//------------------------------// // Episode 153: Assault on All Fronts // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 153: Assault on All Fronts It was as fine a morning as could be had in the unique and prosperous Crystal Empire. Existing amidst an arctic landscape well north of Equestria’s borders, yet kept perpetually warm and with fertile land to till. The city of colorful houses carved of numerous types of light catching gemstones formed around a monumental tower of shining blue and white hues. At the tower’s base, between grand arches of glittering diamond that formed the main struts of the tower itself, a heart shaped gem of purest blue resided. The gem’s light strobed with the heat of a heartbeat, and spread a singular warmth to all who gazed upon it. The Crystal Heart was both the figurative and literal heart of the empire of the crystal ponies, without which their civilization could not exist in the harsh Frozen North in which they resided. Yet for all its importance, the Crystal Heart was left on public display, for any and all passers by to see at their leisure. Which wasn’t to say the magical gemstone was without its defenses. Ponies of the Empire’s Crystal Guard did remain on station nearby, although they were the least of the gem’s defenders. Every crystal pony knew that their Princess was ever at the ready to protect her people, and that Princess Cadence was not only a loving caregiver, but a powerful one. And her husband was no slouch either, as a stallion who was once  Captain of Equestria’s own Royal Guard, and by all accounts a master of barrier magic.  Even assuming some ne'er do well intended ill towards the Crystal Heart, the gem could protect itself through its own means. It was little wonder that despite their city lacking defensive walls, and the artifact critical to the ongoing prosperity of their way of life effectively just sitting out in the open, the crystal ponies went about their day to day activities with barely a care in the world. Indeed on this particularly clear morning, with not a wisp of cloud to be seen in the sky, and a gentle breeze punctuating the pleasantly cool air, quite a few crystal ponies were enjoying breakfast outdoors at the numerous restaurants and cafe’s lining the four central streets that ran from the edges of the city all the way to the tower at its center. The air filled with the buzz of ponies chatting, the city itself waking up to another enjoyable day. Cadence could hear her city coming alive, sitting upon a balcony on one of the highest floors of the crystal tower. She too was enjoying some breakfast, made by her loving husband. The breakfast was a tad unusual for her, a bowl of oatmeal garnished with cinnamon, with a side of brussel sprouts. She’d requested it, and Shining Armor had not complained about changing things up, although he’d given her an odd look at her request. Since he tended to eat whatever she did, he was “enjoying” said meal across the table from her, although she could tell he was forcing himself a bit. She smiled at him, still admiring the way that well groomed blue mane complimented his stark white coat. “You know, I don’t mind it if you make something else for yourself, Shining.” “Nah nah nah,” he said, wagging a hoof, crunching another brussels port into his mouth, “Won’t kill me to change it up now and again. Can’t keep up my guard physique all the time if I’m wolfing down pancakes each morning, anyway.” “Hah, honestly Shining, I’ve never seen you put on a single pound, no matter how much you eat. Your metabolism puts Celestia’s herself to shame.” Shining Armor smiled back, although she noticed his eyes scanned the horizon and sky carefully, ever watchful, ever the dutiful guard. “Don’t know about that. I guarded the palace for years, and watched the Princess put away more food than even my sister’s friend Pinkie Pie could handle, and never saw Celestia gain an inch of weight anywhere.” “Oh? Looking that closely, were you?” Cadence teased, levitating some coffee to her lips for a deep sip to hide her growing grin as Shining Armor sputtered. “I-I never looked at her like that! Goodness, Cadence, she’s the Princess. I don’t think of royalty like thaaa...” he blinked at her, “I don’t think of, er, Equestrian royalty like that? Wow I keep digging myself deeper, don’t I?” “You do, but keep going, love. I find it amusing,” Cadence replied, enjoying her husband’s boyish blush. He hadn’t asked about the strange meal, and while he’d been properly concerned, he hadn’t picked up on the meaning of her slight illness a few mornings ago either. Granted, Cadence wasn’t one hundred percent sure yet either, but her instincts told her what was happening. She’d clue Shining in when she knew for sure, but either way she was already eyeing a spot in the tower’s royal suite for expansion for another foal’s room. Flurry heart was still just a foal herself, but Cadence enjoyed the notion of her daughter having a sibling who'd be close in age to her. Granted one alicorn foal was trouble enough, but there was no guarantee the second foal would be born an alicorn. Honestly it was still something of a mystery how Flurry Heart was born that way, as every conversation Cadence had had with Luna and Celestia on the subject had suggested that alicornhood should be exceedingly rare, even via blood inheritance. She was delighted, but also worried. This was... not the ideal time for this to happen. Not with the threat hanging over both Equestria and its neighboring nations. Even now, Flurry Heart had been moved from her regular room to a more secure location, as today of all days Cadence did not want to risk having her child in the city. It took her a few seconds to notice that Shining Armor hadn’t replied to her, and she looked at him to see that her husband had grown still, his eyes gaining that narrow edge to them as he looked out over the city. “Shining? What is it?” But she already knew. Celestia had warned them. Cadence knew what her fellow alicorn had intended to do today and what it might entail. But for Harmony’s sake couldn’t she have at least been allowed to finish breakfast first? She turned to scan where her husband had already been looking, at a point in the sky just outside the city outskirts and approximately two hundred feet in the air. Her alicorn sight was exceptionally sharp, so what might have looked like a series of simple, dark dots in the sky to Shining’s eyes were much more focused to her vision. She rose, her wings flaring out, “Shining, alert the Guard. Mobilize all prepared defenses and begin civilian evacuations to the underground shelters.” “No need to tell me twice, but how many are there? I can’t get a count at this distance,” Shining Armor said, already moving, leaving the balcony and heading into their main bedroom. Pink and reds dominated the décor, with a huge, heart shaped bed in the center, usually quite ruffled from... rigorous use. Shining Armor moved with practiced efficiently as his magic telekinesis threw open a thick cabinet against one wall and floated out a set of light blue and gold trimmed crystal armor and a helmet. Shining Armor eschewed normal weapons, but Cadence had seen enough of what he could do with his barrier magic to know he didn’t need them. As he strapped on his armor, she gave the force that had appeared from nowhere a quick count, “More than two hundred.” “That’s more than they should have, right? I thought this Soul Reaper Starlight only had a few cronies with her?” “I don’t know,” Cadence admitted, unsure herself of what she was seeing. She had a vague notion of what “humans” looked like due to Twilight’s descriptions, and what she saw confused her. Even for her eyesight details were hard to pick out, but the majority of the figures she saw standing on thin air looked almost featureless, like something was wrong with their “faces”. Otherwise they wore black robes akin to what she’d heard Soul Reapers wore, which didn’t add up with what she’d heard about Starlight Glimmer’s forces. Worse, besides the odd figures in robes, she thought she spotted a smaller group of what appeared to be changelings. But not the freshly altered and more colorful, friendly changelings, but the ominously and uniformly black carapaced changelings of old. There weren’t many, maybe twenty at most, but Cadence would have been blind not to recognize the tall, dark figure at their head, a mirror image to somepony, somecreature who Cadence was all too familiar with. And if rumor was to be believed, this Chrysalis was potentially worse than Equestria’s native one. She took hold of the fear that rose in her gut before it could cause hesitation. She and Shining Armor had been forewarned of the attack and had prepared for it. She’d spent days preparing spells upon the buildings of the city to protect her citizens, and preparing additional wards to fortify the crystal tower. The Crystal Guard had been briefed and put on full standby alert. Shining Armor would take command and bring the full force of the Crystal Empire’s army to bear within minutes. But given the nature of their foe, would minutes be soon enough?  ---------- Chrysalis strutted upon the air, gazing down on the pristine and glittering buildings of the Crystal Empire’s city, and threw her forelegs wide in flamboyant jubilation and drew in a deep breath, letting it out in an exultant sigh of unrestrained pleasure. “Aaaah! Do you smell that, my children!? That is the scent of an entire, ripe, juicy bushel of fresh mortal souls. Have any of you ever dreamed of such an unspoiled hunting ground? And just look at all the colors! It’s like a field of Jolly Ranchers with hooves! I just want to get down there and start slurping.” There was a rough cough next to her, and Chrysalis hung her shoulders and rolled her eyes towards the one standing next to her, “What?” There were two distinct groups that had been transported to the airspace above the city amid a wavering field of translocated space. One was the small contingent of Chrysalis’ Arrancar children, their forms in this equine-themed world that of, for lack of better phrasing; insectile horse-bugs. They still retained their Hollow holes, fragments of Hollow masks, and stark white clothing that conformed to their new forms, along with their Zanpaktou, but otherwise they looked like someone had taken a black beetle and crossbred it with a pony. They all more or less looked identical to one another, her “drones” born from her eggs, but lacking the distinctiveness of her truest children. She loved them all the same, even if they weren’t quite as special to her as Ocellus, Pharynx, and Thorax.  The other group was the “Reigai” that Starlight Glimmer had manufactured. Far more than Chrysalis would have expected, but then again Starlight may well have been preparing Reigai well before this planned attack. Most of them were low-powered foot soldiers, so it wasn’t as if making the artificial souls would be difficult. Chrysalis didn’t quite grasp, or care, about their inner workings. They seemed like a pitiful bunch to her. The mannequin-like dolls gained somewhat distinctive features once the proper artificial soul was implanted in them, but for the majority of the multitude she had used fairly weak reishi from Hitsuyo-Aku’s database to create easily controlled frontline soldiers. The result was that the basic Reigai looked like identical clones of each other, with dark brown hair, either male or female having the same bland look in their dull gray eyes and neutral features, with pale white skin. In terms of power they were nothing special, containing enough reiatsu to function as perhaps 7th or 6th seated officers. Even their Zanpaktou were all built from the same reishi samples, resulting in identical powers drawn from records of the Eleventh Division, two members whose Shikais turned into a large sickle blade that produced crescent-shaped energy blasts for the males, and a bamboo spear that shot out sprays of burning oil for the females.  Chrysalis supposed, weak as they were, the wretches would serve as shock troops, if little else, with just enough personality to follow orders. However, that was hardly enough to grant any real edge to the task at hand, so Starlight had created specific, stronger Reigai with Hitsuyo-Aku’s other records. Seemed like the Twelfth Division’s special research group had ensured it had complete data on almost all Soul Society’s members, regardless of rank, including reishi samples from which Reigai artificial souls could be produced. There were two distinctive women standing next to Chrysalis on her left. Unlike Chrysalis and her children, who had transformed  into equine forms upon entering Equestria via the Crossgate, these Reigai retained human forms due to their being manufactured in Equestria with that shape. So it was that Captain Zecora, or rather Captain Zecora’s Reigai, retained her tall, poised form with gray skin marked by striped tattoos, with equally striped black and white hair, along with piercing blue eyes that looked out of a very stern and human face at Chrysalis. Beside Zecora was a marble white young woman with pink hair, Lieutenant Redheart’s Reigai sharing her Captain’s disapproving glare at Chrysalis' grandstanding. Both Reigai were clad in simple, black Soul Reaper robes, neither wearing their symbols of office such as Zecora’s Captain’s coat or Redheart’s Lieutenant badge. Chrysalis surmised that was a deliberate choice to remind them that they weren’t actually the real deal, but just artificial souls made from those Soul Reapers’ reishi.  “Do not forget our instructions,” Zecora warned, her blue  eyes briefly turning purple with a wash of spirit energy unique to Reigai, “We are to cause disturbance, but refrain from unneeded casualties.” Another oddity was that this Reigai did not rhyme her words like her real counterpart. Chrysalis didn’t much care the reason why, but found it, if nothing else, refreshing to not have to be annoyed by that particular quirk. It’d been beyond irritating to have to rhyme all the time when she’d impersonated the Captain.  “And you’re my delightful chaperone, here by Starlight Glimmer’s command to make sure my children and I play nice with the candy,” Chrysalis said with a dismissive wave of her hoof, “Even as a cheap knock-off, you’re somehow more annoying than the real thing. Use your medical arts to heal whatever you like, but my family is in need of playtime, as am I. Try to keep up, my ugly little dolls. Come children, time to play!” Her drone children let out raucous cries and hungry hisses, some salivating at the sensation of so many souls. They knew they weren’t supposed to eat any of the ponies down there, but they also knew their mother wasn’t exactly a stickler for the rules. So it was with reckless abandon that the Arrancar drones began their attack with only minimal restraint, heading for the nearest dense cluster of crystal ponies with Chrysalis flying at the head of their group. The crystal ponies themselves were utterly unprepared for it. One moment an open city square in which multiple open cafes and stores was filled with ponies busily shopping or chatting suddenly found all activity grind to a halt when the center of the square exploded from the impact of Chrysalis diving down alongside her drones and smashing the center of the street. “Hello ladies and gentlequines!” Chrysalis called merrily at the starring, horrified ponies, “It would be to my utmost pleasure and appreciation if you would offer up yourselves to be my family’s entertainment for today. Warning, loss of bodily fluids and/or limbs is entirely possible, so please do play safely and responsibly.” She punctuated this by pointing a hoof at the nearest storefront, a hat store by the appearance of the signage out front, and a pulsating sphere of deep green light gathered at the tip of her appendage. To the credit of the crystal ponies in the path, most of them knew danger when they saw it and proceeded to dive out of the way, although those inside the store had far less time to react before a focused emerald Cero beam shot out and carved a path through the building like an ice cream scoop. Strangely, Chrysalis noted there was an odd surge in her senses that she’d come to recognize as the presence of magic, and there was a flash of waning blue light just before her Cero hit, but she didn’t do more than give it a passing thought. Chrysalis didn’t pause to check casualties, waving the beam like a pen-light to bi-sect the top of the store and carve the roof off of the neighboring building, humming to herself as she pranced down the street like a filly skipping her way to school. She ignored the screams that were now filling the air as her children went on the attack, swords drawn or simply baring fangs as they went after still stunned civilians. A few shot Cero beams of their own, but most were focused on smashing buildings or chasing fleeing ponies. “Damn her!” Redheart’s Reigai swore, “They’re not even trying to mitigate the damage! Captain, we have to get down there!” Zecora sighed, “Don’t call me Captain, but yes, we must do our duty. Regai Second Company, deploy to the city! Squads one through three focus on aiding the wounded and follow Redheart’s commands. The rest of you are with me!” The Reigai all nodded, some giving affirmative shouts, but with a lack of enthusiasm or heart behind it. Zecora felt a stab of overall guilt. Poor things were even worse off than she and Redheart were, lacking the true will to do more than follow commands. Or perhaps that meant they were better off? At least they didn’t have the full knowledge of their situation like she and Redheart did. The burden of knowing one was nothing more than an artificial soul, copying a real soul, and created solely to be used as a disposable tool. A part of Zecora despised her situation, but if nothing else Starlight Glimmer had been through in both the specific members of the Gotei 13 she’d chosen to create Reigai of, and her arguments for why following her was a better choice than not. For all intents and purposes, the Reigai shouldn't exist, and Soul Society would never tolerate their existence. Inevitably if Zero Division wasn’t defeated and in turn Soul Society reformed, the Reigai’s ultimate fates would end up as being hunted down and exterminated. Their survival was thus contingent on Starlight Glimmer’s plans succeeding, and Zecora, valuing life as she did, could only logically conclude that to keep the Reigai alive she would need to support Starlight with some semblance of loyalty.  That, and it put her in a position to minimize the Espada Chrysalis’ carnage.  She vanished with the speed of a Flash Step, arriving at the crumbled site of the first building Chrysalis had destroyed with a Cero. Zecora searched with her spiritual senses for any signs of life, or indeed any sensation of souls present, but to her surprise she found neither. Chrysalis’ beam had not blasted through the entire building, so Zecora had thought there’d be a few survivors trapped inside, but she sensed nothing at all. Indeed, when she lifted some rubble out of the way to look within the ruined building, she saw no bodies at all. But Zecora had been certain it’d been filled with ponies just before the Cero beam struck.  Looking towards Chrysalis, she saw the Espada casually raking another Cero beam through a restaurant, and Zecora’s eyes narrowed as she watched carefully. She sensed a burst of energy besides the Cero, a buzz unlike spiritual pressure. Magic. Just as the beam hit the building, it filled with a different colored light from the sickly green emerald of the Cero. Zecora saw the ponies hiding inside vanish before the Cero beam actually ripped through it. Teleportation?  Curious, Zecora drew her Zanpaktou and slashed at a different building beside her, where she could still sense ponies hiding. She used enough strength to smash the wall, but did no further damage than that. Even so, as her blade cut through the crystal building, magic energy flashed within, and this time Zecora even saw the magic circles carved into the building before the residents inside were teleported away somewhere. Clever ponies. You knew an attack was coming, and prepared your whole city for it, Zecora realized, impressed with the Princess of the Crystal Empire’s foresight. Starlight had given her a quick briefing on what was known about the Crystal Empire, and its alicorn Princess, Cadence. This magic had to have been the alicorn’s doing, and Zecora was glad enough for it. The civilians stuck on the streets were still in danger, but at least those hiding inside houses and stores were safer if their building was attacked. As for those ponies unfortunate enough to be targeted while out in the open on the street, Redheart and her contingent of Reigai arrived swiftly, and following Starlight’s instructions to prevent civilian harm, and following what conscience resided in the copy of the Fourth Division member’s artificial soul, she held her Zanpaktou up high above her pink haired head and called out loudly. “Shelter and restrain; Asa no Yuki!” (Morning Snow) A fountain of pure white snow enveloped her katana and transformed the blade into a set of white bladed kunai woven into a length of similarly white cloth that wrapped around Redheart’s arm. She then spun the cloth around, and the kunai rattled like chimes. Snow shot out in weaving currents, slapping over Chrysalis' Arrancar drones and the ponies that they’d already injured.  One Arrancar had already driven its sword into one pony, near pinning the poor stallion to the ground through his two back legs. The snow washed over both of them, but acted very differently upon its two targets. The Arrancar was halted in place by a layer of frost that left it grunting in the effort to move, but found itself unable. Meanwhile the wounded pony found the snow pulling the sword free of his legs and coating his wound, but rather than freeze his hide, a soft healing light emanated from the snow. This played out with other injured ponies, healed by Asa no Yuki’s snow, while Arrancar found their limbs coated with restraining frost. Other Reigai under Redheart’s command began searching for more wounded ponies, providing healing Kido to the confused equines. Arrancar drones growled at this, several barring swords towards Redheart, but the Reigai’s eyes flared with purple energy, a sign of her Reigai based reiatsu, as she said, “Your mother’s word is not law here. Follow Starlight Glimmer’s command and focus upon property damage, or I’ll freeze your lungs.” “We could always just eat you before your silly snow got to all of us,” one drone said, but licked his lips and took to the air, “But I didn’t come here to play with Soul Reapers. Come brothers, sisters, we can destroy plenty, and when the city defenders arrive, we’re free to kill them.” Admittedly Redheart didn’t have anything to counter that, as their orders were to avoid civilian casualties. The moment actual guards showed up, they would not have the same protections.  The Arrancar started to spread out from the central square, and the larger bulk of the Reigai forces landed in the city streets as well, following Zecora’s orders. Most used their identical Zanpaktou to start inflicting damage on homes and larger buildings, keeping to instructions to avoid killing civilians but still seeking to cause fear and chaos in the streets. The plan was to force the city’s protectors to spread out and deal with multiple fronts of attack, while affording Chrysalis and Zecora freedom to focus on getting to the Crystal Heart. It worked only in part, for the Crystal Empire, despite its seemingly defenseless nature, was prepared for what had come to threaten their homes. The Crystal Guard had already been on standby, and Shining Armor had wasted no time in taking command of his forces once he’d departed his and his wife’s chambers. Like all pony races, the crystal ponies were possessed of magic, although theirs manifested in ways unique to their bodies that were partially infused with the essence of the magic crystals found in their lands. They still retained magic akin to their form as pegasi, unicorns, or earth ponies, but the crystalline magic infused into their bodies allowed for direct manipulation of crystals and working magic upon crystals that were far more efficient than regular magic.  The attack had only been going for a few confused minutes before the ground at dozens of points on various streets suddenly grew tall crystal pillars. These pillars flared with light, and doors opened upon them. Reigai and Arrancar alike were suddenly faced by cohorts of crystal ponies in thick armor of worked crystal marching out of the towers. The towers themselves were magical gateways, linked to bunkers beneath the huge central tower in the middle of the city. In seconds the Crystal Guard had hundreds of guard ponies deployed to the streets, and bearing rounded shields and sharp spears of magically charged crystal, they formed ranks and rushed the foes attacking their home with singular discipline. Reigai launched crescents of spirit energy and burning lines of fiery oil from their copied Zanpaktou, and the crystal guard ponies linked their shields together in a defensive formation. The magic contained in the shining blue crystal of the shields made them stronger than regular steel, and the ponies behind them held strong under barrages of crescent blasts, but fared worse against the burning oil, which clung unnaturally fierce to the shields and burned hotter than any natural fire. The ponies bore the burns and advanced and stabbed with crystal spears, clashing with the Reigai’s Zanpaktous in a clamor of crystal on metal. Some Reigai used Flash Step to get on top of buildings and switched to casting Kido down on the ponies, but in turn the guard ponies responded with crossbows of magically empowered crystals that fired bolts that exploded on impact in both burning blue balls of flame, but also scattered shards of crystal. The Reigai held their own, but for the moment were stonewalled. Chrysalis’ Arrancar fared better, being faster, stronger, and possessing of more potent ranged blasts with their devastating Ceros against which regular crystal shields were not enough. Even so, the Crystal Guard had even more potent defenses ready, some bearing crystal shards that, when implanted in the ground, generated powerful dome-shaped barriers. These barriers held against the first barrage of Ceros, but the potent blasts of destructive spirit energy were relentless, and for a moment it looked as if at least one cohort of crystal ponies would be overwhelmed. That was until a thick dome of sparkling pink force emerged and halted a full quartet of Cero blasts without taking a scratch. The Arrancar drones looked with confusion as a single pony walked out of the dome like it was made of liquid, rather than solid enough to withstand multiple Ceros. Crystal guard ponies cheered as their commander strode forth down the street they’d been holding, Shining Armor directing his barrier to move along with his soldiers, continuing to shield them as they pressed down the street. “The heck is this guy’s deal? He wants to die so badly?” said one drone, while another licked its lips and brandished its Zanpaktou. “Who cares, he’s clearly a head honcho! His soul has to taste great! Heheh, I call dibs!” “No fair! I saw him first!”  Soon Shining Armor found five of Chrysalis drone Arrancar appearing around him with the buzzing speed of Sonido. He’d heard from his sister what to expect from these kinds of foes and didn’t bother trying to match them in terms of speed. Instead he leaned into his strength, conjuring a field of force around himself like a small bubble. The Arrancar laughed, and struck in a blur. Yet their swords bounced off the extremely solid barrier of magic like rubber bouncing off solid concrete. “The hell!?”  “What’s with this bubble thing! Our swords oughta crack it easy!” “Just hit it with Ceros! Blast and blast and blast until he’s nothing but dust, hehe!” Shining Armor looked at them all with disdain and spoke in dead calm, “You monsters don’t seem to understand how much you’ve underestimated us. Let me fix that.” His magic surged outward in several thick strands, barriers contained into the shape of flexible chains. These chains shot out of his barrier bubble and snapped around the necks or legs of at least three of the Arrancar. The other two managed to escape with Sonido, appearing atop buildings nearby, where they would have fired upon Shining Armor with Ceros if not forced to redirect their attention as the Crystal Guard cohort started pelting their positions with exploding, magic crossbow bolts. Meanwhile the three that Shining Armor had caught struggled against the magic chains of translucent pink energy, but found the chairs as hard to break as the shield had been, even their Zanpaktou not managing to sever the links. In short order Shining Armor started spinning the chains around and proceeded to slam the Arrancar multiple times into the street with enough force to crack stone. He continued to do this until he was fairly certain they weren’t getting back up again, at least not anytime soon.  A crimson Cero beam impacted with his shield from above, and while it held it did redirect his attention as more of Chrysalis’ Arrancar drones arrived, the group obviously picking up on where the center of resistance was.  Shining Armor sighed, and readied himself. As far as he could tell his Crystal Guard were holding back the enemy, while other cohorts were successfully evacuating civilians down the streets and to the entrances to underground shelters, but he could also see pyres of smoke rising into the sky form several buildings whose interiors had caught fire, and he heard the distinctive blast of more Cero beams in the distance. If chaos was the objective, it was still achieved as the city had become a battlefield.  And while the Crystal Guard might hold against the minions Starlight Glimmer had sent, the real battle was to unfold between its larger players. “It’s sweet that you’re following me, but I can take care of this myself,” Chrysalis told Zecora, the pair having taken to the sky to leap across the air towards the Crystal Empire’s central tower of glittering crystal, “Why don’t you go play doctor with your copy-cat ‘Lieutenant’, or are you Reigai so devoid of personal will that you just have to follow me around like Glimmy told you to?” Zecora did not look Chrysalis’ way, her eyes locked ahead, “Perhaps I simply think you might not beat this Princess Cadence by yourself.” Chrysalis let out a loud, laughing cackle-snort to show what she thought of that, “Please. If this takes me more than five minutes, I’ll die of embarrassment.” “Promise?” said a new, feminine voice from above. Chrysalis flickered out of view, weaving aside a thin but potent beam of blue magic that cut a melting line through the street below. A blurred line of hot pink motion came at Chrysalis from above, and the Espada saw clearly that it was Princess Cadence. The alicorn was wearing a magnificent set of scaled mail across her body forged of blue crystal, her head clad in a frilled helmet bearing wings upon its brow. At her side she magically levitates a surprisingly large spear, its form also forged of pale blue crystal. Its head had a distinctly broad, heart shape to it, while a set of curved horns spread from the spot the spearhead met the shaft.  Chrysalis didn’t draw her Zanpaktou, instead using her own limb as she stepped into Cadence’s dive and caught the shaft on her foreleg. To her mild surprise, the spear still hit with enough force to actually drive her down and back, skidding across the air for a score of yards.  Zecora pulled up short as Cadence hovered before the pair, magic burning in a thick, sky blue geyser from her horn. Unlike Chrysalis, Zecora did have her Zanpaktou drawn, and wasted no time in calling forth its Shikai. ”Open the beholder’s eye; Kodokuna Shinjitsu.” (Solitary Truth) In a gleaming wash of white motes of energy, her katana transformed into a broad, square shaped blade bearing four finely polished, round mirrors upon its surface. The Reigai’s eyes were now almost solid purple light from the artificial soul’s reiatsu. Chrysalis chuckled, although it held little mirth in it. “I suppose you would need to use your Shikai immediately.” “Unlike you, I shall not take these people lightly,” Zecora said, “In defense of their homes, they will spare no effort.” Cadence’s eyes narrowed, looking between Zecora and Chrysalis, “I already know to expect nothing but monstrousness from any version of Chrysalis. But who are you?” Zecora looked back flatly, then sighed, “No one. A memory, given flesh. Yet for those like me to have a life, we must fight. We are here for the Crystal Heart. Allow us to take it, and we shall withdraw with no further harm done.” “Impossible,” Cadence replied in a tone of iron, “Without the Heart, this entire city will be buried by storm and ice. And even if that wasn’t the case, I’d never allow a source of magic so powerful to fall into her hands.” She pointed her spear at Chrysalis, and the Espada responded with a feral smile and an almost preening stance, “Oh such rancor in your voice! What did my pathetic counterpart do to you, I wonder? If it earns a look like that, why, I might actually hold a tiny, itty bitty little more respect for that noisome waste of flesh!” Cadence spat to the side, “That’s no business of yours, creature. I can see your cut from the same filthy cloth she is. You bring terror to my city and people and seek to steal that which is most precious to us. As Princess of the Crystal Empire, I shall not allow it. Not while I draw breath.” Chrysalis laughed, now drawing her Zanpaktou in a long, slow ring of steel filled with violent promise, “Not the wisest choice of words, Princess. Not the wisest at all.” ---------- Guard duty in the grand city of Canterlot, capital of Equestria, was usually a fairly dull affair. Occasional freak invasion by changelings during a royal wedding aside, the idyllic city of colorful towers perched upon the cliffs of Equestria’s largest mountain was a quiet and peaceful place. The only thing most ponies of the Royal Guard had to be worried about was keeping their armor clean and polished. But all of them knew today was not a normal day. The warnings had come down the chain of command all the way from the Princesses themselves. Something was likely to happen today. What, nopony knew. An attack of some sort? The walls of the palace held a double posting of guards, and the streets saw more patrols walking up and down their curved lengths. Canterlot’s populace could sense the tension and knew something was up, although they went about their day like normal, regardless. Unlike the Crystal Empire, the strike was not a matter of numbers. Starlight had only been able to make so many Reigai, and most had been sent to the Crystal Empire, save a few key exceptions.  Instead when the attack came upon Canterlot, it came from a single utterance, spoken with frozen intent. “Bankai.” Countless ponies on Canterlot’s streets felt the abrupt and unnatural chill as the ambient temperature in the air took a nosedive. Above the royal square near the palace, both guards and passing civilians alike looked up into the sky as a shadow overcame them, blocking the sun. This shadow was being made by a rapidly growing field of ice that sprang forth in the sky, widening and thickening until within moments a floating island of solid blue ice was hanging above Canterlot city. Great arcs of ice, like clawed fingers, encircled the island and produced between them a largely translucent field of force, while upon the island's center rose a grand fortress palace in the shape of an Eastern pagoda.  Shocked gasps and uneasy murmurs filled the streets as ponies looked up at the ominous, frozen edifice, while guardponies quickly took up defensive positions on Canterlot palace’s walls. Unicorn combat magic specialists prepared spells within their horns, while pegasi took to the air with spears ready, earth ponies forming a bulwark in the palace courtyard or at key positions in the streets of the city. Yet no attack came upon the city itself. Instead, a voice rang out. Platinum stood beside the throne at the foot of her Bankai fortress’ entrance, using Kido to amplify her voice for all to hear her.  “Princess Luna! I have come to settle our unfinished duel. Come forth and face me. If you fail to do so, I cannot guarantee the safety of your citizens.” Platinum kept her declaration brief, and proceeded to wait near her throne of Fuyokogo Sodaina Kyuden. Would Luna come, or call the bluff? Was it a bluff? Well, yes, in part. Platinum had no interest in senseless slaughter. In fact she’d sternly disagreed with Starlight’s proposed deployment of their forces. She’d wanted to proceed to the Crystal Empire, to better keep the Arrancar Chrysalis on a leash. But Starlight had argued that only Platinum’s Bankai had the right shock value to threaten an entire city to draw out Luna and hold the Canterlot Royal Guard’s focus, and that they’d need to trust the Regai Zecora to mitigate Chrysalis. Ultimately, while Platinum feared what Chrysalis might do while lacking hefty supervision, she did have another reason to come to Canterlot besides Starlight's stratagem. A reason that made her even accept the Reigai as allies. It still rankled Platinum, the existence of the Reigai, but she understood the practicality of their use. She’d agreed with Starlight that they had little choice in terms of reinforcing their numbers, but the Reigai seemed unreliable and even dangerous. She only hoped it would prove worth it in the long run to create the artificial souls. As for now, all she could do was wait and see if Luna took the bait. If need be she could freeze a few streets or buildings... There was a meteoric impact as the light barrier of spirit energy around her Bankai was broken and somepony landed dead center amid the ice field in front of Fuyukogo’s fortress. Platinum noted with no small amount of remembered irritation that Princess Luna, but pure coincidence, landed in the exact same spot that Sunset Shimmer had stood upon on that fateful day that felt ages ago. “My, my, that didn’t take long,” Platinum noted, “I thought you’d keep me waiting. I see you’ve reattached your wing. How does it feel?” Luna was wearing her customary royal regalia, but had added to it a set of sharply curved and spiked armor forged of nearly black ice that transformed her hooves into wicked claws. Already a pair of broad bladed axes forged of the same conjured ice floated at Luna’s side as she shot a gaze of cutting blue towards Platinum. She flexed her wings, and even managed not to wince at the tenderness in the one that had been severed not so long ago. “My wing is fine. Sufficient for short flights, as long as I do not push my speed,” Luna said in a tone of forced casualness. “Ah, perhaps I should wait until you are fully healed, so you are not suffering a handicap?” Platinum ventured with a bite to her voice. Luna bared her teeth in a not-smile. “A handicap is only fair to you, I would think. Otherwise I might not get much exercise from this. Cease your bluster, Platinum. I do not fear you, which is why I come willingly to deal with you and any traps you and your snake of a partner have set up. You and Starlight Glimmer have brought nothing but chaos and uncertainty to our world, and it is a pleasure to fulfill my duty as Equestria’s protector. Face you? Face me, if you dare, coward.” It was with a weary sigh that Platinum slowly walked down the steps from her pagoda fortress of ice, using her own magic to level Fuyukogo’s glittering blue blade of curved lethality at the Princess of the Night. She halted a respectable twenty or so yards away from Luna, her stance slightly off center so that her unburned side faced her alicorn opponent. “Duty, yes. I know that burden well. Once it was to Soul Society. Now it is to the few people remaining to me whom I care about. My son, and... my friends. Starlight Glimmer’s plans aside I owe her for preserving my son’s life. And Firefly...” Platinum’s own eyes narrowed, a furious resolution in them, “I shall have the cure for her curse from your lips, Princess Luna. If I must freeze and shatter every bone and your body and drag you back to her, you will undo the cursed wound you gave her.” Only brief surprise registered on Luna’s features before she shook her head and readied herself, widening her stance an poising her axes of ice before her, magic lighting up her horn like a midnight blue beacon, “If you truly value her life so much, you should have brought her here and surrendered both her and yourself to our custody. Seeking further battle only proves how misguided you are. But fear not, once I’m done with you, and my sister deals with Starlight Glimmer, we shall find the rest of your allies. You might spend the rest of your life imprisoned in Tartarus, perhaps, but your friend will be cured and your son treated fairly as an innocent dragged into your delusional plans.” Platinum had heard enough, and struck before Luna was even done speaking. With a wave of her Zanpaktou she commanded her Bankai to create an eruption of deadly ice spikes to spring up directly under Luna’s hooves. The alicorn, swift of wing even with her injury, leaped up and did an aerial roll, avoiding the impaling spears of ice before she dove straight at platinum, axe’s barred. Both axes of black ice carved cross arcs towards Platinum, who shot forward to meet Luna’s attack, her own blade swinging forth to create a cutting wave of razor thin ice. This wave and Luna’s axes met in a sparking clash of spirit energy and magic, both forms of ice empowered by their respective user’s unique energies. The resulting clash of force exploded outward in a spherical wave of force, accompanied by a ringing boom so loud that not only did it shatter windows in both Canterlot palace and many buildings in the streets below, but even in distant Ponyville, just in eyesight of Canterlot on the mountain, ponies could hear the distant echo. ---------- Close to the walls of Canterlot palace there was a sizable building, situated in a beautiful park area, surrounded by carefully planted trees and bushes. The building was a long, rectangular affair, only two stories tall, but possessing of a humble grandeur all its own, separate from the palace it sat in the shadow of.  Canterlot’s Royal Library was a prestigious center of knowledge and learning for not just the city, but Equestria as a whole. The library not only served the citizens, but especially acted as a resources for several neighboring schools and universities, and was almost always busy. Students and casual knowledge seekers alike had been coming in and out  the library when the incident had occurred, the vast fortress of ice forming in the sky, and the first echoing boom of Luna and Platinum’s duel made many civilians cry out in fear. There were ponies of the Royal Guard stationed here as well, including a young pegasus stallion on loan from the Crystal Empire as part of an exchange program to enhance relations between the two nations. While not a crystal pony himself, his family having moved up to the Empire not long after its return from its magical exile, young Flash Sentry still felt some measure of pride in his role as a member of the Crystal Guard. He was determined to do just as well as the Canterlot Royal Guard he was temporarily assigned to, and so was the first to quickly call out to the civilians huddling for cover near the library entrance. “Everypony please remain calm. Take shelter inside the library.” Beside him a Royal Guard earth pony was already helping an elderly mare up, “Follow me inside, everypony. Flash, keep an eye out while I get these civies under some cover.” “You got it,” Flash said, turning to scan the sky around that strange floating island of ice, trying not to shiver at the cold filling the air, or be intimidated by the hefty clashes of sound he heard up there. It was like a constant peal of thunder, and he could only hope Princess Luna would be alright.  He and only a few other Royal Guard had been put on the library square, and while most of those guards were directing frightened civilians to shelter, as a pegasus he had a height advantage to keep a watch for approaching danger. This was why he was the first to spot an unusual figure wearing a thick gray cloak approaching the stone steps up into the library. The figure was suspicious not just because of the figure’s distinctly tall and obviously bipedal nature. Minotaurs aside, Flash didn’t know many bipedal species frequenting Equestria, and he’d heard the briefings on the new invaders and that originally they were from another world where the main species were bipeds.  Without even thinking about it, Flash Sentry flew down in front of the approaching figure, readying the standard issue guard spear he carried in his hooves. He stayed airborne, hovering just a few feet above the ground, where he was faster. Everything in the briefings concerning the potential threat to the city suggested the enemy was possessed of incredible abilities, so Flash wasn’t about to give up any potential edge. He swallowed his unease and said in a commanding tone, “Halt, stranger, and identify yourself.” His fellow guards saw what was going on, and some of them hurried on ushering civilians into the library while others started to spread out to help Flash confront the strange, robed individual.  Their nervousness only amplified when the figure let out a rather high and grating chuckle, like someone who was both sleep deprived and on a caffeine rush. Spindly gray hands reached out from the figure’s robes and wiggled about like someone trying to rake in leaves. “Ohehehe, look at all of this in front of me! New species! New minerals! New preternatural phenomenon! Look at you my boy! Your wings are so small, yet you hover so perfectly in the air with but a few flaps! Your aerodynamics are beyond fascinating! I must study you, my boy. Ah but I’m forgetting my manners. I apologize. I get so excited when new research material is placed before me.” The figure removed his hood, revealing human features that were alien to Equestria’s native Flash Sentry. The man’s gray skin was complemented only by a passionate fervor in his stark yellow eyes. White hair was left in a tangled, wild mess like an electrified octopus on his head. The stubble of a beard peppered his chin, save where a longer length was tied in a short braid down the tip of his chin. His robes more open now, one could see the length of a curved blade sheathed at his hip, and Flash felt a strange pressure on his body, like some unseen hand pressing down on his heart, as the man drew the slender katana and spun it in his wiggling fingers. “You may refer to me as Starswirl, although the name is technically borrowed from my donor who provided the reishi for my creation. I do so wonder what my genuine self might think of a Reigai like me taking his name? Ah, the experiments we could conduct together. Of course, given my memories have been rolled back to an earlier stage, I don’t actually know what my modern self may be like. We’re separated by about two centuries wroth of memory, you see, boy? Heheheh, not that I mind. I don’t really care, as long as I can acquire more knowledge for myself, which Starlight Glimmer has so generously provided me the opportunity to do so, as long as I share. Speaking of knowledge, this is the library, is it not? I take it anyone is permitted entry? It’s a crime to withhold knowledge, you know.” Flash Sentry shared a confused look with his fellow guards, and they gave him equally confounded expressions. None of them knew what to make of this man, claiming Starswirl’s name. Was that not the name of a famous unicorn mage? But the name Starlight Glimmer struck a chord, for the briefings did disclose that some otherworldly doppelganger of Princess Twilight’s protégé, Starlight, was responsible for the threat facing Equestria. If this man, Starswirl or not, was affiliated with her, then he was to be apprehended. “Sorry sir,” Flash said, “Library is closed. There’s a crisis, and I’m pretty sure you’re a part of it. Now drop the weapon, otherwise we’ll have to subdue you by force.” ‘Starswirl’ let out another unhinged chuckle, and his eyes changed color, going from yellow to a luminous purple that leaked sparks of energy, “That’s fine. I’m all for collecting specimens in the field, and it sounds like I just got a round of volunteers.” Flash could not catch the man’s motion as Starswirl vanished with a light breeze of sound, but his pegasus senses, attuned to air around him, did pick up on the disturbance Starswirl’s movements left in the air. This didn’t give Flash a lot of time to do more than turn to see Starswirl appearing on the other side of one of the earth pony guards, already swiping blood off of his katana and into a vial for collection while the guard fell over with a scream of pain from the severed tendons in his legs. “Ah, I see the anatomy is not so different from Earth equines that the tendons are in significantly different areas. I thank you for the donation, as does science,” Starswirl said, and pocketed the vial of blood. While the other guards starred in stunned shock, Flash moved on instinct, diving at Starswirl’s back, spear thrusting out with lethal intent. Starswirl sidestepped the thrust, whirling about not so much gracefully but with scientifically calculated precision. His blade cut up and through Flash’s spear, leaving the pegasus holding a small wood shaft as the front half clattered to the ground. “Tsk. Bakudo Number Four: Hainawa.” Starswirl’s words were punctuated by him raising a finger and from it springing a rope of crackling yellow light that wrapped around Flash and bound his limbs and wings, causing him to fall from the air and hit the pavement hard.  The rest of the guards got their senses back and all tried to rush the intruder at the same time, coming at him from multiple directions. Starswirl merely vanished again with that speedy burst of motion, this time appearing up in the air a good thirty feet. As the guards tried to regroup, some putting away spears to draw crossbows from their back holsters, Starswirl lowered a palm and chanted. “Bakudo Number Twenty Nine: Kiri no Yuri Kago.” (Cradle of Mist) A swirl of white fog gathered in his hand, then shot down and exploded outward in a thick bank of fog, a fog that filled with the movement of birds formed from the mist that sang a blissful and calming song of restful chirps. Flash Sentry, and his fellow guards, quickly found themselves losing feeling in their bodies as they grew lethargic, an overpowering sleep taking over their senses. In seconds every guard in the courtyard were slumbering like foals.  Starswirl briefly observed his handiwork, then flinched in annoyance at the sound of a loud explosion stemming from the floating palace of ice, where he could sense Platinum’s reiatsu clashing with Luna’s magic. “Honestly, such barbaric obsession with violence just doesn’t suit a man of learning like myself. Spend as long as you want upon your duel, ladies. More time to pursue for me.” That was, as he understood it, his role in this affair. He was largely unconcerned with Starlight Glimmer’s crusade against the Zero Division. He was not even wholly concerned with his own status as a recently created Reigai. No doubt Soul Society would not tolerate his existence, nor would the ‘real’ Starswirl likely consider him anything more than a passing subject of mild interest. The Reigai of Starswirl cared for none of it, only his own desire to acquire knowledge. Sharing specific tidbits with Starlight seemed a small price to pay for easy access to Hitsuyo-Aku’s research labs, and opportunities like this to plunder what knowledge he could from Equestria’s troves. He suspected Starlight had specifically created him with limited memories to ensure such a result. No doubt his older, ‘wiser’ self might have some reservations about Starlight actions that the Reigai lacked.  Not that any of this mattered. Knowledge was to be had! With an upbeat motion to his walk, he landed in front of the library doors and proceeded to saunter inside. Within he found himself in a grandiose chamber, its domed ceiling leading up to  a second story. Both floors were filled with bookshelves and reading tables. Underneath most of those tables were huddled ponies, terrified civilians seeking shelter. Near a front desk a mare in glasses, wearing a plain, dark purple sweater over a cream colored coat and two toned mane of red and purple hair turned from where she’d apparently been arguing with the two remaining guards.  “You don’t understand, I have to get home, I- huh?” The mare with thick glasses blinked at Starswirl, while the two guards turned towards him, lowering their spears. “How did you get in? Where are the other guards?” one demanded, and Starswirl shrugged. “Taking a nap, my boy. Really I’m getting tired of the stupid questions you guard types keep asking. Who am I? What am I doing here? Why am I stabbing you? For science, I say!” “Wait, but you haven’t stabbed me ye-urk!” The guard let out a gurgle as Starswirl was instantly in front of him, sword already planted firmly in the guard’s chest. “Be careful, my boy. I don’t think I’ve pierced your lungs or heart, but a little slip to the left or right, and this will sorely test the limits of bleeding you ponies can endure before expiring.” The mare in glasses let out a gasp and fell back against the library’s front counter, while the second guard tried to stab at Starswirl with her spear. The guardmare quickly found her spear caught on Starswirl’s Zanpaktou as he withdrew it from the mare’s companion and used it to block her strike, after which he kicked her in the chest hard enough to send her sprawling through the desk, shattering it in a shower of splinters. The unfortunate guard kept going until she flew into a bookshelf, breaking it and hitting the ground under a pile of fallen books. Starswirl waited a second or two to confirm no other guards were present to be dealt with before sheathing his Zanpaktou.  “Really I’m tired of all this stabbing nonsense. You, girl.”  The mare in glasses stared at him in horror as the guard Starswirl had stabbed collapsed on the ground, unconscious and bleeding out. She managed a quick stammer, “P-please don’t...” “Oh do calm down. I’ve no intention of harming you. I just need directions. You work here, yes?” “I-I-I-” “Spit it out, girl. I haven’t got all day.” The mare gulped, visibly trying to get a grip, “I intern here. I’m a student. Please, he’s bleeding... let me help him.” “Hm?” Starswirl looked at the guard, then at the mare, noting the horn on her head, “Aaaah, you’re a unicorn? Pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies. Each with such fascinatingly individual characteristics. For science, I shall allow you to help him. I’d like to witness what magical technique you might apply.” With another gulp and pale faced nod, the mare quickly lowered her head to the bleeding guard and touched her horn to his wound. A wash of soft lavender light emanated from her horn and formed threads that touched his flesh. Starswirl watched in interest, taking mental notes from the way the wound began to gradually scab over, “Hmm, it seems more limited than our healing Kido. Can you not even close the wound entirely?” “I... I can’t,” the mare admitted, “I only started medical school. The best I can do is a little first aid.” There were tears at the corners of her eyes, “He needs a hospital. Let me take him, please.” “Bah, he’ll probably live long enough for help to arrive,” Starswirl said with a wave of his hand, “If he didn’t want to get stabbed, he shouldn’t have asked me moronic questions. Now, you seem relatively intelligent compared to what I’ve encountered of your species thus far, girl. Since you intern here, you must know where the valuable knowledge is kept. You shall take me to it.” “What?” the mare gasped, and Starswirl turned a flat look at her, his eyes glowing with purple energy once more. “Don’t make me repeat myself. Where is the restricted knowledge kept? Every library has a restricted section where the most interesting books are located. As my newly appointed research assistant I shall have you take me there post haste. Quickly girl, before I lose my patience.” The way he tapped his blade against his hip suggested him losing his patience was not conducive to anypony's continued health. The mare closed her eyes and took a deep breath, clearly forcing herself to calm down, “Okay. Okay, but just promise me you won’t harm anypony else if I do.” “Very well. Even if they get in my way, I’ll refrain from overtly lethal impalings, lacerations, explosions, meltings, burnings, or poisonings. Gah, I must be a sucker for a pretty face. Now get a move on, we’re wasting daylight and science waits for no man, or pony for that matter. Oh, girl, since I’ll need to enter your name into my records I shall have it before we proceed.” Although she was still obviously terrified, the mare did manage at least a semblance of calm as she said, “Moondancer.” “Good, good. And I am Starswirl. You see, we’re getting along already! Now onward, assistant, for knowledge!” Starswirl proclaimed, stepping over the unconscious form of the guard he’d stabbed while following a sweating Moondancer past rows of tables under which horrified ponies still huddled in trembling groups.  As Moondancer led him out of the main hall and into the library’s back corridors, she gave him a nervous glance over her shoulder, “You said your name is... Starswirl?” Noticing the recognition in her eyes he made a throwing away gesture with one hand, “Ah, never mind that. A mere cosmic confluence of coincidence in which I share a name with individuals who are of some minor historic significance to both your world and mine. Hmm, but considering I was ‘born’ in this world, I suppose that would make this one my homeworld, would it not? But who cares about petty details like that? Hurry up, assistant Moondancer, I eagerly wish to see what treasures of forbidden knowledge are hidden in this library’s depths!” “I...I don’t have a key to the restricted sections,” Moondancer pointed out, lowering her head, “I’m just an intern, remember?” “And where is the library’s proper librarian?” “Vacation.” “Then if you’re the remaining employee would that not mean you’d have been told where the ‘key’ to this restricted section is, in case you needed it?” Moondancer grimaced. In fact she had been told, because she’d been informed she’d need to let a certain pair of individuals into the restricted section that day. In fact, she’d let those two in just a few hours earlier, and they had yet to emerge from the restricted section. Even Moondancer herself didn’t go down there, nor did she know what made these two visitors so special that they’d been allowed access. But she knew they were now in anger if this madman was allowed in. But she could do nothing to stop it, without risking ending up like that guard.  “The...the key is in the librarian’s office. I can go get it.” “Please do. I might break through whatever defenses are preventing entry  to this restricted section, but I’d rather not risk damaging any of the valuable books within, so hop to it.” So with a heavy heart did Moondancer lead Starswirl deeper into the library, silently praying for rescue, while simultaneously picking her brain for anything she might do to thwart this bizarre man’s intentions, or at least warn the two unicorns she’d let into the restricted section earlier, the strange dark stallion and the pretty mare with the crystal blue mane.