Tip the Balance

Chapters

Soul Swap
One Stop Shop
Loyalty

Soul Swap

Waking up wasn’t supposed to hurt.

Twilight Sparkle blinked, looking about as sunlight streamed down around her. SHe was lying on a futon, the floor covered in grass matting. She continued to blink as her brain registered the unusual formation if her legs, and proceeded to look down. She yelped at how she looked, and at how she was dressed. SHe was human, but not he familiar body she had in her time across the mirror. She wasn’t sure what she was now, only that it was wrong. She was noticeably more muscular in her current form, and covered nearly completely in bandages rather than any form of clothing. She lifted a hand to her head and found her burning and throbbing forehead, but no horn. Instead, on the left side of her forehead, she felt what seemed to be a bone ridge or mask. She tugged at it experimentally, and after it didn’t come off or move, she left it alone. As she slowly lowered her hand, she caught a glimpse at the calluses there. The hand was cracked, but tough and leathery, as if it was accustomed to using tools. But that wasn’t true, she knew. She was a bookworm for most of her life, and, to her embarrassment, had barely worked hard physically for more than a week in her life, total. But the body she was inhabiting was a worker. Her hair was the familiar purple and blue, the single pink stripe hanging in front of her eyes. She groaned, her head finally falling onto the futon again. For a few seconds she lay there, contemplating the insane situation she was in, then proceeded to rise and stagger into a human standing position. She glanced around again at the room she found herself in, silently assessing it. The walls appeared to be made of paper and wood, much like old art styles from Eastern Equis. The ceiling was made of the same stuff as the floor, and the floor felt firm under her feet. To the left was a sword leaning up against the wall, and she found herself picking it up.

It was a beautiful blade, she realized. The blade itself was single edged, with a tiny guard in the shape of a six-sided star, much like her cutie mark. The hilt of the blade was long enough for both hands to grip comfortably, but could be wielded with one hand just as easily. One of her brother’s military terms came to her: hand-and-a-half. It seemed a suitable name. The scabbard was a deep purple, fringed at the top with a thin band of blue cloth that allowed it to be slung over one’s shoulder. She slid the sword back in the scabbard, and found herself slinging it over one shoulder. The length of the cloth placed the scabbard at waist height, so it could be easily drawn with one hand. She also found a pair of sandals in the corner of the room, next to where she found the blade. She pulled the sandals on, and she found that they fit well. She finally got around to looking for someone to explain what happened.

She slid the screen door to the left, and crossed the short hallway to find herself in what looked like a convenience store. She glanced at the writing on the front of the counter, finding the glyphs unintelligible. But when she looked at the words as a whole, their meaning became clear: Urahara Shop. The shop was small, barely twenty paces wide, and the whole place was lined with short, shoulder level shelves. She paced along the aisles, reading labels that didn’t seem to make sense.

“What is a ‘portable gigai’?” she muttered, staring at the small black capsule. It didn’t seem like a portable anything, unless it was some sort of truth teller. She tried talking to it.

“My name is Reed.” The ball didn’t react. Another look at the ball revealed it to have an inflation nozzle on one side. Twilight was curious at the nature of the gigai, but she left the thing alone, mainly due to more pressing matters. Instead, she glanced around for someone to talk to.

She glanced outside and saw humans that looked an awful lot like her, with that same pasty colored skin, large amounts of them. She cautiously opened the door and started walking across the street. No one paid her any attention as she walked among them, even as Twilight herself noticed her lacking of clothing. She wondered at the fact that no one was looking at her or giving her glares, only to find that there was someone looking. A middle-aged man was floating above the rest of the crowd, staring at her in what looked like fear. She waved. “Hello!”

The man screamed and floated away.

She looked around again, and noticed that there were body parts passing through her. Arms, legs, even a whole child managed to run straight through her stomach. She gasped as he passed through. Her breathing started getting shallow, she was hyperventilating.

Am I dead?

She forced herself to calm down, take in one long, deep breath... Then, something crazy happened- everyone around her fell over.

She felt a force collecting around her lips, and she tasted something curious in her mouth. She swallowed hesitantly and looked around at all the people who fell over. She crouched as she stared at one of the fallen people, and she noticed he looked pale. His chest wasn’t moving. His eyes were open, and he wasn’t blinking. He was dead.

Everyone around her was dead.

She fought to keep her hyperventilation under control again, staggering and leaning on a lamppost. They were dead. All of those people were dead. She killed them all! She breathed, and they were dead. It seemed so easy, like an accident. Twilight Sparkle breathed thirty people to death. Her tears were hot as they dripped down the side of her face. She continued looking down and leaning on the lamppost, so she never saw the loud, red headed boy until he loudly announced his presence.

“Hey, Arrancar!”

She glanced up to see a teenager in black robes floating a few meters above the ground, carrying a huge black sword. There wasn’t any sort of guard on the massive sashimi knife, and he was pointing the blade straight at her. “Huh?” She sniffed through her tears.

“I’m Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute Shinigami! I protect this town, and it looks like you managed to kill all these people. And that means you’re dead!” His last words involved him rushing from his position, slashing fiercely at her.

“Waah!” Twilight’s eyes widened at the sudden violence, and she made the stupid move of raising an arm to her face. The sword flashed through the air and came down crashing on her forearm, and she screamed, falling to her knees. Her eyes opened slowly to see a very mad looking teenager holding a sword, her forearm holding the killing edge at bay.The boy blinked, then stepped back to swing again. This time, he stabbed at her stomach, ripping through one of the bandages, but still making no progress in harming her. Twilight was just as confused as the boy seemed to be, slowly staggering to her feet. She made eye contact.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

The boy made no comment, instead yelling and swinging his sword at her neck in a horizontal slash. The blade clanged loudly on her neck, and she coughed from the impact, still braced against the lamppost, but she still didn’t bleed. He made several strikes against her body, never doing any damage other than cutting up the bandages on her stomach and shoulders.

Twilight coughed again, scared out of her skull at the fact that she was being attacked by a boy with a very menacing sword, and the fact that she wasn’t being cut to ribbons. She slowly staggered back upright after being knocked to the ground again, this time drawing the sword she had on her waist, imitating the grip the boy used. “Please, stop.” She adjusted herself so that both of her small hands wrapped around the hilt. She was still leaning on the same lamppost.

“Why should I, Arrancar? You killed all those people. I say that forfeits any chance you had at getting me to stop.” He slashed again, but this time, Twilight reacted. She brought the sword up, deflecting the other blade to the side, then moving into a slash across the boy’s ribs. His robe tore open, and he jumped back. Twilight slowly removed her left hand from the hilt of her blade, moving into a defensive stance, sword ready in front.

Ichigo Kurosaki charged her again, this time with a stabbing motion, the sail shaped blade facing down. Her left hand now placed on the bottom of the hilt, she turned her blade horizontal to the ground and crouched, pushing up. Ichigo’s sword slid along her own, overshooting and gliding over her shoulder. From that position, she made a second pass across his ribs, cutting slightly deeper than before. Turning the blade as he sailed past, another cut across his stomach began to bleed, with Twilight still untouched.

When did I learn to do that?

Ichigo gasped as the cuts were made, and he turned to face her once again.

“Damn.” He charged a third time, slashing quickly and brutally. This time, she held her sword forward, one hand on the flat of the blade. She flicked her wrist, sending her blade flashing outwards, bouncing off of the heavier and more forceful blow of Ichigo’s sword. She ducked underneath the now clumsy and off-balanced attack, slashing again at her attacker’s ribs. He now had several cuts across his chest, while Twilight had taken no damage besides the loose bandages that now fluttered behind her. What in Equestria is going on?

She knew she wasn’t going to get answers from her attacker-slash-target, so she turned and fled from the scene. However, Ichigo blurred into existence in front of her, sending a brutal vertical slash along with a strange cry: “Getsuga Tenshou!” The blade glowed blue; raw power that almost seemed like it was sharp came roaring towards her. She needed to move, move fast, move now...

A deep resonating sound came from her body, and she found herself standing a few feet away. The blue energy had failed to touch her, and she started running again, this time in the opposite direction, her mind whirring to find some sort of conclusion.

I’m not sure what’s going on, but it’s not good. I’m human again, but I don’t know how I got here this time. There’s a very angry teen chasing after me with a very big sword, and he’s apparently angry at me for... killing... those people over there. I killedpeople! This... this place is insane! I can fight with a sword? I never learned any of these techniques before... I didn’t do anything special last night? ... I... what didI do last night? I... I can’t remember? Why can’t I remember anything? My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m a unicorn. I live in Ponyville with Spike. I have five best friends, and I’m the student of Princess Celestia. I... I’m... Uh...

She started to try to remember more about herself, but her train of thought was cut off when Ichigo appeared again, blocking her current mode of escape. He slashed again, swinging with a mighty overhand blow that probably would cleave her in half. So she brought her sword up and stopped the slash with both hands, one braced on the back edge of the one-sided blade, the other holding the hilt. She slid her sword down, allowing her to get inside his guard and slash with her much shorter blade in her right hand, scoring another shallow cut across the ribs. She spun away, running again in the same direction she started in. But Ichigo was being persistent in chasing her down, and he stepped in front of her again, about twenty feet away.

“Stop running, Arrancar. There’s nowhere for you to go.” Ichigo brought his blade up and said those same words. “Getsuga Tenshou!” This time, the energy was black and malevolent, almost like there was evil embedded in the attack. She brought her hands together on the hilt, forming a flattened hand and a fist, moving out of instinct. Energy formed in front of her fist, humming and whining, and she willed it released towards its target. A huge, blue beam emitted from her hands, blasting a hole in the Getsuga Tenshou, and knocking Ichigo to the ground. The blast was sudden, emitting a low resonance, different from her instantaneous movement from before. Ichigo slowly picked up his sword, his chest now coated with cuts and blood, the front of his robe ripped open. “Damn, you’re strong.”

Twilight took several cautious backwards steps away from him. “Please, sir. Stop trying to hurt me.” She was on the verge of tears again. “I... I don’t like hurting you.” Twilight didn’t want to admit the thrill she got from her fight with the boy, so she tried denying it verbally. Maybe she was just excited, so she attempted to calm down. “Please, I just want to get home!” Every word that she spoke was completely true, yet her mouth seemed like it didn’t want to form those words, like they were blasphemous and shouldn’t be said by the body she was in. Like she was being a coward just for uttering any form of reluctance to fight the human in front of her.

“That’s funny.”

“Wh-Why?”

Ichigo snorted roughly. “All of your friends are here, trying to destroy us. And you’re no different.” Ichigo pointed to her face. “Whose Fraccion are you?”

“Fraccion?”

Ichigo blinked in surprise, then tried again. “Who do you serve? Who is your master?”

Twilight blinked back at him. “No one that I know of.” She relaxed slightly. Maybe the man with the sword was just crazy. Maybe it was her who was crazy. Maybe she was in a nice, safe padded room in the hospital.

Ichigo frowned. He asked, “Then are you an Espada? Your spiritual pressure is too high for you to be anything else.”

Twilight was getting even more confused. “Espada?”

“You’re not an Espada?” Ichigo scratched his head.

“No! I don’t know what’s going on!”

“Hmph. You’re one of the most confusing enemies I’ve ever fought, and that includes Ikakku. Well, come on!” He pointed his sword at her.

She decided now would be a good time to stop wondering and go on the offensive. She jumped from the building, stabbing quickly and rapidly at his chest and stomach. He blocked all seven of the blows with the flat of his blade but the last one, which she aimed at his upper right arm, cutting his bicep in half and gouging out some of his right pectoral with the tip of the blade. His blood flowed onto the sword, and she quickly pulled back, landing with a skid in the middle of the air three feet behind and below him. She slashed again, this time across his legs, and he couldn’t move his injured arm in time for him to block all three shallow cuts along his calves, allowing one leg to start bleeding. She lashed out with the blade one last time, deflecting one more of Ichigo’s counter blows before she snapped out of her battle reverie, stepping back in horror at her efficiency, and staring in horror at the blood coating her sword. Unfortunately, that allowed Ichigo to score another painful swipe at her stomach, sending her skidding away from him.

“Wow. You’re pretty good, Arrancar. What’s your name?”

“My name? My name is Twilight.”

“Huh.” Ichigo was visibly confused. “That’s not a name I would expect from an Arrancar.”

Twilight finally had the nerve to ask, “What in Tartarus is an Arrancar?”

Ichigo almost stumbled at her words. “You don’t know what you are?”

“No!”

Ichigo stared at her for nearly a minute, like he was looking for something. He finally pointed at her right thigh.

“I call bullshit, Espada. I can see your tattoo.”

Twilight looked down at her thigh, wrapped in bandages. A small pacth of black greeted her, peeping out from one of the snapped wraps of gauze. She slowly unwrapped her leg, and found a strange, serifed... one under her bandage. “One?” She muttered. “That’s an odd cutie mark.” She turned to see Ichigo charging her again, swinging his sword from behind him. The blow was powerful, sending her flying into the side of a building, but it still didn’t cut her. She wondered why his blade seemed so dull compared to her skin, as she shakily got to her feet, sword ready. “Why... is it a one? What’s it even supposed to represent? Math?”

Ichigo recoiled as he glanced at the number, but then he squinted. “Huh. You seem too... scrawny.”

Twilight glanced up again. “S-scrawny? Scrawny for...?”

“The First. Although, that would explain why I can’t cut you.”

“The First? First what?”

“The First Sword. La Primera Espada.” The First Sword?

Twilight objected. “I’m not the first anything! The closest I’ve ever been to being first was that one Running of the Leaves... I placed fifth.” she finished lamely.

“Huh?”

“Please... believe me. I don’t belong here. What I’m doing to you... it’s scaring me. I just want to get home.” Twilight felt her tears coming again, falling down her cheeks even as she noticed her body getting back into a ready stance.

Ichigo scoffed. “Sure. What’s next. You’re secretly a magic alien from another universe?”

“... Yes.”

Ichigo slapped his hand to his face.

“Okay. I may be rash, but I’m not stupid. You’re clearly confused or something. Leave. I will stop attacking.”

“S-sure.” She sheathed her sword. “You know,” she added nervously, glancing around her at the destroyed remains of the building, “The only thing you were hurting with that sword of yours was property.” She caught her reflection in a broken shard of glass in the pile of rubble. The top half of the left side of her face was obscured by a white mask, cracked but still remarkable looking: raised and indented bands ran across it horizontally, with an odd pattern of light purple diamonds across the lowermost stripe. The mask obscured one of her eyes, which appeared as a thin, rectangular black slit on her face that paradoxically did nothing to obscure or impair her vision. The diamonds sat below her eye, but before the angular end of the mask.

“...yeah,” Ichigo said, looking down, “ but when we meet again, I’ll kick your ass! And... put on some clothes!”

Twilight noticed, for the second time, her bandages. More correctly, the ribbons of severed bandages that showed most of her perfectly undamaged body, along with the circular hole in her chest.

A hole... in my chest?

She looked up at Ichigo’s slashed robe, and at his bloody chest. There wasn’t any hole in him that she could see. “Hey, I-chigo?” She tried to say his name.

“Yeah?”

“What’s this hole in my chest?” She passed her hand through it again, confirming it was actually there.

“It’s where your soul used to be.” Ichigo was blunt in his answer, if not getting confused himself by her questions and actions.

My soul...

She looked up in Ichigo’s direction. Her hands were on the hole in her chest, her missing soul. For the third time that day, she felt herself on the verge of tears.

“Am I dead?”

But Ichigo Kurosaki was gone.

Coyote Starrk blinked wearily at the weak sunlight coming in. A form next to him, which he presumed to be Lilynette, stirred in her sleep. He shakily got onto all fours, glancing around the darkened room.

The first thing he noticed was that his anatomy felt... wrong. He looked behind him, to see his barrel, the grey fur on his back, and the symbol printed on his flank: A white starburst surrounded by six others. He glanced back at Lilynette, seeing that she was also one of the horse things, with her flank marked with a lone pink star. That was all the information he needed at the moment. He sighed and fell on his haunches.

“Gah.”

He shook Lilynette awake. “Hey, Lilynette.”

“Huh?” Lilynette blinked. “Starrk’s wakin’ me up? It’s a fuckin’ miracle.”

“Get up.” Starrk glanced around at their surroundings: Rows of bookshelves and a wooden door. They were in a library. “Something’s wrong.”

Lilynette glanced at Starrk, then looked again, staring at his shaggy hair. “Are you a horse, Starrk?”

“So are you.”

“Fuck.” Lilynette said, noticing the dim room in the weakening light. “Let’s turn on the lights, Starrk.”

Starrk located a light switch on the far wall, and flicked on a single incandescent bulb hanging in the middle of the room. Starrk finally got a good look at Lilynette’s new form: A pale white coat with a poison green mane, a horn on her head, and an annoyed look on her face. She could still be recognized as Lilynette, given her expression. On the far wall was a mirror, and Starrk approached carefully. His own coat was grey, as suspected, with a shaggy brown mane and his same face, albeit more horse-like. His eyes were ridiculously large, and he noticed nothing special about himself otherwise, other than being significantly bigger than Lilynette, which was normal for him. Overall, he seemed slender. He groaned again. “So, now what, Lilynette?” he asked, looking for a comfortable place to flop over. “Take a nap, hope that this is just a dream and wake up in Hueco Mundo?”

“We don’t dream, stupid. This is all real.”

“Gah. Let’s head out. Maybe we can find a way back to our normal forms, or at least some information about what happened to us.”

Lilynette blinked at Starrk, then started laughing. “Starrk, showing initiative! This place is crazy!” She got to her hooves, fidgeting. Her laughter ceased slowly and she looked somewhat uncomfortable. “This is really awkward, Starrk.” Lilynette frowned.

Starrk groaned again. “Come on, let’s go. The sooner this is done, the sooner we can get home and I can nap.”

Starrk approached the library door and opened it cautiously. Lilynette followed without incident, glancing around at the vibrant colors and distinctive lack of dead trees and large, white buildings. “Definitely not Hueco Mundo.” Lilynette quipped. Starrk noticed several ponies scattered throughout what he assumed was a town at sunset. He squinted at the now bright but still dimming sunlight, only for his vision to be obscured by a fast-moving body coming at him from almost directly in front and overhead, obscuring the sun that was low in the sky. He stepped to the right about two feet paused then stepped again another foot, and Rainbow Dash plowed into the ground at about eighty MPH, only to grind painfully to a stop at the hooves of Lilynette.

Lilynette looked down at the thing that landed in front of her. She prodded her with a hoof. “Hey, pigeon. Who’re you?”

One Stop Shop

Twilight found herself making her way back inside Urahara Shop, back to the room she woke up in. The room looked almost exactly the same as it did before, only there was a small parcel sitting on the floor in the corner of the room. Maybe she missed it when she left the first time. Twilight approached the parcel carefully, and read the note attatched.

Hello! Miss Primera Espada, you are my contingency plan for this unfortunate series of events. I hope that your sudden change in quarters and lifestyle does not affect you negatively. I know that it is unexpected and probbably unwanted, but I needed someone to act as an emergency powerhouse in this war. I must ask you, first, to do your best in fighting Aizen and the rest of the Espada. And I would ask you, second, to possibly make allies among the other Espada and the Fracciones in Hueco Mundo, as well as any allies that you may have in the human world. But until the time comes, I would ask you to protect this place from attack from hollows, and take the opportunity to get stronger. In the meantime, you have permission to take refuge in my humble abode, where you probbably found yourself waking up in. You have no reason to trust me, but if you do, this whole world will be grateful not to be ruled by Aizen. Enclosed is some clothing, as you came here without. It should fit, as I had plenty of time to take measurements while you were unconsious<3. It is styled after other Arrancar outfits I have seen, I hope you like it. Also enclosed are some gifts from me. They will disguise you from rowdy Shinigami, Arrancar, and Quincies. I will contact you when it is appropriate. Enjoy Karakura Town!

P.S: I hope you’re not evil. It took a whole lot of work to get you out of Hueco Mundo and to supress Aizen’s Shikai. I hope you don’t make this all for naught.

There was no signature. The note was right, there was no reason to trust the person behind the package, but she opened the paper anyways. His intentions sounded pure, at the very least. She found what looked like a set of long, flowing robes, white fringed with black, that seemed to loosely fit Twilight’s current form. She pulled it on the same way she pulled on a dress, and it felt like it fit well; it covered almost every inch of her body, hugging tightly to her form and covering her arms and legs to the wrist and ankles, albeit with interesting holes in places: a circular cut in the front that showed the hole in her chest, a split in the lower right side that showed her number one Cutie Mark, or ‘tattoo’, or whatever it was, slits near the wrists and ankles. Lying next to the clothes was a small medallion, like a badge. A small loop of cord was attached. On one side was a pentagon that looked almost like a face, wreathed in flames. She picked it up and tied it to her left wrist.The other side had a stylized flower on it with a small lump in the center. She wasn’t sure of the magical properties of the talisman, but she didn’t want to leave it behind. Maybe it was important. The third gift, she found, was one of those portable gigai that she noticed in the shop. She placed it in a pouch on her waist.

Twilight, now dressed in something that seemed modest, slowly turned and entered the front of the store, only to find a large man there, his hair in cornrows and glasses on his mustached face. He was sweeping. Twilight walked towards him and waved, but the large man paid her no attention. He continued sweeping. Twilight spent about five minutes trying to get his attention without touching him, but the man continued his sweeping of the aisles, seemingly oblivious to her, just like the others. She left the store and wondered about her new gifts.

I wonder who would need me like this? If whoever brought me here needed me for something important or fighting evil, they really should have brought all of us. All six of us, plus the Elements, are what’s needed to defeat most kinds of evil, so why just me? And why me at all? There are obviously good soldiers here, and if the person who brought me here has mastered interdimensional space travel, then why not get a warrior, or someone that could actually fight? Why me? But... it seems like I canfight. I fought that Ichigo person. I fought well.Maybe, there was a reason for them to pick me out of all the super-soldiers and great mages in the multiverse... but what?

Her thoughts were cut short as a crack appeared in the sky, filling with a strange purple shape that looked like the world was made of strips that were being pulled apart.

A demon fell out.

A huge, monstrous thing, maybe one hundred feet tall, landed with a thump on curled feet. It was black, massive and almost formless, like it was a human wearing a sheet over his head. There was a massive, white mask, with a long, spear like nose on the top, and spikes ran through its ‘neck’. The beast screamed evil. If this was the type of monster that the note was referring to, then maybe the person chose wrong. But even as she stared at the behemoth, the tower of evil black and white, she noticed it felt... weak. Like it was beneath her notice, and that she could squash it with her foot, like a bug. That gut feeling gave her the confidence to draw her sword and approach the beast. She jumped, landing on the air, and continued to climb until she was at the height of its stomach. Twilight glanced at her seemingly short sword, sent up a silent prayer to Celestia, and held it sideways in a reverse grip, her left palm flat against the butt of the hilt. She focused, eyes closed, and let familiar energy flow, like magic, into a ball in front of her fist. She focused like she was casting a spell, and the blue beam shot forward, boring a hole straight through the demon, blowing out a part of its side. She opened one eye, and stared at the hole as the thing fell down, down, down and landed with a thud right in the street. But it was still alive, thrashing on the ground like a wounded animal, which, Twilight realized, it was. She ran over the rooftops to where the creature fell, and Twilight, finding the spell she was using was relatively easy, proceeded to fire several thin blue beams again and again into the creature’s mask until the mask crumbled and the entirety of the body deemed itself ready to disolve into a mass of swirling black. Twilight, moving on impulse again, flew back down and approached the mist, and found herself taking large bites of the stuff, swallowing and sighing. The mist took not even ten seconds to finish completely. It tasted good.

It tasted good? Twilight looked at the note that was now tucked away in her sleeve. Protect the town, get stronger. She could feel the energy from the mist she consumed. But that thing was evil, she could feel it. Eating the demon felt wrong, just like the majority of her actions in the past day had been. It also felt instinctual, normal. Just like everything else. Twilight glanced around, then started in a random direction, floating above the houses, looking around at the town. The portal she saw, the one that had the demon fall out of, gave her hope, that maybe she could find her way back to Equestria and her friends. But the solution seemed so far away.

She landed in a secluded area so that she could investigate the other gifts that the package contained. The first was the talisman on he wrist. It held no purpose that she could see, other than being neat. Maybe it was situational. She set the thought aside and looked at the other gift: the portable gigai. She picked up the ball, rolling it in her hands, wondering what it did. Well, there’s an easy way to find out. So, she blew on the small nozzle in the side.

The gigai blew up like one of Pinkie’s balloons until it popped like a firecracker. A full-sized body fell to the floor.

“Ah!” Twilight flinched and stumbled at the replica of her human body laying on the ground.There wasn’t a mask-thing or a hole in the dummy, but it was wearing a black coat and a white undershirt, with baggy pants and sandals, as well as a striped hat that didn’t look quite right on her. She took a step towards it, and felt a tug, like it wanted to get closer to her, like a magnet. She took one more step, and felt a sucking sensation, and found herself gasping on the ground, wearing a black overcoat, white undershirt, sandals, and a floppy striped hat. She got to her feet, dusting herself off.

“This doesn’t feel right.” Just like everything else with this world...

Regardless, she made her way, for the third time, back to the Urahara Shop. Finding the building Ichogo destroyed should be easy, and the shop wasn’t much farther from there. However, a shape blurred into existence in front of her: a man in a black robe, with a floppy hat almost exactly like hers and a cane in his hand. He was smiling.

“Hello! I’m Kisuke Urahara. You must be Primera Espada-san, yes?”

She stepped back in surprise, her sword still out form her encounter with the demon. “My name is Twilight.” What’s with this guy? he’s so... relaxed.

Urahara pointed to the cracks in the street from where the demon landed. “It seems you took care of the Menos rather admirably.”

“Is that what that demon-thing was?”

Urahara frowned at her words. “Yes.” He shook his head slowly, thinking. “You’ve found my package?”

Twilight nodded numbly, holding up the medallion on her wrist. He seemed nice, but she could feel it: the huge, deadly power coming off of his body, even as he smiled sweetly. If he tried, he could probably cut her, even if the other person, Ichigo, couldn’t.

“Good! Please, follow me, and we can talk in secret. I suppose,” he added, lowering his voice, “that this is confusing. I can explain. And maybe... you can explain, too.” He gestured with his cane, and started walking away from her. Twilight quickly followed.

“YOU IDIOT!”

Ichigo Kurosaki was sent flying into his bedroom wall as he was kicked in the small of his back by Rukia Kuchiki. “Ow...”

“You let the Primera Espada... leave!” He was kicked again. “What were you thinking? You could have significantly weakened Aizen and the Espada by killing her while you could!”

Ichigo groaned as he regained his feet. “I know, I know.”

Rukia Kuchiki was standing in front of her closet (really his closet that she slept in sometimes) fuming, ready to kick Ichigo again if the desire arose. Ichigo turned to sit on his bed, leaning back on one of his hands. Kon was cowering under the bed, scared that Rukia was going to step on him or something in her rage, coughing from the dust (and other things).

“Gah! We had a huge break, and you waste it!” Rukia continued on her rant. “Why didn’t you kill her where she stood, as soon as you found out she was an Espada? She was helpless.”

Ichigo rubbed his neck. This was going to be hard to explain, especially to Rukia. “See, that’s the thing. I couldn’t.”

“You couldn’t what?”

“I couldn’t kill her.”

“Why not?”

Zanpakutō. But she never tried to kill me, only giving me flesh wounds.” Ichigo frowned as he continued. “ When I tried using Getsuga Tenshou, she dodged by moving to the left! Like she didn’t care about whether or not it hit her! Her Hierro was basically indestructable, too. It’s like she cheats. She said it herself; the only thing I managed to hurt was Karakura Town.”

“Invincible Hierro? Well, that would be a problem.” Rukia was frowning as well. “And you said that Getsuga never landed?” Rukia was leaning on the closet door, frowning.

“No. The second time I tried, I used the black Getsuga Tenshou. She cut straight through it with a Doom Blast that knocked me off my feet just from being near it.”

“Why didn’t you use Bankai, if you couldn’t cut her?”

“...you know why.” Ichigo glared.

“I see.”

“But...” Ichigo paused, thinking about the strange Espada’s protests and crying.

“But...?”

“She seemed scared.”

“She was toying with you, cutting you open, taking every shot you threw, destroying your Getsuga Tenshou, knocking you back with her Doom blasts, exchanging witty banter, and she was scared?”

“Yeah. She acted like she didn’t even know she was an Espada. It sounded like, to me, didn’t even know about the hole in her chest until she saw it through her bandages. Like she never realized she was dead. Said her name was Twilight, or something. And she denied being an Arrancar.”

“That... is strange. Anything else you want to add?”

“She was naked.”

“...”

“Ow!” Ichigo held his bruised face. “What the hell was that for?”

Rukia huffed and climbed out of the window. She needed to speak to Urahara.

Twilight slowly sipped at the bitter tea in her hands, letting the warmth fill her, calm her down. Urahara was sitting across from her, sipping tea as well. His cane was across his lap. Urahara was staring at her from under his hat. “...What are you, Espada-san?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Hmm?” Twilight looked up when he spoke. “Did you say something?”

“I was wondering, Espada-san, why you act so different from every other Arrancar ever encountered by the Soul Society.”

“What is an Arrancar?”

Urahara looked up in surprise, his hat almost falling off of his head. “Excuse me?”

“Well, you just compared me to an ‘Arrancar’. That one man, called me that several times. I was wondering what it meant.”

“You don’t know what you are?”

“No! It’s really confusing and it’s kind of scaring me. I don’t know why I’m even here in this place!”

“What do you remember?”

Twilight breathed deeply. If this man didn’t believe him, then she would probbobly be stuck here forever. Or be killed. She chose her words carefully. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am... I’m a magus, and I’m not from this universe, it seems. I don’t know how I got here. I woke up in the other room and stepped outside after putting on a pair of sandals and the sword.” She looked down to take another sip of the tea. “When I stepped outside... I panicked. I breathed too deeply, and...” She trailed off, thinking about the people lying in the street.

Urahara said nothing, gesturing for her to continue.

“That’s when Ichigo Kurosaki showed up. He attacked me-”

“Ichigo Kurosaki?”

“He told me his name.”

“I suppose he showed up after the Gonzui.”

“What is a Gonzui?”

“Literally, it translates as Soul Suck.”

“Oh...!” Twilight covered her mouth with one hand. “Is... is that what happened?”

“Most likely.”

“Oh, right.” Gonzui... Soul Suck.

“Continue.”

“Well, he attacked me. But his sword never cut my skin... only my bandages. I started fighting back after the second strike to my neck... and I was better than him. I’m no fighter, Mr. Urahara,” she said, even as Urahara raised an eyebrow at the American expression, “but my body seemed to... to know how to use a blade. I could have killed him several times in that fight. My body seemed to be able to tell. But I didn’t. I tried to explain to him what I said earlier to you, and he let me go. I came back to the shop, and found the parcel, then came back out again to find the demon-”

“Menos,” Urahara supplied.

“Right. To find the Menos falling from a hole in the sky. I managed to destroy it with magic.”

“Magic?”

“I fired blue beams at it until the mask crumbled.” Twilight explained.

Urahara frowned, getting up from the table. He gestured for Twilight to follow him down a set of stairs, pushing her with his cane. She felt a tug, and found herself, once again, in the white and black robes, her sword now tucked into a sash on her waist. She glanced back at her body, her other body, now lying prostrate next to the table. That is wierd. But she said nothing. Instead, she followed Urahara down to a huge cavern, the walls made of stone. In the distance, steam rose from must have been a spring, and large rocks and pillars jutted out of the ground in a few places. She clambered down the ladder after Urahara. He pointed to the closest of the rocks. “Show me.”

“Show you what?” Did he mean the blue beams?

“Show me your Doom Blast. Your ‘magic’ that you used to defeat the Menos.”

Twilight drew her sword from the sheath, and held it like she did when fighting the Menos. She focused, felt the familiar pull of magic in her core, and let it go. The beam flew, humming loudly, and blasted against the rock, tearing a small chunk out of it.

Urahara glanced at the rock. “The pressure on that blast was weak,” He remarked, adjusting his hat. “It didn’t feel contained, more like a wave of force rather than a real attack with merderous intent. There was the appearence of a Doom Blast, but it wasn’t as concentrated and focused as most I’ve seen used by Espada-class Arrancar and Visoreds. More like a directed force of spiritual pressure than an Arrancar level attack. Not to insult you or your techniques, Espada-san.”

Twilight frowned. If she understood what he said correctly, then Urahara just called her magic unstable. Twilight had been honing her magic for more than ten years with the most powerful being in her world. She trained and studied almost nonstop, she was the greatest mage in Equestria, the Element of Magic! And this attack, this simple technique, was unstable?

“Unnacceptable.”

Twilight felt the magic build, holding up the sword again, this time in a two-handed grip, the point facing the rock. She focused on the sword like she would her horn, and watched the ball of energy form again, but this time the light came off as a familiar lavender glow. She fired again at the rock, and the beam, the Doom Bast, screamed towards its target.

The rock exploded. Twilight expected that. What she didn’t expect, however, was the ten-yard long hole that was shot through the wall, cracked on the outside, but smooth and shiny inside. The hole was almost seven feet wide, and perfectly circular.

“Impressive.” Urahara quipped.

“I don’t like anyone calling my magic unstable. Sorry.”

“No, no. Not at all!” Urahara was inspecting the hole in the wall. “I’m sure we can find a use for this cavern. In the meantime,” He turned to Twilight, “Draw your Zanpakutō. We’re sparring. You said your body knows how to fight, but your mind doesn’t, correct?”

“Y-yes,”

“Well, we’re going to have to change that. I can’t have my last line of defence a blundering swordsman running only on instinct, now, should I? From this point, I am your mentor, training your mind to be able to keep up with your body. If you would choose, you may call me Urahara-sama, mainly because no one has ever done that before and I wanted to try being a sama at least once.” He grasped the barrel of his cane and pulled, revealing a long, straight blade with a angled tip. “This is one of my favorite games to play. Knock off my hat, and you win!” He tapped his head.

Twilight frowned, sword in her hand. She had to knock his hat off? “How do I lose?”

“You die.” Urahara charged.

“Hey, pigeon. Who’re you?” asked Lilynette, prodding Rainbow Dash in the head.

Rainbow Dash shook herself, sending dirt everywhere. “Who’re you?” She asked angrily.

Lilynette frowned. “I asked first.”

“Well, the name’s Rainbow Dash!” said Rainbow Dash proudly, hoisting herself in the air. “So, who’re you?”

Starrk stepped in for Lilynette. “I’m Coyote Starrk. This is Lilynette Gingerbuck. Why were you attacking us?” Starrk cocked his head. This one was brash, loud, and light blue. Just like Jeagerjaques. Maybe it would look better if it was missing an arm.

“Why were you in Twilight’s house?”

Starrk put a hoof on his forehead, almost hitting his horn. “I asked first.”

“Because you broke into Twilight’s house!” Rainbow Dash was mad, or at least she was trying to sound mad. It was almost... cute. Maybe she didn’t know how to act angry. “Why were you in Twilight’s house?”

“We woke up there. Don’t know why.” Starrk decided now was not the best time to go around asking their way back to Hueco Mundo. Their tattoos suddenly came to mind. “Could you explain this?” He glanced back at his and Lilynette’s tattoos, and the rest of their strange forms..

Rainbow Dash glanced at Starrk’s Cutie Mark, then Lilynette’s. Then Starrk’s again, then Lilynette’s. She put them together in her mind. “Why do you have Twilight’s Cutie Mark?”

“I asked first.”

“I don’t have an answer for you.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“And,” added Starrk, “What is a Cutie Mark?”

“You don’t know what Cutie Marks are?”

“No.” Starrk cut off Lilynete’s objection to the order of asking and answering questions.

“Well, Cutie Marks show your special talent. And you two split Twilight’s Cutie Mark in half!”

“Is that not normal?”

“No!”

“So, what should we do about it?” Lilynette asked. “Because I’ve got no clue.”

“Let’s go ask Twilight what’s up.”

“She lives in the tree, correct?” Starrk glanced behind them.

“Yeah. Let’s go. I need to get this over with, then maybe I can finally have my nap.” Rainbow groaned.

Starrk smiled thinly at her comment. “Amen to that.”

Rukia banged on the locked door of Urahara Shop. She stared angrily in the window at Tessai, who was ignoring her as he sweeped the aisles of dust.

“Tessai! Let me in!”

Tessai sweeped his way to the door and calmly opened it. “Yes, Rukia-san?”

“Where’s Urahara?”

“I believe he is downstairs. Do you need him?”

“Yeah. Downstairs?”

“The training room.”

“Why?”

“I’m not exactly sure. I think there was someone with him as well.”

“Well, whoever they are, I need to talk with him.”

Rukia made her way to the ladder and peered into the room, just in time to see a rock formation explode in a flash of dust, with Urahara revealed on the other side. In front of him, was an Arrancar. He set into motion as she did, their swords clashing inches away from his head. Rukia stared at the Arrancar as the clash continued, every strike aimed at Urahara’s head, neck, or shoulders. The Arrancar didn’t seem to want to press any particular advantage to wound any part of Urahara other than his head. The strikes kept coming, blows exchanged for much longer than any encounter that Rukia ever experienced. Hushed words were exchanged that couldn’t be heard over the sounds of scraping and clanging metal. She jumped down and hit the floor lightly, drawing her Zanpakutō. Urahara was to the side in profile to her, and he turned slightly at the noise. The Arrancar took the opportunity and lunged, piercing the side of his hat. Urahara never flinched as his hat was lifted slowly off of his head and pulled off the sword carefully by the Arrancar with purple hair. She gently held out the stabbed hat to Urahara, smiling.

“Got it, Urahara-sama.”

Loyalty

Starrk stared blankly at the walls of the library, noting each individual spine and skimming the visible covers and titles. His head cocked to one side as he saw how the books were arranged. He frowned and pulled a book off the shelf with his hoof. Thermoarcane and the Mysteries of Heat. It sat next to a book on phoenix biology and several biographies of somepony named Princess Celestia. That seemed... odd, if anything else. The biographies of Princess Luna, for example, were in the sciences section, near a book on astronomy. All the organization seemed to be classified wrong, done almost arbitrarily. Like somepony had shoved all the books onto the shelves accounting for nothing other than the color of the spines... And so, he turned to Lilynette. “This place needs to be reorganized.”

Lilynette nodded in approval. “So... what goes where?” Starrk told her and she began moving about the room, removing the books from their shelves and placing them all in a large pile in the center of the room. They began reorganizing the room, reading each book quickly if Starrk didn't know what the subject of the more oddly named tomes were. Lilynette busied herself with reorganizing, and started humming a happy tune. They worked steadily for a few hours, and had every book shelved in their proper places. Starrk pulled out a stack of cards and began the arduous task of compiling the card catalog. Idly, he thought about why he was reorganizing, but an answer to that came to him almost instantly. Of course he needed to reorganize. The place was a mess. And how was anypony supposed to find the books now if he didn't redo the card catalog completely?

At about six thirty in the evening, Lilynette stepped upstairs. “I'm going to bed.” She cracked a yawn. “I... I don't feel good. I think I nee-” she broke into another yawn “... need to sleep now. By the way, Starrk?”

Starrk looked up from his card cataloging. “Huh?”

“What do we do with that?” She pointed with a hoof at the gibbering, curled-up blue lump of fur lying in the corner.

Starrk snorted. “Leave her be. I'll put her in the recliner.” He turned back to his cards.

“Okay then.” Lilynette finished her trek up the stairs, and curled up on the bed, slowly drifting off to a comfortable sleep. Starrk spent the night cataloging the library, with Rainbow Dash snoring softly on a chair. And the sun set, casting purple light across the windows. And the moon rose, shining pale light on the tree.

– – – – –

Good night, you adorable little ponies. I hope you like your housewarming present.

– – – – –

The next morning, Rainbow Dash woke up in one of the larger chairs of the library. She couldn't see Lilynette as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, but Starrk was slowly blinking awake with his head on a desk, opposite from her. He looked down at one of the cards he was holding, the page splashed with ink and saliva. He harrumphed, and tossed the card into a wastebasket, resuming his card catalog.. “Huh?” She looked around from her position on the chair. Starrk was bent over and scouring over his cards, and Lilynette had coffee and several mugs in her grip. Rainbow Dash shook herself awake. “What're you doing?”

Starrk looked up from the desk. “Reorganizing and recreating a card catalog. Maybe I took a nap somewhere in there.”

“Oh.” The pegasus nodded. Lilynette offered her a mug of coffee. She sipped contentedly for a few moments, until she looked around again. “Wait... what?” She sputtered, setting down her coffee. “What the hay is going on here? You're not Twilight!” Rainbow began looking over what she could see of Starrk. An earth pony of exceptional height, he was thin and dignified, almost scholarly in his presence. His mane was long and wavy, colored a beautiful chocolate brown. If not for the thin ripple of muscle under his coat, Rainbow was sure that she should have been able to see ribs.

Lilynette was... different. Her mane drooped limply on her head, the pale green looking odd and washed out compared to her bright white coat. She seemed small and oddly proportioned for a filly, almost like a shrunken adult mare. She was thin and lanky, her limbs and barrel almost half the thickness of a normal filly, but still the correct lengths. The magic holding the book was the same poisonous color as her hair.

“Huh?” Starrk looked up. “Who's Twilight?”

“She's the librarian who lives here. Why are you doing her job?”

Starrk looked up at the ceiling. “It was a mess in here, I suppose. I didn't like the categorizing of the books.”

Lilynette brought another coffee to Starrk and poured one for herself as she listened in on the conversation, still only two-thirds awake.

Starrk looked over at Rainbow Dash. “I am almost done with the catalog. Could you please not disturb me for an hour or so?”

Rainbow waved her hoof. “Yeah, yeah, egghead. I got it.” She walked out the front library door...

And came blasting back in almost thirty seconds later. “Nice try, bucko.” She said. “If you thought you could trick me, you got anoth-” She was cut off by an insistent shushing sound from Lilynette, now curled up in a chair with a novel.

“We're in a library. Keep your voice down, baka.”

The blue pegasus found herself instinctively lowering her voice down to a whisper.

“Something's wrong here,” she pointed at Starrk. “and you're definitely involved.”

Starrk leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes at her. “I could have told you that. I may not remember much, but I'm sure that I have never run a library. And yet,” he gestured to his catalog, “I've spent several hours I could have been using to nap cataloging the entirety of the library from the ground up.”

“It's almost like... you've replaced her...”

Rainbow turned to the door, putting down her half-finished coffee. She slowly walked out of the library, rubbing her head with a hoof.

“I need to tell the girls about this...”

– – – – –

The first building she spotted in her flight out of the tree was the Carousel Boutique. The bells on the door jingled.

“Yes?” Rarity poked her head out from behind a design. “Oh, hello, there, Rainbow darling. Is there something the matter? You don't look well.”

“Something's wrong, Rarity.”

“Hmm?” Rarity stepped out from behind the ponnequinn.

“Twilight's gone!”

Rarity tilted her head. “Twilight?”

Rarity nodded. “Yeah! Some stallion and a filly are in the library instead. It's like they were replaced!” Rainbow looked into Rarity's confused eyes. Rarity took a small step and talked slowly, as if Rainbow was a foal.

“Let's assume that I know what you're talking about, and who 'Twilight' is.” Rainbow blinked, confused. That was... huh? “Why would Stark Power and Lily Net be replacing her at the library? They've lived there for as long as we've known them, remember? The Summer Sun Celebration? Nightmare Moon?”

Rainbow Dash recoiled. “Buh.. wha..?” She backpedaled. “Are you listening to yourself? It's almost like you've forgotten Twilight!”

Rarity had a concerned look in her eyes. “I don't think I have ever known a Twilight, darling.”

Rainbow was scared about what she might hear coming out of Rarity's mouth next. “What about Spike?” She glanced nervously.

The unicorn cocked her head to the side, now even more confused. “Spike?”

“...” Rainbow Dash shuddered a bit.

Rarity tapped her chin, staring at the ceiling. “Oh, right!” She perked up. Rainbow, dear, could you...”

The pegasus was already halfway across town, the door still swinging.

– – – – –

It was the same everywhere! All of her friends had forgotten who Twilight was! Stark and Lily worked at the library, Stark was the element of Magic, Lily was a grade above the Crusaders, Stark came to buy apples last week, Cheerilee apparently had concerns about the young filly and her schooling, the pair had just come back from an assignment from the Princess... Pinkie had thrown them a party. Rainbow found remnants of that same party in the rubbish bins in Sugarcube Corner. There was a banner with “Welcome Back From Your Super-Duper-Secret Mission, Stark Power and Lily Net” on the front. That had gotten her hyperventilating a little bit. Pinkie could maybe just been Pinkie, right? Planted the trash there for some sort of stupid prank with the entirety of Ponyville? She shook her head in order to clear it. That wasn't possible. Most of the ponies she had asked were genuinely confused at her question, some even angry that she questioned her intelligence or something. She wasn't Applejack, but she knew when someone was being sincere. Not to mention the fact that even Applejack had no clue who Twilight was. She blasted her way to Canterlot in record time.

Princess Celestia claimed she had no clue why Rainbow Dash was so worried, that Stark and Lily were already back from their assignment and were probably resting from their travels and the party that Pinkie Pie undoubtedly gave them on their return. Luna was the same. Shining Armor stopped her on the way down one of the halls and asked how his little sister Lily was doing with Stark.

Rainbow sputtered for a few seconds as her brain derped at that. “Isn't that kind of unsafe for her? I mean, leaving your kid sister with an adult stallion all alone?”

The unicorn chuckled a bit. “Stark was with Lily since she was born, almost like they were drawn to each other. He babysat her for the family more nights than not, and he helped her in her studies. Mine, too.” He rubbed at his neck. “For an earth pony, Stark has a better grasp of magic and magic theory than anypony I've ever met outside of the Princesses, unicorns and professors included. A real genius. An earth pony, the Element of Magic? I didn't think it possible myself, and to tell you the truth, apparently neither did Celestia. She expected him to get Kindness or Honesty. Stark being the 'missing Element' was a complete surprise.” He cracked his neck a bit before continuing. “Lily was sick when she was young, and Stark looked after her until she could move on her own. She still is a bit sickly, needs more sleep than most ponies. Stark is there to make sure she doesn't exert herself. She's always been stubborn, so she needs looking after.” He looked at her with a bit of confusion. “Haven't I told you about all this?”

She shook her head quickly. “This is all completely new info, thanks. Why is she in Ponyville at all if she's so sick?”

Shining shook his head in return. “We couldn't stop her. When she found out Stark was to be sent to Ponyville on assignment, she insisted on coming with him. Claimed she needed him close or she might get sick again. She grew up with Stark the real authority figure. He has this... presence about him, you know? Like he's more 'here' than the rest of us. Solid as a rock. For somepony like Lily, he was an example of a perfect pony. Would have made a good guard, too.” Shining looked up at one of the clocks on the wall. “Oh, we've been talking for a bit, I've gotta go. See you around, Rainbow Dash.”

She stood in the hallway after Shining had left for exactly four minutes before Cadence pulled her aside and asked what had happened to the pegasus' little crush. Apparently, it was completely gone.

Rainbow flew out of the hallway blushing, before she slapped the princess in the face out of instinct.

Her last stop, Discord, told her he had no hand in what had happened to her memories or anypony else's. Granted, he was the only one who took Rainbow's story seriously, due to the fact that he could feel the Chaos leaking from of Ponyville.

“It's definitely Chaos Magic,”he claimed, “but I don't know how it happened. That's how Chaos Magic works, duh.” He also told her the story of how he was defeated by the same/wrong Elements of Harmony, with Stark becoming un-Discorded not from the Princess sending the letters, but Lilynette reminding him about her childhood. In every instance of Twilight and Spike that Rainbow Dash Could remember to ask other ponies about, Stark Power and Lily Net took their place. They had a full backstory that held together even under rigorous testing, evidence that they were supposed to be there, that Twilight and Spike weren't gone.

They were never there in the first place.

– – – – –

Starrk looked at Lilynette. “What do you remember about before we got here?”

Lilynette furrowed her brow, frowning. “I... I'm not sure. My memories are all... scrambled? Something? I don't know. We weren't ponies before, were we?”

“Probably.” Starrk snorted. “Not like I care, particularly.” Internally, Starrk was worried. Why couldn't they remember anything of importance? Just names... Aizen, Grimjoww Jeagerjaques, Tosen, and others. The names didn't mean much to him, just fragmented bits in his hazy lump of colors and emotions. It made him feel small. He was fine with that. The only clear memories he had was with Lilynette, and even then, only snippets of conversation, voices, feelings. For whatever reason, that fact was much less fine in Starrk's esteem. Lilynette was important.

“I don't like this, Starrk. My head hurts a little.” Lilynette had a worried frown on her face.

Starrk instinctively was concerned, and made his way to the chair the smaller pony was sitting in. He rubbed a hoof affectionately over her head. “You're fine, Lily. I know you're strong enough to handle this.”

Lilynette nodded, curling up a little more. “I feel different.”

Starrk watched her expression carefully. “I do as well.”

“It might be the air, you know? It smells nice in here. Like paper and trees and ink and chocolate.”

“If that is the case, I have no objections.” Starrk stretched a lazy smile, trotting back to the desk. “Just roll with the punches, right?”

“What do you mean?” Lily cocked her head to the side.

“I'm not sure what happened to us, really.” Starrk tapped the side of his head. “But don't we have a role to play here? If we have any friends who are worried about us enough to come find us, then it's best to stay in the same spot and find something productive to do in the meantime. If not, we just live our lives like this, no skin off our muzzle. Minimal work required to achieve a favorable result.” He turned back to the cards on the table once again. “If I want to do the job of librarian, and you want to help, then why not?”

Lilynette nodded. “I guess. When did you get so... philosophical?”

Starrk grinned wider at her. He tapped his chin with a hoof like he was thinking deeply. “Who knows? Might be the air. Maybe chocolate is good for the brain.”

– – – – –

Twilight Sparkle was practicing her magic. Well, not magic. It was more like... projections of her spirit? It didn't matter. What mattered was she was sloppy. That was simply unacceptable. And so, she was practicing, sword in hand, firing ever-thinning Doom Blasts until they weren't really blasts anymore, but more like laser shots, barely an arm's width in diameter, and just as accurate. Every beam blasted forward, drilling clean holes into the rocks in front of her, burning the insides to glass. After all, practice makes perfect. Fwooom. Hehe. Another shot pierced the rock and dispersed, leaving a tunnel bored into the face of it. She breathed deeply, lowering her sword. The Doom Blasts were not tiring in themselves, but Twilight had been holding her arm out for close to ten minutes, and her shoulder was aching. She sheathed her zanpakutō and rubbed her shoulder carefully, moving her shoulder blade around.

Rukia watched, perched upon a rock in the other direction of the blasts. Having heard the explanation from Kisuke, she sat and attempted to judge the true capacity of the Arrancar. The purple-haired girl had been firing Doom Blasts at a rate of about twenty to thirty per minute for almost ten minutes straight, and it looked like the only reason she stopped was because her shoulder was getting sore from keeping her arms up. The girl was ridiculously powerful, Rukia decided, in both raw power and skill with her blade. According to Ichigo, her hierro was harder than any others they had encountered so far, and she was fast. Very, very fast. As far as Arrancars go, though, she didn't see how Twilight came to be the Primera Espada. Rukia could tell that her overall spiritual pressure easily matched that of a captain, but not at the level of the strongest that the top Espada surely should have been. Of course, she had never seen Twilight release her blade, so she couldn't come to any sort of decision concerning the maximum power she wielded.

She noted as Twilight began writing on the ground and muttering to herself, and Rukia became curious. She leaped to the ground and walked over to the drawings. She looked down to see that Twilight was writing what looked like physics calculations. It was all gibberish to Rukia, so she was forced to ask, “What're you trying to do?”

Twilight looked up and smiled, drawing her zanpakutō. “A technique that I just came up with. In principle, it could be very effective against most things that need to be... dealt with from a distance.” She grimaced slightly at her own words. Twilight closed her eyes, focusing, and a small blue ball grew to the size of one of Rukia's fists at the tip of the blade. It was clearly an unfired Doom Blast, but it stayed there, humming deeply. Twilight swung her blade, and the area in front flashed an overwhelmingly bright blue.

A rock that reached almost twenty meters high was cut in half along a diagonal path, slowly sliding until it tipped off the top and fell over. As the dust cleared, a huge gash was seen on the other side of the training room, ten meters long and almost half a meter deep. The gouge was rounded and pitted, like someone firing a laser or an arc welder. The low hum of the Doom Blast still emanated from the tip if Twilight's sword. Twilight looked a little overwhelmed as well.

“That was... much more effective than I thought.” She looked at the tip of her blade. “To note: energy efficiency is very high, look to maximize in the near future.” She looked to Rukia. “Please stand back.” Twilight swung her sword repeatedly and several bright flashes burst from her sword. Rukia could see the faint outline of the beam inside the flashing lights. The end result was interesting, to say the least.

Over ten meters of rock had been carved out of the wall opposite from them. The carved out gashes in the wall had glassed over, and were glowing a bright orange.

Scratch any other theories for now. She is stupidly powerful. Note, do NOT piss off the Arrancar.

Twilight wasn't even remotely tired, it seemed. Her breathing was the same, and no sweat or sense of sickness or unease. But still, just like everything else concerning her, something was off. Rukia couldn't read Twilight very well, but she could tell one very important thing.

The girl was scared out of her mind.