Take Bleach, loads of explosions, and a dash of MLP, and you get this story! Chronicling the adventures of a cosplayer turned character, mainly focusing on the main character, with the ponies trying to stop him from destroying the world by accident.
Long ago, a year after the imprisonment of Discord, a being of immense and terrible power appeared in Equestria. Locked behind the gates of Tartarus, the creature is thought to be forever trapped. Until now. Though it has taken more than a few centuries, he has finally managed to climb the dark pits of Tartarus, and escape the hellish prison. His name, is Ulquiorra.
AN: Tags will be added along the way, expect lots of explosions. First ever fic, mercy... Special thanks to ponyclaws, who helped edit this fic, of which I am immeasurably grateful for.
It was a hellish day in Tartarus, as was to be expected of the worst place anyone could imagine. Guarded by the most ferocious three headed canine one could find, its doors impenetrable from both the out and insides, its walls massive and thick, all of it fitting for the prisoners inside. Within resided some of Equestria’s worst, Tirek the Centaur, Hydia, Grogar, but one name stood out amongst the rest. A name of one so evil and heartless, his name had to be permanently erased from history with only the oldest and well-kept of books even hinting at his existence. A monster of terrible power, one which with the original Elements of Harmony had to do battle with. He had been responsible for the formation of the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot, the slaughter of countless of the global populace, even going as far as to nearly kill the Celestial sisters. Magic that could level mountains, and bring gods to their knees.
In the center of a dark pit sat two beings, the current ruler of Tartarus, Tirek, his hind legs bent and his rump on the ember and brimstone floor, and a stoic figure on the other end of the chess board separating them. The game appeared to be a stalemate, the humanoid figure sitting rigidly straight with an equally straight face. Tirek grumbled at the sight of the board. Would this thing actually beat him? After all this time was there finally a creature worthy of beating his trial that he could escape Tartarus? Perhaps. After all, evil always finds a way. He smirked before moving one of his pieces, thinking his newfound strategy could push this thing back to whatever cell he crawled out of, “I have to hand it to you, you're one of the few and possibly the only creature to come close to beating me…” Tirek said in his usual imposing voice.
The humanoid figure glanced at him with his soulless emerald eyes. The reptile like slits of his pupils coming back down to the board. He noticed a weakness which Tirek had left open, out of cockiness or stupidity he didn't know, nor cared enough to investigate. He wanted to see if Tirek had picked up on it, and he hadn’t. He sighed, thinking to himself that this worlds inhabitants, even its most notorious, were nothing more than trash.
Moving his queen to take the rook guarding the king, he uttered one word in a voice that would make the bravest of warriors think twice before fighting him, “Checkmate”. Tirek’s eyes widen at what had happened. His king couldn’t move and this creature had just checkmated him. He knew what this meant, any prisoner that could manage to defeat the current ruler of Tartarus may continue forth to the gates. Even imprisoned behind the walls of the Hellscape, he had heard what this ashen skinned thing could do, and if any of it was true then he wouldn't even need to lift a finger to defeat Cerberus. He gave a defeated sigh, “Fine then… you beat me. Well done, two legged one.” Said Tirek, “Take this medallion and the gates shall open”, he handed him an intricate medallion, sketched with runes on the outer and inner circles, seemingly made to fit into a certain slot.
Rising from his seat, he took the medallion, a helmet of white bone seemingly cut in half with a single spike upon it rose with him. He locked eyes with the creature, two dark emerald streaks going down his face from his eyes to his chin, as if he had cried tears of paint. All things considered, he found the game of chess to have been too easy. He turned from the four legged demon and casually walked away, beginning to climb out of the pit. First thing he would do when he got out was get his sword back.
Finally out of the dark pit, the ashen figure looked around the barren and hellish landscape, remembering his previous exploits from millennia ago.
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Everfree Forest 1,999 years ago
A year has passed since the imprisonment of Discord and Equestria was on the cusp of a Golden Age, the newly renovated castle in the Everfree Forest served as a testament to that. Celestia sat in her throne room, listening to nobles and commoners alike. The latest request was being proposed by one Ripe Core, who was looking to establish his own apple related business for his family. All was well, and the day court was closing, making way for the night.
Celestia breathed a relieved sigh now that her duties were over, she trotted from her golden throne to her quarters, walking the long hall to her room. Parting a set of gilded double doors with her magic, the guards saluted her as she walked in. With a slight mental command her magic had closed the door behind her. Luna was out in the distance, setting the sun and raising the moon. She levitated her brush and began to straighten out her rainbow mane, pulling off her royal chest piece. Luna flew back onto the balcony as gravity took control of the moon as she entered, smiling.
“It could not be a more beautiful night sister! We believe we have done exceptional work upon the starry sky this night!” She said wistfully as she looked at her night sky, the stars twinkling bright with nary a cloud in sight. “Tis’ indeed, sister. None could possibly match your artistic skill.” Said Celestia, she herself taking in the beauty of her sisters night sky.
“You flatter us, Tia. But truly… is it as beautiful as you say? There are some who would run and hide from my night… as if afraid…” Said Luna, her wistful smile dissipating into an expression of chagrin. She felt her sister’s wings wrap around her, bringing her into a warm embrace, the kind a mother would give to her child. Luna returned the hug, looking up to her sister and smiling, “Well, I do suppose it is time we take our place at the night court, yes?”
“Of course, Luna. Go and head to the proceedings and I shall raise the sun when the time co-” Her sentence was cut short. A massive beam of bright green light several kilometers in length and size shot down from the sky, its display magnificent and terrifying, leaving Luna and Celestia speechless as they look upon the destruction it was causing. All creatures below were instantly obliterated as if by some form of horrible magic. It hit a far off mountain, causing a crater miles deep and miles long, the sheer power of the beam leaving no debris what so ever as it disintegrated anything in sight.
Finally it began to shrink, slowly but surely dissipating. The rest of the castle, no the country… nay, the continent had seen that brilliant beam of light. After a few minutes of silence, getting over the initial awe of the beams destruction, Celestia spoke, “Luna… warn the other nations, I must go investigate." Celestia charged and dove off her balcony, the night winds providing extra lift and speed to the now decimated mountain.
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Crater Site, 1,999 years ago Ulquiorra's point of view
Pain. You’d think that would be the first thing you'd feel when you feel like you spiraled off a runaway roller coaster. But there was no pain… no pain, no happiness, no joy, nothing. Any feeling Mark had in his body had been evicted, leaving a hollow feeling in his chest and a sick pounding in his head. He opened his eyes to see a clear night sky, barely any clouds save for the occasional tuft.
He stood, observing he was in fact no longer at Comic-con, but instead in the middle of a giant crater, several miles deep and for all he knew several miles long. 'It's going to take forever to get out of this' he thought to himself. He turned his attention to the hollow feeling in his chest, not knowing what it was at the time. Had he caught a flew? Did he lose feeling in his chest? Oh no, it’s just a hole in the middle of his chest cavity, no big deal. Wait, WHAT!? Mark examined the apparent cave-in in the middle of his body, feeling it with his hand which he now noticed was a greyish ash color with his fingernails black. He circled it, feeling the inside, finding it to be quite real. What shocked him most however, if he could feel shock, was that he wasn't all that surprised. Indeed he felt nothing. No sense of surprise nor urgency to close the apparent lethal wound. If anything it’s as if it felt… normal. As if it had been there all this time, like he had nothing to fear from it, like a thing that just settled and no one took notice. It just seemed like an inevitable fact that there was indeed a medium sized hole in your chest.
Mark pondered for a moment, looking himself over. If his Cosplay had been brought with him, then his blade must have followed suite! He looked to his side and sure enough, there it was. Sheathed within an emerald scabbard was his blade. The unique and intricately designed cross guard, the excellent handle adorned by a traditional katana grip. He drew his sword, the metal of the beautiful blade singing as the steel was drawn from its confines. Holding it felt so right, so natural as if this sword was not a weapon, but an extension of his arm. 'That werd shop keep guy has some seriousexplaining to do...' He thought to himself. He continued to examine himself, looking down at his white robes, the ends of which were fluttering in the wind. Atop the left side of his head was a helmet of bone, a sort of spike protruding and curving outwards. He felt another presence, well, to be exact he felt everything. Far off towns there were small signatures, within cavernous systems seemed to be... bull people? Across the ocean, atop mountains, what little flora and fauna there was left after the destruction he had caused. All had a sort of signature, an aura that gave them away allowing him to read into them, to see what kind of person they may be. 'Must be my pesquisa...' he reasoned. After all, everything seemed to point to one conclusion. That his clothes did infact make him...
The presence continued flying closer. This didn't feel like any of the others, no... This one felt commanding, demanding respect and obedience, almost royal. It was finally close enough that it landed outside the crater. He could see it now, his newly discovered enhanced sight allowing him to see a white horse. Its main was sparkling, with every color of the rainbow fluttering inside it, the same thing going on with its tail. Atop its head was a white horn, spiraled to match the rest of its color scheme. On its back were two wings, whiter than newly bleached clothes, its fur following the same patern. But what struck him most about this equine figure, was the symbol of the sun on its ass. Weird.
“CREATURE” The horse shouted from the outside of the crater, “SPEAK THY NAME LEST THOU BE DEALT WITH SWIFTLY!!” it bellowed out. He thought for a second. If he was who he was now, this thing wouldn’t last two minutes… he contemplated, what little humanity he had left, took over, deciding to answer the sun kissed horse.
Gates of Tartarus, Present Time; Cerberus’s Point of View
Cerberus was bored out of his mind. It had been ages since anyone even came near the eons old gates of Tartarus, much less had the cajones to step up to the three headed monstrosity. But he stayed watch, ever vigilant, knowing what would happen if he would leave, after all; a quiet Tartarus is a happy Tartarus!
The actual doors to the prison realm were massive. Towering above any castle or tower in Equestria, and far thicker than any normal gate, their width unbelievable to those who would gaze upon them. Indeed, these doors were designed for one sole purpose, to keep things in. Unfortunately, it seemed only the gates had such a measure, and indeed the actual prison had more than one way of escape. There were three different ways to escape the hellish landscape, each more difficult than the last. One: to defeat the current ruler of Tartarus, taking his or her place and allowing the newly crowned ruler partial freedom, two: Forcing your way out, as if that would ever happen! Or three: to challenge the trials of Tartarus.
Of course, the third option was implemented for only the most heinous of criminals, as it is the only option available to them, and the most difficult. If a prisoners deeds reached a certain level, they were placed at one of the many levels of the Bottomless Pit, where the trial begins. The first step of the trail was to exit your cell, which is in and of itself is a challenge. Magic is nullified by the bars and the cavernous walls followed the same plan as the gates, being nigh unbreakable. The second step was to descend to the bottom, the actual name more for effect than literal meaning. The Pit did have a bottom, and there the one running the gauntlet would face their second challenge. There the current ruler would be alerted to your presence, where he or she would offer you a challenge.
The challenge would usually be one of wits or intellect, say a game of chess that was more rigged than a casino or an extremely difficult riddle. Sometimes if the current ruler was an utter bone head then they'd challenge the escapee to one-on-one combat. A fight to the finish where the only way to win was to get the ruler to yield or be killed in the process. Should they manage to complete the second task, the defeated ruler would hand them the key to the gates, a deceptively small medallion. And finally, the third and final task, was to get past Cerberus. This was arguably the most difficult challenge of all, as his function was not only to keep people out, but to force others back inside. While two heads may be sleeping, the third was constantly on alert, looking for any sign of intruders or demons who may have passed the second challenge.
And thus he waited, one head forever on alert, and today he would not be disappointed. The distinct sound of locks clicking could be heard behind the gates. Of course, the gates had a number of locks, some archaic and small while others were massive and more durable than the mountain the prison was carved in. The locks and runes clicked and slammed, a cacophony of metal, stone, and magic unwinding and screeching open. Finally the last lock gave way, a small clink, and the sounds had stopped, giving way to an eerie silence. The calm before the storm.
The doors began to part, the sound of the stone moving against the rock reverberated throughout the cave that the gates resided within, as Cerberus tensed his muscles waiting for the doors to fully part so he could once again savor the sweet and tangy taste of battle. Finally the doors had opened completely, but he didn't need to wait for the dust to settle, he could smell the approaching demon. Unlike prior demons which smelt of burning and brimstone, this thing smelt like… death.
Not the sort of rotting stench of corpses no, but the sort of smell one might find at a funeral. A scent of sorrow that had yet to pass, misery and despair the likes of which would crush any sliver of hope you may have had for the future. Of course the smell wasn't the only thing one would notice, no, the smell was the first thing Cerberus felt, but what came next not even he could have expected.
The air grew heavier, as if it had been laced with iron, making it harder and harder to breath, and it only got worse. Cerberus’s eyes began to widen at what was happening. It felt as if a waterfall of lead ingots were descending upon him, forcing him to buckle his knees. But the invisible force wouldn't let up, only getting heavier and heavier, more weight fell upon the poor canine accompanied by each step the encroaching demon took. Each foot step seemed to add weight to the invisible barrage, closer and closer the footsteps came as Cerberus was forced to lie down to deal with the constantly increasing pressure. Not only was this taxing on the physical body, but on his spirit. Dread and tinges of fear were all the poor mutt could feel while prostrate on his stomach, unyielding in their intensity.
Finally the footsteps and painful cascade ceased. He opened one of each of his eyes to see the assailant. He looked, and beheld a pale horse, and his name that sat upon him was Death, and Hell followed close behind him.
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Outside the Gates; Ulquiorra’s Point of View
I looked at the pitiful creature. This was the mighty guard dog Cerberus? This?! My cold, soulless eyes met the dogs, this thing couldn’t even handle a portion of my reiatsu, how did it manage to keep everything else in before I had come along? Normally I wouldn't or couldn’t feel anything, but this creature was an exception. Somehow it had managed to fill me with a sense of… disgust and loathing...
I had heard that outside of these gates was supposed to be a ferocious three headed monster, a guardian of the gates of Hell for who knows how many years, able to push back any assailant, the doom of many thousands before me! Now I see only the three heads bit was true. In front of me now was nothing more than a whimpering, neutered lap dog. If I had my blade on my person, I would have done the honors myself. Pathetic.
“Get up and fight me…” I commanded in my toneless voice. The beast obeyed, more likely out of fear than anything else. One of the heads even managed a growl, a pathetic attempted but valiant none the less. ‘Had this thing truly been the executioner of so many prior prisoners?’ I thought to myself, ‘If so, they need to up their standards.’ “I said, fight me.” I practically growled at them, to which they responded in kind.
It lunged at me, leaping into the air with all three of its jaws coming down. In any other case I would have been scared to death of this towering mongrel, standing at least twenty to twenty five feet tall. But this was the here and now. I stood my ground unmoving, not with resolve but with boredom. I knew what was going to happen next. His three heads descended, each going for a different limb. One head came down upon my own, attempting to bite it off, the two others going for my arms. This was the strategy he must have used with prior escapees, immobilizing the arms then going in for the head, a noble effort.
The first head did exactly as I foresaw, coming down on my own head and bringing me into his slobbering maw. The other two went for my arms, biting into them. I mentally sighed. I may as well use this thing to send her royal majesty a message.
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Cerberus’s Point of View
Pain. He yipped and immediately released the escapee, his own force the main contributor to the injury. He could feel that he had lost at least five or six teeth in each month from biting down on this two legged thing. He looked, and found that the creature hadn’t moved, two reptilian eyes not even bothering to glare but simply glance, as if he had simply annoyed it. Upon further inspection, the three heads noticed that where they had bitten down, with all their strength, they hadn't even managed to puncture its robes.
That horrible feeling again, immeasurable weight coming down, but this time focused in one area. One of the things claws were being wrapped with some sort of red glow, a ball forming around his claw. A ball?!
After injuring him, did the thing want to apologize and be friends? What kind of question was that?! He had a ball!! Of course he wanted to be friends! Forgetting the transgressions, the heads smiled several broken grins and ran at the creature, knowing it would throw the ball!
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Ulquiorra’s Point of View
Not only was this thing weak, it was stupid. Unbelievably cartoonishly so. Then again, I was in some universe of My Little Pony, so this didn't surprise me. “Fetch.” I said, appearing in front of it facing its center head. I launched my fist forward, giving the thing a haymaker it had never seen. My balla granted was weaker without my sword, but the energy I put into it was easily matching the force of any cero I could manage in this state. The balla exploded, shattering the heads teeth and probably wreaking the skull and jaw. Time slowed down as I watched the mutt whip back from the force, shards of teeth and droplets of blood flying past. I sent the thing rocketing high into the sky, unconscious or for all I know dead. Not that I cared about it. The thing was weak and had served its purpose, it no longer had any reason to live.
The only thing I regretted was that a good chunk of my hand had been blown off. My fingers had been replaced with stubs, only a quarter of my pinkie had been spared by the blast. I focussed, reiatsu being channeled into my the painless injury. Flesh began to reform onto the charred and blown off stubs, giving me back my appendages.
This was common practice to me now, more a reflex than anything else, much like my hollow hole. On the bright side, I sent that bitch a message. Bitches love messages.
Canterlot Castle, Present Time; Celestia’s Point of View
Things could not be better. The day court was almost empty, which meant there were little problems to deal with. Paper work was dismal, and at the end of the day the royal chef had prepared for me some rich, delicious, chocolate cake. My mind filled with fantasies of the rich chocolate and creamy icing, how lush it would be once in my mouth, licking my lips at the mere thought. All was well.
“Unforgivable! Simply inexcusable!” a familiar whiny, accented voice filled the hall. All was well. Trotting into the court was a fuming Blueblood, no doubt enraged by a speck of dust that had found its way into his room of a measly amount of dirt in his mane. I’d rather have been impaled by rusty nails or sit in an enraged Ursa's den than deal with this. “Aunty! Aunty!” He whined.
I mentally sighed, but maintained my composure, “Yes, Blueblood?”
“I demand you fire that incompetent Captain of the Guard! The nerve of him! I ought to have him punished! Thrown in the dungeon!” He was fuming, I had to remember to thank Shining Armor later.
“Why would I fire our Captain of the Guard, nephew? Is it because he got dust on your hoof during patrol?” I mockingly asked, feigning concern.
“That, and he allowed some giant, three headed mongrel to fall into the castle gardens!” Wait, what?
“Say again?”
“You heard me! He let some three headed mongrel fall from the sky, into the gardens! While I was modelling for my eighth statue! It ruined my perfect mirror image! Oh woe is me!”
I ignored the rest of Bluebloods whining and hurriedly stood from my throne, trotting to the Balcony and flying off to the gardens. I landed outside, guards already on the scene, clearing a path so I could see the poor beast. Sure enough, there was Cerberus, lying back first in a small crater from his fall, whimpering in pain as one of his heads was bleeding from the mouth, possibly unconscious, missing several teeth in each jaw. Tartarus had been breached, something had escaped! But what? What could possibly be strong enough to send this massive guard dog from one end of Equestria to the oth- Oh no.
A torrent of memories rushed from the back of my mind. Death and destruction on a mass scale, screams of the dead and deceased, Griffons, Minotaurs, Ponies, suffering of those who had lost their loved ones, a dead stare of emerald reptilian eyes, a hole where a heart ought to be, a green javelin, those terrible black wings. "Captain Shining Armor!" I called, he turned from addressing his men and faced me, saluting. "Yes your Majesty?"
"I want you to take a troop of guards to the vaults beneath Canterlot, find vault A-34 and guard it with your lives! Assign guards at all entrances of the city and castle, no one leaves nor enters!"
“Yes Princess!” he turned and began shouting orders, taking several dozen guards with him inside the castle, the rest began flying or trotting to their assigned posts. All had been well.
Something felt off. I couldn’t tell what it was but something just felt eerie. Of course the day was fine, the weather team was keeping the sky clear, Sugar Cube Corner was producing their usual delicious pastries, and the library was at peace. So why did I have this nagging feeling? Had I misplaced a label? Where was my checklist?! Was I tardy on something?! No, that couldn’t be right, it wasn't so nagging that I had missed something, more like a sense of… impending doom if you could call it anything.
Spike was peacefully napping in his basket on the second floor, his snoring the only other noise besides the singing of the birds. I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that something had happened or was going to happen, anything. A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts, standing I decided to open the door, and found two guards on the other end. Behind them were two chariots, each surrounded by at least six guard, excluding their drivers, carrying my friends.
Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy were all in one, while Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in the other. Pinkie was being her usual smiling bouncy self, trying to get the guards to laugh, while Rarity was busy filing her hoofs. Fluttershy seemed to be pondering the same thing as me, only seemingly more terrified. Rainbow Dash was shadowboxing while Applejack seemed to be taking a nap, her hat covering any evidence otherwise.
“Twilight Sparkle?” asked the guard on the right
“Yes?” I replied nervously. I was worried, what had happened that the Royal Guards had to come and pick us up?
“Come with us,” said the one on the left. “The Princess requests your presence immediately. We have been ordered to escort you safely to Canterlot.” My feelings on the matter changed from worry to shock. The Princess needed us to save Equestria? What could have possibly happened that she needed the Elements of Harmony? I hadn’t received a letter or any warning! Something terrible must have happened to be on such short notice! “Of course! I’ll be one second!” I turned and focused my magic on Spike’s still sleeping form, levitating him from his basket onto my back, seemingly unaware that anything was happening “Alright, lets go!”
I boarded the chariot, Spike still napping and snoring on my back. “Hey, Twilight! What’s the big idea? These guards told me something had happened!” Rainbow asked me.
“I haven’t the slightest clue, Rainbow. I hadn’t received a letter from the Princess, so it must be important if she called us out like this. Whatever it is, it must be serious.” I could only imagine the trouble that would lay ahead, Faust knows what kind of monster we’d be facing now.
The chariot took off, heading towards Canterlot, where we would face head on whatever threatened the safety of Equestria!
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Under Canterlot Castle, Vault Area, Present Time; Shining Armor’s Point of View
We had descended beneath the surface to the Canterlot Vaults, beneath the usual happy castle grounds. This place was considered one of the most secure places in Equestria, right up there with Tartarus and the Crystal Caverns, and if what had beat Cerberus was coming here, it had better be. Torches lit as we passed, illuminating large circular metal doors as the troop and I continued downward. We walked along a metal staircase, the vaults built into the cavernous pit wall. ‘Sombra would have loved these stairs’ I thought to myself.
Finally, we had reached the bottom of the long spiral staircase. The staircase was located at the center of what appeared to be a dome like room twice the size of a hoofball field, at the top center was a hole leading upwards to more unguarded sections of the vaults. There, all in all, were thirty five vaults, spaced from each other to leave a mass amount of wall between each vault, each of their labels faded to near illegible gibberish by time. I gestured in hoof language to set up a perimeter around the stairs, while others looked for the thirty fourth vault.
The way this was leveled was actually a bit misleading, the top level Z actually categorizing the least dangerous artifacts found across Equestria, heck some were simply decommissioned projects by the Canterlot Science branch while others were of sentimental value to the Princesses. But below D level were things most ponies couldn’t even imagine in their nightmares, nihilistic objects which if placed in the wrong hands could spell disaster for the whole of Equus.
I shuddered at the thought of what else could be down here, even on our way down on B level we were hearing whispers and skittering behind those enchanted metal doors as if something were trying to get out.
“Captain!” I heard one of the guardsmen call out, “I found it!” he said. I walked over to the newly discovered vault door. “Well done, Cross Wall, now step aside, we need to see for ourselves what’s inside.” opening one of these vaults depended upon the level, Z you could simply waltz inside while E through A required special codes. Luckily, the Princess had provided us with special codes to enter most vaults on A level. This particular vault needed a set of three codes, each with specific numbers and symbols, which for safety purposes I would forget after the vault door closes.
The locks screeched as they opened, the enchantments powering down when the proper code had been entered. I looked upon a room with three pedestals inside, encased with glass that seemed to freeze anything on the inside. In one casing there was a small cube that seemed to glimmer with some strange space like matter, simply spinning slowly. In the other, laden with ice and frost, was a sword of intricate design, the likes of which I had never seen.
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Canterlot Gardens, Present Time Celestia’s Point of View
I stood at the entrance to the Castle, spotting the chariots I had sent to Ponyville coming in from the South. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the Elements were still on our side. The last time we faced him, they we our only saving grace. Though all things considered it had opened our eyes, knowing there was indeed life after death. But the life after death was nothing we had pictured. If what he had told us was true, then life in death was almost no different than actually living. A select few how ever are selected to help and guide the newly departed souls in the afterlife. Then there are beings like him, made specifically to destroy, to harm, to kill.
She dreaded to think of the things he had done before arriving to Equestria, the countless thousands he had murdered in cold blood during his prime… those terrible, black wings. I pushed the thoughts from my mind, the chariot carrying Twilight and her friends landed in the courtyard. Twilight leaped out of the chariot at once, followed by everypony else, including Spike who looked a bit bed ridden. Cerberus was being well taken care of, but the element of kindness had seen him before the treatment unit could carry him inside, rushing to him, screaming about “who had done this to him” and how she’d “make them pay”. If only she knew.
“Princess!” Twilight cried out, quickly bowing as she reached the steps I stood on. “Princess! Is Equestria in danger? Did Discord and Chrysalis team up?! Did Sombra survive? What’s happened?!” Her tone gave off a sense of worry, the same way I felt. I raised a hoof, stopping the onslaught of questions for the moment.
“All will be explained in due time, Twilight, for the moment follow me.” I entered the castle, and began the recounting of ancient history “Long ago, a year after Discord had been imprisoned, a terrible being came to Equestria. His only motive, death and destruction. The complete annihilation of all life on the planet.”
We came to a steel door, and casting a spell on it, the room on the other side appeared from its pocket dimension. To anypony outside, it would appear as if a separate room had simply phased into existence and attached itself onto the side of the castle, but on the other side of the door it would have seemed as if the room was always there.
I pushed the door open, and the first thing to greet was a stained glass window, showing eyes of brilliant emerald and slit-like pupils. Below them bright green flames with a single flying bat rising above them, its wings spread out. Anyone else would have thought at first that this depicted Chrysalis, but I knew better. In front of the window was an open book upon a pedestal, the last of its kind. Its contents, something I wished had been forgotten, or better yet burned.
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“Cifer Room”, Present Time; Twilight’s Point of View
I stared inside the room, the stained glass window’s eyes piercing through me. I looked to Celestia, who seemed to be scared of the very glance of those dead eyes. But Princess Celestia? Scared? No, it couldn’t be! Princess Celestia was one of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria, the Princess of the Sun! There was no way she could be scared…! Is there?
I pushed the thoughts from my mind and trotted inside, closer and closer to the book resting on the pedestal. The eyes on the window seemed to be following me as I moved closer, their gaze scrutinizing as if judging you, deeming me unworthy to look upon, trash. I looked behind me, seeing my friends each having the near same feeling as me.
Applejack looked at the bat with a sense of dread, for what reason I did not know. Pinkie seemed unfazed simply “oooing” at the glow the windows produced on the floor. Rainbow was also unfazed, instead only looking at the glass windows with a tough expression, as if the eyes had challenged her. Fluttershy seemed terrified, content with hiding behind her mane and averting the green gaze. Rarity simply examined everything, taking in the craftsmanship of the window. Spike was by my side, meeting the eyes with his equally reptilian ones. “Meh, I’ve seen worse.” he said, apparently directed towards the eyes.
I looked upon the book, its cover seemed dusty and worn down, the spine turned ragged, but the pages seemed as if they were brand new. On the page to the right was a picture of a bipedal figure, adorned by robes. They seemed archaic in nature, as if worn by a secret society of some kind. Its head was adorned by a white helmet, a sword in one of its claws. The form was thin, well muscled, and seemed to be moderately tall, taller than anypony, on par with the Princess maybe!
The sword he carried, I think it’s a he, looked a lot like the swords I had seen in a book about Neighpon, another kingdom in the east. But what struck me most about this bipedal creature were his eyes. His face was like that you’d see at a funeral. On the bottom of his thin eyes were two streaks of green, as if he’d been crying for so long that the trails of his tears actually left a trail. His eyes looked more dead than anything else, a lot like the eyes on depicted on the stained glass window. Above the picture read the name Ulquiorra Cifer.
Rainbow and Fluttershy were hovering above me, everypony else also seemed gathered around me in intrigue. “Ulciora Kipher? Who the hay is that?” Rainbow asked, butchering the name as she did.
“It’s pronounced Ulquiorra Cifer, Rainbow, and if I’m reading this right, he seemed pretty evil….” I replied, reading off some of the crimes he had been charged with to be imprisoned. “Mass destruction, murder, ponyslaughter, war crimes, crimes against harmony, attempted assassination of the Princesses… just to name a few!”
“He looks so sad…” Pinkie said, looking at his melancholy expression, herself looking a bit melancholic “Maybe he just needs a party!” she exclaimed, her usual energy restored.
“Ah’ don’ know Pinkie, if what Twilight is sayin’ is true, this critter tried ta’ take the Princess’s life! The only party I’d be throwin’ fer’ ‘im is a goin’ away party.” said AJ in her usual southern drawl.
“Oh please! He doesn’t look so tough! So what he’s got a sword? Let’s see him take on the fastest flyer in Equestria!” exclaimed Rainbow, full of her usual bravado, puffing her chest out.
“Those robes!” exclaimed Rarity. “They look so masterfully crafted! The material… why I’ve never seen such a thing! What ever he was he had great fashion sense!” We all stared at Rarity with a deadpan look, before returning to the book. I noticed that there was another page. I turned it and found more text with another picture, only thispicture… there were no words.
It depicted virtually the same creature, except this time, he had grown a tuft of fur on his back, two black wings sprouting from it. They seemed to be bat wings. His helmet had grown from one half of his head to covering it entirely, the spikes elongated from it as it seemed to form ridges on the top reaching to the back, what little hair he had on his head grew to reach his shoulders. His robes no longer seemed like robes but instead seemed to have fused with his body from the torso up. the trail of tears seemed to grow larger, encompassing a larger amount of his cheeks. His sword had disappeared and was replaced with a lance like object, smooth and spiked on both ends. Above it read the picture it read-
“Murciélago” the Princess snapped me out of my thoughts. The name sounded foreboding when she had said it. A tinge of dread filled the void of the room as the name faded off.
“With all do respect Princess, why did you need the elements to deal with this guy? He doesn’t look so tough! I could take him with one hoof tied behind my back!”
“Understand this, Rainbow Dash, when we had failed to stop him initially, Luna and I had to use the Elements of Harmony upon him to lock him away in Tartarus, and now, he has escaped.” The room filled with a gasp, all save Fluttershy who managed a meek “eep”.
“That is why we need the Elements, to recapture this menace and send him back to Tartarus where he belongs before he can take anymore innocent lives!” Her wings out stretched, giving her her usual royal glow. “I beseech you, my little ponies, aid Equestria in its time of need.” We looked at each other for a moment, all of us sure what we needed to do, we nodded to each other.
If seen from a birds eye view, the streets of Trottingham seemed to be filling with an ocean black and grieving. Ponies wearing their best funeral attire followed a line of hearses that carried the remains of soldiers that had been found amidst the battle field… the ones intact anyway. All in all there were twenty or so caskets, each filled with their own pony body.
Among the dead counted there were Lieutenant Shield Bash, Corporal Stone Hoof, Private Swift Feather, General Stalwart Ward, just to name a few. As a few was all that was left.
A few was all that was left of a force of at least a million. Several thousand ponies, griffons, and other races went up against that monster and he had simply dashed them out of existence like you would brush dust off a shelf.
The grieving were not only the family and friends of the deceased, but the whole growing town. They had lost these great ponies in sacrifice for their country, so that the townsfolk may live on another day without the threat of annihilation over their heads. The Princesses themselves also made a public appearance, dressed also in black to honor the ones who had fallen.
They were trying their best not to join the chorus of weeping, but with so much sorrow in one place it was becoming hard not to. It was as if he had come here for that one reason, to make everypony either dead or miserable.
He succeeded in at least one.
The hearses had finally reached the cemetery that had been dedicated to the fallen soldiers, while everyone else entered through the low hanging arch of the morbid place. Undertakers took the coffins from the hearses, carrying them to their respective graves.
As they did so, ponies with bugles began to play a military tune as the coffins were laid down into the ground. All was deathly silent as Princess Celestia stood on a small stage above the graves while the bugles trilled.
They stopped finally, as the last casket was placed in the hallowed ground and the Princess began to speak.
“Today, Equestria hath been met with its most vicious adversary to date. More violent than any threat posed before. More ruthless than any enemy previously met. His intentions were as evil as he, and had it not been for the brave ponies we dedicate this ground to, his reign of terror may have never ceased.”
The coffins landed below ground in their respective graves, ponies all over were crying, sobbing and sniveling. Mare, stallion, colt, filly, there we even some other species in attendance to pay their respects. Ponies began to shovel dirt onto the coffins. Luna was by Celestia’s side, tears forming in her eyes. She herself had lost a great number of friends in this battle.
For whatever sadistic reason, Ulquiorra decided to focus on the Night Guard more than anypony else. Perhaps they reminded him of himself. There was one filly who was crying by her mother’s side, screaming and crying.
“Mother! Why art they burying father?! Why won’t they stop?! Why art they burying everypony!? He's fine! Stop burying him!” The mother tried desperately to halt the filly as tears flooded down her cheeks, trying to escape her grasp to join her father and stop the Undertakers burying him.
I myself was almost brought to tears when Luna silently flew over to the crying fillie’s side, taking her into her wing span, hugging her. Even then the crying filly wouldn’t stop, and simply continued to cry into her wings. She could only imagine what that monster was doing now that he was entrapped within the black pits of Tartarus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tartarus; 1997 Years ago
Mark was ever so slightly tugging at the little wooden blocks, comprising an even larger wooden tower. The tower itself comprised of wooden blocks put in a certain pattern, three by three to be exact. He tugged slightly at the thin brick at the bottom corner of the towers base. Slowly, carefully… THERE!
He did it! That was his fifth piece! Or so he thought. The tower began to rumble, tipping towards him. He gazed at it with a deadpan look as it began to tumble, wooden blocks falling onto the table inside his unbelievably small cavernous cell. He despised the cartoon logic this world ran on, but hey...
That’s Jenga.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What ever he was doing, the royal sister’s were sure his punishment was suitable. All around ponies were dressed in black, mares on the shoulders of their stallions, grieving for lost sons or brothers. Ponies were not the only ones who had sustained considerable losses, not by a long shot.
Diamond Dog villages had been forced deeper below ground to avoid the green wrath of Ulquiorra, Minotaurs had retreated to the mountains where they were at least partially safe, and the Griffins fled north high up into the skies where they'd be safer from the constant bombardments. Two whole years did he terrorize the world, but finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, Ulquiorra had been sealed behind the mountainous doors of Tartarus, with the rest of his ilk. Hopefully one day the scar that was Ulquiorra’s visit would one day heal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grave Site Luna’s Point of View; 1,997 Years Ago
In that moment, the filly and I shared a similar feeling. Unrivaled sorrow and loneliness… Our most trusted Night Guard, nay, our friends had been completely obliterated by the monster whose name had been Ulquiorra.
The only ones who truly appreciated our night, who truly loved our starry sky, gone in a flash of necrotic viridian. It was all his fault that ponies were terrified to go out at night, he who brought upon the fear and loathing of the dark, he who had brought so much suffering to our little ponies.
We swore that day, that should we ever see him again, he would know the true meaning of Nightmares. Not only for us, but for the hundreds of others whom he had made suffer. We looked down at the poor filly who was still sniffling in our wings.
It was no use lying to her, no use telling her her father was fine, for if we lied to her then we would have to lie to the rest of Equestria, and the sacrifice that finally destroyed the beast would have been for naught.
We promised to ourselves silently, we would bring about a better era for Equestria, one where ponies would no longer have to worry about monsters such as he. A kingdom under the shroud of night, where ponies would be truly happy and secure in their lives.
Yes, we would do this, and nopony else would stop us…
Garganta Space, Present Time: Ulquiorra’s Point of View
Slow.
Slow..
Slow...
So Slow!
Most would think that a Garganta would be a means of instant transportation, which in any other case it would be, but here it has to follow certain rules within the universe. To anyone on the outside it would look like it was instant, but on the inside said rules kicked in.
Depending upon the distance of where you wished to go, the Garganta would take the amount of time needed in real time to reach there. So whilst in this pocket like space between worlds, filled to the brim with Reishi, it looked to me as if I’d had spent several days to get to where I wished to go.
That’s another thing, also in this world the Garganta may not be able to open in certain places, say caves or inside buildings. Multiverse rules suck.
The Garganta had cracked open (finally!) and I stepped outside onto the invisible platform holding me up. Below me was where my pesquisa had located a number of things.
First and foremost, my sword. Without it, I felt emptier than usual. Though I could annihilate this place with a single cero while it was on my person, my spiritual pressure was greatly declined without it, as per the rules here. Second, the Elements. Those accursed gems that had entrapped me all those years ago. The fault, to be fair, was my own. I was cocky, not knowing enough, my own arrogance my downfall.
Last but not least, were eight flares of spiritual pressure from inside the castle. Two I recognized as the sisters, but the other six I did not know. They felt like a detachment of the Elements, but at the same time had their own characteristics. Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, and the rest, but what struck me most was Magic.
It felt like Celestia and Luna’s but… different. Suppressed, as if on purpose or without her consent. No matter. Now I knew who I was dealing with. This time would be different. I saw below me platoon after platoon of guards. Lining the ramparts, stationed at the gates, in the courtyard, filling the gardens, in the streets.
Christ they were like ants. Tiny, worthless, pathetic, ants. Literally no other reason to slaughter them then to get past them and to my sword. Each and every single one… trash. I hypothesized for a moment. My punch coupled with my Balla sent Cerberus flying, would my Cero be just as powerful? I lifted my finger, wanting to see just how restrained I was by the rules that held this place together.
The ponies below seemed terrified, tensing at the mere raising of my arm. I pointed at a wall on the utmost left side, gathering as much spiritual energy as possible. I heard Celestia’s voice cry out from one of the towers, but it was too late. I gazed down at the ponies below, uttering a single word.
“Die.”
I fired. The green blast blazing down to the wall beneath before making impact. It exploded, chunks of rock and ponies outside the range of the emerald laser were sent flying or tumbling off of the ramparts.
When the dust had cleared, I looked upon the destruction. The hole in the wall was at least twenty meters in diameter in the fifty to sixty meter length wall. Behind the wall was a crater, the size of the laser I had just fired. Had I been at full power, that wall would not be standing.
There were no remains, merely scorch marks of the once living things that lined the wall. I felt a rush. That familiar rush… after so many years at last. I could feel the rush again.
The Cero seemed to tick them off however. A lot. They cried “monster”, “vengeance”... nothing I hadn’t heard before. Pandemonium broke out, unicorns firing bolt after bolt of magic, pegasi launching lightning from nearby clouds, and Earth ponies catapulting stones and arrows. I stood there in the air for a few seconds, closing my eyes as I reached out for one of the boulders hurtling towards me.
I stopped it dead mid-arc, my fingers forming a hand hold from the strength of the grip. I yanked it in front of me, the arrows, lightning, and magic all crashing onto it, gradually breaking it down. What finally made it give way was another boulder, hitting dead on what was left of my rocky shield. This wasn’t pissing me off per say, really it was more annoying than anything.
I took a quick step, activating my sonido and appearing in front of a platoon of guards along one of the city streets. The ones in front were terrified, terrified of my mere glance, while others tried to keep them from bolting.
I glanced past them at the gates, which seemed to be even more protected than the walls. Looking back to the platoon in front of me, they had leveled their spears at me, ridding themselves of fear.
Whatever goal they hoped to accomplish… I would crush it.
I sprinted toward them full force, the spears heads colliding with me and shattering as I hurtled through them like a runaway freight train. Spears… I had blown a hole in the wall the size of a sperm whale and they thought spears had a chance… trash. They went flying as I sprinted through their ranks, sending them into walls and through windows.
Wails of pain and shouting of orders. I could hear everything being said. I could see everything being done. The Elements, the Princesses, they were heading towards a single room, no doubt to retrieve the elements. Unacceptable.
Castle Corridors, Celestia’s Point of View
It was happening again. I had been too late. I couldn’t stop him. It was happening again.
No. Not this time. This time we would stop him, my little ponies have grown stronger over the years! This time would be differen-.
My thoughts were interrupted as an explosion occurred outside a nearby window. The glass shattered and so did the wall on the other side. The same thing occurred behind us. “Keep going!” I cried. We galloped through the hallway, glass exploding in front of and behind us. We needed to reach the Elements, we had to.
I stopped. All went black. I could hear ringing. Loud ringing. Muffled cries, I opened my eyes to see a blurred vision of Twilight, leaning down to pick me up. I struggled to my hooves, staggering as I rose. “Princess! Are you alright?!” Twilight said, her worry obvious through her tone,
“I am fine, Twilight, quickly we must go.”
“That’s our Princess! Nothing can stop her!” Rainbow Dash praised from behind. I could raise the sun, yes, but he could flick a wrist and destroy a city. Faust help us all.
Finally, we reached the end of the hallway, the explosions finally stopping. The hallway was wrecked, sections of the windows and walls blown off. We reached the end of the corridor where the Elements had been stowed. I inserted my horn into the slot, charging energy into it. The magic distributed throughout the door, opening the vault where the Elements were located on a pedestal, extra enchanted this time around.
Levitating the box in which the Elements were stashed, I raised the intricate jewelry box and opened it. Finding the Elements where I had left them last, Tiara and all. I floated them onto their respective hosts, the last being Twilight’s Tiara.
“Now is the time, My little Ponies, we must stop one of the most vile threats Equestria has faced since its founding. You must wield the Elements and imprison Ulquiorra for the rest of time! Do it, for the safety of Equestria!” Now was not the time for dramatic flair, now was the time for action.
I could feel him approaching, but, the feeling suddenly stopped, no not stopped… it was descending. Oh no. “Quickly girls, close your eyes! Luna, you’re in charge of the guards till we return!”
“Verily, sister!” She flew out of one of the holes in the castle. The Girls did as instructed, I focused my magic on the seven of us, teleporting us to the lower levels of the vaults beneath Canterlot. I saw guards flung across the room, any defense they may have had rendered relatively nonexistent. I heard a groan from inside one of the vaults, and a shattering noise, the shattering of glass.
Canterlot Vaults, A-34; Ulquiorra’s Point of View
I had shattered the case that had been standing between me and Murcielago, which in hindsight, was a frail thing. The other case had held my Caja Negación which, again in hindsight, I should have used much earlier. I gripped the frozen sheath, gauging it to be several degrees below zero.
I couldn’t care less. I don’t care how cold it is, nor how these ponies had managed to lock Murcielago away, all I knew, was that I had my sword back. That’s what really mattered. The Captain proved next to no match, now unconscious against the wall, that being his only saving grace, and why he had not joined his men in the dead man’s symphony.
I knew they were outside, I knew what was in store for me… I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. With a crack of sonido I appeared behind them, staring them down as they turned around to face me. In front of me now were the new bearers of the elements… to say the least, I am disappointed
A southern hick, a gay pride flag, a junky, a diva, one smelling of animal droppings, and the last of ink and books. Orange, Rainbow, Pink, White, Yellow, and Purple respectively. In front of them was her… Celestia. “Hello again, horse.” I said, “Hey!” the pride flag exclaimed, rushing within an inch of my face, “Princess Celestia is not a horse!” I'll admit, this one had balls.
“Who are you?”
“Rainbow Dash! Fastest flyer in all of Equestria! One of the ponies who’s gonna put you back in your place!”
I retract my previous statement, not regular balls, nay, cojones of steel. I stared at her, not knowing what to make of her. She was either extremely brave or extremely stupid to simply continue hovering in front of me when I had a sword in my hand. Never mind simply cutting her into pieces, I think it’s time I showed these ponies what I could do.
Twilight’s Point of View
Those eyes. Those piercing eyes. Those piercing, unyielding, emerald eyes. I felt pain, a crushing pressure from out of nowhere. It only got worse. I couldn’t breathe. I was brought to my knees, even the Princess was brought down. Rainbow was now in the grasp of a pale claw like hand, struggling with no result. “Weak”, he muttered. To some degree… he was right.
This monster was on an entirely different level, something supernatural, unbelievably powerful. Not even lifting a finger he could crush us with his presence alone. He had let go of Rainbow, who slumped onto the ground in front of him, struggling to stand like the rest of us.
“I know enough to know that the Elements work like a chain.” he said, walking towards us. He stood in front of Celestia before slapping her to one side, sending her barrelling half away across the dome shaped room.
“If one link should break, the rest of the chain shall fail.” He stared me down, whatever crushing force that was upon me disappeared. I could feel nothing… nothing save for immense fear. I couldn’t move out of sheer terror.
“And to you Pony, I ask, what is friendship if it loses its appeal? Or in this case… it’s Magic?” He unsheathed his sword. My ears were ringing but I could hear the muffled protests of my friends as he stood above me, raising the lethal object.
No, not deflected, that would imply some of my own force was used against me. No, I was outright blocked. It was two or three inches from her accursed jeweled crown granted, but never the less I had been stopped dead in my tracks. A black blade, darker than obsidian with a night sky blue handle, fashioned with two wings acting as the guard. The blade itself seemed to glow with a tint of darkness, slowly rising off of it like smoke from an ash tray.
There were only two inhabitants of this world who could stop me like this. And the former was in front of me. Leaving only the latter. I turned my head slowly to see behind me, to see if my hypothesis was correct. And so it was. She had avoided my field of reiatsu when I chose to focus on one place for more effect, while using her magic to attack from afar. Smart.
Behind me was Luna, horn glowing to hold the blade up from slicing Twilight’s Tiara and subsequently her head in half. Her flowing mane of stars covered her face, her form visibly shaking. I heard her muttering, but I couldn’t make out whatever she was saying.
“you…”
“Hm?”
“You…”
I stared at her. Me? What about me? What could she be so infuriated about that I had not already done?
“YOU SCUM!!” Here I thought she’d grow out of the habit of shouti-
SLAM!!
I hadn’t a chance to finish the thought before I was taken by the collar by an enraged Luna, flying around the room, being dragged along the walls at high speeds and eventually out through the exit hole. Deep fried Buddha she was angry.
She held me up like a shield while we rocketed up through the vaults, wrecking the stairs in the process. I was taken aback by how strong this mare had gotten, before she could only parry and dodge, now it’s as if my ass was grass and she the lawn mower!
After what seemed like seconds we burst through whatever door led to the bloody place and through the roof into the sky above the guard littered Gardens. She let go, turning and bucking me further into the sky, turning and taking aim, her horn charging a beam. I recovered my composure, cocked my elbow, Murcielago in hand ready to slash whatever on coming barrage she had planned.
Thousands of bolts were fired, each coming at unbelievably fast intervals. Nothing I couldn’t keep up with. Deflect, block, parry, deflect, constantly. I heard a whistling sound to my left.
I brought my sword up once I had finished slicing through the last of her magic bullets, blocking Luna’s downward slash. Her face was contorted with anger and rage. Her eyes glowing white and her mane growing longer as we both strained in deadlock.
Our eyes met and I could see nothing but a burning hatred, the likes of which you’d have to bottle up for millennia to achieve. She in turn, saw nothing but boredom.
I pushed forward, knocking us out of our struggle, before going in for a slash of my own. She blocked, she swung, I parried, I swung, she reposted, block, swing, slash, and so on. To us, it seemed as if we were going at normal speeds, but to anyone else, our blades were moving so fast that they were barely visible to the naked eye, the occasional waves of sparks serving as a lone reminder they were there at all.
This was going to take longer than I thought…
Canterlot Vaults: Twilight’s Point of View
I couldn’t get over what I had just seen. He would have killed me. Not because he wanted to, but because he needed to. He was right about the Elements acting like a chain, one link gone and the rest would be unable to do anything. He didn’t want to kill me out of bloodlust, but out of logic and strategy.
Everything about him was frigid. His tone, his appearance, his thought, everything he did was calculated and planned out, as if constantly five steps ahead of any plan devised against him.
“Twilight!” screamed Rainbow, who had gotten over her initial encounter.
“I’m fine Rainbow…”
“That jerk!! When I get my hooves on him, I’ll… I’ll… Grr! I don’t know what, but I’m gonna kick his flank!”
“Easy thar’ Dash, Ah’ don’ think it’s gonna be that simple.” Said Applejack, and all things considered, I think that would be an understatement.
“I have to agree with the both of you girls, that ruffian needs to be taught a lesson, but how? He brought us all down without even trying!” Rarity exclaimed. I looked over to Princess Celestia, who was getting back up to her feet. The look in her eyes had changed. Changed from fear to determination.
“Twilight, I need you to teleport you and your friends to the surface, I must go and help my sister battle Ulquiorra.” I looked to her, she was going to fight him!? It’s a miracle she wasn’t brought down by that unseen waterfall of steel, but now she wants to fight him?!
“But Princess!-”
“No ‘buts’ Twilight, this is something I must do. Tend to your brother and then get your friends to the surface, I must go aid my sister.” With that, she flew upwards, through the ruined entrance of the vaults.
I contemplated for a moment of just what we would do against this enemy. We hadn’t faced anything like this since our discovering of the elements. Nightmare Moon simply wanted to enslave everypony in eternal night, Discord simply wanted Chaos, and Sombra simply wanted to enslave. But they each lacked one core component that he has.
They weren’t willing to kill somepony to achieve their goals, they simply wanted to overthrow and rule, and in that scenario we could at least resist, with this, this monster, Ulquiorra, one mistake could lead to a permanent end, no chance to strike back and for all we knew, nopony to avenge you.
“We have to…” I muttered.
“You okay, Twilight?” Asked Applejack. I looked everypony dead in the eyes, a flare replacing the terrified darkness that once resided within them. “Girls, we must defeat Ulquiorra, because it’s not just Equestria at stake. I understand now. If we don’t stop him here, Equestria won’t be the only kingdom to fall. If we don’t stop him here, now, the entire world is doomed! We’re no longer saving Equestria, we’re saving the world! Let’s stop him! For the sake of the world!”
They cheered. We were probably doomed, but we cheered.
Castle Gardens; Ulquiorra’s Point of View
Now that I think about it, everyone I know has probably been dead for a good century or so. My friends, close family, distant relatives, hell even my pen pal… sucks really. But to be fair I suppose I do have something to console me in my time of need… oh wait, no I don’t.
Instead I have Moon-Butt trying to hack away at me and vice versa. Her eyes had stopped glowing now, leaving her with only a deepening scowl. Stuck in yet another deadlock, I was getting sick of this, and decided it was time I ended at least one Alicorn.
I disappeared from in front of her, reappearing horizontally above her, my sword cocked to my left ready to slice off her head. I could picture it now, her head and body falling down from the air towards the masses that loved her, as blood gushes from the stump that was once her throat.
A beautiful thought.
Her eyes widened in surprise, time slowing down as I began my swing, the arc closing in on her dark furred neck. She couldn’t bring her sword up to counter in time. She couldn’t do anything except turn and be met with a blade to the jugular. This was it. This was it! Finally!!
ZAP
I was launched from my position above Luna, hurtling down and slamming straight into the ground. I sincerely hope, for the life of me, for all that is good and pure, that was who I thought it was. I stand from the crater that I had formed from the fall, the fall being the only thing that had damaged me so far. I looked up to see two polar opposites flying next to each other.
One a brilliant shine of white and the other a deep hue of darkness. Light and dark, sun and moon, Celestia and Luna, respectively. If I could smile, I would. A smile that would threaten to consume my face. I was overjoyed that Celestia decided to swoop in when she did. Now I had no excuse to hold back.
“You should not have come, horse. Now there’ll be two dead royals to deal with...” I said, my tone hinting no emotion.
“It is you who should not have escaped, Cipher! Today shall be your last!” She proclaimed, a runic circle forming next to her. Golden in color, it began to fill itself in with light before a sword rose up from it. The blade looked like steel while a rounded sun made up the guard, the handle looking like a unicorn horn.
Compared to Luna’s, this blade was glowing with brilliant radiant light, the polar opposite of the obsidian black blade Luna had been wielding. Two heads are better than one I suppose.
“Know this horse. My pride had blinded me during our last battle, but now I know the extent of your power. Now, it is simply,” I lifted my pointer finger, aiming at the pair and gathering a mass amount of energy, forming a viridian ball upon the tip of my finger, “A matter of time.”
I fired. My power back into full throttle from the retrieval of my sword. Where my previous cero was barely 20 feet in width, this one was back to its original 50. I felt that all too familiar rush. A rush of power and adrenaline, pumping up my sensing and heightening my strength.
This was true power, this was my power. Power the likes of which not even these two “goddesses” could stop.
And hell, I was just getting started.
Celestia’s Point of View
This was it, the deciding moment would be here and now. I had brought up a shield to protect me from the oncoming laser while Luna did the same. His blast was just as powerful as ever. This time, guards and soldiers could do nothing, they were busy evacuating the city, and rightfully so.
As he had said himself, his pride and arrogance had been his downfall, and he does not make the same mistake twice. He had made that evident during our first clash, when we had tried every tactic we had in our arsenal more than once. The beam had dissipated in front of us, I saw Ulquiorra with his sword at the ready, as if right behind it the whole time.
He slashed, my shield had shattered and I had thankfully enough time to parry his attack. Our swords clashed, Luna coming to my side and coming in for her own attack. I forced him away, his swordsponyship impressive even after all these years, able to keep up with immense speed and still stay on the offensive. Luna and I were both slashing, hacking, and cutting away at him, our blades meeting with his own as sparks flew from the clashing of sword on sword.
Steel seemingly singing as they dragged along each other in a battle raged by their masters. His expression remained the same, that being the lack of expression. He seemed bored, threatening to yawn at any moment. He thrust forward, catching us both off guard. We managed to block him and lift his blade up, bringing our own weapons down for a slash across his chest.
He sprang backwards. So close. An inch more, a centimeter more! His robe opened in the shape of an X. He examined the cut made, seemingly surprised that we had managed to cut him. It’s as if he was a God, never expecting a Mortal to injure him.
Ulquiorra’s Point of View
My knees weak, arms are heavy, there’s a cut in my robes already, mom’s spaghetti.
I mean holy shit that was close! I was right there! By the looks of things that slash could have cut me easily, doing some serious damage! It still skeeves me how I’m able to move to fast! I mean sure, I’m used to the immense strength and enhanced intellect, but the speed is like switching from one of those Walmart carts to a NASA rocket powered by the Energizer Bunny!
Granted I was a Bleach nerd, but I never imagined the first time I’d used sonido I’d nearly lose my lunch! It’s like ripping yourself from wherever you were at G-force speed to anywhere else! Something that would have torn me apart while I was human.
But hey, that was a millennia ago. I’ve had more than enough time to practice. A whole lot of time with no one else to talk to but myself and a few other “Hell” mates. I think it was time to get serious. I gathered my strength, the spiritual pressure now visible as it gathered around me.
“The looks on your faces indicate you were proud of keeping up with such sloppy swordsmanship. I assure you, that was me holding back…”
Exactly 2 Miles Away from Canterlot: ??? Point of View
Wow, this Arrancar guy was tough! More tough than most I had seen. It was like he was a final boss and the Princesses were both regular mobs! He’s sent tons of souls to the after-life already, guards and citizens alike, and the number of wounded just keeps rising! If this goes any further south, I may just have to intervene!
And if I don’t… hopefully it won’t be a “game over” scenario.
Los Angeles, California, 1,999 years ago; Marks Point of View
Jesus, it was hot here! The temperature reached a staggering 95 degrees and rising as the sun hung in the summer sky. If this kept up I’d fry on the sidewalk waiting for the pedestrian sign to light up. I had just left the hotel with my two friends John and Kyle, dressed as Ichigo and Gamzee Makara, respectively. We had come to LA after we had heard a Con was taking place.
By the looks of things we weren't the only ones going either. There were some pretty cool cosplays of Deadpool, Star Wars, The Marvel Franchises, seemed as if the whole of geek culture had shown up. Then there were the… not so good cosplays… things cannot be unseen. I even spotted a crowd of people wearing some other merch, MLP I think it was called. I had heard about it on some boards I was browsing and it seemed to come under a lot of mixed opinions, but over all these “Bronies” seemed like agreeable folks… as long as you stayed away from the neck beards and fanatics.
I myself am a native of the great state of Washington, D.C! Capital of ‘Murica! So when I heard that the con was set up in L.A, I packed my cosplay and hopped on the nearest plane. Previously, I had been planning to wait for the Con to come a bit closer to home, but I figured I might miss the next chance. So screw it, might as well go now.
I was cosplaying as a fan favorite of the Bleach community, Ulquiorra Cifer! The Cuatro Espada! The only thing that I hadn’t on my person was Murciélago, of which I wanted to find an accurate replica, not some plastic crap. I managed to find some emerald green contacts that were able to turn my eyes into little reptile slits, and had painted my skin ashen grey, having a friend of mine help sow my robes. My only worry however was that if these heat kept up my sweat would wash away all my hard work.
The light changed, giving the crowd the go ahead to cross the street. I bumped into something… squishy. Oh god the smell. It smelled like something had died. I caught a glimpse of the gargantuan mass of flesh next to me. This guy was huge! He reeked of cheetos, sweat, after shave, and wasted ambitions, all topped off with a neck beard and a stereotypical trilby hat.
He had some sort of shirt on with a prismatic design, the logo saying “20% cooler”. Carrying in his arms a pink plushie of sorts. Oh god make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!! The monster reared his ugly, pimpled face and looked at me. Don't make eye contact, ignore him and he'll go away.
“Hey! You've got green eyes! Just like Applejack!” Who the hell is Applejack?
“Yeah that’s great…” I muttered as I kept walking. He kept going on and on about “winter wrap up” and some guy named "Larson". I had no idea who this guy was, but one thing was going through my head, I need to get as far away as possible and fast. The convention-center was only a few yards away! If I could get through the door before him, there’s no way he could fit through it!
“You've got a cool looking helmet! It’s shining like Princess Celestia!” What the hell is this guy talking about?! Whatever, I was almost there, almost to the door, so close, almost there!
I made it! The only sad thing is that he went through a set of double doors. Still following me he was hot on my trail.
“Hey! Wait up!” he said, hell no I wasn't going to ‘wait up’! I didn't bother looking back, I simply kept walking, now turned into a terrified jog. Taking my phone from my pocket as I had lost John and Kyle, I dialed their numbers, the phone ringing… and ringing… and ringing.
‘Hello?’ responded John’s familiar voice.
“John! Thank god! It’s me, Mark, I got lost running from this fat neck beard guy.”
‘This is real life, Mark. We need not fear the neck beards here.’
“You wish, seriously, he even had that trilby hat!”
‘That’s what it is? I always thought it was a fedora.’
“Common mistake, but that’s beside the point, where are you guys?”
‘We’re near the lobby.’
“Awesome! Stay there, I'll meet you guys there.”
‘Alright, but Kyle went ahead of me to see if he can commision some artists or some such, so we'll have to go find him inside.’
“Works, just stay there and we'll go look for him once I find you.” I hung up and made my way to the lobby of the convention center which I had missed in my panicked daze running from my worst fears made flesh. I made my way down the hall to the lobby, finding my arch nemesis Ichigo/John there. We joined back up, going into the main room to see if we could find ourselves a Troll.
After a while we had finally found Kyle, who was seated with a group of Homestucks, each painted grey with their own little defining features, horns and symbols, which I recognized as zodiac symbols, each a different color.
We had been browsing the stands when finally, after looking for ages, stand after stand, I had found it.
Murciélago.
A perfect replica. The scabbard, the hilt, the guard, unbelievable attention to detail. It was immeasurable in its beauty. I had to have it. I HAD to. I walked up to the stand, staring at the sword, paying no attention to the others next to it or behind the vendor. Everything sort of fell away, everything else crumbling from existence, the sword become my world...
“You okay there, bud? You're staring.” the vendor said, snapping me out of my trance. I looked at him, then back to the sword. I looked around, noticing that I had lost John and Kyle in the crowd. Again. Crap. I couldn’t just leave this wonderful sword… I mean honestly, what’s the worst that could happen?
“Yeah, sorry, how much for the sword?”
“$500.” he said. Five hundred?! I had brought a thousand! There goes half I suppose.
“Deal!” I exclaimed, pulling out my wallet from my pocket in my robes. I brought 5 hundreds out from my wallet, handing it to the vendor. I took the sword from the shelf. This felt… so right. It felt like I was born with this sword in my hand. Something was telling me to unsheath this. To let it out from it confines and swing it. Swing and cut. Cut and slash. Slash and ki-- holy shit what am I thinking? Was I seriously just thinking of killing everyone in this Con?
This sword… was weird. But it was my sword. Mine. Mine and mine alone.
“Hey! Sweet sword!” Ohgodno.jpg. It was him. That bastard found me. How I was not concerned. What I was concerned about however was figuring out how to get as far away as possible.
“It looks awesome! Could I see it?” He said through heavy breathes, the scent of cheetos wafting from his disgusting form.
“No, no you can’t. I bought it with my money. You want one, get it from the stall.”
“Come on! Just one look!” He kept getting closer while I kept pulling the sword farther away from him.
“No, I said, go away!” This asshole was starting to piss me off. No is no, it’s MY sword! MINE! One last chance, he reaches for it again, he’s dead. All the while, that feeling of blood lust I had felt before had returned. I felt like I wanted to find everyone like this guy and bring their lives to god-awful ends for trying to touch my sword. MY Murciélago. In a sense, I didn't necessarily feel violent… simply… hollow. My chest felt hollow, my entire being felt empty. Like a corpse.
“Come on! One. Look!” He had done it. He touched it. He reached out with his stubby arms and touched it with his disgusting fingers. Trash. He had to pay.
I pulled away with surprising strength, leaping back as if floating away from him. I landed on my feet smoothly, skidding still. I glared at the tub of wasted life. This THING had touched my sword with his cheeto dusted fingers. I'd kill him. I'd make him suffer. I’d find his family, his pets, bring back his dead relatives and MAKE THEM ALL SUFFER!!
I drew Murciélago. The blade glowed white as I drew it from its sheath, an unfamiliar feeling filling me, as if I had been missing something, an emptiness. It felt… Natural.
I lunged at him, sword ready to slash the fat from his frame.
Present Time, Above the Castle Grounds; Ulquiorra’s Point of View
I was getting annoyed. So, so, SO annoyed. I had trained a litteral millennia while these two self-proclaimed “gods”sat and signed legislation for the better half of that time! Yet they were still putting up a fight! It was screwing with my understanding of reality as I knew it, which is saying a lot. No, I wouldn’t let this stop me. These two walking glue sticks would NOT lock me up a second time.
A little known fact, here at least, is that I had studied Japanese while in highschool and college, nominated one of the biggest otakus and frequenters of 4chan on campus. In case you're wondering, I frequently posted /b/ and lurked on /f/ and /v/. More to the point, I lifted my hand holding Murciélago, and pointed a single black nailed finger at the pair of Princesses. When you've been stuck in a pit for a millennia, you've got a lot of time to practice. I remembered my incantations, readying my spiritual energy.
“Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Red Flame Cannon!” At the end of my incantation, exactly what I had expected to happen had materialized in front of me. Like all those centuries I had spent practicing, a massive red beam, twice if not four times the size my Cero ripped towards the pretty pony princesses. It continued till it met a hill off in the distance, exploding and scattering boulders and debris across whatever field was unfortunate enough to be behind that now crescent shaped hill. The sister duo flew from the blast, Celestia to the left and Luna to the right, an attempt to flank me. There was a weakness I figured while practicing Kidō mind you. The more energy used, the weaker or slower you got depending on the strength of the Kidō or Bakudō. Not only that, but if you wanted the Kidō to pack more punch, you had to go through the whole incantation, taking time and giving your opponents a window. A window that these equines were too stupid to use in time.
I lifted my sword above my head, bringing it down to meet the two blades and subsequently the horses wielding them, I guess it’s time to stop leading them on. They were already panting, I had barely broken a sweat. Might aswell level the playing field for them. I sheathed my blade in one swift moment and ducked under the two swords, coming back up and grabbing them by the necks and holding them in place with my arms in a friendly manner, like a couple at the movies.
“Allow me to show you…the true power of an Espada.” They were struggling to get out of my improvise chokehold, but I wouldn't let go. No, I had something really special in mind for these two.
“Way of Destruction Number 96…” They struggled, finally wrenching themselves free of my grasp and flying out as quickly as possible. I tried to smirk as wide as I could, but only managed a small grin.
We had managed to narrowly escape the blast. The red pillar scorched our sides as we flew, the initial shock wave also knocking us off balance. We lost control, veering toward the castle grounds which had been all but decimated. Our ears were ringing, and our vision blurry,but never the less we could make out the form of a massive, burning red pillar.
Nay, not a pillar… a blade! A sword in the same shape as his... In the center was a form, robes fluttering in the flames as he stood there, taking the brunt of the attack. Tia landed next to us, obviously having escaped the blast much faster than us.
“Luna! Are you alright?” We could not answer. He simply stood there, burning in the fiery crimson inferno that seemed to stretch on for eternity. It finally started to die down, revealing his now spurned and nicked form, small marks covering almost every inch of his (athletic and toned) body. His upper robe had been reduced to nothing, revealing something neither my sister nor I had seen. On the left of his chest was an archaic number... 4. His lower robe was tattered, ripped and dirtied, fluttering like wings that had been ripped apart and could no longer fly, as if fallen from grace.
He stood there, looking down on us as if he had earned the position. His glare held the stares of thousands of poor souls who were unfortunate enough to have crossed his path, eons of suffering culminated in one emerald glance, countless millennia of pain and destruction following him wherever he went.
A revelation had hit both my sister and I. When he had transformed into that vile bat creature, where only the Elements could have stopped him, he was holding back. He had just blown a crater the size of a small settler town in the gardens, wrecking the statues and plants, scorching the earth, taking a quarter of the castle with him.. He took the brunt of the blast and even then, seemed unfazed, as if the explosion had simply tickled him. He had been holding back.
He began stepping down, standing on some invisible stairway before finally reaching the charred and burnt ground. We stood with the aid of our sister and readied our weapons. He had killed them. He had killed our Night Guard. He had killed our friends. We would make him PAY. Blind anger taking us over once more, we charged at the ashen monster, raising our sword. A stinging pain had started in our chest. He just walked calmly along, mocking us. His form began to flitter, as if fading away. An after image.
We fell, the stinging in our chest had exploded into a myriad of pain. Landing on our side, we skid and slid across the ground, a slash across our chest. Before we fell, we had seen a blurred image of him, in the corner of our eye, as if he had danced past us, the blade not even slashing, but more lightly dragging along our chest.
Blood. I saw blood… it had been so long since I had seen blood like this. Not somepony elses but ours. My own blood, dripping from the wound. A scream had erupted behind us, blinding light of gold and green on both ends. The screeching of metal and songs of battle were mixing into a muffled cacophony. Everything was blurred. We felt a nudge at our side. A small figure, dressed in black and white. Behind it, a much larger figure, that of a very strong stallion, almost an ox. We felt an aura envelope us, carrying us onto the figures back. A Unicorn? We jumped through the air.
All went black
Ulquiorra’s Point of View
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. Mark Twain said that, and I could not agree more. No, fuck it, I’m done. I am so done. I've officially had it. I don’t care if her eyes are glowing, or if that beam of light is getting clos-
ZAP
Twice in one day. I was down, laying in an indent of one of the curves that made up the crater we were now fighting in. Within moments Celestia was on top of me, anger permeating her face and aura. Gravity seemed to increase the closer she came, and I was right now bearing the brunt of it. Granted this may have outright crushed lesser beings, I did feel it, but only as a slight chest pain. She probably snapped about her sister, cause never mind the countless others I’ve slaughtered. Bitch deserved it anyway!
“Do you hate me?” I asked monotonously, quoting the wrong villain. She brought her hoof up , bringing it down with tremendous speed to my face. It felt like a hammer descended on my face. This was not going as planned. Once more, she got in a good shot straight to my nose, I caught her hoof mid descent the third time around, forcing it back up with a shaking arm. She had somehow gotten stronger, but how?! I had been whittling away at her for a good several minutes and yet she was coming at me stronger than ever! This made no sense!!
I lifted my self back up with Celestia shaking hoof still in my hand, my expression finally changing from boredom to spite. I had actually considered the possibility of letting loose and just Resurrecting here and now. I shoved the thought out of my mind. This battle hadn't gone on for half as long as our first fight, but between that time, I hadn't considered Resurrecting till they got that boost from that weird diamond tree thing. Now however, Celestia was pushing me back, our swords clashing at unbelievable speeds. She was slowly but surely catching up to me…
Deadlock once more. I stared back into the abyssal white and mixing green that had consumed her eyes. She was pissed, angrier than a bull seeing his first red cape. Little fun fact, it’s the last thing they'll see before a blade strikes them in the neck.
I pushed back, forcing her away from me and bringing my sword down, she blocked and I just kept slashing. Every angle, up, down, left, right, diagonal, and everything in between... NOW.
Our blades met and I shot my free hand out, stopping both our swords. Celestia stopped for a moment, no doubt shocked that I would risk injury to myself a second time, but not showing it on her face. I looked her dead in the eye. Silence is sometimes better than words.
Celestia’s Point of View
He hurt Luna, he had to pay! He needed to PAY. Anger consumed me, the white glow of my stare slowly turning a sickly green with purple and black smoke rising from the corners of my eyes. Everything had turned into a haze of information, my senses heightened to where I could practically hear our blades singing in his grasp. He gazed into my eyes again, anger and hate contorting my face into an ugly expression as he faced me. When I looked back at him, I couldn’t read him. He seemed… determined.
A thousand mile stare, betraying that he was ever paying attention, telling me that he was no longer in this fight. He muttered something… a foreign tongue that only he seemed to speak, a language of demons if there ever was one. Suddenly another explosion, the initial shock from experiencing anything else red caused me to stagger. It wasn't a laser however, it wasn't anything remotely close. It was a cloud of... smoke?
I coughed and hacked at the sudden blast of harmless dust, a diversionary tactic. I rushed out of the cloud, flying high to attain a birds eye view. My neck and head darted around, almost snapping from the speed at which it turned. Frantically I looked around, for any sign of the pale grey monster. I swooped low onto the castle grounds, charred and kicked up dirt giving way from my landing. Once more I looked around. He was gone.
I gasped, remembering why I had snapped in the first place; “Luna!”
