Chapter Sixty Four
The first order of business for Applejack had been to gargle liberally, until she finally felt her mouth was clean, and free of that vile taste she'd been forced to tolerate for the better part of the evening.
The second order of business had been to take up Twilight's offer of the shower, and vigorously scrub at her fur with the available peach-scented bubble bath solution, until she was certain that she was properly clean this time around.
The third order of business had been to repeatedly tell herself that she wasn't going to break down over what had happened, until she was positive that what she went through, was going to have some beneficial purpose in helping Rainbow Dash get better. No matter how hard it might be to the contrary.
If she felt even half as bad as Rainbow Dash did, that poor mare must've been going through the most indescribable anguish imaginable. Right now, as the hot water washed over her, and dripped down her saturated coat, all she wanted to do was hug herself, and cry over what she'd been forced to experience.
But she couldn't do that. She had to be strong in this case, because ponies were counting on her. She had to be strong, and dependable, and resilient for the time being. She had to stay focused on what was really important right now. That was all she had to do. If she could stay focused, and task-oriented long enough, the pain she was feeling would eventually lessen, as she grew more and more numb to it. She could persevere and overcome, if she just focused.
And that brought her to the fourth order of business; getting out of the shower, getting dried off, and meeting with Celestia and Ulquiorra. They had new information that needed to be discussed, and she wasn't about to be absent for that. With that fact in mind, she stood up, shut off the shower, and proceeded to vigorously shake herself like Winona, in order to get the majority of water off of her, letting the shower curtain contain the most of it.
"Whoo doggy!" Applejack announced as she trotted out of the bathroom, looking far better than when she'd first arrived at the library. Her coat was nice and clean this time around, and freshly dried off. Save for her mane needing a brush run through it a few times, and putting her hat back on, nopony could tell anything had even happened. "Ah tell ya, Twi', that shower helped a lot. Ah feel a whole lot better now that ah'm clean."
Twilight didn't know how to immediately respond as she watched Applejack retrieve her stetson, and set it back atop her head. It seemed like such a simple statement to respond to, but for the life of her, she was simply drawing a blank on the matter. Was she really that tired or something?
"So when can we be expectin' company?"
Fortunately for her, Applejack didn't seem to notice the silence. Or if she had, she'd decided to fill it on her own. Either way, Twilight felt a bit relieved right now. And it was a nice feeling, compared to how she'd been feeling for a good part of the evening, what with her worrying about Applejack's well being.
"Probably any time now," Spike spoke up. He'd made sure to suggest waiting twenty or so minutes before showing up, in order to give Applejack time to freshen up, figuring the time would do her some good. Plus it did their noses some good too.
Applejack didn't know how to immediately respond, having expected some sort of more involved explanation than just that. But she opted to leave the matter alone, and simply sit down on her haunches to wait. A little silence wasn't really a bad thing to experience.
But it wasn't long before she felt herself growing uncomfortable with the silence and waiting, and began scanning the room for something to distract herself with. And once again, it wasn't long before her eyes actually fell on something that stuck out, and caught her interest. Or rather something that wasn't there, and its absence is what stuck out to her, as she was so accustomed to seeing it.
"Hey, Twilight, where's the case wit' the Elements o' Harmony?" she asked. The case had been resting on its pedestal for so long, it had practically become an everyday fixture of the library. But now, with her mind calmer than previously in the evening, its absence was glaring like a beacon.
Twilight nearly froze in place at the question, her mind desperately trying to formulate an answer.
In the wake of the complication that occurred earlier in the week with the Elements of Harmony, Twilight -along with Spike, doing his best to help the frantic mare- had thought long and hard on how best to hide the fact that something was very, very wrong, without simultaneously raising a significant degree of suspicion around town. And after what had seemed like many hours of contemplation, planning, and drafting various approaches to the problem at hoof, Spike had presented the idea of simply moving the entire case down into the basement, since nopony could get down there on their own.
As much as Twilight hated to admit it, she was ashamed of the fact that she hadn't thought of that simple approach herself. And besides being simple in nature, it was brilliant, as it solved a number of problems that she had predicted as being possibilities.
There was just one problem that hadn't yet been addressed. And that was the fact that she hadn't told any of her friends about everything yet. She hadn't even told them that she was going to be relocating the Elements of Harmony to the basement for safe keeping, as she feared it would bring up the reason as to why she was doing it. And she just couldn't have that. She knew that, with conscience effort on her part, she could keep the information from leaking out into the public. But she couldn't say the same about the others. Applejack was far too honest to engage in active deception, and wouldn't be able to avoid a slip of the lip if the right question was asked. Fluttershy was unlikely to speak up on the matter, but it couldn't be ruled out as a possibility. Rarity was certainly trustworthy, but when it came to gossip, she sometimes got set on autopilot and didn't always think to censor her speech. And Pinkie Pie was... well, she really didn't need to even finish that thought.
Unfortunately, in her efforts to be secretive, she hadn't really conjured up a cover story, just in case this question arose. She'd focused too much on trying not to let the information get out in the first place, and now she was floundering for an answer, after being confronted about it.
"Well we... we moved them into the basement for safe keeping. You know, just in case something happens and the shields fail," she quickly tossed out, trying not to succumb to the nervous laughter she so desperately wanted to engage in right now. "I-it's like Rainbow Dash said, about Ulquiorra possibly breaking through if he really wanted to. The shields might be able to convert kinetic energy into fuel, but we never really tested them to see just how much kinetic energy could be absorbed at one time, or how quickly it could be absorbed. So, you know, better safe than sorry!"
From where Applejack stood, something about everything seemed... she didn't want to say that it was wrong, but something was definitely not right here. Something about Twilight's entire demeanor struck her as being off. But then again, she was making observations about her surroundings, while her perspective was possibly compromised from what she'd been through. Ultimately she decided to just let it go and not worry about it. Sometimes Twilight was just Twilight, just like how Pinkie was just Pinkie.
"Tha's a perdy good point ah guess. Ain' no reason ta be takin' chances we don' need ta," she replied and shrugged. Maybe it was just plain going over her head, what with the discussion involving unicorn magic and all.
And then it was back to silence and waiting.
However the wait was thankfully short, as a flash of light from inside the room signaled the arrival Celestia. Twilight wasted no time in hurrying over to where she stood in order to greet her. And that greeting, as Applejack observed, looked like it consisted of Twilight doing her best to hug the stuffing out of Celestia.
There were a lot of things that Applejack could interpret from that simple gesture. It could be regarded as a sign that the relationship between the two was indeed mending, and returning to some semblance of what it had been before the whole changeling incident occurred. Or it could be seen as a sign that Twilight was far more stressed than she was letting on, and was seeking comfort of her own right now, from the one pony who would easily understand.
Whatever the proper answer was, however, she'd think on it later. Right now there was other matters to tend to; like helping Rainbow Dash.
"I'm so glad you could make it, Princess," Twilight stated as she disengaged from the hug.
"I came as soon as I could," Celestia replied, wishing to herself that the circumstances of the meeting had been more pleasant. In the past few weeks she had spent more time in Ponyville, than she had in the last ten years. But the majority of that time had been spent addressing one crisis or another. If things didn't start going right soon, she might actually start to think about renting a cottage to cut down on the commute. "I still don't understand why the delay though," she pointed out, curious about the meaning behind such, as the details on everything had been rather sparse.
"It's a long story, I'll explain later," Twilight replied, not wanting to get into the matter right at the moment if it could be avoided. "Where's Ulquiorra? He's coming too, right?" she asked.
"To be honest, I really don't know where Ulquiorra is at the moment. The last I saw him was on Wednesday, when he said he was going to return to Ponyville, in order to keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Celestia replied. And it was a position she really couldn't disagree with. With Rainbow Dash being safely kept under observation in one of the best hospitals in Canterlot, the Espada's talents really weren't especially needed there. They both recognized that he would be of far more use back in Ponyville, where it seemed all of the recent strange activity was centered.
Twilight felt her left eye twitch at Celestia's words. Ulquiorra had been in Ponyville for the past four days, and hadn't even stopped in so much as once to have a discussion with her? Or to check up on whether or not she'd discovered anything? That was neither friendly, nor professional in nature.
"Just wait until I get my hooves on that mana-munching monochromatic. I'm going to have a few unkind words for him about his actions. And maybe a lecture or two while we're at it," she thought to herself. But then she stopped and reconsidered her position. Hers wasn't exactly a friendly one either. And right now there were more important matters to tend to, than having a conversation with the Espada about his lessons in friendship, and his corresponding neglecting of such.
"So how do we go about findin' him? Mr. Cifer sticks out like a sore hoof an' all, but that doesn' really make 'im all that easy ta find," Applejack pointed out. And if he was up in the sky right now, then good luck actually seeing him.
"I'm fairly certain that won't be a problem, Applejack, as Ulquiorra will most likely come and find us," Celestia replied. Considering the fact that he could detect her with such ease, even over considerable distances, it stood to reason that her presence in Ponyville would be like a homing beacon to him. He knew that her duties kept her primarily confined to Canterlot, and that she wouldn't be here unless the situation demanded it. So it was just a matter of waiting.
And then there was a knock at the door.
"Who's there?" Spike asked. Normally he would've just gone to the door to open it and see for himself. But in the wake of everything that'd happened recently, he'd been trying to exercise more caution.
"The fact that Princess Celestia is currently in Ponyville instead of Canterlot, would indicate that something of significance has occurred, and needs to be discussed as soon as possible. As such, there is no time for foolish games. Now open the door," the voice on the other side of the door stated.
"Right on cue," Celestia whispered softly, and extended her magic to open the door and let Ulquiorra enter. "You're unusually cordial tonight, Ulquiorra. I half-expected that you would break down the door to get inside," she commented out loud as she shut the door behind him.
"Such an approach is entirely unnecessary, as well as physically impractical, due to the presence of the hinges securing the door to the building's frame, and preventing the door from actually falling to the floor like a felled tree," Ulquiorra replied as he stood with his hands tucked into his pockets, unamused by Princess Celestia's attempt at witty banter. Even further than that, attempting to break down the door, would leave the library compromised to attack. "How has the situation at hand developed?" he asked, deciding to cut through to the bone of the issue behind her visit.
"Uh... that'd be me," Applejack replied slowly as she raised her hoof as if she were a foal asking a teacher a question. "RD ain' the only one bein' affected by whatever's goin' on. Ah'm havin' it too..."
Twilight nodded in agreement to Applejack's statement.
"I'm pretty sure that this development means we're not dealing with a contagion of some sort. So that's got to be good news," she stated.
"That remains to be proven," Ulquiorra replied and turned his attention to Applejack. "What was your experience?"
"Well as Applejack explained it to me-" Twilight began, only for Ulquiorra to cut her off.
"The question was presented to Applejack, as it was her experience. The explanation would be more beneficial if it were based on her own recollections, rather than your interpretation of what you can presently recall, and to whatever degree of accuracy you can recall it," he pointed out, before returning his attention to Applejack. If Twilight Sparkle wished to help in the matter, then the best way to go about it would be remaining silent, and not interrupting them.
Twilight frowned. She understood that Ulquiorra favored a straight to the point approach to doing things, and most of the time she could respect that. But this was just downright rude; like rudeness for the sake of being rude. Applejack shouldn't have to go all through it again on her own. And just where did he get off, insinuating that her recollection was going to be flawed?
"It's a'right, Twi', ah got this," Applejack stated when she saw her friend preparing to get out of sorts with Ulquiorra. She meant well. But sometimes a pony had to do, what a pony had to do. And acknowledging that fact, she stepped up, and prepared to give her recollection of events that had transpired. "This is how it all went down..."
Ulquiorra listened as Applejack recounted her tale of back in the orchards. As he stood there, allowing her to proceed without interruption, he couldn't help but note the level of detail that was being recounted.
The description of the lava itself was particularly noteworthy, based on observations he'd made back in his own dimensions. Humans possessed a strange fascination with the substance, and yet it was rarely portrayed or regarded correctly. The science of convection was often ignored, as were the poisonous fumes that came from the molten rock. They even failed to understand the "rock" portion when it came to molten rock, and displayed it as a semi-viscous liquid, rather than a substance of incredible density and firmness.
Such a lack of attention to detail was absent in this case, however, as Applejack described how the dropped cages didn't simply sink into the molten rock, but rather sat atop it while the ones inside succumbed to the heat, and died rather painfully.
But that level of detail, from the smell of the sulfur, to the sensation of her fur beginning to singe from the rising heat, left them with more questions than answers. Such as how she came about possessing such knowledge in the first place.
"... And tha's the whole story, Mr. Cifer," Applejack stated, bringing her recollection of everything to an end. And she was quite thankful that it was all over. Again.
"Fascinating," Ulquiorra replied, utterly unfazed by the details he'd heard.
"It sure wasn' fascinatin' ta me when ah thought ah was straight up murderin' mah friends an' family," Applejack replied and frowned at him.
Ulquiorra briefly considered explaining to Applejack how her actions didn't qualify as murder. But then he stopped such consideration outright, when he realized that the explanation would do little good. As emotionally upset as she was right now from recounting her story, the technical differential that existed between murder, and her own actions, would be nothing more than wasted effort on his part.
Furthermore, it wasn't his place to be offering her comfort. Rather it was to investigate this matter, and respond accordingly. He would leave the comforting to those who were far more skilled in the matter.
"Perhaps not. But the level of detail experienced is of interest in this matter," he replied as he began to evaluate the matter to determine what to ask first. "The voice you heard. Was it one you recognized? Was it masculine or feminine in nature? Were there any identifiable manners of speech, that might help identify the speaker?" he asked.
Applejack shook her head in response. "Nope, 'fraid not. Ah wouln' be able ta tell ya who er wha' was talkin' ta me at the time. Ah was too upset ta be payin' much attention ta what was goin' on. Ah was tryin' not ta pay attention 'cuz o' wha' was happenin'," she explained.
It wasn't an ideal situation, but at the very least, it was understandable. Having no idea that she would be afflicted next, it made sense that Applejack would try and not focus on what she was experiencing. He couldn't really fault her, considering what it was that she'd experienced. Even if he tried, he knew nothing positive or beneficial would come of it, and may actually wind up making the matter worse.
"And yet, despite your best attempts at blocking it out, you reported recalling significant details that others would consciously block out if they had truly experienced such," Ulquiorra replied. He still had no idea just how Applejack knew what lava smelt like, or that the fumes that came from it were toxic in nature. Or that its consistency was much like solid rock. He could only assume that such knowledge had in some way come from association with Twilight Sparkle. But at the moment that wasn't important.
"This means it's not a disease we're dealing with, right?" Twilight asked, speaking up for the first time since Applejack explained her tale yet again, to bring both Celestia and Ulquiorra up to speed on her experiences. "We can eliminate that as a possibility, and instead focus on other possible explanations, right?"
The possibility of disease being the culprit had always been low. Rather than a pathogen, the greater likelihood with regard to disease was that Rainbow Dash was suffering from a neurological disorder, as it was at least plausible. But Applejack's experience seemed to undermine that plausibility a good deal.
But at the moment it was all speculation. There was still a great deal about pony physiology he simply had no understanding about. And at the moment, with him running back and forth between Canterlot and Ponyville, his allotted time for study had been drastically shortened, as he worked to keep an eye on both locations.
That was the primary reason for why he simply didn't dismiss the idea of disease entirely; a lack of coherent information. It would be foolish to dismiss the idea entirely due to a lack of relevant information to go on. But at the same time it was dangerous to succumb to target fixation; especially when the target in question was the result of questioning an obviously emotionally disturbed pegasus, who had readily admitted to slamming her head against a tree, in a misguided effort to make the audible hallucinations stop.
"At the very least, it would appear as such. The odds of Rainbow Dash and Applejack both sharing the same undetermined neurological disorder are quite low. And a contagion having the ability to inflict such symptoms is even more remote," he stated.
"Then that means we can cross it off our list, right?" Twilight asked, wanting to be sure of what he was saying.
"Theoretically. But ultimately the medical staff in Canterlot are best suited for making such a final determination, rather than ourselves. We can speculate all we want, but ultimately it would be just that; speculation. Until we receive verification on the matter, it would be premature to discount the possibility entirely," Ulquiorra explained.
But even once the medical staff in Canterlot got back to them with the results, they still faced another problem. If all tests for diseases -both infectious and otherwise- came back negative, they would lose the one theory that they could actually explore. Despite their best efforts, they were quite short on leads. They might as well pull a dictionary from the shelves, pick a word at random, and go from there as if it were a genuine lead.
"Ya know, tha' reminds me. Just wha' has been goin' on wit' RD the past few days? How come we ain' heard a thing since she bolted?" Applejack asked, glad that this conversation point had come up. She'd been worried about Rainbow Dash since the beginning, and the lack of information coming and going had done nothing to quell her fears. If anything, the drought of updates had just made things worse for her and the others, as it had caused a great deal of uncertainty, and blind speculation to take root.
Worse than that, there were rumors beginning to circulate Ponyville about Rainbow Dash's absence. And they had no way of setting any of them straight.
"I'm afraid we don't know, Applejack," Celestia said softly, speaking up for the first time since this whole ordeal had begun. "The doctors have been tight lipped about the whole matter, even to me. But I suppose that's to be expected, if they're running tests to try and determine what we might be facing."
Considering the importance of everything, Celestia really wasn't too surprised with the lack of updates. Unhappy, but not entirely surprised. They were facing what could potentially be a national crisis, and if there was the possibility of a pandemic outbreak being close to happening, then it was a matter of the utmost importance to exercise proper crisis control. That meant extensive tests for anything that could be considered a contagion, and controlling the release of information; even if the restricted release of information affected her specifically.
"Hol' up," Applejack spoke up as she turned to face Celestia. "Ya mean ta say tha' sompony's stonewallin' ya? Can't ya, like, order 'em ta tell ya how RD's doin'?"
"I could indeed do such, Applejack, but if there's no information to be had yet, then there's simply no information to be had. And royal decree won't change that fact. The field of medical science is one of intricate complication. They can't simply perform a quick scan of Rainbow Dash, and immediately determine what's wrong with her," Celestia explained. She had certainly given much thought to just such an approach. But such thoughts were tempered by experience. They weren't going to get any information any faster simply because she got impatient. And if anything, her attempting to apply increased pressure to the medical examiners might just wind up making matters worse.
"So... what's that mean? We're left with nothing to do but play the waiting game?" Spike asked them.
"It sure sounds like that," Twilight replied, sighing as she hung her head. "I'm sorry, Applejack, I thought this development was actually going to get us somewhere."
This news hit her hard, making Applejack wince, although she tried hard not to let it be too noticeable to the others. This whole time she'd been trying to tell herself that everything was going to be alright. She'd been trying to tell herself that if what she went through could help out Rainbow Dash in any way, then it would be worth it. But now it seemed like that wasn't going to be the case. Instead of Ulquiorra agreeing that they had narrowed down the fields in this matter, he still wasn't certain that it wasn't some sort of illness they were up against. Essentially he was saying that everything she went through had been for nothing, and no good was going to come from what she'd suffered through.
She wanted to cry. All Applejack wanted to do right now, was let her composure drop, and just break down, and let herself have the cry that she was so desperately craving.
But she knew that was something she couldn't do right now. She couldn't allow herself to go completely to pieces. If she did that, then there really would be no hope for her being able to help Rainbow Dash, as she'd be admitting defeat to herself. But she was going to make no such admission, as she didn't regard it as the truth. She absolutely refused to accept defeat and hopelessness as being the truth.
She couldn't recall all of the foreign words that Twilight had picked up and made use of in situations like this. But if she could remember them, and knew what their context was, she would be cursing up a storm right about now, dictating how she wasn't going to be beaten by indecisiveness in this matter.
But she'd ask for clarification later. Instead of the scowl she wanted to wear, she needed to put on a supportive smile for Twilight's benefit. Her friend was trying her hardest to be supportive, and keep things under control. But that didn't mean she didn't need help herself when experiencing a setback.
And if nothing else, it would give her something else to focus on.
"It's a'right, Twi'. All this means is tha' we gotta be a bit patient an' wait before proceeding. Ain' tha' right, Mr. Cifer?" she asked as she turned her attention away from the downtrodden unicorn, and over to the Espada.
"Essentially that's correct," Ulquiorra replied. Snap decisions were uncalled for right now. But that didn't mean they wouldn't act, once they had more relevant information. The medical examiner that had been charged with Chrysalis' autopsy, had been able to find a significant amount of information regarding the changeling's health, despite it being a completely unrelated species. If such a feat was within the realm of possibilities, then there was no reason to believe that they would be incapable of achieving the same results when it came to a pegasus, whose species' anatomy was already extensively documented, and had been going back decades.
"I know, I know. I just... thought that we were finally getting somewhere in this whole mess," Twilight groaned in response. Then slowly she lifted her head to look at Celestia. "Does Applejack have to go to Canterlot too? I promised her she could spend the night with us."
"... I don't think that will be necessary. We won't be able to learn anything new," Celestia replied and shook her head. It wasn't like taking Applejack to Canterlot for examination would make the doctors hurry any faster. Nor would any tests carried out on Applejack be done any quicker. And she highly doubted her earth pony status would amount of a significant variance that needed to be analyzed. "The primary reason for taking Rainbow Dash back to Canterlot, was to try and aid her recovery, because she didn't believe she was safe around her friends in Ponyville. But from what I've heard, I don't believe that's the case with Applejack."
"No ma'am," Applejack replied and shook her head. "Right 'bout now, the only pony ah don' think ah can trust is mahself. Ah get tha' none o' it was real, and none o' it really happened. But it was still me makin' the decision ta be pullin' those levers..."
"Based on the reported circumstances of your attack, I don't believe you had any other choice in the matter," Ulquiorra pointed out as he spoke up, bringing their attention back to him and where he stood. "According to your recollection of events, you tried to stop it. You refused to comply, you even threatened to end your own life in an effort to make it stop. You played every foreseeable strategy. The only reason you complied in the first place, was due to the threat of total loss occurring. I fail to see any other outcome being a possibility," he explained evenly.
He could understand why Applejack was upset with herself. Even if his understanding of friendship was limited in scope, that didn't mean he was completely foreign to what was at issue here. Applejack was given a series of unpleasant, and undesirable choices to make, she was forced to make them under duress, and now she was experiencing much negativity over the decisions she was forced to make against her will. What she was going through really wasn't all that different from what Rainbow Dash experienced, in believing she was raped by the others.
There was also the question of whether or not she was even in control of her own actions to begin with. For all they knew, what she had experienced, was this entity's interpretation of what actions she would have taken if given the opportunity. It couldn't even be said for certain, if the words she had even spoken were her own.
"Maybe so. But that sure doesn' make it hurt any less..." Applejack replied and sighed.
"Perhaps not. But the fact that everything occurred in the way it did, may provide us with an important clue as to just what is going on around here," Ulquiorra replied. It went without saying that those assembled would want to know what he was talking about. So he decided to not wait for the obvious to happen, before he continued in his explanation, turning his focus on the entire group, rather than any one individual. "What happened to Applejack, as well as what happened to Rainbow Dash, bear a number of differences from one another, but also a number of similarities. And one of those similarities is the presence of malice; a willful, and deliberate, desire to inflict pain and suffering on another party, and for no justifiable reason. This fact tells us much, as malice is a side effect of a sapient mind, and doesn't exist in the animal kingdom."
"Ah'm sorry, but how exactly does this tell us anything about wha' happened?" Applejack asked, wondering why the Espada couldn't talk in simple terms.
"What it tells us, Applejack, is that we're dealing with someone instead of something," Twilight stated as she turned to face her friend. "What it tells us, is that somebody went out of their way to do this to you and Rainbow Dash. And if there's somebody involved, that means there's an ass that we can kick!" she continued and slammed her right hoof against the floor to emphasize the point.
Now Twilight was talking in terms that Applejack could not only understand, but also relate to. What she was saying was making a great deal of sense. If what they were dealing with was a who, then that meant they could deal with this. They could find out just who it was that was messing with them, and then they could stomp the manure out of the ornery sidewinder like he or she so richly deserved!
"Now isn't the time to get carried away. Simply because we've recognized evidence of a sapient mind being at work, doesn't mean we're any closer to identifying the responsible party or parties," Ulquiorra pointed out. He could certainly understand Twilight Sparkle's sentiment on the situation. The prospect of facing off against an opponent of a physical nature was far more appealing, as it meant much greater odds of achieving success
But sentiment could only go so far. Simply because they were facing an opponent who potentially had a physical nature, didn't mean they were any closer to actually achieving success.
Twilight sighed in response, feeling resentment for Ulquiorra's efforts at trying to deflate their excitement. She understood the need to stay grounded in reality. But was it asking too much to let them have a brief moment of enthusiasm?
"Note to self: further discussion with Ulquiorra pertaining to the intricacies of friendship is definitely warranted," she thought, trying to resist the urge to pinch her muzzle in frustration. "I'm aware of that fact, Ulquiorra, but I disagree. If there's malice involved, meaning a sapient mind is at work, that means we can actually eliminate a good number of possibilities. If we're dealing with something that's sapient, and thus self aware, then it stands to reason that it's not something naturally occurring. Thorough or not, we can at least conclude for ourselves that it wasn't a virus, or some other contagion that's responsible for what Rainbow Dash and Applejack went through, right?" she asked.
"Not at present," Ulquiorra responded, paying no attention as the lavender unicorn's frown deepening frown. "Simply because malice is present, that doesn't mean a contagion isn't in play. It may simply mean one was utilized, instead of being directly responsible."
"Ulquiorra," Celestia began softly as she spoke up, "I know that you're referring to something specific, but I'm having trouble following just what you're saying. Can you elaborate a little better?" she asked.
"In simpler terms, what I'm referring to would be considered biological warfare. Weaponizing illness for the purpose of inflicting harm on another party," Ulquiorra replied. It came as no surprise that they would have trouble following the concept. "When it was suggested that a biological agent was behind Rainbow Dash's affliction, it only partially dealt with the possibility of the biological agent being responsible. The other possibility was that whatever we're facing, may have found a way to engineer a virus in a manner that would allow for a subversive attack against those that hold the Elements of Harmony. An attack that, under normal circumstances, none of us would have reason to suspect."
"So yer thinkin' someone out there gave me an' RD somethin' like a cold ta make us see things that ain' real?" Applejack asked him.
"That... that..." Twilight began to say, but found it difficult to actually get the words out in response to Ulquiorra's theory. But undeterred, she pressed on to express what she was feeling right now. "That's the dumbest thing I've heard yet! Are you just pulling this stuff out of your ass or what!?"
Ulquiorra was... well he was momentarily caught off guard by Twilight Sparkle's sudden outburst. That wasn't the response he'd anticipated getting from her with regard to his theory. It went without saying that she disagreed with his position. But the question was why.
"Huh?" Spike asked, surprised by the sudden outburst.
"Do you have any idea just how impractical the use of a virus is? Do you!? It's not like Equestria is crawling with ten million different infectious diseases, just waiting to be picked through for sinister purposes. There are no filing cabinets filled with illnesses, you know! And ponies do have immune systems, you know? What good does a viral infection do over the long term? The pony body is constantly analyzing infection, and developing antibodies, and immunities to combat it, making it only a matter of time before the effectiveness is rendered moot. And once that's gone, the method of attack is destroyed too. That's even assuming they get sick to begin with. It's not like we're all just walking around, completely vulnerable to the germs floating about in the air. Just because we're exposed to something, that doesn't mean we're automatically going to get sick from it. I can't tell you the number of times I've been around other ponies that were sick, and I didn't catch what they had."
Ulquiorra listened, silent and unblinking, as Twilight Sparkle unleashed a verbal assault against him. The number of points being raised was significant. And the number of points being made that were correct was equally significant. Biological warfare was... tricky to engage in properly. And based upon what he'd seen of the medical technology this world had access to, engineering a run of the mill virus into a trojan horse seemed implausible at best. Even allowing for the catchall excuse of "magic" as a possibility to explain how something otherwise impossible could be made possible, it still seemed far fetched even to him.
"And then there's the intent of whoever is screwing with us to begin with! If whoever's responsible is simply intent on torturing us, rather than killing us, that idea becomes even dumber when you stop to take into consideration just how risky using a virus is! It would require a virus that doesn't have the ability to kill a pony from health complications, while at the same time being something we somehow don't have an immunity to. And if this enemy is going to go through all the trouble of orchestrating something like that, just to get to us, and mind fuck us for sick kicks, why not just go the obviously simpler route, and utilize a virus that's extremely fatal, and take us out right away? It doesn't make the least bit of sense! If whoever's behind this is going to go through all the trouble of something like what you're suggesting, why settle on toying with us like a cat with a mouse would? If this thing seriously has the ability to kill us without any of us noticing, then why doesn't it just do it already? To deliberately leave us alive is just seriously one of the stupidest strategies out there!"
Ulquiorra continued to maintain his silence as he listened. Observing the others in the room, both Spike and Applejack were looking on with their mouths hanging open in surprise. Although there had been disagreements in the past, they had possessed at least some measure of professionalism. But in this case, the response he was getting was far more brutal, and lacked decorum. It was almost like she'd interpreted his theory as a personal attack; almost like he'd gone out of his way to insult science itself.
Princess Celestia was the only other one who seemed unfazed by Twilight Sparkle laying out exactly why the presented theory was preposterous, and doing an excellent job of such in the process. Perhaps she had witnessed this before, and knew from experience that the only way to calm Twilight Sparkle down, was to allow her to exhaust herself through her own exertions.
The way she was carrying on, he'd fully expected to see her angrily jumping on all four of her hooves. She was just that livid in her expressiveness.
"And while we're on that topic, how come Applejack and Rainbow Dash don't have any symptoms that would be indicative of a viral infection? There's been no sign of fever, cough, sore throat, joint aches, vomiting, or anything else along those lines. How could it possibly be viral if there are no symptoms?" Twilight asked as she continued on her rant as to why Ulquiorra was wrong in his theory.
"Uh, Twilight? Ah was pukin' afterwards, remember?" Applejack pointed out.
"That's beside the point, Applejack," Twilight stated as she interrupted her position in order to turn her attention to her friend. "Your emetic episode was due to what you were put through. Anypony would've reacted in the same way, I'm sure of that. But that's not indicative of a virus. Not on its own anyway," she explained, before turning back to Ulquiorra, and preparing to tear into his theory once again.
"All excellent points, Twilight Sparkle."
Unfortunately she never got that opportunity, as he cut her off while she was in the process of taking a breath. That one single sentence had been enough to catch her off guard, and diffuse her entire explanation. That left her with little option but to blink in confusion.
"Say... what now?" she asked as she tilted her head to the side, unable to think of how else to respond.
"You raise a number of excellent points, as to why biological warfare would be an unlikely explanation to what has occurred. But unlikely doesn't mean impossible. And until we can actually verify that there's no evidence to support it, it continues to remain a possibility," Ulquiorra explained, making the mental note to take the time later on, and explain to Twilight Sparkle the concept of biological warfare from his dimension, in much greater depth of detail than he had time for now.
"Well if tha's the case then maybe ah shouldn' stay here tonight. Ah don' wanna be gettin' Twilight sick," Applejack stated.
"It doesn't work that way, Applejack," Spike spoke up and shook his head. "You going away wouldn't do any good. If it's something in the air, it's just a matter of time before all of Ponyville's been exposed. If it hasn't been already, and we're just finding out about it now."
"Spike's right," Twilight replied and nodded. She still found the idea of a virus to be ridiculous. But even if Ulquiorra was right, that was still no reason to just panic, and toss Applejack out on her flanks, as if the act could possibly prevent contamination and infection. Only an idiot would believe something like that. Not that Applejack was an idiot, that is. She was just confused, and scared, and in need of a little stability. "We already said you could stay over, we're not about to kick you out. Not tonight, and certainly not tomorrow," she stated as she approached, before pulling Applejack into yet another hug.
Celestia said nothing as she watched the interactions of the two. It was safe to say that with friends like Twilight and Spike around, Applejack was certainly in good hooves right now. But just as she thought that, another thought occurred to her. And hoping for clarification, she turned to Ulquiorra.
"Ulquiorra, there's something about this whole incident that just strikes me as... odd," she began, trying to figure out just how to phrase everything. "What Rainbow Dash and Applejack both went through something that was quite similar to one another. But I honestly can't help but notice some striking differences. And I don't know if it's significant or not."
"Such as?" Ulquiorra asked as he turned his attention to her and away from the others. This conversation had far greater potential for being interesting, than the physical contact shared by the others.
"Well for starters, Rainbow Dash insisted that she was physically restrained, and unable to do anything to resist what happened to her. But Applejack shared no such recollection of events. She wasn't physically bound in any manner. And even though it didn't pan out, she at least made every effort to try and resist what she was being put through. And then there's the matter of how they each responded to their encounters. Rainbow Dash's experiences left her broken, literally broken, unable to trust her friends, and unable to tell what's real, and what isn't. But with Applejack that's not the case. She wasn't as traumatized as Rainbow Dash was. Or at the very least she doesn't appear to be. Do you believe there's some significance to this inconsistency in their experiences?" Celestia asked, doing her best to lay out the mystery of it all.
Ulquiorra thought on the question for the moment, before deciding to speak up.
"It's impossible to say for certain why the two had different experiences, and different reactions to such. The rest of the night could be spent speculating a number of possibilities, including how this apparent inconsistency could've been deliberate, and indicative of not only malice, but also sadism," he explained.
If he had been feeling particularly talkative, he would've gone into detail on the matter, laying out the key differences between the two instances. Rainbow Dash had experienced the equivalent of three days, being bound and helpless to resist what the others had done to her. However Applejack hadn't been bound, and had been allowed to refuse compliance with the demands made of her, even refusing to end her own life in response. Even more interesting was how she only relented once her siblings had been introduced as a bargaining chip to force her compliance on the matter.
As to how they had each responded to their episodes, that could lead to even more speculation. He had no idea why Rainbow Dash had responded so much worse than Applejack. But then again he had seen Rainbow Dash earlier on compared to Applejack. For all he knew she had been hysterical as well, and had simply calmed down before his arrival. Or perhaps her mental strength was simply that much greater compared to Rainbow Dash.
"But I don't believe anything beneficial would be achieved through speculative theory right now. At this hour of night, mental clarity is diminished, especially in light of what's occurred. It would be far more productive to wait until morning to engage in such a discussion," he concluded.
He was aware that his decision to withhold elaboration could have unintended consequences, possibly depriving the others of sleep as their minds attempted to wrestle with the unknown. But he was equally aware that going into elaborate detail on speculation could have the same result. Either way there was no right answer under these circumstances.
Celestia was left with an unfulfilled sensation at Ulquiorra's words. After all her interactions with the Espada, she'd come to expect an extensive amount of speculative discussion, and thought provoking observations that could only be achieved from his unique perspective. And instead of that, he was basically telling her to wait until morning. Was he teasing her? Or did he actually have concern for the others? She couldn't tell one way or the other with him and his eternal poker face.
But he certainly had a good point in his position. Late night conversations about deep topics rarely panned out; especially if Luna was too busy to set up another dream meeting for all of them. Perhaps it really would be best to just wait until morning.
"I can see the logic in that," Twilight replied, before turning to Applejack. "Is that alright with you? If we wait?"
"Ah reckon ah'm gonna have enough nightmares tonight as is. Ah don't really need ta be turnin' in with anymore dark thoughts ta be contemplatin' right now," Applejack replied. As much as Ulquiorra had gotten her curiosity going, she knew that sometimes it was just better to wait. Not everything had to happen at once. And it was unlikely that Rainbow Dash would be getting anymore help tonight, than she was this afternoon, regardless of what they uncovered here.
"Then it would seem business is concluded for this evening," Ulquiorra replied.
"Not just yet," Twilight quickly spoke up. She didn't want him disappearing just like that. Not yet anyway. "Before you go... wherever it is you're going, Ulquiorra, I've still got a few questions I'd like to ask. Like how come we never saw you during the last few days when you were in Ponyville?"
"Performing my standard duties of ensuring no threats are present. A duty that can't be performed at the library at all times," Ulquiorra replied. As fascinating as the Golden Oaks Library had the potential to be, and as much information as the shelves contained, there were simply things that had to be done outside.
...
Why did that thought sound so much like an anti-obesity advertisement?
Never mind. It wasn't important right now.
"Based on your question, I can only assume you haven't had any recent contact with the others who bear the Elements of Harmony. Otherwise you would have been aware of my presence. Fluttershy could have told you two days ago that I was present," he explained.
"Fluttershy?" Spike asked.
"Correct," Ulquiorra replied as he turned to him. "She lives closest to the Everfree Forest, second only to Applejack. She has claimed that she would instruct her animals to be on alert for anything out of the ordinary. Despite my initial doubts about the validity of her claim, I still stopped by to see if any information had been gathered. But so far there has been nothing useful to report."
Twilight frowned, realizing that this lack of information was her own fault. In all her efforts to maintain secrecy over the Elements of Harmony, she'd wound up stifling the inflow of relevant information right alongside the outflow. That certainly wasn't good, as she had no idea what else she'd wound up missing out on the past few days.
Instead of having that long conversation with Ulquiorra later, perhaps she should have a long conversation with herself instead. Maybe reference a few old friendship reports to help remind her about not losing sight of what was important. If she was letting her fears keep her from interacting with her friends -and subsequently missing out on what could potentially be vital information- then perhaps a refresher course really was necessary.
"If there's no new business to discuss this evening, I plan to investigate Sweet Apple Acres itself. This time we know the location of the incident, and any potential evidence there is to be found," Ulquiorra stated. He would be far more use out and about, rather than standing around here.
"I've still got that UV lantern in the basement if you'd like to take it along. It's starting to get dark out," Twilight pointed out.
"That won't be necessary. One of the benefits of being a Hollow, is having a greatly enhanced degree of night vision. Whether in brightest day, or blackest night, it makes little difference," Ulquiorra explained. The lantern had chiefly been for the purpose of debunking Rainbow Dash's claims, by easing the search for forensic evidence. But it would be of little use as he searched Sweet Apple Acres, as Applejack was making no accusations of wrongdoing about anyone but herself. There would be no traces of blood, no particulates of bodily tissue, and no signs of lava anywhere to be found.
But perhaps, just perhaps, he would be able to pick up traces of a foreign reiatsu, that had absolutely no business being there, and it would lead him to something substantial if he just followed the trail.
It was unlikely at best. But at the moment, it was all he had to go on.
"Before you go, Ulquiorra, there's just one more thing I'd like to bring up," Twilight spoke up. And once she saw that she had his attention, she continued. "I've been thinking about everything, and I've come to a conclusion. When we tried to get in touch with you, we had to send a letter to Celestia, and wait for her to bring you up to speed about what the note said. But if you're going to be in Ponyville, that won't exactly work out. We can't just have Celestia running off to us anytime something happens, there's just no time for it," she explained.
"So wha' ya got in mind fer that, Twilight?" Applejack asked. She knew what Twilight was saying about the rigamarole of having to track down Ulquiorra, but had no idea what she was proposing as a solution.
"Well originally the spell on Spike's fire was limited to Celestia herself. Then when we befriended Luna, we split the spell to deliver letters to her as well. And then we split it again when Shining Armor and Cadance took over guiding the Crystal Kingdom full time. By default everything goes to Celestia, unless Spike consciously redirects it to another recipient. So the idea I have, is that we split the spell again, and include Ulquiorra in the lineup," Twilight explained to Applejack, before turning back to face Ulquiorra where he stood. "The spell would only be one way, seeing as you don't have magic for sending any correspondence. But if we needed to get in touch with you immediately, we'd have the option available to us," she pointed out.
He could see the validity of Twilight Sparkle's point. The only reason he had known to show up tonight was due to the fact he'd detected Princess Celestia's immense reiatsu entering the area. And he knew that such a development wouldn't occur for a purely social visit. So he'd more or less hotfooted it over here to see what had been occurring. But if it wasn't for those above facts, he would still be involved in a lengthy discussion with the ponies Bon Bon and Lyra Heartstrings, whose ankle was still in the process of properly healing from being sprained.
"A wise thought," he replied. If something bad were to happen, something that his pesquisa couldn't immediately detect, advanced warning would be a necessity.
Spike tried not to groan in response. He could see what they were saying and all. But still, they weren't the ones who actually had to send and receive messages via the fire messenger system. They weren't the ones who had to put up with the indigestion that went along with a high volume of enchanted flames. And they weren't the ones that had to experience the pain that was involved the destination division process, that only Celestia could effectively carry out.
But he understood that there weren't any other alternatives. And it was their lives they were sort of talking about. So in the end a little indigestion and temporary pain were minor inconveniences if it meant contributing to the overall safety of Equestria.
Regardless of that fact, however, this was still going to suck.