Chapter Two
"Ulquiorra Cifer, a word please."
The hour was late but it wasn't of any concern to him; when you didn't need sleep the time was irrelevant. Not needing sleep meant there was more time for relevant matters like studying the history of this new land he was in. Even with his revelation to Princess Celestia about his observation of her character there were still unanswered questions. A tyrannical dictatorship alone wouldn't be enough to explain the relative peace the nation had been supposedly blessed with. Even if Princess Celestia had the intention of truly sending insurgents to the moon as punishment it wouldn't be a feasible approach of hundreds or thousands of potential workers rose up in revolt. Such an approach would risk massive depopulation of the available work force alone with the possibility of extinction of the race.
However his studies were yet again interrupted as Princess Luna entered the library and addressed him directly. The princesses seemed insistent on interrupting him at the most inopportune times as if everything was planned and orchestrated.
"What do you want?" Ulquiorra asked simply.
"Wouldst thou be interested in a snack break to thee's learning of our land?" Luna asked and levitated in a plate holding a slice of chocolate cake; a piece she'd squirreled away from her sister earlier in the day.
"No," Ulquiorra replied simply.
Luna frowned. "Dost thou always speak in such a blunt manner to everyone?"
"What would you suggest?" Ulquiorra asked.
"A measure of courtesy at times wouldst be appreciated," Luna pointed out.
"No thank you then," Ulquiorra replied. He expected that to be the end of it but Princess Luna remained. "I suspect etiquette wasn't the entirety of what you wanted to speak about."
"Didst thou truly accuse our sister of being a tyrant?" Luna asked curiously.
"I merely stated that it's not my place to question those who have authority even if others would. She asked during a moment of weakness and I explained how she possesses sufficient traits to become a tyrant if she so desired, nothing more. If she's emotionally shaken after being confronted with such an observation then it's no fault of mine," Ulquiorra explained and went back to focusing on his book.
"Thou art not exactly the first to make such an observation. But thee are the only one we know of to openly state it to her face and explained why. It was...upsetting..." Luna explained. Ulquiorra said nothing in response so she continued. "And to suggest that we were nothing more than a pawn to further her rule. We must admit we are not happy with thee right now."
"Do you plan on seeking retribution for my bluntness? Or are you simply venting to settle your emotional unrest?" Ulquiorra asked without so much as a second thought.
"Rest assured were we the primary ruler of Equestria the dungeon wouldst indeed be a possibility. But our dear sister doth not punish her subjects for their opinions of her regardless of what they may be. We shalt forgive thee thine's transgression this time. But we make no promise if there be a next time," Luna stated.
"Duly noted," Ulquiorra replied and flipped the current page to continue reading. "Thank you for your kindness and understanding."
Luna couldn't tell if the last part was genuine or merely sarcasm. His tone was always so even and flat and devoid of feelings it was impossible to get a good reading on him. For right now she'd leave it be as there were other matters to discuss.
"Our sister also told us that thou devoured the souls of others. Is this true?" she asked.
Another page flip. "It is. A long time ago."
"Doth thou remember who they were?" Luna asked.
"No I don't. Hollows by nature don't retain memories during their early, untamed time. Those we devour are nothing more to us than a rabbit to a gryphon. We're no more likely to remember them than we are to have regrets for our actions," he explained calmly.
Perhaps she was far too quick to take pity on this one with the sad eyes. She could understand why her sister was so cautious around him. His lack of remorse for previous actions wasn't very comforting to her. "Doth thou have any regrets prior to coming here?" she asked.
"My inability to fulfill my duty of protecting Las Noches," he replied simply, never looking up from his book.
There was silence in the library after that apart from the sound of the pages being flipped periodically. Luna didn't know what to say at that point and Ulquiorra wasn't inclined to talking.
"What were the other Espada like?" Luna asked after a long stretch of silence.
Ulquiorra paused and cast an aside glance. He reached up to his face by his Hollow mask and much to Luna's shock plucked out his left eye as if it were nothing more than a ping pong ball, before crushing it like a fragile crystal and allowing the pieces to scatter and form into a cloud before her. All she could do was watch in shocked silence as images were displayed before her while he narrated.
"Diez Espada Yammy Llargo. His aspect of death is rage. Loud, impulsive, arrogant, overconfident in his own abilities and quite stupid. Ranked the lowest of all Espada and holds the dubious honor of being the Cero Espada. He believes himself to be strongest of all due to this ranking however he's far from correct as cero is not a valid ranking but rather an explanation of his overall abilities. Among the Espada he serves the purpose of court jester. In simple terms he's nothing more than trash."
The image changed from the physically largest of Espada to one bearing a high collar and obstructive looking mask.
"Noveno Espada Aaroniero Arruruerie. His aspect of death is greed. Prideful, cruel sadistic in nature but reasonably intelligent. The only Espada of Gillian-class evolution but in possession of attributes Aizen deemed unique in nature. The Hollows he consume add to his repertoire of knowledge and abilities, providing him with a unique potential for growth and evolution not possessed by any other Espada."
The image changed to a scrawny looking being of pale coloration, pink hair and glasses and dressed far differently than the previous two.
"Octava Espada Szayelaporro Granz. His aspect of death is madness. Highly intellectual but this is outweighed by his narcissism, Crudeness, flamboyancy and melodrama. He possesses the unique ability to study his opponents and immunize himself against their techniques and abilities."
The image changed again to a tall and muscular being of dark coloration. Luna didn't know what it was but something about his appearance reminded her of Zecora to an extent.
"Séptima Espada Zommari Rureaux. His aspect of death is intoxication. Respectable intelligence overshadowed by arrogance. He regards himself as fastest in the art of sonido. Whether or not he deserves the title is questionable."
The image changed again to a being with blue hair and a sinister and wild grin on his face and pieces of animal jaw on the right side of his face.
"Sexta Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. His aspect of death is destruction. Impulsive, hot headed, short sighed, disrespectful, sadistic, brutal and rude. There is no shortage to negative aspects he possesses. Utter trash. He possesses no redeeming qualities whatsoever."
Despite his calm and even tone Luna could tell there was some bitterness to his words. However she remained silent as she was greeted by an exceedingly lanky character with an eye patch and a most disturbing toothy grin.
"Quinto Espada Nnoitra Gilga. His aspect of death is despair. Rude, crude, lecherous, disrespectful, chauvinistic, and exceedingly bloodthirsty. He regards his hierro as strongest of all Espada but that is a matter more of opinion rather than fact. Of all the Espada he is the most...unpleasant in nature."
The image changed again displaying another figure of dark skin, wild spiky hair and most of its face concealed beneath the high collar of its jacket. By far it wore the most revealing of all outfits.
"Tres Espada Tier Harribel. Her aspect of death is sacrifice. Calm, intellectual and analytical in nature. Unlike others she prefers not to engage in combat until she has gathered sufficient information to formulate an educated observation. Of all she is the most polite in nature. No outstanding specialties worth noting."
A grizzled and heavily worn face wearing a crown came into view next.
"Dos Espada Baraggan Louisenbairn. His aspect of death is time or more specifically aging. Former ruler of Hueco Mundo. Boastful, arrogant, stubborn and prideful in nature. He is easily provoked to anger and displays extreme short sightedness when aroused. He possesses the ability to control time around him and can age his opponents into dust; even Hollows who are eternal can die of old age in his presence."
The image faded away to reveal a tall and lean individual with brown hair and a goatee, standing next to a female being of diminutive size and build with pale green hair and one pink eye.
"Primera Espada Coyote Starrk. His aspect of death is solitude. Disinterested, lazy and unenthusiastic about nearly everything, preferring to sleep whenever possible, however he is loyal and obedient. Of all the Espada by far the strongest. His reiatsu is so intense and overwhelming that any Hollow below the level of Gillian dies merely by being in his presence. To try and alleviate this he divided every aspect of his being to create a secondary half known is Lilynette Gingerbuck, the two existing as individuals with unique personalities."
Luna was silent as the images came to an end and the cloud faded away. The creatures she'd seen were just as strange looking -if not even stranger- than Ulquiorra Cifer himself. She turned to look at him directly and ask if it was really necessary for him to destroy his eye to give the display but stopped before even the first word was formed. Sitting in his left socket was his eye and still intact and unharmed. How had he done that? Why had he done that? There were just so many questions she didn't know what to begin. Did all the Espada represent an aspect of death? Were they embodiments of their aspect? Some of them had numbers displayed...were their numbers indicative of their rank or were they the equivalent of cutie marks?
"Didst thou perform such a display for our dear sister as well?" Luna finally asked.
"Princess Celestia chose to probe my mind directly. Seeing memories without knowing the reasons behind them ultimately serves no purpose. Even if it did it would take far too long for her to sort through all of my memories to gather whatever information she believed was relevant. Solita vista does not possess a fast forward option," Ulquiorra explained.
"Were thou friends with the other Espada?" Luna asked.
"No. The concept of "friendship" was not something the Espada chose to recognize or practice. We were united by a common goal of serving Aizen to the best of our abilities and even at the cost of our own lives. Beyond that we shared no similarities that would allow us to be considered friends to one another. Even if the others did I do not; my aspect of death is emptiness."
Emptiness. The same word her sister had used to describe him. With this revelation it seemed as no wonder that he would be so empty to her if that was what he physically represented. However that thought gave her reason to feel bad for him. He was admitting that he truly was just a shell with nothing inside of him.
Ulquiorra merely returned to reading his book without another word.
There was an overwhelming sense of despair in the living room, it almost felt palpable in nature to Luna. It was deeply disturbing on a level she wasn't comfortable with. Without anything more than a mumble she turned and left the library, deciding to let her shadow guard have the dubious honor of keeping an eye on their guest, taking the cake away with her.
Another night without proper sleep. This was starting to become very old very quick. Celestia hadn't been forced to go through sleepless nights for a long time and she'd become accustomed to that blissful escape each night. Looking back maybe that was a mistake on her part considering how much trouble she was currently having. Once again her dreams were being haunted and disturbed by what she'd encountered in Ulquiorra's mind.
And she still had no idea what they were going to do with the Arrancar. How could she safely allow him to have access to Equestria? Could she safely allow him to have access to Equestria?
Grumbling she dragged herself out of bed and groomed herself, knowing the morning would once again subject her to the mercy of the uppity nobles who continued to selfishly demand that they be allowed more money for their own petty indulgences in society. Glancing over at the adornments she had to wear she pondered a rather mischievous idea. Maybe she'd open the Day Court while stark naked and demand that anypony who wished to air their grievances must do the same; see the look on their faces at being forced to shed their four or five figure value dresswears in order to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who were far more in need than they were.
The more she thought about that idea the more appealing it became. She might do just that.
However no matter what she thought nothing was going to change the conversation from last night. She was still somewhat disturbed by it all. She was left feeling outmatched by someone new to their world, how easily he'd caught onto her little test last night. And even though he hadn't stated outright that he considered her a tyrant she just couldn't get that thought out of her mind. Perhaps most disturbing was the fact that he said he'd serve her even if she was as it wasn't his place to question her rule. How could he state something like that with absolutely no hesitation?
"This isn't getting me anywhere," she muttered to herself and set her manebrush back down on the nightstand and thought.
Despite her hesitation and conflicting emotions there was something that she needed to remember first and foremost; regardless of who or what he was Ulquiorra was no longer in his own world or dimension. He'd been plucked out of what had been familiar to him -as well as death according to what Discord had said- and thrust into this new and strange world where his ways were unheard of. As much as she wanted to be concerned she had to remember that he also needed help. And if she didn't help him who could she expect to? It's not like she could just pass him off to somepony else to do the dirty work. She'd accepted him into her kingdom and now it was her responsibility to see it through.
"I'll just have to be more understanding and accepting," she told herself as she levitated her adornments on and into place. She'd seek out Ulquiorra before the Day Court was set to open and tell him that she'd do what she could for him. But the first order of the day was breakfast, she felt like she was starving right now and diplomacy never went well on an empty stomach.
The morning meal was much like the evening meal of the previous night, only this time around it was Luna that seemed more upset and somewhat detached, that fact wasn't lost on Celestia. Whereas yesterday Luna was more cheery today she was far more subdued and even withdrawn.
"Is something wrong Luna?" she asked while her slice of toast was in the middle of being buttered.
"No dear sister, nothing is wrong," Luna replied simply. Nothing physical anyway. Mentally she was still feeling upset by last night's conversation. But how did she explain that to Celestia and make her understand what she was feeling? The fact that he'd plucked out his own eyeball so readily and crushed it without hesitation didn't help either. And how had he regrown it? "Hast thou figured what to do about Ulquiorra Cifer?"
"I don't have an exact plan just yet, but I'm working on one," Celestia replied before taking a bite of toast. "Perhaps inspiration will strike me in the Day Court and I'll have an idea then."
"Perhaps that would be best," Luna replied and nodded in agreement.
"In the meantime I have to get the Day Court open...and some nobles to entertain..." Celestia stated and stood up from the table, a mischievous glint in her eyes at the last part.
Luna watched silently as Celestia left the dining hall; at least silently on the outside. On the inside the gears of an antiquated but exquisitely designed machine were turning in thought as a plan was being formed and just waiting to be set into motion. It was risky and there could be consequences to face afterwards. But it was worth the chance as far as she was concerned.
Spike didn't want to be mean, he really didn't. He had a great deal of love for Twilight, she was his family and had raised him from an egg. Sure she was bossy at times but that didn't change anything. But none of that changed the fact that she really shouldn't be singing.
Several days ago during one of Pinkie's random singing escapades Twilight had heard a song that got stuck in her head and she would just randomly start humming or singing it, and horribly off key to boot. He really should've said something but he didn't have a clue how to tell her that she couldn't carry a note for anything.
"Ugh," he groaned as his ears were assaulted by a particularly sour note being struck and mercilessly beaten to death with a blunt implement. Where were his earplugs when he needed them? This was no longer mere annoyance but all out misery, Twilight's singing was actually giving him indigestion right now. In fact if she kept it up he was in serious danger of...
A loud belch and a jet of green fire put an end to his thoughts as a scroll fell into his hands. Twilight's musical murdering was thankfully stopped at the delivery. Eager to keep it that way Spike quickly opened the scroll and scanned it, however there was no reading as his eyes moved back and forth rapidly.
"Spike? What's it say?" Twilight asked curiously.
"I think you'd better see this for yourself. Princess Celestia didn't send this, this one's from Princess Luna!" Spike stated and passed the parchment to her.
"Princess Luna? Really?" Twilight asked and levitated the parchment over so she could read it.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
A situation of a most unique and interesting nature hath arisen and we request thou's presence at Canterlot Castle immediately. We are deploying our personal chariot to Golden Oaks Library so that thou may arrive in short order. Please come if at all possible.
Signed,
Princess Luna, your friend and keeper of the dream worldP.S. Yes Spike may come too.
Twilight read over the letter at least twice just to make sure she hadn't missed anything important. It was definitely from Princess Luna but it was entirely too vague to explain what the situation was. How was she supposed to know how to respond when left in the dark?
"This is... weird," Twilight commented.
"Yeah. I thought Princess Luna was asleep by now, and here she is sending you letters asking for us to go to Canterlot just like that?" Spike asked in response. He was accustomed to weird stuff by now but this was a whole new kind of weird. "Whadda we do?"
"What do we do?" Twilight repeated in disbelief as she looked at Spike. Surely he didn't ask that. "Princess Luna requested an audience with us and went so far as to send her own personal chariot for us to take so we can meet with her. What do you think we're doing to do, Spike? We're going to meet with her! This has got to be of great importance!" she stated.
"I know Twi' it's just...well this is really weird and all, I don't know where to begin. Princess Luna didn't say anything other than to show up," Spike explained.
"I know, Spike, isn't it absolutely fascinating? Out of everypony to ask for us it's Princess Luna, the one who controls the moon and watches over the night. And what's more she's asked for us during the daytime meaning she's passing up on her sleep to talk with us! I can't imagine how important this must be! I'm absolutely giddy with excitement!" Twilight stated.
Spike was starting to feel nervous. An excited Twilight could prove to be quite dangerous at times. Right now she was bordering on Pinkie Pie levels and if the matter wasn't resolved soon she'd be crossing that border; then he'd have to deal with the equivalent of Pinkie Pie with unicorn magic and that was a terrifying thought. Fortunately his concerns were soon displaced as the sight outside the window greeted him; Luna's chariot was touching down just outside, two of her scary looking guards pulling it.
"Looks like our ride's here," Spike commented.
"Well let's not keep anypony waiting. C'mon Spike we've got a princess to go and see!" Twilight stated and galloped out the front door.
"Hey wait for me!" Spike called and chased after her, trying to keep pace the whole way with his short little legs. Whatever it was he didn't want to miss out on it.