//------------------------------// // Peach 60 // Story: PEACH! (Season 2) // by ChromeRegios //------------------------------// Later that day… Yoruichi had received a message, saying that the three allies had arrived and went straight to the castle… they were waiting for them to come as well… “Well, they’re here… the Princess wants us to go back to the castle…” Yoruichi said as she stood up and goes outside. “But I’m tiiiiired… and I don’t want to waaaaalk~” Rarity whined. “Oh for the love of… what are you gonna do then? Make me carry you?” Ichigo said, making Rarity have an Idea… Which made Ichigo regret saying that to her. Several minutes later, Yoruichi and Ichigo along with Applejack and Rarity, heads up to the castle… but Instead of walking, Rarity was being carried by Ichigo. “Me and my big mouth…” Ichigo groaned, as they hiked all the way to Canterlot. “You could have used Flash Step or the train you know…” Yoruichi said as she giggles. “Thanks for suggesting that to me earlier, dip stick…” Ichigo said who was really crossed. “Oh quit it… I’m not that heavy, am I?” Rarity said, making Ichigo more pissed than he already is… finally, Ichigo snapped and drops Rarity on the ground. Rarity bounced a bit and rubbed her flank. “Oh, how rude!” she squeaked. “Rude my ass! I’m not your personal carrier you smug, spoiled mother~” “Oh hey! We’re here!” Applejack cuts him off, as she points to the entrance of Canterlot. “Good timing, Applejack…” Yoruichi said to Applejack, which AJ gave a smug smile to Yoruichi. They entered Canterlot and went straight to the castle, as Rarity was greeted by a familiar friend. “Ahh, Rarity~ Splendid that you could come…” Ishida said, glancing over as he sips his tea. Rarity gave a huge gasp and screamed. “WAHAHA~! ISHIDA!!!” She quickly rushed over and gave him a tackle hug. Ishida almost lost his balance, but quickly stood his ground, as Rarity nuzzles him. “Oh for buck sake, Rarity~” Applejack facehooves herself. “Oh, pardon me… but I’m just soooo happy to see Ishida once again!” Rarity squealed. Ishida, was less than thrilled to be tackle hugged like that, but was happy all the same to see his fellow clothing artisan, or fashion partner who was the only one who appreciates his knitting ability. “Yeah, I’m happy as well… my dear Rarity…” Ishida sets her down, and then gave her a pat on the head. “And, who is this big lug with you?” Applejack noticed someone new in the room, someone she didn’t knew before. “This is Chad… a friend who can also fight those Hollows…” Inoue answered Applejack. “I see…” Applejack stares at Chad further, as she keeps having that feeling on her gut. “So… the Hollows kept coming ever since last year?” Ishida asked, looking at the Princess who was sitting next to him. “Yes… apparently, but…” Celestia pauses. “It’s Twilight… she had been possessed…” “Possessed?” Ishida ponders. “No wonder I can’t feel her presence here…” “Oh my… we have to help her then!” Inoue announced, and then heads out towards the gates, ready to help out whenever she can… “We can’t, at the moment…” Yoruichi said, stopping Inoue from going out of the castle. “Why not?! She could be suffering right now!” Inoue argues. “Don’t you see? If it was that easy to go over to her and save her, we could have done it long ago!” Yoruichi explains, trying to calm Inoue. “B-but~” Ichigo pats Inoue from behind, shaking his head… “We will save her, I assure you Inoue… but first, we need you to do something for us…” Celestia gestures the girl to follow her… Inoue does so, but she’s still saddened that they won’t go now… instead of later. Inoue left the others to chat in the main hall while Celestia led her to one of Twilight’s old lab, where Retsu and Mayuri were examining a pony corpse. “Hmm… this seems serious.” Retsu said looking down on the mangled corps. I don’t care… can I experiment on them yet? I want to know how this became what it is…” Mayuri said, anxious to desecrate the corpse even more. Retsu gave him a bad look. “No you don’t…” Celestia then enters the lab and checks up on them. “Is Trixie’s soul safe?” She asked calmly. “We found her soul earlier with the help of Rainbow Dash… she was lucky that her soul didn’t get consumed by hollows…” Retsu said calmly as Celestia’s voice. “Though we can’t get her soul to be fused in a flaux body, since we have limited resources in this dimension… there is not much choice but for me to have this become my test subject for my experiments…” Mayuri said with a grim smile on his pale face. “I… I can help…” Inoue spoke out. “Ahh… Inoue Orihime. I see you came here as well…” Retsu said smiling over Inoue. “A-actually, I already went here… twice now…” Inoue said humbly. “I see… well, what can you do to help with… this?” Retsu said, showing her the mangled corpse on the table… Inoue’s eye’s narrowed as she nearly vomited on the grim sight she is witnessing before her eyes. She kneels and coughed, wheezing like something was choking her. “W-who i-is that!?” She asked, nearly drowning at her own spit. “This was used to be Trixie Lulamoon…” Retsu answered her. “What…. What happened to her?” Inoue asked further, as Celestia helped her up and regain her composure. Celestia sighed and starts telling Inoue what happened to Trixie… based on what Retsu and Mayuri’s report from the autopsy earlier… Meanwhile, somewhere in the outskirts of Ponyville. Iron Will, Discord, and Scootaloo searches out for Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom… but so far, they didn’t find any of them… Discord sighs on the pointless search they’ve been doing… he then looked at Will and said, “It would have been easier if we asked the Reapers to help us, won’t you agree?” “Why ask me? I’m not the one who asked to look for those two fillies…” Will responds as he wipes his sweat off his forehead. “Right, so how about it scoots?” Discord looks at the pegasi filly who was sitting on top of his head. “Should we ask Ichigo, or the others to help us?” “NO! They’re too busy with something else and I don’t want to bother them!” Scootaloo shot back, making Discord and Will jerk back slightly, startled by her sudden response. “Well, don’t you think your bothering us as well? We’re supposed to be doing some other things, rather than a “search and rescue” thing…” Discord said with a smug face. “Besides, they’re probably hiding some~” “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!” Discord and Iron Will both looked up as they saw a hollow flying across the sky, with a young filly in its mouth, of what appears to be Apple Bloom dangling on its fangs. “APPLE BLOOM!!!” Scootaloo yelled, as she spots her dear friend being carried away by that monster. “Son of ah~” Discord flew up high as Scootaloo held on his horn tight, fearing she might fall down to earth. Discord had forgotten about her and was too late to go back down and leave her there. Discord had no choice but to bring her along as they pursue the Hollow. “HEY GET BACK HERE!!!” Discord commanded, but the Hollow didn’t even bother to look back. This made Discord pissed as he surges on towards the hollow. “Grab on to something Scoots, cuz’ we’re going for a SPIN!” Scootaloo latches on to Discords fur as the Draconequis spins wildly and dashes over to the hollow penetrating it as he went through the monster. He then catches Apple Bloom who was unconscious and didn’t notice their daring rescue earlier. “Bloom!!” Scotaloo shook her friend to wake her, but to no avail. “Please, Bloom~ wake up!” Discord glided down back to earth, laying Apple Bloom on a grassy field as Scootaloo tend to her friend. “This isn’t good Discord… This filly was almost captured by that freak! Who knows what happened to their other friend!” Will said in a worried tone… Discord rubbed his chin and looked up to the remains of the burning Hollow as it completely disintegrated in thin air. “This might be serious than I anticipated…” he then looks at Will with a more serious look on his face. “Bring them back to the castle… I need to check on something…” “You can count on me… be careful there…” After saying that, Discord flew off towards the direction of the hollow was flying… Will was left to tend to the frightened Scootaloo and the unconscious Apple Bloom as he carried them back to Canterlot Castle… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That evening… the heavens started to pour the most heaviest of rain as winds blew harder than ever, thunder and lightning roared and flashed on the sky above… All of the Soul Reapers and the remaining five of the elements plan their attack on Twilight’s Lair. Celestia discusses with the others about a planned strategy for them to sneak inside the castle… but Toshiro disagreed. He believed that they already know that they were going to make a sneak attack, since it’s the oldest plan in the book that sneak attack was always used in every single battle they came across… “But this isn’t the land you were from… we know how our kind thinks and I believe we should go with a sneak attack…” Celestia argues, but Toshiro stood by his own plan. “No… like I said, there is a possibility that they might know about this already… can’t you see in every war, there’s always an ambush plan hidden from enemy sight? If Twilight is smart as you say she is… she might already deduced this, therefore we should not go with this plan… it’s like a trapper trapped by his own trap!” Toshiro reasoned at Celestia… Luna who was sitting beside her sister Celestia, ponders about this and came into a conclusion… “Why don’t we scout the place again? See what lies beyond that horizon… so we may know, how to act without making too much damage or casualties on both sides…” Luna suggested. Toshiro nodded as well as Celestia… “That’s good enough for me…” Toshiro agress. “Fair enough…” Celestia nodded. “It’s settled then… tomorrow we~” BLAM!!! The doors of the Castle flew open with a loud bang, making the guards all around prepared to attack on what caused the sudden interruption… Celestia, Luna and all who was inside the castle stared at the gate as a silhouette of a serpent like creature walks inside… There, drenched and shivering from the cold wind… was Discord, wounded and carrying one of the fillies, Sweetie Belle on his arms as he kept gasping in exhaustion as he looked back at the ponies and reapers inside the castle, as Celestia was about to ask what had happened… The once Lord of Chaos opened his mouth, spoke in a dry and raspy voice nearly slurred and trembling in his words… making everybody and everypony in the castle almost in shock, eyes wide opened… and nearly broke a sweat in this stormy night… Discord took a deep breath… and said~ “They’re coming…”