Chapter Eighty Two
Chapter Eighty Two
Much as Celestia had explained would happen, the severed limb, and even the blood that had been spilled as a result of Ulquiorra's ad hoc sort of surgery, had all succumbed to a spontaneous combustion type of reaction not long after the procedure had been completed.
By the time it was all said and done, the only trace of what had occurred, were slight scorch marks on the wood where everything had fallen. No detectable strange odors, no piles of ashes, none of the usual debris that one would expect to be present as something being burnt.
It was a process that Twilight would desperately like to gain a greater understanding of. She was positive that there were certain scientific applications available that could benefit greatly from such studies, and possible discoveries being made. But as it was already, she had more than enough on her plate as it was. With the prospect of a cure to the terror fog being so close at hoof, and an end to this long-running nightmare, she was more than willing to postpone Hollow-related scientific endeavors until later on, when the crisis was over.
Until they actually got there, however, there was something else that needed to be addressed. Quickly she turned to Applejack to do just that.
"So how come you weren't sick at seeing what happened?" she asked.
Applejack just shrugged her withers as she redirected her attention to where Twilight stood. "When ya help wit' birthin' as many calves as Ah have, blood an' such don' affect ya as much anymore Ah guess," she replied.
... That was a fair point. Twilight knew that the birthing process could be a messy endeavor, even if she had never witnessed it herself. But regardless of that fact, the biology books she had read, had done nothing to spare her the details that were involved with the process.
Turning to Zecora, she considered asking her the same. The zebra had seemed more shocked than disgusted by what she'd witnessed happen, going by how tightly she was clutching her doll in the crook of her left foreleg. But that shock could've just been from the suddenness of it all.
"Then it is true, what he said to me. He truly is a roho mlaji..."
The question pertaining to Zecora's constitution died before it even had a chance to be asked after hearing the statement that had just been made. She didn't speak the same language Zecora did, but she still recognized the term from when Ulquiorra interacted with her on their first meeting. He'd returned from his reconnaissance mission, disguised as helping Zecora with transporting her supplies back to her hut, mentioning something about how the roho mlaji sounded an awful lot like Hollows. He then went on to question if perhaps other Hollows had found their way to Equestria in the past. That idea terrified her in many ways. But considering how many things had happened so rapidly, she hadn't had the time to dwell on those particular fears. Far more pressing matters had arisen shortly afterward, and demanded her full attention.
Now, however, that fear had returned to front and center, and was demanding to be paid attention to.
"Yes. Yes he is," Celestia stated softly as she stepped past the others, and closer to Zecora. She really couldn't see any reason in denying what was the truth. However at the same time, there was no point in leaving Zecora scared. "However you have no need to fear Ulquiorra. Despite what he is, he's certainly nothing like a wild animal. While he indeed uses violence, it's only when the situation warrants such, that he actually does so. Nor does he go around, sucking the souls out of those he meets," she explained.
"To clarify," Ulquiorra spoke up as he stood up from where he sat on the able, and resheathed his zanpakutō. "It has been done before. But not for a number of decades," he stated.
"Wait, decades?" Spike asked, curiosity overruling his disgust enough to motivate him to look back forward. "Just how old are you supposed to be anyway?"
"That's... actually a good question," Twilight spoke up as she looked at Spike, and then back at Ulquiorra for answers. Going by appearance alone was difficult in determining age; especially with Ulquiorra. Both because his features were so radically different from those of a pony, and because of the little fact that he technically wasn't alive by the same standards as they were.
"Suffice to say, old enough that I can no longer remember the true extent of my own age. For all I know, I'm even older than Princess Celestia herself," Ulquiorra replied. When the only way of measuring the passage of time was how many steps you had taken, it was very easy to lose track of the time.
"Wow," Spike stated simply, unable to think of anything better to say after hearing that. He was having serious trouble imagining that anyone could actually be so old, they had lost count.
And then he started to wonder if, one day, that might happen to him as well, considering how long a dragon's lifespan was supposed to be. He'd really rather not think about that right now...
"Best not be tellin' Pinkie 'bout that. Ah'd imagine the resultin' cake she'd insist on bakin' would be a fire hazard," Applejack pointed out.
"Matters of such irrelevancy aside, the fact remains that no one present, is in any danger from myself," Ulquiorra replied, having no interest in the discussion of obscenely large birthday cakes. Or any cake for that matter. He had already had his fill of shenanigans for the day, and that was even before the whole issue with the cockatrice. With that fact in mind, he turned his attention to Zecora. "You have everything that was requested. How long before the cure can be ready?"
"At least three days," Twilight spoke up, "we couldn't get everything we needed here in Ponyville. We need sunflower oil, but that has to be ordered in due to the quantity needed. If all goes well, it'll be here in three days. Then we can get to work," she explained.
"Just wonderful," Ulquiorra thought to himself. Yet another thing that could potentially go wrong, and significantly set back whatever measure of progress they had managed to achieve.
He considered the option of going to acquire it himself, seeing as he would have much quicker results than waiting for these ponies to get their act together on their own. He could simply find out where he needed to go, and be on his way.
There was only one problem with such a course of action. Depending on just how far away the supplier of this sunflower oil was, his absence could be for an extended time. And there was no telling what might happen during that time. This could easily be the setup of yet another trap. During times like this, a healthy does of suspicion and paranoia was required. And if this was a trap, he was not going to take the bait.
"Hypothetically, let's assume that the sunflower oil is acquired, both on time, and in sufficient quantities. How long after this, will it take to concoct the cure we need?" he asked. He didn't particularly care if the answer came from Zecora, or Twilight, or anyone else. For all he cared right now, the Octava Espada could come springing out of the basement for the sole purpose of filling them in on the mystery.
"For a brew of this size, rushing ahead to the end would be quite unwise. Great caution is needed for us to proceed, as cherubic root is no mere garden sort of weed. The toxins within must be filtered out of the mix, a process which would take three days... or, depending on its concentration, perhaps even six," Zecora explained.
Six days of preparation time, on top of the three days it would take to acquire the last necessary ingredient. A grand total of nine days waiting time before the cure was in their hands. Unless the detoxification process could be started now, which would cut down to the wait time to just under a week. That was an extensive wait time they were going to be faced with. But Ulquiorra understood that there was nothing that could be done, to hurry things along. If the death blossoms were really as deadly as he'd been led to believe, it was perfectly understandable why it would take so long. Some things simply couldn't be rushed.
"Six days," Princess Celestia said to herself in a quiet tone. But not quiet enough to escape his ears. "That should be enough time to organize everything, before proceeding any further."
"You intend to wait until the cure is developed, before removing the fog from the area?" Ulquiorra asked as he turned his attention towards her. If that was what she was saying, then it was one of the dumbest things he'd heard yet. It made utterly no sense, to let a known hazard such as this, have free and continued reign over the area, and continually put others at risk through continued exposure. Did she even comprehend the full extent of what she was suggesting as a course of action?
"I would prefer to remove it from the equation right now. But that's simply not an option we have," Celestia replied as she returned his attention, her soft features hardening as she spoke. "I have no interest in proceeding with this plan, until I've managed to procure a sufficient number of water-tight, air-tight containers for properly holding the terror fog, and preventing its release. And not knowing just how much fog we'll need to deal with, I'd rather be safe than sorry in my approach," she stated.
Contrary to what Ulquiorra might choose to believe about her, she wasn't an idiot. She had no intention of waiting the entire six day period before addressing the terror fog. Should the containers arrive early, she would proceed accordingly, even if it meant having to go out, and fetch them herself; it certainly wouldn't be the first time she'd had to go with such an approach.
But even as royalty, there were still rules by which she was bound. She couldn't simply conjure something out of thin air that they didn't have. Nor could she simply pilfer the containers, as whoever currently had what they needed, could already have them all spoken for. This was all going to require a by the book approach to doing things.
At least for the moment, until she could determine that nopony else would be harmed with whatever might be the necessary course of action.
Ulquiorra said nothing in response. He could easily understand the points being raised, and saw the validity to them. Proceeding recklessly would only cause them trouble that they didn't need. It would make sense to wait until they had a secure containment method available to them, as there were too many variables in play right now, to say for certain just what might happen.
Even he was getting frustrated, and impatient. That was the only thing that really made sense of some of his more recent thoughts. Whether it was from these ponies being a more corrupting influence than he'd first assumed, or something else entirely, he wasn't yet certain.
"For now, though, it will simply have to wait. As important as this is, there are other important matters that have to be addressed, and can only be done while I'm present. When I switch the spell over to Twilight, she'll need to be familiar with the various details involved with sending communication back and forth; possibly between multiple recipients. And unfortunately I'm the only one with sufficient knowledge to help her learn what she needs to learn, and learn it quickly," Celestia explained further.
Again, Ulquiorra said nothing in response, despite the ever-growing urge to voice a number of points that needed to be voiced. Twilight Sparkle was already under a significant degree of mental strain from trying to keep things balanced, and controlled. Whether finding out that much of what was going on could be attributed to the terror fog, would serve to alleviate some measure of that strain, remained to be seen. But the idea of her trying to learn and memorize what might very well be the reiryoku equivalent of mailing addresses, didn't sound like a good idea to him.
But in truth, what other options did they really have? With Spike out of commission, Twilight Sparkle was the only viable option left for keeping up communication. It wasn't like Applejack or Zecora possessed any magical skill that would allow them to act as a communication hub. And bringing another unicorn into the equation would just add greater complication than they were already facing.
Even he could tell that the situation was far from being prime, and they simply had to make due with what they had available to them. The only question he had was which would be breaking first; the crisis, or the players?
"So this is really the best way to go about doing things?" Spike asked uncertainly from where he currently stood.
"I don't think we have much choice at this point, Spike," Twilight replied. She'd been playing over the available options in her mind, and was coming up blank on alternatives. But right now she had her mind on other matters than simply doing something that was necessary. She was doing this because Spike needed her help right now. If she couldn't wither responsibilities for him, then she was hardly what some could consider a friend. "You don't need to worry. I can do this. You just focus on not being stressed out. Everything's going to be alright," she assured him.
"That's easy for you to say. I'd be a lot more able to stop being stressed, if I knew I wasn't being useless to everypony," Spike commented unhappily. Granted, the fact that he wasn't going to be experiencing the indigestion of receiving messages was going to be a delightful bonus. But that still did nothing to change the fact that he suddenly had to come to grips with the fact that there was one more thing he couldn't do, because somepony else could now do it ever better than he could. "I can't do correspondence anymore, I can't fight, I can't even find a weapon that I can use should everything go to hell around me. How am I supposed to get better if I've gotta wrestle with all this shit?" he asked them.
The others looked at Spike, and then at one another in response to the points he'd raised. Much as they hated to admit it, none of them had really considered what he was saying until now. It was a lot easier to consider the aspect of Spike being overworked as the cause of his stress, rather than feelings of inadequacy. This was a development that left them feeling really unprepared.
Spike just sighed as he looked at the ground. "The one thing I could do to make myself really useful, that nopony else could do, and it's completely gone now. What am I supposed to do now? Cooking and cleaning? Writing down nightmare reports so somepony else can send them?" he asked them. "I can't even fight. I don't wanna be the useless one around here..."
Being hugged without notice wasn't all that surprising to Spike, considering what had been happening recently. What surprised him, however, was that it was Applejack who did the hugging this time around. And she could hug pretty firmly too.
"If Ah'd known it was that important, Ah would've let ya borrow the corn knife when ya asked," she told him.
"It probably wouldn't have done me much good, even if you had," Spike replied glumly, remembering just how badly things had gone during the evaluation process Ulquiorra had given him. As stocky as he was, he probably would've had to drag the knife along the ground, or carry it slung on his shoulder the whole time since it was about as long as he was tall. "I get that I'll never be a front line fighter like the rest of you are. But there's gotta be something I can do... right?"
Ulquiorra listened as spike spoke. For him, it was impossible to emphasize with the dragon's plight, despite knowing what it was like to find oneself rendered useless. But despite lacking the ability to emphasize, he could certainly understand what Spike was going through. His primary usefulness had been limited to begin with, and had since been drastically reduced even further in the course of just a few days.
But there was very little that could be done about it. While his recommendation of shurikens had validity, they could ultimately prove useless if Spike was encountered in too close a proximity to adequately throw one. And anything approaching a adequately sized melee weapon, to allow for an effective swing to be delivered, would simply prove too large for him to maneuver.
If they were back in his dimension, and had experienced a change in territory, there would be options available. North America supposedly had hundreds of millions of available options for such a situation.
But they weren't back in his dimension, they weren't in North America, and he highly doubted that a gun store existed anywhere in this world. And with Discord's involvement still being questionable... it simply wasn't an option.
Crossbows existed in this world. They could prove to be an option. But the issue of draw strength to the bowstring would prove to render one incredibly slow to utilize in any effective manner. And once again, there was the issue of proximity. What Spike needed was something reasonably small and compact enough for him to wield with one hand if need be, yet would be sufficient in allowing him to strike harder than his fist could accomplish. Something like a combat knife, or a dagger. Or perhaps a wood cutting hatchet, or even....
"What about a hammer?" he suggested. And then all eyes were upon him, seeking clarification.
"A hammer?" Spike asked, being the first to speak up. "You mean like what a carpenter uses?"
"While that would certainly work better than an empty hand, I was thinking of something more stout. When I was being given the tour of Barnyard Bargains by Filthy Rich, I noticed the variety of tools in the hardware department. Among them were sledgehammers of varying sizes, ranging from twenty pounds, down all the way to two pound, short handled models. While not as dramatic as a sword, blunt force trauma is still substantial," Ulquiorra explained.
"Huh," Applejack muttered as she scratched her head in thought. Before readjusting her hat afterward. "Ah reckon that'd smart somethin' fierce. But he'd have ta get mighty close ta somethin' ta do that. Wouldn' that be kinda dangerous for 'im?" she asked.
"No more dangerous than facing a threat while unarmed," Ulquiorra pointed out. "Depending on what magic can be utilized, getting within melee range might not even prove necessary."
"Alright. I know you've got something in mind, Ulquiorra," Twilight spoke up. She had been around the Espada enough to know when he was getting at something. "What is it?"
"Back in my dimension, one region's mythology spoke of a thunder god who wielded a short hammer as his primary weapon. The hammer was said to be magical, could smash a mountain to pieces, and would always return to his hand when it was thrown, among other folklore claims. While I doubt that such a feat could be accomplished, even with significant magical intervention, it stands to reason that at least some of these abilities could be replicated in this world, correct?" he asked.
Twilight looked at Celestia, who looked back at her, each of them contemplating Ulquiorra's words.
"Could... could something like that actually be done?" Spike asked as he spoke up, intrigued by the idea that was being presented.
"It might be possible," Twilight replied, deep in thought as she considered everything that would need to be taken into account. And that was quite an extensive list. Extensive enough that she looked over to Celestia once again for clarification. "Could it be done?"
"That would depend on just what Ulquiorra is suggesting we do. Applying certain magical properties to everyday items is contingent upon a lot of variables," Celestia replied, before turning her attention to where Ulquiorra stood. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"Target seeking capabilities would be a good place to start. A weapon is useless if it can't hit its desired mark. Perhaps a return function, should reacquiring it manually prove to be a treacherous endeavor to engage in," Ulquiorra stated. Such modifications would certainly be needed for any throwing weapon, whether they be shuriken, or a hammer, or anything else.
"Hmm..." Celestia hummed to herself in thought as she considered Ulquiorra's recommendations, and everything that would need to be done to implement them. What he was proposing was certain possible. But the probability of accurately executing such magical enhancements remained questionable. "We might be able to do something like that, with enough time and effort. But before we can do something like that, we would need a hammer to examine, to determine the feasibility. Different configurations may require different approaches," she explained.
"Really?" Spike asked, a twinge of excitement working it way into his voice.
Celestia simply nodded, rather than going into detail about what could be done, and the various intricate details of such. Even if everyone present could fully understand them, the few minutes it would take to properly explain everything, would be minutes that could be used for either research on the application, or helping Twilight learn the intricacies of the new spell she'd be tasked with knowing.
"Come on, Ulquiorra! Let's go pick out a hammer!" Spike stated with gusto.
Ulquiorra wasn't exactly sure how he had gotten dragged into this predicament, although he did possess a few theories.
Regardless of the how, or the why, however, it was probably for the best if he went along with Spike during the selection process. If left to his own devices, he could easily see Spike foolishly selecting the largest hammer available, making the incorrect assumption that simply because he could swing it about a few times without issue, that he could effectively wield it for long periods of time. And things simply didn't work that way. Any decision that was made would have to take physics into account for the best results.
Besides which, he still needed to replace the shovel he broke when he'd killed the cockatrice.
"Very well then," he replied.
The next thing Ulquiorra knew, a small bag was being levitated in front of him by Twilight Sparkle.
"And what is this?" he asked curiously.
"Fifty bits for expenses," Twilight explained. "You shouldn't have to be doing all of the spending for supplies, Ulquiorra. You bought your own writing supplies, you bought the supplies for fixing Zecora's cart, you bought the supplies for splinting Rainbow Dash's leg... I don't care that the emerald Rarity gave you did have a three hundred bit equivalency to it, that's no excuse. So just use that to help Spike pick out the right hammer; it should be more than enough for that," she continued.
This was a development that Ulquiorra hadn't seen coming. He had very little need for money for himself, so it made little difference to him with who paid for what. Matters of funding were merely a means to an end.
He could speculate on the issue of trust he was being shown right now. But he would rather not.
"If you insist," he replied as he took the bag, and pocketed it in his satchel. The less time he spent hashing things out, the sooner they could accomplish everything, and be done with it. "To Barnyard Bargains then."
Celestia watched as Ulquiorra left with Spike following close behind, the young dragon nearly bouncing with excitement with each step he took. All she could do was shake her head, a small smile playing over her lips in the process. She then turned back to face Twilight.
"While they're gone, I believe now would be a good time to begin educating you on the communication spell. Until they get back, we can't really do anything about Spike's hammer," she explained.
"Actually, Princess..." Twilight spoke up slowly, "I know that we have a lot of important things to do. And I know that we don't really have that much time to do them in. But..." she paused hesitantly, mulling over her words, before deciding to continue. "You managed to calm Zecora, in the space of just a few minutes, far more than all three of us have been able to do in the whole three days prior. Is there any way you could swing by Fluttershy's, and do the same for her? Rarity's been staying with her, doing her best to help her recover since her attack in the marketplace, but she's in way over her head. The rest of us haven't exactly been faring any better either..."
Celestia wasn't certain how to respond to what Twilight was saying. The amount of work that they had to do was quite substantial, even before factoring in all of the complications that would be presented with magically forging Spike a weapon of his own. And Twilight was suggesting that they take time away from those pressing issues -issues that needed to be done as soon as possible- to address the suffering of one of her friends, who was already being tended to by somepony else?
Celestia wanted to smile, a sense of pride swelling in her chest at realizing just how much prioritization Twilight was giving her friends right now.
"I think we can arrange that just fine," she replied and nodded.
She just hoped that Luna wasn't getting in over her head right now back in Canterlot. The way things were going, it would be noon before she ever got back.
Being as seasoned as they were, the two guards at the base of the stairs that lead up to the throne currently occupied by Princess Luna, knew what was coming as the alicorn suffered the torture best known as pre-sneeze purgatory.
Knowing what was coming, they both ducked down to the floor just in time as the sneeze came forth, and with all the fury that the infamous Royal Canterlot Voice carried with it.
The petitioner that had been talking at the moment, had not been so lucky, and was nearly blown right off his hooves from the resulting force, his presentation slides being scattered.
"My apologies, dear subject, it would appear my allergies are acting up on this day," Luna explained as she sniffed, and straightened her crown as it had come dislodged from the force of her sneeze.
She had received word from Celestia not long after she'd departed for Ponyville to investigate the matter of Twilight Sparkle's beacon spell. Apparently the matter was the result of Spike's flame network being down, and the young unicorn panicking from the lack of communication in the time leading up to the discovery of the problem. That meant the problem was more technical than urgent, so there was no need to worry.
Worry or not, however, even Celestia had recognized that there was no way she could make it back in time for the day court, and had implored her to cover until she got back, and could resume her duties. And while she was always willing to assist her sister on important matters, that did nothing to change the fact that she was still tired. She hadn't intended to fall asleep while watching after Rainbow Dash, it had just happened without warning. She'd been awoken when she received the message about what was going on not long after, but the damage had been done.
The petitioners droning on about details she could care less about, did little to help the matter either.
Truth be told, she hadn't been sorry for her inability to contain her sneeze. It had served to shake things up just enough to make them interesting. Perhaps now the petitioner would express some more life in his speech.
She didn't want to admit to it, but she was beginning to understand what had possessed her sister to indulge in the idea of holding court while naked.
"Hurry back, dear sister, I cannot take much more of this," she mentally moaned to herself as she rubbed her temples.
Spike looked down at the hammer in front of him, noting the differences it now possessed, that separated it from what it had been when they first acquired it at Barnyard Bargains. It was still the same new-model, single piece steel construction type of sledge hammer, with a supposedly shock absorbing molded blue rubber handle. The only real difference he could note about it, was the runes that now covered its surface. Many, many intricate runes, all expertly carved into the outer surface, each of them only about as deep as a sheet of paper, and colored in a shade of metallic blue that he couldn't ever remember seeing before.
"So... this is it?" he asked with a fair measure of skepticism in his voice. He had been expecting something... different.
"The results are far more impressive than its appearance would suggest, Spike," Celestia replied from where she stood. The process for modifying the hammer hadn't been a particularly difficult task, but it had certainly required a fair bit of concentration and focus to get the runes right. And now it was time to test the results, and see if they would actually suffice. Hence the move to the outside while the others worked on what they could. "It wasn't possible to replicate everything Ulquiorra mentioned. But I believe the charms in place will suffice," she explained.
Spike didn't know what to say in response, so he simply shrugged, and picked the hammer up off the ground. As soon as he did, however, he felt a slight tingling running up and down his arm, and the runes started to give off a weak glow. "What's going on?"
"A side effect of the process. Simply placing enchantments on the hammer would be a temporary solution, with no way of guaranteeing how long it would last before they wore off. With the runes engraved into the hammer's surface, it's more of a permanent modification. The magic in your own body is what fuels their effects whenever you pick it up," Celestia explained.
"Really? That's pretty cool," Spike stated as he looked at the glowing runes, now feeling a sense of pride in knowing that it was glowing because of his own magic, rather than an outside an independent source. "So what's it do?"
"It might be better to show, rather than explain its capabilities," Celestia replied as she activated her magic, and levitated a cinder block into view about a dozen or so paces away from where they currently stood. "You'll still have to figure out distance and trajectory through trial and error. But now when thrown, the hammer should fly a fair bit further, than it would've if it was relying on your physical strength alone," she explained. "Give it a try."
Spike looked at Celestia, then the cinder block, then back at the hammer in his hand. With a nod he pulled back, and threw the hammer forward as hard as he could, doing his best to aim for the target.
Celestia watched as the hammer tumbled end over end, and quickly concluded that it was going to be off its mark. She responded by moving the cinder block into the path of the hammer, letting it be smashed to pieces upon impact.
Right after the block was hit, and subsequently smashed, the hammer quite literally bounced back from the point of impact, traveling back along the same path of trajectory, before landing at Spike's feet.
"You'll also need to work on catching it, as returning right to your hand on its own wouldn't be possible. But it's a far better option than it just laying wherever it might land," she explained.
In a way the whole matter struck her with a sense of ironic humor. The spell that made Spike's hammer return to him, was basically a modified version of the force rebounding spell that Ulquiorra had fallen victim to, in the wake of the changeling invasion. It had sent him across the hall when he'd tried to kick down the door it had been applied to. And now here they were, utilizing the spell again at Ulquiorra's own -but apparently unknowing- suggestion.
"No argument there," Spike stated as he picked up the hammer and twirled it in his hand. He could definitely see this proving quite useful.
"There's also one more ability that the hammer possesses. Perhaps the most important of the three. And one that must be seen, in order to be believed," Celestia stated as she levitated a new cinder block into view.
Spike was about to pull back for another throw, but stopped when he noticed something. Celestia's eyes immediately turned green, as a flare of dark purple magic appeared form the corner of her eyes like unrestrained flames. The next thing he knew, a black stream of energy was fired into the block as it hovered in place. He'd only seen something like this once before, but he doubted that he could ever forget that one incident.
"Isn't that-"
"It is," Celestia interrupted, "and it was necessary for this demonstration to be done properly. Proceed, and you'll understand why," she instructed.
Spike didn't have a clue what was going on. But rather than question it, he did as was told, and pulled back, before flinging the hammer forward as hard as he could.
Under the impact of the hammer, the first cinder block had broken apart, and crumbled to pieces.
The second one, however, had literally exploded on impact with a bright flash, sparks flying, and a loud boom at the point of impact, making him jump in surprise.
"HO-LY shit!" he yelled as the hammer landed back at his feet. "What the hell was that!?"
"A protective charm, designed to prevent a dark magic user from attempting to use the hammer against anyone else. As you can see..." she paused as she looked back at the smoking remains of the shattered block, "it's quite effective in doing its job."
"I'd say that's an understatement," Spike commented as he picked the hammer up again, and gave it a disbelieving look. He didn't know which should be more impressive to him; what the hammer could do, or that it was the magic he had in him that made it all possible. "So... what would happen if I encountered a dark magic user, and had to use it against them? What would happen then?" he asked.
"Without getting graphic about what the results might be, it would effectively ruin their day," Celestia replied. Before Spike could respond, however, she was already continuing with what she had to say. "But there's something quite important that you need to understand about this, Spike," she said as she set her right hoof on the hammer, and gently eased it onto the ground. She needed him to pay attention to what she had to say, and she was thankful when he didn't try and resist her efforts to separate him from it. That would make this easier.
"What this hammer can do is quite lethal - deadly in fact. It's not something that should ever be treated lightly, or as a first response whenever a difficult situation should arise. The ability to take a life with such ease, is something that should, and must, be reserved for use in dire times, only when there are no other options available," she stated. In her mind, she couldn't possibly stress this fact enough. From the very beginning, she'd been opposed to what her subjects, and her friends, had been forced to consider doing in response to the threats they faced. A very un-Equestrian sense was settling in over the land in the face of this new threat, and there was little she could do but watch as everything shifted into a very uncomfortable new territory.
Did she blame Ulquiorra for this? She certainly could, but ultimately she didn't. She understood that he wasn't the cause of what had been happening. He was merely the one who pointed out the existence of such. He had provided them with advanced warning for what was coming, giving them the opportunity needed to prepare for it. She was grateful to him, even if she didn't like it.
"You know.... it's kind of funny," Spike replied slowly as he looked up at Celestia. "Ulquiorra actually said something a lot like that to Twilight, the day after the manticore attack."
"He did?" Celestia asked.
Spike nodded. "I only know what I was told about everything. But Ulquiorra told Twilight that killing was something that should only be done if she believed it was warranted by the situation; not out of anger, or fear, or anything like that."
Celestia didn't know what to say in response to this. When it came to the act of killing another living being, Ulquiorra was an undisputed master of such. She'd expected that any words of advise he had to offer on the subject, would be limited to matters of efficiency and such, but not restraint.
Once again, she'd made unfounded assumptions about Ulquiorra. She would need to speak with him later, thanking him for the words of advice he'd offered up to Twilight. And perhaps apologize about her incorrect, preconceived notions regarding him. At the very least, he deserved that.
"Hey... Celestia?"
"Yes, Spike?"
"Well you said this hammer is charmed to react negatively to dark magic. That's something pretty specific to just say or do, right? It's not one of those things you just put out there... unless you suspect that somepony with dark magic is behind everything... right?" he asked.
He'd caught on to what she was saying much quicker than she'd anticipated. He was a lot smarter than he gave himself credit for.
"To be perfectly honest, Spike, I don't know what to suspect at this point anymore. So many things have been happening recently, so many terrible things, I can barely keep everything straight anymore. A thousand years of instinct are telling me that there's something very wrong at play, that goes far beyond what it appears to be on the surface. But I simply don't know just what that something is at this point. And right now, I'd much rather assume the worst and be wrong, rather than assuming that this is a minor issue and be wrong," Celestia stated as she closed her eyes and hung her head, feeling the mental exhaustion weighing heavily on her. It was bad enough that returning to the day court was starting to look like a welcomed relief.
"I know that something is out of place here, I just don't know what it is yet. If it's indeed dark magic behind the fog, it's at levels that are far too minute for me to detect. Ulquiorra managed to detect some strange pattern of reiatsu all over Ponyville, but I can't even begin to describe what it felt like, or what it was," she continued.
Being exposed to the Espada's senses, seeing what he had seen, and feeling what he had felt, had been such a foreign experience to be subjected to. Even after all this time, she still couldn't fully make sense of it. She knew what Ulquiorra felt when he referred to reiatsu, but she couldn't codify it in any manner that a pony could understand.
"Hey," Spike spoke up, snapping her out of her thoughts, and bringing her attention back to him. And now she was aware that he was resting his right hand on her hoof. "It'll be alright. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it, just like we always do," he reassured her.
Celestia listened, and then nodded. She had her doubts about the accuracy of Spike's words, but the sentiment behind them was still appreciated. She had done her best to soothe his nerves, and now he was doing his best to return the favor in turn. She couldn't help but smile, weak as it might be.
"I certainly hope so, Spike..."
"So... explain it to me. How exactly is this thing supposed to work?" Twilight asked as she gave the amalgamation of assorted parts on the table a critical look, not seeing how they were supposed to work together.
While she had been upstairs with Celestia, learning about the various intricacies of the communication spell she'd be using for sending word back and forth to Canterlot -and becoming pretty much mentally exhausted from all of the little details she'd need to keep straight in the process- Zecora and Applejack had been downstairs in the basement, with all kinds of construction noises going on during the time.
Now that the learning process was completed, and Celestia had departed, she was free to examine what those two had been doing this entire time.
Unfortunately a visual examination hadn't yielded any clarity for her. All she saw was a amalgamated mishmash of various parts and household appliances, perched over her bunsen burner... which had been procured by them without her permission.
"Well it's like this, Sugarcube, this here thing is supposed ta detoxify the death blossom roots, so it can be used in Zecora's cure," Applejack spoke up, and began gesturing at the assembly. "The pressure cooker's got a mash made out o' the roots Mr. Cifer harvested. The burner boils the mash an' causes it ta evaporate, goin' up inta this here funnelin' area, inta the copper pipe that angles downward ta the copper coils that're partially submerged in the pan o' water that acts as a heat sink, which allows the vapor to condense, and drip down inta these here mason jars fer storage until we're ready fer it. Meanwhile the toxic stuff stays in the pot where it don' do any harm, an' can be disposed of easy enough," she explained.
"... Applejack?"
"Wha's up, Twilight?"
"You know that I respect you, right? I've always seen you as a well educated pony with a good head on your shoulders. But..."
"But what?" Applejack asked, curious about what Twilight was getting at with this whole line of questioning.
"Well it just occurred to me that this whole apparatus is a distillery, typically used in the brewing of moonshine liquor in more rural areas. And you and Zecora didn't seem to have any trouble building it on your own while Celestia was showing me the communication spell, so I can't help but wonder..."
"Say no more," Applejack replied, catching what Twilight was saying. "Let's jus' say that some extended members o' the Apple family ain' as honorable as others, an' leave it at that, a'right?"
"... I think we can do that," Twilight replied and nodded, not wanting to cause anymore friction than what was already present between all of them. It had been a very tense few days, and they didn't need anymore of that. "So... are you still planning on going back to Sweet Apple Acres tonight?"
"That's what Ah'm plannin' on," Applejack replied and shrugged. "Ya've been a wonderful host an' all, Twi', but Ah don' wanna be overstayin' mah welcome. 'sides that, Sweet Apple Acres is mah home, an' Ah ain' gonna let somethin' like fog keep me scared o' mah own home," she stated.
"Oh..." Twilight replied slowly. "This isn't about how I critiqued your singing in the shower several days ago, is it?"
Applejack honestly didn't mean to, but regardless of her intentions, she still snorted at Twilight's concern. She remembered the day in question that she was referring to; a day that had happened before Zecora came around, and increased the complications they faced. That was one of the primary signs that things were slowly starting to break down between them.
They'd traded a fair number of petty insults with each other that day as the stress got to them, even going so far as to drag poor Spike into the middle of it all, and he hadn't even done anything to deserve it. And although they'd eventually made peace with one another, the damage had been done. And it was only a matter of time before the damage became insurmountable to them.
"Naw, that ain't it," she replied as she shook her head. "This has been a long time comin', Twi', honest. Ah've been mighty grateful to ya, lettin' me stay here an' all when Ah needed ya the most. Ah really don' think Ah could've made it without ya an' Spike bein' here fer me; ya've almost been like family. An' as much as Ah've enjoyed bein' able ta stay here with ya, we both knew from the start that this wasn' gonna be a permanent arrangement. Ah gotta go home eventually, so Ah might as well try sooner than later," she explained.
Those first few days after the whole event had been rough on her, leaving her in doubt of whether or not she'd actually be able to recover. Despite her determination to remain strong, there had been a lot of periods where she wasn't sure it was possible of not. She didn't like admitting to it, but despite her best efforts to remain strong, and task oriented, she'd spent more time crying than she cared for, over what she'd experienced. There were times her own inner strength and resolve had waned, and she'd needed Spike and Twilight to lean on, just to get through the day.
She'd be lying if she said that she was better now; she knew there was still a long way go to before she was back to her old self again. But she was certainly a great deal more improved than she had been compared to those first few days.
"Oh," Twilight replied evenly, unsure of what to think. She knew that it was the truth Applejack was speaking, but that still didn't make it easier to actually hear. "So... this is it then? There's nothing I can say to convince you to stay? Nothing I can do?"
"Ah don' reckon so, Sugarcube. Ain' right fer me ta keep stayin' here with ya, an' gettin' in the way o' yer work," Applejack replied and shook her head again. "But don' ya fret none, ya hear? Ah'll be back in a few days fer the slumber party, Ah promise."
"What makes you think there's going to be a slumber party in a few days?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Because Ah know you, Sugarcube. In a few days, Zecora's brew is gonna be ready, we're all gonna be cured, the terror fog's gonna be gone, an' Rainbow Dash is gonna be back home. There ain' no way in Tartarus yer not gonna have a slumber party," Applejack pointed out. It would defy all logic for Twilight to not have a slumber party when all of those facts added up. "Like Ah said, Sugarcube, Ah know ya. Ah've seen the ways yer face lights up whenever there's even talk of a slumber party. It's cute," she added.
Twilight blushed at Applejack telling her that she was cute, not knowing what to say in response. That wasn't the sort of compliment that was just casually hoofed out without reason.
Zecora, who had been staying largely silent during the discussion, took this opportunity to spoke up, as she turned to face Applejack.
"I regret that I cannot accept your invitation at this time, Applejack. Properly preparing this brew does require skill and knowledge, that Twilight does unfortunately lack," she explained, before turning back to the distillery. "When you see Apple Bloom, please give your sister my regards. Much as I would like to experience your family's hospitality, it is simply not in the cards."
Applejack frowned at that. Despite all of Celestia's work in helping Zecora along the road to recovery, they all knew full well that the zebra was in need of a fair bit of work before she was capable of looking after herself again. The plan had been to get her out of Twilight's hair, so the unicorn could figure out how to fix what was going on. But now they faced the problem of the solution being locked up in Zecora's head where it was most vulnerable. That also meant that she had to stay put, since the cure apparently involved more than just following instructions; much like baking a great apple pie, you had to have experience to know what you were doing.
"Ya know, now that Ah think about it, maybe Ah should stick around fer a few more days. Y'all might need help maintainin' the distillery, an' seein' as Ah built it, Ah'd be the one ta know wha' might need ta be done," she stated.
It was as good an excuse as any under these circumstances. She doubted Twilight would know what she needed to know in order to prevent a catastrophic failure from too much pressure building up. Plus she'd be having her hooves full trying to tend to Zecora's needs, even with Spike helping, and she'd be submitting reports now that she knew how to and... yeah. It would be in everypony's best interest if she stayed just a little while longer. Surely she could stick it out until the cure was finally delivered.
"I'll be back home to stay soon, Apple Bloom, I promise. It's just going to take a little longer than I thought it might," she thought to herself.
"That might be for the best. I don't know the first thing about these things, other than the fact that they can potentially turn into a bomb without warning," Twilight admitted.
Applejack just chuckled. True, stills were known to experience catastrophic failures if they weren't maintained properly, but it was hardly the rule of hoof for them. But she really didn't need to explain that right now, Twilight had enough on her mind as is.
"Might I ask a question?" Zecora asked as she slowly turned her attention back to the others.
"What's on your mind, Zecora?" Twilight asked as she turned to look at her.
"A most curious word that I do not understand, and have never heard before. This word, this... "fuck" was it? What does it mean?" Zecora asked.
"Uh..." Twilight paused, remembering how she'd so freely hurled that at Celestia when she'd appeared. She should've known that Zecora could be unfamiliar with it. But she certainly never expected this to come about. "Applejack? Would you-"
"Aw hell no!" Applejack stated with a laugh, not even letting Twilight finish her question before answering. She was willing to do a lot of things for her friends, but this wasn't one of them. "Yer the one that started it, Sugarcube, yer the one who's gonna finish it!"
"Great," Twilight mumbled and sighed. Now not only was she faced with the prospect of explaining foreign profanity to the zebra, she was also going to need to cover whatever fallout there was to be had, when it was made clear that she had cursed out Celestia without a second thought. This wasn't going to end well at all. "Well, you see, Zecora..."
Despite Celestia's return to Canterlot occurring in the early afternoon, it was still well into evening by the time she and Luna were able to talk with one another again. Her substitute stint in the day court, combining both late hours, and ponies who proved themselves capable of boring a fallen log into a coma with how they droned on, had been enough to put her under for a long nap. Celestia couldn't find it as being anything but somewhat adorable how Luna had remained on her hooves only long enough to greet her, before promptly falling asleep where she stood, too tired to even lay down, knowing that she had been relieved of her duty.
When Luna had awoken, and been made aware of Celestia's findings in Ponyville, she had been absolutely livid; livid to the point that Celestia had once again needed to soundproof her mouth, for fear of the palace suffering structural damage from the fury her yelling was bound to carry with it.
There was also the small issue of Luna's knowledge of various profanities, and her willingness to use them at the drop of a hat, were both growing. And as much as she preferred it when Luna expressed how she felt, rather than keeping it bottled up, there was a time and place for making expressions that dealt with the motherless children, those born out of wedlock, and needing a review on codes of conduct pertaining to the proper care of a corpse.
Finally when Luna was panting and slumping, Celestia spoke up.
"Have you gotten all the vulgarness out of your system? Is it safe to let you speak again?" she asked. Luna sighed behind the barrier, and simply nodded in agreement. "I understand that you're upset, Luna, but using language that would make a dragon blush, is hardly a conductive endeavor. Viscerally appealing, perhaps, but little else," she pointed out as she cancelled the soundproofing spell.
"I am as aware of such as you are, sister, but that does nothing to change my mood," Luna grumbled as she scraped her hoof against the floor in her sister's chamber. "To think that the cause of this whole mess was terror fog of all things! Who in this world even knows what terror fog is anymore, to say nothing of where to find it? What sort of bastard are we dealing with!?"
"Yet one more mystery in life, I'm afraid," Celestia replied, before turning around, and picking up her hairbrush off the vanity. "No matter. In six days, we'll be able to put an end to this crisis once and for all," she explained. That had to be worth something. "And just so you know, this bastard could just as easily turn out to be a bitch instead."
"Oh I am well aware of that fact, dear sister," Luna stated as her frown grew, "I have not let such a possibility slip past me."
Celestia said nothing as she regarded Luna's reflection in the mirror. There was something in her words, and the tone in her voice, that led her to believe that her sister was going to be running a nocturnal reconnaissance mission later in the evening. It was as invasive a breach of privacy, as it was an absolute necessity at times. She knew that Luna possessed the ability to see the memories of sleeping ponies if she so wished. But it was a practice she held absolutely no love for. If she were truly planning on doing such -or perhaps, had been doing such for some time now- then it merely went to reinforce the severity of the situation they were faced with.
She was going to need to change the subject to something else. Something that was hopefully less stressful.
"Tell me, Luna, how is our little sister currently doing?" she asked as she ran the brush through her mane, enjoying the sensation of the bristles running against her itchy scalp.
Luna lightly blushed at Celestia's words, her foul mood over the discoveries made in Ponyville proving to be no match for the feelings brought up by the question. She had confided in her sister early on about how she had made peace with Rainbow Dash after that unfortunate incident had transpired, and the resulting admission of how she was seen as the big sister type. She had, regrettably, even told Celestia about her little jest to Rainbow Dash during a moment of exuberance.
Celestia had -thankfully- never chosen to tease her about the matter, even though she could. But instead of giving into trollery, she showed restraint, knowing it was something of a sensitive subject.
"Rainbow Dash is doing as well as can be expected. She has apparently even found a new place to spend her nights, as I found her asleep in Ulquiorra Cifer's quarters this morning," she explained.
That made Celestia pause her mane brushing, and once again regard her sister in the mirror. "Was she now? How did she even know where to find them?" she asked.
"Inquiring to the night staff as to where she could find him," Luna replied. She paused a moment, before continuing. "I also believe that Ulquiorra Cifer may be up to something that he does not necessarily wish us to know about."
"I get that feeling quite a bit myself," Celestia stated. She had no idea just what secrets the Espada was hiding in that head of his. And based on what she'd seen on their initial meeting, she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to know either. There were too many horrors that he bore witness to, for her to consider going back in as a viable option.
Something about Luna's words, however, gave her reason to pause in thought. That pause must've been picked up on, because Luna had started talking again.
"I cannot conclusively prove it. But I suspect that Ulquiorra Cifer has put a plan into motion that allows him to look out for Rainbow Dash's well being, without it being overly obvious to anyone. He is being quite covert in how he applies care..."
"Now this I have to hear," Celestia said as she turned to face Luna. There was no way this sort of conversation could be had through the mirror. "What brings you to this interesting theory of yours, Luna?"
"A number of things that simply do not make sense if each are treated as unconnected, isolated incidents. First and foremost is the fact that Ulquiorra Cifer was found in his quarters along with Rainbow Dash. He was presented with his quarters a month ago, and that was the first time he has ever been found there, rather than in the library. Second, is how Rainbow Dash has taken to sleeping in the library at night, opting for benches and tables rather than a proper bed. Third, how Ulquiorra Cifer has enlisted the night staff for the purpose of trafficking books back and forth between his quarters and the library, rather than doing it himself, thus ensuring that the location of his quarters is known by more than just the few of us," Luna explained, covering the points that had come to her attention. "Adding all of these together, would suggest that Ulquiorra Cifer has concocted a method of not only looking after Rainbow Dash herself, but also ensuring that she can rest comfortably when she sleeps. And all with nopony being the wiser to the fact that he is doing more than has been asked of him, of his own volition."
Celestia nodded as she listened in silence to Luna laying out the basis for her theory. She would admit, that when looked at a certain way, her findings would certainly suggest that Ulquiorra had taken an unexpected course of action when it came to looking after not only Rainbow Dash's safety, but also her comfort during her recovery.
There was just one little glaring error to account for, that left Luna's theory a little less than credible; that being the fact that she still vividly remembered what she had seen just behind those teal green eyes for herself. A great many qualities came to mind when describing Ulquiorra, but going above and beyond the call of what was necessary to complete an assignment, simply didn't rank among them.
That wasn't to say she felt he was beyond the ability to learn about such concepts; quite the contrary, she'd tasked him with doing just that. It was just that... it seemed a bit sudden to her, what with everything else that had been going on.
"Well then. It seems he's indeed full of surprises," was all she could say at the moment, not knowing what else to say. "Just don't let on that we know. If he's indeed being covert in his efforts, whatever they may be, we might spook him if he found out that we know what he's up to."
"Agreed," Luna replied and nodded. She could certainly see that being a possibility.
For a while, there was nothing but silence in the room as Celestia went back to brushing her mane out.
"There is... another issue. But I do not know the significance behind it," Luna spoke up slowly, "it pertains to Rainbow Dash's nightmares. Or rather... the recent lack of nightmares. They have been a nightly occurrence ever since the drugs were purged from her system. And then just a few days ago they... suddenly stopped. It does not make sense. Something of this magnitude -this maliciousness- does not simply go away just like that," she explained.
"Perhaps the hallucinogenics in her system have finally broken down, and been metabolized?" Celestia suggested.
Luna simply shook her head in response. "Doctor Mandibular Malar does physicals on her every other day. He reports that the latest blood work shows the presence of the hallucinogenics being no different from when we first discovered them. They continue to defy basic biological dictation, and it cannot be figured out as to why. But that is another matter, for another day. Right now it is the lack of nightmares that has confounded me! There is no explanation as to why. Unless... unless the one responsible for implementing them, is trying to trip us up with a change in pattern so that we-"
Luna was silenced by Celestia placing her hoof over her mouth as she looked at her directly.
"You aren't the only one considering such a possibility, Luna, I assure you. But even if that is the case, there's nothing that we can do about it now, except deal with it as it develops. There's no need to go borrowing trouble, and worry about what might be happening," Celestia explained as she set her hoof back down on the floor again, hoping the timely interruption would keep her sister calm. "Try and take some measure of comfort in the fact that, for the time being at least, Rainbow Dash is able to sleep peacefully. That has to be worth something."
"Oh indeed it is worth something, sister, I do not deny that. But do not forget that I know about trauma. We are veritable veterans on the subject. If she is led to believe that she is finally better, only to have that trauma start all over when she least expects it, we will be the ones tasked with picking up all the pieces of her psyche, and trying to put her back together once again. And I do not know if she will last through one more such incident," Luna stated quickly, feeling her skin starting to get hot under her fur, and her heart starting to beat much faster at the very thought of such a predicament. "If we must face such a development where I am forced to watch one of my friends suffer, and know that I am helpless to stop it, then I will... I-I will..."
"You will what, Luna?" Celestia asked as she slowly stepped forward, observing her sister's increasingly agitated demeanor. She knew that whatever was coming, it wasn't going to be good.
"I will pull out all stops in finding the guilty party. There will not be a corner of Equestria left unscoured as I search for them. There will not be a mind that I will not look into for answers! They will be found, no matter what the cost may prove to be! And when they are found, I will not even wait for the Espada to do what he does best! I WILL MURDER THEM IN COLD BLOOD MYSELF!" Luna shrieked.
Celestia said nothing during Luna's outburst, or even after. She simply stepped closer, not saying a word as she maintained eye contact with her sister as she panted for air.
The mix of emotions that played out across Luna's face were a veritable maelstrom for Celestia to watch unfold. The unrestrained fury in Luna's eyes as she made her bold declaration, followed by the immediate aftermath. She watched as the rage that threatened to consume her little sister weakened under a tsunami of horror, brought on by the weight of her own words, and so much more. That horror was quickly washed away as regret, and then despair all set in. No longer was Luna seething with a desire to end the life of another. Instead she was quaking with regret as tears started running down her face freely.
"Sister I am... I-I am..." she tried to apologize, but was cut off by choking sobs, unable to get the words out that she so desperately wanted to say.
Celestia continued to remain silent, opting instead to wrap her right foreleg around her little sister's back, as she threw herself forward, and proceeded to bawl into her chest.
"I am sorry! I am so sorry!" Luna bawled, her withers shaking uncontrollably. "I swear that I did not mean it!"
Celestia simply continued remaining silent, holding Luna close and letting her cry uninterrupted. Sometimes that was simply the best thing in the world for one to do during a time of great stress. And with all of the stress they had been under lately, Luna likely needed it very much.
She just wished that the reason behind all of the hugs she delivered today, didn't have to be because somepony was suffering.
"Oh you gotta be joking!" Rainbow Dash protested loudly, throwing herself back against the couch in disbelief as she did so. "I got my butt kicked by fog of all things!?" she asked, finding the whole concept too hard to believe, and too embarrassing to consider. She was captain of the weather team, and it was a simple weather phenomenon that had brought her down, leaving her reduced to tears, and contemplating suicide? Had things really sunken that low?
"Correct," Ulquiorra replied from where he stood in the room, busy writing away in his notebook. "You, and the better part of Ponyville, going by the reports that have been received by Princess Celestia.
Rainbow Dash merely groaned in annoyance, flopping back on the couch again. "This is more embarrassing than the time I... on second thought, forget it, that's a story I'm not sharing with anypony," she stated, thinking better of what she had just about said. Some things simply weren't meant to be shared.
Much to her relief, Ulquiorra hadn't asked about what she had been going to say,
Unfortunately, Ulquiorra hadn't said anything in response, and was simply ignoring her. she almost hated that even worse than him prying. His professionalism was both respectable, and annoying at the same time, depending on what was happening. It left her wanting to prod at him to get a rise out of him, just so she'd have something to respond to. But at the same time, she knew what might go wrong with doing that, and didn't really want to experience that.
"So... six more days until we can get back to normal, huh?" she asked, deciding to change the subject to something else.
"Supposedly," Ulquiorra replied simply, never even looking up from his book. "Assuming anything that happened in this world, ever qualified as being normal," he added.
"Yeah... I'm actually starting to wonder about that myself..." Rainbow Dash added slowly in thought as she settled down on the couch, letting her head hang off the cushions, her mane tumbling down in the process.
That one actually made Ulquiorra focus on something other than his own work.
"How do you mean?"
"I don't know for sure. All I really know, is that I've got a bad feeling about something," Rainbow Dash replied uneasily, before shrugging. "I dunno. Maybe I'm just getting paranoid after finally getting so much good news for a change."
"Perhaps," Ulquiorra replied.
Rainbow Dash looked over at Ulquiorra, unable to tell if he was regarding her, or whatever he was writing down. Nor was she certain she really wanted to know. With a sigh, she pulled herself back upright, and looked over the letter he had brought back from Ponyville with him. She'd read it several times over already by now, and knew everything it had to say. But regardless, it was the first contact she'd actually had with the others in such a long time, she was willing to read it over a hundred times.
Dear Rainbow Dash,
So I'm guessing you didn't get any of our letters, because it turns out Spike's flame network is currently down for maintenance. We really don't know for certain just how long it's been like that. I'm really sorry about that. There was so much everypony wanted to say to you. I considered having everypony rewrite their messages so Ulquiorra could give them to you himself. But after a lot of thought, I just couldn't see the point in that.
That's not to say we didn't think you were worth it, because we certainly did. But we figured that we'd just wait and tell you what we had to say when you get back.
We're so, so close to being able to see each other again, Rainbow Dash, I swear. Zecora estimates that we can have the cure ready in six days at the most, meaning you could be back home in at little as one week's time.
One week. That's a promise that's going to be kept no matter what. I promise that it's a promise that's going to be kept.
Signed,
Twilight Sparkle
Rainbow Dash sighed as the note once again came to a close, folding up the piece of parchment, and hugging it to her chest as she rolled over to face the back of the couch.
"I miss you girls so much..."
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So, about that hiatus tag...
I don't really see what's so rushed or lacking about this particular chapter, dude. You're doing great. Meanwhile, my own updates have yet to receive more positive feedback.
And again on September 13 2015
An update?
...
Me: Woohoo!!
So Ulquiorra is forming his own version of the Avengers with Spike being Thor? What's next Shining Armor as Captain Equestria?
That second deleted scene...
Not sure if Meta.
Good chapter in my opinion, even if you consider it rushed. I was hoping to see a bit of action this time but I admit that this chapter was necessary. Many points were addressed and there is finally some progress in the main plot. Maybe your anticipation for the events ahead is the cause for your concern? I know that in my (limited) experience with fiction I can find myself writing just to get to the parts I am excited for. I give my praise to the editing done as well, I only saw one minor mistake.
Thanks for the new chapter and I look forward to the next update.
6420202 THE META WAS ALMOST DEADPOOL LEVELS!!
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Nice subtle jab at yourself in the second deleted scene.
I am glad your back. I hope that you had a nice relaxing and calming hiatus which helped you accomplish what you needed to get done.
Can't wait for the next update!
6423043 Keep reading; you'll get your answer before Chapter Twenty, at least.
Dat ship tease doe
6419174 shh don't acknowledge it.
I'm baaaack!
Sorry to keep you waiting on this Charlie, but my little camping trip is over and I'm ready to dive back in to the story.
And on that note, this chapter's turned into a nice little interlude before the big things start happening again. Enjoyed reading the solution to Spike's inadequacy problem, now he just needs the red cape...
Also, who knew? Apparently Celestia's hugs are a panacea.
Below are the edits for this chapter:
*same new-mode,l single - same new-model single
*complete an assigned, simply - complete an assignment, simply - or - complete an assigned duty, simply
*even hotter before, practically - even hotter than before, practically
*"And if this does turn out to be such a story, then the author behind it is without any doubt, a very sick fuck of an individual, who deserves to be summarily executed for the degree of suffering they have put everyone through," he added. - ...You do realize that you're basically describing yourself right now?
Ulquiorra is getting impatient? Oh. My.
And that second deleted scene: priceless
This story? Rushed???? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
6439037
In terms of production, maybe not. In terms of quality, that feels debatable.
Something occurred to me, regarding Twilight's difficulty in directing her lightning spell:
Wouldn't it be theoretically possible for Twilight to circumvent her targeting difficulties by using her telekinesis to embed multiple metal "conductor points" into a target before casting her lightning attack? Needle shuriken, for example, could act as many individual conducting points to attract the lightning attacks. And if she were able to unleash the needles in a volley, that could reduce the preparation time even further, while also limiting the target's ability to evade.
She would need to regularly replenish broken or lost needles, of course. But it would be a minor inconvenience compared to the practical casting difficulties it would solve.
What do you think, Charlie_K?
6446353 lol I suppose that's where all the body parts go that Pinkie doesn't use
I kinda want to see this happen in an omake or outtake, or something.
(Lengthy post below, be advised)
Having gone back to reread the story up to the present, I now have a strong suspicion that the currently-deceased King Sombra is somehow involved with not just the current in-story crisis, but the S.U.D. (Spontaneous Unicorn Disintegration) matter as well.
First, the crisis itself. Nightmares, day terrors, brainwashing, and possession are the main ones that are currently tied to the current in-story conflict.
Now, for the supporting points that strongly implicate King Sombra.
From Chapter Seventy Six:
In canon, King Sombra was also active in the time before Luna's banishment to the moon. What we know of canon King Sombra links up almost flawlessly with the events currently taking place in this story.
Now, I know this fanfiction takes place after Sombra's defeat in canon, but supporting material (the comics) indicates that his conscious (and very angry) essence is still contained within his horn, the sole remnant of his former physical being.
If we assume that King Sombra can move throughout Equestria as an undead spectre to some extent, then the events behind the current conflict start to make more sense. It is likely that he cannot physically attack or kill a particular victim himself, due to a spectral form leaving him non-physical. Which 'limits' him to possession, slower-acting magical corruption over time, and S.U.D. events of course.
Unfortunately for Sombra, he is unlikely to be content with remaining as a literal ghost of his former self, so what we are witnessing in this story could very likely be his attempts to buy himself enough time to restore his physical form, and regain the use of his full power array. And if he indeed exists in a spectral form, he may be 'skimming' the land for mana and energy to restore himself with; if his physical body is truly nothing more than just a horn now, he will likely require a lot of magical energy to reconstruct his physical body with.
Actually, if he's skimming the land for mana this way, then the S.U.D. makes even more sense when the aftermath is considered. Quoting from Chapter Seventy Two:
Unicorns are massive reservoirs of potentially usable mana. But that mana is contained and sealed under nearly all circumstances... except for S.U.D. events. With detonations leaving the area positively saturated with loose mana, Sombra would have an easier time bringing more back to his horn, and speeding up the rate of his restoration.
As to why he doesn't do this on a constant, frequent basis? Well, cover-blowing risks aside, it may very well be that Sombra can't do it to any Unicorn that he wants to. Inducing an S.U.D. event may require a varying amount of magical energy to act as the 'spark', which introduces a few reasons as to why these detonations have been stated in-story to be exceedingly rare:
1. Sombra requires magical energy to restore himself, which means that spending too much energy on trying to detonate more Unicorns would simply make his resurrection process take even longer.
2. The 'spark' needed to detonate a Unicorn core may not be equal between two individuals with identical mana levels. The amount needed for most Unicorns with healthy mana reserves may make S.U.D. detonation attempts a futile and wasteful use of Sombra's scarce remaining mana for the vast majority of Unicorns.
3. Finally, Unicorns at Sweetie Belle's age or younger may simply not have enough mana to warrant blowing them up. Not enough to justify the risk Sombra takes every time he does find a 'safe' detonation victim.
Now, you might ask "Why doesn't he just do all of this within the Crystal Empire?" Well, consider that the Crystal Ponies who have lived through King Sombra's reign probably know exactly what his presence 'feels' like, no matter what form he might take. Considering that he held control over the Crystal Empire for over a thousand years before his 'final' defeat, they'd likely become aware of him the moment that he tried to influence any of them.
The rest of Equestria is unlikely to have this degree of familiar awareness to what Sombra's presence feels like. The Mane Six and the diarchy lack the extended length of exposure that the Crystal Ponies possess, preventing any pony—and Ulquiorra—from quickly recognizing an otherwise unmistakable enemy. And if his remaining horn is the only thing currently allowing his spectre to continue existing, then that's all the more reason to avoid the Crystal Ponies that would instantly detect him; they would likely destroy his last remaining 'anchor' to the physical realm.
On a related and slightly humorous note, if the above theory is even remotely true for this story, then I can't help but imagine a spectral Sombra gathering loose mana for his horn like a Worker unit in a video game would gather resources. By himself.
So... many... return trips!!
6661538 *loud applauding*
7129625
6419856
I would like to think that Ulquiorra is actually trying to turn the mane six + Spike into your proper stereotypical super hero team. I could already see RD becoming a form of Shinigami/Vizard/Arrancar hero, and Twilight becoming a Naruto Styled Ninja Hero (Just using Mana and Magick Spells, instead of Chakra and Jutsus)
6420202
This Comment...
Not sure if a Futurama meme.
6446882
I like this idea
6661538
Looks possible, it might be interesting to see the story go in this direction
Spike has ascendended from baby dragon to baby paladin! 😁