Chapter Three
During the trip to Canterlot Twilight couldn't help but think about everything going on today. First a message from Princess Luna, then an escort on her personal chariot back to the castle. Something was up but she couldn't put her hoof on it. Making matters worse what the fact that no matter how hard she tried to figure it out she simply didn't have enough information to arrive at a conclusion, and mass wild guessing wouldn't be productive.
Turning her attention back to the two stallions -or whatever they were- her mind came back to her initial conclusions. Despite their scary appearance they were really nice. They spoke with a velvety soft voice and had a politeness about them that eased a lot of her tension about approaching them. Now she was observing them fly, the manner in which their bat-like wings flapped compared to how she'd seen Rainbow Dash fly. The movements were similar, the strokes were similar, the way they flexed their muscles were definitely similar. But there were key minute differences that put them worlds apart. It was really fascinating and would make for an interesting study later on when she had more time.
"So Princess Luna didn't tell you anything about why we were needed?" Spike asked one of them, finding it necessary to speak up to be heard over the rushing of the wind and the wing beats.
"No Sir. Her Majesty simply instructed us to head to Ponyville and bring you back to Canterlot," one of the guards replied, his voice uncharacteristic for his form and managing to leave Spike feeling somewhat uneasy. If they were rough and gravelly sounding at least he'd expect that.
The rest of the trip back to Canterlot passed in relative silence except for the occasional rattle of the chains, or the leather-like flaps of the bat wings.
"We're approaching the landing strip now," one of the guards announced as their trajectory adjusted, bringing into view another angle of the castle that neither Twilight nor Spike were accustomed to seeing as it faced away from the direction of the sun most of the time.
The descent was quick, sharp and more than a little bit scary their first time out and sent Spike cowering on the chariot's floor, but the approach had been even and their landing smooth as the wheels touched down on the firm stone, squealing as they came to a full stop.
"Is it over?" Spike asked as he looked up from the chariot floor.
"Sure seems that way," Twilight replied before dismounting the chariot, Spike close behind. "I wonder where Princess Luna is."
"Wonder no more friends, we art here!"
Both looked upward to see Luna flying over to them and touching down with far more grace than her chariot had. "Put the chariot in the hanger, then you may go," she told her guards before turning to face Twilight and Spike, her wings tucking themselves in at her sides. "We are quite happy to see thee again. 'Tis wonderful to be among friends."
"Always happy to help out, Princess," Twilight and gave a polite bow before raising to face her again. "I'm afraid your note didn't explain much. What's this interesting event you spoke of?"
"T'would take hours to explain by ourselves when thou can observe directly. Follow us to the royal library and everything will be explained there," Luna stated.
"Really? A surprise in the library?" Twilight asked excitedly. Being summoned by Princess Luna and told that there was something in the library waiting for her was inducing a feeling of giddiness in her. Spike merely rolled his eyes and said nothing, choosing to follow in silence as Twilight was making enough commotion for the both of them.
Several books laid open and spread out over the floor of the library. In his quest for more knowledge of his surroundings Ulquiorra had happened upon a passage that warranted further investigation and made reference to a number of other books in the library for more in depth explanation. In the midst of them was Ulquiorra sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, his zanpakutō sticking out of his sash at an odd and mildly uncomfortable angle.
However his reading was disturbed by an approaching presence. The feel of Princess Luna's reiatsu was quite familiar to him by now, but there was another approaching with an entirely different texture and feeling. That was enough interest to warrant him standing back up and turning away from his studies.
"This way," he heard Princess Luna stating, the soft "clop" of her hooves not quite able to overshadow a secondary set on the hard stone floors. If he strained to listen he could also pick up another set of footsteps that didn't sound anything like hooves. She came into view first followed by what appeared to be a unicorn, smaller in stature and in a more unnatural coloring, a mix of dark blues, lavendar, dark purple and hot pink, strange symbols adorning its hindquarters. To the side was another strange being of even smaller stature, reptilian in appearance, its scales made up of light purple and green.
"We have a guest," Princess Luna announced and used her foreleg to gesture over to him.
Twilight looked in the indicated direction and nearly gasped at what she saw standing there. She'd never seen anything like this before and the scientific part of her mind was quickly taking over, pushing her into examination mode. Who or whatever she was looking at it was safe to conclude this was no pony. Standing considerably taller than Princess Luna in a bipedal fashion but possessing no tail to serve as a counterbalance indicating an entirely different center of gravity to maintain such an unnatural balance. Dressed neck to hoof in weird white clothing with black edgings and a black sash at what could only be presumed to be its waist and black hoofwear. The skin was unnaturally pale, its mane jet black underneath a partial crown of boney structure on the side of its head, teal green eyes and a flat expressionless face with two teal green streaks running downward. Tucked into the sash was something that remotely resembled a sword, but not any sword she was familiar with despite her studies of Equestria's history.
While the unicorn remained silent and staring at him with an open mouth Ulquiorra decided to make a few observations of his own. His pesquisa showed that this one's reiatsu was significantly below that of Princess Luna, the only noteworthy aspect being slightly higher than that of the guards present. But while the reiatsu wasn't impressive the reiryoku was another story entirely. This small unicorn appeared to have a deep well of reiryoku to itself, and it seemed reasonable to conclude that the felt reiatsu was nothing more than an unconscious exercise of force resulting from its sheer amount. Perhaps the well ran so deep the physical body was simply unable to properly contain it and the excess leaked out. That would explain the fluctuations he was witnessing in her detectable reiatsu; it was almost pulsing in nature. Much like his observations regarding...
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"That's not necessary. Kill her Yami," Ulquiorra stated simply. The human woman had presented nothing of interest that would warrant bringing her back to Aizen-sama. She was nothing more than utter trash at the moment and there was no reason to bother keeping her alive.
"Okay, then!" Yami had stated with far too much enthusiasm as he threw his massive palm forward to eliminate her. However he never even got close as his palm was stopped by the point of an incredibly sized zanpakutō held by a Shinigami with unacceptably loud orange hair standing before the human woman. "Who the hell are you...!?" Yami demanded in surprise and anger.
"Kurosaki-kun..." the woman spoke in her soft squeaky voice to the Shinigami before her.
"Sorry I'm late, Inoue," the Shinigami stated as he looked back at the woman in an apologetic manner.
"No...I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun...I...if I was a little stronger..." she squeaked as she looked back at the other two humans who were currently laying on the ground gravely injured.
"Don't apologize, Inoue. Don't worry either," the Shinigami spoke as he turned back around to face them directly. "Everything will be fine...after I beat these two!!"
Ulquiorra watched as the Shinigami brought his zanpakutō forward and took a two handed grip on the hilt, his reiatsu flaring dramatically as he spoke with authority. "Bankai!"
There was a massive display of reiryoku in the air kicking up dust in every direction that disappeared just as quickly as it came. The Shinigami now stood before them, his zanpakutō far smaller and less cumbersome in appearance, his Shihakushō an entirely different pattern and resembling more of a tattered overcoat. "Tensa Zangestsu!" he spoke with an authority in his voice. There was a pause before he continued, addressing the human behind him without turning around. "Inoue. Leave."
"Okay," the woman replied, barely audible in nature.
"Did he say bankai?" Yami asked as he scratched the side of his head. "Hey, Ulquiorra...is this guy...?"
"Yeah. It's amazing how your senseless ruckus lured him out so effortlessly," Ulquiorra replied as he focused on the Shinigami, or rather the human turned Shinigami. "The orange hair and black bankai...yes. He is our target, Yami."
"Suerte!" Yami bellowed excitedly and drew his massive fist back. "I've saved us the time to track you down!"
Yami's fist was fast and strong, but effortlessly stopped in place as the Shinigami raised his zanpakutō, the force of the impact shattering the ground around him while leaving him unmoved. Most curious.
"Are you the one...who ripped off Chad's right arm?" the Shinigami asked. "Then I'm going to take your right arm, too."
What followed next was a display of speed and strength that took both Espada by surprise. In the blink of an eye the Shinigami had easily cleaved through Yami's right arm with his zanpakutō, the severed limb falling to the ground with a thud.
"What!?" Yami yelled in surprise.
"That idiot..."Ulquiorra thought as he watched the battle unfold. Yami was without a doubt powerful, yet the Shinigami was far more nimble and agile. "I keep telling him to practice reading his opponents. Yet, he still just lunges out recklessly. Though it still is surprising that brat could cut through Yami's hierro and lop off his arm. I heard that he only recently acquired his bankai...and he already has such solid reiatsu. But still...at this level, he presents no threat to Aizen-sama."
Yami was left panting in physical exhaustion. The Shinigami had managed to land several serious cuts to his body while remaining unharmed himself. He was furious at this turn of events and even moreso at how the trash's face was mocking him!
"Damn you little shit...!" Yami bellowed.
"You're still standing! You're as hardy as you look," the Shinigami commented as he rested his zanpakutō on his shoulder.
"Looks like you're struggling. Do you want to switch?" Ulquiorra asked.
"Shut up!" Yami bellowed even louder as he grew angrier than before and took hold of his zanpakutō's hilt with his left hand.
"Hey. Hey. Is it really necessary to use a zanpakutō against someone like him?" Ulquiorra asked, the strange look on the Shinigami's face not going unnoticed.
"I told you to shut up!!!" Yami yelled back in response as he drew his zanpakutō. "Coming!"
However Yami didn't succeed in getting his zanpakutō unsheathed before the Shinigami began acting strangely, grasping the right side of his face, his body racked by his own wildly fluctuating reiatsu. "Go away!"
Yami grinned evilly and returned his zanpakutō to the sheath before kicking the Shinigami in the gut, sending him flying and collapsing on the ground.
"Kurosaki-kun!!!" the woman screamed and reentered the picture, desperately worried about her savior.
"Stay away, Inoue!!!" the Shinigami managed to order back, but far too late to prevent her from getting into range for Yami to slap her aside effortlessly. "Inoue!!!"
"Shut up!!!" Yami yelled and turned his attention back to him and began another brutal assault. "Hah!!! I don't know why, but he stopped moving!! Then die!! Die, you little shit!!!"
"How strange..." Ulquiorra observed as he watched Yami continue his relentless assault. "The fluctuation in the brat's reiatsu increased...the range of fluctuation is amazing. At the lowest point he is just trash. But at the highest point he is above me...where is the logic in this...?"
The Shinigami was a bloody and broken mess on the ground, barely able to move even in the slightest. Yami seemed to have grown tired of him at this point. "It's over, you little shit!!! I'm going to crush you into a bloody pulp!!!" **
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The entire flashback had taken less than a second to play out in its entirety. But it had been more than enough time to make an accurate comparison and observation and was sufficient to serve its purpose. This unicorn's reiatsu and reiryoku levels were indeed like those of Ichigo Kurosaki; the human who was responsible for him being here now. How was that possible?
"Cuatro Espada Ulquiorra Cifer, hailing from Las Noches of Hueco Mundo," Princess Luna announced to them, snapping the unicorn out of her dazed appearance.
"Ah!" it stated in a definitely feminine tone as it came back to its senses. "Saludos y Bienvenidos a la ciudad de Canterlot! Mi nombre es Twilight Sparkle, estudiante personal a Princesa Celestia!" she stated and bowed her head.
Unfortunately there was no response other than a long stretch of silence. A really long stretch of silence Curiously she looked up and saw the two teal eyes looking down at her, an unreadable expression all she was greeted with just like when she'd first walked into the room. It was almost like she was having a stare down with a statue.
"Um..." she paused as she raised her head again. "Did I say something wrong? Did I use a masculine pronunciation when I should've used feminine? Did I not roll my R's correctly?" she asked. She'd been practicing her pronunciations, she really had. But illustrations in a book provided little assistance in learning how to properly speak a new language, and without any skilled linguists in the area she was on her own on this one.
"I don't understand what you said just now," Ulquiorra replied.
Spike blinked. Now that voice sounded more appropriate for Princess Luna's guards than what he'd heard actually coming from them. It just proved to be another confusing aspect of everything going on around him.
"No? I'm sorry, I thought based on your name and where you're from you were fluent in one of the regional dialects I've been studying," Twilight apologized. The voice definitely sounded masculine, it was safe to assume this was a male she was talking to.
"Maybe he's from somewhere in Saddle Arabia," Spike suggested as she stepped forward. "Check out his sword. It's thin and curved like it's designed for a unidirectional trajectory, unlike the swords we've seen in the history books that're larger, straight and double edged. His looks kinda like their talwars*," Spike pointed out. "And look at what he's wearing. Saddle Arabia's a desert region and it's always hot there, the white robes would be used to prevent heat exhaustion by reflecting the sunlight away from the body and keeping the cool air in."
"A reasonable hypothesis considering what I've read regarding the nation. But it is incorrect. Las Noches and Hueco Mundo aren't located anywhere near this Saddle Arabia," Ulquiorra replied.
The little one was actually closer than it likely knew. Both Saddle Arabia and Hueco Mundo were desert regions and largely inhospitable to the unprepared. Arrancar robes were to some degree protective against the element whenever they had to leave Las Noches. However the similarities were limited.
"Well wherever you're from welcome to Canterlot. My name's Twilight Sparkle and this is Spike," she explained, gesturing over to her assistant before extending her foreleg towards him.
So this was the Twilight Sparkle that Princess Luna had referred to as Princess Celestia's dear student. Ulquiorra looked at the unicorn in uncertainty as it kept its leg extended. Glancing over to Princess Luna he could see she was glancing back in an expectant manner. Perhaps it was safe to conclude this was a pony's equivalent of physical greeting. And perhaps it was safe to conclude that this was one of the circumstances in which courtesy should be exercised as Princess Luna explained; if for no other reason than this unicorn holding a noteworthy position with his new and current ruler. Taking his right hand from his pocket he wrapped his fingers around her foreleg just above her hoof to return the gesture.
"That's...not a hoof is it?" Twilight asked as her mind was instantly snapped back into analytical mode at the strange appendage. It looked a lot like a dragon's claws but lacked the roughness they characteristically displayed.
"A hand," Ulquiorra replied and released his grip. Another fluctuation in her detectable reiatsu levels.
"Fascinating...could you...could you flex it so I could see?" she asked. She watched as Ulquiorra complied, flexing his hand in a number of different ways and into different shapes and showing just how far each individual point could bend, leaving her in stunned silence...for a moment anyway. "That's so incredible!"
"I don't get the fascination, Twi', you've seen me do stuff like that before," Spike pointed out. For his part he was confused at Twilight's sudden amazement. It didn't look like anything spectacular to him. He looked down at his own hand and flexed it in a similar manner, not seeing a difference.
"I know Spike but this is an entirely new level of physical dexterity that likely exceeds that of a dragon. The potential for fine motor skills is practically unlimited with how he can bend and flex his...his...all of these things that make up his hand. Entire books could be filled detailing their physical structure alone. This is an unprecedented discovery and we're right on course to the precipice!" Twilight stated.
Ulquiorra merely stared and remained silent, moving to tuck his hand back into his pocket but found it restrained by a lavender aura as Twilight stepped closer.
"Sorry about that," Spike apologized, knowing there was little else he could do. "Twilight's a scientist. Anytime something new and unfamiliar comes along she gets like this. She means well though...um...what was your name again?"
"Ulquiorra Cifer," he replied. He already knew he'd be introducing himself and making a long explanation yet again the way things were going. The way the unicorn was examining his hand like Szayelaporro Granz would examine a test subject, he got the feeling that there would be significantly more questions to answer this time around than ever before. Perhaps it would be best to begin with a question of his own. "What is that strange symbol she bears on her hindquarters?"
He had noticed the markings in the same region possessed by both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna but had thought nothing of it. Seeing as they were rulers and proclaiming titles of domination over the sun and the moon, respectively, it only seemed logical that they'd bear some symbol of their reign. But this one possessed no such indication as far as he could see. Perhaps hers bore some similarity to the numeric system of the Espada. Did she hold the position of fifth or sixth strongest in her particular group? Or perhaps it was an indication of some field she exercised domination over and was a representation of the stars in the night sky.
"You mean her cutie mark?" Spike asked.
"I'm unfamiliar with the term. What exactly is a "cutie mark" and what purpose does it serve?" Ulquiorra asked.
At this Twilight snapped out of her trance and looked up at him, releasing her magical hold on his wrist. "You don't know what a cutie mark is?" she asked. Then she remembered that he wasn't from around here so she could see how it wouldn't make sense. "Well a cutie mark is a special symbol all ponies get when they discover what their special talent in life is. Mine symbolizes that my special ability is magic, just like how Princess Luna's cutie mark symbolizes her control over the moon and the night sky. However cutie marks are sometimes open to interpretation and serve as a complimentary talent to what a pony already knows. My friend Rarity is very talented in fashion but her cutie mark symbolizes her skill with gemstones which she incorporates into her works," she explained.
"A rather interesting concept," Ulquiorra commented and tucked his hand back into his pocket now that it was free from its restraints. So the residents of this world were somehow branded with a visual representation of whatever labor they were most skilled in. While it would certainly make sense for specialized labor that required experts it made little sense if it applied to non-specialized areas that anyone could do. Was the janitorial staff branded in a similar manner with mops and buckets?
More interestingly was the question of just how limiting these "cutie marks" were in nature. Once branded was a pony limited to that particular field of work and denied advancement into any other area on the basis of not being specialized in that field? And what became of the workforce once a skilled worker of a particular field either died or retired? How were they replaced if others weren't branded in the same skill?
If this was the work of Princess Celestia then perhaps there was more evidence of her being tyrannical than he first assumed.
"Mr. Ulquiorra, Sir," Twilight spoke up, bringing his attention back to the present. However as soon as she had his attention she began to falter in confidence, her posture suggesting she was now nervous. "Um...could I...could I...study you?" she asked.