Episode 32: The Fuse is Lit
Episode 32: The Fuse is Lit
“Captain Celestia of the Thirteenth Division and Captain Luna of the Second Division, you stand accused of committing acts of treason against the safety and sanctity of Soul Society,” intoned the baritone voice of the faceless wise man of the Central 46, “It falls to this gathering to determine the validity of these charges and whether this matter shall go to trial. We begin the hearing by first allowing you to make a plea of guilt or innocence regarding these charges.”
Luna looked ready to spit quite a few choice words regarding those charges, but she held her peace and gave Celestia a questioning glance. Celestia more than understood her sister's anger. She shared it. It must not have been easy for Luna to keep that anger in check, and Celestia appreciated that her sister was willing to let her do the talking for now. She cleared her throat and addressed the council.
“I declare myself and my sister innocent of any charges of treason that could be brought to bear against us, and confess my confusion that ‘treason’ is even being considered in regards to us. We believed our incarceration was due to a misunderstanding regarding Captain Platinum’s behavior in the world of the living and how she accosted humans under the protection of myself and my sister, by the laws of Soul Society.”
“The incident in question is one we are well aware of, and initially that was what we were to hold a hearing regarding,” replied the Central 46 member, “However Captain Platinum brought forth the charge of treason upon her return with you and Captain Luna in custody.”
Suddenly Cheese Sandwich spoke up, his upbeat tone somewhat marred by a mocking note, “Because she can just do that without offering any proof, right? You guys just decided to suddenly put two of our best, most upstanding members to the question without so much as a lifted finger to check any facts?”
“Captain Cheese Sandwich, if you wish to address the council, you will do so with a civil tone and through proper protocol,” said the Central 46’s representative, “Captain Platinum backed her claim with pieces of evidence that convinced this council that a hearing concerning treason was a valid pursuit, and she shall be allowed to present this evidence to her fellow Captains and the rest of our council today.”
“Why did she not bring this to the attention of the Captain Commander first?” asked Captain Amore, her voice soft and gentle as ever, but filled with a disturbed tone, “We only heard of these charges of treason until just a few days ago, and it seems strange that if Captain Platinum had proof of treason that she wouldn’t have come to the Captain Commander right away. Indeed, why did Captain Platinum use trickery to deceive Captains Celestia and Luna into coming to Soul Society under guard?”
She paused, then cleared her throat, “If I might ask the Central 46 council’s permission to speak, of course.”
There was a slight cough from behind the hidden screen that kept the members of the Central 46 from view, then the baritone voiced wise man said, “Your question is a valid one, Captain Amore, and we shall allow Captain Platinum to explain herself. Captain?”
Platinum nodded eagerly and strode to the front of the room, “Of course. Wise council of the Central 46, my fellow Captains, my reasons for avoiding bringing the information in my position to light earlier was because I could not afford to give Celestia or Luna the chance to escape justice. Had I gone to the Captain Commander this would have likely convinced him to send a large, armed contingent to bring in our traitor Captains by force. It would have resulted in a costly battle at worst, displaying weakness to our foes watching the world of the living, and very likely given either Celestia or Luna an opportunity to flee. Keep in mind that Captain Luna is also in charge of the Stealth Corps and is well known for having the greatest prowess among us in matters of stealth. It was fearing their escape, and the damage that would cause, that forced me to utilize deception to ensure their capture and put them under guard before they realized what was happening. That was why I waited until our return to Soul Society before bringing my charges of treason and the evidence I have of that charge’s validity to the attention of the Central 46.”
She turned to Scorpan and bowed, “I do apologize for going over your head, sir, but it was necessary.”
Scorpan’s face was a leathery mask showing a faint hint of disquiet that somehow managed to seem more ominous than the front of a ocean storm. “You should have come to me, Platinum. At this point I don’t know what to think about any of this, but you should have come to me the moment you suspected anything as severe as treason from one of your fellow Captains.”
“I understand why you believe that, Captain Commander, but when I show you the evidence, you will understand I could take no risks.”
“Then why’re we wastin’ so much damn time yappin’!?” growled Sweet Cider with a disgruntled look and a stomp of one of her feet, hard enough to shake the room, “Show yer evidence an’ lets git this hot mess over wit! I got work ta git to that ain’t gonna be done by me sittin’ here listin’ to ya’ll blowin’ hot air all day!”
“Captain Sweet Cider, maintain a civil tongue,” said one of the other Central 46 members, an elderly woman by the sound of her voice, “But I do happen to agree with her. Let’s not spend too much time on the formalities. This charge is serious enough to warrant getting to the heart of the matter quickly. Captain Platinum, present your evidence of treason.”
“Very well,” Captain Platinum said, and reached into her robes to withdraw several pale, pearl-like orbs that she held delicately between her fingers. Celestia recognized them as remote information recorders, not unlike the video cameras used by living humans, only these orbs could collect information beyond the visual. They were capable of providing data on spiritual entities, scanning reiatsu signatures, and retaining this information to be displayed later alongside visual and audio data. The Soul Society used them in conjunction with either skilled operatives for surveillance purposes. As far as she knew Luna’s Stealth Corps made use of them rather liberally, as did the Twelfth Division's field research teams.
“Nearly a year ago my Division started to suffer from unusually high casualties during the performance of their duties as patrollers along our realm’s furthest regions,” Captain Platinum began. Celestia knew well that the Sixth Divisions specialization was guarding the far realms of the Soul Society’s spirit plane, the far flung wildernesses where Hollows might roam, or their enemies might try to establish footholds for an attack on Soul Society. It was a sacred duty, and one the Sixth Division took very seriously. Their Soul Reapers were trained to operating in small squads for long lengths of time without support, patrolling the often chaotic areas far outside Soul Society’s influence. Not only Hollows could roam those distant, unstable parts of the spirit plane, but escapees from Hell, or wandering creatures from the Beast Realm. Human souls also dwelled out there, pockets of souls that preferred to live in the dangerous wilderness as opposed to the vast sprawl of the Rukongai districts.
Casualties weren’t unusual in the Sixth Division, but Celestia had not heard that they were taking higher casualties than normal. Captain Platinum gave Celestia a hard look and continued, “At first I attributed this to nothing more than a random spike in Hollow activity, but as casualties lists mounted, I became concerned that something was severely wrong. As a result I decided to personally lead an expedition to scout the patrol routes suffering the worst troubles. After dealing with several ambushes by groups of Hollows of not only the lesser-class by of Adjuchas-class I concluded that they were aware of our patrol routes. Capture and interrogation of one of the Adjuchas-class Hollows can be viewed here...”
She held up the first of the orbs and a pale blue light emitted from it, forming a projection of images in the air like a circular window that showed a view of Captain Platinum and several members of her Division in the wilderness of a dense jungle-like area, likely one of many regions in the far realms. An Adjuchas Hollow, looking like a twelve foot tall and heavily muscled gorilla, was on its knees before Platinum, its body already covered in wounds and its legs encased in thick sheets of ice.
”Tell me how you knew my Division’s patrol routes, creature, and your pain will end swiftly.” said Platinum in the image recording. The Hollow growled in response.
”It must hurt, Soul Reaper, to think you’ve been betrayed by one of your own. Who is it, you must be wondering? Every time you send a group of your loyal soldiers into the wilds you have to fear that we’ll be waiting. You can’t be there for every patrol. You can’t protect all of your subordinates. It must just eat you up inside to realize how powerless you are-”
The Hollow’s tirade was silenced by Platinum reached to grip his mas with one, slim hand, with enough force to crack the white bone, and sharp shards of ice tore into the Hollow’s body. Not enough to kill it, but enough to make it howl in agony. Platinum’s voice hadn’t become any less stable or calm, but had dropped several octaves in terms of its freezing lack of mercy.
”I can always capture another of your comrades. One who is more inclined to answer my questions rather than spout ill chosen drivel. I’ll ask one last time. One last chance to buy yourself a painless death. Who told you our patrol routes?”
The Hollow started to laugh, a loud, bellowing sound. Then it said, ”Someone you know well. Someone you trust. When you find out just how deep the betray runs, it’ll tear your precious Soul Society part. Bwhahaha!”
The Hollow’s laughter turned into a chorus of pained screams as Platinum’s ice started to cut into it once more, and the recording ceased. Captain Platinum put the orb away, her face a cold mask, and said “I spent the next several months attempting to capture and interrogate other Hollows to learn the identity of the traitor, but one and all they held the information I sought from me.”
“Not to sound like a broken record, but why didn’t you bring this to anyone’s attention?” asked Cheese Sandwitch, eyes uncharacteristically piercing, “This was before you suspected Celestia or Luna, so you had no reason to withhold this information from anyone for fear of tipping them off.”
“No, but I feared tipping off whoever the traitor happened to be,” Platinum said, “Not to mention causing unrest among my peers by spreading the idea of a traitor without first acquiring proof. I needed to have indisputable evidence first, Captain. Had I come to anyone else with my fears it would have amounted to too much risk.”
There was a heavy bang, like that of a gavel, from the front of the Central 46 seats, and the baritone man’s voice said, “The Central 46 concurs with Captain Platinum’s reasoning. Please, Captain, continue your testimony.”
As Platinum prepared to continue, Celestia’s own mind was reeling. This had all begun a year ago? That seemed like far too much of a coincidence to her. After all, a year ago was just around the time of Sunset Shimmer’s attempt to steal the Element of Magic and the spark that had set off the chain of events that had led to this point. It seemed far too convenient for Platinum’s search for a traitor beginning around the same time things had gotten hectic at Canterlot High.
“It was clear I needed to try something other than interrogate Hollows, so instead I reduced the frequency of patrols, but bolstered the size of the actual patrols, while changing the normal patrol routes. My hope was to provoke the traitor into making a move to provide the Hollows with the new information on the changes to the patrols. The plan worked. I had several hidden squads of Soul Reapers using sensory equipment to track reiatsu signatures comb the wilds until they found a trail of reishi that belonged not to Hollows, but to fellow Soul Reapers.”
She held up the next orb, “In so doing, one of my surveillance squads captured this footage.”
The image projected showed a similar jungle wilderness, only this time it showed a wide clearing by a cliff-face, where a pack of Hollows led by several large Adjuchas were meeting with a cloaked figure in thick gray robes. The figure had a hood up that obscured its features, but it was clearly humanoid in appearance, and was showing the Hollows some kind of map. The image was blurry, and flickered out quickly.
“The spiritual pressure of this person was high enough to disrupt the orb’s recording abilities after only a minute, but it was enough to confirm that we had a traitor among our ranks. To be sure I had several more surveillance teams try to trail this individual, and they caught footage of two more similar meetings.” Captain Platinum showed each orb, each one showing a similar seen of a hooded figure meeting with Hollows, providing them with information. “Every time this happened our changed patrol routes were compromised, although the increased size of the patrols kept casualties from ambushes to a minimum.”
“As disturbing as it is to see all that go down,” said Captain Daring Doo suddenly, gesturing at Celestia and Luna, “That footage alone doesn’t implicate either of them. At best it just shows that someone with a lot of spirit energy who might have also been a Soul Reaper was giving the Hollows info.”
“I am aware of that,” said Captain Platinum, and turned to face Captain Zecora, “That is why I had an expert verify the identities of the hooded figures.”
None looked more surprised than Captain Zecora herself as she blinked, saying in a stunned voice, “I am afraid you must be mistaken, for I recall performing no such verification.”
“On the contrary, Captain Zecora. Do you recall visiting my quarters some time ago? To assist me with my headaches?”
Zecora’s eyes widened, but then she suddenly looked thoughtful, nodding her head, “I do believe I now see. That is why you requested me. The trifling task you asked me to undertake, it was for this hearing’s sake?”
“Indeed,” Platinum said, and turned to make a sweeping gesture at the entire gathering, “As my fellow Captains are aware, each of us must demonstrate the powers of our Zanpaktou as part of the process for attaining our rank. That means we all know that the power of Captain Zecora’s Shikai is an unparalleled ability to sense and identify all spiritual energies within its sphere of influence, including piercing all illusions or abilities that would otherwise disrupt her senses. It is literally impossible to fool Captain Zecora’s Zanpaktou, to sneak up on her, or hide from her sight. It also means that she can one hundred percent confirm the identity of the hooded figures in these recordings, for the orbs contain a copy of the spiritual energy signature of the individuals in question.”
She looked to Zecora, “I asked you to identify these samples when you visited me to help with my headaches. At the time I told you the samples were just from routine testing of a new batch of spheres my Division was testing. I didn’t know if you might have been one the traitor at the time, after all, so I had to come up with a convincing story. You remember the results, yes?”
Zecora cast a worried, and deeply fearful look at Celestia and Luna, and Celestia felt her belly tie itself in cold knots as the Fourth Division Captain said, “It pains me to know what that incident was all about, for my Zanpaktou told me that the reiatsu in your samples belonged to Celestia and Luna, without a doubt.”
“Preposterous!” Luna bellowed, suddenly, anger spilling out heatedly from her eyes, “My sister an I have been in the human world for that entire time! Our Lieutenants could easily corroborate this!”
Captain Platinum spun on Luna, just as Celestia said, “Luna, please, don’t make this worse.”
“Your Lieutenants could easily be in on your traitorous actions, ‘Captain’ Luna! I have given them the benefit of the doubt and assumed you and your sister have acted alone, for I have a hard enough time stomaching the notion that the two of you have turned on Soul Society, let alone corrupted those under your charge! I didn’t wish to believe this at first, either, but Zecora’s Zanpaktou cannot be deceived. You should know best, Luna, you helped her demonstrate its powers by attempting to sneak up on her. You, the best stealth specialist in Soul Society. Yet her Zanpaktou saw you clearly, identified your spiritual energy with ease. It did the same with the samples I showed her. I could have her repeat the same feat, her and now, with these recordings. It will show the same results.”
“I would insist that you do,” said Celestia, “But even if it shows my or Luna’s spiritual energy, there remains a question of motive. Think, Platinum, why would I or Luna betray Soul Society? What possible reason could we have to do so?”
“Why else? To protect your ‘students’,” Platinum shot back, face heated, “You’ve spent so long in the living world, perhaps you thought your duty to those girls outweighed your duty to Soul Society? You must have known, the moment they started showing unusual powers, that eventually we would need to decide what to do about them. Perhaps you feared a repeat of the past? Why not help the Hollows put pressure on us, then, to ensure we’d be too distracted to consider bothering you and your precious students!?”
Luna looked ready to leap from the podium and start strangling Platinum with her bare hands. Her pale blue eyes flashed dangerously as she snarled, "Platinum, you arrogant coward! You dare claim we would turn on our duty for such petty reasons!?" She turned her stormy blue eyes towards the rest of the chamber, voice rising even as Celestia tried to give her sister a warning look. "All of you would believe this drivel!?"
"Luna, this isn't helping..." Celestia said, but Luna wasn't done, turning her glare onto Captain Zecora.
"Zecora, your Zanpaktou may have sensed our spirit energy, but couldn't that have been faked by anyone seeking to frame us!?"
Zecora cleared her throat, looking miserable as she said, "Among all of you my Zanpaktou's power is well known. You yourself have seen its accuracy thoroughly shown. There is no illusion it cannot pierce nor deception to escape its gaze most fierce. It sees all in complete clarity... so I have no explanation for this disparity. You, Luna, and you Celestia are friends I hold most dear, so it is not with ease I say this, I fear."
The Central 46’s gavel banged loudly, until silence fell once more. Celestia took a second to glance at her fellow Captains, trying to gauge their respond to this turn of events. Sweet Cider looked agitated, like her patience with the proceedings was running thin. Cheese Sandwitch had a struck look, but he hid it well, and he managed to give her the smallest nod of support to let her know he still didn’t buy into the notion of her being a traitor. Amore looked deeply disturbed, as did Starswirl, stroking his beard in a nervous gesture. Hurricane’s expression was hard as iron and had an unforgiving and unsympathetic harshness to it. Thunderhooves was as immobile and unreadable as ever, like trying to gauge the thoughts of a mountain. Daring Doo appeared mostly confused and like she was trying to think over the logic of the situation. Blueblood was watching Platinum, perhaps as if to take his cue from her, and looked unconcerned regardless. Zecora looked as if she’d just swallowed something sour and was glancing at her and Luna as if unsure of what to think.
Finally, Captain Commander Scorpan’s stoic features only showed a tiredness that matched his voice as he said, “Enough.”
He stood, and approached Platinum, who looked a bit surprised the Captain Commander had stood. He strode to the center of the room, right in front of the podium Celestia and Luna stood upon, and he turned to face the Central 46.
“I have heard enough.”
“Captain Commander, despite your position you do not possess higher authority than this council,” said the baritone male voice, “You cannot end these proceedings with your order alone.”
“I understand this, but the fact remains that I have heard enough.”
He turned his head so his eyes could stare right into Celestia’s, then Luna’s in turn. His voice was quiet, yet carried with it the weight of mountains. There was an intensity in his gaze that matched the turning of Earth itself. “Tell me true, girls. Are you innocent?”
Celestia couldn’t quite help herself, and gave the old man the same kind of grin she used to when he’d still been her and Luna’s instructor, “Of some things, no. But of this charge of treason? Completely.”
Luna nodded sharply, “I have never once even considered betraying Soul Society.”
He held their looks for a moment longer, then gave on leathery nod of his aged features and turned back to address the room, “Captain Platinum’s evidence will be carefully examined. I assume you have no more, Captain Platinum?”
Platinum’s jaw was set in a tight clench, her voice clipped, “This is all I have. It is also more than sufficient. You know that, Captain Commander.”
“Perhaps for some, but not for me. Members of the Central 46, am I correct in assuming that you find Captain Platinum’s evidence sufficient to take this matter to trial?”
There was a few moments of silence, likely as the council consulted with one another, then the voice of the elderly sounding woman said, “It is enough to warrant that and more, Captain Commander Scorpan. I regret this, personally, but the fact is that if examined and found to be genuine, Captain Platinum’s evidence is damning in every sense of the term. I’m afraid any trial would be swift, at best, as there’s little that can refute what Captain Platinum has presented to us.”
“Then I must call for a vote of overruling support from my fellow Captains,” Scorpan said, invoking his one method of authority as the Gotei 13’s Captain Commander to overturn rulings by the Central 46, “I invoke my right to overturn the decision to bring this matter to trial before the Central 46 and instead insist upon this matter being solved internally with a special investigation by the Gotei 13 itself.”
Captain Platinum’s eyes flashed fiercely and she immediately said, “Nay.”
Bluebood was quick to follow, “Nay.”
Cheese Sandwitch was almost as fast to say, “Aye.”
Amore, still looking deeply troubled, said in a quiet voice, “Aye.”
Hurricane licked his lips, arms crossing over his barrel chest, “Nay.”
Daring Doo looked thoughtful, rubbing her chin, eyeing Celestia, then shrugged and said, “Aye.”
Sweet Cider tapped a foot irritably, then grunt out, “Nay.”
“Aye,” Starswirl said with a grimace.
Thunderhooves remained silent for a moment, then rumbled with a sad shake of his head, “Nay.”
Five for, five against. Celestia and Luna clearly could not vote on the matter. Only one Captain’s vote remained. Zecora stood there, all eyes turned on her, and looking like she very much wished to be elsewhere. Zecora looked at Celestia and Luna with a pained expression, her voice barley above a whisper as she said, “My instincts tell me that before betraying Soul Society either of you would rather die... yet the power of my Zanpaktou cannot lie.”
After a heavy sigh, she said, “...Nay...”
Scorpan looked for a moment as if he’d just been punched in the gut, but he hid the expression quickly. The Central 46’s gavel banged loudly, as if already delivering Celestia and Luna’s final sentence, which it may as well have for all it mattered. Celestia knew that the trial would be short and sentencing swift. For all intents and purposes she and her sister had just been found guilty of treason.
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The sounds of battle echoed across the training area beneath Discord’s shop. Sunset could hear the resounding clash of lightning, explosions, howling winds, and shattering crystals like an unending chorus of destruction. She could feel her friend’s spiritual energies as sharply as if she was right there sparring with them, even though she was actually on the other side of the training area working with Clover. She was amazed as the sheer strength of her friends’ reiatsu now, like a swirling storm of pressure that pressed in on her even from a distance.
They’ve each gotten to a whole new level. I hope it’ll be enough. Sunset looked down at herself and chuckled slightly, but immediately refocused her concentration on what she was doing.
She had her left hand raised, palm out, and was concentrating on channeling her reiruyku slowly into that hand without pushing too hard. She had to keep reminding herself this wasn’t a unicorn spell she was trying to cast, but a Kido.
“Good, good,” Clover said, standing a few meters away and watching her, “Now maintain that focus and repeat the chant.”
Sunset took a deep breath and started to recite the words Clover had taught her. She'd heard them once before, when Clover had defeated one of the first Hollows they'd battled together.
“Ye lord, mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man.”
She could feel hot, potent power flowing from her center, up through her shoulder, and into her arm like a warm river. The words she spoke seemed to vibrate in her mouth, and charge the air as she recited them. Sunset's heart raced with the sort of wonder and happy awe she remembered from learning her first spells as a young filly. She loved magic, and feeling its raw power as she applied it. This might not have been unicorn magic, but a spell was a spell and Sunset found herself spiritually soaring at the feeling of the casting as she finished the chant.
"Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"
It was strange to her that words could affect the flow of spiritual energy, or create spells, but she could feel the energy gathered in her hand reacting to the chant as she spoke. According to Clover the chant and invocation created metaphysical channels inside the mind and soul that gave life and shape to the reiryuku and that was what formed a Kido spell. Sunset kept wondering why unicorn’s didn’t need to use any kind of similar focusing medium for their magic, but she kept reminding herself that spirit energy was not magical energy, and the rules that governed them were different. She had to stop thinking like a unicorn and thinking like a Soul Reaper. Regardless, the power blazing in her palm demanded release, and so she finished the invocation with the final words.
“Hado Number Thirty One: Shakkaho!” she invoked, and felt the sharp twinge of power flow over her arm, then blast out of her palm in the shape of a small red sphere of energy. It flew erratically in a curving arc, missing the boulder she’d been aiming at and instead blasting a small crater about three meters across in the ground behind it.
Sunset made a grunt of frustration, but Clover nodded approvingly, “Don’t be discouraged. You have better control than most who cast their first Kido. Heh, you should’ve seen me back in my Academy days. I singed off my bangs so much I started cutting my hairline back, just to save time!”
Sunset laughed lightly, but it was hard to feel too lighthearted, given the circumstances. Any day now they’d go to Soul Society, and likely be in for the fight of their lives. That was why she’d asked Clover to give her a crash course in Kido. She’d strengthened her Zanpaktou, but there was more to being a Soul Reaper than that. She’d be facing other Soul Reapers that had access to the whole range of Soul Reaper powers, and she wanted to have some tactical options on the table. If someone managed to disarm her, for example, it was certainly handy to have a backup method of attack like the Shakkaho spell.
Also it just felt good to be able to use a spell again, even if it wasn’t a unicorn spell.
“Alright, so how about a Bakudo? Any of those you can show me?” she asked Clover, who gave her a small smile.
“I’ll admit I’m not as good with binding spells than destruction spells, but I know a few. Let’s keep it simple for now. I’ll show you the very first Bakudo. It’s called Sai, and-”
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything too incriminating?” asked Discord as he literally appeared from nowhere, seeming to all but step out of thin air, one hand on his hat, the other holding his gnarled cane. “Two young ladies all alone learning how to use binding spells on one another? Oh my.”
Sunset rolled her eyes, “Only in your own lonely dreams. How’re my friends? Ditzy is making sure they don’t hurt each other, right?”
“Oh, I’m sure Ditzy Doo is having the time of her life guiding your friends in stretching their new proverbial muscles. Speaking of which, as much as having Clover teach you a few low level Kido is actually a rather smart move, I must interrupt the proceedings.”
“And why is that?” asked Sunset, stretching.
Discords face turned from joking to serious in a hot second. “Because I just got word from my contacts in Soul Society. Celestia and Luna have been found guilty of treason already, and are being placed in confinement for two weeks before they are scheduled be be executed.”
Sunset sucked in a sharp breath, and Clover closed her eyes in a pained look.
“I don’t believe it’s really come to this,” Clover said.
“Oh it gets worse,” Discord said, “I have it on good authority that members of both the Thirteenth and Second Divisions have started to gather in their own compounds, armed and apparently prepared for a fight. In response the Eleventh Division has also mobilized and is essentially patrolling the Seireitei in heavy numbers. I’ve even heard some of the other Divisions have had officers holding clandestine meetings. Soul Society is a powder keg, and one little spark will set the entire thing off, and unfortunately the fuse has already been lit.”
“Does that mean we’re leaving soon?” asked Sunset, and Discord responded with a heavy nod, placing both his hands his gnarled cane.
“Tonight, in fact. We’ll need every hour we can get to infiltrate Soul Society. I have a friend in the Rukongai who will put us up and help with entering Seireitei, and he already knows you’re coming.”
“Wait,” said Sunset, frowning, “That sounds like you’re staying here.”
Discord closed his eyes, like a man fighting back a migraine, “Sadly I can’t afford to leave here. If I left it’d leave this city, and the portal to Equestria, too vulnerable. Ditzy Doo will be sufficient guide, and my other friend over there should also provide some help. I believe you young ladies have the strength needed without me having to look over your shoulders. That said...”
He raised his hand in front of him, pointing the tip towards Sunset, “I’d like to test how much you’ve improved. Clover, could you give me and Miss Shimmer some space?”
Clover’s face flashed with momentary concern, “If you wish. Sunset?”
“I’ll be fine,” Sunset replied, not taking her eyes off Discord, “Why don’t you go see how the girls are doing? I’ll be along shortly.”
Clover gave them both a hesitant bow before using Flash Step to depart, heading back towards the distant explosions of the other girls sparring. Sunset faced Discord, silence stretching between them. Then Sunset slowly drew her Zanpaktou, and said, “Is there another reason you’re staying behind? A reason you’re maybe not telling us?”
“I thought perhaps we trusted each other a bit more than that by now,” Discord said with a wry tone, his lips twitching up in a half-smile.
“I don’t believe you’d do anything or hold anything back if you thought it’d harm us,” Sunset said, “But that doesn’t mean you might not still have a few skeletons in your closet. My friends and I are putting everything on the line to try and stop Soul Society from destroying itself. Doesn’t that earn us the whole truth?”
Discord eyed her, the depths of his yellow on red eyes filled with a depth of thought and consideration like a dark ocean, almost dizzying Sunset. Then he said, “Knock my hat off, and I’ll tell you.”’
She laughed, “Seriously?” Her lips curved in a deep smile, a fire flaring inside her the challenge, “Fine by me! Ignite, Hokori!”
Sunset was already Flash Stepping before Hokori even finished transforming, flames trailing the arc of the broadsword as she appeared behind Discord and swung for his hat. Discord simply leaned forward, letting the tip of the sword pass harmlessly just a half inch from his green and white striped hat, and he then spun around, using his cane with blinding speed to catch Sunset behind her right knee. The blow nearly tripped Sunset off her feet with a yelp.
She caught herself, jumping back to get some distance, but Discord was on her before she even finished the leap, his cane flashing towards her face. She got Hokori’s blade in the way, the wood not even chipping on her broadsword.
“Ugh, okay, so not a normal stick,” she said with a smirk, “Let me guess, that’s your Zanpaktou?”
Discord gave her a wide grin, “Not a wide leap of logic to guess, even if you hadn’t perhaps heard that from one of the Pie family, not that they would have known what my Zanpaktou was when they saw it.”
They remained locked like that, cane on broadsword, pushing against each other, and Sunset could feel the hardened power and strength in Discord’s unassuming form. He wasn’t giving an inch, even thought she was pressing nearly as hard as she could. With a grin she smashed her shield forward, trying to catch him by surprise. He flipped over the blow, spinning in the air and landing a good distance away, still holding his cane up like it was a fencing foil.
Sunset tensed, her shield extended in front of her and her broadsword cocked back to strike, “If you’re trying to test me, why not at least show me your Zanpaktou’s true form?”
“Oh, and why would I do that?”
“C’mon, I’m curious,” said Sunset, “You’ve been nothing but Mr. Mysterious since day one. Why don’t you show me some of the cards you’re holding?”
“Why Miss Shimmer, you almost make it sound like we’re playing against each other, rather than on the same team.”
“Hey, we’re on the same side, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know what my allies are capable of. You got to admit, you’ve still got me and my friends at a disadvantage when it comes to knowledge about each other,” Sunset’s eyes narrowed, flames dancing along her broadsword as she let power flow into it. One aspect of her increased strength from training was that she could bring forth flames without needing to absorb power with her shield. Her shield still amplified the power of her flames and created more powerful bursts, but at this point she could bring out fire at will, and it was a strong tactical advantage that she demonstrated now when she swung her sword at a distance, creating a fan of fire that flowed towards Discord in a short wave.
As her flames approached Discord he only gave a small, satisfied nod, “Heh, you understand the value of knowing your friends as well as your enemies. Alright, I’ll show you...”
It looked as if her flames engulfed him, wrapping around Discord in a thick sheet, yet Sunset could feel the upward spike of his spiritual pressure pushing back against the fire she’d sent his way. Then she heard him speaking in a calm, intoning voice.
”Rip through all boundaries, Konran Arashi.” (Chaos Storm)
Prismatic light, like the rainbow pattern of oil on water, tore through the flames and created a burst of multi-colored light around Discord. Sunset looked on as the last of the flames she sent at Discord dissipated and revealed him standing unscathed, and holding his unleashed Zanpaktou before him. It still had the hilt of a gnarled cane, but now there was a blade where the rest of the wooden cane had been. The metal was hard to look at, made from a hue of colors that shifted through the entire light spectrum, and even showed shards of color that didn’t seem like they could exist. The very air seemed to bend and twist around the sword, making it hard to see any definition other than the fact that it was there. Just looking at the sickly shimmer of wavering light made Sunset’s head dizzy.
“Alright, that’s a pretty weird looking Zanpaktou,” she said, “What’s it do?”
Discord merely smirked, and holding up a finger and wagging it, “Its so much easier to show, than tell, my dear.
He made little more than a casual, flicking gesture with the blade, and Sunset saw a cone of radiant multi-hued light flare out towards her. Whatever it did, she knew she didn’t want to get hit by it, so she immediately used Flash Step to try and evade, only to find the cone of prismatic energy seemed to have a life of its own. It suddenly spun up towards her, breaking into multiple bands of distorted light that surrounded Sunset and lanced through her from all directions.
It didn’t hurt, per se. Rather what Sunset felt was a immediate and utter disorientation as the world seemed to splinter in her mind’s eye, like the worst vertigo she could ever imagine having. She felt the effects of nausea and an extreme headache combined with complete dizziness to the point where she could barely tell down from up. She felt herself keel over and hit the ground, but in a way that almost made it feel like she was falling up instead of down. The whole world spun, and it took all of her strength not to toss her breakfast onto the ground right then and there.
She heard Discord speaking, could hear his footsteps, but even determining distance or location was hard with how every one of her senses felt like they’d been scrambled like an omelette.
“The whole world depends on a very well balanced set of physical laws to function. Our bodies, spirit or physical, also require so much balance in simple internal chemistry to operate properly. Disrupt even one of those carefully balanced orders and one’s body suddenly becomes almost useless.”
Sunset clenched her mouth tightly shut, trying to concentrate beyond her body’s sudden desire to throw up. She could feel the ground beneath her hands and feet, even if it seemed like that ground was spinning around like a demented theme park ride. Discord’s voice was hard to pinpoint, like it was coming from everywhere at once, but she focused on it, trying to gauge a direction.
“My Konran Arashi's power is to disrupt naturally existing orders. Whether that be the order in one’s body, or the order of spirit energy that creates a Zanpaktou’s powers, or even more fundamental laws like the direction sound travels through the air... all of it is torn to ribbons by my Zanpaktou. I’m sorry to put you through such an unpleasant feeling, Miss Shimmer, but you did ask for this.”
Sunset, sweating profusely, managed a small smile and said, “I did. And we’re not done with just this.”
She couldn’t tell which direction he was in, but he was close, based simply off the volume of his voice. She shoved as much energy as she could into Hokori, and sent flames swirling out around her in a dome shaped pattern of intense heat. She heard Discord give a small mutter of surprise, and for a moment the disorientation in her body and mind let up. She was able to feel the world right itself and found herself on her hands and knees not more than ten feet from Discord as he jumped back from her dome of fire, which only lasted a moment before billowing out. It had done its job, though, distracting Discord and giving her a chance to recover.
She jumped to her feet and slashed for his hat, but he was still swift on his reaction, his shimmering rainbow blade batting hers aside. But Sunset followed up with a hard slam with her shield that hit his sword and actually forced Discord back a step. She felt a twinge of pain that stemmed from Hokori herself, as the Zanpaktou’s shield seemed to shudder on contact with Konran Arashi, but she still felt power pull in from the shield and transfer to her broadsword. She smiled, eyeing Discord confidently.
“That’s quite the power, but don’t think I’m out yet! You’re hat is mine!”
Discord returned her smile with one of his own, eyes reflecting the prismatic light of his Zanpaktou in a way that almost made him look crazed. “Show me what you can do.”
She didn’t hesitate to do exactly that. Sunset could feel a surge of strength stemming both from inside her own well of reiryuku and from Hokori. The training had certainly solidified the bond between her and her Zanpaktou, and had forced her spirit energy to rise to greater heights through the extreme pressure she’d been put under while ascending the training tower with Clover. As a result she was faster and stronger than before, spiritual muscles strengthened the same as if she’d been an athlete undergoing intense physical training. Now that she knew what to expect from Discord’s Zanpaktou, she was ready for it, and launched into a blazing serious of swift strikes at Discord, meant to get him off balance.
He fought back with speed equal to her own, and each contact with his Zanpaktou brought a feeling of disorientation, but it was clear simple contact wasn’t enough to put her down the way those bands of light had. She expected him to use them again and was prepared for it when Discord suddenly Flashed Stepped up into the air, then swung his sword down at her.
Pushing herself to be faster she went into a quick succession of flickering Flash Steps, the rainbow bands of chaotic energy chasing her every step of the way. However they seemed to have a limit on how far they could reach, perhaps around fifty meters, and Sunset was able to outrun them this time, and the moment she did she charged right in at Discord. As she did so Sunset swung back her left arm flung her shield like a boomerang at Discord, which clearly caught him by surprise by the widening of his eyes. He blocked the throw by reflex, but in that same instant Sunset got right in his face, swinging her broadsword up in a rising cut.
He barely dodged it, and she flipped backwards to catch her spinning shield and strap it back to her arm. They both landed on the ground a few dozen feet apart, watching each other. Discord blew out a huff, and his finger traced a line across his right robe’s sleeves, where there was a shallow cut in the cloth.
“I’m impressed. Still no hat, but you actually caught me by surprise with that move.” He chuckled, still examining the cut in his sleeve, “And me without a proper tailor. Oh well, perhaps it was getting time for me to update my wardrobe anyway.”
“Better not ever let Rarity hear you say that, otherwise you’ll be spending the next day as a dressing doll, whether you like it or not,” said Sunset, raising Hokori’s broadsword above her head. Her spiritual pressure flared and her Zanpaktou became wreathed in thick streams of fire, weaving together like criss-crossing rivers. Discord raised a bushy white eyebrow at her.
“Oh? What do we have here?”
“Well, I know you’re holding back, obviously,” said Sunset, grunting past the strain of guiding her spirit energy, both pooled from her shield, and from inside her spiritual core, into Hokori’s broadsword. “But I can’t afford to do the same. With that ability your Zanpaktou has, you could probably do all sorts of tricks that’d take me out of the fight if I kept screwing around. So I’m just going to go all out and hit you with everything I’ve got, using the new technique Hokori taught me.”
Discord nodded his approval, and mirrored her stance, raising Kontan Arashi above his head. His own form gleamed with an aura of raw spirit power as he started channeling waves of energy up into his own sword, “Astute thinking, my dear. As it happens I don’t have to use Konran Arashi’s ability to disrupt order. I can just use my reiatsu to unleash a blast of power. Let us see if this technique of yours matches up.”
Sunset couldn’t stop herself form smirking. She could feel how powerful Discord was, clear as the sun rising over the horizon in the morning. Yet all that did was generate a feeling of bubbling excitement inside her. She wanted to match her strength against his. Or against anyone, really. Each fight was a step forward towards sharpening her skills and power, and she truly desired to see how far she could go, to what heights she could soar. Part of it was just to protect her friends and the world she’d claimed as her home, but there was always that side of her that just loved competition and improving herself. Hokori all but glowed with heated approval and the shared sentiment. Her Zanpaktou wanted to match power with Discord and Konran Arashi as well.
Let’s do this, Hokori.
As she and Discord both raised their spiritual pressure to their highest points the very ground shook beneath their feet. Both of them were surrounded by auras of light, Discord’s erratic and many colored, while Sunset’s was a bright golden red like her namesake. Waves of dust flowed out from both of them in small pressure waves, and the air itself seemed to distort around the two Soul Reapers as they prepared to unleash their attacks upon each other.
Then Sunset’s light altered, turning from a single fiery hue or orange and gold to a corona of pure azure. The flames around Hokori turned a painfully bright and intense sapphire, the heat roaring off of them intense enough to cause steam to rise from the ground. The blue flames flowed up her sword to gather at the tip in a point of light that turned so bright it was near blinding.
Sunset slammed her sword forward, and shouted the name of the technique Hokori had taught her, back in the training tower.
“Aoihi Senko!" (Bluefire Flash)
It appeared like the crashing wave of a tsunami made out of painfully bright, blue fire. The intense azure flames rolled over each other, wave after wave, crashing together in a white and cobalt flood of melting destruction. Unlike the beams of flame she could normally unleash, this technique covered a wider area, but Sunset had actual control over the direction of the wave of blue fire. She could concentrate it if she chose, or break it apart into dozens of individual blasts to strike entire groups of foes. The intensity of the hotter, blue fire was greater than her regular flames, but if she so choose she had fine control over how far their heat burned. If she wanted she could use this technique around her friends without even singing a single hair on their heads. The flames would simply go around them, the heat not touching them.
However with Discord she held nothing back, and directed the thick wave of blue fire to converge on him just as he in turn slammed his Zanpaktou forward and release a brilliant flash of raw spiritual energy straight into her flames.
The resulting clash of energies overwhelmed Sunset’s senses. She could feel heat and air pressure blasting around her, billowing her black Soul Reaper robes and nearly knocking her off her feet. The sound was deafening and the ground shook like an earthquake as the explosion of power from both Zanpaktou’s colliding made it impossible to see or sense anything for several long moments.
By the time things settled down the first sound Sunset heard was the loud patter of bits of rock debris striking the ground all around her, tons of stone being blasted into the air from the explosion of colliding energy. Blinking her eyes she saw a giant pillar of smoke and dust before her, only gradually clearing to reveal a crater so wide and deep one could have fit several houses inside it.
Standing on the other side of the crater was Discord, looking a bit winded, but otherwise unharmed. Sunset let out a frustrated sigh at the sight, but then noticed something interesting. She started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Discord asked, brushing dust off himself, and blinked as Sunset pointed at his head. He balanced up, feeling his head, which was now missing its hat.
Then, floating slowly back and forth downward in the middle of the crater, was Discord’s hat, slightly signed with a bit of still burning blue flame. As the hat touched the ground Sunset hopped down into the crater to pick it up, spinning the hat on her finger and giving Discord a deeply satisfied smile, to which he puffed out a rueful chuckle and held up a hand. She tossed him the hat, and he batted out the last of the flames on it before plopping it back on his head.
“So, now you owe me an answer,” Sunset said.
“True. I suppose I’ll show you, rather than just tell you,” Discord said, sounding rather hesitant. With a simple gesture he returned his Zanpaktou to its innocuous cane form, the radiant prismatic blade flowing back into plain looking wood. “Follow me.”
He led her back to the stairs out of the training area. Sunset could still feel her friends sparring with each other, and see the occasional plume of dust from the direction they were doing so in. It was a testament to their own newly grown abilities that they hadn’t stopped their sparring even for the explosion of power she and Discord had unleashed on each other. She could sense Clover over there now as well, no doubt observing her friends workout with interest.
“Where are we going?” she asked, but Discord just waved her on and continued to lead her up into his shop.
He took her through several back hallways and through a set of doors further back than she had ever seen before. Finally there was one last sliding door, painted with Japanese kanji that Sunset couldn’t read, but she felt spiritual power invested in the ink. More wards? Discord made a simple gesture with his hands and the kanji lettering glowed briefly before the doors opened to reveal a new set of stairs leading upward. Sunset had certainly never seen the second floor of the shop, and followed Discord up the stairs with a bit of trepidation.
The stairs led to a wide, open room, easily larger than a half dozen of the first floor’s rooms combined. Sunset immediately recognize the set up. Tables filled with lab equipment. Charts of data scrawling along one wall. A few computer terminals on desks piled high with notes.
“This is a laboratory,” she said, and Discord nodded.
“Did you expect anything less? I was head of the Twelfth Division. Being in exile didn’t mean I ceased being a researcher.”
He went across the laboratory, towards an object situated on the far end. It was a metal cylinder, mounted from floor to ceiling in metal restraints. There was a smaller computer terminal attached to the cylinder, and Discord went to it, sitting down on a well worn and faded swivel chair. He began typing commands into the terminal.
“I want your word not to speak of this to your friends unless you absolutely have to, Miss Shimmer. I’m showing you this in good faith, because you’re right that given what you’re risking, you ought to know about additional risks.”
Sunset grimaced, “So if I deem it needed, I can tell them whatever you’re about to tell me, but only if its an emergency?”
“Yes. Your word, Miss Shimmer.”
She didn’t particularly like where this was going, but at least it had a clause that let her talk if it became important. She gave a nod, “Alright, you have my word. Now what is this?”
Discord made a few final keystrokes, and with a hiss a sliding panel in the metal cylinder moved aside. The interior was filled with dark blue liquid, but suspended in the center, clear as day, was a crystalline orb. It was of a strange color, a sort of light sea grean, and shone with shades of blue and white deeper within its core. Sunset couldn’t sense any spirit energy from it, but that might be because of the container it was in.
“What is that?”
“My most ambitious work; the Hogyoku.”
Sunset glanced at Discord with a quirked eyebrow, “The what?”
“It means 'Breakdown Sphere'. It’s a living artifact that can dissolve the boundaries between differing types of souls and allow for intermixing of different spirit energies. it also encourages rapid evolution in a soul’s spiritual abilities. Or at least, that is what it’s supposed to do. It remains incomplete.”
“Okaaaay,” Sunset eyed the orb curiously, “Why would you make something like that? I mean, it sounds kind of impressive, but what’s the practical application?”
“You remember the reason for the war between Soul Reapers and Quincy is based upon the assertion that Quincy powers destroy Hollows, rather than purify them, yes?” Discord’s eyes grew distant and glossy, “At the time the question was posed by some in Soul Society if a way could be found to alter Quincy powers to purify Hollows. It was a quickly dismissed notion of course, as at the time destroying the Quincy seemed the faster and more efficient solution. Yet that question fascinated me. Hollows, Quincy, Soul Reapers, what if there was a way to remove the limitations keeping these entities serperate? I began research on the matter back then, and slowly, over time, the notion of the Hogyoku came to be. For the most part it remained little more than a theory, until my work with Xcution. Fullbringers naturally cross the barrier between human souls and Hollow souls, and that melding gave me the blueprint to nearly finish the Hogyoku... at least until the majority of my research was stolen.”
“Stolen!? By who!?”
“Starlight Glimmer, your predecessor as a Substitute Soul Reaper,” Discord said with a gruff sigh, “Really I ought to have seen it coming, but I was too distracted by the dissolving situation with Xcution to realize what was happening with Starlight until it was too late. She’d taken a strong interest in the Hogyoku research, and had spent more and more time in the Twelfth Division laboratories. I trusted her as something akin to an apprentice, but she betrayed that trust by burning my lab, infecting my Lieutenant and Third Seat officer, and then making off with the half complete Hogyoku.”
“Wait, if she did that, then this one here is-”
“Is a new Hogyoku I’ve been working on trying to complete,” Discord said, frowning deeply, “I still want to use it to offer the Quincy a way to alter their powers so they no longer have a reason to be in conflict with Soul Society, but more than that it might also be the only item with the power to counteract the Hogyoku that Starlight took.”
“Where is Starlight now?” Sunset asked with a nervous glance at the glowing sphere, wondering what this Starlight Glimmer woman might've wanted with such an artifact. Equestria was full of strange and powerful items, and Sunset had even researched several of them before she'd fled through the mirror to the human world. If her memory was accurate, most items of power carried some kind of dangerous price tag attached to them, hence why her younger self had never bothered to seek out things like the Alicorn Amulet. She'd wanted power, but not at the cost of her sanity, such as it had been back then.
Discord let out a bitter laugh, “If I knew that, I’d have already gone after her myself. She’s remained hidden all these years, and has likely reached similar conclusions to myself in regards to how to complete the Hogyoku.”
Sunset watched him as he pushed along his swivel chair to wheel over to a white board across the room that held on it a complex chart of calculations, alongside a diagram of interlocking circles, each containing their own set of strange calculations. Beside that charge was a set of diagrams showing something Sunset immediately recognized.
“That’s the portal to Equestrai!” she said, eyeing the depiction of the statue outside Canterlot High, “What does that have to do with this?”
“Everything, my dear, everything. You see, the Hogyoku is supposed to break through the barriers between souls to unlock infinite potential dwelling within a soul, and allow powers and abilities to intermix between them. The biggest hurdle to that task is being able to penetrate that barrier without causing the soul damage. For the longest time I couldn’t find a method that worked. You and your home world changed that.”
He pointed at the diagram of interlocking circles, seven in total. “The magical energy that stems from Equestria is unlike any seen in this world. It seamlessly bonds with souls that possess the right harmonic frequency and then forms connections between those souls, utterly bypassing the barrier that keeps souls separate. You and your friends, when you defeated the sirens, or Princess Twilight when she led them to defeat you originally. Both instances were moments where your souls were essentially bonded and intermixed to form a power beyond what any one soul could have achieved by itself.”
Sunset gulped, remembering the sensation of being a part of that incredible moment, where she and her friends had stood as one against the sirens. It had felt very much like their hearts had beat to one tempo, and their souls intersected on a single point. “The magic of friendship. You’re saying it works like how you want this Hogyoku to work?”
“In a sense. The Hogyoku would be a device that performs a similar function, but on a smaller scale, focused on removing the barriers around a single soul so that other forms of energy could be blended into it, and to allow it to have near infinite potential to self-evolve. In theory it could blend Soul Reaper powers into a Quincy, or vice versa, but in essence it’d work on the same principles as your ‘magic of friendship’. Of course the only issue is that studying that magic is very difficult, as you girls only exhibit it rarely, and it seems to still stem primarily from Equestria itself.”
“You’d need to go to Equestria to study it then, or...” Sunset frowned, eyes narrowing, “Or you’d need me and my friends as guinea pigs.”
Discord held up his hands in a surrendering gesture, smiling disarmingly, “You can see why I wasn’t eager to tell any of you this, after dropping the bomb about Xcution and the girls’ mothers. I’m not actually studying your friendship magic or using you as test subjects. In fact I’ve basically halted my research on the Hogyoku for now. Once things calmed down I hoped to tell you all this, then actually ask your Princess Celestia for permission to go to Equestria and conduct my research there with her blessing. After all the hope I have for the Hogyoku is to use it as a gesture of peace with the Quincy. But right now I can’t move as long as Starlight is out there as a potential danger.She is a very troubled woman, and if she completes her Hogyoku, it’s likely she’ll use it to try to turn herself into a being of near limitless power.”
Sunset absorbed this information, and her brain did a little bit of basic logical deduction, “You’re worried she’ll either come after us, or go after the portal.”
“It certainly seems convenient for her that Celestia and Luna’s incarceration leaves the portal stripped of its strongest defenders. I also personally have suspected that your finding of your Zanpaktou was not a coincidence, but somehow engineered by someone who wanted to study the magic of friendship and how it affects spiritual powers. Starlight may well be behind all of this, to one degree or another.”
Discord looked at her with a deathly serious look, “Sunset, its up to you whether to bring this up with your friends or not. Regardless, if you encounter Starlight in Soul Society, do not fight her.”
“Why not?” Sunset demanded, “If she attacks us, we’d need to defend ourselves. She can’t be that powerful, can she?”
Discord leaned forward, eyes boring into her, “Starlight Glimmer’s potential made even the Captain Commander nervous, and he was the one that had final say on whether or not she was allowed to even be a Substitute Soul Reaper under my tutelage. She’s had much longer than you to perfect her abilities, and her Zanpaktou is exceedingly dangerous. It can ‘seal’ the powers of other Zanpaktou. That's what she did to Screwloose and Screwball’s Zanpaktou, the day she stole the original Hogyoku.”
“Those two? They were your...” Sunset blinked, “Huh, well, that does make sense doesn’t it? I wasn’t sure they were Soul Reapers because they didn’t have Zanpaktou, but if Starlight sealed their powers I guess they would have to use other weapons. Damn, that's... is there a limit to what she can seal, or a way to avoid it?"
"There are always limits to any given power," said Discord with a wry twitch of his lips, but he looked no less grave for it, "In Starlight's case she could seal nearly any power short of Bankai, but she needed her Zanpaktou to be in physical contact to implant the seal. That was with her Shikai. If she has managed to attain Bankai since then, its possible she could do much more. Not to mention she was highly talented in learning Kido, mastering many from both the Hado and Bakudo schools. The only good news I can give is that her seals can potentially be broken by a powerful enough reiatsu, but Starlight fled before I could confront her to try to break the seals she'd put on my people's Zanpaktou. Besides, I was too busy dealing with their infection to do much else."
Sunset tilted her head quizzically, "Wait, infected? What did you mean by that?”
“When Starlight stole the Hogyoku, she tested out its incomplete powers. Just becaue the object isn’t complete, doesn’t mean it can’t still function to a degree. She used Screwloose and Screwball as test subjects, infecting them with Hollow powers. Them, and Ditzy Doo. She'd been in hiding since using her Zanpaktou to save Starlight, originally, but she still had a secret entrance to my labs in the Twelfth Division and was there for one of her clandestine visits to check up on me when the situation with Starlight went down.”
Discord’s whole frame tensed, his hands gripping the arms of his chair as he hissed out a tired breath, “I still remember arriving at my lab after the alarms went off, finding those three on the ground, writhing in agony as Hollow energy overwhelmed them. It took all of the skill I had in binding Kido to capture them as Hollowfication overtook their senses. They became half-Hollows. Without help from Captain Zecora they would have died, but we were able to give them a chance to control the Hollow power Starlight infected them with... but as you can imagine things did not go over well with the rest of Soul Society. Given what had just happened with Xcution, well, I decided it best that we all flee into exile rather than face the very likely possibility that Central 46 would order us executed. I set up shop with them in the living world and did my best to make my presence useful to Soul Society to keep them from hunting us. As for Starlight, I haven't seen a trace of her since then.”
Sunset glanced back at the Hogyoku in its metal cylinder of liquid, unnerved by it. She understood why Discord might've been motivated to make it, but if it could literally infect people with Hollow energy, possibly turning them into monstrous hybrids, then it was as dangerous as it was potentially useful. Having something like that in the hands of anyone who wasn't extremely mentally stable sounded like a bad idea, and so far Starlight Glimmer sounded about as far from mentally stable as it got. “So now what? You’re trying to finish your work anyway? Even after all the trouble it caused?”
Discord shrugged, “Exiled or not, I remain a man who wants to push the boundaries of what can be done. And ending the war with the Quincy is a worthy goal. More than that, if Starlight completes her Hogyoku, I needed something to counter that with. A power to match what she would obtain. I thought only another Hogyoku would work... but perhaps you and yoru friends can show me a power that will work as an alternative. The magic of friendship has merged with your souls in ways I could never have predicted. These ‘friendship souls’ you all possess, maybe they’ll overcome whatever power Starlight seeks to obtain, and stop whatever damage she might do if she obtains it.”
Sunset shook her head, “Friendship souls? Come up with that one on your own did you?”
“I have a flare for the dramatic, I won’t deny it, but I think the name is apt for the nature of how that Equestrian magic has merged with you and your friends’ souls.” Discord said, then leaned back in his chair, “So there you have it. I think that covers the last of my skeletons in the closet. Satisfied?”
“Mostly I feel like my head’s still trying to wrap around all this, but at least now I know to expect extra trouble from this Starlight woman when we go to Soul Society.” She hesitated for a moment, “I’ll keep this bit between us for now, but the second I think it might be important, I’m telling the girls.”
Discord nodded with grim acceptance, “Fair enough. I think my gut can take another punch from Applejack.”
"I do have one last question," Sunset said, her mind trailing back into her own past, and her ambitions of power that had led her to seek an item of power. "Starlight... why do you think she wanted the Hogyoku bad enough to turn on you for it? Was it just ambition, or was there something more to it?"
Discord looked up at the ceiling, resting his hands behind his head, contemplation and regret etching themselves in equal measure across his features. "I can only guess at the truth, but were I to offer such a guess I would say that Starlight Glimmer wants to save the world."
"Save the... world?" Sunset blinked, completely baffled by that answer, and Discord gave her a saddened smile.
"Keep in mind that her idea of 'saving the world' probably wouldn't match up with anyone else's notion of how to do that. If she could, she'd force the whole world, the living realm and the realm of spirits, to do what she thought was best, no matter what the consequences were. The Hogyoku is just a route to power to do that." He shook his head, "Try not to think about it too much, Miss Shimmer. Just know that Starlight Glimmer is dangerous, and if she appears in Soul Society, avoid a fight if you can. If she got a hold of you or any of your friends it might be enough for her to complete her Hogyoku. Just be careful. Okay?"
Sunset nodded slowly, rubbing at the back of her neck, "Right, as if this wasn't complicated enough already. At least it can't get much worse."
To that Discord just let out a dark chuckle, "Oh don't say that, Miss Shimmer. Things can always get worse."
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Never and I repeat never say that, this allows the great god Murphy to smack you upside the head for your stupidity.
I'm learning so much about Bleach lore already. I can't hold a candle to this!
Man, fooled or not, Platinum needs to have the crap beaten out of her. Then there's this world's version of Starlight... she probably needs to die at the end of the day. Then again if I recall, Bleach didn't often kill anyone with a name (hollows notwithstanding), and MLP sure as hell doesn't either. Oh well, as long as she at least gets a bloody nose before being given a ticket for the Friendship Express, I'll be happy. Great chapter!
used them in conjunction with either skilled operatives for surveillance purposes
The Hollow’s tirade was silenced by Platinum reached to grip his mas with one, slim hand
To assist me with my headaches
I could have her repeat the same feat, her and now
even thought she was pressing nearly as hard
“Its so much easier to show, than tell, my dear.
around her friends without even singing a single hair
Why would you make something like that
as a potential danger.She is a very
but perhaps you and yoru friends can
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9. Forgot your spacing.
10. Your.
Yeah, I do believe the Hogyoku was mentioned at the end of the Soul Society arc when Aizen popped up and literally ripped it out of Rukia when she was saved. Interesting way to use that MacGuffin here though and in a half completed state instead of its full form. At least, I think the one in the show was in its full form, I can't remember.
So potentially Starlight in this world is Bleach's comparable Aizen but with a different mindset if their methods or rising to power is similar. Very interesting indeed but more interesting is the contact that Discord set up for the girls. Who could she be? It's not like there's many who- Wait... Can it be? Spoiler tagging it just in case. It's Chrysallis isn't it? Just running though conclusion lists running through my head. Call it ego since I guessed Sombra was heading the Quincys but it's just a guess.
Edit: I just had a crazy thought. What if the Equestrian Twilight met with the Human Discord? Would she fall in love with his pursuit for knowledge? The crazy DiscoLight is flooding in to me again.
I really like how you portray Sunset's ambition and pride, and how she is understanding herself in a new light. Also, really good exposition scene with Discord. You manage to put a lot of emotion in simple conversations. Kudos.
Can't wait for more. Thanks for writing.
Platinum, you are an idiot... have you never heard of framing? This reeks of a frame job. The key being you can't lie to it. What if you were using the spiritual energy of the person in question to begin with? Even before the reveal of Starlight being able to seal anything...
I love the chapter, but I have a feeling things are going to get good especially when Sweet Cider and Applejack meet up.
I expected Starlight's power set, but that doesn't make it bad by any means. It fits her character, is suitably threatening, and less contrived than Aizen's.
I like how Sweet Cider comes off as a lot harsher than Applejack. It could just be differing circumstances coloring how they come off to the reader, but that confrontation should be very interesting.
Great conversation between Discord and Sunset. I like Glimmer's role here, the precursor that went bad, just like Sunset was in canon.
she gone done jinxed it.
Well, the party is going to start!
And here I thought Twilight would build a reishi converter that when worn would do the same job as the hogyoku
Awesome plot twist wonder what Sunsets banki will look like. Hey reaching out to fellow bleach fans, been to busy to watch it for awhile so Im behind, can anyone tell me what became of the Hogyoku after Aizen was sealed
7773960 Gone forever. I believe Ichigo shattered it into dust. It was very satisfying to see. Probably because it was in Aizen's chest at the time.
7776668 thx for replying, the fate of the Hogyoku is both a relief and kind of disappointing, was hoping Ichigo would claim it
Welp, we have our method of faked spiritual energies... now we just need Sunset to shout: Objection!
7773642 And who's to say she won't, and there won't be a Hogyouku equivalent for each of the 3 major factions? (assuming that Starlight goes the Aizen route).
Also- "These, "Friendship Souls..."- Ding! Roll Credits!
You know, I love how this fic isn't just a crossover, but is being taken as a chance to re-write the worst parts of the Bleach storyline. You've found good analogues of each character (or character group) and are using them really well in their Bleach roles, but you're also explaining Bleach cannon in better ways.
7778900 I guess you are right, she does have all the relevant data she might need to build something like that imho
7771043
You're forgetting Sombra. He gets obliterated at the end of the third season opener.
So I'm caught up now. I am really enjoying the direction you've taken things here in building your own version of the Bleach storyline. You've cut out a lot of the problems Bleach had, and events are making more cohesive sense.
I rather like that Discord is the wily atoner, but it dealing with the girls in a forthright manner. It just underscores that he is fully on their side for him to trust them, and especially with what he's told Sunset here. At this point I think that the only major MLP name we're still missing is Chryssie...and I wouldn't be surprised if that's who Discord's contact is.
It is rather interesting that magic and spirit powers are completely separate. It makes me wonder what sort of chaos may be unleashed if Sunset's Bankai basically gives her back her unicorn form, with access to both unicorn magics and kido. From Adagio's experience, it seems like spirit-based defenses work at much lower efficiency against magic abilities.
Also...it would be rather amusing to find that the area that Celestia's portion of narrative mentions here that they call the 'Beast Realm' is actually the afterlife area of Equestria.
7771044 always fun finding a comment of yours on a story other than one of tats
7789997
God Fucking DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\
Never, I repeat NEVER TEMPT MURPHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Starlight being Discords assistant, why does that fit so well. Now im picturing Starlight getting defeated by Sunset and being sealed by Discord and she's all like:
"Discord! do you know how much i dispise you, with your intellect why dont you take action why do you subjegate yourself to that thing?"
and Discord is: "When you say that thing, do you mean the soul queen?...i see, so you saw it didnt you, without the soul queen everything would fall apart shes the keystone to it all thats how the world works.
Interesting story so far so thought I'd at least comment on it now. Though I am wondering when Sunset will make use of her shikai in a certain manner or if it will be like Ichigo and never happen until something inside of her does so yet she still doesn't. Much like in the show the handle wrapping was used to twirl Zangetsu around and even throw it, I can see Hikori being used in an odd manner considering the slot in the shield for the blade. Full offense mode anyone?
Starlight is fucking Aizen why is that not as surprising as it should be.
Personally, I always considered them mnemonics - certain words you say, or ideas you bring into your head, in order to activate specific neural pathways in specific order to carry out a task. The point isn't in what's being said or thought, but what effect it has on the mind - not dissimilar to TARDIS' locking mechanisms.
Though, in this particular reality, it also has the effect of affecting energy flow, somehow... It really sounds like something of an innate Shinigami ability, to be honest - something they all share as an underlying connection to something bigger.
... of course she does. Have to admit, the girl has flair in this world. Our Town was one thing, but Our Eternal Existence has a certain ring to it, don'tcha think? :D
Only issue with her plan (the way I'm guessing) is fairly simple: once you've conquered everything there is, and destroyed literally every barrier that stood in your path - including the very barriers of reality as it's known... What then?
Ah, a hasty trial by sandbagging with unexamined, very flimsy evidence that has a dozen possible legitimate explanations, a hundred ways to fake, and no chain of custody. Justice.
Send help... can’t breath... laughing my ass off!
the Hogyoku seems to me the best way to bring Adagio back to a simple soul.
7770962
Praise be unto Murphy! Let random shit be done upon the nonbelievers!
10347307
And Alexander looked upon the breadth of his kingdom and wept for there were no more worlds to conquer.
10347307
And Alexander looked upon the breadth of his kingdom and wept for there were no more worlds to conquer.
All right, tin foil hat time. My theory is that the Starlight glimmer in Equestria is actually the Starlight glimmer from the human world. My proof? Twofold. First: Starlight glimmer only appeared in Equestria after Twilight traveled to the human world and defeated sunset, thus making the power of equestrian known on earth. Second: during the events of the battle of the bands, when Celestia and Luna would be most distracted, is when I believe Starlight infiltrated equestria. This would make sense because during the friendship games, Starlight was enacting her plan, thereby locking Equestria in a Time loop. This all could have been a ruse to get closer to Twilight Sparkle, that's allowing her to learn about the magic of friendship.
As for what's going on with Celestia and luna, my best guess would be chrysalis. Good people suddenly doing bad things for no reason? Blame A changeling.