twilight as she placed one of her many hands upon her friend, and with a gentle motion allowed an aura of golden light to suffuse Twilight’s body. Twilight almost instantly felt her pain start to fade away like permafrost under a noon sun, and an incredible sense of ease and contentment filled her as Fluttershy worked her power over her injured friend. Fatigue was washed away, and many still bleeding wounds closed up only to leave faint scar tissue in their wake. Even with only a minute of concentration from Fluttershy’s Fullbring, Twilight felt incredible. Not quite one hundred percent, but she went from barely standing to feeling ready for a fresh fight in almost no time. Even the Soul Reaper Captains and Sternritter in attendance looked impressed by Fluttershy’s healing prowess. “Why, I do think that’s on par with what Captain Zecora herself could achieve,” Starswirl commented, and Sweet Cider stroked her chin. “Huh, maybe I should've taken her up on her healin’ offer earlier.” “You’ve certainly made some potent friends, Twilight Sparkle,” Filthy Rich noted, “Now, can I assume from the turn in the conversation that you intend to join them in engaging that Hollow I’m sensing in the direction of that unusually large tree?” “That was the plan, yes,” Twilight said, frowning, “That’s not an issue, is it?” “None,” Filthy Rich said, “Strictly speaking we don’t need His Majesty’s authorization to engage Hollows at our discretion. It’s not normal by any means to ignore Soul Reapers as potential threats, but it isn’t the first time a Quincy has needed to prioritize Hollow extermination over dealing with our rivalry with the Soul Reapers.” “Rivalry? Is that what you call it?” Starswirl asked, then just chuckled dryly, “No matter. I am in agreement with you, for what it may be worth. Our respective groups hostility towards one another can be shelved for the moment. Besides, your young Twilight Sparkle has most impressed me. I’d hate to burn a bridge before it’s even been properly built.” That caused both Filthy Rich and Cadence to raise eyebrows, both at Starswirl and Twilight both, but neither questioned the enigmatic Captain’s words.  “Does anyone here know who Sunset and Clover are fighting?” Twilight asked, “I can sense a powerful Hollow reiatsu, but there’s a lot of magic over there too, and that tree wasn’t there prior to Sapphire Shores trapping us in that sphere.” Fluttershy answered, her voice measured, “It’s Gloriosa Daisy.” “What!?” Twilight gasped, feeling her stomach drop out from under her, “H-How is that possible!?” “I don’t know the details, but her brother was injured when a monster attacked the camp,” Fluttershy began, continuing to briefly explain the manner in which Gloriosa appeared to become mentally unstable and was drawn to something beneath Camp Everfree, reaching an area underground via the magic she’d obtained from the geodes. “Not long after Sunset Shimmer chased after her, there was a large earthquake, and the tree appeared,” Fluttershy explained, “I was in the lake-bed at the time, and protecting the Soul Reapers at the lab.” “Oh good,” Starswirl said, “I was worried about them when I noticed the tree was right on top of my lab. I imagine the lab itself is destroyed?” “Yes, I’m afraid so.” “What about the statue containing the portal to Equestria?” Starswirl pressed, and Fluttershy blinked. “I don’t know. I didn’t see it.” “That’s bad, innit?” Applejack said, and Twilight held up a hand. “One crisis at a time. We’ll worry about the portal after we deal with Gloriosa. Are you absolutely certain the Hollow reiatsu we’re feeling is her?”  At Twilight’s question, Fluttershy simply nodded, “Sunset Shimmer confirmed that Gloriosa merged with a Hollow that was hidden beneath Camp Everfree. It’s her.” “Unfortunate,” Filthy Rich said, his expression darkening, “Innocent humans being caught up in these battles is the most regrettable part of all this, and Gloriosa Daisy and her brother most especially. Hiding a laboratory here was foolish of you Soul Reapers.” “Is that right?” Sweet Cider said, “An’ what were ya’ll Quincy doin’ out here? Picnicn’ it up?” “Forgive me, but we were the one’s that helped you deal with the Hollows in the city,” Filthy Rich shot back, “And we didn’t begin this battle at all.” “Enough!” Twilight snapped, “This won’t solve anything! Soul Reaper, Quincy, none of it matters! What matters is we stop this bloodshed and save as many people as we can, including Gloriosa and Timber!” Sweet Cider had the presence of mind to look a bit ashamed as she glanced away, “True ‘nough. But not ta rain on yer optimism there, but how ya plannin’ on savin’ a’ gal who, by all accounts, has been taken over by some ancient, powerful Hollow?” “She has a point, Twilight,” Cadence said, “I don’t know if we can do anything for Gloriosa Daisy if she’s somehow merged with a Hollow. We might have to...” Twilight felt a clenching vice of responsibility inside her and poured that feeling out in the heat of her voice as she said, “Gloriosa and Timber wouldn’t be in this mess if I hadn’t pulled them into it. They’re lives are my responsibility, Cadence. I will not abandon them, and I am not going to kill Gloriosa unless I’ve exhausted every single other option first.”  “Twilight, I understand what you’re saying,” said Rarity, with a moment of hesitance, “But I believe Cadence is trying to prepare you for the worst.” “I think she understands that,” Fluttershy said, “But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to do everything we can to bring Gloriosa back to her senses, and put an end to this terrible day.” “Damned straight,” Rainbow Dash said, “We’re nearly there. Just got to stick the landing! We beat some sense into Gloriosa, clean up the mess, and then get ourselves some victory pizza!” “The enthusiasm of youth is truly astounding,” Starswirl said, turning a questioning eye towards Twilight, “Can I assume that given your intentions, you don’t necessarily want an overabundance of outside forces complicated factors?” “Huh?” Sweet Cider cocked her head while Twilight nodded at Starswirl, her expression grateful. “I’m glad you understand, Captain Starswirl. If Gloriosa has been taken over by a Hollow, then the fewer... um... antagonistic forces surrounding her the better. That means I’d appreciate it if both you Soul Reaper Captains and my fellow Sternritter abstain from engaging her. Allow me and my friends to handle this.” “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Cadence began to say but Twilight just shook her head, hard. “No, Cadence. There’s no telling how unstable Gloriosa’s mind is right now, and if we give her an overabundance of targets, then it might be that much harder to reach her. She knows me, and Sunset needs everyone together for the strength of the magic inside them to resonate at its strongest. I think we have a chance to stop her and do so without undue harm, but only if we do it as our own group. If the rest of you pile in, I’m afraid that might make things worse.” “Hate ta break the news to ya, but Captain Luna’s already there, makin’ things more crowded than ya want,” Sweet Cider pointed out. “I know,” Twilight said, “I’m hoping once we’re there to back Sunset up that I can convince Captain Luna, and Clover as well, to fall back so we can take things from there.” “Ain’t sure I’m fond o’ that plan, but...” Sweet Cider glanced at Starswirl, “Yer thinkin’ the Quincy kid’s got the right o’ this?” “I do,” Starswirl replied firmly, “Her intuition and intellect are reminiscent of my own youth. Keep in mind that in our reports concerning the magical incidents at Canterlot High, these girls have had a high success rate at halting those who were rampaging with powers beyond their ken. I think it makes logical sense to allow this same group the leeway to handle the situation as they see fit. Besides, if they fail, we can step in as needed.” “Be that as it may,” Filthy Rich said, “I must ensure my daughter’s safety, as well as any other living humans in the area. So while Twilight and her allies confront whatever Gloriosa Daisy has become, do you Soul Reapers object to us Quincy securing Camp Everfree itself? Twilight, your unit is still stationed there, correct?” “Yes, Sugarcoat should still be there with the others,” Twilight said, “Please look after them.” “One last thing,” Fluttershy said, her gaze lingering on Soarin’s petrified body, “It looks like one of your own has suffered gravely. Did you do that to him to save his life?” “Y-yes, Midnight did,” Twilight confirmed, “He was minutes from death. The petrification spell will preserve him until a way can be found to heal him.” “I might be able to do so, if you’ll let me. Not right now, but once there’s time,” Fluttershy offered, and Twilight’s eyes lit up. “If you think you can, then I’d be in your debt, Fluttershy.” “No debt,” Fluttershy said, “Just the right thing being done. But I think we’ve sorted matters out long enough. Sunset, Clover, and Luna need our help now.” Her words certainly appeared true to anyone who cast their spiritual senses out towards the tree. There’d been distant echoes of thunderous noise from the airspace around the tree, with flares of flame, flashes of light, and concussive shock-waves that could be felt even at such a long distance. The battle over there was intense, and the mixture of spiritual pressures present made it hard to discern just who was winning, but it was clear enough that the Hollow reiatsu from Gloriosa remained strong and near overpowering.  “Then there’s no more time to waste,” Twilight said, facing the distant tree, and casting one more look back at her friends, “Let’s go.” ---------- A short time earlier... It perhaps spoke greatly to the changes recently wrought in Clover’s life that dodging several dozen magically aflame and thorn-covered vines that were striking at her beyond the speed of sound wasn’t the most frightening thing that had happened to her lately. Certainly it was hectic. Gaia Everfree was controlling those vines with her mere thoughts and the weaponized plant-life was coming at both Clover and Sunset Shimmer in a storm of deadly greenery that left little room to evade. Yet evade they were, at least mostly. Clover still felt the rough sting from a few close calls that saw thorns cut her black robes, but by and large her Flash Steps were keeping pace. Sunset was faring better, but that was to be expected. Clover was still flabbergasted sometimes by the girl’s growth as a Soul Reaper, and proud she’d helped train Sunset at the start of all this craziness. Still, she was also ashamed that she still had to struggle just to keep up with Sunset and the other girl’s progress. Clover had worked herself hard these past weeks, and had certainly seen herself grow more than she would have thought possible prior to meeting Sunset Shimmer, but she still felt like a weak link who might end up holding her friends back. While all Clover could do was dodge for the moment, unable to get a second or two of opening to invoke a Kido, Sunset was able to go on the offensive. The fiery headed girl was able to use her Zanpaktou’s shield half to deflect several of the fast moving roots and vines, and each blow empowered the blade half with ever more intensity in the flames coating it’s edge. A harsh horizontal slash unleashed a crescent of bright fire, incinerating a line of vines into motes of black ash. This bought Sunset a clear path to Gaia, and she wasted no time in Flash Stepping forward. Gaia didn’t even make a gesture, instead just side stepping a shield bash that Sunset smashed towards her after appearing directly in front of the Hollow/human fusion. Gaia retaliated with a blindingly swift double strike from her two sided sword, twirling the weapon like an expert staff fighter. Metallic clangs and sparks burst out multiple times in an eyeblink as Sunset spun about with both her shield and sword, managing precise parries to Gaia’s blade, but the last strike from Gaia held some serious weight of power behind it; a straight thrust that impacted Sunset’s shield and drove her back across the tree canopy. Fortunately with Gaia’s attention slightly diverted, the vines that were still attacking Clover were a shade slower, allowing her to burst upwards with a Flash Step and get some distance.  This is my chance! Clover thought, throwing both her palms forward and calmly focusing her reiatsu.  She couldn’t use the high-level Bakudo Kido that Chief Puddinghead had taught her. That would take too much time, so she’d need Gaia much more distracted or otherwise held up. But she’d learned more than just one Kido from the Chief of the Kido Corps. She’d learned quite a few new innovations, and more importantly, how to chant them with greater speed and chant more of them with heightened endurance in her spiritual pressure. I won’t hold you girls back, she thought, I’ll stand beside all of you, and help you whatever it takes. ”Hado Number Fifty One: Sashi Hebi no Uroko!” (Stinging Serpent Scales) A thick gray mist flew from her palms, forming into twin serpents of semi-solid ash that bore red and blue jewels for eyes. The serpents hissed  with ashen fangs and descended around Gaia Everfree, where they spun together into a miniature cyclone. The ashen mist stung Gaia’s flesh, the energy of the spell designed to soften a Hollow’s defenses like Hierro while also inflicting distracting levels of pain. And Clover wasn’t done. Able to incant her spells faster than ever before she followed up with another spell within the next second. ”Hado Number Fifty Eight: Tenran!” (Vigorous Tempest) Usually this spell used a Zanpaktou as a medium, but that was usually for less capable Kido casters. Clover had become skilled enough that she could generate the Kido without the traditional foci. This spell was simple in that it created a powerful, focused tornado of wind. Usually this would be used to blow an enemy off their feet or smash them into a wall. However Clover’s intent was different. She sent the tornado of wind down around the ash of her previous spell, and used the wind force to stir the cloud of ash into an even faster, tightly packed concentration. The wind of the Tenran surrounded the ash of the other spell like a dome and stirred it up like a blender, putting even more pressure on Gaia. In theory, at least. Clover felt a rising burst of reiatsu from Gaia as the Hollow woman’s verdant green and intermixed purple aura of power exploded outward and cut through Clover’s Kido like a popping bubble. Clover covered her face against the wind, and grunted in frustration as she saw Gaia brushing herself off.  “Was making me itchy the plan? Annoy me into submission?” Gaia inquired. Clover prepared to cast another Kido, but Gaia vanished from sight and Clover felt the Hollow’s presence beside her before she could even draw the next breath of her incantation. She was able to turn, seeing Gaia’s double-bladed sword arcing towards her.  Sunset crashed into Gaia with her shield, knocking the woman back. “Clover, you okay?” “Y-yeah,” Clover replied, that feeling of shame burning hotter and fueling a fresh incantation in her head, “Just keep her busy. I’ll try to slow her down.” Sunset flashed her a confident smile and rushed in at Gaia, who’d recovered in mid-air and fixed the two Soul Reapers with a violent gaze. Sunset’s headlong charge was interrupted by a rumble of noise as several much larger branches from the tree rose up, encased in an emerald glow, and sprouted what looked like massive, cavernous maws akin to venus flytraps, if said flytraps had mouths that were essentially gigantic wood chippers. Howling in truly unnatural shrieks, the living branches tried to bite Sunset right out of the air. She hopped over one, while bending backwards and sliding through the air, just narrowly avoiding having her face chomped off by another. She then had to leap out of that slide and prop her shield up just in time to jam the mouth of the third living branch monstrosity as it came at her. Grinning still, as if she was actually enjoying the challenge, Sunset Shimmer then pulled back her sword and slammed Hokori forward, unleashing a focused jet of fire straight into the branch her shield was jammed into. Flames erupted along the wooden length of the wood construct, blasting it backwards. The other two moved in on Sunset’s back, but Clover was having none of that. Inflamed by her own ineffectivness from a moment ago, she rapidly chanted a heftier Kido. ”Hado Number Seventy Eight: Zangerin!” (Cutting Flower Ring) Much like Tenran, this was meant to use a Zanpaktou as a focal point for the spell, but Clover managed the energies with just using her right hand, which she substituted for a Zanpaktou by making a sharp cutting gesture with her fingers held rigid like a blade. The Kido generated a thick ring of bright yellow energy that shot forth in a cutting wave from Clover’s hand, and she felt pain lance up her fingers and elbow from the backlash meant to be soaked by a Zanpaktou. The power of this simple spell wasn’t anything to laugh at, as the wave of energy shot out and slammed into the two magically mutated branches with enough force to shatter them into halves, and the wave continued on to cut through several levels of the tree’s branches below.  “Stop wrecking my home!” Gaia shouted, “And you Soul Reapers wonder why I hate you!?” She looked ready to come at Clover again, but Sunset, freed up from worrying of attacks coming at her back, was able to Flash Step close. Hokori’s blade danced a fiery path through the air in a torrent of slashes that left glowing orange patterns in the air. Gaia more than met the challenge, her own double-sword cutting an equally blazing trail to clash with Sunset’s blows. For a few seconds one might have thought the pair evenly matched, the way sparks flew about from what appeared to be an equal exchange. Yet Clover saw that this wasn’t the case after a moment or so more. Gaia was getting faster with each motion, stronger and more sure with each swing of her blade. Soon Sunset’s offense was turned back and she was stuck on defense, pushed back by an increasingly faster and stronger Gaia. Gaia Everfree, the Espada, had thousands of years worth of combat experience to draw upon, and even freshly reborn her power was rapidly strengthening due to the continuous outpouring of soul energy that was being fed to her by her tree from the distant ritual taking place in the ocean. With every passing second she was getting used to the human body she occupied now. Every moment she and Gloriosa had their personalities and memories become more accustomed to one another. There was less hesitance with each attack, more confidence with each parry. And with more power to draw on with each moment, Gaia Everfree would soon have little to worry about from two Soul Reapers that had bitten off more than they could chew. Realizing this, Clover’s blood heated up. She had to do something! Sunset might still have Bankai to fall back on, but it was distinctly possible even that wouldn’t even the odds against a former Second Espada.  Even if it kills me, I’m going to help you, Sunset. A part of Clover’s feelings were simply due to gratitude. Clover had never had the largest social circle. Her work as a Soul Reaper was more a matter of personal duty than anything else, and a way to further her studies. She was sincerely glad to have met the girls from Canterlot High. Despite the strange world they’d been pulled into against their will, they’d treated Clover as one of their own. And that was the other part of it. Even if Starlight Glimmer’s machinations had put everything into motion, Clover still felt like Sunset and her friend’s involvement in the spiritual world was her own fault.  Although she less wanted to pay back a debt out of guilt or gratitude, and more just wanted to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with her friends, no matter what happened next. Clover knew that her human friends were just going to keep getting involved in ever greater battles, and would inevitably one day clash once more with Starlight Glimmer, and possibly even stronger foes beyond that renegade. Clover didn’t want to just stare at their backs as they marched forward. She wanted to stay beside them for as long as she could.  This was all the reason she needed to fight, even when this outclassed. She admired her friends, especially Sunset, for the way they kept pushing themselves further. If she could just manage to keep pace with them, if only for a little while, that would be enough to satisfy her.  Sunset was being pushed around by Gaia’s increasingly swift and potent strikes, a final overhead swing coming in too fast for Sunset to parry, so she was forced to bend sideways to try to avoid the worst of the blow. The curved, unnaturally sharp wooden edge of Gaia’s sword still cut Sunset’s flesh, marking a shallow cut down her shoulder.  Gaia was about to press in with another attack, but Clover appeared a few meters to her left, her hand moving in a fast triangular motion. Yellow energy flowed to mark a large triangle in the air, the ends buzzing with intense energy. ”Bakudo Number Thirty: Shitotsu Sansen!” (Triple Flash Beak Slash) At the end of each of the triangle’s points a beak-like projectile formed then fired like miniature missiles. Gaia casually spun her blade, the two sided edges smashing the binding Kido as the projectiles came in at her.  “Why don’t you just scurry away already? Sunset Shimmer has some power to contend with, but you’re not-” Gaia said, but Clover didn’t even cease chanting her spells, her eyes narrowing with intense focus. “Hado Number Thirty Three: Sokatsui!” (Blue Fire Crash) Gaia’s face drew down in an irritated grimace as the wave of blue energy fired out of Clover’s palms and Gaia smashed it aside with her hand. “Like I said; you’re low level Kido can’t hurt me! You might as well-” ”Sokatsui” The next swift wave of intense blue energy came in even quicker than the last and Gaia raised her blade to block it as it exploded around her. It didn’t do much than knock her back a step across the air, and Gaia’s brow popped a vein as she growled, preparing to attack, only to realize that Clover hadn’t stopped chanting. In fact, Clover's voice was filled with raw focus and passion as she followed Puddinghead’s teachings and rapidly repeated invocations at high speed. ”Sokatsui! Sokatsui! Sokatsui! Sokatsui! Sokatsui!” “Gah! Hey! Stop that-! You little-!” Gaia couldn’t even get a proper sentence out as Kido after Kido smashed into her, Clover repeatedly chanting the Sokatsui invocation and advancing with steady steps as she kept her palms held out, blue wave after blue wave firing out like a quick firing cannon. Sunset blinked at the spectacle, noticing that Clover’s body was surrounded by a flickering blue aura as her reiatsu soared upwards, and each successive Kido, despite all being the identical bread-and-butter Hado that was typical for Clover to use actually grew larger and with denser spiritual pressure with each blast. ”Sokatsui! Sokatsui! SOKATSUI!” The last was shouted with Clover’s voice showing a hint of hoarseness, the last flying tide of destructive blue energy smashing into Gaia hard enough to drive her back towards the boughs of her tree. Gaia’s armored arms were a tad singed, a few cracks appearing in the white bark protecting her limbs. Her black on green eyes were twitching with fury as she lowered her smoking limbs from their defensive position. “You done? Got that out of your system? Because if you hit me with one more of those, I swear I’m going to start removing limbs!” To this, Clover just smirked. She was sweating from exertion, her chest heaving, but she felt elated she’d been able to fire off so many Kido so fast, faster than she ever could have imagined doing prior to meeting Sunset Shimmer and the girls. And she wasn’t done. She hadn’t been firing all those Kido for no reason, or just to annoy Gaia. She’d been intentionally pushing Gaia back towards her tree, Even as Gaia had spoken, Clover had already been chanting another Kido. ”Bakudo Number Forty Nine: Hibana Keimusho!” (Ice Flower Prison) Four spheres of ice formed around her then shot outward. Instead of heading towards Gaia, the balls of ice struck the large branches around her, where they affixed to them and opened up into the shape of start white flower petals. Each flower, it’s petals now aimed at Gaia, fired a thick sheen of further ice tha all collided together to form a frozen chunk of ice between them, with Gaia frozen in the middle. “Sunset! That won’t hold her long! Let’s hit her together!” Clover said, and Sunset quickly nodded, Flash Stepping next to Clover. “Not bad at all Clover,” Sunset said with an encouraging grin, “Pretty awesome, actually.” Clover couldn’t help but smile a bit, but shook her head, “Praise later. Attack now.” “You got it!” Sunset grinned, raising her Zanpaktou, which flared up with an aura of blue flame. At the same time, Clover drew back both palms of her hand and began to draw in streams of blue aura from around herself. Her heart pounded in her chest, not simply in the fear of the battle, but with the exhilaration of the moment in which she could feel her reiatsu brushing up with Sunset’s, their energies in sync with each other as they both prepared to unleash their simultaneous attack. ”Aoihi-” ”Hado Number Seventy Three-” -Senko!” “-Soren Sokatsui!” (Twin Lotus Blue Fire Crash) Sunset slashed her blade down at the same moment that Clover threw both her palms forward. Incandescent azure fire intermixed with the massive, twin beams of blue reiatsu as Kido and Zanpaktou technique fused together and cascaded forward in a spiraling torrent, which then smashed straight into the frozen sphere containing Gaia Everfree. The resulting explosion rocked the entire mountainous tree, and broke several of the bus-thick branches and sent them tumbling down to the distant ground. Dust and smoke filled the area, obscuring either girl’s view of Gaia, and they took a moment to catch their breath. “Okay... that was cool, but remember we’re not trying to kill her, right?” Sunset said, and Clover huffed out a chuckle. “Oh, I remember. She just made me mad for a sec. Dismissing me like that. Pretty sure that wasn’t going to kill her, anyway.” “Yeah, same. I’m getting pretty good and figuring out what it takes to actually hurt someone with that much spiritual pressure,” Sunset said, then drew in a breath and shouted louder, “Hey Gaia! You can stop hiding in the dust cloud! We can feel you in there, you know!?” At that Gaia kept striding out of the vanishing cloud of wood smoke. She was a bit battered and singed, with a trickle of blood at the corner of her brow, but there was still a powerful aura of deep green and purple flowing over her body, her reiatsu having largely protected her from the worst of Sunset and Clover’s combined attack. “You two seemed to be having a moment. Didn’t want to interrupt,” Gaia said, cracking her neck with a pained grunt, “That did hurt, by the way. Remind me again why I should let either of you walk away from this?” Sunset sucked in a breath through her nose and let it out in a frustrated puff, “We don’t need to do this, Gaia! If you’re as much Gloriosa as Gaia, I can’t imagine you actually want to hurt anyone. And if the part of you that’s Gaia Everfree is as old and experienced as all that, then you know there’s no way this can end well for you. The Soul Reapers and Quincy both won’t just tolerate you nesting here in the living world. Even if you kill us, and anyone else here today, how long before more of the Gotei 13 show up? Or the Sternritter? Eventually you’ll be killed, so what’s the point of this!?” “I know,” Gaia replied simply, “But this is my home. It’s only natural to remove unwanted pests from one’s home. And once my power reaches its peak, only Scorpan, or the Quincy’s boy-king will be a threat to me. I’m banking on them seeing it as too much of a pain in the butt to get rid of me when they’ve still got each other and Tirek to deal with. But right now? I really want to kill some of the Soul Reapers and Quincy I sense around here. They’ve made a mess of my forest. Their stupid battle nearly killed Timber. That’s more than enough reason for me to fight.” She paused, then raised a finger to point towards Sunset and Clover, “I don’t hate you, Sunset Shimmer. Flee this place, if you value your life. Take your friends away from here. Take my campers away from here. This is the last chance I’ll give you to depart my forest and leave me and my brother in peace.” “I...” Sunset sighed, “I can’t do that, and you know I can’t.” “Heh, well, can’t say I didn’t give you the choice,” Gaia replied, and a swirling aura of spirit energy consisting of bright green and purple light came together at the tip of her finger, forming a pulsating sphere, “Been awhile since I’ve thrown a Cero. Let’s see if I’ve still got it.” “Ah geez!” Sunset said, throwing Hikari forward and setting the shield in front of her, while Clover prepared to cast a defensive Kido. However neither proved necessary as the shadows behind Gaia shifted like pools of ink, extending behind her as a shape rose up. “What?” Gaia felt the presence behind her, and spun about in time to receive a slash across her chest from a flickering scythe.  “Guh!” Gaia zipped out of sight with Sonido to dodge a second scythe strike, and appeared a few meters away with her Cero still charged. With a shout she discharged a green and purple flashing beam and swept it across the shadows that had appeared amid the boughs of her tree. Explosions flowed in the wake of the Cero, knocking free a few more of the gigantic tree’s branches, but the shadows just shifted once more and a familiar voice spoke from the darkness. “I know neither of who you are or what motivates you to seek blood, Hollow, but I will not allow you to harm these young ladies. After all...” One of the shadows rose into a humanoid shape, and from them stepped forth Captain Luna, and although she still bore wounds from her own battles that day, she stood tall with both the scythes of her released Zanpaktou in her hands as she stared down Gaia Everfree.. “I’m their vice principal.”