Renji was the first to recover.

“Hey, how can you see us? And, more importantly, how did you build that cottage without hands?” He looked affronted at the physical improbabilities it offered. To build a house you need machinery, lifting power, designs, etcetera- and the only thing that didn’t require hands to do any of that was lifting. The ponies, for their part, were still startled. Only one, a purple one with a horn on its head, seemed to be recovering.

“You’re a myth! Balancers are just a foals’ story to explain where ponies go when they die!” Twilight was furious. Not only did ghosts supposedly exist, now Balancers were here as well! The taller one looked at her strangely.

“Hey, that’s an old title for a Soul Reaper, you know.” He certainly looked the part of a balancer, right down to the tall stature. The other one finally snapped out of it. Twilight was full of questions about these unusual creatures, starting with the title, ‘Soul Reaper.’

“Soul Reaper? What’s that?” The shorter one straightened up.

“Soul Reapers maintain the balance of souls in the world of the living. We both send on souls that didn’t automatically cross over to the Soul Society, or afterlife if you’d prefer, and purify Hollows, corrupted souls that have lost their hearts. All this is to ensure that the Soul Society and the World of the Living have an equal balance of souls. That is why we were formerly known as Balancers.” Twilight started mentally recalibrating. Everything that she knew about Equestria’s afterlife had just been proven wrong.

“So, you’re not from Tartaurus?”

“Never heard of it.”

Applejack and the others finally managed to unstick their jaws.

“So how come we haven’t seen you around here before?”

The tall one considered.

“I didn’t even hear about this place until about a couple of hours before, and neither did Captain Hitsugaya.”

“Hitsugaya?” The shorter one looked annoyed at this.

“The title is CAPTAIN Hitsugaya. I already have enough to work with writing up the report up for the Seiretei Communication.”

Pinkie Pie turned to the tall one and bombarded him with questions.

“HI! WHAT’S YOUR NAME? Those tattoos look really cool, like Zecora’s stripes, and OHMIGOSH were you a zebra in your past life-“

“My name’s Renji Abarai, and I am the lieutenant of Squad Six. Captain Hitsugaya is the captain of Squad 10. We’re just here to scout out the area and write a report on it to the other captains, and protect any … pony that is in danger, and also to help souls across to the other side. And your names are…?”

“Twilight Sparkle is the purple smart one, Applejack’s the one in the cowboy hat, and Rarity’s the one on the fainting couch-“

“It is known as the reclining device for extremely sudden surprising events or statements, causing a loss of consciousness, Pinkie!”

“Exactly, a fainting couch! And I’m Pinkie Pie! Nice to meet ya! This is going to be so much fun and OHMIGOSH WE COULD HAVE A PARTY, A ‘FIRSTTIMEINTHISDIMENSION’ PARTY WITH BALLOONSANDSARSPARILLAANDCANDYANDCAKE AND-“ Applejack simply shoved a hoof in Pinkie pie’s mouth.

“So, you govern the afterlife, then?”

“I guess you could say that. We’re fairly involved in the running of the Soul Society, but we’re not the actual people making the rules.”

“So you can help Derpy out then.”

“Uhhh… who’s that?”

“She died recently, about a day ago. She’s chained to her house. Is that normal?”

Renji and Hitsugaya shook their heads.

“No. It means that she’s what we call a Jibakurei, or a soul that regrets leaving something behind in this world. It means that she’s more vulnerable to Hollows- can’t move very far from that spot at all.”

Twilight was getting fed up with the visitors, and their cryptic references and words.

“Excuse me, but what are Hollows anyway? You keep saying that they’re bad, but you haven’t even shown us one-“

A bone-chilling roar sounded in the distance, startling every pony there. Renji looked at Hitsugaya.

“A Hollow! Damn, that was quick. I really wasn’t expecting one to show up so soon.” He turned to go, but turned to the ponies.

‘If you really want to see a Hollow, come with me. It’s only down the rabbit hole from here on out.” With that, he disappeared. The Mane Six shared a glance, and then took off. Hitsugaya looked at them running off and shook his head.

“Fools. They’ll only get in the way.” He looked in the direction they were running to.

“Just stay alive, if you can.”

Twilight simply cast a mass teleportation spell on the group to speed things up. When they got there, Renji was standing, waiting for them. Behind him, the unmistakable shape of Derpy cowered at the sight of the monster in front of them.

It was tall, even taller than Renji himself. The creature was coloured a sickly green colour with bright red splotches over its body. It had huge, seven-taloned claws on long gorilla-like arms, with three legs ending in a stump. But its scariest feature was the white mask on its face, with no eyes at all, only a mouth, in which a writhing tongue sprayed blue slobber that hissed when it touched the ground.

Renji was looking bored.

‘Geez, get some mouthwash. Your breath stinks.”

“You smell good, Soul Reaper. I’ll first eat you, then that soul, and then…” It broke off from its foul thoughts to make a laugh like mouldy apples being pulped. Even its voice was disgusting- a low, moist growl filled with hunger. The four ponies stared at it with repulsion.

“Well, that’s a Hollow. Still wanna know about them?”

Shaken, Twilight shook her head. Renji started grinning. He gripped the thing in the case with his right hand. The Hollow snapped back to attention, and moved with almost impossible speed, right at Renji. Unperturbed, Renji pulled the object out of its casing, and swung it at the white mask. The creature stopped almost immediately, with its mask sliced in half, over its huge jaws.

“Impossible…”

As it said this, it started dissolving into a black mist, which soon faded away. Renji then sheathed the object.

“How did you do that?”

Renji pulled the object out and held it out. Twilight took it from him with her magic. It looked like it was made of tempered steel or iron, about three quarters as long as a pony. It had a brown grip over a gold hilt, and had a bronze, square guard with a zigzag design embossed on the top.

Immediately, Renji scrambled back in terror.

“HOW THE HELL IS SHE DOING THAT?” Rarity looked at him as if he’d grown an extra head.

“It’s known as magic. All unicorns can do it from an early age, to make up for a lack of your… claws.” Renji nodded, as if in acknowledgement.

‘I see. So, it’s a form of telekinesis, then. That explains building at least.”

“At its most basic level, yes. Other unicorns can use magic for special talents.” Renji looked confused.

“Special talents?”

“Well, you see the markings on our flanks? Those represent what we are best at in life. Once you get it, you can’t change it. You can acquire other skills through life, though. For instance, my special talent is finding gemstones, but I primarily work as a dressmaker, and use gemstones for decorations.”

“I see. It’s a bit like Shikai, then.”

“Shikai?” Before he could explain, Twilight started yelling angrily.

“GAH! DUMB… WHATEVER YOU ARE!”

Twilight was about to telekinetically throw the metal stick away when Renji plucked it back, and held it protectively like a mother guarding her foal from a madpony, which was what Twilight looked like.

“Hey, what gives?” Twilight had calmed down by now, and glared at him.

“I’ve tried every spell I know about examining inanimate objects, but it just doesn’t seem to work at all! All I know about it is that it’s quite sharp! I don’t know what its made of, or what it is- it’s an enigma!”

“Isn’t that where you put a hose up another ponies’-”?

“That’s an enema, Applejack. They do sound similar, don’t they?” Applejack just nodded faintly.

“That’s because you’re looking at it in the wrong way.” Twilight looked at him sceptically.

“How’s that?” Renji gave a fond smile to the stick before continuing.

“It’s called a zanpacto. It’s our primary weapon against the Hollows. The blade purifies its soul of any sins that it committed whilst being a Hollow, and sends them on to the Soul Society to finally rest. But they’re also alive.”

“How can they be alive? It’s just metal.”

“The reason you can’t know what it is by examining its composition is because it’s made of reishi, the same stuff your soul is made of. As a result, it has its own soul, which, if you can learn the name, becomes considerably more powerful. Ordinary people can’t see it either, as they don’t have spiritual awareness. The only reason you can see the captain and me is because you’ve got a decent amount of spiritual pressure, which’ll only draw more Hollows to you. But first, I’ve gotta send your friend on.” At this, Derpy gave a squeak and cowered away from Renji. He slowly approached her.

‘It’s okay. You’ll be fine, really. I won’t kill you.”

“But Renji… she’s alive-“

“I’m sorry, but she’s dead. She’s stayed here because there’s something she regrets leaving behind. But, with good friends like you,” he paused, and gave a smile to Derpy before continuing, “I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” Derpy looked up at him.

“If it’s family that you’re worried about, then your friends will be some of the best to look after them. And if you stay, more Hollows will come. With you gone, they’ll still come, but they won’t be hunting you. And your friends will be able to look after the Hollows. They can see them, after all.” Derpy was smiling after his speech. He looked at her.

“Alright, you’ll have fun there! Now, you should say goodbye. I’ll wait.”

Derpy nodded, then turned to Twilight.

“Look after my muffin, please. Don’t ever let her be alone.” Twilight gave her a nod. Derpy turned to Renji.

“I’m ready. I have no regrets now.” Renji held his zanpacto’s grip up to head height, and placed it gently on the centre of her forehead. A blue, luminescent seal appeared there, and Derpy slowly sank into the ground. A black and pink butterfly flew from her location, flying towards Luna’s moon. Renji nodded in approval. Hitsugaya appeared, with his paper held in his hands.

“Well handled, Abarai.”

“Thank you. Let’s go.”

“Wait just a minute! Where do you think you’re going?” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy jumped out of the bushes.

“How long were you there for?”

“Oh, uh… we just got here.” A small rabbit poked his head out of her mane and glared at her. She wilted.

‘”Well, we were here the whole time. That was… beautiful.”

“What’re your names?”

“I’m Rainbow Dash, and this is Fluttershy! That was cool, with the whole killing that monster thing. You do that all the time?”

“Well, I used to. Now it’s mostly paperwork and a few big battles now and then.”  Hitsugaya glared at Renji pointedly.

“Renji, I’ve finished the preliminary reports. Let’s go.”

Renji looked reluctant, but nodded. He pulled the stick out and pointed it in front of him.

‘Now, OPEN!”

He stabbed the air, sinking his sword in to something invisible. He turned it a quarter turn, and then drew it back. A strange door made of paper and wood appeared in thin air.

“We can’t take you back over without permission, so sorry about that. I’ll try to find your friend. Shouldn’t be that hard, as she’s kinda hard to miss.”

With those passing words, he and Hitsugaya departed.