//------------------------------// // Episode 13: The Strength of Kindness // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 13: The Strength of Kindness “Adagio, run!” Sunset hissed through clenched teeth as she drew her Zanpaktou with her right hand and fished out Chappy’s gikon with her left. She tried to ignore the sweat breaking out on her neck. Floating nearby, Adagio hesitated, looking back and forth between Sunset and the fire escape back to the alley floor. Sunset practically had to shove Adagio towards the fire escape, shouting “GO!” Adagio clenched her mouth closed for a moment, then said with a sharp tone barely hiding fear, “Fine, but you better know what you’re doing! I’ll bring help as fast as I can.” Swimming through the air Adagio darted away, and the Hollow watched her go with a bit of wry amusement in his predatory eyes. Once Adagio was out of sight he turned his attention back to Sunset, “It’ll take her a few minutes to call in the cavalry. Plenty of time for you and me to go somewhere more private.” “As if I’d go anywhere with you,” Sunset said, swallowing the gikon sphere and popping out of her body. Chappy, now in control of her flesh and blood, hopped back, giving a quick salute. “Yikes, looks like a nasty situation. Need me to get your body clear, Miss Shimmer?” “Yup, go find a spot to hide,” said Sunset, and Chappy obeyed quickly, finding an air ventilation shaft to hide behind. With that out of the way Sunset focused on her opponent, still wondering just what was keeping her from sensing his spiritual pressure. She did have a slight sense of his presence, but it was so faint she wouldn't have noticed it unless she was specifically trying to feel it out, and even then she got the impression if she was any further away she wouldn't be able to feel him at all. As if he’d read her thoughts the Hollow chuckled dryly, “You have bigger things to worry about, missy, then how I snuck up on you. Now come on, we’re taking this somewhere else.” “And I said I’m not going anywhere with you,” Sunset said sharply, gripping her Zanpaktou with both hands and readying herself for when the Hollow made his move. All she had to do was hold out for a few minutes until Adagio got help. “You misunderstand me, girl,” the Hollow said, vanishing with a speed that instantly reminded Sunset of Fancy Pants’ Flash Step move. The Hollow appeared right next to her, barely giving her more than a partial instant to turn before his hand was gripping her shoulder like a steel clamp. “I wasn’t asking!” With incredible force he jumped, pulling Sunset along at high speed as he rocketed through the air. He kept kicking off of the air, as if he could turn it into solid ground for an instant, and with each jump pulled Sunset along for hundreds of yards at high speed. The air pressure of the high speed movement disoriented Sunset for a few seconds before she gathered enough of her wits to retaliate, striking out with her Zanpaktou, the blade catching the Hollow's arm. The Hollow grunted in pain and she abruptly found herself being flung downward. She tried to control her fall, but had no idea how to do make the air act like solid ground like this Hollow seemed able to do. She felt the impact hard, rolling across pavement until she slammed into something rough and unyielding. Dazed, pain lancing up and down her body, she managed to stagger to her feet and look around herself. She’d been thrown into a plaza, a large roundish area where numerous shops formed a small commercial center, all culminating in one large building with flashing neon lights; a theater. She’d been tossed to the downtown theater plaza, and she’d just slammed into the fountain in the center of the plaza. People were walking around, many stopping to stare, not at her specifically for she wasn’t visible to them in her spirit form, but they could see the impact she’d made into the stone siding of the fountain, which had cracked slightly. Ugh, good thing this spirit body is tougher than my physical one. A hit like that would’ve left me with broken bones for sure. Even so, she hurt. Her whole body felt like a piece of tenderized meat. This Hollow was a lot stronger than any of the one’s she’d faced before. His body was certainly different. Far more human-like than previous Hollows she'd seen. What was he, exactly? The Hollow landed a few dozen feet away, looking casually relaxed as he twirled his own sword in one hand, “This’ll do. It's far enough away your pals won’t find you as fast. Nifty thing about what’s hiding my spirit energy, it’s got a radius. Hides your spirit energy as well, so your friends won’t be able to sense you so easily.” “And just what’s doing that?” she asked, playing for time. With a nonchalant shrug the Hollow reached into the sash holding his pants up and pulled out a strange looking charm on a bracelet of tiny bones. The charm itself looked like a glass vial holding a green liquid of some sort. “Old man Grogar is one creepy bastard, but he knows his stuff. I have no idea how this little thing works, and I don’t really care. Just makes my job easier.” He tucked the small charm back into his sash and then flexed his sword arm. Sunset tensed, and when the Hollow came at her it was with another of those blindingly fast movements that was similar to the Flash Step. Expecting the move this time she was able to react better, recalling how she’d managed to dodge Fancy Pants, if only once. It was a close call but she turned faster than she thought she could, swinging her Zanpaktou to meet the Hollow’s onrushing blade coming for her side. The two blades met in a clash of sparks and a blast of air that was hard enough to startle the nearby humans, causing many to jump back. Sunset, despite using two arms to the Hollow’s one, felt herself get pushed back by the strength of the blow, her feet skidding along the plaza’s pavement. The Hollow didn’t let up, rushing in again and slashing hard. Sunset just barely managed another block, the force of the hit actually lifting her off her feet and sending her flying back into the large front window of a shoe shop that was just next to the theater. Her back cracked the glass, though she didn’t actually break the window, and several people screamed at the sight of what to them was just a window cracking for no obvious reason they could see. This is a bad spot to fight. Someone’s going to get hurt. Sunset turned and started to run down the plaza, planning to get out into the parking lot, but the Hollow cut her off. “This’d go way easier for you if you just gave up,” he said, slashing down hard. Sunset threw herself to the side, avoiding the serrated shark-tooth blade as it hit the ground, smashing concrete in a long furrow. His arm was overextended and she felt her adrenaline pulse as she rushed in, slashing at his side, only to find his free hand snap out and grasp her sword, stopping it dead. The Hollow lashed out with his sword while still grasping her own blade, but Sunset pulled hard on her Zanpaktou. It felt like trying to free it from a block of stone, but the sword came free, with strange sparks erupting from where her blade cut along the Hollow’s palm. She felt the Hollow’s sword cut her clothes, her black robes getting a shredded line along the stomach that almost touched flesh. Backing off, keeping her sword up, she watched as the Hollow casually examined the hand he’d used to grab her blade. It was only lightly cut, no more than a shallow scrape that barely bled. Sunset had no idea how that was possible. Her sword should have sliced his palm clean open! Instead he just flexed his hand, hardly hurt. “Eh, shouldn’t even have gotten scratched this much. This is the problem with only being a half baked Arrancar. I don’t have anywhere near the power I ought to. Oh well, it's enough to deal with a equally half baked Soul Reaper that can’t even release her Zanpaktou.” “Arrancar? What is that supposed to be?” Sunset asked hastily, hoping to keep this Hollow talking. He seemed like the chatty sort, even as he stalked towards her. “Wow, you mean they haven’t told you anything about the fight they’re trying to drag you into? Hah! Typical Soul Reaper shit. I’d almost feel sorry for you, but, you know, heartless monster and all that. Arrancar are Hollows that have evolved to mimic the abilities of Soul Reapers. This thing?” He held up his sword, “Arrancar also have Zanpaktou. Ours just work differently. Of course mine won’t work at all because I’m only partially evolved, but its enough to handle you.” Thank Celestia this guy likes to talk so much, Sunset thought, backing away slowly and planning her next move. This Hollow was clearly a lot stronger than her, and she’d barely injured him. It hurt her pride to admit it, but she’d need help to take him down. Her only chance was to do something about that charm he had that was suppressing his and her spiritual pressures. Not wasting another second she charged him, which seemed to catch the Hollow slightly off guard, as if his sheer confidence in his strength precluded any notion his prey would go on the offensive. Sunset feinted hard to the left, then side-stepped to the right, slashing high. She didn’t want to go for the charm quite yet. She had to lure him into exposing an opening. He blocked her blade with seemingly contemptuous ease, but Sunset didn’t let up, increasing her pace as she alternated her slashes left and fright, ever aiming higher. The Hollow held his position, parrying each blow, and growling in annoyance, “This is pretty pitiful. If this is all you can do I’m shocked you survived an encounter with Grand Fisher. I’m not even breaking a sweat here! The pink one was more intimidating. Actually she was bat shit scary. Color me glad I snagged you instead of her.” That’s right, get cocky. Assume I’m not a threat, Sunset thought ruefully. Just when she aimed a final slash for his head, seeing his casual parry coming as if he was hardly paying attention, she reached inside herself to feel her spirit energy, and tried to push it out through her feet, replicating what it’d felt like the last time she’d used Flash Step. The jump was disorienting, as if the whole world flickered, but she kept on her feet instead of falling flat on her butt like last time. She was behind the Hollow, who was only just starting to turn in shock when she lunged in, thrusting her Zanpaktou towards his hip, where the charm was hidden beneath his sash. “The hell-!?” The Hollow vanished as well, leaping away from her at high speed, but not before her Zanpaktou had cut cloth and torn the charm free from his side. The vial of green liquid clattered to the ground between them and the Hollow narrowed his eyes, “So you do know a few Soul Reaper tricks. Not fast enough, however.” He moved towards the charm, and Sunset also took a step towards it, intending to beat him to it, but just then she heard a familiar voice shouting. “Hado Number Thirty Three: Sokatsui!” A wave of blue energy crashed down, smashing into the charm and blowing it to pieces, leaving a small crater in the plaza. Nearby humans shouted and cleared out of the plaza even further, and Sunset saw more than a few people nearby with cell phones out either dialing or taking video. She looked up at the source of the voice and saw Clover was standing atop of the theater, her palm still out and smoking from her Kido spell. “Clover!” The Soul Reaper jumped down from the theater and landed beside Sunset, not taking her eyes off the Hollow. “You’re lucky I was already nearby and heard the sound of clashing blades. Are you unhurt?” “Mostly,” Sunset said, still grimacing at the pained aches all over her body from being tossed around before. “What were you doing nearby?” Clover frowned, her Zanpaktou already drawn, but she tilted her head towards the theater. Her voice was a whisper, presumedly so the Hollow wouldn’t hear, “Guarding the theater. The younger sisters of two of your friends, plus another young girl who I think is their friend, are within watching one of those moving pictures. I didn’t want to risk leaving them unattended. I didn’t expect you and a Hollow like this to show up... what... what is he?” “He called himself an Arrancar. Or a half evolved one, anyway.” She instantly saw that Clover recognized the term, fear filling the Soul Reaper’s eyes, “Arrancar!? That’s not good. Not good at all. Only half evolved, you say? How is that possible? I’ve never heard of such a thing.” The Hollow laughed derisively, “Recent development from old man Grogar himself. Don’t know how he’s doing it, but he’s got a way to change us lesser Hollows. Not a pleasant experience, let me tell you. Worse part is the whole transformation is unstable. If I don’t get back to let the old goat finish what he started, my body will explode on its own. Suffice to say I’m not about to stop until I complete my mission and capture one of these girls the bosses want so badly.” “You won’t be taking anyone,” said Clover firmly, “You’re only salvation is within the edge of my blade. Prepare to be purified, Hollow. Seek, Chishiki!” As Clover’s Zanpaktou transformed in a wash of emerald light, the Hollow grinned, raising his own blade, “Good! At least you’ll put up a fight.” “Hey, I knocked off your charm thinige!” said Sunset, feeling a bit insulted, “I’m not exactly a pushover here!” “Sunet, focus,” said Clover, holding her now transformed weapon, spinning the staff so the ring blade faced her, its opening turned towards the Hollow, “I must analyze what I can of him. That information could prove invaluable to Soul Society.” “Yeah, not giving you the time, lady,” said the Hollow, dashing in and slashing hard at Clover, who was forced to use Chishiki’s haft to block. The strength of the Hollow was enough to even force Clover back, and when Sunset came in from the side to help, aiming a thrust for the Hollow’s back, he swung back with his other hand and deflected her sword bare handed. Damn! I can’t do more than scratch him! Sunset’s frustration piqued, a seething fire in her gut. If only she could get her Zanpaktou to talk with her! She knew she had more power inside her, just waiting to boil over, but the only avenue to let that power out was in this sword that she couldn’t figure out how to communicate with. The Hollow jumped up, kicking out with both legs, catching both Soul Reapers and sending them flying back. Sunset lost her breath for a second as she lay on the pavement, casting a quick glance at her Zanpaktou. Come on you! What’s your name!? Talk to me! ---------- Fluttershy was nearly out of breath, having run about as fast as she could, looking for a sign of Sunset. The young girl’s face was a mask of frayed nerves, fearing for what might be happening to her friend at that very moment. When Adagio had come flying back to the party, fearfully and rapidly explaining about the strange Hollow that had attacked her and Sunset, the party had ended in an instant. Discord had immediately set them all out to look for Sunset. When they hadn’t found her anywhere near the rooftop that Adagio said they’d encountered the Hollow at, the girls had all split up to search. There was no time to worry about safety or the danger in splitting up. The downtown area was large and there was no way to know where Sunset might have been taken. They just had to spread out and hope for the best. It wasn’t exactly a comfort when Fluttershy’s Detector had gone off, beeping wildly and letting her know there was a powerful Hollow signature nearby. She was the closest to it, and she’d hastily called the others as she sprinted full tilt towards that location. She’d get there well before any of the others, and she fearfully realized that she didn’t even have any powers to fight with... but what else could she do but go to her friend and try her best? She heard the wail of sirens as an ambulance passed by her, and fear caught in her throat for a second before she realized it was heading a different way than where the Detector was taking her. Still, it spurred her on to run even faster, despite the way her lungs burned at the effort. When she reached the familiar plaza with the theater that she and her friends had gone to on numerous occasions she immediately noticed the crowd of confused onlookers who were giving the area around the fountain a wide amount of space. Beyond the crowd she could hear the ringing clash of blades, and she worked her way through the crowd to see past it. Fluttershy winced as she saw Sunset, leaping at a strange, man-shaped Hollow with a shark’s mask, get kicked out of the air before she could bring her sword down. Her friend was thrown back into the wall of a burger joint beside the theater, sliding to the ground in a groaning heap. “Sunset!” Fluttershy shouted, catching several nearby onlookers off guard. To the other people around they wouldn’t be able to see anything that was happening, just the strange aftereffects. They wouldn’t know who Fluttershy was running to, because to them it’d look like she was just a crazy girl shouting at nothing. Fluttershy hardly cared at that point, rushing to Sunset’s side while the Hollow was kept busy by Clover appearing beside it, twirling her staff in a series of rapid attacks that put the Hollow on the defensive, if only for the moment. Reaching Sunset’s side, Fluttershy knelt down, putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. Sunset was bleeding from a cut scalp, and Fluttershy could see bruises on her face. She was sure there were more injuries she couldn’t see due to the black robes. “Hold on Sunset, let me help you. We have to get you to safety.” “I’m, ugh, I’m fine,” Sunset’s voice said with pained strain as she stood, teetering unsteadily. As Fluttershy moved to put one of Sunset’s arm around her shoulder the other girl shook her off, “I said I’m okay Fluttershy. I can still fight. I have to, otherwise I don’t know if Clover can handle this guy by herself.” “T-the others are on their way,” Fluttershy said, “You’re too hurt to keep fighting.” “Let me worry about that. You need to find a spot to hide,” Sunset said, and both girls flinched as an explosion rocked the plaza, Clover having fired off another Kido at the quickly evading Hollow. “But-” Fluttershy began to protest. She’d come here to help, after all, not to hide, even if she was terribly frightened. Sunset just ignored her, charging back into the fray, leaving Fluttershy to wonder what she could possibly do to help. ---------- Clover risked a glance at Chishiki’s ring blade, seeing the glow around its edge only slowly spreading. The analysis of this Hollow was taking a long time, and she suspected it had more to do with the unstable nature of his spirit body rather than his raw power. There was no doubting this strange half-evolved Arrancar was strong, easily keeping pace with her. However his erratic spiritual energy was likely what was causing her Zanaktou to have trouble analyzing his power. At least he didn’t seem to have any unusual abilities. She had never fought a true Arrancar before, and if this partial one was any indication, she wasn’t eager to. The arrival of Fluttershy was both a boon and a complication. Boon for it meant that help was likely not far behind the king young woman, but complication for the fact that she was the only one among her friends who had no ability to fight. If the Hollow decided to make Fluttershy a target... She Flash Stepped to the Hollow’s left side, seeing Sunset charging in from the right. Sunset was injured, but Clover was impressed by the girl’s fortitude and willingness to keep fighting. Clover wasn’t about to back down either. The Hollow chuckled as Clover spun, sweeping Chishiki’s ring blade low at his knees, while Sunset went high for his head. He flipped his body vertically, stabbing his sword down through the hole of the ring blade, trapping Chishiki in place while he balanced on the hilt of it like an professional acrobat, using one foot to kick down and deflect Sunset’s Zanpaktou. The move left him in an awkward position, however, and Clover yanked back hard on Chishiki, catching the Hollow’s sword with the inner edge of the ring blade and yanking him off balancing. Sunset, sensing the weakness, used the Hollow’s earlier parry of her blade to just add to the momentum as she twisted around and slashed in a hard backhand swing that cut along the Hollow’s chest in a burst of sparks and a light wash of blood. The Hollow grunted, tucking his body into a roll that brought him to his feet a half dozen paces away. His chest had a shallow cut on it, about all Sunset’s sword could manage even with a solid hit that would’ve split a lesser Hollow in half. “Getting real tired of this dance, ladies,” he snarled, curling his free hand into a claw and aiming it at Clover, “Might be a big risk, but let’s see how you like this.” Suddenly a red orb of light pooled into his outstretched palm, an unstable, writhing orb of energy that looked as if it was a living thing trying to escape confinement. Clover could feel the massive reiatsu build up and knew what the Hollow was trying to do. It was an attack lesser Hollows couldn’t use, but ones that had evolved to the Gillian stage or higher could, and were feared for. “Sunset, back away!” she shouted, taking her own advice and leaping back. To Sunset’s credit she didn’t question Clover, jumping back as well, making it so the Hollow would have to choose between targets. Clover wasn’t intending to let the Hollow get off his attack if she could stop it, however. A blast like what he intended to unleash could cause serious property damage and the deaths of innocent bystanders. She didn’t have time to use Chishiki’s spike to enhance her Kido, she’d have to do this without the incantation. It’d be costly, however. Kido used without the full incantation drained more power, but she had no choice.Taking her free hand she formed a symbol between her middle and index finger, placing both at an angle across her Zanpaktou’s hilt and said, “Bakudo Seventy Three: Tozansho!” Blue light erupted from her body, trailing across the ground until it was underneath the Hollow. Then four points of light flew upward at equidistant points around the Hollow, flowing upwards until they joined at right angles to form an inverted pyramid which then crystallized into a solid barrier. This was the highest level binding Kido she knew, and the strain of using it without the incantation immediately hit her like an avalanche, dropping her to her knees, breathing heavily as sweat trickled down her face in small rivers. Her legs felt like little more than sacks of rock and her vision dimmed as if she was near to passing out. The Hollow, now encased in a upside down pyramid barrier of energy, swore profusely and loudly as he aimed his palm upward, the only direction he had any space to aim now that he was at the bottom of the enclosed pyramid. The energy orb he’d been charging now exploded in a wild, barley controlled torrent of crimson destructive power that flew up and smashed into the top of the inverted pyramid. “What is that!?” Sunset shouted, shielding her eyes from the bright red light. “Cero,” Clover said, “A destructive beam only evolved Hollows can use. If he unleashed it in any direction but up, it’d have taken out half the plaza.” That was why she’d used Tozansho, rather than any other binding or attack Kido. She knew the barrier wouldn’t be strong enough to stop a Cero fully, but it’d force the Hollow to aim upward if he didn’t want to blow himself up in the process. She wasn’t that surprised when the wave of energy from the Cero cracked through the top of the Tozansho barrier and blasted through, sending the last residual bits of the Cero beam into the sky. As the barrier fell apart like breaking glass the Hollow inside was glaring at them, clutching at his hand, which Clover noticed was twisted and burned. Clearly using a Cero when he was an unstable and half-evolved was risky for him. He looked like he was in pain beyond just the wound to his hand, as if his body wasn’t obeying him very well anymore. Veins popped out and pulsed on his forehead, though whether that was from rage or pain it was hard to tell. “Starting to forget that I’m supposed to bring one of you in alive,” he growled, eyes glancing back towards where Fluttershy was rooted, having not moved since trying to come to Sunset’s aid. Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the Hollow’s glare and she backed away a step. “You stay away from her!” Sunset shouted, and before Clover could tell the girl to stop, Sunset rushed forward at the Hollow. Despite her exhausted state Clover pushed herself back to standing and joined Sunset’s charge. This time the Hollow sprang to meet them, leaping forward with his sword leading the way. Sunset met him head on while Clover shifted to the side, looking to get behind the Hollow. Injured or not Sunset didn’t back away from the Hollow a single step, swinging her sword with wild, fast slashes that gave little room for defense. The Hollow in turn paid little heed to protecting himself either, and the result was a storm of clashing slashes between the two that led to both taking painful hits in just a few seconds of exchange. By the time Clover had even swung around behind the Hollow she saw Sunset was cut in half a dozen places now, bloody wounds covering her chest like crimson rivers on a map. The Hollow had taken almost twice as many shallow slashes, Sunset’s Zanpaktou still not able to score a deep wound, but it seemed like what she was lacking in damage dealt per attack Sunset was trying to make up for with sheer volume of attacks. Still, it wouldn't be enough. Sunset’s injuries mounted, and she looked ready to collapse at any second, yet the fierce fire blazing in her eyes wouldn’t stop. Clover felt with acidic fear in her gut that Sunset would keep attacking until she died, unless this fight was ended soon. Behind the Hollow, Clover reversed her grip on Chishiki and aimed the spiked tip towards his spine. If she could just get in one good hit, she was sure she could pierce that hardened flesh of his. Thrusting with all her might she felt a jarring shock run up her staff as the Hollow swung around and gripped the shaft of Chishiki with his damaged hand, seeming to ignore the horrific pain moving the twisted limb caused him. Then with a hard yank he pulled both Chishiki and Clover along past him, and towards Sunset, almost impaling the other girl if Sunset hadn’t managed to throw herself aside at the last second. However both Clover and Sunset were off balance for a second, and the Hollow didn’t waste the advantage, shoulder rushing both of them and impacting them hard enough to send both skidding along the ground like it was made of ice. Clover rolled over, bracing herself on Chishiki to try and stand, but only managed to get into a half sitting position by the time the Hollow’s foot kicked her squarely in the face and sent her flying into a nearby street lamp with an impact that sparked flaring pain in her head, then blackness. ---------- Fluttershy cried out, seeing Clover fall to the ground after bouncing off a street lamp, and then lay completely still, her Zanpaktou clattering to the ground with a painfully loud ring of metal. Sunset wasn’t doing much better, a mass of wounds that hurt Fluttershy just to look at them. Her friend’s black Soul Reaper robes were torn and tattered, and covered in bloody, ragged cuts. She’d never seen anyone, let alone a friend, look so injured, in so much pain. She knew she had to do something but she didn’t know what. This Hollow was so much stronger than her, what could she ever hope to do to stop him? The Hollow was stalking towards Sunset, who was swaying on her feet, barely able to hold her Zanpaktou up, yet seemingly doggedly determined to keep fighting until her body was torn to shreds. Fluttershy knew she couldn’t allow that to happen, but her mind felt frozen with fear. What could she do? “Fluttershy, what’re y’all doin’ here?” asked a young voice from nearby, and Fluttershy turned in shock to see a familiar yellow skinned girl with apple red hair done up in a pink bow. Applebloom was walking out of the theater entrance with a number of other people, a crowd of folk who’d just gotten out of a movie and had no idea what was going on in the plaza outside. Beside Applebloom were her two friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, both looking with wide eyes at the damaged, half demolished plaza. “Whoa! Cool! What happened here, a demolition?” asked Scootaloo, grinning in oblivious ignorance of the danger not more than twenty feet away. Sweetie Belle was a lot more nervous looking, hugging herself and taking a step back, “I don’t think so. This... this looks familiar for some reason.” Applebloom glanced at her friends, then back at Fluttershy, “Uh, hey, ya alirght there, Fluttershy? Ya seem real spooked. What’s goin’ on?” “Girls... get away from here, please,” she said, mouth dry as a desert as the Hollow slowly turned away from Sunset and fixed his eyes on the three young girls. “Well well well, talk about a lucky break. I can grab both you and these little ones at the same time. Bet they’ll make good bargaining chips to get the others. “Yeah, because messing with my friends families turned out so well for you last time,” Sunset managed to say, though her voice was tight with pain, “You’re not touching any of them. You’ve still got me to deal with!” “Lady, you’re one foot in the grave already. Then again, so am I,” the Hollow said, “Which means I don’t have the luxury of playing with you anymore, though it's been fun. You’re one vicious fighter. You’d make a better Hollow than a Soul Reaper. Now then...” The Hollow turned his attention back to the still confused looking young trio of girls, taking a step forward. Fluttershy reacted immediately, rushing towards the girls and taking Applebloom by the hand. “H-hey, what they-” Applebloom began to protest, but Fluttershy just shot the three girls a single look. “Run!” she said, not so much shouting as putting such force into her voice and eyes that the three girls didn’t even think to protect, they just obeyed. Fluttershy was no longer thinking as she ran away down the plaza street, dragging along Applebloom and with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo right behind her. Her entire being was just focused on the singular fact that she couldn’t let these three come to harm. Of course there was no way she and three pre-teen girls were fast enough to actually escape a Hollow that had speed to match a Soul Reaper’s Flash Step. They’d only gotten a dozen steps before the Hollow appeared in their path, blade pointed towards Fluttershy. She skidded to a halt, throwing her arms out to keep the girls from running past her. “Girls, behind me, now!” she said, standing as the only barrier between the Hollow and the children. She could hear the fear in their voices as they asked her what was happening. None of them could see the Hollow, but they knew Fluttershy, and knew she wouldn’t be doing this if there wasn’t an honest danger present. “Seriously?” the Hollow asked, eyes incredulous past his shark mask, “What are you going to do? Flail at me uselessly? Because I'll admit, you're kind of cute, and that'd be adorable.” Fluttershy felt herself shaking, but she couldn’t tell if it was from fear, or something else. She realized she was starting to get a little angry. Actually a lot angry. All she wanted was for her friends to be safe, and here was this cruel bully just pushing them around however he liked! Threatening little girls!? What gave him the right to go around hurting people, just because he was strong? “What am I going to do? Give you a piece of my mind is what i’m going to do!” she found herself shouting, while a bright yellow glow began to suffuse her body, bathing the plaza in bright light. She took a step forward, and strangely, the Hollow took a confused step back, “I’ve met plenty of mean bullies in my time, but you sir are taking the cake! You Hollows just go around pushing down anyone who you think is weaker than you, and act like you have all the right in the world to do as you please!? Well let me tell you, you don’t! People aren’t you playthings or your food!” She didn’t realize it, but the glow of intense blue light was coalescing around her head, forming a halo around her face and pooling inside her eyes until they were twin, indigo beacons. She also didn’t notice the change that was coming over her as her pegasi wings and pony ears and tail formed at the same time. She didn’t notice Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo backing away from her, too, or Sunset staggering over to Clover, helping the recovering Soul Reaper get back to her feet. All she saw was the Hollow in front of her, who was backing further and further away from her as she kept stepping towards him. “Now you listen to me and listen good, I’m am not letting you hurt my friends anymore! You, sir, are going to turn around and walk away politely and quietly after apologizing to everyone here for the trouble you’ve caused!” she said, unaware of the fact that her eyes had transformed. The sclera around her iris had taken on the same blue hue as the glow around her body, while the iris’ themselves had turned a luminescent gold. More prominent than those changes was the fact that on her forehead a third eye had opened, this one a solid pool of blue light. The moment those eyes landed on the Hollow grunted and went rigid, limbs shaking as if he was trying to move, but was being held by some invisible force. “W-what the... what is with you girls...? First the pink creeper, now this? Ugh...get, get out of my head!” Fluttershy didn’t know what he was talking about but she was still far too angry at him to back down now, and she walked right up to him, ignoring the sword he still held, and stabbed a finger to his chest in a commanding fashion, “I said you’re going to apologize to my friends, then leave us alone. Have I made myself clear?” The Hollow growled, sweat droplets appearing on his face as he struggled to move, stepping away from Fluttershy as if each step was taking a supreme effort. As if his sword weighted a literal ton he slowly raised it, a glowing aura of red surrounding the Hollow’s body, “I don’t care what voices you can shove into my brain, girl, this is my life on the line, so I’m taking you to Hueco Mundo!” Despite his words he looked as if he could barely move, even when he swung his sword down at Fluttershy. However his attack was so slow and uncoordinated as he seemed to be fighting his own body that even Fluttershy was able to sidestep it. Fluttershy finally took notice of the power flowing through her and realized she’d ‘ponied up’, but more than that, something else had changed inside her. Her power was flowing out of her, and was pressing in on the Hollow, its own spirit energy rising to resist, like two tides colliding. She could also feel the Hollow’s desperation and pain, the unstable energy inside it bubbling over like a boiling pot of water. It was like finding an animal that had been experimented on, and for all her anger there was also sympathy in her for this tortured creature. Not that she had any intention of allowing him to keep harming her friends, but she understood that fear and pain were driving his actions. “You need to stop,” she said firmly, “Even if you’re scared, you won’t gain anything by fighting. Put down the sword, and maybe we can help you instead.” The Hollow staggered as if her words were blows hitting him, “D-damn witch, you’re voice is cutting my brain! Stop trying to control me!” Back and forth Fluttershy felt the Hollow’s spirit energy pressing against hers, unable to fully shrug off Fluttershy’s power as it seeped into him. It wasn’t so much that Fluttershy had the stronger spiritual pressure, far from it, but hers was able to passively slide past most of his defenses, a mental battle the brutish Hollow used to using blunt force wasn’t prepared for. He made to try and slash with his blade once more, but Fluttershy stepped forward, hands clenched into fists at her side as she said, “I just want you to stop trying to hurt my friends. So. Stop!.” It was like a final hammer blow to the Hollow’s psyche, and she saw him shiver and drop to his knees, sword clattering to the ground. Sweat dripping from his face and breaths coming in harsh pants, the Hollow just said, “...I need to stop,” in a bland monotone, as if stripped of free will. The idea of what she’d just done frightened Fluttershy. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, let alone force them to obey her against their will, but what choice had she had? She couldn’t let the Hollow hurt anyone anymore, and the only thing she thought she could do was talk him down. She hadn’t expected to gain any kind of power, let alone one that seemed to crush other people’s will. It unnerved her deeply, making her shudder as she looked at the Hollow kneeling in front of her. “Um, well, that’s... that’s good. So, um, please run away now?” Again that disturbing monotone, without personality, “Running away now.” Oh no, what did I just do to him? He sounds like a robot. Fluttershy gulped. The Hollow stood up then, taking his sword and sheathing it in the sash he wore. Then behind him the air twisted and distorted. Fluttershy took a step back as a hole ripped open in the air, like a cavernous mouth opening up in space. Blackness stood beyond the portal that had opened wide, and the Hollow stepped through the hole, eyes still blank. Fluttershy could see nothing of what he was standing on, but it looked as if the Hollow was walking away into that dark void the portal opened into before the mouth of it closed fully, leaving Fluttershy alone with three very confused young girls that were still staring at her in complete shock. Clover and Sunset both approached, each limping and favoring different injuries, Sunset using her Zanpaktou as a makeshift crutch while Clover was holding her bleeding head. With a frustrated look on her face Clover said, “You shouldn’t have let him go.” “I couldn’t think of anything else to do,” Fluttershy said. “If you had some kind of control over him you could have kept him still long enough for one of us to finish him off,” said Clover in a pained, but cold tone. “I, I couldn’t have!” said Fluttershy, “That would’ve been horrible.” “Hollows must be purified by a Soul Reaper,” Clover said, but Sunset put a hand on her shoulder and Clover, with a frustrated sigh, just looked away, “But I suppose you’re not a Soul Reaper, so you wouldn’t understand.” Sunset looked at Fluttershy with a mixture of worry and shared sympathy, “It's over, either way. As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters. We can’t afford to stay out here. It's only a matter of time before police show up.” As if her words were an omen Fluttershy was able to hear distant sirens, getting closer. She gulped, then turned with a start to realize that Applebloom and her friends were still there, staring straight at her with wide, shocked eyes. Scootaloo was the first to blurt out, “Whoa, what’s up with your face!? You got another eye, and it's totally glowing!” “Oh my, um, it is?” Fluttershy said, raising a hand to her face to feel around the new opening in her forehead, to which she made a frightened ‘eep!’ noise. She hadn’t realized that she’d changed, and it was somewhat disconcerting to suddenly have a glowing new eye in her forehead. “Well, nothing for it, we got to take the girls with us. Fluttershy, can you turn off the whole eye thing?” Sunset asked, voice weary with pain that was also etched onto her features. Fluttershy felt her heart clench, seeing her friend so badly wounded. Both Sunset and Clover looked ready to drop, and especially in Sunset’s case her wounds looked terrible. “I... I don’t know if I can,” Fluttershy said, looking at Sunset’s wounds, “But we should worry about you first.” As she spoke she felt a response from within herself, felt her spirit energy pouring from her third eye towards Sunset. A part of her tried to pull that energy back, not wanting to accidentally control her friend, but the energy seeped towards Sunset and into her in a matter of seconds, and Sunset gasped. “I’m sorry!” Fluttershy cried, “I don’t know how to control it. Um, please don’t start doing what I say.” Sunset gave her a confused look, “Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but... huh, I don’t hurt as much as I did a moment ago. What are you doing?” “Strange,” Clover said, examining Sunset closely. Fluttershy could see that some of Sunset’s wounds were bleeding less, the lighter cuts closing up slowly. Clover looked back at Fluttershy, “A strange power. I don’t know how it could control a Hollow, but also heal at the same time. Very odd.” “Um... sorry?” Fluttershy said again, utterly unsure of herself as she tried to pull her spirit energy back. Eventually it obeyed and stopped flowing into Sunset, and the effort of even that small healing left her feeling incredibly tired. “Who’re ya talkin’ too?” asked Applebloom suddenly as she nervously looked at Fluttershy as if she’d never seen her before, “Why’s yer face all weird lookin’ now?” “We don’t have time to explain things to them,” said Clover, frowning, “I also lack any memory replacement devices right now. Perhaps we should take them to the shop?” Sunset looked less than enthused, but nodded, “I don’t see a lot of options. We’ll figure out what to do about this once everyone’s safe. Fluttershy?” Fluttershy blinked, and noticed that while her two normal eyes did so, the third one didn’t seem to even have an eyelid to blink with. She was definitely getting strange looks from the crowd of folk who were starting to peer around the plaza in curiosity. She gulped and looked to the three young girls. “Um, girls, I can explain everything later, but we should go, first. Would you all please follow me?” she asked, and felt a stark horror flash through her as she noticed her power reaching out towards the girls, almost instinctively. No! she thought harshly, forcibly pulling the power back. With a wordless, stuttering cry she tried to mentally force her third eye closed. It only did so after several seconds of difficulty, as if it was reluctant to shut. Slowly the glow around her vanished and she felt an exhausting drain on her body as both wings and pony ears flowed away and her eyes returned to normal. She almost fell over, but Sunset held her up, taking one of Fluttershy’s arms over her shoulders. By the time the police arrived they were long gone. ---------- “So she’s okay? They’re all okay? That’s great,” Twilight said, holding her cell phone close as Rainbow Dash finished explaining. She nodded, once, “Yes, I’ll start heading back. So you’re sure they’re all okay? Oh, well, I understand they’re injured, but nothing life threatening?” After a few final assurances from Rainbow Dash that everything was fine Twilight hung up and tucked away her cell phone, taking a quick look around. When the group had split up to search for Sunset she’d ended up taking the side of town that wasn’t too far from where the warehouse Shining Armor kept his training ground in. She glanced that way, wondering what Shining Armor was doing. Some sort of secret Quincy business? A part of her wanted to accept joining their ranks if only to satisfy her curiosity about what the Quincy were actually planning. Could there be a connection between them and the rise of Hollow activity in the city? She wished she could feel more comfortable and trusting of this whole Quincy thing, but she just didn’t know enough yet. She trusted her brother, but Shining Armor was just one member of a much larger organization. There was no telling who else among the Quincy would prove worthy of equal trust as her brother. “You certainly look as if you have a lot on your mind.” Twilight spun around, nearly giving herself whiplash. Seeming to melt out of the shadows surrounding one of the many trees planted alongside the sidewalk strode a woman Twilight was very familiar with. “D-Dean Cadence!” “Please, Twilight, just Cadence when I’m not on the job,” said Cadence while flashing a relaxed smile, gesturing at her outfit, “Well, not on my public job, at any rate.” It took Twilight a few seconds to realize that Cadence was wearing a very unusual outfit. It reminded her of a military uniform, with its sharp lines, the set of dual gold buttons running up and down the top jacket, and the stark pants tucked into nearly knee high black boots. Aside from the boots the outfit was almost entirely white, even the long shoulder covering cloak that trailed behind Cadence. On the left lapel of the outfit was an insignia Twilight now knew was the symbol of the Quincy; a five pointed cross. She’d been told by Shining Armor that Cadence was part of the Quincy, but it was so surreal seeing her long time babysitter in this new light. She took a deep breath to steady herself before saying, “Is that what Quincy normally wear?” Cadence laughed, a light, comforting sound to Twilight that reminded her of simpler days. “More or less. We don’t have the strictest uniform code, but white is the standard color, and most of us stick to a military style. Don’t worry, skirts are still in if you opt for them.” Twilight wished she could laugh at Cadence’s easy manner, but she was still too tense, “W-well if I do decide to join up at least I know my wardrobe will be easy to figure out. Heheh...heh...” “Twilight, it’s okay, you don’t have to pretend to be at ease with me,” Cadence said, expression filled with understanding, “I know this must be hard for you. You’ve lived your whole life thinking the world was one thing, only to find out how much smoke and mirrors that all is. I was fortunate that I was raised with the truth, so I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you to have to learn all of this now.” “It's been an adjustment,” Twilight said, making one of the larger understatements of her life. “But I’ve already learned that magic existed. That’s certainly helped me with absorbing the rest of this.” Cadence gave a small, knowing nod, “The Friendship Games were as much a surprise to us as it was to you. Quite the interesting school you’ve transferred to, and I’m glad for it. You’ve made some good friends there.” “They are. I’ve been very lucky to know them,” Twilight said, thinking of the constant danger they seemed to be in now. She was glad Sunset had been found, but she was uneasy and wanted to get back to Discord’s shop so she could see with her own eyes that everyone was okay. Rainbow Dash hadn’t given many details, and it’d sounded like Sunset and Clover both had been pretty badly injured. Also Fluttershy had awakened her own powers, which Twilight was keen to hear about. She really did need to get back to her lab and resume her tests. “I know they’re as mixed up in this affair as you are, and that one of them is being trained by a Soul Reaper,” said Cadence, coming close to Twilight and putting a hand on her shoulder in a comforting, gentle manner, “I hope you’ll stick close to your friends and be watchful. Their lives will be in great danger as long as they pursue Hollows and mingle with Soul Reapers.” “I... I will be sticking by them,” Twilight said firmly, and uneasily added, “I won’t spy on them.” “Of course not. I wouldn’t ask you to do that. If anything what I’m asking is that you protect them as best you can. I’ve always wanted you to be able to make friends, and now that you have them I don’t want to see you lose them,” Cadence said, patting Twilight’s shoulder before standing back and looking her over, “Now, I don’t know if Shining Armor told you, but he and I will be switching off as your instructors in Quincy powers. I know you have to get back to your friends, but I wanted you to know to expect me at the training site tomorrow. I know we’re close, Twilight, but I’ll have to be strict in your training, so don’t expect it to be easy.” “I won’t. I want to learn, and however hard you need to be, I can take it,” said Twilight, oddly relieved. Training with her brother was fun, but also a bit awkward. She thought perhaps he was taking it too easy on her. She knew Cadence would be tough but fair. Cadence gave her a blinding smile, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then. Enjoy the rest of your night, Twilight. And remember, stick close to your friends.” “Don’t worry, I will,” Twilight said, waving to Cadence as she began to walk back to the shop. As she did so she didn’t notice that, on her shoulder, right where Cadence had touched her in such a comforting manner earlier, there was the tiniest of black dots that blended in with her clothing almost seamlessly.