//------------------------------// // Episode 183: Much to Consider // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 183: Much to Consider To say the past twenty four hours had been busy for Princess Twilight would have been an understatement of gross proportions. She’d hardly had time for a thirty minute nap, half standing, in between arranging for Charybdis to be transferred under guard to Tartarus, securing provisions and a proper landing strip for the Treasury, calming the local population of Ponyville that indeed all was well (when Twilight was not entirely sure it was, if reports from Canterlot and what she’d learned from Spike were to be believed), and spending a great deal of time listening to Spike’s tale of events that had led to his present... physical and mental condition. “-all I can continue to say, Twilight, is that I’m feeling just fine. I’m a lot hungrier than I usually am, but that’s it. Fafnir is in here,” a gigantic talon tapped at the side of Spike’s vast and tapered head, “But aside from that first burst when I got all his power out of the Dragonlord’s Scepter, he’s mostly gone quiet. I am having dreams about his life, I guess...” Twilight couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath, her deep rooted care for her young draconic charge no less overwhelming now than it was when he’d first hatched. An odd sentiment in some ways, now that he dwarfed her size by a good magnitude. The question of whether or not Spike could revert to his original size remained unanswered, for the young dragon was quite uncertain himself as to whether or not being the Inheritor to this “Fafnir” had actually aged him prematurely or if this was some transformed state he might deactivate in similar manner to what Twilight and her friends were capable of. He’d tried, but given his lack of familiarity with magic in general, Twilight was not convinced he simply lacked the right foreknowledge to control the power now in his possession. She sincerely hoped he might be able to revert his form, for at the present there was no way Spike could fit inside her castle, let alone do more than poke his head through the front door! At present he contented himself to lay like a very large and scaly canine along the wall of the castle, quite the imposing sight given his newly grown body out massed two or three of Ponyville’s houses put together.  The issue of his size aside, Twilight was far more concerned with his mind, knowing full well the effect being an Inheritor had in regards to integrating the memories and personality of the individual whose power was Inherited. But she was wholly unsure if the process was different in the case of dragons. Indeed she had not even considered that in Equestria’s ancient past there would even be dragons who might have undergone the process! It did make a certain sense, given that she had seen examples of none-alicorn Inheritors already, having not missed that the Paralogos of ancient times shared a similar aspect to the present day Discord. Celestia had already confirmed as much to corroborate the story Spike had told, that indeed powerful entities such as elemental spirits and dragons had been worshiped in the past as well, gaining power not unlike the alicorns, albeit far less commonly by comparison. It was Spike’s story that was the most worrying, and the topic of the moment, which found Twilight sitting with a book and quill on the steps in front of her palace, going over the matter once more with Spike to try and sort it all out. Time was precious, after all, and growing more so. “These dreams, do they seem like they match what that other dragon, Nidhogg, was telling you?” she asked, and Spike rolled his impressively board shoulders in a shrug. “Dunno, they’re weird. Sometimes I’m flying between these insanely tall mountains! I mean like, waaaaay huge! Taller than the one Canterlot is built on. I’m surrounded by other dragons, but also a whole bunch of other flying creatures. Birds bigger than whole towns. Whales with wings. Serpents covered in rainbow colored feathers. And other times I’m swimming in the ocean, with a whole bunch of scary huge leviathans, including this... this one big guy! I mean, just, scary huge, like his head is bigger than an island. He has this cold white eyes, and in the dreams I... I’m listening to him, talking about stuff.” Spike trailed off, obviously spooked, and although Twilight was loath to do it she prompted him to continue, “It’s okay, Spike. I need to know, and get all the facts straight. This serpent, he’s the one Nidhogg mentioned; Jormungandr?” “Y-y-yeah, that’s the name,” Spike said, shivering, his huge bulk causing the ground to tremble a bit at the motion, “Jormungandr. I... Fafnir, I guess that’s who I was or whatever back then, was a follower of him. Even though I guess me and Nidhogg were part of the Sky Tribe? Jormungandr ruled the oceans and the Sea Tribe, but he had a voice that reached everyone. In the dreams there’s a war, to try and take over the Sky and Land Tribes, in order to kick start something called ‘Ragnarok’. But it failed, mostly because Fafnir started to doubt that Jormungandr was sane. Twilight, the dreams are messed up. I mean... there’s a lot of...” Spike’s purple scales rattled and his taloned hands clenched, “Blood. Bad stuff. Stuff I’ve never seen and really makes me feel queasy. Jormungandr and his followers were crazy, and Fafnir couldn’t take it anymore. He took a group of other dragons that were fed up with the war, and left. Came to Equestria, a long time ago. My dreams have snippets of these shining cities in the sky, filled with alicorns, and Fafnir meeting their leaders in this huge tower, to ask for sanctuary for himself and those that came with him.” Twilight wrote rapidly, magic levitating her quill to scribble neat notes in her book. While this was not the first time she’d heard the story from Spike, now that it was backed up by these dreams, she felt there was little room to doubt their veracity. These were clearly Inherited memories, and corresponded with at least what little information she had concerning the spiritual realms of the other world. Charybdis herself had insinuated that she had allies in those realms, and considering the aquatic nature of this ‘Sea Tribe’ and Jormungandr, she had a fair degree of confidence where the ancient seapony witch had obtained some of her knowledge of spirit energy and how to mix it with magic. What she didn’t understand was this whole Ragnarok business, or why this Nidghogg had shown up, claiming brotherhood with Spike, or Fafnir as it were. “Alright,” she said, drawing lines between items in her notes in neat, if conspiratorial strokes, “So Fafnir comes to Equestria, essentially leading to dragonkind’s establishment in this world. Jormungandr pursues and ultimately fails in his war, but whether he survived that is unknown. However he does still have followers, because the dragon that accosted you and Dragonlord Ember named himself Nidhogg, a servant of Jormungandr, and Fafnir’s brother, who came to take you ‘home’ to this place called the Beast Realm.” “Yeah,” Spike said, his spirits brightening a bit with a rueful smile of fangs, “That’s when Torch and Ember started giving him the business end of their claws. Did you know Ember has a seriously mean left hook? I mean, this Nidhogg guy was pretty strong too, but there was a whole flight of Equestrian dragons going at him.” “But amid all of that, you got a hold of the Dragonlord’s Scepter, which turned out to be a Relic, and it awakened.” Spike’s head sunk a bit, blowing a smoky sigh from his nostrils, “Which I don’t remember because I blacked out for most of that. Ember says I went nuts, grew huge like I am now, and went into a frenzy. Drove Nidhogg off, but then Ember and Torch and pretty much the whole damn flight of dragons had to hold me down. With Shining Armor and Flurry Heart there, I was really worried I might have hurt them.” Twilight went up and stroked his nose, the gesture a tad odd at first, but she was growing used to the idea, especially given it clearly soothed Spike as he rumbled a deep growl that was more akin to a purr deep in his massive chest. “But you didn’t. They’re both just fine, and back in the Crystal Empire.” The news from there was dreadful enough. Yes, Twilight had already known about the attack, but it was still distressing to think of how long and difficult the reconstruction efforts would be. Thorax was engaging help from the Changeling hive to render all aid in getting the Empire back in order, but it’d be a task of some months even with their help. Worse, the monster responsible for all of that damage was still very much at large. There was some hope that the location of the human Starlight Glimmer’s base of operations might be discovered soon, but that remained a wild card. Twilight had not met much with Sombra or Radiant Hope after the pair had left on their long quest to find the broken pieces of Amore, but she didn’t doubt the reformed Umbrum’s courage in tailing after the attackers on Canterlot. It still made her mind boggle that some manner of human copy of Starswirl the Bearded was running around, now. Even without Starlight Glimmer as a present threat, it seemed her machinations remained a cause of chaos. And not the generally tolerable and controllable kind Discord got up to these days, although with him captured Twilight was deathly worried for Fluttershy, who was not at all taking to the situation.  She could only hope Sombra would find their foe’s hideout and in so doing allow the Princesses of Equestria to muster together as a strike force to bring an end to this. No matter how powerful their opponents, be they former Soul Reaper Captains or this monstrous Hollow Chrysalis, surely the combined might of Twilight, Cadence, Luna, and Celestia all together could overcome them. Especially if Twilight brought along her friends to add their newfound powers to the mix.  “Any luck fixing the journal?” Spike asked, and Twilight let out an embarrassed laugh. “I was going to get to that later today, but I really wanted to check on you first thing this morning.” “Hey, I’m fine! I mean, not totally fine, but I’m tough. But that journal is way more important, Twilight. I’m really sorry it got damaged in the fight,” Spike rubbed the spines along the back of his long neck, looking away from her. He had taken her magical journal in order to keep an eye on it, like she’d asked him to, but in the fight with Nidhogg, which had involved no small amount of fire, the book had been burned. Not to total ashes, but sufficiently so that the magic inside it was largely rendered non-functional. Twilight was confident she could repair it, but it’d take her the larger portion of the evening to do, and a drowsy fall of her eyelids fast reminded her of how tired she was.  Forcing back a yawn, she smiled with reassurance to Spike, “Don’t worry yourself over it. I’ll get the journal back in working order, and with any luck nothing too terrible has happened on Sunset’s side while we were out in the ocean taking care of Charybdis.” A rough frown pulled Spike’s jaws back in a display of barred fangs, “Grrr, wish I could have been there with you. From what the rest of the gang has said, she’s a right nasty customer. At least she’s packed off to Tartarus where she belongs, but man, would’ve liked to get a few swings in on her myself.” To this, Twilight could only shake her head, “It was a very... unpleasant affair, and I’m glad enough you weren’t there, to be in any extra danger. At least it’s over, although there’s hardly any time to sit back and rest what with... with...” She couldn’t keep the yawn away any longer, and swayed on her hooves for a moment before giving herself a shake to get the blood pumping again. Spike was eyeing her, his eye now about the size of her entire head, like an emerald watermelon staring right at her.  “Twi, you might want to catch some Zs while the catching is good. Doubt the country is going to explode if you get a few hours of actual sleep.” “You don’t know that. With my track record, it’s exactly when I decide to sleep that more explosions will happen,” Twilight said, fighting with all her might to keep another yawn from forming, “I just need some coffee and I’ll be fine.” “Did somepony order up a fresh cup o’ Joe!?”  Pinkie Pie appeared from a nearby bush, a bush that Twilight didn’t even remember having next to her castle. The mare had a whole tray balanced on her snout along with a pot of coffee and an already poured cup, pale with cream and sugar. Twilight’s whole body visibly trembled at the smell, her mouth salivating a bit, and she didn’t honestly care how undignified it looked. Without preamble, or even questioning Pinkie’s serendipitous presence, she took the cup of offered coffee and the pot as well in her magical levitation and drank with grateful gluttony. “Oh gosh, Pinkie, for once you have used your powers of defying causality and physics for the greater good!” Twilight said, draining the cup and pouring another from the pot without halting. Her mane twitched in delight, “Ah, the caffeine, it fuels me.” “Got an itch in my third rib that told me you were in desperate need of a pick me up, so came running along!” Pinkie said happily, tossing the tray to an unceremonious crash off screen, and then waved at Spike, “Heya Spike! How’s being big and kaijufied?” “Eh, can’t complain. Well, okay, not true, I can complain a lot. I mean, I can’t get into my room to get at any of my comics, which is a major drag. Hey Twilight, think I might knock out the wall in my room so I can-” “No, Spike, you’re not demolishing your room for the sake of comic books. I can go get you them in a moment. Just need the caffeine and sugar to do it’s work,” Twilight said with motherly sternness, but not unkindly, then she turned to Pinkie, “Thanks again for the coffee. Any of the other girls up yet?” Understandably her friends had largely gone to spend time with their families or at least get some rest in their own beds, but there’d been a general agreement to convene at Twilight’s castle that morning once everypony was up. It was still early, but Twilight figured it wouldn’t be long, and Pinkie tended to have an uncanny ability to keep tabs on everypony. “Well I saw Applejack in her orchards, but her chores looked near done. Rainbow’s house had this loud snoring sound coming out of it, so pretty sure’ll be last to show. I passed Fluttershy and Rarity just a minute ago, and hey look there they are! Hi gals!” Indeed Twilight could see that two of her friends were making their way to join them. Rarity looked bright eyed and well rested, but tense, which made sense given Fluttershy had a particularly gloom laden shade to her eyes. Discord’s capture and continued absence was a weight on the pegasus’ shoulders, dampening her mood in a most visible wilting of her mane and tail. Granted Fluttershy sometimes got that way with simpler things, like having to say goodbye to her new shark friend before they’d left the oceans, but this was far more pronounced and understandably so. She and Discord were close, although Twilight was never really certain how close. “Good morning,” she said to them, Rarity giving a polite nod. “And to you too, Twilight. I hope you don’t take offense if I say you appear a bit ghastly. Did you not sleep at all, darling?” “Not as much as I’d have liked,” she said, skirting giving any solid number. To Fluttershy she said, “Um, I haven’t contacted the Princesses yet this morning, so maybe there’s news about Sombra or Discord?” “Well if it wouldn’t be too much trouble...” Fluttershy replied in a small voice, and Twilight finished off her second cup of coffee and nodded vigorously, the caffeine kicking into full gear. “Say no more! Spike, we’ll talk more about Fafnir and Nidhogg later. If Nidhogg is still in Equestria, I’d say dragons have the best chance of tracking him down.” “No problem,” he said, gesturing vaguely to the south, “Torch stuck around in the Crystal Empire, but Ember came back with me. I’ll go chat with her about organizing the dragons into search parties.” “Is that needed?” asked Rarity, giving Spike a worried glance, “This dastardly fellow did say he was here for you, right Spike? Which means he’s likely to give another go at trying to take you away to this dreadful sounding Beast Realm. Might it not be more advantageous to keep you under guard and just wait for him to poke his villainous head out again?” It was a rather practically minded suggestion, and one Twilight couldn’t fully argue with. A part of her mind that was Astra’s understood this moment of practical thinking was very much a trait of Zoismos, filtered through Rarity’s own concern for Spike. “You do have a point. But I’d rather find Nidhogg first and confront him on our terms, rather than wait for him to make a move on Spike. Especially here in Ponyville, where the last thing we need are dragons battling it out.” “Ah, point well taken,” Rarity said, “Never mind the thought then. As long as Spike is well protected, I’ll be content.” “W-well, I’m pretty big and strong now, so I can totally take care of myself, and you Rarity,” Spike said, scratching his snout with a self conscious stare at Rarity, who in turn seemed to blink in a moment of awareness. “Of course Spike. I’d not suggest you are incapable of defending yourself, or any of us for that matter. Indeed allow me to say that while I do prefer your youthful, compact form, this elder version of you is quite striking. I do hope that, once you learn to reverse to your natural self, that in due time you’ll grow into the fine draconic specimen I see before me.” Spike visibly gulped, light purple scales scorched to darker violet, and he mumbled, “Y-yup, you bet!” Twilight cleared her throat, “Well then girls, I’m sure Applejack and Rainbow Dash can join us at their leisure. For now shall we go inside and I’ll contact the palace at Canterlot, see if there’s any updates?” “Of course, lead on,” Rarity said, while Fluttershy mutely nodded, also offering Spike a brief greeting and the first smile Twilight had seen on her that day. Once inside the castle it was a short jaunt to the main room where the crystal table, surrounded by the chairs devoted to each of her friends lay. Twilight saw that floating around one side of the room, talking quietly between themselves, were Aria and Sonata. The two sirens had stayed overnight and Twilight intended to allow them their own rooms at least until the general crisis was over. Given that both were eager for news of their sister Adagio, and had expressed an interest in getting back to the human world to return the third siren’s soul fragment, Twilight had no reason to not keep the pair nearby. “S’up ponyfolk!” Sonata cried happily, rolling in the air and floating over with no shortage of energy in her grinning face. The siren’s mood was much improved after Charybdis’ defeat. Twilight was less certain as to the effect the Inheritor state was having on either her or Aria, but as far as Twilight could tell there was no noticeable change in their personalities for having absorbed Domare’s power and memories. Perhaps having the burden split between the two of them, or three since Adagio’s share appeared to remain in the Eye of the Sea, mitigated the impact of the memories? “Yo,” Aria greeted, less enthused than her sister, but leagues more polite than was usual for her as she set down a book on the table. Twilight noted it was her charred journal, “Heard you were gonna fix this thing today?” Good hearing, Twilight noted, if the pair had picked up on the conversation she’d had with Spike outside and well away from this main chamber. Another factor of the Inheritor powers, no doubt. Even when not transformed she and her friends retained some ability from that state. She’d already noticed her magic reserves were stronger than ever, even without transforming.  Clearing her throat, she gave the sirens courtesy nods, “I will be, although not until later.” “Aww c’mon, why not right now!?” Sonata said, almost getting nose to snout with Twilight, “I need to know that Dagi is okay and to tell her we’re going to be coming back soon with her soul piece thingy!” “Well, first of all, the spells needed to repair the journal won’t be simple, short rituals, even for me. Second of all, sending you back to the human world might take time as well. I need to study the present state of the portal to determine how safe and feasible a return trip would be.” As things stood, she couldn’t even begin to guess what was happening with the portal. The room with the magi-tech devices she’d hooked up to the mirror was intact, but had suffered some manner of severe blowback. Not the explosive trap of spirit energy that the Bount Trixie had placed within, but some other manner of massive and unstable energy discharge that had damaged the equipment and made a mess of the room. Fortunately it was all repairable, and the mirror itself was intact and it’s portal magic functioning, but even a cursory examination upon her return home had told Twilight that the portal was altered in some manner.  There was no way she could authorize an attempt to go through it until she got a hold of Sunset Shimmer via the journal to find out what might have happened, and done a much greater and extensive examination of the portal herself.  Neither Aria or Sonata looked overly pleased with her answer, the later visibly drooping while the former put a comforting hoof around her sister. Aria’s eyes were angered, but not at Twilight. Just a general smolder of long held frustration. “We get it. You got to do your magic thing. It’s just... we’ve been waiting a long time to help Adagio. It’s hard having to keep doing it.” “Believe me, I understand,” Twilight said, “I’m no less eager to find out how Sunset and my friends' human counterparts fare. Indeed if the portal proves stable and still leads to the human world, I’ll be the first to open it up for all of us to go through. They may need our help, and we could certainly use theirs here, so getting the portal working is quite high on my priority list, I assure you.” Among a dozen other things. “Now, if you both would like to hang around, my friends and I are gathering so I can contact Princess Celestia and Princess Luna so we can learn if Sombra has returned from his recon of the enemy’s whereabouts. If all has gone well, we might have a chance to strike directly at Starlight Glimmer’s base.” There was a fresh flame alight in Aria’s eyes, “Good. Count me and Sonata in.” “Well I don't know if-” Twilight began, but was cut short by the siren. “Look, we got juiced up by this Domare chick’s magic, we might as well put it to use. Top that off with our gems getting restored, and me and Sonata couldn’t be more ready to unleash some pain on whoever or whatever is in the way between us and reuniting with our sister. Do you have a reason to tell us we can’t go?” Twilight honestly didn’t, at least not one that would sound compelling to the two sirens. Her biggest concern was the simple fact that she didn’t want either Aria or Sonata to have to put themselves in any further risk, especially now that they were restored fully with their gems intact. The two deserved to rest and be able to return to find Adagio. Twilight wasn’t eager to see either of them get hurt, especially considering it sounded as if this Arrancar version of Chrysalis was far more dangerous than they’d anticipated. It still left Twilight feeling an icy clench of anxiety in her gut to think of what had been done to Cadence and the Crystal Empire. Anger as well, but that was secondary to ensure she and her friends would be able to overcome an encounter with that beastly creature.  Still, they’d beaten Charybdis, fully amped up on Domare’s power. Hollow Chrysalis could be beaten, too.  “If you truly want to come, I won’t say no, but please just consider that right now Adagio should be your priority, and what would happen to her soul fragment if either of you were hurt, or worse?” “You’d give it to  her, wouldn’t you?” Sonata asked, blinking in innocence. “If I could, I would, but the fragment is still tied to the Domare’s Relic, which only you two can make use of now,” Twilight explained, and this gave both sirens a moment of pause. “Aria?” Sonata said, and the other siren gave a surly grunt. “Yeah, the Princess has got a point, much as it bugs me. Dammit. Hate sitting around doing nothing.” “It needn’t be nothing.” They all turned at the new speaker, Twilight’s eyes lighting up, “Cadence!” “We’re here too!” Rainbow Dash said, having flown in alongside the Princess of the Crystal Empire, while Applejack trailed in behind. Cadence gave everypony in the room an acknowledging incline of her head and quickly braced herself as Twilight rushed up and wrapped hooves and wings around her fellow alicorn in a big hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright. I mean, you are alright, right?” Twilight said, examining Cadence as if expecting to see still bleeding wounds from the battle in the Crystal Empire. Cadence heaved out an understanding sigh and let Twilight fuss for a moment before smiling, albeit in a small, tired manner. “It isn’t as if we didn’t talk already, Twilight, even if it was only long distance magic communication. I was more worried about you, having to go into the Abyss itself. I’m happy to see that you and your friends all made it back.” Twilight nodded, wiping at her eyes, “Yes, we did. And I know we already talked, but it's different seeing you in person.” “Hey, not to interrupt the hugs and stuff, but what was that about us not having to do ‘nothing’?” asked Aria with a pointed look at Cadence. The alicorn’s smile turned coy just then. “I am to understand that you and Sonata are now Inheritors as well? I was intending to bring this to Twilight and her friend’s attention, and now the offer is extended to the two of you as well. Celestia and Luna happen to have a rather effective training area built underneath their old castle. I’ve been using it to refine my magic and powers as an Inheritor, and I suggest the same for all of you,” she gave a tired but satisfied shake of her wings and stretch of her limbs, and Twilight noticed just how many small bruises and scrapes that Cadence had. “I can promise you that the results, even in a short time frame, are quite worth it.” “Is that so?” said Rarity with a curious stroke of her chin, “I’m usually loath to get involved in too much sweaty exercise, but it would be useful to have a place we can hone our abilities. But is time not quite short before we might have to do battle again?” “Yeah, ain’t that Sombra fella supposed ta be trailin’ some jerk back ta’ the human Starlight’s base n’ such? Is a’ couple days o’ trainin’ gonna do any o’ us much good?” asked Applejack, to which Cadence raised a hoof to quiet them. “All I can say is that a mere couple of days have done me wonders for coming to terms with my powers and the... personality and memories attached to them,” Cadence said, “Because we’ve ‘inherited’ these powers alongside memories, all it takes is a short span of training to become better accustomed to them.” “What the hay, I’ll take any excuse to train up a bit!” Rainbow Dash said, and Fluttershy gave a rather... intense nod, her eyes seeming to briefly turn sanguine red. “I’d like to be able to rescue Discord as soon as possible, and...” Fluttershy didn’t quite smile, exactly, so much as pull back her lips, and Twilight noted the ever so faint point to two of those teeth, “Give the people that hurt him a stern talking to.” Pinkie Pie paused still as an ice sculpture for an instant, her nose wiggling, followed by a jitter in her left hindleg. “Oh, incoming call.” “Huh?” Twilight said, just before a ring of translucent blue magical light, like a pool of shimmering water, appeared in the air above her table. Within the visage of Princess Celestia appeared, looking down at them with an eager light. “Ah, good, you’re all here. Apologies for contacting you first, Twilight, but I didn’t wish to wait.” “Not at all, Princess,” Twilight said, trotting over to her seat and sitting down, while her friends did the same, and Cadence and the sirens found places to stand or over near Twilight’s chair. “Please, if there’s good news to tell, we all could use it.” “No doubt. I trust Spike is doing well?” Celestia asked, and Twilight gave a faintly hesitant nod. “As well as could be expected, considering what’s happened. Now, about Sombra...?” “That is why I wanted to contact you as fast as possible,” she said, and Twilight frowned at the way Celestia’s expression grew exceedingly grave, “He has not returned, but I received, just this past hour, a garbled magical sending from him via the shadows in my... er, ‘chambers’.” A faint coloring of Celestia’s face gave Twilight a momentary riot of potential mental images as to what that meant, but she coughed and said, “Go on, what did he say?’ “There was a great deal of interference with the message. I suspect spiritual energy was disrupting the words,” Celestia said, “But I got that he had found Starlight Glimmer’s base of operations. However most of the message was garbled by the interference, and he hasn’t sent another. I get the impression he ran into some trouble.” “Oooooh!” Pinkie piped up, “That’s what the leg twitch was about! I was like, nose wiggle, that means incoming call, but the leg twitch usually means ‘friend being punched in the face’, but I totally didn’t see that happening so figured maybe my Sense was on the fritz.” “Where is he?” said Fluttershy, her intensity not lessening in the least as she put her fore hooves on the table, half rising with a buzz of her wings, “We have to go to him at once! He knows where Discord is!” “Easy there, sugarcube, let the Princess talk fer a sec,” Applejack said, rising to put a hoof on Fluttershy, who nearly hissed in her frustration as she settled back down. Celestia wore an understanding look, eyeing Fluttershy with sympathy as she said, “I’m currently trying to trace the message spell he sent me. I don’t know if he is still at Starlight’s hideout or if he was caught en route back here, but either way, we have to get him back alive so he can tell us what he knows. As soon as I have his location, I’d like all of you to go to his aid. Luna is teleporting with Radiant Hope to Ponyville now. She insisted on being brought along.” “I understand, Princess,” Twilight said, “We’ll be ready to go as soon as you know where he is. How long do you think that will take?” “I don’t know,” Celestia admitted with a grave sigh, “His shadow magic is very much unlike anything I am used to, and tracing it is hard even if there wasn’t this interference from spirit energy. It could be hours, or even more than a day. But rest assured I will find it, and relay the information to you the moment I know.” Twilight nodded, thinking. They wouldn’t be able to teleport there directly, in most likelihood, because of the necessity of familiarity to accurately teleport to a precise spot. But they would be able to teleport somewhere close, at least, and proceed the rest of the way via flight, carrying those who couldn’t fly on their own.  I should bring Flash Sentry as well... she thought. He was currently with the Treasury, helping Tempest Shadow with settling in her new crew of recruited volunteers from Ponyville’s more adventurous residents. If they were going into battle against those with spiritual powers from his own world, she’d want him at her side. Besides, she’d have to tie him down to keep him from coming anyway, and she hardly needed an excuse to want to keep him near.  “For now I suggest all of you get what rest you can, especially you, Twilight,” Celestia said, a softened look of a concerned teacher lightening her otherwise severe expression, “You’ve done so much already I hate having to ask more, so please promise me you’ll get some sleep in the meantime.” Twilight looked abashed, realizing she probably wasn’t hiding her exhaustion very well at all, and was simply mortified to have to be reminded of it by Celestia. “O-of course I will, I promise.” “Thank you. I’ll get back in touch soon,” Celestia said, and then her image vanished. “Well that’s that,” said Rainbow Dash, “Not even back home a full two days, and we’re about to jump right back into it.” “Would ya want it any other way?” asked Applejack, and Rainbow Dash flashed a wordless grin in response. ---------- An unexpected sensation of bile rising in her throat caused Chrysalis to clench her teeth and try to shake the unpleasant sensation off. Next to her, Platinum cast her a look of undisguised concern in her ice blue eyes, the former Soul Reaper now in the body of a unicorn keeping her voice low despite the fact that they were still a far distance from the towering structure of the Changeling hive. “Are you going to be able to do this?” Chrysalis didn’t snarl, but her anger rose up to battle the heady churn of other emotions she was struggling to suppress as she said, “I’ll be fine. This will be easy. You didn’t even need to come.” She wasn’t much sure she liked the note of understanding in Platinum’s tightly guarded look that deflected Chrysalis’ anger as deftly as one might a sword stroke, Platinum nodding towards the hive. It was still a good kilometer off, but well visible over the edge of a sloped outcropping of bush covered rock the pair were using for cover to observe it.  “Your hive has more than enough Changelings in it that if you were discovered, even you might not so readily escape,” Platinum reminded Chrysalis, “Even if Firefly had not given the order, I would have considered it tactically sound to come as a form of backup.” “It will not be needed,” Chrysalis insisted, but inwardly she was not nearly so certain, especially now that she was laying eyes upon her former... home.  It barely looked like itself! What had Thorax, that soft hearted traitor, done with her beloved hive!? Its beautifully imposing arms of dark resin and stone, so menacing and powerful in its former appearance, were now somehow scrubbed lighter and hung with array after array of greenery! Ivy and flowers crawled like gangrenous growths of color over what was supposed to be an intimidating edifice to Changeling power! Now it looked like... like... a damned garden vacation spot!  Even the usually dried out and barren waste of the Badlands surrounding the hive seemed more lively, strewn now with freshly growing shrubs, flower patches, and even trees. Chrysalis was at first at a loss to explain this inexplicable growth, but much as it galled her, logical deduction was that the destruction of her anti-magic throne likely resulted in some manner of magical growth being made possible. Indeed it was possible the Badlands had only been so because of the throne. Chrysalis had some vague recollection that there’d been some plant life hereabouts when she’d first chosen the area to create her hive and raise her army, with the throne of anti-magic as her centerpiece. Honestly she hadn’t paid much attention to the environment, having chosen this location for it’s remoteness, so she might have the privacy of ruling her people in seclusion until appropriate targets for infiltration and harvesting were selected. Ah, those had been the times! Surrounded by the boundless loyalty of her offspring, pouring over maps and reports as they infiltrated neighboring regions, carefully choosing the best locations to strike and harvest the all important resource that was “love”.  Now she was returning as a fugitive and as an infiltrator herself, in her own damn hive! And her Changelings, she could see them flitting about in the distance, specks of color in the sky or buzzing about the hive. Those colors! Those wretchedly bright colors, so garish in comparison to the noble dark chitin her children had sported prior to Thorax’s infection of her people with whatever madness the Equestrians had stuffed in his head. She’d rip that infection out of them all if only she had the power to do so. Which was essentially why she was here, with Platinum as her chaperone. This close to the hive, she could feel it, a faint pulsation in her head. A draw, like the tolling of some distant bell. A Relic. Her Relic, hidden somewhere within the hive. Why it was there was something of a mystery to Chrysalis, but there were two theories she had in mind. One was that during her reign as Queen, the Changelings had pillaged more than love from the locations they’d struck. Material goods had also been taken, sometimes to be used in covert barter with less scrupulous nations, other times simply for the sake of having plunder besides the love siphoned from victims. There was a trove of such random treasures in closed off vaults inside the depths of the hive, so it was entirely possible a Relic had been among those items. The other theory was that the Relic was inside the cavern system beneath the hive. When Chrysalis had first erected the hive, she’d discovered that there was a rather large series of unusual caves beneath it. Really more like carved tunnels instead of natural formations. They were not safe, either, having contained several deadly traps, the origin of which Chrysalis had never discovered. She had this maze of tunnels and traps sealed off, and thought of it no further past that point, at least until recently when she understood the pull of her Relic led to her hive and it occurred to her that it might be buried down there, somewhere.  She and Platinum had left the previous day, journeying swiftly to the Badlands, with the intention of sneaking into the hive and retrieving Chrysalis’ Relic. With its power, perhaps she could retake her hive, remove Thorax from his ill-gotten position of leadership, and get her offspring back on track. If nothing else, the acquisition of more power might help her with her hopes for revenge... or just surviving the further attention of her insane, Hollow counterpart.  There was a sick image in Chrysalis’ head of her counterpart coming here, now, to this place. Her Changelings, soft and feeble as they were now in their colorful state of supposed “harmony” would be helpless against such a ruthless monster. Not that she cared, or so told herself, despite the wrenching in her gut at the thought.  “Let us go over the plan, at least,” Platinum insisted, drawing Chrysalis out of her ruminations. “Disguising ourselves, we infiltrate the hive and try to reach the vaults in search of the Relic. Your senses should guide us and tell us whether or not it’s there, or in the deeper caverns you mentioned. If we’re accosted, we stick with our cover story of being a pair of sisters who are just exploring the hive.” “Leave the talking to me, and be certain of your spellwork,” Chrysalis said. Platinum had been working hard on learning how to utilize unicorn magic to affect her appearance, and with Chrysalis’ guidance had settled on a disguise. “In fact, show me now.” Platinum nodded, and with little hesitation lit up her horn. Chrysalis could tell the woman was still unused to channeling actual magic, but what Platinum lacked in innate talent or familiarity, she made up for with ironclad focus and unbreakable, ice cold resolve. The pale blue of magic coated Platinum’s body, and altered it in a glint of illusionary magic. In a moment she stood now as a young adult, female Changeling with a bright violet carapace and ice blue wings that matched her solid, gem-like eyes. It was a bit subdued for the colorful appearances of the other Changelings, but she’d pass as one of them readily enough, and Platinum had practiced holding this illusion for many hours straight. It’d hold, and no Changelings were familiar enough yet with unicorn magic to be able to detect the difference. “Good,” Chrysalis reluctantly gave praise, and then her own jagged horn sputtered with green flame as she herself quickly went about her own change. Her form was smaller than Platinum’s disguise, taking the form of an even younger Changeling with a body of midnight blue, with a bright emerald chest, and lighter jade wings and eyes. She couldn’t bring herself to go any brighter, and had chosen to appear as a younger Changeling as she surmised it’d make others less suspicious. “You look to be about my son’s age,” Platinum noted, “Very well then, I’m to be the elder sister of our pairing? Hmm, it occurs to me we didn’t pick names.” Chrysalis snorted, a now much younger, higher pitched voice saying, “It hardly matters. Pick anything. I’ll be Vespid.” “That has a nice ring. I suppose I’ll call myself... Ice Dancer.” At Chrysalis’ face, Platinum said, “What?” “That’s not a very Changeling sounding name,” Chrysalis explained, waving a hoof, “We tend to have names at least somewhat inspired by the insect kingdom.” “Really?” Platinum asked, tilting her head and now leaning down towards the shorter Chrysalis, “Did you not name your children? They are all mostly yours, yes? And all of them have insect inspired names?” Chrysalis backed up a step, grumbling in red faced embarrassment, “Yes, they are mostly mine. I suppose a few reproduced among themselves, but I hardly kept track of that! I still did a lot of the naming. And there may have been some, or a lot, of repeats. I think there’s at least twenty or so ‘Mandibles’, and over fifty ‘Carapaces’ in there. Look just pick something insect sounding, okay!?” “Oh very well, let’s see...” Platinum fluttered her illusionary wings for a moment, and then nodded to herself, “Coccinellidae.” Chrysalis shot up and eyebrow and Platinum coughed politely, “When my husband still lived, he collected insects. I learned a lot of specific species' scientific names. Ladybugs were a favorite of his.” To this, Chrysalis made no immediate comment, even though several dismissive ones shot to mind. Yet she restrained them, not even entirely certain why other than it didn’t really make any sense to antagonize one of the few individuals left in the world who didn’t treat her with instant hostility. “It shall do,” was all she eventually said before turning to gaze at the distant hive, “Let us be off then. We can say we were out foraging or some such if any challenge us upon reaching the hive.” “We will blend in without difficulty?” “Oh, there’s so many of us that I doubt every drone is going to recognize every other at a glance. Just follow my lead, and this excursion will be over shortly,” Chrysalis said as she took wing. Platinum followed her, albeit in a somewhat more awkward manner. Lacking actual wings to fly, she had to control the illusion to make its wings buzz, while using her Soul Reaper skills to prance upon the air. It served well enough, as long as none looked at her too closely. In short order the pair began eating up the distance between themselves and the Changeling hive, and despite Chrysalis’ attempted air of nonchalantness, that churning gut only increased with each moment she got closer to the place of her disgrace. Her failure. The spot where she lost everything.  Teeth grinding to near bleeding, the former Queen of the Changelings forced herself to calm and fluttered on towards her former home and family. Unseen by either her or Platinum, a pair of smaller heads popped out of a bush that had been further back from the rocky rise that the two had taken off from. “This really isn’t the best idea,” Pipsqueak insisted to Ocellus, the Arrancar girl turning her gleaming grin towards him with an assuring poke to the side. He held up under her prodding, adjusting his Zanpaktou, freshly sheathed through a red sash that Ocellus had gotten him as a present the other day. “It is the best idea,” Ocellus insisted, “We’ve already scoped this place out, and your mom and my not-mom might need help if things go sideways.” “If they had wanted help, they’d have said so,” Pipsqueak pointed out, but Ocellus just tittered under her breath. “Adults say a lot of stupid things, and never ask for help, or rather they forbid a lot of things because they think they know better. Nothing was even happening back at base anyway, and this will be fun. They probably won’t even know we’re here, and we can check out all these weird candy colored Changelings in the meantime!” “You’re not intending to eat any souls, are you?” Pipsqueak asked, giving Ocellus a sidelong look, “Because you did promise me-” “Relax!” she said, reaching over to tap his shoulder, “I ate plenty before we came.” At his horrified stare, she nearly doubled over with gusts of laughter, “Oh, your face is so precious. No, seriously, I didn’t eat any people’s souls. Some animal snacks.” “Well I suppose that’s acceptable,” Pipsqueak said, having long resigned himself to the understanding that Hollow’s did subsist on souls, although his understanding of just how much they did or didn’t need to eat was still iffy. Ocellus was an unpredictable ball of chaos, but she’d never given him reason to distrust her. Well, aside from being that Espada’s daughter, Ocellus seemed to march to the beat of her own tune, which he’d noted sometimes ran counter to her mother’s.  As for why he’d agreed to her less than well thought through idea of following his own mother on this mission... well in truth he was worried. He didn’t regret giving his mother such a cold shoulder after having first arrived in Equestria, but he’d been watching her. Something was changing in his mother. She’d never treated much of anyone other than himself or his father with any consideration or tenderness, but he’d seen how she’d been trying to... for lack of a better term be a friend to Firefly and this world’s Chrysalis.  He’d felt betrayed by her when he thought she’d turned on all of the virtues of nobility he thought she’d valued, and hence instilled in him growing up. Now he was beginning to think that those virtues had been so focused on him that there’d been no room for other things, even Soul Society, and now she was trying to become more the kind of person he’d first thought of her as.  Regardless, he knew it would be childishness and nothing else if he held on to bitterness towards her. And with the emergence of his Zanpaktou, and the gradual control he was working towards concerning his Inner Hollow, the young noble wanted nothing more than to enact his own will. He was small, still weak, and the world was turning with schemes and plots beyond his understanding or imagining, but he wanted to ensure his mother and the few friends he had now came out the other end of it all relatively intact. Even if one of those friends was a less than mentally stable Arrancar girl. “At any rate, let us wait a little while until my mother and your ‘not-mother’ get inside the hive, then we shall follow,” he said, “We will need to keep out of sight, and be present in case something goes wrong-” “Nope! No hiding for us, we’re going in there to have some fun, which means we find ourselves some new friends to play with while we’re in there. We just need to give you a disguise.” “But I am not a unicorn in this world like my mother is,” Pipsqueak pointed out, “I can’t cast a spell on myself like she just did.” “You can’t, but I can,” Ocellus said with a wink, and in a burst of Changeling fire, she became an onyx black unicorn filly with wide pink eyes and a flaring pink mohawk, “Say hello to Pop Rock, and her little brother Fizzle.” Before he could make a comment or get over his immediate confusion, her horn blasted him with a sparkling sheet of magic, and his own form changed appearance. Not by much, only enough to alter his coat color to match hers, and to give his mop of brown mane a stripe of pink.  “When did you...?” he gasped, and Ocellus, or ‘Pop Rock’, gave off a musical laugh. “Changelings get the abilities of whatever they turn into, and I was already used to shapeshifting back home anyway, so this isn’t all that new to me. The magic was a little funny to figure out, but mom always said I was a natural. Been practicing practically since I got to this world, whenever i wasn’t helping you train or playing with mom. Now c’mon, let’s go!” “Why are you so eager all of a sudden, anyway?” he asked, following her as she began a fast trot out of the bushes, making their own way towards the hive. “Are you kidding? If there’s another me here, I sooooo wanna meet her!” said Ocellus, with a strange light in her eyes that made Pipsqueak more nervous than anything else.  ---------- Sunset sank into the couch without any attempt to hide her sigh of relief. While her pain threshold had increased exponentially since she’d first taken up her Zanpaktou, it was still an immense relief to sit down again. Perhaps it had been a tad foolish to insist on walking about while only her injuries weren’t even a full day into the healing process. Discord’s skills and Fluttershy’s power were both impressive tools to help that process along, but she could tell from the bone deep weariness and howling ache in her muscles that she needed to take it easy. “Does somebody want to get some yummy in her tummy?” Pinkie asked with friendly concern, sliding up towards the door out of the lounge, “Because I can pop right on over to the kitchen and whip up whatever you want, Sunset.” “Thanks, Pinkie, but I’m okay for now,” she said, “But I’ll take you up on that offer soon.” “Sure hope so,” said Rainbow Dash, who’d perched herself on the side of the couch beside Sunset, “Because you look like you’re gonna need it. Heck I’m gonna need it. After the crap we just went through I’m both furiously angry and hungry. Hangry to an epic degree.” “And oh boy you do not want to know what Dashie is like when she’s super hangry!” said Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash gave a firm nod of agreement.  Pacing like she was intending to rip a new dimensional rift into the floor, Applejack grunted at them, followed by a frustrated removal of her stetson to run her hand through her blond locks. “Food talk aside, what’re we planin’ ta do now? How do we get Rarity back?” The question hung like a dense, foul fog in the room. Nobody answered, Pinkie looking downcast while Rainbow’s face looked fit to spit. The door to the lounge opened, causing Pinkie to jump back as Fluttershy came in. Sunset hadn’t seen her leave, but then again she’d been busy settling Wallflower in so she supposed Fluttershy would have had time to go somewhere herself. The where and why of it became apparent as behind Fluttershy came the form of an individual wearing a head to toe jumpsuit of thick, padded white cloth. The outfit was interspersed with stripes of black along the sides, with feet that were clad in rubber soled boots that matched similar black gloves the figure wore on its hands. The head was encased entirely in a masked helmet of white ceramic, with a black faceplate. A few nodes along the fringe of the helmet gave it a high-tech flare, and the black faceplate, upon seeing them, emoted a face of purple lines that looked for all the world like a sad face one might find on an online emote store. “I must sincerely apologize to all of you for my uselessness. ;_; Were I present perhaps I may have rendered some level of additional aid to avoid the tragic loss of Lady Fluttershy’s friend.” “The flippin’ flapjacks is...?” Applejack began, but Pinkie instantly snapped her fingers at the new figure, which only now Sunset noticed had the hilt of a Zanpaktou poking from a strap across his shoulder. “It’s Smoozie! Heya, what’s the haps?” The figure, Smooze, was much taller now than his previous almost childlike form. At this point he stood just an inch shorter than Fluttershy, with a slim build beneath his jumpsuit. Sunset didn’t really want to think about the body that lay underneath that seemingly airtight outfit and helmet, and imagined she had Discord to thank for the arrangement.  “You’re looking better,” she noted, to which Smooze offered a deep and polite bow. “It is all due to the tender kindness of Lady Fluttershy, who has given me such sanctuary. I have been able to recover nearly half of my former power, supping upon the lesser Hollows that your Coalition patrols missed. My noble Lady has kept me informed of the Coalition’s progress, including the sad events of the day. Again, I offer no shortage of apologizes for not being present.” “Nonsense, Smooze,” Fluttershy said, placing a gentle hand on his arm, “You were busy doing me a personal favor. You couldn’t have known what would happen, and even if you had been here, the Zero Division were far too powerful for you to have given us any reasonable help. Oh, don’t look so down, please! I didn’t mean it like that.” “>_< But it is the truth of your words the pierce me so, my Lady. At half my strength, I remain unable to repay your kindness to me.” Clearing her throat, Sunset sat up a bit more on the couch and said, “If it’s okay to ask, what favor were you doing for Fluttershy?” “Well, it was more a favor for me,” said Twilight, appearing in the doorway. Smooze and Fluttershy both moved to the side so Twilight could enter the room, and Sunset was about to greet her friend warmly, but just then she saw the tall, shadowed form coming in right on Twilight’s heels. Even if the lounge wasn’t already crowded, Sombra would have filled it with presence alone. His aura fell like a giant’s hand upon the room. Not spiritual pressure, just the magnetism of the man’s intensity. Sunset had felt a bit of it during the summit, but in this close, cozy proximity, it was a lot harder to ignore. He looked like someone out of time, a dark king clad in armor and cape, arresting the attention of all with an imperious stride but a nearly impossible to read stare in his deep red eyes.  He looked at the silent room, and took a deep breath through his nose before raising a hand, “If this is perhaps not an ideal time, I can wait.” “No, it’s fine,” Sunset said after a moment of collecting her thoughts, eyes sliding briefly towards Twilight for some clue. Her friend just smiled and gave a small gesture with her hand, not quite a wave but more a calming press of her palm that Sunset took as a signal that there was nothing to worry about. Sunset cleared her throat and gestured at a nearby chair, “Take a seat, if you want.” “I will have to depart soon,” Sombra replied, not moving towards the seat, but instead across the room where Applejack had been pacing, but had now halted. He gave Applejack some space and instead took up a post not far from the room’s television, which was a stark and odd contrast to his medieval manner of dress as he turned to regard the room. First his eyes laid upon Smooze, unfriendly but Sombra’s voice remained polite, “Given you no longer hold allegiance to Tirek, and the favor you have done at Twilight’s behest, I shall consider your presence a non-issue, Hollow.” “The King of the Quincy has never been known for mercy among our kind, so I shall take that as the highest regard I can hope for at this juncture. -_-” “Indeed,” Sombra said, eyes flicking to Twilight, “You are certain of the vaccinations?” “Yes,” Twilight replied, addressing the room as a whole, “Smooze, at Fluttershy’s request, allowed me to conduct several tests upon his... uh, unique body. Nothing too invasive, just enough for me to collect a baseline of information on the structure of the diseases contained in him. With those samples, I am confident I can synthesize cures for them. This will not only help Quincy medical research as a whole, but I can actually treat one of our Sternritter, Lightning Dust, who still suffers from her last contact with Smooze.” Smooze made a sound not quite a laugh or a gurgle, his arms folding, “I do not hold any warmth for that wrongheaded woman, but a request from my Lady Fluttershy is not to be ignored.” “And you have my deepest thanks,” Fluttershy said. “It is for this reason and others I speak with you all now,” Sombra proclaimed, with all the gravity of a falling moon, “Between this, and the assistance rendered in preparing an rescue mission for Fleur De Lis, you had already demonstrated to me the value of your Canterlot Spirit Coalition. The battle against the Zero Division today has only cemented this. I will not mince words. Only Twilight Sparkle’s connection to all of you made me consider you all a neutral party, at best, and one I still labored to consider how to best deal with as potential roadblocks to the elimination of the Gotei 13 and the Hollows of Las Noches. Your... alliance with Adagio Dazzle, and clear friendly terms with the Soul Reapers placed you as individuals I would need to one day subdue, even if that put me at odds with Twilight, who has rapidly become indispensable to me.” “Sombra...” Twilight, by the surprised and even unsettled light in her eyes, was only just now hearing of the fact that Sombra had been considering Sunset and the others as potential enemies. He gave her a look that Sunset had a hard time placing; something between the pride of a parent and the rumination of a ruler who was embarrassed that a subordinate had been proven right about something. “You needn’t concern yourself with that any longer, Twilight. You, and your friends, have convinced me. As of this moment I am decided that the Quincy shall ally ourselves with the Canterlot Spirit Coalition, and to enact an armistice with the forces of the Gotei 13. Assuming that Scopan’s successor and the other Captains agree to it, and I can quell the dissent that will rise in our own ranks form this, the war between us shall cease.” “Hold up, isn’t an ‘armistice’ basically just a temporary cease fire?” asked Rainbow Dash, and at Applejack’s look, she grumbled, “What!? I know what an ‘armistice’ is. I pay attention in class sometimes too, ya know?” A brief chuckle reverberated from Sombra, but it was soon replaced by a tone of as deathly serious as drawn steel. “You are not wrong to point that out, Miss Dash. As things presently stand it will take all of my considerable influence as the sole ruler of my Quincy children to convince them to accept even a simple armistice. Only the apparent temporary nature of such an arrangement, combined with the far greater threat represented by the Zero Division, will provide enough leverage to quiet the loudest and most violently inclined naysayers among my Quincy. I can command much from them, but this will test their wills and loyalty to me sorely, for I’ve spent centuries honing their hatred of Hollow and Soul Reaper alike.” “Hmph, sounds like the chicken’s comin’ home ta roost if ya ask me,” Applejack stated with no lack of dryness, “Not that I don’t appreciate ya willin’ ta finally look ta ending this dumb war, but ain’t easy ta ferget that yer one o’ the ones responsible fer perpetuatin’ it fer so damn long.” “That is not lost on me,” Sombra said, eyes cutting towards the farmgirl without warmth, but also without denial of her accusation, “As you insinuate, any troubles I face in controlling my Quincy is my own fault, for I created them to be warriors first, with peace always seen as a distant dream only achievable through the destruction of our enemies. I will bear the burden of... slowly disabusing them of this fanaticism, and can only hope that the pains of it be largely my own to bear, and not theirs.” “We’ll be able to do it together, Sombra,” said Twilight, a potent note of conviction lightening her voice and her expression, “I know we will. Whatever it may take, we’ll bring about peace between everyone.” He looked at her with a sad smile, holding his hands out to his sides in a gesture of mock surrender, “I accept your chosen course, Twilight. It will not be a simple thing, however. The Soul Reapers may see reason, but what plans are there for Tirek and his Hollows? Your arrangement with Adagio Dazzle is still fundamentally built upon mutual benefit, and the hint that she might one day depose Tirek. Yet she still lacks the power to do this, does she not?” “Welllll....” Twilight made a show of glancing up at the ceiling, as if calculating in her head, “Adagio has kept me abreast of her intentions. She has a few Privaron Espada on board, and at least two, maybe three of the present Espada on her side. She’s been recruiting any adrift Arrancar who hasn’t already pledged to an Espada, plus extended offers to even non-Arrancar Hollows in Huecuo Mundo’s more remote regions. She’s building a decent army of it all, if still a fairly loose knit alliance.” “And not enough to defeat Tirek, even if he stood alone,” Sombra stated bluntly, “This alongside the fact that we know the Second Espada, Chrysalis, and her substantial horde, alongside the Third, Catrina, remain loyal to him. Even I would hesitate to attack the combined forces of those three with our full complement of Sternritter, not unless I was willing to sacrifice at least two thirds of our number; which I am not.” Sunset cut in then, grimacing slightly at the pain as she sat up straighter on the couch, “Look, I fought Tirek, and I get it. He’s absurdly powerful. If his next best two supporters even hold a candle to him, they’re trouble too. But assuming Tirek is going to be stubborn enough to not recognize that Zero Division is too big a problem for him to handle alone, is it really impossible that we can’t take him and his loyalists on? If it were all of us? The Coalition, the Quincy, and the Gotei 13?” This did give Sombra some pause, his dark eyes considering carefully, “Perhaps. Even if Scorpan has fallen, his remaining Captains are a formidable force. If they were willing... but first I would still need to fully pacify my own people. That will take time. On top of that, Twilight still needs to enact her rescue operation of Fleur De Lis.” “Which I was going to ask if you girls wanted to help with,” Twilight said, blushing a shade of darker purple as she nodded at Sunset, “Although with you injured, and Rarity elsewhere...” “Yeah,” Sunset replied softly, “I’m not going to be much use for a little bit, but what did you need, exactly? We helped you get a some kind of Quincy tracer on Fleur, right?” “Yes,” Twilight said, “Your bout with Tirek was the perfect distraction, and with Fluttershy’s help, we attached a modified tracer to Fleur without any Hollows being any the wiser. I got a clear signal on her location and can maintain a fix on her any time we need. It’s just a matter of using that to extract her from wherever Guto is keeping her. I don’t need a lot of firepower for this. This would be more a matter of subtlety.” “Heh, kinda rules me out of the op, doesn’t it?” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug, “Not exactly the stealth oriented type over here.” “I would like to go, if that’s alright,” said Fluttershy, “I believe I have some personal reasons to ensure that Guto is not allowed to harm anyone any further.” “Well our goal isn’t to take out Guto, just get Fleur De Lis out...” Twilight said, but then rubbed her chin, “Although Adagio has definitely placed him as a non-ally, so if we managed to take him out of the picture, it’d just be one less hostile Espada to worry about down the road.” “Yikes, sugarcube, didn’t realize ya’d gotten quite that ruthless while gettin’ all Quincied up,” Applejack said, causing a flash of embarrassed indignation to flow over Twilight. “I-I’m not being ruthless, just practical! I mean, we’ll be relying on Adagio’s assistance for this anyway, so you just see if she doesn’t bring up the possibility of removing Guto. She’s way more ruthless than I am. Hmph.” Applejack snorted out a low laugh, “Relax, hun, wasn’t a’ criticism. Like it or not, we’re still fightin’ a war, an’ yer not ‘bout ta see me cryin’ over a fella like Guto gettin’ the long goodnight.” Next to Pinkie Pie there was a rising tendril of frothing pink energy that resolved itself into the upper body of Pinkamena, licking her sharp teeth, “No kidding. Anyone we take out is just one less problem to deal with later. How about you bring me and Pinks along for the party as well?” “Ahem, either way, our main goal would be extracting Fleur. Ideally without raising any alarm,” Twilight said, to which Pinkie Pie leaned on Pikamena and the pair talked simultaneously, overlapping one another. “No problemo Twiliy, we’re perfect for pulling off the silent takedown routine-” “-and if by chance things do go loud, you couldn’t ask for a better distraction than us, long as you don’t mind us taking a few bites out of Guto’s crew.” Twilight considered that, and gave a firm nod, “Very well, I’ll gladly accept you and Fluttershy on the team. Both of your powersets would be extremely helpful. I’ll be taking in Sugarcoat as well, with the rest of my Quincy friends as backup. Sombra, I was also going to see if I could bring in Cinch?” “Cinch?” he said, not hiding his surprise, “Why her, of all people?” “Her Schrift is our best chance of being able to exit Las Noches after we have Fleur without having to fight our way through half the Arrancar army. I don’t really need her to fight, but having her in place to get us out once we’re in would be preferable,” Twilight said, to which Sombra nodded accent. “Sensible enough, assuming you trust her to do as she’s told.” “Well if he doesn’t she’ll have you to answer to, wouldn’t she?” Twilight replied. Sunset got the impression Twilight actually liked the idea of being put in charge of her former principal. She certainly radiated a good deal more confidence and a self-assured sense of command that Twilight had lacked in the days before her involvement with the Quincy.  “When would this be going down, anyway?” Sunset asked, and Twilight gave a frown of thought. “I’d want at least a day or two to contact Adagio and coordinate our plans. Let’s say early morning, two days from now?” “Gives us time to sort out other matters,” Sunset said, thinking of Wallflower and Rarity both. They still had no idea what that Dragon had been doing in town or why it had gone after Wallflower, if all people. And Sunset would be damned if she was just going to sit on her thumbs and do nothing about Rarity being trapped in Hell. Then there was the whole other matter of needing to go to Equestria, and the pathway to get there being through a portal that’d lead right into the Beast Realm. The fact that a Dragon from the Beast Realm had come to Canterlot City right around the same time the portal had been shifted to that Realm couldn’t have been just coincidence. But what it actually meant, Sunset couldn’t even begin to guess.  “Oh, OH!” Twilight nearly jumped as she snapped her fingers, “That’s right, I almost forgot! About Rarity!” She rapidly reached into the buttoned up portion of her white uniform jacket and pulled out a small notebook with a purple binding and a symbol on it that Sunset instantly recognized as a set of blue diamonds that was a pattern that Rarity often favored on her clothing. She’d long since stopped trying to work out why some of her friends seemed to naturally have symbols on their clothes that so often matched the cutie marks of their pony counterparts. She chalked it up to multidimensional weirdness that likely had no rational answer.  “Oooh, that’s nifty? What is it?” Pinkie Pie asked, “And why does it totally smell like Rarity’s shampoo and hair conditioner?” Twilight blinked, then sniffed the notebook, looking flabbergasted, “Wait, it does smell like- but why would...? Argh, never mind that! What’s important isn’t what the notebook smells like, but what it does!” She opened it to the first page and slapped it down on the coffee table between the couch and chairs. She then pulled out a pen and sat down in front of the notebook, “You see, with Midnight’s help, I replicated the same magic spells used in Sunset’s journal to Princess Twilight. This notebook is mystically tied so that if I or anyone else writes in it, it will reach Rarity.” “Holy cow! That’s so freakin’ awesome!” Rainbow Dash said, “Will this actually reach her in Hell!?” “I don’t know for sure, but since the magic could transfer across the boundary of worlds between Equestria and here, I don’t see any reason it couldn’t reach through to Hell,” Twilight said, then Sunset leaned over it, ignoring the pain in her body at the sudden motion. “This is impressive, Twilight, but... when did you have time to do this? And how and when did you tie it to Rarity? I didn’t see her with a notebook of her own.” Twilight’s face flushed, “W-well, you see, the thing about that is that you’re right, Rarity didn’t have a notebook of her own. And this plan was just what me and Midnight came up with on the fly when we realized she was intending to sacrifice herself to the Gates to ensure none of you were trapped with her. Midnight and I, we just sort of rapidly cast the spell without thinking. The first half of the spell we anchored to Rarity’s body, and only afterward finished the full spell on this notebook to link the two. So, um, if we write on this, the letters will appear... on Rarity. Somewhere. I’m not entirely sure where, but probably just her arm.” “Or her face,” Rainbow Dash noted. “Or her back,” Applejack added. “Or her bu-” Pinkie Pie started, but Fluttershy cut her off. “But it doesn’t matter,” said Fluttershy with confidence, “It’s still a way to communicate with her, and that’s far better than nothing.” By now Twilight’s face had flushed to a crimson burn, “I didn’t really have time to consider the awkward manner in which this might work.” A real blossom of optimism flared up inside Sunset and she gave Twilight a warm smile, “Don’t worry about it, this is great. I mean, not that Rarity is in Hell, but at least with a way to communicate with her we’ve got a much better chance of working out how to break her free of there.” “Excactomundo!” said Pinkie, “You should totally write her now, to check that it works.” Pinkamena in turn hovered over the notebook with a curious eye, “What do you guys think Hell is like?” “Probably not party-oriented,” Pinkie noted, “But if anyone could liven the place up, it’s Rarity.  “Well, don’t keep us waiting, Twilight,” Sunset said, gesturing at the pen in the other girl’s hand, but Twilight shook her head and held the pen towards Sunset. “It should be you. You’re better at this kind of thing than I am.” Sunset raised her right hand, still very much encased in a wooden cast that was barely movable, and shook her head, “My writing hand isn’t up to it, I’m afraid. C’mon Twilight, it’s easy. Just write something short and simple, to check if she’s alright.” “Go for it, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash encouraged, and after a hesitant moment, Twilight gulped and bent over the notebook. It was only as she started to write that Sunset thought about her journal. Specifically the way it would glow and vibrate whenever she received a message from Princess Twilight. “Uh, out of curiosity, you said you replicated the spell exactly like it was on mine?” ---------- “What in the heavens!?” Rarity, exclaiming with a brief jump as her whole body started to vibrate and glow with a faint blue luminescence. “Shhhh!” Cozy said with a snap, at first pointing to the distance where a pair of Kushanada could be seen standing guard over a vast, horizontal portal that was situated within a vast cleft between labyrinthine walls, “You trying to get us caught? Also, did you know you were buzzing and glowing? That normal?” Their group was concealing themselves some two hundred yards from the Gate that would lead from the First Layer of Hell to the Second, using the edge of a taller stone platform to stay out of the Kushanada’s sight. The immense giants stood still as statues, their baleful yellow eyes flickering like demon lights, fists clenched tightly around their cleavers. Fortunately neither stirred at Rarity’s outburst, for she’d had just enough presence of mind to keep her volume low. Still, she looked herself over in alarm, trying to discern why she was quite suddenly so aglow and vibrating in a most tingly fashion. On the other side of Cozy, Sunburst had looked up with alarm, while Blueblood, to Rarity’s right hand side and kneeling, looked at the side of her face that was turned towards him and blinked, “Why, there’s letters appearing upon your cheek.” “There’s what?” Rarity said, baffled by his words. However, she was a quick thinker, and with a small, suppressed amount of spirit energy she crafted a red crystal disc in her hand, polished to as much of a mirror finish as she could make it. While the reflection was still tinted red, she could look at herself clearly and see Blueblood was right. Writing was etching itself across her right cheek, just beneath her eye and tracing along down towards her jaw in a small, neatly written print that she recognized. “Why, that’s Twilight’s handwriting!” she said in a shocked whisper. “Who?” Cozy asked, voice growing a bit irate. “Just a moment,” Rarity told her, concentrating on reading the letters. In the mirror they were of course backwards, but it was no great feat to read the words as long as she took a moment to work it out in her head. ‘Used a copy of Sunset’s journal spell on you. Everyone is worried about you and hopes you’re okay. We’ll figure out a way to get you out. Any information on your end will be handy. Don’t know where this will appear on you, so won’t say more for now. You can write on yourself to reply. Please let us know you got this message.’ By the time the letters stopped, they’d reached nearly to her chin, but Rarity had no trouble reading them, and afterward let out a huge sigh. Her chest felt lighter, near impossibly so, just to know that her friends had a means to contact her. She silently praised Twilight’s quick thinking, however unorthodox, in making use of such a spell.  She felt a tap of cold chains on her shoulder, and saw the metal links dangling beside her as Cozy frowned, her scared side crinkling like worn leather, “Hey, I am not used to being out of the loop, so how about you enlighten us about why your face is suddenly tattooing itself with chicken scratch?” Rarity brushed the chains aside, “Let us try for some politeness first, shall we? You are familiar with the word ‘please’, I take it?” Sharp air was sucked in through Cozy’s nose, let out like the hiss of a cobra as she smiled in dainty, girlish fashion so forced it was like looking at a grotesque doll, “Oh pretty please tell me what the fuck is up with your glowing face writing, Miss Rarity, as I’d ever so much appreciate knowing. With a big old lump of sugar on top?” Sunburst cleared his throat, “That is, um, about as polite as she’s going to get, I think. I’m pretty curious, myself. You clearly weren’t expecting this any more than we were.” “True,” Rarity admitted, and took a minute or two to explain things to her companions. This did take a bit of a detour, as to explain the journal spell Twilight had apparently applied to Rarity’s body also required briefly explaining the existence of magic itself, along with the other world of Equestria. “You’re kidding?” Cozy eventually said, and at Rarity’s deadpan look the girl just shook her head in plain amazement, “You’re not kidding. Magic. Like, literal hocus pocus, bibidi-babidi-boo, alaka-goddamn-zam magic? And this text-to-check thing is a spell that just casually zips info right on past the boundaries of Hell itself to pop up on your perfect, pearly skin? Oh golly gee holy freakin’ willikers! Do you have any idea what this means!?” It was rather unsettling to Rarity just how fast this child’s mood swings seemed to take her. A second ago she seemed ready to slit Rarity’s throat over having to be a tad polite. Now she all but cavorted like a mad little gremlin in a candy store around Rarity. Still keeping her voice down, of course, because of the nearby Kushanada, but Cozy Glow was grinning with what appeared to be genuine mirth as she slid up and wrapped arms around Rarity’s waist, and with inhuman strength twirled the girl around with a laugh. “You just went from ‘kind of interesting and I might keep you around if you don’t piss me off’ to ‘most useful person in all the Layers of Hell’! Wow, I’m getting dizzy just thinking about it.” “Yes, that’s lovely, can you put me down now?” asked Rarity, and Cozy paused, and seemed to realize her behavior was somewhat ruining whatever self image she had of herself as a hardened gang leader in Hell, so she dropped Rarity and strode next to Sunburst, elbowing the man. “Sunny, you get what this means, right? She can send messages clean and clear to Earth. If magic is this powerful, this is our ticket out of here. Also, you can finally get a message to that girlfriend you’ve been pining about for years.” Sunburst grunted, looking away, “My friend who is a girl, not a girlfriend. And I don’t even know if Starlight still remembers me, let alone would know what to do with a message from me. Besides, Rarity’s friends might not even know who she is.” “They live in the same city, right? How hard could it be to track one person down? Starlight Glimmer. Overly dramatic. I totally bet she’s the type to visit your grave, like, every week. Easy peasy to find her,” Cozy said with confidence. “You’re making so many leaps of logic I’m not even able to keep up,” Sunburst said, scratching his head before looking at Rarity, “Although it’s true that this could be useful in finding a way to escape, assuming you’d be willing to help us?” Rarity had kept her face placid and considering, making a point of not showing any particular twitch or gasp that might give away that she recognized Starlight Glimmer’s name. Although at this point it would get harder to keep that secret, so she wasn’t sure if there was any point in keeping the information from Sunburst. But her mind was quickly conjuring unpleasant notions that the last thing she might want to do was provide an easy way out of Hell for Cozy Glow or anyone who followed her. Granted, the souls trapped here were being served a punishment perhaps too extreme even for the worst offenders, but by the same token if Rarity’s friends did find a way for her and Blueblood to escape, and a whole legion of very angry and violent Sinners with Hell-fueled superpowers escaped into the living world as well... She had to tread carefully. Very carefully. Sunburst might be here unjustly. Even the likes of Cozy Glow might not deserve the horrific fate this dismal dimension would eventually give them. But Rarity also could not afford to just throw open the gates of egress without nary a thought for the potential consequences to the world of the living.  “My lady, are you quite alright?” asked Blueblood, and Rarity realized she’d been quietly starring at Sunburst, who was starting to return her stare with a frowning tilt of his head. Composing herself, Rarity forced a smile and said, “Just reeling in relief at knowing I can contact my friends. Ahem, as to  your question, Sunburst, it’s possible my friends might be able to help us. Obviously I can offer no guarantees, but they’re an eclectic bunch with various resources at their disposal. Let us take this one step at a time, shall we?” With that said, she flicked her wrist and summoned forth a glittering quill of red crystal. She adjusted the construct’s consistency so that the crystalline structure became like liquid towards the tip, forming a red ink quite like blood. A tad morbid, but it was what she had to work with, lacking an actual pen. Presuming that if the spell generated writing on her body from whatever Twilight was using on her end, then Rarity imagined she could pen a reply by writing on herself. Hopefully her arm would suffice. As Sunburst looked on with hope and Cozy Glow with hunger, Rarity rolled up the sleeve of her arm and began to write.