Episode 8: Power to Protect
Splitting up had been the only choice that made sense, but Sunset still wasn’t thrilled with it. There was no telling just how many Hollows they were going to have to fight or how strong, so not having all of her friends in sight filled Sunset with cold worry.
Each girl whose family was in danger was going to their respective homes, but each needed backup that could fight. Luckily Discord was sending Screwloose and Screwball with them to help, though when questioned why he himself wasn’t going, he only said a rather vague, “It’d be a bad idea for me to leave the shop.”
So it was that Screwloose, Rarity, and Twilight were heading for Rarity’s home, while Screwball, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were heading for Pinkie’s house, and finally Sunset, Clover, Applejack, and Fluttershy were making their way out to the Apple family farm. Clover was literally carrying Applejack, while Sunset carried Fluttershy, and they both made large leaps in their spirit forms to cover the distance quickly. Sunset ignored any possibility they might be seen, or rather Fluttershy and Applejack would be seen being carried invisibly through the air.
She was still shocked at the fact that she could move as fast as she did or jump as high. Clover of course outpaced her, and could somehow seemingly walk on thin air if she needed to. A trick Sunset wanted to learn, but there wasn’t time for it. The downtown quickly turned to suburbs, and even those got soon left behind as the girls kept running and jumping, covering dozens of feet per leap. Sunset only cast one glance towards the suburb area, hoping the others would be okay with their own battles.
Housing turned to rolling, tree strewn hills, the highway cutting a swatch over the countryside. The Apple farm was only a few miles outside the town limits, bordering the distant, thick green wall of the Everfree Forest. The mountains on either side of the town were like dark teeth in the sky, now that the sun had set and dusk had settled. Sunset breathed hard, focused on what lay ahead. She felt Fluttershy clutching her tightly and whispering to herself; a prayer, perhaps?
Soon the fields of the Apple farm loomed ahead, and the thick apple orchards beyond that. The barn and farmhouse stood as silent, dark sentinels, and the lack of lights send a shiver through Sunset.
They landed on the dirt path between the barn and farmhouse, and Applejack all but tore herself from Clover, rushing for the house. “Big Mac! Applebloom! Granny!”
Clover, already drawing her Zanpaktou, hissed, “Don’t rush in! That’s exactly what the Hollows would expect!”
Applejack barely hesitated, only slowing her steps rather than stopping, a look of fear and anger whipping across her features as she balled her fists and ground her teeth, “I ain’t standin’ still while my family's’ in trouble!”
“Trouble?” asked an female voice, wavering and croaked with age as an elderly green skinned woman with her white hair tied back in a bun ambled onto the porch, “What’s this I’m hearin’ ‘bout trouble?”
“G-Granny Smith!” cried Applejack, relief flooding her face as she stepped forward, “Yer alright!”
Sunset had a sudden, intensely bad feeling. Something wasn’t right. There still weren’t any lights on in the farmhouse, and until the last Apple was firmly tucked in bed even Sunset knew Granny Smith never put the lights out. There was a chill in the air as well, a tense feeling of waiting violence. “Applejack...” she began to warn, but the girl was already on the porch.
“What happened Granny, where’re Big Man and Apple... bloom?”
Applejack halted what she was saying as she got a good, close look at ‘Granny Smith’. Sunset saw it around the same time, the woman’s eyes. They were lacking any emotion or depth, and weren’t even really looking at Applejack. Clover began to shout something about a trap when the image of Granny Smith seemed to convulse and implode upon itself, revealing that the woman was never there at all, but rather was just some kind of false image or doll attached to the end of a long, black tentacle that whipped out and knocked Applejack off the porch.
Clover vanished and reappeared to catch Applejack in mid-air, just as the sound of Hollow howls filled the air and the monstrous spirits began to flood from the house, crashing out of windows or exploding out the door.
----------
Upon seeing the ambulance outside her home, it’s lights strobing the street in a wash of colors, Rarity clenched her teeth and fought back the urge to scream in both frustration and fear. Screwloose and Twilight ran at her side as they rushed to the front of the house, the front door open as paramedics wheeled out someone. Rarity recognized her father, conscious but with a compress on his head, laying on the medical stretcher. Beside it her mother walked along, face pinched in worry.
“Now honey you stay still and let these fine young men tend to you, okay?” said Rarity’s mother.
“Mmm, yes dear, I don’t think I’ll be dancing a waltz anytime soon, so don’t you worry.”
“Mother! Father!” Rarity shouted, rushing to them. The paramedics barely halted, only slowing enough to allow for Rarity to walk alongside the stretcher. “What happened? Where’s Sweetie Belle!?”
“Rarity?” her mother blinked in surprise, then said, “Everything’s fine. Your father just tripped down the stairs and bumped his head. I... I think Sweetie is still in her room. I called the ambulance as soon as I could and I haven’t seen her. Hm, odd, you’d think the way your father was hollering that he was dying that Sweetie might’ve come had a look, but I suppose that girls’ got her headphones on or some such thing.”
“Now I wasn’t hollering,” said Rarity’s father, frowning past his mustache, “Maybe grumbling a tad.”
“Dear you swore up and down that you were seeing the light and walking into it,” deadpanned her mother, but Rarity was no longer listening. Instead her eyes were focused inside the house, and she rushed in, Screwloose and Twilight following behind without comment. Not, at least, until they were inside and Twilight pulled out her Detector.
“They’re here,” Twilight said, “I have at least five readings. Towards the back yard of the house, and the alley beyond.”
Screwloose glanced back at the paramedics loading Rarity's father into the ambulance, “If we’re fighting there’s going to be too many eyes on us without another ward. I’ll have to set it up once we’re out.”
“What about the other wards you set up around these homes?” asked Twilight as they went up the stairs, “Couldn’t they keep out the Hollows?”
“Not without blocking other people as well. The wards were just early warning alarms. A precaution the boss felt was prudent,” said Screwloose. Now that they were at the top of the stairs the woman opened up the black cloak she wore and withdrew the large, multi-barreled bazooka-like weapon. “When the fun starts, you little kittens stay behind me.”
Rarity was barely hearing any of it, marching directly for Sweetie Belle’s room. She tried the door, not bothering to knock. The door wasn’t locked and the inside of the room was lit, but empty, a half open coloring book on the bed and a few things strewn around the ground. Rarity’s eyes immediately homed in on the open window and she went to it without even hesitating.
There she halted, sucking in a sharp breath.
The Hollows were waiting there, five of them. Four were smaller creatures, all having the look of amphibians and lizards in both body shape and that of their skull masks. The larger one looked like a disgusting cross between an octopus and a sea urchin, a round, bulbous body covered in harsh spikes and sporting an array of writhing tentacles. This Hollow hung back towards the alley, and in one of its tentacles it clutched Sweetie Belle tightly, even covering the young girl’s mouth so she couldn’t scream. However Sweetie Belle was conscious and the moment Rarity was in sight Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened and she tried to struggle in the Hollow’s tight grip.
“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity shouted, then her eyes glared dangerously at the tentacled Hollow, “You! Unhand, er, untentacle my sister this instant!”
“Sure, sure,” said the Hollow in a bubbly male voice, “I’ll let the little one go, just as soon as you hand yourself over to me.”
Twilight came up beside Rarity, her own eyes taking in the scene and her Detector beeping wildly, “Oh no, this isn’t good. Even if Screwloose can get some of them, the big one looks to be just as strong as the snake one from before.”
“Where is Screwloose?” Rarity asked, not taking her eyes off of the Hollow or her sister. Suddenly the back door of the house was kicked open and Screwloose strode out into the yard, hefting her many barreled bazooka with a wild, crazed smile on her face.
“Hiiii! It’s a nice moon out tonight, isn’t it? Perfect night for kidnapping and getting blown up!”
The head Hollow looked at Screwloose, then up at Rarity, then back to Screwloose, and held Sweetie Belle in front of it, “I have no idea who or what you are, but make a wrong move with that weird ass weapon of yours and you’ll be scraping bits of this kid off the pavement with a spatula.”
To emphasis his point the Hollow began to squeeze hard on Sweetie Belle, constricting his tentacle around her. The girl made muffled screams, eyes tearing up in pain. Rarity snarled, “I said let her go!” She literally jumped from the window, landing hard on the soft lawn with a jarring roll, but Rarity knew how to tuck and roll, and it’d only been about a ten foot drop. Still her legs felt unsteady, through from pain or rage she wasn’t sure, as she stood facing the Hollow.
“Okay, apparently nobody here understands how hostage situations work,” said the Hollow, “You see I have all the power here, because you want this girl alive, see? Not doing what I say means the girl gets hurt, so instead you do what I say! Simple, right?”
Screwloose didn’t lose her madcap grin, licking her lips eagerly, “Doesn’t sound like you’ve been in a lot of hostage situations either, Mr. Tentacle. What do you think will happen the second you kill that girl? You really believe I won’t blast you to pieces the second you lose that squealy little piglet meatshield?”
“Screwloose, please, can you not refer to my little sister as a ‘piglet’? And we want to rescue her, not kill the Hollow after its... its... “ Rarity trailed off, feeling impotent rage as she realized that she had no idea how to get her sister clear of that monster without Sweetie Belle getting hurt.
“Well, seems like you’re starting to get it,” said the Hollow, waving Sweetie Belle like a traffic signal, “Why don’t you quite the posturing and come over here. It’s you we want, girlie, not this piece of meat. Soon as you’re in hand I’ll let the little girl go, see?”
The tentacles only tightened more and Rarity’s heart dropped seeing the pain on her sister’s face and the tears streaming down her cheeks. What could she do? Even if Screwloose attacked and was able to defeat these Hollows there was no chance that it could be done fast enough to prevent Sweetie Belle from being hurt.
What do I do...?
----------
Pinkie Pie’s whole body felt like it was trying to twitch out of its skin by the time Rainbow Dash’s flying full speed and carrying her, arrived at Pinkie’s house on the edge of the suburbs. Screwball, the bouncy and odd little girl, had managed to keep easy pace with them on the ground, and Pinkie was sort of glad there weren’t too many people out on the streets to notice them go by. Not that she didn’t have much bigger worries at that moment.
Her normal feeling of content was replaced by the unfamiliar tremors of fear. Pinkie preferred to face life’s trials with a constant smile and laugh, but she’d never had to fear for her family’s safety before. It was hard to have anything other than a wide eyed, tense look on her face as Rainbow Dash landed in the front lawn and set her down.
Pinkie could already see things weren’t right. The front window was broken in, for one, glass littering the yard. Pinkie’s house was a bit separated from other homes, the outskirts of the suburbs having slightly larger homes often cut off from each other by larger lawns and copses of trees. The house was encircled by high shrugs and some trees, and the nearest other home, while in visual distance, was still a good half a football field away. No reason anyone would’ve heard the glass breaking and called the police.
On top of that Pinkie knew her mom and pops had a tendency to go to bed early, but they must have heard the window breaking, so where were they?
Screwball skipped up beside them, not seemingly armed, but sporting a confident look about her, “I’ll swing around back, and we’ll see what’s up-”
There was a sudden, massive crash from inside the house, and all three girls exchanged looks. Screwball coughed, “Scratch that, we all go in at once.”
“No need to tell me twice!” shouted Rainbow Dash, rushing straight for the door, folding in her wings to keep from getting stuck on them as she went through. Pinkie Pie was directly behind her, heart clenching at the sound of another loud crash, like someone smashing through a table or wall. What were the Hollows doing to her sisters or parents!?
The living room was a wreak. The tv smashed, the couch broken in half, and several crushed holes in the wall. Pinkie grit her teeth past tears, “Somebody please tell me you’re okay!? I’m here to save you-”
Another crash, louder, from the kitchen, and a shape came barreling out of the doorway to smash into the far wall.
A Hollow, a small one shaped like a bipedal ant with pincer claws, lay there dazed for a second before stumbling to its feet and then scrambling away from the kitchen, “H-help! She’s crazy!”
All three girls, Rainbow Dash, Screwball, and Pinkie Pie, just stood there blinking at the Hollow fleeing out the back door as another shape filled the doorway to the kitchen. There stood a girl with dusky gray skin and neat cut, short purple hair, her eyes unblinking and face blank as stone.
“Did anyone see an invisible creature run by?” she asked plainly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and she wasn’t covered in cuts and bruises, with a half demolished kitchen behind her and a refrigerator door clutched in her hand like it was a bludgeon.
Pinkie Pie smiled widely, while Rainbow Dash gaped, and Screwball just pointed a finger towards where the Hollow had went, “Thataway.”
“Thanks you,” Maud Pie said, only looking once at Pinkie Pie, “Oh, Pinkie, hello. You should join the rest of the family in the bomb shelter. I’m dealing with a pest infestation.”
Without another word Maud stalked past the girls, refrigerator door still in hand as if it weighed no more than a foam bat, and proceeding to go after the fleeing Hollow with all the determined, deadly walk of a slasher movie villain.
Feeling an incredible amount of relief, despite the fact that her family might still be danger, Pinkie Pie bounced along behind Maud, “I’m so glad you’re safe Maud. And ma, pops, Marble, and Limestone are in the shelter?”
“Yes,” Maud said in a tone that to others might sound deadpan but Pinkie Pie could pick out the nuances of. The slight tremble in Maud’s voice that likely none other than a close sister like Pinkie Pie could hear that indicated just how furious Maud was. It was a little scary and Pinkie Pie winced as Maud raised the refrigerator door above her head once she was out in the back yard.
Maud didn’t look at the fleeing Hollow, rather Maud’s ears twitched and her nose sniffed the air, and then when the Hollow tripped on a rock Maud reacted instantly, flinging the fridge door, which sailed like a boomerang to click the Hollow upside the head and send it sprawling.
“Whoa...” Rainbow Dash said, coming out along with Screwball, “Pinkie, did your sis just tag a Hollow without even seeing it!?”
“Hollow?” Maud asked, a stillness in her face that made Pinkie Pie want to squirm uncomfortably. “Pinkie, what is happening? Do you know why invisible monsters are attacking our family?”
“W-well, heh, you see Maud... um-”
“We’re attacking because we’re after your sister’s soul,” said a deep male voice as a shadow fell over all the girls, and a Hollow, massive in size, jumped down from the roof right between the group. Its bulk caused an impact that blasted dirt everywhere, and sent Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Screwball flying around, and even Maud was knocked back as a huge fist smashed into her, sending the girl skidding across the ground like a stone skipping over water.
This Hollow had literal muscles bulging from its plain blue skinned surface, sharp abs, and a fin springing from its back. Its face was a the tapered, toothy mask of a shark.
“And in case any of you were wondering, we’ll happily kill anyone we feel like to get what we want.”
----------
Discord sat on the front steps of his shop, sipping a hot cup of tea and frowning into the night.
Beside him the gray cat padded around, yawning out a tiny meow.
Discord glanced at the cat, sighing, “I know exactly what you’re thinking.”
The cat’s bright yellow eyes looked at him as she scratched at her ears, tail flicking.
“You’re thinking I’m being a coward, hiding here while they’re out fighting. That’s it, right?”
The cat licked its lips, laying down with another yawn. Its tiny ears twitched.
“Well you know I have good reason to stay inside the shop’s wards!” Discord said irritably, “Even the Soul Society is only willing to do business with me as long as I stay neutral. How neutral will I stay if I leave the wards, get spotted by either of the other factions, and get drawn into the fight, hmm? We can’t risk the work, you know. Not at this fragile, starting stage.”
He sipped his tea again, but it didn’t taste nearly as good as it should. His eyes narrowed, and he grumbled, “Those girls have to do some things on their own. I can’t hold their hands through all of it, and I did send Screwloose and Screwball with them!”
The cat meowed again, licking its paws. Discord sniffed, “Will you quit it with the guilt trip already!? If you’re so concerned about them you could go. Oh, but you’re on their watch list just the same as I am, so you have the same limitations. At least you get out by masquerading around as a common feline.”
The cat turned her head up, staring at him. Well, one eye at any rate. The other drifted, doing its own thing. Discord frowned, blowing out another sigh. “Okay, okay, that wasn’t fair of me, I know. Still, you have to trust me on this one, old friend. Tonight will either make, or break, those girls, and if they really are what I think they are... well, everything changes, starting tonight. For us, for the Soul Reapers, for the Quincy and Arrancar... the whole war changes with those girls.”
He paused, his red on yellow eyes glowing in the darkness, “And change is what I desire most of all.”
To this the cat gave the barest gesture, almost a nod, and yawned again, settling its head down to peer into the night the same as Discord was.
----------
Claws tore through the tractor just as Applejack rolled away from the bow, the wolfish Hollow that was chasing her snarling as it chase after her. Applejack could still feel the burning bruise across her ribs from the blow that’d thrown her from the porch, but had no time to even think about that. It seemed the whole area around the farmhouse was teeming with Hollows, and it was all Clover and Sunset could do to keep most of them occupied while Applejack and Fluttershy tried to find safety.
Dagnabbit, if only I had something to hit these varmints with! Applejack thought bitterly, seeing Sunset manage to cleave one Hollow’s head in half while spinning to deflect the blow of another, while further off Clover, having already transformed her Zanpaktou into that staff weapon, was wheeling through the thick crowd of Hollows, injuring some, and forcing others back. Still there had to be over twenty of the damned things, by Applejack’s swift guess, and no telling if there were more waiting in the wings.
How long before Clover and Sunset were overwhelmed? More than that fear, there was the terror gripping Applejack over the fate of her family. Where were they!? What had that fake image of Granny Smith been!?
Growling past her fear she put her all into pumping her legs in a hard run, making her way for the far side of the farmhouse, keeping an eye out for Fluttershy. At a glance she couldn’t see where the girl had got off to, but then spied a fringe of pink hair hiding beneath the porch. Applejack almost smiled at that. Some might have seen such a thing and think Fluttershy as being cowardly, but if anything Applejack saw it as smart on her friend’s part. Fluttershy had come to help if first aid was needed. She wasn’t exactly the fighting type. If Fluttershy could keep out of the danger, all the better.
Makes so I only gotta worry ‘bout my own self.
The wolf Hollow was snapping at her heels, bony jaws almost nipping flesh as Applejack rushed headlong towards a nearby pickup truck, Bic Mac’s, which he sometimes used to go to town for groceries or the rare day off he took. She vaulted into the bed of the truck, rolling as she did. She knew her brother kept a few tools back here, including a pitchfork that she snatched up, wheeling around just as the wolf Hollow bounding up on the truck.
Swinging hard, she cracked the Hollow across the mask, barley injuring it but knocking it away from the truck. A howling screech alerted her to another problem as a flying Hollow with thin, bone wings, and a vulture-like mask dove at her, beak poised like a spear. She jumped from the truck, hurling the pitchfork at the same time, clipping the Hollow’s wing and making it lose control so that it crashed into the roof of the truck with a resounding crunch that dented in the metal roof.
There was a blast of red fire and light as she saw Clover fire off one of those Kido spells of hers, the small ball of crimson flame incinerating a Hollow while the resulting explosion sent a few others spawning. Sunset was fending off three other Hollows at once, and the distracting explosion gave her an opening to impale one while backing away from the other two. Yet for all that effort there seemed to be as many Hollows as ever and Applejack clenched her fists in frustration.
Suddenly there was a loud howl that dominated the area, making Applejack clasp her hands over her ears. All the Hollows ceased their attack, backing away, though only a few paces. There was a rumbling laugh in the air, and then a shadowed shape emerged from the depths of the farmhouse, phasing through the wall as it went. It was a large Hollow, its entire body covered in thick, sickly dark green coarse fur. Its head was like a long, grinning skull with painted lips and vast yellow glowing eyes. From the top of its head was a strange protrusion, a pseudopod identical to the one that’d hit Applejack earlier. Long fingered, clawed hands extended from the bottom half of the Hollow’s hairy body.
“
“As amusing as it is to watch you all fight, I trust by now you see how outnumbered you are. I wish to extend an offer.”
Applejack growled and she heard Sunset shout, “Why would we listen to anything you have to say!?”
“Well, the offer isn’t for you, it's for the Soul Reaper,” said the Hollow.
Clover, holding her Zanpaktou at the ready with a distasteful look on her face as she gazed at the Hollow said, “My sentiments are the same as Sunset’s. Why should I listen to anything you have to say?”
“Because you are a Soul Reaper, whose loyalty first and foremost is to the Soul Society, is it not? I suspect you have your orders, and that they only concern this trainee Soul Reaper here,” he gestured with one fat claw at Sunset, “I’m willing to bet you have no orders at all concerning the other girls. I also know that your superiors are in desperate need of information concerning the recent movements of your enemies in Hueco Mundo, information I possess. So what i propose is simple. Disengage, Soul Reaper. Walk away and allow us to do as we will with the blond girl there, and the pink haired one hiding nearby. We will not touch your pupil. You can leave with her and fulfill your orders, and I’ll add in the bonus of telling you what I know of your enemies plans, a boon you can take to your superiors in the Soul Society. See? A generous offer, yes?
“I don’t give two shakes of a rattlesnakes rear end about your offer!” shouted Applejack, “What’ve ya done wit my family ya stinkin’, rat faced gutter slug!”
“What? The old woman and strapping young man? They’re safe. For now. If you want them to stay that way I’d suggest keeping your mouth shut, child. If you’re lucky you might get through this night with your soul intact.”
Applejack was beyond furious. She could feel the heat of it burning in her chest and warming every part of her body despite the chill breeze. All she wanted to do was kick in the face of every Hollow on her farm. Her teeth were grinding like stones in her mouth and her eyes held only the promise of pain for the Hollow in front of her.
Then Clover spoke and washed that feeling away with pure shock, “If I accept your offer you will tell me what you know, now, Hollow, before I depart with my student.
“WHAT!?” Applejack roared, echoed by Sunset’s much quieter, “Huh?”
The Hollow laughed uproariously, “Hahah! You see, little girls? This is the true face of Soul Reapers. Duty before morality. They’d sell out any so called ‘friends’ if it meant serving the greater goals of Soul Society.”
“Ya... ya no good betrayin’ snake!” shouted Applejack, “Ya can’t be serious!?”
Sunset sounded equally enraged, though perhaps more hurt as well, “Clover what are you thinking!? You can’t take that offer! I... I won’t do it! I’ll fight here, even if you do take that offer.”
Clover’s eyes turned sharply towards both of them, “I shall not shy away from what must be done. If I must flutter away from here, even if it means not rescuing Applejacks family, then I’ll bear that shame for right now. Fighting here is pointless, and it doesn’t buy us time at any rate, so, yes, I shall take this offer.”
Applejack might not have considered herself the brightest sort, though she was far from stupid, and could tell there was some odd emphasis in Clover’s words. Suddenly she realized Fluttershy wasn’t under the porch anymore, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes from widening. What’s Fluttershy doing? Clover must know. She’s playing for time. Dang it all, I shoulda known.
Sunset seemed to get it too, frowning deeply but saying, “I.. I understand. I don’t want to get killed here anyway. Sorry Applejack, but I’ll stick with Clover.”
Applejack summoned up some of her residual anger to fake a glower, “Then ya can just go sit on a cactus and spin fer all I care!”
“So be it. Hollow,” said Clover, “I accept your offer. Now, tell me what you know.”
“Wise decision. What I know is that Las Noches is planning to-”
There was the sound of smashing wood and glass from inside the farmhouse, followed by a loud bellow of a very angry man. The large Hollow turned, face darkening, distracted by the noise, and Clover took full advantage of the distraction, flinging out a finger.
“Bakudo Number Sixty Three: Sajo Sabaku!”
Spearing down from the sky there was suddenly a massive golden chain that wrapped around the large Hollow, binding its hairy body up tightly. At the same instant Sunset burst into action, slashing through two of the lesser Hollows near simultaneously while shouting, “Into the house!”
Applejack needed no urging, rushing forward as the large Hollow struggled against its chains, howling in rage. Clover moved as well, spinning her staff to impale a Hollow in Applejack’s way with the spike end as all three girls ran into the farmhouse.
“Sorry for the deception!” said Clover, “I saw Fluttershy show me her Detector and point into the house, and she sneaked inside while the big one was distracted with us. She’s remarkably good as stealth for such a brightly colored girl!”
“She must have seen some Hollows apart from the others and figured that’s where AJ’s family were at,” Sunset said, heading through the living room and into a back door that led into the kitchen. There was Fluttershy, with a kitchen knife in hand and waving it at a growling bat shaped Hollow, while Bic Mac was physically wrestling with a more humanoid Hollow with a fish-head mask. Granny Smith was beating at that one with a rolling pin, though her aim was so off it was clear she could only guess at where the Hollow was based on her grandson’s position as he wrestled it.
Sunset and Clover split up almost instantly, Sunset ramming her Zanpaktou through the back of the bat Hollow while Clover slashed the head off the humanoid one with one deft twirl of Chishiki’s ring blade. Big Mac, surprised the invisible thing he’d been wrestling was suddenly gone, blinked at Applejack, clearly not able to see either Clover or Sunset in their spirit forms.
“Applejack?” Big Mac’s wide eyes quickly narrowed, “Ya gotta git outta here, girl! There’s monsters about!”
“I know Big Mac! Where’s Applebloom!?”
“Camping out wit her cousin Babs,” said Granny Smith, and Applejack smacked her forehead. She’d forgotten that their cousin was coming to visit this week! At least that was some good news. It meant Applebloom was out of harm's way... assuming the Hollows couldn’t track her sister into the woods.
“What’s goin’ on AJ?” Bic Mac asked, seeing the look on Applejack’s face and probably rapidly guessing she knew more about what was happening than he did. Big Mac was always the sharper of the two of them.
There was a series of howls from the front of the farmhouse and Applejack shook her head, “No time ta explain! We gotta run fer it!”
----------
“Well?” asked the tentacled Hollow, holding Sweetie Belle aloft. Screwloose had her bazooka aimed, eyes gleaming with unreleased violence.
“You’re call, girl,” said Screwloose to Rarity, “I can take the shot and risk, but that’s your sis, your blood, and your soul on the line. Make the call.”
Rarity’s lips quivered and her back straightened. Her voice was a hoarse, hissing whisper, “I’ll go, but if he so much as twitches in a way that is not releasing my sister then you destroy him, understand? Make it hurt.”
“Heh, I like your style,” Screwloose said, barring teeth in a smile that was almost predatory.
Rarity raised her voice, “Very well, Hollow, you win. I shall give myself up!”
“Mmm, smart. Come on over then. I’ll let the little one go as soon as you’re in my grasp.”
With slow, deliberate steps, Rarity walked towards the Hollow. Some back part of her mind realized she hadn’t seen where Twilight had gone, but she wasn’t sure at the moment that it mattered. All that mattered was Sweetie Belle. If Rarity had to give up herself for her sister to be safe, if she had to give up her soul to protect her own blood, then Rarity would give it gladly. She felt warmer, strangely, as she walked forward. It was a cold night out, and yet she felt almost hot as lit coals as she walked towards the Hollow.
The slimy sea urchin shaped Hollow chuckled as Rarity got close, its four amphibian Hollow lackeys forming a circle around Rarity.
“Well?” said Rarity, “Release my sister!”
“Sure, sure,” said the Hollow, lowering the tentacle with Sweetie Belle in its clutches, setting the girl down. The second Sweetie Belle was free, her tear streaked face burst into more tears.
“Rarity! W-what’s happening!? What are you doing!?”
“Saving you, dear Sweetie Belle, no matter the cost,” Rarity said, smiling comfortingly at her sister... then felt a rod of raw, hot pain stab through her shoulder as the one of the Hollow’s tentacles pierced her shoulder straight through. Blood spurting from her, dark and staining her dress a Rarity felt her body being lifted into the air. The pain was beyond anything she’d ever felt, yet so intense it almost numbed her as her eyes took in the sight of the tentacle embedded in her flesh, the red blood seeping out in a dark river.
Sweetie Belle screamed. Screwloose aimed her bazooka and almost fired, but the Hollow moved Rarity into the line of fire, forcing Screwloose to hold off.
“Wow, you people are stupid,” said the Hollow, “We don’t need these girls bodies! We need their souls. I just let this cute little thing bleed out and I can take her soul with me, leave the meat behind. Heh. Oh, might as well take the little one back, too!”
“N-no,” said Rarity, clutching at the tentacle piercing her, her hands becoming stained with blood. Her blood, which burned hot like it was boiling.
One of the Hollow’s tentacles lashed at Sweetie Belle, but suddenly a purple form darted from the side of the alley and snatched her up just in time to evade the tentacle. Twilight Sparkle carried Sweetie Belle away at a full run, shouting, “Screwloose, do something!”
So Screwloose did. She jumped straight up into the air and then blasted away with her bazooka, explosive rounds raining down on the Hollows in a storm. Most of the lesser Hollows were destroyed, save for one that hopped out of the way in time. The larger Hollow pulled its tentacles back, Rarity along with them, evading the barrage deftly.
“Always a friggin’ complication!” growled the Hollow, “Heh, least I got the girl.”
“H-have me?” Rarity asked, eyes glittering strangely as she felt something welling up inside her. The pain faded. All Rarity could think about was Sweetie Belle and her parents. Her blood. Her family. She didn’t care what she gave up, but she’d let nothing touch them again, and give up any amount of her own blood in generous sacrifice for that goal. “You have me alright. Let me show you how much I have to give!”
The glow infused her, crystal blue, yet it was now also rimmed with red. The Hollow looked at her with the yellow eyes of its mask going wide as Rarity’s blood glowed pure crimson, and suddenly flowed like crystal mist into Rarity’s outstretched right hand. There was a cutting line of red, straight as a razor, and the tentacle was severed.
Rarity hit the ground, pulling the other half of the tentacle out of her shoulder. The wound bled, but the blood didn’t fall. Instead it flowed around her, wrapping and encircling her body. The glow intensified, blood red light filling the alleyway. The Hollow sounded afraid for the first time.
“What the... what the hell are you?”
Rarity was now clad in an outfit that was one part elegant dress, one part protective armor. All of it was different shades of red, the long, slim dress reaching down past her knees, yet slit so her legs had free movement. The chest piece was almost crystal-like, bearing the shape of a rose. Small, form fitting shoulder pauldrons also bore the same rose motif. In Rarity’s right hand was a crystalline red, thin bladed rapier.
“I don’t know what I am,” said Rarity plainly, raising the sword, that caught the moonlight in a crimson gleam, “Other than very cross.”
----------
With electric sparks dancing through the air Rainbow Dash spun and juked to avoid the shark Hollow’s viscous blows. Pinkie Pie watched in open amazement that her friend was able to move so nimbly, but that awe was soon drowned out by worry for her sister as she rushed to Maud’s side.
“Maudie! You okay!?” Pinkie Pie said as she knelt by her sister’s side. Maud in response slowly, stoically rose at the waist into a sitting position. Blood trickled down Maud’s seemingly impassive face.
“I’m fine,” Maud said, standing, but Pinkie Pie could tell the lie for what it was. For all of Maud’s seeming to not care for the condition she was in it was plain the blow she’d taken from the shark Hollow had hurt Maud. She wasn’t quite a steady on her feet as she was trying to make it appear.
“Maud, you should sit down. Let my friends take care of this,” said Pinkie Pie, “You’re super duper hurt.”
“I won’t let anything hurt my family,” Maud said plainly, blinking once, eyes examining the ground. Pinkie Pie knew Maud was watching the indentations in the grass the Hollow was making as it moved, trying to pinpoint its position.
While the Hollow was focused on Rainbow Dash’s flying around, Screwball came up on it from behind. The bouncy little girl had procured a large spiked metal club, seemingly from nowhere, and swung it like an over sized baseball bat. The blow cracked the Hollow in the back of the knee, causing it to stumble, and then Rainbow Dash zipped in to deliver a electrically charged blow across its face.
“S-see?” said Pinkie Pie, “My friends have it. Well, I guess you can’t see exactly, but I’m serious Maud, they have things under control. You need to sit down before you hurt yourself more.”
This really wasn’t any fun at all. When she’d learned she and her friends could see spirits and stuff and this whole thing began she thought it might be neat. A fun afterschool activity; ghostbusting. But there wasn’t a single thing fun about seeing her big sister bleeding. There was nothing to laugh at knowing her family were huddled down in the old bomb shelter, and that if they didn’t defeat this Hollow she might never laugh with her family again.
No, this wasn’t fun. It was as opposite of fun as a thing could be, and Pinkie Pie wanted nothing more than for a way to make it stop.
Maud reached down and wiped something from Pinkie Pie’s face, a tear, she realized. Maud’s mouth twitched in a frown, as expressive a sign of her anger as Pinkie Pie had ever seen.
“I don’t like seeing you cry, Pinkie,” was all Maud said before striding towards the Hollow.
In the meantime the Hollow roared, swinging one of its huge, meaty arms back at Screwball. The small girl took the blow, holding her spiked club before her like a shield. She was knocked back, skidding across the ground and cutting furrows in the lawn with her heels as she giggled.
“Wow, this is a tough one. I can’t crush you with one hit? That’s pretty strong, Mr. Hollow.”
“He’s not that tough!” said Rainbow Dash, sweeping up into the air and then diving once more at the Hollow, which in turn grinned its toothy, shark-like grin and opened its mouth, suddenly leaping at Rainbow Dash and biting down with its teeth.
“Whoacrap!” Rainbow Dash dove to the side, but when the Hollow’s teeth bit down, narrowly missing her, there was a concussive blast of force that hit the girl and sent her spinning towards the ground, out of control.
Pinkie Pie rushed to catch her friend, taking Rainbow Dash’s fall in the gut and both girls getting knocked to the ground. The Hollow laughed as it landed on the ground once more, a sound like clattering bones.
“I’d watch it if I were you, human. My bite really is worse than my bark.”
“Ugh, I don’t need to hear your lame puns, jerk!” growled Rainbow Dash as she rolled off of Pinkie Pie and spread her wings again, lightning flickering around her, “I’m frying you like calamari!”
“...Uh, I’m a shark, not a squid.”
“Whatever!”
Screwball giggled, “He’s right you know, you should have said ‘shark fin soup’, that would’ve been good.”
The Hollow nodded, “Yup, can’t believe you missed something that obvious.”
“Argh, whose side are you on Screwball!? Just hit him already!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
“Yeesh, no sense of humor,” Screwball said, then smiled at the Hollow, hefting her bat, “Ready to be knocked outta the park, Mr. Hollow?”
“Give it your best shot, kid,” the Hollow said, then its glowing yellow eyes blinked as he glanced down at his feet, where Maud had calmly walked up, reaching out and feeling where his leg was. “Uhhh... okay, seriously, what’s with this girl?”
Maud, seemingly satisfied she knew where the Hollow was now, reached out and gripped around the Hollow’s leg. To this the Hollow just scratched at his shark shaped head.
“What do you think you can do, human? I’m five times your siz-aaaaaaaah!”
The Hollow’s condescending words were cut short by a startled yell as Maud yanked hard on the leg and pulled the Hollow off its feet, causing it to crash to the ground.
Rainbow Dash just blinked at Pinkie Pie, “Dude, what’s up with your sister? Is she a robot in disguise?”
“She’s Maud,” was all Pinkie Pie could say in response, yet despite Maud’s apparent boundless reserves of strength her fear didn’t lessen. If anything it intensified. The Hollow wasn’t actually injured yet. In fact even as Screwball rushed in to try to take advantage of the situation the Hollow kicked hard, knocking Maud back like a pinata, while flipping to its feet just as Screwball leaped into the air, spiked club held overhead in a two handed swing.
The spiked club flashed down, and the shark Hollow opened its mouth wide, then bite down. Its teeth sank into the metal club, holding it firm. The Hollow’s glowing eyes narrowed to golden slits as it then lashed up with one heavy fist, uppercutting Screwball hard and knocking the small girl through the second story of Pinkie Pie’s house.
“Dammit!” Rainbow Dash said, her wings flapping once to send her bursting into the air once more, leaving a blue trail of electricity as she rushed to try and hit the Hollow from behind. The shark Hollow spun around, spitting out the spiked club at Rainbow Dash, forcing her to dodge, but in so doing left herself open to a backhand swing from the Hollow that send her smashing to the ground again, this time too dazed to get back up immediately.
The Hollow cracked its neck, sighing, “Man, you girls are bloody tenacious. Almost a shame to kill you, but hey, maybe one of you will make for a sexy Hollow. Now, let’s start with you, little miss creepy bland face.”
This was said to Maud, who had managed to stand back up, and was staggering forward towards the Hollow once more. Despite her clear injuries, one arm hanging useless and possibly broken, Maud just walked towards the Hollow.
Pinkie Pie shouted, “Maud, stop it! Please, stop it now! Just run!”
“I can’t do that Pinkie,” was all Maud said, eyes not even wincing as blood covered them.
Rainbow Dash was still trying to get to her own feet, and Pinkie Pie saw no sign of Screwball since the girl had been knocked through the house. Fear crawled in around her, her hair losing its poofy quality and seeming to deflate to straight locks. She fell to her knees, hands on the ground as she shook.
I can’t do anything; not even laugh. I can’t make a joke to fix this. I can’t sing a song to make the ghosties go away this time. I need... I need... to be...
Suddenly it was like there was another voice in her head, speaking softly, yet dangerously harsh; You need someone else to do for you what you can’t. You need me
Pinkie Pie felt like her head was splitting open as pink light emanated from her body, bathing the entire yard in a sickly pink glow. Everyone stopped what they were doing, Maud turning slowly to look back at her sister along with Rainbow Dash who was blinking in surprise.
Mist swirled from Pinkie’s body, mist the color of cotton candy. It swirled and twisted up like a living thing, until it turned solid, extended legs and arms, forming clothes and a head with razor slick pink hair. Suddenly there were two Pinkie Pie’s, one looking tired and drained, but the other looking vibrant and energetic.
Pinkie Pie, the real Pinkie Pie, looked up at her double with a mix of awe and fear, and blinked as a hand was offered to her. The other Pinkie helped her up, and Pinkie Pie gulped at the cold touch of that other Pinkie’s hand, and the mad light in her doppelganger's eyes. She noticed then that there was a physical difference between them, besides the fact that her hair was going back to its poofy nature while the other one’s stayed straight as a knife’s edge, and that was that the other Pinkie’s eyes were the same brilliant yellow color of a Hollow’s.
“The hell is this?” said the shark Hollow, “Who are you supposed to be?”
The new Pinkie Pie turned her head, and smiled... a smile too wide for a human face, with teeth sharp as daggers.
“Hiya, call me Pinkamena. I’m going to eat you.”
--------
They fled into the apple orchards. Strong, proud apple trees flanked them on all sides. Applejack was breathing hard, but her worry was for Granny Smith. The elderly Apple family matron wasn’t showing any signs of fatigue, only hard faced determination, but Applejack knew her grandmother had to be feeling the strain of their flight from the farmhouse.
“We can’t escape the Hollows,” said Clover simply as they ran, “The humans don’t have the stamina to outrun them. Hollows don’t tire when the chase is on.”
On Applejack’s other side Sunset said, “Then we don’t have a choice. Applejack, you and Fluttershy run on ahead with your family, while me and Clover hold off the Hollows.”
“B-but there’s so many,” said Fluttershy, her words causing Big Mac to glance back, as it was only the words of those not in spirit form that he could hear.
“That may be so,” said Clover, “But i believe Sunset and I can keep them busy long enough for you to get away safely. They might still track you, but I don’t see much choice.”
“How ‘bout we turn an’ fight, an’ finish the bugger’s off?” said Applejack, “Only reason I wanted ta run in the first place was ta git Granny and Big Mac outta harms way.”
“Don’t talk ‘bout us like we ain’t here, child,” said Granny Smith, sweat dotting her face, “Don’t rightly know what kind o’ vermin we got crawlin’ over our farm, but I ain’t runnin’ fer my health. I’m doin’ it so’s they didn’t trash our home no more when it came time ta give ‘em a right clobberin’.”
“Eyup,” Bic Mac concurred.
Applejack closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head, “Ya’ll don’t know what we’re dealin’ wit. I do. Ya can’t help me, Granny, Big Mac. Not against critters like we’ve got ta deal wit.”
“Just you and yer friend here?” asked Big Mac, glancing at Fluttershy with incredulous concern.
“I got other friends, ya just can’t see ‘im,” said Applejack, and winced as Granny gave her a sharp look.
“Now ya listen ta me, Applejack. Yer gonna tell me true what ya got yerself into, ya hear? No playin’ wit fancy words, just say it plain.”
It was impossible to argue with those keen eyes of Granny’s, and Applejack didn’t want to hide anything either. Maybe if she had come out and just explained things to her family, crazy as the truth was, they could’ve been more prepared for this situation. So Applejack gulped and hastily laid out what had happened, even as the group still ran through the apple orchard. She didn’t spin too many words, just gave the basics, and by the time she was done she felt... lighter. More at ease, despite the dangerous situation.
Big Mac just made a small whistle as he shook his head in disbelieve, but Granny Smith, she actually held a look of knowing in her eyes and nodded sagely.
“Had a feelin’, child. I had a feelin’. Been ‘round these parts longer than most, before that city was a city an’ was just a little ol’ mountain town. Seen things. Heard things. Yer ma and pa...” Granny suddenly shook her head, “Ain’t no matter now, but I believe what ya say, Applejack. Big Mac, listen up, we’re runnin’ on, and lettin yer sister an’ her friends deal wit these Hollow varmints, ya hear?”
Big Mac looked like he was swallowing a bucket of sour apples, but he nodded once, muttering , “Eyup.”
“Alright then, we make our stand here,” said Clover, halting, as did Sunset, Applejack, and Fluttershy. Applejack looked sidelong at Fluttershy, who was shaking slightly.
“You could keep runnin’ Fluttershy. Ain’t no shame in it.”
Fluttershy shook her head, gulping, “I can’t. Not without the rest of you. I’ll... I’ll do whatever I can.”
Applejack spared one last glance at her grandmother and brother as they continued on, then turned to face back towards the direction of the farmhouse. She heard the oncoming howls. The Hollows were coming. Two dozen or more, plus the big hairy one with the despicable pseudopod lure. Applejack resolved to tear that pseudopod off that Hollow’s head if she could.
“No more runnin’,” Applejack said with heartfelt truth, and just as the first of the Hollows hunting them emerged from the orchard ahead of them, she felt power surging through her. In front of her was the enemy, behind her and beside her were the people she held dear. Applejack wasn’t going to budge from the line she’d just drawn in her mind, and that was a simple, honest fact.
As the Hollow, a creature scrawling on six legs with the upper body of a ant-lion with massive mandibles, Applejack lifted her leg and kicked out with all her strength.
There was a flash of gold light, and she felt a surge of might reach all the way down her spine and into her legs. There was a blast like the launching of a rocket and she felt the Hollow’s body not just impact under her boot, but be crushed by the force of her blow as the Hollow’s body, a hole blasted through it, dissipated into ash.
The blow had made the other Hollows pause in their charge, and in the back Applejack could see the large, hairy Hollow waiting, cautious. Cautious of her.
“Huh?” Applejack cocked her head, confused.
Clover was staring at her, mouth gaping. Sunset though, was actually smiling, and with one hand pointed down at Applejack’s legs.
“AJ, you might want to look down.”
She did so, and blinked. Her legs had changed. Or rather, her boots had. Instead of a pair of leather work boots and denim skirt, she now was clad in what looked to be thickly armored boots that went all the way up past her thighs. The metal of the armored boots looked like it was made from a combination of gold plates and a bone white substance similar to metal of Rainbow Dash’s wings. There were multiple segmented plates that made up the knee and thigh joints, and the knee pads themselves had the strangest motifs, almost like that of skulls. Around the boots at various points, all the way up past the knees, there were a number of small grooves, the purpose of which eluded her.
Another Hollow, apparently overcoming its momentary fear, curled its insect-like legs and flung itself at Applejack. Before Clover or Sunset could react, Applejack herself spun around in a roundhouse heel kick. As she did so a number of the small grooves on her leg suddenly ignited with golden flame, like miniature thrusters, increasing the speed and power of her kick. The boot smashed through the Hollow’s skull like it was made of thin plaster and the creature vanished into dust.
Applejack paused, looked down at her new boots, then up at the line of Hollows... and grinned.