//------------------------------// // Episode 185: Counting Dominoes // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 185: Counting Dominoes “You really ought to be in bed,” Discord said with an air of understanding his words were already going to be ignored. Before him, Ditzy stood in front of a seemingly long, stretching hallway of steel, lined on either side by thick doors of a faintly green metal sheen. Each door was coated in bands of cloth printed with sealing wards, and the metal itself was not steel, but a reishi treated alloy of Discord’s own design. These cells were within the lowest area of his “shop”, a dungeon for sealing way problematic experiments, or individuals.  “I feel fine,” Ditzy replied, a faint grunt of pain afterward giving the lie away as she still held herself tall and straight, “I’ll live. Just wanted to listen in while you grill our guest. Then I’m going home to my daughter for the rest of the day, and probably tomorrow.” “That should probably be fine,” Discord said, still eyeing her injury as he walked past her towards one of the cells several doors down, “Even if there is another incident, I’ll handle the matter myself so you can recover. Sunset needs time too, not just to recover from her injuries, but to bond more thoroughly with Hokori no Hikari.” “Huh, you mean apologize for nearly breaking her sword?” Ditzy said with a tired half-laugh, following him, “I doubt she even realizes how close she came to doing that, overclocking those black flames against Bowtie. That girl is something else, but she still doesn’t get what she’s capable of, or how to reel herself in. Saw the same damn thing back in Soul Society, and I’m just glad I was there to give her at least a little guidance. But she’s quickly gotten to the point where I’m not sure there’s much either you or me can do for her, Discy. Soon enough, she’s going to be stronger than either of us, and if she doesn’t have a handle on her power by then...” “I am well aware...” Discord said, and let the exhaustion briefly show as he gave his old friend a helpless, tired look, but one still touched by a bit of hopeful mirth, “I lack your parental experience, but I sometimes imagine if this constant terror for another’s well being combined with pride at their growth is something akin to fatherhood. Regardless, I think it is fortunate that I never had children. It is a harrowing experience.” “Aw, finally fessing up to how you see those girls?” Ditzy goaded him, and he perhaps once would have brushed her teasing off, but this time he couldn’t quite bring himself to do so. “Oh, I am not so presumptuous. Most of them, against all tropes, do still have their parents in their lives, one manner or another.” “Except for Sunset.” “...Well, in her case I still feel it a stretch to suggest I’m any replacement for a proper father figure. I am quite bereft of the qualifications. But I have done my best to be a mentor, at least. I hope I’ve guided her well enough. I don’t know how much more I have left to contribute to her growth. Much now rests on her own shoulders.” He paused in front of the door on the left, at the end of the long, stretching hall, and he waved Ditzy off, “At any rate, enough of that. We’ve a prisoner to chat with. Let us see what mood she is in.” At a gesture, he partially deactivated the outer layer of wards around the cell. The cloth straps rippled like living things, snapping back into recesses within the doorframe. With a great clunk of shifting metal, the door slid to the side to allow access. Passing through, Discord entered a cylindrical chamber with a open hole in the floor about twenty feet in diameter, with a five foot catwalk around it. A field of thick green energy covered the cole, reinforced by more warded straps of cloth. About another twenty feet down in the hole was the cell floor, where inside a rather furiously glaring Bubbles, who’d heard the doors open, was seen shouting. No sound could be heard past the ward, but Discord could imagine the threats and obscenities coming from the Zero Division Attendant’s mouth. Bubbles had been disarmed of her weapon. Discord had spent some time analyzing it, as it wasn’t quite like a Zanpaktou as far as he could tell, but something different and likely unique to Attendants. This was his first opportunity to really study one of the Zero Division’s chosen servants up close, as these cells doubled as examination laboratories, fully equipped with any number of sensors and probes of both material and metaphysical nature.  Clearing his throat and activating a communication stub on a intercom near the cell wall, he said, “Now, now, let’s have no more of yelling, otherwise this is going to take all day, and I truly do not care about whatever threats you’re tossing about.” “Oh you’ll be sooooo sorry once Mistress Minty comes back for me! You’ve never seen what she can do to someone’s flesh without killing them, but believe you me, Discord, my Mistress is the last person in existence you wish to make angry!” “In that case I can’t imagine why you’d wish to return to her so quickly, given your utter failure to accomplish the task she set for you. Is Minty in the habit of being forgiving towards those who fail her?” Discord asked, while Ditzy took up a leaning position on the wall, yawning. Bubbles' eyes twitched, but then she tittered, albeit with some hidden nerves showing in the unevenness of her laugh, “Hahaha! My divine Mistress is not some petty villain who punishes her servants for every little trifle! She is forgiving to those who are devout, and none among her chosen are more devoted than I am! That is why any interrogation you intend is pointless, pointless, pointless! I’ll never give up any information you could use against my Mistress. Never in a million, billion, trillion years! So do your worst! I can withstand any torture you could inflict upon me!”   “While I confess a part of me is tempted to put your claim to the test, I’m afraid I left my own villain top hat and black cape in my closet,” Discord said, while Ditzy snickered. “He’s not joking. He’s actually got the ensemble. Even looks half decent in it.” “Hmm, but I prefer my present hat, thank you very much,” Discord replied, tapping his trademark white and green striped hat affectionately, then turned his gaze back down towards Bubbles in the cell below. “However I’ve neither the time nor patience for an actual ‘interrogation’ by such methods. I haven’t the need. Not when there are far more efficient means of extracting information out of an individual, especially when situated in such a... special cell.” A bit of Bubble’s bravado faltered as her eyes started to dart about the cell with suspicious unrest, “What delivery are you plotting? I’ll break out of here, I swear it!” She did make a decent go of trying to smash her way through the wards. Discord had to admit that these Attendants were given an impressive bit of power, as he watched her Flash Step around at full speed, punching and kicking the walls and ward field with enough strength that he could feel some of the shockwaves through the ground. But he’d built these cells to hold almost anything short of himself. Yes, some Captains would still be able to break free, and higher ranked Espada, but he was fairly confident the cell would hold against Bubbles, especially without her weapon on hand.  She gave a frustrated yell, falling to her knees after a few minutes of failed attempts to break out, which gave Discord time to boot up the systems he’d need to use. Aside from the various sensors for analysis of captured subjects, the cells were equipped with an array of other more... intense and invasive devices.  He was glad none of the girls asked too many questions or showed a lot of interest in being a part of questioning Bubbles. While nothing he was about to do would be lethal, or even all that painful, this was still a side of this that gave him shameful reminders of his days running Hitsuyo-Aku.  Bubble’s head snapped left and right as along the walls of her cell, circles of dark purple energy emerged as something akin to Kido spells were activated, and from these holes emerged skeletal hands of metal and conjured bone. These hands shot out, growing to inhumane length as they flew at Bubbles faster than she could Flash Step away from. They grabbed her limbs and held her like a vice, immobilizing her not through physical strength, but by draining spiritual energy. She certainly still struggled, but the cells could produce dozen of these summoned skeletal hands, enough to fill the entire cell. Once she was thoroughly incapacitated, Discord activated the next function, which created another conjured Kido in the shape of a beast, this one a long, stretched out creature of black fur with the back end being that of a panther, but the front end that of a jackal with sightless pits for eyes. This creature floated through a hole in the ground and flew up, curling around Bubble’s head until its eyeless pits stared right at hers. Then small violet flames appeared in its eyes, and ghostly light connected those eyes to Bubble’s.  “This gonna take awhile?” Ditzy asked, “I remember you once telling me this Glawackus thing can vary in how long it takes for it to sift through a mind.” “Yes, well, when I first developed it, I didn’t have sufficient data to refine its technique, so even a weak mind could take days. I’ve improved the model significantly since then, in case we ever had such a... distinguished guest in our cells,” Discord said, without any real pride that might have once felt in his work. Much like the conjured hands, the Glawackus was not a living thing, but a construct summoned by Kido spells built into the cell itself. It was like a viral program that might scan a computer for information, but in this instance it sifted through memories, looking for specified information. Much like the design for these prison cells, the Glawackus was a creation from his Hitsuyo-Aku days, and kept on hand just in case it might ever prove useful. It was limited in a number of ways, still. For one, it did need to know generally what information to look for. One couldn’t give it too broad a search criteria.  Fortunately Discord knew more or less what to tell it to look for inside Bubble’s mind. Most basic information about the Zero Division wouldn’t be useful, since they’d already make a fairly poignant demonstration of their abilities already. What Discord wanted instead was the layout of the Soul Palace, something even he wasn’t very familiar with, and if there were any known ways to get in and out of there besides use of the Queen’s Key, or the transportation pillar the Zero Division used.  Anything else was largely superfluous. He didn’t doubt any of the girls’ abilities to tackle the likes of Bubbles and her fellow Attendants, and the Zero Division itself was such a large issue that any details Bubbles could provide would be meaningless in the long run. But a way into the Soul Palace was rather key, and there was no guarantee of one, even if Sunset and the girls reached Equestria. Best case scenario, they’d defeat Starlight Glimmer, or forge a truce, and gain access to the Queen’s Key. But if that failed, a backup would be handy, alongside details of the Soul Palace’s layout.  “You planning on turning her loose after this?” Ditzy inquired.  “On the chance that Minty does decide to come looking for her it would be for the best, but I certainly wasn’t going to pass up a chance to gather what little intel we can first,” Discord said, watching the Glawackus do it’s work with grim satisfaction, “The battles to come are going to be impossible enough, as is.” ---------- Sunset felt immediately that something was different about her Inner World, although it wasn’t apparent at first glance. The mixture of two school’s architecture still surrounded her, the familiar white marble pillars and archways of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and the orderly lockers and fluorescent lighting of Canterlot High School blended together as one. Doors to classrooms on subjects both arcane and modern, as if her old life and new life were firmly fused together.  But she soon saw the damage. Scorch marks upon the walls were hidden partially by shadows cast by charred lighting fixtures. Her footfalls echoed on soot stained tiles, and as she peered into classrooms she saw some lacked lighting, or had burnt desks and bookshelves. Indeed the deeper she walked down the halls, the more she smelled the dry sting of ash in the air, and her stomach clenched more and more with a dreadful, piercing feeling. Ahead lay the grand doors that looked so similar to the ones that led to Celestia’s throne room. Sunset was at least a little relieved to see that these weren’t damaged, but she came up short as with a groan the doors opened, and she saw the one opening them.  “Hikari!” Sunset ran up to the second of her Zanpaktou spirits, representing her ‘Light’, and nearly grabbed the angelic mirror of herself before Hikari raised a hand to stop her. “Hello Sunset. Please, don’t panic at the sight of me. It’s... not as bad as it looks.” Indeed, Sunset’s moment of panic stemmed from the fact that Hikari didn’t look any better off than she was, and lacked the benefit of bandages and cast to hide the scarring and burn tissue that marred Hikari’s otherwise beautiful and ethereal features. Her elaborate dress of white and pink was now marred with frayed marks of burned black, especially around the right side where Sunset had incurred the worst of her injuries from the use of the black flames. Hikari’s face remained kind and supportive, even if tense from pain, and Sunset couldn’t stop herself from bowing her head and nearly bursting into tears. “I’m so sorry,” she said, “I didn’t mean to get you hurt. Either of you. Where... where is Hokori?” Hikari’s hand graced Sunset’s head with a gentle pat, “She’s here. Come. We’ve much to discuss.” Hikari led Sunset past the doors and into the throne chamber, although in truth Sunset tended to think of it more like simply the height of her Inner World, as it had always stood at the top of a clear blue sky and sea of clouds, like a magical terrace of marble stone leading to her throne upon which she could look out on the horizons of her Inner World.  The clear sky was now overcast and cloudy itself, the lower ocean of clouds beneath the throne painted in ashen gray. Her throne was intact, and she saw Hokori laying on it, slumped and with stormy eyes herself. Hokori looked even worse off than Hikari, the burned scar tissue showing grotesquely upon the whole of her right side, but Sunset’s ‘Pride’ was more willful than ever and stubbornly showed none of the pain that swam in her eyes as she rose from the throne and slammed hands to her hips. Demon wings spread and Hokori flew down to meet Sunset and Hikari, voice dripping ire as one hand grabbed Sunset by the collar. “What the hell was THAT back there!?” Hokori shouted in Sunset’s face, “You do remember what we’ve told you about the Black Flame, right!? If you can’t control it, it’ll destroy whatever it touches. Including us.” Sunset clenched her teeth, at first raising a hand to grip Hokori’s arm, but at the last moment she let her hand fall and she looked away, “I’m sorry. When I saw Rarity... when those Gates closed on her I just...” “Like I don’t know that!” Hokori said, letting Sunset go and stalking away, “You think me and Hikari didn’t feel what you were feeling!? This place got drenched in the Black Flame when that happened, and there was nothing we could do to stop that flood without your help. This place is as much yours as it is ours, so if you go ballistic, there’s jack all me and my sister can do to stop you.” Hikari cleared her throat and, one hand firmly grasping Sunset’s shoulder, she stepped towards Hokori, “Let us not put all of this solely upon Sunset’s shoulders. We’ve both known a moment like this would come, and there was an outside influence this time making matters worse.” “Outside influence?” Sunset said, and Hokori, back still turned to her, made a small groaning growl and gestured to the throne itself. Only now did Sunset take note of an odd change to it. Several chains of blackened iron now dangled from the arms of the throne, clinking as they slowly swayed, despite the lack of a breeze. With her spiritual senses she stretched towards those chains, and within them felt an echo of the heated power of Hell that she’d felt herself absorb when she’d cut the chains around Rarity.  Licking her lips, she glanced at her twin Zanpaktou spirits, “Okay, so what does this mean? I felt the Hogyoku pull in some energy from Hell, and it’s... what, now inside me?” “It’s not all that’s changed,” Hokori said, grunting in pain as she sat on the steps leading up to the throne, “If you take a stroll through the halls, you’ll see some of the rooms are taking on qualities from your pals. That’s been happening for a while. The chains are the newest addition. We took a bite out of Hell, but it also is taking a bite out of us.” Sunset gave a hard frown, and strolled past Hokori and went up to the throne. She halted as the chains writhed, clinking and rising towards her. One tried to snake its way around her arm but she pulled back, and the chains halted, seemingly unable to move far from the throne. Still, they hovered and wavered like animals scenting food, and Sunset could easily imagine them wrapping around her entirely if she sat down on the throne.  “As you can see, this Hell energy is foreign to us and seems to want to follow an instinct to bind other energies,” Hikari said, coming up beside her. “While the injuries myself and Hokori have suffered will recover in time, we’re a bit at a loss as to what to do about this new development.” “Is this going to interfere with our ability to fight?” Sunset asked, and Hokori snorted at her. “You’re not that simple, are you? Of course it is! Our throne is the fundamental symbol of our power here. I figured you’d understand that when you tossed me off it to take it for yourself. Having these upstart chains infesting it weakens us, unless you can either remove them or force them into submission.” “Hokori tends to look at things in such a straightforward manner,” Hikari said, although her own town suggested she wasn’t any more thrilled with the situation than her twin was, “I sense a limited will behind the chains, like an echo of the much larger force they were once a part of. I believe they can be tamed, and only you can do so.” “Makes sense to me,” Sunset said, taking a deep breath to steel herself, “This is my world, so if something wants to take up space here, I’m not letting it do so rent free. We’ve got way too much work to do to let a little speed bump like this slow us down.” “Hmph, at least you get that much,” Hokori said, “Until you deal with this irritation, we can’t get to the real business of finally getting you to control the Black Flames without cooking us like crispy bacon.” For a moment Sunset wondered just how to go about “taming” these chains, which were effectively just a representation of the small sliver of power she’d absorbed from Hell. All things considered, she concluded that there wasn’t anything for it but to just dive in and see what happened. Cracking her knuckles, she stepped forward towards her throne. The chains rose, stretching towards her, but this time she didn’t falter or shrink back. She went right to the throne and took her seat. The chains reacted almost immediately, wrapping her arms tightly and with an almost living hunger. Sunset felt a sharp burn as the abnormal heat of something molten and foreign to her own flames began to burrow into her being.  She took a sharp breath and focused against the pain, and let her own reiatsu flare up, pushing back against the chains. The chains were stubborn things, she knew this well from how relentless they had been in taking Rarity. Like white hot slivers, Sunset felt the chains drilling into her, ripping at her power. Despite the increasing pain, Sunset hardened her reiatsu and gradually started to halt the chains’ progress. The dark metal links shuddered in a cascade of metallic clinking, unable to pierce her flesh more deeply than a few millimeters, but Sunset could tell they were going to keep trying. Down at the foot of the stairs, Hokori had stood back up and now was next to Hikari, both of them watching her with intensity. “They certainly are trying hard to bind you, Sunset, but don’t forget that Rarity endured far more than this,” Hikari said, “Remember her strength and your feelings for your friend, and draw power from that just as she draws power from you.” “Our Pride was injured, watching her get taken from us,” Hokori said, “All of that anger and hate for the Zero Division is what fuels that Black Flame, but without the will to sharpen it into a blade, it rages and consumes indiscriminately. Remember what you’ve learned, that Pride without guidance is just empty ego, but Pride with purpose is a fire that never fades. Show these tiny little chains that Hell didn’t dampen Rarity’s Pride, and it isn’t a match for ours either!” The words of her Zanpaktou spirits resonated deep within Sunset, for they were just echoes of her own feelings, spoken back to her through the bond shared with her blade. Losing Rarity, first to death, then to Hell, was a realization of her worst fears. That she wasn’t strong enough to protect her friends. That indeed, being friends with her was hurting her friends, and that their lives may well have been better off if they’d never met Sunset Shimmer. But that was the lie born of fear, her ever present foe. The Zero Division used fear as one of their most potent weapons, and Hell was a personification of that fear; a prison of final punishment for whomever the Zero Division deemed unfit for existence.  The notion was an affront to everything Sunset Shimmer held dear. All souls deserved the continuous opportunity to grow, change, and learn from past mistakes. She certainly had. And she was damn proud of the fact, too! A Pride that turned to Light, which she wished to spend her life using to inspire others. Others like Adagio, who had gone from a petty siren seeking power, to a respectable leader of others who was looking to make Hueco Mundo itself a better place. Others like Twilight Sparkle, who had once been a recluse, but now had such inner strength she was inspiring the leader of the Quincy to begin the process of ending a centuries long war. And each of her friends, who had stood through her through so much, were capable of amazing things themselves, leaving Sunset feeling nothing but Pride in each of them. Compared to all that had faced and all still needed to face, a few small chains from Hell were... literally nothing. Her power rose in a wave of heat and controlled, focused pride that flowed like a hot river right into the chains.  By the time Sunset was even aware of her surroundings again she found that she was sitting quite comfortably on her throne, and the chains were no longer trying to burrow into her. Instead they had wrapped around the arms of her throne and become fused to the throne itself, and she felt that small spark of Hell’s power now nestled neatly alongside the seat of her own Zanpaktou’s power.  “Heh, it always amazes me how all it takes is a bit of kick to remind you of what you’re capable of,” Hokori said. “At this juncture matters such as this shouldn’t be a difficulty, anyway, especially considering we have much greater matters to attend to,” added Hikari, and Sunset looked to them with a relaxed nod, but also a genuine look of apology. “I’m still sorry I got you both hurt so badly. Losing it on Bowtie shouldn’t have happened like that. There’s too much at stake now for me to let my emotions get the better of me.” “Pfft, as if you’d be you if you weren’t prone to an angry outburst every now and then,” Hokori said, grinning with a show of fangs, then she winced, still clearly in pain, “Although yes, please, don’t go ham with that Black Flame until you’ve got it under control. Next time you might not have your friends handily nearby to calm your ass down before you outright kill yourself. Rather we kill our enemies first.” “Yeah,” Sunset said, tapping her fingers on the arm of her throne, “Zero Division is something else. Didn’t get the feeling that they were much stronger than Tirek, but the nature of their abilities felt like tackling something well above what we’ve seen so far. I couldn’t even follow what Bowtie did with that last attack... it was like his sword multiplied into millions, but somehow folded upon itself for a single strike...” “Fraggin’ cheaters are what they are,” Hokori grumbled, but Hikari patted her sister on the shoulder and looked up at Sunset, all motherly smiles. “It’s best not to worry so much about the nature of their powers, for they predate what we, as modern Zanpaktou are. However just because the nature of their abilities is different, perhaps even bending the laws of spiritual energy as we understand them, does not mean they are insurmountable. When you struck Bowtie, both I and Hokori felt it. We felt our energy clash with his, and his Zanpaktou. For a moment, we overcame it enough to cut his flesh.” “You’re right,” Sunset said, recalling the small but still noticeable injury they’d inflicted on Bowtie in that last exchange, “Guess that’s proof enough they’re not invincible. But we still need to close this final gap. Not going to beat them by scratching them to death.” A quick exchange of understanding glances passed between Hokori and Hikari, and both Zanpaktou spirits gestured as one towards the expansive sea of clouds beyond the throne.  “Then it’s time we begin to show you the full extent of yourself, Sunset Shimmer,” said Hikari. “Nothing of value comes easy, and you’d best believe you’ll be put to the test more than ever,” said Hokori, showing fangs, “But we both know that won’t stop someone like you, will it?” Sunset felt a fierce rush of wind billow in from the sky, and the overcast above began to clear. But more than that, the parting clouds above, showing blue sky once more, was only a prelude to the clouds beneath parting as well. Sunset felt a shift beneath her, and the stone around the steps leading up to her throne grew more steps, now winging out to either side and curling around so that they fell off behind the throne. Quite abruptly she found her throne detached from the ground and now could float, turning as she willed, and she turned it to face outward to see that the new twin sets of steps now went soaring downward where the clouds had once been. “What the...?” she stared down at a new vista before her. What was revealed was that her throne, and the school that she thought consisted of the whole of her Inner World, was instead just what occupied the top of a verdant, forest covered mountain. Far below, the twin sets of new stairs led down towards a city built into the side of the mountain, not unlike how Canterlot was constructed back in Equestria. Only this city was quite different from Canterlot. It carried elements of that city’s old, magical architecture, but it was blended thoroughly with the modern skyscrapers of the human world’s Canterlot City. Buildings of both stone and metal merged the magical with the technological, each building energized with combinations of neon lights and magical torches that burned with countless elemental colors. The skyscrapers were not alone, as Sunset saw a circular residential area hugging the outer disc of the city, and in the middle of that stood a giant coliseum of white stone, it’s entrance flanked by two large statues, both of herself; one of her original form as a pony, and the other as she was now as a human. Both statues were carved to depict her dressed in the robes of a Soul Reaper, and carried her Zanpaktou sheathed at her side.  Sunset stared at the sight for a minute, then looked back at Hokori and Hikari, “Been holding out on me, eh?” Hikari gave a light, chiming laugh, “This is the way of Zanpaktou, Sunset. We reveal more of ourselves only when our bearer is ready.” “You’re hot stuff, no denying that,” Hokori said, with a lower chuckle, flipping a finger at Sunset, “But give us some freakin’ respect. Up here, in the school, is where you learned the basics. Taking the throne showed you were worthy of being in charge of us. But the city? That’s our heart, the heart you carved out for both us and yourself. Mastering it will in turn truly master us, and your power. But don’t think it’ll be easy.” Sunset stood, turning to look down once more into the city, feeling only a great sense of purpose, “I never wanted things easy, anyway.” “Your determination does you credit,” said Hikari, “But for now, we merely wished to show you what was to come next. All of us must first recover from our wounds.” “But when you’re back to one hundred percent... get ready to sweat, Sunset Shimmer,” said Hokori with devilish eagerness.  ---------- Dripping head to toe in sweat, Rainbow Dash finally fell backwards into a tired heap. Just a few feet away, Applejack let out a huge whoop of a sigh and sat down hard, her massive drill lance clattering to the ground beside her. Around both girls was a field of craters and oblong blast marks, the signs of the long “training session” both had just engaged in. In reality it was less training and more Applejack helping Rainbow Dash vent her feelings, at least a little. Even now, Applejack wasn’t sure how much it helped, and looked at her friend as she fanned herself with her stetson hat, “Hoowee, I keep fergettin’ how hard ya go when yer in a mood, Dash.” “Eeeegh, not hard enough, if you still got breath to yap at me,” Rainbow replied, letting the armor and spear of her Fullbring fade away from her body in a burst of blue, sparking light. “I wasn’t even holding back all that much. Still, pretty sure I won that.” “Tch, as if! Yer fast, Dash, n’ hard as all get out ta hit, but I clobbered ya solid at least four times!” “Pfft, more like two, at most. Those other two were glancing blows I let you have, because i was feeling generous,” Rainbow Dash replied, trying to rise up, but twinged as her muscles and a few serious bruises protested her motion and she fell back down, “But fine, I’ll let you call it a draw. Because we’re friends.” “Mighty generous o’ ya,” Applejack said, and for a moment a long silence grew between them. Finally Applejack grunted in awkward frustration and said, “Wanna talk ‘bout it?” “...Not really,” Rainbow Dash said, but sighed and just as quickly added, “Bu I should, shouldn't I? We’re not kids anymore. Well, not little kids. Can’t be stupid about this and keep things bottled up. But man it sucks. Always hated talking about feelings, but I guess I should.” She sat up, much more slowly this time, sucking in a sharp breath with every twinge of pain from the way Applejack had knocked her around. Some of the larger craters in the area were from her own body being smacked right into it like a ballistic missile by her incredibly strong friend. Rainbow Dash had to admit, she really admired Applejack’s strength. Her friend had also dismissed her Fullbring by now, and just sat in partially torn clothing, covered in plenty of bruisers herself, but Rainbow was more just paying attention to how well muscled and toned Applejack was. She’d always thought it was a real shame Applejack wasn’t interested in playing sports professionally. The girl would be a straight up terror on the field. But Rainbow knew that her friend was completely dedicated to her family’s farm. It was a scary thought, sometimes, for Rainbow Dash to imagine she might one day go off to college on a sports scholarship, while her best friend remained behind, bound to a farm her whole life. Of course all of that was way before all this crazy stuff with the spirit realms had happened, and Rainbow Dash didn’t have much time to think beyond the next day. Or today, for that matter. Applejack just waited patiently for Rainbow to speak up. “Just pisses me off, is all,” Rainbow finally said, lips curled in a half grimace, “I like aunt Windy, dammit! After mom left, my aunt was always dropping by to make sure me and dad were alright. Even when she left for her government job, she’d call, write, and dad would really brighten up each time it happened. And with all this nuttiness going on, I think I liked the idea that dad would have someone... normal, keeping an eye on him. Because even if mom comes back, in the end, I don’t know it’ll ever really be the same, you know? Like I don’t know if we’ll ever get to be a family again like we used to, not that she was the best mom even when she was here, but... well you get what I mean, right?” Applejack gave a very slow, deliberate nod. Talking feelings wasn’t her strong suit either, but she had more practice at it than Dash did. “I do at that, I reckon. Definitely know somethin’ ‘bout weird family circumstances an’ not being sure if things’ll ever been the same again. Lost my parents once, then met ‘em both again under less n’ ideal circumstances.” “Heh, tell me about it. We both had to fight our moms, but you’ve got me beat in the weird dad reunion department. But still, it’s almost... worse, to have my dad being so chill about everything. I can tell he still thinks about mom, but he’s also kind of over her? And I know he’s been thinking about aunt Windy, lately. I was kind of happy for him, too, thinking he’d be able to find someone who cares about him and won’t go away anywhere or have any weird secrets to keep.” “Only ta find out that yer aunt is keepin’ secrets, and a’ dang big one at that,” Applejack said, and Rainbow nodded, clenching her fists. “Yeah... pisses me right off, and I don’t even know if I’m being fair about it or not. Not like we broadcasted what we were getting involved in to our families, you know? We kept our powers secret for a long time because we wanted to protect them from the truth and all the dangerous stuff we were up to, so a part of me gets that aunt Windy was probably coming from the same place. But I can’t help it, I’m still mad, because she was supposed to be the safe person for my dad. The person he could be with and not get involved any deeper in this weird supernatural crap.” Applejack considered that for a moment, “Brutal truth, Dash? Ship’s probably already sailed on yer dad not gettin’ involved. Might be fer the better that if he does get together with yer aunt, that she’s at least some kind o’ magical witch boss, right? Ya don’t think her feelin’s towards him are fake, do ya?” “Nah, don’t think so. Windy’s always seemed so legit... guess that’s part of why this got me so damn mad at her. Ugh, I hate this. Should I go apologize to her?” “Give it a’ few days. Let her stew. Might make her think twice ‘fore she ever treats yer dad poorly. Heck she might even go fess up to him while worryin’ over whether you’ll tell him first,” Applejack said, and Rainbow Dash gave her a sidelong look. “That’s pretty devious, coming from you, AJ.” “Hey, I’m honest, but that don’t mean I don’t sometimes get ta be a little clever,” Applejack said, smiling, and Dash shared the smile, letting out a relieved sigh. “Thanks, AJ. For everything. I feel a lot better now.” “Glad ta hear it. Mmph, just wish I could say the same ‘bout my limbs. Tryin’ ta keep up with yer insane pace has left me feelin’ like a great big pile o’ jello. Might just take a nap right here.” “Oh come off it, I know for a fact you’ve got at least two more rounds in you if it really came to it. You’ve got stamina to spare.” Applejack grunted as she stood up, summoning her Fullbring back to cover her body in golden armor and to drop her lance by her side, “Sounds like yer askin’ fer another pummelin’ ta me, then.” Dash flipped to her feet as well, her own armor and crackling spear of lighting flashing to her in an instant, wings of energy spreading out from her back, “Heck yeah I am! Round two! Let’s do this!” Power exploded in thick auras around both of them and they very nearly charged directly at one another, but then both of them were forced to halt at the sound of a startled gasp from nearby. Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned their heads to see a wide eyes, shocked Wallflower nearby, having fallen back as she’d been unable to keep her feet under her from the way the two Fullbringers’ power had been shaking the area. “Whoa! How’d you get down here?” Rainbow Dash said, getting her power under control. Applejack did the same, letting her spiritual pressure die down so the ground stopped shaking. “Ya alright there, hun? Wallflower, right?” “I...I... um, yes? I am,” Wallflower said, still sitting in bewildered fear as she looked between the two girls in front of her, Rainbow Dash in her crackling armor of lightning and prismatic energy wings, and Applejack in her thick plates of golden armor and massive drill lance. “What are... both of you? Are you like Sunset Shimmer? Soul...uh, something?” “Oh, Sunset’s a Soul Reaper. Think Grim Reaper, but with awesome Japanese sword powers,” Rainbow Dash said, casually coming up and offering Wallflower a hand up. Wallflower stared at the offered hand for a second before very nervously taking it. “But that’s not what you are?” “Nah, me and AJ are Fullbringers. Our swank comes from our mom’s being attacked by Hollows, those masked jerks that you met the other night. Kind of weird and hard to explain, but that tiny bit of Hollow power kind of gets mixed up with other stuff inside us, including magic, and makes us awesome. Go figure, am I right?” “Eh, ain’t really worth gettin’ into,” Applejack said with a shrug, “Take a’ couple o’ days straight just tryin’ to explain the basics to ya, and like Dash says, it’s kinda all weird ta begin with. Not like ya got ta worry ‘bout it none.” “I...um, feel like I very much should be worrying about it,” Wallflower said, eyes darting around the giant underground training area that was clearly far larger than any space that could logically exist beneath the humble exterior shop front that Discord’s establishment appeared to be. “I don’t understand anything that’s happened, but that hasn’t stopped my life from being in danger. Those things you call Hollows, and then a Dragon... I just don’t get it.” “Well, sugarcube, if yer confused, yer in good company,” Applejack said, “Not so long ago none o’ us knew nothin’ ‘bout all o’ this, an’ we’ve mostly just rolled with the punches as they’ve come. I know fer a fact that Sunset won’t let no harm come to ya, an’ the rest o’ us gals will happily keep ya safe ‘till we get things sorted out ‘bout why them Dragon fellas are after ya.” “Don’t suppose you’ve got, like, any clue at all why that’d be?” Dash asked, “I mean, I know you just said you don’t know anything, but I mean... really? Nothing odd about your past? Missing parents? Grandparents run an old shrine? Transferred from another school under mysterious circumstances?” “Dash, are ya just listin’ off clichés from them anime ya watch?” Applejack asked and Rainbow Dash threw up a hand. “Hey, we’ve already dropped headfirst into that territory! Just covering the basics with this chick, okay?” Wallflower looked at the ground, wringing her hands, “I, uh, don’t know my grandparents. I didn’t transfer. I... I don’t... know.” “Huh? Don’t know what?” Rainbow Dash said, leaning forward and peering closely at Wallflower, who backed up a step and held up her hands. “I don’t really know anything. About my family, I mean.” “Well you’ve got parents, right? Where do you live?” Rainbow Dash continued to press, while Applejack started to stroke her chin in careful thought, eyeing Wallflower with increasing interest as her own sense of the girl started to give off clues as to how much Wallflower was showing signs of both... being honest and lying at the same time. “I said I don’t know!” Wallflower shouted, “I don’t know where I live! I don’t know who my parents are! I don’t remember. I mean I do. I remember, faces, and places, and I have a home. I think. I remember having a house, and family, but I don’t know why it’s so fuzzy in my head now. It all felt clear yesterday. Or was it the day before...? It's like I can only remember the school clearly, and my garden, and when I think of anything else it all starts to get dark.” She curled her arms around herself, “I want my stone back. Please, can I have it back?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other.  “I think we need ta go git Mister Discord n’ Sunset.” ---------- Earlier that day... Things had not gone according to plan. Given how easily he had managed to sneak into the enemy’s stronghold, Sombra had imagined that getting out would prove similarly simple. Discord didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger, despite the injury these interlopers had done to him, so Sombra had decided it would be worth it to get a full layout of this “Hitsuyo-Aku” and the extent of the enemy force within.  It had gone well at first. He’d confirmed many things of interest while slipping from shadow to shadow. While ostensibly servants of the human world’s Starlight Glimmer, the one nominally in charge was a pegasus named Firefly. Besides her, Sombra had made a count of nine other persons of interest. Both Chrysalis’, neither of whom he was very familiar with, and distinctly felt the version from the human world was the more imposing of the pair. The Equestrian one had spent a great deal of time with a unicorn named Platinum who was a Soul Reaper, and mother to a much younger buck named Pipsqueak. Then there was the strange girl, Ocellus, who appeared to be a daughter to the Hollow Chrysalis. By Sombra’s observation, there was a less than stable unity between that Chrysalis and everyone else, including the “Reigai”. Among the Reigai he noted three “Captains”, and at least a hundred lesser clones, the majority of whom acted as sentries or patrollers who left the hideout at regular intervals.  The one that he and Radiant Hope had fought, Starswirl, was constantly inside one of the many labs of the fortress, working on projects that Sombra couldn’t begin to guess at the nature of... but one he did recognize all too well. There had been a display showing the image and parameters of the Crystal Heart, and a cultivation tank in which Starswirl appeared to be working on creating a replica, although it only looked to be in the early stages. That could be a serious problem. The last person of note was that Storm King fellow, if only because he appeared to be quite disgruntled with being used as the local gopher for any random tasks the others needed doing. Sombra for the moment regulated him to the category of a non-issue.  He had been feeling good about his reconnaissance, having memorized the hideout’s corridors and various levels, and gotten a full gauge on the enemy’s numbers and strength. He was confident that the full force of the Equestrian Princesses could handle the opposition here, he just had to get the information to them.  Sombra had spent nearly a full twelve hour period on his scouting, but he didn’t quite tire like normal ponies, especially while remaining inside the shadows, which helped sustain him. He’d noted, earlier that morning, that the Equestrian Chrysalis and Platinum had left, but hadn’t been able to eavesdrop on their conversation before departure so he wasn’t sure what that pair was going off to do. Nor was he sure why the two young ones, Ocellus and Pipsqueak, had snuck out to follow them, making a point of staying out of sight.  Still, in his mind this meant it was the ideal time to leave himself, for if he could get back to Canterlot and report, a strike might be organized while a portion of the enemy group was gone. He’d waited an hour or two, just to make sure the shadows within the canyon were long enough for him to skim across them unseen... but the moment he got a few hundred yards away he had run face first into some kind of barrier!  It didn’t force him out of the shadows completely, but it did disrupt his shadow skimming briefly as a giant, dome-like field of partially opaque blue energy appeared not just in front of him, but surrounded the entire canyon, with Hitsuyo-Aku at the center. He dove down into the shadows immediately, and began to skim around the perimeter, trying to see if the barrier surrounded everything. While he did this he saw that from the top of the dark tower of metal, Firefly appeared, and flew down to the spot where he’d first hit the barrier. She was soon followed by the darting forms of about a dozen of the Reigai Soul Reapers, including one of a woman he had heard called ‘Zecora’.  Staying hidden in the shadows, he had crept close enough to hear what the enemy was saying, catching Firefly’s voice. “-looks like we lucked out. Starswirl’s calibrations are working like a charm.” “It helps that the data recovered from the Crystal Empire provided a clear example of how magical wards function,” Zecora said, drawing her katana and looking around the canyon with keen focus, “Fortunate that we Reigai carry the traits of our originals, including Starswirl’s remarkable brilliance for invention and adaption.” “We owe you guys, that’s for sure,” Firefly said, “Only Starswirl could’ve gotten such a large ward built so fast. Figured after that scuffle in Canterlot we might run the risk of a tail, but didn’t think it’d happen so soon. So... can your Zanpaktou flush out whoever’s tripped this thing? If it’s a unicorn, they’re probably using an invisibility spell or something.” “My Zanpaktou can reveal anything,” Zecora replied, “So our interloper won’t be able to stay hidden for long.” She raised her blade in front of her and spoke in a firm whisper, ”Open the beholder’s eye: Kodokuna Shinjitsu.” (Solitary Truth) Sombra was already backing away, remaining in shadow, as he watched the Zanpaktou transform in a wave of silvery motes of light. It became a wide, blunt rectangle of metal, attached to a white and black wrapped cloth hilt, and upon its surface bore four consecutive, circular mirrors that were polished to silver reflection. Sombra didn’t know what the special power of this weapon was, but given what Zecora had said he could surmise it had some manner of detection capability. His only advantage in that moment was that as long as he had shadows to merge with, he could move at incredible speed, and hence had no trouble quickly darting away from Firefly and Zecora’s position and hide on the opposite side of the fortress tower. However he was now stuck with a distinct problem. The barrier surrounded the whole canyon, and a quick check revealed the energies of it appeared to extend underground. There was no way in which he could sneak out. He could perhaps hide within Hitsuyo-Aku itself, but that would only be buying time. As Sombra saw it, he had two options.  Option one was to try to smash through the ward. While it was made of spiritual energy, he knew his shadow magic could still work upon it, and if he concentrated enough, he could probably break through. But that would definitely give away his position, and it might take him a few moments to break through. The enemy would probably be upon him quickly, and there was no telling if he’d be able to make his escape. The other option was to search for some way to shut the barrier down, or bypass it. That would mean searching Hitsuyo-Aku for something that might deactivate the ward or let him pass through, which there was no guarantee that such a thing even existed.  Already he saw the flickering forms of the other Soul Reaper Reigai taking up watchful positions around the tower. If he was going to make an escape, he had to act now, before they had a chance to fully establish a net around the perimeter.  No good choices, eh? Well, I suppose this must be part of my karma for being such a wretched bastard for so long, he thought to himself, and then thought of Radiant Hope. Perhaps it had been foolhardy of him to go rushing off like he had, leaving her behind. He had entirely too much to still make up for, and never did feel as if it’d be enough. Could be he did have a self-destructive desire to go on some impossible mission, thinking the only way he’d come close to balancing the scales of his past actions would be to sacrifice himself for some manner of greater good.  Which was rather stupid, because if he got himself caught or killed he was doing absolutely no good to anypony.  But nothing for it, if I try to hide, they’ll have this place swept top to bottom before I ever find a way to bring down this barrier. I just have to break through and keep going... no matter what. Decision made, he moved swiftly among the shadows behind the tower and looked for the right point. There was a spot on the left side of the canyon wall behind some larger rock outcroppings where the Soul Reaper Regais had not yet formed their perimeter. Zecora and Firefly were still on the other side, presumably searching that area while working their way towards him. Now or never. Sombra prepared multiple spells at once, and flew forward across the shadows. He reached the ward and rose up like a living spear of darkness, and from his horn hurled a concentrated burst of magical shadow right against the ward. It flared brightly, sparkling energies across the dome while shadows sparked against it. With a guttural roar, Sombra hurled more might out of his horn, and there was a cracking noise as a hole, like broken glass, appeared in the barrier.  There were shouts behind him from the Reigai, but he ignored them as he threw out a dome of darkness around himself, hoping to obscure himself from view as he hurled forward once more. At the same time he began to cast another spell, although he had little hope that this one would work. Long distance communication spells could be notoriously ineffective unless conditions for casting them were perfect, and often required physical mediums to act as connecting factors to ensure a clear transmission. Sombra, having chased after Starswirl so swiftly, had not the time to prepare such a physical medium, and was now relying solely on the spell itself to try to get a message to his target. Not only would it be unlikely to arrive intact and clear, but there’d probably be a time delay as well. Regardless, he had to try, and a magical circle appeared around his horn as he focused upon the image of the individual he was trying to broadcast to.  “Princess Celestia, this is Sombra, I’ve found the enemy base and Discord. It’s-” “Not so fast! Dragoons, spread out!” He sensed the attacks coming rather than saw them, and tried to dive deeper into his shadows, but felt a burning sensation as dozens of purple beams of light pierced through the darkness and cut across the canyon floor he’d been skimming over. With a wounded rear left leg sporting a burn mark, Sombra rolled and came up in a gallop as overhead flew Firefly. She was now covered in a set of dark violet armor, with metal wings that spread over there pegasus wings, and a glass visor covering her eyes. Motes of energy flew from ports in her wings and armor, letting her fly at ridiculous speed that took her well ahead of Sombra. Around her also flew a flurry of small, metal wing bits, from which were firing the purple beams that tried to box him in. Sombra threw up a barrier of shadows to absorb some of the beams, his sending spell disrupted, and dodged to the side. He fired back with a summoned swarm of dark spheres that he sharpened to cones of darkness, letting them dart up at Firefly in swift streaks. She evaded with a diving roll that took her to the ground, and then she flew right at him, hooves extended for a tackling maneuver. He sank down into shadow, trying to escape once more as she flew overhead, but soon he found a buzz of movement blocked his path as Zecora appeared, her transformed Zanpaktou held loosely in her right hand as she raised her left and pointed a finger upward.  ”Hado Number Six: Chochin Hata.” (Field of Lanterns) From her finger sparked a circle of flaring red light that then expanded outward and burst into a series of ghostly crimson lanterns of spherical paper. Within each lantern burned a bright light, and with several dozen of them floating around, the area was entirely bathed in thick sheets of light, banishing much of the natural shadows of the area. This had the unfortunate effect of removing the shadows Sombra was trying to sink into and flee with, leaving him exposed on the canyon floor as Firefly skidded to a halt from her tackle and flipped over, landing behind him. Now with her behind him and Zecora in front, Sombra was effectively surrounded. “You’re the one who confronted Starswirl in Canterlot,” Zecora stated, “Sombra, yes?” “Heeeey, whaaat?” Firefly said, looking rather casual in her stance despite the fact that her swarm of metal drones were poised around Sombra like a school of hungry sharks, “Sombra!? Holy shit, you do look like the Quincy’s King! Only all broody, adorable pony-like! Man, hope you’re not packing the same level of power the Quincy you does, otherwise me and Zecora here are about to get our butts kicked.” “Would you believe me if I did boast to you that I am all powerful and that you’d be better off letting me go peacefully?” he inquired, mostly just to keep the conversation going while he tried to plan his next move.  “Nah, but it’d be a good bluff. Don’t know your circumstances, my dude, but it’s pretty clear if you could’ve broken through us on pure power, you’d have done it already,” Firefly said, and reared up on her hind legs, using her forehooves to now grasp a long, hexagonal shaped cannon with a long barrier that simply appeared from thin air, “And obviously we can’t just let you run off with the location of our base. Don’t want to have to hurt you, buddy, but you don’t strike me as the surrendering type, either.” To this, Sombra only allowed himself a grim smile as he adjusted his stance so he was standing with either side facing Zecora and Firefly, eyeing them both. Further back he saw many of the lesser Reigai Soul Reapers were forming up either atop the canyon walls or back near the ward, giving the two women some distance so they could fight.  He didn’t see any of the other heavy hitters arriving, but he didn’t know if that was because they hadn’t sensed what was happening yet, or just didn’t care. He was grateful, whatever the reason, that the Hollow Chrysalis hadn’t shown up.  With a deep breath, he gathered his magic around him. He could still summon shadows, despite the light being cast by those red lanterns, as long as he pooled it in a concentrated form around himself. Doing so, he let his shadows rise around him like blades, and said to Firefly. “No, no I am not the surrendering type at all.” ---------- It was taking all of Chrysalis’ self control to not scowl or have an utter roaring fit once she got close to her hive. It was even worse up close than it had been to see it from a distance! Security was an utter joke. Nothing more than a mere pair of “sentries”, if they could even be called that, lounging about at the main entrance and merrily chatting about food and the weather without a care in the world! They barely even looked up at Chrysalis and Platinum’s approach, and weren’t even armed. Who was in charge of this place!? Oh, right, that idiot Thorax, who probably had no idea how dangerous it was to leave the hive exposed like this! “Hey, idiots, look alive down there!” suddenly came a deep voiced shout from above, and Chrysalis looked up with  mild surprise to see a darkly colored changeling flying down from one of the higher terraces that overlooked the hive’s main entrance. It took her a moment or two to realize who it was, for he’d converted to the abominable new form her changelings had been bastardized into, but at least his coloring was at least somewhat sensibly dark compared to the others. Pharynx had always been among her favorites in the old days; quite dependable and pragmatic. The way he slammed down in front of the two lazing sentries with a fierce glare which had both of his more colorful brethren on their hooves in seconds, nervously saluting, did give Chrysalis a small spark of hope that not every single one of her children were lost causes.  “C-Captain Pharynx, sir!” chirped one changeling, a orange female with green eyes, “Sorry, we were just talking about which kind of food from the Yaks was better, the borsches or the pot pie!” “I know that, and for the record, the pot pie, but that’s not important!” growled Pharynx, gesturing with a hoof at Chrysalis and Platinum, “What’s important is that you’ve got to be alert and challenge everycreature that approaches the entrance! That’s the whole point of having sentries!” “Apologies, Captain!” said the other sentry, a purple male, somewhat more bulky than his companion, “But they’re just more of the hive, right? Uh...” he peered at Chrysalis and Platinum, and Chrysalis quickly hopped forward, putting on her innocent face. She was practiced beyond any of her children in her acting skills, so adopting the cheerful, innocent face of an excited young one was as easy as breathing. “Hi! Me and my big sis are back! We were just out looking around for some grub to forage, but we just haven’t had any luck today so we’re packing it in! Right, big sis Cocci?” Coccinellidae may have been the name Platinum had chosen, but a real little sister would use a nick name. Platinum, a bit more stiffly than Chrysalis would have liked, coughed politely and nodded her head, “Yes, Vespid and I couldn’t find anything good today, but maybe we’ll have better luck tomorrow.” “That bites,” said the female sentry, “But we coulda told you most of the west Badlands are already picked clean. Even with the new growth we’re still not going to be able to rely on foraging for awhile.” “Well you never know!” Chrysalis chirped as energetically as she could, “We could’ve gotten lucky and found a good spot the rest of you missed.  Pharynx cleared his throat, eyeing both of them, “Yeah, well, it’s still dangerous out there, and you’re lucky you didn’t run into any trouble out there. Curfew is still an hour before sundown, so it’s good you’re back. After the attack on the Crystal Empire, I’m not taking chances with any of us wandering around near dark.” There was a piercing element to Pharynx gaze, as if he was trying to place “Cocci” and “Vespid”. Sadly the one competent changeling among her children might unravel her plan here and now if he got too suspicious, but even Pharynx hadn’t memorized every one of his brother and sister’s faces, and Chrysalis imagined that after the change into these damnable colorful forms it was even more difficult to keep every changeling straight.  She indeed saw the suspicious thoughts running through his mind, and understood the reason for them. Chrysalis had heard of her counterpart’s attack on the Crystal Empire, and a major attack like that would make any security minded person like Pharynx jumpy. He looked ready to question them more, but there was another call from the terrace above, another familiar voice, this one Chrysalis was less enthused to hear. “Brother, there you are!” said Thorax from above, “Been looking for you. Are you ready for our training session?” Pharynx frowned, looking away from Chrysalis and Platinum as he shot a look of brotherly aggravation up towards Thorax, “I haven’t forgotten, and I’ll be right there. Just making sure these two lazy bugs realize they’ve got to take sentry duty seriously!” Turning his attention to the sentries, “Speaking of which, I want both of you to report to the training grounds tomorrow morning at first light for some punishment exercise.” The two sentries groaned but saluted in response, and Pharynx took to the air, wings extending in a soft buzz, “As for you two sisters, go on in and next time go with one of the larger foraging groups. With too many monsters running around I don’t want to risk losing anyone, you hear me?” “Of course, Captain, and you’re doing a very dutiful job. Your concern for me and my sister’s well being is greatly appreciated,” Platinum said, bowing her head respectfully, and probably in far too formal a fashion, as Pharynx tilted his head for a second at her gesture. Chrysalis, however, quickly flew up to draw his attention, all happy grins. “Yes! Thank you very much for protecting the hive, Big Brother Pharynx! Keep up the good work!” “Um, well, y-yeah, sure thing kid...” Pharynx mumbled in embarrassment, then glared up at Thorax as the other changeling chuckled, “What are you laughing at!? Geeze, let’s go get this stupid training over with. As if this plan of yours is actually going to work.” “I think it will, brother, we just need to work on getting our magic balanced with one another’s. Come on then, and the rest of you, have a good day.” Thorax waved, and very reluctantly Chrysalis kept up her foalish grin and waved back, while inside she wanted to throw up. How had this saccharine buffoon taken everything away from her and usurped her rightful place as Queen? And he was clearly ruining discipline among her children! Even her dependable Pharynx was less formidable, merely assigning some kind of ‘punishment exercise’ instead of something more appropriately severe for such lazy guards. She kept it all internalized with long centuries of practice at hiding her feelings behind any number of masked layers, bouncing along past the sentries with her “big sister” in tow. The hive’s main entrance was essentially one large cleft in the side of the massive edifice of hardened resin, now so coated in green vines, flowering bushes, and all other manner of verdant life that the exterior was hardly recognizable to her beloved home. And once she was inside things were even more starkly different than she remembered. The entry led to a short, tall ceilinged hall, which opened up into a massive pavilion. This was so utterly unlike the tight, twisting corridors of the old hive! She’d built her home to be a labyrinthine fortress, but this was so... so open!  It was hard not to drop her jaw open as she stared up a tall, conical space, with an admittedly beautifully arranged center courtyard with a large pool of water and a fountain spewing water from a statue of resin shaped like a castle spire. Her children, hundreds of them, buzzed around this central chamber in a constant buzz of laughter and activity. The walls had numerous openings leading to different halls, but there were also a number of stalls and open fronts here that showed chambers, stores, and homes on various tiers along the inner walls of the chamber. The bottom two floors especially were filled with what looked like stores and taverns, packed with not only changelings, but actual ponies, a few griffins, and Chrysalis even spotted a pair of small, younger dragons chatting at a table outside one of the taverns. The bustle of activity was overwhelming, and left her feeling dizzy for a few moments until she felt a steadying hoof on her shoulder. “We should keep moving,” Platinum said, and Chrysalis realized that standing in the threshold was making them stand out. Getting a grip on herself, she shuffled to the side alongside Platinum, still staring at the sights around her.  This was wrong. It was all wrong. Why was there so much food!? How were these stores even operating!? Her children didn’t know anything about commerce! And why were these ponies and other creatures here and just strolling about freely!? Didn’t her children smell the love coming off of them? Didn’t it drive them crazy with hunger? And did none of her children understand the danger of letting so many outsiders just wander around freely? What if the griffins were studying their defenses to take back to Griffinstone so an invasion could be planned? What if the dragons were merely scouting out if the changelings had any good gemstones worth stealing?  Everything she was seeing was incomprehensibly stupid. Her children clearly needed her back, otherwise they were about to leave themselves exposed to annihilation by the first group that saw all of this weakness and decided to take advantage of it. Damn Thorax! Damn Starlight Glimmer! Damn all of those puffed up, arrogant, pony Princesses! They were going to all be the death of the changelings. And why did Chrysalis even care?  This was a mistake. Coming here was obviously a mistake. She couldn’t do this.  “Relax.” Platinum’s voice was solid as ice a she led Chrysalis to a table at a... café? It didn’t look like a tavern, but rather a place that was serving various coffees and teas out of an opening in the wall, with a handful of tables and benches set up. Flying about was a young changeling, some kind of waitress. She had light blue chitin and pink coloring ot her wings and frills, and Chrysalis watched her take note of the two new customers and she flew right up, smiling brightly. “Hello, what can I get you two today?”  “Um...” Chrysalis was actually at a loss, despite her acting chops, because it occurred to her she had no idea what was being used as currency now. In the old days all was a matter of distributing cocooned captives for the value of the individual love contained within, and she had quartermasters in charge of most of that distribution. How were her children even handling things, now?  Platinum was on top of things, however, “Oh, just two green teas, if you please, miss...?” “Oh, Ocellus! Happy to meet you! Two green teas for...?’ “Miss Coccinellidae, and this is my little sister Vespid.” “Great! I’ll have your two teas in no time!” Ocellus replied and sped off, and once she was out earshot Chrysalis leaned over to whisper to Platinum. “Do you know how to pay for this tea?” Platinum smiled at her with a wink, revealing a sudden satchel that Chrysalis hadn’t seen her carrying a moment ago, but it had several gemstones rattling inside,  “As we walked over I watched the others exchanging these. Swiped this from one of the distracted sentries as we entered. Figured it’d be useful.” Damn. Smart. Chrysalis had to begrudgingly admit that Platinum was actually proving quite useful to have around, and it was... nice to have someone to help keep her mind off of things. Embarrassingly enough she’d come dangerously close to losing it, just seeing this central chamber to her old hive. It was just overwhelming, how different everything was. Worse, it looked as if her children were... thriving. Which had to be a façade. Sure they seemed ‘happy’, but that couldn’t last. Everything here was soft, and weak. Vulnerable. Like this Ocellus girl, who looked like just a little snowflake of happiness as she hummed, getting two resin cups of tea from the open counter and flying them over to Platinum and Chrysalis’ table. “Here you go! Two green teas! We just got a fresh supply of leaves in yesterday all the way from Canterlot!” “You’re trading with Canterlot?” Chrysalis asked, then felt immediately stupid for asking, for if she was a resident she ought to already know this. But Ocellus didn’t bat an eye, nodding with enthusiasm. “Oh yes! My dad runs the shop here, but mom is part of the new merchant guild that Mister Vertebrae set up! There’s so many minerals we’re now mining from the caverns below that we can afford all sorts of nice things from other places. It’s great.” “How wonderful to hear,” Platinum said, “But is it dangerous, doing long trade trips like that? I’ve heard so many rumors of how dangerous the roads can be.” Ocellus didn’t stop smiling, but a bit of worry shadowed her face, “I guess it can be. There’s that really nasty business that happened to the crystal ponies. But King Thorax says we can’t let fear make us back down from pursuing a bright future, and we should be open with our neighbors so they can start to learn to trust us. I, um, I’m really curious to visit the other races. I’d like to learn more about them, and I try to talk to anyone I can who visits the tea shop.” Chrysalis bit back bitter words and instead kept in mind the way another young idiot might act, “You must make a lot of friends that way.” “Heheh, I try to, but I don’t get to meet too many other creatures my own age,” Ocellus said, and blinked at Chrysalis, “Hey, I don’t think I’ve seen you around much, Vespid. There’s only a few of us young changelings left, since the... the old Queen left. Did you want to come play with me and my friends later?” Chrysalis glanced at Platinum. They needed a cover to blend in until they could get an opening to check the vaults. On top of that, it was important to get a better lay of the land here, especially considering how much the hive had changed since Chrysalis had been Queen. Platinum must have come to the same conclusion, for she smiled with encouragement and said, “I think it's a wonderful idea for you to go play with some new friends, Vespid. Just don’t stay out too late.” “Of course big sis, of course,” Chrysalis replied. This would be a good opportunity to spread their efforts in gathering information. With Platinum’s spiritual senses she’d have an easy time finding Chrysalis again, and in the meantime Chrysalis could make use of this foolish Ocellus child... whom she only now realized shared a name with her counterpart’s daughter!? Hmph, I suppose it stands to reason there’d be a mirror of that disturbing child here. At least this one seems simply vapid, instead of dangerous. Keeping her thoughts off her face, she smiled at Ocellus, “Well my big sis is okay with it so I don’t mind playing for a while.” “Wonderful! My shift is over soon, so just meet me in front of the fountain in an hour,” Ocellus said, and flew away with a wave to go back to serving other customers. Chrysalis waved after her, unable to keep her own smile from taking on just a hint of the devious satisfaction she felt at having so quickly found such a convenient tour guide. “Looking forward to it.”