Episode 7: Learning Curve
Episode 7: Learning the Ropes
Applejack always got up before dawn. While she had her hands full at school doing her classwork that didn’t mean she didn’t need to pitch in around the Apple family farm. Sure fancy modern machinery meant her older brother Big Macintosh could get the kind of work done that would’ve taken twenty to do in the olden days, but Applejack still wanted to do her part and not leave every little thing to her brother. He’d already given up on going to college to work the farm full time, and Applejack, well, a part of her felt some guilt that she wasn’t able to do more.
Of course even the things she could do were fairly small beans compared to real farm work. Mostly she just did her share of the morning chores and then a few more before heading off to catch the bus alongside her little sister, Applebloom.
“Hey, sis,” Applebloom said as they stood at the bus stop at the end of the long winding road that connected their farm to the highway heading into town, “You been gettin’ home kinda late past few days, haven’t ya?”
Applejack stiffened slightly. Granny Smith had already noticed she’d been getting back to the farm later than usual, Applejack could tell just by the curious looks her grandmother shot her way, but Granny hadn’t said anything yet. She hadn’t thought Applebloom of Big Mac would have noticed.
She didn’t want to lie to her sister, so she searched out for something close enough to the truth for her comfort, “I, uh, I’m doin’ some extracurricular like activities wit the gals after school.”
Appleblooms little yellow face turned curious, “Like a club? Like what me, Sweetie, and Scoots got goin’ wit our clubhouse?”
“Sorta,” Applejack said, noncommittally.
“Must be some rough clubbin’ ‘cause ya keep showin’ back home with scrapes an’ bruises,” said Applebloom, but didn’t press further as the bus arrived. With a sigh of relief Applejack got on the bus, taking one last look out the window down the road to her farm.
This Hollow business, she didn’t want it getting anywhere close to her home. She was glad enough all the trouble seemed to be brewing in the city itself and that the farm was a good few miles outside the city limits. Applejack tried to breath deeply and unwind the knot of worry in her chest. Today she and the girls would visit that Discord fellow after school. Maybe something good would come of it, but Applejack wasn’t so sure how far she trusted the shopkeeper. There was something just slightly off about the fellow that didn’t sit right with Applejack, but if they were going to figure anything out about that strange power Rainbow Dash had shown the other day then Discord was their best bet.
Everything’ll be fine, Applejack girl, stop yer frettin’, she told herself as the bus rolled away from the farm.
----------
While the bus rolled on down the road away from the farm, large, burly Big Macintosh was already hard at work in the field with a tractor. He gave the leaving bus a small, happy smile, glad to know his sisters were off getting educated. He knew both of them would do the Apple family proud, no matter what vocations they ended up in. Big Mac rather suspected Applejack might stubbornly dig her heels in and insist on working the farm once she was done with high school, but he already knew Granny Smith was secreting away a college fund for the girl, and he was going to back Granny one hundred percent on convincing Applejack to pursue higher education.
The girl was too bright to waste the opportunity for college, and if she really was serious about working the farm, well there were lots of ways higher education helped there as well, especially on the business end.
Putting those thoughts aside Big Mac threw himself into his work, easing into the familiar routine while on the porch of the farmhouse Granny Smith took up her customary relaxing spot to watch the fields.
Neither of them could have seen, off in the distance in the sky, a black line opening in the air, like a yawning black mouth.
----------
“Goodbye brother, I’ll see you when I get back this evening,” said Twilight, managing as much of a casual tone as she could as she called up the stairs of the mansion's front entry hall, “I might be out a bit late! The girls are helping me with research!”
“Whoa, hold up a sec, Twily!” called her brother. Twilight was almost to the doors, but she paused to see her brother, Shining Armor, all but vault over the banister to land lightly on the stairs, grinning as he walked up to her. She returned the smile, almost rolling her eyes at his athletic display. Shining Armor could be a bit of a show off, sometimes.
“Come on, brother, I’ll miss my bus,” she said as he wrapped her in a big hug, nearl lifting her off the ground.
“Hey, can’t blame me for missing my little sis. Always in and out the door, that’s you. What’ve you been up to at the school lab that’s keeping you out so late anyway?” he asked, all brotherly smiles, but Twilight sensed a genuine streak of inquisitiveness underneath it all.
“Oh, nothing much, just some,” Twilight fished for an excuse that sounded good to her, “Some small scale energy experiments. I’m looking to improve light bulb efficiency in the school by at least eight percent by the time summer vacation hits! So you know, they, uh, don’t burn out as often.”
Shining Armor laughed, but not derisively, just kindly amusement, “Yeah, that sounds like something you’d be doing. Okay, okay, just don’t keep your friends all night over it. They are treating you alright, aren’t they? You’re not really used to having a lot of friends, yet.”
Twilight paused, glancing away, “They treat me well, brother. Truly. Um, I’ve got to go now. See you later.”
With that Twilight waved and went out the door, passing by the limousine parked in the driveway and instead walking on foot for the bus stop.
----------
With the door closed Shining Armor’s face flowed from a relaxed smile to a harder look between calm and concern. He let out a slow sigh, shaking his head.
“It's not like her to hide things from me,” he said, as if to himself.
“Do you want to have her followed?” asked a feminine voice soft as crystal chimes from the shadows of a side hallway. Stepping into view, Cadance, dean of Crystal Prep to some, and to Shining Armor so much more, stood in all her elegant grace. She wore a well tailored dark blue suit and skirt, ideal for her role as a school dean, and might have seemed plain, but Shining knew well Cadance’s capacity to make any outfit shine. The suit complemented her rosy skin and long hair with its many shades of pink and violet, with a single streak of creme. He knew from personal experience how silky smooth that hair was.
“No, not yet, Cadance,” said Shining, “Whatever she’s doing, I’m not willing to have my sister being spied on.. Still... they’re all stirring. This city is becoming less safe for her by the day.”
“It is the duty of us all to face such dangers. Even her,” said Cadance, her voice saddened but firm.
“Not yet it isn’t,” Shining nearly snapped, but cooled and controlled himself around Cadance, softening his voice, “Twilight doesn’t have to deal with all of this yet. I know she’s near the age, but I... I can do enough that maybe mother and father won’t feel the need for her to know.”
As he spoke he held up his hand, pulling back the sleeve of his shirt, looking at the five pointed metal cross he wore around it, “If I could keep her from this her whole life, I’d sacrifice my own for that gladly.”
He felt soft, comforting arms wrap around him from behind, and he smelled the clean, heady perfume as Cadance rested her chin on his shoulder, holding him from behind as her voice whispered in his ear, “Twilight is a lucky girl to have you as her brother. I don’t want her to have to deal with the things we must face, either. Yet the decision...”
Slim fingers, their brush light as a kiss of cloud, touched his chin and turned him to look into Cadance’s eyes, “The decision isn’t ours, Shining. You know this.”
Her lips drew him in, the briefest of caresses that lit every nerve of Shining Armor’s on fire. If he didn’t have other matters to attend to that day, if they both didn’t have duties to attend to, he doubted he’d have let Cadance out of the house, or his arms for that matter, for half the day.
“I know,” he said, near breathless, “But she’s my little sis. It's my job to worry about her.”
“And before long she may well be my little sister too,” said Cadance, with a light chuckle akin to wind chimes, “I have every reason to want her safe. We’ll both look out for her, whatever happens.”
To that Shining Armor nodded with a light of resolved fire in his eyes, “Whatever happens.”
----------
School passed, and the girls gathered. As one group they took a city bus to the downtown area, and made their way along the streets until they were able to find the alley mouth that’d lead to Discord’s shop.
“So Miss Clover will be meeting us there?” asked Rarity, looking a tad pensive before the alleyway, “I do hope she didn’t run into any Hollow trouble.”
“Unlikely,” said Twilight, “I mean, her running into trouble. The Detectors have been clear all day. I think perhaps after their defeat the other day they might be laying low.”
“Or laying in ambush,” said Sunset, then shook herself, trying to lighten her mood, which had been anxious all day, “Sorry girls, I think my mind is starting to run away with me.”
“It's okay,” said Fluttershy, her eyes shifting around at the darker corners of the streets even as she put a peaceful smile on her face, “I’ve been feeling the same way. It's hard to look at anything the same way anymore when you know that... that monsters can literally appear from nowhere at any time.”
Rainbow Dash clapped a hand onto the meeker girl’s shoulders, flashing a grin, “No need to be so worked up girls, we’ve already taken on those Hollow jerks a few times, and we can keep right on doing it until they get it through their stupid skull masked heads that we’re the wrong girls to mess with!”
“Yeah, we’re the best around, and nothing's ever gonna keep us down!” Pinkie Pie sang, and she and Rainbow Dash shared a quick fist bump of mutual confidence. Sunset smiled, feeling her tension popped like a balloon. Maybe there really was no reason to get so worried. She felt the comforting presence of her Zanpaktou at her side, her hand brushing the hilt, and also knew she still had the Chappy gikon in her pocket to use anytime she needed to go into spirit form.
Things would be fine.
The girls shuffled into the alley, and Twilight took the lead, taking out her wooden, skull shaped pass. The other girls did the same, Sunset giving the pass a closer look as they walked. It seemed like a pretty innocuous thing, save for the fact the block of wood had a angular, stylized skull pattern etched into it. It almost looked like a Hollow mask, but Sunset figured that had to be her imagination. Not all skulls had to do with Hollows. Chances were Discord was just trying to be his own unique brand of off putting. She had to wonder just how similar this world’s Discord was to the one that existed in Equestria.
The thought reminded her she hadn’t written to Princess Twilight since the battle the other day, or even looked at her journal for a reply to her previous inquires. She resolved to do that before going to sleep tonight.
When they’d first come through these alleys the area had felt unnaturally cramped and narrow, with a strange sense of displacement that made the alleyway seem to go on forever. That was gone now, and the alley felt plain as any other. Was that the passes doing? It had to be. It wasn’t long before they reached the same cross section as before, and Twilight led them to the left. They could see the shop clearly from here, and as they approached the orange glowing barrier appeared. Mimicking what they’d seen Screwloose do earlier Twilight held hr pass to the barrier, which opened the way for them.
Once threw they approached the building, and Sunset noticed that Screwball was out on the front walkway sweeping, while chatting with... a cat?
“And then Mr. Discord had to figure out what to do with twelve entire crates of curry!” said Screwball, laughing, “I thought those poor siren girls would have an aneurysm when he told them to dump it all in the sewer!”
The girl giggled at the conclusion of her story, and the cat, a small, light gray creature with strange yellow eyes, yawned and to Sunset it almost seemed like the cat smiled as it lazily flicked its tail. It was lazing upon the bannister around the wooden walkway that surrounded the shop, just next to the small wooden steps leading to the front doors.
When Screwball caught sight of the girls she leaned on her broom, and smiled welcomingly, “Why hello! The boss is waiting for you. Go on in and follow the hallway to the right and you’ll find him with your Soul Reaper friend and the temps.”
“Temps?” asked Applejack.
“The fishy girls!” Screwball said.
So the sirens were here as well. Sunset didn’t have a problem with that. They’d apparently helped Rainbow Dash out of a jam during the previous fight, so as obstinate as at least two of them seemed to be Sunset was willing to let the brownie points stack up. She did wonder what Discord was doing with them. Perhaps Adagio’s real body was already repaired and he was transferring her back into it? As adorable as that little floating plush doll was Sunset was sympathetic to Adagio, knowing it couldn’t be easy being reduced twice over; once from a true siren to a human, and now from a human to a fluffy toy.
As they went through the front doors Sunset turned to glance one more time at the gray cat. Its yellow eyes were glued to her, and for a second she thought one of the cat’s eyes slid off balance, but then the cat yawned again and closed its eyes, apparently intending to nap.
The front of the shop was empty, and so the girls proceeded further in, following Screwball’s directions and heading to the right when they reached the long hallway. The hallway went past several more spots that Sunset suspected were sliding doors, but they didn’t stop. Screwball had said they’d find Discord by going right, so on they went, far further than should have been possible for the shop’s size. Finally the hallway ended, though not in a dead end, but rather there was a large portion of the floor that had been opened up like a hatch, and there was a set of wood steps leading down. Bizarrely, light filtered up, bright as natural noon sunlight.
One by one the girls went down, Twilight first followed closely by Sunset. The stairs went all the way down a good twenty feet before hitting the ground. Ground that looked like the rocky terrain of a blasted, empty stone plain. All the girls goggled, mouths agape, as they saw that above them was not a ceiling, but what looked to be a clear blue sky, as if they’d just stepped into another world. Above them the stairs ended in an open square hole in the sky.
“Oh my, well this is certainly something, isn’t it?” said Rarity, crossing her arms, “I don’t suppose we should have expected any less from this Discord fellow.”
“Wow, talk about basement space! You could hold one serious party down here,” said Pinkie Pie, “I wonder what the utilities bill on extra dimensional spaces looks like?”
“Somehow doubt he’s the type to worry about that,” said Sunset, eyes scanning the area. The plain wasn’t flat or uniform. She spied outcroppings of stone, several cliffs in the distance, a few areas that looked like they dove into canyons, and even a few scattered dead trees. Then nearby, coming around the edge of a huge series of boulders, she saw Sonata, Aria, and Adagio all jogging along. At first she thought Adagio was back in her human body, but Sunset soon spied the soul chain dangling from her chest. The chain flowed back to her doll, which Discord was carrying as he called out the steps of their job in a cheerful voice.
“One! Two! Three! Four! Step! Two! Three! Four! C’mon girls! Pick up those legs!”
“W-why... why do we have to... huff... keep doing this...?” cried Sonata.
Discord, not even breathing hard, while the sirens were covered in sweat, said, “Why, I don’t suppose it actually does either you or Miss Blaze any good, other than toning those thighs. As for Miss Dazzle, why, exercising her soul is important to keep its strength up for eventual reimplantation into her body! Now no more complaining, we have another thirty laps to go...OH! Hi girls, didn’t see you there!”
Discord waved to Sunset and her friends, and he stopped his job. The three sirens did as well, all of them collapsing into a panting pile, Aria shooting Discord a withering glare while Adagio, dusting off her legs, focused her glare towards Sunset.
Sunset and the girls started to walk up, and by the time they reached Discord there was a rush of air and Clover appeared there as well, black robed and at ease.
“Hey Clover,” Sunset said, “How’s the leg.”
“Recovered, thanks to medicine from the shop,” Clover said, wiggling her leg as if to prove it was fine. “Glad you all made it promptly.”
“Indeed! Indeed!” Discord said, clasping his hands together and bestowing a friendly smile upon the girls, a smile that still made Sunset feel uneasy in her own skin. Discord looked the girls over, eyes settling on Rainbow Dash, “Clover was just telling me earlier that it seems one of you has had a bit of a, how to say, evolution to your unique friendship transformations.”
Friendship transformation? Sunset had never really thought of them like that before, but given they tended to manifest either when she was together with the girls playing music, or showing their most harmonious traits, perhaps it wasn’t such an inaccurate way of describing it.
Under Discord's scrutiny Rainbow Dash tilted her chin up, arms crossed, “Yeah, that’s right. Know anything about it?”
“Perhaps, but I need to see it first,” replied Discord while clasping his hands behind his back as he started to strut around Rainbow Dash. “I don’t suppose you know how to summon that change at will, do you?”
“Look, dude, we already know what makes us pony up, just not how to do it whenever,” said Rainbow Dash defensively, “I don’t got my guitar with me, and showing loyalty means I need a situation that tests it, right?”
“Hmm, yes, but I do suspect there’s more to that transformation now than that, including how to activate it,” murmured Discord, eyes squinting. Sunset saw that Rainbow Dash was getting more and more uncomfortable by the way the girl kept shuffling around, trying to keep Discord in view, and so she stepped in.
“Look, Discord, can you help my friends like we agreed to, or not?”
“Oh I imagine so,” said Discord, barely glancing Sunset’s way, “You should probably go do your own training with Miss Clover. I assure you, your friends are in good hands with me.”
Sunset wasn’t very reassured, but she felt a hand on her arm and looked over to see Fluttershy, who had a calm, encouraging look on her face as she quietly said, “It's okay Sunset, you go on ahead with Clover. We’ll be fine.”
“Alright, if you guys say so,” Sunset said, turning to Clover who was waiting patiently, “Shall we?”
Nearby Twilight was looking between Discord and Clover with a fidgeting unease that Sunset didn’t understand until Twilight said, “Um, I don’t know who I should go with. On one hand I’m very curious to see what kind of ability Rainbow Dash has awakened, but on the other I also want to see more of what Clover will teach about Soul Reapers.”
The girl had two different notebooks fished out of her book bag, and was looking between them, “Ooooh, mysterious friendship powers, or Soul Reaper abilities? Which should I study?”
“Well sugarcube I figure it might take a bit o’ time fer Mr. Discord here ta’ do much wit us while we’re still sortin’ this power out. Meanwhile Sunset an’ Clover already got a’ good start goin’, so you’ll git more ta’ see wit them,” said Applejack. Twilight beamed a smile for the helpful words.
“Thanks, that’s a good point. So, yes, Clover, Sunset, if you’ll allow me to tag along?”
“I have no objections,” said Clover, “I’ve already scouted a good spot, so follow me.”
----------
The spot in question was one of the shallower canyons, a dusty place with high, jagged walls of rock. Sunset stood before Clover while Twilight had found a seat on a small boulder, a notebook open in her hand with a pen ready to go. It warmed Sunset a bit, seeing just how similar the mannerisms were between this world’s Twilight and the pony world’s, at least in a few ways. The human Twilight did seem more awkward and uncomfortable with herself, but Sunset had to remember that the Twilight of Equestria had the benefit of many friends and rough lessons to smooth out her awkwardness. This Twilight still had much to learn and experience, yet the core of the girl, that drive for knowledge and understanding the world around her, that was still the same.
Sunset was happy to call her a friend and have her along for all this insanity.
“Let us begin,” said Clover with a officious air, “First you have the gikon with you?”
Sunset whipped out the small green orb, “Right here.”
“Good, then go ahead and swallow it,” Clover said, and Sunset obeyed, with only a slight hesitation. She didn’t mind the whole idea of being displaced from her body so much, but she remembered that in returning to her body she’d had to... well... throw up the sphere again once she was back in her own flesh and blood. Not pleasant.
Swallowing the sphere she felt the same sense of being abruptly booted from her body, a jarring feeling of being shoved forward. However this time she was more prepared for it and wasn’t nearly so disoriented as her first time as she landed lightly on the feet of her spirit body. Behind her her flesh and blood body gave a happy yawn and smiled.
“Aaaah, that feels good. Hello! Chappy reporting for artificial soul duty!” said Sunset’s body, or rather now Chappy’s body, as the artificial soul saluted to Clover.
Clover just nodded, “Go sit by Twilight, Chappy, and try to keep out of trouble during the lesson.”
“Not a problem!” said Chappy in a sing song voice and hopped off towards Twilight, holding up a hand in a high five position, “Hiya Twilight, how’s it going?”
“Uh...okay? I guess?” Twilight hesitantly and lightly tapped Chappy’s palm with her own, then seemed to try to bury herself in her notebook while the artificial soul stood nearby, bouncing in place. Sunset just shook her head at the scene and returned her attention to Clover.
“No doubt during the battle you noticed a significant difference between your abilities in this soul form than what you could do in your human body,” said Clover.
“Yeah, I felt lighter, and stronger. Kind of like I could accomplish anything,” Sunset said, not quite willing to admit just how good it had felt, or how satisfying defeating those Hollows had been. If anything it had kind of unnerved her, reminding her a bit too much of how she’d felt when she’d turned into the ‘raging she demon’ the previous year.
Has it really been a year? It both felt like a long time, and an oddly short amount of time. She’d gone through so much in just a year, and hardly felt like the same pony. Sometimes Sunset wasn’t entirely sure who she was anymore.
“The reason for that feeling of strength,” said Clover, “Is because the physical matter of your body inhibits the flow of your reiryoku, the power of your spirit. The sense of this power is called reiatsu, or spiritual pressure. Free from a physical body your soul’s reiatsu can be felt clearly and your reiryoku can be utilized to its full extend. All soul bodies, all objects in the spiritual realm, including Zanpaktou, are made of reishi, spirit particles. Think of them as the spiritual equivalent to atoms. Reshi, spirit particles. Reiryoku, spirit power. Reiatsu, spiritual pressure. These are what make up the basics of a Soul Reaper and our powers.”
“Why do all those names sound Japanese?” asked Sunset bluntly while Twilight’s hand was furiously jotting down notes.
“Ah, that’s a simple one,” said Clover, “The original Soul Reapers were mostly souls from that land, and the original Soul Society was based largely in that region. This was around four thousand years ago. Since then the Soul Society has expanded to operate in every part of the living world, and has members from every culture. However due to the core, original members mostly being of Japanese origin, much of the terminology of our culture stems from that source and remains in place as a matter of tradition.”
“Makes sense,” said Sunset, wondering just what the world was like before the Soul Society. Weren’t they in charge of some kind of life and death cycle? Who’d been in charge before them, then? Still, if she was going to ask every question that popped into her head they’d never get on with the lesson.
“Very well, now that you're in your spirit form, I need you to learn how to control the flow of your spirit energy. Literally everything you do as a Soul Reaper will be based upon control of that energy, from techniques like the Shunpo Flash Step to eventually being able to communicate with your Zanpaktou and learn to activate your Shikai.” said Clover as she drew her own Zanpaktou and held it in front of her. Sunset watched as she placed a hand on the flat of the blade and Clover spoke in a intoning voice.
“Seek, Chishiki.”
Clover’s Zanpaktou glowed an intense green and Sunset felt a burst of pressure upon herself, like a hand pressing down on the core of her chest, as the sword flowed into a longer shape; that of a staff with a ring blade upon one end and a spike upon the other. Clover held the weapon that was a good headspan taller than her with ease and spun it once to plant the spike end into the ground.
“What did you just do?” asked Sunset. Behind her Twilight’s scribbling in her notebook increased, the girl's’ eyes fixed on the demonstration. Chappy just clapped lightly, smiling.
“A Zanpaktou is a sword in part, but it is also its own soul, its own spirit, formed from your own spirit energy,” said Clover, “Zanpaktou are alive. More than tools or weapons they are a partner to their Soul Reapers, and in strengthening your bond with your Zanpaktou you will in time learn its name and a release phrase that shall transform it into this; the Shikai state.”
Sunset gulped, glancing down at her own Zanpaktou still sheathed at her side. This sword was alive? It had its own soul, formed from a part of her soul?
“I... had no idea,” she said in quiet wonder.
There was a look of understanding sympathy on Clover’s face, “You could not have known what you were doing when you forged the Asauchi into a true Zanpaktou. Those training blades are given to each Soul Reaper recruit so they might in time do as you did, but for most trainees it takes years. You did it in a single night of desperation. That reveals one thing about you, something I can sense clearly right now; you, Sunset Shimmer, possess an extraordinary amount of latent spirit energy inside you. It is my... massive task to ensure you learn to control that power and use it for the good of the Soul Society.”
She held up her changed Zanpaktou, “Now, the Shikai state is normally as far as most Soul Reapers go with their power. The Shikai is powerful, granting new abilities tied to the transformed blade. You saw me use it the other day to defeat that Hollow. There’s no way to know what kind of powers a Zanpaktou will grant until it is transformed, but when you do release your Shikai you will find not just unique abilities, but a general increase to the amount of reiatsu you can use to fight, making you faster and stronger still.”
She paused, frowning, “There is a state beyond Shikai, but I don’t suppose there’s much reason to talk about that yet. Even when i do it would only be in theory, as only a rare few can achieve the second release... well, no matter. You’re not even at Shikai yet. Let’s start with basic reiatsu control, first.”
Clover went up to Sunset and reached out a hand, touching Sunset just above the heart. Sunset stiffened a bit at the contact, but didn’t say anything as Clover spoke, “You can feel your spirit energy inside here, your soul sleep, the resting place of your power. You must focus to draw on it, feel it more than see it, and direct it with your will more than your mind. Now, close your eyes, and feel...”
----------
Rainbow Dash shivered, “Okay, dude, no touching!” she said with a final glare at Discord, who retracted his hand and shrugged.
“I was just demonstrating where your spirit power generally rests. You have to feel it out to direct its flow, my dear.”
“I can feel things just fine without a grubby old man touching my chest,” said Rainbow Dash and off to the side Sonata snickered.
The three sirens were resting on some nearby rocks while the rest of the girls watched Discord work with Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie was busy drawing little sketches into the ground with a stick she’d found while Rarity watched the proceedings intently alongside Fluttershy and Applejack. Rainbow Dash tried not to nervously shift under the attention. She liked attention, but Discord just straight up creeped her out.
For his part Discord didn’t seem ruffled at all. He had the constant air of a man amused with himself, as if he knew a grand joke no one else knew the punchline to. It made Rainbow Dash want to deck him. He never stood still either, always shuffling this way and that, his sandal clogs clacking upon the ground loudly.
“I believe the power you possess is tied to those wings you already have while ‘ponied up’, and if what I think is true, which it usually is, you can activate them by focusing your will upon those wings, or the image of the wings, and pump just a bit of spirit power into it to make them appear. However you need to focus to accomplish this.”
“Ugh, alright! Fine! Focusing away!” said Rainbow Dash, taking a deep breath and working on getting into the zone. She played all sorts of sports, and outright loved physical competition. It was impossible to get as good as she was at most of those sports without knowing how to focus, or enter the zone as she preferred to think of it. She just imaged a fire in her head, and poured all of her fear and doubt straight into that fire, until it was all burned away except for her, her confidence, and the object of her focus. In this case she imagined the wings. Those awesome, lightning streaked wings.
After a minute of nothing happening beyond her imagining she snarled out a sigh, “Dude, this isn’t working!”
Discord rolled his eyes, “Not after sixty seconds, no, but then again I’m not certain your focusing on the right thing. What were you feeling when you transformed earlier?”
“What is this, a visit to the shrink? Why do I need to talk about my feelings?” asked Dash irritably.
“Because spirit energy responds to emotion more than anything else,” said Discord in a tone of an adult explaining basic math to a slow child, “If you don’t feel anything then your spirit energy doesn’t know how to react or what to do. So feel it out, Miss Dash. Feel what you felt when you charged to Miss Clover’s rescue.”
“You can do it Dashie!” said Pinkie Pie in a cheerful cry and even Fluttershy cupped her hands, saying in a quiet, subdued shout, “Yay... go Rainbow Dash...”
Taking a deep breath Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and tried again. She summoned up the fire and burned away all her extraneous thoughts and fears, and then focused upon her memory of the other day. She’d been so angry that there’d been nothing she could do to help Clover. It wasn’t right for others to have to risk their lives for her. It wasn’t loyal to stand by and do nothing while another person did the hard work of bleeding, maybe dying. Rainbow Dash loved ponying up so much because it made her feel strong, with wings to carry her wherever she needed to go to be there for those that mattered to her. Wings that let her be the most awesome and loyal person she wanted to be!
Much as the last time it happened in a flash of warmth flooding her and a burst of light that filled her soul. That energy exploded out in a burst of electricity, an aura that shook the ground for a moment as her body changed; pony ears and tail, but most important of all... wings. Bright white metal wings, edged with bands of prismatic color, and crackling with electricity.
She could feel the power now, her spirit energy, flowing through her, right from the core of her chest to the tip of every limb.
Discord was smiling in a thin, satisfied way, while the girls jumped and cheered, even Sonata while the other two sirens just stood and watched. Adagio, her soul body clutching the doll she was connected to, was frowning deeply, but Rainbow Dash didn’t care. She grinned, jumping up and flapping her wings to do a quick loop before landing again.
“Sweet!”
“Indeed,” said Discord, “It seems that this power comes naturally to you, and I suspect it will come naturally to the others as well.”
“You think so?’ asked Rarity, tapping a finger on her chin, “But what is this power exactly and why do we have it? It’s clearly similar to what happens when we pony up, but it just... if you forgive me saying Rainbow, it feels different.”
“Hmm, it seems your senses might be among the sharpest of those here, Miss Rarity,” said Discord, “If you can tell the difference between this power, and the one you use to, as you say ‘pony up’.”
“What’re you talking about, Rares?” said Rainbow Dash, still smiling, “The ears, the tail, I’m totally ponied up right now, so what’s the difference?”
Rarity had a streak of nervousness on her face, a tightening around her clear blue eyes, “It just feels... well, somehow... Oh I don’t know. Just different. I guess.”
“More wonderin’ why ya think we all got the same power, Discord,” said Applejack, raising an eyebrow.
“Because all spiritual powers can be sensed, even when dormant, but a strong enough ability for detecting such things, and I sensed that each of your souls have this potential power resting inside you,” said Discord as he walked along the line of girls, stroking his beard, “In fact, I would stab a guess that this power predates the power you gained from interacting with the pony princess from another world. Yes, I think that when that happened the power of harmony, friendship, whatever you wish to call it intermixed with another power that was already there, lying in wait within the depths of your souls. Now they’ve become one and the same, and altogether something new that hasn’t been seen in either this world, or the other...”
Before he could go on there was a rush of wind and suddenly Screwloose was there, gray hair wild, and face grim, “Boss, you told me to come and warn you if the wards got tripped. Well, the wards got tripped!”
Discord’s expression shifted from amused speculation as to the nature of the girl’s powers, to an instant hard look devoid of amusement, “Is that so? Which ones?”
Screwloose pointed at Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack all in turn, “Her, her, and her.”
“What’s goin’ on?” asked Applejack, frowning, “What wards?”
Discord removed his hat for a moment, running a hand through his snowy white hair, “Well, this is a complication I hoped we could avoid for a time longer. Girls, I’m afraid training will have to be suspended for today, and action must be taken immediately. Your families are in danger.”
----------
“Okay,” Sunset said, taking a deep breath and patting her face, “I can do this. I can do this. Hrrrrgh!”
She held up her palm and grunted, trying to push the spirit energy she could feel swirling around inside her into a sphere shape in her hand. Grinding teeth, brows furrowed, she strained until she thought her brain was going to burst, but all she managed was a faint flicker of blue light before she collapsed.
“Huff... huff... I thought you said this would be easier the more spirit energy a person has?” she asked Clover, who stood watching her with a critical eye.
“It will be, but you still have to learn control. You’re pushing too hard. You have to learn to guide the flow, not force it out like you're trying to punch through a wall.”
Sunset took another calming breath and wiped sweat from her forehead, readying herself to try again. She sincerely hoped the other girls were having more luck than she was. Part of the problem was that this wasn’t anything like using magic as a unicorn. Strain and pushing were the keys, there, especially with unicorns with a lot of innate magic. The horn wouldn’t respond to a gentle, half hearted touch, you had to pour your all into pushing the flow of magic through your horn, take the magic by the bit and bridle and keep it under control.
Spirit energy seemed to behave a lot more... erratically.
Or maybe it was just responding to her own erratic emotions. Clover had said spirit energy responded to how one felt, and right now Sunset felt anxious and frustrated. She needed to calm down. Breath in, breath out, still her mind, not let anything shatter her sense of placid calm-
The ground nearby exploded as Rainbow Dash landed like a meteor right behind Sunset, shouting, “HURRY GUYS TROUBLE!”
Sunset screamed, flailing about. Twilight fell off her rock, notebook flying from her hands. Chappy hid behind Twilight. Clover just stood there, blinking but otherwise not moving.
With her heart racing like a terrified rabbit against her ribcage Sunset turned around, hand on her chest, breathing heavily, “Dash! Seriously!? What’s wrong with you...wait, what happened/”
Rainbow Dash had a look of strained fear on her face, a wild look in her red eyes as she babbled, “Discord set wards around our families homes in case of trouble and there’s trouble! Hollows! Hollows are going after Pinks, Rare,s and AJ’s homes! C’mon dudes, we gotta jet, NOW!”
The girls’ words dispelled confusion rapidly, Sunset’s eyes narrowing as she looked back to Clover, “Lesson’s over.”
“Understood, let us waste no time, and go,” said Clover, just as Twilight recovered her notebook and came up with Chappy following behind.
“W-what do we do? If three families are being attacked at once...?”
“Split up, egghead, what else!?” shouted Rainbow Dash, “Discord’s lending us his girls, and we're splitting up to go defend all three homes at the same time. Now hurry it up, or you’ll get left behind!”
With that Rainbow Dash shot back into the sky, and it was only then that Sunset even fully realized that the girl had manifested those new, metallic wings from the other day. Well, at least they wouldn’t all be going in defenseless this time. In fact, as Sunset felt a fiery anger rising in her gut at the thought of any Hollows daring to attack her friends’ families she suddenly felt almost sorry for the Hollows.
----------
Sweetie Belle was sort of bored. She wished Applebloom and Scootaloo didn’t have to always have to go home to early after school. Applebloom had chores at the crack of dawn, crazy farm girl that she was, and Sweetie Belle didn’t at all envy her. As for Scootaloo, well, Sweetie Belle wasn’t sure why that girl had to leave early sometimes. She didn’t really talk much about her own home of family. Strange, but hey, she was a cool friend and Sweetie Belle wasn’t going to pry. They’d all learned that lesson after the school paper incident.
So she was just busying herself in her room, drawing in a coloring book when she noticed her window open rather suddenly and without seeming any wind.
“Huh?” the young girl blinked, staring at her window, now just standing open, without a hint of wind from the outside.
Frowning, Sweetie Belle went up to the window, looking outside into the backyard. It was getting late, the sun just starting to flow below the horizon. It cast the back yard in gloomy blue shadows that made Sweetie Belle shiver.
“Strange,” she said, and began to close the window, but just then something grabbed her, tightening around her chest, cutting of her air so she couldn't even scream, and pulled her out the window.
----------
Big Macintosh brought in the last load of apples from the orchard, the tractor finally empty. He wiped sweat off his brow and stretched, feeling muscles crack and pop in relaxation. Another hard day done, but a good day’s work at that.
Parking the tractor and unhitching the cart behind it, Big Mac started towards the farmhouse. His eyes cast a glance towards the road to town, wondering if he’d spot Applejack on her way back yet. He sighed, seeing nothing. Out late again with her friends. He didn’t mind, per se. A young girl had a right to choose how to spend her own time, but as a brother, he worried. He hoped she wasn’t getting into any trouble out on the town. Or spending time with the wrong kind of crowds.
Well, nah, she had good friends. He’d met them all and liked those girls just fine. Perhaps one of them he liked more than just fine. Such kind eyes, and a gentle manner, with pink hair like a river of soft silk. He shook his head, trying to stop that line of thinking. She was a good couple of years younger than him anyway and never once looked at him with anything other than the same kind eyes she showed anyone. No reason to daydream to the point where he’d make a darn fool of himself.
Snorting ruefully he doubled his pace to the farmhouse, only breaking stride when he noticed the front door hanging open. Now, this was a good town, and the Apple family rarely locked their front door, but Granny Smith was a terror about keeping the door closed so the heat wouldn’t get out. Why was the door swinging open on its own, without Granny shouting for him to close it, or having done it herself?
For a moment cold fear broke through him. Granny was old. Real old. She always seemed stronger than the oak trees surrounding their fields and orchards, but it was an unspoken fear between Big Mac and AJ that Granny’s time was running short and any day now...
“Granny!?” he called, reaching the door. The farmhouse seemed unusually dark inside, and too quiet. His fear doubled, stomach twisting with acidic dread of what he might find. “Granny Smith?”
He took a step in, but that was it, before some invisible force hit him square in the chest, blasting him off the porch and onto the ground like he’d been rammed by a car.
----------
Maud examined the rock again. It had definitely moved. She knew every rock in the yard of her home. She knew most the rocks in every park in town. She knew what kind they were, and where they rested. And that rock had moved, the large stone near the ninth post from the south east corner of the front yard.
“Something is out there,” she said in what she thought was an alarmed tone, but was just as monotone as usual for her.
In the kitchen there was a bang of pots and a curse, “What was that!?” shouted Limestone, “I’m trying to do the dishes! Speak up!”
Maud’s eyes blinked, an expression of utmost concern by her standards as she watched another rock in the yard be jostled by something moving, something she couldn’t see. “I said there is something in the yard. I think it might be invisible.”
“Maud, if you’re going to talk nonsense can it wait until I’m done here!?” shouted Limestone. Limestone was always shouting.
Behind Maud there was a shuffle and Marbel’s worried gray features appeared beside Maud, the younger girl looking worriedly out the window as well.
“Hmmm?” Marble said in a questioning hum.
“Marble, stand away from the window, “ Maud said, putting out a hand and guiding her little sister back away from the front of the house. Another stone had moved, jostled just outside the window. Maud started, hard. She saw nothing, but knew something was there. In her core, somewhere in her gut, she knew whatever it was meant harm to her and hers.
“Marble, run,” she said, just as the window shattered, spraying broken glass at both girls.
Stats
Page generated in 0.033 seconds
Total duration
735 users online
1,078,468 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
NEVER mess with the Maud
Obligatory musical song go!
Can anyone imagine Maud in her dry, flat voice protecting Buttercup 2.0 and the other one?
Sunset, this is you right now:
cs627528.vk.me/v627528118/38bf2/auV4W0LkJhQ.jpg
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/717/683/083.gif
Also I find the foreshadowing for Twilight hilarious in light of her less than stellar past experiences with you-know-what,
Cute handwave.
--
Why do I get the feeling that Sunset's gonna be one of those rare second tier/release Soul Reapers?
I really dig that you've got Twilight's family involved in this, as well. I was worried they might end up antagonists with how sneaky Twi was insisting they be around her manor. Hopefully we get to see them all team up at some point.
Ah, Maud is always the best!
And the cat is Derpy?! Derpy is the Yoruichi counterpart? Shocking!
This is a all channel broadcast from the MLP: FiM x Call Of Duty universe. If your receiving this transmission, Dr. Twilight Richtofen Sparkle has taken control of the zomponies from Luna Faust. If I am to reverse the damage that Sparkle will cause. I need a new chapter.
Why do I feel like House Sparkle has secret ties to the Soul Society?
I feel like Sunset is going to release something in the next battle
Oh, I also feel like rarity is going to have Orihime's power then Applejack to have Chads power and Pinkie... Well, She is going to tear those hollows apart 
I think...
The Sparkle family gives me the creeps cuz of those family secrets.
And I might have just spoiled the next chapter by posting this comment.
7164694
*nod* That's one of two main weaknesses I was considering, the other one being that the more powerful the ability it's trying to negate the longer the actual analysis takes.
7164280 Actually if you reread some of the earlier chapters more than likely SciTwi's family are Quincy and that she is in the dark about it.
7171367
Quincy?
7171456 If you're unaware of the Bleach universe then here's a quick rundown: Quincy's are spiritually aware humans that can manipulate their powers to eliminate Hollows, but unlike Soul Reapers instead of purifying a soul when slaying a Hollow a Quincy can outright destroy the soul. This led to a war against Soul Society and having them nearly wiped out as a result. Here is a more detailed page with more info.
7171470
Ah, I see. Thanks for the heads up!
7171537 No problem Shiroe!
7171915
7171962 Akasuki is best ninja though.
7172871
You'll hear no arguments from me!
7171367 I think she is aware as she tried to keep it a secret or I could be wrong and her parents just don't like outsiders
OOH BOY! Looks like things are gonna go bat-shiz insane! Look out everyone! The Hollows are coming!!!!! Mwahahahaha!
... ... Alright. I'll buy this as an excuse for why an exceptionally powerful, talented, and learned magic-user is having to start over at level 1.
7163672 Oh my CELESTIA!!
The Pie sisters are the Powerpuff Girls!
I need artwork immediately!
Applejack tried to breath deeply and unwind
Twilight held hr pass to
Once threw they approached the building
can be utilized to its full extend
Even when i do it would only
I’m not certain your focusing on the
Breath in, breath out, still her mind
wait, what happened/
going after Pinks, Rare,s and
1. Breathe.
2. Her.
3. Through.
4. Extent.
5. Forgot to capitalise.
6. You're.
7. Breathe x2.
8. ?. No, literally. ?.
9. Rare's.
So Twilight's family are Quincys, and Maud rules.
Ohai, Derpy cat!!
aaand there's the Quincy. Fluttershy is definitely getting something similar to Orihime but with breezies, and maybe just the healing. I feel like RD has Chad's thing but then again it's not quite right... but then again she also has the same limited use that Chad has for his super punches. Rarity is probably going to get the shield and attack part of Orihime's skill set if Fluttershy doesn't get them, and I have no idea what exactly AJ is going to get unless it's a more direct copy of Chad's ability.
I kind of forgot about this but, I just have to say OBJECTION!
We've seen in the show that unicorn magic is, first and foremost, about concentration. Yes we have seen unicorns strain but these events are rare and we more often than not, see them utilise magic with barely any effort and sometimes without even trying to.
Best example would be things like Twilight teleporting half way across Ponyville on pure instinct in episode 3 "I didn't even know it was gonna happen". The Princesses NEVER seem to exert genuine effort for any spell, much less forcing it the way you describe here. I would argue unicorn magic is just as dependant on fine control as Kido is. Sunset should not be struggling on that basis.
Sunset struggling because of her mental state and the MGR Raiden like "fearing the ripper" thing she was going through due to how good it felt turning the tables on the Hollows and killing them all, makes way more sense for her struggling than that.
Well, looks like I was right that the Sparkle family has something to do with this... supernatural world.
Also, got chills from Maud's words and reaction. Wow.
Quincy are the best faction, down with the Soul Reapers and Hollows.
Derpy?!
Soooo... Twilight is most likely a quincy. 🤔
I so much hope Pinkie will come up with a brazo derecho del gigante. 😁
Funny thing, Discord might have a thing for talking cats in (comic) canon.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/10/13/741925.jpg