Chapter Eighty Eight
The smell inside the force field was growing worse as time passed. That was Shady's evaluation of the situation they found themselves in. The presence of bodily waste from the youngest in their group, in addition to the amount of sweat that had been generated from their efforts at getting out, was all contributing to a generally unpleasant experience.
And the less said about the lack of bathrooms in general, the better.
There was slightly less crying from the babies going on, so at least there was that.
Breaking through the force field hadn't proven to be a viable option to them. Neither had their efforts at trying to tunnel underneath it, despite their best efforts at doing such. That left them with two options right now; waiting for help to come and find them, or keep trying to find a way out on their own.
Right now they were opting for the second option rather than the first. This time around they weren't relying on muscle to clear the way, but rather magic; more specifically it was Snips' magic, as he tried to cut his way through the roots that were obstructing their advancements. Or at least that's what she'd gathered regarding the situation. Not being able to see anything made it hard to tell sometimes.
"C'mon, Snips, c'mon! You can do it!" she heard Pipsqueak -and several others- encouraging him in his efforts, cheering him on as he gave it his best shot.
Although she honestly doubted that a cutie mark for learning a mane-cutting spell would do much against tree roots. But they had to keep morale up for everypony's benefit, so she kept her mouth shut. If he couldn't do it they'd find out soon enough, and if he actually could do it then all the better. Either way it was just a waiting game to see what happened.
"Hey, Shady, can Ah ask ya somethin'?"
Her ears flicked up at hearing Apple Bloom addressing her, her focus turning to the voice that was in close proximity to her, rather than the background noise that was Snips' efforts at getting them free from their prison.
"I dunno, Twangy, can you?" she asked in turn.
"Wiseapple," she heard Apple Bloom mutter under her breath, before speaking up as she continued. "Well most everypony's been subjected ta one sort o' terror er another durin' this mess. Ah was jus' curious if ya were too?"
"Lemme guess. You're curious about what a pony whose been blind since birth considers to be terror, right?" she asked. She assumed Apple Bloom was nodding, since she didn't hear much else in the form of a response. She'd let that slide, for now. "Well in short, it's a whole mess of nothing. No sounds, no smells, no sensations, nothing at all to experience to let you know you're still alive. When you're blind you figure out what cues to pay attention to in order to orient yourself properly. But when you can't even feel the ground beneath your hooves, you don't know which way is up or down, left or right, backwards or forwards. I guess it's like suddenly ceasing to exist, while still being aware of it. I couldn't even hear myself screaming, which I was doing plenty of by the time my parents found me. I've never been so scared before in my life," she stated.
She could feel the shudder running up Apple Bloom's spine from where she sat, evidence that her experiences had made her quite uncomfortable just to hear about. And with good reason.
"That... that ain' jus' evil, tha's jus' plan sadistic!" Apple Bloom stated.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Shady replied.
But before she could go into better detail about just how sadistic her experiences had been to go through, her ears were swiveling as the commotion beyond the barrier started to become noticeable again. Only this time it sounded a whole lot louder, and the trembling in the ground felt a lot more pronounced under her hooves. It was like being around trees being felled, or on the platform at the train station as a big locomotive came thundering on by.
And then there was a loud, howling scream/wail like some sort of siren blaring in the distance.
"What in Tartarus is that!?" Scootaloo asked, her voice doing plenty to prove that she was disturbed by what she was hearing.
"I don't know, but I don't like it one bit!" she stated right back. Whereas the thunderous booms were bad, this was much worse in its own way, due to the pitch it carried to it. If her ears spontaneously started to bleed, she wouldn't be the least bit surprised. "Somepony tell Snips to double time it while he still can!"
Ever since arriving in Equestria, Ulquiorra had been forced to acknowledge and accept the fact that he would be confronted by things that conflicted greatly with his own understanding of reality, and how the world around him worked. Meeting Princess Celestia and Discord had made that fact quite apparent to him. He simply hadn't expected that the assault of the unfamiliar would be an almost-constant aspect of being here in this dimension, lasting the entire forty nine -or maybe it was fifty, depending on what time it was- days he'd been here.
At the moment, the most recent conflict that left him experiencing was confusion, was the mystery of how a physical construct, composed entirely of semi-condensed water vapor, could withstand so much abuse at his hands, and still show no signs of coming apart, while simultaneously proving that it wasn't wholly immune to said abuse. Every punch delivered, every blow landed to the Kurostruct proved capable of rattling and shaking its entire frame, sometimes sending it staggering, and only reinforcing the fact Nightmare Moon had little concept of just how to adequately manipulate the bipedal frame, putting both her and her efforts at a tactical disadvantage.
Unfortunately that wasn't the extent of the conflict he found himself in. Besides having the durability to weather whatever he could put out, the Kurostruct also had the ability to become stronger in response to the amount of force he invested into breaking it; that was the only way to explain how it was proving capable of rivaling his own level of strength.
At least up to a certain point anyway.
Subjecting the Kurostruct to explosive decapitation via his Bala had the unintended consequence of drastically increasing its physical strength, to the point of it being able to skewer him with apparent ease, thus at least making it a challenge for him to contend with. But since that point, however, there had been no significantly notable increases in its strength, despite the fact he was proving quite capable of dominating it in battle.
Perhaps Nightmare Moon had finally gathered enough reconnaissance via proxy on him to comprehend that he couldn't be outmatched by simply increasing its physical strength. Or perhaps the Kurostruct had been augmented to the extent that it was physically possible, and it was simply not possible to augment it any further. Perhaps the fog was devoid of whatever properties were needed to derive more performance from it.
Whatever the reason was, the Kurostruct was faring poorly against him. A fact that was painfully reinforced as he easily stopped its latest assault against him, bringing an end to its rapid series of thrust attacks by grasping its right arm by the wrist, and pinning the long handle of its zanpakutō against the side of its arm, preventing it from having any range of movement for continuing.
The next course of action involved forcefully wrenching its arm out to the side, while simultaneously bringing his right arm up and back, as he unfolded his hand until his palm was perfectly straight. He then swiftly brought his hand down and delivered a chopping strike right at the pivot point of the Kurostruct's arm, a loud snapping sound erupting in the process of completely severing the limb from the rest of the body right at the elbow.
The howling scream the Kurostruct emitted, as it grasped its newfound stump in what could easily pass for genuine pain, was unlike anything Ulquiorra had expected before. Perhaps Nightmare Moon really had been gathering reconnaissance on just how much of a threat he posed to her, and this presented her with just what it was like to experience a limb being violently removed. Perhaps it wasn't the Kurostruct screaming, but rather her as the sensory overload became too much for her to tolerate.
Looking at the severed limb now in his hand, he felt something. It was a strong, pressing urge to make a sarcastic statement about the current state of things. He would attribute it to the corrupting influence of the ponies he'd been forced to interact with during his time here.
"It's not as if you were actually using it anyway," he stated, before discarding the severed limb. He supposed he could've studied the limb to determine what its inner structure looked like, and perhaps garner more information about what he was up against. But right now he was more preoccupied on following up with another approach, that being grabbing it by the throat as it wailed.
"Now that I know you can be dismembered, I'm going to do just that. Even if you can come back, you're apparently going to experience for yourself, just what it's like to be ripped apart piece by piece," he stated. Now that its zanpakutō was removed from the equation, he'd have a much easier time doing just that.
Except for the fact that a red glow was emanating from between its horns as it charged its Cero attack. He hadn't considered that being a viable possibility at such close range. And now it looked like his lack of consideration for such possibilities was going to come back and bite him in the ass.
High above the battlefield being dominated by the two titans on the ground, an entirely different battle was unfolding in the air by two other combatants, each one of them trying to rip the other apart. And much like their comrades on the ground, how they stacked up against one another was certainly comparable.
Darkbow had the clear advantage in speed over Rainbow Dash, as she wasn't weighed down with armor. Nor was she already fatigued from extended combat with a previous opponent that could easily hold their own no matter how much abuse was dished out against them. Nor did she suffer any physical shortcomings such as malnutrition, meaning that she was in top fighting shape.
Rainbow Dash, however, had far greater maneuverability than her opponent, that was garnered from years and years of experience, and couldn't simply be copied and applied. On top of which she was fueled by righteous fury and the equivalent of a metric buttload of adrenaline, as well as an overwhelming desire to reduce her doppelganger to a bloody paste in retaliation for all the pain and suffering she and the others had been subjected to.
That proved to be sufficient enough to drive her onward in their struggle for dominance. There was no way she was going to give up at this point in time. In fact, as far as she was concerned right now, she was really just getting started in this aerial battle!
They swooped and ducked, they dove and dodged, they accelerated and evaded. They engaged in combat in a manner that only two angered pegasi truly could, each one of them trying to clip and cripple the wings of their opponent to send them hurtling to the ground. It was all very movement-intensive as they would clash, engage, and then disengage as they flew off in their respective directions, only to veer off and reengage in another bid for aerial dominance by force. In a fight like this, to simply stay still was literally death, and for multiple reasons. One couldn't afford to remain stationary in a situation like this, as that simply made them more of a target.
A violent clash erupted as the two met again, Darkbow ducking to avoid the swing aimed at her head, but failing to dodge the upward kick delivered to her chin, and shook her senses. She paused to shake her head in an effort to clear it, before refocusing on her engagement. It was only then that she realized Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found. In that small frame of time, she'd completely disappeared from view.
"Where'd that chicken go?" she asked herself as she looked around, trying to find some trace of that blue flank in the fog.
The answer as to where Rainbow Dash had gotten to came immediately as two shod hooves plowed upward into her barrel by a very angry and armored pegasus. The force of the impact immediately and forcefully doubled her over -knocking the air out of her metaphorical lungs in the process- as she found herself being driven upward not from the force of the blow, but from the fact that her opponent was still in motion, and forcefully dragging her along for the ride as she rocketed upward!
Upward...
As the wind and the hypothetical blood in her ears wrestled for dominance over which would be heard by her exclusively, she immediately recalled what happened last time, and she realized that Rainbow Dash planned on driving her right out of the fog barrier! That simply wouldn't do. She flared her wings outward to slow and brake her ascension, but it wasn't doing anything to actually achieve that goal; she might as well not have any wings at all for all the good they were doing her right now. This wasn't going to work, she needed another course of action, and quickly.
Struggling to get some sort of leverage, she finally managed to push herself off and tumble out of the way, before managing to catch herself and avoid falling to the ground.
That had been way too close for her own comfort. If she'd been just a little slower in dismounting, they'd be high above the fog by now, and that wouldn't do her any good.
"Ha! I knew it! You're afraid!"
Darkbow immediately whirled around and saw Rainbow Dash simply hovering in place, glaring at her with enough superiority and smugness plastered on her face, that she couldn't help but want to grind it right off.
Not the smugness, but the face that wore it.
"You don't know anything, you stupid jerk!" she shot back angrily.
"You know," Rainbow Dash commented as she folded her forelegs over her chest as she hovered, "I was gonna ask how a mare as awesome as you got stuck working for somepony as lame as Nightmare Moon. But then I realized that you aren't awesome at all, you're lame just like she is!"
Darkbow snarled in response. "Keep talking, nag, you're just gonna make it worse for yourself!"
Rainbow Dash remained unmoved by the threat. "Oh, right, I might wind up hurting my feelings by saying the wrong thing," she replied and blew a raspberry, much to her doppelganger's annoyance. "You know, I'm actually curious about something. When you dissipate from getting kicked out of the fog, does it hurt to feel your body evaporating? Is that what you're afraid of?"
"Shut up," Darkbow growled.
"Are you one of those souls that Nightmare Moon stole from the foals the manticore killed? Does she use them for minions because she has none of her own? Or are you just a mess of fog that can't feel, and can't think for itself?" Rainbow Dash asked further.
"Shut up!" Darkbow yelled.
"What happens when you get killed? Do you actually die, or do you just reform and go back for more of a beating like some masochist?" Rainbow Dash asked, grinning as she watched with amusement at her doppelganger growing angrier.
"Shut up!" Darkbow screamed furiously.
"Or what? You're gonna go crying to Nightmare Moon and tell her that I'm being mean to you? Or are you just gonna try and kill yourself again, like the whiny little bitch that you are?"
That was the last straw needed to drive Darkbow shrieking mad. She didn't even try to get anymore words out, opting instead for a flying tackle. She was going to make Rainbow Dash shut up, one way or another, and she was going to make her wish she'd listened from the beginning when she still had a chance.
Unfortunately she realized only too late that she'd been far too hasty in launching her assault. She quickly found herself being clotheslined, which caused her to go tumbling end over end as she was carried by her forward momentum.
The next thing she knew, she was being grabbed from behind, and put into a headlock by Rainbow Dash, wrapping her forelegs tightly around her neck. She fought in an effort to get loose, kicking and trying to bite, but the only thing she could actually make contact with was armor. Armor that was completely unimpressed by the amount of struggle she was putting up, and didn't yield.
"Wow. You really do suck bad," Rainbow Dash stated as she held firm on her quarry, not letting go of her. "When you first showed up, I thought this was gonna be something pretty incredible; fighting myself and all that. Instead you're nothing but a disappointment wearing my face. Let's see if we can't do something about that," she said as she let go with her right foreleg, but held firm with her left.
"Wait, what're you gonna do now?" Darkbow demanded to know as she squirmed about, trying desperately to break loose.
"Oh, nothing much. Just a little something I like to call an armored noogie!" Rainbow Dash replied as she proceeded to vigorously rub her shod hoof against the top of her doppelganger's head.
Darkbow didn't appreciate the treatment one bit and started growling and squirming in an effort to break loose. She swatted with her wings, kicked at any particular body part she could reach with her hind legs, did anything she could to try and get herself loose. But try as she might, Rainbow Dash held on tight, and was relentless in her approach to torture. Making it all the worse, it wasn't even cold-blooded torture that she could respect, it was just the annoying kind that didn't achieve anything!
"I am so gonna fuck your butt raw for this when I get loose!" she yelled.
Rainbow Dash paused what she was doing at hearing the threat... for about three whole seconds. Before shrugging and returning to her work with gusto, really working at trying to dig her shoe into Darkbow's scalp, in an effort to try and grind it away. "That's still hardly the worst thing you've ever put me through!"
Darkbow simply gave an indignant shriek in protest, her voice cracking like a colt going through puberty as she did.
Being a Hollow, especially an Espada, meant possessing certain physical attributes that others simply didn't have. Attributes such as being able to analyze and comprehend complex information pertaining to one's surroundings, garnered from little more than a cursory observation.
Along with rapid perception, was the ability to accordingly respond just as rapidly, allowing for engagement of a combatant, or even avoiding an incoming attack that could potentially cause serious and significant injury. In an instance he could cross a vast distance faster than someone watching could blink.
All of that together meant that Ulquiorra was easily capable of reacting to the Kurostruct preparing to fire its Cero directly at him, such as kicking off the ground and traveling upward to draw its aim before critical mass was achieved, thus ensuring the destructive force traveled in a safe direction, rather than in the direction of innocent bystanders that would be killed a mile away from their current position.
Unfortunately rapid perception, coupled with rapid response time, didn't mean that it was impossible to get struck by an incoming attack; a fact he had learned for himself on more than one occasion. And it was a fact he found himself being reacquainted with as his right arm was enveloped just below the elbow by the Cero he'd just redirected upward. He'd remained still just a moment too long in ensuring the Kurostruct didn't aim wildly at whatever and wherever, and that deprived him off the full response time he'd needed to get out of the way.
Curiously, he wasn't feeling what one would expect to experience when their body was being struck by a Cero. He didn't have a clue what he was feeling right now!
As the Cero came to an end, he pulled his arm back to inspect the scope of the damage... or rather the lack thereof. Excluding what looked like scuff marks, his arm was completely undamaged by the blast. It was as if what he'd been facing had been nothing more than an illusion, conjured for the purpose of trying to provoke a primal reaction of fear in him.
"Was that it?" he asked as he looked down at where the Kurostruct currently stood. "Was that truly the full extent of your offensive capacity? Is that all there is to the magical capabilities of Nightmare Moon herself?"
Rather than simply flashing directly in front of the Kurostruct with his Sondio, and throwing a jab right at its face that would easily send it flying backwards, he opted for a slightly different approach to the problem at hand. In this particular case, that approach meant touching down on the forest floor, and slowly walking towards his quarry.
"If that is truly the extent of Nightmare Moon's strength, then it's no wonder she lost twice," he stated flatly. "Twilight Sparkle posed more of a threat, even when she was at only eighty percent reiryoku capacity. Even Rainbow Dash was capable of delivering more of a blow than that just now..."
He would be lying right now if he denied that there was a certain... base instinct that was being felt right now as he approached the Kurostruct, like a predator stalking its quarry before moving in for the kill. Something from a time long since passed, but still with a familiar presence all its own that simply couldn't be denied.
Quick as a flash he reached out and grasped the Kurostruct by the head, right between the horns of its mask, and began to squeeze its skull in his left hand.
"You've proven to be nothing more than a distraction; one that doesn't even have to be given consideration any further. Beyond which, you're also an annoyance; a deadly combination if ever there was any," he explained as he squeezed harder to prevent the Kurostruct from escaping his grip, regardless of its squirming. "The missing foals are going to be found, and there's nothing you can do to stop that now. They will be found, they will be moved to safety, and this entire ordeal will be ended in short order."
The sound of bone being strained in Ulquiorra's grip could be heard if one listened close enough. That straining quickly gave way to sounds of cracking, which soon enough led to the whole frontal half of the skull and beyond suddenly being crushed inward on itself.
Despite the lack of blood and brain tissue spilling forth from the newly gaping wound where the face had been, the Kurostruct's body still went limp and collapsed on the ground in a crumpled heap, falling backwards with the dark void of its face upward towards the sky.
He waited to see if it was going to revive. And then he nudged it with his foot -with enough force in its rib cage to flip it over onto its back- to check and see if it might potentially be playing possum.
Not seeing any signs to indicate a trap, he moved northward in an effort to locate the missing foals, and ensure their safety.
Those plans didn't make it past the first step. He turned and looked at the remains of the Kurostruct once more. It, much like the source material it was based on, had an annoying habit of returning from the dead whenever it was out of his sight, seemingly stronger than it had been previously. He really didn't need that happening right now. But at the same time he couldn't just stay here all night, waiting for it to possibly move once again. He would need to figure out an appropriate course of action.
That course of action came to him not two seconds later. Reaching down, he grasped it by its ankle with his left hand, and proceeded to drag it along behind him as he walked, its horns scraping the ground in the process. If it were to revive without warning, then he wouldn't be caught off guard by it this time around. It would be in his presence, and he could rapidly respond should an unforeseen development actually develop.
Darkbow spun about as she hovered in place, trying to keep an eye on her opponent's location in an effort to avoid getting ambushed by Rainbow Dash. Getting loose had been a harrowing experience to go through, and she wasn't in any mood to have to repeat the process so soon after having done so. She had to keep her eyes peeled so she could dodge whenever the attack was launched, so she could get to a better vantage point without having to worry about her counterpart circling her like a sky shark just waiting to move in for the kill.
Of course that'd be a lot easier if she wasn't traveling at such high speeds right now! She was getting dizzy from spinning around in a circle, just trying to keep up in monitoring her movements. She couldn't even think about counterattacking at this point in time; mainly because if she were to lunge forward again, she'd risk missing her mark, and simply be slammed into from behind for a whole new round of beatings.
"Think fast!"
Darkbow cringed at the yell as Rainbow Dash went hurtling past her from behind, causing her to flinch both in surprise as the resulting wind caught her, and simply not wanting to get clobbered yet again; especially when it was coming from behind. Unfortunately all that did was make her all the madder as a result, knowing that she could've been hit full force, and the only reason she wasn't, was because she'd been missed on purpose.
"If I ever get my hooves on you again, I'm gonna-" she yelled, only to be interrupted as she saw Rainbow Dash banking hard to the left and coming back around for another go.
And this time she was aimed directly at her. This wasn't going to be any near miss this time around. There was neither time to dodge, nor to intercept this incoming attack. The best she could do was thrust her right hoof forward with all of her might in hopes of catching Rainbow Dash in the face, so she'd at least suffer something serious as far as injuries went.
Unfortunately that didn't happen either, as Rainbow Dash thrust her own right hoof forward, the two clashing together loudly, bare hoof against shod hoof. But despite her best efforts, she simply couldn't overcome the forward momentum she was subjected to, and that sent her tumbling backward.
That left her prone to another flying tackle from Rainbow Dash, which sent her hurtling to the ground even faster, her unplanned descent failing to be stopped even as her back slammed into -and then through- a tree branch on her back. Even hitting the hard ground didn't stop her, as she simply bounced, before rolling and tumbling, before finally coming to a complete stop as she slammed sideways into a tree, and fell on her back, looking skyward.
It occurred to her that now was an opportune time to stop, and take stock of the situation. Currently she was banged up, cut up, and bucked up, laying on the ground from the vicious beating she'd been subjected to by her counterpart, who only seemed to be getting stronger. How exactly did stuff like that happen?
"This night can't possibly get any worse," she grumbled.
And then she was proven wrong as Rainbow Dash body slammed her, landing roughly right on top of her, and then parking her flank right on her barrel to pin her down.
"Hate you..." Darkbow groaned, "hate you so much...."
"Yeah, yeah. Take a number," Rainbow Dash replied dismissively. "It's not my fault you hate yourself so much that you wanna kill yourself."
It was then that Darkbow felt her tail being tugged on. And then she felt it getting warm and wet at the end. It was then that the realization of what was going on hit her, even though she couldn't see anything more than her counterpart's backside. "Oh you are so not wiping your nasty head blood off with my tail!"
"My blood, my tail, I can do whatever I want," Rainbow Dash replied.
"Get your fat, bony butt off of me!" Darkbow shrieked angrily as she started squirming and struggling harder to get loose.
"Oh settle down, you're not going anywhere," Rainbow Dash retorted and settled in for the long haul, intent on keeping her unruly doppelganger from getting free. "And while you're down there admiring the view, how about you clean up your mess? My flank is still bleeding from where you hit me with that whip! Lick it like a dog would, you stupid bitch!"
Before Rainbow Dash knew what hit her, she found Darkbow's legs on either side of her head, wrapped tightly around her neck. The next thing she was aware of was being roughly thrown aside like she was nothing, sending her crashing to the ground in a heap as she landed on her face. That had pissed her off more than she had been.
"Oh you're so gonna pay for that!" she yelled as she got back up onto her hooves.
"I should be saying that to you, you unruly nag! I hope you enjoyed your little demonstration of disobedience, because now that's over! You're going to learn your place!" Darkbow barked in response.
"Oh? You think you've got what it takes to put me in my place, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked, amused by her doppelganger's attitude. "Well then let's see what you've got! Bring it!"
"As you wish," Darkbow replied with a sadistic grin.
Rainbow Dash didn't have a clue what her doppelganger was up to. But she had serious doubts that anything new could be brought to the table. It had the same skills that she did, so what could she really do that both she and Scratchy hadn't already attempted against her, and failed doing?
That unasked question soon got answered as Rainbow Dash watched what the other one was up to. Her whole outer appearance changed, like millions of little pieces in a double-sided puzzle flipping over to reveal what was hidden just underneath. Leg joints were reoriented, fur and feather was replaced by scale and membrane, with two curved back black horns appearing on either side of her head, as a long row of spines ran down her cyan blue back and newly reptilian tail, from the base of her rainbow mane, all the way to her matching tail tuft of fur. Hooves were swapped out with claws, with individual articulated digits, each with a sharp black talon on the end. Articulated digits that allowed her to effortlessly rip apart the hard ground beneath her as she pawed at it like it was nothing.
Darkbow was gone. Now Raindragon stood in her place, announcing her presence to the world at large with the loudest, most fearsome roar Rainbow Dash had ever heard, this side of Twilight's meltdown in Canterlot. All she could do was stare on in disbelief, and note how this was going to suck so bad on so many levels.
"Consider it brought," Raindragon growled as she turned her sights on Rainbow Dash, her scaly lips pulling back in a sneer that showed off her sharp teeth.
Rainbow Dash responded by quirking an eyebrow incredulously at the whole demonstration. "So... you're taking on the form that I got my ass kicked in? Isn't that, I don't know, counterproductive?"
Raindragon just snorted, steam expelling from her nostrils in the process, as she glared at Rainbow Dash angrily. "Counter this!" she roared and kicked off the ground, propelling herself forward towards her quarry at top speed.
Rainbow Dash didn't even have time to react before Raindragon was on her like Pinkie on a cupcake. She couldn't even blink before she was grabbed and shoved backward, her shod hooves scuffing up the ground as she tried in a futile effort to grind herself to a halt, before she was finally sent skyward for a whole new round of aerial combat. And unfortunately she was up against an opponent who could actually grab onto her this time around.
There was no doubt about it now. This was most definitely gonna suck!
Shady didn't know what was worse to experience; the unidentified commotion that permeated the area beyond the force field where they were held, or the stretches of silence where the commotion on the inside took center stage. If it wasn't the howling and the explosions that rocked the ground, it was the babies crying and the infighting going on between all of them. There were no answers to be found, no escape to be had, and they were turning against each other out of frustration with their lack of control over the situation. To some extent she could sympathize with it. But not enough to be able to tolerate some of the stuff she was currently hearing.
"And another thing-" Diamond Tiara started.
"Snap," Shady spoke up to interrupt whatever she was about to say. "Is there any chance you can possibly chew through this force field we're in and get us out of here?"
"What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I can't do something like that!" Diamond Tiara stated.
"Well if your mouth isn't gonna get us out of here, then give it a rest already," Shady replied back.
Diamond Tiara blinked, before bristling with agitation at the complete lack of respect she was being shown. Just who did this pony think she was, do believe she was free to address her in such a manner? "Why you little-"
"I don't care who you are. And I don't care who you think you are either. I don't care about who your mommy is, who your daddy is, or how much money they have that you think you have; none of that matters. I could try and care less, but I really don't feel like wasting the energy it would take. So I'm only gonna say this once. Help us find a way out of here, or just shut up. Really I don't care which one you do," Shady stated.
Diamond Tiara blinked again, unsure of how to respond to that. She was no stranger to being the subject of scorn and resentment by other foals around her, but never had she been so casually dismissed out of hoof by somepony before, and regarded like her basic existence was totally insignificant. That... that was definitely a new one on her.
Based on her... admittedly limited experience with Shady, she knew that she wasn't a pony who was easily impressed, especially not by material standards. But at the same time she'd never been quite so blunt in her dismissals of others; not to her knowledge anyway.
"Hey! Ah think Ah see somethin' comin' this way!"
It was Apple Bloom's announcement that broke Diamond Tiara out of her thoughts, as others moved towards the edge of the force field to try and get a better look through the fog and the darkness, to try and get a better idea of just what they'd have to deal with.
There was definitely something out there, slowly making its way towards their position, but unable to make out any identifying details due to the denseness of the fog surrounding it. Whatever it was, though, it didn't appear to be in any big hurry to reach them. It was almost like it knew they couldn't get away, and had no reason to exert itself by moving faster than it currently was. It was all very unnerving to experience, more than enough to make the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up in uncomfortable anticipation of whatever was coming for them.
"What kind of monster is coming after us this time?" Silver Spoon asked, desperate to run in an effort to escape the interim, but knowing there was nowhere to go but run in a circle.
Sweetie Belle squinted, trying to make out some identifying details to what was making its way towards them. Manticore? Dragon? Cockatrice? Hydra perhaps?
But then she smiled wide at what she saw. "The best kind of monster there is to have coming your way!"
"Mr. Cifer!" Apple Bloom yelled in excitement, relief washing over her as she saw him making his way through the fog. She couldn't really see what was behind him, but she didn't care about that right now, as she beat against the force field with her front hoof in an effort to get his attention. "Hey, Mr. Cifer, we're over here!"
Her efforts were soon joined by other foals, banging on the force field and calling out to draw Ulquiorra's attention to their position. Whether it was through their efforts at drawing his attention, or he was simply moving in their direction to begin with, he eventually stopped several feet away from the edge of the force field, looking right at them.
"Boy are we glad ta see ya!" Apple Bloom stated.
Scootaloo nodded eagerly. "Can you get us out of here?"
"We're about to find out," Ulquiorra replied as he approached, his voice sounding somewhat muffled through the force field. He then threw whatever he'd been carrying with him against the wall of the barrier, where it crumpled limply like a discarded rag doll. "Keep an eye on that. It has an annoying tendency to get up when no one is paying attention to it."
Sweetie Belle looked at the crumpled form against the edge of the force field. It looked like a body... A dead body...
Immediately she recoiled in fear and screamed. "EWW!"
"What? What is it?" Shady asked.
"Ah don' know what it is. But whatever it is, its whole face above the jawline is missin'! There ain' nothin' there but a big hole!" Apple Bloom stated.
Shady's muzzle wrinkled in disgust at hearing this information, the mental image it conjured proving to be very unappealing. "That is without doubt, one Tartarus-grade sneeze."
"That must be what happens when you sneeze while trying to suppress a hiccup," Truffle Shuffle wheezed.
"Gesundheit," Silver Spoon muttered.
Diamond Tiara didn't have anything to say in response, far too disturbed by everything that was going on right now. This night was just too full of weirdness for her. On top of all that, where she stood provided her with the perfect vantage point of the large, gaping hole right in the thing's chest. She didn't know much of anything about biology, but she was pretty sure that shouldn't be perfectly circular and gaping quite like that! It was way too clean and all the way through. Shouldn't there be stuff like bones, and organs, and cartilage or something visible? And what about blood, how come there was no blood to be seen?
The weirdness of the night just served to get weirder when Ulquiorra literally punched the force field with his right hand. The force of the blow was so significant, it turned the entire construct visible as its blue structure revealed itself, confirming earlier estimations about its sheer size. On top of that the blow could be felt right through the ground and up their hooves, which was enough to suggest that he was at least partially responsible for what they'd been experiencing earlier in the night. The impact against the barrier's walls caused a rippling effect to spread out from the point of impact, like the surface of a lake being disturbed by a stone being dropped.
Questions as to how some... thing could possibly generate so much force in a single punch, were derailed at the sight of his arm snapping and breaking from the stress it was subjected to. Immediately all of them cringed in response, some of them even verbalizing their shock and discomfort at what they'd just seen.
Knowledge of precisely what his joints were called escaped them. But those that had been around him had at least some idea of what was proper in how they bent and flexed, and how they didn't. And right now there was nothing proper going on there. It was horribly cringe-inducing to witness, as he inspected his own arm it what could only be interpreted as disbelief.
Or at least what they assumed amounted to disbelief. There was so little change to his expression, it was hard to tell really.
Somehow the fact that he wasn't screaming in total agony just served to make the entire thing even worse.
"This is going to require significantly more effort," he idly commented as he gripped his arm.
Much to the disbelief of everypony present, they watched as Ulquiorra proceeded to, as best they could interpret, un-break his arm by snapping it back into place. The injuries incurred seemed to erase themselves from existence, as he demonstrated that everything was properly flexing again afterwards.
"How did you even do that!?" Archer asked, not believing what she'd just seen.
"Lots of spinach, and plenty of exercise," Ulquiorra casually stated as he tapped at the force field.
"That doesn't even make sense!" Noi stated. There was no way that healthy living let somepony reset a broken limb like it was nothing. What sort of monster was he supposed to be!?
Ulquiorra ignored the comment as he felt at the force field's wall, inspecting its integrity for himself. The results of his efforts were less than satisfying. "This is obviously going to require stronger measures. Standing as far to the side as possible is advised," he explained as he stepped back several paces.
The foals could only watch in confusion as Ulquiorra backed up, wondering what he was going to do. Surely he wasn't planning on charging it headlong after breaking his arm... right?
And then they noticed the green glow emanating from his right hand.
"What exactly is he doing?" Tootsie Flute asked.
"That," Sweetie Belle squeaked in horrified realization, "is what's called a "Cero." And you definitely don't wanna be standing in front of it when it goes off!"
"Scatter and hit the dirt!" Scootaloo yelled.
All the foals ran to either side of the force field -Shady being dragged by Dinky for the sake of expediency- as they attempted to put as much distance between themselves, and whatever was about to happen.
Outside the force field, Ulquiorra took aim as his target as his Cero charged, focusing on the upper portion of the domed structure to direct as much of the destructive force away from the foals as possible, in an effort to minimize the risk of casualties as much as possible. The very fact that he had to resort to this so soon, was a testament to just how far downhill this situation had gone so fast. But there was little choice that he could see right now; that punch was more than enough to fell a dragon, and it had done absolutely nothing to the structural integrity of the barrier.
He briefly considered the possibility of this force field operating on the same principle as the force field protecting the Elements of Harmony, and that his efforts could simply be strengthening it further. But that was a chance that had to be taken if they were going to get anywhere. There was also the matter of some forty bits being on the line, and...
Where the hell had that thought come from?
No matter, it was irrelevant. Once the foals had scattered to the furthest points possible, he discharged his Cero, colliding full force against the force field, before completely obscuring it from his view in the process.
The ground quaked and trembled all around them, the concussive force of the Cero being transmitted through the walls of the force field, which in turn was transmitted through the ground. The fact that the trembling was showing no signs of stopping was concerning.
As his Cero eventually petered out, he saw the results of his efforts, and the lack thereof. The force field was still standing, looking completely unfazed after what it had been subjected to. He might as well have been spitting at it for all the good it'd done them. About the only thing that had given way was the ground underneath it, as a channel was cut through the dirt and underlying soil structure. And by the looks of it, the force field extended underground as well.
Either that, or the ground had been breached, and the force field had automatically extended to seal the gap. Whichever was the case, this was going to prove to be even less easy than originally expected.
"Shit," he commented. If his own Cero wasn't going to work, then this was going to require even stronger measures than that.
"I don't think that did any good," Pipsqueak commented as he tapped at the force field as he and the rest moved back to center, and found it to still be present.
"That would appear to be the case," Ulquiorra replied. So far punching the force field hadn't worked, and neither had his Cero. He was starting to believe that going through it simply wasn't going to be a viable option, no matter how much effort he put into it. "We'll have to try something else; perhaps going underneath."
"We've already tried that," Silver Spoon stated, "there's too many tree roots to get through. Even Snips can't cut his way through them," she explained, Snips nodding his head in confirmation of the fact, despite the act causing his horn to hurt from all of the exertion he'd put on it.
"Then I'll simply dig myself," Ulquiorra replied. There was no way that something as simple as tree roots were going to keep him from fulfilling his duties in rescuing the foals. And once they were rescued, he was really going to cut loose.
"Mr. Cifer, watch out!" Apple Bloom yelled suddenly.
Before he could respond and seek clarification on just what to watch out for, he was greeted to the sight of a sword ripping through his chest and jutting out in front of him, the whole display causing the foals to scream in terror at what they'd witnessed. Glancing over his right shoulder, he saw the Kurostruct standing there, completely healed; likely something that had occurred when the foals had taken their eyes off of its remains when he'd discharged his Cero. He didn't have anyone to blame for this one but himself.
Without a word he grasped the forward portion of the zanpakutō and pulled it forward -and the Kurostruct itself by extension- giving him sufficient leverage to not only grip it, but also aid him in using his entire body to whirl it around with enough force to send it flying and crashing against the force field when he relinquished his grip.
Had it not gone through the preexisting hole in his chest, such a maneuver would've been considerably more difficult to pull off.
Before it had the chance to push itself up again, he moved to intercept it, and shove it back against the force field.
"Let's see if we can determine which will be the first to fail; my fist, your head, or the force field itself," he stated, before proceeding to pummel the Kurostruct for all it was worth, its head slamming back against the barrier with each blow delivered, only for the force of the impact to snap it back forward, straight into his fist in an aggressive cycle of pain. Each impact against the barrier's walls caused a rippling effect to spread out from the point of impact.
Inside the force field, all the foals could do was watch the beating unfold in both disbelief and discomfort, uncomfortable with the sheer amount of violence they were witnessing.
"Sweetie Belle, help me out here," Silver Spoon spoke up. "That thing with the skull face was missing like half its head when Ulquiorra brought it here, right?"
"Pretty much," Sweetie Belle agreed.
"But now it's got its whole head back?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Sure looks that way," Sweetie Belle agreed.
"And it stabbed Ulquiorra through the heart, right?" Silver Spoon asked.
"I guess so. It sure looked like it did," Sweetie Belle replied.
"But instead of falling down dead, it looks like it just made him angry," Silver Spoon observed. "Is any of this making any sense to you?"
"Not in the least," Sweetie Belle admitted. She certainly couldn't explain what they'd all seen. Or what they continued to see.
"And you're sure that he's on our side?" Silver Spoon asked.
"More so than-" Sweetie Belle started, only for a loud crunching sound, and a group exclamation of shock served to cut her off.
"What? What's going on now?" Shady asked, hoping somepony would fill her in on the details she was missing out on.
"Let's just say that I don't think any sort of creature from any genus, known or unknown, has a spine that's supposed to bend quite like that," Featherweight stated uncomfortably as he watched what Ulquiorra had just done. Worse yet was the fact that there was no way to actually un-see it.
"Oh that's so gross," Dinky grunted and gulped in obvious disgust. "I think... I think I'm gonna puke..."
"No! No! No! You can't puke in here you-" Shady started to yell frantically, only for it to be too late as Dinky lost the war all over the ground. "Oh come on! It didn't smell bad enough in here to begin with!?"
Luna's brow furrowed as she listened to the news Vinyl had brought them pertaining to what had been witnessed in the direction of the Everfree Forest. The map had done nothing to convey anything like what had been described to them, but she knew that regardless of such a fact, it couldn't possibly be good. She knew of what both Rainbow Dash and Ulquiorra were capable of doing, and neither one of them fired red beams of energy. Through the process of elimination, that left only one party who could be responsible for what had been witnessed.
"This is a most troubling development indeed," she stated to nopony in particular.
"Yeah, I kinda figured that was the case," Vinyl agreed. The general weirdness associated with Ponyville notwithstanding, Stuff like that just didn't normally happen.
"My word. What could Nightmare Moon be up to?"
"Nightmare Moon? Wait, what!?" Vinyl asked as she quickly looked up again.
Luna turned and glared angrily at Rarity for being so careless in her question. But she relented a moment later, the damage already done. The proverbial cat was now out of the bag, and there was no way of getting that tiger back in its prison. Now it was time to do damage control. Turning back to the unicorn with the untamed mane, she slowly nodded.
"We do not yet understand how it has come to pass, but it is true that Nightmare Moon has returned, and -much like certain extended family members who shall not be named- is proving herself to be a pain in my royal ass! She is operating freely of her own volition independent of myself, and is the one who has taken the foals hostage, preventing us from launching an all out assault against her. Ulquiorra Cifer has departed to try and stop her, but it is possible that even his skills may not be sufficient in stopping her plans. And until Rainbow Dash can be found, we cannot even use the Elements of Harmony against her," she explained, doing her best to explain the situation, without giving away so much information about just how screwed they were, that it would cause a panic to occur.
"Oh wow," Vinyl replied, taken aback by the news. Saying this was bad was an understatement. "So on a scale of one to ten, this would put us squarely on eleven for just how heavily bad this situation is?" she asked.
"Based on what is presently known, I would put the situation at hoof closer to six and seven eighths myself," Luna replied. Although grading disasters on poorly defined scales was more an imprecise art rather than a fine science; especially when there was an emphasis on avoiding a panic. "It is not good, but it could be far worse than it currently is; especially if word were to get out about Nightmare Moon's return, and mass panic ensued. Fear gives her strength, and the more fear there is, the more powerful she stands to become. That is why the rest of Ponyville absolutely cannot know about this development."
"I won't say a word," Vinyl quickly stated, suddenly feeling very uneasy about how she was being addressed in this situation.
"That is most reassuring to know. For right now I am in need of your... unique services," Luna spoke, her voice far softer than it had been just a moment before the unicorn's efforts at defending her good name. And judging by the confused expression on her face -what was visible of her face anyway- it was reasonable to conclude that she hadn't expected that.
"Um, Princess, I'm not sure what you've heard about what goes on at my gigs, but-"
"I am not asking you to do something illicit or improper, my little pony," Luna quickly clarified, "Nightmare Moon is strengthened through fear. I am merely asking that you keep Ponyville too distracted to succumb to fear, to inhibit her plans. Do you think you can do that?"
At hearing the clarification, Vinyl nodded and grinned. It was a cocky, confident grin that suggested one had the situation firmly in hoof, and knew it for a fact when others didn't.
"Gimme twenty minutes and I'll have the beats wubbing and the lights flashin' and strobin'. I'll tell everypony it's so the foals can find their way back to town!"
"In a few hours, such may be the truth," Luna muttered. "Whatever is needed, submit a bill to the Crown and you will be reimbursed for your services."
"Right. On it, Princess!" Vinyl replied before giving a salute, and making a break for the library's door to carry out not only her instructions, but the extent of the overall mission that she had been assigned.
With the DJ now absent, Luna turned to face the others that were present, and looking back at her. "That should help delay whatever Nightmare Moon has planned out. We can do nothing about the foals just yet, but she will not be able to siphon fear from the rest of Ponyville as easily if they are too distracted to be afraid," she explained.
"I don't know," Pinkie replied slowly as she rubbed her chin. "Vinyl's good at what she does, but I don't know if she has what it takes to actually get a party going all by herself. She might need a little help with that. Maybe I should go out and lend a hoof."
"Much as Ah'm sure Ponyville would appreciate that, we gotta be ready to move at a second's notice. Ah don' think there's time fer ya ta organize a party o' this sort," Applejack explained. They needed to head out the moment the Element of Loyalty resonated with Rainbow Dash again, and she knew full well that when Pinkie got to going with party planning and such, she could be a force of nature that could be neither stopped, nor even found if she didn't want to be.
"Yes. About that. I have been thinking, and perhaps it would be best if we were to all make an appearance at whatever Vinyl Scratch manages to put together. Just to reassure the residents that everything is alright," Luna suggested.
Celestia frowned, in a way that only she truly could, learned from countless decades of managing the day court and looking as serene as all Tartarus. She would freely admit that she still wasn't at her sharpest, but she still suspected that something was up. There was something about Luna's body language, and the tone of her voice, that suggested there was more going on here than what met the eye.
"Luna," she spoke up as she approached, "you're scheming something, I know it. Don't try and lie to me, or I'll wash your mouth out with soap if you do," she warned.
Despite the threat, and knowing that her sister was quite serious about it, Luna said nothing as she walked over to the case that held the Elements of Harmony and observed them. The strobe effect of the Element of Loyalty was still present, pulsing much like a heartbeat; ironic for being both reassuring and disconcerting at the same time. The fact that it was still strobing meant that Rainbow Dash was still very much alive. But it also meant that resonance had not yet been achieved. They were so close, and yet still so very far away from success. They needed more time.
Unfortunately time was very much not on their side right now. It was serving to be a valuable commodity that they needed more of, but simply didn't have.
Beyond that, if anything, time was actually serving to be just as much of a villain to them as Nightmare Moon herself was. It was working against them, depriving them of what they needed to achieve success in this matter, and severely limiting their available options. Waiting around simply wouldn't do.
"Very well then," she spoke slowly as she turned to face them, knowing that she had little choice in this matter. "I feel that I must undertake a mission of grave importance. And I do not want any of you present for what must come to pass, because what I must do violates every teaching that Equestria holds dear. I simply cannot, in good conscience, ask you to play any part in that; not even in a spectator capacity," she explained as her horn began to glow.
"Luna?" Twilight asked, a very bad feeling beginning to creep along her spine as she heard this.
"The information Vinyl Scratch brought us would suggest that Nightmare Moon is advancing in whatever she has planned, and I do not believe the Elements of Harmony will be ready in time to aid us. Because of that I am not content to merely sit around and wait, while our friends may be suffering and dying. I am proceeding to the Everfree Forest immediately, for the express purpose of locating, and killing Nightmare Moon myself!" she stated as her horn began flaring brightly. "There shall be no mercy shown to this demon, no surrender shall be accepted, and I will not leave the forest until I am absolutely certain that she is dead once and for all!"
Before anyone could speak in response to Luna's declaration of intent, she was gone in a bright flash, leaving the others to recover from the temporary whiteout they'd been subjected to, by whatever methodology had been used in her disappearance.
"Oh dear, this isn't good," Rarity stated. Although the words felt like a drastic understatement the instant they left her mouth.
Twilight was about to go into an explanation of just how inadequate Rarity's statement was for describing the situation they found themselves in, but immediately stopped when her eyes fell upon the library's round table. Or more specifically, what was no longer present. The map they'd been using to chart Rainbow Dash's position was no longer there.
"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!" she yelled as she galloped over to examine its surface, nearly crashing into it in the process as she did. "This is bad. This is so very bad!"
"Wha's wrong, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she approached.
"The map is gone, Luna must've taken it with her when she teleported so we couldn't follow after her," Twilight explained. And then a far worse thought came to her mind. Immediately her horn began glowing as she muttered frantically to herself, with the look on her face becoming more and more distressed with each passing second. "She even deactivated the beacon I put on Rainbow Dash when she headed out!"
"Which means?" Fluttershy asked.
"What it means is that Luna cut us off entirely by taking what we were going to use to chart our travel. With neither the map, nor the the beacon to rely on, we have no way of knowing just where in the Everfree Forest that they are right now. They could literally be anywhere right now, and we'd never know it," Twilight explained, trying desperately to not sound on the verge of panic, despite such being the case.
Celestia tried to find the words that were appropriate for the situation, but ultimately she had none to offer up. All she could do was sigh, close her eyes, and hang her head.
The number of things going wrong on this night were beginning to look insurmountable to Twilight at this point. The cure for terror fog was gone -and didn't even work, just to add insult to injury- all the foals in Ponyville were gone, Nightmare Moon had returned, and the Elements of Harmony were completely useless in their current state. Worse than that, they weren't even left with the small creature comfort of everypony being together for this crisis, and able to lend moral support to one another; Luna was gone, Rainbow Dash was gone, Ulquiorra was gone, and they had no way of finding any of them. Their friends were gone, and they had no way of getting back in touch with them.
The mental strain of so many things going so horribly wrong in such a short amount of time was far too much for her to withstand. Without any input from her on how she felt about the situation, the tears finally began to fall. And just like with everything else that'd been happening up to this point, she was powerless to stop them.