//------------------------------// // Chapter twelve: Respite for one's soul. // Story: Kyōka Suigetsu, crumble! // by The Archiver //------------------------------// Pov: Sosuke Aizen After quitting my external yelling session from what seems to be a bad situation, I go over to Braeburn's near dead body. "Braeburn, Braeburn, fucking Braeburn. You were at the wrong place with the wrong person. And for that, I'm thankful. I did my best to account for the possibility of you being lethally injured and it paid off. Although I should've tried to recreate an incident myself in order for you to have gotten hurt." Moving my hands across his body and use Kaidō to keep him stabilized. I need some time to simply think about what I'm going to do. "On one hand, this is what I planned for. To amass a group of Arrancars that I could relate to myself and maybe even protect... Hold on I'm getting off track. Mentally clearing my head I reassess my goals. "On the other hand, should I wrap this random stallion into this? I actually knew Spike but this one, not so much. However, based on what I heard and the tiniest pieces of information I have, I can conclude that Spike does indeed know this pony, Applejack does have familial relationships with him, and his entire demeanor screams of someone who can be oblivious at times." I'm left with two pros and one con. This is indeed a conundrum. One that I shall have to gamble on. A nasty habit of my old life, simply guessing and checking in order to complete things. I could heal him but... No, this has to pay off. If he has ties to the Apple family then that's one more element I can manipulate. This has to happen, one way or another, to be caution I shall only make him an Adjuchas class menos Arrancar. My mind is made up. I halt my stabilization and begin to start the advanced hollowification process on Braeburn. My Hōgyoku glows a bright blue in response. A large energy starts to coat the Earth pony's body and lets it become intertwined with my magic. "Ashes scattered around, you truly will be reborn. Thy's heart will be no longer for thou shall forsaken it for a mere hole. Mountains blow and howl in your wake, the very Earth will rumble. Rupture, rattle, magnify, EVOLVE INTO AN ARRANCAR!" A green haze encompasses the both of us before changing the pony's physiology for better and worse. A sizeable hole forms on Braeburn's shoulder, large bones appear over his ears, perfectly encasing their top half. A large great sword materializes next to him as his chosen weapon. "Now to explain the property damage, carry these two out, and... Tell his family." I can almost hear Kyōka Suigetsu facepalm inside our realm as I take the shameful walk towards the sheriff's office. Pov: Applejack Whistling a soft tune, ah start cleaning the dishes from earlier. Mah kin and I had a bountiful meal this morning and as always it's mah job to clean 'em. "Today's gonna be a great day, the sun's shining, the fields are ready to be harvested, and Applebloom is behaving herself for once. Yup, today's gonna be great." There's not that many dishes here, should only take a good ten or so minutes. "Relaxing as it is to sit keep idle hooves, ah better not diddly dally on this, time to get scrubbin." Washing the dishes feels like a breeze. And as I’m finishing up on this last dish ah get a knock on the door. *Knock knock knock* “Miss Applejack, would you please come to the door?” An unfamiliar voice calls out for me. “That’s weird, wasn’t expectin no guests today but what the hay? I’ll go answer it.” After finishing that thought ah turn off the facet and dry mah hooves. “Yeah ah’ll be there in a sec!” Trotting on over to the door I open it. Revealing a guard in front of my face. “Sigh what did Applebloom do this time?” I tiredly ask. The gruffy stallion readjusts his helmet before talking to me. “Nothing miss Applejack, at least that I know of. I’m only here to deliver this letter from the princess personally, the carriage will be outside waiting for you.” Hoofing me a letter I tilt my head, inspecting it. “Carriage outside? Hold up a minute an lemme read this over.” Turning away from the guard I take some time to read the entire thing over. And once I do it falls out of my hooves in disbelief. “Gimme… Gimme three minutes and ah’ll be out, ah gotta tell mah kin.” After I shut the door I nearly slumped over but kept a strong expression so I didn’t give anypony anything else to worry about. “W-why did this happen to ya Braeburn?” I somberly question no one in particular. Shambling towards the rest of my family’s rooms I go to tell them the same news I got moments ago. And hopefully pack up soon enough so that ah can get to canterlot soon enough The carriage ride itself didn’t feel right by all means. It was like a static cloud was all over me. Almost like it didn’t happen in the first place. Now I’m here, a boutique of flowers in my hooves, in front of the room Braeburn’s being taken care of. They warned me he wouldn’t look the same, but I wanna see for my own eyes. Without wasting any more time, I open the door. And I can’t say that they were lying, Braeburn looks like a completely different pony now, laying in a hospital bed… Like Spike. For a good minute the two of us just stare at each other without a word. Deciding to push through the awkwardness I move across the room to set the flowers down when I hear him finally talk. “Don’t look so glum Applejack, ah’m alright. A little change ain’t gonna keep me down. Hay if anything, ah feel stronger than ever.” I can’t believe he’d say something like that. I snap over and give him a soft-hearted glare, still too sad to actually be mad at him.  “Cousin Braeburn… How can ya be so optimistic? Your entire species changed and it’s all that damned Aizen’s fault!” Even through my glare he still manages to give me a light-hearted smile. “Hey now Applejack, they told me it was the only way he could save me. And if ah was still conscious at the time then ah’d happily accept.” “...Still, ain’t ya afraid of the type of looks you’ll be gettin back in Appleloosa?” Putting the flowers down, I trot over to his bedside and put my head next to Braeburn’s, softly nuzzling him. “Actually Applejack, with all the property damage that’d happen, ah was kinda hopin to stay with y’all for a while. Just till they done re-buildin mah home. It kinda got caught up in an explosion.” He pulls his hoof up to gently rub my head. I raise an eyebrow. “Well what kind of question is that? Y’all always be welcomed to live with us in Ponyville. Mah family’s been worried about ya anyhow, they’ll be happy to see ya up and kickin. When are ya gonna be discharged?” I ask in between nuzzles. “They said I should be good to go today, apparently when that Aizen fellow had healed me it was at an incredible speed. Said it was a miracle that ah was alive after what Aizen had told ‘em.” Leaning back away from Braeburn I stare at him directly in the eyes. “Just lemme reiterate this but are ya sure y’all ain’t stressed out bout this new change? Ah mean, there’s bones behind your ears for Celestia’s sake! And why is there a giant sword next to ya?” “Ah noticed a while back when they first woke me up. But ah told ya ah’m fine, it’ll only take some time to get used to all of this. But the doctors told me the sword is basically apart of me now so ah should always keep it near." I snorted but didn't try to pester him about it any further. “Well I had gotten a letter from one of the princesses, she said she’d be here so where is she?” “We’re right here, my little pony.” A voice calls out from behind me. Hurriedly getting up I look behind me from Braeburn’s bed to see the two princesses instead of the one I was expecting. “P-princess Celestia and princess Luna! Sorry, I didn’t notice y’all until now. Braeburn, why didn’t you tell me they was here?” Braeburn shakes his head. “That’s cause they both came through the window. And ah didn’t wanna ruin the little surprise, it was worth it to see that reaction from ya Applejack.” Shooting him a glare, I turn back over to both of the princesses. “So… Ya called me here to let me know about my cousin and something else about Aizen, right?” “Correct my little pony. I apologize for the circumstances of how we’re meeting but this is necessary. Originally I was going to wait until Hearth’s Warming but since Twilight already knows this, you should also have the right to know earlier than the rest of the elements.” The princesses’ expression goes from caring to somber faster than I thought was possible for somepony like herself. “Know what exactly?” I fully remove myself from Braeburn’s bed and get on all fours again. Princess Luna looks over to her right for some reason and nods her head at the air. Leaving me to question what she’s doing until I hear somepony else speak up. “That Yhwach is coming… And that there’s going to be a few renovations to your way of life.” Aizen walks himself from behind the princess, turning himself visible by tearing away what looks to be blank air from himself. “Besides the fact that ah’m smart enough not to question what type of magic mumbo jumbo ya just did. Who exactly is Yhwach?” Waving his finger, I think that’s what he called ‘em when I was over at Twilight’s place, close to my face he takes a step back. “Sorry but I’m just here to let you know that he’s coming. It’ll take far too much time to explain and I don’t want you panicking over your defenseless siblings. I’ll explain who he is on Hearth’s Warming. However what I will tell you is that these renovations to your life will be pretty minor. Just regular threats that may or may not be out of your power to handle with the elements of harmony. And uh, your cousin here is gonna be part of the team that I’m forming. Already being in the process of doing a double take from how smoothly he just threw that out there. I look to the two princesses for some type of explanation. “I’m sorry dear Applejack but this is necessary. And your cousin here has already agreed for his transition into becoming one with the Esculdo.” Princess Luna tells me. I hold up a hoof in disbelief. “Hold up, the Escu- what now? And why’d you agree to this Braeburn?” “Sorry ah didn’t let ya know immediately, but don’t worry, the princesses tell me ah’m in good hooves! And if it means ah get to help protect what ah care about from nasty threats then this is what ah’ll do.” He excitedly says. “Whatever you may be feeling right now is validated miss Applejack. Yet throughout all the years Celestia and I have known Aizen, he is a brilliant tactician and has already held great regards in the life of his trusted comrades.” Luna explains. “Yup, you’re looking at the best commander in the entire world.” Aizen cockily points to himself with a huge smile. This elicits a dirty look from princess Celestia as she lets out a small “hmph” before correcting him. “Ha, to call you a commander would be to call Tirek a gentle centaur. You’re more of a strategist yet you don’t have a good commander’s personality or stance on how to teach.” “Whatever Celestia.” Rolling his eyes he turns back over to me. “Applejack, make sure to look after your family, especially the little trouble maker that you have. I don’t need any innocent blood being splattered in this town because she decided to go exploring.” “Course I’ll watch over ‘em, what kind of mare do ya take me for?” Princess Luna intercepts my question before Aizen could answer. “Don’t let Aizen get on your nerves, he’s naturally a pest that doesn’t know when to filter their words.” Aizen stares at princess Luna for a moment before looking at the other princess. “So should I tell him that he won’t be training directly under me for some time?” She nods her head. “Now would be as good of a time as any Aizen.” Princess Celestia answers “Wait, ah’m not gonna be trainin under you?” Braeburn askes. “Not necessarily Braeburn, you’ll be Spike’s student while also learning underneath the night-guard. For flavoring and discipline.” Aizen clarifies “If ya say so…” I silently mumble. “Please my little pony, do not fret, my sister and Aizen both know what they are doing but for now that is all the news that we have for the two of you. As we must get going now to talk about more personal matters.” Princess Celestia briefly flexes her wings before using her magic to open the door to leave the room, princess Luna and Aizen both following close behind her before I hear a loud *Pop* leading me to believe they teleported away. “Well, guess I can let y’all know what’s been going on with me and the girls recently.” I tiredly said to him before starting with what happened with Discord. Pov: Princess Luna All three of us reappear in a secluded area outside of Ponyville’s hospital, and inside the carriage we arrived in. My sister casts a silencing bubble around the vehicle before I start talking. “We mustn't delay the topic at hoof any further. You’ve referenced it before Aizen, so speak, what did you mean when you said that Yhwach would be going after the tree of harmony and Discord?” I immediately cut to the chase. “I’m sorry for my sister’s bluntness but she’s right, right exactly did you mean by that?” My sister backs me up. “It’s exactly as it sounds. He will be going after the tree of harmony. And for obvious reasons we have to stop him, the exact reason I asked for permission to form the Esculdo… The name isn’t as catchy as the original but it still works.” He answers the two of us. “But why? Or rather how?” It’s only been a minute since we started talking and I’m already haggling Aizen for information, just like old times. “The why and how is easy, he’s planning on absorbing anything that could possibly be linked to harmony and chaos so he can have control over natural order and eventually have all three worlds collapse in on themselves once at once, Wandenreich, Hueco Mundo, and Equus.”  My elder sister sighs in disbelief, rubbing her temple with both of her hooves. “That’s what I was afraid of. Aizen, are you completely sure that this team you’re going to assemble will be good enough to defeat an entire kingdom?” Celestia asks him with a bit of doubt. “Of course, what exactly do you take me for? We already killed one Sternritter, what’s a few more?” He nonchalantly replies. I lean over to Tia with a wide grin on my muzzle. “Sister it is not as though he’s the only one to help this endeavor, unlike your inadequate solar guards my night guards can actually hold their own. And with our combined mights we shall trample over his kingdom and force them to their knees.” Almost face-hoofing from my blatant truth. My sister’s head, instead falls into the same hooves massaging her head. “Let’s just hope that what you both say is true.” Seemingly defeated. Aizen holds a hand up and I happily meet it with my own hoof. Ever since he told me he wanted one of his future elites to train under me and my military branch, we’ve been on better terms, if anypony couldn’t tell. “You’ve got no idea about what's going to happen these next few months. All we ask though is that you try and keep up with us.” Aizen half-heartedly requests. “Aizen’s hubris is large, still it does not mean that he’s incorrect.” I cheekily think to myself. “Also, Luna, did you remember to ask that night-guard to escort Braeburn out of the hospital an hour from now?”  He asked me. I give him an almost ludicrous look. “What kind of question was that? You know that I would not forget something as important as that.” “Thank you, and apologizes I was merely making sure. Well this is good day to you both. Goodbye Celestia, Luna.” Nodding his head, Aizen opens the door to the carriage and steps out, walking away through the streets. A small smirk creeps up my muzzle. These next few months are going to get unorthodox to say the least. “Braeburn, we are expecting great things from you. Do not disappoint us.”