//------------------------------// // Episode 20: Blood on the Sands // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 20: Blood on the Sands A band of spectral light formed a pale pathway across the void. Sunset’s steps fell upon the light as if it were hard as steel, but she couldn’t stop a sense of vertigo from assaulting her senses as she moved. The Garganta portal led to a empty expanse of purest black, the absolute absence of anything. Down, up, left or right, none of it contained anything but the darkness. Sunset and her friends were the only ones existing in this space between worlds, what Discord had called the “Precipice Realm”. The bridge of light extended ahead, the only other thing to give the empty void any definition, and Sunset took the lead, running upon it as she watched the light form ahead of her. “Right, so this place, extremely not cool,” said Rainbow Dash. “Just don’t be lookin’ down,” said Applejack, running alongside her. “I hope we’re not stuck in this place for very long,” said Rarity, not taking Applejack’s advice and giving a very unsettled look at the void below the bridge of light. “I don’t think we will,” said Sunset, pointing ahead, “Look.” In front of the girls, not much further than another twenty meters, an opening was yawning open in the darkness. Sunset couldn’t quite make out what was beyond the mouth-like portal, but she caught sight of something white. The bridge led right to it, and Sunset picked up her pace. Not at all sure what to expect on the other side of the portal, Sunset drew Hokori from its sheath and leaped through the portal ready to fight. She landed from a world that was an empty void, to a world that was a stark contrast of pale white sands and black sky. Her feet touched down on the uneven sand and she slid down what looked like a short dune. One by one her friends popped out of the Garganta portal behind her, each also sliding down the dune in trails of white sand dust. Only Adagio floated out more gracefully, the plush siren doll circling above a moment before settling to hover beside Sunset while her friends spread out around her. “My, what a horrifically drab place,” said Rarity, pursing her lips as she looked around them. Sunset wasn’t inclined to disagree with the other girl. So this was Hueco Mundo, the Hollow World? It looked like a dead, lifeless desert. Nothing but bone white sand stretched as far as she could see, gently rolling in uneven dunes. The air felt cold and stale, utterly lifeless. Above the sands a black sky yawned deep and inky, lacking any stars. However there was a moon, a disturbingly large moon, shadowed to a full crescent. Despite the lack of an clear source of light Sunset found she could see everything clearly as if the land was cast in constant, pale florescent lighting. Glancing back at the still open Garganta portal behind them, Sunset said, “We need to get moving. Every second’s going to count. Adagio, Discord said he gave you a sensor?” The plush doll bobbed her head up and down, “Yes.” She frowned as she reached with one fin to a zipper on her belly, literally unzipped herself, and pulled out a small red gem, showing it to Sunset briefly before putting it back inside herself and zipping back up. “I can sense where to go.” “Well don’t keep us waiting, let’s get a move on!” said Rainbow Dash, pounding a fist into her hand eagerly. There was no disagreement from any of the girls, and so they set out swiftly and silently, running across the desert landscape of Hueco Mundo. Sunset kept a sharp eye out, and also kept partially focused on her spiritual senses. The entire landscape echoed with a constant sense of Hollow energy, which made her feel more than a tad jumpy. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to easily sense any Hollows until they were practically bumping into them. She just hoped that wherever they were in this realm it wasn’t an area regularly traveled. Discord had said it’d take about an hour to trek to the mesas where Grand Fisher was supposedly hiding, and Sunset kept a hard pace going. Her spirit didn’t seem to get tired very easily, and she noticed her friends were able to keep up, even the less athletic among them. It seemed spending several weeks in training and battling Hollows was certainly increasing all of their stamina. The time flew by with the eerie quiet of Hueco Mundo only broken by the crunching of their footfalls on the bleak sands. The dunes began to slope gradually downward before them, until they led to a wide, flatter plain of sand many miles wide. Within the first hundred meters of that flat expanse was a series of several dozen tall, dark mesas of stone that thrust up from the ground like the broken teeth of a long dead beast. Adagio slowed down at the last dune before the flat plain. “There,” she said, voice sharp and tense, “He’s in there. I can feel him.” “Well what’re we waitin’ fer? Let’s git in there and put that low-life varmint down fer good!” said Applejack with hot blooded anger in her voice. Sunset held up a hand, “Hold up AJ, we can’t rush in without a plan.” “Oooh, I like making plans,” said Pinkie Pie, “Especially surprise plans. Are we gonna set up a surprise for big, nasty Grand Fisher?” “Ideally we do need to get close without him knowing we’re here,” said Rarity, “He took hostages with the clear intent to use them against us, so if he senses us coming there’s no telling what he’ll do.” “How are we going to sneak up on him?” asked Fluttershy, “It looks kind of far between the nearest cover and those mesas.” Sunset frowned, rubbing her chin, “Do you think your power can conceal us at all Fluttershy? I know you don’t know all of what it can do yet, but it seems like the most versatile out of all of our abilities.” “I... I can’t say for sure,” Fluttershy bit her lip, “I wouldn’t want to risk it. So far all I know that I can do is make people do things, even become stronger or weaker... but making us invisible just sounds like too much of a stretch.” “If we rush across quite-like I bet we can make it without being spotted,” said Rainbow Dash, peering around the edge of the dune at the mesas, “I mean, I ain’t seeing him anywhere. He’s probably somewhere in the middle laughing about his stupid plan or whatever. C’mon, we don’t need to overthink this.” “We still need to have a game plan for actually fighting him,” Sunset said, “And more importantly, how to make sure Limestone, Aria, and Sonata will be safe while we do.” “Leave that to me!” said Pinkie Pie, ‘Me and Pinkamena can snag me and Adagio’s sis’s and get them out of here while you guys keep the baddie busy. Even if he’s got them chained up Pinkamena can chew through anything, no prob.” “Right,” said Sunset, nodding in agreement, “In fact, once you get them out of there, you should take them and Adagio straight back to the portal. Time is too short as is, so just get them to the portal and don’t wait up for the rest of us.” “Uhhhh, not so sure I like that part of the plan,” said Pinkie Pie. “Not certain I do either,” said Adagio, “Not because I don’t want to get my sisters out of here as fast as possible, but the last time you sent some of us off while you stayed behind to fight we ended up in this situation. What’ll happen if we run into Hollows on the way back? Pinkie Pie and her crazy clone might not be enough to fight them.” Sunset grimaced. Adagio had a point. As much as it made a certain sense to send off the hostages to the portal as soon as they were free, doing so would be meaningless if they ran into trouble on the way back to the portal with only one of the girls to guard them. “Fine, once you got the hostages free, Pinkie Pie, come back to join the fight and we’ll wipe out Grand Fisher as fast as we can.” “Now yer talkin’,” said Applejack, “Just long as I git the finishing blow.” “So the idea is just to rush over there as quickly as possible?” asked Rarity, “And just hope we’re not seen?” “I don’t think he’s keeping a close watch out for trouble anyway,” said Rainbow Dash, “I mean, come on, there’s no way he’d know we were coming.” “Besides, we don’t have any other options,” added Sunset, “We’ll just have to risk it.” There was no more to say as the girls tensed, then at Sunset’s signal of a three-count with her fingers, they all started running across the flat sands towards the tall stone mesas. With every step Sunset feared discovery by Grand Fisher, her heart climbing into her throat as they got closer and closer to the jutting pillars of stone. She kept expecting to hear a Hollow’s piercing howl, or perhaps Grand Fisher bellowing in sinister laughter, but all she heard was the constant crunch of the sand beneath her and her friend’s feet as they ran. Then just as quickly as they’d begun their dash it was over and they were among the foreboding, tall lengths of stone that made up the cluster of mesas. In between the stones it was like a maze of dark, shadowy stone corridors. Their footfalls echoed dully amid the twisting paths of stone. Sunset turned to her friends, whispering, “Alright, let’s keep it quiet, and take this slow. Adagio, can you tell where he is in here?” The siren nodded, floating to the head of the group, “He’s this way.” They began to walk slowly down the twisting paths, making their way towards the center of the cluster of mesas. Sunset felt gradually more nervous with each step, her hand tight around Hikori’s hilt. So many spots inside this miniature labyrinth looked as if they’d make perfect spots for an ambush, and with so many deep shadows clinging to the ground it seemed as if Hollows could pop out of anywhere at any moment. Suddenly Pinkie Pie twitched, her left arm shaking, then a tremor seeming to run down to her right leg while her eyes blinked rapidly and her tongue stuck out. “Oh, oh ow, that... that was almost a dozy.” “What happened?” asked Sunset. Pinkie Pie looked at her with a worried expression clouding her features. “T-that twitchiness means Limestone is close, but... but she’s in pain. I felt this the one time she saved Marble from falling out of the rock house Maud built in the woods but broke her arm doing it.” “Rock...house?” Fluttershy blinked in curiosity. “It's like a tree house, but with rocks,” said Pinkie Pie. “How does that even work?” asked Rainbow Dash, but Adagio abruptly hushed them. “Shhh! Keep it down you dolts. We’re there. Listen.” At Adagio’s motioning fins the girls all huddled up along the side of one mesa wall while peering around the corner, which abruptly opened up from a narrow path into a fairly large clearing of space which appeared to be at the center of the mesa cluster. Several smaller stones were arranged almost like a seating pattern near the center of the clearing, otherwise just being an open area of white sand about fifty meters wide at any given point. Sitting upon one of these stones was the giant, humanoid form of Grand Fisher, his fur covered mantle hanging off his back and one hand resting on the large blade he had planted in the ground beside him like some barbarian king sitting upon his throne. Between the sitting stones, shacked to the sands by what appeared to be chains made out of bone, were Limestone, Aria, and Sonata. Each girl looked battered and bruised, but by far Limestone looked the worst off of the three, with her face puffy with thick bruises, a bleeding split lip, and several fingers on her left hand bent at awkward, broken angles. Yet still for all her injures Limestone’s eyes held a angered fierceness as she glared up at Grand Fisher. For his part Grand Fisher ignored the glares, his eyes fixed on another standing nearby, atop one of the other sitting stones. This man caused Sunset to blink several times, trying to get a better look at him, and she felt a distinct uneasiness as she did so. He looked almost human, with sallow, pale skin wrinkled like old parchment. His head was nearly bald save for the wisps of snow white hair around the fringes. He had curled ram’s horns extending from his skull, and fragments of a ram’s jawbone around either side of his chin. The Hollow hole in his throat was unmistakable, and Sunset made mental note of the number eight tattooed on the old man’s forehead. More distinguishing than that, however, was the blade of a Zanpaktou tucked into his sash, or at least a sword that very much closely resembled a Zanpaktou. Who was this guy? When he spoke it was in a tone drier than the desert. “I fail to see how you believe this plan will work any better than your previous one did, and quite honestly these offerings,” he gave a derisive sniff at the three chained up girls, “Seems hardly worth all the effort you went through to send so many Hollows to the living world to be target practice for the Soul Reapers and Quincy.” Grand Fisher sounded cautious as he spoke, as if he was very carefully choosing his words, “They are nothing more than a lever to force those girls to go where I wish. The dam that supplies that town with some of its energy is an ideal place to lay my trap. Their power will be limited because they won’t wish to destroy the dam and risk harm to their fellow humans if it’s destroyed, while I will have no such compunctions. All I need do is capture one of them to satisfy the Espada’s needs, correct?” The old man smiled thinly, in a manner devoid of any comradely warmth, “Lord Tirek would prefer to have all of those girls brought to Las Noches, but I suppose one might whet his appetite. Then again, perhaps Lord Tirek need never hear of such things.” “What do you mean by that, Grogar?” Grand Fisher asked, and Sunset felt her blood suddenly run to ice. Grogar? Tirek!? First Discord, now this? What was with this world having incarnations of some of Equestria’s worst monsters? She was pretty sure this had to be this world’s versions of the infamous Grogar and Tirek, because as far as Sunset knew Tirek had been sealed away in Tartarus by Princess Twilight after his more recent escape, and as for Grogar... well he was an even older legend, and supposedly sealed away with the island of Tambelon. She could only imagine the human world variants of those monsters had to be bad news, and seeing that Grogar was acting as if he was in charge of Grand Fisher, she could already see confirmation for that fear. What was next, Chrysalis making a guest appearance? The Smooze? “Hey, who is that dude?” whispered Rainbow Dash, jabbing a thumb towards Grogar while still keeping hidden. Applejack’s eyes were narrowed to green slits as she glared at both of the Hollows, but most of her gaze was aimed at Grand Fisher. “Don’t much care who the old timer is, if he gits ‘tween me an’ Grand Fisher, he’s goin’ down too.” “Hold on,” said Sunset, “I’ve got a feeling that guy is too much trouble for us to handle. We should stay hidden for a minute and watch.” Pinkie Pie made a quiet whining sound, eyes strained and worried, “But Limestone is super hurt. We have to do something.” “We are on a tight schedule, as you pointed out earlier,” said Rarity. “I know, but trust me, this Grogar is seriously bad news. Just... trust me on this and let’s wait a bit. Just a few minutes, okay?” Sunset said. She wasn’t any more fond of the idea of waiting as her friends were. She itched to get in there and help Sonata, Aria, and Limestone, and put down Grand Fisher. But she wasn’t sure how much her friend’s were sensing, but she was getting just a whiff of Grogar’s spiritual pressure and it was making her stomach twist. This had to be what a full Arrancar was, and Sunset’s intuition told her attacking while he was around would be a bad idea, of epic proportions. However, she didn’t think he’d hang out for long. She could see an impatience in Grogar’s stance, and a dismissive manner in which he looked at Grand Fisher. Focusing back on the conversation between those two, Sunset heard Grogar answering Grand Fisher’s question with a snort, “Underlings such as you have no need to know more than you are told. Focus upon the task of capturing one of those girls, and do try not to underestimate them any more than you already have. If you fail this time around I’ll be far less inclined to indulge in keeping you around.” Grand Fisher bowed his head, though his eyes through the mouth of his Hollow mask looked narrow and strained, “Of course, Lord Grogar. You’ll have what you want soon enough.” “Hmm, I wonder...” Grogar said, and for a second Sunset’s heart almost decided to go somersaulting out of her chest as she saw Grogar glance towards her and her friends. “I wonder indeed...” Then Grogar simply vanished, with such speed that Sunset wasn’t even sure which direction he’d gone. She feared he’d spotted her and her friends, and was moving to expose them, but after about ten seconds she didn’t sense him any longer, as if Grogar had left the mesas entirely. Had he seen them? If so, why hadn’t he done anything? Perhaps it’d just been her nerves that made it look like he’d glanced their way. “Alright, the old man is outta the way; game time!” said Rainbow Dash. Sunset would’ve preferred to give it a few more minutes, just to be sure Grogar had gone, but she didn’t think she’d be able to hold Rainbow Dash, Applejack, or Pinkie Pie back at this point. Even Adagio, who had no means to fight, still looked eager. “Remember the plan,” she said, “Pinkie Pie, Adagio, focus on getting your sisters free. The rest of us will focus on dealing with Grand Fisher. We need to hit him hard, and fast. No grandstanding or fooling around.” “Yeah, yeah, we hear you Sunset. Maximum beatdown, zero banter with the baddie,” Rainbow Dash cracked her knuckles, “You ready AJ?” There was an almost primal, feral light in Applejack’s eyes as she growled, “Ain’t never been more ready fer anythang!” There was no more holding them back, and as one group Sunset and her friends went charging around the bend of the mesa they’d been hiding behind and rushed straight down the center of the clearing. As a group they all activated their powers simultaneously, many colored lights trailing behind them as each girl exploded with power, going through their individual transformations between the seconds of each running step they took. Rainbow Dash’s wings snapped into being from her back, white shining metal bleeding lightning. Applejack’s feet and legs instantly flashed with their white and gold metallic boots, the skulls on the knee caps seeming to gleam with golden light as she charged forward, feet cratering the ground with each step. Rarity’s dress flowed in a scarlet river over her body, her right palm opening as the ruby red crystalline rapier emerged into her waiting hand. Pinkamena seemed to leap right out of the corona of pink mist that formed around Pinkie Pie, the two girls now running side by side as Pinkamena shaped her arms into rubbery, whip-like lengths with salivating, fang filled mouths. Fluttershy’s eyes glowed bright, taking on their blue and gold tones as her luminous third eye opened radiantly. Finally, Sunset held her Zanpaktou in front of her and spoke in a strong, focused voice; ”Ignite, Hokori!”. The katana became pure orange fire, swirling and dancing in Sunset's hands, reshaping into the form of the kite shield and broadsword in the span of an eyeblink. Grand Fisher was taken completely off guard, the Hollow blinking in surprise and barely rising to his feet before the girls were upon him. “What the-!?” He was blown backwards by four attacks hitting him at once. Applejack rocketed up in a spinning kick that caught him squarely in the stomach, while Rainbow Dash flew in with pure cobalt electricity wreathing both of her fists as she rammed into Grand Fisher right next to Applejack. Rarity had gracefully leaped to the left, complementing Sunset’s dash to the right, and both girls managed to reverse directions at the last moment to carve an X pattern across Grand Fisher’s chest with their blades. Sunset could feel Hokori’s edge cutting into the Hollow’s flesh. Much like the shark Hollow after his transformation to a partial-Arrancar the skin of Grand Fisher felt tough, like steel armor, but she could tell her blade was able to cut it and saw the blood spraying from the X shaped cut she and Rarity left, so she knew Rarity’s blade had hurt him too. The force of the combined attack sent Grand Fisher flying, back first, into one of the dark mesas behind him. Rocks and dust exploded outward from the impact, and Sunset could see cracks break out all the way to the top of the mesa as she and her friends landed from their attack. “Awww yeah! That’s how it's done!” Rainbow Dash, lightning still crackling around her body, held out a fist for Sunset to bump. Sunset just looked at her and the electricity coating her friend’s hand, and Rainbow Dash blushed, “Oh, right, yeah let’s hold off on that until I’m not covered in lightning.” “And until we know for sure we’ve finished him off,” Sunset said, already sensing Grand Fisher’s spiritual pressure spiking even before the dust cleared, “He’s not down from just that! Pinkie Pie, Adagio, move it!” Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena had already reached Limestone, Pinkamena’s arms moving like writhing snakes as their mouths started chewing on the bone-like shackles holding the Pie sibling down. Limestone, eyes focusing on Pinkie Pie past swollen bruises, muttered, “H-how did you...get...?” “Never mind that Limestone! Just rest easy, we’re getting you girls outta this creepy borefest of a dimension,” said Pinkie Pie, while Adagio floated over to her sisters. “Sonata, Aria, are you two okay?” “Adagio?” Aria’s voice was filled with genuine shock, “You came for us?” “Daggie! Ohmygosh, I’m am soooo happy to see you!” Sonata thrashed about in her chains, “I’mma so hug the crap outta you when I get the chance! There will be glomping like you wouldn’t believe!” Adagio just blinked back tears and said, “Save it until we get you out of here. Hey, Pinkie Pie, can’t you hurry your clone up or what!?” “Chewing fast as my teeth can go, shouty little cotton-wad!” said Pinkamena with a toothy snarly on her face, “Try shutting up or might be I’ll forget to free your sisters while I’m at it.” “Pinkamena, don’t be mean, and uh, yeah, hurry,” said Pinkie Pie. Meanwhile Sunset and the other girls faced the cloud of dust surrounding the mesa they had knocked Grand Fisher into. Fluttershy stood a bit behind them, her eyes focused on the cloud. “Is he... um, dead?” “Not a chance,” said Sunset, “Get ready. Power up one of us if you can, or maybe try to hold him still.” Fluttershy nodded, gulping. Soon a rumbling laugh escaped the cloud of dust and it cleared as Grand Fisher’s massive form rose up. He was bruised and his cuts still bled, but it was clear the damage wasn’t that severe. He flexed his arms, bunched muscles bulging. “This is a surprise. I never imagined you girls would be crazy enough to come here to Hueco Mundo. Did Discord put you up to this? Its the kind of insane move he’d pull.” “We’re not here to talk,” Sunset said, brandishing her sword, “We’re here to put an end to you!” She coiled her legs and in a burst of spirit energy used Flash Step to leap right for Grand Fisher’s head. He moved remarkably fast for his size, getting his arm in the way of her blow, but even so Hokori’s blade bit deep into that arm. Still, Grand Fisher barely showed any pain as he held her off, “Impressive, but come on, you don’t want to talk at all? Even though there’s so much I could do to enlighten you young ladies?” “Oh, I imagine we can live without listening to any more talk from the likes of you,” said Rarity, using Grand Fisher’s distraction with Sunset to go for his right leg, moving like a bending reed in a swift breeze to duck below a backswing from Grand Fisher as she converted her rapier into a new shape, a long spear with a tip like a crystal shard. She stabbed that spear into Grand Fisher’s leg just below the knee, blood spurting out, but he quickly kicked out with the same leg, flinging Rarity dozens of yards in the process. She landed gracefully enough, turning her spear back into a rapier, and stabbed the sword into the sands, clearly intending to attack Grand Fisher at a distance with crystal spikes. However as she did so she frowned at something, through Sunset couldn’t tell what. Grand Fisher had pulled his arm away from her and launched a straight punch at Sunset, which she blocked with her shield. The blow rattled her, but Hokori’s shield absorbed the impact well and she kept her footing underneath the punish force of the punch even as it slid her back a good distance. Rainbow Dash and Applejack came in now, and Fluttershy shouted out, somewhat shakily, to Grand Fisher, “Hey! Stop right where you are and don’t you dare move!” Grand Fisher looked at her, and their eyes met. Fluttershy’s third eye pulsed with light and Grand Fisher grunted, his legs seizing up just as Applejack and Rainbow Dash hit him from two different directions, Rainbow Dash’s taking to the air to smash an electrified punch across Grand Fisher’s jaw while Applejack jumped up from below to hit his exposed chin with a flip kick enhanced by jets of gold light from her boots. The Hollow was rocked back a step, but then he growled deeply in his chest and glared at Fluttershy, “A neat trick, but you can’t hold me so easily, little one!” Fluttershy made a small ‘eeep!’ noise as Grand Fisher raised a fist and smashed it down towards her, but Rainbow Dash flew in from the side and yanked Fluttershy out of the way just as the fist struck the ground in a huge geyser of sand. At the same moment Sunset rushed forward, thrusting her blade towards Grand Fisher’s extended hand, but the Hollow immediately jumped into the air, sailing over her head and flipping as he did so in a remarkable display of agility for one so large. His right hand shot out and grasped the hilt of the large blade he’d had planted in the ground by the stone he’d been sitting on before and he completed his flip, landing hard just a few paces from where the three hostages were being freed. “Oh, don’t go so soon, we’re just starting to have fun,” he Hollow said with violent eagerness in his eyes as he slashed with his newly acquired blade at the hostages. Sunset Flashed stepped, instantly appearing in the blade’s path and clashing against it with her shield. Sparks danced, and the blow nearly buckled her knees, but she held firm and felt the power of the hit flow from her shield into her sword, the red ribbon starting to light with flame. Before Grand Fisher could pull back to attack again red crystals shot up from the sands at his feet, stabbing at his legs. The crystals were clearly Rarity’s but Sunset noticed they seemed oddly different, somehow more jagged than the smooth crystals Rarity had created before. Either way the crystal spikes did their damage, cutting into Grand Fisher’s legs and he roared in pain. Even so, he tore his legs free of the crystals and wheeled on Rarity, thrusting his sword towards her. The blade was large enough that it could reach Rarity with ease, and she had to leap aside as the blade’s edge smashed the ground she’d been standing on. Grand Fisher didn’t let up, however, charging Rarity with pounding steps that shook the ground and he raised his sword to smash it down towards her. Rarity raised a crystal pillar in defense, but it wasn’t at all clear if it’d be enough to deflect the blow. Fortunately Applejack charged in from the side and exploded upwards into a hard kick that met the descending blade in a blast of force that stirred the sands around them in a dusty circle. Grand Fisher’s sword was deflected upward, the Hollow put off balance for a second. Sunset took advantage of it by jumping up onto his shoulder and digging her blade into the joint where his shoulder met his neck. It was like trying to stab into concrete, but she pressed hard, and blood sprayed from the wound, coating the front of her black Soul Reaper robes. However even that wound didn’t seem to slow Grand Fisher down, and he raised his free hand to slap her from his shoulder. She took the blow on her shield again, back flipping in the air to land on the sands beside Rarity. “Quite the tough customer, isn’t he?” Rarity said between breaths, wiping some sweat from her brow with her free hand while keeping her rapier at the ready. “Its worse than that. Look.” Sunset said, eyes narrowing. Grand Fisher’s wounds were starting to close, clotting over as she watched. “Bastard’s regenerating. No wonder he doesn’t care if he gets wounded.” Grand Fisher threw his head back and bellowed with laughter, “Isn’t it marvelous? This is power from just being party way to being Arrancar. Once I bring one of you girls to Grogar and finish my transformation I’ll be even more powerful, more unkillable! No more need to toady up to anyone, Arrancar or Soul Reaper.” “Quit yer yappin an’ just die already!” Applejack shouted, and gold light burst from the heels of her boots like miniature rockets, propelling the girl towards Grand Fisher like a soaring missile. She spun in the air, using the extra force and momentum of the golden energy emitting from her metallic boots to launch a powerful roundhouse kick towards Grand Fisher’s head. He moved quickly, imposing his blade between himself and her, and the metal clad foot clashed with the edge of his sword, the resulting blast shaking the ground and sending streaks of residual energy cascading from where the two blows met. Grand Fisher was forced back a step or two, but otherwise held his ground, a grin appearing on his face behind his mask, “Gotten stronger haven’t you little ‘hayseed’?” Applejacks’ eyes widened at the use of her mother's pet name for her, and Grand Fisher laughed, “Oh, it's so good that you’re here. Getting to kill Sweet Cider’s daughter, here in Hueco Mundo... I couldn’t ask for a better gift. You see, your mother’s soul got away from me, back then. Really pissed me off. Of course your father wasn’t so lucky. I took his soul here, and oh was it so delicious.” ”Shut up!” Applejack’s voice rose to a fever pitch, hot rage boiling in every inch of her face. She kicked off of Grand Fisher’s sword, twisted in the air as seething gold light seemed to gather into her heel, and she kicked down, unleashing a blast of writhing gold energy directly into Grand Fisher’s chest. The large Hollow was knocked backwards by the torrent, but he smashed his sword into the sand and used it like an anchor, keeping himself upright. As the gold energy faded a thick, black scorch mare several meters wide was on his chest, oozing blood, but he wasn’t dead. Indeed, he chuckled. “Definitely stronger than before. You may well surpass your mother. All of your girls seem to be getting stronger, faster than they did. I wonder, did Discord or that little Soul Reaper tell any of you the truth yet? About what Soul Society did to your mothers? Or that I was used by them for their old pet project as well?” “What part of ‘shut up’ did you not understand?” said Sunset, charging forward and feeling the heat in her sword intensify with her own anger and aggressive intent, “We don’t need to hear any more of your lies!” She swept her blade forward, acting more on instinct than anything else. Hokori wasn’t speaking words to her, so much as just imparting sensations of how to attack, of how to go about unleashing the flames inside the broadsword. As she swept the blade in an upward arch, fire erupted in a harsh, thick wave of orange and crimson flames that flew forward like a cutting wave at Grand Fisher. Black sand and shards of melted glass were left in the flame’s wake, the heat filling the clearing. Grand Fisher crossed his arms in front of him to block the wave of fire, grunting in pain as the flames charred his flesh. He had to jump away from them, landing hard atop one of the dark mesas as the rest of the flames continued on and smashed into another mesa, cutting a dark, melted path several meters deep into it. Grand Fisher shook, looking at the scorched marks on his arms, flesh burned down to bleeding muscle. “Bitch. These wounds won’t slow me. As for lies, if you don’t believe me I could always go track down the hayseed’s father. I only devoured enough of his soul to turn him Hollow as well, so who knows, maybe he’s still wandering around the desert, somewhere. Ha! Wouldn’t that be sweet? A little family reunion.” Applejack’s eyes widened, “My father... you turned him into...” “A Hollow, indeed,” Grand Fisher’s eyes narrowed in pleasure, “Rip the soul chain from a soul and it happens rather quickly, but it helps if the soul is in horrific pain first, which I had fun delivering onto him. Again, I wanted your mother, but hey, can’t have everything, right?” “Y-you, you monster!” This was from Fluttershy, who’s eyes seemed to glow with greater intensity, her third eye almost blazing now. Suddenly Grand Fisher’s left hand started to twitch. The Hollow looked at his hand in surprise as it twisted and bent, suddenly coming up towards his face to slap it with tremendous force. “You apologize to Applejack this instant or I will make you slap yourself into next week mister!” Fluttershy shouted, quite beside herself, perhaps not even thinking clearly. Apologize to Applejack? Sunset imagined Fluttershy was so angry she wasn’t thinking very clearly, but was thinking very Fluttershy. Besides, Grand Fisher slapping himself was quite the opening. She saw Rainbow Dash flying around and nodded to the girl, and then said to Applejack, “AJ, hop on!” She raised her shield, indicating what she wanted Applejack to do, who glanced at her then gave a quick, eager smirk. Sunset knelt down, holding her shield up like a small platform, and Applejack hopped on top of it, legs bunched up. Then together they moved, Sunset pushing up with all of her not inconsiderable strength, while Applejack leaped with golden bursts of energy from her boots giving her even more of a boost. As a result Applejack went soaring up like a launched rocket, while Sunset’s shield absorbed more force to convert into flames for her sword. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash, timing herself perfectly with the other two girl’s actions, flew in right beside Applejack. Gold and blue light intermixed as both Rainbow Dash and Applejack combined their attacks, electrified fist and metal clad kick hitting Grand Fisher just as he was struggling to get his disobedient arm under control. The combined blows hit him square between the eyes and sent him flying off the mesa to land hard on the edge of another mesa, smashing the rock outcropping to chunks in an eruption of dirt and sand. “Did... did that do it?” asked Fluttershy, licking her lips. “I don’t know,” admitted Sunset, turning to glance back at Pinkie Pie. She could see Pinkamena had finished free the hostages, Sonata snatching Adagio out of the air the moment she was freed and hugging the plush doll to her chest. “Oh Dagie, we are so gonna have the biggest party when we get home!” “We’re not going anywhere yet,” said Aria, glancing up at Rainbow Dash and Applejack, “Is that asshole dead or what!?” Rainbow Dash just shrugged, while Applejack adjusted her stetson and glared at the pile of rubble where Grand Fisher had landed. Sunset stretched her senses out towards the pile of rocks, and flinched as she felt a sudden, massive spike of Hollow spiritual pressure. “Girls, regroup!” Just as she shouted it seemed beams of red light glowed from inside the rocks, like shards of molten blood. Then the rock pile exploded upward, sending debris flying like little bits of confetti. Grand Fisher emerged from the smoke and dust, but he was changing, growing larger. His body was wreathed in smokey crimson wisps of energy as he suddenly grew to twice the height he’d been before, he’s shadow cloaking the girls as they stared up at his hulking form. The top portion of his mask had shattered off, now exposing his face, bestial and bulbous, barely human. Red lines, like blood, ran down his face along either eye down to the still intact jawbone of his mask, and large, curled horns extended from either side of a protruding forehead. His sword had grown in size with him, now the size of a small office building. His rumbling laugh was like listening to the voice of a mountain. “I wonder if I even need old man Grogar’s help to evolve into an Arrancar anymore? I’m practically already there. Ah, it was brave of you girls to come here, but so, so pointless. Look at me! You can’t defeat this! Perhaps if you had more time to grow into your powers, perhaps then you’d even be a threat to the Espada, but you're just children kicking frantically in the shallow end of the pool...” he raised his enormous sword, its edge eclipsing the crescent moon in the sky for a moment, “Unaware of just how in over your heads you really are!” Sunset turned to her friends, shouting, “Everybody, run!” They did, no arguments. Even Applejack, for all the raw hurt and anger in her eyes, turned and made a run for it as Grand Fisher’s sword descended. They, one and all, managed to duck down a side passage between some of the smaller mesas before the sword struck the ground with an earth shattering crash that had half of them sprawling to the ground. The blade smashed apart several mesas across from Grand Fisher, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. The girls picked themselves up and ran on, darting down the twisting pathways between the remaining mesas. Adagio led the way, being able to float fast enough to not be slowed by the plodding steps of Grand Fisher, somewhere behind them. “Okay, I don’t suppose any of you had a plan for how to actually kill this guy?” asked Aria breathlessly as they ran, “Because so far this rescue isn’t going all that swell!” “Hey! You’re free, aren’t you!?” rasped Rainbow Dash with a flash of anger. “Yeah, free to get stepped on by Hollowzilla back there!” growled the siren. As they ran Sunset noticed Rarity being oddly quiet, and looking at her rapier with a frown. “Rarity, what’s wrong?” “I’m not sure,” the girl replied, glancing around, “Did any of you girls feel as if something is odd with our powers?” “What, you mean like how your crystals were looking all screwy?” asked Rainbow Dash, “Because now that you mention it, my lightning is acting weird too. All jittery and stuff, like it’s trying to pull outta me.” Applejack grunted, “Was feelin’ somethin’ like that too. Ain’t seemin’ like such a’ bad thang ta me, cause it’s feel like it's makin’ my kicks stronger. Or maybe that’s just how dang pissed I am. Do we gotta be runnin’ from ‘im!?” “At least until we’re in more open ground where we got space to maneuver,” said Sunset, glancing at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, “What about you two, any weirdness to your powers?” “I’m hungrier than normal. Really wanna snack on someone soon, and not feeling like I care what or who,” said Pinkamena, while Pinkie Pie just shuddered, saying, “Feeling shivery, but okay. Kinda like stepping out of the shower into a cold room.” “I, uh,” Fluttershy spoke between panting breaths as she ran, “I just feel woozy.” And I feel fine, save for wondering how we’re going to take that giant bastard down, thought Sunset as they broke out of the mesas and onto the open area of desert before the thicker dunes. They were running hard for a good thirty seconds, easily halfway to the dunes, before Grand Fisher’s voice followed them among the loud crashing of stone being shattered. “Come now, you don’t honestly think you’re getting away, are you little hayseed? What, does knowing I killed your parents and tortured your father’s soul until he became a creature like me not enough incentive to make you want to fight anymore?” Applejack skidded to a halt, here entire body shaking, eyes closed with sheer rage and inner pain. Sunset turned to tell her to keep moving, but then saw Grand Fisher kneel down, and then jump with tremendous force. The giant Hollow soared above them, landing hard on the dunes they’d been running for, effectively blocking their path. “Of course I wasn’t going to give you girls a choice in the matter!” As he turned towards them Grand Fisher lashed out with his building sized sword. It easily had enough reach to hit them, even from dozens of yards away. Things happened both quickly, yet in a kind of inch by inch slow motion. Sunset dashed forward, hoping to deflect even a fraction of the incoming blow’s force away from her friends, while everyone else started to dive out of the way. Crystals of blood red shot up jagged from the sands, Rarity’s own effort to try to deflect the massive sword as the crystals crew tightly together like a net. Grand Fisher’s sword smashed through them, shattering the crystals into small, glittering shards, but it slowed the sword just enough for Sunset to get herself between it and the girls, her shield held out and angled upward. The blow shook every bone in her body and sent her flying. She’d angled Grand Fisher’s sword just a fraction upwards, but enough that it gave her friend’s room to duck under it instead of be cut in half... Except that Sonata wasn’t ducking fast enough. Sunset felt her heart freeze, certain the siren was about to be severed at the shoulders, but at the last fraction of an instant Adagio’s plush doll body flew in, slamming into the back of Sonata’s head and knocking the other siren to the ground and out of harm’s way. Only for Adagio’s body to get caught by the edge of the massive sword as it passed overhead. Sunset didn’t see anymore until she righted herself in the air and landed on the sands, skidding back a score of paces before stopping, her sword blazing red from the sheer energy the shield had absorbed from the blow. She looked up, searching for Adagio, and gasped as she saw the plush doll lying in a torn heap, cotton innards strewn across the bleak sands like some toy a child had gotten angry at and torn apart. If that wasn’t enough to fill Sunset with equal measures or rage and cold fear, the sight of a broken chain leading from the doll certainly did the truck. Following the direction that broken chain pointed towards she saw another fallen form crumpled near the broken doll... Adagio’s soul body, blood coating a wound across her stomach, and the end of the soul chain coming out of her chest just as broken as the end coming from the doll. Sonata, slowly pulling herself up from where Adagio had knocked her into the sand, took one look at the fallen form of her sister and her pupils shrunk to small, shocked pin pricks. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out as she scrambled in a daze to her sister’s side. Aria wasn’t far behind her, face a rictus of stunned rage. “Adagio!? Damn it, Adagio say something you idiot!” Aria shouted, kneeling beside Adagio’s body. Sunset had forgotten to breath for a second, only drawing in a breath when she heard Adagio groan and saw the elder siren stir, rolling onto her back. The wound on her stomach was hard to gauge, it was just a ragged tear of blood, but at least she was still breathing. “Fluttershy, look after Adagio,” Sunset said, turning to face Grand Fisher while the rest of her friends got back to their feet. “Oh, I only got one of you?” commented Grand Fisher dryly as he pulled back his sword for another swing, “You girls have entirely too much luck. Another trait handed down from your parents, perhaps? Of course their luck ran out eventually, no doubt it’ll be the same with you.” Sunset’s anger was like a writhing, living animal in her chest, roaring and struggling for release. Hokori’s blade blazed brighter, the metal glowing like it’d been stuck in a forge’s flames for hours. Her teeth ground together, a snarl of raw rage twisting her face as the heat seeped through her every pore as she started walking towards Grand Fisher. Without another word wasted she pulled the broadsword back, then thrust it forward as if to impale the Hollow, despite him being still many yards away. He must have realized the volume of the incoming attack because he immediately held his own sword in front of him, braced with his other hand like a shield. The jet of fire that erupted from the tip of Hokori was almost like a solid, molten stream, the flames and heat so concentrated that it was more like a solid beam of searing energy than it was mere flame. Sunset almost felt like she was being blown back by the force of it, and could feel the heat charring the sands at her feet. The solid jet of fire impacted upon Grand Fisher’s sword with a roar of noise like the piercing cry of some great bird of prey. For just a second it seemed as if Grand Fisher’s giant sword was holding the flames at bay, but then the metal of the sword started to turn bright orange, then red as the sword began to melt, a hole being burned straight through it by Sunset’s fire. Grand Fisher twisted aside, the beam of intense flames scorching a black hole through his shoulder as his sword melted in half, the severed tip slamming into the ground and only leaving a fraction of it attached to the hilt, the metal still smoking and running like wax. “Gaaah! That hurt you damned little wannabe Soul Reaper!” he examined his now melted blade with furious eyes, then tossed the hilt aside, “No matter, I don’t need a sword to kill you.” “You don’t got what it takes to kill us,” Sunset promised him, eyes still alight with inner fire that was only just getting warmed up. “That right? Try this on for size then!” Grand Fisher shouted, opening his mouth wide. Crimson light gathered there, a growing ball of destructive energy that Sunset recognized from the Gillians earlier. “Everyone, get behind me!” she shouted. Applejack looked like she’d rather charge at Grand Fisher, but even she recognized the kind of attack that was coming their way and gave Sunset a stiff nod, joining the others in rushing behind where Sunset was standing. Fluttershy was kneeling next to Adagio, focused on the girl’s wound, while Aria and Sonata stood nearby with tense, worried faces. Limestone stayed close to Pinkie Pie, looking like she wanted to tear Grand Fisher’s face off herself. With her friends behind her and her enemy in front of her, Sunset felt her confidence surge. For all Grand Fisher’s planning, he was still a brutish, straightforward fighter. He hadn’t seemed to grasp yet that the harder he pushed Sunset, the harder she was going to be able to hit back. Alright Hokori, we’re doing this! Just one more hit to take, then we make this bastard pay for so much as breathing the same air as our friends She got a warm sensation from her Zanpaktou, knowing full well Hokori shared her sentiments to the fullest. Grand Fisher fired his beam of raw destructive energy, a wide flood of blood red power that lit up the entire desert around them. Sunset rushed forward to meet it, shield held out in front of her, head and shoulders hunched down behind the shield as she rammed it into the oncoming beam. The red torrent of energy broke on her shield like a river on a boulder, and Sunset felt herself being pushed back by the sheer force of it, felt her skin blistering from the power she was trying to hold back. Her friends stood behind her in a tight cluster around the fallen Adagio, looking on as Sunset held back the storm of destructive force Grand Fisher poured out. “Listen up guys,” Sunset said past clenched teeth, “Rarity, Pinkamena, I need you two to immobilize him the second this attack ends. Applejack, Dash, when they do that, get next to me, then charge up the biggest attacks you can muster. Fluttershy, I know you’re healing Adagio, but if you can, try to give me, Dash, and Applejack a power boost, but only if you can do it without endangering Adagio.” Her orders weren’t questioned, and all she saw were understanding looks from her friends, Rainbow Dash giving a thumbs up. A few moments later the red torrent of energy abated. Her shield was smoking, its metallic form even darkened in a few places, but it’d held intact through the brunt of the destructive beam. Her sword once more glowed hot with transferred energy, and she could feel Hokori’s eagerness to unleash flames one more upon Grand Fisher. Not yet, just a few seconds until the right moment, Sunset thought. Pinkamena and Rarity hadn’t wasted a second once the way was clear. Both girls charged forward, clearing the distance towards Grand Fisher in seconds. He glared at them contemptuously, “Now what? Sending the weaker ones to bite my ankles?” “Hmph, weaker indeed!” Rarity harrumphed, moving with smooth, elegant poise to avoid a reaching hand from Grand Fisher. She trailed her rapier through the sands, “Let’s see if this sparks your fancy, you oafish plebeian narcissist!” Curving streams of jagged red crystals shot up from the sands, encircling Grand Fisher’s legs, thickening and growing like a cluster of thorn bushes, wrapping the Hollow’s thick limbs. He growled and pulled at them, the jagged edges of the crystals burrowing into his skin like barbs. It distracted him from Pinkamena leaping up onto his right knee. The pink doppelganger seemed to wriggle and writhe, then, and her whole body expanded like piece of taffy, until it was as if she’d turned her whole body into one, large, drooling mouth that clamped down hard on Grand Fisher’s leg and tore into it like a rabid dog, blood spurting from the wound she was digging open like a geyser. Grand Fisher howled with pain, raising a fist to pound at Pinkamena, but a glow of light drew his attention. The glow was coming from the combination of Sunset’s sword, Applejack’s boots, and Rainbow Dash’s fists. Sunset had Hokori raised and poised to strike, while Rainbow Dash had her fists pounded together, lightning streaming from her raised wings and flowing down her arms to her fists to pool like twin orbs of pure electrical force. They were standing on either side of Applejack, who was now the center of their formation. Her metallic boots were surrounded by a golden aura of light, the eyes of the skulls on the knees flashing brightly, and jets of gold energy were flaming from multiple nozzles along the boot’s length. Applejack glanced at Sunset with a small, strained grin, “Thanks fer lettin’ me take the lead here.” “You deserve to put them to rest...” Sunset said, “I know this won’t bring your parents back, but you can get rid of this shadow hanging over their deaths. The rest...” Sunset gave Applejack a encouraging nod, “The rest we’ll help you figure out together.” Applejack ran a hand along the edge of her stetson, fixing it in place, “Fine by me! Ya ready Fluttershy?” Fluttershy gave Adagio’s head a pat, “She’ll be alright for the moment.” The girl's eyes flashed brightly, her luminous third eye casting its blue radiance upon Sunset, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. “I’ll give you all the power I can!” Sunset could feel it, the boost of increased energy from Fluttershy adding her power to theirs. She wasn’t sure how well her attack would mesh with Rainbow Dash’s and Applejack’s, but energy was energy. Put it all in the same direction and it tended to snowball together. Grand Fisher seemed to realize the danger of what they were doing, because he first tried to step away, but Pinkamena and Rarity were doing their jobs well, keeping him rooted in place. He then growled, forming another destructive beam of energy with his mouth. “Kill me and you’ll never learn the truth, hayseed! You won’t learn what the Soul Reapers did to your parents!” Applejack just muttered under her breath, “Right now I’m thinkin’ I can live wit that.” The red beam of energy blasted out from Grand Fisher’s mouth at the same moment that Sunset thrust her blade forward, Rainbow Dash pushed out her lightning charged fists, and Applejack spun around and kicked out with all the force she could muster. Intense flames from Hokori mixed with brilliant torrents of electricity from Rainbow Dash, all coiling around a solid beam of gold energy fired from Applejack’s kick. The wild, combined corkscrew of energies collided with the solid red beam from Grand Fisher, and the entire desert shook with the impact. For only an instant did the two beams grind against one another, then the combined force of the girl’s attack tore through the river of red, following the stream up all the way to Grand Fisher’s head. The Hollow’s eyes bulged as the chaotic forces of fire, lightning, and raw force tore their way through his face, ripping his head apart like a watermelon being hit by a sledgehammer. The combined beam of force continued on well past the destroyed Hollow to impact into the desert some distance away in a expanding shockwave of explosive force that shook the ground further and sent a wave of sand-dust blasting across the landscape for half a mile. In the silence that followed there was only the ragged breathing of the girls to be heard as they stared at Grand Fisher’s now headless body. For a second Sunset feared some maddening regeneration might occur, but thankfully the corpse giant fell to the ground like a toppled tree, and then began to slowly turn to dissipating dust. The fight was over... but Adagio’s blood was still coating the sands.