Episode 23: Full Disclosure
Episode 23: Full Disclosure
In the quiet pre-dawn hours the city streets had a haunted, almost ethereal quality to them, with only a small handful of people heading out to very early shifts at work or coming home from night jobs. A moving in front of cold and humidity created a nice, thick cloud of fog that enshrouded most of the suburbs and a good chunk of downtown, leaving the skyscrapers poking out of tufts of fog like fluffy white cotton.
The fog helped subdue sound, leaving the streets and alleys even more static and hushed than normal for this early hour before sunrise. Canterlot High School was of course closed for this Sunday morning, the tall and expansive school almost completely dark save for just one or two windows lit from teachers working over the weekend, including the principal's office.
Across the street from the school, just along the sidewalk, a faint ripple in the air resolved into the shape of a segmented paper sliding door. Light warmly glowed from within, and seemingly on its own the paper doors slid open, with mist and light pouring from inside alongside the fluttering of several black butterflies with red tinted wings. From the threshold of this strange portal three figures emerged, stepping onto the street.
Two of them were Fancy Pants and Meadowbrook, the former having an air of casual alertness about him as he clasped his hands behind his back and examined the area, while the latter ran a hand through his hair and looked like he was in dire need of coffee. The third figure stood ahead of the pair of Soul Reaper Lieutenants, standing tall and regal with a statuesque manner that made even merely glancing around the street look like she was commanding all around her. Unlike the two men, she wore a white overcoat over her black robes, with the Japanese kanji for “six” inked in black on its back. She was a tall woman, with the kind of body that would have made a magazine model burn with envy. Light violet ringlets of hair fell down past her shoulders, curling elegantly almost to the small of her back. Her face was like a carved marble statue, sharp yet feminine and seemingly sculpted to a porcelain vision of classical beauty. At her side a black sheath contained a Zanpaktou whose cross-guard was shaped like a diamond, with a pearl white handle.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve graced the living world,” the woman said with a casually measuring glance at the surrounding suburbs, “I’d forgotten how interesting it could be. Why, what a quaint machine that is.”
She chuckled at the passing of a car through the foggy street, the driver of course not seeing either the Soul Reapers or the gateway that was closing behind them. The female Soul Reaper turned to her companions, smiling coyly, “Well, shall we, gentlemen? I imagine Celestia and Luna will be just thrilled to see us, so I’d like to get this over with.”
Fancy Pants bowed slightly, “Of course, Captain Platinum. They should be inside the school.”
“I’m all for getting this over with,” said Meadowbrook, his face gaining a trace of a frown, “I’m worried about Clover.”
“Oh, I’m sure your third seat is fine,” said Platinum, “Come now, to business.”
With that the three Soul Reapers made their way across the street to the front doors of Canterlot High.
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Sunset was awoken by the sound of rustling in the kitchen, and raised her head from the couch to see Twilight shuffling around in her fridge.
“Mmm...morning...” Sunset said with a yawn, “Sorry if the fridge is a bit empty. I haven’t had much time for a grocery run lately.”
“Oh! Good morning Sunset,” Twilight said, nearly banging her head on the fridge roof, and withdrawing with a mostly empty carton of milk, “I noticed you were a down to the bare essentials. No worries, I’ll grab something at the school instead.”
“Going to get right to work, eh? Heh, you got that in common with your counterpart here. She usually can’t wait to get to it when there’s research to be done.”
Twilight paused, then slowly put the carton of milk away and closed the fridge, “I got that impression too. Its the same with this world’s version of my friends. There’s a few small differences, but for the most part they’re the same. It makes me wonder...”
Sunset raised and eyebrow, sitting up on the couch and rubbing sleep from her face as she watched Twilight, waiting for her to finish her thought. Twilight glanced at Sunset, looking a bit hesitant. “Haven’t you ever wondered about your counterpart?”
The question caught Sunset a bit off guard, and she blinked a few times in bewilderment, “What brought this on?”
“Nothing, just good old fashioned curiosity. I mean, I met my other self, and it’s kind of gotten me thinking about how odd it is that in the years you’ve been here you never ran into the human version of you. Doesn’t that seem strange? Canterlot High is like some concentrated pool of personalities that all bizarrely mirror ponies from our world, yet out of all the familiar faces accounted for, your human self is absent?”
Sunset looked at Twilight for a few seconds, then a grim expression shadowed her face as she stood up from the couch, “Let me show you something, Twilight. Something I found when If first came to this world. Because like you, I noticed this world, and this city specifically, had counterparts for a lot of ponies back home... and I also got curious.”
She went into her bedroom, striding over to the back where the closet was. She opened it up and rummaged around some boxes she had orderly stacked behind racks of clothes. Inside one of the boxes were a few notebooks and papers; things she’d gathered or written during her first year in the human world that documented her findings on how the world worked and how to best integrate into human society.
Bringing the box out to the kitchen table she set it down and opened it up, explaining the contents to a very intrigued looking Twilight, “There was a lot I needed to learn in order to adapt from being a magical pony to becoming a relatively mundane human. Amid all that I also got curious about my human counterpart, and... I tracked her down.”
She pulled out a photograph, a polaroid. It showed a relatively sunny scene of a grim setting. A graveyard. Twilight took the picture and stared at it, hand shaking slightly.
“Sunset Shimmer... 1996-2012... Oh no... this is, she’s...?”
“Dead, yeah,” Sunset said, sitting down at the table and leaning back, “At the time it was a bit creepy to find out, but honestly back then I was more relieved I wouldn’t have to deal with running into her. I did some more digging after finding her grave and learned she’d died, supposedly, in a fire that burned down the bookstore she was working at. She wasn't a student at Canterlot. Or anywhere, for that matter. She’d dropped out of a different high school across town.”
“I’m sorry, Sunset...” Twilight said, features filled with regret, “What a tragic waste. I suppose no matter the world, bad things can just happen like that.”
“I hadn’t even thought about it since I first dug all this info up,” said Sunset as she put the photo away and closed up the box, “I guess now I’m curious where her soul might have ended up, but it's not like I don’t have a dozen bigger things on my mind right now.”
“You’ll be heading to Discord’s today and getting answers, right?”
“That’s the hope. After I get some caffeine and a doughnut in me,” Sunset said, stretching, “Breakfast of champions.”
They parted ways soon after that, Sunset and Twilight exchanging a last, firm hug before the aliconr turned human went off to start her research on the portal at Canterlot High, and Sunset going towards downtown. There’d been a thick fog out, but Sunset knew the day would burn it off, removing its obscuring presence.
With luck, the conversation with Discord would be equally illuminating.
----------
“You’re pacing, Discy,” said the cat, who was stretched out in a long, comfortable line of gray fuzz upon the top step leading to the front door of the shop, while Discord himself paced about in the yard. Screwloose hung out leaning against the railing of the veranda surrounding the front of the shop while Screwball hummed a tuneless song to herself, sweeping the dusty cobblestone path to the storefront.
“Yes, thank you, I noticed I’m pacing,” said Discord with a grumble, twirling his cane in his hand as he did so, “I’m hoping if I do this enough I’ll manage to burrow a hole into the ground and avoid the upcoming conversation entirely.”
Screwloose let out a stuttering giggle, “We could always pack up shop and move to greener pastures, but I don’t know, I think it’s fun watching you wiggle like a worm on a hook, bossman.”
Discord cast a sharp yellow eyed look at the woman, “Do you ever want to be paid again, ever?”
To this, Screwloose only held up her hands as if in mock surrender, “As if you actually pay me.”
“Heheh, he gives me candy all the time,” said Screwball, “You just don’t work hard enough Screwloose.”
To this Screwloose just blew a raspberry at the younger looking girl. Meanwhile the cat continued to watch Discord with its mismatched, wandering eyes seeming to somehow still follow his pacing movements. “You’re worried about losing them.”
“Hmph, whom do you take me for? Those girls are an interesting bunch and I’d like to help them, but I won’t cry over it if they decide to go their own way. It’s their right to chose their path,” Discord replied with a irritated hand wave. His voice didn't carry much conviction, however. He was worried, but didn't want to show it.
“Its that same right you fought for where their mothers were concerned, so of course you’d do the same for them,” the cat said with a sagely nod that somehow didn’t quite fit with the goofy smile that lit up its face. Discord paused in his pacing, jaw tightening.
“It doesn’t matter until I’ve told them everything, now, does it?”
“Everything?”
“Well, the parts that are relevant to them,” he admitted, “After all there’s quite a bit of everything to cover, and some of that everything they don’t need to know.”
The cat sighed, “Figured as much.”
“You don’t approve.”
“Oh, I get how you feel, Discy. You’ll be dropping enough on those girls already, no need to burden them with the whole shebang.”
Screwloose quirked up an eyebrow and raised a hand, “So, does that mean me and Screwball aren’t going to be tracking down the others yet? Had the idea bouncing around my brainpan you might be wanting me to toss up the proverbial Batsignal to call in the whole crew to help out our precious band of piglets.”
“No,” said Discord, “I’d rather not get the others involved yet...” his eyes narrowed and he muttered, “Although it’s probably only a matter of time before she gets them involved anyway, what with her daughter now developing her powers.”
Suddenly one of Screwball’s ears twitched and she perked up, the propeller on her beanie cap spinning, “They’re heeeerrrre!”
Discord didn’t question Screwball. He knew the young girl’s senses were sharper and stronger than even his were, and if she sensed the girls approaching then there was no doubting that. He took a deep breath, steadying his thoughts. Whatever came of today’s revelations, he fully intended to do all that he could to assist the young ladies from Canterlot High. The debt from years ago could be paid, at least in part.
The girls arrived through his shop’s wards with Sunset at the lead, though Applejack was practically on the other girl’s heels and her emerald eyes fixated on Discord like a pair of daggers the moment she spotted him. Yup, definitely her mother’s daughter.
“Ladies,” he said with a welcoming smile, “Good of you to come. Shall we go inside? Have a chat?”
“Long as yer chattin’ out some dang answers,” said Applejack with a clenched jaw.
“Heya, is my fam still hanging around?” asked Pinkie Pie, bouncing along at the back of the group.
“They’ve returned home, Miss Pie, but rest assured I’ve had wardings placed around their home and those of the rest of your families so that on the off chance Hollows approach, we can respond in time,” said Discord, leading the girls towards the shop doors. “Screwloose and Screwball will be on standby in case of emergency.”
As they passed the front of the shop Fluttershy paused to pet the cat, “Awww, who's a nice kitty?”
The cat purred loudly and said, “I’m a nice kitty.”
“Heheh, it's so interesting to hear another talking animal. You should meet my friend Twilight’s dog, Spike.” Fluttershy blinked, then looked downcast, “if we ever see either of them again.”
“I’m sure you will,” said the cat, standing and rubbing up against Fluttershy's legs, still purring, “Hey, pick me up. I wanna hear Discy try to explain stuff to you guys. It should be funny.”
“Yes... funny,” said Discord under his breath as he led the girls into the back rooms of the shop. He took them to the main lounge area where Clover had been recovering from her wound. The Soul Reaper in question was awake now, propped up slightly on the couch she was laying on, and she raised her head as Discord and the girls entered.
“Oh, you’re all here!” Clover said, trying to get up and wincing as she almost immediately sat right back down.
“Don’t move too much, Miss Clover,” said Discord, “It will still be at least another day or so before you’re well enough for moving around.”
Clover sighed, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I can’t believe I let that Quincy get the drop on me so easily. What a disgrace for a seated officer of the Gotei.”
She looked to Applejack, Clover’s face turning nervous, “I’m glad you’re here. All of you, in fact. There’s... much to tell.”
“And I shall be doing most the telling,” said Discord, “You can interject where you will, but I feel I should be doing most of the disclosure this day.”
Clover glanced at him, and nodded slowly, “I suppose you know more than what I dug up, but Applejack did ask me to look into her mother’s death, and I feel it's my responsibility to tell her what I learned myself, whatever additional information you have to add.”
“In due time, let us all get comfortable first,” said Discord while he gestured to the various chairs and couches strewn around the large room. Discord remained standing, however, standing at one end of the room by the old television, watching the girls as they seated themselves, except for Applejack who looked like she was too tense to sit and relax.
There was an awkward moment of silence as Discord and the girls watched each other, perhaps both just waiting for one or the other to work up the nerve to get things started. At last Discord said, “So, your mothers... I imagine you want to know the details of their involvement in everything that’s occurred up until now?”
“It would be nice to have this aura of mystery cleared up,” said Rarity with a tone of levity.”
“Startin’ with what Clover found,” said Applejack, “I wanna hear it from her first, and then ya can speak yer piece, Discord.”
He grimaced, “So be it.”
All eyes turned to Clover, who suddenly looked like she was a squirming bug under a microscope, but she held firm under the scrutiny and held herself up as best she could, propping herself up on her elbows and taking on an air of formality as she began to speak. “Upon Applejack’s request I investigated the matter of Sweet Cider and Hard Nail’s deaths. I had to secure access to archives that were otherwise restricted to a Soul Reaper of my rank, with the help of Lieutenant Meadowbrook, my immediate superior...”
----------
The deeper archives were sealed behind a metal door wrapped in chains and protective warding scrolls. Clover watched as Meadowbrook used several talisman and Kido chants to unseal the barriers locking the doors, which slowly swung open soundlessly to reveal the spiraling stairs leading down to the restricted area of the archive.
“Are you sure? You could get in trouble with the Captain for letting me in here,” Clover said as they walked down the spiral staircase heading down the dark shaft.
Meadowbrook just laughed, waving a hand, “I’m already doing this, so don’t waste time making me doubt the choice. Besides, this is technically within the rules. I do have authority to be here, and decide if another seated officer has cause to be here as well. Let’s just see what we can find, eh? Don’t worry so much, it’s bad for your health.”
At the bottom of the shaft was a chamber shaped like a five pointed star, each point of the star having several shelves of books and scrolls, but also a single information terminal mounted into the wall, a complex affair of tubes and wires, many containing intricate Kido scrollwork, to power the spirit device, all leading to a single large monitor with a broad keypad. Clover examined the area for a moment until she found the point of the star labeled for the more recent decades of records. It took a half hour of searching the terminal’s database, but she was able to locate the set of scrolls that contained reference to the names of Applejack’s parents, and inserted the first of those scrolls into the waiting alcove into the terminal, which started to display the data on the screen in a soft blue glow.
Only a few minutes of scanning the information had Clover’s eyes going wide, and Meadowbrook frowning.
“Is this true, Meadowbrook? Why haven’t I heard about any of this?”
“I see... so that’s what it was,” he said, rubbing his chin, “These projects were all classified by the Central 46 as part of our Twelfth Division's secret weapons development branch. Its an entirely separate unit from our regular Division, Clover. I know about it only because I’m a Lieutenant, and had to act as a liaison to that branch on occasion, but even I didn’t know all the details of their work. This is my first time even seeing any details of their projects.”
He licked his lips, “But this explains a lot of the more... messy scenarios of the past few centuries. The Baishin incident, the Bount, the failed Modsouls... it's all tied to our Division’s secret weapons development branch.”
“Including this,” Clover breathed, looking back at the screen with wide, fearful eyes, “Project Xcution.”
The project title was displayed clearly at the top of the screen, followed by scrolls of introductory text, and finally a still image showing six women in a group, standing together in front of what looked like the ruin of some old castle’s wall, overgrown with moss. Each woman looked to be in her mid to late teens, and Clover could quickly spot the family resemblance between them and most of her new friends in the human world.
The gray skinned woman with the wild, long dark blueish green hair might not have shared the same bright colors of Pinkie Pie, but Cloudy Quartz had the same bright grin and energetic gleam in her eyes in the photo, sporting a rather impressive set of leather clothes complete with silver studded biker jacket and fingerless gloves as her arms draped in a tight hug around a taller woman. That woman had light pinkish skin and a shorted head of periwinkle blue hair, and the cocksure look on her face, arms crossed confidently across her chest, held a clear echo of Rainbow Dash’s own features. To the left of the group, leaning against the stone wall, was a tough looking girl in a red and white flannel shirt and wearing a stetson hat, her stark blond hair and green eyes the mirror image of her daughter Applejack. Nervously nestled in the middle of the group was a girl with yellow skin and neatly done up, short rose red hair, smiling shyly at the camera and holding her fingers up in an awkward ‘V’ sign. Next to that girl was another, slightly older looking, with her arm wrapped around the nervous girl’s shoulder. This girl shared a similar shade of pink skin with Rainbow Dash's apparent mother, but this girl’s mane was a familiar purple shade that marked her relation to Rarity. In the photo Rarity’s mother was wearing a tight fitting and brightly colored tie-dyed shirt and loose cargo pants, and she was giving the camera a strange gesture with her tongue sticking out and one finger pulling down the bottom part of one eyelid.
There was one other girl in the picture, standing off to the right side of the group, looking a bit quiet and reserved. She didn’t look like she had any relation to any of the girls from Canterlot High that Clover had met, and while the rest of the women in the photo were wearing clothing clearly from the human world, this other girl was clad in the black robes of a Soul Reaper..
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“Project Xcution?” Applejack’s brow furrowed deeply, “What in bloody tarnation is that!?”
Clover looked to her with sympathy, and more than a little shame, and began to say, “It was-” but Discord cut her off.
“Let me take it from here, Miss Clover. After all, I was the head of Project Xcution, and many of the other projects conducted by Hitsuyo-Aku. That was the name of the Twelfth Division’s classified weapons development branch. Roughly translates to ‘Necessary Evil’. Obviously the Central 46, the governing body of the Soul Society, didn’t want the existence of such a group to be public knowledge, or even common knowledge among most of the Gotei Thirteen. For good reason; since most of those projects were morally questionable at best.”
“Start. Talkin’,” Applejack said past grinding teeth, “Whad’ya slimy bastards do ta our families back then!?”
“Applejack, calm down,” said Sunset, through her eyes were sharply gazing at Discord with a calculating look that seemed to be reevaluating him by the second, “But she’s right, you’d better start getting to the heart of this, fast.”
Discord nodded gravely, and slowly began to pace as he spoke, “Hitsuyo-Aku was created well before I took command of the Twelfth Division as Captain, and it was considered to be teetering on the edge of failure given that most of its previous attempts at developing new weapons for Soul Reapers to use had gone rather poorly. When I was put in charge I decided to take a different track with its research, which previously had focused on either changing the nature of Zanpaktou, or creating artificial souls for battle purposes. I proposed the idea of looking to the human world for potential sources of power, largely based on observations of Soul Reapers over the centuries that living humans could develop unusual abilities under the right circumstances. The Quincy were one example, but there were other instances of humans gaining powers. Old legends of wizards, mystical knights, magic swords, lycanthropes, vampires... most of those have a root in some human who awakened a spiritual power, one I wanted to research and learn the truth behind.”
He turned to look at the girls, “That power I eventually came to call ‘Fullbring’.”
The girls all exchanged looks, and Rainbow Dash scratched her head, “Is that what we’re using?”
“Yes, besides Sunset Shimmer, of course. The power the five of you young ladies have awakened is called Fullbring. It’s the ability to draw out the full power contained within the ‘soul’ of a catalyst. That catalyst can be anything; an item, a type of material, or even something metaphysical like a part of one’s own personality,” Discord said, nodding at Pinkie Pie at that last bit. “Everything in this world has a ‘soul’, even mundane objects. Fullbring attunes a person to that soul and allows one to bring that power to fruition.”
“Oh, oh! Let me guess! I know the answer teacher!” Pinkie Pie said, waving her hand in the air, “Our moms were totally Fullbusted and had the mojo too!”
Discord just blinked at her, “Well... yes. They were Fullbringers. Understand this, the origin of Fullbring is related to the power of Hollows. When naturally occurring in humans it's because the mother of such an individual survived a Hollow attack while pregnant, infusing the child with a shard of Hollow power that transmutes into the ability to use Fullbring.”
“Soooo, our mother’s mothers were all attacked by Hollows randomly at some point while pregnant?” asked Rarity, “That seems highly... coincidental.”
“That’s because it wasn’t a coincidence,” Discord said, “Project Xcution’s mission statement was to create and control a unit of Fullbringers, with the purpose of proving such a group could be an asset to the Soul Society. If successful it would have lead to hundreds of humans being recruited to fill out combat roles that Soul Reapers were spread too thin to fulfill. Each and every human city could have had a cadre of Fullbring using humans guarding against Hollows, freeing up Soul Reapers to engage in more direct conflicts with the Quincy and Hollows in other regions. In the case of your mothers... their mothers were,” he closed his eyes, guilt staining his voice, “Directly and deliberately targeted by a Hollow in order to produce Fullbringers from their children. Your mothers were made Fullbringers as part of Project Xcution. The Hollow Soul Society... recruited for this task was-”
“Grand Fisher!” Applejack snarled, eyes blazing, and she looked reach to tear Discord apart right then and there, “You sent that monster after our grandmothers!? Granny Smith!?”
“Yes,” Discord said, nothing but regret in his tone, “I won’t make excuses, Miss Applejack. Yet there is more to tell, so I ask you hold off booting my head off until I’ve finished.”
The farm girl spat at the floor near his feet and stalked over to the wall, leaning against it and looking at him with murder in her eyes, but nodded, slowly, “Go ahead, an’ when yer done, you n’ me’ll... sort this out.”
The other girls didn’t necessarily look much calmer. Rarity had a shocked look in her crystal blue eyes, while Rainbow Dash looked like she was chewing on something sour, hands clenched into fists. Fluttershy had a pale face, hands wringing in her lap. Only Pinkie Pie looked somewhat calm, only having her head cocked to the side and seeming more bewildered than upset. Sunset looked to be absorbing all this quietly, eyes not looking away from Discord’s, nor losing its measuring quality.
“After your mothers were born they were monitored closely by members of my team, to see if they would develop their powers naturally,” Discord said, “Keep in mind that at this time, they lived in different parts of the country and there was no chance they would normally come to know one another. Their parents had been selected at random, but now that the daughters were born, we began to manipulate events so that each family would end up moving to this city, which was already an accepted testing ground for our research due to its high Hollow activity.”
“Why here?” asked Rainbow Dash, “If this city was crawling with Hollows wouldn’t that have just put our parents in their sights to get munched on?”
Sunset’s eyes narrowed, “That was the point, I think. You had this young women you wanted to develop powers, and needed both a way to test those powers and make them beholden to you. The Hollows did your work for you.”
Discord nodded solemnly, looking somehow older and more tired, “The notion was that your mothers, freshly moved to this city, all young teenagers, would be manipulated to be in the same place at the same time, and when that happened Grand Fisher was under instructions to send Hollows after them. It worked like a charm. Just like you girls, your mothers came together as a group, protected each other by awakening their Fullbring powers. They didn’t know the ghostly monsters attacking them had been sent by us, and of course when we approached them with offers of assistance and training they had no reason to suspect, no reason to say no. As far as your parents knew I was the Captain who just happened to come across them at the right time, and could offer them knowledge of the world of the supernatural they’d just stepped into.”
“Just like us...” Fluttershy whispered, holding herself and shaking, “You did the same thing to us.”
“No, my dears, you all were a surprise. Something I never expected to happen, though I had suspicions,” Discord said, shaking his head, “My aid to you is just the smallest drop in the bucket of debt I owe to your mothers for what I did to them.”
“How did it end? You got them in your pocket, so to speak, but what happened after that?” asked Rarity, voice sharp as a needle, “Clearly none of our mothers have any memory of these events. My mother certainly doesn’t have any powers like mine.”
“Indeed, and it's both a simple and complicated,” said Discord, “Your mothers worked under me for a number of years. Xcution was a name they took to, a covert unit that targeted and slaughtered groups of problematic Hollows all over the world. Around this time several of them met with your fathers, and had to balance a normal civilian life with the secret life they led, and that was only the start of the tension between us.” He glanced at Applejack, “Sweet Cider especially was vocal about wanting to quit Xcution after she became involved with your father.”
“An’ ya convinced her ta stay,” Applejack said, fists clenched at her sides.
“Only for a time. I was already starting to see things in a different light by that point,” Discord said, “I had started out viewing the work as simply research for the good of the Soul Society and my own personal research goals, but it was impossible to work with those extraordinary girls and not start to admire them. To see them as more than weapons. Then there were two other young ladies who were a part of the picture...”
He held up a finger, “One was Twilight Velvet. Young, idealistic, and rebellious for a Quincy, she ran into Xcution during a battle with Hollows early in Xcution's operations, and became fast friends with them. My own first act of defiance against my superiors was hiding Twilight Velvet’s involvement, as I didn’t trust the Central 46 not to react poorly to your mothers being friends with a Quincy. Then there was the other girl who came on the scene some time later... the Soul Reaper.”
His deep yellow and red eyes fixed on Sunset, his voice level, “Your predecessor. The only other living human with Soul Reaper powers. Starlight Glimmer.”
Sunset just blinked, “Who?”
“A human girl who lived right here in this city, who got caught in one of Xcution’s battles,” Discord said, eyes looking distant, “She was terribly wounded in the fight. Dying. Firefly begged me to save her.”
Rainbow Dash gave a start, eyes flashing wide, “My mom?”
“She was more or less the team’s leader,” Discord said with a small smile, “Never could stand losing, and she considered any civilian casualties as a loss, so Starlight being wounded was something she saw as her responsibility. Of course there’s only so many things a Soul Reaper can do for a living human as badly hurt as Starlight was. Except transfer some of our power into them... and act strictly forbidden by Soul Society’s laws.”
“You did that?” asked Sunset, leaning forward.
“Nope,” spoke up the cat suddenly, “I did!”
Everybody looked at the cat. Rainbow Dash blurted out, “You’re a Soul Reaper?”
The cat smiled and bobbed its little head in a nod, “Yup! Least I was until I transferred my power into little ol’ Starlight. Heh, lost my Zanpaktou entirely. Really surprised me too, because I didn’t mean to give her so much power, but something inside her just sucked it all right out. Took me forever to recover even a fraction of my old power.”
“At any rate, Starlight Glimmer was saved, and suddenly found herself possessing fresh new Soul Reaper abilities. It was unprecedented in the history of Soul Society, and the only reason myself and my friend avoided execution for our transgression was that, at the time, I was irreplaceable as the Twelfth Division Captain, and my feline friend here immediately went into hiding.”
“Which was easy when I can turn into a this shape,” said the cat, giggling, “Of course I got other shapes to. I like changing into stuff. It’s fun.”
“Yes, well, after that I was placed in charge of Starlight. It was decided she’d be trained as any other Soul Reaper and placed in my Twelfth Division. She took to it quite well. A rather brilliant mind, very talented,” said Discord, after which he frowned, “Too talented, perhaps, but that’s a different matter altogether. She fought alongside Xcution as part of her training, but remained fairly distant from most of them, and ultimately she wasn’t involved in Xcution’s end, which came just a short year after.”
He turned to Applejack, “Sweet Cider became pregnant with your older brother, and that was the last straw for her. She put her proverbial foot down and quit. The rest of the girls supported her, even Twilight Velvet. At that point I wasn’t even inclined to stop them, rather instead I wanted to help them make a clean break from Soul Society, even if it cost me my position, or even my life. I argued my case with the Central 46 personally... and was overruled. They put me under house arrest and went to apprehend your mothers to take them to Soul Society. I managed to get a message out to them via Starlight to warn Xcution of what was coming. The girls went into hiding in the Everfree Forest, with Twilight Velvet arriving to help them. Soul Society sent in a detachment from the Sixth Division under the command of the its Captain to take the girls into custody, and they tracked the girls down to a ruined old castle in the forest. From what I heard later the resulting battle was something else; even the Captain of the Sixth Division was badly wounded. However in the end Xcution was captured, except for Firefly and Twilight Velvet, both of whom escaped to Quincy territory. Your mothers were brought to Soul Society where they would have been kept as prisoners, if not for the intervention of the Captain Commander.”
At the questioning looks he got Discord went on, “The Captain Commander is the head of the Gotei 13, and the only authority that might challenge the Central 46 on any given matter. I’d spoken with him myself about your mothers, about the wrongness of what we were doing to them, and got him to agree to call for a challenging vote with the backing of half the Captains behind him. As a result the Central 46 redacted their plans for Xcution, and discontinued the project. Your mothers had their memories altered, their Fullbring powers sealed away, and they were allowed to return to the human world to live out normal lives. As for Firefly, she was written off as a loss because no one in Soul Society thought the Quincy would let her go, but they did, and she... well... she did try to live a normal life as well.”
There was a small scoffing sound form Rainbow Dash as she crossed her arms, “Yeah, except for the whole skipping out on me and dad when I was still in freakin’ kindergarten! What happened there, huh D-dude!?”
“A separate affair, one that your mother ought to tell you herself,” said Discord, “She’s still alive, at any rate.”
“Tch, like I care,” said Rainbow Dash, “Whatever, I get that this was a messed up situation and hey, at least our moms got out of it all alive, but seriously why does it smell like history is repeating itself with us?”
“Because it is,” growled Applejack, “He used our ma’s and now he’s usin’ us. How we know this whole story ain’t hogwash, least the bits ‘bout you turnin’ over a new leaf? How we knowin’ this Xcution o’ yers ain’t still a thang an’ ya just want us ta take our ma’s places after they went an’ rebelled against you Soul Reapers!? Why should we be trustin’ ya at all!?”
Discord understood her anger. Applejack’s eyes would scald the skin off his bones if her ire could be made physical, and everything from the hard set of her shoulders to the scathing tone of her voice sent his mind flashing back to memories of her mother. Sweet Cider had been just as angry when she’d learned the full extent of how she and her friends had been manipulated by him, and he hadn’t blamed her for it one bit. He couldn’t blame Applejack for her anger now. It was all justified.
“I can’t prove my good will to you, Applejack,” he said, not using his customary ‘miss’ before her name, “You can choose to believe me, or not to, as your heart dictates. All I can do is tell you what I know, and offer both my apologies for the things I’ve done and my continued support for yourself and your friends.”
Applejack’s face was near volcanic, and her next words came out like a hiss of steam, “Tell me... did yer Soul Society have anythin’ ta do wit Grand Fisher killn’ my folks? He was workin’ fer ya Soul Reapers, right?”
Before Discord could say anything, Clover spoke up, “Discord had already been... exiled for other reasons by then, Applejack. He was no longer Captain of the Twelfth Division... my Captain was. Captain Starswirl. It was all in the files I read in the archives.”
Clover’s eyes shone with tears of shame as she hung her head, “I’m so sorry. I never imagined my Division could be involved in something so shady and immoral, but it was all there, clear as crystal. After Project Xcution was shut down all of your parents were put under a period of observation to ensure the memory blocks and seals on their power stayed in place. Grand Fisher was, officially, put on a top priority list for extermination, but unofficially he was more or less allowed to roam free in case he was ever needed as a pawn again. This is what allowed him to freely target your parents. Soul Society hadn’t expected him to go after the former Xcution members like that, and he caught them off guard. Your parents were dead before the observation team was able to interfere, and that’s the only thing that allowed you to survive that night... but it was just too late to save your parents...”
She trailed off, a hesitant tremor running through her, and Discord went over to Clover and put a hand on her shoulder, “You can tell her the rest, Clover. She’d learn soon enough anyway.”
“Learn what?” Applejack said, voice barely above a whisper.
Clover looked at her, took a deep breath, and said, “While your father’s soul was dragged to Hueco Mundo by Grand Fisher, the Soul Society recovered your mother’s soul. She still had no memory of Xcution, but even with her Fullbring powers sealed she had incredible reiatsu regardless. She was recruited into the Gotei, and for lack of a better term has been a prodigy in ur ranks. Sweet Cider is currently Captain of the Tenth Division.”
Applejack looked like she’d taken a solid blow, stepping back until she leaned against the wall as if it was the only thing holding her up. “Yer... yer bein’ serious? My ma, the woman ya’ll lied to and manipulated, ya took away her memories then when ya failed ta protect her from the very monster ya’ll turned loose yourselves ya had the gall ta make her one of ya?”
“I’m sorry...” Clover said.
Applejack just shook her head, looking completely dumbfounded, as if all the motions boiling inside her were trying to come out but were just tangling up into each other and leaving her to stare blankly at the floor in pure mental overload.
“The apology is mine to make, Clover,” said Discord, “I am the one who set this all in motion, so focused upon my research I never considered the long reaching consequences of what I was starting. I should have shut down those projects myself when I first took the position of Captain, but I didn’t, and it is set off many events that have cost others much. All I can do now is attempt to make up for some of it by doing all that I can to ensure you young ladies don’t meet the same fate as your mothers.”
Applejack said nothing, her eyes still focused not on her surroundings but rather seeming to twitch around in response to an inner struggle. The other girls were taking this all with varying degrees of clear discomfort and mixed emotions. Rarity’s brow was furrowed as she crossed her legs and leaned back in the couch, lips pursed as if tasting something sour, tapping one of her fingers in a uneasy manner. Rainbow Dash shifted around on her feet, arms still crossed, lips pressed in a tight frown. Fluttershy looked wide eyed and stunned, but more than that she was looking at the rest of her friends with deep worry, as if she was more concerned with how they were all taking this than she was concerned over her own feelings. Pinkie Pie was scratching her head, still looking puzzled, like she was trying to mentally juggle all the pieces of information Discord had disclosed.
Only Sunset’s expression hadn’t changed much, remaining locked on Discord with an air of guarded calculation, as if she was placing Discord on a set of scales in her mind and seeing where things weighed out.
“So, that’s quite a lot to chew upon,” said Rarity at last, “I for one feel like we may need a day or two to truly mull this over, Mr. Discord. While I in no way condone the way you manipulated our parents, I can appreciate that in the end you tried to do what you could for them. I’m just not certain where my own feelings stand, and, well, haste makes waste. I’d rather not jump to an emotional conclusion until I’ve had time to think about whether or not you deserve our further trust.”
“Y-yes, time to think would be good...” said Fluttershy, hugging herself, shaking her head, “I just don’t understand why Soul Society would do something so horrible.”
“It's not that surprising...” said Sunset, voice oddly quiet, “Even the most seemingly benevolent of ruling bodies have their dark secrets. It sounds like most of Soul Society, including most Soul Reapers, don’t have any idea what their superiors did, and it doesn’t even sound like all of the Captains agreed with it, otherwise this Captain Commander couldn’t have gotten enough support to overturn the Central 46’s decision. Right?”
Discord nodded, “Correct. It was the closest I’ve ever seen to the Captains of the Gotei 13 coming to blows over an issue. If the Central 46 had not backed down on their decree it might have meant civil war, which every Captain knew we couldn’t afford with the Hollows and Quincy just waiting for a sign of weakness to take advantage of. Its... it's the desperation of war that led to Hitsuyo-Aku being created in the first place. Victory by any means necessary.”
”Well I ain’t havin’ it!” burst out Applejack with vehement fervor, pushing off the wall and stalking right up to Discord, thrusting a finger under his nose, eyes blazing. “Now ya listin’ good an’ close, Discord. I ain’t speakin’ fer my friends. They can figure out how they feel their own dang selves... but you an’ me...we’re through. I’m done. I killed Grand Fisher wit my own hand, so far as I’m concerned, that bit o’ business is over wit. But my pa is trapped in Hueco Mundo somewhere, and my ma is brain scrambled and stuck workin’ fer yer ol’ bosses. I ain’t havin’ that either! So... so I’m gonna fix it! I’m gonna fix it all, an’ I’ll dang well do it without yer help ya damn lyin’ varmint!!”
“Applejack, wait-!” Clover said, trying to stand up, but her injury made her cry out in pain and fall right back to the couch. The other girls looked on in dismay as Applejack stomped out of the room, all but tearing the sliding door off its rail on her way out.
They could hear her stomping out practically all the way to the front door.
“Uhh, shouldn’t somebody go after her?” asked Pinkie Pie, “We can’t just let be all alone like that!”
“I don’t know Pinkie,” said Rainbow Dash, “I’ve seen Applejack angry before and this... this is a level beyond that. I don’t think she wants anybody around her right now. Probably just piss her off more.”
“I’m afraid I have to agree,” said Rarity with a sigh, “Out of all of us Applejack has to be taking these revelations the hardest. Her parents... its is horrible what happened to them and I’m sorry Mr. Discord but there’s little that can change the fact that it is largely your responsibility. If either of my parents or...” she gulped, “Or if Sweetie Belle had been killed because of all this, I’m not certain I would be any less, um, peeved as Applejack.”
“But what if she hurts herself?” said Fluttershy, already standing and heading for the door, “The way she is now who knows what she might do, like go after more Hollows alone?”
“I’d feel sorry for any Hollow that gets in AJ’s way right now,” said Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy paused at the door, frowning, “Even so, I just can’t leave her like this. Not when she’s hurting this much.”
“That’s what I’m talking about! We need some serious positive vibe intervention, asap!” said Pinkie Pie, hopping up and joining Fluttershy at the door, “Applejack doesn’t need to be alone to stew in her icky bad feelings, she needs us, her friends to be there for her!”
“They’re right,” said Sunset, standing, “Applejack’s in a bad place right now. I know what it’s like to be filled with a lot of anger and now way to get rid of it. She needs to know we’re there for her, even if she doesn’t want to hear it right now.”
She turned to regard Discord and Clover, “Thank you for telling us everything. For my part, I still trust both of you. Clover, you’ve been nothing but a friend to us, and I’m not going to hold you responsible for what your organization has done. Discord...” she smiled slightly, “If anyone can understand what it’s like to want to make up for past mistakes, it’s me. You want to prove your goodwill, you’ll have to earn it, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and give you that chance to do that.”
Discord took a deep breath, nodding, “Thank you for that.”
“Don’t think we’re entirely done, through,” Sunset added, “There’s still a lot of unanswered questions I’d like to know, but I think right now we’ve all heard enough to need time digesting it, like Rarity said. That, and we need to give Applejack time to cool off and remind her we’re all in this together. So, for today, I think it’s best we all head out.”
“Agreed,” said Discord, “Take all the time you need.”
With that the girls exchanged quick glances, and then as one going out the door after their friend.
----------
Celestia sat at her desk in her principal's office at Canterlot High, blinking at the woman standing across from her with disbelief. Captain Platinum watched Celestia with hawkish eyes, Lieutenants Meadowbrook and Fancy Pants flanking her, the former looking like he’d rather be anywhere else, and the later having a calm, cold air of patience.
“I’m not certain I understand, Captain Platinum. You said you’re here to...apprehend them?”
“Perhaps that’s a strong choice of words,” said Platinum turning to half lean, half sit against Celestia’s desk, placing one hand on it as she smiled, “You know how those stuffy fellows in Central 46 are. Rather than ‘apprehend’, its is more accurate to say we’re here to ‘escort’ the young Substitute Soul Reaper and her allies to the Soul Society, so that they might be properly... given the opportunity to join us formally.”
“And shall these young ladies be given the choice of whether or not to accept either the escort or this ‘offer’?” asked Luna, who was standing a bit behind Celestia and to the side of her chair, eyeing Platinum with cold eyes.
“Why, whatever reason would they have to say no?” asked Platinum with an innocent flutter of her eyes, “It's a grand opportunity! They already battle Hollows, and as former allies of the Gotei 13 they could have access to all of our resources and backing, not to mention receive more thorough and formal training than they could get working for that crass exile.”
“Be that as it may I have looked over those young women for some time now, and I can safely say that they may not be as interested in this opportunity as you think,” said Celestia, “They’re a very independent bunch.”
“A malady that’s readily curable with a proper education,” said Platinum.
“Proper education, or indoctrination?’ asked Luna.
“Oh please, Luna, we’re not intending to force those young ladies into anything, but you have to admit it isn’t particularly proper to allow humans with potent abilities to run around without guidance!” said Platinum with a reasonable tone, “Then of course there’s this Sunset Shimmer. As a Substitute Soul Reaper you can imagine we’re very interested in ensuring she’s kept... under control. Especially considering what happened with our last Substitute Soul Reaper.”
Celestia’s expression darkened. It was not a pleasant look, like the sun itself going from brightest white to deadly crimson. “Enough dancing, Platinum. If you are here to take those young ladies against their will, rest assured neither I or my sister will stand idly by. Orders from Central 46 or not it is against everything the Soul Society stands for to force interference in the lives of human beings. We made that mistake before, I shall not stand aside and let it happen again, even if it costs me my rank or even my life.”
Platinum blinked at her, her friendly look turning icily cool, eyes narrowing, through her smile remained, “Don’t be so dramatic Celestia. I have no intention of taking anyone anywhere by force. We shall speak with these young ladies and make an offer, one I firmly believe they’ll see the benefits of. If not... well, I’m not under orders, yet, to do anything more than make the offer.”
Celestia didn’t know how far to trust Platinum on that count. She’d never known the Captain of the Sixth Division to do anything other than follow the rules, but she was one of the Captains from long ago who wholly supported the Twelfth Division’s weapons research, and had been one of the more loud voices calling for bringing the mothers of those girls under control. Platinum was a traditionalist, and a hard liner for maintaining the Soul Society’s order and dominance over any moral concerns. On top of that, Platinum had been the one to originally bring the girls' mothers into custody during the Xcution incident, suffering grievous wounds in the process. It was hard to imagine there might not be something of a personal vendetta at play in regards to that. It certainly seemed like no coincidence that Soul Society sent Platinum to do this rather than contact Celestia and Luna to perform the task.
“Be that as it may,” she said, “As long as those girls are students at this school it is still my duty to see to their safety, so I would accompany you when you meet with them to ensure matters go smoothly.”
“Would that not break the cover you and your sister have so carefully cultivated here?” asked Platinum, “Not only yourselves, but for your Lieutenants as well? Would you want to lose that anonymity?”
Celestia managed a small, coy smile, “They would have learned the truth soon enough. After the brazen invasion of this city the other day I was going to tell them myself. Might as well do that now, since Soul Society has decided to move forward without consulting me on this matter.”
Platinum eyed her for a few seconds, then Meadowbrook, stepping up beside her, said, “The young women in question may well be better disposed towards us if they see a familiar face they trust among us.”
“Hmm... true. Very well, Celestia, you can feel free to tag along,” said Platinum with a wave of her hand.
“Sister,” Luna said, “Perhaps I should go as well?”
Celestia shook her head as she stood, “I’d feel more comfortable with you remaining here and ensuring nothing happens to the portal, sister. We still can’t be certain the Hollows won’t attempt another large scale attack, or make any move against the portal. The sun and moon cannot always share the sky.”
That last sentence caused an almost imperceptible shift in Luna, just the smallest shade of a stiffening of her back and a knowing look flashing across her eyes. That sentence was a code phrase between the two sisters, one of many they’d formed between each other over the long centuries when they wanted to communicate with each other even when there were others present they didn’t want to clue into the conversation. It meant that Celestia wanted Luna to follow her covertly, and as Captain of the Second Division and present leader of Stealth Corps, there were few in all of Soul Society who would have a chance of detecting Luna when she wished to remain hidden. Even Captain Platinum wouldn’t know Luna was following them.
“I understand, sister,” Luna said with the smallest of nods, doing a fair job of looking resigned. Celestia smiled at her sister and then turned to Platinum.
“In all likelihood the girls are at Discord’s shop in the downtown area. Shall we?”
Platinum’s eyes shifted between the two sisters, “Yes, let’s. I’d like to return to Soul Society as soon as possible, preferably with new guests in tow.”
Somehow, Platinum, I doubt things will go nearly so smoothly, Celestia thought grimly.
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"latter"
I don't trust Platinum. She strikes me as the kind of person who won't take "no" for an answer.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Vexy, plz no... it's still too painful to think about,
I liked the very quick insinuation that there are at least two more Soul Reapers hiding in plain sight at CHS. It was slipped in so casually in a chapter where readers are already dealing with a huge amount of information that some people might glaze right over it. I'm secretly hoping that Flash Sentry is one of them, and that the reason he sticks so close to Pri-Twi is that he's been ordered to keep an eye on her,
I also like how Starlight is being utilized as a sort of hybrid between Ichigo and Ginjo; the Xcution arc had a lot of unexplored potential in the manga, even if it came at a time when most people felt the story should have already ended. I also like the subtle hints that Starlight could be this world's Aizen.
but this girl’s mane was a familiar purple shade that marked her relation to Rarity
has been a prodigy in ur ranks
and it is set off many events that have
its is horrible what happened to them
with a lot of anger and now way to get rid of it
1. Hair. Not mane this time cause they're human.
2. Our.
3. Has.
4. It.
5. No.
Well, now Starlight has been brought into play. Kinda. I suspect she's going to eventually have part of her memories brought back even if subcounciously acting to it, someone is going to ask questions. But I wonder what her position is now or if she's in exile.
Platinum however... well, I guess we can almost assuredly say that Sunset Willie staying with Discord instead and even moreso for the rest of the gang. I almost envision a fight between Discord and Platinum at one point of him saying something along the lines of how they're his charges/customers and will do what it talkative protect them. Eh, called sappy but that's how it goes.
Now I'm just wondering if Applejack is going to just simply lash out at any soul reaper that approaches her. Save for Sunset of course. That'll be a whole nother can of worms indeed.
Yeah... Platinum is about to kick up a shit storm, whether she realizes/cares or not. Hopefully she doesn't find AJ first at least. She'll probably come out on top if it comes to blows, but likely not before a boot-shaped imprint finds its way across her ass. So Starlight, eh? To be frank, her character is why I haven't watched any of this current season yet, stupidly written as her motives were. Assuming Starlight's insanity/power/skill carry over to this fic though, she'd probably be right at home in the Hitsuyo-Aku, if they'd have her. Great chapter, as usual!
I have to agree with RD. When AJ is pissed you better stay out of her way.
most interesting *steeps fingers in plotting pose* most interesting indeed
Captain Platinum's attitude irks me. She kinda reminds me of Dolores Umbridge. Hope Soul Reaper Starlight Glimmer returns.
>Sunset's human counterpart is dead
>In a Bleach setting
OHHH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII--
7501598
*mirrors your pose*
Indeed it is, my colleague...
7501482 Stay out of her way? Ha! Her friends need to worry about her safety right now before she gets herself hurt. AJ being that pissed would make it laughably easy to lure her into a trap. If Tirek or Grogar did as little as just opened a portal in front of her she would probably run headlong into hueco mundo looking for revenge and get captured. I don't care how pissed off you are an Arrancar is an Arrancar and only bad writing allows for anger to suddenly power someone up a hundred fold, which is what it would take to at least fight on equal terms with Grogar. Anger doesn't make you invincible or grant you godlike powers. Under all that fury is still just a novice fullbring with a month or so of training. Millennia old immortal death spirits like Grogar would have easy pickings on her right now.
Well done! Every chapter makes me hate either one faction or the other more, if not both!
Tell me this then. Would you be angry if you were told that your mother or father was part of a secret organization that protects the living without tell anyone that you're still alive? Riddle me that sherlock.
So, Platinum and her escorts are here to take the girls to the Soul society, and she's probably the type that will use the force if diplomacy doesn't work, and Apllejack is mighty furious with the Society for everything that happened to her parents....
Anybody else can see what's going to happen next?
7502647 I'm guessing Platinum will try to start a fight, Celestia will throw out a few threats. Before anything escalates, Applejack will demand to see her mother. Platinum agrees and sweeps her away to the soul society, thus setting up the next arc. Sunset and company will try to follow, while Twilight hears a similar story from her mother. Considering Firefly is involved with the Quincy, I'd be surprised if she didn't appear in Twilight's story somehow.
So Sunset's double is dead. I'm not sure if that's foreshadowing or a resolution. On the one hand, death is not the end in Bleach. I wouldn't be surprised if she's a member of the Soul Society or a powerful Hollow. On the other hand, it's like Sunset said, there's enough going on already. This could just be the author's way of saying I'm done with this question. If not, Sunset simply needs to ask Clover to look her up in the archives. Speaking of which, why didn't Clover just ask Sweet Cider in person about her death? I'm under the impression that Court Guard Captains are pretty notable names, so Clover should've known it before hearing it from Applejack. Of course, she might've been assigned a new name for all I know.
There's another random thought I had. In Friendship Games, Twilight was able to build a device that could not only track magical energy, but could also sap and contain it. For spiritual energy, she's already done the former in the form of the trackers. I bet she could develop this tech further if allowed the resources.
Man you're putting more thought into this story than Kubo ever seemed to do for Bleach lol. Looking forward to the next one.
7502206 Unless you're like The Hulk or a Dark Force user, and your power literally comes from Anger.
7502647 Platinum runs into AJ, manages to keep her calm long enough to extend the offer, and AJ jumps at it, in order to get herself into Soul Society to try and get to her mother/get revenge from inside.
Interesting. Looks like some answers were revealed, but some (mainly Applejack) aren't happy about what was explained to them. Oh dear. Not only that, the SS is here to "escort" the Humane 6 to join them?! I can't imagine that going well.
Please keep up the good work and see ya next update.
7501993 Gendo pose thirded...
Honestly I like this explanation better than Bleach Canon for Xcution.
Gonna say this. All this time I thought pinkie pie was a Bount.
An interesting idea that the original series, unfortunately, never bothered to examine, that of someone with powers while alive dying and then ending up becoming a soul reaper. Though it does seem a little odd to me that apparently the memory thing persisted even after dying. Incidentally, there's a typo here; though this should be "our ranks"
Actually, speaking of that, there is a recurring issue with dialogue punctuation in this story. When splitting up dialogue with a said tag (i.e. "Sunset said"), how you should punctuate it depends on whether the split occurs in the middle of a sentence. If it does, then you precede the second part of the dialogue with a comma and don't capitalize it; if it occurs between sentences, then you precede the second part of the dialogue with a period and do capitalize it (the second is significantly more common because people tend to naturally split dialogue between sentences). So things like this:
Are incorrect. The commas after "admitted" and "Discord" should be periods.
Another recurring (though less common) issue is that action tags should be ending in periods. An "action tag" is when it's describing what a character is doing in the same paragraph as a bit of dialogue, but the action isn't a said tag. For example:
The comma after shoulder should be a period because it's an action tag, not a said tag.
For a probably better explanation of this than I just gave, you can look right over here for information on punctuation with said tags (the part with action tags comes right after).
A very creative spin on the Fullbring arch. Really intense, though.
*heavy sigh*
What can I say? It's terrible, what happened. It shouldn't have happened.
Deliberately siccing a Hollow on humans is bad enough, but to defy their will? That's what makes it worse. I could forgive everything but that: if you're unknowingly gonna make someone a test subject, the least you can do is let them quit when they want to.
Still, I believe Discord when he says he's doing everything he can to do his penance, I hope he succeeds this time.
Oh, and Celestia, Luna, please, protect them.
Large scale memory modification is always unacceptable, but this is particularly egregious. Discord seems to have turned over a new leaf, though, so that's good. Then again, one never knows with him. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
But otherwise, wtf does soul society think it's doing trying to repeat almost the exact same sequence of events with the new generation? Expecting it to end differently is the definition of insanity, so I'm going to assume Central 46 is under nefarious control as it was in Bleach's canon until proven wrong.