Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls

by thatguyvex

Episode 191: Things Forgotten

Episode 191: Things Forgotten

It’d been so long since she genuinely had to act in a role that Chrysalis had to admit with no shortage of grudging self-irritation that she’d lost her touch somewhat. Sure, fooling the less than attentive guards at the entrance to what was once her hive had been a simple affair, and she was still keeping up a mask of innocence for the casual observers who might see her trot by in her disguised form... but the whole affair was becoming draining. Everywhere she went, she saw smiling, happy, colorful Changelings living their new lives in peaceful enthusiasm and cheer. It grated on her like an ice cold sliver in her brain. It was like her people never needed her at all! Flushed the memory of her, their queen, down the drain like yesterday’s offal.

It brought the mocking laughter of her Hollow counterpart back to her own memory, the snide and chiding way that creature had degraded her and slapped her in the face with her own powerlessness and failures.

There was almost no controlling the scowl on her face whenever she wasn’t being directly looked at, and she knew the innocent smile she flashed when one of her Changelings did look her way was far more forced than it should have been. Back when she was on top of her game she could slip into any role seamlessly. Now she had the distinct feeling that Platinum was having a much easier time of this than she was. The Soul Reaper had gone to scout around where Chrysalis had kept the hive’s old vault, while Chrysalis herself was on her way to the spot next to the fountain in the main courtyard where she’d agreed to meet up with that obnoxious child, Ocellus.

It somewhat bothered Chrysalis that she couldn’t even remember if Ocellus was one of her own, or one of the ones born among her drones later. She supposed it didn’t matter, really, but the thought stuck like a small prickle barb in the back of her mind.

When she saw Ocellus, Chrysalis wasn’t surprised to notice the child had a couple of friends with her, both equally young. One was a painfully orange female with the unfortunate combination of neon green streaks on her chitin and wings the same sparkly shade. The other child beside Ocellus was male, and bore bright violet chitin along with soft pink wings and frills not unlike Ocellus’. As she approached, the trio saw her and Ocellus waved and they all flew over.

“Hi Vespid! I’m glad you showed up,” said Ocellus, gesturing to the pair beside her, “This is Spinneret and her brother Fuller. We’ve been pals ever since the Big Change.”

Chrysalis barely managed to smile and kept her brow from twitching. She didn’t ask what the ‘Big Change’ was, considering if she was a resident she ought to already know, and it wasn’t exactly a big exercise in brain power to work out what it meant. The Changelings had only one ‘Big Change’ happen to them that would’ve required the title. As for their names, Spinneret made sense to her, and it could have been a name she might have picked out herself, but 'Fuller' was an odd one. She was sure she'd never named any of her children that, so perhaps these two were second generation?

“Pleased to meet you both,” she said, nodding to the brother-sister pair.

“So you’re Vespid, huh?” Spinneret said, buzzing her wings as she hovered around Chrysalis, arms crossed as she eyed her up and down with a smile that had a little fire in it, as if she was sizing up a rival rather than merely greeting. While it partially annoyed Chrysalis, she also felt a tiny twinge of satisfaction. At least a shred of her old Changelings was still present in a handful of them. “So why haven’t I seen you around before?”

Spinneret's brother, Fuller, visibly blanched at his sister’s behavior and said, “Spin, ease up, will you? She’s probably from one of the families that were out doing spy stuff before the Big Change.”

“Oh, right, ol’ Queeny really did send us all over the dang place to infiltrate, back in the day,” Spinneret said, sighing with a flat look on her face, “So that it, huh? You and your big sis were out there spying and stuff when Queeny went kaput?”

Chrysalis felt her jaw grinding a little, but she still smiled and nodded, “Something like that. The old Queen did have a lot of our people acquiring vital information on potential targets before... going ‘kaput’.”

Ocellus looked at her with sympathy and came up to her, putting a hoof on Chrysalis’ shoulder, which she instinctively pulled away from. Physical contact was... not comfortable for her, at least when she wasn’t the one initiating it for her own purposes. Ocellus blinked at the way ‘Vespid’ reacted, and demurely looked away, “Oh, um, sorry. I just wanted to say I’m sorry you and your sister had to go through that. I heard from my parents that infiltration work was the hardest, and most dangerous thing from back when... when she ran things.”

“It... wasn’t that bad,” Chrysalis said, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation. What was Ocellus talking about? Infiltration wasn’t that difficult! Her entire race was practically born for it! And her spies were highly skilled. She never sent anyone out into the field who hadn’t proven their capability, and they almost always returned with good results... almost...

Looking away she said, “But that’s in the past. Big sis and I are totally happy that everything is all shiny, colorful, and happy-happy joy-joy around here. Yup, so glad that the old Queen is gone. Hahaha.”

Ugh, if this keeps up even the most dimwitted among these fools will figure out there’s something off about me. Get your head in the game, Chrysalis! Even if you’re people abandoned you like a ratty old dishrag, you’re still Queen of the Changelings! Act like it!

Flashing what she hoped was a more natural smile, she said, “Seriously, though, I’d rather get to playing rather than chatting about back then. Let’s find something fun to do.”

“New girl has the right idea,” said Spinneret, hovering around with an excited buzz, “We could play Change and Seek outside the hive.”

“C’mon, Spin, the guards won’t let us stay out very long anymore,” Fuller said, “Why don’t we just go to the roof and hang out there?”

“No, that’s totally boring. We literally do that almost every day, Full!”

Ocellus cleared her throat politely, “Maybe since Vespid is our new friend, she could decide what we do?”

The three young Changelings all looked her way, and Chrysalis flashed a confident grin as the situation provided the ideal circumstance for her to take advantage of. While she could feel the faint pressure in her mind that told her the Relic was somewhere in the hive, pinpointing it would require getting close. Spinneret's suggestion of Change and Seek was a perfect excuse to join Platinum in checking out the vault area, and then the caverns even deeper beneath the hive. Change and Seek was much like the more conventional Hide and Seek that the other species played, with the primary difference that the Changeling participants were encouraged to get as creative as possible in transforming into local flora, fauna, or even mundane objects if they were skilled enough to pull it off. She’d invented the game to train her children, and it was at least a little gratifying to see it was still a pastime for them.

“I like the idea of playing Change and Seek, but if we can’t go outside, we’ll just find a good spot to do it inside the hive. How about down in the lower levels?”

Ocellus blinked, “But... um, K-King Thorax doesn’t like us going down there, right?”

‘Vespid’ gave Ocellus a look of practiced peer pressure, finally getting a bit of her groove back as she smiled in just the right way to seem reasonable as she put just a hint of disappointment into her otherwise friendly voice, “Well I guess that’s true, but has he outright forbidden it?”

“Not exactly, but-”

“Then come on, Ocellus, the game is way more fun when there’s lots of places to hide, and if you don’t go down there very often aren’t you curious to see it? There’s even the vault I heard the old Queen kept. Who knows what’s in there?”

Spinneret giggled, her green eyes flashing with mirth, “Oh I’m starting to like you, Vespid. The King keeps the vault guarded, but I bet we could get a peek inside.”

“No way, sis!” Fuller said, “I don’t mind playing down there, but let’s not get ourselves into trouble, either.”

“Pfft, King Thorax is a big softie, Full. Even if we get into trouble, it’ll be a slap on the wrist. Totally worth checking out the vault!”

Time to push the idea a bit further, Chrysalis knew, and said with keen interest and child-like playfulness, “We could go even further than that. I remember hearing about all sorts of old caverns and tunnels down there. It’d be fun to explore them.”

Fuller and Ocellus exchanged worried looks, but Ocellus managed a small smile and shrugged, “I guess it’ll be okay, as long as we don’t go too far.”

“Yeah, but... well, okay, fine, but if something goes wrong, I officially don’t know any of you,” Fuller said, to which Spinneret snorted.

“Uh, dude, we’re siblings.”

“I still disavow any knowledge of ever having known you. Spinneret? Who’s that? Must be talking about some other poor sap’s idiot sister who got him into trouble.”

As the children bantered, Chrysalis allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction. It looked like things were slowly turning her way.

----------

Or perhaps not. Chrysalis felt a stab of undesired and thankfully brief respect for that idiot, Thorax. While security up top had seemed lax, apparently the buffoon had decided to concentrate protective measures on the one place where Chrysalis kept useful and dangerous items. In her days as Queen, she certainly kept a few guards on the vault doors, but otherwise couldn’t imagine her own people trying to break into the place. Thorax, apparently, had decided to take extra precautions. There were twice as many guards in the narrow hallway than Chrysalis had posted in the past, and from the buzz of magic she felt in the air, he’d also brought in some of those blasted Equestrian unicorns to add protective wards to the walls and big, thick stone doors.

“We’re, uh, not getting in there, not even for a peek,” said Ocellus, sounding quite understandably relieved. They were hiding at the far end of the hallway, whispering to each other, and Chrysalis barely contained her seething frown.

“It appears not,” she said, wondering if Platinum had already scouted here and was now looking for her? She didn’t sense the Soul Reaper’s reiatsu nearby, but that didn’t mean much. Chrysalis was still very unfamiliar with spirit energy, so Platinum could probably sneak up on her without much trouble. As for the guards, they weren’t much more attentive than the ones at the hive entrance had been, but there were six of them, all playing some kind of game with... marbles? Must have been an imported Equestrian thing.

“Well, crud, but guess we can still play,” said Spinneret, scrunching her nose in disappointment, “I really wanted to see if ol’ Queeny actually kept trophies from each conquest in there.”

“Ew, why?” asked Fuller, “I don’t even like thinking about her.”

“Oh don’t get me wrong, things sucked when she was in charge, and life is way better now, but I did kinda think she had... I dunno, style? Thorax is a cool King and all, but Queeny had way more presence.”

Ocellus looked at Spinneret with an almost sunken, pale look, “I... think the word you’re looking for is ‘fear’. She... kept all of us in fear.”

Spinneret blanched, her gossamer wings drooping, “Yeah, I guess so. I was scared of her too, but I suppose I’m the weird one, because she also seemed strong.”

“Then why did she ditch us the second the Big Change happened?” Fuller asked, “She just buzzed off and left us all behind, like we were nothing to her.”

“That’s not what happened!” Chrysalis shouted, immediately regretting it as not only did the three young Changelings look at her with startlement, but the guards down the hall stopped their game, one of them speaking in a loud, seeking tone.

“Who’s down there!?”

“Aw crud, scram guys!” Spinneret said, and the four of them took flight, buzzing down the hall as fast as they could away from the vault. After a minute of swift flying, the four found themselves in a lower hall, one that was more rough worked stone than shaped resin, and they all worked to catch their breaths.

“Whew... close call,” Fuller said, wiping his brow. Ocellus nodded in agreement, but her eyes focused on ‘Vespid’.

“Hey... what did you mean back there? ‘That’s not what happened’?”

Her mind scrambled fast to come up with an explanation, and Chrysalis kept her voice steady as she said, “I mean, I just... I was there like everyone else was that day. I don’t think...” Her mind reeled. She didn’t abandon her hive! It was they who abandoned her! “I mean, the old Queen had to flee, didn’t she? We’d all... changed, and she was facing multiple Equestrian alicorns, that blasted- I mean, that unicorn, Starlight Glimmer, the Element Bearers, even Discord himself was there! If she’d stayed and fought, she’d have lost instantly. I guess I’m just saying I don’t really see how she could have stayed, and saying it was abandonment isn’t...”

“But she could have just taken that unicorn’s hoof,” said Ocellus, “I was there, too. I saw that Starlight Glimmer mare offer Chrysalis a hoof. The old Queen slapped it away and ran. She didn’t have to do that. She could have stayed. Joined us and changed.”

Those words aggravated Chrysalis to no end, like iron hot pokers in her gut. It took all her willpower to control herself, and within the confines of her disguise she felt her Bakkoto stir, as if the spiritual weapon sensed her ire. “How could she just change everything she’d believed in and worked for in a single instant like that? Nobody just changes that quickly, especially when they just saw their whole life’s work crumble in front of their eyes.”

“What, you still a fan of hers or something?” Fuller asked, “Pharynx used to go around saying stuff like that, too.”

“I... no, I’m just saying, I... don’t think from her point of view that she was abandoning us. Maybe from her perspective, we all abandoned her.”

“Even if that were true,” Ocellus said after a quiet moment, “Thorax showed us a way that was better. I... I used to live every day being afraid of her. Chrysalis. I’d lose sleep at night wondering when either me or one of my family would be sent out on a mission that might get them hurt. I hated having to eat love from cocooned victims. I thought it was the only way, but I didn’t like a single second of it. The moment Thorax proved there was a different way, I felt so happy. I think a lot of us did. You must have, too, Vespid, otherwise you wouldn’t have changed, either.”

Chrysalis looked at the floor, taking a deep breath and trying to act the part of a simple, young Changeling that was being convinced of an argument. In truth she was roiling and screaming inside. Ocellus had hated eating love? It was the whole point of their existence! Living every day and night in fear? She’d only done what was needed to keep her people strong!

That was the truth. Wasn’t it? She’d led, and they’d followed out of devotion and loyalty. Had they all just followed her out of pure fear? Her mind kept wracking itself for details of the past. She could recall time and again her days of scheming to target the next small, remote village, ensuring to avoid drawing suspicion down upon her people by taking victims in small numbers. Missing ponies whose disappearance might have gotten a little attention, but not enough to clue the higher authorities in to the reality of what was happening. Because they’d taken their victims in small numbers, the harvested love had to be rationed. Clearly because she was the leader, and the strongest, she needed the most to stay potent and healthy, but she’d rationed effectively for the rest, had she not? How many times had she heard complaints? Not many, after cutting off rations to the few they did bellyache over it. But then that was why she’d wanted to target Canterlot itself and take the whole nation of Equestria! That way there wouldn’t be any need for strict rationing of love, or punishments for dissent, or...

...Or any of the other horrible things she’d done to keep her people in line.

Fortunately none of the other children present noticed ‘Vespid’ getting rather pale and sporting a distinctly disquieted look on her face.

“Okaaaay, can we put a lid on the serious talk?” said Spinneret, “I mean, c’mon, we’re here to play, not chat about missing Queeny’s who are probably never coming back.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” said Fuller, “I never want to see her again.”

“I wouldn’t mind it if she did come back,” said Ocellus, to which everyone, Chrysalis included, gave her a surprised look. Blushing in embarrassment, Ocellus simply clarified, “I just kind of think if she could see how well we’re all doing, how happy we all are, maybe she wouldn’t be as scared of the change, you know? She might see how good it is for us.”

‘Vespid’ looked away, suddenly finding a crack in the floor very interesting, mostly so Chrysalis could hide her expression of mixed apprehension fighting with scathing anger. Seeing how happy her hive was without her was mostly giving her an ulcer, but what got to her was the constant framing that she had been ‘scared’ of the change in her people! She wasn’t scared! She hadn’t been frightened to her very core by seeing her entire race transform into something so alien and unknown to her in front of her face! She hadn’t run away terrified of confronting the wretched notion that she’d been... wrong.

The word ‘wrong’ got stuck inside her gut like a piece of badly digested food that she couldn’t even throw up properly.

“Pfft, that’s some serious next-level optimism you’ve got there, Celly,” Spinneret said, patting Ocellus on the head, who sighed heavily.

“Don’t tease me, please.”

“Well, let’s get to playing!” Spinneret said, looking around, blinking, “Where are we anyway?”

Glad to have anything else to focus on besides the of ugly emotions inside her head, Chrysalis glanced around and recognized at least the general nature of the tunnels they were in, even if she’d never been down here much herself. “Looks like we ended up running straight into the lower caverns.”

Even as she said the words, she realized part of the unpleasant feelings inside her wasn’t just the turn the children's conversation had taken, but her headache from the presence of the Relic was gaining a sort of pulsating focus, even if faintly. She hadn’t felt much of anything near the vault, but now...?

“You know, I still feel a bit uneasy about being down here,” Ocellus said, “maybe we should just go back up?”

“No way! Now that we’re down here, we should take a look around!” buzzed Spinneret.

“What if we get lost?” asked Fuller, “I’m not eager to starve to death in some forgotten tunnel, just to satisfy your random curiosity, Spin.”

“Hold on a moment,” said Chrysalis, taking a few steps down a tunnel entrance to her left that was just a few paces down the main tunnel they were in. Turning that corner somehow felt familiar to her, as if she actually had been here before, and just couldn’t remember. When she got into the new tunnel, her eyes widened, and she popped back to wave to the others, “Hey, come take a look at this.”

They joined her in the left tunnel, and all saw that only about ten paces ahead the tunnel dipped down, but with clearly carved steps rather than a natural cave. More than that, at the bottom of the short flight of stone steps there was a big, stone door that was carved into the very wall. It had an arched top, but was set in a circular recess, surrounded by odd, carved geoglyphs. Upon the door itself was etched a square pattern filled with smaller glyphs set in random patterns, like someone’s long forgotten crossword puzzle.

“Whoooa!” Spinneret's eyes shot wide with gleaming glee, her wings buzzing as she flew forward, “Check this out! What is it!? It looks cool! I bet there’s gotta be treasure or something crazy behind this door!”

“That, or deadly traps, monsters, poisonous gas, ancient diseases, or any number of other terrible fates waiting to befall a bunch of dumb kids who mess with it,” Fuller pointed out with a flat look and dry tone.

His sister cast him a withering look, face drooped in the deepest of frowns, “You are like, the least fun.”

“I’m also alive, and would like to keep it that way.”

Ocellus approached the door with great trepidation, but also an unmistakable curiosity growing in her eyes, “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s... not something we made, right? I mean, there’s no resin anywhere, and these glyphs down look like any writing I know.”

‘Vespid’ gave her a sidelong look, “How many forms of writing do you know?” Chrysalis was rather curious, considering learning other languages and cultures was something she had encouraged for the sake of making infiltration easier, but that was usually for adult Changelings. Ocellus looked at her with a happy blush.

“Oh, I get my hooves on every book I can, now that we’re trading with other places! I read as much as I can! I only know enough to be conversational in about four languages so far, but I want to learn so much more. Heh, it’s, um, really kind of a dream of mine to travel the world and write about other places in one big book, when I grow up.”

Chrysalis blinked a few times, not sure how to process that. In the past, Changelings didn’t have time for something so frivolous as dreams. Learning was a tool for survival, of growing in power, all for the sake of gathering more hosts to steal precious love from. Now a child like Ocellus could just... learn for the sake of some dream?

Everything was different. It was starting to sink in to Chrysalis’ stubborn mind that even if she did return and reclaim her hive, it might not be possible to turn her people back into what they had been. The change was sunk in too deeply, now. Young ones like Ocellus would grow up and live entirely different lives from what Chrysalis had envisioned for the Changelings, and have children of their own who’d be born into a hive and world where her Changelings were just... stories, where she’d just be a story, some old boogeyman of yesteryear. Eventually even she’d be forgotten, and the Changelings would endure as this new... thing.

A thing she still despised, but wasn’t entirely certain she could fight or alter. It was a bitter pill to swallow, this realization that she’d never be ‘Queen’ again. All she had left was the pursuit of power, and revenge. And even the notion of revenge was starting to feel like an empty pursuit, something to do because what else was there for her?

She shoved the thoughts aside, and took a deep breath, realizing that Ocellus was giving her a worried look, probably because Chrysalis had been starring.

“Yes, well, if you don’t recognize this writing, then that must mean that whoever built this was... from a very long time ago,” she said while approaching the door. This was by far the best lead to the Relic she could imagine. From what she understood of these Relics, they were from a bygone age of wonders, where alicorns ruled in their multitudes. A mysterious door with unknown writing certainly looked like it fit the bill for a place an alicorn of ancient times might store a Relic... although it did beg the question as to why this location, of all places.

And it couldn’t be coincidence that in the modern era Chrysalis had built her hive right above the caverns housing this door. When she thought back to it, she’d had a lot of reservations about building her hive in the Badlands, excusing her whim as instead being ‘cunning’, as who’d look for a thriving population of anything in such an inhospitable environment. But... maybe she’d been subconsciously influenced by the Relic, waiting in the depths below?

Now the question was, should she try to get inside right now, or construe an excuse to ditch the children and go find Platinum, wherever she’d gone off to? Surely it’d be helpful to have the powerful Soul Reaper, who could probably take down the door herself. Granted, Chrysalis could probably brute force the door as well with any number of shapes in her repertoire. It was the rare door that could keep a powerful, determined Changeling out. Would it be too suspicious if ‘Vespid’ showed off the power and skill to break through the door? They already thought she and her ‘big sister’ were spies and infiltrators from the old days, so maybe she could pass it off as her just being skilled for her age.

The headache was pointed, acute, and she wanted to get to her Relic as soon as possible. She didn’t know where Platinum was, and who knew how much time she might waste trying to find her? No, Chrysalis was impatient to get on with this. She might no longer have known what she was fighting for, or what she even really wanted any longer, but she did know that she wanted power. If only because, much as she hated herself for the admission... she was scared. Scared of being left behind and forgotten. Scared of being the useless piece of trash her Hollow counterpart had told her she was. Scared of the notion that she’d been wrong about pretty much her entire life’s purpose and goals.

Maybe power wouldn’t fix all of that, but it sure would make her feel better. At least that’s what Chrysalis thought as she approached the door and morphed her arm into a sharp, adamantine blade, much to the surprise of the children watching.

She managed a disarming smile at them, “No worries, just a little trick my big sis taught me when we were infiltrating Yakyakistan a few years back. Adamantine can cut through pretty much anything.”

“Okay, that’s straight up wicked,” Spinneret said, eyes glowing as she looked at the blade that Chrysalis’ arm had turned into.

“Oh, you haven’t begun to see me be ‘wicked’ yet,” ‘Vespid’ said with a genuine smile this time, and started cutting through the stone door.

----------

Platinum was giving the pair a frozen stare. She’d dragged them both to the roof, well, mostly just one of them, while the other laughed and followed, but Platinum did not see what was so funny about this. “Okay young man, I know we haven’t been on the best of terms of late, but I still feel I am fully within my rights to ask what you think you’re doing following me out here. Especially with her along with you.”

Ocellus laughed like a hyena, holding her belly at Pipsqueak’s sour look. “Ohehehe, I can’t believe you caught us so quick, Mama Plat! Is this your keen, maternal instincts at work?”

Platinum wanted to smack her own face, but settled for a sharp glare at the Arrancar in the current shape of a unicorn, “I didn’t need maternal instincts to sense your spirit energies trying to sneak around behind my back. Among the Captains it remains true my spiritual senses are among the best developed. Really, Pipsqueak, you should have known better.”

He managed some small level of defiance as he held his head up, meeting her gaze with a measure of pride. While he had started speaking to her again, they remained in a... tenuous position as mother and son. “I know, mother. I am well aware the odds of successfully sneaking about behind your back were minimal, but I don’t see the issue with myself and Ocellus coming along. There is nothing of value either of us can accomplish back at that depressing fortress. It’s not a home. I hate being there.”

“It’s also super boring,” said Ocellus, and Platinum had to severely restrain herself from blowing their cover by drawing her Zanpkatou to attack the uppity little Arrancar. After all, they were standing upon the roof of the hive, which had been converted into a lovely garden where it seemed the Changelings not only enjoyed buzzing around and basking in the weather, but also set up a number of spaces to grow small crops of fruits and vegetables. Platinum wasn’t entirely sure how much good the physical food did the Changelings who fed on love, but she wasn’t too keen to question the biological mechanics of a magical world. She’d merely brought Pipsqueak and Ocellus up here because it was out of the way. With night falling, most Changelings had gone inside by now, so she could talk to these two in relative peace.

She’d already investigated the area where Chrysalis had told her the vault would be, and discovered it was well guarded. Dealing with the guards would be child’s play for her, but she’d wanted to consult with Chrysalis on the best course of action, first. However, Chrysalis had already left with those children, apparently, and Platinum sensed her grumpy companion's reiatsu down beneath the hive. She had been about to go seek Chrysalis out when she’d felt her son’s and Ocellus’ reiatsu, and uncovered the pair sneaking around, hence the present course of events.

She eyeballed the pair, her defiant son and utterly unashamed Arrancar girl, and blew out a long, deep sigh, “Well, since you’ve decided to act on your own, you may as well make use of yourselves. Chrysalis is down below, and I can only assume that it’s because she thinks what we’re seeking isn’t in the vault, but further beneath the hive.”

“Oh, so Not Mom is looking for her shiny whatchamacallit? Heheh, I wonder if she finds it if she’ll be able to stand up to my actual mother,” Ocellus said with a sharp smile that said she already suspected how such a confrontation would go, “But I hope she finds it, because that’d make things more interesting.”

Pipsqueak cleared his throat, eyeing her sidelong, “I do wish your mother would recall we’re all supposed to be on the same side.”

Ocellus giggled, patting him on the shoulder, “Mother is only ever on one side; hers. All other sides vary in importance depending on her mood and appetite. Even us.”

A disgruntled grimace crossed Platinum’s features at the blunt way Ocellus spoke of the Chrysalis from her own world. No one who’d thrown in with Starlight Glimmer were saints or wholly innocent, except her precious son of course, but Platinum still felt that Starlight had made a mistake in allowing that creature into her inner circle. Where even was that violent, hedonistic Arrancar, anyway? Platinum had not seen her recently. Had she returned to the human realm, or Hueco Mundo? It left Platinum with an uneasy feeling.

“Regardless of the Second Espada’s poor attitude or intentions, we’ve work to do here, and the pair of you can be of some help. While I go catch up with the more agreeable Chrysalis from this world, I’d like you two to perform a task that requires stealth and observation. The ruler of the Changelings, this ‘King’ Thorax, spoke with another Changeling, Pharynx, when we arrived. I heard them talking about some manner of training or exercise the pair are conducting. I’d like to know what that is.”

Her son frowned a little, scratching a hoof through his thick brown mane, “How should we do that? We don’t know where they went, do we?”

Platinum nodded at him with a calm and patient look, much as she had when teaching him various skills when he’d been younger, “By now you should have enough familiarity with magic and reiatsu, and how the two affect your senses to be able to pick out a pair of strong magic users with equally potent spirits.”

Ocellus gave a grin and quick nod, licking her lips, “Yeah, if they’re doing some kind of training, we ought to be able to feel them out, even if they flew off somewhere into the Badlands to do it. Me and Pipsqueak should be able to find them, no problem. Then we just get all sneaky-like and take a peek at what they’re up to.”

“Precisely,” Platinum said, “Remain hidden, and try to assess their strength. Our world’s Chrysalis may have defeated them and that Crystal Princess, but it wasn’t a clean victory, and by Zecora’s report those two Changelings were far stronger than the rest. If they’re working on some new trick, it’d be useful to know what it is.”

This would also keep Pipsqueak and Ocellus occupied while she and the Equestrian Chrysalis finished their business here. She had confidence they could remain unseen, and in the potential event that they were discovered, the Arrancar girl seemed fairly capable of spinning a believable lie or two.

Her son looked a bit apprehensive, but he nodded slowly and said, “Alright, mother. We’ll see what Ocellus and I can do. Um... be careful in the meantime?”

It was an awkward moment of him trying to say something that showed that, while their relationship had changed as a result of all that had happened between them, he still cared about her as his mother. Platinum felt the same uncertainty and awkwardness, not knowing what to say or how to really reach out to her son. In a sense, being out on a mission like this helped her feel more at ease because work was always easier to focus on, and for the moment they all had jobs to do. She nodded, giving a rather pony-like flick of her tail, an unconscious habit now picked up from being in a unicorn body.

“You as well, Pipsqueak.”

----------

It wasn’t very often that Hard Nail had felt much real fear while existing as the Lament, dreaded Fourth Espada. Oh, he knew fear, certainly. Every day he’d feared for the safety of his adopted family, his irreplaceable children. He knew and despised the dangers of Hueco Mundo and Las Noches, wishing only to provide some bubble of safety in which the young Arrancar he adopted could survive in relative peace.

So much had changed due to Adagio Dazzle’s entry into his life. It was her who had convinced him to take the chance of being more active among the Espada. She had befriended his two eldest daughters, and despite his concerns, Roka and Fenice seemed to start thriving when they accompanied Adagio outside the tower. Both were happier, and even the smaller children seemed to smile more when the likes of Di Roy or Gaw visited. This had, in many ways, left Hard Nail concerned, but not truly fearful.

After all, he was powerful and knew he could defend those under his charge.

Yet it was all different, now. He was no longer even truly Lament, but the soul of a simple man who had loved and lost a family in the human world, only to regain one in the most unlikely of all realms, among souls others would consider tainted and hollow. Against all odds and logic, he’d reunited with his living family, regained the memories of who he was, but in so doing lost much of the wrathful power that would allow him to protect those he cherished. In some ways he didn’t wholly regret it, despite ‘regret’ itself being once such a key element of who he was. That power he’d held, that near uncontrollable wrath, had made him a danger to others in ways he could not control. It’d led him to kill a woman who’d once been a friend, even if the circumstances may have forced his hand at the time. He’d nearly killed his wife and eldest daughter from his human family, and had their bonds to him not proven stronger, who knows how that might have turned out?

No, regret was no longer his core, but fear was a growing element in his existence as he came to understand how much power he’d lost and how much he had now to lose. How much fear can a man contain in his heart, with two precious families to protect, and nowhere near enough power to do it?

It was this fear, slick and oil stained, that grasped at his mind as he had sensed the clash of powers taking place in Las Noches. He’d felt his dear Roka and Fenice’s reiatsu, clear as daylight, and was as fearful as we was confused when he sensed the massive increase of Fenice’s spiritual pressure. And the distinctly Hollow shade that reiatsu took.

He had ordered the younger children into the tower’s shelter, as no one was present he could trust to guard them. Oh, Adagio had offered to have some of her vassals posted as guards, but Hard Nail had rejected the notion. It’d be a clear signal of weakness to the other Espada if Adagio’s forces were seen guarding his tower, when in the past Lament alone had been enough protection. That illusion he desperately wished to keep raised, at least until he found a way to recover his strength. Adagio and he had trained together, and while he was stronger than he was after the moment he’d had the Seed pulled from him, he was still only at around half of the level of power he’d once held. On top of that, the attack his wife had used to defeat him back at Everfree had demolished his left hand. At the time it had only been left as a stump. At this juncture, the skeletal bones of a new hand were forming, but the bones had no grip strength at all. His body’s regenerative powers were simply far too slow and weak and it’d likely be months before he had a functional left hand, again. This meant he’d been training with Adagio not only to try and get his spiritual energies strong again, but to get used to wielding his rather long bladed Zanpaktou in one hand.

The bottom line was that, as much as he was grateful to be back to being Hard Nail, and wouldn’t have trading his reunion with his family for any amount of power, he was still all too aware of the fact that a critical lack of it could still cost him and those he loved dearly.

So when he sensed his daughters in danger, felt the heated, violent clash of spiritual pressures between Fenice and another powerful Arrancar he suspected was one of Chrysalis’ brood, Lament had left his tower in a state of fear. This fear only grew as he sensed the battle end, his daughter’s reiatsu and that of her foe’s so intermixed he couldn’t tell who had won.

Then he sensed Tirek there, the First Espada’s spiritual pressure like a blazing scarlet sun against Hard Nail’s skin. He moved faster, leaping over Las Noche’s dunes in swift Sonido’s, as swift as his now weaker reiatsu could carry him.

“Lament,” he heard someone say as he felt a presence appear by his side. He had his hand on his Zanpaktou, but released it as soon as he realized who it was.

“Adagio,” he said, “I thought I told you to just call me Hard Nail, now.”.

“In private, yes. In public, you’re still Lament,” the woman replied flatly, but her eyes were soft, and showed him an uncharacteristic level of empathy beyond what he expected from Adagio. “Don’t worry, I can tell Fenice won.”

He blinked in surprise. She could tell, when he could not? Had his own senses dulled along with his power? Yet as glad as he was to know his human adopted daughter had survived her battle, he was still terribly fearful. What had even triggered the fight, and what was Tirek now going to do? Hard Nail had known Roka and Fenice had gone with Adagio’s two top vassals on some task to contact Thorax, but how had any of that resulted in a battle as intensive as the one that had just taken place?

“Tirek had best not touch my daughters,” he said, his fear being masked by the anger he put into his voice. Adagio looked at him as the pair flew in great, swift leaps through the air, passing the bisecting stone causeway that led from Las Noche’s main gates to the central tower. They were now in Torch’s territory, and not far from where Tirek’s reiatsu was so oppressively blanketing everything, Hard Nail couldn’t even sense his daughters anymore.

With a sensation of a tender breeze, he felt another presence catch up to him and Adagio, and Hard Nail looked to his left to see a young girl gliding through the air on steps of glinting golden light. He vaguely recognized her long, light pink hair, and butter yellow skin, recalling this was one of his daughter Applejack’s friends. Fluttershy seemed wholly out ouf place in Las Noches, wearing a leaf green, short sleeved shirt and similarly colored skirt with yellow and pink flower patterns, along with a simple pair of sandals. She looked like a girl who was about to go on a summer nature hike or visit the mall with friends, not one of the strongest members of the recently formed Coalition and someone responsible for handing Gilda, the newest Espada, a one-on-one defeat.

Fluttershy gave him a calming smile like a hand slowing his heartbeat, “Applejack says hi.”

“I... thanks, kid. I hope she’s doing okay. Heard there was a ruckus in the city.”

For a moment a sliver of cloud crossed the sunlight of her warm smile, but Fluttershy nodded all the same, “It was an unpleasantly difficult situation, but Applejack is just fine. And Adagio is right, I can sense that your daughters are alive... but there are injuries. That’s why I left the embassy to come along.”

Hard Nail felt his hand clench and jaw tighten, which were fairly unfamiliar sensations in his otherwise near deathless body. He felt a sting of his old wrath flare somewhere inside him, like a flame burning at the icicles of his fear. His one good hand clenched and drew the lengthy, curved blade of his Zanpaktou from the sheath strapped across his back. “I’ll have words with whomever hurt them.”

“Easy, ‘Lament’,” said Adagio, “Let’s hold off on lopping off heads until we know precisely what the situation is.”

At times he was grateful for Adagio’s practical mindset. Other times it only grated on him. He pressed his jaw tight and nodded silently, focused only on what was in front of them as they crossed the last leagues to where the epicenter of the spiritual pressures were located, including Tirek’s overbearing sea of reiatsu. Lament didn’t care if Tirek’s power was so vastly overwhelming, if he was so much as laying a finger on one of his children...

Lament, Adagio, and Fluttershy all appeared on the sands at the same time, standing side by side as they took in the scene. A couple dozen of Torch's warriors were maintaining a respectful distance, while Torch himself and his daughter Ember were standing next to a tired, injured Gaw and a sweating Di Roy, who in turn had a waxen featured Roka leaning upon him with blood coating the lower half of her robes from an all too obvious wound in her gut.

Not more than twenty yards from them was Tirek, sitting down with one hand on a large gourd of weathered wood from which he poured a fountain of liquid into his mouth so smelling of alcoholic content that it burned nostrils from dozens of paces away. He was laughing, and slapping Fenice’s back with enough strength to clearly make the girl grimace with the impact, as she sat in an exhausted heap next to the First Espada. With a purely disgruntled and near dead look on his face, Pharynx, charred even more obsidian than he already naturally was, and bleeding profusely into the sands, sat across from Fenice as Tirek poured more of the clear, intense smelling drink into “cups” that were more like big red bowls than anything else as he laughed some more.

“Hahahahah! Stop looking like a whipped dog, Pharynx, and drink the damn sauce! You too, girl! I’m not having the moment spoiled here, and if you’ve got even a fraction of Ravana’s blood in you, girl, you ought to be able to at least match me drink for drink! This was your father’s secret recipe, the only thing he left behind before vanishing.”

Adagio’s eyes showed a sheen of brief disbelief before rapidly adjusting to a look of calculation, while Hard Nail gave a torn look between his two daughters, his heart being yanked in two directions as he wasn’t sure who to check on first. He felt a calm hand on his arm, and saw Fluttershy’s soft gaze of understanding as she said, “I’ll look after Roka, don’t worry.”

He felt his throat tighten and he nodded, “Thank you.”

As Fluttershy went swiftly towards Roka, Adagio gestured at Gaw, who looked at her Espada with rapt attention, “Gaw, I need a report on what happened here.” She then cast a furtive glance at Hard Nail.

“Lament-” she started to say, but Hard Nail was already moving. He’d seen Roka’s injury. He saw his other daughter Fenice was bloodied and battered as well. He saw the craters pock marking the sands. Weak or not, he was acting on the flaming brand of fatherly, protective instincts. He did hear Adagio mutter some manner of unladylike swear as he flickered with the rush of a Sonido to stand amid the sitting group of drinkers, of which Tirek was still the only one to have imbibed.

“What is the meaning of this?” Hard Nail said, Zanpaktou in hand.

Tirek looked at him in the manner of a man so utterly unconcerned with the implications of violence that he actually thought it a joke, lips pulled back in a madcap grin of rictus pleasure as he drank straight from that oversized gourd again, “Lament! Just the gaunt faced ghost I wanted to see! Sit, sit! I don’t have another cup, but I’ll toss you the gourd if you fancy a drink, assuming that mummified body of yours can even feel the pleasure of getting hammered.”

“Fenice, are you alright?” Hard Nail asked, not sitting, still tense, one eye on her, the other half focused on Pharynx with a murderously cold aura. Pharynx, for his part, was breathing hard and remaining utterly silent, looking more like he was moments from passing out, and struggling to even get the cup of alcohol to his lips.

Fenice had wide eyes, half scared, half just flat out tired. Hard Nail noticed that despite her injuries, she was exuding a healthy dose of reiatsu that he could now feel under Tirek’s smothering corona of power. His blind worry had caused him not to see it, but now it was plain as day that she’d changed. Her skin was a darker shade of orange, her hair longer and similarly shaded with darker red streaks. There was an unmistakable bone white fragment of Hollow mask around her left eye in the shape of feathers, and the skeletal, single wing of bone sprouting from her right shoulder was hard to miss. He also was now seeing that alongside her Fullbring’s blade, which lay at her right side, she now had a second sword laying on her left side, in the shape of an old broadsword with an empty core.

“I’m... alive,” Fenice said, giving him a thinly twitching smile, glancing between him and Tirek, “It’s complicated.”

Tirek snorted, like a bull billowing steam from its nostrils, “Nothing complicated about it from my seeing of things. You’re Ravana’s offspring, and given the smell of you, he somehow sired you upon either a human woman, or someone doing a fine impersonation of one. Don’t much care save for the fact that it confirms he was alive for a time after vanishing from Las Noches. Hmph, could have used him all these centuries, but he always did his own thing, no matter what I’d say about it. One of the reasons I respected him, besides the fact that he could give me a fight.”

“And what happened here, exactly?” Hard Nail said, looking pointedly at Pharynx.

Fenice licked her lips, turning to look over her shoulder back towards her sister and Di Roy. Fluttershy had gone over there and brought forth the power of her Fullbring, becoming bathed in gold radiance as her shining halo formed in all its splendor and her body transformed with its additional arms and elegant green, sheer robes. A spectral hand of gold light gently touched Roka’s stomach and started pouring spiritual power to merge with Roka’s threads, Fluttershy empowering Roka’s own natural healing abilities to such a degree that flesh started to stitch together swiftly.

Adagio was watching both scenes play out with intense scrutiny while listening to Gaw, who had approached her Espada to start whispering her own report of events.

Fenice heaved out an exasperated sigh, and an apologetic look came over her face as she looked at Hard Nail, “We were kinda doing Adagio a favor, checking around the Warrens looking for Thorax, then we got side tracked and saw some things down there that this jerk,” she nodded a Pharynx, “Decided to try and kill us for seeing.”

Hard Nail felt a rush of desire to lop off Pharynx’s head then and there, and may well have done so if not for Tirek’s reiatsu spiking and the First Espada fixing him with an especially pointed stare, “You still haven’t sat down, Lament. Sit.”

It wasn’t a question, but a command. Hard Nail considered whether he could manage to ram his blade through Tirek any swifter than taking of Pharynx’s head, but the safety of his children, both his eldest daughters here and the younger ones back in his tower, forced him to control himself and sit down as Tirek bade. Tirek tossed him the gourd of alcohol, smirking.

“Drink, before you pop a vein. Pharynx was following his Espada’s orders, just like Adagio’s vassals were following hers. Fights like this happen. Besides, by all accounts your girl cleaned Pharynx's clock once she tapped into her real daddy’s blood.”

“I am her father,” Hard Nail sated in no uncertain terms, eyes like chips of black ice as he drank, feeling nothing from the alcohol searing its way down his dead throat. “I’ve never heard of this Ravana.”

Tirek nodded, “No reason you would have. His time was long ago, even before the likes of Gaia joined my ranks. There were no ‘Espada’ in that time, merely my loyal warlords. Among them, Ravana was... one of my strongest, and one of a very small few worthy of the word ‘friend’, by my own limited notions of the term.”

“What does this have to do with my Fenice?” Hard Nail asked, not really that interested in Tirek’s reminiscing of ancient times, only in how it related to his family whom he wished to keep safe.

“Father, I-” Fenice began, then cast a fearful look at Tirek, as if the insanely powerful First Espada might object to her jumping in. Tirek shrugged and nodded for her to go ahead. Taking a very deep breath and taking even longer to meet Hard Nail’s eyes, she continued, “I remembered, that’s all. Everything was so desperate against Pharynx... it forced me to remember things I made myself forget. My father was this Arrancar, Ravana. And my mother, her name was Stellar Flare. Part of something called the Star Family.”

Tirek slapped his knee hard enough that it sounded like a thunderclap, and he snatched his gourd back from Hard Nail and proceeded to drain it, tossing it aside afterward and standing up in looming fashion, “Then that smarmy, sly vixen Medley shows up and forced Ravana to ditch his own flesh and blood in Hueco Mundo. No idea if he survived, but given he hasn’t shown up lately to check to see if his daughter is alive, it’s safe to say Ravana either was cut down by Medley, or taken prisoner, which if this is the Zero Division we’re talking about, death may have been cleaner.”

“I don’t understand,” Hard Nail said, “Why would this woman from Zero Division want to target him specifically?”

Tirek gave off a dark laugh, “It wasn’t him, but the bloodline of the Star Family they were after. Only Soul Reapers with the courage to rebel, but got wiped out before their rebellion could amount to much. Seems like a few managed to slip into the human world, and somehow this Stellar Flare drew Ravana in... he was always a bit of a romantic. I wouldn’t be shocked if having children with an Arrancar was her way of trying to make weapons to fight Zero Division, along with these blades.”

He cast a look at the viking-style broadsword next to Fenice, which Hard Nail felt a distinct sense of reiatsu from that was unusual and separate from anything he’d felt before, but was now also stamped with an aura of Fenice’s own spirit energy. “Fenice...?”

She shrugged with a hapless and bemused half-grin, “Don’t ask me. The sword came out of my Fullbring, and called itself Gleipnir, a fragment of some guy named Tyr’s power.”

At that, Tirek turned a heatedly interested gaze at both Fenice and the sword, “Is that right? So the Star Family wasn’t entirely mad in their plans for rebellion. A shame they never had the guts to come to me directly, I may have granted them asylum here. Hah, then again they were still proud, self-righteous Soul Reapers. Perhaps they thought they could do it all on their own. Hah! Not that I can judge them harshly for that, for I intend to succeed where they failed.”

“Lord Tirek...” Adagio approached, Gaw hanging back on the woman’s left, having just finished giving Adagio the full update on all that had transpired, “It seems my vassals ran afoul of one of Grogar’s projects in the Warrens. I’ll assume its something you’re aware of?”

Tirek turned his intense golden gaze upon her, Adagio maintaining full composure as he faced her fully with a presence fully incapable of doing anything other than loom in oppressive magnitudes of restrained force. “I am. I gave orders to keep matters in the Warrens secret until I deemed it necessary to reveal my plans. I should have known such secrecy wouldn’t last long, in Las Noches, especially not with a perceptive and ambitious Espada such as yourself seemingly being incapable of not meddling.”

Adagio placed a hand over her Hollow hole and siren gem and bowed, as if it was a compliment she’d been given instead of a reproach, “I give all credit to my capable vassals, who continue to prove their worth to me. I merely tasked them with locating Thorax, whom I wished to speak with on a personal matter. Still, matching and then defeating one of Chrysalis' more potent children has been a pleasant result, demonstrating their growth to me. The added insult to Grogar’s pride is merely a delectable cherry on top.”

“Hmph, I suppose I could just kill all of you to keep things secret, but that would be quite wasteful at this point and spoil my good mood in learning my old friend has a daughter.” Tirek said with a grin that might have been joking, but remained terrifying, regardless. He did frown, then, a look that might have seemed small on another, but on him was chilling. “Before you ask, I won’t be sharing details until all is in place, but rest assured, Adagio Dazzle, that it will be soon. As for Thorax, I don’t know what his mother has done with him. You’ll have to ask her yourself. I suggest just going to her lair personally instead of sending your Fraccion to sneak about. Who knows, maybe Chrysalis will give you an honest answer. Or maybe she’ll torture and kill you. She’s been known to do that, even to those she likes.”

“Ah, yes, hence my lack of interest in speaking with the woman, especially in her own home.” Adagio said, but it was clear from the faint trace of deeper worry on her face that she may well have been considering it. Hard Nail watched carefully, wondering if Adagio’s motivations to find Thorax extended beyond the practical. He’d seen that kind of look of concern before, and it usually was because of deeper attachment than mere allies of convenience.

Adagio’s expression cleared very quickly and she looked between Tirek, Fenice, and Hard Nail, “Putting aside that matter, does Fenice’s revelations concerning her parentage change anything?”

“Aside from making me even more eager to batter down the doors of the Soul Palace to discover if Ravana lives, or if Medley really did kill him?” Tirek said, and shrugged, “Not really, no. She’s Lament’s, as far as I’m concerned, and a free woman to do as she pleases, like any other Arrancar. Hah, only now she’s proven she has the power to take even more of what she wants.” He eyed Pharynx and chuckled darkly, “You’d best train harder, boy, or you’ll get left behind by your peers.”

Pharynx grunted in pain, managing a respectful bow, first to Tirek, then to Fenice, “I do not regret following my orders. It was... a worthy fight, and I will not lose a second time.”

Tirek smirked, “Good, because most warriors don’t get the luxury of a second time. Now then... I’ve business to attend to with Grogar, anyway, so you lot... go do whatever it is you want.” A sharp glance was sent towards Adagio, “Seems like Guto and Hydia are about to give you some trouble. Have fun with that.”

He simply vanished then, using Sonido in such a manner that no one present had the ability to really track his movement, only the faint trail of dusty sand left behind as his massively oppressive reiatsu vanished somewhere down into the Warrens. At this point Fluttershy had helped Roka enough that, while the wound remained as an ugly, barely closed mass of reddened flesh on her stomach, Roka could walk while leaning on Fluttershy to approach the group. Ember and Torch came with them, the Fifth Espada chuckling as he looked at them all with an amused flash of teeth.

“Not often I see Lord Tirek so chatty! I wish I’d known this Ravana fellow, since he sounds like my kind of people!”

Ember shook her head in clear confusion, “I didn’t even know it was possible for Arrancar and humans to have offspring. That’s so... weird.”

Fenice made a face, “Well excuse me for being ‘weird’.”

“Oh don’t get all huffy about it, I was just saying,” Ember groused, and Adagio cleared her throat loudly to get everyone’s attention.

“While I’d absolutely love to spend the next however long talking about all of this, I suggest we all return to our respective territories for now. Three Espada in one place is going to be notable even without Tirek present, and I imagine Roka would like to get home to actually lay down and rest.”

“That would be... wonderful...” Roka said, smiling as best she could. Hard Nail could not have agreed more and went to her side, Fenice following as they both moved with tender care to take Roka from Fluttershy and proper her up between them.

“Agreed,” he said, nodding to Torch, “Thank you for showing up when you did, to look after my daughters.”

“Hah, think nothing of it!” Torch said, “Not like my little Ember and I had to do much, you’re firecracker of a daughter was already putting Chrysalis’ kid in his place before we showed up.”

“Speaking of the crispy critter, where the hell did he go?” Di Roy asked, looking around. As the others looked as well, it was clear that Pharynx had somehow vanished while the rest of them had been distracted. Adagio sighed, offering a small shrug.

“I may have to take Tirek’s advice and go to Chrysalis directly to find out what’s become of Thorax.”

Gaw growled a little, “Too dangerous.”

“That is for me to decide, Gaw. Thorax has done much for us. If he’s in trouble I...” Adagio clearly grasped for phrasing that would sound more practical than emotion driven, “Owe him for his assistance thus far, and he’s too useful to leave in a bad position if he requires help.”

Di Roy looked at her with a level stare, “...’Kay. What about the ‘you know who’ and the plan to ‘you know what’ in the ‘you know where’?”

Adagio rubbed a hand to her forehead and shot him a flat look, “I leave that in the capable hands of others, now that the ball is rolling. We each have our roles to play, Di Roy.”

“Going to assume this has got something to do with why one of the ladies from the Coalition is here?” asked Torch, nodding his massive chin at Fluttershy, who simply smiled at him in return and nodded in greeting.

“Hello, Mister Torch. I don’t believe we’ve formally met. I’m Fluttershy. Heheh, I guess my official title now would be ‘Field Marshal’ for the Canterlot Spirit Coalition, but that sounds kind of stuffy to me. So please, just call me Fluttershy.”

Torch gave off a strong bellow of a laugh and knelt down to extend a meaty hand to her so large that it nearly encapsulated Fluttershy’s arm as they shook hands, although it didn’t look like Fluttershy had any trouble matching Torch’s powerful grip as he squeezed. Indeed his eyes widened with a note of respect as the seemingly mild mannered girl matched his grip quite evenly. “Well, damn, if we ever got cause to go toe to toe with this new Coalition of yours, I might look forward to it. Between this and seeing what your fiery friend did during her duel with Tirek, it’s clear you aren’t a bunch of common little humans.”

“We hope to avoid fighting if we can,” Fluttershy said, eyes unblinking, “which is not the same as not being able to fight.”

At her words, something changed in Torch’s expression, a flicker of recognition and surprise. He let go of Fluttershy’s hand and crouched down so he was closer to eye level with her, as much as his immense size allowed, at any rate. Rubbing his square jaw, he said, “Hmm have we met before this?”

Fluttershy tilted her head only a hair’s breadth, smiling in total calm, not seeming that surprised herself, “No, I don’t believe we have. You’re probably confusing me with someone else. I get that a lot.”

He stared at her for a good long moment, everyone else noting the pause and slight tension. Then Torch just chuckled and stood up, grinning down at Fluttershy, “Yes, must be thinking of some other woman. Just something about what you said and the look of you, reminded me of a Soul Reaper I once killed. Good fight, that was. Strong woman, brave as could be.”

Torch winked at her, “All that aside, I know you and your friends helped my Ember get away from the Soul Reapers, so even if we ever do cross blades or fists or whatever ya got, it’ll be purely for fun on my end, not personal. Hah! Well whatever you’re doing here, girl, plotting some mischief with Adagio, good luck with it. C’mon Ember, let’s head on back to camp! I’m starving!”

Ember gave Adagio a brief look and nod, “Take care, Adagio, and please be careful. I got a... feeling things are going to get messy around here soon.”

“I’m always careful,” Adagio replied, and returned her friend’s nod before Ember departed with Torch and his cadre of warriors. This left her, Gaw, Di Roy, and Fluttershy to part ways with Hard Nail, Fenice, and Roka.

“You look good,” Adagio commented to Fenice, “If you can put up with it, I’ll have Usagi start putting together some fresh outfits for you that might complement the new ‘you’.”

Fenice actually blushed a little, running a hand through her now longer hair, “No offense, but I’m kind of hoping this change is temporary and I can revert back. Like, I dunno, a transformation I can bust out, instead of a permanent state?” She flexed the bone wing, frowning, “This thing alone is going to be a pain in the butt to deal with. I’m going to snag it on so many doors, I can tell already.”

Roka gave a weak laugh, but there was at least some color returning to her pale features, “I think it’s a very striking new look, sister.”

Hard Nail nodded in mute agreement, but his eye was drawn to the broadsword that Fenice carried. She’d transformed her Fullbring back into a medallion that she slipped back around her neck, but she didn’t have a scabbard for the new blade she’d acquired. “Daughter, once we are back home, I...”

He trailed off, feeling uncertain on how to express what he wanted to. He felt her hand clasp his own, warmth in both the grip and her eyes. “Don’t worry, father. Nothing’s changed. Not between you and me, at least. You’re always going to be my father.”

Hard Nail closed his eyes, and almost wished his body wasn’t so deathless, so his tear ducts actually worked. He nodded silently. There’d be time to talk more, later. He was worried about that sword, and what it might mean for his daughter, but both Fenice and Roka were alright, and that’s all that really mattered to him.

There was a polite throat clearing from nearby, and he opened his eyes to see Adagio standing across from him, Di Roy and Gaw respectfully keeping back but both looking tense. Adagio had her trident bouncing off her shoulder in an uncommon display of anxiety, and her eyes weren’t trying to hide that she was agitated even as she spoke with a level and measured tone.

“Once you’re back at your tower, I might consider... coming to the Coalition embassy, bringing your children as well.”

Hard Nail’s pale features creased in a frown, “Why?”

“Something is wrong,” Adagio said simply, eyes glancing down there Tirek’s reiatsu had gone, down into the Warrens. “Gaw has told me what they found down there. I don’t like it one bit. My intuition is telling me we don’t have much time left, and I’m sorry, Lament... but you’re still too weak to be a reliable force in the fights to come. I’d feel better if you and your family weren’t in Las Noches when everything goes down.”

“Hold up,” said Fenice, eyes heated, “I agree that the crap we saw Grogar doing in the Warrens isn’t good news, but why should we split for the human world? That is what you’re suggesting, isn’t it? That we go to the Coalition embassy and ask for asylum or something?”

Adagio gave both her and Hard Nail a sharp look, “Or something. Look, I’m not going to tell you what you have to do, I’m just suggesting it because I don’t know what’s coming, just that my gut is telling me it might not be best to be here when it happens.”

“No,” Hard Nail said, and Adagio blinked at him. Rather than give the young siren turned Espada a glare, he softened his face with a rare and somewhat lopsided half-smile, “Oh, I wouldn’t mind bringing my family here to meet my family there, and I want my children to be safe. I may take the offer to send them to the Coalition for safety, because I can’t protect them here. But I’m staying, Adagio. I may be weaker than what I was, but you’re a... friend, now. I don’t abandon my friends when they need me. Ain’t the kind of man I was, and not the kind of Hollow I am.”

“It goes without saying that you will have our support as well,” Roka said, still a bit weak from her injury by smiling all the same, “I agree with father that the younger children will benefit from spending time with our extended family at Sweet Apple Achers. That said, I and Fenice shall stay by father’s side to help him, and in turn, help you.”

“Give it up, Adagio,” Fenice said with her face breaking out into a fierce grin that reminded Adagio far too much of Sunset Shimmer’s, “You’re not kicking us to the curb until this is all said and done!”

Adagio gained a frustrated twist to her lips, eyes twitching, “I’m just trying to keep you all out of trouble in case the worst happens.”

She heard Di Roy chuckle and shot a glare at the man, but he held up under her gaze and smiled his shark-toothed grin, “Hey, don’t blame me, boss lady. You’re the one going around inspiring loyalty in people.”

Gaw gave off a rough laugh of her own, licking her own wounds but showing a pleased smile as she elbowed Di Roy, “Our tribe’s leader is so silly, she complains of others following her. But that is part of why we do it, isn’t it?”

Di Roy nodded with a faux sage look on his face, rubbing his chin, “Indeed, a victim of her own success.”

Adagio made a noise somewhere between a growl of exasperation and a groan of reluctant acceptance, “Fine, whatever. If that’s how things are going to be, then at least, ‘Lament’, once your younger children are moved, it’s best that you, Roka, and Fenice take up residence in my territory. I want our power as consolidated as possible, just in case.”

Her gaze turned to Fluttershy, “As for you, when you get back to the embassy, you might impress upon our Quincy guest that our timetable may be shorter than we’d like.”

Fluttershy nodded, “I’ll let Twilight know. Hopefully we can do what we need to before whatever Tirek is planning comes to fruition.”

“I hope so... ugh, and I also hope I’m around to see it, whatever the hell it’ll turn out to be,” Adagio said, rubbing her forehead, “Because the next thing I have to do is go pay a visit to Chrysalis’ lair to see if I can find Thorax myself.”

----------

Sunset Shimmer’s mind worked swiftly, even as guilt cut into her. Wallflower had ended up this way only because Sunset had gotten the notion in her head that she could work out the magical mysteries of that damn stone, and it was painfully obvious she’d underestimated the situation badly. She wanted to admonish herself more, but there wasn’t time for that right now. The fight, however brief, between Spike and Wallflower had caused enough noise to get the attention of normal people living in the various manors and estates dotting this rich section of Canterlot City’s suburban sprawl. Already doors were opening as faces started to peek out to see what had caused the tremors and explosive sounds that had cratered a portion of the street and toppled over several cars.

“Spike, grab her and follow us!” Sunset said, taking to the air and figuring she could trust Rainbow Dash and Applejack to do the same. They didn’t have to go far, as there were small strips of woods here and there that would serve to visually hide them, and everyone could move fast enough that any onlookers might have at best caught sight of a brief streak of color.

Spike was quick to catch on and used the Gunwolf’s powerful metal tail to wrap up Wallflower's legs while the mecha’s arms pinned hers as it took to the air. Wallflower struggled, and black tendrils of her necrotic magic flowed over her body and tried to seep into the Gunwolf. However, the machine of Quincy design and Twilight's unique blend of magic and spirit energy caused that necromantic magic to slide off like oil down a water-slick raincoat. Whatever magic or power Wallflower was using, it wasn’t compatible with machinery and couldn’t reach the living canine within.

She growled and shouted more in her odd language, and Sunset caught that name ‘Fenrir’ again. Regardless, she flew the short distance to some woods a few hundred yards away in less than a millisecond, joined shortly by the others as Rainbow Dash reached up towards the sky. Suddenly it got a lot more cloudy and thunder sounded in the air. Sunset felt moisture kick up and a moment later a thick amount of fog started to fill the air, blanketing not just the woods, but the various rich estates as well.

Rainbow Dash smiled, proud of herself, “That oughta buy us some time before folks notice the street damage.”

“Yeah, sugarcube, ‘cause a sudden overcast sky an’ thick fog bank ain’t just as weird n’ suspicious,” Applejack deadpanned, but Rainbow just kept smiling.

“Aw c’mon, admit it, you dig my weather controlling awesomeness. Hey, bet I could make Sweet Apple Acres a buttload of money by providing ideal weather any time you want rain or whatever.”

Applejack’s face twisted in a battle of honesty versus sincere desire to see her family farm prosper, “That’d be... cheatin’... wouldn’t it? Aw dang it, Dash, now ya got me in a moral conundrum!”

Spike raised the Gunwolf’s head to stare blankly at them with its robotic, blue eyes, his voice dripping snark, “Girls? More important things to focus on?” He nodded at the still struggling Wallflower, who was looking back and forth at all of them with wild eyes.

With a calming breath, Sunset knelt down and planted Hokori in the ground next to her, still holding Hikari just in case she needed the shield’s defenses. She looked Wallflower in the eyes, trying to discern the woman’s mental and emotional state. Wallflower’s lips were a snarl of anger, but they were trembling as well, hiding the fear inside. In fact, the more Sunset looked at her, the more Wallflower, or whoever she was now, looked terrified and desperate, like a frightened animal trying to escape its predators. Her energy, reiatsu and magic both, had this wild, writhing sensation to it. Dark, but not in a way that felt malevolent like some spiritual pressures Sunset had felt before. The grass underneath Wallflower had died and turned brown, her necrotic tendrils growing, and Sunset held up her hand and spoke in a soothing, soft tone.

“We won’t want to hurt you. Please, just look at my face. There’s no threat, here.”

Wallflower’s breathing, heaving in and out in fear, gradually slowed as she held Sunset’s gaze. Her head tilted slightly, suspicion and mistrust battling across her eyes. Wallflower glanced at the Gunwolf, then back at Sunset. Specifically, she looked at the Soul Reaper robes Sunset wore, then at the still heated and warm blade of Hokori planted in the ground.

She spoke again, but rather than an angered shout or growl, Wallflower’s words were measured, and inquisitive. She tugged her right arm a little, not trying so much to free it from Spike’s grip but rather indicating she wanted to use it. Spike glanced at Sunset, “Should I?”

Sunset gave a small nod, hoping she wasn’t being too trusting, but willing to extend it a little in hopes of rectifying this mess she’d help create. Wallflower felt the Gunwolf’s metal claws lighten their pressure on her right arm, and slowly she freed her hand. She was clearly being careful to make no fast movements or gestures as she placed a finger on her throat. Sunset watched in fascination as Wallflower drew a set of runes on her throat in black motes of energy, which then sunk into her skin.

Clearing her throat, Wallflower spoke, “Do thy ears comprehend my speech now, mortals?”

“Well hot damn!” Rainbow Dash blurted, “She speaks, and not in weirdo moon words!”

Wallflowers eyes narrowed at Rainbow Dash, “ ‘Tis the language of Niflheim thou insult, Midgardian wench of garish coloration. I deign to use a runic invocation of tongues so my words dost cease to fall upon clearly deaf ears. For what purpose do you Midgard mortals restrain a goddess!? Where in Midgard have you sought to imprison me? Where is...” her eyes lost focus for a moment, her voice suddenly cracking with strain and sudden pain, “Where is my brother, Fenrir!? You, wolf of forged metal, why dost thou bear my noble brother’s form, voice, and spirit!?”

“Whoa whoa whoa, lady! Slow it down!” Spike said, sounding a smidge alarmed as he let go of her and backed up, which Sunset wasn’t sure was the wisest idea, but right now anything that might get Wallflower to calm down a little might be better than nothing. Spike, meanwhile, popped the cockpit of the Gunwolf open and revealed himself inside, looking at Wallflower with wide, confused eyes, “I got no idea who this Fenrir dude even is.”

Wallflower let out a gasp, moving a hand to her mouth as she sat up, clearly too stunned to stand, but her necromantic magic coiled around her like a depressive miasma. For a moment, Sunset almost thought she saw a ghostly image of the dark energies taking the shape of a skull across the left side of her face. “Oh... brother... dear brother... it’s impossible. Your eyes, I shan't ever forget your eyes. How can this be? Reborn in Midgard? No, it should not be possible. How is it thou has been reduced so?”

Spike frowned and crossed his small puppy dog arms, “Reduced? Lady, you need to lay off. Yeah, so I’m a dog, so what? Lots of cool people are dogs. Lassie. Bolt. Krypto. That one that got shot in the end but was kind of a badass before the whole rabies thing. The Taco Bell chihuahua... okay maybe not that one, but still!”

Rainbow Dash came over and reached up a hand to pat him on the back, “It’s okay, my dude. Nobody is thinking less of you because you’re four legged and fuzzy.”

“Kinda more focused on this whole ‘Fenrir’ business, anyhows,” said Applejack, putting her hands on her hips and leaning towards Wallflower, “What’re ya goin’ n about, there, Wallflower?”

Wallflower twitched, as if the name itself struck her physically, “Wallflower... I don’t... know that name,” She shook her head in a manner like one trying to clear out flies buzzing around their head, “I am not some Midgard mortal, least of all some weak minded wench. I am the goddess Hel, daughter of Loki, sister to Fenrir and...” her voice trailed off, turning cold and terrified as the depths of a winter lake, “...No...no no no no no...”

As she clutched at her head, Sunset senses a coiling fluctuation in Wallflower’s reiatsu, and saw the strands of necrotic wisps begin to twitch and writhe like pained snakes. Sunset was still trying to get her head wrapped around that Wallflower had just claimed to be some kind of goddess. Her knowledge of mythology was far from complete, but she was pretty sure ‘Hel’ was a Norse deity, but for the moment she couldn’t think too much on that because Wallflower was heaving in and out terrified breaths as she held her head and her power seeped out of her, rotting even more of the nearby vegetation.

“Wallflower, what’s wrong? Please, we want to help,” Sunset said, keeping her hand help up in a calming gesture. Wallflower kept shaking her head, curling in on herself, eyes glazed and starring.

“It’s all wrong! It shouldn’t be this way! I remember... oh no... he killed him... and then Glory and I... Soul Queen above what have I done? Jormungandr! He’ll be searching for me. I have to... to...”

She let out a sharp scream of pain, followed by a confused gasp, and Sunset saw Wallflower’s eyes shift from a look of horrified knowledge and drowning knowing, to stark confusion and the uncertainty of the young girl Sunset knew, “S-Sunset? What’s happening? My head... ugh, I’m gonna be sick...”

Wallflower proceeded to throw up, and despite the necrotic energy still flowing off of her, Sunset went to the girls side and put her arms around her in a strong, steadying hug. She felt the dark energy pushing against her own spiritual pressure, trying to drain her life force in a seeping, sickly flow. Yet Sunset bore up under it and hardened her reiatsu, resisting the necromantic power as she kept holding the other girl, “Wallflower, just try to keep your mind focused on being you! I promise we’ll help you through this.”

“I hope you can explain what ‘this’ is, Sunset Shimmer.”

She looked up, along with Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Spike, as in a streak of white motion both Shining Armor and Cadence appeared in the clearing, their reishi bows already formed and their white Quincy uniforms almost blending with the mist. Cadence saw Wallflower, eyes more concerned than stern, as opposed to Shining Armor who looked less than pleased by the situation in front of him.

“Shining, ease up,” Cadence said, then looked to Sunset, “We sensed all of your spiritual pressures. Who is this girl?”

“Long story,” Sunset replied, “We just need to get her back inside somewhere safe until we can figure out how to help her.”

“Help her what? You haven’t explained anything,” Shining Armor said, eyes narrowing, “All I know is that Robert allowed you in on Spike’s word and you went into my little sister’s lab, and the next thing I know my neighborhood is in chaos. So before anything else happens you’re going to explain yourself.”

“Hey, Shining, chill the heck out, dude,” Spike said, “In case you hadn’t noticed we’re not in the best spot for a long bit of exposition. Let’s get back to the house and then we’ll jabber at you all you want.”

“Sunset...” Wallflower said, voice now filled with a sheet of iced over fear, pointing, and Sunset looked to where the girl’s finger indicated.

Everyone turned, as from the mist a form emerged. A phantom in white, its body nothing but a pale shroud that floated over the ground. Yet its head was a hood of featureless red. Sunset sensed only a faint trace of reiatsu from the form as it floated towards them, but she moved protectively in front of Wallflower all the same, as did Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Spike.

“Alright, whoever you are, you’ve chosen a really bad time to show up,” Rainbow Dash said, then blinked as the figure just kept floating along, drifting slightly as if blown by a breeze. “Uhh... dude? Hellooooo?”

“Dash, it ain’t alone,” Applejack said, eyes widening, and Sunset looked around to see that not just one, but dozens of identical floating figures in pure white shrouds bearing blank red hoods started to materialize from the fog. No, more than just the fog, she saw that these figures were apparating from the ground, or descending from the sky, and while there were several dozen nearby, many more floated through the woods.

“What in the...?” Shining Armor aimed his bow, but didn’t fire as Cadence raised her hand to touch his arm.

“Shining, I don’t think they’re hostile,” Cadence said, “I don’t sense even a shred of malignant intent.”

“They barely got any reiatsu at all,” Rainbow Dash said, brow twitching as she shivered a little, “But they’re giving me serious willies. The heck are these guys?”

“Blanks...”

All eyes turned to Wallflower, who’s voice had regained an edge of knowledge as the black energies around her formed once more into the half skull upon the left side of her face as Hel spoke, “Glory named them ‘Blanks’.”

Author's Note:

Random note I found amusing, there's more than one definition for 'Fuller', one of which is someone who 'fulls' (or cleans( clothes, and the other being the rounded groove in some tools, including blades, which is sometimes referred to as a blood channel. His parents probably meant it the later way, given Changeling culture prior to the 'Big Change'.

Anywhos, many thanks for reading, folks, and as always I very much appreciate any and all comments, questions, or critiques. 'Till next time!

Comments

[Spellflame]

I knew she was that

[hydra30]

Memories from Nobody.

Love it when you introduce movie plots.

Maybe if Sunset gets the Ōin she might be able to cast down Zero division

First

[Charedfirescale]

I never got through the entire Bleach series, but it seems your taking different plot details and using them in unique ways.

[MSie95]

Good thing Shy was there. It would be prudent if Adagio had more than one medic at hand. I mean some of the newly joined arrancars have to have sorta heling skills, by share probability. And if not they could learn first aid. Better than nothing.

Huh, don't think there're any changeling named like that in cannon. Makes me think if they are Thorax and Pharynx deceiving Chrysalis.

“It goes without saying that you will have our support as well,” Roka said, still a bit weak from her injury by smiling all the same, “I agree with father that the younger children will benefit from spending time with our extended family at Sweet Apple Achers. That said, I and Fenice shall stay by father’s side to help him, and in turn, help you.”

Hope Big Mac wll have a Fullbring at the time. He's gonna need it to take care after so many excitable Arrancars siblings. On the other hand Granny'll be there too, so the situation won't be tragic.

[RanmaChaos]

Thanks for another fantastic chapter

[MSie95]

After watching the latest episode, I wonder if we'll get a full robot or cyborg like BG9. Twi has the technology and it's only a step away from the rest of the Quincy to use. My money is on Lightning Dust as a way for her to recover. She's even as ruthless as him.

static.wikia.nocookie.net/bleach/images/1/11/Ep381BG9Uncloaked.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20230715202255&path-prefix=en

[AdverseFlower95]

Alright, we just need to hope that none of Lament’s kids try to eat his other kids.

[Archmage Gaia]

11639125

I don't really know what is going on since I only read one chapter and didn't saw much info on Equestria's side via TV Tropes

Really? If you didn't even bother to read most or all of the fic,then you have no right to suggest what vex should or shouldn't do with Spike because you don't know anything about the plot or what was done with the characters in the first place. Stop constantly bringing up Spike! We already know how you don't like his canon treatment, but you don't have to bring it up for the dozen time as it's getting OLD.

If you want Spike as a badass,there are plenty of stories out there that fit that(because MLP has a HUGE fanfic archive) and you can go to one of them to get the Spike focus you're looking for. It's annoying that the only thing you seem to give a crap about in the fic is Spike because there's other things that are worth talking about in this fic.

[random reader]

Still wondering what that Kido was that Celestia had to master back in soul society.

[Silver Blade]

“Glory named them ‘Blanks’.”

So I guess we are going to learn about even more messed up stuff the Zero Division did. Do love how Vex uses stuff from the source material in a much more interesting way. I look forward to reading what that is about.
Side note, I kinda love seeing Terik pouring out drinks well reminiscing about his old friend. The guy is an unrepentant monster, but it is cool to see different sides of him like that.