Episode 17: Bitter Enemies
Episode 17: Bitter Enemies
“Okay, everyone stop!” shouted Limestone as the group was just outside a gas station at the cusp between the suburbs and downtown area. Adagio jerked back and forth in the zipper line of Sonata’s hoodie as she skidded to a halt alongside Aria and the rest of Pinkie Pie’s family.
“What are you doing? We have to keep moving, idiot!” growled Aria, but Limestone didn’t so much as flinch at the angry siren’s tone and just glared right back.
“Yeah, no,,” said Limestone, “Now that we’re nowhere near our exploding house, its time for some answers! My little sis is back there, fighting some crazy invisible monster with a freaky copy of herself, and that one,” she stabbed a finger at Adagio, “Is a floating talking doll! Someone, I don’t care who, is going to damn well explain what is going on right now!”
“Limestone Pie, watch your language,” said Pinkie Pie’s father sharply, though he almost immediately gave a worried look towards the sirens, “Although I confess to wishing dearly to know what is befalling my daughter.”
“Ugh, there’s no time for that!” exclaimed Aria, throwing her hands up, “You know what, I don’t even care what happens to you lot. Sonata, Adagio, let’s just ditch these losers and get back to the shop. It's about the only safe place in the entire city right now.”
“We can’t ditch them Aria,” said Adagio with a firm voice, “You want to try explaining that to Pinkie Pie after this is all over?”
Aria didn’t have a response to that, only looking away with a tight faced frown. Adagio then looked at Limestone’s angry eyes and said, “But Aria is right we don’t have time for this. You’ll have to wait for explanations until we get to a safe place. I don’t want to leave any of you behind, but my sisters lives matter to me too, so please just trust us for now, okay!?”
Limestone looked reach to chew and spit rocks, frustration written over every angle of the girl’s faded purple features. It was only when Marble Pie stepped forward, quietly putting a hand on Limestone’s arm and giving her sister a comforting look that Limestone started to relax, running a hand through her straight granite gray hair. “Okay, okay fine. But when we’re in the clear one of you better tell us what’s going on, you hear me?”
“Fine, but let’s get moving,” said Adagio, but just as the group started to head out again they heard a voice call out behind them.
“Hey guys, over here!”
All eyes turned to see Pinkie Pie standing at the corner of the gas station, waving to them. Immediately Adagio was filled with confusion. Had something gone wrong and Pinkie Pie had been sent to catch up with them for some reason? Maybe Sunset had decided they needed an escort?
“Daughter, are you alright? What has happened?” Pinkie Pie’s father asked, taking a step forward, but was stopped from going further by an upraised arm from Maud, who had moved to stand between the group and the mysteriously arrived Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie had a fearful look on her face, but something about it felt off to Adagio, “The big mean monsters hurt Fluttershy. I need help carrying her! Quick, over here!”
Sonata looked down at Adagio, “Guess we’d better help.”
Something about this didn’t feel right to Adagio. She didn’t know Pinkie Pie very well at all but from what little she did know about the bouncy pink girl it seemed very odd she’d abandon her friends in the middle of a fight, even if one was injured. Besides if Fluttershy was injured then why drag her here instead of a hospital? In fact if Pinkie Pie could carry Fluttershy this far, why did she need help now? Where was that unnerving doppleganger?
“This is fishy,” she said.
“But Dagie, we’re fishy,” said Sonata.
Adagio gave her sister the stink eye, “I’m serious! Something's wrong here.”
However as they were talking Maud Pie was already striding forward, silent and staring at the Pinkie Pie before them. Pinkie Pie smiled sweetly, “Oh, good, Maudie is really strong and won’t have any trouble carrying Fluttershy! Over here, she’s right around the corner!”
When Maud reached Pinkie Pie, instead of following the eager girl around the corner of the gas station, Maud instead cocked an arm back and decked Pinkie Pie squarely in the face with enough force to send the girl sprawling like a rag doll into a parked car at the edge of the street. Her entire family gasped, Limestone shouting, “Maud! The hell!?”
“That isn’t Pinkie Pie,” was all Maud said, nose twitching, “She doesn’t smell at all like our sister.”
Before anyone could respond the Pinkie Pie laying on the ground suddenly twitched and floated up into the air, limbs and head twisting around with loud cracking noises, her face showing a sardonic grin as she spoke in a darker, deeper voice, “Guess I should have expected I couldn’t fool all of you. Really, what’s the point of regrowing this lure and making it visible to you mundane humans if I can’t pull the wool over the eyes of one idiot girl? Oh well, guess we’re doing this the fun way!”
Suddenly the false Pinkie Pie twisted even more, pink flesh blending to a darker, distorted red as the body revealed itself as a tentacle like appendage which whipped down at high speed and wrapped around Maud, lifting the girl into the air as she struggled. Then the back half of the gas station exploded outward into chunks of plaster and rubble as a large humanoid figure lumbered through it. Adagio looked up, and up, and then gulped.
“Hey, at least he’s not as big as some of the other ones have been,” said Sonata with a nervous giggle.
“Is that really the issue here!?” shouted Aria.
The Hollow that had emerged before them was around the size of a street lamp, with a broad human shaped body covered in coarse green fur that then gradually became the color of dried blood around the arms. A large mantle of fur, like a cloak, spread from his back, concealing most of the form of a giant sword, all except the red cloth wrapped hilt sticking up from his right shoulder. The entire center of his chest was taken up by the gaping Hollow hole that Adagio could see right through, and his face was still largely obscured by a grinning Hollow mask, but it was clear there was a human-like face inside the mask with glaring red eyes. Three tentacle appendages stuck up from the top of the mask, one of which being the one that was now holding Maud tightly.
“Let my daughter go this instant!” shouted Pinkie Pie’s mother, trembling while being held by her husband. Limestone was desperately looking around, grabbing up a broken piece of wood plank from the destroyed gas station wall as if to use it as a weapon. Marble was huddling down, holding her head and closing her eyes as if refusing to accept what was going on. Meanwhile Maud, despite being wrapped tightly in a inhuman tentacle, looked rather unconcerned, though there was a cold hardness in her eyes that belied her real emotions.
The Hollow glanced down at Pinkie Pie’s mother, and Adagio thought she saw the creature’s mouth twist in a mocking smile, “Why, Cloudy Quartz, you can still see me? I’m surprised. I would’ve thought you’d have lost that power after the Soul Society had their way with you.”
Adagio looked over at the older woman, wondering what the Hollow was talking about. It was clear that most of the Pie family couldn't actually see the Hollow, only that Maud was being held up by some invisible force, but Cloudy Quartz was looking right at the Hollow’s eyes. The older woman looked equal parts frightened and righteously angry as she shouted, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, monster, but you’ll drop my little Maud this instant or I’ll-”
“Ha! You’ll what!?” the Hollow loomed tall and menacing, “The Soul Society sealed your memories and your power once they had what they wanted from you and your circle of friends. Now history is repeating itself with your daughter and her friends, only now I’m pretty sure Soul Society isn’t going to let them go about their merry lives with conveniently sealed up memories. No, if I know the Soul Reapers, they’ll try to control those girls, and if that doesn’t work, they’ll destroy them. Hmph, I’m practically doing you a favor by trying to get those girls to Hueco Mundo. As Hollows at least they’ll be free, rather than slaves.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying...” Cloudy Quartz moaned, looking more and more lost. Her husband held her tight, not even being able to hear the other side of the conversation but knowing his wife needed him.
“Well, since none of you are running away I assume you understand escape isn’t possible. With all the Hollows I have attacking around town I doubt anyone can even sense I’m here, so the distraction is going just like I wanted. So, let’s get down to business,” the Hollow said, lumbering forward, reaching down towards the group with both of its massive hands. Limestone shouted a wordless cry of anger, charging and swinging with the piece of wood in her hands. Aria grabbed Sonata’s hand and started to drag her away. Cloudy Quartz was thrown back by her husband as he tried to shield her and Marble.
Little of anything they did was fruitful. Limestone’s wood plank broke on the Hollow’s hand as he snatched her tightly in its grasp. Aria and Sonata only got a few paces before the other hand grabbed them both. Adagio was only barely able to fly out from Sonata’s hoodie, now floating around in the air and watching on in horror as her sisters were lifted up by the Hollow along with Limestone.
“Hmm,” the Hollow hummed in a musing tone, “Will four hostages be enough? Probably. Now, as for the rest of you, do tell those girls who I have, and that I’ll be waiting for them tonight... oh, let's say at the city dam. A nice neutral location for finishing this at. Tell them that if anyone other than those girls show up, well...” he squeezed his hands and the tentacle he had around Maud, constricting all of those he’d already grabbed. Sonata and Aria both cried out in pain, while Limestone mostly growled. Maud remained silent, even as her body was painfully constricted.
“Damn you...” Cloudy Quartz said, tears falling down her face.
Adagio, feeling like her heart was being constricted alongside her sisters, fearful and twisted up inside at seeing the pain on their faces, forced herself to say, “Fine, we’ll tell them! Just stop hurting my sisters you bastard!”
“Good, good. Let them know Grand Fisher is ending this game tonight. I’ll look forward to seeing them there-”
“My oh my, you do like to talk, don’t you?”
Adagio turned to look along with everyone else, Grand Fisher included, to see that Discord was standing perfectly poised on top of the gas station’s sign, wearing his customary green and white striped hat, black and green robes, and open sandal clogs. Adagio also noticed he was leaning both hands on a cane in front of him, a strange, twisted piece of gnarled wood that made Adagio feel a bit uneasy just looking at it. Discord’s red on yellow eyes gazed intently at Grand Fisher. “Then again, if I recall you’ve always been a chatty sort, haven’t you, Grand Fisher?”
“Discord... how’d you find me, amid all those conflicting spiritual pressures? Even you shouldn’t be able to sense specific reiatsu with so much of it filling the air,” Grand Fisher said, taking a step back.
“Hm? Oh, I suppose you’re right about that,” Discord said, scratching his nose and frowning at the distant scenes of battle, “Getting all these Hollows here, keeping the local Quincy and Soul Reapers busy, I’ll admit it was clever of you. All this chaos is a perfect cover to make a play like this. If it weren’t for those three,” he gestured at the sirens, “I’d never have found you. Good thing I placed a tracking Kido on those passes I give all my employees.”
“Always prepared for everything. Soul Society really should have disposed of you when they had the chance,” Grand Fisher muttered, taking another step backwards.
“Funny,” said Discord, his eyes narrowing dangerously, “I was thinking the same thing about you.”
Both moved at the same time, too fast for Adagio to properly follow. Grand Fisher jumped backwards and up into the air, while Discord flashed forward, holding his cane in one hand now like it was a sword, and was in one instant suddenly behind Grand Fisher. He swept his cane around and slashed with it, and Adagio saw a strange discoloration in the air around the cane, like a slick of gasoline. Whatever it was she couldn’t see more as in the blink of an eye Grand Fisher’s tentacle was severed from the top of his head, and Discord caught Maud before she could fall more than a few meters.
“Argh! Again!? Always with the lure getting torn off!” Grand Fisher growled, landing and immediately jumping again to put himself above the gas station, while Discord set Maud down.
“Thanks,” Maud said to Discord, dusting herself off and, without any preamble, went over to a nearby chunk of concrete from the mostly destroyed gas station, and picked it up in both hands as she narrowed her eyes at Grand Fisher, “Now put my sister down.”
“Pfft, as if you could even hit me with that at this distan-” Grand Fisher managed to half-way say before the chunk of concrete smashed into his face, knocking him out of the air.
Discord nodded appreciatively at Maud, “Very impressive, my dear. I can see you have more than a little of your mother in you.”
“...”
“Right, not the talkative sort,” Discord said, “Well, let’s finish this up. I hate to deprive Miss Applejack of her thematically appropriate revenge, but I really don’t need the headache having those girls fight him would entail.”
“Then hurry up and take him down!” shouted Adagio, “Before he gets away!”
“Hah! Too late!” said Grand Fisher, the void-like mouth of a Garganta portal opening up behind him as he pointed one finger at a spot just between the gas pumping stations. Discord blinked in surprise as the Hollow fired a narrow, crimson Cero beam from his finger, the beam burrowing into the concrete, leaving a melted hole in the ground.
There was only a second of time before the explosion came, the Cero having struck the fuel line underneath the gas station. Adagio saw only a bright flash of light and then felt a concussive force throw her out of the air. She bounce on the ground, and for once she was glad to have a body made of plush cotton and cloth, since the impact was fairly light and didn’t hurt nearly as much if she’d been made of flesh and blood. She was still dazed and had to blink a few times before the world stopped spinning. Floating back up she half expected to see nothing but a big smoking crater and a bunch of bloody chunks, but to her surprise the Pie family was still alive and intact, as was Discord.
Discord’s cane had changed shape, the gnarled wood transformed into sharp, unusually tinted metal. The metal had a prismatic sheen to it, like oil on water, and its entire form was crooked and bent in a series of awkward angles that barely kept a sword’s shape. Only the hilt remained similar to the cane form, with a head carved like some strange beast with a twisted antler and horn. Around Discord and encompassing the Pie family was a barrier of distorted air with the same prismatic, oily color as the blade. Around them was a circle of undamaged ground, while the rest of the gas station was a blackened crater.
As Adagio floated forward, she saw that Discord looked exceedingly angry, perhaps the first time she’d ever seen him show such emotion. The reason why became clear a second later as Adagio noticed that Grand Fisher was gone, the only trace of him being the last vestige of a closing Garganta portal. The Hollow had escaped, taking Limestone, Sonata, and Aria with him.
Discord took his hat off, dusting it off on his pants, “That was careless of me.”
Adagio was staring at the spot where Grand Fisher had escaped through his portal, “Where did he take them!? Can’t you go after them!?”
“Most likely he took his hostages to Hueco Mundo, though he can’t afford to keep them there for long,” Discord said, “Mortal forms can’t survive long in a spiritual realm without some means of protection. If Grand Fisher wants to keep his bait he’ll need to reappear in the living world sooner rather than later. And no, I can’t go after them. Not fast enough, at any rate. Garganta portals are exclusive to Hollows, and to create one of my own I’d need time and materials.”
“He...” Cloudy Quartz gulped, holding back tears, “He said he wanted to meet with Pinkie Pie’s friends, at the city dam tonight.”
Discord nodded, expression calm and controlled once more, “That's a problematic spot. It will limit how much power the young ladies can use without risking damaging the dam itself. Still, I can deal with him swiftly enough to remove that risk.”
“He said those girls have to show up alone, otherwise he’ll kill the hostages.” said Adagio, growling under her breath, “It's too risky for you to go anywhere near that damn. If you’d just stopped him here we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“The gas station exploded,” stated Maud bluntly, staring at Adagio, “Most of my family would be dead if this strange bearded man didn’t use his magic sword to protect them.”
“Strange bearded man...?” Discord mused with a quirked eyebrow.
Adagio looked at the ruins of the gas station, and growled in frustration, because Maud had a point. Grand Fisher blowing up the gas station had forced Discord to choose between protecting the helpless members of the Pie family, or to go after the Hollow and his hostages. There hadn’t really been much of a choice there.
“Alright, fine, but now what do we do?”
“We get the rest of you to safety, that’s what we do,” said Discord, “The rest we’ll worry about after that.”
----------
Rainbow Dash streaked downward, three flying Hollows close on her tail. The ground spiraled towards her, and she saw a set of power lines strung between electrical poles coming up quickly. Face splitting in a daredevil grin she increased her speed, air howling past her. At the very last second she tucked her wings in, passing through the narrow space between power lines, then immediately snapped her wings out to pull up hard. She went soaring back upwards while the three Hollows, nowhere near as fast or agile, ended up tangling into the power lines in a shower of sparks. She laughed, seeing another Hollow leaping up from the ground to try and catch her between its claws, but she just charged her fist with lightning and smashed the Hollow’s face in, sending it smoking remains plummeting back to the ground.
Rising back into the air, Rainbow Dash felt a shiver down her spine and glanced behind her just in time to see the baleful glow of a Cero beam cascading towards her. Banking hard to the left, she felt searing pain in her right wing and arm as the beam crossed within inches of her dodging form, the proximity enough to burn flesh.
“Argh!” Rainbow Dash cried out, wincing as she clutched at the burns on her arm. She also noticed the tips of her right wing were heated red, like metal left amid hot coals for too long. She could feel pain there as if it were a limb of flesh. It was almost enough to make her drop out of the sky but she forced herself to stay upright as she looked for the source of the Cero.
Of course it was a Gillian. There were at least six of seven of the things in the area, through most were being dealt with by that cocky woman with the bow and her little soldier buddies in white. Rainbow Dash had noticed a bunch of those guys swarming around down below, firing off arrows of light at the various lesser Hollows rampaging around. She had to admit that while a part of her felt like she and her friends ought to be able to handle this on their own, it was nice to have these bow wielders around to thin out the small fry and keep the majority of the big guys distracted.
The Gillian that had fired at her looked like it was about to charge up another blast, but was thrown off balance as Rainbow Dash’s friends assaulted it from street level. She saw Applejack and Sunset both working together to leap up and attack the Gillian’s left leg, while Rarity and Pinkamena went after the right leg, both teams coordinating their efforts to weaken the Gillian’s stance and throw it off balance. Applejack’s metal clad boot, boosted with thrusters of yellow energy, crossed paths with Sunset going the opposite direction, flashing by with her Zanpaktou slashing through the air like a silver streak, both attacks forming an X pattern that cut through the Gillian’s black clothed leg in a shower of brackish dark blood. Meanwhile Rarity had transformed her rapier into a long crystalline blade whip and alongside Pinkamena, who had shaped her arms into long tooth covered tendrils, lashed at the Gillian’s other leg to carve out chunks of cloth and flesh alike.
The result was that the Gillians’ second Cero went entirely off course and blasted upwards into the sky, missing Rainbow Dash entirely, while also staggering the Gillian to it’s knees. .
Growling away her pain, Rainbow Dash muttered, “Okay, my turn.”
She threw herself into a dive, teeth grinding tight against the agony in her right wing, which was even smoking slightly. She cut through the air like a missile, leaving a rainbow streak laced with lightning in her wake as she flew straight for the staggered Gillian’s face.
“Rrraaggh!” Rainbow Dash roared wordlessly, electricity coursing from her wings, down her arms, and pooling in her fists as she held both out in front of her, not unlike a battering ram, and smashed into the Gillian’s forehead and discharged all the lightning at once. A crack of thunder and flash of blue light followed a massive jarring up and down her arms, but she felt the hardened bone-like mask give way under the blow and crack. She rebounded backwards, seeing she’d left a smoking hole in the Hollow’s mask, but the Gillian still wasn’t down yet.
Howling, the Gillian opened his mouth, intense crimson light forming another Cero, aimed straight at Rainbow Dash, but then at the last moment Sunset, flashing into the space above the Gillian’s head, let out a deep warcry of her own as she slashed down with her Zanpaktou, targeting the spot Rainbow Dash had hit earlier. The blade carved into the bone mask, and then Sunset fell, using her own body weight to drag herself down the Hollow’s face,and a good portion of its chest, almost like an old pirate movie hero sliding down a sail, cutting a spray of black blood from the Gillian.
The Hollow let out one last bellow before its body began to disintegrate into white motes of ash, leaving Rainbow Dash to land, breathing hard, while Sunset wiped the Hollow’s blood from her Zanpaktou.
“Nice moves, Sunset,” Rainbow Dash said, giving a pained thumbs up, her arms feeling numb. Sunset smiled back wanly, looking pretty tired herself.
“Same to you. Really dig your Thor impression.”
“Heh, I need a hammer for that. Hey, wouldn’t that be awesome if I could summon up one of those? Maybe I should order one online, just to complete the image.”
“Ahem, if you girls are done chatting, we have more company,” said Rarity, pointing out that a number of lesser Hollows were rushing them from side alleys and down either side of the main street. Sunset nodded, calling out, “Everyone, form up!”
Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena hopped over, Pinkamena grinning hungrily at the approaching Hollows. Fluttershy rushed over, looking at Rainbow Dash with worried eyes.
“Rainbow, you’re hurt! Let me heal you,” Fluttershy said, focusing her eyes on Rainbow Dash, but she quickly held up her hand.
“Save it for now. There’s no time,” she said, and it was entirely accurate as the lesser Hollows were mere seconds from reaching the group of girls as Applejack reached them as well, and all six girls formed a tight circle, ready to take the charge of Hollows head on.
Rainbow Dash braced herself, wings spread, lightning crackling from them, and didn’t have time to even contemplate the pain in her arms before the Hollows reached them, then it was all pure chaos and the heat of the instant to instant struggle to fight. She saw Sunset carve into one Hollow, then pull her high speed ‘Flash Step’ to get behind and decapitate another. Out of the other corner of her eye she saw Rarity, blade shifted now to a curved scimitar, dance out of the way of one Hollow’s outstretched claw, only to lop it off a second later. She didn’t see Applejack, but heard the girl’s explosive kicks smashing into Hollows on the other side of the group, and Pinkamena’s mad cackling as she literally sunk her teeth into the enemy.
But that was all Rainbow Dash could see of her friends before she was fully occupied with the Hollows in front of her, ducking one slashing pincer from a centipede-like Hollow before lashing out with a lighting laced uppercut that sent the Hollow flying. She staggered back from a wolfish Hollow’s biting maw, using her wing to block the attack before spinning around and cutting loose with a kick that knocked the Hollow off its feet. She heard a growl behind her, seeing a tall bear-like Hollow rising above her, huge claws poised to strike, but she then heard Fluttershy shout, “Stop!” and the Hollow froze in place. Rainbow Dash grinned and jumped up, using her wings to spin around and deliver a roundhouse kick to the bear Hollow’s face, blasting a bolt of lightning through it.
“Thanks for the save,” she told Fluttershy, then gulped when she saw a frog-like Hollow leaping for Fluttershy from behind, “Watch out!”
Fluttershy wheeled about, raising her hands in instinctive defense, but the frog Hollow was plucked out of the air by a stretching pink arm covered in snapping mouths, Pinkamena pulling the Hollow to her gaping main mouth, which was wide enough to swallow the struggling Hollow whole. Crunching noisily, Pinkamena then burped. “Yummy!”
Rainbow Dash sighed, finding Pinkamena exceedingly creepy, but grateful that Pinkie Pie’s weird doppelganger was on the ball.
One by one the Hollows that had tried to swarm the six girls were cut down, leaving a pile of dissipating bodies and the six friends standing there, all panting to recover their breaths.
“Well, I think this counts as our aerobic exercise for the next month,” said Sunset between breaths.
“I... I think I’m reaching my limit,” Rarity said, wiping sweat from her brow, “I can’t seem to keep my crystals as hard as I was. They’re getting brittle.” She examined her sword with a critical eye, and Rainbow Dash did notice the red crystals forming the scimitar shape around the rapier were chipped in a few places.
“Having trouble keeping things hard is usually a guy problem, Rares,” said Rainbow Dash, wincing at Rarity's withering look.
“This is hardly the time for jokes, Rainbow Dash! We’re in a spot of trouble here in case you hadn’t noticed!”
“Hey, we’re hanging in there, Rares, chill out,” said Rainbow Dash, shrugging, and grimacing at the pain the lanced up and down her arms from the move. The burns on her right arm, and the painful ache in her left, were getting harder to ignore. She was pretty banged up, she had to admit, if only silently to herself.
Leaning down, hands on her knees and breathing hard, Applejack also gave Rainbow Dash a quick glance, “Happy yer havin’ fun, Dash, but Rarity ain’t makin’ no tall tale ‘bout us runnin’ outta steam here.”
Rainbow Dash had noticed the same thing, in truth. While their training and sparring with each other over the past week had increased each girl’s stamina and ability to maintain their transformed states, none of that had come close to how draining this continuous fighting was. Taking on these Gillians, along with all the lesser Hollows, was tiring in a way their training just couldn’t match. Still, they had to work with what they had, because it really was do or die.
Especially since there was another Gillian stomping towards them.
“How many more of these things are there?” asked Rarity, running a hand through her hair, “I’m not entirely certain we have the energy to wear down another one of these over-sized disasters of poor fashion sense. I mean, really, those black cloaks are entirely without imagination!”
“Well then let’s do this fast,” Rainbow Dash said, flying over between Applejack and Sunset, holding out her arms, “Grab on! I’m flying you up to that jerk’s face, and we’ll take him out in one shot!”
Sunset looked at her incredulously, “Can you even lift both of us?”
Rainbow Dash turned a meaningful look towards Fluttershy, “I can if Flutters gives me a boost.”
“I... I can try,” Fluttershy said between panting breaths, looking even more beat than the rest of them, sweat soaking her face, “I feel so tired... but...” She gulped and with an exhausted by determined look focused all three of her eyes on Rainbow Dash, the pool of blue light flaring bright. Rainbow Dash felt a surge of energy inside her, like a fitful spark, and she grabbed hold of Sunset and Applejack.
“Okay, here we go!”
“Don’t forget me, tasty blueberry!” cried Pinkamena, jumping onto Rainbow Dash’s back and wrapping her arms around the other girl’s neck, giving Rainbow Dash a sloppy kiss on the cheek, “I’m coming too.”
“Ugh... you need to go on a diet,” Rainbow Dash grunted as she flew upwards, carrying her three passengers. She wasn’t nearly as fast as she’d normally be, rising into the air at only a jogging pace. “The rest of you guys, try to distract it!”
“With what!? My charming good looks!?” Rarity shouted back, then winced as the Gillian roared, raising a foot to try and stomp down at the girls still on the ground, “Oh for the love of- Next time someone else can be the distraction!”
Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all broke into a run as the Gillian tried smashing them with its feet. The rushed down the street, the Hollow slowly stomping behind them like a kaiju from a Japanese monster movie. Several lesser Hollows tried to block the girls’ path, but Rarity surged ahead to dance among them, thrusting rapidly with her rapier to pierce Hollow masks and clear the way for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to keep running. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash rose higher and higher, until she was above and behind the Gillian’s stomping form.
“Here we go!” she said, and swooped down towards the back of the Hollow’s head. Landing on it, she dropped off Sunset and Applejack, while Pinkamena hopped off on her own. The Gillian paused, feeling the four girls on its head, and it had a moment of confusion before all four girls struck.
Applejack raised her leg in an axe kick straight down atop the Hollow’s head, while Sunset stabbed down with her Zanpaktou as hard as she could, stabbing the blade into the Gillian all the way down to the hilt. Pinkamena flipped over onto the Gillian’s nose, balancing there like an acrobat, then grinned wide with sharp teeth gleaming as she sunk her gaping maw into the Hollow’s mask, tearing out a large chunk. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash flew around, down, then up in a curving arc to deliver a lightning charged uppercut to the Gillian’s chin.
The combined assault was enough the crack the Gillian’s mask and stagger it, but it wasn’t down yet. Rainbow Dash flew up and shouted, “AJ! Grab on!” and the farm girl didn’t hesitate to grab Rainbow Dash’s outstretched hand. They both swung around, and Applejack didn’t need to be told what to do. Dash flew faster and faster, now aiming straight for the Gillian’s head even as it saw her and charged up a glowing red Cero beam.
Rainbow Dash let out a wordless battle cry, as did Applejack as her boots both burst with thrusting flames of gold light from the heels, increasing the girl’s already incredible speed. Right before the Gillian could discharge its Cero beam both Rainbow Dash and Applejack impacted with its mask, right between the eyes. Applejack’s boots crunched through white bone, while Rainbow Dash electrified wings seemed to act like blades, carving into, and then through the Hollow’s flesh. As a result the Gillian’s head split in half, causing its body to fall and start to vanish. Rainbow Dash flew rapidly around, snatching up Sunset and Pinkamena as they started to fall. She then began to descend in a slow circle, watching the Gillian’s body dissipate entirely by the time she reached the ground with her friends.
Pinkamena was still chewing a bit of Hollow, swallowing loudly as she said, “Hmm, not bad at all. Nice blend of flavors, and goes down so smooth.”
“...Ick,” was all Rainbow Dash said, slumping to her rear in exhaustion.
“Double ick,” Sunset agreed, looking like she wanted to do nothing more than fall flat on her face and lose consciousness, sweat dripping from her chin. “Anyone else feeling pretty much like they’re running on fumes.”
“Heh, ya gettin’ tired already Sunset?” Applejack asked between gasping breaths, “I’m just... just startin’ ta git my second wind, here.”
“Oh come off it AJ,” said Rainbow Dash, “You look as beat as the rest of us.”
“I don’t know about you guys, but I feel fine,” said Pinkamena, licking her lips, “Really you human types are so easily winded.”
“And what are you, if not human?” asked Sunset, “I mean, seriously, why are you so different than the powers the rest of us manifest?”
Pinkamena laughed, shrugging, “Who knows? Far as I’m concerned, I’m Pinkie Pie’s better half, but it's not like I know how I was born.”
“Is everyone okay?” asked Fluttershy between panting breaths as she, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie ran up to join the group. Rainbow Dash gave a thumbs up, glad to see her friend’s worried face briefly wash over with relief.
“I’m good. Mostly. Kinda beat, but hey, we’ve taken down two of the big guys so far,” she said, then glanced around at the surrounding battlefield, “And it doesn’t look like there’s many left.”
She was exaggerating, in part. Whoever that woman was with the bow, she and her little soldier pals were doing a good job cutting down the Gillians in the area. Even as she’d spoken Rainbow Dash could see the woman streaking around the sky on a disc of blue light, her bow acting like a gatling gun as it fired sweeping barrages of arrows that turned another Gillian into a porcupine before the arrows exploded, shredding the giant Hollow in seconds. It was a bit rankling to see the woman dealing with such foes so easily after Rainbow Dash and her friends had needed to use almost all their power and skill to take down the two they had.
Sunset seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she straightened her back from where she’d previously been hunched over, cracking her neck and taking a deep breath, “With Pinkie Pie’s family in the clear we’ve done what we needed to. It’s probably time for us to clear out as well.”
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere,” said Applejack, “Any o’ you girls wanna toss in the towel, that’s fine, but long as there’s Hollows in my town, I’m fightin’.”
“I don’t disagree with the sentiment AJ,” said Sunset, clear understanding on her face, ”I’d rather keep fighting too, but we’re all running low on energy here and I’m not sure how much longer we can keep this up.”
Rainbow Dash winced, feeling the burns on her arm even more now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, “I’m... I’m not that bad off, really. I could keep fighting.”
“Rainbow, those burns look pretty bad. Let me take a look at them,” said Fluttershy, coming over and gently touching Rainbow Dash’s arm, just around the edges of the burns. The girl’s blue and gold glowing eyes were now back to being filled with deep worry as she said, “These could get infected without treatment. They’ll scar if I don’t heal them. How can you even still be standing? This must hurt so much.”
“I-It’s nothing,” Rainbow Dash said, jaw tight as she tried not to focus on the pain, “Just got a little too close and personal with one of those crazy energy beams.”
Applejack looked on as Fluttershy started to focus her third eye upon Rainbow Dash. Very slowly the burned flesh started to clear up, but before long Fluttershy let out a shuddering breath and nearly collapsed onto her friend. Pinkie Pie and Rarity were there in an instant to help proper the drained looking girl up on either shoulder.
“Yikes, Fluttershy, you’re looking kinda ghosty there,” said Pinkie Pie, frowning and pulling out a candy bar from a back pocket, “Need some sugar to pick you up?”
“No, I’m... I’m just so tired,” Fluttershy said, and all at once the glow from her eyes faded and her luminescent third eye closed, her pony ears and tail vanishing in a burst of light. Rainbow Dash suddenly felt a hard stab of guilt having asked Fluttershy to give her that boost earlier to carry the other girls in attacking the Gillian, and then letting Fluttershy try to heal her.
Sunset looked at the scene with concern etched on her face, then turned back to Applejack, “Alright, if you want to stay and fight, I’ll stay as well, but the others should return to the shop to heal and rest up.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” said Pinkie Pie, “Splitting up the party is always a bad idea.”
“Much as I would love to get off my feet and wash off all this sweat and blood,” said Rarity, brushing strands of hair from her haggard face, “I wouldn’t feel right leaving any of you behind to fight while I took a breather.”
“I...I feel the same way,” said Fluttershy, “I just need a minute, then I can keep going, I’m sure.”
“You know me, guys,” said Rainbow Dash, “Since when do I ever quit?
Sunset looked around at her friends, and Rainbow Dash saw the other girl smile with a helpless shake of her head, “You guys are some of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met.”
Rainbow Dash just grinned, “You know you love it.”
The air was filled with the sound of Hollow howls, and all the girls turned to see that they had more company. Dozens of more lesser Hollows were pouring into the street, a mish-mash mass of beastly creatures with countless different features, some bipedal, others looping along on all fours. Rainbow Dash saw there were at least a dozen more fliers this time as well, and she cracked her knuckles. “These guys really don’t get tired of being pounded on, do they?”
Sunset gripped her Zanpaktou tightly, “We’re definitely the popular crowd today.”
Pounding her fist into a palm, Applejack snarled at the oncoming Hollows, “Alright ya varmints, come on an’ git ready fer a boot where the sun don’t shine!”
“The bravado is appreciated, but let’s keep focused, girls,” said Rarity, blood red rapier at the ready in front of her, “We’re rather outnumbered.”
Pinkie Pie’s ear suddenly twitched, followed by her left leg, then her nose wiggled, “Hey, I know this sign! It’s sign for a dramatic arrival of the calvary!”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash glanced back at Pinkie Pie, only to blink as a blue arrow streaked by her, flying into the oncoming Hollows and hitting a Hollow squarely between the eyes, blasting its mask apart.
Several more arrows flew into the horde, slowing its advance slightly, and giving the girls a second to glance back behind them. Standing awkwardly on top of a car, a glowing blue bow of light in her right hand, Twilight Sparkle nervously waved at the girls.
“Um, hi! Uh, c-can I help?”
“Twilight...?” Sunset gasped, and Rainbow Dash could only silently echo the shocked sentiment in the other girl’s voice. The last Rainbow Dash knew, the egghead was at her family mansion, safe and sound. What was she doing here!? More importantly, where had she gotten that bow of azure light from? It looked just like the-
“Waitasec, Twilight, where did you get a bow like that!?” Rainbow Dash blurted.
“Umm...heh... tell you later?” Twilight said with a nervous laugh.
“Girls, ain’t time fer gabbin’! It’s time fer fightin’!” Applejack shouted, lashing out with a snap kick at the first Hollow that reached the group. Rainbow Dash spun around as well, fists charged with lightning, ready to pummel the first Hollow that got in her reach. There’d be time to figure out what the deal was with Twilight once they weren’t fighting for their lives.
----------
Shining Armor could tell the Gillians were starting to break. Their numbers had been cut down but more than half by now, and none of them were attacking his barrier anymore. To him that was a clear sign it was time for a final push to end this.
“Men,” he commanded to his waiting soldats, who had been easily wiping out the few lesser Hollows that had managed to sneak through the few cracks in his barrier, “We’re moving out!”
With a mental command he dispelled the Festung des Lichts, the dome of light flowing away like water. He’d considered keeping it up, but it was better to free up the energy that’d take to instead go on the offensive. Besides, in a few minutes he didn’t think there’d be any Hollow’s left, and now that he could sense Soul Reapers out there, he didn’t want to be stuck in the center of town.
He went well ahead of his soldat company, easily able to outpace his troops, but he trusted them to catch up and clean up any stragglers Shining Armor missed. As he rapidly jumped from building to building, then summoned the glowing discs of reishi under his feet to go fully airborne, Shining Armor started to pick out clusters of lesser Hollows and with deft shots from his bow started to take them out without breaking stride.
He sensed Cadence’s location up ahead, and saw several Gillians up ahead that were tearing into each other like wild beasts. That, he knew, was part of Cadence’s schrift power as Sternritter L. Just as his power was “The Bastion”, hers was “The Lust”, and it allowed her to magnify primal desires inside her targets to the point where they could no longer think or act normally, while she controlled those primal instincts like a puppeteer. It was little wonder there weren’t many Gillians left on her side of the battlefield, and Shining Armor was only able to finish off the ones that were busy eating each other by the time he got there.
“Worried about me, love?’ asked Cadence as Shining Armor shot apart the last nearby Gillian. She was sitting cattily upon a street lamp, legs crossed. She had her holy bow out, a deep red and pink lined cross-bow mounted on her right forearm with a thick, heart shape to the bow portion of it. Through small and seeming innocuous compared to many Quincy bows, Shining Armor knew Cadence’s bow was exceedingly dangerous, not only able to deliver the power of the Lust through its bolts, but capable of piercing almost any defense, even his own barriers shaped by the power of the Bastion.
“Just making sure each flank is clear now that we’ve got them on the ropes,” he said simply, glancing westward towards where he sensed his father and mother alongside two spiritual pressures he knew to be Soul Reapers. He even recognized who the Soul Reapers were. “It looks like your ‘colleagues’ are over there finishing off the Gillians alongside my parents.”
Cadence smiled brightly, “Yes, do you think it’d be rude of me to go say hi to them? I mean, I know we’re not in our civilian personas at the moment, but it’s always nice to exchange pleasantries with Celestia and Luna.”
Shining Armor sighed, “Best not to. They may know we’re Quincy, and act friendly enough, but the fact remains we’re enemies of those two women and everything they stand for. Courtesy is one thing, but we’re not friends with them.”
“Oh, Shining, friends and enemies are not mutually exclusive concepts,” Cadence said as she floated up next to him on her own disc of blue reishi, and kissed his cheek lightly, “I like Celestia and Luna, even if I might have to kill them one day.”
A part of him always felt a tad unnerved when Cadence talked like that. She was among the most sweet and loving individuals he’d ever met, but she could also talk about killing her enemies with the same casual affability that she could speak of going to get lunch with friends. He loved her no less for it, but it did tend to leave him wondering at times what kind of woman he’d fallen for.
“Well, let’s hope that day isn’t today,” Shining Armor said, frowning. He knew his mother and father fairly well, and understood both held a deep rooted hatred of the Soul Reapers that went beyond what Shining Armor had merely absorbed through being raised a Quincy. Both Night Light and Twilight Velvet had lost friends and family alike over the years to the Soul Reapers, long before Shining Armor or Twilight Sparkle had been born.
Cadence might be able to think of certain Soul Reapers in such an ambiguous light, and even Shining Armor didn’t hold much personal hatred for them beyond what was his duty, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if, as soon as the Hollows were dealt with, the battle didn’t end, but just shifted targets.
Suddenly Cadence frowned, turning to look across the town towards the south end of town. “Well, that’s that then.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” asked Shining Armor.
“Your sister, you told her to stay at the mansion, didn’t you?”
Feeling a rather abrupt chill Shining Armor said, “Yes...” he then groaned, “She’s not there, is she?”
“No. She’s gone to her friends,” Cadence said, lips pressed tightly, “I’m not sure how she sneaked past Robert, but she’s out there with her friends now, and they’re about to be neck deep in Hollows.”
Shining Armor looked back and forth worriedly between here he sensed his parents battling Hollows near the Soul Reapers, and the faint sense he had of the fighting to the south where Fleur De Lis was, along with Sunset, her friends, and now his sister. It was hard for him to define just what had him more worried, the possibility of Twilight being hurt, or the fact that it would be near impossible to keep her training a secret now. He was going to have a very awkward conversation with his parents, soon. Oh well, he’d known that was a risk when he’d decided to train Twilight. He just hoped the training was enough to keep her alive.
Cadence just put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. “Go to your sister. Keep her safe. I’ll go back up your parents.”
He nodded, “Thank you. Be careful. Celestia and Luna are not our allies, remember that.”
“You be careful as well, my love.”
----------
Celestia held her pale hand before her, watching with passive calm as three of the remaining Gillians lumbered towards her. She had not drawn her Zanpaktou from their sheaths, nor did she have any intention of doing so unless it was absolutely necessary. Her sister preferred the art of the blade more than Celestia did, but that was not the reason she kept her blades sheathed while Luna was tearing through Hollows with reckless abandon with her own twin blades. No, Celestia kept her Zanpaktou sheathed because there simply wasn’t any reason to do otherwise. She only ever drew her swords upon foes she knew without a shadow of doubt she couldn't defeat without needing their devastating power. For all else, Kido sufficed.
“Sprinkled on the bones of the beast. Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring.” Celestia intoned the Kido chant, a swirling torrent of golden lightning forming a growing orb within her outstretched palm. “Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!”
The Gillians, sensing the massive build up of power in the air, responded by charging their own crimson Cero beams. Celestia just smiled in a small, coy manner as the Hollows fired their beams of destruction towards her and she finished intoning her Kido.
“Hado Number Sixty Three: Raikoho!”
A massive stream of thunderous lightning flew from her hand, cutting through both the air, and the incoming Cero beams with equal ease. The incredible bolt of electricity tore through the Gillians as well, charring their upper bodies to smoldering ash and leaving the air smelling of raw ozone.
Behind her another Gillian approached, its black cloaked body shifting as an arm appeared from the folds of its body, a massive clawed white hand reaching towards Celestia. She glanced towards it, but didn’t need to make any move to evade, as the hand, and indeed the rest of the Gillian, was blown apart by a spiraling blue orb of energy that tore through it, leaving neat holes the size of cars through the Hollow before its head was also blown apart. As the slain Gillian vanished in motes of white light, Celestia looked towards the one who vanquished it.
“My thanks for the assistance,” she said courtesy to Twilight Velvet, who only looked at Celestia with a cold, ice hard expression. Velvet was carrying a weapon that was only vaguely a bow in any sense of the term. The massive weapon was carried on the shoulder almost akin to a rocket launcher, but it was shaped more like a ludicrous cross between an arbalest and an old fashioned cannon. Intricate scroll work like ivy covered the cannon barrel, which had the curved, elegant bows of an arbalest stretching out from it on either side, while towards the back the cannon was patterned to resemble a single carved wing. Twilight Velvet held the massive weapon with the ease of something that weighted next to nothing, a single firing grip in her right hand while a padded mount balanced the rest of the weapon on her shoulder.
“I wasn’t ‘assisting’ you,” Twilight Velvet said dryly, “I was just killing Hollows, of which there are few left to slay today. I would suggest not being in my sights when that happens.”
“There’s no reason for us to be hostile towards each other right now,” said Celestia, “For the moment we have a mutual enemy.”
“Which doesn’t change the fact that you’re still our enemy,” said Velvet in a razor edged tone. Celestia suppressed the urge to groan in frustration. There were few within Soul Society who believed that peace was a possibility, but Celestia had remained an advocate for keeping the possibility of diplomacy open with the Quincy. Ultimately she felt that the constant fighting between the two factions was a fruitless endeavor that only left them both more vulnerable to the schemes of the Hollows. Yet it seemed bloodshed remained an inevitable outcome whenever Soul Reapers and Quincy encountered one another.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, but I tell you now, Twilight Velvet, it will neither be I or my sister that strike first,” Celestia said evenly, “And despite how you feel about me, I have done nothing but treat your daughter fairly since she came to my school.”
“Don’t pretend that earns you any points from me,” Velvet said, “You maintain that public persona just to keep an eye on the portal at that school. If you cared at all for those students then you’d never have let that foreign world’s magic threaten the school in the first place.”
Celestia shook her head, knowing arguing further was pointless, and refocused her attention on the matter at hand. There were almost no Gillians left, however. In fact as she took stock of the area, she saw the last Gillians on that side of the city fall to a combination of powerful arrows from what she recognized as Night Light’s spiritual pressure, and the swift striking blades of her sister. There were still lesser Hollows by the dozen in the area, but the Quincy foot soldiers, the soldats, were finishing those off.
“Well then, I shall collect my sister and we shall be on our way,” she told Velvet, “Unless of course you are determined to make a fresh battle of this?”
The other woman's face was a hard mask, Twilight Velvet’s pale blue eyes filled with frozen anger. She glanced to the side as Luna appeared next to Celestia, and a moment later Night Light appeared next to Velvet.
“Sister,” Luna said, “Are you... unhurt?” Luna’s eyes glared suspiciously towards the two Quincy Sternritter. Night Light kept his bow out, eyeing Celestia with guarded respect, the kind of look one gave an enemy that one knew was strong enough to be a threat.
“I’m fine, Luna,” Celestia said, “Really, you did most the work. I just cleaned up the leftovers.”
“Captain Celestia,” Night Light said, “I’m not under orders to engage any Soul Reapers today, but I’d appreciate it if you and your sister vacated the field first.”
“There are still Hollows to be slain,” said Luna, looking southward, “I still sense a few Gillians and a fair number of weaker Hollows to the south... hmm... strange, I also sense another Soul Reaper.”
Celestia nodded, “That must be Clover.”
Night Light’s eyes gave a small twitch, “If you have comrades in that area, then you’d best go collect them. I assigned Fleur De Lis to cover the south, and she’s the shoot first, ask questions never sort. She won’t hesitate to fire upon a Soul Reaper if she sees one.”
Luna’s eyes flashed dangerously, “Then she’ll fall to my blade before that happens.”
Velvet’s cannon-like crossbow snapped up in an eyeblink, “Assuming we even let you leave so easily.”
Before Celestia could say anything another woman appeared between them, and she instantly recognized Cadence’s pink skin and colorfully multi-toned head of hair. It was a little depressing to see the dean of Crystal Prep in her Quincy uniform, an unpleasant reminder that for all their friendly talk in their civilian personas they were very much on opposite sides.
“Before anyone engages in the messy business of mutually trying to murder each other, might I suggest postponing that until it becomes absolutely necessary?” said Cadence in a light, almost casual tone that reminded Celestia of how the woman often talked and put others at ease as a school dean.
“Cadence, where’s my son?” asked Twilight Velvet, not lowering her weapon, but easing her finger off its trigger.
“He’s going to back up Fleur and... ensure everything is cleaned up on that end,” said Cadence, “He’ll take care of things. I came just to see to it that there wasn’t any necessary complications here.”
“We were merely concerned for the safety of a fellow Soul Reaper,” said Celestia, “Apparently this Fleur individual is somewhat prone to acting without thinking, or so we’ve been told.”
“Ah, yes, Fleur is a tad...” Cadence waved her hand in search for the right word, “Bloodthirsty. Don’t worry Celestia, Shining Armor can keep her under control. It really is for the best if you and Luna just... return to your school. Let us finish things up here.”
Celestia glanced towards Luna, who in turn looked at Celestia out of the corner of her eye. They’d never truly needed words to communicate with each other. They’d been together for years beyond what Celestia could count, and knew her sister’s body language so well that she could read Luna’s thoughts without a single word being spoken. Luna wasn’t going to back down. It wasn’t that Luna hated the Quincy, Indeed she’d confessed in quieter moments to even having a certain fondness for Cadence, who’d been among the most courteous Quincy either sister had ever met, but Luna had her own sense of honor and it wouldn't allow her to leave a battlefield before the fight was over or all allies’ safety was secure.
As long as Clover and, perhaps even more importantly, Sunset and her friends were still in danger there was no chance of convincing Luna to just return quietly to Canterlot High.
It was with a grave look on her porcelain features that Celestia looked to Cadence, “I’m afraid I don’t think that will be possible, Cadence. I ask that you allow us to go collect our comrades, then we shall retreat, but not before.”
Cadence’s eyes filled with grim disappointment, “That’s... truly unfortunate, Celestia.”
“Yes...” Celestia said as she slowly reached to the twin Zanpakutou sheathed at her side and drew them with the sound of soft ringing steel, “It truly is.”
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I hope Grand Fisher gets his next chapter or two. And now the others now about Twilight being a Quincy, also hope the sort it out.
It keeps ramping up every chapter.
well sunset got to do something finally other than fail im glad
also verry good chapter i really enjoyed this one and the drama is building up nicely
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
That was really good and I half expected a certain stray bass cannon beam to appear because of all those red cero I accidentaly imagined one to be blue.
Calling it now: someone's getting a Tactical Rainbow Nuke sooner or later. Probably some gloaty asshole. I can just see somebody from SS thinking they know everything about their powers and that they aren't a threat changing their tune rapidly right then... if they aren't the target.
Also: if anyone can figure out how to get Quincy weaponry to mimic Zanpakuto purification, it's Twilight.
Also also: Maud uses Interrupt! It's Super Effective!
... ... Yep. Just like Bleach I end up wanting all factions involved wiped out. The Soul Society in the source material is distressingly like nazi germany with all manner of unethical, horrific experiments, backstabbing, and persecution of a minority (the Quincy) along with the charismatic and maximally murderable leaders and well intentioned idiots mixed in. The Quincy meanwhile have all of the rationality and appeal of the Catholic Church during the crusades, with only a respectable portion of the hypocrisy and just as big of a hate-boner that seems to be infested with a nasty case of politics. The hollows are just... this sprawling mess of nonsense that I think the manga writer slapped together to have a convenient monster to fight after the first two types (lessars and gillians).
Thankfully this fic is pretty strongly deviating from the source material but at the same time it's just... making me hate those involved in a whole new way. So uh, good job on that.
Well, THAT certainly got awkward fast...
Oh man, I really love those Maud parts!
And with Grand Fisher putting his plan in action and the tension between Quincy and Soul Reapers on the battlefield growing more and more tense... The next chapters will be something really messy!
And here I was hoping Discord would put Grand Fisher down, like Ichigo's dad did in the show. Also really wanting to see Sunset's shikai soon.
Celestia & Luna v Night Light, Twilight Velvet and Cadence? That's going to be sick.
the Grand Fisher needs to get eaten by pinkamena that is all there is to it
twi and shining r in so much shit when they get home
Well this can't be good. And the Pies having some relation to SS as well? Bount theory looking stronger and stronger.
OOH BOY! Things are getting quite heated aren't they? Looks like a big battle is going to take place next chapter! I look foods are to the mayhem! Lol.
Anyhoo, it seems Applejack's family isn't the only ones involved with SS. Pinkie Pie's is too. I wonder...
And finally Grand Fisher awaits at the Apple Farm. Seems to me that Applejack just might get her revenge after all! But will she be blinded by it? That is the question.
See ya next update!
7354589 It seems to me that in this 'verse, instead of the Crew (in Bleach it's Orihime and Chad while in Friendship Souls it's the Mane 5+1) getting their powers from constant long-term exposure to Ichigo's Spiritual Radiation, the Mane 5 got theirs due to some sort of cabal their parents were involved in before they were born.
7356321 Hmm. Yea. You've a point there!
Italicized word should be 'Hado'.
“Yeah, no,,”
only now I’m pretty sure Soul Society
Cloud Quartz was thrown back
Soul Society really should have
She bounce on the ground
staggering the Gillian to it’s knees. .
down the Hollow’s face,and a good
The rushed down the street
“Worried about me, love?’
It was with a grave look
1. Extra comma.
2. Only now I'm pretty sure the Soul Society.
3. Cloudy.
4. The Soul Society really should have.
5. Bounced.
6. Its, Extra fullstop.
7. Forgot your spacing.
8. They.
9. Meant to be a closing quotation mark.
10. Extra spacing.
Well, this is going from bad to worse. Also, dang my prediction for Twilight revealing her power. So close (not really) and yet so far (totally).
All this racial hatred is depressing. Again, Maud rules.
Straight from the wiki:
I really need to get back to reading this at some point.
Sigh, I really fucking hate the blind hatred between the Quincy and Soul Reapers. Granted, something like 2 or 3 entire story arcs are devoted to the interaction so whatever, but it's just so senseless.
*sigh*
All this senseless fighting between what could be great allies. Or, well, considering the ideological differences, neutral but not hostile parties.
I both love, and hate the next chapter due to how senseless the violence between quincy’s and soul reapers are.
Man the Quincy are so self righteous. The soul Society aren’t angles by any means, but they are focused on afterlife and balance stuff. Unless something is revealed in later chapters that I haven’t seen yet, then the Quincy faction is the most hypocritical of them all. As much as they claim being for humans, I wonder how much they have helped normal humans.
Have they used their incredible power to stop any normal wars, helped any normal humans outside of saving them from hollows? Topple any dictatorships? Certainly doesn’t seem like it. Seems they are more interested in doing a forever war with soul society and hollows while forcing citizens/minors of other countries to fight for them, than improving the living world.